A of the events of that time. Nor indeed was he himself one of those who were fastidious and devoted to rhetorical style, but was a man of simple and unadorned speech, caring only for the truth, and aiming at setting forth what he had to say any which way; and according to the proverb, touching the sacred education of literature only with the tip of his finger.
2. Just as I myself am not sufficiently and adequately capable of weaving this history, although my love for the martyr draws me on and compels my reason in order to form a plan and forces me to speak; nonetheless, that man of old is to be praised for his zeal and his faith in the martyr, in that he dared, however slightly, to touch upon the account of his martyrdom; especially since the apostate and impious Julian had decreed that no memorial or any kind of record should be made for the memory of those who had suffered martyrdom for Christ, as the emperors before him had ordained, but rather that the majority of them should perish ingloriously B. This decree having been promulgated everywhere, those who confessed Christ were indeed punished; but according to the prevailing custom, no one among the public [commentarienses] or those called [tachygraphi] paid any attention to this decree. For the lawless one was eager to wipe out the very glory of the martyrs. Barely, then, did some, hiding in certain dark and lightless places, dare to take hold of such records, fearing the savagery of the ruler who held power. Many thousands, therefore, of Christians throughout the whole world were put to death, not being deemed worthy of even a single inquiry according to the prevailing custom C; but this caused no harm to the athletes of Christ—that they did not obtain a record. For as for those whose names were inscribed by God in heaven, there was no need of records made by men. But enough of these things.
3. But I, O holy assembly and people of Christ, chosen of God, a holy nation and a royal priesthood, having encountered many writings, and especially those who compiled the histories and deeds of the emperors, and then also those who labored at ecclesiastical history, and having found the name of the martyr here and there to be celebrated D and...
A proclaimed by all as illustrious and renowned, I thought it best not to bury these things in the darkness of oblivion, but to bring them out into the open light and set them before your ears, you who love Christ and the martyr. This is so that such great and manifold prerogatives of the divine martyr might not be veiled by a few trifling words, and so that I might endeavor to exhilarate your ears by relating the history and by revealing in its entirety what the martyr achieved with a valiant spirit.
4. Many historians of this excellent man have made mention of him, namely Eusebius, surnamed Pamphili, Socrates, who followed the heresy of Novatus, and Philostorgius, who followed the heresy of Eunomius, and Theodoret, and many others. B Of these, Eusebius—who flourished in the times of the great Constantine and surpassed in learning all the bishops of that age—says that the martyr was one of the senators and illustrious in the imperial house, and that he pursued the friendship, or rather the intimacy, of his son Constantius with the greatest zeal. For it is certain that the Blessed one was never torn away from the intimacy of Constantius, providing tokens of his noble and magnanimous disposition. Philostorgius, indeed, although the most ardent follower of the Eunomian heresy, yet praises the martyr above all others, recounting his deeds with great diligence and accuracy, and tracing the nobility of the martyr from ancient times, before he sets out to describe the trials of his martyrdom. I shall therefore begin his history, according to those things which the books of the ancients hand down. C
5. Idolatry had now begun to be restrained, and the deceptions of the demons to be extinguished, through the mercy which was bestowed by the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ upon the blessed and venerable Constantine, that most illustrious and pious emperor, son of the blessed Helena. For he, having been recalled from the hollow error of idols through the appearance of the life-giving cross in the heavens, overcame his enemy and wicked princes by the aid and virtue of that same venerable cross. At the same time, the holy horn of the Christians was exalted, being so strengthened and increased by the zeal and faith of Constantine that the preaching of Christ filled the whole world, and the altars, images, and temples of idols were destroyed wherever they were in the world, and there were restored the churches of God which Christ’s enemies and the impious emperors had overturned.
6. A When these things were happening, the devil, who envies the good, could not endure such a transformation, but stirred up a storm and turbulence through his own acolytes. For Arius, who gave his name to that insane heresy, being a presbyter of the Church in Alexandria, disturbed it in a dreadful manner, putting forth an impious doctrine full of every kind of blasphemy. He claimed that the only-begotten Son of God, who was born before the ages, was a creature and alien to the substance of God and the Father. It was for this reason that the synod of the three hundred and eighteen holy Fathers was gathered at Nicaea, B and having condemned Arius, it declared the Son of God and our Lord Jesus Christ to be consubstantial (homoousios) with the Father. But these things have been recorded by histories both outside and within our own tradition, and not a few of our people have described and set them forth accurately; however, it is not a suitable time for me to linger on these matters, as they require a more thorough investigation and leisure. For the present, I shall narrate the end of his life that has already been reached.
7. 345 [ζ'] The Christ-loving emperor Constantine, having advanced to the thirty-first year of his reign, and having entered upon the second [year of the next decade], when he learned that the Persians were preparing for war against him, set out from his own city and appeared as far as Nicomedia in Bithynia; where he ended his life due to the treachery of his own brothers, who poured him a poisonous draught, while a comet, as they say, foretold his death. Now, Constantine had brothers by his father, namely Dalmatius, Anaballianus, and Constantius; for he himself, from Helena, was the only son of Constantius while he was still a private citizen; C but from the daughter of Maximian, who was called Herculius, namely Theodora, other children were born to him: the aforementioned Dalmatius, and Anaballianus, and Constantius; whom Constantine also honored as Caesars and Nobilissimi. Of these, Constantius, from the wife who was joined to him in lawful marriage, begat Gallus and Julian, who was called the Apostate, because he abjured Christ and inclined toward the Hellenic religion; and he, when he came to rule, punished the great martyr of Christ and victor in many struggles, Artemius, because of his faith in Christ and his divine zeal. But these things happened later and with the passage of time.
8. [η'] I, however, having narrated what was done in the preceding times, will turn my discourse again to the events that befell the martyr; [and explain] how the impious and apostate Julian, and in what manner, came to the imperial dignity; and how Christ’s martyr Artemius ran the most holy course of confession in Christ. 346 Just after the great Constantine had died, the Roman empire was divided into three governments, of his sons, Constantine, D Constantius, and Constans, who divided these among themselves. And indeed to the first, Constantine...
A fell by inheritance the upper Gauls and the regions beyond the Alps, the British islands, and all regions as far as the western Ocean. To Constans, however, being the youngest by birth, fell the lower Gauls, namely Italy and Rome itself (6). Constantius, the second of the sons of Constantine, being at that time in charge of Eastern affairs and waging war against the Persians, received the eastern part. He made Byzantium his royal city, changing its name to Constantinople and New Rome; and from Illyricum B as far as the Propontis, he subjected to his own empire and rule whatever was obedient to the Romans, namely Syria and Palestine and Mesopotamia and Egypt, and all the islands.
9. The great Artemius was with Constantius at all times and in every affair, as he was his best friend, and one of those who shone in virtue and learning, and a burning lover of the Christian faith. Regarding his country and lineage no one has handed down to us any written record, except that the thrice-blessed man was sprung from a noble and illustrious family. Whence also these things have been recorded concerning him, that he is the very one who was ordered by Constantius C to see to the translation of the most holy relics of the apostles of Christ, Andrew, Luke, and Timothy, as the following discourse will signify. I indeed will narrate all these things in sequence, running through the series of time and setting them forth accurately according to the exigency of events. As therefore, it has been said, there being three emperors, and each governing his own portion, the first of them, Constantine, leaving his own and invading the inheritance of his youngest brother, who had then departed for Rome, attempted to do something unjust against his brother. For he slandered him in his absence, D saying that the partition of matters had been made unfairly, and that a greater part of the empire, which pertained to himself, had been usurped by his brother. But the leaders and guards of the region, appointed by Constans, replied that without his opinion and consent they could change nothing, whether large or small: for it would have been impious. Constantine, however, prepared for war and moved arms against him who had committed no injury. Therefore he fell while fighting in the war; and desiring the inheritance of others, he lost that very thing which he seemed to hold by just dominion.
NOTE. (6) It might seem strange that the author, under the name of the lower Gauls, includes Italy and Rome itself. But to one attending to what is said here concerning the division of the empire, it will be manifest that John opposes this region, which he calls the upper Gauls (αἱ ἄνω Γαλλίαι), to that which he calls the lower Gauls (αἱ κάτω Γαλλίαι), which is clearly on this side of the Alps. Now he does not restrict this latter denomination to those areas which were properly called Cisalpine Gaul by the Romans, but extends it to all of Italy; so that the words become a sort of generic name to designate the whole part of the empire which, with the Alps intervening, is separated from upper Gaul. Then, however, in reality, all of Italy can be included under this denomination. Furthermore, it is not to be wondered at that a Greek writer does not speak of matters pertaining to western geography with complete accuracy. Ed.
10. The people of this region also incline toward Constans, and the whole of the Western empire falls under him, though he had nothing to do with it; for God had ordained these things. "Remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have set," nor take away anything from the furrow of thy neighbor. For he who acts wickedly toward his neighbor invites destruction upon himself, bringing upon himself the judgment of God. Constans, therefore, rules over the entire Western empire, joining the two inheritances into one and establishing a single administration over both parts. Not long after, Constans inclined toward revelries, drunkenness, and strange affairs of love, and he managed the entire state sluggishly, as if playing at dice, disdaining the majesty of the empire. B Thus, plots were laid against him by a certain commander named Magnentius, and together with his empire he also lost his life. When he had fallen, Magnentius seized power, with whom Nepotianus and Brettanion also joined in the tyranny.
11. Having learned these things from his sister’s letters, Constantius departed from the East, and arriving in the West, he made war against both and overcame them in battle; for Brettanion had defected to his side. At that time, a great and wondrous sign of the Cross appeared, shining so brightly that it outshone the light of the day with its dazzling brilliance. C It was seen over Jerusalem around the third hour of the day, when the feast called Pentecost was in progress, extending from the place called the Skull as far as the Mount of Olives, from whence the Savior had performed His ascension into heaven. Constantius, therefore, gained control of the entire empire, being the only one of the great Constantine’s sons to survive.
12. Gazing, then, upon the magnitude of the empire, he became dizzy, as he was human and had no one from his own family to defend him; for he had neither had a son born to him, nor had any of his brothers been left, and he feared that another tyrant might rise up against him to usurp his authority. He therefore considered taking one of his kinsmen as a co-heir and protector of the empire. D This he did, appointing Gallus, the brother of Julian, as Caesar. Gallus was his cousin on his father’s side, for Constantius, the father of Gallus and Julian, was the brother of Constantine the Great. Having established him as Caesar at Sirmium, Constantius gave him his own sister in marriage for the sake of trust and security, and he also gave him officials whom he himself had appointed—for it was not permitted to Gallus, as he was merely Caesar, to appoint them himself—sending Thalassius as praetorian prefect, and Montius as...
