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Apology and Acts of Apollonius

tr. Conybeare, 1894

apollonius

Christ, Who giveth all things, prepareth a crown of righteousness for those who are wellminded and stand firm by the faith in God; for the chosen ones of God are called to this righteousness, in order that, having fought the good fight with fortitude, they may attain the promises which God, Who lies not,¹ hath promised to those who love Him and believe in Him with their whole soul. One of these also was the blessed martyr and goodly champion of Christ, Apollonius. He had lived a good and ascetic life in the great Rome,² and, desirous of the earnest³ of his heavenly call, he was numbered among the holy martyrs of Christ. The blessed one bore witness before the Senate and Terentius the Prefect,⁴ and gave his answers with great boldness, whose memorials⁵ are as follows:—

⁶ Terentius, the Prefect, commanded that he should be brought before the Senate, and said to him—“O Apollonius, wherefore dost thou resist the invincible laws and decree of the Emperors, and dost refuse to sacrifice to the gods?” Apollonius said—“Because I am a Christian; therefore, I fear God Who made heaven and earth, and sacrifice not to empty idols.”

⁷ The Prefect said—“But thou oughtest to repent of this mind of thine because of the edicts of the Emperors, and take oath by the good fortune of the autocrat Commodus.” 4.⁸ Apollonius replied—“Hear with understanding this my answer. He who repents of just and good works, in truth such a man is godless and without hope; but he who repents of lawless deeds and of evil thoughts, and returns not again to them, such a one is a lover of God, and hath regard to the hope. 5.⁹ And I now am firmly resolved in this my mind to keep the beautiful and glorious command of God, which He taught by my Lord Christ, Who knoweth the thoughts of men, and beholdeth whatsoever is done in secret or in the open. 6.¹⁰ It is best to swear not at all, but in all things to live in peace and truth; for a great oath is the truth, and for this reason is it a bad and an ill thing to swear by Christ; but because of falsehood is there disbelief, and because of disbelief there is swearing. I am willing to swear in truth by the true God that we, too, love the Emperor, and offer up prayers for his Majesty.”

¹¹ The Prefect said—“Come, then, and sacrifice to Apollo, and to the other gods, and to the Emperor’s image.” 8.¹² Apollonius said—“As to my change of mind, and as to the oath, I have given thee answer; but as to sacrifices, I and all Christians offer a bloodless sacrifice to God, Lord of heaven and earth, and of the sea, and of every living being, in behalf of the spiritual and rational images who have been appointed by the providence of God to rule over the earth. 9.¹³ Wherefore, according to the command of the God-given precept, we make our prayers to Him Who dwells in Heaven, Who is the only God, that they may justly rule upon this earth, knowing for certain that he (i.e. Commodus) also is established Emperor, through none other, but only through the one King, God, Who holds every one in His hand.” 10.¹⁴ The Prefect said—“Surely thou wast not summoned hither to talk philosophy. I will give thee one day’s respite, that thou mayest consider thine interest and advise thyself concerning thy life.” And he ordered him to be taken to prison.

