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endured nobly, and gave up the spirit. Alexander, a physician from Phrygia, who was present at the tribunal when the martyrs were being examined, was conspicuous among the bystanders, urging them in the spirit to the confession, but when the crowd grew indignant at this, he was asked by the governor who he was and whence he came, and he confessed himself a Christian; and thus having been condemned to fight with the beasts, he was brought in the next day with a certain Attalus, a Pergamene by birth, who also, having passed through all the instruments devised for punishment, themselves also made an end; and very many others at that time were perfected by fire and beasts, and by various punishments, and also by being suffocated in the prisons, whose bones the sons of perdition collected and gave to the fire, and winnowed their ashes into the river Rhone. Among these was Alcibiades, one of the divine confessors, of exceeding self-control before, living so as to partake of nothing else but only bread and water, and he attempted to live thus also in the prison; but it was revealed to Attalus, about whom we spoke before, that Alcibiades was not doing well in not using the creatures of God, and having learned this from him, he partook of all things without hesitation, giving thanks to God; let this suffice me here as a proof that one ought not altogether to reject certain foods, as being able to cause harm; since all the creatures of God are good, 20.1524 and very good, and they are not themselves accustomed to cause harm, but the immoderate use of them. These things are from the letter written in the name of the Church in Lugdunum.

II. In the reign of Severus, emperor of the Romans, when a persecution was stirred up in the region of

Egypt, Alexandria, very many, and of most diverse kinds, contended for the faith in Christ; among whom also was Leonides, the father of Origen, who was beheaded, leaving his son quite a youth; who indeed had such a love for martyrdom, that he went to meet the dangers, and leaped forward and eagerly rushed to the contest; but for a time, his mother having hidden all his clothes, he was forced to remain at home unable to go out, and he wrote to his imprisoned father an exhortatory letter concerning martyrdom, in which he says word for word thus: "Take heed lest on our account you change your mind." This man, having become great and famous in words and deeds at that time, presided over the catechetical school in Alexandria, and having incited many of the students to a zeal like his own, he made them martyrs of Christ; of whom the first was Plutarch, and as he was being led away to death, Origen himself, being present, was almost killed, as being the cause of his destruction. And later, under Decius, he stood before a tyrannical tribunal, as one who worshipped Christ; but he did not attain to martyrdom, because God, I think, judged him unworthy of this, on account of his perversity concerning dogmas and the right faith; for he deserted, and this after the trial of tortures. A second of Origen's students is shown to be a martyr, Serenus, having undergone the trial of the faith he had received by fire. Of the same school, a third becomes a martyr, Heraclides, and after him a fourth, Heron; the former being still a catechumen, the latter newly baptized, both beheaded. Yet in addition to these, another Serenus, after enduring much torture, is punished by beheading. And of the women, Herais, still a catechumen, undergoes the baptism by fire. After these, a seventh, Basilides, who led away the renowned Potamiaena. For having taken her, and leading her to her death, he was in every way restraining and pushing back those who troubled her and insulted her with licentious words; and she, accepting his sympathy for her, the man

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ὑπέμεινε γενναίως, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα παρέδωκε. Ἀλέξανδρος ἰατρὸς ἐκ Φρυγίας παρεστὼς τῷ βήματι, τότε τῶν μαρτύρων ἐξεταζομένων, δῆλος ἐπὶ τοῖς περιεστηκόσι, πνεύματι τούτους πρὸς τὴν ὁμολογίαν προτρέπων, ἀγανακτήσαντος δὲ ἐπὶ τούτου τοῦ ὄχλου, ἐρωτηθεὶς παρ' αὐτοῦ ἄρχοντος τίς εἴη καὶ πόθεν Χριστιανὸν ἑαυτὸν ὡμολόγησεν· καὶ οὕτω θηριομαχῆσαι κατακριθεὶς, εἰσήχθη τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν μετά τινος Ἀττάλου Περγαμηνοῦ τῷ γένει, οἳ καὶ διὰ πάντων διεξελθόντες τῶν πρὸς κόλασιν ἐξευρημένων ὀργάνων, τοὔσχατον ἐτίθησαν καὶ αὐτοί· καὶ ἄλλοι δὲ πλεῖστοι τότε πυρὶ καὶ θηρίοις, καὶ διαφόροις κολάσεσιν, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ταῖς εἱρκταῖς ἐναποπνιγόμενοι ἐτελειώθησαν, ὧν τὰ ὀστᾶ συλλέξαντες οἱ τῆς ἀπωλείας υἱοὶ πυρὶ παρέδοσαν, καὶ τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν τέφραν εἰς τὸν Ῥοδανὸν ποταμὸν διελίκμησαν. Ἐν τούτοις Ἀλκιβιάδης εἷς ὢν τῶν θείων ὁμολογητῶν, ἐγκρατείας πρότερον ὑπερβαλλούσης, συζῶν ὡς μηδενὸς ἄλλου μετέχειν, ἢ μόνον ἄρτου καὶ ὕδατος, ἐπειρᾶτο καὶ ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ οὕτω διάγειν· Ἀττάλῳ δὲ περὶ οὗ προείπομεν ἀποκαλυφθὲν ὅτι μὴ καλῶς ποιεῖ Ἀλκιβιάδης τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ μὴ χρώμενος κτίσμασιν, τοῦτο μαθὼν ἐξ ἐκείνου, μετελάμβανε πάντων ἀνυποστόλως, εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ· τοῦτό μοι ἀρκείτω ἐνταῦθα εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ μὴ δεῖν καθάπαξ ἀποτίθεσθαί τισι τῶν βρωμάτων, ὡς βλάβην ἐμποιεῖν δυναμένους· ἐπεὶ καλὰ πάντα τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κτίσματα, 20.1524 καὶ καλὰ λίαν, καὶ οὐκ αὐτὰ τὴν βλάβην εἴωθεν ἐμποιεῖν, ἀλλ' ἡ τούτων ἄμετρος χρῆσις. Ταῦτα ἐκ τῆς ἀποπροσώπου τῆς ἐν Λουγδούνῳ Ἐκκλησίας γραφείσης ἐπιστολῆς.

