Passages /
Book 6 /
Section 42
6.42.1
XLII. “Ἄλλοι δὲ πλεῖστοι κατὰ πόλεις καὶ κώμας ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν διεσπάσθησαν, ὧν παραδείγματος ἕνεκεν ἐπιμνησθήσομαι. Ἰσχυίων ἐπετρόπευέν τινι τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐπὶ μιαθῷ. τοῦτον ὁ μιαθοδότης ἐκέλευσεν θῦσαι, μὴ πειθόμενον ὕβριζεν, ἐμμένοντα προεπηλάκιζεν, ὑφισταμένου, βακτηρίαν μεγίστην λαβὼν διὰ τῶν ἐντέρων καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων διώσας, ἀπέκτεινεν.
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XLII. “And many others throughout the cities and villages were torn in pieces by the heathen, of whom I shall mention one as an example. Ischyrion was acting as the hired steward of one of the rulers. His employer bade him sacrifice; when he refused he insulted him, when he abode by his refusal he abused him foully; and as he still remained firm he took a very large stick, thrust it through his bowels and vital organs, and so killed him.
6.42.2
“ Τί δεῖ λέγειν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐν ἐρημίαις καὶ ὄρεσιν πλανηθέντων, ὑπὸ Λιμοῦ καὶ δίψης κρύους καὶ νόσων καὶ λῃστῶν καὶ θηρίων διεφαρμένων; ὧν οἱ περιγενόμενοι τῆς ἐκείνων εἰσὶν ἐκλογῆς καὶ νίκης μάρτυρες, ἓν δὲ καὶ τούτων εἰς δήλωσιν ἔργον παραθήσομαι. Χαιρήμων ἢν ὑπέργηρως τῆς Νείλου καλουμένης πόλεως ἐπίσκοπος. οὗτος εἰς τὸ Ἀράβιον ὄρος ἅμα τῆ συμβίῳ ἑαυτοῦ φυγών, οὐκ ἐπανελήλυθεν, οὐδὲ ἐδυνήθησαν ἰδεῖν οὐκέτι, καίτοι πολλὰ διερευνησάμενοι, οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οὔτε αὐτοὺς οὔτε τὰ σώματα. πολλοὶ δὲ οἱ κατ’ αὐτὸ τὸ Ἀραβικὸν ὄρος ἐξανδραποδισθέντες ὑπὸ βαρβάρων Σαρακηνῶν· ὧν οἳ μὲν μόλις ἐπὶ πολλοῖς χρήμασιν ἐλυτρώθησαν, οἵ δὲ μέχρι νῦν οὐδέπω.
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What need is there to speak of the multitude of those who wandered in deserts and mountains, perished by hunger and thirst and frost and diseases and robbers and wild beasts? Such of them as survive bear testimony to their election and victory; but one fact in connexion with these men also I shall adduce as evidence. Chaeremon was bishop of the city called Nilopolis, and of extreme age. He fled to the Arabian mountain with his wife, and never returned, nor could the brethren ever lay eyes again either on them or their bodies, although they made a long and thorough search. But many in that same Arabian mountain were reduced to utter slavery by barbarian Saracens. Of these some were with difficulty ransomed for large sums, others have not yet been, up to this day.
6.42.3
“ καὶ ταῦτα διεξῆλθον οὐ μάτην, ἀδελφέ, ἀλλ ἵνα εἰδῇς ὅσα καὶ ἡλίκα δεινὰ παρ’ ἡμῖν συνέβη· ὧν οἱ μᾶλλον πεπειραμένοι πλείονα ἂν εἰδεῖεν.”
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And I have not given this account, brother, to no purpose, but that you may know all the terrible things that happened among us. Those who have had greater experience of them would know more.
6.42.4
Εἶτα τούτοις ἐπιφέρει μετὰ βραχέα λέγων· “ αὐτοὶ τοίνυν οἱ θεῖοι μάρτυρες παρ’ ἡμῖν, οἱ νῦν τοῦ Χριστοῦ πάρεδροι καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ κοινωνοὶ καὶ μέτοχοι τῆς κρίαεως αὐτοῦ καὶ συνδικάζοντες αὐτῷ, τῶν παραπεπτωκότων ἀδελΦῶν τινας ὑπευθύνους τοῖς τῶν θυσιῶν γενομένους προσελάβοντο, καὶ τὴν καὶ μετάνοιαν αὐτῶν ἰδόντες δεκτήν τε γενέσθαι δυναμένην τῶ μὴ βουλομένω καθόλου τὸν θάνατον μ’ μ’ μ’ ὢ του ἁμαρτωλοῦ ὡς τὴν μετάνοιαν δοκιμάσαντες, εἰσεδέξαντο καὶ συνήγαγον καὶ συνέστησαν προσευχῶν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἑστιάσεων τί οὖν ἡμῖν, ἀδελφοί, περὶ τούτων συμβουλεύετε τί ἡμῖν πρακτέον; σύμψηφοι καὶ ὁμογνώμονες αὐτοῖς καταστῶμεν καὶ τὴν κρίαιν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν χάριν φυλάξωμεν καὶ τοῖς ἐλεηθεῖσιν ὑπ’ χρηστευσώμεθα, ἢ τὴν κρίσιν αὐτῶν ποιησώμεθα καὶ δοκιμαστὰς αὑτοὺς τῆς γνώμης ἐπιστήσωμεν καὶ τὴν χρηστότητα καὶ τὴν τάξιν ἀνασκευάσωμεν ;
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Then, after a little, he adds as follows: “Therefore the divine martyrs themselves among us, who now are assessors of Christ, and share the fellowship of His kingdom, and take part in His decisions and judge along with Him, have espoused the cause of certain of the fallen brethren who became answerable for the charge of sacrifices; and seeing their conversion and repentance, they judged it had the power to prove acceptable to Him who hath no pleasure at all in the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance; and so they received and admitted them to the worship of the Church as consistentes, and gave them fellowship in their prayers and feasts. What then do ye counsel us, brethren, on these matters? What are we to do? Are we to be of like opinion and mind with them, uphold their decision and concession, and deal kindly with those they pitied? Or shall we esteem their decision unjust, and set ourselves up as critics of their opinion, do away with kindness, and do away with their arrangement?”
6.42.5
Ταῦτα δ’ εἰκότως ὁ Διονύσιος παρατέθειται, τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐξησθενηκότων κατὰ τὸν τοῦ διωγμοῦ καιρὸν ἀνακινῶν λόγον,
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Now these words Dionysius added suitably, raising the question about those who had proved weak in the time of persecution,