Theophany 5.25–5.38

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

But let it be granted, that they honoured Him while He was yet with them, and had His: conversation among them, and led them astray by deception, as it has been affirmed ; How’ was it then, that even after His death, and then much more strenuously than before, they went on calling Him God? Because, while He was yet among men, it is said that they even forsook and denied Him, at the time when His deceivers were ready (to take Him); but, after His departure from among men, they joyfully chose death, rather than relinquish the good testimony they had given respecting Him! Those (Disciples) therefore, who formerly knew no good thing of their Master, neither the life, deed, doctrine, nor work, that was worthy of praise; and, who had received no advantage from Him, except indeed vice, and the leading astray of men; How was it, that they so easily gave themselves up to death, not, because they were in any respect guilty, but because they had attested things so glorious and praise-worthy of Him; when behold, it was in the power of every one of them to live in safety, and to lead a life of comfort at home with his friends?? But, How could men, who were themselves deceived and deceiving, submit willingly to death for another, who, as they knew with certainty, (and) better than all others, had not been in any one thing the cause of good to them, but—as men say,—the Teacher of every evil? A man endued with mind and virtue, may indeed for some noble conquest, or for some excellent person, occasionally with propriety, and even with glory, submit to death. But he, who is so base in character as to have been in pursuit only of the things of a temporal life, and the enjoyment of lusts, has never chosen death rather than life; nor has suffered severe punishment for the sake of his friends, much less for one convicted of vice. How then, could the Disciples of the (Person) mentioned,—who could not have been ignorant that He was a deceiver and magician, if He really had been such, and even retaining in should go forth, even as far as the extremities of the creation, and arrive at the country of the Hindoos; others pass over to the Islands beyond the ocean, and which are called Britain’ ;—could not, I think, have been the things of men; How much less, of those who were deficient and illiterate? How much still less, of deceivers and magicians ?

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

How’ then could those, whose experience of their Master was, that He was vicious and a perverter,— and who had with their own eyes witnessed His departure by death,—have used such terms with each other, for this (viz.), that they should unanimously lie respecting Him For they all attested as with one mouth, the cleansing of lepers, the casting out of Demons, the raising of the dead, (the restoring of) sight to the blind, and many other instances of cure, which were effected by Him :—

