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62 9 And after suffering continually for five days with pain in the bowels, he departed this life, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and in the seventh year of his reign.112 Four years he ruled under the Emperor Caius—three of them over the tetrarchy of Philip, to which was added in the fourth year that of Herod113 —and three years during the reign of the Emperor Claudius.”

10 I marvel greatly that Josephus, in these things as well as in others, so fully agrees with the divine Scriptures. But if there should seem to any one to be a disagreement in respect to the name of the king, the time at least and the events show that the same person is meant, whether the change of name has been caused by the error of a copyist, or is due to the fact that he, like so many, bore two names.114

Chapter XI). \IThe Impostor Theudas and His Followers.

1 Luke, in the Acts, introduces Gamaliel as saying, at the consultation which was held concerning the apostles, that at the time referred to,115 “rose up Theudas boasting himself to be somebody; who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered.”116 Let us therefore add the account of Josephus concerning this man. He records in the work mentioned just above, the following circumstances:117

2 “While Fadus was procurator of Judea118 a certain impostor called Theudas119 persuaded a very great multitude to take their possessions and follow him to the river Jordan. For he said that he was a prophet, and that the river should be divided at his command, and afford them an easy passage.

3 And with these words he deceived many. But Fadus did not permit them to enjoy their folly, but sent a troop of horsemen against them, who fell upon them unexpectedly and slew many of them and took many others alive, while they took Theudas himself captive, and cut off his head and carried it to Jerusalem.” Besides this he also makes mention of the famine, which took place in the reign of Claudius, in the following words.

Chapter XII). \IHelen, the Queen of the Osrhoenians.

1120 “And at this time121 it came to pass that the great famine122 took place in Judea, in which the queen Helen,123 having purchased grain from Egypt with large sums, distributed it to the needy.”

2 You will find this statement also in agreement with the Ac of the Apostles, where it is said that the disciples at Antioch, “each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren that dwelt in Judea; which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Paul.”124

3 But splendid monuments125 of this Helen, Of whom the historian has made mention, are still shown in the suburbs of the city which is now called Aelia,126 But she is said to have been queen of the Adiabeni.127

Chapter XIII). \ISimon Magus.\i\212\08

63 1 But faith in our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ having now been diffused among all men,129 the enemy of man’s salvation contrived a plan for seizing the imperial city for himself. He conducted thither the above-mentioned Simon,130 aided him in his deceitful arts, led many of the inhabitants of Rome astray, and thus brought them into his own power.

2 This is stated by Justin,131 one of our distinguished writers who lived not long after the time of the apostles. Concerning him I shall speak in the proper place.132 Take and read the work of this man, who in the first Apology133 which he addressedto Antonine in behalf of our religion writes as follows:134

3 “And after the ascension ofthe Lord into heaven the demons put forward certain men who said they were gods, and who were not only allowed by you to go unpersecuted, but were even deemed worthy of honors. One of them was Simon, a Samaritan of the village of Gitto,135 who in the reign of Claudius Caesar136 performed in your imperial city some mighty acts of magic by the art of demons operating in him, and was considered a god, and as a god was honored by you with a statue, which was erected in the river Tiber,137 between the two bridges, and bore this inscription in the Latin tongue, Simoni Deo Sancto, that is, To Simon the Holy God.138

4 And nearly all the Samaritans and a few even of other nations confess and worship him as the first God. And there went around with him at that time a certain Helena139 who had formerly been a prostitute in Tyre of Phoenicia; and her they call the first idea that proceeded from him.”140

5 Justin relates these things, and Irenaeus also agrees with him in the first book of his work, Against Heresies, where he gives an account of the man141 and of his profane and impure teaching. It would be superfluous to quote his account here, for it is possible for those who wish to know the origin and the lives and the false doctrines of each of the heresiarchs that have followed him, as well as the customs practiced by them all, to find them treated at length in the above-mentioned work of Irenaeus.

6 We have understood that Simon was the author of all heresy.142 From his time down to the present those who have followed his heresy have reigned the sober philosophy of the Christians, which is celebrated among all on account of its purity of life. But they nevertheless have embraced again the superstitions of idols, which they seemed to have renounced; and they fall down before pictures and images of Simon himself and of the above-mentioned Helena who was with him; and they venture to worship them with incense and sacrifices and libations.

