31
a slave of the one who 83.424 possesses him; and the Son a creature of the Father. They took so many starting-points for blasphemies from the madness of Arius; the faction of Arius was also divided into so many parts. 5. -Concerning the Macedonians. And another heresy besides those mentioned sprang from these, thought to be less impious. For when Paul the all-praised, who had shepherded the imperial city, had been driven out by those who had accepted the disease of Arius, Macedonius was entrusted with the rudders of that Church in his place. This Macedonius utterly rejected the Son's being of one substance with the Father; and he decreed that he should be called of like substance in all things, and he devised the term *homoiousion* instead of *homoousion*. And as for the Holy Spirit, in a manner similar to Arius and Eunomius, he continued to blaspheme. Whence those of his faction who are called Pneumatomachi were so named. From this also the tares of the Macedonians were sown alongside. 6. -Concerning the Donatists. And in what was formerly Libya, but is now called Africa, the common avenger showed the madness of those called Donatists. These, as to their heresy, agree with Arius. But they invented a new form of madness. For they call a violent death martyrdom; and those who desire to obtain this title, announce this long beforehand to their fellow-thinkers. And they offer them every service, and bring them all sorts of food, as if fattening and gorging some sacrificial victims. And having enjoyed this luxury for a very long time, they compel whomever they find in the streets to inflict upon them the death-bearing blows with the sword. And some indeed hit the mark, but others miss. For who in his right mind would endure to accept the capture by the guilt of murder? Therefore, in a Corybantic frenzy, they throw themselves from a height down cliffs. But in the midst of the Arian accounts, I wish to narrate something amusing that happened concerning these men. For many of them, having been fattened similarly to pheasants, having met a certain noble youth, then offering him a naked sword, commanded him to inflict the blows, and threatened to slaughter him if he would not do what was ordered. But he said that he was afraid, lest when some had been killed, the remaining ones, having changed their minds, would exact punishment from him for the slaughter; it was necessary, therefore, first to put a bond on each one, and then so to inflict the sword. When they yielded and accepted the bonds, having mistreated them all with rods, he went away, leaving them tied up. Into such a disease of madness, truly, has the evil demon cast these men also. 7. -Concerning the Meletians in Egypt. In Alexandria by Egypt, at the time when Arius began his blasphemy against the Only-Begotten, a certain Meletius, a bishop, having stirred up sedition against the leadership of the great Alexander, ordained for many cities both bishops, and presbyters, and deacons, not presiding over a new heresy, but thinking the same things as the Church, but having received the passion for love of rule. Him the most holy Fathers assembled at Nicaea removed from the rudders of the Church; and those ordained by him they stripped of what was unlawfully given. From this the [sect] of the Meletians
31