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

And? after these things, His resurrection after the death which they had previously witnessed? For, to such things, not happening, nor even being heard of in their times, How could they, with one mouth, have given testimony, and convinced (themselves) that they came to pass? and have continued to place faith in (this) their testimony, even to death? Was it, either that they were brought together, and that they swore to do this? and that they entered into compact with one another, to fabricate, and falsely to put forth, things which never came to pass? And shall we say, that they used terms to this effect as the pretence for such compact? or, such as these? Men, our friends!—Him who was, (as it were) yesterday or the day before, a Deceiver and Teacher of error,—who suffered extreme punishment before the eyes of us all,—we know better and more accurately than any other, how far He excelled, because we were the Disciples of His secret mysteries. He appeared as pure to the many, and thought that He possessed something better than the many. But He possessed nothing great, nor yet any thing worthy of (that) His resurrection; unless one might say, that He was cunning and impure in character, and that those were perversions which He taught us, and the false boastings which was favourable to such things ;—come, let us give the right hand to one another, and let us all at once enter into compact among ourselves, that we will unanimously put forth, among all mankind, falsehood respecting Him, and will say, that we saw “Him give sight to the blind,” a thing which no one (of us) ever heard : and that “ He cleansed the lepers,” and “Raised the dead.” And we will in a body affirm, that things were done by Him which we (indeed) never saw; and were said (by Him) which we likewise never heard. Those things too which were done, as it were in reality, we will contend for (as such). And, if this His last end has been published, and He so openly received His death that no one can conceal it, we will nevertheless, impudently make this of no effect ; attesting pertinaciously that He rose from the dead ; was also with all of us, and accompanied us both in conversation and in the usual meals. Let this then, be pertinaciously and shamelessly retained in all these things, and so remain with us, that we persist in it even to death !—For, Why might we (not) expose ourselves to death for nothing’? And, Why should it molest us, willingly to receive stripes and torments in our persons, for nothing that is necessary? And, if it be required that we should suffer imprisonment, injury, and affliction, for nothing that is true; should submit instantaneously to this; should all of us together lie by consent, and put forth falsehood for no profit whatever, either to ourselves or to those who may be deceived by us; or, to Him, of whom these lies have been told by us; affirming that He was God: and that we should extend this falsehood, not only to our own people, but should also go out among all mankind, and fill the whole creation with the - , ;— things we have (thus) laid down respecting Him; and should thence proceed forthwith, to make Jaws for all nations, subversive of the opinions respecting the Gods of their forefathers; those (I say), which had from ancient times been established among them: and, that we should first of all lay our commands upon the Romans, not to worship those whom thieir forefathers supposed to be Gods ; that we should then also pass off to the Greeks, and preach that which is also adverse to their wise men: that we should not neglect the Egyptians, but contend also with their Deities, but should not draw out against them the things of Moses, which were in former times adverse to them, but place against them the Death of our Teacher as something terrific: and should destroy that fame respecting the Gods, which formerly went out from among them to all mankind, not by mere words, and stories, but by the power of our Lord, of Him who was crucified; and, that we should again proceed even to the extremities of the land of the Barbarians, and subvert the things (prevailing) with all men: and for this purpose not one of us should be wanting: For the reward’ pertaining to the things which we (so) attempted, would not be small, since the triumphs to which we should present ourselves, would not be simple ones ; but, as it is likely, (would be) punishments awarded by the laws of every place; open bonds, torments, imprisonments, fire, sword, (death by) the cross and (by) wild beasts: but, because we would acquire a likeness to our Teacher, we would willingly rather, and with joyfulness one and all, continue (partaking) in these calamities! For, What can there be better than this, that we should be found enemies to both God and man, for no one thing profitable? And also, that we should obtain nothing of ease? neither should see our friends, nor in any way increase our wealth? nor even possess the hope of any good to perfection? but should, on the contrary, vainly and without any object err And again, Could they have put together such lying statements respecting Him, and then have readily submitted to death in support of them

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

But’ they went not forth by compact, to this (work of) preaching respecting Him; nor did they make (any compact) among themselves. Whence then, had they this perfect agreement of testimony respecting His deeds Is it (not) likely, from seeing the things which were done by Him ?—For one of (these) two things must be the fact : (viz.) Either, they made compact among themselves, and lied; or else, they attested (what) they had seen with their eyes. If then, they really saw (the things), and preached (them) to all men; they were worthy of credit when they said of our Saviour, that He was God; and, that He permitted them to see with their eyes, (the putting forth of) Divine powers, Miracles, and wonderful Works. If however they really saw none of the things (so) recorded, but put together false statements; and accordingly made oath, and sworn covenant, on this, (viz.) that they would say nothing true, and (then) lied, and attested of their Lord what was false ; How could they in reality have submitted to death, for nothing true? and, that neither fire, nor sword, nor fierce beasts, nor the depth of the sea, could make them falsify the accounts, which they had (thus) falsely put forth respecting their Lord ?

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

But, How can you say that they neither expected nor hoped, that they should suffer any calamity from this their testimony respecting Him; and, that they therefore went out, even boldly, to the (work of) preaching about Him? On the contrary, it was impossible they should not have hoped’, that they should suffer every sort of calamity: superinducing as they did the destruction of the Gods, at once of the Romans, the Greeks, and the Barbarians. Now the Book itself, which (speaks) of them, shews plainly, that after the death of their Lord certain men, enemies of the word and who lay in wait for it, laid hands on them; delivering them first to imprisonment, and then strictly rest forsook His (Christ’s) doctrine; and (indeed) all of them prayed, that such things might befall them, in order that they might, for the sake of the worship of God, be like to those already mentioned. And, on this account again, they openly gave their testimony of our Saviour, and of His wonderful works, the more abundantly.

