Writings of Sulpitius Severus
|
Advanced Information
Translated, with preface, and notes,
by Rev. Alexander Roberts, D.D.,
Professor of Humanity, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
Published in 1886 by Philip Schaff,
New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co.
The Doubtful Letters Of Sulpitius Severus.
.
Letter I.
A Letter of the Holy Presbyter Severus to His Sister Claudia Concerning the
Last Judgment.
Chapter I.
On reading your letters, my feelings were, in many ways, deeply moved,
and I could not refrain from tears. For I both wept for joy because I
could perceive from the very language of your letters, that you were
living according to the precepts of the Lord God, and out of my
exceeding desire after you, I could not help lamenting that, without
any fault on my part, I was parted from you; and I would have felt
this still more strongly had you not sent me a letter. Should I not,
then, enjoy the company of such a sister? But I call your salvation to
witness, that I have very often wished to come to you, but have up
till now been prevented, through the opposition of him [139] who is
accustomed to hinder us. For, in my eager desire, I was both urgent to
satisfy my wishes by seeing you; and we seemed, if we should meet,
likely to accomplish more effectually the work of the Lord, since by
comforting one another we should live with the heavy load of this
world trodden under our feet. But I do not now fix the day or time of
visiting you, because, as often as I have done so, I have not been
able to fulfil my purpose. I shall wait on the will of the Lord, and
hope that, by my supplications and your prayers, he may bring it about
that we reap some advantage from our perseverance. [140]
|
|
Footnotes
[139] It is obvious that, in this whole passage, Sulpitius has in his
mind the language of St. Paul, Rom. i. 9-12.
[140] Halm reads præsentia, instead of the old reading perseverantia`,
but apparently without good grounds.
Chapter II.
But because you have desired from me in all my letters which I had
sent to you precepts to nourish your life and faith, it has come to
pass that, through the frequency of my writings to you, I have now
exhausted language of that kind; and I can really write nothing new to
you, so as to avoid what I have written before. And in truth, through
the goodness of God, you do not now need to be exhorted, inasmuch as,
perfecting your faith at the very beginning of your saintly life, you
display a devoted love in Christ. One thing, however, I do press upon
you, that you do not go back on things you have already passed away
from, that you do not long again for things you have already scorned,
and that, having put your hand to the plow, you do not look back [141]
again, retracing your steps; for, undoubtedly, by falling into this
fault, your furrow will lose its straightness, and the cultivator will
not receive his own proper reward. Moreover, he does not secure even a
measure of the reward, if he has, in a measure, failed. For, as we
must flee from sin to righteousness, so he who has entered on the
practice of righteousness must beware lest he lay himself open to sin.
For it is written that "his righteousness shall not profit the
righteous on the day on which he has gone astray." [142] For this,
then, we must take our stand, for this we must labor, that we, who
have escaped from sins, do not lose the prepared rewards. For the
enemy stands ready against us, that he may at once strike the man who
has been stripped of the shield of faith. Our shield, therefore, is
not to be cast aside, lest our side be exposed to attack; and our
sword is not to be put away, lest the enemy then begin to give up all
fear: moreover, we know that if he sees a man fully armed, he will
retreat. Nor are we ignorant that it is a hard and difficult thing
daily to fight against the flesh and the world. But if you reflect
upon eternity, and if you consider the kingdom of heaven, which
undoubtedly the Lord will condescend to bestow upon us although we are
sinners, what suffering, I ask, is sufficiently great, by which we may
merit such things? And besides, our struggle in this world is but for
a short time; for although death do not speedily overtake us, old age
will come. The years flow on, and time glides by; while, as I hope,
the Lord Jesus will speedily call us to himself, as being dear to his
heart.
Footnotes
[141] Luke ix. 62.
[142] Ezek. xviii. 24.
Chapter III.
O how happy shall be that departure of ours, when Christ shall receive
us into his own abode after we have been purged [143] from the stains
of sin through the experience [144] of a better life! Martyrs and
prophets will meet with us, apostles will join themselves to us,
angels will be glad, archangels will rejoice, and Satan, being
conquered, will look pale, though still retaining his cruel
countenance, inasmuch as he will lose all [145] advantage from our
sins which he had secured for himself in us. He will see glory granted
us through mercy, and merits honored by means of glory. We shall
triumph over our conquered foe. Where shall now the wise men of the
world appear? Where shall the covetous man, where shall the adulterer,
where shall the irreligious, where shall the drunkard, where shall the
evil-speaker be recognized? What shall these wretched beings say in
their own defense? "We did not know thee, Lord; we did not see that
thou wast in the world: thou didst not send the prophets: thou didst
not give the law to the world: we did not see the patriarchs: we did
not read the lives of the saints. Thy Christ never was upon the earth:
Peter was silent: Paul refused to preach: no Evangelist taught. There
were no martyrs whose example we should follow: no one predicted thy
future judgment: no one commanded us to clothe the poor: no one
enjoined us to restrain lust: no one persuaded us to fight against
covetousness: we fell through ignorance, not knowing what we did."
Footnotes
[143] Clericus here remarks that "these words clearly teach us that
Severus knew of no other purgation than that by which we are cleansed
in this life from sin by a change of character and which change if we
steadily maintain, then, when life is ended, we are received into the
abode of Christ, without any dread of the fire of purgatory."
[144] "conversatione."
[145] Having led us into sin that we might be condemned along with
himself. The meaning, however, is obscure.
Chapter IV.
Against these, from among the company of the saints, righteous Noah
shall first proclaim, "I, Lord, predicted that a deluge was about to
come on account of the sins of men, and after the deluge I set an
example to the good in my own person; since I did not perish with the
wicked who perished, that they might know both what was the salvation
of the innocent, and what the punishment of sinners." After him,
faithful Abraham will say in opposition to them, "I, Lord, about the
mid-time [146] of the age of the world, laid the foundation of the
faith by which the human race should believe in thee; I was chosen as
the father of the nations, that they might follow my example; I did
not hesitate, Lord, to offer Isaac, while yet a youth, as a sacrifice
to thee, that they might understand that there is nothing which ought
not to be presented to the Lord, when they perceived that I did not
spare even my only son: I left, Lord, my country, and my family, at
thy command, that they also might have an example teaching them to
leave the wickedness of the world and the age: I, Lord, was the first
to recognize thee, though under a corporeal [147] form, nor did I
hesitate to believe who it was that I beheld, although thou didst
appear to me in a different form from thine own, that these might
learn to judge, not according to the flesh, but according to the
spirit." Him the blessed Moses will support in his pleadings, saying:
"I Lord, delivered the law to all these, at thy command, that those
whom a free [148] faith did not influence, the spoken law at least
might restrain: I said, `Thou shalt not [149] commit adultery,' in
order that I might prevent the licentiousness of fornication: I said,
`Thou shalt love [150] thy neighbor,' that affection might abound; I
said, `Thou shalt worship the Lord alone,' [151] in order that these
might not sacrifice to idols, or allow temples to exist; I commanded
that false witness should not be spoken, that I might shut the lips of
these people against all falsehood. I set forth the things which had
been done and said from the beginning of the world, through the
working within me of the spirit of thy power, that a knowledge of
things past might convey to these people instruction about things to
come. I predicted, O Lord Jesus, thy coming, that it might not be an
unexpected thing to these people, when they were called to acknowledge
him whom I had before announced as about to come." [152]
Footnotes
[146] Abraham lived (in round numbers) about 2000 years b.c., and
assuming the beginning of the world to have been about 4000 years
b.c., he may thus be said to have lived about "the mid-time." The note
of Clericus which refers the words to the end of the world seems quite
mistaken.
[147] The reference is to Gen. xviii.
[148] A faith having no regard to either rewards or punishments.
[149] Ex. xx. 14.
[150] Lev. xix. 18.
[151] Deut. vi. 13.
[152] Ex. xx. 3, &c.
Chapter V.
After him, there will stand up David worthy of his descendant the
Lord, and declare: "I, Lord, proclaimed thee by every means; I set
forth that only thy name was to be worshiped; I said, `Blessed is the
man [153] who fears the Lord'; I said too, `The saints shall [154] be
joyful in glory'; and I said, `The desire of the wicked [155] shall
perish,' that these people might acknowledge thee and cease to sin. I,
when I had become possessed of royal power, clothed in sackcloth, with
dust spread beneath me, and with the emblems of my greatness laid
aside, lay down in my clothes, that an example might be given to these
people of gentleness and humility. I spared my enemies who desired to
slay me, that these people might approve of my mercifulness, as worthy
of being imitated." After him, Isaiah, who was worthy of the Spirit of
God, will not be silent; but will say: "I, Lord, whilst thou wast
speaking through my mouth, gave this warning,--`Woe to those [156] who
join house to house,' that I might set a limit to covetousness. I bore
witness that thine anger came upon the wicked, that at any rate fear
of punishment, if not hope of reward, might keep back these people
from their evil deeds."
Footnotes
[153] Ps. cxi. 1.
[154] Ps. cxlix. 5.
[155] Ps. cxii. 10.
[156] Isa. v. 8.
Chapter VI.
After these, and several others who have discharged for us the duties
of instruction, the Son of God himself will speak thus: "I, certainly,
exalted on a lofty seat, holding heaven in my hand, and the earth in
my fist, extended within and without, in the inside of all things
which are produced, and on the outside of all [157] things that move,
inconceivable, infinite in the power [158] of nature, invisible to
sight, inaccessible to touch, in order that I might exist as the least
of you (for the purpose of subduing the hardness of your heart and for
softening your faithlessness by sound doctrines), condescended to be
born in flesh, and, having laid aside the glory of God, I assumed the
form of a servant, so that, sharing with you in bodily infirmity, I
might in turn bring you to a participation in my glory, through
obedience to the precept of salvation. I restored health to the sick
and infirm, hearing to the deaf, sight to the blind, the power of
speech to the dumb, and the use of their feet to the lame; that I
might influence you, by heavenly signs, all the more easily to believe
in me, and in those things which I had announced, I promised you the
kingdom of heaven; I also, in order that you might have an example of
escape from punishment, placed in Paradise the robber who acknowledged
me almost at the moment of his death, that ye might follow even the
faith of him who had been thought worthy of having his sins forgiven
him. And that by my example in your behalf, ye yourselves also might
be able to suffer; I suffered for you, that no man might hesitate to
suffer for himself what God [159] had endured for man. I showed myself
after my resurrection, in order that your faith might not be
overthrown. I admonished the Jews in the person of Peter; I preached
to the Gentiles in the person of Paul; and I do not regret doing so,
for good results followed. The good have understood my work; the
faithful have perfected it; the righteous have completed it; the
merciful have consummated it: there have been a large number of
martyrs, and a large number of saints. Those to whom I thus refer were
undoubtedly in the same body and in the same world as you. Why, then,
do I find no good work in you, ye descendants of vipers? Ye have shown
no repentance for your wicked deeds, even at the very end of your
earthly course. And what does it profit that ye honor me with your
lips, when you deny me by your deeds and works? Where are now your
riches, where your honors, where your powers, and where your
pleasures? I pronounce no new sentence over you: you simply incur the
judgment which I formerly predicted."
Footnotes
[157] The divine omnipresence is here denoted.
[158] Or, according to another punctuation, "inconceivable in nature,
infinite in power."
[159] Clericus thinks this expression unscriptural, and fitted to
support heresy. But it may be justified by such a passage as Acts xx.
28, if theou can be accepted as the correct reading, which is now
generally agreed upon.
Chapter VII.
Then will the Evangelist repeat this to the wretched beings, "Go ye
[160] into outer darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth." O ye miserable men, whom these words do not now impress! They
shall then see their own punishment, and the glory of others. Let them
use this present world, provided they do not enjoy that eternity which
is prepared for the saints. Let them abound in riches: let them rest
on gold; provided that there they be found needy and destitute. Let
them be wealthy in this world, provided they be poor in eternity, for
it is written regarding them, "The rich were in [161] want, and
suffered hunger." But the Scripture has added what follows respecting
the good,--"but those who seek the Lord shall not want any good
thing."
Therefore, my sister, although those people mock at us, and although
they call us foolish and unhappy, let us all the more joyfully exult
in such reproaches, by which glory is heaped up for us, and punishment
for them. And do not let us laugh at their folly, but rather grieve
over their unhappiness; because there is among them a large number of
our own people, whom if we win over, our glory shall be increased. But
however they may conduct themselves, let them be to us as Gentiles and
publicans; but let us keep ourselves safe and sound. If they rejoice
now over us lamenting, it will be our turn afterwards to rejoice over
their suffering. Farewell, dearest sister, and tenderly beloved in
Christ.
Footnotes
[160] St. Matt. xxii. 13.
[161] Ps. xxxiv. 10: the above rendering entirely departs from the
Hebrew text.
.
Letter II.
A Letter of Sulpitius Severus to His Sister Claudia Concerning Virginity.
Chapter I.
How great blessedness, among heavenly gifts, belongs to holy
virginity, besides the testimonies of the Scriptures, we learn also
from the practice of the Church, by which we are taught that a
peculiar merit belongs to those who have devoted themselves to it by
special consecration. For while the whole multitude of those that
believe receive equal gifts of grace, and all rejoice in the same
blessings of the sacraments, those who are virgins possess something
above the rest, since, out of the holy and unstained company of the
Church, they are chosen by the Holy Spirit, and are presented by the
bishop [162] at the altar of God, as if being more holy and pure
sacrifices, on account of the merits of their voluntary dedication.
This is truly a sacrifice worthy of God, inasmuch as it is the
offering of so precious a being, and none will please him more than
the sacrifice of his own image. For I think that the Apostle
especially referred to a sacrifice of this kind, when he said, "Now, I
beseech you, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable [163] to God."
Virginity, therefore, possesses both that which others have, and that
which others have not; while it obtains both common and special grace,
and rejoices (so to speak) in its own peculiar privilege of
consecration. For ecclesiastical authority permits us to style virgins
also the brides of Christ; while, after the manner of brides, it veils
those whom it consecrates to the Lord, openly exhibiting those as very
especially about to possess spiritual marriage who have fled away from
carnal fellowship. And those are worthily united, after a spiritual
manner, to God, in accordance with the analogy of marriage, who, from
love to him, have set at nought human alliances. In their case, that
saying of the apostle finds its fullest possible fulfillment, "He who
is joined to the Lord, [164] is one spirit."
Footnotes
[162] "per summum sacerdotem."
[163] Rom. xii. 1.
[164] 1 Cor. vi. 17.
Chapter II.
For it is a great and a divine thing, almost beyond a corporeal
nature, to lay aside [165] luxury, and to extinguish, by strength of
mind, the flame of concupiscence, kindled by the torch of youth; to
put down by spiritual effort the force of natural delight; to live in
opposition to the practice of the human race; to despise the comforts
of wedlock; to disdain the sweet enjoyments derived from children; and
to regard as nothing, in the hope of future blessedness, everything
that is reckoned among the advantages of this present life. This is,
as I have said, a great and admirable virtue, and is not undeservedly
destined to a vast reward, in proportion to the greatness of its
labor. The Scripture says, "I will give to the eunuchs, saith the
Lord, a place in my house and within my walls, a place counted better
than [166] sons and daughters; I will give them an eternal name, and
it shall not [167] fail." The Lord again speaks concerning such
eunuchs in the Gospel, saying, "For there are eunuchs who have made
themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake." [168] Great,
indeed, is the struggle connected with chastity, but greater is the
reward; the restraint is temporal, but the reward will be eternal. For
the blessed Apostle John also speaks concerning these, saying that
"they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." [169] This, I think, is
to be understood to the following effect, that there will be no place
in the court of heaven closed against them, but that all the
habitations of the divine mansions will be thrown open before them.
Footnotes
[165] "sopire luxuriam," lit. to put to sleep.
[166] "a filiis et filiabus": a mistaken rendering of the Hebrew text.
[167] Isa. lvi. 5.
[168] Matt. xix. 12.
[169] Rev. xiv. 4.
Chapter III.
But that the merit of virginity may shine forth more clearly, and that
there may be a better understanding as to how worthy it is of God, let
this be considered, that the Lord God, our Saviour, when, for the
salvation of the human race, he condescended to assume mankind, chose
no other than a virgin's womb, that he might show how virtue of this
kind especially pleased him; and that he might point out the
blessedness of chastity to both sexes, he had a virgin mother, while
he himself was ever to remain in a like condition. He thus furnished
in his own person to men, and in the person of his mother to women, an
example of virginity, by which it might be proved, with respect to
both sexes, that the blessed state of purity possessed the fullness of
divinity, [170] for whatever dwelt in the Son was also wholly in the
mother. But why should I take pains to make known the excellent and
surpassing merit of chastity, and to set forth the glorious good of
virginity, when I am not ignorant that many have discoursed on this
subject, and have proved its blessedness by most conclusive reasons,
and since it can never be a matter of doubt to any reflecting mind,
that a thing has all the more merit, the more difficult it is of
accomplishment? For if any one judges chastity to be of no moment or
only of small consequence, it is certain that he is either ignorant of
the matter, or is not willing to incur the trouble it implies. Hence
it comes to pass that those always derogate from the importance of
chastity, who either do not possess it, or who are unwillingly
compelled to maintain it.
Footnotes
[170] The text is here most uncertain; that adopted by Halm seems
unintelligible.
Chapter IV.
Now, therefore, since we have set forth, although in few words, both
the difficulty and the merit of purity, great care must be taken lest
a matter which in itself implies great virtue, and is also destined to
a vast reward, should fail to produce its proper fruits. For the more
precious every sort of thing is, the more it is guarded with anxious
solicitude. And since there are many things which fail to secure their
proper excellence, unless they are assisted by the aid of other
things, as is, for instance, the case with honey, which, unless it is
preserved by the protection of wax, and by the cells of the
honeycombs, and is indeed, to state the matter more truly, sustained
by these, loses its deliciousness and cannot exist apart by itself;
and again as it is with wine, which, unless it be kept in vessels of a
pleasant odor, and with the pitch frequently renewed, loses the power
of its natural sweetness; so great care must be taken lest perchance
some things may be necessary also to virginity, without which it can
by no means produce its proper fruits, and thus a matter of so great
difficulty may be of no advantage (while all the time it is believed
to be of advantage), because it is possessed without the other
necessary adjuncts. For unless I am mistaken, chastity is preserved in
its entirety, for the sake of the reward to be obtained in the kingdom
of heaven, which it is perfectly certain no one can obtain who does
[171] not deserve eternal life. But that eternal life cannot be
merited except by the keeping of all the divine commandments, the
Scripture testifies, saying, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments." [172] Therefore no one has that life, except the man
who has kept all the precepts of the law, and he who has not such life
cannot be a possessor of the kingdom of heaven, in which it is not the
dead, but the living who shall reign. Therefore virginity, which hopes
for the glory of the kingdom of heaven, will profit nothing by itself,
unless it also possess that to which eternal life is promised, by
means of which the reward of the kingdom of heaven is possessed. Above
all things, therefore, the commandments which have been enjoined upon
us must be kept by those who preserve chastity in its entireness, and
who are hoping for its reward from the justice of God, lest otherwise
the pains taken to maintain a glorious chastity and continence come to
nothing. No one acquainted with the law does not know that virginity
is above [173] the commandment or precept, as the Apostle says, "Now,
as to virgins, I have no precept of the Lord, but I give my advice."
[174] When, therefore, he simply gives advice about maintaining
virginity, and lays down no precept, he acknowledges that it is above
the commandment. Those, therefore, who preserve virginity, do more
than the commandment requires. But it will then only profit you to
have done more than was commanded, if you also do that which is
commanded. For how can you boast that you have done more, if, in
respect to some point, you do less? Desiring to fulfill the Divine
counsel, see that, above all things, you keep the commandment: wishing
to attain to the reward of virginity, see that you keep fast hold of
what is necessary to merit life, that your chastity may be such as can
receive a recompense. For as the observance of the commandments
ensures life, so, on the other hand, does the violation give rise to
death. And he who through disobedience has been doomed to death cannot
hope for the crown pertaining to virginity; nor, when really handed
over to punishment, can he expect the reward promised to chastity.
Footnotes
[171] "quod sine æternæ vitæ merito neminem consequi posse satis
certum est."
[172] Matt. xix. 17.
[173] "supra mandatum": Clericus remarks on this, "Non supra, sed
præter, nam ea de re nihil præcepit Christus."
[174] 1 Cor. vii. 25.
Chapter V.
Now, there are three kinds of virtue, by means of which the possession
of the kingdom of heaven is secured. The first is chastity, the
second, contempt of the world, and the third, righteousness, which, as
when joined together, they very greatly benefit their possessors, so,
when separated, they can hardly be of any advantage, since every one
of them is required, not for its own sake only, but for the sake of
another. First of all, then, chastity is demanded, that contempt of
the world may more easily follow, because the world can be more easily
despised by those who are not held fast in the bonds of matrimony.
Contempt of the world, again, is required, in order that righteousness
may be maintained, which those can with difficulty fully preserve who
are involved in desires after worldly advantages, and in the pursuit
of mundane pleasures. Whosoever, therefore, possesses the first kind
of virtue, chastity, but does not, at the same time, have the second,
which is contempt of the world, possesses the first almost to no
purpose, since he does not have the second, for the sake of which the
first was required. And if any one possesses the first and second, but
is destitute of the third which is righteousness, he labors in vain,
since the former two are principally required for the sake of the
third. For what profits it to possess chastity in order to contempt of
the world, and yet not to have that on account of which you have the
other? Or why should you despise the things of the world, if you do
not observe righteousness, for the sake of which it is fitting that
you should possess chastity, as well as contempt for the world? For as
the first kind of virtue is on account of the second, and the second
on account of the third, so the first and the second are on account of
the third; and if it does not exist, neither the first nor the second
will prove of any advantage.
Chapter VI.
But you perhaps say here, "Teach me, then, what righteousness is, so
that knowing it, I may be able more easily to fully practice it."
Well, I shall briefly explain it to you, as I am able, and shall use
the simplicity of common words, seeing that the subject of which we
treat is such as ought by no means to be obscured by attempts at
eloquent description, but should be opened up by the simplest forms of
expression. For a matter which is necessary to all in common ought to
be set forth in a common sort of speech. Righteousness, then, is
nothing else than not to commit sin; and not to commit sin is just to
keep the precepts of the law. Now, the observance of these precepts is
maintained in a two-fold way--thus, that one do none of those things
which are forbidden, and that he strive to fulfill the things which
are commanded. This is the meaning of the following statement: "Depart
from evil, and do [175] good." For I do not wish you to think that
righteousness consists simply in not doing evil, since not to do good
is also evil, and a transgression of the law takes place in both,
since he who said, "Depart from evil" said also, "and do good." If you
depart from evil, and do not do good, you are a transgressor of the
law, which is fulfilled, not simply by abhorring all evil deeds, but
also by the performance of good works. For, indeed, you have not
merely received this commandment, that you should not deprive one who
is clothed of his garments, but that you should cover with your own
the man who has been deprived of his; nor that you should not take
away bread of his own from one who has it, but that you should
willingly impart of your bread to him who has none; nor that you
should not simply not drive away a poor man from a shelter of his own,
but that you should receive him when he has been driven out, and has
no shelter, into your own. For the precept which has been given us is
"to weep with them that [176] weep." But how can we weep with them, if
we share in none of their necessities, and afford no help to them in
those matters on account of which they lament? For God does not call
for the fruitless moisture of our tears; but, because tears are an
indication of grief, he wishes you to feel the distresses of another
as if they were your own. And just as you would wish aid to be given
you if you were in such tribulation, so should you help another in
accordance with the statement, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do
unto you, do ye even so [177] to them." For to weep with one that
weeps, and at the same time to refuse to help, when you can, him that
weeps, is a proof of mockery, and not of piety. In short, our Saviour
wept with Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, and proved the
feeling of infinite compassion within him by the witness of his tears.
But works, as the proofs of true affection soon followed, when
Lazarus, for whose sake the tears were shed, was raised up and
restored to his sisters. This was sincerely to weep with those who
wept, when the occasion of the weeping was removed. But he did it, you
will say, as having the power. Well, nothing is demanded of you which
it is impossible for you to perform: he has fulfilled his entire duty
who has done what he could.
Footnotes
[175] Ps. xxxiv. 14.
[176] Rom. xii. 15.
[177] Matt. vii. 12.
Chapter VII.
But (as we had begun to remark) it is not sufficient for a Christian
to keep himself from wickedness, unless he also has fulfilled the
duties implied in good works, as is very distinctly proved by that
statement in which the Lord threatened that those will be doomed to
eternal fire, who, although they have done no evil, have not done all
that is good, declaring, "Then will the king say to those who are on
his right hand: depart from me, ye cursed, into eternal fire, which my
Father has prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry,
and ye gave me not to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no [178]
drink," with what follows. He did not say, "Depart from me, ye cursed,
because ye have committed murder, or adultery, or theft"; for it is
not because they had done evil, but because they had not done good,
that they are condemned, and doomed to the punishments of the eternal
Gehenna; nor because they had committed things which were forbidden,
but because they had not been willing to do those things which had
been commanded. And from this it is to be observed what hope those can
have, who, in addition, do some of those things which are forbidden,
when even such are doomed to eternal fire as have simply not done the
things which are commanded. For I do not wish you to flatter yourself
in this way,--if you have not done certain things, because you have
done certain other things, since it is written, "Whosoever shall keep
the whole law, and yet offend in one point, has become guilty of all."
[179] For Adam sinned once, and died; and do you think that you can
live, when you are often doing that which killed another person, when
he had only done it once? Or do you imagine that he committed a great
crime, and was therefore justly condemned to a severer punishment? Let
us consider, then, what it was he really did. He ate of the fruit of
the tree, contrary to the commandment. What then? Did God punish man
with death for the sake of the fruit of a tree? No: not on account of
the fruit of the tree, but on account of the contempt of the
commandment. The question, therefore, is not about the nature of the
offense, but about the transgression of the commandment. And the same
being who told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree, has commanded
you not to speak evil, not to lie, not to detract, not to listen to a
detractor, to swear not at all, not to covet, not to envy, not to be
drunken, not to be greedy, not to render evil for evil to any one, to
love your enemies, to bless them that curse you, to pray for them that
malign and persecute you, to turn the other cheek to one smiting you,
and not to go to law before a worldly tribunal, so that, if any one
seeks to take away your goods, you should joyfully lose them, to flee
from the charge of avarice, to beware of the sin of all pride and
boastfulness, and live, humble and meek, after the example of Christ,
avoiding fellowship with the wicked so completely that you will not
even eat with fornicators, or covetous persons, or those that speak
evil of others, or the envious, or detractors, or the drunken, or the
rapacious. Now, if you despise him in any such matter, then, if he
spared Adam, he will also spare you. Yea, he might have been spared
with better reason than you, inasmuch as he was still ignorant and
inexperienced, and was restrained by the example of no one who had
previously sinned, and who had died on account of his sin. But after
such examples as you possess, after the law, after the prophets, after
the gospels, and after the apostles, if you still set your mind on
transgressing, I see not in what way pardon can be extended to you.
Footnotes
[178] Matt. xxv. 41.
[179] James ii. 10.
Chapter VIII.
Do you flatter yourself on account of the attribute of virginity?
Remember Adam and Eve fell when they were virgins, and that the
perfect purity of their bodies did not profit them when they sinned.
The virgin who sins is to be compared to Eve, and not to Mary. We do
not deny that, in the present life, there is the remedy of repentance,
but we remind you rather to hope for reward, than to look for pardon.
For it is disgraceful that those should ask for indulgence who are
expecting the crown of virginity, and that those should commit
anything unlawful who have even cut themselves off from things lawful;
for it must be remembered that it is lawful to contract an alliance by
marriage. And as those are to be praised who, from love to Christ, and
for the glory of the kingdom of heaven, have despised the tie of
wedlock, so those are to be condemned who, through the pleasure of
incontinence, after they have vowed themselves to God, have recourse
to the Apostolic remedy. Therefore, as we have said, those who decline
marriage despise not things unlawful, but things lawful. And if that
class of people swear, if they speak evil of others, if they are
detractors, or if they patiently listen to detractors, if they return
evil for evil, if they incur the charge of covetousness with respect
to other people's property, or of avarice in regard to their own, if
they cherish the poison of revenge or envy, if they either say or
think anything unbefitting against the institutions of the law or the
Apostles, if with a desire of pleasing in the flesh, they exhibit
themselves dressed up and adorned, if they do any other unlawful
things, as is only too common, what will it profit them to have
spurned what is lawful, while they practice what is not lawful? If you
wish it to be of advantage to you, that you have despised things
lawful, take care that you do not any of those things which are not
lawful. For, it is foolish to have dreaded that which is in its nature
less, and not to dread that which is intrinsically more [or not to
avoid those things [180] which are interdicted, while such things as
are permitted meet with contempt]. For the Apostle says, "She that is
unmarried careth for the things of the Lord, how she may please God,
that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but she who is married
careth for the things of this world, how she may please [181] her
husband." He thus affirms that the married woman pleases her husband
by thinking of worldly things, while the unmarried woman pleases God,
inasmuch as she has no anxiety about the things of the world. Let him
tell me, then, whom she desires to please, who has no husband, and yet
cares for the things of the world? Shall not the married woman, in
such a case, be preferred to her? Yes, since she by caring for the
things of the world pleases at least her husband, but the other
neither pleases her husband, since she does not have one, nor can she
please God. [182] But it is not fitting that we should pass over in
silence that which he said: "The unmarried woman careth for the things
of the Lord, how she may please God, that she may be holy both in body
and spirit" [she careth, he says, for the things of the Lord; she does
not care for the things of the world, or of men, but for the things of
God]. What, then, are the things of the Lord? Let the Apostle tell:
"Whatsoever [183] things are holy, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise of doctrine": these
are the things of the Lord, which holy and truly apostolic virgins
meditate upon, and think of, day and night, without any interval of
time. Of the Lord is the resurrection of the dead, of the Lord is
immortality, of the Lord is incorruption, of the Lord is that splendor
of the sun which is promised to the saints, as it is written in the
Gospel, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father": [184] of the Lord are the many mansions of
the righteous in the heavens, of the Lord is the fruit which is
produced, whether thirty fold, or sixty fold, or an hundred fold.
Those virgins who think on these things, and by what works they may be
able to merit them, think of the things of the Lord. Of the Lord, too,
is the law of the new and old testament, in which shine forth the holy
utterances of his lips; and if any virgins meditate without
intermission on these things, they think of the things of the Lord. In
that case, there is fulfilled in them the saying of the prophet: "The
eternal [185] foundations are upon a solid rock, and the commands of
God are in the heart of the holy woman."
Footnotes
[180] The genuineness of this clause is very doubtful, and the text
is, at best, exceedingly corrupt.
[181] 1 Cor. vii. 34.
[182] The text is here very uncertain; we have followed that of Halm,
but with hesitation.
[183] Phil. iv. 8, with the addition of epistemes.
[184] Matt. xiii. 43.
[185] Eccl. xxvi. 24.
Chapter IX.
There follows the clause "how she may please God,"--God, I say, not
men,--"that she may be holy both in body and spirit." He does not say
that she may be holy only in a member or in the body, but that she may
be holy in body and spirit. For a member is only one part of the body,
but the body is a union of all the members. When, therefore, he says
that she may be holy in the body, he testifies that she ought to be
sanctified in all her members, because the sanctification of the other
members will not avail, if corruption be found remaining in one. Also,
she will not be holy in body (which consists of all the members), who
is defiled by the pollution of even one of them. But in order that
what I say may be made more obvious and clear, suppose the case of a
woman who is purified by the sanctification of all her other members,
and sins only with her tongue, inasmuch as she either speaks evil
[186] of people or bears false testimony, will all her other members
secure the acquittal of one, or will all the rest be judged on account
of the one? If, therefore, the sanctification of the other members
will not avail, even when one only is at fault, how much more, if all
are corrupted by the guilt of various sins, will the perfection of one
be of no avail?
Footnotes
[186] "Blasphemet."
Chapter X.
Wherefore, I beseech you, O virgin, do not flatter yourself on the
ground of your purity alone, and do not trust in the perfection of one
member; but according to the Apostle, maintain the sanctity of your
body throughout. Cleanse thy head from all defilement, because it is a
disgrace that it, after the sanctifying oil has been applied to it,
should be polluted with the juice or powder of either crocus, or any
other pigment, or should be adorned with gold or gems or any other
earthly ornament, because it already shines with the radiance of
heavenly adornment. It is undoubtedly a grave insult to Divine grace
to prefer to it any mundane and worldly ornament. And next, cleanse
thy forehead, that it may blush at human, and not at Divine works, and
may display that shame which gives rise not to sin, but to the favor
of God, as the sacred Scripture declares, "There is a shame that
causes sin, and there is a shame that brings with it the favor [187]
of God." Cleanse, too, thy neck, that it may not carry thy [188] locks
in a golden net and necklaces hung round it, but may rather bear about
it those ornaments of which the Scripture says, "Let not [189] mercy
and faith depart from thee," and hang them upon thy heart as upon thy
neck. Cleanse thine eyes, whilst thou dost withdraw them from all
concupiscence, and dost never turn them away from the sight of the
poor, and dost keep them from all dyes, in that purity in which they
were made by God. Cleanse thy tongue from falsehood, because "a mouth
[190] which tells lies destroys the soul": cleanse it from detraction,
from swearing, and from perjury. I beg you not to think it is an
inverted order that I have said the tongue should be cleansed from
swearing before perjury, for one will then the more easily escape
perjury, if he swears not at all, so that there may be fulfilled in
him that statement, "Keep [191] thy tongue from evil, and thy lips
from speaking guile." And be mindful of the Apostle who says, "Bless,
and [192] curse not." But often call to mind the following words, "See
that no one render evil for evil to any man, or cursing for cursing,
but on the contrary, do ye bless them, because to this ye have been
called, that ye should possess a blessing [193] by inheritance"; and
this other passage, "If any [194] one offend not in tongue, he is a
perfect man." For it is shameful that those lips, by which you confess
God, pray to him, bless him, and praise him, should be defiled by the
pollution of any sin. I know not with what conscience any one can pray
to God with that tongue with which he either speaks falsehood, or
calumniates, or detracts. God listens to holy lips, and speedily
answers those prayers which an unpolluted tongue pours forth. Cleanse
also thine ears, so that they may not listen except to holy and true
discourse, that they never admit into them obscene, or infamous, or
worldly words, or tolerate any one detracting from another, on account
of that which is written, "Hedge up [195] thine ears with thorns, and
do not listen to a wicked tongue, that you may have your part with
him, of whom it is said, that he was [196] righteous in hearing and
seeing; i.e. he sinned neither with his eyes nor his ears. Cleanse,
too, thy hands, "that they be not stretched out to receive, but shut
against giving," and that they [197] be not prompt to strike, but ever
ready for all the works of mercy and piety. In fine, cleanse thy feet,
that they follow not the broad and ample way which leads to grand and
costly worldly banquets, but that they tread rather the difficult and
narrow path, which guides to heaven, for it is written, "Make a [198]
straight path for your feet." Acknowledge that your members were
formed for you by God the Maker, not for vices, but for virtues; and,
when you have cleansed the whole of your limbs from every stain of
sin, and they have become sanctified throughout your whole body, then
understand that this purity will profit you, and look forward with all
confidence to the prize of virginity.
