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to themselves, "Who will roll away the stone for us?" and they come, and find it rolled away, and entering, they saw a young man; where again in Luke there are men but not angels, just as now he is not named an angel, but a young man; so that this narrative is also distinct, and the one who appeared was different, and those who came were different women, and likewise the time was after sunrise; which if it had also been observed by Luke, one might reasonably have expected the two men with him, and the same words. But if Luke anticipated the time before sunrise, he reasonably records the two men who then appeared, but not the young man.
7. And since there are four evangelists, equal in number to these also are the visions by
them recorded; the times are four, and those who appeared at 22.996 each time are distinct; and likewise the women who saw them are different; and the words of those who appeared to them are various. For the first time was that in Matthew, called "late on the Sabbath"; and the fourth and last was that recorded in Mark, "when the sun had risen"; and in between are those in John and in Luke; for which reason also those who appeared at each time are distinct. For late on the Sabbath, one angel from the tomb; after whom the Savior himself; then early, while it was still dark, two angels inside the tomb; after whom again the same Savior. At early dawn, according to Luke, another two men so-named, were seen not inside the tomb. Then, after all of them, the young man, who was seen by those who came when the sun had risen. If, then, they had all spoken of one time and recorded the same place, and did not declare the same appearances, one might reasonably have found fault. But since they distinguished the times, and assigned a distinct place for each time, they accordingly also recorded different visions. For if they had all mentioned one appearance, and said that one angel had appeared, or in agreement had said two angels, or again two men or one young man; and then they varied the times, or did not indicate the same places, in this case too there would have been grounds for criticism. But as it is, the account remains precise and irreproachable, introducing the visions as alternating between different times and places, and their observers again as different, the first two being different from the second, and the third likewise different from the fourth. Immediately, then, after the conversation of the young man with the last women, whose names are not mentioned, Mark adds: "And when they heard it, they fled, and said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid;" these women, then, were such, both fearful and very timid, that they were not even persuaded by the young man who said to them: "Go and tell his disciples and Peter, 'Behold, he is going before you to Galilee';" for having heard these words, they did the opposite; but the women in Luke, returning from the tomb, announced all these things to the eleven. And likewise the woman in John comes to the disciples announcing what she had seen. Only the women in Mark, coming last of all, and truly being late, so that they arrived after sunrise, were not deemed worthy to see the Savior, nor the flashing angel, nor the two inside the tomb, nor the two men in Luke; but they saw a mere young man clothed in a white robe, seeing the vision in proportion to the smallness of their understanding; and seeing him in white garments for the sake of the feast, nevertheless they were amazed; for Mark testified this of them; although in the case of the former women, amazement is nowhere mentioned. But it is likely that the Magdalene, being at leisure and persevering, not only saw the first sights of those things that appeared to her alone, but also the young man in Mark who was seen by the other women. And you might say the same thing 22.997 also concerning the history according to Luke, who after
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πρὸς ἑαυτὰς, «Τίς ἀποκυλίσει ἡμῖν τὸν λίθον;» καὶ ἔρχονται, καὶ εὑρίσκουσιν ἀποκεκυλισμένον, καὶ εἰσελθοῦσαι εἶδον νεανίσκον· ἔνθα πάλιν ἐπὶ τοῦ Λουκᾶ ἄνδρες ἀλλ' οὐκ ἄγγελοι, οὕτω ὡς καὶ νῦν οὐκ ἄγγελος ὠνόμασται, ἀλλὰ νεανίσκος· ὥστε καὶ ταύτην ἀφωρισμένην εἶναι τὴν διήγησιν, καὶ τὸν ὀφθέντα ἕτερον, καὶ τὰς ἀφικομένας ἄλλας, καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ὁμοίως τὸν μετὰ ἡλίου ἀνατολάς· ὃς εἰ μὲν καὶ παρὰ τῷ Λουκᾷ τερήτητο, εὐλόγως ἄν τις τοὺς παρ' αὐτῷ δύο ἄνδρας ἀπῄτει, καὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς λόγους. Εἰ δ' ὁ Λουκᾶς τὸν πρὸ ἡλίου ἀνατολῆς καιρὸν προὔλαβεν, εἰκότως καὶ τοὺς τότε ὀφθέντας δύο ἄνδρας, ἀλλ' οὐ τὸν νεανίσκον ἱστορεῖ.