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

And observe, If the things which they preached respecting Him were lies, and they had fabricated them by compact ; we ought to wonder how this whole company could have observed this agreement, in what they had fabricated, even to death. And no one of them ever betrayed any fear, on account of the things that had happened to those who had previously been slain; or left their society; or preached that which opposed what his companion had ; or brought to light the things they had (so) agreed upon. But even he, who,—filled with the love of money,—dared to deliver Him up to (His) enemies, did forthwith, and with his own hands, inflict punishment on himself! !

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

Now, Is not this replete with wonder, that men, who were deceivers and unlettered, knowing neither how to speak, or understand, any language beyond that of their fathers, should not only undertake to go forth and to pass into all nations, but should also (so) go forth and effect (their) purpose ? And, let this also be considered, that not even one of them ever uttered a word adverse to the marvellous deeds of their Lord! If then, the agreement of witnesses is sufficient to settle any of those things, about which there is doubt, and which is commonly brought into dispute in the courts of law;—and the law of God has declared that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every matter shall be established,’—Shall not the truth also be established by these, who were the chosen twelve, and and act in direct opposition to the things, which he himself shewed the Law laid down; and put forth (merely) the form of an approach to purity of life! But there ‘is nothing so shameless as this! In like manner also, might any one arraign the positions’ of the Philosophers among the Greeks, whose lives were those of patience, as were all their words, and might say, that they were in their conduct opposed to what they wrote; and so shewed themselves to have made a mere (hypocritical) approach to the life, which belongs to philosophy. And thus, we affirm, might any one simply arraign all the writings of the ancients, and shew cause against the truth which they contain ; and might Himself receive that, which is diametrically opposed to these! But, as it cannot be difficult to any one possessed of common sense, to pronounce of this that it would be madness; so also, of the precepts of our Saviour and of His Disciples, should any one pervert the truth which is (found) in these, and then attempt to fix upon Him the things diametrically opposed to His teaching.— But, let that be granted which the statement itself requires. How much more will it then appear, that the assertion of the opponent cannot stand, as (being grounded) in a connivance (concession) which it is improper to (allow)

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

These things being then refuted, let us also consider the testimony of the Scriptures of the Divinity, and the spotless and truth-loving manner of the Disciples, of our Saviour. Any one therefore, who chooses (to exercise) a sound mind, may hence see, that they were worthy of all dignity, since they confessed that they were mean and unlettered in their discourse, and betook themselves to a love for the doctrine of the worship of God, and of philosophy. They also desired the life, capable of submitting to sufferings, and afflicted by fasting, (by) abstinence from wine and from flesh, and (by) many other humiliating things of the body; by prayer and supplication to God, and more particularly by temperance, and the chief holiness of body rejoice ',” How plainly did the firmness and deep (sincerity) of their character not appear, since they fled not from these (severe) exercises of the soul, nor betook themselves to the things of the desires? nor did their Lord moreover allure them by way of deception, or make them His by promising them the things which supply ease and comfort ; but, truly and freely foretold to them those which should happen to them; and enabled them to choose for themselves the sort of conduct, which He had laid down for them. Of this sort were the things, which He foretold and attested, respecting the persecutions that were to happen to them, because of His name, (viz.) ““ that they should come before governours, and even kings’ ;” and, that they should suffer every sort of punishment and vengeance, not on account of any thing hateful, nor for any other just cause ; but for this only, (viz.), for their testimony respecting Him; which (indeed), we have seen with our own eyes, has happened even to this time? His prediction moreover, is worthy of our admiration ; for the testimony (given) respecting the name of our Saviour, and the confessing of Him, had usually the effect of inflaming the anger of the Rulers. And, even if nothing hateful had been perpetrated by any one confessing Christ, they punished and injuriously treated him, on account of His name, as evil, and more evil than any other thing: but, if any one did not confess His name, but denied that he was a Disciple of Christ, he was immediately set at liberty, even if he were implicated in many things which were abominable! But, What necessity can there be, that I should collect and endeavour to record, the many things relating to the lives of the Disciples of our Saviour, when the things already advanced, will be sufficient proof of (all) that is before us? To these (however) we will again add the things (following), here in (their) place; and with these we will conclude our discussion.