¹⁵ And after three days he commanded him to be brought forward, and said to him—“What counsel hast thou formed for thyself?” Apollonius answered—“To remain firm in my religion, as I told thee before.” 13.¹⁶ The Prefect said—“Because of the decree of the Senate I advise thee to repent and to sacrifice to the gods to whom all the earth gives homage and sacrifices; for it is far better for thee to live among us than to die a miserable death. Methinks thou art not unacquainted with the decree of the Senate.” 14.¹⁷ Apollonius said—“I know the command of the Omnipotent God, and I remain firm in my religion; and I do no homage to idols made with hands, which have been fashioned of gold and silver and wood, and which neither see nor hear; because they are the work of men’s hands, and they know not the true service of God. 15.¹⁸ But I have learnt to adore the heavenly God, and to do homage to Him alone, Who breathed the breath of life into all men and continually dispenses life unto all. 16.¹⁹ And I will not again debase myself and cast myself down into the pit. For it is a great shame to do homage to vile things, and it is a servile action to adore what is vain. And men sin in adoring such things. Foolish were those who invented them, and yet more senseless they that adore them and honour them. The Egyptians do homage to an onion in their folly. 18.²⁰ The Athenians unto this very day make and adore the head of an ox in copper, which they call the good fortune of Athens. And this they have even set up in a conspicuous place near to the statue of Zeus and Heracles, in order that they may pray to them. 19.²¹ And yet what more is this than dried clay or a baked potsherd? Eyes have they, and see not; ears have they, and hear not: hands they have, but draw not things to themselves; feet have they, and walk not; for the mere form bestoweth not real substance; and I think that Socrates also was making ridicule of the Athenians when he swore by the poplar tree, and by the dog, and by dry wood. In the first place, men sin against themselves by worshipping them. 21.²²²³ In the second place, they are guilty of impiety towards God, because they do not know the truth. The Egyptians, again, have given the name of God to the onion, and to a wooden mortar, and to the fruits of the field, which we feed upon, and which enter the belly, and pass out into the sweepings; these things have they adored; aye, and they do homage to a fish, and to the dove, and to the dog, and to a stone, and a wolf; and they worship every one of them, the fictions of their own minds. 22.²⁴ In the third place, men sin whenever they pay homage to men and to angels and to demons, naming them gods.”

²⁵ The Prefect answered—“You have philosophised enough, and have filled us with admiration; but dost thou not know this, O Apollonius, that it is the decree of the Senate that no one shall be named a Christian anywhere at all?” 24.²⁶ Apollonius answered—“Aye, but it is not possible for a human decree of the Senate to prevail over the decree of God. For so far as men frivolously hate those who benefit them and slay them, just in this wise in many ways men stand aloof from God. But know thou this, that God has appointed death, and after death judgment upon all, over kings and poor men. rulers and slaves and freemen, and philosophers and ignorant men. 26.²⁷²⁸ But there is a distinction of death (from death); for this reason the disciples of Christ do daily die, torturing their desires, and mortifying them according to the Divine Scriptures. For we have no part at all in dissolute desires, nor do we allow impure sights, nor a lewd glance, nor an ear that listens to evil, lest our souls be wounded thereby. But since we live such a fair life, and exercise such good resolutions, we think it no hardship todie for the true God; for whatsoever we are, we are because of God, and for Him we endure tortures, that we may not die miserably the everlasting death. 28.²⁹ And moreover we do not resent having our goods taken from us, because we know that, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. Fever, or jaundice, or any other disease can slay a man. I may expect to die from one or the other of these.”

The Prefect said—“Art thou bent upon death?” 30.³⁰ Apollonius answered—“It is my desire to live in Christ, but I have no fear of death, because of any love of life; for there is not anything that is more estimable than the life eternal, which is the source of deathlessness for the soul that hath lived here a noble life.” The Prefect said—“I do not understand thy meaning.” 32.³¹ Apollonius said—“And what can I do for thee? for the Word of God illumines the heart, as the light gives sight to our eyes.”

