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Title: Onesimus - Memoirs of a disciple of St. Paul
Author: Abbott, Edwin Abbott
Language: English
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ONESIMUS
Memoirs of a Disciple of St. Paul
“ECCE HOMO” SERIES.
=ECCE HOMO.= A survey of the Life and Work of Jesus Christ. 16mo.
$1.50; a cheaper edition, $1.00.
=ECCE DEUS.= Essays on the Life and Doctrine of Jesus Christ. 16mo.
$1.50.
=PHILOCHRISTUS.= Memoirs of a Disciple of the Lord. 16mo. $1.50.
=ONESIMUS.= Memoirs of a disciple of St. Paul. By the author of
“Philochristus.” 16mo. $1.50.
=PAUL OF TARSUS.= An inquiry into the Times and the Gospel of the
Apostle of the Gentiles. 16mo. $1.50.
ROBERTS BROTHERS,
PUBLISHERS,
BOSTON.
ONESIMUS
MEMOIRS
OF
A DISCIPLE OF ST. PAUL
_BY THE AUTHOR OF “PHILOCHRISTUS”_
Νυνὶ δὲ μένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη, τὰ τρία ταῦτα· μείζων δὲ
τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη.
BOSTON
ROBERTS BROTHERS
1882
ONESIMUS TO THE READER.
_Art thou a slave, as I was? Or an orphan, as I was? Or wanderest thou
still, as I long wandered, in the wilderness of doubt and sin? Then for
thee is written this story of one that was made free in Christ, and
adopted to be the child of God, and in the end brought safe out of the
deep darkness of Satan into the Light of the Eternal Truth._
THE TABLE.
_THE FIRST BOOK._
Section Page
1 _Of my childhood_, 1
2 _How I first saw the Holy Apostle Paulus_, 3
3 _Of the Stranger, and of Diosdotus the Priest of Zeus_, 6
4 _How we grew up at Lystra_, 10
5 _How Ammiane died, and my brother and I were sold for
slaves_, 12
6 _Of the death of Chrestus_, 15
7 _Of my life in the Ergastulum_, 20
8 _How I was sold to Philemon of Colossæ_, 25
_THE SECOND BOOK._
1 _How I returned to the worship of false Gods_, 29
2 _How some of Philemon’s friends avowed a belief in one God_, 31
3 _How Nicostratus urged that, without the belief in the
Gods, the life of Man would be void of pleasure_, 34
4 _How Philemon, falling sick, inclined to superstition_, 38
5 _How I accompanied Philemon to Pergamus_, 44
6 _How I went down into the cave of Trophonius_, 47
7 _How Artemidorus spoke against the belief in Gods_, 52
8 _How I journeyed with Philemon to Antioch in Syria_, 58
_THE THIRD BOOK._
1 _Of my first thoughts concerning the Christians_, 64
2 _Of the Doctrine of the Christians_, 68
3 _How Artemidorus questioned me further concerning the
Christians_, 75
4 _How the Christians honored the Prophets of the Jews_, 83
5 _Of the ancient Histories of the Jews_, 90
6 _How Artemidorus questioned me further, and of his
relation concerning the casting out of the swine_, 95
7 _Of the Traditions of the Christians, and of the nature of
Christus_, 101
8 _Of the rising of Christus from the dead_, 109
9 _How Artemidorus bade me cease from further enquiry_, 113
10 _How I stumbled at the Threshold of the Door, and went
not in_, 114
_THE FOURTH BOOK._
1 _How we came to Athens_, 121
2 _How Artemidorus rebuked me, supposing that I was in
danger of becoming a Christian_, 123
3 _Of my reply to Artemidorus_, 128
4 _Of Eucharis, and of my life at Athens_, 132
5 _How I returned to Colossæ, and of my new life with
Philemon_, 138
6 _Concerning my visit to Epictetus_, 144
7 _How I tried the philosophy of Epictetus_, 150
8 _How I was accused of theft by the devices of Pistus_, 154
9 _How Epictetus further explained his philosophy_, 157
10 _Of Metrodorus and his advice_, 163
11 _ Of the death of Eucharis, and how I was again accused
of theft_, 170
_THE FIFTH BOOK._
1 _How I escaped from the house of Philemon_, 176
2 _Of my life at Pergamus_, 182
3 _How I came to Corinth and saw the tomb of Eucharis_, 185
4 _How I saw the Holy Apostle Paulus, but knew him not_, 189
5 _How I learned that Paulus was the Prophet that I had
seen in my childhood, the same that had cured lame
Xanthias_, 194
6 _How I was led into the net of the Gospel_, 199
_THE SIXTH BOOK._
1 _Of the teaching of Paulus_, 207
2 _How I returned to Philemon at Colossæ_, 211
3 _Of my discourse with Artemidorus concerning the Faith_, 214
4 _Of the doubtings of Artemidorus_, 217
5 _Of the last words and death of Artemidorus_, 223
_THE SEVENTH BOOK._
1 _How I came to Rome to see the blessed Apostle_, 226
2 _How I saw Paulus in prison_, 229
3 _How Paulus related to me the story of his life_, 232
4 _How Paulus consented to the death of the blessed Martyr
Stephanus_, 238
5 _How the Lord appeared to Paulus_, 243
6 _How Paulus was prepared for the preaching of the Gospel_, 247
7 _The last words of Paulus_, 251
_THE EIGHTH BOOK._
1 _Of the death of Nero, and how Rome was divided against
itself_, 257
2 _Of the Jewish faction_, 260
3 _Of Menahem, the Ebionite_, 263
4 _How the Church was guided at this time by the Spirit of God_, 265
5 _How I came to Philochristus, a Disciple of the Lord in
Britain_, 269
6 _Of the Church in Rome, and concerning the New Gospels_, 273
7 _How I labored in the Church of Berœa_, 280
8 _The last words of Philochristus_, 283
9 _Of my journey to Smyrna, and how the Lord hath helped
me, even to the end_, 288
10 _An Addition, by the elders of the Church of Smyrna, concerning
the Passion of the Blessed Martyrs, Trophimus
and Onesimus_, 293
_The discourse of Lucius of Cyrene, (omitted from the Third
Book)_, 296
ONESIMUS.
THE FIRST BOOK.
§ 1. OF MY CHILDHOOD.
In the last year of the Emperor Tiberius I and my twin-brother Chrestus
were found lying in one cradle, exposed with a great number of other
babes upon the steps of the temple of Asclepius, in Pergamus, a city
of Bithynia. Sign or token of our parents, whether they were free-born
or slave, there was none; but only a little silver seal hung round my
neck, and on the seal these words in Greek characters, I LOVE THEE,
and on my brother Chrestus another of the same fashion, bearing the
inscription, TRUST ME. Many a time during the days of my wanderings
have I spoken reproachfully in my heart, saying that our parents gave
us small cause for trust, and that it was poor love to send out into
the rough world two innocent babes with no other equipment against evil
than these slight toys. But the hand of the Lord was in it, to turn
this evil into good in the end.
Ammiane the wife of Menneas was the name of our new mother. Her own son
Ammias was but lately dead; and that which drew her kind heart to us
more than to any other among so large a multitude of poor babes there
pitifully lying on the temple steps, was that in my brother Chrestus
she seemed to discern a likeness to her lost one.
Menneas took us, together with Ammiane, to his house in Lystra, a
city of Lycaonia, where was the better part of his estate; and soon
afterwards he died. But his widow the good Ammiane, to whom old Menneas
had left all his possessions, treated us as if we had been her own
children, and taught us to call her mother; and we had no thought but
she was our mother indeed. Yet as there had been no formal adoption of
us according to law, we were still in the eyes of the law not free,
but slaves; for so runs the law, that whosoever is exposed as a child
and saved and reared, becomes the slave of them that rear him. For
our enfranchisement had been first delayed, and then forgotten in the
sickness and death of Menneas; and by that time we were so established
in the household that none questioned but we had been enfranchised, and
all thought of it was laid aside. Therefore, according to the law we
were still Ammiane’s slaves, and not her sons, and in danger to be sold
whenever our dear foster-mother might die. But of all this neither I
nor my brother Chrestus knew anything; but we rejoiced in the love of
her whom we called mother; and all the household loved us for her sake,
and some for our own. And so the days rolled on in happiness till I had
come to my tenth year.
§ 2. HOW I FIRST SAW THE HOLY APOSTLE PAULUS.
It was in the spring, as I remember, of the fifth year of the Emperor
Claudius that I first saw the Holy Apostle, whom I saw not again till
many years had passed away; and though I was at that time but a child
of ten years or thereabouts, yet every circumstance of it is imprinted
upon my memory. It was the cool of the evening, and I was without the
wall, hard by the Iconian gate, on one of the smaller hills that look
down upon the town, a little to the north of the Iconian road. Hermas,
our herdsman, was playing upon his pipe some song to the god Pan, and
the goats were gambolling around him. But I—being wholly taken up with
teaching a little kid to dance to the sound of the music—paid no heed
to the chidings of our nurse Trophime, who would have had me go back
with her to the city because it was now near sun-down. So lifting up
her eyes and seeing some dromedaries and a dust on the Iconian road,
“Look, dear child,” said she, “yonder come merchants from Iconium; if,
therefore, thou wilt go with me without delay, thou wilt see their
stores of pretty things, and perchance Ammiane will buy thee somewhat.”
Hearing this, I willingly ran down with her to the city gate; and
arriving thither before the travellers, I waited till they should
enter. But when they were now nigh, I perceived that they were no
merchants, and I would have turned away. Yet I did not, for somewhat
in the face of one of the travellers held me fast, I know not how, so
that I fixed my gaze on him perforce, even as a bird fascinated by a
serpent; and indeed I thought myself to be bewitched and spat thrice;
but yet I stood still gazing upon him. At that time he was not yet
bald, he had a clear complexion, a nose hooked and somewhat large;
he was short of stature, and as he walked he bent his head a little
forward, as if not able to discern things clearly; his eyebrows were
shaggy and met together; but what most moved me was the glance of his
eyes which were of a penetrating brightness, as though they would
pierce through the outside of things even to the innermost substance.
When the travellers were entered into the city, I stood still in
wonder, as one who had seen a dream, betwixt sleeping and waking. But
soon, coming to myself again, I chid my nurse that she had drawn me
away from the flocks by stratagem and I persuaded her to return for
some short space, that I might continue my sport. But my heart was no
longer in it, and presently, it being now sunset, I came down with
Trophime to go into the town. Scarce were we come within the gates when
we perceived a great concourse of the people near to the market; and
running thither we entered with the rest into a courtyard and there
found a great multitude assembled, and the travellers, in the gallery
above, discoursing to them. What touched me (as being a child) more
than all the words that were spoken, was the marvellous stillness of
the multitude, who all listened as if the speech were about matters
of life or death, so that herdsmen and ploughmen and litter-bearers
and water-carriers and others of the lowest and meanest sort; coming
into the courtyard with shouts and scoffings, no sooner passed into
the circle of the hearers than they were at once subdued and tamed
like the rest; among whom, most earnestly listening, as I noted, was a
poor creature, part demented and part buffoon, whom, having been lame
for thirty years and more, we were wont to call “lame Xanthias.” This
man, when the traveller had made an end of his discourse, said some
words that I could not clearly understand; whereupon he that had been
speaking came straightway down from the gallery and drew nigh to the
lame man, and fixing his eyes upon him he took him by the hand. If
there had been a silence before, there was a tenfold silence now, even
such a silence as one seemed to feel in one’s flesh. But the stranger
first lifted up his eyes to heaven and then gazing fixedly on the
lame man he cried in a loud voice, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth,
rise up and walk;” and behold, Xanthias,—this man who had been thirty
years lame,—rose and walked and leaped, and wept aloud praising and
magnifying God. Then there was a great shouting, and all rushed forth
into the market place, some crying “a miracle,” “a miracle,” others
holding up Xanthias in their arms to show him unto the people, others
magnifying the new god whom the strangers had revealed to us, others
crying out that the strangers themselves were gods, namely Zeus and
Hermes, come down from heaven as they had come down in the old days;
and saying these things, some sped away to the priest wishing to offer
sacrifice to the strangers. But suddenly there was a deep silence
again, and we perceived that the traveller, he I mean who had healed
Xanthias, was once more speaking to the people. What he said I could
not clearly understand, being more busy with noting his countenance
than the meaning of his words; but I gathered so much, that he said
that he and his companion were not gods but men, and that indeed there
was One God above (not many gods) who gave all good gifts to mankind
and who now called all men to come unto him. When he had made an end of
speaking, the women pressed close to him with their babes and children
that he might touch them; and so it was that Trophime pushed me forward
with the rest. Then he laid his hands on me and looking kindly on me
asked Trophime whether I was a native of these parts and who was my
father. What Trophime replied I did not hear, except that my father was
now dead; but the stranger looked on me more lovingly than before and
said, “The Lord be unto thee as a Father, little one;” and laying his
hands on me a second time he blessed me.
§ 3. OF THE STRANGER, AND OF DIOSDOTUS THE PRIEST OF ZEUS.
When we were come home to Ammiane, I spoke freely to her as I was wont,
concerning all that I had heard and seen; and I asked her which of
the two she judged to be the wiser and the mightier, the hook-nosed
prophet—for so I called the stranger—or Diosdotus. Now Diosdotus
was the priest of the city, a man of noble birth and very wealthy,
having rebuilt the baths at his own expense after the earthquake, as
also his father before him had rebuilt the amphitheatre. He was also
tall of stature and of a gracious and commanding carriage. Yet now
I could not help making comparison between him and the stranger of
mean presence and short stature; bethinking myself that Diosdotus had
lived for thirty years in the same city as poor lame Xanthias and yet
had suffered him to be still lame, whereas the strange prophet had
healed him on the very day of his first coming in. However Ammiane
laughed and chid me for my question, saying that I did ill to compare
an obscure vagrant soothsayer with the high priest of Zeus; for that
there were many travelling priests of Cybele and Sabazius and jugglers
and necromancers that would work signs and wonders in the eyes of the
common people, and all for a drachma or two; but Diosdotus was none
of these, nor to be mentioned along with them. Nevertheless, when the
report came in from all sides that the lame man was wholly cured, she
said she would send for Xanthias, as soon as might be, that she might
see him and learn the truth of the matter, and what charms or herbs
the stranger had used. But about the fourth or fifth day afterwards—my
foster-mother having in the meanwhile, upon one cause or other, delayed
to send for Xanthias, but many rumors coming daily to our ears of the
great wonders which the magician was working—word was brought that
the stranger had been slain; others said that he had ascended to the
sky, others that he had been swallowed up in the earth; but all agreed
that he was not now in the city. Then we found that there had been a
great conflict in the Jews’ quarter; for certain Jews had come over
from Lystra to Iconium pursuing after the enchanter (so they called
him) and accusing him of many grievous crimes. Now it happened to be a
time of drought, and the rain, which had begun to fall on the day that
the stranger came to Lystra, ceased on that same day, about the time
of his entering in, and fell no more for six or seven days, though all
the crops were perishing for want of it. So the Jews said that this
plague was fallen upon the city of Lystra because we gave shelter to
an accursed necromancer; and having persuaded the people they stoned
him. But his body could not be found; wherefore the people were the
more persuaded that he was a necromancer, insomuch that all now (except
Xanthias and a very few others) believed him to be no prophet but an
evil-doer and a deceiver of the people.
But on the very day after these things the sun was darkened, and still
no rain fell; and on the third day after the stoning of the stranger,
came a great plague of locusts so thick together that they lay two
inches deep in the racecourse; and not many days after that, came the
shock of an earthquake; and ten houses in the Jews’ quarter were wholly
thrown down (besides others sorely shaken and shattered), insomuch that
some fourscore of the Jews were slain, and their synagogue was utterly
destroyed. Upon this the people began to change their minds again, and
some made bold to say that the god of the new prophet had sent these
evils; and so the city was divided, and part held that the stranger was
a deceiver and an enchanter, but part that he was a teacher of the
true God and a prophet. At last when the customary sacrifices seemed of
no avail, but the drought still endured, and by intervals there came
ever and anon shocks of earthquake, it seemed good that there should
be a solemn procession of all the city to avert the wrath of the gods,
one for Pessinuntian Cybele, the other for Asphalian Poseidon and the
third for Zeus Panhemerius. This last far surpassed the other two in
splendor, and amidst the whole procession most of all to be admired was
Diosdotus the chief priest, himself most like to a god, clad in white
linen with a purple border, and a garland on his head, and attended by
the inferior priests, and by ministers bearing incense and scattering
flowers and perfumes; and after them, the white oxen with their horns
gilt for the sacrifice, and then the choir of boys, with laurel
branches in their hands, singing, to the accompaniment of the lyre, the
hymn which had been chosen by Onomarchus, the secretary of the senate.
Beholding all this splendor (exceeding anything I had ever before
witnessed) I inclined now to prefer Diosdotus to the strange prophet;
and all the more because Ammiane was clearly on the side of the former.
Moreover on the second day after the procession there fell rain in
abundance. So all the people now turned to magnify Zeus Panhemerius;
and the drought and the earthquake were forgotten, and with them the
memory of the stranger faded away.
Yet in my dreams sometimes, both then and for many months afterwards,
methought I saw the strange prophet who had healed Xanthias, standing
over against Diosdotus and contending against him; and I heard his
voice again and again in the darkness, saying, “The Lord be unto thee
as a father.”
§ 4. HOW WE GREW UP AT LYSTRA.
Six or seven years passed smoothly away for me and my brother Chrestus.
Our dear mother Ammiane caused us to be taught singing and dancing, as
well as riding and the exercises of the gymnasium; and partly because
of our beauty and partly because we were regarded as the adopted
children of one whom all the citizens loved and honored (for there
are still extant inscriptions in Lystra praising our benefactress and
calling her the MOTHER OF THE CITY, on account of her many gifts and
benefactions to the people of Lystra) we were chosen among the choir
of boys who were to sing songs year by year in honor of Apollo and
Ephesian Artemis in accordance with the recent decree of the senate;
and in all our riding-lessons and wrestling-lessons we took part with
the well-born youth of the city; for all knew that Ammiane intended us
to be her heirs after her death. But in my fourteenth year it happened
that, while seeking for a goat that had strayed in the mountains, I
missed my footing and fell down a steep place, where I was taken up
for dead; and Hermas brought me home wounded well-nigh to death with
two deep gashes on my forehead and left cheek. In a short space I was
recovered of my wounds; but I was grievously disfigured with the scars
upon my face, and when I went with my brother, as I was wont, to the
choir-master, he plainly told me that I was no longer fit to dance nor
sing with the choir, for the god required comely youths to minister to
him. Hereat I was sore vexed, and yet more when I perceived (or thought
that I perceived) that in the palæstra also and in the riding-school
I was no longer so welcome as of old; for some openly jested at
my disfigurement, and others, who had before courted my company,
now avoided me; at least so I thought, misconstruing perhaps and
aggravating little slights, in my discontent. However it was, I became
morose and lost my former cheerfulness; for the world seemed changed
and turned against me. But the kind Ammiane, discerning what was amiss
with me, persuaded me to apply myself to letters; and she bought for
us one Zeno, a Greek, to be our tutor. Now Chrestus, being the leader
of the choir and the favorite in the palæstra, by reason of these
distractions cared less for learning; but I, withdrawing myself from
my former pursuits and devoting myself to letters, made good progress
in my new studies, so that I soon became skilful at transcribing Greek
characters; and I took a great delight in the reading of Euripides
and others of the Greek play-writers, but most of all in the poetry
of Homer. And in these pursuits I continued till my sixteenth year,
finding pleasure in many things but most of all in the love of my
beautiful brother Chrestus.
§ 5. HOW AMMIANE DIED AND MY BROTHER AND I WERE SOLD FOR SLAVES.
But now indeed our trouble was at hand. For toward the end of my
sixteenth year, our dear foster-mother died, and whether it was that
she had made no will, or that the will had been stolen or lost,
certain it was that no will could be found. It was commonly said,
in the household, that a will had been made and deposited with one
Tertullus, a banker of Iconium, but that he had destroyed the will,
being persuaded by Nicander of Tyana, the heir-at-law, and the two
witnesses being both dead. Diosdotus the high-priest of Zeus affirmed
that Ammiane had deposited a will with him fourteen years ago in
the presence of two witnesses, immediately after the death of her
husband, but that she had received it back in the presence of the same
witnesses, two years afterwards, and had deposited no other will in
its place. Whatever the truth may have been, when Nicander arrived on
the second day from Tyana, there was none to dispute his claim; so,
though he was known by all to be hateful to Ammiane and had not set
foot on her threshold for fifteen years, he now took upon himself to
give orders for the funeral and to dispose all things according to
his pleasure. Hereupon arose a great wailing and lamentation among
the household, that is to say all that were old enough to know what
it was to be a slave. For many of them had looked to be made free by
Ammiane’s will; and to some she had in express terms promised freedom:
and others, who had not been long with us, knowing the kindness of
their mistress, expected that they should not be sold, or that after
four or five years of service they should be made free. For so much as
this was customary with all the wealthy townspeople of Lystra, those at
least that had large possessions in land and many household slaves; and
how much more might have been expected from one who had been publicly
praised as the “mother of the city!” But now all these hopes were
dashed to the ground; and all were at the mercy of a new master, of
whom we knew nothing by hearsay except that he hated our dear mistress,
and from our own knowledge we had begun to suspect that he was greedy,
cruel, violent and tyrannous.
For a few hours Chrestus and I remained weeping bitterly in the room
where we were wont to sit with Zeno; but when Nicander entered and,
in answer to his question why we wept, we made answer that we were
weeping for our mother, he reviled us as beggarly brats, slaves seeking
to escape from our condition; and spurning us from the chamber bade
us be gone at once to the slaves’ apartments. Going thither we found
all faces full of sorrow; yet none so sorrowful as not to be able to
spare some little further sorrow for our case; all pointing to us and
exclaiming at our ill fortune because yesterday we had been free and
heirs to great possessions, but now we were slaves and a second time
motherless.
I suppose that our cruel master foresaw that some of the friends of
Ammiane would, in all likelihood, interfere in our behalf, if not by
appeal to the courts of law, at all events by offering to purchase
us from him; for he gave command that on that very day, immediately
after the performance of the funeral rites, we should be sent to his
estate at Tyana. A miserable procession was that, wherein Chrestus and
I walked for the last time together, following our dear Ammiane to
the grave! The whole household filled the air with lamentations, for
themselves even more than for their mistress, so that there was little
need of the hired mourners.
But when all was over, and the funeral line moved back homeward,
Chrestus and I for a short space turned quietly aside and betook
ourselves to a new-made tomb cut in the side of one of the hills that
look down upon the city; and there we sat down and wept and poured
forth all our sorrows in one another’s arms, beseeching the gods to
have mercy upon us. For we began to see that we could expect no pity
from Nicander, and that he would not hesitate to sell us and to part us
asunder if he could thereby make more profit from us; and our hearts
swelled to bursting at the thought that we, who had never been divided,
should now perchance be parted, each to live lonely and desolate to our
life’s end. As we wept, we looked down upon our dear home. The fields
beneath us had been the fields of Ammiane; we could call by name the
sheep and goats that were leaping and bleating in the valley at our
feet; the temples in which we had worshipped, the shining roofs of the
houses of many well-known friends—all reminded us of past happy days,
happy most of all because we had enjoyed them together. At last we
rose up to go down to our new life of slavery. But because our minds
misgave us that we should be parted on the morrow, we determined
to take our last farewell there alone, and not in the presence of
Nicander, nor before the eyes of the household slaves. And Chrestus
said that we should interchange some token, whereby we might recognize
each other in days to come, if ever the gods should bring us together
again. So we took from off our necks the charms which we had always
worn from our infancy, and I received from Chrestus his seal with the
inscription TRUST ME, and he mine with the words I LOVE THEE. Then we
bade one another farewell, no longer able to constrain ourselves, but
with piercing cries falling each on the other’s neck and weeping and
calling on Ammiane to help us because the gods helped us not; and then,
drying our tears, without another word we went down into Lystra. Here
Nicander, rating us for our delay, gave command that we should be at
once placed on separate camels and set out for Tyana.
§ 6. OF THE DEATH OF CHRESTUS.
On the third day after we were come to Tyana, being summoned to the
presence of Nicander, we found with him certain of Ammiane’s household
slaves, and by the side of our master a smooth-faced Greek from Delos
who seemed to be inspecting and appraising the slaves; who, looking at
my scar, laughed and said that he should not need to ask Nicander to
name a price for me; but he praised the beauty of Chrestus and caused
him to be stripped and to walk up and down the room, and to sing and to
go through the steps of two or three dancing-measures; and finally he
declared with an oath that he was more beautiful than Nireus, and that
he would buy him at Nicander’s price. When we heard this, we both of us
fell down at the feet of Nicander and of the slave-dealer, beseeching
them in the name of their parents and their brothers also, if they had
any, that at least they would not part us, but that the Greek might buy
us both; and at the same time I told the slave-dealer that I could read
and write Greek easily and rapidly, so that I might fetch a good price
as an amanuensis and even the rest of the slaves of Ammiane fell on
their faces before our master and joined in our petition.
But Nicander angrily spurned us, and the Greek said to Chrestus that
he must go to Rome where he would fetch ten times as much as a paltry
amanuensis or grammarian because he was as lovely as Ganymede and sure
to please some great nobleman or perchance the Emperor himself; but
added he, “Your brother is of no worth to me, for I deal in none but
pretty boys; and therefore, my beautiful one, thou must needs make
ready to be my companion at once, for I should be by this time well on
the road to Tarsus.” Hereat Chrestus arose and following the Greek, his
master, he would have gone forth without a word more, from the chamber.
Nicander, scoffing at his misery, called him back to say farewell to
me, “for,” said he, “it may be some time before you see your brother
again.” But Chrestus remained silent; only, as he went out at the door,
he turned round to me and held up the little token round his neck. But
that silence was better than many words, and the memory of it abides
with me unto this day.
So long as Chrestus was in the chamber I restrained myself for his
sake lest I should break his heart with my weeping and passion; but
when he was gone forth I again attempted to bend Nicander with prayers
and entreaties. But finding all in vain, I leaped up from the ground in
fury, and invoked curses upon him, threatening that I would slay him
if ever I found occasion. At the word he clapped his hands and calling
in the slaves of his household, “Take this young rebel,” he said, “to
the upper quarries, and put him to hard labor with the lowest class,
till the brat understand his condition, and learn to be a slave and
submit himself to his betters.” So while Chrestus was being carried
away to Tarsus, I was dragged to the quarries, which were in a wild
place, void for miles round of all human habitation, about twenty miles
north of Tyana. In these quarries there labored a large gang of slaves,
with scant food and scanter clothing, forced to work in chains under
the burning sun all day, and at night locked up like sheep in a foul
den under ground; and if any died, little heed was taken of it, for it
was cheaper to buy new slaves than to treat the old slaves well. But
I doubt not that Nicander, who had good reasons for wishing to be rid
of my brother and me, did what he did wittingly and with forethought,
supposing that I should soon have succumbed to the hardships of the
place and the life, and that the quarries should have been my grave and
his deliverance.
On the morrow I began my labors amid a new sort of companions,
creatures to all outward appearance resembling apes and dogs rather
than human beings, some stamped and branded on their foreheads with T
for “thief,” or M for “murderer”; others having their backs discolored
with the weals of the lash or torn and bleeding with the marks of fresh
punishment; others with collars round their necks, or clogs and fetters
shackling their legs and feet; others laboring beast-like under a kind
of fork or yoke; all were chained in some fashion, and all had one
side of the head shorn, so that they might be recognized at once if
they should break away and escape any distance. Speech was not allowed
among us; and as we toiled on from sunrise to sunset amid the heated
rocks, the only sounds that could be heard (beside the clinking of the
tools upon the stone) were the threats and curses of the overseers and
the crack of the whip followed by the scream of some stricken slave.
All the more leisure was there for thought of Chrestus, whose fate was
infinitely worse than mine, because he was to go to Rome and there to
be sold for his beauty; and I knew well the saying of the philosopher
that “What is counted impurity in the free-born must be counted a
necessity in slaves.” Thinking on these things I felt such an agony
that neither the heat nor the parching thirst could be compared with
it; and even the first feeling of the slave-whip upon my shoulders,
though it maddened me for the moment, could not drive out the thought
of Chrestus. But hatred and thirst for revenge and distrust of the gods
began to blend themselves with my love of my brother; and whereas at
first I had prayed to Ephesian Artemis to preserve him, now I began to
doubt whether prayers availed anything.
I had been scarce a week in the ergastulum when, as we came forth in
the morning to be marshalled and numbered, according to our wont,
before going to our several places in the quarries, I heard the voice
of Hermas behind me giving some message to Syrus our overseer. But when
I leaped forward to embrace him, he spoke roughly to me, calling me a
fool and a rebel, and saying that he would have no speech with me till
I had submitted myself to the worthy Nicander. I shrank back quickly to
my place, feeling myself friendless indeed now that Hermas had turned
against me. By this time we were on our way from the ergastulum to the
quarries, and I with the rest in my place in the rear. But when the
crack of Syrus’s whip showed that he was at some distance in the front
of the long column, I heard my name called in a low voice and Hermas
was by my side. He told me in few words that he had accompanied the
slave-dealer to Tarsus, but that on the way Chrestus, either slipping
or casting himself down in a narrow and precipitous part of the road,
had fallen down a high cliff and had been taken up sorely gashed and
wounded, and within two or three hours afterwards he had died. In my
heart I knew that Hermas spoke the truth, but I refused to believe his
tale, saying that he was in league with Nicander to deceive me; else,
why had not he brought some token? But the old man with tears in his
eyes, declared that he would have brought me the charm that hung round
my brother’s neck, but one of the slaves had stolen it; however, in
his last moments Chrestus had written some message on his tablets for
me; and so saying he produced the tablets which I knew to be indeed
my brother’s. Now all my hopes fell, and I knew that I was alone in
the world; yet could I neither speak nor weep but walked on without
a sign; but the old man looking anxiously in my face bade me trust
in him, and seeing Syrus approach, he pressed my hand and departed.
For almost all that day the overseer—perchance because he suspected
something amiss, having caught sight of Hermas stealing away—would
not depart from my neighborhood but kept his eyes so fixed on me that
I dared not stop my work for an instant to pluck the tablets from
my bosom where I had thrust them; and what I did I knew not, but I
could neither think, nor weep, nor do anything but toil on, like some
machine. But toward sun-down, a little before we were marshalled that
we might go down into the ergastulum, seizing my occasion I plucked out
the tablets and upon the first leaf of them I found traced in faint
characters, as if by a feeble hand, the words on the token which I had
given him, I LOVE THEE; and when I read them, the tears delayed no
longer.
§ 7. OF MY LIFE IN THE ERGASTULUM.
If it was a marvel that my body held out against the hardships of the
quarries, it was much more marvellous that my soul perished not. Nor
do I speak now merely of the words and deeds of darkness wrought by
the slavish herd in their underground den, from which the grace of the
Lord preserved me; but I speak of the trust in any divine governance
of the world which seemed at this time to be in danger to be utterly
extinguished, or even to be replaced by a belief in evil. For not only
was I becoming day by day more like a brute beast in mind and soul
as well as in body, listening with less horror to the obscene jests
and tales of my companions and learning to take all evil as matter
of course and to expect no good in the world; but also I began to
think that, if there were gods indeed, they could not be such as the
Epicureans would have us believe, “idle gods that take no thought for
mortals,” but they must be bad gods to have made, and to endure, so bad
a world.
Now I knew that Ammiane had believed in witches and necromancers and
the like; yea, and even Zeno our tutor, though he were a philosopher
and of the Stoic sect, had freely confessed that he himself would be
unwilling to be persecuted with the charms and incantations of witches.
As often therefore as my companions turning from their obscenities and
filthy tales, began to tell of witchcraft (which they were wont to do
more especially after earthquakes, when they were under some influence
of fear) and stories about Empousæ and blood-sucking monsters, and
the raising of spectres and the drawing out of the hearts of living
men, at such times I would give an eager ear to all their sayings; and
although Zeno had taught me to believe that these superstitions of the
common people were no better than old wives’ fables, yet now I began to
incline to the opinion that these stories were true. And in my present
condition the gods of darkness, such as Hecate and Gorgo and the like,
seemed to have more substance and real power than the greater gods Zeus
and Poseidon, who were worshipped in processions by noble priests in
fine raiment with perfumes and flowers and offerings of fat victims,
but did nothing for their worshippers. When therefore I heard how one
witch had drawn forth oracles from a little babe whose throat she had
cut and enslaved its spirit; and how another had obtained vengeance
over her enemies by means of the marrow of a child whom she had buried
up to the midst in the ground and then left to starve in sight of
abundance of food; and others had caused their enemies to pine away by
making waxen images to be pierced with needles or melted at slow fires,
and the like; then came the thought of Nicander in my mind, thus caused
to waste away and to live without a heart and suddenly to drop down
dead, and I prayed that I too might learn these mysteries.
One evening more especially I call to mind, when we had been driven
earlier than usual to our dungeon because of a great storm and
earthquake, and all the earth seemed in a flux—the crags from the
hillsides falling on this side and on that, and whole cliffs swaying to
right and left as if we were on sea and not on solid earth—and nine or
ten of my companions had been already crushed by the rocks or by the
falling in of the sides of the quarries. When we were thrust into our
dungeon, sitting in darkness, we could still feel the ground moving
beneath us and ever and anon such rockings and rumblings as made the
more timid cry out that some gulf would open and swallow us up alive,
others, that the sides and roof were falling in upon us. But, of a
sudden, amidst the din and tumult of so many voices, a few weeping,
but the most part shouting and yelling and blaspheming and cursing
the gods, we heard one of the slaves speaking out clearly above all
the rest and commanding silence. His name was Nannias, a Colchian by
birth; and he bade us desist from our fears and take heart, “for,” said
he, “I myself have brought about this storm and earthquake, and as I
hope, we shall soon learn that our master has miserably perished in it.”
Then all held their peace and listened to the Colchian, who continued
thus: “From my earliest years I was instructed by an old witch (who
bought me as a babe) in all the arts of magic; and from her I learned
how to raise the winds and how to lull them, and how to make away with
a man though he be miles distant, in such wise that none may know the
causer of the mischief. From my infancy I have ever taken a delight in
all evil. For why not? The cross has been the tomb to all my brothers,
my father and my grandfather; nor will I degenerate from my ancestors.
The world is against us; let us also be against the world.” At this
all shouted in assent; but the Colchian impatiently continued, “My
master in Laodicea I destroyed by placing bones and blood, and nails
from a cross, together with certain herbs which I will not now mention,
beneath the floor of his bedchamber, so that he wasted away and died in
less than a month to the astonishment of the physician. And what was
best and sweetest of all, I caused the suspicion of the deed to fall
on the overseer of the slaves, a tyrannical wretch like Syrus, who was
condemned to the wild beasts on the charge of having made away with our
master by slow poisons.” Hereat all shouted and applauded even louder
than before; and then though the earth still rocked and groaned beneath
us, and the sides of the ergastulum swayed in and out more violently
than ever, yet every one sat silent in the darkness waiting to hear
what project the Colchian might have in hand so as to take vengeance on
Nicander.
While we all held our breath he cried aloud on Hecate the goddess of
darkness and hater of light, who delighteth in blood, to come and
seize Nicander, at the same time appealing to other horrible-sounding
and unknown gods, and invoking on Nicander the most direful curses.
When he ceased, behold, up from the ground (as it seemed) there came a
thin voice, not loud but very piercing and such as made my very flesh
to creep, saying, “I come, O master, I come, I come.” Hereat we all
leaped to our feet and some shrieked aloud that the demon was upon
them, and then all rushed this way and that, and many fell in a heap
wallowing together on the floor, and such a hubbub as if hell itself
were let loose; and methought if the uproar had continued but a few
moments longer, many of us would have been mad; but at the instant the
guard came in with one bearing a lamp, and nothing could anywhere be
seen; and they smote on all sides with their whips till the clamor had
well nigh abated; and then they went out leaving us in the darkness as
before.
Now during all these many years I had had few or no thoughts of Him
in whose name Xanthias had been healed; but on this same evening of
the earthquake, while I was musing whether there were gods or no,
it came into my mind that besides invoking Hecate and Gorgo and the
rest, it might be wise to offer up prayers to the God of the strange
prophet whom I remembered in my childhood, that He also might join in
destroying Nicander. But blessed be the Lord, He hindered me from thus
blaspheming His Holy Name; for whether it was that I remembered that
the prophet had said that this God was a God of mercy and would be as
a Father to me, or whether it was the memory of the pure and holy face
of the prophet which seemed not to agree with my impure and unholy
prayers, certain it is that the Lord closed my lips and restrained my
tongue that I should not take His name in vain. But when all the rest
were at last asleep I lay a long while awake and musing upon the words
“the Lord be unto thee as a Father” and wondering what manner of god
this “Lord” might be.
§ 8. HOW I WAS SOLD TO PHILEMON OF COLOSSÆ.
Not more than three or four days had passed since the prophecy of the
Colchian, and it was the 8th month or thereabouts from the time of my
first being brought to the quarries, when behold, one morning, coming
out of the ergastulum to our work according to custom, we found, in the
place of the usual overseers, a band of soldiers; and instead of being
drafted off to our several stations in the quarries, we were caused to
march in one column through Tyana. As we passed through the town, we
heard the reason of our journey. Nicander was dead. However he had not
perished, as the Colchian had prophesied, in the earthquake; but having
committed an outrage on the wife of one of his slaves, he had been
mortally wounded by the man in a fit of passion. Yet had he lived long
enough to revenge himself by causing the whole of his household to be
put to death, three hundred in all, including those who had been of the
household of Ammiane, among whom perished our faithful Hermas, and our
old nurse Trophime. On the morrow he died, and the heir, entering on
the estate, had ordered all the slaves that were in the quarries to be
sent to Tarsus and there sold. So brutal had I become and so hard of
heart during my stay in the ergastulum, that even the news of the death
of Hermas and Trophime did not greatly move me, and the pain of it was
not so great as the pleasure I took in hearing of the death of Nicander.
When we were come to Tarsus and set up on the slave-platform, and there
caused to leap and dance and carry weights and to proclaim aloud what
arts and accomplishments we knew, I felt little shame, but only some
faint desire to know who would be my master, and at the same time a
rebellious hatred against gods and men, as being all alike unjust, and
a determination to be avenged on mankind. At this time my knowledge
of letters and my skill in transcribing stood me in good stead. For
when one of the slave-dealers had seen me give proof of my skill upon
tablets, he bought me at a higher price than the rest, and after taking
me to the baths and using medicaments to remove or lessen the marks of
my stripes, he clothed me decently, and placed me with a Greek teacher
to increase my skill in letters; and after two or three months thus
spent in Tarsus, I was sold to one Philemon, whose step-son Archippus
had been studying rhetoric in the schools. My new master was a wealthy
citizen of Colossæ and a man of learning, devoted at that time to
Greek literature, and he had come to Tarsus to take note of his son’s
progress in the schools there and to conduct him home; and by reason
of a growing infirmity of sight he desired to buy some slave who could
read Greek with understanding and take short notes of such things as
he dictated. So he bought me for four minæ, and I accompanied him to
Colossæ.
I was now in my eighteenth year, being the last year of the emperor
Claudius; but though young I was not so pliant or supple of nature as
might have been expected from a youth. For I was, as it were, old and
stiffened with suffering; and however the kind Philemon might shew me
favor and allowance, yet would my mind still harp on this, that, if I
had my rights, I should be free, and whosoever was my master, possessed
me unjustly. Moreover, the terror of my recent life in the quarries
never forsook me; and each night I said to myself, “I am pampered
and made a plaything to-day, but I may be cast into the ergastulum
to-morrow.” This bitterness of distrust spoiled all the pleasures with
which the good Philemon would have gladdened my new life at Colossæ;
and indeed my present freedom from oppression and my very leisure,
giving me increased occasions for brooding over my loneliness, made
me more morose than ever. Sometimes when I looked at the little token
which my brother had given me and bethought myself of the token that I
had interchanged with him, I would declare that I had not only bestowed
on my poor Chrestus the legend I LOVE THEE, but at the same time I had
parted with my very faculty of love—so barren and dry of all affection
did my heart now seem—and as for the other legend TRUST ME, I would
inveigh against it as idle and deceiving. For whom had I on earth
to trust? My parents, who had forsaken me? Or Chrestus or Hermas or
Trophime, who were now but dust and ashes? But if I looked elsewhere,
to the gods in heaven above, or to the gods beneath the earth, behold,
I saw none save beings that either rejoiced in evil or at least had not
power to destroy evil; which therefore were either too bad or too weak
to claim trust from men.
But herein is thy hand manifest, O Lord Jesus; for through the loss of
earthly love and trust thou wast leading me to thyself, the fountain of
all goodness, O thou whom to love is to trust, and to trust is to love,
and in the loving and trusting of whom is Life Eternal. Blessed art
thou, who dost free the oppressed and guide the wanderer! Blessed art
thou, Lord of all Love, who didst take from me unto thyself the earthly
love of my dear brother that thereby thou mightest guide me to a better
and higher Love, even to thyself, in whom, long afterwards, I found my
brother once again.
THE END OF THE FIRST BOOK.
THE SECOND BOOK.
§ 1. HOW I RETURNED TO THE WORSHIP OF FALSE GODS.
Perceiving that my mind was under some trouble or disturbance, my
master often turned the discourse to matters of morals and philosophy,
and especially to the belief in the gods and the divine government
of the world; and I told him plainly that I had no such belief, for
that the world seemed to me governed by chance, or by fate, or by evil
gods, but in no case by good gods, seeing that ill-doing prevailed in
the world. Upon this Philemon, being grieved because of my unbelief,
asked me whether I had had much discourse with his friend Artemidorus,
the Epicurean, on these matters. When I said no, not much, but that
my unbelief arose from my own experience of things, because I had
seemed to discern more proof of the power of evil than of good, he
bade me take comfort; for he would in due course emancipate me, and
meantime I should be to him as a friend. After this he advised me to
study the books of Plato and of Chrysippus, if perchance I might thus
frame myself to a better mind. But when I urged (which indeed was not
my own argument but I had heard it lately from Artemidorus) that the
stories concerning the gods were full of all manner of myths, and
fables containing portents, and metamorphoses, such as no sane man
could believe, to this he replied that the whole world was full of no
less wonders, if a man rightly considered it; for that summer should
follow spring, and autumn summer, that storm should follow calm, and
calm storm, and that the whole world should be so orderly and evenly
governed as it was, this, he said, was a far greater wonder than the
metamorphoses of which the poets speak. In particular he pointed out
the wonderful things past all common course of nature, which were to
be seen in that very neighborhood of Colossæ and Laodicea; and taking
me with him up and down the valley of the river, called Lycus, which
flows through that region, he shewed me how the water is there changed
into stone of a dazzling brightness, so that the hills are in many
parts covered with the appearance of snow, and cataracts abound of the
same substance, and how other mountains vomit forth smoke and fire,
and others have wells and springs bubbling upward hot from the earth.
Again on another day he brought me to a certain pool sacred to the
goddess Cybele, and bade me mark how sheep and goats and cattle, driven
into this pool, straightway fell down and perished, but the priests of
Cybele, entering into the same waters, stood upright and unhurt in the
presence of many spectators; and upon this he asked me what more proof
was wanting of the power of the goddess to protect her votaries? When
I could make no reply, he affirmed that all these wonders were placed
at hand to convince them that disbelieved in the gods; for if we were
forced to believe in these wonders, being as they were before our eyes,
why should we be so loth to believe other wonders that our eyes had not
seen?
In course of time the words of Philemon and still more his kind deeds
and the kindness of his wife Apphia, had power to quench that rancorous
spirit which had inflamed my heart. Other friends also, both at Colossæ
and in Hierapolis, moved me in the same direction, I mean towards a
belief in the gods. Among these was the good Epictetus (a slave like
myself and at that time a very young man) concerning whom I shall
have much to say hereafter; and a certain Nicostratus of Laodicea,
full of zeal for learning, but devout and liberal, and of a gracious
nature. Nor must I forget Heracleas, a great reader of the works of
the ancient poets as well as of the philosophers, who had studied for
some time in Alexandria. These three, being of the acquaintance of
Philemon, treated me with exceeding courtesy, seeking my society and
willingly conversing with me; and I soon perceived that almost all the
rest of our acquaintance though in no respect given to superstitions,
nevertheless agreed in believing that the world was governed by good
and divine powers.
§ 2. HOW SOME OF PHILEMON’S FRIENDS AVOWED A BELIEF IN ONE GOD.
I soon found that, although the philosophers whom I have mentioned
above, believed in gods, yet their belief differed much from that
of the common people; for the latter believe in many gods, but the
former inclined to acknowledge one god under many names. It was at a
symposium, during a public festival in honor of Artemis, that I first
heard this opinion broached by Nicostratus who said that “there was
in reality but one Power, however He may manifest Himself to mortals
by many different shapes and names in several lands and nations,
speaking also through different prophets, a Delphic woman in Pytho, a
Thesprotian man in Dodona, a Libyan in the Temple of Ammon, an Ionian
in Claros, a Lycian in Xanthias, and a Bœotian in Ismenus.” I looked
that he should have been reproved and put to silence by my master;
but Philemon said nothing except that this doctrine was not fit to
be taught in that shape to the common people; and the rest seemed to
assent to Nicostratus. Heracleas, in particular, said that “though the
number of gods and demons, or demoniacal essences, be far more than the
30,000 whereof Hesiod makes mention, yet the mighty King of all this
multitude, seated on his stable throne as if He were Law, imparts unto
the obedient that health and safety which He contains in Himself.” To
me also, in our private and familiar discourse, the young Epictetus
would always speak, not of many, but of One, who guides all things
and to whose will we must conform ourselves. As for idols and statues
of the gods—of which I had always been wont at Lystra to speak as
being themselves gods, so that I could scarce think of the gods apart
from them—Nicostratus said openly at this same feast, that it was no
marvel if the immortal powers preferred to inhabit beautiful shapes
of gold and stone and ivory; which nevertheless were of course to be
distinguished from the gods themselves, as being but the integuments
of the divine senses; but Heracleas went yet further (and Epictetus
with him) saying that one should no more accost an image than a house
(instead of the householder); and that images were not needful but only
helpful for the forgetful souls of men.
When Heracleas avowed his belief in the myths and metamorphoses and
fables about the gods I said to him, “Why, O Heracleas, are there
no metamorphoses in our days?” “Because,” replied he, “men have
degenerated from their progenitors of ancient date. Therefore it is
no marvel that the gods refuse to perform such wonders as of old for
mankind upon earth. But in the former days the pious were naturally
changed from men into gods, and these are even now honored, such as
Aristaeus, Heracles, Amphiaraus, Asclepius, and the like. Having regard
to these facts, any one may reasonably be persuaded that Lycaon was
changed into a wolf, Procne into a swallow, and Niobe into a stone. At
present, however, now that vice has spread itself through every part of
the earth, the divine nature is no longer produced out of the human,
or, in other words, men are no longer made gods but only dignified
with the title thereof through excess of flattery, as some among us
call the emperors gods even while they yet live.” To this Nicostratus
assented, but added that “the lies of the multitude are sometimes
to blame, pouring contempt upon undoubted facts in the attempt to
adorn and exaggerate them, as for example, asserting not only that
Niobe was changed into a stone, which is true, but also that Niobe on
Sipylus still weeps, which is not true.” More passed between them;
but this I discerned clearly that both they and many others, while
acknowledging one god under many names, agreed with Philemon (and not
with Artemidorus the Epicurean) in believing without doubt the myths
and fables about the gods.
§ 3. HOW NICOSTRATUS URGED THAT, WITHOUT THE BELIEF IN THE GODS, THE
LIFE OF MAN WOULD BE VOID OF PLEASURE.
It happened about this time that there was a great feast in honor of
Artemis, and the customary processions and dances, and games also
and chariot-races and plays exhibited in the theatre. Being sick at
this time and not able to go abroad, Philemon besought Nicostratus to
take me with him to the theatre, and to show me the pomps and shows
of the festival, which far exceeded anything that I had ever seen in
our little town of Lystra. So on the morning of the festival, early
before sunrise, I went to the house of Nicostratus; who had no sooner
saluted me than he began at once, after his manner, to take occasion
of the festival to commend, in a long discourse, the belief in the
immortal gods. “For seest thou not,” said he, “how to all men, poor
as well as rich, slaves as well as masters, the festivals of the
gods bring round brightness and gladness?” Methinks he noted that my
countenance was altered when he spoke of “slaves,” for he hesitated and
was silent for a moment; but anon, collecting himself, he continued
cheerfully thus: “When I speak of slaves, I mean not such as thou art,
being already half emancipated and rather thy master’s friend than
his servant; but I mean rather the poor wretches toiling in chains or
grinding at the mill, to all of whom the festival brings relief and
some gleam of joy. For five days ago, before the feast began, sawest
thou not how even at the approach of the holiday all was astir within
the city, yea and without too; food and wine and fruits and oxen and
sheep for sacrifice being brought in from the country; old garments
purified and freshly decked out, new ones bought or borrowed from
friends; the statues of the gods taken down and carefully cleansed
and polished till they glitter.” At this point he was interrupted by
a slave who had been waiting to tell him that it was time to go forth
to the temple. Descending to the court-yard we found all the household
awaiting us, clothed in their best attire, the little children bearing
frankincense in their hands and the victims adorned for sacrifice.
Regarding them all with a glad countenance and saluting many of them
by name, Nicostratus bade me remember that at this same moment every
householder in Colossæ, however austere or miserly by nature, was
constrained by the observance of the gods to go forth in like manner
to offer sacrifice. “And now,” continued he in an unbroken discourse,
“we shall all go to the great temple. Prayers will be offered up; none
but words of good omen will be uttered; no sound of quarrel or abuse or
even of ribald mirth will be heard in the whole of the vast assemblage.
After this, some offer sacrifice; the rest stand by as spectators. Then
begins the feasting, some feasting in the temples, others at home where
you and I will make merry together. And as for the rest of the day and
the days following, thou shalt see how pleasantly they will pass. Yet
all this is but a copy of that which happens at every festival in every
city where the gods are rightly reverenced. For during the feasting,
the whole city resounds with singing, some chanting hymns in honor of
the god, others odes and songs, serious or merry, according to each
one’s pleasure. I omit to speak of the processions and shows, all full
of beauty and delight, but not more beautiful here than in a thousand
other cities of Asia and Europe.”
