Acts of Peter (Actus Vercellenses) 12–26

But Simon, inside, said to the dog: 'Tell Peter that I am not in.' The dog said to him in the presence of Marcellus: 'Most wicked and shameless one, most hostile of all living things to those who believe in Christ Jesus, a dumb animal has been sent to you and has received a human voice, to convict you and prove you a deceiver and a cheat. After all these hours of thought you have said: Say that I am not here. Were you not ashamed to lift your weak and useless voice against Peter, the minister and apostle of Christ, as if you could hide from him who commanded me to speak to your face? And this is not for your sake, but for the sake of those whom you were deceiving and sending to destruction. Cursed, then, will you be, enemy and corrupter of the way of the truth of Christ, who will try with undying fire the iniquities you have committed, and you will be in the outer darkness.' When the dog had said these words, it went away, and the crowd followed it, leaving Simon alone. The dog came to Peter, who was sitting with the crowd that had come to see his face, and reported what it had done with Simon. And this is what the dog said to the messenger and apostle of the true God: 'Peter, you will have a great contest with Simon, the enemy of Christ, and with those who serve him; but you will turn to the faith many who were deceived by him. For this you will receive from God the reward of your work.' When the dog had said this, it fell down before the feet of the apostle Peter and gave up its spirit. When the great crowd saw with amazement the dog speaking, some began to throw themselves at Peter's feet, while others said: 'Show us another sign, so that we may believe in you as a minister of the living God; for Simon too did many signs in our presence, and that is why we followed him.'

Peter turned and saw a smoked fish hanging in a window; he took it and said to the people: 'If you now see this swimming in the water like a fish, will you be able to believe in him whom I preach?' They said with one voice: 'Truly we will believe you.' Then he said, at the swimming pool nearby: 'In your name, Jesus Christ, since you are not yet believed, before all these people live and swim like a fish.' And he threw the smoked fish into the pool, and it came to life and began to swim. The multitude saw the fish swimming; and he made it swim not only for that hour, lest it be said to be an illusion, but for a long time, so that it drew crowds from all sides and showed that the smoked fish had become a living fish, so much so that some of the people threw it bread; and they saw that it was whole. Very many followed when they saw this and believed in the Lord, and they gathered day and night in the house of the presbyter Narcissus. Peter discussed with them the prophetic Scriptures and what our Lord Jesus Christ had done in word and in deeds.

Marcellus was being established more firmly every day by the signs he saw done through Peter by the grace of Jesus Christ, which Christ had given him. And Marcellus burst in on Simon as he sat in the dining room of his house, and cursing him said: 'Most hostile and most pestilent of men, corrupter of my soul and of my house, who wanted to drive me away from Christ my Lord and Saviour!' And laying hands on him he ordered him to be thrown out of his house. The servants, given leave, heaped insults on him: some slapped his face, others beat him with a stick, others with a stone, and others poured pots full of filth over his head; these were the ones who because of him had run away from their master and had long been in chains. Other fellow servants, of whom he had spoken ill to their master, reproached him and said: 'Now we pay you a worthy reward, by the will of God, who has had mercy on us and on our master.' Simon, badly beaten and thrown out of the house, ran to the house where Peter was staying, the house of the presbyter Narcissus, and standing at the door he shouted: 'Here I am, Simon. Come down, then, Peter, and I will prove that you have believed in a Jewish man and the son of a carpenter.'

It was reported to Peter that Simon had said this. Peter sent down to him a woman who had a nursing infant, saying to her: 'Go down quickly and you will see someone looking for me. You need not answer; keep silent and listen to what the child you are holding says to him.' So the woman went down. The child she was nursing was seven months old; and receiving a man's voice, it said to Simon: 'You abomination to God and men, destruction of the truth, most wicked seed of all corruption, fruitless fruit of nature! You appear for a short time and in a small way, and after this eternal punishment awaits you. Son of a shameless father, you never put down roots in good, but in poison; faithless breed, empty of all hope! You were not put to shame when a dog convicted you; I, an infant, am compelled by God to speak, and even so you do not blush. But against your will, on the coming sabbath day, another will bring you into the Forum of Julius, so that it may be shown what you are. Depart, then, from the door where the footsteps of the saints come and go. For you shall no longer corrupt the innocent souls you were overthrowing and grieving in Christ. Your most depraved nature is being shown, and your scheming will be cut down. And now I say my last word: Jesus Christ says to you: Be dumb, constrained by my name, and leave Rome until the coming sabbath.' At once he became dumb and, constrained, left Rome until the sabbath, and stayed in a stable. The woman went back with the child to Peter and told him and the other brothers what the child had said to Simon; and they magnified the Lord who had shown these things to men.

When night came, Peter, still awake, saw Jesus clothed in a robe of brightness, smiling and saying to him: 'Already a very large crowd of the brotherhood has come back through me and through you, by whom I have done signs in my name. You will have a contest of faith on the coming sabbath, and many more of the Gentiles and of the Jews will be converted in my name to me, who was insulted, mocked and spat upon. For I will stand by you when you ask for signs and wonders, and you will convert many; but you will have Simon opposing you by the works of his father. But all his spells and magical illusions will be exposed. And now do not cease; and whomever I send to you, you will establish in my name.' When day came, he told the brothers that the Lord had appeared to him and what he had commanded him.

'Believe me, men, brothers: I drove this Simon out of Judea, where he was doing many evils by magic spells. He was staying in Judea with a woman named Eubula, highly respected in this world, who had plenty of gold and pearls of no small value. This Simon slipped in with two others like himself. No one of the household saw those two, only Simon. By working magic they carried off all the woman's gold and vanished. When Eubula found out what had been done, she began to torture her household, saying: You have robbed me, taking advantage of the visits of this godly man, because you saw him coming in to me to honour a simple woman … the name of the Lord. While I was fasting three days and praying that this deed might be brought to light, I saw in a vision Italicus and Antulus, whom I had instructed in the name of the Lord, and a naked boy in chains, giving me a wheaten loaf and saying to me: Peter, wait two days and you will see the great works of God. For the things that have been lost from Eubula's house, Simon carried off with two others, using magic art and making illusions. On the third day, at the ninth hour, you will see them at the gate that leads to Neapolis, selling to a goldsmith named Agrippinus a golden figure of a satyr weighing two pounds, with a precious stone set in it. You are not to touch it, lest you be defiled; but let some of the matron's servants be with you. You will show them the goldsmith's shop and leave them. For through this deed many will believe in the name of the Lord, since the things they have often carried off by their cunning and malice will be exposed in public. When I heard this, I came to Eubula and found her sitting, her clothes torn and her hair dishevelled, mourning. I said to her: Eubula, rise from your mourning, compose your face, put up your hair and put on clothing fitting for you, and pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, who judges every soul. For he is the Son of the invisible God, by whom you must be saved, if you repent with all your heart of your former sins; and receive power from him. For see, through me the Lord says to you: All that you have lost you will find. And after you have recovered it, see that he finds you, so that you may renounce this present world and seek eternal refreshment. So hear this: let some of your people watch at the gate that leads to Neapolis. The day after tomorrow, about the ninth hour, they will see two young men with a golden satyr of two pounds set with stones, as the vision showed me, which they will offer for sale to a certain Agrippinus, a man of piety and of the faith that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through him it is shown to you that you should believe in the living God and not in the magician Simon, an unstable demon, who wanted you to remain in mourning and your innocent household to be tortured; who deceived you with flattering speech, with words only, and spoke of the piety of God with his mouth only, while he himself is wholly possessed by impiety. For when you thought to celebrate a festive day, and set up your idol and veiled it, and laid out all your ornaments on tables, he brought in two young men whom none of you saw, worked a magic spell, carried off your ornaments, and they vanished. But his scheme did not succeed; for my God has made it known to me, so that you may not be deceived nor perish in Gehenna, for all the wicked things you have done against God, who is full of all truth, the righteous judge of the living and the dead; and there is no other hope of life for men except through him, through whom what you had lost has been kept safe for you. And now gain your soul. At this she threw herself at my feet and said: Man, whoever you are I do not know; I had received him as a minister of God, and whatever he asked of me for the care of the poor, I gave, much through his hand, and I gave him much besides. What harm did I do him, that he should plot so much against my house? Peter said to her: Faith is not to be placed in words but in works and deeds. But we must go on with what we have begun. So I left her and went with two of Eubula's stewards to Agrippinus and said to him: Take note of these men. Tomorrow two young men will come to you wishing to sell you a golden satyr set with stones, which belongs to their mistress. Take it as if to examine it and praise the craftsman's work. When they come, God will bring the rest to proof. The next day the matron's stewards came about the ninth hour, and those young men wishing to sell Agrippinus the golden satyr. They were seized at once, and it was reported to the matron. In distress of mind she went to the governor and in a loud voice reported what had happened to her. When the governor Pompeius saw her in distress, she who had never come out in public, he rose at once from the tribunal, went into the praetorium, and ordered them to be brought in and examined. Under torture they confessed that they served Simon, who had hired them for money; and when examined further, they disclosed that everything Eubula had lost had been deposited underground in a cave beyond the gate, along with many other things. When Pompeius heard this, he rose to go to the gate, with the two men bound in double chains. And see, Simon was coming in at the gate looking for them, because they were late; and he saw a great crowd coming and the two bound in chains. At once he understood and took flight, and he has not appeared in Judea to this day. Eubula, when she had recovered all her goods, gave them to the care of the poor; and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, strengthened, despising and renouncing this world, she gave to widows and orphans and clothed the poor, and after a long time she fell asleep. These things, dearest brothers, happened in Judea, and from there the one called the angel of Satan was driven out.'

