Eusebius Book 8, Section 10

Passages / Book 8 / Section 10

8.10.1

Χ, Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν μαθημάτων ἕνεκα πολλοῦ λόγου ἄξιον γενέσθαι τὸν Φιλέαν ἔφαμεν, αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ παρίτω μάρτυς, ἅμα μὲν ἑαυτὸν ὅστις ποτ’ ἢν, ἐπιδείξων, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὰ κατ’ αὐτὸν ἐν τῆ Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ συμβεβηκότα μαρτύρια ἀκριβέστερον μᾶλλον ἢ ἡμεῖς ἱστορήσων διὰ τούτων τῶν λέξεων.

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X. But since we said that Phileas deserved a high reputation for his secular learning as well, let him appear as his own witness, to show us who he was, and at the same time to relate, more accurately than we could, the martyrdoms that took place at Alexandria.

8.10.2

“ Τούτων ἁπάντων ὑποδειγμάτων ἡμῖν καἰ ὑπογραμμῶν καὶ καλῶν γνωρισμάτων ἐν ταῖς θείαις καὶ ἱεραῖς γραφαῖς κειμένων, οὐδὲν μελλάσαντες οἱ μακάριοι σὺν ἡμῖν μάρτυρες, τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ὄμμα πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸν καθαρῶς τείναντες καὶ τὸν ἐπ’ εὐσεβείᾳ θάνατον ἐν νῷ λαβόντες, ἀπρὶξ τῆς κλήσεως εἴχοντο, τὸν μὲν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν εὑρόντες ἐνανθρωπήσαντα δι’ ἡμᾶς, ἵνα πᾶσαν μὲν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκκόψῃ, ἐφόδια δὲ τῆς εἰς τὴν αἰώνιον ζωὴν εἰσόδου ἡμῖν κατάθηται· οὐ γὰρ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, ἀλλ’ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἑαυτὸν ἐταπείνωσεν ἕως θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ· δι’ ὃ καὶ ζηλώσαντες τὰ μείζονα χαρίσματα οἱ χριστοφόροι μάρτυρες πάντα μὲν πόνον καὶ παντοίας ἐπινοίας αἰκισμῶν οὐκ εἰς ἅπαξ, ἀλλ’ ἤδη καὶ δεύτερόν τινες ὑπέμειναν, πάσας δὲ ἀπειλὰς οὐ λόγοις μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργοις τῶν δορυφόρων κατ’ αὐτῶν φιλοτιμουμένων, οὐκ ἐνεδίδουν τὴν γνώμην διὰ τὸ τὴν τελείαν ἀγάπην ἔξω βάλλειν τὸν φόβον· ὧν καταλέγειν τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν ἐφ’ ἑκάστῃ βασάνῳ ἀνδρείαν τίς ἄν ἀρκέσειεν λόγος; ἀνέσεως γὰρ οὔσης ἅπασι τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐνυβρίζειν, οἱ μὲν ξύλοις ἔπαιον, ἕτεροι δὲ ῥάβδοις, ἄλλοι δὲ μάστιξιν, ἕτεροι δὲ πάλιν ἱμᾶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ σχοινίοις. καὶ ἦν ἡ θέα τῶν αἰκισμῶν ἐνηλλαγμένη καὶ πολλὴν τὴν ἐν αὐτῇ κακίαν ἔχουσα. οἳ μὲν γὰρ ἀπίσω τὼ χεῖρε δεθέντες περὶ τὸ ξύλον ἐξηρτῶντο καὶ μαγγάνοις τισὶ διετείνοντο πᾶν μέλος, εἴθ’ οὕτως διὰ παντὸς τοῦ σώματος ἐπῆγον ἐκ κελεύσεως οἱ βασανισταί, οὐ καθάπερ τοῖς φονεῦσιν ἐπὶ τῶν πλευρῶν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς γαστρὸς καὶ κνημῶν καὶ παρειῶν τοῖς ἀμυντηρίοις ἐκόλαζον· ἕτεροι δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς στοᾶς μιᾶς χειρὸς ἐξηρτημένοι αἰωροῦντο, πάσης ἀλγηδόνος δεινοτέραν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἄρθρων καὶ μελῶν τάσιν ἔχοντες· ἄλλοι δὲ πρὸς τοῖς κίοσιν ἀντιπρόσωποι ἐδοῦντο, οὐ βεβηκόσιν τοῖς ποσίν, τῷ δὲ βάρει τοῦ σώματος βιαζομένων μετὰ τάσεως ἀνελκομένων τῶν δεσμῶν. καὶ τοῦθ’ ὑπέμενον, οὐκ ἐφ’ ὅσον προσδιελέγετο οὐδ’ αὐτοῖς ἐσχόλαζεν ὁ ἡγεμών, ἀλλὰ μόνον οὐχὶ δι’ ὅλης τῆς ἡμέρας. ὅτε γὰρ καὶ ἐφ’ ἑτέρους μετέβαινεν, τοῖς προτέροις κατελίμπανεν ἐφεδρεύειν τοὺς τῆ ἐξουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ ὑπηρετουμένους, εἴ πού τις ἡττηθεὶς τῶν βασάνων ἐνδιδόναι ἐδόκει, ἀφειδῶς δὲ κελεύων καὶ τοῖς δεσμοῖς προσιένα καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ψυχορραγῦντας αὐτοὺς κατατιθεμένους εἰς τὴν γῆν ἕλκεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ εἶναι κἄν μέρος φροντίδος αὐτοῖς περὶ ἡμῶν, ἀλλ’ οὕτω καὶ διανοεῖσθαι καὶ πράττειν, ὡς μηκέτ’ ὄντων, ταύτην δευτέραν βάσανον ἐπὶ ταῖς πληγαῖς τῶν ὑπεναντίων ἐφευρόντων. ἦσαν δὲ οἱ καὶ μετὰ τοὺς αἰκισμοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου κείμενοι, διὰ τῶν τεσσάρων διατεταμένοι ἄμφω τὼ πόδε, ὡς καὶ κατὰ ἀνάγκην αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου ὑπτίους εἶναι, μὴ δυναμένους διὰ τὸ ἔναυλα τὰ τραύματα ἀπὸ τῶν πληγῶν καθ’ ὅλου τοῦ σώματος ἔχειν· ἕτεροι δὲ εἰς τοὔδαφος ῥιφέντες ἔκειντο ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν βασάνων ἀθρόας προσβολῆς, δεινοτέραν τὴν ὄφιν τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῖς ὁρῶσιν παρέχοντες, ποικίλας καὶ διαφόρους ἐν τοῖς σώμασιν φέροντες τῶν βασάνων τὰς ἐπινοίας. τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων οἳ μὲν ἐναπέθηῃσκον ταῖς βασάνοις, τῆ καρτερίᾳ καταισχύναντες τὸν ἀντίπαλον, οἳ δὲ ἡμιθνῆτες ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ συγκλειόμενοι, μετ’ οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ταῖς ἀλγηδόσι συνεχόμενοι ἐτελειοῦντο, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ τῆς ἀπὸ τῆς θεραπείας ἐτελειοῦντο, τυχόντες τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ τῇ τῆς φυλακῆς διατριβὴ θαρσαλεώτεροι ἐγίνοντο. οὕτω γοῦν, ἡνίκα προσετέτακτο αἱρέσεως κειμένης ἢ ἐφαψάμενον τῆς ἐναγοῦς θυσίας ἀνενόχλητον εἶναι, τῆς ἐπαράτου ἐλευθερίας παρ’ αὐτῶν τυχόντα, ἢ μὴ θύοντα τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ δίκην ἐκδέεσθαι, οὐδὲν μελλήσαντες ἀσμένως ἐπὶ τὸν θάνατον ἐχώρουν· ῇδεσαν γὰρ τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν ἱερῶν γραφῶν ἡμῖν προορισθέντα. ‘ ὁ γὰρ θυσιάζων,’ φησίν,‘ θεοῖς ἑτέροις ἐξολοθρευθήσεται,’ καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἔσονταί ἀοῖ θεοὶ ἕτεροι πλὴν ἐμοῦ.’ ’’

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From the Writings of Phileas to the Thmuites.

