Ante-Nicene Fathers • VOLUME 8
The Twelve Patriarchs, Apocrypha, Clementine Homilies & More
SECTION 321
Chapter XXV.--Simon Retires. Sophonias Asks Peter to State His Real Opinions in Regard to Evil.
Chapter XXV.--Simon Retires. Sophonias Asks Peter to State His Real Opinions in Regard to Evil. And Simon hearing this, gnashed his teeth for rage, and went away in silence. But Peter (for a considerable portion of the day still remained) laid his hands on the large multitude to heal them; and having dismissed them, went into t…
839 wordsSECTION 322Chapter III.--The Work of the Good One and of the Evil One.
Chapter III.--The Work of the Good One and of the Evil One. "But of these two, the one [1484] acts violently towards the other by the command of God. Moreover, each man has power to obey whichever of them he pleases for the doing of good or evil. But if any one chooses to do what is good, he becomes the possession of the future…
785 wordsSECTION 323Chapter V.--Sophonias Maintains that God Cannot Produce What is Unlike Himself.
Chapter V.--Sophonias Maintains that God Cannot Produce What is Unlike Himself. And Sophonias said again: "Your great patience, my lord Peter, gives us boldness to ask you many questions for the sake of accuracy. Wherefore we make our inquiries with confidence in every direction. I remember, then, that Simon said yesterday, in …
856 wordsSECTION 324Chapter VII.--The Objection Answered, that One Cannot Change Himself.
Chapter VII.--The Objection Answered, that One Cannot Change Himself. "But perhaps some one of you thinks that one may become something under the influence of one, and another under the influence of another, but no one can change himself into whatever he wishes, and that it is the characteristic of one who grows old, and who mu…
923 wordsSECTION 325Chapter IX.--Why the Wicked One is Appointed Over the Wicked by the Righteous God.
Chapter IX.--Why the Wicked One is Appointed Over the Wicked by the Righteous God. When Peter said this, Lazarus, who also was one of his followers, said: "Explain to us the harmony, how it can be reasonable that the wicked one should be appointed by the righteous God to be the punisher of the impious, and yet should himself af…
962 wordsSECTION 326Chapter XIII.--The Flight of Simon.
Chapter XIII.--The Flight of Simon. While Peter was thus talking, there entered one of those who had gone before to Antioch, and who, coming back from Antioch, said to Peter: "I wish you to know, my lord, that Simon, by doing many miracles publicly in Antioch, and calling you a magician and a juggler and a murderer, [1522] has …
875 wordsSECTION 327Chapter XVI.--Why Simon Gave to Faustus His Own Shape.
Chapter XVI.--Why Simon Gave to Faustus His Own Shape. And my father said: "I have sinned; I confess it." And Annubion said: "I also along with him beg you to forgive the noble and good old man who has been deceived: for the unfortunate man has been the sport of that notorious fellow. But I shall tell you how it took place. [15…
824 wordsSECTION 328Chapter XIX.--Peter's Instructions to Faustus.
Chapter XIX.--Peter's Instructions to Faustus. "When you are with these in Antioch, while you look like Simon, proclaim publicly your repentance, saying, I Simon proclaim this to you: I confess [1535] that all my statements in regard to Peter are utterly false; [1536] for he is not a deceiver, nor a murderer, nor a juggler; nor…
784 wordsSECTION 329Chapter XXII.--Appion and Athenodorus Return to Simon.
Chapter XXII.--Appion and Athenodorus Return to Simon. When Appion and those who were with him heard this, they howled and lamented, saying: "Why did you not receive him?" And when at the same time Athenodorus wished to say to me, "It was Faustus, your father;" Appion anticipated him, and said, "We learned from some one that Si…
2,203 wordsSECTION 330IV. The History of Joseph the Carpenter.--The original language of this history is Coptic. From the Coptic it was translated into Arabic. Th
IV. The History of Joseph the Carpenter.--The original language of this history is Coptic. From the Coptic it was translated into Arabic. The Arabic was published by Wallin in 1722, with a Latin translation and copious notes. Wallin's version has been republished by Fabricius, and later in a somewhat amended form by Thilo. This …
2,243 wordsSECTION 331III. Acts of Barnabas.--This book has more an air of truth about it than any of the others. There is not much extravagance in the details, a
III. Acts of Barnabas.--This book has more an air of truth about it than any of the others. There is not much extravagance in the details, and the geography is correct, showing that the writer knew Cyprus well. It seems to have been written at all events before 478, in which year the body of Barnabas is said to have been found i…
2,206 wordsSECTION 332There appear to be versions of it in Coptic, Syriac, and Arabic. One of the Syriac versions, from an Urumiyeh ms., was translated into Engli
There appear to be versions of it in Coptic, Syriac, and Arabic. One of the Syriac versions, from an Urumiyeh ms., was translated into English by an American missionary in 1864. This translation, or the greater portion of it, is printed by Tischendorf along with his edition of the text. Tischendorf, upon what seems to be pretty…
2,349 wordsSECTION 3337. And her months were added to the child. And the child was two years old, and Joachim said: Let us take her up to the temple of the Lord,
7. And her months were added to the child. And the child was two years old, and Joachim said: Let us take her up to the temple of the Lord, that we may pay the vow that we have vowed, lest perchance the Lord send to us, [1577] and our offering be not received. And Anna said: Let us wait for the third year, in order that the chil…
2,391 wordsSECTION 33418. And he found a cave [1602] there, and led her into it; and leaving his two sons beside her, he went out to seek a widwife in the distric
18. And he found a cave [1602] there, and led her into it; and leaving his two sons beside her, he went out to seek a widwife in the district of Bethlehem. And I Joseph was walking, and was not walking; and I looked up into the sky, and saw the sky astonished; and I looked up to the pole of the heavens, and saw it standing, and…
2,203 wordsSECTION 335[1589] Six mss. have sixteen; one, fourteen; two, fifteen; and one, seventeen.
