Elders of the Church in Smyrna, to add to this history a brief relation
concerning the passion of the blessed martyrs Trophimus and Onesimus,
to the intent that others, taking them as their ensamples, may be
encouraged to testify with like boldness for the Lord. The manner
of their going forth from prison was of a strange difference; both
rejoicing, but Trophimus threatening the people with the wrath of God,
and saying to the Proconsul, “Thou judgest us; but God shall judge
thee.” Likewise to the Asiarch he said, “Note well our faces that thou
mayst remember us in the judgment-day, when we shall laugh, and thou
weep.” Hereat the people, being angered, demanded that they should be
scourged, passing through two rows of venatores: but the blessed martyr
Trophimus rejoiced that he should have received this further torment
for the Lord Jesus. Onesimus also shewed no less cheerfulness and
constancy; but he walked silent and with eyes fixed and uplifted, as if
intent on glory to come._
_But before they should make trial of the leopards, Satan had prepared
a fierce wild bull to assail the martyrs of the Lord; and first
Trophimus was tossed, and fell crushed and, as it seemed, lifeless.
Then Onesimus was also tossed; but he arose, as if in a trance; and
seeing Trophimus lying crushed, he drew near, and took him by the hand,
and lifted him up, himself being all the while in an ecstasy; as was
apparent from certain words which he spoke to a young man, one of the
catechumens, whose name was Symmachus. For when Onesimus was recalled
by the usual gate, while the leopards were making ready, this young
man Symmachus received him and ministered to him; and at this time he
heard the blessed martyr say, as one in a dream, “I marvel when we
shall be led out to that wild bull,” not knowing what he had already
suffered; nor could he believe that he had suffered till he perceived
the wounds and bruises on his body. Coming to himself he thanked the
young man Symmachus for his kindness and blessed him. Also it pleased
the Lord to move the mind of a certain centurion, named Hipponax, who,
having before despoiled the blessed martyr of some slight tokens, now
came to him restoring them; upon which the blessed martyr, mindful
even of the smallest matters, thanked the soldier courteously and
placed them around his neck. And by this time also Trophimus was fully
recovered, and eager to bear witness for the Lord. So, the Lord having
appointed the time for their release, they are led out to the leopards.
Then Trophimus, running forward, provoked one of the beasts to attack
him; and straightway springing upon him, the beast with one bite drew
forth such a stream of blood that all the people, mocking at him (as
if he had been baptized in his own blood) cried out saying, “Saved
and washed, saved and washed;” and Onesimus was also struck down by
another of the leopards, and dragged hither and thither by the beasts.
But when the beasts had been taken away, and the blessed martyrs cast
on one side to be slaughtered after the usual manner, then the people
clamored that they should be set in the midst of the amphitheatre that
their eyes might enjoy the spectacle of the slaughter. So both stood
up and moved, of themselves, to the appointed place. Here Trophimus,
being very weak with loss of blood, fell on the ground; but Onesimus,
standing up, stretched out his hands, looking to heaven as if he saw
a vision; and the shouting of the multitude and their scoffing and
cursing became less, and at last there was a deep silence, all the
people expecting what he should say or do; but the blessed martyr,
taking in his hand that which he wore round his neck as if it were some
memorial of the Lord, held it up to heaven and cried aloud, “O Lord my
Hope and my Trust, thou lovest me, yea, and thou shalt love me, for
thou art the Eternal Love.” And having said these words he laid himself
down by the side of Trophimus and having embraced him, he bade the
gladiator strike his throat; and the sword fell twice and no more; and
so Trophimus and Onesimus, blessed martyrs for the faith, fell asleep
in the Lord Jesus, to whom be glory and honor for ever and ever. Amen._
THE DISCOURSE OF LUCIUS OF CYRENE.
“It is known unto you all, my brethren, that whensoever we bring
forward proofs from the mighty works of our Lord Jesus Christ, desiring
thereby to show that he was the Messiah, our adversaries are not
thereby persuaded, but the Jews say that he was a magician, and the
Greeks that he was an impostor. Wherefore it is meet that we resort
to stronger arguments than these, opening the Scriptures and proving
from them that Jesus is the very Messiah. For jugglers, say the Greeks,
and magicians, say the Jews, can perform mighty works at will; but it
is not possible for a juggler, nor even for a magician, so to be born
and also to live all his life and to die, so as to fulfil all that is
written in the Law and the Prophets. Wherefore it is fit that we should
diligently search the Scriptures that we may prove that the Lord Jesus
was born and lived, and died, in accordance with the word of prophecy;
for thus shall we establish the truth so that it cannot be shaken.