A quaestor, while also elevating him with the title of patrician. Now Gallus, having been sent by Constantius to the Orient, threw his energy into the management of affairs. When the Persians first heard this, they were seized with fear; and having learned that he was a young man and keen in matters of business, they ceased their incursions against the Romans. Gallus, therefore, resided in Antioch of Syria, while Constantius governed the state in the Occident. At that time, the Roman Empire enjoyed the greatest tranquility, being safeguarded by them both. And this was the state of affairs in that regard.
13. But Gallus, having put on the imperial purple and already beginning to ascend to the highest B grades of power, did not remain in the same frame of mind and faithfulness that he had pledged to Constantius; rather, he showed himself fierce, lacking self-control, and impossible to appease in his wrath. For, being foolish in mind and inconsistent in his will, he exceeded his limits and disregarded the pact he had made with Constantius, exercising excessive authority in the ordering of affairs and managing them with great audacity and arrogance. For when those magistrates whom Constantius had sent with him—appointed as judges of imperial and civil affairs, namely Domitian, the praetorian prefect (for Thalassius had died), and the quaestor Montius—refused to obey or serve his insane and unbridled C impulses, he ordered the soldiers to bind ropes to their feet and drag them through the forum, and he put them both to death, men who had distinguished themselves in the holding of magistracies and were found to be superior to any desire for gain or profit. The bishop of the city gathered them up and buried them, revering their singular virtue.
14. Nor did this stay hidden for long from Constantius, who summoned Gallus to him. But he, knowing that he was not being called for any good purpose, yet considering again that if he should not wish to obey, it would be necessary to wage war and immediately take up arms against Constantius, chose rather the things that lead to peace; and having sent his wife ahead to appease Constantius, he himself also went of his own accord into danger. Constantina, therefore, set out immediately, D eager to stand before her brother first, striving to make him placated, so that he might not determine anything fatal for her husband. But while she had entered upon the journey with a ready and eager mind, she fell ill while on her way and, having entered Bithynia, departed this life at a certain station of that region which is called Gallicana. Gallus, although he reckoned this unexpected event a great calamity for himself, nevertheless proceeded further, not desisting from the things he had determined. And after he arrived at the city of the Noricans which is called Pytabio, Barbation the general was sent thither from Mediolanum, where Constantius was then staying, who stripped Gallus of the purple and...
having reduced him to the status of a private citizen, relegated him as an exile to a certain island of Dalmatia.
B 15. Gallus having been led away to the island, those who had contrived the whole plot against him—especially the eunuch Eusebius, who held the dignity of praepositus, and those who stood with him—persuaded Constantius to remove Gallus from the midst as quickly as possible. Persuaded, he sent those who were to put him to death. But when these had already set out, Constantius was again moved to mercy, and sent with all speed other letters by which Gallus was freed from punishment. Eusebius, however, and those who were with him, persuaded the Magistrianus who was being sent not to show the letters until he had heard that Gallus had been killed. These things were done, and Gallus had died. C Constantius, anxious about public affairs, because he could not alone assume the government of the whole empire—especially since the Galatae were most ready to incite sedition whenever they wished, both on account of their physical strength and their lightness of spirit—was then led to repent that he had condemned Gallus to death. And when he had considered that kinsmen are far safer for an association of imperial power than outsiders and foreigners, he summoned Julian, the brother of Gallus, from Ionia to Mediolanum, created him Caesar, and having joined his sister Helena to him in marriage and received his pledge of loyalty, he sent him into the Gauls, that he might be the guardian of the empire there; he himself, having come to the Illyrians, was residing in Sirmium.
16. But when he heard that the barbarians who lived beyond the Ister were intending to take up arms against the Roman empire, he departed from Sirmium and crossed to the Ister; and having spent no little time on the very bank, when he saw that the forces of the barbarians were keeping quiet [352], he directed his course again toward Thrace. D When he had arrived among the Odrusae, whose king Hadrian had imposed his own name upon the city he had built, he learned from a certain bishop that the bodies of the apostles of Christ, Andrew and Luke, were buried in Achaia, Andrew indeed in Patrae, and Luke in Thebes of Boeotia. When the emperor Constantius heard these things, he was delighted at the report and cried out with a loud voice, and said to those who were present: "Call Artemius to me." And when he immediately appeared, he said: "I congratulate you, O most religious of all men." Artemius answered him: "May you yourself be joyful, O Emperor, forever, and may no trouble ever overtake you." The emperor said: "Do you seek anything more pleasant, O best of friends, than the discovery of the bodies of the apostles of Christ?" The great Artemius said: "Who and from where, O master, has revealed this treasure to us today?" And Constantius said: "The bishop of Achaia, who now presides at Patrae. But go, O best of men, and without delay bring them to Constantinople."
A 17. Having heard these things from the emperor, the great Artemius set out on the journey to the apostles, so as to transport their all-holy relics to Constantinople. Now, the writer of the history says such things concerning Constantius and the martyr. It is said, indeed, concerning Constantius, that he was not only zealous and desirous of divine worship—though he inclined toward the Arian heresy, having been driven into it by the impious and most godless Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia—but that he was also temperate in the other parts of his life, and especially careful of decency, and possessed of perfect sobriety regarding his diet and his general manner of living. He certainly bestowed the greatest care upon the churches, as one who strove far to surpass his father in his zeal for them. He also built a very great church in his father’s city, commencing the work from the foundation, although old age was already approaching. And, revering his father’s tomb, he erected a temple there, a very great sanctuary, where, as stated above, he reposed Andrew the apostle, B translated from Achaia, along with the evangelist Luke from the same Achaia, and Timothy, who was translated from Ephesus of Ionia. And his church now exists where the bodies of the apostles lie, called by the common name of "The Apostles."
18. Artemius, therefore, was among the best of men to have been commanded to see to the transport of these holy ones. In reward for his service, the emperor, at the request of the bishops, granted him the government of Egypt. This, then, the author of the history provides concerning the martyr, bearing witness to him that even before the contests of his martyrdom, he was held in honor by all on account of the virtue that shone forth from his life. But regarding Luke, the following was related by Anatolius the eunuch, one of the palace chamberlains, who himself experienced the efficacy of piety in his own person. This Anatolius declared that he had been lying seriously ill, and that his disease had increased to such a degree that it surpassed the art of physicians. Therefore, C when the casket in which Luke lay arrived by sea and was being carried to the temple, he himself, out of piety, went under it and helped the bearers carry it, according to his strength; and then he was immediately delivered from the disease, and his life was prolonged for a number of not a few years. Constantius, therefore, first built the Church of the Apostles, although Justinian afterwards enlarged it and adorned it more splendidly with more precious materials. The temple in which the bodies of the apostles lie is now called by the common name, The Church of the Apostles.
19. Now the great Artemius set out for Egypt, having been invested with the rank of dux. Constantius, for his part, having departed from Constantinople, made his journey into Syria; and when he had reached the great city of Antioch, he pitched his tent there, preparing for war against the Persians. While he was tarrying in the city and preparing his army, D letters arrived informing him of the rebellion of Julian. For Julian, as has already been declared by me when...
I was discoursing upon these matters, having been proclaimed Caesar by Constantius for the guarding of the West in the Gauls, eventually could no longer endure to remain in the status of Caesar, and he donned the diadem and reached for the greater A power of the empire. Once he had taken hold of affairs, he no longer thought anything was a small matter, nor did he consider it necessary to delay. Desiring instead to bring under his own control the whole of Europe, as much as was subject to the Romans, he marshaled his army and marched through the lands of the Germans toward the Ister. Having reached the opposite bank, he led his army through those regions, eluding both the prefects—Taurus, as he was called, of Italy, and Florentius of Illyricum. When he arrived among the Paeonians, having crossed the river, he immediately brought all of Illyricum under his own power, as well as the Italies, and all the nations reaching to the western ocean that were under Roman sway.
20. When Constantius learned these things through letters, he was disturbed, as was to be expected, and fearing greatly for Constantinople—lest he [Julian] might seize it first, B which was what he himself was planning—he hastened as much as he could to occupy it ahead of him. While his army was being gathered to him, scattered as it was throughout the cities of the East, and while he was preparing himself for such a trek, he signaled to the bishops to reach Nicaea as quickly as they could; for he intended to convene a second synod there, being urged on by the impious Arians against the consubstantial [faith]. But when he had traveled through Cilicia and reached the springs known as those of Mopsus, a sudden infirmity seized him, and he was no longer able to proceed further. When he perceived that he was faring poorly and would likely not survive, he sent for the bishop of Antioch, Euzoius, with all speed and requested to be baptized by him. C And after receiving baptism, he survived for a short time and there departed this life, having reigned in total for forty years: twenty with his father, and the remainder alone. The army, lamenting him and having performed the customary rites for him, placed his body in a sarcophagus, having prepared the corpse with the substances usually employed to preserve it; then, placing it on a carriage, they bore it to Constantinople, each following with his own arms and in the same order as he had been stationed under his commanders while he was yet alive.
[356] 21. These men were conveying the corpse, [moving] toward Constantinople, and Julian also arrived, having come from the Illyrians; he was already in firm possession of the whole empire, as no one dared to oppose him after the death of Constantius. As the corpse of the deceased was being carried to the church of the Apostles, where D they were about to lay him to rest near his father, Julian himself preceded the bier, having removed the diadem from his head. But after they had buried the dead man, as he was departing for the palace, he put the diadem on again, and was in control of affairs, being now sole
A ruler, girding himself with the entire Roman Empire. Since Constantius was therefore out of the way, having vented his seething anger upon the survivors, and especially upon those who out of envy had provided the cause for Gallus’s execution, he immediately beheaded the praepositus Eusebius, because he appeared to have been the primary cause of the murder of Gallus through his own slanders. Paul the Spaniard, who was counted among the emperor’s scribes, he delivered to the fire, as one who had burdened Gallus with many crimes. He sent both of them to Chalcedon, and there he exacted his own punishment upon each of them. He also killed Gaudentius, commander of the army of Africa, and certain others, whosoever had in any way insulted Gallus.
22. But while he punished these by letter, he himself, being present at Antioch, inhumanely punished the martyr and noble athlete of Christ, Artemius, who was also present, on account of his confession of Christ, and stripped him of the authority he held, not bearing his freedom of speech and constancy. For Julian, as I have stated, B having girded himself with the Roman Empire, was especially eager to restore Hellenism. Therefore, sending letters everywhere, he ordered the shrines and altars of the gods to be rebuilt with great haste and zeal; and whatever revenues the great Constantine and his son Constantius had assigned to the churches, he took away and dedicated to the temples of the idols; while at the same time, in place of bishops, presbyters, and deacons, he established temple-wardens, sacristans, sprinklers, sacrificers, canephoroi, and whatever other titles the Hellenic folly confers. These things, then, and others were being done at Constantinople.
