2.23.1
ΧΧΙΙΙ. Ἰουδαῖοί γε μὴν τοῦ Παύλου Καίσαρα ἐπικαλεσαμένου ἐπί τε τὴν ‘ Ρωμαίων πόλιν ὑπό Φήστου παραπεμφθέντος, τῆς ἐλπίδος καθ’ ἢν ἐξῆρ’· τυον αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπιβουλήν, ἀποπεαόντες, ἐπὶ Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ κυρίου τρέπονται ἀδελφόν, ᾧ πρὸς τῶν ἀποατόλων ὁ τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς τῆς ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐγκεχείριστο θρόνος. τοιαῦτα δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰ κατὰ τούτου τολμᾶται. εἰς μέσον αὐτόν ἄγα. γόντες ἄρνησιν τῆς εἰς τὸν χριστὸν πίστεως ἐπὶ παντὸς ἐξῄτουν τοῦ λαοῦ· τοῦ δὲ παρὰ τὴν ἄπαγ’ γνώμην ἐλευθέρᾳ φωνὴ καὶ μαλλοῦ ἢ προσεδόκησαν ἐπὶ τῆς πληθύος ἅπας παρρησία. εοοκησαν επι της πληυυος απασης παρρησια απασης καὶ ὁμολογήααντος υἱὸν εἶναι θεοῦ σωτῆρα καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν ’Iηαοῦν, μηκέθ’ οἷοί τε τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μαρτυρίαν φέρειν τῷ καὶ δι’. καιότατον αὐτὸν παρὰ τοῖς πᾶσιν δι’ ἀκρότητα ἧς μετῄει κατὰ τὸν βίον φιλοσοφίας τε καὶ θεοσεβείας κτείνουσι, καιρὸν εἰς ἐξουσίαν λαβόντες τὴν ἀναρχίαν, ὅτι δὴ τοῦ Φήστου κατ’ αὐτὸ τοῦ καιροῦ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας τελευτή. σαντος, ἄναρχα καὶ ἀνεπιτρόπευτα τὰ τῆς αὐτόθι διοικήσεως καθειστήκει. τὸν δὲ τῆς τοῦ Ἰακώ. Βοῦ τελευτῆς τρόπον ἤδη μὲν πρότερον αἱ παρα- τεθεῖσαι τοῦ Κλήμεντος φωναὶ δεδηλώκασιν, ἀπὸ τοῦ πτερυγίου βεβλῆσθαι ξύλῳ τε τὴν πρὸς θάνατον πεπλῆχθαι αὐτὸν ἱστορηκότος· ἀκριβέατατά γε μὴν τὰ κατ’ αὐτὸν ὁ Ἡγήαιππος, ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης τῶν ἀποατόλων γενόμενος διαδοχῆς, ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ αὐτοῦ ὑπομνήματι τοῦτον λέγων ἱστορεῖ τὸν τρόπον· Διαδέχεται τὴν ἐκκληαίαν μετὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ κυρίου Ἰάκωβος, ὁ ὀνομααθεὶς ὑπὸ πάντων δίκαιος ἀπὸ τῶν τοῦ κυρίου χρόνων μέχρι καὶ ἡμῶν, ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ Ἰάκωβοι ἐκαλοῦντο, οὗτος δὲ ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ ἅγιος ἢν, οἶνον καὶ σίκερα οὐκ ἔπιεν οὐδὲ ἔμφυχον ἔφαγεν, ξυρὸν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἔλαιον οὐκ ἠλείφατο, καὶ βαλανείῳ ἴῳ οὐκ ἐχρήσατο. τούτῳ μόνῳ ἐξῆν εἰς τὰ ἅγια εἰαιέναι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐρεοῦν ἐφόρει, ἀλλὰ σινδόνας. καὶ μόνος εἰαήρχετο εἰς τὸν ναὸν ηὑρίακετό τε κείμενος ἐπὶ τοῖς γόνασιν καὶ αἰτούμενος ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ ἄφεσιν, ὡς ἀπεσκληκέναι τὰ γόνατα αὐτοῦ δίκην καμήλου, διὰ τὸ ἀεὶ κάμπτειν ἐπὶ γόνυ προσκυνοῦντα τῷ θεῷ καὶ αἰτεῖαθαι ἄφεσιν τῷ λαῷ. διά γέ τοι τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐκαλεῖτο ὁ δίκαιος καὶ ὠβλίας, ὅ ἐατιν Ἑλληνιστὶ περιοχὴ τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ δικαιοαύνη, ὡς οἱ προφῆται δηλοῦσιν περὶ αὐτοῦ. τινὲς οὗν τῶν ἑπτὰ αἱρέσεων τῶν ἐν τῷ λαῷ, τῶν ’π’ προγεγραμμένων μοι ἐν τοῖς v. Ὑπομνήμασιν), ἐπυνθάνοντο αὐτοῦ τίς ἡ θύρα τοῦ Ἰηαοῦ, καὶ ἔλεγεν τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν σωτῆρα· ἐξ ὧν τινες ἐπίατευααν ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐατιν ὁ Χριστός. δὲ αἱρέσεις αἱ προειρημέναι οὐκ ἐπί· στευον οὔτε ἀνάστασιν οὔτε ἐρχόμενον ἀποδοῦναι ἑκάατῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ· ὅσοι δὲ καὶ ἐπίατευααν, διὰ Ἰάκωβον. πολλῶν οὗν καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων πιατευόντων, ἢν θόρυβος τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων λεγόντων ὅτι κινδυνεύει πᾶς ὁ λαὸς Ἰηαοῦν τὸν χριστὸν προσδοκᾶν. ἔλεγον οὗν συνελθόντες τῷ Ἰακώβῳ· παρακαλοῦμέν ἄε, ἐπίσχες τὸν λαόν, ἐπεὶ ἐπλανήθη εἰς Ἰηαοῦν, ὡς αὐτοῦ ὄντος τοῦ χριστοῦ. παρακαλοῦμέν ἄε πεῖσαι πάντας τοὺς ἐλθόντας εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ πάσχα περὶ Ἰησοῦ· ἀοῖ γὰρ πάντες πειθόμεθα. ἡμεῖς γὰρ μαρτυροῦμέν σοι καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὅτι δίκαιος εἶ καὶ ὅτι πρόσωπον οὐ λαμβάνεις. πεῖαον οὖν αὖ τὸν ὄχλον περὶ Ιησοῦ μὴ πλανᾶαθαι· καὶ γὰρ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς καὶ πάντες πειθόμεθά σοι. στῆθι οὗν ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ, ἵνα ἄνωθεν ἦς ἐπιφανὴς καὶ ἢ εὐάκουστά σου τὰ ῥήματα παντὶ τῷ λαῷ. διὰ γὰρ τὸ πάσχα συνεληλύθααι πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ μετὰ καὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν. ’ ἔστησαν οὖν οἱ πρὸ. εἰρημένοι γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαριααῖοι τὸν Ἰάκωβον ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ναοῦ, καὶ ἔκραξαν αὐτῷ καὶ εἶπαν ‘ δίκαιε, ᾧ πάντες πείθεσθαι ὀφείλομεν, ἐπεὶ ὁ λαὸς πλανᾶται ὀπίσω Ἰησοῦ τοῦ σταυρω- θέντος, ἀπάγγειλον ἡμῖν τίς ἡ θύρα τοῦ Ἰηαοῦ.’ καὶ ἀπεκρίνατο φωνῇ μεγάλη ‘ τί με ἐπερωτᾶτε περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ αὐτὸς κάθηται ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἐκ δεξιῶν τῆς μεγάλης δυνάμεως , καὶ μέλλει ἔρχεσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐ- ρανοῦ ; ’ καὶ πολλῶν πληροφορηθέντων καὶ δοξαζόντων ἐπὶ τῆ μαρτυρίᾳ τοῦ Ἰακώβου καὶ λεγόντων ‘ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ, ’ τότε πάλιν οἱ αὐτοὶ γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαριααῖοι πρὸς ὠή· λους ἔλεγον ‘ κακῶς ἐποιήααμεν τοιαύτην μαρτυρίαν παρααχόντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ· ἀλλὰ ἀναβάντες καταβάλωμεν αὐτόν, ἵνα φοβηθέντες μὴ πιστεύσωσιν αὐτῷ.’ καὶ ἔκραξαν λέγοντες ἴ’ ὢ ὤ, καὶ ὁ δίκαιος ἐπλανήθη,’ καὶ ἐπλήρωσαν τὴν γραφὴν τὴν ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ γεγραμμένην ἴ’ τὸν δίκαιον, ὅτι δύαχρηατος ἡμῖν ἐστιν· τοίνυν τὰ γενήματα τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν φάγονται.’ ἀναβάντες οὖν κατέβαλον τὸν δίκαιον. καὶ ἔλεγον ἀλλήλοις λιθάσωμεν Ἰάκωβον τὸν δίκαιον,’ καὶ ἤρξαντο λιθάζειν αὐτόν, ἐπεὶ καταβληθεὶς οὐκ ἀπέθανεν· ἀλλὰ στραφεὶς ἔθηκε τὰ γόνατα λέγων παρακαλῶ , κύριε θεὲ πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς· οὐ γὰρ οἴδασιν τί ποιοῦσιν.’ οὕτως δὲ κάτα· λιθοβολούντων αὐτόν, εἷς τῶν ἱερέων τῶν υἱῶν Ῥηχὰβ υἱοῦ Ῥαχαβείμ, τῶν μαρτυρουμένων ὑπὸ Ἱερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου, ἔκραξεν λέγων παύσασθε· τί ποιεῖτε; εὔχεται ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ὁ δίκαιος.’ καὶ λαβών τις ἀπ’ αὐτῶν, εἷς τῶν γναφέων, τὸ ξύλον, ἐν ᾧ ἀποπιέζει τὰ ἱμάτια, ἤνεγκεν κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ δικαίου, καὶ οὕτως ἐμαρτύρησεν. καὶ ἔθαφαν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῷ τόπῳ παρὰ τῷ ναῷ, καὶ ἔτι αὐτοῦ ἡ στήλη μένει παρὰ τῷ ναῷ. μάρτυς οὗτος ἀληθὴς Ἰουδαίοις τε καὶ Ἕλλησιν γεγένηται ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ χριατός ἐστιν. καὶ εὐθὺς Οὐεαπασιανὸς πολιορκεῖ αὐτούς.” 1
XIII. When Paul appealed to Caesar and was sent over to Rome by Festus, the Jews were disappointed of the hope in which they had laid their plot against him and turned against James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the throne of the bishopric in Jerusalem had been allotted by the Apostles. The crime which they committed was as follows. They brought him into the midst and demanded a denial of the faith in Christ before all the people; but when he, contrary to the expectation of all of them, with a loud voice and with more courage than they had expected, confessed before all the people that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Son of God, they could no longer endure his testimony, since he was by all men believed to be most righteous because of the height which he had reached in a life of philosophy and religion, and killed him, using anarchy as an opportunity for power, since at that moment Festus had died in Judaea, leaving the district without government or procurator. The manner of James's death has been shown by the words of Clement already quoted, narrating that he was thrown from the battlement and beaten to death with a club; but Hegesippus, who belongs to the generation after the Apostles, gives the most accurate account