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and seals, and instead of his all-holy body, to deposit these as a longed-for gift, which one would not believe without God had come to this great city.

41 For a certain old and ancient account, and one written down in books themselves, has come down to us that not far from the palace of the tetrarch Herod, the apostle was guarded and confined, [f. 170 vo] and somewhere near and close by was he kept by the military cohorts. For fear that, released from his bonds by some, the deed might seem a miracle-play; so that from being close to the royal houses, and from the guards and the surrounding and circumstance of the chains, his inability to escape might be secured from every side. But since many of those who had believed in Christ through him were living and spending their time in the royal household, and while serving in the king’s service, they carried their love for Christ and his apostle in the recesses of their heart. When his liberation was miraculously effected through angelic intervention, he went out through the gate that leads to the city; but as for the chains, left behind with the guard, those of Herod’s servants in whom the light of the knowledge of God had shined, taking them up secretly and treasuring them among themselves, and son from father, as is said, passing on the story about them to their successors, they held and concealed them in a safe place, until the work of the Judaic family of war had occurred and had come to nothing, and moreover, the dark moon of idolatry had been removed, the Roman scepters came under faithful emperors, who being zealous to honor Christ and his apostles in every way, this apostolic chain is also revealed, and is brought up by them to the ruling city, and is worthily deposited in the sacred shrine of the apostle, which we both honor and kiss as if it were his own wonder-working body.

42 For seeing this, we behold him with the mind’s eye, and touching this, we believe we are touching him. And what of the sword? For this must not be overlooked, since it too, drawn by an apostolic hand, was enriched from that with all the grace of the most holy Spirit, with which also at the time of the passion, having struck the high priest's servant and cut off his ear, he showed the fervor of his faith toward the teacher; but he did something greater and beyond human, not he himself, but looking to the power of the teacher, through whom what was cut off was restored again to the one who was struck. So that what might happen? So that from this [f. 171 ro] that frenzied crowd of Jews against him, chastened by the healing of the severed part and delivered from their madness against Christ, might refrain from the betrayal, and might know through the experience of the one being betrayed his omnipotence and the greatness of his divinity. And let the high priest also be taught more clearly by the miracle itself and know that the one who had suffered would not have been deemed worthy of so swift a healing, if the one being examined and judged by him were not true God.

43 But the sword was with the apostle, not, as one might say, serving his own needs and to be used for the works of his hands. For how could it be? He who, obeying the Teacher's counsels not to carry bag, nor belt, nor sword, was known to those who received the preaching as unencumbered and unequipped and completely free from worldly things.

44 But since the time of the passion was expected, and moreover the disciples' thoughts concerning him were surging and tossing, being on the borderline of unbelief and faith, being neither allowed through the one to ascend to higher thoughts, nor permitted through the other to descend to humbler ones. [f. 172 ro] And to signify clearly the things of the passion was not without danger, as they were rather imperfect; but he feared

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καὶ σήμαντρα, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ πανιέρου σώματος αὐτοῦ δῶρον ἐναποθέσθαι ταῦτα ποθούμενον, ἃ οὐκ ἄν τις πιστεύσειεν ἀθεεὶ καὶ κατὰ τήνδε πεφοιτηκέναι τὴν μεγαλόπολιν.

41 Παλαιὸς γάρ τις καὶ ἀρχαίζων λόγος καὶ βίβλοις αὐταῖς ἐναπόγραφος κάτεισιν ὡς ἡμᾶς μὴ μακρὰν τῶν τοῦ τετράρχου Ἡρώδου βασιλείων, φρουρεῖσθαί τε καὶ συγκεκλεῖσθαι [φ. 170 ῃο] τὸν ἀπόστολον, πλησίον δέ που καὶ σύνεγγυς ταῖς στρατιωτικαῖς σπείραις φυλάττεσθαι. ∆έει τοῦ μὴ παρά τινων τῶν δεσμῶν ἀπολυθέντα τερατούργημα δόξῃ τὸ δραματούργημα· ἵν' ἔκ τε τοῦ πλησιάζειν ταῖς βασιλικαῖς οἰκίαις, ἔκ τε τῶν φυλασσόντων καὶ τῆς τῶν ἁλύσεων περιβολῆς τε καὶ περιστάσεως, πάντοθεν σχοίη τὸ ἀναπόδραστον. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πολλοὶ τῶν δι' αὐτοῦ τῷ Χριστῷ πεπιστευκότων ἀνὰ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἑστίαν διῆγόν τε καὶ διέτριβον, καὶ ταῖς βασιλέως θεραπείαις ὑπηρετούμενοι, τὸ πρὸς Χριστὸν καὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπόστολον φίλτρον, ἐν καρδίας μυχοῖς περιέφερον. Παραδόξως τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως δι' ἀγγελικῆς ἐπιστασίας ἐνεργηθείσης, ἐκεῖνος μὲν διὰ τῆς πύλης ἐξῄει τῆς πρὸς τὴν πόλιν φερούσης· τὰς δέ γε ἁλύσεις περὶ τὴν φρουρὰν καταλειφθείσας, οἱ τῶν τοῦ Ἡρώδου ὑπηρετῶν, ὅσοις τὸ τῆς θεογνωσίας ἐνήστραψε φῶς, ταύτας κρυφῇ ἀνελόμενοι καὶ παρ' ἑαυτοῖς θησαυρίσαντες, καὶ παῖς παρὰ πατρός, ὃ δὴ λέγεται, τὸ περὶ αὐτὰς διήγημα τοῖς ἐφεξῆς παραπέμψαντες ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ κατεῖχον καὶ συγκατέκρυπτον, ἕως τὸ τῆς ἰουδαϊκῆς πατριᾶς ἔργον γεγονυίας πολέμου καὶ εἰς φροῦδον χωρησάσης, ἔτι μὴν καὶ τῆς εἰδωλικῆς σκοτομήνης περιαιρεθείσης, ὑπὸ βασιλεῦσι πιστοῖς τὰ Ῥωμαίων γέγονε σκῆπτρα, οἷς διὰ σπουδῆς ὄντα περὶ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ ἀποστόλων παντοίως τιμᾶν, φανεροῦται καὶ ἡ ἀποστολικὴ αὕτη ἅλυσις, καὶ ὑπ' αὐτῶν πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν τῶν πόλεων ἀναφέρεται, καὶ τῷ τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἱερῷ τεμένει ἐπαξίως ἐγκατατίθεται, ἣν ὡς αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου τὸ θαυματουργὸν σκῆνος καὶ τιμῶμεν καὶ κατασπαζόμεθα.