23. After this, he had a brother of his mother named Julian, who, in order to flourish in the prince’s favor, had abjured the Christian religion and, showing great zeal for Hellenism, he sent him out as governor of the East, whom they call the Count, and commanded him to vex and disperse ecclesiastical affairs, and to leave nothing C untried to increase and exalt Hellenism everywhere. When, therefore, this man reached Antioch, he endeavored to accomplish in his works more than what was contained in the mandates. He takes away from the churches all that was precious, namely, silver and gold vessels, and silken vestments; he even shuts the churches, so that no one might enter into them for the sake of prayer, bolting the doors with bars and locks. And these things, indeed, the governor of the East was doing in the city of Antioch.
NOTE. (8) That word, composed of *kane* and *phero*, designates men or women who carried in baskets what was to be offered to the gods during pagan solemnities. Ed.
24. Julian the Emperor continued to tarry for some time at Constantinople, A consolidating within it those things which he thought would best benefit the empire, and simultaneously taking care and making arrangements so that paganism might be magnificently exalted. Afterwards, he set out from Constantinople with his whole army and began his journey toward Syria. Having thus passed through all of Phrygia and having arrived at its furthest city, which is called Iconium, he turned aside, leaving Isauria behind. Then, having crossed the mountain called Taurus, he approached the cities of Cilicia; and after he reached the station which is at Issus, he encamped there, imitating Alexander the Macedonian. For that man also, with Darius, the king of the Persians, had joined battle there at Issus, and having defeated him, he made the place famous. From there, having crossed the Gulf of Issus, he came to the city of Tarsus, and from there to Antioch, breathing wrath against the Christians and threatening to blot out their name entirely.
25. When, therefore, the tyrant had come to the city of Antioch and had lodged in the imperial palace, and had not rested even for a single day, there were brought to him, as if accused by some preconcerted arrangement, B Eugenius and Macarius, who were presbyters of the Church in Antioch. The wicked man, having seated himself before the tribunal, ordered them to be brought forward and says to them: "Who are you men, and what is your manner of life and fortune, that you have been brought to our tribunal?" Eugenius said: "We are Christians, and we are shepherds of Christ’s flock; this is our manner of life, this our fortune, and this our profession." And the emperor said: "Where, then, is the flock of Christ of which you are the shepherds?" And Eugenius said: "The whole world, as far as the sun beholds it most widely, and all the men who are therein." And Julian said: "But over whom do we preside, and over whom do we exercise empire C today, O wretched and most miserable little man, if Christ possesses as a flock the whole earth that the sun beholds?" Then the martyr: "Over the same flock, emperor, and herd you preside, of which we also are shepherds. For through Christ, kings reign and the powerful hold sway upon the earth. He, too, has given you empire today. But if you show yourself ungrateful toward your benefactor, tomorrow He will give it again to another. For you are a being of a day, and you rule over those who are now of a day. But Christ possesses an eternal kingdom, which will never receive an end."
26. And the Apostate said: "Impious and alienated from the benevolence of the gods, since Christ is of yesterday and of one day, and existed D from the times of Caesar Augustus, has a sempiternal king been created by you today?" And the martyr: "Indeed," he said, "according to humanity and the mystery of His ineffable and unspeakable dispensation, or rather, His incarnation, such is the case, emperor; but as regards His divine generation, which is before the ages, no time will be found that is prior to it." And the Apostate, thinking him to be unlearned
and devoid of Greek wisdom, mocking him, said: "Therefore, miserable man, was your Christ born twice? And if you boast in this, there are among the Greeks men most wise, not only born twice, but even thrice. For Hermes, he who is called Trismegistus, came into the world three times, conscious of his own self, as his sacred and marvelous books declare; and for this reason he is named Trismegistus. Similarly, Pythagoras, who was later in time than he, also came to life three times: first having been an Egyptian shipmaster, then Euphorbus, who is mentioned by Homer, and lastly Pythagoras, son of Mnesarchus, the Samian."
B 27. But the martyr, laughing at the trifles, or rather the witticisms, of the wise emperor and the foolishness of the impious Greeks, and suspecting that the tyrant was attempting by these words to mock the generation of Christ, replied to him with great severity and courage: "It would have behooved me from the very beginning not to answer you at all, O most wicked one, nor to deign to offer you any defense; but because of the surrounding crowd, since the majority of them belong to Christ's flock, I have said what I have said, and now I shall say a few things more, concerned for their salvation. For instance, the prophets foretold Christ from on high, many generations ago, and many testimonies to His advent appear even in your oracles and in the Sibylline writings. And the cause of His incarnation was the salvation and restoration of fallen man. For when He had come upon the earth, He drove away every disease, and, more marvelously, He raised the dead, who were already stinking, by a word. And what is most astonishing of all, for the salvation of the world He suffered the torment of the cross, and rose from the dead on the third day, as five hundred men testify, with soldiers also guarding the tomb, so that there would be no room for anyone wishing to slander His resurrection. And having risen from the dead, He was seen by His disciples for forty full days, conversing with them; and while they were looking and gazing upon Him, He was taken up into heaven, sending down upon them the gift and power of the Holy Spirit, so that they even spoke in the tongues of foreign nations and had no need of an interpreter. For the Holy Spirit was speaking in them, so that they could even foresee the future and prophesy what was to come. These men went forth and preached Him everywhere, carrying nothing with them but His invisible power; not holding a shield, nor a spear, nor a sword, but naked, unarmed, and poor, they captured the entire world, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, casting out demons. And who were these men? Fishermen, and men ignorant of letters and devoid of the world's wisdom."
28. "As for those whom you have introduced, mocking Christ's generation—men wise and divine, as you have just called them—even if we were to grant that these ravings were true,"
A what benefit, I ask, did those who were born twice, thrice, and four times confer upon the world, or even upon a small or minimal part of it? Who, in the books of Hermes or Pythagoras, is recorded as having raised the dead, cleansed lepers, or cast out demons such as those you serve? Hermes, whom you call the Greatest, was a man of Egypt, brought up under Egyptian laws. After taking a wife, he fathered children, of whom the eldest they call Tat; to him he speaks himself and dedicates his discourses, as he does to Asclepius of Epidaurus, who is presented by you as the author of the medical craft. To him he explains his own theology, which sounds as follows: 'To conceive of God is difficult, but to speak of Him is impossible. For He is in a triple hypostasis, an inexplicable substance and nature, having nothing among mortals similar to Himself.' As for those whom men call gods, they have drawn upon themselves many fables B and many errors. Furthermore, he himself also speaks a certain dark prophecy concerning the coming of Christ, which he drew not from himself, but from the theology of the Hebrews. But what have I to do with the corrupt and stinking words of Hermes, which are held in honor by you, though they have long since rotted and putrefied? For it is not lawful to consult the dead concerning the living, when I have from the divinely inspired oracles truthful witnesses who have foretold the presence and divinity of Christ."
29. "But Pythagoras, who initiated the Italic sect, what great and wonderful thing did he accomplish in his life, having been brought forth three times? Was it that when he was at Olympia, as you say, he showed his golden thigh to the Hellanodikai? Or that, upon hearing a bull that was about to be sacrificed bellowing, he said, 'My dear men, it possesses a soul, and through this bellowing, the unhappy creature is greeting me'? Or that he caused an eagle flying on high to fall to the ground through an incantation? C These were the wonders that the thrice-born man performed while at Olympia, a man thrice-wretched, driven by an insane love of glory and deluded by empty visions. He who established the decad as an oath, and claimed it was the fountain of eternal nature; he who venerated beans, on account of which he also perished with his companions, being hunted by the Tarentines! For, not wishing to tread upon the place where the beans were sown, he and his companions and students were slaughtered, becoming prey to their enemies. And Theano, his wife and disciple, not wishing to disclose the reason why they do not eat beans, had her tongue cut out first, and she too perished."
30. "These are the merits of your philosophers who were born D twice and thrice, as you yourself have orated; but those are the miracles of my Christ, for the salvation and restoration of the human race."
A Pythagoras and Hermes drag the souls of men down to the depths of Hades, introducing certain transmigrations and transfusions; at one time they transfer them into mute animals and wild beasts, at another time they draw and scatter them into fish, plants, and certain other revolutions and orbits. But Christ, as he is true and eternal God, made the soul immortal and exempt from old age, vivified by the divine Spirit and breath that was from the beginning, when he first fashioned man, as the divine and unimpeachable books of Moses declare. And having fallen with the body through disobedience and the deception of the destructive dragon, he came upon earth and walked among us, and by showing us the way of salvation through baptism and his own resurrection from the dead, he brought them back from the depths of Hades into the heavens. And coming again to judge the living and the dead, he will resurrect the bodies and unite them to their souls, and will render to each according to his works.
81. When the martyr had spoken these philosophies, the lawless apostate Julian said: "Do you see, O Roman and Greek men, this wicked and execrable wretch, how many vanities he has poured out against our religion from the Greek disciplines? By the sun, most dear to me, shining like gold and adorning all things, I will no longer suffer the most impious race of Christians to be instructed in the teachings of the Greeks. B For behold, this dog, a participant in the sacred instruction of the scriptures, although not rightly and clearly, yet has poured out many unpleasant follies concerning the history of those sacred and wise men." Having said these things, he orders the martyr to be handed over to the executioners to be beaten up to five hundred strokes. They took him and inhumanly whipped him with scourges. And the herald cried out: "Do what the emperor wills, cease speaking absurdities, and you shall be freed from those punishing you." But the martyr endured bravely while being scourged, remaining silent and saying nothing at all.
C 82. Then Julian, casting his eyes upon Christ’s martyr Macarius, said to him: "What do you say about yourself, you miserable little man?" Macarius answered: "You yourself are miserable and the most wretched of all men, you filthy and unclean dog; but I am in reality blessed, nay most blessed, according to my name, because I acknowledge Christ and worship the living and eternal Son of God. But you have abjured him, adhering to the devil and his angels, the murderous and unclean spirits, who will cast you even against your will into the eternal fire." And the Apostate said: "I see, he says, that you desire to die and you strive to provoke me to anger, so that I may quickly do away with you. But it shall not happen to you as you have hoped, O most impious one,
[1281] A sime. Sed hoc primum responde, et indica quidnam vobis visum sit, exsecrandi, ut nulla sive ab imperatore, sive a quopiam magistratu licentia muniti, ubique discurratis, et magnorum deorum ritus et sacrificia evertere conemini, docentes homines eos non esse deos neque servatores mundi, aut humano generi providere ejusdemque gerere curam, quos ab ævo et multis retro sæculis a patribus profecta mortalium consuetudo reverendos tradidit et adorandos; Christum autem, qui heri esse cœpit, nec multum ante nostram ætatem, Deum sempiternum et regem universorum prædicatis?