of him, speaking as follows in his fifth book: “The charge of the Church passed to James the brother of the Lord, together with the Apostles. He was called the ‘Just’ by all men from the Lord's time to ours, since many are called James, but he was holy from his mother's womb. He drank no wine or strong drink, nor did he eat flesh; no razor went upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not go to the baths. He alone was allowed to enter into the sanctuary; for he did not wear wool but linen, and he used to enter alone into the temple and be found kneeling and praying for forgiveness for the people, so that his knees grew hard like a camel's because of his constant worship of God, kneeling and asking forgiveness for the people. So from his excessive righteousness he was called the Just and Oblias, that is in Greek, ‘Rampart of the people and righteousness,’ as the prophets declare concerning him. Thus some of the seven sects among the people, who were described before by me (in the Commentaries), inquired of him what was the gate of Jesus, and he said that he was the Saviour. Owing to this some believed that Jesus was the Christ. The sects mentioned above did not believe either in resurrection or in one who shall come to reward each according to his deeds, but as many as believed did so because of James. Now, since many even of the rulers believed, there was a saying that the whole people was in danger of looking for Jesus, the Christ. So they assembled and said, ‘Since they are straying after Jesus as though he were the Messiah, we beseech you to persuade concerning Jesus all who come for the day of the Passover; for we all obey you. For we and the whole people testify to you that you are righteous and do not respect persons. Do you therefore persuade the crowd not to err concerning Jesus; for the whole people and we all obey you. Therefore stand on the battlement of the temple, that from above you may be conspicuous and that your words may be audible to all the people; for because of the Passover all the tribes, with the Gentiles also, have come.’ So the scribes and Pharisees mentioned before made James stand on the battlement of the temple, and they cried out to him and said, ‘O just one, to whom we all owe obedience, since the people are straying after Jesus who was crucified, tell us what is the gate of Jesus?’ And he answered with a loud voice, ‘Why do you ask me concerning the Son of Man? He is sitting in heaven on the right hand of the great power, and he will come on the clouds of heaven.’ And many were convinced and confessed at the testimony of James and said, ‘Hosanna to the son of David.’ Then again the same scribes and Pharisees said to one another, ‘We did wrong to provide Jesus with such testimony; but let us go up and throw him down, that they may be afraid and not believe him.’ And they cried out saying, ‘Oh, oh, even the Just One has been led astray,’ and they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah: ‘Let us take the just man, for he is unprofitable to us. Yet they shall eat the fruit of their works.’ So they went up and threw down the Just, and they said to one another, ‘Let us stone James the Just,’ and they began to stone him, since the fall had not killed him; but he turned and knelt, saying, ‘I beseech thee, O Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And while they were thus stoning him, one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of Rechabim, to whom Jeremiah the prophet bore witness, cried out saying, ‘Stop! what are you doing? The Just is praying for you.’ And a certain man among them, one of the laundrymen, took the club with which he used to beat out the clothes, and hit the Just on the head, and so he suffered martyrdom. And they buried him on the spot by the temple, and his gravestone still remains by the temple. He became a true witness both to Jews and to Greeks that Jesus is the Christ, and at once Vespasian began to besiege them.”