Footnotes
[187] Eccl. iv. 21.
[188] The text here is most uncertain; Halm's "ut non aurea reticula
capillus portet" is "that thy hair may not carry golden nets."
[189] Prov. iii. 3.
[190] Wisd. i. 11.
[191] Ps. xxxiv. 13.
[192] Rom. xii. 14.
[193] 1 Thess. v. 15; 1 Pet. iii. 9.
[194] James iii. 2.
[195] Eccl. xxviii. 24.
[196] 2 Pet. ii. 8.
[197] Eccles. iv. 31.
[198] Prov. iv. 26.
Chapter XI.
I believe that I have now set forth, briefly indeed, but, at the same
time, fully, what is implied in a woman's purity of body: it remains
that we should learn what it is to be pure also in spirit; i.e. that
what it is unlawful for one to do in act, it is also unlawful for one
even to imagine in thought. For she is holy, alike in body and in
spirit, who sins neither in mind nor heart, knowing that God is one
who examines also the heart; and, therefore, she takes every pains to
possess a mind as well as a body free from sin. Such a person is aware
that it is written, "Keep thy [199] heart with all diligence"; and
again, "God loveth [200] holy hearts, and all the undefiled are
acceptable to him"; and elsewhere, "Blessed [201] are those of a pure
heart; for they shall see God." I think that this last statement is
made regarding those whom conscience accuses of the guilt of no sin;
concerning whom I think that John also spoke in his Epistle when he
said, "If our heart [202] condemn us not, then have we confidence
towards God, and whatsoever we ask we shall receive from him." I do
not wish you to think that you have escaped the accusation of sin,
although act does not follow desire, since it is written, "Whosoever
[203] looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed
adultery with her in his heart." And do not say, "I had the thought,
indeed, but I did not carry it out in act"; for it is unlawful even to
desire that which it is unlawful to do. Wherefore also blessed Peter
issues a precept to this effect: "purify your [204] souls"; and if he
had not been aware of such a thing as defilement of the soul, he would
not have expressed a desire that it should be purified. But we should
also very carefully consider that passage which says, "These [205] are
they who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained
virgins, and they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth"; and should
reflect whether, if these are joined to the Divine retinue, and
traverse all the regions of the heavens, through the merit of chastity
and purity alone, there may be also other means by which virginity
being assisted may attain to the glory of so great blessedness. But
whence shall we be able to know this? From the following passages (if
I mistake not) in which it is written, "These were [206] purchased
from among men as the first fruits to God and the Lamb, and in their
mouth there was found no falsehood, for they are without spot before
the throne of God." You see, then, that they are spoken of as closely
following in the footsteps of the Lord, not in virtue of one member
only, but those are said to do so, who, besides virginity, had passed
a life freed from all the pollution of sin. Wherefore, let the virgin
especially despise marriage on this account, that, while she is safer
than others, she may the more easily accomplish what is also required
from those who are married; viz. keep herself from all sin, and obey
all the commandments of the law. For if she does not marry, and
nevertheless indulges in those things from which even married women
are enjoined to keep themselves free, what will it profit her not to
have married? For although it is not allowed to any Christian to
commit sin, and it befits all without exception who are purified
through the sanctification of the spiritual bath, to lead an unstained
life, that they may be thoroughly identified [207] with the Church,
which is described as being "without [208] spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing," much more is it requisite that a virgin should reach this
standard, whom neither the existence of a husband, nor of sons, nor of
any other necessity, prevents from fully carrying out the demands of
holy Scripture; nor shall she be able, if she fail, to defend herself
by any sort of excuse.
Footnotes
[199] Prov. iv. 23.
[200] Prov. xvii. 3; xi. 20.
[201] Matt. v. 8.
[202] 1 John iii. 21.
[203] Matt. v. 28.
[204] 1 Pet. i. 22.
[205] Rev. xiv. 4.
[206] Rev. xiv. 4 ff.
[207] "visceribus intimari."
[208] Eph. v. 27.
Chapter XII.
O Virgin, maintain thy purpose which is destined for a great reward.
Eminent with the Lord is the virtue of virginity and purity, if it be
not disfigured by other kinds of lapses into sins and wickedness.
Realize your state, realize your position, realize your purpose. You
are called the bride of Christ; see that you commit no act which is
unworthy of him to whom you profess to be betrothed. He will quickly
write a bill of divorcement, if he perceive in you even one act of
unfaithfulness. Accordingly, whosoever receives those gifts which, as
an earnest, are bestowed in the case of human betrothals, immediately
begins earnestly and diligently to enquire of domestics, intimates,
and friends, what is the character of the young man, what he
especially loves, what he receives, in what style he lives, what
habits he practices, what luxuries he indulges in, and in what
pursuits he finds his chief pleasure and delight. And when she has
learned these things, she so conducts herself, in all respects, that
her service, her cheerfulness, her diligence, and her whole mode of
life, may be in harmony with the character of her betrothed. And do
thou, who hast Christ as thy bridegroom, enquire from the domestics
and intimates of that bridegroom of thine what is his character; yes,
do thou zealously and skillfully enquire in what things he specially
delights, what sort of arrangement he loves in thy dress, and what
kind of adornment he desires. Let his most intimate associate Peter
tell thee, who does not allow personal adorning even to married women,
as he has written in his epistle, "Let wives, [209] in like manner, be
subject to their own husbands, so that, if any believe not the word,
they may, without the word, be won over by the conduct of their wives,
contemplating their chaste behavior in the fear of God; and let theirs
not be an outward adornment of the hair, or the putting on of gold, or
elegance in the apparel which is adopted, but let there be the hidden
man of the heart in the stainlessness [210] of a peaceful and modest
spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." Let another
apostle also tell thee, the blessed Paul, who, writing to Timothy,
gives his approval to the same things in regard to the conduct of
believing women: "Let wives [211] in like manner adorn themselves with
the ornament of a habit of modesty and sobriety, not with curled hair,
or gold, or pearls, or costly array, but as becomes women that profess
chastity, with good and upright behavior."
Footnotes
[209] 1 Pet. iii. 1. ff.
[210] "incorruptibilitate."
[211] 1 Tim. ii. 9, 10; chastity is here unwarrantably read in place
of godliness.
Chapter XIII.
But perhaps you say, "Why did not the Apostles enjoin these things on
virgins?" Because they did not think that necessary, lest such an
exhortation, if given to them, might rather seem an insult than a
means of edification. Nor, in fact, would they have believed that
virgins could ever proceed to such an extreme of hardihood, as to
claim for themselves carnal and worldly ornaments, not permitted even
to married women. Undoubtedly, the virgin ought to adorn and array
herself; for how can she be able to please her betrothed, if she does
not come forth in a neat and ornamental form? Let her be adorned by
all means, but let her ornaments be of an internal and spiritual kind,
and not of a carnal nature; for God desires in her a beauty not of the
body, but of the soul. Do thou, therefore, who desirest that thy soul
should be loved and dwelt in by God, array it with all diligence, and
adorn it with spiritual garments. Let nothing unbecoming, nothing
repulsive, be seen in it. Let it shine with the gold of righteousness,
and gleam with the gems of holiness, and glitter with the most
precious pearl of purity; instead of fine linen and silk, let it be
arrayed in the robe of mercifulness and piety, according to what is
written, "Put ye [212] on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and
beloved bowels of mercy, kindness, humility," and so forth. And let
the virgin not ask for the beauty due to ceruse, [213] or any other
pigment, but let her have the brightness of innocence and simplicity,
the rosy hue of modesty, and the purple glow of honorable
shamefacedness. Let her be washed with the nitre of heavenly doctrine,
and purified by all spiritual lavements. [214] Let no stain of malice
or sin be left in her. And lest, at any time, she should give forth
the evil odor of sin, let her be imbued, through and through, with the
most pleasant ointment of wisdom and knowledge.
Footnotes
[212] Col. iii. 12.
[213] "cerussæ": white lead, used by women to whiten their skins.
[214] "lomentis": a mixture of bean-meal and rice, used as a lotion to
preserve the smoothness of the skin.
Chapter XIV.
God seeks for adornment of this kind, and desires a soul arrayed in
such a manner. Remember that you are called the daughter of God,
according to what he says, "Hearken, [215] O daughter, and consider."
But you yourself also, as often as you call God your Father, bear
witness that you are the daughter of God. Wherefore, if you are the
daughter of God, take care that you do none of those things which are
unworthy of God, your Father; but do all things as being the daughter
of God. Reflect how the daughters of nobles in this world conduct
themselves, to what habits they are accustomed and by what exercises
they train themselves. In some of them, there is so great modesty, so
great dignity, so great self-restraint, that they excel the habits of
other human beings in regard to human nobleness, and, lest they should
attach any mark of disgrace on their honorable parents by their
failure, they strive to acquire another [216] nature for themselves by
the mode of their acting in the world. And do you, therefore, have
regard to your origin, consider your descent, attend to the glory of
your nobility. Acknowledge that you are not merely the daughter of
man, but of God, and adorned with the nobility of a divine birth. So
present yourself to the world that your heavenly birth be seen in you,
and your divine nobleness shine clearly forth. Let there be in you a
new dignity, an admirable virtue, a notable modesty, a marvelous
patience, a gait becoming a virgin with a bearing of true
shamefacedness, speech always modest, and such as is uttered only at
the proper time, so that whosoever beholds you may admiringly exclaim:
"What is this exhibition of new dignity among men? What is this
striking modesty, what this well-balanced excellence, what this
ripeness of wisdom? This is not the outcome of human training or of
mere human discipline. Something heavenly sheds its fragrance on me in
that earthly body. I really believe that God does reside in some human
beings." And when he comes to know that you are a handmaid of Christ,
he will be seized with the greater amazement, and will reflect how
marvelous must be the Master, when his handmaid manifests such
excellence.
Footnotes
[215] Ps. xlv. 10.
[216] Only a guess can here be made at the meaning; the text is in
utter confusion.
Chapter XV.
If you wish, then, to be with Christ, you must live according to the
example of Christ, who was so far removed from all evil and
wickedness, that he did not render a recompense even to his enemies,
but rather even prayed for them. For I do not wish you to reckon those
souls Christian, who (I do not say) hate either their brothers or
sisters, but who do not, before God as a witness, love their neighbors
with their whole heart and conscience, since it is a bounden duty for
Christians, after the example of Christ himself, even to love their
enemies. If you desire to possess fellowship with the saints, cleanse
your heart from the thought of malice and sin. Let no one circumvent
you; let no one delude you by beguiling speech. The court of heaven
will admit none except the holy, and righteous, and simple, and
innocent, and pure. Evil has no place in the presence of God. It is
necessary that he who desires to reign with Christ should be free from
all wickedness and guile. Nothing is so offensive, and nothing so
detestable to God, as to hate any one, to wish to harm any one; while
nothing is so acceptable to him as to love all men. The prophet
knowing this bears witness to it when he teaches, "Ye who [217] love
the Lord, hate evil."
Footnotes
[217] Ps. xcvii. 10.
Chapter XVI.
Take heed that ye love not human glory in any respect, lest your
portion also be reckoned among those to whom it was said, "How [218]
can ye believe, who seek glory, one from another?" and of whom it is
said through the prophet, "Increase [219] evils to them; increase
evils to the boastful of the earth"; and elsewhere, "Ye are confounded
[220] from your boasting, from your reproaching in the sight of the
Lord." For I do not wish you to have regard to those, who are virgins
of the world, and not of Christ; who unmindful of their purpose and
profession, rejoice in delicacies, are delighted with riches, and
boast of their descent from a merely carnal nobility; who, if they
assuredly believed themselves to be the daughters of God, would never,
after their divine ancestry, admire mere human nobility, nor glory in
any honored earthly father: if they felt that they had God as their
Father, they would not love any nobility connected with the flesh.
Why, thou foolish woman, dost thou flatter thyself about the nobleness
of thy descent, and take delight in it? God, at the beginning, created
two human beings, from whom the whole multitude of the human race has
descended; and thus it is not the equity of nature, but the ambition
of evil desire, which has given rise to worldly nobility.
Unquestionably, we are all rendered equal by the grace of the divine
[221] bath, and there can be no difference among those, whom the
second birth has generated, by means of which alike the rich man and
the poor man, the free man and the slave, the nobly born and the lowly
born, is rendered a son of God. Thus mere earthly rank is overshadowed
by the brilliance of heavenly glory, and henceforth is taken no
account of, while those who formerly had been unequal in worldly
honors are now equally arrayed in the glory of a heavenly and divine
nobility. There is now among such no place for lowness of birth; nor
is any one inferior to another whom the majesty of the divine birth
adorns; except in the estimation of those who do not think that the
things of heaven are to be preferred to those of earth. There can be
no worldly boasting among them, if they reflect how vain a thing it is
that they should, in smaller matters, prefer themselves to those whom
they know to be equal to themselves in greater matters, and should
regard, as placed below themselves on earth, those whom they believe
to be equal to themselves in what relates to heaven. But do thou, who
art a virgin of Christ, and not of the world, flee from all the glory
of this present life, that thou mayest attain to the glory which is
promised in the world to come.
Footnotes
[218] John v. 44.
[219] Isa. xxvi. 15, after the LXX.
[220] Jer. xii. 13, after the LXX.
[221] "divini lavacri": referring to baptism.
Chapter XVII.
Avoid words of contention and causes of animosity: flee also from all
occasions of discord and strife. For if, according to the doctrine of
the Apostle "the servant [222] of the Lord must not strive," how much
more does this become the handmaid of the Lord, whose mind ought to be
more gentle, as her sex is more bashful and retiring. Restrain thy
tongue from evil speaking, and put the bridle of the law upon thy
mouth; so that you shall speak, if you speak at all, only when it
would be a sin to be silent. Beware lest you utter anything which
might be justly found fault with. A word once spoken is like a stone
which has been thrown: wherefore it should be long thought over before
it is uttered. Blessed, assuredly, are the lips, which never utter
what they would wish to recall. The talk of a chaste mind ought itself
also to be chaste, such as may always rather edify than injure the
hearers, according to that commandment of the Apostle when he says,
"Let no [223] corrupt communications proceed out of your mouth, but
that which is good for the edification of faith, that it may convey
grace to them that hear." Precious to God is that tongue which knows
not to form words except about divine things, and holy is that mouth
from which heavenly utterances continually flow forth. Put down by the
authority of Scripture calumniators of those who are absent, as being
evil-minded persons, because the prophet mentions this also as among
the virtues of a perfect man, if, in the presence of the righteous an
evil-minded man, who brings forward things against his neighbor which
cannot be proved, is brought down to nothing. For it is not lawful for
you patiently to listen to evil-speaking against another, inasmuch as
you would not wish that to be done by others when directed against
yourself. Certainly, everything is unrighteous which goes against the
Gospel of Christ, and that is the case, if you quietly permit anything
to be done to another, which you would feel painful, if done by any
one to yourself. Accustom your tongue always to speak about those who
are good, and lend your ears rather to listen to the praises of good
men than to the condemnation of such as are wicked. Take heed that all
the good actions you perform are done for the sake of God, knowing
that for every such deed you will only receive a reward, so far as you
have done it out of regard to his fear and love. Study rather to be
holy than to appear so, because it is of no avail to be reckoned what
you are not; and the guilt of a twofold sin is contracted when you do
not have what you are credited with having, and when you pretend to
possess what you do not possess.
Footnotes
[222] 2 Tim. ii. 24.
[223] Eph. iv. 29.
Chapter XVIII.
Delight thyself rather in fastings than in feastings, mindful of that
widow who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings
and prayers day and night. Now, if she who was a widow, and a Jewish
widow, proved herself such, what is it fitting that a virgin of Christ
should now attain to? Love more than any other thing the feast of the
divine word, and desire that you be filled with spiritual dainties,
while you seek for such food as refreshes the soul, rather than for
that which only pleases the body. Flee from all kinds of flesh and
wine, as being the sources of heat and provocatives to lust. And only
then, if need be, use a little wine, when the stomach's uneasiness, or
great infirmity of body, requires you to do so. Subdue anger, restrain
enmity, and whatever there may be which gives rise to remorse when it
is done, avoid as an abomination giving rise [224] to immediate sin.
It is fitting that that mind should be very tranquil and quiet, as
well as free from all the tumults of anger, which desires to be the
dwelling-place of God, as he testifies through the prophet, saying,
"Upon [225] what other man shall I rest than upon him who is humble
and quiet, and who trembleth at my words?" Believe that God is a
witness of all thy deeds and thoughts, and take good heed lest you
either do or think anything which is unworthy of the divine eyesight.
When you desire to engage in prayer, show yourself in such a frame of
mind as becomes one who is to speak with the Lord.
Footnotes
[224] "velut proximi criminis abominationem declina": the text and
construction are both very uncertain, so that we can only make a guess
at the meaning.
[225] Isa. lxvi. 2.
Chapter XIX.
When you repeat [226] a psalm, consider whose words you are repeating
and delight yourself more with true contrition of soul, than with the
pleasantness of a trilling voice. For God sets a higher value on the
tears of one thus praising [227] him, than on the beauty of his voice;
as the prophet says, "Serve [228] the Lord with fear, and rejoice with
trembling." Now, where there are fear and trembling, there is no
lifting up of the voice, but humility of mind with lamentation and
tears. Display diligence in all thy doings; for it is written, "Cursed
[229] is the man who carelessly performs the work of the Lord." Let
grace grow in you with years; let righteousness increase with age; and
let your faith appear the more perfect the older you become; for
Jesus, who has left us an example how to live, increased not only in
years as respected his body, but in wisdom and spiritual grace before
God and men. Reckon all the time in which you do not perceive yourself
growing better as positively lost. Maintain to the last that purpose
of virginity which you have formed; for it is the part of virtue not
merely to begin, but to finish, as the Lord says in the Gospel,
"Whosoever [230] shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved."
Beware, therefore, lest you furnish to any one an occasion even of
evil desire, because thy God, betrothed to thee, is jealous; for an
adulteress against Christ is more guilty than one against her husband.
Be thou, therefore, a model of life to all; be an example; and excel
in actual conduct those whom you precede in your consecration [231] to
chastity. Show thyself in all respects a virgin; and let no stain of
corruption be brought as a charge against thy person. And let one
whose body is perfect in its purity be also irreproachable in conduct.
Now, as we said in the beginning of this letter, that you have become
a sacrifice pertaining to God, such a sacrifice as undoubtedly imparts
its own sanctity also to others, that, as every one worthily receives
from it, he himself also may be a partaker of sanctification, so then,
let the other virgins also be sanctified through you, as by means of a
divine offering. Show yourself to them so holy in all things, that,
whosoever comes in contact with thy life, whether by hearing or
seeing, may experience the power of sanctification, and may feel that
such an amount of grace passes to him from your manner of acting,
that, while he desires to imitate thee, he himself becomes worthy of
being a sacrifice devoted to God.
Footnotes
[226] "dicis": the reference seems to be to singing or chanting.
[227] "psallentis."
[228] Ps. ii. 11.
[229] Jer. xlviii. 10.
[230] Matt. x. 22.
[231] The text and meaning are here somewhat uncertain.
.
Letter III.
A Letter of Severus to Holy Paul the Bishop.
After I learned that all thy cooks had given [232] up thy kitchen (I
believe because they felt indignant at having to fulfill the duty
towards cheap dishes of pulse [233] ), I sent a little boy to you out
of our own workshop. He is quite skillful enough to cook pale beans
and to pickle homely beet-root, with vinegar and sauce, as well as to
prepare cheap porridge for the jaws of the hungry monks. He knows
nothing, however, of pepper or of laser, [234] but he is quite at home
with cumin, and is especially clever in plying the noisy mortar with
sweetly smelling plants. He has one fault, that he is no kindly foe to
admit to any garden; for if let in, he will mow down with a sword all
things within his reach, and he will never be satisfied with the
slaughter simply of mallows. However, in furnishing himself with fuel
he will not swindle you. He will burn whatever comes in his way; he
will cut down and not hesitate to lay hands upon buildings, and to
carry off old beams from the household. We present him, then, to you,
with this character and these virtues; and we wish you to regard him
not as a servant, but as a son, because you are not ashamed to be the
father of very small creatures. I myself would have wished to serve
you instead of him; but if good-will may be taken as in some measure
standing for the deed do you only, in return, take care to remember me
amid your breakfasts and delightful dinners because it is more proper
to be your slave, than the master of others. Pray for me. [235]
Footnotes
[232] "renuntiasse."
[233] "pulmentariis": this word generally means some sort of relish,
but here it seems to denote a kind of pottage.
[234] Laser was the juice of a plant called laserpitium.
[235] Clericus remarks, "Jocosa hæc est epistola," but the fun is
certainly of a very ponderous kind. We are, by no means, sure of the
sense in some parts of the letter.
.
Letter IV.
To the Same, on His Wisdom and Gentleness.
The faithful exponent of our holy religion so arranges all things that
no place be found in future for transgressors: for what else do you,
for instance, promise us by so great sanctity of character, than that,
all errors being laid aside, we should lead a blessed life? In this
matter, I see that the greatest praise befits thy virtues, because you
have changed even an uninstructed mind by your exhortations, and drawn
it over to an excellent condition. But it would not seem so wonderful,
if you had simply strengthened educated minds by instilling wisdom
into them; for intelligent men have a sort of relationship to
devotion, but rustic natures are not easily won over to the side of
severity. [236] Just as those who shape the forms of animals out of
stone, undertake a business of a pretty difficult kind, when they
strike very hard rocks with their chisels, while those who make their
attempts on substances of a softer nature feel that their hands are
aided by the ease of fashioning these materials, and it is deemed
proper that the labor of the workman; when difficult, should be held
in the highest honor, so, Sir, singular commendation ought so be given
to you, because you have made unpolished and rustic minds, set free
from the darkness of sin, both to think what is human, and to
understand what is divine.
No less is Xenocrates, by far the most learned of the philosophers,
held in estimation, who succeeded by severe exhortations in having
luxury conquered. For when a certain Polemo, heavy with wine,
staggered openly out of a nocturnal revel at the time when his hearers
were flocking to the school of Xenocrates, he, too, entered the place,
and impudently took his seat among the crowd of disciples, in that
dress in which he had come forth from the banquet. A chaplet of
flowers covered his head, and yet he did not feel ashamed that he
would seem unlike all the others, because, in truth, indulgence in a
long drinking-bout had upset his brains, which are the seat of reason.
As the rest of those there present began to murmur grievously, because
so unsuitable a hearer had found his way in among a multitude of men
of letters, the master himself was not in the slightest degree
disturbed, but, on the contrary, began to discourse on the science of
morals, and the laws of moderation. And so powerful proved the
influence of the teacher that the mind of that impudent intruder was
persuaded to the love of modesty. First of all, then, Polemo, in utter
confusion, took off the chaplet from his head, and professed himself a
disciple. And in course of time he conformed himself so thoroughly to
the duties implied in dignity, and surrendered himself so entirely to
the exhibition of modesty, that a glorious amendment of character
threw a cloak over the habits of his former life. Now we admire this
very thing in your instructions, that, without the use of any threats,
and without having recourse to terrors of any kind, you have turned
infatuated minds to the worship of God; so that even a badly ordered
intellect should believe it preferable [237] to live well and happily
with all, rather than to hold unrighteous opinions with a few.
Footnotes
[236] "crudelitati," which, as Clericus remarks, must here be
equivalent to severitati.
[237] "rectissimum," where rectius might have been expected.
.
Letter V.
To an Unknown Person, Entreating Him to Deal Gently with His Brother.
Although my lord and brother has already begged of your nobleness that
you would see that Tutus should be most [238] safe, yet it has been
allowed to me to commend the same person in a letter, in order that,
by the petition being doubled, he may be held all the safer. For let
it be granted that a youthful fault and error of a yet unsettled age
has injured him, so as to inflict a stain on his early years; still
one, who did not yet know what was due to right conduct, has gone
wrong almost without contracting blame. For when he came to a right
state of mind and to reflection, he understood on better thoughts that
a theatrical life was to be condemned. However, he could not be
completely cleared of his fault, unless he should wash its guilt away
by the aid [239] of Deity, since, by the remedy obtained through the
Catholic religion, changing his views, he has denied himself the
enjoyment of a less honorable place, and has withdrawn himself from
the eyes of the people.
Of the Master as Above. [240]
Since, therefore, both divine and state laws do not permit a faithful
body and sanctified minds to exhibit disgraceful though pleasing
spectacles, and to set forth vulgar means of enjoyment, especially
since an injury seems in some degree to accrue to the chaste
dedication of one's self, in case any one who has been renewed by holy
baptism should fall back upon his old licentiousness, it behooves your
Excellency to show favor to good intentions, so that he who, by the
goodness of God, has entered on a pious duty, should not be forced to
sink into the pitfall of the theatre. He does not, however, refuse
compliance with the judgment of you all, if you enjoin other fitting
actions on his part in behalf of the requirements of our common
country. [241]
Footnotes
[238] There is a play upon the words--"Tutum esse tutissimum."
[239] "divinitatis accessu": the context is almost unintelligible.
[240] This probably denotes that what follows is the substance of the
Master's petition.
[241] Clericus, while accepting most of the letters with which we are
now dealing, doubts, from the difference of style, whether this is an
epistle of Sulpitius. It is certainly very different from his usual
clearness and correctness.
.
Letter VI.
To Salvius: a Complaint that the Country People Were Harassed, and Their
Possessions Plundered.
Forensic excitement ought to be at full heat during the time of
business in the law-courts; for it is fitting that the arms of
industry, as it struggles daily, should display energetic movements.
But when loud-toned eloquence has sounded a retreat, and has retired
to peaceful groves and pleasant dwelling-places, it is right that one
lay aside idle murmurs, and cease to utter ineffectual threats. For we
know that palm-bearing steeds, when they have retired from the circus,
rest with the utmost quietness in their stables. Neither constant fear
nor doubtful palms of victory distress them, but at length, haltered
to the peaceful cribs, they now no longer stand in awe of the master
urging them on, enjoying sweet oblivion of the restless rivalry which
had prevailed. In like manner, let it delight the boastful soldier
after his term of service is completed, to hang up his trophies, and
patiently to bear the burden of age.
But I do not quite understand why you should take a delight in
terrifying miserable husbandmen; and I do not comprehend why you wish
to harass my rustics with the fear of want of sustenance; [242] as if,
indeed, I did not know how to console them, and to deliver them from
fear, and to show them that there is not so great a reason to fear as
you pretend. I confess that, while we were occupied in the plain, I
was often frightened by the arms of your eloquence, but frequently I
returned you corresponding blows, as far as I was able. I certainly
learned along with you, by what right, and in what order, the
husbandmen are demanded back, to whom a legal process is competent,
and to whom the issue of a process is not competent. You say that the
Volusians wished you brought back, and frequently, in your wrath, you
repeat that you will withdraw the country people from my little keep;
and you, the very man, as I hope and desire, bound to me by the ties
of old relationship, now rashly threaten that, casting our agreement
to the winds, you will lay hold upon my men. I ask of your illustrious
knowledge, whether there is one law for advocates, and another for
private persons, whether one thing is just at Rome, and quite another
thing at Matarum.
In the meantime, I do not know that you were ever lord of the Volusian
property, since Dionysius is said to have preserved the right of
possession to it, and he never wanted heirs; who, while he lived, was
accustomed to hurl the envenomed jibes of his low language upon a
multitude of individuals. [243] There was, at that time, one
Porphyrius, the son of Zibberinus, and yet he was not properly named
the son of Zibberinus. He kept hidden, by military service, the
question as to his birth, and, that he might dispel the cloud from his
forehead, he took part in officious services and willing acts of
submission. He was much with me both at home and in the forum, having
often employed me as his defender with my father, and as his advocate
before the judge. Sometimes I even kept back Dionysius, feeling that
he ought not, for the sake of twenty acres to discharge vulgar abuse
upon Porphyrius.
See, here is the reason why thy remarkable prudence threatened my
agents, so that, though you are not the owner of the place, you
everywhere make mention of my husbandmen. But if you give yourself out
as the successor of Porphyrius, you must know that the narrow space of
twenty acres cannot certainly be managed by one cultivator, or, if
mindful of your proper dignity and determined to maintain it, you
shrink from naming yourself the heir of Porphyrius, it is certain and
obvious that he can commence proceedings, [244] to whom the right of
doing so belongs, so as to go to law with those who have no property
in that land. But if you diligently look into the matter, you will see
that the endeavor to recover it most especially devolves on me.
Wherefore, my much esteemed lord and brother, it behooves you to be at
peace, and to return to friendship with me, while you condescend to
come to a private conference. Cease, I pray you, to disturb inactive
and easily frightened persons, and utter your boastful words at a
distance. Believe me, however, that I am delighted with your high
spirit, and by no means offended; for we are neither of a harsh
disposition, nor destitute of learning. Let Maximinus at least render
you gentle. [245]
Footnotes
[242] "exhibitionis formidine"--a strange phrase.
[243] The text is uncertain, and the meaning very obscure.
[244] "posse proponere."
[245] We thoroughly agree with Clericus that this letter is, in style,
more alien even than the preceding from the genuine epistles of
Sulpitius. It is barbarous as regards composition, and in several
places not intelligible.
.
Letter VII.
To an Unknown Person, Begging the Favor of a Letter.
The faith and piety of souls, no doubt, remain, but this should be
made known by the evidence of a letter, in order that an increase of
affection may be gained by such mutual courtesy. For just as a fertile
field cannot bring forth abundant fruits, if its cultivation has been
neglected, and the good qualities of soil are lost through the
indolence of one who rests, instead of working, so I think that the
love and kindly feelings of the mind grow feeble, unless those who are
absent are visited, as if present, by means of a letter. [246]
Footnotes
[246] Most editions add "Deo gratias, Amen."
.
The Sacred History Of Sulpitius Severus.
Book I.
Chapter I.
I address myself to give a condensed account of those things which are
set forth in the sacred Scriptures from the beginning of the world and
to tell of them, with distinction of dates and according to [247]
their importance, down to period within our own remembrance. Many who
were anxious to become acquainted with divine things by means of a
compendious treatise, have eagerly entreated me to undertake this
work. I, seeking to carry out their wish, have not spared my labor,
and have thus succeeded in comprising in two short books things which
elsewhere filled many volumes. At the same time, in studying brevity,
I have omitted hardly any of the facts. Moreover, it seemed to me not
out of place that, after I had run through the sacred history down to
the crucifixion of Christ, and the doings of the Apostles, I should
add an account of events which subsequently took place. I am,
therefore, to tell of the destruction of Jerusalem, the persecutions
of the Christian people, the times of peace which followed, and of all
things again thrown into confusion by the intestine dangers of the
churches. But I will not shrink from confessing that, wherever reason
required, I have made use of profane historians to fix dates and
preserve the series of events unbroken, and have taken out of these
what was wanting to a complete knowledge of the facts, that I might
both instruct the ignorant and carry conviction to the learned.
Nevertheless, as to those things which I have condensed from the
sacred books, I do not wish so to present myself as an author to my
readers, that they, neglecting the source from which my materials have
been derived, should be satisfied with what I have written. My aim is
that one who is already familiar with the original should recognize
here what he has read there; for all the mysteries of divine things
cannot be brought out except from the fountain-head itself. I shall
now enter upon my narrative.
Footnotes
[247] "carptim": such seems to be the meaning of the word here, as
Sigonius has noted. His words are "Carptim--profecto innuit se non
singulas res eodem modo persecuturum, sed quæ memoratu digniores visæ
fuerint, selecturum."
Chapter II.
The world was created by God nearly six [248] thousand years ago, as
we shall set forth in the course of this book; although those who have
entered upon and published a calculation of the dates, but little
agree among themselves. As, however, this disagreement is due either
to the will of God or to the fault of antiquity, it ought not to be a
matter of censure. After the formation of the world man was created,
the male being named Adam, and the female Eve. Having been placed in
Paradise, they ate of the tree from which they were interdicted, and
therefore were cast forth as exiles into our earth. [249] To them were
born Cain and Abel; but Cain, being an impious man, slew his brother.
He had a son called Enoch, by whom a city was first built, [250] and
was called after the name of its founder. From him Irad, and from him
again Maüiahel was descended. He had a son called Mathusalam, and he,
in turn, begat Lamech, by whom a young man is said to have been slain,
without, however, the name of the slain man being mentioned--a fact
which is thought by the wise to have presaged a future mystery. Adam,
then, after the death of his younger son, begat another son called
Seth, when he was now two hundred and thirty years old: he lived
altogether eight hundred and thirty years. Seth begat Enos, Enos
Cainan, Cainan Malaleel, Malaleel Jared, and Jared Enoch, who on
account of his righteousness is said to have been translated by God.
His son was called Mathusalam who begat Lamech; from whom Noah was
descended, remarkable for his righteousness, and above all other
mortals dear and acceptable to God. When by this time the human race
had increased to a great multitude, certain angels, whose habitation
was in heaven, were captivated by the appearance of some beautiful
virgins, and cherished illicit desires after them, so much so, that
falling beneath their own proper nature and origin, they left the
higher regions of which they were inhabitants, and allied themselves
in earthly marriages. These angels gradually spreading wicked habits,
corrupted the human family, and from their alliance giants are said to
have sprung, for the mixture with them of beings of a different
nature, as a matter of course, gave birth to monsters.
Footnotes
[248] Sulpitius follows the Greek version, which ascribes many more
years to the fathers of mankind than does the original Hebrew.
[249] Many of the ancients (among whom our author is apparently to be
reckoned) believed that Paradise was situated outside our world
altogether.
[250] An obvious mistake. The first city was built, not by Enoch but
by Cain. Gen. iv. 17.
Chapter III.
God being offended by these things, and especially by the wickedness
of mankind, which had gone beyond measure, had determined to destroy
the whole human race. But he exempted Noah, a righteous man and of
blameless life, from the destined doom. He being warned by God that a
flood was coming upon the earth, built an ark of wood of immense size,
and covered it with pitch so as to render it impervious to water. He
was shut into it along with his wife, and his three sons and his three
daughters-in-law. Pairs of birds also and of the different kinds of
beasts were likewise received into it, while all the rest were cut off
by a flood. Noah then, when he understood that the violence of the
rain had ceased, and that the ark was quietly floating on the deep,
thinking (as really was the case) that the waters were decreasing,
sent forth first a raven for the purpose of enquiring into the matter,
and on its not returning, having settled, as I conjecture, on the dead
bodies, he then sent forth a dove. It, not finding a place of rest,
returned to him and being again sent out, it brought back an olive
leaf, in manifest proof that the tops of the trees were now to be
seen. Then being sent forth a third time, it returned no more, from
which it was understood that the waters had subsided; and Noah
accordingly went out from the ark. This was done, as I reckon, two
thousand two hundred [251] and forty-two years after the beginning of
the world.
Footnotes
[251] After the LXX, as usual.
Chapter IV.
