καὶ γνῶσιν εἰληφέναι καὶ προφητείαν, οὐκ ἀντερῶ· διάλεκτον μέντοι καὶ γλῶσσαν οὐκ ἀκριβῶς ἑλληνίζουσαν αὐτοῦ βλέπω, ἀλλ ̓ ἰδιώμασίν τε βαρβαρικοῖς χρώμενον, καί που καὶ σολοικίζοντα. ἅπερ οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον νῦν ἐκλέγειν· 5 οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπισκώπτων, μή τις νομίσῃ, ταῦτα εἶπον, ἀλλὰ μόνον τὴν ἀνομοιότητα διευθύνων τῶν γραφῶν.

LXIV.

EUSEBIUS, Hist. Eccles. vii. 25.

Αὐτοκράτωρ Καίσαρ Πούπλιος Λικίνιος Γαλλιηνός, εὐσεβής, εὐτυχής, σεβαστός, Διονυσίῳ καὶ Πίννᾳ καὶ Δημητρίῳ, καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἐπισκόποις. τὴν εὐεργεσίαν το τῆς ἐμῆς δωρεᾶς διὰ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου ἐκβιβασθῆναι προσέταξα· ὅπως ἀπὸ τόπων τῶν θρησκευσίμων ἀποχωρήσωσι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὑμεῖς τῆς ἀντιγραφῆς τῆς ἐμῆς τῷ τύπῳ χρῆσθαι δύνασθε, ὥστε μηδένα ὑμῖν ἐνοχλεῖν. καὶ τοῦτο ὅπερ κατὰ τὸ ἐξὸν δύναται ὑφ ̓ 15 ὑμῖν ἀναπληροῦσθαι, ἤδη πρὸ πολλοῦ ὑπ ̓ ἐμοῦ συγκεχώ ρηται. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Αυρήλιος Κυρήνιος, ὁ τοῦ μεγίστου πράγματος προστατεύων, τὸν τύπον τὸν ὑπ ̓ ἐμοῦ δοθέντα διαφυλάξει.

LXV.

Ibid. 13.

Τοῦ δὴ οὖν Παύλου σὺν καὶ τῇ τῆς πίστεως ὀρθοδοξία 20 τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἀποπεπτωκότος, Δόμνος, ὡς εἴρηται, τὴν λειτουργίαν τῆς κατὰ ̓Αντιόχειαν ἐκκλησίας διεδέξατο. ἀλλὰ γὰρ μηδαμῶς ἐκστῆναι τοῦ Παύλου τοῦ τῆς ἐκκλησίας οἴκου θέλοντος, βασιλεὺς ἐντευχθείς Αὐρηλιανὸς αἰσιώτατα περὶ τοῦ πρακτέου διείληφε, τούτοις νεῖμαι 25 προστάττων τὸν οἶκον, οἷς ἂν οἱ κατὰ τὴν Ιταλίαν καὶ τὴν ̔Ρωμαίων πόλιν ἐπίσκοποι τοῦ δόγματος ἐπιστέλλοιεν.

Ibid 30.

and received knowledge and prophecy, I will not dispute: howbeit I see that his dialect and language are not accurately Greek, but that he used barbarous vulgarisms, and in some places downright solecisms. But these I need not now pick out; for I do not write this in mockery-let no 5 man think it--but only to show plainly the unlikeness of the writings.

Rescript of Gallienus.

THE Emperor Caesar Publius Licinius Gallienus, Pius, Felix, Augustus, to Dionysius, Pinnas, Demetrius, and the other bishops. I have ordered the bounty of my gift to be 10 declared through all the world, that they may depart from the places of religious worship. And for this purpose you may use this copy of my rescript, that no one may molest you. And this which you are now enabled lawfully to do, has already for a long time been conceded by me. There- 15 fore Aurelius Cyrenius, who is the chief administrator of affairs, will keep this copy which I have given.

N. L.

Aurelian's Decision of the Bishopric of Antioch.

So then, as Paul had fallen from the bishopric as well as from the orthodox faith, Domnus as was said before succeeded him as bishop of the Church of Antioch. But 20 as Paul entirely refused to leave the church-house, petition was made to the emperor Aurelian, and he gave a very just decision of the matter, by ordering the house to be given up to those with whom the bishops of the religion in Italy and Rome held intercourse.

M

25

LXVI.

