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they were tempted. 2..1 But when in time they became very numerous and began to hold assemblies and had priests and deacons, this grieved the magi not a little, who from the beginning have charge of the Persian religion like a priestly tribe by hereditary succession. It also grieved the Jews, who were in a way by nature hostile through envy toward the doctrine of the Christians. And they slandered to Sapor, the king at that time, Symeon, the archbishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, the royal cities in Persia, as being a friend to the 2..2 Roman Caesar and reporting Persian affairs to him. And Sapor, persuaded by the slanders, at first crushed the Christians with immoderate taxes, since he knew that most of them practiced poverty, and he entrusted the collection to harsh men, so that, forced by lack of money and the cruelty of the tax collectors, they might abandon their own religion; for this was his objective. After these things, he ordered the priests and ministers of God to be killed by the sword, the churches to be demolished and their treasures to become public property, and Symeon to be arrested, as having become a traitor to the 2..3 Persian kingdom and religion. The magi, therefore, with the Jews assisting them, eagerly tore down the houses of prayer. But Symeon was arrested and brought to the king bound in iron chains; wherein indeed he becomes a good and courageous man. For when Sapor ordered him to be brought in to be tortured, 2..4 he neither feared nor did obeisance. At which the king, being very angry, inquired: "Why is it that you do not do obeisance now, when you did this before?" "Because before," said Symeon, "I was not brought as a prisoner for treason against the true God, and without any dispute I fulfilled the customary duties concerning the kingdom; but now it is not lawful for me to do this, for I have come to contend for 2..5 piety and for our doctrine." When he had said such things, the king exhorted him to worship the sun, and promised that if he obeyed he would give him many gifts and would hold him in honor, but he threatened to destroy him if he disobeyed, both him and the entire race of Christians. But since he neither terrified Symeon with threats nor softened him with promises, but he remained courageously affirming that he would never worship the sun nor appear as a traitor to his religion, he ordered him to be kept in 2..6 chains for the time being, reckoning that he would probably repent. And as he was being led away to the prison, a certain aged eunuch, Usthazades, Sapor's tutor and the head of the king's household, seeing him, stood up and did obeisance to him; for he happened to be sitting before the palace gates. But Symeon insolently rebuked him, and growing angry cried out, and turning away, passed him by; for though being a Christian, he had not long before been forced 2..7 to worship the sun. And immediately the eunuch, weeping with lamentation, took off the splendid garment which he was wearing, and putting on a black one as if in mourning, he sat down before the king's house, weeping and groaning, saying, "Woe is me, what must I expect concerning myself, I who have denied God? Since on this account Symeon, who has long been familiar to me, did not even give me a word, but thus turned away from me and passed me by." And when Sapor learned of these things, he summoned him and inquired the cause of his grief, and 2..8 if he had met with some misfortune in his house. And Usthazades replied and said: "O king, I have suffered no misfortune concerning my house here; for would that instead of what has happened to me I had fallen into all kinds of other misfortunes, and it would have been easier. But I now mourn that I am alive and see the sun when I should have been dead long ago, which to please you, not from conviction, I worshipped in appearance, so that for both reasons it is just for me to die, having become a traitor to Christ and a deceiver to you." And having said such things, he swore by the creator of heaven and earth 2.. that he would not henceforth change his mind. But Sapor, at the unexpected change of the eunuch

