8.7.1
VII. Ἲσμεν γοῦν τοὺς ἐξ αὐτῶν διαλάμψαντας ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ, ἴαμεν δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐν Τύρῳ τῆς Φοινίκης· οὓς τίς ἰδὼν οὐ κατεπλάγη τὰς ἀναρίθμους μάστιγας καὶ τὰς ἐν τούτοις τῶν ὡς ἀληθῶς παραδόξων τῆς Θεοσεβείας ἀθλητῶν ἐνστάσεις τόν τε παραχρῆμα μετὰ τὰς μάστιγας ἐν θηρσὶν ἀνθρωποβόροις ἀγῶνα καὶ τὰς ἐν τούτῳ παρδάλεων καὶ διαφόρων ἄρκτων αὐῶν τε ἀγρίων καὶ πυρὶ καὶ σιθήρῳ κεκαυτηριασμένων βοῶν προσβολὰς καὶ τὰς πρὸς ἓκαστον τῶν θηρίων θαυμασίους τῶν γενναίων ὑπομονάς; οἷς γιγνομένοις καὶ αὐτοὶ παρῆμεν, ὁπηνίκα τοῦ μαρτυρουμένου σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, αὐτοῦ δὴ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὴν θείαν δύναμιν ἐπιδεικνῦσαν ἐναργῶς τε αὑτὴν τοῖς μάρτυσιν ἐπιδεικνῦσαν ἱστορήσαμεν, τῶν ἀνθρωποβόρων ἐπὶ πλείονα χρόνον μὴ προσψαύειν μηδὲ πλησιάζειν τοῖς τῶν θεοφιλῶν σώμασιν ἐπιτολμώντων, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ μὲν τοὺς ἄλλους, ὅσοι δήπουθεν ἔξωθεν ἐρεθισμοῖς παρώρμων αὐτά, φερομένων, μόνων δὲ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀθλητῶν, γυμνῶν ἑστώτων καὶ ταῖς χεραὶν κατασειόντων ἐπί τε ἁφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐπισπωμένων (τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐκελεύετο πράττειν), μηδ’ ὅλως ἐφαπτομένων, ἀλλ’ ἒσθ᾿ ὅπη μὲν καὶ ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ὁρμώντων, οἷα δὲ πρός τινος θειοτέρας δυνάμεως ἀνακρουομένων καὶ αὖ πάλιν εἰς τοὐπίσω χωρούντων· δ’ καὶ εἰς μακρὸν γινόμενον θαῦμα παρεῖχεν οὐ αμικὸν τοῖς θεωμένοις, ὥστε ἤδη διὰ τὸ ἄπρακτον τοῦ πρώτου δεύτερον καὶ τρίτον προσαφίεσθαι ἑνὶ καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ μάρτυρι θηρίον.
AI English cleanup, gpt-5.4-mini, 2026-05-27
VII. We know at any rate those of them who were conspicuous in Palestine, and we know also those at Tyre in Phoenicia: who that saw them was not struck with amazement at the numberless lashes and the stedfastness displayed under them by these truly marvellous champions of godliness; at the conflict with man-eating wild beasts that followed immediately on the lashes; the attacks that then took place of leopards and different kinds of bears, of wild boars and bulls goaded with hot iron; and the marvellous endurance of these noble persons when opposed to each of the wild beasts? We ourselves were present when these things were happening, when we beheld the divine power of our Saviour, Jesus Christ Himself, the Object of their witness, and the clear manifestation of that power to the martyrs. The man-eating beasts for a considerable time did not dare to touch or even approach the bodies of those who were dear to God, but made their attacks on the others who presumably were provoking and urging them on from the outside; while the holy champions were the only persons they did not reach at all, though they stood naked, waving their hands to draw them on to themselves (for this they were commanded to do), and sometimes, when the beasts would make a rush at them, they would be checked by, as it were, some divine power and once again retreat to the rear. And when this happened for a long time, it occasioned no small astonishment among the spectators, so that, as the first beast did nothing, a second and a third were let loose against one and the same martyr.
