30

of the Christians (for my whole account is concerning them), how do you think I am pleased to hear, "when the best parts of Persia are for the most part adorned just as I would wish. Therefore may it be as well as possible for you, and for them likewise may the best things exist, both for you and for them. For thus you will have the Master of all gentle, propitious and well-disposed. These, therefore, since you are so great, I entrust to you; these same people, since you are also distinguished for piety, I place in your hands. Love these people in a manner worthy of your own philanthropy. For to yourself and to us you will give an indescribable grace through this faithfulness." Such great care did the all-excellent emperor take of those adorned with piety, not only caring for his own subjects but also 80 providing for those living under other scepters to the best of his ability. For 80 this very reason he himself also enjoyed the divine guardianship and, holding the reins of all Europe and Libya, and in addition to these, of the greater part of Asia, he had his subjects well-disposed and obeying the rein with pleasure. And indeed, even of the barbarians, some served willingly, while others were mastered by war; and everywhere trophies were set up and the emperor was shown to be victorious. But others have praised these things at greater length; let us, however, keep to the history before us. The all-praised emperor, then, carried the apostolic cares in his soul, but those who had been deemed worthy of the priesthood not only did not wish to build up, but even attempted to dig up the very foundations of the church. For by weaving all kinds of slanders, they deposed and drove out the leaders who held to the apostolic doctrines. For had they not had their fill of envy, having composed that much-talked-of drama against Eustathius the Great? But they also attempted to undermine another, very great tower of piety and brought to bear all kinds of devices. And I will relate this tragedy also as briefly as possible. When Alexander, the admirable elder, who had contended against the blasphemy of Arius, reached the end of his life five months after the council in Nicaea, Athanasius succeeded to the presidency of the church of the Alexandrians, a man who from childhood was nurtured in the divine teachings, and who had become most worthy of admiration in every rank of the ecclesiastical choirs. 81 He, having undertaken the contests on behalf of the apostolic doctrines at the great council, was praised by the champions of the truth, but to his opponents, as a rival, he became an adversary and an enemy. And he was with the great Alexander, though very young in age, and was leader of the choir of deacons. Those who had decided to war against the only-begotten God, having learned from experience of this zeal of his for the truth, and knowing that the rudders of the church of the Alexandrians had been entrusted to him, considered his leadership the destruction of their own impiety. For this very reason they devised the following. That Meletius, whom the council in Nicaea had repudiated, persisted in stirring up and disturbing both the Thebaid and the neighboring Egypt; having hired some of his partisans, so that the form of the accusation might be above suspicion, they persuaded them to run to the emperor and weave a slander, that Athanasius was taxing Egypt and supplying the gold that was collected to a certain man who was preparing a tyranny. And having deceived the emperor's ears, they brought Athanasius to Constantinople. But when he arrived, he refuted the falsehood of the accusations and received back the church that had been entrusted to him by God; and the emperor makes these things clear from what he wrote to the church of the Alexandrians, the last part of which I will place in this history. 82 "The wicked men have had no power against your bishop, believe me, brothers. They have been zealous for nothing other than wasting our time, so that they might have no room for repentance in this life. Help yourselves, therefore, I beseech you, cherish your mutual affection and with all your strength pursue those who our harmony

