NPNF2-01 Eusebius 71

71 8 Now some of the seven sects, which existed among the people and which have been mentioned by me in the Memoirs,265 asked him, ‘What is the gate of Jesus?’266 and he replied that he was the Saviour.

9 On account of these words some believed that Jesus is the Christ. But the sects mentioned above did not believe either in a resurrection or in one’s coming to give to every man according to his works.267 But as many as believed did so on account of James.

10 Therefore when many even of the rulersbelieved, there was a commotion among the Jews and Scribes and Pharisees, who said that there was danger that the whole peoplewould be looking for Jesus as the Christ. Coming therefore in a body to James they said, ‘We entreat thee, restrain the people; for they are gone astray in regard to Jesus, as if he were the Christ.268 We entreat thee to persuade all that have come to the feast of the Passover concerning Jesus; for we all have confidence in thee. For we bear thee witness, as do all the people, that thou art just, and dost not respect persons.269

11 Do thou therefore persuade themultitude not to be led astray concerning Jesus. For the whole people, and all of us also, have confidence in thee. Stand therefore upon the pinnacle of the temple,270 that from that high position thou mayest be clearly seen, and that thy words may be readily heard by all the people. For all the tribes, with the Gentiles also, are come together on account of the Passover.’

12 The aforesaid Scribes and Pharisees therefore placed James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and cried out to him and said: ‘Thou just one, in whom we ought all to have: confidence, forasmuch as the people are led, astray after Jesus, the crucified one, declare to us, what is the gate of Jesus.’271

13 And he answered with a loud voice, ‘Why do ye ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself sitteth in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come upon the clouds of heaven.’272

14 And when many were fully convinced and gloried in the testimony of James, and said, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ these same Scribes and Pharisees said again to one another, ‘We have done badly in supplying such testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, in order that they may be afraid to believe him.’

15 And they cried out, saying, ‘Oh! oh! the just man is also in error.’ And they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah,273 ‘Let us take away274 the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.’

16 So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to each other, ‘Let us stone James the Just.’ And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned and knelt down and said, ‘I entreat thee, Lord God our Father,275 forgive them, for they know not what they do.’276

17 And while they were thus stoning him one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of the Rechabites,277 who are mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet,278 cried out, saying, ‘Cease, what do ye? The just one prayeth for you.’279

18 And one of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom.280 And they buried him on the spot, by the temple, and his monument still remains by the temple.281 He became a true witness, both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. And immediately Vespasian besieged them.”282

72 19 These things are related at length by Hegesippus, who is in agreement with Clement.283 James was so admirable a man and so celebrated among all for his justice, that the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martyrdom for no other reason than their daring act against him.

20 Josephus, at least, has not hesitated to testify this in his writings, where he says,284 “These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ. For the Jews slew him, although he was a most just man.”

21 And the same writer records his death also in the twentieth book of his Antiquities in the following words:285 “But the emperor, when he learned of the death of Festus, sent Albinus286 to be procurator of Judea. But the younger Ananus,287 who, as we have already said,288 had obtained the high priesthood, was of an exceedingly bold and reckless disposition. He belonged, moreover, to the sect of the Sadducees, who are the most cruel of all the Jews in the execution of judgment, as we have already shown.289

22 Ananus, therefore, being of this character, and supposing that he had a favorable opportunity on account of the fact that Festus was dead, and Albinus was still on the way, called together the Sanhedrim, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ, James by name, together with some others,290 and accused them of violating the law, and condemned them to be stoned.291

23 But those in the city who seemed most moderate and skilled in the law were very angry at this, and sent secretly to the king,292 requesting him to order Ananus to cease such proceedings. For he had not done right even this first time. And certain of them also went to meet Albinus, who was journeying from Alexandria, and reminded him that it was not lawful for Ananus to summon the Sanhedrim without his knowledge.293

24 And Albinus, being persuaded by their representations, wrote in anger to Ananus, threatening him with punishment. And the king, Agrippa, in consequence, deprived him, of the high priesthood,294 which he had held threemonths, and appointed Jesus, the son of Damnaeus.”295

25 These things are recorded in regard to James, who is said to be the author of the first of the so-called catholic296 epistles. But it is to be observed that it is disputed;297 at least, not many of the ancients have mentioned it, as is the case likewise with the epistle that bears the name of Jude,298 which is also one of the seven so-called catholic epistles. Nevertheless we know that these also,299 with the rest, have been read publicly in very many churches.300

Chapter XXIV). \IAnnianus the First Bishop of the Church of Alexandria After Mark.