8.10.3

τοιαῦται τοῦ ὡς ἀληθῶς φιλοσόφου τε ὁμοῦ καὶ φιλοθέου μάρτυρος αἱ φωναὶ ἃς πρὸ τελευταίας ἀποφάσεως, ὑπὸ τὴν δεσμωτικὴν ἔθ’ ὑπάρχων τάξιν, τοῖς κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ παροικίαν ἀδελφοῖς ἐπεστάλκει, ἅμα μὲν τὰ ἐν οἷς ἦν, ἀνατιθέμενος, ἅμα δὲ καὶ παρορμῶν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ ἀπρὶξ ἔχεσθαι καὶ μετ’ αὐτὸν δάον οὔπω τελειωθησόμενον τῆς ἐν χριστῷ θεοσεβείας. ἀλλὰ τί χρὴ πολλὰ λέγειν καὶ καινοτέρας ἐπὶ καινοτέραις τῶν ἀνὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην θεοπρεπῶν μαρτύρων ἀθλήσεις παρατίθεσθαι, μάλιστα τῶν οὐκέτι μὲν κοινῷ νόμῳ, πολέμου δὲ τρόπῳ πεπολιορκημένων ;

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“Since all these examples and patterns and goodly tokens are placed before us in the divine and sacred Scriptures, the blessed martyrs with us did not hesitate, but directed the eye of the soul sincerely toward the God who is over all, and with a mind resolved on death for piety they clung fast to their calling, finding that our Lord Jesus Christ became man for our sakes, that He might destroy every kind of sin, and provide us with the means of entering into eternal life. For He counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Wherefore also, desiring earnestly the greater gifts, the Christ-bearing martyrs endured every kind of suffering and all manner of devices of torture, not once, but even a second time in some cases; and though their guards vied in all kinds of threats against them, not only in word but also in deed, they refused to give up their resolution, because perfect love casteth out fear. What account would suffice to reckon up their bravery and courage under each torture? For when all who wished were given a free hand to insult them, some smote with cudgels, others with rods, others with scourges; others, again, with straps, and others with ropes. And the spectacle of their tortures was a varied one with no lack of wickedness therein. Some with both hands bound behind them were suspended upon the gibbet, and with the aid of certain machines stretched out in every limb; then, as they lay in this plight, the torturers acting on orders began to lay on over their whole body, not only, as in the case of murderers, punishing their sides with the instruments of torture, but also their belly, legs and cheeks. Others were suspended from the porch by one hand and raised aloft; and in the tension of their joints and limbs experienced unequalled agony. Others were bound with their face towards pillars, their feet not touching the ground, and thus their bonds were drawn tight by the pressure upon them of the weight of the body. And this they would endure, not while the governor conversed or was engaged with them, but almost throughout the entire day. For when he went away to others, he would leave the agents of his authority to watch the first, if perchance anyone should be overcome by the tortures and seem to give in; and he bade them approach mercilessly with bonds also, and, when they were at the last gasp after all this, take them down to the ground and drag them off. For [he said] that they were not to have the least particle of regard for us, but to be so disposed and act as if we were no longer of any account. Such was the second torture that our enemies devised in addition to the stripes. And some, even after the tortures, were placed in the stocks, and had both feet stretched out to the fourth hole, so that they were compelled to lie on their back therein, being unable [to sit upright] because of the recent wounds they had from the stripes over the whole body. Others were thrown to the ground and lay there, by reason of the wholesale application of the tortures; presenting to those who saw them a sight more terrible than did the actual punishment, in that they bore on their bodies marks of the manifold and varied tortures that were devised. In this condition of affairs, some died under their tortures, having shamed the adversary by their endurance; while others were shut up half dead in prison, and after not many days perfected by reason of their agonies; the remainder recovered under treatment, and as the result of time and their stay in prison gained confidence. So then, when the order was given and the choice held out, either to touch the abominable sacrifice and be unmolested, receiving from them the accursed freedom; or not to sacrifice and be punished with death: without hesitation they gladly went to their death. For they knew what had been prescribed for us by the sacred Scriptures. For he says, ‘He that sacrificeth unto other gods shall be utterly destroyed’; ‘Thou shalt have none other gods but me.’