113

they brought exhortations to those men. But the most divine Macedonius, knowing nothing of worldly matters and being completely inexperienced in the divine oracles, but living on the mountain tops and offering pure prayers night and day to the Savior of all, not dismayed by the emperor’s anger nor taking into account the authority of those sent, seized the cloak of one of them in the middle of the city and ordered them both to get down from their horses. But they, seeing a small old man clothed in shabby rags, were at first angry; but when some of the leaders made known the virtue of the man, they leaped down from their horses and, grasping his knees, begged for forgiveness. And he, filled with divine wisdom, used these words towards them: "Tell the emperor, O my friends: you are not only an emperor, but also a man. Do not, therefore, look only at the empire, but also consider your nature; for being a man, you rule over your fellow kind; and the nature of men has been created in the divine image and likeness. Do not, therefore, so cruelly and harshly order the image of God to be slaughtered; for you provoke the Creator by punishing his image. For consider how you are doing these things because you are annoyed on account of a bronze image; and how much an ensouled, living, and rational image differs from a soulless one is clear to all who have understanding. And in addition to this, let him consider also that, while for us it is easy to create many bronze images in place of one, for him it is utterly impossible to create even one hair of those who have been killed." Hearing this, those admirable men conveyed what had been said to the emperor and extinguished the flame of his anger. And instead of those threats he wrote an apology and declared the cause of his 317 anger. "For it was not right," he said, "when I had done wrong, for a woman most worthy of all praise to receive such an outrage after her death, but those who were indignant ought to have armed their anger against me." And he added that he was distressed and grieved to learn that some had been killed by the authorities. But I have related these things, not thinking it right to consign to oblivion the boldness of the all-praised monk and to show that law to be beneficial, which the great Ambrose advised to be written. But the most faithful emperor transferred his zeal against the Hellenic error and wrote laws ordering the precincts of the idols to be destroyed. For Constantine the Great, most worthy of all praise, who was the first to adorn the empire with piety and saw the world still raging, completely forbade sacrificing to demons, but did not destroy their temples, but ordered them to be inaccessible. And indeed his sons also followed in their father’s footsteps. But Julian renewed the impiety and kindled the flame of the ancient deceit. But Jovian, having received the empire, again forbade the worship of idols. And Valentinian the Great, using such laws, governed Europe. But Valens permitted all others to worship as they wished and to reverence what they worshipped, but he continually waged war only against those who championed the apostolic doctrines. At any rate, throughout the whole time of his reign, the altar-fire was kindled, and they offered libations and sacrifices to the idols, and they held public feasts in the marketplace; and those who had been initiated into the rites of Dionysus ran about with 318 their goatskins, tearing dogs apart and raging and behaving like Bacchants and doing the other things that reveal the wickedness of their teacher. Finding all these things, Theodosius the most faithful emperor tore them up by the roots and consigned them to oblivion. But Marcellus, the best in all things, first among the other bishops, using the law as a weapon, destroyed the precincts of the city entrusted to him, using boldness toward God rather than a multitude of hands. And I shall also narrate this, as it is most worthy of remembrance. For John, the bishop of the Apameans, of whom I have made mention before, had died,