1 When Nero was in the eighth year of his reign,301 Annianus302 succeeded Mc the evangelist in the administration of the parish of Alexandria.303

Chapter XXV). \IThe Persecution Under Nero in Which Paul and Peter Were Honored at Rome with Martyrdom in Behalf of Religion.

1 When the government of Nero was now firmly established, he began to plunge into unholy pursuits, and armed himself even against the religion of the God of the universe.

73 2 To describe the greatness of his depravity does not lie within the plan of the present work. As there are many indeed that have recorded his history in most accurate narratives,304 every one may at his pleasure learn from them the coarseness of the man’s extraordinary madness, under the influence of which, after he had accomplished the destruction of so many myriads without any reason, he ran into such blood-guiltiness that he did not spare even his nearest relatives and dearest friends, but destroyed his mother and his brothers and his wife,305 with very many others of his own family as he would private and public enemies, with various kinds of deaths.

3 But with all these things this particular in the catalogue of his crimes was still wanting, that he was the first of the emperors who showed himself an enemy of the divine religion.

4 The Roman Tertullian is likewise a witness of this. He writes as follows:306 “Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine,307 particularly then when after subduing all the east, he exercised his cruelty against all at Rome.308 We glory in having such a man the leader in our punishment. For whoever knows him can understand that nothing was condemned by Nero unless it was something of great excellence.”

5 Thus publicly announcing himself as the first among God’s chief enemies, he was led on to the slaughter of the apostles. It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself,309 and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero.310 This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day.

6 It is confirmed likewise by Caius,311 a member of the Church,312 who arose313 under Zephyrinus,314 bishop of Rome. He, in a published disputation with Proclus,315 the leader of the Phrygian heresy,316 speaks as follows concerning the places where the sacred corpses of the aforesaid apostles are laid:

7 “But317 I can show the trophies of the apostles. For if you will go to the Vatican318 or to the Ostian way,319 you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundations of this church.”320

8 And that they both suffered martyrdom at the same time is stated by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth,321 in his epistle to the Romans,322 in the following words: “You have thus by such an admonition bound together the planting of Peter and of Paul at Rome and Corinth. For both of them planted and likewise taught us in our Corinth.323 And they taught together in like manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time.”324 I have quoted these things in order that the truth of the history might be still more confirmed.

Chapter XXVI). \IThe Jews, Afflicted with Innumerable Evils, Commenced the Last War Against the Romans.

1 Josephus again, after relating many things in connection with the calamity which came upon the whole Jewish nation, records,325 in addition to many other circumstances, that a great many326 of the most honorable among the Jews were scourged in Jerusalem itself and then crucified by Florus.327 It happened that he was procurator of Judea when the war began to be kindled, in the twelfth year of Nero.328

2 Josephus says329 that at that time a terrible commotion was stirred up throughout all Syria in consequence of the revolt of the Jews, and that everywhere the latter were destroyed without mercy, like enemies, by the inhabitants of the cities, “so that one could see cities filled with unburied corpses, and the dead bodies of the aged scattered about with the bodies of infants, and women without even a covering for their nakedness, and the whole province full of indescribable calamities, while the dread of those things that were threatened was greater than the sufferings themselves which they anywhere endured.”330 Such is the account of Josephus; and such was the condition of the Jews at that time).
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Chapter I). \IThe Parts of the World in Which the Apostles Preached Christ.

1 Such was the condition of the Jews. Meanwhile the holy apostles and disciples of our Saviour were dispersed throughout the world.1 Parthia,2 according to tradition, was allotted to Thomas as his field of labor, Scythia3 to Andrew,4 and Asia5 to John,6 who, after he had lived some time there,7 died at Ephesus.

