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he gave these. But Dioscorus, who had distinguished himself publicly and answered his own questions most wisely, he admired and released, saying that he granted him a postponement for repentance on account of his age; and now the most god-befitting Dioscorus is with us, having remained for a longer contest and a more lasting prize. 6.41.21 'But a certain Nemesion, he too an Egyptian, was falsely accused of being an associate of robbers, and having cleared himself of this most alien slander before the centurion, he was informed against as a Christian and came as a prisoner before the governor; but the most unjust man, having tortured him with double the torments and scourges of the robbers, burned him between the robbers, the blessed one being honored with the example of Christ. 6.41.22 'And at once a whole detachment of soldiers, Ammon and Zeno and Ptolemy and Ingenuus and with them an old man, Theophilus, stood before the court; and while a certain man was being judged as a Christian and was already leaning towards denial, these men standing by were gnashing their teeth, and they nodded with their faces and raised their hands and gestured with their bodies. 6.41.23 And when the attention of all turned toward them, before anyone could seize them, they ran up to the tribunal, saying they were Christians, so that the governor and his assessors became terrified, and those being judged appeared most courageous for what they were about to suffer, while those judging grew timid. And these men departed from the courts in procession and rejoiced in their testimony, God leading them in glorious triumph; 6.42.1 'Many others in cities and villages were torn to pieces by the heathen, of whom I will mention one as an example. Ischyrion was a steward for one of the rulers for pay. His employer ordered him to sacrifice; when he did not obey, he insulted him; when he persisted, he reviled him; when he stood firm, taking a very large stake he thrust it through his bowels and his vital organs and killed him. 6.42.2 Why must I speak of the multitude of those who wandered in deserts and mountains, and were destroyed by hunger and thirst and cold and sickness and robbers and wild beasts? Those of them who survived are witnesses of their election and victory, and I will relate one deed of these as well for demonstration. 6.42.3 Chaeremon was the very aged bishop of the city called Nilopolis. He fled to the Arabian mountain together with his wife and did not return, nor could the brethren see them anymore, though they searched much, neither them nor their bodies. 6.42.4 And many on that same Arabian mountain were enslaved by barbarian Saracens, of whom some were ransomed with difficulty for a large sum of money, while others have not been to this day. And I have related these things not in vain, brother, but that you might know how many and how great were the terrible things that happened among us, of which those who have experienced them more would know more.' 6.42.5 Then after a little he adds to this, saying: 'Therefore, the divine martyrs themselves among us, who are now assessors of Christ and partners of His kingdom and partakers of His judgment and who judge with Him, received some of the lapsed brethren who had become liable to the charges of sacrificing, and seeing their conversion and repentance, and testing that it could be acceptable to Him who does not wish at all for the death of the sinner so much as his repentance, they received them and gathered them and joined with them and shared with them in prayers and feasts. What then, brethren, do you advise us about these things? 6.42.6 What are we to do? Shall we stand with them in vote and of one mind, and shall we guard their judgment and their grace, and be kind to those who have been pitied by them? Or shall we make their judgment unjust and set ourselves up as examiners of their opinion, and grieve their kindness, and overturn their order?' 6.43.1 Dionysius fittingly set forth these things, concerning those who had become weak during the time of the persecution