A certain philosopher who was at hand said—“O Apollonius, thou dost insult thyself, for thou art gone exceedingly astray, although thou dost even think to speak profound truths.” Apollonius said—“I have learnt to pray and not to insult; but thy dissembling bears witness to the blindness of thy heart, for the truth appears to be an insult only to the senseless. The magistrate said—“Tell me plainly what thou didst mean.” Apollonius answered—“The Word of God, the Saviour of souls and of bodies, became man in Judæa and fulfilled all righteousness, and was filled gloriously with Divine wisdom, and taught a pure religion, such as beseemed the sons of men, and to put to silence the beginning of sins. 37.³² For He taught us to pacify anger, to moderate desire, to abate and diminish appetite, to put away sorrow, to take part in pity, to increase love, to cast away vain-glory, to abstain from taking vengeance, not to be vindictive, to despise death, not indeed from lawlessness, but as bearing with the lawless; to obey the laws of God, to reverence rulers, to worship God, to intrust the Spirit to immortal God, to look forward to judgment after death, to expect rewards after the resurrection to be given by God to those who have lived in piety. 38.³³ Teaching all this by word and deed, along with great firmness, and glorified by all for the benefits which He conferred on them, He was slain at last, as were also before Him philosophers and just men. For the just are seen to be a cause of offence to the unjust. 39.³⁴ As also the Divine Scripture saith: We will bind the just man, because he was a cause of offence to us; 40.³⁵ but also one of the Greek philosophers said: The just man shall be tortured, he shall be spat upon, and last of all he shall be crucified. Just as the Athenians passed an unjust sentence of death, and charged him falsely, because they yielded to the mob, so also our Saviour was at last sentenced to death by the lawless: by the lawless who were filled with envy and malice against Him, 42.³⁶ as also against the prophets who were before Him, who spake beforehand concerning Him thus: He shall come and shall do good unto all and shall persuade all men by His goodness even to worship God the Father and Maker of all, in Whom also we believe, rendering homage, because we learned from Him pure commandments, which we knew not, and, therefore, we are no longer in error, but, having lived a good life, we await the hope to come.”

The magistrate said—“I thought that thou wast changed in the night from that mind of thine.” 44.³⁷ Apollonius said—“And I expected that thy thoughts would be changed in the night and the eyes of thy spirit be opened by my answer: and that thy heart would bear fruit, and that thou wouldst worship God, the Creator of all, and unto Him continually offer thy prayers by means of compassion; for compassion shown to men by men is a bloodless sacrifice and holy unto God.”

³⁸ The magistrate said—“I would fain let thee go, but I cannot, because of the decree of the Senate; yet with benevolence I pronounce sentence on thee”; and he ordered him to be beheaded with a sword. Apollonius said—“I thank my God for thy sentence.” And the executioners straightway led him away and beheaded him, while he continued to glorify the Father and Son and Holy Spirit; to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