“First therefore concerning his birth, the Prophet saith, ‘Who shall
declare his generation?’ Now of any common mortal this could not be
said; but it is predicted concerning him whose generation is a mystery,
in that he is the only Son of God. Moreover another prophecy saith, ‘A
virgin shall conceive and bear a son.’ Now if the very heathen assert
no less than this about Asclepius, and Heracles, and Romulus, and a
hundred others, who were no true sons of God, but only sons of demons,
how much more must it be true of our Master and only Saviour that he
was veritably born of no human father, but was the Son of God! And it
hath been shown to be in accordance with the saying of the Prophet.
“Likewise when the Prophet Daniel speaks of ‘one _like_ unto the Son of
man,’ doth he not hint at the very same thing? For, in saying ‘_like_
unto the Son of man,’ and not ‘_the_ Son of man,’ he declareth thereby
that Jesus was man, but not of human seed. And the same thing he doth
express in mystery, when he speaketh of ‘this stone which was cut out
_without hands_,’ signifying that it was the work, not of man, but of
the Father and God of all things. And again, when Moses saith that
‘he will wash his garments in the blood of the grape,’ doth not this
signify what I have often told you,—albeit enwrapped in obscure terms,
after the manner of prophecy—I mean, that he had blood, but not from
men: even as God, and not man, hath begotten the blood of the vine?
“Now I know indeed that certain of the Rabbis, interpreting amiss the
prophecy of Isaiah concerning him that was to be born of a virgin,
affirm the words of the Prophet to have been fulfilled in the time
of Hezekiah; for they say that the prophecy was, that ‘the riches of
Damascus and the spoils of Samaria should be taken away from before the
king of Assyria;’ and that this was to come to pass before the child,
born to the Prophet from the Virgin whom he took to be his wife, had
learned to cry ‘my father and my mother;’ and accordingly they say
that the prophet took the prophetess to wife, and that she bore a son,
who being yet an infant, Damascus and Samaria were destroyed. But we
affirm that the prophecy is not thus written; but it is, ‘he, namely
the child, _shall take away_ the power of Damascus and the spoils of
Samaria.’ Now who will dare to assert that, in the days of the king
Hezekiah, any infant among the Jews, ‘before he had power to cry, my
father, or my mother’—for mark this addition—conquered two so great
nations?
“Assuredly no one will assert this. But the meaning of the prophecy is
as follows. The evil demon who dwelleth in Damascus, and who also may
be well termed in parable Samaria, was overcome by Christ as soon as
he was born. For I have heard (and it is by all means to be believed,
for it is according to the words of Holy Scripture, which needs must
be fulfilled) that certain Magi, who dwelt in Arabia—and none of you
can deny that Damascus was, and is, in the region of Arabia, although
now it belongeth to what is called Syrophœnicia—came from the East to
worship Christ at his birth, thereby showing that they had revolted
from the dominion of Satan. Now it is said that these Magi came first
to Herod, who was the sovereign of the land of the Jews, but who by
the Scriptures (on account of his ungodly and sinful character) is
called king of Assyria. Nevertheless they gave not their gifts to him,
but going forth from his presence, they gave gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh,—which were as it were the spoils of Damascus,—to the child
Jesus in the manger: and so it came to pass that he who was born of the
Virgin, while still a babe, ‘took away the power of Damascus and the
spoils of Samaria, from the presence of the King of Assyria.’
“Next as to the place of his birth, even the Gentiles do bear testimony
that there shall come forth from the East one that shall obtain
dominion over the Empire, and this is known throughout the whole world;
nor do the prophets write otherwise, saying, ‘Behold a Man, the East
is his name.’ And that our Christ was born in Syria, that is in the
East, is confessed of all. But further, touching the city in which he
was born, some have been wont to affirm that he was born at Nazareth
because he lived there many years from a child. But that he must needs
have been born at Bethlehem is clear, because it is written, ‘And,
thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou art the least among the hundreds
of my people, yet out of thee shall come a governor who shall feed my
people;’ and that he was to appear first in the south (for Bethlehem is
in the south) and not in a northern city, such as Nazareth, is clear
also from another Scripture, which saith, ‘God cometh from the south.’
“Moreover, which of you knoweth not that the Lord Jesus is the Bread
of Life? Therefore when the Bread of Life was to descend and to find
a house and home among men, what city in Israel was more fit for him
than that one which is called Bethlehem, which being interpreted, is
‘the House of Bread?’ Lastly, it is known to all of you that Mary,
the mother of Jesus, being of a royal race, was descended from David
the king, who was of the city of Bethlehem; wherefore it was the more
fitting that the Son of David should be born at the same place. Also I
have heard some say that there is a certain cave in Bethlehem wherein
he was born; and to this day the cave is shown; and they affirm that
it must needs have been so, because it is written, ‘he shall dwell in
a high cave of the strong rock;’ but because it is commonly reported
that he was born in a manger, and because I purpose to speak of none
but such things as are certainly believed among us, for this reason I
affirm nothing on this matter.
“But (that he might not be inferior to his servant Moses) as Moses was
persecuted by the Egyptian king Pharaoh, so was Jesus by Herod, the
King of the Jews; and, even as Israel sojourned for a time in Egypt,
so must the Redeemer of Israel sojourn in the same country, that it
might be fulfilled as it is written, ‘Out of Egypt have I called my
son.’ His mighty works also, which he wrought on those that believed in
him, are they not written in the books of the Prophets? namely, that
in that day the ears of the deaf should be unstopped, and the eyes of
the blind opened, and the dead should be raised up, and the poor should
have the gospel preached unto them: which all are recounted in our
tradition, even to the raising of the dead. For as Elisha the prophet
raised up the son of the Shunamite, even so did the Son of God raise up
the daughter of Jairus; and, whereas our adversaries say that this was
but a small matter, doubtless this is but one among a multitude of like
marvels. Again, whereas they assert that Moses was superior to Jesus in
that he gave unto the people manna in the wilderness, to this I reply
that even so did the Lord Jesus prepare a table for his people in the
wilderness; yea, and as Moses gave water from the rock, even so did our
living Rock grant unto us living water from his own side, yea, wine
instead of water, pouring forth his blood to be the drink of many, and
affording his body to be the Bread of Life unto all mankind.
“When thou wast born, O mighty One—before the Morning Star wast thou
begotten—and when the Star of thine uprising was seen, then all the
host of heaven worshipped thee and the sun and the moon did thee
homage, and the Sons of the Morning sang for joy together at the
brightness of thy glory; for thy Star did far outshine all earthly
light, appearing as a token of the destruction of the kingdom of Satan,
according as it is written, ‘A star shall shine out of Jacob, and a
sceptre from Israel, and shall destroy the corners of Edom.’ Then did
Edom tremble, but the poor and simple rejoiced. To thee also the Wisdom
of the East did obeisance, the kings of Arabia and Saba brought gifts.
Thou also didst feed the hungry, and heal the sick, Satan fled from
before thee and thou didst cast his demons into the abyss; thou didst
guide thy disciples through the paths of great waters; when they cry
unto thee, thou hearest them; thy voice stilleth the wind, and thy
path is on the deep. To thee the Law and Prophet do bear witness that
thou art the very Christ. Yea, Moses and Elias stand at thy right hand
and at thy left, to bear witness unto thee, that in thee must needs be
accomplished all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets.
“But concerning the manner of the death of the Lord Jesus, that it is
prophesied a hundred times both in the Psalms and in the Prophets, what
need is there that I should speak unto you? For ye yourselves know
these Scriptures. But as concerning his rising again on the third day,
it is written, ‘I will lay me down and rest, for thou wilt raise me
up;’ and again, ‘Let us go unto the Lord; he hath smitten and he shall
revive us; on the third day he shall raise us up, and we shall live
in his sight.’ Moreover, brethren, let me also declare unto you, as
many as have fathers or mothers according to the flesh who have fallen
asleep not having known the Lord Jesus, that ye sorrow not for them
as if they were lost; for it is written, ‘The Lord God remembered his
dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; and he descended to preach
unto them his own salvation.’ And this saying, ‘he descended,’ what
meaneth it except that he went down, even into Hades to break the bonds
of Satan, and to preach his Gospel unto the fathers who lived in times
past, even unto all the righteous, that they also might have hope of
salvation? Wherefore also, when he arose from the dead, a multitude of
the saints arose from their graves with him, being delivered from the
captivity of death, according to the saying, ‘He led captivity captive,
and gave gifts for men.’ But last of all, after he had risen from the
dead, having manifested himself during many days to his disciples,
it was necessary that he should ascend into heaven, according as it
is written, ‘Lift up yourselves, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.’
“Now therefore, beloved brethren, called of God, heirs of everlasting
life, having the Lord Jesus, in his birth and mighty works, and in his
death and rising again, thus visibly set forth as it were before your
eyes by the Prophets and the Psalms, what remaineth but that ye should
watch, and pray, and shew forth all patience, esteeming lightly the
joys and sorrows of this present world, and making little account of
your worldly possessions (for great possessions are great temptations);
but be ye possessed with a new Spirit, even with the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus Christ, filling your hearts with an insatiable desire of doing
good, comforting the sorrowful, feeding the hungry, healing the sick,
and preaching the good news of Christ; and covet no man’s wealth, nor
slaves, nor apparel; but covet ye every occasion of well-doing. Thus
shall ye make yourselves ready for the day of the Lord when, the number
of the elect having been at last completed, the Lord your Saviour shall
come again from heaven in great glory, and ye shall reign with him in
joy unspeakable.
“The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the
Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always. Go in peace.”
NOTES.
Many of the dialogues and some of the descriptions in the preceding
pages, are borrowed from ancient authors; who however wrote in most
cases after the times of Onesimus. For example, whereas Onesimus lived
at Colossæ about 60 A. D.; Epictetus probably flourished a generation
later; Maximus of Tyre, the defender of Polytheism from the social
side, who is represented above by the fictitious Nicostratus, wrote
under the Antonines; Ælius Aristides, the eulogist of Asclepius,
who is represented above by Oneirocritus, was born about 117 A. D.;
Apuleius from whom is borrowed (pp. 17, 18) the description of the
ergastulum, and also (p. 181) the description of the dancers of Cybele,
wrote in the second century after Christ; Celsus, the sceptic, who is
represented (pp. 123-8) by the sceptical Artemidorus, wrote at the
beginning of the second century; and lastly Justin Martyr and Irenæus,
from whom are mainly borrowed the discourse of Lucius of Cyrene, wrote
severally about 150 A. D. and 170 A. D.
“A confession of anachronism then?” Yes: anachronism. But if only such
sayings have been selected from these authors as express thoughts that
were, at least in their germs, contemporaneous with Onesimus, then
the life of St. Paul’s convert is really better illustrated by this
systematic anachronism than by the most felicitously invented dialogue
of modern scholars. Artemidorus, Nicostratus, Philemon and Oneirocritus
represent thoughts that must have been in the air throughout Asia as
early as 60 A. D., though they did not find expression in extant books
till some time later. So also of Justin and Irenæus; it may safely be
asserted that the tendency to see in each of the acts of Jesus the
exact fulfilment of some prophecy, and in each prophecy the prediction
of some act of Jesus—the next step being to believe, and then to
assert, that that act must consequently have occurred—permeated the
early Christian church at least as early as the date of the composition
of the Introduction to St. Matthew’s Gospel, and long before it found
expression in the pages of Justin and Irenæus.
In the following notes on special passages, it has not been thought
necessary to give a separate reference for every quotation, but only in
those cases where the words of some ancient author seemed in danger of
being supposed to be modern.
Book. Sect.
i. 6. This description of the slaves in the ergastulum is from
Apuleius.
i. 7. “The cross has been the tomb,” etc., a quotation from Plautus.
ii. 2. Epictetus was probably a child at this time.
ii. 2. The remarks of Nicostratus and Heracleas are taken from Maximus
of Tyre.
ii. 2. The remark of Heracleas on the ancient transformations is taken
from Pausanias.
ii. 3. The whole of this description of a festival is from Maximus of
Tyre.
ii. 4. For the story of the fighting-cock and the rest, see
Friedländer’s work on the _Religion of the Ancients_ (French
translation), vol. iv., 180.
ii. 4. Oneirocritus, describing his sickness and the favors of
Asclepius, here repeats the sentiments of P. Ælius Aristides, about
117 A. D. (see Friedlander, _ib._, 181-4).
ii. 4. Pliny esteemed it right to build temples, etc., of gods in whom
he disbelieved.
ii. 6. The account of the descent into the cave of Trophonius is
borrowed from Pausanias, who himself went down.
ii. 6. “I could not restrain myself from laughing:” this detail is
borrowed from Pausanias.
ii. 7. The whole travesty of Socrates is taken from Lucian’s _Halcyon_.
ii. 7. “Sobriety and incredulity,” etc: see note on iii. 3.