Then Noah first of all erected an altar to God, and offered sacrifices
from among the birds. [252] Immediately afterwards he was blessed by
God along with his sons, and received a command that he should not eat
blood, or shed the blood of any human being, because Cain, having no
such precept, had stained the first age of the world. Accordingly, the
sons of Noah were alone left in the then vacant world; for he had
three, Shem, Ham, and Japhet. But Ham, because he had mocked his
father when senseless with wine, incurred his father's curse. His son,
Chas by name, begat the giant Nebroth, [253] by whom the city of
Babylon is said to have been built. Many other towns are related to
have been founded at that time, which I do not here intend to name one
by one. But although the human race was now multiplied, and men
occupied different places and islands, nevertheless all made use of
one tongue, as long as the multitude, afterwards to be scattered
through the whole world, kept itself in one body. These, after the
manner of human nature, formed the design of obtaining a great name by
constructing some great work before they should be separated from one
another. They therefore attempted to build a tower which should reach
up to heaven. But by the ordination of God, in order that the labors
of those engaged in the work might be hindered, they began to speak in
a kind of languages very different from their accustomed form of
speech, while no one understood the others. This led to their being
all the more readily dispersed, because, regarding each other as
foreigners, they were easily induced to separate. And the world was so
divided to the sons of Noah, that Shem occupied the East, Japhet the
West, and Ham the intermediate parts. After this, till the time of
Abraham, [254] their genealogy presented nothing very remarkable or
worthy of record.
Footnotes
[252] Not of birds only, but other animals also. Gen. viii. 20.
[253] This is the Nimrod of the A.V.; he is called Nebrod by the LXX.
We have, for the most part, given the proper names as they appear in
the edition of Halm.
[254] Such is the form of the name as given by Halm, though Abram
would be expected.
Chapter V.
Abraham, whose father was Thara, was born in the one thousand and
seventeenth year after the deluge. His wife was called Sara, and his
dwelling-place was at first in the country [255] of the Chaldæans. He
then dwelt along with his father at Charræ. Being at this time spoken
to by God, he left his country and his father, and taking with him
Lot, the son of his brother, he came into the country of the
Canaanites, and settled at a place named Sychem. Ere long, owing to
the want of corn, he went into Egypt, and again returned. Lot, owing
to the size of the household, parted from his uncle, that he might
take advantage of more spacious territories in what was then a vacant
region, and settled at Sodom. That town was infamous on account of its
inhabitants, males forcing themselves upon males, and it is said on
that account to have been hateful to God. At that period the kings of
the neighboring peoples were in arms, though previously there had been
no [256] war among mankind. But the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and of
the adjacent territories went forth to battle against those who were
making war upon the regions round about, and being routed at the first
onset, yielded the victory to the opposite side. Then Sodom was
plundered and made a spoil of by the victorious enemy, while Lot was
led into captivity. When Abraham heard of this, he speedily armed his
servants, to the number of three hundred and eighteen, and, stripping
of their spoils and arms the kings flushed with victory, he put them
to flight. Then he was blessed by Melchisedech the priest, and gave
him tithes of the spoil. He restored the remainder to those from whom
it had been taken.
Footnotes
[255] The LXX has chora, instead of Ur.
[256] A most improbable statement.
Chapter VI.
At the same time God spoke to Abraham, and promised that his seed was
to be multiplied as the sand of the sea; and that his predicted seed
would live in a land not his own, while his posterity would endure
slavery in a hostile country for four hundred years, but would
afterwards be restored to liberty. Then his name was changed, as well
as that of his wife, by the addition of one letter; so that instead of
Abram [257] he was called Abraham, and, instead of Sara, she was
called Sarra. The mystery involved in this is by no means trifling,
but it is not the part of this work to treat of it. At the same time,
the law of circumcision was enjoined on Abraham, and he had by a
maid-servant a son called Ishmael. Moreover, when he himself was a
hundred years old, and his wife ninety, God promised that they should
have a son Isaac, the Lord having come to him along with two angels.
Then the angels being sent to Sodom, found Lot sitting in the gate of
the city. He supposed them to be human beings, and welcomed them to
share in his hospitality, and provided an entertainment for them in
his house, but the wicked youth of the town demanded the new arrivals
for impure purposes. Lot offered them his daughters in place of his
guests, but they did not accept the offer, having a desire rather for
things forbidden, and then Lot himself was laid hold of with vile
designs. The angels, however, speedily rescued him from danger, by
causing blindness to fall upon the eyes of these unchaste sinners.
Then Lot, being informed by his guests that the town was to be
destroyed, went away from it with his wife and daughters; but they
were commanded not to look back upon it. His wife, however, not
obeying this precept (in accordance with that evil tendency of human
nature which renders it difficult to abstain from things forbidden),
turned back her eyes, and is said to have been at once changed into a
monument. As for Sodom, it was burned to ashes by fire from heaven.
And the daughters of Lot, imagining that the whole human race had
perished, sought a union with their father while he was intoxicated,
and hence sprung the race of Moab and Ammon.
Footnotes
[257] In the Greek of the LXX. the name appears as Abraam, so that, as
our author says, there is only a change of one letter.
Chapter VII.
Almost at the same time, when Abraham was now a hundred years old, his
son Isaac was born. Then Sara expelled the maid-servant by whom
Abraham had had a son; and she is said to have dwelt in the desert
along with her son, and defended by the help of God. Not long after
this, God tried the faith of Abraham, and required that his son Isaac
should be sacrificed to him by his father. Abraham did not hesitate to
offer him, and had already laid the lad upon the altar, and was
drawing the sword to slay him, when a voice came from heaven
commanding him to spare the young man; and a ram was found at hand to
be for a victim. When the sacrifice was offered, God spoke to Abraham,
and promised him those things which he had already said he would
bestow. But Sara died in her one hundred and twenty-seventh year, and
her body was, through the care of her husband, buried in Hebron, a
town of the Canaanites, for Abraham was staying in that place. Then
Abraham, seeing that his son Isaac was now of youthful [258] age, for
he was, in fact, in his fortieth year, enjoined his servant to seek a
wife for him, but only from that tribe and territory from which he
himself was known to be descended. He was instructed, however, on
finding the girl, to bring her into the land of the Canaanites, and
not to suppose that Isaac would return into the country of his father
for the purpose of obtaining a wife. In order that the servant might
carry out those instructions zealously, Abraham administered an oath
to him, while his hand rested on the thigh of his master. The servant
accordingly set out for Mesopotamia, and came to the town of Nachor,
the brother of Abraham. He entered into the house of Bathuel, the
Syrian, son of Nachor; and having seen Rebecca, a beautiful virgin,
the daughter of Nachor, he asked for her, and brought her to his
master. After this, Abraham took a wife named Kethurah, who is called
in the Chronicles his concubine, and begat children by her. But he
left his possessions to Isaac, the son of Sara, while, at the same
time, he distributed gifts to those whom he had begotten by his
concubines; and thus they were separated from Isaac. Abraham died
after a life of a hundred and seventy-five years; and his body was
laid in the tomb of Sara his wife.
Footnotes
[258] "juvenilis ætatis": the meaning is that he ceased to be a mere
adolescens, and had reached the flower of his age.
Chapter VIII.
Now, Rebecca, having long been barren, at length, through the
unceasing prayers of her husband to the Lord, brought forth twins
about twenty years after the time of her marriage. These are said to
have often leaped [259] in the womb of their mother; and it was
announced by the answer of the Lord on this subject, that two peoples
were foretold in these children, and that the elder would, in rank, be
inferior to the younger. Well, the first that was born, bristling over
with hair, was called Esau, while Jacob was the name given to the
younger. At that time, a grievous famine had taken place. Under the
pressure of this necessity, Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech,
having been warned by the Lord not to go down into Egypt. There he is
promised the possession of the whole land, and is blessed, and having
been greatly increased in cattle and every kind of substance, he is,
under the influence of envy, driven out by the inhabitants. Thus
expelled from that region, he sojourned by the well, known as "the
well [260] of the oath." By and by, being advanced in years, and his
eyesight being gone, as he made ready to bless his son Esau, Jacob
through the counsel of his mother, Rebecca, presented himself to be
blessed in the place of his brother. Thus Jacob is set before his
brother as the one to be honored by the princes and the peoples. Esau,
enraged by these occurrences, plotted the death of his brother. Jacob,
owing to the fear thus excited, and by the advice of his mother, fled
into Mesopotamia, having been urged by his father to take a wife of
the house of Laban, Rebecca's brother: so great was their care, while
they dwelt in a strange country, that their children should marry
within their own kindred. Thus Jacob, setting out for Mesopotamia, is
said in sleep to have had a vision of the Lord; and on that account
regarding the place of his dream as sacred, he took a stone from it;
and he vowed that, if he returned in prosperity, the name [261] of the
pillar should be the "house of the Lord," and that he would devote to
God the tithes of all the possessions he had gained. Then he betook
himself to Laban, his mother's brother, and was kindly received by him
to share in his hospitality as the acknowledged son of his sister.
Footnotes
[259] So in LXX.
[260] This is the meaning of the Hebrew word, Beersheba.
[261] "Titulum sibi domus Dei futurum": the rendering of the Hebrew
original is here obviously faulty, and the words, as they stand, are
scarcely intelligible.
Chapter IX.
Laban had two daughters, Leah and Rachel; but Leah had tender eyes,
while Rachel is said to have been beautiful. Jacob, captivated by her
beauty, burned with love for the virgin, and, asking her in marriage
from the father, gave himself up to a servitude of seven years. But
when the time was fulfilled, Leah was foisted upon him, and he was
subjected to another servitude of seven years, after which Rachel was
given him. But we are told that she was long barren, while Leah was
fruitful. Of the sons whom Jacob had by Leah, the following are the
names: Reuben, Symeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, and a daughter
Dinah; while there were born to him by the handmaid of Leah, Gad and
Asher, and by the handmaid of Rachel, Dan and Naphtali. But Rachel,
after she had despaired of offspring, bare Joseph. Then Jacob, being
desirous of returning to his father, when Laban his father-in-law had
given him a portion of the flock as a reward for his service, and
Jacob the son-in-law, thinking him not to be acting justly in that
matter, while he [also] suspected deceit on his part, privately
departed about the thirtieth year after his arrival. Rachel, without
the knowledge of her husband, stole the idols [262] of her father, and
on account of this injury Laban followed his son-in-law, but not
finding his idols, returned, after being reconciled, having straitly
charged his son-in-law not to take other wives in addition to his
daughters. Then Jacob, going on his way, is said to have had a vision
of angels and of the army [263] of the Lord. But, as he directed his
journey past the region of Edom, which his brother Esau inhabited,
suspecting the temper of Esau, he first sent messengers and gifts to
try him. Then he went to meet his brother, but Jacob took care not to
trust him beyond what he could help. On the day before the brothers
were to meet, God, taking a human form, is said to have wrestled with
Jacob. And when he had prevailed with God, still he was not ignorant
that his adversary was no mere mortal; and therefore begged to be
blessed by him. Then his name was changed by God, so that from Jacob
he was called Israel. But when he, in turn, inquired of God the name
of God, he was told that that should not be asked after because it was
wonderful. [264] Moreover, from that wrestling, the breadth [265] of
Jacob's thigh shrank.
Footnotes
[262] eidola is the Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew word Teraphim.
Perhaps the original word should simply be transliterated into English
as has been done in the Revised Version.
[263] The rendering of the LXX.
[264] "Admirabile."
[265] "Latitudo": Vorstius says this refers to the broad bone, or
broad nerve of the thigh.
Chapter X.
Israel, therefore, avoiding the house of his brother, sent forward his
company to Salem, a town of the Shechemites, and there he pitched his
tent on a spot which he had purchased. Emor, a Chorræan prince, was
the ruler of that town. His son Sychem defiled Dinah, the daughter of
Jacob by Leah. Symeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, discovering
this, cut off by a stratagem all those of the male sex in the town,
and thus terribly avenged the injury done to their sister. The town
was plundered by the sons of Jacob, and all the spoil carried off.
Jacob is said to have been much displeased with these proceedings.
Soon after being instructed by God, he went to Bethel, and there
erected an altar to God. Then he fixed his tent in a part of the
territory belonging to the tower [266] Gader. Rachel died in
childbirth: the boy she bore was called Benjamin. Israel died at the
age of one hundred and eighty years. Now, Esau was mighty in wealth,
and had taken to himself wives of the nation of the Canaanites. I do
not think that, in a work so concise as the present, I am called upon
to mention his descendants, and, if any one is curious on the subject,
he may turn to the original. After the death of his father, Jacob
stayed on in the place where Isaac had lived. His other sons
occasionally left him along with the flocks, for the sake of
pasturage, but Joseph and the little Benjamin remained at home. Joseph
was much beloved by his father, and on that account was hated by his
brethren. There was this further cause for their aversion, that by
frequent dreams of his it seemed to be indicated that he would be
greater than all of them. Accordingly, having been sent by his father
to inspect the flocks and pay a visit to his brothers, there seemed to
them a fitting opportunity for doing him harm. For, on seeing their
brother, they took counsel to slay him. But Reuben, whose mind
shuddered at the contemplation of such a crime, opposing their plan,
Joseph was let down into a well. [267] Afterwards, by the persuasions
of Judah, they were brought to milder measures, and sold him to
merchants, who were on their way to Egypt. And by them he was
delivered to Petifra, a governor of Pharaoh.
Footnotes
[266] "In parte turris Gadir": this is a strange rendering of the
Hebrew. The LXX has "beyond the tower Gader"; while the Revised
English Version has "beyond the tower of Eder."
[267] "Lacum."
Chapter XI.
About this same time, Judah, the son of Jacob, took in marriage Sava,
[268] a woman of Canaan. By her he had three sons,--Her, Onan, and
Sela. Her was allied by concubinage [269] to Thamar. On his death,
Onan took his brother's wife; and he is related to have been destroyed
by God, because he spilled his seed upon the earth. Then Thamar,
assuming the garb of a harlot, united with her brother-in-law, and
bore him two sons. But when she brought them forth, there was this
remarkable fact, that, when on one of the boys being born, the midwife
had bound his hand with a scarlet thread to indicate which of them was
born first, he, drawing back again into the womb of his mother, was
born [270] the last boy of the two. The names of Fares and Zarah were
given to the children. But Joseph, being kindly treated by the royal
governor who had obtained him for a sum of money, and having been made
manager of his house and family, had drawn the eyes of his master's
wife upon himself through his remarkable beauty. And as she was madly
laboring under that base passion, she made advances to him oftener
than once, and when he would not yield to her desires, she disgraced
him by the imputation of a false crime, and complained to her husband
that he had made an attempt upon her virtue. Accordingly, Joseph was
thrown into prison. There were in the same place of confinement two of
the king's servants, who made known their dreams to Joseph, and he,
interpreting these as bearing upon the future, declared that one of
them would be put to death, and the other would be pardoned. And so it
came to pass. Well, after the lapse of two years, the king also had a
dream. And when this could not be explained by the wise men among the
Egyptians, that servant of the king who was liberated from prison
informs the king that Joseph was a wonderful interpreter of dreams.
Accordingly, Joseph was brought out of prison, and interpreted to the
king his dream, to this effect, that, for the next seven years, there
would be the greatest fertility in the land; but in those that
followed, famine. The king being alarmed by this terror, and seeing
that there was a divine spirit in Joseph, set him over the department
of food-supply, and made him equal with himself in the government.
Then Joseph, while corn was abundant throughout all Egypt, gathered
together an immense quantity, and, by increasing the number of
granaries, took measures against the future famine. At that time, the
hope and safety of Egypt were placed in him alone. About the same
period, Aseneh bore him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. He himself,
when he received the chief power from the king, was thirty years old;
for he was sold by his brothers when he was seventeen years of age.
Footnotes
[268] Called Shuah in A.V.
[269] Or perhaps, rather, marriage of a sort, as appears from what
follows.
[270] A different reading gives, "was born on the following day."
Chapter XII.
In the mean time, affairs having been well settled in Egypt to meet
the famine, a grievous want of corn began to distress the world.
Jacob, constrained by this necessity, sent his sons into Egypt,
keeping only Benjamin with himself at home. Joseph, then, being at the
head of affairs, and having complete power over the corn-supplies, his
brothers come to him, and pay the same honor to him as to a king. He,
when he saw them, craftily concealed his recognition of them, and
accused them of having come as enemies, subtly to spy out the land.
But he was annoyed that he did not see among them his brother
Benjamin. Matters, then, are brought to this point, that they promised
he should be present, specially that he might be asked whether they
had entered Egypt for the purpose of spying out the land. In order to
secure the fulfillment of this promise, Symeon was retained as
hostage, while to them corn was given freely. Accordingly, they
returned, bringing Benjamin with them as had been arranged. Then
Joseph made himself known to his brothers to the shame of these
evil-deservers. Thus, he sent them home again, laden with corn, and
presented with many gifts, forewarning them that there were still five
years of famine to come, and advising them to come down with their
father, their children, and their whole connections to Egypt. So Jacob
went down to Egypt, to the great joy of the Egyptians and of the king
himself, while he was tenderly welcomed by his son. That took place in
the hundred and thirtieth year of the life of Jacob, and one thousand
three hundred and sixty years [271] after the deluge. But from the
time when Abraham settled in the land of the Canaanites, to that when
Jacob entered Egypt, there are to be reckoned two hundred and fifteen
years. After this, Jacob, in the seventeenth year of his residence in
Egypt, suffering severely from illness, entreated Joseph to see his
remains placed in the tomb. Then Joseph presented his sons to be
blessed; [272] and when this had been done, but so that he set the
younger before the elder as to the value of the blessing given, Jacob
then blessed all his sons in order. He died at the age of one hundred
and forty-seven years. His funeral was of a most imposing character,
and Joseph laid his remains in the tomb of his fathers. He continued
to treat his brothers with kindness, although, after the death of
their father, they felt alarmed from a consciousness of the wrong they
had done. Joseph himself died in his one hundred and tenth year.
Footnotes
[271] The chronology of the LXX is, as usual, here followed.
[272] The original is, "quibus benedictis, cum tamen benedictionis
merito majori minorem præposuisset, filios omnes benedictione
lustravit."
Chapter XIII.
It is almost incredible to relate how the Hebrews who had come down
into Egypt so soon increased in numbers, and filled Egypt with their
numerous descendants. But on the death of the king, who kindly
cherished them on account of the services of Joseph, they were kept
down by the government of the succeeding kings. For both the heavy
labor of building cities was laid upon them, and because their
abounding numbers were now feared, lest some day they should secure
their independence by arms, they were compelled by a royal edict to
drown their newly-born male children. And no permission was granted to
evade this cruel order. Well, at that time, the daughter of Pharaoh
found an infant in the river, and caused it to be brought up as her
own son, giving the boy the name of Moses. This Moses, when he had
come to manhood, saw a Hebrew being assaulted by an Egyptian; and,
filled with sorrow at the sight, he delivered his brother from injury,
and killed the Egyptian with a stone. Soon after, fearing punishment
on account of what he had done, he fled into the land of Midian, and,
taking up his abode with Jothor the priest of that district, he
received his daughter Sepphora in marriage, who bore him two sons,
Gersam and Eliezer. At this epoch lived Job, who had acquired both the
knowledge of God and all righteousness simply from the law [273] of
nature. He was exceedingly rich, and on that account all the more
illustrious, because he was neither corrupted by that wealth while it
remained entire, nor perverted by it when it was lost. For, when,
through the agency of the devil, he was stripped of his goods,
deprived of his children, and finally covered in his own person with
terrible boils, he could not be broken down, so as, from impatience of
his sufferings, in any way, to commit sin. At length he obtained the
reward of the divine approval, and being restored to health, he got
back doubled all that he had lost.
Footnotes
[273] This somewhat remarkable statement is supported by the text of
Halm, who reads, "lege naturæ." But other editions have "legem
naturæ," and the meaning will then be "who had learned the law of
nature, and the knowledge of God," &c.
Chapter XIV.
But the Hebrews, oppressed by the multiplied evils of slavery,
directed their complaints to heaven, and cherished the hope of
assistance from God. Then, as Moses was feeding his sheep, suddenly a
bush appeared to him burning, but, what was surprising, the flames did
it no harm. Astonished at such an extraordinary sight, he drew nearer
to the bush, and immediately God spoke to him in words to this effect,
that he was the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that he desired
that their descendants, who were kept down under the tyranny of the
Egyptians, should be delivered from their sufferings, and that he,
therefore, should go to the king of Egypt, and present himself as a
leader for restoring them to liberty. When he hesitated, God
strengthened him with power, and imparted to him the gift of working
miracles. Thus Moses, going into Egypt, after he had first performed
miracles in the presence of his own people, and having associated his
brother Aaron with him, went to the king, declaring that he had been
sent by God, and that he now told him in the words of God to let the
Hebrew people go. But the king, affirming that he did not know the
Lord, refused to obey the command addressed to him. And when Moses, in
proof that the orders he issued were from God, changed his rod into a
serpent, [274] and soon after convened all the water into blood, while
he filled the whole land with frogs, as the Chaldæans were doing
similar things, the king declared that the wonders performed by Moses
were simply due to the arts of magic, and not to the power of God,
until the land was covered with stinging insects brought over it, when
the Chaldæans confessed that this was done by the divine majesty. Then
the king, constrained by his sufferings, called to him Moses and
Aaron, and gave the people liberty to depart, provided that the
calamity brought upon the kingdom were removed. But, after the
suffering was put an end to, his mind, having no control over itself
returned to its former state, and did not allow the Israelites to
depart, as had been agreed upon. Finally, however, he was broken down
and conquered by the ten plagues which were sent upon his person and
his kingdom.
Footnotes
[274] "Draconem."
Chapter XV.
But on the day [275] before the people went out of Egypt, being as yet
unacquainted with dates, they were instructed by the command of God to
acknowledge that month which was then passing by as the first of all
months; and were told that the sacrifice of the day was to be solemnly
and regularly offered in coming ages, so that, on the fourteenth day
of the month, a lamb without blemish, one year old, should be slain as
a victim, and that the door-posts should be sprinkled with its blood;
that its flesh was wholly to be eaten, but not a bone of it was to be
broken; that they should abstain from what was leavened for seven
days, using only unleavened bread; and that they should hand down the
observance to their posterity. Thus the people went forth rich, both
by their own wealth, and still more by the spoils of Egypt. Their
number had grown from those seventy-five [276] Hebrews, who had first
gone down into Egypt, to six hundred thousand men. Now, there had
elapsed from the time when Abraham first reached the land of the
Canaanites a period of four hundred and thirty years, but from the
deluge a period of five hundred and seventy-five [277] years. Well, as
they went forth in haste, a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of
fire by night, marched before them. But since, owing to the fact that
the gulf of the Red Sea lay between, the way led by [278] the land of
the Philistines, in order that an opportunity might not afterwards be
offered to the Hebrews, shrinking from the desert, of returning into
Egypt by a well-known road through a continuous land-journey, by the
command of God they turned aside, and journeyed towards the Red Sea,
where they stopped and pitched their camp. When it was announced to
the king that the Hebrew people, through mistaking the road, had come
to have the sea right before them, and that they had no means of
escape since the deep would prevent them, vexed and furious that so
many thousand men should escape from his kingdom and power, he hastily
led forth his army. And already the arms, and standards, and the lines
drawn up in the widespreading plains were visible, when, as the
Hebrews were in a state of terror, and gazing up to heaven, Moses
being so instructed by God, struck the sea with his rod, and divided
it. Thus a road was opened to the people as on firm land, the waters
giving way on both sides. Nor did the king of Egypt hesitate to follow
the Israelites going forward, for he entered the sea where it had
opened; and, as the waters speedily came together again, he, with all
his host, was destroyed.
Footnotes
[275] Such is Halm's reading; another is simply "before."
[276] The Hebrew text has "seventy," but our author, as usual, follows
the LXX.
[277] Again after the LXX.
[278] The text here is uncertain and obscure.
Chapter XVI.
Then Moses, exulting in the safety of his own people, and in the
destruction of the enemy, by such a miracle, [279] sang a song of
praise to God, and the whole multitude, both of males and females,
took part in it. But, after they had entered the desert, and advanced
a journey of three days, want of water distressed them; and, when it
was found, it proved of no use on account of its bitterness. And then
for the first time the stubbornness of the impatient people showed
itself, and burst forth against Moses; when, as instructed by God, he
cast some wood into the waters, and its power was such that it
rendered the taste of the fluid sweet. Thence advancing, the multitude
found at Elim twelve fountains of waters, with seventy palm-trees, and
there they encamped. Again the people, complaining of famine, heaped
reproaches upon Moses, and longed for the slavery of Egypt,
accompanied as it was with abundance to please their appetite, when a
flock of quails was divinely sent, and filled the camp. Besides, on
the following day, those who had gone forth from the camp perceived
that the ground was covered with a sort of pods, [280] the appearance
of which was like a coriander-seed of snowy whiteness, as we often see
the earth in the winter months covered with the hoar-frost that has
been spread over it. Then the people were informed, through Moses,
that this bread had been sent them by the gift of God; that every one
should gather in vessels prepared for the purpose only so much of it
as would be sufficient for each, according to their number, during one
day; but that on the sixth day they should gather double, because it
was not lawful to collect it on the Sabbath. The people, however, as
they were never prone to obedience, did not, in accordance with human
nature, restrain their desires, providing in their stores not merely
for one, but also for the following day. But that which was thus laid
up swarmed with worms, while its fetid odor was dreadful, yet that
which was laid up on the sixth day with a view to the Sabbath remained
quite untainted. The Hebrews made use of this food for forty years;
its taste was very like that of honey; and its name is handed down as
being manna. Moreover, as an abiding witness to the divine gift, Moses
is related to have laid up a full gomer of it in a golden vessel.
Footnotes
[279] "Virtute."
[280] This is a somewhat strange description of the manna. Hornius
remarks upon it that there may be a reference to the dew in which the
Hebrews believed the manna to have been enveloped, but that seems a
far-fetched explanation.
Chapter XVII.
The people going on from thence, and being again tried with want of
water, hardly restrained themselves from destroying their leader. Then
Moses, under divine orders, striking with his rod the rock at the
place which is called Horeb, brought forth an abundant supply of
water. But when they came to Raphidin, the Amalekites destroyed
numbers of the people by their attacks. Moses, leading out his men to
battle, placed Joshua at the head of the army; and, in company with
Aaron and Hur, was himself simply to be a spectator of the fight,
while, at the same time, for the purpose of praying to the Lord, he
went up to the top of a mountain. But when the armies had met with
doubtful issue, through the prayers of Moses, Joshua slew the enemy
until nightfall. At the same time, Jothor, Moses' father-in-law, with
his daughter Sepphora (who, having been married to Moses, had remained
at home when her husband went into Egypt), and his children, having
learned the things which were being done by Moses, came to him. By his
advice Moses divided the people into various ranks; and, setting
tribunes, centurions, and decurions [281] over them, thus furnished a
mode of discipline and order to posterity. Jothor then returned to his
own country, while the Israelites came on to Mount Sinai. There Moses
was admonished by the Lord that the people should be sanctified, since
they were to hearken to the words of God; and that was carefully seen
to. But when God rested on the mountain, the air was shaken with the
loud sounds of trumpets, and thick clouds rolled around with frequent
flashes of lightning. But Moses and Aaron were on the top of the
mountain beside the Lord, while the people stood around the bottom of
the mountain. Thus a law was given, manifold and full of the words of
God, and frequently repeated; but if any one is desirous of knowing
particulars regarding it, he must consult the original, as we here
only briefly touch upon it. "There shall not be," said God, "any
strange gods among you, but ye shall worship me alone; thou shalt not
make to time any idol; thou shalt not take the name of thy God in
vain; thou shalt do no work upon the Sabbath; honor thy father and thy
mother; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou
shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor; thou shalt not covet anything belonging to thy neighbor."
Footnotes
[281] These words denote what is expressed in the Greek, "rulers of
thousands, of hundreds, and of tens."
Chapter XVIII.
These things being said by God, while the trumpets uttered their
voices, the lamps blazed, and smoke covered the mountain, the people
trembled from terror; and begged of Moses that God should speak to him
alone, and that he would report to the people what he thus heard. Now,
the commandments of God to Moses were as follows: A Hebrew servant
purchased with money shall serve six years, and after that he shall be
free; but his ear shall be bored, should he willingly remain in
slavery. Whosoever slays a man shall be put to death; he who does so
unwittingly shall in due form be banished. Whosoever shall beat his
father or his mother, and utter evil sayings against them, shall
suffer death. If any one sell a Hebrew who has been stolen, he shall
be put to death. If any one strike his own man-servant or maidservant,
and he or she die of the blow, he shall be put on his trial for doing
so. If any one cause a woman [282] to miscarry, he shall be put to
death. If any one knock out the eye or the tooth of his servant, that
servant shall receive his liberty in due form. If a bull kill a man,
it shall be stoned; and if its master, knowing the vicious temper of
the animal, did not take precautions in connection with it, he also
shall be stoned, or shall redeem himself by a price as large as the
accuser shall demand. If a bull kill a servant, money to the amount of
thirty double-drachmas shall be paid to his master. If any one does
not cover up a pit which has been dug, and an animal fall into that
pit, he shall pay the price of the animal to its master. If a bull
kill the bull of another man, the animal shall be sold, and the two
masters shall share the price; they shall also divide the animal that
has been killed. But if a master, knowing the vicious temper of the
bull, did not take precautions in connection with it, he shall give up
the bull. If any one steals a calf, he shall restore five; if he
steals a sheep, the penalty shall be fourfold; and if the animals be
found alive in the hands of him who drove them off, he shall restore
double. It shall be lawful to kill a thief by night, but not one by
day. If the cattle of any one has eaten up the corn of another, the
master of the cattle shall restore what has been destroyed. If a
deposit disappears, he, in whose hands it was deposited, shall swear
that he has not been guilty of any deceit. A thief who is caught shall
pay double. An animal given in trust, if devoured by a wild beast,
shall not be made good. If any one defile a virgin not yet betrothed,
he shall bestow a dowry on the girl, and thus take her to wife; but,
if the father of the girl shall refuse to give her in marriage, then
the ravisher shall give her a dowry. If any one shall join himself to
a beast, he shall be put to death. Let him who sacrifices to idols
perish. The widow and orphan are not to be oppressed; the poor debtor
is not to be hardly treated, nor is usury to be demanded: the garment
of the poor is not to be taken as a pledge. A ruler of the people is
not to be evil spoken of. All the first-born are to be offered to God.
Flesh taken from a wild beast is not to be eaten. Agreements to bear
false witness, or for any evil purpose, are not to be made. Thou shalt
not pass by any animal of thine enemy which has strayed, but shalt
bring it back. If you find an animal of your enemy fallen down under a
burden, it will be your duty to raise it up. Thou shalt not slay the
innocent and the righteous. Thou shalt not justify the wicked for
rewards. Gifts are not to be accepted. A stranger is to be kindly
treated. Work is to be done on six days: rest is to be taken on the
Sabbath. The crops of the seventh year are not to be reaped, but are
to be left for the poor and needy.
Footnotes
[282] Some words seem to have been lost here.
Chapter XIX.
Moses reported these words of God to the people, and placed an altar
of twelve stones at the foot of the mountain. Then he again ascended
the mountain on which the Lord had taken his place, bringing with him
Aaron, Nabad, and seventy of the elders. But these were not able to
look upon the Lord; nevertheless, they saw the place [283] in which
God stood, whose form is related to have been wonderful, and his
splendor glorious. Now, Moses, having been called by God, entered the
inner cloud which had gathered round about God, and is related to have
remained there forty days and forty nights. During this time, he was
taught in the words of God about building the tabernacle and the ark,
and about the ritual of sacrifice-things which I, as they were
obviously told at great length, have not thought proper to be inserted
in such a concise work as the present. But as Moses stayed away a long
time, since he spent forty days in the presence of the Lord, the
people, despairing of his return, compelled Aaron to construct images.
Then, out of metals which had been melted together, there came forth
the head of a calf. The people, unmindful of God, having offered
sacrifices to this, and given themselves up to eating and drinking,
God, looking upon these things, would in his righteous indignation,
have destroyed the wicked people, had he not been entreated by Moses'
not to do so. But Moses, on his return, bringing down the two tables
of stone which had been written by the hand of God, and seeing the
people devoted to luxury and sacrilege, broke the tables, thinking the
nation unworthy of having the law of the Lord delivered to them. He
then called around himself the Levites, who had been assailed with
many insults, and commanded them to smite the people with drawn
swords. In this onset twenty-three thousand [284] men are said to have
been slain. Then Moses set up the tabernacle outside the camp; and, as
often as he entered it, the pillar of cloud was observed to stand
before the door; and God spoke, face to face, with Moses. But when
Moses entreated that he might see the Lord in his peculiar majesty, he
was answered that the form of God could not be seen by mortal eyes;
yet it was allowed to see his back parts; and the tables which Moses
had formerly broken were constructed afresh. And Moses is reported,
during this conference with God, to have stayed forty days with the
Lord. Moreover, when he descended from the mountain, bringing with him
the tables, his face shone with so great brightness, that the people
were not able to look upon him. It was arranged, therefore, that when
he was to make known to them the commands of God, he covered his face
with a veil, and thus spoke to the people in the words of God. In this
part of the history an account is given [285] of the tabernacle, and
the building of its inner parts. Which having been finished, the cloud
descended from above, and so overshadowed the tabernacle that it
prevented Moses himself from entering. These are the principal matters
contained in the two books of Genesis and Exodus.
Footnotes
[283] The Hebrew text is here different.
[284] Curiously enough, our author here reads, "twenty-three
thousand," in opposition alike to the Greek and Hebrew text, both of
which have "three thousand."
[285] Halm here reads "referetur," but "refertur," another reading,
seems preferable.
Chapter XX.
Then follows the book of Leviticus, in which the precepts bearing upon
sacrifice are set forth; commandments also are added to the law
formerly given; and almost the whole is full of instructions connected
with the priests. If any one wishes to become acquainted with these,
he will obtain fuller information from that source. For we, keeping
within the limits of the work undertaken, touch upon the history only.
The tribe of Levi, then, being set apart for the priesthood, the rest
of the tribes were numbered, and were found to amount to six hundred
and three thousand five hundred persons. [286] When, therefore, the
people made use of the manna for food, as we have related above, even
amid so many and so great kindnesses of God, showing themselves, as
ever, ungrateful, they longed after the worthless viands to which they
had been accustomed in Egypt. Then the Lord brought an enormous supply
of quails into the camp; and as they were eagerly tearing these to
pieces, as soon as their lips touched the flesh, they perished. There
was indeed on that day a great destruction in the camp, so that twenty
and three thousand men are said to have died. Thus the people were
punished by the very food which they desired. Thence the company went
forward, and came to Faran; and Moses was instructed by the Lord that
the land was now near, the possession of which the Lord had promised
them. Spies, accordingly, having been sent into it, they report that
it was a land blessed with all abundance, but that the nations were
powerful, and the towns fortified with immense walls. When this was
made known to the people, fear seized the minds of all; and to such a
pitch of wickedness did they come, that, despising the authority of
Moses, they prepared to appoint for themselves a leader, under whose
guidance they might return to Egypt. Then Joshua and Caleb, who had
been of the number of the spies, rent their garments with tears, and
implored the people not to believe the spies relating such terrors;
for that they themselves had been with them, and had found nothing
dreadful in that country; and that it behooved them to trust the
promises of God, that these enemies would rather become their prey
than prove their destruction. But that stiff-necked race, setting
themselves against every good advice, rushed upon them to destroy
them. And the Lord, angry on account of these things, exposed a part
of the people to be slain by the enemy, while the spies were slain for
having excited fear among the people.
