Section 361
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330 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. into eternal life. For he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but humbled himself, taking upon him the form of a servant, and being found in the fashion of man, he humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross." Hence, also, these Christbearing martyrs, zealously strove to attain unto better gifts, and endured every kind of trial, every series of tortures not merely once, but once and again, the second time ; and though the guards assailed them with every kind of threat, not merely in words, but vied with one another in violent acts, they did not surrender their faith, because " perfect love casteth out fear." And what language would suffice to recount their virtues,, and their fortitude under every trial ? For as every one had the liberty to abuse them, some beat them with clubs, some with rods, some with scourges, others again with thongs, others with ropes. And the sight of these torments was varied and multi plied, exhibiting excessive malignity. For some had their hands tied behind them, and were suspended on the rack, f and every limb was stretched with machines. Then the torturers, accord ing to their orders, applied the pincers to the whole body, not merely as in the case of murderers, to the sides, but also to the stomach and knees and cheeks. Some, indeed, were suspended on high by one hand, from the portico, whose sufferings by rea son of the distention of their joints and limbs, were more dreadful than any. Others were bound face to face to pillars, not resting The original here is the expressive epithet %p«j-Topopo«5 Christbearing, Christophori ; as they bore all for the sake of Christ, by a strong synecdoche, they were said to bear Christ himself, the voluntary object of their love ; and thus the indirect cause of these sufferings in which they rejoiced. We must indulge such anoma lous compounds, as this, in our language, when a novel idea seems to require it The composition itself is not more singular than the idea which it expresses. Valesius, though he does not follow the idea in his version, explains the word as leaning full of Christ, and refers to the epithet Theophorus given to Ignatius. Shorting has rendered it, therefore, full of Christ. But by such a version and ety mology, the allusion in the context is entirely lost. The martyrs were called by a strong figure, Christophori, because they bore, and Ignatius was called Theophorus for the same reason. •}• The instrument of torture here mentioned, appears to have been the Roman eculens. It was so constructed, that the person was suspended on it, and his limbs stretched by screws. It was applied at first only to slaves.