Here he broke off, to salute some of his acquaintance. “Hail,
Charicles! and you, too, Charidemus! I rejoice to see you in the city,
and forget not that to-morrow you are bespoke to dine with me.” Then
turning again to me, “Note, I pray you,” said he, “how all the people,
both citizens and country-folk, are knit together in concord on such
days as these. For there is scarce one citizen in Colossæ but has
invited some stranger or some acquaintance from the country to partake
of his good cheer. Amid the drinking old friendships are drawn closer,
new friendships are begun. After dinner some show strangers about the
city; others sit down in the market-place and talk pleasantly together.
Throughout the day no law courts are open, no execution is allowed, no
debtor need fear arrest, no slave dreads the lash; all quarrel, all
strife receives at least a cessation, which sometimes brings about a
permanent peace. In the evening the feasting begins again, and all sit
down to sup; so many are the torches that the whole city is filled with
light; each street resounds with the flutes and the joyful songs of
the revellers. Austere sobriety is laid aside for once, and to drink a
little to excess in honor of the gods is esteemed no great disgrace.
Thus for three days the feast continues; and when it is over we part
with vows of friendship, in peace and good will, praying that we may
live long enough to see such another feast come round again. Now,”
concluded Nicostratus, “take away the gods from out of the world and
what cause remains why men should thus meet and rejoice together? For
where there are no gods, there are none to be thanked, and therefore no
thanksgiving; but thankfulness is the salt of life. Whosoever therefore
takes away the gods from the life of man takes away the prime cause of
human joy, and must be esteemed the enemy of all mankind.”
I felt in my inmost mind that a keen and subtle disputant, such as
Artemidorus, might have had much to urge against these arguments of
Nicostratus; yet at that time many things joined together to incline me
to accept his reasonings. For having been now nearly a year at Colossæ
I had received on all sides such tokens of good will, and I may almost
say of affection, as had already well nigh won me out of my first
condition of distrust; and although it were not according to reason to
argue that whatsoever things are pleasant must needs be also true, yet
did it appear beyond doubt that life without the gods would be full of
dullness and gloom, all men being everywhere wholly given up to cares
and self-searchings. And I reasoned thus with myself, “If indeed there
be gods, then it were wrong not to acknowledge them; but if there be
no gods, why even then it seems happier to believe that gods exist,
and, in that case, how can ‘no gods’ deem belief in gods to be a sin?”
So for my part, being at that time recovered from my melancholy, and
young, and in good health, and taking pleasure in the pride of life and
the pleasure of the flesh, I concluded to take the happier side and to
believe that there were gods ruling the world to good ends.
§ 4. HOW PHILEMON, FALLING SICK, INCLINED TO SUPERSTITION.
About this time Philemon falling sick, turned to a melancholy, and
becoming wholly changed from his former disposition, gave himself up to
all manner of superstitions. Resorting in vain to all the physicians
of the place, he was led at first to try charms and amulets, and then
to consult soothsayers and astrologers and the priests of strange
gods; and thus, little by little, partly by the burden of his disease
enfeebling his understanding, and partly by reason of the company which
he now frequented, he became daily more timorous and superstitious. He
offered sacrifice almost every day, and anxiously awaited the report as
to the entrails; he resorted often to the priests of all kinds of gods
more especially Isis, Serapis, and Sabazius, and sometimes he would
invite them to his own house, so that our house became a kind of temple
in Colossæ; he purified himself many times a day both with the lustral
waters and with other strange purifications; he would wear naught but
linen, and abstained from many kinds of flesh, and in the end from
all flesh; if he saw a sacred stone he would fall down on his knees
before it and anoint it with oil. Nay, once, during this melancholy
fit of his, when we had set out after much preparation upon a journey
to Ephesus, the sight of a weasel—though we were now fully a mile past
the city gate—made him turn back and give up the journey altogether.
At last, when no remedies and no charms availed anything, supposing
himself to be under the special displeasure of some unknown god, he
took to his bed and could not be persuaded to leave it.
My master having been about a month in this case, growing daily weaker,
there came to him one Oneirocritus of Ephesus (the same to whom he
himself had been intending to journey) who also himself had been
sick of some disease insomuch that the physicians had despaired of
him; but he was now quite recovered. This man coming into Philemon’s
chamber questioned him concerning his condition and symptoms, and the
sacrifices he had offered, and the gods he had propitiated. Then he
spoke concerning himself and his own deliverance, how after he had
been sick nearly twenty years, he had been healed by Asclepius at the
famous temple in Pergamus; and he very earnestly exhorted Philemon to
go thither with all speed. At the same time he described the wonders
wrought by the god on those that believed in him, and the punishment
he had inflicted on the impious and unbelieving. Upon this Artemidorus
the Epicurean—whom, because of his exact knowledge of medicine and his
skilfulness in noting symptoms, Philemon would never exclude from his
bed-chamber, even in his most superstitious moods—once more recommended
Philemon to try the baths of the neighboring city of Hierapolis,
saying that it was not wise to despise remedies merely because they
were near and easy and familiar. “For this disease,” said he, “arises
from no anger of the gods or any such matter, but from some disorder
of the liver which may not improbably be removed by the hot baths of
Hierapolis.” “But if the liver be disordered,” replied Oneirocritus,
“truth compels me to speak of the virtues of a certain sacred well
in the precincts of the temple at Pergamus availing for the healing
not of one disease, but of all; for great multitudes of the blind,
washing therein, have obtained their sight; others have recovered from
lameness; others from asthma and pleurisy; nay, to some even the mere
drawing of the water with their own hands, (it being so prescribed by
the god) has restored soundness and health.”
Then others of the companions of Oneirocritus added other stories all
tending to the honor of Asclepius; some indeed possible and deserving
of attention, but others absurd and fit only to move laughter; how,
for example, a sculptor in Pergamus had been punished with immediate
disease for making a statue of the god with inferior marble, but having
atoned for his fault by making a second statue of fit material, he
straightway recovered; also how a fighting-cock, wounded in one leg,
chancing to take part in the procession of song in honor of the god,
extended his leg, no longer wounded but whole, and hopping onwards
crowed in harmony with the songs of the choir; and lastly how a
certain rich Epicurean having had a dream in the temple of the god,
forthwith obeying the heavenly vision, burned the books of Epicurus,
and having made a paste of their ashes applied a poultice to his
stomach and thus was perfectly healed. This last story seemed to touch
Artemidorus (because of the contempt, as I suppose, which it cast
upon the doctrine of his master Epicurus) and he was on the point of
making some rejoinder, when Oneirocritus, like one inspired with divine
enthusiasm, broke out into a long and passionate discourse concerning
the benefits that he himself had received from the god Asclepius: “For
seventeen years,” he said, “I had kept my bed through disease, and for
many more years I had been ailing and infirm, troubled with the falling
sickness; yet such hath been the favor of the god toward me, manifested
by continual tokens of his presence during my sickness as well as at
my recovery, that I would not exchange my state for all the health and
strength of Heracles. For I am one of those who have been blessed, not
once only but many times, with a new life, and who, for this cause,
esteem sickness a blessing. Many a time, half awake, half asleep, have
I found myself not indeed seeing the god but conscious of his presence,
my eyes full of tears, my hair erect, and a savor of divine odor in
my nostrils. Thus have I received the most helpful manifestations. It
was thus that the god revealed to me that I must go forth from Apamea,
the day before the great earthquake; it was thus, half in a dream half
in a vision, that he also showed me how Philoumene the daughter of my
foster-mother had devoted her life for mine; and behold on the eighth
day she died and I recovered from my disease. Moreover at one time the
god appeared to me in no dream but in a vision, having three heads, and
his body wreathed in flames; and at another time not Asclepius only but
Athene herself also appeared to me and held converse with me. A sweet
odor exhaled from the ægis of the goddess and she bore the shape of
the statue of Phidias. My nurse and two other friends, who happened to
be sitting by my couch, stared and were astonished, and at first they
deemed me to be beside myself; but presently they also understood the
discourse and were aware of the divine presence.”
While Oneirocritus was saying these words, his eyes kindled and his
voice trembled, and he seemed ready to weep for joy and gratefulness;
and there was not one present except the Epicurean who was not somewhat
moved to sympathy. But after a pause Artemidorus praised the priests of
Asclepius, saying that it was well known that they were wise physicians
and prescribed wise remedies, but that their cures might well be
believed to be according to nature. To which Oneirocritus replied with
exceeding vehemence: “Nay, but let any one consider how strange and
past all natural invention, yea, how contrary oftentimes to all the
rules of art are the prescriptions of the god, some being bidden to
swallow gypsum, others hemlock, others to strip naked and to bathe in
cold water, (and these so weak and puling that their own physician
durst not prescribe to them to bathe even in warm water) and assuredly,
when all this is considered and the great multitude of them that are
healed, beholding the sides of the temple all covered with the votive
tablets of them that have given thanks for their recovery, surely the
veriest atheist will cry out ‘Great is Asclepius, and holy is his
temple.’ Therefore, O most excellent Philemon, my counsel is that you
also, despising all other waters, whether they be of Cydnus, or Peneus,
or Hierapolis should resort to the sacred well in Pergamus; and, if you
do this and the god so will, you shall assuredly return healed of your
disease.”
To this the greater part of those present gave assent. Only
Artemidorus, when mention was made of the votive tablets of those that
had recovered, whispered to me: “But where, O Onesimus, are the votive
tablets of those that have not recovered? Or perchance the temple could
not find room for so many?” And when Oneirocritus had departed, he did
not conceal his judgment that of the things that he had related, some
were according to nature, but others only the dreams and imaginations
of one that was scarce master of himself. But the rest were entirely
against the Epicurean and on the side of Oneirocritus. And so I found
it both then and afterwards in most places whereof I had experience,
not only in Asia but also in Greece and Italy: those that believed in
the gods were many; and those that believed not were men of culture and
learning, but very few. And with the multitude in some places to be an
Epicurean or an Atheist (for it was all one with the common people)
was deemed a crime sufficient to bring down the wrath of the gods in
shipwreck, famine, pestilence, or earthquake. The magistrates also
everywhere dissembled, even though they were atheists; and they not
only offered sacrifice and kept holidays, but also of their own free
will, and at their own cost, they built and repaired temples, and set
up statues to gods in whom they disbelieved, esteeming this kind of
dissimulation to be a sort of piety. But as for myself at this time, I
was in a strait between two opinions; for on the one hand I had begun
to despise the excessive and unreasonable superstitions of Philemon,
but on the other hand while I respected Artemidorus as an honorable man
and a seeker after truth, I shrank from his philosophy as void of hope
and happiness. So with my mind I inclined towards Artemidorus, but with
my heart not indeed towards Philemon as he now was, but as he had been;
and I believed in the gods with my wishes, but I disbelieved in them
with my reason and understanding.
§ 5. HOW I ACCOMPANIED PHILEMON TO PERGAMUS.
On the morrow Artemidorus came again and would have dissuaded Philemon
from going to Pergamus, maintaining more fully than before that he had
spoken with many to whom the god had revealed prescriptions and that
there was nothing divine in them: “for to some,” said he, “being of a
melancholy temperament the god prescribes the hearing of odes, hymns
and other music, or sometimes even farces; to others riding on horses;
to others bathing in cold water; to others walking or leaping; to
others frequent rubbing and careful diet; thus the god gives in each
case wise and exact prescriptions such as a skilful physician would
use; but in all these, and the cures at issue, there is nothing of the
power of a god.” Philemon listened patiently enough, but replied (not
without sense as it appeared to me) that if this were so, or were not
so, in either case one of two good results might be expected; for if
it were a god that prescribed, then he should receive benefit from a
god’s prescriptions, but if it were not a god, but only the priests,
even then he should have the prescriptions of physicians so skilful
that they obtained the praises of Artemidorus and were esteemed by
the multitude to have the wisdom of a god. So it was settled that to
Pergamus we should go, and in the autumn of that year we came thither.
There was much in the place to delight a youth such as I was then;
first the town itself fenced in on two sides by rushing streams and
on the north side by rocks scarcely to be scaled; also the stately
buildings and especially the library; and as I had the charge of
Philemon’s books I took pleasure in learning here the art of preparing
parchments and smoothing and adorning them; for the place is very full
of transcribers of books and the banks of the river (which is called
Selinus) are covered with the shops of those who tan skins and prepare
them for the use of booksellers. Thus passed seven days, pleasantly
enough; and all this time I saw not Philemon, for he spent almost every
hour apart from his friends in the temple, engaged in processions and
purifications and the like.
But on the eighth day he came to me with a cheerful countenance saying
that after he had thrice gone in the sacred processions, and had daily
heard solemn music and been present at the thanksgivings of those
who each day had departed whole from the temple, a sweet sleep had
fallen upon him wherein he had seen a vision, namely, a chasm round
and not very large, about five or six cubits in diameter, and himself
on the point of going down into it, and behold, one prevented him and
went down in his stead. When he recounted the vision to the priests,
they bade him be of good cheer, saying that the interpretation of the
dream was this, that he himself should not die nor go down to Hades
(which was signified by the round pit) but that he should recover and
some other should die in his place; and for the rest they bade him
bathe daily in cold water, and walk often and hear cheerful music and
abstain from overmuch study. So we returned to Colossæ with lightened
hearts; and already Philemon began to shake off his melancholy and to
recover apace. But in the second month after we were come back, Apphia
fell sick and was nigh unto death. And hereupon Philemon’s distemper
returned on him worse than before; and as his wife became better, he
became worse, insomuch that he began to despair of his life. Then
Oneirocritus of Ephesus came a second time to visit him; and he, when
he had heard the account of Philemon’s vision, how he had seen a round
chasm and one descending into it, affirmed that the meaning of the
god was that Philemon should go to the cave of Trophonius in Lebadea
in Greece, where there is even such a chasm, the same in shape and
dimensions also, and men go down to it to learn things to come, and
this, he said, was without doubt the intention of the vision; but the
ministers of the temple had interpreted it amiss. Now therefore nothing
would serve but we must needs go to Lebadea.
§ 6. HOW I WENT DOWN INTO THE CAVE OF TROPHONIUS.
As soon as the season of the year came round for a sea voyage, we
sailed across to Athens, and thence to Lebadea, where we were to make
ready for descending beneath the earth. When the day approached,
Philemon was advised by some of his friends (and also by the ministers
of the god) not himself to go down, because of his age and infirmities,
lest the suddenness of some voice or apparition in the darkness beneath
the earth, should affright him and drive him out of his wits or even
slay him outright. For although no one that had at any time consulted
the oracle had ever suffered anything fatal (save only one Macedonian
of the body-guard of Antigonus who had descended for sacrilegious
purpose, and in despite of the sacred ministers, with intent to seek
for hid treasure, and he had been cast forth dead by some other passage
and not by the way he went down) yet did all, whether strangers or
natives, look upon the descent as a matter of some peril not to be
lightly taken in hand. So when I perceived that Philemon desired me to
go down in his place but would not urge nor so much as ask me, lest
I should think myself enforced to consent, I willingly adventured to
descend.
But I found it was no such short and simple matter as I had supposed.
For on presenting my petition to the priests I was caused to wait
many days, first of all in a kind of House of Purification, which
was dedicated to Good Fortune, and during all these days I offered
up several sacrifices, not only to Trophonius, and to his children,
but also to Apollo and to Cronus, and to Zeus the King, and to Hera
the Driver of Chariots, and to Demeter called Europa; and even when
all these sacrifices had been inspected by the priests and pronounced
propitious, yet my good fortune must needs still depend upon one last
sacrifice of all. This was to be a ram offered on the last night,
whose blood was caused to flow into a trench while invocation was made
to Agamedes; which, if it had been unpropitious, would have made all
the other sacrifices of no effect, and all my master’s money and my
pains would have been spent for naught. Although I was in no humor
for scoffing at that time, yet on that last evening, while I awaited
the report concerning the entrails, I could not but marvel that any
god should desire mortals to approach him by paths so costly and so
tedious. For had I been a poor man, I had long ago spent all and more
than all my substance in the sacrifices which I had offered, and the
purifications I had undergone, and the fees I had paid to the ministers
of the god. During the period of purification I had abstained from warm
baths, and had bathed only in the cold waters of the stream called
Hercyna; but on the last night of all, I was bathed with a special
solemnity in the same stream by two priests called Hermæ. Then I was
made to drink of two fountains flowing forth, one on either hand,
whereof the former was called the fountain of Forgetfulness, the other
the fountain of Remembrance. All this was done, they told me, that I
might forget the past and remember the future and in particular the
response of the god. Last of all they took out of a veil a certain
very ancient image of the god, said to have been wrought by Dædalus;
and on this they bade me look very reverently and intently even till
my eyes were weary. This done, I was clad in a white linen tunic,
curiously girt round with garlands, and led towards the cavern.
This was a pit, round at the top, but inside in shape not so much like
a cylinder as rather a cone whereof the summit has been cut off; for
the base was somewhat larger than the opening, the circumference at the
top being about a score of cubits, and the depth, as I should judge,
fifteen cubits; but of the circumference at the bottom I cannot speak
exactly. The way to go down into the pit was by a ladder. Before I
went down the priest told me that when I had touched the bottom I was
to feel about for two small round holes in the side, a handbreadth
or so from the bottom and near the foot of the ladder, each large
enough to hold the foot and the lower part of the leg. Laying myself
on my back I was to place my feet in these two holes, “and thereon,”
said the priest, “though the openings be never so small, yet through
these will the god draw inwards the whole of your body, as with the
irresistible force of some whirlpool, and then in an inner recess, if
he be so pleased, he will hold converse with you either by voice or by
apparition, or perchance by both. But be of good cheer, bearing in mind
that, except that sacrilegious Macedonian of whom I spoke to you, there
was never any one yet that was harmed by the god.”
When I lay down, and the lights above had been taken away, my mind
was all astir, not dizzy nor faint, nor disposed to torpor, but more
active than my wont, tossing a multitude of thoughts to this side and
that, neither believing nor disbelieving in the god. Then it came into
my thoughts that Artemidorus had explained the wondrous pool of Cybele,
fatal to cattle, by saying that some kind of creeping vapors adhered to
the surface of the water, and he bade me take note at Lebadea, whether
any kind of vapor could be seen or felt in the pit. So I drew a long
breath or two but could neither feel aught nor taste aught, save only
that my mind seemed still busier than before, tossing and retossing
thoughts without end. Next, falling on a different course of thinking,
I considered with myself whether perchance I was playing a sacrilegious
part in thus coming into the midst of the god’s mysteries in order to
spy them out and reveal them to Artemidorus; and I resolved that I
would submit myself to the god and think only of the image of Dædalus,
even as the priest had bidden me. Now all this takes indeed some time
to set down, but to think the thoughts needed scarce a moment, and
countless other fancies and imaginations and resolutions passed through
my mind; but the last determination of all was that I would rebel
against the god and not suffer myself to be drawn through the crevices;
and scarce had I conceived this rebellious fancy, when lo, my chest
began to heave and my heart to beat more and more violently, and I felt
the throbbing of the veins in my temples; and then whether my body was
indeed carried into an inner recess, or whether my spirit alone was
carried, being separated from the body, or whatever else happened, I
know not for certain; but there was as it were the clapping-to of a
great door shut with a loud jar, parting me off from all things, and
then a singing in mine ears, and a bright light that grew brighter, and
then methought I lay as it were living, and yet beyond life, and not
able to move hand or foot, yet able to think and hear; and there was
a voice from the depths of the cave in the Bœotian dialect “Philemon
must go first”; and presently I felt myself drawn upwards and heard
the voices of the priests saying that “the man will soon come to
himself,” and behold I was being carried to a throne called the throne
of Recollection; whereon they placed me and straightway questioned
me concerning the things that I had seen or heard while I was still
staring and groping about me like one distraught. When I had made reply
according to my ability, they wrote down my words on a tablet and gave
me back to my friends who led me away, being still unable to guide
myself and ignorant both of myself and them. But not many minutes had
passed before I recovered my mind; and then a spirit of lightness and
mirth possessed me, insomuch that I laughed loud and long and this
without cause, and could not restrain myself from laughing; but when I
was ashamed thereat and even Philemon was fain to rebuke me, one of the
priests that stood by, said that there was no cause either for my shame
or for his rebuke, for laughter after this fashion was ever wont to
seize those with whom Trophonius had held converse.
§ 7. HOW ARTEMIDORUS SPOKE AGAINST THE BELIEF IN GODS.
That I had received a vision none doubted; but concerning the
meaning of the vision there was much dispute. For the priests of
Trophonius (though it was not their special duty to interpret the
visions vouchsafed by the god, but only to prepare the way for them
by introducing those that desired to consult the god) interpreted the
words of the voice and the shutting of the gates as meaning evil for my
master, namely, that he should enter Hades first, and that the gates
should then be shut, so that I should not follow him till afterwards.
But I thought, and so did some others, friends of my master that were
with us, that the meaning rather was, that Philemon should enter into
happiness first, but that I should be shut out; and even now methinks
that was the truer interpretation; for Philemon indeed entered first
into the Kingdom of Light, and I followed after. Notwithstanding at
this time, between these two interpretations, we knew not what to
think; and my master returned to Colossæ even more melancholy than
before. Artemidorus said, scoffing, that we had a goodly time with
the gods, only that they were slow of speech or fond of circuits; for
Oneirocritus had sent us to Asclepius, and behold, that god had given
us a dream but not the interpretation of the dream; and afterwards we
had gone to Trophonius, and he had given us a vision, and an oracle in
broad Bœotian to be the interpretation of the dream; and now nothing
remained but we should go to Delphi to obtain some oracle that might
serve as the interpretation of the dream; or last of all, if the son
of Zeus should answer, like the rest, doubtfully and darkly, then must
we go to Zeus himself in Dodona that the Father might enlighten for us
whatever the Son might have left too obscure. I was not greatly moved
by the gibes of Artemidorus; for the vision that I had seen, or seemed
to have seen, weighed with me more than his mockery; nor did I then
believe the word of the Epicurean, who constantly affirmed that the fit
which had befallen me had arisen from the vapor of the cave, aided by
the trickery of the priests and the force of imagination. But another
scruple (so the Lord willed it) troubled me much more, coming into
my mind again and again; I mean that all these rites and ceremonies,
purifications, sacrifices, and the like were only possible for the
rich, not for the poor; wherefore the religion that required these
things was for the few and for the free-born and not for the many, and
the miserable and the oppressed.
Yet can I not deny that Artemidorus also had a great share in loosening
me by degrees from the worship of false gods. For as Philemon grew
more and more melancholy, and I may almost say morose, he shunned all
company and mine with the rest, and so left Artemidorus and myself to
hold discourse together. At such times, when our speech naturally fell
on the metamorphosis (for we could not call it otherwise) of my master,
Artemidorus would speak at great length concerning the miseries of
religion, and how great evils it had wrought on mankind, leading them
to wicked sacrifices, and orgies, and to self-torturings and agonies
of soul, and all to no purpose; and how much more beautiful it was
to believe that all the universe is bound together by one fixed and
unchangeable order which gives life and decay to all things according
to law. And oftentimes he quoted to me the verses of the Latin poet
Lucretius, praising those who with a discerning eye can look upon all
apparent wonders in heaven and earth, perceiving that there is a cause
of each. When I alleged on the other side such wonders as Philemon had
spoken of, as being abundant in our own land—the burning mountains,
hot wells, fatal vapors, and rivers and cataracts that changed into
stone,—concerning all these he had causes and explanations to set
forth, as also concerning the thunder and the lightning and many
other supernatural things; and when he perceived that some of his
explanations convinced me, then he would always add that there was no
place left for the gods in the Universe, but that when men had learnt
entirely to give up all thought of gods and Elysium and Tartarus, and
had attained to seek and expect happiness in naught save a life of
virtue upon earth, then all things would go well with us on earth, or
at least much better than at present.
Now as for the immortality of the soul and the life beyond the grave,
to these things I adhered, mainly because I loved to think of Chrestus
as still existing; and as touching the existence of a god also,
Artemidorus himself could not make it clear to me how the beginnings of
the world came to pass without some Mind; so that as to these matters,
though I was somewhat moved by him, I was not greatly shaken. But as
for the myths and fables of the wondrous deeds and transformations of
the gods he quite overthrew all my faith in any such things; urging
that the order of the world testified against them, and that our often
experience of the invention and refutation of like marvels showed
that they were necessary for the vacant truth-contemning minds of the
multitude, but none the less false and to be discarded by the seekers
after truth.
Even to this day do I call to mind the time and place of that
particular discourse of Artemidorus which most moved me. We were
walking near the city of Hierapolis (which lies close upon Colossæ)
amid the hills covered with the snow-like marble made out of water,
whereof I wrote above, and I had taken him to see some of the vaporous
springs which Philemon had shown me, inferring from such wonders the
existence of the gods. Then Artemidorus spoke his mind to me freely,
after his cynical manner, concerning these and other so called
metamorphoses and miracles. For after he had with very great clearness
and not a little cogency of words and reasons set forth his theory
concerning the marble cataracts, finding me obstinate against his
conclusion that all things are according to order and that all the
stories of the metamorphoses are false, he suddenly changed his humor
and said mirthfully, “But come now, most devout of mankind, lest
perchance I should seem to you unfair, pressing unduly the argument on
the one side but neglecting what might be said on the other side, see,
I will take the part of Socrates and will maintain the truth of the
ancient stories. At Philemon’s supper last night, you heard how stoutly
the pious Nicostratus supported our most excellent host in affirming
that it was possible that the loving Halcyone was translated into the
sea-bird of that name, which is said ever to mourn for her husband.
Now mark how far inferior is the devout Nicostratus to the more devout
Artemidorus.” Then, adjusting his cloak and speaking in a pompous
fashion with a sonorous voice after the manner of some philosophers of
our acquaintance, “Alas,” he said, “blind creatures that we mortals
are! Alas, purblind judges of the possible and impossible! For we,
deluded ones, pronounce according to the ignorant and dull abilities of
faithless men. And therefore many things, in themselves easy, seem to
us difficult, and many things in themselves attainable seem to us not
to be attained. And this befalls us sometimes through our inexperience,
sometimes through the infancy of our minds. For, as compared with the
First Cause of all, every man, be he never so old, is but a child; and
human life, when compared with eternity, is but a childhood’s span.
Who therefore shall decide what is likely? For which, think you is the
harder or the more unlikely? To raise a stillness out of a blustering
tempest, and to spread a cloudless sky over the whole of Europe and
of Asia, or to change the shape of one woman into the form of a bird?
We see even children every day shape distinct forms and figures from
wax and clay. Then certainly God, who is too excellent in greatness
and wisdom to be brought into comparison with the wisest of human
beings, can effect more wonderful actions than these which are easy
and familiar. Nature, we see, finding in a comb of wax a shapeless
worm without legs or feathers, bestows on it wings and feet, and
enamelling it with great diversity of fair colors produceth a bee,
the wise artificer of divine honey! Seeing therefore this marvellous
transformation, why doubt we of thy lesser wonder, O Halcyone, most
dutiful of birds? Nay, but from henceforth I will not cease to scoff
at the folly of poor puny mortals, who can neither comprehend great
matters nor small, but doubt of most things, even of those which
concern ourselves, and yet dare to deny the power of the immortal gods
to transform halcyons or aught else. And for my part, even as the fame
of the fable hath been conveyed to me from my ancestors, so will I
extol the praise of thy songs, O thou bird of mourning, conveying it
to my children and to their posterity after them; nor will I cease to
repeat the story of thy virtuous love for thy husband, thy constancy
and thy patience, to my wives Xantippe and Myrto.”
Then, putting aside all mirth, “Do you not see, my dear Onesimus,” said
he, “that, upon such reasoning as this, any impostor can palm off
any portent upon the credulity of mankind. Nay, so eagerly does the
multitude seek after portents that they will oftentimes refuse to pay
homage even to the truth, unless it come accompanied with portents:
and indeed such is the nature of our Phrygians in this region (and the
Paphlagonians are no better) that if a juggler will but play his tricks
before them, taking with him a player on the flute or tambourine or
cymbals, straightway they will gape upon him as on a messenger from
heaven, and believe as he instructs and do as he commands. But it is
not the part of a philosopher, my dear friend, to accept falsehoods
through laziness, or credulity, or enthusiasm, but rather to esteem
sobriety and incredulity to be the very sinews of the soul, remembering
the words of him who said, ‘I love Socrates well and Plato well, but
Truth best of all.’ And surely, if there be a god indeed, as you and
your philosophers will have it, and this god a good god, then to such
a god that man must be pleasing who most honors truth; but the man who
serves falsehood must be unpleasing, whether folly or knavery be the
cause of such a servitude.”
His words moved me not a little; for I seemed forced at least to this
conclusion that whether there were an Elysium or not, whether gods or
no gods, in any case truth must needs be better than falsehood; and
when he spoke of falsehood as a “servitude” his words galled me all
the more because I was a slave; and I confessed in my heart that I had
been acting slavishly in resolving to believe what was pleasant, merely
because it was pleasant, and without much regard to the truth of it. So
I vowed within myself that howsoever Philemon might enforce my limbs to
his service, he should not constrain my mind to this or that opinion
contrary to what I believed to be the truth; for though my body might
be the body of a slave, in my mind and thoughts I would be free.
§ 8. HOW I JOURNEYED WITH PHILEMON TO ANTIOCH IN SYRIA.
Now began my old fit of doubt and trouble and moroseness to return
upon me. I had long misliked the excessive and, as it seemed to me,
pusillanimous superstition of Philemon; and the more because, although
he spared no pains nor cost in resorting to oracles and practising new
superstitions, he had not yet bethought himself of his promise that he
would emancipate me. Lately also he had built for himself a tomb at
a very great expense, saying that it was unreasonable to prepare for
oneself a sumptuous house wherein we should spend threescore years at
the most, and yet to take no thought of that other abode wherein a man
needs spend all his time hereafter for many years. But while he made
this so costly and careful provision for his bones, he made none for
his family nor for his slaves; for it was known that he had some months
since destroyed his former will and he had not as yet made another; so
that both I and all the rest of the household were in danger to be sold
to we knew not what master, if anything evil should suddenly befall
Philemon. Yet when Artemidorus urged him to the making of a will, he
resented it as if it were done upon some expectation of his death. For
at times, in his melancholy, he came to such a point of suspicion as
to imagine that all men, even his household, were set against him and
wished to murder him. So I began to rebel once more against the worship
of the gods, partly (as before) because it seemed to be a religion
for the rich and not for the poor, but partly also because it seemed
possible to be religious and yet to be swallowed up with thoughts of
self, having no regard unto others. Notwithstanding I gave not up as
yet all belief in divine things; but I became a seeker after some
religion which should afford redemption not for the few but for the
many.
Now it chanced that one Eriopolus, a wool-merchant of Antioch in Syria,
coming to Colossæ about this time to buy wool, and finding Philemon
well-nigh despaired of, spoke to him concerning a certain sect of
the Jews who, said he, were marvellously skilled in exorcising evil
spirits and in the healing of certain diseases, adding, however, that
not all the Jews possessed this power, but only those who worshipped a
certain Chrestus or Christus, in whose name they adjured the demons.
Then another, a dyer from Ephesus, confirmed his report, saying that
the Jews which worship not this Christus, persecute the others, calling
them “magicians;” and, said he, “not many weeks ago, at Ephesus, when
some of the Jews which worship not Christus, had assayed to drive out
evil spirits in this name, the man that was possessed leaped upon them,
and overcame them, and drove them away grievously wounded.” “By what
name, then,” asked my master, “are these Jewish magicians known?” “At
first,” replied Eriopolus, “they were called Nazarenes or Galileans,
but, of late, they go by the name of Christians (so at least the common
people call them), and there are certain of them scattered up and down
in several cities of Asia, and one of more than common note among them,
Paulus by name, is at this time tarrying at Ephesus. But for the most
part they congregate now in Antioch, although, as I have heard, the
root and origin of the sect is at Jerusalem, the chief city of Judæa.”
Hearing this my master determined to journey to Antioch to make inquiry
of this new sect; and Artemidorus also himself now encouraged him in
his purpose, judging that anything was better than thus to remain
at home brooding over his ill-health and imagining evil. Apphia also
assented. So in the spring of that year (it was the second year of the
Emperor Nero, and I was at that time in the twenty-first year of my
age) we made ready for our journey. Though I loved to see new sights
and faces, after the manner of youth, I was nevertheless loth to go
on so superstitious an errand; and besides, I despised the Jews, so
far as I knew them, as being a gain-loving people, full of pernicious
superstitions, and so inhospitable as not even to eat with strangers.
However, I would not willingly have suffered Philemon in his melancholy
to go alone, even had I been his friend and not his slave. When we
were to set forth, Artemidorus bade me write to him, as often as I had
occasion, concerning the Jews at Antioch, and especially concerning
this new sect; “for,” said he, “to those who have taken their stand
upon the hill of Truth, it is sweet to look down upon the wanderings
of them that stray in error, wherefore I ever take pleasure in the
hearing of some new superstition or error among men.” So I promised
that I would send him letters as often as messengers went to Asia from
Philemon.
Our journey was first by land to Ephesus through a very fertile
country; and thence by sea to Seleucia, a city which lies at the mouth
of the river Orontes, and it is as it were the harbor of Antioch; which
lies higher up the river, about forty miles by reason of the wanderings
of the stream, but by the road distant no more than a score of miles
or less. If I admired the country between Colossæ and Ephesus, the
fruitfulness of the soil, the greatness of the mountains, and the
beauty of Ephesus itself and the far-famed temple of Ephesian Artemis,
much more did I admire the city of Antioch, which is the third city of
the empire for greatness, coming next after Rome and Alexandria; and
it lies along the river Orontes, for the space of four or five miles,
stretching between the clear waters of the river and the high mountain
called Silpius, surrounded by a wall not less than five and thirty
cubits high and ten cubits in thickness. Being very spacious and indeed
equal to three or four large cities in amplitude, it is divided into
four wards or demes; and it has royal streets, built by kings desiring
to do favor to the citizens of so goodly a city, and called after the
names of the sovereigns that built them, namely, the street of Herod,
the street of Seleucus, and others. Through the midst there runs a
broad street adorned with four ranks of columns forming two covered
colonnades with a wide road between, and along the whole street (which
is more than thirty-six furlongs in length) there are statues and busts
beautifully wrought of white marble. Greek names have been given to
all the region round about, such as Pieria, Peneus, Tempe, Castalia,
insomuch that to hear the names of the villages one might fancy oneself
in the haunts of the Muses; and not two hours distant from the city
there lies a fair large garden or _paradise_ (as the people in these
parts call it) Daphne by name, which the citizens of Antioch often
frequent, and it is full of all manner of flowers and goodly trees and
watered with a great abundance of streams, and noted for the worship
of Adonis. Such and so full of all manner of delight was the place
in which I now found myself, a city no less populous than spacious
(for it numbered as many as five hundred thousand souls) and no less
full of mirth than of beauty; for the people of Antioch are known
throughout the world for their gayety. Here therefore I laid aside the
austerity of my recent thoughts, and forgetting questions of religion
and philosophy I disposed myself to be merry with the multitude of
those who were making merry around me, so far at least as I could be
permitted to do so by the duty of constant attendance on Philemon;
and, if I had had my own desire, I should never have set foot in any
synagogue of Jews or Christian.
But blessed be thou, O Guide of the misguided, who didst not suffer me
for ever to stray in the paths of false pleasure and in the ways which
lead to delusion, but in due course thou didst bring me to the door of
thy fold; and though I stumbled at the threshold, yet didst thou not
suffer me to fall for ever, but didst still uphold me and step by step
didst turn me back again to the pastures of eternal peace.
THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK.
THE THIRD BOOK.
§ 1. OF MY FIRST THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE CHRISTIANS.
I am now to describe how I first came to the knowledge of the brethren
in Antioch, though I attained not yet to the truth. For I stumbled at
questions of philosophy and of tradition, and therefore I entered not
into the fold of Christ. But the main reason for my failure was (as I
now think), first, that I came not in faith, and secondly that I came
not to Christ and the teaching of Christ himself, but rather to a sort
of doubtful disputations about Christ, which, whether a man believe or
disbelieve in them, do not contain the revelation of the Lord Jesus.
Concerning this part of my life I am in a strait what to set down
and what to pass over. For if I should endeavor to call to mind and
repeat all the evil things that, in the days of my ignorance, I said
and thought about the Saints, then I fear lest I should seem profane
and almost blasphemous, thus a second time reviling the Lord Jesus in
speaking evil of his church. But if on the other hand I gloss over the
truth, blanching and extenuating my error and presumptuousness, then
I seem to be dealing falsely and hypocritically, making myself to be
better than I was, instead of magnifying the mercies of the Lord shown
forth upon one that was perverse and obstinate in error. In this
perplexity having chanced to light upon certain letters which I sent
at this time to Artemidorus by his request (but he, long afterwards,
not many days before his death, delivered them to me and bade me
keep them), these same letters (which till of late I had altogether
forgotten) it now seems good to me to set down faithfully word for
word, neither altering nor extenuating anything. The first letter shows
how I was unwilling at the beginning to go into the synagogue, and what
slanders the common people falsely reported about the brethren, which
I in my folly supposed at that time to be true. The next (after the
reply of Artemidorus rebuking me for my proneness to believe the rumors
of the common people) shows how I went for the first time into the
congregation of the faithful, and how the Lord began even at that time
to draw me towards himself.
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH.
“Concerning Antioch and all the pleasures of this delightful city I
wrote to you in my former letter; but whereas you marvel because I have
as yet written nothing touching the Jews; you must know that up to this
time we have found no occasion to be present at their worship. For we
find that there is a greater discord than we had supposed between this
new sect of the Jews and the rest, insomuch that the latter will scarce
own the new sect to be Jews, nor do they frequent the same temples nor
practice the same kind of worship. Hence it happens that these new
Jews, out of fear to be persecuted, do all things in secret, having
no public processions nor sacrifices, and allowing none to see the
statue of their god (if indeed any of the Jews have any god at all)
and celebrating their mysteries in great privacy. However, all the
philosophers with whom I have spoken, as well as the men of rank in the
city (such as are among Philemon’s acquaintance), agree that it is a
vile and execrable superstition, which would fain subvert all laws and
all the dignity and peace of the empire. It is also commonly reported
that none are admitted to their sacred rites until they have committed
some monstrous crime; so that, whereas in other religions the priests
of the several mysteries say, ‘Let none approach but the pure,’ the
priests of this sect on the other hand say, ‘Whosoever is a murderer,
whoso a thief, whoso an adulterer, let him draw near that he may be
initiated; for all such does our god invite.’ Likewise the common folk
say that at their sacred rites a most shameful sacrifice is made of a
little child, on whose flesh and blood these wretches feast as if they
were the choicest dainties, and also that brothers and sisters among
them commonly practice incest. But all this I write, not of my own
knowledge, but from the general report, which notwithstanding comes
from so many different witnesses, that I cannot doubt but it is mainly
true. However, I will write no more concerning these people till I have
somewhat to say of my own seeing or hearing. But for my part I could
be well pleased if the good Philemon would be persuaded not to seek
further into this superstition.
“In my last letter I omitted, in so great a multitude of new things, to
make mention of a garden belonging to one Onias, a citizen here, which
contains not only many goodly flowers, but also runlets and fountains
of water quaintly devised, and many apes and peacocks for show and for
amusement, and above all several parrots, of which one has been so
excellently trained to speak, that it surpasses by far any starling or
any other talking bird that I have ever heard before; and the common
people say it is possessed. But even you would marvel to see with what
aptness and semblance of understanding it collects and most seasonably
utters the sayings of those around it, reminding me not a little of the
saying which I have often heard from your lips that the reason of some
inferior animals borders upon the reason of man himself. Farewell.”
“ARTEMIDORUS TO ONESIMUS, HEALTH.
“Whereas you write that you have resolved to make no further mention
of these innovating Jews until you find out something of your own
knowledge concerning them, more weighty than such old wives’ fables as
are reported by the common rabble, by lazy philosophers, and by pompous
town-councillors, all of them indifferent to truth and accuracy, so I
beseech you for the future to carry out this resolution; for, believe
me, knowledge is not to be thus cheaply and painlessly acquired without
judgment and labor. But I hope that before very long you may have
discovered something certain of this sect, no less worthy of reporting
than your experiences of the parrot of Onias.”
§ 2. OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHRISTIANS.
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH.
“Having been now twice present in their temple or synagogue I have much
to say of these Christians.
“It happened that, about ten days ago, the friend with whom my master
lodges, introduced to us a certain merchant of Cyrene who had some
slight acquaintance with one Lucius, a man of Cyrene, and a notable
teacher among this sect. So by his means we were invited to be present
at their synagogue on a day when the uninitiated are called together,
as many as desire to make a trial of the new religion or to learn
the truth about it. When we were all assembled to the number of four
or five hundred, there stood up one Simeon, surnamed Niger, who
delivered a speech by no means so foolish as I had thought likely, and
it was to this effect: There was but one God, he said, who had made
no distinctions of nations, as Greeks, barbarians, Scythians and the
rest, but all men of one blood, intending them to be one brotherhood.
This God sent unto mankind signs and testimonies of his good will,
giving unto all nations the sun and moon and stars to be for signs and
seasons; moreover to the Jews he sent special messengers, or prophets,
to proclaim his will. But when, notwithstanding all these testimonies,
mankind still disobeyed the divine will, it seemed good to the superior
god to send down to them no longer a prophet or common messenger, but a
son, as if the time had arrived when they should no longer grope after
God, but apprehend the divine nature.
“Then this Simeon went on to affirm that this son of god had verily
come into the world about threescore years ago, during the reign of
the Emperor Augustus, in the shape of a man, one Jesus (called also
the Nazarene, because he was of the city of Nazareth in the north of
Palestine), who had proclaimed a Gospel or Good News, namely, that God
is the Father of men, not merely their Maker, but their Father, loving
all men as parents love their children. Moreover the Son had manifested
the Father’s nature by many works, especially by healing the souls of
men, not only taking away sins, but also giving unto his disciples the
power to take away sins. In a word the Son had done for the Father, if
one might trust Simeon, much the same deeds as Apollo is said to have
done in early times for Zeus, introducing into the world purifications
of the soul. Then also (quoting, as I was told, from some of the
ancient books of the Jews) Simeon declared that this Jesus of Nazareth
was the Redeemer of whom those books had prophesied; for, said he, ‘to
them that sat in darkness Jesus hath shown forth the light of truth,
he hath opened the eyes of them that were blinded by sin and ignorance
and caused those whose souls were maimed and were crippled with vice to
walk straight in the paths of virtue, and he hath raised up them that
were dead in sin.’
“Now followed a marvellous paradox, or rather what our friend Evagoras
the rhetorician would call a _bathos_. For it was actually confessed
before us all by this same Simeon that this son of god, who had
wrought all these marvellous works, was slain in the sixteenth year of
the Emperor Tiberius, and this, not in battle nor in a tumult, but
by command of the governor Pontius Pilatus, dying the death of the
vilest criminal, being actually crucified! And, not content with this
ignominy, they confess also that he was most shamefully insulted and
scourged before his death, and that he was rescued neither from insult
nor from death by the superior god whom they call the Father. But to
compensate for all these disgraces, the speaker affirmed in the first
place that this death constituted some kind of sacrifice or expiation,
wherein this Christus played at once the part of priest and victim,
offering himself up for the sins of the whole world (he having been no
unwilling sacrifice but having surrendered himself to death and having
indeed predicted his own death as a prophet); and in the second place,
as the crowning marvel of all, he affirmed that the superior god had
raised up the inferior, that is the Son, after the latter had lain
for several days in the tomb, insomuch that, long after his death, he
appeared to many of his disciples, of whom some are still living as
witnesses.
“‘Nursery tales’—replies my wise preceptor, nor do I say otherwise. But
what filled me with astonishment, almost more than was fitting, was to
note the gravity, earnestness and sobriety and yet at the same time
the enthusiasm wherewith Simeon delivered himself, especially when he
bore witness to the rising again of Christus (for by this name Jesus is
commonly known among them); speaking as if at that very moment he were
standing in the presence of him that was risen from the dead, and yet
enjoining chastity, truthfulness, honesty, and all other virtue, with
such a calmness that not a few of those present, and Philemon among the
rest, were well-nigh carried away with the force of the man’s belief,
and themselves persuaded to believe the like. Nor could I altogether
marvel; for it was not possible to suppose that the man was a knave or
cheat; yet neither did he appear to be a madman, and certainly he spake
not as a fool.
“But I omit too long the main matter for which Philemon came hither,
the healing of diseases. Concerning this, Simeon said little; rather
taking it for granted, as I judged, than arguing of it or dwelling
upon it at any length. But he said that signs had been wrought both
by Christus and by his disciples, in the casting out of devils and in
the healing of sickness; and he appealed to some of those present, as
if they knew this of their own knowledge. Afterwards I spoke with many
of them on this matter. Almost all told me that they knew others who
had been healed of divers diseases, and some few (not more than three)
affirmed that they themselves had been healed of palsy, two of them by
one Paulus, of whom I made mention above, and the other by this same
Simeon. Of the rest whom they averred to have been healed, some were
said to have been healed by Paulus, others by one Petrus, a man of
great repute among them, others by this Simeon and not a few by one
Philippus, who is even now (as they tell me) sojourning in Hierapolis.
Of these sick folk some have been wholly healed and immediately; others
partly and only by degrees; but for the most part more completely and
suddenly than any cures wrought by Asclepius. The diseases are mostly
palsies (which abound here) and also fevers, and partial dumbness
or lameness, and the more severe kind of ophthalmia; but the most
common is that kind of insanity which by the common people is termed
‘possession.’
“Of this latter kind one instance I myself witnessed on the very day
on which I heard Simeon thus discourse; and it was wrought by Simeon
himself in the synagogue. For after he had made an end of the first
part of his discourse, he began to call upon all the people to repent,
saying that the superior god whom he named the Father, would speedily
judge all the world in righteousness, punishing the bad and rewarding
the good, and in that day the Son,—namely, that very Christus whom
Pontius had crucified,—should come again with great glory. Hereon one
cried out in the assembly after the manner of demented people, saying,
‘Avaunt! Away! Away from me!’ adding loud exclamations against the
name of Jesus. Simeon forthwith ceased from speaking, and looking very
intently on the man’s countenance caused him to be brought near, and
stretching out his hand as with authority in a loud voice adjured I
know not what evil spirit to go forth from the man. The demented man
immediately fell to the ground as one dead; but Simeon took him by the
hand, and raised him up and restored him to his friends; and he went
forth from the building delivered from his disease.
“The man happened to be the brother of our host’s door-keeper; and
his madness was confirmed to me by many witnesses, as being of long
continuance, yea, and I myself had seen him in a pitiable plight,
gibbering and gaping as one mad in our court-yard a full month before;
and our host himself (who is no friend to the Christians) constantly
affirmed that he had been mad for the space of at least fourteen years.
Wherefore thus much is certain and not to be denied, that a man who was
demented for fourteen years, up till the seventh day of this month,
is now on the fourteenth day of this month in his sound mind and to
all appearance likely to remain therein; and this has been wrought by
certain words uttered by this Simeon Niger. Now if this effect proceeds
from natural causes, as the great Epicurus would doubtless assert, the
causes (none the less) seem worthy to be sought out and examined.
“When the madman was led forth delivered from his disease, I had
much ado to prevent the worthy Philemon from standing up publicly
and praying that he also might be initiated into the sacred rites of
this new religion by means of purification with water; which they
practice not many times, as with us, but once for all, and with more
than usual solemnity; and I suppose that Christus himself instituted
this purification; at all events no one is admitted without it. But
I besought the excellent man not to do so rash a thing with such
precipitate haste, and at least to wait till he should have discovered
whether those who are initiated into the Christian rites, are also
to submit themselves to the whole of the law which the more ancient
religion of the Jews enjoins upon that nation. For the time I succeeded
and kept him from his purpose. But I could wish that Archippus or
Apphia were here present with him, and I not alone. For I greatly fear
that, if he be so violently moved a second time, I may no longer be
able to restrain him. Concerning the second visit to the synagogue,
having many things to write, and the messenger of Philemon being
already on the point to depart, I must defer what I would further say
to another occasion.
“One matter had almost slipped my memory; and it is perhaps hardly
worth setting down. Going this day to the garden of Adonis I saw the
youths and maidens passing in procession through the golden gate of
Daphne; and there calling to my mind other processions such as I had
seen in my youth (but this far surpassed them all) I remembered how I
was wont as a child to make comparisons between a certain Diosdotus, a
priest of Zeus of a goodly presence and lofty stature, and a certain
unknown wandering priest or juggler, mean of aspect, bald-headed and
hook-nosed, who in my presence had healed one that was lame and known
to have been lame for thirty years. This happened when I was a mere
child, scarcely (as I think) past my tenth year; but to-day it came
into my mind that both that wandering priest and this Simeon—albeit
differing greatly in countenance and appearance, Simeon being tall and
the other short or inclining to shortness—nevertheless agreed in this
one point, that they spoke of things invisible not only as if they saw
them, but also in such wise as to make others fancy that they saw them.
And, if I err not, that prophet also spoke, as did Simeon, concerning
a certain Son of God whom the superior God had sent into the world.
Wherefore I now conjecture that that same wandering prophet belonged to
no gods of the Greeks, but was, even as this Simeon, a Jew, and one of
this sect that believes in Christus.
“One other matter also I omitted to mention, that this new religion
makes no distinction between those of different nations, nor between
rich and poor, slaves and free; for all that belong to the sect
are esteemed citizens of one nation, or rather, brothers of one
family; and certainly I noted in the synagogue that there were
observed no distinctions of wealth or rank; for whether a man were
a town-councillor or a water-carrier, it was all one; we all sat
together. Farewell.”
§ 3. HOW ARTEMIDORUS QUESTIONED ME FURTHER CONCERNING THE CHRISTIANS.
“ARTARTEMIDORUS TO ONESIMUS, HEALTH.
“Your letter was acceptable to me, my dear Onesimus, because it
contained no longer mere hearsay concerning these Jews, but the things
that you yourself had seen and heard. Now you will do well to make
inquiry more particularly on the following points: 1st, Does this sect
of Jews, (or Christians if they are to be so called) possess any sacred
books? 2nd, As touching this son of the Divine Being, of whom you
speak, was he (according to their saying) begotten by the superior god
from some human mother; or came he into the world as the child of some
divine mother? or in what other way? For I assume, of course, that his
followers do not believe him to have been born of a human father. But
if he was also not born of a human mother, then what certainty is there
that he had human flesh and blood; and in that case, how could he be
subject to death? But perhaps they say that he did not really die? In
that case, however, he did not really rise from the dead; so that both
his death and life would seem to have been a make-believe, the death a
not dying, and the life a not existing; yet it is not easy to see why
even an inferior god should come into the world for the purpose of not
existing; 3d, Touching the wonderful works said to have been wrought
by this Christus, were they all acts of healing such as you describe?
