Section 372
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 341 of money upon the flatterers around him. And he had now ad vanced to such a pitch of rashness, and was so addicted to intox ication, that, in his drunken frolics he was frequently deranged and deprived of his reason, like a madman ; so that what he com manded when he was intoxicated, he afterwards regretted when he became sober. But determined to leave no one his superior in surfeiting and gluttony, he presented himself a fit master of iniquity to the rulers and subjects around him. Initiating the soldiers, by luxury and intemperance, into every species of dissi pation and revelling, encouraging the governors and generals, by rapacity and avarice, to proceed with their oppressions against their subjects, with almost the power of associate tyrants. Why should I mention the degrading and foul lust of the man ? Or why mention his innumerable adulteries ? There was not a city that he passed through in which he did not commit violence upon females. And in these he succeeded against all but the Christians. For they, despising death, valued his power but little. The men bore fire, sword, and crucifixions, savage beasts, and the depths of the sea, the maiming of limbs, and searing with red hot iron, pricking and digging out the eyes, and the mutilations of the whole body. Also hunger, and mines, and prisons ; and after all, they chose these sufferings for the sake of religion, ra ther than transfer that veneration and worship to idols which is due to God only, The females, also, no less than the men, were strengthened by the doctrine of the divine word ; so that somc^ endured the same trials as the men, and bore away the same prizes of excellence. Some, when forced away, yielded up their lives rather than submit to the violation of their bodies. The tyrant having fully gratified his lust on others at Alexan dria, his unbridled passion was defeated by the heroic firmness of one female only, who was one of the most distinguished and illustrious at Alexandria, and she was a Christian. She was in other respects distinguished both for her wealth, and family, and condition, but esteemed all inferior to modesty. Having fre quently made attempts to bring her over to his purposes, though she was prepared to die, he could not destroy her, as his passion