2 Peter appears to have preached8 in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia9 to the Jews of the dispersion. And at last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head-downwards;10 for he had requested that he might suffer in this way. What do we need to say concerning Paul, who preached the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum,11 and afterwards suffered martyrdom in Rome under Nero?12 These facts are related by Origen in the third volume of his Commentary on Genesis.13

Chapter II). \IThe First Ruler of the Church of Rome.

1 After the martyrdom of Paul and of Peter, Linus14 was the first to obtain the episcopate of the church at Rome. Paul mentions him, when writing to Timothy from Rome, in the salutation at the end of the epistle.15

Chapter III). \IThe Epistles of the Apostles.

1 One epistle of Peter, that called the first, is acknowledged as genuine.16 And this the ancient elders17 used freely in their own writings as an undisputed work.18 But we have learned that his extant second Epistle does not belong to the canon;19 yet, as it has appeared profitable to many, it has been used with the other Scriptures.20

2 The so-called Ac of Peter,21 however, and the Gospel22 which bears his name, and the Preaching23 and the Apocalypse,24 as they are called, we know have not been universally accepted,25 because no ecclesiastical writer, ancient or modern, has made use of testimonies drawn from them.26

3 But in the course of my history I shall be careful to show, in addition to the official succession, what ecclesiastical writers have from time to time made use of any of the disputed works,27 and what they have said in regard to the canonical and accepted writings,28 as well as in regard to those which are not of this class.

4 Such are the writings that bear the name of Peter, only one of which I know to be genuine29 and acknowledged by the ancient elders.30

5 Paul’s fourteen epistles are well known and undisputed.31 It is not indeed right to overlook the fact that some have rejected the Epistle to the Hebrews,32 saying that it is disputed33 by the church of Rome, on the ground that it was not written by Paul. But what has been said concerning this epistle by those who lived before our time I shall quote in the proper place.34 In regard to the so-called Ac of Paul,35 I have not found them among the undisputed writings.36

75 6 But as the same apostle, in the salutations at the end of the Epistle to the Romans,37 has made mention among others of Hermas, to whom the book called The Shepherd38 is ascribed, it should be observed that this too has been disputed by some, and on their account cannot be placed among the acknowledged books; while by others it is considered quite indispensable, especially to those who need instruction in the elements of the faith. Hence, as we know, it has been publicly read in churches, and I have found that some of the most ancient writers used it.

7 This will serve to show the divine writings that are undisputed as well as those that are not universally acknowledged).

Chapter IV). \IThe First Successors of the Apostles.

1 That Paul preached to the Gentiles and laid the foundations of the churches “from Jerusalem round about even unto Illyricum,” is evident both from his own words,39 and from theaccount which Lc has given in the Acts.40

2 And in how many provinces Peterpreached Christ and taught the doctrine of the new covenant to those of the circumcision is clear from his own words in his epistle already mentioned as undisputed,41 in which he writes to the Hebrews of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.42

3 But the number and the names of those among them that became true and zealous followers of the apostles, and were judged worthy to tend the churches rounded by them, it is not easy to tell, except those mentioned in the writings of Paul.

4 For he had innumerable fellow-laborers, or “fellow-soldiers,” as he called them,43 and most of them were honored by him with an imperishable memorial, for he gave enduring testimony concerning them in his own epistles.

5 Lc also in the Ac speaks of his friends, and mentions them by name.44

6 Timothy, so it is recorded, was the first to receive the episcopate of the parish in Ephesus,45 Titus of the churches in Crete.46

7 But Luke,47 who was of Antiochian parentage and a physician by profession,48 and who was especially intimate with Paul and well acquainted with the rest of the apostles,49 has left us, in two inspired books, proofs of that spiritual healing art which he learned from them. One of these books is the Gospel,50 which he testifies that he wrote as those who were from the beginning eye witnesses and ministers of the word delivered unto him, all of whom, as he says, he followed accurately from the first.51 The other book is the Ac of the Apostles52 which he composed not from the accounts of others, but from what he had seen himself.

