Section 149
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118 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. among the witnesses that bore testimony to what they had both heard and seen of our Lord, if we are to judge by the length of his life, and the fact that the gospels make mention of Mary the daughter of Cleophas, whose son Simeon was, as we have already shown. But the same historian says, that there were others, the offspring of one of those considered brothers of the Lord, whose name was Judas, and that these lived until the same reign after their profession of Christ, and the testimony under Domitian beforementioned. He writes thus : " There are also, those that take the lead of the whole church as martyrs, even the kindred of our Lord. And when profound peace was established through out the church, they continued to the days of the emperor Tra jan, until the time that the abovementioned Simeon, the relative of our Lord, being the son of Cleophas, was waylaid by the heresies, and also himself accused for the same cause, under Atticus, who was of similar dignity. After he was tormented many days, he died a martyr, with such firmness, that all were amazed, even the president himself, that a man of a hundred and twenty years should bear such tortures. He was at last ordered to be crucified." The same author, relating the events of the times, also says, that the church continued until then as a pure and uncorrupt virgin; whilst if there were any at all, that attempted to pervert the sound doctrine of the saving gospel, they were yet skulking in dark retreats ; but when the sacred choir of apostles became extinct, and the generation of those that had been pri vileged to hear their inspired wisdom, had passed away, then also the combinations of impious error arose by the fraud and delu sions of false teachers. These also, as there was none of the apostles left, henceforth attempted, without shame, to preach their false doctrine against the gospel of truth. Such is the statement of Hegesippus. Let us, however, proceed in our history.