Notes

The Arm. = ἀψευδής. A. H. notes that this introduction is composed of passages from the Pastoral Epistles, see 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8; i Tim. vi. 17; Tit. i. 2. With ἀψευδής comp. the Acts of Polycarp 14, 2: ὃ ἀψευδὴς καὶ ἀληθινὸς θεός.
The expression “in the great Rome” shows that this introduction was not written in Rome. A. H.
The Arm. here = καὶ σπουδάσας ἀῤῥαβῶνα τὴν ἄνω κλῆσιν (? τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως). Comp. Eph. i. 14; Phil. iii. 14.
The Arm. literally = χιλιάρχης. The Text of Eusebius has Perennius, who was prefect of the Praetorian guard in the reign of Commodus. Perennis was the real name. Terentius is an obvious corruption of Perennius, either in an early Greek text or in the Armenian itself.
Or Acts.
§ 1. The Acts cannot have begun in this way; for not only do we not learn how the accusation came to be made, though Eusebius must have known in order to write as he does, but the personal details are also lacking. —The expression “commanded” agrees with the words of Eusebius translated above from the H. E., v. 21, § 4: πολλὰ λιπαρῶς ἱκετεύσαντος τοῦ δικαστοῦ καὶ λόγον αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς αἰτήσαντος. —Unfortunately no reason is assigned for the accused being brought before the senate; neither is Apollonius called a senator. The hearing of the case as here related takes place before the Prefect and the Senate. —There was no general edict prior to the reign of Decius compelling every Christian to sacrifice. All that is here referred to is the rule allowed by Trajan and then repeatedly insisted upon, especially by M. Aurelius, that every Christian when accused should sacrifice; see the Acta Carpi et Papyli, 4: ἔγνωσται σοι πάντως τὰ προστάγματα τῶν Αὐγούστων περὶ τοῦ δεῖν ὑμᾶς σέβειν τοὺς θεοὺς τοὺς τὰ πάντα διοικοῦντας· ὅθεν συμβουλεύω ὑμῖν προσελθεῖν καὶ θῦσαι (cf. Texte u. Unters. z. altchristl. Litt.-Gesch., III. s. 454 f.). Acts of Polyc. 8: τί γὰρ κακόν ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, Κύριος Καῖσαρ, καὶ ἐπιθῦσαι, etc. A. H.
§ 3. For the name Comodus see Eusebius. For the fact narrated compare Tertull. Apol. 28 ff. and in particular the Acts of Polycarp, 9: 6 ἀνθύπατος . . . ἔπειθεν ἀρνεῖσθει λέγων· αἰδέσθητί σου τὴν ἡλικίαν, καὶ ἕτερα τούτοις ἀκόλουθα, ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς λέγειν· ὄμοσον τὴν καίσαρος τύχην, μετανόησον, cf. § 10. In Acta Scillit. (p. 112 ed. Robinson) the proconsul Saturninus says: “et nos religiosi sumus, et simplex est religio nostra et iuramus per genium domini nostri imperatoris, et pro salute eius supplicamus, quod et uos quoque facere debetis.” A. H. Compare also Minucii Felicis Octavius, cap. 29: Sic eorum numen inuocant, ad imagines supplicant, genium id est dæmonem rei implorant; et est eis tutius per Iovis genium peierare quam regis.
§ 4. Comp. Acts of Polyc. ii.: ἀμετάθετος ἡμῖν ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν κρειττόνων ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω μετάνοια· καλὸν δὲ μετατίθεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν χαλεπῶν ἐπὶ τὰ δίκαια. Armenian Acts of Eustratius (vol. i. p. 441 of the Venice Martyrology): The duke said: “O Eustratius, unless you repent and turn back from your superstitious folly, expect not to be saved from my hands by reason of the pernicious counsels you have espoused.” The holy Eustratius answered: “O Lysias, they ought to repent who drift from things that are good into badness, but not they who spurning evil deeds and designs follow after the truth. Even as I from the beginning have followed after the just laws of my true God.”
§ 5. καλὸν καὶ ἔνδοξον. For use of ἔνδοξον see I. Clem. 9, 19, 23, 34, 43, 45, 58. A. H.