Footnotes
[286] The text here varies: we have followed Halm.
Chapter XXI.
There followed the revolt of those, who, with Dathan and Abiron as
leaders, endeavored to set themselves up against Moses and Aaron; but
the earth, opening, swallowed them alive. And not long after, a revolt
of the whole people arose against Moses and Aaron, so that they rushed
into the tabernacle, which it was not lawful for any but the priests
to enter. Then truly death mowed them down in heaps; and all would
have perished in a moment, had not the Lord, appeased by the prayers
of Moses, turned aside the disaster. Nevertheless, the number of those
slain amounted to seven hundred and fourteen thousand. [287] And not
long after, as had already often happened, a revolt of the people
arose on account of the want of water. Then Moses, instructed by God
to strike the rock with his rod, with a kind of trial new familiar to
him, since he had already done that before, struck the rock once and
again, and thus water flowed out of it. In regard, however, to this
point, Moses is said to have been reproved by God, that, through want
of faith, he did not bring out the water except by repeated blows; in
fact, on account of this transgression, he did not enter the land
promised to him, as I shall show farther on. Moses, then, moving away
from that place, as he was preparing to lead his company along by the
borders of Edom, sent ambassadors to the king to beg liberty to pass
by; for he thought it right to abstain from war on account of the
connection by blood; for that nation was descended from Esau. But the
king despised the suppliants, and refused them liberty to pass by,
being ready to contend in arms. Then Moses directed his march towards
the mountain, Or, keeping clear of the forbidden road, that he might
not furnish any cause of war between those related by blood, and on
that route he destroyed the king of the nation of the Canaanites. He
smote also Seon the king of the Amorites, and possessed himself of all
their towns: he conquered, too, Basan and Balac. He pitched his camp
beyond Jordan, not far from Jericho. Then a battle took place against
the Midianites, and they were conquered and subdued. Moses died, after
he had ruled the people forty years in the wilderness. But the Hebrews
are said to have remained in the wilderness for so long a time, with
this view, until all those who had not believed the words of God
perished. For, except Joshua and Caleb, not one of those who were more
than twenty years old on leaving Egypt passed over Jordan. That Moses
himself only saw the promised land, and did not reach it, is ascribed
to his sin, because, at that time when he was ordered to strike the
rock, and bring forth water, he doubted, even after so many proofs of
his miraculous power. He died in the one hundred and twentieth year of
his age. Nothing is known concerning the place of his burial.
Footnotes
[287] "septingenti et xiiii milia."
Chapter XXII.
After the death of Moses, the chief power passed into the hands of
Joshua the son of Nun, for Moses had appointed him his successor,
being a man very like himself in the good qualities which he
displayed. Now, at the commencement of his rule, he sent messengers
through the camp to instruct the people to make ready supplies of
corn, and announces that they should march on the third day. But the
river Jordan, a very powerful stream, hindered their crossing, because
they did not have a supply of vessels for the occasion, and the stream
could not be crossed by fords, as it was then rushing on in full
flood. He, therefore, orders the ark to be carried forward by the
priests, and that they should take their stand against the current of
the river. On this being done, Jordan is said to have been divided,
and thus the army was led over on dry ground. There was in these
places a town called Jericho, fortified with very strong walls, and
not easy to be taken, either by storm or blockade. But Joshua, putting
his trust in God, did not attack the city either by arms or force; he
simply ordered the ark of God to be carried round the walls, while the
priests walked before the ark, and sounded trumpets. But when the ark
had been carried round seven times, the walls and the towers fell; and
the city was plundered and burnt. Then Joshua is said to have
addressed the Lord, and [288] to have called down a curse upon any one
who should attempt to restore the town which had thus by divine help
been demolished. Next, the army was led against Geth, and an ambuscade
having been placed behind the city, Joshua, pretending fear, fled
before the enemy. On seeing this, those who were in the town, opening
the gates, began to press upon the enemy giving way. Thus, the men who
were in ambush took the city, and all the inhabitants were slain,
without one escaping: the king also was taken, and suffered capital
punishment.
Footnotes
[288] Some words have here been lost, but are conjecturally supplied
in the text.
Chapter XXIII.
When this became known to the kings of the neighboring nations, they
made a warlike alliance to put down the Hebrews by arms. But the
Gibeonites, a powerful nation with a wealthy city, spontaneously
yielded to the Hebrews, promising to do what they were ordered, and
were received under protection, while they were told to bring in wood
and water. But their surrender had roused the resentment of the kings
of the nearest cities. Accordingly, moving up their troops, they
surround with a blockade their town, which was called Gabaoth. The
townspeople, therefore, in their distress, send messengers to Joshua,
that he would help them in their state of siege. Accordingly, he by a
forced march came upon the enemy at unawares, and many thousands of
them were completely destroyed. When day failed the victors, and it
seemed that night would furnish protection to the vanquished, the
Hebrew general, through the power of his faith, kept off the night,
and the day continued, so that there was no means of escape for the
enemy. Five kings who were taken suffered death. By the same attack,
neighboring cities also were brought under the power of Joshua, and
their kings were cut off. But as it was not my design, studious as I
am of brevity, to follow out all these things in order, I only
carefully observe this, that twenty-nine kingdoms were brought under
the yoke of the Hebrews, and that their territory was distributed
among eleven tribes, to man after man. For to the Levites, who had
been set apart for the priesthood, no portion was given, in order that
they might the more freely serve God. I desire not, in silence, to
pass over the example thus set, but I would earnestly bring it forward
as well worthy of being read by the ministers of the Church. For these
seem to me not only unmindful of this precept, but even utterly
ignorant of it--such a lust for possessing has, in this age, seized,
like an incurable disease, upon their minds. They gape upon
possessions; they cultivate estates; they repose upon gold; they buy
and sell; they study gain by every possible means. And even, if any of
them seem to have a better aim in life, neither possessing nor
trading, still (what is much more disgraceful) remaining inactive,
they look for gifts, and have corrupted the whole glory of life by
their mercenary dispositions, while they present an appearance of
sanctity, as if even that might be made a source of gain. But I have
gone farther than I intended in expressing my loathing and disgust
over the character of our times; and I hasten to return to the subject
in hand. The vanquished territory, then, as I have already said,
having been divided among the tribes, the Hebrews enjoyed profound
peace; their neighbors, being terrified by war, did not venture to
attempt hostilities against those distinguished by so many victories.
At the same period died Joshua in the hundred and tenth year of his
age. I do not express any definite opinion as to the length of time he
ruled: the prevalent view, however, is, that he was at the head of the
Hebrew affairs during twenty-seven years. If this were so, then three
thousand eight hundred and eighty-four years had elapsed from the
beginning of the world to his death.
Chapter XXIV.
After the death of Joshua, the people acted without a leader. But a
necessity of making war with the Canaanites having arisen, Judah was
appointed as general in the war. Under his guidance, matters were
successfully conducted: there was the greatest tranquillity both at
home and abroad: the people ruled over the nations which had either
been subdued or received under terms of surrender. Then, as almost
always happens in a time of prosperity, becoming unmindful of morals
and discipline, they began to contract marriages from among the
conquered, and by and by to adopt foreign customs, yea, even in a
sacrilegious manner to offer sacrifice to idols: so pernicious is all
alliance with foreigners. God, foreseeing these things long before,
had, by a wholesome precept enjoined upon the Hebrews to give over the
conquered nations to utter destruction. But the people, through lust
for power, preferred (to their own ruin) to rule over those who were
conquered. Accordingly, when, forsaking God, they worshiped idols,
they were deprived of the divine assistance, and, being vanquished and
subdued by the king of Mesopotamia, they paid the penalty of eight
years' captivity, until, with Gothoniel as their leader, they were
restored to liberty, and enjoyed independence for fifty years. Then
again, corrupted by the evil effect of a lengthened peace, they began
to sacrifice to idols. And speedily did retribution fall upon them
thus sinning. Conquered by Eglon, king of the Moabites, they served
him eighteen years, until, by a divine impulse, Aod slew the enemies'
king by a stratagem, and, gathering together a hasty army, restored
them to liberty by force of arms. The same man ruled the Hebrews in
peace for forty years. To him Semigar succeeded, and he, engaging in
battle with the Philistines, [289] secured a decisive victory. But
again, the king of the Canaanites, Jabin by name, subdued the Hebrews
who were once more serving idols, and exercised over them a grievous
tyranny for twenty years, until Deborah, a woman, restored them to
their former condition. They had to such a degree lost confidence in
their generals, that they were now protected by means of a woman. But
it is worthy of notice, that this form of deliverance was arranged
beforehand, as a type of the Church, by whose aid captivity to the
devil is escaped. The Hebrews were forty years under this leader or
judge. And being again delivered over to the Midianites for their
sins, they were kept under hard rule; and, being afflicted by the
evils of slavery, they implored the divine help. Thus always when in
prosperity they were unmindful of the kindnesses of heaven, and prayed
to idols; but in adversity they cried to God. Wherefore, as often as I
reflect that those people who lay under so many obligations to the
goodness of God, being chastised with so many disasters when they
sinned, and experiencing both the mercy and the severity of God, yet
were by no means rendered better, and that, though they always
obtained pardon for their transgressions, yet they as constantly
sinned again after being pardoned, it can appear nothing wonderful
that Christ when he came was not received by them, since already, from
the beginning, they were found so often rebelling against the Lord. It
is, in fact, far more wonderful that the clemency of God never failed
them when they sinned, if only they called upon his name. [290]
Footnotes
[289] "Allophylos": lit. strangers.
[290] Many of the proper names occurring in this and other chapters
are very different in form from those with which we are familiar in
the O.T. But they have generally been given as they stand in the text
of our author, and they can easily be identified by any readers who
think it worth while to do so.
Chapter XXV.
Accordingly, when the Midianites, as we have related above, ruled over
them, they turned to the Lord, imploring his wonted tender mercy, and
obtained it. There was then among the Hebrews one Gideon by name, a
righteous man who was dear and acceptable to God. The angel stood by
him as he was returning home from the harvest-field, and said unto
him, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." But he in a
humble voice complained that the Lord was not [291] with him, because
captivity pressed sore upon his people, and he remembered with tears
the miracles wrought by the Lord, who had brought them out of the land
of Egypt. Then the angel said, "Go, in this spirit in which you have
spoken, and deliver the people from captivity." But he declared that
he could not, with his [292] feeble strength, since he was a man of
very small importance, undertake such a heavy task. The angel,
however, persisted in urging him not to doubt that those things could
be done which the Lord said. So then, having offered sacrifice, and
overthrown the altar which the Midianites had consecrated to the image
of Baal, he went to his own people, and pitched his camp near the camp
of the enemy. But the nation of the Amalekites had also joined
themselves to the Midianites, while Gideon had not gathered more than
an army of thirty-two thousand men. But before the battle began, God
said to him that this was a larger number than he wished him to lead
forth to the conflict; that, if he did make use of so many, the
Hebrews would, in accordance with their usual wickedness ascribe the
result of the fight, not to God, but to their own bravery; he should
therefore furnish an opportunity of leaving to those who desired to do
so. When this was made known to the people, twenty and two thousand
left the camp. But of the ten thousand who had remained, Gideon, as
instructed by God, did not retain more than three hundred: the rest he
dismissed from the field. Thus, entering the camp of the enemy in the
middle watch of the night, and having ordered all his men to sound
their trumpets, he caused great terror to the enemy; and no one had
courage to resist; but they made off in a disgraceful flight wherever
they could. The Hebrews, however, meeting them in every direction, cut
the fugitives to pieces. Gideon pursued the kings beyond Jordan, and
having captured them, gave them over to death. In that battle, a
hundred and twenty thousand of the enemy are said to have been slain,
and fifteen thousand captured. Then, by universal consent, a proposal
was made to Gideon that he should be king of the people. But he
rejected this proposal, and preferred rather to live on equal terms
with his fellow-citizens than to be their ruler. Having, therefore,
escaped from their captivity, which had pressed upon the people for
seven years, they now enjoyed peace for a period of forty years.
Footnotes
[291] "Non esse in se."
[292] "Infractis viribus": Vorstius well remarks that "infractis" is
here used with the sense of the simple "fractis."
Chapter XXVI.
But on the death of Gideon, his son Abimelech, whose mother was a
concubine, having slain his brothers with the concurrence of a
multitude of wicked men, and especially by the help of the chief men
among the Shechemites, took possession of the kingdom. And he, being
harassed by civil strife, while he pressed hard upon his people by
war, attempted to storm a certain tower, into which they, after losing
the town, had betaken themselves by flight. But, as he approached the
place without sufficient caution, he was slain by a stone which a
woman threw, after holding the government for three years. To him
succeeded Thola, who reigned two and twenty years. After him came
Jair; and after he had held the chief place for a like period of
twenty-two years, the people, forsaking God, gave themselves up to
idols. On this account, the Israelites were subdued by the Philistines
and Ammonites, and remained under their power for eighteen years. At
the end of this period, they began to call upon God; but the divine
answer to them was that they should rather invoke the aid of their
images, for that he would no longer extend his mercy to those who had
been so ungrateful. But they with tears confessed their fault, and
implored forgiveness; while, throwing away their idols, and earnestly
calling upon God, they obtained the divine compassion, though it had
been at first refused. Accordingly, under Jephtha as general, they
assembled in great numbers for the purpose of recovering their liberty
by arms, having first sent ambassadors to King Ammon, begging that,
content with his own territories, he should keep from warring against
them. But he, far from declining battle, at once drew up his army.
Then Jephtha, before the signal for battle was given, is said to have
vowed that, if he obtained the victory, the person who first met him
as he returned home, should be offered to God as a sacrifice.
Accordingly, on the enemy being defeated, as Jephtha was returning
home, his daughter met him, having joyfully gone forth with drums and
dances to receive her father as a conqueror. Then Jephtha, being
overwhelmed with sorrow, rent his clothes in his affliction, and made
known to his daughter the stringent obligation of his vow. But she,
with a courage not to be expected from a woman, did not refuse to die;
she only begged that her life might be spared for two months, that she
might before dying have the opportunity of seeing the friends of her
own age. This being done, she willingly returned to her father, and
fulfilled the vow to God. Jephtha held the chief power for six years.
To him Esebon succeeded, and having ruled in tranquillity for seven
years, then died. After him, Elon the Zebulonite ruled for ten years,
and Abdon also for eight years; but, as their rule was peaceful, they
performed nothing which history might record.
Chapter XXVII.
The Israelites yet again turned to idols; and, being deprived of the
divine protection, were subdued by the Philistines, and paid the
penalty of their unfaithfulness by forty years of captivity. At that
time, Samson is related to have been born. His mother, after being
long barren, had a vision of an angel, and was told to abstain from
wine, and strong drink, and everything unclean; for that she should
bear a son who would be the restorer of liberty to the Israelites, and
their avenger upon their enemies. He, with unshorn locks, is said to
have been possessed of marvelous strength, so much so that he tore to
pieces with his hands a lion which met him in the way. He had a wife
from the Philistines, and when she, in the absence of her husband, had
entered into marriage with another, he, through indignation on account
of his wife being thus taken from him, wrought destruction to her
nation. Trusting in God and his own strength, he openly brought
disaster on those hitherto victors. For, catching three hundred foxes,
he tied burning torches to their tails, and sent them into the fields
of the enemy. It so happened that at the time the harvest was ripe,
and thus the fire easily caught, while the vines and olive-trees were
burnt to ashes. He was thus seen to have avenged the injury done him
in taking away his wife, by a great loss inflicted on the Philistines.
And they, enraged at this disaster, destroyed by fire the woman who
had been the cause of so great a calamity, along with her house and
her father. But Samson, thinking himself as yet but poorly avenged,
ceased not to harass the heathen race with all sorts of evil devices.
Then the Jews, being compelled to it, handed him over as a prisoner to
the Philistines; but, when thus handed over, he burst his bonds and
seizing the jaw-bone [293] of an ass, which chance offered him as a
weapon, he slew a thousand of his enemies. And, as the heat of the day
grew violent, and he began to suffer from thirst, he called upon God,
and water flowed forth from [294] the bone which he held in his hand.
Footnotes
[293] Simply "osse asini" in text.
[294] This is clearly the meaning, and Halm's punctuation, "invocato
Deo ex osse, quod manu tenebat, aqua fluxit," is obviously wrong.
Chapter XXVIII.
At that time Samson ruled over the Hebrews, the Philistines having
been subdued by the prowess of a single individual. They, therefore,
sought his life by stratagem, not daring to assail him openly, and
with this view they bribe his wife (whom he had received after what
has been stated took place) to betray to them wherein the strength of
her husband lay. She attacked him with female blandishments; and,
after he had deceived her, and staved off her purpose for a long time,
she persuaded him to tell that his strength was situated in his hair.
Presently she cut off his hair stealthily while he was asleep, and
thus delivered him up to the Philistines; for although he had often
before been given up to them, they had not been able to hold him fast.
Then they, having put out his eyes, bound him with fetters, and cast
him into prison. But, in course of time, his hair which had been cut
off began to grow again, and his strength to return with it. And now
Samson, conscious of his recovered strength, was only waiting for an
opportunity of righteous revenge. The Philistines had a custom on
their festival days of producing Samson as if to make a public
spectacle of him, while they mocked their illustrious captive.
Accordingly, on a certain day, when they were making a feast in honor
of their idol, they ordered Samson to be exhibited. Now, the temple,
in which all the people and all the princes of the Philistines
feasted, rested on two pillars of remarkable size; and Samson, when
brought out, was placed between these pillars. Then he, having first
called upon the Lord, seized his opportunity, and threw down the
pillars. The whole multitude was overwhelmed in the ruins of the
building, and Samson himself died along with his enemies, not without
having avenged himself upon them, after he had ruled the Hebrews
twenty years. To him Simmichar succeeded, of whom Scripture relates
nothing more than that simple fact. For I do not find that even the
time when his rule came to an end is mentioned, and I see that the
people was for some time without a leader. Accordingly, when civil war
arose against the tribe of Benjamin, Judah was chosen as a temporary
leader in the war. But most of those who have written about these
times note that his rule was only for a single year. On this account,
many pass him by altogether, and place Eli, the priest, immediately
after Samson. We shall leave that point doubtful, as one not
positively ascertained.
Chapter XXIX.
About these times, civil war, as we have said, had broken out; and the
following was the cause of the tumult. A certain Levite was on a
journey along with his concubine, and, constrained by the approach of
night, he took up his abode in the town of Gabaa, which was inhabited
by men of Benjamin. A certain old man having kindly admitted him to
hospitality, the young men of the town surrounded the guest, with the
view of subjecting him to improper treatment. After being much chidden
by the old man, and with difficulty dissuaded from their purpose, they
at length received for their wanton sport the person of his concubine
as a substitute for his own; and they thus spared the stranger, but
abused her through the whole night, and only restored her on the
following day. But she (whether from the injury their vile conduct had
inflicted on her, or from shame, I do not venture to assert) died on
again seeing [295] her husband. Then the Levite, in testimony of the
horrible deed, divided her members into twelve parts, and distributed
them among the twelve tribes that indignation at such conduct might
the more readily be excited in them all. And when this became known to
all of them, the other eleven tribes entered into a warlike
confederacy against Benjamin. In this war, Judah, as we have said, was
the general. But they had bad success in the first two battles. At
length, however, in the third, the Benjamites were conquered, and cut
off to a man; thus the crime of a few was punished by the destruction
of a multitude. These things also are contained in the Book of Judges:
the Books of Kings follow. But to me who am following the succession
of the years, and the order of the dates, the history does not appear
marked by strict chronological accuracy. For, since after Samson as
judge, there came Semigar, and a little later the history certifies
that the people lived without judges, Eli the priest is related in the
Books of Kings to have also been a judge, [296] but the Scripture has
not stated how many years there were between Eli and Samson. I see
that there was some portion of time between these two, which is left
in obscurity. But, from the day of the death of Joshua up to the time
at which Samson died, there are reckoned four hundred and eighteen
years, and from the beginning of the world, four thousand three
hundred and three. Nevertheless, I am not ignorant that others differ
from this reckoning of ours; but I am at the same time conscious that
I have, not without some care, set forth the order of events in the
successive years (a thing hitherto left in obscurity), until I have
fallen upon these times, concerning which I confess that I have my
doubts. Now I shall go on to what remains.
Footnotes
[295] A clear mistake of memory in our author. The whole narrative is
confused.
[296] The meaning here is doubtful.
Chapter XXX.
The Hebrews, then, as I have narrated above, were living according to
their own will, without any judge or general. Eli was priest; and in
his days Samuel was born. His father's name was Elchana, and his
mother's, Anna. She having long been barren, is said, when she asked a
child from God, to have vowed that, if it were a boy, it should be
dedicated to God. Accordingly, having brought forth a boy, she
delivered him to Eli the priest. By and by, when he had grown up, God
spoke to him. He denounced wrath against Eli the priest on account of
the life of his sons, who had made the priesthood of their father a
means of gain to themselves, and exacted gifts from those who came to
sacrifice; and, although their father is related to have often
reproved them, yet his reproofs were too gentle to serve the purpose
of discipline. Well, the Philistines made an incursion into Judæa, and
were met by the Israelites. But the Hebrews, being beaten, prepare to
renew the contest: they carry the ark of the Lord with them into
battle, and the sons of the priests go forth with it, because he
himself, being burdened with years, and afflicted with blindness,
could not discharge that duty. But, when the ark was brought within
sight of the enemy, terrified as if by the majesty of God's presence,
they were ready to take to flight. But again recovering courage, and
changing their minds (not without a divine impulse), they rush into
battle with their whole strength. The Hebrews were conquered; the ark
was taken; the sons of the priest fell. Eli, when the news of the
calamity was brought to him, being overwhelmed with grief, breathed
his last, after he had held the priesthood for twenty [297] years.
Footnotes
[297] The Hebrew text has forty years.
Chapter XXXI.
The Philistines, victorious in this prosperous battle, brought the ark
of God, which had fallen into their hands, into the temple of Dagon in
the town of Azotus. But the image, dedicated to a demon, fell down
when the ark was brought in there; and, on their setting the idol up
again in its place, in the following night it was torn in pieces. Then
mice, springing up throughout all the country, caused by their
venomous bites the death of many thousand persons. [298] The men of
Azotus, constrained by this source of suffering, in order to escape
the calamity, removed the ark to Gath. But the people there being
afflicted with the same evils, conveyed the ark to Ascalon. The
inhabitants, however, of that place, the chief men of the nation
having been called together, formed the design of sending back the ark
to the Hebrews. Thus, in accordance with the opinion of the chiefs,
and augurs, and priests, it was placed upon a cart, and sent back with
many gifts. This remarkable thing then happened, that when they had
yoked heifers to the conveyance, and had retained their calves at
home, these cattle took their course, without any guide, towards
Judæa, and showed no desire of returning, from affection toward their
young left behind. The rulers of the Philistines, who had followed the
ark into the territory of the Hebrews, were so struck by the
marvelousness of this occurrence that they performed a religious
service. But the Jews, when they saw the ark brought back, vied with
each other in joyously rushing forth from the town of Betsamis to meet
it, and in hurrying, exulting, and returning thanks to God. Presently,
the Levites, whose business it was, perform a sacrifice to God, and
offer those heifers which had brought the ark. But the ark could not
be kept in the town which I have named above, and thus severe illness
fell by the appointment of God, upon the whole city. The ark was then
transferred to the town of Cariathiarim, [299] and there it remained
twenty years.
Footnotes
[298] No reference to this occurs in the Hebrew text, but it is found
in the Greek, and is also noticed by Josephus. See the LXX. 1 Sam. v.
6, and Josephus, Antiq. vi. 1.
[299] Called Kirjath-jearim in the English version.
Chapter XXXII.
At this time, Samuel the priest [300] ruled over the Hebrews; and
there being a cessation of all war, the people lived in peace. But
this tranquillity was disturbed by an invasion of the Philistines, and
all ranks were in a state of terror from their consciousness of guilt.
Samuel, having first offered sacrifice, and trusting in God, led his
men out to battle, and the enemy being routed at the first onset,
victory declared for the Hebrews. But when the fear of the enemy was
thus removed, and affairs were now prosperous and peaceful, the
people, changing their views for the worse, after the manner of the
mob, who are always weary of what they have, and long for things of
which they have had no experience, expressed a desire for the kingly
name--a name greatly disliked by almost all free nations. Yes, with an
example of madness certainly very remarkable, they now preferred to
exchange liberty for slavery. They, therefore, come in great numbers
to Samuel, in order that, as he himself was now an old man, he might
make for them a king. But he endeavored in a useful address, quietly
to deter the people from their insane desire; he set forth the tyranny
and haughty rule of kings, while he extolled liberty, and denounced
slavery; finally, he threatened them with the divine wrath, if they
should show themselves men so corrupt in mind as that, when having God
as their king, they should demand for themselves a king from among
men. Having spoken these and other words of a like nature to no
purpose, finding that the people persisted in the determination, he
consulted God. And God, moved by the madness of that insane nation,
replied that nothing was to be refused to them asking against their
own interests.
Footnotes
[300] Samuel was a Levite, but not a priest.
Chapter XXXIII.
Accordingly, Saul, having been first anointed by Samuel with the
sacerdotal oil, was appointed king. He was of the tribe of Benjamin,
and his father's name was Kish. He was modest in mind, and of a
singularly handsome figure, so that the dignity of his person worthily
corresponded to the royal dignity. But in the beginning of his reign,
some portion of the people had revolted from him, refusing to
acknowledge his authority, and had joined themselves to the Ammonites.
Saul, however, energetically wreaked his vengeance on these people;
the enemy were conquered, and pardon was granted to the Hebrews. Then
Saul is said to have been anointed by Samuel a second time. Next, a
bloody war arose by an invasion of the Philistines; and Saul had
appointed Gilgal as the place where his army was to assemble. As they
waited there seven days for Samuel, that he might offer sacrifice to
God, the people gradually dropped away owing to his delay, and the
king, with unlawful presumption, presented a burnt-offering, thus
taking upon him the duty of a priest. For this he was severely rebuked
by Samuel, and acknowledged his sin with a penitence that was too
late. For, as a result of the king's sin, fear had pervaded the whole
army. The camp of the enemy lying at no great distance showed them how
actual the danger was, and no one had the courage to think of going
forth to battle: most had be-taken themselves to the marshes. [301]
For besides the want of courage on the part of those who felt that God
was alienated from them on account of the king's sin, the army was in
the greatest want of iron weapons; so much so that nobody, except Saul
and Jonathan his son, is said to have possessed either sword or spear.
For the Philistines, as conquerors in the former wars, had deprived
the Hebrews of the use of arms, [302] and no one had had the power of
forging any weapon of war, or even making any implement for rural
purposes. In these circumstances, Jonathan, with an audacious design,
and with his armor-bearer as his only companion, entered the camp of
the enemy, and having slain about twenty of them, spread a terror
throughout the whole army. And then, through the appointment of God,
betaking themselves to flight, they neither carried out orders nor
kept their ranks, but placed all the hope of safety in flight. Saul,
perceiving this, hastily drew forth his men, and pursuing the
fugitives, obtained a victory. The king is said on that day to have
issued a proclamation that no one should help himself to food until
the enemy were destroyed. But Jonathan, knowing nothing of this
prohibition, found a honey-comb, and, dipping the point of his weapon
in it, ate up the honey. When that became known to the king through
the anger of God which followed, he ordered his son to be put to
death. But by the help of the people, he was saved from destruction.
At that time, Samuel, being instructed by God, went to the king, and
told him in the words of God to make war on the nation of the
Amalekites, who had of old hindered the Hebrews when they were coming
out of Egypt; and the prohibition was added that they should not covet
any of the spoils of the conquered. Accordingly, an army was led into
the territory of the enemy, the king was taken, and the nation
subdued. But Saul, unable to resist the magnitude of the spoil, and
unmindful of the divine injunctions, ordered the booty to be saved and
gathered together.
Footnotes
[301] The text here is very uncertain; we have followed the reading of
Halm, "lamas," but others have "lacrimas" or "latebras."
[302] "Armorum" is here supplied, but some prefer "cotis," according
to 1 Sam. xiii. 20.
Chapter XXXIV.
God, displeased with what had been done, spoke to Samuel, saying that
he repented that he had made Saul king. The priest reports what he had
heard to the king. And ere long, being instructed by God, he anointed
David with the royal oil, while he was as yet only a little boy [303]
living under the care of his father, and acting as a shepherd, while
he was accustomed often to play upon the harp. For this reason, he was
taken afterwards by Saul, and reckoned among the servants of the king.
And the Philistines and Hebrews being at this time hotly engaged in
war, as the armies were stationed opposite to each other, a certain
man of the Philistines named Goliath, a man of marvelous size and
strength, passing along the ranks of his countrymen, cast insults, in
the fiercest terms, upon the enemy, and challenged any one to engage
in single combat with him. Then the king promised a great reward and
his daughter in marriage to any one who should bring home the spoils
of that boaster; but no one out of so great a multitude ventured to
make the attempt. In these circumstances, though still a youth, [304]
David offered himself for the contest, and rejecting the arms by which
his yet tender age was weighed down, simply with a staff and five
stones which he had taken, advanced to the battle. And by the first
blow, having discharged one of the stones from a sling, he overthrew
the Philistine; then he cut off the head of his conquered foe, carried
off his spoils, and afterwards laid up his sword in the temple. In the
meanwhile, all the Philistines, turning to flight, yielded the victory
to the Hebrews. But the great favor shown to David as they were
returning from the battle excited the envy of the king. Fearing,
however, that if he put to death one so beloved by all, that might
give rise to hatred against himself and prove disastrous, he resolved,
under an appearance of doing him honor, to expose him to danger. First
then he made him a captain, that he might be charged with the affairs
of war; and next, although he had promised him his daughter, he broke
his word, and gave her to another. Ere long, a younger daughter of the
king, Melchol by name, fell violently in love with David. Accordingly,
Saul sets before David as the condition of obtaining her in marriage
the following proposal: that if he should bring in a hundred foreskins
of the enemy, the royal maiden would be given him in marriage; for he
hoped that the youth, venturing on so great dangers, would probably
perish. But the result proved very different from what he imagined,
for David, according to the proposal made to him, speedily brought in
a hundred foreskins of the Philistines; and thus he obtained the
daughter of the king in marriage.
Footnotes
[303] This is a mistake: David was undoubtedly then a grown-up young
man.
[304] "Puer": another mistake.
Chapter XXXV.
The hatred of the king towards him increased daily, under the
influence of jealousy, for the wicked always persecute the good. He,
therefore, commanded his servants and Jonathan his son, to prepare
snares against his life. But Jonathan had even from the first had a
great regard and affection for David; and therefore the king, being
taken to task by his son, suppressed the cruel order he had given. But
the wicked are not long good. For, when Saul was afflicted by a spirit
of error, and David stood by him, soothing him with the harp under his
trouble, Saul tried to pierce him with a spear, and would have done
so, had not he rapidly evaded the deadly blow. From this time forth,
the king no longer secretly but openly sought to compass his death;
and David no longer trusted himself in his power. He fled, and first
betook himself to Samuel, then to Abimelech, and finally fled to the
king of Moab. By-and-by, under the instructions of the prophet Gad, he
returned into the land of Judah, and there ran in danger of his life.
At that time, Saul slew Abimelech the priest because he had received
David; and when none of the king's servants ventured to lay hands upon
the priest, Doeg, the Syrian, fulfilled the cruel duty. After that,
David made for the desert. Thither Saul also followed him, but his
efforts at his destruction were in vain, for God protected him. There
was a cave in the desert, opening with a vast recess. David had thrown
himself into the inner parts of this cave. Saul, not knowing that he
was there, had gone into it for the purpose of taking [305] bodily
refreshment, and there, overcome by sleep, he was resting. When David
perceived this, although all urged him to avail himself of the
opportunity, he abstained from slaying the king, and simply took away
his mantle. Presently going out, he addressed the king from a safe
position behind, recounting the services he had done him, how often he
had exposed his life to peril for the sake of the kingdom, and how
last of all, he had not, on the present occasion, sought to kill him
when he was given over to him by God. Upon hearing these things, Saul
confessed his fault, entreated pardon, shed tears, extolled the piety
of David, and blamed his own wickedness, while he addressed David as
king and son. He was so much changed from his former ferocious
character, that no one could now have thought he would make any
further attempt against his son-in-law. But David, who had thoroughly
[306] tested and known his evil disposition, did not think it safe to
put himself in the power of the king, and kept himself within the
desert. Saul, almost mad with rage, because he was unable to capture
his son-in-law, gave in marriage to one Faltim his daughter Melchol,
who, as we have related above, had been married to David. David fled
to the Philistines.
Footnotes
[305] "Reficiendi corporis gratia": different from the Hebrew text.
[306] The text is uncertain, but the meaning is clear.
Chapter XXXVI.
At that time Samuel died. Saul, when the Philistines made war upon
him, consulted God, and no answer was returned to him. Then, by means
of a woman whose entrails a spirit of error [307] had filled, he
called up and consulted Samuel. Saul was informed by him that on the
following day he with his sons, being overcome by the Philistines,
would fall in the battle. The Philistines, accordingly, having pitched
their camp on the enemy's territory, drew up their army in battle
array on the following day, David, however, being sent away from the
camp, because they did not believe that he would be faithful to them
against his own people. But the battle taking place, the Hebrews were
routed and the sons of the king fell; Saul, having sunk down from his
horse, that he might not be taken alive by the enemy, fell on his own
sword. We do not find any certain statements as to the length of his
reign, unless that he is said in the Acts of the Apostles to have
reigned forty years. As to this, however, I am inclined to think that
Paul, who made the statement in his preaching, then meant to include
also the years of Samuel under the length of that king's reign. [308]
Most of those, however, who have written about these times, remark
that he reigned thirty years. I can, by no means, agree with this
opinion, for at the time when the ark of God was transferred to the
town of Cariathiarim, Saul had not yet begun to reign, and it is
related that the ark was removed by David the king out of that town
after it had been there twenty years. Therefore, since Saul reigned
and died within that period, he must have held the government only for
a very brief space of time. We find the same obscurity concerning the
times of Samuel, who, having been born under the priesthood of Eli, is
related, when very old, to have fulfilled the duties of a priest. By
some, however, who have written about these times (for the sacred
history has recorded almost nothing about his years), [309] but by
most he is said to have ruled the people seventy years. I have,
however, been unable to discover what authority there is for this
assumption. Amid such variety of error, we have followed the account
of the Chronicles, [310] because we think that it was taken (as said
above) from the Acts of the Apostles, and we repeat that Samuel and
Saul together held the government for forty years.
Footnotes
[307] The witch of Endor seems here to be referred to as if she had
practised ventriloquism, this being regarded as a form of demoniacal
possession.