7 But those matters which they keep more secret than these, in regard to which they say that one upon first hearing them would be astonished, and, to use one of the written phrases in vogue among them, would be confounded,143 are in truth full of amazing things, and of madness and folly, being of such a sort that it is impossible not only to commit them to writing, but also for modest men even to utter them with the lips on account of their excessive baseness and lewdness.144

8 For what ever could be conceived of, viler than thevilest thing — all that has been outdone by this most abominable sect, which is composed of those who make a sport of those miserable females that are literally overwhelmed with all kinds of vices.145

Chapter XIV). \IThe Preaching of the Apostle Peter in Rome.

1 The evil power,146 who hates all that isgood and plots against the salvation of men, constituted Simon at that time the father and author of such wickedness,147 as if to make him a mighty antagonist of the great, inspired apostles of our Saviour.

2 For that divine and celestial grace which co-operates with its ministers, by their appearance and presence, quickly extinguished the kindled flame of evil, and humbled and cast down through them “every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God.”148

64 3 Wherefore neither the conspiracy of Simon nor that of any of the others who arose at that period could accomplish anything in those apostolic times. For everything was conquered and subdued by the splendors of the truth and by the divine word itself which had but lately begun to shine from heaven upon men, and which was then flourishing upon earth, and dwelling in the apostles themselves.

4 Immediately149 the above-mentioned impostor was smitten in the eyes of his mind by a divine and miraculous flash, and after the evil deeds done by him had been first detected by the apostle Peter in Judea,150 he fled and made a great journey across the sea from the East to the West, thinking that only thus could he live according to his mind.

5 And coming to the city of Rome,151 by the mighty co-operation of that power which was lying in wait there, he was in a short time so successful in his undertaking that those who dwelt there honored him as a god by the erection of a statue.152

6 But this did not last long. For immediately, during the reign of Claudius, the all-good and gracious Providence, which watches over all things, led Peter, that strongest and greatest of the apostles, and the one who on account of his virtue was the speaker for all the others, to Rome153 against this great corrupter of life. He like a noble commander of God, clad in divine armor, carried the costly merchandise of the light of the understanding from the East to those who dwelt in the West, proclaiming the light itself, and the word which brings salvation to souls, and preaching the kingdom of heaven.154

Chapter XV). \IThe Gospel According to Mark.

1 And thus when the divine word had made its home among them,155 the power of Simon was quenched and immediately destroyed, together with the man himself.156 And so greatly did the splendor of piety illumine the minds of Peter’s hearers that they were not satisfied with hearing once only, and were not content with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel, but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark,157 a follower of Peter, and the one whose Gospel is extant, that he would leave them a written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them. Nor did they cease until they had prevailed with the man, and had thus become the occasion of the written Gospel which bears the name of Mark.158

2 And they say that Peter when he had learned, through a revelation of the Spirit, of that which had been done, was pleased with the zeal of the men, and that the work obtained the sanction of his authority for the purpose of being used in the churches.159 Clement in the eighth book of his Hypotyposes gives this account, and with him agrees the bishop of Hierapolis named Papias.160 And Peter makes mention of Mc in his first epistle which they say that he wrote in Rome itself, as is indicated by him, when he calls the city, by a figure, Babylon, as he does in the following words: “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.”161

Chapter XVI). \I(Mc First Proclaimed Christianity to the Inhabitants of Egypt.

1 And they say that this Mc was the first1 that was sent to Egypt, and that he proclaimed the Gospel which he had written, and first established churches in Alexandria.162

2 And the multitude of believers, both men and women, that were collected there at the very outset, and lived lives of the most philosophical and excessive asceticism, was so great, that Philo thought it worth while to describe their pursuits, their meetings, their entertainments, and their whole manner of life.”163

Chapter XVII). \IPhilo’s Account of the Ascetics of Egypt.

65 1 It is also said that Philo in the reign of Claudius became acquainted at Rome with Peter, who was then preaching there.164 Nor is this indeed improbable, for the work of which we have spoken, and which was composed by him some years later, clearly contains those rules of the Church which are even to this day observed among us.

