We have as yet no true critical edition of this book: one is in preparation, by E. von Dobschütz, to be included in the Berlin corpus of Greek Ante-Nicene Christian writers. A short statement of the authorities available at this moment is therefore necessary.
Tischendorf in his Evangelia Apocrypha divides the whole writing into two parts: (1) the story of the Passion; (2) the Descent into hell; and prints the following forms of each: six in all:
Tischendorf’s must be described as an eclectic text not representing probably, any one single line of transmission: but it presents the book in a readable, and doubtless, on the whole, correct form.
There are, besides the Latin, three ancient versions of Part I of considerable importance, viz.:
Coptic, preserved in an early papyrus at Turin, and in some fragments at Paris. Last edited by Revillout in Patrologia orientalis, ix. 2.
Syriac, edited by Rahmaui in Studia Syriaca, II.
Armenian, edited by F. C. Conybeara in Studia Biblica, IV (Oxford, 1896): he gives a Greek rendering of one manuscript and a Latin one of another.
All of these conform to Tischelldorf’s Recession A of Part I: and this must be regarded as the most original form of the Acta which we have. Recession B is a late and diffuse working-over of the same matter: it will not be translated here in full.
The first part of the book, containing the story of the Passion and Resurrection, is not earlier than the fourth century. Its object in the main is to furnish irrefragable testimony to the resurrection. Attempts have been made to show that it is of early date—that it is, for instance, the writing which Justin Martyr meant when in his Apology he referred his heathen readers to the ‘Acts’ of Christ’s trial preserved among the archives of Rome. The truth of that matter is that he simply assumed that such records must exist. False ‘acts’ of the trial were written in the Pagan interest under Maximin, and introduced into schools early in the fourth century. It is imagined by some that our book was a counterblast to these.
The account of the Descent into Hell (Part II) is an addition to the Acta. It does not appear in any Oriental version, and the Greek copies are rare. It is in Latin that it has chiefly flourished, and has been the parent of versions in every European language.
The central idea, the delivery of the righteous fathers from Hades is exceedingly ancient. Second-century writers are full of it. The embellishments, the dialogues of Satan with Hades, which are so dramatic, come in later, perhaps with the development of pulpit oratory among Christians. We find them in fourth-century homilies attributed to Eusebius of Emesa.
This second part used to be called Gnostic, but there is nothing unorthodox about it save the choice of the names of the two men who are supposed to tell the story, viz. Leucius and Karinus. Leucius Charinus is the name given by church writers to the supposed author of the Apocryphal Acts of John, Paul, Peter, Andrew, and Thomas. In reality Leucius was the soi-disant author of the Acts of John only. His name was transferred to the other Acts in process of time, and also (sometimes disguised as Seleucus) to Gospels of the Infancy and narratives of the Assumption of the Virgin. With all these the original Leucius had nothing to do. When his name came to be attached to the Descent into Hell we do not yet know: nor do we know when the Descent was first appended to the Acts of Pilate. Not, I should conjecture, before the fifth century.
MEMORIALS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST DONE IN THE TIME OF PONTIUS PILATE (Absent from some manuscripts and versions).I Ananias (Aeneas Copt., Emaus Latt.), the Protector, of praetorian rank, learned in the law, did from the divine scriptures recognize our Lord Jesus Christ and came near to him by faith and was accounted worthy of holy baptism: and I sought out the memorials that were made at that season in the time of our master Jesus Christ, which the Jews deposited with Pontius Pilate, and found the memorials in Hebrew (letters), and by the good pleasure of God I translated them into Greek (letters) for the informing of all them that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: in the reign of our Lord Flavius Theodosius, in the seventeenth year, and of Flavius Valentinianus the sixth, in the ninth indiction [corrupt: Lat. has the eighteenth year of Theodosius, when Valentinian was proclaimed Augustus, i. e. A. D. 425]. All ye therefore that read this and translate (or copy) it into other books, remember me and pray for me that God will be gracious unto me and be merciful unto my sins which I have sinned against him.