B λγ'. Καὶ ὁ Μακάριος· Οὐκ ἠρκέσθης ταῖς Εὐγενίου σοφαῖς ἀποδείξεσιν, ὦ παρανομώτατε, ὅτι τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀεὶ ἐρωτᾷς; Πλὴν ἐγώ σοι τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ὁμοτρόπως ἀποκριθήσομαι, ὅτι Χριστὸς, ὃν σὺ χλευάζεις καὶ διασύρεις ἐπιγελῶν, οὕτως παρακελεύεται. Εἶπεν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς ἱεροὺς αὐτοῦ μαθητάς· Πορευθέντες εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἅπαντα, μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν, φεύγειν τε ἀπὸ τῶν ματαίων εἰδώλων, καὶ ἐπιστρέφειν ἐπὶ θεὸν ζῶντα, ὃς ἔκτισε τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν. Οἱ γὰρ θεοί σου, οὓς αὐτὸς προσκυνεῖς, δαιμόνων εἰσὶ πλάσματα, καὶ μύθων εὑρέματα, καὶ διαβολικῆς ἐνεργείας κυοφορήματα· λέγει γὰρ περὶ αὐτῶν ἡ ἡμετέρα Γραφή· « Θεοὶ οἱ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν οὐκ ἐποίησαν ἀπολέσθωσαν. » Ἀλλὰ καὶ νόμος αὐτοὺς ἕτερος βασιλικός ὁ παρὰ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ σοῦ συγγενοῦς ἐκτεθείς, ἐκβάλλει τῆς προσκυνήσεως, καὶ καταλύει αὐτῶν τὰ σεβάσματα· ὃς εἰς Χριστὸν πιστεύσας, τὰ τῶν εἰδώλων τεμένη κατέστρεψε, καὶ τὰς προσαγομένας αὐτοῖς θυσίας διαρῥήδην ἀπέπαυσε. Τί τοίνυν ἀδικοῦμεν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἃ Θεὸς προσέταξε, καὶ βασιλεὺς μέγας νενομοθέτηκε, κρατύνοντες καὶ διαυθεντίζοντες, ἃ δὲ ἡ τῶν παλαιῶν, ὡς ἔφης, ἀνδρῶν ἄνοια ἐκ τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων μηχανουργίας, ἐξαφανίζοντες καὶ διαλύοντες;
C [366] λδ'. Καὶ ὁ Παραβάτης· Ἀλλὰ Κωνσταντίνος, οἰκτρότατοι, νεωτερίσας διὰ τὰς προσπεσούσας αὐτῷ ἀνοσιουργίας, ἀπέστη τῶν θεῶν, ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν Γαλιλαίων ἐξαπατηθείς, ἅτε δὴ παιδείας ἀμέτοχος, καὶ μήτε τοῖς Ῥωμαϊκοῖς νόμοις, μήτε τοῖς Ἑλληνικοῖς ἔθεσιν ἐμπεδωθείς· ἐγὼ δὲ, ὦ ἀνόσιε, τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς τε καὶ Ῥωμαϊκῆς παιδείας ἄκρον ἐπειλημμένος, καὶ ταῖς τῶν παλαιῶν ἀνδρῶν θεολογίαις, Ἑρμοῦ τέ φημι καὶ Ὀρφέως καὶ Πλάτωνος, ἐξησκημένος, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ καὶ ταῖς Ἰουδαϊκαῖς Γραφαῖς ἐξωμιληκώς, καὶ τὴν τούτων τερθρείαν πεπατηκώς, πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ πατροπαράδοτον καὶ ἀρχαιότατον καὶ θεοφιλὲς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἔθος τε καὶ σέβας μένειν διακελεύομαι, ἢ ταῖς τῶν ἀπαιδεύτων καὶ νεωτεριζόντων ἀνοίαις ἀκολουθεῖν· ἀλλὰ ἀπογυμνούσθω καὶ
A οὗτος τῆς ἀμπεχόνης, καὶ τῆς τῶν μαστίγων πείρας ἐν μεθέξει γενέσθω· ὡς ἂν ἐκ τούτου σωφρονέστερος γεγονώς, τοῖς ἡμετέροις νόμοις καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος ὑποκύψειεν.
35. Τούτων τοίνυν ἀπανθρώπως τιμωρουμένων, αἰκισμοῖς τε βαρυτάτοις ἀλγυνομένων, ὁ μακάριος καὶ εὐσεβὴς Ἀρτέμιος, ὡς προδεδήλωται, δούξ καὶ Αὐγουστάλιος ὑπὸ Κωνσταντίου τῆς Αἰγύπτου πάσης κατασταθείς, καὶ διὰ τὴν ὀρθὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀμίμητον πρᾶξιν ἐπιτροπὴν ἔσχε καὶ τῶν τῆς Συρίας ἐπιμελεῖσθαι πραγμάτων· ὡς ὑπάρχων οὖν καθωσιωμένος τῇ τῶν Ῥωμαίων βασιλείᾳ, καὶ ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰουλιανὸς βεβασίλευκε, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Περσικὸν κατεπείγεται πόλεμον, γράμματά τε δεξάμενος τὰ παρακελευόμενα μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ στρατεύματος εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν ἥκειν, κατὰ τὸ κελευσθὲν αὐτῷ παρεγένετο ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ, καὶ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης αὐτῷ τιμῆς τε καὶ δορυφορίας, παρειστήκει τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος, ὅτε τὴν τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων ὁ παράνομος ἐποιεῖτο ἐξέτασιν· καὶ φησὶν πρὸς αὐτόν· Ὠ βασιλεῦ, διὰ τί οὕτως ἀπανθρώπως ἄνδρας ἁγίους καὶ τῷ Θεῷ ἀφιερωμένους αἰκίζῃ, καὶ ἀναγκάζεις ἐξάρνους γενέσθαι τῆς ἑαυτῶν πίστεως; γίνωσκε τοίνυν ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπος εἶ ἐξ ὁμοιοπαθοῦς, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως τῶν παθημάτων μετεσχηκώς· καὶ εἰ Θεός σε βασιλέα κατέστησεν, εἰ δάγε ἐκ Θεοῦ τὸ βασίλειον ἔχεις, καὶ μὴ ἀρχέκακος καὶ πονηρὸς διάβολος ὥσπερ τὸν Ἰὼβ ἐξῃτήσατο καὶ ἔλαβεν, οὕτως καὶ σὲ καθ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐξαιτησάμενος εἴληφεν ὁ παμπόνηρος, ἵνα σινιάσῃ τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ σῖτον, καὶ ἐπισπείρῃ ζιζάνια· ἀλλ᾽ εἰς μάτην αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐγχείρημα· οὐκέτι γὰρ αὐτῷ ἰσχὺς ὡς καὶ πρότερον. B Ἀφ᾽ οὗ γὰρ ἦλθε Χριστὸς καὶ κατεπάγη σταυρὸς καὶ ὑψώθη Χριστὸς ἐν αὐτῷ, πέπτωκεν ἡ τῶν δαιμόνων ὀφρῦς, καὶ καταπεπάτηται ἡ τούτων ἰσχύς, καὶ καταπεφρόνηται τὰ τούτων τεχνάσματα· μὴ οὖν ἀπατῶ, βασιλεῦ, μηδὲ τοῖς δαίμοσι χαριζόμενος, τὸ τῶν Χριστιανῶν θεοφρούρητον δίωκε γένος· γίνωσκε τοίνυν, ὡς ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀνίκητος καὶ ἀήττητος ὑπάρχει ἰσχύς τε καὶ δύναμις· πάντως δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τοῦτο πεπληροφόρησαι, ἐξ ὧν σοι χρησμῶν Ὀριβάσιος ὁ ἰατρὸς καὶ κοιαίστωρ παρὰ τοῦ ἐν Δελφοῖς Ἀπόλλωνος κεκόμικεν. Ἐγὼ δέ σοι καὶ τὸν χρησμόν, κἂν μὴ βούλῃ, ἐπαναγνώσομαι· ἔχει γὰρ οὕτως· C
Εἴπατε τῷ βασιλεῖ· Χαμαὶ πέσε δαίδαλος αὐλά. Οὐκέτι Φοῖβος ἔχει καλύβαν, οὐ μάντιδα δάφνην, Οὐ παγὰν λαλέουσαν, ἀπέσβετο καὶ λάλον ὕδωρ.
λϛ΄. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Ἰουλιανὸς παρὰ τοῦ μάρτυρος, ἔκθαμβος ὅλως ἐγένετο, καὶ τὸν θυμὸν μᾶλλον ἐγείρας ὡσεὶ φλόγα πυρὸς ἀναῤῥιπιζομένης καὶ κάτωθεν ὕλης τινὸς ὑποστρεφούσης αὐτήν, μέγα τε καὶ διαπρύσιον ἀνεβόησεν· Τίς πόθεν οὗτος ὁ ἁλιτήριος, ὁ τοσαύτην ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος καταβομβήσας δημηγορίαν; Ἡ τάξις ἔφη· Ὁ δούξ ἐστιν Ἀλεξανδρείας, ὦ δέσποτα. Καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς· D
A [the emperor] said, "Is this the wretch who procured a bitter death for my brother?" "Indeed," replied the guard, "it is he, most excellent emperor." Then Julian said, "I owe thanks to the immortal gods, and especially to Apollo of Daphne, for they have revealed to me this impious man who has come of his own accord and exposed himself." And he said, "Let the cursed man be stripped of his rank, and let him be deprived of his belt as a punishment for what he has just dared to utter. As for the slaughter and the blood of my brother, tomorrow, God willing, he shall pay the penalty. For I will not consume him with one death alone, but with myriads, such as are meted out to murderers; for he spilled the blood not of a common man, but of an emperor, and that without having suffered any injury from him."
B 37. When the emperor Julian had made this harangue, the saint was seized by the soldiers, and stripped of his belt and his rank; he stood naked before the tribunal and was delivered into the hands of the lictors. They bound his hands and feet with ropes and stretched him out four ways, and they beat the belly and back of the martyr with ox-sinews to such an extent that they changed four sets of lashes. And it was possible to see a strange and inhuman endurance; for no groan, no cry, no sob, no other such thing that is wont to escape from men who are examined under torture, was heard from him; but he appeared with a face that was unmoved and unchangeable. The ground was filled with blood, and the martyr was recognized as if he were someone else who was suffering; so that all who stood by wondered, and even the cursed Julian himself was struck with amazement at the strange spectacle. He then ordered him to be released and taken to prison along with the remaining saints, intending to consider how, and by what torments, and by what kind of death he might take away the lives of the martyrs.
C 38. The martyrs of Christ, therefore, as they were being led to prison, were chanting: "You have tested us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined; You brought us into the snare, You laid burdens upon our back, You have caused men to ride over our heads” (Ps. LXV, 10). "It remains, therefore, that after we have passed through fire and water, You bring us into a place of refreshment." And when the prayer was finished, the great Artemius said to himself: "Behold, the stigmata of Christ are engraved upon your D body; it remains, therefore, that you also surrender your very soul together with your remaining blood." And, meditating on that prophetic saying, he said: "Behold, I have given my back to the scourges, and my cheeks to the blows." But what more have you endured than my Master, O unworthy one? He too was torn with scourges; His face also received blows and buffeting, He endured stripes upon His whole body, He wore a crown of thorns, and with His hands bound behind His back, He was crucified naked for the sake of my sin and my...
A τὰς χεῖρας ὀπίσω δεθείς, γυμνὸς ἐπὶ τὸν σταυρὸν προσεπάγη διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ἁμαρτίαν τε καὶ παράβασιν, ὁ μὴ γνοὺς ἁμαρτίαν, μηδὲ δόλον ἐν στόματι ἐργασάμενος. Πολλὰ τοιγαροῦν τὰ τοῦ ἐμοῦ Δεσπότου παθήματα· μακρὰν εἰμὶ τῆς ἐκείνου μακροθυμίας καὶ ἀνοχῆς ὁ ταλαίπωρος. Χαίρω τοίνυν καὶ ἀγαλλιῶ, τοῖς τοῦ Δεσπότου μου παθήμασι λαμπρυνόμενος. Κουφίζει μου τὸν πόνον [370] ἡ μίμησις τοῦ πάθους· ἐλαφρύνει μου τὴν ἀλγηδόνα ἡ ὁμοτιμία τῶν κρειττόνων. Κἀγὼ γὰρ δι’ αὐτὸν υἱὸς Θεοῦ ἐγενόμην διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος καὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον γενήσομαι διὰ τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως. Εὐχαριστῶ σοι, Δέσποτα, ὅτι τοῖς σοῖς με πάθεσιν ἐστεφάνωσας. Ἀλλὰ, φιλάνθρωπε καὶ φιλοικτίρμον καὶ τῶν σῶν δούλων προνοητά, τελείωσόν μου τὸν δρόμον ἐν τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ σου, καὶ μή με ἀνάξιον κρίνῃς τοῦδε τοῦ ἐγχειρήματος διὰ τὰς ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ προσγενομένας μοι ἁμαρτίας· ἐγὼ γὰρ, B Δέσποτα, εἰς τοὺς κόλπους τῆς σῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας μετὰ τῆς μετανοίας ἐμαυτὸν ἀπέρριψα.
39. Καὶ ταῦτα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εὐξάμενος, ἔφθασεν ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων Εὐγενίου καὶ Μακαρίου, καὶ παρεδόθησαν τῷ δεσμοφύλακι· καὶ ἦν ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μάρτυς μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀθλοφόρων Εὐγενίου καὶ Μακαρίου, δοξολογῶν καὶ εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ. Πρωΐας δὲ γενομένης, κελεύει πάλιν ὁ Παραβάτης τοὺς μάρτυρας στῆναι ἐπὶ τὸ δικαστήριον, καὶ μηδεμιᾶς καταξιώσας αὐτοὺς ἐρωτήσεως, ἢ μόνον τὸν μέγαν Ἀρτέμιον διαχωρισθῆναι τῆς αὐτῶν συζυγίας παρακελευσάμενος, ἐξορίαν κατ’ αὐτῶν ψηφίζεται, καὶ πέμπει αὐτοὺς ἐν Ὄασιν τῆς Ἀραβίας. Δύο δὲ εἰσὶ χωρία οὕτω καλούμενα, Ὄασις μικρὰ καὶ μεγάλη· φθοροποιὰ δὲ τὰ χωρία, καὶ ὑπὸ φθοροποιῶν ἀέρων καταπνεόμενα, καὶ οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐκεῖσε ἀπερχομένων ἐνιαυτὸν ἕνα καὶ μόνον διήρκεσεν, ἀλλ’ αὐτόθι ὑπὸ χαλεπῶν ἁλισκόμενοι νοσημάτων ἐναποθνήσκουσιν. Ἐκεῖ τοίνυν τοὺς ἁγίους περιορίσας Εὐγένιον καὶ Μακάριον, ἐν αὐτῇ τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν ἁγίων ἀποτμηθῆναι ἐκέλευσεν· οἱ καὶ ἐτελειώθησαν μετὰ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας, τῇ εἰκάδι τοῦ Δεκεμβρίου μηνός [371]. Ἐν δὲ τῷ τόπῳ τῆς αὐτῶν τελειώσεως, θαῦμα γέγονε μέγα· μὴ ἔχοντος γὰρ τοῦ τόπου ὕδωρ τὸ σύνολον, πηγὴ ἀνέβλυσεν ὕδατος, πᾶσαν ἀποδιώκουσα νόσον, ἣ καὶ μέχρι τῆς σήμερον μένει, τῶν ἁγίων σῴζουσα τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν.
40. Τὸν δὲ ἅγιον Ἀρτέμιον προσκαλεσάμενος ἔφη πρὸς αὐτόν· Διὰ τὴν προπέτειάν σου κατηνάγκασάς με ἀτιμάσαι τὸ γένος σου, καὶ τὴν προσοῦσαν σοι περιφάνειαν ἐνυβρίσαι, καὶ αὐτῶν ἐφάψασθαι τῶν σαρκῶν σου. Πείσθητι οὖν μοι, Ἀρτέμιε, καὶ προσελθὼν θῦσον τοῖς θεοῖς, μάλιστα τῷ Δαφναίῳ Ἀπόλλωνι τῷ ἐμοὶ τριποθήτῳ καὶ παναγάστῳ θεῷ, καὶ τῆς αἰτίας τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἐμοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἀπολύω σε, τήν τε ἀξίαν μείζονα καὶ ἐνδοξοτέραν ἐπαναθήσω σοι· ἔπαρχον γὰρ πραιτωρίων σε καταστήσω, καὶ ἀρχιερέα τῶν μεγάλων θεῶν, πατέρα ἐμὸν ὀνομάσω, καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς βασιλείας τὰ δεύτερα φέροντα, καὶ ἔσῃ μεθ’ ἡμῶν πάντα τὸν χρόνον τῆς ἡμετέρας ζωῆς τε καὶ διαγωγῆς. Οἶδας γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς, ὦ Ἀρτέμιε, ὡς ὁ ἐμὸς ἀδελφὸς μάτην παρὰ Κωνσταντίου περι
A envy brought about his downfall, and Eusebius the eunuch, most wicked of all men, who wrongly assumed the rank of praepositus, though the wretched man did not pay a sufficient penalty for his impiety.
41. Furthermore, our family has a better claim to the empire. For my father Constantius was born of my grandfather Constantius and Theodora, daughter of Maximian; whereas Constantine was born of Helena, a base woman, little different from a harlot, and this before he had been made Caesar, while he was still living in the condition of a private citizen. Constantine, therefore, through the boldness of his mind, usurped the empire and unjustly killed my father and both of his brothers. Subsequently, Constantius, imitating his father Constantine, killed my brother, to whom he had nevertheless sworn a most dreadful oath. He intended the same for us as well, had we not been saved by the providence of the gods; but the gods forbade it, manifesting salvation for me from themselves. Relying on them, I abjured Christianity and embraced the life of the pagans, for I am fully persuaded that the ancient way of life of the Greeks and Romans, founded upon good customs and laws, rightly calls those gods who in reality provide faith for themselves.
42. For who is of such doubtful mind that, when he sees the sun B riding in the heavens and the moon traversing in a golden chariot, drawn by bulls? For the one makes the day bright and rouses men to work; the other brings torches to the night, gives brilliance to the stars, and with its wakeful rays invites men to sleep. These things, Artemius, the Greeks and Romans discourse as divine, and not foolishly, but fittingly and with sound judgment. For what is more splendid than the sun? Or what is more shining than the moon? Or what is more pleasant and beautiful than the chorus of the stars? These, then, the Greeks and Romans recount C as gods and worship, and have placed their hopes in them. And they call the sun Apollo, and the moon Artemis; and they call the greatest of the stars, which are called planets and occupy the seven heavenly zones, by the names of Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Venus. For these stars govern the whole cosmos, and by their powers all that is beneath the heaven is administered. Therefore, men have erected statues of these and worship and honor them, while at the same time inventing certain myths for the sake of pleasure. But they do not worship the images as gods—far be it! For that is the madness of the simpler and rustic sort of people; but those who study D philosophy and inquire precisely into divine matters know to whom they offer honor, and unto whom the adoration of divine images passes.
43 I urge you, then, to stand with us, to perform what is pleasing to us, to embrace the religion of the Greeks correctly, and to adhere to ancient customs and affairs. For Constantine, as you yourself know, having been found an ignorant and senseless man, very easily deceived, inaugurated innovations in religion; and having set aside the laws of the Romans, he inclined toward Christianity, fearing his own unholy deeds, and because the gods had driven him from their flock as a most wicked person, unworthy of their religion and stained with the blood of his own kin. For he delivered his own brothers to death, although they had done nothing wrong, and his wife Fausta, and his son Priscus, [(14)] who was a temperate and good man. The gods, therefore, having been disgusted by such crimes, rejected him and made him stray very far from their holy and most sacred religion; furthermore, they removed his wicked and execrable seed, together with his entire race, from the world. Therefore, admirable man, since I see your character to be firm and constant in all things, I wish you to be a friend, a fellow heir, and a companion in all the affairs of the empire of our party and society. Come then, Artemius, stand with us, as we are, and, having abjured Christ, move over to the parental, most ancient, and long-lasting religion of the Romans and Greeks, and enjoy with us the goods granted by the gods, having become a participant in the greatest honors and dignities.