Βʹ. Ἐπὶ Σευήρου βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων, διωγμοῦ κινηθέντος ἐν τῇ κατ'

Αἴγυπτον Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ, πλεῖστοι, καὶ διαφορώτατοι τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν ὑπερήθλησαν πίστεως· ἐν οἷς καὶ Λεωνίδης ὁ τοῦ Ὠριγένους πατὴρ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτμηθεὶς νέον κομιδῆ καταλείπει τὸν παῖδα· ὃς δὴ τοσοῦτον περὶ τὸ μαρτύριον τὸν ἔρωτα ἔσχεν, ὡς ὁμόσε τοῖς κινδύνοις χωρεῖν, προπηδᾷν τε καὶ προθύμως ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα ὁρμᾷν· τέως γε μὴν τῆς μητρὸς τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ ἀποκρυψαμένης ἐσθῆτα, ἀπρόϊτος οἴκοι μένειν ἀναγκασθεὶς, ἐπέστειλε τῷ πατρὶ καθειργμένῳ ὄντι τὴν περὶ μαρτυρίου προτρεπτικὴν ἐπιστολὴν, ἐν ᾗ κατὰ λέξιν ὧδέ φησι· «Ἔπεχε μὴ δι' ἡμᾶς ἄλλο τι φρονήσῃς.» Οὗτος μέγας, καὶ περιβόητος λόγοις τε καὶ ἔργοις κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ γεγονὼς, τοῦ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ κατηχητικοῦ διδασκαλείου προέστη, καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν φοιτητῶν ἐπὶ τὸν ὅμοιον αὐτῷ παρορμήσας ζῆλον, μάρτυρας Χριστοῦ πεποίηκεν· ὧν πρῶτος Πλούταρχος ἦν οὗ τὴν ἐπὶ θάνατον ἀπαγομένου, μικροῦ δεῖν καὶ αὐτὸς Ὠριγένης ἀνῄρητο συμπαρὼν, ὡς ἀπωλείας αἴτιος αὐτῷ γεγονώς. Καὶ ὕστερον δὲ ἐπὶ ∆εκίου βήματι παρέστη τυραννικῷ, ὡς σεβόμενος τὸν Χριστόν· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπέτυχε τῆς μαρτυρίας, τοῦ Θεοῦ, οἶμαι, ταύτης αὐτὸν ἀνάξιον κρίναντος, διὰ τὸ περὶ τὰ δόγματα καὶ τὴν ὀρθὴν πίστιν διάστροφον· λειποτακτεῖ γὰρ, καὶ ταῦτα μετὰ πεῖραν βασάνων. ∆εύτερος τῶν Ὠριγένους φοιτητῶν μάρτυς ἀναδείκνυται Σέρηνος, διὰ πυρὸς τὴν δοκιμὴν ἧς παρείληφε πίστεως παρεσχημένος. Τῆς αὐτῆς διατριβῆς τρίτος καθίσταται μάρτυς Ἡρακλείδης, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τέταρτος Ἥρων· ὁ μὲν πρότερος ἔτι κατηχούμενος, ὁ δὲ νεοφώτιστος, τὰς κεφαλὰς ἀποτμηθέντες. Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις, ἕτερος τοῦ προτέρου Σέρηνος, μετὰ πλείστην βασάνων ὑπομονὴν, κεφαλικῶς τιμωρεῖται. Καὶ γυναικῶν δὲ Ἡραῒς ἔτι κατηχουμένη τὸ διὰ πυρὸς ὑφίσταται βάπτισμα. Ἐπὶ τούτοις ἕβδομος Βασιλείδης, ὁ τὴν περιβόητον Ποταμίαν ἀναπαγαγών. Παραλαβὼν γὰρ αὐτὴν, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ ἀπάγων, τοὺς ἐνοχλοῦντας αὐτῇ, καὶ ἀκολάστοις ῥήμασιν ἐνυβρίζοντας ἀναστέλλων ἦν παντὶ τρόπῳ, καὶ διωθούμενος· ἡ δὲ τῆς περὶ αὐτὴν συμπαθείας ἀποδεξαμένη, τὸν ἄνδρα