8.7.2
Καταπλαγῆναι δ’ ἢν τὴν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀπτόητον τῶν ἱερῶν ἐκείνων καρτερίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν σώμασι νέοις βεβηκυῖαν καὶ ἀδιάτρεπτον ἔνστασιν. ἑώρας γοῦν ἡλικίαν οὐδ’ ὅλων ἐτῶν εἴκοσι δίχα δεσμῶν ἑστῶτος νέου καὶ τὰς μὲν χεῖρας ἐφαπλοῦντος εἰς σταυροῦ τύπον, ἀκαταπλήκτῳ δὲ καὶ ἀτρεμεῖ διανοίᾳ ταῖς πρὸς τὸ θεῖον σχικαίτατα τεταμένου λιταῖς μηδ’ ὅλως τε μεθισταμένου μηδ’ ἀποκλίνοντός ποι τοῦ ἔνθα εἱστήκει τόπου, ἄρκτων καὶ παρδάλεων θυμοῦ καὶ θανάτου πνεόντων σχεδὸν αὐτῆς καθαπτομένων αὐτοῦ τῆς σαρκός, ὢ οὐκ οἱδ’ ὅπως θείᾳ καὶ ἀπορρήτῳ δυνάμει μόνον οὐχὶ φραττομένων τὸ στόμα καὶ αὖθις παλινδρομούντων εἰς τοὐπόσω. καὶ οὗτος μέν τις τοιοῦτος ἢν· πάλιν δ’ ἂν ἑτέρους εἶδες (πέντε γὰρ οἱ πάντες ἐτύγχανον) ἠγριωμένῳ ταύρῳ παραβληθέντας, ὃς τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους τῶν ἔξωθεν προσιόντων τοῖς κέρασιν εἰς τὸν ἀέρα ῥίπτων διεσπάραττεν, ἠμιθνῆτας αἴρεσθαι καταλιπών, ἐπὶ μόνους δὲ θυμῷ καὶ ἀπειλῇ τοὺς ἱεροὺς ὁρμῶν μάρτυρας οὐδὲ πλησιάζειν αὐτοῖς οἷός τε ἦν, κυρίττων δὲ τοῖς ποσὶν καὶ τοῖς κέρασιν τῇδε κἀκεῖσε χρώμενος καὶ διὰ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν καυτήρων ἐρεθισμοὺς θυμοῦ καὶ ἀπειλῆς πνέων εἰς τοὐπίσω πρὸς τῆς ἱερᾶς ἀνθείλκετο προνοίας, ὡς μηδὲ τούτου μηδὲν μηδαμῶς αὐτοὺς ἀδικήσαντος, ἕτερα ἄττα αὐτοῖς ἐπαφίεσθαι θηρία. τέλος δ’ οὖν μετὰ τὰς δεινὰς καὶ ποικίλας τούτων προσβολὰς ξίφει κατασφαγέντες οἱ πάντες ἀντὶ γῆς καὶ τάφων τοῖς θαλαττίοις παραδίδονται κύμασιν.
AI English cleanup, gpt-5.4-mini, 2026-05-27
One might be astounded at the fearless and valiant bearing of those holy persons in the face of these trials, and the steady, inflexible endurance to be found in young bodies. For example, you might have seen a youth, not twenty years old in all, standing unbound, his hands spread in the form of a cross, and, with a mind undismayed and unmoved, most leisurely engaged in earnest prayer to the Deity; never at any time changing his ground or retreating from the place where he had taken his stand, while bears and leopards, breathing anger and death, almost touched his very flesh. And yet, by a divine and mysterious power I cannot explain, their mouths were muzzled, so to speak, and they ran back again to the rear. Such a one was he. Again you might have seen others (for they were five in all) thrown to a maddened bull, who, when others approached from the outside, tossed them into the air with his horns and mangled them, leaving them to be taken up half-dead; but when he rushed in threatening anger at the holy martyrs as they stood unprotected, he was unable even to approach them, though he pawed with his feet and pushed with his horns this way and that; and though the goading irons provoked him to breathe anger and threatening, he was dragged away backwards by Divine Providence; so that other wild beasts were let loose against them, since the bull in no way did them the slightest injury. Then at last, after the terrible and varied assaults of these beasts, they were all butchered with the sword, and instead of being buried in the earth were committed to the waves of the sea.