44 To these things the martyr of Christ, having paused a little and pondered, and having collected his whole mind and reason, replied: "Truly, emperor, I will bring you no defense at present regarding my religion and faith, although I have its proofs in readiness. But concerning the death of your brother, let this be my response: It will not appear that I have ever done injury to his soul, whether by deed, by word, or by any thought of the mind, even if you should exhaust yourself in a thousand ways searching into this; for the truth is immutable. For I knew him to be a Christian, pious, righteous, and a lover and follower of the laws of Christ. Let heaven and earth, therefore, and the whole chorus of the holy angels know, and Christ, the Son of God, whom I worship in spirit, that I am clean from his slaughter and death, and that I contributed nothing to his unjust murder to those unholy men who committed it. For I was not present then with Constantius, but I had my dwelling and residence in Egypt until the present year. And this is the defense I offer regarding your brother."
45 As for what concerns abjuring Christ and embracing the Gentile life, to this I shall answer you...
A borrowing the voice of the three youths before Nebuchadnezzar: "Let it be known to you, O king, that I do not worship your gods, and I shall never bow down to the golden image of your most beloved Apollo." But as for the things you have uttered in contempt of the blessed Constantine, who was greater than all kings, and of his family, calling him an enemy of your gods, a madman, full of murder, and stained with the blood of his kin—to these things I shall offer you this defense on his behalf: that rather your father Constantius and his elder brothers were the ones who began the injustice, having mixed a poisonous draught for Constantine and having caused his ruinous death, though they had suffered no injustice at his hand. As for Constantine, he put his wife Fausta to death, and very justly so, because she imitated the ancient Phaedra and slandered his son Priscus [Crispus], claiming that he was passionately disposed toward her and attempted to force himself upon her, just as she did with Hippolytus, the son of Theseus; and thus, according to the laws of nature, as a father, he punished his son. Later, however, having learned the truth, he put her to death as well, having passed upon her a judgment that was the most just of all. He turned toward Christ, since He had called him from heaven at the time he was waging that fierce and most heavy war against Maxentius, having shown him the sign of the cross in the middle of the day, shining with rays brighter than the sun, and indicating to him in Roman letters, as if written by the stars, the victory of the war. For we ourselves saw the sign, being present at the battle, and we read the letters; indeed, the entire army saw them, and many witnesses of this prodigy B are to be found in your own army, if you should wish to inquire.
45. And why do I say these things? Christ was foretold from above by the prophets, as you yourself know very well; and there are many testimonies of His arrival even from the gods worshipped among you, and from the predictions of the oracles: both the Sibylline writings and the poetry of Virgil the Roman, which you call the Bucolics, and even that Apollo so admired among you, the oracle-giver, uttered a certain word of this kind concerning Christ. For when questioned by his own ministers, he answers as follows:
Would that you had not forced me to speak for the last and final time, Wretched ministers of mine, concerning the miraculous God, And the Spirit that holds all things around like a cluster, The stars, the light, the rivers, and Tartarus, the air and the fire, Who drives me, even against my will, from these dwellings. For me, the early dawn of the tripods still remained, Alas, alas for me, tripods, lament; Apollo is gone, Gone, since a heavenly man subjects me by his light; And He who suffered is God, and the Deity herself has not suffered.
C D
A 47. The Apostate replied: I think, Artemius, that you were not a general in Egypt, but some soothsayer, or rather a buffoon or a wandering rogue, gathering up the tales of drunken old women and ancient and antiquated fables. The martyr said: You have not judged rightly, O Emperor, nor as befits your wisdom and virtue. From your own gods and the teachings that you hold dear, I draw my proofs, so that from what is known to you, you might learn the mystery of the truth, and that you might not think I am adorning myself with the words of the Greeks; for let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head; but, being concerned for the salvation of your soul, I move every stone that the truth may be persuaded to you. In my judgment, just as Satan blinded the old Adam, our first parent, through disobedience and the eating of the forbidden fruit, so also, O Emperor, he, being envious of your salvation, has despoiled you of the faith of Christ. And as for your calling the sun and the moon and the stars gods, I am ashamed of your ignorance, or rather, your malice. Did not Anaxagoras of Clazomenae, who is, clearly, your own teacher, say that the sun was a mass of fire, and that the stars were porous bodies, absolutely devoid of soul and sensation? How then, you yourself, O best and most philosophical of emperors, can you proclaim as gods those things which are rejected and condemned by your own teachers? For I know that you belong to the Platonic sect; and Plato heard Socrates, Socrates heard Archelaus, and Archelaus and Pericles heard Anaxagoras. How then, O admirable one, do you call these gods, and above all acknowledge the sun, and make it your imperial oath? Why, on every occasion, whether in letters, or in conversations, or in addresses, do you often use the formula, "By the sun"? But why should I prolong this discourse? I do not abjure my Christ, far be it! I do not embrace the detestable impiety of the Greeks. I remain in those things in which I have been taught, and I persevere in the paternal traditions, which no time will cast down, even if something sublime has been discovered by the highest talents, to say something, as I may, with your poet Euripides.
C 48. At these words Julian was dizzy and perplexed, not knowing what to do, having admired the great erudition and eloquence of the martyr, and his facility in answering and defending himself. The martyr of Christ therefore said to him: Dismiss, O Emperor, the dead and bloated superstition of the Greeks (for it has long since rotted), and draw near to Christ; for He is long-suffering and merciful, and will receive your repentance. But it was not possible for the martyr’s words to resist the impulse of a perverse mind, or to call back a soul D of its own accord going and hastening toward perdition. For Julian, long cherishing Hellenism in his soul, which he had drawn from the conversations he had in Ionia with the philosopher Maximus, while his brother yet survived, and after him Constantius, dared to reveal nothing for fear of them. To those who...
were no longer among the living, however, and since he was now master of affairs, he promptly cast off his mask and broke out with all his might into Hellenism. A
49. Therefore, he answered the martyr: "Since you have despised my words, O wicked head, and have even dared to try to convert me to the faith of the Christians, these are the gifts I bestow upon you in return for those I promised." He then orders the martyr to be stripped, his sides to be pierced with red-hot iron skewers, his back to be pricked with sharp caltrops, and his body, while stretched out on his back, to be torn apart. When these tortures were inflicted upon the martyr with great haste, his steadfastness remained the same as before; and as if he were a spectator of another’s pain, he appeared to suffer nothing of these terrible things. B Yet, though he was holy and tortured for many hours, without uttering any sound or groan, Julian, having gestured with his hand, rose from the tribunal as if defeated and ordered the martyr to be led back to prison, and that neither bread nor water should be provided to him, nor anything that men take to sustain life. He himself hastened to Daphne, which is the most pleasant dwelling place of Antioch.
50. But around midnight, while the martyr was praying in custody, Christ appeared to him and said: "Artemius, act manfully and take courage, and do not fear nor dread the tyrant. For I am with you, delivering you from every temptation and every pain of torments, and in the kingdom of heaven I will crown you; and just as you yourself have confessed me before men upon the earth, I also will confess you before my Father who is in heaven [Matt. x, 32]. Take courage, therefore, and rejoice, for you shall be with me in Paradise." C Having heard these words from the Lord, the martyr became emboldened, and through the whole night he was glorifying and thanking God; for he was healed of his stripes and his wounds, so that not even a scar appeared on his holy body. And he remained fifteen days, tasting nothing at all; for he was nourished by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
51. Julian then hastened to the suburb of Daphne, as we have mentioned, preparing sacrifices for Apollo and expecting to receive oracles from him. Now Daphne is a suburb of Antioch, situated on the higher grounds of that city, overshaded by all kinds of groves. For the place is most rich in trunks and most fruitful, where, in addition to all other manner of trees, an extraordinary number of cypresses are planted, incomparable in beauty, height, and size. D Streams of potable water flow in every direction, with the largest springs welling up there, from which even the city in a few
A places seems most abundant in water. Moreover, it is also highly and sumptuously adorned with brilliant buildings for lodgings, baths, and other structures, both for utility and for magnificence. There, among the temples and statues of other demons, the shrine of Apollo was worshipped from ancient times with a certain special observance. For the pagan myth invented that the incident involving the virgin Daphne occurred there, from whom indeed the place seems to derive its name even to this day.
52. Now, the statue of Apollo was fashioned as follows: the body was composed of vine wood, joined with such wonderful art that it presented the appearance of being made from a single piece. The whole garment with which it was clothed was overlaid with gold, which—together with the unadorned and ungilded parts of the body—shone with an ineffable beauty. In its standing position, it held a lyre in its hands, which it seemed to be playing; the hair and the laurel wreath blossomed with gold mixed in, from which a great grace shone upon the beholders. Two large hyacinth stones filled the place of the eyes, in memory of Hyacinthus, the boy from Amyclae; and the beauty and size of the gems always added the greatest ornament to the image, since the craftsmen had placed them skillfully and with B the greatest decorum. Thus, it happened that many were deceived by the statue, drawn to worship by the beauty of the apparent form—a thing which Julian himself had also suffered. For he pursued this image with greater worship than the others, sacrificing thousands of animals of every kind to it.
53. But since, despite all that he did and maneuvered in order to make the statue give a response, it availed him nothing, and both this and all the remaining statues there maintained a deep silence, he thought it must be a matter of the delusions which the Gentiles call "theurgy." Having summoned a certain Eusebius, who had a reputation among the Gentiles for being very capable in this art, he ordered him to make the statue as vibrant and effective as possible, sparing nothing that he judged necessary for this purpose. But when he had exhausted all his machinations, and had left nothing untried of all that he could devise, the statue remained silent in the same manner and according to the order of nature, uttering nothing more than it had before. Being asked, therefore, by Julian why Apollo was most especially silent, even though all that had been ordained for these rites had been completed, he answered that Babylas was the principal cause of the silence of this and the other statues, because he lay buried in Daphne, and the gods, loathing his corpse, would not endure to come to their seats. C For he did not wish to reveal the truest cause, though it was not entirely hidden from him, namely, that a greater power was present which hindered the operations of the demons; especially since the demon who was acting the part of Apollo had clearly and openly, as they report, said that he could not answer on account of Babylas. D
A For this Babylas is said to have been bishop of Antioch. When the Emperor Numerian wished to enter the church of the Christians on a certain feast day, he stood before the doors and prevented him from entering, saying that he would, to the extent of his power, prevent a wolf from entering upon the flock. The Emperor was immediately repelled from the entrance, whether because he suspected that a riot would occur among the people, or because he was ruminating on something else in his mind. Since, however, he bore the prohibition of the bishop with difficulty, he returned to the palace and ordered him to be led to the tribunal to render an account of his action. When Babylas was therefore brought forth, the Emperor first accused him of the audacity of the prohibition, and then ordered him to sacrifice to the demons if he wished to escape the punishment for the charge. The bishop, however, dispelled the accusation and rejected the exhortation: the former by saying that it was fitting for him, as a shepherd, willingly to suffer all things for the flock; and the latter by declaring that he would not permit himself, having abandoned the truly existing God, to sacrifice to demons, who were false in name and destructive spirits. When the Emperor saw that he was disobedient, he ordered him, having been bound in chains and fetters, to be put to death by the amputation of his head. As he was being led away to die, taking up these words of the psalm, he chanted: "Turn, my soul, unto thy rest, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."
