68

arrived at Daphne, eager to help the god worshiped by them. But when he saw the so-called god had become dust, he tortured the temple-wardens, suspecting the arson had been committed by some Christian. But they, even while being tortured, could not bear to say anything false; for they said the fire had started not from below but from above, and some peasants from the neighboring areas who had arrived said that they had seen the bolt of fire being borne from heaven. But even having learned that these things had happened thus, the impious armed themselves against the God of the universe; and the tyrant commanded the sacred vessels to be handed over to the imperial treasuries, and having nailed shut the doors of the great church, which Constantine had built, he declared it inaccessible to those who gathered in it. The party of Arius then occupied it. 189 With Julianus, the prefect of the East, there entered into the divine temple Felix, who was treasurer of the imperial treasures, and Elpidius, who was entrusted with the command of the emperor's private money and property; such a man the Romans are accustomed to call *comes privatarum*. They say that both Felix and Elpidius, being Christians, apostatized from piety to gratify the impious emperor. And Julianus urinated upon the holy table, and he struck Euzoius on the temple when he tried to stop him; and he is said to have declared that the affairs of the Christians are destitute of divine providence. And Felix, having seen the costliness of the sacred vessels (for Constantine and Constantius had generously had them made): "Behold," he said, "in what sort of vessels the son of Mary is served." But for these impious and mad deeds they paid the penalty before long. For Julianus at once fell into a grievous disease, and his bowels were destroyed by putrefaction, and he no longer passed excrement through the excretory organs, but his foul mouth, which had become an instrument of blasphemy, became an organ of excretion. They say that his wife, who was distinguished for her faith, said these things to her husband: "It is fitting, husband, to praise Christ the Savior, because through this punishment he has shown you his power; for you would not have known who it is you are fighting against, if, using his accustomed longsuffering, he had not inflicted these divinely sent plagues upon you." From these words and from the sufferings that beset him, understanding the cause of his disease, 190 the wretched man begged the emperor to give back the church to those who had been deprived of it; but he neither persuaded him and he himself met the end of his life. And Felix, having himself also suddenly received a divinely sent scourge, brought forth blood from his mouth all day and all night, as the vessels of the body flowed from all sides to this part. And so, when all his blood was spent, he too expired and was delivered over to eternal death. These men, then, paid these penalties for their impiety. And a certain youth, the son of a priest, who had been raised in impiety, at that time went over to the company of the pious. For a certain woman, distinguished in piety and deemed worthy of the grace of the diaconate, was an acquaintance of his mother. She used to greet this boy when he came with his mother (for he was still a lad) and urged him toward piety. And when his mother died, the youth came to her and enjoyed her accustomed teaching; and having firmly received her counsel, he asked his teacher what means there might be by which it would be possible both to flee his father's superstition and to partake of the truth proclaimed by them. And she said that it was necessary to flee his father and to prefer the creator of both him and his father, and to go to another city in which it would be possible to hide and escape the hands of the impious emperor; and she promised that she herself would see to this. "But," 191 said the youth, "I will come then and entrust my soul to you." And when a few days had passed, Julian went up to Daphne to hold a public feast; and his father also went up with him, being a priest and accustomed to accompany the emperor. And with his father was this one also

