THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS WRITINGS - VOLUME 80
Cosmas Indicopleustes, John the Lydian and John of Nikiu
c. AD 550 – 690

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Texts are public domain except where marked in Sources and Credits.

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INTRODUCTION TO THIS VOLUME
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HOW THIS BOOK IS ARRANGED

This is the eightieth volume of a series that gathers the writings of the early Church in
order of date, from the generation after the apostles down to the eighth century. This
volume holds Cosmas Indicopleustes, John the Lydian and John of Nikiu, from the period
about AD 550 – 690.

Within each work the text is divided into chapters and numbered sections, so that any
passage can be found again and cited. The small bold figures in the text are the section
numbers.

THE TRANSLATIONS

The text is in English only. Wherever a modern English version has been prepared for
SermonIndex it is used here; otherwise the book prints an older public-domain translation.
In both cases the wording is the translator’s own: older translations have not been
altered beyond dividing them into sections. The sources for every work are listed at the
back of the book, together with the licence under which each text is released. All the
works in this volume are printed in older public-domain translations.

IN THIS VOLUME

Cosmas was a merchant of Alexandria who traded as far as Ethiopia and the Red Sea, and who
later became a monk. About AD 550 he wrote the Christian Topography in twelve books, in
which he argues from the Bible that the earth is a flat rectangle under a vaulted heaven,
shaped like the tabernacle of Moses. The book is also valued for its first-hand notes on
the trade of Ethiopia and India.

John was born in AD 490 at Philadelphia in Lydia and served for forty years in the offices
of the praetorian prefect at Constantinople. He wrote three learned works, On the
Magistracies, On Portents and On the Months. The last explains the Roman calendar month by
month with its festivals, and it keeps a good deal of old pagan custom that the Church of
his day had to live beside.

John was bishop of Nikiu in the Egyptian delta in the late seventh century and chief
overseer of the monasteries of Lower Egypt. His Chronicle was written in Greek or Coptic
and now survives only in an Ethiopic version made from Arabic. The first part is a short
history of the world, and the last chapters give an eyewitness account of the Arab
conquest of Egypt in AD 639–642.

Cosmas, John the Lydian and John of Nikiu wrote in Greek, Greek and Ethiopic respectively.
Cosmas describes the world as a tabernacle, John the Lydian explains the months and feasts
of the Roman year, and John of Nikiu gives a chronicle from Adam to the Arab conquest of
Egypt.

DATES AND AUTHORSHIP

Dates are approximate and are debated by scholars. Each work begins with a short
introduction that states what is known about its author and its date, and what is
uncertain.


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY Cosmas Indicopleustes

fl. c. AD 550

Cosmas wrote this work about AD 550 to prove that the earth is a flat plane under a
vaulted heaven, as the tabernacle of Moses taught, and to refute those who held it to be a
globe. In passing he tells what he saw of the trade with Ethiopia and India, and he copies
the inscription of Adulis. The English is J. W. McCrindle’s of 1897.

INTRODUCTION BY THE TRANSLATOR

Introduction. — Sources of the Text.

THE Christian Topography of Cosmas, surnamed Indicopleustes, or the Indian Navigator, has
been preserved in two copies: one a parchment MS. of the tenth century belonging to the
Laurentian library in Florence, and containing the whole work except only the last leaf;
the other, a very fine uncial MS. of the eighth or ninth century, belonging to the Vatican
library, and containing sketches drawn by Costnas himself, but wanting entirely the
twelfth book, which is the last. There is, besides, in the Imperial library in Vienna, a
Cosmas MS., but this contains only a few leaves of the Topography. The existence of the
work, which had been for ages forgotten, and the importance and interest of its contents,
were first made known in the latter half of the seventeenth century by Emeric Bigot. This
learned French scholar, while visiting Italy, extracted from the Florentine Codex a copy
of the Adulitic Inscriptions, and of passages relating to Ethiopia and India. These
extracts were afterwards published in Thevenot's Relation de divers Voyages, accompanied
with a translation into French. Twenty years later (1706), the work appeared in its
complete form as exhibited in the Florentine Codex, collated with that of the Vatican. It
was not, however, published separately, but was included in the second volume of the
splendid work Nova Collectio Patrum et Scriptorum Graecorum, edited by Father Montfaucon,
a Benedictine monk, celebrated for his profound knowledge of Patristic literature. The
Greek text was illustrated by a learned introduction and a Latin translation of great
elegance and accuracy. Notes were also added, chiefly to point out where discrepancies
exist in the readings of the MSS. The present translation has been prepared from
Montfaucon's text, as reprinted in the 88th volume of the Patrologia Graeca, printed at
the Migne Press, Paris, 1864.

The Title of the Work.

In the Florentine Codex, the index of the work reads thus: Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος Χριστιανικὴ
Τοπογραφία περιεκτικὴ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου παρ’ ἡμῖν ὠνομασμένη. This Book named by us
Christian Topography comprehensive of the whole world, Montfaucon entitles it: Cosmae
Egyptii Monachi Christiana Topographia, sive Christianorum Opinio de Mundo: The Christian
Topography of Cosmas, an Egyptian Monk, or the Opinion of Christians concerning the World.
As Cosmas all through the work keeps harping, with the most provoking reiteration, on his
doctrine that the universe consists of only two places, namely, the earth which is below
the firmament, and heaven, which is above it, the term Topography designates the treatise
properly enough; though on turning to peruse it for the first time, we should from its
title expect its contents to be very different from what they are found to be.

Notice of the Work by Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople.

Montfaucon does not seem to have been aware that a brief notice of the Topography is to be
found in the Bibliotheka of Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was elected to
that dignity in A.D. 858. Photius states that the work had for its title Χριστιανῶν
βίβλος, and was an exposition extending to the eighth book. He does not give the author's
name, but states that he flourished in the reign of the Roman Emperor Justinus, and
dedicated his work to a certain Pamphilus. He condemns it as being below mediocrity in
style, and faulty in its syntax; and at the same time calls in question the author's
veracity, saying that he makes up stories so incredible that he may fairly be regarded as
a writer of fables rather than of facts. He then gives a very concise summary of the
contents of the Topography, and concludes with a reference to the last four books, which
had from time to time been added to defend the doctrines set forth in those which had
preceded.

The Name of the Author of the "Topography."

A doubt long ago arose as to whether Cosmas was the proper or family name of the author of
the Topography. Isaac Voss first started this doubt, and Fabricius subsequently gave
currency to the opinion that Cosmas was so called because his work was devoted to a
description of the Kosmos: just as the Abbot John of Sinai was called Climacius because he
had published a work entitled Climax. In the absence of evidence, this must remain an open
question.

Biography of Cosmas.

The Topography fortunately contains passages which throw light on the personal history of
its author, and enable us also to fix with certainty the date at which he wrote. He was
most probably a native of Alexandria, and may have been of Greek parentage. His education
was confined to the more elementary branches of knowledge, such as would fit him for the
career he pursued in the earlier part of his life----that of a merchant. But though he was
not instructed, as he tells us himself, in the "learning of the schools," yet so
inquisitive was his turn of mind and so sharp his intellect that he eventually acquired
such a knowledge of literature and science as raised him to the level of the culture of
his time, and to his being accepted as a capable exponent and defender of the Christian
faith. The commercial pursuits of Cosmas carried him into seas and countries far remote
from his home. Thus he tells us that he had sailed upon three of the great gulfs which run
up into the earth from the ocean, namely, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and Persian
Gulf. He sailed also upon that part of the Erythraean Sea which beyond Cape Guardafui
stretches southward toward the outlying ocean, which in those days was regarded with
terror and held to be unnavigable on account of the violent currents and dense and dismal
fogs in which it was thought to be enveloped. When the ship which carried Cosmas was
approaching this dread region of currents and fogs, a storm gathered overhead, and flocks
of albatrosses, like birds of ill omen, hovered on the wing high above the mast. Dismay
seized alike the passengers and the crew, and amidst outcries of "port the helm," the
course of the vessel was reversed and she headed northwards. Cosmas does not say whether
in the course of this voyage he reached India, which was his destination when he embarked.
If he did not, he must have made a second and more successful attempt; for no one, we
think, who reads his eleventh book, in which he describes the island of Ceylon and the
ports, commerce, and animals of India, can doubt that he writes about these places from
personal knowledge of them.

One of the most interesting and instructive parts of the Topography is that in which
Cosmas relates what he had heard and seen in the course of his travels in Ethiopia. By the
name of Ethiopia he designates in a general way the vast region which stretches southward
from Egypt down towards the equator; and from an incidental remark which he drops when
treating of the Adulitic inscription on the throne,we learn that he had traversed it
almost throughout its length and its breadth. Like Herodotus of old, he was ever athirst
after knowledge, and when he was unable to visit places which lay in the vicinity of his
route, he made inquiries about them from such persons as knew them and could be trusted to
report things truly. The capital of Ethiopia at that time was Axum, an important centre of
commerce, and also of religion and learning. It was one of the places which Cosmas, in
pursuit of his calling, visited, and from one or two of his statements we may infer that
he was well received at Court, and was permitted by the King, who professed the Christian
faith and could speak Greek, to travel freely through his dominions.

The seaport of Axum was Adule or Adulis,the modern Zulá or Thulla, situated near Annesley
Bay and distant from the capital about one hundred and twenty miles or an eight days'
journey. Cosmas found himself here in the year 525 A.D., at which time Elesboas, the King
of Axum, was preparing an expedition against the Homerites in Arabia. Here, at the request
of the Governor, Cosmas, along with his friend Menas, a monk of the monastery at Raithu,
copied the famous Greek inscriptions on the marble tablet and the basanite throne, which
lay together outside the town on the road which led to Axum. Among other parts of Ethiopia
which our traveller visited we may include the Aromatic country----that great projection
on the east of the African Continent which terminates in Cape Guardafui. His description
of this district (which supplied the Egyptians of old with their spices for embalming the
dead), and of its products and its foreign trade, shows that it must have come from the
pen of an eye-witness. He may also have proceeded to the north-west, and visited the
kingdom of Meroe (now Khartum), for in that direction lay the seats of several tribes
mentioned in the inscription on the throne. Montfaucon, in his Preface, credits him with
the discovery, in the Abyssinian province called Agau, of the true source of the Nile. It
was not, however, the source of the main stream which he discovered, but that of the Blue
Nile,which, a millennium afterwards, was rediscovered by the Portuguese, and more recently
by the Scottish traveller Bruce. There was still another interesting locality which the
traveller tells us he visited, and this lay on the other side of the Red Sea----the
Desert, namely, of Sinai, where he found, strewn among the sands, fragments of rock
covered with inscriptions which he took to have been carved by the Israelites when they
were wandering in that wilderness.

Cosmas, when all his travels were over, returned to Alexandria, perhaps after paying a
visit to Jerusalem; and, abandoning the secular life, retired to the seclusion of the
cloister, where he devoted his leisure to the composition of works on descriptive
geography, cosmography, and Scriptural exegesis. Of these, the Christian Topography alone
is extant. The loss of the geographical treatise, as Montfaucon well says, is to be
deplored with tears. It has been conjectured that the geographical passages in the
Topography, as, for instance, the description of Ceylon in the eleventh book, are extracts
from that treatise.

The Christian Sect to which Cosmas Belonged.

In the days of Cosmas ecclesiastical controversies were rife, and professing Christians
were divided into numerous sects. That to which Cosmas most probably belonged was the
Nestorian. To this point Photius makes no reference, and it has been equally overlooked by
Montfaucon. The first who called in question the orthodoxy of our Monk was De La Croze,
who, in his Histoire du Christianisme des Indes, adduced the following arguments to prove
his Nestorian proclivities: ----1°, that Cosmas calls Patricius, who was the Archbishop of
Persia when that country had been infected with Nestorianism, a divine man and an
illustrious teacher; 2°, that Cosmas, in his list of heretical sects, names the
Manichaeans, the Marcionists, the Eutychians, the Arians and the Apollinarians, but not
the Nestorians; 3°, that in his exposition of Scripture, and in his system of the world,
he always follows Theodosius of Mopsuestia and Diodorus of Tarsus, who were the principal
teachers of the Nestorians; 4°, that concerning Christ and the Incarnation of the Word, he
uses the same modes of expression as the Nestorians. We may add as a fifth argument the
glowing terms in which Cosmas speaks of the wide diffusion of Christianity among the
heathen nations of the east, which was mainly the work of missionaries from Persia, where
Nestorianism reigned supreme. Only one passage occurs to throw some doubt on the certainty
of this conclusion----that in which Cosmas addresses Mary as the Mother of God, an
expression abhorrent to the Nestorians. Had Cosmas in his monastery relapsed into what was
there considered orthodoxy?

The Date at which the "Topography" Was Written.

We have already mentioned that the Topography has data from which the time when Cosmas
wrote can be certainly determined. In the second book (p. 55), where he mentions his visit
to Adulê, he observes that it was made when Elesboas the Axumite King was preparing an
expedition against the Homerites in Arabia, and that this was at the beginning of the
reign of the Roman Emperor Justinus, since which time some five-and-twenty years more or
less had elapsed. Now, as it is known that the expedition was made in A.D. 522, and that
Justinus was at that date in the fifth year of his reign, Cosmas must have been writing
about the year 547. It is true that an indication which apparently conflicts with this
appears in the tenth book (p. 351), where he speaks of Theodosius, the heretical Bishop of
Alexandria, as residing at the time in Constantinople, and then on p. 353 refers to the
death of his predecessor in office, Timothy the younger, as an event of recent occurrence.
Now it is known that this Timothy died in 535, and was succeeded by Theodosius, who, after
a brief residence in his diocese went to Constantinople, whence he was banished in 536.
The tenth book must therefore have been written in the year preceding. How, then, is this
earlier date to be reconciled with the later? Montfaucon answers this question
satisfactorily. Cosmas, he points out, in order to meet objections urged against his
opinions, was in the habit of making additions from time to time to the number of its
books. The earlier date thus probably indicates the time when he began to make such
additions, and the later when he was making the last, or one of the last, recensions of
his work.

Opinions of the Learned Regarding the "Topography."

The condemnatory verdict of Photius upon the work of Cosmas has not been endorsed by
modern opinion. The style of the Topography has no doubt the shortcomings which the
Patriarch pointed out; but Cosmas, it is proper to remember, expressly disclaims all
pretensions to the learning of the schools. He pleads that from his early years he had
been so engrossed in business, and had been besides so much abroad, that he had found no
spare time for studying rules of grammar and the art of composition; he could, therefore,
only write in a homely style, without attempting any flights of rhetoric. Rhetoric,
moreover would, he thought, be out of place in his books, since "he wrote for Christians,
who had more need of correct notions than of fine phrases." The style has,
notwithstanding, some redeeming points. Cosmas, in spite of his loose grammar, seldom
fails to make his meaning clear, or to put forward his arguments with sufficient point and
force. Some passages, besides, which give us an insight into the depth and fervour of his
faith, rise to an eloquence which suggests the belief that, had he cultivated the art, he
might have shone in pulpit oratory.

It is, however, in relating his travelling experiences that Cosmas is found at his best.
The language he uses is simple, and his descriptions are not only remarkably vivid, but
are, above all things, truthful. In this respect modern opinion is entirely at variance
with that of Photius. The greater knowledge now possessed of the remote regions which
Cosmas visited goes all to show that the thought of tickling the fancy of his readers with
tales of wonder had never entered his mind, but that on the contrary he was a man who had
a supreme regard for truth, and who was at once an acute observer, and shrewd in judging
the value of the information which he received from others. As soon as the Topography, in
its complete edition by Montfaucon, made its appearance, it excited great interest in the
circles of learning, and at once took rank as a work which contained more accurate and
more valuable information on geographical subjects than any other document that had come
down from the early mediaeval age. At the same time, the extreme singularity of the views
which it propounded on cosmology and on the interpretation of Scripture texts filled its
readers, with combined feelings of amazement and amusement.

Bibliographical Notices.

The Topography was republished at Venice in 1776 in Gallandi's Bibliotheca veterum Patrum,
and its most valuable sections were, printed, along with a French translation, at Paris in
1855, in Charton's Voyageurs Anciens et Modernes. Its contents were made use of by
Robertson in his Disquisition on Ancient India, and by Gibbon in his History of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The latter, referring to the absurd theory of the
world held by Cosmas, remarks that "the nonsense of the Monk was, nevertheless, mingled
with the practical knowledge of the traveller". Among the eminent geographers who have
turned the Topography to account may be mentioned Mannert, Gosselin, Humboldt, Dodwell,
Playfair, Bredow, Reinaud, Létronne, Sir Henry Yule, and Mr. Raymond Beazley; while among
ecclesiastical writers may be noted Allatius, Bandini, De La Croze, Assemanni, Cave and
Milne Rae.The Adulitic inscriptions again have exercised the pens of such scholars as:
Fabricius, Chishull, Vincent, Salt, Boeckh, V. de Saint-Martin, Dr. H. Müller of Vienna,
and Dr. Glaser of Munich.

The System of the World According to Cosmas.

The Christian Topography is a production of which It may be truly said τὸ πάρεργου
κρεῖττου τοῦ ἔργου. It is essentially controversial, its professed design being to refute,
from Scripture and common sense, the impious Pagan cosmography, according to which the
earth is a sphere; and the centre around which the heaven, which is also a sphere,
revolves with all its luminaries. The arguments with which Cosmas seeks to demolish this
theory and to illustrate his own are absurd in the extreme; and were it not for the
geographical, historical, and other kinds of notices which are here and there incidentally
introduced into its pages, his work would chiefly serve for amusement. According to his
view, the figure of the universe can best be learned from a study of the structure and
furniture of the Tabernacle which Moses prepared in the wilderness. This wonderful
conception did not originate with himself. Some of the Christian Fathers who preceded him
had entertained it in a vague and general way, believing it might be warranted by the
expression's in Hebrews, ix, 23 and 24, where the Tabernacle and its contents are said to
be patterns (ὑποδείγματα) and antitypes or figures of the true (ἀντίτυπα τῶν ἀληθινῶν). It
was left to Cosmas to develop the conception and work it out into all its details. So he
explains again and again that the division of the Tabernacle into two places, by means of
the veil, typified the division of the universe into two worlds----an upper and a lower,
by means of the firmament.

The table of shew-bread, again, with its waved border, represented the earth surrounded by
the ocean, while its other parts and the things upon it symbolized each some object or
other in the natural world. Now, as the table was twice as long as it was broad, and was
placed lengthwise from east to west, and breadthwise from north to south, from this we
learn that the earth is a rectangular plane which extends in length from east to west, and
in breadth from north to south, and is twice as long as it is broad. The ocean, he further
gives us to know, is unnavigable, and, while encompassing this earth of ours, is itself
encompassed by another earth, which had been the seat of Paradise and the abode of man
until the Ark, floating on the billows of the Flood, wafted Noah and his family over into
this earth. The heavens come downward to us in four walls, which, at their lower sides,
are welded to the four sides of the earth beyond ocean, each to each. The upper side of
the northern wall, at the summit of heaven, curves round and over, till it unites with the
upper side of the southern wall, and thus forms, in the shape of an oblong vault, the
canopy of heaven, which Cosmas likens to the vaulted roof of a bathroom. This vast
rectangular hall is divided at the middle into two stories by the firmament, which thus
serves as a ceiling for the lower story and a floor for the upper.

The lower story is this world, where men and angels have their abode until the
Resurrection, and the story above is heaven ---- the place of the future state. As to the
position (θέσις) of the earth in the scheme of things, Scripture left Cosmas in no doubt.
The Psalmist had declared that the Creator had founded the earth upon its own stability
(ἐπι τὴν ἀσφάλειαν αὐτῆς); Job, that He had hanged it upon nothing; and Isaiah, that,
while heaven was His throne, the earth was His footstool. Clearly, therefore, the place of
the earth was at the bottom of the universe ---- a position to which it must have
naturally sunk (as he shows in a very curious passage) at the very instant of its
creation. What then can be more absurd than the Pagan doctrine that the earth is in the
middle of the universe? Were it in the middle, there must be something below it as well as
above it; but there is nothing below it, since we learn from Genesis that God made heaven
and earth, and nothing else beyond these. Here then the Pagans are at war with divine
Scripture; but, not content with this, they are at war also with common sense itself and
the very laws of nature, declaring, as they do, that the earth is a central sphere, and
that there are Antipodes, who must be standing head-downward and on whom the rain must
fall up.

Referring to the figure of the world as thus conceived by Cosmas, Sir Henry Yule with grim
humour remarked that "one of the huge receptacles in which female travellers of our day
carry their dresses, forms a perfect model of the Kosmos of Kosmas". The theory, again, by
which Cosmas accounts for the vicissitudes of day and night is no less preposterous than
his idea of the figure of the world. The Pagan theory that the earth is spherical and
placed in the centre of the universe, with the heavenly bodies revolving round it,
accounted satisfactorily for the disappearance of the sun during the night; but where
could Cosmas, in whose philosophy there was neither a spherical earth nor any under-world,
find a place for the great orb of light when no longer visible? The problem did not baffle
his ingenuity. Calling to his aid the words of Solomon, which declared that the sun on
rising turned first towards the south and then towards the north, where he went down, and
thence hastened to the place in which he arose, he made them the basis of the following
extraordinary theory. The earth, he tells us, gradually rising up from the south, extends
westward, until it culminates at last in a huge conical mountain situated somewhere in the
far-away frozen north.

Behind this immense cone, the sun at the close of day disappears from view, and leaves the
world which we inhabit in darkness, until, having circled round the cone, he reappears in
the east to give birth to a new day. According, moreover, as he is high or low during his
nocturnal revolution, the nights vary in their length; while, owing to a slight obliquity
in his motion, eclipses are produced. On the question of the magnitude of the great
luminary Cosmas differed widely from the Pagan philosophers, and wrote his sixth book
mainly to prove that, instead of its being, as they thought, many times larger than the
earth, it was no more than the size of two only of the earth's climates or zones, those
between the latitudes of Alexandria and Rhodes, and Rhodes and Constantinople, an extent
of about 635 geographical miles. But the words of Solomon form by no means the only
Scriptural warrant for taking this view of the order of nature, for the candlestick placed
on the south of the table of shew-bread typified the sun shining upon the earth from the
south towards the north, while the waved border which ran round the table typified the
ocean surrounded by the outer earth, both of which were illuminated by the sun while
circling round the gigantic mountain.

The Pagan theory which Cosmas especially detested, and made most frequently the subject of
his scornful and violent invective, was that which maintained that the heavens were
spherical and in constant revolution. He heaps text upon text to confute the advocates of
this most pestilent doctrine, which, if admitted, would, he contended, abolish the future
state and make the resurrection of Christ of no account. But while Cosmas regarded as
impious the doctrine that the heavens revolve, he admitted the revolution of the celestial
luminaries, which, he held, were propelled in their courses by the angels, who do not live
in heaven but are restricted to the aerial spaces below the firmament, until the
resurrection. All these and other views no less absurd, though interesting, Cosmas states
and re-states with the most wearisome pertinacity, and holding them to be most vital
verities, sanctioned alike by common sense and the paramount authority of divine
Scripture, denounces again and again "those reprobate Christians who, instead of accepting
them, prefer, through their perverse folly or downright wickedness, to adopt the miserable
Pagan belief that earth and heaven are spherical, and that there are Antipodes on whom the
rain must fall up.

Criticisms of his System.

Since the Topography had for its main design the exposition of these views, it has been
compared by Yule to "a mere bank of mud, but remarkable on account of certain geographical
fossils which are found imbedded in it". This comparison, however, we venture to think,
does less than justice to the work, for besides the geographical there are many other
"fossils" to be found in the mud, of different kinds and generally of more or less
interest and value. A list of these----but not pretending to be complete----has been given
by Montfaucon in his Introduction. Among others may be specified the indication of Clysma
as the place of the passage of the Red Sea; the wares brought by merchants to the
Israelites when they sojourned in the wilderness; the seat of the terrestrial Paradise;
the worship of Mithras by the Persians; the rite of baptism; the date of the Nativity; the
question of the canonicity of the Catholic Epistles; the exposition of the prayer of
Hezekiah; the inscriptions on the rocks found in the desert of Sinai; the state of
Christianity in Socotra, Ceylon and India; the extent to which Christianity had spread
over the heathen world; the interpretation of the prophecies of Daniel; extracts from
Pagan writers and Fathers of the Church preserved only by Cosmas; and his views on the
destiny of children who die in the womb or in infancy. The portion, moreover, of the
Topography which is the "mud bank" of the comparison is not without some value.

It is a specimen of a once prevalent and not yet quite extinct mode of Scriptural
exegesis; it reveals what were some of the main currents of thought which permeated the
Christian world at the beginning of the Middle Ages; it discloses to what a lamentable
degree, as Monotheistic Christianity rose to the ascendant, triumphant alike over the
Persian Dualism of the Manichceans, and the Greek Pantheism of the Neo-Platonists, the
light of Hellenic learning and science had faded from Christendom before as yet Islam,
which was destined to receive and preserve that light, had appeared in the world; and
while it exhibits the attitude in which Theology and Science in those days stood to each
other, it illustrates the signal danger of regarding Scripture as a store-house of divine
communications which may be turned to account in defending or in oppugning scientific
speculations. To quote Yule once more: "The work is a memorable example of that
mischievous process of loading Christian truth with a dead weight of false science."

Other Works Besides the "Topography" Written by Cosmas.

Besides the Christian Topography Cosmas wrote several other works, of which the most
important was one addressed to Constantinus, in which he described the whole earth. Cosmas
mentions it in Book 1. A second was entitled A Delineation or Image of the Universe and of
the Stellar Motion, made in imitation of the artificial Sphere of the Pagans, and a
Treatise thereon addressed to the most Pious Deacon Homologus. A third book was A
Commentary on the Song of Songs; and a fourth An Exposition of the Psalms.

General Nature of the Contents of Each Book of the "Topography."

To the Topography, when first published, Cosmas prefixed two prologues, in the first of
which he exhorts his readers to bestow upon his works a diligent and careful perusal; and
in the second, which contained the dedication to Pamphilus and apologies for his own
shortcomings as a writer, he points out the nature of the contents of each of the five
books of which the work then consisted. In the first book he attacks, and to his own
satisfaction demolishes, the pernicious anti-Christian doctrines of the Pagan philosophy,
that the world is spherical and that there are Antipodes. In the second he propounds the
true theory which all Christians are bound to accept, based as it is upon the inspired
Word, and maintained, besides even by some of the Pagan philosophers themselves. By the
citation of measurements of the earth made from east to west and from north to south, he
seeks to prove that the length of the earth is twice its breadth. In the third book he
insists on the authority and harmony of Scripture, adducing many texts, which, as in the
preceding book, he twists with audacious ingenuity to lend support to his own impossible
theory. In the two following books he again demolishes the doctrine of the spheres, while
he re-states and fortifies his own theory with a long array of additional texts.

The publication of these books, which gave definite and uncompromising expression to views
of which the germs had long been vaguely floating about in the air of Christendom,
produced, as might have been expected from their novelty when seen wrought together into a
self-consistent system, a startling effect. Objections were urged----directed especially
against his views regarding the figure of the world. How, he was asked, could the sun,
which was many times larger than the earth, be hidden behind the mountain in the north,
however great its altitude? The sixth book was written to show that the sun, so far from
being many times larger than the earth, was in point of fact only the size of two of the
earth's "climates". The seventh book, addressed to Athanasius, sought to refute a work
written by a professing Christian, who held that heaven was an ever-revolving sphere, but
nevertheless dissoluble. Cosmas cites and expounds numerous texts to show that the heavens
cannot be dissolved, and that neither men nor angels can "enter into them until after the
Resurrection. The eighth book is addressed by Cosmas to another of his friends, called
Peter, who had asked him to expound the Prayer of Hezekiah. The exposition is given, and
Cosmas then proceeds to show how the minds of the Babylonians had been impressed by the
miraculous sign of the retrogression of the shadow upon the sun-dial----and how Cyrus had
been led to favour the Jews and dismiss them from their Babylonian captivity by his
reading the prophecies of Isaiah which referred to himself even by name. The ninth book,
treating of the heavenly bodies, ascribes their motions to the angels, who groan under
this hard and incessant toil which they perform for the benefit of man, and not for their
own. They would have sunk, therefore, into despair, had they not seen that, even after the
Fall, God was merciful and kind to man, on whose destinies their own depended. They were
further encouraged when they afterwards saw that the Apostle Paul was caught up into the
third heaven, and was there entertained with a glimpse of its glories.

In the tenth book Cosmas cites a number of the Fathers to show that his doctrines were in
closest harmony with the teachings of the Church. In the eleventh, which is entirely
geographical, he describes some animals and plants which he had seen or heard of in the
course of his travels, and gives an account also of the island of Ceylon, and of its
extensive commerce with India, Persia, China, and the countries of the west. The twelfth
and last book shows that several of the old Pagan writers bore testimony to the antiquity
of the Old Testament scriptures.

The Maps and Sketches which Illustrate the Views of Cosmas.

"There is," says Mr. Raymond Beazley, in the admirable work we have already referred to,
"another interest about the Topography. It contains in all probability the oldest
Christian maps that have survived. There is little reason to doubt that the numerous
sketches .... which are to be found in the Florentine manuscript of the tenth century were
really drawn by Cosmas himself (or under his direction) in the sixth; and are thus at
least two centuries earlier than the Map of Albi, or the original sketch of the Spanish
monk Beatus" (p. 281). The Plates found in the Appendix have been reproduced by
photography from those which accompany Montfaucon's edition of the Topography.

The Place of Cosmas in History.

With regard to the place which Cosmas holds in history, we cannot do better than cite the
estimate expressed by the same writer, whose wide and accurate knowledge of mediaeval
literature enables him to speak ex cathedra on the subject. "Cosmas," he says, "is of
interest to us as the last of the old Christian geographers, and in a sense, too, the
first of the mediaeval. He closes one age of civilization which had slowly declined from
the self-satisfied completeness of the classical world, and he prepares us to enter
another that, in comparison, is literally dark. From the rise of Islam the geographical
knowledge of Christendom is on a par with its practical contraction and apparent decline.
Even more than actual exploration, theoretical knowledge seemed on its death-bed for the
next five hundred years" (p. 33). In a subsequent passage dealing with the same topic, he
says: "The place of Cosmas in history has been sometimes misconceived. His work is not, as
it has been called (in the earlier years of this century), the chief authority of the
Middle Ages in geography. For, on the whole, its influence is only slightly, and
occasionally, traceable. Its author stated his position as an article of Christian faith,
but even in those times there was anything but a general agreement with his positive
conclusions. . . The subtleties of Cosmas were left to the Greeks, for the most part;

the western geographers who pursued his line of thought were usually content to stop short
at the merely negative dogmas of the Latin Fathers; and no great support was given to the
constructive tabernacle system of the Indian merchant. . . . Yet, after all, the Christian
Topography. must always be remarkable. . . . It is one of the earliest important essays in
scientific or strictly theoretic geography, within the Christian aera, written by a
Christian thinker" (p. 283). Mr. Beazley concludes his long notice of the great Christian
Cosmographer in these terms: "He felt himself to be the apostle of full supernatural
theory in science. He knew that his work was unique. And such it has always been
recognised----by some with rapture, by others with consternation, by most with derision.
At least it is a monument of infinite, because quite unconscious, humour. 'For neither
before him was any like unto him, neither shall be after.' "

BOOK I

The Opinion of Christians Concerning the World.

This book, which embraces the whole world, I have designated "Christianikê Topographia".
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost----the one adorable Godhead
in three Persons----the consubstantial and life-originating Trinity of the one God, from
whom every good gift and every perfect gift comes down to us from above, I, a miserable
sinner, open my slow and stammering lips, trusting that for my humility's sake in
soliciting utterance, and for the advantage of my hearers, He will give me the spirit of
wisdom and utterance in the opening of my lips: He who is the Lord of Grace and Dispenser
of all good things; God over all and blessed for evermore, Amen! [(HERE), WITH THE
ASSISTANCE OF GOD, THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK Book I, work of a Christian Against those who
want to be Christian, but believe and profess, like those outside, that heaven is
spherical.

Book II Christian theories on the form and layout of places in the whole universe, taking
their proofs from the divine scriptures. Book III That divine scripture is sure and worthy
of trust, that it reveals things which agree among themselves and with the whole, in both
the Old and New Testament, and that it indicates the utility of the shape of the whole
universe. Book IV Concise recapitulation, with illustration, of the shape of the universe
according to the divine scriptures, and refutation of the sphere. Book V Where is found
the description of the tabernacle and the agreement of the prophets and the apostles. This
work is thus called by us CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY EMBRACING THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. Book VI,
additional The size of the sun. Book VII Dedicated to Anastasius and proving that the
heavens are indestructible. Book VIII On the canticle of Ezechiel, and the retrogradation
of the sun.

Book IX Design of the course of the stars. Book X Citations of the Fathers agreeing with
the whole of our writing. Moreover, apart from the work: Book XI Drawings and description
of the Indian animals; in the same way about the trees and of the island of Taprobane.
Still another book: Book XII Explaining that many ancient writers, among outsiders, attest
the antiquity of the divine scriptures composed by Moses and the prophets and that the
Greeks seem to have learned to write later than everyone else, as well as the divine
scriptures, because of their inveterate incredulity.]

Prologue i.

FIRST of all I exhort those who will read this book to peruse it with all attention and
diligence, and not to run over it in a perfunctory manner, but with loving pains to study
it and take into their minds impressions of the places, figures, and histories which it
contains; and when the book has been read to the end, let them further look into the
volume which we have composed for that lover of Christ, Constantinus: a volume wherein we
have described more fully the whole earth, both the one beyond the ocean, and this one,
and all its countries, together with the southern parts from Alexandria to the Southern
Ocean, namely, the river Nile and the countries adjacent, and all the races of Egypt and
Ethiopia; the Arabian Gulf besides, with the countries adjoining and their inhabitants as
far as the same ocean, and likewise the middle country between the river and the gulf,
with the cities, districts and tribes therein contained----a volume to prove that what
things are said by us are true, and those false which are said by our adversaries, for
whose sake this book and the drawings it contains have been prepared----those, I mean,
concerning the size of the sun, and that sun-burnt, uninhabited part of the world about
which they din our ears, and vomit out fictions and fables.

Let me next exhort my readers to examine the sketch of the universe and the stellar
motions which we have prepared as a representation of the organic sphere of the pagans ,
and to study the account of it sent to the pious deacon Homologus, then they with God's
help are quite competent, especially with this book and the volume mentioned, to overthrow
from the foundation the error of the pagan theories. For if any Christian possesses these
three works, and is by divine grace carefully exercised in the divine scriptures, he will
easily confute the foolish views of the fable-mongers, for, from the figure itself, the
constitution of the world and the very nature of things, they prove that the divine
scriptures and the doctrines preached by Christians are perfectly true. Be strong then, ye
Christians, in the Lord.

Prologue II.

The Christian Topography of the whole world demonstrated from divine scripture, about
which Christians ought not to doubt. IN days long gone by I hesitated, O God-beloved, God-
loving and Christ-loving Pamphilus, to take in hand the treatise descriptive of the
constitution of the whole world which you enjoined me to draw up. For even had I so
wished, it was out of my power, as you well know, on account of the lingering illness by
which I was prostrated. But since, in answer to your frequent prayers, I have recovered
from that illness, accept at last the Preface to the books of the work which I submit,
partly as fulfilling the obedience I owe you, and partly as dreading the condemnation of
the sluggish servant which the discourse of our Saviour in the Gospels has pronounced. And
let no one condemn me as overbold, because I conduct the exposition of my subject in a
style homely and unmethodical, since it is not fine phrases the Christian requires but
right notions. For while many be the darts and helmets and shields and wars set in motion
against the Church, some supposed to be Christians, holding divine scripture of no account
but despising and looking down upon it, assume like the Pagan philosophers, that the form
of the heavens is spherical, being led into this error by the solar and lunar eclipses. We
have therefore conveniently divided the subject of the book into five parts.

In the outset then the first part is directed against the persons referred to who have
been misled, and argues that one who wishes to profess Christianity cannot be led away by
the plausible errors of those outside the Church----errors which are opposed to divine
scripture. For should any one choose to examine closely the Pagan theories he will find
them to be entirely fictitious, fabulous sophistries, and to be utterly impossible. Then
again, for the Christian who will naturally ask and say: these being refuted, what are the
true theories that must be admitted in opposition to them? I have written the second book,
which proceeds to explain from divine scripture the nature of the Christian theories----to
describe the figure of the whole world, and to notice that some of the ancient Pagans have
been of the same opinion. Then again, by way of replying to one who should doubt and ask:
how does it appear that Moses and the prophets in saying such things say what is true? the
third book exhibits the credibility of Moses and the Prophets, showing that they spake not
of themselves, but as inspired by divine revelation, and that the writers alike of the Old
and New Testament, men approved both by word and deed, having foreseen these things,
declared them accordingly. It further shows what is the utility of delineations of the
world, and how the notion of the sphere had its origin and beginning.

The fourth book, again, has been written for behoof of those who wish to run their eye
over the figures, and is a brief recapitulation, along with delineations, of what has been
said before----a refutation, in fact, of the theory of the sphere and of the Antipodes.
Then again, the fifth book has been written for those enquiring what the Christian
theories are, and it shows that in what we have said and have represented by drawings we
have neither devised fictions of our own nor invented new fables; but from revelation and
from what God who created the world has ordained, have beheld the pattern of the whole
world----namely the Tabernacle prepared by Moses, which the New Testament consistently
with this view has pronounced to be an image of the whole world; and which also by means
of the vail Moses divided, and so made one tabernacle into two, just as God also in the
beginning divided what was one region, extending from the earth to the highest heaven,
into two regions, by means of the firmament; and just as in the tabernacle there was an
outer and an inner place, so here there was a lower and an upper. Now the lower is this
world, and the upper is the world to come, into which also the Lord Christ, after having
risen according to the flesh from the dead, ascended the first of all, and into which the
righteous shall in their turn afterwards ascend.

And since from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to John, and from John all the Apostles and
Evangelists, have each and all in harmony, and both by words and types spoken of these two
states; and since not one of them has uttered a discordant note, either saying that there
was a state before the first, or supposing that there is a third after the second; but all
of them, as if inspired by the Holy Ghost, have proclaimed that there are but two states
only, we, therefore, putting our confidence in the scriptures, which are truly divine,
have not only sketched the figures of the whole world, but also of those very places by
which you will find the Israelites made their exodus, also the mountain on which they
received the law in writing, and were instructed in the knowledge of writing; also the
delineation of the Tabernacle and the settlement in the Land of Promise; until he who was
expected to arise from among them, and who was predicted by all the men of old and by the
Prophets, did actually appear, proclaiming the future second state, which on his coming he
showed in himself to us all, having entered into the inner Tabernacle, into the upper
celestial region, into which at his second coming he shall call the righteous, saying:
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. To Him be glory for ever, Amen!

Book I of Cosmas, a Monk.

Against those who, while wishing to profess Christianity, think and imagine like the
pagans that the heaven is spherical. S many as ardently desire true knowledge and are
lovers of the true light, and earnestly endeavour to become fellow-citizens of the saints
in the age to come, who regard the Old and New Testament as in reality divine scripture,
who are obedient to Moses and the Christ, who follow out to the end the principles they
have adopted, who acknowledge that the world was produced by God out of mere nothing, and
who believe that there is a resurrection of men and a judgment, and that the righteous
shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven; all these carefully examine the divine scriptures all
throughout, to see whether in Moses, who wrote the account of the Creation, and in the
other Prophets, they contain descriptions of the places and figures of the whole creation,
among which is indicated also the position of the Kingdom of Heaven, which the Lord Christ
promises God will give to righteous men. And when they find the Old and New Testaments to
be in mutual harmony, they abide therein firmly grounded and immovable, in nothing
confounded by their adversaries. But those on the other hand who prank themselves out in
the wisdom of this world, and are self-confident that by scholastic reasonings they can
comprehend its figure and position, scoff at all divine scripture as a mass of fables,
stigmatising Moses and the prophets, the Lord Christ and the Apostles as idle babblers,
and given over to vain delusions;

while with supercilious airs, as if they far surpassed in wisdom the rest of mankind, they
attribute to the heavens a spherical figure and a circular motion, and by geometrical
methods and calculations applied to the heavenly bodies, as well as by the abuse of words
and by worldly craft, endeavour to grasp the position and figure of the world by means of
the solar and lunar eclipses, leading others into error while they are in error themselves
in maintaining that such phenomena could not present themselves if the figure was other
than spherical. But concerning these matters we shall not enter into any discussion just
at present, since those persons sufficiently confute the one the other. But those who wish
to profess Christianity, while wishing at the same time to bedeck themselves with the
principles, the wisdom, and the diversity of the errors of this world, and contend that
one thing and another should be accepted, seem to differ nothing from a shadow which
exists while the intermediate body from which it is projected is in light, but which
cannot exist when that body is not in light, nay, is even obliterated by the light when
the body is illuminated all round.

It is against such men my words are directed, for divine scripture denounces them, as of
old it denounced the strangers sojourning in Samaria, because they feared God and burned
incense and offered worship on the high places.Were one to call such men double-faced he
would not be wrong, for, look you, they wish both to be with us and with those that are
against us, thus making void their renunciation of Satan whom they renounced in baptism,
and again running back to him. Now, such men cannot be with us at all; but they occupy a
middle position, like empty houses standing high up in the air, without having either
foundations in the earth below, or anything from above to hold them fast. For while they
have as yet scarcely come by their principles they set about destroying them; and before
they have yet destroyed them, they show that their end is unaccomplished, as they stand
firm neither on the one side nor the other, but rather laugh at every one, and are
themselves laughed at by all. In the first place, then, when arguing with them about the
spherical figure, we showed that this figure was not possible, and was indeed quite
inconsistent with the nature of things.

Certain of them say that the heaven is a body consisting of four elements, but some later
on superciliously reconstructed it with an additional fifth new element, though formerly
its essential constitution comprised only four elements, for they saw at a glance that the
heaven could not revolve if it was composed of these. But herein again they are found to
be blind even when they think that those who are sharp-sighted do not see. For since the
heaven is seen to be of sundry and diverse colours, whence a power to produce heat and
cold seems to be inherent in them, they say that the eyes of all are deceived by reason of
their immense distance. Well, then, let any one of them who so wishes come forward and
tell us: Why do the stars which, according to you are evidently fixed in an immovable
sphere, not apparently differ in colour and size, though their distances from us are seen
to be unequal, if the centre of the earth be the point from which our eyes are directed
towards them? And how is it that many of the fixed stars are equal and like to the planet
we call Mars, to which a lower sphere has been assigned, and how do we in like manner see
not a few of them to be like the planet Jupiter?

But further, we do not even see the heaven itself to be of one and the same colour, for,
if it were asked from whence can we surmise that the cloud-like concretions which you have
named the galaxy, and which you have so designated simply because of the difference of
their colour, have derived their peculiar appearance, while the surface on which the ray
of vision strikes is uniform? and if I replied that these were proofs of the composition
and mixture of different elements, no one, I apprehend, would dare to contradict me, even
though he were a lover of falsehood, and much less if one of those who always assign the
foremost place to truth. Now if the heaven has been constituted not of one single element
endowed with a circular motion of its own, but of the mixture of the four elements, then
it cannot well revolve. For it has been said that it must either be moved downward if the
heavy element preponderate, or be carried upward if the opposite light one prevail, or
must be stationary when no element is preponderant. This is certainly obvious to
everybody. For no one would admit that he has ever seen the heaven move either upwards or
downwards. It must be allowed therefore that it is firmly fixed. But should they ask:
Whence are these motions that differ from the rest in an element that is simple and
without qualities? since they say, and not untruly, that those bodies which they call
planets revolve oppositely to the universe;

and if in like manner they say that their revolution is accomplished in certain times
which the Creator has fixed, it is evident that they do not even deny that the planets
advance from the East. Then being mazed with perplexing doubts, as usually happens to
those who shrink from the truth, they say, on finding no way of escape, that the stars
make retrogressions and pauses. But tell me, ye souls that are so ingenious in tying and
untying knots, if from their very nature they have motion, how comes it that they stand
still? For nothing that can thwart them enters as an element into their natural
constitution. And tell me this besides, what is the force or what the necessity which
imposes on them the contrary motion? And here let no one tell me that it is an ocular
deception; for it is no minute distance to which they advance, seeing that they are often
observed to shift their place from a sign of the zodiac that is in the rear to one in
front. But what must we say of our opponents when passing on to the operations of the
stars themselves, they reach the very height of absurdity, all unconscious that they
themselves stand still or move backward, and are but a sorry set of good-for-nothing
rascals? Now anyone would say that the star previously seen in Aries, but at present
appearing in Pisces, was not in the house of Mars, but in that of Jupiter, and that it
makes movements, not such as they babble about when it is in Aries, but those which they
ascribe to it in its transit through Pisces.

But if they do not admit the retrograde motion of the planets which is apparent, whence
then or wherefore is their course in both directions? They will perhaps in reply assign as
the cause those invisible epicycles which they have assumed as vehicles on which, as they
will insist, the planets are borne along. But they will be in no better case from this
invention, for we shall ask: Why have they need of vehicles? Is it because they are
incapable of motion? Then, if so, why should you assert them to be animated, and that too
even with souls more than usually divine? Or is it that they are capable? The very idea
is, methinks, ridiculous. And why have not the moon and the sun their epicycles? Is it
that they are not worthy on account of their inferiority? But this could not be said by
men in their sober senses. Was it then from the scarcity of suitable material the Creator
could not construct vehicles for them? On your own head let the blasphemy of such a
thought recoil.

Cease, O ye wiseacres! prating worthless nonsense, and learn at last though late to follow
the divine oracles and not your own baseless fancies. For, tell us, how ye think that the
fixed stars move in an opposite direction to the universe? Is such a motion theirs only or
that of the sphere in which they are placed? Then, if it is theirs, how do they traverse
unequal orbits in equal time? And how comes it that of the stars in the galaxy not one has
ever gone outside of it, nor any of those outside is seen nearer it or within it? But if
one should say that it is the sphere which moves in the opposite direction, then it will
be found that at the same time it moves oppositely to itself. But who can imagine a
greater absurdity than this? Thus they do their best to prevent anyone surpassing them in
their effrontery----or rather, let me say, in impiety, since they do not blush to affirm
that there are people who live on the under surface of the earth. What then, should some
one question them and say: Is the sun to no purpose carried under the earth? these absurd
persons will, on the spur of the moment, without thinking, reply that the people of the
Antipodes are there----men carrying their heads downwards, and rivers having a position
opposite to the rivers here! thus taking in hand to turn every thing upside down rather
than to follow the doctrines of the truth, in which there are no futile sophisms, but
which are plain and easy and full of godliness, while they procure salvation for those who
reverently consult them.

But you will most effectually rebuke them if you say: Why does that sphere of yours not
revolve from the north to the south, or from some other quarter to its opposite? And do
not tell me, in answer, that such seemed better to the Maker of the world, for my .... But
how can you deem that you speak consistently with the nature of things in supposing that
the whole heaven is in motion and describes a circle, without also supposing that outside
of it there is either some other space or body, even though it were imaginary. For it is
impossible any thing can move apart from the four elements, but must move either in earth,
or in water, or in air, or in fire, whether it is transferred from place to place into the
infinite, or whether it always revolves in the same place. But if the heaven as it
revolves passes into the infinity of space, we must suppose that beyond it there is an
infinite earth into which it rolls, when noiselessly leaving what is behind it; but if one
of the other three elements be supposed, in not one of them is the sphere adapted to roll
and rotate; nay, were it to be shot into any of them, a whizzing noise would attend the
transition. But if, again, it rolls and rotates always in the same spot without moving
from place to place, then it must be upheld by supports like a turner's lathe, or an
artificial globe, or on an axis like a machine or a waggon. And if so, then we must again
inquire by what the supports and axles are themselves upheld, and so on ad infinitum. And
tell me, pray, how are we to suppose the axis passes through the middle of the earth, and
of what material it consists.

When these problems then concerning the nature of things are discussed, there remains the
conclusion, as we said before, that the heaven is fixed and does not revolve. But even in
supposing that the earth is in the middle of the universe, as its centre, you immediately
give the deathblow to your own theory when you repeat that the middle is below, for it is
impossible that the same thing can at once both be in the middle and below, for the middle
is the middle between up and down, or between right and left, or between before and
behind. Why do you then, when beleaguered with difficulties, utter absurdities contrary to
nature, in opposition to scripture? For being in terror lest any one should pose you with
this question: How can this unspeakable weight of the earth be held suspended by the air
and not fall down? you have invented stones of things that are not true, but strange; and,
reversing the order of things, give out that the middle is below; so that if any should
suppose that instead of the earth, fire was the middle, you would then say that the middle
was above instead of below, seeing that the tendency of fire is upward. To me, therefore,
they seem to subvert the first by means of the second, and the second by means of the
first.

But if they say that the air because it surrounds the earth equally on all sides, is
pushed on by the universe, and that the earth remains immovable, and swerves neither to
the one side nor the other, why do men and the irrational animals that live on land or fly
in the air not move along with it, while all of them cleave the air in walking and in
traversing it, and in going on high. And not only is it incapable of resisting these, but
it cannot even sustain the weight of the lightest inanimate things, such as the shortest
of feathers and the smallest of straws, but all of them cut it, it is so attenuated and so
rare, and they outstrip it according to the force with which they are propelled. How then
can we receive such false theories? But should one wish to examine more elaborately the
question of the Antipodes, he would easily find them to be old wives' fables. For if two
men on opposite sides placed the soles of their feet each against each, whether they chose
to stand on earth, or water, or air, or fire, or any other kind of body, how could both be
found standing upright? The one would assuredly be found in the natural upright position,
and the other, contrary to nature, head downward. Such notions are opposed to reason, and
alien to our nature and condition. And how, again, when it rains upon both of them, is it
possible to say that the rain falls down upon the two, and not that it falls down to the
one and falls up to the other, or falls against them, or towards them, or away from them.
For to think that there are Antipodes compels us to think also that rain falls on them
from an opposite direction to ours; and any one will, with good reason, deride these
ludicrous theories, which set forth principles incongruous, ill-adjusted, and contrary to
nature.

And if one should examine that other sophism of theirs, namely, that the earth is inflated
with air, and that earthquakes occur when the pent-up air shakes the earth violently, he
would be amazed at the imposture and the contradiction in their statements. For if the
earth when equally pressed by the whole air stands unshaken and unswerving, then, when
inflated it ought to be all the heavier in that quarter, and to swerve to a side, after
the example of man which they adduce. For not only does a man shake and tremble when
attacked with flatulency, but he trembles when seized with terror, and when overcome with
wine, and pinched with cold, and when his blood boils with anger, and when he is old and
imbecile, but when he reels under the effects of flatulency death results. Why then does
not the earth also, which according to them is inflated with air, not collapse and lose
its proper place? And why, again, do they further say that Egypt, because its soil is
porous and its furrows allow the air to escape without violent shocks, is not subject to
earthquakes, while in point of fact earthquakes have been of frequent occurrence in that
country, and so violent as to overthrow cities and level them with the ground: and not
only so, but even in the times of the Greeks, when Alexander, and Seleucus, and Antiochus,
and Ptolemy ruled and reigned, they had recourse to the assistance of philosophers----
Aristotle and his like----and frequently gave practical effect to what they advised?

And when Antioch was being founded by Seleucus and Antiochus, how was it that the
philosophers were not able to point out that the country there was not safe from
earthquakes, but on the contrary exposed to their frequent visitations? And this we say
from having seen that this city has been repeatedly overthrown by earthquakes; and not
Antioch only but Corinth also, which has close at her hand the mob of the philosophers.
But if we should care to examine yet another of their opinions----that in which they say
and try to prove by illustrations----that rain is produced from vapour drawn up by heat
into the atmosphere, in the same way, say they, as the bath draws up vapour from the heat,
and lets it fall in drops; and just as a cupping-glass draws up moisture by means of tow
and fire, so too does the sun draw up vapour, and in course of time lets it fall in drops,
whence rain is produced. One cannot but marvel at such wisdom as this, imposing, as it
does by its speciousness, upon the multitude. For since the bath derives its heat not from
above but from below, how can it be said to draw up, and npt rather to push up? So too in
the case of a caldron: it receives its heat not from above but from below, and in both
instances the vapours are pushed up by the heat, and in the rebound, due in the one case
to the roof and in the other to the lid, they fall in drops. Similar is the case of the
cupping-glass, which, did not this instrument itself constrain nature and suck up
moisture, would never have sucked it up at all, no, not even if fire and tow had been
applied ten thousand times over.

But further, when one thrusts a damp faggot into the fire, moisture is to such a degree
pushed by the heat that both moisture and smoke are expelled from the other end of the
faggot. And when one has kindled a fire on the ground he sees the moisture in the faggots
conveyed upwards by the smoke, not drawn up by what is above but pushed up by the heat of
the fire. Nay, more, if one washes a garment and spreads it on the ground, and if, when it
has been dried by the sun, he lifts it up, he will find the moisture which has been
expelled from it by the heat impressed on the ground in the very shape of the garment. In
like manner, if one places a hot piece of meat on a trencher he will see the moisture
discharged in both directions, both upwards and downwards, the heat being intermediate,
for above he sees the steam mounting upwards, and below he sees the trencher bathed in
moisture on which the meat has impressed its own shape; whence it appears that heat does
not draw up, as these sages tell us, but rather pushes up.

But when we propose a new question to them: Why is it that in the Thebaid, where the
ground is parched up by the heat, the moisture is not drawn up and turned into rain for
that country? they defend themselves by saying that it is a moderate and not an excessive
heat that causes the drawing up. To this we shall give a very summary reply: And how
happens it, we shall ask, that beyond the Thebaid, in Ethiopia, where the heat is far
greater, there are frequent copious downfalls of rain? And how can they say, those many
and tip-top wise men, that the sun has the power of drawing upwards, and assert also quite
confidently that in the course of his revolution he becomes heated by friction, while they
will not entertain the supposition that the heat is in him by nature. But more: when they
allow that the air is moist and hot, what need have those wiseacres to resort to sophistry
and say that the moisture is drawn up from elsewhere, when up above they have the heat and
moisture at the same spot? But if one should ask them about one particular element as it
is in itself, that is, should ask them to show its distinctive quality, they immediately
find themselves at a loss, and attribute two qualities to one single element and say:
Earth is dry and cold; water, cold and moist; air, moist and warm; fire, warm and dry;

so that, being beleaguered with difficulties, they assign eight qualities to the four
elements. But at times they say that all the qualities exist in each of the elements. Once
more, therefore, they contradict their own words, by ascribing not four but only two
qualities to each of the four elements. I marvel accordingly at those most excellent men
when they attribute to water coldness and humidity, and to the air humidity and heat. How
do they say that water, that is, the cold and moist, congeals and becomes ice in winter-
time? Wherefrom comes that extreme cold which converts it into ice? For if they shall say
that the departure of the sun naturally produces this effect, why does it not produce the
same effect on the air, which is naturally warm, and at the same time moist, but makes it,
on the contrary, extremely cold? And how does the cold itself----that is, water----not
make the air----that is, the moist----freeze, but, on the contrary, it is the latter which
makes the former freeze, as we actually see? Now though I have many things more to say
about this question and the examples which they erroneously adduce in favour of their view
of it, I curb myself, for I feel ashamed of the foolishness of what is said by them, and
consider what has already been said on this subject sufficient.

There is, however, another sophism held by these wise men which I am especially anxious to
deal with, and will forthwith proceed to discuss. They say that the heaven which they call
a body contains the whole world, and stoutly maintain that outside of it nothing whatever
exists; and yet they define angels and demons and souls, which are parts of the world as
uncircumscribed, neither containing the heaven, nor contained by the heaven, not
understanding what they say, since that which neither contains nor is contained is never
by any possibility seen among things that are. If then these things be as they say, let
them tell us with respect to their own soul whether it is, or is not. And if they say it
is not, then to their own shame and disgrace they assume themselves to be soulless. But if
they say that it exists, let them tell us whether it is in them or is not in them. If they
reply that it is not in them, they answer not less shamelessly and foolishly than they did
before. But if they reply that the soul is in them, we must ask them a further question:
As the body is circumscribed by the heaven, why is not the soul also circumscribed? And
if, as they say, it illuminates the body without being circumscribed along with it, the
question arises, where is it when it illuminates the body? since it is impossible that,
being a created thing, it should not exist with things created.

And if they say it exists somewhere within the heaven, then it is again circumscribed by
the body itself of the heaven, although it was represented by them as uncircumscribed. But
if they make it exist outside the heaven, they, in the first place, confute themselves; in
the next place, it will either be in a part of the heaven and occupy but a small part of
it, or it will be in the whole of it, in which case it will circumscribe the heaven and
will be found having form like a bodily substance; and this a spherical form embracing and
limiting the sphere. But if, again, they say that as being uncircumscribed it pervades all
things both within and without, let them not blind themselves to the fact that they arc
both introducing polytheism and imagining an equality with God. For this property pertains
to none except the uncreated Deity who created and fashioned the universe. So then,
professing themselves to be wise, they become fools, as says the blessed Paul the Apostle,
having changed the glory of the uncircumscribed Deity to their own created souls, thus
appropriating to themselves the glory due to God. They must therefore in every way be
avoided. For, saith the Apostle, from those turn away who hold an outward form of
godliness but deny the power thereof.


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY continued

BOOK II

The Christian theories regarding the form and position of the whole world, the proofs of
which are taken from Divine Scripture. OW long I put off the composition of my work
regarding the figure of the world, even though other admirable men as well as thyself
frequently urged me to undertake it, you know best of all. O dearest, God-loving and
Christ-loving Pamphilus, a man worthy of that name, since all holy men love thee 1----a
sojourner in the earthly Jerusalem, but enrolled among the first-born and the prophets,
with whom when of yore I knew thee only by report I was knit in the bonds of warmest
friendship; but now I have had the satisfaction of having seen thee face to face, when by
the will of God you came hither to us, to Alexander's great city, and never ceased to
importune us about this work, enfeebled though we were in body, afflicted with ophthalmia
and costiveness of the bowels, and as the result suffering afterwards from constant
attacks of illness; while besides we were deficient in the school-learning of the Pagans,2
without any knowledge of the rhetorical art, ignorant how to compose a discourse in a
fluent and embellished style, and were besides occupied with the complicated affairs of
everyday life.

Nevertheless you ceased riot pressing us to compose a treatise about the Tabernacle
prepared by Moses in the wilderness, which was a type and copy 3 of the whole world, as I
explained to thee personally by the living voice in a cursory way, not as communicating
opinions and conjectures of my own framing, but what I had learned from the divine
scriptures, and from the living voice of that most divine man and great teacher Patricius,
who when fulfilling the vows of the Abrahamic rule,4 set out from Chaldaea with his
disciple Thomas of Edessa, a holy man who followed him wherever he went, but by the will
of God was removed from this life at Byzantium. Patricius propagated the doctrines of holy
religion and true science, and has now by the grace of God been elevated to the lofty
episcopal throne of all Persia, having been appointed to the office of Bishop Catholic of
that country.5 So then being greatly perplexed about this undertaking, on account more
especially of those who delight in censoriousness, whose tongues are glib at calumny, and
who can always find abundance of material for their scoffs and jeers, I shrank with more
than ordinary hesitation from addressing myself to the work.

But you again pressed me to proceed with it, loading me with condemnation upon
condemnation if I refused, and assuring me that the work would be useful for the guidance
of life and for the study and understanding of the divine doctrines, as well as for a
refutation of the Greek preconceptions; while showing that the whole scope of divine
scripture has respect to the future state, as is most pointedly affirmed by the Apostle
when he says: For we know that if the earthly house of this our tabernacle were dissolved
we have a building of God----a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.6 When in
these and such like terms you appealed to me, and it was beyond my power to gainsay the
injunctions laid upon me by your piety, I consented, trusting to receive the benefit of
your prayers; while making supplication ourselves that the divine grace without which we
can do nothing aright might be vouchsafed to us in the opening of the mouth, so that we
might be able without polished and artistic modes of expression, but in the simple words
of ordinary speech (while grace manifests her own peculiar powers), both to teach her
foster-children the divine knowledge of the doctrines, the lives of pious men, and the
figure of the world and its origin, without ambiguity;

as well as to describe with all readiness, and to communicate ungrudgingly, what we
ourselves have freely received from God.Having finished, therefore, O God-beloved, the
first book concerning pretended Christians, and having convicted them, to the best
methinks of my power, of having attempted impossibilities, without our having sought to
disparage the beauty of their language, which God forbid I should do, but to refute the
fictitious and fabulous Greek theories; and having finished that book, we now in obedience
to thy order proceed to discuss first in this second book the Christian theories regarding
the figures and the position of the world. We shall then in the third book show that in
describing and explaining the utility of the figures of the world, divine scripture alike
in the Old and the New Testament is in itself sure and trustworthy. In the fourth book
again we shall offer a recapitulation and a delineation of the figures of the world; and
similarly shall in the fifth book present a description of the tabernacle prepared by
Moses, and exhibit the harmony of what has been said by the Prophets and Apostles. Be this
then the book which we have entitled Christian Topography, embracing the whole world and
deriving its proofs from the truly divine scriptures, regarding which a Christian is not
at liberty to doubt. Since then aid from above, as has been said, cooperates with us
through your prayers, we proceed to state our theories. Moses, then, the Divine
Cosmographer, says:

In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.7 We assume, therefore, that heaven and
earth comprise the universe as containing all things within themselves. And that this is
so he himself again proclaims: For in six days God made the heaven and the earth and all
that in them is 8; and again in like manner he says: And the heaven and the earth were
finished and all the host of them.9 And again, when recapitulating and giving its name to
the book, he speaks thus: This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth,10 as if
they contained all things, and as if all things that are in them ought to be signified
along with them. For if, according to the counterfeit Christians, the heaven alone
comprises the universe, he would not have mentioned the earth along with the heaven, but
he would have said: This is the book of the generation of heaven. Evidently, however, he
has not done so, nor any other of the prophets, and it is manifest that they knew that the
two together comprised the universe, and indeed the whole company of the righteous and of
the prophets always indicate the heaven along with the earth. Hear what each of them says.
Melchisedech first when blessing Abraham thus speaks: Blessed be Abraham of God most High
who created the heaven and the earth.11 In the second place, Abraham says: I will stretch
out my hand to God most High who created the heaven and the earth. And again:

Place thine hand under my thigh and I will make thee swear by the Lord the God of the
heaven and the God of the earth.12 For when the most faithful Abraham wished to make his
servant swear with more than usual solemnity by the circumcision as being a seal royal,
Place, he said, thine hand under my thigh, instead of under the seal royal, that is, the
circumcision. See also: Gen. xxiv, 7; Psalm cxiv, 15; cxxxiv, 6, ci, 25; Isai. xlii, 5;
Zech. xii, i; Isai. li, 13, xliv, 24, xlviii, 13, xlvi, 1, xl, 22; Jerem. x, 11; Daniel
iii, 59; Acts xvii, 24, xiv, 15; Math., xi 25.13 Since then the divine scripture of both
the Old and the New Testament shows by its customary declarations that all things are
contained within heaven and earth, how is it possible that one can be a Christian who
disbelieves all this, and says that all things are contained within the heaven only. Since
then the heaven and the earth comprise the universe, we assert that the earth has been
founded on its own stability by the Creator, according once more to the divine scripture,
and that it does not rest upon any body; for in the Book of Job it is written: He hangeth
the earth upon nothing; and again (xxxviii, 4, 5, 6): Where wast thou when I laid the
foundations of the earth? etc. And in like manner in David (Psalm cii, 5) it is said:

He who laid the foundations of the earth upon its own stability. By the power, therefore,
of the Deity who created the universe, we say that it was founded and is supported by him.
Upholding all things, as the Apostle saith, by the word of his power.14 For if a body of
any kind whatever were either underneath the earth or outside of it, that body could not
keep its place, but would fall down according to what is seen always occurring in the
natural world. For if we take air, for instance, or water or fire, we find that things
which are heavier than these do invariably fall down in them. Since therefore the earth is
heavier than any other body whatever, the Deity placed it as the foundation of the
universe, and made it steadfast in virtue of its own inherent stability. To illustrate
this, let us suppose a place to have a depth of a hundred cubits, and this place to be
filled with a body denser say than water; then if one should lift a stone with his hand
and drop it into the place, in what interval of time would it reach the bottom? One may
reply, in four hours, let us say. But further, supposing the place to be filled with some
rarer substance, air, for example, in what interval of time would the stone now reach the
bottom? Evidently in a shorter time: in two hours, let us say.

Supposing in the next place a still rarer substance, then the bottom will be reached in an
hour, and with a yet rarer substance in half an hour. And again, if a rarer still be
supposed, the stone will touch the bottom in a still shorter time; and so on until the
body when attenuated to the last degree becomes incorporeal, and the time ceases of
necessity to be any time at all. Thus then in the case supposed, where no body at all
exists, but where there is only the incorporeal, the heavy body of necessity gains the
bottom in no time at all and becomes stationary. The Deity, having thus in the order of
nature, as the scripture declares, suspended the earth upon nothing, when it had reached
the bottom of space laid its foundations upon its own stability so that it should not be
moved for ever. But should one again, from a wanton love of contradiction, assume that
outside of earth and heaven there exists a place made of another invisible and imaginary
substance, even such a place must of necessity rest upon something else, and this again
upon another, and so on ad infinitum. Nevertheless let us, with God's help, tackle this
subject as more a question of physical science.

If one should suppose that place to be chaos, then because .....15 as the heaven is light
and tends upwards, and the earth heavy and tends downwards, and extremes are bound
together with extremes, that, namely, which tends upwards with that which tends downwards,
they support the one the other by their pulling against each other, and so remain unmoved.
The Deity accordingly having founded the earth, which is oblong, upon its own stability,
bound together the extremities of the heaven with the extremities of the earth, making the
nether extremities of the heaven rest upon the four extremities of the earth, while on
high he formed it into a most lofty vault overspanning the length of the earth. Along the
breadth again of the earth he built a wall from the nethermost extremities of the heaven
upwards to the summit, and having enclosed the place, made a house, as one might call it,
of enormous size, like an oblong vaulted vapour-bath. For, saith the Prophet Isaiah (xlix,
22): He who established heaven as a vault. With regard, moreover, to the glueing together
of the heaven and the earth, we find this written in Job: He has inclined heaven to earth,
and it has been poured out as the dust of the earth. I have welded it as a square block of
stone.16 Do not the expressions about inclining it to the earth and welding it thereto
clearly show that the heaven standing as a vault has its extremities bound together with
the extremities of the earth?

The fact of its inclination to the earth, and its being welded with it, makes it totally
inconceivable that it is a sphere.17 Moses, likewise, in describing the table in the
Tabernacle, which is an image of the earth, ordered its length to be of two cubits, and
its breadth of one cubit. So then in the same way as Isaiah spoke, so do we also speak of
the figure of the first heaven made on the first day, made along with the earth, and
comprising along with the earth the universe, and say that its figure is vaultlike. And
just as it is said in Job that the heaven has been welded to the earth, so do we again
also say the same. Having learned, moreover, from Moses that the earth has been extended
in length more than in breadth, we again admit this, knowing that the scriptures, which
are truly divine, ought to be believed. But further, when God had produced the waters and
angels and other things simultaneously with the earth and the highest heaven itself, he on
the second day exposed to their vision this second heaven visible to our eyes, which, as
if putting to use the creations of his own hands, he formed from the waters as his
material. In appearance it is like the highest heaven, but not in figure, and it lies
midway between that heaven and the earth;

and God having then stretched it out extended it throughout the whole space in the
direction of its breadth, like an intermediate roof, and bound together the firmament with
the highest heaven, separating and disparting the remainder of the waters, leaving some
above the firmament, and others on the earth below the firmament, as the divine Moses
explains to us, and so makes the one area or house two houses----an upper and a lower
story. But again, the divine scripture speaks thus in Moses concerning the second heaven:
And God called the firmament heaven18; and in the inspired David we find these words:
Stretching out the heaven as a covering19; and he adds: who covereth his upper chambers
with the waters; saying this evidently with respect to the firmament. But scripture, when
coupling the two heavens together, frequently speaks of them in the singular, as but one,
saying through Isaiah: He that established the heaven as a vaulted chamber, and stretched
it out as a tent to dwell in20; meaning here by the vaulted chamber the highest heaven,
and by what is stretched out as a tent the firmament, and thus declaring them in the
singular number to be bound together and to be of similar appearance. David again speaks
to this effect: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth forth his
handiwork21; here beginning with a duality and ending with a unity.

For since, agreeably to the idiom of the Hebrew language, the same word serves to express
both heavens and heaven, and the two heavens are not only bound together as one, but are
also like in appearance and aspect, the divine scripture speaks of heaven both in the
plural and in the singular number indiscriminately. For the blessed David, using this
idiom, exclaims: Praise him, ye heavens of heavens,22 where you might say in the singular
number a heaven of heaven, for he says elsewhere: And the water which is above the
heavens: here distinctly employing the plural number, heavens, and indicating that the
firmament has the waters above it. For following the idiom, instead of saying, the heaven
of the heaven, he said the heavens of the heavens. For he again says also in another
place: the heaven of the heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth hath he given to the
sons of man,23 here calling the highest heaven which is like a vault heaven of heaven, as
it is the heaven of the firmament, being up above it and much loftier. And in Deuteronomy
the great hierophant Moses thus speaks: Behold unto the Lord thy God belongeth the heaven
and the heaven of heaven, the earth with all that is therein. The great apostle Paul,
moreover, uses this idiom, exclaiming: For our citizenship is in the heavens, from which
also we look for the Saviour;24 beginning here with the plural number and ending with the
singular, for he uses from which in the singular number.

David also frequently makes use of this mode of expression, exclaiming: Praise the Lord
from the heavens;25 and after he had said: Praise the Lord from the earth, he thus ends:
the praising of him in earth and heaven;26 and in another passage, To him who made the
heavens in wisdom;27 and on this subject he uses many such expressions. We have said that
the figure of the earth is lengthwise from east to west, and breadthwise from north to
south, and that it is divided into two parts: this part which we, the men of the present
day, inhabit, and which is all round encircled by the intermedial sea, called the ocean by
the Pagans, and that part which encircles the ocean, and has its extremities bound
together with those of the heaven, and which men at one time inhabited to eastward, before
the flood in the days of Noah occurred, and in which also Paradise is situated.28 Men,
strange to say, having crossed the ocean in the Ark at the time of the Deluge, reached our
part of the earth and settled in Persian territory, where also the Ark rested on the
mountains of Ararat, having saved alive Noah and his sons, together with their wives, so
that there were four pairs, and all the brute animals, three pairs of clean, but of wild
only one poor pair.

Since Noah appears to have offered up to God in sacrifice the superfluous one pair of all
the clean animals, there were four pairs of human beings, and of clean animals three
pairs, but of wild beasts only one poor pair. Now when the Ark had crossed over into this
part of the earth which we now from that time forth inhabit, the three sons of Noah
divided the earth among them. Shem and his posterity obtained the regions extending from
Asia as far as the eastern parts of the ocean29; Ham and his posterity the regions from
Gadeira30 in the west to the ocean of Ethiopia, called Barbaria, beyond the Arabian
Gulf,31 receiving besides the regions extending as far as our sea, that is to Palestine
and Phoenicia, as well as the southern parts, together with all that part of Arabia which
adjoins us, and that which is called the Happy; and Japhet and his posterity: the regions
extending from Media and Scythia in the distant north, as far as the western ocean and the
parts outside of Gadeira, according to what is written in Genesis by the inspired Moses,
who, in describing the division of the earth, speaks thus concerning these three: The sons
of Japhet, Gamer (Gomer) and Magog33 and Madaï and Javan (Iouaun) and Elisa,34 whereby he
indicates the hyperborean nations of the Scythians and Medes, and then similarly the
Ionians and the Greeks, and likewise Thôbel and Mosôch and Thêres (Θήρας) that he may show
what nations lay near them.

For he calls the Thracians Thêres, and from these, he tells us, some were removed and
dispersed among the islands of the Gentiles and adjacent localities, for this indicates
Tharseis.The inhabitants of Cyprus he calls Kêtioi, and those of Rhodes, Rhodians.41 The
sons of Ham (Cham), Cush (Chous) and Mesraim, thereby designating the Ethiopians and
Egyptians. Finally, Phut (Phouth) and Canaan,43 whereby he designates the Libyans and
adjoining nations. The sons of Cush, Saba and Elêsâ, whereby he designates the Homerites
and their neighbours; similarly also the nations one after another that occupy the
southern parts. The Chananeans again, he says, were descended from Mesraim, that is the
Egyptians and Sidonians and all the neighbouring nations. The sons of Shem, Elam and
Ashur, that is the Elamites and Assyrians and remaining nations, and as many of these as
were spread far and wide over Asia and the East----the nations of the Persians, Huns,
Baktrians, Indians, onwards to the ocean. The pagans even, availing themselves of what
Moses has thus revealed, divide the whole earth into three parts: Asia, Libya and Europe,
designating Asia the east, Libya the south, extending to the west; Europe the north, also
extending to all the west; and in this our part of the earth there are four gulfs which
penetrate into it from the ocean as the pagans also say, and say with truth when treating
of this subject namely, this gulf of ours, which entering from Gadeira in the west extends
along the countries subject to Rome;

the Arabian Gulf called the Erythraeanand the Persian, both of which advance from Zingium
to the southern and more eastern parts of the earth from the country called Barbaria,
which begins where the land of the Ethiopians terminates. Now Zingium, as those who
navigate the Indian sea are aware, is situated beyond the country called Barbaria which
produces frankincense,51 and is girdled by the ocean which streams from thence into both
the gulfs. The fourth gulf is that which flows from the north-eastern part of the earth,
and is called the Caspian or Hyrcanian Sea.52 These gulfs only admit of navigation, for
the ocean cannot be navigated on account of the great number of its currents, and the
dense fogs which it sends up, obscuring the rays of the sun, and because of the vastness
of its extent. Having learned these facts from the Man of God, as has been said, I have
pointed them out as coincident also with my own experience, for I myself have made voyages
for commercial purposes in three of these gulfs----the Roman, the Arabian and the Persian,
while from the natives or from seafaring men I have obtained accurate information
regarding the different places.

Once on a time, when we sailed in these gulfs, bound for Further India and had almost
crossed over to Barbaria, beyond which there is situated Zingium, as they term the mouth
of the ocean, I saw there to the right of our course a great flight of the birds which
they call Souspha, which are like kites, but somewhat more than twice their size.54 The
weather was there so very unsettled that we were all in alarm; for all the men of
experience on board, whether passengers or sailors, all began to say that we were near the
ocean and called out to the pilot: "Steer the ship to port and make for the gulf, or we
shall be swept along by the currents and be carried into the ocean and be lost. For the
ocean rushing into the gulf was swelling into billows of portentous size, while the
currents from the gulf were driving the ship into the ocean, and the outlook was
altogether so dismal that we were kept in a state of great alarm. A great flock, all the
time, of the birds called Souspha followed us, flying generally high over our heads, and
the presence of these was a sign that we were near the ocean.

The northern and western parts of the earth which we inhabit are of very great elevation,
while the southern parts are proportionately depressed.55 For to what extent of its
breadth the earth is imperceptibly depressed it is found to have an elevation of like area
in the northern and western parts, while the ocean beyond is of unusual depth. But in the
southern and eastern parts the ocean beyond is not of unusual but of the medium depth.
When these facts are considered, one can see why those who sail to the north and the west
are called lingerers. It is because they are mounting up and in mounting up they sail more
slowly, while in returning they descend from high places to low, and thus sail fast, and
in a few'days bring their voyage to an end. Then the two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates,
flowing down from the northern parts, that is, from Persarmenia to the south, have far
more rapid currents than our river the Nile----that is, the Gêôn. For this river Nile
flowing from low-lying regions in the south towards the elevated northern regions, and
running, as one may say, up,56 pursues quietly the even tenor of its way. The eastern and
southern parts again, as low-lying and overheated by the sun, are extremely hot, while the
northern and western from their great elevation and distance from the sun are extremely
cold, and in consequence the inhabitants have very pale complexions, and must keep
themselves warm against the cold.

But the whole of this portion of the earth is not inhabited, for the parts in the extreme
north are to the last degree cold, and remain uninhabited, just as the parts in the
extreme south remain also uninhabited on account of the excessive heat. For the blessed
David thus speaks: Neither from the goings forth nor from the goings down (of the sun);
nor from the desert mountains,57 where he calls the east exodous and the west dusmas, and
the other regions, namely the extreme north and extreme south desert mountains. The pagans
when writing on these subjects say what is true concerning them. These things being so we
shall say, agreeably to what we find in divine scripture, that the sun issuing from the
east traverses the sky in the south and ascends northwards, and becomes visible to the
whole of the inhabited world. But as the northern and western summit intervenes it
produces night in the ocean beyond this earth of ours, and also in the earth beyond the
ocean;58 then afterwards when the sun is in the west, where he is hidden by the highest
portion of the earth, and runs his course over the ocean through the northern parts, his
presence there makes it night for us, until in describing his orbit he comes again to the
east, and again ascending the southern sky illumines the inhabited world, as the divine
scripture says through the divine Solomon: The. sun riseth and the sun goeth down and
hasteth to his own place.

Rising there, he goeth to the south, and wheeleth his circuit, and the wind turneth round
to his circuits.59 Here he calls the air the wind, for, as he says, the sun making a
circuit in the air from east to south, from south to west, from west to north, from north
to cast, causes the vicissitudes of day and night and the solstices; for, by the
expressions wheeleth his circuit, and turneth round to his circuits, he signified not only
the revolution but also the solstices, for it is the plural number he uses. For he does
not say that the wind describes a circuit, but that the sun does so through the wind, that
is, through the air.60 Yea, even the blessed Moses having been ordered on Mount Sinai to
make the Tabernacle according to the pattern which he had seen, said under divine
inspiration, that the outer Tabernacle was a pattern of this the visible world. Now the
divine Apostle in the epistle to the Hebrews, in explaining the inner Tabernacle, or that
which was within the veil, declares that it was a pattern of the heavenly----that is, of
the kingdom of the heavens or the future state, taking the veil which divides the one
Tabernacle into two for the firmament;

just as the firmament placed in the middle, between the heaven and the earth, has made two
worlds----this world namely, and that which is to come, into which world to come the first
who entered was the forerunner on our behalf, Christ, who thus prepared for us a new and
living way. Now in his description of the first Tabernacle, Moses places in the south of
it the candlestick, with seven lamps, after the number of days in the week----these lamps
being typical of the celestial luminaries----and shining on the table placed in the north
of the earth. On this table again he ordered to be daily placed twelve loaves of
shewbread, according to the number of the twelve months of the year----three loaves at
each corner of the table, to typify the three months between each of the four tropics.61
He commanded also to be wreathed all around the rim of the table a waved moulding,62 to
represent a multitude of waters, that is, the ocean; and further, in the circuit of the
waved work, a crown to be set of the circumference of the palm of the hand, to represent
the land beyond the ocean, and encircling it, where in the east lies Paradise, and where
also the extremities of the heaven are bound to the extremities of the earth.

And from this description we not only learn concerning the luminaries and the stars that
most of them, when they rise, run their course through the south, but from the same source
we are taught that the earth is surrounded by the ocean, and further that beyond the ocean
there is another earth by which the ocean is surrounded. But again, from the prophecy of
Lamech, the father of Noah, we learn that Noah, by means of the world-carrying Ark, was to
convey men and the brute beasts into this earth of ours, for the prophecy runs somewhat to
this effect: This same shall give us rest concerning our work and toil of our hands,
because of the ground which the Lord God hath cursed.63 For this reason also Lamech gave
Noah his name, which means rest. For the first man having sinned, and having been cast by
God out of the garden into the earth, which was foul with thorns and effete, those ten
generations smarted under grievous chastisement, being forbidden according to the sacred
scripture to eat any longer of fruit that grew upon a tree, because man had transgressed
by eating the fruit of a tree. And meagre truly was the fare on which the generations from
Adam to Noah subsisted, since they neither ate the olive, nor tasted either wine or flesh,
but were commanded to eat only grain, and that too although there the earth was by no
means productive, but required the very hardest toil for its cultivation; for thus saith
the scripture:

Cursed is the ground in thy labours; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy
life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb
of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread.64 Note. With regard to
wine, it is manifest from what is recorded in Scripture that, after the Deluge, Noah
having planted and cultivated the vine and expressed the juice from the grapes, drank to
excess of the sweet must of which he had no previous experience, and made himself drunk;
and with regard to flesh the case is still more manifest, for God instructed him in these
terms: Lo! I have given you all things as the green herb to eat, but flesh in the blood
thereof shall ye not eat65; meaning this: Lately I interdicted you from eating many
things, but now I permit you to eat of all things, and to eat even flesh. Sacrifice,
therefore, and pour out the blood, and then eat the flesh as ye eat vegetables; and eat
also of the olive, of which before the Flood it was not permitted to eat, because it also
was the fruit of a tree. But perhaps someone will object and say: If it is true that
before the Flood they did not eat flesh, why is it then written:

Abel was a keeper of sheep, and brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat
thereof?66 If they did not eat flesh, why did they take upon them the care of sheep? And
why did Abel, when he brought a lamb for sacrifice, not slay it? Now, one who so enquires,
will be truly answered that, in making the oblation, he presented the holocausts alive;
for one of the editions shows this, saying: Over Cain and over his sacrifice he did not
apply fire, so that it is evident that the offerings were consumed with divine fire. They
provided themselves with a flock to procure for themselves milk and wool. Another
objection: If they did not eat flesh, how came it into their head to select the fat for
the sacrifice to God? Answer----Because when anything is to be burned in the fire, fat is
more readily set ablaze. Text.

When God in his mercy wished that the human race should be no longer pinched with such
scanty fare, and such hard toil, as they were less robust than the first men, who, being
newly created, were better able to sustain their punishment, God taking occasion from the
wickedness of men, of whom he found none righteous except Noah, brought in a flood for two
or even for more reasons----that he might destroy the wicked, and save alive him that was
righteous for the instruction of future generations----that, by the untimely end of the
wicked, he might the better deter those who are liable to death, and will some time or
other die, from doing what is wicked----and that he might bring men, and the brutes that
were created for the use of man, into this earth of ours, which is better than the other,
and almost equal to Paradise; which also he hath done, having ordered Noah, who was left
in this earth after the Flood, to taste of everything whether tree or grain, and having
taught him also to eat flesh. But that he brought in the Flood not for the purpose merely
of destroying the wicked, is evident from the fact that the water prevailed for a length
of time, although one or two days were quite sufficient to have destroyed them all; but he
brought it in also, that he might take the Ark across the ocean, and bring it to this
earth of ours.

For during one hundred and fifty days did the water prevail without diminishing, until,
wonderful to relate, the Ark came to this earth of ours. The circumstance, moreover, that
the water rose fifteen cubits above the tops of the highest mountains, makes it evident
beyond all question that this was due to the depth to which the Ark was submerged in the
waters, in order that it might rest upon the mountains. For a half of the height of the
Ark was under water to the depth of fifteen cubits, for its entire height was thirty
cubits. From this, then, as well as from the prophecy of Lamech, and the construction of
the table in the Tabernacle, we can learn that beyond the ocean there is an earth which
encompasses the ocean. Nay more; the hierophant Moses also in Deuteronomy saith thus: And
thou, Israel, hear the command which I give unto thee this day. Do not say in thine heart
who shall go up into heaven to bring it down to us, or who shall go over the sea for us to
bring it to us; but the word is nigh unto thee even in thy mouth.67 By this he means: Say
not it is impossible to go up into heaven to bring down thence the divine precepts, or to
cross over to the farther side of the sea to bring them thence, for lo! they are in thy
mouth and in thy heart.

In the same passage he teaches us two truths----that beyond the ocean there is land or a
place, and that it is impossible to cross the ocean, just as we, while in this mortal
state, cannot possibly go up into heaven. Even Baruch, the scribe of Jeremiah the Prophet,
when giving counsels of prudence in his epistle, being a man well taught in the
institutions of Moses, speaks in the same strain with Moses, and says: Who hath gone up
into heaven and taken it and brought it down from the clouds, who hath passed over the
sea?68 Here he does not speak of our sea, for it admits of being crossed, but of the ocean
itself. Yet if Paradise did exist in this earth of ours, rnany a man among those who are
keen to know and enquire into all kinds of subjects, would think he could not be too quick
in getting there: for if there be some who to procure silk69 for the miserable gains of
commerce, hesitate not to travel to the uttermost ends of the earth, how should they
hesitate to go where they would gain a sight of Paradise itself?

Now this country of silk is situated in the remotest of all the Indies, and lies to the
left of those who enter the Indian sea, far beyond the Persian Gulf, and the island called
by the Indians Selediba and by the Greeks Trapobanê (sic).70 It is called Tzinitza, and is
surrounded on the left by the ocean, just as Barbaria is surrounded by it on the right.
The Indian philosophers, called the Brachmans, say that if you stretch a cord from
Tzinitza to pass through Persia, onward to the Roman dominions, the middle of the earth
would be quite correctly traced, and they are perhaps right. For the country in question
deflects considerably to the left, so that the loads of silk passing by land through one
nation after another, reach Persia in a comparatively short time;71 whilst the route by
sea to Persia is vastly greater. For just as great a distance as the Persian Gulf runs up
into Persia,72 so great a distance and even a greater has one to run, who, being bound for
Tzinitza, sails eastward from Taprobanê; while besides, the distances from the mouth of
the Persian Gulf to Taprobanê; and the parts beyond through the whole width of the Indian
sea are very considerable.73 He then who comes by land from Tzinitza to Persia shortens
very considerably the length of the journey. This is why there is always to be found a
great quantity of silk in Persia. Beyond Tzinitza there is neither navigation nor any land
to inhabit.

If one measures in a straight cord line74 the stages which make up the length of the earth
from Tzinitza to the west, he will find that there are somewhere about four hundred
stages,75 each thirty miles in length. The measurement is to be made in this way: from
Tzinitza to the borders of Persia, between which are included all Iouvia,76 India, and the
country of the Bactrians, there are about one hundred and fifty stages at least; the whole
country of the Persians has eighty stations; and from Nisibis to Seleucia77 there are
thirteen stages; and from Seleucia to Rome and the Gauls and Iberia, whose inhabitants are
now called Spaniards, onward to Gadeira, which lies out towards the ocean, there are more
than one hundred and fifty stages; thus making altogether the number of stages to be four
hundred, more or less. With regard to breadth: from the hyperborean regions to Byzantium
there are not more than fifty stages. For we can form a conjecture as to the extent of the
uninhabited and the inhabited parts of those northern regions from the Caspian Sea, which
is a gulf of the ocean.

From Byzantium, again, to Alexandria there are fifty stages, and from Alexandria to the
Cataracts thirty stages;78 from the Cataracts to Axômis, thirty stages;79 from Axômis to
the projecting part of Ethiopia, which is the frankincense country called Barbaria, lying
along the ocean, and not near but at a great distance from the land of Sasu which is the
remotest part of Ethiopia, fifty stages more or less; so that we may reckon the whole
number of stages at two hundred more or less; and thus we see that even here the divine
scripture speaks the truth in representing the length of the earth to be double its
breadth; For thou shalt make the table in length two cubits and in breadth one cubit, a
pattern, as it were, of the earth.80 The region which produces frankincense is situated at
the projecting parts of Ethiopia, and lies inland, but is washed by the ocean on the other
side. Hence the inhabitants of Barbaria, being near at hand, go up into the interior and,
engaging in traffic with the natives, bring back from them many kinds of spices,
frankincense, cassia, calamus,81 and many other articles of merchandise, which they
afterwards send by sea to Adulê, to the country of the Homeritcs, to Further India, and to
Persia.

This very fact you will find mentioned in the Book of Kings, where it is recorded that the
Queen of Sheba, that is, of the Homerite country, whom afterwards our Lord in the Gospels
calls the Queen of the South, brought to Solomon spices from this very Barbaria, which lay
near Sheba on the other side of the sea, together with bars of ebony, and apes and gold
from Ethiopia which, though separated from Sheba by the Arabian Gulf, lay in its vicinity.
We can see again from the words of the Lord that he calls these places the ends of the
earth, saying: The Queen of the South shall rise up in judgment with this generation and
shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
----Matt, xii, 42. For the Homerites are not far distant from Barbaria, as the sea which
lies between them can be crossed in a couple of days, and then beyond Barbaria is the
ocean, which is there called Zingion. The country known as that of Sasu is itself near the
ocean, just as the ocean is near the frankincense country, in which there are many gold
mines. The King of the Axômites accordingly, every other year, through the governor of
Agau,82 sends thither special agents to bargain for the gold, and these are accompanied by
many other traders----upwards, say, of five hundred----bound on the same errand as
themselves.

They take along with them to the mining district oxen, lumps of salt, and iron, and when
they reach its neighbourhood they make a halt at a certain spot and form an encampment,
which they fence round with a great hedge of thorns. Within this they live, and having
slaughtered the oxen, cut them in pieces, and lay the pieces on the top of the thorns,
along with the lumps of salt and the iron. Then come the natives bringing gold in nuggets
like peas,83 called tancharas, and lay one or two or more of these upon what pleases them
----the pieces of flesh or the salt or the iron, and then they retire to some distance
off. Then the owner of the meat approaches, and if he is satisfied he takes the gold away,
and upon seeing this its owner comes and takes the flesh or the salt or the iron. If,
however, he is not satisfied, he leaves the gold, when the native seeing that he has not
taken it, comes and either puts down more gold, or takes up what he had laid down, and
goes away. Such is the mode in which business is transacted with the people of that
country, because their language is different and interpreters are hardly to be found. The
time they stay in that country is five days more or less, according as the natives more or
less readily coming forward buy up all their wares.

On the journey homeward they all agree to travel well-armed, since some of the tribes
through whose country they must pass might threaten to attack them from a desire to rob
them of their gold. The space of six months is taken up with this trading expedition,
including both the going and the returning. In going they march very slowly, chiefly
because of the cattle, but in returning they quicken their pace lest on the way they
should be overtaken by winter and its rains. For the sources of the river Nile lie
somewhere in these parts, and in winter, on account of the heavy rains, the numerous
rivers which they generate obstruct the path of the traveller. The people there have their
winter at the time we have our summer. It begins in the month Epiphi of the Egyptians and
continues till Thôth,84 and during the three months the rain falls in torrents, and makes
a multitude of rivers all of which flow into the Nile. The facts which I have just
recorded fell partly under my own observation and partly were told me by traders who had
been to those parts. And I now wish to give an account to your Piety of a matter quite
pertinent to our subject.

On the coast of Ethiopia, two miles off from the shore, is a town called Adulê, which
forms the port of the Axômites and is much frequented by traders who come from Alexandria
and the Elanitic Gulf.85 Here is to be seen a marble chair, just as you enter the town on
the western side by the road which leads to Axômis. This chair appertained to one of the
Ptolemies, who had subjected this country to his authority.86 It is made of costly white
marble such as we employ for marble tables, but not of the sort which comes from
Proconnesus.87 Its base is quadrangular, and it rests at the four corners on four slender
and elegant pillars, with one in the middle of greater girth and grooved in spiral form.
The pillars support the seat of the chair as well as its back against which one leans, and
there are also sides to right and left. The whole chair with its base, five pillars, seat
and back and sides to right and left, has been sculptured from a single block into this
form.

It measures about two cubits and a half, and is in shape like the chair we call the
Bishop's throne.88 Behind the Chair is another marble of basanite stone, three cubits in
height and of quadrangular form, like a tablet, which at the centre of its upper portion
rises to a sharp point whence the sides slope gently down in the form of the letter lambda
(λ), but the main body of the slab is rectangular. This tablet has now fallen down behind
the Chair, and the lower part has been broken and destroyed. Both the marble and the chair
itself arc covered over with Greek characters. Now when I was in this part of the country
some five and twenty years ago, more or less, at the beginning of the reign of the Roman
Emperor Justinus,89 Elesbaan, who was then King of the Axômites, and was preparing to
start on an expedition against the Homerites on the opposite side of the Gulf 90 wrote to
the Governor of Adulê directing him to take copies of the inscriptions on the Chair of
Ptolemy and on the tablet,91 and to send them to him. Then the Governor, whose name was
Abbas, applied to myself and another merchant called Mênas, who afterwards became a monk
at Rhaithû,92 and not long ago departed this life----and at his request we went and copied
the inscriptions. One set of the copies was made over to the Governor;

but we kept also like copies for ourselves which I shall here embody in this work, since
their contents contribute to our knowledge of the country, its inhabitants, and the
distances of the several places. We found also sculptured on the back of the Chair figures
of Hercules and Mercury; and my companion, Menas, of happy memory, alluding to these would
have it that Hercules was the symbol of strength and Mercury of wealth. I remembered,
however, the Acts of the Apostles, and would on this one point differ from him, upholding
that we should take Hermes rather as the symbol of speech, for it is recorded in the Acts
that they called Barnabas, Jupiter, and Paul, Mercury, because he was the chief speaker.
Here is the form of the Chair and of the marble, and Ptolemy himself.93 Inscription on the
Tablet. The great king, Ptolemy, son of King Ptolemy and Queen Arsinoe, twin gods,
grandson of the two sovereigns King Ptolemy and Queen Berenice 94----gods sôtêres----
sprung from Hercules the son of Jupiter on the father's side, and on the mother's side
from Dionysus the son of Jupiter----having received from his father the Kingdom of Egypt
and Libya and Syria and Phoenicia and Cyprus, and Lycia and Caria, and the Islands of the
Cyclades, made an expedition into Asia with forces of infantry and cavalry, and a fleet
and elephants from the Troglodytes and Ethiopia----animals which his father and himself
were the first to capture by hunting in those countries, and which they took down to
Egypt, where they had them trained for employment in war.95 And when he had made himself
master of all the country on this side of the Euphrates, and of Cilicia and Pamphylia and
Ionia, and the Hellespont and Thrace, and of all the forces in the provinces, and of the
Indian elephants,96 and had also made subject to his authority all the monarchs who ruled
in these parts, he crossed the Euphrates river, and when he had subdued Mesopotamia and
Babylonia and Susiana and Persis and Media, and all the rest of the country as far as
Bactriana, and had collected all the spoils of the temples which had been taken away from
Egypt by the Persians, he conveyed them to that country 97 along with the other treasures,
and sent back his troops by canals which had been dug.98 Such was the inscription on the
tablet so far as we could copy it out, and, but for a few words, it would have been the
whole, for it was only a small part of the tablet that had been fractured.

The inscription again on the Chair was a continuation of the other,99 and ran thus:----
Having after this with a strong hand compelled the nations bordering on my kingdom to live
in peace, I made war upon the following nations, and by force of arms reduced them to
subjection.100 I warred first with the nation of Gazê,101 then with Agamê 102 and
Sigyê,103 and having conquered them I exacted the half of all that they possessed. I next
reduced Aua 104 and Tiamô, called Tziamô, and the Gambêla,105 and the tribes near them [he
means the nations beyond the Nile],106 and Zingabênê and Angabe and Tiama and Athagaûs and
Kalaa,107 and the Semênoi ---- a people who lived beyond the Nile on mountains difficult
of access and covered with snow, where the year is all winter with hailstorms, frosts and
snows into which a man sinks knee-deep.108 I passed the river to attack these nations, and
reduced them. I next subdued Lazine and Zaa and Gabala, tribes 109 which inhabit mountains
with steep declivities abounding with hot springs, the Atalmô and Bega,110 and all the
tribes in the same quarter along with them. I proceeded next against the TangaTtae,111 who
adjoin the borders of Egypt; and having reduced them I made a footpath giving access by
land into Egypt from that part of my dominions. Next I reduced Annine and Metine----tribes
inhabiting precipitous mountains.112 My arms were next directed against the Sesea nation.
These had retired to a high mountain difficult of access;

but I blockaded the mountain on every side, and compelled them to come down and surrender.
I then selected for myself the best of their young men and their women, with their sons
and daughters and all besides that they possessed. The tribes of Rhausi I next brought to
submission: a barbarous race spread over wide waterless plains in the interior of the
frankincense country. [Advancing thence towards the sea] I encountered the Solate, whom I
subdued, and left with instructions to guard the coast.113 All these nations, protected
though they were by mountains all but impregnable, I conquered, after engagements in which
I was myself present. Upon their submission I restored their territories to them, subject
to the payment of tribute. Many other tribes besides these submitted of their own accord,
and became likewise tributary. And I sent a fleet and land forces against the Arabitae and
Cinaedocolpitae 114 who dwelt on the other side of the Red Sea, and having reduced the
sovereigns of both, I imposed on them a land tribute and charged them to make travelling
safe both by sea and by land. I thus subdued the whole coast from Leucê Cômê 115 to the
country of the Sabaeans. I first and alone of the kings of my race made these conquests.

For this success I now offer my thanks to my mighty God, Arês, who begat me, and by whose
aid I reduced all the nations bordering on my own country, on the East to the country of
frankincense, and on the West to Ethiopia and Sasu.116 Of these expeditions, some were
conducted by myself in person, and ended in victory, and the others I entrusted to my
officers. Having thus brought all the world under my authority to peace, I came down to
Aduli and offered sacrifice to Zeus, and to Ares and to Poseidon, whom I entreated to
befriend all who go down to the sea in ships. Here also I reunited all my forces, and
setting down this Chair in this place, I consecrated it to Ares in the twenty-seventh year
of my reign. Scholia of Cosmas on the Inscription of Ptolemy. From the Vatican codex. Then
Lazine and Zaa and Gabala. These nations are called by these names up to the present time.
I conquered the Sesea nation. Here he indicates the nations of Barbaria. The Arabitae and
Cinaedocolpitae. Note----He refers to the people of the Homerite country, that is, the
inhabitants of Arabia Felix. From Leuce Come. Note----In the territories of the Blemmyes
there is a village (Κώμη) called Leucoge. As far as the country of the Sabaeans. Note----
The land of the Sabaeans is also in the Homerite country. And to the places of Sasu. Note
----The land of Sasu, where there is much gold----that which is known as Tancharas, is the
remotest in Ethiopia.

Beyond this, and also beyond the country of the Barbareotes, the people who trade in
frankincense, lies the Ocean. Such is the inscription on the Chair, and at this very day
in the very place where that Chair stands they execute in front of it condemned criminals;
but whether this custom has prevailed from the time of Ptolemy I cannot say. I have set
all this down from a desire to show that he is quite correct in taking the land of Sasu
and Barbaria to lie at the extremity of Ethiopia, since he had subjugated all these
regions and the tribes by which they were inhabited, most of which we ourselves have seen,
while about the rest we obtained accurate information when we were in their neighbourhood.
For most of the slaves which are now found in the hands of merchants who resort to these
parts are taken from the tribes of which we speak. As for the Semenai,117 where he says
there are snows and ice, it is to that country the King of the Axômites expatriates any
one whom he has sentenced to be banished. The nation again which has its seats beyond the
Arabitae and the Cinaedocolpitae and the country of the Sabaeans he calls the Homerites.
We can accordingly, from what has been above recorded, correctly estimate the breadth of
the earth from the hyperborean regions down to Sasu and Barbaria, the frankincense
country, to be not more than two hundred stages (of thirty miles each).

I have written thus with the advantage of possessing exact knowledge, and I cannot
therefore have fallen much short of the truth. For the facts I am indebted partly to what
I observed in the course of my voyages and travels, and partly to what I learned from
others on whose accuracy I could depend. Thus even in this matter divine scripture is
proved to be right and the pagans to be wrong, who, in preference to the truth and in
support of their vanity, advance conjectures, sophistries, and old wives' fables no matter
how false, inventing forsooth another zone farther south than the torrid, and like the
earth which we inhabit; and although no one has either seen or heard of such. For how
could that be seen or heard of, that has never come within the ken of our senses? Hence
the nonsense they babble cannot be accepted; for it is the jargon of mere novices in
quibbling, and not of old adepts in that art. These youngsters supposed that by their
plausible sophisms they could refute the opinions of those who were born before them, thus
attempting the impossible, as we have proved in brief in the preceding book. Note on
Ptolemy. This Ptolemy is one of those Ptolemies who reigned after Alexander the
Macedonian, concerning whom the prophet Daniel prophesied in different passages, and
especially in the dream of Nabuchodonosor and in the vision of the four beasts that rose
up from the sea which Daniel himself saw;

namely in the image, a head of gold, but in the vision a lioness, by which he signified
the kingdom of the Babylonians, that is Nabuchodonosor. Then, in the image, the breast and
the arms of silver, but in the vision, a bear----namely, the empire of the Medes, which
was inferior to that of the Babylonians, whereby he means Darius the Mede. Next again in
the image----the belly and the thighs of brass, but in the vision a leopard, the kingdom
namely of the Persians, by which he signifies Cyrus, whose empire was no less splendid and
renowned than that of the Babylonians. Then again in the image, the legs of iron, and in
the vision, a beast terrible and dreadful, with claws of brass and teeth of iron, by which
he indicates the Macedonian empire----that is Alexander----breaking kingdoms in pieces and
subduing them. Then again in the image, the feet and toes partly of iron and partly of
clay; and in the vision, ten horns corresponding in number with the toes, by which he
means the empire of Alexander broken up after his death, which, in the vision also of the
ram and the he-goat was, he says, broken up towards the four winds of heaven.

For, when Alexander was approaching his end, he divided his empire among his four friends,
of whom one reigned in Europe, that is, in Greece, another in Asia, another in Syria and
Babylonia, and the fourth in Egypt, Libya and the southern parts.118 Unto these four were
many sons born, who filled their thrones after them and brought manifold evils upon the
world, as has been recorded in the book of the Maccabees. Now the little horn speaking
great things, that was in the midst of the ten horns, signifies Antiochus Epiphanes, who
warred against the Jews in the days of the Maccabees. He speaks therefore of all these
things as partly of iron and partly of clay, to show them as conquering each other and
being conquered in turn, and not mixed together, just as iron and clay do not commingle.
Then again, in the image, he speaks of a stone cut out of the mountains without hands,
and, in the vision, of the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, whereby he indicates
the Lord Christ on both side's of his descent----from Abraham and from the Virgin without
human seed, for here the words without hands mean without human seed; while the words on
the clouds of heaven are employed because the clouds without human hands carry as it were
in their womb the rains to which they give birth. Then again, in the image, the words:

And he smote the clay, the iron, the brass, the silver and the gold, and they became like
the chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind with its gusts swept them away and
there was no more place found for them (Dan. ii, 35); and in the vision the words: I
beheld till the beast was slain and his body destroyed, and given to be burned with fire;
and as for the rest of the beasts their dominion was taken away, yet their lives were
prolonged for a season (Dan. vii, ii), signify respectively the same thing----namely, that
at the coming of the Lord Christ all these empires would be taken away----the Babylonian,
the Median, the Persian and the Macedonian, while all the kingdoms that arose from the
partition of the last would become of no account. And such was the very condition of
things in the time of Christ, for neither did the Babylonian, Median, Persian nor
Macedonian empires then exist, but they had all been destroyed. Then again, in the image,
he says: And in the days of those kings shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom which
shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people, and
it shall stand for ever (Dan. ii, 44). And in the vision he says: And he came even to the
Ancient of days and they brought him near before him----and there was given him dominion
and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed
(Dan. vii, 13, 14). This is one instance more of his saying the same thing both in the
image and the vision, namely, that at the coming of the Lord Christ those kingdoms shall
pass away and be destroyed, but his kingdom shall be indissoluble and eternal. This
Ptolemy is therefore one of those who reigned, either Philometor or Euergetes the Second,
or the king called Dionysus, who preceded the last Cleopatra.119 For these reigned more
than seven and twenty years, and were descended from the first Ptolemies who were the
sovereigns of Egypt, in accordance with the inscription on the marble tablet of which we
have given a copy. For concerning the kings that now are, nothing has been written in the
Prophet (Daniel), as the Lord himself says that the Law and the Prophets prophesied until
John. For when Nebuchodonosor was cogitating whether his kingdom would endure, and Daniel
whether the Judaic rites would be perpetually observed, the same revelation was made to
both alike. At one and the same time shall thy kingdom come to an end, and the Judaic and
ritual observances be abolished, and a new and better dispensation shall supersede the old
----and be eternal and indissoluble----and this shall have its beginning when the first
kingdoms and legal rites shall cease, and be openly exhibited when its supreme head makes
his appearance.

For concerning the Roman empire nothing is expressly written in the Prophet, for it did
not rise by succession from Nabuchodonosor, nor has it congruity with the polity of the
Jews, or, to speak more correctly, with the laws which they obey; but is rather calculated
to destroy them. Nor did it succeed the empire of the Macedonians, for he says: The God of
Heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Here he speaks of the Lord
Christ, and within the scope of his words includes, though but darkly, the Roman empire,
which made its appearance contemporaneously with the Lord Christ. For while Christ was yet
in the womb, the Roman empire received its power from God as the servant of the
dispensation which Christ introduced, since at that very time the accession was proclaimed
of the unending line of the Augusti by whose command a census was made which embraced the
whole world. The evangelist certainly indicates that this enrolment 120 was first made in
the days of Augustus Caesar, when the Lord Christ was born, and deigned to be enrolled in
a country subject to Roman dominion, and to pay tribute thereto. The empire of the Romans
thus participates in the dignity of the Kingdom of the Lord Christ, seeing that it
transcends, as far as can be in this state of existence, every other power, and will
remain unconquered until the final consummation, for he says that it shall not be
destroyed for ever.

Now, if that expression for ever be taken as applying to the Lord Christ, it signifies
endless duration, in accordance with what Gabriel also says to the Virgin: And he shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his Kingdom there shall be no end.121 If
again the expression be taken as applying to the Roman empire which made its appearance in
the world along with Christ, this shall not be destroyed while this world continues. For I
assert with confidence, that though, by way of chastisement for our sins, hostile
barbarians rise up for a short while against the Roman dominion, yet that by the valour of
him who governs us the empire will continue to be invincible, provided it does not
restrict but widens the influence of Christianity. I say so because this imperial family
believed in Christ before the others, and this empire is the servant of the dispensation
established by Christ, on which account he, who is the Lord of all, preserves it
unconquered till the final consummation.

The royal family of the Persians on the other hand is not of Persian lineage, nor in the
line of the succession of its former kings, but it sprang from an alien power, that is,
from the Magi.123 For by the time of Christ the empire of the Persians had been destroyed
by Alexander in accordance with the prophecy, and the successors to his empire ruled that
part of the world until the time of Antiochus, after which the Parthians gradually made
themselves masters of the country.124 In point of fact, they marched in arms against
Jerusalem, and took prisoner Hyrcanus, the Ruler of the Jews, not long before the advent
of the Lord Christ.125 As regards this empire of the Magi, it is now about four hundred
years since it was founded, and in my opinion it ranks next to that of the Romans, because
the Magi, in virtue of their having come to offer homage and adoration to the Lord Christ,
obtained a certain distinction. For it was in the Roman dominions that the preaching of
Christianity first became current in the days of the Apostles, and it was immediately
afterwards extended to Persia by the Apostle Thaddaeus.126 And, to be sure we find this
written in the Catholic Epistles:

The Church that is in Babylon elect together with you, saluteth you.127 The Roman empire,
moreover, has many bulwarks of its safety in that it is the foremost power in the world,
in that it was the first to believe in Christ, and in that it renders services to every
department of the Christian economy. There is yet another sign of the power which God has
accorded to the Romans. I refer to the fact that it is with their coinage all the nations
carry on trade from one extremity of the earth to the other. This money is regarded with
admiration by all men to whatever kingdom they belong, since there is no other country in
which the like of it exists.128 Let us now return to our proper subject. Text. For some of
the old philosophers, who in the course of their travels visited almost every part of the
inhabited world and wrote accounts of what they learned, have explained the position of
the earth 129 and the revolution of the heavenly bodies in close agreement with divine
scripture. Let one of them now come forward and give this evidence. Extract from the
fourth Book of the History of Ephorus.130 The Indians inhabit a country in the east near
sunrise, while the Ethiopians dwell in the south near the Meridian, the Kelts in the west
near sunset, and the Scythians in the north towards the Pole. These divisions are not of
equal size, Scythia and Ethiopia being larger and India and the Keltic divisions smaller.

The two larger, however, are of similar size, and so are the two smaller. For the Indians
are situated between the summer and the winter sunrise, while the Kelts occupy the regions
from the summer to the winter sunset. The two distances are equal as well as nearly
opposite each other. The Scythians again inhabit those regions which the sun leaves
unvisited in the course of his revolution. They are situated opposite the nation of the
Ethiopians, which seems to extend from the winter sunrise to the shortest sunset. Note.
This Ephorus is an old writer, philosopher, and historian. Ephorus, both in his text and
by means of his sketch, explains accurately, like the divine scripture, the position of
the earth and the revolution of the heavenly bodies. For this Ephorus was an historical
writer who, in the fourth book of his History, has inserted the exposition which we have
cited. Pytheas of Marseilles,131 again, in his work concerning the ocean, informs us that
when he had reached the remotest parts of the north the barbarous people found there
showed him the cradle of the sun, for, in the parts where they live, the nights always
have their source. Xenophanes also, the Colophonian,132 is clearly no believer in the
sphere, for he supposed that the earth had no limits. Thus, then, the pagans are found, in
what they have said, chiming in with sacred scripture. But, to pursue our argument, we
again assume that the four rivers which divine scripture says emanate from Paradise cleave
a passage through the ocean and spring up in this earth. Of these, the Pheison is the
river of India, which some call Indus or Ganges. It flows down from regions in the
interior, and falls by many mouths into the Indian Sea. It produces beans of the Egyptian
sort, and the fruit called Neilagathia;

savoury herbs, also, and lotus plants, and crocodiles, and everything the Nile
produces.133 The Geon, again, which rises somewhere in Ethiopia, passes through the whole
of Ethiopia and Egypt, and discharges its water into our Gulf by several mouths, while the
Tigrés and Euphrates, which have their sources in the regions of Persarmenia, flow down to
to the Persian Gulf. Such, then, are our opinions on these points. Divine scripture, with
a view to show the diameter of Paradise, how great it is, and how far extended eastward,
mentions the four rivers only, and thence we learn that the fountain which springs up in
Eden and waters the garden, distributes the residue of its waters among the four great
rivers which cross over into this earth and water a large part of its surface. Text. Since
then, the luminaries of heaven in this manner pursue their course, making day and night,
seasons and years, serving also for signs for those sailing upon the seas or travelling
through deserts, while they also supply the earth with light, we shall not say that they
are moved by the revolution of the heavens, but rather by powers that are rational, as if
they were so many torch-bearers, as we shall prove once more by the declaration of divine
scripture. For the divine Apostle, speaking of the Adversary, teaches what was his work
from the beginning in these words:

According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the
sons of disobedience 134 ----words which clearly show him to have been formerly a prince
endowed with the power of moving the air and changing its place, but one now cast out for
ever from this dignity; yea, rather, one who from sheer depravity works upon sinners, as
is evident from the fact that he stood not alone in having the power to do this, but
shared it in common with many others. For some of the angels were commissioned to move the
air, some the sun, some the moon, some the stars, while others prepared the clouds and the
rains, and rendered many other services---- for this is the work, the appointed duty, of
the angelic orders and powers----to minister to the well-being and honour of the image of
God, that is, of man, and to move all things like soldiers obeying the commands of the
king. This work they were commanded to do on the fourth day, when God adorned the heaven
with its stars. The work of the adverse demons, as rebels against God, is to do what will
mar his image, for on the fourth day they transgressed the command and were cast out of
heaven, as elsewhere he says: Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister
to those who shall be the heirs of Salvation? 135 thus expressly declaring that they were
ordained for the service of man. He further says:

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who
subjected it, in hope because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.136 By the creature he
here designates the angels, and by the sons of God the human race. By the term
ἀποκαραδοκία (earnest expectation), he represents the creature as straining its neck to
scan the distant horizon in hope of descrying some help coming to man. For if the angels
had not been subjected to servile ministrations they would not have longed for liberty;
for when man had sinned and received sentence of death, they were smitten with sore grief,
concluding that all was hopelessly lost; for since man was the bond uniting the whole
creation, as well as the image of God, they abandoned after his sentence all hope both of
themselves and of the universe, and were unwilling to be his servants and subordinates
without resulting advantage. By the words, however, in the passage cited, by reason of him
who hath subjected it in hope, the Apostle would have us understand that God did not
permit the wish of the angels to prevail, but gave them some hope that they might not
despair, but be cheered with the prospect that in the course of time some good would
accrue to man. Note. On the sixth day the demon who hates good, seeing man honoured and
thought worthy to have great care bestowed on him, became envious, and formed a design to
drag him down to ruin with himself.