1 And Pilate left Jesus in the judgement hall and went forth to the Jews and said unto them: I find no fault in him. The Jews say unto him: This man said: I am able to destroy this temple and in three days to build it up. Pilate saith: What temple? The Jews say: That which Solomon built in forty and six years but which this man saith he will destroy and build it in three days. Pilate saith unto them: I am guiltless of the blood of this just man: see ye to it. The Jews say: His blood be upon us and on our children. 2 And Pilate called the elders and the priests and Levites unto him and said to them secretly: Do not so: for there is nothing worthy of death whereof ye have accused him, for your accusation is concerning healing and profaning of the sabbath. The elders and the priests and Levites say: If a man blaspheme against Caesar, is he worthy of death or no? Pilate saith: He is worthy of death. The Jews say unto Pilate: If a man be worthy of death if he blaspheme against Caesar, this man hath blasphemed against God. 3 Then the governor commanded all the Jews to go out from the judgement hall, and he called Jesus to him and saith unto him: What shall I do with thee? Jesus saith unto Pilate: Do as it hath been given thee. Pilate saith: How hath it been given? Jesus saith: Moses and the prophets did foretell concerning my death and rising again. Now the Jews inquired by stealth and heard, and they say unto Pilate: What needest thou to hear further of this blasphemy? Pilate saith unto the Jews: If this word be of blasphemy, take ye him for his blasphemy, and bring him into your synagogue and judge him according to your law. The Jews say unto Pilate: It is contained in our law, that if a man sin against a man, he is worthy to receive forty stripes save one: but he that blasphemeth against God, that he should be stoned with stoning. 4 Pilate saith unto them: Take ye him and avenge yourselves of him in what manner ye will. The Jews say unto Pilate: We will that he be crucified. Pilate saith: He deserveth not to be crucified.
1 And he called unto him Nicodemus and those twelve men which said that he was not born of fornication, and said unto them: What shall I do, for there riseth sedition among the people? They say unto him: We know not, let them see to it. Again Pilate called for all the multitude of the Jews and saith: Ye know that ye have a custom that at the feast of unleavened bread I should release unto you a prisoner. Now I have a prisoner under condemnation in the prison, a murderer, Barabbas by name, and this Jesus also which standeth before you, in whom I find no fault: Whom will ye that I release unto you? But they cried out: Barabbas. Pilate saith: What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ? The Jews say: Let him be crucified. But certain of the Jews answered: Thou art not a friend of Caesar’s if thou let this man go; for he called himself the Son of God and a king: thou wilt therefore have him for king, and not Caesar. 2 And Pilate was wroth and said unto the Jews: Your nation is always seditious and ye rebel against your benefactors. The Jews say: Against what benefactors? Pilate saith: According as I have heard, your God brought you out of Egypt out of hard bondage, and led you safe through the sea as by dry land, and in the wilderness he nourished you with manna and gave you quails, and gave you water to drink out of a rock, and gave unto you a law. And in all these things ye provoked your God to anger, and sought out a molten calf, and angered your God and he sought to slay you: and Moses made supplication for you and ye were not put to death. And now ye do accuse me that I hate the king (emperor). 3 And he rose up from the judgement-seat and sought to go forth. And the Jews cried out, saying: We know our king, even Caesar and not Jesus. For indeed the wise men brought gifts from the east unto him as unto a king, and when Herod heard from the wise men that a king was born, he sought to slay him, and when his father Joseph knew that, he took him and his mother and they fled into Egypt. And when Herod heard it he destroyed the children of the Hebrews that were born in Bethlehem. 4 And when Pilate heard these words he was afraid. And Pilate silenced the multitude, because they cried still, and said unto them: So, then, this is he whom Herod sought? The Jews say: Yea, this is he. And Pilate took water and washed his hands before the sun, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man: see ye to it. Again the Jews cried out: His blood be upon us and upon our children. 5 Then Pilate commanded the veil to be drawn before the judgement-seat whereon he sat, and saith unto Jesus: Thy nation hath convicted thee (accused thee) as being a king: therefore have I decreed that thou shouldest first be scourged according to the law of the pious emperors, and thereafter hanged upon the cross in the garden wherein thou wast taken: and let Dysmas and Gestas the two malefactors be crucified with thee.