[1589] Six mss. have sixteen; one, fourteen; two, fifteen; and one, seventeen. [1590] The Latin translation has hung down. [1591] Ezek. xxi. 12; Jer. xxxi. 19. [1592] Two mss.: her. [1593] Another reading is: As Adam was in Paradise, and in the hour of the singing of praise (doxology) to God was with the angels, the serpent,…
1,439 wordsSECTION 336Chapter 1. [1616]
Chapter 1. [1616] In those days there was a man in Jerusalem, Joachim by name, of the tribe of Judah. He was the shepherd of his own sheep, fearing the Lord in integrity and singleness of heart. He had no other care than that of his herds, from the produce of which he supplied with food all that feared God, offering double gift…
881 wordsSECTION 337Chapter 3.
Chapter 3. At the same time there appeared a young man on the mountains to Joachim while he was feeding his flocks, and said to him: Why dost thou not return to thy wife? And Joachim said: I have had her for twenty years, and it has not been the will of God to give me children by her. I have been driven with shame and reproach …
1,000 wordsSECTION 338Chapter 4.
Chapter 4. After these things, her nine months being fulfilled, Anna brought forth a daughter, and called her Mary. And having weaned her in her third year, Joachim, and Anna his wife, went together to the temple of the Lord to offer sacrifices to God, and placed the infant, Mary by name, in the community of virgins, in which t…
867 wordsSECTION 339Chapter 7.
Chapter 7. Then Abiathar the priest offered gifts without end to the high priests, in order that he might obtain her as wife to his son. But Mary forbade them, saying: It cannot be that I should know a man, or that a man should know me. For all the priests and all her relations kept saying to her: God is worshipped in children …
1,392 wordsSECTION 340Chapter 9.
Chapter 9. And on the second day, while Mary was at the fountain to fill her pitcher, the angel of the Lord appeared to her, saying: Blessed art thou, Mary; for in thy womb thou hast prepared an habitation for the Lord. For, lo, the light from heaven shall come and dwell in thee, and by means of thee will shine over the whole w…
1,295 wordsSECTION 341Chapter 13.
Chapter 13. And it came to pass some little time after, that an enrolment was made according to the edict of Cæsar Augustus, that all the world was to be enrolled, each man in his native place. This enrolment was made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. [1640] It was necessary, therefore, that Joseph should enrol with the blesse…
991 wordsSECTION 342Chapter 14.
Chapter 14. And on the third day after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the most blessed Mary went forth out of the cave, and entering a stable, placed the child in the stall, and the ox and the ass adored Him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by Isaiah the prophet, saying: The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his mas…
860 wordsSECTION 343Chapter 17.
Chapter 17. And when Herod [1657] saw that he had been made sport of by the magi, his heart swelled with rage, and he sent through all the roads, wishing to seize them and put them to death. But when he could not find them at all, he sent anew to Bethlehem and all its borders, and slew all the male children whom he found of two…
1,022 wordsSECTION 344Chapter 21.
Chapter 21. And on the day after, when they were setting out thence, and in the hour in which they began their journey, Jesus turned to the palm, and said: This privilege I give thee, O palm tree, that one of thy branches be carried away by my angels, and planted in the paradise of my Father. And this blessing I will confer upo…
757 wordsSECTION 345Chapter 25.
Chapter 25. After no long time the angel said to Joseph: Return to the land of Judah, for they are dead who sought the child's life. [1668] [1668] Matt. ii. 26. One of the mss. here has: And Joseph and Mary went to live in the house of a certain widow, and spent a year there; and for the events of the year it gives a number of…
714 wordsSECTION 346Chapter 28.
Chapter 28. And again the son of Annas, a priest of the temple, who had come with Joseph, holding his rod in his hand in the sight of all, with great fury broke down the dams which Jesus had made with His own hands, and let out the water which He had collected in them from the torrent. Moreover, he shut the aqueduct by which th…
1,130 wordsSECTION 347Chapter 31.
