Eusebius Book 8, Section 12

Passages / Book 8 / Section 12

8.12.1

ΧΙΙ. Τί με χρὴ νῦν ἐπ’ ὀνόματος τῶν λοιπῶν μνημονεύειν ἢ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀριθμεῖν ἢ τὰς πολυτρόπους αἰκίας ἀναζωγραφεῖν τῶν θαυμασίων μαρτύρων, τοτὲ μὲν πέλυξιν ἀναιρουμένων, οἷα γέγονεν τοῖς ἐπ’ Ἀραβίας, τοτὲ δὲ τὰ σκέλη κατεαγνυμένων, μένων, οἷα τοῖς ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ συμβέβηκεν, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν κατὰ κεφαλῆς ἐκ τοῖν ποδοῖν εἰς ὕφος ἀναρτωμένων καὶ μαλθακοῦ πυρὸς ὑποκαιομένου τῷ παραπεμπομένῳ καπνῷ τῆς φλεγομένης ὕλης ἀποπνιγομένων, οἷα τοῖς ἐν Μέση τῶν ποταμῶν ἐπήχθη, ποτὲ δὲ ῥῖνας καἰ ὦτα καὶ χεῖρας ἀκρωτηριαζομένων τά τε λοιπὰ τοῦ σώματος μέλη τε καὶ μέρη κρεουργουμένων, οἷα τὰ ἐπ’ Ἀλεξανδρείας ἦν;

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XII. Why need I now mention the rest by name, or number the multitude of the men, or picture the varied tortures inflicted upon the wonderful martyrs? Sometimes they were slain with the axe, as was the case with those in Arabia; at other times they had their legs broken, as happened to those in Cappadocia; on some occasions they were suspended on high by the feet, head-downwards, while a slow fire was kindled beneath, so that when the wood was alight they were choked by the rising smoke—a treatment meted out to those in Mesopotamia; on others, the noses, ears, and hands were mutilated, and the remaining limbs and parts of the body cut up, as was done at Alexandria.

8.12.2

Τί δεῖ τῶν ἐπ’ Ἀντιοχείας ἀναζωπυρεῖν τὴν μνήμην, ἐσχάραις πυρὸς οὐκ εἰς θάνατον, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ μακρᾷ τιμωρίᾳ κατοπτωμένων, ἑτέρων θᾶττον τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτῷ πυρὶ καθιέντων ἢ τῆς ἐναγοῦς θυσίας ἐφαπτομένων; ὧν τινες τὴν πεῖραν φεύγοντες, πρὶν ἁλῶναι καὶ εἰς χεῖρας τῶν ἐπιβούλων ἐλθεῖν, ἄνωθεν ἐξ ὑψηλῶν δωμάτων κατεκρήμνισαν, τὸν θάνατον ἅρπαγμα θέμενοι τῆς τῶν δυσσεβῶν μοχθηρίας.

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Why need one rekindle the memory of those at Antioch, who were roasted on heated gridirons, not unto death, but with a view to lengthy torture; and of others who put their right hand into the very fire sooner than touch the accursed sacrifice? Some of them, to escape such trials, before they were caught and fell into the hands of those that plotted against them, threw themselves down from the tops of lofty houses, regarding death as a prize snatched from the wickedness of evil men.

8.12.3

καί τις ἱερὰ καὶ θαυμασία τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀρετήν, τὸ δὲ σῶμα γυνὴ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τῶν ἐπ’ Ἀντιοχείας πλούτῳ καὶ γένει καὶ εὐδοξίᾳ παρὰ πᾶσι βεβοημένη, παίδων ξυνωρίδα παρθένων τῆ τοῦ σώματος ὥρᾳ καὶ ἀκμὴ διαπρεπουσῶν θεσμοῖς εὐσεβείας ἀναθρεψαμένη, ἐπειδὴ πολὺς ὁ περὶ αὐτὰς κινούμενος φθόνος πάντα τρόπον ἀνιχνεύων λανθανούσας περιειργάζετο, εἴτ’ ἐπ’ ἀλλοδαπῆς αὐτὰς διατρίβειν μαθὼν πεφροντισμένως ἐπὶ τὴν Αντιόχειαν ἐκάλει δικτύων τε ἤδη στρατιωτικῶν εἴσω περιβέβληντο, ἐν ἀμηχάνοις ἑαυτὴν καὶ τὰς παῖδας θεασαμένη καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δεινὰ τῷ λόγῳ παραθεῖσα τό τε πάντων δεινῶν καὶ ἀφορητότερον, πορνείας ἀπειλήν, μηδὲ ἄκροις ὠσὶν ὑπομεῖναι δεῖν ἀκοῦσαι ἑαυτῇ τε καὶ ταῖς κόραις παρακελευσαμένη, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ προδοῦναι τὰς ψυχὰς τῆ τῶν δαιμόνων δουλείᾳ πάντων ὑπάρχειν θανάτων καὶ πάσης χεῖρον ἀπωλείας Φήσασα, μίαν τούτων ἁπάντων εἶναι λύσιν ὑπετίθετο τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον καταφυγήν, κἄπειτα ὁμοῦ τῇ γνώμη συνθέμεναι τά τε σώματα περιστείλασαι κοσμίως τοῖς περιβλήμασιν, ἐπ’ αὐτῆς μέσης γενόμεναι τῆς ὁδοῦ, βραχύ τι τοὺς φύλακας εἰς ἀναχώρησιν ὑποπαριτησάμεναι, ἐπὶ παραρρέοντα ποταμὸν ἑαυτὰς ἠκόντισαν.