1 And when the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the Levites heard these words of Joseph the became as dead men and fell to the ground, and they fasted until the ninth hour. And Nicodemus with Joseph comforted Annas and Caiaphas and the priests and the Levites, saying: Rise up and stand on your feet and taste bread and strengthen your souls, for tomorrow is the sabbath of the Lord. And they rose up and prayed unto God and did eat and drink, and departed every man to his house. 2 And on the sabbath the (al. our) teachers and the priests and Levites sat and questioned one another and said: What is this wrath that is come upon us? for we know his father and his mother. Levi the teacher saith: I know that his parents feared God and kept not back their vows and paid tithes three times a year. And when Jesus was born, his parents brought him up unto this place and gave sacrifices and burnt-offerings to God. And [when] the great teacher Symeon took him into his arms and said: Now lettest thou thy servant, Lord, depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. And Symeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother: I give thee good tidings concerning this child. And Mary said: Good, my lord? And Symeon said to her : Good. Behold, he is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against: and a sword shall pierce through thine own heart also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 3 They say unto Levi the teacher: How knowest thou these things? Levi saith unto them: Know ye not that from him I did learn the law? The council say unto him: We would see thy father. And they sent after his father, and asked of him, and he said to them: Why believed ye not my son? the blessed and righteous Symeon, he did teach him the law. The council saith: Rabbi Levi, is the word true which thou hast spoken? And he said: It is true. Then the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the Levites said among themselves: Come, let us send into Galilee unto the three men which came and told us of his teaching and his taking-up, and let them tell us how they saw him taken up. And this word pleased them all, and they sent the three men which before had gone with them into Galilee and said to them: Say unto Rabbi Addas and Rabbi Phinees and Rabbi Aggaeus: peace be to you and to all that are with you. Inasmuch as great questioning hath arisen in the council, we have sent unto you to call you unto this holy place of Jerusalem. 4 And the men went into Galilee and found them sitting and meditating upon the law, and saluted them in peace. And the men that were in Galilee said unto them that were come to them: Peace be upon all Israel. And they said: Peace be unto you. Again they said unto them: Wherefore are ye come? And they that were sent said: The council calleth you unto the holy city Jerusalem. And when the men heard that they were bidden by the council, they prayed to God and sat down to meat with the men and did eat and drink, and rose up and came in peace unto Jerusalem. 5 And on the morrow the council was set in the synagogue, and they examined them, saying: Did ye in very deed see Jesus sitting upon the mount Mamilch, as he taught his eleven disciples, and saw ye him taken up? And the men answered them and said: Even as we saw him taken up, even so did we tell it unto you. 6 Annas saith: Set them apart from one another, and let us see if their word agreeth. And they set them apart one from another, and they call Addas first and say unto him: How sawest thou Jesus taken up? Addas saith: While he yet sat upon the Mount Mamilch and taught his disciples, we saw a cloud that overshadowed him and his disciples: and the cloud carried him up into heaven, and his disciples lay (al. prayed, lying) on their faces upon the earth. And they called Phinees the priest, and questioned him also, saying: How sawest thou Jesus taken up? And he spake in like manner. And again they asked Aggaeus, and he also spake in like manner. And the council said: It is contained in the law of Moses: At the mouth of two or three shall every word be established.