Chapter 31. A second time the master Zachyas, doctor of the law, said to Joseph and Mary: Give me the boy, and I shall hand him over to master Levi, who shall teach him his letters and instruct him. Then Joseph and Mary, soothing Jesus, took Him to the schools, that He might be taught His letters by old Levi. And as soon as He …
896 wordsSECTION 348Chapter 32.
Chapter 32. After these things, Joseph and Mary departed thence with Jesus into the city of Nazareth; and He remained there with His parents. And on the first of the week, when Jesus was playing with the children on the roof of a certain house, it happened that one of the children pushed another down from the roof to the ground…
750 wordsSECTION 349Chapter 36.
Chapter 36. After these things Jesus crossed the Jordan, in the sight of them all, with the lions; and the water of the Jordan was divided on the right hand and on the left. [1681] Then He said to the lions, in the hearing of all: Go in peace, and hurt no one; but neither let man injure you, until you return to the place whence…
937 wordsSECTION 350Chapter 40.
Chapter 40. After these things Joseph departed thence with Mary and Jesus to go into Capernaum by the sea-shore, on account of the malice of his adversaries. And when Jesus was living in Capernaum, there was in the city a man named Joseph, exceedingly rich. But he had wasted away under his infirmity, and died, and was lying dea…
993 wordsSECTION 351Chapter 1.
Chapter 1. The blessed and glorious ever-virgin Mary, sprung from the royal stock and family of David, born in the city of Nazareth, was brought up at Jerusalem in the temple of the Lord. Her father was named Joachim, and her mother Anna. Her father's house was from Galilee and the city of Nazareth, but her mother's family from…
990 wordsSECTION 352Chapter 4.
Chapter 4. Thereafter he appeared to Anna his wife, saying: Fear not, Anna, nor think that it is a phantom which thou seest. For I am that angel who has presented your prayers and alms before God; and now have I been sent to you to announce to you that thou shalt bring forth a daughter, who shall be called Mary, and who shall b…
1,124 wordsSECTION 353Chapter 8.
Chapter 8. Now there was among the rest Joseph, of the house and family of David, a man of great age: and when all brought there rods, according to the order, he alone withheld his. Wherefore, when nothing in conformity with the divine voice appeared, the high priest thought it necessary to consult God a second time; and He ans…
780 wordsSECTION 354Chapter 10.
Chapter 10. Joseph therefore came from Judæa into Galilee, intending to marry the virgin who had been betrothed to him; for already three months had elapsed, and it was the beginning of the fourth since she had been betrothed to him. In the meantime, it was evident from her shape that she was pregnant, nor could she conceal thi…
2,214 wordsSECTION 35513. O God! author of all consolation, God of all compassion, and Lord of the whole human race; God of my soul, body, and spirit; with suppli
13. O God! author of all consolation, God of all compassion, and Lord of the whole human race; God of my soul, body, and spirit; with supplications I reverence thee, O Lord and my God. If now my days are ended, and the time draws near when I must leave this world, send me, I beseech Thee, the great Michael, the prince of Thy hol…
2,319 wordsSECTION 35625. And, indeed, the inhabitants of Nazareth and of Galilee, having heard of their lamentation, flocked to them, and wept from the third hou
25. And, indeed, the inhabitants of Nazareth and of Galilee, having heard of their lamentation, flocked to them, and wept from the third hour even to the ninth. And at the ninth hour they all went together to Joseph's bed. And they lifted his body, after they had anointed it with costly unguents. But I entreated my Father in the…
2,203 wordsSECTION 357[1727] Comp. Job. iii.
[1727] Comp. Job. iii. [1728] Comp. Ps. li. 5. [1729] Matt. i. 16. [1730] The Sahidic has: Joseph entreats Jesus to pardon him likewise, because when, once upon a time, He had recalled to life a boy bitten by a cerastes, he (Joseph) had pulled His right ear, advising Him to refrain from works that brought hatred upon Him. See…
2,285 wordsSECTION 35815. And after some time, another master again, a genuine friend of Joseph, said to him: Bring the child to my school; perhaps I shall be abl
15. And after some time, another master again, a genuine friend of Joseph, said to him: Bring the child to my school; perhaps I shall be able to flatter him into learning his letters. And Joseph said: If thou hast the courage, brother, take him with thee. And he took Him with him in fear and great agony; but the child went along…
2,239 wordsSECTION 359Chapter I.--How Mary and Joseph Fled with Him into Egypt.
9. And a few days after, one of the neighbours, when splitting wood, cut away the lower part of his foot with the axe, and was on the point of death from loss of blood. And a great number of people ran together, and Jesus came with them to the place. And He took hold of the young man's wounded foot, and cured him directly, and s…
876 wordsSECTION 360Chapter III.--How Jesus Went Out of Egypt.
Chapter III.--How Jesus Went Out of Egypt. And, lo, the angel of the Lord met Mary, and said to her: Take up the boy, and return into the land of the Jews, for they who sought His life are dead. And Mary rose up with Jesus; and they proceeded into the city of Nazareth, which is among the possessions of her father. And when Jose…
781 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.