But when he was at a loss how to assail him, he happened to perceive the beasts running
straightway to their food, while the object of his envy, looking around him at such of the
trees as were pleasant to the eye, remained quite unmoved the while by the calls of
appetite; whence he concluded he had received some command from God about them. Having
then approached nearer in the form of the serpent, he sought to learn the nature of the
command, and craftily says: What! hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree in the
Garden? 137 Then the woman who had just been brought into the world, and was far inferior
to the other in quickness of intelligence, answered his enquiry. Then, pretending he had
already known the command (which he had only that moment learned), he began to accuse God
of giving grudgingly, and to entice man to eat of the fruit, advising him at the same time
to transfer his allegiance to himself; and thus, forsooth, become as God, infecting him in
this way with his own disease. The man was, in fact, persuaded in the afternoon, and was
that same day cast out of the garden, just as his tempter had himself, as soon as he
sinned, been cast out of Heaven. Then the man heard the sentence of death pronounced upon
him:

Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.138 This filled the angels with sore grief,
and all the more as they were also disheartened at some of their own number having
transgressed; although they were more especially distressed about man, as on him depended
what lot should befall the whole creation----and he was also the pledge that secured the
amity of all the world. For should this bond be in reality dissolved, the universe would
of necessity be also dissolved. They bewailed, therefore, their own dissolution along with
that of the universe, and could no longer endure to minister to man without any good
resulting. But when God, who is full of compassion, had, through his renewed care for man
and the postponement of his punishment, inspired them with good hope, they began under its
influence to render their services with alacrity. In each generation, moreover, God, by
exalting the righteous to great renown, still further stimulated their alacrity, and
implanted in them hopes of renovation, of restoration, and of resurrection. At the birth,
particularly, of the Lord Christ according to the flesh, the whole multitude of the
invisible powers, having seen him born through whom comes the destruction of death, the
beginning of the renovation and the resurrection, and their own freedom, lifted up their
voices in hymns of praise to God, the cause of all, exclaiming:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.139 Then away were
thrown at last all the sorrow and dejection which at one time they had suffered on account
of man, and they gave expression to their joy at the birth of the second Adam. Wherefore
they also, at the time of his temptations, remembering how in the days of old they had
witnessed the discomfiture of the first Adam, which had filled them with dismay, but
seeing now the victory of the second Adam, and how fairly not once but thrice in close
grip with his tempter he had flung him out of the lists----they, I say, rejoiced with a
great joy, and were eager in bestowing their services, as scripture has recorded, not now
as if prompted by some hope, but because, having seen with their own eyes the victory of
the second Adam, they came to minister to him with joyful alacrity. But the host of his
adversaries in their turn now mourned and lamented, being confounded with shame at the
victory of the second Adam. Their chief accordingly finding himself unable to throw him
down began to plot against him, with the Jews as his instruments, and having stirred up
the Jewish mob against him and crucified and put him to death, imagined that he was at
once and for ever rid of him.

But when, not long afterwards, the resurrection----that wondrous, glorious, unexpected and
mighty event----had taken place, and he had no longer to experience death or any other
form of suffering whatever, but along with incorruption and immortality had obtained also
immutability of soul; and when again he afterwards ascended heavenward in a chariot of
cloud, borne up like a conqueror who celebrates his triumph; then did he enter within the
firmament, and was the first of all who opened up for us a new and living way. The angels
therefore, clad in white raiment, rejoiced along with men, and brought the good tidings to
the disciples and the women. But their adversaries, seeing the superiority to themselves
and to the whole creation of the human nature, which they had at one time tripped up by
the heels, but by which they were now thrown down, remained dumb with madness and
overwhelmed with uttermost shame. Wherefore the Lord exclaimed to the disciples: Let not
your hearts be troubled. I have overcome the world.140 And again: Lo! I have given you
power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy----as much as to
say: Man of old having sinned when the serpent in Paradise assailed him, it was said to
him: He shall lie in wait for thy heel, but thou for his head; that is, Ye shall he
divided and at enmity against each other, that man may not be under obedience to him.

So the warfare was then waged on equal terms, each having the power to hurt the other; for
the serpent watching for the heel of man, that is, besetting his path in order to hurt him
on finding him out of the path, as he could do by creeping about his heel; while man being
of upward stature and on his guard, and not straying from his path, was able to bruise the
head of the serpent. And now having conquered the serpent and brought him finally to
shame, and having through his agency unjustly endured death for the whole race, and nailed
the bond against it to the cross and blotted it out, I rose again on the third day
victorious over death, and became the championwho has achieved victory for all the human
race, for through me the victory has been extended to all humanity. Be ye therefore of
good courage. Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and on
all the power of the enemy. He says in effect the serpent is no longer able to hurt your
heel, being himself trampled down under your feet. So then, just as Adam had on the sixth
day sinned by eating about mid-day of the fruit of the tree, and was cast out of the
garden in the afternoon, so also on the sixth day and at the sixth hour, the Lord Christ
for his sake endured in the flesh the Cross, by which we are saved.

And just as again from the time of the transgression to the expulsion from the garden, all
the angels were filled with great dismay, expecting nothing else than the destruction of
man and of themselves and of the universe, so also during the Passion from the sixth hour
until the ninth the whole creation was shrouded in darkness at the wickedness that was
being perpetrated. And just as the two, Adam and Eve, were at the ninth hour cast out of
Paradise, so also at the ninth hour the Lord Christ in the spirit and the thief entered
into Paradise. On the same day, therefore, in which Adam was made, that is, on the sixth,
there occurred both the Fall and the grief of the angels, the sentence of death and the
expulsion from Paradise, so also at the time of the Passion, on the same day, there
occurred the death of the Saviour by the tree of the Cross, the mourning of the creation,
and in the afternoon the putting away of the mourning and the entrance into Paradise.
Verify I say unto you, saith the Saviour to the thief, to-day shalt thou be with me in
Paradise. Glory to God for ever and ever, Amen! But we must now return to our text. Text.
Wherefore the angels did not desist from the ministrations which they rendered to men
liable to death and corruption, for the Apostle speaks thus:

For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, that is, they were
unwilling to labour and serve to no purpose; but, he goes on to say, by reason of him who
subjected it in hope. In what hope? Because, as is quite evident, after the transgression
the angels, when they saw that God was not carrying into effect the sentence upon man, but
treating him with loving care and providing him with clothing, came to entertain better
hopes of man, so that they did not despair of him but ministered in his behalf. Then
afterwards he says: And the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glory of the liberty of the sons of God;147 that is, the angels
themselves shall be delivered and with them the whole creation, when men shall be
delivered from corruption and be glorified, and be made immortal, and the sons of God at
the world's final consummation, when the form of this world shall pass away, and the
resurrection of the dead shall take place, and the existing prder of things shall be
changed.

For when it shall come to pass in accordance with divine scripture that the stars shall
fall, and the course of night and day cease, and the angels who move them be liberated
through the exemption of men from corruption, who shall thus not at all need them, what
then can these new law-givers say who think that the heaven is spherical, and assert that
the stars are moved and yet move of themselves? For what useful purpose, let them tell us,
if at least they define themselves to be Christians, will the heaven then perform
revolutions? But away with these inept, these unstable men, for the Apostle yet again
exclaims that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain until now,148
thereby again showing that the whole creation, and especially the angels themselves, are
burdened in this state of existence from being subservient to corruption and mutation. For
since they are themselves mutable they are constantly absorbed in reflections about
mutation, thinking over and hoping for liberty and longing to obtain it; and obtain it
they shall, as has been stated, when men rise from the dead. For unless they had
themselves received a law prescribing what they should and should not do, they could not
have fallen into sin, for some of them could not have transgressed (as they did) unless
they had received this law from God.

Those consequently who transgressed were cast down from on high to the earth, for I saw
----it is the Lord who speaks----Satan like lightning fall from heaven.149 But without law
it is impossible there should be transgression, as saith the Apostle: For where there is
no law there is no transgression,150 and Without the law sin is dead.151 So that the
angels themselves in every way want to obtain freedom from the law and from mutation. Now,
of this liberty, the cause has been and will be the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. For
all things, the Apostle saith, both those which are in heaven and those which are on the
earth are summed up in Christ; and, If any one is in Christ he is a new creature; old
things are passed away, behold all things are become new.152 Note. On the first day, that
is the Lord's day, the foundation of the world and the beginning of the creation took
place. God having begun in the evening to create those things which comprise the whole
world, that is to say, heaven and earth, creating along with them the darkness and the
water and the air and the fire which has been commingled with the earth, and the angels
----producing all these at one time. Wherefore on the same day and the same night a new
creation of the whole world again took place, for the whole world has its circumscription
in man,153 because man, as has been frequently stated, is the bond which holds all the
world together.

When man, therefore, rose again on the same night of the Lord's day, incorruptible and
immortal and unchangeable, he gave a pledge to the whole creation visible and invisible
that it would obtain like benefits. Wherefore the Apostle saith: To sum up all things in
the Christ, both the things that are in heaven and that are in the earth;154 and: If any
one be in Christ he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold all things have
become new.152 He says all things, because; in man are contemplated things visible and
invisible. He then who denies to the Lord Christ the possession of perfect manhood 155 is
deceived by failing to understand the great dispensation which God has planned, as well as
to conceive aright the Christian doctrine. In like manner again he who denies his perfect
godhead 156 is chargeable with guilt and is utterly misled. Since then this hope is placed
before Christians, that the angels and the whole creation shall be renovated into a better
and a blessed state of existence, who is so malignant and so impious as to abandon this
hope and lean for support on the new and beguiling folly of the pagans? For he shall hear
in that day from the Judge these words: Verify I say unto you I know you not; depart from
me, all ye that work iniquity.157 For it is in sooth a great iniquity to reject the
declarations of God, and in opposition to them to ascribe a spherical form to the heaven.

For such men are incapable of receiving the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of
the great God, our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us; nor do they wish along
with the faithful to hear the Lord Christ exclaiming from on high: Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,158 but
always erring in their opinions they are whirled round in ceaseless revolution along with
their sphere, without any hope that there will ever be a pause. Text. Since the heavenly
bodies then, according to divine scripture, are moved in their orbits by invisible powers,
and run their course through the north, and pass below the elevated part of the earth, it
is possible, with such a configuration, for eclipses of the moon and the sun to be
produced. For the angelic powers, by moving the figures on rational principles and in
regular order, and with greater speed than lies in us to apprehend, produce these
phenomena, plying their labours by night and by day without ever pausing. For as on the
one hand the pagans assert that underneath the earth these bodies revolve far out of
sight, thus, as was before shown, advancing views not only out of harmony with the nature
of things, but opposed to the divine testimony, so we on the other hand following divine
scripture, conceive that the revolution and the course of the heavenly bodies have some
slight obliquity, and affirm that they are accomplished in this manner.

For this being so, eclipses of necessity follow, and we are thus opposed neither to the
Deity nor to the nature of things. For God must be believed in preference to all the
notions and all the teaching of men. And with reference again to the four elements, we say
that God having first established the earth as being dry, made it the foundation of the
universe because of its heaviness. Water again, which is the moist element, he set above
the earth on account of its fluidity; and the two as being opposite in their qualities he
thought good to place together on account of their good temperature.159 Next he placed
above these the air, which is the cold element, and above the air again fire, which is the
warm element, because these are both lighter than the other elements. They are, however,
mutually opposed, and therefore the two elements which are placed together in the middle
----water which is moist and air which is cold----having many mutual affinities, the one
being of a fluid and the other of a porous nature, while both are soft to the touch, and
readily receiving into themselves the qualities of each other and of their opposites,
impart them in return to each other and blend the whole together; these two elements, I
say, he thought good to place in the middle between the other two, the dry and the warm,
that all nature might not be destroyed and reduced to a cinder.

For from the readiness with which these two middle elements pervade each other, the pagans
have fallen into error, and turning things the opposite way call air moist and water cold;
consequent upon this they bestow two qualities upon a single element, and frequently even
four. God again provided rains for the good of the earth through the angelic powers, who
with the utmost exertion bring them up from the sea into the clouds, and in obedience to
the divine command discharge them where-over the divine command directs, for saith
scripture by the prophet Amos: He that calleth forth the water of the sea, and poureth it
out over the face of the earth (Amos ix, 6; see also Zech. x, I; I Kings xviii, 41). With
regard to earthquakes we affirm that they are not produced by wind, for we do not, like
our opponents, have recourse to fables, but simply say that they occur by divine
appointment, for saith scripture through David: He looketh upon the earth and maketh it
tremble (Psalm civ, 32; see also Acts ii, 2; Amos ix, 5; Haggai ii, 20; Isaiah, in sundry
passages). With regard again to the Antipodes, divine scripture does not suffer me either
to say or hear anything about these fables: For he made, saith the Apostle, of one the
whole race of men to dwell upon the whole face of the earth.

He does not mean upon every face of the earth, but upon its face.160 The dead, again, that
are buried in the earth, he calls the subterraneans, as in the passage: That in the name
of Jesus every knee shall bow, of beings celestial and terrestrial and subterranean161;
where by beings celestial are meant the angels, by the terrestrial men, and by the
subterranean those that are buried in the earth. For the Apostle says that this is to take
place at the resurrection, when all, alike angels that are in heaven, men that are upon
the earth, and the dead that are buried in the earth, shall all rise and bow the knee in
the name of Jesus the Son of God. For we are said to tread upon the earth, in the sense of
the expression as used in the passage: I have given you power to tread upon serpents and
scorpions.162 To tread therefore implies treading above some one, but if we tread above
any one he who treads in the opposite direction must be below him who treads above him;
but according to those wiseacres, a spherical body has neither an above nor a below, and
hence we neither tread nor are trodden on in return, nor do we at all walk on the earth.
Consequently, all their theories are but inventions and fables. With regard again to
angels and demons and souls, divine scripture represents them as completely circumscribed,
and as living in this world, as when the Apostle says:

We are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men,163 as if they all lived
in one and the same world. In Daniel also it speaks thus on the same point: And the prince
of the Kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days, but lo! Michael one of the
chief princes came to help me, and I left him there with the King of the Persians. Now I
am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days.164 The
expression he withstood me, and that other, he came and went away and I left him there,
and others of like import, refer to beings whose natures are circumscribed. It is,
moreover, to be observed that archangels are entrusted with the administration and
guardianship of particular nations and kingdoms: Yea, even that an angel attends each man
as his guardian; as when the church says concerning Peter in Acts: It is his angel.165 The
Lord likewise in the Gospels exclaims: For their angels always behold the face of my
Father who is in heaven;166 thus plainly showing that each one of us has his angel,
evidently as his guide and his guardian. For Deity alone is uncircumscribed, existing
everywhere, and as the same and in the same manner. For if I ascend, saith David, into
heaven, thou art there; if I descend into Hades thou art present there;

if I should take to myself wings at morning----that is, in the east----and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea----that is, in the west----even there shall thy hand lead
me:167 evidently indicating here the uncircumscribed nature of the Deity. But this cannot
be supposed to hold good of the angels, who in the passage above cited are said to have
been left in a certain place. With respect to souls, divine scripture declares them to be
circumscribed, and indicates them to be circumscribed by the body itself, as in the
passage: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me;168 thus speaking of the
soul as being within. And again: My heart and my flesh.169 Here it uses the heart instead
of soul, as if the soul had its seat in the heart, and was within the body, as when it
again says: In my heart have I hid thy words that I might not sin against thee;170 that
is, I have hid them in my soul. And again: Create in me a clean heart, O God !171 meaning
a clean soul. The Lord too speaks thus: Not that which goeth into a man defileth him, for
it goes into the belly and is cast out into the draught, but the things which proceed out
of the heart----that is, the soul----these defile the man: such as evil thoughts 172 and
other things peculiar to the soul which he enumerates. Elsewhere again he says what is
more adapted to put the Jews to shame:

The Kingdom of God is within you, instead of saying: Ye ought always to have the Kingdom
of God within the soul. And again, to the thief who believed in him he gave this promise:
Verily I say unto you, to-day shall thou be with me in Paradise.174 Here as evidently as
possible he speaks of the soul as in a place. And that he speaks with reference to the
soul and not to the body, is evident from the fact that the body of the Lord was buried by
Joseph of Arimathea in Jerusalem, and that of the thief was buried there also. Most
manifestly therefore he speaks of the soul when saying: To-day shalt thou be with me in
Paradise. Besides, most of the evangelists when speaking of the death of the Lord say: He
gave up the spirit----that is, the spirit within----namely, the soul, which went out of
the body. Another of the evangelists says: Having bowed his head, he gave up the spirit.
We have advanced the foregoing conclusions as expressive of the true Christian theory,
having been moved to accept them by divine scripture, for they arc not inventions or
conjectures of our own, but we have strictly followed what God has spoken to us through
the prophets and the Apostles and his own Son.

Now, as all those who undertake to deal with such topics in dependence on their own
reasonings and conjectures fall into endless perplexities and errors, and can say nothing
with certainty, it behoves every true Christian to take refuge in God, the Maker of all,
who knows the how and the why of everything, in order that we may not wander and be blown
about by every wind of the doctrine of men, according to what the Apostle says: In
craftiness of speech and after the wiles of error,176 and thus even ourselves be condemned
along with the world. Moses also in the Old Testament, in the Book of Numbers, gives
expression to the same thoughts: And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the children of
Israel and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments
throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of each border a cord of
blue: and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it and remember all the
commandments of the Lord and do them: and that ye go not about after your own follies and
after your own eyes, after which ye used to go a whoring, that ye may remember and do all
my commandments and be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of
the Land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God (Num. xv, 38).

God himself in that passage teaches more clearly what the Apostle also has taught us, that
we should not follow our own imaginations, but rather the divine precepts. God grant, O
honoured Head, that we may abstain from these things, and cling instead to those that are
divine, through the prayers of your Holiness,177 O most Christian Father, so that we may
find mercy and grace before the throne of grace for evermore, Amen!


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY continued

BOOK III

Book III.

That the divine scripture is firm, sure and trustworthy, both in the Old and the New
Testament, and in accordance with itself in the details which it gives, while it also
shows the utility of the figures representing the whole world. HEN men at first after the
Deluge were high up in the air, building the tower in their warfare with God, they
suspected from their constantly observing the heavenly bodies, but erroneously, that the
heaven was spherical; for since the city where they were building the tower belonged to
the Babylonians, an invention such as this must have originated with the Chaldaeans;
whence also the descendants of Abraham who were Chaldaeans elaborated a barbaric sphere,
and when they went down to Egypt communicated this notion to the Egyptians. The Egyptians
in turn having grasped it as a basis for much active investigation developed it still
further, until the Greek philosophers who visited Egypt----Pythagoras, Plato and Eudoxus
the Cnidian----became acquainted with it, and basing their study of it on what they had
learned from preceding enquirers elaborated it still further.

Note. After the Deluge, when men had multiplied in the interior parts of the East, where,
as has been recorded, the Ark rested, they removed a little way from their first seats and
found a plain in the land of Sennaar (Shinar). Now, as they were all of one speech, they
talked together with one accord, saying: The men who were before us God has destroyed with
a deluge; if he shall again think fit to be wroth with us and seek to destroy us even with
a deluge, we shall all perish to a man. But come, let us prepare bricks and burn them with
fire, that they may withstand the waters, and building them together with asphalt, let us
make a high tower the top of which shall reach to heaven, in order that being delivered
from the deluge we may find safety in the tower. And we shall readily be able to array
ourselves against him in battle, being very near him, as long as we are all of us
together, before being scattered in different directions, for this is shown by their
saying: And let us make unto ourselves a name before we are dispersed over the face of the
earth.

When they had therefore begun to build, and in their rebellious mood wanted to mount up
into heaven, God, who is full of kindness and compassion, knowing and foreknowing man whom
he had created with freedom both of will and action----knowing, I say, the strength of
reason which he possessed, but at the same time the weakness of his flesh, was moved with
compassion rather than with anger towards him, and made again a grand dispensation, and
suffered them not to labour nncl toil in vain. For, besides being crushed with hard
labour, they were dashed to pieces, if when high up in the tower they were hurled down
from the top by the violence of the winds, or tumbled down if scorched by heat through
their nearness to the sun, and blinded by terror at the dizzy height. He therefore
confounded their language and divided it into many kinds, and put an end to their impious
madness. He scattered them besides, and settled them over the whole earth. This was the
cause of the dispersion of the nations, and of every country becoming inhabited. In the
last days therefore God being well pleased with men, according to what is written: Good
pleasure towards men, of his own counsel and goodness resolved to lead them up into
heaven, and after forty clays from his resurrection led (Christ) our first-fruits up into
heaven.

And further, in order that he might indicate beforehand the ascension of the rest of
mankind, he on the day of Pentecost, having through the Holy Spirit joined together the
tongues which he had formerly divided, gave them from heaven to the Apostles, and they
spake with tongues the mighty works of God. as the Spirit gave them utterance, so that all
who stood around gathered together from all the nations heard, each of them in his own
speech, the mighty works of God, and knew the good-will he was pleased to show to men,
because when of old men had rebelliously sought to go up into heaven, their design proved
abortive; whereas now by the good pleasure of God, the faithful are carried up into
heaven. Glory to the wise and compassionate God who has granted these favours to men.
Amen! Further Note. When the first men were there at a great height engaged in building
the tower, and frequently turned their eyes upward to the heavenly bodies and saw some of
the stars ascending and others descending, they suspected that the heaven was somehow made
to revolve on some kind of mechanical contrivance, so that it was spherical. For they were
ignorant of the figure of the earth and were not aware that the heavenly bodies are moved
in the air by angels. Under the influence of this suspicion they made those gates which
gave passage through the tower in all directions, contriving that the tower might not be
of course thrown down by the waters of the deluge. In like manner also they built it with
bricks that it might withstand the waters; for it was thus the tower was constructed. They
say, moreover, that its foundations occupy a breadth in every direction of three miles,
and also affirm that the steps by which it is ascended are arranged circle-wise in the
exterior walls, in order that they may receive light through the windows made in them.

Text. While the Israelites were still sojourning in Egypt Moses was born, and being reared
in the palace of the Egyptian king was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.
Having also from his own observations accepted the sphere and made himself acquainted with
astronomy, or even with magic and hieroglyphic letters----or as I should rather say, the
symbols of letters, for as yet letters were unknown; and, to speak briefly, having become
a participant of all this wisdom, as the divine scripture informs us, when he reached
manhood he preferred to side warmly with his own ancestral race, and he slew the Egyptian;
and being afraid fled into the land of Midian, where he married and became the father of
two sons. And when he was feeding the flocks of his father-in-law and led them up to Mount
Sinaï, he saw that wonderful vision of the bush----the bush which burned with fire and yet
was not consumed. Then, when he was making haste to see the great marvel, the angel of God
called to him in the name of God, and commanded him to go to King Pharoah in Egypt for the
purpose of leading the children of Israel out of their bondage to the Egyptians. And when
he begged to be let off on account of the impossibility of the thing (for he saw that as
he was a mere man he could not fight against such a mighty king), God through the angel
filled him with confidence, reminding him of his forefathers:

how that through a barren woman and aged parents he had raised up a great and numerous
people. At the same time he prepared him beforehand for working wonders by means of the
rod which Moses held in his hand. By these wonders Moses was quite astounded, and was
persuaded to go away into Egypt. When he had gone thither, and had several times conversed
with Pharoah, since he was going to show him how God had produced the whole creation----
what creatures first and what second, and so on in proper order . . . And these things
were incredible to men, even as they are also now to those very clever men----yea, they
were even incredible to Moses himself, for he had not as yet acquired experience of these
matters; but in agreement with the Egyptians, he also conjectured that the heaven was of a
spherical figure. God therefore prepared him to work wonders, and in the name of God to
change the elements, and to show to all the Egyptians and to the Israelites, and through
them to the whole of mankind, that he was faithful to God in all that he said and did,
disposing them and preparing them beforehand to accept him with readiness. The enchanters
also by whom he had been educated combined to contend with him, and in the divine power he
enters the lists against them, instructed to hold such opponents in contempt, so that they
cry off and say: This is the finger of God. When he had changed accordingly the
constitution of the waters into blood and killed the fish, and changed the blood back into
water living and productive, and had divided the Red Sea and made it stand as a wall on
this side and that side in presence of the Israelites and the Egyptians, he was fully
believed by them when he afterwards said:----God said let there be a firmament in the
middle of the water, and it shall divide in the middle water from water, and it was so. In
like manner again, when he had made darkness for three days successively among the
Egyptians, while the Israelites had light, he was again fully believed when he
said:----And there was darkness over the abyss, and God said let there be light, and God
divided the light from the darkness;

and he assumed that the first and second and third day had passed without the sun, moon
and stars running their course, saying:----God divided the light from the darkness. Then
again he brought frogs out of the river and fleas out of the earth, and therefore he was
trusted when saying:----God said let the waters bring forth living creatures, and it was
so; and again he said:----Let the earth bring forth this and that, and it was so; and
other things in like manner marvellous. Last of all, when he had slain all the first-born
he was entitled to belief when saying last of all:----God made man. And, as we have said
above, he so prepared him beforehand that the Israelites could readily believe what he
said and did, since they saw with their own eyes what he performed. When again he had led
them out of Egypt and had brought them through the Red Sea on dry land, and conducted the
people to Mount Sinaï, in which he had seen the divine vision, God still working wonders
before the people filled the mountain with flames of fire and with smoke, while there were
heard the notes of trumpets resounding from heaven and waxing louder and louder; and when
with gloom and darkness and tempest he had made them tremble with exceeding great fear, he
began to speak to Moses in sight of the people out of the cloud. Then, having taken him up
into the mountain to remain for forty days without food, he hid him in a cloud and in a
manner abstracted him from all earthly things, and made him oblivious of all, including
even what he had learned from the Egyptians, giving him birth anew as if he were a child
in the womb. But at the end of the forty days he gave him a new form and a new soul, and
revealed to him all that he had done in the making of the world in six days, and showing
him in other six days by means of visions the making of the world, performing in his
presence the work of each day, namely, on the first day the first heaven, and the earth a
most spacious house, and within it water, air, fire commingled with the earth, darkness
and angels, having produced everything singly and collectively from nothing whatever;

employing, moreover, his voice alone for the instruction of the angels, he created the
light for the house itself, thus giving light to everything as by a lamp. Then on the
second day he constructed out of the water the firmament, which in the middle of the
height of heaven binds all firmly together, dividing the waters above from the waters
below, as it is placed in the middle between them. There are therefore two places----an
upper and a lower story, so to speak; the lower he made fit to be a dwelling-place for
this mortal and changeful life; the upper he has made ready beforehand for the coming
deathless and unchanging life. Note. The great Moses, after relating that on the second
day God had created the firmament, and by dividing it had made one place into two,
explained nothing further about the future state----that is, the upper place----but turned
his discourse entirely upon this state-----that is, upon the lower place----relating that
God gathered together the waters, and brought forth out of the earth the green herbs and
the trees, and in like manner adorned the heaven with stars, and again from the waters
produced the winged fowl and aquatic animals, and in like manner again made from the earth
brute animals and man. Then again, when he had been commanded to make the Tabernacle in
imitation of the form of the world, he divided the one tabernacle by means of the veil,
and made it into two----an inner and an outer----within the outer of which the priests
continually discharged their sacred offices as being in this world, while into the inner
the high priest alone once a year entered, as if into the upper place, that is, into
heaven. On this account the inner Tabernacle was entirely inaccessible to them, being a
type of the things in heaven. He was, moreover, believed when with the same authority he
suitably prescribed the laws, and burdens, and punishments, and the correction of
transgressors, having prepared himself for prescribing what was conducive to discipline
and the working of wonders, as when he involved the Egyptians in plagues and chastisements
of various kinds, and likewise made the Israelites suffer so sorely in the wilderness for
their repeated sins and transgressions, that he destroyed all the men of that generation
except two only that were left alive, while even he himself came to his end with that
generation.

But when the Lord Christ for the salvation of the whole world had appeared among us to
bring to a close the present state and proclaim the one to come, and announced expressly
that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, he also, appropriately to his proclamation,
wrought wonders for the benefit of men, and not in a single instance for the punishment of
any man. He freed those that were possessed with devils, healed the sick, strengthened the
weak, made the lame walk erect, restored sight to the eyes of the blind, opened the ears
of the deaf, loosened the tongues of the dumb, cleansed lepers, restored the withered to a
well-tempered life, cured withered hands, stanched by his power issues of blood,
reanimated the dead even when corrupt and stinking, prepared the living for finishing
their course, brought good tidings to the poor of treasures of which they could not be
robbed, stilled by his rebuke the rage of the winds and the fury of the sea, and did all
things else which are in harmony with the proclamation of the Gospel and with the future
state; for in that state no devil gives trouble, no debility exists, all sickness has been
banished, with disease of limbs and distempers, and penury, and issues of blood and
commotions of the elements, and the last enemy----death----is destroyed.

When the Jews considered all this----when they saw that he had not wrought a single
miracle for the punishment of men, except only two, and these not inflicted on man, but
upon the swine and the fig tree, upon brutes and an inanimate object, in order to show
that these also were subject to his power ----they attempted to bring a charge against
him, saying to him in turn: We wish to see a sign from thee, that is, a sign such as that
of Moses, which was for the punishment of men. But the Lord, knowing the thoughts of their
hearts answered, saying: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and no
sign shall be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas remained shut up
in the belly of the whale for three days, and afterwards came out therefrom alive and
uncorrupted, so I also being dead, after remaining in the earth three days shall rise up
from the dead living and incorruptible. At another time, again, when he had made a scourge
of small cords and cast out all from the temple, they said to him: What sign shewest thou
that thou dost these things?and this although many signs had been given by him. But he in
turn said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again----thus
giving the same answer both times and speaking of the resurrection of his body as if he
should say:

When ye see me risen from the dead and see miracles wrought in my name, then shall ye know
our power and our proclamation of good tidings; that my coming is not for the punishment
of men, but for conferring upon them the resurrection, and immortality, and incorruption,
and immutability, and blessedness. Accordingly, in consistency with his teaching, he
wrought also his miracles. And this very thing Matthew also shows when speaking thus: And
Jesus went about their cities and villages teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness, thus
implying that he wrought miracles of a nature consistent with what he preached. But John
the Evangelist thus speaks: Many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Jesus said, therefore, unto the twelve: Would ye also go away? But Peter immediately
answering on behalf of all said: Lord, to whom shall we go away? Thou hast the words of
eternal life, and we have believed that thou art the Holy One of God; meaning this: What
thou teachest us we see even by the works which are done by thee, for thou promisest us
life and a heavenly kingdom, and we see all things that are done by thee to have regard to
the life of men. How then can we leave thee and attach ourselves to another? Our portion
is therefore with thee, Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

But some one may raise a difficulty and ask: Since he had given not even one sign with a
view to the punishment of men, how then did he, taking, as has been said, a scourge, beat
those that were selling in the temple and cast them out of the temple? Answer: What is
alleged is false, for it was not at all to the human being he applied the scourge, but he
adopted an admirable and becoming and appropriate course, for he scourged the brute beasts
only, as it is written: And having made a scourge of small cords he drove all out of the
temple, both the sheep and the oxen, as much as to say: He scourged animals, but only the
irrational, driving also out of the temple even those that were brought for sacrifice
according to the law, showing by this means that the Judaic dispensation was coming to an
end. Things, again, that had neither life nor sensation he pushed away and overthrew, as
it is written: And he poured out the money-changers' money and overthrew their tables. The
rational beings, however, he neither scourged nor drove away, but he chastised the
irrational, as it is written: And to those that sold doves he said:

Take these things hence, and make not my Father's house a house of merchandise----showing
by all these words and acts that the things offered for sacrifice in the first tabernacle
according to the law were to cease, and that another dispensation would be introduced in
its place, harmonising with the inner tabernacle, which was a type of the things in heaven
----that is, of the future dispensation. But the Jews having perceived how he was
shadowing forth to them the cessation of the Jewish dispensation, questioned him, saying:
What sign showest thou that thou dost these things? But taking appropriate advantage of
the question, he promised them that he would do something darkly to foreshadow the answer.
I refer to the destruction of the temple and to its renovation, because the destruction of
the temple----that is, of his body----is the destruction of this world, while the
renovation and change made upon the temple----that is, upon his body----is a manifestation
of the future state. My argument, accordingly, good reader, holds sure that he never
wrought for the punishment of man but for his benefit, and he himself elsewhere exclaims:
For the Father hath not sent the Son to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved.

Text. Then he collected the water into one mass and exposed to view the dry land, which he
called earth and which was before hidden by the waters; and he made the seas, that is, the
ocean, as it is called, which encircles this earth, and is itself encircled by the earth
beyond it, and also made the four gulfs which run up into this earth of ours----in order
that he might render the air of the ocean which is interposed between the earth here and
the earth beyond salubrious to those at any time inhabiting either the one or the other.
He also so prepared the gulfs that they could be navigated and afford a means of transit
to different parts of the world, thus always uniting the dispersed nations in the bonds of
amity through the facility with which commodities might be transported from nation to
nation. And he commanded all kinds of fruits and trees and green herbs to spring up out of
the earth. And again on the fourth day he divided the light, and with its purer portion
made the sun, and with the remainder the moon and the stars, embellishing these heavenly
bodies with the harmonious beauty which adorns all nature, giving order and harmony to the
universe, while assigning to the invisible powers as their function and their law to
administer, rule, and adjust these bodies to the service of God, that is, of man, and of
all that exists on his account;

thereby accustoming and training even these exalted powers to be under law, and calling
into play the good or evil qualities of their rational powers, whence some of them having
transgressed were hurled down from heaven and deprived of their dignity. For, I saw, saith
the Lord, Satan like lightning fall from heaven; for being puffed up because of the
service entrusted to him by God for the good of men, and because it was his office to move
the air for man and regulate its motion for his uses, and deeming that he had of himself
advanced of his own will to this height, he usurped to himself the worship due to God, and
was forthwith hurled down. For the Apostle again when instructing Timothy not to be hasty
in conferring office on a neophyte----one, that is, who has but recently been converted to
the faith, thus addressed him: Not a neophyte, lest being puffed up he fall into the
condemnation of the devil ; which, says the Apostle, the devil suffered through being
puffed up, and has hereby clearly shown why he was hurled down, namely, by his being
puffed up, deeming himself to be God, whence also he had the wish to communicate his own
disease to man, saying: Ye shall be as Gods.

Note. When God Almighty had along with the heaven and the earth produced all the angels,
who had not hitherto existed, they stood all of them mute with surprise, being
distinguished by the possession of reason from all around them, and were at once filled
with amazement, and bent on considering who he was, the Creator who had called themselves
and everything with them into existence. For they saw themselves existing in the midst of
these things, and that they did not exist before them, and further reflected: The Creator
of these and those things is surely one, or each must have had a different creator----or
again: Were all things produced spontaneously of themselves, or who then is greater than
the other? But when they were revolving such thoughts in their minds for the space of that
night (for, as it is written, God called that darkness, night) God entering into their
thoughts, all at once without being visible, said in clear tones: Let there be light; and
the production of the light from nothing, following instantaneously with the word, struck
them all with astonishment, and at the same time taught them that he who had produced this
light out of nothing had produced also themselves and the things existing with them out of
nothing. Then all bending down worshipped the invisible God, who had produced themselves
and all things out of nothing. This, moreover, divine scripture declares in Job speaking
in the. person of God:

When I made the stars all my angels praised me with a loud voice and celebrated me with
hymns, from one indicating all successively. It must, however, be observed that in the
sight of the angels he called into existence out of non-existence two substances----the
one first of all and the other last of all----the one first created being the light, and
the other our soul; the one visible, perceptible and devoid of reason, the other
invisible, intelligent and rational. All other things, however, he produced from things
that are; intending thereby to teach them in turn that he was the maker of all creatures,
both rational and non-rational, both those discernible by sense and those by intelligence,
both those visible and those invisible----having called them into existence from the state
of non-existence. Nor is it unlikely that they on that day and night, since they possessed
reason, considered with themselves whether he who had produced this light had also
produced the heaven. Then by a further word of command, he made before their eyes the
second heaven, forming it from waters and like in its appearance to the first heaven. And
by this they were once more taught that he is the maker both of this and of the first
heaven----and so he brought to an end the work of the second day.

Then when they were again engaged in thinking and looking to the things of the earth, he,
in like manner [as when making the second heaven] gathered the water together, and having
exposed the dry land itself to view named it the earth, for, being its lord, he gave it
its name just as he also named the firmament heaven Then he produces from the earth seeds
and plants and green herbs and trees, teaching them that he uses each of his creatures to
effect his purposes, since they were created by him. Then, when on the third day he had
produced plants and seeds, thereafter on the next----that is, on the fourth day, inasmuch
as such productions had need of temperature and arrangement, he makes out of the light,
which he had before produced, the great luminaries and the stars----and having placed in
the firmament of heaven the host of the invisible powers he directed them to move these
bodies in order, on rational principles, and to make them revolve for the supply of
temperature to the plants and all that would use them, in order that after their setting
the plants might be refreshed by the coolness and motion of the air, and be again warmed
by the presence of the luminaries.

Accordingly some of the invisible powers, having from the beginning remained till now
wavering in their mind, and ungrateful to their maker, entered on the office with which he
had entrusted them in forgetfulness of his goodness, and being inflated with pride in
their natural acumen, and in the power and the reason bestowed on them, and valuing
nothing, but even despising the voice and the command which had come forth from God----
yea, not so much as understanding that they had been, like the other creatures, produced
along with the darkness, they were overcome by the delirium of their folly, and fancied
they had of themselves by their own free act advanced to their high estate. I refer, of
course, to the devil, who had been entrusted with the power of the air, and his
associates, who had been entrusted some with this and others with that office, who having
usurped for themselves the worship and glory due to God, and having been puffed up with
pride and become insubordinate, were promptly----to prevent them misleading the others----
hurled down from on high and from their dignities to go wandering about the earth. Whence
also on the sixth day and after man had been formed, Satan, who was going about in the
earth and envying the great care shown by God towards man, wished by affecting him with
his own disease to drag down man along with him.

Text. On the fifth day again he ordered animals after their kind to issue forth from the
waters----the monsters of the deep and the other sorts of fish, and along with them the
winged fowl of every species that pass through the air. Then again on the sixth day he
made out of the earth all cattle and wild beasts and creeping things after their kind. And
after he had prepared the whole house and fully furnished and adorned it, then, just as a
king, when he has founded a city and completed it, places there his own image, tinting and
embellishing it with various colours, so also the all-wise God, when he had as it were
gathered together the manifold and diversified works of his hands----the rational and non-
rational----the mortal and the immortal ----the corruptible and the incorruptible----the
sensible and the intelligible----he completed and adorned one particular animal
constituted with every natural quality, namely, Man, and in the house which had been
prepared he installed him in the rank of his own image which makes known that he who is
the Creator of all is one. Hence those angels, who are well-affected towards God, admire
his image, and hover as guardians around it, and minister thereunto. In like manner also
the whole creation----the sun on high shining and making day for man, the moon and stars
which impart some light amid the deepest gloom, accomplish their course by night for man;

while all the months and seasons and tropics and years furnish signs to those who traverse
the open seas or pursue their way through the desert; the air again serves the image for
respiration, coolness and warmth; fire, for baking bread, heating water, giving light by
night, cooking food and for other purposes; water, for drinking, washing, fermentation,
irrigation and many other useful purposes; the earth, for habitation and the production of
all kinds of fruit and for ministering to many other wants. Then the clean quadrupeds
minister to his pleasure and supply him with clothing, the cattle labour for him and
afford him leisure, the wild beasts contribute the delight and terror of the chase, and so
also do the reptiles; while all things serve for the exercise of his rational powers and
supplying what is useful for man, who is the bond uniting all the creation in friendship
----who walks upon the earth, and yet flies on the wings of thought and surveys the
universe, who is upright of stature and with ease confronts face to face the heavens as
his dwelling-place, who is the king of all things on earth and reigns along with the Lord
Christ in the heavens, and becomes a fellow-citizen of heavenly beings, and unto whom as
the image of God all creation ministers while it is under subjection to God, and preserves
its affection and gratitude towards its Creator.

Note. When on the fifth day again animals were produced from the waters, the angels were
taught that God is the Maker of this water, which was produced simultaneously with
themselves. In like manner again when on the sixth day animals were produced from the
earth, they were still more effectively taught that God is the Maker both of animate and
of inanimate creatures. Accordingly all the angels again looked around them, gazing at all
the things made by God which had sprung into existence before their eyes in the six days,
and concluded that all things were varied, and wonderful, and fitted to excite
astonishment, but among them they did not see anything like themselves----rational and
invisible and intelligent. There was here ground for suspecting whether after all the
Creator of the rational, invisible and intelligent beings is one person, and the Creator
of the objects that are irrational, perceptible and visible, a different person. God,
however, wishing to remove this supposition of theirs, produced last of all one living
being constituted with all the natural qualities, namely, man----constituted with reason
and sensation and intelligence, and with visibility and invisibility, and appoints him to
serve as his image, which makes known that the Creator of the universe is one.

Whence the angels being lost in wonder were taught by their own eyes through man the glory
and the power and the greatness and the wisdom and the goodness of the one and only God,
and that all the elements and what had been brought into existence after themselves had
been prepared before on account of man. With alacrity therefore did they obediently serve
and minister in moving everything that conduced to assist the image of God as being
themselves members thereof, whence again they greatly rejoice over the welldoing and the
righteousness of men, but are on the other hand greatly distressed by his evil-doing and
by his sinning, as saith also the Lord himself: For there is great joy in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth. It must, however, be here observed that just as God produced first
in the sight of the angels out of non-existence the sensible, visible and non-rational
light, and afterwards that which is rational and intelligible and invisible, so also in
the case of man he made first, according to Moses, his body, and afterwards his soul.
Hence it was possible for some to fancy that if there had been another day after the six
days, God would have made some other things, but since there is not another day after the
six, he would not have been able to produce more. But God to remove this supposition of
theirs, makes also a seventh day over and above, and does no work therein, thus showing
that the world is quite finished and without any defect left in its structure to be
afterwards supplied, for if he had left such he would have completed on the seventh day
what was defective. But since nothing had been left defective in it, he rested on the
seventh day from all his works which he had undertaken to make. Perhaps again some one
will ask: Why did he make the whole creation not in one, or two, or three, or four, or
five, but in six days?

Such an one will learn this to be the truth of the matter----that, inasmuch as the angels
are rational and mutable, one day would not have sufficed for their instruction if the
whole had been produced in one day, for they would certainly have thought that things had
been confusedly brought into existence like so many phantasms and been produced in
disorder. But God Almighty having set apart one day for each single work, in due order
formed the universe in parts, that it might be discriminated and thus better understood by
the angels. First of all on the first day after they had been produced along with the
heaven and the earth and the elements, he made the light before their eyes. On the second
day he made the firmament: on the third day he gathered together the waters and produced
from the earth trees and green herbs. On the fourth day he adorned the heaven with the
luminaries; on the fifth he produced fish and fowl from the waters; and on the sixth he
made from the earth animals and man, and accomplished the whole of those works in the six
days. On this account therefore he made the whole world by parts in the six days for the
discrimination and instruction of the angels, who from their acute intelligence were able
each day to discriminate each separate part of the work and the Maker thereof.

Whoso wishes can hence learn that along with the heaven and the earth the angels were also
produced, because as they were present at all his works, God uttered his voice in their
presence for their instruction, saying: Let this and let that be; but when he created the
heaven and the earth he did not utter his voice nor say: Let heaven and earth and the
things in them be; for there were none to hear and be instructed. But since in the case of
all the other works, there were present those who could be instructed, the voice was
opportunely uttered. Since the angels therefore were produced along with the heaven and
the earth, the historian Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit began his narrative with them,
as they contained the angels, saying: In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.
And further the Apostle, knowing well what pertains to man and how he is figured, in his
Epistle to the Romans has placed man, as destined in the future for heaven, superior to
all, for he says: And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of
an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts and creeping things;
mentioning man as superior to all, then the birds as inferior to him, then again the four-
footed beasts as inferior to the birds, and as inferior to these again the creeping things
which lurk underneath the earth, mentioning them according to their rank in the scale of
being. But further, of all the quadruped brutes which walk upon all fours and turn their
looks earthward, not one is capable of observing the heaven with ease. In like manner with
regard to creeping things which with their whole body wriggle along the earth, not one of
these is able to observe the heaven. All birds again, being bipeds, and in consonance with
this having their legs in the middle of their body, direct their eyes towards the earth
when they are high up on the wing; but when they are standing they find it difficult to
turn their eyes upwards unto the heaven.

Man alone, of all the animals on the earth, being rational and destined for heaven,
received from the Creator a figure in congruity with such a destiny. For he is a biped,
being destined to fly away and walk in heaven. In figure he is erect, as if he were ready
and destined to ascend on high. And it is easy for him to behold with his eyes both the
earth and the heaven as if he were hastening to ascend from the earth into heaven,
conscious that earthly and heavenly things were bound together through him. Moreover, all
the brute animals copulate without seeing each other face to face, and have commerce in a
brutal and shameless manner. But man alone as rational proceeds to the act face to face,
so that the pair seeing each other may embrace with reason, modesty, and reverence, and
may thankfully sing the praises of their Maker for his goodness in giving to their nature
help and mutual impulse for the propagation and multiplication of our race. God moreover
made the woman from the man's side, because the two sides bind the whole body close
together; for he neither made her from the front of man lest the woman should exalt
herself above him, nor from his back parts that he might not exalt himself above the
woman; but from his side, as being in her nature his equal, although the man, as the
cause, is first in point of time, but not, however, in his nature itself.

And still further----since the hand always protects and guards the side to which it
belongs, so when he had made the female from the male, and the male from the earth, God
pronounced the two to be one flesh, both from the constitution of the two sides, and from
the fruit that springs from their connection. Wherefore the fornicator sins by estranging
his own flesh and sowing illegitimate progeny; nay, he that commits adultery is ranked
with the homicide, since he divides what is one flesh, and thus perpetrates murder. Some
one again may perhaps propose a question and say: Why was it that, while all the
irrational animals were created by God, male and female at the same time, man alone was
not created with the female, but remained quite solitary until the female was made later
on? To this enquirer I shall reply that since all the animals were created by God without
either the gift of reason, or the capacity of knowing anything, while all the angels, the
instant they were created, were rational and knew the Maker of all things from those
things which had been produced, one by one, that is, in the six days, it was necessary
that man who had been created by God possessed of reason, and as the bond uniting all the
creation, should himself be taught to know the Creator of all; but since, as he was not
the first but the last of all to be produced, he could neither from the things made before
him, nor from himself know God, it was God's pleasure to produce the female not along with
him, but afterwards out of him, that he might thereby know that he who had taken out from
him a being like himself was his Creator.

Wherefore also he threw him into a trance and a deep sleep, in order that by taking his
rib from him without trouble and pain as in sleep, he might by the grace of God gain a
perception of what had occurred, and celebrate the praises of his Maker, confessing and
saying: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh----she shall be called woman,
because she was taken out of man. As then the angels had been created rational, and from
the works produced in the six days had been taught to know him who was the cause of them,
so of necessity man also was taught through the female, and learned that God was the Maker
both of himself and of the universe; but especially as he had beforehand heard God say:
Let us make a helpmeet for him. Text. Then again on the seventh day, after he had revealed
to Moses how the whole world had been made, and had honoured him with such mystic visions,
he then held converse with him, and having given him the law written with the finger of
God on tables of stone, and instructed him in the knowledge of letters and made his
countenance shine with glory, he let him descend from the mountain. Note. Here men, having
first received the Law from God in writing, were taught letters and communicated them to
all the nations. Text.

He then afterwards directed him to construct the Tabernacle according to the pattern which
he had seen in the mountain----being a pattern, so to say, of the whole world. He
therefore made the Tabernacle, designing that as far as possible it should be a copy of
the figure of the world, and thus he gave it a length of thirty cubits and a breadth of
ten. Then, by interposing inside a veil in the middle of the Tabernacle, he divided it
into two compartments, of which the first was called the Holy Place, and the second behind
the veil the Holy of Holies. Now the outer was a pattern of this visible world which,
according to the divine Apostle, extends from the earth to the firmament, and in which at
its northern side was a table, on which were twelve loaves, the table thus presenting a
symbol of the earth which supplies all manner of fruits, twelve namely, one as it were for
each month of the year. The table was all round wreathed with a waved moulding symbolic of
the sea which is called the ocean, and all round this again was a border of a palm's
breadth emblematic of the earth beyond the ocean, where lies Paradise away in the East,
and where also the extremities of the first heaven, which is like a vaulted chamber, are
everywhere supported on the extremities of the earth. Then at the south side he placed the
candlestick which shines upon the earth from the south to the north.

In this candlestick, symbolic of the week of seven days, he set seven lamps, and these
lamps are symbolic of all the luminaries. And the second Tabernacle which is behind the
veil and called the Holy of Holies, as well as the Ark of Testimony, and the Mercy-seat,
and above it the Cherubim of glory shadowing the Mercy-seat, are, according to the
Apostle, a type of the things in heaven from the firmament to the upper heaven, just as
the space from the veil to the wall of the inner Tabernacle constitutes the inner place.
Note. That the first historian in the world was Moses, both Eusebius, the son of
Pamphilus, and Josephus in their writings testify; for they have clearly shown that of all
writers Moses was the most ancient. Text. When Moses had accordingly been instructed in
letters by God, having with his very eyes perceived the beginning of all things revealed
to him, and when his countenance had been glorified so that he could not be beheld by his
people without a veil, then as one who could claim belief and who had been glorified by
God, he, the first among men, wrote the Book of Genesis in these words: In the beginning
God made the heaven and the earth, showing that when the world was created by God heaven
and earth were produced at the very beginning, comprising as they did all existing things,
while all the other creatures which he made either along with them or after them one by
one, were contained within them. Then having ended his account how all things existing
within heaven and earth had been successively created from the first day onwards to the
sixth, and having then spoken of God as having rested on the seventh day and made nothing
more, because the whole creation had been completed, and nothing been left defective in
the harmony of the world to mar its supreme beauty, he again adds: This is the book of
heaven and earth; thinking these words sufficient to indicate collectively all things
within heaven and earth. And again in another place he says: For in six days he finished
and rested from all his works which God had begun to make;

always speaking to the same effect, namely, that all things are contained within heaven
and earth, and that before these seven days he had made nothing whatever, but began on the
first day and finished on the sixth, and rested on the seventh without making anything
else, and that he made only two heavens, the first along with the earth, while placing the
second in the middle and preparing two states----the present and the future----just as in
the Tabernacle he had ordered two places to be formed in imitation of the world, for he
says: According to the pattern shown to thee in the mount;for the Apostle in his Epistle
to the Hebrews explains with regard to this Tabernacle that the outer was a pattern of
this world, and the inner of the heavens. When therefore a describer of the world so great
and so divine as Moses had been attested and glorified, in the Old Testament by God and in
the New by the Christ, while other divinely inspired prophets and apostles along with him
bear witness about all things and about the figure of the whole creation as we have set
forth in the preceding book, and they agree with him in every particular concerning the
creation itself, who can be so obtuse, so foolish, and so far led astray, especially if he
calls himself a Christian, as to disbelieve such truth as this, confirmed by such sacred
testimony, and would not rather, bending lowly to earth, reverence the crowd of
testimonies, the selection, the revelations, the wisdom, the glory, the predictions, the
astonishing signs, the great wonders, the fulfilments of prophecies, the testimony of God
himself, who spake with Moses face to face as a friend with a friend, while in the New
Testament the Lord Christ frequently bears witness to him? In very truth, to express
myself more warmly, I assert that, unless one fights against God, he shall not find it in
his power to gainsay these things. For afterwards repenting he shall say: the finger of
God is in it; and he will confess his defeat, just as the Egpytian enchanters and
sorcerers Jannes and Jambres spoke concerning him.

Since therefore according to the great cosmographer Moses, and according to Paul, that
most divine teacher of the Church, in whom the Lord Christ speaks, two heavens, and two
only, were created by God, and not seven or eight, or nine, how is it possible to listen
to the pagans advocating views based on conjecture, sophistries, and arrogant assumptions,
and inventing fables, not from the old but chiefly from certain recent writers, who, to
meet the difficulties of their own doctrines, have devised apologies more foolish even
than the doctrines themselves. And how can those who listen to these pagans maintain and
yet be in accordance with scripture, that there are waters above the heaven, or that the
first, the second, and the third day passed without the sun, moon and stars running their
course? Or how in the deluge of Noah did the waters cover the whole earth and again
retire? Or how can they say that there will be a final consummation of the world----that
the heavenly bodies falling will cease to run their courses, and no longer cause the
succession of day and night; and that the present state will altogether end, and that
another state will be exhibited quite strange and far superior to this;

and that the righteous will enter into the upper heaven beyond this the visible heaven,
where is the kingdom of the heavens----the second Tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, of
which the inner place in the Tabernacle was a pattern, into which also the Lord Christ
entered, having been taken up into the heaven above the firmament, having become the
forerunner on our behalf, and having prepared for us a new and living way? Or how can they
say that, after the consummation, the seven or eight or nine heavens, or the heaven again
which is by them called the sphere, will revolve? For what useful purpose will this
revolution be? let them tell us and not grudge us this information; or how can such
persons believe the stupendous miracles of which we have often spoken, that were wrought
in the time of the great Moses? And likewise that miracle wrought in the time of Joshua,
the son of Nun, when he made the sun and moon stand still, and added greatly to the length
of the day, until he put the enemy to rout? And that other miracle performed in the time
of Hezekiah, the going back of the sun ten degrees, which struck the Babylonian with
consternation and induced him to send an embassy to Hezekiah?

Note. Some have said that up to the present day a feast is celebrated by the Persians to
Mithras, that is, the sun, in commemoration of the sign in the time of Hezekiah. Text. Why
need I speak of the all-devouring fire in the time of Nebuchodonosor, which burnt the
bonds of the three children, but did not consume so much as a hair of their head, or any
of their garments? Or of the renowned Elijah, who in a chariot of fire sped his way
through heaven, who raised the dead, and who by his word withheld rain for two and forty
months? Or of his disciple Elisha, who threw the wood into the water and brought back
iron, and whose dust raised up the dead? In like manner why should I speak of the miracles
wrought under the Lord Christ: his marvellous birth from a virgin; the attestation of the
Star that then appeared; the adoration of the Magi; the good tidings brought with joy to
the shepherds by the angels; the doxology of the whole angelic host; the prayer of Simeon
conjoined with the giving of thanks; the confession of Anna; the first miracle of Christ
himself in Cana of Galilee, who at a marriage miraculously provided a liberal supply of
wine for drinking; the giving of sight to the eyes of the man born blind, by clay wrought
with spittle; the restoration to life of Lazarus after he had been four days dead and his
intestines were stinking; the host of opposing demons trembling at his power and
exclaiming: Thou hast come before the time to torment us; the command and the bridle
imposed on the raging sea;

the walking upon the surface of the waves, when he invited Peter to walk with him upon
them; and when Peter was seized with distrust and began to sink and cried out: Lord, save
me! his drawing him up from the deep, and his again going with him and placing him safe
and sound in the boat; the eclipse of the sun at the time of the Passion which continued
for three hours, and that too in the fourteenth day of the moon: an occurrence quite
contrary to worldly philosophy, for according to the adepts therein an eclipse cannot
result except at the time of new moon; the quaking of the earth, the rending of the rocks
and of the veil of the temple? But passing over all the other miracles which cannot now
conveniently be enumerated, I hasten to speak of the resurrection itself, which is the
renovation of men and of all the world; the gift of incorruption, immortality and
immutability bestowed by God upon the whole world; of the ascent again of men into heaven,
into which the first who entered in flesh was the Lord Christ; of the shadows of the
Apostles which gave strength to the weak; of the rapture of the Apostle Paul even into the
third heaven,that is, to a third of the distance of the height of heaven from the earth
----namely, as far as the firmament;

then his rapture into Paradise where he was privileged to be the hearer of the unspeakable
words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. All which things are marvellous and
transcend our nature or our state. Another Note. In the days of Joshua, the son of Nun,
the sun stood still. In the days of Hezekiah, through the agency of Isaiah, it went back.
At the Passion of the Christ, contrary to the law of the pagan philosophers, it was
altogether eclipsed. The credentials of the prophets and Apostles and of Christ himself
are great and amazing miracles, and the prophecies; while Plato and Aristotle, Ptolemy and
the others, challenge our belief on the ground of their knowledge of eclipses of the sun
and moon derived from calculations ---- if even thus they speak what is true. Text. The
occurrence of these marvels prepared the men of those days to place belief in the
prophecies also, while the fulfilments of the prophecies prepare ourselves to believe in
the signs and in all things of which the prophets spake, as was the case also in the time
of the Lord Christ, who in those days when he had come down from the Mount of Olives, and
beheld Jerusalem and wept over it as it lay opposite, said: How often would I have
gathered thy children even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing, and ye would
not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. Then when he had passed sentence on the
temple, his disciples who were still under the influence of Judaic sentiment were sorrow-
struck; and scripture afterwards says: When descending from the Mount they showed him the
building of the temple, in order no doubt that they might move him to pity, and that he
might recall what he had said with regard to the temple, for they knew and believed that
everything spoken by him would come to pass. But he knowing [what would be] said to them:
Do you see all these things? Verily, I say unto you, there shall not be left here one
stone, upon another that shall not be thrown down. Then were they possessed with fear, and
remained silent, and said nothing further on this matter.

Accordingly thereafter came the Romans, and levelled with the ground the temple and the
city, and made it an utter desolation, executing as if by compact what had been commanded
by the Lord. And up to this day we see with our very eyes that lo! for more than five
hundred years it has lain so desolate that it cannot be renovated. Moreover he said to his
disciples: Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. And again: The gates of hell shall
not prevail against the church; and again he declares that all the world shall be filled
with his doctrine, even as the three measures of meal, in which the woman hid the leaven,
were all leavened throughout and made one by that leaven. And again: The Gospel shall be
preached throughout the whole world: and along with it shall the woman too be told of who
did him a kindness----and we see that all these predictions have been fulfilled. For the
Christians who were at one time persecuted by the Greeks and Jews have conquered, and
drawn their persecutors over to their own side. In like manner we see that the Church has
never been destroyed, but that its adherents have been greatly multiplied, and that
similarly the whole earth has been filled with the doctrine of the Lord Christ, and is
still being filled, and that the gospel is preached throughout all the world.

This I avouch to be the veritable fact, from what I have seen and heard in the many places
which I have visited. Even in Taprobanê, an island in Further India, where the Indian sea
is, there is a Church of Christians, with clergy and a body of believers, but I know not
whether there be any Christians in the parts beyond it. In the country called Malê, where
the pepper grows, there is also a church, and at another place called Calliana there is
moreover a bishop, who is appointed from Persia. In the island, again, called the Island
of Dioscoridês, which is situated in the same Indian sea, and where the inhabitants speak
Greek, having been originally colonists sent thither by the Ptolemies who succeeded
Alexander the Macedonian, there are clergy who receive their ordination in Persia, and are
sent on to the island, and there is also a multitude of Christians. I sailed along the
coast of this island, but did not land upon it. I met, however, with some of its Greek-
speaking people who had come over into Ethiopia. And so likewise among the Bactrians and
Huns and Persians, and the rest of the Indians, Persarmenians, and Medes and Elamites, and
throughout the whole land of Persia there is no limit to the number of churches with
bishops and very large communities of Christian people, as well as many martyrs, and monks
also living as hermits. So too in Ethiopia and Axôm, and in all the country about it;
among the people of Happy Arabia----who are now called Homerites----through all Arabia and
Palestine, Phoenicia, and all Syria and Antioch as far as Mesopotamia;

among the Nubians and the Garamantes, in Egypt, Libya, Pentapolis, Africa and Mauretania,
as far as southern Gadeira,there are everywhere churches of the Christians, and bishops,
martyrs, monks and recluses, where the Gospel of Christ is proclaimed. So likewise again
in Cilicia, Asia, Cappadocia, Lazica and Pontus, and in the northern countries occupied by
the Scythians, Hyrcanians, Heruli,Bulgarians, Greeks and Illyrians, Dalmatians, Goths,
Spaniards, Romans, Franks, and other nations, as far as Gadeira on the ocean towards the
northern parts, there are believers and preachers of the Gospel confessing the
resurrection from the dead; and so we see the prophecies being fulfilled over the whole
world. Among the famous philosophers who flourished among the pagans, which of them,
Socrates, or Pythagoras, or Plato, or Aristotle, or any other, was held worthy to foretell
or announce any thing of such advantage to the world as the resurrection of the dead, and
the free gift to men of the Kingdom of Heaven, which cannot be shaken? For they can
announce nothing except only that, by means of calculations and secular learning, they
declare when eclipses of the sun and the moon will occur, whereby, even if they predict
them truly----as in fact they do----no benefit will accrue to the world, but rather the
evil of pride; while should they say nothing about them they will do no manner of harm.
For what boy who learns arithmetic will be found ignorant of this knowledge? or what old
woman or country-bred yokel has not an acquaintance with some of the works and ways of
nature? or what nation or what barbarian knows not these things----astronomy I mean, and
geometry and the various practical arts, medicine, carpentry, stone-cutting, weaving,
smithwork, agriculture, and others of which the Greeks have no conception? or what nation
between east and west, between north and south, that believes in Christ, does not by
various methodical calculations fix for many years beforehand when the Easter festivals
are to be celebrated? In fact, they correctly determine the dates in advance, since they
all with one consent, from one end of the earth to the other, on one and the same day,
celebrate Easter according to their different calculations and methods of computing the
time.

For since God has endowed man with wisdom and reason he has rendered him capable of
finding out whatever mind can attain to, and whatever he can acquire from education; for
such is the nature of that rational animal----man. For when the men of early times had
invented an art, they made many mistakes; but afterwards either they or their successors
rectified these mistakes under the teaching of experience, time and practice. In like
manner those who received the art from them firmly retained what had been transmitted to
them. On the other hand the divine teachings, be they doctrines or be they arts, are not
in this manner brought to perfection by human intelligence; but being at first given by
God, one receives them with full assurance, even as did those whom God inspired with
wisdom for the preparation of the Tabernacle in the time of Moses, namely, Beseleêl
himself the son of Urias, the son of Ôr, of the tribe of Judah, and Eliab, the son of
Achisamach of the tribe of Dan, and all to whom he gave understanding, and filled with the
Spirit of God and knowledge to devise all manner of workmanship, both of carpentry and of
working in gold and silver and brass----and blue and purple and scarlet thread, and fine
twined linen----and stonework and woodwork, according to all the works which the Lord
commanded them to make for the Tabernacle of testimony, both the Ark of the Covenant and
the Mercy-seat over it, and the furniture of the Tabernacle, its altar and its table and
all its vessels, and the laver and its base, and the official robes of Aaron and his sons
when ministering as priests before God, and the anointing oil and the sacred incense
composed of sweet aromatics, according to all things which God commanded him to make. And
beyond question you will find that up to this very day the most of these arts are most
zealously cultivated among the Jews.

Note. When the first man had sinned and had come to a sense of his transgression, and was
fittingly convicted thereof by God and filled with confusion and shame, he began to
consider next by what contrivance he could cover his nakedness, and being stimulated by
God to exert his faculty of reason, he invented the art of sewing, and with the thorns of
shrubs stitched together for himself leaves of the fig tree. And being at the same time
instructed by God as to the preparation of tunics, he learned to make them from the bark
of trees. It is attested by scripture that Cain discovered the art or science of
agriculture, and Abel that of the keeping of sheep. Then again, when Cain after the murder
of his brother had been cast out by God, as it is written: Cain went out from the presence
of God and dwelt in the land of Naïn. as much as to say, that Cain was cast out by God and
banished from his home to a wretched country, for they thought that Paradise was God's
dwelling-place, as he was wont to go forth therefrom and ofttimes showed himself there.

The sons therefore of Sêth who lived near Paradise, and were so to speak under God's care,
and ofttimes conversed with him, were always called the sons of God, while the sons of
Cain who were settled somewhere far away from Paradise, and were not constantly under the
care of God, but lived in a wild and wretched country, and were under their own care
rather than God's, were called the sons of men. Since Cain therefore and his offspring
lived in fear, they invented other arts for their security, as, for instance, carpentry,
stone-cutting, metallurgy and music. Carpentry----for making tents and doors and roofs for
the protection of themselves and their cattle; masonry----for building houses and cities
by way of providing for their safety and defence; metallurgy----for the tilling of the
soil, and breaking it up with the ploughshare, and reaping the crops with hooks, and for
making flutes and many other articles; lastly----music to keep them awake by night with
the flute and the lyre and the singing of songs, and to protect themselves and their
cattle from the attacks of wild beasts. So then they lived on in fear, and in exile they
devised all kinds of expedients to ensure their safety, for scripture thus speaks of them,
saying of Cain: And he built a city and named it Enoch after the name of his son; then of
Thobel (Tubal), the son of Lamech by Ada, it says: He was the father of such as dwell in
the tents of shepherds;

and of Jubal, the brother of Thobel, it says: It was he who taught the use of the psaltery
and harp. Scripture speaks also of metallurgy when it says concerning Thobel whom Sella
(Zillah) bare: He was the forger of cutting instruments of brass and iron. God having thus
from the first given man ingenuity, fitted him to invent arts, and while the first men at
the outset invented them, their successors, starting from where they left off, by dint of
assiduous practice, brought them to greater perfection. It will be well therefore if we
here take up an argument against those sophists who say that the world is eternal and
without beginning, and remind them how far they are in error, understanding neither from
the things themselves ----namely, from the arts, that it is not eternal and without
beginning, but of recent production. For if the arts were discovered gradually, and all
human society subsists through art and rational science, how is it possible for the world
to subsist without art and rational science? For without the art of stone-cutting, how can
houses, fortifications and cities be reared for the protection of men and civic
communities? In like manner, without the art of weaving, whence could men obtain coverings
sufficient to protect them from cold and from frost. In like manner, were there not an art
of working in metals, how would it be possible for men to till the soil, and break up the
earth with ploughs, or reap the crops with sickles, in order to provide themselves with
food? If again there was no art of medicine, how could the sufferings to which men are
liable be cured and their illnesses be mitigated?

From all this it is quite manifest that the world is not eternal, but a recent production,
just like the inventions and the arts and the sciences of men. For where will they find
among astronomers one equal to or greater than Ptolemy; or among philosophers, than Plato
and Aristotle; or what greater geometricians and arithmeticians will they find than Euclid
and Archimedes, who alone discovered the quadrature of the circle?But if these learned men
were more exact than their predecessors, is it not most manifest that the arts were
gradually discovered through the ingenuity which was bestowed by God upon men? Wherefore
also the scripture, referring everything to God, exclaims: All wisdom is from God. They
are therefore either liars or consummate fools in supposing the world to be eternal, when
they are convicted of being in error by actual facts. But sacred scripture speaks more
truly when it says: In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. I should like
again to put to those wise men this question: since the hammer, the anvil and the forceps
precede the entire art of metallurgy, who was it prepared these instruments? Let them tell
us and not begrudge us a reply.

They, however, not having the sense to take refuge in God, the maker of the universe, who
endowed the race of mankind with wisdom, and gave them the faculty of invention, but
wishing after the ways of their own heart to construct and to demolish theories, on
finding themselves beset with difficulties and the most formidable perplexities of
reasoning, presume next to declare that the world is eternal and had no beginning, for
such assertions show to what straits they are reduced. How hard, for instance, are they
pressed both with respect to man and bird, since the one is produced from seed and the
others from eggs; and if this opinion of theirs is true, the question arises did men and
birds ----the products respectively of seed and of eggs----exist at the same time with
God, or did they not? And if they did exist, the seed and the eggs will of necessity be
found existing before God, and before men and birds; but if they did not exist they must
submit to divine scripture, when it informs us through Moses: God said, Let us make man in
our image, and through the Apostle at Athens on the Areopagus [tells us what we read in
Acts xvii, 24-28].

So then, as has already been said, the sons of Seth, those namely who are called the sons
of God, went in against the will of God but in obedience to their own self-will, to the
daughters of men ----that is, to the women of the race of Cain----and joined themselves to
them in marriage. Wherefore God, taking occasion from this, made a new dispensation and
destroyed those who had sinned by means of the Deluge, but him that was righteous he
preserved by the Ark, and transferred to this earth of ours, which was a better one and
almost equal to Paradise. Text. But to continue,----the divine doctrines, the structure of
the world, and the prophecies cannot possibly be explained unless one learn them from
divine revelation, or receive them from men divinely inspired, the Prophets themselves,
and the Apostles, and all divinely inspired scripture; for it is impossible to acquire
such learning from conjectures or arrogant assumptions or human wisdom. But that the
structure of the world coincides with the doctrine of the Christians, the whole of divine
scripture, as has been said, proclaims, namely, Moses and the Prophets, the Lord Christ
and the Apostles, as we have repeatedly explained. For God divided the one place which
extends from the earth to the higher heaven by interposing in the middle the second
heaven, and thus made two places; and to this mortal and mutable state he assigned the
lower place, and to the immortal and immutable state the higher, which is called also the
Kingdom of Heaven, and about which the Lord Christ speaks thus in the Gospel of Matthew:
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the
angels of God in heaven; and again: He shall to those on the right hand say----Come, ye
blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the found-ation of the
world, as if he should say prepared from that time; [see also] John xii, 32; Matt, xiv,
40; viii, 11, 12; Heb. iv, 11; Philipp iii, 20; Rom. viii, 17; Ephes. ii, 6; Philipp. iii,
14; Galat. iv, 26; Heb. iii, I; Ephes. ii, 19; Heb. xi, 9, 10; Ibid, v, 16; Ibid, xii,
22-24; Ibid, xiii, 14; Luke xxiv, 51; Acts i, 10, 11; Heb. ix, 24; Ibid. vii, 26; Ibid,
vi, 18-20; Ibid, x, 19, 23.

Can any one then be so infatuated, so lost in misery as to disbelieve such promises and
such true prophecies, which both from the two places created in the beginning and made
ready so to speak by God from the foundation of the world, and from such preparations are
shown to be true and in harmony with the doctrine of the Christians? And this with regard
both to the principles and the ends, namely, that when God had set apart the present
mortal and mutable state of existence for the exercise of the reasoning faculty, and had
led it through its trial, he at last releases the world from its toil and discipline, and
reveals the future state, graciously bestowing everlasting benefits, exemption from penury
and the sway of the passions, immortality, incorruption, immutability, perfect knowledge,
righteousness, sanctification, redemption and blessedness for evermore, Amen! For the
present state will not remain for ever, as the pagans are foolish enough to assert,
supposing that God delights in evil, or rather that he is deficient in power or gives
grudgingly, so that he is unable to grant the world release from its struggles and from
corruption; yea, that day after day he adds destruction and sufferings, and death and
trials, and is not strong enough to give the prizes of contests, or to award crowns, or to
bring the toils with which men are exercised to an end.

For as they suppose him to be merely the artificer who shapes the material which he has at
his command, so even now they suppose that he is not able to make it better, disbelieving
the resurrection of the body as a thing impossible, and disbelieving also the whole of
divine scripture. Wherefore those miserable men admit the spherical form of the heaven to
be true, disbelieving, yea, rather execrating, the whole of divine scripture, and turning
away from the truth as from old wives' fables. Far however be it from us to boast except
in the whole of divine scripture, through which the outside world is crucified to us and
we to the outside world. Be it ours, O most pious Father Pamphilus, along with a good
life, to embrace the divine oracles, and to repudiate those of our adversaries, according
to the will of Him that is mighty, and by the help of Christ the saviour of us all, with
whom to the Father, together with his holy and adorable Spirit, be glory now and evermore,
world without end.----Amen!

BOOK IV

BOOK IV. A summary recapitulation and description of the figures of the world; also the
refutation of the sphere. T is written: In the beginning God made the heaven and the
earth.1 We therefore first depict along with the earth, the heaven which is vaulted and
which has its extremities bound together with the extremities of the earth. To the best of
our ability we have endeavoured to delineate it on its western side and its eastern; for
these two sides are walls, extending from below to the vault above. There is also the
firmament which, in the middle, is bound together with the first heaven, and which, on its
upper side, has the waters according to divine scripture itself. The position and figure
are such as here sketched.2 To the extremities on the four sides of the earth the heaven
is fastened at its own four extremities, making the figure of a cube, that is to say, a
quadrangular figure, while up above it curves round in the form of an oblong vault and
becomes as it were a vast canopy. And in the middle the firmament is made fast to it, and
thus two places are formed. From the earth to the firmament is the first place, this
world, namely, in which are the angels and men and all the present state of existence.

From the firmament again to the vault above is the second place----the Kingdom of Heaven,
into which Christ, first of all, entered, after his ascension, having prepared for us a
new and living way. On the western side and the eastern the outline presented is short,3
as in the case of an oblong4 vault, but on its north and south sides it shows its length.
Its figure is therefore something such as this.5 Note. This is the first heaven, shaped
like a vaulted chamber, which was created on the first day along with the earth, and of it
Isaiah speaks thus: He that hath established the heaven as a vaulted chamber.5 But the
heaven, which is bound to the first at the middle, is that which was created on the second
day, to which Isaiah refers when he says: And having stretched it out as a tent to dwell
in.6 David also says concerning it: Stretching out the heaven as a curtain,7 and
indicating it still more clearly he says: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the
waters.6 Now, when Scripture speaks of the extremities of heaven and earth, this cannot be
understood as applicable to a sphere. Isaiah again says: Thus saith the Lord, he that made
the heaven and pitched it;8 and the Apostle in like manner says: Of the true Tabernacle
which the Lord pitched and not man.9 They both speak of the heaven as standing on and
fixed on the earth, and not as revolving round it.

Nay more, the extremities of the heaven are bound together with the extremities of the
earth, and on both sides, and concerning this it is written in Job: And he inclined heaven
to earth, and the earth is poured out as dust, and I have fastened it as a square block to
a stone.10 And with regard to the earth it is again written in Job: He that hangeth the
earth upon nothing;11 meaning, that it had nothing underneath it. And David in harmony
with this, when he could discover nothing on which it was founded, says: He that hath
founded the earth upon its own stability,12 as if he said, it hath been founded by thee
upon itself, and not upon anything else. To the best of our ability we have endeavoured to
depict heaven having the firmament within it and the mountain peaks in the middle of the
earth which we now inhabit, and the ocean surrounding it, and the four navigable gulfs
which run into it----the Roman, the Arabian, the Persian and the Caspian or Hyrcanian. The
ocean again we have depicted as surrounded by the land on its farther side, where also
Paradise lies in the east. Then again we depict the breadth of the earth and of the ocean,
and of the gulfs, and of the earth beyond, and Paradise, leaving out for the present the
peaks, in order that a comprehensive view may be more readily gained by those who examine
the delineation.

Now the figure of the whole earth, with respect to this surface and to the breadth, is
such as has been indicated. With that earth which is situated beyond the ocean, the first
heaven, which is like a vaulted chamber, is bound together at its extremities on all
sides, and at its west and at its east side a wall is found rising straight upward, but at
the south and at the north side there is a wall equal at the base until it takes what has
evidently the form of a vaulted chamber, while at the top it rolls itself into a very
lofty arch, like the spacious roof over a bath, with an arena-like floor below,13 so that
the wall itself forms a vaulted roof. Then, as we have just stated over and over again,
the firmament which is spread out in the middle is at a certain height bound together with
the heaven itself in order that two places may be formed----an upper place and a lower.14
Now one of these places, namely, the lower, comprising the earth and the water and the
other elements and the heavenly bodies, is this world which extends from the earth to the
firmament, having the earth for its floor, the walls reaching down from the first heaven
for its sides, and the firmament for its roof.

The other place again which extends from the firmament to the vault of the first heaven
is, to wit, the Kingdom of Heaven into which the Lord Christ, after he had risen from the
dead, ascended, and into which the righteous shall also afterwards ascend, and has for its
floor the firmament or second heaven, and the first heaven itself for its walls and its
vaulted roof. We further again depict the altitude and figure of this earth which we men
dwell in, and which is encircled by the ocean, and contains the four navigable gulfs. Its
eastern and its southern parts are low and depressed, while its northern and western are
of very great elevation, but slope so gradually that the inequality is not perceived. The
earth has therefore in its northern and western parts an elevation equivalent to its
breadth. We therefore thus depict its figure according to the best of our ability.15 Note.
The earth taken as a whole is quadrangular according to the delineation already given. We
have also indicated the altitude of its most central part and the heights in its northern
and western parts. Hence we have delineated it as placed in the centre surrounded by the
ocean and also by the earth on the opposite side of the ocean, with the heavenly bodies
circling round it, so that the conical mountain16 can project a shadow according even to
the pagans, while in accordance with this figure eclipses can occur, as well as the
vicissitudes of night and day.

Divine scripture confirms the truth of this, saying: The sun riseth and the sun goeth
down, and draweth to his own place. On his rising he goeth then to the south and wheeleth
his circles, and turneth round the air upon his circles;17 meaning that in circling
through the air he comes back again to his own place. Text. In this view the inhabited
parts of the earth are thus represented. In accordance therewith the sun rising in the
east, and running through the south in the course of his revolutions, always, when giving
light to the summit of the earth, or even to the earth itself, makes night to the ocean
and the earth beyond it. Then again, when he is in the west and the north beyond the
summit of the earth, he leaves us here in darkness, until in making his circuit he again
appears in the east where the earth is depressed, and mounting the sky in the south again
illumines all this side. The eclipses of the moon therefore, even according to this
delineation, if at any rate what the pagans say is true, can occur when either the sun or
the moon is hidden by the summit of the earth;

for they say that a solar eclipse is not produced by the shadow of the earth, but because
in a perpendicular line the moon is directly below the sun, so that she is illuminated on
that side which the sun sees, but not on that which he does not see----yea, rather, she
prevents him from being visible by running under him, at the occurrence at all events of
the lunar new month, when the moon is not enlightened on that side which is visible to us.
The opinion therefore which we hold is in no wise adverse to such views, except only with
respect to the motion and revolution of the heaven----a theory subversive alike of all
divine scripture both of the Old and the New Testament, and of Christian doctrine. But to
enquire further into these matters we have no leisure; for such knowledge is unprofitable
to us who have access to a more profitable knowledge, which imparts to our soul a good and
beneficent hope which God hath promised he will give to those who believe in him, while
those who act unjustly he has doomed to perdition.

But with God's help we shall delineate the figure of the earth on the reverse side in its
northern portion, that we may be able again in turn to delineate the circuit of the
heavenly bodies----and it is thus.18 When therefore the setting sun runs from here by the
ministration of the invisible powers, according to the views of divine scripture, he makes
night in the other part----that namely which is inhabited; but when he runs hither he
makes darkness there. But we shall now concisely, according to our ability, delineate the
heaven and the earth, and we do so thus:----19 Note 1. This part of the earth situated
beyond the north, where the luminaries pursue their course from the west through the north
towards the east is uninhabited, and this stands upright like a wall, and when the sun
comes to it, he leaves in darkness the other part which is inhabited. The earth therefore
is found to have in this part, from the ocean beneath up to its summit, an altitude
according with the measure of the breadth of its inhabited parts. Hence as it intercepts
midway the light of the heavenly bodies, the nights and all the rest follow. Note 2. It is
necessary for those who wish to be considered Christians to enquire into which of these
eight or nine heavens Christ has ascended, and into which they themselves hope to ascend,
and what is the use of the other seven or eight heavens.

For having already delineated the world in accordance with the scriptural view, we assert
that two places were created, one adapted to the present state of existence, and the other
to that which is to come, since we have such a hope, one that is better than the life
here. And you, if as Christians you hold such a hope, will of necessity be asked what is
the use of the seven or eight other heavens. For the pagans who hold the theory of the
sphere, if consistent with themselves, neither entertain such a hope, nor allow that there
are waters above the heaven, nor are found to acknowledge that the heavenly bodies and the
world will come to an end; but expect that the world in the state of corruption will
continue for ever. If the sphere which has motion forces the others to revolve along with
it from east to west, whence is produced the motion, in the contrary direction, of the
seven planets? Is it the spheres that have the contrary motion, or the stars themselves?
If the spheres, how can they at one and the same time move both westward and eastward? And
if the stars, how do the planets cut their way through the heavenly bodies? Is it not
evident that a heavenly body cannot be cut asunder? For unless it were corruptible, it
could not be cut through. How then do ye make such suppositions?

Since beyond this sphere neither place, nor body, nor element nor any of their parts
anywhere exists, how do ye say it is moved? Tell us, begrudge us not an answer. For,
except in some place or in space at large, it cannot possibly be moved. Show us therefore
by what instrument----naming any one you please-----it can be moved without place or body,
or element or space. And do not, because you are adepts in the science of nature, jauntily
treat us to nothing but empty phrases. But since some insist that the sphere rotates like
a lathe by the shaft,20 or like a waggon or a machine by the axle, let these show on what
support the shaft and the axle rest, and then again on what this support rests, and so on
to infinity. How then do you reason with respect to the natural world? and how does an
axis not also pass through the earth, which is in the middle, and turn it round? And again
tell me, ye who follow these men and yet wish to be Christians, into what place of the
eight spheres, or of the ninth which is called by some the starless, hath Christ entered,
or shall we ourselves enter? Or how can waters be contained on a rotating sphere? or how
when the stars fall at the final consummation can such spheres as yours be preserved? or
what can be the use of them? Is it not evident that you argue against the hope held out by
the Christian doctrine?

For these views cannot be consistently held except by Pagans, who have no hope of another
and better state, and who consequently suppose that the world is eternal, in order that
the rich abundance of the spheres in which the planets will accomplish their courses may
be preserved for them----while in another sphere are the fixed stars----and their error
has some show of reason in its favour. But ye advance arguments altogether incredible, and
will have it that there is a multitude of spheres, and that there is no final consummation
of the world since ye are unable to tell what is the necessity of these things. And in
like manner ye will have it that the waters above the spheres rotate---- a most ridiculous
idea and altogether idiotic, and ye advance arguments which are self-contradictory and
opposed to the nature of things. And though ye allow that the universe was created in six
days, yet ye find no mention of the making of a third heaven, and far less of the eight or
nine which ye venture to affirm. How great is your knowledge! how great your wisdom! how
great your intelligence! how great your inconsistency! No man can serve two masters,21 as
has well been said by the Lord, but if one will serve God, let him serve him, or if
Mammon, then Mammon. And again he says, through Paul: Ye cannot be partakers of the table
of the Lord, and of the table of devils.22 And again: Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers;

for what fellowship hath righteousness with lawlessness, and what communion hath light
with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that
believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?23 And how
again was it possible for the earth, which according to you is placed in the very middle
of the universe, to have been submerged by the deluge in the time of Noah? or how can it
be believed that on the first and the second day it was covered by the waters, and on the
third, when the waters were gathered together, that it made its appearance, as is recorded
in Genesis? But with even greater wisdom ye suppose that there are men walking all the
earth over with their feet opposite the feet of other men. We therefore depict according
to your view the earth and the Antipodes,24 and let each one of you who has sound vision
and the power of reasoning justly turn the earth round whatever way he pleases, and let
him say whether the Antipodes can be all standing upright in the same sense of the
expression. But this they will not show even should they speak unrestrained by shame. Such
then is our reply to your fictitious and false theories and to the conclusions of your
reasonings which are capricious, self-contradictory, inconsistent, doomed to be utterly
confounded, and to be whirled round and round even more than that unstable and revolving
mythical sphere of yours.

Wherefore, O Christ-loving Father, since I have thus brought to an end the fourth book
with a delineation of the Antipodes, I shall begin the fifth book, as I promised at thy
pious desire, and it will contain a description of the Tabernacle prepared by Moses in the
wilderness, if God will, who is the Saviour of us all.


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY continued

BOOK V

In which is contained a description of the Tabernacle, and in which the harmony is
exhibited of the Prophets and Apostles. F the Tabernacle which was prepared by Moses in
the wilderness, it is now time to give a description, as we have received it from that
most divine man and teacher. And having made divine scripture our 1 starting point and
accepted its testimonies, we begin with the exodus from Egypt, when the first-born of the
Egyptians died, suffering the last of the plagues brought upon them through Moses----when
also the Israelites, after having sacrificed, ate the Passover standing, having their
loins girt, and holding staffs in their hands, ready prepared for their departure, on the
first day of the first month at evening on the fourteenth day of the moon, which things
were a shadow and type of the things that would be under the Lord Christ, namely, the
deliverance from tyrannical bondage, the renovation of the world, accomplished by the
resurrection from the dead, and the everlasting rest into which men shall enter. For at
that very season of the year the world appears to have been created by God, and to have
had its beginning. Likewise also in the time of Noah after the Deluge, there was again at
that season a beginning of the world. It was the season again when there took place the
deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt;

and it was then also that there occurred the conception by the Virgin of the Lord Christ
according to the flesh----of him who is the second Adam, the Chief Captain of the second
state. In it again also occurred the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to the flesh, and it is said further that the general resurrection also shall
then take place. The pagans moreover bear witness to the season, thieves that they are,
deeming it to be an opinion of their own, and regarding Aries as the beginning of the
Zodiac circle. In this sign there is, according to divine scripture, the first month of
the year, and herein is a clear proof of their being plagiarists, especially as they
assign a beginning to a circle----an idea scouted even by themselves as ridiculous. In
fact they have nothing that is good but what they have purloined from divine scripture;
but being puffed up with pride, and wishing to set themselves up as quite superior
persons, they use as their own what is the property of other people. But that the Law
serves the purpose of foreshadowing some things that are future the Apostle testifies,
exclaiming:

For the Law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things
----speaking of a shadow as when one draws a rough sketch of a man without taking a full
likeness of him, that is without representing his features and all his different members,
so that it can be known what sort of a man he is, whether old or young, whether comely or
uncomely, but merely sketches an outline of his bodily figure; so by what he calls an
image he means the characteristic features, that is, the mysteries celebrated by us,
namely the regeneration through baptism, and participation in the mysteries.3 But what he
calls the real things themselves are the resurrection from the dead, the transformation of
our bodies, the change from corruption to incorruption, the immutability of the soul
instead of its mutability, perfect knowledge for that which is in part, an habitation, a
rest, and an entrance into heaven, instead of earthly things heavenly, and instead of
temporal things eternal. And all these boons have been secured for the human race through
our Lord Jesus Christ. He therefore calls the Law the shadow of these things while the
image and its characteristics are the mysteries celebrated by the Christians, as for
instance, the lamb offered in sacrifice----a type of the Passion of Christ, in accordance
with what the Apostle Paul says: For Christ our Passover was sacrificed;4 and John the
Baptist thus speaks:

Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.5 Then after this, for the
Israelites of that time there was their deliverance from the destroying angel and from the
bondage to Pharaoh; for us, our deliverance from the devil and from our bondage to the
very burdensome law. Then for them, their passage through the sea and their sojourning in
the wilderness, and the giving of the law and the setting up of the Tabernacle; for us,
our passage through baptism and our sojourning in the Church, and the gift of the Holy
Spirit. For them, a copious supply of water from the rock to sustain their life; for us,
the life-giving mysteries; for them, the land of promise as a place of rest; for us,
heaven not made with hands as our place of rest; for them, temporal life; for us, life
eternal and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption and blessedness. The former
things therefore serve the purpose of a rough sketch, but those that are ours are the
images and characteristic features of the things themselves. And we are not yet within the
things themselves, but it shall come to pass that we shall rise from the dead; for no one,
save only the Lord Christ in the flesh, has been within the things, having been the first
of all to rise from the dead.

When the Egyptians were accordingly hastening the departure of the Israelites from Egypt,
these carried away on their shoulders the flour itself, which with their hands they had
kneaded into cakes without any leaven, and without the dough being baked. So when they had
taken their departure and were drawing nigh to the Red Sea, the Egyptian Pharaoh who had
repented and collected an army, pursued after them and overtook them near the sea opposite
the encampment in the midst of Migdol and right opposite Beelsephon. Then evening at
length coming on, the pillar of cloud or of fire, which always went before them and guided
them on their way, that night came behind them and prevented the Egyptians from attacking
the Israelites. Then afterwards when the day was about to dawn, and when the Israelites
cried to God, God commanded Moses to smite the sea with his rod and to divide it. Moses,
having therefore done as he was commanded, smote the water and divided it, so that it
stood up as a wall on this side and on that side, and the Israelites passed through. But
when the Egyptians with their chariots were in the midst of the sea pursuing the
Israelites, the waters, driven by the anger of God, were turned back upon them and they
were all overwhelmed in the sea and perished.

Now that very place is in Clysma,6 as they call it, on the right hand as you go to the
mountain, where also the tracks of the wheels of their chariots are visible, and can be
traced for a considerable distance as far as the sea, and are preserved even to the
present day, as a sign to unbelievers and not to believers. Note. Regarding the conception
of the Lord. When Zacharias on the tenth day of the seventh month had gone into the
temple, according to the tradition of the law, and it had been announced to him that John
would be born to him by Elisabeth, word also came to the Virgin in Elisabeth's sixth month
that her own first month had begun. For as Zacharias had received word on the tenth day of
the month, and Elisabeth had conceived in that very month, it is evident that six months
of the year had elapsed, and that six months were still left with the exception of those
ten days, with two or three or seven others added, until Zacharias returned to his house,
so that there would remain 161 or 167 or 163 days. The beginning therefore of the
conception of the Lord, that is, the beginning of the first month, was Elisabeth's sixth
month according to what is handed down in the Gospels. For God has always observed this
order and continues to observe it.

This we can know for certain, since we all celebrate the Nativity of Christ when the ninth
month has been completed, reckoned from the beginning of the first month, that is Choiac
28. But the Christians of Jerusalem, as if on the authority of the blessed Luke, who says
that Christ was baptised when he began to be thirty years of age,7 celebrate his nativity
on Epiphany.8 And both the evangelist and they of Jerusalem say what is true, but their
reckoning is not accurate, for on the day of his nativity fell also his baptism, as both
Luke and the Christians of Jerusalem say. But from ancient times the Church, lest by
observing the two festivals together one of them should be forgotten, ordained that twelve
days, after the number of the Apostles, should be interposed, and that the Feast of
Epiphany should then be celebrated; just as it also ordained that the fast of forty days,
which the Lord endured before he entered on his contest with the devil, should be
concluded by the resurrection of the Lord, in order that we also, taking example, should
by fighting to the utmost of our power and imitating him, become recipients of the Passion
and the Resurrection of the Lord, although the fasting did not take place on the self-same
days. In like manner the Church therefore ordained that the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus
should be observed twelve days subsequent to his nativity.

But the Christians of Jerusalem alone, guided by probable conjecture but inaccurate
calculation, celebrate his birth at Epiphany. But on his birthday they celebrate the
memory of David and the Apostle James----not because they both died on that very day, but
all, as I think, celebrate their memory lest they should remain excluded from the feast
dedicated to all who were kinsmen of Christ according to the flesh, while glorifying God
in all things. Amen! The passage of the Israelites into the Desert after their departure
from Egypt. When the Israelites passed over to the other side to the place called Phœnicôn
9 they began to traverse the desert of Sur (Shur), God expanding a cloud over them by day
to protect them from the scorching heat of the sun, and guiding them in it, while by night
he appeared in a pillar of fire and led them on their way through all the wilderness, as
it is written: He spread a cloud for a covering: and fire to give light in the night.10
And all this can be thus depicted.11 Then again setting out from Merrha (Marah) they came
to Elim which we now call Raithu, where there were twelve springs of water which exist to
the present day.12 But at that time the number of palm-trees was far greater than it is
now.

Up to this point they had the sea on their right hand, and on their left the wilderness,
but thenceforth they advanced into the interior towards the mountain, leaving the sea
behind them as they marched forward into the wilderness. When they were half way between
Elim and the Mount Sinai, then the manna descended upon them, and there for the first time
they observed the Sabbath, according to the commands which God gave to Moses at Marah, but
not in writing. This also you can see thus depicted.13 When they had advanced to Elim from
Marah, and had again journeyed into the wilderness in that place half way between Elim and
Mount Sinai, the quails descended upon them at evening, and the manna in the morning.
There again they began to keep the Sabbath, the manna not corrupting from the sixth day
till the Sabbath, while on the other days it could not be kept, but it stank and was
corrupted, and they were thereby taught to observe the Sabbath; for some wished to gather
it even on the Sabbath but did not find it, according to what is recorded. Then again they
pitched in Raphidin (Rephidim), in what is now called Pharan (Paran). And when they
thirsted, Moses according to the commandment of the Lord went with the elders (and his rod
was in his hand) to Mount Horeb, which is in Sin near Pharan, being only about six miles
off.

And when he had there struck the rock, abundance of water gushed out, and the people
drank, as David in the Psalms exclaims: He clave the rock in the wilderness and gave them
drink as out of the great depths;14 and again: He opened the rock and the waters gushed
out; they ran in the dry places like rivers;14 and again: He brought water out of the
rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.15 But the Apostle says: For they drank of
that spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ;16 by which he meant
that, just as the flood of water from the rock which followed them gave them without stint
water to drink, so Christ supplies to us life-giving waters, through the mysteries of
which the rock was a type. And in that place again, they routed Amalek in battle, and
there also Iothôr (Jethro) met his son-in-law Moses, to whom he brought his two sons and
his wife; for Moses had sent back to him his wife and his children. This hiatus is
followed by a citation of the Ten Commandments. Text. Then when he had come down from the
Mountain he was ordered by God to make the Tabernacle, which was a representation of what
he had seen in the Mountain, namely an impress 17 of the whole world.

For see, said He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown thee in the
Mount.18 Now the blessed Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews has declared that the
first Tabernacle was a pattern of this world, for he says: For the first had also
ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary; for there was a tabernacle made; the
first wherein was the candlestick, and the table and the shew-bread, which is called the
Sanctuary.19 In calling it worldly he indicated that it was, so to speak, a pattern of the
world, wherein was also the candlestick, by this meaning the luminaries of heaven, and the
table, that is, the earth, and the shew-bread, by this meaning the fruits which it
produces annually: which, he says, is called the Sanctuary, by this meaning the first
Tabernacle. Afterwards he speaks of the second in these terms: We have such an high priest
who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of
the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man;20 and again:
But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us;21 and again:

for Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of
the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.22 In this
last passage he says that heaven is the true tabernacle, while the things which were
prepared by Moses are antitypes. He therefore calls the things of Moses things made by
hands, but the real things not made with hands. Having then been commanded to make the
Tabernacle he made it according to the pattern which had been shown to him, and also its
appurtenances according to their pattern, the Ark of testimony, and the Mercy-seat above,
and the two Cherubim stretching out their wings, and overshadowing the Mercy-seat above,
and in like manner the veil and the table and the candlestick, and the hangings of the
Tabernacle (namely the first coverings) and curtains made of goats' hair (that is stypta
23) and these again were the second coverings of the Tabernacle. In like manner also the
third coverings made of skins dyed red and sky-blue, that is, of what is called leather,
and all things cunningly worked and wonderful. We have depicted the Tabernacle thus.24
Note. We must here again observe that he (Paul) speaks of the Tabernacle which was pitched
by God, namely heaven, as the true. Moreover he calls heaven that perfect Tabernacle not
made with hands, as it was created by God. For he calls the Tabernacle which Moses
prepared made with hands.

And further in contrast with the Tabernacle prepared by Moses, he calls the other the
true, because it abides for ever, while the former is dissolved. Then again he calls the
curtains αὐλαία, and it is thus the pagans who use the Attic dialect call them, meaning by
αὐλαία a large and variegated piece of tapestry. Hyperides the orator 25 in his speech
against Patrocles speaks thus: But the nine Archons were feasting in the portico, having
fenced off that part of it from being seen, by means of an αὐλαια (or curtain). Menander
also uses the word [in the line]: Στυπτεῖον, ἐλέφαντα, μύρον, οἶνον, αὐλαίαν. The twenty
pillars are twenty boards standing upright, one cubit and a half being the breadth of each
of the boards, so that in the twenty pillars there are thirty cubits, and this is the
length of the Tabernacle. But their sockets were double within and without, being placed
on both sides of the board, and the sockets were of silver. The capitals again were simple
but of gold, and in like manner the boards and the bars and the tenons. The tenons were
two planks joined together and overlaid with gold and nailed to each board, turned to and
falling against each other, in order that they might bind together all the boards. And the
tenons and the bars, which passed through the rings called psalides, bound the whole
Tabernacle securely together;

but the fifth bar in the middle was not borne up by passing through the rings, but was
made to pass through the boards for the greater safety of the Tabernacle. The height again
of each board was eleven cubits, and the breadth of the Tabernacle was likewise eleven
cubits, and the wall opposite to this wall was similar to it. When the veil of the temple
was rent in twain at the Passion of the Lord three things were indicated by this
circumstance. First it proved the audacity of the Jews against the Lord, the divine
temple, as it were, mourning and rending its garments; next, it showed the approaching
dissolution and abolition of the Judaic ritual, by the taking away of the first
Tabernacle; and it showed thirdly that the inner Tabernacle, which was invisible and
inaccessible to all, and even to the priests, had become visible and accessible to men.
Glory for all to Christ the King for ever and ever, Amen! Text. Here is a delineation of
the Tabernacle without its pertinents. Its first coverings were woven of diverse colours,
blue and purple and fine-twined linen, and scarlet, as was also the veil 26 which
scripture calls hangings. And they were of similar length with the curtains.27 The length
of a curtain was eight and twenty cubits, and its breadth four cubits.

But he says that five curtains were coupled together one to another, and likewise other
five curtains, and that the couplings of the five with the five from the middle at the
edge of the one set were loops, and at the edge of the other, clasps. And they put the
clasps into the loops, and fastened the ten curtains together just as what are called
sigistropylai, the bags for holding slaves' bedding,28 or saddle-bags, are fastened.29 But
when they marched carrying the Tabernacle with its furniture, the five curtains were
detached from the other five and were carried separately. This they did also in the case
of the coverings of the second Tabernacle, which were made of goat's hair woven, and were
called leather screens.30 They were eleven in number, each being thirty cubits long, and
thirty also broad. Five of them were coupled together, and likewise the other six. They
were joined together by clasps and loops, and the whole of them again became one. The
length of the Tabernacle was therefore thirty cubits. For there were twenty pillars, that
is, boards; each of which was one cubit and a half in breadth, thus making altogether
thirty cubits. Then also there were the six pillars, each of them one cubit and a half in
breadth, making nine cubits. Then there were at the corners two pillars of one cubit and a
half each, and thus there were eight pillars of ten [twelve] cubits collectively, and
these were made secure with bars on all sides.

The ten curtains accordingly, when conjoined, made a breadth of forty cubits, and covered
all the length of the Tabernacle, and the wall at the back which was ten cubits in height,
altogether forty cubits. But the curtains, which together were eight-and-twenty cubits
long, covered the breadth of the Tabernacle which was ten cubits. The two side-walls were
ten cubits in height, the others twenty cubits, making together thirty cubits. There were
besides curtains of eight-and-twenty cubits, and with the exception of one cubit, these
covered the one wall, and also the other wall with the exception again of one cubit; but
the screens of leather covered the other two cubits; for they were each thirty cubits in
length, while the one leather screen which remained over was let down for the door of the
Tabernacle. We therefore delineate their appearance along with the three coverings of
skins and they are as you see.31 Note. Here Moses, after he had been privileged to witness
the terrible scenes on the Mount, is commanded by God to make the Tabernacle according to
the pattern which he had seen in the Mount, this being a pattern of the whole world.

For see, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shown thee
in the Mount.32 Since therefore it had been shown him how God made the heaven and the
earth, and how on the second day he made the firmament in the middle between them, and
thus made the one place into two places, so he, in like manner in accordance with the
pattern which he had seen, made the Tabernacle and placed the veil in the middle, and by
this division made the one Tabernacle into two, an inner and an outer. The Apostle
therefore declared the outer to be a pattern of this world, saying thus: For the first
Tabernacle had ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a
Tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein were the candlestick and the table and the shew-
bread which is called the Holy place,33 as if he said, it exhibits a pattern of the world,
in which are the earth, and the monthly fruits and the luminaries (of heaven). And then
when explaining the second Tabernacle he speaks thus: But Christ having come a high priest
of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not made with
hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of goats and
calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy place having
obtained eternal redemption;34 as if he said:

Just as the high priest once a year enters into the inner Tabernacle through the blood of
goats and calves, making propitiation for the people, so also Christ entered into the
Tabernacle not made with hands, that is, into heaven, having once for all procured eternal
redemption. And again: For Christ is not entered into the Holy place made with hands which
is an image of the true, but into heaven itself; and again he says: For the law had a
shadow of good things to come;35 for, as in an outline, by the inner Tabernacle he has
signified the ascension of Christ after the flesh, and the entrance into it of just men.
Wherefore he again admonishes us in these words: Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the Holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a
new and living way through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great high-
priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart;36 and again in declaring
that Christ is in heaven he says: Whom God set forth to be a propitiation by his blood;37
since the Propitiatory (Mercy-seat) was placed within the second Tabernacle. And many
other such references are contained in the Epistles of the Apostle, and throughout divine
scripture. But perhaps again some one will still ask:

Why did Moses ordain that the entrance to the Tabernacle should be in the east, and that
the inner Tabernacle, that is the Holy of Holies, should be in the west? Such an enquirer
will be answered very concisely, that since he was commanded by God to make the whole
Tabernacle as an image of the whole world, according to the pattern shown to him in the
Mount, he so made it, and at the same time has recorded that God, when he had created man,
introduced him into the world in the east, and so commanded him, when in course of time he
had increased and multiplied, to extend himself and to fill the earth towards the west.
For this reason the door of the Tabernacle was placed in the east. And further, since the
Tabernacle was an image of the heavenly mansions, at the end of the times it was
determined that, through the high priest and the universal King our Lord Jesus Christ, it
should be declared that the last dispensation had come. And since the human race had its
origin in the east, and in the course of its progress advanced westward as it multiplied,
for this reason the [inner] Tabernacle, as being the second and placed last, looked
towards the west. From this circumstance also the Church has a tradition that Christians
everywhere when worshipping God should turn towards the cast, as it was there that He was
first manifested to men.

For she remembered the days of old, and now renders thanks to Him who has multiplied and
extended the human race from the east unto the west. But the Jews, whose notions of the
Deity were too anthropomorphic, worshipped God towards Jerusalem, where the temple
stood.38 On this point we can gain light from the story of Daniel, who, when he had opened
the window of his chamber which looked towards Jerusalem, worshipped with his face turned
towards the temple. One who finds himself in a place lying to the east of Jerusalem turns
as a matter of course to the west when he worships; but if he be in the west, he turns to
the cast, if in the north to the south, and if in the south to the north, so that in a
manner the four are shown as facing each other when worshipping. But the practice of the
Christians is different, for in one and the same manner they offer to God, as being
uncircumscribed, one spiritual worship with faces turned eastward, since it was from the
east that in the beginning He was manifested to them, and that He multiplied them towards
the west. To Him be glory for ever, Amen! The seven lamps, tongs,39 and oil-vessels.

This candlestick which had seven lamps and stood in the south of the Tabernacle 40 was a
type of the luminaries, for, according to the wise Solomon, the luminaries rising in the
east and running to the south, shine upon the north of the earth, and again, they are
seven after the number of days in a week, seeing that all time, beginning with weeks,
completes both months and years. He ordered them, however, to be lighted on one side,
since the table was placed towards the north, in order that their light might from the
south shine on the north; for Solomon speaks thus with reference to the luminaries: The
sun ariseth and goeth towards the south and moveth round to the north; the wind whirleth
about continually and returneth again according to its circuits.41 Thus both Solomon and
Moses have expressed themselves alike concerning the luminaries, in their general
relations. Note. The table itself is a type of the earth, and the loaves signify its
fruits, and being twelve they are symbolic of the twelve months of the annual cycle. The
four corners of the table signify the four tropics of the year, one occurring every three
months; the waved border with which it is wreathed all round signifies the entire sea, or
the ocean, as it is called by the pagans; and the crown which is round it indicates the
earth that lies beyond the ocean where Paradise is. Text.

The veil again he ordered to be made of blue and purple and fine linen and scarlet,
variegated like the four elements, or perhaps in order to produce a beautiful effect. For
they were made evidently to serve not only for symbols, but evidently also for decorative
and liturgical purposes. And he placed the veil in the middle of the Tabernacle, which he
thus divided into two places. In the inner place was set the Ark of the Propitiation,
which was concealed behind the veil, and was not seen by any one. The Propitiatory was a
type of the Lord Christ according to the flesh, as saith the Apostle: Whom God set forth
to be a propitiation by his blood;43 and again the high priest was himself a type of the
Lord Christ, according to the Apostle: For, saith he, just as the high priest once a year
entereth into the inner Tabernacle, so Christ, having come a high priest of the good
things to come through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption,44 as methinks I have frequently mentioned. Here is a
delineation of the Ark of propitiation [or the Mercy-seat].45 Note. Zacharias then and
Abia were both of them priests who alternately year by year entered into the temple to
effect the remission of sins. It fell accordingly to the lot of Zacharias at the time of
the Lord's conception to be exercising the priest's office; and having entered, as Luke
records:

He saw a vision of an angel which also said unto him: Fear not, Zacharias, because thy
supplication is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son;46 as if he had said,
"Thou hast entered here to ask for the people remission of their sins, lo! I bring to you
the good tidings that your prayer will be fulfilled, for there shall be born to thee a son
by Elizabeth to be the forerunner of Him who of his grace will bestow upon the world a
complete remission of their sins. John himself verily, pointing out with his finger the
Lord Christ, exclaimed: Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,47
as if he said: Him who takes away and abolishes mortality and corruption and mutation, and
makes us immortal and incorruptible and immutable and no longer capable of sinning. Text.
The court of the Tabernacle had a length of one hundred cubits with twenty pillars, and a
breadth of fifty cubits with twelve pillars. But to form the breadth of the Tabernacle on
the east He ordered that there should be three pillars on this side, and three on that
side, and that the veils like vestures of fine linen, alone measuring fifteen cubits,
should be stretched over the three pillars. He ordered further that the four other pillars
should be made the gate of entrance into the court, and that the veils should be
variegated with four colours.

But all the veils of the court were to be made of fine linen and of that alone. They were
five cubits in height and were furnished with loops and pegs and cords, on which were
stretched the coverings of the Tabernacle and the veils of the court. And the whole
structure of the Tabernacle was at once awe-inspiring and of highest excellence. I must
therefore to the best of my ability delineate these also, representing them in the form of
what are called pavilions.48 Concerning the garments of the priest. The garments of the
priest were the following: an embroidered tunic, and an ephod and a long robe and a turban
and a girdle and a mitre and a plate, two shoulder-pieces 49 for the shoulders of the
priest joined together the one to the other and with the ends folded back from the left to
the right and from the right to the left, and covering the bareness of his neck. These
shoulder-pieces were interwoven with threads of gold and wrought and variegated with
genuine purple, and with a blue dye and fine linen and scarlet. In the shoulder-pieces
upon the two shoulders were set two stones of emerald 50 on which were engraved the names
of the twelve tribes, six names on one stone and six on the other.

But the oracular plate of judgment,51 which was woven, was a square piece of cloth of a
palm's breadth, doubly wrought with gold thread, variegated in the weaving with the four
colours already mentioned, and set with four rows of stones, three stones being in each
row, so that they were twelve in all.52 The stones were enchased in gold, and were
inserted in the oracular plate of judgment, and each of them had engraved upon it the name
of one of the twelve tribes. He ordered also two small shield-shaped clasps of gold 53 to
be placed upon the two shoulders in the front, and fringes intertwined with gold and
coloured tissues, to depend from these, and the oracular plate to hang suspended thereby
upon the breast; as well as by means of two wreathen chains of gold drawn back from the
two sides of the oracular plate underneath, and fastened together behind alternately at
the two tips of the two shoulder-pieces at the back of the priest, so that the wreathen
chains might be on the back of the priest, and serve to join diagonally the oracular plate
to the shoulder-pieces before and behind. The undergarment was all of a blue colour, from
the breast down to the ankles,54 where a border was woven with it. But the hem underneath,
being widened by a fringe of various colours, had golden bells and golden pomegranates
adorned with flowers suspended around it, and so disposed that a bell alternated with a
pomegranate.

He had also a turban of fine linen,55 and a girdle of various colours which at the top
girt the under garment around under the breast. The priest wore the mitre on his forehead,
and above the mitre a blue lace, having on its border a gold plate, on which was the seal
of Holiness to the Lord,56 namely, what is called a tetragram, and thus arrayed he entered
into the Holy place. He wore also to cover his legs linen drawers 57 from his loins to his
thighs for the sake of decency. The figure of the priest moreover can be thus
delineated.58 It is evident therefore that the different parts of the attire were types of
certain things, and that they were intended both for ornament and to impress the mind with
awe; for instance, the two stones of emerald which the priest wore on his shoulders, on
which were the names of the twelve tribes, signify the twelve tribes which were descended
from one ancestor Abraham, for this is shown by the fact that the emerald stone had been
made into two, that there might be one for each shoulder. But he ordained that on the
shoulders of the priest should be laid the burden of the twelve tribes, as it was he who
wore the stones and went into God's presence on behalf of the tribes. But the oracular
plate which was worn on the breast and was twofold, signifies the soul and the body.

It was therefore twofold, and was placed upon the heart. The twelve stones were different
from each other, because each man has his own peculiar mode of thinking, and because there
were so many different tribes. Then, as there was one [common] ancestor, he commanded one
stone, an emerald, to be set upon the shoulders, as one ancestor. But because the tribes
and the ways of thinking are different, he commanded different stones to be placed upon
the breast. And on the plate of the seal of Holiness to the Lord, which was on the
forehead, he says that there were letters engraved. These letters formed the name of God,
and what is called in Hebrew the tetragram. In fine, the other things were designed to
please the eye by reason of their beauty. But the golden bells and the pomegranates were
made to produce sound, a symbol by which the priest was instructed that he should not
presume to enter into the Holy place until he had made the sound to be heard.

For just as one who intends going into the presence of men of exalted rank, when he finds
no one to announce him, begins to knock, not daring to enter without warning, so here the
priest is enjoined to advance with the bells and set them ringing.59 And such is our
description of the Tabernacle and of the priest A cloud by day rested over the Tabernacle
and fire by night, in the sight of all Israel as often as they resumed their march----
according to what is recorded in scripture----and when merchants, chiefly Ishmaelites and
Midianites, came to them with their loads, all their wants were through divine providence
abundantly supplied, as is written in Deuteronomy ii, 7, and viii, 4; and also xxix, 5,
where it is said: He hath led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes were not
waxen old upon you, and your shoes were not worn off upon your feet; for it is not the
fact, as some marvelmongers, and especially they of the circumcision, have supposed, that
their garments and shoes did really and truly not wear away, though Moses seems to say so,
while, what he means is, that they lacked for nothing in the desert, since the merchants
continually brought them necessary supplies; for how was it possible for the children born
to them in the wilderness to wear the garments and shoes of their fathers, who were full-
grown men while they were very small?

And how could they have been ordered to make every day the twelve new loaves of shew-
bread, unless the merchants had brought them corn? For ye know that with regard to this
matter they murmured, saying: Is he able to give us bread also, or to prepare a table for
his people? 60 Or how could they have procured the fine flour for making the cakes, or the
skins for making the scarlet and blue leather curtains of the Tabernacle, unless they had
purchased them from the merchants? And because, while the merchants, through the
providence of God, supplied their wants, they still murmured both against God and against
Moses, even though they possessed the wealth of the Egyptians, he wrought wonders for
them, ungrateful and unbelieving as they were, supplying them now with abundance of water
from the rock, now with manna from heaven, now with quails from the sea for thirty days
----and further, in teaching them to curb their lusts, he chastised them with plagues, at
one time consuming a portion of their encampment with fire, at another visiting with death
four and twenty thousand of them, at another sending serpents among them, while at yet
another, under the wrath of heaven, the earth swallowed up the company of Dathan, Abiram
and Korah, with all their families and their cattle, thus teaching them not to be
distrustful and ungrateful to God, but to live soberly.

And when they had received the law from God in writing, and had learned letters for the
first time, God made use of the desert as a quiet school, and permitted them for forty
years to carve out letters on stone. Wherefore, in that wilderness of Mount Sinai, one can
see, at all their halting-places, all the stones, that have there been broken off from the
mountains, inscribed with Hebrew letters, as I myself can testify, having travelled in
these places. Certain Jews, too, who had read these inscriptions informed me of their
purport, which was as follows: The departure of so and so of such and such a tribe, in
stick and such a year, in such and suck a month, just as with ourselves there are
travellers who scribble their names in the inns where they have lodged. And the
Israelites, who had but newly acquired the art of writing, continually practised it, and
filled a great multitude of stones with writing, so that, all those places are full of
Hebrew inscriptions,61 which, as I think, have been preserved to this day for the sake of
unbelievers. Any one who so wishes can go to these places and see for himself, or at least
can enquire of others about the matter, when he will learn that it is the truth we have
spoken.