'Dearest and most beloved brothers, let us fast together, praying to the Lord. He who drove Simon out from there is able to root him out from here too; and may he give us power to resist him and his magic spells, and to prove that he is an angel of Satan. For on the sabbath our Lord will bring him, against his will, into the Forum of Julius. Let us, then, bend our knees to Christ: he hears us even if we do not cry out. There is one who sees us, even if he is not seen with these eyes, for he is in us; if we will, he will not depart from us. Let us cleanse our souls from every most evil temptation, and God will not depart from us; even if we only nod with our eyes, he is present with us.'

After Peter had said these things, Marcellus too came up and said: 'Peter, I have cleansed my whole house for you from the traces of Simon and rooted out his wicked dust. For I took water, and calling on the holy name of Jesus Christ, with the rest of the servants who belong to him, I sprinkled my whole house and all the dining rooms and the whole colonnade, out to the door, and I said: I know, Lord Jesus Christ, that you are clean and untouched by any uncleanness; so may my enemy and adversary be driven from your sight. And now, most blessed one, I have ordered the widows and the old women to gather in the common house to meet you, so that they may pray with us. They will each receive a gold piece by way of service, so that they may truly be called servants of Christ. Everything else has been prepared for the service. So I ask you, most blessed Peter, to seal their prayers, so that you too may grace their prayers for me. Let us go, then, and take Narcissus too and whatever brothers are here.' Peter, consenting to his simplicity in order to fulfil his wish, went out with him and the other brothers.

Peter went in and saw one of the old women, a widow who was blind, and her daughter giving her her hand and leading her into the house of Marcellus. Peter said to her: 'Come here, mother. From this day Jesus gives you his right hand, through whom we have light unapproachable, which no darkness covers; and he says to you through me: Open your eyes, see, and walk alone.' And at once the widow saw, as Peter laid his hand on her. Then Peter went into the dining room and saw that the Gospel was being read. He rolled it up and said: 'Men who believe and hope in Christ, learn how the holy Scripture of our Lord ought to be proclaimed. What we have written down by his grace, as far as we could take it in, even if it still seems weak to you, nevertheless conveys what can be borne in human flesh. We ought first to know the will of God, or his goodness: when error had once spread abroad, and many thousands of men were sinking into destruction, the Lord, moved by his mercy, showed himself in another form and was seen in the likeness of a man; and neither the Jews nor we were worthy to be enlightened. For each of us saw as he was able to see, as far as he could. Now I will explain to you what has just been read to you. Our Lord wished me to see his majesty on the holy mountain; but when I saw the splendour of his light with the sons of Zebedee, I fell as if dead and closed my eyes, and I heard his voice, such as I cannot describe, and I thought I had been blinded by his splendour. And when I had breathed again a little, I said within myself: Perhaps my Lord has brought me here to blind me. And I said: If this is your will, I do not oppose it, Lord. And he gave me his hand and raised me up. And when I rose I saw him again in such a form as I could take in. So then, as the merciful God, dearest brothers, he carried our infirmities and bore our offences, as the prophet says: He bears our sins and suffers for us; but we thought him to be in pain and held by wounds. For he is in the Father and the Father in him; he is himself also … He ate and drank for our sake, though he was neither hungry nor thirsty; he carried reproaches and suffered them for our sake; he died and rose again for us. He who defended me when I sinned and strengthened me by his greatness will comfort you too, so that you may love him: this great one and least, beautiful and ugly, young and old, appearing in time and in eternity wholly invisible; whom a human hand did not hold, yet he is held by his servants; whom flesh had not seen and now sees; who was not heard but is now known, the Word that is heard …; never chastised, but now chastised; who is before the ages and was perceived in time; the greatest beginning of all rule, yet handed over to rulers; glorious, yet lowly among us; ugly to see, yet foreseeing. This Jesus you have, brothers: the door, the light, the way, the bread, the water, the life, the resurrection, the refreshment, the pearl, the treasure, the seed, the abundance, the grain of mustard seed, the vine, the plough, the grace, the faith, the word. He is all things, and there is no other greater than he. To him be praise for ever and ever. Amen.'