Or were there not also some such tricks and portents as wizards and
enchanters and jugglers profess to perform, such as the breathing of
fire from the nostrils, and the changing of earth into bread, and of
water into blood, and the producing of sudden banquets and then causing
them to vanish again, and the summoning up of apparitions, and drawing
down the moon from the sky, and other such vulgar marvels? 4th, This
rising again of Christus from the grave, was it seen and attested by
enemies as well as by friends? And, if so, did the enemies turn to his
side, being convinced by the marvel? Or, if not by enemies, was it at
least seen (according to what the Christians themselves affirm) by
impartial witnesses? And did these, by reason of what they saw, believe
in him and follow him? And after his rising from the grave, did he eat
and drink and bathe and lecture and sleep as before? Or, if not, in
what respects was his manner of life changed, and in what guise did
he appear, and moving with what motion? Also if he was, as you say,
executed like a slave upon the cross, did his limbs manifest, to all
that saw him, the marks of his execution? Or did these scars appear to
some, but not to others? Lastly, forget not to inquire (for this is of
the greatest importance) whether any touched him, and also how he came
among his followers, after his rising again; whether by opening the
doors in the usual way and ascending stairs, or whether the doors being
shut, he shewed himself in the midst of his friends. My fifth and last
question is, what laws has this leader laid down for his followers? and
on this point I would have you inform me as fully and exactly as you
can.
“Because I have asked you so many questions, my dear Onesimus, you will
probably infer (and you will not be wrong) that the subject attracts me
and that I set much value on your information: which indeed come to me
all the more seasonably because here, in this very neighborhood, these
Jews, or Christians, have been of late making no small stir; especially
at Ephesus, where that same Paulus of whom you speak, has been these
many months, openly teaching the philosophy of your Christus, and his
lectures, (or as some say his portents) have drawn away many pupils
to hear him, who also have accepted that purification by water which
gives admission to this sect. And from what I have heard I gather that
their philosophy—for religion it can scarce be called having no gods
except perchance one, nor scarce any rites or sacrifices, nor any
processions, nor feasts, nor holidays—after the manner of the doctrine
which is ever in the mouth of our young friend Epictetus, deals mainly
with the practice and not much with the theories and speculations of
life. For many that were before noted for thieves or drunkards or loose
livers are reported to have been turned from their swinish living by
Paulus, so as to live lives wellnigh worthy of philosophers. Moreover,
strange to relate, this magician, for so they call him, sets himself
against all magic in others; and many of his followers, turning from
their so-called magic arts, have brought their Ephesian charms and
their books of magic, yea, and even their lawful silver shrines of
Ephesian Artemis herself, to be burned or melted down. So great indeed
is the diminution of the purchase of the shrines that by this time
the silversmiths begin to cry out; and I heard but yesterday that
complaints are coming in from the graziers who fatten the victims for
the temples, that their business is diminished and like to slip away
from them altogether if this new superstition be not checked.
“As to exorcism, you did not amiss to remind me that attested cases of
sudden healing are not to be put aside merely because the illiterate
multitude calls them by absurd names and explains them by absurd
causes; but perhaps I also shall not do amiss to remind you (surrounded
as you are by all manner of superstitious and credulous people) that
every such case is assuredly to be explained, if not by deceit and
fraud, then by some moving of the imagination (for imagination is a
powerful causer of many undreamed effects), or else by some other cause
or causes of which we may for the time be ignorant.
“Take for example the following instance of one reported to have been
raised from the dead; which I myself have with great expense of time
and labor but recently searched out and for the truth of which I can
vouch. About a month ago our friend Nicostratus came to me—in that
state of frenzy which, as you know, is customary with him when he has
anything to relate which he cannot himself explain—saying that a
nobleman in some part of Phrygia or Cilicia had been raised from the
dead after being a month or more entombed, and that he had spoken with
a Laodicean, one who had either seen it done or at least knew all the
facts, and could attest their truth; but Nicostratus himself knew no
more about the matter, and, as I found on questioning him, he proposed
to inquire no further about it, but to spread the rumor throughout all
Colossæ, just as he imparted it to me. With much ado I obtained from
him the name of the Laodicean (for the futile creature had well-nigh
forgotten even that), and on the first occasion that offered itself I
went to Laodicea to see him. The story of the Laodicean was to this
effect, that the dead man had died of a fever, and had been buried
so long that the body must needs have become corrupt: and behold, a
magician came to the door of the sepulchre and pronounced charms and
incantations, and straightway the door flew open and the dead man came
forth alive, wrapped in his grave-clothes; but what was the name of
the deceased, and who it was that raised him up, and when and where it
was done—concerning all these points he neither knew anything, nor had
he himself seen it, nor heard anything from any eye-witness. Tracing
the matter backward I learned at last the name of the man supposed
to have been raised from the dead, no nobleman at all, but an honest
dyer of Hierapolis, Tatias by name, and my informant told me that
the said Tatias, though he had indeed died from a fever, had not yet
been buried at the time when he was restored to life; he added the
name of the physician who had seen Tatias laid out for burial; but
who had raised him from the dead he did not know. So to the physician
I went; and here at last I gained some glimpse of the truth. For
I understood from him that Tatias had not died of fever, but of a
sudden flux of blood to the head, such as is commonly called syncope.
Notwithstanding, the physician stoutly affirmed that Tatias was really
dead; not unnaturally, because his own credit was else like to have
been diminished, if he had suffered one that was still living to be
laid out for burial. Thence going to Tatias himself—a man of sense and
understanding and in spite of his superstition, able to discern truth
from falsehood—I heard the whole story according to the exact truth,
and here it is, set down exactly from his lips.
“It seems that he had been a pupil or hearer of one Philippus, a
Christian (who, as I take it, is the same Philippus as he of whom you
made mention in your last letter to me), and having embraced this
new religion, he had been desirous for some days of receiving the
purification customary for the initiated; but some accident still
delaying it, he grew perturbed, lest it should be more than accident,
and lest the gods were against his being purified. At last, on the
appointed day, purposing to go with others of the uninitiated to the
pool where the rite was to take place, he was suddenly called away
to see his mother, who being seized with a violent fever was said by
the messenger to be on the point of death. But finding her sickness
to be only slight, and no danger at all of death, he determined to
hasten with all speed to the mysteries, hoping that he might after
all not be too late, for the day was not yet far spent. So coming at
last into the place of assembly in great heat and fatigue of body
and still greater trepidation of mind lest it should be all in vain,
and he a second time ‘disappointed of salvation’—for these were his
very words—in this condition of mind and body he was called upon in
the midst of a great multitude already assembled to stand up on some
kind of platform and there to make profession of his new religion. So
mounting up he adventured to speak in due form; but behold some demon
(to use the man’s own words, for he spoke as one of the ignorant) had
wholly possessed him, depriving him of the power of speech and causing
all things to appear to turn round before him; and anon he fell to the
ground, and was taken up for dead, and brought back to his own house,
and being given over by the physician as dead, he was washed, laid out,
and all things made ready for his entombment.
“But during all this time, though the man was lying on his back not
able to move hand or foot, yet was he not wholly dead. For though he
could not so much as stir an eyelid, yet was he aware, he says, of the
presence and words of the physician, and of the waiting of the women
and the mourners, and able to understand the speech of those who stood
around him; and a deep horror fell upon him lest he should be carried
out and entombed alive, and die miserably before he had attained to
salvation; ‘but,’ continued he, ‘the more my horror grew upon me,
the less seemed my power to move, being bound fast by the fetters of
Satan.’ However he took some comfort because he heard his friends say
that they had sent for Philippus (who was at that time absent from
Hierapolis) to come and offer up prayers. What followed I will now
recount in the words of Tatias himself. ‘When,’ said he, ‘the man of
God entered the chamber, I was at once aware of his presence, all
standing up to salute him, and I also desired to stand up but could
not; then I was aware that he drew nigh to me, and I felt he looked
on my face though I saw him not; and he said aloud that it was not
well that I should die till I had made confession of my faith and been
washed in the living water; then the sound of the mourners ceased and
there was a deep silence, and I knew that he was looking on me again,
and a certainty began to possess me that I should be delivered; and he
spoke a second time saying that he did not believe that I was dead,
but that I slept, and that it was the Lord’s will that I should be
awakened; and at the word he took me by the hand, and I felt a thrill
through my body, as if the bands of Satan began to be loosened; and
then calling me by name he adjured me in the name of Jesus of Nazareth,
who arose from the dead, to rise up and walk. And straightway strength
seemed to flow into every part of my body, and my limbs no longer
refused to obey me, and I sat up and spoke and magnified God.
“My reason, dear Onesimus, for describing to you thus fully this matter
of Tatias, is two-fold; first, that you may perceive that no truth is
to be rejected or passed over; secondly, that you may be encouraged to
remember that many things which at first seem false or fabulous, or
else contrary to nature, will, when sifted and examined, appear to be
neither false nor unnatural, but true and in accordance with nature.
Therefore I beseech you, as long as you are in Syria, and in condition
to find out anything new about these Jews, search with all zeal; and
trust not to hearsay but test all things yourself as far as you may,
seeking the truth with a just sobriety and incredulity. Spare not
pains nor labor: for without doubt some great cause must needs be at
work to produce so great effects as are wrought by these Christians;
men for the most part illiterate and inexperienced in philosophy; who
notwithstanding appear to have attained a remarkable skill, not only in
the healing of certain diseases, but also in turning many of the viler
sort towards courses of honesty and virtue. Search therefore and with
all diligence; but forget not the proverb:
Sober incredulity
Is the wise man’s security.
§ 4. HOW THE CHRISTIANS HONORED THE PROPHETS OF THE JEWS.
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH:
“To proceed with the answers to your questions. These Christian Jews
have no sacred books of their own; but they use in their worship the
sacred books of their countrymen. For although they (or at least many
of them) reject the sacrifices and festivals and laws ordained by their
ancient law-giver Moses, yet do they by no means reject the books of
oracles or prophecies which they commonly call ‘the Prophets.’ Now many
of these prophecies predict that there shall come a great ruler of the
nation of the Jews, who shall deliver them from all their enemies and
make them to be conquerors of the world; and this their future Ruler
or Redeemer they use to call ‘Messiah,’ (which word means ‘sent,’
because he is to be ‘sent’ from God). So far therefore both the older
Jews and the new Jews agree; but the great difference is this; the
former look forward to the coming of their ‘Messiah,’ the latter say
he is already come, and that he is no other than he whom they call
Christus. Now because it is a great stumbling-block to the older
Jews to suppose that their conquering Messiah was not only himself
conquered but also slain with insults and with the death of a slave,
for this cause the Christians spare no pains to shew that the oracles
of the older Jews themselves predicted that he should be so slain;
and they also labor to shew that the same books of prophecy foretold
how the Messiah should be born, and the manner of his life; and that
all these predictions are fulfilled in the birth and life of their
Christus. Hence it comes that they think it of little account to say
that Christus did this or that, or that he was born and died at such a
place and at such a time, unless they can also add that ‘all this was
done that the words of this or that prophet might be fulfilled.’ And
more than this; as often as they have read one of the passages of the
prophecies appointed to be read in their worship, first one arises and
then another, water-carriers and tent-makers and leather-cutters and
the like, all attempting to shew that this sentence and that sentence
point to none other than Christus; and in this fashion not only do they
strain the words of their prophets and enforce them to receive all
manner of meanings which they could not naturally have, but also they
unwittingly encourage and, as it were, vying with one another, provoke
their own and one another’s imaginations to remember some new things
that Christus did, or said, that perchance fulfil the words of the
prophecy.
“Hence proceeds already a manifest alteration of the doctrine of
the Christians, and more is likely to proceed. For you may already
perceive different shapes of teaching among them, and each later shape
departs further from the truth in order to come nearer to the ancient
prophecies. Thus, for example, there was read in our presence in the
synagogue an ancient dirge which is commonly interpreted to predict
the death of the Messiah, wherein it was said that his hands and feet
were pierced, and that gall and vinegar were given him to drink, and
that his enemies divided his raiment and cast lots for it, and that the
passers-by wagged their heads at him and mocked him for his trust in
God, saying, ‘He trusted in God, let God therefore deliver him, if He
will have him.’ Now, after this had been read and after the principal
speaker, who was a man of some discretion, had pointed out that this
prophecy was fulfilled by Christus, I took occasion, when we left the
synagogue, to question the man thus:
_Onesimus._ Say you then that in all points this prophecy was fulfilled
by Christus?
_The Speaker._ In these points—that his hands and feet were pierced,
and that his enemies derided him, and that vinegar was given him to
drink.
_Onesimus._ You say well, for a draught is wont to be given to those
who are condemned to death; but tell me further, did any cast lots
for his raiment, and did the bystanders say these precise words
‘He trusted in God,’ and the like? And is it so handed down in your
Tradition?
_The Speaker._ It is not indeed so handed down in our tradition; but it
may have been so.
When I had thanked him for his courtesy I hastened forwards to an
honest and illiterate leather-cutter to whom I put precisely the same
questions; but now mark the different replies in this, which I call the
second, shape of the Christian doctrine.
_Onesimus._ Tell me, good friend, was this prophecy, whereof we heard
but now, fulfilled in all points by Christus?
_Leather-cutter._ Assuredly.
_Onesimus._ And did his enemies cast lots for his raiment?
_Leather-cutter._ Assuredly.
_Onesimus._ And did the bystanders say ‘He trusted in God’ and use
these exact words?
_Leather-cutter._ Assuredly.
_Onesimus._ And are these things taught in the Tradition concerning the
acts and deeds of Christus?
_Leather-cutter._ Not that I remember.
_Onesimus._ Then did Simeon, or Lucius, or Petrus, or Paulus or any
other ever teach thee these things in the synagogue?
_Leather-cutter._ Not that I remember.
_Onesimus._ Then, prithee, how knowest thou that these things are so?
_Leather-cutter._ Because it must needs be that all things that are
written in the Law and the Prophets should be fulfilled in Christus.
“Behold, my dear Artemidorus, the second shape of the Christian
doctrine; which, if it be not speedily committed to writing, what third
or fourth shapes it may assume, the wit of man cannot conjecture. But
one thing is certain, that in every case the leather-cutter will carry
the day against the learned man, and the man who believes everything
against the man of discretion who believes some things and rejects
others. Thus, although Christus died not a generation ago, and was
born (as is thought) scarce more than two generations ago, yet already
are there current many fables and stories which overshadow the things
that he really did, and the doctrine that he really taught, and all
this because of the ancient prophecies of his nation; so that, for my
part, whensoever I hear one of their teachers say that Christus said or
did this or that, and make no mention of any prophecy, then I incline
to believe him; but when he adds that Christus said or did anything
‘that a prophecy might be fulfilled,’ then I shut my ears against the
man’s words, knowing that they are, in all likelihood, imaginations and
fancies.
“A second noteworthy point is, that they make frequent use of figures
of speech, and these sometimes so mixed up with facts and histories
that it is hard to understand whether they are to be taken according
to the letter or not. Thus, for example, whereas they assert that
their ancient Lawgiver gave them bread called manna and water from the
rock, this they mean literally; but whereas they say that Christus was
in no way inferior to him, for that he also gave them ‘bread from
heaven’ and ‘living water,’ yea, also and (as some add) ‘wine instead
of water,’ all these phrases are to be taken, not according to the
letter but, (most say,) spiritually. Yet even some of these relations
my friend the leather-cutter accepts as literally true, and his opinion
will soon prevail; such confusion is there between the figures of
speech and facts of history in the minds of the illiterate. Again, when
the teachers speak of being ‘delivered from death,’ they mean (for
the most part) not that which we call death but rather the decay and
corruption of the soul; and in the same way, when they speak of the
unclosing of the ears of the deaf, and of the eyes of the blind, and of
making the lame to walk in the straight path, in all these cases their
meaning (and the meaning of the prophets) is not to speak of the things
of the body, but of the things of the soul. Yet even these the common
sort have begun to interpret not of the soul but of the body, and hence
have arisen already many perversions of the history of the acts of
Christus.
“From this cause have proceeded, I doubt not, many of the false
accusations which are commonly reported against these Christians and
which I myself once ignorantly believed. For example, whereas they
are commonly charged with slaying and eating a little child (and many
also add that the Christians cover the child with meal, and then
cause those who would fain be initiated, to cut the meal with their
knives so that they may be unwittingly led to perpetrate murder),
the charge arises, as I am persuaded, from the misunderstanding of
certain words used by the Christians in their mysteries. For in these
secret rites, offering up no sacrifice of their own, they commemorate
(as I am informed) the sacrifice of Christus; calling by that name
his miserable death, and affirming that it was voluntary and that he
thereby offered up his life for the world; and for this cause they not
only call him the Son of God but also the Lamb of God, and just as
those who offer up a victim partake of the flesh of a victim, even so
do these Christians, partaking of bread and wine, profess solemnly that
they eat the body and drink the blood of the Son or Child of God; and
hence has sprung the belief of the common people that the Christians
slay and eat a little child. As touching the charge of incest commonly
brought against them, I am persuaded that this also is groundless; but
it is possible that the Christians calling one another brethren and
sisters (as being members of one brotherhood) have caused those who
love them not, to suppose that brothers and sisters are permitted in
their sect to unite in marriage. But another cause might be alleged,
for they are wont to speak of their state or republic sometimes as
the New Jerusalem, but sometimes as a living person, the Mother of
the Faithful, and, speaking of the parentage of Christus, they say
that this Mother gave birth to him, describing her (in poetic figures
and with numbers that are customary in their sacred books) as a Woman
clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of twelve stars, and they say that she brought forth a man-child
who should rule all nations with a rod of iron, which man-child is
no other than the ‘Messiah,’ or Christus. But again, others using a
different figure describe the republic not as a Mother, but as a Bride,
chaste and spotless, being betrothed to Christus, whom they praise as
the Bridegroom; and this manner of speech, strange as it may seem to
us Greeks, is familiar to them, being commonly used in their books
of prophecies, which often speak of their nation as a Bride, and the
superior god as the Bridegroom. Now it is possible that some, hearing
that, among the Christians, the Son is betrothed to the Mother, and
not staying to consider whether this betrothal be a figure of speech
or true according to the letter, have affirmed that incest is allowed
among them. But whatever may be the cause of the error, an error it is
beyond all question. For these Christians, however they may fall short
in understanding, are not inferior to philosophers in the purity of
their lives. Much more I have to write about the traditions of these
people, which I must defer till my next letter.”
§ 5. OF THE ANCIENT HISTORIES OF THE JEWS.
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH.
“The further I proceed, my dear Artemidorus, searching into the history
of this strange sect, and always bearing in mind your proverb that
‘incredulity is the philosopher’s security,’ the more I perceive the
difficulty of the task you have laid upon me. For I now find that
these very people who profess to worship Christus and who recognize in
him the fulfilment of ancient prophecies, nevertheless neglect, and I
might almost say, despise all modern writings and records, insomuch
that even at this present time no account of his words and deeds is
committed to paper. Of this strange neglect there are several strange
causes, and the first the strangest of all. You must know then that
these people commonly believe (even the wisest or least foolish of
them) that Christus will speedily return enthroned upon the clouds to
make himself governor over the whole world; so that it is needless to
write the words of one who himself will soon be speaking upon earth.
The second cause is, that there is a tradition among the Jews, current
now for many hundreds of years, not to write new sacred books, but
to hand down by word of mouth from teacher to pupil, through many
generations, such traditions as may be needful. A third cause is, that,
Christus having given unto them no clear and definite law nor even many
distinct precepts, his followers stand not upon his exact commandments;
and indeed some fear not to say openly that they care little for the
letter of his commandments, for that he himself promised to send them
a certain good demon or Spirit (even such a one as Socrates had) which
should prompt and warn them what to do and what to avoid, and teach
them how to defend themselves against their persecutors and before
their judges. I have omitted a fourth and last cause which is not the
least important; namely, that most of the followers of Christus have
been, from the first beginning of the sect, men of no education, but
illiterate and scarce able to write at all, so that they naturally
preferred speaking to writing.
“So much for the books or no books of the Christians. But there is yet
another obstacle in the way of my search. You have been wont to hold
up to me Thucydides the historian as a pattern of the truth-loving
disposition and as the model to all that desire to record that which
has happened. But in this nation there neither are, nor ever were, any
such historians; nor is it their nature to relate things according to
the exact truth. Not that they love falsehood better than truth; but
the minds of their writers seem ever on the poise between poetry and
prose, between figures of speech and plain sense, between hyperbole
and fact; and as in all their histories of their nation they discern
evermore (as Homer has it) the ‘accomplishment of the will of Zeus,’
even so their pens lead them ever to speak of their God rather than
men, and of things invisible rather than visible, and of the purpose
and object of each event, rather than the how, and when, and where
of it. Hence it has come to pass that all manner of poetic tales
and legends having been embodied and as it were interlaced in their
relations, it is impossible to tell where the poem ends and the history
begins; and the constant reading of these ancient poems or histories,
or history, poems (if you so please to call them) has made them
careless of truth, and I might almost say contemptuous of it, unless it
abound with marvel. Of which disposition, though I might set down many
proofs, take these two only, as patterns of the rest. To this day it
is commonly believed among them that, during a certain great victory
wherein they gained possession of Palestine, the sun and the moon stood
still at the bidding of one of their ancient generals; and that, about
the same time, the whole of the wall of a fortified city fell to the
ground at the sound of the trumpets of their army.
“Some of these relations of portents have come into their histories
from errors. For example, one of their poets speaking, in all
likelihood poetically, of a drought which dried up the waters of the
river Jordanus so that the ancient Jews passed over easily to the
conquest of Palestine, and addressing himself in apostrophe to their
God who guided their nation across, uses these words, ‘The waters saw
thee, O God, the waters saw thee and were afraid’; which words the
historians straightway take up and interpret literally, and behold,
a relation, incredible and portentous, how the waters of the river
rose up like a wall on this side and on that, so that the whole nation
might pass through dry-shod, as if through a defile. I deny not that,
in this and some other cases, error may excuse their exaggeration; but
my complaint is that all this nation (and the older Jews much more
than the Christians) are so given up to hyperbole that there is no
trusting anything that they say, that is at all marvellous, without a
careful testing of it. For example, among the older Jews, I have heard
a certain teacher say that the city of Jerusalem is situate on a river
of clear water many furlongs in length, though there be, in truth,
no river at all nearer to the city than Jordan, which is one hundred
and eighty furlongs distant; and the same man said that the smell of
the sacrifices and the sound of the music in Jerusalem goes down to
the men of Jericho, which city is distant a full day’s journey; and
another affirmed that the twanging of the bow-strings of the multitude
of enemies caused the walls of Apamea to fall; and also that a certain
Rabbi (for by that title they honor their teachers) was so pious that
he emitted from his body flames of fire, insomuch that the beholders
marvelled at the splendor, and whatsoever insect approached him, was
straightway consumed.
“Judge therefore what kind of history the unwritten traditions of the
life of Christus are like to contain when I have sought them out for
you. However I will do my best to collect them, and to send you such
information as I can obtain about them, together with the answers to
your former questions. Having taken brief notes of the discourse of one
Lucius of Cyrene, the chief speaker in the synagogue, I purposed to
send it to you; but not having yet written it out fully, I will send
it at my first leisure; and when you read it, you will more easily
understand how much the traditions concerning Christus are in danger to
be conformed to the ancient prophecies of the Jews.[1]
[1] This discourse (which should have found place here) was missing
from the collection of the papers of Artemidorus, at the time when
I was transcribing them; but having chanced upon it some months
afterwards, I purpose to set it down at the end of the book.
“This letter I see deals with naught but ‘obstacles’ and ‘difficulties’
and ‘burdens’; yet I beg of you, my dear Artemidorus, not to suppose
that I murmur at the task you have imposed on me or that I count the
labor wasted. For indeed the more I muse on the matter, the more I
judge that this Christus must have been endowed with a truly divine
genius, or force of character (or whatever faculty else you may be
pleased to call it) to have produced so vast an influence on a nation
so perverse and morose as these Jews, not to speak of many thousands
of the viler sort of Greeks who after attaching themselves to his sect
have turned from vice to virtue. Philemon is well, but still unquiet
and hardly to be controlled. Farewell.”
§ 6. HOW ARTEMIDORUS QUESTIONED ME FURTHER, AND OF HIS RELATION
CONCERNING THE CASTING OUT OF THE SWINE.
“ARTEMIDORUS TO ONESIMUS, HEALTH.
“Although I could have wished, my dear Onesimus, that you had been
able to answer my first questions, point by point, yet your account of
the discourse spoken by the Christian priest Lucius was not without
interest for me; confirming, as it did, an opinion that I have ever
entertained, namely, that no portents how incredible soever, and
no absurdities however palpable, can ever deter the multitude from
embracing a new belief, if there be somewhat in it of a nature to
fascinate the soul and feed the imagination. But still my desire is
that you should do your utmost to discover what this superstition
contains, of a nature thus to fascinate the multitude; for it is not
apparent to me from anything that you have hitherto written, since
you describe a religion that has no sacred books, no feasts, no
processions, no code of laws that might unite and regulate a disorderly
mass of men.
“In addition to this I would gladly receive answers to these two
further questions, on the first of which you yourself touched in your
first letter but so as to suggest rather than explain: 1st, Does this
sect require that all, as many as join themselves to it, Greeks as well
as Jews, (for I understand that Greeks also are admitted by them),
shall observe the laws of the Jews? Or does it remit the laws for
those who are not Jews? Or are they remitted for all, Jews as well as
Greeks? 2nd, I cannot understand from the discourse of Lucius whether
he supposes Christus to be born of man and woman in a natural way, or
in a divine way born of woman only. This question I believe I asked
before; but now I repeat it, partly lest you should suppose it to have
been already answered by the priest’s discourse, partly because (in
conversation with certain Christians of Hierapolis) I have heard that
there is some diversity of opinion concerning this matter among the
Christians themselves.
“Here might I well make an end; but because I have especially charged
you to report to me concerning any portents related of the life of
Christus, I will briefly explain to you my meaning and purpose herein.
A thousand times, as you know well, I have wearied you with repeating
that no religion can ever commend itself to the multitude unless it
be first clothed, as it were, in a vesture, whereby the eyes of the
many may be drawn towards it. For it is not given to the multitude to
love the naked truth; but they must needs clothe her in their purple
and set on her brow diadems of their own giving. Well, my friend, even
such a clothing, adorning and crowning of religion, are you methinks
now witnessing. For it is beyond all question that in a few years,
if not already, the believers in this new faith will have clothed or
embellished the life of their Leader with all manner of wonders, which
in itself it had not. And already I discern this process of clothing,
in the beginning and first endeavor. For whereas your Lucius preaches
about ‘the Star of Judah’ shining, and the ‘preparing of the table
in the wilderness,’ and the stilling of the storm by him whose ‘path
is on the deep waters,’ and the testimony of Moses and Elias on the
right hand and on the left of Christus, and the giving of the ‘Bread
of Life’ and the ‘living Water,’ and the ‘Wine of the Lord’s Blood’—I
doubt not but both these and many other figures and metaphors either
are, or speedily will be, so interlaced with the tradition of the
life of Christus, that his followers will soon believe (even though
they believe not already) that he did really and actually walk upon
the waves and bestow upon them miraculous water, and miraculous wine
and bread, yes, and that a special Star shone forth at his birth, and
that saints rose from their graves along with him, and that Moses and
Elias did really appear on his right hand and on his left bearing
testimony to him, and a thousand other portents which it would be
easier for you to enumerate than for me, but equally tedious for both
of us. Wherefore, since you assure me that these people have as yet no
sacred books, but only an unwritten tradition, I would have you inquire
diligently concerning this tradition whether it contain any such
wonders as these; and if not, then whether their common talk (which
must needs in the end insinuate itself into their tradition, unless
there come some let or unforeseen hindrance) have not already begun to
imbue itself with miracles and marvels of this sort.
“As touching the transmutation—so let us call it—of things metaphorical
into things literal I myself have of late obtained one instance which
I will contribute to our common store. Upon receipt of your first
letter, discoursing with a certain acquaintance of mine—one Evander, a
physician and an educated man, not I think unknown to you—concerning
the causes and symptoms of ‘possession,’ he made this observation, that
it is the custom of the patient in such cases (his stomach, as well
as his mind, being altogether corrupted and diseased) to suppose that
he has within his belly all manner of filthy and foul creatures, such
as toads, serpents, dragons, scorpions, adders, dogs, swine and the
like, which creatures, when the possessed man is suddenly healed, he
often sees (or rather imagines and fancies himself to see) going forth
from his mouth into banishment or destruction. And he added that among
the Phrygians the possessed were wont to suppose that hooded snakes
or scorpions were within them, but among the Jews (who have a special
abhorrence of certain animals, considering them to be unclean) it was
more common to imagine the presence of swine; and not unnaturally, said
he, because these animals (having no real existence but being the mere
offspring of the imagination) necessarily vary with the imagination
that gives them birth. Then he went on relate how a Jew being (as all
Jews are) a great hater of the Romans, and also considering swine to be
unclean, had imagined himself to be possessed by a Legion, not however
of soldiers but of swine; which swine, when they were cast forth into
the deep or ‘abyss’ (for by this name they are wont to call the void
place wherein bodiless spirits or demons are supposed to roam) were
seen by the Jew, the possessed man, to go forth from his mouth and run
violently down to the said abyss. This tradition, he said, he had
heard some years ago from another physician who lived at Tiberias,
not far from the place where the man had been healed; and he that had
healed him was, according to the saying of the physician of Tiberias,
no other than this very same Christus, who is now worshipped by your
friends, the Christians, as a God.
“When I heard this, considering with myself that in all likelihood,
if this were so, some story of it would even now be current among the
followers of Christus, I went on the morrow to Hierapolis, to that same
Tatias of whom I made mention in my previous letter, and questioning
him about them that are possessed, whether he knew of many that had
been healed by Christus, I recounted to him my story concerning the man
possessed with a Legion and asked him whether that was the true account
of the matter. To which he replied that in his youth he had heard that
account, or somewhat like unto it, but it was not exact; for how, said
he, could a legion of creatures of the size of swine, be shut in within
the compass of one human belly? But according to him, the true story
was, that the Legion of evil spirits having been cast out of the man,
assumed the shapes of swine, and were then cast into the abyss. Then
another of the same sect who happened to be present, said that neither
was that version of the story altogether exact; for why should demons,
having shapes already, perchance of gnats or flies or whatever else,
assume fresh shapes of swine? But the truth was, that the legion of
demons being two thousand in number—for the latest narrator of all,
mark you, is assured of the exact number, which was not known in the
earliest traditions—finding themselves on the point to be cast out of
the man’s body, and fearing to be without bodies and so to be cast
into the abyss, besought Christus that it might be permitted to them
to pass into the bodies of two thousand swine; which swine happened to
be at that instant pasturing—conveniently indeed for the demons but
contrary to the laws of the Jews—near to the demoniac. ‘Then,’ said
he (for it is worth while to recount his exact words) ‘when the Lord
suffered them, behold, the whole legion of demons rushed into the two
thousand swine; but they gained nothing thereby. For the swine rushed
violently down a steep place into the sea of Tiberias’ (no longer you
will observe into the abyss) ‘and were there drowned.’ To this account
another companion of Tatias assented, as being the latest and truest
tradition; but he added yet a new fact, namely, that those who were
feeding the swine being terrified (as how should they not be?) by so
great a destruction, fled away into the city, and that the citizens
coming together in much fear, besought Jesus that he would depart out
of their coasts.
“Meditate much, my dear Onesimus, upon this story; and may it be
profitable to you in your search after the truth. But why do I speak of
truth in such a case as this, where so few grains of truth are inclosed
in so great a mass of falsehood? Sometimes, indeed, I repent of having
imposed on you so barren a task; nevertheless persevere, for there must
be some powerful cause to produce so great an effect upon the lives
of these Christians, even though they be unlearned and superstitious.
Farewell.”
§ 7. OF THE TRADITIONS OF THE CHRISTIANS AND OF THE NATURE OF CHRISTUS.
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH.
“Having long delayed to answer your questions I will now do my
endeavor to explain more fully, 1st, What are the traditions of these
Christians; 2nd, What is their belief about Christus, whether born
according to nature or otherwise; 3rd, What portents are reported to
have been wrought by Christus.
“1st. The tradition about the words and deeds of Christus begins from
the time when he first took upon himself to profess teaching publicly
and ends with the record of a certain vision of angels, after his
death, wherein it was declared to some that had followed him to the
last, that he was not in the tomb but was risen from the dead. There is
also another tradition as I am informed, of the longer discourses and
prophecies of Christus; but this not having as yet been translated into
Greek, is not circulated in all the churches; but the shorter sayings
and the acts of Christus are already known in Rome and Ephesus and
Alexandria, as well as in Jerusalem and Antioch; and there are two or
three versions of this Tradition already, and like to be more, unless
these are shortly committed to writing, for in different churches
different forms of the tradition spring up. Also besides these versions
of the Tradition (which are for the most part the same among all their
churches) there are many additions or supplements concerning the birth
and childhood and death of Christus, and concerning his manifestations
to his disciples after his death; but these have not yet attained to be
considered parts of the Tradition itself.
“Some of these relations many of the Christians now desire to have set
down in books and to cause to be read in the synagogues. But the Jewish
part of the brethren are against it, saying that it is not the custom
thus to commit doctrine to writing; however the Greeks are mainly for
it, and within a few years I doubt not but that it will be done. But
for the present (as I told you before) the Christians use no sacred
books save the ancient books of the Jews.
“2nd. As to the nature of Christus, and what he is supposed to be by
his followers, I conversed with Simeon himself, and I found that there
was diversity of opinion. ‘There are,’ said he, ‘some of our sect who,
while they admit that he is the Christ’—for that is their manner of
speech, meaning by ‘Christ’ the ‘Anointed,’ that is, the future Ruler,
as I think I wrote to you before—‘yet hold him to be a man and born of
men. With whom I do not agree, nor would I, even though most of those
who believe as I believe, were to say so; since we are enjoined by our
Master to put no trust in human doctrines but only in such things as
are proclaimed by the blessed prophets and taught by himself.’ Further
he added that some, on the other hand, believing Christus to be a god,
would not admit that he was born of woman, but supposed him to be
begotten of the Supreme God without aid of humanity at all, and so to
have come into the world, a man in appearance, but in reality a spirit
or angel. ‘And seems it not to you,’ said I, ‘that such a belief does
more honor to your leader than to suppose him to be born of woman?’ But
he replied ‘No, for under appearance of doing him honor, this heresy
makes the life of our Master to be feigned and false; for we believe
that for our sakes he hungered and thirsted, and felt pain and sorrow,
and that for our sakes also he died; none of which sufferings could he
have veritably endured, if he had not been really a man born of woman,
but had only appeared to be a man, being in truth a spirit.’ Then I
said to him, ‘But what hinders that your leader should have been born
both of man and woman and yet be a god? Might not the superior god,
if he chose to send his son into the world as a man, send him thus
into the world; conforming him in all things, and in his birth no
less than in his death, to the nature of mankind?’ Hereat he mused,
and for some while made no answer; but afterwards he said that it was
not so believed in any of the churches, and that it did not seem to
him possible that the common people should believe any man to be god,
unless he were begotten of some god, as the story went even about the
inferior gods of the Greeks, such as Heracles, Asclepius, Amphiaraus,
Romulus, and the like.
“3rd. Your third question is concerning the wonders said to have been
wrought by Christus, whether they are portents, or such as may be
explained according to nature. To this I reply that, in the Tradition,
almost all the works are works of healing, and all to be explained
according to nature, saving some four or five; and these four or
five relations seem to me to have arisen from figures of speech, or
prophecies or hyperbole even as I wrote to you before. For example, the
Tradition contains already that story of the casting out of the swine
from the demoniac, whereof you wrote to me; but diversely reported,
some saying that the matter happened at a place called Gerasa, but
others at Gadara, and some affirming that one demoniac was thus healed,
but others two.
“The other portents in the Tradition may be briefly mentioned, and
some of them you yourself have already mentioned, by anticipation, in
your letter; 1st. A certain testimony of Moses and Elias to Christus
which is now said to have been delivered upon a ‘holy mountain,’ and it
is added also that Christus conversing with them was suffused with a
celestial splendor, and that there was a voice from heaven proclaiming
Christus to be the Son of God. But as for this, and another case of
a voice from above and a vision of the heavens opened and a dove
descending, I know not whether it is not fitter to set it down as a
vision or waking dream, rather than an error springing from a figure of
speech; 2nd. The second is some story of a storm stilled by Christus
wherein he walked upon the waves; as to which again I know not whether
it has sprung from metaphor misunderstood, or may not also in part have
sprung from some phantasm apparent to the first followers of Christus
(for they were fishermen) while fishing in the lake in Galilee either
before or after the death of Christus; 3rd. The third is, a relation
how Christus fed many thousands of his followers with bread in the
wilderness, and this on two occasions. Now this, as I judge, springs
altogether from error of metaphor. For as I wrote before, Christus
himself taught his followers to call him the Bread of Life, meaning
that his doctrine must be the sustenance of their souls, and this
manner of speech appears to be common with the Jewish Rabbis also, who
say that in a certain ancient book all ‘feasting’ is to be understood
of the feeding upon the Law, yea, and one even speaks of ‘eating’ the
Messiah; and to this day the disciples of Christus use such language
as this, which I myself heard but of late spoken by the priest of the
Christians; ‘O thou who didst come down from heaven to be the Eternal
Bread, and didst refresh the race of men, sojourning in the wilderness
of the world, with the Bread from heaven, even with thine own body.’
“Now it might have been supposed that such figures as these would
bear upon themselves clear token that they are but figures; but that
which has persuaded men most of all to interpret them according to
the letter, is that all the Jews alike, both those who observe the
Law and also the Christians, believe that Moses gave real bread from
heaven unto the ancient nation of the Jews, when wandering in a barren
wilderness. And to increase the wonder they add that on every seventh
day (which, as you know, is to them a day of rest whereon no work is
done) no bread came down, but a double supply on the sixth day; and
they say also that each was to gather no more than a prescribed measure
according to the number of his household, and if any gathered more,
it stank and became corrupt. Nay, and among these Christians (who are
firmly persuaded of the exact truth of all this ancient fable) I have
heard it said that this bread of Moses—or manna, as they call it—had
this marvellous virtue, that to several people it had several tastes,
according to that which each desired, so that to one it became as it
were flesh of kids, to another of sheep, to another grapes, to others
figs, and so on. Now believing that Moses wrought so great a portent,
these Christians are well nigh constrained to believe also that
Christus wrought no less; else were their Christus inferior to Moses.
“And indeed having of late turned over the histories of the Jews—for
they have been translated into Greek, though of a very barbarous and
corrupt dialect—and having there read of innumerable portents; the
sun and the moon stayed by human voice; asses made to speak with the
voices of men; rivers dried up by being smitten with a rod; city walls
cast down by the sound of trumpets; iron made to float; water brought
out from a rock; chasms caused to open in the earth; chariots of fire
wherein prophets ride aloft; pillars of fire to give light to the
faithful by night if there were no moon; flames of fire called down
from heaven by the word of a prophet to light his sacrificial fire or
to consume his enemies; I have been filled with amazement that there
are so few marvellous relations in the Tradition about Christus.
For example, the ancient books of the Jews contain two accounts how
prophets raised up them that were dead; but the Tradition has no such
relation except one concerning a little child who had but a few minutes
been pronounced dead, and in whom (doubtless) the life was not extinct.
Concerning this matter I myself heard a dispute between a Jewish Rabbi
and certain Christians; to whom the Rabbi affirmed that Christus must
needs be inferior to the prophet Elisha because Christus had only
raised up a little child whose breath had scarce departed from her
body, whereas Elisha, even when dead, by the mere holiness of his tomb
had given life unto a man that had been many hours dead, when he was
now being carried out for burial. Hereat the Christian was manifestly
at a stand. However, he made shift to reply that it was reported in the
church at Ephesus, that Christus had raised up a man that was dead,
and carried out to burial. But the Rabbi rejoined that, ‘even if that
were true, it would but prove that Christus was equal to Elisha, not
that he was superior; for if he had been superior he would have gone
beyond Elisha and have raised up some one that had been dead and buried
three or four days, for during three days the angel of life is still
present with a man, but on the fourth day he fleeth away.’ To this the
Christian had naught to reply, but growing angry he declared that Moses
and the Prophets testified concerning Christus that he was indeed the
Messiah; and ‘if the Jews would not believe Moses and the Prophets,
neither would they believe though one were raised from the dead.’ Thus
the conference broke up, but methinks the Christians were somewhat
perturbed in their inmost hearts that they had no relation to bring
forward of some dead man who had been raised from the tomb by Christus,
after he had been some days buried; and methinks, before many years,
some such relation as this is like to find a place in the traditions of
the sect, and I marvel that it has been delayed so long.
“Many other relations of portents (especially concerning the birth
and the manifestation of Christus) are current in the supplement—if
I may so term it—which is made by the talk and common speech of the
Christians, and diversely in diverse churches; but I know not if any
other portent be contained in the Tradition, except it be one, which
is as it were half way between the Tradition and the Supplement, not
of equal weight with the former, but more commonly reported than the
latter; and it is clearly a misunderstanding of an allegory. You must
know then that in the sacred books of the Jews it is customary to
speak of both men and nations as trees, either a vine, or a cedar, or
an oak, or an olive, or bramble, as the intent may be, to represent
severally fruitfulness, or protection, or strength, or prosperity, or
peace, or a malign disposition. It seems therefore that Christus was
wont to compare his own nation to a barren fruit-tree, and especially
to a fig-tree making a great show of leaves but bearing no fruit; and
on this theme he was wont to utter divers allegories; one, how the
gardener prayed the Lord of the orchard to spare the tree for three
years, but after the third year, if it were still barren, then to cut
it down; and a second allegory in a higher strain, how the Lord looked
down from heaven upon the tree which he had planted, and behold, it
had abundance of leaves, and he came to it seeking fruit and there was
none; and then he sent a spirit of destruction on the tree, commanding
that no fruit should henceforth grow on it, and the tree withered
beneath the breath of the Lord, and on the morrow it was dead even to
the roots. This allegory therefore, as it seems to me, the Christians,
mis-construing and supposing the Lord to be Christus himself (for they
commonly called him ‘Master,’ ‘Lord’), have imagined to be no allegory,
but fact, wrought by Christus himself upon an actual fig-tree; and some
even add the place where the deed was done, and other minute matters,
after the manner of the growth of such relations.
“I would gladly have added some words concerning the rising of Christus
from the dead, but the merchant by whom you will receive this, being
now about to set forth, and the messenger no longer able to wait, I
must defer what more I have to say to a second letter. Farewell.”
§ 8. OF THE RISING OF CHRISTUS FROM THE DEAD.
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH.
“The Tradition, as I have said before, is silent concerning the rising
of Christus from the dead; but in divers churches divers manifestations
are reported; concerning which I questioned Simeon, asking him whether
he himself had spoken with any that had seen Christus risen from the
dead. He said, ‘Yes, assuredly, with at least ten persons, of whom one
was Paulus, to whom Christus appeared ten years after his death.’ Then
I questioned him whether these men had touched Christus, or only seen
him. He made reply that they had seen him but not touched him. Then
I asked him how they that saw him knew that it was he indeed, and no
phantom, or perchance some evil spirit deceiving them. He made reply
that Christus had showed unto them his hands and feet, bearing the
wounds of the cross; and further, that phantoms appear not to many
assembled in one place, but only to solitary persons, whereas Christus
had appeared oftentimes to large numbers of his disciples. He said also
that it was currently reported that Christus had suffered one of his
followers, who doubted, to touch his side; and that he had eaten in the
presence of many; and that he had said ‘Handle me and see that I am
not a bodiless demon’; but all these things, he confessed, were not in
the Tradition. Also, in answer to my further questioning, he said that
no enemy of Christus had seen him after death, nor had any save those
that loved him most dearly; nor had any been converted to the side of
Christus by thus seeing him, save only one, namely that same Paulus,
about whom I have more than once made mention, who, about ten years
after the death of Christus, while grievously persecuting the church,
and after he had slain many of the Christians, had suddenly been
changed from an enemy to a friend, by seeing Christus and hearing words
from him.
“The sum of all seems to be that the body of Christus was not indeed
raised from the grave—for that were against all course of nature;
and besides, if it had been so, why was the Tradition silent on the
proofs of so great a wonder?—but that some kind of image or phantasm
of the mind represented him to his followers after his decease. And
musing often on the matter I have called to mind how many relations
are current of the apparitions of the deceased, and how they may be
explained according to nature. For after looking intently on the sun,
the eye, being closed, sees an image of the sun floating through
the air; and methinks in somewhat the same fashion those followers
of Christus who best loved him, and to whom he was as the sun and
brightness of life, suddenly finding themselves bereft of him and
in the darkness of sorrow, might perchance—even in the course of
nature—receive an image of him so imprinted on their minds that even
the eye itself might be enslaved to the mind’s desire, and be impressed
with the same image. Still the marvel is that it appeared not only to
many at once—which, if the influence were more than commonly powerful,
might possibly come to pass—but even to an enemy, namely Paulus, which
cannot be so easily explained. However, I have no other answer to this
riddle; and yet of late I have pondered for hours together on the
answer, wandering as it were in a labyrinth of questions and riddles
and problems, and sometimes catching a clue, and then losing it, and as
far as ever from the truth.
“But whatever be the answer, these Christians are of a certainty
rather deceived than deceiving others; for no one can have had to do
with them, as I have, without perceiving that they are altogether
devoted to virtue. And this indeed is a marvel of marvels, how this
Christus should have had the power to turn so many thousands of souls
to virtue, being many of them base and vile and given to all vice,
and most of them of the common sort with no natural magnanimity or
nobleness, and all, with few exceptions, unlearned and illiterate. Yet
even this ill-ordered and confused rabble, Christus hath been able so
to transmute and temper and purify that, out of so many thousands,
there is scarce one that would not be willing to lay down his life,
I say not merely for the name of Christus himself, but even for
his ‘brethren,’ as he calls them, that is to say, the cobblers and
water-carriers and camel-drivers who sit beside him in the synagogue.
“And this brings me to your last question, what it is in this religion
of Christus which naturally draws the common people to it? Now were I
to reply that it is the hope of blessedness or the dread of punishment
after death, you would reasonably rejoin that these hopes and fears are
held out by other religions, yet have little strength to prevent evil
doing. And were I to give as reason the great concord which binds all
these Christians together, you would no less reasonably ask me whence
comes this same concord? Lastly, were I to add (for this is indeed
one reason) that the common people are drawn by the power which these
Christians possess (although it is but in the course of nature) to cure
certain diseases suddenly by working on the imaginations of men, still
Artemidorus would be dissatisfied and would inquire, whence came this
power?
“Wherefore, although sorely perplexed and more perturbed than might
perhaps become a student of philosophy, I confess that I can allege
no other cause for the power of this Christian religion than Christus
himself, that is to say, some kind of influence arising from the memory
of Christus which he seems to have transmitted to his first disciples,
and they to others, and so on till at last a very great multitude is
infected with it, and seems likely to infect many more. Now if you
ask me what plan of philosophy I have discovered in the Tradition, or
what sayings of Christus lead me to attribute so great a power to his
influence, I must answer that as the Tradition is not written, I have
not been able to write down more than a few sentences of it, nor indeed
have I had leisure for this till now, for I gave all my mind at first
to the inquiry concerning the general tenor of the doctrine of the
Christians. Nevertheless some few sayings of Christus which I have set
down, ring again and again in my ears like some spell or incantation
not to be forgotten, as if they would almost persuade me contrary to
sense and reason that he was indeed a purifier of the human race.
“How greatly is the mind perplexed when it compares Christus with
other philosophers! Must we not suppose Socrates, must we not deem
Pythagoras, superior by far to this Christus? And yet who would die
for the name of Pythagoras or Socrates? Or perhaps the merit is not
in the man himself, but in some secret art which he has discovered,
or happened on, by chance, of uniting men together and implanting in
them the love of well-doing. Of such an art I sometimes think I have
discovered signs in those sayings of Christus which have come to my
knowledge. But when I have studied them more fully I will write to you
further on this matter. Farewell.”
§ 9. HOW ARTEMIDORUS BADE ME CEASE FROM FURTHER INQUIRY.
Being somewhat alarmed by my last letter (so he confessed to me
afterwards) lest I should not only permit Philemon to join himself to
the Christians, but also become a Christian myself, Artemidorus wrote
to me as follows, more vehemently than became a philosopher.
“ARTEMIDORUS TO ONESIMUS, HEALTH.
“If I bade you make further inquiry concerning the mad doctrines of
this mad leader of madmen, I do so no longer. He who converses with
lunatics more than is fit is in danger to become himself infected with
their insane delusions.
“Besides, what possibility is there that you should attain to the
truth? What aids have you, what instruments? There are none. No
witnesses, no written documents, no regard for truth, no power of
reasoning, no faculty of distinguishing things in the course of
nature from things against nature. Amid such a chaos you are fighting
against error with your hands tied. Cease then, I beseech you, from
your vain attempt to build where there is no foundation. But do your
utmost to induce the worthy Philemon to return home with all speed,
lest he be entangled in the cobweb of this imbecile superstition; and
lest perchance even Onesimus at last, by frequent converse with these
miracle-mongers and forgers, suffer his regard for truth to be so far
blunted that he himself may be tempted to gloss over and excuse their
impostures.”
§ 10. HOW I STUMBLED AT THE THRESHOLD OF THE DOOR AND WENT NOT IN.
I take shame to myself that I was not in any such danger as Artemidorus
supposed, of becoming a Christian at this time. Had I, indeed, been
enabled to pursue the study of the words of the Lord Jesus, perchance
having been thus led to know him I might have entered into the fold at
once and so have been spared much misery. But it was not so to be. For,
on the very day that I wrote the last letter to Artemidorus, it pleased
Philemon to set out suddenly for Jerusalem, nothing contenting him but
that we should visit the Christians, as he said, in the place which
was the centre and source of the sect. Now those disciples with whom
we conversed in the Holy City were of the straiter sect of the Jewish
Christians, all of them maintaining that it was fit to come into the
Church by first accepting the Law of Moses, and that the uncircumcised,
albeit Christians of a certain sort, were inferior in righteousness to
them that had received circumcision. And they spoke against Paulus and
all others that denied the need of circumcision, saying that Paulus was
no safe guide but a teacher of heresy.
