5.21.1
XXI. Κατὰ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τῆς Κομόδου βασιλείας χρόνον μεταβέβλητο μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ πρᾶον τὰ καθ’ ἡμᾶς, εἰρήνης αὺν θείᾳ χάριτι τὰς καθ’ ὅΛης τῆς οἰκουμένης διαλαβούσης ἐκκλησίας· ὅτε καὶ ὁ σωτήριος λόγος ἐκ παντὸς γένους ἀνθρώπων πᾶσαν ὑπήγετο ψυχὴν ἐπὶ τὴν εὐσεβῆ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ θρῃσκείαν, ὡς ἤδη καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ ῾Ρώμης εὖ μάλα πλούτῳ καὶ γένει διαφανῶν πλείους ἐπὶ τὴν σφῶν ὁμόσε χωρεῖν πανοικεί τε καὶ παγγενεὶ σωτηρίαν. οὐκ ἦν δὲ ἄρα τοῦτο τῷ μισοκάλῳ δαίμονι βασκάνῳ ὄντι τὴν φύαιν οἰστόν, ἀπεδύετο δ’ οὗν εἰς αὖθις, ποικίλας τὰς καθ’ ἡμῶν μηχανὰς ἐπιτεχνώμενος. ἐπὶ γοῦν τῆς ‘Ρωμαίων πόλεως Ἀπολλώνιον, ἄνδρα τῶν τότε πιστῶν ἐπὶ παιδείᾳ καὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ βεβοημένον, ἐπὶ δικαστήριον ἄγει, ἕνα γέ τινα τῶν εἰς ταῦτ’ ἐπιτηδείων αὐτῷ διακόνων ἐπὶ κατηγορίᾳ τἀνδρὸς ἐγείρας. ἀλλ’ ὁ μὲν δείλαιος παρὰ καιρὸν: τὴν δίκην εἰσελθών, ὅτι μὴ ξῆν ἐξὸν ἦν κατὰ βασιλικὸν ὅρον τοὺς τῶν τοιῶνδε μηνυτάς, αὐτίκα κατεάγνυται τὰ σκέλη, Περεννίου δικαστοῦ τοιαύτην κατ’ αὐτοῦ φῃφον ἀπενέγκαντος· ὁ δέ γε θεοφιλέστατος μάρτυς, πολλὰ λιπαρῶς ἱκετεύσαντος τοῦ δικαστοῦ καὶ λόγον αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς αἰτήσαντος, λογιωτάτην ὑπὲρ ἦς ἐμαρτύρει πίστεως ἐπὶ πάντων παρασχὼν ἀπολογίαν, κεφαλικῇ κολάσει ὡς ἂν ἀπὸ δόγματος συγκλήτου τελειοῦται, μηδ’ ἄλλως ἀφεῖσθαι τοὺς ἅπαξ εἰς δικαστήριον παριόντας καὶ μηδαμῶς τῆς προθέσεως μεταβαλλομένους ἀρχαίου παρ’ αὐτοῖς νόμου κεκρατηκότος. τούτου μὲν οὖν τὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ δικαστοῦ φωνὰς καὶ τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ἃς πρὸς πεῦσιν πεποίητο τοῦ Περεννίου, πὰσάν τε τὴν πρὸς τὴν σύγκλητον ἀπολογίαν, ὅτῳ διαγνῶναι φίλον, ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἀρχαίων μαρτύρων συναχθείσης ἡμῖν ἀναγραφῆς εἴσεται.
XXI. And at the same time in the reign of Commodus our treatment was changed to a milder one, and by the grace of God peace came on the churches throughout the whole world. The word of salvation began to lead every soul of every race to the pious worship of the God of the universe, so that now many of those who at Rome were famous for wealth and family turned to their own salvation with all their house and with all their kin. This was unendurable to the demon who hates good, envious as he is by nature, and he again stripped for conflict, and prepared various devices against us. In the city of the Romans he brought before the court Apollonius, a man famous among the Christians of that time for his education and philosophy, and raised up one of his servants who was suitable for this to accuse him. But the coward entered the case at a bad time, for according to imperial decree informers on such points were not allowed to live; so they broke his legs at once, for the judge Perennius decreed this sentence against him. But the martyr, beloved of God, when the judge earnestly begged and prayed him to defend himself before the senate, made before every one a most learned defence of the faith for which he was a martyr, and was consummated by beheading as if by decree of the senate: for an ancient law obtained among them that there should be no other issue for the case of those who once appeared before the court and did not change their opinion. The words of Apollonius before the judge and the answers which he made to the interrogation of Perennius, and all the defence which he made to the senate, can be read by anyone who wishes in the compilation which we have made of the ancient martyrs.