And when the ninth hour was over, they rose to make their prayer. And see, suddenly some of the old widows who were sitting there, blind and unbelieving, unknown to Peter, cried out and said to Peter: 'We are sitting here together, Peter, hoping and believing in Christ Jesus. As you have made one of us see, we beg you, lord Peter, grant his mercy and pity to us too.' Peter said to them: 'If the faith that is in Christ is in you, if it is firmly established in you, see with the mind what you do not see with your eyes; and though your ears are closed, let them be opened within, in your mind. These eyes will close again, seeing nothing but men and oxen and dumb animals and stones and wood; but not every eye sees Jesus Christ. But now, Lord, let your sweet and holy name come to the help of these women; touch their eyes, for you are able, so that they may see with their own eyes.' When all had prayed, the dining room in which they were shone as if with lightning, such as is seen in the clouds; yet not a light such as there is by day, but unspeakable, invisible, which no man could describe; such a light that shone on us so that we were driven out of our senses from prayer, crying out to the Lord and saying: Have mercy on us, your servants, Lord. Grant us, Lord, what we can bear; for this we can neither see nor bear. While we lay there, only those widows who were blind stood up. And the bright light that appeared to us entered their eyes and made them see. Peter said to them: 'Tell what you saw.' They said: 'We saw an old man, with such an appearance as we cannot describe to you.' Others said: 'A young man.' Others said: 'We saw a boy who gently touched our eyes, and so our eyes were opened.' So Peter magnified the Lord, saying: 'You alone are the Lord God; what lips would we need to give you praise, so as to thank you as your mercy deserves? So, brothers, as I told you a little while ago, God is greater than our thoughts, as we have learned from the old widows, how they saw the Lord in different forms.'

Having urged them all to understand the Lord with their whole heart, he began, with Marcellus and the other brothers, to serve the virgins of the Lord and to rest until morning. Marcellus said to them: 'Holy and undefiled virgins of the Lord, listen: you have a place to stay. For whose are the things called mine, if not yours? Do not go away from here, but refresh yourselves; for on the sabbath, which comes tomorrow, Simon has a contest with Peter, the holy one of God. As the Lord has always been with him, so now may Christ the Lord stand by him as his apostle. For Peter has kept on without tasting anything, adding fast to fast, that he may conquer the evil enemy and persecutor of the truth of the Lord. For see, my young men have come and report that they saw benches being set up in the forum, and a crowd saying: Tomorrow at dawn two Jews are to contend here about the worship of God. So now let us keep watch until morning, asking and entreating our Lord Jesus Christ to hear our prayers for Peter.' Marcellus fell asleep for a short time, and on waking said to Peter: 'Peter, apostle of Christ, let us go boldly to what lies before us. For just now, when I had fallen asleep for a moment, I saw you sitting in a high place, and before you a great crowd, and a most hideous woman, in appearance an Ethiopian, snub-nosed, not an Egyptian, but all black with filth, wrapped in rags, with an iron collar on her neck and chains on her hands and feet, dancing. Seeing her, you said to me in a loud voice: Marcellus, the whole power of Simon and of his god is this woman who is dancing; cut off her head. And I said to you: Brother Peter, I am a senator of noble family, and I have never stained my hands, nor ever killed so much as a sparrow. When you heard this you began to cry out more loudly: Come, our true sword, Jesus Christ, and not only cut off the head of this demon but cut all her limbs to pieces, in the sight of all these whom I have proved in your service. And at once one like you, Peter, holding a sword, cut her all to pieces, so that I gazed at you both, at you and at the one who was cutting up that demon, so alike, to my great amazement. When I woke I told you these signs of Christ.' When Peter heard this, he was the more encouraged, because Marcellus had seen these things, since the Lord everywhere provides for his own. So, glad and refreshed by these words, he rose to go to the forum.