[308] See Alford on Acts xiii. 21.
[309] Halm here inserts the usual mark of a lacuna in the text: others
omit the words "a plerisque autem."
[310] He here specially refers to the well-known Chronicles of
Eusebius, which were translated into Latin, and supplemented by Saint
Jerome.
Chapter XXXVII.
Saul having thus been cut off, David, when the news of his death was
brought to him in the land of the Philistines, is related to have
wept, and to have given a marvelous proof of his affection. He then
betook himself to Hebron, a town of Judæa; and, being there again
anointed with the royal oil, received the title of king. But Abenner,
who had been master of the host of King Saul, despised David, and made
Isbaal king, the son of King Saul. Various battles then took place
between the generals of the kings. Abenner was generally routed; yet
in his flight he cut off the brother of Joab, who had the command of
the army on the side of David. Joab, on account of the sorrow he felt
for this, afterwards, when Abenner had surrendered to King David,
ordered him to be murdered, not without regret on the part of the
king, whose honor he had thus tarnished. At the same time, almost all
the older men of the Hebrews conferred on him by public consent the
sovereignty of the whole nation; for during seven years he had reigned
only in Hebron. Thus, he was anointed king for the third time, being
about thirty years of age. He repulsed in successful battles the
Philistines making inroads upon his kingdom. And at that time, he
transferred to Zion the ark of God, which, as I have said above, was
in the town of Cariathiarim. And when he had formed the intention of
building a temple to God, the divine answer was given him to the
effect, that that was reserved for his son. He then conquered the
Philistines in war, subjugated the Moabites, and subdued Syria,
imposing tribute upon it. He brought back with him an enormous amount
of booty in gold and brass. Next, a war arose against the Ammonites on
account of the injury which had been done by their king, Annon. And
when the Syrians again rebelled, having formed a confederacy for war
with the Ammonites, David intrusted the chief command of the war to
Joab, the master of his host, and he himself remained in Jerusalem far
from the scene of strife.
Chapter XXXVIII.
At this time, he knew in a guilty way Bersabe, a woman of remarkable
beauty. She is said to have been the wife of a certain man called
Uriah, who was then in the camp. David caused him to be slain by
exposing him to the enemy at a dangerous place in the battle. In this
way, he added to the number of his wives the woman who was now free
from the bond of marriage, but who was already pregnant through
adultery. Then David, after being severely reproved by Nathan the
prophet, although he confessed his sin, did not escape the punishment
of God. For he lost in a few days the son who was born from the
clandestine connection, and many terrible things happened in respect
to his house and family. At last his son Absalom lifted impious arms
against his father, with the desire of driving him from the throne.
Joab encountered him in the field of battle, and the king entreated
him to spare the young man when conquered; but he, disregarding this
command, avenged with the sword his parricidal attempts. That victory
is said to have been a mournful one to the king: so great was his
natural affection that he wished even his parricidal son to be
forgiven. This war seemed hardly finished when another arose, under a
certain general called Sabæa, who had stirred up all the wicked to
arms. But the whole commotion was speedily checked by the death of the
leader. David then engaged in several battles against the Philistines
with favorable results; and all being subdued by war, both foreign and
home disturbances having been brought to accord, he possessed in peace
a most flourishing kingdom. Then a sudden desire seized him of
numbering the people, in order to ascertain the strength of his
empire; and accordingly they were numbered by Joab, the master of the
host, and were found to amount to one million three hundred thousand
[311] citizens. David soon regretted and repented of this proceeding,
and implored pardon of God for having lifted up his thoughts to this,
that he should reckon the power of his kingdom rather by the multitude
of his subjects than by the divine favor. Accordingly, an angel was
sent to him to reveal to him a threefold punishment, and to give him
the power of choosing either one or another. Well, when a famine for
three years was set before him, and flight before his enemies for
three months, and a pestilence for three days, shunning both flight
and famine, he made choice of pestilence, and, almost in a moment of
time, seventy thousand men perished. Then David, beholding the angel
by whose right hand the people were overthrown, implored pardon, and
offered himself singly to punishment instead of all, saying that he
deserved destruction inasmuch as it was he who had sinned. Thus, the
punishment of the people was turned aside; and David built an altar to
God on the spot where he had beheld the angel. After this, having
become infirm through years and illness, he appointed Solomon, who had
been born to him by Bersabe, the wife of Uriah, his successor in the
kingdom. He, having been anointed with the royal oil by Sadoc the
priest, received the title of king, while his father was still alive.
David died, after he had reigned forty years.
Footnotes
[311] As is often the case with respect to numbers, there are
discrepancies in the various accounts given of this census.
Chapter XXXIX.
Solomon in the beginning of his reign surrounded the city with a wall.
To him while asleep God appeared standing by him, and gave him the
choice of whatever things he desired. But he asked that nothing more
than wisdom should be granted him, deeming all other things of little
value. Accordingly, when he arose from sleep, taking his stand before
the sanctuary of God, he gave a proof of the wisdom which had been
bestowed upon him by God. For two women who dwelt in one house, having
given birth to male children at the same time, and one of these having
died in the night three days afterwards, the mother of the dead child,
while the other woman slept, insidiously substituted her child, and
took away the living one. Then there arose an altercation between
them, and the matter was at length brought before the king. As no
witness was forthcoming, it was a difficult matter to give a judgment
between both denying guilt. Then Solomon, in the exercise of his gift
of divine wisdom, ordered the child to be slain and its body to be
divided between the two doubtful claimants. Well, when one of them
acquiesced in this judgment, but the other wished rather to give up
the boy than that he should be cut in pieces, Solomon, concluding from
the feeling displayed by this woman that she was the true mother,
adjudged the child to her. The bystanders could not repress their
admiration at this decision, since he had in such a way brought out
the hidden truth by his sagacity. Accordingly, the kings of the
neighboring nations, out of admiration for his ability and wisdom,
courted his friendship and alliance, being prepared to carry out his
commands.
Chapter XL.
Trusting in these resources, Solomon set about erecting a temple of
immense size to God, funds for the purpose having been got together
during three years, and laid the foundation of it about the fourth
year of his reign. This was about the five hundred and eighty-eighth
year after the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, although in the
third Book of Kings the years are reckoned at four hundred and forty.
[312] This is by no means accurate; for it would have been more likely
that, in the order of dates I have given above, I should perhaps
reckon fewer years than more. But I do not doubt that the truth had
been falsified by the carelessness of copyists, especially since so
many ages intervened, rather than that the sacred [313] writer erred.
In the same way, in the case of this little work of ours, we believe
it will happen that, through the negligence of transcribers, those
things which have been put together, not without care on our part,
should be corrupted. Well, then, Solomon finished his work of building
the temple in the twentieth year from its commencement. Then, having
offered sacrifice in that place, as well as uttered a prayer, by which
he blessed the people and the temple, God spoke to him, declaring
that, if at any time they should sin and forsake God, their temple
should be razed to the ground. We see that this has a long time ago
been fulfilled, and in due time we shall set forth the connected order
of events. In the meantime, Solomon abounded in wealth, and was, in
fact, the richest of all the kings that ever lived. But, as always
takes place in such circumstances, he sunk from wealth into luxury and
vice, forming marriages (in spite of the prohibition of God) with
foreign women, until he had seven hundred wives, and three hundred
concubines. As a consequence, he set up idols for them, after the
manner of their nations, to which they might offer sacrifice. God,
turned away from him by such doings, reproved him sharply, and made
known to him as a punishment, that the greater part of his kingdom
would be taken from his son, and given to a servant. And that happened
accordingly.
Footnotes
[312] Here, again, there is much discrepancy in the accounts.
[313] "Propheta."
Chapter XLI.
For, on the death of Solomon in the fortieth year of his reign, Roboam
his son having succeeded to the throne of his father in the sixteenth
year of his age, a portion of the people, taking offense, revolted
from him. For, having asked that the very heavy tribute which Solomon
had imposed upon them might be lessened, he rejected the entreaties of
these suppliants, and thus alienated from him the favor of the whole
people. Accordingly, by universal consent, the government was bestowed
on Jeroboam. He, sprung from a family of middle rank, had for some
time been in the service of Solomon. But when the king found that the
sovereignty of the Hebrews had been promised to him by a response of
the prophet Achia, he had resolved privately to cut him off. Jeroboam,
under the influence of this fear, fled into Egypt, and there married a
wife of the royal family. But, when at length he heard of the death of
Solomon, he returned to his native land, and, by the wish of the
people, as we have said above, he assumed the government. Two tribes,
however, Judah and Benjamin, had remained under the sway of Roboam;
and from these he got ready an army of thirty thousand men. But when
the two hosts advanced, the people were instructed by the words of God
to abstain from fighting, for that Jeroboam had received the kingdom
by divine appointment. Thus the army disdained the command of the
king, and dispersed, while the power of Jeroboam was increased. But,
since Roboam held Jerusalem, where the people had been accustomed to
offer sacrifice to God in the temple built by Solomon, Jeroboam,
fearing lest their religious feelings might alienate the people from
him, resolved to fill their minds with superstition. Accordingly, he
set up one golden calf at Bethel, and another at Dan, to which the
people might offer sacrifice; and, passing by the tribe of Levi, he
appointed priests from among the people. But censure followed this
guilt so hateful to God. Frequent battles then took place between the
kings, and so they retained their respective kingdoms on doubtful
conditions. Roboam died at the close of the seventeenth year of his
reign.
Chapter XLII.
In his room Abiud his son held the kingdom at Jerusalem for six years,
although he is said in the Chronicles [314] to have reigned three
years. Asab his son succeeded him, being the fifth from David, as he
was his great-great-grandson. He was a pious worshiper of God; for,
destroying the altars and the groves of the idols, he removed the
traces of his father's faithlessness. He formed an alliance with the
king of Syria, and by his help inflicted much loss on the kingdom of
Jeroboam, which was then held by his son, and often, after conquering
the enemy, carried off spoil as the result of victory. After forty-one
years he died, afflicted with disease in his feet. To him sin of a
three-fold kind is ascribed; first, that he trusted too much to his
alliance with the king of Syria; secondly, that he cast into prison a
prophet of God who rebuked him for this; and thirdly, that, when
suffering from disease in his feet, he sought a remedy, not from God,
but from the physicians. In the beginning of his reign died Jeroboam,
king of the ten tribes, and left his throne to his son Nabath. He,
from his wicked works, and, both by his own and his [315] father's
doings, hateful to God, did not possess the kingdom more than two
years, and his children, as being unworthy, were deprived [316] of the
government. He had for his successor Baasa, the son of Achia, and he
proved himself equally estranged from God. He died in the twenty-sixth
year of his reign: and his power passed to Ela his son, but was not
retained more than two years. For Zambri, leader of his cavalry,
killed him at a banquet, and seized the kingdom,--a man equally odious
to God and men. A portion of the people revolted from him, and the
royal power was conferred on one Thamnis. But Zambri reigned before
him seven years, and at the same time with him twelve years. And, on
the death of Asab, Josaphat his son began to reign over part of the
tribe of Judah, a man deservedly famous for his pious virtues. He
lived at peace with Zambri; and he died, after a reign of twenty-five
years.
Footnotes
[314] The Chronicon of Eusebius is referred to.
[315] Many editors here read "maternis," instead of "paternis."
[316] It is remarkable, as Hornius has observed after Ligonius, that,
while in the kingdom of Judah the sovereignty remained to the same
family, in the kingdom of Ephraim the scepter was hardly ever
transmitted to son or grandson.
Chapter XLIII.
In the time of his reign, Ahab, the son of Ambri, was king of the ten
tribes, impious above all against God. For having taken in marriage
Jezebel, the daughter of Basa, king of Sidon, he erected an altar and
groves to the idol Bahal, and slew the prophets of God. At this time,
Elijah the prophet by prayer shut up heaven, that it should not give
any rain to the earth, and revealed that to the king, in order that
he, in his impiety, might know himself to be the cause of the evil.
The waters of heaven, therefore, being restrained, and since the whole
country, burned up by the heat of the sun, did not furnish food either
for man or beast, the prophet had even exposed himself to the side of
perishing from hunger. At that time, when he betook himself to the
desert, he depended for life on the ravens furnishing him with food,
while a neighboring rivulet furnished him with water, until it was
dried up. Then, being instructed by God, he went to the town of
Saraptæ, and turned aside to lodge with a widow-woman. And when, in
his hunger, he begged food from her, she complained that she had only
a handful of meal and a little oil, on the consumption of which she
expected death along with her children. [317] But when Elijah promised
in the words of God that neither should the meal lessen in the barrel
nor the oil in the vessel, the woman did not hesitate to believe the
prophet demanding faith, and obtained [318] the fulfillment of what
was promised, since by daily increase as much was added as was day by
day taken away. At the same time, Elijah restored to life the dead son
of the same widow. Then, by the command of God, he went to the king,
and having reproved his impiety, he ordered all the people to be
gathered together to himself. When these had hastily assembled, the
priests of the idols and of the groves to the number of about four
hundred and fifty, were also summoned. Then there arose a dispute
between them, Elijah setting forth the honor of God, while they upheld
their own superstitions. At length they agreed that a trial should be
made to this effect, that if fire sent down from heaven should consume
the slain victim of either of them, that religion should be accepted
as the true one which performed the miracle. Accordingly, the priests,
having slain a calf, began to call upon the idol Bahal; and, after
wasting their invocations to no purpose, they tacitly acknowledged the
helplessness of their God. Then Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry
aloud more vehemently, lest perchance he sleeps, and that thus you may
rouse him from the slumber in which he is sunk." The wretched men
could do nothing but shudder and mutter to themselves, but still they
waited to see what Elijah would do. Well, he slew a calf and laid it
upon the altar, having first of all filled the sacred place with
water; and then, calling upon the name of the Lord, fire fell from
heaven in the sight of all, and consumed alike the water and the
victim. Then truly the people, casting themselves upon the earth,
confessed God and execrated the idols; while finally, by the command
of Elijah, the impious priests were seized, and, being brought down to
the brook, were there slain. The prophet followed the king as he
returned from that place; but as Jezebel, the wife of the king, was
devising means for taking his life, he retired to a more remote spot.
There God addressed him, telling him that there were still seven
thousand men who had not given themselves up to idols. That was to
Elijah a marvelous statement, for he had supposed that he himself was
the only one who had kept free from impiety.
Footnotes
[317] "Cum filiis": after the Greek: the Hebrew text speaks of only
one son.
[318] Such seems clearly to be the meaning of the somewhat strange
phrase, "promissorum fidem consecuta est."
Chapter XLIV.
At that time, Ahab, king of Samaria, coveted the vineyard of Naboth,
which was adjacent to his own. And as Naboth was unwilling to sell it
to him, he was cut off by the wiles of Jezebel. Thus Ahab got
possession of the vineyard, though he is said at the same time to have
regretted the death of Naboth. Acknowledging his crime, he is related
to have done [319] penance clothed in sackcloth; and in this way he
turned aside threatening punishment. For the king of Syria with a
great army, having formed a military confederacy with thirty-two
kings, entered the territories of Samaria, and began to besiege the
city with its king. The affairs of the besieged being then in a state
of great distress, the Syrian king offers these conditions in the
war,--if they should give up their gold and silver and women, he would
spare their lives. But, with such iniquitous conditions offered, it
seemed better to suffer the greatest extremities. And now when the
safety of all was despaired of, a prophet sent by God went to the
king, encouraged him to go forth to battle, and when he hesitated,
strengthened his confidence in many ways. Accordingly making a sally,
the enemy were routed, and an abundant store of booty was secured.
But, after a year, the Syrian king returned with recruited strength
into Samaria, burning to avenge the defeat he had received, but was
again overthrown. In that battle one hundred and twenty thousand of
the Syrians perished; the king was pardoned, and his kingdom and
former position were granted him. Then Ahab was reproved by the
prophet in the words of God, for having abused the divine kindness,
and spared the enemy delivered up to him. The Syrian king, therefore,
after three years, made war upon the Hebrews. Against him Ahab, under
the advice of some false prophet, went forth to battle, having spurned
the words of Michea the prophet and cast him into prison, because the
prophet had warned him that the fight would prove disastrous to him.
Thus, then, Ahab, being slain in that battle, left the kingdom to his
son Ochozia.
Footnotes
[319] "Egisse pænitentiam."
Chapter XLV.
He, being sick in body, and having sent some of his servants to
consult an idol about his recovery, Elijah, as instructed by God, met
them in the way, and, after rebuking them ordered them to inform the
king that his death would follow from that disease. Then the king
ordered him to be seized and brought into his presence, but those who
were sent for this purpose were consumed by fire from heaven. The king
died, as the prophet had predicted. To him there succeeded his brother
Joram; and he held the government for the space of twelve years. But
on the side of the two tribes, Josaphat the king having died, Joram
his son possessed the kingdom for eighteen years. He had the daughter
of Ahab to wife, and proved himself more like his father-in-law than
his father. After him, Ochozias his son obtained the kingdom. During
his reign, Elijah is related to have been taken up to heaven. At the
same time, Elisha his disciple showed himself powerful by working many
miracles, which are all too well known to need any description from my
pen. By him the son of a widow was restored to life, a leper of Syria
was cleansed, at a time of famine abundance of all things was brought
into the city by the enemy having been put to flight, water was
furnished for the use of three armies, and from a little oil the debt
of a woman was paid by the oil being immensely multiplied, and
sufficient means for a livelihood was provided for herself. In his
times, as we have said, Ochozia was king of the two tribes, while
Joram, as we have related above, ruled over the ten; and an alliance
was formed between them. For war was carried on by them with combined
forces both against the Syrians, and against Jeu, who had been
anointed by the prophet as king of the ten tribes; and having gone
forth to battle in company, they both perished in the same fight.
Chapter XLVI.
But Jeu possessed the kingdom of Joram. After the death of Ochozia in
Judæa, when he had reigned one year, his mother, Gotholiah, seized the
supreme power, having deprived her grandson (whose name was Joas) of
the government, he being at the time but a little child. But the power
thus snatched from him by his grandmother was, after eight years,
restored to him through means of the priests and people, while his
grandmother was driven into exile. He, at the beginning of his reign,
was most devoted to the divine worship, and embellished the temple at
great expense; afterwards, however, being corrupted by the flattery of
the chief men, and unduly honored by them, he incurred wrath. For
Azahel, king of Syria, made war upon him; and, as things went badly
with him, he purchased peace with the gold of the temple. He did not,
however, obtain it; but through resentment for what he had done he was
slain by his own people in the fortieth year of his reign. He was
succeeded by his son Amassia. But, on the side of the ten tribes, Jeu
having died, Joachas his son began to reign, displeasing to God on
account of his wicked works, in punishment of which his kingdom was
ravaged by the Syrians, until, through the mercy of God, the enemy was
driven back, and the inhabitants of the land began to occupy their
former position. Joachas, having ended his days, left the kingdom to
his son Joa. He raised civil war against Amassia, king of the two
tribes; and, having obtained the victory, conveyed much spoil into his
own kingdom. That is related to have occurred to Amassia as a
punishment of his sin, for, having entered as a conqueror the
territories of the Idumæans, he had adopted the idols of that nation.
He is described as having reigned nine years, so far as I find it
stated in the Books of Kings. But in the Chronicles [320] of
Scripture, as well as in the Chronicles [321] of Eusebius, he is
affirmed to have held the government twenty-nine years; and the mode
of reckoning which may easily be perceived in these Books of Kings
undoubtedly leads to that conclusion. For Jeroboam is said to have
begun to reign as king of the ten tribes in the eighth year of the
reign of Amassia, and to have held the government forty-one years, and
to have at length died in the fourth year of the reign of Ozia, son of
Amassia. By this mode of reckoning, the reign of Amassia is made to
extend over twenty-eight years. Accordingly, we, following out this,
inasmuch as it is our purpose to adhere in this work to the dates in
their proper order, have accepted the authority of the Chronicles.
[322]
Footnotes
[320] "Paralipomenis."
[321] "Chronicis," i.e. of Eusebius.
[322] "Chronicorum," i.e. of Eusebius.
Chapter XLVII.
Ozias, then, the son of Amassia, succeeded to him. For, on the side of
the ten tribes, Joas, reaching the end of his days, had given place to
his son Jeroboa, and after him, again, his son Zacharias began to
reign. Of these kings, and of all who ruled over Samaria on the side
of the ten tribes, we have not thought it necessary to note the dates,
because, aiming at brevity, we have omitted everything superfluous;
and we have thought that the years should be carefully traced for a
knowledge especially of the times of that portion [323] of the Jews,
which being carried into captivity at a later period than the other,
passed through a longer time as a kingdom. Ozias, then, having
obtained the kingdom of Judah, gave his principal care to knowing the
Lord, making great use of Zachariah the prophet (Isaiah, too, is said
to have first prophesied under this king); and, on this account, he
carried on war against his neighbors with deservedly prosperous
results, while he also conquered the Arabians. And already he had
shaken Egypt with the terror of his name; but, being elated by
prosperity, he ventured on what was forbidden, and offered incense to
God, a thing which it was the established custom for the priests alone
to do. Being, then, rebuked by Azaria the priest, and compelled to
leave the sacred place, he burst out into a rage, but was, when he
finally withdrew, covered with leprosy. Under the influence of this
disease he ended his days, after having reigned fifty-two years. Then
the kingdom was given to Joathas his son; and he is related to have
been very pious, and carried on the government with success: he
subdued in war the nation of the Ammonites, and compelled them to pay
tribute. He reigned sixteen years, and his son Achaz succeeded him.
Footnotes
[323] There is a reference in these words to the two tribes, or
kingdom of Judah.
Chapter XLVIII.
The remarkable faith of the Ninevites is related to have been
manifested about these times. That town, founded of old by Assure, the
son of Sem, was the capital of the kingdom of the Assyrians. It was
then full of a multitude of inhabitants, sustaining one hundred and
twenty thousand men, and abounding in wickedness, as is usually the
case among a vast concourse of people. God, moved by their sinfulness,
commanded the prophet Jonah to go from Judæa, and denounce destruction
upon the city, as Sodom and Gomorrah had of old been consumed by fire
from heaven. But the prophet declined that office of preaching, not
out of contumacy, but from foresight, which enabled him to behold God
reconciled through the repentance of the people; and he embarked on
board a ship which was bound for Tharsus, in a very different
direction. But, after they had gone forth into the deep, the sailors,
constrained by the violence of the sea, inquired by means of the lot
who was the cause of that suffering. And when the lot fell upon Jonah,
he was cast into the sea, to be, as it were, a sacrifice for stilling
the tempest, and he was seized and swallowed by a whale--a monster of
the deep. Cast out three days afterwards on the shores of the [324]
Ninevites, he preached as he had been commanded, namely that the city
would be destroyed in three [325] days, as a punishment for the sins
of the people. The voice of the prophet was listened to, not in a
hypocritical fashion, as at Sodom of old; and immediately by the
order, and after the example, of the king, the whole people, and even
those infants newly born, are commanded to abstain from meat and
drink: the very beasts of burden in the place, and animals of
different kinds, being forced by hunger and thirst, presented an
appearance of those who lamented along with the human inhabitants. In
this way, the threatened evil was averted. To Jonah, complaining to
God, that his words had not been fulfilled, it was answered that
pardon could never be denied to the penitent.
Footnotes
[324] Surely a blunder; for, as has been well asked, how could Jonah,
who was swallowed by a whale in the Mediterranean, have been cast out
by the fish on the shores of the Ninevites? The Hebrew text has simply
"the dryland."
[325] After the Greek; the Hebrew has "forty days."
Chapter XLIX.
But in Samaria, Zacharia the king, who was very wicked, and whom we
have spoken of above as occupying the throne, was slain by a certain
Sella, who seized the kingdom. He, in turn, perished by the treachery
of Mane, who simply repeated the conduct of his predecessor. Mane held
the government which he had taken from Sella, and left it to his son
Pache. But a certain person of the same name slew Pache, and seized
the kingdom. Ere long being cut off by Osee, he lost the sovereignty
by the same crime by which he had received it. This man, being ungodly
beyond all the kings who had preceded him, brought punishment upon
himself from God, and a perpetual captivity on his nation. For
Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians, made war with him, and when
conquered rendered him tributary. But when, with secret plans, he was
preparing for rebellion, and had asked the king of the Ethiopians, who
then had possession of Egypt for his assistance, Salmanasar, on
discovering that, cast him into prison with fetters never taken off,
while he destroyed the city, and carried off the whole people into his
own kingdom, Assyrians being placed in the enemy's country to guard
it. Hence that district was called Samaria, because in the language of
the Assyrians guards are called Samaritæ. [326] Very many of their
settlers accepted the divine rites of the Jewish religion, while
others remained in the errors of heathenism. In this war, Tobias was
carried into captivity. But on the side of the two tribes, Achaz, who
was displeasing to God on account of his impiety, finding he had
frequently the worst of it in wars with his neighbors, resolved to
worship the gods of the heathen, undoubtedly because by their help his
enemies had proved victorious in frequent battles. He ended his days
with this crime [327] in his wicked mind, after a reign of sixteen
years.
Footnotes
[326] Vorstius remarks that this is a totally erroneous statement.
[327] "Piaculo": a very old meaning is here attached to the word.
Chapter L.
To him succeeded Ezekias his son, a man very unlike his father in
character. For, in the beginning of his reign, urging the people and
the priests to the worship of God, he discoursed to them in many
words, showing how often, after being chastened by the Lord, they had
obtained mercy, and how the ten tribes, having been at last carried
away into captivity, as had lately happened, were now paying the
penalty of their impiety. He added that their duty was carefully to be
on their guard lest they should deserve to suffer the same things.
Thus, the minds of all being turned to religion, he appointed the
Levites and all the priests to offer sacrifices according to the law,
and arranged that the Passover, which had for a long time been
neglected, should be celebrated. And when the holy day was at hand, he
proclaimed the special day of assembly by messengers sent throughout
all the land, so that, if any had remained in Samaria, after the
removal of the ten tribes, they might gather together for the sacred
observance. Thus, in a very full assemblage, the sacred day was spent
with public rejoicing, and, after a long interval, the proper
religious rites were restored by means of Ezekias. He then carried on
military affairs with the same diligence with which he had attended to
divine things, and defeated the Philistines in frequent battles; until
Sennacherim, king of the Assyrians, made war against him, having
entered his territories with a large army; and then, when the country
had been laid waste without any opposition, he laid siege to the city.
For Ezekias, being inferior in numbers, did not venture to come to an
engagement with him, but kept himself safe within the walls. The king
of Assyria, thundering at the gates, threatened destruction, and
demanded surrender, exclaiming that in vain did Ezekias put his trust
in God, for that he rather had taken up arms by the appointment of
God; and that the conqueror of all nations, as well as the overthrower
of Samaria could not be escaped, unless the king secured his own
safety by a speedy surrender. In this state of affairs, Ezekias,
trusting in God, consulted the prophet Isaiah, and from his answer he
learned that there would be no danger from the enemy, and that the
divine assistance would not fail him. And, in fact, not long after,
Tarraca, king of Ethiopia, invaded the kingdom of the Assyrians.
Chapter LI.
By this news Sennacherim was led to return in order to defend his own
territories, and he gave up the war, at the same time murmuring and
crying out that victory was snatched from him the victor. He also sent
letters to Ezekias, declaring, with many insulting words, that he,
after settling his own affairs, would speedily return for the
destruction of Judæa. But Ezekias, in no wise disturbed by these
threats, is said to have prayed to God that he would not allow the so
great insolence of this man to pass unavenged. Accordingly, in the
same night, an angel attacking the camp of the Assyrians, caused [328]
the death of many thousand men. The king in terror fled to the town of
Nineveh, and being there slain by his sons, met with an end worthy of
himself. At the same time, Ezekias, sick in body, lay suffering from
disease. And when Isaiah had announced to him in the words of the Lord
that the end of his life was at hand, the king is related to have
wept; and thus he got fifteen years added to his life. These coming to
an end, he died in the twenty-ninth year of his reign, and left the
kingdom to his son Manasse. He, degenerating much from his father,
forsook God, and took to the practice of impious worship; and being,
as a punishment for this, delivered into the power of the Assyrians,
he was by his sufferings constrained to acknowledge his error, and
exhorted the people that, forsaking their idols, they should worship
God. He accomplished nothing worthy of special mention, but reigned
for fifty-five years. Then Amos his son obtained the kingdom, but
possessed it only two years. He was the heir of his father's impiety,
and showed himself regardless of God: being entrapped by some
stratagems of his friends, he perished.
Footnotes
[328] Our author is here guilty of omission and consequent inaccuracy.
Comp. Isa. chap. 37.
Chapter LII.
The government then passed to his son Josia. He is related to have
been very pious, and to have attended to divine things with the utmost
care, profiting largely by the aid of the priest Helchia. Having read
a book written with the words of God, and which had been found in the
temple by the priest, in which it was stated that the Hebrew nation
would be destroyed on account of their frequent acts of impiety and
sacrilege, by his pious supplications to God, and constant tears, he
averted the impending overthrow. When he learned through Olda the
prophetess that this favor was granted him, he then with still greater
care set himself to practice the worship of God, inasmuch as he was
now under obligation to the divine goodness. Accordingly, he burned
all the vessels which had by the superstitions of former kings been
consecrated to idols. For to such a height had profane observances
prevailed, that they used to pay divine honors to the sun and moon,
and even erected shrines made of metal to these fancied deities. Josia
reduced these to powder, and also slew the priests of the profane
temples. He did not even spare the tombs of the impious; and it was
observed that thus was fulfilled what had of old been predicted by the
prophet. In the eighteenth year of his reign, the Passover was
celebrated. And about three years afterwards, having gone forth to
battle against Nechao, king of Egypt, who was making war upon the
Assyrians, before the armies properly engaged, he was wounded by an
arrow. And being carried back to the city, he died of that wound,
after he had reigned twenty and one years.
Chapter LIII.
Joachas, his son, having then obtained the kingdom, held it for three
months, being doomed to captivity on account of his impiety. For
Nechao, king of Egypt, bound him and led him away captive, and not
long after, while still a prisoner, he ended his days. An annual
tribute was demanded of the Jews, and a king was given them at the
will of the victor. His name was Eliakim, but he afterwards changed it
to Joachim. He was the brother of Joacha, and the son of Josia, but
liker his brother than his father, displeasing God by his impiety.
Accordingly, while he was in subjection to the king of Egypt, and in
token thereof paid him tribute, Nabuchodonosor, the king of Babylon,
seized the land of Judæa, and as victor held it by the right of war
for three years. For the king of Egypt now giving way, and the
boundaries of their empire being fixed between them, it had been
agreed that the Jews should belong to Babylon. Thus after Joachim,
having finished his reign of eleven years, had given place to his son
of the same name, and he had excited against himself the wrath of the
king of Babylon (God undoubtedly overruling everything, having
resolved to give the nation of the Jews up to captivity and
destruction), Nabuchodonosor entered Jerusalem with an army, and
leveled the walls and the temple to the ground. He also carried off an
immense amount of gold, with sacred ornaments either public or
private, and all of mature age both of the male and female sex, those
only being left behind whose weakness or age caused trouble to the
conquerors. This useless crowd had the task assigned them of working
and cultivating the fields in slavery, in order that the soil might
not be neglected. Over them a king called Sedechias was appointed; but
while the empty shadow of the name of king was allowed him, all real
power was taken away. Joachim, for his part, possessed the sovereignty
only for three months. He was carried away, along with the people, to
Babylon, and was there thrown into prison; but being, after a period
of thirty years released, while he was admitted by the king to his
friendship, and made a partaker with him at his table and in his
counsels, he died at last, not without some consolation in that his
misfortunes had been removed.
Chapter LIV.
Meanwhile Sedechias, the king of the useless multitude, although
without power, being of an unfaithful disposition and neglectful of
God, and not understanding that captivity had been brought upon them
on account of the sins of the nation, becoming at length ripe for
suffering the last evils he could endure, offended the mind of the
king. Accordingly, after a period of nine years, Nabuchodonosor made
war against him, and having forced him to flee within the walls,
besieged him for three years. At this time, he consulted Jeremia the
prophet, who had already often proclaimed that captivity impended over
the city, to discover if perhaps there might still be some hope. But
he, not ignorant of the anger of heaven, having frequently had the
same question put to him, at length gave an answer, denouncing special
punishment upon the king. Then Sedechias, roused to resentment,
ordered the prophet to be thrust into prison. Ere long, however, he
regretted this cruel act, but, as the chief men of the Jews (whose
practice it had been even from the beginning to afflict the righteous)
opposed him, he did not venture to release the innocent man. Under
coercion from the same persons, the prophet was let down into a pit
[329] of great depth, and which was disgusting from its filth and
squalor, while a deadly stench issued from it. This was done that he
might not simply die by a common death. But the king, impious though
he was, yet showed himself somewhat more merciful than the priests,
and ordered the prophet to be taken out of the pit, and restored to
the safekeeping of the prison. In the meantime the force of the enemy
and want began to press the besieged hard, and everything being
consumed that could be eaten, famine took a firm hold of them. Thus,
its defenders being worn out with want of food, the town was taken and
burnt. The king, as the prophet had declared, had his eyes put out,
and was carried away to Babylon, while Jeremia, through the mercy of
the enemy, was taken out of his prison. When Nabuzardan, one of the
royal princes, was leading him away captive with the rest, the choice
was granted by him to the prophet, either to remain in his deserted
and desolated native country, or to go along with him in the
possession of the highest honors; and Jeremia preferred to abide in
his native land. Nabuchodonosor, having carried away the people,
appointed as governor over those left behind by the conquerors (either
from the circumstances attending the war, or from an absolute
weariness of accumulating spoil) Godolia, who belonged to the same
nation. He gave him, however, no royal ensign, or even the name of
governor, because there was really no honor in ruling over these few
wretched persons.
Footnotes
[329] "Lacum," as once before.
.
Book II.
Chapter I.
The times of the captivity have been rendered illustrious by the
predictions and deeds of the prophets, and especially by the
remarkable persistency of Daniel in upholding the law, and by the
deliverance of Susanna through the divine wisdom, as well as by the
other things which it accomplished, and which we shall now relate in
their order, Daniel was made a prisoner under King Joachim, and was
brought to Babylon, while still a very little child. Afterwards, on
account of the beauty of his countenance, he had a place given him
among the king's servants, and along with him, Annanias, Misael, and
Azarias. But, when the king had ordered them to be supplied with the
finer kinds of food, and had imposed it as a duty on Asphane the
eunuch to attend to that matter, Daniel, mindful of the traditions of
his fathers which forbade him to partake of food from the table of a
king of the Gentiles, begged of the eunuch to be allowed to use a diet
of pulse only. Asphane objected that the leanness which would follow
might reveal the fact that the king's commandment had been disobeyed;
but Daniel, putting his trust in God, promised that he would have
greater beauty of countenance from living on pulse than from the use
of the king's dainties. And his words were made good, so that the
faces of those who were cared for at the public expense were regarded
as by no means comparable to those of Daniel and his friends.
