Section 148
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 117 of prophecy, in these words : " We came to Cesarea, and having entered the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, we abode with him. But he had four virgin daughters that prophe sied." But as we have thus set forth what has come to our knowledge respecting the apostles and the apostolical times, as also respecting the sacred books that they have left us, both the disputed writings, though publicly used by many in most of the churches, and those that are altogether spurious, and far removed from the correct doctrine of the apostles, let us now proceed to our history in order. CHAPTER XXXII. The martyrdom of Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem. AFTER Nero and Domitian, we have also been informed, that in the reign of the emperor, whose times we are now recording, there was a partial persecution excited throughout the cities, in consequence of a popular insurrection. In this we have under stood, also, that Simeon died as a martyr, who, we have shown, was appointed the second bishop of the church at Jerusalem. To this the same Hegesippus bears testimony, whose words we have already so often quoted. This author, speaking of certain heretics, superadds, that Simeon indeed, about this time having borne the accusation of Christian, although he was tortured for several days, and astonished both the judge and his attendants in the highest degree, terminated his life with sufferings like those of our Lord. But it is best to hear the writer himself, who gives the account as follows : " Of these heretics," says he, " some reported Simeon the son of Cleophas, as a descendant of David, and a Christian; and thus he suffered as a martyr, when he was an hundred and twenty years old, in the reign of the emperor Trajan, and the presidency of the consular Atticus. The same author says, that as search was made for the Jews that were of the tribe of David, his ac cusers, as if they were descended from this family, were taken in custody. One might reasonably assert that this Simeon