iii. 3. Philip is reported to have raised a dead man (Euseb. _H. E._,
iii. 39): but the account given in the text is borrowed from the
account of the revivification of the Archbishop of Bordeaux, written
out for the Author by one who heard it from the Archbishop himself.
iii. 3. “Sober incredulity,” etc: a translation of the proverb, Νᾶφε
καὶ μὲνασ’ ἀπιστεῖν νεῦρα ταῦτα τῶν φρενῶν.
iii. 7. “With whom I do not agree; neither would I,” etc.: this
statement about the diversity of opinions concerning the nature of
Christ, is a quotation from Justin, _Dial._, 48.
iii. 8. The “Tradition” here mentioned by Onesimus in the beginning
of this section, is the matter common to the first three Gospels.
It may be roughly represented by the Gospel of St. Mark, excluding
the verses after Mark xvi. 8, which are recognized by all scholars
to be an interpolation. For fuller information on the nature of this
“Tradition” the reader may consult the article on Gospels in the new
edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_.
iv. 1. The description of the voyage is from Lucian.
iv. 2. Almost the whole of this letter is borrowed from Celsus as
represented in Origen’s treatise against him.
iv. 6-9. The sayings here put into the mouth of Epictetus are, almost
without exception, extracted from his works.
iv. 10. The parable of the ant-hill is from Lucian.
iv. 10. “If you are resolved to deal in such wares,” etc. This passage
is borrowed from Lucian’s _Auction of the Gods_.
iv. 10. “Though my body dwelleth,” etc., “Enjoy the present,” etc.;
these two inscriptions are still extant on the same tomb of husband
and wife. See a paper by Mr. Newton in the _Nineteenth Century_,
August, 1878.
iv. 10. “Sleep soundly stretched at ease:” this is the advice of
Teiresias in Lucian, 484-5.
v. 1. This description of the dancing of the women of the priest of
Cybele is from Apuleius.
v. 4. “Heraclitus, the crying philosopher:” this is borrowed from
Lucian.
vi. 2. “Whether the true God had nails, and hair, and teeth, and
the like.” Such are the difficulties suggested by the Manicheans to
Augustine, _Confessions_, iii. 7.
viii. 3. The description of the High-priest is from _Ecclesiasticus_,
50.
viii. 3. The description of the miseries of Jerusalem is from 2
Esdras, iii. 28.
viii. 3. “The hand which now had power:” this quotation is from 2
Esdras, v. 3. “The spoils should be carried back to the cities of the
East:” this is from the _Fourth Sibylline Book_.
viii. 10. The whole of this narrative is borrowed from the account of
the _Martyrdom of St. Perpetua_.
THE DISCOURSE OF LUCIUS OF CYRENE.
Page.
296. For the importance attached to prophecy, see Irenæus (_Against
Heresies_, ii. 4): “If, however, they maintain that the Lord performed
such works simply in appearance, we shall refer them to the prophetical
writings, and prove from these both that all things were thus predicted
regarding Him, and did take place undoubtedly.” Justin Martyr also
takes the same view, I. _Apol._, 30.
296. “Who shall declare his generation?” This passage is similarly
applied by Justin Martyr, _Dialogue_, 63.
298. “_He shall take away_,” etc. So Justin (_Dial._, 77), “But now
the prophecy has stated it with this addition: ‘Before the child knows
how to call father or mother, he shall take the power of Damascus
and spoils of Samaria.’ And you cannot prove that such a thing ever
happened to any one among the Jews. But we are able to prove that it
happened in the case of Christ.” And he then proceeds to interpret
Damascus as referring to the Magi, and Assyria to Herod, as in the text.
299. “Behold a Man, the East is his name,” Zech. vi. 12, according to
the Septuagint quoted by Justin, _Dial._, 106.
300. “He shall dwell in a cave,” etc.: quoted by Justin Martyr from the
Septuagint version of Isaiah xxxiii. 16 (_Dial._, 70).
302. “The Lord God remembered his dead people of Israel,” etc. This
passage is quoted by Justin Martyr (_Dial._, 72), who accuses the Jews
of cancelling this and other passages of the Scriptures. It is also
quoted by Irenæus (_Against Heresies_, iii. 20) as from Isaiah, and
(_ib._ iv. 22) as from Jeremiah. But it is not found in our Scriptures.
_Messrs. Roberts Brothers’ Publications._
PHILOCHRISTUS:
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