Accordingly, being promoted by the king to honor and favor, they were,
in a short time, by their prudence and wise conduct, preferred to all
those that stood nearest to the king. About the same time, Susanna,
the wife of a certain man called Joachis, a woman of remarkable
beauty, was desired by two elders, and, when she would not listen to
their unchaste proposals, was assailed by a false accusation. These
elders reported that a young man was found with her in a retired
place, but escaped their hands by his youthful nimbleness, while they
were enfeebled with age. Credit, accordingly, was given to these
elders, and Susanna was condemned by the sentence of the people. And,
as she was being led away to punishment according to the law, Daniel,
who was then twelve years old, after having rebuked the Jews for
delivering the innocent to death, demanded that she should be brought
back to trial, and that her cause should be heard afresh. For the
multitude of the Jews who were then present, thought that a boy of an
age so little commanding respect, had not ventured to take such a bold
step without a divine impulse, and, granting him the favor which was
asked, returned anew to council. The trial, then, is entered upon once
more; and Daniel was allowed to take his place among the elders. Upon
this, he orders the two accusers to be separated from each other, and
inquires of each of them in turn, under what kind of a tree he had
discovered the adulteress. From the difference of answers which they
gave, their falsehood was detected: Susanna was acquitted; and the
elders, who had brought the innocent into danger, were condemned to
death.
Chapter II.
At that time, Nabuchodonosor had a dream marvelous for that insight
[330] into the future which it implied. As he could not of himself
bring out its interpretation, he sent for the Chaldæans who were
supposed by magic arts and by the entrails of victims to know secret
things, and to predict the future, in order to its interpretation.
Presently becoming apprehensive lest, in the usual manner of men, they
should extract from the dream not what was true, but what would be
acceptable to the king, he suppresses the things he had seen, and
demands of them that, if a real power of divination was in them, they
should relate to him the dream itself; saying that he would then
believe their interpretation, if they should first make proof of their
skill by relating the dream. But they declined attempting so great a
difficulty, and confessed that such a thing was not within the reach
of human power. The king, enraged because, under a false profession of
divination, they were mocking men with their errors, while they were
compelled by the present case to acknowledge that they had no such
knowledge as was pretended, made an exposure of them by means of a
royal edict; and all the men professing that art were publicly put to
death. When Daniel heard of that, he spoke to one of those nearest to
the king, and promised to give an account of the dream, as well as
supply its interpretation. The thing is reported to the king, and
Daniel is sent for. The mystery had already been revealed to him by
God; and so he relates the vision of the king, as well as interprets
it. But this matter demands that we set forth the dream of the king
and its interpretation, along with the fulfillment of his words by
what followed. The king, then, had seen in his sleep an image with a
head of gold, with a breast and arms of silver, with a belly and
thighs of brass, with legs of iron, and which in its feet ended partly
with iron, and partly with clay. But the iron and the clay when
blended together could not adhere to each other. At last, a stone cut
out without hands broke the image to pieces, and the whole, being
reduced to dust, was carried away by the wind.
Footnotes
[330] "mysterio futurorum mirabile."
Chapter III.
Accordingly, as the prophet interpreted the matter, the image which
was seen furnished a representation of the world. The golden head is
the empire of the Chaldæans; for we have understood that it was the
first and wealthiest. The breast and the arms of silver represent the
second kingdom; for Cyrus, after the Chaldæans and the Medes were
conquered, conferred the empire on the Persians. In the brazen belly
it is said that the third sovereignty was indicated; and we see that
this was fulfilled, for Alexander took the empire from the Persians,
and won the sovereignty for the Macedonians. The iron legs point to a
fourth power, and that is understood of the Roman empire, which is
more powerful [331] than all the kingdoms which were before it. But
the fact that the feet were partly of iron and partly clay, indicates
that the Roman empire is to be divided, so as never to be united.
This, too, has been fulfilled, for the Roman state is ruled not by one
emperor but by several, and these are always quarreling among
themselves, either in actual warfare or by factions. Finally, by the
clay and the iron being mixed together, yet never in their substance
thoroughly uniting, are shadowed forth those future mixtures of the
human race which disagree among themselves, though apparently
combined. For it is obvious that the Roman territory is occupied by
foreign nations, or rebels, or that it has been given over to those
who have surrendered themselves under an appearance [332] of peace.
And it is also evident that barbarous nations, and especially Jews,
have been commingled with our armies, cities, and provinces; and we
thus behold them living among us, yet by no means agreeing to adopt
our customs. And the prophets declare that these are the last times.
But in the stone cut out without hands, which broke to pieces the
gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay, there is a figure of Christ. For
he, not born under human conditions (since he was born not of the will
of man, but of the will of God), will reduce to nothing that world in
which exist earthly kingdoms, and will establish another kingdom,
incorruptible and everlasting, that is, the future world, which is
prepared for the saints. The faith of some still hesitates about this
point only, while they do not believe about things yet to come, though
they are convinced of the things that are past. Daniel, then, was
presented with many gifts by the king, was set over Babylon and the
whole empire, and was held in the highest honor. By his influence,
Annanias, Azarias, and Misael were also advanced to the highest
dignity and power. About the same time, the remarkable prophecies of
Ezekiel came out, the mystery of future things and of the resurrection
[333] having been revealed to him. His book is one of great weight,
and deserves to be read with care.
Footnotes
[331] Such is clearly the meaning, but it is strangely expressed by
the words "omnibus ante regnis validissimum."
[332] The text is here very uncertain and obscure.
[333] "resurrectionis," referring probably not to the rising again of
the dead, but to the restoration of the Jews. See Ezek. chap. 37.
Chapter IV.
But in Judæa, over which, as we have related above, Godolia was set
after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews taking it very ill that a
ruler not of the royal race had been assigned them by the mere will of
the conqueror, with a certain Ismael as their leader and instigator of
the execrable conspiracy, cut off Godolia by means of treachery while
he was at a banquet. Those, however, who had no part in the plot,
wishing to take steps for avenging the deed, hastily take up arms
against Ismael. But when he learned that destruction threatened him,
leaving the army which he had collected, and with not more than eight
companions he fled to the Ammonites. Fear, therefore, fell upon the
whole people, lest the king of Babylon should avenge the guilt of a
few by the destruction of all; for, in addition to Godolia, they had
slain many of the Chaldæans along with him. They, therefore, form a
plan of fleeing into Egypt, but they first go in a body to Jeremia,
requesting of him divine counsel. He then exhorted them all in the
words of God to remain in their native country, telling them that if
they did so, they would be protected by the power of God, and that no
danger would accrue from the Babylonians, but that, if they went into
Egypt, they would all perish there by sword, and famine, and different
kinds of death. The rabble, however, with the usual evil tendency they
show, being unaccustomed to yield to useful advice and the divine
power, did go into Egypt. The sacred Scriptures are silent as to their
future fate; and I have not been able to discover anything regarding
it.
Chapter V.
At this period of time, Nabuchodonosor elated with prosperity, erected
a golden statue to himself of enormous size, and ordered it to be
worshiped as a sacred image. And when this was zealously gone about by
all, inasmuch as their minds had been corrupted by the universal
flattery which prevailed, Annanias, Azarias, and Misael kept aloof
from the profane observance, being well aware that that honor was due
to God alone. They were therefore, according to an edict of the king,
regarded as criminals, and there was set before them, as the means of
punishment, a fiery furnace, in order that, by present terror, they
might be compelled to worship the statue. But they preferred to be
swallowed up by the flames rather than to commit such a sin.
Accordingly, they were bound, and cast into the midst of the fire. But
the flames laid hold of the agents in this execrable work, as they
were forcing, with all eagerness, the victims into the fire;
while--wonderful to say, and indeed incredible to all but
eye-witnesses--the fire did not touch the Hebrews at all. They were
seen by the spectators walking in the midst of the furnace, and
singing a song of praise to God, while there was also beheld along
with them a fourth person having the appearance of an angel, and whom
Nabuchodonosor, on obtaining a nearer view of him, acknowledged to be
the [334] Son of God. Then the king having no doubt that the divine
power was present in the event which had taken place, sent
proclamations throughout his whole kingdom making known the miracle
which had taken place, and confessing that honor was to be paid to God
alone. Not long after, being instructed by a vision which presented
itself to him, and presently also by a voice which reached him from
heaven, he is said to have done penance by laying aside his kingly
power, retiring from all intercourse with mankind, and to have
sustained life by herbs alone. However, his empire was kept for him by
the will of God, until the time was fulfilled, and at length duly
acknowledging God, he was, after seven years, restored to his kingdom
and former position. He is related, after having conquered Sedechia
(whom he carried away captive to Babylon), as we have said above, to
have reigned twenty-six years, although I do not find that recorded in
the sacred history. But it has perhaps happened that, while I was
engaged in searching out many points, I found this remark in the work
of some anonymous author which had become interpolated in course of
time, and in which the dates of the Babylonish kings were contained. I
did not think it right to pass the remark unnoticed, since it does in
fact harmonize with the Chronicles, and thus its account agrees with
us, to the effect that, through the succession of the kings, whose
dates the record contained, it completed seventy years up to the first
year of king Cyrus, and such in fact is the number of years which is
stated in the sacred history to have elapsed from the captivity up to
the time of Cyrus.
Footnotes
[334] Or, "confessed that he had seen a son of God."
Chapter VI.
After Nabuchodonosor, the kingdom fell to his son, whom I find called
Euilmarodac in the Chronicles. He died in the twelfth year of his
reign, and made room for his younger brother, who was called
Balthasar. He, when in the fourteenth year he gave a public feast to
his chief men and rulers, ordered the sacred vessels (which had been
taken away by Nabuchodonosor from the temple at Jerusalem, yet had not
been employed for any uses of the king, but were kept laid up in the
treasury) to be brought forth. And when all persons, both of the male
and female sex, with his wives and concubines, were using these amid
the luxury and licentiousness of a royal banquet, suddenly the king
observed fingers writing upon the wall, and the letters were perceived
to be formed into words. [335] But no one could be found who was able
to read the writing. The king, therefore, in perturbation called for
the magi and the Chaldæans. When these simply muttered among
themselves and answered nothing, the queen reminded the king that
there was a certain Hebrew, Daniel by name, who had formerly revealed
to Nabuchodonosor a dream containing a secret mystery, and had then,
on account of his remarkable wisdom, been promoted to the highest
honors. Accordingly, he, being sent for, read and interpreted the
writing, to the effect that, on account of the sin of the king, who
had profaned vessels sacred to God, destruction impended over him, and
that his kingdom was given to the Medes and Persians. And this
presently took place. For, on the same night, Balthasar perished, and
Darius, a Mede by nation, took possession of his kingdom. He again,
finding that Daniel was held in the highest reputation, placed him at
the head of the whole empire, in this following the judgment of the
kings who had preceded him. For Nabuchodonosor had also set him over
the kingdom, and Balthasar had presented him with a purple robe and a
golden chain, while he also constituted him the third ruler in the
kingdom.
Footnotes
[335] "in versum ductæ literæ": various emendations have been
proposed, but the text may stand. The meaning appears to be that the
letters were not thrown together at random, but so placed as to form
words.
Chapter VII.
Those, therefore, who were possessed of power along with him,
stimulated by envy, because a foreigner belonging to a captive nation
had been placed on a footing of equality with them, constrain the
king, who had been corrupted by flattery, to enact that divine honors
should be paid to him for the next thirty days, and that it should not
be lawful for any one to pray to a god except the king. Darius was
easily persuaded to that, through the folly of all kings who claim for
themselves divine honors. In these circumstances, Daniel being not
unacquainted with what had happened, and not being ignorant that
prayer ought to be addressed to God, and not to man, is accused of not
having obeyed the king's commandment. And much against the will of
Darius, to whom he had always been dear and acceptable, the rulers
prevailed that he should be let down into a den. [336] But no harm
came to him when thus exposed to the wild beasts. And on the king
discovering this, he ordered his accusers to be given over to the
lions. They, however, did not pass through a similar experience, for
they were instantly devoured to satisfy the hunger of the savage
beasts. Daniel, who had been famous before, was now esteemed still
more famous; and the king, repealing his former edict, issued a new
one to the effect that, all errors and superstitions being abandoned,
the God of Daniel was to be worshiped. There exists also a record of
visions of Daniel, in which he revealed the order of events in coming
ages, embracing in them also the number of the years, within which he
announced that Christ would descend to earth (as has taken place), and
clearly set forth the future coming of Antichrist. If any one is eager
to inquire into these points, he will find them more fully treated of
in the book of Daniel: our design is simply to present a connected
statement of events. Darius is related to have reigned eighteen years;
after which date Astyages began to rule over the Medes.
Footnotes
[336] "lacum": twice used before in the sense of pit.
Chapter VIII.
Him Cyrus, his grandson by his daughter, expelled from the kingdom,
having used the arms of the Persians for the purpose; and hence the
chief power was transferred to the Persians. The Babylonians also fell
under his power and government. It happened at the beginning of his
reign that, by the issue of public edicts, he gave permission to the
Jews to return into their own country; and he also restored the sacred
vessels which Nabuchodonosor had carried away from the temple at
Jerusalem. Accordingly, a few then returned into Judæa; as to the
others, we have not been able to discover whether the desire of
returning, or the power of doing so, was wanting. There was at that
time among the Babylonians a brazen image of Belus, a very ancient
king, whom Virgil also has mentioned. [337] This having been deemed
sacred by the superstition of the people, Cyrus also had been
accustomed to worship, being deceived by the trickery of its priests.
They affirmed that the image ate and drank, while they themselves
secretly carried off the daily portion which was offered to the idol.
Cyrus, then, being on intimate terms with Daniel, asked him why he did
not worship the image, since it was a manifest symbol of the living
God, as consuming those things which were offered to it. Daniel,
laughing at the mistake of the man, replied that it could not possibly
be the case, that that work of brass--mere insensate matter--could use
either meat or drink. The king, therefore, ordered the priests to be
called (they were about seventy in number); and, bringing terror to
bear upon them, he reprovingly asked them who was in the way of
consuming what was offered, since Daniel, a man distinguished for his
wisdom, maintained that that could not be done by an insensate image.
Then they, trusting in their ready-made trick, ordered the usual
offering to be made, and the temple to be sealed up by the king, on
the understanding that, unless on the following day the whole offering
were found to have been consumed, they should suffer death, while, on
the opposite being discovered, the same fate awaited Daniel.
Accordingly, the temple was sealed up by the signet of the king; but
Daniel had previously, without the knowledge of the priests, covered
the floor of it with ashes, so that their footprints might betray the
clandestine approaches of those who entered. The king, then, having
entered the temple on the following day, perceived that those things
had been taken away, which he had ordered to be served up to the idol.
Then Daniel lays open the secret fraud by the betraying footprints,
showing that the priests, with their wives and children, had entered
the temple by a hole opened from below, and had devoured those things
which were served up to the idol. Accordingly, all of them were put to
death by the order of the king, while the temple and image were
submitted to the power of Daniel, and were destroyed at his command.
Footnotes
[337] The reference is to Æn. I. 729, but Sigonius and others have
suspected the words as being a gloss. They are, however, probably
genuine. Virgil's words are,-- "Hic regina gravem gemmis auroque
poposcit Implevitque mero paternam, quam Belus et omnes A Belo soliti;
tum facta silentia tectis."
Chapter IX.
In the meantime, those Jews, who, as we have said above, returned into
their native land by the permission of Cyrus, attempted to restore
their city and temple. But, being few and poor, they made but little
progress, until, at last, after the lapse of about a hundred years,
while Artaxerxes the king ruled over the Persians, they were
absolutely deterred from building by those who had local authority.
For, at that time, Syria and all Judæa was ruled under the empire of
the Persians by magistrates and governors. Accordingly, these took
counsel to write to king Artaxerxes, that it was not fitting that
opportunity should be granted to the Jews of rebuilding their city,
lest, in accordance with their stubborn character, and being
accustomed to rule over other nations, they should, on recovering
their strength, not submit to live under the sway of a foreign power.
Thus, the plan of the rulers being approved of by the king, the
building of the city was put a stop to, and delayed until the second
year of Darius the king. But, who were kings of Persia throughout this
period of time, we shall here insert, in order that the succession of
the dates may be set forth in a regular and fixed order. Well, then,
after Darius the Mede, who, as we have said above, reigned eighteen
years, Cyrus held the supreme power for thirty-one years. While making
war upon the Scythians, he fell in battle, in the second year after
Tarquinius Superbus began to reign at Rome. To Cyrus succeeded his son
Cambyses, and reigned eight years. He, after harassing with war Egypt
and Ethiopia, and subduing these countries, returned as victor to
Persia, but accidentally hurt himself, and died from that wound. After
his death, two brothers, who were magi, and Medes by nation, held rule
over the Persians for seven months. To slay these, seven of the most
noble of the Persians formed a conspiracy, of whom the leader was
Darius, the son of Hystaspes, who was a cousin of Cyrus, and by
unanimous consent the kingdom was bestowed on him: he reigned thirty
and six years. He, four years before his death, fought at Marathon, in
a battle greatly celebrated both in Greek and Roman history. That took
place about the two hundred and sixtieth year after the founding of
Rome, while Macerinus and Augurinus were consuls, that is, eight
hundred and eighty-eight years ago, provided the research I have made
into the succession of Roman consuls does not deceive me; for I have
made the entire reckoning down to the time of Stilico. [338] After
Darius came Xerxes, and he is said to have reigned twenty-one years,
although I have found that the length of his rule is, in most copies,
[339] set down at twenty and five years. To him succeeded Artaxerxes,
of whom we have made mention above. Since he ordered the building of
the Jewish city and temple to be stopped, the work was suspended to
the second year of king Darius. But that the succession of dates may
be completed up to him, I have to state that Artaxerxes reigned
forty-one years, Xerxes two months, and that, after him, Sucdianus
ruled for seven months.
Footnotes
[338] Stilico was consul during the lifetime of Sulpitius.
[339] "in plerisque exemplaribus": the mss. varying, as they so often
do, with respect to numbers.
Chapter X.
Next, Darius, under whom the temple was restored, obtained the
kingdom, his name being at that time Ochus. He had three Hebrew of
tried fidelity as his bodyguard, and of these had, from the proof of
his prudence which he had given, attracted towards himself the
admiration of the king. The choice, then, being given him of asking
for anything which he had formed a desire for in his heart, groaning
over the ruins of his country, he begged permission to restore the
city, and obtained an order from the king to urge the lieutenants and
rulers to hurry forward the building of the holy temple, and furnish
the expense needful to that end. Accordingly, the temple was completed
in four years; that is, in the sixth year after Darius began to reign,
and that seemed, for the time, enough to the people of the Jews. For,
as it was a work of great labor to restore the city, distrusting their
own resources, they did not venture at the time to begin an
undertaking of so great difficulty, but were content with having
rebuilt the temple. At the same time, Esdras the scribe, who was
skilled in the law, about twenty years after the temple had been
completed (Darius being now dead who had possessed the sovereignty for
nineteen years), by the permission of Artaxerxes the second (not he
who had a place between the two Xerxes, but he who had succeeded to
Darius Ochus), set out from Babylon with many following him, and they
carried to Jerusalem the vessels of various workmanship, as well as
the gifts which the king had sent for the temple of God. Along with
them were but twelve Levites; for with difficulty that number of the
tribe is related then to have been found. He, having found that the
Jews united in marriage with the Gentiles, rebuked them severely on
that account, and ordered them to renounce all connections of that
kind, as well as to put away the children which had been the issue of
such marriages; and all yielded obedience to his word. The people,
then, being sanctified, performed the rites sanctioned by the ancient
law. But I do not find that Esdras did anything with the view of
restoring the city; because he thought, as I imagine, that a more
urgent duty was to reform the people from the corrupt habits which
they had contracted.
Chapter XI.
There was at that time at Babylon one Nehemiah, a servant of the king,
a Jew by birth, and very much beloved by Artaxerxes on account of the
services he had rendered. He, having inquired of his fellow-countrymen
the Jews, what was the condition of their ancestral city; and having
learned that his native land remained in the same fallen condition as
before, is said to have been disturbed with all his heart, and to have
prayed to God with groans and many tears. He also called to mind the
sins of his nation, and urgently entreated the divine compassion.
Accordingly, the king noticing that he, while waiting at table, seemed
more sorrowful than usual, asked him to explain the reasons of his
grief. Then he began to bewail the misfortunes of his nation, and the
ruin of his ancestral city, which now, for almost two hundred and
fifty years, being leveled with the ground, furnished a proof of the
evils which had been endured, and a gazing-stock to their enemies. He
therefore begged the king to grant him the liberty of going and
restoring it. The king yielded to these dutiful entreaties, and
immediately sent him away with a guard of cavalry, that he might the
more safely accomplish his journey, giving him, at the same time,
letters to the rulers requesting them to furnish him with all that was
necessary. When he arrived at Jerusalem, he distributed the work
connected with the city to the people, man by man; and all vied with
each other in carrying out the orders which they received. And already
the work of rebuilding [340] had been half accomplished, when the
jealousy of the surrounding heathen burst out, and the neighboring
cities conspired to interrupt the works, and to deter the Jews from
building. But Nehemiah, having stationed guards against those making
assaults upon the people, was in no degree alarmed, and carried out
what he had begun. And thus, after the wall was completed, and the
entrances of the gates finished, he measured out the city for the
construction by families of houses within it. He reckoned, also, that
the people were not adequate in numbers to the size of the city; for
there were not more of them than fifty thousand of both sexes and of
all ranks--to such an extent had their formerly enormous numbers been
reduced by frequent wars, and by the multitude kept in captivity. For,
of old, those two tribes, of whom the remaining people were all that
survived, had, when the ten tribes were separated from them, been able
to furnish three hundred and twenty thousand armed men. But being
given up by God, on account of their sin, to death and captivity, they
had sunk down to the miserably small number which they now presented.
This company, however, as I have said, consisted only of the two
tribes: the ten [341] which had previously been carried away being
scattered among the Parthians, Medes, Indians, and Ethiopians never
returned to their native country, and are to this day held under the
sway of barbarous nations. But the completion of the restored city is
related to have been effected in the thirty-second year of the reign
of Artaxerxes. From that time to the crucifixion of Christ; that is,
to the time when Fufius Geminus and Rubellius were consuls, there
elapsed three hundred and ninety and eight years. But from the
restoration of the temple to its destruction, which was completed by
Titus under Vespasian, when Augustus was consul, there was a period of
four hundred and eighty-three years. That was formerly predicted by
Daniel, who announced that from the restoration of the temple to its
overthrow there would elapse seventy and nine weeks. Now, from the
date of the captivity of the Jews until the time of the restoration of
the city, there were two hundred and sixty years.
Footnotes
[340] "jamque ad medium machinae processerant."
[341] Our author here touches upon a most interesting question--the
ultimate destiny of the ten tribes. He seems to imply that none of
them returned to Palestine, but were wholly absorbed among the Gentile
nations. That, however, cannot be correct, for it was still possible,
in the time of Christ, to speak of some as connected with the tribe of
Asher, one of the ten tribes. See Luke ii. 36.
Chapter XII.
At this period of time we think Esther and Judith lived, but I confess
that I cannot easily perceive with what kings especially I should
connect the actions of their lives. For, while Esther is said to have
lived under King Artaxerxes, I find that there were two Persian kings
of that name, and there is much hesitation in concluding to which of
these her date is to be assigned. However, it has seemed preferable to
me to connect the history of Esther with that Artaxerxes under whom
Jerusalem was restored, because it is not likely that, if she had
lived under the former Artaxerxes, whose times Esdras has given an
account of, he would have made no mention of such an illustrious
woman. This is all the more convincing since we know that the building
of the temple was (as we have related above) prohibited by that
Artaxerxes and Esther would not have allowed that had she then been
united with him in marriage. But I will now repeat what things she
accomplished. There was at that time a certain Vastis connected with
the king in marriage, a woman of marvelous beauty. Being accustomed to
extol her loveliness to all, he one day, when he was giving a public
entertainment, ordered the queen to attend for the purpose of
exhibiting her beauty. But she, more prudent than the foolish king,
and being too modest to make a show of her person before the eyes of
men, refused compliance with his orders. His savage mind was enraged
by this insult, and he drove her forth, both from her condition of
marriage with him and from the palace. Consequently, when a young
woman was sought after to take her place as the wife of the king,
Esther was found to excel all others in beauty. She being a Jewess of
the tribe of Benjamin, and an orphan, without father or mother, had
been brought up by her cousin-german, [342] Mardochæus. On being
espoused to the king, she, by the instructions of him who had brought
her up, concealed her nation and fatherland, and was also admonished
by him not to become forgetful of her ancestral traditions, nor,
though as a captive she had entered into marriage with a foreigner, to
take part in the food of the heathen. Thus, then, being united to the
king, she, in a short time, as was to be expected, easily captivated
his whole mind by the power of her beauty, so that, equalizing her
with himself in the emblem of sovereign power, he presented her with a
purple robe.
Footnotes
[342] "patruele patre": words which have much perplexed the editors.
Chapter XIII.
At this time, Mardochæus was among those nearest to the king, having
entirely under his charge the affairs of the household. He had made
known to the king a plot which had been formed by two eunuchs, and, on
that account, had become a greater favorite, while he was presented
with the highest honors. There was at that period one Haman, a very
confidential friend of the king, whom he had made equal to himself
and, after the manner of sovereign rulers, had ordered to be
worshiped. Mardochæus being the one man among all who refused to do
that, had greatly kindled the wrath of the Persian against himself.
Accordingly, Haman setting his mind to work the ruin of the Hebrew,
went to the king, and affirmed that there was in his kingdom a race of
men of wicked superstitions, and hateful alike to God and men. He said
that, as they lived according to foreign laws, they deserved to be
destroyed; and that it was a righteous thing to hand over the whole of
this nation to death. At the same time, he promised the king immense
wealth out of their possessions. The barbarous prince was easily
persuaded, and an edict was issued for the slaughter of the Jews,
while men were at once sent out to publish it through the whole
kingdom from India even to Ethiopia. When Mardochæus heard of this, he
rent his clothes, clothed himself in sackcloth, scattered ashes upon
his head, and, going to the palace, he there made the whole place
resound with his wailing and complaints, crying out that it was an
unworthy thing that an innocent nation should perish, while there
existed no ground for its destruction. Esther's attention was
attracted by the voice of lamentation, and she learned how the case
really stood. But she was then at a loss what step she should take
(for, according to the custom of the Persians, the queen is not
permitted access to the king, unless she has been sent for, and indeed
is not admitted at any time the king may please, but only at a fixed
period); and it happened at the time, that by this rule, Esther was
held as separated from the presence of the king for the next thirty
days. However, thinking that she ought to run some risk in behalf of
her fellow-countrymen, even should sure destruction await her, she was
prepared to encounter death in such a noble cause, and, after having
called upon God, she entered the court of the king. But the barbarian,
though at first amazed at this unusual occurrence, was gradually won
over by female blandishments, and at length went so far as to
accompany the queen to a banquet which she had prepared. Along with
him also went Haman, the favorite of the king, but a deadly enemy of
the nation of the Jews. Well, when after the feasting the banquet
began to become jovial through the many cups which were drank, Esther
cast herself down at the knees of the king, and implored him to stay
the destruction which threatened her nation. Then the king promised to
refuse nothing to her entreaties, if she had any further request to
make. Esther at once seized the opportunity, and demanded the death of
Haman as a satisfaction to her nation, which he had desired to see
destroyed. But the king could not forget his friend, and hesitating a
little, he withdrew for a short time for the purpose of considering
the matter. He then returned, and when he saw Haman grasping the knees
of the queen, excited with rage, and, crying out that violence was
being applied to the queen, he ordered him to be put to death. It then
came to the knowledge of the king that a cross [343] had been got
ready by Haman on which Mardochæus was to suffer. Thus, Haman was
fixed to that very cross, and all his goods were handed over to
Mardochæus, while the Jews at large were set free. Artaxerxes reigned
sixty and two years, and was succeeded by Ochus.
Footnotes
[343] "poenam crucis": after the Greek.
Chapter XIV.
To this series of events it will be right that I should append an
account of the doings of Judith; for she is related to have lived
after the captivity, but the sacred history has not revealed who was
king of the Persians in her day. It, however, calls the king under
whom her exploits were performed by the name of Nabuchodonosor, and
that was certainly not the one who took Jerusalem. But I do not find
that any one of that name reigned over the Persians after the
captivity, unless it be that, on account of the [344] wrath and like
endeavors which he manifested, any king acting so was styled
Nabuchodonosor by the Jews. Most persons, however, think that it was
Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, on this ground that he, as a conqueror,
penetrated into Egypt and Ethiopia. But the sacred history is opposed
to this opinion; for Judith is described as having lived in the
twelfth year of the king in question. Now, Cambyses did not possess
the supreme power for more than eight years. Wherefore, if it is
allowable to make a conjecture on a point of history, I should be
inclined to believe that her exploits were performed under king Ochus,
who came after the second Artaxerxes. I found this conjecture on the
fact that (as I have read in profane histories) he is related to have
been by nature cruel and fond of war. For he both engaged in
hostilities with his neighbors, and recovered by wars Egypt, which had
revolted many years before. At that time, also, he is related to have
ridiculed the sacred rites of the Egyptians and Apis, who was regarded
by them as a god; a thing which Baguas, one of his eunuchs, an
Egyptian by nation, and indignant at the king's conduct, afterwards
avenged by the death of the king, considering that the king had
insulted the race to which he belonged. Now, the inspired [345]
history makes mention of this Baguas; for, when Holofernes by the
order of the king led an army against the Jews, it has related that
Baguas was among the host. Wherefore, not without reason may I bring
it forward in proof of the opinion I have expressed that that king who
was named Nabuchodonosor was really Ochus, since profane historians
have related that Baguas lived in his reign. But this ought not to be
felt at all remarkable by any one, that mere worldly writers have not
touched on any of those points which are recorded in the sacred
writings. The spirit of God thus took care that the history should be
strictly confined within its own mysteries, unpolluted by any corrupt
mouth, or that which mingled truth with fiction. That history being,
in fact, separated from the affairs of the world, and of a kind to be
expressed only in sacred words, clearly ought not to have been mixed
up with other histories, as being on a footing of equality with them.
For it would have been most unbecoming that this history should be
commingled with others treating of other things, or pursuing different
inquiries. But I will now proceed to what remains, and will narrate in
as few words as I can the acts performed by Judith.
Footnotes
[344] The text here is uncertain.
[345] "historia divina": the writer applies these words to the book of
Judith.
Chapter XV.
The Jews, then, having returned, as we have narrated above, to their
native land, and the condition of their affairs and of their city
being not yet properly settled, the king of the Persians made war on
the Medes, and engaged in a successful battle against their king, who
was named Arphaxad. That monarch being slain, he added the nation to
his empire. He did the same to other nations, having sent before him
Holofernes whom he had appointed master of his host, with a hundred
and twenty thousand foot-soldiers, and twelve thousand cavalry. He,
after having ravaged in war, Cilicia and Arabia, took many cities by
force, or compelled them through fear to surrender. And now the army,
having moved on to Damascus, had struck the Jews with great terror.
But as they were unable to resist, and as, at the same time, they
could not bring their minds to acquiesce in the thought of surrender,
since they had previously known from experience the miseries of
slavery, they betook themselves in crowds to the temple. There, with a
general groaning and commingled wailing, they implored the divine
assistance; saying that they had been sufficiently punished by God for
their sins and offenses; and begging him to spare the remnant of them
who had recently been delivered from slavery. In the meantime,
Holofernes had admitted the Moabites to surrender, and joined them to
himself as allies in the war against the Jews. He inquired of their
chief men what was the power on which the Hebrews relied in not
bringing their minds to submit to the thought of submission. In reply,
a certain man called Achior stated to him the facts, viz.: that the
Jews being worshipers of God, and trained by their fathers to pious
observances, had formerly passed through a period of slavery in Egypt,
and that, brought out from that country by the divine aid, and having
passed over on foot the sea which was dried up before them, they had
at last conquered all the opposing nations, and recovered the
territory inhabited by their ancestors. That subsequently, with
various fluctuations in their affairs, they had either prospered or
the reverse, that, when they did sink into adversity, they had again
escaped from their sufferings, finding that God was, in turn, either
angry against them, or reconciled towards them, according to their
deserts, so that, when they sinned, they were chastised by the attacks
of enemies or by being sent into captivity, but were always
unconquerable when they enjoyed the divine favor. So then, if at the
present time they are free from guilt, they cannot possibly be
subdued; but if they are otherwise situated, they will easily be
conquered. Upon this, Holofernes, flushed with many victories, and
thinking that everything must give way before him, was roused to
wrath, because victory on his part was regarded as principally
depending on the sin of the Jews, and ordered Achior to be pushed
forward into the camp of the Hebrews, that he might perish in company
with those who he had affirmed could not be conquered. Now, the Jews
had then made for the mountains; and those to whom the business had
been assigned, proceeded to the foot of the mountains, and there left
Achior in chains. When the Jews perceived that, they freed him from
his bonds and conducted him up the hill. On their inquiring the reason
of what had happened, he explained it to them, and, being received in
peace, awaited the result. I may add that, after the victory, he was
circumcised and became a Jew. Well, Holofernes, perceiving the
difficulty of the localities, because he could not reach the heights,
surrounded the mountains with soldiers, and took the greatest pains to
cut off the Hebrews from all water supplies. On that account, they
felt all the sooner the misery of a siege. Being therefore overcome
through want of water, they went in a company to Ozias, their leader,
all inclined to make a surrender. But he replied that they should wait
a little, and look for the divine assistance, so that the time of
surrender was fixed for the fifth day afterwards.
Chapter XVI.
When this became known to Judith (a widow woman of great wealth, and
remarkable for beauty, but still more distinguished for her virtue
than her beauty), who was then in the camp, she thought that, in the
distressed circumstances of her people, some bold effort ought to be
made by her, even though it should lead to her own destruction. She
therefore decks her head and beautifies her countenance, and then,
attended by a single maidservant, she enters the camp of the enemy.
She was immediately conducted to Holofernes, and tells him that the
affairs of her countrymen were desperate, so that she had taken
precautions for her life by flight. Then she begs of the general the
right of a free egress from the camp during night, for the purpose of
saying her prayers. That order was accordingly given to the sentinels
and keepers of the gates. But when by the practice of three days she
had established for herself the habit of going out and returning, and
had also in this way inspired belief in her into the barbarians, the
desire took possession of Holofernes of abusing the person of his
captive; for, being of surpassing beauty, she had easily impressed the
Persian. Accordingly, she was conducted to the tent of the general by
Baguas, the eunuch; and, commencing a banquet, the barbarian stupefied
himself with a great deal of wine. Then, when the servants withdrew,
before he offered violence to the woman, he fell asleep. Judith,
seizing the opportunity, cut off the head of the enemy and carried it
away with her. Being regarded as simply going out of the camp
according to her usual custom, she returned to her own people in
safety. On the following day the Hebrews held forth for show the head
of Holofernes from the heights; and, making a sally, marched upon the
camp of the enemy. And then the barbarians assemble in crowds at the
tent of their general, waiting for the signal of battle. When his
mutilated body was discovered, they turned to flight under the
influence of a disgraceful panic, and fled before the enemy. The Jews,
for their part, pursued the fugitives, and after slaying many
thousands, took possession of the camp and the booty within it. Judith
was extolled with the loftiest praises, and is said to have lived one
hundred and five years. If these things took place, as we believe,
under king Ochus, in the twelfth year of his reign, then from the date
of the restoration of Jerusalem up to that war there elapsed two and
twenty years. Now Ochus reigned in all twenty-three years. And he was
beyond all others cruel, and more than of a barbarous disposition.