68

τὴν ∆άφνην κατέλαβεν, ἐπικουρῆσαι σπουδάζων τῷ παρ' αὐτῶν προσκυνουμένῳ θεῷ. ἰδὼν δὲ τὸν καλού μενον θεὸν κόνιν γεγενημένον, τοὺς νεωκόρους ᾐκίζετο, παρὰ Χρι στιανοῦ τινος τὸν ἐμπρησμὸν γεγενῆσθαι τοπάζων. οἱ δὲ καὶ αἰκιζό μενοι φάναι τι ψευδὲς οὐκ ἠνέσχοντο· τὸν γὰρ ἐμπρησμὸν ἔλεγον οὐ κάτωθεν ἀλλ' ἄνωθεν λαβεῖν τὴν ἀρχήν, καὶ τῶν πλησιοχώρων δὲ ἀγροίκων τινὲς ἀφικόμενοι ἔφασαν οὐρανόθεν τὸν πρηστῆρα φερό μενον τεθεᾶσθαι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῦτα οὕτως γεγενῆσθαι μεμαθηκότες οἱ δυσσεβεῖς κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ὡπλίζοντο· καὶ τά τε ἱερὰ σκεύη τοῖς βασιλικοῖς ταμιείοις ὁ τύραννος παραδοθῆναι προσέταξε καὶ τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας, ἣν Κωνσταντῖνος ἐδείματο, καθηλώσας τὰς θύρας ἄβατον τοῖς εἰς αὐτὴν ἀθροιζομένοις ἀπέφηνεν. οἱ δὲ τῆς Ἀρείου συμμορίας ταύτην τηνικαῦτα κατεῖχον. 189 Ἰουλιανῷ δέ γε τῷ τῆς Ἑῴας ὑπάρχῳ συνεισῆλθεν εἰς τὸν θεῖον νεὼν Φίλιξ μέν, ταμίας ὢν τῶν βασιλικῶν θησαυρῶν, Ἐλπίδιος δέ, τῶν ἰδίων τοῦ βασιλέως χρημάτων τε καὶ κτημάτων τὴν ἡγεμονίαν πεπιστευμένος· κόμητα δὲ πριβάτων τὸν τοιοῦτον Ῥωμαῖοι προσα γορεύειν εἰώθασιν. καὶ τὸν Φίλικα δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἐλπίδιόν φασι Χρι στιανοὺς ὄντας ἀποστῆναι τῆς εὐσεβείας, χαριζομένους τῷ δυσσεβεῖ βασιλεῖ. ὁ δὲ Ἰουλιανὸς οὖρον μὲν κατὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς τραπέζης ἐξέκρινε, τὸν δὲ Εὐζώϊον πειραθέντα κωλῦσαι κατὰ τῆς κόρρης ἐπάταξε· φάναι δὲ λέγεται ὡς ἔρημα τὰ Χριστιανῶν τῆς θείας ὑπάρχει κηδε μονίας. ὁ δὲ Φίλιξ τῶν ἱερῶν σκευῶν τὴν πολυτέλειαν θεασάμενος (Κωνσταντῖνος γὰρ καὶ Κωνστάντιος φιλοτίμως ταῦτα κατεσκεύασαν)· "ἰδού", ἔφη, "ἐν ὁποίοις σκεύεσιν ὑπηρετεῖται ὁ Μαρίας υἱός". Ἀλλὰ τῶν δυσσεβῶν τούτων καὶ μανικῶν τολμημάτων οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἔτισαν δίκας. Ἰουλιανὸς μὲν γὰρ παραυτίκα νόσῳ χαλεπῇ περιπεσὼν ὑπὸ σηπεδόνος διεφθάρη τὰ ἔγκατα, καὶ τὴν κόπρον οὐκέτι διὰ τῶν ἀποκριτικῶν μορίων παρέπεμπεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μυσαρὸν στόμα, τὸ τῆς βλασφημίας γενόμενον ὄργανον, ἀποκρίσεως ἐγένετο μόριον. φασὶ δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα πίστει λαμπρυνομένην ταῦτα φάναι πρὸς τὸν ὁμόζυγα· "ὑμνεῖν, ὦ ἄνερ, προσήκει τὸν σωτῆρα Χριστόν, ὅτι σοι διὰ τῆς παιδείας τὴν οἰκείαν ὑπέδειξε δύναμιν· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔγνως τίς ὁ παρὰ σοῦ πολεμούμενος, εἰ τῇ συνήθει μακροθυμίᾳ χρησάμενος ταύτας σοι τὰς θεηλάτους πληγὰς οὐκ ἐπήγαγεν". ἐκ τῶνδε τῶν λόγων καὶ τῶν ἐπικειμένων παθῶν συνεὶς τῆς νόσου τὴν αἰτίαν 190 ὁ δείλαιος ἀποδοῦναι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὸν βασιλέα ἱκέτευσε τοῖς ταύτης ἐστερημένοις· ἀλλ' οὔτε ἐκεῖνον ἔπεισε καὶ αὐτὸς τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος ἐδέξατο. ὁ δὲ Φίλιξ ἐξαπίνης θεήλατον καὶ αὐτὸς δεξάμενος μάστιγα αἷμα πανημέριόν τε καὶ παννύχιον ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ἔφερε, τῶν ἀγγείων τοῦ σώματος πάντοθεν εἰς τοῦτο συρρεόντων τὸ μόριον. οὕτω δὲ παντὸς δαπανηθέντος τοῦ αἵματος, ἀπέσβη καὶ οὗτος καὶ τῷ αἰωνίῳ παρεπέμφθη θανάτῳ. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν τῆς δυσσεβείας ταύτας ἔτισαν τὰς δίκας. Νέος δέ τις ἱερέως υἱὸς ἐν δυσσεβείᾳ τραφεὶς κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν εἰς τὸν τῶν εὐσεβῶν μετέστη χορόν. γυνὴ γάρ τις ἐπίσημος ἐν εὐλαβείᾳ καὶ τοῦ τῆς διακονίας ἠξιωμένη χαρίσματος συνήθης ἦν τῆς τούτου μητρός. αὕτη τοῦτον μετὰ τῆς μητρὸς ἀφικνούμενον (ἔτι γὰρ μειρακύλλιον ἦν) ἠσπάζετό τε καὶ προὔτρεπεν εἰς εὐσέβειαν. καὶ τῆς μητρὸς δὲ τελευτησάσης, ἀφικνεῖτο πρὸς ταύτην ὁ νέος καὶ τῆς συνήθους διδασκαλίας ἀπήλαυε· παγίως δὲ τὰς συμβουλὰς εἰσδεξά μενος ἤρετο τὴν διδάσκαλον τίς ἂν γένοιτο πόρος δι' οὗ δυνατὸν καὶ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς δεισιδαιμονίαν φυγεῖν καὶ τῆς παρ' αὐτῶν κη ρυττομένης ἀληθείας μεταλαχεῖν. ἡ δὲ ἔλεγεν χρῆναι τὸν πατέρα φυγεῖν καὶ προτιμῆσαι τὸν αὐτοῦ τε κἀκείνου δημιουργόν, καὶ πόλιν ἑτέραν καταλαβεῖν ἐν ᾗ λαθεῖν δυνατὸν καὶ διαδρᾶναι τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς βασιλέως τὰς χεῖρας· ὑπισχνεῖτο δὲ τούτου προνοήσειν αὐτή. "ἀτάρ", 191 ἔφη ὁ νέος, "ἥξω λοιπὸν καὶ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ σοι παραδώσω ψυχήν". ὀλίγων δὲ διελθουσῶν ἡμερῶν, Ἰουλιανὸς μὲν εἰς τὴν ∆άφνην δημο θοινίαν ἐπιτελέσων ἀνῆλθε· συνανῆλθε δὲ καὶ ὁ τούτου πατήρ, ἱερεύς τε ὢν καὶ εἰωθὼς συνέπεσθαι τῷ βασιλεῖ. τῷ δὲ πατρὶ συνῆν καὶ οὗτος