30

τῶν χριστιανῶν "(ὑπὲρ γὰρ τούτων ὁ πᾶς μοι λόγος), πῶς οἴει με ἥδεσθαι ἀκούοντα, "ὅταν καὶ τῆς Περσίδος τὰ κράτιστα ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ὥσπερ ἔστι μοι "βουλομένῳ κοσμῆται. σοί τε οὖν ὡς ὅτι κάλλιστα ἐκείνοις τε ὡσαύ "τως ὑπάρχοι τὰ κάλλιστα, ὅ τι σοὶ κἀκείνοις. οὕτω γὰρ ἕξεις τὸν "τῶν ὅλων δεσπότην πρᾶον, ἵλεω καὶ εὐμενῆ. τούτους τοιγαροῦν, "ἐπειδὴ τοσοῦτος εἶ, σοὶ παρατίθεμαι, τοὺς αὐτοὺς τούτους, ὅτι καὶ "εὐσεβείᾳ ἐπίσημος εἶ, ἐγχειρίζων. τούτους ἀγάπα ἁρμοδίως τῆς αὐτοῦ "φιλανθρωπίας. σαυτῷ τε γὰρ καὶ ἡμῖν ἀπερίγραπτον δώσεις διὰ "τῆς πίστεως τὴν χάριν." Τοσαύτην ὁ πάντα ἄριστος βασιλεὺς τῶν εὐσεβείᾳ κοσμουμένων ἐποιεῖτο φροντίδα, οὐ μόνον τῶν ὑπηκόων ἐπιμελούμενος ἀλλὰ καὶ 80 τῶν ὑφ' ἕτερα σκῆπτρα τελούντων εἰς δύναμιν προμηθούμενος. διά 80 τοι τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς τῆς θείας κηδεμονίας ἀπήλαυε καὶ τῆς τε Εὐρώπης ἁπάσης καὶ τῆς Λιβύης, πρὸς δὲ ταύταις καὶ τοῦ πλείστου τῆς Ἀσίας κατέχων τὰς ἡνίας, εὔνους εἶχε τοὺς ἀρχομένους καὶ τῷ χαλινῷ μεθ' ἡδονῆς πειθομένους. καὶ μὲν δὴ καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων οἱ μὲν ἑκόντες ἐδούλευον, οἱ δὲ πολέμῳ κρατούμενοι· καὶ πανταχοῦ τρόπαια ἵστατο καὶ νικηφόρος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνεδείκνυτο. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν καὶ ἕτεροι διὰ πλειόνων εὐφήμησαν· ἡμεῖς δὲ τῆς προκειμένης ἱστορίας ἐχώμεθα. Ὁ μὲν οὖν πανεύφημος βασιλεὺς τὰς ἀποστολικὰς φροντίδας ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ περιέφερεν, οἱ δὲ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἠξιωμένοι οὐ μόνον οἰκο δομεῖν οὐκ ἐβούλοντο, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀνορύττειν ἐπεχείρουν θεμέλια. τοὺς γὰρ δὴ τούτων μετὰ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ἡγουμένους δογμάτων, παντοδαπὰς συκοφαντίας ὑφαίνοντες, καθαι ροῦντες ἐξήλαυνον. οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἔλαβον κόρον τοῦ φθόνου τὸ πολυ θρύλητον ἐκεῖνο κατὰ Εὐσταθίου τοῦ μεγάλου δρᾶμα συντεθεικότες; ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλον πύργον μέγιστον τῆς εὐσεβείας ὑπορύττειν ἐπεχείρουν καὶ τὰς παντοδαπὰς προσέφερον μηχανάς. ἐν συντόμῳ δὲ καὶ τήνδε τὴν τραγῳδίαν ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα διηγήσομαι. Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ θαυμασίου πρεσβύτου, ὃς τὴν Ἀρείου κατηγωνί σατο βλασφημίαν, τοῦ βίου τὸ τέρμα κατειληφότος μετὰ μῆνας πέντε τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνόδου, τὴν τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐκκλησίας Ἀθανάσιος διεδέξατο προεδρίαν, ἀνὴρ παιδόθεν μὲν τοῖς θείοις μαθήμασιν ἐν τραφείς, ἐν ἑκάστῃ δὲ τάξει τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν χορῶν γενόμενος 81 ἀξιάγαστος. οὗτος ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ συνόδῳ τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀποστολι κῶν δογμάτων ἀγῶνας ἀναδεξάμενος, παρὰ μὲν τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας εὐφημεῖτο προμάχων, τῶν δέ γε ἀντιπάλων, ὡς ἀνταγωνιστής, ἐχθρὸς ἐγένετο καὶ πολέμιος. συνῆν δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ πάνυ νέος μὲν ὢν τὴν ἡλικίαν, τοῦ χοροῦ δὲ τῶν διακόνων ἡγούμενος. ταύτην αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας προθυμίαν τῇ πείρᾳ μεμαθηκότες οἱ τῷ μονογενεῖ θεῷ πολεμεῖν ἐγνωκότες, καὶ γνόντες τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐκκλησίας ἐγχειρισθέντα τοὺς οἴακας, κατάλυσιν τῆς σφετέρας δυσ σεβείας ὑπέλαβον τὴν ἐκείνου ἡγεμονίαν. τούτου δὴ εἵνεκα τοιόνδε τι μηχανῶνται. Μελίτιος ἐκεῖνος, ὃν ἡ ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδος ἀπεκήρυξεν, ἐπέμενε κυκῶν καὶ ταράττων τήν τε Θηβαΐδα καὶ τὴν ταύτῃ πελάζουσαν Αἴγυπτον· τῶν τούτου στασιωτῶν τινας μισθωσάμενοι, ἵν' ἀνύπο πτον ᾖ τῆς κατηγορίας τὸ σχῆμα, πείθουσι πρὸς βασιλέα δραμεῖν καὶ συκοφαντίαν ὑφῆναι, ὡς Ἀθανάσιος τελωνεῖ μὲν τὴν Αἴγυπτον, τὸ δὲ συναθροιζόμενον χρυσίον ἀνδρί τινι τυραννίδα κατασκευάζοντι χορηγεῖ. καὶ τὰς βασιλέως ἐξαπατήσαντες ἀκοὰς εἰς τὴν Κωνσταν τινούπολιν τὸν Ἀθανάσιον ἤγαγον. ὁ δὲ ἀφικόμενος διήλεγξε τῶν κατηγορημάτων τὸ ψεῦδος καὶ τὴν θεόθεν ἐγχειρισθεῖσαν ἀπέλαβεν ἐκκλησίαν· δηλοῖ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐξ ὧν πρὸς τὴν Ἀλεξαν δρέων ἔγραψεν ἐκκλησίαν, ὧν τὸ τελευταῖον μέρος ἐνθήσω τῇ συγ γραφῇ. 82 "Οὐδὲν ἴσχυσαν οἱ πονηροὶ κατὰ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου ὑμῶν, ἐμοὶ πιστεύ "σατε, ἀδελφοί. οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐσπουδάκασιν ἢ ἵνα κατατρίψαντες τοὺς "ἡμετέρους χρόνους μηδεμίαν χώραν ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ μεταμελείας "ἔχωσιν. ἐπικουρήσατε τοίνυν ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, παρακαλῶ, τὸ φίλτρον τὸ "ὑμέτερον ἀγαπήσατε καὶ παντὶ σθένει διώξατε τοὺς τὴν τῆς ἡμετέρας "ὁμονοίας