B C 55. They say also that three youths, brothers by race, altogether young and nourished by him, were seized by the Emperor. And when they also did not wish to sacrifice, although every kind of compulsion was applied to them, the Emperor ordered them also to be beheaded. When they had arrived at the appointed place, Babylas, placing them before himself, presented them to the sword first, so that no one of them for fear might flee from death. After they were beheaded, reciting also these words: "Behold, I and the children whom God has given me," he himself also extended his neck to the sword. He had ordered those who were to collect his body to bury the chains and fetters with him, that these, he said, might be an ornament to me as I lie there; and in fact, it is said that he still lies with them. Julian, therefore, when he had heard from Eusebius that this Babylas was an impediment to the statues so that they could not give replies, immediately ordered those whose concern it was that this should be done, that they should transfer that coffin, which was hollowed out from a large stone, away from Daphne to some place far off, moving it whithersoever they might wish. Immediately, therefore, the crowd of the city, poured forth as if some great affair were at stake, and surrounding it, began to drag the coffin; but it, as if not drawn by men rather than moved by some stronger power, outstripped the alacrity of those who were dragging it by following along. For it was transported that same day more than fifty stadia, and they placed it in the place which is called the cemetery. For there is in the city a building where many [bodies]—of the ancients, among whom are some because of—
who even bore witness to the faith, received much, and then they brought the coffin there.
56. Julian was preparing a multitude of sacrificial victims and offerings, as on the following day he was to ascend with them to Daphne; for now certainly he was hoping, if not to obtain oracles from the others, at least to obtain them from Apollo who would answer him. For on him he had placed the entire hope of his zeal and expectation, as this place was more distinguished for him than for another according to the art of divination, and because Daphne was consecrated to him; and he could not doubt that in his own seat he possessed power greater than the other demons.
Moreover, Eusebius and those who were called priests and the crowd of temple-wardens, awaiting the emperor, were in great distress; they were keeping watch around the image and were contriving everything so that when Julian arrived, he might find it speaking, for no other excuse for delay was left to him. B But when the night was far advanced, fire from heaven was suddenly brought down and descended upon the temple; and it laid hold of it immediately from every side, consuming the image itself and the offerings. And when everything was burning together and the fire was rising very high, a great cry immediately thundered around the temple, a tumult like no other. Many came running to assist, but there was no one who could stand against the fire. And while some ran to report the matter to the prefect of the East, C Julian, the remaining crowd stood stupefied, watching the unexpected calamity that had overtaken them. The fire touched nothing else, although such a great and abundant supply of material was there, except the temple into which it had fallen and the things within it; so that, after the image and all the offerings had been completely destroyed, a few remains of the buildings were left as signs of the disaster, which are still shown even now as a most certain proof of the divinely-sent fire.
57. Julian, having heard what had happened, was filled with anger. And deeming it a serious matter if the Christians should mock him on account of this event, he immediately ordered them to be driven from the Great Church, and commanded that it be made completely inaccessible to them, having closed it off most securely, and he ordered that all its valuables be confiscated. He also gave the pagans the license D to enter the churches of the Christians and to do in them whatever they wished. Since these things were established by the tyrant and impious Julian, what greatest of evils was not performed? What of the most absurd things did the pagans not pour out, uttering with unbridled tongues unspeakable things against the Christian faith and blaspheming against our Lord and God Jesus Christ in all the cities (20)? For indeed in Sebaste, formerly Samaria, but now built by Herod and called Sebaste, the bones of the prophet Elisha and...
of John the Baptist from their tombs, and having mingled them with the bones of unclean animals, they burned them, and scattered their ashes into the air. And the statue of the Savior in the city of Paneas, which had been magnificently erected by the woman who suffered from an issue of blood and had been healed by Christ, and had been set up in a prominent place in the city—which, having been recognized after some time by the herb that miraculously sprouted there, the Christians had taken up and placed in the diaconicum (20)—the Gentiles cast it down, and having tied ropes to its feet, they dragged it through the forum until, having been broken piece by piece, it was destroyed, with only the head being left behind, which B was carried off by someone while the Gentiles were in a tumult, uttering forth blasphemous and most hateful words against our Lord Jesus Christ, such as no man has ever heard.
58. But that most impious and of all men most lawless Julian rejoiced and exulted, and becoming arrogant on account of these things, he ordered that the temple of the Jews in Jerusalem be rebuilt (d); and having cast the Christians out of the city, he gave it to the Jews to inhabit, sending a certain Alypius to hasten the restoration of the temple. But he, having taken his seat upon the tribunal in the place called the Basilica, ordered the martyr to be brought before him. And the saint having been brought forward, he said to him: "Certainly, most impious Artemius, you too have heard of the audacious deed of the impious ones, those like yourself, the Christians, which they carried out in Daphne in the temple of Apollo the Savior: how they burned his sanctuary together with the votive offerings, and destroyed the precious and wonderful image. But they shall not rejoice for having treated our things with mockery and derision; for I shall exact punishment for this seventy times seven, as your own oracles say." C
59. The martyr answered: "I have heard that divine wrath and fire sent from heaven consumed your god, and burned his temple and utterly demolished it. If, therefore, he were a god, why did he not save himself from the fire?" And the apostate said: "Perhaps you too, most wicked one, seem to me to be insulting and mocking at these things, as if having obtained some vengeance from your God." And the martyr said: "I, most ungodly one, always glory, rejoice, and exult at the ruin of the demons whom you worship; and at all the wonders which my Christ performs, I am delighted and glad. But I shall receive vengeance for the things which have been attempted against me by you at that time when that unquenchable fire shall seize you, and the everlasting punishment. And here too there shall not be long delay until your memory shall be blotted out with a noise." And the apostate said: "If therefore you rejoice, most impious one, in torments, and in those...
things which you desire, I shall grant you an addition of the desired exultation. But, most spiteful one, I spare you out of my own kindness, and I wish that, putting aside your madness, you would use a sound mind and approach to sacrifice to the immortal gods. For you have been adorned with the greatest dignity, and much wealth has been heaped up for you from above and from your ancestors, and the gods have provided you with many gifts of virtue, although you have shown yourself ungrateful toward them."
60. And the martyr said: "Why do you rave, most lawless one, and occupy yourself with deadly words? Having ignored the barbarian uprisings, and having postponed the Persian war, by which you have shaken the entire world, do you occupy yourself with me, the servant of God? Give whatever sentence against me you wish; for I do not worship your gods, nor do I submit to your commands, but I offer to my God daily a sacrifice of praise and confession; do therefore what you wish, most wicked one." Hearing these things, the apostate A became filled with rage; he ordered quarrymen and stone-cutters to enter, and says to them: "Do you see that steep rock opposite the theater, leaning towards the slope of the city? Having split this, therefore, and having set the other part of it higher up, place this wretch in the middle; and having broken the bonds by which the rock is held, let it fall with force and weight toward the part from which it was split; and he, being caught in the middle, will be entirely crushed into the smallest pieces, and all his inner parts will be ruptured, so that he may know whom he resists, and against whom he has armed himself for battle, and what aid his God will bring to him, if indeed he will be powerful enough to rescue him from my hands." B The stone-cutters executed the mandate more quickly than it was spoken, and let down the rock as the tyrant had ordered. And when it, rushing down with great weight, covered the entire body of the martyr and compressed him so much that a certain sound of broken bones was heard, it was terrible, horrible, and unaccustomed to human ears.
61. And the saint was in the middle of the stones, being constricted C and crushed, calling upon Christ and saying: "Upon a rock you have lifted me, for you have been my hope: a tower of strength from the face of the enemy. You have set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps." Receive then, Only-Begotten, my spirit, you who know my distress, and do not shut me up into the hands of enemies. For all his inner parts were ruptured, and the entire structure of his bones crushed, and the pupils of his eyes were protruding from their sockets; but even so the noble athlete of Christ was enduring, like an unbroken anvil, or a stone most hard and stronger than any adamant. When D therefore the saint had persisted in the middle of the stones for a day and a night, the oath-breaker Julian ordered the rocks to be separated, thinking that he would be found ruptured, crushed, and dead. But when the rocks were opened, the saint stepped forth and began to walk around, although his eyes were indeed out of their socket
and had abandoned their proper seats; A a frightening spectacle and a strange phenomenon, beyond the bounds of human nature. This man was naked, his bones shattered and his joints crushed, showing the internal disposition of human nature as it departed from the body that had surrounded it. He walked, he spoke, and he answered the tyrant back.
62. When the all-abominable Julian saw him, he was overcome with great astonishment and said to those present: "Do you see this strange spectacle, a summary of things that seem to have no part in human nature? Is this man not a wizard and an enchanter? Or is this some phantom and a token of deceptive demons? Now I am persuaded that Euripides was wise and possessed knowledge of many things, when he philosophized thus in *Orestes*:
There is no word so terrible to utter, Nor suffering, nor heaven-sent calamity, Whose weight human nature cannot endure.
By the immortal and invincible gods, men, I did not expect that this wretch and impious man was still to be reckoned among the living. But now, with his entrails poured out and the entire structure of his bones broken, he moves and speaks. But the gods have reserved him for the correction of many men, so that he might be a bugbear B to those who do not worship their supernal power." And he said to the martyr: "Behold, wretch, you are both deprived of your eyes and have lost the use of all your limbs. What hope, then, remains for you in him in whom you have hoped in vain? But invoke the kindness of the gods; perhaps they will be merciful to you and will not deliver you over to the punishments of the underworld."
63. The martyr of Christ, having heard of the punishment, smiled and said to the unsympathetic and C implacable tyrant: "Will your gods deliver me over to punishments? And how, you all-abominable one, will they who have not escaped their own punishment be able to assist others? For them the eternal fire is prepared, for them Tartarus and the worms, and the gnashing of teeth which never ceases; with whom you also shall be delivered over to the eternal and inextinguishable fire, to be punished for all ages. For you have trampled upon the cross of God and have considered the precious blood which He shed for us to be common, having insulted the Spirit of grace in which you were sanctified, yielding to destructive demons. But as for me, in return for this small labor and the trivial torment which you have brought upon me, D many rewards and crowns of victory will be given in return, with which I shall be adorned, about to recline at the unsullied bridal chamber with Christ. And the Lord Christ will adorn my temples with a crown more excellent than that with which you are adorned for a day. But why do I say these things to you, the impious and bloodthirsty tyrant? Depart from me, most wicked and of all men most unholy; give whatever sentence you wish against me, and such as Satan, who dwells in your soul, suggests to you. For I stand in opposition to your will, and I do not obey your commands. Do, therefore, what you will, O most lawless one."
