8.16.1
ΧVI. Τοιαῦτ' ἦν τὰ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ διωγμοῦ παρατετακότα, δεκάτῳ μὲν ἔτει σὺν θεοῦ χάριτι παντελῶς πεπαυμένου, λωφᾶν γε μὴν μετ’ ὄγδοον ἔτος ἐναρξαμένου. ὡς γὰρ τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐπισκοπὴν εὐμενῆ καὶ ἵλεω ἡ θεία καὶ οὐράνιος χάρις ἐνεθδίκνυτο, τότε δῆτα καὶ οἱ καθ’ ἡμᾶς ἄρχοντες, αὐτοὶ δὴ ἐκεῖνοι δι’ ὧν πάλαι τὰ τῶν καθ’ ἡμᾶς ἐνηργεῖτο πολέμων, παραδοξότατα μεταθέμενοι τὴν γνώμην, παλινῳδίαν ἦδον Χρηστοῖς περὶ ἡμῶν προγράμμασιν καὶ διατάγμασιν ἡμερωτάτοις τὴν ἐπὶ μέγα ἁφθεῖσαν τοῦ διωγμοῦ πυρκαϊὰν σβεννύντες. οὐκ ἀνθρώπινον δέ τι τούτου κατέστη αἴτιον οὐδ᾿ οἶκτος, ὡς ἄν φαίη τις, ἢ φιλανθρωπία τῶν ἀρχόντων· πολλοῦ δεῖ· πλείω γὰρ ὁσημέραι καὶ χαλεπώτερα ἀρχῆθεν καὶ εἰς ἐκεῖνο τοῦ καιροῦ τὰ καθ᾿ ἡμῶν αὐτοῖς ἐπενοεῖτο, ποικιλωτέραις μηχαναῖς ἄλλοτε ἄλλως τὰς καθ᾿ ἡμῶν αἰκίας ἐπικαινουργούντων· ἀλλ᾿ αὐτῆς γε τῆς θείας προνοίας ἐμφανὴς ἐπίσκεψις, τῷ μὲν αὐτῆς καταλλαττομένης λαῷ, τῷ δ᾿ αὐθέντη τῶν κακῶν ἐπεξιούσης καὶ πρωτοστάτῃ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς διωγμοῦ κακίας ἐπιχολουμένης. καὶ γὰρ εἴ τι ταῦτ᾿ ἐχρῆν κατὰ θείαν γενέσθαι κρίσιν, ἀλλά οὐαί, φησὶν ὁ λόγος, δι᾿ οὑ δ᾿ ἄν τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχηται.” μέτεισιν δ᾿ οὖν αὐτὸν θεήλατος κόλασις, ἐξ αὐτῆς αὐτοῦ καταρξαμένη σαρκὸς καὶ μέχρι τῆς ψυχῆς προελθοῦσα. ἀθρόα μὲν γὰρ περὶ τὰ μέσα τῶν ἀπορρήτων τοῦ σώματος ἀπόστασις στασις αὐτῷ γίνεται, εἶθ᾿ ἕλκος ἐν βάθει συριγγῶδες καὶ τούτων ἀνίατος νομὴ κατὰ τῶν ἐνδοτάτω σπλάγχνων· ἀφ᾿ ὧν ἄλεκτόν τι πλῆθος σκωλήκων βρύειν θανατώδη τε ὀδμὴν ἀποπνεῖν, τοῦ παντὸς ὄγκου τῶν σωμάτων ἐκ πολυτροφίας αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸ τῆς νόσου εἰς ὑπερβολὴν πλήθους πιμελῆς μεταβεβληκότος, ἢν τότε κατασαπεῖσαν ἀφόρητον καὶ φρικτοτάτην τοῖς πλησιάζουσιν παρέχειν τὴν θέαν. ἰατρῶν δ᾿ οὖν οἳ μὲν οὐδ᾿ ὅλως ὑπομεῖναι τὴν τοῦ δυσώσοθς ὑπερβάλλουσαν ἀτοπίαν οἷοί τε, κατεσφάττοντο, οἳ δὲ διῳδηκότος τοῦ παντὸς ὄγκου καὶ εἰς ἀνέλπιστον σωτηρίας ἀποπεπτωκότος μηδὲν ἐπικουρεῖν δυνάμενοι, ἀνηλεῶς ἐκτείνοντο.
XVI. Such was the state of affairs that continued throughout the whole persecution; which came completely to an end, by the grace of God, in the tenth year, though indeed it began to abate after the eighth year. For when the divine and heavenly grace showed that it watched over us with kindly and propitious regard, then indeed our rulers also, those very persons who had long time committed acts of war against us, changed their mind in the most marvellous manner, and gave utterance to a recantation, quenching the fire of persecution that had blazed so furiously, by means of merciful edicts and the most humane ordinances. But this was not due to any human agency nor to the pity, as one might say, or humanity of the rulers. Far from it. For from the beginning up to that time they were daily plotting further and severer measures against us; from time to time they were inventing fresh assaults upon us by means of still more varied devices. But it was due to the manifestation of the divine Providence itself, which, while it became reconciled to the people, attacked the perpetrator of these evils, and was wroth with him as the chief author of the wickedness of the persecution as a whole. For verily, though it was destined that these things should come to pass as a divine judgment, yet the Scripture says, “Woe, through whomsoever the offence comes.” A divinely sent punishment, I say, executed vengeance upon him, beginning at his very flesh and proceeding to the soul. For all at once an abscess appeared in the midst of his privy parts, then a deeply-seated fistular ulcer; which could not be cured and ate its way into the very midst of his entrails. Hence there sprang an innumerable multitude of worms, and a deadly stench was given off, since the entire bulk of his members had, through gluttony, even before the disease, been changed into an excessive quantity of soft fat, which then became putrid and presented an intolerable and most fearful sight to those that came near it. As for the physicians, some of them were wholly unable to endure the exceeding and unearthly stench, and were butchered; others, who could not be of any assistance since the whole mass had swollen and reached a point where there was no hope of recovery, were put to death without mercy.