44 sumye/llion, which is not Greek, is obviously the Latin sub. sellium.
49 Or, stand in awe of no one.
54 Or, having our sins in view.
57 Obviously omitted either in the MSS. or in the text.
1 The following translation of a MS. in the Bodleian Library, transcribed by Tischendorf (Apocal, Apocr., p. 158), gives a fuller account of the martyrdom of St. Thomas:- MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY AND ALL-RENOWNED APOSTLE THOMAS
After the apostle had gone forth, according to the command of our Lord, and God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Lord appeared to him, saying: Peace to thee, my disciple and apostle! And the apostle fell on his face on the ground, and prayed the Lord to reveal to him the circumstances of his precious departure. And the Lord said to him: Misdaeus is contriving a plan to destroy thee very soon; but, behold, he will come to me. And after having sealed him, He ascended int othe heavens. And the aspotle taught the people, and there was added unto the flock of Christ. But some men who hated Christ accused him before King Misdeus, saying: Destroy this sorcerer, who corrupts and deceives the people in this new one God whom he proclaims. Moreover, has has deceived thy lady and thy son. On hearing this, Misdeus, without inquiry, ordered him to be laid hold of, and shut up in prison. And they quickly did what they were ordered, and threw him into the prison, and sealed it. And when the women who believed in God had heard that Judas was shut up, they gave a great sum of money to the warders, and went in to him in the prison. And the apostle says to them: My daughters, handmaidens of Jesus Christ, listen to me. In my last day I address you, because I shall no more speak in the body; for, lo, I am taken up to my Lord Jesus Christ, who has had pity upon me, who humble dHimself even to my littleness. And I rejoice that the time is at hand for my change from this, that I may depart and receive my reward in the end; for my Lord is just. And at the end of his discourse to them, he said: O my Saviour, who hast endured much for our sake, let Thy mercies be upon us. And he sent them away, saying: The grace of the Holy Spirit be with you! And they grieved and wepot, knowing that King Misdeus was going to put him to death. And Judas heard the warders contending with each other, and saying: Let us goa nd tell the king. Thy wife and thy son are going to the prison to this sorcerer, and for their sakes thou shouldst put him to death soon. And at dawn they arose and went to King Misdeus, and said: My Lord, release that sorcerer, or cause him to be shut up elsewhere; for though we shut in the prisoners, and secure the doors, when we rise we find them opened. Nay, more: thy wife and son will not keep away from the man any more than the rest of them. And when the king heard this, he went to look at the seals. And he looked all about them on the doors, and found them as they were. Then he said to the jailors: What are you telling lies about? for certainly these seals are quite safe: and how do you say that Tertia, and Mygdonia, and my son go within the prison? And the warders said: We have told thee the truth, O king. And after this the king went into the prison, and sent for the apostle. And when he came, they took off his girdle, and set him before the tribunal .And the king said: Art thou a slave, or free? And tThomas said: I am One's slave. Thou hast no power over me whatever. And Misdaeus says: Didst thou run away and come to this country? Thomas: I came here to save many, and I am to depat from my body by thy hands. Midsaeus says to him: Who is thy master? and what is his name? and what country dost thou belong to? Thomas: Thou canst not her His true name at this time; but I tell thee the name that has been given Him for the time: it is Jesus the Christ. And Misdaeus says: I have been in no hurry to put thee to deat, but have restrained myself; but thou hast made a display of thy works, so that thy sorceries have been heard of in every country. But no; I shall bring thee to and end, that thy sorceries may be destoryed, and our nation purified. And Thomas said: What thou callest sorceries shall abound in me, and never be removed from the people here. And aftrer this was said, Misdeus rflected in what manner he should put the apostle to death, for he was afraid of the people standing by who believed. And he arose and took Thomas outside of the city; and he was accompanied by a few armed soldiers. And the ultitude suspected that the king was plotting about him, and stood and addressed themselves to him. And when they had gone forth three stadia, he delivered him to four soldiers and one of the polemarchs, and ordered them to spear him on the mountain; and he returned to the city. And those who were present rant to Thomas, eager to rescue him. And he was led away, accompanied by the silders, two on each side. . . . And Thomas, walking along, said: O Thy secret mysteries, O Jesus! for even unto the end of life are they fulfilled in us. O the riches of Thy grace! . . . for, lo, how four have laid hold of me, since of four elements . . . (Here the fragment ends.) [The MS. in which this occurs is not that one which has been so frequently cited in the preceding Apocryphal Acts.-R.]
2 Pseudo-Abdias, in his Histories of the Apostles, has as follows: Wherefore, in a rage, Mesdeus king of India thrust into prison the Apostle Thomas, and Zuganes his son, and several others.
3 Abdias: Treptia, who was the king's wife, and Mygdonia the wife of Charisius, one of the king's friends, and Narchia the nurse, gave the jailor 360 pieces of silver, and were let in to the apostle.
4 Abdias: Thomas stood in the prison, and said: Lord Jesus, who didst endure very much for us, let the gates eb shut as they were before, and the seals be made again on the same doors.
5 Abdias gives an account of the king going to the prison, and the disbelieving the report of the warders, because he found the seals on the doors as he had left them.
6 The not should, by the context, be omited. [So Pseudo-Abdias.-R.]
7 Reading h0ei/xqhn for a0ph/xqhn.
9 Lit., polemarchs, who in the early times of Athens combined the duties of Foreign Secretary and War Secretary, and sometimes took the command in the field.
10 Abdias: The apostle said that great and divine mysteries were revealed in his death, since he was led by four soldiers, because he consisted of four elements; and the Lord Jesus had been struck by one man, because He kne that one Father had begotten Him.
11 Lit., the servants of the order.
13 These names are slightly different in form in this paragraph.
14 These names are slightly different in form in this paragraph.
15 Abdias: and buried them in the city of Edessa. [The translator cites the readings of Pseudo-Abdias, as given by Tischendorf (from Fabricius), as those of "Abdias." The same form of citation appears in the footnotes to the Martyrdom of Bartholomew, pp. 553-557.-R.]
1 The history of Abdias gives the name as Berith, after Judg. ix. 46.
3 Pseudo-Abdias says: a hundred times.
4 Pseudo-Abdias says: a hundred times.
7 Comp. Luke i. 26-38. Abdias goes on: He then, after His birth, suffered Himself to be tempted by that devil who had overcome the first man, persuading him to eat of the tree forbidden by God.