Baguas, the eunuch, took him off by poison on an occasion of his
suffering from illness. After him, Arses his son held the government
for three years, and Darius for four.
Chapter XVII.
Against him Alexander of Macedon engaged in war. And on his being
conquered, the sovereign power was taken from the Persians, after
having lasted, from the time of its establishment by Cyrus, two
hundred and fifty years. Alexander, the conqueror of almost all
nations, is said to have visited the temple at Jerusalem, and to have
conveyed gifts into it; and he proclaimed throughout the whole
territory which he had reduced under his sway that it should be free
to the Jews living in it to return to their own country. At the end of
the twelfth year of his reign, and seven years after he had conquered
Darius, he died at Babylon. His friends who, along with him, had
carried on those very important wars, divided his empire among
themselves. For some time they administered the charges they had
undertaken without making use of the name of king, while a certain
Arridæus Philippus, the brother of Alexander, reigned, to whom, being
of a very weak character, the sovereignty was nominally and in
appearance given, but the real power was in the hands of those who had
divided among themselves the army and the provinces. And indeed this
state of things did not long continue, but all preferred that they
should be called by the name of kings. In Syria Seleucus was the first
king after Alexander, Persia and Babylon being also subject to his
sway. At that time the Jews paid an annual tribute of three hundred
talents of silver to the king; but they were governed not by foreign
magistrates but by their own priests. And they lived according to the
fashions of their ancestors until very many of them again corrupted by
a long peace, began to mingle all things with seditions, and to create
disturbances, while they aimed at the high-priesthood under the
influence of lust, avarice, and the desire of power.
Chapter XVIII.
For, first of all, under king Seleucus, the son of Antiochus the
great, a certain man called Simon accused to the king on false charges
Onias the priest, a holy and uncorrupted man, and thus tried, but in
vain, to overthrow him. Then, after an interval of time, Jason, the
brother of Onias, went to Antiochus the king, who had succeeded his
brother Seleucus, and promised him an increase of tribute, if the
high-priesthood were transferred to him. And although it was an
unusual, and indeed, until now, an unpermitted thing for a man to
enjoy the high-priesthood year after year, still the eager mind of the
king, diseased with avarice, was easily persuaded. Accordingly, Onias
was driven from office, and the priesthood bestowed on Jason. He
harassed his countrymen and his country in the most shameful manner.
Then, as he had sent through a certain Menelaus (the brother of that
Simon who has been mentioned) the money he had promised to the king, a
way being once laid open to his ambition, Menelaus obtained the
priesthood by the same arts which Jason had employed before. But not
long after, as he had not furnished the promised amount of money, he
was driven from his position, and Lysimachus substituted in his stead.
Then there arose disgraceful conflicts between Jason and Menelaus,
until Jason, as an exile, left the country. By examples like these,
the morals of the people became corrupted to such an extent, that
numbers of the natives begged permission from Antiochus to live after
the fashion of the Gentiles. And when the king granted their request,
all the most worthless vied with each other in their endeavors to
construct temples, to sacrifice to idols, and to profane the law. In
the meantime, Antiochus returned from Alexandria (for he had then made
war upon the king of Egypt, which, however, he gave up by the orders
of the senate and Roman people, when Paulus and Crassus were consuls),
and went to Jerusalem. Finding the people at variance from the diverse
superstitions they had adopted, he destroyed the law of God, and
showed favor to those who followed impious courses, while he carried
off all the ornaments of the temple, and wasted it with much
destruction. That came to pass in the hundred and fiftieth year after
the death of Alexander, Paulus and Crassus being, as we have said,
consuls, about five years after Antiochus began to reign.
Chapter XIX.
But that the order of the dates may be correctly preserved, and that
it may appear more clearly who this Antiochus was, we shall enumerate
both the names and times of the kings who came after Alexander in
Syria. Well, then, king Alexander having died, as we have related
above, his whole empire was portioned out by his friends, and was
governed for some time by them under the name of the king. [346]
Seleucus, after the lapse of nine years, was himself styled king in
Syria, and reigned thirty-two years. After him came Antiochus, his
son, with a reign of twenty-one years. Then came Antiochus, the son of
Antiochus, who was surnamed Theus, and he reigned fifteen years. After
him, his son Seleucus, surnamed Callinicus, reigned twenty-one years.
Another Seleucus, the son of Callinicus, reigned three years. After
his death Antiochus, the brother of Callinicus, held Asia and Syria
for thirty-seven years. This is the Antiochus against whom Lucius
Scipio Asiaticus made war; and he, being worsted in the war was
stripped of a part of his empire. He had two sons, Seleucus and
Antiochus, the latter of whom he had given as a hostage to the Romans.
Thus, then, Antiochus the great having died, his younger son Seleucus
obtained the kingdom, under whom, as we have said, Onias the priest
had an accusation brought against him by Simon. Then Antiochus was set
free by the Romans, and there was given in his place as hostage
Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, who was at that time reigning.
Seleucus dying in the twelfth year of his reign, his brother
Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome, seized the kingdom. He,
five years after the beginning of his reign, did, as we have shown
above, lay waste Jerusalem. For, as he had to pay a heavy tribute to
the Romans, he was almost of necessity compelled, in order to meet
that enormous expense, to provide himself with money by rapine, and to
neglect no opportunity of plundering. Then, after two years, the Jews
being again visited by a similar disaster to that which they had
suffered before, lest it should happen that, driven on by their
numerous miseries, they should commence war, he placed a garrison in
the citadel. Next, with the view of overturning the holy law, he
published an edict, that all, forsaking the traditions of their
ancestors, should live after the manner of the Gentiles. And there
were not wanting those who readily obeyed this profane enactment. Then
truly there was a horrible spectacle presented; through all the cities
sacrifices were publicly offered in the streets, while the sacred
volumes of the law and the prophets were consumed with fire.
Footnotes
[346] They did not themselves, for a time, assume the name of king,
but, as said above, professed to rule under the authority of king
Arridæus, brother of Alexander.
Chapter XX.
At that time, Matthathias, the son of John, was high-priest. When he
was being forced by the servants of the king to obey the edict, with
marvelous courage he set at naught the profane enactments, and slew,
in the presence of all, a Hebrew who was publicly performing profane
acts. A leader having thus been found, rebellion at once took place.
Matthathias left the town; and as many flocked to him, he got up the
appearance of a regular army. The object of every man in that host was
to defend himself by arms against a profane government, and rather
even to fall in war than to take part in impious ceremonies. In the
meantime, Antiochus was compelling those Jews who were found in the
Greek cities in his dominions to offer sacrifice, and was visiting
with unheard-of torments those who refused. At this time, there
occurred that well-known and remarkable suffering of the seven
brothers and their mother. All of the brothers, when they were being
forced to violate the law of God, and the customs of their ancestors,
preferred rather to die. At last, their mother, too, accompanied them
both in their sufferings and death.
Chapter XXI.
In the meantime, Matthathias dies, having appointed in his own place
his son Judah, as general of the army which he had brought together.
Under his leadership, several successful battles took place against
the royal forces. For first of all, he destroyed, along with his whole
army, Apollonius, the enemy's general, who had entered on the conflict
with a large number of troops. When a certain man, named Seron, who
was then the ruler of Syria, heard of this, he increased his forces,
and attacked Judah with much spirit as being superior in numbers, but
when a battle took place, he was routed and put to flight; and with
the loss of nearly eight hundred men, he returned to Syria. On this
becoming known to Antiochus, he was filled with rage and regret,
inasmuch as it vexed him that his generals had been conquered,
notwithstanding their large armies. He therefore gathers aid from his
whole empire, and bestows a donative on the soldiers, almost to the
exhaustion of his treasury. For he was then suffering in a very
special manner from the want of money. The reason of this was, on the
one side, that the Jews, who had been accustomed to pay him an annual
tribute of more than three hundred talents of silver, were now in a
state of rebellion against him; and on the other side, that many of
the Greek cities and countries were unsettled by the evil of
persecution. For Antiochus had not spared even the Gentiles, whom he
had sought to persuade to abandon their long-established
superstitions, and to draw over to one kind of religious observance.
And no doubt, those of them who regarded nothing as sacred, easily
were induced to give up their ancient forms of worship, but at the
same time all were in a state of alarm and disaster. For these
reasons, then, the taxes had ceased to be paid. Boiling with wrath on
these grounds (for he who had of old been the richest of kings now
deeply felt the poverty due to his own wickedness), he divided his
forces with Lysias, and committed to him Syria and the war against the
Jews, while he himself set out against the Persians, to collect the
taxes among them. Lysias, then, selected Ptolemy, Gorgias, Doro, and
Nicanor, as generals in the war; and to these he gave forty thousand
infantry, and seven thousand cavalry. At the first onset these caused
great alarm among the Jews. Then Judah, when all were in despair,
exhorted his men to go with courageous hearts to battle--that, if they
put their trust in God, everything would give way before them; for
that often before then the victory had been won by a few fighting
against many. A fast was proclaimed, and sacrifice was offered, after
which they went down to battle. The result was that the forces of the
enemy were scattered, and Judah, taking possession of their camp,
found in it both much gold and Tyrian treasures. For merchants from
Syria, having no doubt as to victory, had followed the king's army
with the hope of purchasing prisoners, and now were themselves
spoiled. When these things were reported to Lysias by messengers, he
got together troops with still greater efforts, and in a year after
again attacked the Jews with an enormous army; but being defeated, he
retreated to Antioch.
Chapter XXII.
Judah, on the defeat of the enemy, returned to Jerusalem, and bent his
mind on the purification and restoration of the temple, which having
been overthrown by Antiochus, and profaned by the Gentiles, presented
a melancholy spectacle. But as the Syrians held the citadel, which
being connected with the temple, but standing above it in position,
was really impregnable, the lower parts proved inaccessible, as
frequent sallies from above prevented persons from approaching them.
But Judah placed against these assailants a very powerful body of his
men. Thus the work of the sacred building was protected, and the
temple was surrounded with a wall, while armed men were appointed to
maintain a perpetual defence. And Lysias, having again returned into
Judæa with increased forces, was once more defeated with a great loss
both of his own army and of the auxiliaries, which being sent to him
by various states had combined with him in the war. In the meantime,
Antiochus, who, as we have said above, had marched into Persia,
endeavored to plunder the town of Elymus, the wealthiest in the
country, and a temple situated there which was filled with gold; but,
as a multitude flocked together from all sides for the defense of the
place, he was put to flight. Moreover, he received news of the want of
success which had attended the efforts of Lysias. [347] Thus, from
distress of mind, he fell into bodily disease. But as he was then
tormented with internal sufferings, he remembered the miseries which
he had inflicted on the people of God, and acknowledged that these
evils had deservedly been sent upon him. Then, after a few days, he
died, having reigned eleven years. He left the kingdom to his son
Antiochus, to whom the name of Eupator was given.
Footnotes
[347] Some add the words, "or of Lysimachus," but this appears to have
been a gloss.
Chapter XXIII.
At that time Judah besieged the Syrians who were posted in the
citadel. They, being sore pressed with famine and want of all things,
sent messengers to the king to implore assistance. Accordingly,
Eupator came to their aid with a hundred thousand infantry and twenty
thousand cavalry, while elephants marched in front of his line,
causing immense terror to the onlookers. Then Judah, abandoning the
siege, went to meet the king, and routed the Syrians in the first
battle. The king begged for peace, which, because [348] he, with his
treacherous disposition, made a bad use of, vengeance followed his
treachery. For Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, who, we have said
above, was handed over as a hostage to the Romans, when he heard that
Antiochus had departed, begged that they would send him to take
possession of the kingdom. And when this was refused to him, he
secretly fled from Rome, came into Syria, and seized the supreme
power, having slain the son of Antiochus, who had reigned one year and
six months. It was during his reign that the Jews first begged the
friendship of the Roman people, and alliance with them; and the
embassy to this effect having been kindly received, they were, by a
decree of the senate, styled allies and friends. In the meantime
Demetrius was, by means of his generals, carrying on war against
Judah. And first the army was led by a certain man named Bacchides,
and by Alcimus, a Jew; Nicanor, being afterwards placed at the head of
the war, fell in battle. Then Bacchides and Alcimus, recovering power,
and having increased their forces, fought against Judah. The Syrians,
turning out victorious in that battle, cruelly abused their victory.
The Hebrews elect Jonathan, the brother of Judah, in his place. In the
meantime, Alcimus, after he had fearfully desolated Jerusalem, dies;
Bacchides, being thus deprived of his ally, returns to the king. Then,
after an interval of two years, Bacchides again made war upon the
Jews, and being beaten, he begged for peace. This was granted him
certain conditions, to the effect that he should give up the deserters
and prisoners, along with all that he had taken in war.
Footnotes
[348] The text is here in utter confusion; we have followed that
suggested by Vorstius.
Chapter XXIV.
While these things are going on in Judæa, a certain young man educated
at Rhodes, by name Alexander, gave himself out as being the son of
Antiochus (which was false), and assisted by the power of Ptolemy,
king of Alexandria, came into Syria with an army. He conquered
Demetrius in war, and slew him after he had reigned twelve years. This
Alexander before he made war against Demetrius, had formed an alliance
with Jonathan, and had presented him with a purple robe and royal
ensigns. For this reason Jonathan had assisted him with auxiliary
forces; and on the defeat of Demetrius, had been the very first to
meet him with congratulations. Nor did Alexander afterwards violate
the faith which he had pledged. Accordingly, in the five years during
which he held the chief power, the affairs of the Jews were peaceful.
In these circumstances, Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, who, after
the death of his father, had betaken himself to Crete, at the
instigation of Lasthenes, general of the Cretans, tried by war to
recover the kingdom of his, father, but finding his power unequal to
the task, he implored Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt, the
father-in-law of Alexander, but who was then on bad terms with his
son-in-law, to give him assistance. But he, induced not so much by the
entreaties of the suppliant as by the hope of seizing Syria, joined
his forces with those of Demetrius, and gives him his daughter, who
had been married to Alexander. Against these two Alexander fought a
pitched battle. Ptolemy fell in the fight, but Alexander was defeated;
and he was soon afterwards slain, after he had reigned five, or as I
find it stated in many authors, nine years.
Chapter XXV.
Demetrius, having thus obtained the kingdom, treated Jonathan with
kindness, made a treaty with him, and restored the Jews to their own
laws. In the meantime, Tryphon, who had belonged to the party of
Alexander, was appointed [349] governor of Syria, to keep him in check
by war. Jonathan, [350] on the other hand, descended to battle,
formidable with an army of forty thousand men. Tryphon, when he saw
himself unequal to the contest, pretended a desire for peace, and slew
Ptolemais who had been received and invited into friendship with him.
After Jonathan, the chief power was conferred on his brother Simon. He
celebrated the funeral of his brother with great pomp, and built those
well-known seven pyramids of most noble workmanship, in which he
buried the remains both of his brothers and of his father. Then
Demetrius renewed his treaty with the Jews; and in consideration of
the loss caused to them by Tryphon (for after the death of Jonathan he
had wasted by war their cities and territories), he remitted to them
their annual tribute forever; for up to that time, they had paid
tribute to the kings of Syria, except when they resisted by force of
arms. That took place in the second year of king Demetrius; and we
have noted that, because up to this year we have run through the times
of the Asiatic kings, that the series of dates being given in order
might be perfectly clear. But now we shall arrange the order of events
through the times of those, who were either high-priests or kings
among the Jews, up to the period of the birth of Christ.
Footnotes
[349] Some words have here been lost, but the critics are not agreed
as to what should be supplied.
[350] As Vorstius suggests, we have here taken Jonathan as a
nominative, but the passage is very obscure.
Chapter XXVI.
Well, then, after Jonathan, his brother Simon, as has been said above,
ruled over the Hebrews with the power of high-priest. For that honor
was then bestowed upon him both by his own countrymen and by the Roman
people. He began to rule over his countrymen in the second year of
king Demetrius, but eight years afterwards, being deceived by a plot
of Ptolemy, he met his death. He was succeeded by his son John. And
he, on the ground that he had fought with distinction against the
Hyrcani, a very powerful nation, received the surname of Hyrcanus. He
died, after having held the supreme power for twenty-six years. After
him, Aristobulus being appointed high-priest, was the first of all
living after the captivity to assume the name of king, and to have a
crown placed upon his head. At the close of a year, he died. Then
Alexander, his son, who was both king and high-priest, reigned
twenty-seven years; but I have found nothing in his doings worthy of
mention, except his cruelty. He having left two young sons named
Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, Salina or Alexandra, his wife, held the
sovereignty for three years. After his decease, frightful conflicts
about the supreme power arose between the two brothers. And first of
all, Hyrcanus held the government; but being by and by defeated by his
brother Aristobulus, he fled to Pompey. That Roman general, having
finished the war with Mithridates, and settled Armenia and Pontus,
being, in fact, the conqueror of all the nations which he had visited,
desired to march inwards, [351] and to add all the neighboring regions
to the Roman empire. He therefore inquired into the causes of the war,
and the means of obtaining [352] the mastery. Accordingly he readily
received Hyrcanus, and, under his guidance, attacked the Jews; but
when the city was taken and destroyed, he spared the temple. He sent
Aristobulus in chains to Rome, and restored the right of the
high-priesthood to Hyrcanus. Settling the tribute to be paid by the
Jews, he placed over them as governor a certain Antipater of Askelon.
Hyrcanus held the chief power for thirty-four years; but while he
carried on war against the Parthians, he was taken prisoner.
Footnotes
[351] "Introrsum," towards home; another reading is "ultrorsum,"
farther onwards.
[352] "vincendi": others read "incendii."
Chapter XXVII.
Then Herod, a foreigner, the son of Antipater of Askelon, asked and
received the sovereignty of Judæa from the senate and people of Rome.
Under him, the Jews began for the first time to have a foreigner as
king. For as now the advent of Christ was at hand, it was necessary,
according to the predictions of the prophets, that they should be
deprived of their own rulers, that they might not look for anything
beyond Christ. Under this Herod, in the thirty-third year of his
reign, Christ was born on the twenty-fifth of December in the
consulship of Sabinus and Rufinus. But we do not venture to touch on
these things which are contained in the Gospels, and subsequently in
the Acts of the Apostles, lest the character of our condensed work
should, in any measure, detract from the dignity of the events; and I
shall proceed to what remains. Herod reigned four years after the
birth of the Lord; for the whole period of his reign comprised
thirty-seven years. After him, came Archelaus the tetrarch, for eight
years, and Herod for twenty-four years. Under him, in the eighteenth
year of his reign, the Lord was crucified, Fufius Geminus and
Rubellius Geminus being consuls; from which date up to the consulship
of Stilico, there have elapsed three hundred and seventy-two years.
Chapter XXVIII.
Luke made known the doings of the apostles up to the time when Paul
was brought to Rome under the emperor Nero. As to Nero, I shall not
say that he was the worst of kings, but that he was worthily held the
basest of all men, and even of wild beasts. It was he who first began
a persecution; and I am not sure but he will be the last also to carry
it on, if, indeed, we admit, as many are inclined to believe, that he
will yet appear immediately before the coming of Antichrist. Our
subject would induce me to set forth his vices at some length, if it
were not inconsistent with the purpose of this work to enter upon so
vast a topic. I content myself with the remark, that he showed himself
in every way most abominable and cruel, and at length even went so far
as to be the murderer of his own mother. After this, he also married a
certain Pythagoras in the style of solemn alliances, the bridal veil
being put upon the emperor, while the usual dowry, and the marriage
couch, and wedding torches, and, in short, all the other observances
were forthcoming--things which even in the case of women, are not
looked upon without some feeling of modesty. But as to his other
actions, I doubt whether the description of them would excite greater
shame or sorrow. He first attempted to abolish the name of Christian,
in accordance with the fact that vices are always inimical to virtues,
and that all good men are ever regarded by the wicked as casting
reproach upon them. For, at that time, our divine religion had
obtained a wide prevalence in the city. Peter was there executing the
office of bishop, and Paul, too, after he had been brought to Rome, on
appealing to Cæsar from the unjust judgment of the governor.
Multitudes then came together to hear Paul, and these, influenced by
the truth which they were given to know, and by the miracles [353] of
the apostles, which they then so frequently performed, turned to the
worship of God. For then took place the well-known and celebrated
encounter of Peter and Paul with Simon. [354] He, after he had flown
up into the air by his magical arts, and supported by two demons (with
the view of proving that he was a god), the demons being put to flight
by the prayers of the apostles, fell to the earth in the sight of all
the people, and was dashed to pieces.
Footnotes
[353] "virtutibus."
[354] Generally spoken of as Simon Magus.
Chapter XXIX.
In the meantime, the number of the Christians being now very large, it
happened that Rome was destroyed by fire, while Nero was stationed at
Antium. But the opinion of all cast the odium of causing the fire upon
the emperor, and he was believed in this way to have sought for the
glory of building a new city. And in fact, Nero could not by any means
he tried escape from the charge that the fire had been caused by his
orders. He therefore turned the accusation against the Christians, and
the most cruel tortures were accordingly inflicted upon the innocent.
Nay, even new kinds of death were invented, so that, being covered in
the skins of wild beasts, they perished by being devoured by dogs,
while many were crucified or slain by fire, and not a few were set
apart for this purpose, that, when the day came to a close, they
should be consumed to serve for light during the night. In this way,
cruelty first began to be manifested against the Christians.
Afterwards, too, their religion was prohibited by laws which were
enacted; and by edicts openly set forth it was proclaimed unlawful to
be a Christian. At that time Paul and Peter were condemned to death,
the former being beheaded with a sword, while Peter suffered
crucifixion. And while these things went on at Rome, the Jews, not
able to endure the injuries they suffered under the rule of Festus
Florus, began to rebel. Vespasian, being sent by Nero against them,
with proconsular power, defeated them in numerous important battles,
and compelled them to flee within the walls of Jerusalem. In the
meanwhile Nero, now hateful even to himself from a consciousness of
his crimes, disappears from among [355] men, leaving it uncertain
whether or not he had laid violent hands upon himself: certainly his
body was never found. It was accordingly believed that, even if he did
put an end to himself with a sword, his wound was cured, and his life
preserved, according to that which was written regarding him,--"And
his mortal [356] wound was healed,"--to be sent forth again near the
end of the world, in order that he may practice the mystery of
iniquity.
Footnotes
[355] "humanis rebus eximitur."
[356] Rev. xiii. 3.
Chapter XXX.
So then, after the departure of Nero, Galba seized the government; and
ere long, on Galba being slain, Otho secured it. Then Vitellius from
Gaul, trusting to the armies which he commanded, entered the city, and
having killed Otho, assumed the sovereignty. This afterwards passed to
Vespasian, and although that was accomplished by evil means, yet it
had the good effect of rescuing the state from the hands of the
wicked. While Vespasian was besieging Jerusalem, he took possession of
the imperial power; and as the fashion is, he was saluted as emperor
by the army, with a diadem placed upon his head. He made his son
Titus, Cæsar; and assigned him a portion of the forces, along with the
task of continuing the siege of Jerusalem. Vespasian set out for Rome,
and was received with the greatest favor by the senate and people; and
Vitellius having killed himself, his hold of the sovereign power was
fully confirmed. The Jews, meanwhile, being closely besieged, as no
chance either of peace or surrender was allowed them, were at length
perishing from famine, and the streets began everywhere to be filled
with dead bodies, for the duty of burying them could no longer be
performed. Moreover, they ventured on eating all things of the most
abominable nature, and did not even abstain from human bodies, except
those which putrefaction had already laid hold of and thus excluded
from use as food. The Romans, accordingly, rushed in upon the
exhausted defenders of the city. And it so happened that the whole
multitude from the country, and from other towns of Judæa, had then
assembled for the day of the Passover: doubtless, because it pleased
God that the impious race should be given over to destruction at the
very time of the year at which they had crucified the Lord. The
Pharisees for a time maintained their ground most boldly in defense of
the temple, and at length, with minds obstinately bent on death, they,
of their own accord, committed themselves to the flames. The number of
those who suffered death is related to have been eleven hundred
thousand, and one hundred thousand were taken captive and sold. Titus
is said, after calling a council, to have first deliberated whether he
should destroy the temple, a structure of such extraordinary work. For
it seemed good to some that a sacred edifice, distinguished above all
human achievements, ought not to be destroyed, inasmuch as, if
preserved, it would furnish an evidence of Roman moderation, but, if
destroyed, would serve for a perpetual proof of Roman cruelty. But on
the opposite side, others and Titus himself thought that the temple
ought specially to be overthrown, in order that the religion of the
Jews and of the Christians might more thoroughly be subverted; for
that these religions, although contrary to each other, had
nevertheless proceeded from the same authors; that the Christians had
sprung up from among the Jews; and that, if the root were extirpated,
the offshoot would speedily perish. Thus, according to the divine
will, the minds of all being inflamed, the temple was destroyed, three
hundred and thirty-one years ago. And this last overthrow of the
temple, and final captivity of the Jews, by which, being exiles from
their native land, they are beheld scattered through the whole world,
furnish a daily demonstration to the world, that they have been
punished on no other account than for the impious hands which they
laid upon Christ. For though on other occasions they were often given
over to captivity on account of their sins, yet they never paid the
penalty of slavery beyond a period of seventy years.
Chapter XXXI.
Then, after an interval, Domitian, the son of Vespasian, persecuted
the Christians. At this date, he banished John the Apostle and
Evangelist to the island of Patmos. There he, secret mysteries having
been revealed to him, wrote and published his book of the holy
Revelation, which indeed is either foolishly or impiously not accepted
by many. And with no great interval there then occurred the third
persecution under Trajan. But he, when after torture and racking he
found nothing in the Christians worthy of death or punishment, forbade
any further cruelty to be put forth against them. Then under Adrian
the Jews attempted to rebel, and endeavored to plunder both Syria and
Palestine; but on an army being sent against them, they were subdued.
At this time Adrian, thinking that he would destroy the Christian
faith by inflicting an injury upon the place, set up the images of
demons both in the temple and in the place where the Lord suffered.
And because the Christians were thought principally to consist of Jews
(for the church at Jerusalem did not then have a priest except of the
circumcision), he ordered a cohort of soldiers to keep constant guard
in order to prevent all Jews from approaching to Jerusalem. This,
however, rather benefited [357] the Christian faith, because almost
all then believed in Christ as God while continuing [358] in the
observance of the law. Undoubtedly that was arranged by the
over-ruling care of the Lord, in order that the slavery of the law
might be taken away from the liberty of the faith and of the church.
In this way, Mark from among the Gentiles was then, first of all,
bishop at Jerusalem. A fourth persecution is reckoned as having taken
place under Adrian, which, however, he afterwards forbade to be
carried on, declaring it to be unjust that any one should be put on
his trial without a charge being specified against him.
Footnotes
[357] How so? Because, according to Drusius, the Christian Jews were
thus first taught to cast off the yoke of the law, which they had
observed up to this time.
[358] These were half-Jews and half-Christians, and were known at a
later date under the name of Nazarites. They made use of what was
called the Gospel according to the Hebrews.
Chapter XXXII.
After Adrian, the churches had peace under the rule of Antoninus Pius.
Then the fifth persecution began under Aurelius, the son of Antoninus.
And then, for the first time, martyrdoms were seen taking place in
Gaul, for the religion of God had been accepted somewhat late beyond
the Alps. Then the sixth persecution of the Christians took place
under the emperor Severus. At this time Leonida, the father of Origen,
poured forth his sacred blood in martyrdom. Then, during an interval
of thirty-eight years, the Christians enjoyed peace, except that at
the middle of that time Maximinus persecuted the clerics of some
churches. Ere long, under Decius as emperor, the seventh bloody
persecution broke out against the Christians. Next, Valerian proved
himself the eighth enemy of the saints. After him, with an interval of
about fifty years, there arose, under the emperors Diocletian and
Maximian, a most bitter persecution which, for ten continuous years,
wasted the people of God. At this period, almost the whole world was
stained with the sacred blood of the martyrs. In fact, they vied with
each other in rushing upon these glorious struggles, and martyrdom by
glorious deaths was then much more keenly sought after than bishoprics
are now attempted to be got by wicked ambition. Never more than at
that time was the world exhausted by wars, nor did we ever achieve
victory with a greater triumph than when we showed that we could not
be conquered by the slaughters of ten long years. There survive also
accounts of the sufferings of the martyrs at that time which were
committed to writing; but I do not think it suitable to subjoin these
lest I should exceed the limits prescribed to this work.
Chapter XXXIII.
Well, the end of the persecutions was reached eighty-eight years ago,
at which date the emperors began to be Christians. For Constantine
then obtained the sovereignty, and he was the first Christian of all
the Roman rulers. At that time, it is true, Licinius, who was a rival
of Constantine for the empire, had commanded his soldiers to
sacrifice, and was expelling from the service those who refused to do
so. But that is not reckoned among the persecutions; it was an affair
of too little moment to be able to inflict any wound upon the
churches. From that time, we have continued to enjoy tranquillity; nor
do I believe that there will be any further persecutions, except that
which Antichrist will carry on just before the end of the world. For
it has been proclaimed in divine words, that the world was to be
visited by ten afflictions; [359] and since nine of these have already
been endured, the one which remains must be the last. During this
period of time, it is marvelous how the Christian religion has
prevailed. For Jerusalem which had presented a horrible mass of ruins
was then adorned with most numerous and magnificent churches. And
Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine (who reigned along with
her son as Augusta), having a strong desire to behold Jerusalem, cast
down the idols and the temples which were found there; and in course
of time, through the exercise of her royal powers, she erected
churches [360] on the site of the Lord's passion, resurrection, and
ascension. It is a remarkable fact that the spot on which the divine
footprints had last been left when the Lord was carried up in a cloud
to heaven, could not be joined by a pavement with the remaining part
of the street. For the earth, unaccustomed to mere human contact,
rejected all the appliances laid upon it, and often threw back the
blocks of marble in the faces of those who were seeking to place them.
Moreover, it is an enduring proof of the soil of that place having
been trodden by God, that the footprints are still to be seen; and
although the faith of those who daily flock to that place, leads them
to vie with each other in seeking to carry away what had been trodden
by the feet of the Lord, yet the sand of the place suffers no injury;
and the earth still preserves the same appearance which it presented
of old, as if it had been sealed by the footprints impressed upon it.
Footnotes
[359] "decem plagis."
[360] "basilicas": edifices, which, in size and grandeur, had some
resemblance to a royal palace.
Chapter XXXIV.
Through the kind efforts of the same queen, the cross of the Lord was
then found. It could not, of course, be consecrated at the beginning,
owing to the opposition of the Jews, and afterwards it had been
covered over by the rubbish of the ruined city. And now, it would
never have been revealed except to one seeking for it in such a
believing spirit. Accordingly, Helena having first got information
about the place of our Lord's passion, caused a band of soldiers to be
brought [361] to it, while the whole multitude of the inhabitants of
the locality vied with each other in seeking to gratify the desires of
the queen, and ordered the earth to be dug up, and all the adjacent
most extensive ruins to be cleared out. Ere long, as the reward of her
faith and labor, three crosses (as of old they had been fixed for the
Lord and the two robbers) were discovered. But upon this, the greater
difficulty of distinguishing the gibbet on which the Lord had hung,
disturbed the minds and thoughts of all, lest by a mistake, likely
enough to be committed by mere mortals, they might perhaps consecrate
as the cross of the Lord, that which belonged to one of the robbers.
They form then the plan of placing one who had recently died in
contact with the crosses. Nor is there any delay in carrying out this
purpose; for just as if by the appointment of God, the funeral of a
dead man was then being conducted with the usual ceremonies, and all
rushing up took the body from the bier. It was applied in vain to the
first two crosses, but when it touched that of Christ, wonderful to
tell, while all stood trembling, the dead body was [362] shaken off,
and stood up in the midst of those looking at it. The cross was thus
discovered, and was consecrated with all due ceremony. [363]
Footnotes
[361] "admota militari manu atque omnium provincialium multitudine in
studia reginæ certantium."
[362] "funus excussum": a singular expression.
[363] "ambitu": apparently used here with the meaning which sometimes
belongs to "ambitione."
Chapter XXXV.
Such were the things accomplished by Helena, while, under a Christian
prince, the world had both attained to liberty, and possessed in him
an exemplar of faith. But a far more dreadful danger than all that had
preceded fell upon all the churches from that state of tranquillity.
For then the Arian heresy burst forth, and disturbed the whole world
by the error which it instilled. For by means of the two [364]
Ariuses, who were the most active originators of this unfaithfulness,
the emperor himself was led astray; and while he seemed to himself to
fulfill a religious duty, he proceeded to a violent exercise of
persecution. The bishops were driven into exile: cruelty was exerted
against the clerics; and even the laity were punished, who had
separated from the communion of the Arians. Now, the doctrines which
the Arians proclaimed were of the following nature,--that God the
Father had begotten his Son for the purpose of creating the world; and
that, by his power, he had made [365] out of nothing into a new and
second substance, a new and second God; and that there was a time when
the Son had no existence. To meet this evil, a synod was convened from
the whole world to meet at Nicæa. Three hundred and eighteen bishops
were there assembled: the faith was fully set forth in writing; the
Arian heresy was condemned; and the emperor confirmed the whole by an
imperial decree. The Arians, then, not daring to make any further
attempt against the orthodox faith, mixed themselves among the
churches, as if they acquiesced in the conclusions which had been
reached, and did not hold any different opinions. There remained,
however, in their hearts, a deep-seated hatred against the Catholics,
and they assailed, with suborned accusers and trumped-up charges,
those with whom they could not contend in argument on matters of
faith.
Footnotes
[364] The one of these was Arius, the author of the heresy, and the
other a presbyter of Alexandria bearing the same name.
[365] Both the text and meaning are here obscure. We have read, with
Halm, "fecisse" for the usual "factum."
Chapter XXXVI.
Accordingly, they first attack and condemn in his absence Athanasius,
bishop of Alexandria, a holy man, who had been present as deacon at
the Synod of Nicæa. For they added to the charges which false
witnesses had heaped up against him, this one, that, with wicked
intentions, he had received [366] Marcellus and Photinus, heretical
priests who had been condemned by a sentence of the Synod. Now, it was
not doubtful as to Photinus that he had been justly condemned. But in
the case of Marcellus, it seemed that nothing had then been found
worthy of condemnation, and [367] a belief in his innocence was above
all strengthened by the animus of that party, inasmuch as no one
doubted that those same judges were heretical by whom he had been
condemned. But the Arians did not so much desire to get these persons
out of the way as Athanasius himself. Accordingly, they constrain the
emperor to go so far as this, that Athanasius should be sent as an
exile into Gaul. But ere long, eighty bishops, assembling together in
Egypt, declare that Athanasius had been unjustly condemned. The matter
is referred to Constantine: he orders [368] bishops from the whole
world to assemble at Sardes, and that the entire process by which
Athanasius had been condemned, should be reconsidered by the council.
