S. EUSEBII HIERONYMI

OPUSCULA

DE VARIIS ARGUMENTIS LIBRI.

it had been omitted, which he relied upon his talent. But how he lived in middle age, and what snares of Satan he endured, is known to no man.

THE LIFE BEGINS.

2. Decius and Valerian, persecutors of the Christians. — Under the persecutors Decius and Valerian The text suggests these rulers were responsible for the persecution, though the translator notes historical discrepancies in the margins regarding the dates and emperors involved., at the time when Cornelius in Rome and Cyprian in Carthage suffered martyrdom with a blessed shedding of blood, a savage storm ravaged many churches throughout Egypt and the Thebaid. It was then the desire of Christians to be struck by the sword for the name of Christ. But the cunning enemy, seeking out slow tortures leading to death, desired to strangle souls, not bodies. And as Cyprian himself, who suffered from this, says: To those desiring to die, it was not permitted to be killed. So that its cruelty may be better known, we submit two examples for the sake of memory.

3. Two distinguished martyrs. — One martyr, persevering in faith and victorious amidst the wooden horses A torture device and metal plates, he ordered to be smeared with honey and placed under the burning sun with his hands tied behind his back, so that he would yield to the stings of flies, having previously overcome heated pans. Another, flourishing in the flower of his youth, he ordered to be led away into the most pleasant gardens. A And there, amidst white lilies and red roses, while a stream crept nearby with a soft murmur of water and the wind rustled the leaves of the trees with a gentle hiss, he was laid back upon a bed built of feathers, and so that he could not

A shake himself from it, he was left entangled in the alluring charming/beguiling bonds of garlands. When everyone had retreated, a beautiful prostitute came and began to tighten her embrace around his neck, and—which is a crime even to mention—to touch his private parts with her hands: so that, with his body stirred toward lust, the shameless victor might throw herself upon him. What was the soldier of Christ to do, and where should he turn? He did not know. Pleasure was overcoming the one whom torments had not conquered. Finally, inspired from heaven, he bit off his tongue and spat it into the face of the one kissing him; and thus the magnitude of the pain, taking hold, overcame the sensation of lust.

4. The gifts and education of Paul. — At that same time, therefore, when such things were happening in the lower Thebaid, Paul was left as an orphan around the age of sixteen Historical context: Paul's flight is often associated with the later persecution under the emperors after the death of the Philips. after the death of both parents, with a sister already given in marriage and inheriting a wealthy estate. He was highly adplene/fully educated in both Greek and Egyptian letters, of a gentle spirit, and loving God deeply. And when the storm of persecution thundered, he withdrew to a more remote and secret villa. But what does the accursed hunger for gold (Virgil, Aeneid II) not compel human hearts to do? His sister’s husband began to want to betray the one he ought to have hidden. Neither the tears of his wife, as is usual, nor the communion of blood, nor God looking down upon all things from above, recalled him from his crime. He was present, he pressed on, and he used cruelty as if it were piety.