δοῦλον τοῦ 83.424 κεκτικότος· κτίσμα δὲ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Υἱός. Τοσαύτας ἔλαβον ἐκ τῆς Ἀρείου μανίας βλασφημιῶν ἀφορμάς· εἰς τοσαῦτα τμήματα καὶ ἡ Ἀρείου διῃρέθη συμμορία. Εʹ. -Περὶ Μακεδονιανῶν. Καὶ ἑτέρα δὲ πρὸς ταῖς εἰρημέναις ἐκ τούτων ἐβλάστησεν αἵρεσις, ἧττον δυσσεβεῖν ὑπειλημμένη. Παύλου γὰρ τοῦ πανευφήμου, τοῦ τὴν βασιλίδα πόλιν ποιμάναντος, παρὰ τῶν τὴν Ἀρείου νόσον εἰσδεξαμένων ἐξελασθέντος, Μακεδόνιος ἀντ' ἐκείνου τὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐκείνης ἐνεχειρίσθη πηδάλια. Οὗτος ὁ Μακεδόνιος, τὸ μὲν ὁμοούσιον εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρὶ παντελῶς ἀπεκήρυξεν· ὅμοιον δὲ κατὰ πάντα λέγειν ἐνομοθέτησε, καὶ τὸ ὁμοιούσιον ἀντὶ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου προσεπενόησε. Τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, Ἀρείῳ καὶ Εὐνομίῳ παραπλησίως, βλασ φημῶν διετέλεσεν. Ὅθεν οἱ ἐκ τῆς τούτου συμμο ρίας καλούμενοι Πνευματομάχοι ἐπωνομάσθησαν. Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τὸ τῶν Μακεδονιανῶν παρεσπάρη ζιζάνιον. ςʹ. -Περὶ ∆ονατιστῶν. Ἐν δὲ τῇ πάλαι μὲν Λιβύῃ, νῦν δὲ Ἀφρικῇ κα λουμένῃ, τὴν τῶν καλουμένων ∆ονατιστῶν παρα πληξίαν ὁ κοινὸς ἀλάστωρ ἔδειξεν. Οὗτοι δὲ, κατὰ μὲν τὴν αἵρεσιν τοῖς Ἀρείου συμφέρονται. Καινὸν δὲ μανίας ἐπενόησαν εἶδος. Τὸν γὰρ βίαιον θάνατον μαρτύριον ὀνομάζουσι· καὶ οἱ τῆσδε τῆς προσηγορίας τυχεῖν ἱμειρόμενοι, πρὸ πολλοῦ μὲν τοῦτο χρόνου μηνύουσι τοῖς ὁμόφροσιν. Οἱ δὲ πᾶσαν αὐτοῖς προσφέρουσι θεραπείαν, καὶ παντοδαπὴν κομίζουσιν ἐδωδὴν, οἷον ἱερεῖά τινα προσιτίζοντες καὶ πιαίνον τες. Ἐπὶ πλεῖστον δὲ ταύτης τῆς χλιδῆς ἀπολαύσαν τες, ἀναγκάζουσιν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς, οὓς ἂν εὕρωσιν, τὰς διὰ τοῦ ξίφους αὐτοῖς ἐπενεγκεῖν θανατηφόρους πληγάς. Καί τινες μὲν ἐπιτυγχάνουσι τοῦ σκοποῦ, τινὲς δὲ διαμαρτάνουσι. Τίς γὰρ σωφρονῶν ἀνάσχοιτο ἂν τοῦ τῆς μιαιφονίας ἄγους τὴν ἅλωσιν εἰσδέξα σθαι; Σφᾶς αὐτοὺς τοίνυν κορυβαντιῶντες ῥίπτουσιν ἀφ' ὕψους κατὰ κρημνῶν. Ἐγὼ δὲ μεταξὺ τῶν Ἀρειανικῶν διηγημάτων, χαρίεν τι συμβὰν ἐπὶ τού τοις διηγήσασθαι βούλομαι. Συχνοὶ γὰρ ἐκ τούτων παραπλησίως τοῖς φασιανικοῖς ὄρνισι πιανθέντες, νεανίᾳ τινὶ περιτυχόντες γενναίῳ, εἶτα γυμνὸν τὸ ξίφος ὀρέξαντες, ἐπέταξαν ἐπενεγκεῖν τὰς πληγὰς, καὶ προσηπείλησαν κατασφάξειν, εἰ μὴ δράσοι τὸ κελευσθέν. Ὁ δὲ ἔφησε δεδιέναι, μή τινων ἀναιρε θέντων, μεταμεληθέντες οἱ λειπόμενοι δίκας αὐτὸν εἰσπράξωνται τῆς σφαγῆς· χρῆναι τοίνυν ἑκάστῳ πρότερον ἐπιθεῖναι δεσμὸν, εἶθ' οὕτως τὸ ξίφος ἐπενεγκεῖν. Εἰξάντων ἐκείνων, καὶ τὰ δεσμὰ δεξα μένων, ῥάβδοις ἅπαντας αἰκισάμενος, ᾤχετο δεδεμένους καταλιπών. Εἰς τοιαύτην καὶ τούτους ἀληθῶς φρενῖτιν ἐμβέβληκε νόσον ὁ πονηρὸς δαίμων. Ζʹ. -Περὶ τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ Μελετιανῶν. Ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ τῇ πρὸς Αἰγύπτῳ, καθ' ὃν και ρὸν Ἄρειος τῆς κατὰ Μονογενοῦς ἤρξατο βλασφη μίας, Μελέτιός τις ἐπίσκοπος κατὰ τῆς Ἀλε ξάνδρου τοῦ μεγάλου στασιάσας ἡγεμονίας, πολλαῖς πόλεσι καὶ ἐπισκόπους ἐχειροτόνησε, καὶ πρεσβυ τέρους, καὶ διακόνους, οὐ καινῆς αἱρέσεως προστα τεύων, ἀλλὰ ταὐτὰ μὲν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ φρονῶν, τὸ δὲ τῆς φιλαρχίας εἰσδεξάμενος πάθος. Τοῦτον οἱ ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνεληλυθότες ἁγιώτατοι Πατέρες τῶν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀπέστησαν πηδαλίων· τοὺς δὲ παρ' αὐτοῦ χειροτονηθέντας τῶν παρανόμως δοθέντων ἐγύμνωσαν. Ἐντεῦθεν τὸ τῶν Μελετιανῶν