In the meantime, Constantine dies, but the Synod, called together
while he was yet emperor, acquits Athanasius. Marcellus, too, is
restored to his bishopric, but the sentence on Photinus, bishop of
Sirmion, was not rescinded; for even [369] in the judgment of our
friends, he is regarded as a heretic. However, even this result
chagrined Marcellus, because Photinus was known to have been his
disciple in his youth. But this, too, tended to secure an acquittal
for Athanasius, that Ursatius and Valens, leading men among the
Arians, when they were openly separated from the communion of the
Church after the Synod at Sardes, entering into the presence of
Julius, bishop of Rome, asked pardon of him for having condemned the
innocent, and publicly declared that he had been justly acquitted by
the decree of the Council of Sardes.
Footnotes
[366] Different periods and events are here mixed up by our author.
[367] The text is in utter confusion, and we can only make a probable
guess at the meaning.
[368] It has been remarked that Sulpitius is in error in ascribing the
summoning of this council to Constantine the Great, instead of his son
Constantine II. The curious thing is that he should have made a
mistake regarding an event so near his own time.
[369] "qui etiam nostrorum judicio hæreticus probatur."
Chapter XXXVII.
When, after an interval of some time had elapsed, Athanasius, finding
that Marcellus was by no means sound in the faith, suspended him from
communion. And he had this degree of modesty, that, being censured by
the judgment of so great a man, he voluntarily gave way. But though at
a former period innocent, yet confessedly afterwards becoming
heretical, it may be allowed to conclude that he was really then
guilty when judgment was pronounced regarding him. The Arians, then,
finding an opportunity of that kind, conspire to subvert altogether
the decrees of the Synod of Sardes. For a certain coloring of right
seemed to be furnished them in this fact, that a favorable judgment
had as unjustly been formed on the side of Athanasius, as Marcellus
had been improperly acquitted, since now, even in the opinion of
Athanasius himself, he was deemed a heretic. For Marcellus had stood
forward as an upholder of the Sabellian heresy. [370] But Photinus had
already brought forward a new heresy, differing indeed from Sabellius
with respect to the union of the divine persons, but proclaiming that
Christ had his beginning in Mary. The Arians, therefore, with cunning
design, mix up what was harmless with what was blameworthy, and
embrace, under the same judgment, the condemnation of Photinus, and
Marcellus, and Athanasius. They undoubtedly did this with the view of
leading the minds of the ignorant to conclude, that those had not
judged incorrectly regarding Athanasius, who, it was admitted, had
expressed a well-based opinion respecting Marcellus and Photinus. At
that time, however, the Arians concealed their treachery; and not
daring openly to proclaim their erroneous doctrines, they professed
themselves Catholics. They thought that their first great object
should be to get Athanasius turned out of the church, who had always
presented a wall of opposition to their endeavors, and they hoped
that, if he were removed, the rest would pass over to their evil [371]
opinion. Now, that part of the bishops which followed the Arians
accepted the condemnation of Athanasius with delight. Another part,
constrained by fear and faction, yielded to the wish of the Arian
party; and only a few, to whom the true faith was dearer than any
other consideration, refused to accept their unjust judgment. Among
these was Paulinus, the bishop of Treves. It is related that he, when
a letter on the subject was placed before him, thus wrote, that he
gave his consent to the condemnation of Photinus and Marcellus, but
did not approve that of Athanasius.
Footnotes
[370] As Epiphanius remarks, Sabellius taught that the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost were all the same person, only under different
appellations.
[371] "libidinem."
Chapter XXXVIII.
But then the Arians, seeing that stratagem did not succeed, determined
to proceed by force. For it was easy for those to attempt and carry
out anything who were supported by the favor of the monarch, whom they
had thoroughly won over to themselves by wicked flatteries. Moreover,
they were by the consent of all unconquerable; for almost all the
bishops of the two Pannonias, and many of the Eastern bishops, and
those throughout all Asia, had joined in their unfaithfulness. But the
chief men in that evil company were Ursatius of Singidunum, Valens of
Mursa, Theodorus of Heraclia, Stephanus of Antioch, Acatius of
Cæsarea, Menofantus of Ephesus, Georgius of Laodicia, and Narcissus of
Neronopolis. These had got possession of the palace to such an extent
that the emperor did nothing without their concurrence. He was indeed
at the beck of all of them, but was especially under the influence of
Valens. For at that time, when a battle was fought at Mursa against
Magnentius, Constantius had not the courage to go down to witness for
himself the conflict, but took up his abode in a church of the martyrs
which stood outside the town, Valens who was then the bishop of the
place being with him to keep up his courage. But Valens had cunningly
arranged, through means of his agents, that he should be the first to
be made acquainted with the result of the battle. He did this either
to gain the favor of the king, if he should be the first to convey to
him good news, or with a view to saving his own life, since he would
obtain time for flight, should the issue prove unfortunate.
Accordingly, the few persons who were with the king being in a state
of alarm, and the emperor himself being a prey to anxiety, Valens was
the first to announce to them the flight of the enemy. When
Constantius requested that the person who had brought the news should
be introduced to his presence, Valens, to increase the reverence felt
for himself, said that an angel was the messenger who had come to him.
The emperor, who was easy of belief, was accustomed afterwards openly
to declare that he had won the victory through the merits of Valens,
and not by the valor of his army.
Chapter XXXIX.
From this first proof that the prince had been won over to their side,
the Arians plucked up their courage, knowing that they could make use
of the power of the king, when they could make little impression by
their own authority. Accordingly, when our friends did not accept of
the judgment which they had pronounced in regard to Athanasius, an
edict was issued by the emperor to the effect that those who did not
subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius should be sent into
banishment. But, at that time, councils of bishops were held by our
friends at Arles and Bitteræ, towns situated in Gaul. They requested
that before any were compelled to subscribe against Athanasius, they
should rather enter on a discussion as to the true faith; and
maintained that only then was a decision to be come to respecting the
point in question, when they had agreed as to the person of the
judges. [372] But Valens and his confederates not venturing on a
discussion respecting the faith, first desired to secure by force the
condemnation of Athanasius. Owing to this conflict of parties,
Paulinus was driven into banishment. In the meantime, an assembly was
held at Milan, where the emperor then was; but the same controversy
was there continued without any relaxation of its bitterness. Then
Eusebius, bishop of the Vercellenses, and Lucifer, bishop of Caralis
[373] in Sardinia, were exiled. Dionysius, however, priest of Milan,
subscribed to the condemnation of Athanasius, on the condition that
there should be an investigation among the bishops as to the true
faith. But Valens and Ursatius, with the rest of that party, through
fear of the people, who maintained the Catholic faith with
extraordinary enthusiasm, did not venture to set forth in public their
monstrous [374] doctrines, but assembled within the palace. From that
place, and under the name of the emperor, they issued a letter full
[375] of all sorts of wickedness, with this purpose, no doubt, that,
if the people gave it a favorable hearing, they should then bring
forward, under public authority, the things which they desired; but if
it should be received otherwise, that all the ill feeling might be
directed against the king, while his mistake might be regarded as
excusable, because being then only a catechumen, he might readily be
supposed to have erred concerning the mysteries of the faith. Well,
when the letter was read in the church, the people expressed their
aversion to it. And Dionysius, because he did not concur with them,
was banished from the city, while Auxentius was immediately chosen as
bishop in his place. Liberius, too, bishop of the city of Rome, and
Hilarius, bishop of Poictiers, were driven into exile. Rhodanius,
also, bishop of Toulouse (who, being by nature of a softer
disposition, had resisted the Arians, not so much from his own powers
as from his fellowship with Hilarius) was involved in the same
punishment. All these persons, however, were prepared to suspend
Athanasius from communion, only in order that an inquiry might be
instituted among the bishops as to the true faith. But it seemed best
to the Arians to withdraw the most celebrated men from the
controversy. Accordingly, those whom we have mentioned above were
driven into exile, forty-five years ago, when Arbitio and Lollianus
were consuls. Liberius, however, was, a little afterwards, restored to
the city, in consequence of the disturbances at Rome. But it is well
known that the persons exiled were celebrated by the admiration of the
whole world, and that abundant supplies of money were collected to
meet their wants, while they were visited by deputies of the Catholic
people from almost all the provinces.
Footnotes
[372] The text is here in utter confusion and uncertainty. Some for
"ac tum" read "nec tum," and some, instead of "judicum" read
"judicium." The meaning therefore can only be guessed at.
[373] The modern Cagliari.
[374] "Piacula profiteri."
[375] Instead of "refertam," some read "infectam."
Chapter XL.
In the meantime, the Arians, not secretly, as before, but openly and
publicly proclaimed their monstrous heretical doctrines. Moreover,
they interpreted after their own views the Synod of Nicæa, and by the
addition of one letter to its finding, threw a sort of obscurity over
the truth. For where the expression Homoousion had been written, which
denotes "of one substance," they maintained that it was written
Homoiousion, which simply means "of like substance." They thus granted
a likeness, but took away unity; for likeness is very different from
unity; just as, for illustration's sake, a picture of a human body
might be like a man, and yet possess nothing of the reality of a man.
But some of them went even farther, and maintained Anomoiousia, that
is, an unlike substance. And to such a pitch did these controversies
extend, that the wide world was involved in these monstrous errors.
For Valens and Ursatius, with their supporters, whose names we have
stated, infected Italy, Illyria, and the East with these opinions.
Saturninus, bishop of Arles, a violent and factious man, harassed our
country of Gaul in like manner. There was also a prevalent belief that
Osius from Spain had gone over to the same unfaithful party, which
appears all the more wonderful and incredible on this account, that he
had been, almost during his whole life, the most determined upholder
of our views, and the Synod of Nice was regarded as having been held
at his instigation. If he did go over, the reason may have been that
in his extreme old age (for he was then more than a centenarian, as
St. Hilarius relates in his epistles) he had fallen into dotage. While
the world was disturbed by these things, and the churches were
languishing as if from a sort of disease, an anxiety, less exciting
indeed, but no less serious, pressed upon the emperor, that although
the Arians, whom he favored, appeared the stronger, yet there was
still no agreement among the bishops concerning the faith.
Chapter XLI.
Accordingly, the emperor orders a Synod to assemble at Ariminum, a
city of Italy, and instructs Taurus the prefect, not to let them
separate, after they were once assembled, until they should agree as
to one faith, at the same time promising him the consulship, if he
carried the affair to a successful termination. Imperial [376]
officers, therefore, being sent through Illyria, Italy, Africa, and
the two Gauls, four hundred and rather more Western bishops were
summoned or compelled to assemble at Ariminum; and for all of these
the emperor had ordered provisions [377] and lodgings to be provided.
But that appeared unseemly to the men of our part of the world, that
is, to the Aquitanians, the Gauls, and Britons, so that refusing the
public supplies, they preferred to live at their own expense. Three
only of those from Britain, through want of means of their own, made
use of the public bounty, after having refused contributions offered
by the rest; for they thought it more dutiful to burden the public
treasury than individuals. I have heard that Gavidius, our bishop, was
accustomed to refer to this conduct in a censuring sort of way, but I
would be inclined to judge far otherwise; and I hold it matter of
admiration that the bishops had nothing of their own, while they did
not accept assistance from others rather than from the public
treasury, so that they burdened nobody. In both points, they thus
furnished us with noble example. Nothing worthy of mention is recorded
of the others; but I return to the subject in hand. After all the
bishops had been collected together, as we have said, a separation of
parties took place. Our friends [378] take possession of the church,
while the Arians select, as a place for prayer, a temple which was
then intentionally standing empty. But these did not amount to more
than eighty persons: the rest belonged to our party. Well, after
frequent meetings had been held, nothing was really accomplished, our
friends continuing in the faith, and the others not abandoning their
unfaithfulness. At length it was resolved to send ten deputies to the
emperor, that he might learn what was the faith or opinion of the
parties, and might know that there could be no peace with heretics.
The Arians do the same thing, and send a like number of deputies, who
should contend with our friends in the presence of the emperor. But on
the part of our people, young men of but little learning and little
prudence had been selected; while, on the side of the Arians, old men
were sent, skillful and abounding in talent, thoroughly imbued, too,
with their old unfaithful doctrines; and these easily got the upper
hand with the prince. But our friends had been specially charged not
to enter into any kind of communion with the Arians, and to reserve
every point, in its entirety, for discussion in a Synod.
Footnotes
[376] "magistris officialibus": Halm reads "magistri."
[377] "annonas et cellaria."
[378] Of course, the Catholics, or orthodox.
Chapter XLII.
In the meantime in the East, after the example of the West, the
emperor ordered almost all the bishops to assemble at Seleucia, a town
of Isauria. At that time, Hilarius, who was now spending the fourth
year of his exile in Phrygia, is compelled to be present among the
other bishops, the means of a public conveyance being furnished to him
by the lieutenant [379] and governor. As, however, the emperor had
given no special orders regarding him, the judges, simply following
the general order by which they were commanded to gather all bishops
to the council, sent him also among the rest who were willing to go.
This was done, as I imagine, by the special ordination of God, in
order that a man who was most deeply instructed in divine things,
might be present when a discussion was to be carried on respecting the
faith. He, on arriving at Seleucia, was received with great favor, and
drew the minds and affections of all towards himself. His first
inquiry was as to the real faith of the Gauls, because at that time
the Arians had spread evil reports regarding us, and we were held
suspected by the Easterns as having embraced the belief of Sabellius,
to the effect that the unity of the one God was simply distinguished
[380] by a threefold name. But after he had set forth his faith in
harmony with those conclusions which had been reached by the fathers
at Nicæa, he bore his testimony in favor of the Westerns. Thus the
minds of all having been satisfied, he was admitted to communion, and
being also received into alliance, was added to the council. They then
proceeded to actual work, and the originators of the wicked heresy
being discovered, were separated from the body of the Church. In that
number were Georgius of Alexandria, Acacius, Eudoxius, Vranius,
Leontius, Theodosius, Evagrius, Theodulus. But when the Synod was
over, an embassy was appointed to go to the emperor and make him
acquainted with what had been done. Those who had been condemned also
went to the prince, relying upon the power of their confederates, and
a common cause with the monarch.
Footnotes
[379] "per vicarium ac præsidem": as Vorstius remarks, these were the
two magistrates of Phrygia.
[380] "trionymam solitarii Dei unionem": Hornius here remarks that
"Sabellius believed that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were
the same, and differed among themselves only in name."
Chapter XLIII.
In the meantime, the emperor compels those deputies of our party who
had been sent from the council at Ariminum to join in communion with
the heretics. At the same time, he hands them a confession of faith
which had been drawn up by these wicked men, and which, being
expressed in deceptive terms, seemed to exhibit the Catholic faith,
while unfaithfulness secretly lay hid in it. For under an appearance
of false reasoning, it abolished the use of the word Ousia as being
ambiguous, and as having been too hastily adopted by the fathers,
while it rested upon no Scriptural authority. The object of this was
that the Son might not be believed to be of one substance with the
Father. The same confession of faith acknowledged that the Son was
like the Father. But deception was carefully prepared within the
words, in order that he might be like, but not equal. Thus, the
deputies being sent away, orders were given to the prefect that he
should not dissolve the Synod, until all professed by their
subscriptions their agreement to the declaration of faith which had
been drawn up; and if any should hold back with excessive obstinacy,
they should be driven into banishment, provided their number did not
amount to fifteen. But when the deputies returned, they were refused
communion, although they pleaded the force which had been brought to
bear upon them by the king. For when it was discovered what had been
decreed, greater disturbance arose in their affairs and purposes. Then
by degrees numbers of our people, partly overcome through the weakness
of their character, and partly influenced by the thought of a weary
journeying into foreign lands, surrendered to the opposite party.
These were now, on the return of the deputies, the stronger of the two
bodies, and had taken possession of the church, our friends being
driven out of it. And when the minds of our people once began to
incline in that direction, they rushed in flocks over to the other
side, until the number of our friends was diminished down to twenty.
Chapter XLIV.
But these, the fewer they became, showed themselves all the more
powerful; as the most steadfast among them was to be reckoned our
friend Foegadius, and Servatio, bishop of the Tungri. As these had not
yielded to threats and terrors, Taurus assails them with entreaties,
and beseeches them with tears to adopt milder counsels. He argued that
the bishops were now in the seventh month since they had been shut up
within one city--that no hope of returning home presented itself to
them, worn out by the inclemency of winter and positive want; and what
then would be the end? He urged them to follow the example of the
majority, and to derive authority for so doing at least from the
numbers who had preceded them. For Foegadius openly declared that he
was prepared for banishment, and for every kind of punishment that
might be assigned him, but would not accept that confession of faith
which had been drawn up by the Arians. Thus several days passed in
this sort of discussion. And when they made little progress towards a
pacification, by degrees Foegadius began to yield, and at the last was
overcome by a proposal which was made to him. For Valens and Ursatius
affirmed that the present confession of faith was drawn up on the
lines of Catholic doctrine, and having been brought forward by the
Easterns at the instigation of the emperor, could not be rejected
without impiety; and what possible end of strife could there be if a
confession which satisfied the Easterns was rejected by those of the
West? Finally, if there appeared anything less fully stated in the
present confession than was desirable, they themselves should add what
they thought ought to be added, and that they, for their part, would
acquiesce in those things which might be added. This friendly
profession was received with favorable minds by all. Nor did our
people venture any longer to make opposition, desiring as they did in
some way or other now to put an end to the business. Then confessions
drawn up by Foegadius and Servatio began to be published; and in these
first Arius and his whole unfaithful scheme was condemned, while the
Son of God also was [381] pronounced equal to the Father, and without
beginning, [that is] without any commencement [382] in time. Then
Valens, as if assisting our friends, subjoined the statement (in which
there lurked a secret guile) that the Son of God was not a creature
like the other creatures; and the deceit involved in this declaration
escaped the notice of the hearers. For in these words, in which the
Son was denied to be like the other creatures, he was nevertheless
pronounced a creature, only superior to the rest. Thus neither party
could hold that it had wholly conquered or had wholly been conquered,
since the confession itself was in favor of the Arians, but the
declarations afterwards added were in favor of our friends. That one,
however, must be excepted which Valens had subjoined, and which, not
being at the time understood, was at length comprehended when it was
too late. In this way, at any rate, the council was brought to an end,
a council which had a good beginning but a disgraceful conclusion.
Footnotes
[381] The text is very uncertain; we have followed that of Halm, but
the common text inserts a "non," and reads thus: "but the Son of God
is not pronounced equal to the Father, and without beginning," etc.
[382] "sine tempore."
Chapter XLV.
Thus, then, the Arians, with their affairs in a very flourishing
condition, and everything turning out according to their wishes, go in
a body to Constantinople where the emperor was. There they found the
deputies from the Synod of Seleucia, and compel them by an exercise of
the royal power to follow the example of the Westerns, and accept that
heretical confession of faith. Numbers who refused were tortured with
painful imprisonment and hunger, so that at length they yielded their
conscience captive. But many who resisted more courageously, being
deprived of their bishoprics, were driven into exile, and others
substituted in their place. Thus, the best priests being either
terrified by threats, or driven into exile, all gave way before the
unfaithfulness of a few. Hilarius was there at the time, having
followed the deputies from Seleucia; and as no certain orders had been
given regarding him, he was waiting on the will of the emperor to see
whether perchance he should be ordered to return into banishment. When
he perceived the extreme danger into which the faith had been brought,
inasmuch as the Westerns had been beguiled, and the Easterns were
being overcome by means of wickedness, he, in three papers publicly
presented, begged an audience of the king, in order that he might
debate on points of faith in the presence of his adversaries. But the
Arians opposed that to the utmost extent of their ability. Finally,
Hilarius was ordered to return to Gaul, as being a sower [383] of
discord, and a troubler of the East, while the sentence of exile
against him remained uncanceled. But when he had wandered over almost
the whole earth which was infected with the evil of unfaithfulness,
his mind was full of doubt and deeply agitated with the mighty burden
of cares which pressed upon it. Perceiving that it seemed good to many
not to enter into communion with those who had acknowledged the Synod
of Ariminum, he thought the best thing he could do was to bring back
all to repentance and reformation. In frequent councils within Gaul,
and while almost all the bishops publicly owned the error that had
been committed, he condemns the proceedings at Ariminum, and frames
anew the faith of the churches after its pristine form. Saturninus,
however, bishop of Arles, who was, in truth, a very bad man, of an
evil and corrupt character, resisted these sound measures. He was, in
fact, a man who, besides the infamy of being a heretic, was convicted
of many unspeakable crimes, and cast out of the Church. Thus, having
lost its leader, the strength of the party opposed to Hilarius was
broken. Paternus also of Petrocorii, [384] equally infatuated, and not
shrinking from openly professing unfaithfulness, was expelled from the
priesthood: pardon was extended to the others. This fact is admitted
by all, that our regions of Gaul were set free from the guilt of
heresy through the kind efforts of Hilarius alone. But Lucifer, who
was then at Antioch held a very different opinion. For he condemned
those who assembled at Ariminum to such an extent, that he even
separated himself from the communion of those who had received them as
friends, after they had made satisfaction or exhibited penitence.
Whether this resolution of his was right or wrong, I will not take
upon me to say. Paulinus and Rhodanius died in Phrygia; Hilarius died
in his native country in the sixth year after his return.
Footnotes
[383] "seminarium": lit. seed-plot.
[384] The modern Perigueux.
Chapter XLVI.
There follow the times of our own day, both difficult and dangerous.
In these the churches have been defiled with no ordinary evil, and all
things thrown into confusion. For then, for the first time, the
infamous heresy of the Gnostics was detected in Spain--a deadly [385]
superstition which concealed itself under mystic [386] rites. The
birthplace of that mischief was the East, and specially Egypt, but
from what beginnings it there sprang up and increased is not easy to
explain. Marcus was the first to introduce it into Spain, having set
out from Egypt, his birthplace being Memphis. His pupils were a
certain Agape, a woman of no mean origin, and a rhetorician named
Helpidius. By these again Priscillian was instructed, a man of noble
birth, of great riches, bold, restless, eloquent, learned through much
reading, very ready at debate and discussion--in fact, altogether a
happy man, if he had not ruined an excellent intellect by wicked
studies. Undoubtedly, there were to be seen in him many admirable
qualities both of mind and body. He was able to spend much time in
watchfulness, and to endure both hunger and thirst; he had little
desire for amassing wealth, and he was most economical in the use of
it. But at the same time he was a very vain man, and was much more
puffed up than he ought to have been with the knowledge of mere
earthly [387] things: moreover, it was believed that he had practised
magical arts from his boyhood. He, after having himself adopted the
pernicious system referred to, drew into its acceptance many persons
of noble rank and multitudes of the common people by the arts of
persuasion and flattery which he possessed. Besides this, women who
were fond of novelties and of unstable faith, as well as of a prurient
curiosity in all things, flocked to him in crowds. It increased this
tendency that he exhibited, a kind of humility in his countenance and
manner, and thus excited in all a greater honor and respect for
himself. And now by degrees the wasting disorder of that heresy [388]
had pervaded the most of Spain, and even some of the bishops came
under its depraving influence. Among these, Instantius and Salvianus
had taken up the cause of Priscillian, not only by expressing their
concurrence in his views, but even by binding themselves to him with a
kind of oath. This went on until Hyginus, bishop of Cordova, who dwelt
in the vicinity, found out how matters stood, and reported the whole
to Ydacius, priest of Emerita. But he, by harassing Instantius and his
confederates without measure, and beyond what the occasion called for,
applied, as it were, a torch to the growing conflagration, so that he
rather exasperated than suppressed these evil men.
Footnotes
[385] "superstitio exitiabilis": the very words which Tacitus employs,
when speaking of Christianity itself (Annal. xv. 44).
[386] "arcanis occultata secretis": it is impossible to say what is
the exact meaning of these words.
[387] "profanarum rerum."
[388] "perfidiæ istius."
Chapter XLVII.
So, then, after many controversies among them, which are not worthy of
mention, a Synod was assembled at Saragossa, at which even the
Aquitanian bishops were present. But the heretics did not venture to
submit themselves to the judgment of the council; sentence, however,
was passed against them in their absence, and Instantius and
Salvianus, bishops, with Helpidius and Priscillian, laymen, were
condemned. It was also added that if any one should admit the
condemned persons to communion, he should understand that the same
sentence would be pronounced against himself. And the duty was
entrusted to Ithacius, bishop of Sossuba, of seeing that the decree of
the bishops was brought to the knowledge of all, and that Hyginus
especially should be excluded from communion, who, though he had been
the first to commence open proceedings against the heretics, had
afterwards fallen away shamefully and admitted them to communion. In
the meantime, Instantius and Salvianus, having been condemned by the
judgment of the priests, appoint as bishop in the town of Arles,
Priscillian, a layman indeed, but the leader in all these troubles,
and who had been condemned along with themselves in the Synod at
Saragossa. This they did with the view of adding to their strength,
doubtless imagining that, if they armed with sacerdotal authority a
man of bold and subtle character, they would find themselves in a
safer position. But then Ydacius and Ithacius pressed forward their
measures more ardently, in the belief that the mischief might be
suppressed at its beginning. With unwise counsels, however, they
applied to secular judges, that by their decrees and prosecutions the
heretics might be expelled from the cities. Accordingly, after many
disgraceful squabbles, a rescript was, on the entreaty of Ydacius,
obtained from Gratianus, who was then emperor, in virtue of which all
heretics were enjoined not only to leave churches or cities, but to be
driven forth beyond all the territory under [389] his jurisdiction.
When this edict became known, the Gnostics, distrusting their own
affairs, did not venture to oppose the judgment, but those of them who
bore the name of bishops gave way of their own accord, while fear
scattered the rest.
Footnotes
[389] The text has merely "extra omnes terras."
Chapter XLVIII.
And then Instantius, Salvianus, and Priscillian set out for Rome, in
order that before Damasus who was at that time the bishop of the city,
they might clear themselves of the charges brought against them. Well,
their journey led them through the heart of Aquitania, and being there
received with great pomp by such as knew no better, they spread the
seeds of their heresy. Above all, they perverted by their evil
teachings the people of Elusa, who were then of a good and religious
disposition. They were driven forth from Bordeaux by Delfinus, yet
lingering for a little while in the territory of Euchrotia, [390] they
infected some with their errors. They then pursued the journey on
which they had entered, attended by a base and shameful company, among
whom were their wives and even strange women. In the number of these
was Euchrotia and her daughter Procula, of the latter of whom there
was a common report that, when pregnant through adultery with
Priscillian, she procured abortion by the use of certain plants. When
they reached Rome with the wish of clearing themselves before Damasus,
they were not even admitted to his presence. Returning to Milan, they
found that Ambrose was equally opposed to them. Then they changed
their plans, with the view that, as they had not got the better of the
two bishops, who were at that time possessed of the highest authority,
they might, by bribery and flattery, obtain what they desired from the
emperor. Accordingly, having won over Macedonius, who was the master
[391] of public services, they procured a rescript, by which, those
decrees which had formerly been made being trampled under foot, they
were ordered to be restored to their churches. Relying upon this,
Instantius and Priscillian made their wayback to Spain (for Salvianus
had died in the city); and they then, without any struggle, recovered
the churches over which they had ruled.
Footnotes
[390] Some read Euchrocia, and so afterwards.
[391] "magistro officiorum."
Chapter XLIX.
But the power, not the will, to resist, failed Ithacius; for the
heretics had won over by bribes Voluentius, the proconsul, and thus
consolidated their own power. Moreover, Ithacius was put on his trial,
by these men as being a disturber of the churches, and he having been
ordered as the result of a fierce prosecution, to be carried off [392]
as a prisoner, fled in terror into Gaul, where he betook himself to
Gregory the prefect. He, after he learned what had taken place, orders
the authors of these tumults to be brought before himself, and makes a
report on all that had occurred to the emperor, in order that he might
close against the heretics every means of flattery or bribery. But
that was done in vain; because, through the licentiousness and power
of a few, all things were there to be purchased. Accordingly, the
heretics by their artifices, having presented Macedonius with a large
sum of money, secure that, by the imperial authority, the hearing of
the trial was taken from the prefect, and transferred to the
lieutenant in Spain. By that time, the Spaniards had ceased to have a
proconsul as ruler, and officials were sent by the Master to bring
back to Spain Ithacius who was then living at Treves. He, however,
craftily escaped them, and being subsequently defended by the bishop
Pritannius, he set them at defiance. Then, too, a faint [393] rumor
had spread that Maximus had assumed imperial power in Britain, and
would, in a short time, make an incursion into Gaul. Accordingly,
Ithacius then resolved, although his affairs were in a ticklish state,
to wait the arrival of the new emperor; and that, in the meantime, no
step should on his part be taken. When therefore Maximus, as victor,
entered the town of the Treveri, he poured forth entreaties full of
ill-will and accusations against Priscillian and his confederates. The
emperor influenced by these statements sent letters to the prefect of
Gaul and to the lieutenant in Spain, ordering that all whom that
disgraceful [394] heresy had affected should be brought to a Synod at
Bordeaux. Accordingly, Instantius and Priscillian were escorted
thither and, of these, Instantius was enjoined to plead his cause; and
after he was found unable to clear himself, he was pronounced unworthy
of the office of a bishop. But Priscillian, in order that he might
avoid being heard by the bishops, appealed to the emperor. And that
was permitted to be done through the want of resolution on the part of
our friends, who ought either to have passed a sentence even against
one who resisted it, or, if they were regarded as themselves
suspicious persons, should have reserved the hearing for other
bishops, and should not have transferred to the emperor a cause
involving such manifest offences.
Footnotes
[392] This appears to be the meaning, but the text is obscure.
[393] "clemens": some read "Clementen," and join it with "Maximum."
[394] "labes illa."
Chapter L.
Thus, then, all whom the process embraced were brought before the
king. The bishops Ydacius and Ithacius followed as accusers; and I
would by no means blame their zeal in overthrowing heretics, if they
had not contended for victory with greater keenness than was fitting.
And my feeling indeed is, that the accusers were as distasteful to me
as the accused. I certainly hold that Ithacius had no worth or
holiness about him. For he was a bold, loquacious, impudent, and
extravagant man; excessively devoted to the pleasures of sensuality.
He proceeded even to such a pitch of folly as to charge all those men,
however holy, who either took delight in reading, or made it their
object to vie with each other in the practice of fasting, with being
friends or disciples of Priscillian. The miserable wretch even
ventured publicly to bring forward a disgraceful charge of heresy
against Martin, who was at that time a bishop, and a man clearly
worthy of being compared to the Apostles. For Martin, being then
settled at Treves, did not cease to importune Ithacius, that he should
give up his accusations, or to implore Maximus that he should not shed
the blood of the unhappy persons in question. He maintained that it
was quite sufficient punishment that, having been declared heretics by
a sentence of the bishops, they should have been expelled from the
churches; and that it was, besides, a foul and unheard-of indignity,
that a secular ruler should be judge in an ecclesiastical cause. And,
in fact, as long as Martin survived, the trial was put off; while,
when he was about to leave this world, he, by his remarkable
influence, obtained a promise from Maximus, that no cruel measure
would be resolved on with respect to the guilty persons. But
subsequently, the emperor being led astray by Magnus and Rufus, and
turned from the milder course which Martin had counseled, entrusted
the case to the prefect Evodius, a man of stern and severe character.
He tried Priscillian in two assemblies, and convicted him of evil
conduct. In fact, Priscillian did not deny that he had given himself
up to lewd doctrines; had been accustomed to hold, by night,
gatherings of vile women, and to pray in a state of nudity.
Accordingly, Evodius pronounced him guilty, and sent him back to
prison, until he had time to consult the emperor. The matter, then, in
all its details, was reported to the palace, and the emperor decreed
that Priscillian and his friends should be put to death.
Chapter LI.
But Ithacius, seeing how much ill-will it would excite against him
among the bishops, if he should stand forth as accuser also at the
last trial on a capital charge (for it was requisite that the trial
should be repeated), withdrew from the prosecution. His cunning,
however, in thus acting was in vain, as the mischief was already
accomplished. Well, a certain Patricius, an advocate connected with
the treasury, was then appointed accuser by Maximus. Accordingly,
under him as prosecutor, Priscillian was condemned to death, and along
with him, Felicissimus and Armenius, who, when they were clerics, had
lately adopted the cause of Priscillian, and revolted from the
Catholics. Latronianus, too, and Euchrotia were beheaded. Instantius,
who, as we have said above, had been condemned by the bishops, was
transported to the island of Sylina [395] which lies beyond Britain. A
process was then instituted against the others in trials which
followed, and Asarivus, and Aurelius the deacon, were condemned to be
beheaded, while Tiberianus was deprived of his goods, and banished to
the island of Sylina. Tertullus, Potamius, and Joannes, as being
persons of less consideration, and worthy of some merciful treatment,
inasmuch as before the trial they had made a confession, both as to
themselves and their confederates, were sentenced to a temporary
banishment into Gaul. In this sort of way, men who were most unworthy
of the light of day, were, in order that they might serve as a
terrible example to others, either put to death or punished with
exile. That conduct [396] which he had at first defended by his right
of appeal to the tribunals, and by regard to the public good,
Ithacius, harassed [397] with invectives, and at last overcome, threw
the blame of upon those, by whose direction and counsels he had
effected his object. Yet he was the only one of all of them who was
thrust out of the episcopate. For Ydacius, although less guilty, had
voluntarily resigned his bishopric: that was wisely and respectfully
done, had he not afterward spoiled the credit of such a step by
endeavoring to recover the position which had been lost. Well, after
the death of Priscillian, not only was the heresy not suppressed,
which, under him, as its author, had burst forth, but acquiring
strength, it became more widely spread. For his followers who had
previously honored him as a saint, subsequently began to reverence him
as a martyr. The bodies of those who had been put to death were
conveyed to Spain, and their funerals were celebrated with great pomp.
Nay, it came to be thought the highest exercise of religion to swear
by Priscillian. But between them and our friends, a perpetual war of
quarreling has been kept up. And that conflict, after being sustained
for fifteen years with horrible dissension, could not by any means be
set at rest. And now all things were seen to be disturbed and confused
by the discord, especially of the bishops, while everything was
corrupted by them through their hatred, partiality, fear,
faithlessness, envy, factiousness, lust, avarice, pride, sleepiness,
and inactivity. In a word, a large number were striving with insane
plans and obstinate inclinations against a few giving wise counsel:
while, in the meantime, the people of God, and all the excellent of
the earth were exposed to mockery and insult.
Footnotes
[395] Halm prefers the form "Sylinancim" to "Sylinam." The reference
is probably to the Scilly Isles.
[396] The meaning seems to be, that Ithacius being blamed for bringing
accusations against his brethren, at first defended his conduct by an
appeal to the laws and the public weal, both of which justified the
prosecution of heretics; but being at last driven from this position,
he turned round and cast the blame upon those for whom he had acted.
[397] Some read "solitus," instead of "sollicitus.
Also, see links to 3500 other Manuscripts:
/believe/txv/earlych1.htm
E-mail to: BELIEVE
The main BELIEVE web-page (and the index to subjects) is at:
BELIEVE Religious Information Source - By Alphabet
http://mb-soft.com/believe/indexaz.html