8 And they say that Paul meant to refer to Luke’s Gospel wherever, as if speaking of some gospel of his own, he used the words, “according to my Gospel.”53

76 9 As to the rest of his followers, Paul testifies that Crescens was sent to Gaul;54 but Linus, whom he mentions in the Second Epistle to Timothy55 as his companion at Rome, was Peter’s successor in the episcopate of the church there, as has already been shown.56

10 Clement also, who was appointed third bishop of the church at Rome, was, as Paul testifies, his co-laborer and fellow-soldier.57

11 Besides these, that Areopa gite, named Dionysius, who was the first to believe after Paul’s address to the Athenians in the Areopagus (as recorded by Lc in the
Ac 5 Ac 8 is mentioned by another Dionysius, an ancient writer and pastor of the parish in Corinth,59 as the first bishop of the church at Athens.

12 But the events connected with the apostolic succession we shall relate at the proper time. Meanwhile let us continue the course of our history.

Chapter V). \IThe Last Siege of the Jews After Christ.

1 After Nero had held the power thirteen years,60 and Galba and Otho had ruled a year and six months,61 Vespasian, who had become distinguished in the campaigns against the Jews, was proclaimed sovereign in Judea and received the title of Emperor from the armies there.62 Setting out immediately, therefore, for Rome, he entrusted the conduct of the war against the Jews to his son Titus.63

2 For the Jews after the ascension of our Saviour, in addition to their crime against him, had been devising as many plots as they could against his apostles. First Stephen was stoned to death by them,64 and after him James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of John, was beheaded,65 and finally James, the first that had obtained the episcopal seat in Jerusalem after the ascension of our Saviour, died in the manner already described.66 But the rest of the apostles, who had been incessantly plotted against with a view to their destruction, and had been driven out of the land of Judea, went unto all nations to preach the Gospel,67 relying upon the power of Christ, who had said to them, “Go ye and make disciples of all the nations in my name.”68

3 But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella.69 And when those that believed in Christ had come thither from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men.

4 But the number of calamities which everywhere fell upon the nation at that time; the extreme misfortunes to which the inhabitants of Judea were especially subjected, the thousands of men, as well as women and children, that perished by the sword, by famine, and by other forms of death innumerable,—all these things, as well as the many great sieges which were carried on against the cities of Judea, and the excessive. sufferings endured by those that fled to Jerusalem itself, as to a city of perfect safety, and finally the general course of the whole war, as well as its particular occurrences in detail, and how at last the abomination of desolation, proclaimed by the prophets,70 stood in the very temple of God, so celebrated of old, the temple which was now awaiting its total and final destruction by fire,— all these things any one that wishes may find accurately described in the history written by Josephus.71

5 But it is necessary to state that this writer records that the multitude of those who were assembled from all Judea at the time of the Passover, to the number of three million souls,72 were shut up in Jerusalem “as in a prison,” to use his own words.

6 For it was right that in the very days in which they had inflicted suffering upon the Saviour and the Benefactor of all, the Christ of God, that in those days, shut up “as in a prison,” they should meet with destruction at the hands of divine justice.

77 7 But passing by the particular calamities which they suffered from the attempts made upon them by the sword and by other means, I think it necessary to relate only the misfortunes which the famine caused, that those who read this work may have some means of knowing that God was not long in executing vengeance upon them for their wickedness against the Christ of God.

Chapter VI). \IThe Famine Which Oppressed Them.

1 Taking the fifth book of the History ofJosephus again in our hands, let us go through the tragedy of events which then occurred.73

2 “For the wealthy,” he says, “it was equally dangerous to remain. For under pretense that they were going to desert men were put to death for their wealth. The madness of the seditions increased with the famine and both the miseries were inflamed more and more day by day.

3 Nowhere was food to be seen; but, bursting into the houses men searched them thoroughly, and whenever they found anything to eat they tormented the owners on the ground that they had denied that they had anything; but if they found nothing, they tortured them on the ground that they had more carefully concealed it.

4 The proof of their having or not having food was found in the bodies of the poor wretches. Those of them who were still in good condition they assumed were well supplied with food, while those who were already wasted away they passed by, for it seemed absurd to slay those who were on the point of perishing for want.

