Chapter LXXII.--Ordination.
And having thus spoken, he placed his hand upon Zacchæus, saying, "O Thou Ruler and Lord of all, Father and God, do Thou guard the shepherd with the flock. Thou art the cause, Thou the power. We are that which is helped; Thou the helper, the physician, the saviour, the wall, the life, the hope, the refuge, the joy, the expectation, the rest. In a word, Thou art all things to us. In order to the eternal attainment of salvation, do Thou co-operate, preserve, protect. Thou canst do all things. For Thou art the Ruler of rulers, the Lord of lords, the Governor of kings. Do Thou give power to the president to loose what ought to be loosed, to bind what ought to be bound. Do Thou make him wise. Do Thou, as by His name, protect the Church of Thy Christ as a fair bride. For Thine is eternal glory. Praise to the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost to all ages. Amen."
Chapter LXXIII.--Baptisms.
And having thus spoken, he afterwards said: "Whoever of you wish to be baptized, begin from to-morrow to fast, and have hands laid upon you day by day, and inquire about what matters you please. For I mean still to remain with you ten days." And after three days, having begun to baptize, he called me, and Aquila, and Nicetas, and said to us: "As I am going to set out for Tyre after seven days, I wish you to go away this very day, and to lodge secretly with Bernice the Canaanite, the daughter of Justa, and to learn from her, and write accurately to me what Simon is about. For this is of great consequence to me, that I may prepare myself accordingly. Therefore depart straightway in peace." And leaving him baptizing, as he commanded, we preceded him to Tyre of Phoenicia.
Homily IV.
Chapter I.--Bernice's Hospitality.
Thus I Clement, departing from Cæsarea Stratonis, together with Nicetas and Aquila, entered into Tyre of Phoenicia; [1030] and according to the injunction of Peter, who sent us, we lodged with Bernice, the daughter of Justa the Canaanitess. She received us most joyfully; and striving with much honour towards me, and with affection towards Aquila and Nicetas, and speaking freely as a friend, through joy she treated us courteously, and hospitably urged us to take bodily refreshment. Perceiving, therefore, that she was endeavouring to impose a short delay upon us, I said: "You do well, indeed, to busy yourself in fulfilling the part of love; but the fear of our God must take the precedence of this. For, having a combat on hand on behalf of many souls, we are afraid of preferring our own ease before their salvation.
[1030] [In the Recognitions (iv. 1) mention is made of Clement and others accompanying Peter to Dora, Ptolemais, Tyre, Sidon, and Berytus (Beyrout), but no record is made of any discourses. In Homilies IV.-VII. the details of this journey are given, but with variation in some particulars. These Homilies are peculiar, in form, to this work; but much of the matter occurs in the Recognitions, in the final discussion with the father of Clement.--R.]
Chapter II.--Simon's Practices.
"For we hear that Simon the magician, being worsted at Cæsarea in the discussion with our lord Peter, immediately hastened hither, and is doing much mischief. For he is slandering Peter, in opposition to truth, to all the adversaries, and stealing away the souls of the multitude. For he being a magician, calls him a magician; and he being a deceiver, proclaims him as a deceiver. And although in the discussions he was beaten in all points, and fled, yet he says that he was victorious; and he constantly charges them that they ought not to listen to Peter,--as if, forsooth, he were anxious that they may not be fascinated by a terrible magician.
Chapter III.--Object of the Mission.
"Therefore our lord Peter, having learned these things, has sent us to be investigators of the things that have been told him; that if they be so, we may write to him and let him know, so that he may come and convict him face to face of the accusations that he has uttered against him. Since, therefore, danger on the part of many souls lies before us, on this account we must neglect bodily rest for a short time; and we would learn truly from you who live here, whether the things which we have heard be true. Now tell us particularly."