to be led away.” on account of whom no blame attaches to Peter, for it was possible for them also, having seen what happened, to flee. As also all the children in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, if their parents had known what was about to happen, who were slain by the blood-stained Herod so that the one child sought by him might be destroyed; which child also fled by the command of the angel of the Lord, already beginning to spoil speedily and to plunder swiftly according to the calling of the name, as it is written: “Call his name, Spoil speedily, plunder swiftly; because before the child knows how to call father or mother, he shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians.” The magi, therefore, as if already spoiled and plundered, submissively and honorifically worship the child, opening their treasures and offering to him most timely and fitting gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, as to a king and God and man. Hence they no longer deigned to return to the “Assyrian” king, being assisted by Providence; “for being warned,” it says, “in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” Thence “the bloodthirsty Herod, seeing that he was mocked by the magi, was exceedingly angry, and sending forth,” it says, “he slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the magi.” With whom also, having sought to kill the other child born before him and not having found him, he murdered his father Zacharias “between the temple and the altar,” while the child fled with his mother Elizabeth, for which they received no blame.

14 Concerning those forced to sacrifice. But if some have suffered much violence and necessity, having received a bit in their mouth and bonds, and having remained steadfastly in the disposition of faith, and their hands to be burned as they were brought unwillingly to the unholy sacrifice, as indeed the thrice-blessed martyrs from the prison wrote to me concerning those in Libya, and other fellow-ministers, such men, especially with the other brethren bearing witness with them, can be in the liturgy, ranked among the confessors, as also those who were mortified in the many tortures and were no longer able to speak or to utter a sound or to move to resist those who were forcing them in vain; for they did not consent to their abomination, as I indeed heard again from fellow-ministers. And whoever lives according to Timothy shall be ranked among the confessors, he himself also obeying the one who says: “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

ἀπαχθῆναι»· δι' οὓς οὐδεμία αἰτία τῷ Πέτρῳ προσ-άπτεται, ἐξῆν γὰρ καὶ αὐτοὺς ἑω- ρακότας τὸ γενόμενον ἐκφυγεῖν· ὡς καὶ πάντα τὰ παιδία τὰ ἐν Βηθλεέμ, καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς, εἰ ἐγνώκεισαν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτῶν τὸ μέλ-λον ἔσεσθαι, ἅπερ ἀνῃρέθησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ μιαιφόνου Ἡρώδου διὰ τὸ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ζητούμενον ἀπολέσθαι ἓν παι-δίον· ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸ κατ' ἐντολὴν ἀγγέλου κυρίου ἐξέφυγεν, ἤδη ἀρ-ξάμενον ταχέως σκυλεύειν καὶ ὀξέως προνομεύειν κατὰ τὴν ἐπίκλησιν τοῦ ὀνόματος, καθὼς γέγραπται· «Κά-λεσον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, ταχέως σκύ-λευσον, ὀξέως προνόμευσον· διότι πρὶν ἢ γνῶναι τὸ παιδίον καλεῖν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, λήψεται δύναμιν ∆αμασκοῦ καὶ τὰ σκῦλα Σαμα-ρείας ἔναντι βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων». Οἱ γοῦν μάγοι ὡς ἤδη σκυλευθέντες καὶ προνομευθέντες, ὑποτεταγμένως καὶ τιμητικῶς προσκυνοῦσι τῷ παιδίῳ, ἀνοίγοντες τοὺς θησαυροὺς αὐ-τῶν καὶ προσφέροντες αὐτῷ καιριώ-τατα καὶ πρεπωδέστατα δῶρα, χρυ-σὸν καὶ λίβανον καὶ σμύρναν, ὡς βασιλεῖ καὶ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώπῳ· ὅθεν οὐκέτι πρὸς τὸν «ἀσσύριον» βασιλέα ἠξίωσαν ὑποστρέψαι, συνεργούμενοι ὑπὸ τῆς προνοίας· «χρηματισθέντες, γάρ φησι, κατ' ὄναρ μὴ ἀνακάμψαι πρὸς Ἡρώδην, δι' ἄλλης ὁδοῦ ἀ-νεχώρησαν εἰ τὴν χώραν αὑτῶν». Ἔνθεν «ἰδὼν ὁ αἱμοβόρος Ἡρώδης ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων, ἐθυ-μώθη λίαν, καὶ ἀποστείλας, φησίν, ἀνεῖλε πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐν Βηθλεὲμ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω, κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσε παρὰ τῶν μάγων». Μεθ' ὧν καὶ τὸ πρὸ αὐτοῦ γεννηθὲν ἕτερον παιδίον ζη-τήσας ἀποκτεῖναι καὶ μὴ εὑρών, τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ Ζαχαρίαν ἐφόνευσε «μεταξὺ τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τοῦ θυσια-στηρίου», ἐκφυγόντος τοῦ παιδίου μετὰ τῆς μητρὸς Ἐλισάβετ, ἐφ' ὧν οὐδεμίαν μέμψιν ἔσχοσαν.

14 Περὶ τῶν βιασθέντων θῦσαι. Εἰ δέ τινες βίαν πολλὴν καὶ ἀνάγκην πεπόνθασι, χάμον λαβόντες ἐν τῷ

στόματι καὶ δεσμούς, καὶ ἐπιμεί-ναντες καρτερῶς τῇ διαθέσει τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν καῆ-ναι προσαγομένων ἀκοντὶ τῷ ἀνιέρῳ θύματι, ὥσπερ οὖν ἔγραψάν μοι οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς φυλακῆς τρισμακάριοι μάρ-τυρες περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ, καὶ ἕτεροι δὲ συλλειτουργοί, οἱ τοιοῦτοι συμμαρτυρούντων αὐτοῖς μάλιστα καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀδελφῶν, δύνανται εἶναι ἐν τῇ λειτουργίᾳ, ταχθέντες ἐν τοῖς ὁμολογηταῖς, ὡς καὶ οἱ κατα-νεκρωθέντες ἐν ταῖς πολλαῖς βασά-νοις καὶ μηκέτι ἐξισχύσαντες λαλῆ-σαι ἢ φθέγξασθαι ἢ κινηθῆναι εἰς τὸ ἀντιστῆναι τοῖς εἰς μάτην ἐκ-βιαζομένοις· οὐδὲ γὰρ συγκατέθεντο τῇ βδελυρίᾳ αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ οὖν παρὰ συλλειτουργῶν πάλιν ἤκουσα. Ταχ-θήσεται δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὁμολογηταῖς καὶ πᾶς ὁστισοῦν κατὰ Τιμόθεον πολιτεύεται, πειθόμενος καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ λέγοντι· «∆ίωκε δικαιοσύνην, εὐ-σέβειαν, πίστιν, ἀγάπην, ὑπομονήν, πρᾳϋπάθειαν· ἀγωνίζου τὸν καλὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς πίστεως, ἐπιλαβοῦ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, εἰς ἣν ἐκλήθης, καὶ ὡμολόγησας τὴν καλὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐνώπιον πολλῶν μαρτύρων».