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. XXX.

The pastors of the Churches for their negligence in executing of their office were punished from aboue. The martyrdome of Peleus, Nilus, Patermythius, the punishment of Siluanus and Iohn. The beheading of Nyne and thirty Martyrs in one day.

WHat in the meane tyme was seene to fall out against the Presidents and pastors of chur∣ches: and after what sort the iust iudgment of God, reuenger of sinne (in steede of shepe∣herds ouer sheepe, and the reasonable flocke of Christ the which they shoulde haue wise∣ly and aduisedly gouerned) made them not onely keepers of Camels, a kinde of beast ••oid of reason, by nature crooked, and ill shapen: but also the Emperours horsekeepers, and this he did for a pu∣nishment due vnto their deserts: moreouer what contumelies, what reproches, what diuersity of tor∣ments they suffred of the Emperours, Presidents, and Magistrats at sundry tymes for the holy or∣naments and treasure of the Churche: what pride and ambicion raygned in many of them: howe rashly and vnlawfully they handled diuerse of the brethren: what schismes were raysed among the confessors them selues: what mischieues certayne sedicious persons of late stirred vp agaynst the members of the Church which were remnants, whilest that dayly with might and mayne (as com∣monly we say) they endeuored to excogitate new deuises one after an other: howe that vnmercifully they destroyed and brought all to nought with the lamentable estate of bitter persecution, and to be short, heaped mischiefe vpon mischiefe: all these aforesayd I minde to passe ouer with silence, suppo∣sing* 1.1 it not to be our part (as I haue sayde in the beginning of this booke) eyther to rehearse or re∣corde them, in as much as I am wholy bent and carefully minded to ouerslipp and conceale the me∣moriall of them. yet if there be any laudable thinges, any thing that may seeme to set forth the word of God, any worthy act, or famous doings florishing in the Churche, I take it to be my speciall and bounden dutie to discourse of these, to write these, often to inculcate these in the pacient eares of the faythfull Christians, and to shutt vp this booke with the noble acts of the renowmed Martyrs, and with the peace whiche afterwardes appeared and shined vnto vs from aboue. When the seuenth yeare of the persecution raysed agaynst vs was nowe almost at an ende, and our affayres beganne by a litle and as it were by stelth to growe vnto some quiet staye, ease, and securitye, and nowe leaned vnto the eyght yeare, in the whiche no▪ small multitude of confessors assembled them sel∣ues together at the myne pitts in Palaestina, who freely occupied them selues in the rites and ceremonyes of Christian religion, so that they transformed their houses into Churches: the Pre∣sident of the prouince, being a cruell and a wicked man (as his mischieuous practises agaynst the Martyrs of Christ doe proue him for no other) made a voyage thyther in all the haste, and hearing of their doinges, their trade of life and conuersation, made the Emperour by his letters priuey thereunto, paynting forth in the same, such thinges as he thought woulde disgrace, discredit and defame the good name of those blessed confessors. Whereupon the maister of the myne pitts and mettalls came thyther, and by vertue of the Emperours commaundement seuereth asunder the multitude of confessors, so that thenceforth, some should continew at Cyprus, some other at Li∣banus, and others also in other places of Palaestina, and commaunded that all shoulde be weryed and vexed with sundry toyles and labour▪ afterwards he picked out foure of the chiefe of them, and sent them vnto the iudge, of the which, two of them, were called Peleus and Nilus, Bishops of Ae∣gypt.* 1.2 the thirde was a minister, the fourth annexed vnto these was Patermythius, a man wonderful∣ly beloued for his singuler zeale towardes all men in Gods behalfe. all whiche the Iudge requested to renounce Christ and his religion, who when they obeyed not, and seeing him selfe frustrated of his purpose, gaue sentence they shoulde be tyed to a stake and burned to ashes. others some againe of the confessors being not fitt, for that labour and seruice, by reason eyther of their heauye olde age, or vnprofitable members, or other infirmities of the bodye, were released and charged to dwell in a seuerall and solitary place. of whiche number Siluanus Bishop of Gaza was the chiefe,* 1.3 who liuely expressed vnto all the worlde, a godly shewe of vertue, and a notable paterne of Chri∣stianitie. this man from the firste daye of the persecution, and in maner vnto the laste, duringe all that space, was famous for the sundry and manifolde conflictes he suffered after infinite examina∣tions, and reserued vnto that very moment, to the ende he being the last, might seale vp with his bloode all the conflictes of the Martyrs slayne in Palaestina. there were released, and par∣takers with him of the same affliction, many Aegyptians, one was Iohn: who also in fame

