Section 367
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336 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. dom of Christ, in the defence that he delivered, and afterwards bore testimony to its truth in his actions. Among the martyrs at Phoenice, the most noted of all, were those pious and devoted pastors of the spiritual flocks of Christ, Tyrannio, bishop of the church of Tyre, Zenobius of Sidon, and Silvanus bishop of Emisa. The last of these wras cast as food to wild beasts at Emisa, and thus ranked in the number of martyrs, but each of the former glorified the doctrine of God, by suffering with patience until death. The one, the bishop, was committed to the depths of the sea ; but Zenobius, the other, a most excellent physician, died with great fortitude under the tortures applied to his sides. But among the martyrs at Palestine, Silvanus, bishop of the churches about Gaza, was beheaded with thirty-nine others at the copper mines of Phoeno. Also, those of Egypt there, Peleus and Nilus, who were bishops, suffered death by the flames. Among these must be mentioned the presbyter Pamphilus, a most admirable man of our times, and the glory of the church at Cesarea, whose illustrious deeds we have set forth in its proper place. But of those that were prominent as martyrs at Alexandria, all Egypt and Thebais, the first whom we shall mention is Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man wonderful as a teacher of the Christian faith, and the presbyters with him, Faustus, and Dius, and Ammonius, perfect witnesses* of Christ. Phileas, Pochumius, Hesychius and Theodorus, bishops of churches in Egypt, with many others, are also mentioned as distinguished martyrs, by the * We have translated the word martyrs here, or rather presented its original meaning, as the evident intention of our author. The word in the Greek, from signifying a witness, was applied to those by way of eminence, who by their death gave the most striking evidence of their faith that mortals can give. Such, there fore, were called witnesses emphatically, both in reference to the truth to which they witnessed, and the manner in which they thus gave their testimony. In this sense our Lord himself is called the " true and faithful witness," (martyr.) Our author here, by attaching the attribute perfect, evidently intimates that he means to lay some stress on the meaning of the word martyrs, as witnesses made perfect by their death. The death of these witnesses is, indeed, according to the ecclesi astical phraseology implied in the word perfect. It was by death that they were constituted perfect confessors ; before that they were regarded only as confessors. This may suffice to explain why we here differ from Valesius and others. See note, Book VI. ch. x.