113

παρακλή σεις τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐκείνοις προσήνεγκαν. Μακεδόνιος δὲ ὁ θειότατος, οὐδὲν μὲν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον ἐπιστάμενος καὶ τῶν θείων δὲ λογίων πάμπαν ἄπειρος ὤν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς τῶν ὀρέων κορυφαῖς διαιτώμενος καὶ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν τῷ σωτῆρι τῶν ὅλων καθαρὰς προσ φέρων εὐχάς, οὐ τοῦ βασιλέως καταπλαγεὶς τὴν ὀργὴν οὔτε μὴν τῶν ἀποσταλέντων τὴν ἐξουσίαν εἰς νοῦν λαβών, ἐν μέσῳ τῷ ἄστει τῆς χλανίδος θατέρου λαβόμενος ἀμφοτέρους ἐκ τῶν ἵππων καταβῆναι κελεύει. οἱ δὲ μικρὸν γερόντιον εὐτελῆ ῥάκια περιβεβλημένον ἰδόντες, τὸ πρῶτον μὲν ἐχαλέπηναν· ἐπειδὴ δέ τινες τῶν ἡγουμένων τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐδήλωσαν ἀρετήν, κατεπήδησάν τε ἀπὸ τῶν ἵππων καὶ τῶν ἐκείνου γονάτων ἐπιλαβόμενοι συγγνώμην ἐζήτουν. Ὁ δὲ τῆς θείας σοφίας ἐμφορηθεὶς τοιοῖσδε πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐχρή σατο λόγοις· "εἴπατε, ὦ φίλοι ἄνδρες, τῷ βασιλεῖ· οὐ βασιλεὺς εἶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄνθρωπος. μὴ τοίνυν μόνην ὅρα τὴν βασιλείαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν φύσιν λογίζου· ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ὢν ὁμοφυῶν βασιλεύεις· κατ' εἰκόνα δὲ θείαν καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων δεδημιούργηται φύσις. μὴ τοίνυν ὠμῶς οὕτω καὶ ἀπηνῶς τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν εἰκόνα κατασφαγῆναι κελεύσῃς· παροξύνεις γὰρ τὸν δημιουργὸν τὴν ἐκείνου κολάζων εἰκόνα. σκόπησον γὰρ ὡς καὶ σὺ χαλκῆς ἕνεκα δυσχεραίνων εἰκόνος ταῦτα ποιεῖς· ὅσον δὲ τῆς ἀψύχου διαφέρει ἡ ἔμψυχός τε καὶ ζῶσα καὶ λογική, δῆλον ἅπασι τοῖς γε νοῦν ἔχουσι. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις λογισάσθω κἀκεῖνο, ὡς ἡμῖν μὲν ῥᾴδιον ἀντὶ τῆς μιᾶς εἰκό νος πολλὰς δημιουργῆσαι χαλκᾶς, αὐτῷ δὲ πάμπαν ἀδύνατον μίαν γοῦν τῶν ἀναιρεθέντων δημιουργῆσαι τρίχα." Ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες οἱ θαυμαστοὶ ἄνδρες ἐκεῖνοι διεπόρθμευσαν τὰ εἰρημένα τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ τὴν τοῦ θυμοῦ κατέσβεσαν φλόγα. καὶ ἀντὶ τῶν ἀπειλῶν ἐκείνων ἀπολογίαν ἔγραψε καὶ τῆς ὀργῆς τὴν 317 αἰτίαν ἐδήλωσεν. "οὐκ ἔδει γάρ", ἔφη, "ἐμοῦ πλημμελήσαντος, γυ ναῖκα πάσης εὐφημίας ἀξιωτάτην τοσαύτην μετὰ τελευτὴν δέξασθαι παροινίαν, κατ' ἐμοῦ δὲ ἐχρῆν τὸν θυμὸν τοὺς ἀγανακτοῦντας ὁπλί σαι". προστέθεικε δὲ ὡς ἀλύει καὶ ἀνιᾶται, τινὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἀνῃρῆσθαι μαθών. ἐγὼ δὲ ταῦτα διεξῆλθον, καὶ τοῦ πανευφήμου μονάζοντος τὴν παρρησίαν οὐχ ἡγησάμενος δίκαιον παραδοῦναι λήθῃ καὶ τὸν νόμον ἐκεῖνον δεικνὺς ὀνησιφόρον, ὃν ὁ μέγας Ἀμβρόσιος γραφῆναι παρῄνεσεν. Ὁ δὲ πιστότατος βασιλεὺς κατὰ τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς πλάνης μετέθηκε τὴν σπουδὴν καὶ νόμους ἔγραψε τὰ τῶν εἰδώλων τεμένη καταλυ θῆναι κελεύων. Κωνσταντῖνος μὲν γὰρ ὁ μέγας, ὁ πάσης ἀξιώτατος εὐφημίας, πρῶτος εὐσεβείᾳ τὴν βασιλείαν κοσμήσας καὶ τὴν οἰκου μένην ἔτι μεμηνυῖαν ὁρῶν, τὸ μὲν τοῖς δαίμοσι θύειν παντάπασιν ἀπηγόρευσε, τοὺς δὲ τούτων ναοὺς οὐ κατέλυσεν ἀλλ' ἀβάτους εἶναι προσέταξε. καὶ μέντοι καὶ οἱ τούτου παῖδες τοῖς πατρῴοις ἠκο λούθησαν ἴχνεσιν. Ἰουλιανὸς δὲ ἀνενεώσατο τὴν ἀσέβειαν καὶ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἐξαπάτης ἐξῆψε τὴν φλόγα. Ἰοβιανὸς δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν πα ραλαβὼν πάλιν τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων ἐκώλυσε θεραπείαν. καὶ Βαλεν τινιανὸς δὲ ὁ μέγας τοιοῖσδε κεχρημένος νόμοις ἴθυνε τὴν Εὐρώπην. ὁ δὲ Βάλης πᾶσι μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπέτρεψε θρησκεύειν ᾗ βούλονται καὶ τὰ θρησκευόμενα θεραπεύειν, μόνοις δὲ πολεμῶν διετέλει τοῖς τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ὑπερμαχοῦσι δογμάτων. πάντα γοῦν τὸν τῆς ἐκείνου βασιλείας χρόνον καὶ τὸ ἐπιβώμιον ἥπτετο πῦρ, καὶ σπονδὰς καὶ θυσίας τοῖς εἰδώλοις προσέφερον, καὶ τὰς δημοθοινίας κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐπετέλουν· καὶ οἱ τοῦ ∆ιονύσου τὰ ὄργια τετελεσμένοι μετὰ 318 τῶν αἰγίδων ἔτρεχον, τοὺς κύνας διασπῶντες καὶ μεμηνότες καὶ βακχεύοντες καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δρῶντες ἃ τὴν τοῦ διδασκάλου πονηρίαν δηλοῖ. ταῦτα πάντα Θεοδόσιος εὑρὼν ὁ πιστότατος βασιλεὺς πρόρ ριζά τε ἀνέσπασε καὶ λήθῃ παρέδωκε. Πρῶτος μέντοι τῶν ἄλλων ἀρχιερέων Μάρκελλος ὁ πάντα ἄριστος, ὅπλῳ τῷ νόμῳ χρησάμενος, τῆς ἐγκεχειρισμένης πόλεως τὰ τεμένη κατέλυσε, τῇ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν παρρησίᾳ μᾶλλον ἢ τῇ πο λυχειρίᾳ χρησάμενος. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο διηγήσομαι μνήμης ὂν ἀξιώ τατον. ἐτετελευτήκει μὲν Ἰωάννης ὁ τῆς Ἀπαμέων ἐπίσκοπος, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην,