Section 209
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178 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. garment, nor any thought of the fear of God, remained without, who, as the sons of perdition, blasphemed the way by their apostacy. All the rest, however, were attached to the church, of whom, when examined, a certain Alexander was found to be one, a Phrygian by birth, and physician by profession. Having passed many years in Gaul, and being well known for his love of God and his freedom in declaring the truth, for he was not des titute of apostolical grace, he stood before the tribunal, and by signs encouraged them to a good confession, appearing to those around the tribunal as one in the pains of childbirth. The mob, however, chagrined that those who had before renounced the faith were again confessing, cried out against Alexander, as if he had been the cause of this. And when the governor urged and asked him who he was, and he replied that he was a Christian, in his rage he condemned him to the wild beasts, and accordingly on the following day, he entered the arena with Attalus. For the governor to gratify the people, also gave up Attalus a second time to the beasts. Thus, enduring all the torments that were invented as punish ment in the amphitheatre, and after sustaining the arduous con flict, these were likewise finally despatched. As to Alexander, he neither uttered a groan nor any moaning sound at all, but in his heart communed with God ; and Attalus, when placed upon the iron chair, and the fumes from his roasting body arose upon him, said to the multitude in Latin : " Lo this is to devour men, what you are doing. But as to us, we neither devour men nor com mit any other evil." And when asked what was the name of God, he answered, God has no name like a man. After all these, on the last day of the shows of gladiators, Blandina was again brought forth, together with Ponticus, a youth about fifteen years old. These were brought in every day to see the tortures of the rest. Force was also used to make them swear by their idols ; and when they continued firm, and denied their pretended divinity, the multitude became outrageous at them, so that they neither compassionated the youth of the boy nor regarded the sex of the woman. Hence they subjected them to every horrible suffering, and led them through the whole round of torture, ever and anon