& renowne excelled all the mē of our time. Who although he was blind before, yet the tormētors* 1.4 were so truel, so fierce, & so rigorous, y^• for his great constācy in professing y^• name of Christ, they maymed with a burning sawe his left legge (as the other confessors were vsed before) and seared the aple of the eye, bereued already of the sight, with an hott scaldinge iron. Let no man maruell at all, at his good conuersation and godly life, though he were blinde, in so much that his maners deserued not such admiration as his gift of memorie, where he had printed whole bookes of holy scripture, not in tables made of stone (as the holy Apostle sayth) neyther in the ••ydes of beástes, parchement, or paper, which moth corrupteth & the time weareth awaye: but in the fleshly tables of the hart, that is, in the prudent memory and sincere vnderstanding of the minde: so that when it seemed good vnto him he was able out of the closett of his minde, as if it were out of a certaine treasury of good learning, to alleadge & repeat y^• Law & the Prophets, sometimes the histories, at other times the Euangelists and workes of the Apostles. I confesse truely that when first I sawe the man stande in the middest of the congregation and assembly: and hearde him recite certaine places of holy Scripture I wondred at him. For as longe as I hearde his voice sounde in mine eares, so long thought I (as the maner is at solemne meetinges) that one read out of a booke: but when that I came neerer vnto him, and sawe the trueth as it was all other stand in compasse with whole, open, and sounde eyes, and him vsinge none other but onely the eye and sight of the minde, and in very deed vtteringe many thinges much like vnto a Prophete, and excelling in ma∣ny thinges many of them which enioyed their senses sounde and perfect, I coulde not chuse but magnifie God therefore, and maruell greatly thereat. ••e thought I sawe liuely tokens, and e∣uident argumentes, that he was a man in deed, not after the outward appearance, or fleshly eye of man, but accordinge vnto the inner sense, and secret vnderstandinge of the minde▪ the which ex∣pressed in this man, though his body were mayned, and out of fashiō, greater power of his inward giftes. God himselfe reachinge vnto these men (mentioned before and continewinge in seuerall places and executinge their wonted trade of life in prayer and fasting with the rest of their godly exercises) the right hand of his mercy and succor; graunted them through martyrdom to attaine vnto an happy and a blessed ende. But the deuell, enemy and sworne aduersary of mankinde colde no longer away with them, for that they were armed and fenced against him with prayers conti∣newally poured vnto God, but went about (as he imagined) to vexe them and to cut them of, from the face of the earth. For God had graunted him that might and power, that neither he in no wise colde be kept backe from his wilfull malice and wickednes: neither these men for their manifolde & sundry cōflicts, should be depriued of their reward & glory. For which cause by the decree of the most wicked emperour Maximinus, there were in one day nine & thirty martyrs beheaded. These* 1.5 were the martyrdoms suffred in Palaestina, during the whole tearme of eight years, and such was the persecution raysed against vs, which first beganne with the ruine and ouerthrowe of the chur∣ches, which also encreased dayly more and more by reason that the emperours at sundry times re¦newed the same whereupon also it fell out that there were manifold and sundry conflicts of valiāt champions wrastling for the trueth in Christ: and an innumerable multitude of martyrs in euery prouince, reaching from Libya, throughout all Aegypt, Syria, & the Eastern countreys, and euery where, euen vnto the cōfines of Illyricum: And the coasts adioyning vnto the aforesayd countreys: as all Italy, Sicilia, Fraunce, and the VVeasterne coūtreis and such as reach vnto Spayne, Mauri∣tania & Aphrike: where they were not persecuted fully two years, but quickely through the mer∣cy and goodnes of God obtained peace and tranquillitie, because that the deuine prouidence of al∣mighty God, for there faith and innocencyes sake, pitied their lamentable estate. For that which from the beginning was not remembred to happen in the Romaine empire, came now in the end to passe amongest vs beyonde all hope & expectation. The empire was deuided into two partes because of the persecutiō raised against vs. And though in some part of the world the brethren en∣ioyed peace, yet in other regions and countreis they suffred infinite conflicts and torments. But when that at length the grace of God shewed vnto vs his louing, his mercifull, his fauorable coū∣tenance, and watchefull care ouer vs, then I say then, the gouernours and magistrates euen they which afore time raysed persecution agaynst vs, remembred themselues somwhat better, altered their mind & song a recantation: quenching the firie flame of persecution flashing among vs with more circumspect decrees & milder constitutions in y^• christians behalfe. Nowe let vs record vnto the posterity the recantation of Maximinus the tyrant.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cap. 2.
• * 1.2

  Pele{us} burned Nil{us} burned. A minister burned. Patermythi∣us burned.
• * 1.3

  Siluanus.
• * 1.4

  Iohn a blind man of a sin∣guler memo∣ry and rare gifts.
• * 1.5

  39 Martyrs beheaded.