In part the narrowness of these brethren, in part the newness of the
sights which I saw in Jerusalem, and in part also the fear that I
had, lest by becoming superstitious I should fall below the rank of a
philosopher and lose the esteem of Artemidorus, caused me to harden my
heart against the promptings of the Holy Spirit which would fain have
led me to the Lord Jesus. But, in spite of all my efforts, certain
of the words of the Lord (both then and for many months afterwards)
kept coming to my mind, and in particular these: “There is more joy in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety and nine persons
that need no repentance,” and again, “Come unto me all ye that are
weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest;” and there were times
when these last words so fascinated me, and I felt so weary of myself
and such a longing for the peace which he could give me, that I went
near to calling aloud unto him “Verily I am weary and heavy-laden, I
will come unto thee, O Lord.” But the cares and pleasures of this world
choked the good seed so that I could hear no more of the sayings of the
Lord, and strove to forget such as I had heard. Hence it came to pass
that my next letter to Artemidorus (though I had not yet received his
message of warning) breathed not a syllable of any desire to become a
Christian.
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH.
“O for an hour of Antioch or Colossæ! Never before had I understood how
much of the joy of life we owe to the Muses till I came hither, where
the Muses are despised. Here are no temples (save one), no processions,
no dances, no games, no chariot races, no plays, no pictures, no
statues, no libraries; the very air breathes dullness and superstition.
If one brings a statue into these streets it is sacrilege; and they
shrink from our poems and songs, our literature and our very language,
as if it were a sin to be a Greek. And then the hideousness of their
temple, which during their festivals so reeks with the multitude of
slaughtered sheep and oxen that it resembles a kind of shambles! Never
may I again see a whole nation offering sacrifice as it were wholesale!
Even now I cannot forget the shrieks of so many ten thousands of
victims, and the reek of the burning fat and all the ill savor of so
many worshippers thus pressed together—and all this in a barbaric
building, with not so much as a single statue to adorn it, nothing but
eternal grape-clusters and stars and the like, all bedaubed with gold
in true eastern fashion for ostentation’s sake. Ostentation everywhere,
beauty nowhere! O for an hour of Colossæ or the pettiest Greek town in
Asia, to relieve the staleness of this Jerusalem, surely the weariest
and dullest of dull places!
“But I am like to forget the occasion which caused me to take up my
pen, and which indeed (together with the suddenness of the journey
hither) has for the time driven out of my mind all thought of the
Christians. You must know then that, ten days ago, I beheld for the
first time a battle, if battle it is to be called, where one side
kills and the other is killed. It was after this manner. Coming to
Jerusalem and having now accomplished about half of the journey
between the city and Jericho, we, being mounted on dromedaries,
overtook a great multitude of mixed folk journeying on foot, four
or five thousand or more, as I should judge, some with swords, some
with spears, some with bows, but not a few unarmed or bearing nothing
save pruning-hooks and mattocks. Making our way with much ado through
this motley multitude, (who would not have suffered us to pass, being
Greeks, had there not been with us certain priests that were going up
to the Temple,) we found that this rabble called itself an army, and
that they were following a certain prophet, whom I saw, but I did not
rightly understand his name; only thus much, that he was from Egypt,
and that, being able to work all wonders, he had promised them that
he would take Jerusalem and destroy the Romans in one day. And what
think you was the prophet’s plan? There is a mountain called Olivet on
the eastern side of Jerusalem. Hither the multitude was to journey,
and here to take their stand. Thereupon the prophet was to lift up
his hands in prayer; the walls of Jerusalem (even as the walls of
Jericho in old days were cast down by the sound of trumpets) were in
like manner to fall to the ground; and the faithful would rush in and
slay every Roman with the sword. Heard you ever the like, for simple
credulity and self-conceit? And then to listen to the babbling and
boasting of these illiterate peasants! What great things they would
do when they had smitten the Romans! How the prophecies should be
fulfilled, and how they would rule over the Gentiles and break them in
pieces like a potter’s vessel! How they would cut the throats of every
Samaritan, and destroy the temple in Gerizim, and be avenged on Edom!
Never, never before have I felt better content that the whole world is
under the firm and just dominion of Rome!
“However you shall hear how the Romans despatched this business
without much delay. Having gladly left these dangerous companions,
and hastening up the steep road, we had not gone twenty furlongs
before we met a squadron of Roman horse, blocking the road; but after
questioning us, they suffered us to pass up to a village named Bethany.
We soon came to a winding place in the road, which, being very high
up, commanded a view of all the road below. Thence looking down we saw
the helmets of the horsemen in an ambush, in a valley on the northern
side of the road, and we could hear the multitude (though we saw them
not by reason of the winding of the road) with psalms and shouts, and
without any order or discipline, coming up the hill; and soon their
vanguard (if vanguard it could be called where all was unguarded) would
have passed by the mouth of the valley so that the Romans could cleave
the rabble in two parts whenever it pleased them. Soon afterwards the
trumpet rang echoing through the hills, and anon we saw the helmets
and swords all flash together, and then such a crying for mercy, such
a shrieking and clamor, as made me stop my ears for horror; and we
hastily turned away towards Bethany. But we were still some furlongs
distant from the village when the Romans overtook us, their arms and
armor all dripping with blood, goading before them many hundreds of
captives fettered together; and on the morrow, near the western gate as
I went out of the city I counted no less than a hundred crosses.
“Most gladly do I again open this letter to add that we purpose with
all speed to leave Jerusalem, and to come to Ephesus. Hereto Philemon
is moved, not so much by the unquiet times here, as by a letter
announcing that Apphia is sick; for whose sake I am truly sorry, and
I beg you to join with the worthy Evagoras (whose zeal is greater
methinks than his knowledge in medicine) that she may be restored to
health; but for Philemon’s sake I rejoice, for assuredly a month’s
sojourning in Jerusalem would no less draw him to the Jews than it
would drive me from them.”
On the morrow we left Jerusalem and came to Cæsarea Stratonis; and then
to Sidon and so home, as I shall recount hereafter. And all this while
I remained still an unbeliever, outside the fold of the faithful.
But even so must it needs have been, O Lord. For to thee none draweth
nigh through weighing of probabilities, no, nor through belief in thy
mighty works, nor through trust in traditions concerning thy birth and
rising again; but it is through Love of thee and Trust in thee alone
that thou art embraced; for thou art Love, and by thee alone is the
heart of man made capable of thee. Wherefore it pleased thee in thy
mercy that I, in seeking to find thee should not find thee, to the
intent that afterwards in not finding thee I should find thee. For now,
I reasoned, I examined, I sought; yet I found not. But afterwards, I
reasoned not, I examined not, I sought not; yea, I fled from thee that
I might wander in the wilderness of sin; but even there didst thou meet
me and through thy love mine eyes were opened; and I could not choose
but know thee to be my true Shepherd, and when thou didst call me by
name I could not choose but come.
END OF THE THIRD BOOK.
THE FOURTH BOOK.
§ 1. HOW WE CAME TO ATHENS.
Loosing from Sidon we were driven by violent winds to the Chelidonian
isles. There the Pamphylian sea divides itself from the Lycian; and
the floods, meeting several ways and breaking against the promontory,
swell into terrible billows rising higher than the cliffs. But when we
were now in great peril of our lives, the Lord had mercy on us. For he
sent a star which, seeming to settle upon our top-sail, by a left-hand
course directed our vessel again into the sea, just when it was ready
to be dashed upon the cliffs. I had often before heard speak of these
marvellous stars, but never yet had seen them; and although Artemidorus
had taught me that they were no gods but mere effects of causes
according to nature, yet, in such extreme peril, being filled with
thankfulness for our deliverance, I could not but join myself with the
mariners and the rest of the crew in doing worship to the twin-gods.
That very night—having often before of late had visions of a man seated
on the clouds and encompassed with brightness—there came to me another
such vision, but of more than usual splendor, and he beckoned to me and
said that the stars had been sent by him, and not by these twin-gods
whom I had ignorantly worshipped. But I shook off the dream as being a
mere phantasm of the night, not knowing that it was from the Lord.
Escaping from the peril of the seas, we sailed through the Arches,
and thence were driven onwards, not however to Ephesus, whither we
desired to have come, but to Piræus. There, owing to the sickness
of Philemon, we spent some days, during which I lodged in the house
of Molon the rhetorician; and when at last my master returned to
Colossæ, I persuaded him to suffer me to remain at Athens for a while,
that I might study rhetoric and attain the true Attic pronunciation
and idiom, so that I might be the more useful to him as amanuensis
and secretary. But I had other reasons for desiring to remain. For
besides the delights and novelties of the city—which were all new to
me because I had not been able to persuade Philemon to spend more than
two days there when we last came to Greece to visit Lebadea—I had
already conceived a love for Eucharis, Molon’s only daughter. But, of
this, more hereafter. Meantime it chanced that Philemon, returning to
Colossæ, much infected with the superstition of the Christians (as
Artemidorus termed it), had caused the latter to suppose that I also
was in the same condition of mind; which (to my shame be it spoken)
was far from the truth. However, Artemidorus taking it to be true, and
being sorely incensed against me, wrote the following letter which I
will here set down, being the last I received from him on this matter:
§ 2. HOW ARTEMIDORUS REBUKED ME, SUPPOSING THAT I WAS IN DANGER OF
BECOMING A CHRISTIAN.
“ARTEMIDORUS TO ONESIMUS, HEALTH:
“So Onesimus thinks it possible to reconcile philosophy with the vilest
and falsest of superstitions. Come now and let me demonstrate to you,
if your ears are not yet altogether stopped against the truth, 1st, the
blasphemy and absurdity of your new religion; 2nd, the uselessness of
it; 3rd, the self-conceit of it; 4th, the uncertainty of it; 5th, the
folly and puerility and degradation of the man who stoops his neck to
the yoke of it.
“To begin, then, it is blasphemous. For it teaches that the Supreme God
has sent down his only son in the shape of a man to deliver men from
sin. What! are we to suppose that the Son of the Supreme can be made
like unto a mortal? As if a convention of frogs around a puddle should
croak among themselves debating which is the greater sin, and should
say, ‘Behold, the Supreme God has sent down his only son, in the shape
of a frog, verily born of a frog, to deliver all the race of frogs from
their iniquities;’ or as if a number of worms should examine their
souls and say ‘Alas, alas, we are fallen away from the divine image of
the Supreme; and therefore our Father in heaven hath sent unto us his
Son made in the image of a worm.’ Away with this impiety of likening
the Architect of the Universe to sinful frogs and self-introspective
worms! For if there be a God—which I do not myself believe, but if
there be one—doubtless he is as little like a man as a frog or a worm,
but infinitely superior to all his creatures, and transcending all
their knowledge.
“But sin forsooth is a terrible evil, and the usefulness of this new
religion consists in this, that it is to ‘take away _sins_.’ Which
of the Greek or Roman philosophers, of any note, has recognized this
absurd fiction of _sin_? It is a mere Jewish fantasy, unknown among
other nations, except where it may have been insinuated by these
vagrant proselytizers into the minds of a few women and children or
imbecile dotards. Error there may be; but sin cannot be, whether
there be gods or not. For if there be no gods there can be no sin;
and if there be gods, who made all things, it is inconceivable that
they should have made sin. Nor, if sin had any existence, could it
be increased or diminished. For all rational people know that there
neither were formerly, nor are there now, nor will there be again,
more or fewer evils in the world than have always existed; the nature
of all things, and the generation of all things, being always one and
the same. And whereas these Christians profess, ‘We were sinners by
nature, but the All-Merciful hath changed us’—they ought to be taught
that no one even by chastisement, much less by merciful treatment, can
effect a complete change in those who are sinners by nature as well as
by custom. Hence this boast of removing sins is an imposture, and the
religion that makes the boast is useless. Moreover what an insult is
it to their superior god that these men should admit that he made them
after a certain pattern and then changed his mind and desired to remake
them! Or else they are forced to introduce a certain Satan, who by his
devices, perverted men forsooth from the divine image, and so for a
time overcame the superior god. But it is clear, even to a blind man,
that a superior god, overcome, though but for a time, by an inferior
god, is for that time, no longer superior, much less Supreme and
All-Powerful. Therefore your religion is proved to be not only useless,
but blasphemous.
“In the third place, mark the impudence of it and the self-conceit. For
admitting that the superior god could send his son as a man, can we
possibly believe that he would send him as a Jew, and not as a Greek,
or as a Roman, or as a man of no particular nation? I have heard you
laugh at Zeus in the comedy when he wakes up after his day’s debauch
and despatches Hermes to the Athenians and Lacedæmonians to complain
that they curtail his sacrifices and keep him on short commons. But
why do you not laugh at your own superior god who, awakening after the
slumber of many thousands of years, despatches his son to one single
nation, and that the smallest and vilest and most contemptible upon
earth? Moreover consider how exacting and impudent is your religion
beyond all others. Heracles, Asclepius, and Romulus, claim not to be
the only children of God, but leave room for others also. And how
many others! Worship, if you will, him who was put to death upon the
cross, but set not your selves above the Getæ who worship Zamolxis, or
the Cilicians who worship Mopsus, or the Acrananians who pay divine
honors to Amphilochus, or the Thebans who do the same to Amphiaraus,
or the Lebedians who (in company with yourself) pay reverence to
Trophonius. For how is your Syrian saviour better than the Theban, or
the Cilician, or any other of the host of his rival saviours? Nay, he
is inferior, if we are to trust that which is reported concerning him
and them by the followers of each. For Christus did but show himself to
men in times past, whereas these others, if you are to believe those
who worship them, are still to be seen in human form in their temples,
appearing with all distinctness.
“Next, as to the uncertainty of your new religion. Consider that just
such another as your Christus, might come into the world to-morrow,
and indeed such are continually coming forward in the market-place of
every town in Asia, who are wont to say, ‘I am God, or I am the Son of
God, or I am the Divine Spirit. I am come to save you because ye, O
men, are perishing for your iniquities;’ and they persuade their dupes
by promises or threats: ‘Blessed is he who does me homage; on all the
rest I will send down eternal fire.’ And then the followers of such an
one in a confident voice call on us saying, ‘Believe that he whom we
preach is the Son of God, although indeed he died the death of a slave;
yea, believe it the more on this very account.’ If these people bring
forward a Christus every year, what is to be done by those who ‘seek
salvation?’ Must they cast dice to decide to which of all the saviours
they should pay homage?
“But lest you should imagine that I am entirely dependent upon you
for my knowledge of this sect, understand that both here, and in
Hierapolis, and in Ephesus, I have made search concerning it; and I am
become an adept in their ridiculous jargon which speaks of ‘the narrow
way’ and ‘the gates that open of themselves;’ and ‘those who are being
slaughtered that they may live;’ and about ‘death made to cease in the
world;’ and how ‘the Lord doth reign from the tree;’ and of ‘the tree
of life’ and ‘the resurrection of life by the tree.’ All this talk
of timber, forsooth, because their ringleader was not only slain on
the cross of wood but also a maker of crosses, being a carpenter by
trade! And I suppose if, instead of being crucified, he had been cast
down a precipice, or into a pit, or hanged by the neck, or if, instead
of being a carpenter by trade, he had been a leather-cutter, or a
stone-mason or a worker in iron, then these absurd people would have
exalted to the skies a ‘precipice of life,’ or a ‘pit of resurrection,’
or a cord of immortality,‘ or a ‘stone of blessing,’ or a ‘sacred
leather.’ What child would not be ashamed of such babble as this!
“And this brings me to my last point, the shame and disgrace that any
philosopher must needs bring both upon himself and upon philosophy,
in stooping to so puerile a superstition. If you know not this, at
least your new friends know it; for like the hyena, they seldom attack
a full-grown man, but for the most part children or imbeciles; and
to the best of their power they would destroy reason saying (like
so many Metragurtæ, or Mithræ, or Sabbadii) ‘Do not examine, but
believe,’ ‘Your faith will save you,’ ‘The wisdom of the world is
evil, foolishness is good.’ For this cause, because they distrust the
wise and sober, they prefer to decoy the young, saying to them, ‘If ye
would attain to the knowledge of the truth, ye must leave your fathers
and tutors and go with the women to the women’s apartments, or to
the leather shop, or to the fuller’s shop, that he may there attain
perfection.’ And they retail the sayings of these illiterate creatures
as if they were repeating the precepts of a Socrates: ‘Simon the
fuller, or Eleazar the leather cutter, or John the fisherman affirmed
this, or that.’ I say nothing also of the immorality of a religion,
which asserts that God will receive the unrighteous, if he humble
himself, because of his unrighteousness, but he will not receive the
righteous man who approaches him adorned with righteousness from the
first. All these immoral theories, these lies, and myths, and vile
superstitions, are taught by the Christians; and taught in the name
of whom? Of one who died as a slave after being deserted (according
to their own confession) by his most devoted followers. And taught
for what cause? Simply because a phantom of him was seen after his
death by a half frantic woman and some dozen of his other companions
who conspired together for the purpose of deception. For my part, if
I must needs give a reason why this most absurd religion attracts the
multitude, I should say that it is because the multitude in their
inmost heart, prefer falsehood to truth; and if I desired a new proof
that the world is governed by chance, or by fate, and not by gods,
I should discern it in the growth of this pernicious superstition.
Farewell and return speedily to thyself.”
§ 3. OF MY REPLY TO ARTEMIDORUS.
I was astonished at the passion of his letter; and though I was at this
time neither a Christian nor likely to become one, the injustice of my
friend moved me to say somewhat on the other side. My reply was to this
effect:
“ONESIMUS TO ARTEMIDORUS, HEALTH.
“Your vehemence surprises me. That I am not, and shall not be, a
Christian, must be clear from my previous letters; and that which I saw
in Jerusalem has set me, even more than before, against the Jews and
all things Jewish. Nevertheless, Artemidorus, I am far from agreeing
with you in all your condemnation of this sect, which you seem to me,
of set purpose to misunderstand.
“And why do you vent dogmas on me? How know you that God is unknowable?
Were it not more seemly for a philosopher to conjecture, and not to
know, where knowledge is impossible? Why, therefore, should a man be
ashamed of conjecturing (in Plato’s company, I think), that the most
perfect image of the Supreme God is neither a frog, nor a worm, but a
righteous man? And if man be at all like unto the Supreme Goodness,
then to be virtuous, I suppose is to be most like Him; and to be sinful
is to be most unlike Him, a calamity from which the Supreme Being
Himself might naturally desire to deliver mankind. However, I purpose
not to argue with you, for I cannot think that you yourself believe in
your own arguments, you who say that there is no difference between
sin and error; or else I suppose you will be consistent and blame your
slaves equally if Glaucus to-morrow commits theft or murder, and little
Chresimus says that five and six make ten.
“But one word concerning Christus himself. It is but a few weeks ago
that I heard you praise some Roman or other for saying that we ought
to choose out some noble life, to be as it were a carpenter’s rule,
by which we might straighten our own crooked life; why will you not
praise me, then, if upon finding this Christus to be a truly great
and noble man, I make his life the rule of mine? But you reply, ‘What
do you know that is noble and heroic in him?’ I will answer this
question when we meet. Meantime let me say that though I know but
little, it is more than enough to assure me (for your letter proves it)
that you know nothing of him. Do not again suppose that I am likely
to be a Christian. I am prevented from this by arguments, and by
feelings still more powerful than arguments. Yet I have at least this
advantage, Artemidorus, over you, that I have not yet allowed prejudice
unphilosophically to blind my eyes to the truth, and that, after
studying the life of Christus, the store of the examples of great men,
which you yourself have exhorted me to treasure up in my heart, is now
enriched by the example of one more man, both good and great, who has
been able, according to your own avowal (perchance by the mere memory
of his goodness), to convert fullers and leather-cutters and thieves
and adulterers into decent citizens. Farewell and be thyself.”
Although I spoke thus in defence of the Lord Jesus against the
reproaches of Artemidorus, yet was I very far from following the Lord,
yea and perhaps all the farther that I had learned to talk admiringly
of him as of a man on a level with Socrates and Pythagoras and
others. For this kind of admiration took up that place in my heart
which should have been filled by faith or trust, and left no room
for them. Nor indeed was I fit at that time to come to the Saviour
because my eyes were not yet opened to discern my own sins so as to
desire forgiveness; for the Saviour calls unto himself the “weary
and heavy-laden,” but I was not yet weary enough nor felt as yet the
burden of my sinfulness. And as for all those questionings of words,
and traditions, and proofs, on which Artemidorus had set me, they had
taught me indeed many new things about the Lord Jesus, and what other
people believed concerning him, but they had not taught me the Lord
himself, so that I might know him and love him and believe in him. And
when at last I began to draw nigh unto him and to listen to his words
and to meditate on them, behold, I was called away from my instructors
in Antioch, and found afterwards no one like-minded who was willing to
set forth before me the very words of the Lord; but, on the contrary,
those of the brethren whom I met in Jerusalem cared not so much for the
Lord as for the Law of Moses, and drove me back from him when I was
desirous to draw near.
But why do I blame others when I was myself mainly to blame? For I
erred in the pride of my heart, because I preferred the wisdom of
the Greeks to the wisdom of the Lord Jesus. Therefore didst thou, O
All-Wise, permit me to have my heart’s desire, and to serve the Greek
Philosophy and to take that yoke upon my neck, that I might prove
it and know it, whether that service were freedom indeed; and then
didst thou make me to pass through the dark valley of affliction and
didst suffer my wandering steps to stumble and sink in the mire of
wickedness, to the intent that I might understand at last that the
Wisdom of the Greeks, for all the beauty of it and the pleasant sound
of it, has no power to lift up a drowning soul from the deep waters of
sin.
§ 4. OF EUCHARIS AND OF MY LIFE AT ATHENS.
Partly perhaps because Eucharis had lived with her father some years
in Rome, (where women lead not so sequestered a life as in Asia and
at Athens) and partly for want of slaves, and because her mother had
died when she was still in tender years, but also in great measure
because of the ability of her mind and the depth and extent of her
knowledge, Eucharis was rather as a pupil and companion to Molon than
as a daughter and housewife. Her grace and beauty were more than equal
to her learning; but that by which she drew my heart to herself was
the gentleness of her disposition and the singular modesty with which
she bore her many accomplishments. For though she was the flower of
the house and the delight of her old father, yet did she never in any
wise strain or try his affection by caprice or humors; yea rather, by
reason of his poverty, and because he had scarce a slave whom he could
call his own, she, to whom all should have ministered, was content
and glad to minister both to the old man and to his friends, and this
with all willingness and aptness, and yet so modestly and quietly
that her coming was as noiseless as the sunshine, and we only knew
that she had departed because the brightness seemed to have passed
out of the chamber. When I became the old man’s pupil, and in no long
time the most intimate of all his pupils, I obtained also a share in
the pleasure of her constant and familiar society; and, by degrees,
gaining the liking of my old tutor, I was helped to the friendship of
his daughter as well; and conceiving for her an affection more intimate
than friendship, I was blessed at last, in return, with the certainty
of her undivided love.
The time had now come for me to put the kindness of Philemon to the
proof. From the first, he had treated me rather as a son than as a
slave; and, whithersoever I had accompanied him, his carriage towards
me had always been such as to lead even those who knew that I had once
been a slave, to suppose that I had been long ago emancipated. So I
straightway wrote to him, telling him of my affection for Eucharis,
and how I had obtained the consent of Molon; and although I did not
venture to express the hope that he would make me free at once, yet I
besought him to make some promissory emancipation (after the custom
common in Asia) that I might be free, on condition of serving him
faithfully for such period as he might please to name. This limited
request I made, rather for form’s sake than as supposing that he would
stand upon conditions; for, remembering his constant kindness, I looked
for nothing less than that he should wholly emancipate me at once.
So having sent off this letter I confidently waited for an answer.
Meanwhile I spent the time pleasantly in the society of Eucharis, and
Molon, and my companions in learning; and I also took a great delight
in the beauties and antiquities of Athens.
The dreams and visions with which I had been visited in Syria, and
still more while I was tempest-tossed sailing to Peiræus, soon ceased
after I had been some few days in the house of Molon. Each day brought
with it some new thing to see or hear. Though the streets of Athens
were not to be compared with those of Antioch, being small and mean and
narrow and not evenly built, yet the public buildings and temples and
theatres far surpassed anything I had seen in any city of Asia; and
as for the statues of the gods, they fairly ravished the heart with
their beauty. Moreover an edge was given to every pleasure of sight by
the hearing of some history or legend; how Demosthenes spoke in yonder
place of assembly, and in these groves and porches walked Aristotle
amid his disciples, or Plato taught, or Socrates conversed, and here
the tyrant was slain by Aristogeiton, and there Pericles pronounced the
funeral oration over them that fell in the wars. Also, it so chanced
that, besides the daily sight of the palæstra and the attendance at
the lectures, the Dionysian festival with its customary plays came
round while I was still at Athens. I had seen plays before in Asia, yet
these so enchanted me with the beauty of the masks and choruses and the
marvellous skill of the actors that I was well-nigh swallowed up with
the glory of the drama; and finding occasion to be introduced to some
of the actors, I frequented their society and heard them rehearse, and
sometimes myself practised recitations in their presence, endeavoring
to gain some knowledge of their art. Amid all these engaging pursuits
and delights, the time passed as if upon wings; and in the evening the
greatest delight of all, after the thousand pleasant distractions of
the day, was to talk with Eucharis and her father concerning all that I
had seen and heard.
We conversed together of all matters of art and letters and philosophy,
and not seldom about my own life, the sorrows of the past, and what
remained in the future; and, as was natural, my travels in Syria were
not forgotten. Yet about these I spoke seldom and sparingly, lest I
should be forced to make mention of the Christians; concerning whom at
that time I was loth, I scarce know why, to say aught either for good
or evil. But on the last day of our being together, some fate (as I
then called it) decreed that I should no longer keep silence concerning
them. It was after this manner. We had been conversing together, Molon
and I, touching the Pythagoreans, by what bond of fellowship their
society was in former times bound together, and by what cause that bond
was broken. And thereupon I all unwittingly let fall some words (and
repented as soon as they had been spoken) how a certain Christus, a
Syrian, had founded a society, somewhat akin to the Pythagorean sect.
Then Eucharis straightway would have give me some account of this
Christus and his society; and when I made as if I had not heard her,
and afterwards would have put her off on some pretext—saying that the
matter was not worth her hearing, or that I knew not much of it for
certain, and the like—she looking steadfastly upon me and perceiving
(I suppose) that I was in some confusion, besought me not to hide
from her anything that I knew. So I, not finding any escape, began to
describe to her the new Brotherhood or Commonwealth or Christus, as I
conceived it; and being carried onward I spoke more freely than I had
intended, and summing up all that I had heard and some things that I
had imagined, I described how wealth and violence were to have no more
power in the world, and there was to be no more oppression, and sin was
to be taken away by forgiveness; and those that the world counted great
were to be cast down, and he that was humblest and made himself least
was to be lifted up and, in a word, the most willing servant of all was
to be king of all; and all the nations of the earth were to be as one
Family, wherein Christus was to be the Elder Brother, and the Father
was none other than the Supreme God; and how (as his followers averred)
he had foretold that he should be slain, yea, and declared that he
would willingly die, but that, overcoming death, he should manifest
himself to his disciples after death, and be constantly with them; and
how his disciples alleged that somewhat of this kind had indeed come
to pass, for that many of them had seen him in apparitions by day or
dreams by night; and lastly how (whatever error else there might be
among this sect) this Christus of a truth appeared to have a marvellous
power to turn the vile and wicked to lives of virtue and purity.
All this time Eucharis was rapt in thought; but I was so intent on the
matter of my discourse that I noted not her countenance till I had
well-nigh made an end of speaking; but when I perceived it, I broke
off, saying that after all, it was but a Jewish superstition, and
that as for these apparitions of Christus, they were but according to
nature, if there were indeed any apparitions at all. But Eucharis,
still musing and pondering, made no answer for a while, and at last
asked my opinion concerning all dreams and visions, whether they
came from the gods or no. I said, “No, but from natural causes.”
Then replied Eucharis, “Yes, but if, as your Artemidorus says, the
twin-stars that bring mariners help, come to us from natural causes,
and yet you worship the gods that send them; may it not also be that
some dreams and some visions, though coming to us—like air and light
and the fruits of the earth—in the common course of nature, may
nevertheless be sent to us by the immortal gods?” Then after a pause
she added, “And you too, Onesimus, while studying the life of this
Teacher, have you too been visited by him in your dreams?”
Fearing to be engaged in any further discourse concerning this matter
I rose up to bid Molon farewell, alleging the lateness of the hour;
but at that moment there came a knocking at the door, and presently
appeared Chresimus, a slave of Philemon, bearing a letter for me,
and with the letter this message by word of mouth, that the old man
desired my most speedy return. I broke the seal at once, fearing that
Philemon might be sick and nigh unto death. But the latter said not a
word touching his health, nor did it give any answer to my request for
freedom, neither “yes” nor “no,” only bidding me use all expedition to
return because “something of great import” had taken place, concerning
which he would gladly have speech with me before resolving further in
the matter on which I had written to him. I wished to have tarried yet
a few days in Athens, but Philemon’s command was express that I should
return on the next day, and that Molon should excuse me to my friends;
and, so saying, Chresimus went forth to make ready for our departure
on the morrow. My heart sank within me as I turned to bid farewell to
Eucharis, foreboding that I should henceforth live without her, and
that life without her would be death. But she comforted me, saying
that her memory must always live with me, as mine with her; and that
we must take hope as our common friend; and clasping round my neck a
little amulet, which I was ever to guard with the token of my brother
Chrestus, “On thy brother’s gift,” she said, “there is written TRUST,
and on mine there is HOPE; and with trust and hope we must needs do
well; for as to love we need no assurance:” and with these words she
bade me her last farewell.
§ 5. HOW I RETURNED TO COLOSSÆ, AND OF MY NEW LIFE WITH PHILEMON.
Even while Philemon embraced me on my return to Colossæ, I perceived
that he was marvellously changed. Whereas he had been wont to wear
on his countenance an anxious and restless expression, now he was
calm and composed, with a cheerfulness that seemed to spring (not as
in the former days of his settled health when I first knew him) from
easiness and good temper, but from some deep change in his nature. The
suspicion that came into my mind on beholding him was confirmed by
the first words he uttered thanking the Lord for my safe return; and
he immediately avowed that he had become a Christian. Had he then,
I asked, submitted himself to the Jewish law? No, he replied; Paulus
(the same of whom we had heard so much while we were in Syria) who had
admitted my master into the sect of the Christians, had taught him that
it was neither needful nor fitting that he, being a Gentile, should
observe the laws of the Jews. When I asked him what Artemidorus said,
he bade me no more mention the name of the Epicurean, whose society,
said he, I have for sometime renounced. Of others of my best friends
he spoke in the same way, especially of Epictetus, and Heracleas; but
he made mention of other persons, mostly bearing Jewish names, and men
either not known to me or known to be illiterate and of the common
sort, with whom he hoped I should soon be better acquainted; “for
they,” said he, “belong to us—as will you also, my dear Onesimus, in
due time, I hope and earnestly believe—and the brethren of Colossæ are
wont to meet at worship at my house.” My thoughts being in a maze I
thought to turn the discourse by questioning him concerning friends and
kinsfolk, and I inadvertently asked whether his sister’s son—who was
wont to come in from the country to visit him each year—was intending
to come to the city at the forthcoming feast of Zeus; but Philemon,
making some hasty sign to deprecate my speech about the festival, added
gravely and with authority that he was assured I should no longer wish
to take part in the procession nor to go to any of the games or public
spectacles; “for,” said he, “it is not gods but demons that preside
over such shows.” Much more he said on this topic; and I found that
my last letter to Artemidorus (as the Epicurean had reported it,
misconstruing it, I suppose, in his passion) had caused Philemon to
think that I was already a Christian in heart. But, concerning Eucharis
and emancipation, not one word.
After waiting a long while to see whether he would be the first to
speak, I reminded him of my request. He replied that he had a good
will, yea and a sincere affection for me, and that he fully intended
to emancipate me; but he did not think it fit that I should take to
wife the daughter of a rhetorician and declaimer such as Molon, one who
was by pursuit, as well as by disposition and nature, devoted to the
worship of false gods. He had therefore arranged for me a marriage with
the daughter of a very worthy citizen, Pheidippides the wool-seller,
who, though not as yet one of the brethren, was most favorably inclined
towards them, and who was quite willing to give me Prepousa to be my
wife, if Philemon would emancipate me and give me a sufficient estate;
and this, said he, I shall willingly do.
I was speechless with anger. But Philemon supposed my silence to be
caused by excess of gratitude unable to find vent in speech. So looking
affectionately on me he said there was no need of thanks, for that he
was willing to do much more than this rather than suffer my soul to
be ensnared at Athens. Then, in the same tone of authority in which
he had spoken throughout (unusual in him and to me most unexpected
and distasteful) he said that I was wearied with travel and had need
of rest; wherefore he desired that I should consider myself excused
from my attendance and retire to my chamber. When I went forth from
his presence, a great gulf seemed to divide me from Eucharis, and from
freedom, and from all hopes of a happy future. As to the religion of
the Christians I was no longer drawn to it even so much as before.
Had I not in former time restrained Philemon from joining himself to
it? Had he not in those days acknowledged that my understanding was
superior to his, deferring readily to my advice? And now was I to
confess myself in the wrong? Was I, slave-like, to bow to one inferior
to me in mind, because he chanced to be the master of my body? How
could I meet Artemidorus or Epictetus after so great a disgrace? On
the morrow, therefore, when I attended Philemon in the library and he
asked me what I thought of his proposals, adding that he trusted I
should soon be willing to receive baptism, I with difficulty restrained
myself so far as to answer merely that at present I was unwilling, and
that in any case I did not wish to marry Prepousa. He was silent for a
while and evidently displeased. Then he exclaimed, “If only Paulus were
in Asia at this time, my hopes of thee would be speedily fulfilled.”
But as I had been often present willingly at the Christian meetings
in Antioch, he said that I could make no objection to be present at
the meetings of the brethren in his house where I should receive
instruction which, he hoped, would soon induce me to be baptized. About
manumission as before, not a word; but I perceived that it was hopeless
to ask for it.
That same day I was summoned to attend one of the meetings of the
brethren, at which were present all the slaves of Philemon, and not a
few belonging to other citizens, and many freedmen also, and some that
were free-born; but these, few, and for the most part Jews, and not men
of any breeding or education. And I, being wilful at that time, and
contemptuous of others, and given to think far too highly of myself,
looked down upon these unlearned brethren, and stopped my ears against
the truth and hardened my heart, scoffing within myself at their faults
of speech and solecisms, and at the barbarous dialect of their Greek;
and besides, to speak the truth, the discourses of Archippus, the son
of Philemon, were too much upon the prophets and too little upon him
to whom the prophets bear witness. So they moved me no more than the
discourses of Lucius at Antioch, or even less. Yet once when Tatias—the
man whom Philippus had raised from the dead—stood up and testified how
all things had become new for him since he had believed in the Lord,
and how darkness had passed away and all was full of light and joy and
peace, and how the Lord Jesus was a friend that never failed in the
hour of need: then for the first time, spite of myself, my heart was
touched and I seemed ready to stretch out my hands to the Saviour; but
at that instant methought I saw Philemon watching me narrowly to see
whether I was moved by the discourse, and thereon my heart rebelled
again and I could think of nothing but the great gulf which my master
placed between me and Eucharis. Thus was my heart still hardened
against the truth.
Being in this condition of mind, I found my new life full of dullness
and melancholy. Each day passed like the day before, and prepared for a
morrow that should be still the same. The images of the gods had been
removed from the hall and from the court-yard; no pictures, no songs,
no garlands, no feasts, nor meetings of friends; our old acquaintance
seemed to have disowned us, and there were no longer any occasions
for discourse on arts, or letters, or philosophy. Even the library
had been despoiled of many of the best and choicest books; the busts
of most of the great poets and authors had been removed; and Philemon
employed me during many hours of the day in transcribing, no longer
Euripides or Menander, but the Greek translations of the books of the
Jewish prophets. The only diversity in the circle of our daily life was
that on certain days the household met for worship; but if I profited
little from the first day of meeting, I gained even less from those
that followed; for then a certain Pistus, a Paphlagonian slave, took a
great part in the prayers and discourses, especially when Archippus was
absent, and one might as well have hoped to gather grapes from brambles
as good from the words of Pistus. If such was our life at home, it was
vain to look for change in life abroad. For I was no longer permitted
to go to any public spectacle; and the society of every friend and
acquaintance for whom I had any affection was proscribed. In this
solitude and dejection I looked for counsel, but could find none. To
Artemidorus, being so near a neighbor, I durst not resort, for fear
lest Philemon should be informed that I had disobeyed his prohibition,
but I resolved that I would use the first occasion to go to Hierapolis
that I might there ask the advice of the young Epictetus.
§ 6. CONCERNING MY VISIT TO EPICTETUS.
When I came to Hierapolis I found Epictetus keeping his bed and scarce
able to move a limb. His master, he told me, had tortured him most
cruelly, twisting his leg so as to force the bone from the socket; and
the physician had declared that he would be lame for life. In answer
to my execrations against all masters of slaves and Epaphroditus,
his master, in particular, “Peace, my friend,” said Epictetus, “our
masters are becoming better and not worse; and besides, ever since
the sixth year of Claudius, we have a law in our favor. For, before,
if we were turned out to die in the streets, and then were impudent
enough to recover, our masters could claim us back again; but now the
divine Claudius has decreed that if death spare us, our masters shall
spare us also. However, my chief consolation lies not in the laws of
Claudius, but in philosophy; for since you and I were last together,
you must know I have become a philosopher.” “Prithee,” said I, “if
slaves can indeed become philosophers, let me have some benefit of your
philosophy; for assuredly I have need of it. Did not your philosophy
fail you when that cruel wretch so wantonly injured you?” “Pardon me,”
replied Epictetus, “he did not injure me, as indeed I explained to
him at the time.” “Explain then to me,” said I, “this most mysterious
riddle.” “I told him he could not injure me though he would injure
himself. Hereon he retorted that he would break my leg. I replied, ‘In
that case it would be broken, but what of that?’ At this he stared like
a bull, and said that he would cut off my head. To that I rejoined,
‘And when did I ever tell you that I had a head of such a kind that
it could not be cut off?’ Upon that he burst into a passion, threw me
down, kicked me, and began to twist my leg. As he proceeded, I warned
him and said, ‘If you continue, you will certainly break it.’ He
continued; and then I said to him, ‘There, now my leg is broken; but
you have not injured me, but only my leg and perhaps yourself.’”
All this seemed to me new and yet not new. Sitting down on the bench
beside his pallet, I said, “Well, but, Epictetus, this differs not
much from the philosophy of the Stoics or the Cynics.” “I did not
maintain,” replied he, “that my philosophy was new. Nevertheless I do
not perceive that it is very common in these parts.” “You mistake,”
said I, “a great many in Hierapolis read Chrysippus, and not a few
even in Colossæ.” “Read Chrysippus,” exclaimed my friend with a laugh.
“Yes, read Chrysippus, but how many act Chrysippus? Much as if we were
to go to a wrestler, and say to him, ‘Come, Milo, shew us how you can
give your adversary a fall,’ and Milo should reply, ‘Nay, rather step
into the next room, and feel the weight of my dumb bells.’” Then he
turned affectionately to me and said, “It is not the object of life,
my dearest Onesimus, to have read the hundred and forty volumes of
Chrysippus, but to put the precepts of Chrysippus in use, and so set
them before men in a brief form fit for use; and this is what I am
endeavoring to do.” “Set them before me then,” said I, “for Zeus knows
that if you have any philosophy fit for use, I can find use for it.
What therefore is the foundation of your philosophy?”
“The foundation,” replied my friend, “consists in the distinguishing
of things in our power from things not in our power. The things that
are needful are in our power, viz. justice, temperance, truthfulness,
courage and the like; but the things that are not in our power are not
needful, such as wealth, beauty, reputation, health, pleasure, life
and the rest. Many philosophers admit this in word, but do not carry
it out in deed, partly because they talk much and do little, and being
immersed in speculations are not ready for actions, when the hour for
action is at hand. But if a man have this foundation once solidly built
within his heart so as to be able to base all his actions on it, from
that time he will be perfectly free and do all things according to his
own will. Therefore make up your mind once for all what is your object
in life; what it is you want. A dinner? or to escape a whipping? Well,
then, you will do your master’s bidding to gain your dinner, or to
escape a whipping. But a philosopher will not do this, because he does
not fear hunger, nor a whipping, nor any master. ‘What,’ you say, ‘must
not a philosopher fear Cæsar?’ No, for he does not fear the things
that Cæsar can bring. For, mark you, no one fears Cæsar in himself,
but only the things that Cæsar brings with him, such as the sword,
banishment, poverty, torture, disgrace. But fetch me Cæsar here without
his thunders and lightnings, and see how bold the veriest coward will
be. Why then should a philosopher fear Cæsar, since he has no fear of
Cæsar’s thunder and lightning?
“Distinguish therefore between what you can and what you cannot do,
and in that knowledge you will find freedom. If you are thoroughly
persuaded in your inmost mind that those things only are yours which
are really yours and which are needful to you, then you will aim at
nothing which you will not attain; you will never attempt anything
with any kind of violence to yourself; you will blame no one, you will
accuse no one; nobody will ever hinder you from the accomplishment of
your desires; in fine, you will never be subject to the least regret.
Take an instance. My leg, you will observe, is inflamed, and it has
certain sensations which are called painful. Good: that is the popular
manner of speaking. But it is a mere imagination. My inflamed leg does
not hinder me from being honest, just, and courageous; in other words
from attaining the objects of existence and the aim of all my desires.
Consequently I have accustomed myself to bear always in mind that pain
of this kind does not concern me and is no real evil. For it is of the
nature of things that have no dependence on me. ‘But you will be lame
for life,’ say you. That is very probable, and indeed our physician
tells me it is certain. But what then? When I am lame, my lameness
will be an obstruction to my feet in walking, but not to my will in
doing what it is inclined to do. It follows that sorrow and the signs
of sorrow such as weeping and groaning, are all the mere results of
false conceptions and imaginations. What is misfortune? Prejudice. What
is weeping? Prejudice. What are complaints, discontents, repining,
fretfulness, restlessness? All so many forms of prejudice, and
prejudice moreover concerning things uncontrollable by the will.”
He paused. “You have defined sorrow,” said I, “and how do you define
death?” “A mere mask,” he replied. “It has no teeth. Turn it on the
other side and you will find it does not bite you. It is a mere going
away. Life is as it were a feast. At birth God opens the door to you,
and says, ‘Enter.’ At death, the feast being now ended, God opens the
door to you once again and says ‘Depart.’ Whither? To nothing terrible.
Only to the source whence you came forth. To that which is friendly
and congenial: to the elements. What in you was fire, goes away to the
fire; what earth, to earth; what air, to air; what water, to water.
There is no Hades, nor Acheron, nor Cocytus, nor Pyriphlegethon; but
all is full of gods and divine beings. He who can think of the whole
universe as his home, and can look upon the sun, moon and stars as
his friends, and enjoy the companionship of the earth and sea, he is
no more solitary nor helpless exile. Let death come to you when he
will. Can death banish you from the universe? You know he cannot. Go
where you may, there will be still a sun, moon, and stars, dreams and
auguries and communications with the Gods.”
I interrupted him. “You say there is no Hades; are there then no
Elysian fields?” “I do not know,” replied he; “but why seek any
greater reward for a good man than the doing of what is good? After
being thought worthy by God to be introduced into His great City, the
Universe, so that you may discharge for him the duties of a man, do you
still cry for something more, like a baby for its food? Do you need
coaxing and sweetmeats to induce you to do what is right? Be not like
a bad actor that forgets the part assigned to him, when he steps upon
the stage. ‘I was sent in this world to play a part.’ Well said, Mr.
Actor; and what part? ‘The part of a witness for God.’ Good: repeat
your part. ‘I am miserable, O Lord; I am undone; no mortal cares for
me; no mortal gives me what I want.’ What babble is this! Away with the
fool. He has forgotten his part; hiss him off the stage.
“Or take another of my metaphors. God is your general, and you must be
to him a loyal, obedient soldier, having sworn an oath of obedience,
which you will sooner die than break. Dost Thou wish me to live? I
live. To die? Then farewell. How wouldst Thou have me serve Thee? As a
soldier? Then I go cheerfully to the wars. As a slave? I obey. Whatever
post Thou shalt assign to me, I will die a thousand times rather than
desert it. Where wouldst Thou that I should serve Thee? In Rome, or
in Athens, or in Thebes? Thou art not absent from populous cities.
Or on the rock of Gyarus? Thou wilt be with me even there. Only if
thou shouldst send me to live where it is no longer possible to live
conformably with nature, then, but not till then, should I depart,
accepting as it were Thy signal of recall.”
Here he made an end, and I sat for some time silent. His words were
to me as a trumpet-blast arousing within me a host of virtuous
resolutions, which I at that time mistook for virtuous acts, and
thought myself already an athlete or a hero; even as a drunken man
supposes himself Heracles, or as the reader of the hundred and
forty-three volumes of Chrysippus believes himself to be a man of
virtue. Presently I arose and thanked him, saying that I went forth
as it were to the Olympian contest, to put in use the precepts of
Epictetus my trainer. He smiled, and as I went forth from his chamber,
he called after me, “Yes, but Onesimus, for this contest you need not
wait four years.”
§ 7. HOW I TRIED THE PHILOSOPHY OF EPICTETUS.
Epictetus was right; I had not long to wait for the contest of which
he spoke. It began on the morrow, and continued without intermission;
for day by day I was constrained to be present at the meetings of the
Christians, and day by day Philemon questioned me whether I had not
now at last been persuaded, and whether I was not willing now to be
baptized. However, I followed the advice of Epictetus, and said to
myself, “Truthfulness is in my power, but the goodwill of Philemon
is not in my power, therefore it does not concern me, and I will not
trouble myself about it.” But, in the evening of each day, when I
perceived that the breach was widening between me and my master, and
when I called to mind that it depended on him whether I should be
free or a slave, and united to Eucharis or parted from her for ever,
then my mind misgave me that I could not honestly say, “His goodwill
concerns me not.” Oftentimes I checked myself, saying that I was placed
in the Universe as a sentinel by God, and that I must not neglect my
post wherever it might be; but as often as these words came to my
memory, there came others also, namely that “if we were placed by him
where we could not live conformably to nature, then we might accept
this as the voice of a trumpet, sounding recall and bidding us quit
this life for another.” And said I to myself, can it be considered
living according to nature, that I should live in subjection to such a
servitude as this? Or is it living according to nature, to be removed
from all learning, just when I have been trained to use and enjoy it?
and to live apart from all friends, consorting with none but slavish
dispositions? and, in a word, having many faculties trained to noble
uses, to be placed in a position where all those faculties must needs
rust unused?
Meanwhile the conduct of Pistus widened the breach between my master
and me and altogether envenomed my very soul against the faith. This
man had been Philemon’s secretary during my absence at Athens; and now,
finding himself like to be supplanted, he began to alienate Philemon
from me by sly insinuations, hints, letters unsigned in a strange
hand, and sometimes also by open questions cunningly asked of me in
Philemon’s presence. As, for example, on the day when I had visited
Epictetus, he asked me, in my master’s hearing, whether Epaphroditus
was in good health, he being the master of Epictetus, and a very
dissolute man. When I said “Yes, as far as I knew,” I could see from
Philemon’s countenance that he greatly disliked my going thither;
and I at once explained that I had not gone to see, nor had I seen,
Epaphroditus himself, but only his slave Epictetus, who was sick. Yet
the cloud on my master’s brow did not altogether vanish; and he did
not forget it. For that same evening he took me aside, saying that
it was time to have done with youthful passions and caprices, and had
I considered his proposal—not about baptism, for he would not at that
season make mention of higher matters—but concerning marriage, and
was I willing to marry Prepousa? I said “No.” Hereat he became very
grave, saying that it was a very suitable match for me, and well fitted
to keep me from evil courses, such as young men were liable to; and
he bade me think further of it and meantime to be more discreet what
company I kept, for he disliked that I should so much as enter the
house of such a one as Epaphroditus, though it were but to visit a sick
slave. It was all in vain that I attempted (perhaps too obscurely, for
I could not now speak freely with Philemon as in old days) to explain
that I stood in need of counsel and that I had gone to Epictetus for
it. “That is settled”—was all he had to say, before he dismissed me to
my chamber. Only, as I was departing, he called me back, and asked me
whether I had at least given up the thought of Eucharis. I said “No.”
To which he replied that he was very sorry for that, for he could not
consent that my soul should be ensnared by such a marriage, and so long
as I entertained that foolish passion it was not possible for him to
entertain the project of emancipating me. So saying, he dismissed me to
my chamber, speechless with passion. In this mood I took up my pen and
wrote thus to Epictetus:—
“ONESIMUS TO EPICTETUS, HEALTH.
“I leaned on your philosophy, and it has proved a broken reed. No
longer can I live under the insupportable yoke of my slavery here. Yet
what am I to do? I cannot live conformably to nature. ‘Then die,’ say
you. And what then becomes of Eucharis, who would break her heart for
my departure? Your philosophy takes no account of wife, or children,
or those dear friends who are second selves. Their happiness is not in
your control; and yet how can you be tranquil in their unhappiness?
Answer me that.
“One question more. A fellow here, a Paphlagonian, one Pistus, is
poisoning Philemon’s mind against me, drops notes, in a strange hand
and nameless, accusing me of deceit, theft, frequenting brothels and
all manner of impurity. His last stroke has been to persuade Philemon
to forbid me from visiting you. I hate him, and intend to hate him.
Does your philosophy allow of hate?
“A third question. You say, We are soldiers and must die sooner than
desert our post. But who shall go bail for our General, that he is not
a fool or a knave, or anything but a name? Looking on the battle-field
of the Universe I see a conflict but the issue doubtful; no signs of
generalship, or at least of victory; in one place joy, in three places
sorrow; pleasure here, pain there; virtue sometimes prevailing, more
often vice; one master, twenty slaves; animals preying (by necessity)
on other animals; men (by necessity or choice?) oppressing other men;
everywhere conflict, the General nowhere. Read me these riddles, or be
no Œdipus for me.
“Pardon me, dearest friend and guide, but I am beside myself with
passion, anxious, not for myself but for one beyond the seas, who sits
awaiting tidings from me and feels her life to be bound up with mine.
Strong in your presence, absent from you I am most weak. Impart, I
beseech you, some of your strength to one who sorely needs it.”