Ζʹ. Τεττάρων δὲ ὄντων τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν, ἰσάριθμοι τούτων καὶ αἱ πρὸς
αὐτῶν ἀναγραφεῖσαι φαίνονται ὀπτασίαι· οἵ τε καιροὶ τέσσαρες, καὶ οἱ καθ' 22.996 ἕκαστον καιρὸν ὀφθέντες, ἰδιάζοντες· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ αἱ θεώμεναι, διάφοροι· καὶ οἱ τῶν ὀφθέντων αὐτοῖς λόγοι, διαλλάττοντες. Πρῶτος μὲν γὰρ ἦν καιρὸς ὁ παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ ὀψὲ Σαββάτων λεγόμενος· τέταρτος δὲ καὶ τελευταῖος ὁ παρὰ τῷ Μάρκῳ ἡλίου ἀνατείλαντος ἱστορηθείς· μέσοι δὲ ὅ τε παρὰ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ καὶ ὁ παρὰ τῷ Λουκᾷ· διὸ καὶ οἱ ὀφθέντες κατὰ καιρὸν ἰδιάζοντες. Ὀψὲ μὲν γὰρ Σαββάτων ἄγγελος εἷς ἐκ τοῦ μνήματος· μεθ' ὃν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτήρ· πρωῒ δὲ ἔτι σκοτίας οὔσης, εἴσω τοῦ μνήματος ἄγγελοι δύο· μεθ' οὓς πάλιν ὁ αὐτὸς Σωτήρ. Ὄρθρου δὲ βαθέος ἕτεροι κατὰ τὸν Λουκᾶν δύο ἄνδρες ὠνομασμένοι οὐκ εἴσω τοῦ μνήματος ὀφθέντες. Εἶθ' ὕστερον ἁπάντων ὁ νεανίσκος, ὁ ταῖς ἡλίου ἀνατείλαντος ἀφικομέναις τεθεαμένος. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἕνα καιρὸν εἰρηκότες οἱ πάντες καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀναγράψαντες τόπον, οὐ τὰς αὐτὰς ἐπιφανείας ἐδήλουν, κἂν εὐλόγως ἄν τις ἐμέμψατο. Εἰ δ' ἀφώρισαν τοὺς χρόνους, ἔνειμάν τε καθ' ἕκαστον χρόνον καὶ τόπον ἰδιάζοντα, ἀκολούθως δὲ διαφόρους καὶ τὰς ὀπτασίας ἀνέγραψαν. Ὡς εἴπερ ἦσαν μιᾶς μὲν οἱ πάντες ἐπιφανείας μνημονεύσαντες, καὶ ἕνα φάντες ἄγγελον ὦφθαι ἢ δύο συμφώνως ἀγγέλους εἰρηκότες, ἢ αὖ πάλιν δύο ἄνδρας ἢ νεανίσκον ἕνα· εἶτα τοὺς καιροὺς διήλλαττον, ἢ μὴ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἐδήλουν τόπους, ἦν ἂν καὶ οὕτω μέμψασθαι. Νῦν δ' ὁ λόγος ἀκριβὴς μένει καὶ ἀδιάβλητος ἐπὶ καιροῖς διαφόροις καὶ τόποις ἐναλλαττούσας τὰς ὀπτασίας εἰσάγων, καὶ τὰς τούτων θεωροὺς πάλιν διαφόρους, ἑτέρας μὲν τὰς δύο πρώτας, παρὰ τὴν δευτέραν· καὶ τὰς τρίτας δὲ ὡσαύτως ἑτέρας τῶν τετάρτων. Αὐτίκα δ' οὖν μετὰ τὴν τοῦ νεανίσκου πρὸς τὰς τελευταίας γυναῖκας ὁμιλίαν, ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα οὐκ ἐμφέρονται, ἐπιλέγει ὁ Μάρκος· «Καὶ ἀκούσασαι ἔφυγον, καὶ οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον, ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ·» αὗται μὲν οὖν τοιαῦται καὶ ἔμφοβοι, καὶ λίαν δειλαὶ, ὡς μηδὲ πεισθῆναι τῷ νεανίσκῳ φάντι πρὸς αὐτάς· «Ὑπάγετε καὶ εἴπατε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ Πέτρῳ, Ἰδοὺ προάγει ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν·» τούτων γὰρ ἀκούσασαι τῶν λόγων, τοὐναντίον διεπράξαντο· αἱ δὲ παρὰ τῷ Λουκᾷ ἀποστρέψασαι ἀπὸ τοῦ μνήματος ἀπήγγειλαν ταῦτα πάντα τοῖς ἕνδεκα. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἡ παρὰ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἔρχεται πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς ἀπαγγέλλουσα ἃ ἑώρακε. Μόναι δὲ αἱ παρὰ τῷ Μάρκῳ πασῶν ὕσταται ἐλθοῦσαι, καὶ ἀληθῶς ὀψισθεῖσαι, ὡς μετὰ ἀνατολὴν ἡλίου ἐπιστῆναι, οὔτε τὸν Σωτῆρα θεάσασθαι καταξιοῦνται, οὔτε τὸν ἄγγελον τὸν ἐξαστράπτοντα, οὔτε τοὺς δύο τοὺς εἴσω τοῦ μνήματος, οὔτε τοὺς δύο τοὺς παρὰ τῷ Λουκᾷ ἄνδρας· ψιλὸν δέ τινα νεανίσκον εἶδον περιβεβλημένον στολὴν λευκὴν, ἀναλόγως τῇ τῆς διανοίας αὐτῶν σμικρότητι τὴν ὀπτασίαν ἰδοῦσαι· καὶ τοῦτον δὲ λευχείμονα τῆς ἑορτῆς χάριν θεασάμεναι, ὅμως ἐθαυμάσθησαν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἐμαρτύρησεν αὐταῖς ὁ Μάρκος· καίτοιγε ἐπὶ τῶν προτέρων μηδαμοῦ τοῦ θάμβους ὠνομασμένου. Τὴν Μαγδαληνὴν δὲ σχολάζουσαν καὶ προσκαρτεροῦσαν, εἰκὸς οὐ μόνον τὰς πρώτας ὄψεις τεθεᾶσθαι τῶν αὐτῇ μόνῃ ὀφθέντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν παρὰ τῷ Μάρκῳ ταῖς λοιπαῖς γυναιξὶν ἑωραμένον νεανίσκον. Ταὐτὸν δ' ἂν εἴποις 22.997 καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν Λουκᾶν ἱστορίας, ὃς μετὰ