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And a certain holy person, admirable for the virtue of soul yet in body a woman, and famed as well by all that were at Antioch for wealth, birth, and sound judgment, had brought up in the precepts of piety her two unmarried daughters, distinguished for the full bloom of their youthful beauty. Much envy was stirred up on their account, and busied itself in tracing in every manner possible where they lay concealed; and when it discovered that they were staying in a foreign country, of set purpose it recalled them to Antioch. Thus they fell into the soldiers’ toils. When, therefore, the woman saw that herself and her daughters were in desperate straits, she placed before them in conversation the terrible things that awaited them from human hands, and the most intolerable thing of all these terrors—the threat of fornication. She exhorted both herself and her girls that they ought not to submit to listen to even the least whisper of such a thing, and said that to surrender their souls to the slavery of demons was worse than all kinds of death and every form of destruction. So she set forth that to flee to the Lord was the only way of escape from it all. And when they had both agreed to her opinion, and had arranged their garments suitably around them, on coming to the middle of their journey they quietly requested the guards to allow them a little time for retirement, and threw themselves into the river that flowed by.

8.12.4

Αἵδε μὲν οὖν ἑαυτάς· ἄλλην δ’ ἐπ’ αὐτῆς Ἀντιοχείας παρθένων τὰ πάντα θεοπρεπῶν καὶ ἀληθῶς ἀδελφῶν, ἐπιδόξων μὲν τὸ γένος, λαμπρῶν δὲ τὸν βίον, νέων τοὺς χρόνους, ὡραίων τὸ σῶμα, σεμνῶν τὴν ψυχήν, εὐσεβῶν τὸν τρόπον, θαυμαστῶν τὴν σπουδήν, ὡς ἂν μὴ φερούσης τῆς γῆς τὰ τοιαῦτα βαστάζειν, θαλάττῃ ῥίπτειν ἐκέλευον οἱ τῶν δαιμόνων θεραπευταί.

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thus were these their own executioners. But another pair of maidens, also at Antioch, godly in every respect and true sisters, famous by birth, distinguished for their manner of life, young in years, in the bloom of beauty, grave of soul, pious in their deportment, admirable in their zeal, the worshippers of demons commanded to be cast into the sea, as if the earth could not endure to bear such excellence.

8.12.5

Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν παρὰ τοῖσδε· τὰ φρικτὰ δὲ ἀκοαῖς κατὰ τὸν Πόντον ἕπασχον ἕτεροι, καλάμοις ὀξέσιν τοῖν χεροῖν ἐξ ἄκρων ὀνώχων τοὺς δακτύλους διαπειρόμενοι, καὶ ἄλλοι, πυρὶ μολίβδου διατακέντος, βρασσούσῃ καὶ πεπυρακτωμένῃ τῇ ὕλη τὰ νῶτα καταχεόμενοι καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἀναγκαιότατα τοῦ σώματος κατοπτώμενοι, διά τε τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἕτεροι μελῶν τε καὶ σπλάγχνων αἰσχρὰς καὶ ἀσυμπαθεῖς καὶ οὐδὲ λόγῳ ῥητὰς ὑπέμενον πάθας, ἃς οἱ γενναῖοι καὶ νόμιμοι δικασταὶ τὴν ἁφῶν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι δεινότητα, ὥσπερ τινὰ σοφίας ἀρετήν, φιλοτιμότερον ἐπενόουν, αἰεὶ ταῖς καινότερον φιλοτιμότερον αἰκίαις, ὥσπερ ἐν ἀγῶνος βραβείοις, ἀλλήλους ὑπερεξάγειν ἁμιλλώμενοι.

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Thus it happened with these martyrs. And others in Pontus suffered things terrible to hear: sharp reeds were driven through their fingers under the tips of the nails; in the case of others, lead was melted down by fire, and the boiling, burning stuff poured down their backs, roasting the most essential parts of their body; others endured in their privy parts and bowels sufferings that were disgraceful, pitiless, and unmentionable, which the noble and law-abiding judges devised with more than usual eagerness, displaying their cruelty as if it were some great stroke of wisdom, striving to outdo one another by ever inventing novel tortures, as if contending for prizes in a contest.