2 And since he describes as accurately as possible the life of our ascetics, it is clear that he not only knew, but that he also approved, while he venerated and extolled, the apostolic men of his time, who were as it seems of the Hebrew race, and hence observed, after the manner of the Jews, the most of the customs of the ancients.

3 In the work to which he gave the title, On a Contemplative Life or on Suppliants,165 after affirming in the first place that he will add to those things which he is about to relate nothing contrary to truth or of his own invention,166 he says that these men were called Therapeutae and the women that were with them Therapeutrides.167 He then adds the reasons for such a name, explaining it from the fact that they applied remedies and healed the souls of those who came to them, by relieving them like physicians, of evil passions, or from the fact that they served and worshiped the Deity in purity and sincerity.

4 Whether Philo himself gave them this name, employing an epithet well suited to their mode of life, or whether the first of them really called themselves so in the beginning, since the name of Christians was not yet everywhere known, we need not discuss here.

5 He bears witness, however, that first of all 5 they renounce their property. When they begin the philosophical168 mode of life, he says, they give up their goods to their relatives, and then, renouncing all the cares of life, they go forth beyond the walls and dwell in lonely fields and gardens, knowing well that intercourse with people of a different character is unprofitable and harmful. They did this at that time, as seems probable, under the influence of a spirited and ardent faith, practicing in emulation the prophets’ mode of life.

6 For in the Ac of the Apostles, a work universally acknowledged as authentic,169 it is recorded that all the companions of the apostles sold their possessions and their property and distributed to all according to the necessity of each one, so that no one among them was in want. “For as many as were possessors of lands or houses,” as the account says, “sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet, so that distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”170

7 Philo bears witness to facts very much like those here described and then adds the following account:171 “Everywhere in the world is this race172 found. For it was fitting that both Greek173 and Barbarian should share in what is perfectly good. But the race particularly abounds in Egypt, in each of its so-called nomes,174 and especially about Alexandria.

8 The best men from every quarter emigrate, as if to a colony of the Therapeut’s fatherland,175 to a certain very suitable spot which lies above the lake Maria176 upon a low hill excellently situated on account of its security and the mildness of the atmosphere.”

9 And then a little further on, after describing the kind of houses which they had, he speaks as follows concerning their churches, which were scattered about here and there:177 “In each house there is a sacred apartment which is called a sanctuary and monastery,178 where, quite alone, they perform the mysteries of the religious life. They bring nothing into it, neither drink nor food, nor any of the other things which contribute to the necessities of the body, but only the laws, and the inspired oracles of the prophets, and hymns and such other things as augment and makeperfect their knowledge and piety.”

10 And after some other matters he says:179

“The whole interval, from morning to evening, is for them a time of exercise. For they read the holy Scriptures, and explain the philosophy of their fathers in an allegorical manner, regarding the written words as symbols of hidden truth which is communicated in obscure figures.

66 11 They have also writings of ancient men, who were the founders of their sect, and who left many monuments of the allegorical method. These they use as models, and imitate their principles.”

12 These things seem to have been stated by a man who had heard them expounding their sacred writings. But it is highly probable that the works of the ancients, which he says they had, were the Gospels and the writings of the apostles, and probably some expositions of the ancient prophets, such as are contained in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in many others of Paul’s Epistles.

13 Then again he writes as follows concerning the new psalms which they composed:180 “So that they not only spend their time in meditation, but they also compose songs and hymns to God in every variety of metre and melody, though they divide them, of course, into measures of more than common solemnity.”

14 The same book contains an account of many other things, but it seemed necessary to select those facts which exhibit the characteristics of the ecclesiastical mode of life.

15 But if any one thinks that what has been said is not peculiar to the Gospel polity, but that it can be applied to others besides those mentioned, let him be convinced by the subsequent words of the same author, in which, if he is unprejudiced, he will find undisputed testimony on this subject. Philo’s words are as follows:181

16 “Having laid down temperance as a sort of foundation in the soul, they build upon it the other virtues. None of them may take food or drink before sunset, since they regard philosophizing as a work worthy of the light, but attention to the wants of the body as proper only in the darkness, and therefore assign the day to the former, but to the latter a small portion of the night.