When the Hebrews therefore had been at the first instructed by God and had received a
knowledge of letters through those tables of stone, and had learned them for forty years
in the wilderness, they communicated them to their neighbours the Phoenicians, at that
time first when Cadmus was King of the Tyrians, from whom the Greeks received them, and
then in turn the other nations of the world. The Israelites encamped in the desert,
arranged in an order prescribed by God, as thus: the priests and the Levites encircled the
Tabernacle and the twelve tribes were disposed around them----three on the east side of
the Tabernacle, the tribe of Judah with Moses and Aaron being in the middle, as that tribe
had the precedence of the others. Then there were three tribes on the south, three on the
west, and three on the north side. And in this order they halted----and still observing it
resumed their march, and went forward in the manner here represented. In this manner then
they encamped each day in the desert until at last when Moses and Aaron were dead, and
Jesus the son of Nanê (Joshua the son of Nun) had obtained the leadership, and in a
miraculous manner had conducted them over the Jordan, he gave them for inheritance the
land of promise in accordance with divine predictions and arrangements.

Then the tribe of Judah obtained the Metropolitan city of Jerusalem, until from that tribe
He should come forth who was expected and foretold by the law and the prophets----He
through whom God wrought the great and eternal salvation and renovation for the world----I
speak of the Lord Christ according to the flesh----according, that is, to the promises
made by God to Abraham, and according to his purpose from the very beginning, as the
Apostle also says in the Epistle to the Galatians, where, as if in answer to the question
What then is the law? meaning, Why was the law given? he at once replies and says: It was
added because of transgressions till the seed should come to whom the promise hath been
made; and it was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator;62 whereby he means,
that the reason why the law was added was this, that by means of it and of the priesthood
the people which had received the promise should be under safe guardianship----the people,
namely, sprung from Abraham----and that there should be no intermixture of this people
with any other; so that thereby he who had been foretold might be recognisable by all----
he, by whom the world is being renovated, and by whom also the purpose and economy which
God had from the first designed is being fulfilled.

For it was the purpose of God from the very beginning to make others participants of
existence, and to give them a share of his goodness----reason and knowledge and
immortality and blessedness, and of every good thing as far as the capacity of the
participant might admit. And since the Deity, being by intuition in possession of all true
knowledge, cannot be taught, while it is the proper nature of the brute creatures to be
moved by instinctive impulses without reason and true knowledge; and while again in like
manner inanimate objects are altogether destitute of self-motion, of instinctive impulse,
and of knowledge, God, having in his goodness been pleased to make, what was possible, an
intermediate class of beings, endowed with reason and capable of acquiring knowledge by
teaching and experience, subjected them to probation, and in accordance with his purpose
from the beginning, made the future state, that is, the place on high. So when in the
first place he had set apart this present state, employing it as a school suitable for our
needs, he made it mortal and mutable, in order that we, possessing the power of judging
and reasoning, might enjoy our share of its blessings, and avoid its evils. Wherefore also
the present dispensation has its joys and its sorrows, that we, who are every day living
in the midst of them, might shun the one, and adhere to the other. For the same reason
laws have been ordained, accompanied by threats and chastisements, to curb our vicious
appetites;

and lastly, death itself, which seems a token of his anger, but which in reality brings to
a close this troubled life and our term of discipline, just as God also in his providence
brought it upon the first man, to make his sin hateful to him and to make righteousness
the object of his desires, thus encouraging him and all through him, to enter into the
life prepared for us beforehand, and into the eternal Kingdom, and into righteousness,
sanctification, redemption and blessedness, which the purpose of God from the beginning
contemplated. God accordingly, as if moved by anger, wisely, yea most wisely, inflicted
death upon the first-made man on account of his sin, that he might render sin a thing
hateful to him. Then again afterwards, in order that the man might not sink into despair
under his misery, he took care of him as a father takes care of his child, and made
raiment for him. Then he avenged the blood of Abel, and translated Enoch, that the
sentence of death might have no power over him; he saved Noah from the shipwreck of the
world; he chose Abraham by whom and his seed he accomplished the renovation of the world,
Isaac also and Jacob, the patriarchs, and the children of these, and the twelve tribes
sprung from them, which with a high hand he redeemed from Egyptian bondage and guided
miraculously through the wilderness, and presented with a written law;

and when he had distributed the nation into ranks of war, he gave them the land of
Palestine distributed into lots; and he raised up for them prophets, David their first
king, and Samuel, the great Elijah, his disciple Elisha, the twelve prophets, and the four
great prophets who foretold the coming of the Lord Christ, who was to arise from among
them according to the flesh, in whom and through whom is, and is fulfilled, God's purpose
from the beginning, and his great scheme of salvation. For just as he ordained to
introduce death on account of the sin of the first man, so also, through the obedience of
the Lord Christ according to the flesh, he ordained the resurrection and the renovation
and the gathering together of the whole creation. For, as Paul says, as by man came death,
so by man the resurrection from the dead 63 has been brought into the world. This is the
great salvation, and dispensation and wisdom of God, who has produced all things and has
again restored them. Wherefore also he made the two states from the beginning, and the
whole scope of divine scripture has regard to the future life which succeeds this present
life, as have also the Christian preaching and the hope of the Christians. For this reason
in baptism the rite is not administered to any one unless he first confess his belief in
the Holy Trinity and the resurrection of our flesh.

Without doing this, he is neither accounted a Christian, nor pronounced to be one of the
faithful. This is the scope of the whole of the divinely inspired scriptures both of the
Old and of the New Testament, pointing out that, according to the pattern of the
Tabernacle prepared by Moses in the wilderness, God made the whole world into two places,
this world, namely, in which he thought fit that we, mortal and mutable creatures, should
first spend our days as at school, and have experience of pain and of pleasure, for
without education it is not possible there can be learning. For no chastening, saith
scripture, seemeth for the present to be joyous but grievous:64 On those accordingly, who
have been rationally tested, he" has decreed to bestow afterwards in the future state his
good things that are everlasting, and to fulfil what has been his primary purpose from the
beginning----having taken, as God, a providential care of what concerns us, as became him,
and as was for our advantage. We sketch the encampment of the Israelites in the
wilderness, and their passage of the Jordan with Joshua the son of Nun after the death of
Moses, and their rest in the land of promise, and Jerusalem, and how they got the land by
lot and how they held it in possession.

While they dwelt in this land God at times raised up prophets to announce the advent of
the Lord Christ according to the flesh, through whom the future state was to be revealed,
while they also called to the remembrance of the people the promises which God gave to
Abraham Let us therefore sketch each of the men of old and each of the prophets, to show
how each of them was thought worthy to predict something about the coming of the Lord
Christ, whether recording it by means of his words or by means of his deeds ---- if only
he be deemed worthy to speak or do anything with reference to him, for this is in
consonance with the argument of our work, wherein we would show from first to last what is
the purpose which all divine scripture ever keeps in view. Adam. This is Adam,66 the
first-made man, who was held worthy to make a prediction concerning himself and his wife,
who with the divine benediction were both through copulation united into one flesh, to
which the Lord bears witness in the Gospels, saying that God had spoken this by the mouth
of Adam, unto whom he had himself brought his bride; and the Apostle Paul has used this as
an illustration, explaining it in a mystical manner, concerning the Lord Christ and the
Church, saying:

This mystery is great, but I speak of Christ and of the Church.67 For just as Adam is the
head of all men in this world, as being the cause of their existence, and their father, so
also the Lord Christ according to the flesh is the head of the Church, and the father of
the future age. Adam also was the first who had the honour to be, and to be called, the
image of God, but with respect to the Lord Christ, this is in a still higher degree the
case, as the Apostle says: Who is the image of the invisible God.68 Adam again was the
first and only one of men who from his side, through God, produced the female without
seed, and the Lord Christ according to the flesh was, as a male, produced from the female
without seed, thus preserving the equality of privilege and satisfying the debt of
nature.69 Adam was the first of men who sinned, having been beguiled by the devil. The
Lord Christ on his account paid the debt, having opportunely annulled the bond and
trampled the. enemy under his feet. Note. In the first epistle to the Romans the Apostle
has declared Adam to be a type of Christ, saying: Who is a figure of him that was to
come;70 and in like manner he has called Adam the first man, and Christ the second.

Since God threatened the first man with death that very day should he transgress the
commandment, and yet when he did transgress did not immediately visit him with death in
accordance with the threatening, but was long-suffering towards him, and having
disciplined him by means of the law, and cast him out of Paradise, and permitted him to
live to a good old age before he died, God showed great forbearance and kindness towards
man, particularly in having provided him with clothing, and in that he did not in wrath
inflict death upon human nature, but instructed man in prudence and wisdom, and made sin
hateful to him, and righteousness the object of his desires. Then, through the guarding of
the tree of life, he taught men to love and hope for immortality. Glory to him who from
the beginning to the end has bestowed his provident care upon man. Note. Any one who so
wishes can learn that, in dispensing his lot to the man, God was not actuated by anger,
but rather by benevolence and wisdom, and that after his transgression he not only treated
him with forbearance, and provided for his wants, but even endowed him with the power of
prophecy. For he said concerning his wife: And he called her name Zôè (Life), because she
was the mother of all living.71 For he could not possibly have foreseen that he would make
the world of men from his wife, had he not been inspired with divine power and grace.

And again when Cain had murdered Abel who had not yet begotten offspring, but was still in
immature youth, Adam, foreseeing that Cain who survived and his seed would be destroyed by
a deluge, named the third son that he begat, Sêth, as if calling him the foundation of the
human race----for such is the interpretation of the name Seth. In one and the same
prophecy he uttered two, both that the seed of Cain is to perish, and that he who had been
begotten is, so to speak, a beginning and a new foundation of the human race. And not only
Adam but his wife also herself speaking of her son, gave him his name, for it is of her
that it is said: And when she had conceived, she bare a son and called his name Sêth, for,
said she, God hath raised me up another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew;72 implying by
this that Abel has died childless, and the seed of Cain is to perish; this hath God given
me as a new foundation for the human race. So far Eve. After the sacred historian had
related the birth of Sêth and of his son Enoch he took up again the account of Adam and
says: This is the book of the generation of mankind. In the day that God created Adam, in
the likeness of God made he him; male and female created he them. And he blessed them and
called his name Adam in the day when he created them.

And Adam lived 230 years and begat a son in his likeness and after his image, and called
his name Sêth.73 In this place likewise he called his name Sêth, as being the foundation
of the human race, and as bearing his own characteristics and the proper dignities. And
here it must be observed that the historian says that it was God who gave the first man
his name, and the man who gave the woman hers, and that they both gave the name to their
son. By the merciful dispensation under which man was placed even the unseen powers,
endowed as they are with reason, are instructed in the things which pertain to God. For
since man is the bond which unites the whole creation, and is also the image of God, the
dispensation under which he lives is a school for his own instruction, and for that of all
rational beings. For when he had sinned and had received the sentence of death, these
other beings began to lament, deeming all hope to be lost both for themselves and for the
universe; but when again they saw that God cared for him, they were led to conceive a good
hope both for him and for themselves. This, moreover, the Lord declares in the Gospels
when he says: There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,74 as on the other
hand it is clear there is sorrow when any one sins.

Nay, the Apostle even says that the angels were subjected to be under bondage to vanity on
account of man, from a hope that God would also give them deliverance when men should
receive the hope laid up for them when installed as the sons of God in glory. . And again
the Apostle testifies that the angels are taught the things that pertain to God by the
dispensation under which man has been placed, for he says: To the intent that now unto the
principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known, through the
Church, the manifold wisdom of God:75 thus clearly showing that they are taught through
the Church the wisdom of God. Abel. This is Abel the righteous, who, having been
unrighteously put to death, was the first of all men who showed that the foundations of
death were unsound. Wherefore also he being now dead yet speaketh, announcing the
resurrection of the dead, which the Lord Christ the first of all, showed in his own
person, and overthrew the supposed power of death. This is that Abel who is figuratively a
representative of the Passion of Christ, seeing that, through the ill-will excited by his
good works, he was unrighteously put to death by his brother. Of him the Apostle Paul also
thus speaks in his Epistle to the Hebrews:

But ye have come into the Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the
first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of
just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling that speaketh better than Abel.76 Note. Here it is shown more clearly, when the
righteous Abel came to his end that death was not brought upon man in anger, since he, who
did not sin, died before him who did sin. Wherefore also an inquiry was made by God about
the life of Abel, and vengeance was inflicted for his death. And since after his death he
speaks, it is from this evident that he will come back again to life. And again, since
death was not permitted to come first upon him who had sinned, but upon him who had not
sinned, it is shown that death will be destroyed, inasmuch as he made his first assault
not righteously but unrighteously----for he laid his foundations upon a righteous man and
not upon a sinner, whence we can learn that death laid foundations that were unsound.
Wherefore he was very quickly to be destroyed, and this came to pass under the Lord
Christ, by whom his seeming power was destroyed.

Glory be to him who from the beginning to the end has made the good of man his special
care! And again, that death is not sent in anger is shown by this fact, that those who are
acknowledged to be righteous come untimely to their end, while those who are acknowledged
to be sinners, after fulfilling the number of their days, come to their end in a good old
age. For It is appointed by God unto all men once to die,77 as saith the Apostle, speaking
of them in general; for neither do all die, nor did Lazarus and others whom the Lord
raised die only once, but he refers to all men that are in this state of existence, and
are mortal as God created them. Hereafter another and a better state will be introduced in
which the righteous shall be discriminated from the unrighteous, the godly from the
ungodly----a state wherein death no longer prevails. Some have further said that when the
first man had sinned and received the sentence of death without being as yet invested with
immortality, his lot was changed to mortality. And by way forsooth of explaining this they
say: When God said: In what day thou eatest of the tree, thou shalt surely die,78 he
pronounced him to have become mortal, for we sec that he did not die immediately according
to the threat, so that it is evident the words hinted this:

Immortal though thou art, thou shalt become mortal, and, say they,79 in order that the
sentence pronounced by God may be proved true. Wherefore also his offspring, having fallen
under the condemnation of their father, are born mortal. Well then, if all this be true,
why was Abel, who, according to them, had fallen under this condemnation and was born
mortal, but was declared to be righteous and virgin, why was he not only involved in this
condemnation, but, as if it had not been sufficient, subjected also to a further
punishment, that, namely, of an untimely death? Why was this punishment superadded to him,
a righteous man and virgin, and more especially since, though he was born, as it is said,
under the condemnation of his father, that is, was born mortal, mortals that are righteous
can be exempted from death, as we see exemplified in Enoch, who also, as ye say, had
fallen under the condemnation of his father, and had a wife and children, and yet did not
taste of death, while Abel did so who had neither wife nor children. And why, when Cain
petitioned for death through horror at his fratricide, did God not give it, but rather
delivered him over to a still heavier punishment, namely, to remain on the earth lamenting
and trembling----an evil from which he said death would be a deliverance? God therefore
said:

Whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold,80 thereby signifying
that whosoever should slay him would take away from him many penalties, and would himself
suffer his punishment. From this also we can see that, since God permitted a man who was
righteous and virgin to be slain, death was not brought upon man in anger, as those
marvel-mongers represent, but rather in benevolence and wisdom on the part of the merciful
God for our discipline, as we have just said. And further, how came it, we ask, that when
the first man had sinned by eating the fruit of a single tree, God according to them
condemned him with all his posterity to mortality, while, when he had condemned the first
murderer to lamentation and trembling, he did not condemn succeeding murderers to the
same, but to a different punishment, which the first of such criminals asked to be
inflicted on him, but without obtaining what he asked? Enoch. This is Enoch on whom the
sentence of death did not take effect, for he was translated by God that he should not see
death, as is recorded in divine scripture, in order that thereby it might be declared to
us that death shall not have power over man, but that his power over him shall be
dissolved, as was exhibited in the case of the Lord Christ, when his power was entirely
broken.

This is Enoch who was translated to life, as a proof of the power of God to after
generations, a power capable of warding off death from mortals, yea even of permitting
them while living to undergo the change to a better state. This is he who along with Elias
will in the last days withstand the Antichrist, and refute his error, according to the
ecclesiastical tradition. This is he who through faith escaped the way of death. Note. In
this case also it is shown still more distinctly that death has not been brought on man in
wrath, nor even the sentence of death; but in order that, as we have said, God might make
sin hateful to him, and righteousness the object of his desire. Wherefore neither the
sentence of death, nor death itself has had power over him, nor will have power, for By
faith, saith the Apostle, Enoch was translated that he should not see death;81 clearly
showing that he did not see death, yea even that while living he underwent the change to a
better state, as shall also all those that are left alive at the coming of the Lord, and
do not die before the resurrection and the future state. Then further, let those marvel-
mongers who say that death is sent to us by the anger of God, and not by his providence
and wisdom, tell us how conies it that, while all men ought once to die under the sentence
passed upon their father, this man did not incur this penalty?

[Here there is a gap in the text. Now the length of the ark was 300 cubits, and its
breadth below, as has been said, 50 cubits, and at the top one cubit, for in summing up he
saith: Thou shalt make it, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it.1 The height then was 50
cubits. Those 50 cubits he therefore divided into three stories, each of which was 10
cubits in height----for saith he: Of two stories and of three stories shalt thou make it;
82 as if he said, make within two chambers, and above make the third chamber that there
may be three stories. And in the lowermost story he placed the wild beasts, and the
venomous reptiles, because they were always wont to lurk in dens and holes under the
earth. Then next he placed in the second story four-footed animals and those that bounded
over the hills, because they lived on the surface of the earth and on the mountains. But
the winged creatures and man he placed in the third story, because the former were
denizens of the air, and the latter would become celestial. This is Noah who was a perfect
man and righteous in his generation, who unwittingly made himself drunk, and when in that
state had mysteries revealed to him. For the scripture saith:

And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him.83 And after
this statement, by way of cursing him, he tells the things to come, and to his other sons,
by way of blessing them, he predicts the future and says: Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Shem; and again: Let God enlarge Japhet and let him dwell in the homes of Shem;84 for in a
manner he did not curse the first, and bless those others, but uttered a prediction of the
mysteries to be fulfilled through the Lord Christ. For the sons of Canaan did not serve
their brethren, but rather it was the latter who served the former in Egypt. Nor did even
the Gideonites, as some have supposed, serve them, but it was God whom they served. For
the Israelites appointed the Gibeonites to be bondsmen and carriers of water to the temple
of God, and not to themselves. What else then is it but just a prediction that they
themselves also shall serve Christ, who according to the flesh was descended from Shem?
But the exclamation: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; is it only his God that is
blessed? No, for Noah further says: Let God enlarge Japhet and let Him----that is God----
dwell in the tents of Shem;85 here making a transposition of the clauses, so that what he
says is this: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and let Him dwell in the tents of
Shem, and then:

Let God enlarge Japhet, for he did enlarge both Japhet and Canaan, and again both of them
serve Christ who sprang from Shem. For God made his dwellings among men partly in the
prophets, but has now made them wholly and uninterruptedly and universally in the Lord
Christ, who according to the flesh was descended from Shem, in the same way as it is
written concerning the Lord Christ according to the flesh: In whom dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily.86 By these visions therefore Noah was privileged to predict
what was fulfilled in the dispensation of the Lord Christ. Note. And in the case of this
man it is shown still more clearly that it was not in anger that death was brought upon
man. For, though on a cursory view all men seemed to have perished in the deluge by the
anger of God, yet in truth they so perished that, by their premature death, the burden of
the sins which they had to commit might be lightened, and while this man like a jewel of
great price was so carefully guarded and in this way provided for, the truth is, as we
have said, that death has not been brought upon man in wrath, but for the benefit and
discipline and cessation of this miserable life. For Noah himself, whom God so carefully
protected and provided for, did not escape the way of death.

And those who perished by the death which, as mortals, they would have had to suffer not
long afterwards, suffered it as if, through its being premature, it had been sent in
anger, whereas it rather benefited them, and relieved them of the burden of the many sins
which, if living, they would have added to the account. But to Noah God renewed, and that
in even greater measure, the same honour and blessing and promise which he had bestowed on
the first man, saying: And the Lord blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be
fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth; and the fear of you and the dread of you
shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that
moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hands are they
delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; as the green herb have I
given you all; but flesh with the blood thereof shall ye not eat.87 And a little
afterwards: Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image
of God have I made man.88 Hence it is manifest that God, both before the transgression and
long after its occurrence, gave to man the same honour and power and dominion.

Nay, he now gave even more, because before the transgression in the garden he commanded
the man to eat of every tree except one, and after his expulsion from the garden, he no
longer commanded him to eat of the tree but of the seeds (fruits) of the earth. God
accordingly, having disciplined those ten generations in the earth beyond (the ocean)
which was overrun with thorns, and where he subjected them to an altogether austere and
miserable existence, conveyed such of them as survived into this earth by means of Noah,
and commanded them to dwell there as in a better country, and one that was nearly equal to
Paradise, permitting them to eat of everything----of the fruits of trees and plants and
still farther to eat even flesh. Who is there that, on considering this wonderful
providence and care on the part of the wise and compassionate God, would not find great
difficulty in asserting that death has been inflicted on man by the anger of God, but
would not rather wisely and with thankfulness reflect, that, since God wished to
discipline the human race, he wisely brought death upon the first man for his sin, in
order that he might make sin hateful to him, and having expelled him from the garden where
the tree of life was guarded, again brought him by discipline to entertain a longing after
immortality? For when God said:

Lest he should put forth his hand and take of the tree of life and eat, and live for
ever,89 he inspired man with a longing desire, and a love, and a good hope of immortality,
and through him similarly inspired the invisible powers. For he did not exclude man from
any of the promises given before the transgression, nor deprive him of them; nay, after
having chastised him, he even gave him more, and through Noah augmented the dignity of his
title as the image of God, for he said: Because in the image of God made I man.90 For
this, therefore, has God made man, that in the present life he should pass his days mortal
and mutable, and after his course of discipline here should be rendered immortal. And this
again you can more clearly see, because, from the beginning to the end, God gradually has
led and is leading man to a better condition by discipline and instruction, while he also
imparted to the first men the gift of prophecy. And Noah has some similitude to the Lord
Christ according to the flesh.

For just as, from out the mass of the first men, he was preserved and transferred to a
better earth, in order that men might not suspect that the Lord God, as if repenting and
reprobating his own handiwork, had destroyed men with the deluge, so also the Lord Christ
according to the flesh was taken out of the mass of men for the salvation of the whole
world, and was translated to a better and a heavenly kingdom. ---- Glory to God, Amen!
Melchisedek. This is Melchisedek ---- that so great priest of God most high, who received
tithes from the priests under the Mosaic law. This is the King of peace and righteousness,
and at the same time a priest of God most high, who was made like to the Son of God ----
who neither received the priesthood in succession to other priests, nor transmitted it to
other priests. This is he who did not perform the rites of divine worship according to the
law of Moses, but exercised his priestly office with other and more excellent symbols.
This is he who blessed the patriarch Abraham, he who was without father and without mother
and did not trace his descent from them; the only person who was priest and king, who was
made like to the Son of God, and was held worthy to be the revealer of so many good
things. Note.

After the deluge, when men had again multiplied, he, alone of them all, was by special
choice appointed the priest of God most high and king of Jerusalem, after the likeness of
the Son of God; and to God he presented sacred offerings, the choicest of all created
things by which the human race is always sustained and gladdened, as scripture says. This
is the king who habitually instructed the people under his rule to lead a religious life
in the enjoyment of these things, whilst officiating himself in the order of his
priesthood and making propitiation for his people. Though he was no doubt a Canaanite and
king of the Canaanites and not of the race of the patriarchs, yet was he known to the
patriarchs of the Abrahamic stock, and being such was declared to be a righteous man, a
king, and a priest. He was the first who, when as a priest he had blessed Abraham and had
given thanks to God, received tithes of all that Abraham possessed. Now I think, and
perhaps shall be saying what is true, that Rebecca when she had gone, as is written, to
inquire of the Lord concerning the twins then in her womb, heard through him the response:
The elder shall serve the younger----for to him as the priest of God was she wont to go,
according to the custom of that time, to inquire of the Lord.

The Apostle has declared him to be without father, without mother, and without pedigree,
and to have neither beginning of days nor end of life, since he was not one of those men
who were lineally descended from Abraham. In this respect, however, he had a likeness to
the Lord Christ, who was without a father with respect to the flesh, and without a mother
with respect to his divine nature, in virtue of which again he had no end of life, while
in like manner in his human nature, he became immortal and immutable. God is therefore
always reminding men, whether by words or by symbols, that after the life here there is a
second state laid up in store for men. Abraham. This is the patriarch Abraham, the first
of men who left his country, his kindred and his people and put his trust in God, and who
for this, and for the promises which God made unto him, was declared righteous. This is he
who from a body as good as dead and a womb also dead, produced myriads of men----who, as
its root, produced for the world the blessed fruit by which the world is blessed and
renovated; who by his works and the promises made to him revealed to the world the
resurrection of the dead---- by promises and works [such as are mentioned in the following
passages]: Gen. xxviii, 14; Gal. iii, 16; John viii, 56; Heb. xi, 17-19; Rom. iv, 17-25.

Now the journey which Abraham made for three days until he reached the place which God
showed him as that where he should offer up his son as a sacrifice on one of the
mountains, as is written, and his showing the father a ram which he might offer instead of
his son who was born to him in wedlock and in the course of nature----these were all
symbols and types of the mystery of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, for all
scripture keeps this object in view. Note. Henceforth God begins with Abraham first to
reveal both by words and by signs the future state of existence, for the great Abraham at
the bidding of God meditated offering up his beloved son, in the belief that God was able
to raise him up from the dead, and to bestow such boons upon him as are intimated in
scripture. Wherefore also in the Gospels the Lord mentions the typical bearing of the
sacrifice of Abraham, when he called it a type of his own day. And through the promises he
showed it to Abraham himself, saying: In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations be
blessed;92 a promise which showed to him the dispensation according to Christ. Moreover,
since God foresaw and from Abraham knew that He would come forth through whom the
resurrection and the renovation of the universe are effected, He chose the faithful
Abraham whom He had proved by every test, so that he was not chosen prematurely ;

and having found him the most faithful among the Chaldaeans, a people versed in astronomy
and astrology, he transferred him to the enchanters called Karênoi,93 and having there
shown himself faithful, he was commanded to inhabit the land of the idolatrous
[Canaanites]. And since, while he dwelt there he was found to be superior to its
inhabitants, and did not incline to any of the three ways that have been mentioned,94 but
rather submitted himself to the worship and to the commandments of God, he was thought
worthy to receive the great promises and gifts of God, and to hear it said that from his
seed should He come forth, who should first show to the world the blessing and the promise
through him; He through whom also the creator and renewer of the world graciously bestows
upon the world the resurrection and the promise. And they say that Abraham made the
sacrifice of Isaac on that very mountain, where also the Lord Christ was offered up as a
sacrifice for the whole world, and where he endured the saving cross. Isaac. This is Isaac
the co-heir of the promises and the blessings of God given to Abraham his father----who
was a type of the sacrifice of the Lord Christ, since for three days he travelled on to
death, and afterwards returned alive----who on his own shoulders carried the wood for his
own sacrifice, as also the Lord Christ carried his own cross on his shoulder----who died
in intention and was given his life by God ;

he in exchange for whom a ram was slain, and whose father heard these words from God:
Because thou hast not spared the son whom thou lovest,95 so in like manner it has been
said with reference to Christ the son of God: Who spared not his own son but has given him
up for us all;96 although the flesh alone is that which has been given for the life of the
world, since it is impossible for deity to die; but since the flesh has thus been given,
scripture saith that his own son hath been given, because the flesh is a substitute for
and a counterpart97 of the son, after the example of the blessed Isaac. For thus saith the
Lord: Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.98 This is Isaac who
involuntarily transmitted to Jacob the blessing promised by God to himself and his father,
saying: Let peoples serve thee, and let their princes bow down to thee, and be thou Lord
over thy brethren, and let thy father s sons bow down to thee; cursed be every one that
curseth thee, and blessed be every one that blesseth thee.99 But we see not all these
things accomplished upon Jacob, but see rather that Jacob, having prostrated himself seven
times upon the ground, made obeisance to Esau. And thirty kings, sprung from Esau, reigned
before ever a king reigned in Israel;

so that these blessings await Him who was expected to descend from them, namely, the Lord
Christ, whom the whole scope of divine scripture has in view. And this man who was co-heir
of the gifts and promises of Christ, and a type of the Lord Christ himself, was he who
transmitted the blessing, which he himself had received from his father, not to the son
whom he wished to inherit it, but to him to whom God ordained it should be given. Glory to
our God who in supreme wisdom administers the affairs of men, Amen! Jacob. This is Jacob,
himself also a co-heir of the promises of God, and one who looked for the city which hath
the foundations, whose builder and maker is God----that is, the heavenly Jerusalem, into
which, as our forerunner, Christ has entered----and to which state of existence the whole
scheme of Christian worship looks, which new and living way the Lord Christ first of all
instituted for us, which also the great Jacob predicts in transmitting it to Judah his own
son, when he was blessing him; by whom also Jesus Christ is announced as the Lord of the
promises in these words which he spake: Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand
shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee; Judah
is a lion's whelp; from the branch,100 my son, hast thou ascended, he stooped down, he
couched as a lion, and as a lions whelp; who shall rouse him up?

A ruler shall not fail from Judah nor a leader from his thighs until what is laid up in
store for him shall come, and he the expectation of the nations. Binding his foal unto the
vines, and to the tendril of the vine his ass's colt. He shall wash his garment in wine,
and his vesture in the blood of the grape. Wine shall make his eyes sparkle with joy, and
his teeth shall be whiter than milk.101 But the sons of his father did not bow down before
him, nay, on the contrary he made obeisance to Joseph, even after the death of his father.
It is evident therefore that the whole of this prophecy had its fulfilment in the Lord
Christ who descended from him according to the flesh, and that it sets before the mind his
kingly power, and his Passion, and his blessed Resurrection after his Passion. Note. And
this Jacob, who is the third patriarch, being reckoned with the other two, married a wife
whom he did not from the first himself wish to marry, namely Leah; and on the fourth son
whom he begat by her, that is, on Judah, he conferred the blessings and the promises; so
that from this it is manifest, that the blessing did not accrue to any chance person but
to those from whom the Lord Christ according to the flesh, the Prince of the second life,
was to spring.

And from Judah himself we can learn, that it was not from his own wife, but from his
daughter-in-law Thamar that the line of descent of his posterity, from which sprang the
Lord of the promises, was reckoned. Most clearly still, when the patriarchs had received
such great promises from God, namely, that in them and in their seed all the nations
should be blessed, and this promise in like manner: Unto you I will give this land, and
unto your seed,102 and when they had received not so much of it as they could set their
foot on, but dwelt in tents, they, being full of faith, showed themselves to be expecting
and hoping for another dispensation in which they would receive the promises. Wherefore
also each one of them in his dying moments transmitted the blessing to him whom God had
ordained to receive it. Wherefore also again scripture, laying up, as it were, the fathers
in a treasure-house, says with reference to each of them: And he was gathered unto his
fathers, meaning that all of them together being treasured up for the future state, will
receive possession thereof. Moses. This is that great Moses by whom marvellous signs and
wonders were wrought, and by whom the history of the Creation was written; he, who was
honoured to receive the shadows of our true shepherd Christ; who by words and deeds
announced beforehand the nature of the dispensation of the Lord Christ;

by deeds, as, for instance, by redeeming Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians---- by
instituting the Passover and the shedding of blood----by making the passage through the
sea, as in baptism----by foretelling through the cloud the setting of the law----by pre-
figuring under his sojourning in the wilderness, our abiding in the Holy Spirit and in the
Church; by his predicting the Passion of the Lord Christ on the cross, by lifting up on
high the brazen serpent; by his describing beforehand the habitation in the heavens, when
he procured an entrance into the land of promise by Joshua. O wondrous office of Mediator!
by manifold miracles announced! And what need is there to speak of the Tabernacle which
was an image of the whole world, in which was placed the mercy-seat, holding the office of
the Lord Christ? But that we may not lengthen out the discourse, having before repeatedly
said these things, let us come to the prophecy itself which was expressed by words----so
then, he speaks thus: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you----him ye shall
hear. And that man who shall not hear what ever that prophet shall speak in my name, that
soul shall be cut off from his people. And again he records what was spoken by Balaam: A
star shall arise out of Jacob, there shall be raised up a man out of Israel----and he
shall smite the princes of Moab----and destroy all the sons of Seth.108 By the sons of
Sêth he means the whole world.

And this is not applicable to anyone except the Lord Christ, for Sêth is by interpretation
a foundation Since therefore Cain and his seed perished utterly in the deluge, while Abel
the younger died childless, Sêth was posterior to these, from whom both Noah and all the
world are descended, and who is thus a foundation as it were of mankind. Moreover for this
reason Adam, inspired by the deity, addressed him by the name of Sêth, that is,
foundation; and therefore he said: And he will subdue all the sons of Seth, that is, the
whole world. Now this is applicable to Christ, and to Him alone, whom all scripture ever
keeps in view.109 Note. This Moses, who was a comely man bom for God,110 was brought up in
the royal court of Egypt and instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and in after
days, having been taken up to Mount Sinai, he was taught also the wisdom of God, and was
sent back to Egypt in the character of a type of him who redeems the world from bondage,
and graciously bestows freedom and adoption into sonship. For he redeemed the Israelites
from their bondage to the Egyptians, having prescribed beforehand the shedding of blood
and the Passover. Having led the people through the Red Sea, he thus prefigured baptism.
By the giving of the law he foreshowed the descent of the Holy Spirit. By the sojourn in
the wilderness, he signified beforehand the discipline of the Church.

By the entrance into the land of promise, effected by his successor, he foretold the
dwelling-place of heaven. By the glory wherewith God made his face to shine, he
foreshadowed in part the future glories.111 It was. however, not only by types that he
prophesied concerning the mystery as to Christ, but he did so also by words: and again he
was the first who communicated to mankind and to the world the knowledge of letters and
the practice of writing. Having seen the creation of the whole world, and the delineation
of it revealed to him in mysteries, he committed what he had seen to writing, and showed
the types of the first and of the second state of existence. Glory be to him who, through
those whom he has reared up, has wisely provided for the interests of mankind. Text. After
Moses and his successor Joshua the son of Nun, and after those who became Judges in
Israel, and after Saul had been invested with the sovereignty and been rejected as
unworthy, God raised up to them a King virtuous, righteous, and a prophet, who composed
the book of 150 psalms, when moved by the Holy Spirit. These psalms were written
metrically in accordance with the metre proper to the Hebrew language, and he chanted them
with melody and rhythm, accompanied with the music of different instruments, and with
dances and melodies.

For he himself handled the harp, and he had under him a number of choirs of the minor
prophets, for so they called those who attached themselves to the prophets, and who were
also frequently designated the sons of the prophets. The instruments upon which they
played were various: one part of the choir had cymbals, another flutes, another drums,
another trumpets, another a psaltery and harp, while another played on what are called
shepherd's pipes.112 Each of the choirs had its leader;113 one was called Asaph, another
Idithum, others the sons of Core, another Aetham an Israelite, another Moses, a man of
God.114 When David therefore was moved by the Spirit, he would then predict something as
to the captivity of the people, or as to their return therefrom----or he would inculcate
lessons of morality, or take Providence for his theme, or the Lord Christ Each psalm he
composed in metre----and it turned upon a single subject----on which account some psalms
are short and others long. On composing a psalm he would hand it over to one of the choirs
which he had proved, or to the one which it fitted best, and that choir sang it first. And
if again in the middle of a psalm he considered that he should make over the rest of the
psalm to another choir, then that succession of the measure was called a diapsalma;115
because those singers received in succession the rest of the psalm to be sung by them.

But any one who so wishes can learn about this from what is written in the Chronicles of
the Kings, namely: And he sung this song by the hand of Asaph the prophet.116 But when the
psalm had first been handed over in the manner stated, then each choir afterwards, both by
itself and in conjunction with all the other choirs in responsive, joyous, and measured
strains, some with these instruments and others with those, sang the psalm, along with
dancing to the glory of God. But again we can learn with regard to this matter that David
himself, when he had received the Ark from aliens, danced before it, and when reproached
for so doing by his wife Melchol (Michal), said: I will play and laugh for gladness before
the Lord.117 For not only did he not cease doing so, but promised that he would long
persist in the practice. But some, neither understanding this ordinance and the real truth
of the matter, nor wishing to be instructed by those who know, have betaken themselves to
allegorical interpretations, and have maintained that all the psalms are not David's, but
allege that they are manifestly the compositions of those who received them from David to
be sung. But never did either the Apostle or the Lord himself mention them as being the
psalms of any other than David. David.

This is that great David, the King and prophet----the man after the Lord's own heart, to
whom, as to Abraham, God again correspondently gave the promises that his seed should
remain for ever, and that the throne of his kingdom should likewise be perpetual. For when
Abraham, having left his country and his kindred, trusted God, God correspondently
promised that he would make him the father of nations, and that he would bless all the
nations through him and through his seed, that is, through Christ. And to David also,
since he was a king, and one with whom He was well pleased, He promised that both his seed
and the throne of his kingdom should remain in perpetuity----and here again Christ is
meant. This David was privileged to prophesy under inspiration of the Spirit concerning
the Lord Christ, having composed four psalms which refer entirely to him, namely, psalms
ii, viii, xlv and cx.118 I say so because both the Lord Christ and the Apostles appear to
have taken testimonies concerning him from these four psalms; as for instance, it is
related in the Acts of the Apostles that, when the whole company of the Apostles were
praying to God, they said: For of a truth against Jesus whom thou hast anointed both Herod
and Pontius Pilate have been gathered together in this city;119 accepting the second psalm
as having reference to Christ. In like manner in the Acts themselves, Paul when he was
discoursing in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia spoke thus:

And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers, how that God hath
fulfilled the same unto us their children in that he raised up Jesus, as it is also
written in the second psalm, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.120 Paul here,
by Christ's having been begotten, understands his resurrection, and he too has decided
that the second psalm has been spoken concerning him, as all the Apostles also have
affirmed. And these things have been said about his humanity, for it is about his deity
that in this very psalm it has been said: Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron; as a
potters vessel shalt thou dash them in pieces;121 as if at the same time making known the
force and might of his divinity, and indicating the renovation or regeneration of the
human race----for the potter's vessel, though dashed to pieces, provided it has not as yet
been subjected to the furnace, admits of being refashioned. In like manner also David
composed the eighth psalm with reference to Christ, speaking of his divine nature in the
first verses of it, as the Lord Christ himself also testifies of it in the Gospel, when
they strewed his way with branches and praised him with shouts of welcome, saying: Hosanna
to the son of David!

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!122 And when the Jews, finding
themselves powerless to rebuke the multitudes and the children, (for it was a marvellous
spectacle----to see boys, babes and sucklings, and the disciples and the multitudes
joining in shouts of applause, and with loud voices praising him in song), took in hand to
throw questions at him, and said to him: Hearest thou not what these are saying?123 But
another evangelist says: Some from among the crowd said to him: Rebuke thy disciples;124
as if they would say----Why dost thou blaspheme, accepting a hymn which can be suitably
applied to God alone? each of the parties who addressed him having the same purpose in
view. Unto them the Lord said----to the one party: Yea, have ye never read; Out of the
mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained praise?125 clearly indicating that the
eighth psalm had reference to him; and at the same time obscurely hinting that he did not
take by robbery the things which belonged to God, since he was God; as the Apostle also
declares: He counted it no robbery to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant;126 to the other party he said: Why do ye wonder at the
children and the disciples?

If these should hold their peace the stones will cry out.127 But these men, knowing it had
so been written, and seeing in very deed babes and sucklings in an astonishing manner with
loud voices chanting the hymn, they reflected that if he could make babes beyond their
natural capacity sing the hymn with loud voices, he could also make inanimate things cry
out ----and thus reflecting, they for very shame put a bridle on their tongues. O how
amazing the power of the Lord Christ! O how amazing his loving-kindness! O how amazing his
merciful condescension! How by his teaching regarding the form of a servant which he took
upon him, did he deign to show mildly glimpses of his divinity, to receive accusations
preferred against him by his own creatures, and to answer them, not with anger but with
mildness and forbearance? O the excess of his long-suffering! as David was privileged
still further to make such prophecies, for he speaks also concerning his human nature in
the same psalm from the passage: What is man that thou art mindful of him?128 on to the
end, unto which the divine Apostle Paul bears witness in the following passages: Heb. ii,
9; ii, 5; ii, 6-8; Acts xvii, 30, 31; as does also Peter in Acts x, 42. In like manner
David again spake of him in the forty-second psalm (our 43rd) in which we again find him
speaking both of his divine and his human nature.

To whom again the blessed Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews bears witness in these words:
And of the Son he saith, thy throne, O God! is for ever and ever; the sceptre of
uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.129 Having said this concerning his divinity, he
forthwith speaks of his humanity and says: Thou hast loved righteousness and hated
iniquity, wherefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above
thy fellows.130 For it is not his divinity which is anointed on account of his loving
righteousness and hating iniquity, nor is it in any case anointed, nor has it another God
[for fellow], for God exists by himself. But it is his humanity which is anointed with the
oil of gladness (by which is meant, with the Holy Spirit) above its fellows----that is,
above all the anointed. For his divinity has no other fellow, for God is one, the Father
and the Son and the Holy Ghost, but the humanity of Christ has for its fellows all men,
especially those who have been anointed. For by reason that the humanity of Christ was
anointed above all others, since it was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, a
distinction accorded to none of the others who were anointed, he used the words: Above all
thy fellows. The whole psalm, moreover, he wrote with reference to Christ and the Church,
speaking of the one as a royal bridegroom and of the other as a royal bride.

And in like manner also he uttered the 109th psalm (our 110th) with reference "to him, as
the Lord himself testified when he addressed the Jews in these words: How then does David
in the spirit call him Lord, saying: The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand
till I put thy enemies underneath thy feet; if David then calleth him Lord, how is he his
son?131 The expression, his Lord, clearly indicates that he was God, and that other, sit
thou at my right hand, is clearly suited to his humanity. For, the word sit he said to him
who was not sitting. But Deity is established in its own blessedness, and honour and
glory, and is neither conceded by one who is greater to one who is less, nor is one who is
less invited to assume it. But the humanity of Christ is, by the Deity which is
inseparably united, invited132 in the words: Sit thou at my right hand, that is, in my
dignity----for God being uncircum-scribed has neither right hand nor left. But he says
this to his humanity, sit in my dignity----that is, in my person, as the image of God,
shown to all the world. For thus also Daniel speaks: And there was given to him a kingdom
and dominion,133 et cetera; and the Lord himself says: There hath been given to me power
in heaven and on earth.134 Farther down again in the same psalm he saith with reference to
his deity:

Out of the womb before morning have I begotten thee, as if the Father were saying to the
Son, with reference to his deity, Thee before all creation have I brought forth from the
womb (thus showing him to be con-substantial) and not afterwards, but having thee in
myself without beginning and without limit, as if from the womb, from my own substance
have I begotten thee, being with me and co-existing with me. Then immediately again with
reference to his humanity he says: The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec;135 for deity does not exercise the
priestly office or render worship, but is rather itself worshipped and the recipient of
sacred services. The Apostle also mentions this passage, saying in the Epistle to the
Hebrews: Even as Aaron, so Christ also glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but
he that spake unto him, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee; as he saith also
in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec;136 thus
extracting all that referred to the humanity of Christ. Thus then the blessed David spoke
these four psalms with reference to the Lord Christ and to him alone, for he did not
confound the things of the Lord Christ with those of servants, but he spake of the things
which properly belong to the Lord as the Lord's, and of the things of servants as those of
servants.

But whatever other passages the Apostles quoted from the psalms, they did not extract them
because they were specially spoken of him, but because they suited their argument. For
example: They parted my garments among them,137 and again: They gave me gall for my
meat,138 and: I have set the Lord always before me,139 and: Thou hast ascended on high
leading captivity captive;140 and other such like passages they extracted, when they
suited the argument they had in hand. The blessed Paul in like manner did this,
transferring the passage of Moses in Deuteronomy to his own argument which it suited: Say
not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) or, Who
shall descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead),141 thus
accommodating the passage to suit the requirements of his argument. For the remaining
parts of the psalms from which they quoted are not applicable to the Lord Christ. For
instance, the passage: They parted my garments among them, occurs in the 21st (our 22nd)
psalm. Is that psalm then speaking of him where it says: Far from my safety, the words of
my transgressions? No----that is out of harmony and at variance with divine scripture, and
to cite such a passage as referring to Christ would be clear madness. As regards however
those four psalms which speak concerning the Lord Christ, each of them is entirely
throughout applicable to Him.

For, as we have just observed, the blessed David discriminated what was said with
reference to the Lord Christ from what was said with reference to any one else. For even
the Saviour himself manifestly did this when the Jews accused him, saying: Why workest
thou on the Sabbath day? and he replied to them saying: My Father worketh even until
now.143 And when they accused his disciples, he said: Know ye not what David did when he
was an-hungered and they that were with him, how he entered into the house of God and did
eat the shew-bread, which it ivas not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with
him, but for the priests alone?144 thus expressly contradistinguishing145 himself from the
Father, as a son relatively to his father, and his disciples from the prophets, or, at any
rate, the priests, as servants relatively to servants. When the Lord was transfigured on
the mountain before Peter and James and John in great glory, and Moses and Elias talked
with Him, the disciples, witnessing the exceeding glory, were thrown into amazement and
rapturous delight, and desire and ardent longing for that wondrous beauty. But Peter,
after a manner identifying himself with the others in their common astonishment at the
spectacle, answered and said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here,146 as if he
said, Lo! beautiful is the sight, and the place, the splendour and the transcendent glory.

Wherefore should we go down hence, putting ourselves again into the hands of those who
wish to plot against us and to oppress us, while we have to remove from place to place,
and are persecuted? If thou wishest therefore, let us make here three tabernacles, one for
thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.146 And because Peter considered Moses and
Elias to be equal in honour to the Lord, seeing that with reference to their equality he
reckoned the number of the tabernacles, assigning one to each, the evangelist Luke notes
this and in these terms: Not knowing what he said,147 that is, Peter not knowing what he
said with reference to the Lord. Straightway moreover a cloud overshadowed them, and
separated Moses and Elias from them and hid them from the disciples, and as for Jesus, who
was left alone in the midst, the Father pointed out and showed him to the disciples
saying: This is my son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him.148 Ye are mistaken, he
says, in putting Him on an equality with the others, for He is my Son. They, like
yourselves, are servants. Him therefore as Lord and as my Son, hear ye in all things.

Thus then the prophet David also, being moved by the Holy Ghost, did not indiscriminately
confound what had an underlying reference to the Lord with what had an underlying
reference to servants, but those four psalms which had a special reference to the Lord he
was privileged to compose with prophetic foresight; while all the other psalms he gave out
to the whole world for useful instruction with regard to other persons or things or
histories, in order that they might be held fast and well remembered by all as calculated
to delight. And this is abundantly clear that, in all the churches of the world, we shall
find that the Psalms of David are sung, and that they are on the lips of nearly all men,
whether small or great, and are more studied and remembered than the other prophets and
scriptures. But bringing this subject also to an end, let us pass on to the great Elias
and supply a worthy delineation of him also. Here then you see him thus delineated.
Elijah. This is Elijah the first of men who showed to men the path to heaven----the first
of men who showed to angels and to men the one way----who though his lot was to be an
inhabitant of earth, all at once penetrated into heaven----who though a mortal yet vies
even with the immortals----who walked upon the earth, and yet, as a spirit, treads with
the angels the paths of heaven;

who with his mantle of sheep-skin imparted to his disciple Elisha a double share of his
own gifts----a man who has lived for ages and is from old age exempt----who is reserved to
be leader against Antichrist, standing up against him and convicting him of deception and
overweening pride----who from the error into which he has seduced them, leads back all men
to God at the consummation of the age. This is he who is deemed worthy to be the fore-
runner of the second and glorious advent of the Lord Christ. O the wondrous measure of his
services, in which he competes with the angels! Glory to God who graciously bestows these
gifts upon men. Amen! Note. This is the great Elijah, who having been taken up as into
heaven shows to men and angels how highly human nature has been honoured, and by means of
him God has again laid the foundations of a good hope, that it is possible for men, if God
will, to ascend into heaven. For it is a great and wondrous thing to see this man, bridle
in hand, riding his fiery chariot as he sweeps the fields of air. Oh! what wondrous
kindness on his part who has bestowed the honour. Let those be ashamed of themselves who
do not extol the mighty dispensation of God----who do not praise and admire how wisely and
how dispassionately God, on the one hand, awards to men their punishments, and on the
other, preserves the honour of man who was made in his image.

Glory and nraise to him for ever and ever, Amen! The Prophet Hosea. This is Hosea, the
first of the twelve prophets who was privileged to speak concerning the Lord Christ in
these terms: When they are afflicted, let them rise early to seek me saying, Come and let
us return unto the Lord our God, for he hath smitten us and he will heal us; he that hath
struck us will bind us up. After two days will he heal us. On the third day we shall be
raised up again and we shall live! 149 With reference to this passage the Apostle Paul
says to the Corinthians: For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.150 For that he was buried,
and that he was raised up on the third day according to the scriptures, is not to be found
anywhere else. The prophet still further says what is applicable to Christ: My flesh is of
them; and again he says: Ephraim compasseth me about with falsehood, and the house of
Israel and Judah with ungodliness. Now God knoweth them, and there shall be called a holy
people of God, from the tribe,151 through him who appeared out of it, namely, the Lord
Christ according to the flesh----the prophet calling Judah the holy people of God. Yet
again the same prophet says: From the power of the grave will I ransom them. Where is thy
victory, O death!

Where is thy sting, O grave!152----a passage which the Apostle has used concerning the
resurrection. Note. This prophet also clearly predicted the resurrection on the third day,
saying: On the third day we shall rise up. In like manner also he foretold the destruction
of death and the vengeance upon the sting of the grave. How should we not be lost in
astonishment at the ineffable benevolence of God, which is at all times making provision
for the human race. Glory to him for his unspeakable gift! The Prophet Joel. This is Joel
the second in order who was privileged to prophesy concerning the mystery of the Lord
Christ, for he speaks thus (chap. ii, 28-32): And it shall come to pass afterward that I
will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also upon the
servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. A nd I will show
wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun
shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day
of the Lord come.

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
delivered-----a passage which the blessed Peter mentions in the Acts of the Apostles as
having been fulfilled when the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles occurred on
the day of Pentecost. Note. This prophet also foretold the wonderful things that took
place in the time of the Lord Christ through the Holy Ghost, such as prophesyings, dreams
and visions under his influence; likewise the day of the great, terrible, and glorious
advent of the Lord Christ. For examples we may point to the revelations made, in different
ways, to Joseph and to the Wise Men in sleep, as the Gospels relate; and to the revelation
made by the Holy Ghost through visions to Symeon (Simeon) who took up the Lord Christ in
his arms. Anna again the daughter of Phanuel gave thanks to the Lord because of him. There
were also those who prophesied, such as Agabus and the daughters of Philip. Arid the women
who were at the Passion of the Lord saw visions of angels, as did also the disciples. And
why need I speak of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles; yea, even upon
Cornelius and upon all the faithful of whom the Apostle writes (I Cor. xii, 8-14): For to
one is given the word of wisdom; to another faith in the same spirit; to another gifts of
healings in the same spirit; to another workings of miracles;

to another prophecy, and to another discernings of spirits, and to another divers kinds of
tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues; but all these worketh the one and the
same spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will! Glory to God who through all
the prophets foretold these things, glory for ever and ever, Amen. The Prophet Amos. This
is Amos the third in order, who also was privileged to tell of the coming of the Lord
Christ and in these words: Lo! I am he that confirms the thunder and that creates the wind
and that announces to men his Anointed.153 And again he says (ix, 11, 12): In that day
will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen and close up the breaches thereof;
and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, that the rest of
men and all the nations may enquire who have been called by my name, saith the Lord who
doeth these things. A passage of which James the Apostle makes mention in the Acts of the
Apostles. Note. This Prophet, in agreement with the first, announces Christ, through whom
the salvation of the whole world is effected. And through him God promises that he will
raise up again the Tabernacle of David which had fallen, and will extend help to all the
nations. And these are the same tidings which all the prophets proclaim. The Prophet
Obadiah.

This is Obadiah (Abdiou) the fourth in order, who also was privileged to prophesy
concerning the mystery regarding Christ, and who speaks thus: Because the day of the Lord
is near upon all the nations.154 This taken in its obvious meaning is spoken of the
Scythians, that is, of Gog and Magog, but it is most properly applicable to the Lord
Christ, for the prophet shortly afterwards says: But on Mount Zion there shall be
salvation.155 Note. This prophet also again clearly proclaims that the day of Salvation in
Zion is near at hand and upon all the nations. Glory to God evermore. Amen! The Prophet
Jonah. This is Jonah the fifth in order, who not by words, but by what he did and by what
he typified, predicted the resurrection of Christ. For the Lord says: as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth.156 For as the whale vomited out Jonah uncorrupted,
so also did the sepulchre vomit out the Lord to a better life. Note. This prophet
prefigured through his actions the sepulchre and the miraculous resurrection and
incorruption of Christ, through whom is dispensed the renovation of man and his summing up
in him. Glory to God who doeth these things. Amen! The Prophet Isaiah.

This is the great Isaiah the son of Amos, who in a figure foresaw the things concerning
the mystery of Christ, when he saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up, while
the Seraphim stood in a circle around him, the one having six wings, and the other six
wings, with which they did cover themselves, and the one cried out to the other and said:
Holy, holy, holy Lord of Sabaoth! the whole earth is full of his glory.157 Thereupon one
of the Seraphim was sent to him who with the tongs took [a live coal] from the altar, and
touched his lips saying: This will take away thy sins.158 Isaiah by the vision which was
shown to him, and by the hymn of praise, and by the figure was instructed to prophesy the
mystery concerning Christ, and further again in words he thus speaks: He was led as a
sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer, so was he dumb.159 The Ethiopian
eunuch on reading this passage asked Philip to interpret it to him, and he at once
explained that it was spoken by the Prophet with reference to the Lord Christ. And again
he says: A man who is under chastisement and knows what it is to bear sickness;160 and so
in other passages----Isaiah liii. 9-11; xxviii. 16; lxi. 10; and in lxi., 1; The spirit
of'the Lord is upon me----a passage which the Lord having read in the synagogue on the
Sabbath said:

Verily I say unto you, to-day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.161 Note 1. Isaiah,
that prophet of sublimest strain,162 by his words and visions proclaimed beforehand to men
the confession even of the Holy Trinity, that is, of the one God, and the resurrection of
human nature which the Church of God also now proclaims. Glory to God who wisely dispenses
all things for the good of the human race! Note 2. But he too did not prophesy things
strange and unusual, but like the other prophets predicted the things that would be
through Christ, and among them again that great day of the Lord on which he would send the
Prophet Elijah still surviving. Glory to God who created all things and again created them
anew! The Prophet Micah. This is Micah the seventh in order, who also was privileged to
prophesy concerning the coming of the Lord Christ, and he says: And thou Bethlehem, the
house of Ephratha, art the least to be among the thousands of Judah. From thee, there
shall come forth to me one who shall be for a ruler over Israel, whose goings forth have
been of old from everlasting.163 The chief priests and scribes of the Jews, taking this
passage, when Herod asked them where the Christ should be born, replied, In Bethlehem of
Judaea, upon which he sent the Wise Men away to Bethlehem. This prophet further says: He
will turn again and have compassion upon us;

he will tread our iniquities under foot, and all our sins shall be cast into the depths of
the sea. He will perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, as he hath sworn
unto our fathers from the days of old.164 Note. This prophet also in harmony with the
others, predicts that he who was raised up from of old to be a ruler over Israel should
come out of Bethlehem and Judah, he through whom absolution is given to the world, the
taking away of our sins and conducting us into the better state. Glory to God who all
things dispenses wisely and foretells the things which concern man! The Prophet Nahum.
This is Nahum the eighth in order who was also privileged to prophesy concerning the
resurrection of the Lord Christ, and he says: Feast, O Judah, keep thy feasts, perform thy
vows, for they shall add to pass through thee no more.165 It has been consummated, it has
been taken away. He went up breathing upon thy face, delivering thee from affliction.166
Note. See how this prophet also exhorts us to rejoice over the resurrection of Christ and
over our own, showing beforehand that we shall never grow old, proclaiming, that is, our
incorruption and our immortality. Glory to God, Amen! The Prophet Habakkuk. This is
Habakkuk the ninth in order, who was also privileged to speak concerning the resurrection
of Christ in these terms:

Behold, ye despisers, and regard, and wonder marvellously, and vanish for ever, because I
work a work in your days which ye will not believe though it be told you.167 This passage
Paul cited at Antioch of Pisidia as having reference to the resurrection of the Lord
Christ. Note. In like manner also this prophet is commanded to predict marvellous and
incredible things to men, and especially to despisers, things namely concerning the
resurrection. Glory to God, Amen! The Prophet Jeremiah. This is Jeremiah the tenth in
order, who was also privileged to prophesy concerning the mystery respecting Christ,
saying thus: And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was priced,
whom certain of the sons of Israel did price, and they gave them for the potter s field as
the Lord appointed me.168 The evangelist Matthew mentions this passage as having been
fulfilled at the time of the passion. The same prophet again says: Lo! the days are
coming, saith the Lord, and I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah.169 etc. This passage is cited by the Apostle in the Epistle to the
Romans. Note This prophet in like manner predicts things which have reference to the Lord
Christ who is the Prince of the second dispensation----for he describes in the clearest
manner the first and second dispensation, the second whereof had its beginning in the Lord
Christ. Glory to Cod for ever, Amen! The Prophet Saphonias (Zephaniah).

This is Zephaniah the eleventh in order who was also privileged to prophesy concerning the
Lord Christ, and he speaks thus: The Lord will come suddenly upon them, and will utterly
destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth, and men shall worship him, every one
from his place, even all the isles of the nations!170 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
shall they bring offering to me;171 and again: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; shout,
O daughter of Jerusalem; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem;
the Lord hath taken away thine iniquities. The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the
midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.172 All things are more especially
applicable to the Lord Christ. Note. This prophet most plainly points to the manifestation
of the Lord, to the destruction of idols, and the conversion of the nations to God through
the Lord Christ. Glory be to God for ever, Amen! The Prophet Ezekiel. This is Ezekiel who
prophesied in Babylon, and who was also privileged to predict concerning the dispensation
of Christ, and he says: I will redeem them from all their transgression, wherewith they
have sinned, and I will purify them, and they shall be to me a people, and I the Lord will
be their God. And my servant David shall be ruler in the midst of them, he alone shall be
the shepherd of them all, because they shall walk in my precepts;173 and again:

And he said unto me, This water, issuing forth into Galilee which lies towards the East,
was going down into Arabia and came even to the sea, to the water at the outlet,174 and it
shall heal the waters. And it shall come to pass that every living creature which swarmeth
in every place whither the river comes shall live.175 Note. This prophet, like the others,
under a figure foreshows the great founder and ruler of our second state, and foreshows
also its constitution. Glory to God for the wisdom of all his dispensations, Amen! The
Prophet Daniel. This is Daniel who prophesied in Babylon and who was also privileged to
utter predictions concerning the Lord Christ, and he speaks thus: And thou shalt know and
discern that from the going forth of the commandment to the response and the building of
Jerusalem, until the anointed one a prince, shall be seven weeks and three score and two
weeks,176 and so forth. And again: A stone was cut without hands, and it brake in pieces
the clay, the iron, the brass, the silver and the gold, and it filled the whole earth;177
and again: Behold one like unto the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven, and he
came even unto to the Ancient of days, and he was brought near before him. And there was
given unto him dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all the peoples and nations and
languages shall serve him. His dominion,178 and so forth. Note.

And this prophet spoke out more clearly concerning the conning of Christ, intimating both
his time and the power belonging to him, and his birth from a virgin and the propagation
of his gospel throughout all the earth, which things have all come to pass with God's help
and will still come to pass. Glory to God who through all the prophets has revealed these
things beforehand, Amen! The Prophet Haggai. This Haggai was also privileged to utter
predictions concerning the Lord Christ, as, under the person of Zerubabel, he says things
which are applicable to the Lord Christ: And I will make thee as a signet, because I have
chosen thee, saith the Lord God.179 The Prophet Zechariah. This Zechariah was also
privileged to prophesy concerning the coming of the Christ, saying thus: Rejoice greatly O
daughter of Sion, shout O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is
just and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass----even a young colt.180 This
passage he uttered with reference to Zerubabel, in a strain of hyperbole as regards him,
for it had properly its accomplishment in the Lord Christ, whom Zerubabel as it were,
personified. He further says: And I will say unto him, What are these wounds between thine
hands? And he shall say, wounds which I received in the house beloved by me.181 And
shortly afterwards again he says:

I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.182 Of this
passage also the Lord made mention at the time of his Passion, applying it to himself when
he was on the point of being betrayed. Note. This prophet, while he said nothing alien to
the utterances of the other prophets, indicated the sovereignty of the Lord Christ in the
future state. The Prophet Malachi. This is Malachi, who also was privileged to prophesy
concerning the things relating to the dispensation of the Lord Christ. And it is thus he
speaks: For, from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name is
great among the nations; and in every place incense is offered unto my name and a pure
offering, for my name is great among the nations, saith the Lord Almighty;183 and again he
says: Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare, the way before thy
presence.184 This passage the Lord applied to himself and to John the Baptist. The same
prophet further says: But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise
with healing in his wings, and ye shall go forth and gambol as calves released from the
stall. A nd ye shall tread down winds; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your
feet, in the day that I do make, saith the Lord Almighty.

And behold, I will send you Elijah the Tishbite before the great and notable day of the
Lord.185 As the Lord said to the Jews, and if ye are willing, receive it of John the
Baptist: This is Elijah who was to come.186 And now at last having finished with God's
help the twelve prophets we shall proceed to the four great prophets.187 Note. Now this
prophet did not utter predictions respecting what would be done by Christ different from
the other prophets, but predictions of a similar nature; and he again prophesied the great
and notable day of the Lord, in which he says that he will send before him the Tishbite
Elijah, who is still surviving. Glory to God who created all things and who again creates
them anew. Amen! Text. All the prophets predicted, and reminded the Jews of the promises
of God which he had made to their fathers; how he promised to bless all the nations in the
seed of Abraham through the dispensation of the Lord Christ. They reminded them how God in
former times had redeemed them with a high hand from bondage to the Egyptians and given
them the land of promise, and predicted how they would be led away captives to Babylon by
Nabuchodonosor and would return again with glory; and again, how they would suffer great
miseries at the hands of Antiochus and the nations around them, and how by the divine
power they would overcome them;

and then He, who was expected from the seed of Abraham, would come for the salvation of
the whole world according to the promises earlier given. This was the work of the
prophets. Some of them accordingly wrote their own books. David, for instance, composed
the Book of Psalms, and Daniel at the time of the Captivity was commanded to write what
was revealed to him through visions, and there were others besides. But the rest did not
write their prophecies with their own hands, but in the temple there were scribes who
wrote the words of each prophet as in a diary.188 And when a prophet was sent by God to
proclaim anything, either concerning Jerusalem, that it would be led away into captivity,
or concerning Samaria, or other places, or concerning the return from captivity, or
concerning Antiochus, or the surrounding nations, or concerning the Lord Christ himself,
on the day in which they prophesied, the scribes wrote, in the book of that prophet, what
he announced, that is, concerning a single subject; and again after some time had elapsed,
if he wished to announce anything about another matter, the scribe again committed it to
writing, recording it in its order among the sayings of the same prophet, and inserting
what he announced as the beginning of a new chapter; and so in this manner they compiled
the whole of his book.

Hence we may find in their books a chapter relating to the Captivity at Babylon, or to the
Return, and immediately thereafter another chapter which has reference to Christ, and then
once more a chapter speaking again of the Captivity and the Return. And to speak briefly,
unless one reads with close observation, he will find very much apparent confusion. And
not only the books of the prophets, but the books of the kings were in this manner written
in the temple, part by part. Thus the events under Saul were recorded for Saul in his
time, part by part, until the end of his reign. The events in the time of David were thus
also recorded to the end of his reign, and similarly the events under each king were
committed to writing during his period. In like manner they wrote also in the records189
of the Kings what we call Paralipomena.190 It was Moses who wrote the Pentateuch----which
is a history of things past, present and future. Joshua again wrote the book which bears
his name. The book of Judges was written in the temple, or it may be, in the Tabernacle,
and the same may be said of the book of Ruth. Solomon again wrote his own works, Proverbs,
the Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes. For though he had received the gift of wisdom from
God, and counselled every man to conduct himself wisely in this life, he did not receive
the gift of prophecy.

As many, therefore, as we have found to have been privileged to prophesy concerning the
dispensation of the Lord Christ, we have arranged in their order. And we further write
concerning the four other prophets whatever things they were commissioned to predict----
whereunto the whole scope of divine scripture has respect. We bring forward therefore
first the sublimely eloquent Isaiah,191 who both by figure and by word was privileged to
see and prophesy concerning the mystery of Christ. John the Forerunner. This is the
greatest of all men----John the Baptist, who was filled with the Holy Ghost while he was
yet in the womb, and leaped in joy and eagerness to be the forerunner of his Lord----a man
great in the sight of God, the forerunner of Christ, preparing for him a people put in
readiness to receive him----a man superior to the prophets, born into the world before the
Apostles, intermediate between the Old and the New Testament, the last under the law, the
receiver of the new dispensation----the man who showed to all the Lord Christ as present
among them, who surpassed all men in the austerity of his manner of life, and outdid all
men in service rendered----who went before in the spirit and power of Elias, and surpassed
Elias, in that he baptized the Lord----a lamp that was lighted before the sun of
righteousness. He proclaimed the presence of the Lord, saying:

Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,192 calling him a lamb as
being a sacrificial victim, and taking away the sin of the world----as delivering the
world from sin, rendering men incorrupt, and immortal and immutable through the
resurrection. This great John was privileged to be the herald of such a ministry and of
such great things. Note. This is John the greatest of all men, who had both his father and
his mother as fellow-prophets, who not only shows the Lord Christ to be present as the
Prince of the second state, but proclaims him to be the Judge of all, saying: Whose fan is
in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and will gather the wheat
into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.193 He again proclaims
beforehand the kingdom of heaven, and prepares the way for Him who comes after him, and
who shows in himself in very deed the kingdom of heaven, which is the second state. Glory
to God who has produced all things out of nothing, and again creates them anew in Christ.
Amen! The Prophet Zachariah. This Zachariah the priest, who was himself thought worthy of
the power of prophecy, spoke both concerning his own son and the Lord Christ together, in
these words: And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt
go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.194 The Prophetess Elisabeth.

This is the prophetess Elisabeth, who by the Holy Spirit was privileged to prophesy both
concerning the Lord Christ and the Holy Virgin, speaking thus: And whence is this to me
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?195 Thus both the father and the mother of
the forerunner were privileged to announce beforehand the Lord Christ. To him be glory
with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen! The Virgin Mary. This is the holy
virgin, Mary, who brought forth her blessed offspring to the world without seed by the
Holy Spirit, who even before his birth announced with great joy the dignity of her son,
and said: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;196 and again:
He hath holpen Israel his servant, that lie might remember mercy, as he spake to our
fathers, to Abraham and his seed for ever.197 To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen! The
Prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel. This is Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who gave
thanks to God concerning Him in the temple, when His parents brought Him up into the
temple in the days of their purification, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written.198
Simeon. This is the righteous Simeon who, when he had taken up the Lord Christ in his
arms, prayed to God to let him depart this life, as it had been revealed to him by the
spirit, saying thus:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart, in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes
have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people----a light
for revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.199 The Lord Christ.
This is the Lord of all, Christ, concerning whom all prophecy made its predictions to men,
unto whom all creation turns its eye, and to whom every tongue shall confess, bending the
knee to the glory of God----Christ, in whom all prophecy terminates, the judge of the
quick and the dead, the light from the light, the Son of the living God----unto whom the
whole creation is subjected both of things in heaven, and things on earth and things under
the earth, who also spoke through His own lips: The law and the prophets until John
predicted Christ.200 To Him be glory with the Father and with the Holy Ghost for ever.
Amen. Introduction concerning the Apostles. We have now fulfilled our promise in
accordance with the obligations it imposed upon us, namely to show that the men of
primitive times and all the prophets uttered predictions concerning the mystery of Christ,
and that they all, from the first-created man, Adam, until John the Baptist, had the
future state full in their view;

which also the Lord Christ and his disciples and Apostles afterwards explicitly
proclaimed, setting forth that there is a future state far better than the present state,
which the Lord Christ first showed in himself to us when he rose from the dead and
ascended into heaven, which also the men of old with some purpose in view201 [obscurely?
announced, and which those who came afterwards clearly set forth. We have also shown that
not one of them whether of the later or the earlier ever proclaimed or imagined that
besides those two states there was any other state at all either before or after them; but
that when God began to make the whole creation, he made these two states and these only,
ordaining that this present state, in which we live as citizens, should be first, and then
the future state, whereunto the whole purpose of God and of his prophets has respect. Let
the Pagans then take shame to themselves, who suppose the world to be co-eternal with God,
while they both advocate the doctrine of a previous life, and deny the resurrection of the
body. And let those too take shame to themselves who are their followers, and who, while
they regard themselves as Christians, nevertheless think as do the Pagans who assert that
the heaven is spherical. For their views differ not at all from those which the Pagans
proclaim;

as for instance, that the bodies of which the world is made are always in corruption, and
that there is no resurrection of the body, nor any other state than the present Let the
Manichaeans and the Marcionists202 take shame to themselves, who reject the flesh, and
maintain that it is the production of the evil principle. Let all be ashamed who contemn
our souls with their intelligence, Eutychês to wit, Arius, and Appolinarius203 and all
their followers. Let all the heretics take shame to themselves who acknowledge not one God
the Maker of heaven and earth, known and worshipped in three persons, and who acknowledge
neither the resurrection of our flesh, nor the existence of angel or spirit. Let the
unbelieving Jews take shame to themselves who have not received Him who was expected, and
confess not the Christian resurrection, but only such a condition of life as our present,
in which there is marrying and being given in marriage. But well-done! well-done! ye who
are truly Christians, to you be joy and exultation, to you who believe all divine
scripture, both the Old and the New Testament, who have been led by the law and have
believed in Christ and all that he has proclaimed, especially when saying: The law and the
prophets prophesied until John;204 and:

From the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the
violent take it by force;205 meaning that as many as do violence to themselves, and live
righteously, and are not guided by their own notions, but have faith in God, all obtain
that kingdom. And to be sure, when the mother of John and James asked the Lord that one of
them should sit on His right hand and the other on His left hand in His Kingdom, He
answered her saying: It is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been
prepared by my Father;206 that is, the gift of God is extended to all, the rising again
from the dead, and becoming incorruptible, and immortal and immutable----but to be
preferred in honour to another, this is not a gift, but what is prepared by God for those
who believe and act aright. For the Lord again saith: Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you;207 and when it was prepared he tells us by adding:
from the foundation of the world.

Since Moses then, who describes the world, and all the other prophets, and the men of old
have spoken of these two states and of these only, without making mention of any others,
but proclaiming only these and committing them to writing----and since not these only but
also the Lord when he came among us, and his disciples, Evangelists and Apostles have
proclaimed nothing else than only these two states and these alone, what is there further
wanting to confute the belief that these things are not true? Who will not pay regard to
the multitude of predictions----to the fulfilment of prophecies----to the multitude of
signs and astonishing miracles----to the very walk and conversation of all the saints and
of the Lord Christ and his Apostles----to the harmony of the Old and the New Testament?
Which of these dissented from the others, and maintained that the heaven was spherical, or
proclaimed the pre-existence of this world, or represented that the world was eternal, or
denied the resurrection of the body, or the dispensation of Christ, under which righteous
men go up to heaven? But all of them, as being guided by one divine Spirit, predicted the
same things by words and by acts and by figures, and all of them direct their view to the
future state. And the Lord Christ himself shows in the Gospels in what place perfect
righteous men, intermediate men, and impious men shall have their abode. And concerning
the perfect righteous, he shows their place when he calls them to himself saying:

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation
of the world;208 and concerning the impious he shows theirs, when he says to those on his
left hand: Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his
angels,209 as if he said, to the righteous, come above to the inner heaven beyond this
visible firmament, and to the impious, go down to the place about the earth,210 into which
the devil also was hurled down. We are left under the necessity of seeking the place of
the intermediate men. Christ says then in the parable of the ten virgins, that the five
who were wise went in with the bridegroom into the bride-chamber, that is, into heaven,
because, since they were wise, they chose virginity and alms-giving----but the foolish
virgins who had, chosen the one of these but despised the other, remained outside of the
bride-chamber, having found the door shut, and heard these words: Depart from me, I know
you not;211 being neither permitted to enter, nor condemned along with the impious, but
remaining outside of the bride-chamber. Thus then each one who has right and unfeigned
faith and a worthy life enters with confidence into the Kingdom, but such, on the other
hand, as have not even one of them, neither right faith nor an honest life, are condemned
ta spend their time along with the devil about the earth.

But those who have one and hot the other, are the intermediate men, condemned to remain
outside the bride-chamber, that is, the firmament. The particular nature, however, either
of the good things or of the punishments, it is impossible for us to know, except by our
actual experience of them; but by what was merely an example taken from the punishments
and the good things of life here, He indicated what would be hereafter. For, since it was
not possible for us before we had as yet acquired experience, to hear new things otherwise
than in so far as they were figuratively stated, He said: The Kingdom of heaven is likened
unto a certain King who made a marriage feast for his son,212 having selected the highest
of the good things of this life, and likened them to the good things of the future life.
In like manner also to the worst things----fire, the undying worm, Tartarus, the gnashing
of teeth, darkness and things similar to these, because they are the most frightful forms
of earthly punishments, to these he likened the punishments of the hereafter. But it is
possible to estimate neither the good things of the future life, nor its terrible things,
nor the things that are intermediate. But that other state is far better than the present,
and is altogether very far superior, just as this present life is far better than that
when we were within our mother's womb.

For we must consider what was our condition within the womb, where we existed in a
confusion of darkness, blood, bad humours, bile and all kinds of impurity, while we were
in ignorance of everything. But having emerged into this life we see things quite
different, of which we had gained no previous experience----an extension of freedom,
inspiration of the air, the enjoyment of the beautiful light, the framework of nature, the
workmanship of an all-wise artificer, and this too while we are filled with the knowledge
of God; not one of which things it was possible for us either to know, or to conceive, or
to hear, or to enjoy, while we were still in the womb. In like manner also it is
impossible for us, while we are still in this life, to understand or to conceive or to
picture to our minds the future state which is altogether better than this, unless we are
in the midst of the things themselves, for, saith He:

Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man,
whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.213 Just as God then has in this
life freely bestowed a common gift upon all, making the sun rise upon just and unjust, and
sending his rain upon good and bad, so also in the future state he bestows a common gift
upon all, immortality and incorruption and life and immutability, but each one, according
to his former deeds, procures for himself either the Kingdom, or the punishment due to
him, or ascent into heaven, or remaining about the earth, or in the intermediate
condition. All these things, moreover, are eternal and infinite, both the good things and
the very worst. And altogether that state differs much, yea as much as can be, from the
state here. In contrast to the good things which have been prepared for the righteous are
set the things of the impious, punishment of the utmost severity, and judgment without
mercy; for the judgment and punishment of this present state have their analogy in the
future state. Let us then now come to the Evangelists and Apostles and show that they also
speak in harmony with the ancients, declaring that these two states and these alone have
been made by God: the first, being this in which we now exist, and the future, that unto
which all we Christians direct our gaze.

Let us therefore delineate Matthew the first of the evangelists who speaks concerning such
things. Matthew the Evangelist. This is the first of the evangelists who wrote a Gospel. A
Gospel (’Ευαγγέλιον) is so called because it is an announcement (ἀγγελία) of good things.
When upon the outbreak in Jerusalem of the persecution in which Stephen was stoned to
death, he was on the point of quitting the city, and certain of the faithful requested him
to leave them his teaching in writing; he, who knew by personal experience the manner of
life of the Lord incarnate upon earth, wrote for them an account thereof, for the purpose
of setting before them an image of virtuous social intercourse, of a heavenly life, and of
a divine walk and conversation. In carrying out this design he begins the narrative which
he composed in these words: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son of David,
the son of Abraham,214 as if he said, addressing to you, O most faithful, my discourse of
the miraculous generation, of our highest duty to others, of the heavenly life, and of the
new state, I lay my book before you.

And, seeing that God made promises to David and to Abraham that all the nations of the
world should be blessed through their seed, and that their seed should reign for ever, I
set forth the genealogy of Him who sprang from their seed, of Him, through whom God
blesses the world and creates it anew, and on whom He bestows an everlasting Kingdom, and
I show that He is the Prince of the future state, conceived and born in a new and becoming
way, and that He directed His life in all righteousness and holiness and without sin. For
just as the first-made man Adam was produced by divine power from earth which had not been
sown nor tilled by man, so also the Prince of the second state was produced from human
kind, that is to say, He was produced from the virgin earth without seed, without man, by
the power of the Holy Ghost And just again as formerly the female was produced from the
male, so too in this case the male was produced from the female; and just as the former,
having been worsted by the devil, brought death upon the human race, so too the latter,
having proved victorious, destroyed the power of death over the race, and procured for it,
besides, immortality and life without end.

The blessed Matthew, having in view to tell these and such like things, gave forth the
work which he had written, wherein he showed how Christ had been conceived without seed by
the Holy Ghost, and how, as He advanced in years, He lived without sin among His fellow
men, and fulfilled the requirements of the law and gospel, and all other righteousness;
and how, when He was delivered over to the tempter, He came off victorious, having
remained invincible, and having hurled out of the arena215 the adversary of human nature;
and how when the Jews plotted against Him and delivered Him over unjustly to death, He
submitted willingly even to this, for the sake of our race----in order that having, as
reason required, torn up the old bond, He might nail it to the cross, and might, as a
reasonable sacrifice, pay the penalty of death that was due for all, by offering Himself
to God spotless. Then afterwards, having after three days risen from the dead, He showed
to all the destruction of death, and exhorted all to rejoice because He had taken away
henceforth the power of death. Matthew also mentions the ascent into heaven, if not at the
end of his book, yet in the course of his narrative, when he speaks concerning John the
Baptist thus:

And in those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judaea and saying,
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;216 as if he said, the mansion in the heavens
is now ready to be revealed, as the Christ is now near. But even in the Beatitudes and
everywhere in his book, he mentions the kingdom of heaven, but more especially when the
Lord in arguing with the Pharisees and Sadducees concerning the resurrection he speaks
thus: For in the resurrection thcy neither marry nor are given in marriage, but arc as the
angels of God in heaven.217 This is the design which the blessed Matthew the Evangelist
had in view when composing his narrative. Mark the Evangelist. This is Mark, the second
who composed a Gospel, a work which Peter in Rome enjoined him to undertake. He described,
as the beginning of the Gospel or the Gospel dispensation, the baptism which was a type of
the resurrection from the dead, through which we are born again into an immortal and
unchangeable life. Then, after he had given an account of the temptations and the victory,
and likewise of the plotting against Him, and the death, and the resurrection, he brought
his composition to a close. He too mentions John the Baptist as proclaiming that the
kingdom of heaven was at hand----and all that he announced was in harmony with the blessed
Matthew. Note.

And he also, being a preacher of the New Testament, wrote for us the same things as his
predecessor, beginning with the account of the baptism, which is a type of the
resurrection from the dead----that is, of the new and heavenly dispensation. He showed how
Christ was baptized, and what was His manner of life, and how He was put to death, and
rose again and ascended into heaven, where there is the seat and the polity of the second
state. Glory to God who from the beginning has prepared it, and announced it beforehand
and has fulfilled it, and is fulfilling it. Amen! Luke the Evangelist. This is Luke the
third of the Evangelists, who, having seen that many had taken in hand to write Gospels,
and invented many things out of their own head, at once wrote to his own disciple
Theophilus, warning him not to be carried away with their fictions, and not to be turned
away from what he had learned at first: That thou, he says, mightest know accurately the
certainty of those things wherein thou wast instructed.218 He relates therefore to him
what he had already delivered to him, beginning from the birth of John, announcing this,
that the birth of the Forerunner also was miraculous.

He then related the birth of the Lord Christ according to the flesh which was also
miraculous, and, following the design of Matthew, who had preceded him, he enumerated his
ancestors retrogressively, showing that he was descended from David and Abraham, and going
still farther back he derived him from Adam. As he found no remoter ancestor he then at
length fell back upon God, saying: who was the son of God, that is, of Him who, according
to the sacred historian Moses, originated the creation, and made the first man Adam. Then
again after having narrated things similar to the other evangelists, concerning the
baptism and the temptations, and still further concerning His death and resurrection, he
relates after these, both in the Gospel itself and in the Acts, His ascension into heaven,
and states that He will in like manner come back again. And so he also closes his work
directing his eyes to the object of desire which all expect, and instructing in this also
his disciple the God-beloved Theophilus. Note 1. This preacher of the New Testament also
said the same things with the others, beginning from the generation of the Forerunner, and
coming to the birth of Jesus, and showing what was the manner of His life. In like manner
he also discoursed of the evangelical life----I mean baptism, death, resurrection, and
finally of the ascent into heaven, which is the place of our habitation in the second
state.

Glory to God who from the beginning prepared these things and announced them beforehand,
and who has now fulfilled and is fulfilling them. Amen! Note 2. It was he again who noted
down the doxology of the multitude of the host of the angels, who were rejoicing and
exulting at the birth of the Lord Christ according to the flesh, and saying: Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace, good pleasure among men,219 now putting away from
themselves the old dejection brought upon them through the first-made man, and rejoicing
at the birth of the second Adam. John the Theologian. This is the Theologian John, the
Chief of the Evangelists, who was the most loved of all by Christ, who leaned upon the
breast of the Lord, and who from thence as from an ever-flowing fountain drew forth the
mysteries, to whom, when resident in Ephesus, there were delivered by the faithful the
books composed by the other three evangelists, having received which he expressed his
approbation of them. Some things, however, he said, had been omitted by them which it was
necessary should be narrated. And having been requested by the faithful, he also gave to
the world his book, which in a manner supplied what had been omitted;

as for instance, the account of the marriage in Cana, the account of Nicodemus, of the
Samaritan woman, of the nobleman, of the man who was blind from his birth, of Lazarus, of
the indignation of Judas at the anointing of the Lord with myrrh, of the Greeks that came
to him, of the washing of feet, and of further doctrines concerning the Comforter stated
in the course of the narrative; but in particular he made clear proclamation also
concerning the divinity of Christ, which he set forth in the outset of his work as its
foundation----all which subjects had been omitted by the other Evangelists. Having begun
therefore with the divinity of Christ he forthwith passed to his humanity also, stating
such things as had been recorded before by the others, the baptism, temptations, death and
resurrection. Then again he added such things as Christ had done after the resurrection,
how He entered when the doors were shut, how He showed His hands and His feet and His side
to His disciples, how He ate and drank with them, how He journeyed with them, how He held
their eyes that they should not see Him, how, as often as He wished, He at once vanished
from them, how by way of instructing her He said to Mary: Touch me not,220 teaching her by
these words that intercourse between immortals and mortals is not fitting, but rather
intercourse with immortals must be in heaven. Wherefore also He directed her to go away
and tell the disciples:

I ascend into heaven into which ye also are to ascend. So when he also had written all
these things, he brought to an end the book which he had written, having the same object
in view as the other Evangelists, namely, to teach us that we ought to look away from this
state to that which is to come, unto which all inspired scripture both of the Old and of
the New Testament has reference. Note. This illustrious preacher of the New Testament,
having committed to writing the omissions of the other Evangelists, and filled up what
they left defective, discoursed in like manner with the others221 of baptism, manner of
life, death, resurrection and ascent into heaven, which is the abode of immortal and
righteous men and of angels, that is, it is the seat of the second state. Glory to Him who
has prepared these things, and announced them beforehand and is still fulfilling them.
Amen! Peter the Apostle. This is Peter the Chief of the Apostles, who was entrusted with
the keys of heaven, who has the Church founded on his own confession, who thrice denied,
and thrice confessed, who nobly prayed that he might sustain crucifixion with his head
downward ---- and he, keeping in view the same object as the other evangelists, thus spoke
in the Acts (see Acts ii, 22-24 and 32-36).

Here I would have it to be observed, that within the compass of merely a few lines, he has
described the whole of the argument of the Evangelists, making mention, when speaking
concerning Him (Christ), of Nazareth where He was brought up, and saying that He was a man
from God, as being the second Adam, and that through Him God wrought wonderful works; also
that with His own consent He was put to death by lawless men, and that God raised Him up
immortal and immutable (for so he said) having loosed the pangs of death, and that, having
been exalted by divine power, He ascended into heaven, and sent down from thence the Holy
Spirit. For no one else, not even David himself, ascended into heaven, but the Lord
himself, concerning whom David said: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand
until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.222 He says again when he addresses
Cornelius----[For the words see Acts x, 38-43]. In like manner when he healed the lame
man, he said (what is recorded in Acts iii, 19-21). He mentions also the passage in Moses:

A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you.223 In several passages the blessed Peter
bears his testimony in like manner as the Evangelists, arid declares that all the Prophets
had announced all these things beforehand----that God had made, and is making, a second
new state, which also he announced beforehand by the mouth of all the Prophets, but
neither said that before this state there existed another, nor did he declare that after
the future state there would be another, but along with all the Prophets and Apostles he
asserted that there were only two states----the present and the future. Note. At the time
of the building of the Tower, when the men who fought against God wished to ascend into
heaven, God, by dividing their tongues, frustrated their designs. But when, at the end of
the times He had come for the salvation of men, and led up our nature into heaven, then on
the day of Pentecost, by way of announcing beforehand the ascent of the rest of mankind,
He brought the tongues together again, through the Holy Spirit from heaven, and gave them
to the Apostles. And Peter, who was appointed to be the great preacher of the New
Testament, when he was discoursing to the multitude, and carrying the keys of the heavens,
which had been entrusted to him by Christ, proclaimed confidently the things which the
Evangelists also had taught in their writings----baptism, holiness of life, death,
resurrection, immortality, grace and incorruption. For this is the import of the saying:

Having loosed the pangs of death;224 and in like manner he calls the future state the
ascent into heaven and the times of refreshing, and this he calls the blessing which had
been promised beforehand to Abraham, and says that it had been preached to all the nations
by all the Prophets, and that the Prince of it was the Lord Christ, through whom all. the
nations will be blessed and honoured by God. Glory to Him who has prepared these things!
Stephen. This is Stephen the first martyr of the New Testament and the first Deacon, who
had for his slayer the great Paul while he was as yet zealous for the law----who alone by
himself contended against the whole synagogue and made the Judge of the contest 225 rise
from his seat to witness the spectacle. This is he who saw the heavens opened and the Son
of Man standing on the right hand of God. For while the whole of divine scripture speaks
of Him as sitting, this man saw Him standing; for the vehemence of the contest made the
Judge rise up for the view.226 Wherefore also on being invited to ascend to that glory, he
prayed for those who were stoning him, saying: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge, but
do thou thyself receive my spirit.227 Lo!

he also saw and preached the same things with the others, namely that Christ, the Prince
of the second state, is in heaven, and of Him he entreated that He would receive him into
that place. Note. And this man, who was a preacher and a zealous champion of the New
Testament, with his very eyes saw within the firmament Jesus spiritually, whom also he
entreated to receive his spirit. While addressing at great length an assembly of the Jews,
he accused them of having been the murderers of Jesus. Wherefore he also has exhibited to
us as trustworthy what those who had preceded him had taught----death, resurrection and
ascension into heaven. Glory to Him who prepared these things and announced them
beforehand, and has now fulfilled and is fulfilling these things. Amen! Paul the Apostle.
This is the great Paul the Apostle, the leader of the heavenly phalanx, who has Christ
speaking within him, who carries about the marks of Christ in his body----the great
teacher of the Church, who endured daily ten thousands of deaths for the Church, who
gloried in the Lord and in his own infirmities, who had the grace of Christ flowing in
him, who spoke to all nations in their tongues, who was once a persecutor, but is now
persecuted, who was once a sinner, but has now obtained mercy, who was caught up into the
third heaven, and again into Paradise, who was the hearer of unspeakable words, the occult
judge of spiritual gifts----Paul who prescribed the regulations of divine service, and
surpassed the other teachers of the Church; whose salutation in all his epistles, to serve
as a token, is the grace of the Lord. In all his epistles generally, as if he were already
in the second state, he continues always rejoicing and full of assurance, saying: He hath
raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him in the heavenly places;228 and: By hope
have we been saved,229 and countless other expressions he uses which we cannot now
conveniently cite. Some however we will mention that we may not too far prolong our
discourse, I Cor. xv, 19; Heb. vi, 17-20; Heb. x, 34; xii. 28; xiii, 14; I Cor. vii, 31; I
Tim. iv, 8; Philip, iii, 13-15; and 20, 21; Tit. ii, 13; Coloss. iii, 1, 2; I Thess.

iv, 14-17; Heb. xi, 14, 15, 10; viii, 2; Acts xxvi, 7, 8, and 21-23. And if we cared to
collect all the utterances of the Apostle on this subject, we shall find references
thereto in nearly all his fourteen epistles, namely, that we are hastening to run from
this present state towards that which is to come, whence also he exhorts us in these
words: Let us be eager to enter into that rest;230 speaking of that rest as if there is no
other after it, but a kingdom that cannot be shaken, meaning one that has no successor.
Note 1. What need is there to speak of this chosen vessel----a new and mighty trumpet,
sounding among the Gentiles, gathering together Jew and Gentile into one Church; since the
choice of him at first was made by Jesus calling to him from heaven, and when he was
instructed, he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision? He again when still sojourning
in this present state was caught up into the third heaven, and saw the ranks of the
angels, and beheld the worship observed by the invisible Virtues, the Principalities, the
Powers and the Dominions----and having entered in and viewed, as in a glass, the
ministrations of all the Virtues that have been named, he exclaimed:

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that
shall inherit salvation?231 So also he spoke of the rank which the adversary once held,
how he had the power of the air, and he announced his fall from heaven in consequence of
his pride. He again exclaimed: Know ye not that we shall judge angels? And again; The
saints shall judge the world. This is he who in all his Epistles exhorts us to think of
heavenly things and to seek heavenly things and to make haste to run to heaven, and to
press forward in order to obtain the things above. This is he, who, when he had declared
that heaven was the city and habitation of the righteous, angels and men, and in a word of
the whole Church, declared besides that the Lord Christ after the flesh was the supreme
Head of the whole body. For he said that He was above all Principalities and Powers and
Virtues and Dominions----and above every name that is named, not only in this world but in
that which is to come. And, to speak briefly, this Apostle is the great teacher and
interpreter of the heavenly hosts, and of the Church, and he makes mention of the present
and the future state only, and of immortality and immutability and ot all the good things
in the world above----the power of which we are not able to reckon.

To God who has prepared these things beforehand, and announced them beforehand and who has
now fulfilled and is still fulfilling them, be glory for ever, Amen! Note 2. Paul at the
very outset (of the Epistle) commends the faith of the Romans which was proclaimed
throughout the whole world, and calls them his fellow-believers. But the Corinthians he
reproves, because, as being recently philosophers of this world, after already believing
in the resurrection of the Lord Christ, they make this as of no use to them, seeing that
they do not believe our own resurrection. The Athenians therefore were right in calling
him a picker-up of sown seeds,233 since he tore up by the root the tares of their
superstition. The Galatians he calls senseless both because they readily changed their
opinions like insensate things, and because after baptism they had been deceived, and
submitted to circumcision. To the Ephesians he reveals the whole counsel of God, and
declares that in their city he had fought as it were with wild beasts, prophesying and
saying to them that afterwards there would come some to them as wolves, and would tear
them asunder; and therewith he said that from themselves would arise some who would, like
wolves, ravage the Church. The Philippians he regards with the utmost admiration, praising
them as those who alone displayed their great care and love for him in his bonds, and in
his defence, and who often sent him supplies for his wants. The Colossians again he
praises for their faith;

if they continue in the same, having love to all the saints. The Thessalonians he calls
lovers of the brethren, and speaks of them as being persecuted, and as suffering on
account of their godliness. He calls them, in like manner as the Hebrews, faithful, and
confirms them, in like manner as the Corinthians, in the belief of the resurrection of the
dead, along with the belief of the second coming of the Lord. As a Hebrew and as a member
of the Hebrew community, regarding its interests as his own, he designates them holy
brethren, and called, and partakers of heavenly things, and speaks of them as persecuted
and suffering for that godliness, only however, he adds, if we hold fast the beginning
firm unto the end;234 and he cautions them not to become faint-hearted from the fear of
persecution, and not to run back again to the unbelievers. To Timothy again, who was then
in Ephesus, he sends a message in writing, warning him against the teachers of a different
doctrine, and against his giving heed to their fables, while he confirms him in the
doctrines and delivers to him ecclesiastical canons, That thou mayest know, he says, how
men ought to behave themselves in the house of God.235 He says also that some heresies
would show themselves at the last, and would subvert the truth. And he predicts that they
would not make progress to what is better, but that they would become manifest, and that
their foolishness would be evident to all.

To Titus again, who was in Crete, he delivers ecclesiastical canons and confirms him in
the doctrines, and administers rebukes to the Cretans, as being liars, and frivolous, and
crafty, and led astray by those of the circumcision. Writing to Philemon, he bears witness
to his abundant faith, to his piety, and to the love which he has for the saints, whose
slave, Onesimus, when unprofitable, he had changed for the better, and made a pious man;
and the great Apostle exhorts the master of this slave to receive him no longer as a slave
but as a brother. In all his Epistles moreover he urges it upon all men to enter into the
habitation in the heavens, through right faith and a good life, and not to miss the good
things kept in store for the righteous----along with whom, unworthy as we are, deign, O
Lord God, Maker of the Universe, in thy compassionate goodness, to number us. Amen! I must
observe further that Paul being a Hebrew wrote to the Hebrews in the Hebrew language, but
his Epistle was translated into the Greek tongue, as they say, by Luke, or by Clement, in
like manner as the Gospel according to Matthew. Text. It behoves us, O most beloved of
God, to observe the harmony that exists between Moses, the historian of the world, and all
the Prophets and the Evangelists and Apostles, how they all harmoniously assert that God
made the whole world divided into two states.

For to this end, when God began the work of creation, he made on the second day the
firmament, and bound it together with the first heaven, having placed it midway between
the earth below and the heaven above, thus dividing the one place into two places, and the
lower of the two places he ordained to be this world, but the higher he prepared from the
beginning to be the future world, according to his previous design. For it is not in this
transitory life that our hope lies, but in that future life which hath no end, wherein is
our adoption as sons, and redemption and immutability, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and blessedness, and perfect knowledge and glory, and whatever other
blessings are laid up for us to be received from God, after we have had here experience of
things both good and bad, in order that as far as possible we may know the full strength
of the good things reserved for us, who in a certain sense become the sons of God, and are
exalted to glory and joy unspeakable. On this account, even here, we the faithful, after
baptism, become partakers of the mysteries of the body of the Lord Christ,236 in order
that after the resurrection, by devoting ourselves to the Lord Christ, we may become
partakers of His glory, attracting to ourselves glory from the glory that is His.

Wherefore also the term partaking 237 is used according to what is written by the Apostle
when he says: But we all with unveiled face beholding reflected as in a mirror 238 the
glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory even as from
the spirit of the Lord;239 as if he said, when the Lord is nigh, all we the faithful, in
the most manifest manner, without any veil, behold the glory of the Lord as in a mirror
----and are transformed into the same image as the Lord has, partaking of his glory for
our own glory. For the partaking of the mysteries indicates also our partaking of his
glorified body, just as we behold him reflected as in a mirror and partake his glory. For
out of his fulness do we all receive,240 nor does he, in giving liberally, suffer any
diminution of his fulness. But the expression as from the spirit of the Lord is intended
to show us, that just as Moses received [glory] from the Lord, so do we receive [glory]
through the Holy Spirit. Note. Just as we who are born in this world are nourished by the
milk of our parents----that is, are organised for living from their flesh and their blood,
so we are commanded to take our nourishment mystically from the body and blood of the Lord
Christ;

since in the future state, according to the view of scripture, He is our Father, from whom
and through whom we receive glory, and are, so to speak, reborn into life eternal. In this
state takes place the initial birth and the nourishment of milk in the mysteries,
organising, suitably for living, him that has been generated----a type of the regeneration
through water and the spirit, and the mystical nourishment of the body and blood of Christ
inviting and strongly drawing to life eternal him that believes and partakes. In the
future state again is the resurrection from the dead, whereby we rise up from our graves
as from the womb, and are born anew and refashioned; and especially there is the
participation of the glorified, immortal and incorruptible and immutable body and soul of
Christ. Glory to God the Creator and Renovator of the universe for ever. Amen! Text.
Divine scripture is wont to speak of the creation as being from the Father, and the
incarnation as being from the Son, and the regeneration from the dead as being from the
Holy Spirit. Not that the Father does this alone, or the Son that, or the Holy Spirit
something else, but the Holy Trinity conjointly effects the creation, and the incarnation
and the resurrection.

For, as has been said, divine scripture with a view to show that there is one God in three
persons is wont thus to distinguish them, namely----by ascribing to the Father as Cause,
the causing the world to exist, by ascribing to the Son as begotten, the cause of the
incarnation, as possessing a worthy adoption and being the fountain of knowledge, and by
ascribing to the Holy Spirit as proceeding from the Father, in virtue of His life-giving
and sanctifying power, the regeneration and redemption and sanctification of the future
state. For just as the sun has in himself the power of giving light and heat, and without
these cannot be perceived, so likewise the Father has two powers proceeding from himself,
apart from which He cannot be seen, the Son, namely, and the Holy Ghost. And just as the
sun is a fiery body and has as one of his powers to give light, and as another to give
heat; and neither the heat-giving is the light-giving power, nor the light-giving the
heat-giving power, while the sun and his powers are inseparable the one from the other; so
in the Father and Son and Holy Ghost there is one God----the Father with his two powers
existing inseparably the one in the other, and these are seen by the mind in their proper
Persons. For in this case, God is properly incorporeal, but the similitude, so far forth
as it is such, is obscure. But we may take a further similitude from our own soul.

For just as the soul has inherent in itself word (or discourse) and understanding (λόγον
καὶ νοῦν) and the discursive faculty (τὸ λογικὸν) is one thing and the understanding
faculty (τὸ νοερὸν) a different thing, and the word goes forth from the soul inseparably
----not dissevered from it, [while the same is true of the understanding], nay, they are
in the soul and from it and with it, so we must think of God. Wherefore also John the
Evangelist employing this illustration called the Son the Word as proceeding from the
Father and being with Him, and being of the same substance; and the Apostle Paul taking an
illustration from the material world called him the effulgence. But the Old Testament
says: Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.242 Here in both the words
ποιήσωμεν and ἡμετέραν it expresses plurality, but the phrases in our image and after our
likeness do not mean the same thing, but the former of them means one thing, and the other
a different thing. The expression in our image has this sense, that man and man alone, as
having all things in himself----things visible and things invisible, things perceived by
the intellect and things perceived by the senses, things corruptible and things
incorruptible, indicates that there is one Creator of all things that are, even God, and
man is in this respect the image of God, through his knowing that there is one Creator of
the universe, as the Apostle exclaims:

For a man ought not to cover his head, being the image and glory of God;243 thus expressly
declaring that man was made for the glory of God, and, in accordance with this, calling
him His image, as man alone is capable of knowing that there is one Creator of the
universe, even God, who formed man as the only living creature in whose composition are
found all the natural qualities. But the other expression after our likeness has this
sense, that Adam was a father and not a son, and, from his own substance by procession
produced Eve, who is called neither a son nor a sister, and by generation produced his own
son Sêth, who again was of his own substance, producing him by generation, and her by
procession, thus producing the one, one way, and the other, another way, out of his own
substance. But inasmuch as Adam had a beginning, those also who spring from him have a
beginning, but as God and the Father has no beginning, those who are of Him proceed from
Him without beginning, and are eternally with Him, just as the effulgence and heat are
with the sun, and just as the word and the intelligence are with our soul, according to
the similitudes of divine scripture.

And some of the Fathers have employed similitudes regarding the Holy Trinity drawn from
the material world, some of them speaking of two rivers as flowing forth out of an ever-
flowing fountain, and others of branch and fruit produced from a tree as the root. But
all, whether Apostles or Fathers, as being but men, have spoken under the inspiration of
the Spirit, in similitudes drawn from the natural world, which however fall altogether
short of exhibiting the divine substance. But in the future state again, when we shall
rise up spiritual beings, we shall know more exactly concerning God. In this manner
therefore divine scripture in these passages, having in view to set before us the Persons
in the Trinity, frequently employs this phraseology, declaring the Creation to be, so to
speak, from the Father, and the Incarnation to be of the Son, and the Resurrection to be
of the Holy Ghost. But yet it is the Holy Trinity which does all things. The blessed Moses
however, as if God were speaking, said: Let us make man;244 here the word (ποιήσωμεν)
though in the plural number can be understood to refer to two only.

Since therefore it seemed good to God not to deliver to us at the first an acknowledgment
of the Holy Trinity, lest we should think the Persons of whom it consists to have material
bodies, and we should thus suspect that there are three Gods, when He came to the creation
of man, He then expressed Himself ambiguously in the plural number, yet in such a way that
it could be understood that He was speaking only of two. But after some time had elapsed,
He is again found using an expression more distinctly plural when He says: Come, let us go
down and confound their language 245-----an expression which can no longer be thought
applicable to two only, but to three or more. Then again after an interval of a great many
years, not to introduce a host of instances, God again used an expression ambiguously
respecting the Trinity, repeating thrice through Isaiah the word Holy which he made
applicable to one God, saying: The Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory;246
showing both the number of the three Persons and the unity of the Godhead. But in the days
of the Lord Christ according to the flesh, He taught this clearly, saying: Go ye, and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost,247 speaking indeed of one name, but distinguishing them into three
Persons.

And since he was going to proclaim these things clearly, giving intimation of them
beforehand, through the form of the bond-servant, on his first making the announcement at
the creation of man, He used the plural number: Let us make man. When therefore the Lord
shall come from heaven, He takes with Himself into the kingdom of heaven the faithful, the
righteous, the worthy, both angels and men; but as for the rest, some of them He permits
to be outside of the firmament, and others He consigns to the nether parts around the
earth, according to what He says in the Gospel in the account of the consummation of
things: Then there shall be two men in the field, one is taken, and one is left; two women
shall be grinding at the mill, one is taken, and one, is left;248 as if He said those in
the field, namely, all those that are in the world whether rich or poor or middle-class,
that is to say whatever be their rank in life, whosoever is found worthy is taken into
heaven; but if he be not worthy, he is left upon the earth. Then when He speaks of those
grinding at the millstone, He means those that are bond-servants, and such of those bond-
servants as are found worthy are taken into heaven, while those that are unworthy are left
upon the earth.

By His using the masculine form in the first instance, and then the feminine form249
afterwards, He has indicated the difference of sex, whether they be males or females,
whether they be righteous or sinners. The Apostle Paul also, in his second Epistle to the
Thessalonians, expresses himself to the same effect, saying: At the revelation of the Lord
Jesus, from heaven, with the angels of his power, in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to
them that know not God, and to them that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from, the
glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled
at in all them that believed;250 he also showing that for the faithful saints, great and
unspeakable glory is treasured up, but to the unbelieving, a doom of destruction,251 that
is, a punishment in congruity with that state. For in destruction, and sorest punishment
and deep repentance, is every one found who does not enjoy the holy delights and glories,
and the blessedness treasured up for the righteous. It is the duty then of every Christian
in this life to bring himself into bondage, and thereby to make himself obedient unto God,
and to believe the whole body of divine scripture both the Old and the New Testament, and
to be a strict guardian of the doctrines, and to lead a life consistent with the faith;

and, in accordance with what we professed and vowed when going forward to baptism, to
thrust away from us and renounce all Satanic and Pagan error, and unbelief and folly and
groundless hope. For by remaining in them they will incur the most grievous harm, while
calculating and predicting eclipses as a divine science, without possessing any hope
beyond this, and while leading others into the errors into which they have themselves been
led. Now if any one resorts to these men, as to prophets, when he has lost a mantle or
anything else, he hears from them of it, or recovers it through them, who deceive him as
to the truth, but if not, then not even this. Such are the hopes of those weak-minded men
who ascribe to the heaven a spherical form; nor are they able to hope for anything
further, neither a resurrection, nor a kingdom of heaven, nor a better state, since they
both lose the sphere, and ruin the hope itself which they have. May it be ours, O honoured
head, at the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of our Lady the
Mother of God,252 and through those of all the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles,
martyrs, confessors and teachers, to be numbered along with those on the right hand, and
to hear with them that surpassing and blessed utterance: Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.253 To Him be glory
for ever. Amen! Note.

The whole scope of this work and of the delineations is to set forth that from the
beginning, God, through all the men of old, and also through Moses the Cosmographer, and
all the Prophets and Apostles, has shown that there are two states ---- the present state
and the future; and we have exhibited also the figure of the whole world, and have shown,
that Christians prefer to follow their own principles, and that their ends are in
conformity with their principles; and herein we have proclaimed the goodness of God, in
the exercise of which He has set an end to this state of discipline, and to wresthngs, and
to corruption and death. And we have set forth that in the Lord Christ immortality, incor-
ruption, immutability, blessedness, sanctification and righteousness everlasting were
prepared for all men, as he had prepared from the foundation of the world the second
place, which is in heaven, and the second state, as again he showed it to us beforehand
typically, by means of the Tabernacle. We have shown besides that the opinion of the
Pagans is one which holds out no hope, for they neither expect a second state, nor believe
that there will be a resurrection of our bodies, but they lead others into error and are
themselves in error, their minds whirling round and round along with that sphere of
theirs;

and they think it to be impossible for God to raise the bodies of all men, although, as
being wise, they ought to know that, if God is judge of the thoughts and hearts of all
men, and can discern the thoughts of each man since the beginning of time, He should be
able all the more to discriminate the bodies of men. For if he is able to discriminate the
things of the spirit, much more is He able to discriminate bodies. For He shakes from its
foundations the whole frame of nature, heaven and earth, together with the other elements
at the final consummation, and each of these renders back whatever human body it
possesses, God, by His power, making the discrimination. And just as one who sifts with a
sieve will find the object which he seeks, so, when the whole creation is shaken, those
who are sought for will be found amidst it; for saith He through the prophet: For yet once
more I shall shake not the earth alone but also heaven.254 But the word, yet once more,
signifies, as the Apostle shows, the removing of those things that are shaken, as of
things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. Wherefore,
receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show255 thankfulness whereby, we may
offer service well-pleasing to God, with reverence and piety and supplication.256 And the
Lord referring to the final consummation says: [The texts here quoted are Matt. xxiv, 29
seqq.;

I Thess., 15-17; I Cor., xv, 52, 53. These are the good tidings of the Christians
----these the great and wondrous hopes of the faithful----the resurrection of the dead,
and the kingdom of heaven prepared from the foundation of the world for men, who, as soon
as they have obtained immortality and incorruption and immutability, together with Christ
shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, treading on high the paths of air, and shall reign as
kings with Christ----shall with Christ possess heaven as their dwelling-place----being
permitted to tread with Christ the entrance into the Tabernacle not made with hands, being
called, along with Christ and the holy angels, citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem;
rejoicing with Christ, exulting with Christ, exalted with Christ, wearing crowns along
with Christ, glorified with Christ, enjoying with Christ the throne of grace, enjoying
with Christ righteousness and sanctification and redemption and blessedness, and every
eternal and unspeakable good. What nation, or what sect, can by believing possess such
hopes except Christians alone? The Pagans do not believe and are without hope, being in
love with the wisdom of this world, which has not the power of itself to take hold of even
one of the things, unless a divine illumination should follow. In like manner also the
Jews, not believing in Christ, when He appeared and openly proclaimed these things, and
confirmed them both by Himself and by His Apostles, have incurred the loss of all these
things.

The Samaritans again, and the Montanists,258 being more stiff-necked than the Jews, when
they could not be taught by Moses and the figures of the world, and did not believe even
the prophets, confessing neither angel, nor spirit, nor the immortality of the rational
soul, but denying the same doctrines as the Pagans, even the resurrection of the body,
suffer the loss of all these things. In like manner again the Manichaeans, who hate the
body and do not confess its resurrection, but suppose it to be the workmanship of an evil
deity,259 and expect that it will be destroyed, these also are deprived of all good
things, being condemned as impious, along with that deity whom they elected for themselves
upon earth. In like manner also all the heretics, whosoever deny the assumption of our
flesh and of our soul at the time of the Incarnation, and whosoever, by denial, take away
the divinity of the Son, and seek to lessen the divinity of the Holy Ghost, are also
deprived of all these good things. For those alone who acknowledge one God in three
Persons, without beginning, eternal, uncircumscribed, invisible, intangible,
incorruptible, immortal, imperturbable, incorporeal, unlimited, incomprehensible,
uncompounded, indivisible, the Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and
invisible, known and adored in Father, Son and Holy Ghost;

who, in the last of the days, at the time of the Incarnation, desiring to renovate the
world which He had created, and having taken again from the holy Virgin Mary our
substance, God the Word, with the Father and Holy Ghost, without seed, with a view to
renovate the microcosm which is the bond of the whole creation, namely, Man, by His own
mere inclination, became united to him, in a union wondrous and indissoluble, in such a
way that the assumption was not understood to precede the union, but the formation and
assumption and union were simultaneous, and He consented to suffer and to be put to death;
and when He had made man perfect through the resurrection, He led him up into heaven, and
honoured him with a seat at His right hand, and appointed Him to be judge of all. Those
also who, in like manner with Him, live uprightly, enter into the bride-chamber along with
the bridegroom, those, to wit, who take away neither His divinity nor His humanity; these
with Christ sing together for joy, and reign with Him in heaven, hearing from Him at the
final consummation these words: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 260 But of the day of the consummation
no one knows except God alone. They say however that, until men become equal in number to
the angels, the consummation of the world will not take place. For Moses says:

He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God;261 as
if he said: He set the bounds in this, in their becoming equal in number to the angels.
The Apostle in point of fact also says: But when the fulness of the Gentiles has come in,
then all Israel shall thus be saved,262 here clearly speaking of the final consummation.
Nay, even the Lord manifestly hints obscurely at this when He says: At the resurrection
they are equal to the angels.263 Ye then, as many as are Christians, and take hold of this
hope, and have the Lord Christ as your example and model, when reading this book of mine,
pray for me a sinner, that the Lord of all will not disdain me, but will in His mercy make
me to be numbered along with you, in company with those on His right hand, while He
overlooks our transgressions; and that I may not fail to obtain that blessedness
unspeakable, through your prayers and supplications, and by the compassion and kindness
and grace of Christ the Saviour of us all, to whom with the Father and with the Holy Ghost
be glory both now and evermore world without end, Amen! A Christian's Christian Topography
embracing the whole world.

1. 1 According to the reading of the Greek text (ποιησαμένου, ἀρξαμένου), which Montfaucon
follows in his Latin version, his should be substituted for our; but as Cosmas can neither
have meant that Moses made divine scripture, which did not yet exist, his starting-point
(τὰς ἀφορμὰς), nor that the narrative of Moses began with the destruction of the firstborn
of the Egyptians, I have taken as the proper readings ποιησάμενος and ἀρξάμενος. 2. 1 Heb.
x, 1. 3. 1 Gr. μετάληψιν μυστηρίων. Metalepsis is still in the Greek Church the term in
use for the Holy Communion. By the Mysteries are meant the symbolic rites of the Christian
faith, chiefly baptism and the eucharist. The mysteries recognised by St. Theodorus, abbot
of the monastery of Studium, in Constantinople, who flourished towards the end of the
eighth century, were baptism, eucharist, unction, orders, monastic tonsure, and the
mystery of death or funeral ceremonies. The Greek Church now recognises seven mysteries:
baptism, chrism or unction immediately after baptism, eucharist, priesthood, penance
(μετάνοια), marriage and unction (εὐχέλαιον), administered by seven priests. 4. 2 II Cor.
v, 7. 5. 3 John i, 29. 6. 1 The Heroopolitan, or Western Gulf at the northern extremity of
the Red Sea, is called by Eusebius Clysma. As it was said to have been so designated from
a town at the northern extremity of the gulf, Clysma was probably situated at, or
somewhere near, Suez.