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ἐπειράθησαν. 2..1 ᾿Επεὶ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ πλεῖστοι ἐγένοντο καὶ ἐκκλησιάζειν ἤρξαντο καὶ ἱερέας καὶ διακόνους εἶχον, ἐλύπει τοῦτο οὐ μετρίως τοὺς μάγους, οἳ τὴν Περσῶν θρησκείαν ὥσπερ τι φῦλον ἱερατικὸν κατὰ διαδοχὴν γένους ἀρχῆθεν ἐπιτροπεύουσιν. ἐλύπει δὲ καὶ ᾿Ιουδαίους, τρόπον τινὰ φύσει ὑπὸ βασκανίας πρὸς τὸ δόγμα τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἐκπεπολεμωμένους. καὶ διαβάλλουσι πρὸς Σαβώρην τὸν τότε βασιλέα Συμεώνην τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον Σελευκείας καὶ Κτησιφῶντος τῶν ἐν Περσίδι βασιλευουσῶν πόλεων ὡς φίλον ὄντα τῷ 2..2 Καίσαρι ῾Ρωμαίων καὶ τὰ Περσῶν πράγματα τούτῳ καταμηνύοντα. πεισθεὶς δὲ ταῖς διαβολαῖς ὁ Σαβώρης τὰ μὲν πρῶτα φόροις ἀμέτροις ἐπέτριβε τοὺς Χριστιανούς, καθότι τοὺς πλείστους ἔγνω ἀκτημοσύνην ἀσκεῖν, καὶ χαλεποῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐπέτρεψε τὴν εἴσπραξιν, ὥστε ἐνδείᾳ χρημάτων καὶ ἀπηνείᾳ τῶν εἰσπρακτόρων βιαζομένους ὑπεριδεῖν τὴν οἰκείαν θρησκείαν· τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐσπουδάζετο. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς ἱερέας καὶ λειτουργοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναιρεθῆναι ξίφει προσέταξε, τὰς δὲ ἐκκλησίας κατασκαφῆναι καὶ τὰ κειμήλια δημόσια γενέσθαι, τὸν δὲ Συμεώνην ἄγεσθαι, ὡς προδότην τῆς 2..3 Περσῶν βασιλείας καὶ θρησκείας γεγενημένον. οἱ μὲν οὖν μάγοι, συλλαμβανομένων αὐτοῖς τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων, σπουδῇ τοὺς εὐκτηρίους οἴκους καθεῖλον. Συμεώνης δὲ συλληφθεὶς σιδηροδεσμώτης ὡς βασιλέα ἤχθη· ἔνθα δὴ γίνεται ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ ἀνδρεῖος. ἐπεὶ γὰρ βασανίσων αὐτὸν εἰσάγεσθαι προσέταξεν 2..4 ὁ Σαβώρης, οὔτε ἔδεισεν οὔτε προσεκύνησεν. ἐφ' ᾧ σφόδρα χαλεπήνας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπύθετο· «τί δή ποτε νῦν οὐ προσεκύνησας, πρότερον τοῦτο ποιῶν;» «ὅτι πρότερον», ἔφη ὁ Συμεώνης, «οὐ δεσμώτης ἠγόμην ἐπὶ προδοσίᾳ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς θεοῦ, καὶ μηδὲν διαφερόμενος τὰ νενομισμένα περὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἐπλήρουν· νῦν δέ μοι οὐ θέμις τοῦτο ποιεῖν· ἥκω γὰρ ἀγωνιούμενος ὑπὲρ 2..5 τῆς εὐσεβείας καὶ τοῦ ἡμετέρου δόγματος.» τοιαῦτα εἰπόντα παρεκελεύσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς προσκυνῆσαι τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ πειθομένῳ μὲν πολλὰ δῶρα δώσειν ὑπισχνεῖτο καὶ ἐν τιμῇ ἕξειν, ἀπειθοῦντα δὲ ἀπολέσειν ἠπείλησεν αὐτόν τε καὶ πᾶν τὸ Χριστιανῶν φῦλον. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὔτε ταῖς ἀπειλαῖς κατεκτύπει τὸν Συμεώνην οὔτε ταῖς ἐπαγγελίαις ἐμάλασσεν, ἀλλ' ἀνδρείως ἔμενεν ἰσχυριζόμενος μήποτε προσκυνήσειν τὸν ἥλιον μηδὲ προδότης φανήσεσθαι τῆς αὐτοῦ θρησκείας, προσέταξεν αὐτὸν τέως ἐν 2..6 δεσμοῖς εἶναι, λογισάμενος ὡς εἰκὸς αὐτὸν μεταμεληθήσεσθαι. ἀπαγόμενον δὲ εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἰδὼν Οὐσθαζάδης πρεσβύτης τις εὐνοῦχος, τροφεὺς Σαβώρου καὶ μείζων τῆς βασιλέως οἰκίας, προσεκύνησεν αὐτὸν ἀναστάς· ἔτυχε γὰρ πρὸ τῶν βασιλείων θυρῶν καθήμενος. ὁ δὲ Συμεώνης ὑβριστικῶς ἐπετίμησεν αὐτῷ καὶ θυμωθεὶς ἀνεβόησε καὶ ἀποστραφεὶς παρήμειψε· Χριστιανὸς γὰρ ὢν οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ ἐβιάσθη 2..7 προσκυνῆσαι τὸν ἥλιον. αὐτίκα δὲ δακρύσας μετ' οἰμωγῆς ὁ εὐνοῦχος, ἣν μὲν ἠμφίεστο λαμπρὰν ἐσθῆτα ἀπέθετο, οἷα δὲ πενθῶν μέλαιναν περιβαλλόμενος πρὸ τῆς βασιλέως οἰκίας ἐκαθέζετο κλαίων καὶ στένων «οἴμοι ἐγώ», λέγων, «οἷον χρὴ προσδοκᾶν εἶναι περὶ ἐμὲ ὃν ἠρνησάμην θεόν; ὅπου γε τούτου χάριν ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη πάλαι μοι συνήθης γεγονὼς Συμεώνης, οὐδὲ λόγου μεταδούς, ὧδέ με ἀπεστράφη καὶ παρέδραμεν.» ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔγνω ταῦτα Σαβώρης, μετακαλεσάμενος αὐτὸν ἐπυνθάνετο τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ πένθους, καὶ 2..8 εἰ συμφορᾷ τινι περὶ τὸν οἶκον ἐχρήσατο. ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Οὐσθαζάδης εἶπεν· «ὦ βασιλεῦ, οὐδὲν περὶ τὸν ἐνθάδε οἶκον ἠτύχησα· εἴθε γὰρ ἀντὶ τοῦ συμβεβηκότος μοι παντοδαπαῖς ἀλλοίαις περιπέπτωκα συμφοραῖς, καὶ ῥᾷον ἦν. πενθῶ δὲ νῦν ὅτι ζῶ καὶ πάλαι τεθνάναι ὀφείλων ὀρῶ τὸν ἥλιον, ὃν σοὶ χαριζόμενος, οὐκ ἀπὸ γνώμης, προσεκύνησα τῷ δοκεῖν, ὥστε κατ' ἀμφότερον δίκαιον εἶναί με ἀποθανεῖν, προδότην Χριστοῦ γεγενημένον καὶ περὶ σὲ ἀπατεῶνα.» καὶ ὁ μὲν τοιάδε εἰπὼν ὤμοσεν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς δημιουργὸν 2.. μὴ μεταθήσεσθαι λοιπὸν τῆς γνώμης. Σαβώρης δὲ πρὸς τὸ παράδοξον τῆς μεταβολῆς τοῦ εὐνούχου