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

As to Matthew the Apostle his former manner of life was not that which was excellent; on the contrary, he was one of those whose business was tax-gathering and fraud. This however, not one of the rest of the Apostles has laid open to us, neither John the Apostle who was with him, nor Luke, nor Mark, the writers of the rest of the Gospels: but Matthew, recording his own manner of life, has become his own accuser! Hear then, how openly he has memorialized his own name against himself in his own writing, and has thus spoken :—

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

“ And, when Jesus passed from thence, He saw a man sitting among the Tax-gatherers, whose name was Matthew; and He said to him, Follow me: and he arose (and) followed Him. And it came to pass that when He was sitting in the house, Behold many Tax-gatherers and Sinners were sitting with Jesus, and with His Disciples.” And again, after these things, when passing away, and reciting the number of the rest of the Disciples, He added respecting Himself the name of Tax-gatherer, and spoke thus: “ The names of the twelve Apostles are these : The first, Simon who is called Cephas, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, and Thomas and Matthew the Tax-gatherer.” Thus therefore Matthew evinces, through the greatness of (his) humility, his truth-loving character, ealls himself a Tax-gatherer; conceals not his former mode of life, and counts himself among sinners! He also numbers himself second to the Apostle who was with him; for he associated (himself) with Thomas, as (he did) Simon with Andrew, James with John, and Philip with Bartholomew ; placing Thomas first, and honouring him as the more excellent Apostle with himself; while the rest of the Evangelists have done the reverse of this‘. Hear therefore how Luke bears record of Matthew, not giving him the appellation of Tax-gatherer, nor placing him after Thomas ; but, because he considered him the more worthy, numbering him first, and placing Thomas after him, just as Mark has done: His words then, are these: ‘ And’, when it was day, He called His Disciples, and chose twelve out of them, those whom He named Apostles: Simon, whom He named Cephas; and he betook himself to the recording of these things, (viz.) when Jesus asked what men said of Him, and the Disciples themselves what they thought of Him; Simon answered and said to Him, “ J’hou! art the Christ;’—made the statement that Jesus did not even answer him, or say any thing to him; but that He forbade their telling this to any man. Now Mark committed these things to writing, although he was not present with Jesus when He said them; but he had heard them from Peter, when he taught them. Peter however, was unwilling to state the things which Jesus had said either to him, or about him, by way of testimony (favourable) to himself. But, the things which were said of him are these, (which) Matthew has put forth in these (words): “But you, Whom say ye that I am? Simon said to Him, Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him; Blessed art thow Simon son of Jonas, since flesh and blood have not revealed (this) to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gate-bars of hell shall not prevail against it. And I give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and every one whom thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and every one whom thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.” When (therefore), all these things were said to Simon Peter by Jesus, Mark did not record so much as one of them; because, as it is probable, neither did Peter mention them in his teaching’. These things therefore, Simon Peter well kept silent, and thence Mark omitted them. But the things of his denial (of Christ), he preached to all men; and (so) caused an accusation to be recorded against himself! That he wept bitterly too, over this, you will find Mark to have given the record in these (words): “And, when Peter was in the court, one of the maid-servants of the High Priest came to him; and, when she saw that he was warming (himself), she looked upon him and said to him, Thou also wast with Jesus the Nazarene. But he denied and said, I know (him) not, nor do I perceive what thou sayest: and he went out into the outer court; and the cock crew. And again a maid saw him, and began to say to those who were standing (by) ; ? . This (man) also is (one) of them. And he again denied. And again a little after, those who were standing (by) said to Simon, Truly thou art (one) of them; for thou art also a Galilean. But he began to curse and to say, I know not this man of whom ye speak. And immediately, the cock crew the second time.” 'These things Mark wrote; and these, Simon Peter witnessed against himself. For all these things of Mark are, they say, the memorials of the declarations of Peter himself!.