5 Many, indeed, secretly sold their possessions for one measure of wheat, if they belonged to the wealthier class, of barley if they were poorer. Then shutting themselves up in the innermost parts of their houses, some ate the grain uncooked on account of their terrible want, while others baked it according as necessity and6fear dictated.

6 Nowhere were tables set, but, snatching the yet uncooked food from the fire, they tore it in pieces. Wretched was the fare, and a lamentable spectacle it was to see the more powerful secure an abundance while the weaker mourned.

7 Of all evils, indeed, famine is the worst, and it destroys nothing so effectively as shame. For that which under other circumstances is worthy of respect, in the midst of famine is despised. Thus women snatched the food from the very mouths of their husbands and children, from their fathers, and what was most pitiable of all, mothers from their babes, And while their dearest ones were wasting away in their arms, they Were not ashamed to take away froth them the last drops that supported life.

8 And even while they were eating thus they did not remain undiscovered. But everywhere the rioters appeared, to rob them even of these portions of food. For whenever they saw a house shut up, they regarded it as a sign that those inside were taking food. And immediately bursting open the doors they rushed in and seized what they were eating, almost forcing it out of their very throats.

9 Old men who clung to their food were beaten, and if the women concealed it in their hands, their hair was torn for so doing. There was pity neither for gray hairs nor for infants, but, taking up the babes that clung to their morsels of food, they dashed them to the ground. But to those that anticipated their entrance and swallowed what they were about to seize, they were still more cruel, just as if they had been wronged by them.

78 10 And they, devised the most terrible modes of torture to discover food, stopping up the privy passages of the poor wretches with bitter herbs, and piercing their seats with sharp rods. And men suffered things horrible even to hear of, for the sake of compelling them to confess to the possession of one loaf of bread, or in order that they might be made to disclose a single drachm of barley which they had concealed. But the tormentors themselves did not suffer hunger.

11 Their conduct might indeed have seemed less barbarous if they had been driven to it by necessity; but they did it for the sake of exercising their madness and of providing sustenance for themselves for days to come.

12 And when any one crept out of the city by night as far as the outposts of the Romans to collect wild herbs and grass, they went to meet him; and when he thought he had already escaped the enemy, they seized what he had brought with him, and even though oftentimes the man would entreat them, and, calling upon the most awful name of God, adjure them to give him a portion of what he had obtained at the risk of his life, they would give him nothing back. Indeed, it was fortunate if the one that was plundered was not also slain.”

13 To this account Josephus, after relating other things, adds the following:74 “The possibility of going out of the city being brought to an end,75 all hope of safety for the Jews was cut off. And the famine increased and devoured the people by houses and families. And the rooms were filled with dead women and children, the lanes of the city with the corpses of old men.

14 Children and youths, swollen with the famine, wandered about the market-places like shadows, and fell down wherever the death agony overtook them. The sick were not strong enough to bury even their own relatives, and those who had the strength hesitated because of the multitude of the dead and the uncertainty as to their own fate. Many, indeed, died while they were burying others, and many betook themselves to their graves before death came upon them.

15 There was neither weeping nor lamentation under these misfortunes; but the famine stifled the natural affections. Those that were dying a lingering death looked with dry eyes upon those that had gone to their rest before them. Deep silence and death-laden night encircled the city.

16 But the robbers were more terrible than these miseries; for they broke open the houses, which were now mere sepulchres, robbed the dead and stripped the covering from their bodies, and went away with a laugh. They tried the points of their swords in the dead bodies, and some that were lying on the ground still alive they thrust through in order to test their weapons. But those that prayed that they would use their right hand and their sword upon them, they contemptuously left to be destroyed by the famine. Every one of these died with eyes fixed upon the temple; and they left the seditious alive.

17 These at first gave orders that thedead should be buried out of the public treasury, for they could not endure the stench. But afterward, when they were not able to do this, they threw the bodies from the walls into the trenches.

18 And as Titus went around and saw the trenches filled with the dead, and the thick blood oozing out of the putrid bodies, he groaned aloud, and, raising his hands, called God to witness that this was not his doing.”