§ 6. Harnack prefers a rendering which is equally compatible with the Armenian: Ich will wahrhaftig schwören bei dem wahren Gott, obschon wir auch den Kaiser lieben und für seine Majestät Gebete darbringen. He remarks thus: We may notice the circumspection of the accused; he recognises that the oath is necessary in this bad world; but only the oath by God is allowable. He exemplifies the prohibition of swearing from Matt. v. 34 ff.; Jacob v. 12; Justin, Apol. i. 16. περὶ δὲ τοῦ μὴ ὀμνύναι ὅλως τἀληθῆ δὲ λέγειν ἀεὶ, οὕτως παρεκελεύσατο κ.τ.λ. To which I may add the following references. Josephus, Wars of the Jews, bk. ii. ch. 8, Whiston’s translation: “They (the Essenes) are eminent for fidelity and are the ministers of peace. Whatsoever they say also is firmer than an oath. But swearing is avoided by them; and they esteem it worse than perjury. For they say, that he who cannot be believed without swearing by God, is already condemned.” ὀργῆς ταμίαι δίκαιοι, θυμοῦ καθεκτικοί πιστέως προστάται, εἰρήνης ὑπουργοί. Καὶ πᾶν μὲν τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπ’ αὐτῶν ἰσχυρότερον ὅρκου, τὸ δὲ ὀμνύειν περιίστανται χεῖρόν τι τῆς ἐπιορκίας ὑπολαμβάνοντες. ἤδη γὰρ κατεγνῶσθαι φασὶ τὸ ἀπιστούμενον δίχα θεοῦ. The ordinance not to swear was older than Jesus of Nazareth, for in Philo de x oraculis 2, 194, we read: κάλλιστον δὴ καὶ βιωφελέστατον καὶ ἁρμόττον λογικῇ φύσει τὸ ἀνώμοτον, οὕτως ἀληθεύειν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστου δεδιδαγμένῃ, ὡς τοὺς λόγους ὅρκους εἶναι νομίζεσθαι. Δεύτερος δέ φασι πλοῦς τὸ εὐορκεῖν᾽ ἤδη γὰρ ὀμνὺς εἰς ἀπιστίαν ὑπονοεῖται. This is exactly the thought of Apollonius. And the following passage of Philo has a superficial resemblance to the very words of the Gospel. “Ἄξιον ἐπαινεῖν καὶ τοὺς, ὁπότε βιασθεῖεν ὀμνύναι, τῷ μέλλειν καὶ βραδύνειν καὶ ἀποκνεῖν ἐμποιοῦντας δέος οὐ μόνον τοῖς ὁρῶσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς προκαλουμένοις εἰς τὸν ὅρκον᾽ εἰώθασι γὰρ ἀναφθεγξάμενοι τοσοῦτον μόνον “νὴ τόν” ἢ “μά τον,” μηδὲν παραλαβόντες, ἐμφάσει τῆς ἀποκοπῆς, τρανοῦν ὅρκον οὐ γενόμενον (de spec. Legibus, 2, 271).
§ 7. Since Apollo is here the first of the gods to be mentioned and indeed the only one mentioned by name, it is probable that the session of the Senate was held in Palatio and actually ἐν τῷ Ἀπολλωνίῳ, see Mommsen, Röm. Staatsrecht, III. 2 (1888), s. 929, n. 3; Preller-Jordan, Röm. Mythologie, 1³ s. 147 ff. 307 ff.—As regards the Emperor’s image see Plinii Ep. ad Traianum (96): “. . . et imagini Tuæ, quam propter hoc iusseram cum simulacris numinum adferri, ture ac uino supplicarent,” etc. See also Acta Carpi: θῦσαί σε δεῖ· οὕτως γὰρ ἐκέλευσεν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ. A. H.
§ 8. “Bloodless Sacrifice,” see Justin, Dial. c. Tryph. 117, 118, 41, also under § 44. A. H. Compare also Minucii Fel. Oct. cap. 32: hostias et uictimas deo offeram, quas in usum mihi protulit, ut reiciam ei suum munus? ingratum est, cum sit litabilis hostia bonus animus et pura mens et sincera conscientia. Igitur qui innocentiam colit, deo supplicat, qui iustitiam, deo libat, qui fraudibus abstinet, propitiat deum, qui hominem periculo subripit, (deo) opimam uictimam cædit.
§ 9. “Divine precept”: Apollonius refers to 1 Tim. ii. 1 f.; Compare the prayer at the close of the 1st Ep. of Clement. A. H.—Perhaps the sense of the original was “that they (i.e. the spiritual and rational images of God) may be justly ruled”; for the passive and active forms are commonly confused in Armenian MSS.—“that he also, etc.” The pronoun here refers back to the Emperor mentioned in § 7.
§ 10. Monotheism was favourably regarded as a philosophy, but when it went with refusal to sacrifice it was deemed to be obstinate folly. See Harnack’s note on Acta Carpi, 9. In § 23 the Prefect wonders at the “philosophy” of Apollonius; in § 31 he politely rejects his teaching as unintelligible.
