Peter then narrates the story of how he bad rescued a woman named Eubola from Simon in Palestine. Further mir- aoles and discourses of Peter are narrated, and the night before the contest is spent in prayer and fasting. On the day of the contest all Rome comes togetlier, the senators, the prefect, and the officers. First comes a verbal disputation, and in the speech of Peter we notice apparently a Gnostic tendency. The contest begins by Simon making a young man die by his word. An interruption occurs. A woman rushes in saying that her son is dead, and some young men are sent to fetch him. Peter then raises the young man whom Simon had put to death, a favourite of the emperor, and the son of the widow who had been brought to him. Again, the mother of a certain senator, Nicostrates, osks Peter to heal her son. The dead body is brought. Peter challenges Simon to raise it. Simon makes it seem to move, but Peter really raises it. Ail the people then follow Peter.
Simon still tries to deceive the people by pretended miracles, but Peter exposes him. As no one believes him, he explains that he is going to God : 'ilen of Home, do you think that Peter has shown himself stronger than me, and has overcome me? And do you follow him ? You are deceived. To-morrow, leaving you impious and godless men, I will fly to Ood, whose power I am, having been weakened. II, then, you have fallen, I am he that standeth (o 'Eirra^), and I go to the Father, and will say to him, "Me, the Standing One, thy son, they wished to overthrow; but ha\ing refused to agree with them, I have come to thyself."* The people come together to see him fly. He appears flying over Home. Peter prays, and he falls down, having his leg broken in three places. The people stone him, and all follow Peter. Simon is taken to Ancia, and then to Terracina, where he dies.
(2) The Acta Petri et Pauli occur in two forms, the Ma^-
rCptof riv kyiaiv a.TofToka/f lliTp^u Kcci IIcc^^Xal' and the Tpa^ui t«*
iy;*r» «!rflffTc;<AFi' UiTfou Mai tlxCXcv, but the variations betw-een them do not affect the story of Simon. The main point of dillerence between this story and that which we have just narrated is that St. Paul is here made the companion of St. Peter instead of being represented as having left Uome.
Owing to the success of the preaching of Peter and Paul, the Jews and priests stir up Simon o^^ainst Peter. Simon is sum- moned before Nero, and by his miracles convinces Nero of the truth of his claims to be Son of God, and Nero orders Peter and Paul to be brought before him. The contest is first one of words, in which St. Peter quotes a letter of Pontius Pilate about our Lord, then it passes into miracles. Each challenges the other to say what is in their thoughts. Peter blesses and breaks a loaf of bread, and has it prepared to give to the dogs which Simon sends against him to devour him, thus disclosing that he knew what waa in Simon's thoughts. Simon then demands that a lofty tower should be erecteii. Nero remem- bers how once Simon liatl appeared to raise hiniself from the dead after he had been killed three d.iys, and still expects his victory. This Simon ha<l done by making the executioner who had been sent to execute him cut otf the head of a ram instead of his own. At this point tliere is inserted a conversa- tion between Nero and Paul, and then a dispute on the subject of circumcision. Then comes the final test. While Paul prays, it is the part of Peter to oppose Simon. Simon sturtj* flying. Peter then says, * I adjure you, angels of Satan, who bear hint to the air to deceive the hearts of the unbelie\ers, by God the creator of all, and Jesus Christ, whom on this liay He raised from the dead, from this hour no longer bear him, but let him go.' He then falls and dies. Nero puts Peter and Paul in prison, but keeps the body of Simon to see if it will rise on the third day.
It will be noticed in this narrative that the part played by St. Paul is clearly subordinate. His name and his action mi^hC really be omitted without serious injury to the narrative. This suggests that very probably the story in its original form came from a source sinntar to the Actus Petri cum iiiimone. In which St. Paul is entirely absent.
iv. Modern critical Views.— We have now gone sutViciently minutely tlirough all the v.-irioua vicissitudes which the legends about Simon Miigus experienced during the early centuries, and can l)as8 to some equally curious devolopmeuta of modern criticism.
Tliere is no doubt that the Clementine litera- ture is to some extent Ebionite in character, and might naturally contain anti-Pauline teach- ing. Starting from this point of view, Uaur tii*- covered certain passages in which Simon rcpre
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SIMON MAGUS
SIMON MAGUS
sented, or seemed to represent, St. Paul. He tlieu propounded tlie view tliat Simon the Sa- maritan was not a historical character, but a term of reproach invented for the Apostle Paul. The contest between Simon Peter and Simon Magus really represented the original conflict of Peter and Paul. "Wherever Simon Magus occurs we should read Paul. At first it was clearly under- stood who this person designated as Simon the Samaritan really was, but as the two parties more and more came together the original meaning was forgotten, and hence we find, even in a book like the Acts of the Apostles, written in a con- ciliatory interest, fragments of the old contest still embedded. But we have to recognize that tlie whole of our accepted history of early Chris- tianity is really a conventional ecclesiastical legend, and the real history of the period must be disentangled from the Clementine literature. It is mr.rveilous with what ingenuity the parallel was worked out when once the idea was started. Simon called himself the great power of God. Paul claims that he lived by the power of God {•2 Co 12^ 13^). When Simon offers money to buy the power of conferring the gift of the Holj Gliost, tliis is an allusion to Paul, who by his contributions for the poor saints at Jerusalem was attempting to obtain the apostleship. Peter telling Simon tliat he has neither part nor lot m this matter, is really Peter telling Paul that he has not the KXijpos ttjs dTrojToX^s.