19 After speaking of some other things, Josephus proceeds as follows:76 “I cannot hesitate to declare what my feelings compel me to. I suppose, if the Romans had longer delayed in coming against these guilty wretches, the city would have been swallowed up by a chasm, or overwhelmed with a flood, or struck with such thunderbolts as destroyed Sodom. For it had brought forth a generation of men much more godless than were those that suffered such punishment. By their madness indeed was the whole people brought to destruction.”

20 And in the sixth book he writes as follows:77 “Of those that perished by famine in the city the number was countless, and the miseries they underwent unspeakable. For if so much as the shadow of food appeared in any house, there was war, and the dearest friends engaged in hand-to-hand conflict with one another, and snatched from each other the most wretched supports of life.

79 21 Nor would they believe that even the dying were without food; but the robbers would search them while they were expiring, lest any one should feign death while concealing food in his bosom. With mouths gaping for want of food, they stumbled and staggered along like mad dogs, and beat the doors as if they were drunk, and in their impotence they would rush into the same houses twice or thrice in one hour.

22 Necessity compelled them to eat anything they could find, and they gathered and devoured things that were not fit even for the filthiest of irrational beasts. Finally they did not abstain even from their girdles and shoes, and they stripped the hides off their shields and devoured them. Some used even wisps of old hay for food, and others gathered stubble and sold the smallest weight of it for four Attic drachmae.78

23 “But why should I speak of the shamelessness which was displayed during the famine toward inanimate things? For I am going to relate a fact such as is recorded neither by Greeks nor Barbarians; horrible to relate, incredible to hear. And indeed I should gladly have omitted this calamity, that I might not seem to posterity to be a teller of fabulous tales, if I had not innumerable witnesses to it in my own age. And besides, I should render my country poor service if I suppressed the account of the sufferings which she endured.

24 “There was a certain woman named Mary that dwelt beyond Jordan, whose father was Eleazer, of the village of Bathezor79 (which signifies the house of hyssop). She was distinguished for her family and her wealth, and had fled with the rest of the multitude to Jerusalem and was shut up there with them during the siege.

25 The tyrants had robbed her of the rest of the property which she had brought with her into the city from Perea. And the remnants of her possessions and whatever food was to be seen the guards rushed in daily and snatched away from her. This made the woman terribly angry, and by her frequent reproaches and imprecations she aroused the anger of the rapacious villains against herself.

26 But no one either through anger or pity would slay her; and she grew weary of finding food for others to eat. The search, too, was already become everywhere difficult, and the famine was piercing her bowels and marrow, and resentment was raging more violently than famine. Taking, therefore, anger and necessity as her counsellors, she proceeded to do a most unnatural thing.

27 Seizing her child, a boy which was sucking at her breast, she said, Oh, wretched child, in war, in famine, in sedition, for what do I preserve thee? Slaves among the Romans we shall be even if we are allowed to live by them. But even slavery is anticipated by the famine, and the rioters are more cruel than both. Come, be food for me, a fury for these rioters,80 and a byeword to the world, for this is all that is wanting to complete the calamities of the Jews.

28 And when she had said this she slew her son; and having roasted him, she ate one half herself, and covering up the remainder, she kept it. Very soon the rioters appeared on the scene, and, smelling the nefarious odor, they threatened to slay her immediately unless she should show them what she had prepared. She replied that she had saved an excellent portion for them, and with that she uncovered the remains of the child.

29 They were immediately seized with horror and amazement and stood transfixed at the sight. But she said This is my own son, and the deed is mine. Eat for I too have eaten. Be not more merciful than a woman, nor more compassionate than a mother. But if you are too pious and shrink from my sacrifice, I have already81 eaten of it; let the rest also remain for me.

30 At these words the men went out trembling, in this one case being affrighted; yet with difficulty did they yield that food to the mother. Forthwith the whole city was filled with the awful crime, and as all pictured the terrible deed before their own eyes, they trembled as if they had done it themselves.

31 Those that were suffering from the famine now longed for death; and blessed were they that had died before hearing and seeing miseries like these.”

80 32 Such was the reward which the Jews received for their wickedness and impiety, against the Christ of God.


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