17 But some, in whom a great desire for knowledge dwells, forget to take food for three days; and some are so delighted and feast so luxuriously upon wisdom, which furnishes doctrines richly and without stint, that they abstain even twice as long as this, and are accustomed, after six days, scarcely to take necessary food.” These statements of Philo we regard as referring clearly and indisputably to those of our communion.

18 But if after these things any one still obstinately persists in denying the reference, let him renounce his incredulity and be convinced by yet more striking examples, which are to be found nowhere else than in the evangelical religion of the Christians.182

19 For they say that there were women also with those of whom we are speaking, and that the most of them were aged virgins183 who had preserved their chastity, not out of necessity, as some of the priestesses among the Greeks,184 but rather by their own choice, through zeal and a desire for wisdom. And that in their earnest desire to live with it as their companion they paid no attention to the pleasures of the body, seeking not mortal but immortal progeny, which only the pious soul is able to bear of itself.

20 Then after a little he adds still more emphatically:185 “They expound the Sacred Scriptures figuratively by means of allegories. For the whole law seems to these men to resemble a living organism, of which the spoken words constitute the body, while the hidden sense stored up within the words constitutes the soul. This hidden meaning has first been particularly studied by this sect, which sees, revealed as in a mirror of names, the surpassing beauties of the thoughts.”

21 Why is it necessary to add to these things their meetings and the respective occupations of the men and of the women during those meetings, and the practices which are even to the present day habitually observed by us, especially such as we are accustomed to observe at the feast of the Saviour’s passion, with fasting and night watching and study of the divine Word.

67 22 These things the above-mentioned author has related in his own work, indicating a mode of life which has been preserved to the present time by us alone,recording especially the vigils kept in connectionwith the great festival, and the exercises performed during those vigils, and the hymns customarily recited by us, and describing how, while one sings regularly in time, the others listen in silence, and join in chanting only the close of the hymns; and how, on the days referred to they sleep on the ground on beds of straw, andto use his own words,186 “taste no wine at all, norany flesh, but water is their only drink, and therelish with their bread is salt and hyssop.”

23 In addition to this Philo describes the order of dignities which ists among those who carry on the services of the church, mentioning the diaconate, and the office of bishop, which takes the precedence over all the others.187 But whosoever desires a more accurate knowledge of these matters may get it from the history already cited.

24 But that Philo, when he wrote these things, had in view the first heralds of the Gospel and the customs handed down from the beginning by the apostles, is clear to every one.

Chapter XVIII). \IThe Works of Philo\i\218\08 \IThat Have Came Down to Us.

1 Copious in language, comprehensive in thought, sublime and elevated in his views of divine Scripture, Philo has produced manifold and various expositions of the sacred books. On the one hand, he expounds in order the events recorded in Genesis in the books to which he gives the title Allegories of the Sacred Laws;189 on the other hand, he makes successive divisions of the chapters in the Scriptures which are the subject of investigation, and gives objections and solutions, in the books which he quite suitably calls Questions and Answers an Genesis and Exodus.190

2 There are, besides these, treatises expressly worked out by him on certain subjects, such as the two books On Agriculture,191 and the same number On Drunkenness;192 and some others distinguished by different titles corresponding to the contents of each; for instance, Concerning the things which the Sober Mind desires and execrates,193 On the Confusion of Tongues,194 On Flight and Discovery,195 On Assembly for the sake of Instruction,196 On the question, ‘Who is heir to things divine?’ or On the division of things into equal and unequal,197 and still further the work On the three Virtues which with others have been described by Moses.198

3 In addition to these is the work On those whose Names have been changed and why they have been changed,199 in which he says that he hadwritten also two hooks On Covenants.200

4 And there is also a work of his On Emigration,201 and one On the life of a Wise Man made perfect in Righteousness, or On unwritten Laws;202 and still further the work On Giants or On the Immutability of God,203 and a first, second, third, fourth and fifth book On the proposition, that Dreams according to Moses are sent by God.204 These are the hooks on Genesis that have come down to us.