§ 8. HOW I WAS ACCUSED OF THEFT BY THE DEVICES OF PISTUS.
At this time, and before I had heard from Epictetus, I received a
letter from Eucharis. After some delay, vainly hoping to be able to
impart more joyful tidings, I had written to her putting as bright a
color on the future as I could, but not concealing Philemon’s strong
objections and present refusal; and now I received her answer. It was
inclosed in a letter from Molon, in which he spoke of his class and his
pupils, and hoped that I was continuing my studies at Colossæ, entering
also into details about his recent lectures; at the close of his letter
he added that Eucharis was not in good health, and that he feared she
was troubled in her mind, being infected with superstition. Her old
nurse Thallousa affirmed that she had been fascinated by the evil eye;
but he thought the mischief had been in part caused by certain women of
her acquaintance, Christians from Corinth, who had brought to Athens
some strange rites and doctrines of one Paulus, and who seemed to have
disturbed her mind. However he trusted that her trouble would pass away
when better tidings came from Colossæ. The letter from Eucharis was to
this effect.
“Do not cease to hope, dearest Onesimus. If I grieve, it is because I
seem to see thee grieving. Could I but know that thou wert hopeful, I
also could be both hopeful and happy. Thallousa would fain console me,
when I weep, by telling me sad stories of others who have loved and
have been made sad by separation, but I am not so cruel as to be made
happy because others are sad; so I seek comfort elsewhere. Dearest,
when we were last together, some doubtful words fell from thy lips,
questioning, methought, whether there be any Elysian fields such as the
poets sing of. Yet does it not seem (this present world being so very
full of sadness) that there must needs be some Isles of the Blessed,
called by whatever name, where those whom hard fate has divided here,
but whom the good gods must surely destine to be some day united, shall
meet, again never to be parted? Dearest Onesimus, dearer to me than my
own life, what if we meet not again on this earth? May it not be that
we shall meet elsewhere? Yet, even for this life, I still trust and
hope; and do thou the like for my sake. To think of thee hopeless kills
me. O dearest friend, sweet cause of my heart’s most bitter sorrow,
think not that I reproach thee because thy love is cruel. Sweeter, far
sweeter, to mourn as I mourn for thy absence, than never to have known
and loved thee. Farewell and hope on; and believe me faithful to thy
love, whether I live or die.”
At the end of the letter were added these words:
“I see I have ended my letter with a word of evil omen. Onesimus laughs
at omens; but for my own pleasure I will avert the evil by repeating
a former question. The visions concerning Christus that thou didst
speak of, have they ever appeared to thee too in thy dreams? Because
thou didst forget to answer this same question when I first asked it
of thee, let this violet, which I now kiss, be my ambassador that thou
forget not a second time.”
While I sat with the withered flower in my hand, musing on Athens,
seeing, as if before mine eyes, the little chamber in which even at
that instant perchance Eucharis sat spinning, and Molon reading by
her side, a message was brought to me by Pistus that Philemon desired
to see me in the library; “and,” said the Paphlagonian in a malicious
tone, “you were best think of some subtle defense, for the old man
knows what you have done. But you will probably prefer to appease him
by confessing.” The man’s malice angered me, and I entered the room in
some heat. It soon appeared that a copy of the plays of Aristophanes
was missing from the library. Philemon was at that time reviewing his
books with great exactness, destroying such as seemed unfit for a
Christian household; and he had expressly enjoined on me not to take
any of the works of the poets of the Old Comedy out of the library,
and I had obeyed him. But when this book was missed, Pistus had
affirmed that he had seen me reading it in my chamber. Understanding
this I replied roundly that the Paphlagonian lied. But Philemon bade
me bethink myself whether unwittingly I might not have taken it from
the library, being always fond of the works of that poet, and having
in former times been accustomed to take freely from any part of the
library such books as I desired; and he added that, of the rest of
the household, very few could understand the book, being illiterate,
and those who could have read it would not do so, because they had
received the seal in Christ and belonged to the saints. I could but
repeat that I had not taken the book. On this Pistus said, with a
sneer, that, if that were so, the worthy Onesimus would probably be
quite willing that his room should be searched. I at once assented;
but scarcely had two slaves quitted the room on their quest, when the
villainy of Pistus was revealed to me; and I turned and took him by
the throat saying that, if the books were found in my chamber, the
Paphlagonian had hidden them there. Hereat Pistus fell on his knees,
making as if he were terror-stricken by my violence, and calling the
Lord to witness his innocence. Philemon indignantly bade me desist;
but his indignation became still greater when the two slaves returned
bearing the missing volumes, which they had found it seemed, hidden
under my couch. In the presence of all the slaves he ordered me to
return to my chamber, saying that at first he had never thought to
accuse me of stealing the books, but only of thoughtlessly or wilfully
borrowing them, but now he knew not what to think. So I went back to my
chamber under suspicion of being a thief; and entering I found on my
table this letter from Epictetus.
§ 9. HOW EPICTETUS FURTHER EXPLAINED HIS PHILOSOPHY.
“EPICTETUS TO ONESIMUS, HEALTH.
“A bad performer cannot sing alone but only in a chorus. In the same
way some weak-kneed folk cannot walk the path of life alone, but must
needs hold somebody’s hand. But if you intend to be ever anything
better than an infant, you must learn to walk alone. It angers me to
hear a young man say to his tutor, ‘I wish to have _you_ with me.’ Has
not the fellow God with him? But, Onesimus, you are not willing to take
God as your guide in practice, though you profess to do so in theory.
For with your lips you say, ‘O Lord, suffer me to go straight on for
twenty-five furlongs and a half, and then to take the first turning to
the left.’ However, let me attempt to answer your questions; but not in
order, for first I must shew you that whether there be a good God or
no, you must needs act as though there were a good God or else you must
die. First then, that there is Demeter, is it not clear to all those
who eat of bread? And that there is a Helios or Apollo, is not that
also clear to all who enjoy the sunlight? Call the former Bread, and
the latter Sunlight, if you will; still there they are, and you must
partake of them and acknowledge them, as long as you partake of the
Feast of Life.
“But you complain that the Host of the Feast is unkind or foolish, not
making proper provision for his guests. Foolish man! Then why remain a
guest? Do not be more foolish than children. When the game ceases to
please them, they say ‘I will play no more.’ So do you, if the feast
please you not, say ‘I will feast no more;’ and go. For remember the
door is always open. But if you remain at the Feast, do not complain
of the Host; for that is silly. Remember therefore that if the Host
intends you to remain as His guest, in that case He has made all
needful provision for you; but if He has not, that is a token that your
way lies towards the door.
“Apply this rule to yourself and her whom you love. As it is better
that you should die of hunger and preserve your tranquillity of mind to
the last gasp, than that you should live in abundance with a soul full
of all disturbance and torment, so is it better that Eucharis should
die and you be in peace, rather than that your betrothed (or any else
the nearest and dearest to you) should live and be in perturbation of
mind. Nay, a father ought rather to suffer his son to become undutiful
and wicked rather than himself to become unhappy. You are not to say,
‘If I chastise not my son, he will prove undutiful;’ but you are to
prefer your own serenity of mind to the dutifulness of a son and to all
other objects; and the same rule holds as regards Eucharis. Thus and
thus only will you be always at peace, and able to despise the worst of
omens.”
After this Epictetus fell to speaking in a more general way about
philosophy and philosophers, and of their duty to the multitude; of
which some part I omit, but the rest was to this effect:
“But perhaps you say, ‘The multitude has not this knowledge of the
folly of sorrow; and if we bewail not with them when they bewail, we
shall seem to them brutish, and be hated. Or how shall we explain our
theory to the multitude?’ For what purpose should you desire to explain
it to them? Is it not enough that you are convinced yourself? When I
was a boy at Rome, as I remember, and when my master’s children came
to me clapping their hands and saying, ‘To-morrow is the good feast
of Saturn,’ did I tell them (think you?) that good does not consist
in sweetmeats nor such things as they desired? Nay, but I clapped
my hands too. In the same way, when you are unable to convince any
one, treat him as a child, and clap your hands with him; or if you
will not do that, at least hold your tongue. When therefore you see a
man groaning because he, or his betrothed, is likely to be given in
marriage to another, first do your best to recover him from his evil
and mistaken opinion. But if he will not be persuaded, nothing hinders
but you may pretend some sadness and a certain fellow-feeling of his
affliction. Only have a care that grief do not effectually seize your
heart while you think only to personate it.
“You see then that I forbid you sorrow either for yourself or for
others. No less do I forbid you hate. For why should you hate, or even
be angry, with a wicked man, a thief, say, or an adulterer? ‘Because,’
reply you, ‘they take from me that which I most dearly value, my wealth
or my reputation or the affection of my wife.’ In other words they take
from you those objects which you love, and desire to excess, though
they do not depend on you. But the remedy is to abstain from loving
these things to excess. Always remember also when any one injures you,
as it is called, that the cause of the injury is ignorance or erroneous
opinion. For no one would commit a crime if he knew that he was thereby
destroying his own soul. Through erroneous opinions Medea slew her
children and Clytemnestra her husband. Why therefore hate a man merely
because the poor wretch is terribly ignorant and is doing himself the
greatest of all injuries, while he falsely supposes he is injuring you?
“Bear in mind further that everything has two faces, whereof one is
endurable the other unendurable. For example, when your brother is
injuring you, look not upon him as an injurer but rather as a brother.
Even if you cannot do this for your brother’s sake, you must do it
for your own. For in all things you must consider not your brother
nor your brother’s interest first, but yourself and your own serenity
of mind. ‘My brother’—perhaps you say—‘ought not to have treated me
so shamefully.’ Very true; so much the worse for him. But that is his
business, not yours, and you are not to injure yourself on his account.
However he treats you, you must treat him rightly. For your treatment
of him is in your power, and therefore is your concern; but how he
treats you is not in your power, and therefore concerns you not. If
therefore your enemy reviles you, try to think well of him for not
having struck you. ‘But he has struck me.’ Then think well of him for
not having wounded you. ‘But he has wounded me.’ Then think well of him
for not having slain you. ‘But I am dying of the wound he gave me.’
Then think well of him for having opened unto you that door which the
Master of the Feast has appointed as your exit from His banquet. Apply
this rule to Pistus, and if he has poisoned Philemon’s mind against
you, think well of him that he has not yet poisoned your body itself.
“But the former rule is the more important, that you are not to set a
value on the things that are beyond your own control. Does Fortune take
things away? Laugh at her then. When Philemon and his friends deprive
you of your wonted freedom, and take away your books, your reputation,
your prospect of marriage, you must consider yourself before a
tribunal of boys who are mulcting you of knuckle-bones and nuts. ‘So
Epictetus makes light of love and marriage and the bands of family
affection.’ Not so; he recognizes them for the common people but not
for Onesimus and Epictetus, nor for other philosophers in the present
war of good against evil. For as the state of things now is, the
philosopher should hear the trumpet sounding for all good men to make
ready, like an army drawn up for battle in the face of an enemy; and he
should be without all distraction, entirely attending to the service of
God.
“Finally, whatever betide, be not a slave. ‘I must go to the
ergastulum’ says Onesimus. And must you go groaning too? ‘I must
be fettered like a slave.’ Must you lament like a slave too? ‘Marry
Prepousa,’ says Philemon, ‘and become a Christian.’ ‘I will not.’ ‘Then
I will slay you.’ ‘Did I ever assert that I could not be slain?’ That
is the language that befits my Onesimus; not to look at the spectacle
of life like a runaway slave in the theatre, who shivers whenever any
one touches him on the shoulder or mentions his master’s name. Instead
of swearing allegiance to Christus to conciliate Philemon, swear rather
never to dishonor God who loves truth, nor to murmur at anything that
betides; for all things betide according to His will. At all times
endeavor to listen to His voice; for he accosts you and speaks to you
thus: ‘Onesimus, when you were at your lectures in Athens, what did
you call death and imprisonment and all other such external things?’
‘I? Things indifferent.’ ‘And what do you call them now?’ ‘The same.’
‘What is the aim and object of thy life?’ ‘To follow Thee.’ ‘Go on then,
boldly.’”
§ 10. OF METRODORUS AND HIS ADVICE.
I read and re-read the letter of Epictetus; but it could no longer
settle my doubts nor quiet my mind. What was true in it seemed to be
stale and useless, namely, that each man was able to do whatsoever
he wished, provided that he wished only for those things that he was
able to do. And again, what might have been useful, if true, seemed
not true, or at all events not certain, I mean that the Master of the
Feast was good. For all that Epictetus had said came to this, that if
we remained as a guest at the Feast, each one was bound to act as if
the Master was good, or else to depart from the Feast. But why was a
philosopher bound to suppose something that might be false, or else
to slay himself? For, all the while, there might be no Master of the
Feast at all, but only a talk about Masters, and in reality neither
Master nor Feast, but only a kind of scramble for sweetmeats. Or else
there might be not one Master, but many, some good and kind, others
bad and unkind. Or what if the Master were Himself good but thwarted
by His wicked servants so that the guests were starved and not fed? In
that case might not the guests fairly complain? And to make believe
that the Master was perfectly good and wise (and all for the purpose of
attaining for oneself calmness and tranquillity of mind)—this seemed
a kind of flattering of the Master and deceiving of oneself, that was
scarcely worthy of a philosopher.
This peace and tranquillity of Epictetus, the more I thought of it,
the less I admired it. For, in spite of his denial, it seemed to loosen
all love and friendship, as well as hate. How could I “preserve my
serenity of mind” while I was reading the letter of Eucharis? Ought
I to say to myself, “Whatever may betide Eucharis, I at all events
shall be completely happy?” That seemed to me not possible; no, nor
desirable. If Eucharis sorrowed, I felt that it would be sweeter for me
too to sorrow than rejoice. Then again, as to hating, Epictetus would
have me not hate Pistus for being bad, but speak well of him because
he was not worse. Now this perchance might tend to tranquillity, but
how could it be consistent with truth? For if a man steal from me one
mina, am I to thank him for not stealing two? As well, when a man gives
me one mina, abuse him for not giving me two! It is the duty of a
philosopher neither to speak better of a man, nor to speak worse of a
man than he deserves. Besides, Epictetus seemed to err in speaking of
all wickedness and crime as merely caused by erroneous opinions, for
to me such faults as slander, cruelty, and baseness, seemed altogether
different, and fit to be differently regarded, from such a fault as
an unskillful reckoner might commit in saying that six and seven
make twelve. In all these matters Epictetus seemed to me (and indeed
still seems) to go astray because he had wholly set his mind upon the
attainment of an object which perchance the Master of the Feast does
not intend His guests to attain in this world, I mean perfect and
unchangeable serenity of mind.
Being in a great perturbation with all this conflict of thoughts, and
inclining now more than ever to believe that there were no gods, I
determined to disobey the command of Philemon and to resort to my
friend Artemidorus that I might ask counsel of him. So I went to him
on the morrow, when both Philemon and Pistus chanced to be absent from
the city. But he had gone on some business of law to Laodicea. However
I found in the courtyard of his house a certain friend of Artemidorus,
known also to me, one Metrodorus, whom I believed (but did not for
certain know) to hold the same opinions as Artemidorus. I saluted him
gladly; and, because the sight of a friendly face was now rare for
me, I took pleasure in conversing with him (although I had not been
greatly inclined towards him in former days) walking up and down in
the portico and discoursing about divers matters and in the end about
matters of philosophy and religion. And to be brief, not having any
other counsellor to go to, I imparted to this man (although I knew but
little of him) some of my troubles and perplexities, asking what would
philosophy advise me to do in my sore strait?
When I had made an end of speaking, Metrodorus ceased walking and stood
still, near a broken slab of pavement in the portico, where some ants
had built a nest and were passing busily to and from the crevice. So
here Metrodorus coming to a stand, and looking down upon the ants and
then up at me, said, “If there be gods indeed, as perchance there are,
I will now show you what it is likely that they think of us mortals.
Certain people say that the gods being infinitely wiser and nobler,
as well as stronger, than we are, must needs have a care for us, and
rule our actions aright. Now, my young friend, here stand we two upon
this pavement, two human beings as much (I suppose) superior to these
myriads of little busy insects at our feet, as the gods are superior
to us. Well, my friend, do we have a care for these ants? Surely not.
Do we sorrow for their sins and compassionate their errors? I think
not. Do we rule their actions aright? Do we stir a finger to help them
in the storing of their food or to avert the destruction of the whole
republic of them? Nay, but we take not a single thought for all their
doings and misdoings, their virtues and their vices (for doubtless
these creatures have their virtues and their vices even as we have)
except it may be to amuse ourselves withal, or to rid ourselves of them
if they become inconvenient. But you say, men are so vastly superior
to ants. Not more, I take it, than the gods (if any) are superior
to men. But in men, you urge, there is so much more of diversity in
character and in action. Who knows? Only stoop down and look at these
diminutive beings more closely. Mark what a bustle they are in; all
working, but not all doing the same work; some, look you, are the
scavengers, carrying out the ordure, others the marketers carrying
in vast fragments of bean-shell or hastening onwards along with
pieces of barley-corn in their mouths; some also, as it seems to me,
standing still and ruling or instructing the rest. And who knows also
but, besides their architects and masons, they have their demagogues
and counsellors, cooks also and musicians, yes and philosophers too
after their manner, philosophising perhaps about us two at this very
moment, and very prettily demonstrating the truth of the theories of
the priest-ants, saying that ‘Man being a noble Being, infinitely
powerful, and wise, and good, must needs take thought for us, poor
mortal ants, and rule our actions aright, and in the end conform us
to Himself’—whereas, my dear Onesimus, so far is this from being
the case that on the contrary”—and here he stamped heavily upon the
ant-hill—“I thus with one little movement of my foot, subvert the whole
ant-universe, for no other cause but my own particular pleasure.
“O my dear Onesimus, is not belief in the gods by this time almost too
antiquated? If there were some new fashion of it, I might recommend
you to try it; but every fashion has been tried and has become stale.
Your young friend Epictetus shows a preference for one god; but to the
true philosophers his theories are like the rest, quite musty and past
discussing. However, if you are resolved to deal in such wares, it is
good to have a choice; and the choice is large. Perhaps you prefer a
legion of gods and demons? Or, aiming at the golden mean, what say you
to choosing a moderate few, an oligarchy of gods? Then there are in
the market for you some gods that speak, and others that are mutes;
some that are still active and vigorous, such as Isis, Serapis, and
Sabazius; others that are past work and cashiered, such as old Ares,
Enuo, and Hephæstus; or if you are curious about rank and precedence,
you can have gods of different ranks, first class, second class, third
class; some with bodies, some, if you prefer it, bodiless. Last of all
in the market come the atheists, who will sell you a vacuum, if you
will give them many years of your life for it. But is not the best
course after all to keep your time and pains and money and avoid the
market altogether: neither believing nor disbelieving, but never giving
a thought to the matter?”
“And does Artemidorus hold these opinions?” said I, after a pause. “I
think so,” he replied, “At least he never mentions the gods to me; and
you best know whether he has often spoken of them to you; but from what
you say yourself, I infer that he has not. However, even Artemidorus is
not so consistent as I am. For he is ever fretting himself about the
sun, and the moon, and the planets, and their motions, and about the
tides and their courses, and sometimes he busies himself with noting
the diverse superstitions of men; whereas to my mind the best kind of
life is to vex oneself with none of these trifles, but to be content
with myself and with all things around me, believing that they cannot
be better, and so to eat and drink like Sardanapalus and to—
Sleep soundly stretched at ease—
as Homer sings of Ulysses sailing sweetly homeward. Therefore my advice
to you is to take the goods which the gods (if there be gods) at this
instant clearly destine for you. Make friends with Philemon. Become a
rich man and obtain your freedom. Marry Prepousa and be happy with her,
and, if need be, with others. And as for this Jewish purification, if,
to obtain Philemon’s good will and a fortune to boot, it be necessary
to endure a washing, why not wash? You can be as dirty as you like when
you are rich and free. However time presses, and I must go. But in
fine, I would have you take as your Mentor my sepulchre, for you cannot
have a better precept than that inscription.” “What inscription?”
said I. “You must have seen it,” answered he; “it was the talk of all
Colossæ three months ago, and they cannot have quite forgotten it so
soon. However, you have not been much out of doors of late. You must
know then, that some months ago, when my poor wife departed this life,
she ordered these words to be engraved upon her tombstone:—
Though my soul dwelleth in earth
My soul dwelleth in heaven.
Now I could not gainsay the poor woman’s last wish, and therefore I
permitted the inscription. Yet I felt, as a philosopher, that it was
due to my philosophy that my epitaph should be of a very different
character, consistent with my life. So considering with myself that my
executors might possibly not carry out my instructions if I gave orders
for an inscription over my body, in opposition to that of my lamented
wife, I therefore caused these words to be cut in my lifetime, beneath
my wife’s inscription, over the place where my body will in due time be
laid:
Enjoy the present,
For when the spirit has left the body,
Descending to Lethe,
It will never again look on the world above.
“And you have not seen it? You will find it on the Laodicean road, on
the right-hand side, about three furlongs from the gate. But I must be
going. Farewell, my young friend, and take my advice. As for the wise
people who profess to know everything and to teach everybody, no two of
them agreeing together, pay no attention to them. Snap your fingers at
all their philosophies and controversies. Take in a substantial cargo
of good things. Trim your sails for a pleasant voyage through life,
making up your mind to be often merry, seldom serious, and never sad.”
So saying, he departed, and I returned to the house of Philemon.
§ 11. OF THE DEATH OF EUCHARIS AND HOW I WAS AGAIN ACCUSED OF THEFT.
The words of Metrodorus himself had not much weight with me. But the
image of that ant-hill came again and again into my mind, making me
ask, “Is it so indeed that men are but as insects in the eyes of the
immortal gods?” And as day after day went on, and still no letter nor
message from Molon, my nights being sleepless and my days given up to
expectation and suspense, I resolved (even as a weak mariner yielding
to wind and tide) that I would suffer myself to drift with the event:
if the gods led me to good then I would believe in them, but if to ill,
then I would not. So for the space of ten days my mind swayed this
way and that, tossed with a very tempest of increasing troubles, and
still no tidings from Athens, although nearly a month had passed since
Molon’s former letter. At last I began to suspect that Pistus might
have intercepted some letters from Eucharis; and if this suspicion had
rankled long in my mind, it would have gone nigh to make me mad.
But toward the end of the month one of the slaves who was well affected
to me brought me a letter bearing the familiar seal of Molon, which,
when I had in all haste opened, it contained no letter from Eucharis,
no, not so much as a little piece of paper, nor any words written in
her hand, nor even a flower or aught else by way of token; and I shook
it again, but still nothing fell out. So I sat down holding the letter
in my hand, unread, foreboding the worst; and how long I sat I know
not, but in those minutes (if they were minutes) there seemed to have
passed over me years, yea ages of misery; and I had reckoned over my
life even to the grave, and beyond the grave, into a darkness that was
without end.
“Eucharis is dead”—so the letter began. The rest was very long and
full of lamentations, telling how the Christians had caused her death,
or else perchance her sorrow for my sake; how the followers of one
Paulus had persuaded her to be baptized; how her father, though he had
foreseen and noted the mischief, could not stay the progress of the
disease, and how, for the rest of his life he must live alone in the
world. But my eyes travelled idly over this to return again and again
to the first words: “Eucharis is dead.” So suddenly had she passed
away that at the last she could not so much as write me one word of
farewell, nor do more than bid her father send me this message, that
Onesimus must always keep the token she had given him and not forget
her last words.
During my torpor, while I sat in a kind of trance of misery, the letter
had fallen to the ground. Stooping to pick it up I unwittingly took
in its stead the letter of Epictetus, and began to read it. “A bad
performer cannot sing alone, but only in a chorus: in the same way some
people cannot walk the path of life alone.” Most true! And I was one
of those “bad performers,” one of those who “cannot walk the path of
life alone.” But what then? Were there not “bad performers” as well as
perfect actors, and was there no place for them in the world? I was not
meant nor made to walk alone. But why had the gods made me of a nature
to walk in dependence on some guide, and then, after mocking me with
the semblance of the gift of so precious a guide as my beloved one,
snatched her away that they might see me stumble and fall? Even so they
had given me Chrestus, and snatched him away. So it had been with all
their gifts to me. They had given me a love of learning; but now they
forbade me to learn; they had given me a thirst for truth, but had
driven the truth far away; they had given me the breeding and habits of
a free man, but had condemned me to be a slave. Each gift had been a
curse in disguise.
Now came back into my mind the image of the ant-hill of Metrodorus,
and then there rose up from the depths of darkness the lessons I had
learned in the ergastulum, which I had thought I had forgotten, but now
they seemed as fresh as yesterday, and more real than any other memory
of my life. And now once more I inclined to believe that some bad demon
or demons possessed and governed the world, exulting in our miseries
and mocking at our foolish prayers and silly gratitude. Either they, or
chance, ruled over the Universe. In either case, no good God; no one to
love, no one to trust, no one to whom in some invisible world I could
intrust my darling Eucharis and my brother Chrestus, feeling confident
that all was well with them. Eucharis and Chrestus! Say rather Dust and
Ashes. Then Satan filled my heart and I lifted up my voice in blasphemy
and cursed the Master of the Feast who had given command that I should
depart, yet would open no door for my departure, and I looked about me
for means to destroy myself. But the hand of the Lord delivered me.
For when I had made a noose with the thongs of my sandals, and having
fixed the end to a beam was now in the act of placing it round my
neck, behold, Philemon entered the chamber with a stern countenance,
and two or three slaves behind him. He at once accused me of taking
many precious volumes from the library with intent to steal them. I
denied it, but he affirmed that it must needs be so, for they had been
found yonder, pointing to a hole beneath the floor in my apartment,
and, said he, “your attempt to slay yourself convicts you; for having
perceived that the books have been recovered, you desire to prevent the
punishment of your theft.”
Perceiving that I was speechless—as indeed I was, marvelling at the
iniquity of Pistus, or whoever else was my enemy—Philemon bade all the
slaves depart the chamber, and then taking me by the hand, with tears
in his eyes, he besought me to confess the truth, saying that he had
noted, now these many days, how Satan had taken advantage of me because
I had hardened my heart against the word of the Lord; and he implored
me to repent and to wash away my sins. Now if I had shewn him the
letter of Molon describing the death of Eucharis, I might perhaps have
persuaded him that I was not guilty of theft, and that other causes
drove me to attempt my life. But I could not do it; for in my madness
I regarded him as her murderer. Therefore I in no way endeavored to
persuade him, but merely answered with much vehemence that in truth I
was not guilty, and that either Pistus or some enemy had devised this
plot against me. Upon this, Philemon clapped his hands and called in
the slaves, saying, in their presence, that it was useless to argue
with me or to beseech me, and that I was fascinated by some woman who
had ensnared my soul, adding withal some words not indeed gross nor
unseemly, but very bitter to me at that season, knowing poor Eucharis
to be but lately dead. So in that instant I leaped upon him and seizing
the stilus which he held in his hand I attacked him with it, and
assuredly, had not the slaves run together and stayed me, I should
have slain him outright; but as it was, the Lord had mercy on me, and
I did but wound him very slightly. But I foamed at the mouth as one
mad; yea, and indeed I thank the Lord that I was verily mad at that
time, and that I spoke not, but Satan spoke within me. For I seemed
to see Christus as an evil demon pursuing me without ceasing, setting
Philemon against me and inspiring Pistus with malice, and now last of
all slaying my beloved Eucharis; wherefore I uttered such terrible
execrations against the Lord Jesus, as even now fill me with horror so
much as to think of; and write them down I durst not. But Philemon,
stopping his ears, rushed in haste from the room, wringing his hands as
if all hope were now lost, and leaving me struggling in the hands of
Pistus and the rest of the household who were binding me.
That evening I heard what had been resolved concerning me. Philemon’s
brother, a decurion of Smyrna, who had not yet been converted to
the faith was very earnest that I should be crucified according to
the custom; but Philemon was constant against it, partly out of his
affection for me, even then not wholly destroyed; but partly because
the brethren have been from the first always unwilling that any should
be punished with that death whereby the Lord Jesus was slain. So it
was determined that I should be sent into the country to an ergastulum
about one hundred and twenty furlongs north of Laodicea.
But here must I needs pause. For now begins my pen to describe the
deepest of the depths of my most sinful life; whereof, whensoever my
mind unwillingly goes back to that black darkness, I can say no more
than this: “All things are possible with thee; thy blood, O Lord Jesus,
can cleanse from every sin.”
THE END OF THE FOURTH BOOK.
THE FIFTH BOOK.
§ 1. HOW I ESCAPED FROM THE HOUSE OF PHILEMON.
Remembering the ergastulum of Nicander I determined not to endure
that manner of life a second time. My bonds had not been very firmly
fastened, and the same good friend who had brought me word what was
resolved concerning me, had loosened them still more. So when it was
past midnight, as near as I could judge, creeping out from my chamber I
found the porter sleeping, and without difficulty obtained possession
of the key. I was opening the door to depart, when I suddenly bethought
myself that I was going forth into the world without an obol in my
purse, so that I must needs beg my food; in doing which I should surely
be discovered and at once apprehended. So I went into a small chamber
next to the library, wherein Philemon was wont to keep money, and I
took out a purse. I extenuate nothing, I excuse nothing. Yet the truth
may fairly be set down; and it is true that I purposed not to take so
much, but as I opened it, I heard, or thought I heard, a noise from
Philemon’s study, and straightway fled as I was, having the purse in my
hand; and so in great haste and trepidation, being now thief as well as
fugitive, I opened the housedoor and ran for my life. For an hour or
more I wandered about the street avoiding the watch, and as soon as the
gates were opened, I went forth on the Ephesian road.
Then for the first time taking thought whither I should go, I
determined to break all ties of friendship and acquaintance and to
betake myself to some large city such as Corinth or Alexandria where I
might be easily unknown. Meantime I must needs hide somewhere in the
upland country; for in the port of Ephesus constant watch was kept for
runaway slaves, and the crier was soon likely to make my escape known
in the streets of Laodicea and Hierapolis. So, leaving the Ephesian
road, I made my way as best I could straight towards the mountain
called Cadmus, which rises up in these parts very high and precipitous
and containing many spacious caverns fit for fugitives to hide in. As I
went, I found myself amid several tombs cut in the sides of the hill a
little away from the road, and the sun now shining from the east lit up
the inscription on the face of one of the tombs nearest to me so that
I could read each word of it plainly, and it was the very inscription
which Metrodorus had mentioned. “Enjoy the present, for when the spirit
has left the body, descending to Lethe, it will never again look on the
world above.” Then began I to mock bitterly at that philosophy which
would bid me, a slave and an outcast and one of the most wretched upon
earth, to “enjoy the present.” But at that very moment methought I
heard the sound of pursuers, and putting my ear to the ground (which is
all pumice-stone in that region, very porous and hollow, and resonant
almost after the manner of a drum) I plainly heard the hoofs of horses
approaching. So I pressed on over rough and smooth making for the
mountain. As the sun rose higher, I came to one of the spurs of Cadmus.
High up in the sides of that mountain are many holes wherein eagles
build their nests; and many of them were even now soaring in the air
with choughs and crows screaming below them, but all so high that the
eye could scarce discern them. The sounds of these birds together with
the bleating of the flocks pasturing on the mountains, the scent of
the flowers, the freshness of the morning air, and the beauty and the
brightness of all things around, seeming to rejoice in the sunrise,
constrained me in despite of myself to feel some pleasure in them, and
I rested there for a while. But anon fear (and by this time hunger)
forced me to hasten away.
Coming now to a building I desired to ask food; but I found that it was
a temple, as could be perceived from the notice set up at the entrance
to the precincts; which, even after the lapse of so many years, I am
not able to forget, because at that time it seemed to me a type and
pattern of all the religion and worship of the gods. For there were
written up these words: “Let no man enter these sacred precincts who
shall have tasted goat’s flesh nor lentils for these three days, or
fresh cheese for one day. But whoso shall have touched a dead body
let him delay entrance for forty days. Likewise, whoever will enter,
let him bring with him the highest purity, namely, a healthy mind in
a healthy body, free from a guilty conscience.” Then there came into
my mind once again, only with much more force, the thoughts that I had
had at Lebedea, namely, that the gods are helpful only to those who
need no help, being happy and virtuous; or else only to the rich who
can pay for many sacrifices and purifications; but as for the poor man
who cannot give them fat bullocks and lambs, they have never a word
to say for him; and if a poor man be a sinner and an outcast to boot,
then a temple is no place for him. With such thoughts as these, sorely
dejected in mind and beginning to be very weary in body as well as
hungry, and the heat of the sun becoming now more than I could well
endure, I betook myself to some kind of shepherd’s cot which I found
open and empty; and there I lay down and slept.
I was awakened by the sound of music, ill played, as though by a
beginner; and for a time, betwixt asleep and awake, I lay still
without moving, not knowing what had become of me, or where I was. But
presently the music came to a sudden stand, and a voice cried, “May
the all-powerful Syrian Goddess, Parent of all things, and the holy
Sabazius and the Idæan mother strike thee dead, thou dolt whom a week’s
labor has not sufficed to teach thy notes. A pretty flute-player art
thou. I am a ruined man with thee.” With that, I started up and beheld
an old man, very fat and with a smooth face and having a cast in his
eye; and by his side a youth, whom he was attempting to teach to play
on the flute; but neither could the pupil learn, nor had the teacher
skill to teach. I soon perceived from his attire and language, as well
as from the ass bearing the image of the goddess, and the company of
dancing girls who were with him, that he was one of the begging priests
of Cybele; and it seemed that his flute-player had deserted him so
that he could gain no money from the people by his sacred dances, for
want of the music. After watching them for a short time (unknown to
them, for the corner wherein I had been lying was very dark) I lost
patience to see how ill the old priest taught and the youth learned;
and coming forward I took the flute from the hands of the youth and
shewed him how he was to use it. At first the old man stood speechless
with astonishment at the suddenness of my coming in upon them; but
when he perceived that I had some skill in music, he asked whether
I could make shift to play for him. I told him that I knew not that
kind of music, and would have gone forth from the cot without more
words; but he stayed me and begged me to give some proof of my skill;
saying I must at least eat and drink with him and his company, for
the village people had given them two kids and a cask of wine. So I
was over-persuaded by my hunger, and after we had eaten our fill, he
gave me to drink of unmixed wine, because, said he, there was no water
nigh; and my thirst constrained me to drink. Then he began again to
ply me with importunities to go with him at least as far as Pergamus,
adding that if I wished to escape notice (and here he looked at me as
if he knew that I had some secret) I could take no better course than
this, but if I left him, who knew but questions might be asked, and
I might be noticed more than I desired? And hereon, when he saw me
wavering, and inflamed with wine, he put the flute once more into my
hands, and called out that the dance should begin; and thus saying he
led the ass into the midst of the chamber, bearing the image of the
goddess which was covered with a silver veil. Then I began to play and
the women to dance, and the priest applauded and cried that the music
should go faster. At first I played against my will and my heart was
not in it; but as I looked upon the women dancing in their many-colored
tunics with their eyebrows darkened, and their Phrygian caps on their
heads, and their saffron shawls streaming in the air, all dancing, at
first slowly and then more quickly round the image, by degrees it was
given to Satan to have power over me because I had not resisted him.
So I began to take a pleasure in it, and I said, surely now is the
time to cast aside all virtue and forget the name of goodness and to
begin a new life, wallowing in all sin. And even as Satan thus moved
me, I began to play the music more furiously, as if possessed by some
demon, and the women, after their manner, brandishing their swords
and battle-axes, began to leap more furiously to the sound of cymbal
and tambourine, and they bared their arms and shoulders, scourging
themselves with whips wrought of pieces of bone till the blood flowed
out; and because it flowed not fast enough, they scourged themselves
harder, yea, and in their leaping they bit their own flesh and screamed
like wild beasts; and then the old priest stopped the music and
clapping me on the shoulder bade me pledge him in another cup of wine,
for I must needs go with him to Pergamus and be his flute-player; and
I like a dumb beast could not say No, but drank of his wine and so
consented.
§ 2. OF MY LIFE AT PERGAMUS.
Let it be permitted me to pass over the story of my wanderings until
I came to Pergamus. Not that I would conceal or gloss over any of the
sins I committed at this time. Yet although thou, O Lord, hast forgiven
all things methinks I could not set down those deeds of darkness,
without seeming to pass through a second course of sin. Suffice it that
in all the acts of my companions, in all their thieving and lying,
their blasphemings, revellings and impurities, I was not behind any,
the vilest of the vile. But it pleased the Lord, after three months
of thus wallowing in the mire, to hold out the hand to me though it
were but for a season; and it was after this manner. When we came
to Pergamus, going on a certain day to visit a priest of Asclepius
I chanced to speak of the children that were daily exposed upon the
Temple steps, and I shewed him (but not as from myself) the token of
my brother Chrestus, saying that it had been given to me by one of my
acquaintance to whom it had belonged, who was now dead. When the priest
read the inscription TRUST, he started and changed color, and very
earnestly questioned me whether my acquaintance had ever spoken to me
touching a brother exposed at the same time, and wearing a token with
another inscription, mentioning at the same time the words of it I LOVE
THEE. Then it was my turn to start, and I confessed that I had heard
mention of it, but that this brother also was long since dead. “Truly
then,” said the priest, “I sorrow greatly for their poor mother’s
sake, who came to the Temple not more than six or seven months ago, to
make inquiry concerning two children who had been exposed in the first
year of the emperor Claudius, twins, and wearing two such tokens as
you have described.” So then, comparing the date, as well as the other
circumstances, I knew that the children could be no other than myself
and my brother Chrestus.
Now all my dissimulation was swallowed up in the eagerness of my
desires, and I gave the priest no peace, questioning him again and
again about the lady of whom he spoke; insomuch that I doubt not he
suspected the truth. But all my questioning was vain; for he said that
the lady would tell neither him nor his fellow-priests whence she came
nor whither she was going; but she had declared in parting that she
should come again to the Temple before long, if she lived. She was
of tall stature, with brown hair and gray eyes, of fair complexion
and somewhat pale, with a slight scar on the left cheek, and of a sad
expression, and she spoke Greek with the Attic accent; moreover she
informed the priests that she had sought in vain for her children for
many years. Straightway from his words I conceived the image of one who
could not have been guilty of any cruel or unnatural deed, and I became
assured in my mind that some foul play or irresistible constraint, but
not her own will, must have separated us from our mother. And a new
feeling possessed me that, if I could find her, I might still have some
one who would love me. But when I seemed to see her coming again to the
Temple, and myself meeting her and telling her all my story, and the
story of Chrestus, and shewing her my token, and falling on her neck
and embracing my mother, and how she also would embrace me as a son,
then it came into my mind, “And how could such a mother own such a son
as Onesimus is now?”
In that moment, thou, O Lord, didst show me unto myself that I might
hate myself; and on that same day I left the priest of Cybele and cast
off my old companions, and having found a lodging with one who prepared
skins for the covering of books, I determined to earn my living if
possible as a transcriber. For the space of three or four months I
lived after this manner, forswearing my former dissolute life and
letting no day pass but I visited the Temple; for the sun never rose
but I said to myself ‘this day perchance she may come;’ and I ruled
all my life by the thought of her, and the hope of her, if perchance
I might yet find one that would love me. But the Lord had ordained
otherwise. For on a certain day (about the beginning of the fifth
month after I had first come to Pergamus) taking my work to the shop
of a bookseller with whom I had dealings, I found there two or three
men of learning standing together, conversing of books and parchments
and the like; and taking up a parchment one said to a companion that
he had seen even such a book as this, so transcribed and adorned, in
the library of Philemon of Colossæ. Then a terror fell upon me lest I
should be discovered, and without so much as waiting to be paid for my
labor, I made shift to leave the shop, upon some slight pretext, and
returning to my lodging for a few minutes I went forth thence to the
city gates, and ceased not travelling till I came to Ephesus, where I
went on board a ship bound for the city of Corinth.
§ 3. HOW I CAME TO CORINTH AND SAW THE TOMB OF EUCHARIS.
At Corinth I found no man to employ me as transcriber. But because of
the number of rich people in that city (some living there but many more
resorting thither for pleasure) and many spending their whole lives in
continual revelling, there was a great demand for such buffoons, and
mimes, and inferior actors, as attend at great men’s feasts to make
them merry; and to this occupation I was now forced to stoop. And so
being cut off from all hope of finding my mother, I fell again into my
old ways of reprobate living. Besides the baseness of my mode of life,
I was weighed down by a perpetual slavish dread. Whithersoever I went,
or whatever company I frequented, I was never secure, fearing always
lest some one should take me by the throat and claim me as Philemon’s
slave, a thief, and a would-be murderer; and whenever I saw a slave’s
body hanging on the cross, with the crows fluttering round it, or a
gang of branded wretches with shaven heads dragged in manacles through
the streets, at such a time I would say, “Sooner or later this will
be thy fate, Onesimus.” This took all the heart and spirit out of my
resolve to lead a virtuous life. Sometimes I determined at all hazards
to go back to Pergamus; for it made my heart sick to think of her who
had been seeking me there many years, perhaps even at that instant
standing on those steps of the Temple which I had been wont day by day
to frequent in the hope of seeing her. But at first I durst not, and
after some days when I had at last determined and made ready to depart,
I remembered how I had told the priest of Asclepius that both Chrestus
and Onesimus were dead; which he belike had by this time conveyed to my
mother, so that she would now give over seeking in despair, and come
to Pergamus no more. The thought of her new sorrow was heavier than
I could bear, and thus that image of her which had been but of late
so precious and helpful, became unto me now so full of sadness that I
sought to flee from it in revellings and drunkenness.
The end of all was that the hand which seemed to have raised me for a
breathing-space out of the deep gulf of destruction now plunged me down
again; and I fell once more to a life not worse perhaps, but assuredly
not much better, than that which I had led with the priest of Cybele.
Yea, such a wretch was I now become that I began to be content with
wretchedness, preferring darkness and fearing any glimpse of light lest
it should make my darkness more visible; insomuch that once or twice at
this season, as I remember, I took off the little tokens from my neck,
the gifts of Eucharis and Chrestus, and thought to cast them away,
because when I felt them upon my breast they troubled me at nights,
suggesting visions of the past and hopes not possible. But, base and
vile though I was, my courage failed me, and I could not do it.
One day, after late revelling, when thoughts like these had been
disquieting my soul, I found myself wandering through the streets near
the quays where the ferry takes passengers across to Peiræus; and
scarce knowing what I did I stepped with the rest into the boat, and
presently I had disembarked and was walking up toward the city of
Athens, yet all the while cursing my folly in coming whither I should
not have come. For I feared lest I might be recognized, and still
more lest I should rouse up memories that were best forgotten. Yet on
I went, for all my self-reproaches, as if I were a lifeless engine
impelled by some power outside me, till I came to a little garden hard
by the wall, wherein was a tomb of Charidemus a brother of Eucharis,
who had died these many years; and entering in I read the words over
the grave, which oftentimes I had read with my beloved by my side:
Golden youth, read here thine end:
I sprang from dust, to dust descend.
Eucharis had always been wont to find fault with this inscription as
being too sad, and she would protest that, when she died, she would
have somewhat more hopeful inscribed upon her tomb. This saying of hers
coming to my memory reminded me of that which in my lethargy had all
this while escaped me, that her tomb also would in all likelihood be
in this same garden; and as I turned round my eye fell at once on a
new-made sepulchre and on it this inscription:
Twenty years of fleeting breath
Then Eucharis went down to death
Whom I fondly called my own,
Not knowing she was but a loan
Lent by Death, who from below
Sends short delights to make long woe.
Too short a loan, poor twenty years,
For such vast interest of tears
Which we must weep, who now remains
To feel a lonely father’s pains.
Dear dream, sweet bubble, painted air,
Break! leave poor Molon to despair.
When I read these words I could not but feel some touch of pity for the
poor old man mourning alone in his chamber where we three had been wont
to sit so happily together; and looking on the wreaths and garlands
that were on the sepulchre and perceiving that they were all very old
and faded, I remembered that Eucharis was born as on that very day, and
I marvelled that the old man had not come forth to do honor to the tomb
and to deck it with fresh flowers, and methought some strong cause must
have hindered him; for it was now nigh upon sun-down. So though I durst
not have looked him in the face, I arose and went into the city again,
even to the street where he lived, in case I might see him coming forth
from his door; and up and down I walked till sunset, my head muffled in
my cloak, and all that time I saw him not. Nor was I like to see him.
For when I inquired of one that came forth from a neighboring house
whether Molon yet lived in that street, he looked on me as if pitying
me for my ignorance and said that the old man had died but two days ago
and was to be buried on the morrow.
Now would I fain have persuaded myself that it was well with me,
because not a single friend remained to reproach me, nor any one whose
love or good opinion might deter me from leading a life according to my
own desires, or the drift of fortune: yet at night when I lay down in
Corinth, the thought of Eucharis would force its way into my soul, and
when I shut my eyes I could see nothing and think of nothing but the
inscription on her tomb; and at the last the memory of my beloved one
prevailed, and tears fell from eyes for the first time since I had read
her last farewell. But on the morrow all was forgotten. I went forth
to my task of buffoonery as usual; and the day and the night passed
according to custom, in jesting, and drinking, and revelling, and sin.
What shall I say to thee, O Lord, concerning these things? Shall I say,
Blessed be Thou, O Lord, who didst suffer Thy servant to sin much, that
he might be forgiven much, and that he might love much? Nay, but Thou
art a righteous Lord and hatest unrighteousness. Lord, this only can I
say, Thou knowest all, and yet Thou hast forgiven.
§ 4. HOW I SAW THE HOLY APOSTLE PAULUS BUT KNEW HIM NOT.
Though I had by this time no lack of employment, yet I began to be in
debt as well as in want. For by continued revelling and gaming and
drinking, I had spent all the money that I had brought with me from
Pergamus, I mean the money of Philemon. Therefore about this time (it
was the ninth year of the Emperor Nero) certain of my companions, who
were in the same case as myself, persuaded me to accompany them to
Rome, where they would obtain no less employment, they said, and better
pay. At any other time I should have been not a little moved, coming
thus for the first time to the chief city of the world; but such a
lethargy had fallen on me that I took little or no note of all the
greatness and splendor of the place, save only that I well remember
the day when I first saw the Emperor presiding at the games in the
Circus Maximus. For on that day seeing one that was a matricide, and
a murderer, and an abuser of nature, thus enthroned in the chief seat
of empire, and worshipped as God with the applause of such a concourse
as would have gone nigh to make up a great city, and beholding also
what vile sights were there exhibited—things detestable and not to be
mentioned, with which the deaths of thousands of gladiators cannot be
compared for horror—then it was borne in upon my mind that there need
be no more dispute as to whether Good or Evil reigned over the world;
for here before mine eyes was Evil visibly reigning, and called God by
all. Wherefore, though I went to no greater excesses than before at
Corinth, yet was I hardened and confirmed in evil, drowning my shame in
wine and striving to banish all distinction between evil and good.
Yet even at Rome there were seasons when, in my heart of hearts, I was
weary of my sinful and desolate condition, and longed for the touch of
a friend’s hand; and at times I yearned to be a fool and to believe in
something, cursing the wranglings and disputations of the philosophers
who had taken from me all faith in the gods, so that I could no longer
put trust in anything; yea, at such moments I would fain have been a
peasant in the poorest village of Asia (such a one as poor old Hermas
or lame Xanthias whom I remembered in my childhood), worshipping
Zeus, or Pan, or aught else, so that I might only be not myself. Life
wearied me, yet I feared death, yea, I feared even sleep; for the
darkness was full of terrors, and my couch brought me no rest, but only
horrible phantasms of dread abysses, and visions of falling down for
ever, and of hands stretched out to stay me and then drawn back, and
of sad faces veiled or turned away. The daylight which chased away the
terrors of sleep, brought ever back with it shame and remorse. Thus
all things, both by night and by day, seemed set in array against me.
But indeed (albeit I knew it not) my miseries were of the Lord; for by
these means, didst thou, O Judge that judgest rightly, even by these
righteous torments and just retributions, prepare me to be delivered
from unrighteousness and to be made free in the Lord Jesus.
After I had been in Rome a few weeks, I was admitted into a club
or collegium of actors; where I made acquaintance with the actor
Aliturius, a Jew by birth, one that was in great favor with Poppea who
had that same year been married to the Emperor. Now the lady Poppea,
like many others of rank and quality at that time, was given to the
observance of the Jewish law; at least so far as concerned Sabbaths and
abstinence from meats and the use of certain purifications; and she had
with her a certain Ishmael, who had been high priest among the Jews.
Hence it came to pass that, by help of Aliturius and through favor of
Poppea, I was admitted to perform and recite at several feasts and
drinking parties in the palace, and sometimes even in the presence of
the Emperor himself, but more especially before the officers of the
Pretorian guard.
One evening, as I came from a feast where I had been making mirth
for some of the officers, returning through that part of the palace
which looks towards the Circus Maximus, there passed by me a guard of
soldiers having a prisoner in chains, whom they led into an adjoining
chamber, and I understood from them that the man was to lie there for
that night, that he might be ready on the morrow; when the Emperor
himself proposed to hear his cause in the temple of Apollo, which was
near at hand. “And who,” said I, “is this prisoner whom the divine
Emperor thus deigns to honor?” The man, they said, was one of the
Christian superstition. Now at that time, being in favor with Poppea
and the Jew Aliturius, and it being my occupation to be a jester for
the officers and soldiers, I was wont to make the Christians matter
for jest and scoffing, not sparing sometimes (may the Lord forgive me)
to assail even the Crucified One in my jesting. So being inflamed with
wine, I thrust myself unbidden into the chamber, telling the guard
that we would examine the prisoner at once, “Wherefore,” said I, “be
ye _judices_ or jury, and I, for the nonce, will be the divine Emperor
himself.”
Having therefore made for myself a kind of tribunal, I sat down on it,
taking a centurion to be my assessor, and the rest of the soldiers,
joining in the jest, sat down upon the floor; and when I bade the
soldiers “produce the prisoner,” he sat up, but not so that I could
see his face clearly, the lamp being behind him. Then I accosted the
man in derision, saying that from his aspect I discerned him to be
Heraclitus the crying philosopher, and I asked him whether he also,
like Heraclitus, taught that “men are mortal gods, and gods immortal
men.” To this he replied, as if willing to enter into the jest, that
he was a teacher of joy and not of sorrow, but that indeed he taught
that God and men were at one. After this, mocking at his baldness, I
asked him whether he were Pythagoras risen from the dead, or whether he
could teach us to be something more than men and to be in harmony with
the Universe. He laughed gently at this, replying that, though indeed
he could teach these things, yet was he no philosopher but rather a
soldier; and saying this, he raised his head and looked at me very
intently as if he were weak of sight; and at this moment the light
of the lamp, just then falling on his face, perplexed me, because I
felt sure that I had seen this man before; but where or when I could
not tell. However, recovering myself, I asked him in what legion he
had served and under what Imperator, and he replied, still preserving
a calm temper and smiling, that he served in the Legio Victrix and
under the auspices of the Imperator Soter, or Salvator. Hereat the
soldiers applauded, and I perceived that I was being beaten on my own
ground. So thinking to catch the old man by some slip, or to drive him
into an inability to answer, I asked him what were his weapons. But
he replied that he used the shield of faith, and the breastplate of
righteousness, and the belt of truthfulness, and the sword of the word
of God; and, said he, I fight the good fight of righteousness against
unrighteousness, wherein the victory must needs be in the end upon my
side, as your own hearts also testify; for which cause is our legion
rightly called Victrix. He added some words which I cannot now recall,
about the nobleness of such a battle, and the glory of it, which moved
even the drowsy soldiers; insomuch that they said with one consent that
the man had reason on his side and that they wished him well. “Then,”
said I, making one last adventure to have the laugh on my side, “where
then is thy Imperator that he does not bear witness unto thee?” At once
he replied, “He will bear witness for me, and he is with me at this
instant;” and these words he uttered with such a force of confidence
and with a look so fixed and steady, gazing methought on some one whom
he discerned behind me, that I leaped up and looked over my shoulder,
trembling and quaking lest there were some phantom in the room. The
soldiers also were, for the moment, somewhat moved, howbeit less than
I was; and thinking perchance to shift the shame of their fear from
themselves, they called out that I was not worthy to sit on a tribunal,
nor to represent the divine Emperor. So, to put the best face I could
upon my discomfiture, I concluded briefly with a mock-oration, saying
that the prisoner appeared to be a valiant soldier, and that he seemed
worthy to be allowed the privilege of abstaining from swine’s flesh,
and of worshipping an ass’s head, if it so pleased him, and with that,
I proclaimed the meeting dissolved.
§ 5. HOW I LEARNED THAT PAULUS WAS THE PROPHET THAT I HAD SEEN IN MY
CHILDHOOD, THE SAME THAT HAD CURED LAME XANTHIAS.
As I was going forth from the chamber with the rest, he that was
guarding the prisoner stayed me, questioning me concerning the
Emperor’s health, and asking me whether it was likely that the Emperor
would hear his case in person to-morrow. I said that it was not
unlikely; for though he had not been in good health, yet now that he
was wedded to Poppea, she made him give heed to all Jewish matters.
“Yea but,” said the guard, “this fellow is no Jew, such as the other
Jews, but of a different faction, which they call seditious; and the
rest of his people hate him.” “I understand that,” said I, “but whether
the Jews love him or hate him, in either case Poppea will be for him
or against him; and of that he is like to have experience to-morrow.”
Then the soldier began to explain to me the nature of this sect; but
I interrupted him, saying that I knew everything concerning them,
“having learned their customs at Antioch” and whereas I was always wont
to preserve silence about my life in Asia and about everything and
every one that had to do therewith, now on the other hand, something
I know not what, made me add the words—“and at Colossæ;” and as soon
as I had said it I repented of it and hastened to go forth from the
chamber. But the prisoner rose up from his couch and, catching me by
the cloak, asked whether I had been lately at Colossæ and whether I
knew one Philemon, who was a citizen of that place. I said “no;” and
he sat down with a sigh, keeping his eyes fixed upon me; and then, as
I was going forth, the expression of his features came back to my mind
on a sudden and I remembered the hook-nosed prophet who had healed lame
Xanthias in years gone by at Lystra, and I could not forbear asking him
whether he had ever been in the region of Pamphylia; and he answered
“yes,” and when I mentioned Lystra, he said he knew that city and had
been there. Then I asked in what year, and he answered in the fourth
year, or thereabouts, of the Emperor Claudius. So perceiving that the
times agreed, I questioned him further whether he had healed a sick man
there, and to make sure, I said one sick of the palsy; but he replied
“No, but a lame man, that had been lame many years,” and with that he
leaned forward to me as if still desirous to answer and ask further
questions.
But at this point the soldier, he I mean to whom the prisoner was
chained (for the rest were gone forth) having now laid himself down
upon the pallet to sleep, smote the prisoner upon the face with the
palm of his hand, saying that it was bad enough that he should lose
his seat for the games in the Circus Maximus to-morrow, where the
people were even now gathering (and indeed we could hear the noise and
shouting of the multitude outside) and that he would not further be
cheated of his slumbers by a miserly Jew, who refused to give a single
denarius to the soldier that was at the pains of guarding him. Hereat
the prisoner began with a cheerful countenance to compose himself to
lie down by the side of his keeper, only saying that his friends had
been very willing to fee the keeper; but the guard having been that day
changed, and he himself being (as it chanced) without money, it was not
possible for him to give any fee at that time. But the soldier, nothing
moved, struck him twice, yet harder than before, with his fist, bidding
him hold his peace and saying, with a curse, that excuses were not
denarii.
I know not whether it was the patience and constancy of the prisoner
that moved me; or because his presence seemed to carry back my mind
to the days of my childhood, reminding me of the pleasant fields and
flocks round Lystra, and my brother Chrestus and my old nurse Trophime,
and the shepherd Hermas; but, be the cause what it may, certain it is
that I was drawn to the man as if bewitched or fascinated, and taking
out such money as I had (which was but very little) I gave it to the
soldier. At the same time I asked the prisoner whether he had made
any attempt to gain the intercession of Titus Annæus Seneca, a great
philosopher in those days and the former tutor of the Emperor. “Nay,
but the old bookworm has no power in these days with our Emperor,” said
the soldier taking my money, “and could no more rein him in now than a
butterfly could rein in the dragons of Hecate; besides, if he could,
think you that a man of quality, such as the Emperor’s tutor, would
regard such scum of the earth as these Christian wretches? However,
whatever he be is no business of mine, and money should have money’s
worth; so I give you five minutes with the prisoner; but, mark me, no
more.”
I felt as one caught in a trap. Twice had I endeavored to depart from
the chamber because I desired to avoid speech with this stranger, who
knew Colossæ and my master Philemon; and now of my own motion I had
so wrought that I must needs have speech with him. So I sat down, and
asked the prisoner his name. “My name was once Saul,” he answered,
“but I am now called Paulus and I was born in Tarsus.” Hereat I stood
up to go at once, but my limbs refused to obey me and I went not, but
stood where I was, gaping and staring like one mad; for I seemed to see
before me, next to Christus, the bitterest foe of my life; because this
Paulus had caused Philemon to be my enemy and by his superstitions had
slain my beloved Eucharis. Yet on the other hand it was borne in upon
me that here was one that had seen Christus risen from the dead, and I
remembered as if it were but fresh in mine ears, his invocation over
me in the days of my childhood, “The Lord be unto thee as a Father;”
and I felt that however I might endeavor, it was not possible for me
to hate this man, nor easy to resist the spirit that was in him, for
I was in his presence as one under a spell. So, though my fears bade
me depart, the hand of the Lord constrained me to remain. While I thus
stood stammering, uttering something perchance but meaning nothing,
Paulus interrupted me, taking me by the hand and saying, “I perceive
that there is to be more discourse between us; wherefore I will only
say this, that this night my prayers shall ascend to the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ in thy behalf. For the Lord hath need of thee, and
verily thou shalt be saved and redeemed from all thy sins. To-morrow,
as thou hast heard, I stand before the Emperor; but if (as I doubt not)
I receive deliverance from the mouth of the lion, I am to discourse
at sun-down concerning the mercies of the Lord Jesus in the house
of Tryphæna and Tryphosa, hard by the Capenian gate. Prithee, my
benefactor, bestow on me yet another benefit, and promise that thou
wilt be there.” “No” was in my heart, but “yes” came from my lips
before I knew that I had framed an answer, and I left the chamber as
one in a trance.
§ 6. HOW I WAS LED INTO THE NET OF THE GOSPEL.
As soon as I was come forth from the presence of Paulus I resolved
one thing for certain, that, go whither I might to-morrow, I would
by no means go to the house of Tryphæna; for, in spite of all my
former disbelief in witchcraft, I began to believe that verily some
kind of fascination was being used against me to make me a Christian
against my will. For a long time I dared not lie down to rest, but sat
reasoning with myself and endeavoring to call to mind the arguments
of Artemidorus against the Christians; yet ever and anon the face of
Paulus would appear before mine eyes, and I seemed to hear him saying
that the gods are immortal men, and it came into my mind that, if
indeed there were but such a god as my beloved Eucharis or Chrestus,
only immortal instead of mortal, how willingly would I trust in him,
how gladly face all peril and endure all hardship for his sake! And
then I bethought myself of the saying of Paulus about his leader
Christus whom he mentioned as still living and bearing witness to him,
and how he seemed to see Christus behind me; and with that I leaped up
crying for help and screaming like one distraught; and so timorous was
I that I lit a second lamp and sat down again resolving not to sleep
that night at all. But presently sleep, whether I would or not, fell
upon my eyelids, and a confused mixture of many visions passed before
me, Paulus and Pythagoras and Heraclitus, all beckoning to me, and
speaking about an “immortal man” and a “mortal god;” and then such a
chaos of words and sights that I grew dizzy, till at last I saw a small
white cloud which grew larger and opened itself and inclosed all the
former chaos, and on it was written “Chrestus;” but as I approached,
it was not “Chrestus” but “Christus,” and then “Chrestus” again, till
the cloud burst with a loud sound as of thunder and disclosed my
brother, bright and smiling as in old days, and on his breast he bore
the token I LOVE THEE and he stretched out his arms to me. But when I
ran to embrace him, behold, on his hands and feet the marks of grievous
wounds, and the expression of his countenance was the same and yet
not the same; so that I stood and drew back, and, though he beckoned
to me, I fled. But he pursued after me and I still fled from him, and
all around there were voices and faces of good and evil, the good
helping my pursuer, the bad helping me; but, as he gained fast upon me,
the priest of Cybele smote the ground, and, behold, a great yawning
chasm, wherein was a multitude of skeletons with open arms waiting for
me, and I leaped into the chasm, and the arms of the skeletons were
clasping me round; when suddenly I awoke and found myself upon the
ground, shrieking and struggling and my limbs all shivering and bathed
in sweat; and by this time the night was well nigh past, and the first
light of dawn was to be seen in the east.
So great was my terror that my first resolve was to depart at once from
Rome. But then I bethought myself that, whithersoever I might travel,
I could not avoid bad dreams; and, if I desired to avoid Paulus, no
place was so convenient for me as the most populous of all cities. So
I concluded to remain where I was, but to spend that day in Tusculum;
whither I accordingly set out a little before noon. But I had not gone
a few paces from the door of my lodging, before the slaves of a certain
rich Octavius, one of my patrons, came suddenly behind me and, catching
fast both my arms, bade me return with them, saying their master
entertained company that day unexpectedly, and much desired my presence
to make them merry. When I would have excused myself, they replied
that they were under constraint to take no refusal; for Octavius had
threatened them with a whipping if by fair means or foul they brought
me not. Moreover, as they were to dine very early, I must come with
them at once, though it was but the seventh hour, and thus they would
be sure of me.
So I went with them under a kind of friendly violence and entertained
the company after my power. But what I said and did I know not, save
only that at the beginning of the entertainment I overheard one of the
guests say to his neighbor that Tychicus (by which name I was known in
those days) was that day in admirable fooling; and his neighbor replied
that truly Tychicus would be the most wittily obscene buffoon in the
whole of the city, but for a certain unevenness in his jesting, as if
he were possessed with two spirits, a lewd spirit and a surly spirit,
“for,” said he, “after keeping all the table in a roar of mirth for
two or three hours, if you watch the fellow for a minute or so when he
thinks none are looking at him, he falls into a moroseness, or else
a kind of vacancy, as if he were a soothsayer and saw visions.” When
I heard this, I drank even more recklessly than my wont, saying to
myself that I would drive out that spirit of vision-seeing and give
myself wholly to the evil spirit. And noting that it was now near
sun-down, so that I was free from the snares of the enchanter Paulus,
I grew more and more furious in my revelry, exceeding all bounds in
grossness and blasphemy so that the guests applauded amain and covered
my head with crowns of roses.
When I was at last dismissed, the guests now retiring to prepare for a
second banquet, it was full two hours after sunset. Now the House of
Octavius was on the Cœlian hill (where now stands the Colisseum) so
that I was in no way constrained to go near the Capenian gate in order
to return to my lodging. But the Lord constrained me and it was as if
my feet took me thither against my will. Again and again did I repeat
to myself, “Fool, why goest thou into the snare with thine eyes open?”
But I replied, “What harm in merely going through the street, since
it is certain that I shall not enter the house?” Yet, as I drew near
to the street, I perceived the folly of going whither I desired not
to go, and I drew back and turned aside going towards the Prætorium,
when of a sudden a fear fell upon me, and I felt a hand laid on my
shoulder from behind, and I trembled from head to foot hearing the
voice of Paulus: “My son, thou art not in the right way.” Fain would
I have made some excuse, or have fled at once without excuse; but
neither could my tongue avail for words, nor my feet for flight. So I
went on with Paulus even as a captive, and he took me by the hand and
led me unresisting into a house where was a large congregation of the
Christians already assembled and expecting his presence; through the
midst of whom I walked, crowned as I was with roses, and dripping with
unguents and staggering in my gait, so that all gazed at me with wonder
and some perchance in anger. However they all made way reverently for
Paulus, and for me with Paulus, he still holding me by the hand. Then
Paulus ascended a bema or platform and began to speak to the people.
At first I sat still, as one hearing and yet not hearing, content to
listen but not knowing why I listened; like a brute beast not capable
of understanding. By degrees my senses returned, and his words seemed
to come nearer and nearer to me till they penetrated my very soul; but
I cannot recollect them so as to set them down, except a few of the
last sentences, and these not exactly.
When I came to myself, he was speaking of the mercies of the Lord,
describing how he himself had persecuted the faith yet had obtained
mercy. Who therefore, said he, could not be pardoned, since he had been
counted worthy of pardon? Who was so vile and sinful that must needs
say ‘I am not worthy to draw nigh unto the Lord’ since he, Paulus, the
sinner and persecutor, had been embraced by the arms of his mercy?
“Therefore, say not within yourselves ‘What new sacrifice shall I
bring?’ For the Lord Jesus Himself is your sacrifice; neither say in
your hearts ‘With what new purification shall I draw nigh unto him?’
for the blood of the Lord Jesus is your purification; neither say ‘What
new deeds must I do?’ or ‘What new life must I lead?’ for the Lord
himself hath prepared thy deeds that thou shalt do; and as for thy
life, it is no longer thine own; for behold thou art dead; and the
life that thou shalt hereafter live, is the life that Christ shall live
in thee. Come therefore unto thy Lord and trust in him.
“Stumble not, O ye Jews, at the cross, neither say within yourselves,
‘The Crucified cannot be the Christ; he that died the death of a slave
cannot be our King.’ Nay, but I say unto you, because of the cross, and
not in spite of the cross, the Lord Jesus is the Christ; and because he
made himself to be the servant of all, therefore is he now exalted to
be King over all. Also, ye Gentiles, stumble not at the sepulchre of
Christ, saying, ‘It is not possible that one that is dead should rise
again;’ for verily these eyes have seen him, and your own consciences
bear witness for me that I speak not as one deceiving you, but that
I verily saw the Lord Jesus. And as many of you as believe, have, as
a testimony, the presence of his Spirit in your hearts; and as many
as shall believe shall have that same Spirit dwelling among you, as
earnest of the glory that is to come, bringing with it love towards God
and good-will towards all men. Come therefore unto the Lord Jesus, and
behold, the grave hath no power to make a gulf between you and him.
Say not ‘He is in the heaven far above us,’ nor ‘He is in Hades far
beneath us;’ for I declare unto you that neither heaven, nor earth, nor
that which is beneath the earth, can part you from him; fear not the
gods nor the Gentiles, nor the reproach of men; fear not the thrones
nor powers of this world; if Christ be for us who shall be against us?
Fear ye not therefore the fears of this world; for behold, for them
that are called of Christ, all things work together for good; for I am
persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities,
nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any
other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Now at first as I came to myself, and heard the voice of the Apostle
discoursing of Jesus and of the life in Him, and of the joy and
peace of it, being made conscious of my inward darkness and of the
unattainable Light, I felt the burden of my miseries too great for
me to bear. A shape of evil seemed to sit pressing down my soul,
stifling her groanings and exulting over her unavailing struggles;
bidding me stop my ears against the voice lest it should disquiet my
heart in vain, because having taken side with evil and having wilfully
blasphemed, I was now his lawful slave, and regrets were unavailing;
and because I would not obey him, methought he was encompassing me all
around with thick walls of an impenetrable dungeon, wherein I lay as
in a sepulchre beneath the earth, fast bound, not able either to see
or to hear. But suddenly, as if a great way off, I seemed to perceive
a sound, though very faint, that “if Christ were for us none would
be against us,” and with that, a shaking of the walls of my dungeon;
and after that, came the other words of the Apostle each after each,
battering at my prison, so that wall after wall fell with a great
crashing noise; and last of all there came that thunderous proclamation
roaring around mine ears, that neither things present nor things to
come, nor height nor depth nor any other creature should separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; and hereat my
whole dungeon straightway parted, like a curtain rent asunder, and
brightness burst in upon me as a flood, and the Lord Jesus revealed
Himself unto me as the Light and Life of men.
THE END OF THE FIFTH BOOK.
THE SIXTH BOOK.
§ 1. OF THE TEACHING OF PAULUS.
Who shall describe the marvels of the change when from the sea of
sin a human soul is caught up into the life above, and lifted into
the blessed brotherhood of the saints of God? No fears, no doubts,
no remorse; but only a certain purifying fire of repentance within
me, stimulating me to a life of virtue and to the helping of others,
even as I had myself been helped. In addition to the delight of
continual communion with my beloved teacher Paulus, my spirit was also
refreshed by all the brethren of the church. For in them I found such
a joy of fellowship as I had never before known, not like a common
collegium where men meet merely to eat and drink and to be merry
and to pay for the funeral of some deceased companion, and to give
help to those of the collegium who may chance to be in need; but the
Christian collegium, if I may so call it, was far above all these,
being bound together with a tie not to be loosened by death and so
strong and passionate as I had never experienced nor even conceived, a
veritable enthusiasm and insatiate desire for well-doing. Marvellously
great therefore was the change for one who had been but yesterday
friendless, an outcast, despised of all men, now to find himself
encompassed round with friends or rather brothers and bathed as it
were in a flood of friendship. But the greatest help of all was the
Lord Jesus himself, present in my heart by day and night, a constant
fountain of inexpressible peace. Now also I heard once more and learned
these words of the Lord which had first drawn my soul towards him at
Antioch; and other words I learned beside these, full of grace and
healing. Many a time in Colossæ, and sometimes even in Pergamus and
Corinth during the days of my darkness, I had caught myself unwittingly
repeating to myself that most precious exhortation of the Lord Jesus to
the weary and heavy laden, that they should come unto him and he would
give them rest; but then I had repeated these words as an unbeliever
or as a doubter, striving to harden myself in unbelief; now I repeated
them with understanding, knowing them by experience to be true, and
acknowledging that in him alone was rest. Notwithstanding the Spirit of
the Lord, and the manifestations of the Spirit, came not unto me from
the learning of the sayings of Jesus, but from the preaching of Paulus,
who first revealed to me the power of the Lord unto salvation.
At this time I told Paulus the whole story of my life, and although I
supposed that matters of love were scarcely fit for his hearing (as
Epictetus had spoken of them slightingly, as beneath the attention of
a philosopher) yet I concealed not either my former love for Eucharis
or the bitterness of my sorrow for her death. He was moved by it more
than I had thought possible, nor did he rebuke me as I had expected.
Hereon I described to him the doctrine of Epictetus, who forbade me to
sorrow for her or for anything, or any person, because it was necessary
to preserve serenity of mind. But Paulus shook his head, and said
that it was not right that we should in this way seek to escape from
the troubles of life by separating ourselves from others; but that
we ought to rejoice with them that rejoice and sorrow with them that
sorrow, and that we should fulfil the law of Christ by bearing one
another’s burdens. Yet he bade me think of Eucharis as of one not dead
but sleeping, and not in the hand of Death but in the hand of the Lord,
“for” said he, “whether we live, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
Again, when I spoke to him of my former doubts concerning the ruling of
the world, whether it were for good or for ill, he said that men had
been placed in the world as if in twilight, to seek and grope after
God; but that now the day had dawned in the manifestation of the Lord
Jesus and in his rising again from the dead; “for,” said he, “this, and
nothing else, is the salvation of the world, resolving all doubts and
showing forth the triumph of good over evil and of life over death.”
And in all his doctrine he made mention of the Resurrection of the Lord
Jesus as being the foundation of the whole Gospel and the seal of its
truth.
As to the objections of Artemidorus (for I hid none of them nor aught
else, because of the perfect trust I had in Paulus) namely, that
the Lord Jesus had not been sent into the world till after so many
centuries, and then to a most despised nation—the Apostle lightened
these doubts by teaching me more fully concerning Israel; how the
seed of Abraham, though lightly esteemed of men, had been chosen of
God to proclaim his will; and how all things from the beginning, both
the questionings of the Gentiles, and the Law, and the Prophets of
Israel, had prepared the way for the coming of the Lord. But whereas
Artemidorus had said that there was no sin, and Epictetus also had
taught me that sin and crime were no more than “erroneous opinion,”
Paulus now taught me quite otherwise, that an Evil Nature was in
the world from the first, contending against the Good, and that the
Evil is the cause of all our sins and miseries; howbeit, he bade me
believe that out of our very sins the Love of God worketh a higher
righteousness, making evil itself to be a kind of step of ascent to
a greater good; which belief I do still, and ever shall, hold fast.
Touching any signs and wonders wrought by the Lord (whereon certain of
the brethren were wont to set great store) he said but little, although
he himself wrought no small signs in the healing of diseases; for that
which drew him to the Lord was not signs nor wonders but a love of him,
and a trust in him, as being the spiritual power of God manifested to
the saving of the souls of men. In the same way I also believed, and
do still believe, in the Lord Jesus, worshipping him not as the worker
of wonder and portents, but as the Eternal Love of God, governing the
world from the first, and in these last days made flesh for us, that in
him we might know God, and love God, and be at one with God.
§ 2. HOW I RETURNED TO PHILEMON AT COLOSSÆ.
Even before I had been baptized (which took place on the seventh day
after I had first heard the preaching of Paulus) I had resolved that I
must at once return to Philemon. However, by the advice of Paulus, I
went not straightway to Colossæ, but abode some days with him at his
lodging, that I might be strengthened in the faith of Christ; and each
day drew me closer to my new teacher. Those who knew him not might
perchance have accused him of inconstancy; for his manner of speech
and the features of his countenance changed every moment; and he was
skilful as an actor to suit himself (in all honorable fashion) to them
with whom from time to time he had to do, whether Jews or Greeks, bond
or free, soldiers or courtiers, or whatever else. But the cause of
his thus conforming himself to others in things indifferent was not
inconstancy nor dissimulation, but a sincere love for all men and a
power of feeling as others felt, so that his own nature disposed him
without constraint to carry out that precept which was always on his
lips, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and sorrow with them that
sorrow.” And beneath all this appearance of inconstancy there was a
firm and solid resolution, the depth of which could not be known but by
those who knew the depths of the love of the Lord Jesus. From Paulus
(who knew Philemon well) I heard that my former enemy Pistus had fled
from Colossæ some months ago, being convicted of theft, and after his
departure his devices against me had been discovered and my innocence
proved; hearing which I was the more willing to return. Nor did the
Apostle longer delay me, saying that he doubted not but that Philemon
would do what was right; but to make assurance surer he would write a
letter to him whereof I should be the bearer.
I had not been an hour in Colossæ before Philemon signified his desire
to emancipate me without conditions, at the same time lamenting that he
had been led by the practice of Pistus to suspect me without cause; and
for the brief remnant of his life, he (no less than Apphia) bestowed
on me a truly parental affection; which I for my part endeavored to
requite with something of the care and attention due from a son. Soon
afterwards I was appointed to the ministry, and I labored in the
church at Colossæ to supply the old man’s place, inasmuch as he became
daily more infirm and less able to preside over the congregation. Many
difficulties in the work began at this time to perplex me, because
there appeared in our little congregations divisions of opinion. Some
of the brethren were plain simple folk (slaves most of them) delighting
in wonders; and these, besides believing other portents, supposed that,
after their death, they would reign on earth with Christ for many years
wearing the same flesh and blood which now they wore. Others (but of
these only a few) coming to the knowledge of Christ from the study of
philosophy, denied that there was any further resurrection, after the
human soul had once been raised up from the death of sin to life in
Christ. Again, others maintained Christ to be not very God, but only
the greatest of a great train of angels created by God; and some of
these affirmed that Christ was not a man at all (save in appearance
only) but that he merely went through the form of appearing to be born
and to suffer and to die. Many also attacked the Law of Moses and
the ancient Scriptures of the Jews; and these (not understanding the
doctrine of the Apostle concerning the progress of all things, and how
the Law was but as a slave to bring us to Christ) taking it for granted
that I must needs maintain the Law to be perfect, and the doings of the
Patriarchs to be perfect, yea, and the letter of the Law to be perfect,
endeavored to bring the Scriptures into derision, by asking whether the
true God had nails and hair and teeth and the like, as well as hand and
voice and nostrils; because, said they, the Scriptures declared that he
had the latter; and if the latter, why not the former?
Against all these opinions it seemed needful to contend, not so much
inveighing against that which was false, as rather pleading for that
which was true. Many times did I now desire that my teacher, the
blessed Apostle, had been present to direct and guide me. But then
there came into my mind the saying of Epictetus that “it is only a
bad performer who is afraid to sing alone,” and how One greater than
Epictetus had promised that he “would be ever with us.” Yet I began to
lament (as did others also) that we had no writings of the words and
deeds of the Lord which might have served as a lamp and guide to our
feet. However, in spite of these contrarieties, it was still a great
refreshment to note the work of the Spirit among all such as believed
in the Lord Jesus, yea, even among some that erred in opinions. For
not only did all alike abstain from magic arts, and festivals, and
sacrifices to demons, and the like, but a wonderful change came also
upon their whole lives: the thief no longer stole; the lewd became
chaste; the cruel merciful; the timorous and servile no longer feared
aught save sin. To crucify slaves had become a thing hateful and
abominable; to expose children was to sin against God; wealth and
pleasure were despised; and, in a word, such temperance, constancy and
benevolence as are recommended by philosophers in their lectures to a
small circle of pupils, these very virtues were practised by the whole
multitude of the saints; and this, not out of ostentation, nor “to
preserve one’s own serenity of mind” (as Epictetus would have had me
think) but simply out of an insatiate desire to serve the Lord Jesus by
loving and serving men. Nor could I fail to perceive how fruitful and
blessed was the service of the Lord; for that very peace and freedom
of mind which Epictetus had held up to me as the chief object of life,
and which I had found impossible to obtain by aiming at it, behold, now
that I no longer aimed at it, but only desired to serve the Lord, this
same peace of mind came as it were unasked into my bosom, peace deep,
and calm, and past all power of tongue to utter or mind to understand.
§ 3. OF MY DISCOURSE WITH ARTEMIDORUS CONCERNING THE FAITH.
About this time died Artemidorus. Of late the old man had become
infirm and bedridden, and I visited him often, and spoke much with him
touching the faith of Christ; and he received me the more willingly
because he had a great love for Epictetus (who was now absent with
his master in Rome), and he was wont to say that I was now become
a second Epictetus, setting my superstition aside. He retained all
his force of mind and keenness of understanding; and still as in old
times, he would fain have judged the Faith of Christ by the weakness
of the weakest of the brethren, and not by the strength which made
them strong. For example, because certain of our church (living from
day to day in expectation of the coming of the Lord) were wont to
catch up, perhaps too greedily, every light rumor of war or famine or
earthquake, as signs of the Last Day, on this account he would call the
Christians _misanthropi_, enemies of Cæsar, and haters of the empire.
Again, because others among us gave much time to fasting and prayer,
and in that condition discerned (or in some cases perchance seemed to
discern) visions of the Lord; or because a few, more superstitious than
the rest, abstained from eating flesh; for this cause he mocked at all
the saints as dreamers of dreams and given to foolish austerity and
unprofitable abstinence.
None the less, he willingly heard me speak of the Lord Jesus, and
sometimes himself questioned me concerning him. One such conversation
I remember, a few weeks before his death, when, upon my entering his
chamber, I found him in a deep study: and, as soon as he saw me,
scarcely giving me time to salute him, “You Christians,” he said,
“believe in a good God, who is all-powerful; whence then comes evil
into the world?” “I will explain that,” replied I, “when you can
explain whence arose the atoms which, as you say, made the Universe.”
He said, “Nay, my friend, I have no theories to maintain on this
subject; but evil is opposed to your supposition of a good and powerful
God.” “Not more,” I replied, “than atoms, existing from the beginning,
are opposed to your supposition of no effect without a cause.” Then he
was silent, and said no more on that point. But producing my letters
which I had written to him from Antioch (and it was at that time that
he gave into my hands those papers the substance of which I have set
down above) he urged against me more especially that which I had myself
said, that the religion of Jesus was narrow, giving precedence to
Jews, and compelling all men to be Jews in the observing of the Law;
and he added that, however Paulus might affirm the contrary, this and
nothing else was clearly the intent of Christus himself. But it was
not difficult for me to show that, howsoever Jesus had purposed that
the Gospel should be preached to the Greeks through the Jews, yet his
doctrine and kingdom had, from the first, been intended to include all
mankind, without observance of the Law. I also repeated to him as many
of the sayings of the Lord as I had been able to collect and to commit
to memory; and hence I proved to him that he at whom Artemidorus had
been wont to scoff, was neither juggler, nor magician, nor impostor,
but a great Conqueror of the minds of men, and one whose doctrine
and practice went down to the roots of life, and to the foundations
of all things. And this indeed, when he had heard the account of his
life and doctrine, Artemidorus did not deny, admitting himself to have
misjudged in former times, and professing now to revere Christus as he
would revere Socrates, or Epicurus, or Pythagoras; “but still,” said
he, “the acknowledgment of one great and good man more in the world,
proves not that the world is divinely governed.” Then I urged him again
with a new argument, saying that it was very credulous to suppose
that this wonderful Universe had come together by chance and without
a Mind, whether the Mind had wrought through atoms or otherwise, and
that if there were such a Mind, then those things that were done and
said in accordance with that Mind would prevail (being in harmony with
the universe) but those things that were not in accordance with it
would come to nought; wherefore, since the words and deeds of Jesus of
Nazareth had been already so very powerful (and that too without aid of
force or cunning or any customary aids of great conquerors) it seemed
certain that they were indeed in harmony with that Mind of the Universe
to which Jesus had taught us to give the name of Father. To all this he
listened patiently and attentively; and that he pondered these matters
in his heart may be judged from the following rough notes which I
found among his papers in his handwriting, dated about the time of our
discourse together, that is to say a month or thereabouts before his
death.
§ 4. OF THE DOUBTINGS OF ARTEMIDORUS.
“THE PROBLEM OF THE CHRISTIANS.
“This Christus lived in Syria less than forty years, and, after doing
nothing worthy of mention, was put to death upon the cross by Pontius
Pilatus, governor of Judea. He made no conquests, no laws, and few
disciples; and, of these few, one betrayed him. He wrought, it may be,
some cures of a kind to startle the multitude (doubtless in accordance
with nature, by working on the imaginations of men); but in any case
none marvellous enough to persuade men that he was a prophet; for it is
not denied that his own countrymen delivered him to execution. After
his death, his disciples constantly affirmed that he had appeared to
them, and in one case this was confessed by an enemy; but (saving this
belief in his resurrection, and some kind of expectation that he would
always be present with them as an ally) he bequeathed to his followers
nothing except a policy that was no policy, but rather a dream,
somewhat after this fashion:—
“THE DREAM OF CHRISTUS.
“The world is to be a commonwealth wherein the Supreme God is to be
King, and all mankind the citizens. But God being the Father of men,
mankind are to be to him as children, and to one another as brethren.
Of this commonwealth the laws are to be as follows:—
“1. _The Law of Love._ Love (and not Force nor Cunning) is the
strongest power in the world; and as little children take captive the
hearts of their parents by force of love, so are the Christians to
take captive the world by becoming as little children, loving all men
and thereby constraining all men to love them in return. [Surely the
vainest of vain dreams! In the fulfilment of which I will then believe
when I see the sheep loving the wolf and thereby constraining the wolf
to love them in return.]
“2. _The Law of Giving and Receiving._ As by giving to Nature the
husbandman receives a manifold return, so by giving to the Unseen
Nature and Spiritual Harmony which Christus believed to exist, men
shall receive an abundant harvest in return. Thus, by giving love, a
man is to receive a return of love; or giving pity, a return of pity;
or service, a return of service. [All this may be, and yet there
may be no God. For doubtless, if a man give love to his fellow men,
even though they love him not in return, yet he thereby enlarges his
imagination of the Divine Love, and warms his heart with the fancy
that he is now more perfectly loved by that Divine Person whom he has
painted for himself out of the colors of his own mind. This dream
may make some men happy, and more women; but though a dream may give
pleasure, it does not cease to be a dream.]
“3. _The Law of Sacrificing._ All sacrifices of beasts are to be done
away, the only true sacrifice being the sacrifice of the will, whereof
the sacrifices of beasts are but as emblems. In the life and death
of Christus (being a perfect sacrifice of the will) these Christians
suppose the perfect sacrifice to have been offered up. Hence they
regard Christus as the High Priest of mankind offering himself up for
all men; supposing that by force of sympathy with him, which they
call ‘faith,’ they are able to be united with him and so to take unto
themselves his sacrifice. [I deny not this doctrine of sacrifice to be
less ignoble and superstitious than the notions of the common sort; who
vainly imagine that they can bribe the Supreme by sheep and oxen. But,
even were it true, it seems too high and unsubstantial for the minds
of the common people. Besides, as there is no God, there can be no
sacrifice, so that this also is a dream, like all the rest.]
“4. _The Law of Forgiving._ It is supposed that, by force of sympathy,
every disciple of Christus has a power of raising up men beneath him
in goodness, whom they call sinners. This ‘sympathy’ they call bearing
the sins of others, and the result of it is forgiveness; and Christus
is said by them to have brought this power into the world and to
have bequeathed it to his disciples. It differs, they say, from our
‘forgiveness,’ in that it means not the mere remission of punishment,
but the putting away of sin itself. [All this is simply natural, and
may be seen in any family or assembly of human beings; wherein the
better always have a power of raising up the worse, and those who
are injured have power to set at rest the minds of their injurers by
forgiving them. Therefore all that they can claim for Christus is, that
he possessed this power perchance in a singular degree, and discerned
how great a force it had over the minds of men; and perhaps also
that he (by some special and peculiar influence) imparted it to his
disciples.]
“5. _The Law of Faith and Trust._ No man, said Christus, could be
forgiven sins by him, except he had ‘faith;’ and in the same way his
followers maintain that without ‘faith,’ it is impossible to obtain
the forgiveness of sins, but by faith the worst of sinners can be
forgiven.” [This again, so far as it is true, is merely natural;
because no offender can so much as imagine himself freed from the
consciousness of his wrong-doing by the forgiveness of the man
injured, if he distrust the latter and esteem him as an hypocrite.
And without doubt this “faith”—as one may see even in a dog that
has faith or trust in his master—has not a little power to confer
magnanimity on men by raising their minds to the level of a high idea
of God, even though that idea be but an empty imagination. But here,
as elsewhere, there is a deficiency of proof; for what is wanted is,
not superstructure, but foundation; for I will not dispute the power of
faith, if these Christians will first give me somewhat certain to have
faith in.]
“ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM.
“This being the commonwealth and these the Laws of Christus, the
problem is, whence comes it that so many thousands of men are drawn
towards him, and thereby led out of evil and vile courses into lives of
virtue? For other religions (and Onesimus justly urges this argument)
hold out similar hopes of Elysian fields, and terrors of Hades, and
purifications from sin; and some also, like the religion of Pythagoras,
pretend to join men into brotherhoods; and almost all afford portents
sufficient to satisfy the natural credulity of men; yet do they not
succeed in persuading their votaries to lead virtuous lives.
“The answer is, in my judgment, two-fold; first that the laws of
Christus are in accordance with the Harmony of things—by which however
I am far from meaning that there are gods, or any such things as sin,
forgiveness and the like, for all these things are probably mere
imaginations—but I mean that human nature is so framed as to be turned
from the imagination of sin by the imagination of forgiveness and
these other imaginations which Christus has devised; secondly, Christus
himself appears to have been of a nature to imprint himself upon others
to a degree much above the common; and his power over the minds of
his disciples (as has been sometimes seen in the case of others, both
teachers and law-givers and private men) instead of being diminished
after death, was greatly increased.
“A third cause may be alleged by some, namely, that his disciples
believed and cause others to believe, that he rose from the dead. But
is this a cause, and not rather an effect? For we must surely ask,
what caused his first disciples to believe that he had risen from the
dead? Perhaps they did not believe it, but pretended to believe it,
and deceived others. But this I do not think to be true in the case of
Paulus; who was changed from an enemy to a friend by an apparition of
Christus at the time when he was persecuting his followers. For this
reason, and for others, I incline to believe that the first disciples
did not deceive others, but were themselves deceived by apparitions,
naturally arising from affection and imagination. Yet can I not deny
that, on this supposition, the influence of Christus, being supposed
to be so powerful over the minds of men as to force even an enemy to
become a friend by the apparition of him whom he had persecuted, far
exceeds anything that I have witnessed, or heard, or read; and it
raises Christus to something almost above the nature of man.
“The sum of all is, that this commonwealth of Christus appears to me
but a dream, though, I deny not, a noble dream. And even were it to
prosper beyond expectation in the future, as it has already prospered
in the past, yet could I not entertain it, having no belief in a god or
gods. Yet thus much I admit, that, if I were able to believe in gods of
any kind, I know not where among gods or men I could find anything more
worthy of worship than this Christus, reasonably worshipped, without
violence to nature; for if Plato was right in saying that ‘there is
nothing more like god than the man who is as just as man may be,’ then
certainly Artemidorus may say that ‘if there were a god, there would be
nothing more like god than Christus.’”
§ 5. OF THE LAST WORDS AND DEATH OF ARTEMIDORUS.
Thus wrote Artemidorus three or four weeks before his death; and from
certain words that fell from his lips afterwards, I have hope that he
came yet nearer to the Truth than this. However in his case I perceived
(not indeed for the first time, but more clearly then than ever before)
that it is not argument nor force of philosophy that brings into the
Church of Christ them that are without, but it is rather the Spirit of
Christ in the Church. For this Spirit, the Spirit of loving-kindness,
and justice, and purity, and patience, not only binds us that are in
the Church close together, but also causes them that are without to
desire to enter in, while they wonder and admire at the concord of the
brethren. In this way the common people of Colossæ—rich as well as
poor, though more often the poor—coming by twos and by threes to our
assembly were daily converted; but Artemidorus, being (as I have said)
bedridden, could neither know how great a change had been wrought by
Christ in the lives of the brethren, nor what a spirit of power reigned
over us in the meetings of the congregation, with which perchance he
himself might have been imbued had he been present among us. Therefore
when I urged him a few days before his death, to believe and to be
baptized, though he was neither amazed nor indignant, as of old, yet he
shook his head, saying that he was now too old and too sick to leap, at
so short notice, into a new philosophy. “Nor,” said he, “could the gods
themselves, if there be gods, take it in good part that I, who have
been, all my life through, a perfect Mezentius, not merely offering no
libations to them but even denying their existence, should now present
to them as it were the dregs of the cup of this life.” In this mood
he continued even till his death. Some of the brethren rebuked me
afterwards because I had not warned him of the fiery wrath that awaits
them that harden their hearts against the Lord. But I was not unmoved
by the old man’s answer to Archippus, who had made some mention to him
of the terrors of hell. To which Artemidorus replied that if Christus
were indeed a lover of truth, then he would of a surety make some
allowance for one who, all his life long, had sought such truth as he
could find, however imperfectly, and who now, in his old age, was loth
for shame to say, “I will believe Christus to be god because, if there
be no gods, I thereby lose nothing; and if he be god, I thereby gain
much.” These words the old man spoke to Archippus in my presence, when
he was now in extreme weakness, so that he could scarce move his hand
to bid me farewell; and on the morrow he died, without making any sign
at all of faith; only he whispered to his secretary, a few minutes
before his death, to tell me this as his last message, that, whereas he
had charged me always to bear in mind the proverb that “incredulity is
security,” now he perceived that there was room for trust as well as
distrust in the life of man.
THE END OF THE SIXTH BOOK.
THE SEVENTH BOOK.
§ 1. HOW I CAME TO ROME TO SEE THE BLESSED APOSTLE.
About six months after the death of Philemon, which took place in
the same week as the Great Fire in Rome, word came to us that our
brethren in the city were being called in question for their faith,
having been falsely accused of many monstrous crimes and especially of
having set the city on fire. Soon afterwards, in the month of January,
we received most grievous tidings concerning them, how some had been
cast into prison, and others slain with all manner of insults and
tortures. The infection of this suspicion soon spread to Asia, first
indeed to Ephesus, where it was soon allayed, but afterwards even to
Colossæ, so that tumults were raised against us; the more because
of the earthquake which, in the summer of that same year, utterly
destroyed Laodicea; and in Hierapolis also and Colossæ many houses were
cast down and many slain; which calamities the common people imputed
to us, the Christians, as if the gods had sent this plague on them
because sacrifices had been withheld by our impiety. All that year I
remained at Colossæ striving to confirm the brethren in the faith and
to encourage the weak; for though the magistrates were not against us
but rather for us (knowing that we obeyed the laws) yet could they
not altogether resist the vehemence of the common people, especially
now that the fury of the multitude had some pretext in the example of
the Emperor. Wherefore even against the will of the governors of the
city, ten or twelve of the brethren, having violent hands laid on them
by the rabble, bore witness to the Lord with their blood. But, towards
the end of the year, the cooler weather setting in, and the memory of
the earthquake a little abating, the multitude began to cease from the
first heat of their fury; when, behold, we received of the brethren of
Rome a truly piteous report, how the Emperor was more incensed against
us than ever, causing such as were citizens to be beheaded; but as to
the rest, crucifying some, burying others alive, casting others to the
wild beasts, or burning them, besmeared with pitch, like torches. While
we were all mourning for their tribulation, there fell on us two blows
of heavy tidings, first that the blessed Apostle Petrus had been taken
and crucified, and then that Paulus also had been put in bonds and was
under accusation, and like to be put to death. Then I could no longer
restrain myself; so finding that all things in Colossæ now tended
towards peace, I left Apphia with Archippus (who had come to lodge with
us for a season, his house in Hierapolis being quite cast down by the
earthquake while ours was standing and not greatly damaged), and I made
all haste to Rome, hoping to find Paulus still alive, and at least to
have some speech with him before he died.
When I came to Rome, I went first to the house where the Apostle had
been wont to lodge in times past, to make inquiry concerning him; but
it was not to be found, nor any of the houses near it, having been
burned down in the Great Fire. Then I turned my steps to that part of
the palace wherein I had first had speech of him; but that also was
burned down. For the whole of the former palace had been consumed by
the fire; and the Emperor was even then building for himself his new
Golden Palace (as it is now called) on the Cœlian and Esquiline hills.
Then I made endeavor to find the house of Tryphœna and Tryphosa where
the church had been wont to meet; but that also was not to be found.
For indeed the fire had been far greater than I had conceived, and
greater also (as I should judge) than any other fire within the memory
of man, having wholly consumed four of the city wards, and partly
destroyed seven more, leaving only three of the fourteen altogether
untouched. So, what with the fire and the informers, the brethren had
been driven out of the city; and among these, Clemens and Linus. But,
meeting at last with Asyncritus, I understood from him that the holy
Apostle was in close keeping, in one of the dungeons of the New Palace.
But whether his cause had been heard or not, and (if tried) what the
issue had been, of this he was altogether ignorant. To the palace
therefore I straightway betook myself, and finding there my old friend
the actor Aliturius I frankly avowed to him that I was a Christian and
that I was ready to die if I could but have speech with one of their
number, named Paulus; who then lay in one of the dungeons of the New
Palace. He chid me for my rashness saying that, if he himself had been
such as he was when we were last together, I had been a dead man;
for what prevented him from informing against me and gaining a great
reward? “But now,” said he, “I also have known something of this Paulus
and (albeit I am myself no Christian) I would fain do what may be done
to aid him and do you a pleasure.” Then he took me to the chief jailer,
and by fair words, and large gifts, and promises of close secrecy, I
won him to consent that if I would come thither on the morrow in the
dress of an actor as in old times, I should have speech with Paulus.
§ 2. HOW I SAW PAULUS IN PRISON.
On the morrow, having gone to the palace, I was straightway led down
to the dungeon, and thence from the outer prison into the innermost
of all—rather a barathrum, or pit, than fit to be called prison. As
we went down the steps, I questioned the jailer, touching the other
Christians, whether any had been of late condemned to the beasts, and
whether the Apostle stood in this peril. He replied that the prisoner
was a Roman citizen so that he was free from that death; “and besides,”
said he, “the Roman people will not have any presented before them to
do battle with beasts, except they be proper men and able to fight for
their lives, but this man was from the first lean and sorry-looking,
and now belike he is so worn with imprisonment in the inner dungeon,
and scant food to boot, that I doubt we shall not find him alive.” By
this time the man had descended the lowest step and stood on the floor
of the pit, turning his lamp on every side, but making visible naught
save pools of water, and filth, and mire, and darkness without end.
But presently, stumbling against something, I called to the jailer,
“Paulus is here;” and he, bringing the lamp, turned it so as to see
more clearly, and said, “There is no life in him.”
Then I cried unto the Lord in my soul for mercy; for indeed, when the
light of the lamp shone upon his face, he neither spoke nor moved hand
nor foot, and his eyes were fast closed. But when I raised up his head,
and called him by his name, he opened his eyes and looked on me, and
I perceived he knew me. Then I persuaded the jailer to take him out
of this horrible pit into the outer dungeon; and we brought him out
into the court-yard, and the jailer departed, leaving us alone, saying
only to Paulus as he went forth, that it was the last watch of the
night and that the tenth day was at hand; which words I could not then
understand. When we were together, I took out bread and wine mixed
with water, which I had brought with me, and besought him to eat and
drink. He seemed loth at first, but afterwards tasted a little, and his
spirit was revived, and strength came back to him, and he praised God
that he had vouchsafed to refresh him with the sight of me once again.
And turning to me with a smile he said—playing on my name Onesimus,
which being interpreted means “profitable”—“Truly thou hast been a
profitable child unto me, and by this thy kindness thou hast repaid him
who begot thee in Christ; and yet I know not whether I should thank
thee or blame thee; for I was in the spirit when thou camest, and the
Lord had sent unto me a vision full of delight in which methinks my
soul would have passed away but for thy coming, so that by this time I
would have been with Christ. Yet doubtless it is the will of the Lord
that I should be with thee a little longer.”
Then he ate again of the bread which I had brought and drank also;
and being now somewhat stronger, he sat upright, and laying his right
hand lovingly on my head, he said with a smile, “Hast thou a grudge,
my child, against the headsman, that thou wilt give him the trouble of
taking off my head? for he and the jailer methinks had planned together
that the prison should have spared them their pains; but now thou hast
marred their counsel.” “Surely,” said I, “thou art not yet condemned by
the Emperor.” “Not by the Emperor himself,” replied Paulus, “for he, as
they told me, is on a journey to Greece; but by his freedman Helius,
from whose lips ‘Guilty’ is a word of no less weight than from the
Emperor’s. In fine, it is now the ninth day since sentence was given
that I should be beheaded; but the custom is, that the prisoner shall
not suffer death till the tenth day, which, as the jailer but now said
in thy hearing, is nigh at hand, or perchance already begun.”
Hereat my eyes filled with tears, for pity of myself rather than of the
Apostle, because I had come this long journey from Colossæ and would
gladly have come ten times that distance to have speech with him, and
to seek comfort and help and guidance from his lips, as from an oracle,
yea, rather as from the Lord himself; and now, behold, all my labor was
for naught, and he, my guide and deliverer, and father in Christ, was
to pass away from me at the season when my need of him was sorest. But
Paulus comforted me, saying that he was glad, since the Lord so willed
it, that he should die in the sight of men and not in yonder pit, and
that he accepted me as an angel from the Lord bringing a message that
he should bear public witness with his blood to the name of the Lord
Jesus. Then he bade me tell him such tidings as I had to tell of the
brethren at Colossæ and at Ephesus; and when I told him that both
there, and in all Asia, the Lord was day by day adding to the number
of the elect, he broke out into thanksgiving and praising of God,
declaring that now he was well pleased to be offered up, for the work
of his life was accomplished.
§ 3. HOW PAULUS RELATED TO ME THE STORY OF HIS LIFE.
After this he sat silent, but as it seemed to me praising God in his
heart, and there was a wondrous light upon his countenance; and so
he continued for some space musing and saying nothing. But I was in
a great strait between two wishes, being on the one hand fearful to
trouble or disturb him, and this too on the eve of his departure; and
yet having a fervent desire to receive from him some last precepts for
the guidance of the church. Presently however the Apostle broke silence
thus: “Onesimus, my child, the hour approacheth when I shall bid thee
farewell. If therefore thou wouldst ask aught of me, ask now; for the
time is short.” Then I betwixt the suddenness of the granting of my
desire, and the multitude of the questions in my mind, could not find
what to ask; but I exclaimed for sorrow, “Alas, my father, Petrus
being now slain and thou also on the point to leave us, we shall be
as sheep——” At this he interrupted my words, putting his hand upon my
mouth; “Nay, say not so, my child, that ye will be as sheep without a
shepherd; for there is one Shepherd that hath promised that he will
never leave thee nor forsake thee.” I was silent, being abashed because
of my want of faith; and he also sat for a while, musing and saying
nothing. But at last he said, “The story of my life, and how the Lord
guided me, yea, and constrained me against my will to follow him, this,
having never yet related unto thee, I will now relate, or as much of it
as the time may permit, that thou also mayst take courage, believing
that even so will the Lord be a shepherd unto thee, guiding thee safe
unto the end. Perchance also what thou shalt hear may enable thee the
better to understand the mystery of mysteries, namely, how the kingdom
of heaven is to be opened to all men, and how the Jews are for a time
cast away that the Gentiles may be brought in, and so all mankind may
be saved, even as the Lord ordained before the foundation of the world.”
