40

of military detachments in Egypt confessed that Arsenius was alive, and that he had previously escaped their notice by hiding among them, and was now living in Egypt. 2.23.6 Athanasius was eager to make it clear to Constantine that these things had happened thus. And the emperor wrote back to him to hold fast to the priesthood diligently and to care for the good order and piety of the people, and to consider the plots of the Meletians as nothing, since he himself well knew that they stirred up envy for such false and 2.23.7 fabricated writings and disturbances against the church. And that for the future he would not permit such things, but would be a judge according to the civil laws, if they did not keep the peace, and would exact punishment from them as ones who not only plotted unjustly against the innocent, but also unjustly corrupted the good order of the church and piety. Having written such things, the emperor ordered Athanasius for the letter to be read in public, so that all 2.23.8 might know his purpose. And from that time, the followers of Meletius became very fearful and for a while were quiet, being suspicious of the ruler’s threat. And the church throughout all Egypt, being at peace and governed under the protection of so great a priest, grew many times larger day by day, with many being added from the Greek populace and the other heresies. 2.24.1 About this time, we have received that the inner Indians among us, who had remained unacquainted with the preachings of Bartholomew, came to share in the doctrine under Frumentius, who became a priest and teacher of the sacred doctrines among them. But so that we might know, even in the marvelousness of what happened concerning the Indians, that the doctrine of the Christians did not receive its establishment from men, as it seems to some to be told as a wonder, it is necessary to go through the reason for the 2.24.2 ordination of Frumentius; it is as follows. It was a matter of great importance to the most renowned philosophers among the Greeks to explore unknown cities and places. Thus, at least, Plato, the companion of Socrates, sojourned with the Egyptians to learn what was among them, and he also sailed to Sicily to see the craters there, in which fire, spontaneously emitted as if from a spring, always bubbles, and often overflowing like a river flows and consumes the neighboring land to such an extent, that even now many fields appear burnt and receive neither seed nor planting of trees, just as they report concerning the land of the Sodomites. 2.24.3 And Empedocles also investigated these craters, a man who philosophized illustriously among the Greeks and treated his science in heroic verses; and being at a loss concerning the emission of the fire, or having decided it was better to die in this way, or—to speak more truly—perhaps not even knowing himself for what reason he found for himself such a premature 2.24.4 departure from life, he leaped into the fire and was destroyed. But moreover, Democritus of Cos also explored very many cities, air and lands and nations; and he himself somewhere says about himself that he spent eighty years abroad. And besides these, countless other wise men among the Greeks, 2.24.5 ancient and more recent, were zealous for this. Emulating these, a certain philosopher Meropius, a Tyrian of Phoenicia, went to the Indians. And two boys followed him, Frumentius and Edesius, both related to him by birth; whom he led by discourse and educated liberally. And having explored as much of India as was possible for him, he set about his return, having found a ship bound for Egypt. But it having happened that the ship put in at a certain harbor out of need for water or other provisions, the Indians there ran down and killed everyone, including Meropius; for at that time they had happened to break their treaty with the Romans. 2.24.6 But taking pity on the boys, being young, they took them alive and brought them to their king. And he appointed the younger one as cupbearer, but Frumentius as head of his household and steward of his finances; for he recognized that he was prudent and most capable of administering. For a long time

