The auncient ecclesiasticall histories of the first six hundred yeares after Christ, wrytten in the Greeke tongue by three learned historiographers, Eusebius, Socrates, and Euagrius. Eusebius Pamphilus Bishop of Cæsarea in Palæstina vvrote 10 bookes. Socrates Scholasticus of Constantinople vvrote 7 bookes. Euagrius Scholasticus of Antioch vvrote 6 bookes. VVhereunto is annexed Dorotheus Bishop of Tyrus, of the liues of the prophetes, apostles and 70 disciples. All which authors are faithfully translated out of the Greeke tongue by Meredith Hanmer, Maister of Arte and student in diuinitie. Last of all herein is contayned a profitable chronographie collected by the sayd translator, the title whereof is to be seene in the ende of this volume, with a copious index of the principall matters throughout all the histories

CAP. XXI.* 1.1

Of the plague at Alexandria and the humanitie which the Christians shewed vnto the heathen.

WHen the noysome infection had ouertaken these ciuill warres, and the feast of Easter now drewe nigh, he wrote letters vnto the brethren & mentioned those lamentable af∣flictions in these words: Other men thinke these times not fitt for any feaste, no more* 1.2 they are not in deede, & yet not these onely but others also vvhatsoeuer, not onely of the rest but also if any seeme most pleasaunt vnto them. now all is replenished with lamentations, euery mā doth nothing but mourne, howling soundes throughout the citie, by reason of the multitude of

dead carkasses and the daily dying▪ as it is written of the first begotten of the Aegyptians, so now a great clamor is hearde. there is no house where a deade carkase is not founde, and truely not without cause. For the calamities which happened before were grieuous & intolerable, & firste* 1.3 prouoked vs▪ and we alone though banished from the company of all men, & being deliuered ••••e•• ••o death, yet neuerthelesse at that time celebrated the feaste▪ for seuerall places of seuerall afflictions, seemed vnto vs solempne and commendable, the fielde, the wildernes, the shippe, the Inne, the prison▪ but the most ioyfull feaste the blessed martyrs did celebrate, triumphing in heauen▪ afterwards there ensued warres, & famine, which together with the heathen we endu∣red, suffring alone their injuries towards vs, & partakers with them accordingly of their priuate* 1.4 malice & miseries which they suffred. Agayne we were cherished with the peace which Christ sent for our sakes. but after that they & we had breathed a litle, this pestilēt calamity fell, a thing more terrible vnto them then any terror, & more lamentable then any calamity, & as a certaine Historiographer of their owne reported: which alone exceeded the hope & expectation of all. yet of vs not so counted, but an exercise and triall, inferior to none of the rest, yet for all that, it spared vs not, but it lighted farre heauier in the necke of the heathens. Agayne after a fewe lines* 1.5 he writeth: many of our brethren by reason of their great loue and brotherly charitie, spared not them selues, cleaued one to another, visited the sicke without warines or heede taking, attended vpon them diligently, cured them in Christ which cost them their liues, and being full of other mens maladies, tooke the infection of their neighboures, translated of their owne accorde the sorowes of others vpon them selues, cured and confirmed other sicke persons, & died most wil∣lingly them selues, fulfilling in deede the common saying: that onely friendship is alwayes to be retayned, & departing this life they seemed the ofscouring of others▪ In this sorte the best of our brethren departed this life, whereof some▪ were ministers, some Deacons, in great reuerence among the common people, so that this kinde of death for the great piety and strength of faith, may seeme to differe nothing from martyrdome▪ for they tooke the deade bodies of the Sain∣ctes, whose breasts & handes & faces lay vpward•• & closed their eyes, sh••••t their mouthes, and ioyntly with one accorde being like affectioned, embraced them, washed them, and prepared their funerals, in a litle while after they enioyed the like them selues. for that the liuing continu∣ally traced the steppes of the deade, but among the heathen all fell out of the contrary, for scarce had the pestilence taken place among them, but they contraried them selues, & fledde from the most friendly & dearest friendes, they threwe them halfe deade into the strectes, the deade they* 1.6 left vnburied to be deuoured of dogges, to the ende they might auoyde the partaking & fellow∣ship of death, which for all, that they deuised, they coulde not escape. after this epistle when the citie enioyed peace, he wrote vnto the brethren in Aegypt toutching Holydayes. and afterwards o∣ther epistles agayne. there is extant an epistle of his of the Sabaoth, an other of exercise. agayne writing vnto Hermammon and the brethren in Aegypt, he maketh mention at large of the malice of Decius and his successors, & of the peace graunted vnder Galienus. there is no cause to the con∣trary, but that the Reader may be made partaker thereof.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cap. 22. in the Greeke.
• * 1.2

  Dionysius b. of Alexan∣dria epist. vn∣to the bre∣thren in Ae¦gypt.
• * 1.3

  Exod. 12.
• * 1.4

  Plague. Warres. Famine.
• * 1.5

  Misery ma∣keth the wic∣ked to des∣payre, but tryeth the godly as the gold in the fornace. The Christi∣ans in the plague time loued not on¦ly their bre∣thren, but al∣so their ene∣mies.
• * 1.6

  The heathe∣nish inhuma∣nitie.