The brothers and all who were at Rome gathered together, taking places for a gold piece each. Senators, prefects and officials also flocked together. Peter arrived and stood in the middle. All cried out: 'Show us, Peter, who your God is, or what majesty it is that has given you confidence. Do not grudge the Romans: they are lovers of the gods. We have had proofs from Simon, we have had them from you too; prove to us, both of you, whom we should truly believe.' And while they were saying this, Simon too arrived. Troubled, he stood at Peter's side and at first kept looking at him. After a long silence Peter said: 'Men of Rome, be true judges for us. I say that I have believed in the living and true God, and I promise to give you proofs of him that are already known to me, as many among you also bear witness. For you see that this man is silent, having been rebuked; that I drove him out of Judea because of the frauds he practised by magic art on Eubula, a respectable and very simple woman. Driven out by me from there, he came here, thinking that he could hide among you; and see, he stands face to face with me. Tell me, Simon, did you not fall at the feet of Paul and me in Jerusalem, when you saw the healings that were done by our hands, and say: I beg you, take from me as much payment as you want, so that I may be able to lay on hands and do such works of power? When we heard this from you, we cursed you: Do you think to tempt us, as though we wanted to possess money? And now are you afraid of nothing? My name is Peter, because the Lord Christ deigned to call me ready in everything. For I believe in the living God, through whom I will bring down your magic arts. Now let him do in your presence the wonders he used to do. Will you not believe what I have just said about him?' Simon said: 'Have you the boldness to speak of Jesus the Nazarene, the son of a carpenter and a carpenter himself, whose family is in Judea? Listen, Peter: the Romans have sense; they are not fools.' And turning to the people he said: 'Men of Rome, is a God born? Is he crucified? Whoever has a master is not God.' While he was saying this, many said: 'You speak well, Simon.'

Peter said: 'Anathema on your words against Christ! You have dared to say this, when the prophet says of him: Who shall declare his generation? And another prophet says: And we saw him, and he had no form nor beauty. And: In the last times a child is born of the Holy Spirit; his mother does not know a man, nor does anyone say that he is his father. And again he says: She has borne and has not borne. And again: Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb. And another prophet says, honouring the Father: We have not heard her voice, nor has a midwife come in. Another prophet says: He was not born from the womb of a woman, but came down from a heavenly place. And: A stone was cut out without hands and struck all the kingdoms. And: The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; and he calls him a stone, chosen and precious. And again the prophet says of him: And behold, I saw one like a son of man coming on a cloud. What more? Men of Rome, if you knew the prophetic Scriptures, I would explain everything to you; through them it was necessary that all this be fulfilled in mystery, and the kingdom of God. But these things will be opened to you later. Now to you, Simon: do one of the things by which you used to deceive them, and I will undo it through my Lord Jesus Christ.' Simon took courage and said: 'If the prefect permits, I will show you no small contest.'

The prefect wished to show patience to both, so as not to seem to act unjustly. The prefect brought forward one of his own servants and said to Simon: 'Take this one and put him to death.' To Peter he said: 'And you raise him up.' And the prefect said to the people: 'It is now for you to judge which of them is accepted by God, the one who kills or the one who makes alive.' At once Simon spoke into the boy's ear and, without a sound, made him fall silent and die. When the people began to murmur, one of the widows who found refreshment at the house of Marcellus cried out from behind the crowd: 'Peter, servant of God, my son is dead, the only one I had.' The people made room for her and brought her to Peter. She threw herself at his feet and said: 'I had an only son; he earned my food by the work of his shoulders; he lifted me up, he carried me. Now that he is dead, who will give me a hand?' Peter said to her: 'Go, with these men as witnesses, and bring your son, so that they may see and be able to believe that he rose by the power of God.' But she, on seeing this, fell down. Peter said to the young men: 'Young men are needed here, especially those who wish to believe.' At once thirty young men rose, ready to carry her or to bring her dead son. The widow had scarcely come to herself when the young men lifted her up. And she cried out, tearing her hair and her face: 'See, my son, the servant of Christ has sent to you.' The young men who came examined the boy's nostrils to see whether he was really dead; and seeing that he was dead, they comforted his mother, saying: 'If you truly believe in the God of Peter, we will lift him and carry him to Peter, so that he may raise him and give him back to you.'

While the young men were saying this, the prefect in the forum looked at Peter and said: 'What do you say, Peter? See, the boy lies dead, whom the emperor too holds dear, and I did not spare him. I had many other young men; but I trusted in you and in your Lord whom you preach, if you are truly sure and true; that is why I wanted this one to die.' Peter said: 'God is not tempted nor weighed; but, loved and worshipped from the heart, he will hear those who are worthy. But since my God and Lord Jesus Christ is now being tempted among you, he who does so many signs and wonders through me for the conversion of sinners: now, Lord, in the sight of all, by my voice raise up by your power the one whom Simon killed by his touch.' And Peter said to the boy's master: 'Go, take his right hand, and you will have him alive and walking with you.' And Agrippa the prefect ran to the boy, and taking his hand raised him up. When all the crowds saw it, they cried out: 'One God, one God of Peter!'