A When Julian, alienated from God, heard these words from the martyr, he pronounced this sentence against him: "Artemius, who has insulted the gods and trampled upon both the Roman laws and our own, and who has declared himself a Christian instead of a Roman or a Greek, and has preferred to be called a Galilean rather than a duke and augustalis, we deliver to the final vote of death, and we command that his abominable head be cut off with a sword." Having received this sentence, the martyr of Christ went out from the tribunal B with the soldiers who were leading him away, rejoicing and exulting, singing hymns and glorifying Christ the King. After they had reached the place where the martyr and soldier of Christ was to receive his fulfillment, he said to the soldiers who were leading him: "Brothers, I beseech you, grant me a little time to pray." They replied to him: "Do as it pleases you." And the saint, turning toward the east and stretching out his hands to heaven, prayed in this manner:
[δ'] 65. "I thank You, Master and Savior of those who call upon Your name in truth, because You have strengthened me, Your unworthy servant, to trample upon the goads of the devil, to crush the snares which he set beneath my feet, and to put to shame the apostate Julian, who has rebelled against Your lordship C and attached himself to the devil and to those who hate You, who has trampled upon Your holy laws and profaned Your divine commandments. I thank You, O most merciful One, because You have looked upon my humiliation, and have not delivered me into the hands of the enemies, but have set my feet in a wide place and directed my steps. I thank You, Only-Begotten Word of the Father, because You have deemed me worthy of the prize of the heavenly calling and of the choir of Your saints, because You have perfected me in the confession of You, and have brought shame upon those who rose up against me. And now I call upon You, Master, look upon me and upon my humble petitions, and grant rest to Your inheritance, for it has grown weak—and You have established it. D For behold, Your enemies have made a noise, and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and have plotted against Your saints. They have said, 'Come, and let us destroy them from being a nation, and let the name of Christ be remembered no more.' These things Julian boasts; these things he utters with arrogance; these things he threatens against Your people and Your inheritance, for which You shed Your blood. For behold, Your altars have been torn down, Your sanctuary consumed by fire, the beauty of Your house has vanished, and the blood of Your testament has been counted as nothing, because of our sins and the blasphemies which Arius poured out against You, the Only-Begotten, and Your Holy Spirit; when, forsooth, he taught that You were alien to the consubstantiality of the Father and foreign to His nature; when he called You, the Creator of all things, a creature, and placed in time Him who made the ages.
making the one who created the ages subject to time, A saying: "There was a time when the Son was not," calling You the Son of counsel and will, O most lawless one. But that impious man indeed paid the penalties of his own mouth and unrighteous tongue, even if his blasphemies persist, bringing forth for him eternal and endless punishment. But You, O long-suffering One, restrain the tyranny raised against us, and extinguish Your righteous anger and indignation which we ignited by provoking You, O Lord; shatter the fortifications of idolatry; extinguish the altars of the idols, and put an end to the fumes of unclean blood, so that a pure and bloodless sacrifice may be offered to You in every place of Your dominion; so that Your all-holy name may be glorified, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto all the ages of ages. Amen.
66. B And having bent his knees for the third time, and having worshipped toward the east, he prayed again, saying: O God from God, only from the Only, King from King, who art in heaven and sitting at the right hand of God and Father who begat Thee, who didst walk upon the earth for the salvation of us all, the crown of those who strive piously for Thee, hear me, Your humble and unworthy servant, and receive my soul in peace, and let it rest with Your saints who from ages past have pleased You and glorified Your holy name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto all the ages of ages. Amen. And there came to him a voice from heaven saying: Artemius, your petition has been heard, and the grace of healings has been given to you. C Hasten, therefore, your course, and finish the contest; enter with the saints, and receive the prize which is prepared for the saints and for all those who have loved the appearing of Christ. The lawless emperor will fall in Persia, destined to become a sacrifice to the unclean demons whom he served and honored, receiving such a reward from them, and another will reign in his place, most Christian and most godly, shattering and tearing down all the objects of worship of the idols. And the people of God will rejoice, and all the Churches will be delivered from the madness of the idols, and a deep peace will seize the whole world, and the name of Christ D will be lifted up and magnified from the ends of the earth. For idolatry will no longer lift up its head, nor will it be given to Satan to eradicate the foundation of the Church;
for the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. A
67. B Having heard these words from the divine voice, the blessed one, 394 having received assurance of the things that were about to come to pass, gave thanks to God; and being filled with joy and gladness, he bowed his neck. One of the soldiers came forward and cut off his holy head on the twentieth day of the month of October, on the sixth day of the week, which is called Preparation. A certain faithful woman named Arista, a deaconess of the Church in Antioch, petitioned the Emperor Julian for his blessed and holy body, and the prince permitted it to be given to her. Having prepared a coffin, she embalmed his holy and blessed body with myrrh and perfumed it with precious aromatics and ointments; she placed it in the coffin and sent it to the most fortunate city of Constantinople, depositing it in a conspicuous place, as she intended to build a church worthy of the holy great martyr Artemius, so that a gathering of the faithful might be held in memory of his glorious martyrdom. These things were done in Antioch, the great city of Syria, under Julian the Caesar, surnamed the Apostate, while Dulcitius was proconsul and Sallustius was fulfilling the office of prefect, C in a place called Daphne, while our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ reigns over us.
68. As has been stated above, the apostate Julian sent to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of the Jews, which Vespasian and his son Titus had razed together with the city and burned, just as Christ the Lord had foretold to his holy disciples concerning it, that there would not be left one stone upon another that would not be destroyed. D Therefore, the lawless one, wishing to show Christ’s words to be false, strove most zealously to build the temple, ordering that all the expenses of the construction be met from the public treasury. The Jews gathered, therefore, and with great joy began the work; as they were digging the trench for the foundations with silver shovels and mattocks, and were about to cast the earth aside, a most violent storm blew in and filled back up what had been excavated. 395 Since lightnings and thunders were being sent forth continuously throughout that whole night, an earthquake occurred as day was drawing near, so that many who were sleeping in the open air perished. Moreover, fire broke out from the opened foundations and consumed all who were found there. It also came to pass that cities fell, namely Nicopolis, Neapolis, Eleutheropolis, Gaza, and several others. And in Jerusalem, the Portico of Aelia collapsed, taking with it many Jews who were found around the synagogue; and at the same time, fire suddenly burst forth and burned a great multitude. Furthermore, there occurred...
[note: text ends mid-sentence at "there occurred..."]
in those places darkness and continuous earthquakes, which wrought much destruction A in many cities.
69. Julian, having set out from Antioch with his whole army, marched into the Persian territory. And having captured the city of Ctesiphon, he seemed to himself to have accomplished some great deed and to be moving on to other greater things. But the all-cursed one did not perceive that he was being deceived. For having acquired a diabolical passion for idolatry, and having hoped through his godless gods to have an empire of long duration, and to become a new Alexander, and to prevail over the Persians, and to utterly wipe out the race and name of the Christians, he fell from his haughty state of mind. For, having chanced upon an old Persian man and B being deceived by him, so that he might take possession of the royal palaces of the Persians and all their wealth without labor, he cast himself and his entire army into the Carmanian desert, into pathless, yawning chasms, regions desolate and waterless. And when the Persian had oppressed them with thirst and famine, and had brought destruction upon the entire cavalry, he confessed that he had willingly led them off the right path so that they might be destroyed by his hand, and that he might not see his own fatherland ravaged by most hostile enemies. They indeed cut him to pieces limb from limb without delay and sent him to his death; yet immediately after such a great disaster, against their will they encountered the Persian army. The battle having joined, Julian himself, while running C here and there and organizing everything, fell wounded by a lance—as some say, of a soldier; or as others prefer, by a missile of the Persians—but according to the opinion of the Christians, which is indeed true and our own, he was struck by Christ the Lord, who stood opposed to him. For a bow was suddenly drawn from the air and an arrow was shot at him as if at a target; and rushing through his flanks, it pierced right through into his hypochondria. And as he wailed heavily and wretchedly, it seemed to him that our Lord Jesus Christ was standing before him and mocking him. But he, filled with darkness and madness, gathering his own blood in his hand and casting it up toward the air, as he was about to give up his final breath, exclaimed: "You have conquered, Christ; be satisfied, Galilean!" And thus, having met the most wretched death, he ended his life, having heaped many insults upon his own gods.
70. When the Apostate had fallen, Jovian was hailed D emperor by the army. He made peace with the Persian, and having handed over Nisibis to the Persians without its inhabitants, he set out from there; for the army was perishing from plague and famine. But after he himself arrived on Roman soil, he attached himself to the heresy of the Anomoeans, that is to say, the Eunomians. And while he was traversing the Galatian province, in a certain village there called Dadastana, he suddenly ended his life. The people remained without an emperor for forty days, until those who had gathered in Nicaea hailed Valentinian. Valentinian then proclaimed his own brother emperor, on the fifth day before the Kalends of March, after [index: entries preserved]
thirty-two years of his reign. When, therefore, the bishops of the pure and right faith came to Valentinian, they petitioned that a synod be held. He replied: "To me, indeed, God has given to rule over the affairs of this world, but to you over the affairs of the Churches; therefore, this matter does not concern me; wherever it seems good to you, assemble and celebrate the synod." This was the response of one still in possession of an upright mind, not yet corrupted. A The bishops, therefore, assembling at Lampsacus, a city of the Hellespont, collected the dogmas of the right faith by their head points. And having set forth the faith of Lucian the martyr, they condemned the contrary view, subscribed to the faith set forth by the holy Nicene Fathers, and sent it to all the Churches. In Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory.
THE OCTOECHUS AND PARACLETICE OF OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN OF DAMASCUS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN.
We have referred [the reader] to our edition of the Greek Liturgy.
DISPUTATION OF JOHN THE ORTHODOX WITH A MANICHÆAN.
(Mai, *Bibliotheca nova Patrum*, tom. IV, part II, p. 104.)
ORTHODOX. If the body is from matter, but the soul is from the good God, as you say, opposites are certainly not combined without some artificer; just as black and white are combined by a painter, and hot species with cold ones by physicians; who, then, has combined opposite things with one another, namely soul and body, making one living being? B
MANICHÆAN. The good God, when matter was moving in confusion, taking a certain particle of His own substance, cast it into matter, wishing to entice it; and [matter], having received it, swallowed it; and thus, from the mixture of both, the composite [being] came into existence.