8.12.6

Τὰ δ’ οὗν τῶν συμφορῶν ἕσχατα, ὅτε δὴ ἀπειρηκότες ἐπὶ τῆ τῶν κακῶν ὑπερβολῇ καὶ πρὸς τὸ κτείνειν ἀποκαμόντες πλησμονήν τε καὶ κόρον τῆς τῶν αἱμάτων ἐκχύσεως ἐσχηκότες, ἐπὶ τὸ νομιζόμενον αὐτοῖς χρηστὸν καὶ φιλάνθρωπον ἐτρέποντο, ὡς μηδὲν μὲν ἔτι δοκεῖν δεινὸν καθ’ ἡμῶν περιεργάζεσθαι· μὴ γὰρ καθήκειν φασὶν αἵμασιν ἐμφυλίοις μιαίνειν τὰς πόλεις μηδ’ ὠμότητι τὴν ἀνωτάτω διαβάλλειν τῶν κρατούντων ἀρχήν, εὐμενῆ τοῖς πᾶσιν ὑπάρχουσαν καὶ πραεῖαν, δεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς φιλανθρώπου καὶ βασιλικῆς ἐξουσίας εἰς πάντας ἐκτείνεσθαι τὴν εὐεργεσίαν, μηκέτι θανάτῳ κολαζομένους· λελύσθαι γὰρ αὐτῶν καθ’ ἡμῶν ταύτην τὴν τιμωρίαν διὰ τὴν τῶν κρατούντων φιλανθρωπίαν. τηνικαῦτα ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξορύττεσθαι καὶ τοῖν σκελοῖν πηροῦσθαι θάτερον προσετάττετο. ταῦτα γὰρ ἢν αὐτοῖς τὰ φιλάνθρωπα καὶ τῶν καθ’ ἡμῶν τιμωριῶν τὰ κουφότατα, ὥστε ἤδη ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς τῶν ἀσεβῶν φιλανθρωπίας οὐκέτ’ εἶναι δυνατὸν ἐξειπεῖν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὑπὲρ πάντα λόγον τοὺς μὲν δεξιοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ξίφει πρότερον ἐκκοπτομένων κἄπειτα τούτους πυρὶ καυτηριαζομένων, τοὺς δὲ λαιοὺς πόδας κατὰ τῶν ἀγκυλῶν αὖθις καυτῆρσιν ἀχρειουμένων μετά τε ταῦτα τοῖς κατ’ ἐπαρχίαν χαλκοῦ μετάλλοις οὐχ ὑπηρεσίας τοσοῦτον δάον κακώσεως καὶ ταλαιπωρίας ἕνεκεν καταδικαζομένων πρὸς ἅπασί τε τούτοις ἄλλων ἄλλοις ἀγῶσιν, οὓς μηδὲ δυνατόν νικᾷ γὰρ πάντα λόγον τὰ κατ’ αὐτοὺς ἀνδραγαθήματα), περιπεπτωκοτων.

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But the end of these calamities came when they were now worn out with their excessive wickedness, and were utterly weary of killing and surfeited and sated with shedding blood, and so turned to what they considered merciful and humane conduct; so that they no longer thought that they were doing any harm to us. For it was not fitting, they said, to pollute the cities with the blood of their own people, or to involve in a charge of cruelty the supreme government of the rulers, a government that was well-disposed and mild towards all; but rather that the beneficence of the humane and imperial authority should be extended to all, and the death penalty no longer inflicted. For [they declared] that this their punishment of us had been stopped, thanks to the humanity of the rulers. Then orders were given that their eyes should be gouged out and one of their legs maimed. For this was in their opinion humanity and the lightest of punishments inflicted upon us. Hence, because of this humanity on the part of godless men, it is now no longer possible to tell the incalculable number of those who had their right eye first cut out with a sword and then cauterized with fire, and the left foot rendered useless by the further application of branding irons to the joints, and who after this were condemned to the provincial copper mines, not so much for service as for ill-usage and hardship, and withal fell in with various other trials, which it is not possible even to recount; their brave deeds surpass all reckoning.

8.12.7

Εν δὴ τούτοις ἐφ’ ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης διαλάμψαντες οἱ μεγαλοπρεπεῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ μάρτυρες τοὺς μὲν ἁπανταχοῦ τῆς ἀνδρείας αὐτῶν ἐπόπτας εἰκότως κατεπλήξαντο, τῆς δὲ τοῦ σωτῆρος θείας ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ ἀπορρήτου δυνάμεως ἐμφανῆ δι’ ἑαυτῶν τὰ τεκμήρια παρεστήσαντο. ἑκάστου μὲν οὖν ἐπ’ ὀνόματος μνημονεύειν μακρὸν ἄν εἴη, μή τί γε τῶν ἀδυνάτων.

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In these conflicts verily the magnificent martyrs of Christ were conspicuous throughout all the world, and, as was natural, everywhere filled with amazement the eye-witnesses of their bravery; while in their own persons they furnished a clear proof that the power of our Saviour is truly divine and inexpressible. To mention, indeed, each by name would be a long task, not to say an impossibility.