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τούτους ἔδωκεν. τὸν δὲ ∆ιόσκορον ἐλλαμπρυνάμενόν τε δημοσίᾳ καὶ σοφώτατα πρὸς τὰς ἰδίας πεύσεις ἀποκρινάμενον θαυμάσας, παρῆκεν, ὑπέρθεσιν φήσας εἰς μετάνοιαν αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ἐπιμετρεῖν· καὶ νῦν ὁ θεοπρεπέστατος σὺν ἡμῖν ἐστιν ∆ιόσκορος, εἰς μακρότερον τὸν ἀγῶνα καὶ διαρκέστερον μείνας τὸν ἆθλον. 6.41.21 «Νεμεσίων δέ τις, κἀκεῖνος Αἰγύπτιος, ἐσυκοφαντήθη μὲν ὡς δὴ σύνοικος λῃστῶν, ἀπολυσάμενος δὲ ταύτην παρὰ τῷ ἑκατοντάρχῳ τὴν ἀλλοτριωτάτην διαβολήν, καταμηνυθεὶς ὡς Χριστιανὸς ἧκεν δεσμώτης ἐπὶ τὸν ἡγούμενον· ὁ δὲ ἀδικώτατος διπλαῖς αὐτὸν ἢ τοὺς λῃστὰς ταῖς τε βασάνοις καὶ ταῖς μάστιξιν λυμηνάμενος, μεταξὺ τῶν λῃστῶν κατέφλεξεν τιμηθέντα τὸν μακάριον τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ παραδείγματι. 6.41.22 «ἀθρόον δέ τι σύνταγμα στρατιωτικόν, Ἄμμων καὶ Ζήνων καὶ Πτολεμαῖος καὶ Ἰγγένης καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς πρεσβύτης Θεόφιλος, εἱστήκεισαν πρὸ τοῦ δικαστηρίου· κρινομένου δή τινος ὡς Χριστιανοῦ καὶ πρὸς ἄρνησιν ἤδη ῥέποντος, ἐπρίοντο οὗτοι παρεστηκότες, καὶ τοῖς τε προσώποις ἐνένευον καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀνέτεινον καὶ συνεσχηματίζοντο τοῖς σώμασιν. 6.41.23 ἐπιστροφῆς δὲ πάντων πρὸς αὐτοὺς γενομένης, πρίν τινας αὐτῶν ἄλλως λαβέσθαι, φθάσαντες ἐπὶ τὸ βάθρον ἀνέδραμον, εἶναι Χριστιανοὶ λέγοντες, ὡς τόν τε ἡγεμόνα καὶ τοὺς συνέδρους ἐμφόβους γενέσθαι, καὶ τοὺς μὲν κρινομένους εὐθαρσεστάτους ἐφ' οἷς πείσονται, φαίνεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ δικάζοντας ἀποδειλιᾶν. καὶ οὗτοι μὲν ἐκ δικαστηρίων ἐνεπόμπευσαν καὶ ἠγαλλιάσαντο τῇ μαρτυρίᾳ, θριαμβεύοντος αὐτοὺς ἐνδόξως τοῦ θεοῦ· 6.42.1 «ἄλλοι δὲ πλεῖστοι κατὰ πόλεις καὶ κώμας ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν διεσπάσθησαν, ὧν ἑνὸς παραδείγματος ἕνεκεν ἐπιμνησθήσομαι. Ἰσχυρίων ἐπετρόπευέν τινι τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐπὶ μισθῷ. τοῦτον ὁ μισθοδότης ἐκέλευσεν θῦσαι, μὴ πειθόμενον ὕβριζεν, ἐμμένοντα προεπηλάκιζεν, ὑφισταμένου, βακτηρίαν μεγίστην λαβὼν διὰ τῶν ἐντέρων καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων διώσας, ἀπέκτεινεν. 6.42.2 τί δεῖ λέγειν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐν ἐρημίαις καὶ ὄρεσιν πλανηθέντων, ὑπὸ λιμοῦ καὶ δίψης καὶ κρύους καὶ νόσων καὶ λῃστῶν καὶ θηρίων διεφθαρμένων; ὧν οἱ περιγενόμενοι τῆς ἐκείνων εἰσὶν ἐκλογῆς καὶ νίκης μάρτυρες, ἓν δὲ καὶ τούτων εἰς δήλωσιν ἔργον παραθήσομαι. 6.42.3 Χαιρήμων ἦν ὑπέργηρως τῆς Νείλου καλουμένης πόλεως ἐπίσκοπος. οὗτος εἰς τὸ Ἀράβιον ὄρος ἅμα τῇ συμβίῳ ἑαυτοῦ φυγών, οὐκ ἐπανελήλυθεν, οὐδὲ ἐδυνήθησαν ἰδεῖν οὐκέτι, καίτοι πολλὰ διερευνησάμενοι, οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οὔτε αὐτοὺς οὔτε τὰ σώματα. 6.42.4 πολλοὶ δὲ οἱ κατ' αὐτὸ τὸ Ἀραβικὸν ὄρος ἐξανδραποδισθέντες ὑπὸ βαρβάρων Σαρακηνῶν· ὧν οἳ μὲν μόλις ἐπὶ πολλοῖς χρήμασιν ἐλυτρώθησαν, οἳ δὲ μέχρι νῦν οὐδέπω. καὶ ταῦτα διεξῆλθον οὐ μάτην, ἀδελφέ, ἀλλ' ἵνα εἰδῇς ὅσα καὶ ἡλίκα δεινὰ παρ' ἡμῖν συνέβη· ὧν οἱ μᾶλλον πεπειραμένοι πλείονα ἂν εἰδεῖεν». 6.42.5 εἶτα τούτοις ἐπιφέρει μετὰ βραχέα λέγων· «αὐτοὶ τοίνυν οἱ θεῖοι μάρτυρες παρ' ἡμῖν, οἱ νῦν τοῦ Χριστοῦ πάρεδροι καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ κοινωνοὶ καὶ μέτοχοι τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ συνδικάζοντες αὐτῷ, τῶν παραπεπτωκότων ἀδελφῶν τινας ὑπευθύνους τοῖς τῶν θυσιῶν ἐγκλήμασιν γενομένους προσελάβοντο, καὶ τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν καὶ μετάνοιαν αὐτῶν ἰδόντες δεκτήν τε γενέσθαι δυναμένην τῷ μὴ βουλομένῳ καθόλου τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ ὡς τὴν μετάνοιαν δοκιμάσαντες, εἰσεδέξαντο καὶ συνήγαγον καὶ συνέστησαν καὶ προσευχῶν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἑστιάσεων ἐκοινώνησαν. τί οὖν ἡμῖν, ἀδελφοί, περὶ τούτων συμβουλεύετε; 6.42.6 τί ἡμῖν πρακτέον; σύμψηφοι καὶ ὁμογνώμονες αὐτοῖς καταστῶμεν καὶ τὴν κρίσιν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν χάριν φυλάξωμεν καὶ τοῖς ἐλεηθεῖσιν ὑπ' αὐτῶν χρηστευσώμεθα, ἢ τὴν κρίσιν αὐτῶν ἄδικον ποιησώμεθα καὶ δοκιμαστὰς αὑτοὺς τῆς ἐκείνων γνώμης ἐπιστήσωμεν καὶ τὴν χρηστότητα λυπήσωμεν καὶ τὴν τάξιν ἀνασκευάσωμεν;» 6.43.1 Ταῦτα δ' εἰκότως ὁ ∆ιονύσιος παρατέθειται, τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐξησθενηκότων κατὰ τὸν τοῦ διωγμοῦ καιρὸν