Orosius mentions the wheel-tracks here spoken of by Cosmas, as does also Philostorgius in
the abstract of his Ecclesiastical History made by Photius (Book in, c. 6). Athanasius,
however, and others, thought Clysma was in Arabia, near the mountain to which Philo, an
Egyptian bishop, was banished by Constantius. 7. 1 Luke ii, 22. 8. 2 The Manifestation of
Christ to the Gentiles, with special reference to the day on which he was worshipped by
the Wise Men of the East. 9. 3 This word means a palm grove. See Strabo's Geog., xvi, ii,
41. 10. 1 Psalm cv, 38. 11. 2 Note by Montfaucon: "This, with the figures that follow, we
have purposely omitted, because they were either omitted by the copyists, or clumsily
drawn and otherwise useless." 12. 3 See note 2, p. 56. 13. 4 The picture is not given in
Montfaucon. 14. 1 Psalm, lxxviii, 16. 15. 2 Psalm, cv, 41. 16. 3 I Cor. x, 4. 17. 4 Gr.
ἐκμαγεῖον. 18. 5 Exod. xv, 30. 19. 6 Heb. ix, i, 2. 20. 1 Heb. viii, i, 2. 21. 2 Heb. ix,
11, 12. 22. 3 Heb. ix, 24. 23. 4 This word (from στύφω, I contract) is to be found neither
in Liddell and Scott's Dictionary nor in that of Sophocles. It is rendered by ex tela in
Montfaucon's Latin version. 24. 1 See the Tabernacle as Cosmas has depicted it in Pl. 12
in the Appendix. 25. 2 One of the Ten Attic Orators. He was the friend and political ally
of Demosthenes.

His orations are lost. 26. 1 Gr. Καταπέτασμα, the inner veil, the outer being Κάλυμμα. 27.
2 Gr. Κορτίναι, a Latin word. 28. 3 Gr. στρωματοδέσμων. 29. 4 δισσακίων. 30. 5 δέῤῥεις.
31. 1 See Pls. 14 and 17 in the Appendix. 32. 1 Exod. xv, 30. 33. 2 Heb. ix, 12. 34. 3
Heb. ix, 11, 12. 35. 4 Heb. x, 1. 36. 5 Heb. 19, 21. 37. 6 Rom. iii, 25. 38. 1 Irenaeus
(76) and Epiphanius (Haer., 30, 13) inform us that the Ebionites (Jewish Christians)
maintained the Jewish custom of turning in prayer towards Jerusalem as to the Holy City.
39. 1 The Greek text has λάβρες, which Montfaucon has corrected into λαβίδες. 40. 2 See
Pl. 15 in the Appendix. 41. 3 Eccl. i, 6. 42. 4 See Pl. 19 in the Appendix. 43. 1 Rom.
iii, 25. 44. 2 Heb. ix, ii, 12. 45. 3 See Pl. 16 in the Appendix. 46. 4 Luke i, 13. 47. 5
John i, 29. 48. 1 Gr. παπυλεώνων, incorrect for παπιλεώνων or παπιλιώνων. This is a Latin
word (pavilio, a butterfly, a tent), and hence Cosmas may be excused for tripping in its
spelling. See Pl. 18 in the Appendix. 49. 2 Gr. Χιτὼν κοσύμβρωτος, καὶ ἐπωμὶς, καὶ ποδῆρες
(should be ποδήρης, χιτών being understood), καὶ κίδαρις, καὶ ζώνη, καὶ μίτρα, καὶ
πέταλον.

The word ἐπωμίς, as used by Greek writers, denotes the point of the shoulder where it
joins the collar-bone, and also the part of the women's tunic which was fastened on the
shoulder by brooches. The ephod, or vestment worn by the Jewish high priest over the blue
tunic, consisted of two shoulder-pieces, one covering the back, the other the breast, and
was therefore not unlike the Greek epomis. 50. 1 Gr. σμαράγδου. The stones, however, were
onyx-stones. See Exod., xxviii, 9. 51. 2 Gr. τὸ λογεῖον τῆς κρίσεως. Logeion denoted the
place on the Attic stage from which the players spoke; pulpitum in Latin. Here it is used
in the sense of λόγιον, an oracle. Κρίσις denotes the judicial sentence by which one is
justified or condemned; and the wearing of the plate was meant to signify God's acceptance
of Israel, grounded on the sacrificial functions of the high priest. 52. 3 Some think that
in the breastplate there were inserted two images which personified Lights and
Perfections, the mysterious Urim and Thummim. Others again take Urim and Thummim to be the
breastplate itself, with its rows of precious stones. After the taking of Jerusalem it was
carried to Rome, and with other spoils deposited in the Temple of Peace. 53. 4 Gr.
ἀσπιδίσκας, lit. small shields; the ouches of our bible. 54. 1 Hence its name, ποδήρης.
55. 2 Gr. κίδαριν βυσσινὴν. Cidarim Persae regium capitis vocabant insigne; hoc caerulea
fascia albo distincta circumibat.----Q. Curtius, iii, 3. 56. 3 Gr. σφραγὶς ἁγιάσματος
Κυρίου. See Exod. xxviii, 36:

" And thou shall make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a
signet, Holy to the Lord. The plate was worn in the mitre, or upper turban. 57. 4 Gr.
βομβωνάρια. A very rare word. It is used by the Byzantine historian Malala. 58. 5 See Pls.
20 and 21 in the Appendix. 59. 1 According to Josephus, the bells signified thunder, and
the pomegranates lightning, or were meant to give notice to the people outside when the
priest entered or came forth from the Holy place. 60. 2 Psalm lxxviii, 20. 61. 1 Numerous
inscriptions, partly Egyptian and partly Nabataean, are still to be found on the rocks of
Sinai. The Egyptian are of great antiquity, even long prior to Moses, as they contain the
names of Egyptian kings from Senefu and Cheops down to Ramses II. The discovery, moreover,
of the cuneiform tablets at Tel-el-Amarna shows us that in the century before the exodus
people were writing and corresponding with each other in the east from the Euphrates to
the Nile. The Nabataean inscriptions, again, belong to the early inscriptions of the
Christian aera, and the characters used are the Western Aramaic or Syriac. Cosmas, with
easy credulity, took them to be as old as the time of Moses. Along with Eusebius and
Jerome, he identified Mount Serbal with Mount Sinai. The famous monastery of St. Catharine
was founded by Justinian in the time of Cosmas.

62. 1 Galat. iii, 19. 63. 1 I Cor. xv, 21. 64. 1 Heb. xii, 11. 65. 2 Gr. Διαγράφομεν . . .
τὴν στρατοπεδαρχίαν. The proper meaning of stratopedarchia is the office of a military
commander. Cosmas seems to use it here instead of stratopedeuma---- a camp. Neither these
sketches, nor those of the men of old and the Prophets mentioned below, are given. 66. 1
See note 2, p. 164. 67. 2 Ephes. v, 32. 68. 3 Coloss. i, 15. 69. 4 Gr. τὴν ἰσοτιμίαν καὶ
τὸ χρέος τῆς φύσεως ἀναπληρώσας. The debt was that which was due by the woman to Adam, and
which she acquitted by bearing Christ without seed. There seems to be reference also to
the debt which Adam incurred by his sin, and which Christ paid by His death. 70. 1 Rom. v,
14. 71. 2 Gen. iii, 20. 72. 1 Gen. iv, 25. 73. 2 Gen. v, 1-3. 74. 1 Luke xv, 7. 75. 2
Ephes. iii, 10 76. 3 Heb. xii, 22-24. 77. 1 Heb. ix, 27. 78. 2 Gen. ii, 17. 79. 1 Gr.
φησίν, saith he, that is, the Apostle, which I think should be φασὶν -- say they. 80. 2
Gen. iv, 15. 81. 1 Heb. xi, 5. 82. 1 Gen. vi, 16. 83. 2 Gen. ix, 24. 84. 3 Gen. ix, 26,
27. 85. 1 Gen. ix, 27. 86. 2 Coloss. ii, 9. 87. 1 Gen. ix. 1-4. 88. Gen. ix, 6. 89. 1 Gen.
iii, 22. 90. 2 Gen. i, 27. 91. 1 Gen.

xxv, 23. 92. 1 Gen. xxii, 19. 93. 2 Montfaucon has here this note: "He (Cosmas) calls them
Careni, from Charan or Carrhae, whither Abraham withdrew on leaving Chaldaea." 94. 3
Astronomy, Astrology, and Incantation. 95. 1 Gen. xxii, 10. 96. 2 Rom. viii, 32. 97. 3 Gr.
ἀντάλλαγμα καὶ ἀντίδειξιν. The latter is not a classical word. The Dictionary of Sophocles
gives demonstration as its meaning. 98. 4 John viii, 56. 99. 5 Gen. xxvii, 29. 100. 1 Gr.
ἐκ βλαστοῦ----the reading of the Septuagint. 101. 2 Gen. xlix, 8-12. 102. 1 Gen. xxviii.,
15. 103. 2 I.e., to receive the things which foreshadowed Christ. 104. 1 Gr. διὰ τῆς
νεφέλης προμηνύων τὴν δύσιν τοῦ νόμου. The cloud here referred to is the thick cloud which
rested upon Sinai at the giving of the law. Such expressions as: We are not under law but
under grace, We have been discharged from the law, and others similar, used by St. Paul in
his Epistle to the Romans, warrant Cosmas in speaking of the setting of the law under the
Christian dispensation. 105. 2 Gr. διαγωγὴν. The Latin version has commemorationem by a
printer's error for commorationem. 106. 3 "We thus," says Montfaucon in a foot-note
"restore the mutilated text, for in the Codex it is unlike the Greek Septuagint." 107. 4
Deut. xviii, 15, 18. 108. 5 Num. xxiv, 17. 109. 1 The Latin version has collimat, a
printer's error for collinet. 110. 2 Gr. ἀστεῖος, τῷ Θεῷ γεννηθεὶς. The Latin version has
vir urbanus, Deo natus. In Exod.

ii, 2, where Moses is described as a goodly child, the Septuagint has, as the
corresponding epithet, ἀστείον. 111. 3 τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας μερικῶς προδιεγράφετο. The
Latin version has: gloriam postea distributam per partes praenuntius adumbrabat. 112. 1
Gr. τοῦ δὲ ᾠδοὺς τους λεγομένους, βουκολίους. lit., "another, the songs called pastoral."
βουκολίους is not a classical form. 113. 2 Gr. ἔξαρχον. Cf. ’Αοιδοὶ θρήνων ἔξαρχοι. Homer,
Il. xxiv, 271. 114. 3 Cosmas takes this to be a different man from the real author, the
great Moses. 115. 1 The word used in the Septuagint for the Hebrew Selah. 116. 2 I Chron.
xxv, 6. 117. 3 II Sam. vi, 21. 118. 1 The last two Psalms are numbered in the Greek text
44 and 109, as in the Septuagint. 119. 2 Acts iv, 27. 120. 1 Acts xiii, 32, 33. 121. 2
Psalm ii, 9. 122. 3 Matt. xxi, 9. 123. 4 Matt. xxi, 16. 124. 5 Luke xix, 39 125. 1 Matt,
xxi, 16. 126. 2 Philip, ii, 6. 127. 3 Luke xix, 40. 128. 4 Psalm viii, 5. 129. 1 Heb.i, 8.
130. 2 Heb. i, 9. 131. 1 Matt, xxii, 43, 44. 132. 2 The text has ἐπιτρέπεται, but this
must be a mistake for προτρέπεται and I have translated accordingly. 133. 3 Dan. vii, 14.
134. 4 Matt. xxvii, 18. 135. 5 Psalm cx, 4. 136. 1 Heb. v, 4, 5. 137. 2 Psalm xxii, 18.
138. 3 Psalm lxix, 21. 139. 4 Psalm xvi, 8. 140. 5 Psalm lxviii, 18. 141. 6 Deut.

xxx, 12. 142. 1 Psalm xxii, 1. 143. 2 John v, 16, 17. 144. 3 Matt. xii, 3, 4. 145. 4 Gr.
ἀντιδιαστέλλων. Montfaucon translates this by comparat, which not only reverses the
meaning of the word, but makes the argument unintelligible. Cosmas means that the
disciples having done, like David and his men, what was unlawful must, like them, be
contradistinguished from the priests, though they were servants like themselves. In the
last of the examples, Peter is rebuked for not having made a proper discrimination between
Christ and the two prophets. 146. 1 Matt. xvii, 4. 147. 2 Luke ix, 33. 148. 3 Matt. xvii,
5. 149. 1 Hos. vi, 1-3. 150. 2 I Cor. xv, 3. 151. 3 Hos. xi, 12. 152. 1 Hos. xiii, 14.
153. 1 Amos iv, 13. 154. 1 Obad. i, 15. 155. 2 Obad. i, 17. 156. 3 Matt. xii, 40. 157. 1
Isai. vi, 1-3. 158. 2 Isai. vi, 7. 159. 3 Isai. liii, 7. 160. 4 Isai. liii, 3. 161. 5 Luke
iv, 18. 162. 1 Gr. μεγαλοφωνότατος. In the Greek Anthology this epithet is applied to
Pindar. 163. 2 Mic. v, 2. 164. 3 Mic. vii, 19. 165. 1 Gr. διότι οὐ μὴ προσθήσωσιν ἐτι τοῦ
διελθεῖν διὰ σοῦ εἰς παλαίωσιν. 166. 2 Nah. i, 15. 167. 3 Habak. i, 5. 168. This is a
quotation from Zachar. xi, 12; see Matt, xxvii, 9-10. 169. Jerem. xxxi, 31-34. 170. Zeph.
ii, 11. 171. Zeph. iii, 10. 172. 1 Zeph. iii, 14, 15. 173. 2 Ezek.

xxxiv, 23-25. 174. 3 Gr. ἐπὶτὸ ὕδωρ τῆς διεκβολῆς. The Revised Version translates this
passage thus: These waters issue forth towards the eastern region, and shall go down into
the Arabah: and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were
made to issue forth. 175. 4 Ezek. xlvii, 8, 9. 176. 1 Dan. ix, 26. 177. 2 Dan. ii, 45.
178. 3 Dan. vii, 13 seqq. 179. 4 Hag. ii, 24. 180. 1 Zach. ix, 9. 181. 2 Zach. xiii, 6.
182. 3 Zach. xiii, 7. 183. 4 Mai. i, 11. 184. 1 Mal. iii, 5. 185. 2 Mal. iv, 2-5. 186. 3
Matt. xi, 14. 187. 4 Montfaucon has here the following note: Cosmas at first had placed
the four great Prophets after the twelve minor; but afterwards either Cosmas himself or
someone else mixed up the great with the minor as in the present text.

188. 1 Gr. ὡς ἐπὶ ἡμερολογίου. 189. 1 Gr. ἐν τοῖς σκρηνίοις. This is an erroneous
transcription of the Latin word scrinium, a chest for keeping documents. 190. 2 Gr.
Παραλειπομένας sc. βίβλους. The two Books of Chronicles. 191. 3 See note 1, p. 200. 192. 1
John i, 29. 193. 1 Luke iii, 17. 194. 2 Luke i, 76. 195. 3 Luke i, 43. 196. 4 Luke i, 48.
197. 5 Luke i, 51. 198. 1 Luke ii, 22. 199. 2 Luke ii, 28-32. 200. 3 Luke xvi, 16. 201. 1
Gr. σκοπῷ τινι. Montfaucon translates: aliqua ratione et scopo; but Cosmas no doubt wrote
σκότῳ, with some obscurity. 202. 1 Marcion flourished about the middle of the second
century; Manichaeus, after the middle of the third. 203. 2 Eutychês, who belonged to the
fifth century, was a Presbyter and Abbot at Constantinople, where he headed the party
opposed to the Nestorian doctrines. He asserted that in Christ there is but one nature----
that of the Incarnate Word. Arius denied that the Son was co-equal or co-eternal with the
Father. He flourished in the earlier part of the fourth century. Apollinarius, called
Apollinaris by Latin writers, was Bishop of Laodicca in 362. He was condemned as a heretic
by the Council of Constantinople in 381, on the ground that his doctrine denied the true
human nature of Christ. 204. 3 Luke xvi, 16. 205. 4 Matt, ii, 12. 206. 1 Matt. xx, 24.
207. 2 Matt, xxv, 34. 208. 1 Matt. xxv, 34. 209. 2 Matt.

xxv, 41. 210. 3 Gr. κάτω περὶ τὴν γῆν. 211. 4 Matt. xxv, 12. 212. 1 Matt, xxii, 2. 213. 1
I Cor. ii, 9. 214. 1 Matt, i, 8. 215. 1 Gr. ἔξω τοῦ σκάμματος ὑπερακοντίσας. Scamina. is a
place dug out and sanded for wrestling, leaping, &c. 216. 1 Matt. iii, 1, 2. 217. 2 Matt.
xxii, 30. 218. 1 Luke i, 4. 219. 1 Luke ii, 14. 220. 1 Luke xx, 47. 221. 1 The Greek text
reads: καὶ ἀναπληρώσας τὰ λοιπὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις. I have, however, translated in accordance
with what must be the proper punctuation: καὶ αναπληρώσας· τὰ λοιπὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁμοίως
ἐξείπε. 222. 1 Psalm cx, 1. 223. 2 Deut. xviii, 15. 224. 3 Acts ii, 24. 225. 1 Gr.
ἀγωνοθέτην. 226. 2 This idea Cosmas borrowed from St. Chrysostom. 227. 3 Acts vii, 59.
228. 1 Ephes. ii, 6. 229. 2 Rom. viii, 24. 230. 1 Heb. iv, ii. 231. 2 Heb. i, 14. 232. 3 I
Cor. vi, 2, 3. 233. 1 Gr. σπερμολόγον. This word means figuratively one who picks up and
retails scraps of knowledge, and is translated by babbler in Acts xvii, 18. See note on
this word in Book vii. 234. 1 Heb. iii, 6. 235. 2 I Tim. iii, 15 236. 1 I.e., of the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 237. 2 Gr. μετάληψις. See note 1, p. 140. 238. 1 Gr.
κατοπτριζόμενοι. I follow Beet's translation of this word----beholding re flected as in a
mirror. 'The Revised Version has: reflecting as a mirror. 239. 2 II Cor. iii, 18. 240. 3
John i, 16. 241. 1 Gr. ὑποστάσεσιν. Hypostasis denotes the real nature of a thing, as
underlying its outward form and properties. It is thus equivalent to οὐσία, and to its own
Latin etymological representative substantia. The Latin Christians, however, since they
used substantia to translate ousia, found it necessary to use a different term to
translate hypostasis, and adopted persona (πρόσωπον). Hypostasis thus came to differ from
ousia as species differs from genus, so that it denoted the specific nature (ἰδιώματα) of
a person or thing, in contra-distinction to the generic nature. 242. 1 Gen. i, 26. 243. 1
I Cor.

xi, 7. 244. 1 Gen. i, 26. 245. 2 Gen. xi, 7. 246. 3 Isai. vi, 3. 247. 1 Matt, xxviii, 19.
248. 2 Matt, xxiv, 40. 249. 3 Referring to the text quoted above: ὁ εἷς παραλαμβάνεται and
μια παραλαμβάνεται. 250. 1 II Thess. i, 7-9. 251. 2 Gr. δίκη ὀλέθριος. The Latin version
gives here poena aeterna. 252. 1 Gr. τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν Θεοτόκου. Latin: Dominae nostrae
deiparae. Nestorius, the Primate of the Eastern Church, vehemently condemned the
application of the term Θεοτόκος to the Virgin Mary. "The Blessed Virgin", says Gibbon,
"he revered as the Mother of Christ, but his ears were offended with the rash and recent
title of Mother of God, which had been insensibly adopted since the origin of the Arian
controversy. From the pulpit of Constantinople .... he repeatedly preached against the
use, or the abuse, of a word unknown to the Apostles and unauthorised by the Church. He
thus kindled a controversy which raged so furiously that it threatened the disruption of
the Church, led to the convocation of the Council of Ephesus (431 A.D), and resulted in
his deposition from his episcopal office. It seems singular that Cosmas, who was most
probably a Nestorian, should use a term so much reprobated by his master. 253. 2 Matt,
xxv, 34. 254. 1 Hagg. i, 7. 255. 2 Gr. ἔχομεν. A printer's error for ἔχωμεν. 256. 3 Heb.
xii, 28. 257. 1 Members of this sect still exist at Nablus, as they have existed in that
district from the time of Christ.

In their creed and form of worship they closely agree with the Rabbinical Jews, but they
reject the "Traditions". They retain, however, the sacrifice of a lamb at the Passover.
258. 2 This was a Phrygian sect founded about 171 A.D. The Montanists practised fasting,
held the doctrine of the Millennium, and were noted for their austere manners and the
severity of their discipline. Jerome wrote against them. 259. 1 Manichaeus, called also
Manes, being a Persian, maintained the doctrine of two co-eternal principles, the one good
and the other evil. 260. 2 Matt. xxv, 34. 261. 1 Deut. xxxii, 8. This is the reading of
the Septuagint. In our version the reading is: according to the number of the Children of
Israel. 262. 2 Rom. xi, 25, 26. 263. 3 Luke xx, 36.


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY continued

BOOK VI

Book VI. Superadded.

Regarding the Size of the Sun. FTER my work had been finished, some questioned us about
the figure of the world, saying: "How can the sun possibly be hidden, as you hold, by the
northern parts of the earth, which according to you are very high, while he is many times
larger than the earth? For in the case of the sphere which we advocate, however much
greater the sun may be than the earth, he will always, when giving light to one part of
her surface, leave the other in shadow. To those so questioning us we have made a very
brief reply, that such a thing is false and a pure fiction, having shown first from the
climates which they themselves, recognise, that the sun projects shadows between which
there is no difference, and next from what we ourselves saw with our own eyes in the parts
of Axômis in Ethiopia. For, at the beginning of the summer solstice on the twenty-fifth
day of the month Payni at the sixth hour of the day when the sun is now at the meridian,
we plainly saw that a man's shadow inclined to the south. And when I was resident here in
Alexandria, at the same time of the year on the twenty-fifth, that is of Payni, and until
the thirtieth of Thôth at the sixth hour of the day when we were standing under the sun, I
pointed out that the shadow inclined to northward only a single foot. And, according to
them, Alexandria is the third climate.

Now in this city there happened to be living that extremely pious and admirable man, Abbot
Stephanus, the Presbyter of Antioch, a most Christian man and verily to be numbered among
the perfect, and as he was accurately versed in lunar calculations, and moreover able, in
accordance with the scheme of the world which we have laid down from divine scripture, to
predict readily both solar and lunar eclipses, he willingly turned his attention to this
subject. Accordingly when in the month Thôth of the current tenth indiction he was asked
by the erudite Anastasius, a man of science and learning, and superior to many in point of
experience, to predict when an eclipse of the sun would take place, he stated that there
would be one in that very indiction on the twelfth day of the month Mechir; and it did so
occur. He predicted also a lunar eclipse for the twenty-fourth of Mesori in the same
indiction. Anastasius was much surprised, and asked him next to tell what past eclipses
there had been, and when he had declared them correctly great again was his surprise.
There were present too some other scientific men, friends of ours, at this conversation.

Now this God-beloved man, who has a curiosity to investigate such matters, and who lived
in Antioch and, for many years also, at Constantinople, told us himself that he had
measured the shadows in both these cities, and assured us that at Antioch the shadow
projected a foot and a half at the time already mentioned, while at Byzantium it projected
two feet. Now Antioch is in the same climate as Rhodes, namely, in the fourth, but
Byzantium is a little beyond the fifth. For it is in the following way they distinguish
the climates. The first is, they say, the climate of Meroê; the second of Syênê; the third
of Alexandria, the fourth of Rhodes, the fifth of Hellespont, the sixth of the middle of
Pontus, the seventh of the river Borysthenes and the Maeotic lake, and the last of the
Ocean. If therefore, as we have seen with our own eyes here, in the climate which,
according to their own laying down, is the third, the shadow falls only one foot towards
the north, and in the fourth one foot and a half, and in the fifth two feet, is it not
manifest that the shadow is either lengthened or shortened by half a foot for each
climate? And if this be true, as assuredly it is, the sun will be found to have the size
of two climates and no more.

For if, in the third climate, he throws a shadow of one foot, in the second he will beyond
all question throw one of half a foot, while in the first he will throw none at all. But
as we said by anticipation in the second book, there He between Meroê and the Ocean in the
south many of the stages into which the earth is partitioned. For, from the Cataracts to
the ocean we remember having stated that the number of halting-places in that distance was
seventy more or less. But the number of climates which they suppose to exist they reckon
at somewhere about twenty only.So then quite clearly the shadow in the climate of Axômê, a
city of the Ethiopians, is found projecting more than a foot to the south, so that
everything goes to show that, if the sun in his passage through the summer tropic be
between Syênê and Axômis, he has the size of two climates. Is it not then false and
fabulous what they say about the sun, that he is greater than the earth? And how too comes
it, if, as they say, the earth is spherical, the shadow does not vary on the convex
surface of the earth? For since they place the torrid zone in the centre, it follows of
necessity that the parts on each side of that zone must be depressed.

And they assert that none can inhabit the torrid zone----yea, even that the northern part
of the world which is inhabited by us is many stages distant from the torrid zone. And I
wonder again if, in those convex parts of the earth which they suppose to exist, the
shadows are able to observe such a proportion that they increase or diminish by half a
foot for each climate, as with God's help we have demonstrated and with our very eyes have
witnessed to be the case, and have shown to the men with whom we have conversed----men by
no means novices but adepts in science, and earnestly maintaining this opinion. But
further again they affirmed most positively that when the illuminating body is large and
the body which is illuminated small, and each of them spherical, the shadow produced is
beyond question conical----for the rays of the larger sphere, passing beyond the smaller
on this and on that side, necessarily make a very acute cone; and they endeavoured by
means of geometrical demonstrations to circumvent us; but on this point we very concisely
by optical experiments again showed the falsehood of what they alleged; for, fetching a
small wooden globe, we drove a nail into it by which we held it in our hands, and on
stretching it out to the sun, we saw that the shadow was round and not conical.

And we said to them, look you now how small the sphere is which we hold out, and how
great, according to you at any rate, the sun is, and yet he does not make a conical but a
round shadow. And we made the experiment both at a short and at a long distance----and
they found nothing to show the truth of what they say, but with their specious sophistries
they delude the multitude. We, again, fetching a cone-shaped vessel, then showed them that
a conical body produces a shadow conical like itself. And, it is the truth I speak, O most
God-beloved Father, through the power of Christ they went away dumbfounded and sadly
crestfallen, having been put to shame by our exposure of their fictions. And now behold,
we also, in accordance with an art of theirs, having drawn lines and imprinted one for
each climate as they are wont to do, are able, if first strengthened by the divine power,
to show that the sun is not greater than two climates, in order that they may learn in
this manner not to arch their neck proudly, but to bow submissively to divine scripture.

The straight (horizontal) line is the earth----the nine lines drawn perpendicular to it
are so many bodies standing each of them for one of the climates. The lines drawn from the
sun to these bodies are the rays of the sun which, falling simultaneously upon the bodies
on this and that side, produce the shadows as we have depicted them in ink. That
particular line which descends straight down, since it falls upon the top of the body
perpendicularly, produces no shadow for it is greater than the body and shines all round
it. The Lord also bears me witness in the Gospels, when He calls the country of the
Homerites, which is not more than a two days' sail by sea distant from Barbaria, the ends
of the earth. It is evident again that I am right from the climates which they
acknowledge, and from the places of which Ptolemy speaks, he who made war against
Ethiopia, and of whom we made mention in the second book. And from the shadows themselves
which are produced in each climate, it is proved that the sun does not exceed in size two
climates, nay, even that the earth is flat, as the delineation shows, and not spherical.

A dissertation by which it is proved more clearly and comprehensively that, throughout the
whole of divine scripture, we are taught that God has made two states----the present state
and the future. First of all, it is proved from the account of the creation that God
divided the one place which extends from the earth to the first heaven, by placing in the
middle the firmament, that is, the second heaven, thus making the one place into two
places. Secondly, it is proved from the very structure of man, inasmuch as he consists of
two, namely, of mortal and immortal, evidently subjecting him through their contrariety to
a life of conflict, in order that he may afterwards be honoured with gifts. Thirdly,
through the two trees which grew in the midst of Paradise, scripture shows that there are
two states, one mortal and mutable, and one immortal and immutable. For the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil is a type of this world as a school of discipline----and the
tree of life is a type of the future state, in which neither death nor change has any
power.

Fourthly, because the expulsion of the man from the Garden, by God, and his warning him
and saying: Lest he should stretch forth his hand and touch the tree of life and eat and
live for ever; these are the words of one who imparts knowledge, and obscurely hints that
some gift of life eternal is reserved for men after the life of conflict here. Fifthly,
again, we are taught through Lamech the father of Noah, who prophesied and said that his
son would deliver us from toils and the curse, and would conduct us to the enjoyment of a
better condition. Sixthly, again, through this Noah we learn that from that first earth,
all miserable and thorny, we were transferred to this earth, which we men now inhabit: an
earth that is better, and almost equal to Paradise, whereby we are taught the difference
between the first and the second state.

Seventhly, we learn that God chose Abraham out of the land of the Chaldaeans and
transferred him to Palestine, and promised to give him great gifts and possession of the
land, without giving him, however, so much of it as to set his foot on, according to
divine scripture, and trained him to have faith, so that he knew to expect with confidence
gifts to be bestowed afterwards. And in like manner He showed through Ishmael and Isaac
the worth of the two covenants----namely, that one was servile, and the other free.
Eighthly, a second time through Isaac and Rebecca, when twins were born, it was said: The
elder shall serve the younger, thereby again showing there are two states, one of bondage
and the other of freedom. Ninthly, in the case again of Jacob and of Joseph, who could not
bear to be buried in Egypt, but only in the Land of Promise, it was shown how each of them
longed to obtain from God the hope which had been promised them----namely, of the second
state.

Tenthly, the exodus itself in the time of Moses and the deliverance from the bondage of
the Egyptians, and the freedom [thus obtained] and the entrance into the Land of Promise,
accomplished through Joshua the son of Nun, clearly signified beforehand the two states.
Eleventhly, in like manner the construction of the Tabernacle and of the Temple, which, by
means of the veil placed in the middle, was made from one into two----an inner and an
outer----prefigured this state and the future state. But what need is there that I should
speak of the dispensations that existed through good men, for instance, the confidence
Abel displayed after death, who yet speaketh, crying from the earth in bringing to birth
the return of life. If any reflects about the translation of Enoch, who because he pleased
God, was translated that he should not see death, knows with the utmost certainty that
there will be a better state, from an occurrence of this nature. Any one who is filled
with astonishment, as he thinks of the ascension of Elijah and his passage in a chariot of
fire, must see how much the nature of humankind has been honoured, as, it is thereby
taught and has the hope, that it can pursue its way to heaven.

Any one who heard the multitudinous host of the heavenly ranks singing in chorus and
rejoicing and exulting at the birth of our Lord Christ according to the flesh, and saying:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good-will to men, would be astonished
beyond measure as he reflected that the inhabitants of heaven and of earth had joined in
making one confession, and that God was well pleased with men. Any one who had seen the
power of the resurrection from the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ would, with
all his soul stirred up, celebrate without ceasing God the Saviour of all, who made the
conflict of body and soul to cease, and brought into concord these two antagonistic parts
of our nature, making them in things spiritual mutually conformable. Any one who takes
into view the ascension into Heaven of our Lord Christ, and the angels clothed in white
raiment announcing to the Apostles his second coming, would never cease magnifying Jesus
who showed and opened up to men the ascent into the future heavenly state, which He had
prepared from the foundation of the world;

Any one who looks at the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, and the speech of
the great Peter in the midst of all the people, would in praying extol God the giver of
all with loud praises, who gave such an earnest and pledge of the future state to men. Any
one who contemplates the calling of the great Paul made from heaven, and his being caught
up into the third heaven, and again into Paradise, will lift up his voice to God and say:
Glory be unto Thee who through all and unto all graciously givest gifts to men! Any one
who reads the writings of the company of the prophets and priests and righteous men, and
also of the Apostles and Evangelists, and thinks of the miracles recorded by them, and of
the prophecies and their exact fulfilment, will find that they make mention only of a
first and a second state, and have not enumerated any others, as coming either before the
first or after the second. Glory to God who spake and prophesied through them all, for
ever and ever. Amen!

Any one who preserves deep in his heart remembrance of the second illustrious and glorious
coming of our Lord and Saviour Christ, and who takes into mental account His blessed
resurrection from the dead, and the change for the better which the world has undergone,
and the unspeakable joy and hope laid up for men, will many a time beyond measure admire
and extol in songs of praise the Cause of all, the Creator and Restorer of the universe.
Yea, rather he will not be able in adequate terms to address Him, who is above all praise
and glory and tribute of song, and who, in his supreme goodness from the beginning
suitably for us, founded the two states, educating us in the first, and by instruction and
reason teaching us to act prudently, and leading the human race and through it the whole
creation into the second state. Glory to Thee, glory to Thee, glory to Thee, O thrice
Holy, Creator, Maker of all and Restorer of the universe, for ever and ever. Amen!

By all these considerations the opinion of the Christians is shown to be the best of all,
and in accordance and harmony with the constitution of the world, and to be most true. It
is in accordance with what those who are real and not pretended Christians acknowledge,
that from the beginning God not unsuitably, but for apposite and useful ends, divided the
one place into two places, preparing and making ready beforehand this place for this
present state, and that other place for the future state. The Pagans accordingly, who
suppose the world to be eternal, and deny the resurrection of our bodies and their
ascension into heaven, looking upon this as foolishness, are properly, in view of their
theory, deprived of future honours and of the ascension into heaven. The Jews, who read
Moses and the prophets and understood not the great and wise dispensation of God, which
through the prophets shows that from the beginning God made two states for the benefit of
men, and who did not receive the Prince of the second state----nay, He proved even a
stumbling-block to them; nor, even until now do they believe that there will be an
ascension of men into heaven, but they expect, forsooth, one to come whom they call the
Anointed, and who, they hope, will reign over their country, and subject to Himself all
the nations, and make no account at all of things heavenly.

They thus reject the counsel of God and think that the habitation in the heavens has been
prepared without occasion, which Moses, however, shows to have been made not without
occasion, saying that it was made on the second day, and that the firmament was placed in
the middle, and that two places came to exist; and they themselves also are excluded from
this habitation. The Samaritans in like manner, being ignorant of the same things as the
Jews, and not believing, and entertaining doubts besides, about the resurrection of the
body and the immortality of the soul, are also like the Jews banished from the habitation
in the heavens. The Manichaeans,holding the same opinions as the Pagans, and supposing
also the heaven to be spherical, and expecting the utter destruction of the body, these,
along with their evil deity whom they elected for themselves about the earth, are
condemned and driven away from the City above, which they denied. In like manner, every
heresy which denies the perfect humanity of Christ, namely, a rational soul endowed with
intellect, and a body, and which does not acknowledge all the distinctive qualities of the
soul and of the body, but wavers in doubt; and the heresy which denies the divinity of
Christ and impairs it, and which says that either He or the Holy Spirit is inferior to the
Father, all these fail to attain the heavenly mansions.

Blessed then are all those who, through the divine scriptures of the Old and New
Testament, recognize the Maker of all things as one God in three Persons, namely Father
and Son and Holy Spirit, a holy Trinity, consubstantial, equal in power, in strength, in
glory and in honour, and without beginning, and who also recognize the great and wise and
omnipotent dispensation of Him who is the Cause of all things; how wisely and harmoniously
He established the two states from the beginning----the present state and the future----
and through the perfect humanity of Christ who is like to us in all things both in body
and soul, sin only excepted, and who sojourned among men in the last times when He
declared and showed the future state, and gave assurance unto all by raising up that
humanity from the dead. All the perfect therefore who walk by this rule, peace be upon
them and mercy, and at the judgment of God these shall of right hear Christ the Lord in
the future state saying unto them from heaven: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. To Him be glory for ever and
ever. Amen!

The whole scope accordingly of the divine economy is this----for we must briefly
recapitulate what that scope is----God of His goodness willed to let others participate in
existence, and power, and reason, and knowledge, but, because those who participate in
these cannot possibly know and possess all things in combination (for this belongs to God
alone, to know all these things without learning and experience, being of Himself both
power and reason and knowledge, while created beings participate in all these things from
their Maker), He made those two states together, the first mortal and mutable, for the
trial and discipline of rational beings, in order that, being exercised by the variety of
the universe and the juxtaposition of contraries, we might have experience of pleasures
and pains; then the second state, an immortal and immutable enjoyment of His gracious
goodness, to the end that, from our acquired power of discernment, we may receive
possession of the pleasures. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen!

No religion therefore, neither the Judaic, nor the Samaritan, nor the Pagan, nor the
Manichaean, believes or hopes that there is a resurrection or an ascension into heaven for
men; but such of these religions as think that heaven is a sphere, namely the Pagan and
the Manichaean, are consistent with themselves in holding their unbelief. For, where are
they able to find a place in the sphere for the kingdom of heaven? They are both of them
therefore justified in denying the resurrection of the body, and in saying that souls only
are glorified or punished after the life here----or in saying, as some of them do, that
souls are whirled round along with the sphere and see all things, or are condemned to be
cast into Tartarus. Some of them even hold that souls are transmigrated into other bodies,
while others deny the soul's immortality, and not one of them possesses any hope of the
body after the present life. But those religions which do not believe in a sphere, namely
the Jews and Samaritans, but think that the firmament, which is in the middle of the one
place and thus makes two places, was made without occasion, these also, it necessarily
follows, have fallen under the sway of unbelief;

for the Samaritans acknowledge neither a resurrection nor an ascension into heaven, nor
admit that the soul is immortal, but think that our race will continue for ever, while the
Jews acknowledge a resurrection for men, but say that we shall live upon the earth and eat
and drink and marry and be given in marriage, as, in the Gospels, the Sadducees proposed a
question to the Lord, saying: In the resurrection of which of the seven shall she be the
wife? These the Lord very summarily convicted of error and of not knowing divine
scripture, in which there is the power of God, saying to them: For, in the resurrection,
they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. It
is therefore proved against these, both from what is written and from the figure of the
world prepared from its foundation, that the upper place was not made without occasion----
but that there is a second heavenly state prepared from the foundation of the world. And,
in like manner, every heresy among the Christians can be refuted; those also among the
Pagans, the Manichaeans for instance, which suppose the heaven to be a sphere, or those
which embrace the theory of an antecedent life, or those which deny that in Christ there
was aught of our nature, either body or soul or intellect, do greatly err, neither knowing
the scriptures nor the power of God.

For those only are perfect Christians who without error follow divine scripture, and who
know, both from what is written and from the figure of the first and second state, the
places and the figures which divine scripture mentions, for as this world consists of men
and angels: We, saith the Apostle, are made a spectacle to the world, to angels and to
men, so also the higher place again has been prepared beforehand for angels and men. Glory
for all to God the King of the Ages. Amen! The heaven is bound together with the earth,
and is divided into parts, for as it forms the two vaulted chambers and the two walls on
each side, and after the manner of vaulted chambers has one of these walls curving round
till it joins the other, and completes the entire figure (τὸ σχῆμα) of the world. And this
figure, that is, the magnitude of the sun and of the earth, we here delineate in
accordance with the views of those pagans, in order that any one who sees the two
delineations may be able to compare the one with the other, how that in the delineation,
which represents our view in accordance with the reality, the rays of the sun falling upon
bodies produce shadows for each climate agreeably to our previous description, these
shadows showing a difference of half a foot for each climate----and how also that in the
delineation here which represents their views, the rays do not fall upon the bodies, so
that those climates which they speak of, bodies namely, cannot be illumined by the sun;
and hence we see that they turn away from the truth and make a great boast in vain about
their fables.


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY continued

BOOK VII

Book VII.

Concerning the Duration of the Heavens. WILL not refuse, O most studious Athanasius, to
comply with your request, that I should compose a discourse on heaven; but, for the sake
of clearness, I shall first enquire whether divine scripture pronounces it to be
indissoluble or dissoluble, for you have informed me that one of those who glory in being
Christians, when wishing to speak against the Pagans, unconsciously agreed with them in
their opinion, that heaven is a sphere which is always revolving; and yet that in the same
work he proclaimed it to be dissoluble. I know not what induced him to make this
assertion, and I could not but wonder that the wisdom of a man of so great learning should
be blinded by his craving for distinction. For if, as a Christian, he had in view to
refute the view of the Pagans, he ought first to have overthrown from the foundation their
principles relating to the sphere and its revolution, just as we ourselves, by the will of
God, have done in the other work, which as requested we composed. But if he admits their
foundation and their principles, from which their demonstrations of eternal duration
proceed, why does that wise man indulge to no purpose in idle talk, basing his nonsense
not on a rock, but upon the sand?

For no man of common sense would assert that what is in perpetual motion is corruptible
and dissoluble, or that what is corruptible and dissoluble is in perpetual motion, but
would admit that what is in perpetual motion is, in virtue of such motion, incorruptible,
but that what is not in motion and dissoluble, is beyond question corruptible, because, by
ceasing to move, it is not in perpetual motion. How then does that man who is so very
learned, while admitting that the heaven is in perpetual motion, though divine scripture
judges otherwise, determine it to be dissoluble? For among the philosophers whether of old
or late times who are the most celebrated among the pagans, and have been of opinion that
the heaven is a sphere, has he found one affirming that it is dissoluble? It is the fact
rather that all of them, proceeding on the illative method, have declared it to be
indissoluble. This man, observe, invents new absurdities, and neither following the
teaching of those outside the Church, nor submissively accepting the spiritual tradition
of those within her pale, but ignorant both of the diversity of the doctrines of the
Pagans, and of the pure and simple learning of those within the Church, has taken in hand
to teach new doctrines without previous examination, and without taking into account that
his own statements are in mutual conflict, and without thinking of the questions to which
they give rise;

just as an inexperienced traveller, who has strayed from the highway, is cruelly pierced
and torn by thorns and briars and the points of jagged rocks, on whichsoever side he
turns; so this admirable man, being wounded when taking his way into the enemy's country,
is easily overthrown. Wherefore, O Christ-loving! I deemed it sufficient that you, on
reading our little treatise (for we must speak humbly of what we have done), namely, the
Christian Topography of the whole world, should see how that in the first book we used
arguments drawn from the natural world, against those, who, while seeming to be
Christians, nevertheless supposed heaven to be a sphere----that in the second, we have
exhibited the Christian theories concerning the figure and position of the whole world
from divine scripture; that in the third we have shown how firm and sure, and how worthy
of belief is divine scripture, and of what utility figures of the whole world are; that in
the fourth we have given a summary recapitulation together with a drawing of the
Tabernacle prepared by Moses, and shown also the harmony of the Prophets and Apostles; and
that in the sixth we have treated of the size of the sun, and have thus brought our little
work to its completion. Nevertheless I again, at the earnest desire and request of your
Reverence, which, as has been said, I cannot disregard, will endeavour, agreeably to your
command and to the best of my ability, to confute briefly from divine scripture those who
hold that the heavens will perish, and, with the help of divine grace and your prayers, to
prove their permanency. We shall state first, what forms of speech divine scripture
employs when treating of heaven, and then shall show that it everywhere decides that the
heavens are indissoluble.

Since the Old Testament was written for the Hebrews, it follows of necessity that it was
written in the Hebrew tongue and in Hebrew characters. The Hebrew tongue then uses
similarly the expressions, the heaven and the heavens, so that there is no difference
between them, but the singular form is employed for the plural, and the plural for the
singular, as when it says: Praise him, ye heavens of the heavens----instead of saying
heaven of heaven----and adds: And the water which is above the heavens ---- that is: this
visible heaven ---- namely, the firmament ---- for the waters are above the firmament
only, according to the sacred historian Moses. In like manner it says: The heavens
declare, the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth the work of his hands ---- here
beginning with the plural number and ending with the singular ---- in order that by each
form of expression it may indicate the same thing, that the very sight of the heaven, that
is, of the firmament which we see, proclaims both the glory and the handiwork of God,
through the order and magnificence which they display. In like manner again: The heaven of
heaven to the Lord, but the earth hath he given to the sons of men, here calling the first
and higher heaven which is the heaven to this visible heaven, and which is placed above it
---- the heaven of heaven. In like manner again the great Moses says:

Behold the heaven of the Lord thy God, and the heaven of heaven; as if he said: this
heaven visible to us, and its heaven, that is, the heaven above it. Paul also uses this
form of expression, exclaiming: But our citizenship is in the heavens, from which also we
look for a Saviour, here beginning with the plural number but ending with the singular,
for instead of saying from which in the plural, he says from which in the singular. For as
two heavens were made by God, as the blessed Moses relates, and the two were bound
together, sacred scripture speaks of them sometimes in the plural number and sometimes in
the singular, in accordance, as has been said, with the idiom of the language, or even
because the heavens at some of their parts are mutually conjoined and so become as one, as
has been said. Lest therefore you should be led into error when you hear that the blessed
Paul had been caught up into the third heaven, I must point out that there are not three
or more heavens, and that he neither means to say this, nor contradicts Moses----but he
means to say that he was caught up from the earth all the distance to the height of heaven
except a third of it----as if he said: I was caught up from the earth so very far that
there was left to me but a third of the distance to the height of heaven. Such being the
case it is now time for us to remark that divine scripture all throughout proclaims that
heaven or the heavens are indissoluble. The Apostle Paul, then, speaks to this effect: For
we know that if the earthly house of our Tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from
God, a house not made with hands, in the heavens, in order that he may show that the
earthly state here shall be dissolved, but that the future state, which is also a
heavenly, is indissoluble and eternal. And again he says: We have snch a high priest, who
sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the
sanctuary, and of the true Tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man ----as if he
said: the Lord Christ had been taken up into the heavens, into the true Tabernacle, that
is, one which is permanent and indissoluble.

For the expression true indicates that it is indissoluble, since that which was prepared
by Moses was dissolved; this one as being indissoluble, by way of distinction and in
contrast with the other, he calls the true----as being permanent and firm and
indissoluble. And again he says: But Christ having come a high priest of the good things
to come, through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to
say, not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his
own body, entered in once, for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption. What he means is something like this: Since God commanded Moses to make the
Tabernacle in imitation of the whole world, and he made it, dividing it by the veil in the
middle, thus converting the one Tabernacle into two, an outer and an inner, thereby
hinting, as it were, at this place, and at that which is above it----And into the first
Tabernacle the priests always enter, accomplishing the services, but into the second, the
high priest alone, and but once a year enters, not without blood, which he offers for
himself and for the people.

Wherefore the Apostle Paul says that Christ having come as high priest of the heavens,
entered into the higher place with his own blood, just as the earthly high priest entered
into the inner tabernacle with the blood of others; and just as the Tabernacle here is
small and made with hands, and, as being but a type, is imperfect and dissoluble, so the
heavenly is great, and not made with hands, and is steadfast and true and eternal and
indissoluble, and in it is the eternal redemption. For the high priest being eternal, of
necessity the salvation also and the Tabernacle are eternal, in accordance again with what
is written: And they indeed are many priests, because that by death they are hindered from
continuing: but he, because he abideth for ever, hath his priesthood unchangeable.
Wherefore also, he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through
him, seeing that he always liveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest
became us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the
heavens. The expression higher than the heavens means, according to the idiom of the
language, heaven; and, more clearly still, the expressions ἀπαράβατον (unchangeable), and
τὸ μένειν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα (the abiding for ever), and πάντοτε (always) indicate a state of
things that is indissoluble. For if the priest is unchangeable, the Tabernacle also,
wherein he exercises his office, must of necessity be unchangeable, that is, exempt from
succession. And elsewhere again he says:

Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, as if he said, one that is
abiding and immovable and indissoluble and not liable to succession. And again he says:
Let us give diligence to enter into that rest; calling it a rest as not admitting of
succession, and because when we are there, we shall not be transferred thence, but shall
for ever rest in heaven itself. And again he says: Having therefore a great high priest
who hath passed througli the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
confession ----the expression who hath passed through the heavens, that is heaven,
according to the idiom of the language, means that He is within the two heavens, as in a
Tabernacle not made with hands. And again he says: Having therefore boldness to enter into
the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and
living way; the entrance into the Holies made by the blood of Jesus, he calls His entrance
into the heavens, which He made after his Passion and Resurrection, when He was taken up
into heaven; which also he calls a new and living way, dedicated for us, because He
himself first of all in a new and fresh manner trod that living and holy way, leaving us
an example for us to follow. And again he says: And every priest indeed standeth day by
day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away
sins;

but this man, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever set down on the right
hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet.
For by one offering he hath perfected them that are sanctified. If, as He says, he sits
for ever at the right hand of God after His Passion and Sacrifice, and for ever sanctifies
those coming unto Him, how is it possible that heaven can be dissolved when He sits there
for ever, and those coming unto Him are sanctified. And again he says: For it is evident
that our Lord sprang out of Judah, as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
priesthood; and again: For it is testified of him, Thou art a priest for ever after the
order of Melchisedec. Behold how in the clearest terms he speaks of Christ as a perpetual
priest in virtue of His power and indissoluble life. How then is it possible for the
Priest to be indissoluble whilst the Tabernacle, of which He is the minister, is subject
to be dissolved? For he says: A minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tabernacle which
the Lord pitched and not man, thus here, as also in Heb. vi, 16, 17, and 20, and x, 34,
expressly declaring it to be true and indissoluble.

See again, admirable Sir, how he speaks of that entrance into what is within the veil,
that is, the firmament, into which Jesus entered, and into which we shall enter, that he
declares it to be immovable and strong, and secure and steadfast, and abiding and eternal,
and like an anchor holding us fast; and again he says: For we have here no abiding city,
but we seek that which is to come, meaning: We seek that ever-abiding and eternal heavenly
Jerusalem, which is free and the mother of all the faithful, for, the one which is here
is, he says, in dissolution, according to that which hath been said [in I Cor. vii, 31,
and Coloss. iii, 1]. I have told you, Paul there says, the things that are above where
Christ is now seated; seek therefore the things that are there, not the things here. But
that he calls the city prepared already, you may learn again from Paul [Heb. xi, 16] and
from Christ himself [Matt, xxv, 34]. And when was the kingdom of which he there speaks
prepared? From the foundation of the world, he tells us, as if he said, from the time at
the beginning of the creation, along with the making of the heaven and the earth and the
things produced along with them, the place of the kingdom of heaven was prepared, God
having provided something better for us. For He says again further in the Gospel according
to John: In my Father s house are many mansions;

if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. He calls the
habitation which is in the heavens, His Father's house. In this then, He says, is your
habitation, which has been prepared for you by rny Father. Then again He says: And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you unto myself that where I am
there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. And again to the
mother of James and John, who asked that the one of them should sit at His right hand and
the other on the left in His kingdom, He answered, saying: It is not mine to give, but for
whom it has been prepared by my Father. Those that are worthy, therefore, shall obtain
these things before I bestow them whether on your sons or on others that are worthy. But
the expression that where I am there ye may be also, shows very remarkably that that place
is indissoluble, and has been aforetime prepared, and not that another place is
substituted (as those wise men imagine), in which we are to dwell after the resurrection,
when this place of the heavens shall have been dissolved. And to speak briefly, the
passages in divine scripture are almost innumerable which show that the heaven, into which
Christ has entered and into which we also shall enter, is indissoluble.

And these things the Lord proclaimed to his disciples; but the Apostle Paul wrote to such
of the Hebrews as believed in Christ, pointing out, as was suitable for them, the proper
distinctions between all the things relating to the Tabernacle, both to the outer which
has reference to this place, and to the inner which has reference to the upper and
heavenly place. But to those from among the Pagans who believed, the Corinthians, I mean,
men who cultivated learning and philosophy, and who already believed in the resurrection
of Christ, but were in doubt concerning the resurrection of men in general, to them again
he used the same arguments, and says: Now, if Christ is preached that he hath been raised
from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead, neither
hath Christ been raised? and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain
and your faith also is vain; as if he said: Your faith in Christ is of no use to you,
unless our resurrection also is believed by you. For if ye have believed of one that he
was raised from the dead, how is it not to be believed that it is possible for all others
besides to be raised? For he that can raise one can also raise all. Then he observes:

Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he
raised up Christ whom he raised not up, if so be the dead are not raised. But we, he says,
who have testified unto you that God raised up Christ shall be found to be liars and
impostors. And again he repeats this: For if the dead rise not, neither hath Christ risen,
but if Christ hath not risen, your faith is vain-----ye are yet in your sins; from that
which was confessed and believed in by them, he confutes them and says: for if He,
concerning whom you have believed, when He was dead rose again, why do you doubt the
resurrection of the other dead, so that you make it appear that you have believed in vain
about the resurrection of but one. For he, who is able to raise one of the dead, is able
also to raise all the others that are dead. So that by not believing in the resurrection
of the dead, you revert to your former superstition, and have fallen away, for this he
means by saying: Ye are yet in your sins.

Then a little after he states also the reason saying: For since by man came death, by man
also came the resurrection. And by way of showing who the first man was by whom death was
introduced, he adds; For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. Then
shortly afterwards he says: Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If
the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for the dead? Why do we also
stand in jeopardy every hour? As if he said: Since we are baptized mystically for our dead
bodies, being submerged in the holy water and emerging therefrom, thus imitating death and
resurrection, from the hope and promise of the resurrection from the dead, why, he says,
do we perform these acts in vain by not walking in accordance with them? And why, besides,
do we stand in jeopardy every hour, proclaiming these things to so great a multitude, and
fighting against the prejudices which prevail in the world? And further he endeavours
again shortly afterwards by an antithesis and an example taken from the natural world to
persuade them on the point and says: But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and
with what body do they come? To that he has, be sure, an answer: Thou fool!

he says, that which thou sowest is not quickened, unless it die, and that which thou
sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat
or of some other kind; but God giveth it a body even as it hath pleased him, and to each
seed a body of its own. What he says is this: Consider, O men, that the bare grain when
sown in the earth, in the first place undergoes dissolution, for if this, he says, first
dies, it then grows up by the power and providence of God, and reappears richly endowed,
artfully contrived and exceeding beautiful; instead of one grain, a great number, instead
of being bare, enfolded in a sheath, instead of being easily plucked up and trodden
underfoot, firmly rooted and aided by having ears to keep it safe from all that could do
it harm. This very body then which has been corrupted and changed into earth, and again
sprouts up from the earth multiplied and of an admirable beauty, is a work full of wisdom
and art, and most fair to see----a product of the providence of God by whom all things
were made.

Consider then that God gives it a body as it pleases Him, and gives to each of the seeds
its own body, suitable for it; as if he said: When multiplying seeds God gives to each
neither an alien nor a strange body, but a body similar and suitable to it. Then again,
after having compared different kinds of flesh, and bodies earthly and heavenly, and shown
that a great difference exists between them, he goes on to say: So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is
sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power,
and so forth. Then again he says: But this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the Kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Having here
recourse to arguments from analogies in the natural world, he endeavours to convince of
this those conversant with the wisdom of the world, and from the example about grain turns
to the resurrection of the dead, saying: Just as corn is sown and is dissolved, so also
the bodies of men, when planted as corpses in the earth, are dissolved; and just as the
grain sprouts up with large increase, stability and beauty, so also the bodies of men are
raised up with great honour and glory and power and beauty unspeakable, being
discriminated by the omnipotent wisdom and ineffable might of God, who made and who
renovates all things.

For whatever be the element by which the human body may be found to have been absorbed and
digested, He will at the last day restore to their proper souls their own particles,
shaken after a thorough search out of countless other bodies. And just as in a sieve that
which is sought for is found in the sieve's centre, so also with respect to the bodies of
men, after the elements have been tossed and shaken, their particles that are sought for
are brought together to the centre. Nor is this a wonderful thing for God to do; for as He
is judge of the hearts and thoughts and intents of men, and discerns, from the beginning
of time till the final consummation, the thoughts and intents of every man at each
particular time, so He is able to do what is easier, namely, to discriminate one body from
another: For, saith He, yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also the heaven. And
this word "once more" signifieth the. removing of those things that are shaken as of
things that have been made, that those things that are not shaken may remain; as if He
said: In the consummation I will shake yet once more all things, and throw them into
commotion, in order that all things may be changed back into their proper state.

For as these things have been made from the beginning, and have undergone corruption or
change, I shall easily remodel everything into its proper nature, that they may thereafter
remain in a better state and be no longer subjected to commotion and shaking. But again
some one will ask, how are our bodies raised the same, after having been already absorbed
and changed into myriads of other bodies? To this we shall reply that just as when we are
children we eat many kinds of flesh, of oxen and swine, for instance, and various others,
also of fowl and fish, and these, when digested add to the size of our body without its
being changed or transmuted from one thing into another, but still maintaining its
identity, so also in the resurrection, when we are in the opposite state, and our bodies
have been dissolved in the elements, you will see their forms by some kind of motion
easily restored when separated by the divine power. For just as while we are living, our
bodies, as God hath appointed, are not changed by their association with other bodies, so
also when we die they are preserved from a transmutation into anything else, being readily
kept distinct by His power. And again, admirable Sir, see how the Apostle speaks of
heavenly and of earthly men: And as we have borne, he says, the image of the earthly, that
is, the mortality and infirmity and corruption of Adam, we shall bear also the image of
the heavenly, that is, of Him who hath already gone before and ascended into heaven after
the resurrection from the dead. I speak of Christ according to the flesh, who has become
powerful and incorruptible and immortal and glorified, and we in like manner have, with
Him, become heavenly.

And after having said we have borne, well does he say, as if speaking next of the future,
we shall bear; wherefore he again with joy and exultation adds: But when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swall owed up in Victory. Where, O
Death, is thy sting? As if he said: Death being swallowed up shall disappear, life in us
having become more than victorious. Wherefore let us exclaim: Where, O Death, is thy
overweening pride? And where, O Hades, thy strength? Finally, he ascribes to God all
things that have been procured and dispensed through Christ and says: Thanks be unto God
who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ; as if he said: This victory
over death accomplished by Jesus Christ hath He given unto us, He who is the God of all,
to whom it becomes us to give glory and thanks for ever, Amen! And he wrote nothing to the
Corinthians different from what he had written to the believers among the Jews: that we
pass from this perishable state into that which is to come, that is, into the heavenly
place, which he calls the kingdom of heaven, as if we had sovereign power over our
passions and corruption and death, and lived in a place most choice, eternal, and adapted
to our nature, and where after being transformed from corruption to incorruption we have
our heritage.

For the Apostle, as already quoted, has signified this in the example of the grain of
wheat, wherein he uses the example of what is corruptible towards the illustration of
incorruption, saying: Do not think that, in examples, the things compared are in all
points similar, for, this I say unto you, that it is impossible for us being mortal and
mutable (for it is this he means by blood and flesh), to inherit the kingdom of heaven,
unless we first rise from the dead incorruptible and immortal and immutable. Yea, the Lord
also used the same example when some of the Greeks requested Philip to show them Jesus,
and Philip told the Lord their request, who answered saying: Except a grain of wheat fall
into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone, but if it die, it beareth much fruit;
as if he said: Why do they wish to see me now, when I am despicable in appearance and
alone, like a grain of wheat; for except I die like a grain, and rise up like the wheat in
ear and in the fulness of its bloom, having become incorruptible and immortal and
immutable, and except mighty deeds and wonders shall be wrought in My name, they will not
know My power and glory. In like manner also when John the Baptist was discoursing
concerning the Lord, and was eager to show that in the future state He would be Judge of
all, he also used the example about wheat and spake thus:

Whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will
gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquench-able fire.
And when Paul was addressing the Greeks themselves in Athens on the Areopagus [Acts xvii,
22-31], he said nothing to his hearers other than what he had said before to such of the
Jews and the Pagans as believed, namely, that God, since He is uncircumscribed and
omnipotent, will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He raised from the
dead, in order to give assurance unto all men, having appointed Him Judge of all. The
Apostle in like manner said concerning Him: And he made him sit at his right hand; and
John the Baptist in like manner said: His fan is in his hand and he will sift the wheat
from the chaff,2 giving over sinners to punishment when separated like chaff from the
wheat. Accordingly some of them believed, as has been recorded, but some hearing of the
resurrection of the dead mocked, and some again said: What does this picker-up of seeds
mean to say? as if they said: he is digging up the seeds we sowed; while others said: We
will hear thee again about this matter, and others again: He seemeth to be a setter forth
of strange gods, because, says Luke, he preached Jesus and the resurrection; and others
again: May we know what is this new doctrine which thou teachest? In short, most of them
derided Paul when discoursing about the resurrection of the dead. But when Paul was
further accused by the Jews before Festus the Governor, and Agrippa the King, and stood on
the tribunal, Festus, by way of explaining the nature of what had already been done in the
case, said to Agrippa: They have certain questions against each other of their own
religion, and of one Jesus who was dead whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Then Paul having
received their permission to speak, in accents clear and loud, boldly entered on his
defence [for which see Acts xxvi, 6-S and 21-23].

And in like terms again he addressed the unbelieving Jews in Antioch of Pisidia, when he
had been granted permission to speak [see Acts xiii, 16-41]. And having expounded things
similar to these from the prophets, he said to them nothing else than what he had spoken
of before, death, resurrection and the kingdom of heaven, being eager to persuade all men,
God assisting him with signs and wonders and mighty works, which both Paul and all the
Apostles wrought in presence both of the Pagans and the Jews, whether they were believers
or unbelievers. God further, by prophecies and their fulfilment, confirmed them in all
things which transcend this world. At the same time also He made them, as Paul writes,
sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the
letter killeth but the spirit giveth life; as if he said: We have been made sufficient by
God by means of signs and of the Holy Spirit, while teaching such things, to persuade
those who hear us; for God hath appointed us ministers of the new and life-giving
covenant, not of the old letter, that is, of the written law which threatens death, but of
the life-giving power, that is, of the Holy Spirit. Wherefore, again he says: Now some are
puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord
will; and I will know not the word of them which are puffed up, but the power.

For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power; as if he said that the word of the
kingdom of heaven surpasses all words, and that some are in vain puffed up while
endeavouring to establish themselves by word. For that word only, which comes from the
power of the Holy Spirit and from the signs which accompany it, merits belief. And again
he says: Seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me; who to youward is not
weak, but is powerful in you; as if he said: It is powerful from the signs that are
wrought in you in His name----and so much on these points. Some, however, assert that the
angels are not in the world, but that they are in the higher place above, against whom in
turn we shall quote a few words from divine scripture, showing that the angels spend their
time along with us in our place here, and that as yet not one of them has been privileged
to obtain the things above. The Lord, then, first thus addresses Nicodemus: And no one
hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of Man which
is in heaven ----thus very clearly showing that no one at all had ascended into the upper
place except the Lord Christ Himself. Then the Apostle Paul says: We have been made a
spectacle to the world, and to show whom he means by the world, he adds: to angels and
men, as if he said: We are seen by all as in a theatre in this place, and by all I mean
angels and men, as both these and those are in. one place. Then again he says: For the
earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God; and, as
if some one was uncertain as to his meaning and asked him:

For the sake of what or by doing what, does the creation await this? he proceeds and says:
because the creation was subjected to vanity not willingly; as if he said: in this
corruptible and mutable world. For this he calls vanity----when creatures by the command
of God were ordered to serve even against their will. Whence we learn by the expression
not willingly that he is speaking of rational beings, and this is the law laid down for
them. Should some one, he then says, put the question, And how again shall they serve,
they who now move all things? They do serve, he replies, but as far as concerns the sin of
Adam through which he was condemned to death, they could not endure to serve longer and
toil in vain on our behalf. But I say this, he adds, on account of him who hath subjected
them in hope, this namely, that God has given them a hope that some good will result to
men in the course of time, and for this reason they were subjected, and do render service
in expectation of their freedom, when men also are freed from death and corruption and
these vanities, and shall receive the hope of God, and the glory which is reserved for
them. Accordingly he adds: Because the creation itself shall be delivered from bondage,
into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God ----and again he says elsewhere:

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to do service for the sake of them that
shall inherit salvation? saying here, that all of them together have been ordained for
service to men, as living with them in this place. And again he says: To the intent that
now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known
through the Church the manifold wisdom of God. Clearly has he again signified that they
are not only here, but he also says that they had been taught by those things which had
been dispensed to man. For by using the expression through the Church, he evidently
signified through men. Then again in the Old Testament, the Patriarch Jacob saw a ladder
which reached from the earth up to heaven. And at the top of it he saw God standing, and
the angels ascending and descending on it. He shows them at first ascending and then
descending. Then again this same Patriarch saw a multitude of angels and called them an
embattled host. In like manner Moses had recorded that only two heavens were made, namely,
the first which in the beginning was made along with the earth, and the second which was
made on the second day, and which he calls the firmament. He likewise frequently speaks of
angels as in this place of ours, ministering among others to Hagar and to Abraham and to
Lot and to Jacob himself. And in the great song he says: Rejoice, O ye heavens, with him,
and let all the angels of God adore him; here, after the heavens, speaking of the angels
as being in this place of ours; whence he added: Rejoice, ye nations with his people; here
again referring to those who are in this place. In like manner also David, having the same
object in view as Moses, and having himself become a prophet after Moses, thus speaks,
discriminating between the things that are in heaven and the things that are on the earth:
Praise ye the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his
angels; praise ye him, all his host;

here properly beginning with the firmament and the place on high, and then proceeding to
the place below, he speaks next of the angels, calling them at the same time God's host.
Lastly again he mentions the things that are with them: Praise ye him, sun and moon,
praise him, all ye stars of light. From this he recurs to the upper place, and says:
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, instead of saying, heaven of heaven, calling the first
heaven the heaven of heaven, since it is the heaven of the visible firmament. Then he
says: and the water which is above the heavens; that is above the heaven. Having now
spoken clearly of the things above, he evidently recognizes the first mentioned things as
below. Then when he had called upon all things that are in the heavens to praise God, he
states the reason why they ought to praise him with hymns, and says: For he spake and they
were made; he commanded and they were created. He hath also established them for ever and
ever; he hath made a decree which shall not pass away. Then finally he passes on to all
things on the earth, and mentions all things that live in the air and in the waters and
upon the land, whereon also he places man, and again enjoins them thus: Let them praise
the name of the Lord, and tells them for why: Because his name alone is exalted. At last
he takes them all conjointly saying: The confession of him as above earth and heaven; thus
at the same time showing that all things are within earth and heaven. In like manner also
God Himself, speaking through Moses, says: For in six days God made the heaven and the
earth and all things that are therein; thus still more clearly showing that all the angels
are within heaven and earth and are circumscribed by them. Then again David elsewhere
says: Who stretcheth out the heaven like a curtain, who layeth the beams of his chambers
in the waters; here manifestly speaking of the firmament which has the waters on its
surface, as serving us for a covering. For the coverings overhead of a tent are properly
called screens (δέῤῥεις) whether they be made of canvas or of hair.

Then in continuation he says: Who maketh the clouds his chariot, who walketh upon the
wings of the winds, who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Having here again mentioned things from the firmament above to the clouds and winds below,
he adds as being among these, angels, whom he also calls ministers. So far David. And now
let us pass on to Daniel that Prophet most nobly endowed. What saith he in the hymn which
he puts into the mouth of the three children. Bless ye the Lord, all ye works of the Lord,
praise him and exalt him on high for ever. Praise the Lord, O ye heavens. He also mentions
the angels after the heavens, not leaving unnoticed the waters which are above the heaven;
and----employing again the consecutive order, he resumes his theme, and proceeding from
the lowest, he mentions next after them the angels, whom he calls powers, and with whom he
conjoins the sun, moon and stars, showers, dews and winds, fire and frost and heat, clouds
and snows and lightnings, and all things that are in the air and the waters and the earth
----and, following David and Moses, he at last mentions man, on whose account all the
things before enumerated were created. For since man is a kind of bond and pledge of the
union in love of the whole world, man of necessity includes to a certain degree all the
things already said. For it has well been said by the pagans:

Man is a microcosm. Accordingly all the inspired men----Prophets and Apostles, men who
have been adorned by most holy lives, and have exposed themselves for their religion to
countless sufferings and deaths, of whom, as it is written, the world was not worthy, and
who wrought miracles without number and beyond the power of description, and performed a
variety of mighty deeds, and were by God made fit to teach and persuade and visit all the
earth under heaven, and to draw all the nations to religion and piety----these men have
spoken concerning two such states without mention of any others. And all of them with one
consent have spoken of this place as that of angels and men, and have declared that the
place on high will, after the resurrection, be likewise the place of angels and men. What
kind of a defence then have those pretended Christians for their disbelieving all these
things, and saying that the heavens shall be dissolved, on which hangs our firm, immovable
and indissoluble hope, which is laid up in store for us by God, and concerning which Paul
exclaims: Which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man
what things God hath prepared for them that love him; and again: The sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to
usward. Again in like manner:

For our light affliction which is for the moment worketh for us more and more exceedingly
an eternal weight of glory, while we look, not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal. By this he means that if you weigh in the balance against
the afflictions of this world the good things of the future state, these will be found to
surpass in glory and to outweigh beyond measure the lightness and insignificance of the
afflictions of this world, which in comparison are of exceeding brief duration, and which
at last utterly disappear. For, he says, the things which are seen, that is, the things of
this world, are temporary, but the things which are not seen, that is, of the heavenly
place or world on high, are eternal. Now we must turn to the Epistles General and adduce
their testimony on this subject. And there it is said: Into which things the angels desire
to look;as if he said: They also have not yet obtained the good things laid up for us in
heaven----yea, they have not so much as the privilege of seeing them. For this is similar
to what the Apostle says: For the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together
until now; as if he said, even the angels are heavily burdened by the change, and groan
along with all creation, eagerly longing for liberty.

How then is it possible to expect that the heavens will be dissolved, and other new
heavens be produced? For, were it so, all that has been said before is shown to be false,
namely, that they have been prepared and are indissoluble, and that we shall enter the
place whereinto Christ hath entered. According, however, to the fables of the pretended
Christians, all is imposture and deception that is written in divine scripture. But above
all, if the heavens be dissolved, as they say, and others be put in their place, then
Christ who is in them must of necessity be dissolved, and another new Christ must be
introduced along with the other new heavens, provided of course that we are to be with the
Christ. But away with this trifling! and let the blasphemy recoil on their head. For saith
the Apostle: Our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we expect the Saviour the Lord
Jesus; as if he said: I speak of those heavens from which we expect the Lord will come,
who will transform us from corruption to incorruption, and take us up where He himself has
entered before us. For this also he says elsewhere: The forerunner himself hath for us
entered.

Since, therefore, some corrupting the meaning of the divine scriptures have misinterpreted
the saying of our Lord, namely: The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words
shall not pass away, failing to recognize that the mode of expression is hyperbolical, we
shall interpret what their meaning properly is; for he says: It is possible for them to be
dissolved, but for my words, never. And again it was said by David: Thou, Lord, in the
beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy
hands; they shall perish, but thou shalt remain. This they distort, not understanding that
here also in contrast to the uncreated deity he speaks of created things as perishable,
because these things, having been previously non-existent, afterwards came into being; and
if he wished the annihilation of existence, then, just as he produced these things when
non-existent, so now that they exist, he is able to destroy them. For that which has not
been made by any one cannot be destroyed by any one; but that which has been made can also
be destroyed, especially if its Maker should so wish. Something similar is asserted in the
Epistles General: In which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat.

But in their ignorance they misinterpret the new heaven and the new earth as well as His
promises, through their not understanding what is said, but they actually assert that
these heavens shall be dissolved, and other new heavens be created----a view which is
opposed to all divine scripture. For if these heavens, into which Christ after He had
risen from the dead, and having become incorruptible in body and immutable in soul has now
ascended, and into which we also shall enter when we have risen from the dead; and if
divine scripture pronounces this hope and this life to be indissoluble, how is it possible
that these heavens can be dissolved and other new heavens be produced? For if the place in
the heavens is the habitation of those who are now incorruptible and immortal and
immutable, how shall it not receive us when we have risen and become incorruptible and
immortal and immutable? Away with such madness! For God does not repent of what He hath
done, so that He should destroy these and produce others. He will, however, renew the
whole creation to better its condition, as we have frequently said. For if man, who is the
bond of the whole creation, shall be renewed, becoming incorruptible and immortal in body,
and immutable in soul, is it not evident that all the elements of which the body of man is
composed, and all rational beings, as being akin to the soul of man, shall be renewed and
brought into a better state?

For all things, saith the Apostle, are summed up in Christ, both the things that are in
the heavens and the things that are on the earth. And again, he says: If any one be in
Christ he is a new creature----old things are passed away, behold! all things are become
new; here speaking of all things as new, or of the renovation of all existing things; for,
when he speaks of the summing up and the new creation, he signifies by each the same
thing, that each is effected in Christ. For just as Christ according to the flesh, when
risen from the dead was not a different Christ from the Christ who had died, but was the
same who had suffered death, yet in like manner as He was victorious in His resurrection
over sufferings and death, so also the whole creation, while not perishing but retaining
its identity, is changed into a better condition. For, as the divine oracle says, He hath
established them for ever and ever; He hath made a decree which shall not pass away.
Wherefore God takes not hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham, according to what is
written. For had He taken hold of the angels, rational beings only, as being of a kindred
nature, could have hoped to be renovated. But now having taken hold of the seed of
Abraham, that is, of a body and a rational soul, and conducted it into the heavenly place,
He laid the foundation beforehand of a hope for all creation.

Whence the declaration in the Epistles General: In which the heavens, being on fire, shall
be dissolved, and the elements shall melt in fervent heat but [we look for] new heavens
and the new earth, has this as its purport, that with a great noise, as in the twinkling
of an eye, all the elements, being on fire as in a furnace and being thus purified,
undergo the change for the better. And as regards the heavens and the earth----these shall
be made new and the conditions of life in them shall be changed in accordance with the
saying of Paul: The fashion of this world passeth away; as if he said: the present order
of things shall be changed, the succession of day and night shall cease, the stars shall
no longer accomplish their courses and the air shall no longer be in motion, and neither
the water nor the earth shall any more produce their harvests, but a new state of things
shall be introduced suitable for immortal and incorruptible men and angels.

But we say nothing of the fact that the Church from the first has held the Catholic
Epistles to be doubtful. No one certainly of those who have commented on the divine
scriptures has taken any account of these Epistles. Nay, even those, who have drawn up the
list of the canonical books of divine scripture, have all of them placed them in the
doubtful category. I refer to Irenaeus the Bishop of Lyons, a man of eminence and of
illustrious life, and who flourished not long after the Apostolic age, and to Eusebius
Pamphili, and to Athanasius the Bishop of Alexandria, and to Amphilochius who became
Bishop of Iconium and was the friend of, and in communion with, the blessed Basil, and who
in the iambic verses which he addressed to Seleucus declared the Epistles to be doubtful.
In like manner Severianus also, the Bishop of Gabala, proscribed them in his work Against
the Jews. In fact most of the authorities deny that these Epistles were written by the
Apostles, but assign them to some other authors----simple Presbyters. Hence Eusebius
Pamphili in his Ecclesiastical History informs us that there were two tombs in Ephesus----
one of John the Evangelist, the other of John the Presbyter who wrote two of the Epistles
General [of John]----the second and the third, of which the former is inscribed thus: The
Elder to the Elect Lady, and the latter thus: The Elder to Gaius the beloved.

For he, as well as Irenaeus, says, that with the exception of the first Epistle of Peter
and the first of John, the Epistles General were not written by the Apostles, while others
say that they were all written by Presbyters, and not by the Apostles. For the first and
second and third of John are so written that it is evident that the three are the
productions of a single person. But others receive also the Epistle of James along with
these two (I John and I Peter) while others receive them all. Among the Syrians, however,
none are found except only the three already mentioned, namely, the Epistle of James and
that of Peter and that of John----while the others do not even find a place among them.
The perfect Christian ought not therefore to depend upon books that are doubtful, seeing
that those which have been admitted into the Canon, and which are commonly acknowledged
suffice to declare everything concerning both the heavens and the earth and the elements
and the whole scheme of Christian doctrine.

Those accordingly seem to me to be wanting in sense and to have no inner knowledge at all
of the divine scriptures----those inventors of the new doctrines, who think that the
heavens will be dissolved. For since God from the very beginning has knowledge and fore-
knowledge, and is always cognisant, and never receives any accession to His knowledge, and
whereas He wished to give to others a share in existence, and to fill them with his own
goodness and knowledge and wisdom, He made the whole world, comprising it within the
compass of heaven and earth, but placing the firmament in the midst, and binding it to the
first heaven; and when He had made the one place into two places, He allotted to the
mortal and mutable state, this place, while He prepared beforehand the upper place for the
future state, according as the delineation of its figure at the end of my work shows, as
well as the structure of the Tabernacle, which was itself an image of the whole world. And
it was His pleasure that we should for the present live in this state as in a useful
school, where there are pains and pleasures, in order that we may be disciplined by the
pains, and may be kept from fainting by the pleasures, being instructed in the knowledge
of the Maker and attracted to it by the diversity of the things created, and the all-wise
harmony, and the difference between beings;

while the Maker himself, who has at times been seen, has given us laws in aid of our
weakness, inducing rational beings, as has been said, to seek the knowledge of His supreme
loving-kindness and goodness, which is the chief end of all such beings. For since we are
created beings, and have our being from another, we always need that other for the
continuance of our existence and the acquisition of knowledge. For it could not be that,
as soon as we were made, we could possess all knowledge, for this is an attribute which
belongs only to God who is unoriginated. Since then God in His goodness has, for
mysterious reasons, made the lower animals devoid of knowledge, for the instruction and
assistance of ourselves who are rational, He has made, as was possible, the rational to be
intermediate between himself and the irrational, in order that by the variety in the
universe, and by the laws imposed upon us and by the pursuit of knowledge, we may, through
a longing produced by our experience of pains and pleasures, be induced to seek part by
part a knowledge of the world. For the invisible things of him, saith the divine Apostle,
are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting
power and godhead; so that they may be without excuse; as if he said: The invisible things
of God, namely, His power and wisdom and providence and goodness and His eternal godhead,
we apprehend and see from things existent and visible, and through all His works we, in
our measure, perceive the Creator, so that we cannot offer any excuse of ignorance (for
this is what without excuse signifies) since we have it in our own hands to know from all
these things in our measure the Creator of ourselves and of the universe. In like manner
again he says: God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers
portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son,
thus distributing the word into portions and manners, into the prophets and His Son.

By portions, he means the difference of the places in which God appeared and spake to the
men of old through the prophets, and by manners, the diversity of the visions themselves,
which He, when seen at one time and another in cases of immediate necessity, exhibited
either in person or through the Prophets, having a desire to signify this, that God in
every way, both by real things and by visions, did not neglect to instruct rational beings
in the knowledge of Himself, placing it before them at one time through the prophets, and
now through His own Son; then for them, when they had at last been proved, He prepared the
future state, in which, after having made us incorruptible and immortal, He would place
us, filling us, as having acquired experience, with the perfect knowledge of Himself as
far as we ought to know. For this reason He has made two states from the very beginning,
since we could not, as has been said before, receive the whole knowledge of Him in one
collective mass without a process of instruction. For the Deity only is self-taught, and
is the foundation of knowledge, receiving no accession to it from any other, but able to
impart it to others, while we are again taught when we are immortal and immutable, by the
hardships we have undergone. Since the Apostle says: All discipline, seemeth for the
present to be not joyous but grievous; for without discipline and suffering it is
impossible there can be learning.

For the purpose of discipline therefore, He made this world mortal and mutable and
diversified, in order that by the affliction of learning and the variety of the universe,
we may, by this experience, ascend to the knowledge of God. For if He had made us from the
beginning immortal and immutable, we would have differed nothing from the non-rational
animals which have by nature something good and useful, though without their knowing what
they possess----just as the bee which with wisdom constructs its honeycomb, and the spider
which with great skill weaves its network, and the ant which in summer prepares its store
of food, do not do these things with any rational knowledge, but are as unconscious of
their art as gold and pearl are of the beauty which adorns them. God therefore with wisdom
----yea, with supreme wisdom ----made from the first two states, in order that having had
experience here of pleasure and pain we may in the second state have perfect knowledge of
the power of His goodness, through the unspeakable and everlasting good things bestowed
upon us, and may recognize from what things into what things we have passed. These and
similar things the whole of divine Scripture proclaims, and this is its whole scope. For
those admirable men, who destroy the heavens and produce others for us that are new, are
ignorant of the scope of the divine scriptures. For it is not to be imagined that God was
at one time ignorant, but has now come to know better, how to make other heavens and a
better state, according to the fable of these demented and pretended Christians; but He is
always the same, existing after the same manner and principle, knowing how and when and
how great, and where and what like He would make the whole world. But nevertheless they
propose to us, quite reasonably of course, the difficulty which emerges from this, asking
us:

Why then do embryons which have died in the womb advance to the knowledge of God without
having had experience of pleasures and pains, but have been taught at a distance from
hence concerning God?----to whom we shall reply that the embryon which is rational, having
been in close touch, so to speak, with the maternal womb, and the maternal womb being in a
dim sort of way a symbol of this world in which are heat and cold and dryness and
moisture, the embryon when gathering knowledge in the future state, has a remembrance, and
an awakened consciousness of the maternal womb, in which it had some partial experience of
this present world. It sees moreover even the elements themselves and the whole world
standing as its teacher; and reflecting with itself in virtue of the perfect knowledge, it
arrives straightway at a knowledge of its past life, and thereafter at the knowledge of
God as the Maker of all things. But as concerns the judgment to be pronounced on them, we
leave that to God himself, for it is not possible for us to know all things in this life.
We say only, and this is all it behoves us to say, that they form an intermediate class,
neither destined to receive crowns, nor to undergo punishments, for they are exempted from
punishments, because they have not enjoyed the good things of this life, but they fail to
obtain crowns, as they have not undergone toils in this life.

But if any one should say that God will judge them according to what he knows would have
been their manner of life and conduct had they survived, we do not reject this notion, but
leave it to those who know better than ourselves. For we have no perfect knowledge how God
judges, deeming that whatever seems good to Him will be altogether fair and wise,
acknowledging with the utmost pleasure that the matter is beyond us, and even pluming
ourselves on our ignorance regarding it, in accordance with the great Apostle Paul when he
says: For we know in part and prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come,
then that which is in part shall be done away; for we shall then know perfectly, as we
ought to know, when we have all risen from the dead perfect, as the Apostle again says:
Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. But they
will yet again question us on this point: How does one who is diminutive in body rise
perfect? And how can the maimed and the lame or he that is mutilated in one of his limbs
rise up sound and quite perfect? Let them listen to us replying from scripture and from
what is seen in Nature thus:

Just as God took Adam's rib, a very small member of his body, and constructed out of it a
perfect woman, mysteriously supplying what was deficient; and just as a man and woman
copulate, of whom one or the other is, as is often the case, blind or maimed, and their
offspring is born sound and entire, so it is to be believed and understood with respect to
the resurrection of the dead, in which we are born anew from the tomb into a better birth
than from the womb. But I will delineate for thee, O most beloved, the figure of the
heaven and the earth, and of the firmament in the middle----also the Tabernacle prepared
by Moses which is a pattern of the universe, and also that famous sphere of the pagans, in
order that you may know by the sight itself agreeably to the figure, what divine scripture
and the Christian teaching alike declare, and how altogether different therefrom is the
sphere of the pagans.

Notes from divine scripture in mutual harmony concerning the figure of heaven and earth.
In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. He speaks of these as comprehending
other things, and at the same time time signified the things that are within them and
which were produced along with them. And again: The heaven and the earth were finished and
all the host of them, as if again they comprehended other things, and the whole host of
things were within them. And again: In six days God made the heaven and the earth and all
that in them is, as if again all things exist within them, and they were comprehensive of
them. And again: And God rested on the seventh day from all the work which he began to
make; meaning that He began to create and ceased from creating; and again: This is the
book of the generation of heaven and earth; meaning, this book records the coming into
being of the whole world which is circumscribed by heaven and earth. And again about its
figure Isaiah says: He that hath established the heaven as a vaulted chamber and stretched
it out as a tent to dwell in; the expression as a vaulted chamber has reference to the
first heaven, but the other expression stretched it out as a tent, to the second heaven,
which he speaks of as a house where people live and make their abode. And again David
says:

Stretching out the heaven as a curtain, speaking here of the firmament and speaking of it
as a curtain, that is, as the coverings which made the roof over the Tabernacle, whatever
these coverings were, whether made of hair or of canvas for the coverings above which
roofed the Tabernacle are properly called δέῤῥεις (leather curtains). He no doubt says:
Who layeth the beams of his upper chambers in the waters: here more clearly speaking
concerning the firmament itself as if it were a covering. But that there is nothing under
the earth, is thus declared in Job: He hangeth the earth upon nothing, meaning that there
is nothing underneath it. In like manner again in Job: Whereupon were the foundations
thereof fastened? meaning that there is nothing underneath on which it is fixed. And David
says: He hath founded the earth upon its own stability; as if he said that it has been
founded upon itself and not upon anything. But with regard to the heaven being fastened to
the earth he declares in Job: He hath inclined heaven to earth; dust is poured out as
earth, but I have cemented it as if with stone a square block; intimating that the heaven
is inclined to the earth and at its lower part fastened to it like a cube, that is, at the
four corners.

The Tabernacle, as a whole, is therefore a pattern of the whole world, as the divine
Apostle explains to us----speaking in these terms of the outer Tabernacle: For the first
Tabernacle had ordinances of divine service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world;
calling it of this world as being a pattern of this world; but with regard to the inner
tabernacle he speaks thus: For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands like
in pattern to the true, but into heaven itself; calling heaven the true holy place, and
the inner tabernacle its antitype. Let the reader then consider the figure of the heaven
and of the earth and their model ----i.e., the Tabernacle----how, to wit, that all are in
harmony with the Christian doctrine----that there are two paths of the whole world----this
here and the upper, prepared from the foundation of the world. This here has been given in
the present state to men and angels, and the upper is given, in the future state after the
resurrection from the dead, to men and angels. For the famous sphere of the pagans does
not harmonize at all with what Christian doctrine proclaims; but is adapted rather for
those who hope neither for a resurrection of the dead nor for another state after it, but
assert that the whole world is in an endless process of generation and corruption.

Another Note. If those teachers of error say that the Lord Christ entered into the first
sphere where the moon is, it is, in the first place, in beautiful agreement with their
error, that they should admit that He abides with their goddess. In the second place,
since their sphere is solid, let them tell us whether, along with the moon, He cleaves His
way, like a fish in the water, through the body of heaven, going in the opposite direction
to that which it pursues, or whether, along with the universe, He is violently whirled
round in its direction----which is all the most ridiculous nonsense. In the third place,
it is in agreement with your error, that above Him are the other planets which are gods of
yours, namely, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the father of your gods----
gods to whom ye have been seen offering sacrifice----then also those fixed houses of the
twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the six-and-thirty decani. And how shall the Apostle not
lie, according to you, when he says that Christ is above these: Far above all rule, and
authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named. But if they shall say
that He is in the second sphere, they will be confronted again with the same difficulties,
and so will they be if they say that He who is above all is in the third, fourth, fifth,
sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth and what is said by the Apostle will be found false,
that from the first tabernacle, that is, from this world, Christ entered into the second,
that is, into the heavenly place, having obtained eternal redemption----the second,
observe, and not the ninth. He therefore, who sincerely desires to be a Christian, follows
divine scripture and puts no reliance on the fallacious theory of the pagans which teaches
the plurality and the equality of gods, and brings destruction on the souls of men.

Text. Since therefore all the spheres lie in a continuous series and are solid, how is it
possible to conceive that in such a configuration there can be a resurrection of the dead,
and that men can ascend into heaven, and reign in heaven, that is, in the second
Tabernacle, whereinto Christ also, saith scripture, hath already entered the first of all?
to which add all that has been said before. For the pagans who think that there is a
sphere, in consequence neither acknowledge a resurrection of the dead, nor say that the
dead ascend into heaven, nor admit that there are waters above the heaven, nor admit that
the fashion of this world, that is, the revolution of the heavenly bodies, will be changed
and all things one after another, nor that any one at all has ever ascended into heaven
with his body, or will go up thither. Some of them, however, say that their souls and
these only move round with the sphere, and sec or know all things, while others maintain
that souls migrate into other bodies, and others again believe in the pre-existence of the
soul, and these consequently say that the sphere will be dissolved----that is, that every
corporeal nature will be utterly destroyed, while the souls will revert to their original
condition----an opinion held also by the admirable Origenes and his disciples. Others
again maintain that the heavens had no beginning and will never have an end----and that
the world is continually undergoing renovation and destruction;

from which it is inferred that they speak of God as delighting in evil, or as powerless or
jealous, nay, think that there is no god at all. For it is repugnant to the divine nature
to permit the world to be constantly subject to renovation and destruction----and hosts of
other difficulties besides, that their views involve, start up for all these. The
Christians then alone are perfect, being like wheat-plants of piety in the midst of tares
and thorns----believing as they do in the whole of divine scripture, both in the Old and
New Testament----and neither saying that there had been any state before this present
state, nor asserting that after the future state there will be any other; but that there
are only two states, which our delineation in conformity therewith shows, that we shall be
transferred from this state to that which is future and heavenly; and again, that we shall
live with the Lord, as the whole of divine scripture argues----namely, that when God began
to create and had made the two places, He rested from his work according to His purpose
from the very first.

Things very different from these, most excellent Sir, did that person write, whom you
mentioned, a pretended Christian, who says that the heavens, which he also thinks to be
spherical, shall be dissolved according to the theory of the pagans, and to be always
revolving, thus committing to writing old wives' fables rather than Christian doctrines,
and following in general no authority, unless in part the worthy Origenes, for his
writings are completely at variance with Christian opinion. For it will be your part next
to judge and compare each dogma and question, and to consider to which dogma and figure
one, who is truly a Christian and wishes to live piously, ought to adhere. For I see much
fallacy and guile on the part of the present writer of the fables, who bestows a spherical
figure on the heavens and says that they shall again be destroyed. As for myself, dearest
friend, I am of one mind with divine scripture, and I am confident that you also are such
as I am-----a Christian following the divine scriptures, and the tradition of the Holy
Church when saying: I believe in one God, that is, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, the
consubstantial Trinity, and in the Resurrection of the flesh, in one Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church----as also the Creed says: I believe that there will be a Resurrection of
the dead and that there will be a life to come; and as the priests in like manner pray,
using these words with reference to those presenting offerings: The thank-offering of thy
servants receive on thy heavenly and estimable altar, on the amplitude of thy heavens,
giving back to them for corruptible things incorruptible, for temporal things eternal, for
earthly things heavenly----and for the dead these words: Give repose, O Lord, to his soul
----collecting also together again his flesh on the day that thon hast appointed,
according to thy true promises ----with whom I also joining in prayer, add what is left
over: Grant us of Thy grace to have before Thy presence a Christian and happy end-----for
ever. Amen!


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY continued

BOOK VIII

On the Song of Hezekiah and the going back of the Sun. S I know well, my dear Peter, how
hard it is to please the race of man, I hesitated long to comply with your request, for
there be some men who cast reproach on those who choose to commit their thoughts to
writing, on the ground that they immerse themselves in business, though it be in their
option to abstain from all exertion and to enjoy a life of leisure and repose. Others
again, since they set no value on writing, put out of sight what is laborious, and seek
quiet in seclusion. Some too there be who begin to read books with unbounded eagerness,
but afterwards, consigning them to utter neglect, play the part of the poor brutes that
walk on all fours; while others, who are conversant with literature, do what is still
worse, for in the case of new writers, aware though they be that these have reached the
very pinnacle of fame, they will not condescend to peruse their works, even when they are
compositions of most sterling merit. Persons again of the common sort, led by their
ignorance, disparage even what is said to the purpose,1 and, to speak plainly, calumny is
ever inventive, and has no lack of material for sneering and indulging in censorious
remarks, the grounds for which envy supplies without stint.

When I turned over all this in my mind, I put off, notwithstanding you besought me with
great importunity, to give a written interpretation of the Song of the blessed Hezekiah.
But you have now, my admirable friend, I know not how, prevailed over me and done away
with my reluctance, representing to me that there is no lack in this world of those who
are willing to labour hard from their eagerness to read the works of all, and to approve
those that are excellent,2 according to the injunction of the divine Apostle (Rom. ii,
18), and among such thou thyself rankest as one. For this is a worthy subject on which to
bestow your pains, anxious as thou art to ascertain whether anything tending to profit is
to be gained from the Song; for it would be quite in keeping with your good sense in such
matters, were you to be convinced that what appears of least importance in divine
scripture is capable of affording no little help; and certainly an eager desire to learn
the use of everything is a point in your character, which stands not far remote from your
devotion to work. So then, as I had with God's help all but completed my exposition of the
Song of Songs, which our common and admirable friend, Theophilus, had invited me to take
in hand, as you are yourself aware, I put off the matter until now;

but as I have just quite completed that work, I shall at once proceed to fulfil your
request,3 if the Holy Spirit will, without whom there can be no good thing in us. I shall
state first with what purpose in view he uttered the Song, and shall then proceed to its
detailed exposition, and shall at the same time point out what is useful in each passage,
for in this way the point of what is said will become clearer. The blessed Hezekiah then,
who was King of the Jews, and a very pious and virtuous man and an object of God's
especial care, entertained the idea that the blessed David had spoken of him prophetically
in many of the Psalms, such as the nineteenth, the twentieth,4 and many others besides,
and having moreover applied to himself the prophecy which had once been made in his
father's time by Isaiah: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,5 he was uplifted
in mind by the workings of human passion, and imagined himself to be the Christ who had
been predicted. He was in consequence at first unwilling to take a part in the common
offices of life, through the existence of another opinion among the Jews, that Christ when
He comes, never dies, but abides for ever, as they also said in the Gospel:

We have heard out of the Law that Christ abideth for ever.6 So Hezekiah being of this
opinion abstained from taking a wife and providing for the succession of his line by
having children, being under the belief that he would live always. But when it came to
pass that Senachêreim (Sennacherib) 7 the King of the Assyrians warred against Judaea and
went up to Jerusalem to plunder it, Hezekiah on hearing what had been said by the impious
Rapsacus (the Rab-shakeh) 8 as well as what had been written by Senachêreim himself, rent
his royal robes, and went into the temple clad in sackcloth, and besprinkled with ashes,
and there supplicated God to deliver him from the Assyrians. But when his prayer was
heard, and 185,000 men of the Assyrian army had been destroyed in one night by the angel,
and when a victory so great and so marvellous had been wrought for him by God, he held
more firmly than ever the estimate of himself which he had formerly entertained, claiming
that he was beyond all doubt the Christ who had been predicted. Wherefore, as he was again
uplifted in mind by this conception of himself, he did not go after his victory into the
temple, as was his duty, to render thanks and give glory to God, but he was uplifted with
pride, as it is recorded in the second Book of Chronicles (xxxii, 26):

That he humbled himself for the pride of his heart, and, God left him, to try him, that he
might know all that was in his heart (ibid., 31). But God who, in mercy to man, always
works for his salvation, desiring to dispossess Hezekiah of that notion which his erring
human judgment had suggested to him, and remembering also his virtues, did not permit him
to be deluded to the end, but sent him such a sickness as led him to despair of his life.
Then Isaiah the prophet going in unto him said: Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die
and not live;9 and thus at once took away the two opinions he had entertained. For some of
the Jews said that the Christ never dies, while others held that he does really die, but
rises again from the dead. So by saying thou shalt die the prophet took away from him one
opinion----that according to which he thought he would never die, but when he added
thereto and said: thou shalt not live, he took away the other opinion, according to which
others asserted that he rises from the dead. For, being under the test of sickness, he was
taught by both expressions that he was not Christ. But the Prophet with great wisdom
suggested to him by the power of the Holy Spirit, that he was not the Christ, when he said
to him: Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die and not live;

as if he said, arrange thine affairs, settling to whom thou wilt transmit thy kingdom, in
order that the promise of God may be guarded against the possibility of failure, for thou
art not the Christ proclaimed by the Prophets, who has a kingdom without successor, but
thou shalt undoubtedly have a successor, and thou hast not done well in neglecting to
beget children to succeed thee in thy kingdom. It must therefore be thy concern now to
arrange thine affairs, and to declare whom thou wilt have to be thy successor in the
kingdom. As he had fancied that he would have but himself for his successor, Hezekiah on
coming to know otherwise wept bitterly, and having repented and turned himself on his bed
to the wall----the quarter in which the Temple lay, in accordance with the practice
obtaining among the Jews----he made his supplication with his thoughts, you may be sure,
directed to the Temple.10 But when he had changed his estimate of himself, and corrected
his false notion, inasmuch as his prayer had been heard and he had recovered from his
sickness, and been deemed worthy of an addition to his life, of fifteen years, and had
been assured of this by another very wonderful sign, namely, by the retrogression of the
sun, of which I shall state the cause a little farther on, then he sang the song to the
Lord, wherein he set forth each of the circumstances already mentioned, for he speaks thus
[see Isaiah xxxviii, 10-20.

I said in the noontide of my days I shall go,11 as if he said, I always cherished this
thought in my heart, saying to myself, that I shall live always and never die. For by his
saying: In the noontide of my days I shall go, he indicated that his days would never be
shortened; and as if some one, while he was silent, had asked: while you were absorbed in
these meditations what happened to you? he continues and says: At the gates of the grave I
shall leave the residue of my years;11 meaning, while I was thus meditating, I was all at
once seized with a dreadful sickness, and could no longer cling to my former notion, but
thought I should spend the rest of my years in the grave. Then: I shall no longer behold
the salvation of God upon the earth.12 The salvation of God here signifies Christ; for
thus also Symeon, when he took up Christ in his arms, prayed God to be allowed to depart
from this life, since his eyes had seen the salvation of God, namely Christ himself for it
had been revealed to him by the Spirit that he should not see death, until he had seen the
Lord Christ.13 What Hezekiah then meant to show was this:

I not only abandoned that idea and ceased to entertain those lofty imaginations concerning
myself, but I do not even think I shall be privileged to see the Christ upon the earth, as
I have only other fifteen years to live. I shall no longer see a man of my own kindred 14
----this means, after the fifteen years which God has granted to me as an addition to my
years, I shall, when dying, not only not be counted worthy to see Him, but not even to see
any man, nay, not so much as one of my kindred. I am deprived of the residue of my life;15
this means, having thrown away therefore my former estimate of myself, and considering
what was my duty for the future, I recognised that my life would come to an end. After
this he says: It has gone out and gone away from me, as one takes down the tent which he
had pitched;16 meaning: And so completely has my former overweening arrogance departed
from me, that I am like one, who, after having pitched a tent, forthwith takes it down
again. The breath within me is as when a weaver is preparing to cut away the web from the
loom;17 meaning: My very soul had all but left me, just as when the web of a woman who is
weaving is ready to be cut.

In that day I was delivered till morning as to a lion, he did so break all my bones----
from day even to night was I delivered over;18 meaning: In the time then of my sickness, I
was delivered over to the fever as to a terrible lion that was crushing all my bones, so
that, as it raged, I was tortured incessantly from morning till evening and from evening
till day-dawn. As a swallow so shall I chatter, and as a dove so shall I mourn;19 that is,
In the time of my sickness I would utter cries like the sharp and quivering notes of the
swallow, and in my pangs I would wail after the wont of doves. The words, I shall chatter,
and I shall mourn are used instead of I chattered and I mourned, one tense being put for
another----this being an idiom of frequent occurrence in divine scripture; as when Isaiah
says: He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,20 instead of he will be led. Mine eyes failed
me in looking at the height of heaven towards the Lord, who rescued me, and took away the
anguish of my soul, O Lord; concerning it, it was told unto thee;20 meaning:

And so much did I strain the eyes of my mind in looking up to the height of heaven, laying
upon Thee, even upon God the Preserver of all, the anguish of my soul, which Thou didst
remove from me, having changed my arrogance into humility and obedience to religion, on
account of which, O Lord, I shall for ever give thanks unto Thee. And thou hast
resuscitated my breath, and having been comforted by thee I lived. For thou didst rescue
my soul that it might not perish, and thou hast cast behind me all my sins;21 meaning: For
by comforting me Thou didst resuscitate my breath and I lived; having rallied my soul that
was perishing, Thou hast cast my sins behind, and not suffered them to be spread out
before me. For they that are in the grave cannot praise thee, nor can the dead celebrate
thee; nor can they that are in the grave hope for thy mercy. The living shall praise thee,
even as I also do;22 meaning: For if Thou hadst not granted me still to live, how could I
have been converted, or have repented and been saved, or have hope of Thy mercy, since the
dead who are in the grave can do nothing of this kind, but in Thy compassion Thou hast
graciously granted me this.

It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps;23 nay, but let the shadow return
backward ten steps.24 Accordingly after the shadow of the sun, as he proceeded [from mid-
heaven] had declined the ten steps, then by the divine power, through the prayer of the
Prophet, the sun returned backward till he was again in mid-heaven, and the shadow was
found to have gone back the ten steps, according to sacred scripture. For if, on the
contrary, it had been the third hour of the day, the shadow having by this time gone
forward, could neither have gone back, nor could the sun have moved backward, if even it
had so happened that the door and the steps of the house of Hezekiah looked to the west.
And so much with regard to the position of the house. But the reason for such a sign being
accorded was this----that most of the nations and perhaps all of them, serving especially
the host of heaven, honour the sun as a greater god than all the others, and, as the
father of lights. God therefore by ordering him to go backward, showed to all the nations
that He himself was Lord of all, and that the sun was His servant, and was not God. For if
He ordered so great a luminary to go back contrary to his use and wont, much more can He
order those that are smaller, and treat them as His servants. But with God's help I shall
now declare what advantage thence accrued.

When the sun then went backward, the circumstance became known to all the nations, even to
the ends of the earth, so that even the King of Babylon, Merodach,25 the son of Baladon,
who lived far off and yet beheld the sign, was struck with consternation, and a desire of
searching into the nature of this dread and strange miracle. For amazement and terror
overcame the king himself and his courtiers, who eagerly sought to learn from all that
were conversant with astronomy the cause of this dread and mighty sign. And after much
inquiry had been made, he learned that Hezekiah the King of Judaea having fallen into a
sickness, and been brought to despair of his life, made prayer unto God, and God restored
him to health and gave him an extension of his life of fifteen years, and with a view to
give him a sure belief in the promise, He wrought for him this dread and mighty sign
because He is the God of gods, who made heaven and earth and all things that therein are.
The Babylonian having learned this, and having been taught by the occurrence that He by
whom it was wrought was the God of the universe, lost no time in sending many gifts and an
embassy to Hezekiah, as being a true and beloved servant of the God of all.

On this occasion he was likewise taught that heaven is not a revolving sphere, according
to the opinion of the Babylonians, who at first suspected it to be such, when they were
engaged in building the Tower to a lofty height, but that it was stationary and fastened
to the earth as a vault. For if it were a sphere, then while the universe was wheeling in
a forward direction, the sun, since he could not but be carried along with it, could not
be advancing in the opposite direction so as to move backwards for the space of three
hours, that is, the fourth part of a day, and again another fourth part, until he came
back to the place from which he had retrograded. But about all these figures we wrote in
the Christian Topography, as you yourself, admirable Sir, know, at the exhortation of the
God-beloved Parnphilus of Jerusalem. For the very Prophet through whom the retrogression
of the sun was effected, when, by means of the dread sign, he had in reality confuted the
theory of the Babylonians, by showing that the heaven is not a revolving sphere, and that
they held an opinion that is erroneous, this very Prophet not long afterwards speaks thus
of the figure of the heaven: He that established the heaven as a vaulted chamber;26 and
again: The Lord God who made the heaven and fixed it,27 thus declaring at once that it is
a vault, and that it is established and fixed and not in revolution.

But by committing such things to writing it is manifest that he did a good service to the
Babylonians. For whoso wishes can learn this from what took place in the time of Cyrus the
King of the Persians. For taking into his hands the book of Isaiah he found as he read the
section which contained the prophecy concerning himself; since Isaiah says in that
section: Thus saith the Lord to his Anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to
subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings. I will open the doors
before him, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee and will level
mountains. I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron;
and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places will I
present to thee, that thou mayest know I am the Lord, which call thee by thy name, even
the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by
thy name and I will accept thee;28 and shortly afterwards: I have raised him up a king in
righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways.

He shall build my city, and lead back the captivity of my people, not for price nor
reward, saith the Lord of hosts.29 Cyrus, struck with wonder at the foreknowledge and the
prediction, and finding his own name expressly announced by the Prophet beforehand,30
ordered the people to go up to Jerusalem, after having released them from captivity, and
given them funds wherewith to build their city and their temple. And not only did he do
this, but those also who came after him did the same until the City and the Temple were
finished. The decree of Cyrus, which is committed to writing and recorded in Chronicles
and in Esdras (Ezra), and which enjoined all the people to go up, runs thus: In the first
year of Cyrus King of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be
accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King of the Persians that he made a
proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing, saying: Thus saith
Cyrus King of the Persians, all the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord, the God of
heaven, given me, and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem which is in
Judaea.

Whosoever there is among you of all his people, be God with him and let him go up!31 See,
my admirable friend, how he acknowledges that he had read the book of Isaiah, and believed
in what was written, and fulfilled what was written in scripture with all diligence and
without sparing the expense. How then is it not manifest that much benefit to religion
accrued to all nations from all these circumstances? And how could those who had such
faith in the scripture of Isaiah disbelieve what he said concerning the figure of heaven
in his book. He that hath established the heaven as a vault?32 especially when in that age
the miracles of the overthrow of Senachereim and of the retrogression of the sun were
still recent events; whence also all the men of rank among them being convinced as to the
truth of these world-renowned miracles, and convinced also by the prophesying of Isaiah,
agreed to the opinion of the king, and released the people with honour. Since then the
Babylonians were the first who conjectured and suspected that the heaven was a sphere,
they again were the first to be taught, through Isaiah the Prophet, that it is not a
sphere but a vault. From these sources having derived all the figures we have also
depicted them in the Christian Topography, in the preface thereto, giving the name of the
master who taught us, namely, the great Patricius,33 who came here among us from the
country of the Chaldaeans----and so much again on these matters.

When the ambassadors of the Babylonian king came to Hezekiah, his heart in a fresh access
of human weakness was lifted up with pride, and he received them with all gladness, for
his own glory; and contrary to the will of God, he led them into the palace, displaying to
them his treasures and all his riches. Then again Isaiah was sent to him to correct his
frame of mind, and said to him ironically: What do these men say, and whence came they
unto thee? And Hezekiah said: From a far country have they come unto me----even from
Babylon. Then said Isaiah again: What have they seen in thine house?34 But the King,
seeing that the Prophet put the question knowing how matters stood, told the truth and
said to him: All that is in my house have they seen, and there is nothing in the house
which they have not seen----yea they have even seen all my treasures:35 Then he told him,
by way of a threat to chastise the pride which uplifted his heart, what would come to pass
after him and says: Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts. Behold the days come, that all
that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day,
shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.

And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away,
and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon;36 as if He said, For you
ought to have been instructed by your former experiences that, not so much for your glory
as for Mine, were the mighty signs wrought, in order that the nations also may be made
acquainted with My greatness, which thou again didst think lightly of, and wert uplifted
with pride, not giving Me thanks. But since without My sanction thou didst receive the
ambassadors, and didst show them the wealth which thou hast obtained from Me, be therefore
henceforth taught that hereafter, in the time of thy successors, I will deliver over to
the Babylonians all thy wealth to be plundered and captured, because thou hadst again no
regard for My glory, but didst honour thyself in preference to Me. But inasmuch as thou
hast ever been virtuous and pious, none of these things shall happen in thy times.
Hezekiah, on hearing and understanding this, humbled himself, as he was a righteous man
and obedient to God, and giving thanks said to Isaiah: Good is the word of the Lord which
he hath spoken.

Let there be peace in my days.1 But that all things happened according to the word of the
Prophet is a clear matter of fact, for Nabouchodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar) the King of
Babylon having plundered Jerusalem took all the spoils to Babylon, and having selected
young men of the royal line, Daniel, Ananias, Azarias, Misael and their companions, he
made them eunuchs and appointed them to his own service; for it was a custom for the King
to be served by eunuchs, as they were his personal attendants. In divine scripture
certainly there is no record of the marriage of any one of them, or of child born to them,
nor was any thing of this nature heard regarding them. But tradition and custom alike,
according to the prophecy, represent them, as shown in their pictures, to be beardless snd
smooth-skinned. But that, in their time, there were many miracles and prodigies and
revelations and predictions which proved of great benefit to the Babylonians, Medes and
Persians, thou art not unaware, O admirable Peter, and that in consequence the Kings
greatly honoured them, and among their own subjects published decrees touching religion,
which proclaimed, with reference to the God of all, that He is the God of gods and the
Lord of lords; and they moreover ordained that such as uttered blasphemy against Him
should be punished.

Thus God who continually directs all things, by means of His own people, teaches all the
nations by raising to honour those who do righteously, while He punishes those who sin,
and sends them into captivity----thus teaching the nations by each of these dispensations
to recognize His beneficence and His majesty; in order that they also may take their share
in the duties of religion, being trained beforehand for the faith to be afterwards
revealed through our Lord Jesus Christ. For not one jot or one tittle of scripture has
been written needlessly, but all that is therein has been recorded for some useful end and
for the common and manifold advantage of men. Wherefore, my Christ-loving friend, I
beseech, through you, those who fall in with this composition of mine to read constantly
divine scripture, and to reap therefrom all the gain wherewith it can help every man in
affairs human and divine.

God grant that we may obtain the divine blessing and promises through the prayers of our
teachers and of thy brotherhood, O thou who lovest Christ with thine whole heart.37 Just
as the twelve loaves of shew-bread which lay on the table are a type of the annual cycle
and of the fruits of the earth, as was said when we treated of the Tabernacle, and as is
described in the ninth book, so also now we have delineated the cycle of the twelve months
of the year, and the fruits produced in each month, giving thanks to God the giver of all,
as also David moved by the Holy Spirit thus in a psalm addresses God: Bless thou the crown
of the year of thy goodness;38 thus in a remarkable way styling the cycle of the twelve
months of the year a crown of goodness, as crowning the surface of the earth with beauty,
and fostering the growth and maturity of its monthly fruits through the tempering of the
elements which the invisible powers accomplish. Wherefore he further adds: And the plains
shall be filled with thy fatness;38 and again: Thou hast prepared their food, for thou
hast so prepared it.39 And elsewhere again he speaks thus: They all look to thee to give
them their food in due season;40 as if he said, Thou nourishest us, preparing our food
from the products of each season.

And elsewhere he thus speaks concerning our most necessary food, which the summer tropic
perfects, and continues to give us for three months successively: They have been increased
with their corn and wine and oil 41----here again in a remarkable way, in the giving of
thanks, observing the order in nature and mentioning first corn, then wine, and thirdly
oil, in accordance with the order, in which by the blessing of God, they are produced
during the three summer months, by the agency of the rational orders, namely, angels and
men. It is therefore the duty of every Christian to read divine scripture neither in a
cursory nor perfunctory way, but with studious care and in a suitable order, as in the
outset we advised, in order that the divine grace, accepting our resolution, may cooperate
in enabling us to know the mighty works of God. To Him be glory for ever, Amen! Be strong,
ye Christians, in the Lord.

1. 1 Gr. τὰ καλῶς λεγόμενα may perhaps mean what is finely said or expressed. 2. 1 Gr.
δοκιμάζειν τὰ διαφέροντα, translated in the Revised Version "to approve the things that
are excellent", but in the margin thereof "to prove the things that differ. Cosmas seems
to have understood the words in the former sense. The expression has occasioned much
controversy. 3. 2 Gr. ἄρξομοι καὶ τὴν σὴν αἴτησιν. Βουλήσει . . . . πληροῦν. As αἴτησιν is
governed by πληροῦν, the reading should be αἴτησιν βουλήσει, &c. 4. 1 The Psalms here
meant are the twentieth and the twenty-first of our Bible. In the Septuagint the ninth and
tenth psalms appear as but one, and hence the difference in the numeration. 5. 2 Isai.
vii, 14. 6. 3 John xii, 34. 7. 4 Sennacherib the son of Sargon was the King, according to
Herodotus (ii, 141), of the Assyrians and Arabians. He invaded Judaea in the fourteenth
year of the reign of Hezekiah, who ascended the throne in 726 B.C. and died in 697.
Sennacherib died in 681. 8. 5 Rab-shakeh is a title, meaning Commander-in-Chief. 9. 1
Isai. xxxiii, 1. 10. 1 Thus Daniel prayed at three distinct times of the day with his face
turned towards Jerusalem. The Ebionites maintained this Jewish custom of turning in prayer
towards the sacred city. 11. 1 Isai. xxxviii, 10. 12. 2 Ibid. 11. 13. 3 Luke ii, 26. 14. 4
Isai. xxxviii, 11. 15. 5 Ibid. 12. 16. 1 Isai.

xxxviii, 12. 17. 2 Ibid., 18. 3 Ibid., 13. 19. 4 Ibid., 14. 20. 5 Isai. liii, 7. 21. 1
Isai. xxxviii, 17. 22. 2 Ibid., 18, 19. 23. 3 Gr. ἀναβαθμούς. "Cyril of Alexandria and
Jerome thought that the steps were really stairs, and that the shadow (perhaps of some
column or obelisk on the top) fell on a greater or smaller number of them according as the
sun was low or high. The terrace of a palace might thus easily be ornamented. Smith's
Dictionary of the Bible. Josephus quotes a passage from Apion to the effect that in Egypt
"Moses set up pillars instead of gnomons, under which was represented a cavity like that
of a boat, and the shadow that fell from their tops fell down upon that cavity, that it
might go round about the like course as the sun itself goes round in the other. See
Whiston's Josephus --contra Apion. Book II, near the beginning. 24. 4 II Kings xx, 10. 25.
1 According to Bêrôsus, this king, whom he calls Mardocampados was himself, like Hezekiah,
tributary to the Assyrians. 26. 1 Isai. xl, 22. 27. 2 Isai. xlv, 18. 28. 1 Isai. xlv, 1-4.
29. 2 Ibid. 13. 30. 3 The foregoing quotations are taken from the forty-fifth chapter of
Isaiah. Some biblical critics contend that the latter chapters of this Prophet (40 to 66)
were written by a deutero-Isaiah who was about a century later than the first.

One of their arguments in support of this view is, that Cyrus is mentioned by name, and
that an intimate knowledge is exhibited of his career. 31. 1 Ezra i, 1-3. 32. 2 Isai. xl,
22. 33. 1 See note 2, p. 24. 34. 2 Isai. xxxix, 3. 35. 3 Ibid., 4. 36. 4 Ibid., 5-7. 37. 1
Montfaucon has here this note: Cosmas here again delineates the figure of the conical
mountain which causes nights and eclipses, as he thought it would contribute much to the
understanding of the things said before, and of the ninth book, regarding the course of
the stars. For the cycle of the twelve months, see Pl. 23 in the Appendix. 38. 1 Psalm
lxv, 12. 39. 2 Ibid., 10. 40. 3 Psalm civ, 27. 41. 4 Gen. iv, 7.

BOOK IX

Concerning the course of the heavenly bodies. HE circle of the twelve months is the
uppermost, that of the sun is lower, and that of the moon is lower still.1 Divine
scripture signifies this by the structure of the candlestick, whereby the circular
branches spring out from its shaft three on the one side and three on the other in such
wise that one branch precedes another branch,2 and each day the circle of the twelve
months outruns the sun one degree, so that the sun is found in thirty days running through
one month, and thus in twelve months completing the year, falling short, as has been said,
one degree each day.3 The circle again of the sun outruns the circle of the moon4 twelve
degrees each day,5 so that it is found that the moon in thirty days falls short of
accomplishing the whole of the circle, that is, one month. But if any should choose to
consider the matter in the reverse way,7 then the circle of the moon falls short of that
of the sun every day twelve degrees and some minutes, and the circle of the sun falls
short of the uppermost circle of all, that is, of the twelve months, every day one degree.
But these bodies are moved by the invisible Powers in an orderly and rational manner
according to the will of God, these Powers having received this as a law, according to
what is written in David:

Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, ye mighty in strength, that fulfil his word, hearkening
unto the voice of his word. Bless the Lord all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his that do
his pleasure.8 To Him be glory for ever and ever, Amen! And these courses of the twelve
mansions of the twelve stars and of the two great luminaries, according to the length of
their three circles, we have explained to the best of our power in terms consistent with
Christian doctrine, being moved by divine assistance, and at the same time drawing our
conclusions from optical appearances. But as to the course of the two great luminaries in
respect of latitude, and as to their transitions, their ascensions and declinations,
conjunctions and seasons of full moon, nodes and elongations of their courses,9 parallaxes
and phases, regular and irregular motions, and their northern and southern limits, and
other terms which the pagans are pleased to employ, whereby they calculate the eclipses of
the same luminaries, we resign the calculation to those who know and investigate such
subjects with a view to calculate and foretell eclipses, since by this our withers are
unwrung, and we are even more confirmed in our views. For if terms of this kind, namely,
transitions, ascensions, declinations, etc., hold [as they do] a place in our scheme,
contention is futile.

Now we have not cared to show anything else by this treatise of ours than that these
eclipses of the two luminaries do occur, and are in harmony with our scheme, although the
heaven should not be moved at all from east to west, or from west to east, and whether it
be spherical or consist of many spheres; while at the same time the stars and luminaries
in the air, by the agency of the rational powers, complete their course in observance of
their order, and the figure of the two heavens and of the earth is preserved in accordance
with divine scripture----a figure in which from the beginning God prepared two states
----the present and the future, namely those circles which we have described, and not
heavens that are spherical, continuous, solid of body and transparent-----according to the
nonsensical babble of the pagans. We remember to have stated in the second book that the
angels move the luminaries and the stars and all else, as having been ordained for the
service of men, and there also we have delineated the scheme as far as it is possible to
exhibit it graphically. For we have testimonies from divine scripture showing that this is
so. For that these bodies have a circular motion David shows when he says: Thou shalt
bless the crown of the year with thy goodness;10 here with wonderful propriety styling the
circle of the twelve months a crown, as crowning the face of the earth with beauty, whence
he added:

And the fields shall be filled with thy fatness.1 For by the circular motion and the
succession of returns from the tropics, the fruits of the earth grow and reach maturity.
Yea, even Moses placed upon that which was typical of the earth, namely, upon the table
all round, the twelve loaves of shew-bread, three at each corner, signifying by the
corners the four tropics, each distant from each three months, and by the circle the
twelve months, and by the loaves the fruits of the earth, thus mystically representing the
months by a circle crowning the earth above. In like manner also he arranged the twelve
tribes in a circle around the Tabernacle, three on the east, three on the south, three on
the west, and three on the north, beginning from the east, going up to south, descending
again to the west and then lastly running through the north in accordance with the motion
of the stars and the position of the earth. This circle the pagans call the Zodiac which
we have ourselves delineated in accordance with their theory.11 But the other seven stars,
which they call planets, Moses obscurely represented by placing seven lamps in the
candlestick, which he placed in the south, so that it cast its light upon the table
towards the north, while by the lamps he signified a week of seven days, signifying by all
these the days, the weeks, the months, the tropics, and the year.

By the daily loaves which were each day laid down new upon the table, he indicated the
days, and by the seven lamps the week, and by the number of the loaves the twelve months,
and by the four corners the tropics, and by the circle the year, concerning which things
the divine Apostle speaks in the Epistle to the Hebrews:12 Now if he were on earth he
would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the
law; who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is
warned of God when he is about to make the Tabernacle: For, see, saith he, that thou make
all things according to the pattern which was shown thee in thc Mount. And Solomon says:
The sun ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place. Arising he goeth there
towards the south and wheeleth round in his circuit, and the wind goeth on its circuits.13
He also, in what he says, agrees with Moses and David, namely, that the sun proceeding
from the east ascends to the south, and by making a circuit through the .north, causes the
tropics, and completes the great circle of the year in his passage through the air; for
this is what the expression the wind goeth on means, as if he said, in the air. And that
the heavenly bodies are moved by the invisible Powers, divine scripture intimates this
also, when it says:

For the creation was made subject to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who
subjected it in hope that the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God;14 meaning by this, that
at the final consummation, the angels shall be delivered from this bondage, and from the
ministrations which they render on account of men, for men, having then become immortal
and immutable, will no longer be in need of such ministrations, as the Lord also in the
Gospels speaks thus concerning the consummation: For the powers of heaven shall be
shaken,15 thus calling the angels the powers of heavens, and by the expression they shall
be shaken, He means they shall be set free from their former office. As the angels,
therefore, who move the stars themselves and other things, are certainly set free from
this office and ministry, He declares that the stars fall to the earth. The language of
the Apostle also: Are they not all ministering spirits senf forth to minister for the sake
of them that shall inherit salvation?16 very clearly shows that they all for the sake of
man are occupied night and day in their ministrations and services, and in doing
everything else towards giving men relaxation from their toils and towards supplying their
wants. For, when we shall no longer need them, they shall be set free from this bondage
and service, and shall cast down the stars upon the earth.

As Paul endured many toils and afflictions and persecutions for the Church, and at last,
from the multitude of his impending dangers, was driven to despondency, the divine grace
consoled him by means of frequent visions, encouraging him not to despair, but to
persevere, and to minister to the growth and propagation of the Church. He therefore sets
forth from these things for us two causes [of the visions], one pointing to labour, and
the other to reward. For what does he say? I know a man in Christ fourteen years ago
(whether in the body I know not, or whether out of the body I know not, God knoweth), how
that he was caught up into the third heaven;17 and again he says: And I know such a man
that he was caught up into the third heaven and heard unspeakable words which it is not
lawful for a man to utter;18 here manifestly setting forth things concerning himself in
the person of another. I know, he says, O Corinthians, if I needs must myself come to
visions and revelations of the Lord, that I was, in a wondrous manner beyond all
conception, caught up to a vast height, that of the distance from the earth to the
firmament, two-third parts, so that only one third of the whole height of heaven remained
to me to be ascended.19 And what was the cause of his being thus caught up I will with
God's help explain.

Since the invisible powers in this height up to which Paul was caught, in obedience to the
divine ordinance, for the sake of man move the heavenly bodies unceasingly and
unhesitatingly by night and by day, He therefore caught up Paul, and conducted him
thither, to show him the incessant service which they perform for the sake of men----to
show him in what a rational, orderly, rhythmical and intelligent a manner, and with what
toil and assiduity and solicitude, they render their service, and fulfil their work, that
he might thus in a measure comfort Paul, so that in labouring for the Church, he might not
give way to despondency, but persevere in his ministry, as he saw the angels were doing in
theirs. Paul therefore had the boldness to reveal how they ranked in dignity, naming
Principalities, and Powers, and Virtues, and Thrones, and Dominations. For some of them
perform the work while others superintend the workers, and others exercise power as
commanders of squadrons; and to say all in a word, all of them alike, groaning and
travailing in pain together, perform their labour with great anxiety and solicitude, and
in rational order, all of them being together desirous to gain their freedom from that
bondage under which they serve for the sake of men. I shall here speak again, God helping
me, concerning the being caught up into Paradise.

Since, after their departure from the body, the souls of the righteous, who are thought
worthy to enter into the kingdom of heaven, are consigned to Paradise (as we learn from
the case of the thief who was crucified along with the Lord), until the resurrection,
being there kept as in a choice and honoured place by the invisible Powers, who entertain
them with hymns and every mark of honour; God caught up Paul thither, and by way of
comforting him, showed him, but in part only, the crowns which were the prizes of his
toils and struggles; whence he was unable to give a perfect description of the things
there; yea, he rather declared them to be unspeakable and incomprehensible, but he had the
boldness to write, that for him, as one who had finished his course of service, and had
kept the faith, there was laid up a crown of righteousness by the Lord, and not for him
only, but also for all who are like him. And so much we have said with regard to the
visions. But here it is to be noted that all the heavenly bodies are under the firmament,
and are moved and wheeled in their orbits below the two-thirds of the height of heaven,20
by the ministry and the arrangement of the invisible Powers. And from this we learn that
an angel does not ascend beyond the heavenly bodies.

For if they are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for the sake of them that
shall inherit salvation,21 let any one who is opposed to this opinion declare in what
service the angel, who goes above the firmament, is engaged; and if he is at a loss to
point this out, let him submit, I do not say to us, but to divine scripture. For it is
impossible for any of us, while still mortal or corruptible or mutable, to go beyond the
stars, unless we receive from God incorruption and immortality and immutability by the
resurrection from the dead; unless the angels also are, in like manner, along with us,
delivered from bondage, and casting down the stars to the earth, likewise obtain
immutability and freedom, we do not go beyond the stars and cleave the firmament to enter
into the kingdom of heaven. For this the Apostle shows when he says: Flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God;20 here by the word flesh meaning mortality, and by
blood mutability. He declared therefore that it is impossible for one who is mortal or
mutable to inherit the kingdom of heaven. He subjoins immediately: Neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption 22----and he repeated this, by way of showing that nothing that is
corrupt can go up and enter there, for harm rather than any advantage would result.

For just as we, who are far away from the sun, have not the power, should we direct our
eyes to his disc, to continue doing so, but would be injured and blinded rather than
profited, so would it fare with any one if, while still mortal or mutable or corruptible,
he should seek to overstep the boundaries, and approach the way which leads to the kingdom
of heaven, while still far off therefrom. So then, just as the Lord Christ when He had
risen from the dead, having become incorruptible in the body and immortal, and in soul
immutable, then passed beyond the heavenly Powers, and when He had approached the
firmament, having become, as it is written, better than the angels, He pierced it and
entered into the kingdom of heaven; as Paul also declares when he says that he ascended
far above all principality, etc., so we also and the angels, having obtained these
attributes, enter therein. Again, the two trees in the middle of Paradise mystically
presignify the present state and the future, and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil is a type of this world which is mortal and mutable, having pleasures and pains, and
being a school of discipline,23 just as Adam was taught by this tree both good and evil.
Now the tree of life is a type of the future heavenly world, in which life and blessedness
reign, for the saying:

Lest he stretch forth his hand and take of the tree of life,24 signified the vast height
of the tree and thereby signified the mansions above. As therefore He commanded the
Cherubim with the flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of
life, so He commanded the angels and the luminaries which revolve round the height of the
firmament, to guard the way which is there that leads into the kingdom of heaven;
intending to signify that the mansions above are meanwhile inaccessible to men. At His
Passion therefore the Lord Christ carried with Him the soul of the thief into Paradise,
having suspended the guardianship of the Cherubim and of the flaming sword, which turned
every way. But after His resurrection, when He came to his ascension, He opened a passage
through the host of the invisible Powers, and the luminaries and the firmament itself, and
entered into the kingdom where immortality, and immutability, and blessedness reign. At
the final consummation therefore, when the angels cease to make the luminaries revolve and
when the stars fall, then the Cherubim and the flaming sword waving both ways no longer
prevent men from entering into the true life, but the righteous, raised on high and
traversing the new way and piercing the firmament with the Lord Christ, shall inherit the
kingdom of life. Do Thou, who hast compassion and great pity, deem us also, along with Thy
righteous, worthy of this life and inheritance.


THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY
========================

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY continued

BOOK X

Passages from the Fathers. ERTAIN of those [Christians] who delight in wrangling, on
reading this book and finding it no easy matter to face such a weight of testimony as we
have adduced in this treatise from the divine scriptures, thus addressed us: "You and the
Fathers on whom you rely interpret divine scripture in a peculiar way to make it
correspond with your own opinions, for nothing is conveyed by it about figures and types
such as you assert. But the Fathers on whom we rely, who could not but have known
accurately the true scope of divine scripture, have in their expositions transmitted to us
nothing such as you say, since scripture tells us: God hath set in the Church, first
Apostles, secondly Prophets, thirdly Teachers.1 To the Apostles indeed and to the Prophets
you seem to have attached yourself in your interpretation, but as for the Teachers who are
the exponents of the true scope of divine scripture, you hold aloof from them entirely,
and travel a strange road, known to none but to yourself and your friends. On this
account, therefore, we are constrained to make manifest once more to all their love of
contention, and to this end we have placed together in this book the testimonies of the
Fathers, even those whom they themselves adduce either in pretence or in sincerity, in
order that they may be refuted by their own authorities, and be convinced how admirably
our treatise is confirmed by the testimonies of all the Apostles and Prophets and
Teachers.

And first let step forward the great Athanasius2 who proclaims the same views as
ourselves. From the Festal Epistles of Athanasius.3 [316-319] Observe, pray, how this
great Teacher is constantly in agreement with ourselves and our doctrine, in the view he
takes of the whole figure of the world, calling the kingdom of heaven a great and
supramundane hall, sufficient for the whole creation, and proclaiming that the Lord Christ
as our forerunner is therein, and that we shall enter into it along with him at his second
coming; And the saying: Enter into the joy of thy Lord:4 he refers to that very hall, that
is, to the heaven of heavens which is the kingdom of heaven----and he says that this has
been prepared for men by God from the foundation of the world, and that the Tabernacle
erected by Moses is a type of the heavens. Can the lovers of contention show how this
great Teacher does not agree with us, or how we have been going a strange road different
from that of the Church? But away with the vain labour of these men! We will add to
Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus5 with whose praises they make the world ring, and who yet
proclaims the same views as the previous authority and ourselves. Extract from the
discourse on the Passover by Gregory of Nazianzus. "But let us sacrifice to God a
sacrifice of praise upon the altar on high along with the choir above;

let us go through the first veil, let us draw near to the second, let us glance into the
Holy of Holies. How then is it not manifest that we have not gone a strange road different
from that of the Church? Let the men of strife therefore be ashamed of themselves when
they see the harmony of the Church, and let them not be intolerant of us, for it is hard
for them to kick against the pricks. But let us introduce a third after him, one who was
his contemporary, even Theophilus Bishop of the Church at Alexandria,6 who also bears
testimony to our opinions, yea rather, to the truth. From the first Festal Epistle of
Theophilus of Alexandria.6 "In order that, being engaged in higher than earthly doings in
the sublime mansion of virtue, we may, like the disciples, eat the Passover in the upper
chamber, having with us Christ, who was sacrificed for us, while we eat Him all, as our
life. From the same Festal Epistle of the same. "In order that, having again drawn back
the veil of the word, we may with unveiled face behold the festival of the divine
Passover,7 appealing thus to Jesus:

Where wilt thou that we prepare to eat the Passover with thee? 8 On receiving his reply
that this feast was to be celebrated in an upper chamber, a chamber, that is, of second
things,9 the disciples with alacrity of heart betook themselves with all speed to enter
the Holy of Holies, into which Christ Himself hath entered for us, and hath done away with
any further need of the typical High Priest, having obtained eternal redemption for us,
and on our behalf presenting Himself before the face of God. Formerly indeed the High
Priest alone once a year entered into the Holy of Holies, the people remaining without by
reason of the littleness of their power. But the Saviour having entered in, has given full
liberty of access to all who wish. Observe how this authority is also in harmony with us
in calling the upper chamber a house, into which the Lord Christ as forerunner hath
entered for us (of whom the High Priest in the Tabernacle of Moses was a type) to present
Himself before the face of God, and hath given full liberty to all who wish, to enter into
the Holy of Holies, that is, into the kingdom of heaven. Let those who are on the side of
the schismatics reply to the following questions. How have we gone a strange road
different from that of the Church? How is it that they do not regard the words of their
own Fathers? but falsely traduce them as if they were heretics.

But passing from this Father, let us turn to the fourth who was his contemporary and
fellow mystic, Severianus, namely, the Bishop of Gabala,10 who can be taken as a witness
to confirm all that is written in my work. From the first book of the Hexaemeron (Six days
of the Creation) of Severianus, Bishop of Gabala. "For on the first day He made the matter
out of which things were created; but on the other days He gave their form and arrangement
to the things created. For example, He made the heaven which was before non-existent----
not this visible heaven, but the one above it, for the visible was made on the second day.
God made the higher heaven----the heaven of heavens to the Lord,11 and it is higher than
this visible heaven, and, as in a house of two stories,12 between it and the "earth
another heaven is interposed. God having thus created the world as one house, placed this
visible heaven as a roof in the middle, and the waters above it. Wherefore, David says:
Who covereth his upper chambers with waters.13 God then made the heaven when it was not,
the earth when it was not, the abysses when they were not, and wind, air, fire, water; of
all the things that came into existence He made their matter on the first day. But some
one will say that it is recorded that He made the heaven and the earth, while nothing is
recorded of waters and fire and air.

In the first place then, brethren, when He said that the heaven and the earth were made,
He indicated by the things which contain, the things that are contained. Then after the
interposition of a few passages, hear Him next relate when the air was made: And the
spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.14 Here He does not speak of the Holy
Spirit, for the uncreated is not numbered along with what is created, but it is the motion
of the air which He calls spirit. God said, Let there be light,15 and the nature of fire
came into being. And again proceeding He says: But our souls He fenced round with the
body, while He made the angels bodiless. So then, what we see to be the case with respect
to human souls and to angels, the same is the case with respect to fire, for the fire
above subsists without matter, but the fire below with matter, for the fire above is akin
to the fire below, just as our souls are also akin to the angels. How so? because the
former are spirit and the latter too are spirit. And again: All of them were then brought
into existence, fire, abyss, winds, the four elements, earth, fire, water, air; for
whatever Moses omitted he comprehended in that marvellous summary where he says:

For in six days God made the heaven and the earth and all the things that therein are.16
And just as in the case of the body he did not speak of all its members, so in the case of
the creation he did not enumerate all its parts, although all things were created
simultaneously with the world. But if there was not fire in the world, it could not at the
present day be struck from rock and from wood; for the friction of wood against wood
generates fire, but if Nature did not hold it, from what source does she, produce it?"17
From the same, from the second book. "On the second day God said: Let there be a firmament
in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.18 He made this
heaven, not the one above, but the visible heaven which he crystallised from the waters
like ice. But I shall endeavour to place the matter before your eyes, for many things are
better explained by ocular than by oral demonstration. This water, let us suppose,
overflowed the earth five cubits. Then God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of
the water,3 and thereupon a solid ice-like substance was produced in the midst of the
waters, which made lighter the upper half of the water, and left the other half
underneath, as it is written:

Let there be a firmament (στερέωμα) in the midst of the water, and let it make a division
between the waters.19 But wherefore does he call it the firmament? It is, because God made
it firm and solid (ἐστερέωσε) from waters which are of rarer and less compact substance.
Wherefore David also says: Praise him in the firmament of his power;20 and, to take
another example, we may adduce smoke, which when emitted from burning wood is rarified and
attenuated, but when it mounts up high into the air becomes transformed into the density
of a cloud. In this wise, when God had made the waters, which are by nature rarified,
ascend on high, He there made them solid. And that this example is to the point, and true,
Isaiah testifies where he says: The heaven was made firm and solid as smoke.21 The heaven
having therefore become solid in the midst of the waters made the upper half of them
light, but the other half He left underneath. Why then and for what purpose were the
waters placed above? Was it that we might drink them or that we might sail on them? For
that there are waters above, David testifies, saying: And the water which is above the
heavens.22 Observe then the wisdom of the Creator; the heaven was crystalline, having been
consolidated from the waters;

but since it was to receive the flame of the sun and of the moon and the countless hosts
of the stars, and was entirely filled with fire, then in order that it might not be
dissolved, nor burned with the heat, He spread over the upper surfaces of heaven those
sea-like expanses of water, with a view to soften, and as it were to anoint the upper
surface and thus render it capable of resisting the scorching heat of the flames. An
example of this is ready at hand: if, for instance, you to-day put a pot on the fire, with
water therein, the pot withstands the fire, but if you do not supply water the pot will
crack or melt. Accordingly, against fire He opposed heat as its counteractive, in order
that the upper surface of heaven being, as it were, anointed with the waters, might be
well enough able to maintain its existence. And observe what is here marvellous; in the
body of heaven which is assailed by so much fire, the moisture is so superabundant that it
lends a constant supply to the earth. For whence cometh the dew of the cloud? from
nowhere? The air holds no water; so it is clear that the heaven drops it from its
superabundance. Wherefore also the Patriarch Isaac when blessing Jacob said: "God give
thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth"23----And later on he24 thus
continues:

"Observe, I pray you, that the waters above the heaven render another service, for not
only do they preserve the heaven, but they also send down the flame of the sun and the
moon, since, if the whole heaven were transparent, the rays would mount upwards; for, as
it is the nature of fire to ascend, it would leave the earth destitute of light. On this
account, therefore, He compressed the heaven above with a boundless expanse of waters, in
order that the rays, being confined, might be sent downwards. Behold then the wisdom of
the Architect. And thou hast even in thyself the image of the Architect. So attend
particularly, I pray you, to what I shall now say: Suppose this head to be the heaven
above, and what is above the tongue to be the other heaven, namely, the firmament, whence
also [the palate] is called the little heaven,25 or roof of the mouth; now, above, in the
invisible parts is the brain not manifest to sight, while in the lower heaven is the the
tongue, a thing manifest to sight, just as the upper heaven is classed with things
discerned by the intellect, but the world, with the things we ordinarily talk about."26
From the same discourse. "For on the third day the fruits were produced, and in order
again that it might not be supposed that they were produced by the influence of the sun,
it was not until their creation was finished, that He made the sun and the moon and the
stars.

But whence did He make them? For it has been said that on the first day He made all things
of nothing, but on the other days, out of things existing. Whence then the Sun? Why, out
of the light created on the first day which the Architect modified at His pleasure and
transformed into objects of varied aspects, creating, in the first place, the substance of
the light, and then producing the luminaries, just as if one should bring forward a mass
of gold, and should then coin it into pieces of money, and by so doing make it a thing of
beauty. For just as He divided the abyss, which was then one mass of water, into the water
on high, into seas, into rivers, into fountains, into lakes, into wells, so also did the
Architect divide the light, which was a single uniform mass, and distribute it into the
sun, into the moon and into the stars. And subsequently we read: "He made therefore the
heaven, not a sphere, as those vain babblers conceive----for He did not make a rolling
sphere, but, as the prophet says: Who hath made the heaven as a vaulted chamber and
stretched it out as a tent to dwell in;27 for none of us is so impious as to be persuaded
by these triflers, and not by the words of the Prophet, which declare that the heaven has
a beginning and an end.

For this reason therefore the sun is not said by them to ascend but to go out, for the
scripture saith: The sun goeth out upon the earth,28 not goeth up; and again he says: From
the end of heaven is his going forth, and at the end of heaven is his goal,29 Not a going
up then----but if it is circular, it has not an end----for where are we to find an end of
what is perfectly round? Does then David only say this, or does the Saviour also say so?
Hear then this which is spoken by the Lord: When the Son of Man cometh he shall send forth
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.30 But, we ask again, where does the
sun set, and where does he pursue his course by night? as we have said. Well, according to
the pagans, under the earth, but according to us who speak of it as a tent, consider, I
pray you, whether what we assert be false, or has the seal of the truth to attest it. Now,
with my expression the place too [where we are met] coincides;31 for such things are
better explained by a reference to what is seen than by words addressed to the ear.
Suppose a dome to be placed over the church with its east towards sunrise, its north in
this direction, its south here, and its west there.

Suppose next the sun rising and then going down----going down not under the earth, but
pursuing his course through the northern parts, and hidden from view as by a wall, the
waters not permitting his path to be seen----pursuing his course, I say, through the
northern parts, and reaching again the quarter in which he rises. But whence is it made
clear that this is so? By the blessed Solomon then, when in the book of Ecclesiastes, a
book attested [to be inspired], and not rejected [from the canon] he says: The sun
ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place; arising there he gocth to the
south, and wheeling in his circuits, wheels towards the north; the wind goeth and turneth
about in its circuits.32 Behold then the sun running his course in the south, and wheeling
round to the north, and be instructed. And further on he says: "All things, therefore,
obey the law of God. The heaven stands, not as upheld by its own power but firmly
compacted by the divine word. For should I be at a loss to understand how the heaven was
consolidated out of the waters, the blessed David resolves the difficulty when he says: By
the word of the Lord were the heavens made solid;33 because made from the waters----for in
no passage elsewhere is the [heaven] said to be solid; it is one thing to be made solid,
and another to be solid.

The expression being made solid is used when that which is rarified and attenuated becomes
consolidated. From the same-----from the sixth discourse. "So then that tree had not a
power in itself to produce a knowledge which would result in death, but it got its name
from the dire calamity that befell Adam in connection with it. I shall briefly explain the
matter; for divine scripture presents no difficulty. To-day we have the saving food of
which the faithful partake. That tree then has a natural salutariness. If, through the
glory invoked,34 you have a pledge from things that are present, why do you doubt about
those that arc past? There the food was death-giving, here it is life-giving. If this
saves by its natural properties, and not by grace----then that also killed by its natural
properties, and not by the purpose he put before him; if this food saves by its natural
properties and not by grace, that also kills by its natural properties and not by the
breaking of the commandment. From the same-----from the fourth discourse. "For the angels
having been created beings were not co-workers with God, but His ministers who praised Him
in song, and expressed their gratitude for being brought into existence, being aware that,
as they had no previous existence, they had been created by the Spirit of goodness. So
they stood as spectators merely, beholding the things made along with them, and after
them; for they beheld the heaven made of nothing, and were struck with astonishment;

they beheld the sea parted off, and were lost in wonder; they saw the earth in her
beautiful apparel, and were thrilled with delight. But that the angels were not co-
workers, but admiring spectators, God says in Job: When I made the stars, all the angels
praised me and celebrated me in song;"35 subsequently he says: "He beheld Adam sinning,
but He foresaw his posterity acting righteously; He saw him being cast out from Paradise,
but He foresaw that a kingdom had been prepared for him. And what is wonderful is this,
that even before Paradise the kingdom had been made. Why then do you wonder at his having
been cast out of Paradise, when the real wonder is that before Paradise existed, the
kingdom of the heavens had been prepared for him?----as saith the Saviour: Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world!36 From the same-----from the third discourse. "It now remains to be examined why
God made the moon at her full. Pray attend closely, for the subject to be considered is
deep, as she required to be made on the fourth day in order to present a fourth day's
appearance. And again, if she appeared four days old, she could not have occupied the
extremity of the west. She was found therefore having an advantage of eleven days----for
on the fourth day she appeared full, as she would have appeared on the fifteenth day.

By eleven days then the moon is in advance of the sun, not by the act of her creation, but
by her shining.37 Wherefore what advantage she then gained, she paid back to the sun, for
as the number of days in the lunar month is twenty-nine and a-half she makes in twelve
months a year of three hundred and fifty-four days. For if you reckon twenty-nine and
a-half days for each month there are in the year three hundred and fifty-four days, in
order that the moon may pay back annually to the sun the days which she then gained. Let
any one who can count make the calculation. (Cosmas now speaks). What will those lovers of
strife say to this, when they hear that there is such harmony between this author and
myself, both as regards the figure of the first heaven and of the second, and as regards
the two places made by the interposition of the firmament ---- that the first heaven,
according to divine scripture, is not a sphere, but a vaulted chamber,----that this second
heaven, which is visible, was consolidated from the waters, and carries the waters, that
it may not be dissolved by the heat of the heavenly bodies, but be preserved therefrom by
the chillness of the waters----that the dew falls from the firmament----that the heavenly
bodies pursue their course through the northern parts during the night----and that the
angels were created along with the heaven, and were spectators of God's six days'
handiwork, and were taught, thereby, and filled with astonishment; and what will they say
as to his reasoning concerning souls, that they are enclosed within the body and operate
in the body. How then shall not every mouth be stopped that speaketh unrighteousness
against God, and against ourselves who carefully study divine scripture, and argue
therefrom agreeably to the tradition of the Church?

For, observe, I pray, it was shown that the Prophets and the Apostles, and the
Evangelists, and the Lord himself and all divine scripture----yea, moreover even those who
in common report are called Fathers and Teachers, whether in truth or pretence, differ not
from my opinions, but all bear testimony to my words, so that by them all the truth may be
established, and every mouth be stopped that speaketh unrighteous things. But, taking our
leave of this author, let us pass on to his fellow-servant, Epiphanius the Bishop----the
fifth in order, to show that he also testifies to our words and is in agreement with them.
From the work of Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, On Measures and Weights. "Two and twenty
works, O lover of the good and the beautiful, did God make from the beginning until the
seventh day, namely these. On the first day He made the higher heaven, the earth, the
waters from which come snow, ice, hail, frost and dew; then the spirits which minister
before His face, such as these----the angels standing in His presence, the angels of
glory, the angels of the clouds and darkness and snows and hail and frost----the angels of
sounds, of thunder and lightning; the angels of cold and heat, of winter and autumn, and
the angels of all the spirits of His creatures which arc in heaven and upon earth and in
Chaos;

then the darkness and the brooding over the abyss, the waters which once covered the
earth, out of which darkness comes evening and night, the light of day and of the dawn.
These seven mighty works did God make on the first day. On the second day was made the
firmament which is in the midst of the waters. On the same day the waters were divided,
one half of which ascended above the firmament, while the other half was underneath the
firmament, upon the face of all the earth. This was the only work which God made on the
second day. This author also agrees with us testifying as to the figure, declaring the
heaven to be above, and the firma-ment, which also carries the waters, to be underneath.
And with regard to the angels he says what is in explicit agreement with our own views,
namely, that they arc all in this world, and are all engaged in moving all things, and
ministering for the sake of man, and that they also were brought into being on the first
day along with the upper heaven and the earth. And hearing this, do not, O men, fret and
fume, overmastered by the spirit of strife and envy, but rather from a love of truth,
recognize the ecclesiastical, yea rather, the veritable harmony. For when ye are unable to
face the truth, it is of no avail to take to reviling. Regard then with all due deference
the great host of witnesses.

But, if we have not yet adduced a sufficiency of them for you, let us leave this authority
for the Bishop of the Capital----the admirable John, who was treated contemptuously by the
three foregoing writers, and let us show that this illustrious champion [of the Church],
who was devoted to deeds of mercy, bears testimony to our argument and is in agreement
therewith. From the work on Alms by John Chrysostom.39 "A human being is a great thing,
and a man, if merciful, is to be honoured. Behold, how great a thing is mercy----the
merciful man God likens to Himself; for He saith: Be ye merciful, even as your Father
which is in heaven is merciful.40 Should death come, there your riches abide. From the
Commentary by the same on the Epistle to the Ephesians. "In all wisdom and prudence, he
says, having made known unto us the mystery of his will,41 as if one should say: he made
known to us the things in his heart. For this is the mystery which is full of all wisdom
and prudence. For what seekest thou that is greater than this wisdom? Those who were
nothing worth----even those He found out, that He might lead them to great riches. What is
there that can compare with this inventive skill?42 He that was an enemy, He that was
hated: this very man has on a sudden been raised on high, and not only so, but at this
particular time, and this was done in wisdom also.

And that this was done by the Cross, it would require a long discussion to show. What a
matter of wisdom this was, and how it has made us wise! Again. "According to his good
pleasure, he says, which he purposed in him;41 that is, He longed for this, He was in
throes, as one may say, to bring forth this mystery. And of what nature is this? It is
that it is His will to set man on high, and this He desires with a view to a dispensation
of the fulness of the times to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and
the things upon the earth. From the Commentary of the same, on the Epistle to the Hebrews
in the chapter where it is said: "Now in the things which we are saying the chief point is
this."43 "Where are those who say that the heaven is in motion? Where are those who think
it to be spherical? For both these opinions are here swept away. From the same Commentary
of the same on the chapter which says: "Wherefore he is the Mediator of a new covenant."44
"And how come these to be patterns of the things in the heavens? And what does he call the
things which are now in the heavens? Is it heaven?

is it the angels?45 No, none of these, but our things, for heavenly things are ours, yea,
even though they be accomplished on the earth, since the angels also are on the earth, and
are nevertheless called heavenly. And the Cherubim too appeared on the earth, and yet they
are heavenly. But what am I saying?----that they appeared? Is it upon the earth then they
spend their time as if in Paradise? Nay, not so, for they are heavenly and our citizenship
is in the heavens, although we spend our life with those that are here. And subsequently
He says: "I show by actual facts those that attain to this height. And who be these? I
mean Paul and his followers, who, though they were on earth, sojourned in heaven. But what
am I saying?----in heaven? Nay, they were higher exalted than heaven, yea even than the
other heaven, for they ascended to God Himself. And this great and wise teacher, again,
expresses opinions which are marvellously in accordance with our own and with those of
such as hold with us with regard to the figure of the world. For with regard to this
figure he gradually advances upward from the regions of the earth to the sovereign throne,
and describes finely the gradations of the ascent. He places the air first, then the moon,
then the sun;

in the next place, the firmament, then again, the heaven of heaven, without saying there
are more than two heavens, and he ridicules those who say that it is a sphere, and
maintain that it is in motion. And with regard to the angels and the cherubim, he declares
that they are all in this world along with ourselves, and that up to this time not one of
them has winged his way beyond this world. And with regard to doctrine again he expounds
it clearly, making a safe use of the figure in doing so. For why? he says, He that was an
enemy, He that was hated, all of a sudden this Person has been raised on high. And again
he says, that it is the will of God to set man on high, etc. For when God had made the
heaven and the earth, on the second day He made the firmament, and, having placed it
midway on high, He divided the one world into two worlds, namely this and the one above.
And when He had on the sixth day finished all this world, last of all, as a bond to unite
the whole world of things visible and invisible, He made man----the one living being
compounded of all the natures. At the end of the days therefore, when it behoved that the
second world also should be displayed, God, having taken him who was the bond of the whole
world of things visible and invisible, namely, Man;

and having renovated him by raising him from the dead, and made him better, he conducted
him in presence of all into heaven, namely, into the second place----that is, into the
second world. For a restoration and a renovation was effected by the dispensation of God
in man as the bond between heavenly and earthly things, that is, of all things visible and
invisible. This Father then, knowing these things and the mystery of the will of God, took
pleasure in declaring them, and proclaimed that he who had been expelled from Paradise as
hated on account of his disobedience, had suddenly through God's good pleasure become
heavenly, for the summing up in him of the universe.46 Oh! how wonderful the concord of
the Church! how wonderful the spiritual unanimity of the teachers! How is he not to be
condemned who sets himself in opposition to them? O Lord God of the universe, confirm us
evermore in Thy mysteries, Amen! Let the lovers of strife cease from wrangling, and let
them rather submit their necks to the Church. For from a habit such as this we, along with
the Church, turn away with aversion. But having ended our citations from this authority,
let us adduce a seventh witness who completes the testimony of the divine Testament both
the Old and the New. For if in divine scripture it is said that in the mouth of two
witnesses or three every word shall be established, how much more then in the mouth of
seven;

for the company of seven witnesses shows the testimony of the perfect testament. It is
Philon then the Bishop of Carpathus 47 who gives the same testimony as the other six. From
the Commentary on Canticles, by Philon Bishop of Carpathus on the passage: The King
brought me into his inner chamber.48 "The banqueting-house of the heavenly King, that is,
His body which He built up for Himself as His house, and then also the kingdom of heaven.
From the same on the passage: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.49 "For the son
of God assumed humanity, which He put on [received] from the Church, and in return gave
back His sacred flesh to be partaken of in the sacrament. From the same on the passage:
The King fettered in his movements to and fro. Why wert thou made beautiful, and why wert
thou established?50 "For when He passed from heaven to earth, and when He descended to
hell, yea to the very lowest depth of hell, He thence will draw up the dead. And farther
on he says: "It was not His divine nature that was in reality made beautiful, and that was
established, for this does not admit of increase or diminution, but it was the flesh which
He assumed, and the humanity which He wore. He was beautified by being conformed to the
beauty of divinity----and was established in the kingdom of heaven at the right hand of
God.

From the same on "The six days" where he discourses on the man that was born blind. "For
although thou wert looking at the man himself, yet thou oughtest from those very works to
see God in man. Consider pray, how this Father also maintains the same view with ourselves
concerning the figure of the world and as to the figure remark how he calls the kingdom of
heaven God's tamieion----the tamieion 51 being the innermost and securest apartment of the
house, and this he speaks of as the kingdom of heaven. And concerning the doctrine,
remark, how he represents man, whose nature God assumed, and whom God recalled from death,
and deemed worthy of the place of honour at His right hand, as being seated and
established in the tamieion itself, that is, in the kingdom of heaven. How then do those
lovers of strife cry out against us, as if we have gone a strange road----a road that is
known to nobody? Let them desist from that voluntary madness, and no longer assail us with
slanders: for it is God who justifieth, where is he that condemneth?52 For it is God who
first confirms our opinions, then the Prophets and Apostles and the Evangelists and the
renowned company of the Fathers----Fathers from among whom ye yourselves profess to accept
some, while moreover there are even old pagan writers who in some points are in agreement
with our opinions.

But that we may not unduly prolong the discussion, we have deemed it sufficient to advance
solely the testimonies already offered for the sake of the lovers of strife, and for their
sake only who have the assurance to challenge our principles, or rather, I should say, the
truth itself; and this we have done, in order that they may have an absolute refutation of
their ill-timed madness, and from a desire to make manifest to all that the motive, by
which they are actuated, is a sheer love of strife. And in order that what we have written
may be supported not solely by the testimonies of these ancient authorities I will adduce
the testimony, and that even in abounding measure, of a recent schismatical Father of
theirs, one who is still living, and resident in Constantinople, and who whether from
ignorance, or from being constrained by the truth itself, agrees with what we have
written. From Theodosius, Bishop of Alexandria----On the fortieth day of the Ascension of
the Lord. "To-day human nature is conveyed into heaven----to-day heaven is thrown open and
man enters therein. What will our opponents say to this? How has he not borne testimony to
our opinions both with regard to the figure of the world and to the doctrine? Oh how
wonderful the force of the truth, which attracts to it even its enemies against their
will! From the same----in another exposition. "It is no great thing if God overcame the
devil. Oh how wonderful!

Here also the truth reveals their ill-timed love of strife. For if he says it is no great
thing for God when contending with the devil to overcome him, why then----to say the
opposite is downright madness; for to God, not only the devil but the whole of creation is
subordinate, and will be counted as nought. How then is it not manifest that he means,
that it was man who contended with the devil and overcame him? Now this is even a great
point, for he had before spoken of man, as having entered as a conqueror into heaven. And
that he holds to this meaning is shown when again he exclaims: For it behoved, it behoved,
I say that this nature, which had been foiled in wrestling, should be adorned with a crown
----as if he said: This nature which was overcome by the devil in Paradise, as he,says,
namely man, whom he declares frequently and at great length to have been bettered by the
resurrection----him, I say, he pronounced with all frankness to have been carried up into
heaven. From an exposition by the same given in the great Church when the Gospel was read:
"Father, if it be possible, let it pass from me"53 etc. "The sufferings of this flesh----
and the tokens of suffering, anguish, and sweat, grief and perturbation of soul----all
these are indicative of human nature. Oh what a marvel is here!

They say such things and yet they quarrel with us, making divisions in the Churches in
defiance of all authority.54 For where is it written that He was in agony and sweated, if
not in Luke where it is said: And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his
sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground----and there
appeared unto him an angel from heaven strengthening him.55 How dare they say these words,
and on the other hand condemn those who dare to expound them? Is not the love of strife on
the part of such men manifest? But dismissing this authority, let us pass over to one who
was his predecessor in office, Timotheus the younger,56 who recently died, and show that
he also unwillingly assents to what we have written. He writes, then, in explanation of
the passage which, at the sacred period of Easter in the Church of St. Victor, was read
from the Prophet Isaiah, who says: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb
before her shearer is dumb so he opened not his mouth;57 and when in his exposition he
referred to the passage: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me,58 he spoke
to this effect: Timotheus on the passage: "Father, if it be possible," etc. "For it is
natural for the soul to love to dwell always in the body, and to be vexed at taking leave
of life.

And again in the Church of Sarapammon he exclaimed: "And greater things than those will be
given unto Me by the Father----resurrection from the dead, renovation of nature, and
vivification, instead of corruption. From a discourse of the same at the festival of the
Holy Nativity ----on the birth of Christ, on the 30th of Choiac in the 10th Indiction.59
"The Virgin brought forth a son who was perfect and sinless"----and a little subsequently
he says: "Let us be circumcised with Christ, that we may also be purified along with Him.
And again in the Church of St. Theodorus on the 8th of Tybi in the 10th Indiction. "For
through that which was apparent he showed the power of that which was concealed." From an
exposition by the same in the Church of Quirinus on the Lord's Day on the 22nd 60 of
Pachôn in the 5th Indiction, when the passage in the Gospel of John had been read. "Now
Jesus being wearied with his journey was sitting."61 "Since therefore He is at once both
God and man He is proved to be both by His works, and this cannot escape the notice of the
spectators. For, that He is by nature God, is shown both by His works and His signs,
cleansing the lepers, giving sight to the blind, strength to the paralytic, and life to
the dead----and what is greatest of all (for the Prophets also equally succeeded in doing
these things) He expressly and unreservedly said:

I and my Father are one.62 But, by the things mentioned, the might of His divinity is
fully proved----and that He is also truly man, this He does not wish to go unobserved;
thus in anticipation refuting those who erroneously think He assumed a body in appearance
only, for He showed clearly that He submitted to sufferings----and to what kind of
sufferings? to those, forsooth, which are assigned to flesh by reason of its infirmity and
not by reason of sin----I mean, for instance, hunger and thirst and the need of sleep, and
fatigue. For as these things happen to us by nature and not by our choice, they do not
affect with sin those who have to endure them. By these sufferings then which were not
incurred by sin the Lord declared that His flesh obeyed, showing clearly that He had
become man in nature and in truth, and not in seeming. From a discourse of the same in the
sanctuary at the Pachôn Festival. "It belongs to God to work miracles, to command the
elements, and to make predictions of future events, but to man when civilized and leading
a social life, it belongs to honour parents, to maintain kindly intercourse with brothers,
and to converse with disciples and acquaintances.

Accordingly our Lord Jesus Christ being both God of God, and having become man for our
sake, exhibits both the power of His divinity, and observes also the laws of our humanity,
proving what He was and is by His miracles, and showing by His actions what He deigned to
become. From a discourse by the same on the fortieth day from the Ascension of the Lord,
on the 25th Pachôn in the 9th Indiction----the text, taken from the Gospel of John, being:
"It is expedient for you that I go away." 63 "But let us consider the words now spoken by
Him to His illustrious disciples----namely: It is expedient for you that I go away. For
your salvation have I come down to the earth, for your benefit it is well that I go up
into heaven. For your sakes did I, hitherto bodiless, come down----it is expedient for Me
to be there with the body; your race did I resolve to draw up to heaven; it behoves Me in
the flesh to take My seat on the right hand of the Father. It behoves Me to open up a way
that before was strange, as a new way, and to show that heaven is accessible to man. I
take my way first through the air, in order that you also afterwards may be caught up into
the air in clouds to meet Me.

And I fancied I heard him, as he was reading, expressly proclaim64 how that this man
shrinks from departure from life, and "how that He through suffering and the resurrection
received incorruption and renovation of His nature and vivification----how that through
prevailing infirmity He was formerly subject to sufferings and fatigue----how that
moreover He was drawn to heaven and deemed worthy of the seat on the right hand, and was
the first to traverse the strange way, and the first to make heaven accessible to men. O
harmony of those not in harmony with us! Oh! the involuntary agreement of the schismatics
with us! Oh! the unwilling laudation, the assent, that is, of our revilers to our
opinions! How have we not all round shown ourselves to be the children of the Church? They
say, forsooth, we have not trodden the beaten way. How are they not to be utterly
condemned who disbelieve all these things or argue against them? How is our work not in
all things attested to be the true offspring of the tradition of the Church? God is our
witness, then the Apostles, Prophets, the glorious company of the holy Fathers.

1. 1 I Cor. xii, 28. 2. 1 For a notice of Athanasius and his Festal Epistles, see note 3,
p. 290. 3. 2 Montfaucon here notes that he had published the passages adduced by Cosmas in
vol. xxvi, column 1431, of the Patrologia. So they do not appear either in the Greek or
Latin texts. 4. 3 Matt, xxv, 21. 5. 4 St. Gregory, the son of Gregory Bishop of Nazianzus,
was born in the year A.D. 329, and was eminent for the zeal with which he defended the
Nicene creed against the attacks of the Arians. When offered by his friend St. Basil the
See of Sasima, he declined it, but he was afterwards installed as the Patriarch of
Constantinople,----an office which he resigned after only a brief tenure. He died in 389
or 390. 6. 1 Theophilus became Bishop of Alexandria in 385 A.D. He was one of the most
violent and unscrupulous ecclesiastics of his time. He opposed Chrysostom, persecuted the
Origenists, and took violent measures to drive all the Pagans out of his diocese. His
turbulent career came to an end in 412. 7. 1 Gr. τὴν διαβατήριον τοῦ Θείου
Πάσχα----"transitoriam divini paschatis celebritatem"----Montfaucon. Philo also uses
διαβατήριον to designate the Passover. 8. 2 Matt, xxvi, 17. 9. 3 Gr. δευτέρων πραγμάτων.
10. 4 Regarding Severianus, see note 2, p. 291. 11. 1 Psalm cxiii, 5. 12. 2 Gr. ἐν οἴκῳ
διωρόφῳ. 13. 3 Psalm civ, 3. 14. 4 Gen. i, 2. 15. 5 Ibid., 3. 16. 1 Exod.

xx, 1 1. 17. 2 Gr. πόθεν γεννᾷ. Montfaucon renders this by quomodo generabit. 18. 3 Gen.
i, 6. 19. 1 Gen. i, 6. 20. 2 Psalm cl, 1. 21. 3 Isai. li, 6. 22. 4 Psalm cxlviii, 4. 23. 1
Gen. xxvii, 23. 24. 2 Severianus. 25. 3 Gr. οὐρανίσκος. Aristotle uses οὐρανός itself in
this meaning: τοῦτο δ’ εἰς μὲν τὸν ἐγκέφαλον οὐκ ἔχει πόρον, εἰς δὲ τὸν τοῦ στοματος
οὐρανόν.----Hist. Anim., i, 11. 26. 1 Gr. ἐν τοῖς λαλουμένοις. 27. 2 Isai. xl, 22. 28. 1
Psalm xix, 5. 29. 2 Ibid. 6. 30. 3 Matt, xxiv, 30, 1. 31. 4 Gr. Συντρέχει δέ μου τῇ φράσει
καὶ ὁ τόπος. The expression to which he refers is σκηνή, a tent, and the place must be the
church in which the address was delivered. 32. 1 Eccl. i, 5. 33. 2 Psalm xxxiii, 6. 34. 3
Gr. δυὶ τὴν ἐπικαλουμένην δοξαν. Montfaucon renders: gloriam te advocantem. 35. 1 Job
xxxviii, 7. 36. 2 Matt, xxv, 34. 37. 1 That is, by her being fully illuminated in advance
by eleven days. 38. 1 The Bishop of Constantia (the ancient Salamis) in Cyprus, and the
Metropolitan of that island. He was the first of three of the same name who held the same
office. 39. 1 John, surnamed Chrysostomos (the golden-mouthed), from the force of his
eloquence, was born in Antioch 347 A.D.; succeeded Nectarius as Archbishop of
Constantinople in 397; died in exile at Comana in Pontus in 407. 40. 2 Luke vi, 36. 41. 3
Ephes.

i, 9. 42. 4 Gr. εὐμηχανίας. 43. 1 Heb. viii, 1. 44. 2 Ibid., 6. 45. 3 Gr. ’Αρα τὸν
οὐρανὸν. ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους; ἀλλὰ is evidently a press error for ἆπα. 46. 1 Gr. ἐπὶ
ἀνακεφαλαιώσει τοῦ παντός. See Ephesians, i, 10. Montfaucon renders ad universi
restaurationem. 47. 2 Philon was ordained Bishop of Carpathus, an island between Crete and
Rhodes, by Epiphanius of Cyprus, about the beginning of the fifth century. His surname was
probably Carpasius rather than Carpathius, as there is a town called Carpasia in the north
of Cyprus. He is principally known from his Commentary on the Canticles, which he treats
allegorically. 48. 1 Song of Sol., ii, 4. 49. 2 Song of Sol., i, 2. 50. 3 Not in our
Bible. 51. 1 Cosmas has not quoted the passage where this word occurs. 52. 2 Rom. viii,
34. 53. 1 Matt. xxvi, 39. 54. 2 Gr. turannou~ntej. See note 2, p. 92. 55. 3 Luke xxiii,
44. 56. 4 So called to distinguish him from Timotheus, nicknamed Aelurus or the Cat. 57. 5
Isai. liii, 7. 58. 6 Matt. xxvi, 39 59. 1 Gr. ἰνδ. ί. The time from which reckoning by
Indictions began was the 1st, but, according to others, the 15th of September, 312 A.D.
The Indiction is a cycle of fifteen years, which was used in reckoning time chiefly by
ecclesiastical historians onward from the time of Athanasius, and it is still used by the
Popes, who reckon it as commencing 1st January, 313.

See Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap, xiv, n. 62; also chap, xviii, n. 170. The word
originally meant a summons to pay a tax, and only gradually came to be a mode of reckoning
time. The expression, the Tenth Indiction, does not mean the tenth period of fifteen years
from 313 A.D., but the tenth year of any current Indiction. We express ourselves similarly
when we say, for instance, the tenth January instead of the tenth of January. 60. 1 Gr.
Πασχῶν κβ’. Montfaucon translates Pachon decima quarta. The circumflex on ω shows Paschôn
to be a misprint for Pachon. 61. 2 John iv, 6. 62. 3 John x, 30. 63. 1 John xvi, 17. 64. 2
These words seem to be added by Cosmas himself.

BOOK XI

Book XI.

A description of Indian Animals, and of the Island of Taprobane. HIS animal is called the
rhinoceros from having horns upon his snout. When he is walking his horns are mobile, but
when he sees anything to move his rage, he erects them and they become so rigid that they
are strong enough to tear up even trees by the root, those especially which come right
before him. His eyes are placed low down near his jaws. He is altogether a fearful animal,
and he is somehow hostile to the elephant. His feet and his skin, however, closely
resemble those of the elephant. His skin, when dried, is four fingers thick, and this some
people put, instead of iron, in the plough, and with it plough the land. The Ethiopians in
their own dialect call the rhinoceros Arou, or Harisi, aspirating the alpha of the latter
word, and adding risi. By the arou they designate the beast as such, and by arisi,
ploughing, giving him this name from his shape about the nostrils, and also from the use
to which his hide is turned. In Ethiopia I once saw a live rhinoceros while I was standing
at a far distance, and I saw also the skin of a dead one stuffed with chaff, standing in
the royal palace, and so I have been able to draw him accurately.

The Taurelaphus, the Bull-stag or Ox-deer. The taurelaphus is an animal found in India and
in Ethiopia. Those in India are tame, and are used for the transport of pepper and other
stuffs packed in saddle-bags. They are milked, and from the milk butter is made. We also
eat their flesh, the Christians killing them by cutting their throats and the Pagans by
felling them. The Ethiopian kind, unlike the Indian, are wild and have not been
domesticated. The Camelopardalis----the Giraffe. Cameleopards are found only in Ethiopia.
They also are wild creatures and undomesticated. In the palace one or two that, by command
of the King, have been caught when young, are tamed to make a show for the King's
amusement. When milk or water to drink is set before these creatures in a pan, as is done
in the King's presence, they cannot, by reason of the great length of their legs and the
height of their breast and neck, stoop down to the earth and drink, unless by straddling
with their forelegs. They must therefore, it is plain, in order to drink, stand with their
forelegs wide apart. This animal also I have delineated from my personal knowledge of it.

The Agriobous or Wild Ox. This wild ox is a large Indian animal, and from it is got what
is called the toupha, with which commanders of armies decorate their horses and banners
when taking the field. If his tail, it is said, catches in a tree, he does not seek to
move off but stands stock-still, having a strong aversion to lose even a single hair of
his tail. So the people of the place come and cut off his tail, and then the beast, having
lost it all, makes his escape. Such is the nature of this animal. The Moschus or Musk-
deer. The small animal, again, is the Moschus, called in the native tongue Kastouri. Those
who hunt it pierce it with arrows, and having tied up the blood collected at the navel
they cut it away. For this is the part which has the pleasant fragrance known to us by the
name of musk. The men then cast away the rest of the carcase.

The Monoceros or Unicorn. This animal is called the unicorn, but I cannot say that I have
seen him. But I have seen four brazen figures of him set up in the four-towered palace of
the King of Ethiopia. From these figures I have been able to draw him as you see. They
speak of him as a terrible beast and quite invincible, and say that all his strength lies
in his horn. When he finds himself pursued by many hunters and on the point of being
caught, he springs up to the top of some precipice whence he throws himself down and in
the descent turns a somersault so that the horn sustains all the shock of the fall, and he
escapes unhurt. And scripture in like manner speaks concerning him, saying, Save me from
the mouth of lions, and my humility from the horns of unicorns. And again: And he that is
beloved as the son of unicorns; and again in the blessings of Balaam wherewith he blessed
Israel, he says for the second time: God so led him out of Egypt even as the glory of the
unicorn; thus bearing complete testimony to the strength, audacity, and glory of the
animal.

The Chaerelaphus or Hog-deer and Hippopotamus. The hog-deer I have both seen and eaten.
The hippopotamus, however, I have not seen, but I had teeth of it so large as to weigh
thirteen pounds, and these I sold here.And I saw many such teeth both in Ethiopia and in
Egypt. Piperi----pepper. This is a picture of the tree which produces pepper. Each
separate stem being very weak and limp twines itself, like the slender tendrils of the
vine, around some lofty tree which bears no fruit. And every cluster of the fruit is
protected by a double leaf. It is of a deep green colour like that of rue. Argellia----The
Narikela of Sanskrit----Cocoa-nuts. The other tree [represented] bears what are called
argellia, that is, the large Indian nuts. It differs nothing from the date-palm, except
that it is of greater height and thickness and has larger fronds. It bears not more than
two or three flower-spathes, each bearing three nuts. Their taste is sweet and very
pleasant, like that of green nuts. The nut is at first full of a very sweet water which
the Indians drink, using it instead of wine. This delicious drink is called rhongcosura.
If the fruit is gathered ripe and kept, then the water gradually turns solid on the shell,
while the water left in the middle remains fluid, until of it also there is nothing left
over. If however it be kept too long the concretion on the shell becomes rancid and unfit
to be eaten.

The Phoca or Seal, the Dolphin and the Turtle. The seal, the dolphin, and the turtle we
eat at sea if we chance to catch them. When we want to eat the dolphin and turtle we cut
their throat. But we do not kill the seal that way, but strike it over the head as is done
with the large kinds of fish. The flesh of the turtle, like mutton, is dark-coloured; that
of the dolphin is like pork, but dark-coloured and rank; and that of the seal is, like
pork, white and free from smell. Concerning the Island of Taprobanê. This is a large
oceanic island lying in the Indian sea. By, the Indians it is called Sielediba, but by the
Greeks Taprobanê, and therein is found the hyacinth stone. It lies on the other side of
the pepper country. Around it are numerous small islands all having fresh water and cocoa-
nut trees. They nearly all have deep water close up to their shores. The great island, as
the natives report, has a length of three hundred gaudia, that is,of nine hundred
miles,and it is of the like extent in breadth. There are two kings in the island, and they
are at feud the one with the other.The one has the hyacinth country, and the other the
rest of the country where the harbour is. and the centre of trade. It is a great mart for
the people in those parts. The island has also a church of Persian Christians who have
settled there, and a Presbyter who is appointed from Persia, and a Deacon and a complete
ecclesiastical ritual. But the natives and their kings are heathens. In this island they
have many temples, and on one, which stands on an eminence, there is a hyacinth as large
as a great pine-cone, fiery red, and when seen flashing from a distance, especially if the
sun's rays are playing round it, a matchless sight. The island being, as it is, in a
central position, is much frequented by ships from all parts of India and from Persia and
Ethiopia, and it likewise sends out many of its own.

And from the remotest countries, I mean Tzinista and other trading places, it receives
silk, aloes, cloves, sandalwood and other products, and these again are passed on to marts
on this side, such as Male, where pepper grows, and to Calliana which exports copper and
sesame-logs, and cloth for making dresses, for it also is a great place of business. And
to Sindu also where musk and castor is procured and androstachys, and to Persia and the
Homerite country, and to Adulé. And the island receives imports from all these marts which
we have mentioned and passes them on to the remoter ports, while, at the same time,
exporting its own produce in both directions. Sindu is on the frontier of India, for the
river Indus, that is, the Phison, which discharges into the Persian Gulf, forms the
boundary between Persia and India. The most notable places of trade in India are these:
Sindu, Orrhotha, Calliana, Sibor, and then the five marts of Male which export pepper:
Parti, Mangarouth, Salopatana, Nalopatana, Poudopatana. Then out in the ocean, at the
distance of about five days and nights from the continent, lies Sielediba, that is
Taprobanê. And then again on the continent is Marallo, a mart exporting chank shells, then
Caber which exports alabandenum, and then farther away is the clove country, then Tzinista
which produces the silk. Beyond this there is no other country, for the ocean surrounds it
on the east.

This same Sielediba then, placed as one may say, in the centre of the Indies and
possessing the hyacinth receives imports from all the seats of commerce and in turn
exports to them, and is thus itself a great seat of commerce. Now I must here relate what
happened to one of our countrymen, a merchant called Sopatrus, who used to go thither on
business, but who to our knowledge has now been dead these five and thirty years past.
Once on a time he came to this island of Taprobane on business, and as it chanced a vessel
from Persia put into port at the same time with himself. So the men from Adulé with whom
Sopatrus was, went ashore, as did likewise the people of Persia, with whom came a person
of venerable age and appearance. Then, as the way there was, the chief men of the place
and the custom-house officers received them and brought them to the king. The king having
admitted them to an audience and received their salutations, requested them to be seated.
Then he asked them: In what state are your countries, and how go things with them? To this
they replied, they go well. Afterwards, as the conversation proceeded, the king inquired
Which of your kings is the greater and the more powerful? The elderly Persian snatching
the word answered: Our king is both the more powerful and the greater and richer, and
indeed is King of Kings, and whatsoever he desires, that he is able to do. Sopatrus on the
other hand sat mute. So the king asked: Have you, Roman, nothing to say? What have I to
say, he rejoined, when he there has said such things?

but if you wish to learn the truth you have the two kings here present. Examine each and
you will see which of them is the grander and the more powerful. The king on hearing this
was amazed at his words and asked, How say you that I have both the kings here? You have,
replied Sopatrus, the money of both ---- the nomisma of the one, and the drachma, that is,
the miliarision of the other. Examine the image of each, and you will see the truth. The
king thought well of the suggestion, and, nodding his consent, ordered both the coins to
be produced. Now the Roman coin had a right good ring, was of bright metal and finely
shaped, for pieces of this kind are picked for export to the island. But the miliarision,
to say it in one word, was of silver, and not to be compared with the gold coin. So the
king after he had turned them this way and that, and had attentively examined both, highly
commended the nomisma, saying that the Romans were certainly a splendid, powerful, and
sagacious people. So he ordered great honour to be paid to Sopatrus, causing him to be
mounted on an elephant, and conducted round the city with drums beating and high state.
These circumstances were told us by Sopatrus himself and his companions, who had
accompanied him to that island from Adule; and as they told the story, the Persian was
deeply chagrined at what had occurred.

But, in the direction of the notable seats of commerce already mentioned, there are
numerous others [of less importance] both on the coast and inland, and a country of great
extent. Higher up in India, that is, farther to the north, are the White Huns. The one
called Gollas when going to war takes with him, it is said, no fewer than two thousand
elephants, and a great force of cavalry. He is the lord of India, and oppressing the
people forces them to pay tribute. A story goes that this king once upon a time would lay
siege to an inland city of the Indians which was on every side protected by water. A long
while he sat down before it, until what with his elephants, his horses and his soldiers
all the water had been drunk up. He then crossed over to the city dryshod, and took it.
These people set great store by the emerald stone and wear it set in a crown. The
Ethiopians who procure this stone from the Blemmyes in Ethiopia take it into India and,
with the price it fetches, they invest in wares of great value. All these matters I have
described and explained partly from personal observation, and partly from accurate
inquiries which I made when in the neighbourhood of the different places.

The kings of various places in India keep elephants, such as the King of Orrhotha, and the
King of Calliana, and the Kings of Sindu, Sibor and Male. They may have each six hundred,
or five hundred, some more, some fewer. Now the King of Sielediba gives a good price both
for the elephants and for the horses that he has. The elephants he pays for by cubit
measurement. For the height is measured from the ground, and the price is reckoned at so
many nomismata for each cubit, fifty it may be, or a hundred, or even more. Horses they
bring to him from Persia, and he buys them, exempting the importers of them from paying
custom. The kings of the continent tame their elephants, which are caught wild, and employ
them in war. They often set elephants to fight with each other for a spectacle to the
king. They keep the two combatants apart by means of a great cross beam of wood fastened
to two upright beams and reaching up to their chests. A number of men are stationed on
this and that side to prevent the animals meeting at close quarters, but at the same time
to instigate them to fight one another. Then the beasts thrash each other with their
trunks till one of them gives in. The Indian elephants are not provided with large tusks,
but should they have such, the Indians saw them off, that their weight may not encumber
them in action. The Ethiopians do not understand the art of taming elephants; but should
the king wish to have one or two for show, they capture them when young and subject them
to training. Now the country abounds with them, and they have large tusks which arc
exported by sea from Ethiopia even into India and Persia and the Homerite country and the
Roman dominion. These particulars I have derived from what I have heard.

The river Phison separates all the countries of India [lying along its course] from the
country of the Huns. In scripture the Indian region is called Euilat (Havilah). For it is
thus written in Genesis: Now the river goeth out from Eden to water Paradise. And from
there it was parted and became four heads. The name of the first is Phison (Pishon); that
is it which compasseth the whole land of Euilat, where there is gold; and the gold of that
land is good; there is the carbuncle and the jasper stone; where the writer clearly calls
the country Euilat. This Euilat, moreover, is of the race of Ham. For thus again it is
written: The sons of Ham, Cush and Misraim, Phut and Caraan the sons of Cush, Sabâ and
Euilat; that is the Homerites and Indians, for Sabâ is situated in the Homerite country,
and Euilat is in India. For the Persian Gulf divides those two countries. And that country
has gold according to sacred scripture. It has also the pezerôs which Scripture calls
anthrax (carbuncle) and the jasper stone, by which it designates the leek-green stone.
Clearly therefore does divine scripture, as being really divine, relate these things, even
as the whole of our treatise goes to show.

BOOK XII

NOTICE TO THE READER. (From the Latin of Montfaucon.) WE wish to apprise the reader that
this twelfth book of Cosmas Indicopleustes which is contained in the Laurentian Codex, but
in a mutilated state at the end, is not found in the Vatican Codex of the eighth or ninth
century. For, as one may see in the course of perusing the work, the books which compose
it were written at different times by the author, who, when he had published in the outset
only five books on the figure of the world, added the sixth book, and at intervals the
seventh, eighth, ninth, etc., against the champions of the opposite view, who clamoured
against the work immediately after it appeared. As his opponents did not remain silent,
and afterwards started new objections, Cosmas manfully, in his new books which he added to
the original work, replied to those who stood out against him as best he could; and since
it is probable that copies of the published books had got into circulation before he could
add new books to the original, it seems to have come about that that copy, from which the
text of the Vatican Codex was derived, was in the hands of the public before the twelfth
book had been added. Nor will it be out of place to point out that Cosmas Indicopleustes
not only added new books to those already finished, if the case so required, but even
altered, added, deleted much and made marginal notes; whence it happens that the Vatican
is not altogether in unison with the Laurentian Codex. For, as we have already stated,
that copy, from which the Vatican text is derived, makes the beginning much shorter,
whence it can be plainly seen that the copy of Cosmas, from which the Laurentian text was
derived, had been revised and extended by subsequent labours of the author.

Book XII.

Yet another book showing that many of the old Pagan writers testify to the antiquity of
the divine scriptures uttered through Moses and the prophets. And that the Greeks appear
to have learned letters the last of all, and to have their unbelief with regard to the
divine scriptures deeply rooted. N the Chaldaean books of Bêrôsus and certain others it is
thus written: that ten kings reigned over the Chaldaeans 2242 myriads of years, but, under
their tenth king Xisuthrus, as they called him, there was a great flood, and that
Xisuthrus being warned by God embarked in a ship with his wife and kindred and cattle, and
that having been brought over in safety, as their story goes, to the mountains of Armenia,
he offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Gods after the flood. These writers have thus
presented in a new form nearly all the account given by Moses; for men continued to live
in the earth beyond [the Ocean] 2242 years for a course of ten generations, and, under
Noah who was the tenth the flood having occurred, they passed over to this earth by means
of the Ark. For Noah is he whom they call Xisuthrus. But by having changed the days into
years, they asserted that those ten kings had lived 2242 myriads of years, since the
number of years reckoned by Moses to have elapsed from Adam to the deluge of Noah was
2242. In like manner the philosopher Timaeus also describes this earth as surrounded by
the Ocean, and the Ocean as surrounded by the more remote earth.

For he supposes that there is to westward an island, Atlantis, lying out in the Ocean, in
the direction of Gadeira (Cadiz), of an enormous magnitude, and relates that the ten kings
having procured mercenaries from the nations in this island came from the earth far away,
and conquered Europe and Asia, but were afterwards conquered by the Athenians, while that
island itself was submerged by God under the sea. Both Plato and Aristotle praise this
philosopher, and Proclus has written a commentary on him. He himself expresses views
similar to our own with some modifications, transferring the scene of the events from the
east to the west. Moreover he mentions those ten generations as well as that earth which
lies beyond the Ocean. And in a word it is evident that all of them borrow from Moses, and
publish his statements as their own. For the writers of Chaldaean history as being more
ancient, and living farther east, have mentioned in their works both the deluge and the
building of the Tower, since they saw that Tower with their own eyes under the process of
construction, being no doubt well aware that the men of that time, in fear of another
flood, erected it for themselves as a place of refuge and safety. But the men of later
times, when they had read Moses also, and found that Noah, in whose time the deluge
occurred, was the tenth from Adam, they feigned that they also had ten kings, who had
reigned 2242 myriads of years, as has already been said. Of these the first was Alorus,
that is, Adam; the second Alaaprus, Seth; the third, Almêdôn, Enoch; the fourth, Ammeôn,
Cainân: the fifth, Ammegalaros, Mahalaleel; the sixth, Daonus, a keeper of sheep, Jared;
the seventh, Euedôrachos, Enoch; the eighth, Amempsinachus, Methuselah; the ninth,
Otiortes, Lamech; the tenth, Xisuthrus, Noah. In his time they say the great flood
recorded by Moses occurred.

The writers again of Egyptian history, namely, Manethô,and Chaerêmôn, Apollonius surnamed
Molôn, Lysimachus and Apiôn the Grammarian mention Moses and the departure of the children
of Israel from Egypt. For, as being Egyptians and the historians of Egypt, they also agree
in their relations of local transactions, and traduce Moses as a promoter of sedition, who
stirred up a mob of rascally beggars and lepers, and say that these had gone away to Mount
Sinai and Jerusalem, and were called Jews. And in a word the Chaldaeans and Egyptians, as
being older nations than the Greeks, testify in a manner to divine scripture, asserting
that both the deluge in the days of Noah did occur, that a Tower was built, and that there
was a departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. But the Greeks, who are later than
these, and were later in learning the art of writing, and who are settled, far away from
the east, in the regions of the west, and live far remote both from Judaea and from Egypt,
knew nothing about these events, either by seeing them or hearing about them. Wherefore
even unto this day they refuse to believe both the Old and the New Testament, thinking
that what they relate is fabulous.

But the Chaldaeans and the Medes and Persians, having a somewhat wider knowledge, were
instructed by the building of the Tower, and the deluge, and by what happened in the case
of Hezekiah and Jonah, and by the Captivity, and by Daniel and the Three Children, and
also partly by the writings themselves. In like manner also the Egyptians were instructed
by the affairs of Joseph and of Moses, and by the people of Israel, and these nations were
thus better prepared for a ready acceptance of Christianity. Even the Greeks, however, did
believe later on through the Apostles, when they saw the wonders which they wrought. And
when still later again signs ceased, and time rolled on, you will find Greeks who have
believed, and have been baptized, lapsing, nevertheless, many of them into unbelief, and
ignoring the Old and the New Testament, that is, divine scripture, as persons who have not
long had the root of religion and the foundation of faith deeply implanted. Wherefore in
their writings they have not mentioned, as the early Chaldaeans and Egyptians have done,
anything about the deluge and the building of the Tower, and the departure of the children
of Israel from Egypt, and about the first historian, Moses. But though they regard
themselves as very superior persons and the wisest and foremost of men, they are
nevertheless from their swelling vanity ignorant of many things. Wherefore one of the
Egyptians, whose name was Solomon, said to Plato:

The Greeks are always children, and no Greek is ever old, nor is there any learning among
you that is of hoar antiquity. Yet some, for instance Dius and Menander, who translated
the antiquities of the Tyrians into the Greek language, in the works they composed bear
testimony to Solomon and the Jews; and further, the whole, I may almost say, of Ethiopia,
and the regions to the south of it, bear testimony to divine scripture. But the Greeks
alone, who are wise in their own conceit, know not wherein their salvation lies. Timaeus
alone, who has been already mentioned, drawing from what source I know not, but perhaps
from the Chaldaeans, recast the story of those ten kings, feigning that they came from the
earth beyond the Ocean into the island of Atlantis, which he says was submerged below the
sea, and that taking its inhabitants as mercenaries, and arriving in this earth, they
conquered Europe and Asia----all which is a most manifest invention, for as he could not
point out the island, he gave out that God had consigned it to a watery grave.

But those Greeks already mentioned who are admired for their wisdom, when at a late period
they had acquired letters and had become possessed of laws, imagined that they alone had
rained wisdom upon the world. I refer to their Lycurguses and their Solons and their
Teucers of the Locrians, and all the rest of them, who are but men of yesterday, if put in
comparison with the renowned Moses, in whose time not so much even as the name of Law was
known among the Greeks. Homer is my witness, who nowhere in his poetry uses the word. For
there was not in his days such a thing, but the people were governed by the best judgments
and the commands of their kings; and from that time till long afterwards, they continued
to use unwritten customs, and to alter many of them from time to time according to
circumstances. For the Lacedemonians and Cretans conducted education by the training of
the habits and not by oral instruction, but the Athenians and nearly all the other nations
prescribed by law what ought to be done, while neglecting to accustom the people to
conform in practice to the law. Yet one nation after another made a gradual advance to a
fixed and authoritative code of laws, not imposed from the beginning like that of Moses of
old, who educated his nation in the knowledge of letters and of fixed law, being the first
who showed both by word and deed the firm and permanent nature of the law and of letters,
until, after a long course of time, he conducted the nations, guided and guarded by the
firm nature of the law, to the predicted Lord Christ and his teaching.

The Phoenicians accordingly, being next neighbours to the Jews and having learned letters
from them, both wrote inscriptions earlier than the Greeks, and prepared the Greeks to
learn letters; for Cadmus, taking the letters of the alphabet from Tyre, carried them into
Greece. Let not the Greeks then show any supercilious pride, as if they had been the first
to invent any thing new of benefit to the world, seeing that they have borrowed from
others letters and laws and the notion of the sphere, and astronomy and astrology. For as
it was late before they made a figure in the world, they imagined the world to be eternal;
having been taught by others to regard the heaven as a sphere, they, as if they were the
first who held this opinion, claimed as a discovery of their own the laws of astronomy;
and although they were taught letters by others, they suppose themselves to be the oldest
and earliest writers: although they have been taught by others to frame laws, they have
depicted themselves as the legislators of old times, and founders of just government;
although they have received a copious language and an elegant mode of speech from the
bounty of God, yet, being unthankful to God the Giver, they are disobedient to His words;
and while they have received everything from God and their predecessors, they set them
aside, and with swaggering insolence ascribe everything to themselves. For, contending
against the divine words, which say:

He that established the heaven as a vault, these most superior persons cry out in
opposition and say: "It is not so, for it is spherical, and this is manifest from the
eclipses which we have already adduced. But further, when they hear the resurrection
preached to them, they pronounce this to be impossible, for how, say they, can one who has
been used up to form countless bodies in succession, rise up? And, to be brief, they
attack with sophistries the Giver of their speech in their endeavour to overthrow the
doctrines of His Church. And yet He has not left them without a witness to Himself, that
He was working for their good and taking thought for it beforehand, for He manifested to
them some tokens of His goodness, some four hundred years or more before the coming of
Christ, in the days of Alexander the Macedonian, long after the Trojan war, when the
Greeks were still flourishing. Let me give an instance of this: When Alexander the
Macedonian was passing by Jerusalem in prosecution of his war against Darius, the High
Priest of the Jews, arrayed in the robes of his office, came forth to meet him, whereupon
Alexander dismounted from his horse and in a very kindly manner embraced him. And when his
attendants reproached him for so doing and said: Why hast thou done so? he excused himself
and said:

When I set out at first from Macedonia, a man dressed in this style was seen by me in a
dream who said to me: Go forth and conquer. The result was that the King himself offered
sacrifices to God and bestowed many gifts on the Temple, and accorded many privileges to
the country of the Jews. In subsequent times Ptolemy surnamed Philadelphus, after having
made careful inquiry from Tryphon the Phalerean about the Jewish books, and learned the
truth concerning them, earnestly solicited them from the High Priest Eleazar, to whom as
well as to the Temple he sent many presents. These books he received along with seventy
elderly men, who translated them from the Hebrew into the Greek tongue, and he deposited
them on the shelves of his own library. This also was a work of divine providence, that
the translation had been prepared before the coming of Christ, lest, if it were done
afterwards in the days of the Apostles, it would be exposed to general suspicion, as if
they had interpreted what had been said of old by the prophets both concerning Christ and
the calling of the Gentiles in a way to suit their own predilections. When Ptolemy Physcôn
again had conquered the Jews, and wished to destroy those here in Alexandria by means of
his elephants, but God had unexpectedly turned the rage of the animals against his
soldiery, he was taught to revere God, and he honoured thereafter with sacrifices and
oblations of gifts Him who was the true God, and His people, namely, the Jews. And other
kings of the Macedonian empire there were who invited them to be their allies in war;
while others, again, who preferred to war against them and held them under subjection for
a long time afterwards, witnessed Providence turning to work in their favour, and aroused
for their help, and even saw themselves conquered by men who were insignificant and few in
number.

And to speak briefly they were trained by wars and miracles and dreams and their sacred
books, and were thus taught to know Him who was truly God, Him whom the Jews revere and
worship, in order that they also might be the better prepared for the reception of
Christianity, so that, at the time when our Lord sojourned upon earth, many nations of
Greece, seeing the signs wrought by the Apostles, assented to the faith of Christ,
confessing His resurrection and His ascension into heaven. But now, after a long lapse of
time and the cessation of signs, they have fallen into a sort of oblivion of that faith,
and have reverted to the former superstition, declaring it impossible that there can be a
resurrection of the dead and an ascent into heaven. Wherefore you find them observing
baptism, and yet thinking that the heaven has a spherical form, in order that the
resurrection of their bodies and their ascension into heaven may be denied. These men one
will mostly find discussing philosophy with the Pagans alone, and setting forth eclipses
as arguments to prove the world of a spherical figure, as if that were a divine doctrine,
in this themselves deceived while they deceive others. Wherefore we, by undertaking to
exhibit the figures and the places of the whole world, and the revolution of the heavenly
bodies, controvert their views from divine scripture, doing our best by means of all these
* * *


ON THE MONTHS
=============

ON THE MONTHS John the Lydian

c. AD 490–565

A part of John’s book On the Months, which sets out the Roman calendar month by month with
the festivals and customs of each. The translation is by Andrew Eastbourne and has been
given to the public domain.

ON THE MONTHS

[Translated by Andrew Eastbourne]

March

33. The Romans considered March the beginning of the year, as I have already said, and
they dedicated it to Ares—it was previously named Zephyrites and Primus. For Rômus, the
one who founded Rome and made in it a sanctuary of Ares in this very month, gave it the
name "Martius" ["Mars' (city)"]—that is, Ares' [city], in his ancestral speech. 34. The
mythologists say: Zeus, by intercourse with his sister Hera, generated Ares—that is, the
aether in contact with the aer squeezes out the aerial fire. But the natural philosophers
say that Ares was so named, not, as the children of the grammarians say, from "removal"
[arsis] and "destruction" [anairesis], but from the "aiding" [arêgein] and "helping"
[syllambanein] given in occurrences of violence and fighting—or alternatively, as
"originative" [arktikon] and "causative of change" [metabolês aition]. And as his
exaltation, they gave him Capricorn. The Romans called Mars mors, that is, "death"—either
as being the one who sets crafts in motion, or as being Ares who is honored only by males
[arrenes], or on the basis of "fighting" [marnasthai] (according to Philoxenus). And in
Egyptian he is called "Ertôsi." This signifies generation of every kind and every essence
and material in accordance with nature and an ordering, generative power.

Ares was the discoverer of bronze and of iron. The natural philosophers join Aphrodite
sometimes to Ares, sometimes to Hephaestus—as it were, the fiery substance with the moist,
obscurely hinting, presumably, that generation proceeds from wetness and heat—or indeed,
because Scorpio is common to them [both], with Ares being the stinger and Aphrodite the
claws. And just as in the myth, Aphrodite turns away from Ares, since storms follow Ares
in his own characteristic position, but Aphrodite is temperate. And so, they are opposite
to each other, but not wholly so. For indeed, they seem to be connected to each other at
adjacent times, since after the winter [storms] the spring returns. And Ares is worshipped
by the sounds of weapons and by trumpets, and for this reason the Romans celebrated their
first festival in his honor, calling it Armilustrium, or "purification of weapons," when
neither winter cold nor any other circumstance hinders the movement of weapons, on the
Field of Mars.

And his name according to the Egyptians is Pyroeis ["fiery / red-yellow"], hence also
Xanthikos ["tawny"] among the Macedonians. But the Greeks, as I have said, addressed him
as Ares, on the basis of his actions. For no one would [ever] discover the proper
appellation of a deity, nor indeed the true mark of [a deity's] nature—since the
philosophers portray their forms now as male, now female—but they bestowed names on the
basis of the [gods'] effects, portraying the creative powers as male deities, and the
generative ones as females. 35. The star of Ares [i.e., the planet Mars] is especially
good—as is that of Cronus [i.e., Saturn], if, that is, all things are good and nothing
despicable, as Plato says. Sublunar things decay, however, not being able to bear the
divinity of these [stars], as Iamblichus says. The astrologers say that Ares is a worker
of evil, not because he is such by nature, but because he attends with the law of justice
the souls that are descending toward their birth, and does to them what is just, in
accordance with their merit—and one who is the ally of justice is good.

One can learn from Proclus Diadochus that evil is not in subsistence or existence; he
says: Evil is not even able to exist, without appearing contrariwise as good. For evil
itself is for the sake of the good; but everything is for the sake of the good—and the
divinity is not the cause of evil; for the evil is not evil because of it, but as a result
of other causes, things whose generative action occurs not by virtue of capacity but by
virtue of weakness. It is for this reason, I think, that Plato placed all things around
the king of everything, and granted the existence of evil when appearing as good. For if
it [i.e., divinity] is one of those things that truly exists, and it would thus be
necessary to call it the cause of all <good> things—and not simply of all things, nor of
evil things, but in fact not the cause of the latter and the cause of all that
exists—then, the gods do not produce evil, but rather make [it first] as good, and [then]
remove it as being evil.

For evil is not defined as a living and animate substance, but as a disposition in the
soul that is contrary to virtue and that comes to be there through carelessness on account
of a falling away from the good. Therefore, a pious understanding of the so-called evil-
working planets would be that they are not such by nature, but rather contribute toward
the providential management of the universe. For if Cronus is cold, and Ares is hot, then
they contribute to [physical] generation, and by themselves they are destructive, but when
mingled together they are salutary. 36. Ptolemy, in his Harmonics: The numbers have been
defined through which there arises a concordant harmony in all those things which are in
agreement and attunement with each other. And nothing at all is able to harmonize with
anything except by virtue of these numbers. They are as follows: 4/3; 3/2; 1/1; 2/1; 3/1;
4/1.

37. That which is perceptible comes to us from the sun; that which is physical, from the
lunar sphere; and this life of ours—well, our mode of living—has its existence by the
special beneficence of these two lights. And the success of our actions is on the hand
attributed to these two lights, and on the other, to the five planets. But some of these
stars are beautifully united and joined with the lights by the mediation of the higher
numbers already mentioned, and no other numerical connection brings them together with the
lights. Well then, the stars of Aphrodite and Zeus [i.e., Venus and Jupiter] are united to
each of the lights by these numbers, but the star of Zeus is joined with the sun by them
all, with the moon by the majority; but the star of Aphrodite is brought into connection
with the moon by all the numbers, with the sun by the majority. Hence, if each of these
produces good, for the most part, nevertheless the star of Zeus is more beneficial when
paired with the sun, and the star of Aphrodite with the moon. But the stars of Cronus and
Ares [i.e., Saturn and Mars] do not have a conjunction with the lights in this
way—nevertheless, by a certain final reflection / appearance of the numbers, Cronus looks
toward the sun, and Ares toward the moon—and for this reason, they seem less beneficial to
human life. But why, sometimes, are they themselves actually believed to provide riches
and distinction to men?

This is appropriate to a further investigation. Now indeed Plotinus, in his book entitled
"How the stars cause [events]," giving his opinion about this, says that none of these
things happens to human beings by virtue of [the stars'] power or authority, but rather,
what the necessity belonging to divine providence has decreed is revealed as such by the
forward motion, stopping, or retrograde motion of these seven bodies—just as birds, either
spreading out or remaining stationary, knowingly indicate the future with their wings or
their voices. In the same discourse, Plotinus says: "Their symbolic power extends to the
entire realm of sense, their efficacy only to what they patently do. For our part, nature
keeps us upon the work of the Soul as long as we are not wrecked in the multiplicity of
the Universe: once thus sunk and held we pay the penalty." 38. Likewise, Plotinus says: To
Plato the Spindle represents the co-operation of the moving and the stable elements of the
kosmic circuit: the Fates with Necessity, Mother of the Fates, manipulate it and spin at
the birth of every being, so that all comes into existence through Necessity. In the
Timaeus, the creating God bestows the essential of the Soul, but it is the divinities
moving in the kosmos [the stars] that infuse the powerful affections holding from
Necessity our impulse and our desire, our sense of pleasure and of pain—and that lower
phase of the Soul in which such experiences originate. By this statement our personality
is bound up with the stars, whence our Soul [as total of Principle and affections] takes
shape; and we are set under necessity at our very entrance into the world: our temperament
will be of the stars' ordering, and so, therefore, the actions which derive from
temperament, and all the experiences of a nature shaped to impressions.

So then, what remains as 'us'? Precisely that which we truly are: beings to whom nature
has granted, along with the passions, the power of also governing them. Cut off as we are
by the body, God has yet given us, in the midst of all this evil, virtue the
unconquerable, meaningless in a state of tranquil safety but everything where its absence
would be peril of fall. Our task, then, is to work for our liberation from this sphere,
severing ourselves from all that has gathered about us; the total man is to be something
better than a body ensouled—the bodily element dominant with a trace of Soul running
through it and a resultant life-course mainly of the body—for in such a combination all
is, in fact, bodily. There is another life, emancipated, whose quality is progression
towards the higher realm, towards the good and divine, towards that Principle which no one
possesses except by deliberate usage but so may be in and live by It—unless one choose to
go bereaved of that higher Soul and therefore, to live fate-bound, no longer profiting,
merely, by the significance of the sidereal system but becoming as it were a part sunken
in it and dragged along with the whole thus adopted.

For every human Being is of twofold character; there is that compromise-total and there is
the Authentic Man: and it is so with the Kosmos as a whole; it is in the one phase a
conjunction of body with a certain form of the Soul bound up in body; in the other phase
it is the Universal Soul, that which is not itself embodied but flashes down its rays into
the embodied Soul: and the same twofold quality belongs to the Sun and the other members
of the heavenly system. 39. Because this universe has been finely and variously crafted
with ineffable skill, and is full of blessed harmony, then it is necessary, I presume,
that its nature has been, so to speak, "harmonized together" out of shrill and deep,
gentle and harsh sounds and rhythms and dynamics. 40. The ancients would burn the bodies
after death, deifying as it were the body too, together with the soul. For just as the
latter is fiery by nature and rushes upwards, so the body is heavy and cold and tends
downwards. Therefore, they thought they were actually purifying the very image of the body
by the rite of fire. For the account of Anaximander is not true—he asserted that this
universe is derived from fire, and that for this reason bodies were consigned to fire by
the ancients—[nor are] the Stoics [correct], who turned the dead to ashes in advance,
since they were awaiting the universal conflagration—for that sort of dissolution of
bodies belongs to the most ancient by far of philosophical teachings. The teeth, however,
not being of such a nature as to be consumed either by fire or length of time, they would
leave behind on the very pyre, as being useless for the future—they were thinking of the
doctrine of rebirth; for they themselves strongly accepted the account of this because of
the fact that a person who was, it seemed, going to be reborn hereafter had no need of
teeth in the mother's womb.

41. There are no "evil-working" stars; they are all good. But since the universe subsists
in harmony, some of them are dry, others are moist; and others have some other quality in
relation to their mixtures. For this reason, they seem to cause harm in their effects—but
not on purpose—and because earthly things are harmed when, as sometimes happens, they
cannot endure their unmitigated powers. So, for example, the eyes are harmed by an excess
of light. 42. On the first day of March, they would honor Hera, as the moon, because of
the new moon. And the priest would announce that everyone should partake of sweet drinks
and foods, for the preservation of health. And the Romans would shake their weapons on the
Field (or precinct) of Mars. On this day, also, they would rest from toils, and those
called matronae ("matrons") among them—that is, the "well-born"—would feast their
household servants, just as at the Cronia it was customary for those who had slaves to do
this. The former, by way of honoring Ares, acted as slaves to their male servants, because
of their more powerful nature; and the latter, by way of performing an evil-averting
service to Cronus, would serve their own slaves, so as not to suffer some sort of
retribution in reality and thereby fall into servitude to their enemies.

And everyone would take sustenance from the bean in March—the bean [kuamos] belongs to
Ares, based on the "conceiving" [kuein] of "blood" [haima]. They would smear each others'
faces, using the oil of the bean in place of blood, and in this way worshipping Ares.
Pythagoras very much avoided the bean; for when eaten, it stirs bodies up toward
intercourse much more than the other fruits, and in this manner it draws souls downwards
towards "coming-to-be." And Heraclides Ponticus says that if someone places a bean in a
common receptacle and covers it over with dung for forty full days, he will find that the
bean has changed into the appearance of a fleshly man—and that for this reason the poet
said: It is the same, I tell you, to eat beans as to eat the heads of your parents. And
Diogenes says this in the 13th [book] of Incredible Things. Then, [he says,] a man was
congealed from the same putrefaction, and sprouted a bean. And he supplied clear proofs of
this. For if someone should chew apart a bean, grind it with his teeth, and deposit it in
the warmth of the sunlight for a little while, then get up and return not much later, he
would find that it smells of human gore. And if, while the bean [plant] is blossoming in
its growth, one should take a little of the flower as it is darkening and place it in an
earthenware vessel, put a cover on top, bury it deep in the ground and watch over it for
ninety days after it has been buried, and then after that dig it up, take it and remove
the lid, he would find that in place of the bean, the head of a child has taken shape, or
a woman's genitals. Therefore, as Pythagoras says, one should abstain from beans, as well
as from the so-called "golden-greens," since their process of generation derives from
women's menses. For this reason, beans are cast into graves on behalf of human salvation.

And the fact that the word "bean" [kuamos] derives from "blood" [haima] can be ascertained
by experiment. For if someone soaks it for a night and a day, he will find the water in it
[has become] blood. 43. And the bakers, being the makers of servile [i.e., coarse] bread,
would send "Romulian provisions" to those of high repute—and so they called these, on
account of their being offered by Romulus at the ninth hour as sustenance for his
soldiers...For indeed, Valentinian was uneducated and only...very angry. 44. On the 4th
day before the Nones of March, Eudoxus predicts that a fairly violent wind blows, in
general. 45. On the 3rd day before the Nones of March, the "sailing of Isis" was
celebrated, which is performed even to this day, and called the Ploiaphesia ["Ship-
launching"]. "Isis," in the speech of the Egyptians, signifies "old"—that is, [in
reference to] the moon. And fittingly do they honor her as they begin to engage in sea-
going travel, because she is in charge of the nature of the waters, as I said. And they
say that she is also a giver of health, just as we say Asclepius is. And it would be the
same thing. For just as we, taking the sun as Asclepius after its setting, when night
falls—being the cause of sleep and night and rest, they cause and giver of health...they
relate... And the Chaeronean [Plutarch] thinks Isis is the earth, and Osiris the Nile,
Typhon the sea, into which the Nile falls and disappears.

46. The Greeks write that Tyche is cow-faced. But I think she is the nature of moisture,
and thus the Romans customarily call her Aqua ["water"], from her "equality" [i.e., Lat.
aequ(al)itas]: water is homogeneous and equal in nature. And aqua was appropriately named
by them, since by derivation from aqua they bestow the designation "equality" and
"homogeneity." 47. "Sibyl" is a Roman expression, translated "prophetess" or "seer,"
whence the female seers were all named, by the single designation, "Sibyls. And there have
been ten Sibyls in various places and at various times. First was the one called Chaldaean
and Persian and (by some) Hebrew; her personal name was Sambethe, and she was of the
family of the most blessed Noah—the one who is said to have predicted the events
pertaining to Alexander the Macedonian; Nicanor the biographer of Alexander mentions her;
she spoke very many oracles about the Lord God and his coming. But the others also
harmonize with her, except that to her belong 24 books containing [messages] about every
nation and land. And as to the fact that her verses are found to be incomplete and
unmetrical, it is not the fault of the prophetess but of the stenographers, who were not
able to follow along with the rush of her words—or even because they were uneducated and
inexperienced in literacy. For the memory of what had been said ceased in her at the same
time as the inspiration, and for this reason there are found to be incomplete verses and a
halting sense—or else this happened by the providence of God, so that her oracles would
not become known to the many who were unworthy. Second was the Libyan Sibyl.

Third, the Delphian Sibyl, the one who was born at Delphi—she lived before the Trojan War
and wrote oracles in verse during the time of the Judges, when Deborah was a prophetess
among the Jews. Fourth, the Italian [Sibyl], who was in Cimmeria in Italy. Fifth, the
Erythraean [Sibyl], from the city called "Erythra" in Ionia, who made predictions about
the Trojan War. Sixth, the Samian [Sibyl], whose personal name was Phyto, about whom
Eratosthenes wrote; she too lived in the time of the Hebrew Judges. Seventh, the Cumaean
[Sibyl], also called Amalthaea and Herophile. Cumae is an Italian city, near which there
is a cave, covered over and well-polished, in which this Sibyl lived and gave oracles to
those who inquired of her. Eighth, the Gergithian [Sibyl]—Gergithium is a town near the
Hellespont. Ninth, the Tiburtine [Sibyl], named Albunaea. The Jewish Sibyl was also called
Chaldaean. For indeed, Philo, writing his "Life" of Moses, says that he [i.e., Moses] was
a Chaldaean, but had been born in Egypt, since his ancestors had come down there because
of a famine that had struck Babylon and the neighboring regions. And as it seems, the
Canaanites were called this [i.e., Chaldaeans] from the beginning, or because Abraham had
set out from there. And Philo likewise, with regard to the writings of Moses, says that
they were written by him in the Chaldaean language, but later were translated into Greek
by Ptolemy, surnamed Philadelphus, who was the third to receive Egypt after Alexander. And
I read a book by this Hebrew Sibyl in Cyprus: in it she treats prophetically many things,
including Greek affairs—and indeed even regarding Homer, that God will raise up a certain
wise man, who will record the war of the heroes and will praise the noblest of these. And
she also prophesies about Christ and the events that happened after Christ's coming—and
indeed even about those that will take place, until the very end; among these, she also
gives a kind of ominous prophecy regarding Cyprus and Antioch: that the one will fall, as
in battle, and will no longer rise up again; and the island will become under water. For
she says:

Wretched Antioch, they will no longer call you a city, when you fall in among spears for
your wicked-mindedness. And again: Alas, alas, miserable Cyprus, and a great wave will
cover you with stormy darts—and the sea stirred up. This Sibyl anticipated the coming of
Christ by 2000 years, and this is her verse predicting the precious cross: O blessed wood,
by which God was stretched out. Tarquinius Priscus was the fourth king in Rome after the
founder, Romus; and a certain woman, Amalthaea, came to him carrying with her three books,
oracles of the Cumaean Sibyl, and was wanting to give them to him for 300 gold coins. When
he showed disdain, she became angry and burned one of the books, and once again approached
him and requested 300 gold coins for the remaining two books. When he only despised her
the more, she burned a second book, and then finally asked the very same price for the
other, single book. So the king, guessing that it was essential for his kingdom, accepted
it and gave her the 300 gold coins. He found written in it, especially and exclusively,
the fortunes of the Romans; and he put these into the safekeeping of a group of 60
patricians.

48. On the Nones of March, Varro says that Corona sets, and the north wind blows. 49. On
the Ides of March, there is a festival of Zeus, on account of the mid-month, and public
prayers that the year will be healthful. And they would also sacrifice a 6-year-old bull
on behalf of the mountain country, under the leadership of the high priest and the "reed-
bearers" of the Mother. And a man clothed with a goat-skin would be led in, and they would
strike him with long, slender rods, calling him "Mamurius." (This man was a craftsman
involved in weapon-manufacture; in order that the ancilia that "fell from Zeus" should not
decay from continuously being "moved," he crafted [new ones] similar to the originals.)
Hence most people say proverbially, when they are mocking those who are being beaten, that
those who are doing the beating are "playing Mamurius on him." For according to the story,
the [original] Mamurius himself was beaten with rods and driven out of the city when,
because of the removal of the original ancilia, difficulties had befallen the Romans.

Metrodorus teaches that this day is bad. 50. The 16th day before the Kalends of April: no
work. On this day, Eudoxus says that Pisces rises and the north wind blows. 51. Liber, the
name for Dionysus among the Romans, meaning "free"—that is, the Sun. Mysteries [mysteria],
from the removal of impurity [mysos] as equivalent to holiness. Dionysus, "because of whom
[is] the race-post" [di' hon hê nyssa]—that is, the turning-post—and the cycles of time.
Indeed, Terpander of Lesbos says that Nyssa nursed the Dionysus called "Sabazius" by some,
who was born of Zeus and Persephone, and later torn to pieces by the Titans. And it is
also told concerning him, according to Apollodorus, that he was born of Zeus and Earth,
Earth being designated "Semele" because all things have it as their foundation
[katathemeliousthai]: By changing one letter, 's,' the poets have called her "Semele."
According to the poets, [there have been] five Dionysi: First, the son of Zeus and
Lysithea; second, the son of Nilus, who ruled over Libya and Ethiopia and Arabia; third,
the child of Cabirus, who ruled over <Asia>, from whom come the Cabirian initiation;
fourth, the child of Zeus and Semele, for whom the mysteries of Orpheus were performed,
and by whom wine was mingled; fifth, the son of Nisus and Thyone, who introduced the
"Triennial Festival." So far, the Greek [account]. But the Romans call Dionysus the
"Bacchanal of Cithaeron"—meaning, one who is in a Bacchic frenzy and runs up to the
heavens, <which> they named "Citharon" on the basis of the harmony of the seven "stars,"
and hence Hermes mystically gives the cithara to Apollo, as the Logos grants the
attunement of the universe to the Sun. And the mysteries in honor of Dionysus were
conducted in secret, because of the fact that the sun's shared association with the nature
of the universe is hidden from everyone. And in his sacred rites they would carry along
phalli, as being the generative organs, and a mirror, as [representing] the translucent /
radiant heavens, and a ball, as [representing] the earth. For Plato says in his Timaeus,
"to earth, the spherical form." For this reason also Pythagoras says that souls have been
scattered in the ten spheres in this way, and in it [i.e., the earth].

And in the sacred rites, they would call him Pyrigenês ["fire-born"] and Pankratês ["all-
powerful"], because on the one hand the sun is of a fiery nature, and on the other, it
governs and rules over all. And they say that the panther receives its name from him, as
[representing] the "all-animal" [pan-thêr-os] earth which receives from him its life-
giving and joy-bringing sustenance. And they depict his Bacchantes and Nymphs as
[representing] the waters that obey him, and by the movement of the sun the nature of the
waters is given life; and they give them cymbals and thyrsi [to represent] the sound of
the waters. And they depict the Maenads being driven off by Satyrs, as [representing] the
production of thunder and noise when the waters are thrust away by the winds. And [they
describe] Dionysus as the "mind of Zeus," as [representing] the soul of the cosmos; for we
find everywhere that the entire cosmos is named "Zeus," on account of its eternal life and
endlessness. They describe him as the son of Semele, as being hidden under earth and
coming forth by virtue of Hermes, that is, the Logos; and being fostered in the thigh of
Zeus, as lying hidden in the secret places of the cosmos; and they call him Dithyrambus
and Dimêtôr ["having two mothers"], the one who has two paths of procession, the one, from
the East toward the South, in winter, and the other, from the North toward the West, in
summer. So much regarding Dionysus.

And on the day of the Bacchanalia, Democritus says that Pisces sets, and Varro teaches
that there will be a "fight of the winds." All this, antiquity [has handed down] about the
Dionysia. 52. When a disturbance had occurred on the Capitol, caused by the rioters, it is
said that at that time, a shepherd seemed to appear in the place and decided that the
people should be gathered, and the commons should hurry to assemble; and when the workmen
had been sent off thither by the shepherd, the people came to be at peace, and he himself
disappeared. 53. There has been and still is much disagreement among the theologians
regarding the god who is worshipped by the Hebrews. For the Egyptians—and Hermes [i.e.,
Trismegistus] first of all—theologize that he is Osiris, "the one who exists," about whom
Plato says in the Timaeus: "What is it that always exists, and has no 'coming-to-be'; and
what is it that comes to be, but never exists?" But the Greeks say that he is the Dionysus
of Orpheus, because, as they themselves say, at the holy place of the temple in Jerusalem,
from both pillars vines fashioned from gold used to hold up the curtains that were
variegated with purple and scarlet: On the basis of this, they supposed that it was a
temple of Dionysus. But Livy asserts in his general Roman history that the god worshipped
there is unknown. Following him, Lucan says that the temple in Jerusalem belongs to an
"obscure / unseen" god. And Numenius says that he is "incommunicable / unique," and the
father of all the gods, who does not consider it worthy for any to share in his honor. And
also the Emperor Julian, when he was going on his expedition against the Persians, wrote
to the Jews as follows: "For I am raising the temple of the Most High God with all
enthusiasm." For this reason—and also because of circumcision—some of the uneducated even
consider him to be Cronus: For they say that Cronus [i.e., Saturn] is the most elevated of
the planets.

But they do not understand that circumcision is a symbol of the purification of the
spiritual soul, as the more initiated Hebrews believe, and that circumcision is not a
ritual of Cronus. Those of the Arabs who are called "Scênitae" ["tent-dwellers"]
circumcise their own sons at the age of thirteen, as Origen says, although they are
honoring Astartê, not Cronus. And also the Ethiopians mark the knee-caps of the young for
the sake of Apollo. Porphyry, however, in his commentary on the Oracles, considers the one
honored by the Jews to be the "twice transcendent," that is, the creator of the universe,
whom the Chaldaean theologizes as the second after the "once transcendent," that is, the
Good. Of course, the schools of Iamblichus and Syrianus and Proclus think he is the
creator of the perceptible world, calling him the god of the "four-element [world]. But
the Roman Varro, when discussing him, says that among the Chaldaeans, in their mystical
[writings], he is called "Iaô," meaning "mentally perceived light" in the language of the
Phoenicians, as Herennius [Philo] says. And he is frequently called "Sabaôth," meaning the
one who is "above the seven heavenly spheres"—that is, the creator. So then, there are
many opinions about him; but those who theorize that he is unknown and obscure are
predominant. They are mistaken, who consider him to be Dionysus, on the basis of the vines
which held up the curtains, as mentioned above—and further, on the basis of a conviction
(from whatever source) that the profane among the Hebrews abstain from wine.

This mistake can be perceived from their very own laws. For they reveal that it is not the
profane, but the consecrated who do this, as follows: "Wine and strong drink you shall not
drink...when you enter into the tent." 54. On the 15 day before the Kalends of April,
Euctemon says that various winds blow. And one might call Athena "cephalic prudence." For
indeed, prudence is said to reside near the "roots" of the human brain, in the front of
the head, opposite the back of the head—hence, Homer represented Achilles becoming angry,
[then] seized by Athena from the front of the head, as follows: "And she seized the son of
Peleus by his tawny hair." And they write that she is "gleaming-eyed" [glaukôpis] on
account of her fieriness, and for her bird they attribute to her the owl [glaux], which
stays awake all through the night, as though one were saying that [she represents] the
human soul, not idle at any time—for indeed, it is immortal and ever-moving by nature. As
Plato says, "That which...ceases to move ceases to live." 55. On the 14 day before the
Kalends of April, it was the custom for the Salian [priests], whom Numa established, to
"put in storage" the weapons that "fell from Zeus," the ones which they called ancilia. It
was customary for these to be "moved," in honor of Ares, on that day on which it is said
that a voice from the heavens was heard, saying that the city would be kept safe as long
as the ancilia were kept safe.

56. Also in Rome, they would laugh at the sinful citizen women on wagons, and lead them
out unseen in accordance with the practice of the Athenians, who would threaten the
sinners with saying the things "from the wagon." 57. On the 14 day before the Kalends of
April, there was a festival which was honored among the Romans not because it was Roman
but because it held the highest honor among the Egyptians, for the following reason: When
the Nile once refused to provide the yearly beneficence of its waters, and thus the
Egyptians were perishing, a certain good daemon appeared as a man, his whole body covered
in mud [pepêlômenos] and proclaimed to the Egyptians that the Nile had gushed forth, and
he himself had fallen in its waters. When they disbelieved him, but then found that it was
really the truth, a festival was established among them and among the Greeks, called
Pêlousion.

58. Philadelphia in Lydia was built by the Egyptians. The school of Proclus called
Philadelphia "little Athens" because of their enthusiasm for it, on account of its
festivals and the sacred rites of its idols. 59. On the 11th day before the Kalends of
April, a pine tree would be carried on the Palatine by the dendrophori ["tree-bearers"].
The festival was established by the Emperor Claudius, a man so just in his judgments that
he ordered a mother who was denying her own child to be married to him [i.e., the child],
on the grounds that she was a stranger to him; but by her refusal he determined that she
was the mother. 60. On the 10th day before the Kalends of April, there is trumpet-
purification and movement of the weapons, and honors for Ares and Nerinê—a goddess so
named in the Sabine language, who they understood to be Athena or else Aphrodite. For
nerinê means "courage" and the Sabines call the courageous nerônas. And Homer demonstrates
that she does take the lead in warfare, along with Ares: "All these things will be the
concern of quick Ares and Athena." For those who consider Nerinê to be Aphrodite are
mistaken, and Homer is equally a witness on this point: "My child [i.e., Aphrodite],
warlike deeds have not been given to you."

61. Philip says that on the 9th day before the Kalends of April, the Hyades set, along
with a south wind; but Metrodorus says they rise. On the 8th day before the Kalends, the
spring equinox. 62. A vault is a kind of building having the form of a half-cylinder. 63.
Demeter is one who makes the beginning of a city, as being the earth. And hence, they
depict her bearing a tower. And the earth is also called Cybele, from its cubic shape in
accordance with geometry—although the Stoics define it as spherical. This term seems to
have been added as a synonym of the previous, not because it has any significant phonetic
sequence of its own. As before, this term seems to have been added as a synonym of the
previous, not because it has any significant phonetic sequence of its own. Cf. Ptolemy,
Tetrabiblos 1.19. "Exaltation" (Greek hupsôma) indicates that the planet is supposed to be
particularly powerful in this sign.

Not elsewhere attested. The "claws" of Scorpio = Libra. For the associations, cf. Ptolemy,
Tetrabiblos, 1.17. The Greek term here means both "winter" and "storms." Oct. 19,
according to others, but see section 42 below. I.e., the Campus Martius. "Creative"
(dêmiourgikos) in the sense of craftsman-like fashioning of materials, "generative"
(zôogonos) as the "life-giving" reproductive function. Saturn, like Mars, is classified as
"maleficent" (cf. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos 1.5). Timaeus 30a. Cf. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos 1.5.
Proclus, De malorum subsistentia 61 (ed. Boese, Tria opuscula [Berlin, 1960]; cf. also the
recent translation by Opsomer and Steel, Proclus: On the Existence of Evils [Ithaca,
2003])—the text presented by John Lydus, however, truncates and diverges a little from
Proclus' work. The basic point appears to be that evil per se is a deficiency, a lack,
rather than a positive substance in its own right. The phrase kata dunamin, however,
appears to derive from Tim. 30a, where it has the meaning, "as far as possible." That is,
the phraseology here seems to be based on a misreading of Plato.

Cf. Plato, Epistle 2.312e. At this point, John's quotation begins to diverge more
significantly from Proclus' text. Here, the term "good" does not appear in Wuensch's text,
but is present in the text of Proclus and the passage of Plato still being alluded to;
although John's "quotation" of Proclus is quite free at this point, the word "good" does
seem to be required by the sense. The last phrase, "and [then] remove it as being evil,"
is not present in any form in the text of Proclus. Cf. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos 1.4. Not a
precise quote from a known passage. Gk. spondeios, that is, the "spondee" in which the
relationship between the two long feet is 1:1. (The first proportion in the list, 4/3, is
also a metrical term, epitritos, long-long-short-long, in which the relationship between
the first two syllables and the last two syllables is 4:3. These ratios also represent
musical intervals: the perfect fourth, the perfect fifth, the octave, etc. Greek physikos.
Lit., "natural," or "innate." Enneads 2.3: "Concerning whether the stars cause [events]."
Cf. Enn. 2.3.3 (end) on birds; otherwise, this is not a very close paraphrase of Plotinus'
argument. Enn. 2.3.8 (tr. MacKenna and Page). The translation of MacKenna and Page is
available online at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/plotenn/index.htm Enn. 2.3.9 (tr.
MacKenna and Page—lightly edited as indicated in the footnotes). 30b. I have altered the
translation of MacKenna and Page here, which reads: "What, after all this, remains to
stand for the "We"? The "We" is the actual resultant of a Being whose nature includes,
with certain sensibilities, the power of governing them." Here John Lydus' text is
slightly shorter than the extant text of Plotinus, and so I have altered the translation
of MacKenna and Page, which reads: "...by the nature of the body."

Here MacKenna and Page seem to have expanded the text of Plotinus, and so I have shortened
their translation to reflect the text as quoted by John Lydus; their translation reads:
"...except by deliberate usage but so may appropriate, becoming, each personally, the
higher, the beautiful, the Godlike, and living, remote, in and by It..." The translation
here is needlessly obscure; more simply, "not only do the stars give him indications, but
he himself becomes..." Or, "generation"—that is, the physical world of "coming-to-be" (and
sexual reproduction) rather than the non-corporeal world of true "being." Orph. fr. 263
Abel. Also called atraphaxys and andraphaxys in Greek, in English orach [LSJ]. Or
"safety," but John Lydus here clearly seems to indicate that the practice is meant to
guarantee a better afterlife. Some text is missing here. 4 March. 5 March. I.e., they have
the same function / significance. Missing text here: "they relate the same things about
Isis" must be the thought. This appears to contradict the previous sentence, where John
claimed that water (aqua) was named after "equality," not the other way around; however,
if, in his view, aqua "means" equal, then the derivations can work in either direction.
For this list, cf. Lactantius, Divine Institutes, 1.6. Should be "Erythrae." 7 March. 15
March. Wuensch's text here gives kanêphoroi, "basket-bearers," but this is commonly
understood as an intended reference rather to kannophoroi, "reed-bearers," especially
given the entry in the Calendar of Philocalus for 15 March (Canna intrat, "the reed
enters"). See Showerman, "Canna Intrat and the Cannophori," Classical Journal 2.1 (1906),
p. 28 n. 1; Fishwick, "The Cannophori and the March Festival of Magna Mater," Transactions
and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 97 (1966), pp. 193-202. "Moving"
the ancilia was the term used for the act of carrying them in procession.

For Mamurius, cf. (e.g.) Plutarch, Numa 13; Ovid, Fasti 3.383ff. In the Calendar of
Philocalus, 14 March (not the Ides) is designated Mamuralia. 17 March. Or, "instead of."
For this list, cf. Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3.23 (58). I.e., who first invented wine,
although the words could be taken to indicate the invention of mixing wine with water. At
Thebes. The association envisioned here is with the "harmony" represented by the cithara
("lyre"). Tim. 55d, but the standard text reads "cubic" rather than "spherical." According
to LSJ, citing this passage alone, this epithet means, "supporting all animals." I.e., the
fennel-stalks topped by pine-cones that were brandished in Dionysian worship. As though
from di- ["two"] and thura ["door"]. Gk. theologoi, used for pagan writers about the gods
as well as Christian theologians. Tim. 27d. Gk. adyton. Or, "hold back" (?). Not in the
extant text of Livy, but perhaps in a section now lost. Gk. adêlos. Pharsalia 2.592-3:
dedita sacris incerti Iudaea dei. Gk. akoinônêtos. Ep. 134 Bidez (= Bidez, Lettres, p.
197). For this fragment, cf. Bowersock, Julian the Apostate, pp. 120-22; W. C. Wright
(tr.), Works of the Emperor Julian, LCL, vol. 3, p. xxi. I.e., because of the designation
"Most High." Gk. mystikoi; that is, "having to do with mysteries." Philocalia 33. Lit.,
"those around Iamblichus " etc.—a frequent periphrasis, in fact, for the simple
"Iamblichus" (etc.). Gk. poloi. I.e., the non-priestly, or those not consecrated in some
special way. Lev. 10.9. 18 March. The spatial relationships here are not particularly
clear. Iliad 1.197. Traditionally, "grey-eyed." Phaedrus 245c. 19 March. "Storing" the
ancilia was the term used for returning them after the yearly procession, the "moving" of
the ancilia.

19 March. 22 March. 23 March. Equivalent to the Lat. tubilustrium. Iliad 5.430. Iliad
5.428. 24 March. 25 March. I.e., wearing the so-called "mural crown" representing the
walls and towers of a city. This is more standard for the goddess Cybele.


THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU
==============================

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU fl. c. AD 690

The Chronicle of John of Nikiu is a world history from Adam to the Arab conquest of Egypt.
The English is R. H. Charles’s translation of 1916 from the Ethiopic. The long list of
contents at the head of the book, and the translator’s footnotes, are left out here.

PROLOGUE

THE holy father, John bishop of Nikiu, who put this work together, said: 'O thou that hast
loved toil till thou hast acquired the love of goodness, till the love of toil, which is
pain, giveth increase to all the good qualities which every zealous man covets, and for
the sake of all the good qualities which constitute the eternal wisdom belonging to the
Omnipotent and Lord of all; for He hath reserved it for those who come after them, that
they may accomplish what they have chosen.' For this task, moreover, I am wanting in
eloquence beyond all authors and feeble in discourse, though with many a testing I have
tested the chosen portions. We will begin to compose this work from many ancient books,
which deal with the (various) periods and the historical events, which we have witnessed
also in the times to which we have come. And I have been honest (in this work) in order to
recount and leave a noble memorial to the lovers of virtue in this present life. And we
have left this narrative which is written in good order and in an exalted translation. Yea
it is exalted beyond everything that has been by the interpretation of the translator, so
that those who find it may not be without past and present gain, without portion or
inheritance.

CHAPTER I

We will begin with the first beings that were created; for it is written concerning Adam
and Eve, that it was God who named them, but as for his children and all created things it
was Adam that named them all.

CHAPTER II

1. And Seth, the son of Adam, who received wisdom from God, named five planets: the first
Cronus; the second Zeus ; the third Ares; the fourth Aphrodite; the fifth Hermes. 2. And
on a different ground he named the sun and the moon. And the number of the planets was
seven. 3. And, moreover, he was the first to write letters in the language of the Hebrews;
for he had received wisdom from God: and he composed history in it in the times of the
giants. And, moreover, he said that Ovid a wise man of the heathen and Plutarch wrote
about them after the deluge.

CHAPTER III

The sons of Noah were great and strong, (and) they began to build ships and to go upon the
sea.

CHAPTER IV

1. It is told regarding Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, who was sprung from Shem, the son of
Noah, that he was a wise man and a shepherd. 2. He was the first to compose + astrolabes +
(read 'astronomy') after the deluge.

CHAPTER V

1. And after him the Indians composed (it), and there was a man from India, named
Qantûrjûs, an Ethiopian of the race of Ham, who was named Cush, 2. He begat Afrûd, i. e.
Nimrod, the giant. He it was that built the city of Babylon. 3. And the Persians served
him and worshipped him as a god, and named him after the name of the stars of heaven and
called him Orion, that is, Dabarah. 4. And he was the first to hunt and eat the flesh of
animals.

CHAPTER VI

1. Cronus, moreover, was a giant of the race of Shem, the firstborn of Noah, who was thus
named after the name of the first planet, which is Cronus. 2. + And his son, named
Domjos,+ was a warrior, a redoubtable man and a slayer (of men). 3. He was the first to
rule over Persia and Assyria: and he married an Assyrian woman, named Rhea, and she bare
him two sons, Picus whom they named Zeus, and Ninus, who built a royal city in. Assyria,
i. e. Nineveh. 4. And Cronus left his son in his kingdom and went to the west and ruled
over the people (there) as they had no king. 5. And Picus his son, who was named Zeus,
rebelled against Cronus his father and slew him, because he had devoured his children.

CHAPTER VII

1. And he made pregnant the daughter of + Niks+ his mother, who was named Rhea. And Picus,
moreover, that is, Zeus, was the first to take his sister to wife. 2. And he begat by her
a son named Belus, who resembled his grandfather Cronus. 3. And this Belus ruled in
Assyria after the disappearance of his father and his grandfather Cronus. 4. And him also
after his death the Persians worshipped with the gods.

CHAPTER VIII

1. And after the death of Belus, Ninus his father's brother reigned over Assyria. 2. He
married Semiramis his mother and made her his wife, and established this impure custom and
transmitted it to his successors : and they are + designated by this evil name + till the
present day. 3. This conduct does not create a scandal amongst the Persians; for they take
to wife their mothers and sisters and daughters.

CHAPTER IX

1. After the death of Picus, Faunus, called Hermes, ruled in the west for thirty-five
years. 2. And he became a silversmith. He was the first to begin to work in gold in the
west, and to smelt it. 3. And when he learnt that his brothers were envious of him and
wished to slay him, he became afraid and fled to Egypt, taking with him a great quantity
of gold. 4. And he dwelt in Egypt and clothed himself in a beautiful robe of gold. 5. And
furthermore he became a diviner, for he declared everything before it came to pass, and he
gave to people money in abundance and he gave gifts in abundance to the people of Egypt.
6. And for this reason they received him with honour and called him 'the Lord of gold'.
And he was honoured by them as a god. And the poor worshipped him.

CHAPTER X

1. And there was a man named Hephaestus. He ruled over Egypt: and they made him a god. And
he was warlike and full of fury. 2. And men believed that he investigated hidden things
and received weapons of war from the non-existent; for he was an ironsmith and was the
first to make weapons of war to fight with in time of war and stones wherewith men
contended.3. Now he was lame; (for) when going to war he fell from (his) horse and was
injured and was lame all his days.

CHAPTER XI

1. And Methuselah begat Lamech, and Lamech married two wives. The name of the one was Ada
and the name of the other was Zillah. 2. And Ada bare Qabel and after some time she bare
Tobel who wielded the hammer in working brass and iron. 3. And Tobel the son of Lamech was
a brass and iron smith before the deluge; for he had received wisdom from God—Praise be to
Him.

CHAPTER XII

1. And after Hephaestus, who was named the Sun, there reigned in Egypt his son who was
named the Sun after his father's name. 2. It was he who built the city of the Sun after
his own name, and in it there were temples of. the supreme gods and likewise the bodies of
kings.

CHAPTER XIII

1. And there was a man named Matunavis who succeeded Aiqasbera which name is by
interpretation Dionysus.2. He built a city in upper Egypt, named Busir, and another Busir
in the north of Egypt.

CHAPTER XIV

Osiris, which is by interpretation Apollo, being so named by the Greeks, built the city of
Samnud and (in it) a temple of the supreme gods. And this is the city which is called
Bab'el Fegor.

CHAPTER XV

1. In the writings of the Egyptian sages 'Abratusis mentioned ... at that time, (i. e.) he
who was Hermes, a man of extraordinary judgement, through whom they declared among the
heathen saying : There are three supreme powers that have created all things, (but only)
one divinity.' 2. And this same Hermes, who was a great sage among the heathen, declared,
saying: 'The Majesty of the holy coequal Trinity is the Giver of life and King over all
things.'

CHAPTER XVI

1. And there was a certain city that was the first to learn the use of the plough (and)
the sowing of seeds and all kinds of grain. 2. It was the most elevated city in Egypt; for
the land of Egypt is full of waters and lakes owing to the abundance of water in the river
Gihon.

CHAPTER XVII

1. And Sesostris, who ruled over all the land of Egypt and the adjoining countries, was
the first to levy taxes and to measure the land. 2, And when he had gathered together much
booty and many captives from all countries, thereupon [gathering them together] he brought
them to the land of Egypt: and all the souls over whom authority was given to levy taxes
he made to dig channels in the land and to fill up all the waters of Egypt with earth. 3.
And owing to this measure the Egyptians were enabled to plant plantations and plough
arable lands like those of Said, which was the first province to learn the art of
ploughing. 4. And besides he commanded (the people) to pay taxes and a proportionate
return of the products of the earth to the king. 5. And he dug the canal which is called
Dik unto this day.

CHAPTER XVIII

1. And after him Sabacon, king of India, reigned over the country of Egypt fifty years. 2.
And he was a lover of his kind and was averse to shedding blood unjustly. And he
established a law in Egypt to this effect, that no criminal should be put to death or
torture; but should be permitted to live: and every criminal according to his crime he
ordered to purify the earth and to collect soil together and cast it upon the morasses
(lit. river or sea). 3. And when they had been long engaged in these forced labours, the
waters of the river retired from the land, and (the inhabitants) made their towns higher
through fear of being inundated by the waters. 4. And previously indeed in the days of
Sesostris there had been inundations before that they had dug channels in the land for the
river. And yet, notwithstanding all they did in casting earth into the marshes, they
failed to realize their purpose because of the great quantity of water brought down by the
river. 5. And Sabacon, king of India, in the vigilance of his affection had dwellings made
for the people on the heights.

CHAPTER XIX

1. And there was a man named Rampsinitus, the Pharaoh who reigned over Egypt. 2. He (i. e.
Cheops) closed the temples of the gods and the other idols which the Egyptians worshipped
: and they sacrificed to demons. And he built three temples (i. e. pyramids) in the city
of Memphis and made the Egyptians worship the Sun. 3. And he paid the builders 16,000
talents of silver besides leeks and vegetables; for so it was found written in the
inscriptions in the Egyptian language, which were engraved on a stone wall and made known
these facts to such as read (them). 4. And he paid away all the taxes and exhausted the
royal treasuries owing to the multitude of builders—and yet to no good purpose. 5. For
when he fell into great poverty and want he was sore troubled: he had a daughter of
beautiful form (who) was stirred up by the practices and foul seductions of Satan, and he
placed her in the quarter of the debauchees : and she dwelt there in obscurity and sorrow
and became a prostitute. 6. And such as wished to lie with her had to carry one of the
great stones and add it to the structure. 7. And the stone so carried measured, it is
said, not less than thirty feet, i. e. twenty cubits. (So they did) until they had built
one of the three pyramids by means of the shameful lust of this wretched girl.

CHAPTER XX

1. Heracles, a philosopher of the city of Tyre, discovered the art of making silk and
clothed himself (with it), 2. And Phoenix, king of Tyre, the Canaanite, and all the kings
of all countries, as well as his successors, did likewise and so became conspicuously
distinguished from the multitude. 3. Now the clothing of the ancients was of wool, but the
kings and chief rulers abandoned such clothing and clad themselves in silk.

CHAPTER XXI

1. And there was a man named Perseus. He aspired to the throne of Assyria; but the sons of
Ninus, the brother. of his father Zeus, were his rivals. 2. And when he came to Qorontos,
there met him a young girl, walking alone. 3. And he seized her by her hair and cut off
her head with (his) sword, and placed it on the shield which he had according to the magic
which his father Zeus had taught him. 4. And he carried it with him in all his warlike
expeditions. 5. And after he had journeyed and gone down into 'Elbawna, he turned towards
Assyria. And when the Lycaonians made war upon him; he took the head of the Gorgon the
virgin magician and by displaying it before them vanquished them. 6. And he built the town
of Iconium, which had previously been a small town named Amandra; <and he called it
Iconium> because he had set up formerly his statue (ei0kw&n) near it together with the
detestable Gorgon. 7. And when he came to Isauria, a city of Cilicia, and its people,
moreover, warred against him, he vanquished them by the magical power residing in the head
of the Gorgon. 8. And the village of Cilicia, named Andrasus, he made into a city and
named it Tarsus. 9. And from Cilicia he went to the land of Assyria, and there moreover he
slew Sardanapalus—now this is the name of a dignity. 10.

And he disowned his claims of consanguinity and took possession of his kingdom as a spoil,
and changed the name of the country, that is, Assyria, and named it Persia after his own
name and their kingdom by the second name. 11. And when he had taken away this name he
planted trees there, called Persea, that is plums. 12. These trees, moreover, are planted
to the present day in memory of his name. And the Persians were Assyrians at that time,
and he reigned over them all during fifty and three years. 13. And there was a great
commotion and a hissing and much rain, and the river in Syria, named Orontes, was quickly
filled. 14. (And) he urged the Ionians to make prayers, and when they had offered
supplications there fell from heaven a globe of fire in the likeness of lightning. 15. And
the people became still and ceased to be indignant, and the flowings of the river were
stayed. 16. And as Perseus was surprised at what had befallen, forthwith from that lire he
kindled a fire and preserved it. 17. And this fire he took and brought to Persia on his
return and placed it in the kingdom of Assyria. 18. And the Persians made it a god and
honoured it and built it a temple and named it 'The immortal fire'. 19.

And they say that fire is a son of the Sun enveloped in crystal, and the form of the
crystal resembles the cotton tree (?), the colour of which is like water; for it is born
from water and its interior resembles water.

CHAPTER XXII

1. Inachus of the race of Japhet, the son of Noah, who ruled in the west over the country
of the Argives, was the first to rule over that country. 2. He paid honour to the Moon and
made her a goddess. 3. And he built in the country of the Argives a city named Iopolis
after the name of the Moon ; for the Argives in their secret mysteries name the moon Io
unto this day. 4. And he built a temple, and set up an altar in it, and he represented the
Moon by a brazen image, whereon he inscribed 0I0w_ ma&kaira, which is by interpretation,
'full of light '.

CHAPTER XXIII

1. And Libya, who was the daughter of Picus by her mother Qalfmja, became the wife of
Poseidon, who ruled in the south. 2. And he named the country over which he ruled after
the name of his wife Libya. And he begat by her Poseidon and Belus and Agenor. 3. And this
(last), having gone to Canaan,took him a wife named Diro, and also built a city and named
it Dairus, that is Tyre, after the name of his wife. 4. And during his reign there he
begat by her three sons, men of renown and founders, i. e. Syrus and Cilix and Phoenix who
was the first to wear silk. 5. And when about to die he divided (his empire) among his
three sons and made the land subject to them. 6. And Phoenix took Canaan and all the
adjoining country and named it Phoenicia after his own name. 7. And the second took Syria
and gave it his name, 8. And Cilix the third took his territory and named.it Cilicia after
his own name.

CHAPTER XXIV

1. And there was a man named Taurus, king' of Crete, and he made an expedition against
Tyre about the hour of sunset, and attacked it, and made himself master of it, and took
its riches and + led away captive many cities +. 2. And in that way he took Europa and
made her his wife. For Taurus having made a night expedition by sea returned to his own
country, Crete,and having taken Europa to be his wife, he named that country after the
name of; his wife. 3. And he built a city there and named it Gortyna after the name of his
mother. Now she was of the race of Picus, i.e. Zeus.

CHAPTER XXV

And there was a certain man named Laius. + His father was Waika,+ who, seeing that his son
would have commerce with his mother, commanded his soldiers to suspend him on a tree of
which they had cloven the branches in order that the feet of him that was suspended might
be made fast in it.

CHAPTER XXVI

1. And there was a man named Seruch of the race of Japhet, the son of Noah. 2. He appears
to have been the first of those who worshipped idols through the influence of Satan. And
he set up altars to the idols and served them.

CHAPTER XXVII

1. And Melchizedek was found to be holy though of Gentile origin, and he served God and
was chaste (and) without sin. 2. And Holy Scripture declares him to be without father and
mother because he was not of the family of Abraham. 3. And he hated his father's gods and
made himself a priest of the living God. 4. He was descended from the race of Sidus, son
of (Egyptus) the king of Egypt and Nubia, on whose account the Egyptians are (so) called.
5. Now Melchizedek signifies king of righteousness. 6. Now King Sidus, though a priest,
ruled over Canaan, being sprung of a powerful race, and the Egyptians so named him because
of (the land of) the Canaanites, which is the land of Palestine until this day. 7. And
when he warred with them, they submitted themselves to him, and as they were pleasing unto
him, he dwelt in their country, and built a city and called it Sidon after his own name,
which till the present day has been reckoned in Canaan. 8. Now as touching the father of
Melchizedek who went forth from Sidon, we have learnt that such was his origin. But his
father was an idolater and his mother likewise. And this holy man used to reprove his
father and his mother for their idolatry. 9. And afterwards he fled away and became priest
of the living God as has been recounted. And he ruled over the Canaanites and built on
Golgotha a city named Zion, i.e.

Salem, a name which being interpreted means in the language of the Hebrews 'the city of
peace'. 10. And he ruled over it one hundred and thirteen years and died, having preserved
his chastity and righteousness as the wise Josephus, the historian, has written in the
beginning of his work on the history of the Jews. 11. For he was the first (to offer)
sacrifices to the God of heaven and bloodless oblations of bread and wine in the likeness
of the holy mysteries of our Lord Jesus Christ ; as David has sung, saying : 'Thou art His
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.' 12. And again he said: 'God manifested
Himself in Zion and His name is great in Israel, and His place abideth in peace and His
dwelling is in Zion.' For the Jews learnt from Abraham the knowledge of God. 13. And Salem
also, that is, Jerusalem, is named [Jerusalem] because peace abideth in Zion, that is,
Melchizedek. 14. And the Jews were called Hebrews from Heber, from whom Abraham, the
chosen vessel, was descended. 15. And when the rebels against God built the tower and
laboured in vain in their impious designs, Heber indeed refused to join with them : he
alone preserved without wavering his loyalty to God. 16. And when the confusion of tongues
took place, Heber alone was not deprived of his speech in its integrity and perfectness.
17. And his successors guarded the language of angels which Adam spoke.

And for this reason they are called Hebrews and their language Hebrew.

CHAPTER XXVIII

1. There was a man named Hesiod of the race of Japhet, the son of Noah. 2. He invented
Greek letters and was the first to teach them. 3. It is told that there was in the times
of the kings of the country + in Lydia + a certain philosopher descended from the children
of the giants who were of the race of Japhet, named Endymion. 4. He, it is told, prayed in
secret to the Moon, and they say that he learnt from the Moon in a vision the name of God.
5. And when he +went one day+, he heard the sacred name and thereupon he gave up the ghost
and died and rose not again. 6. And his body is preserved unto this day in the city of +
Lydia +, and any one can see it once a year when they open the coffin in which it is.

CHAPTER XXIX

1. It is told that in the time of Joshua the son of Nun, a king named Ogyges ruled over
Attica, and that there was a great deluge in that country only. And the king himself
perished and the inhabitants of that country. 2. And it became a desert and no man dwelt
therein for two hundred and six years, as Africanus has recorded in his chronicle.

CHAPTER XXX

1. And in the days of Moses the lawgiver, the servant of God who led the exodus of the
children of Israel out of Egypt, + in the days of Petissonius, that is, Pharaoh Amosius,
king of Egypt, who ruled by the help of the book of the magicians Jannes and Jambres, who
wrought shameful things before the mighty Moses, who talked with God—for this reason, they
say, they were not willing to let the children of Israel go after the signs and the
wonders which were wrought by his staff, + 2. Now (Petissonius) went to the diviners who
were in Memphis and to the celebrated oracle and offered sacrifice. 3. And when one of the
Hebrews asked the diviner Taninus <Who is first among you ? he answered :> 'He who is in
heaven, the Immortal, the First: before whom the heavens quake and likewise the earth and
all the seas fear, and the Satans are affrighted and but a few angels stand; for He is the
creator of powers and measures.' 4. And Petissonius inscribed this oracle on a tablet and
placed it in the temple of the gods near the water-measure whereby they learn the volume
of the Nile. 5. We should recount that, when the temple was already destroyed: this tablet
was the only one in Egypt that was still unbroken till the foundations of the idol temples
were overthrown, and it was no longer possible for any one to maintain the temple of
Memphis. 6.

It was only through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ that all the temples were
destroyed. 7. Now this mad Petissonius, that is, the Pharaoh Amosius, was overwhelmed in
the Red Sea together with his horses and horsemen. 8. And when, after the children of
Israel had gone forth from Egypt, he learnt that they had taken (with them) the riches of
the Egyptians— a thing they had done with the approval of God and in accordance with His
law; for the children of Israel had taken the riches of the Egyptians in compensation for
the heavy labours which had been imposed upon them without intermission—Pharaoh was filled
with indignation. 9. Thereupon he went forth in pursuit of them with his army. And he was
overwhelmed in the sea with his followers and there was not one left. 10. And the children
of Israel marched in the sea as on dry land, and they came to the place where God willed :
for. He is the conqueror of all the elements of creation.—Glory be to Him. 11. And, after
the Egyptians had been destroyed, those who remained worshipped demons and forsook God,
Those unhappy ones destroyed themselves and became like unto the angels who rebelled
against God, and they worshipped the work of their own hands. 12. Some worshipped the cow,
and some the ox, and some the dog and also the mule: and some the ass, and some the lion :
and some fish, and some the crocodile :

and some the leek and many other like things. 13. And they named their cities of Egypt
after the name of their god. And they worshipped the + buildings+ of Busir and Manuf and
Samnud and Sahraisht and Esna and of the Tree and of the Crocodile. And they gave divine
honours to + the building of many cities + and likewise to the storm.

CHAPTER XXXI

1. And during the time of him who first reigned over the Egyptians, when they served idols
and such creatures as have already been mentioned and as regards the celebrated city
Absâi, that is, Nakius, and its king was named Prosopis, a name which being interpreted
means 'Lover of the deities with three faces'—now he lived on the west bank of the river
and he was continually at war with the barbarians who were named Mauritanians who came
from the five countries. 2. And when these came in wrath, the inhabitants warred
vigorously against them and slew many of them. 3. And in consequence of this happy
victory, (the barbarians) did not for a long period come again against the city) through
the mercy of God who by the mighty power of his Godhead hath made all things to come into
being out of nothingness. 4. And the great river of Egypt was named Chrysorroas by the
Greeks but it is named Gihon in the book that is inspired by God. 5. Now this river flowed
(anciently) to the east of the city, but it changed its course from the east to the west
of the city, and the city became like an island in the midst of the river like a
plantation of trees named Akrejas, that is, the myrtle.

CHAPTER XXXII

1. And as for Jerusalem which had been built by Melchizedek its king under the sway of the
Canaanites, that is, the Philistines, Joshua the son of Nun subdued it and called it
Jebus. 2. And he dwelt in Shechem; for he had subdued all the adjoining country. And this
(city) is named Nablus unto this day. 3. And in the days of the wise kings David and
Solomon, David prepared all the building materials for the building of the holy temple of
God, and Solomon built it in Jerusalem. 4. And he called it the city of the sanctuary on
account of the consecration and the sacrifices according to the law and the abundance of
righteousness and because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ— praise be unto Him—underwent
the passion there.

CHAPTER XXXIII

And in the days of the Judges, there was a judge of the Greeks named Pano&pthj, who was so
named in regard to the hundred piercing eyes with which he beheld afar and saw better than
all men. He was the first to devise in a city of the west all manner of handicrafts.

CHAPTER XXXIV

1. Prometheus and Epimetheus discovered a stone tablet with an inscription which had been
written and engraved in the days of the ancients. 2. And Elijah the prophet interpreted
the verses. So the Greeks (have recounted) this saying that on account of this he ascended
to heaven and that what had been in heaven was in his heart. 3. And Deucalion, moreover,
wrote a detailed history of what had happened in the days of the deluge and the strange
events (of that time).

CHAPTER XXXV

1. And after the deluge in Attica, the sovereignty passed into the hands of the Athenians.
2. And there ruled there a man named Elwates and he established the (common) meal as a
legal institution. 3. And he was also the first to ordain that all men should take as
their wives young virgins and name them spouses: and that they should dig a fountain in a
hidden place in order to cause milk to spring (from the earth) in abundance as a visible
stream. 4. Now before his reign the women of Attica and the Athenians lived in unclean
intercourse and male was joined to male. And they were like beasts : each lusted (after
the other) and none had a woman to himself; but they ravished with wicked violence as we
have already recounted. 5. And they knew not their own offspring, either their male or
female. And who could have known, seeing that none of them had fathers and all whom they
bare were begotten by all. Owing to their promiscuous intercourse they could not know
whether they had male or female offspring. And they were all pleased with this unclean
mode of living. 6. As Cecrops the author of the prescript in his law has said : 'This
country of Attica will be destroyed bv a deluge from God.' 7. And after this time they
became wise and conformed to the law of marriage, the men and the women. 8. And Cecrops
was highly honoured and esteemed all his days, and he brought it about that the children
knew their fathers, as was befitting.

CHAPTER XXXVI

1. And in these days lived Orpheus of Thrace, the lyric poet of the Odrysae, called the
great sage among the Greeks. 2. He expounded to them that which is called the Theogony,
which being interpreted in their language means 'The combatant of God', which things are
recounted by the chronicler Timothy. 3. He said : 'Before all time was the holy Trinity
coequal in one Godhead, Creator of all things.'

CHAPTER XXXVII

1. It is said that certain savants of the Athenians were the first to practise the art of
medicine. 2. Indeed the philosophers were the first who made known the noble art of using
medicines which agreed with the stomach. 3. And many people go to Athens for the sake of
this art also, for it flourishes there until this day.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

1. King Solomon the son of David was the first to build baths and places for reading and
instruction in every place under his dominion; for he had the demons subject to him. 2.
Now he enjoyed this privilege before he provoked God the Lord of all through the strange
women who lived with him. These polluted Jerusalem with their gods.

CHAPTER XXXIX

1. In the days of the Judges also there arose in Phrygia a philosopher named Marsyas. 2.
He was the first to play upon the flute and the horn and the drum (?). And he deafened the
ears of men and made himself out to be a god, saying : 'I have found food for man by means
of a small member.' 3. And God was wroth with him and punished him and he became insane
and cast himself into the river and perished.

CHAPTER XL

1. And in those days also lived the hero Heracles and the Argonauts, the people that were
with Jason. And they went to the Hellespont. 2. And the people (of the Hellespont) had a
king named Cyzicus. And they attacked and slew the king Cyzicus without knowing it. 3. And
when they learned (this), they were grieved; for they were all his kinsmen (and he was
sprung) from their country. 4. And after they had attacked Cyzicus, who was called the
lord of the seven images, and won the victory <they built a temple in Cyzicum, and> named
its name Rhea, which is by interpretation, mother of the gods. 5. It is told (further)
that they went to the place of those who announced (oracles) and to the seat of the elders
and asked one of them, saying: 'Prophesy to us, O prophet, servant of Apollo, of what
nature this building will be and to whom shall it belong.' 6. And they presented gifts to
him who spake to them and he said unto them : 'There are three (Persons) but one God only.
And behold a virgin will conceive His word, and this house will be His and His name shall
belong to thousands.' 7. And the idolaters wrote down this prophecy on a fragment of
marble with a brazen pen, and they placed it in one of the temples. 8. After these times
in the days of the Godloving emperor Zeno, this temple was converted into a church,
dedicated to the holy Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. 9. This the emperor Zeno did at his
own costs. And thus was accomplished the prophecy of the demons who proclaimed the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER XLI

1. The Argonauts sailed to the Hellespont to an island named Principus. 2. Thence they
went to Chalcedon and sought to pass into the sea of Pontus. 3. But the inhabitants
brought with them a man of valour and fought with them. (And) he gained the mastery and
overcame them. 4. And fearing the wrath of this man, they fled to a very desolate
extremity of the coast. 5. And they saw a mighty portent from heaven which resembled a man
with great wings on his shoulders after the likeness of a very terrible eagle. 6. And it
said unto them: 'When ye fight with Amyous ye will overcome.' And when they heard these
words from the apparition which they saw, they took courage and fought and overcame him
and slew him. 7. And they honoured that place where they had seen the mighty figure, and
they built there a temple and they placed in it a statue resembling the apparition they
had seen. 8. And they named this temple Sosthenium because they had sought refuge there
and were saved. And so they name it unto this day. 9. And in the days of Constantine, the
greatest and most illustrious of Christian emperors, the servant of Jesus Christ, when he
first established the seat of empire in Byzantium, that is in Rome, he came to the
Sosthenium to close the temple of the idols to be found there. 10.

And when he saw the statue which was in it, he at once recognized that it was the statue
of an angel. And as his thoughts were troubled with doubts he prayed and besought our Lord
Jesus Christ in whom he trusted, saying: 'Make me to know, O Lord, whose image this is.'
11. And thereupon he fell asleep and heard in a vision that the image was the image of S.
Michael the archangel. 12. Having learnt that it was he who had sent people to fight
Amycus the emperor caused this temple to be adorned and commanded them to turn it to the
east and [commanded them] to consecrate it in the name of the archangel Michael. 13. And
numerous miracles were wrought in this (temple) through healings of the sick. And after
that Christians began to build churches in the name of S. Michael the chief of the angels.
And they offered in them holy offerings unto God.

CHAPTER XLII

1, It is said touching the holy nails which were found in the cross of our Saviour Jesus
Christ and with which his holy body was nailed, that the holy, Godloving Constantine took
one of them and fixed it in the saddle of his horse; and the second he made into a bit for
his horse; and the third he cast into the pass of Chalcedon. 2. For they were in grievous
danger till by means of this holy nail the waves of the sea, yea all the waves of the
ocean, were quieted. 3. And the empire made itself strong in the city of Constantine. Now
in the days of Zeno the empire had had its seat in Rome. Afterwards the (two) empires were
united in one by a decree of the Senate. 4. For one (of these) had been established on
account of the continual outbreaks of the barbarians, and the other in accordance with the
counsel of the prefects in order that they might have another authority in Asia.

CHAPTER XLIII

1. And in the days of Samson the last of the Judges, Lapathus ruled in the land of
Aegistheus. And he had two sons, whose names were Achaius and Lacon. 2. And he divided the
provinces of his kingdom into two parts, one half for himself and the other half for his
sons. 3. And when he died, one province was named Achaia after the name of his eldest son,
and the other was named Laconia after the name of the younger son (and such are their
names) unto this day.

CHAPTER XLIV

1. And at that epoch there reigned in Hellas a king whose name was Pelops. 2. After this
man the Hellenes called the kingdom Peloponnesian by his name unto this day.3. And he
built a city and they named it Peloponnesus after his name. And the name of his kingdom is
Hellas unto this day.

CHAPTER XLV

1. And there was a man named Bilawon. He built the city Farma after his own name. 2. And
Priam built the city of Malkibinun ( = Ilium?), in Phrygia ... in the city of Sparta in
the country of Hellas, when he came there.

CHAPTER XLVI

And there was a wise and sagacious man named Palamedes. He was the first to teach the arts
of playing on the harp and lyre and the flute and all manner of musical instruments.

CHAPTER XLVII

1. And Tros, also, who ruled over the country of Phrygia . . . before that he had slain
Priam and Hecuba, and he slew their young men and plundered their royal palaces that it
might be a memorial unto him, and this city came under his power, and he named it
Enderjan. 2. And Setabarja of Panton he named Asia of the Ephesians. It was named . . .
which is now Saqilja (= Sicily ?), and it became a great island and its earlier name was
Qubaba. CHAPTER XL VIII. 1. And Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built a great
structure in + Bilimiktun+ in the midst of the city to be a memorial unto him in order
that his name and the name of his father should not be forgotten. 2. And he gave it to a
man named Aiwani, which is by interpretation in the language of Canaan 'light', but he
named the structure Palmyra. 3. Indeed it was in that place that David his father, the
strong and mighty one, was victorious when he slew and was victorious over Goliath the
Philistine. 4. It is for this reason that he appointed its name to be Mezad in order that
strange peoples (azmad) might dwell therein. And a great number of Jewish soldiers dwelt
there. 5. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Persia took this city, having to expend much toil and
severe effort before he could take it and burn it with fire. And he caused the memorial of
it to disappear till this day.

CHAPTER XLIX

1. And (he took) the city Tyre also, which is an island surrounded by water. And he put
forth many a mighty effort to take it. 2. And he commanded his soldiers, the cavalry and
foot-soldiers, and all the Persians to cast earth into the arm of the sea which surrounded
it. 3. And they filled it with earth till the water of the sea dried up and (the strait)
became as land. And by these means Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Persians was able to
take this city.

CHAPTER L

1. And at the time of the Captivity which took place through Nebuchadnezzar — he was
commanded to do so by God and a force of angels was given to him — before Nebuchadnezzar
had come and burnt the sanctuary of God with fire, Jeremiah, a prophet great among the
prophets and a lover of that which is good, went into the second chamber which is called
the Holy of Holies, and took the ark of God which was covered with gold, without and
within, and the glorious objects which were in it, i. e. the tables of the law, and the
golden box of manna, and Aaron's rod which bore almonds, and the stone from the hard rock,
from which Moses had given the people to drink when they thirsted. 2. And, moreover, Moses
the prophet carried this stone as he went before the people in their journey through the
wilderness, according to the commandment of God. 3. And as often as the people thirsted,
he cast it upon the earth and smote it with the rod, and water came forth and the people
were satisfied and all the cattle. 4. And Jeremiah took those objects and the stone, and
went hastily to the rock and hid them there until this day. 5.

And on the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who will be preceded by the
sign of the cross, this ark borne by angels will appear, and Moses also who made it will
come and Jeremiah who hid it in the rock. 6. When the dead shall rise, the sign of the
cross will appear and after it our Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified—glory be unto Him.
7. And these words are to be found in the teaching of S. Epiphanius, our light-giving
father, bishop of Cyprus, who has written in his book a complete history of the prophets
after the overthrow of Jerusalem and the disappearance of the kingdom of Judah.

CHAPTER LI

1. Cyrus the Persian overcame Astyages and Cyrus became king . . . that is, Cambyses. 2.
And Croesus was stiffnecked and overweening. And all the kingdoms afar off and close at
hand had submitted to him. 3. And the peoples that were subject to him paid him tribute
and dwelt in peace. But those which resisted him, he led away captive, and spoiled their
possessions and made himself master of their territories. For he was very great and
formidable and victorious. 4. And Cyrus was disquieted in heart; for he had a wife named
Bardane, who had previously been the wife of Darius the successor of Belshazzar. 5. She
spake, saying: 'We have amongst us a prophet of the Hebrews named Daniel, in whom is the
wisdom of God. He belongs to the captivity of the children of Israel. 6. Now Darius used
to do nothing without his counsel, and every thing that he declared to him (beforehand)
was accomplished.' 7. And when Cyrus heard these words he sent to Daniel the prophet and
had him brought with honour, and he asked him and said unto him : 'Shall I conquer Croesus
or not?' 8. But he was silent and did not speak for the space of an hour. And thereupon he
spake, saying : 'Who can know the wisdom of God ?' And then Daniel the prophet prayed and
besought the Lord his God to reveal unto him whether he (Cyrus) could resist this
rapacious (and) overweening Croesus. 9. And God said unto him : 'If he sends back the
captivity of the children of Israel, he shall surely conquer and take to himself the power
of Croesus.'

10. And when he heard these words from God, he told Cyrus that he should conquer Croesus
if he sent back the children of Israel. 11. And when Cyrus heard these words he cast
himself at Daniel's feet and sware, saying : ' As the Lord thy God liveth, I will send
Israel back to their city Jerusalem, and they shall serve the Lord their God.' 12. And
Cyrus, in accordance with his duty to God, heaped benefits upon Israel and sent them back
(to their own country). 13. Now Croesus went out with a great army to war against the
provinces of Cyrus. And having crossed the river of Cappadocia in order to slay Cyrus,
Cyrus put him to shame and he was not able to escape secretly because of the river
confronting him. 14. Indeed when Croesus came to this river, a large multitude of his
soldiers were speedily overwhelmed (in it); but he himself was not able to cross; for God
had delivered him into Cyrus's hands by this means. 15. And Cyrus's soldiers pursued him
and took him alive and seized him and put him in chains, and slew of his army 40,000 men.
And Cyrus had his adversary Croesus suspended on a tree, and the rest of his army he
humiliated and shamed. 16. As for the Jews and their king he sent them off that they might
return to their own country as he had promised to Daniel the prophet. 17. And when Cyrus
returned into Persia, he settled all the affairs of his government and appointed his son
Cambyses to be king over Persia and Babylon. And he was a bad man, and he rejected the
wisdom of his father and the worship of the Lord God. 18. And Apries moreover was king of
Egypt and dwelt in the city of Thebes and in Memphis and in two (other) cities, Muhil and
Sufiru. 19.

And in those days, in consequence of the intrigues of the neighbouring peoples Cambyses
sent to Jerusalem and gave orders (to his officers) to restrain them (the Jews) from
rebuilding the sanctuary of God. 20. And afterwards he made an expedition to Egypt with a
great (and) innumerable army of horse and foot from Media. 21. And the inhabitants of
Syria and Palestine got ready to oppose him (but in vain), and he destroyed not a few but
many cities of the Jews, for he was supreme over all the world. 22. And in the pride of
(his) heart he changed his name and named himself Nebuchadnezzar. And his disposition
resembled that of a barbarian, and in the evil counsel of his desire he hated mankind. 23.
And his father Cyrus had been great and honoured before the living God, and had commanded
that they should build the temple of God in Jerusalem with (all) vigilance and zeal, what
time he had sent Joshua the high priest, the son of Jozadak and Zerubbabel, that is Ezra,
and all the captivity of Judah that they might return to the land of the Hebrews and
Palestine. 24. But Cambyses, that is, Nebuchadnezzar the second, and Belshazzar burnt the
holy city Jerusalem and the sanctuary according to the prophecies of the holy prophets
Jeremiah and Daniel. 25. And after they had burnt the city Cambyses came to Gaza and got
together troops and all the materials of war, and he went down into Egypt to war against
it.

And in the war he gained the victory and he captured the Egyptian cities Parma and Sanhur
and San and Basta. And he captured Apries, the Pharaoh, alive in the city of Thebes and he
slew him with his own hand. 26. Now there was in Egypt a warrior named Fusid who practised
righteousness and hated iniquity. When there was war between the Persians and Egyptians,
he had gone and fought in Syria and Assyria and he had taken four sons of Cambyses
prisoner as well as his wives—in all forty souls. 27. And he bound them and burnt their
houses and took all that they had captive and brought them to the city of Memphis and he
imprisoned them in the palace of the king. 28. And when a second war arose between the
Assyrians and Egyptians, the Assyrians proved the stronger and gained the mastery over the
Egyptians and took the palace which is in the city of Thebes. 29. And the Assyrian
soldiers shot arrows, and, as they shot, an arrow smote the warrior Fusid on the right
side. But the Egyptian soldiers carried off the warrior Fusid from the Assyrians, before
he died. And he lived but an hour more and after this died and left a memory to those that
came after. 30. But the Egyptians were moved with fear because they had lost such a
warrior as Fusid. And for this reason they fled for refuge into the city Sais, because it
was a strong city and its fortifications stronger than those of the others. 31. And
Cambyses attacked this city a second time and carried it by storm and destroyed it.

And he captured all the other cities of lower Egypt towards the north to the sea coast and
plundered them of all their possessions and destroyed their cities and neighbourhoods and
burnt their houses with fire and left neither man nor beast living. 32. And he cut down
their trees and destroyed their plantations and made the land of Egypt a desert. And
returning in the direction of Rif he warred against the city of Memphis, and he conquered
the king who was in it. 33. And the city of Busir also, which lies below Memphis, he
destroyed and annihilated and took its possessions as a booty, and burnt it with fire and
made it a desert. 34. And the sons of the kings which survived fled for refuge to another
city, the nearest at hand, (even) into its citadel and closed the gates of the fortress.
35. And the Assyrians besieged this citadel and carried it by storm by night and destroyed
the city of Memphis the great. 36. And one of the kings of Egypt, named Muzab, had sent in
secret to his son, named Elkad, bidding him to bring all his wealth and that of all his
officers and of the forty wives of Cambyses, that is, Nebuchadnezzar, even those which had
been brought by Fusid the captain. 37. And they opened the gates of the fortress by night,
and they took and led them forth into the desert by another way which the people knew not.

And the four sons of Cambyses the inhabitants of the city of Memphis led back, and they
made them ascend to the summit of the fortress and cut them in pieces and cast them to the
base of the fortress where Cambyses was. 38. And when the soldiers of Cambyses saw this
evil thing which the inhabitants of the city of Memphis had done, they were filled with
wrath and warred against the city without mercy. 39. And they set up engines against it
and destroyed the palaces of the kings, and they slew without mercy the children of the
kings Muzab and Sufir and all the chiefs of the army which were found in the city. 40. And
when (Elkad) was informed of the death of his father, he fled into Nubia. And Cambyses
also destroyed the city of On and upper Egypt as far as the city Eshmun. And the
inhabitants of this city on learning (of his approach) were seized with fear and fled into
the city of Eshmunin. 41. And they sent to Nubia to Elkad the son of Miizab, asking him to
come unto them that they might make him king in the room of his father. For he had
formerly made war against the cities of Assyria. 42. And thereupon Elkad gathered a large
army of Ethiopians and Nubians and warred against the army of Cambyses on the eastern bank
of the river Gihon. But the Ethiopians were not able to make the passage of the river. 43.
And the Persians, full of stratagems, wheeled about as though intending to flee. Then in
the early part of the night they crossed the river with vigilance and took possession of
the city and destroyed it before the army of Elkad were aware. 44. And when they had
completed the destruction of the city Eshmunin they march into upper Egypt, and laid waste
the city of Assuan. And they crossed to the opposite bank belonging to the city Ahif, and
they destroyed Phile as they had done the other cities. 45.

And they turned back to the cities and provinces which still remained, and they ravaged
them and burned them with fire till all the land of Egypt became a desert and there was no
longer found in it a moving creature, neither a man nor even a bird of the air. 46. Then
Elkad king of Egypt devised another plan, he and all that had not been annihilated by the
Persians. And they proceeded and came upon Cambyses at some distance off, and they took
with them gifts and harps and drums and timbrels and prostrated themselves before him and
besought him that they might receive from him mercy and friendship. 47. And Cambyses
showed mercy to the Egyptians that survived who had come to offer their submission, and he
had compassion on them and led them away to Media and Babylon. And he appointed as their
ruler one of their own number. 48. And as for Elkad he did not take from him his royal
crown but established him on the royal throne and did not lead him away with him. 49. And
the number of the Egyptians whom Cambyses led away with him were 50,000, besides women and
children. And they lived in captivity in Persia forty years, and Egypt became a desert.
50. And after devastating Egypt, Cambyses died in the city of Damascus. And the wise (and)
great Artaxerxes reigned eight years, and he was not wanting in love either to God or man.
51.

And he commanded Nehemiah the cupbearer to build the walls of Jerusalem, and he dealt
kindly with the Jews, because Cyrus and Darius had honoured the God of heaven, and served
Him. And for this reason he supported all the enterprises of the Jews. 52. And as for the
Egyptians he dealt kindly and well with them and made themofficers in order to take
counsel with his prefects. And later he sent back the Egyptians, to their own country in
the one and fortieth year of their captivity and the devastation of their country. 53. And
when they returned they began to build houses in their several cities : they did not
construct great houses as formerly but small houses wherein to dwell. And they planted
trees and vines in abundance. 54. And they set over themselves a king named Fiwaturos in
compliance with the command of Artaxerxes the humane.

55, And there was an Egyptian who comforted (his people), a man of indefatigable energy,
wise and virtuous, named Shenufi, which is by interpretation 'good news'. 56. And this man
was very vigilant in rebuilding the cities and villages and restoring the tillage of the
land so that in a short time he rebuilt all the villages of Egypt. And he restored Egypt
and made it as it had been before. And there was great prosperity in his "days, and the
Egyptians increased very much, and their cattle increased also. 57. And he reigned over
them forty and eight years in happiness and peace because of the return of the Egyptians
from captivity. And he went to rest full of honour. But before he died he numbered the
Egyptians, and their number was 500,000 men. 58. And after the death of Shenufi the
Egyptians remained for a long time without a king, but they paid taxes to the Persians and
Assyrians at the same time. And they remained at peace till they appointed a second
Pharaoh as king and paid the taxes to him.

59. Now the Persians did not approve that the Egyptians should pay the taxes to their own
king. But the Persians also were without a king after the death of the great Artaxerxes
who had had compassion on the Egyptians. 60. And he who reigned after Artaxerxes at first
made war against the Jews and the Jews submitted to him. And next he made war on the
Egyptians and overcame them and took their possessions as a spoil; for the land of Egypt
is through the help of God a very goodly (land). 61. Now when Nectanabus, the last of the
Pharaohs, was informed by the chief diviners—for he was himself also a magician and asked
the impure demons whether he was to rule over the Egyptians or not— when (I repeat) he was
surely informed by the demons that he should not rule over the Egyptians, he shore his
head and changed his outward figure, and fled, and went to the city of Farma, and
furthermore went to Macedonia and dwelt there. 62. And the Egyptians remained in
subjection to Juljanos till the time of Alexander o9 pa&ntarxoj , which is by
interpretation 'the ruler of the world '. And he slew the last king of the Persians.

63. And after some time Ochus reigned for twelve years over the Persians. And after him
Artaxerxes reigned twenty-three years. And after him Darius, surnamed Akrejus, reigned for
six years. And then Alexander rose up against him and slew him and took his kingdom of
Babylon from him ; for Alexander the son of Philip of Macedon was ruler of the world.

CHAPTER LII

And there was a man named Aeneas, who espoused the daughter of Latinus, named Lavinia. And
he built a great city and named it after the name of Lavinia and established his kingdom
in it.

CHAPTER LIII

1. And there was in Italy a man named Pallas and he had a son. And he became a good and
warlike man. And he stormed many cities belonging to Aeneas. 2. And when he warred against
+ Justen +, he took his city and built therein a great house, and he adorned it and there
was no such house in any city. 3. And he built a palace also and named it Pallantium,
which is by interpretation 'stronghold', after his name Pallas. CHAPTER, LIV. And when +
Creusa became king, he built a city named Alba. Then leaving Elbanja he came to Elwanja +,
that is, Alba, which by interpretation means 'light'.

CHAPTER LV

1. And there was a Canaanitish woman named Dido, the wife of a man named Sichaeus. 2. And
she came originally from a small city Kardimas, situated on the sea-coast between Tyre and
Sidon. 3. And she was very rich. And she had a brother named Pygmalion, who rose against
her husband and slew him from the covetous desire to get hold of her wealth and treasures.
4. Then this woman arose in haste and collected together all the wealth and treasures in
her house, and embarked on a ship and fled and went from Canaan to the country of Libya in
Africa, and built a great city in that province, which she named Carthage, but in the
language of the Barbarians it is called 'New city'. And she reigned there wisely until her
death. CHAPTER, LVI. 1. And in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah there were two brothers
whose names were Romulus and Remus.2. And these built a great city near a small city
Valentia in Italy, a city of Latinus where previously there had been a royal palace named
Pallantium. And this they rebuilt. 3. Moreover they built a temple for their God named
Zeus, and they named it in their own language the Capitol. And the appearance of one of
the buildings, the royal palace, was very wonderful. And in the Latin language they named
the Capitol 'Head of the city'. 4. And in those days they called themselves 'Romans' and
the name of their city 'Rome'. And the two brothers ruled together in it. But afterwards a
cause of enmity intervened, and Romulus slew Remus his brother and reserved the throne for
himself alone. 5. And thereupon the city was shaken with earthquake and all the people
were panic-stricken together because of the great quakings in their midst. And Romulus
also was terrified and became heavy of heart by means of his great terror, and he learnt
from the diviners and the unclean spirits that his throne should not be established in
Rome without his brother Remus. 6. Then he had recourse to many a device in order to raise
his brother and he was not able. But a great quaking ensued and in the midst of that
quaking he saw an image of his brother, a perfect likeness from his head to his breast. 7.

And he made an image of his brother in the likeness of the apparition which he had before
seen, a golden statue representing his brother from the head to the breast, and he placed
it on his throne and he adorned it with all manner of ornaments. 8. And in his prescripts
he wrote after this manner, saying : '(In) the prescripts emanating from me and my brother
so we declare, and so we command, so we execute', and so on. 9. And this custom derived
from the Romans has prevailed to the present. Their kings and their magistrates have
preserved this formula in the courts which are called 'praetorian', that is, in their
places of justice. 10. And Romulus also was the first to ride on horseback in Rome and to
rush to the encounter at full speed and to be ardentto be victorious. And he devised these
diabolical practices and source of evils and vices, in order that his horse soldiers
should be the strongest in the world. 11. And he appointed also a place of conflict for
women called Elmantatum that the soldiers might resort (thither) in order to be with them
(the women). For previously they had violated all the women, whether married, virgin, or
widowed. 12. And by reason of his fear and discouragement Romulus instituted this order of
female cavalry and made them alone without the men into one force. 13. And he divided them
moreover into two parts, the virgins on one side and the married women on the other. And
he assembled from all the cities far and near a great assemblage of women cavalry without
number. 14. And they kept watch over the foreign women in their midst who did not belong
to Rome, in order to accomplish (their) desire. And (Romulus ordered them) to lay hands on
all they found.15. Now the young girls of the city of the Sabines which is near to Rome
were beautiful women. And he summoned and assembled them (masc.) to him. And when Romulus
had ended assembling the women, he gave them to the soldiers who had no wives. And he
named those soldiers stratiw&taj, that is, warriors. 16. And the rest he ordered to carry
them (the women) off as best they could. And subsequently to this ordinance they chose
their wives according to their individual tastes without violence.

17. And moreover he instituted priests of the idols and named them priests of Apollo. 18.
And next Romulus commanded his most illustrious officers and soldiers to entertain in the
winter season. And he invited (in order) from alpha to omega the most illustrious of his
officers, each in turn, and the commanders and magistrates of the people and all the
soldiers whom he wished. And this ordinance existed in Rome. 19. And next he established a
custom in Rome, called Abrastus . . . this is the place, to wit, of the officers in which
they keep guard of the citadel at all times. 20. And next he built the walls of the city
of Rome and completed them. 21. And next he built a temple in the city of Ares, in the
month of March, that is Magabit. Now March is the beginning of months. 22. And in the
beginning of the month they celebrate a feast, and they named that feast 'Primus'. And
after this feast he commanded the soldiers to fight. 23. And they named this month
Marchbecause of the custom of the heathen who are demon-worshippers according as the
ancients had prescribed in their foolish ignorance. And the Romans have preserved this
custom. 24. It is for this reason that the holy fathers, the Egyptian monks, who were
clothed with God, offer at the beginning of every month an unbloody sacrifice to the holy
consubstantial Trinity and receive the holy life-giving mysteries, while they chant the
words of the 80th Psalm: 'Blow up the trumpet in the day of the new moon, on the notable
day of our festival.'

CHAPTER LVII

1. And after Romulus Numa became king. He was a wise and very prudent man. 2. And he
caused the government of the city of Rome to go along a good path by means of an excellent
discipline. 3. And this illustrious man was the first to make money for selling and buying
and for the exchange of silver. It is for this reason that stamped copper money is named
felus unto this day. 4. And next he appointed two places: one for the officers and one for
the judges that they might give orders to the officers and all the army. 5. And
furthermore he established (them) outside that they might judge the peoples who were under
their authority ; and not only those who judged but those with functions which are
subordinate according to rank, and (others) which resemble this. 6. And this law is
ordained and established amongst the Romans unto this day.

CHAPTER LVIII

1. And in the days of the high priest of Jerusalem who was named Judas, Philip was king of
Macedonia. And when he became king he warred against Thessaly and came off victorious over
it. 2. And when he had won the victory, he built a city (in Macedonia) and named it
Thessalonica.

CHAPTER LIX

1. And when Alexander the son of Philip of Macedon became king he built in Egypt the great
city Alexandria, and named it Alexandria after his own name. 2. Now its name formerly in
the Egyptian language was Rakoustis. And after this he warred against Persia. (And he
came) to the confines of Europe, and he built there a place where his army and all his
troops assembled. And he gave there gold in abundance to his chief generals and to all his
officers and his numerous forces. And he named that place Chrysopolis. And so it is named
by the inhabitants of Byzantium. 3. And in his war against Persia Alexander slew many of
Darius's troops, (nor did he stop) till he had annihilated them. And he seized all the
kingdom of Darius and made himself master of it. 4. And moreover he took captive his
daughter, who was named Roxana. And she was a virgin and he made her his wife. And he did
her no injury. 5. Nor yet did he offer any outrage to Candace the queen of Ethiopia,
because of her great intelligence ; for she had heard tidings of the great deeds of
Alexander and how it was his custom when he wished to war against the kings of the earth
to join with spies (and so to visit their territories).

6. And queen Candace, being apprised of his arrival with the spies, had him arrested and
said unto him : 'Thou art the king Alexander who hast seized upon all the world, and yet
thou art to-day seized by a woman.' 7. And he said unto her: 'It is by means of thy
knowledge and the subtility of thy intelligence and thy wisdom that thou hast seized me.
Henceforth I will preserve thee unharmed, (even) thee and thy children, and I will make
thee my wife.' 8. And when she heard these words she cast herself at his feet and made an
alliance with him, and he made her his wife. And thereupon the Ethiopians submitted to
him. 9. And when Alexander was dying he divided his kingdom among his four companions who
had helped him in his campaigns. 10. And Philip, his elder brother, took Macedonia and
reigned over it and all Europe. Furthermore he made Ptolemy, surnamed Lagus, king of
Egypt.

CHAPTER LX

And in the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus, son of Lagus, whose name by interpretation means
'lover of the brethren', a man of large thought and wisdom, the holy books of God were
translated from the Hebrew into the Greek langua,ge by old men in the space of seventy-two
days, for there were seventy-two translators, but two died before they had completed the
translation.

CHAPTER LXI

1. And Antigonus reigned over Asia and Cilicia and the river which is named Draco in the
province of Orontes, 2. And over Syria, Babylon and Palestine there reigned a king named
Seleucus Nicanor. 3. And this (king) warred against Antigonus king of Asia and slew him,
because he had built a city on the borders of the river Draco and had named it Antigonia.
4. And he seized all the property in the region of Iopolis and of the fortress which faces
mount Silpion. . . . Now this city was formerly named Bottia. 5. And he built there the
great city of Antioch, and named it after the name of his son Antiochus. 6. And again he
built another city [in the name of his daughter], and he named it Laodicea, for his
daughter's name was Laodicea. Now this city had formerly been named Mazabdan. 7. And again
he built a city and named it Apamea, which formerly had been named Pharnace.

CHAPTER LXII

Seleucus, that is, Pausanias, was the first to write Chronicles and annals and to name
them.

CHAPTER LXIV

1. History of the Consuls of the early Romans. Julius Caesar the dictator seized the power
and administration among the Romans before the incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. 2. The birth of Julius was not like the birth of (ordinary) men whom women give
birth to in the ninth month. For his mother died during her pregnancy, and after she died
the babe stirred in her womb. And the wise men seeing that the babe stirred, cut open the
womb of the mother and brought forth the (babe) living and nursed it and called its name
Caesar. Now Caesar means 'drawn forth', 'cut out', 'separated'. 3. And when he grew up
they named him also Triumvir, and in accordance with a decree of the Senate of Rome he was
appointed and became king. 4. And when his empire was consolidated, the Persians and
barbarians were seized with fear. And this same Caesar made the month in which he became
king the first month of the year. 5. And he issued prescripts for his commanders and
prefects according to their various offices in every province of his empire. 6. And next
he left the east and came to Alexandria the chief city of Egypt. And he met queen
Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy, surnamed Dionysus, king of Egypt. 7. And she was a
very beautiful young girl. Caesar fell in love with her and married her and begat a son by
her. And he gave her the kingdom of Egypt.

And he named that son Julius Caesar. He was also named Caesarion. 8. He built a beautiful
palace and also a beautiful and magnificent and comely house, and he named it after his
own name and that of his son. 9. And when the great Constantine, the emperor of the
Christians, took possession of the Roman empire he changed this (building) into a church
and named it after the name of S. Michael. 10. And to this day it is named the church of
Caesarion because it was built by Julius Caesar the younger and Caesar the elder.

CHAPTER LXV

1. It is told regarding Archelaus the chief governor of Cappadocia and regarding Herod,
who was full of wickedness (and) the murderer of his father, who was the first to eat raw
meat with the blood, and not of the number of the faithful: now Herod was king of Judea :
(it is told that) they submitted to Caesar the elder and made him sovereign over their
territories during all their life. 2. And Archelaus built in Cappadocia a city and named
it Caesarea in Cappadocia to be a memorial of him (Caesar). And formerly it was named
Mazaca.

CHAPTER LXVI

1. And Herod also built a city in Palestine and named it Caesarea in honour of the
emperor. And this is very beautiful and its name was formerly Straton's Tower (Stra&twnoj
pu&rgoj). 2. And he constructed a way also which led into the city of Antioch, and he made
the city more spacious and he covered the way with slabs of white stone at his own
expense, and though previously impassable he made it a way fit for kings. 3. And he sent
also a Jewish army into Egypt and he made all the cities submit to the emperor. And in
like manner he caused the orientals to pay tribute to Caesar.

CHAPTER LXVII

1. And queen Cleopatra went down from Palestine into Egypt in order to make her royal
residence there. And when she came to the city Farma she gave battle to the Egyptians and
overcame them. 2. And next she came to Alexandria, and reigned there. And she was great in
herself and in her achievements (in) courage and strength. There was none of the kings who
preceded her who wrought such achievements as she. 3. And she built in the confines of
Alexandria a great (and) magnificent palace., and all that saw it admired it; for there
was not the like in all the world. 4. And she built it on an island in the quarter of the
north to the west of the city of Alexandria, outside the city and at a distance of four
stadia. 5. And she raised a dike against the waters of the sea with stones and earth; and
made the place of the waters over which they voyaged formerly in ships into dry land, and
she made it passable on foot. 6. And this stupendous and difficult achievement she wrought
through the advice of a wise man named Dexiphanes, who made the sea into dry land that
there might be a means of passage on foot. 7. And next she constructed a canal to the sea,
and she brought water from the river Gihon and conducted it into the city.

And by this means she brought it about that ships could approach and enter the city and by
this means there was great abundance. 8. Now the city was formerly without access to
water, but she brought all the water it required (lit. made it full of water) so that
ships could sail thereon, and by this means fish became abundant in the city. 9. And she
executed all these works in vigilant care for the well-being of the city. And before she
died she executed many noble works and (created) important institutions. And this woman,
the most illustrious and wise amongst women, died in the fourteenth year of the reign of
Caesar Augustus. 10. Thereupon the inhabitants of Alexandria and of (lower) and upper
Egypt submitted to the emperors of Rome, who set over them prefects and generals. 11. And
Augustus reigned fifty-six years and six months. And in the forty-second year of his reign
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was born in the flesh in Bethlehem Judah, very God alike
in heaven and earth—to Him be praise. 12. (He was born) in the days when a decree went
forth that all the world should be registered and every person numbered with a view to
levying of taxes. And this measure was carried out through the advice of Eumenes and
Attalus, illustrious and great men of Rome.

13. And Augustus moreover found the name of the month February inscribed in the middle of
the year. Now if we start from the first, that is March, the earliest of the months of the
Roman year, this month of February was the sixth in order of the Roman months. 14. Now
Augustus decreed that they should make this month the last of the months of the year ; for
Augustus blamed the chief of the army in those days, who was named Manlius of Cappadocia,
possessing as he had power and authority over them; for it was he who arranged the order
of the months, and he was influential and powerful amongst the Romans. 15. And instead of
this month of February which he had made the last month, because it was the shortest of
all the months, they introduced in its stead the full month named August after his name;
and it was the sixth month. 16. The month which preceded the sixth month, i. e. the fifth,
he named Julius after the name of the emperor, the paternal uncle of Augustus. 17. And the
Romans adopted and confirmed this regulation (and have observed it) till the present day.
The sixth and fifth months are preceded by March.

CHAPTER LXVIII

1. Now Christians complete in faith do not receive any other rule than that ordained for
them in accordance with the statement of Ezra the prophet, the illuminator of
understanding + when the months come how on the sixth of Tuba, i.e. Ter, which is the
first month amongst the Franks: 2. When the beginning of the month coincides with the
first or second or third unto the end of the seven days.+ 3. And they observe moreover the
commencement of their months in seeking to know whether it will he lucky or unlucky. 4.
And Socrates the sage and philosopher (and) astronomer established this custom in Rome. 5.
And Socrates the ordainer and establisher of the practice had altered among the pagans the
writings of Ezra the prophet and saint. He was deceived and he deceived those who read his
book by his evil device.

CHAPTER LXIX

1. And after the death of the emperor Augustus, his son Tiberius became emperor, who had
brought Cappadocia into siibjection to Rome after the death of Archelaus the governor of
Cappadocia. 2. And he built also a city in the province of Thrace and named it Tiberia.
And in the days of Tiberius Caesar our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem.

CHAPTER LXX

1. And, after the death of Claudius, the abominable Nero became emperor in Rome. Now he
was a pagan and an idolater. 2. And to his other vices he added the vice of sodomy, and he
married as though he were a woman. And when the Romans heard of this detestable deed, they
could no longer endure him. 3. And the idolatrous priests particularly inveighed against
him, and the senators elders of the people) deposed him from the throne and took counsel
in common to put him to death. And when this impure wretch was informed of the purpose of
the senators, he quitted his residence and hid himself. But he was not able to escape the
mighty and powerful hand of God. 4. For when he fell into this disquietude of heart, owing
to the debauchery which he had practised as a woman, owing to this cause (I repeat) his
belly grew distended and became like that of a pregnant woman. 5. And he was greatly
afflicted by the multitude of his loathsome pains. And therefore he ordered the wise men
to visit him in the place where he was (hidden), and to administer remedies. 6. And when
the wise men came to him thinking that he was with child they opened his belly in order to
deliver it. And he died by this evil death.

CHAPTER LXXI

1. And after the death of Titus Domitian his brother became emperor in his stead. And he
was a great philosopher among the heathen. 2. And he stirred up a persecution against the
Christians and he brought many torments upon them by the hand of Decius and through the
machinations of his officers. 3. And he had John the beloved evangelist brought to Rome,
and he persecuted him and all the believers in God for their true and right faith. 4. And
afterwards being struck with admiration at the greatness of his wisdom be set him free in
secret and without the knowledge of his officers and the idolatrous priests he had him
conducted to his residence. 5. But again Domitian, yielding to the persuasions of the
wicked ministers of the demons, sent John the theologian into exile to the island called +
Sun. 6. And next Domitian built a city in the province of Isauria and he named it
Domitianus after his own name. 7. And when the consummation of his sin was at hand, he had
driven into exile the holy martyrs and he went to the temple of Titus and sought to offer
a sacrifice to the demons; for he called a thing which could not speak a saviour. 8. Then
his officers took counsel to put him to death; for he had always humiliated them through
his stiffneckedness and pride of heart, and, philosopher though he was, he had wholly
failed to do justice.

And they rose against him and put him to death secretly. 9. But the people were not aware
that they had put him to death. And they took his silk garments and suspended them on the
chains of the temple lamps, in order to deceive all the people by a lying statement,
saying: '(The emperor) had been carried up from earth into the air by the priests of the
gods, because he was a philosopher.' 10. Thus they misled the people for some time; but
afterwards they were apprised of the death of this wicked man, and there arose a tumult
because they had put him to death in the temple and by their mad act had profaned it,
though they said: 'We are guiltless and our temple is not profaned.' 11. And after this
[there arose a tumult and] they agreed upon Nerva and made him emperor. Now he was the
commander-in-chief of the army, an old man, very excellent, humane, and wise. 12. And
forthwith he sent to the sweet-tongued S. John and had him brought back from his place of
exile to the city of Ephesus, where he died in goodly peace. And where his holy body is
buried is not known save to our Lord Jesus Christ—unto whom be praise. 13. Now this
emperor was a good man and he established good laws, and moreover he put an end among men
to the custom which prevailed of buffet for buffet and blow for blow.

And whilst he was engaged in this legislation the emperor died aged + forty-four + years
after a reign of one.

CHAPTER LXXII

1. And after the good emperor Nerva died, Trajan became emperor, who was much addicted to
the worship of idols. 2. He was the third of those who persecuted the Christians. And
there were many martyrs in every place who were put to severe tortures. 3. And furthermore
the saint of God, Ignatius the patriarch of Antioch, who was appointed after Peter, the
chief of the apostles, was brought by his orders in chains to Rome and delivered to a
lion. 4. And next he seized <five Christian women of Antioch> and interrogated them and
said unto them: 'Whom do ye worship, and in whom do ye trust that ye run with such haste
to death?' 5. They answered and said, 'We shall die for the sake of Christ, who will give
us eternal life and deliver us from this body of corruption.' 6. And he was filled with
wrath; for he was a heathen and was averse to the revelation of the doctrine of the
resurrection. And he commanded the bodies of the holy women to be cast into the fire. 7.
And he ordered the earth on which the bodies of the holy women had fallen to be gathered
and + added to the brass which heated the public bath + which he had built in his own
name. 8.

And it came to pass afterwards that when any one went to wash in that bath that a vapour
arose, and when he smelt that vapour he was overpowered by it and had to be borne out. And
all who saw it marvelled thereat. Therefore the Christians mocked the heathen and gloried
in Christ and praised Him together with his Saints. 9. And when Trajan was apprised of
this phenomenon, he + changed those who heated the bath + and removed the vessels of brass
with which were mingled the ashes of the holy women, and he placed their ashes in five
brazen pillars and set them up in that bath. 10. But he was on the watch to pour contempt
on the martyrs, saying : + 'They belonged neither to me nor to their god, but they have
died foolishly.' + 11. And at that time his daughter Drusis and Junia the daughter of the
patrician Filasanrun underwent martyrdom. And many other virgins likewise underwent
martyrdom by fire through this unbeliever. 12. And during Trajan's stay in Antioch, the
earth was troubled and quaked in the night owing to the wrath of God, for it had been
polluted three times. 13. And not only (in) Antioch, but also on the island of Rhodes was
there a similar earthquake after cockcrow.

14. And the Jews who were in the city of Alexandria and in the province of Cyrene
assembled and chose a leader named Lucuas to be their king. 15. And when Trajan was
informed and apprised of this movement, he sent against them an officer named Marcus Turbo
with a numerous force, even a numerous army of horse and foot and also many troops in
ships. 16. And Trajan came to Egypt and built a fortress with a strong impregnable tower,
and he brought water into it in abundance and he named it Babylon in Egypt. 17.
Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Magi and Persians was the first to build its foundations
and to name it the fortress of Babylon. This was the epoch when he became its king by the
ordinance of God, when he drove the Jews into exile after the destruction of Jerusalem,
and also when they stoned to death a prophet of God at Thebes in Egypt, and added sin to
sin. 18. And Nebuchadnezzar came to Egypt with a numerous army and made a conquest of
Egypt, because the Jews had revolted against him, and he named <the fortress> Babylon
after the name of his own city. 19. And Trajan moreover added some buildings to the
fortress and other parts in it. And he dug also a small canal—sufficiently large to convey
water from the Gihon to the city Clysma. And he put this water into connexion with the Red
Sea, and he named this canal Trajan after his own name. 20. And he built also a citadel in
Manuf. And after all these achievements he fell ill and died in the twentieth year of his
reign.

CHAPTER, LXXIII. 1. And after Trajan [the first] Hadrian his cousin became emperor in
Rome. 2. He built in upper Egypt a beautiful city and its appearance was very pleasing,
and he named it Antinoe, that is, Ensina. 3. And afterwards misguided men made him a god,
for he was very rich. And he died by a distressing death.

CHAPTER LXXIV

1. And after him Aelius Antoninus Pius became emperor. He was kind, courteous, and
virtuous. And the Romans named him at first 'the servant of God'. He was a just man
throughout his reign. 2. The chroniclers report concerning him that he was the first to do
justice and to put an end to the unjust practices which had prevailed among the Romans
before his time. 3. Previously they used to commit the injustice of confiscating for the
benefit of the crown a moiety of the possessions of the rich on their death on the ground
of the covenant which the fathers had made with their children. And his predecessors were
not able to abolish this regulation. 4. But he issued a prescript and put art end to it in
order that every man should have control over his own property and should give it to whom
he pleased. And he established also many other equitable measures and laws in conformity
with justice. 5. And next he went down into Egypt even to Alexandria, and he punished
those who had wrought evil, and was gracious to those who had wrought good; for tenderness
and graciousness and forbearance were implanted in him. 6. And he built two gates in
Alexandria on the west and on the east (of the city), and he named the eastern gate
9Hliakh&, and the western Selhniakh&.7. And he built a place of pleasure with blocks of
white stone in the city of Antioch and named it Amulum.

And he transported the stone from upper Egypt. 8. And in all his cities he built baths and
academies. 9. And after this he returned with a numerous army to Rome and remained there
for some time and died, aged seventy-seven years, in the twenty-third year of his reign.
10. And he left his possessions to his son Marcus. And Marcus his son resembled his father
in graciousness and virtues. And he did all that was lawful and just, and he died in the
religion of his father.

CHAPTER LXXV

1. And after him the impious Decius, the enemy of God, became emperor, 2. And he raised
painful punishments against the Christians and established the law of the polluted heathen
that search should be made for the Christians. And accordingly he shed the blood of many
saints in every quarter, even of those who worshipped the true God. 3. And this abominable
Decius had many male and female lions brought from Africa, and also from the desert had
many serpents and venomous beasts male and female and placed them + to the east of the
city of Filmunti, of Arabia and Palestine + to the fortress of Circesium in order to form
a source of strength against the barbarians and rebels.

CHAPTER LXXVI

1. And after him a man named Aurelian became emperor. And immediately on his accession to
the throne he rebuilt the walls of Rome, which had fallen into ruins, and finished them in
a short time. 2. And he made all the inhabitants of Rome to work in order to accomplish
the building, while he diligently overlooked it himself without pride. 3. And at that time
he ordained a law that all the workmen should be registered and * that they should be
named chief citizens of the empire in honour of the emperor. 4. And all this was done in
consequence of the labour he underwent in the building of the walls of the city. And this
custom prevailed so among the Romans that it led to the registration of the peasants and
artisans and sailors who sailed upon the sea. 5. And all the workmen Aurelian named
'Aurelians' after the emperor's name, and he had them registered in the register of diwan,
that is, dabdabe. And this institution has prevailed to the present.


THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU
==============================

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU continued

CHAPTER LXXVII

1. And when Diocletian the Egyptian became emperor, the army turned to give its help to
this impious man and persecutor of the faithful and the most wicked of all men. 2. But the
city of Alexandria and Egypt declared against him and refused to submit to him. And he
made himself strong to war against them with a numerous force and army and with his three
colleagues in the empire, Maximian of a wicked stock, Constantius, and Maximian(Galerius).
3. And he went down into Egypt and made it subject to him, and as for the city of
Alexandria he destroyed it. 4. Now he built a fort on the east of the city and lay
encamped there for a long time; for he was not able by these means to capture the city and
bring it into his power. 5. And after a long time some people of the city came to him and
showed him a means of ingress whereby he could enter. And so with much toil and trouble he
stormed the city and he had with him an innumerable army. 6. And in the city also many
thousand troops were assembled by reason of the war that was waged amongst them. And
Diocletian set fire to the city and burnt it completely, and he established his authority
over it. 7. And he was an idolater and offered sacrifices to impure demons and persecuted
the Christians. He was indeed like a brute beast. 8. And he hated all good men and he
resisted God;

for all the power of Rome was in his hand. 9. And he put to death all the pastors, priests
and monks, men, women and little children, and by the hands of his flesh-devouring agents
whom he had appointed in every place, he shed without mercy or compassion the blood of
innumerable saints. 10. And he destroyed churches and burnt with fire the Scriptures
inspired by God. It was a persecution of all the Christians extending over nineteen years,
beginning with the time of his accession to power and his conquest of the land of Egypt.
11. And at this time he sent men of Alexandria to cut off the head of the holy father
Patriarch Peter, the last of the martyrs. 12. And he put to death all the bishops of Egypt
whom he found attached to the orthodox faith and a pure course of life, till (at last)
every one believed him to be the Antichrist, who had come to destroy all the world; for he
was the home of evil and the lurking-place of wrong. 13. And his colleagues were like him
in action and character, and these were Maximian, who had perpetrated many crimes, for his
sovereignty was derived from him (i. e. Diocletian), and Maximian the second, whose empire
was in the east. He resembled a treacherous beast, and was an enemy of God and the
perpetrator of abominable crimes. 14.

But Constantius, who was associated with him in the empire in Asia, had not committed any
crimes, but he loved men and treated them kindly. 15. And he made also a proclamation by
the voice of a herald to the Christians in all places under his sway that they should do
the commands of the Lord, the one true God. 16. And furthermore he commanded that neither
should violence be done to them nor persecution be stirred up against them, nor their
property be plundered nor any evil inflicted upon them. 17. And he commanded likewise that
no hindrance should be put to their worship in their holy churches in order that they
might pray on behalf of him and his empire. 18. And in the third year after the close of
the persecution which he had instituted against the Christians, the impious Diocletian in
the midst of such enterprises fell sick of a grievous bodily disease and lost his mind and
reason. 19. And in consequence thereof he was deposed and in accordance with a decree of
the Roman senate sent in exile to the island named Waros, in which there were great
forests, and it lay in the west. And he remained there alone. 20. And in that island there
were some believers who had survived; these supplied him with daily food sufficient to
sustain his body.

And whilst he pursued this course of life in solitude, his reason returned to him, and he
became ambitious (again) of empire, and besought the army and the Senate to come and take
him from the fortress (where he was) and make him emperor as before. 21. But the officers,
the army and senate refused, saying: 'This man, who has lost his reason and mind, whom
also we have deposed, we will not receive back again. 22. And in consequence of this
refusal this enemy of God and of the holy saints was deeply grieved and was not able to
accomplish his desire. He wept and his eyes shed tears in abundance now that misfortune
surrounded him on every side. And he lost his reason to a very great degree and became
blind and his vigour departed and he died. 23. And Maximian, persistent in evil deeds,
wrought many enchantments on Diocletian, and he was addicted to abominable practices and
to the invocations of demons; and he cut open the wombs of pregnant women and sacrificed
men and women to impure demons. 24. And in the midst of such actions he was strangled and
died in the second year after his father's death,, and his end came about not by the hands
of others but by his own. 25. And the impious Maximian (Galerius) also ceased not to
perpetrate the same crimes as Diocletian : yea he perpetrated (them) in the east, in
Africa, and in the great city of Alexandria and in Egypt and in Pentapolis. 26. And he put
to death without mercy the holy martyrs : some he cast into the sea, others he gave to
wild beasts, others to the edge of the sword, and others to be burnt in the fire. And he
destroyed churches, and burnt with fire the holy Scriptures and restored the temples of
the gods which were in ruins. 27. And he had no compassion on the women with child, but
ripped open their wombs and drew forth the babes and sacrificed them to impure demons. And
he compelled many to worship idols. 28. And no more did he escape the wrath of God;

for by the command of God a severe cough settled in his chest, he began to fail in health,
his intestines became ulcerated, deadly worms were generated and the odour that emanated
from him became fetid, so that one could not come near him. 29. And when he fell into this
severe affliction and great tribulation, he despaired of life and found no solace in his
grievous disease. And after-wards he recognized and learnt that his malady had befallen
him through Christ the true God because he had afflicted the Christians. 30. And when he
had wisely collected his inner thoughts together, he commanded his appointed officials to
put an end to the persecution of the Christians. And when he had done this act of
humanity, the malady which God had inflicted on him departed from him, and he was restored
to health. 31. And he continued (to enjoy health) for six months after his repentance for
his sin, but again he took thought to organize a persecution of the Christians, and he
forgat Him who had healed him of his grievous disease, (even) Jesus Christ our Lord and
Saviour. 32. And again he began to slay the Christians, and he set up new gods in the
great city of Antioch, and he gave himself to dealings with demons and the enchantments
which he used to practise. 33. But forthwith war stirred up against him in Armenia and
there arose likewise a severe famine in every province of his empire.

And the fields yielded no produce and nothing was to be found in the granaries, and the
people fell down and died through want of food. 34. And the rich became poor; for the
people of + Abrakis + had quickly plundered them. And all men wept and lamented bitterly,
and they died and found none to bury them. 35. And the idolaters who lived in the west
were full of lamentation and grief because of their loss of Diocletian and his son
Maximian. 36. And (Maximian) sent to them his son Maxentius, who established a high
reputation for himself in that place. For this son of the impious (Maximian) was on the
watch to ruin them, but, being treacherous, to begin with he sought to please all the
inhabitants of Rome. 37. And he honoured our Faith, and he gave orders (to his subjects)
to cease from persecuting the Christians, and he fashioned himself after the likeness of
the worshippers of Christ. And he began to exhibit a greater love for mankind than any of
his predecessors that were like him. 38. But after a short time his treachery discovered
itself, and so, just as his fathers, he became like a wolf in his lair. And he wrought in
its fullness the treachery of his fathers and disclosed his secret vices, and committed
every abomination and impurity. And he became fierce and left no form of impurity and
licentiousness unaccomplished: and he perpetrated every kind of debauchery and abused
every man, and even legally married women who had husbands he lay with [in public], not in
secret but openly, and thereupon sent them back to their husbands. 39. And further he was
not willing to let them rest from the oppression which they exercised upon them by his
command. And he also seized under many pretexts the property of the rich and from such as
had nothing to give he took whatever he found in their possession, and he put many
thousands to death for the sake of their property. 40. But one cannot give a complete
account of the deeds perpetrated by this impious man. But the people of the city of Rome
were helpless in what they did; for he treated them, contrary to the customs of their
city.

41. But Constantius was a servant of God, of good report, who accomplished his course in
wisdom and prudence, being beloved and virtuous. All manner of men made prayers and
supplications on his behalf, the nobles and people and army. 42. It was he that built the
city of Byzantium and he pursued the good path in uprightness. Then he fell asleep and
went to God, leaving his illustrious son, Constantine, the beloved of God, glorious and
resplendent in righteousness, whom he appointed empe'ror to bear rule in his stead. 43.
And this glorious (and) blessed worshipper of the Trinity wrought the will of God always.
And he loved all the subjects of his empire and he did good unto all, and he accomplished
all the days of his sovereignty in modesty and firmness and integrity, and he became great
before God who liveth for ever. 44. And the army and all the people blessed him, for he
was zealous with a goodly zeal for God. And there were revealed in his days light and
Christian wisdom, powerful and true, and charity and tolerance. 45. And he rejected
absolutely every charge of the informer, and yet he made, without exerting any violence,
all who were subject to his sway, servants of God. Moreover he could not endure to leave
(as they were) the churches which had been cast down, and so he rebuilt them.

Nor did he permit any obstacle to withstand the holy Christian worship of God whereby he
had been consecrated to be emperor (endowed) with goodness and modesty. 46. And he took
Licinius his sister Constantia's husband to be his colleague in the government of Rome,
who was wanting in none of the virtues of Constantine the upright emperor; for he had made
him swear a great and terrible oath that he would do justice and transgress in no respect
against our Lord Jesus Christ or against His servants. 47. And at that time there came
from the east the impious Maximin, the adversary of God and slave of Satan. For he had
usurped the empire of the east as its sole ruler, and he plotted to put to death the
upright emperor Constantine and refused to execute the sealed rescript from Constantine.
48. For he levied war on all the cities and provinces under the sway (of Licinius as far
as) the city of Constantinople, but he was not able to make himself master of them. And
both the godly Constantine and Licinius his sister's husband made preparations to war
against these rebels. Constantine went to war against Maxentius who was in Rome, and
Licinius went to war against the impious Maximin in the east. 49.

And when Maxentius heard of the approach of Constantine the servant of God, he proceeded
by ship and entered the river of Italy which flows by the city of Rome and built a bridge
on a secure structure for the passage of the combatants, and of his followers, and of the
augurs who announced to him the oracles of Satan. 50. He knew not indeed that the godly
Constantine had the help of Christ. And when the impious Maxentius and all his people had
crossed the river of Italy, the cavalry that were posted on the bridge came to meet him
before the arrival of the Godloving Constantine. 51. And when Constantine arrived, he took
his position at a distance and did not enter the battle but waited to see the
manifestation of the help of God. And the enemy indeed grew strong and powerful. 52. And
while Constantine was so engaged, he lay down and fell asleep, grieved and sad at heart.
And he saw a vision in the form of the holy cross in the heaven and there was written
thereon this inscription: 'By this sign of the cross thou shalt conquer.' 53. And
thereupon he arose hastily and began the battle and fought and won the victory over his
adversaries; and not one of them remained, and he exterminated them all. 54. And those who
were with Maxentius the commander-in-chief wished to escape and reach the city of Rome.
But by the command of God the bridge was broken and they were all drowned in the depths.

And there was joy in Rome that the impious were drowned. 55. And the senate of Maxentius,
and his nobles and his army and all the people and the peasants together with their babes
took waxen torches and clad themselves in clean and white garments and went with musicians
to meet the servant of God the emperor Constantine. 56. And not only did the city of Rome
rejoice but also all the cities and provinces and the city of Constantinople with them.
57. And Constantine was not uplifted in his heart nor did he boast of his glory and his
triumph as other kings had done. He was, on the contrary, modest and humble of heart and
gave the praise to God and extolled his Lord, the Lord of all, Jesus Christ; King of
Kings, and Lord of Lords. 58. And thereupon he entered the city of Rome in triumph, and
all the Romans prostrated themselves before him, and as many as had survived the battle
submitted themselves to his commands. And Constantine thereupon entered the palace,
crowned with the diadem of victory. 59. And he made known to all men the miracle with
which he had been favoured and the victory which he had won through the vision which he
had seen in the heaven in the form of the holy cross. And when they heard this recital all
men exclaimed : 'Great is the God of the Christians who has delivered us and our city from
the hands of the impious.' 60.

And Constantine thereupon ordered the temples to be closed and the doors of the churches
to be opened, not only in Rome but in every city. And S. Sylvester the patriarch of Rome
gave him many excellent admonitions and instructed him in the pure faith. 61. And
afterwards he went to war against the cities of Persia and he conquered them. And when he
had conquered them, he + established them in peace and confirmed to them presents together
with a horn + [which they used to blow for the king]. 62. And he received with kindness
all the Christians who were there. And he removed the city magistrates and all the
officials and replaced them with Christians. And he built beautiful churches in all the
cities and villages. 63. Furthermore he sent his mother the God-loving empress Helena to
search in the holy Jerusalem for the wood of the glorious cross on which was crucified our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ—Praise be unto Him. 64. It was in the days of the blessed
father + Ailimun +, bishop of Jerusalem. 65. And he built also the holy edifice of the
Resurrection in glorious fashion and restored the buildings of Jerusalem so that they were
finer than they had been at first, and so it has continued to the present. 66. And the
emperor Constantine also built a church of great magnificence and beauty in Byzantium. And
its proportions were not small but very lofty. 67.

And when he had completed the building of the city, he named it Constantinople after his
own name; for previously it had been named Byzantium. 68. And he liked to reside therein,
and he made it a habitation of Christ. 69. And he gathered also the sacred Scriptures and
placed them in the churches. 70. And next he assembled three hundred and eighteen saints
in the city of Nicaea and established the orthodox faith. It is impossible to enumerate
the good actions he accomplished. 71. Amongst the most notable officials (of the empire)
there was one named Ablawijus, a Christian (who) laboured zealously to discover the
glorious cross on which our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was crucified—Praise be to Him.
72. And the three hundred and eighteen whom he assembled at Nicaea honoured the emperor
Constantine, the servant of God, and his mother the Godloving empress Helena, and raised
to them a worthy memorial and recounted their glory from beginning to end.

73. And Licinius who took over the empire of the east set out to war against the impious
Maximin. And this perverse wicked (man) learnt that he was marching to war against him and
(was apprised of) the overthrow of Maxentius and his defeat by the godly emperor
Constantine, and he sought for peace from Licinius. 74. And Licinius sent to Constantine
saying : 'Maximin seeks for peace and offers to accept the glorious and pure Christian
faith and forsakes his errors and concludes a treaty with me.' And Constantine sent the
reply that they should accept his proposals. 75. Then Maximin, concealing in his heart his
evil treachery, sent rescripts to all the officials under his sway, forbidding them to
disquiet the Christian. 76. And when the rescripts reached the officials they knew that
this policy was not in conformity with his wishes but only with the faith of his
superiors. And for this reason none accorded to him honour, anywhere, because of the evil
he had previously done to the saints.

77. Now the emperor Constantine never prevented the chief Christians from holding synods
or building churches, but he observed carefully the Christian faith and shunned the
worship of idols. And thus he commanded and gave instruction to all that the churches
should be left in peace, and he battled on behalf of the orthodox faith. 78. There was a
man named Gelasinus of the village of Mariamme, which is near to Damascus, about one mile
distant. And he lived in the midst of a large population who were devoted to the worship
of idols and dwelt in the city of Heliopolis in Lebanon. 79. And at that time they were
assembled in a theatre, and they had brought actors with them. They put cold water into a
large brazen vessel and thus began to mock all who came to the holy baptism of the
Christians. 80. And one of these actors went down into the water and was baptized, and
when he came out of the water they clothed him in a white garment; for till this incident
he had been an actor, but after he came forth from the water he refused to pursue the
avocations of an actor or to play the mimic again, and said : 'I wish to die in the
Christian religion on behalf of Christ'; and added : 'I saw a great miracle while I made a
mock of holy baptism'. 81. And when he had gone but a little way from the place of that
water, all who were there were filled with wrath and indignation; for they were
worshippers of idols. 82. And they went down from the theatre and seized that holy man and
stoned him. And he received the crown of martyrdom which fadeth not away, and he was
enrolled with the holy martyrs. And his relatives came with many Christians and took his
body and buried it in the village and built a church over the place where his body was
buried. Now the man's name was Gelasinus. May God have mercy on us through his
intercessions.

83. Now the impure Maximin did not forsake his wicked errors and he was not possessed by
the power of righteousness which had been acquired from God by the Godloving emperors, who
pursued a good course through life in knowledge and in understanding. 84. But this
perverse man resolved to make war on the Christ-loving emperors; for he was possessed by a
demon that infuriated him. And as he had lost his former unlimited authority, he could no
longer choose for himself those most agreeable or suitable to him. 85. And in his pride
and stiffneckedness he began to violate the treaty he had made with Licinius. + And he
exerted himself to execute deeds which should issue in his destruction through fear +, and
he changed his mind and stirred up all men and threw all the cities into confusion and the
officials under his sway. 86. And he mustered many thousands to war against the God-loving
emperors and he trusted in the demons from whom he received instruction. 87. But from the
moment he began to war the help of God was withdrawn from him, and Licinius conquered him
and slew all the soldiers in whom he trusted and the officers. And all the remaining
troops betook themselves to Licinius and cast themselves at his feet. 88. And when Maximin
saw this he fled in fear; for he was dispirited, and he quitted shamefully the field of
battle and came to his own province.

And he was full of wrath and indignation against the idolatrous priests and lying
prophets, and augurs, for they had persuaded him through favourable counsels. 89. And for
this reason he slew them in whom he had (formerly) boasted himself, and whom he had made
gods. Then it was that he learnt for himself that they were impostors and powerless to
give aid in war. And he renounced the demons who had instructed him with counsel, and he
slew the magicians who wrought evil. But he had no zeal for the salvation of his soul: he
was feeble, and praised not the God of the Christians, and he refused wholly to accept the
law and its blessings. 90. And Licinius gave orders to carry on the war against those who
remained in the tenth year after the persecution of the Christians, wherein Diocletian,
the father (of Maximin), the adversary of God, had persecuted them. During all this length
of days (Maximin) had not repented with a genuine repentance nor truly hoped for
salvation. 91. And after his flight from the field of battle, he suffered from disease of
the heart, and grew weak from a grievous disease which came upon him from God. And his
flesh was devoured through the fire of the disease, and this fire burned in his belly, and
his appearance was altered and his limbs wasted away, and his intestines were consumed,
and his bones became prominent and finally his eyes fell out.

And in the midst of all this affliction, his soul left his body. 92. It is thus the three
adversaries of God, Diocletian and his two sons, perished. But before he died the impious
Maximin recognized that all this had befallen him because of his rebellion against Christ
and the evils which he had inflicted on the Christian saints. 93. And in those days
Licinius took possession of the east and exercised authority over it and the adjoining
provinces. And the church dwelt in tranquillity and peace, and he restored again its
edifices and the church was lighted with the light of Christ. 94. But again thereafter
Satan, the evil-doer, who is ever seeking to seduce all the faithful as a devouring lion,
which is treacherous and cunning, seduced Licinius also and made him forget his honourable
deeds of aforetime, and he inclined towards doing the actions of those whose eyes have
been blinded, and he was zealous to follow their evil way, and his heart was not glad as
before. 95. Formerly he had not been estranged from the emperor Con-stantine, but
afterwards he forgot the covenant and the oath which had been made between them, and he
took evil counsel against the great emperor Constantine to slay him. But Christ, the true
God, foiled the plots of Licinius. 96. Formerly, indeed, he had honoured and praised Jesus
Christ; but when he denied Him He delivered him over to a cruel death, refusing him
forgiveness because of the shameful deeds that he had done. 97.

And Licinius began to persecute the Christians and to levy war upon the God-loving
Constantine as his impious predecessors had done, whose memorial bad been blotted out by
the Lord. 98. And he began also to demolish and close the churches and to put to death the
holy believers. And as for the soldiers who were strong in the Christian faith, he
degraded them, and subjected the rich to tortures. 99. And he appointed agents in every
city and village to put a stop to the holy, that is, the Christian worship of God, lest
prayers should be offered up for the faithful emperor Constantine. And he turned them from
the worship of God to that of demons. And he wrought very many evil acts. 100. But
Constantine did not cease to praise and worship the one true Lord God. And together with
Crispus, whom he had appointed Caesar, a strong man, kindly disposed to men and faithful
to God, he assembled a strong army, and they went forth to war against the adversaries of
God, under the guidance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with invincible powers. 101.
And though Licinius was his brother-in-law, Constantine had no mercy upon him, but he was
firm on behalf of the holy faith which that rebel had forsaken, turning to demons. And for
this reason he went against him speedily armed with punishment, and he laid low him and
all his army and exterminated them with a terrible and bitter death. 102.

And all these happenings had come upon Licinius because he had denied Christ and had
violated the oath and the covenant which he had made with Constantine. 103. And thereupon
he took possession of the empire of Licinius and made it one with his own: yea, he took
possession of the empires of the east and of the west and of the south and of the north.
And they all came under his authority, and he established universal peace and was at one
with all men and blessed by all men, and he duly made strong-all the frontiers of the
empire till his adversaries submitted to his authority through the might of our Lord Jesus
Christ the son of the true Lord God. 104. And he made his two sons emperors, Constantius
and Constans, with honour and majesty. Then he fell asleep without regret or trouble; for
our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God, protected his empire to the third generation. 105.
And the blessed Constans resembled his father, and he walked in the right way and
accomplished all his days virtuously.

106. And after his death the people of Yemen received the knowledge of God, and were
illuminated with the light of the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ—praise be unto Him—by
means of a holy woman named Theognosta. 107. Now she was a Christian virgin who had been
carried off captive from a convent on the borders of the Roman empire and had been
conducted to the king of Yemen and presented to him as a gift. 108. And this Christian
woman became very rich through the grace of God and wrought many healings. And she brought
over the king of India to the faith, and he became a Christian through her agency as well
as all the people of India. 109. Then the king of India and his subjects requested the
Godloving emperor Honorius to appoint them a bishop. 110.. And he rejoiced with great joy
because they had embraced the faith and turned to God, and he appointed them a holy
bishop, named Theonius, who admonished them and instructed them and strengthened them in
the faith of Christ our God till they were worthy to receive baptism which is the second
birth through the prayers of the holy virgin Theognosta. 111. Glory be unto our Lord Jesus
Christ who alone worketh marvels and bestoweth goodly gifts on those who trust in Him. And
so it was also in India, that is, the great India. For the men of that country had
formerly received a man named Afrudit (i.e. Frumentius).He was of noble birth of the
country of India and they had made him their bishop, having been instituted and ordained
by Athanasius the apostolic, the patriarch of Alexandria. 112. Now (Afrudit) had told him
concerning the grace which they had received through the Holy Spirit and the manner in
which they had found the salvation of their souls through the grace of holy baptism and
were made worthy of this gift.

113. As for the Christ-loving emperor Constantine, there was with him always a bright
angel of God which at all times directed and instructed him in the will of God until the
memorable day of his death. And he waked him also from his bed for prayer every day. And
he was visible to him alone of the emperors. 114. And as he beheld visions in the heaven
he fell asleep after a pure life: he was an oblation to God, and he went to his rest in
heaven.

CHAPTER LXXVIII

1. And these are the names of the sons of the great emperor Constantine, Constantius,
Constans, and Constantine. And they divided the empire of their father into three parts
which they assigned by lot. 2. And to Constantius there fell by lot the province of Asia
and he became emperor over it. And to Constantine (there fell) Constantinople, and he
seated himself on the throne of his father. And Constans became emperor over Rome, the
great city of Rome. 3. But feuds arose between Constans and Constantine in regard to the
empire and their subjects, and they warred against each other, and Constantine died in
battle. 4. And thereafter Constans, the younger of the two, resided in Rome only, but
Constantius reigned in Byzantium, that is, Constantinople. 5. And Arius appeared in his
days and he attached himself to his doctrine and became an Arian. And in consequence of
this (heresy) Sapor-Arsekius, king of Persia, attacked the Roman empire, and there was
much bloodshed between them. 6. And afterwards they were reconciled and there was peace
and tranquillity and love between Rome and Persia. 7. And on his way back to Byzantium
Constantius built a bridge strongly constructed over the river named Pyramus in Cilicia.
8. And in his days, moreover, the city of Nicaea, the chief of cities of our three hundred
and eighteen Fathers, was overthrown by a great earthquake. And this fell out through the
will of God in order that the Arians should not assemble therein to corrupt the holy
orthodox faith established by our holy Fathers, the three hundred and eighteen bishops,
who assembled formerly in the days of Constantine—a festival of happy memory. And it was
for this reason that the wrath of God prevented them.

9. And afterwards there appeared in heaven a sign, that is, the holy cross standing at
midday over the holy place where our Saviour Jesus Christ was crucified, before the
arrival of Cyril, patriarch of Jerusalem, and other bishops who were with him. 10. And
Cyril thereupon and the bishops who were with him wrote a letter and sent it to the
emperor Constans regarding the great marvel and the great sign which had appeared. 11. Now
the emperor Constans was zealous for the faith of his father, and he was earnestly devoted
to the religion of God. And he resembled his brother who died in battle (and) admired him,
but he hated his brother who ruled in Asia because he had not kept the faith of the
Godloving Constantine, and promulgated many decrees against the apostolic Athanasius, the
patriarch of Alexandria, and chased him from his bishopric in order to please the
heretics, i, e. the Arians. 12. The hatreds and differences that divided the two imperial
brothers, Constantius and Constans, were very violent. And this hatred had arisen not only
on account of the death of their brother, but also because of Athanasius the patriarch of
Constantinople, and of Constantius's declension from the faith of his father and his
unacceptableness to our Lord Jesus Christ. 13. And on these grounds he strengthened (his)
hatred against his brother. And whilst so engaged Constans died, having pleased God and
cursed Constantius his brother because of his evil deeds. 14. And after the death of
Constans, the emperor Constantius sent an officer to slay Athanasius, the glorious Father,
the head of the church. 15. Heretofore Constans had protected him from the evil designs of
his brother, and Constantius feared his brother and concealed his evil designs in his
heart. 16. But after the death of his brother Constans, he disclosed all that was in his
heart and sought to slay him.

But the right hand of the Most High God protected him, and he took to flight and concealed
himself and was saved from, his hands. 17. And the officer who was sent to the apostolic
Athanasius raised a tumult against the Christians; for he belonged to the sect of Manes.
And in those days it was not only the Arians who disquieted the church : the Manichaeans
also were roused on a different principle, and stirred up a persecution of the Christians,
and there was much disquiet and shedding of blood. 18. And afterwards there arose against
the city of Rome a powerful leader named Magnentius, and he usurped the imperial power +
at the hour of sunset + without the permission of Constantius. And he marched into Europe
and gave battle to Constantius, and many were slain on both sides, and finally the mighty
Magnentius was slain also. And Constantius won the day and made himself master of all the
possessions of Magnentius. 19. And after Constantius won the victory he did not praise God
as had the Christian emperors who preceded him. In all his actions, on the contrary, he
followed the guidance of the Arians.

20. And later he assembled a council of heretical bishops in Milan, that is in Italy, at
the instigation of these heretics who had rejected the orthodox faith and denied the
worship of the Holy Trinity. 21. And he made them write a sentence of excommunication
against the apostolic Athanasius, the patriarch of Alexandria, and the bishops who
followed him. 22. And these are the names of those who were exiled with the apostolic
Athanasius: Liberius, patriarch of Rome, who was appointed after Julius; Paulinus,
metropolitan of Gaul; Dionysius, metropolitan of Italy ; and Lucifer, metropolitan of the
island of Sardinia. And they made Auxentius the Arian bishop of the province of Italy. 23.
And (he sent into exile also) the aged and illustrious confessor Hosius, bishop of the
west. 24. And he made also the holy (Fathers) who had assembled in Nicaea to go forth, and
exiled them from their bishoprics. And later, when the emperor Constantius was in Rome,
illustrious women came in a body to him and besought him to recall Liberius the patriarch
from exile. And the emperor brought him back to Rome. 25. Now Felix was the minister of
Liberius the patriarch who had come to terms with the Arians, and they made him patriarch
after the expulsion of his master. But on the return of his master Liberius from exile, he
(Felix) treated him with hauteur and dislike on account of his restoration. Then he, too,
was exiled from Rome to a city of the west and obliged to reside there.

26. And in those days Constantius sent Gallus, his + sister's + son, to the east by night.
This (Gallus) had formerly fought against Magnentius and slain him, and was a Christian in
all his ways. 27. And after he had slain this powerful (rebel), he returned to
Constantinople. Then Constantius appointed him emperor of Rome and sent him to reside
there. 28. And after Gallus arrived in Rome, his brother Julian of evil name returned to
Constantinople from the province of Bithynia to the emperor Constantius; for he had put to
death many of his relations and feared lest they should calumniate him to the emperor. 29.
Now this Julian was a strong and powerful man. Formerly he had resided as reader in the
church of Nicomedia, but he had been troubled with doubts regarding the Christian faith.
30. And Gallus, who was emperor of Rome by the will of the emperor Constantius because he
was his + son-in-law + and because he was attached to him, lived but a few days longer and
then died. 31. Thereupon Julian gave up reading the holy Scriptures, and betook himself to
the protection of the troops and officers of Rome, and let the hair of his head grow long
and became a great captain. 32. And subsequently he was appointed emperor in Europe,
according to the Christian custom, by the permission of the emperor Constantius. But he
did not wait till they had placed on his head the imperial crown according to custom ;

but walked according to the misguidance of augurs and the directions of magicians and
became a servant of demons, and aspired to the proud position (of sole emperor) and began
to make war on the emperor Constantius. 33. And when Constantius became aware of this
movement he mustered a numerous army from the provinces of Syria, and he came into Cilicia
in order to do battle with Julian; for he thought he should slay him. 34. But when
Constantius was so purposing he fell ill and died, and so was unable to carry out his
purpose; for God had brought evils upon him that he might return to the earth from which
he came. 35. And when Julian was informed of the death of Constantius he took possession
of the empire. He was strong and powerful exceedingly, and he restored the exiled bishops
to their thrones. And he brought the apostolic Athanasius from exile and sent him back to
Alexandria : Meletius to Antioch : Cyril, the author of the homilies, to Jerusalem :
Eusebius, Lucifer, and Hilary to the west: and others who were in like plight to their
several churches. 36. But after a short time he discovered his unbelief and apostasy owing
to the philosophers, of whom one was named Libanius, of the city of Antioch, and the other
Maximus one o£ the augurs. 37. Supported and strengthened by these, Julian closed the
churches and opened the temples, and plundered the precious vessels of the house of God
and gave them openly to impostors. 38.

Next he attacked the worshippers of Jesus Christ and proclaimed himself the restorer of
temples, and offered abominable sacrifices to idols and kindled fire before the altars of
demons, and polluted the earth with the blood of impure sacrifices, and polluted the air
with the smoke of fat. 39. And at the instigation of the heathen he sent (agents) to slay
the great (and) apostolic Athanasius. But he quitted his bishopric and fled and hid
himself from him. 40. And this apostate emperor, like his father Satan, destroyed the holy
edifices that had been built by the Godloving emperor Constantine, and made all these holy
places into dwellings of demons and temples of idols. 41. And they lorded it over the
inoffensive Christians and they began to mock them and destroy them and slay them and
evilly entreat them, not only for a short time but for a lengthened period. And they
bellowed like ferocious beasts against them and terrified them.

42. It was at this period that evil and idolatrous men kindled a fire in order to burn the
body of S. John the Baptist. But the power of our Lord Jesus Christ foiled their design,
and all these apostates seeing a terrible apparition took to flight. 43. And there were
there certain inhabitants of Alexandria who took the body of S. John and conveyed it to
Alexandria and gave it secretly to the holy Athanasius the patriarch before his flight.
44. And he conveyed it and placed it secretly in the house of a magistrate, one of the
great people of the city. And this secret was known only to a few priests and to
Theophilus the third patriarch (after Athanasius). 45. Now the latter was reader and
singer when they brought the body of S. John. And after Athanasius Peter became patriarch,
and after Peter, his brother Timothy Aktemon, whose name is by. interpretation 'without
possessions'; and after Timothy, Theophilus who destroyed the temple named Serapis (?) and
converted it into a church. 46. Now (this church) was massive and its dimensions lofty and
it was very much decorated. And he made it with pomp the abiding-place of the body of S.
John the Baptist. And it is also said that after many days Theophilus took the body of S.
John and his head and placed them in the tomb which had been constructed in the midst of
the church. 47. And he made great rejoicings and a glorious feast. And the inhabitants of
the city were uplifted because of him and made him notable with praise.

CHAPTER, LXXIX. 1. And it is said in regard to the holy Theophilus, the patriarch of
Alexandria, that he was a citizen of Memphis, the city of Pharaoh, formerly called
Arcadia. And he was of Christian origin. 2. And he had a little sister and an Ethiopian
slave who had belonged to his parents. Now they were orphans and he was but a child in
years and stature. 3. And one night about the time of dawn this slave took the children by
the hand and brought them to a temple of abominable gods, namely of Artemis and Apollo, in
order to pray there according to the errors of their worship. 4. And when the children
entered, the gods fell to the earth and were broken. And the slave was frightened thereby
and she took the children and went in flight to the city of Nikius; for she feared the
priests of the abominable idols. 5. And she feared also lest the people of Nikius should
deliver her up to the priests of the idols, and so she carried off the children with her
and came to Alexandria. 6. And, as the divine inspiration moved her, and the grace of God
rested upon her, she took the children and brought them to the church in order to be
rightly acquainted with the practice of the Christian mysteries. 7.

And at that time God revealed to the Father Athanasius, the patriarch of Alexandria, the
circumstances of the children when they entered the church and their position near the
place of exhortation (i.e. pulpit). And he gave orders that the three should be guarded
till the celebration was over. 8. And thereafter they brought the children and the slave
to the holy Athanasius, and he interrogated the slave and said unto her: 'What hast thou
done and why did not the gods who are without understanding assist thee ? Why rather, when
they saw the children of the Church, did they fall to the earth and were broken ?
Henceforth these children will belong to me'. 9. And when the slave heard these things,
she was astonished at the words of the saint in that he knew the secret things that had
befallen in the temple. Then she could not deny all that she had done : nay more, she cast
herself at his feet and begged to be baptized into the Holy Christian faith. 10. And he
baptized them and made them Christians and they received the light of grace and were
(born) anew. 11. And <he sent> the little girl to a convent of virgins to remain there
till the time of her marriage. Then she was given in marriage to a man of Mahalle, in the
north of Egypt, which was formerly called Didusja. 12.

It was there the holy Cyril was born, the great star which lighted up all places by his
doctrine, being clothed with the Holy Spirit. It was he who became patriarch after
Theophilus, his mother's brother. 13. And after the child, the holy Theophilus, was
baptized, they shaved his head and numbered him amongst the readers and appointed him to
be an anagnostes. 14. And he was reared with care in the manner that befitteth saints, and
he grew up and became a youth well pleasing to God, and he learnt all the God-inspired
Scriptures of the Church and observed their laws. 15. And next they ordained him deacon
and he became very zealous for the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, in purity and holiness.
16. And later he was clothed with the garments of the priesthood and he became the chief
and sat on the throne of Mark the Evangelist in the city of Alexandria. 17. And when he
became patriarch, he illuminated every city with the light of his holy faith, and
delivered all the cities of Egypt from the worship of idols and he destroyed all the
makers of images, even as the holy apostolic Athanasius had prophesied regarding him.

CHAPTER LXXX

1. And the wretched Julian began to build the sanctuary of the Jews in Jerusalem which the
Romans had destroyed, and he offered sacrifices there, for he was devoted to the shedding
of blood. 2. But our Lord Jesus Christ—praise be unto Him—brought to nought his works and
ordinances. 3. And Sapor Arsaces, king of Persia, who was of a pacific disposition and had
paid tribute to the Godloving emperor Constantine, went forth to war with the Romans. 4.
It was at that time that the holy martyr Domitius finished his course. For the emperor
Julian, the enemy of God, after having offered sacrifice to demons in the city named
Casius, in the neighbourhood of Antioch, about six miles distant, where there was the idol
Apollo, arose and went forth to war with the Persians, he and the forces of Rome. 5. And
he was accompanied by all the demon-possessed and deceitful augurs. And as he marched he
came to a grassy spot, and he saw there many men, women, and children. 6. And many of the
sick were healed through the prayer of the holy Domitius, the servant of God. 7. And he
questioned (them) saying : 'What is this assemblage which I see?' And they replied : 'A
monk is working miracles and healing the sick : and this assemblage which thou seest is
composed of Christians ; they receive a blessing from him and are healed by him'. 8.

And Julian was wroth and sent to him a soldier treacherously in a menacing tone and said :
'If thou dwellest in this cave in order to please God, why dost thou desire to please men,
and why hast thou not hidden thyself?' 9. And the holy Domitius answered and said : 'I
have committed wholly my soul and my body into the hands of the God of heaven, the true
God, Jesus Christ. And behold it is now many years since I have closed this cave upon
myself. And as for the assemblage which have come to me in faith, I cannot drive them
away'. 10. And when the emperor heard these words he commanded the soldiers to close the
mouth of the cave on the righteous old man till he died. 11. And thus he accomplished his
course in the twenty-third day of the month Hamle, and received the martyr's crown which
fadeth not away.

12. But the punishment of God was not slow in overtaking Julian the Apostate. 13. Now he
marched against the Persians who were idolaters like himself, and he marched with haste
and never again saw Rome. 14. But he did not accomplish what the deceivers had promised to
him saying: 'We the gods will unite to give thee aid the moment thou dost enter the
river'. 15. And this unfortunate man was deceived by their words and was not able to open
his mouth by reason of their flow of speech. 16. And they named that river the river of
fire because there were wild beasts in it. And for this reason it is named by this name.
17. And Julian was obstinately attached to error and called himself 'the despiser of the
word of God'. For he trusted in idols and consulted demons who were not able to save him,
but misled him with vain performances; for they destroyed his understanding and he became
an adversary of God, the glorious Creator and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who shed His blood
on behalf of many and became the true foundation for believers, who avenged His Christian
servants. 18. Now Julian shed the blood of many Christians, and in his days many believers
were put to death, and he visited with severe persecution those who called upon the name
of Christ. 19.

Now, while this apostate was proposing to war against the Persians, vengeance came upon
him from our Lord Jesus Christ, and he was slain by the hand of His servant Mercury, the
martyr. 20. And on the night on which this abominable transgressor was slain, the holy
Basil, who was clothed with God, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, saw a vision. 21. And
he saw the heavens opened and our Lord Jesus Christ sitting on the throne of His glory
(and) saying with a loud voice : 'Mercury, go and slay Julian the adversary of My anointed
ones'. And the holy Mercury was standing before him clothed with a flashing corslet of
steel. 22. And on hearing the command of our Lord Jesus Christ he departed, disappearing
for a short space, and after a short space he reappeared and cried with a loud voice: 'I
have slain the emperor Julian in accordance with Thy command, and he is dead, O Lord'. 23.
The bishop awoke astonied and terrified. Now Julian used to honour the holy Basil greatly
because they had been bound by tics of friendship from their youth. For they were versed
in letters and Basil also had written frequently to him in order to prevail on him to
forsake his errors, but he had refused. 24. And when the bishop Basil awaked from sleep,
he called the venerable priests and the faithful to early morning prayers in the church.
25.

And after the completion of the prayers, he recounted to them this vision which he had
seen, saying: 'Can Julian really be dead?' And when they heard these words, the priests
and the people feared and thereupon asked him to be silent till the matter was fully
ascertained. But the man of God was not willing to be silent, but spake out and feared
not; for he trusted in God and in our Lord Jesus Christ. 26. And soon it fell out
according to the vision of S. Basil, and the death of Julian the apostate was heard of
throughout all the provinces, even his destruction which God had accomplished by the hand
of his martyr S. Mercurius. 27. Now this apostate had brought destruction and disasters on
the army. He had the noses of two Persians cut off who, as guides, had conducted the army
into a mountainous and waterless desert whence there was no means of issue, when he wished
to attack the Persians. 28. And the Roman soldiers perished in that region of hunger and
thirst and many hardships; for these Persians had dealt subtly with the Romans and had
destroyed them. But this apostate Julian did not recognize (this) indubitable judgement of
God. 29. And his crimes had continued all the days of his life, even forty and four years.

30. After the death of Julian the Roman troops assembled in order to appoint an emperor,
and through the help of God being all of one mind whilst they were in Persia, they chose
Jovian to be their emperor. 31. Now he was an orthodox Christian (and) a faithful servant
of God. He, however, was unwilling to be emperor, but he was made emperor by force. 32.
Previously indeed he had been commander-in-chief, and for this reason he received the
imperial crown. And after they had made him emperor, he ascended an eminence and addressed
in a loud voice all the people and the troops as follows : 'If ye wish me to become your
emperor, become Christians like me, and believe in Christ, and become the foes of idols'.
33. Thereupon all the people and the troops cried out with one voice, saying: 'We are
Christians: Henceforth Christ is our emperor and His glorious Cross'. And for this reason
they honoured the emperor and praised him with great praise.

34. And when the Persians had been apprised of the death of Julian they sent ambassadors
to Jovian the Godloving emperor to negotiate terms of peace and friendship. And the
emperor Jovian received them gladly, and peace and friendship were made between Rome and
Persia. 35. And the Persians agreed to pay tribute, and he (Jovian) remitted the tribute
of one year, because Julian the apostate had previously destroyed and made a wilderness of
the city of Anderwan. 36. Nevertheless he commanded them to build outside the imperial
frontiers a city for themselves, and he named this city Amides. And he strengthened it
with walls and fortifications, and filled it with a numerous population, and he made it
like the first city which Julian the apostate had destroyed. And he that was set over this
city besought greatly the emperor Jovian to name it after the name of Rome. But he refused
on account of the peace and friendship subsisting between Rome and Persia.

CHAPTER LXXXI

1. And after the conclusion of the war the Christian emperor Jovian evacuated Persia and
brought back safely all the remaining troops. 2. But such as he found holding the evil
sentiments of Julian the apostate he destroyed and exterminated. 3. And forthwith he
opened the churches of Constantinople and closed the temples. And he restored to the
Christians the Christian cities which Julian the apostate had taken from them, and he
appointed Christian (governors) in all the cities, and he destroyed all the temples to
their foundations, and the worshippers of idols became few. 4. And he interdicted also the
religion of the Arians who are adversaries of Christ; for he was an unwavering orthodox
believer and a true worshipper of the Holy Trinity who give life to all. 5. And he became
glorious as the light of the sun through all his actions and his true and upright faith.
And he was full of virtues and did good unto all men of his time. 6. And he addressed also
a decree to all the Roman provinces to this effect: 'I, the Godloving Jovian, commander-
in-chief, true emperor (and) master of the world, hereby write to all the Christians under
my sway. 7. I am solicitous over you in the Lord and I rejoice with you in regard to the
holy church which is in the midst of the city, as the navel in the midst of the belly. For
it has triumphed greatly over all who opposed it. 8.