§ 11. The “three days” must be an error; for not only in § 10, but also §§ 43, 44 but a single day (night) is spoken of. A. H.—I have rendered “hast thou formed for thyself,” or “given to thyself.” The literal sense of the Arm. is “have I given to thee;” but, if we assume an infinitesimal corruption in the text, the sense becomes that which the context demands, and which I accordingly print in the text.
§ 13. The sententia or resolution of the Senate is twice referred to; here it suddenly takes the place of a reference to the Emperor’s edict. A. H.
It is a trite fact that Commodus was greatly influenced by his Christian mistress to be lenient to Christians. Perhaps on that account he left as much as he could of the responsibility of the dealing with them to the Senate, who may have been in this matter more conservative and less lenient than the Emperor.
§ 14. See § 19. Ps. cxv. 135. Habak. ii. 19. Jes. xliv. 9 ff. A. H.—These words and similar came instinctively to the lips of every early martyr.—“And they know.” Here “they” must refer to “men” just before. I translate the Arm. as it stands.
§ 15. See Acts xvii. 24: αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν καὶ τὰ πάντα.
§ 16. The worship of idols is self-degradation (see § 20); cp. the question in Tatian’s Orat. 19: σὺ τῶν ζώων καὶ φυτῶν ἐλάττων ὑπάρχεις; —“I will not again debase,” or “I will not any more debase.” The following upon § 15, “I have learned,” proves that Apollonius was a convert who had been brought up as a Pagan. Philo thus always speaks of the Jews as not simply having learned, but as having learned from birth to abhor polytheistic error, e.g., D.V.C., vol. ii. 481, οἱ Μωυσέως γνώριμοι μεμαθηκότες ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας ἐρᾷν ἀληθείας.
§ 18. Hr. Michaelis of Strassburg, communicates to A. H. a note upon the Good Fortune of Athens (lit. of Athenians). “I know of no direct testimony to such a brazen ox-head. By the ‘good fortune’ must here be meant either a τύχη Ἀθηναίων (τύχη τῆς πόλεως, Athen. Mitth. 1883, p. 288, set up in the Piræus towards the middle of the second century after Chr.), or an ἀγαθὴ τύχη or if the gender permits an ἀγαθὸς Δαίμων. On the other hand I know of a combined cult of Zeus and Heracles, CIA. II., 616, line 21 ff. ἐπαινέσας δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐπιμελητὰς καὶ τοὺς ἱεροποιοὺς τῷ Σωτῆρι καὶ τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ καὶ τοῖς Σωτῆρσιν, etc.” It seems as if Apollonius had himself witnessed in Athens the cult which he describes. A. H. Comp. Minucii Fel. Oct. cap. 28 §§ 7-9, and especially the words: item boum capita et capita ueruecum et immolatis et colitis, de capro etiam et homine mixtos deos et leonum et canum multu deos dedicatis.
§ 19. Comp. Tert. Ap. 14: Socrates in contumeliam deorum quercum et hircum et canem deierabat. A. H.
§ 21. For the cult of the dove cp. Philo, Sermo II. de Provid. Mangey ed. ii. 646. Clem. Al. Coh. ad Gentes, p. 25, is the only other passage in Christian apologists where I have met any notice of its cult. … The comparison of the holy Spirit or Reason of God to the φιλέρημος τρύγων, “the desert-loving pigeon” is found in Philo Judæus, vol. ii., p. 491, and elsewhere. The Talmudists so compared the Spirit of God which moved upon the face of the waters to a dove (Gen. i. 2). From Philo the comparison passed to Clement of Rome, the friend of St. Paul (see Fragm. 8). … See also Carm. Sibyl., vii. 83, where God sends down upon Jesus at the Jordan ὄρνιν ἀπαγγελτῆρα λόγων. …
§ 21. For the Egyptian cult of a mortar cp. Minuc. Fel. Oct., cap. 23: et deus aereus uel argenteus de immundo uasculo, ut accepimus factum Aegyptio regi, conflatur tunditur malleis et in incudibus figuratur; et lapideus deus caeditur, etc. Theophilus of Antioch declaims in the same style against the Egyptian superstitions. Philo of Alexandria is the source of all the later and Christian rationalistic invective against the Egyptian cults; comp. for example in Mangey’s edition the following passages: 2. 193, 2. 570, 1. 374, 2. 76, 2. 472.