Ἔτος τοῦτο ἦν ἐννεακαιδέκατον τῆς Διοκλητιανοῦ βασιλείας, Δύστρος μήν, λέγοιτο δ ̓ ἂν οὗτος Μάρτιος κατὰ ̔Ρωμαίους, ἐν ᾧ, τῆς τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους ἑορτῆς εἰσελαυνούσης, ἥπλωτο πανταχόσε βασιλικά γράμματα, 5 τὰς μὲν ἐκκλησίας εἰς ἔδαφος φέρειν, τὰς δὲ γραφὰς ἀφανεῖς πυρὶ γενέσθαι προστάττοντα, καὶ τοὺς μὲν τιμῆς ἐπειλημμένους, ἀτίμους, τοὺς δὲ ἐν οἰκετίαις, εἰ ἐπιμέ νοιεν τῇ τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ προθέσει, ἐλευθερίας στερεῖσθαι προαγορεύοντα. καὶ ἡ μὲν πρώτη καθ ̓ ἡμῶν το γραφὴ τοιαύτη τις ἦν· μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ ἑτέρων ἐπιφοιτησάντων γραμμάτων, προσετάττετο τοὺς τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν προέδρους πάντας τοὺς κατὰ πάντα τόπον πρῶτα μὲν δεσμοῖς παραδίδοσθαι, εἶθ ̓ ὕστερον πάσῃ μηχανῇ θύειν ἐξαναγκάζεσθαι.

LXVII.

lidl. viii. 2.

15 'MAGUS fuit, clandestinis artibus omnia illa perfecit, Aegyptiorum ex adytis angelorum potentium nomina et remotas furatus est disciplinas.' Quid dicitis, o parvuli, incomperta vobis et nescia temerariae vocis loquacitate garrientes? Ergone illa quae gesta sunt daemonum fuere 20 praestigiae et magicarum artium ludi? Potestis aliquem nobis designare, monstrare ex omnibus illis magis, qui umquam fuere per saecula, consimile aliquid Christo millesima ex parte qui fecerit ?...

Unus fuit e nobis, qui redire in corpora iamdudum 25 animas praecipiebat efflatas, prodire ab aggeribus conditos et post dum funeris tertium pollinctorum velaminibus expediri? Unus fuit e nobis, qui quid singuli voluerint, quid sub obscuris cogitationibus continerent tacitorum in cordibus pervidebat? ...

30

Nihil ut remini magicum, nihil humanum, praestigiosum

1 Lact. de Mort. Pers. 13 'ut religionis illius homines carerent omni honore ac dignitate. . . libertatem denique ac vocem non haberent.'

The Edicts of Diocletian.

THIS year was the nineteenth of the reign of Diocletian, the month Dystrus, which is called March by the Romans, when as the feast of the Saviour's Passion was approaching, imperial edicts were published everywhere, commanding the churches to be levelled with the ground and 5 the Scriptures to be destroyed with fire, and ordering that those possessed of honour should lose their position, and that they of Caesar's household, if they held to their profession of Christianity, should be deprived of freedom. Such was the first edict against us; and before long by 10 other edicts following it was ordered that all the rulers of the Churches everywhere should first be committed to bonds, and afterwards by every art be made to sacrifice.

Our Lord's Miracles.

JESUS was a Magian; He effected all these things by secret arts. From the shrines of the Egyptians he stole 15 the names of angels of might, and the rules of a secret craft. Why, O witlings, do you speak of things which you have not examined, and which are unknown to you, prating with the garrulity of a rash tongue? Were, then, those things which were done, the freaks of demons, and the 20 tricks of magical arts? Can you specify and point out to me any one of all those magicians who have ever existed in past ages that did anything similar in the thousandth degree to Christ? ...

Was He one of us, who ordered souls once breathed 25 forth to return to the body, persons buried to come forth from the tomb, and after three days to be loosed from the swathings of the undertaker? Was He one of us, who saw clearly in the hearts of the silent what each was pondering, what each had in his secret thoughts? ... 30 There was nothing magical, as you suppose, nothing

aut subdolum, nihil fraudis delituit in Christo, derideatis licet ex more atque in lasciviam dissolvamini cachinnorum. Deus ille sublimis fuit, deus radice ab intima, deus ab incognitis regnis et ab omnium principe deo sospitator 5 est missus. ARNOBIUS, Adv. Nationes, i. 43-53.

LXVIII.

Ex iis qui mihi noti sunt Minucius Felix non ignobilis inter causidicos loci fuit. Huius liber, cui Octavio titulus est, declarat quam idoneus veritatis assertor esse potuisset, si se totum ad id studium contulisset. Septimius quoque 10 Tertullianus fuit omni genere litterarum peritus, sed in eloquendo parum facilis et mi us comptus et multum obscurus fuit. Ergo ne hic quidem satis celebritatis invenit. Unus igitur praecipuus et clarus exstitit Cyprianus, quoniam et magnam sibi gloriam ex artis oratoriae 15 professione quaesierat et admodum multa conscripsit in suo genere miranda. Erat enim ingenio facili copioso suavi et, quae sermonis maxima est virtus, aperto, ut discernere non queas, utrumne ornatior in eloquendo an felicior in explicando an potentior in persuadendo fuerit. 20 Hic tamen placere ultra verba sacramentum ignorantibus non potest, quoniam mystica sunt quae locutus est et ad id praeparata, ut a solis fidelibus audiantur: denique a doctis huius saeculi, quibus forte scripta eius innotuerunt, derideri solet.

25

LXIX.

LACTANTIUS, Div. Inst. v. 1.

DIOCLETIANUS, qui scelerum inventor et malorum machinator fuit, cum disperderet omnia, ne a deo quidem