5 But on Exodus we are acquainted with the first, second, third, fourth and fifth books of Questions and Answers;205 also with that On the Tabernacle,206 and that On the Ten Commandments,207 and the four books On the laws which refer especially to the principal divisions of the ten Commandments,208 and another On animals intended for sacrifice and On the kinds of sacrifice,209 and another On the rewards fixed in the law for the good, and on the punishments and curses fixed for the wicked.210

6 In addition to all these there are extantalso some single-volumed works of his; as for instance, the work On Providence,211 and the book composed by him On the Jews,212 and The Statesman;213 and still further, Alexander, or On the possession of reason by the irrational animals.214 Besides these there is a work On the proposition that every wicked man is a slave, to which is subjoined the work On the proposition that every goad man is free.215

7 After these was composed by him the work On the contemplative life, or On suppliants,216 from which we have drawn the facts concerning the life of the apostolic men; and still further, the Interpretation of the Hebrew names in the law and in the prophets are said to be the result of his industry.217

68 8 And he is said to have read in the presence of the whole Roman Senate during the reign of Claudius218 the work which he had written, when he came to Rome under Caius, concerning Caius’ hatred of the gods, and to which, with ironical reference to its character, he had given the title On the Virtues.219 And his discourses were so much admired as to be deemed worthy of a place in the libraries.

9 At this time, while Paul was completing his journey “from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum,”220 Claudius drove the Jews out of Rome; and Aquila and Priscilla, leaving Rome with the other Jews, came to Asia, and there abode with the apostle Paul, who was confirming the churches of that region whose foundations he had newly laid. The sacred book of the Ac informs us also of these things.221

Chapter XIX). \IThe Calamity Which Befell the Jews in Jerusalem an the Day of the Passover.

1 While Claudius was still emperor, it happened that so great a tumult and disturbance took place in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, that thirty thousand of those Jews alone who were forcibly crowded together at the gate of the temple perished,222 being trampled under foot by one another. Thus the festival became a season of mourning for all the nation, and there was weeping in every house. These things are related literally223 by Josephus.

2 But Claudius appointed Agrippa,224 son of Agrippa, king of the Jews, having sent Felix225 as procurator of the whole country of Samaria and Galilee, and of the land called Perea.226 And after he had reigned thirteen years and eight months227 he died, and left Nero as his successor in the empire.

Chapter XX). \IThe Events Which Took Place in Jerusalem During the Reign of Nero.

1 Josephus again, in the twentieth book of his Antiquities, relates the quarrel which arose among the priests during the reign of Nero, while Felix was procurator of Judea.

2 His words are as follows228 : “There arose a quarrel between the high priests on the one hand and the priests and leaders of the people of Jerusalem on the other.229 And each of them collected a body of the boldest and most restless men, and put himself at their head, and whenever they met they hurled invectives and stones at each other. And there was no one that would interpose; but these things were done at will as if in a city destitute of a ruler.

3 And so great was the shamelessness and audacity of the high priests that they dared to send their servants to the threshing-floors to seize the tithes due to the priests; and thus those of the priests that were poor were seen to be perishing of want. In this way did the violence of the factions prevail over all justice.”

4 And the same author again relates that about the same time there sprang up in Jerusalem a certain kind of robbers,230 “ who byday,” as he says, “and in the middle of the city slew those who met them.”

5 For, especially at the feasts, they mingled with the multitude, and with short swords, which they concealed under their garments, they stabbed the most distinguished men. And when they fell, the murderers themselves were among those who expressed their indignation. And thus on account of the confidence which was reposed in them by all, they remained undiscovered.

69 6 The first that was slain by them was Jonathan the high priest;231 and after him many were killed every day, until the fear became worse than the evil itself, each one, as in battle, hourly expecting death.

Chapter XXI). \IThe Egyptian, Who is Mentioned Also in the Ac of the Apostles.

1 After other matters he proceeds as follows:232 “But the Jews were afflicted with a greater plague than these by the Egyptian false prophet.233 For there appeared in the land an impostor who aroused faith in himself as a prophet, and collected about thirty thousand of those whom he had deceived, and led them from the desert to the so-called Mount of Olives whence he was prepared to enter Jerusalem by force and to overpower the Roman garrison and seize the government of the people, using those who made the attack with him as body guards.

2 But Felix anticipated his attack, and went out to meet him with the Roman legionaries, and all the people joined in the defense, so that when the battle was fought the Egyptian fled with a few followers, but the most of them were destroyed or taken captive.”