§ 22. This passage is indirectly aimed against the worship of the Emperor.
§ 23. There are here two readings in the Arm. MSS. The one = ne omnino christianus ubicunque appareat. The other = ne omnino christianus ubicunque nominetur. The latter is the true reading, for it was penal to call oneself even by the mere name of Christian. But this rule was made by the emperors already in the first century and not by the Senate. Cp. Justin. Ap. i. 4. τὸ ὄνομα ὡς ἔλεγχον λαμβάνετε.
§ 24. Between the first and second propositions of this § it seems as if we must assume a lacuna of some length. A. H.
§ 26. Cp. Minucii Fel. Oct. 30: nobis homicidium nec uidere fas nec audire. Idem, cap. 32: At nos pudorem non facie, sed mente præstamus: unius matrimonii uinculo libenter inhæremus, cupiditate procreandi aut unam scimus aut nullam. Conuiuia non tantum pudica colimus sed et sobria . . . plerique inuiolate corporis uirginitate perpetua fruuntur potius quam gloriantur; tantum denique abest incesti cupido, ut nonnullis rubori sit etiam pudica coniunctio.
§ 26. The Arm. = ἀλλ᾽ ἀφορισμός ἐστιν τοῦ θανάτου. I owe to A. H. a perception of the true sense, which is that there is more than one kind of death, viz.: spiritual as well as bodily death.—By the Divine Scriptures Apollonius here refers to Gal. v. 24 (vi. 14; Rom. vi. 6); the Pauline Epistles are therefore to him divine writings, see §§ 9, 39.
§ 28. For loss of property cp. Heb. x. 34: τὴν ἁρπαγὴν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ὑμῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς προσεδέξασθε. Perhaps the lost introduction to these Acts referred to confiscation of the goods of Apollonius. Cp. Athenag., Suppl. 1 and the enactment of Marcus Aurelius in regard to forfeiture of goods even after death in case of high treason (majestas); Cod. Just. 9, 8, 6. What follows is word for word from Rom. xiv. 8. A. H.
§ 30 “Source.” The Arm. = mother. For a similar and almost contemporary use of μητήρ see Galen περὶ ψυχῆς παθῶν, 53: καίτοι τούτων ἁπασῶν οὐκ ἂν ὀκνήσαιμι φάναι μητέρα πλεονεξίαν. I have met with the same use in later Acta.—A. H. remarks on the distinction made by Apollonius between ζωὴ αἰώνιος and ἀθανασία; the former is general and causative, the entire future world, the latter like ἀφθαρσία is a gift therefrom to the individual soul. Comp. II. Clem. ad Cor. 20, 5: ἀρχηγὸν τῆς ἀφθαρσίας, δι᾿ οὗ καὶ ἐφανέρωσεν ἡμῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὴν ἐπουράγιον ζωήν.
§ 32. The Arm. = nam uidens cordis est uerbum Dei, sicut perspicax oculorum lumen. Might the sense be, that the word reaches the seeing heart as light the seeing eye?
§ 37. “To reverence rulers.” See 1 Pet. ii. 17; τὸν θεὸν φοβεῖσθε, τὸν βασιλέα τιμᾶτε. A. H.—The sense of the passage which I render: “to intrust the spirit, etc.,” is not quite clear. The rendering “to believe [or intrust] the spirit immortal in God” is rather the sense of the original as it stands. A minute rearrangement of the letters in the Armenian text would give the sense: “To intrust the soul to immortal God.” This last is certainly the true sense. Comp. Luke xxiii. 46: “Father into Thy hands I commit my spirit.”
§ 38. A. H. Compares Tertul. Apol. 14: “Propterea damnatus est Socrates, quia deos destruebat, plane olim, i.e. semper ueritas odio est.” And Acta Pionii, 17.
§ 39. The reference is to Isaiah iii. 13.
§ 40. The reference is to Plato, Rep. II. p. 361 seq. A. H. notes that this passage is not quoted elsewhere in the older Christian literature.
§ 42. A free summary of prophetic teaching. A. H.—“The hope to come” = τὴν μέλλουσαν ἐλπίδα.
§ 44. Comp. the passage quoted from Minucius Felix in illustration of § 8, especially the words “qui hominem periculo subripit, deo opimam uictimam cædit.”
§ 45. “With benevolence.” The Arm. = φιλανθρώπως. The magistrate might have sentenced Apollonius to be thrown to the wild beasts, or to other equally shocking forms of death.