40

Αἰγύπτῳ στρατιωτικῶν ταγμάτων ὡμολόγησαν ἐν ζῶσιν εἶναι ᾿Αρσένιον, λαθεῖν δὲ παρ' αὐτοῖς πρότερον 2.23.6 κρυπτόμενον, καὶ νῦν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ διάγειν. ταῦτα οὕτω συμβάντα δῆλα γενέσθαι Κωνσταντίνῳ ἐσπούδασεν ᾿Αθανάσιος. τῷ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἀντέγραψεν ἔχεσθαι τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἐπιμελῶς καὶ τῆς τοῦ λαοῦ εὐταξίας καὶ εὐσεβείας προνοεῖν, παρ' οὐδὲν δὲ ἡγεῖσθαι τὰς τῶν Μελιτιανῶν ἐπιβουλάς, ὡς καὶ αὐτοῦ εὖ εἰδότος φθόνον αὐτοὺς ἐγείρειν εἰς τοιαύτας ψευδεῖς καὶ 2.23.7 πεπλασμένας γραφὰς καὶ τοὺς κατὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας θορύβους. αὐτόν τε τοῦ λοιποῦ μὴ συγχωρεῖν τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἀλλὰ δικαστὴν ἔσεσθαι κατὰ τοὺς πολιτικοὺς νόμους, εἰ μὴ ἡσυχίαν ἄγοιεν, καὶ δίκην λαβεῖν παρ' αὐτῶν ὡς οὐ μόνον ἀδίκως τοῖς ἀθῴοις ἐπιβουλευόντων, ἀλλ' ἀδίκως τῇ εὐταξίᾳ τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ λυμαινομένων. τοιαῦτα γράψας ὁ βασιλεὺς ᾿Αθανασίῳ προσέταξεν εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἀναγνωσθῆναι τὴν ἐπιστολήν, ἵν' εἰδέναι 2.23.8 πάντες ἔχοιεν τὴν αὐτοῦ προαίρεσιν. τὸ δὲ ἐξ ἐκείνου περιδεεῖς γενόμενοι οἱ τὰ Μελιτίου φρονοῦντες τέως ἠρέμουν ὑφορώμενοι τὴν τοῦ κρατοῦντος ἀπειλήν. εἰρηνευομένη δὲ ἡ κατὰ πᾶσαν Αἴγυπτον ἐκκλησία καὶ ὑπὸ τοσούτου ἱερέως προστασίᾳ ἰθυνομένη πολυπλασίων ὁσημέραι ἐγίνετο, πολλῶν προστιθεμένων ἐκ τοῦ ῾Ελληνικοῦ πλήθους καὶ τῶν ἄλλων αἱρέσεων. 2.24.1 ῾Υπὸ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον παρειλήφαμεν καὶ τοὺς ἔνδον τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ᾿Ινδῶν, ἀπειράτους μείναντας τῶν Βαρθολομαίου κηρυγμάτων, μετασχεῖν τοῦ δόγματος ὑπὸ Φρουμεντίῳ, ἱερεῖ καὶ καθηγητῇ γενομένῳ παρ' αὐτοῖς τῶν ἱερῶν μαθημάτων. ἵνα δὲ γνοίημεν καὶ ἐν τῷ παραδόξῳ τοῦ συμβάντος περὶ τοὺς ᾿Ινδοὺς οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ὥς τισι τερατολογεῖσθαι δοκεῖ, τὴν σύστασιν λαβεῖν τὸ τῶν Χριστιανῶν δόγμα, ἀναγκαῖον καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς 2.24.2 Φρουμεντίου χειροτονίας διεξελθεῖν· ἔχει δὲ ὧδε. περὶ πολλοῦ τοῖς παρ' ῞Ελλησιν εὐδοκιμωτάτοις φιλοσόφοις ἐγίνετο πόλεις καὶ τόπους ἀγνῶτας ἱστορεῖν. οὕτω γοῦν Πλάτων ὁ Σωκράτους ἑταῖρος Αἰγυπτίοις ἐνεδήμησε τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς μαθησόμενος, ἔπλευσε δὲ καὶ εἰς Σικελίαν ἐπὶ θέᾳ τῶν αὐτόθι κρατήρων, ἐν οἷς ἀεὶ μὲν ὡς ἀπὸ πηγῆς ἀναδιδόμενον αὐτόματον παφλάζει πῦρ, πολλάκις δὲ ὑπερχέον ποταμοῦ δίκην ῥεῖ καὶ τὴν γείτονα γῆν ἐπιβόσκεται τοσοῦτον, ὡς ἔτι νῦν πολλοὺς ἀγροὺς φαίνεσθαι κατακεκαυμένους καὶ μήτε σπόρον δέχεσθαι μήτε φυτείαν δένδρων, οἷά γε περὶ τῆς Σοδομιτῶν 2.24.3 χώρας καταγγέλλουσι. τούτους δὲ τοὺς κρατῆρας καὶ ᾿Εμπεδοκλῆς ἱστόρησεν, ἀνὴρ λαμπρῶς παρ' ῞Ελλησι φιλοσοφήσας καὶ ἐν ἔπεσιν ἡρῴοις τὴν ἐπιστήμην πραγματευσάμενος· διαπορούμενος δὲ περὶ τῆς ἀναδόσεως τοῦ πυρός, ἢ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ ἄμεινον ἀποθανεῖν δοκιμάσας, ἤ-τό γε ἀληθέστερον εἰπεῖν-οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἴσως εἰδὼς οὗ χάριν πρὸ καιροῦ τὴν τοιαύτην 2.24.4 εὗρεν ἑαυτῷ τοῦ βίου ἀπαλλαγήν, ἥλατο εἰς τὸ πῦρ καὶ διεφθάρη. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ∆ημόκριτος ὁ Κῷος πλείστας ἱστόρησε πόλεις, ἀέρα τε καὶ χώρας καὶ ἔθνη· καὶ ἐπὶ ἔτεσιν ὀγδοήκοντα διαγαγεῖν ἐπὶ ξένης αὐτός που περὶ ἑαυτοῦ φησιν. ἄλλοι τε ἐπὶ τούτοις μυρίοι τῶν παρ' ῞Ελλησι σοφῶν, 2.24.5 ἀρχαῖοι καὶ νεώτεροι, τοῦτο ἐσπούδασαν. οὓς ζηλώσας Μερόπιός τις φιλόσοφος Τύριος τῆς Φοινίκης παρεγένετο εἰς ᾿Ινδούς. εἵποντο δὲ αὐτῷ παῖδες δύο, Φρουμέντιός τε καὶ ᾿Εδέσιος, ἄμφω δὲ γένει αὐτῷ προσήκοντες· οὓς διὰ λόγων ἦγε καὶ ἐλευθερίως ἐπαίδευεν. ἱστορήσας δὲ τῆς ᾿Ινδικῆς ὅσα γε αὐτῷ ἐξεγένετο, τῆς ἐπανόδου εἴχετο νηὸς ἐπιτυχὼν στελλομένης εἰς Αἴγυπτον. συμβὰν δὲ κατὰ χρείαν ὕδατος ἢ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτηδείων εἰς ὅρμον τινὰ προσσχεῖν τὴν ναῦν, καταδραμόντες οἱ τῇδε ᾿Ινδοὶ κτείνουσι πάντας καὶ τὸν Μερόπιον· ἔτυχον γὰρ τότε λύσαντες τὰς πρὸς ῾Ρωμαίους σπονδάς. 2.24.6 τοὺς δὲ παῖδας νέους ὄντας οἰκτείραντες ἐζώγρησαν καὶ βασιλεῖ τῷ ἑαυτῶν προσήγαγον. ὁ δὲ τὸν μὲν νεώτερον οἰνοχόον κατέστησε, μείζονα δὲ τῆς αὐτοῦ οἰκίας τὸν Φρουμέντιον καὶ τῶν χρημάτων ἐπίτροπον· ἔγνω γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐχέφρονα καὶ διοικεῖν ἱκανώτατον. ἐπὶ πολὺν