3 Josephus relates these events in the secondbook of his History.234 But it is worth while comparing the account of the Egyptian given here with that contained in the Ac of the Apostles. In the time of Felix it was said to Paul by the centurion in Jerusalem, when the multitude of the Jews raised a disturbance against the apostle, “Art not thou he Who before these days made an uproar, and led out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?”235 These are the events which took place in the time of Felix.236

Chapter XXII). \IPaul Having Been Sent Bound from Judea to Rome, Made His Defense, and Was Acquitted of Every Charge.

1 Festus237 was sent by Nero to be Felix’s successor. Under him Paul, having made his defense, was sent bound to Rome238 Aristarchus was with him, whom he also somewhere in his epistles quite naturally calls his fellow-prisoner.239 And Luke, who wrote the Ac of the Apostles,240 brought his history to a close at this point, after stating that Paul spent two whole years at Rome as a prisoner at large, and preached the word of God without restraint.241

2 Thus after he had made his defense it is said that the apostle was sent again upon the ministry of preaching,242 and that upon coming to the same city a second time he suffered martyrdom.243 In this imprisonment he wrote his second epistle to Timothy,244 in which he mentions his first defense and his impending death.

3 But hear his testimony on these matters: “At my first answer,” he says, “no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”245

4 He plainly indicates in these words that 4 on the former occasion, in order that the preaching might be fulfilled by him, he was rescued from the mouth of the lion, referring, in this expression, to Nero, as is probable on account of the latter’s cruelty. He did not therefore afterward add the similar statement, “He will rescue me from the mouth of the lion”; for he saw in the spirit that his end would not be long delayed.

5 Wherefore he adds to the words, “And he delivered me from the mouth of the lion,” this sentence: “The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom,”246 indicating his speedy martyrdom; which he also foretells still more clearly in the same epistle, when he writes, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.”247

70 6 In his second epistle to Timothy, moreover, he indicates that Luke was with him when he wrote,248 but athis first defense not even he.249 Whence it is probable that Lc wrote the Ac of the Apostles at that time, continuing his history down to the period when he was with Paul.250

7 But these things have been adduced by us to show that Paul’s martyrdom did not take place at the time of that Roman sojourn which Luke records).

8 It is probable indeed that as Nero was more disposed to mildness in the beginning, Paul’s defense of his doctrine was more easily received; but that when he had advanced to the commission of lawless deeds of daring, he made the apostles as well as others the subjects of his attacks.251

Chapter XXIII). \IThe Martyrdom of James, Who Was Called the Brother of the Lord.

1 But after Paul, in consequence of his appeal to Caesar, had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews, being frustrated in their hope of entrapping him by the snares which they had laid for him, turned against James, the brother of the Lord,252 to whom the episcopal seat at Jerusalem bad been entrusted by the apostles.253 The following daring measures were undertaken by them against him.

2 Leading him into their midst they demanded of him that he should renounce faith in Christ in the presence of all the people. But, contrary to the opinion of all, with a clear voice, and with greater boldness than they had anticipated, he spoke out before the whole multitude and confessed that our Saviour and Lord Jesus is the Son of God. But they were unable to bearlonger the testimony of the man who, on account of the excellence of ascetic virtue254 and of piety which he exhibited in his life, wasesteemed by all as the most just of men, andconsequently they slew him. Opportunity forthis deed of violence was furnished by the prevailing anarchy, which was caused by the fact that Festus had died just at this time in Judea,and that the province was thus without a governor and head.255

3 The manner of James’ death has been already indicated by the above-quoted words of Clement, who records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death with a club.256 But Hegesippus,257 who lived immediately after the apostles, gives the most accurate account in the fifth book of his Memoirs.258 He writes as follows:

4 “James, the brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church in conjunction with the apostles.259 He has been called the Just260 by all from the time of our Saviour to the present day; for there were many that bore the name of James.

5 He was holy from his mother’s womb; and he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use the bath.

6 He alone was permitted to enter into the holy place; for he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of entering alone into the temple, and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people.261

7 Because of his exceeding great justice he was called the Just, and Oblias,262 which signifies in Greek, ‘Bulwark of the people’ and ‘Justice,’263 in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him.264


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