Now the anger of the emperor Julian arose against it and he closed it; but I give orders
to have it reopened and restored to a condition of repose in order that there may be given
to it a pure and holy priesthood who may therein offer prayers to heaven—which may God in
His mercy vouchsafe to receive. 9. And now let us exert ourselves to reopen the church and
let us perform its offices, and honour its ministers, in order that all the people and
army of Rome may assemble within it. For it was given to them by God, merciful and
gracious, in order that prayer and supplications might always be offered therein with
befitting earnestness.' 10. And Jovian addressed a letter to this effect also to the
apostolic S. Athanasius, the patriarch of Alexandria, in order to restore him to his city
in great honour. 11. 'From the emperor Jovian to the Godloving S. Athanasius. We admire
thee and thy wise manner of life and + thy near approaches to the kings + and thy faithful
virtues and thy noble earnestness to fulfil the work of our Lord Jesus Christ—praise be
unto Him. 12. We request thee, honoured bishop; for thou hast undergone every labour and
hast not feared those who persecuted thee nor the tribulations that have overtaken thee,
but hast accounted wrath and indignation as a thing of nought and reckoned them as no
better than a worthless straw. 13. And thou hast gone in the footsteps of the orthodox
faith and hast proceeded unto the end, and hast left (the example) of thy life to those
that come after thee and hast bound them with perfect faith and virtuous deeds.+ 14.
Return now to our imperial domain and resume thy teaching which is full of salvation. And
preserve the churches and feed the people of Christ and zealously address thy prayers to
God on our behalf and on behalf of our empire that we may be saved through thy prayers.
15. For we think that we shall gain the help of the Most High God through the
supplications of thy pure and holy tongue; for it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. 16. And
we have written this letter to thee that thou mayst enlighten the people with the light of
Christ and mayst put an end to idols, the adversaries of God, and likewise to the heresy
of the Arians who persecuted them [that we may be saved by thy prayers].

17. And when the apostolic S. Athanasius, the light of the world, had read this letter, he
convoked all the holy bishops and the honoured doctors and wrote two treatises : the first
on the Word of God, who is one of the Holy Trinity, and the second on the precepts of
Christ. 18. And he addressed a letter also to S. Basil, who constantly thought upon and
studied the works of God, and said : 'The Godloving emperor Jovian accepts absolutely and
with joy the orthodox faith of the Council of Nicaea : rejoice thou therefore; for he is
orthodox and has established the pure faith of the Holy Trinity.' 19. And the emperor
Jovian finished his course in peace and integrity, doing that which was well pleasing to
God. 20. And whilst he was so engaged he set out to go to the city of Byzantium, and
though attacked by an illness he passed through Cilicia and Galatia and came to the city
named Didastana, and he went to his rest there. 20. For the world was not worthy to
receive such an emperor, as he was good and pious and merciful and humble, Christian and
orthodox.

CHAPTER LXXXII

1. And after the death of the Godloving Jovian, Valentinian, being the foremost amongst
the officers, came to mourn with them over the death of the emperor Jovian. 2. And whilst
they were so mourning and were anxiously deliberating on the appointment of their emperor,
then Sallust the prefect of the praetorians came (forward) and enjoying a very illustrious
position amongst the officers advised them and said : 'It is most suitable for us that
Valentinian should be made emperor. At an earlier date he was a general and was persecuted
by Julian the apostate on account of his orthodox faith.' 3. And when the officers and the
troops had heard the advice of Sallust they appointed him emperor and had him proclaimed
as follows by the voice of heralds in all the provinces : 'Valentinian, a just man (and) a
Christian, whose words are just and whose utterance is true, has become emperor.' 4. And
when he became emperor, he appointed Sallust vizier (sic) over all his officers ; for he
was no respecter of persons. And when Sallust became vizier and was empowered with
authority, he strengthened the cause of justice and right in all the provinces, and was
full of discernment and refused bribes and did not give his confidence rashly. And the
emperor was pleased with him because he was a doer of the right. 5.

And next Valentinian made Valens his brother emperor in Constantinople, but he went
himself to Home and established his authority over all the empire of the west. 6. And he
condemned many magistrates who were guilty of injustice and took bribes. 7. And there was
an officer of the palace named Rhodanus who had committed an act of injustice on a widow
and had taken possession of her property. 8. And she went and told the emperor, and the
emperor commanded (him) to restore all her property. And from that day he was honoured by
the army and the senate, and by all peoples, 9, For this just and equitable emperor hated
oppression and judged with the voice of justice and practised equity. 10. This great
emperor did not spare (even) his wife, the empress Marina. Now she had bought a garden
from a nursery woman (lit. a female planter of plants) and had not paid her the price
which it was equitably worth, because the valuers had valued (it) out of regard to the
empress and so had inclined to do her a favour. 11. And when the pious Valentinian was
apprised of what his wife had done, he sent Godfearing men to value that garden and he
bound them by a solemn oath to value it justly and equitably. 12. And when the valuers
came to that garden, they found that she had been guilty of a grave injustice and had
given the woman but a small portion of the price. 13.

And when the emperor heard, he was wroth with the empress (and) removed her from his
presence and drove her from the palace and took to wife a woman named Justina, with whom
he lived all the rest of his days. 14. As for his first wife, he drove and exiled her from
the city, and gave back the garden to the woman who had sold it. 15. And the emperor
Valentinian raised to the imperial throne his son Gratian, who was born to him by the wife
he had driven into exile. 16. And after the emperor Valentinian had accomplished many
noble deeds, he fell ill and died loyal to the faith of the Holy Trinity, in the castle
named Watan. 17. And after his death came his brother Valens, who had formerly been a
Christian but afterwards had walked in the way of the Arians and had attached himself
strongly to their abominable faith. 18. And he persecuted the orthodox, and their churches
were openly given to the impious heretics. And he confiscated wrongfully the property of
all the inhabitants of Byzantium and other cities. 19. And in the days of this abominable
(prince) there was an earthquake in the city of Nicaea where the holy council had been
held. For the sea rose against it and overwhelmed it. 20. And in those days also a man
named Tatian was appointed prefect of Alexandria, which is the chief city of Egypt. And he
built, in the place called Abrakjun, the two stone gates with enormous labour and he made
these gates for the passage of the great river, and he fortified the country of Egypt.

21. And in those days there appeared a miracle through the intervention of the apostolic
S. Athanasius, the father of the faith, patriarch of Alexandria. 22, When the sea rose
against the city of Alexandria and, threatening an inundation, had already advanced to a
place called Heptastadion, the venerable father accompanied by all the priests went forth
to the borders of the sea, and holding in his hand the book of the holy Law he raised his
hand to heaven and said : 'O Lord, Thou God who liest not, it is Thou that didst promise
to Noah after the flood and say : "I will not again bring a flood of waters upon the
earth".' 23. And after these words of the saint the sea returned to its place and the
wrath of God was appeased. Thus the city was saved through the intercession of the
apostolic S. Athanasius, the great star.

CHAPTER LXXXIII

1. Now these are the illustrious emperors, the servants of God, who were zealous workers
of good—Gratian and Theodosius. 2. The one set free the holy believers from bonds
wherewith they had been bound by the emperor Valens, and put an end to the banishment of
Christians. 3. As for the other he loved God ardently and restored to the faithful their
churches, and destroyed idolatry. 4. And he prohibited also the teaching of the wicked
Arians and established the pure and spotless faith. 5. And Gregory, the Theologian,
appeared in the city of Constantinople and strengthened the churches. Previously indeed he
had been obliged to find concealment in flight from house to house and from place to
place. 6. And (Theodosius) built also a holy church as a noble memorial. And he drove from
the city Eudoxius, the heretic, the blasphemer of the Holy Spirit. And after he had driven
this miscreant from the city, he sent to Basil, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, to
Gregory of Nyssa, and to Amphilochius of Iconium, wise and godly divines, and he commanded
them to construct a church in the truth and in the Holy Spirit. 7. And they disputed with
the heretics and got the better of them and put them to shame, and they proclaimed the
true orthodox faith in every place. 8. And again as regards the history of the Godloving
emperor Theodosius, while he was on his way to Byzantium to meet the blessed emperor
Gratian, he saw a vision in his sleep, in which Meletius the patriarch of Antioch placed
the imperial crown on his head by the advice of the leaders.

9. And there was an Arian living outside the city. And when Amphilochius came to the
imperial court, he found seated on their thrones the emperor Theodosius and his two sons
Arcadius and Honorius. For he had raised them to the imperial throne in his lifetime. 10.
And when the bishop came before Theodosius and his sons, he saluted Theodosius but not his
sons. 11. And Theodosius was wroth because he had not saluted his sons. And when the
bishop saw that the emperor was wroth with him, he said unto him: 'Reflect, O king, that
in like manner there are those who do not salute the Son and the Holy Spirit who are
consubstantial with the Father, namely the blaspheming heretics, (And yet) thou hast not
driven these from thy empire.' 12. And when the emperor heard these words of the bishop,
the emperor perceived that the bishop was one of the highest types of the faithful, and
thereupon he held his peace. 13. And forthwith he became zealous for the orthodox faith,
and he ordained a law in his days that no heretic should be permitted to live in any of
the Roman cities, nor in the cultivated enclosures nor in the fields nor in the villages.

14. And during the stay of the emperor Theodosius in Asia there arose a usurper, named
Maximus, of British descent, who slew the blessed emperor Gratian through treachery and
seized his empire by force and made his residence in Rome. 15. And Valentinian, the
younger brother of Gratian, fled to Thessalonica. And as for Maximus the heretic, he
despised God; for he was an Arian. 16. And next there arose a man named Eugenius, who had
previously been a teacher of the heathen and had persecuted the worshippers of Christ and
loved to practise magic and made (sic). And by the advice of the officers who agreed with
him, he seized the empire of Valentinian and slew him by treachery. 17. And when
Theodosius the emperor heard of these events, he arose and mustered a numerous army and
marched against them, and put to death both Maximus and Eugenius through the might of our
Lord Jesus Christ whom he served. 18. And he avenged the two emperors Gratian and
Valentinian and brought back under his own hand the entire empire of Rome and established
his authority over it. 19. And he gave to the orthodox believers all the churches under
his dominion, and he banished the blaspheming Arians. 20. And he assembled also in
Constantinople a council of bishops, to the number of one hundred and fifty holy fathers.
21.

And he drove out infidelity and heresy from all the provinces of his empire and he
introduced the worship of the one God in three Persons, and he strengthened the orthodox
faith. 22. And the Holy Spirit was (shed) abundantly upon the priests, and their hands and
their tongues and all their thoughts were pure. And peace prevailed in the churches,
because the bishops had assembled in peace and unity. 23. But afterwards when Satan saw
(the prosperity of the church), he was jealous and began to divide and sunder the limbs of
the one complete body, that is, the holy Church. 24. For Gregory, the Theologian, having
come to the council of the chief clergy of the Church, comforted and adorned the city of
Constantinople by his teaching, 25. And Timothy, patriarch of Alexandria, addressed
Gregory like an angel and admonished him to leave the imperial city of Constantinople and
return to the city of his bishopric and its ancient church, namely Nazianzum (?), in order
to shepherd and protect it. 26. It was unseemly for him to forsake a poor church and
occupy a rich one; for this was an act of ... fornication and contrary to the canons of
the Fathers. 27. But when the bishops of the east and the other bishops present heard this
address, they differed from him in this matter. 28. A tumult, moreover, arose amongst them
on this question. For the patriarch Timothy took upon himself to nominate Maximus to the
patriarchate of Constantinople;

for he was an eminent man and had suffered many hardships from the Arians. 29. Now there
was a feud between the Orientals and the Egyptians. And S. Gregory mediated and made peace
between them. And Maximus who had been nominated to Constantinople without the consent of
the bishops remained there, but Gregory they banished from the imperial city on the advice
of all the bishops, and he returned to his first church. 30. But the heart of Gregory was
firm as a stone and was not troubled by the troubles of this world. And all the people
were grieved on his behalf; for he had saved the imperial city of Constantinople from the
(spiritual) adulteries of the Arians. 31. And they banished Maximus also from
Constantinople to the convent to which he had formerly been appointed, and all the bishops
which had been ordained by his hands. 32. Next they appointed a man named Nectarius by the
advice of the one hundred and fifty bishops. Now he was a man of good birth, of the city
of Constantinople. He was also wise and prudent I and he led such a good and pure life
that all the world admired him for his conduct. And they forcibly appointed him to the
patriarchate. 33. And he kept up a continuous warfare against the faith of the Arians, and
he was zealous for the orthodox faith. And peace was established in the council and all
(the bishops) later departed in joy to their cities. 34.

But Satan the adversary of our race did not suffer Nectarius the patriarch to remain
untroubled. For when the Godloving emperor Theodosius had set out with a numerous army to
war against Maximus, the Arian usurper, and had reached a place named Milan, within which
lay the Arian usurper, and had thus come face to face with him but as yet no engagement
had ensued between them, certain Arians went and announced through all the city of
Byzantium a lying report to this effect: 'The emperor Theodosius has been defeated in
battle and all his army destroyed.' 35. And by reason of this rumour fear and terror fell
on all the Christians, and the orthodox out of fear inclined to the Arians. And the Arians
arose in wrath and burnt the mansion of the patriarch Nectarius. 36. And after they had
wrought these evil deeds, an account thereof was reported to the Godloving emperor
Theodosius. And forthwith he arose and gave battle to Maximus the usurper and slew him.

37. And in those days the holy patriarch Timothy built a church of marvellous workmanship
in the city of Alexandria and named it after the name of the emperor Theodosius. And he
built also a second church and named it Arcadia after his son. 38. And there was a temple
of Serapis in the city, and he converted it into a church and named it after the name of
his (Theodosius's) younger son Honoring. But this church was also named after the names of
the martyrs Cosmas and Damian. It faced the church of S. Peter the patriarch and last of
the martyrs. 39. Throughout the days of the emperor Theodosius the Christians enjoyed
tranquillity and peace. 40. And Theodosius constructed also many buildings in the
outskirts of the city of Antioch. And he built a new wall from the mountain to the old
(lit. 'first') tower constructed by the emperor Tiberius. And he built walls also round
the neighbouring lands and enclosures which had been without a wall.

41. After this there arose many heresies and divisions in the city of Thessalonica owing
to the Arians. And a disturbance took place between the inhabitants and the officers and
the Arians began to stone the officers, insulting thereby the emperor. When the emperor
was informed of what the Arians had done, pretending that he was on his way to Rome he
marched into Thessalonica with all his officers and soldiers. 42. And using a ruse he sent
armed men among the population of the city and destroyed the Arians. And the number of
those that were put to the sword was 15,000. 43. And the emperor being reprimanded by the
patriarch Miletius for his great slaughter of the Arians—for he had been troubled on
behalf of the Christians—was full of wrath and indignation: but (afterwards) the emperor
repented of his wrath against the patriarch, and repented and fasted and gave alms and
shed many tears, praying for mercy and forgiveness of the transgression.

44. And in those days there were animosities and great trouble and destruction in the city
of Antioch. 45. And the emperor indeed was sore pressed by the war that had been waged in
(that) province and in every other quarter, and when this pressure upon him became severe,
he commanded an extraordinary tax to be levied in all the provinces of his empire. 46. And
they seized and illtreated the people. And when the crowds and multitudes that were in the
city saw their brethren being hanged without mercy or pity, the men of the city cast down
from the top of the palace the bronze + coffin + which contained the body of the blessed
Flacilla, the wife of the emperor Theodosius, and they dragged it through the streets of
the city. 47. And when the emperor heard of this outrage, he was wroth exceedingly and
removed the officers of the city and banished them to Laodicea. 48. And as regards the
officials of Antioch who had perpetrated this great offence against the emperor, he gave
orders, in order to punish them, that the city of Antioch should be burnt together with
everything that was in it. 49. And those, who were commanded to burn the city, were Caesar
an officer and Ellebichus a general. 50.

And subsequently there came from the desert a monk, a saint of God, to the officers who
were commanded to burn the city, and addressed them as follows: 51. 'Write to the emperor
Theodosius and say to him on my part as follows: "Thou art not only an emperor but thou
art also a man like us, though thou art the chief. And thou art subject to the same
afflictions as every creature which bears the likeness of God. When thou condemnest the
likeness of God, thou dost provoke to anger the God who created man in His likeness. For
thou art angry because of a dumb statue of brass: how much more therefore will God be
angry with thee and thy empire when His image endowed with utterance and a soul is in
question. 52. For it is He and He alone who is Lord and King over all that has given thee
power. And as for thy wrath because a + coffin + of bronze has been destroyed, we can make
one like unto it, but thou canst not make a single hair of the head of a single person
whom thou dost wish to put to death."' 53. And in those days there was a priest named John
and surnamed Chrysostom who taught in righteousness before he was chosen patriarch. And at
that time he taught and admonished in every city. And fearing death at the hands of the
Arians he had fled and left the city deprived of his lifegiving doctrine. 54.

And when the emperor Theodosius heard these words he repented and calmed his anger. And
the magistrates of the city, whom he had previously banished, he restored to their
functions in Antioch, and those who were in prison he set free. 55. And the emperor wrote
a letter in reply and sent (it) to his officers to the following effect: 'I have been
angry on account of my late Godloving wife Flacilla, who has most undeservedly suffered
outrage at their hands. 56. And I have been desirous to punish them. But for the sake of
God and His love for mankind, (and) that He may accept me and aid me and give me victory
over the heretics and barbarians and all those who rise up a.gainst me, I now accord
pardon to them. Let there be peace upon the city of Antioch and let them dwell in
undisturbed tranquillity.' 57. And after the emperor Theodosius had conquered the usurpers
he resided in the city of Rome, and he put to death many heretics.

58. And in those days the bakers made underground cellarsand secret resorts in the earth,
and built likewise structures in which they prepared dough : and they perpetrated in them
many abominable deeds on people (generally) but specially on strangers and foreigners and
on many who came to them to get food and drink and on others with lustful purposes. 59.
And the wine sellers sent on secretly those who came to them to the bakers who seized them
by force. And these (captives) could not escape, and though they cried out, there was none
to hear them. 60. Some of these were made to turn a mill all their days : others were
placed in a brothel till they were old and even then not permitted to depart. 61. Now
there was a soldier of the emperor whom they introduced to the mill-house by a stratagem,
and tortured there for a long time. And when he was very weary (of it) he made a vigorous
effort (and) drawing his sword slew many that sought to prevent his egress; those that
remained were terrified and let him escape, and so he went and told the emperor. 62. And
the emperor commanded the bakers to be brought and punished them severely and destroyed
their secret buildings. 63. And he compelled the female prostitutes to walk publicly
through Rome to the sound of a bell that their crimes might be made known to all, and the
bakers also to be publicly exposed. 64. Thus (Theodosius) exterminated utterly all this
evil.

65. And (Theodosius) ended his life virtuously and left an illustrious memory to his
successors and went to his rest in peace. He ended his earthly life pure and blameless,
and he passed from this transitory world to the life eternal.


THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU
==============================

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU continued

CHAPTER LXXXIV

1. After the death of the Godloving emperor Theodosius, his empire passed into the hands
of his two sons Arcadius and Honorius who were borne to him by his wife the blessed
Flacilla. 2. They had been created emperors during his (Theodosius's) lifetime: Arcadius
he had appointed emperor in Constantinople and Honorius emperor in Rome. And they placed
the body of the emperor Theodosius in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
3. Arcadius and Honorius were very devoted to the Christian religion. And the Godloving
emperor Honorius fell ill, and when his brother Arcadius was apprised (of this) he set out
for Rome to visit him. 4. Now Honorius was in purity and chastity an ascetic, and though
living in the imperial palace, he observed the mode of life of a hermit. 5. And he pursued
a virtuous course marked with severe discipline and many a hardship. And he wore a hair
garment under silk clothing which forms the imperial dress, and he made his bed upon the
ground, and fasted every day, and prayed, and sang psalms, and to his religious exercises
added always virtuous deeds, and despising exceedingly the earthly kingdom, he set his
hopes on the kingdom of heaven, and he was prompt to do that which is pleasing to God. 6.
And he completed all the good measures which had not been carried into effect by his
father, and he put an end to all the evil practices which were displeasing to God. 7. Now
it was the custom amongst his contemporaries that two men should fight in the arena, and
that the victor should slay the other, without incurring bloodguiltiness. 8. And in those
days there came to Rome a monk from the east named Telemachus, whose life had been like
that of the angels of heaven. 9.

And the monk finding them practise such abominable and bloody deeds, adjured them and
solemnly bade them in the name of Jesus Christ to make peace and to abandon this satanical
act of slaying a brother. And when they heard these words, they laid aside their weapons
and stoned him with stones and shed the blood of the man of God, the devoted monk,
Telemachus. 10. And when the holy emperor Honorius was apprised of this event, he put a
stop to this custom in the city of Rome and abolished it. And the peace of the glorious
and Most High God prevailed in the city. 11. And he destroyed also the unclean temples and
made them edifices consecrated to the holy martyrs. During the sojourn of the emperor
Arcadius in Rome, an officer of the army, named Gainas, of barbaric descent, revolted, and
gathered forces and made war on the emperor. And he mustered a large host of barbarians
and he caused great disquiet. 12. But the emperor Arcadius went forth hastily from Rome
(and) arrived at Byzantium, full of zeal for the orthodox faith of his father, and he slew
this usurper Gainas the apostate, who was of the abominable sect of the Arians. And he
abode (thenceforth) in peace. 13. And afterwards the God loving emperor Arcadius fell ill
and died in the days of the partriarchate of S. John Chrysostom. 14. Now his son
Theodosius the younger had been proclaimed emperor before the death of his father.

15. And when Theodosius the younger became emperor a serious sedition took place in the
city of Rome. For the emperor Honorius had abandoned (the seat of) his empire and
withdrawn in indignation to the city of Ravenna; for many of the senators hated the
emperor Honorius the saint of God because of his good life; for he feared God and
fulfilled all His commandments. 16. And just then a chief of the province of Gaul, named
Alaric, set out with a numerous force to seize the city of Rome. 17. And when he arrived
he came to terms with the enemies of the emperor and they offered him tribute from the
city; but he refused to receive it and marched to the palace and seized all the imperial
possessions. 18. And he carried off the sister of the emperor Honorius, named Placidia,
who was a virgin. Then this conqueror returned into Gaul. 19. And he had a certain
official with him, named Constantius, and he carried off the young girl to her brother the
emperor Honorius without the knowledge of the conqueror. And the emperor honoured him and
made him a vizier, and later raised him to the imperial throne, and gave him his virgin
sister in marriage. 20. And subsequently they two, the emperor Honorius and Constantius,
set out from the city of Ravenna and made themselves masters of Rome, and put to death the
men who had originated the sedition against their lord, the emperor Honorius, and these
were four in number.

And he confiscated their possessions and broke the power of that rebel. 21. And he gave
his (Roman) empire to his sister's husband Constantius, and the God-loving emperor
Honorius went to Constantinople, where he made the younger Theodosius, his nephew, his
colleague in the empire. 22. But after a short time he returned to the city of Rome, for
he had fallen grievously ill owing to his excessive devotion to the religious and ascetic
life with fasting and prayer. And his limbs swelled and he died, and he departed from this
perishable world in his virginity and without a son. 23. Now Constantius the emperor of
Rome had by Placidia, the sister of the emperor Honorius, a son whom he named Valentinian.
24. But there arose a usurper named John who made himself master of his empire by force.
25. And after the .death of Honorius his uncle, Theodosius the younger reigned alone in
Constantinople. And when he grew up to manhood, as he was still unmarried, he was urgently
pressed by his sisters, Arcadia, Marina, and Pulcheria, to marry and have children. 26.
But he replied to them : 'I will only marry a girl who is a virgin, comely, beautiful,
Godloving, and wise.' 27. And after this reply they sought for him in every city of the
empire, but there was none such among the imperial princesses nor among families of noble
descent. And they traversed every region (in their search). (At last) they found a woman
who had come to Constantinople, who was very beautiful and surpassed all the women of the
time. 28. She was at variance with her brothers on the question of her father's property,
and she had come to complain to the emperor of the injustice she had undergone.

And the girl's name was Athenais + that is, by interpretation +,Eudocia. 29. Now her
father, whose name was Heraclitus, had two sons, of whom one was named Valerian and the
other Genesius,and this daughter whom we have mentioned. 30. And their father on dying
commanded them to give his daughter one hundred mithqals of gold as her portion. But she
refused (to accept them), for she was displeased, and said : 'Do I not deserve to have an
equal portion of the inheritance with my brothers?' But they refused, and drove her forth
from her father's house. 31. Then her mother's sister received her and escorted her from
the province of Hellas and brought her to the city of Awtamon and placed her with her
father's brother. 32. Now there was there a sister of a man named Heraclitus a
philosopher, who resided in the city of Byzantium. And she resorted to an artifice by
means of which he conducted the girl into the presence of the emperor's sisters. 33. On
learning that the girl was a virgin, they had her brought to them in the palace and
informed the emperor regarding her. And he approached her and looked upon her + openly +
and she pleased him. And he had her converted to Christianity and she was named Eudocia;
for previously she had been a pagan of the sect of the philosophers. 34. (And) he married
her according to the law of the Christians and celebrated a nuptial feast in her honour
and also made her empress.

And when her brothers heard regarding her that she had become the wife of the emperor
Theodosius and had been proclaimed empress, they were terrified and fled into the province
of Hellas. 35. She sent a letter to them and had them brought from Athens to
Constantinople, and she promoted them to high positions near the emperor and set Genesius
over the province of Illyria, and Valerian she set over the army. 36. And later she said
unto them: 'If you had not done me wrong I should not have come to the imperial city and
become empress, but by the will of God I have come hither. I will not do unto you as you
have done to me.' 37. Thereupon they bowed to the earth and did her homage. And
subsequently she bare a daughter and named her Eudoxia after the name of the mother of
Theodosius. 38. And in the days of this emperor Theodosius dissensions arose in the church
at Constantinople because of the banishment of the blessed patriarch John Chrysostom, who
had been banished in the days of Arcadius the father of Theodosius because of the empress
Eudoxia's anger in regard to the vineyard of the widow. 39. There was likewise a great
earthquake in the imperial city. And the emperor was profoundly grieved—he and all the
senators and priests and people together, and for many days they walked with bare feet.
40. And the Isaurians seized the city of Seleucia in Syria in a marauding expedition
unexpectedly, * and likewise the city of Tiberias. And they pillaged all its possessions
and they marched by the mountain named Amanus and returned to their country Isauria. 41.
And all the people were ignorant as to the reason for which S. John Chrysostom was
banished for so long a period till the death of the empress Eudoxia. 42. Now at this
period there was a patriarch in the city of Constantinople, named Atticus, who had lived
so wisely and after good counsels that he prevailed on the emperor Theodosius to write to
the holy and wise Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, who had been appointed after Timothy,
that the name of the holy John Chrysostom should be enrolled in the diptychs of the church
together with all the patriarchs who had died before. 43. The holy Cyril accepted this
proposal with great joy; for he loved the Godloving, holy, orthodox John Chrysostom, and
honoured him as a great teacher. 44. And owing to this circumstance there was great joy in
the churches. And the emperor Theodosius gave large sums to the churches and rebuilt in a
befitting manner those which had been destroyed.

45. And in those days the orthodox inhabitants of Alexandria were filled with zeal and
they collected a large quantity of wood and burned the place of the heathen philosophers.
46. But the emperor Theodosius did not forget nor forsake the city of Rome, but he sent to
it an officer named Aspar, with a numerous army in order to war against John the usurper.
And he warred against John the rebel and overcame him, and saved Valentinian, the son of
his aunt Placidia, whom she bare to Constantius. 47. And he placed him near his person,
and married him to his daughter whom the empress Eudocia bare him. And (Valentinian) begat
two daughters by her, and named the one Eudoxia and the other Placidia. 48. And
(Theodosius) chose a man from among the philosophers, named Cyrus, and appointed him
prefect. And he was a wise man and of severe integrity; and he was incorruptible and
walked in integrity and uprightness. 49. Moreover he loved to restore the buildings (of
the city). The towers which had long been in a ruinous condition he rebuilt in a short
time, and he was without pride and was greatly loved by all the inhabitants of
Constantinople. 50. And on the occasion of a famine, the emperor Theodosius saw all the
people acclaiming and honouring Cyrus the prefect. (And certain people) were jealous of
him and accused him to the emperor Theodosius, saying : 'It is his intention to rebel and
usurp thy power.' 51. And the emperor listened to their calumnies and had the man
arrested, subjected to many punishments, and deprived of all his possessions [and had him
conducted into the palace].It was not on the ground of these calumnies only that he did
so, but because of the acclamations of the people : 'He is a second emperor like the great
Constantine.' 52. And for this reason the emperor was wroth against him (and) desired to
put him to death. 53. And when he heard of this purpose (of the emperor) he fled into a
church, and was there appointed metropolitan of the city of Smyrna in the province of
Asia, for (there) the people had previously put their bishop to death. 54.

And when he was ordained metropolitan of the city of Smyrna, he made a great and long
prayer to the God of heaven because He had saved him from the death threatened by calumny.
55. And whilst he was so engaged, the festival of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
arrived. The people and the priests placed him on the throne as was customary for the
bishops, and requested him as follows: 'Speak to us regarding the greatness and the glory
and the praise of the Omnipotent and regarding His holy Nativity.' 56. And he spoke first
to them regarding his deliverance from death, and next he addressed them as follows: 'Know
ye, my brethren, that this day is the day of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. 57. Let us honour him as is befitting, for it was of his own will alone that He
was conceived in the womb of the holy Virgin Mary; for He is the primaeval Word the
Creator—praise be unto Him—together with His Father (supremely) good and the Holy
Lifegiving Spirit, Consubstantial Trinity for evermore.' 58. And all the inhabitants of
the city honoured him and he continued discharging the ministry and the sacred services
without intermission. He fulfilled his sacerdotal duty till he died in (all) honour.

59. And likewise in the days of the emperor Theodosius there died Atticus and Sisinnius,
patriarchs of Constantinople. And after their death they brought from Antioch to
Constantinople Nestorius, in order to teach there because he represented himself to be
like the ascetics and those learned in the Scriptures: and they ordained him patriarch
there, and he became the scourge of the Christians in every country. 60. For at once he
set himself to teach and blaspheme God : and he refused to believe that the holy Virgin
Mary was the mother of God, but called her the mother of Christ, saying that Christ had
two natures; and so there arose many dissensions and great tumults in the city of
Constantinople on this subject. 61. They obliged the emperor Theodosius to summon a
council of bishops in Ephesus from all the world. And those who assembled, being in number
two hundred, excommunicated and deposed Nestorius and his followers. Now these
subsequently returned to the holy faith together with John, patriarch of Antioch. 62. They
agreed with the two hundred bishops and with our holy Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, and
they confirmed this faith and rejected Nestorius because he taught the same false doctrine
as Apollinaris. 63. And there remained but a few of those who had created the tumult and
followed Nestorius, whereas the orthodox believers grew strong and multiplied exceedingly
during the days of the emperor Theodosius, till Archelaus, who was set over the east,
joined them and became one with us in the right faith. 64. And there remained but a few
who persisted in the error of Nestorius. And so the churches enjoyed tranquillity and
peace all the days of the Godloving emperor Theodosius.

65. These are the patriarchs who lived in Constantinople in the days of Theodosius, i. e.
the wise patriarchs Maximian and Proclus. 66. The wise Proclus had studied diligently as a
child, and when he grew up, he was fitted to remain in the city in the devout service of
God, And he attended continually on the patriarch Atticus and wrote down and learnt all
the teachings of God. 67. And subsequently they ordained him deacon, and when he was older
they made him a priest. And Sisinnius, who was appointed patriarch after Atticus,
consecrated him bishop of Cyzicum and gave it this great gift; but the inhabitants of this
town refused it; for they were not worthy to receive this chosen vessel of God. 68. And so
(Proclus) remained in solitude in Byzantium, while Nestorius as patriarch was disturbing
the churches, by creating hatred against our Lady the holy Virgin Mary, the mother of God.
69. Now the holy Proclus composed a treatise on our Lady, the holy Virgin Mary, the mother
of God, and read it in the church of Constantinople before the people assembled there, and
he strongly reproved Nestorius in his treatise because his heart was set on destruction.
70. And in the beginning of his treatise it was written as follows: 'Let us celebrate the
festival of the Virgin and proclaim with our tongue these words: To-day let us praise Mary
the mother of God.'And when all the people heard these words, they glorified our Lady and
gave thanks to her, and admired exceedingly. 71.

And Proclus having thus touched the heart of the emperor Theodosius and of all the people,
they were eager to raise him to the throne (of the patriarchate) in Constantinople after
the exile and deposition of Nestorius. But certain of the chief people of the city arose
and said out of envy : 'This man has been bishop of a small city: how can he be the
shepherd of this great city?' 72. And for this reason they appointed Maximian to the
patriarchate of Constantinople. Now he was a Godfearing priest, but he was not equal to
Proclus in wisdom and learning. And he occupied the throne of the patriarchate for two
years and six months, leading a solitary life of devotion, and he died in peace. 73. Then
the emperor Theodosius made Proclus come forward before the interment of Maximian, and
commanded that he should be raised to the (patriarchal) throne of Constantinople. And
accordingly Celestine, patriarch of Rome, wrote to the patriarch of Alexandria and to
other bishops regarding Proclus. 74. And they sent him an answer as follows: 'The canon
law of the church does not debar Proclus from occupying the patriarchal throne of
Alexandria; for it is by the command of God.' 75. And so Proclus occupied (the patriarchal
throne) with honour and distinction, and guided wisely the interests of his flock in the
imperial city and strove against those who followed the errors of Nestorius. 76.

And he wrote a letter and sent it to the illustrious + Armenius + in which he combated
Theodore of Mopsuestia and the heretic Nestorius and anathematized and excommunicated them
in his letter. And already in the days of the blessed Maximian who went to his rest, the
east had been cleansed from the pollutions of the heretic Nestorius and peace had been
established in the Church. 77. And Proclus also brought back the body of the holy John
Chrysostom to Constantinople. Five and forty years had passed since his banishment to the
island named Thrace in the days of the Christ-loving emperor Theodosius the elder. 78. And
he placed the body in the church of the holy Apostles where repose (also) the bodies of
the holy Fathers the patriarchs who had fulfilled their course virtuously and in the
orthodox faith in Constantinople. 79. And as for the other bishops who had been wrongfully
banished with him (S. Chrysostom), whom he could not bring back in the days of the blessed
Atticus, the severed members were united together, and he made them one, and thus discord
disappeared from the churches. 80. And he composed a treatise worthy of the holy John
Chrysostom in which he besought God to pardon the sins of the parents of the emperor
Theodosius the younger—the sin they had committed against the holy John Chrysostom.

81. In the days of this emperor also the barbarians who had survived the defeat of John
the usurper reunited and proceeded to invade the Roman territories. 82. And when the
Godloving emperor was informed of this event, he meditated, as was his wont, and turned
his thoughts to our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ—praise be unto Him—and he fasted
and prayed. 83. And he was merciful to the poor and compassionate to the destitute and he
devoted himself to the works which are pleasing to God with integrity and that which is
beyond (all) these works. 84. He commanded Proclus and all the priests and monks to pray
to God on his behalf that victory should be given to him over his adversaries and that his
efforts should not be exerted in vain. 85. And God heard his prayer and the barbaric chief
named Roilas died. Indeed God struck him with a thunderbolt (and) he was speedily
destroyed, and many of them died by this death which was sent from God. And fire likewise
came down from heaven and destroyed those that remained. 86. And all the peoples of the
earth recognized by this event that the God of the Christians is great, and the
righteousness and faith of the Godloving emperor Theodosius were made known.

87. And in those days there appeared in Alexandria a female philosopher, a pagan named
Hypatia, and she was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of music,
and she beguiled many people through (her) Satanic wiles. 88. And the governor of the city
honoured her exceedingly; for she had beguiled him through her magic. And he ceased
attending church as had been his custom. + But he went once under circumstances of
danger.+ And he not only did this, but he drew many believers to her, and he himself
received the unbelievers at his house. 89. And on a certain day when they were making
merry over a theatrical exhibition connected with dancers, the governor of the city
published (an edict) regarding the public exhibitions in the city of Alexandria: and all
the inhabitants of the city had assembled there (in the theatre). 90. Now Cyril, who had
been appointed patriarch after Theophilus, was eager to gain exact intelligence regarding
this edict. 91. And there was a man named Hierax, a Christian possessing understanding and
intelligence, who used to mock the pagans but was a devoted adherent of the illustrious
Father the patriarch and was obedient to his monitions. He was also well versed in the
Christian faith. 92. (Now this man attended the theatre to learn the nature of this edict.
But when the Jews saw him in the theatre they cried out and said : 'This man has not come
with any good purpose, but only to provoke an uproar.' 93.

And Orestes the prefect was displeased with the children of the holy church, and had
Hierax seized and subjected to punishment publicly in the theatre, although he was wholly
guiltless. 94. And Cyril was wroth with the governor of the city for so doing, and
likewise for his putting to death an illustrious monk of the convent of Pernôdj named
Ammonius, and other monks (also). And when the chief magistrate of the city heard this, he
sent word to the Jews as follows: 'Cease your hostilities against the Christians.' 95. But
they refused to hearken to what they heard; for they gloried in the support of the prefect
who was with them, and so they added outrage to outrage and plotted a massacre through a
treacherous device. 96. And they posted beside them at night in all the streets of the
city certain men, while others cried out and said: 'The church of the apostolic Athanasius
is on fire: come to its succour, all ye Christians.' 97. And the Christians on hearing
their cry came forth quite ignorant of the treachery of the Jews. And when the Christians
came forth, the Jews arose and wickedly massacred the Christians and shed the blood of
many, guiltless though they were. 98. And in the morning, when the surviving Christians
heard of the wicked deed which the Jews had wrought, they betook themselves to the
patriarch.

And the Christians mustered all together and went and marched in wrath to the synagogues
of the Jews and took possession of them, and purified them and converted them into
churches. And one of them they named after the name of S. George. 99. And as for the
Jewish assassins they expelled them from the city, and pillaged all their possessions and
drove them forth wholly despoiled, and Orestes the prefect was unable to render them any
help. 100. And thereafter a multitude of believers in God arose under the guidance of
Peter the magistrate—now this Peter was a perfect believer in all respects in Jesus
Christ—and they proceeded to seek for the pagan woman who had beguiled the people of the
city and the prefect through her enchantments. 101. And when they learnt the place where
she was, they proceeded to her and found her seated on a (lofty) chair; and having made
her descend they dragged her along till they brought her to the great church, named
Caesarion. Now this was in the days of the fast. 102. And they tare off her clothing and
dragged her [till they brought her] through the streets of the city till she died. And
they carried her to a place named Cinaron, and they burned her body with fire. 103. And
all the people surrounded the patriarch Cyril and named him 'the new Theophilus'; for he
had destroyed the last remains of idolatry in the city.

CHAPTER LXXXV

1. And some time after this event the Jews in a place named Kemterja between Chalcedon and
Antioch in Syria were amusing themselves after their customary manner in drinking and
debauchery. 2. And they performed a play in which they brought forward one amongst them
and named him Christ and bowed down to him in mockery. And they blasphemed the cross and
those who trusted in the Crucified. 3. And when they had insolently perpetrated this
sacrilege, they took a child and bound him on the cross and mocked him, and as their
feelings grew more vehement they put the child to death. And the child died courageously.
4. And when the Christians heard of the atrocities committed by the Jews, they were
exceedingly wroth because of the evil deeds and came and attacked them, and many of them
died. 5. And when the emperor Theodosius was told of the atrocities committed by the Jews,
he commanded the magistrates of the province to punish the criminals. 6. And they punished
the Jews that were in the east and took vengeance on all the mockers who had mocked Christ
and His faithful ones.

7. And in those days many of the Jews in Crete believed and became Christians in
consequence of the greatness of the persecution that befell them.

CHAPTER LXXXVI

1. And there was a Jew named Fiskis who in his own person played the role of impostor,
saying: 'I am Moses the chief of the prophets; for I have been sent from heaven by God. 2.
I have come to conduct the Jews who dwell in this island through the sea, and I will
establish you in the land of promise.' 3. And by these means he led them astray, saying
unto them : 'I am he that delivered your fathers out of the hand of Pharaoh when they were
in bondage to the Egyptians.' 4. And he spent an entire year in traversing Crete and
proclaiming this event and leading them astray in all the cities and villages. 5. And he
prevailed on them to abandon their industries and to despise their goods and possessions.
And so they dissipated all that they had. 6. And when the day which he had fixed for
leading them out drew near, he commanded them to come with their wives and children and
follow him to the sea-shore, and cast themselves into the sea. And many perished, some
through the fall and others from being engulfed in the depths of the sea. 7. But God who
loves mankind had compassion on His creatures and saved them lest they should all perish
by this hard fate. 8. And many Christians who were present on the spot at the time in
order to see (what would happen) saved a large number from being drowned in the sea. The
rest who had not cast themselves into the sea were saved by this means. 9. And when they
saw that the false prophet had perished, engulfed in the sea, they recognized thereupon
that he was an impostor, and forthwith abandoned their erroneous belief. 10. Through the

se means many Jews turned to our Lord Jesus Christ and received the light of holy life-
giving baptism and believed in our Lord Jesus Christ. 11. (This event took place) in the
days of the Godloving emperor Theodosius the younger and in those of Atticus, patriarch of
the great city of Constantinople.

CHAPTER LXXXVII

1. And during the childhood of the emperor Theodosius, when he was learning the holy
Scriptures inspired by God, he had with him a child named Paulinus, the son of a vizier
who learnt with him, and they grew up together. 2. And the emperor Theodosius loved him
and appointed him an emperor in the third degree, a dignity that is called Master (of the
imperial household). 3. And he reclined frequently at table with the emperor and empress ;
for a strong friendship existed between them. 4. And after some time Paulinus fell ill,
and when he was ill a certain officer highly honoured by the emperor brought him an apple
that was wholly out of season, and the emperor and all his court who saw it admired the
appearance of the apple. 5. The emperor gave one hundred gold dinars to the man who had
brought the apple. (And) he sent that apple to his wife. And she indeed sent it to
Paulinus because of his illness and her affection for him. 6. Now Paulinus was not aware
that the emperor had given it to the empress, and so as the emperor came just at that
moment to pay Paulinus a visit, he saw that apple in his possession and forthwith
proceeded to the palace and called for the empress, and said unto her : 'Where is the
apple which I gave thee?' 7.

And she fearing lest the emperor should be offended with her, was not willing to avow the
truth, and said : 'I have eaten it as I was not aware that you would question me regarding
it.' And the emperor further said unto her : 'Hast thou not sent it to some one?' And she
denied again. 8. Then the emperor ordered the apple to be brought, and the empress Eudocia
was greatly put to shame. And a sense of pain and offence existed between them for a long
time. 9. And subsequently the empress told the emperor all that had happened, and
confirmed her statement by a terrible oath, and she persuaded the emperor that she had
feared aforetime and had not told the truth because of the offence (she was likely to
give) and the fear wherewith she feared him. 10. Now Paulinas feared greatly and said
within himself : 'It is better for the ailing man to remain in his ailment; for when he
recovers from his ailment he conceives evil designs in his heart. For he ill-treated Mar
Basilius who belonged to the solitaries of the desert, who had been rejected by the
heretics.' 11. Some days later it was told the emperor that Paulinus was forming
rebellious designs and was revolting against the emperor and preparing a revolt. And
accordingly he had him executed, as (Paulinus) had wished to deal similarly with the
Godloving emperor. 12. And the empress Eudocia and the emperor Theodosius loved him
greatly and honoured him exceedingly. 13. But lying historians who are heretics and abide
not by the truth have recounted and said that Paulinus was put to death because of the
empress Eudocia. But the empress Eudocia was wise and chaste, spotless and perfect in all
her conduct.

14. And the emperor Theodosius sent a letter to the desert of Scete in Egypt in order to
consult the saints because he had no male offspring to succeed him on the throne. 15. And
the saints wrote as follows : 'When thou quittest this world, the faith of thy fathers
will be changed; for God out of love to thee has not given thee a male offspring lest it
should become wicked.' 16. And the emperor Theodosius and his wife were alike pained by
this communication, and they abandoned all conjugal intercourse and lived, by mutual
consent, in befitting chastity. 17. And after they had married their illustrious daughter
Eudoxia to Valentinian the emperor of the west, as we have already recounted, and they had
consummated the nuptials in Constantinople, the bridegroom and his consort set out for
Rome. 18. Thereupon the empress Eudocia requested the Godloving emperor Theodosius to
permit her to visit the holy places in Jerusalem and to worship there in righteousness.
For she had vowed a vow as follows: 'When I have accomplished the nuptials of my daughter
I will visit the holy places, and I will pay my vow to the Lord in the courts of the house
of the Lord before all the people in the midst of Jerusalem. And I will pray to God to
preserve thy empire for a long period in peace.' 19. The emperor having agreed to this
request wrote to the governors of every province to make preparations for a fitting
reception of the empress. 20. And he arranged that Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, should
accompany her to Jerusalem, and bless her and instruct her in the doing of good works. 21.
Thus all her prayers to God were accomplished for her : and she arrived in Jerusalem, and
she restored the churches and the courts of the convent of the religious virgins and the
hospice for pilgrims, and she gave them great endowments. 22. And she rebuilt likewise the
walls of Jerusalem which had been in ruins from an early period. And she accomplished with
vigour all her undertakings. Then the empress withdrew from the world and lived in
solitude.

23. And the emperor also gave himself to fasting and prayer and to the singing of psalms
and hymns, and he pursued a virtuous course. And his virgin sisters, who were older than
he, the blessed Arcadia and Marina, had died before the empress quitted the palace, and
gone to Christ whom they loved. 24. And during the sojourn of the empress in Jerusalem,
the holy Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, and John, patriarch of Antioch, died. 25. Then
the Nestorian heretics reappeared, the twelve bishops of the east, who had concealed
themselves from the holy patriarch Cyril, who denied the Holy Trinity and divided Christ
into two natures. 26. And also the heretical bishops of Constantinople and of the other
provinces met together apart by themselves without the knowledge of any one, and said :
'The separation of the emperor and the empress has not been due to a desire to serve God,
but they have separated through mutual hatred because of Paulinas.' 27. It was for this
reason that the emperor was indignant with the patriarch Flavian and his associates, and
said unto them: 'The fire (which had been lighted) by the Nestorians, and was
extinguished, ye have kindled anew.' For they had caused many troubles in the churches.
28. But Pulcheria, the emperor Theodosius's sister, protected the patriarch Flavian, but
she was not able to protect him openly because she feared the strength of the empire of
the emperor Theodosius; for he was wroth with those who said, There were two natures in
Christ after there had been one. But those who devised this evil conception laboured in
vain.

29. Now the emperor's sister, Pulcheria, pursuing an evil course, besought him to give her
a garden. And the emperor accomplished the object of her desire. And she wrote a
fraudulent document to this effect: 'The entire palace, courts, and gardens of the empress
have been given to me by the emperor,' and she gave it to the emperor to sign in his own
hand. 30. And when the document was read before the entire senate, Pulcheria arose, and
taking her stand in the midst of the men without shame reproved the emperor in insolent
terms and said unto him: 'Thou hast done with negligence the duties of imperial
government.' 31. And when he took the document and wished to read it and sign it, he saw
written therein the following words: 'The empress Eudocia has become my slave.' 32. And
when the emperor saw this he was exceedingly wroth both because of Pulcheria's insolence
and her lack of shame. 33. And he had her seized and transported to a certain place, and
he commanded the patriarch to lay his hands upon her and ordain her a deaconess. And for
this reason there was great enmity and hatred between the empress Eudocia and Pulcheria.
And so the emperor was parted from his sister Pulcheria.

34. And subsequently the emperor ordered a second council to be convoked in Ephesus, and
he likewise ordered Dioscorus, the patriarch of Alexandria, who was appointed after Cyril,
to be present. 35. And Flavian, patriarch of Constantinople, and Eusebius, bishop of
Dorylaeum, and Domnus, patriarch of Antioch, and Ibas and John and Theodoret, and + Madjus
+, bishops of the east, were deposed. And after this event the excellent emperor
Theodosius fell ill and departed from this life and went to God. 36. And while the empress
Eudocia was living in solitude in the holy places of Jerusalem, Pulcheria audaciously
promulgated an imperial decree without taking the advice of Valentinian the emperor of
Rome or that of the chief officers and senate, and married Marcian, the commander-in-chief
of the army, and placed the imperial crown on his head and made him emperor. And she
became his wife and sacrificed her virginity. 37. During his lifetime the emperor had
guarded her, without any desire on her part, lest any stranger should come into her and
then proceed to seize his imperial throne.

38. And on the day of Marcian's accession there was darkness over all the earth from the
first hour of the day till the evening. And that darkness was like that which had been in
the land of Egypt in the days of Moses the chief of the prophets. 39. And there was great
fear and alarm among all the inhabitants of Constantinople. They wept and lamented and
raised dirges and cried aloud exceedingly, and imagined that the end of the world was at
hand. 40. And the senate, the officers, and the soldiers, (even) all the army, small and
great, that was in the city was filled with agitation and cried aloud, saying: 'We have
never heard nor seen in all the previous reigns of the Roman empire such an event as
this.' 41. And they murmured very much, but they did not express themselves openly. And on
the following day the Divine love had compassion on mankind, and the sun rose and the
light of clay reappeared.

42. And the emperor Marcian convoked a council of bishops in Chalcedon composed of six
hundred and + forty-five + bishops. 43. And they deposed Dioscorus, patriarch of
Alexandria, and ordained that Flavian, who had been deposed on a former occasion, should
be mentioned in the diptychs after his death; for he had already died in exile in the days
of the blessed emperor Theodosius. And so they enrolled his name in the diptychs of the
church as an orthodox patriarch. 44. And when disturbances arose in Constantinople and
amongst all peoples Marcian fell grievously ill, and his illness lasted five months, and
his feet mortified and he died. And the length of his reign was six years. And Pulcheria
also had died before Marcian. 45. And in those days the empress Eudocia went to her rest
in the holy Jerusalem, full of good works and a pure faith. And she refused to communicate
with Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem, and the men who had assembled in Chalcedon ; for she
knew that they had changed the true faith of our holy Fathers and of the orthodox
emperors; but she was blessed by priests (and) monks through her friendship and communion
with Theodosius, patriarch of Alexandria. 46. And when she had thus accomplished these
things, she went to her rest, and they placed her body in a tomb which she had built in
her lifetime, with honour and panegyrics. And she went to God the Glorious and Most High.

CHAPTER LXXXVIII

1. And after the death of Marcian, Leo the elder became emperor. And in the days of his
rule the city of Antioch was + polluted + owing to the earthquake that befell it. 2. And +
lightning + rained from heaven on Constantinople instead of rain. And it rose high, upon
the roofs. And all the people were terrified and offered up prayers and supplications to
God; for that lightning had been burning fire; but God out of His love for man had
extinguished the fire and made it + lightning +. 3. And again after this + lightning +
fire fell a second time from heaven on the city of Constantinople, such as had never
fallen before. And it extended from sea to sea. 4. And the emperor left the palace,
fearing lest he should be burned in the conflagration, and took up his abode in the church
of S. Mamas for six months, offering prayers and supplications as had been done in the
days of Marcian.

5. And the emperor Leo put a stop to all theatrical exhibitions, alike of those that
played on the flute and on the lyre, on the holy first day of the week in honour of the
sabbath. 6. And he likewise banished the Arians from every province in his empire, and he
gave orders to all his subjects not to admit them to the churches. 7. And also in the days
of this emperor an accusation was brought against a philosopher named Isocasius, an
exquaestor. He was a ma,n of great prudence and a just judge. He was a pagan, and helped
the people of Cilicia when he was + interpreter + in Antioch. And the emperor delivered
him into the hands of Pusaeus, the prefect, the chief officer, to send him into exile. 8.
But he was torn from the hands of the prefect and carried naked and with his hands bound
behind him to the gate named Zeuxippus, where a crowd of people was assembled. 9. And the
prefect standing on the tribunal addressed him thus: 'Canst thou see in what a guise thou
art in the midst of this assembly ? 'He answered and said unto him : 'I see, and I am not
surprised; for being a man I have fallen into troubles incident to the body. As I have
judged other men, so I now judge myself. 10. And when the people that stood by heard this
stern reply, they tore him away from the prefect and bore him to the church, and, without
the exercise of any constraint on their part, he expressed his belief in Christ, and said:
'My fathers were idolaters but I have now become a Christian.' 11. And they instructed him
in the Christian faith, and baptized him, and he became a Christian. Then he was set free
and restored to his functions, and he returned to his province beloved by the emperor. 12.

When the emperor Leo heard of the disturbances which had taken place in Alexandria
formerly in the days of Marcian, and of the massacre that had been occasioned by the
council of Chalcedon, and of the restoration of the true faith in the one nature of
Christ, and of the slaughter of Proterius, bishop of the Chalcedonians, because of it—13.
For this bishop, who had formerly been the ecclesiastical procurator in Alexandria, was
consecrated bishop by the Chalcedonians, when he signed the imperial rescript, but the
orthodox population rose against him and slew him, and burned his body — 14. (Now having
heard of all these circumstances) the emperor Leo appointed (to be patriarch) unto them
Timothy, who had been assistant to the patriarch Dioscorus. Formerly he had been a strict
monk belonging to the convent of Qalmon, and he was a priest. 15. And his appointment was
made after the death of Dioscorus, who had wrongfully been deposed by the emperor Marcian
and his Council. 16. But Timothy refused to abide by the Council of the Chalcedonians; for
this Council had disturbed the entire world.

17. And the emperor Leo likewise wrote to all the bishops, adjuring them to declare
accurately in what way matters had taken place in the Council of Chalcedon. 18. But as
they feared the emperor, they concealed (these things) from him, and told him nothing of
what had been done in the Council. 19. But there were two bishops who did tell him: one of
them named Eustathius of Berytus, a man wise and prudent and well versed in the holy
Scriptures. And he told the emperor that through fear of Marcian they had altered the
faith so that all the world was troubled (thereby), as well as all the churches. 20. And
the second bishop was named Amphilochius, of the city of Maflejus. 21. But the other
bishops who were his subjects had not declared openly to the emperor regarding the
oppression of the emperor Marcian: all that had been done at Chalcedon they had done out
of fear of the imperial authority and power.

22. And in those days Eutyches [the Nestorian] made himself known, who was eager for
destruction. He was ignorant of the holy Scriptures, as he had not been eager to study
them. 23. And Timothy the patriarch on his arrival in Alexandria was seized and conducted
to a place called Gangra, and made to reside there. 24. And there were alarms and
fightings in Alexandria. And the governor of the city, who used violence to the holy
patriarch Timothy, was eaten of worms and died. 25. And the inhabitants of the city said
to one another: 'All this evil that has overtaken him is due to the judgement of the
Glorious and Most High God because of what has been done to the patriarch Timothy, the
servant of God, in order that all men might learn that God dwells amongst His chosen and
renders justice to the oppressed. 26. And after the emperor Leo and the other emperors who
succeeded him, Basiliscus ascended the imperial throne. And he raised his son Marcus to
the imperial throne, and appointed him as his colleague for a short time. 27. And as his
sister Verina was on friendly terms with him, she asked + Augustus for the master of the
offices, and she received the dignity, which was named Patricius +.

28. And the emperor sent and had fetched from his place of exile whither the elder Leo had
driven him the holy patriarch Timothy. And when he was brought to the city of
Constantinople with the honour and dignity due to the priesthood, he was welcomed by all
the court and people. 29. And a letter was dispatched to all the provinces and to all the
bishops with orders to expel all who confessed the faith of the Chalcedonians, (and
likewise) to excommunicate and reject them. 30. The holy Timothy and his companions made
the following prophecy in regard to the emperor Basiliscus: 'From the day thou deniest the
faith set forth in this writing, thy empire will cease to exist and thy days will rapidly
draw to a close.' 31. And he replied : 'I will never deny this profession of faith : on
the contrary, I will assemble a Council in Jerusalem in order that the orthodox faith may
be established and abide.' 32. And when the holy patriarch Timothy heard these words he
went to the city of Alexandria, taking with him the profession of faith written out in the
court of the emperor, and he seated himself on its (patriarchal) throne. 33. But the
emperor Basiliscus took bribes and broke his word, and cast down that which he had
previously built up, and did not assemble a Council in Jerusalem as he had promised the
patriarch Timothy. 34. On the contrary, he wrote a second letter to this effect: 'Suffer
the Chalcedonians to abide in their faith, and show them due regard.' And so the prophecy
of the illustrious father Timothy and of his companions was accomplished. 35. And a
terrible unlooked-for pestilence visited the city of Constantinople, and the bodies of the
dead putrified, and there were not people enough to bury them. And the city of Gabala in
Syria likewise was destroyed by an earthquake. 36. Then Zeno, the emperor of Rome, set out
and stirred up the province of Isauria, and collected a numerous army and marched to
Constantinople.

And on arriving in the city of Antioch, he had the patriarch Peter seized in order that
the latter might disclose to him all the designs which the emperor Basiliscus had designed
against him. 37. And when Basiliscus heard of the march of Zeno, he sent the generals
Armalis and Serbatos to war against Zeno, with a numerous army which he had had with him
in the palace at Byzantium. 38. And when these officers came to him, he adjured them by
holy baptism not to betray him or injure him. 39. But these officers abstained from
fighting with the emperor Zeno, and they sent a secret message to him to the following
effect: 'We will withdraw to a certain locality, and do you make yourself master of the
entire country.' And these officers moreover treacherously tendered the following advice
to Basiliscus: 'Go by a different route and give battle to Zeno at the gates of
Constantinople.' 40. But the moment Zeno drew nigh to the walls all the senators met him,
and he was greatly pleased by their reception of him. And Zeno's mother-in-law, who was
named Verina, had her brother Basiliscus +seized and thrown into a pit+. 41. And as
Basiliscus was sore pressed, he and his wife Zenodia and his children fled to the
baptistery of a church. And all the senators honoured the emperor Zeno and proclaimed him
their emperor.

And he sent to the church and took from him all the insignia of empire, and induced him to
come out by a treacherous promise, even him and his children. 42. Thereupon he drove the
unfortunate wretches from the palace and sent them in exile into the province of
Cappadocia, to a fortress named Lemnas. And when they were brought to the governor of the
province, he put them in a tower and barred them in, according to the orders of the
emperor, and mercilessly left them without food and drink till they died, and buried them
in the same place. 43. And as for the patriarch Peter, he was brought in chains and
transported to the town of Euchaites in Pontus; for he had enjoyed the friendship of the
emperor Basiliscus, and had helped him, and placed the imperial crown upon his head. It
was on these grounds that (Basiliscus) had appointed him patriarch. 44. Now this (Peter)
had persecuted the Nestorians. (And next Stephen was appointed patriarch of Antioch, and
he belonged to the Nestorians), and for this reason all the inhabitants of the city hated
him, and the people of Antioch and all the priests put him to a violent death in a place
called Barlaams on the day of the commemoration of the holy 'Forty Martyrs'. And after
slaying him they cast his body into the river named the Orontes. And the emperor Zeno
appointed in his stead another patriarch named Calandio, and paid him special honour.

45. And when the emperor returned to his city he distributed abundant alms amongst the
poor, and he appointed + Armatus in his stead in that place commander, him and his father
+ commander of the guard and his son to be Caesar as he had promised. But when this
Armatus became master of the power of the empire he became very strong and powerful, and
none could withstand him, and he formed evil designs in his heart. 46. And when the
emperor was informed of his evil purposes, he sent and had him put to death in a gallery
of the palace. And when the emperor wished to invade Persia, seeing that Basiliscus, the
son of Armatus, the Caesar, was but a youth, he took from him the crown of investiture and
gave orders for him to be consecrated metropolitan of Cyzicum, and dispersed his property
amongst all the people.

47. And seeing these things, Theodoric, one of the consuls who was commander of the guard,
began to fear lest he should suffer at the hands of the emperor Zeno as had Armatus his
friend,and so he led off the soldiers under his command, who were Goths from the province
of Moesia. 48. Now Theodoric had been reared in the capital, and he was acquainted with
profane wisdom. And he marched against the city of Selymbria and made its inhabitants
subject to him, and he made himself master of the entire province of Thrace. 49. And next
he went with a formidable force from the city of Sycene, and he lay there a long time, but
was not able to inflict any injury on Byzantium, or on the emperor Zeno. 50. Then he
marched on Rome, and had the chief of the barbarians, named Odoacer, who bore the title of
rex, brought before him through the treason of the senators, and he reduced the city of
Rome and made himself master of it, and put all the barbarians to the sword, and resided
there forty-seven years as its emperor. 51. And he refused to appoint a colleague, and
made the emperor Zeno a friend, and did everything in accordance with the advice of the
emperor. And he possessed the respect of the magistrates and senate.

52. And there came to Theodoric the wife . . ., and she was of patrician rank in Rome,
named Juvenalia, and spake unto him and said : 'Behold it is now three years since I have
suffered wrong. My suit is with the patrician Firmus, and justice has not been done to
me.' 53. And he called the judges and said unto them : 'Behold I give commandment and say
unto you that unless in two days you bring to a conclusion the suit of this woman with her
adversaries and render justice to the two parties equitably according to law, I will have
your heads cut off with the sword.' 54. And thereupon they departed, and spent two days in
bringing the suit of this woman to a conclusion equitably. And the woman lighted a waxen
taper and went in to him (i.e. the king) to thank him, and she said unto him: 'My suit
which lingered so long a time has now, thanks to thy orders, been brought to a
conclusion.' 55. Thereupon he had the judges summoned before him, and said unto them; 'Ye
wicked men, ye have brought to a conclusion in two days a suit which ye were not able to
conclude in three years.' And thereupon he gave orders to have their heads cut off with
the sword. And great fear fell upon the city, and an end was put to all oppression on the
part of the Roman officials.

56. And in those days after the death of Theodoric, Athalaric came (to the throne), and he
was an Arian. 57. And subsequently the emperor Zeno sent an officer named Quaestor to
Alexandria to bring back to him the patriarch Timothy, the man of God. And when the
quaestor came to the patriarch Timothy, he said unto him : 'The emperor summons thee.' And
the patriarch answered and said unto him : 'The emperor will not see my face.' And
thereupon he fell ill and died, even as he had said. 58. And the orthodox arose and
appointed Peter, the archdeacon, surnamed Mongus, to be patriarch. And the magistrates of
the city sought to arrest him, but he escaped out of the hands of the soldiers, and made
his escape to the house of (one of) the faithful, and there were alarms in the city. 59.
And the partisans of Proterius the Chalcedonian on their part elected a patriarch, named
Ajes, but he died shortly after. 60. And the faithful . . . <Then the Chalcedonians
elected a patriarch> named John Tabennesiotes. And he likewise got possession of the.
(patriarchal) throne of Ajes by bribing the magistrates. And he said : 'I have sworn a
solemn oath to the emperor Zeno that I shall take no measures regarding the ecclesiastical
see (of Alexandria).' 61. And when the emperor Zeno heard of this event he was very wroth,
and he gave orders for his expulsion. And when John heard that the emperor had given
orders for his expulsion, he took to flight and went to Rome. 62. And at that time
Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, was on friendly terms with the emperor Zeno. And so
he prevailed on the emperor that they should subscribe the Henoticon, that is to say, the
confession of the faith of the three Councils Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus, and
should reject the other Councils.

63. And for this reason (he had brought back) Peter the patriarch, who had previously
fled, to Antioch from the city of Dinarurja. And Calandio the patriarch of Antioch fled
through fear of being put to death, as he was a Chalcedonian. For (its inhabitants) had
previously put to death the patriarch Stephen, his predecessor. And all the priests and
people prayed to the emperor on behalf of him (i. e. Peter). And the patriarch Peter
accepted the Henoticon of the emperor. 64. And in his days there were tumults in the city
because of the confession of the faith written by the emperor—for we anathematize the
council of the bishops at Chalcedon and their impure creed which states that there are two
natures in Christ, whereas the letter of Zeno says that there is (only) one nature in the
Word of God which was made flesh, and that the bishops who had been expelled should be
remembered (in the diptychs).

65. And the emperor Zeno made a compact with Illus and came to terms with him about the
same time that he had received Armatus, the father of Caesar, into favour. But
subsequently the army of Illus waged war on the emperor Zeno. For Illus, seeing that
Armatus, though a friend of the emperor Zeno, had been executed, fled in fear (of a
similar fate) to Isauria. 66. Now Illus sent the empress Verina, the mother-in-law of the
emperor, a message to this effect: 'Prevail on the emperor in his behalf.' But she could
not prevail on the emperor. Now the emperor Zeno concealed his evil designs from his
brother Longinus lest there should be a scandal and grounds for disturbances in Byzantium;
for she had formerly been an empress. 67. And in this treacherous plot the emperor Zeno
had arranged with Illus to banish her, and transport her to the province of Isauria and to
keep her guardedthere. And when she arrived there, Illus came forth and shut her up in a
fortress, and he appointed a large force to guard her. And he took with him Longinus the
emperor's brother. 68. But when she (Verina) came to know these facts, she sent a message
to her daughter (Ariadne) the emperor's wife. And her daughter requested the emperor to
release her from the fortress where they had imprisoned her.

And the emperor said unto her: 'I cannot incur the anger of Illus the patrician; but do
thou ask him, and if he approves, I will set her free.' 69. And the empress sent to him
and besought him with tears to set free her mother and to pardon her wrong-doing.70. But
he refused to have compassion on her and said unto her: 'Do you wish me to set up another
emperor against thine own husband?' And she was very wroth with him, and she went to the
emperor and said unto him: 'Am I and likewise Illus to live (at the same time) in the
palace?' And the emperor said unto her : 'Do what you wish; for I love you more than Illus
and many men.' 71. And when the empress heard these words of the emperor, her heart was
strengthened, and she commanded + Adrian + to put him to death. And + Adrian + who was
chief of the eunuchs sent a man, named Scholarius, who being a captain of the guard could
enter when he wished the palace of the emperor with his men. 72. And he went in and drew
his sword in order to smite him (Illus) and cleave his head in a gallery of the palace.
And one of the officers, seeing this, ran hastily and wrested his sword from him after he
had cut off the right ear of Illus instead of his head. 73. And Scholarius the eunuch was
put to death, who had smitten Illus with the sword.

And the followers of Illus transported him to his house. 74. And when the emperor Zeno
heard of this event, he took an oath, saying: 'I know nothing of this outrage that the
eunuch did to Illus.' And when Illus had recovered from his wound, he asked permission
from the emperor Zeno to go to the east for change of air in order to avoid a return of
his malady. 75. And he asked humbly that he would let him go, dissembling his treacherous
designs. And, unaware of his treachery, (the emperor) let him go. And he appointed + in
his stead another man named Julalja + with full powers. And Illus wished to take Leontius
and Pamprepius with him, apparently on the pretext that they would negotiate peace between
Verina the emperor's mother and the emperor Zeno, and that (thus) she might return
honourably to him. 76. And the emperor was pleased with this plan, and he sent these three
persons and likewise (two) illustrious (senators) named Marsos and Valjanos, magistrates
of Isauria, and many officials and troops. 77. And when they came to Antioch the Great,
Illus stayed a year (there), and the inhabitants of that city paid him very high honours.
78. Then he marched into Isauria and brought Verina down from the fort, and they bound
themselves by mutual oaths. And in agreement with Pamprepius, who was given to magic and
the seductions of demons, he prevailed on the officers to create Leontius emperor. So they
created him emperor in the oratory of S.

Peter, outside the walls of Tarsus the capital of Cilicia. 79. And she (Verina) wrote and
dispatched letters to all the cities and officials and troops of the east, and to the
cities of Egypt, to gain their recognition of the imperial authority of Leontius without
opposition. 80. And the empress Verina, Augusta, wrote likewise as follows: 'I make known
unto you touching our imperial authority, that after the death of the emperor Leo, of
happy memory, we appointed Trascalissaeus, that is Zeno, emperor, that he might be
solicitous as regards our commands and duly govern the army. 81. But now we have seen that
he has abandoned integrity, while he is likewise devoid of understanding. Accordingly we
have accounted him as a rebel, a perverse man and a usurper. Behold, now, we have
appointed another emperor, a Christian Godloving man, distinguished for righteousness and
uprightness, that he may save the country by his virtuous conduct and put an end to the
war: and may preserve his subjects according to law and order. 82. And we have crowned
Leontius with the imperial crown that he may be emperor over the Roman empire, who will be
solicitous after every good work,' 83.

And when the letter was read in the city of Antioch, all the population cried aloud
saying: 'Do unto us the good things, O Lord, which will be good for us.' And a letter also
was sent to Alexandria. 84, Then Leontius came to Antioch and took up his residence in the
palace, and he appointed Lilianus prefect and judge. 85. And after fifteen days he marched
to Chalcis, a city of Isauria, in order to attack the inhabitants of that city, because
they refused to submit to him and called him a rebel against the emperor. 86. And for one
and a half months he waged war on the inhabitants of that city but was not able to take
it. And when the emperor Zeno heard of what had befallen, he sent a Scythian officer named
John, a valiant man and a warrior, in command of a numerous army to wage war on the
conspirators. 87. And when Illus who was in Cilicia discovered that he was not able to
make head against the general John, he marched and joined Leontius and Verina, and they
arranged to flee together and to take refuge in a castle in Isauria, named Papyris. 88.
And Leontius went in precipitate flight from the province of the East, and these three
personages, Leontius, Illus, and Pamprepius accompanied by Verina, withdrew into a castle.
And when the troops of the emperor Zeno arrived they besieged that castle in which they
were. And Verina died in the castle. 89.

And the garrison of the castle, learning that Pamprepius was seeking to join the enemy
against them, put him to death and cast his body from the top of the battlements. 90. And
after many toilsome efforts, (the besiegers) captured the castle and brought forth the
rebels, that is, Leontius who wrought his own destruction and Illus who was the cause of
all the evil. 91. And they placed them on a tribunal in the midst of the assemblage and
passed upon them the sentence of death, and they cut off their heads with the sword and
carried them to the emperor Zeno in Constantinople. 92. And it is told also regarding the
emperor Zeno that he was with Maurianus the astrologer: now the latter used to announce to
him (beforehand) all that happened; for they were friends. 93. And (the emperor) asked him
saying: 'Who will succeed to the empire after me ?' And he said unto him : 'A Silentiarius
will take thine empire and likewise thy wife.' And owing to this (prediction) he thought
(the person meant) was an illustrious man named Pelagius, who had become a patrician. 94.
Now they deposed him unjustly; indeed the emperor committed Silentiarius to the charge of
six trusty men and commanded them to strangle him in the night, though he was guiltless.
After they had strangled him, they cast his body into the sea. 95. And when this wicked
murder came to be known, people could not keep silence on the matter—and particularly
Arcadius, an illustrious officer and a thorough observer of justice. And he was one that
judged uprightly and hated oppression. And he blamed the emperor for the crime that in the
hardness of his heart he had committed in putting Silentiarius the patrician to death. 96.
And when Zeno the emperor heard (this) he was wroth with Arcadius, and gave orders for him
to be put to death as he entered the palace. And (the guards) did as the emperor
commanded, but Arcadius escaped out of their hands, by entering a church in order (as he
pretended) to make prayer and supplication to God. 97. And the emperor fell sick of a
dysentery and died.


THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU
==============================

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU continued

CHAPTER LXXXIX

1. And after the death of the Godloving emperor Zeno, the Christian and Godfearing emperor
Anastasius came to the throne. He was one of the emperor's chamberlains, and became
emperor through the grace of God and. the prayers of our Egyptian Fathers. 2. Now the
emperor Zeno had banished him to the island of S. Irai, situated in the river of Memphis.
Now the inhabitants of Manuf had treated him with kindly affection. 3. And Ammonius, who
belonged to the city of Hezena in the province of Alexandria, and <the inhabitants of that
city> became his friends, and honoured him and showed him much affection. 4. And one day
the inhabitants of Manuf and of Hezena agreed together respecting Anastasius, who was in
disgrace with the emperor Zeno, to ascend the mountain to the convent of the God-clothed
S, Abba Jeremiah of Alexandria. 5. And there lived on their route a man who was endowed
with the knowledge of all the works of God. And they conversed regarding the holy life of
the man of God, and desired his blessing. And he prayed for them to Christ whom he served.
6. And they proceeded and entered into the dwelling of the man of God, the Abba Jeremiah.
And he blessed them all, but spake no word at all to Anastasius. 7.

And when they came forth Anastasius was very deeply pained, and he wept much, saying in
his heart: 'It is by reason of the multitude of my sins that the man of God did not bless
me when he blessed all the rest.' 8, And the inhabitants of Manuf and Ammonius of the city
of Hezena went to the holy man of God and told him of the grievous pain with which
Anastasius was afflicted. 9. And he indeed called him apart, and likewise his trusty
friends and Ammonius, and said unto him : 'Grieve not so as to think and say, "It is by
reason of my sins that the old man blessed me not" : the matter is not so; on the
contrary, as I have seen the hand of God upon thee, I have on this ground refrained from
blessing thee. 10. How should I who have been guilty of so many sins be worthy to bless
him whom God hath blessed and honoured. And he hath chosen thee from amongst many
thousands to be His anointed ; for it is written: "The hand of the Lord God is on the head
of kings." 11. And He hath set His trust in thee that thou mayest become His
representative on earth and strengthen His people. Only when thou dost recall my words and
hast accomplished the prophecy, observe this command which I give thee this day, so that
God may save thee from thine adversaries :

"Do no sin of any kind and transgress not against the Christian faith of Christ, and
reject the Chalcedonian faith which hath provoked God to anger."' 12. And as for these
commands which the Abba Jeremiah gave to Anastasius, he indeed received them, (engraving
them) on the tables of his heart, even as Moses the prophet received the tables of the
Covenant from God whereon were engraved the commandments of the law. 13. And shortly after
Anastasius was recalled from the banishment into which the emperor of (this) world had
driven him by virtue of his power. And subsequently Anastasius was appointed emperor. 14.
And thereupon he sent to the disciples of the holy Abba Jeremiah <and had them fetched>.
And the Abba Warjanos, who was a relative of Abba Jeremiah, accompanied them. Now the
emperor indeed besought them with many prayers to accept money for their food on the way
and for the convent; but <they refused> because their father the holy Jeremiah had
instructed them not to accept anything save incense for the celebration of the eucharist
or for offering the sacrifice, and a few sacred utensils. 15. And he sent also to the
island where he had formerly been in banishment, and he had a great and massive church
built (and) named S. Irai. Formerly it was but a little church. 16. And he sent to it many
gold and silver vessels and beautiful vestments. And he sent also much gold and silver to
his friends in the city of Manuf and Hezena. And he conferred magistracies upon them, and
some of them he had ordained to the priesthood. 17. And this Godloving Anastasius sent to
the city of Antioch and to all the cities, and put a stop to the civil war which the
people waged on each other, and he made them submit to authority as became Christians. And
he wrote to all the magistrates that were subject to him (bidding them) to execute this
decree, and they submitted to authority as became Christians.

18. And subsequently there arose disturbances in (the capital of) his dominion through the
enmity of Satan. For the people demanded tumultuously that certain disorderly and factious
persons should not be cast into prison; for the prefect had delivered over several of them
to be stoned. But the emperor refused to let them off, and he was wroth, and gave orders
for them to be attacked by the cavalry. 19. And when these went down to make the attack a
slave audaciously rose up and approached the emperor's seat, and hurled a stone with the
intention of killing the emperor. Now he stood up in his place, saying in his heart, 'No
one will recognize me'. 20. But the help of God shielded the emperor, and the stone fell
inside the enclosure that is within the imperial seat and brake, it. And when (the guards)
saw that slave who cast a stone at the emperor they marked him closely, and ran and seized
him, and dismembered him limb from limb. 21. And the tumult waxed more serious, and they
burnt the brazen circuitwhere stood the seats of the soldiers and the cavalry and all the
people all the way to the emperor's seat, and the portico of Hexahippium which adjoins the
seat constructed by the holy Constantine.

22. And after many great efforts they forcibly re-established the (imperial) authority
over the seditious, and punished many of them till peace and tranquillity were restored
throughout all the city. 23. And the inhabitants of Antioch also acted after the same
manner as those of Constantinople. They set fire to the synagogue of the Jews, which is in
Daphne, and set up within it the glorious cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they
transformed it (the synagogue) into a church, dedicated to S. Leontius, and they put many
of them (the Jews) to death. 24. And when the emperor was informed of these events he sent
Procopius, count of the east, in order to subdue the seditious factions. 25. And when he
and Menas of Byzantium arrived in Antioch the leaders of the factions fled from the city
and withdrew into the sacred dwelling of S. John. 26. And Menas the prefect at the head of
a numerous force went thither by night. And a great tumult arose, and he slew amongst them
a man named Eleutherius, whose head was carried to the governor Procopius. 27. But the
(Green) faction gained the day, and burned the place of their assemblage with fire, (and
likewise) the praetorium. Thereupon there was a terrible strife, and Menas the prefect was
slain and his body burned with fire. 28. And Procopius immediately took to flight and went
to the confines of Constantinople. And when (the emperor) was apprised of the flight of
the governor Procopius he appointed in his stead a man named Irenaeus, and ordered him to
proceed to Antioch. 29.

And when he arrived there he punished many of them, and inspired such great fear and
terror that all the factions abandoned their civil strife, and so he re-established peace
among the inhabitants of Antioch. 30. And the emperor rebuilt the edifices which had been
burnt, and he constructed many beautiful streets; for in his mercy and compassion he loved
to build edifices. 31. He built many edifices in Egypt, and likewise a fortress on the
borders of the Red Sea. And he applied himself to completing all manner of beautiful
works, that he might remain in tranquillity and peace. 32. And for the inhabitants of
Doras he had a wall built, and openings made in the walls like bridges to prevent the
water of the river from spreading upon the fields. 33. And in the reign also of this
Godloving emperor impious barbarians, who eat human flesh and drank blood, arose in the
quarter of Arabia, and approaching the borders of the Red Sea they seized the monks of
Araite, and they put them to the sword or led them away captive and plundered their
possessions; for they hated the saints, and were themselves like in their devices to the
idolaters and pagans. And after they had taken a large booty they returned to their own
country. 34. And when the emperor was informed of this event he had strong forts
constructed as a defence to the dwellings of the monks, and he rendered many good services
to them and all the monks of the Roman world. 35. And certain people in the city of
Alexandria rose up and created a shameful disturbance, and slew the prefect of the city,
who was named Theodosius, who had been brought up in the house of the patriarch of
Antioch. And when the emperor was informed of this event he was wroth, and punished many
of the inhabitants of that city.

36. And the good deeds alone of the emperor are beyond numbering; for he was an orthodox
believer and trusted in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and prohibited the faith of the
Chalcedonians because the holy Jeremiah, the servant of God, had (so) bidden him. 37. Now
the people of Elwarikon had refused to accept the letter of Leo which he dispatched to
them from Rome. But when the oppression of Marcian and his magistrates became severe they
began to fear lest they should experience the violence which befell Dioscorus the
patriarch of Alexandria. 38. And the emperor Anastasius, the servant of God, agreed with
the terms of the letter of the emperor Zeno. And subsequently he gave orders that the
faith professed by the three Councils, Nicaea, Constantinople, and the first at Ephesus,
should be established. 39. But Euphemius, the patriarch of Constantinople at that period,
was a Chalcedonian, who divided the one nature of Christ into two distinct natures in its
manifestations, saying that it was the Word of God that had wrought the miracles, but the
weak human nature that had submitted to the passion. 40. And he changed likewise the
trisagion which we recite thus: 'Holy God, holy Strong One, holy Immortal One, who hast
been crucified for us, have mercy upon us.' But he did not recite it as we, but in the
following terms: 'Holy God, holy Strong One, holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us.' 41.
Indeed he declared, 'I do not recite it as ye do, to prevent the application of this
formula to the Holy Trinity in three persons. Him who was crucified we adore together with
the Father and the Holy Spirit. Now it was not the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
who suffered.

He that became incarnate without separating Himself (from the Trinity) and suffered is
consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit, but He did not suffer in His divinity.
And there is none other than He—God forbid ! 42. Now whilst one of the Holy Trinity, He is
capable of suffering in the body which is united with Him and the reasonable soul which
are combined in (one) person, but He is not capable of suffering in His divinity which is
consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as our holy Fathers have taught us.'
43. The wise Proclus joined the Nestorians in saying: 'If Christ was in every respect
incapable of suffering after His incarnation, He could no more suffer in body than could
the divinity of the Son.' But in so saying he speaks falsely, for the Son of God could not
then have suffered in reality. 44. These are the pestilent words of those who say there
are four persons instead of three.

45. Of a similar character are the declarations of those impostors who say regarding the
Son that it was another who was crucified ; for this wicked opinion was propounded by
heretics. 46. And the emperor Anastasius deprived Euphemius of his dignities and banished
him from Constantinople to Euchaites in Pontus. And he appointed Macedonius in his stead,
who accepted from his hand the edict of the emperor Zeno, and refused to accept the
Council of Chalcedon. 47. And he charmed the heart of the emperor Anastasius, though
concealing the while treacherous devices in his thoughts regarding the faith. And (the
emperor) obliged him to recite the trisagion in these terms : 'Mayst Thou who wast
crucified for us have mercy upon us.' And thus he ordained this rule. 48. Now the orthodox
monks of Palestine had abandoned the study of the Scriptures, and a schism had arisen
amongst them ; for they declared that they were unwilling to accept the edict of the
emperor. And they brought thereby persecution upon themselves at the instigation of a monk
named Nephalius, a promoter of dissension. 49. The monks of the desert sent certain aged
anchorites to Constantinople, accompanied by Severus the chief of the Fathers—a wise man
well versed in the Scriptures, and a perfect priest—to request the emperor Anastasius to
issue orders to the monks to live peaceably in their dwellings and cloisters, and to pray
on his behalf. 50. And when they came to speak to the emperor they were recognized by the
officers and conducted to the patriarch Macedonius, and they conversed with him on the
subject of the faith. 51. And thereupon he confessed openly what was hidden in his heart
regarding the perverted faith which he followed; for he could not always conceal his views
and prevent their coming to be known by some one. 52. Now there was an Alexandrian, named
Doritheus, who possessed S. Cyril's treatise on the faith. And he had conversed with
Severus and had found him imbued with the doctrine of S. Cyril. 53. These two admonished
Macedonius and the Chalcedonians, who + remembered + two natures to Jesus Christ the Son
of God, who is one. And it was marvellous in their eyes, and they named this book
Philalelhes,

54. But Macedonius and his adherents, as well as the partisans of the Nestorians, were
wroth, and said that after the manner of their (tris)agion the angels recite the
trisagion. But Severus answered: 'The angels recite as follows : "Holy God, holy Mighty
One, holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us. Indeed the angels have no necessity to say :
"Who was crucified for us"; for the crucifixion of our God was not on behalf of angels,
but on behalf of us men was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ crucified. 55. And it was
for our salvation that He came down from heaven and was incarnate and became man, and was
crucified for us in the days of Pontius Pilate, and rose from the dead on the third day,
as it is written in the holy Scriptures which were set in due order by our holy Fathers of
Nicaea and Constantinople and Ephesus, who also established a fitting definition of His
divinity. 56. It is for this reason that we Christians say of necessity : "O Thou who hast
been crucified for us, have mercy upon us. We believe also that the holy, mighty and
immortal God was crucified for us. In like manner also we truly believe that the holy
Virgin Mary brought forth very God : and that they were not two different persons, but one
and the same whom the Virgin bare and the Jews crucified — one and the same alike in
birth, crucifixion, and resurrection.' 57.

And many similar arguments were addressed to the emperor and the magistrates, whereby the
opinions of the heretical Nestorians were overthrown from their foundation. 58. And when
they had by their orthodox arguments reduced Macedonius to silence, and his opinions had
vanished because of the words of truth, he thought out an evil device, and spake to the
emperor and the magistrates to this effect : 'I too believe the same facts as the
orientals, and I say in the church : "O Thou that wast crucifiedfor us, have mercy upon
us."' 59. But in secret he stirred up the heretics against the emperor, saying unto them :
'They have introduced novelties into the faith of our Christian Fathers.' Then the
heretics assembled and proceeded to the court of the emperor in order to stir up a tumult
with a view to the banishment of Plato, who administered all the affairs of his empire :
he was very highly and universally honoured. 60. And yielding to fear, he took to flight
and hid himself. And these heretics and the soldiers who were with them cried aloud and
proclaimed the name of another emperor of the Romans. 61. And they proceeded with haste to
the house of Marinus the Syrian, an illustrious man. And they burnt his house and
possessions. And they sought to slay him, but they could not find him ; for he had fled,
and was saved through the strong aid of our Lord Jesus Christ. 62.

Now the lying patriarch Macedonius had calumniated this Godloving man to the people, and
had said unto them : 'It is Marinus who turns the heart of the emperor from the faith.'
63. And moved with evil zeal they sought for him with a view to slaying him, though he was
unaware of it. And when they had plundered the house of this illustrious man and carried
out the silver vessels he possessed, they divided them amongst themselves. 64. But indeed
the moment the crowds entered the house of the magistrate they found (in it) a monk of the
east, (and) they led him forth and put him to death, believing him to be the Godloving
Severus. And they took his head and carried it about throughout all the city crying aloud
these words: 'This is the enemy of the Holy Trinity.' 65. And they went also to the house
of Juliana, who belonged to the family of the emperor Leo <and proclaimed her husband>,
who was named Ariobindus, <emperor>. But when he was apprised of their coming he took to
flight. 66. But the people kept shamelessly perpetrating these excesses. Then the
Godloving emperor Anastasius, being guided by the true faith of Christ, arose and
accompanied by all the senators ascended the imperial throne, clothed in the imperial
robes. And when all the people saw him, they were pained and grieved and became repentant,
and fearing the emperor they besought him to pardon their transgression, confessing their
offences. 67.

And the emperor said to them in a loud voice: 'Be not afraid: lo ! I have pardoned you.'
And thereupon all the people dispersed to their several dwellings, and tranquillity was
restored. But after a few days, the same people stirred up fresh disturbances, and so the
emperor Anastasius mustered a numerous force of soldiers and gave orders to them to seize
the rioters, and when they were seized and brought to the emperor, some had their limbs
broken, others were executed, and others sent into banishment. 68. And by these measures
tranquillity was restored, and the fear of the emperor was inspired in the hearts of the
citizens. It was then also that Macedonius was banished, who had brought about the
destruction of many. He was stripped of his episcopal dignities and reckoned as a
murderer, and expelled from the congregation (of the faithful). 69. And the bishops of the
east arrived in Byzantium and made the following accusations to the emperor Anastasius
against Flavian, patriarch of Antioch: that he was a Nestorian, though he had accepted the
Henoticon of the emperor Zeno; that he had again joined the Chalcedonians, and accepted
the abominable letter of Leo, in which were mentioned the two natures and twofold
operations of Him who is one only and indivisible, Jesus Christ, very God. 70. And the
Godloving emperor Anastasius, moreover, banished him to Petra in Palestine ; for he had
cursed the orthodox and had embraced the faith of the wicked heretics.

71. And Vitalian, moreover, who was commander of the troops in the province of Thrace,
being a man of perverse heart, hated Severus the saint of God. Now the emperor Anastasius
had appointed Severus patriarch of Antioch in the room of the heretic Flavian, whom he had
banished, when the orthodox bishops of the east testified in the favour of the former. 72.
And Vitalian, whom we have just mentioned, raised a revolt against the emperor Anastasius,
and seized Thrace and Scythia and Mysia, and mustered a numerous army. 73. And the emperor
sent against him a general named Hypatius. And when they fought together, he was
vanquished by Vitalian and taken prisoner. And on the payment of a large ransom he was set
free. 74. But immediately on his return to the emperor, the latter removed him from his
command, and appointed in his room another general, named Cyril, of the province of
Illyria. 75. And he also gave battle to Vitalian, and there was great slaughter on both
sides. Cyril the general retired into the city named Odyssus, and stayed there while
Vitalian withdrew into the province of Bulgaria. 76. And he gave large sums of money to
the guards who kept the gates of Odyssus, and then, marching by night, he put Cyril the
general to death and captured the city. 77. And he attacked also the province of Thrace,
and plundered all its wealth, and likewise the cities of Europe, and Sycae, and the region
over against Constantinople and Sosthenium, and he established himself in the church of
the holy Archangel Michael, devising by what means he could make himself master of the
empire of Byzantium.

78. And the emperor Anastasius sent to the philosopher Proclus in order that he might
render help to Marinus. 79. And the emperor informed him regarding the rebel Vitalian and
the audacity he had shown. But Marinus encouraged the emperor, saying: 'I will overcome
this rebel by the might of God ; only give orders that I may be accompanied by soldiers
and the philosopher Proclus. Procure for me also unpurged sulphur resembling powdered
antimony.' 80. And the emperor gave him the sulphur. And Marinus ground it into a + hard
powder +, and said publicly : 'If you cast (this) on a house or on a ship, it will take
fire when the sun rises and melt it like wax.' 81. And Marinus took with him many ships,
and he mustered all the soldiers he could find in Constantinople, and he proceeded to wage
war against Vitalian as the emperor had commanded. 82. And when the rebel saw Marinus he
took all the ships he could find and manned them with a large force of Scythian and Gothic
archers, and sailed in the direction of Byzantium, believing that he should get the better
of his opponents. 83. But Marinus and his companions, through the mighty help of God, got
the better of this enemy, and the design of this shameless rebel failed of accomplishment,
and thereupon Vitalian, the cause of civil strife, took to flight.

84. And Marinus gave the unpurged sulphur to the sailors, and commanded them to cast it on
the ships of the rebel foe in order that they might be burnt. And when the fleets of
Marinus and of this rebel encountered each other, they (the sailors) cast the sulphur into
the ships of Vitalian about the third hour of the day, and immediately the ships burst
into flames and sank in the depths. 85. And when Vitalian saw this he was stupefied, and
his remaining forces turned back and fled. And the general Marinus put all the rebels he
could find to the sword, and pursued them till they came to the church of S. Mamas. And as
night was approaching Marinus encamped there and guarded the route. 86. But Vitalian after
his defeat marched throughout the night and fled with his followers in fear and terror to
a place named Anchialus. And he traversed that night a space of sixty miles, as he feared
lest Marinus should pursue him and make him a prisoner. On the morrow every one forsook
him and left him alone.

87. And the emperor Anastasius distributed many alms amongst the poor and destitute in the
district of Sosthenium. And he set out from the imperial city and stayed in the church of
S. Michael, praying and giving thanks to God for all the benefits He had bestowed upon him
and for the victory which He had given him over his adversaries, and displaying an
irreproachable (and) orthodox faith. 88. Next the emperor Anastasius ordered that a large
sum of gold should be given to the philosopher Proclus. But he refused to take the money
and, saluting the emperor, he requested him (to let him go back to Athens), saying:
Whoever loves money is not worthy to be a philosopher, and the contempt of money likewise
in those that cultivate philosophy is honourable.' And the emperor let him go, and held
him in high honour. 89. And all the orthodox believers who had accepted the Henoticon of
the righteous emperor Zeno were highly esteemed by the emperor. And at that time appeared
from the city of Nikius John priest and monk; for the patriarch had refused to accept him.
90. Now the priest John was wise and Godloving and well versed in the Scriptures, and he
lived in the convent of Par. 91. And the inhabitants of the city of Sa and those of the
city of Akela came to be at variance with each other. Thereupon the bishops of the two
cities arose and went to the emperor Anastasius, and besought him to ordain for them
suitable canons, to hold a Council, and expel the Chalcedonians and blot out their
remembrance from the church and that of all bishops who agreed with the abominable Leo who
proclaimed the two natures,

92. But the emperor in his goodness did not force them contrary to their inclinations, but
(suffered) each (to) act according to his own inclination. And the emperor Anastasius paid
great honour to those who agreed with him in the orthodox faith and distributed numerous
alms and virtuously completed his work. 93. And subsequently the emperor fell ill. Now he
was an old man, and at the age of ninety years he went to his rest in great honour, as
saith the Scriptures: 'All the glory of man is but as grass: as soon as the sun ariseth,
the grass withereth, the flower thereof fadeth, the beauty of the appearance thereof
perisheth, but the word of the Lord abideth for ever.'

CHAPTER XC

1. And after the blessed Godloving orthodox emperor Anastasius went to his rest, Justin
the terrible, the consort of the empress Euphemia, ascended the throne, and was crowned
with the imperial crown in pursuance of the decision of the trusty councillors of the
emperor. 2. Some say regarding him that he was + chief over the seventh assemblage in
Byzantium +. But all the officers did not approve of him ; for he was unlettered, but he
was a soldier and a valiant man. 3. Now there was a man named Amantius whom the officers
wished to make emperor over them after the emperor Anastasius, and the councillors had
given large sums of money to Justin to distribute among the civilians and the soldiers, in
order that they might proclaim his name and spread abroad the rumour that God had named
him emperor. But these refused to do so. And so the councillors were thereupon obliged to
make Justin emperor.

4. And when Justin became emperor he put to death all the eunuchs, however guiltless they
were, because they had not approved of his elevation to the throne; for he thought they
would plot evil against him. 5. And in the beginning of the reign of Justin there rose in
the east a fearful and terrible comet. And for this reason the emperor Justin sent and
recalled Vitalian who had been the enemy of the emperor Anastasius, and appointed him a
master of the forces.6. And he changed the orthodox faith of the emperor Anastasius, and
the Henoticon of the emperor Zeno was rejected: communion with the Chalcedonians was
restored, and the letter of Leo was accepted and enrolled amongst the writings of the
Eastern Church. 7. In the first year of his reign the great Severus, the patriarch of the
great city of Antioch, + appeared +. When he heard of the change of faith and the return
of Vitalian and his reception at the court of the emperor Justin, he became afraid and
fled into Egypt and abandoned his (patriarchal) throne. 8. Now Vitalian hated him and
wished to cut out his tongue because he had written (and delivered) in the church long and
short homilies, full of knowledge and invective directed against the + emperor + Leo
because of his corrupt faith. 9. And Paul was appointed patriarch of Antioch in the room
of Severus, and this Paul was in communion with the Chalcedonians. And a schism then arose
and none associated with him save the magistrates of the emperor only. 10. The people
turned away from him because of his being a Nestorian and refused the sacerdotal
benediction and baptism save at the hands of the priests ordained in secret by the great
Severus. 11. Now he who wished to cut out the tongue of the great Severus soon died of a
violent death. Now Vitalian's death was brought about by his plotting, after his
appointment by the emperor Justin, to raise a revolt (against him) as he had done against
the emperor before him. 12. And thereupon (Justin) gave orders for his execution. For God
punished him speedily, even as Severus had prophesied regarding him that he should die a
violent death.

13. And the patriarch Severus (composed) a treatise full of wisdom and the fear of God,
and sent it to the patrician Godloving Caesaria; for she was a chosen vessel, of the
imperial family of Rome, and she was strong in the orthodox faith in which she had been
instructed by the holy patriarch Severus. And this teaching prevails to the present day
among the Egyptian monks. 14. And subsequently Paul the Chalcedonian, of Antioch, died,
who had been appointed after Severus, and another was appointed in his room, named
Euphrasius, of Jerusalem. This man hated the Christians attached to the teaching of
Severus. And many of the orthodox were put to death on account of the faith which he
taught. 15. And he stirred up civil war throughout all the Roman empire, and there was
much shedding of blood. And in the city of Antioch there were great tumults during five
years. And no one could speak owing to fear of the emperor.

16. And there arose many men belonging to the people who in Constantinople *and the cities
of Hellas loudly accused the patrician Justinian his brother's son. Now Justinian helped
the Blue Faction to commit murder and pillage among the various nations. 17. And (the
emperor) appointed a prefect named Theodotus, (formerly count) of the east to punish all
who had been guilty of crime, and he made him swear that he would show no partiality. 18.
And beginning with Constantinople he punished many guilty persons, and subsequently had
Theodosius arrested and put to death. And he was very rich. And next he had Justinian the
patrician arrested, and wished to put him to death. But when he fell ill, he let him go.
19. And the emperor on hearing these things was wroth with the prefect and stripped him of
his dignities and sent him in exile from Constantinople into the east. And fearing lest he
should be put to death there, he went to the holy places of Jerusalem and lived there in
seclusion.

20. And subsequently all the soldiers and people assembled together in Byzantium and
disowned their allegiance to the emperor. And they besought God saying: 'Give us a good
emperor like Anastasius or else remove the emperor Justin whom Thou hast given us.' 21.
And there arose a man amongst them named Qamos, who said unto them: 'Thus saith the Lord:
see, I love you: wherefore do ye supplicate Me. Behold him whom I have given unto you—I
will give you no other;—for if he did according to that which is written, supplications
would arise amongst the adversaries of the emperor. For it is owing to the sins of this
city that I have appointed this emperor who is a hater of the virtuous.' Thus saith the
Lord : 'I will give you rulers according to your own hearts.' 22. And the emperor was
grieved when he heard these words. However, he sought to gain the affection of the people,
as he feared lest the wise should admonish him according to the laws of this world. 23.
And so on his own initiative he chose and appointed in the room of Theodotus and Theodore
prefects of the imperial city : and the names of those who were appointed were Theodore
and Ephraim of Amida. These, indeed, by great efforts and severity, put an end to civil
war amongst the citizens, made feuds to cease, and established peace.

24. But these means were not yet sufficient to turn away the wrath of God from the earth
owing to the declension of the emperor. For there came an earthquake from God and fire
fell from heaven on the city of Antioch, extending from the church of S. Stephen to the
house of the chief of the army, in breadth and length, and as far as the bath called
Tainadonhus and the bath of the Syrian nation. 25. And about the same time also fires
burst out in the countries of the east and along all the routes for six months, and no one
could pass in this direction or that. And there were conflagrations in the city and many
souls perished in the flames, and the fire descended from above the houses and they were
destroyed to their foundations. 26. And likewise in the days of that emperor, the great
city of Antioch in Syria was sorely afflicted and was devastated six times. The people who
remained wasted away in their houses and became as soulless bodies. 27. Burning coals of
fire like thunderbolts fell from the air and set fire to everything they touched, and the
city was overthrown to its foundations. 28. And the fire pursued those who wished to flee,
whilst those who remained in the houses were consumed by the fire. And the beauty of the
city of Antioch was destroyed, and none could escape the fire. No more did the houses on
the heights escape this visitation. And many edifice sacred to the martyrs were
devastated, and some of them were cloven in twain from the top to the bottom, and the
great church which had been built in the days of the emperor Constantine was destroyed.
29. And weeping and lamentation were multiplied throughout the city, and the number of
men, women, young people and babes that died was 250,000 souls.

30. And when the festival of the Ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ arrived,
many people assembled in the church called Karadaum, in order to make intercession because
of this terrible event. 31. And many who had survived the visitation went out to bury
their dead, and others drew forth (from the debris) certain women with their babes which
had escaped. 32. Moreover, the unfortunate Euphrasius, who had been unfitted for the
patriarchate, perished in the fire. And they appointed by lot as his successor a man named
<Ephraim>, of Amida in Mesopotamia, And he also was a Chalcedonian, and persecuted the
orthodox as his predecessors had done. 33. And the cities of Seleucia and Daphne and all
the towns within a radius of twenty miles <were destroyed>. And all who saw (these things)
said: 'All these calamities have taken place because the orthodox faith has been forsaken,
and also because of the unjust expulsion of the patriarch Severus, and the evil deeds
perpetrated by the emperor Justin and his abandonment of the faith of the Godloving
emperors that preceded him. These are the causes alike of this affliction and this
tribulation.' 34. And when the emperor Justin heard these things, <he put off> his
imperial crown and garments and wept and lamented, and ceased to visit the theatre. And
under the pressure of strong necessity he went from the imperial court to the church on
the fifth day of the Easter festival, walking on the ground with bare feet. And all the
people and the Senate wept and lamented with abundant tears. And he gave much money in
order to rebuild the churches and towns which had been destroyed: no emperor before him
gave in the same measure.

35. And in his reign the Lazaeans, who had been under the sway of the Persians, and had
embraced the cult of their idols, came to him and became Christians. 36. It was on the
occasion of the death of the king of the Persians that they received grace from heaven,
that is, faith in the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. 37. And thereupon they came to
the city of Constantinople to the emperor Justin, saying: 'We wish thee to make us
Christians like thyself, and we shall then be subjects of the Roman empire.' And he
received them gladly, and had them baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Spirit, the con substantial Trinity. 38. And he honoured their chief exceedingly,
and clothed him after his baptism with a robe of honour, and rendered to him imperial
honours, and gave him for his spouse the daughter of a great official, who was named
Ionics, and he sent him back to his own country with great honours. 39. And when Cabades,
the king of the Persians, heard these things he was greatly grieved, and sent ambassadors
to the emperor Justin with the following message: 'Heretofore there have been friendship
and peace between us: but behold now thou hast created enmity and hast + received+ the
king of the Lazaeans, who from the earliest times has been subject to our sway, and not to
that of Rome.' 40.

And when the emperor Justin heard this message, he wrote a reply in the following terms :
'We have not taken from thee any of thy subjects; but when a man named Tzathius came to
us, humbly begging us to deliver him from the error wherein he walked, namely, the errors
of demons and of pagans, and from impure sacrifices, and besought us that he might be made
a Christian, how could I forbid one who desired to return to the true God, the Creator of
all things ? 41. And when he became a Christian, and was deemed worthy to receive the holy
mysteries, we permitted him to return to his own country.' And for this reason there was
enmity between the Romans and the Persians. 42. And the emperor Justin (requested)
Ziligdes, king of the Huns, to be his ally in the war, and he gave him numerous presents,
and made him swear a solemn oath that he would deal truly and fairly with him. 43. But
Ziligdes proved false to his oath, and set out to join Cabades, king of Persia, with
20,000 soldiers, and formed an alliance with him, and joined him. But the Christians had
the help of God, who always wars against their enemies. 44. For when the Persians went
forth to give battle the emperor Justin sent the following message to the king of Persia :
'Behold, it is fitting that we should be brothers in friendship, and not be mocked by our
enemies. And behold we wish to inform thee that Ziligdes the Hun has received large sums
from us with a view to helping us in the time of war, and behold now he has gone to thee
with treacherous intent, and in the time of war he will come to our side and slay the
Persians. And now, as thou sayest, let there be no enmity between us, but peace.' 45. And
when Cabades, king of Persia, heard this, he asked Ziligdes and said unto him: 'Is it true
that thou hast received moneys from the Romans to help them against the Persians?' And he
answered, 'Yes.' And Cabades was enraged, and immediately commanded his head to be cut
off; for he thought that he had done this with treacherous intent. 46. And he sent
soldiers to fight against the 20,000 troops who had come with him, and he put them to the
sword, and only a few escaped, who returned in great shame to their own country. And from
that day friendship prevailed between Cabades, king of Persia, and Justin, the emperor of
Rome.

47. But the reign of Justin did not last long after the conclusion of this friendship, and
in the ninth year of his reign he fell into a grievous illness, for he had a wound in his
head, which had been struck by an arrow in battle. The wound reopened, and remained
incurable for a long time. 48. And during his illness he appointed his brother's son
emperor, and placed upon him the imperial crown, and put all the affairs of the empire in
his hands. And thereupon he died. 49. And Justinian, after he had taken the empire into
his hands, resided in Constantinople with his wife Theodora. And he practised every
virtue, and all shameless persons concealed themselves from his notice. 50. And he built
churches everywhere, and hospices for strangers, and asylums for old men, and hospitals
for the sick, and orphanages, and many other like establishments. 51. And he restored many
cities which had been destroyed, and gave large sums of money to the people. None of the
emperors that preceded him had done as he did.

52. And Cabades, king of Persia, wished to make war upon <the king of> the Lazaeans,
because he had given aid to Rome, and had become a Christian, and had embraced their
faith. And (the latter) wrote to the emperor Justinian (requesting him) to give him aid
because of his faith in Christ. And he sent thereupon to him numerous forces under three
commanders, whose names were Belisarius, Cerycus, and Irenaeus, in order to help him. 53.
But when they engaged in battle many of the Romans <fell>; for (the generals) were at
variance with each other. And when the emperor heard (this news) he was very wroth, and
sent Peter to be commander with a large force of archers. And this Peter placed himself at
the head of the Roman generals, and, forming a junction with the Lazaeans, they attacked
the Persians, and put a great number of the Persians to the sword on that occasion.

54. And the emperor Justinian loved God with all his heart and mind. Now there was a
magician named Masides, who resided in the city of Byzantium, and there dwelt with him a
band of demons, who served him. And all the faithful shunned him, and had no intercourse
at all with him. And this magician commanded the demons to inflict evil plagues on men.
55. And those who lived without using remedies for the soul and became remiss, attending
the theatre and the races, and particularly certain nobles in the city, i.e. Addaeus and
Aetherius, patricians, held this enemy of God in high honour. 56. And these same
patricians spoke of this magician to the emperor, and said unto him : 'This man has caused
the destruction of the Persians, and will give victory to the Romans. And he will be
serviceable to the Roman empire by his practices, and he will see to the administration of
the nations, and cause the taxes to be collected excellently, and he will send demons
against the Persians, and make their stout warriors weak through manifold plagues separate
and distinct, and he will make them (the Romans) victors without a battle.' 57. But being
firm of purpose he mocked the words of these servants of demons, and yet he wished to
become acquainted with their impure devices. And so Masides carried out his evil practices
as these patricians had told him. 58. And when the emperor became acquainted (with these
practices) he mocked them (the patricians) and said unto them: 'I do not desire the magic
and sorcery which thou dost practise, thinking that thou canst benefit the state. 59. Am
I, Justinian, a Christian emperor, to conquer by the help of demons ? Not so, my help
cometh from God and my Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.' And
accordingly he drove away this magician and his assistants, for his hope was always in
God,

60. And some time later the emperor received the victory from God, and he commanded that
the magician should be burnt. 61. And the Persians, renewing hostilities against Rome,
requested the Huns to send 20,000 warriors to fight against Rome. Now there was there a
certain valiant woman amongst the + outer + Huns, named queen Boa, in the language of the
barbarians. 62. And this woman, who was a widow, was wise. And she had two young sons, and
thousands of Hunnish warriors were under her sway. And she exercised a vigorous rule since
the death of her husband, who was named Balach. 63. And this woman arose and went to the
Christian emperor Justinian, and brought him a great quantity of gold and silver and
precious stones. And the emperor commanded her to attack the two chiefs who wished to make
an alliance with the Persians and to fight against the Romans. And these are their names,
Astera and Aglanos. 64. And when this woman had overtaken these chiefs, who were making
terms with the Persians, she gave them battle and defeated them, and slew Airlands and his
followers on the field of battle. 65. And Astera she took alive, and seized him, and sent
him in chains to Constantinople. And they hanged him on a tree, and fixed him (thereto)
with nails.

66. And subsequently there came a man of the Huns named Jaroks to the emperor Justinian,
and he was baptized and became a Christian. And the emperor Justinian was his sponsor at
the baptism, and he gave him abundant honours, and sent him back to his own country. Now
this man became a vassal of the Roman empire. 67. And when he returned home he told his
brother regarding the gifts which the emperor had given him. And he also became a
Christian. This Jaroks took all the idols which the Huns worshipped and brake them in
pieces, and took the silver wherewith they were covered and burnt them with fire. And all
the people of the country of the Huns who were barbarians were wroth, and they rose
against him and slew him. 68. And when the emperor Justinian heard of this, he arose and
went to war against them, and he sent many ships by the sea of Pontus and many warriors of
the Scythians and Goths. And he set Tulilan,a valiant general, over the ships. 69. But as
for the cavalry he dispatched them by land, and there was a numerous army with Baduarius
as commander. And when the inhabitants of the country of the Huns heard (of these forces)
they took to flight, and concealed themselves. And the emperor seized their country and
made peace with them anew.

70. And in those days there reigned in the country of the Huns a man named Grepes
(text—Akraids), and he went to the emperor Justinian and became a Christian, he and all
his kindred and officers. And the emperor gave him large sums of money, and sent him back
to his own country with honour as a vassal of the Roman empire. 71. And in the days of the
emperor Justinian the Indians were at war with the Ethiopians. And the name of the king of
the Indians was Endas. He worshipped the star called Saturn. Now the country of the
Ethiopians was not far distant from Egypt: it comprised three Indian states and four
Abyssinian states, and they were situated on the border of the Sea [of Salt] towards the
east. 72. Now the Christian merchants who travelled through the country of the star-
worshippers and through the Homeritae, whom we have mentioned and previously described,
had to submit to seven trials. Damnus, the king of the Homeritae, used to slay the
Christian merchants who came to him, and to take their goods, saying: 'The Romans used to
oppress and slay the Jews, and on this account I also will slay all the Christians I
find.' 73. And for this reason commerce ceased and came to an end in the interior of
India. 74. And when the king of Nubia heard these tidings, he sent to the king of the
Homeritae the following message: 'Thou hast done an evil deed in that thou hast slain
Christian merchants and inflicted injuries on my kingdom and on the kingdoms of other
(kings) who live near at hand and far off from me.' 75. And when (Damnus) heard these
words he went forth to fight.

And when they encountered each other the king of Nubia opened his mouth and said: 'If God
give me the victory over this Jewish Damnus, I shall become a Christian.' 76. And then he
gave battle to this Jew, and conquered him and slew him, and made himself master of his
kingdom and of his cities. And at that time he sent messengers to Alexandria + in
reference to the Jews and the pagans + requesting the Roman governors to send from the
empire of Rome a bishop to baptize and instruct in the holy Christian mysteries all the
inhabitants of Nubia and the survivors of the Jews. 77. And when the emperor Justinian was
apprised of these facts, he gave orders that they should do for him all he requested, and
should send to him some priests and a bishop +from amongst the clergy of the holy
patriarch John+. He was a chaste and pious man. 78. Such was the origin of the conversion
of the Ethiopians in the days of the emperor Justinian.

79. In his days also the king of Hedjaz, named Alamundar, arose and invaded Persia and
Syria, and committed great depredations as far as Antioch, and put many people to the
sword, and burned the city named Chalcis and other cities in the province of Sirmium and
Cynegia. 80. Thereupon the army of the east went forth to meet them, but they did not
await the attack, but seizing much booty retired into their own country. 81. In the days
also of the emperor Justinian there was a great earthquake in the land of Egypt, and many
cities and villages were swallowed in the abyss. And those who lived in the country made
prayers and many intercessions with tears, being grieved on account of the destruction
that had been wrought. 82. And after a year the wrath (of heaven) ceased and the
earthquakes which had prevailed in every place were stayed. And the Egyptians celebrate
the memorial of this day every year on the 17th of Teqemt. 83. And the remembrance of this
calamity has been preserved for us by our fathers, the divinely-influenced Egyptian monks.
For these earthquakes were due to the change in the orthodox faith brought about by the
emperor Justinian, who had hardened his heart more than his father's brother, who had
preceded him.

84. And this Justinian commanded the Orientals to inscribe the names of the (bishops of
the) Council of Chalcedon on the diptychs of the church, although they had sent the
patriarch Severus into exile—a custom which had hitherto not existed and which is not
mentioned in the Apostolic Canons nor in the Councils of the Fathers who came later: none
of the Councils should be mentioned in public worship. 85. Now it was this emperor
Justinian alone who established this custom throughout every province of his empire, and
had the names of the (bishops of the) Council of Chalcedon inscribed. And Anthimus,
patriarch of Constantinople, and Acacius who had been patriarch in the days of the emperor
Zeno, and Peter, patriarch of Alexandria, were excommunicated. 86. And he caused their
names to be removed from the diptychs, and abolished the Henoticon of the emperor Zeno :
he proscribed the name of the patriarch Abba Severus throughout all the province of
Antioch and the adjoining districts, enjoining that it should not be mentioned in the
diptychs of the church, but cursed; and he caused the inhabitants of Alexandria to thirst
after the waters of the doctrine of Dioscoras, who was succeeded by the patriarch Timothy.
87. Now the emperor Justinian had given the patriarchal chair to the Chalcedonians, but as
the empress Theodora, his wife, besought him on behalf of Timothy, patriarch of
Alexandria, he permitted him on her account. Now she called him 'spiritual father'.