42 Ταύτην γὰρ βλέποντες, ἐκεῖνον νοητῶς κατοπτεύ ομεν καὶ ταύτῃ προσψαύοντες, ἐκείνῳ προσψαύειν οἰόμεθα. Τί δὲ ἡ μάχαιρα; οὐ δὲ γὰρ ταύτην παροπτέον, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὴ χειρὶ σπωμένη ἀποστολικῇ, ὅλην ἐκεῖθεν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος τὴν χάριν ἐπλούτησε, μεθ' ἧς καὶ κατὰ τὸν τοῦ πάθους καιρὸν παίσας τοῦ ἀρχιερέως τὸν δοῦλον καὶ τὸ τούτου ἀποτεμὼν ὠτίον, ἔδειξε μὲν τὸ θερμὸν τῆς πρὸς τὸν διδάσκαλον πίστεως· ἔδρασε δέ τι μεῖζον καὶ ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον, οὐκ αὐτὸς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου δυνατὸν ἀφορῶν, δι' οὗ τὸ τιμηθὲν αὖθις τῷ πεπληγότι ἀποκαθίστατο. Ἵνα τί γένηται; Ἱν' ἐντεῦθεν [φ. 171 ρο] τὸ μεμηνὸς ἐκεῖνο πλῆθος κατ' αὐτοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων τῇ θεραπείᾳ τοῦ τμηθέντος μορίου σωφρονισθὲν καὶ τῆς κατὰ Χριστὸν λύσσης ἀπαλλαγὲν τῆς προδοσίας ἀπόσχοιτο, καὶ γνῷ διὰ τῆς πείρας τοῦ προδιδομένου τὸ παντοδύναμον καὶ τὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος μέγεθος. ∆ιδάσκοιτο δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς παρ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ θαύματος ἐναργέστερον καὶ γνοίη ὡς οὐκ ἂν οὕτω ταχείας ἠξίωτο θεραπείας ὁ πεπονθώς, εἰ μὴ Θεὸς ἦν ἀληθὴς ὁ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐταζόμενος καὶ κρινόμενος.

43 Παρῆν δὲ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ ἡ μάχαιρα, οὐχ ὡς ἄν τις φαίη χρείαις ἰδίαις ὑπηρετησαμένη καὶ πρὸς ἔργα χειρῶν ἀντιληψομένη. Πῶς γάρ; Ὅς γε ταῖς τοῦ ∆ιδασκάλου πειθόμενος παραινέσεσι, μὴ πήραν, μὴ ζώνην, μὴ μάχαιραν. ἐπιφέρεσθαι, ἀπέριττός τε καὶ ἄσκευος καὶ τῶν βιωτικῶν πάντη ἀπηλλαγμένος, τοῖς ὑποδεχομένοις τὸ κήρυγμα ἐγνωρίζετο.

44 Ἀλλ' ἐπειδήπερ ὁ τοῦ πάθους ἠλπίζετο καιρὸς, ἔτι τε τοῖς μαθηταῖς οἱ λογισμοὶ περὶ αὐτὸν ἐκυμαίνοντό τε καὶ ἐσαλεύοντο ἐν μεταιχμίῳ οὖσιν ἀπιστίας καὶ πίστεως, μήτε δι' ἐκείνης πρὸς ὑψηλοτέρας ἐννοίας ἀνελθεῖν συγχωρούμενοι, μήτε διὰ ταύτης πρὸς ταπεινοτέρας κατελθεῖν ἀφιέμενοι. [φ. 172 ρο] Καὶ καθαρῶς μὲν τὰ τοῦ πάθους προσημάναι οὐκ ἦν ἀκίνδυνον ἀτελεστέροις οὖσιν· ἐδεδίει δ'