After a pause he began as follows: “Thou hast often heard those
who wish not well to me, jest at my carriage and presence as being
contemptible; and they say right, for so it is, and so it hath been
with me from my childhood even to this day. For it pleased the Lord to
chasten me in tender years, making me weak of vision, and well nigh
blind. But it was turned to good for me. For because of the infirmity
of my eyes, not being able to see such things as others saw, nor to
take pleasure in the pride of the eye, and in the glory of this world,
and because also, whenever I went abroad, I was despised and mocked at,
for this cause I began very early to bend my mind to take pleasure in
knowledge and learning, and to think on the beauties of things unseen,
and on the strength of things that are esteemed weak; and I said often
to myself ‘Truth is stronger than all things visible and shall prevail
over all.’ When I grew older, this mind remained in me. The love of
women moved me not, nor gold, nor any desire of pleasure; but I had a
fervent zeal for the truth and for the Lord whose name is Truth, that
his name should be hallowed on earth, and that the people of the Lord
(for so I then deemed my nation, even Israel after the flesh) should
reign over the inhabited world.
“The troubles and humiliations of Israel discouraged me not; yea,
rather they confirmed me; for methought the Scriptures shewed clearly
that ever, in times past, greatness sprang out of small beginnings, and
triumph out of humbleness. I perceived also that the Lord wrought all
his deliverances by means and ways unexpected and strange to men; not
by force of arms, nor by wisdom or cunning, nor by wealth, but for the
most part by faith contending against all these things, even as David
was caused to prevail by faith against Goliath, and by faith Abraham
was made to be the father of the Lord’s people. Therefore it disquieted
me not that Rome should be great and should rule for a season over the
Lord’s inheritance; for even thus Egypt and Assyria and Babylon and
Persia and Syria had ruled over us, each in turn; yet all these great
empires had passed away, but the people of the Lord and the Law of
the Lord still remained, and, said I, if we still have faith, we shall
still remain and shall in the end be saved. Likewise I perceived that
in every great deliverance there cometh first a transitory shadow of
the deliverer, which is not the truth itself, but is of this present
world; and afterwards there cometh the true deliverer, which is of God;
and the will of this world is ever set against the will of God. For
after this manner the world would have had Ishmael to be heir, but the
Lord appointed Isaac; and again, the world would have had Esau, but the
Lord, Jacob; and the world chose Eliab, but the Lord, David; and even
so, said I to myself, the world would have had in times past Egypt,
Nineveh or Babylon, and, in these present times, Rome; but the will of
the Lord standeth fast, that he will have none other but Jerusalem to
be his chosen City. With these thoughts did I comfort myself during my
youth, saying, ‘Though we be now under the yoke, we shall not always be
thus.’ Howbeit I perceived not that I should have gone yet further in
my reasonings and I should have said, ‘Israel after the flesh cometh
first, but there is an Israel according to the spirit that shall come
after; and the world chooseth Jerusalem as it now is, but the Lord
chooseth a new Jerusalem, even a city in heaven.’ But this was not yet
revealed unto me.
“As I grew up, when I looked around me to discern what it should be
that should deliver Israel, I could perceive nothing except the Law.
Men, as it seemed to me, might pass away, yea, prophets could not be
always with us; but the Law remained, and would remain, a safe guide
for ever. Therefore I gave all my mind and my labor and leisure both
by night and by day to the study of the Law and the Traditions; wherein
if aught seemed to me unfit for the times, or imperfect, I would stifle
all such whisperings and murmurings of my soul with such words as
these, ‘Doubtless the Law is perfect; for if it be imperfect and in
error, we must needs be without a guide; and without a guide the people
goeth astray, and Israel is lost, and the promises of the Lord are made
of none effect; but this cannot be.’ Therefore it seemed to be the mark
of a wise man and one that loved Israel to see no blemish in the Law,
yea, to see perfection, though my understanding discerned imperfection.
So by degrees the Law took such a hold upon me that it seemed all one
with truth itself, and instead of saying, ‘Truth is great and shall
prevail,’ I began to say, ‘The Law is great and shall prevail.’ Then my
parents, perceiving that I was wholly given to the study of the Law,
determined to send me from Tarsus to Jerusalem, there to be brought
up at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the most learned of the Scribes.
And there in Jerusalem I remained many years, perfecting myself in the
knowledge of the Law, and endeavoring thereby to gain righteousness.
“As I grew more learned in the Law, so did I grow in contempt for them
that were unlearned. I perceived that there were many, both men and
women, that had not leisure nor opportunity for the observance of the
more minute Traditions of the Law; and some of these were troubled in
their souls, full of doubts and questionings, desiring forgiveness
and deliverance from sin, but not attaining to it; others were even
cast out of the synagogue for light offences; and this unlearned and
ignorant multitude was despised by the teachers of the people, as if
they were brute beasts to be restrained by bit and bridle; and I also
despised them likewise. Yet sometimes when I saw a rich man that had
leisure, highly honored in the synagogue, and a poor man shut out for
neglect of some lighter matter of the Traditions, which perchance he
had no leisure to observe, my heart would say, ‘Surely these ways are
not God’s ways. Surely to trust thus in the Law is not faith.’ But
then I would still quench all these questionings, as before in Tarsus,
saying, ‘If these ways be uneven, which is the even way? And if we are
not to obey and trust the Law, what shall we obey, and in what shall we
put our trust?’ By such answers as these I hardened my heart; and as an
ox struggles against the goad of his master, even so did I resist the
Lord, who would have goaded me into the path of truth.
“When I came to have to do with the followers of the Lord Jesus, or
Nazarenes as I then termed them, I hardened my heart still more, and
esteemed them accursed because of the cross. For I said ‘Whosoever is
crucified is under a curse. Wherefore this Jesus, whom the Nazarenes
call Messiah, is accursed, and his followers also. Moreover if this
sect prevail, the Teachers of the people will be despised, and the
unlearned will have the upper hand, and the Law (which is the Truth)
will be trampled under foot; wherefore the Truth itself as it were
proclaimeth that these Nazarenes are liars and deceivers.’ So I
hardened myself like a flint against them. Yet by degrees as I learned
more and more of the life and manners of the saints, their zeal in well
doing, their long-suffering and patience, their purity and justice,
and above all, the steadfastness of their faith in God through the
Lord Jesus Christ, then, even in the midst of my course of persecuting
them, I could not forbear sometimes from reproaching myself in such
words as these: ‘This man whom thou art dragging away to prison hath
attained to a righteousness beyond thy compass; this woman, whom thou
threatenest with death, hath a faith in God surpassing thine.’ With
such self-chidings did the Lord still goad me toward the right road;
but I still kicked against the goads and hardened my heart against him.”
§ 4. HOW PAULUS CONSENTED TO THE DEATH OF THE BLESSED MARTYR STEPHANUS.
Here the Apostle ceased for a space, as if he were unwilling to make
mention of somewhat that came next to speak of; but anon, as though
all thought of bitterness was swallowed up in the remembrance of
the marvellous mercies of the Lord, he continued with a kindling
countenance and speaking more quickly than before. Now, although I
treasured up each word that fell from his lips, yet because of his
manner of speech being as much Hebrew as Greek, and very brief, abrupt,
and vehement at all times, and now more than ever, I was not able to
set down his words exactly, though indeed I wrote them on my tablets a
few hours afterwards. Wherefore it must be understood that the exact
words, both before and in that which follows, are not his. But the
substance I will set down with all faithfulness, and it was to this
effect:
“The more closely I joined myself to the Pharisees against the
Nazarenes, and the more I saw of the cunning, and baseness, and
hardness of heart of those inferior instruments by whose aid our
chief priests and elders were wont to execute their designs, the more
was I troubled with doubts. Sometimes when I lay down to rest at
night, after a day spent in persecutions in the company of these base
companions, the words of the Prophet Isaiah would rise up against me
in the darkness, ‘Wash you, make you clean; cease to do evil, learn to
do good; your hands are full of blood;’ and once, when I was sitting
down to meat, methought I saw blood upon my hands. All the more did
I frequent the temple and offer up many sacrifices and purify myself
with daily purifications that I might wash away all sinfulness if
perchance there were any stain of guilt upon me. But still I was not at
ease, neither had my soul rest. By degrees, the Temple itself, and the
sacrifices in the Temple, instead of taking away my burden, began to
add thereto. For of the multitude who came together thither, very few
appeared to come worthily; some being strangers come from afar to see
strange sights; others desiring to expiate evil deeds or to pay vows,
but not with any sincere love of righteousness; and many more because
it was the custom, and not because they loved the worship of the Lord;
not a few also with purpose to make gain, trafficking in beasts for
victims or serving as money-changers. All this I noted daily, and it
troubled me more and more, because I perceived that many were hardened
in ill-doing by their worship and by their sacrifices, and their feet
stood in the Temple of the Most High, but their hearts drew nigh
unto Satan; and again the words of the Prophet rose up to my mind,
‘Sacrifice is an abomination to me; bring no more vain oblations.’
“But when I said to one of the elders that it were well if the
money-changers and sellers of victims could be put away from the holy
place, and if the stir and tumult of the Courts of the Temple could be
diminished, he said that I was of too tender a conscience, and that
it would not be possible to obtain such a temple as I desired, clean,
and pure, and spotless in all points, unless I wished to join myself
to the Nazarenes who dreamed of some magic temple not made with hands,
wherein some invisible sacrifice of the imagination was to be offered
up, and not the blood of bulls and goats. These words (although I knew
it not at that time) sank deep into my heart. For though I abhorred
all thought of imitating the Nazarenes in any matter, yet could I not
refrain from pondering in mind the thought of some new Temple, not
made with hands, nor liable to be polluted nor destroyed by the hand
of an enemy, but imperishable, incorruptible, undefiled. Being in this
perplexity, I thirsted for some new revelation from the Lord, and
besought him that he would send some prophet or deliverer who should
make all things clear. But then the word of the Lord brought back to me
that which had been revealed to me even in my childhood, namely, how
each deliverer of Israel was wont at first to be despised and rejected;
and fear fell upon me lest, even if the Messiah himself should come
before our generation had passed away, the Pharisees should not
acknowledge nor receive him. But, all this while, it never so much as
entered into my heart that the Messiah was already sent, and already
despised, and already rejected by the rulers of the people; but I had
my eyes fixed on some deliverance yet to come.
“None the less, yea, rather the more, did I persecute the Church of
Christ, giving my voice ever in favor of violent courses and advising
that the common sort among them should be less regarded, but the
leaders sought out with all diligence and slain. So it came to pass
that by my advice the servants of the chief priests laid hands on the
blessed Stephanus (concerning whom I have often spoken unto thee in
times past) and set him before the Council, and accusation of blasphemy
was brought against him; and I sat with the Council when he made his
defence. The words of his speech were as a two-edged sword cleaving my
heart asunder and strengthening all my former doubts against me. For he
declared unto us how, even as Israel had rejected other deliverers, so
had they rejected Jesus the Messiah, and that this was fore-ordained
by God; as also that the Temple of the Lord was not to stand for ever,
but that there was to be a new Temple not made with hands. So he showed
how Joseph and Moses had saved the people, albeit they had been at
first rejected; and how Israel had made a calf and turned to idolatry;
and how Moses, being permitted to make the earthly tabernacle for the
hardness of their hearts, had, none the less, made it after the pattern
of a better tabernacle not made with hands; and how the Temple itself
had not been made by David, but only by Solomon (who in his old age
went after other gods); and with that he cried aloud that no earthly
Temple was fit for the Most High, using the words of the prophet,
‘Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool; what house will ye
build me, saith the Lord?’
“Hereat the men of my faction, and especially those from Cilicia
and Asia, cried out that Stephanus blasphemed, and they rent their
garments and would have stopped his mouth with their uproar; but he
rebuked us, saying that as we had persecuted the prophets, so had we
murdered the Holy One. Hereat the uproar waxed still louder; but I
sitting speechless all this time, and not able to take my eyes off his
countenance, perceived that, of a sudden, as if one had plucked him by
the sleeve, he turned round and ceased from rebuking the multitude,
and stood still, looking upward very intently as if he saw somewhat.
Then a great splendor shone upon his face, and he stretched out his
hand towards heaven saying, ‘Behold I see the heavens opened and the
Son of Man standing on the right hand of God!’ At this I could not
forbear turning round also, and gazing upward to the heaven above me,
if perchance I also should see somewhat there. But I saw naught (for
my eyes were not yet opened) and anon arose another general shout that
the prisoner was worthy of death, and all cast dust in the air and rent
their garments again. So the whole multitude arose, and I with them,
not knowing whither I went, nor do I remember what further happened,
till I saw Stephanus on the ground, covered with blood, in a loud voice
beseeching the Lord that this sin might not be laid to the charge of us
his murderers; and, behold, the clothes of them that stoned him were
lying at my feet, in token that I was the chief doer of this deed.”
§ 5. HOW THE LORD APPEARED TO PAULUS.
“On the night after the blessed Stephanus died, I had no rest, nor
for many nights after. Dreams and visions visited me in my sleep.
Sacrifices and ablutions I made without ceasing, but they brought me no
peace; neither did my prayers find answer from the Lord. They that were
rich praised me, and I was held in honor by the rulers of the people,
but I said in my own heart, ‘Doth not the Lord, the God of Israel, cast
down the wisdom and power and riches of this world and raise up the
lowly and meek?’ By night methought I saw the face of Stephanus covered
with blood and praying for me; and the hand of the Lord was heavy on my
soul filling me with fears and thoughts of evil. Yet still, like the
stubborn ox, kicking against the goads of the Lord, I resolved that I
would not think on idle dreams, as I called them, but that I would give
myself with a single heart to the persecution of the Nazarenes. So I
gladly obeyed the High Priest who besought me at this time to go to
Damascus, bearing letters to the chief men of that place, that I might
have power to imprison such of the Nazarenes as I could find there.
“We journeyed slowly; for the burden of the Lord was grievous upon me,
and my eyes (which were infirm by nature) were now, more than ever,
dimmed and dazzled, so that I could scarcely endure the light of day.
Likewise by night evil dreams departed not from me. Now also, methought
(which had not been so before), I began to hear a strange voice (yet as
it were in my heart and not in my ears) as if some one reasoned with
me, accusing me that I had slain Stephanus without cause; insomuch
that sometimes I could endure no longer to listen in silence, but
made answer to the voice aloud; but presently, it was as if no voice
had spoken, and one of my companions overhearing me, reproached me in
jest, because, said he, I discoursed aloud with myself, preferring my
own speech to theirs. Therefore that I might not hear these voices, I
ceased not speaking with my companions, reasoning with them (though
none reasoned against me) and proving to them from the Scriptures again
and again (though none denied it) that the Law must not be set aside
and that the Temple must abide for ever, and that this Jesus was a
deceiver of the people. But ever and anon there would come into my ears
(yea, even in the midst of my speaking) such words as these: ‘What if
the Law were indeed fore-ordained to prepare the way for Faith? What
if there should be indeed a new Temple, prepared of God, not made with
hands?’ Then would I weary my companions with the superfluity of my
reasonings and disputings, waxing fiercer and louder than before in
defence of the Law and against the Nazarenes. They that went with me,
falling in with my humor, ceased not to revile the deceivers of the
people as they termed them; and one among them speaking of Stephanus
(of whom all this time I had made no mention) said that he had been a
hypocrite and a deceiver even in his death, gazing up to heaven as if
to persuade us that he saw a vision, and framing his face to assume a
divine appearance of gentleness and peace, and all to delude the people.
“Hereat my heart was stirred within me and I was moved to say that
I did not feel assured that Stephanus (however deceived) was acting
deceitfully at that moment when he was on the point of death; but as I
feared lest this might cause my companions to suspect that I favored
the Nazarenes, I restrained myself and assented (against my conscience)
to the man that had spoken thus. So I answered, ‘Thou sayest well;
this Stephanus was a deceiver.’ Then, because I felt that I had lied,
straightway there swelled up within me a violent desire to cry aloud
‘Stephanus was no deceiver;’ but still I rejected it as a voice from
Satan, and strove to turn the discourse to other matters. But in vain;
for now, even as if they were desirous of set purpose to thwart me, my
companions would speak of naught else but Stephanus, and how he bore
himself, and what he said, and of the manner of his death, and his
vision.
“By this time we were come unawares within sight of Damascus; and I
looking afar off upon the pleasant gardens that encompassed the city,
rejoiced greatly because here, I said, I shall have rest from my
weariness, and here these voices of Satan will cease from troubling
me. But even as I spake thus within my soul, the Voice came to me
much louder than before, and not once but many times: ‘Wilt thou yet
continue this course of blood? Wilt thou again shed innocent blood?
Wilt thou yet kick against the goad of the truth?’ Then I made answer
‘Yes I will continue;’ and these words I repeated again and again.
Then suddenly the hand of the Lord fell on me, my body seeming on fire
as well as my soul, and my eyes not knowing whither to turn for pain,
and at last I could no longer contain myself for the sore agony of my
doubting, but said aloud (yet not so that my companions could hear),
‘If now that deceiver Stephanus were no deceiver, if’—and behold, I
looked up to heaven as Stephanus had looked, and lo, a brightness
indeed, as of the glory of God; and a voice no longer in my soul but
in my ears also, penetrating to my soul, and saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?’ Then I fell upon my face, knowing who it was
that spoke, yet constrained to ask as though I knew not, and I said,
‘Who art thou, Lord?’ And he said ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom thou
persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the goad.’ Then said
I ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ And he made answer saying,
‘Arise, go into the city, and there it shall be told thee what thou
shalt do.’
“So I arose: but behold, I was wholly blind. Being led into the city
by my companions I lay some days still under the heavy hand of the
Lord, pondering many thoughts and doubting whether it would please the
Lord to restore to me my sight; and during all this time I spoke many
things not according to my own knowledge, for I was no longer master
of myself. Among other matters the Lord caused me to make mention of
one Ananias, one of the chief among the saints in Damascus (whom I
had purposed to have slain) saying that it was the Lord’s will that
he should come to me and make me whole. Whereof when the rumor came
to the ears of Ananias, he, being also moved by a vision of the Lord
which he himself received, came to me and laid his hands upon me, and
straightway my senses returned to me, and presently I began to see a
little, and in no very long space I was made whole and received my
sight as before.”
§ 6. HOW PAULUS WAS PREPARED FOR THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL.
“When I was recovered of my blindness, some of the brethren in Damascus
would have had me go up to Jerusalem that I might be instructed in the
faith by those that had been disciples before me. But the Lord suffered
it not, but bade me go into Arabia; where, for the space of two years,
I remained, giving myself wholly to prayer, and to the reading of the
Scriptures, and pondering the purposes of God. And here it pleased the
Lord to reveal many mysteries unto me and more especially the mystery
of the New Temple and the heavenly Jerusalem. And the grace of the
Lord was poured out upon me very abundantly, working for me good out
of evil, enabling me to discern the truth the more clearly perchance
because I had once fought against it. For as I had ever been wont to
say, ‘If the Nazarenes be right, then are the Jews wrong, and if Jesus
be the Messiah, then are the Law and the Temple destined to pass away,’
so now, believing that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, I had the less
difficulty in believing that the Law must needs pass away, and all
things must be changed.
“At the same time it was revealed to me in the spirit that the outward
fashion of all things must change but the will of God abideth for ever;
for in spite of death, and sin, and all the devices of Satan, the
purposes of the Highest are unchangeable; which have been, and shall
be, fulfilled, in many diverse shapes, yet ever remain the same; and
how the redemption of the world through Christ and the casting away (in
part and for a time) of Israel, together with the bringing in of the
Gentiles, were not by chance—as if the purposes of the Unchangeable
were changed—but fore-ordained before the foundation of the world; even
as it was also fore-ordained that Adam should fall, and Abel should be
slain, and that Ishmael and Esau should be rejected to the intent that
Isaac and Jacob might be chosen; in all these things I now discerned
the unchanging purpose of the Lord triumphing over Satan from the
first, and out of sin and death drawing forth life and righteousness.
Also, as regards the death of the Lord Jesus upon the cross, I no
longer felt shame at it, nor passed lightly over it in my doctrine (as
some do still, my Onesimus); for I perceived that it was a sacrifice
fore-ordained, yea, the only true sacrifice and oblation for the sins
of men, whereof all former sacrifices had been but shadows.
“Likewise it was revealed to me that mankind must rise from the death
of the flesh and be born to the life of the spirit. For as man was
first made and sinned in Adam, so man was afterwards made again and
born to righteousness in the Lord Jesus; the first Adam was the shadow,
the second, the truth; the first Adam was of the earth and of this
world, the second Adam was of the spirit and of heaven. And as all men
are bound to Adam by the bonds of flesh, so must they be bound to the
true Adam by the bonds of the spirit, that is by trust or faith and by
love, whereby men must be so knit to the Lord Jesus that whatsoever
hath befallen him must also befall them. For all flesh, being redeemed
in Christ, is made one with Christ. As therefore the Lord Jesus
suffered and died and rose again and reigneth in heaven, so must the
children of men, even all the nations of the earth, suffer and die
according to the flesh, but rise again according to the spirit, and
reign in spiritual places, perfected with him. And this hath been the
eternal purpose of God from the foundation of the world.
“Moreover, lest I should despise the past, and reject the Scriptures,
or lightly esteem the Gentiles, or stumble because of the many
generations of darkness which have been since the world was created,
all of which knew not the Lord Jesus, for this cause the Lord revealed
unto me that he for the most part worketh by slow means, and teacheth
by slow degrees; first the elements, or teaching for babes, then for
youths, then for full-grown men; and this is true for every soul of
mankind, yea, and for every nation also. Wherefore I no longer despised
the Gentiles, albeit the Lord had suffered them for many generations to
go astray after idols; nor did I begin to despise the Law of Israel,
although I no longer esteemed it as before. For it was revealed to me
that, though the law had been ordained only for a time, and because of
the hardness of our hearts, and could make nothing perfect, yet did it
prepare the way for perfection in Christ. For by the grace of the Lord
it was given to me to understand that all things in heaven and earth,
whether past or present, whether among the Jews or the Gentiles, yea,
even the beasts of the field and the very dust of the earth beneath our
feet, were all created for the glory of God, to testify that he, the
Highest, is the Father of men, and that men must be conformed to his
divine image.
“Wherefore, since the will of the Lord standeth fast, take comfort,
dear Onesimus, child of my bonds and heir of my labors, and overcome
evil with good. Shut not thine eyes against evil, but fight against
it with a stout heart. Whensoever thou lookest upon it triumphing in
high places; or setting itself up as having dominion over the earth;
or creeping into the Church, causing therein errors, and schisms, and
deceits; yea, and when also thou lookest upon it in thine own heart,
prompting thee to despair because of thine own ill courses in old
days—then do thou contend against it in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and in his name thou shalt surely overcome it. Say not in thine heart,
‘Rome is against us,’ but say rather, ‘Rome that now is, shall be like
unto Babylon and Nineveh, which once were, but now are passed away.’
Look not upon the outward things which are but for a moment, but upon
the things which are not seen, which are eternal; even as I also look
not upon these my manacles and fetters, and upon this poor wasted flesh
nigh unto destruction, nor upon the filth and foulness of yonder pit;
but instead of this earthly flesh, I see the heavenly body wherewith my
Lord shall shortly clothe me, and instead of this visible darkness,
mine eyes behold the invisible glory of the Eternal Majesty on High,
wherein enfolded, amid the blessed company of the saints above, I shall
for ever magnify the unsearchable riches of the mercies of God.
“And now, since thou knowest whither I go, why wouldst thou, dearest
Onesimus, that I should longer delay my departure? For I have been
these many years like unto a servant making all things ready for a
journey, that, when the master shall knock, he may be prepared to go
forth to a pleasant land. And behold, the Master knocketh, and the door
is now open, and shall I not gladly go?”
§ 7. THE LAST WORDS OF PAULUS.
When the Holy Apostle had made an end of speaking, I was ashamed of
all the questionings which had disturbed me at Colossæ; and in his
presence I felt myself lifted up above all doubts. Yet again, looking
to the future when I should be alone, I said, “One other question I
would gladly ask of thee,” and he bade me “Ask on,” and I proceeded
thus: “Thou saidst, but now, that all men and all nations, yea, and
all created things, are made subject to ignorance, and error, and
death, and sin, to the intent that they may be raised from the lower to
the higher; even as children are led up from the restraint of nurses
and guardians to the freedom and knowledge of manhood, and as Israel
also was led from the law to Christ. Now therefore I would that thou
shouldst resolve me this doubt. As it is the nature of every child
of man to pass through error to the truth, and as Israel also hath
erred, may not we also err, even we the Saints of God? And certain of
the saints who say that they have seen the Lord Jesus in dreams and
visions or other ways, may not they also sometimes err? Yea and in the
Traditions of the Acts and Words of the Lord, amid much that is true,
may there not also be somewhat that is false?”
Hereat he smiled and said, “Thou hast well questioned me. Assuredly
we, even the Saints, may be, nay, must needs be, in some error. For
whereas hereafter we shall discern all things as they are, seeing God
face to face in heaven, on earth we can but see them darkly, as it were
through a mirror. Yet be thou ever prompt, my dear Onesimus, to make
distinction between those cases where to err is to lie, and hurtful to
the soul, and those where to err is not to lie, and therefore not in
the same way hurtful. For I also, not many months ago, was in error
concerning the time of the coming of the Lord. For as a peevish child
is impatient till the day shall dawn, though the sun be not risen
nor like to rise, even so I desired that my Lord should come before
his time, while I still lived, and that I should be snatched up into
the clouds to him, before this generation had passed away. But now I
perceive that the day of the Lord is not yet, nor will be perchance
during this generation nor the next, nor perhaps for many generations
yet to come. Herein therefore I erred, but inasmuch as this error was
not against my soul, to err in such a matter was not to sin.
“But now let me tell thee what kind of error corrupteth the soul,
and warreth against righteousness. Whoso supposeth that to abstain
from swine’s flesh maketh expiation for impure thoughts, or that a
man may be envious and a slanderer if he do but observe Sabbaths, I
say unto thee that such a one walketh in the darkness of error that
wholly cloudeth the soul and shutteth out the light of God. For these
opinions or beliefs are against the perfect Law of Love; against
which whatsoever opposeth itself is not of God but of Satan. From
such errors as these flee thou, and fight thou, with all thy power;
but the other errors none can altogether avoid, nor be thou overmuch
troubled concerning them. As I myself was in error touching the day
of the Lord, so doubtless art thou touching some other matters, and
so are and so will be, many others of the saints, liable severally
perchance to several errors. Yea, all earthly knowledge of heavenly
things must needs be, in some sort, error, because they are seen as
it were by reflection through an imperfect glass; for the perfect God
none hath seen nor can see in the flesh. Wherefore doubt not but thou
art assuredly in error; yet be not on that account disquieted, provided
that thou strive to attain more and more of the truth. Neither forget
thou that the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be with thee to
guide thee into all truth, and to turn darkness into Light before the
feet of the Saints, from generation to generation, that all men may
grow in the knowledge of the Lord, and in the understanding of his
unsearchable ways.
“Be not thou therefore, O my son, shaken in thy faith, if in the
Traditions of the Acts and Words of the Lord some things be diversely
or inexactly reported; only strive thou earnestly to keep pure and
undefiled that truth which is the source and foundation of the rest;
I mean, that Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God hath manifested to us
the love of the Father through himself, and that he, having verily
risen from the dead, reigneth in heaven and helpeth his saints on
earth, purposing to conform all nations of men to the Father and to
destroy death and sin through his cross. Believe this, my son, and
cause others to believe this; and then thou needest to concern thyself
little with genealogies and minute disputings of words and diversities
of traditions, nor even about sundry visions and dreams, whether they
be of the Lord or no; for the foundation of the faith consisteth not
in knowing how, or to whom, or when, or in what places, the Lord hath
manifested himself or shall manifest himself, but in believing that he
is verily not dead, but liveth. All this I say, not as if thou shouldst
be careless or slothful about the attainment of the exactness of the
truth, so far as lieth in thee; but place not letters before words, nor
words before things, nor any kind of knowledge of things, no nor even
prophecies nor visions themselves, before Love. For verily I say unto
thee, the time shall come when prophecies shall fail, tongues cease,
and knowledge vanish away, but Faith, Hope, and Love shall never pass
away but shall abide for ever, and the greatest of these is Love.”
The sound of the unloosing of the prison-bars now fell upon my ears,
and presently the jailer entered saying, “The night is spent, and the
guard ready.” I besought him that I might accompany Paulus to his
death, but the jailer would not allow it, saying that I must remain
with him in the prison, for he should lose his place were it known that
I had been with the prisoner. When I would have urged him further, the
Apostle suffered it not, saying to me with a cheerful countenance,
“Nay, my son, tarry thou with our friend here; for thinkest thou that
thy father cannot walk alone, or fearest thou lest he stumble in the
darkness? Nay, but if the night be spent, the day must needs be at
hand; therefore fear not.” The man marvelled, not understanding that
the Apostle spoke of the day beyond the grave; but he said, “Thou goest
to death bravely; however, there is no need of haste if thou wouldst
have meat and drink to be thy _viaticum_.” “I thank thee,” replied
Paulus, “but I have other _viaticum_, whereof, since there is no need
of haste, I would gladly partake with my son; suffer us, therefore,
if it may be, to be alone yet a brief space longer.” Then when the
man had retired, Paulus said to me, “Now, my son, because the time is
short, let us make haste to be with Christ a while, and with all the
company of saints, both the blessed ones that have gone to rest before
us and those that have remained below.” Then he took of the bread and
wine which I had brought; and when he had broken and blessed, we ate
and drank, and the Apostle called on the Lord in prayer. What words he
uttered I know not; for I was as one in a vision, and the walls of the
dungeon seemed to have fled away, and as he continued speaking of the
Lord in heaven, who is above all thrones and powers, and of the glory
that is to come to us with him above, I seemed to pass beyond earth,
and upwards from the lower heaven, even till the highest of all, even
to the region of everlasting joy, where thou, O Eternal, dost feed
Israel for ever.
When I had come to myself, I was still kneeling, but the holy Apostle
standing before me, with his hands upon my head, blessing me; and he
touched me on the shoulder saying, “I go, Onesimus.” “Nay, my father,”
replied I, “let us abide here evermore in heaven.” But he made answer,
and these were his last words—“Thou hast a work yet to do, Onesimus,
and a battle yet to fight for the Lord; yet be assured of this, my
child, that wheresoever thou mayst be on earth, thou shalt verily abide
with me in heaven, for I am Christ’s and Christ is thine.”
THE END OF THE SEVENTH BOOK.
THE EIGHTH BOOK.
§ 1. OF THE DEATH OF NERO AND HOW ROME WAS DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF.
At thy bidding, dearest Epaphras, I once more take up the pen; having
been minded before to have concluded this book with the end of the life
of the blessed Apostle Paulus upon earth. But indeed thou sayest well
that all unwittingly I have been writing, not so much the story of
mine own life (which had a fit end methinks when I was first brought
to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus and began a new life in Christ)
nor yet the life of the blessed Apostle, but rather the history of
the manifestation of the power of Christ; wherefore thou biddest me
continue this history, passing over smaller matters in my own life,
and speaking of such greater matters as concern the Church of God; and
this, by God’s grace, I will now endeavor to do.
When I returned to Colossæ and to my labors in the Church there,
endeavoring to keep the brethren in the right path, in accordance with
the doctrine of the blessed Apostle, at first I had small success. For
whereas even before, the Jewish brethren had been bitter against me,
now, after my return, their bitterness had increased, yea, and was
daily increasing. Hereof the main cause was the troubles of their
brethren which were in Syria. For now of late the fires of those
discontents which had been as it were smouldering, even from the time
of Cumanus the Proconsul, nearly twenty years ago, and then in the time
of Felix, about ten years ago, broke forth into flame. During the same
year in which I had gone to Rome to see the Apostle, the Emperor Nero
had sent Titus Flavius Vespasianus to have command over the legions
in Syria; and from that year onward for nearly five years, even to
the time when the Holy City was destroyed, naught but wars and rumors
of wars ran all through the world, and more especially through Syria.
Throughout all that time the Jews were shamefully oppressed, thousands,
yea, tens of thousands, being sold (even before the siege of the Holy
City) to be slaves in Rome, or scattered through the cities of Asia.
These and countless other injuries set the whole nation—yea, even many
of those that believed—against all Gentiles, whether belonging to the
saints or not; and more especially did they rage against the memory
of the beloved Apostle Paulus, some saying that he was no true Jew,
others that he was not really an Apostle as the rest of the Apostles,
and others even calling him “the enemy.” So there was for five years
and more a great battle raging in the Church, whether the saints
should observe the Law of Moses or no; and for some time it seemed not
unlikely that the Jewish faction would prevail and that the Gentiles
would be compelled to submit to the Law.
During all these five years the minds of all men were marvellously
moved, and the empire was divided against itself, and many among the
saints thought that the Lord would daily appear. At first indeed the
Church began to rejoice because their chief adversary, the Emperor
Nero, was taken away. I was in Corinth, as I remember, in that year,
ministering to certain of the saints (whom I had known formerly in
Rome), who had been sent by the Emperor to work at the great canal,
which he desired to have made between the two seas near that city; and
while I was with the prisoners, a trireme came sailing past within
bowshot, decked with flags and garlands. One of the guard, that kept
the prisoners, cried aloud, “What tidings from Rome?” And answer came
back across the water, “Nero is no more.” Then all held their breath
because none could believe such happy tidings, and when the voice came
again from the trireme, “Nero is dead,” then all the prisoners, yea,
and the guards too, raised a shout for joy, and within a very few
hours, they all were free and the business of the canal at an end. Not
unlike the joy of these prisoners was the gladness of the whole Church
of Christ when he whom they called the Beast was taken out of their
path.
But anon came divisions, nation against nation and army against army
fighting who should be emperor; and first one and then another rose up
and passed away, and all was chaos, nothing solid or sure. But there
was heard again the old prophecy that “One from the East” should come
forth and rule over the empire. Some said that this was Vespasianus;
others (and this began to be commonly believed more especially among
the Jews and the Jewish faction of the saints) that Nero, being raised
from the dead, would come again from the East across Euphrates with
all the kings of the East, to make the rivers run with the blood of his
enemies; and this even from the first, straightway after the death of
Nero, was commonly believed in Rome by the baser sort, insomuch that
many deceivers arose pretending to be Nero, and his effigies were set
by unknown hands in the public places, and the rostra were crowned, and
sacrifices offered in his name; and thence this belief spread quickly
through the empire, and it is commonly believed even to this day,
namely, the fourth year of the Emperor Domitian wherein I now write.
So it came to pass that even after the death of Nero, the minds of men
were still in division and discord; and the Jews of Syria, yea, and
certain of the Jews also among the faithful, had expectation that still
their nation would prevail, because Rome seemed divided against itself;
and as long as this opinion held, so long the Jewish faction had the
upper hand in the Church.
§ 2. OF THE JEWISH FACTION.
But presently came tidings that the legions were gathered together
against Judea, and then that they were encompassing Jerusalem round
about, and afterwards that the Holy City was closely beset, and that
the brethren had fled forth, but that the Jews that stayed therein were
at discord among themselves, and in great straits, insomuch that they
were driven to feed one on the other for lack of food. But still not
many of the Jews among the faithful believed that the Holy City would
be taken; for they supposed that the Lord from Heaven would stretch
out his hand to save the place which he had chosen. So when the tidings
came at last that the Holy City had been indeed taken and burned, and
the Temple also, and that all the sacred furniture of the Temple had
fallen into the hands of the Romans, at first none would believe it;
but when it was no longer possible to doubt, many began to believe that
the end of the world was now at hand, and to some it seemed as if, with
the passing away of the Holy City and the Temple, the old world were
passed away and a new world already begun.
From this time forth began the Jews to sever themselves into two
distinct parties. Some on the one hand, seeing the will of the Lord
in the taking away of the Old Jerusalem began to fix their thoughts
on Jerusalem that is above, even the spiritual city, the Bride of
Christ; and as they could no more fulfil the Law according to the
letter by offering sacrifice in the Temple, they now began to turn
themselves more from the letter to the spirit, and from the sacrifice
of bulls and goats to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus; and so it came
to pass that this party joined themselves more closely to the Gentiles
that were in the Church. But upon the other and larger faction of
the Jews the destruction of the Holy City had an effect altogether
contrary; for being embittered against the Gentiles even before, now,
in the extremity of their rage, they made no distinction of Roman or
Greek, believer or unbeliever, but hated all alike. Hereat none could
marvel, that knew how great had been their sufferings and oppressions;
thousands slain with the sword, thousands on the cross, thousands with
famine, tens of thousands sold for slaves or condemned to the mines
and quarries; those that were suffered to live, burdened with taxes,
often dispossessed of their lands, and their lives made miserable with
penalties and insults, so that to be a Jew seemed now the same thing as
to be an outcast and laughing-stock for mankind.
Hence, among some even of the more honorable of the Jews, now to
cease to be a Jew seemed all one with beginning to be a coward and
a renegade; wherefore they preferred to be more Jewish than before;
and, because they could not now observe the Law in such matters as
appertained to the Temple, on this very account they observed all other
matters of the Law more diligently than before; and, in a word, the
Temple being gone, the Law became unto them both Law and Temple also.
In former times the unbelieving Jews had spoken against the Church of
Christ and blasphemed the brethren, but only on certain occasions;
but now they began to make a rule and habit of cursing us with formal
curses, so that it became a part of their worship in the synagogue. Of
Nero, the deceased Emperor, they ceased now to speak reproachfully,
because they esteemed him as an enemy to Vespasianus, or at least, to
the saints; and Poppæa, his concubine or wife (a woman of no virtue
nor purity) they praised; but the Emperors Vespasianus and Titus were
in their eyes as monsters, to be smitten with the plagues of God. Such
a spirit of blindness fell upon the greater part of the Jewish nation
at this time; wherefore seeing they saw not, and hearing they could
not understand, nor be converted to the Lord. Such of the Jews as took
a middle course— who were commonly called Ebionites—neither wholly
separating themselves from the Church of Christ, nor yet desiring to
cast in their lot with the Gentiles, were sorely exercised at this
time; and many were the defections and apostasies among them; and the
Gospel with them was a Gospel of sorrow rather than of joy. Hereof some
judgment may be formed, and some knowledge of the history of the Church
in Syria from a certain letter written to me in the seventh year of
the Emperor Vespasianus by one Menahem, a foremost teacher among the
Ebionites, of which letter I will now set down some parts.
§ 3. OF MENAHEM, THE EBIONITE.
After many lamentations for the evils of Israel, and especially
because the Holy City had been destroyed by “Babylon” (meaning Rome)
whereby the sacrifice had been made to cease, the letter turns aside
to describe the manner of the worship of the Temple in times past and
especially the presence and glory of the High Priest: “Alas, how was
he honored in the midst of the people in his coming forth from the
sanctuary! He was as the morning star before the sun hath risen, and
as the moon at the full, yea as the sun shining upon the Temple of the
Most High, and as the rainbow giving light in the bright clouds. When
he took the portions of the priests’ hands, he himself stood by the
altar compassed round with his brethren, even as a cedar of Lebanon
compassed round with palm-trees. He stretched out his hand to the cup
and poured out the blood of the grape, a sweet-smelling savor unto the
Most High King. Then shouted the sons of Aaron, then sounded the silver
trumpets, to be heard for a remembrance before the Most High. And the
people besought the Most High by prayer before him that is merciful,
till the solemnity of the Lord was ended. O Lord, if thou didst so much
hate thy people that thou must needs cast them down, yet shouldst thou
at the least destroy them with thine own hands and not give them over
to Babylon. For what are they that inherit Babylon? Are their deeds
more righteous than ours that they should have the dominion over Sion?”
After this Menahem reproached me in his letter that I had made myself
one with “him” (meaning Paulus) “who professed to be a Jew and was no
Jew;” and he affirmed that Jesus had not come to destroy the Law but
to confirm it, and that we blasphemed God because we made Jesus to be
even as God, whereas he was a man and of the sons of men, howbeit the
deliverer and Messiah. Thence, passing again to the condition of his
nation he added this hope that “the hand which now had power“—meaning
the Emperor Vespasianus—should be wasted suddenly, and that “Babylon”
(that is to say Rome) should be cast down, and that the spoils that
she had taken from the nations should be carried back to the cities of
the East in the day of vengeance of the Lord. After these things, said
he, a time should come when men should hope much but obtain naught,
and labor, but not prosper; for the world should be turned back again
into the old silence of seven days, even as in the first beginning, so
that no man should remain; and, after that, the Judgment should come,
and the Lord Jesus should judge the earth and reward his brethren in
Israel. But still the strain of trust died away in sorrow, and the
thought of the Deliverer was lost in the thought of Israel, and the
letter came to an end in these words: “Our psaltery is laid in the
ground, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end; the
light of our candlestick is put out, and the ark of our covenant is
defiled; our priests are burned with fire, our Levites led captive, our
virgins and wives defiled and ravished, our righteous men are carried
away, our little ones destroyed, our young men brought into bondage,
and our strong men become weak; and the seat of Sion hath now lost her
honor, for she is delivered into the hands of them that hate us.”
After this manner wrote Menahem the Ebionite, a good man and devout,
and one that loved the Lord Jesus and was himself of a gentle and meek
disposition. Wherefore if even in so gentle a nature the thought of
Jesus was swallowed up in the thought of the Holy City, much more was
this likely to happen with others of his countrymen. And so indeed
it was. For each year of troubles now seemed to cast a new veil of
ignorance on the hearts of the Jews so that they might not understand
the Scriptures, nor discern the will of God, nor be brought into the
Church of Christ.
§ 4. HOW THE CHURCH WAS GUIDED AT THIS TIME BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
Out of all these evils and troubles one good at least was gained,
that there was no longer any danger lest the Church of Christ should
become a mere sect of the Jews. For now to all the believers of the
uncircumcision, the destruction of the City of Jerusalem seemed to be
a sign sent from God that the Law was at an end, and that all things
were to be made new in Christ, yea, and wholly new: and it became a
common saying that the vesture of the Church was not to be made up out
of the rags of the vesture of the Law, patched and botched up to serve
new needs; but that it was to be a wholly new garment, woven afresh
in one piece, without seam or rent. As for the Jews, they that stayed
in the Church, finding themselves now constrained to choose between
the old garment and the new, gave themselves with a more single mind
to the Gospel; but the greater part went out from us, as I have said.
They also that were called Ebionites, who had once had much power in
the Church so that they had persuaded many, began now to be lightly
esteemed; and whereas in former times they alone seemed to be the
Church, and the rest heretics; now the contrary came to pass, and the
Ebionites themselves came to be thought heretics—insomuch that the
name Ebionites became a reproach among the faithful—and the doctrine
of Paulus the Apostle was considered to be the doctrine of all the
Churches. From this time forth therefore there was no more fear lest
the Lord Jesus should be regarded as a mere prince or prophet in
Israel. In old days many had said that he was but as John the Baptist
and some (more especially in Ephesus) had been baptized with John’s
baptism and no other; but now all men believed that John was far
inferior to Jesus, and the traditions of the Church began to teach this
more clearly and fully than before. Also because men now perceived
that the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus was to include all nations of the
earth, and indeed to consist of Gentiles rather than Jews, for this
reason there were sought out such parables and discourses of the Lord
as taught and explained the calling of the Gentiles into the Church.
And all through the Church it was everywhere believed that Jesus was
not a mere prophet, but King of kings and Lord of lords.
When great multitudes of Greeks and many other nations had now been
brought into the Kingdom of Christ, they began, as was likely and
reasonable, to seek out traditions concerning the nature, birth, and
parentage of the King and Prophet in so great a Kingdom. The common
people among the Gentile brethren believed as a thing of course, that
he was divine and of divine parentage. “For if,” said they, “Trophonius
and Heracles have been called gods, and if we have been wont to give
the name of gods to the emperors, even such as Caius and Claudius and
Nero, how shall we deny it the Lord Jesus the King of kings?” Herein
the minds of the unlearned were doubtless led to a right conclusion,
though a philosopher might justly find fault with the method of it,
and might understand differently the “divine parentage” of which they
spoke. Nevertheless, from this desire to do honor to the Lord Jesus,
there crept into the Church some error. For some began to deny that he
was man at all, or born as men are born, affirming it to be monstrous
and incredible that a divine being should pass through a mortal womb.
Others—but these were but very few in the Gentile churches—favored
the old opinion of the Ebionites that Jesus was merely human, although
superior to any other of the children of men.
Between these two errors, some denying that the Lord Jesus was divine,
and others denying that he was human, the Church was marvellously
guided by the hand of the Lord, so that the greater part of the
brethren held fast the true belief, namely, that he was both human
and divine. For as the most part of the Gentiles revolted against
the doctrine of the Ebionites, who would have had Jesus to be a mere
prince or prophet of the Jews, so did the common sense of almost all
the brethren perceive, as by a heaven-sent instinct, that, howsoever
he might be divine, he must also needs be human and able to suffer
humanlike, or else be of no avail to bear the sins and sorrows of
the children of men. Thus by the Spirit it was revealed even to the
simplest and meanest of the brethren that in Christ Jesus, God and man
are joined together.
About this time also began the Churches to commit to writing the
traditions of the acts of the Lord; and, not long afterwards, certain
of the longer discourses of the Lord, having been written down in
Greek, were joined to the other tradition and came to be commonly read
in the churches; but this happened for the most part toward the end
of the reign of Vespasianus, or not much before. For as long as the
disciples and apostles of the Lord themselves lived, it had seemed
to the saints that there was no need of books, having as it were the
words of the Lord Jesus among them. Moreover before the destruction of
Jerusalem, the saints for the most part lived in continual expectation
of the coming of the Lord, wherefore, hoping soon to have heard his
voice from heaven, they were the less careful to record exactly the
words he had spoken on earth. But now, during the reign of Vespasianus,
when the Church had rest, and peace was everywhere, and the Lord
seemed to delay his coming, and one by one the disciples of the Lord
fell asleep, and the accounts and traditions of the words and deeds
and especially of the birth and rising again of the Lord began to be
multiplied with great diversities and not without many errors, then it
was revealed to certain of the saints that the time was come when the
traditions must be set forth in writing. But all this came to pass at
a time when I was far away in Britain; whereof the reason will be set
forth in the next chapter.
§ 5. HOW I CAME TO PHILOCHRISTUS, A DISCIPLE OF THE LORD IN BRITAIN.
About the seventh year of the Emperor Vespasianus, it pleased the Lord,
in a manner altogether unexpected and marvellous, to reveal to me
the names of my parents. There was a certain Philochristus, a Jew by
birth but not one of the Jewish faction, a man of some learning, who
had studied Greek letters at Alexandria; and he had been a disciple
of the Lord Jesus, having himself seen the Lord in the flesh. This
man I had met many years ago at Antioch, and, being drawn to him by
his love of truth and the simplicity of his nature, I had recounted
to him the story of my life, telling him the place and exact time
wherein I had been found as a child at Pergamus, and withal showing
him (for so the Lord would have it) the very token that had been hung
round the neck of my brother Chrestus, which I then wore. About this
time therefore I received a letter from Philochristus (who was then in
Britain or Londinium), telling me that he had found my former nurse,
one Stratonice, who had come to Britain as a slave in the household of
Pomponia the wife of Aulus Plautius the legate, and who now belonged
to the saints that were in Londinium. This Stratonice, it seemed, had
chanced to speak to Philochristus about her former mistress, how her
twin sons were taken from her by the guile of some runaway slave,
she being then in Asia, in the last year of the Emperor Tiberius
(mentioning the exact year when my brother and I had been found); and
when Philochristus further questioned her whether any sign or token
had been on the children, she replied that one bore round his neck
just such a token, and with the same inscription, as I had shown to
Philochristus. She added that the slave, who had been persuaded thereto
by one that desired to make a way to an inheritance through our death,
had confessed his guilt three or four years after the deed, and that
my mother (whose name was Euelpis the daughter of Nicomachus, an
Athenian by birth) had, since that time, made continual search for us,
at Pergamus and elsewhere, even till the day of her death, which had
happened in the first year of the Emperor Vespasianus; but my father
(whose name was Clinias the son of Aristodemus, also an Athenian by
birth) had died many years before.
Ever since I had spoken with the priest of Asclepius at Pergamus, I
had been assured in my mind that my mother had not willingly deserted
us; yet even now it was joy to know for certain that foul practice,
and not our mother’s fault, had cast my brother Chrestus and me upon
the world; and great desire seized me to have some speech with my old
nurse, Stratonice, concerning my parents before she died. So finding
an occasion when I could conveniently leave Colossæ, I journeyed to
Britain to Philochristus, meaning to return in a short space. But
after I had satisfied my heart’s desire, learning all the story of
the goodness and love and sorrow of my beloved mother from Stratonice
(who lived but three months after my coming to Britain) Philochristus
persuaded me to tarry with him yet longer, first for a few months, and
then for a year; and, in fine, a door being opened to me of the Lord,
I labored with him in the Church of Londinium for the space of seven
years, in peace and great joy. For I was drawn toward the old man more
than I can describe, because he wholly was given to the Lord Jesus and
abhorred vain quarrels and disputations and (which was not so in all
the saints) he added to his love of Christ such a love of letters and
learning that (next to my beloved master Paulus) he, more than any
other, seemed to join together that which is best both in the Jews and
in the Greeks.
From the lips of this my beloved teacher I received the tradition of
the words and deeds of the Lord pure and uncorrupted; and it was no
small strength and refreshment to hear the very sayings of Christ
himself from one whose love of truth appeared in this saying of his,
a saying often repeated in his doctrine, that “he loved to think of
the Lord Jesus as Son of man, and also as Son of God; but he loved no
less to think of him as the Eternal Truth, whom no lie could serve nor
please.” Moreover, because he discerned the divine nature to consist
not so much in the performance of fleshly wonders as in the working
of spiritual works, for this cause he never was led to magnify (as I
had heard some magnify) the mighty acts of Jesus in the healing of
the diseases of the body; but he spoke the more of his divine power
in casting down mountains of sin, and in the uprooting of error,
and in satisfying the hungry soul with bread, and in cleansing the
spotted soul from all the defilements of Satan. Therefore in all his
discourses, without any straining after new and convenient traditions,
and without any fear and avoidance of old traditions as being not
convenient, he spoke of the Lord Jesus as being verily a man in all
points, sin only excepted; subject, as men are subject, to birth and
pain and death; but, none the less, as being the Beginning and the
Goal of human life, the Eternal Love of God, spiritually begotten of
God before the foundation of the world. In this doctrine I rejoiced,
and this doctrine I strove to teach; and it was a great delight that
here were no Greek factions nor Jewish factions, nor disputations
about traditions, or prophecies, or aught else; but all was peace and
harmony, as if in some haven, shut in and sheltered by the hills,
wherein the mariner, resting from long tossing on the deeps, can scarce
hear the roaring of the sea without.