88. And in the days of this father, the emperor Justinian sent numerous forces to
Alexandria, and these encompassed the city and wished to shed much blood. But Timothy the
patriarch sent many anchorites and ascetics to the emperor to intercede on behalf of the
church, and avert a massacre in the city and the shedding of innocent blood, and to get
permission (for its people) to abide by the faith of its fathers. 89. And when the emperor
heard these petitions, he granted them on the intercession of the empress Theodora, who
was near (?) to him, and he sent orders to the army to return to the province of Africa.
90. And the patriarch Timothy continued to reside in his palace, true to the orthodox
faith. And again subsequently the emperor sent to Alexandria a chief eunuch, named
Calotychius. In that year the Roman empire had reached its 1287th year.

And the city continued tranquil for a short period. And the illustrious father Timothy
died full of honour.

CHAPTER XCI

1. And likewise in the days of this patriarch Timothy there took place in the city of
Alexandria an event, great and very terrible and strange exceedingly. 2. Now there was a
house in the eastern quarter of the city, in a place called Arutiju, to the right of the
church of the holy Athanasius. And in this house there dwelt a Jew, named Aubaruns, and he
had a chest in which were the mandil and towel of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherewith He
girded Himself when He washed the feet of His disciples. 3. His kindred gave it (the
chest) to this Jew. He indeed did not open it; for though he often wished to open it he
could not. For when he touched it, (fire) descended threatening to consume him who wished
to open it. 4. And he heard the voices of angels singing the praises of Him who was
crucified on the cross, the Lord, the King of Glory. 5. And as this Jew was terrified, he,
his mother, and wife, and children went to the patriarch Timothy and told him (regarding
it). And forthwith he proceeded with crosses, and gospels, censers and lighted waxen
candles, and he came to the place in which the chest was. 6. And forthwith the lid of the
coffer opened, and he took with great veneration the notable mandil and towel and conveyed
them to the patriarchal palace, and placed them in the Church of the Tabenniosites, in a
holy place. 7. And an angel descended from heaven and closed until this day the lid of the
brazen coffer wherein the mandil and towel had been. 8. And all the inhabitants of
Alexandria were indignant, and went to the Persians (?) and besought them to open the lid
of the coffer, but they could not. 9. That Jew indeed and all his household became
Christians then as was befitting.

CHAPTER XCII

1. And after the death of the venerable father Timothy, the deacon Theodosius, who had
been (his) secretary, was appointed in his stead. Whilst he was going to occupy his
pontifical chair, an Ethiopian wished to kill him. He fled and came to the city Konus and
lived there in solitude. 2. Then the foolish populace seized Gainas and made him patriarch
in the room of Theodosius, thus transgressing the holy canons. 3. And there was strife in
the city; some said: 'We are Theodosians'; and others said: 'We are Gainites', even unto
this day. 4. And when the emperor heard of these events—now there was in the city a
prefect named Dioscorus, and Aristomachus, moreover, was commander of the troops—the
emperor Justinian ordered the military commander to proceed to Alexandria and bring back
the (holy) father Theodosius from his exile. 5. And <Aristomachus> established him in his
(patriarchal) chair and sent Gainas into exile . . . And when he had taken possession of
the Church he gave it to Paul the Chalcedonian, who had been a monk among the
Tabenniosites, and he made him patriarch. 6. And joining the Chalcedonian faith, he
furnished letters in his own hand (to this effect) and sent (them) to all the churches.
And forthwith there arose an uproar among the Alexandrians, and they fought with one
another; for there was none who supported Paul, as he was an apostate and a Nestorian. 7.
And it was not only Alexandria, but every city that disapproved of him;

for he was a persecutor, and loved to shed blood. And the emperor Justinian deposed this
Paul from his office, as he was found committing the abominable crime of sodomy with a
deacon in a bath, and he appointed in his room a monk, named Zoilus of the city of
Aksenja. And him also the inhabitants of the city refused to receive. 8. And Zoilus,
seeing that the inhabitants of the city were hostile to him, sent a letter to the emperor
Justinian, resigning the patriarchal dignity. 9. Then the emperor appointed a reader,
named Apollinaris, of the convent of Salama, in the city of Alexandria. And he was o£
gentle disposition, and a member of the Theodosian party. 10. And they persuaded him to be
patriarch in the place of Zoilus, and they promised him great gifts with a view to his re-
establishing the faith of the Church. And Ga'inas died in exile before Theodosius.

11. And the emperor Theodosius assembled a great number of bishops from every country, and
Vigilius, patriarch of Rome. And after painful exertions many accepted the orthodox faith,
but others followed the wicked Nestorian and Chalcedonian creed, and of Theodore, bishop
of Mopsuestia. 12. And (the Council) anathematized the blasphemer Nestorius, who spoke of
the two natures. Now Theodoret had opposed the words and teaching of our holy father
Cyril. 13. And when the Nestorians had grown strong through the help of the new Marcian,
i. e. Justinian, John of the city of Antioch (?) helped our holy father Cyril. 14. And the
emperor Justinian believed in the Chalcedonian creed which says Christ had two natures in
one person—while they preach Him, as they say, according to Theodoret the Nestorian, who
contended against John of the city of Antioch in the Council of Chalcedon. 15. And
Asturaljus the prefect wrote a letter establishing the one nature of Christ, the Word who
became incarnate through union with the flesh, and submitted to the passion, and wrought
true miracles : 16. And (showing) that the holy Virgin Mary bare God, Him who was
crucified, one of the Holy Trinity, the Lord of glory. And this is the pure faith and the
holy orthodox teaching. 17. And they wrongfully put to death the holy Dioscorus, the
patriarch of Alexandria. 18. And Justinian believed in the Chalcedonian creed, and
accepted the letter of Leo which declared that Christ had two natures, distinct in all His
actions, as the two Nestorian bishops, i. e. Theodoret, bishop of Cyrrhus, and Theodore,
bishop of Mopsuestia taught.

19. And after the visitations which God had made to fall on the country, Justinian made
peace with the Persians and conquered the Vandals; 20. And these great victories have been
carefully recorded by Agathias, one of the renowned scholars of the city of
Constantinople, and likewise by a learned man named Procopius the patrician. He was a man
of intelligence and a prefect, whose work is well known. 21. It was he (Justinian) that
took all the imperial edicts of his predecessors, and duly arranged and re-edited them,
and set them in the place of judgement, which went back to the ancient Romans, and they
had left them as a memorial to those that came after.

CHAPTER XCIII

1. There was a man named Romulus who had founded the great city of Rome; and likewise
another who came after him named Numa, who adorned the city of Rome with institutions and
laws, and subsequently established three orders in the empire. 2. And so also subsequently
did the great Caesar and Augustus also after him. And it was through these that the
virtues of the Romans were shown forth, and these institutions are maintained among them
until this day, 3, And subsequently came the empress Theodora, the consort of the emperor
Justinian, who put an end to the prostitution of women, and gave orders for their
expulsion from every place. 4. And there was a Samaritan brigand chief who assembled all
the Samaritans, and raised a great war, and assumed the royal crown in the city of Nablus,
and said : 'I am king.' 5. And he seduced many of his people by his lying statement when
he declared: 'God hath sent me to re-establish the Samaritan kingdom'; just as <Je>roboam
the son of Nebat who, reigning after the wise Solomon the son of David, seduced the people
of Israel and made them serve idols. 6. And whilst he was at Nablus there were three
horsemen who were leading in a race, a Christian, a Jew, and a Samaritan. And the
Christian conquered in the race, and immediately dismounted and bowed his head to receive
the prize. 7. And he asked saying: 'What is he who was first in the race?' And they
replied: 'A Christian.' And thereupon they cut off his head with the sword. 8. And for
this reason they named their troops troops of the Philistines. And troops from Phoenicia,
Canaan, and Arabia, and many other Christian forces, mustered and made war on that
wretched Samaritan and slew him and his companions and his officers. 9. And they cut off
his head and sent it to Constantinople to the emperor Justinian, in order to strengthen
his empire. And (the emperor) thereupon distributed alms to the poor and wretched.

CHAPTER XCIV

1. And there was discussion as to the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and much controversy
in the city of Constantinople as to its being corruptible or incorruptible. 2. And they
were agitated in the city of Alexandria regarding this controversy which had arisen
between the two factions, the Theodosians and the Gainians. 3. And the emperor Justinian
sent to Eutychius the patriarch of the city of Constantinople at that time and asked him
regarding this matter. He agreed on doctrinal views with Severus and Theodosius. 4.
Accordingly, he answered and said unto him : 'The body of our Lord which submitted to
suffering on behalf of our salvation is living, imperishable, incorruptible, and
unchangeable. We believe that He suffered voluntarily. And after the resurrection He was
incorruptible and unchangeable in all aspects and ways.' 5. But the emperor did not accept
this pronouncement. Now the true solution of this question is to be found in the letter
sent by the holy Cyril to Successus. 6. But the emperor inclined to the views of Julian, a
bishop of the Gainian party who had the same doctrine ; for they said : 'He was a man like
us, and the holy Scriptures say : "Christ suffered for us in the body.'' ' 7.

And the emperor Justinian was wroth with the patriarch Eutychius because he had not sent
him a reply such as he desired, but a pronouncement like that of Severus and Anthimus ;
'These (he said) had deceived the inhabitants of Constantinople, and this (Eutychius)
likewise had deceived them.' 8. And thereupon he sent a letter to Agathon the prefect of
Alexandria, with orders to appoint Apollinaris, count of the Monastery of Banton, to be
patriarch of the Chalcedonians in the city of Alexandria and the other cities of Egypt. 9.
But the inhabitants of this city were strongly attached to the incorruptibility dogma, and
followed the teaching of our fathers, written in books, which declares : 'The holy body of
our Lord was incorruptible before the resurrection, and He submitted to suffering of His
own will unto death, but since the resurrection it has become immortal and impassible.'
Such was the declaration of Gregory the theologian. 10. Wherefore it behoves us, touching
the proposition of the incorruptibility, to set aside the salutary suffering which He
endured in the body of His own free will and power, and accomplished on behalf of our
salvation.

11. And the emperor Justinian deposed and exiled Eutychius the patriarch of
Constantinople, and appointed John of the city of + Jûdans +, who promised to give the
emperor an autograph letter signifying his agreement with him in the faith, and likewise
to write a synodal letter. 12. But when he received the (patriarchal) dignity, he set at
naught the command of the emperor and refused to write as he had promised him. He had
indeed been formerly a layman, and was unacquainted with the Scriptures, and had no
thorough knowledge of the holy faith; but when he became a priest he studied
unintermittingly the holy Scriptures, and acquainted himself with the pains and troubles
which our holy fathers sustained on behalf of Christ, and he learnt the orthodox doctrine,
and forsook the perverse doctrine of the emperor. 13. Now it was this John the patriarch
that wrote the Mystagogia, which set forth the one nature of Christ, the Word of God,
which became flesh. And its testimony agrees with the testimony of the apostolic
Athanasius who said : 'There is one hypostasis, divine and human.'

14. And a man, named Menas, who had previously been patriarch of Constantinople, wrote to
Vigilius, patriarch of the city of Rome, to the following effect: 'There is only one will
and one volition in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And we believe in God in perfect
fear of heart, instructed as we are in the teaching of our fathers.' And all this
discourse was in the hands of John, patriarch of Constantinople. 15. And so the emperor
wished to depose John, but, being troubled regarding this matter, because of Eutychius
whom he had already driven forth without recourse to canonical judgement, he feared the
outbreak of a tumult. Now while matters were in this train, the emperor Justinian died in
an advanced old age in the thirty-ninth year of the reign. His consort, the empress
Theodora, had died before him. 16. And the Romans deposed all the bishops. And
subsequently the Romans abandoned their ancient institutions because of the heathen who
dwelt among them. Now the heathen concerted together and put the Romans to the sword at
midday and seized the cities and a multitude of captives.

17. And the Samaritans dwelling in Palestine took up arms and rebelled. And the emperor
Justinian [before he died] sent against them a monk of high rank named Photion and a
numerous army under him. And he fought against them and conquered them, and put many of
them to torture, and others be drove into exile, and he inspired them with a great fear.
18. And in those days there was a pestilence in all places, and a great famine, And when
the emperor saw that all the nations were troubled when he published his edict on the
faith in all the province of Alexandria, and stirred up a severe persecution in the land
of Egypt, his mind was affected through the greatness of his grief, and he kept traversing
the apartments of the palace in mental bewilderment. 19. And he longed for death but
failed to find it; for God was wroth against him. And when he betrayed his madness before
all the people they took from him the imperial crown, and placed it on Tiberius and made
him emperor in his stead. And our Lord Jesus Christ gave power and strength to the latter.
Now this Tiberius was a young man, very fair to look upon, virtuous, generous, and
resolute. 20. And when he became emperor he put a stop to the persecution, and showed
(due) honour to the priests and monks. And so they accused him of being a Nestorian; but
their accusation was false. On the contrary, he was a very good man and never failed to
show favour to the orthodox, and to those who believed in the one nature of Christ,
perfect God and man of one essence, the Word that became flesh. Let us worship and give
praise to Him who gives help and power to kings. 21. Now this emperor never permitted any
persecution throughout his reign. And he presented many gifts to all his subjects, and he
built many edifices in honour of the martyrs and houses in which the monks could pursue
their religious exercises, and + pulpits + and convents for the virgins. 22. And he
presented many alms to the poor and destitute. And God caused peace to prevail throughout
his days as a recompense for his good deeds, and preserved the imperial city through
special mercies.

23. And John patriarch of Constantinople died in his reign at the close of a very
prosperous career. And the emperor brought Eutychius back from exile and restored him to
his (patriarchal) throne in the place of John who had died. 24. And Apollinaris bishop of
the Chalcedonians died in Alexandria, and a man, named John, an ex-military man, was
appointed in his stead, And he had a goodly presence and forced none to forsake his faith.
But he glorified God in His Church in the midst of all the assembled people, and they gave
thanks to the emperor for the noble acts he had done. 25. And Christ was with him (the
emperor), and he conquered the Persians and the nations by force of arms, and he made
peace with all the nations subject to him, And he died in peace in the third year of his
reign. It was owing to the sins of men that his days were so few; for they were not worthy
of such a Godloving emperor, and so they lost this gracious and good man. 26, Before he
died he gave orders that his son-in-law, named Germanus, should be raised to the imperial
throne. Now he had formerly been patrician. But owing to his humility of heart he refused
to be emperor. Thereupon Maurice, who was of the province of Cappadocia, was made emperor.

CHAPTER XCV

1. Now Maurice who became emperor in succession to the Godloving Tiberius was very
avaricious. He had previously been in command in the province of the east, and had
subsequently married + the daughter of Domentiolus +, named Constantina, and made her his
wife. 2. And straightway he gave orders to the city of Constantinople that all the cavalry
should muster and proceed with Commentiolus to the province of the east. 3. And he sent
also to Aristomachus in the province of Egypt. Now he was a citizen of Nikiu, a son of the
prefect Theodosius. And he was a proud and powerful man, and his father before he died had
admonished him, saying : 'Be content with what thou hast and do not desire a different
career: but be content with that which befits thee that thy soul may have peace; for thou
hast wealth in abundance, sufficient for thee.' 4. But when the child grew up he sought
after the (great) things of this world, and arrayed a numerous force with + rustic + arms
which attended upon him, and so forgot the advice of his father. 5. Moreover he built
vessels by means of which he could visit all the cities of Egypt with pleasure and
delight. And so he became proud and forced all the military officers to be subject to the
emperor; for he had received the command in the reign of the emperor Tiberius. 6.

And by reason of this command he became more and more presumptuous, and made all the
troops submit to his orders, and led a fearless life. And he posted cavalry in the city of
Nikiu without any authorization of the emperor. 7. And all the troops under his command
were without means, and he seized all the houses of those who were richer than he, and he
esteemed them of no account. And when men of high or low degree came to him from the
emperor, he let them remain at the door and did not admit them for a longtime. 8. And when
the emperor Tiberius was informed, before he died, of the actions of Aristomachus, he sent
to the city of Alexandria an officer named Andrew to effect his arrest by wise measures,
avoiding the shedding of blood, and to bring him back alive to him. 9. And the emperor
Tiberius likewise sent orders to all the forces in Egypt to render him assistance in the
war against the barbarians. And when the message of the emperor reached Aristomachus, he
proceeded to the city of Alexandria with only a few attendants; for he was not aware of
the treacherous device they had prepared against him. 10. And when the patriarch and
Andrew saw him, they were delighted, and got ready a light ship on the sea close at hand
to the Church of St. Mark the Evangelist. Then they celebrated divine service on the 30th
of Mijazja, the festival of St. Mark the Evangelist. 11.

And at the close of the divine service, Andrew went forth accompanied by Aristomachus and
walked towards the seashore. And thereupon Andrew made a signal to his attendants and to
the soldiers to seize Aristomachus and to cast him into the vessel. And immediately they
seized him, and, bearing him on their shoulders, cast him into the vessel, without his
being aware (of the reason), and loosing thence they set sail to go to the emperor. 12.
And when the gracious emperor saw him, he said: 'This face is not the face of a criminal:
let us do him no injury of any kind.' And he gave orders for him to be kept in the city of
Byzantium till he had examined into his conduct. And after a few days, finding no fault in
him, he restored him to his command, and sent him back to the city of Alexandria. And he
was beloved by all the people. 13. And he vanquished the barbarians in the province of
Nubia and Africa, who are named Mauritanians, and others named Marikos. He destroyed them
and laid waste their country, and took their possessions as a booty and brought them all
in chains by the river Gihon into the land of Egypt; for the engagement had taken place on
the banks of the river. 14. Now the chroniclers have recounted the victory he won.

And there he reflected after this manner: 'Some envious person will go to the emperor and
slander me, but I will forestall him and send a message to the emperor.' And forthwith he
sent the following message: 'May I come to have interview with thee?' And the emperor
Maurice replied: 'Yes.' 15. And he arose at once with haste, and went to the emperor, and
brought him many gifts. And the latter accepted all that he presented, and thereupon
appointed him prefect of the imperial city. And the empress Constantina appointed him
controller of all her house and loaded him with honours, until he was second only in rank
to the emperor, and he became a very great personage in the city of Byzantium. 16. And he
constructed aqueducts throughout all the city, for its inhabitants complained greatly of
the want of water. And he had a reservoir of bronze made for them by a clever engineer,
such as had never been made previously. And so the water flowed into the reservoir of
bronze which had been appointed. 17. And the city was thus delivered from disquiet through
the abundant supply of water; and when a fire broke out in the city, they went to the
reservoir and extinguished the fire. 18. And all the people loved and respected him. And
he was fond of constructing public works, and his deeds were noble. And then there arose
against him certain envious persons who were foolish and aimed at delivering him over to
death through their devices.

And whilst they were engaged in such designs a prefect who knew astrology came forward,
and likewise another person named Leon, the logothete, and, observing a star which had
appeared in the heaven, they said that this star which had appeared portended the
assassination of the emperor. 19. And they went and made this announcement to the empress
Constantina and said unto her: 'Learn what thou shouldst do and take measures that thou
and thy children may escape destruction; for this star which has appeared is a presage of
a revolt against the emperor.' 20. And they brought many accusations against Aristomachus,
and they bound her by an oath not to tell the emperor. And she went at once and told the
emperor. And he imagined that Aristomachus intended to slay him and take his wife. And the
emperor became hostile forthwith to Aristomachus, and he robbed him of every hope, and
exposed him to numerous humiliations, and sent him in exile to the island of Gaul where he
had to remain till he died.

21. Now the emperor Maurice welcomed many false, turbulent persons, owing to his greed for
money. And he sold all the grain of Egypt and converted it into gold, and likewise the
grain for Byzantium he sold for gold. 22. And every one hated him and said : 'How is it
that the city of Constantinople puts up with such a wicked emperor? And how is it that
five sons and two daughters have been born to one who has wrought such wickedness to the
end of his reign ?' 23. And Hormisdas, named Chosroes, the king of Persia at that epoch,
was the son of the great Cabades. It is said that his father had been a Christian, and
believed in Christ our true God, but that through fear of the Persians had concealed his
true faith. 24. But in his latter days he had gone into a bath with faithful attendants,
and after he had been exhorted and admonished by a Christian bishop regarding the faith he
was to believe in secret, he renounced Satan whom he had worshipped and was baptized in a
font belonging to the bath in the name of the Holy Trinity. 25. And when he was baptized
he gave orders for the destruction of the font in which he had been baptized. Then he took
his son Hormisdas and made him king in his stead. 26. This unhappy man was addicted to the
worship of demons; moreover he compelled the Christians to worship fire and the sun. And
the horses also that pastured on grass were objects of his worship.

CHAPTER XCVI

1. And there was once a noble woman who was a Nestorian and she was called in the Persian
language Golanduch.And as she journeyed by sea, she was seized by the Persians and cast
into prison. 2. And they put a chain upon her neck after the manner of the Assyrians, and
when a prisoner died, the (jailers) showed the king the chain still locked upon his neck.
3. Now while she was so situated an angel appeared to her and addressed her, and seized
the chain that was upon her neck, and removed it without unlocking it, and placed it with
the jailers in order that they might suffer no injury at the hands of their judges. 4. And
she heard a mighty voice which said unto her: 'It is for the sake of the orthodox faith of
our Lord Jesus Christ that thou hast been delivered.' And she arose and fled and she came
to the territory of Rome, and abode in the city of Hierapolis on the river Euphrates. 5.
And she went and recounted to the metropolitan Domitian all that had befallen her. Now he
was the son <of the paternal uncle> of the emperor Maurice, and he went and told the
emperor regarding this woman whom we have already mentioned. 6. And he gave orders that
they should conduct her to him, and he prevailed on her to forsake the Nestorian faith and
become a believer in the orthodox Christian faith. And she believed as he told her.

7. And our Lord Jesus Christ, though long-suffering and beneficent, did not remain
indifferent and unmoved regarding the persecution which was brought upon His saints by
Hormisdas the king of Persia. 8. And God was roused to anger against him and his house was
destroyed from the top to the bottom, and the king's son, the new Chosroes, arose and slew
him. 9. And at the time of the emperor's death there were grave dissensions amongst the
troops, and two parties were formed. And when the younger Chosroes saw what had befallen,
he took to flight and reached the Roman territory. And having made himself known to the
Roman officials, he sent ambassadors to the emperor Maurice with the request that he
should be permitted to remain under the Roman sway, and that he should make war on the
Persians and seize their kingdom, and make it (part of) the Roman empire. 10. And the
emperor Maurice betook himself to John, patriarch of the city of Constantinople, in order
to deliberate with him. And this John was an ascetic and eat no (animal ? food whatever,
and drank no wine, but supported himself sufficiently on the produce of the field and on
green vegetables. 11. And there came together to him all the magistrates and officers in
order to deliberate with him regarding Chosroes, king of Persia, who had come to them. 12.
And John cried aloud to them all and said unto them : 'This man who has murdered his
father cannot benefit the empire. Nay it is Christ, our true God, who will war on our
behalf at all times against all the nations that attack us. And as for this man who has
not been faithful to his father, how will he be faithful to the Roman empire.' 13.

But the emperor Maurice did not accept the advice of the patriarch wherewith he advised
him, and likewise his officers, and he wrote forthwith to Domitian, (the son of) his
father's brother, who was bishop of Melitene, and to Narses, commander of the forces in
the east, and commanded him to take all the Roman troops and set out and establish
Chosroes, king of Persia, and to annihilate all his adversaries. 14. And he gave them the
royal insignia and magnificent garments befitting his rank. Now this Chosroes used to go
to Golanduch to ask her if he should become king of Persia or not. And she said unto him :
'Thou shalt conquer and shalt certainly become king of the Persians and the Magi; but the
Roman empire has been given to the emperor Maurice.' 15. And Narses did as he had
commanded, and he conducted the accursed Chosroes back to the Persians, and he made war
upon them, and conquered them, and delivered the kingdom of the Magi into the hand of this
wretch. 16. And when he was established on the throne he proved ungrateful to the Romans,
who had been his benefactors, and devised evil against the Romans. 17. And all the
magicians assembled by night in his house in order to prepare poison to put in the food of
the Roman troops and in the food of their horses, with a view to destroying them all
together with their commander Narses. 18. But our Lord Jesus Christ inspired the hearts of
the members of the court with pity, and they went and disclosed the matter to Narses the
Roman commander. When he was acquainted with this plot he gave orders to all the troops,
and said unto them : 'When they offer you food do not eat it, but give it to the dogs, and
as for the fodder give it to other animals.' 19. And when the dogs had eaten they burst
asunder in the midst, and the cattle died. And when Narses saw this he was very wroth
against Chosroes, and arose forthwith and marched and brought back the Roman forces to
their rulers (?). And all the Romans hated the emperor Maurice because of the calamities
which had befallen in his days.


THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU
==============================

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU continued

CHAPTER XCVII

1. There were three brothers in a city, in the north of Egypt, named Aikelah, i. e. Zawja.
And the names of the three brothers were Abaskiron, Menas, and Jacob. 2. Now this
Abaskiron was the eldest, and he was a Nasaha. And he had a son named Isaac. 3. Now John
the prefect of the city of Alexandria had made them governors over many cities in Egypt.
Their own city Aikelah was near the city of Alexandria. 4. And these four men were in the
enjoyment of great wealth, but not being able to bear (it) they attacked the Blue Faction,
and sacked the two cities of Bena and Busir, without the permission of the governor of the
province. Now the latter was a good, excellent, and chaste man. 5. And these four men whom
we have already mentioned, shed much blood, and burnt the city of Busir and the public
bath. And the governor of the city of Busir fled by night; for the inhabitants of the city
of Aikelah wished to kill him. 6. And he succeeded in making his escape from them, and
proceeded to the city of Byzantium to the emperor Maurice, shedding many tears, and he
informed him of the death which the four men had prepared for him. And a second dispatch
came to the emperor from the governor of the city of Alexandria announcing these events.
7.

And when the emperor Maurice was apprised of these things, he was very wroth, and gave
orders to John the prefect of the city of Alexandria to remove them from (their) office.
Now these men mustered a large force of daring men provided with horses and swords and
weapons of war, and they seized a large number of ships, in which grain was carried to the
city of Alexandria, and there arose a great famine in the city. And (its inhabitants)
suffered greatly and sought to kill the prefect John. But the faithful who loved Christ
fought on his behalf because of his good conduct. 8. And the inhabitants of the city wrote
a letter and sent it to the emperor informing him regarding the troubles of the city. And
the emperor removed the prefect John, and appointed in his stead Paul of the city of
Alexandria. And the inhabitants of the city escorted John as he departed with every mark
of honour. And he went and had an interview with the emperor and informed him regarding
the deeds of violence wrought by the inhabitants of the city of Aikelah, and he stayed for
a short time with the emperor. 9. And the latter, however,, appointed him and gave him
full authority over the city of Aikelah. And when the inhabitants of the city of Aikelah
heard what had befallen, and likewise of the return of John to the city of Alexandria,
they stirred up disquiet and strife throughout all the land of Egypt alike on sea and
land. 10. And they sent one of their number, the daring Isaac with his freebooters, and
these went down to the sea, and seized a large number of ships which were on the sea and
they broke (?) them up. And they proceeded to Cyprus and captured much booty.

11. And many people, that is, Tananikun, and Lakurin, and Elmatridin Elmasr, and the Blue
and Green Factions, and the enemy of God from Busir—all these mustered in the city of
Aikelah, and took counsel with Eulogius, Chalcedonian patriarch in the city of Alexandria,
and with Ailas the deacon, and Minas the assistant, and Ptolemy the commander of the
barbarians, but the inhabitants of the city of Aikelah were not aware of this procedure.
12. They wanted to appoint a prefect in the room of John; for they said : 'This John has
no respect of persons, and he hates injustice and he will <not> treat us as we wish. 13.
Now the inhabitants of Aikelah went on committing transgression after transgression, and
they seized the grain-laden ships, and they got hold of the imperial taxes and forced the
prefect of the city to send forward the taxes to them.

14. Now John quitted with honour the imperial presence and came to the city of Alexandria,
and the (insurgent) chief of the city of Aikelah heard of the arrival of John. And John
mustered the forces of Alexandria, Egypt, and Nubia in order to attack the inhabitants of
the city of Aikelah. 15. And forthwith there came a general named Theodore, who had been
with Aristomachus. Now this Theodore was a son of the commander Zechariah. And he sent a
secret letter to John, (requesting him) to send him trained troops who could shoot with
the bow (lit. the arrow) and to release from prison two men, namely (the one), Cosmas the
son of Samuel, and the other Banon the son of Ammon. 16. And he commanded Cosmas to
proceed by land route and Banon by sea. Now this Zechariah — a man of illustrious rank —
was the lieutenant of John in the city of Busir. 17. And (John) found (on his arrival)
that much devastation had been wrought in the city of Alexandria. And he had a large
number of the daring ones seized and punished, and he captured a great number of ships,
and inspired a great fear in them (the rebels) on his arrival in the city of Alexandria.
18. And subsequently he had many great works constructed in the sea at the cost of great
exertions. And he did not return to the city of Byzantium till he died.

19. And when the general Theodore and his men came up they burned the camp of the rebels,
and they all advanced as far as Alexandria, (even) the (full-grown) men, the youths who
shot with the bow, and some stone-slingers. 20. And he took with him the five men whom he
had released from prison, namely, Cosmas, the son of Samuel, Banon, the son of Ammon, and
their companions, in order to show the Egyptians those whom he had released from
imprisonment. 21. And when they came to the border of the river, they marshalled the
sturdy soldiers in boats and the cavalry on the land. And the general passed over to the
eastern bank of the river with all his soldiers. 22. But Cosmas and Banon remained on the
western bank of the river with a numerous force. And they cried aloud to the conspirators
on the eastern bank of the river and said unto them : 'Observe all ye people who have
joined with those rebels : do not war against the general ; for the Roman empire is
neither enfeebled nor subdued; but through our compassion towards you we have borne with
you until now.' 23. And thereupon the people who had assembled along with those rebels
broke off from them and crossed the river and joined the Roman troops. 24. And they began
an attack on the inhabitants of Aikelah, and they vanquished them.

And the latter fled by night and gained a small city named Abusan, and not being able to
remain there they passed on to the great city (of Alexandria). 25. And the Roman troops
pursued them thither and captured the four men, Abaskiron, Menas, Jacob, and Isaac, and
put the four on a camel, and had them conducted throughout all the city of Alexandria in
the sight of all men. 26. And next they cast them into prison with their hands and feet
loaded with chains. 27. And after a long interval Constantine the patrician who had been
appointed governor of the city of Alexandria came and examined the case of the prisoners.
28. And when he became acquainted with the charges against them, he had three of the
brothers executed; but as for Isaac he had him thrown into chains and transported for life
to the island of Atroku. 29. And as for their accomplices, some were condemned to corporal
punishment, others had their goods confiscated. And the cities of Aikelah and Abusan were
burnt with fire. And great fear prevailed over all the land of Egypt, and its inhabitants
dwelt in the enjoyment of tranquillity and peace.

30. And about this time also there arose a rebel named Azarias in the province of Akhmim,
who mustered a large force of Ethiopic slaves and brigands and seized the imperial taxes
without the knowledge of the officers of the province. 31. But when the inhabitants saw
the warlike measures of these slaves and barbarians, they feared them, and sent a dispatch
to the emperor with information (on the matter). 32. And the emperor sent a distinguished
commander with a numerous force of Egyptians and Nubians to attack Azarias. But before the
attack was made, he fell into a panic and fled, and gained the summit of an arid mountain
which resembled a citadel. 33. And the troops beleaguered that mountain for a long time
until the water and food of the rebels failed. Thereupon the rebel Azarias died and
likewise his followers through hunger and thirst. Now they had already abandoned their
horses.

34. And in the reign of this emperor also, when the governor and commander in Alexandria
was one named Menas, the son of Main, there appeared (two) creatures in human form, one
resembling a man and the other a woman. 35. And all who travelled by river, when they
stopped near the bank, saw them clearly and wondered greatly at the spectacle. And Menas
likewise saw them and all the officers and notables of the city. 36. And all who saw them
spake to them and said: 'We adjure you in the name of the God who created you, show
yourselves to us again.' And when they heard the adjuration, they showed their face and
hands and breasts. And all who saw them, said: 'This is the work of demons who dwell in
the waters.' 37. But others said: 'This river is of two sexes, for there have appeared in
it creatures such as have never been seen before.' Others said: 'This is an evil thing for
our country.' Others said: 'The apparition of these creatures is a happy omen.' All these
were false, and their statements were without truth.

CHAPTER XCVIII

1. And there was likewise in the reign of the emperor Maurice, a man named Paulinus in the
city of Byzantium, a worshipper of impure demons, who falsely said: 'The emperor Maurice
overlooks these practices.' And God punished this magician and he lost his reason. 2. And
he had a silver bowl which contained the blood of impure sacrifices to demons. And he
carried this cup and sold it to a silversmith. And after the (silver)smith had bought this
bowl, the abbot of a monastery saw it, and being greatly pleased with it bought the bowl
and conveyed it to his monastery. 3. And he placed it full of water away from the altar,
and gave orders to the brethren and said unto them : 'Each time ye take of the holy
mysteries drink of the water in the bowl in order to cool the oblation which is for the
body and blood of Christ our God.' 4. But the great King of Glory, our Lord Jesus Christ,
did not approve that the vessels of demons should be mingled with the vessels of the holy
altar of our God which are without blood, as the apostles say. And thereupon that water
became blood. 5. And when the brethren partook of the holy mysteries, they went forth from
the sanctuary to take of that water for cooling according to the custom. And when they saw
this miracle that had been wrought in the silver bowl, they together with their Superior
were seized with fear, and fell a-weeping.

And they resorted to self-examination but could find no evil that they had committed. 6.
And thereupon they arose and took the silver bowl, filled as it was with blood, and
brought it to John, patriarch of Constantinople, and they informed him of all that had
befallen. 7. And John sent unto the man who had sold it and said unto him: 'Whence have
you obtained this bowl, and from whom have you bought it?' And the man said: 'I bought it
from Paulinus.' 8. And thereupon the patriarch and the priesthood and the faithful of the
Christian Church recognized that the matter was from God. And (the patriarch) wished to
make known the apostasy and the infamy of the magician Paulinus: and forthwith with godly
zeal they arose and fetched Paulinus to the palace of the emperor Maurice. 9. And the
chief officer interrogated him in the presence of all the magistrates and senators
regarding this matter, and he confessed in the presence of all, saying: 'I was accustomed
to place in this bowl the blood of the sacrifices which I offered to demons.' 10. And they
all passed judgement upon him that he should be burnt alive. And they proclaimed aloud
regarding him by the voice of a herald three distinct proclamations. The first in these
terms: 'Wherefore should Paulinus be saved, the enemy of God who to his own destruction
prays to Apollo?' The next as follows : 'Thou hast lusted after a strange sin :

and he has laboured much in that which benefits not his own soul.' And the third
proclamation : 'Paulinus has sought of himself his own destruction. He has become the
enemy of the Holy Trinity, and has not kept faithful to the true orthodox faith.' But
those who followed him in his evil practices sought to save him. 11. And when the
patriarch John was apprised of this movement, he went to the court and put off his
priestly robe. Meanwhile all the people cried aloud and said : 'May the orthodox faith
spread and prosper.' 12. And the patriarch said: 'If Paulinus the magician is not
committed to the flames this very hour, I will resign my throne and close all the
churches. And I will not permit any one to partake of the holy mysteries, until Christ has
punished those who blaspheme His name.' 13. And the emperor feared that a tumult might be
occasioned thereby. And so the patriarch did not return to his palace till he had burnt
Paulinus alive. Now the emperor used to follow heathen practices; but when the emperor
heard that he was censured (for so doing) he was very deeply grieved.

CHAPTER XCIX

1. And at the outset of his reign he had ordained a law that they should inscribe at the
beginning of all their writings the formula : 'In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ our
God and Saviour.' He wished to profess his faith in Jesus Christ the Saviour of all the
world. 2. And thereupon Domitian, the son of the emperor's brother, gave orders that force
should be used to compel the Jews and Samaritans to be baptized and become Christians. But
these proved false Christians. And likewise he forced heretics to be enrolled in the
orders of the Church; for he was a true Chalcedonian.

CHAPTER C

1. And likewise in the reign of the emperor Maurice there came a flood in the night on the
east of the city of Esna, which is the capital of Rif, while the inhabitants were asleep,
and it destroyed many houses together with their inhabitants, and it carried them off and
submerged them in the river. 2. And great havoc was wrought in the city and in (its)
inhabitants. And likewise in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia the same befell; for the river,
named Euphrates, which flows near it, rose at midnight and submerged one division of the
city, named Antinoaea, and destroyed many buildings. 3. And a stone tablet was found in
the river with the inscription: 'This river will destroy many of the buildings of the
city.'

CHAPTER CI

1. And likewise in the reign of this Maurice, the city of Antioch was troubled by a great
earthquake and laid low. Now it had been laid low seven times. 2. And many roads (?) in
the east were destroyed, and islands, and an innumerable multitude of men through the
earthquake. 3. And likewise at that time the sun was eclipsed at the fifth hour of the
day, and the light of the stars appeared. And there was a widespread alarm, and men
thought that the end of the world was at hand. And all men wept and implored and prayed
Christ our God to have mercy and compassion upon them. 4. Thereupon the light reappeared
and the sun rose out of the darkness, and those who had come together said : 'This event
is one that has taken place at the end of the cycle of 532 years.' 5. And they set them
selves to calculate, and discovered, as they said, that it was the end of the twelfth
cycle. But holy and righteous persons said: 'This chastisement has befallen the earth
owing to the heresy of the emperor Maurice.

CHAPTER CII

1. Now a certain event took place relating to a magistrate named Eutocius, who had been
deputed to a barbarous country. Now he possessed a silk embroidered (lit. sewn) garment,
namely, a tunic, and he gave orders to his steward to fetch it to him. 2. And when he
brought it to him, he found that the rats had eaten and destroyed it. And he was wroth
with the steward, and cast him into a pit which was full of rats, and he closed the pit's
mouth for many days, and (the rats) eat him and he died. 3. And after many days he sought
him, and found him dead and putrid. And he repented having killed the man for the sake of
a garment. He practised good works, and gave much money to the poor, with much weeping
addressing his prayers unto our Lady the holy Virgin Mary. 4. And likewise he went to holy
places and visited the saints who abode there, confessing to them his sin, in order that
he might hear the words of consolation. And these spoke to him in hostile terms in order
to make him abandon the salvation of his soul. 5. And next he went to the convent of
Sinai, and (there the monks) said unto him : 'There is no forgiveness'— therein they were
deceived—'there is no forgiveness after baptism'; and they robbed him of (all) hope. 6.
Now they remembered not the word which was written regarding David; for when he had slain
Uriah, (God) afterwards accepted his repentance, and restored him again to his first
state. 7. And the restoration of Manasseh was brought about through repentance, after he
had sacrificed to demons and slain Isaiah the prophet, and wrought countless evils. Yea,
when he repented, God accepted him. 8. And this unfortunate man, when all hope was cut
off, went up a lofty acclivity and cast himself down and so died a violent death.

9. And shortly after, the Thracians rebelled and rose up against the emperor Maurice, and
(their) four commanders set out against him. And when Maurice heard this news he began to
distribute money among the inhabitants of Constantinople. Now they had been wont to call
Maurice a heathen and a magician, and a person undeserving of the imperial throne. 10. And
when the soldiers heard of these movements they took measures to wrest concessions from
him touching their wage and food, that is, the pay of the officers and chiefs. 11. But
subsequently changing their plans they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Phocas, and marked
him out as emperor. Now he was one of the four commanders of Thrace. 12. And the
inhabitants of Constantinople were all of one mind, and cried out saying : 'Let us have a
Christian emperor in this city.' And when Maurice heard that the inhabitants of the city
wished to seize him, he went into the palace, and brought forth all (his) wealth, and
placed it in a ship, and likewise his children and his wife, <and> they made for Bithynia.

CHAPTER CIII

1. And Maurice wrought a noble deed during his reign, and put a stop to the iniquities
that had been practised by his imperial predecessors. 2. A certain captain of a ship set
sail from Alexandria, having taken on board a considerable cargo of grain belonging to the
emperor. But the ship was wrecked and the grain lost in the sea. And the governor of the
province had him arrested and severely beaten, but no money was found upon him. 3. But the
emperor Maurice gave orders for the captain of the vessel to be released, and thereupon
published a decree, enacting that the captain of a vessel should not be subjected to
punishment and made to render compensation when his ship was wrecked, but that the loss
should be put down to the imperial revenue. 4. And after the flight of the emperor Maurice
all the population came together to the patriarch, and by general consent they placed the
imperial crown on Phocas in the church of S. John the Baptist.

5. And <Phocas> proceeded to the palace, and got ready his generals and officers and
chariots, and sent them in pursuit of Maurice. 6. And whilst Maurice was proceeding by
ship a strong wind rose against him and overturned the ship, and so he betook himself
alone with his children to a small island near Chalcedonia. 7. And when the soldiers had
learnt where he was, they proceeded to him according to the commands of Phocas, and put
him to death with his five children in the twenty-second year of his reign. 8. And they
stripped the empress Constantina and her two daughters and the wife of her son Theodosius
of their imperial robes, and clothed them in servants' apparel, and placed them in a
convent for virgins. 9. And when Phocas was firmly established in the empire, he sent
ambassadors to Chosroes, king of Persia; but Chosroes refused to receive the ambassadors.
Moreover, he was very wroth on account of the death of Maurice.

10. And certain persons accused + Alexander +, who was one of the rulers—a discreet man
and beloved by all the inhabitants of Constantinople, and they said to Phocas : 'This
Alexander is desirous of slaying thee and becoming emperor in thy stead.' Now this +
Alexander+ had married a daughter of Maurice. 11. And thereupon Phocas had +Alexander+ and
Kudis (= Elpidius?) and other officers thrown into chains and sent to the city of
Alexandria to be imprisoned there. 12. Shortly after, Phocas sent orders to Justin the
governor of Alexandria to execute +Alexander+ and his companions.

CHAPTER CIV

1. Owing to the great quantity of blood shed by Phocas great terror prevailed among all
the officers (clergy ?) of the province of the east. 2. Now at that epoch no province was
allowed to appoint a patriarch or any other ecclesiastical dignitary without his (the
emperor's) authorization. 3. And the Orientals assembled in the great city of Antioch.
When the troops heard of these doings they were all enraged, and set out on horseback and
made preparation for fighting, and they slew many people in the church (and continued the
slaughter) till they had filled all the edifices with blood. 4. And this frightful
massacre extended to Palestine and Egypt.

CHAPTER CV

1. And there was a man named Theophilus, of the city of Merada in Egypt, the governor of
five cities in the reign of Phocas. And the officers of the city and a large body of men
revolted against him. (And) they attacked Theophilus and put him and his followers to the
sword. 2. And they took the five cities by storm, i.e. Kerteba, San, Basta, Balqa, and
Sanhur. And David and Abunaki, the envoys of the patriarch, informed Phocas (of these
events). 3. And when Phocas heard, he was very wroth and sent a very malignantly-tempered
general, named Bonosus, from the province of the east. And he was like a fierce hyena. And
he gave him full authority over the officers (?) of the city of Antioch, that he might do
unto them as they had done. 4. And when he came to Cilicia, he mustered a large body of
men and marched against the officers (?) of the city of Antioch, and reduced them to
submission, and by reason of the greatness of their fear of him they became like women
before him. 5. And he punished them without mercy. Some of them he strangled, and others
he burnt, and others he drowned, and others he gave to wild beasts. And those who belonged
to the factions he delivered to the sword. 6. And all with whom he wished to deal
mercifully he sent into perpetual banishment. Upon the monks and convents of the nuns he
perpetrated barbarities.

CHAPTER CVI

1. And the following incident is an illustration of the conduct of the insensate Phocas.
2. He sent orders to the province of Cappadocia that there should be brought to him the
wife of Heraclius the elder, who was the mother of the general Theodore, and the wife of
Heraclius the younger, together with her daughter Fabia, a virgin. 3. And he had them
placed in the house of + Theodore + (and treated) with distinction. Now +Theodore+ was of
the family of the emperor Justinian. 4. And Phocas sought to dishonour Fabia. But she,
using the stratagems of a woman, said: 'I am in the menstrual period'; and she showed him
a cloth saturated with blood. And for this reason he let her go. 5. By the advice of
Akrasis and Fibamon, interpreters of dreams, this statement was made unto him. 6. And when
the elder Heraclius heard of these matters he thanked Akrasis, and let off Theodore, and
took no action against him or his people.

CHAPTER CVII

1. And they came to the city of Constantinople and informed Phocas of all that had been
done. 2. At the same period came Heraclius, who distributed large sums of money among the
barbarians of Tripolis and Pentapolis, and thereby prevailed on them to help him in the
war. 3. Next he summoned the captain of his forces, named Bonakis, with 3,000 men, and a
large number of barbarians, and dispatched them to Pentapolis to wait for him there. 4.
And he sent likewise Nicetas, the son of Gregory, with large subsidies to the prefect
Leontius, who had been appointed to the province of Mareotis by Phocas, urging him to send
salutations to Phocas and write to him in these terms : 'My Lord'. 5. Now Tenkera and
Theodore the son of Menas, who had been governor of Alexandria in the reign of Maurice,
had made a secret compact with Heraclius whereby they promised to give him the empire of
Constantinople, and to slay Phocas, and compel the thousands (of troops) in Constantinople
to submit to him.

6. And this was done without the cognizance of Theodore the Chalcedonian patriarch of
Alexandria, who had been appointed by Phocas. 7. But John the governor of the city was
acquainted with his plot; for he was prefect of the palace and military commander in
Alexandria. And Theodore also who was set over the grain supply (was acquainted with it).
8. These three wrote a letter to Phocas and informed him of all that had happened. But
Phocas despised Heraclius. 9. Nevertheless he sent large sums of money to the +Apulon+ of
the city of Manuf through the agency of the governor of the city of Constantinople, and he
sent the latter to Egypt with a large military force; having first bound him by many an
oath to defend his empire with fidelity, and to war against Heraclius in Egypt; and (he
sent also) to Ptolemy the +Apulon+ of the city of Athrib, the governor of that city.

10. And next he sent orders to Qusum to leave the city of Antioch and repair to
Alexandria. Now he had previously sent Bonosus by sea, with lions and panthers and other
wild beasts to be conducted to the city of Alexandria. 11. Now the emperors had heretofore
destroyed them, but he re-established this custom. And he sent likewise instruments of
torture of many kinds, chains and bonds, and much money and glorious garments. 12. And
Bonakis, the chief (captain) of Heraclius, (set out) and he saw Nicetas in Pentapolis as
Heraclius had commanded. And he indeed had received troops from Leontius, who had been
sent to the province of the Mareotis, and he had proceeded towards Nubia in Africa (?).
13. Now the prefect Leontius had come to terms with them. And when they had met the
garrison of the city of Kabsen, they entered but did no violence to the garrison. And they
set free all the prisoners that they might join them in the war. 14. And before they
entered, they had prevailed on the inhabitants of the city to precede them (and) stir up a
tumult on the river, named Pidrakon, that is, the Dragon, which flows close to the great
city of Alexandria on the west. 15. And when they had entered, they found the +Balalun+,
the governor of Alexandria, with a large force of Egyptians arrayed with weapons of war.
And they said to him : 'Hearken to our words and flee from us and preserve thy dignity,
and remain neutral till thou seest the side which is victorious; and no calamity shall
befall thee, and subsequently thou shalt become the Administrator of Egypt; for behold the
days of Phocas are at an end.' 16.

But he refused to comply with this proposal and said: 'We will fight for the emperor unto
death.' And when they engaged they slew this misguided man, and cut off his head, and
suspending it on a lance they carried it into the city. 17. And not only none could
withstand them, but many joined their ranks. And the prefect of the palace and Theodore
who was set over the corn supply withdrew into the church of S. Theodore on the east of
the city. And Theodore the Chalcedonian patriarch withdrew into the church of the holy
Athanasius on the sea coast. 18. (And they did so) not only through fear of the soldiers
(or 'war'), but also of the inhabitants of the city; for they had kept under guard Menas
the coadjutor, the son of Theodore the vicar, that is the Adagshan, in order to deliver
him up to Bonosus when he arrived.

19. And when the clergy (?) and the people of the city assembled they were of one accord
in their hatred of Bonosus, who had already sent the wild beasts and the instruments of
torture. 20. And they took the imperial taxes out of the hands of those who guarded them,
and openly rebelled against Phocas, and received Heraclius with great honour, and took
possession of the governor's palace and established themselves therein. 21. And they
suspended the head of the Apulon on the gate for all that went in and out to see. And they
seized upon all the wealth consisting of gold and silver and glorious garments which
(Phocas) had sent to the Apulon. 22. And he sent for his own troops and soldiers, and he
sent likewise to Pharos, and had the soldiers who were in the fleet arrested and kept
under a close guard. 23. And information was subsequently brought to Bonosus in the city
of Caesarea in Palestine that (the rebels) had captured the city of Alexandria and slain
the Apulon, and that the inhabitants of that city hated him and were attached to
Heraclius. 24. Now previously to the arrival of Bonosus in Egypt, Bonakis met with no
reverse, but gained the mastery over all the prefects in Egypt. 25. And the Blues
confiscated all the property of Aristomachus, the friend of the emperor, and the property
of all the notables in the city of Manuf, and reduced them to such a degree of destitution
that they were unable to pay taxes.

26. And all the people rejoiced because of the revolt against Phocas. And all the
inhabitants of Nakius and the bishop Theodore and all the cities of Egypt joined the
revolt. But Paul the prefect of the city of Samnud alone did not join it. He was one of
the prefects appointed by Phocas, and he was beloved by all the inhabitants of the city.
27. But the military commander they named Liwnakis, by this name (sic), as he was a
perverse and foolish man and 'a dog's head'. + And subsequently also Cosmas the son of
Samuel, the friend of Paul, who was likewise one of their number, but who, being weak, was
borne by two men + —as for this man indeed whom they had released from prison, he was high
spirited, and likewise those who were with him, and he stirred up all the officers and
made them submit to him. 28. And Paul was the first to resist and refuse to join the party
of Heraclius, but he vacillated in his plans. 29. Indeed, all the province of Egypt was
divided on the ground of the murder of the Aisaililun. And Marcian, the prefect of the
city of Athrib <likewise refused>; for he was a friend of theirs.

30. And Bonosus proceeded from the house of Ptolemais (?), and he sent his ships to the
city of Athrib. And Christodora the sister of Aisallun practised a system of espionage on
those who threw off their allegiance to the emperor Phocas, and she refused to hearken to
the message of Heraclias. 31. And all the troops of Egypt and of the east were expecting
succour from the forces that were coming by land and sea. Now these were coming in ships
by the two branches of the river, and they were to land as we have before said. 32. But
the forces which came on horseback from the east were on the look out for Plato and
Theodore. Now these were in the neighbourhood of the city of Athrib and were alarmed at
their arrival. 33. But before Paul and Cosmas the son of Samuel had . . . . . the bishop
Theodore and Menas, the scribe of the city of Nakius, sent a message to Marcian the
prefect and to the lady Christodora, the sister of Aisaillun, requesting them to cast down
the insignia of Phocas and to submit to Heraclius. 34. But these refused ; for they had
heard news of Bonosus to the effect that he had arrived at the city of Bikuran. And when
the party of Plato heard this news, they sent a dispatch to Bonakis in Alexandria to this
effect : 'Hasten hither with thy forces ; for Bonosus has arrived in the city of Farma.'
35.

And when Bonakis had reached Nakius, Bonosus likewise had already arrived at the city of
Athrib, where he found Marcian's troops ready for war. Christodora also, the sister of
Aillus (sic), and the troops of Cosmas the son of Samuel (were already there) by land. 36.
And he marched to the small branch of the river which proceeds from the main branch, and
met with the prefect Paul and his troops. 37. Then Bonakis came to attack Bonosus, and
they engaged on the east of the city of Manuf. And in the engagement the forces of Cosmas
the son of Samuel prevailed and drove those of Bonakis into the river, and they took
Bonakis prisoner and slew him. 38. And Leontius the general and Kudis they put to the
sword, and they surrounded a large body of troops, and took them prisoners and threw them
into chains. And when Plato and Theodore saw that Bonakis and his men had been slain, they
fled to a convent and concealed themselves.

39. Then Theodore the bishop of Nakius and Menas the scribe took the Gospels and proceeded
to meet Bonosus, thinking that he would have mercy upon them. And when Bonosus saw
Theodore the bishop, he took him with him to the city of Nakius, but he cast Menas into
prison. 40. But Christodora and Marcian, the prefect of Athrib, informed him that it was
the bishop that had the insignia of Phocas thrown down from the gate of the city. And when
Bonosus saw the insignia of Phocas cast down upon the ground, he gave orders for the
beheading of the bishop. 41. But as for Menas, he had him severely scourged, and required
from him the payment of 3,000 gold dinars, and then he let him go. But owing to the
excessive scourging, he was attacked by a fever and died shortly afterwards. (He was so
dealt with) at the instigation of Cosmas the son of Samuel.

42. And the three chief men of Manuf, Isidore, John, and Julian, and those who had
concealed themselves in the convent of Atris, that is, Plato the friend of the emperor and
Theodore the lieutenant, were delivered up to Bonosus by the monks. 43. And he had them
arrested and thrown into chains and conducted to the city of Nakius, where he gave orders
for them to be scourged and then beheaded in the place where the bishop had been put to
death. 44. And he held an inquiry likewise regarding the troops who had fought under
Bonakis. And such as had been soldiers of Maurice he sent into exile, but those who had
been in the service of Phocas he called to account and put to death. 45. And the rest of
the troops, seeing these things, fled and betook themselves to the city of Alexandria. And
all the notables in Egypt mustered round Nicetas, the general of Heraclius, and assisted
him because they detested Bonosus, and they informed Nicetas of all that he had done. 46.
And Nicetas got together a numerous army of regulars, barbarians, citizens of Alexandria,
the Green Faction, sailors, archers, and a large supply of military stores. And they
prepared to fight Bonosus in the environs of the city. 47. And Bonosus thus reflected :
'By what means can I get possession of the city and deal with Nicetas as I did with
Bonakis.' 48.

And he sent Paul of the city of Samnud with his ships into the canal of Alexandria in
order to co-operate with him. But Paul was not able to approach the environs of the city;
for they hurled stones at him, and the ships took to flight. 49. And Bonosus likewise came
with his troops and took up a position at Miphamonis, i.e. the new Shabra. Next he marched
with all his forces to the city of Demqaruni, and was purposing to make a breach in the
city on Sunday. Now these events took place in the seventh year of the reign of Phocas.

CHAPTER CVIII

1. And there was a holy aged man, named Theophilus the confessor, who lived on the top of
a pillar, near the banks of the river, and he was endowed with the spirit of prophecy.
This old man lived thirty years on the top of the pillar. 2. Now Nicetas used to visit him
frequently. And Theodore the general and Menas the coadjutor, and Theodosius, who were
agents of Nicetas, informed him of the virtues of this holy man. 3. And Nicetas went to
him and besought him and said: ' Who will be victor in this war ?'—for he feared lest evil
should overtake him as it had done Bonakis. 4. And the holy man said to Nicetas: 'Thou
shalt conquer Bonosus and overthrow the empire of Phocas, and Heraclius will become
emperor this year.' 5. And Nicetas was guided by the prophecy of the aged man of God and
said to the inhabitants of Alexandria: ' Fight no longer from the top of the wall but open
the gate of On and meet Bonosus in close encounter.' 6. And they hearkened to the words of
Nicetas and put the troops in array and placed the catapults and engines for hurling
stones near the gate. 7. And when a captain of Bonosus's troops advanced, a man smote him
before he drew near to the gate, with a huge stone, and crushed in his jaw, and he fell
from his horse and died forthwith. And another likewise was crushed.

And when the battle pressed sore upon them they began to flee. 8. And Nicetas opened the
second gate, which was close to the church of S. Mark the Evangelist, and he issued forth
with his barbarian auxiliaries, and they went in pursuit of the fleeing troops and they
put some of them to the sword. 9. And the inhabitants of Alexandria smote them with stones
and pursued them and struck them with arrows and wounded them with grievous wounds. And
some that sought to hide themselves from the violence of the battle fell into the canal
and perished there. 10. And to the north of the city there were the qasabfars, that is, a
plantation of roses and a hedge of thorns surrounding the plantation. And these stopped
the fugitives. 11. And on the south side of the city also the fugitives were checked by a
canal. And those who were pursued attacked each other, failing in the stress of danger to
recognize their comrades. 12. Bonosus escaped with a few soldiers and took refuge in the
city of Kariun. And Marcian the prefect of Athrib and the general Leontius, and Valens,
and many men of distinguished names, were slain in the battle. 13.

And when Nicetas saw that this victory was his through the prayers of the saints, and that
the strength of the army of Bonosus was broken and that its numbers had become few, he
sent Ptolemy, Eusebius, and other notables of the party of Heraclius to the river in order
to fetch him all the wealth they could find, and collect for him many soldiers from all
the cities of Egypt. 14. And the members of the Blue Faction, great and small, and the
officers, protected and helped Nice tas in the city of Alexandria. 15. And when Paul and
his companions were apprised of these events they remained secretly on board their ships
and intended to desert Bonosus and go over to Nicetas. And the affairs of Bonosus grew
(daily) worse, while those of Nicetas daily advanced in strength.

CHAPTER CIX

1. And after his escape Bonosus stayed a few days in Nakius, and likewise his remaining
troops. And he provided them with ships, and they destroyed many of the inhabitants of
Alexandria. 2. And they proceeded towards Mareotis, and entered the canal of the Dragon
which lies to the west of the city, and intended to harass the Alexandrians. But this
unhappy man knew not that it is God who is strongest in warring. 3. And when Nicetas was
apprised of this he had the qantarâ, that is, the bridge of Dafâshîr, cut away. Now it is
near the church of S. Mînâs of the city of Mareotis. 4. And when Bonosus heard of this
event, he was very grieved and purposed to slay Niketas by a treacherous device; for he
said : 'If Nicetas dies, the army will be dispersed.' 5. And he had a soldier brought to
him, and he persuaded him to go to Nicetas, boldly facing death, and he said unto him :
'Take thee a small sword, and put it in thy bosom, pretending that I have sent thee unto
him, and that thou art to intercede on my behalf. And when thou comest near him smite him
with this sword in his heart, that he may die. And if thou art able to escape, well and
good;

but if thou diest on behalf of this nation I will take thy children and conduct them into
the imperial palace, and I will give them money sufficient for all the days of their
life.' 6. But one of his suite, named John, having heard this abominable project, sent and
informed Nicetas. And this soldier rose thereupon, and took an imperial sword, and placed
it in his bosom, and betook himself to Nicetas. 7. And when (the latter) saw him, he
ordered his troops to surround him, and when they had stripped him, they found the sword
in his bosom. And thereupon they beheaded him with the sword. 8. And Bonosus proceeded to
the city of Dafâshîr and put many men to the sword. And when Nicetas was apprised of this
event he pursued him with all haste. And when he came up to him, Bonosus crossed the river
and betook himself to the city of Nakius. 9. And after he crossed the river, Nicetas
abandoned the pursuit and marched to the city (?) of Mareotis, and left considerable
forces there to guard the route. And he marched likewise to the city of the upper Manûf.
10. And when he drew near the city, the party of Bonosus who were there took to flight,
and he captured the city, and Abrâis and his people were taken prisoners, and (the troops
of Nicetas) burnt their houses and likewise the way (?) of the city. 11. And Nicetas
directed a combined and powerful attack on the city of Manûf and compelled it to open its
gates. Then all the cities of Egypt sent in their submission to him. 12. Next he crossed
the river in pursuit of Bonosus, (who was) in the city of Nakius. And when Bonosus was
apprised thereof he rose in the night and quitted the province of Egypt and betook himself
to Palestine. 13. And he was driven also from this country by the people because of the
abominable murders he had perpetrated among them formerly. And he went from thence to the
city of Byzantium, and there met with Phocas, his friend, the assassin.

14. And all the land of Egypt fell under the power of Niketas, from the great city of
Alexandria to the village of Theophilus the Stylite, who had predicted the accession of
Heraclius to the imperial throne. 15. And Nicetas, moreover, had Paul of the city of
Samnûd and Cosmas the son of Samuel arrested. He pardoned them and inflicted no punishment
upon them, but sent them to Alexandria to be kept in custody there till the death of
Bonosus. 16. And taking advantage of the war between Bonosus and Nicetas, the artisan
guilds of Egypt arose (and) perpetrated outrages on 'the Blues', and gave themselves
shamelessly to pillage and murder. 17. And when Nicetas was apprised of these facts he had
them arrested, and reproved them, and said unto them : 'Do no outrage henceforth to any
one.' And he established peace amongst them. And he named prefects in all the cities and
repressed plundering and violence, and he lightened their taxes for three years. And the
Egyptians were very much attached to him.

18. And in regard to Rome it is recounted that the kings of (this) epoch had by means of
the barbarians and the nations and the Illyrians devastated Christian cities and carried
off their inhabitants captive, and that no city escaped save Thessalonica only; for its
walls were strong, and through the help of God the nations were unable to get possession
of it. But all the province was devastated and depopulated. 19. Then the armies of the
eastarose against Rome, and they took the Egyptians prisoners, who were there, and who had
fled from Egypt from fear of Bonosus. These were Sergius the Apostate and Cosmas who had
delivered up his city. 20. Now these had denied the Christian faith and had abandoned holy
baptism, and had followed in the paths of the pagans and idolaters. 21. And (the Persians)
made themselves masters of the river Euphrates and of all the cities of Antioch, and they
plundered them and left not a soldier surviving at that epoch. 22. And likewise the
inhabitants of the district of Tripolis in Africa brought blood-eating barbarians (into
the country) out of affection to Heraclius. 23. For they detested Phocas, and they
attacked the general Mardius and sought to slay him, and likewise two other generals named
Ecclesiariûs and Isidore. 24. And when these barbarians arrived they made war on the
province of Africa, and proceeded to join Heraclius the elder. And the great prefect of
the district of Tripolis, named Kîsîl, went to Nicetas with large supplies in order to
help him against Bonosus.

25. And Heraclius the elder sent his son Heraclius the younger to the city of Byzantium
with ships and a large force of barbarians in order to attack Phocas. And when he touched
at the islands and the various stations on the sea coast, many people, notably those of
the Green Faction, went on board with him. 26. And Theodore the Illustrious, together with
a large number of wise senators, deserted Phocas and submitted to Heraclius. 27. And
seeing this the civilians and the soldiers who were with him followed his example and
submitted to Heraclius and Cappadocian. And all the people assailed Phocas with angry
invectives, and none stayed them. And all these matters fell out in the city of
Constantinople. 28. And when Phocas was apprised of these facts, and had learnt that
everybody had made his submission to Heraclius, he sent the imperial chariots to Bonosus
in order that he might march against him (Heraclius). 29. And other prefects of the
emperor got ready the Alexandrian ships in which corn had been brought from the land of
Egypt to Constantinople. For Phocas had had these seized because of the revolt of the
inhabitants of Alexandria.

CHAPTER CX

1. And when at the suggestion of Nicetas, the patrician, the people accepted Heraclius as
their emperor, the people of Africa lauded Heraclius in these terms : 'The emperor
Heraclius will be like Augustus.' And all the people of Alexandria also and of the camp
spake in the same fashion. 2. And thereupon they began an engagement on the seashore, and
the men of the chariots slew Bonosus. And they all with one voice in the Greek language
cried aloud in praise of Heraclius the younger, the son of Heraclius the elder, and abused
Phocas and Bonosus. 3. And, hearing these demonstrations, the Green Faction and the
inhabitants of the city of Byzantium, who were on the sea, assembled their ships and
pursued the 'Blues.' Now these latter were disquieted because of the accusation made
against them, and subsequently took refuge in the church of S. Sophia. 4. And all the
officers and senators had taken up a position near the palace, and they were lying in wait
for Phocas.

But when Phocas and Leontius the chamberlain became aware that they sought with evil
intent to slay them as they had slain the depraved Bonosus, the two arose and seized all
the money that was in the imperial treasury which had been amassed by Maurice, and
likewise that which had been amassed by (Phocas) himself from the Roman nobles whom he had
put to death, and whose property he had confiscated, and likewise the money of Bonosus,
and they cast it into the waves of the sea, and so thoroughly impoverished the Roman
empire. 5. And thereupon the senators and the officers and soldiers went in and seized
Phocas, and took the imperial crown from his head, and (they seized) Leontius the
chamberlain likewise, and conducted them in chains to Heraclius to the church of S. Thomas
the Apostle, and they put both of them to death in his presence. 6. And they cut off the
privy parts of Phocas, and tore off his skin right down to his legs because of the
dishonour and shame he had brought on the wife of <Photius> because she was consecrated to
the service of God, for he had taken her by force and violated her, although she was of an
illustrious family. 7. And next they took the bodies of Phocas and Leontius and Bonosus
and they conveyed them to the city of Constantinople, and they burnt them with fire, and
scattered the ashes of their bodies to the winds; for they were detested by all men. 8.

And thus the vision was accomplished which Benjamin of the city of Antinoe had received
from God, and the inhabitants of Byzantium did not slight a detail in it. 9. On the
contrary, they conducted Heraclius against his will to the church of S. Thomas the Apostle
and placed the imperial crown on his head. When he had completed his prayers, he went and
entered into the palace, and all the + wise+ congratulated him. 10. And after his
accession to the imperial throne Heraclius wrote a letter to Heraclius, his father, to
inform him of all that had happened, and likewise of his accession to the imperial throne.
11. Now Heraclius, his father, had seized the city of Carthage, the imperial capital of
Africa, and he was much concerned for his son who had gone to Byzantium. But when he heard
this news, he rejoiced (thereat). 12. Now great uncertainty prevailed in the churches
because of the long duration of the war, and every one was full of apprehension over the
victory which had been won over Bônâkîs, and the disquietude which had been occasioned in
regard to his (Heraclius's) son. 13. And subsequently Heraclius fell ill and quitted this
world, while he was at his post in his government. God alone knows whom He appoints, and
unto God be glory for ever.

CHAPTER CXI

1. Now Theodore was commander-in-chief in Egypt. And when the messengers of Theodosius the
prefect of Arcadia informed him regarding the death of John, general of the local levies,
he thereupon turned with all the Egyptian troops and his auxiliary forces and marched to
Lôkjôn, which is an island. 2. Moreover he feared lest, owing to the dissensions
prevailing amongst the inhabitants of that district, the Moslem should come and seize the
coast of Lôkjôn and dislodge the communities of the servants of God who were subjects of
the Roman emperor. 3. And his lamentations were more grievous than the lamentations of
David over Saul when he said: 'How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished
!' Eor not only had John the general of the forces perished, but likewise John the
general, who was of the city of Mârôs, had been slain in battle and fifty horsemen with
him.

4. I will acquaint you briefly with what befell the former inhabitants of Fajûm. 5. John
and his troops, the warriors whom we have just mentioned, had been appointed by the Romans
to guard the district. Now these posted other guards near the rock of the city of Lâhûn in
order to keep guard continually, and to give information to the chief of the forces of the
movements of their enemies. 6. And subsequently they got ready some horsemen and a body of
soldiers and archers, and these marched out to fight the Moslem, purposing to prevent the
advance of the Moslem. 7. And subsequently the Moslem directed their march to the desert
and seized a large number of sheep and goats from the high grounds without the cognizance
of the Egyptians. 8. And when they reached the city of Bahnasâ, all the troops on the
banks of the river came (to the succour) with John, but were unable on that occasion to
reach Fajûm.

9. And the general Theodosius, hearing of the arrival of the Ishmaelites, proceeded from
place to place in order to see what was likely to befall from these enemies. 10. And these
Ishmaelites came and slew without mercy the commander of the troops and all his
companions. And forthwith they compelled the city to open its gates, and they put to the
sword all that surrendered, and they spared none, whether old men, babe, or woman. 11. And
they proceeded against the general John. And he took all the horses : and they hid
themselves in the enclosures and plantations lest their enemies should discover them. Then
they arose by night and marched to the great river of Egypt, to Abûît, in order to secure
their safety. Now this matter was from God. 12. And the chief of the faction who was with
Jeremiah informed the Moslem troops of the Roman soldiers who were hidden. And so these
took them prisoners and put them to death. 13. And tidings of these events were brought to
the general Theodosius, and to Anastasius, who were then twelve miles distant from Nakius.
And they betook themselves immediately to the citadel of Babylon, and they remained there,
sending the general Leontius to the city of Abûît. 14. Now he was obese in person, quite
without energy and unacquainted with warlike affairs. And when he arrived he found the
Egyptian troops and Theodore fighting with the Moslem and making sorties every day from
the city of Fajûm in order to <re>take the city. And taking half the troops he returned to
Babylon in order to acquaint the governors (with the state of affairs), and the other half
of the troops remained with Theodore.

15. And Theodore sought with great diligence for the body of John, who had been drowned in
the river. And with much lamentation he had the body drawn forth in a net, and placed in a
bier and sent to the governors, who also (in turn) sent it to Heraclius. 16. And such (of
the Romans) as were in Egypt sought refuge in the citadel of Babylon. And they were also
awaiting the arrival of the general Theodore in order to join with him in attacking the
Ishmaelites before the rise of the river and the time of sowing, when they could not make
war lest their sowings should be destroyed (and) they should die of famine together with
their children and cattle.

CHAPTER CXII

1. Moreover, there prevailed great indignation between Theodore the general and the
governors owing to the charges brought by the emperor. 2. And both Theodosius and
Anastasius went forth to the city of On, on horseback, together with a large body of foot
soldiers, in order to attack 'Amr the son of Al-As. Now the Moslem had not as yet come to
know the city of Misr. 3. And paying no attention to the fortified cities they came to a
place named Tendunias, and embarked on the river. 4. And 'Amr showed great vigilance and
strenuous thought in his attempts to capture the city of Misr. But he was troubled because
of his separation from (a part of) the Moslem troops, who being divided into two corps on
the east of the river were marching towards a city named 'Ain Shams, i. e. On, which was
situated on high ground. 5. And 'Amr the son of Al-As sent a letter to Omar the son of Al-
Khattab in the province of Palestine to this effect: 'If thou dost not send Moslem
reinforcements, I shall not be able to take Misr.' 6. And he sent him 4,000 Moslem
warriors. And their general's name was Walwarja. He was of barbarian descent. 7. And he
divided his troops into three corps. One corps he placed near Tendunias, the second to the
north of Babylon in Egypt; and he made his preparations with the third corps near the city
of On. 8.

And he gave the following orders: 'Be on the watch, so that when the Roman troops come out
to attack us, you may rise up in their rear, whilst we shall be on their front, and so
having got them between us, we shall put them to the sword.' 9. And thus when the Roman
troops, unaware (of this design), set out from the fortress to attack the Moslem, these
Moslem thereupon fell upon their rear, as they had arranged, and a fierce engagement
ensued. And when the Moslem came in great numbers against them, the Roman troops fled and
betook themselves to the ships. 10. And the Moslem army took possession of the city of
Tendunias; for its garrison had been destroyed, and there survived only 300 soldiers. And
these fled and withdrew into the fortress and closed the gates. But when they saw the
great slaughter that had taken place, they were seized with panic and fled by ship to
Nakius in great grief and sorrow. 11. And when Domentianus of the city of Fajûm heard of
these events, he set put by night without informing the inhabitants of (A)bûît that he was
fleeing to escape the Moslem, and they proceeded to Nakius by ship. 12. And when the
Moslem learnt that Domentianus had fled, they marched joyously and seized the city of
Fajûm and (A)bûît, and they shed much blood there.

CHAPTER CXIII

1. And after the capture of Fajûm with all its territory by the Moslem, 'Amr sent Abâkîrî
of the city of Dalas requesting him to bring the ships of Rîf in order to transport to the
east bank of the river the Ishmaelites who were upon the west. 2. And he mustered all his
troops about him in order to carry on a vigorous warfare, And he sent orders to the
prefect George to construct for him a bridge on the river of the city Qaljûb with a view
to the capture of all the cities of Misr, and likewise of Athrîb and Kuerdîs. And people
began to help the Moslem. 3. And (the Moslem) captured the cities of Athrîb and Manûf, and
all their territories. And he had moreover a great bridge constructed over the river near
Babylon in Egypt to prevent the passage of ships to Nakius, Alexandria, and upper Egypt,
and to make it possible for horses to cross from the western to the eastern bank of the
river. And so they effected the submission of all the province of Misr. 4. But 'Amr was
not satisfied with what he had already done, and so he had the Roman magistrates arrested,
and their hands and feet confined in iron and wooden bonds. And he forcibly despoiled
(them) of much of (their) possession, and he doubled the taxes on the peasants and forced
them to carry fodder for their horses, and he perpetrated innumerable acts of violence. 5.

And such of the governors as were in the city of Nakius fled and betook themselves to the
city of Alexandria, leaving Domentiarius with a few troops to guard the city. And they
sent orders also to Dares the chief officer in the city of Samnûd to guard the two rivers.
6. Then a panic fell on all the cities of Egypt, and all their inhabitants took to flight,
and made their way to Alexandria, abandoning all their possessions and wealth and cattle.

CHAPTER CXIV

1. And when those Moslem, accompanied by the Egyptians who had apostatized from the
Christian faith and embraced the faith of the beast, had come up, the Moslem took as a
booty all the possessions of the Christians who had fled, and they designated the servants
of Christ enemies of God. 2. And 'Amr left a large body of his men +in + the citadel of
Babylon in Egypt, and marched in person towards the two rivers in the direction of the
east against the general Theodore. 3. But the latter dispatched Jeqbarî and Satfârî to
seize the city of Samnûd (and) fight with the Moslem. And when they came to the body of
local levies, they all refused to war against the Moslem. And they indeed gave battle and
put to the sword many of the Moslem <and of those> who were with them. 4. And the Moslem
were not able to inflict any injury on the cities which lay on the two rivers; because the
water served as a rampart, and the horses could not enter them because of the deep water
which surrounded them. 5. And so leaving them they marched towards the province of Rîf and
arrived at the city of Bûsîr. And they fortified this city and likewise the approaches
which they had previously seized.

6. And in those days the general Theodore went to Kalâdji, and besought him saying : 'Come
back to us, come back to the side of Rome.' And Kalâdji, fearing lest they should put to
death his mother and wife, (who) were concealed in Alexandria, gave Theodore a great sum
of money. 7. And the general Theodore prevailed on Kalâdji, and the latter arose in the
night, while the Moslem were asleep, and marching on foot with his men he came to the
general Theodore. 8. And thence he proceeded to the city of Nakius and formed a junction
with Domentianus in order to war against the Moslem. 9. And subsequently Sabendîs devised
an excellent plan and so escaped out of the hands of the Moslem by night. And he betook
himself to Damietta to the prefect John. 10. And he indeed sent him to Alexandria with a
letter . . . confessing his fault to the governors with many tears in these words: 'I have
done this deed because of the blow and the ignominy which John inflicted upon me without
showing any consideration for (my) old age. For this reason I joined the Moslem.
Heretofore I was a zealous servant of the Romans.'

CHAPTER CXV

1. And 'Amr the chief of the Moslem spent twelve months in warring against the Christians
of Northern Egypt, but failed nevertheless in reducing their cities. 2. And in the
fifteenth year of the cycle, during the summer, he marched on the cities of Sakâ and Tûkû-
Dâmsis, being impatient to subdue the Egyptians before the rise of the river. But he was
unable to do them any hurt. 3. And in the city of Damietta they also refused to admit him,
and he sought to burn their crops. 4. And he began to march back to the troops that were
in the fortress of Babylon in Egypt, And he gave them all the +booty which he had taken
from the city of Alexandria. 5. And he destroyed the houses of the Alexandrians who had
fled +, and he took their wood and iron and gave orders for the construction of a road
from the fortress of Babylon to the city of the two rivers, in order that they might burn
that city with fire. 6. And the inhabitants of that city on hearing of this project took
to flight with their possessions, and abandoned their city, and the Moslem burned that
city with fire. But the inhabitants of that city came by night and extinguished the fire.
7. And the Moslem marched against other cities to war against them, and they despoiled the
Egyptians of their possessions and dealt cruelly with them. 8. But the generals Theodore
and Domentianus were unable to do any injury to the inhabitants of the city on account of
the Moslem who were amongst them.

9. And 'Amr left lower Egypt and proceeded to war against Rîf. He sent a few Moslem
against the city of Antinoe. And when the Moslem saw the weakness of the Romans and the
hostility of the people to the emperor Heraclius because of the persecution wherewith he
had visited all the land of Egypt in regard to the orthodox faith, at the instigation of
Cyrus the Chalcedonian patriarch, they became bolder and stronger in the war. 10. And the
inhabitants of the city (Antinoe) sought to concert measures with John their prefect with
a view to attacking the Moslem; but he refused, and arose with haste with his troops, and,
having collected all the imposts of the city, betook himself to Alexandria; for he knew
that he could not resist the Moslem, and (he feared) lest he should meet with the same
fate as the garrison of Fajûm, 11. Indeed, all the inhabitants of the province submitted
to the Moslem, and paid them tribute. And they put to the sword all the Roman soldiers
whom they encountered. And the Roman soldiers were in a fortress, and the Moslem besieged
them, and captured their catapults, and demolished their towers, and dislodged them from
the fortress. 12. And they strengthened the fortress of Babylon, and they captured the
city of Nakius and made themselves strong there.

CHAPTER CXVI

1. And Heraclius was grieved by the death of John the chief of the local levies, and of
John the general who had been slain by the Moslem, as well as by the defeat of the Romans
that were in the province of Egypt. 2. And in accordance with the decree of God who takes
away the souls of rulers, and of men of war as well as of kings, Heraclius fell ill with
fever, and died in the thirty-first year of his reign in the month Yakâtît of the
Egyptians, that is, February of the Roman months, in the fourteenth year of the lunar
cycle, the 357th year of Diocletian. 3. And some said: 'The death of Heraclius is due to
his stamping the gold coinage with the figures of the three emperors—that is, his own and
of his two sons on the right hand and on the left—and so no room was found for inscribing
the name of the Roman empire.' And after the death of Heraclius they obliterated those
three figures.

4. And when Heraclius the elder died, Pyrrhus, the patriarch of Constantinople, passed
over Martina <the daughter of> his (i. e. Heraclius's) sister and her children, and
nominated Constantine the son of the empress Eudocia, and made him head of the empire in
succession to his father. And the two princes were treated with honour and distinction. 5.
And David and Marinus seized Pyrrhus, the Roman Chalcedonian patriarch, and banished him
to an island in the west of Africa, without any one being cognizant of what had been
fulfilled; for no word of the saints falls (to the ground). 6. Now it happened that the
great Severus, patriarch of Antioch, wrote to Caesaria the patrician to the following
effect: 'No son of a Roman emperor will sit on the throne of his father, so long as the
sect of the Chalcedonians bears sway in the world.' 7. And Constantine, the son of
Heraclius, on his accession to the empire mustered a large number of ships, and entrusted
them to Kîrjûs and Salâkriûs, and sent them to bring the patriarch Cyrus to him that he
might take counsel with him as to the Moslem, that he should fight, if he were able, but,
if not, should pay tribute; and that he should meet him in the imperial city on the
festival of the holy Resurrection, and to cause all the inhabitants of Constantinople to
assemble to carry out the same object. 8. And next he sent orders to Theodore to come to
him and leave Anastasius to guard the city of Alexandria and the cities on the coast. And
he held out hopes to Theodore that he would send him a large force in the autumn in order
to war with the Moslem. 9. And when in conformity to the command of the emperor they had
prepared the ships for setting out, the emperor Constantine forthwith fell ill, and was
attacked by a severe malady, and he vomited blood, and when the blood was exhausted he
forthwith died. And this malady lasted a hundred days, that is, all the days of his reign
wherein he reigned after his father Heraclius. And people mocked at Heraclius and his son
Constantine.

10. And the members of the party of Gainas assembled in the church in the city of Dafâshîr
near the bridge of the Apostle S. Peter. Now Cyrus the patriarch had robbed the church of
large possessions in the time of the persecution, without any authorization on the part of
the magistrates. 11. And when the Gainites sought to lay hands on the patriarch Cyrus,
Eudocianus, the brother of the prefect Domentianus, being immediately apprised (of their
purpose), sent troops against them to shoot them with arrows and prevent them from
carrying out their intention. Some of them were so severely smitten that they died, while
two had their hands cut off without legal sentence. 12. And proclamation was made
throughout the city by the voice of a herald in these terms: 'Let every one of you
withdraw to his own church, and let no one do any violence to his neighbour in defiance of
the law.' 13. But God, the Guardian of justice, did not neglect the world, but avenged
those who had been wronged : He had no mercy on such as had dealt treacherously against
Him, but He delivered them into the hands of the Ishmaelites. 14. And the Moslem thereupon
took the field and conquered all the land of Egypt. And after the death of Heraclius, the
patriarch Cyrus on his return did not cease (his) severities and persecution against the
people of God, but rather added violence to violence.

CHAPTER CXVII

1. And 'Amr the chief of the Moslem forces encamped before the citadel of Babylon and
besieged the troops that garrisoned it. 2. Now the latter received his promise that they
should not be put to the sword, and on their side undertook to deliver up to him all the
munitions of war—now these were considerable. 3. And thereupon he ordered them to evacuate
the citadel. And they took a small quantity of gold and set out. And it was in this way
that the citadel of Babylon in Egypt was taken on the second day after the (festival of
the) Resurrection. 4. Thus God punished them because they had not honoured the redemptive
passion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave His life for those who believe in
Him. Yea, it was for this reason that God made them turn their back upon them (i. e. the
Moslem). 5. Now on that day of the festival of the holy Resurrection they released the
orthodox that were in prison; but, enemies of Christ as they were, they did not let them
go without first ill-using them; but they scourged them and cut off their hands. 6.

And on that day these (unhappy ones) wept and their tears poured down their faces and they
were spurned, even as it is written regarding those unclean persons: 'They have defiled
the Church by an unclean faith, and they have wrought apostasies and deeds of violence
like the sect of the Arians, such as neither pagan nor barbarian has wrought, and they
have despised Christ and His servants, and we have not found any that do the like amongst
the worshippers of false idols. 7. But God has been patient with the apostates and
heretics who have undergone baptism a second time in submission to despotic emperors. Yet
it is the same God who recompenses every man according to his deeds and does justice to
him that has been wronged. 8. How then, is it not far better for us to endure patiently
the trials and punishments which they inflict upon us ? They indeed think to honour our
Lord Christ by so doing, whereas they are found to be perverted in their faith. They have
not indeed voluntarily apostatized, but they persecute those who agree not with them in
faith. God forbid (such agreement) ! for they are not servants of Christ: yet they think
they are such in their thoughts.'

CHAPTER CXVIII

1. Now the capture of the citadel of Babylon and of Nakius by the Moslem was a source of
great grief to the Romans. 2. And when 'Amr had brought to a close the operations of war
he made his entry into the citadel of Babylon, and he mustered a large number of ships,
great and small, and anchored them close to the fort where he was. 3. And Menas, who was
chief of the Green Faction, and Cosmas the son of Samuel, the leader of the Blues,
besieged the city of Misr and harassed the Romans during the days of the Moslem. And
fighting men had gone up with fear-inspiring boldness from the western bank of the river
in ships, and these made expeditions by night. 4. 'Amr and the Moslem army, on horseback,
proceeded by land till they came to the city of Kebrias of Abâdjâ. And on this occasion he
attacked the general Domentianus. 5. But when the latter learnt of the approach of the
Moslem troops, he embarked on a ship and fled [in a ship] and abandoned the army and their
fleet. And he sought to enter the small canal which Heraclius had dug during his reign.
But finding it closed he returned and entered the city of Alexandria. 6. Now when the
soldiers saw that their commander had taken flight, they cast away their arms and threw
themselves into the river in the presence of their enemies. 7. And the Moslem troops
slaughtered them with the sword in the river, and none escaped save one man only, named
Zechariah, a doughty man and a warrior. 8. And when the crews of the ships saw the flight
of the troops, they too took to flight and returned to their own country. And thereupon
the Moslem made their entry into Nakius, and took possession, and finding no soldiers (to
offer resistance), they proceeded to put to the sword all whom they found in the streets
and in the churches, men, women, and infants, and they showed mercy to none. 9. And after
they had captured (this) city, they marched against other localities and sacked them and
put all they found to the sword.

And they came also to the city of +Sa+, and there they found Esqutaws and his people in a
vineyard, and the Moslem seized them and put them to the sword. Now these were of the
family of the general Theodore. 10. Let us now cease, for it is impossible to recount the
iniquities perpetrated by the Moslem after their capture of the island of Nakius, on
Sunday, the eighteenth day of the month Genbôt, in the fifteenth year of the cycle, and
also the horrors committed in the city of Caesarea in Palestine. 11. And the general
Theodore, who was in command of the city, even the city of Kîlûnâs, quitted (this) city
and proceeded to Egypt, leaving Stephen with the troops to guard the city and contend with
the Moslem. 12. And there was a certain Jew with the Moslem, and he betook himself to the
province of Egypt. And when with great toil and exertion they had cast down the walls of
the city, they forthwith made themselves masters of it, and put to the sword thousands of
its inhabitants and of the soldiers, and they gained an enormous booty, and took the women
and children captive and divided them amongst themselves, and they made that city a
desolation (lit. destitute). 13. And shortly after the Moslem proceeded against the
country (city?) of +Côprôs+ and put Stephen and his people to the sword.

CHAPTER CXIX

1. And Egypt also had become enslaved to Satan. A great strife had broken out between the
inhabitants of Lower Egypt, and these were divided into two parties. Of these, one sided
with Theodore, but the other wished to join the Moslem. 2. And straightway the one party
rose against the other, and they plundered their possessions and burnt their city. But the
Moslem distrusted them. 3. And 'Amr sent a large force of Moslem against Alexandria, and
they captured Kariun, which lies outside the city. And Theodore and his troops who were in
that locality fled and withdrew into Alexandria. 4. And the Moslem began to attack them
but were not able to approach the walls of the city; for stones were hurled against them
from the top of the walls, and they were driven far from the city. 5. And the inhabitants
of Misr were at variance with those of Lower Egypt, and their strife ran high, but after a
short time they made peace. 6. But when their discord came to an end, Satan stirred up
another in the city of Alexandria; for Domentianus the prefect and Menas the general were
at variance with each other through lust for office and other motives. 7. Now the general
Theodore took the side of Menas: he was moreover hostile to Domentianus because of his
flight from Nakius and his abandonment of the troops. 8. And with Eudocianus, the elder
brother of Domentianus, Menas was very wroth, because he had practised cruelties against
the Christians during the season of the holy Passion in regard to the faith. 9. And
Domentianus mustered a large force of the 'Blues'. And when Menas was apprised of this
movement, he too mustered a large force of the 'Greens' and of the troops in the city. And
thus these two kept up their hostility. 10. It was subsequently to this that Philiades the
prefect of the province of Arcadia arrived. Now Domentianus had become the foe of Cyrus
the patriarch, and he showed him ill will, though he was his brother-in-law, and though
previously they had been mutual friends. But subsequently he came to hate him without any
good ground. 11. And Menas also who cherished a spiritual friendship for Philiades and was
not neglectful of him but invited him frequently out of respect for the priesthood ;

for Philiades was the brother of the patriarch George. Now (Menas) was merciful and
Godfearing and was grieved on behalf of those that were oppressed. But Philiades was not
loyal in friendship, but acted unjustly, (and) cherished in secret evil designs. 12. Now
in the days of the general Theodore, when a discussion was raised regarding the city named
Mâmûnâ, and regarding the pay of the troops and the lands on which it should be levied,
this wicked man straightway spake and said: 'In place of twelve men, it will be better to
have one; then there will be one man to receive pay instead of twelve, and so the tax in
kind and the pay of the troops will be lessened.' And in this incident Menas found an
occasion against Domentianus. 13. And all the troops loved and trusted him : for Menas
loved the esteem of all men—not in order to receive idle praise, but by reason of his
wisdom and modesty. 14. Now while he was present in the great church of Caesarion with all
the people, all the inhabitants of the city gathered together against Philiades and sought
to put him to death. But he took to flight and hid himself in a church. 15. And
straightway the people proceeded to his dwelling and burnt it, and pillaged all his
property, but they spared such persons as they found in the house, and did not slay them.
16. And when Domentianus was apprised (of these events) he sent a body of the 'Blues' to
attack them.

And a great strife ensued amongst them, and six men were killed and many wounded. 17. And
with great efforts and exertions Theodore established peace amongst them. And he deposed
the general Domentianus, and appointed Artana chief of ten orders, who is named a
decurion. And all the property which had been carried off as pillage from the house of
Philiades was returned to him. It has been said that this strife and tumult originated in
religious dissensions. 18. And after the death of Constantine, the son of Heraclius, they
brought forward Heraclius, his brother on his father's side, though but an infant. But his
accession to the empire was as idle as had been that of his brother who died. 19. And the
patriarch Pyrrhus, seeing that Heraclius, who was still a child, had become emperor
through the intrigues of Martina his mother, whilst he Pyrrhus was still in exile . . . .
20. And after his accession to the empire he recalled Pyrrhus from exile by the advice of
the Senate, and abolished the penal decree issued by his brother Constantine and his
imperial predecessors; for they abolished it because of the unjust accusation of
Philagrius the treasurer. 21. And it was through his agency that the churches were in
tribulation: for he put an end to the gifts which the emperors were accustomed to make,
and he confirmed the heavy charges (that were upon them).

22. And subsequently he appointed him (Cyrus) a second time to the city of Alexandria) and
the priests who were with him. He gave him power and authority to make peace with the
Moslem and check any further resistance against them, and to establish a system of
administration suitable to the government of the land of Egypt. And he was accompanied by
Constantine, a general of the army, who was master of the local levies. 23. And he had the
army from the province of Thrace brought to the city of Constantinople, and he banished
Philagrius the treasurer to the province of Africa where Pyrrhus had previously been in
banishment. 24. And there were great dissensions, and the inhabitants of the city rose up
against Martina and her children because of the banishment of Philagrius the treasurer;
for he was greatly beloved.


THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU
==============================

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU continued

CHAPTER CXX

1. Now not only Cyrus the Chalcedonian patriarch desired peace with the Moslem, but also
all the people and the patricians and Domentianus, who had enjoyed the favour of the
empress Martina—(and so) all these assembled and took counsel with Cyrus the patriarch
with a view to making peace with the Moslem. 2. And all the clergy began to stir up odium
against the empire of Heraclius the younger, declaring: 'It is not fitting that one
derived from a reprobate seed should sit on the imperial throne: rather it is the sons of
Constantine, who was the son of Eudocia, that should bear sway over the empire.' And they
rejected the will of the elder Heraclius. 3. And when Valentinus was apprised that all men
were united against Martina and her sons, he took large sums of money out of the treasury
of Philagrius, and distributed them amongst the soldiers and officers, and prevailed on
them to act against Martina and her sons. 4. And some of them gave over warring against
the Moslem, and turned their hostilities against their own countrymen. 5. And thereupon
they sent an envoy secretly to the island of Rhodes with this message to the troops with
the patriarch Cyrus: 'Return to the imperial city and do not take sides with him.' 6. And
they sent also to Theodore, the prefect of Alexandria, the following message: 'Do not
hearken to the voice of Martina, and do not obey her sons.' And they sent likewise to
Africa, and to every province under the sway of Rome. 7. And when Theodore the general
heard this news, he was pleased and kept the matter secret, and set out by night without
the cognizance of any, and purposed proceeding from the island of Rhodes to Pentapolis,
and he told only the captain of the ship. 8. But the captain of the ship alleged (that he
could not), saying: 'The wind is contrary to us.' And he entered Alexandria on the night
of the seventeenth day of Maskaram, on the day of the festival of the Holy Cross. 9. And
all the inhabitants of Alexandria, men and women, old and young, gathered together to meet
the patriarch Cyrus, rejoicing and giving thanks for the arrival of the patriarch of
Alexandria. 10. And Theodore betook himself secretly with the patriarch to the Church of
the monks of Tabenna and closed the door. And he sent for Mînâs and appointed him general,
and banished Domentianus from the city. And all the inhabitants cried out: '(Begone) from
the city.'

11. Now before the arrival of Cyrus the patriarch, George had been highly esteemed by the
governor Anastasius; for he had received the dignity from Heraclius the younger (?), and,
when he was advanced in years, he enjoyed universal authority: even the patriarch suffered
him to enjoy his authority. 12. And when the patriarch Cyrus came to the great church of
Caesarion, they covered all the way (with carpets) and chanted hymns in his honour (and
the crowds increased) till the people trod each other down. And after great exertions they
brought him to the Church. 13. Now he extolled highly the well in which the Holy Cross had
been found. And he took also (to the Caesarion) the venerable cross from the Convent of
the monks of Tabenna which he had received previously to his exile from the general John.
14. And when they began to celebrate divine service on the day of the holy Resurrection,
instead of chanting the psalm proper to the day of the Resurrection, which is: 'This is
the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it', the deacon, desiring
to praise the patriarch and to congratulate him on his return, gave out another psalm that
was not proper (to the day). 15. And when the people heard it, they said : 'This is not
the proper psalm : it is an evil augury for the patriarch Cyrus: he will not see a second
festival of the Resurrection in the city of Alexandria.' 16. And all the congregation and
the monks made predictions after this fashion in public: 'He has acted contrary to what is
ordained in the Canons.' But none who heard any of these sayings believed them.

17. And subsequently the patriarch Cyrus set out and went to Babylon to the Moslem,
seeking by the offer of tribute to procure peace from them and put a stop to war in the
land of Egypt. And 'Amr welcomed his arrival, and said unto him: 'Thou hast done well to
come to us.' And Cyrus answered and said unto him : 'God has delivered this land into your
hands : let there be no enmity from henceforth between you and Rome : heretofore there has
been no persistent strife with you.' 18. And they fixed the amount of tribute to be paid.
And as for the Ishmaelites, they were not to intervene in any matter, but were to keep to
themselves for eleven months. The Roman troops in Alexandria were to carry off their
possessions and their treasures and proceed (home) by sea, and no other Roman army was to
return. But those who wished to journey by land were to pay a monthly (?) tribute. 19. And
the Moslem were to take as hostages one hundred and fifty soldiers and fifty civilians and
make peace. 20. And the Romans were to cease warring against the Moslem, and the Moslem
were to desist from seizing Christian Churches, and the latter were not to intermeddle
with any concerns of the Christians. 21. And the Jews were to be permitted to remain in
the city of Alexandria.

22. And when the patriarch had concluded this negotiation, he returned to the city of
Alexandria, and he reported to Theodore and the general Constantine (the conditions of
peace), to the intent that they should report them to the emperor Heraclius and support
them before him. 23. And straightway all the troops and the people of Alexandria and the
general Theodore came together to him and paid their homage to the patriarch Cyrus. And he
acquainted them with all the conditions which he had made with the Moslem, and he
persuaded them all to accept them. 24. And while things were in this condition, the Moslem
came to receive the tribute, though the inhabitants of Alexandria had not yet been
informed (of the treaty). And the Alexandrians, on seeing them, made ready for battle. 25.
But the troops and the generals held fast to the resolution they had adopted, and said:
'We cannot engage in battle with the Moslem: rather let the counsel of the patriarch Cyrus
be observed.' 26. Then the population rose up against the patriarch and sought to stone
him. But he said unto them: 'I have made this treaty in order to save you and your
children.' And plunged in much weeping and grief he besought them. 27. And thereupon the
Alexandrians felt ashamed before him, and offered him a large sum of gold to hand over to
the Ishmaelites together with the tribute which had been imposed on them.

28. And the Egyptians, who, through fear of the Moslem, had fled and taken refuge in the
city of Alexandria, made the following request to the patriarch : 'Get the Moslem.to
promise that we may return to our cities and become their subjects. And he negotiated for
them according to their request. And the Moslem took possession of all the land of Egypt,
southern and northern, and trebled their taxes. 29. Now there was a man named Menas, who
had been appointed prefect of Lower Egypt by the emperor Heraclius : he was a presumptuous
man, unlettered and a deep hater of the Egyptians. Now after the Moslem had got possession
of all the country, they established him in his (former) dignity: and a man named Sînôdâ
they appointed prefect of the province of Rîf: and another named Philoxenus as prefect of
the province of Arcadia, that is, Fajum. 30. Now these three men loved the heathen but
hated the Christians, and compelled the Christians to carry fodder for the cattle, and
they forced them to + carry + milk, and honey, and fruit and leeks, and other things in
abundance: Now all these were in addition to the ordinary rations. 31. (The Egyptians)
carried out these orders under the constraint of an unceasing fear. (The Moslem) forced
them to excavate (anew) the canal of Trajan, which had been destroyed for a long time, in
order to conduct water through it from Babylon in Egypt to the Red Sea. 32. And the yoke
they laid on the Egyptians was heavier than the yoke which had been laid on Israel by
Pharaoh, whom God judged with a, righteous judgement, by drowning him in the Red Sea with
all his army after the many plagues wherewith He had plagued both men and cattle. 33. When
God's judgement lights upon these Ishmaelites may He do unto them as He did aforetime unto
Pharaoh ! But it is because of our sins that He has suffered them to deal thus with us.
Yet in His longsuffering our God and Saviour Jesus Christ will look upon us and protect
us: and we also trust that He will destroy the enemies of the Cross, as saith the book
which lies not.

34. And 'Amr subdued the land of Egypt and sent his men to war against the inhabitants of
Pentapolis. And after he had subdued them, he did not permit them to dwell there. And he
took from thence plunder and captives in abundance. 35. And Abûljânôs the prefect of
Pentapolis and his troops and the rich men of the province withdrew into the city of
Dûshera—now its walls were strongly fortified—and they closed the gates. So the Moslem
after seizing plunder and captives retired to their own country. 36. Now the patriarch
Cyrus was greatly grieved on account of the calamities which had befallen the land of
Egypt. For 'Amr had no mercy on the Egyptians, and did not observe the covenant they had
made with him, for he was of a barbaric race. 37. And on the festival of Palm Sunday the
patriarch Cyrus fell ill of a fever owing to excessive grief, and he died on the fifth day
of Holy Week, on the twenty-fifth of the month Magâbît. 38. Thus he did not live to see
the festival of the holy Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Christians had
predicted regarding him. Now this event took place in the reign of the emperor Constantine
the son of Heraclius (II).

39. And after his (Heraclius II) death the Romans were plunged in war on account of the
sons of the empress Martina; for they had excluded them from the imperial throne, and
wished to make the sons of Constantine emperors (in their stead). 40. And Valentine who
was leagued with Philagrius assisted them. And he drew over all the troops and marched to
the city of Chalcedon; for he thought and said : 'Martina's strength lies in the fighting
men which are with her sons.' And he prevailed on all to consent to the recall of
Philagrius from exile. 41. And thereupon Heraclius the younger embarked on the imperial
ships, accompanied by a great number of priests and monks and illustrious bishops, and
passed over to Chalcedon. 42. And he made the following appeal to all the troops :
'Abandon not the duty of Christian integrity by becoming hostile to me; but make peace
with God, and comply with the will of my father Heraclius; for he laboured much on behalf
of this country.' 43. Moreover he alleged that he would take unto him his brother's son
and make him his colleague in the empire and there would no longer be war or bloodshed
between them. And he received the assent of all the patricians and said unto them : 'I
will bring back Philagrius from exile.' 44.

And when Valentine learnt that all the people had submitted to him and received his words
in peace, he took Domentianus and other patricians with him and placed the imperial crown
on the younger Constantine, one of the sons of Constantine, the son of Heraclius the
elder, whom Heracleonas had taken unto him (as colleague). And all the people dispersed
without strife. 45. But they (the rebels) did not suffer this peace to be permanent.
Shortly after they had raised Constantine to the imperial throne, the hatred of the two
emperors grew in strength, that is, of Heraclius II and Constantine the younger. For Satan
sowed dissensions between Heraclius II and the army. 46. And straightway the troops in the
province of Cappadocia began to commit atrocities : moreover they produced a letter to the
following effect: 'This letter was sent by Martına and Pyrrhus the patriarch of
Constantinople to David the Ma-targuem (urging him) to make a vigorous war, and to take
Martina to be his wife, and to put down the sons of Constantine (III), who had been
emperor with Heraclius (II) his brother.'

47. And when the inhabitants of Byzantium heard this news, they said: 'This project is
concerned with Kubratos, chief of the Huns, the nephew of Organa, who was baptized in the
city of Constantinople, and received into the Christian community in his childhood and had
grown up in the imperial palace.' 48, And between him and the elder Heraclius great
affection and peace had prevailed, and after Heraclius's death he had shown his affection
to his sons and his wife Martina because of the kindness (Heraclius) had shown him. 49.
And after he had been baptized with life-giving baptism he overcame all the barbarians and
heathens through Virtue of holy baptism. Now touching him it is said that he supported the
interests of the children of Heraclius and opposed those of Constantine. 50. And in
consequence of this evil report all the soldiers in Constantinople and the people rose up,
and Jûtâlîjûs, the son of Constantine, named Theodore became the chief of their forces.
And he was a doughty warrior like his father. 51. And when they had made preparations to
fight with David the Matarguem, the latter fled and took refuge in a fortress of Armenia.
And (Jûtâlıjûs) pursued him and, since none could render him aid, cut off his head and had
it sent round all the cities of the east. 52.

And next he marched with a large force to the city of Byzantium and he captured the
palace, and he had Martina and her three sons, Heraclius, David, and Marinus, escorted
forth with insolence, and he stripped them of the imperial crown, and he had their noses
cut off, and he sent them in exile to Rhodes. 53. And the patriarch Pyrrhus was deposed
without having recourse to a council, and he was removed from the Church and sent in
banishment to Tripoli where Philagrius was. And Philagrius indeed was brought back from
banishment. 54. And the youngest son of Martina was castrated, through fear, as they said,
of his becoming emperor when he grew up. But the child could not endure the great wound,
and straightway died. And the second of her sons was a deaf-mute, and so was unfit for the
throne. For this reason they did him no injury. 55. And they set at naught the will of
Heraclius the elder, and they made Constans, the son of Constantine, emperor. And they
appointed Paul of the city of Constantinople in the room of the patriarch Pyrrhus.

56. (All these events) and the separation of Egypt and Alexandria during the reign of
Heraclius the emperor of the Chalcedonians (fell out) as they are recorded in the letters
of the great Severus the patriarch of Antioch, which he wrote to the Patrician in the
reign of the emperor Anastasius, wherein he prophesied against the Roman empire in these
terms: 'No son shall sit on his father's throne so long as the creed of the Chalcedonians
prevails, who say that there were two natures in Christ after they became one, a creed
which we cannot profess. Their doctrine that the manhood and the Godhead are two distinct
natures after having become united, we believers cannot teach. It is not fitting that we
should speak as the heretics.' 57. Or according to the statement of Gregory: 'We recognize
God the Word to be of one nature derived from two. For God was united to the flesh and
became one Substance. The Godhead indeed is not converted into the manhood, nor the
manhood into the other nature, but the Word which became flesh had become unchangeable,
and no change can affect the Word. But the Word which has become flesh is one divine
Substance. 58. But this union is a marvel. That which is invisible has become visible: the
Creator has been born and we have seen Him : He has healed us by His wounds!' 59. But we
should cease giving citations from the words of the illustrious Fathers of the Church, who
have been learned in investigation:

for the Romans do not believe in aught now save the Passion. 60. But for those who welcome
the flavour of true knowledge I will set it forth briefly. When they rejected the orthodox
faith, which is our faith, in like manner were they rejected from the imperial throne. And
there has followed the undoing of all Christians that are in the world, and we have not
experienced the mercy and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ. 61. And in those days there
arose great troubles through Valentine; for he had assumed the imperial robes and sought
to make himself emperor. But when the people of Constantinople heard, they arose against
him, and straightway he put off the (imperial) robes. 62. And forthwith they seized him
and conducted him before the emperor Constans. And he sware a terrible oath to this
effect: 'I have not done this with any evil intent, hut in order to contend against the
Moslem.' 63. And when they heard this statement, they set him free and made him commander-
in-chief of the army, and arranged with him that he should give his daughter in marriage
to the emperor. And on that occasion they had her proclaimed through the voice of the
herald by the imperial name of Augusta.

64. And the evil-doer Valentine accused Arcadius the archbishop of the island of Cyprus.
Now this man was an ascetic in purity of life, and well known (as such) unto all men. And
(Valentin) said touching him: 'He was an ally of Martina and the patriarch Pyrrhus, and a
foe of the new emperor Constans.' 65. And (the emperor), acting on this evil counsel, sent
from Constantinople a numerous band of soldiers to fetch in great ignominy Arcadius the
archbishop. But by the command of God he found (his) consummation and died after the
manner of all men. 66. But Cyrus the Chalcedonian patriarch in Alexandria was excessively
grieved when he heard (of these events)—the exile of Martina and her sons who had brought
him back from exile, the deposition of Pyrrhus the patriarch of Constantinople, the
restoration of Philagrius his enemy, the death of the archbishop Arcadius, and the triumph
and power of Valentine. 67. And for these reasons he wept unceasingly; for he feared lest
he should suffer the same fortune that had befallen him previously. And in the midst of
this grief he died according to the law of nature. And, his chief grief was due to the
Moslem, who had refused his request on behalf of the Egyptians. 68. And before he died he
wrought the works of the apostates and persecuted the Christians; and for this reason God,
the righteous Judge, punished him for the evils he had wrought.

69. And the general Valentine and his troops were not able to give any assistance to the
Egyptians; but the latter, and particularly the Alexandrians, were very hard pressed by
the Moslem. And they were not able to bear the tribute which was exacted from them. And
the rich men of the city (country ?) concealed themselves ten months in the islands. 70.
And, subsequently Theodore the governor and Constantine the commander-in-chief of the
army, and the remaining troops, and likewise those which had been hostages in the hands of
the Moslem, set out and embarked, and came to Alexandria. 71. And after the festival of
the Cross they appointed Peter the deacon to be patriarch on the twentieth of Hamle, on
the festival of the holy Theodore the martyr, and placed him on the patriarchal throne.
72. On the twentieth of Maskaram, Theodore and all his troops and officers set out and
proceeded to the island of Cyprus, and abandoned the city of Alexandria. And thereupon
'Amr the chief of the Moslem made his entry without effort into the city of Alexandria.
And the inhabitants received him with respect; for they were in great tribulation and
affliction.

CHAPTER CXXI

1. And Abba Benjamin, the patriarch of the Egyptians, returned to the city of Alexandria
in the thirteenth year after his flight from the Romans, and he went to the Churches, and
inspected all of them. 2. And every one said : 'This expulsion (of the Romans) and victory
of the Moslem is due to the wickedness of the emperor Heraclius and his persecution of the
Orthodox through the patriarch Cyrus. This was the cause of the ruin of the Romans and the
subjugation of Egypt by the Moslem. 3. And 'Amr became stronger every day in every field
of his activity. And he exacted the taxes which had been determined upon, but he took none
of the property of the Churches, and he committed no act of spoliation or plunder, and he
preserved them throughout all his days. And when he seized the city of Alexandria, he had
the canal drained in accordance with the instructions given by the apostate Theodore. 4.
And he increased the taxes to the extent of twenty-two batr of gold till all the people
hid themselves owing to the greatness of the tribulation, and could not find the
wherewithal to pay. And in the second year of the lunar cycle came John of the city of
Damietta.

5. He had been appointed by the governor Theodore, and had lent his aid to the Moslem in
order to prevent their destruction of the city. Now he had been appointed prefect of the
city of Alexandria when 'Amr entered it, And this John had compassion on the poor, and
gave generously to them out of his possessions. And seeing their affliction he had mercy
upon them, and wept over their lot. 6. 'Amr deposed Menas and appointed John in his stead.
Now this Menas had increased the taxes of the city, which 'Amr had fixed at 22,000 gold
dinars, and the sum which the apostate Menas got together was 32,057 gold dinars—he
appointed for the Moslem. 7. And none could recount the mourning and lamentation which
took place in that city: they even gave their children in exchange for the great sums
which they had to pay monthly. And they had none to help them, and God destroyed their
hopes, and delivered the Christians into the hands of their enemies. 8. But the strong
beneficence of God will put to shame those who grieve us, and He will make His love for
man to triumph over our sins, and bring to naught the evil purposes of those who afflict
us, who would not that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords should reign over them, (even)
Jesus Christ our true God. 9. As for those wicked slaves, He will destroy them in evil
fashion:

as saith the holy Gospel: 'As for Mine enemies who would not that I should reign over
them, bring them unto Me.' 10. And now many of the Egyptians who had been false Christians
denied the holy orthodox faith and lifegiving baptism, and embraced the religion of the
Moslem, the enemies of God, and accepted the detestable doctrine of the beast, this is,
Mohammed, and they erred together with those idolaters, and took arms in their hands and
fought against the Christians. 11. And one of them, named John, the Chalcedonian of the
Convent of Sinai, embraced the faith of Islam, and quitting his monk's habit he took up
the sword, and persecuted the Christians who were faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER CXXII

1. And now let us glorify our Lord Jesus Christ and bless His holy name at all times; for
unto this hour He hath preserved us Christians from the errors of the erring heathen, and
from the transgressions of the apostate heretics. 2. And may He also strengthen and help
us to endure tribulation through hope in His divinity. And He will make us worthy to
receive, with a face not put to shame, the inheritance of His eternal (and) incorruptible
Kingdom in heaven. And (let us bless) His Father, (pre-eminently) good, and the Holy
Lifegiving Spirit for ever and ever, Amen.

CHAPTER CXXIII

1. (Herewith) ends this blessed book which John the rector bishop of Nikius composed for
the profit of the soul. Now it contains divine mysteries and heavenly marvels which have
befallen apostates from the faith. 2. At one time the earth quaked on account of the
denial (of the faith), and the great city of Nicaea was destroyed. At another it rained
fire from heaven : at another the sun was darkened from the hour of dawn till evening. 3.
On a certain occasion the rivers rose.and overwhelmed many cities ; while on another
houses were overthrown and many men perished and went down to the depths of the earth. 4.
And all these things fell out because they divided Christ into two natures, whilst some of
them made Him (merely) a created being. 5. Also the Roman emperors lost the imperial
crown, and the Ishmaelites and Chuzaeans won the mastery over them, because they did not
walk in the orthodox faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, but divided the indivisible.

6. The transcription of this book began on the twenty-eighth day of Hamle, and was
finished on Monday on the twenty-second day of Teqmet, at the sixth hour of the day, when
the sun was in the sign of Scorpion, and the moon in the sign of Aquarius. 7. And the
course of the sun was then in (its) 195th degree, and its zenith was at eighty-seven
degrees thirty minutes. And the day was eleven hours, and the night thirteen. And the day
increased and the night decreased daily by twenty minutes. 8. And the dominion of Elgufr
from Manâzel was then, in the 7594th year of the world, the 1947th year of Alexander, the
1594th year of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 1318th year of the Martyrs,
the 980th year of Hagar according to the solar reckoning, but the 1010th year according to
the lunar reckoning: four years seven months and eight days after the accession of Malak
Sagad the younger, son of Malak Sagad the elder, who was named Jakob when he received the
grace of baptism: eight years three months and five days after the accession of the
Godloving queen Malak Môgasâ, who was named Mârjâm Sena on receiving the grace of baptism.

9. We have translated this book with great care from Arabic into Ge'ez, even poor I, the
most worthless amongst men and the vilest amongst the people, and the deacon Gabriel the
Egyptian, son of the martyr John Kolobos, by the order of Athanasius commander-in-chief of
the army of Ethiopia, and by the order of the queen Mârjâm Sena. 10. God grant that it may
serve to the salvation of the soul and the preservation of the body. And praise be unto
Him, who has given us power to begin and to finish (this work), for ever and ever. Amen
and amen. So be it. So be it.


SOURCES AND CREDITS
===================

Where each text comes from, and the licence under which it may be reused.

THE CHRISTIAN TOPOGRAPHY English translation: an older public-domain translation as
collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-
Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No Greek or Latin text is shown beside it yet, and no modern English
version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

ON THE MONTHS English translation: an out-of-copyright translation as transcribed, or
commissioned and given to the public domain, by Roger Pearse for his collection Early
Church Fathers – Additional Texts ( tertullian.org/fathers ). SermonIndex has only divided
it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No Greek or
Latin text is shown beside it yet, and no modern English version has been made. Licence.
commissioned for the site and dedicated to the public domain (2011). Licence: Public
domain.

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN OF NIKIU English translation: an out-of-copyright translation as
transcribed, or commissioned and given to the public domain, by Roger Pearse for his
collection Early Church Fathers – Additional Texts ( tertullian.org/fathers ). SermonIndex
has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the translator’s own.
No Greek or Latin text is shown beside it yet, and no modern English version has been
made. Licence. published 1916. Licence: Public domain.