But after seven years had thus passed away in peace it being now
the second year of the Emperor Domitianus, it came to pass that new
troubles fell upon the Church; and, the Bishop of Berœa having borne
witness for the Lord with his blood in a tumult in that city, I was
called to the charge of the flock there; and the voice of the Lord bade
me go. So bidding farewell to the beloved Elder Philochristus with much
sorrow, well knowing that I should not again behold him in the flesh, I
set forth with his blessing upon my journey, intending first to go to
Rome and there to tarry some days, and so to Berœa.
§ 6. OF THE CHURCH IN ROME, AND OF THE NEW GOSPELS.
When I came to Rome I was well received of the brethren, and I tarried
there two months, observing the manner of their worship, and the
teaching of the catechumens and the discourses of the elders to the
faithful. But I seemed at first to be listening to a new Gospel; so
great a change had fallen on the Church since I had last tarried in
the great city, about fifteen years before. This appeared, not only in
their worship, but also in the pictures and sculptures wherewith they
had begun to adorn the tombs of those that fell asleep in the Lord;
for in these I perceived that those very beliefs whereof I had written
to Artemidorus as being currently reported among the faithful but not
yet added to the Tradition, were now accepted by all. For example,
when I entered into one of the places where the congregations commonly
assemble themselves for worship—these are quarries, after the manner
of galleries, hewn out of the rock under the earth beneath the city,
commonly called catacombs, and used for entombments by the faithful—I
perceived there the figure of a certain prophet, with a scroll in his
hand, pointing to a Woman which bare a child in her arms, and above
the child was a star; and I questioned my companions whether this was
the Lord Jesus, the Son of the Virgin Mother, and they said “Yes,” but
when I went on to speak of the Virgin as the Spiritual Sion, which is
the Church of God, then they said, “Nay, but it sheweth the mother
of our Lord according to the flesh, according to the saying of the
prophet, ‘Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call
his name Immanuel.’” Then asking concerning the star, I said that I
supposed that it represented the brightness of the Messiah, even as it
was written in the Scriptures that “a star should come out of Jacob.”
To this they assented, “but,” added one, “it is also well-known that a
star, visible to the eyes of men, did verily shine forth in the days of
Herod, being seen of many nations, and especially in the East, insomuch
that then was fulfilled the saying of the Psalms that the kings of
Arabia and Saba should bring gifts.” “Are these things then,” said I,
“contained in the Traditions of the Acts of the Lord?” Then he that had
spoken replied, “No, not in the Tradition, but in a certain supplement
which is now beginning everywhere to be read in all the churches, and
it is said to have been put forth by the interpreters and disciples of
one of the Apostles:” but another correcting him, said that one of the
Apostles himself had written it, not indeed Petrus nor Jacobus who were
unlearned men ignorant of letters, but in all likelihood Mattheus, as
having been in earlier days a tax-gatherer and therefore ready with his
pen.
Going on a little further I saw on the walls another picture of men
supping at a table, and the food two fishes and some loaves. When I
asked what this meant, they told me that it signified the banquet of
the kingdom of God wherein all the faithful partake of the body of the
Lord who, said they, is our Bread of Life, and also our true ΙΧΘΥΣ; and
“of the two fishes,” said they, “the one denoteth Baptism, whereby the
faithful enter into Christ, and the other the Lord’s Supper, whereby
they are made partakers of the Lord’s body, so that they remain in
him and he in them.” “And is this also,” I asked, “in the Tradition?”
“Neither in the Tradition,” said they, “nor in the Supplement, but
it is a symbol.” Then I took courage to speak concerning that other
parable of a banquet, wherein I had been wont to teach how the Twelve
had been bidden by the Lord Jesus to minister both of the Bread of
Life and of the Fishes, asking them whether they interpreted this also
spiritually and not according to the letter, even as they interpreted
that other story of the ΙΧΘΥΣ. But hereat their countenances changed,
and they said, “Nay, but this story is written according to the letter
in the Tradition of the Gospel.” Then I told them how Philochristus
the Elder had related to me that the Lord Jesus himself, in speaking
of these matters, had rebuked his disciples because they understood
him not, saying unto them, that when he spoke of leaven, and of bread,
he spoke not of earthly bread or leaven, but of spiritual leaven and
spiritual bread. But they replied that “it was not so written in the
Tradition now, and that Philochristus (albeit to be reverenced as a
faithful disciple of the Lord) was not to be too much trusted as a
remembrancer of the Tradition, because he had lived now many years
apart from the rest of the saints, not having experience of that which
had been from year to year newly revealed to the Church, so that
he knew naught save what he himself had heard and seen of the Lord
Jesus, and this in all likelihood faintly and imperfectly remembered
by him, as being well-stricken in years, not much less than fourscore
and ten.” It came into my mind that to be thus all alone, remembering
and teaching the words of Christ which he himself had heard (apart
from controversies and colors and glosses of those who were disputing
rather than remembering) was perhaps rather a help than a harm to
Philochristus. However at that time I said no more.
On the morrow, coming somewhat late into the congregation in the midst
of their worship, I heard them singing a psalm which, because there
arose hence a question afterwards between myself and the brethren,
I will here set down; and as near as I can remember, the words were
these:—
1.
“O Pilot of our bark
What though the night be dark?
What though the tempest rave?
Thou still canst hear and save.
2.
“Tossed by the troubled sea,
O Lord, we cry to thee,
And through the murky night,
What figure meets our sight?
3.
“Lo, pitying our fear
The Lord himself draws near,
Walking upon the wave
His helpless ones to save.
4.
“In terror of his face
Vanish the clouds apace,
His footsteps on the deep
Lull every wave to sleep.
5.
“The winds obey his will,
The raging storm is still;
Then turn we to adore
And lo, at hand the shore.”
Now these words or others like unto them, had been well-known to me for
a long time, because some such psalm had been brought to us at Colossæ
from Ephesus (from which city many psalms and hymns had come to divers
churches) and it was commonly sung in the churches of Asia; and indeed,
even among the ancient poems of the Jews, there is a psalm not much
unlike this, wherein the mariners cry unto the Lord in their trouble
and he delivereth them out of their distress, for, saith the psalm, “He
maketh the storm to cease so that the waves thereof are still;” and
another psalm saith, “Thy way is in the sea and thy path on the great
waters.” But, often as I had sung these words, it had never so much as
entered my mind to interpret them according to the letter; for even as
the Greeks or Romans compare the state to a ship and the ruler to a
pilot, even so had we been wont to speak, in a figure, of the Church as
being a ship tossed upon the sea of troubles and persecutions, and of
the Lord Jesus as her pilot in the storm; and I had also heard mention
made, when I was in Britain, of some new hymn showing in a figure,
how the blessed Apostle Petrus denied his Master, and describing how
he adventured to walk, in his own strength, upon the troubled sea of
temptation, but his faith failed him so that he began to sink, and he
had been drowned in the deep waters of sin, but that the Lord stretched
out his hand and saved him; but in this and other such psalms and hymns
there was never a thought of any real boat nor of a real storm of wind
and waves. Therefore, the worship being now ended, when a certain
Philologus, one of the brethren, accosted me asking my judgment of this
psalm, as if I should have censured it, I replied (not without some
wonder at the strangeness of his question) that the psalm was a good
one, and that none could find any fault in it. But Philologus replied,
“If therefore, O Onesimus, you allow of this miracle of the Lord, why
contend you against these other miracles of which the Gospel makes
mention?” I said, “Nay, but of what miracle do I allow?” He said, “Even
that miracle and no other, which is clearly described in the psalm,
how the Lord Jesus walked upon the waters to save the holy Apostles;
yea, and one of the new Gospels affirms that the blessed Apostle Petrus
adventured himself to walk upon the waves; but his faith failed him so
that he began to sink.”
Hereat I was speechless; and Philologus, as if he were ill at ease by
reason of my silence, bade me follow him and two or three of the other
elders into another chamber in the place where they were assembled.
Here were depicted divers wonders, first, the sending down of the
manna from heaven for Israel, and also the gushing forth of the water
from the rock; and said he, if Moses wrought these wonders, must not
the Lord Jesus have wrought others still more wonderful? Then said I to
them, “Moses not only caused bread but also water to arise for Israel;
and again the prophet Elisha, even when dead, had power to raise up a
dead man; wherefore, if indeed the Lord Jesus desired to surpass Moses
and Elias in wonders according to the flesh (and not, as I believe, in
wonders according to the spirit) he must needs have caused water, as
well as bread, to spring up for the multitude, or else perchance honey
or wine; and he must needs also have raised up from the dead some one
that was on the point to be buried or already buried; but is any such
relation as either of these to be found in any tradition concerning the
Lord Jesus?” They said there was not; and methought they were somewhat
at a stand. But presently Philologus corrected them saying, “Nay, my
brethren, say not ‘the Tradition containeth not these things’ but
rather ‘These things are not known to us at present,’ for although it
hath not yet been revealed to the Church in any Tradition that the Lord
Jesus hath produced water or wine, or raised up a dead man from the
tomb, yet is it possible that he may have wrought these very works, and
in time they may be made known to the Church, even as the walking on
the waves was not made known in the first Tradition of the Acts of the
Lord, nor were other mighty works;” and here he made mention of many
unknown to me such as the catching of a mighty draught of fishes, and
the finding of a fish with a coin in the mouth of it.
Hereat I ceased from further speech. For I perceived that my
questioning had the contrary effect to that which I had intended. For
I had hoped to lead Philologus and his companions to see that the
spiritual works of the Lord Jesus were greater than those wonders
according to the flesh, of which they made so much. But instead
thereof, Philologus had been made by my words more greedy than ever of
fresh wonders, and was now ready to believe anything if it were only
wonderful enough. So I held my peace, and only besought Philologus to
lend me copies of the written books of the Gospels such as were now
read in the churches.
§ 7. HOW I LABORED IN BERŒA.
Having given myself during many days to the reading and meditating in
the three books of the Gospels, I found much less addition of wonders
and other doubtful matters than I had expected, and least of all in
that book which was said by most to have been written according to the
teaching of Marcus; only in rendering the Hebrew into the Greek there
had been a few errors; and in some two or three passages, figures of
speech appeared to have been interpreted according to the letter. But
the other two books though they contained most excellent traditions,
very full and ample, of certain words of the Lord, had added
supplements touching the birth of the Lord Jesus and his childhood and
youth, and also concerning his manifestations after his rising from the
dead, which were not known to me. So, after much debate with myself, I
concluded to write to Philochristus, sending to him the three books and
asking his judgment concerning them. This done, I bade farewell to the
brethren in Rome and betook myself to Berœa where the Lord had prepared
for me an abundant work.
Many days I continued laboring in Berœa and hearing naught from
Philochristus; yet was I not without some guidance from the Lord.
For day by day, ministering to the unlearned among the brethren, I
perceived that the presence and the power of the Lord among them were
not let or hindered by what I deemed their errors. The three books
of the Gospels were beginning at this time to be commonly read among
them, and I saw that the multitude willingly believed all things
written therein, especially concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus,
and concerning his manifesting of himself after death by divers
signs and tokens, as by eating in the presence of the disciples, and
by giving his body to be touched. Now remembering what the blessed
Apostle Paulus had enjoined on me, that I must by all means seek to
attain as much of the truth as possible, though there must needs be
some error, I was minded at first to restrain the brethren in Berœa
from the public reading of these new traditions. But one of the elders
of the Church dissuaded me, saying in the first place that the truth
was uncertain; and in the second place, that, if the people believed
not these traditions, and especially the tradition concerning the
birth of the Lord, they must needs fall into error, not being able to
receive the doctrine that the son of Mary and Joseph was verily the
Son of God begotten before the worlds and taking flesh as a man for
our sakes. “Either therefore;” said he, “they will believe that he
was merely man and not God; or else that he was not man at all, but a
phantom, born of no human father nor mother either; as certain sects
in Asia believe.” And he added that the Lord seemed to allow this new
doctrine if doctrine might be judged by the fruits thereof; because
all that believed it were full of zeal, and patience, and love for the
brethren, and all virtue, ready to lay down their lives for the Lord.
So I, considering that it was one thing to strive towards certainty,
and another thing to restrain others from their opinions, being also
myself uncertain, suffered the new gospels to be read in Berœa without
hindrance, and the more willingly because the three Gospels now brought
in began to drive out many other writings of Gospels which sprang up
about this time, or even before, full of wonders, and portents, and not
preserving the truth of the life of the Lord Jesus. So in a very short
time the three Gospels were brought in, and multiplied by transcribers,
and were read in all our assemblies, and the catechumens were also
instructed in them.
And now, after I had been about one year or more in Berœa, I received
from Britain a letter written by Philochristus, which was most welcome;
but withal another letter most unwelcome, written by the new Bishop
of Londinium, saying that the blessed Elder Philochristus had fallen
asleep in the Lord, and that this his letter, written some months
before, had only of late been found among his papers, wherefore it
had been long delayed in the sending. So, when I opened and read it,
I seemed to be receiving his message from beyond the grave, guiding
me on the path in which I should go; and these were the words of the
letter.
§ 8. THE LAST WORDS OF PHILOCHRISTUS.
“PHILOCHRISTUS TO ONESIMUS, GRACE AND PEACE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
“I received with your letter, my dear Onesimus, the three books of the
new Gospels; concerning which having purposed to write to you some
months ago, as soon as I had read them, I was hindered by long and
grievous sickness.
“They contain relations of certain matters whereof I neither saw nor
heard aught, while I followed the Lord Jesus in Galilee; nor have I
heard aught of them from the disciples, nor from the Lord’s brethren,
nor from the mother of the Lord.
“Nevertheless, albeit I heard no such matters, yet is it possible that
they may have been revealed to the disciples after my coming to this
island in the reign of Caius Cæsar. And this, I confess, hath not a
little moved me, that during my sickness the three Gospels have been
very diligently read by those who are here laboring with me, and by
them have been interpreted to the unlearned; and everywhere they meet
with great acceptance, and the Church is edified by them, insomuch that
they had already begun to be read in the assemblies of certain of the
churches when it pleased the Lord to raise me up for a short time from
my sickness. Notwithstanding, thou sayst truly that in all things we
must not willingly consent to error, though some error be a necessity;
and therefore my counsel is that thou take early occasion to go to
Ephesus where thou mayst question John the Disciple of the Lord. For if
neither he nor I know aught of these new traditions, then it is likely
that they are not according to the truth; but if he consent unto them,
then are they, without doubt, true.
“Not without much prayer and meditation, having striven to put myself
in thy place, my dear Onesimus, have I written these words; which do
thou take to heart, as my last message, because my mind forebodeth that
I shall not write unto you a second time. I know well thy sincerity and
thy unfeigned love of the truth; yet bethink thee that it is the kernel
of the truth that thou shouldst seek and not the shell; and if the
kernel be sound, be not thou troubled over much though the shell may
shew some blemish. For put this case that John the Disciple of the Lord
be no longer in the flesh, or that thou find no occasion to see him, or
that in other ways thou be frustrated of thine endeavor to search out
the truth. What then? Is it needful or fit that thou shouldst therefore
journey from Ephesus to Antioch, or to Nazareth, or to Bethlehem or to
Jerusalem, to inquire of these matters? Nay, but a pastor of the flock
should abide with the flock. The exact truth, it may be, thou shalt
never find out in this life; but thy duty towards thy brethren thou
canst certainly find out. This therefore find out, and do. I say not
that thou, in thy doctrine and preaching, should teach or even assent
to these new traditions; but what I say is this, that if the worship
of the Lord Jesus be enwrapped (among the unlearned) in some integument
of doubtful tradition which commendeth itself to the brethren—because
they cannot easily believe that he worked mightily in the spirit,
except they also believe that he wrought mighty works according to the
flesh—then I say it needeth not, nor is it fit, that thou shouldst
spend all thy time in rending this integument asunder, but rather that
thou shouldst labor to teach the main truth, which is, that our Lord
Jesus Christ was verily a man, and verily the Eternal Son of God, in
whom all mankind hath died to sin and is born again to righteousness.
“But thou sayst that ‘A time may come when these traditions shall be
found to be false; and then as much as they now draw the unlearned to
Christ, so much, and more also, shall they then drive the unlearned
from Christ. For, being unapt to distinguish, and apt to reject all if
they reject a part, the common people, finding a part of the tradition
of the Acts of the Lord to be false, will cast aside the whole as
a mere fable.’ Well and wisely is this said, and providently also
according to thy nature, my dear Onesimus; yet have I faith in Truth,
according as it is written, that ‘Truth is great and shall prevail;’
and whensoever the danger whereof thou speakest shall press upon the
Church, I doubt not but the Lord, who is also the Truth, shall raise up
teachers that shall have skill to sift the true from the false; yea,
and if, even now, thou seest this danger, or if thou obtainest certain
knowledge that these traditions are false, I deny not but thou shouldst
speak openly against them. But until thou shalt obtain such certainty,
wait thou patiently upon the Lord, and do with all thy might the works
which he hath appointed for thee to do.
“Remember, my son, that thou art called to be a bishop and champion
for the souls of men, to deliver them from the mouth of the lion; and
the battle presseth sorely against the army of the Lord. Play thou the
man therefore, and be no mere pedant nor seeker after the antiquities
of small matters. Even in this year, as thou thyself dost write, many
of the Saints have borne witness with their lives to the Captain of
our Salvation. Whilst others therefore are fighting among the vanguard
and pouring forth their blood for the Lord, be not thou content to lag
behind in the rear with the baggage; nor, from being a soldier of the
Lord, stoop thou to be a mere camp-follower. Lovest thou the Lord? I
know thou lovest him with all thine heart. Then be content. The Saints
of the Church in Berœa whom God hath committed to thy charge, do they
also love the Lord? Thyself hast confessed as much. Then again I say,
Be thou content. ‘But,’ sayest thou, ‘they err in certain traditions
concerning the Lord.’ Well, then, they err. But which is better, that
they should love the Lord and be in some error, or that they should
be free from error and void of love? Better to have wheat with tares
than no tares and no wheat. Let both stand till the harvest; and in the
day of winnowing of the Master, a separation shall be made. Farewell,
Onesimus; and again I say unto thee, as from the Lord, in whose
presence I hope to stand when thou shalt read these words, Play thou
the man and prevail, in the love and trust of the Lord Jesus Christ;
and the Lord shall be with thee and bless thee.”
When I had read the letter of the blessed Philochristus, I was
confirmed in my purpose not at once to quit the city of Berœa; and the
more because at that time the saints began to be sorely persecuted;
insomuch that I had no leisure to be absent, no, not so much as for
a few days, during the space of two whole years; so busy was I in
comforting the afflicted and strengthening the weak, and ministering
to the widows of them that bore witness for the Lord. And as I
strengthened, or strove to strengthen, others, so also and much more
did they strengthen me, when I perceived their constancy and fortitude,
and noted how, amidst all their sufferings, even the unlearned (yea,
some of those on whom I had been apt to look with some pity for their
superstitions), were lifted up with a divine magnanimity such as no
philosopher could surpass. And at this time I began more clearly to
understand that which Philochristus had said (and Paulus before him)
touching the distinguishing of things great and small. For I now
perceived, as never before, that the love of Christ was the main thing,
and that whoso could love him and cling to him should be first in the
Kingdom of God, and that I myself (though I were bishop in Berœa)
should come far behind many of the simple brethren, halting as it were
into heaven, while they should come borne upon wings.
But now, two years having passed away and the Church being now at
peace, the advice of Philochristus hath come again to my mind that if
I crave after certainty concerning the additions to the Tradition, I
should go to see John the Disciple at Ephesus. For the holy Apostle
still lives, although stricken in years and infirm, not having
been able for these many years to preach the Gospel. Yet is there
a tradition or doctrine at Ephesus (as I have heard say) differing
much from the three Gospels, and taught by the disciples of John, and
especially by one, John the Elder, a man of Alexandria (one that has
travelled much, and is well versed in the philosophy of the Alexandrine
teachers, but much more in the deep things of the Spirit), whom I met
many years ago in Antioch. These lines I now write in the sixth year of
the Emperor Domitianus, purposing shortly to set out for Smyrna, and
thence to Ephesus, to see John and to obtain concerning the Traditions
such certainty as I can. Howbeit the Spirit in me forebodeth that I
shall not obtain certainty after this manner, neither shall I come
again to Berœa, but the Lord hath some other purpose concerning me.
§ 9. OF MY JOURNEY TO SMYRNA, AND HOW THE LORD HATH HELPED EVEN ME TO
THE END.
Verily the Spirit deceived me not; for being now about to bear witness
for the Lord Jesus with my blood, I add these last words to this
history, no longer free, nor amid friends, but in a dungeon, expecting
shortly that I shall fight with wild beasts for the Lord in this city
of Smyrna, wherein now I write. For coming hither about the time of
Passover, I found the people of the city in no small disturbance,
because of a great earthquake, and the drying up of the springs,
and also incensed against the Proconsul because he had awarded some
prize in the games against their judgment. Wherefore the people on
the one hand were moved against the Christians, as being causers of
the earthquake, and the Proconsul for his part was the more ready to
listen to them so as to turn their wrath from himself on us. So when
I was, without any disturbance, preaching the Gospel to the Saints on
the first day of the week, behold, the Irenarch came suddenly upon us
with great violence, and after loading me with fetters he dragged me
(with one of the presbyters called Trophimus) before the Proconsul; who
straightway bade me swear by the Fortune of Cæsar and reproach Christ.
When I refused, he said to me, “I will consume thee with fire, except
thou repent.” Then Trophimus made answer, somewhat bitterly, “Thou
threatenest me with fire which burneth for an hour and, after that,
is extinguished; but thou knowest not the fire of the judgment that
is to come which is reserved for the ungodly.” Hereupon the multitude
that were in the Stadium, cried out, “Away with the Atheists.” Others
bade let loose a lion upon us. But the Proconsul gave orders that we
should be taken to the dungeon and there kept for a night and day;
and after that, if we would not repent and offer sacrifice saying,
“Cæsar is Lord,” we were to be cast to the wild beasts; for the show
was appointed for the day after the morrow. So with many reproaches
and blows from the officers, goading me onwards that I might come the
quicker out of the multitude—who were gathered round, cursing and
threatening, and ready to have torn me in pieces—I was dragged along
the streets to the prison, and there my clothes were rent from off me,
and I was cast naked, more dead than alive, into the barathrum or pit
which is in the centre of the inmost prison, there to abide till the
time came that I should fight with wild beasts.
Amid the darkness and mire and stench of that noisome den, it pleased
the Lord that I should be tempted of Satan that I might prevail over
him with the strength of the Lord. For when I knelt down to call upon
the Lord, being always used to make mention of Chrestus and Eucharis in
my prayers, behold, I found myself bereft of the tokens of them both,
whereon were written TRUST and HOPE; and then a terror fell upon me and
a shuddering that was not of the limbs but of the heart (so did my very
spirit seem to shiver within me) and a voice of evil whispered in my
ear saying, “_Trust_ no more,” and then again, “Thy _Hope_ is dead;”
and methought monstrous shapes moved around me, making my flesh to
creep; and I was on the brink of a bottomless gulf wherein I must needs
fall, and Satan was waiting below, ready to swallow up my soul.
Then fell I upon my face and I called upon the Lord in my sore trouble,
and besought him that he would send me help from heaven; and I repeated
over and over again his comfortable words, how he bade us not fear them
that could slay the body, and how he promised that, though we should
be slain, yet not one hair of our heads should perish; and I bethought
myself of my beloved teacher Paulus, how he also had lain in just such
another dungeon for nine days and nights, and with what a constancy
he had held fast to the faith of the Lord Jesus; and I also called
to mind the last words of the elder Philochristus, how he had bidden
me play the man and fight the good fight for Christ. Now up to this
time I had been still wrestling with Satan and trembling lest, coming
upon me a second time, he should gain some advantage over me; but now,
taking courage, I besought the Lord, as in old times, for Chrestus and
Eucharis, that they also might obtain mercy and be with me in Christ.
Then it pleased the Lord Jesus my Saviour to turn my thoughts wholly
upon him, and upon his passion which he endured for men upon the cross;
and gazing thereon I was wrapped up with him above the stir and tumult
of earth; and methought I saw, looking down from above, how all the
past had worked together for me for good; and how all my wanderings
and gropings, yea, even my sins, being washed away by the blood of
him who suffered, had become helps instead of hindrances, helping me
to love much because I had been much forgiven. Then also I saw how
the Lord in his mercy had taken from me the hope of Eucharis, and the
trust of Chrestus, yea, and the love of my dearest mother, that so he
might guide me up unto himself, the source and object of all trust and
hope and love. So being filled with all certainty of joy I besought
the Lord once more for them, and for the mother whom I had never seen
in the flesh, that they also as well as Eucharis (who had received the
seal of baptism) might attain to the resurrection of the just, and I
prayed that, if it were possible, I might receive from him some sign or
vision that it was well with them. And so it was that, as soon as I
had thus prayed, I was lifted up in the spirit with the cross of Christ
yet higher than before, and the Lord showed me a vast sea of death, and
beneath the sea of death, a sea of sin; but beneath the sea of sin and
of death I saw a great gulf of life and love, which swallowed up the
sea of sin and death, so that they vanished away.
How long I remained in the Spirit I know not; but when the Spirit left
me I was lying in the courtyard of the prison; and around me were
standing some of the elders ministering to me, and bidding me be of
stout heart; for, said they, in two hours hence must thou needs fight
with wild beasts in the amphitheatre for the Lord Jesus Christ. Then I
spoke to them strengthening their hearts, and telling them of all the
glories of the vision which the Lord had revealed unto me, and having
obtained pen and paper I have written down the vision, and how the Lord
helped me; to the intent that others also, in time to come, vile and
sinful, and defiled, and faithless, may take courage from this history,
perceiving how even the weakest and vilest may be made pure and strong
in Christ.
As I write these words, knowing that in the third hour of this same day
I shall bear witness for the Lord beneath the jaws of the leopards, how
small and petty seem to me now the matters of which I once doubted!
Better is it to be a fool (as the world counteth folly) and to love
the Lord than to have all knowledge and to be without love. He that
loveth his brother hath all things and knoweth all things; and, if he
lack aught, behold, all possessions and all knowledge shall be added
unto him. Behold, the voice of man calleth me to arise and to go forth
unto death. But I obey not his voice but thine. Thou callest me, O my
Redeemer, and I come.
§ 10. _CONCERNING THE PASSION OF THE BLESSED MARTYRS TROPHIMUS AND
ONESIMUS._
_For the edification of the saints it hath seemed good to us, the
Elders of the Church in Smyrna, to add to this history a brief relation
concerning the passion of the blessed martyrs Trophimus and Onesimus,
to the intent that others, taking them as their ensamples, may be
encouraged to testify with like boldness for the Lord. The manner
of their going forth from prison was of a strange difference; both
rejoicing, but Trophimus threatening the people with the wrath of God,
and saying to the Proconsul, “Thou judgest us; but God shall judge
thee.” Likewise to the Asiarch he said, “Note well our faces that thou
mayst remember us in the judgment-day, when we shall laugh, and thou
weep.” Hereat the people, being angered, demanded that they should be
scourged, passing through two rows of venatores: but the blessed martyr
Trophimus rejoiced that he should have received this further torment
for the Lord Jesus. Onesimus also shewed no less cheerfulness and
constancy; but he walked silent and with eyes fixed and uplifted, as if
intent on glory to come._
_But before they should make trial of the leopards, Satan had prepared
a fierce wild bull to assail the martyrs of the Lord; and first
Trophimus was tossed, and fell crushed and, as it seemed, lifeless.
Then Onesimus was also tossed; but he arose, as if in a trance; and
seeing Trophimus lying crushed, he drew near, and took him by the hand,
and lifted him up, himself being all the while in an ecstasy; as was
apparent from certain words which he spoke to a young man, one of the
catechumens, whose name was Symmachus. For when Onesimus was recalled
by the usual gate, while the leopards were making ready, this young
man Symmachus received him and ministered to him; and at this time he
heard the blessed martyr say, as one in a dream, “I marvel when we
shall be led out to that wild bull,” not knowing what he had already
suffered; nor could he believe that he had suffered till he perceived
the wounds and bruises on his body. Coming to himself he thanked the
young man Symmachus for his kindness and blessed him. Also it pleased
the Lord to move the mind of a certain centurion, named Hipponax, who,
having before despoiled the blessed martyr of some slight tokens, now
came to him restoring them; upon which the blessed martyr, mindful
even of the smallest matters, thanked the soldier courteously and
placed them around his neck. And by this time also Trophimus was fully
recovered, and eager to bear witness for the Lord. So, the Lord having
appointed the time for their release, they are led out to the leopards.
Then Trophimus, running forward, provoked one of the beasts to attack
him; and straightway springing upon him, the beast with one bite drew
forth such a stream of blood that all the people, mocking at him (as
if he had been baptized in his own blood) cried out saying, “Saved
and washed, saved and washed;” and Onesimus was also struck down by
another of the leopards, and dragged hither and thither by the beasts.
But when the beasts had been taken away, and the blessed martyrs cast
on one side to be slaughtered after the usual manner, then the people
clamored that they should be set in the midst of the amphitheatre that
their eyes might enjoy the spectacle of the slaughter. So both stood
up and moved, of themselves, to the appointed place. Here Trophimus,
being very weak with loss of blood, fell on the ground; but Onesimus,
standing up, stretched out his hands, looking to heaven as if he saw
a vision; and the shouting of the multitude and their scoffing and
cursing became less, and at last there was a deep silence, all the
people expecting what he should say or do; but the blessed martyr,
taking in his hand that which he wore round his neck as if it were some
memorial of the Lord, held it up to heaven and cried aloud, “O Lord my
Hope and my Trust, thou lovest me, yea, and thou shalt love me, for
thou art the Eternal Love.” And having said these words he laid himself
down by the side of Trophimus and having embraced him, he bade the
gladiator strike his throat; and the sword fell twice and no more; and
so Trophimus and Onesimus, blessed martyrs for the faith, fell asleep
in the Lord Jesus, to whom be glory and honor for ever and ever. Amen._
THE DISCOURSE OF LUCIUS OF CYRENE.
“It is known unto you all, my brethren, that whensoever we bring
forward proofs from the mighty works of our Lord Jesus Christ, desiring
thereby to show that he was the Messiah, our adversaries are not
thereby persuaded, but the Jews say that he was a magician, and the
Greeks that he was an impostor. Wherefore it is meet that we resort
to stronger arguments than these, opening the Scriptures and proving
from them that Jesus is the very Messiah. For jugglers, say the Greeks,
and magicians, say the Jews, can perform mighty works at will; but it
is not possible for a juggler, nor even for a magician, so to be born
and also to live all his life and to die, so as to fulfil all that is
written in the Law and the Prophets. Wherefore it is fit that we should
diligently search the Scriptures that we may prove that the Lord Jesus
was born and lived, and died, in accordance with the word of prophecy;
for thus shall we establish the truth so that it cannot be shaken.
“First therefore concerning his birth, the Prophet saith, ‘Who shall
declare his generation?’ Now of any common mortal this could not be
said; but it is predicted concerning him whose generation is a mystery,
in that he is the only Son of God. Moreover another prophecy saith, ‘A
virgin shall conceive and bear a son.’ Now if the very heathen assert
no less than this about Asclepius, and Heracles, and Romulus, and a
hundred others, who were no true sons of God, but only sons of demons,
how much more must it be true of our Master and only Saviour that he
was veritably born of no human father, but was the Son of God! And it
hath been shown to be in accordance with the saying of the Prophet.
“Likewise when the Prophet Daniel speaks of ‘one _like_ unto the Son of
man,’ doth he not hint at the very same thing? For, in saying ‘_like_
unto the Son of man,’ and not ‘_the_ Son of man,’ he declareth thereby
that Jesus was man, but not of human seed. And the same thing he doth
express in mystery, when he speaketh of ‘this stone which was cut out
_without hands_,’ signifying that it was the work, not of man, but of
the Father and God of all things. And again, when Moses saith that
‘he will wash his garments in the blood of the grape,’ doth not this
signify what I have often told you,—albeit enwrapped in obscure terms,
after the manner of prophecy—I mean, that he had blood, but not from
men: even as God, and not man, hath begotten the blood of the vine?
“Now I know indeed that certain of the Rabbis, interpreting amiss the
prophecy of Isaiah concerning him that was to be born of a virgin,
affirm the words of the Prophet to have been fulfilled in the time
of Hezekiah; for they say that the prophecy was, that ‘the riches of
Damascus and the spoils of Samaria should be taken away from before the
king of Assyria;’ and that this was to come to pass before the child,
born to the Prophet from the Virgin whom he took to be his wife, had
learned to cry ‘my father and my mother;’ and accordingly they say
that the prophet took the prophetess to wife, and that she bore a son,
who being yet an infant, Damascus and Samaria were destroyed. But we
affirm that the prophecy is not thus written; but it is, ‘he, namely
the child, _shall take away_ the power of Damascus and the spoils of
Samaria.’ Now who will dare to assert that, in the days of the king
Hezekiah, any infant among the Jews, ‘before he had power to cry, my
father, or my mother’—for mark this addition—conquered two so great
nations?
“Assuredly no one will assert this. But the meaning of the prophecy is
as follows. The evil demon who dwelleth in Damascus, and who also may
be well termed in parable Samaria, was overcome by Christ as soon as
he was born. For I have heard (and it is by all means to be believed,
for it is according to the words of Holy Scripture, which needs must
be fulfilled) that certain Magi, who dwelt in Arabia—and none of you
can deny that Damascus was, and is, in the region of Arabia, although
now it belongeth to what is called Syrophœnicia—came from the East to
worship Christ at his birth, thereby showing that they had revolted
from the dominion of Satan. Now it is said that these Magi came first
to Herod, who was the sovereign of the land of the Jews, but who by
the Scriptures (on account of his ungodly and sinful character) is
called king of Assyria. Nevertheless they gave not their gifts to him,
but going forth from his presence, they gave gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh,—which were as it were the spoils of Damascus,—to the child
Jesus in the manger: and so it came to pass that he who was born of the
Virgin, while still a babe, ‘took away the power of Damascus and the
spoils of Samaria, from the presence of the King of Assyria.’
“Next as to the place of his birth, even the Gentiles do bear testimony
that there shall come forth from the East one that shall obtain
dominion over the Empire, and this is known throughout the whole world;
nor do the prophets write otherwise, saying, ‘Behold a Man, the East
is his name.’ And that our Christ was born in Syria, that is in the
East, is confessed of all. But further, touching the city in which he
was born, some have been wont to affirm that he was born at Nazareth
because he lived there many years from a child. But that he must needs
have been born at Bethlehem is clear, because it is written, ‘And,
thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou art the least among the hundreds
of my people, yet out of thee shall come a governor who shall feed my
people;’ and that he was to appear first in the south (for Bethlehem is
in the south) and not in a northern city, such as Nazareth, is clear
also from another Scripture, which saith, ‘God cometh from the south.’
“Moreover, which of you knoweth not that the Lord Jesus is the Bread
of Life? Therefore when the Bread of Life was to descend and to find
a house and home among men, what city in Israel was more fit for him
than that one which is called Bethlehem, which being interpreted, is
‘the House of Bread?’ Lastly, it is known to all of you that Mary,
the mother of Jesus, being of a royal race, was descended from David
the king, who was of the city of Bethlehem; wherefore it was the more
fitting that the Son of David should be born at the same place. Also I
have heard some say that there is a certain cave in Bethlehem wherein
he was born; and to this day the cave is shown; and they affirm that
it must needs have been so, because it is written, ‘he shall dwell in
a high cave of the strong rock;’ but because it is commonly reported
that he was born in a manger, and because I purpose to speak of none
but such things as are certainly believed among us, for this reason I
affirm nothing on this matter.
“But (that he might not be inferior to his servant Moses) as Moses was
persecuted by the Egyptian king Pharaoh, so was Jesus by Herod, the
King of the Jews; and, even as Israel sojourned for a time in Egypt,
so must the Redeemer of Israel sojourn in the same country, that it
might be fulfilled as it is written, ‘Out of Egypt have I called my
son.’ His mighty works also, which he wrought on those that believed in
him, are they not written in the books of the Prophets? namely, that
in that day the ears of the deaf should be unstopped, and the eyes of
the blind opened, and the dead should be raised up, and the poor should
have the gospel preached unto them: which all are recounted in our
tradition, even to the raising of the dead. For as Elisha the prophet
raised up the son of the Shunamite, even so did the Son of God raise up
the daughter of Jairus; and, whereas our adversaries say that this was
but a small matter, doubtless this is but one among a multitude of like
marvels. Again, whereas they assert that Moses was superior to Jesus in
that he gave unto the people manna in the wilderness, to this I reply
that even so did the Lord Jesus prepare a table for his people in the
wilderness; yea, and as Moses gave water from the rock, even so did our
living Rock grant unto us living water from his own side, yea, wine
instead of water, pouring forth his blood to be the drink of many, and
affording his body to be the Bread of Life unto all mankind.
“When thou wast born, O mighty One—before the Morning Star wast thou
begotten—and when the Star of thine uprising was seen, then all the
host of heaven worshipped thee and the sun and the moon did thee
homage, and the Sons of the Morning sang for joy together at the
brightness of thy glory; for thy Star did far outshine all earthly
light, appearing as a token of the destruction of the kingdom of Satan,
according as it is written, ‘A star shall shine out of Jacob, and a
sceptre from Israel, and shall destroy the corners of Edom.’ Then did
Edom tremble, but the poor and simple rejoiced. To thee also the Wisdom
of the East did obeisance, the kings of Arabia and Saba brought gifts.
Thou also didst feed the hungry, and heal the sick, Satan fled from
before thee and thou didst cast his demons into the abyss; thou didst
guide thy disciples through the paths of great waters; when they cry
unto thee, thou hearest them; thy voice stilleth the wind, and thy
path is on the deep. To thee the Law and Prophet do bear witness that
thou art the very Christ. Yea, Moses and Elias stand at thy right hand
and at thy left, to bear witness unto thee, that in thee must needs be
accomplished all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets.
“But concerning the manner of the death of the Lord Jesus, that it is
prophesied a hundred times both in the Psalms and in the Prophets, what
need is there that I should speak unto you? For ye yourselves know
these Scriptures. But as concerning his rising again on the third day,
it is written, ‘I will lay me down and rest, for thou wilt raise me
up;’ and again, ‘Let us go unto the Lord; he hath smitten and he shall
revive us; on the third day he shall raise us up, and we shall live
in his sight.’ Moreover, brethren, let me also declare unto you, as
many as have fathers or mothers according to the flesh who have fallen
asleep not having known the Lord Jesus, that ye sorrow not for them
as if they were lost; for it is written, ‘The Lord God remembered his
dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; and he descended to preach
unto them his own salvation.’ And this saying, ‘he descended,’ what
meaneth it except that he went down, even into Hades to break the bonds
of Satan, and to preach his Gospel unto the fathers who lived in times
past, even unto all the righteous, that they also might have hope of
salvation? Wherefore also, when he arose from the dead, a multitude of
the saints arose from their graves with him, being delivered from the
captivity of death, according to the saying, ‘He led captivity captive,
and gave gifts for men.’ But last of all, after he had risen from the
dead, having manifested himself during many days to his disciples,
it was necessary that he should ascend into heaven, according as it
is written, ‘Lift up yourselves, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.’
“Now therefore, beloved brethren, called of God, heirs of everlasting
life, having the Lord Jesus, in his birth and mighty works, and in his
death and rising again, thus visibly set forth as it were before your
eyes by the Prophets and the Psalms, what remaineth but that ye should
watch, and pray, and shew forth all patience, esteeming lightly the
joys and sorrows of this present world, and making little account of
your worldly possessions (for great possessions are great temptations);
but be ye possessed with a new Spirit, even with the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus Christ, filling your hearts with an insatiable desire of doing
good, comforting the sorrowful, feeding the hungry, healing the sick,
and preaching the good news of Christ; and covet no man’s wealth, nor
slaves, nor apparel; but covet ye every occasion of well-doing. Thus
shall ye make yourselves ready for the day of the Lord when, the number
of the elect having been at last completed, the Lord your Saviour shall
come again from heaven in great glory, and ye shall reign with him in
joy unspeakable.
“The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the
Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always. Go in peace.”
NOTES.
Many of the dialogues and some of the descriptions in the preceding
pages, are borrowed from ancient authors; who however wrote in most
cases after the times of Onesimus. For example, whereas Onesimus lived
at Colossæ about 60 A. D.; Epictetus probably flourished a generation
later; Maximus of Tyre, the defender of Polytheism from the social
side, who is represented above by the fictitious Nicostratus, wrote
under the Antonines; Ælius Aristides, the eulogist of Asclepius,
who is represented above by Oneirocritus, was born about 117 A. D.;
Apuleius from whom is borrowed (pp. 17, 18) the description of the
ergastulum, and also (p. 181) the description of the dancers of Cybele,
wrote in the second century after Christ; Celsus, the sceptic, who is
represented (pp. 123-8) by the sceptical Artemidorus, wrote at the
beginning of the second century; and lastly Justin Martyr and Irenæus,
from whom are mainly borrowed the discourse of Lucius of Cyrene, wrote
severally about 150 A. D. and 170 A. D.
“A confession of anachronism then?” Yes: anachronism. But if only such
sayings have been selected from these authors as express thoughts that
were, at least in their germs, contemporaneous with Onesimus, then
the life of St. Paul’s convert is really better illustrated by this
systematic anachronism than by the most felicitously invented dialogue
of modern scholars. Artemidorus, Nicostratus, Philemon and Oneirocritus
represent thoughts that must have been in the air throughout Asia as
early as 60 A. D., though they did not find expression in extant books
till some time later. So also of Justin and Irenæus; it may safely be
asserted that the tendency to see in each of the acts of Jesus the
exact fulfilment of some prophecy, and in each prophecy the prediction
of some act of Jesus—the next step being to believe, and then to
assert, that that act must consequently have occurred—permeated the
early Christian church at least as early as the date of the composition
of the Introduction to St. Matthew’s Gospel, and long before it found
expression in the pages of Justin and Irenæus.
In the following notes on special passages, it has not been thought
necessary to give a separate reference for every quotation, but only in
those cases where the words of some ancient author seemed in danger of
being supposed to be modern.
Book. Sect.
i. 6. This description of the slaves in the ergastulum is from
Apuleius.
i. 7. “The cross has been the tomb,” etc., a quotation from Plautus.
ii. 2. Epictetus was probably a child at this time.
ii. 2. The remarks of Nicostratus and Heracleas are taken from Maximus
of Tyre.
ii. 2. The remark of Heracleas on the ancient transformations is taken
from Pausanias.
ii. 3. The whole of this description of a festival is from Maximus of
Tyre.
ii. 4. For the story of the fighting-cock and the rest, see
Friedländer’s work on the _Religion of the Ancients_ (French
translation), vol. iv., 180.
ii. 4. Oneirocritus, describing his sickness and the favors of
Asclepius, here repeats the sentiments of P. Ælius Aristides, about
117 A. D. (see Friedlander, _ib._, 181-4).
ii. 4. Pliny esteemed it right to build temples, etc., of gods in whom
he disbelieved.
ii. 6. The account of the descent into the cave of Trophonius is
borrowed from Pausanias, who himself went down.
ii. 6. “I could not restrain myself from laughing:” this detail is
borrowed from Pausanias.
ii. 7. The whole travesty of Socrates is taken from Lucian’s _Halcyon_.
ii. 7. “Sobriety and incredulity,” etc: see note on iii. 3.
iii. 3. Philip is reported to have raised a dead man (Euseb. _H. E._,
iii. 39): but the account given in the text is borrowed from the
account of the revivification of the Archbishop of Bordeaux, written
out for the Author by one who heard it from the Archbishop himself.
iii. 3. “Sober incredulity,” etc: a translation of the proverb, Νᾶφε
καὶ μὲνασ’ ἀπιστεῖν νεῦρα ταῦτα τῶν φρενῶν.
iii. 7. “With whom I do not agree; neither would I,” etc.: this
statement about the diversity of opinions concerning the nature of
Christ, is a quotation from Justin, _Dial._, 48.
iii. 8. The “Tradition” here mentioned by Onesimus in the beginning
of this section, is the matter common to the first three Gospels.
It may be roughly represented by the Gospel of St. Mark, excluding
the verses after Mark xvi. 8, which are recognized by all scholars
to be an interpolation. For fuller information on the nature of this
“Tradition” the reader may consult the article on Gospels in the new
edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_.
iv. 1. The description of the voyage is from Lucian.
iv. 2. Almost the whole of this letter is borrowed from Celsus as
represented in Origen’s treatise against him.
iv. 6-9. The sayings here put into the mouth of Epictetus are, almost
without exception, extracted from his works.
iv. 10. The parable of the ant-hill is from Lucian.
iv. 10. “If you are resolved to deal in such wares,” etc. This passage
is borrowed from Lucian’s _Auction of the Gods_.
iv. 10. “Though my body dwelleth,” etc., “Enjoy the present,” etc.;
these two inscriptions are still extant on the same tomb of husband
and wife. See a paper by Mr. Newton in the _Nineteenth Century_,
August, 1878.
iv. 10. “Sleep soundly stretched at ease:” this is the advice of
Teiresias in Lucian, 484-5.
v. 1. This description of the dancing of the women of the priest of
Cybele is from Apuleius.
v. 4. “Heraclitus, the crying philosopher:” this is borrowed from
Lucian.
vi. 2. “Whether the true God had nails, and hair, and teeth, and
the like.” Such are the difficulties suggested by the Manicheans to
Augustine, _Confessions_, iii. 7.
viii. 3. The description of the High-priest is from _Ecclesiasticus_,
50.
viii. 3. The description of the miseries of Jerusalem is from 2
Esdras, iii. 28.
viii. 3. “The hand which now had power:” this quotation is from 2
Esdras, v. 3. “The spoils should be carried back to the cities of the
East:” this is from the _Fourth Sibylline Book_.
viii. 10. The whole of this narrative is borrowed from the account of
the _Martyrdom of St. Perpetua_.
THE DISCOURSE OF LUCIUS OF CYRENE.
Page.
296. For the importance attached to prophecy, see Irenæus (_Against
Heresies_, ii. 4): “If, however, they maintain that the Lord performed
such works simply in appearance, we shall refer them to the prophetical
writings, and prove from these both that all things were thus predicted
regarding Him, and did take place undoubtedly.” Justin Martyr also
takes the same view, I. _Apol._, 30.
296. “Who shall declare his generation?” This passage is similarly
applied by Justin Martyr, _Dialogue_, 63.
298. “_He shall take away_,” etc. So Justin (_Dial._, 77), “But now
the prophecy has stated it with this addition: ‘Before the child knows
how to call father or mother, he shall take the power of Damascus
and spoils of Samaria.’ And you cannot prove that such a thing ever
happened to any one among the Jews. But we are able to prove that it
happened in the case of Christ.” And he then proceeds to interpret
Damascus as referring to the Magi, and Assyria to Herod, as in the text.
299. “Behold a Man, the East is his name,” Zech. vi. 12, according to
the Septuagint quoted by Justin, _Dial._, 106.
300. “He shall dwell in a cave,” etc.: quoted by Justin Martyr from the
Septuagint version of Isaiah xxxiii. 16 (_Dial._, 70).
302. “The Lord God remembered his dead people of Israel,” etc. This
passage is quoted by Justin Martyr (_Dial._, 72), who accuses the Jews
of cancelling this and other passages of the Scriptures. It is also
quoted by Irenæus (_Against Heresies_, iii. 20) as from Isaiah, and
(_ib._ iv. 22) as from Jeremiah. But it is not found in our Scriptures.
_Messrs. Roberts Brothers’ Publications._
PHILOCHRISTUS:
MEMOIRS OF A DISCIPLE OF THE LORD.
Second and Cheaper Edition. Price $1.50.
_From Harper’s Magazine._
“Philochristus” is a very unique book, both in its literary and its
theological aspects. It purports to be the memoirs of a disciple of
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Artistically, the book is nearly faultless. In form a romance, it has
not the faults which have rendered the Gospel romances such wretched
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air of historic genuineness.... Theologically, it is characteristic of
the era. It belongs to no recognized school of theology. The critics do
not know what to make of it. In this respect, it reminds one of “Ecce
Homo.” It is not Orthodox, ... yet he throughout recognizes Christ as
in a true sense the manifestation of God in the flesh.... Those who
are inclined to dread any presentation of the life and character of
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_From the Contemporary Review._
The winning beauty of this book, and the fascinating power with which
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the former book by the dedication: “To the author of ‘Ecce Homo,’ not
more in admiration of his writings than in gratitude for the suggestive
influence of a long and intimate friendship.”
_From the Christian Register._
Since “Ecce Homo,” no religious book has appeared which can be compared
with “Philochristus” for its power to nourish and deepen the interest
felt by multitudes in the life and spirit of Jesus of Nazareth.
* * * * *
THE BIBLE FOR LEARNERS.
By Dr. H. OORT, of Leyden, and Dr. I. HOOYKAAS, Pastor at Rotterdam.
_Translated from the Dutch by Rev. P.H. Wicksteed, of London._
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 2 vols. 12mo. Price $4.00.
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 1 vol. 12mo. Price $2.00.
“This work emanates from the Dutch school of theologians. Nowhere in
Europe,” said the lamented J. J. Tayler, “has theological science
assumed a bolder or more decisive tone [than in Holland]; though always
within the limits of profound reverence, and an unenfeebled attachment
to the divine essence of the gospel.... We know of no work done here
which gives such evidence of solid scholarship joined to a deep and
strong religious spirit. The ‘Bible for Young People’ should be the
means to very many, both old and young, of a more satisfying idea of
what Israel really was and did among the nations.”
* * * * *
_Sold by all Booksellers. Mailed, postpaid, by the Publishers_,
ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations
in hyphenation and all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.
In Book 7, section § 6. the sentence “So great was my terror that my
first resolve was to depart at once to Rome.” has been corrected to
...from Rome.
Italics are represented thus _italic_ and bold thus =bold=.
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