Abuthem (Bouthem Gr., Abudem Lat., Abuden, Abuthen Arm., om. Copt.) the teacher saith: It is written in the law: Enoch walked with God and is not, because God took him. Jaeirus the teacher said: Also we have heard of the death of the holy Moses and have not seen him; for it is written in the law of the Lord: And Moses died at the mouth of the Lord, and no man knew of his sepulchre unto this day. And Rabbi Levi said: Wherefore was it that Rabbi Symeon said when he saw Jesus: Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign spoken against? And Rabbi Isaac said: It is written in the law: Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall go before thee to keep thee in every good way, for my name is named thereon. [ 10 ] 7 Then said Annas and Caiaphas: Ye have well said those things which are written in the law of Moses, that no man saw the death of Enoch, and no man hath named the death of Moses. But Jesus spake before Pilate, and we know that we saw him receive buffets and spittings upon his face, and that the soldiers put on him a crown of thorns and that he was scourged and received condemnation from Pilate, and that he was crucified at the place of a skull and two thieves with him, and that they gave him vinegar to drink with gall, and that Longinus the soldier pierced his side with a spear, and that Joseph our honourable father begged his body, and that, as he saith, he rose again, and that (lit. as) the three teachers say: We saw him taken up into heaven, and that Rabbi Levi spake and testified to the things which were spoken by Rabbi Symeon, and that he said: Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign spoken against. And all the teachers said unto all the people of the Lord: If this hath come to pass from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes, ye shall surely know, O house of Jacob, that it is written: Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree. And another scripture teacheth: The gods which made not the heaven and the earth shall perish. And the priests and the Levites said one to another: If his memorial endure until the Sommos (Copt. Soum) which is called Jobel (i. e. the Jubilee), know ye that he will prevail for ever and raise up for himself a new people. Then the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the Levites admonished all Israel, saying: Cursed is that man who shall worship that which man’s hand hath made, and cursed is the man who shall worship creatures beside the Creator. And all the people said: Amen, Amen. And all the people sang an hymn unto the Lord and said: Blessed be the Lord who hath given rest unto the people of Israel according to all that he spake. There hath not one word fallen to the ground of all his good saying which he spake unto his servant Moses. The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers: let him not forsake us. And let him not destroy us from turning our heart unto him, from walking in all his ways and keeping his statutes and his judgements which he commanded our fathers. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day. And there shall be one Lord and his name one, even the Lord our King: he shall save us. There is none like unto thee, O Lord. Great art thou, O Lord, and great is thy name. Heal us, O Lord, by thy power, and we shall be healed: save us, Lord, and we shall be saved: for we are thy portion and thine inheritance. And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, for the Lord hath begun to make us to be his people. And when they had all sung this hymn they departed every man to his house, glorifying God. [For his is the glory, world without end. Amen.]
There is a considerable divergence of the versions in the concluding sections. The Coptic agrees substantially with the Greek A as translated above. The Armenian β (rendered into Latin by Conybeare) has only two clauses of the final hymn, thus:
ACTS OF PILATE PART I. RECENSION B OF THE GREEKIt has been said that this is a later working-over of the original text. No known copy of it is earlier than the fifteenth century, and the language in some of them is very mediaeval. A short review only of the principal additions to the story will be given here. The title runs thus: A narrative concerning the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy Resurrection. Written by a Jew named Aeneas, which Nicodemus, a Roman toparch, translated out of the Hebrew tongue into the Roman speech. In two copies there is this prologue: After the kingdom of the Hebrews was dissolved, and four hundred years had gone by, and the Hebrews also were subject to the empire of the Romans, the Emperor of the Romans appointing them aking: afterward, when Tiberius Caesar wielded the sceptre of the Romans, in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had appointed Herod king in Judaea, the son of that Herod who aforetime killed the children in Bethlehem: and when he had Pilate as governor in Jerusalem, and Annas and Caiaphas had the high-priesthood of Jerusalem; Nicodemus, a Roman toparch, called unto him a Jew named Aeneas, and sought to record the things that were done in Jerusalem in the days of Annas and Caiaphas concerning Christ: which also the Jew having done and delivered it to Nicodemus, he translated these things from the Hebrew writing into the Roman speech: and the matter of this history is thus: (Where it will be noted that Nicodemus is no longer the Biblical personage, but a Roman official. Roman (Romaïc) speech means here not Latin but Greek, and the term is an indication of very late date.) Cap. i begins: When our Lord Jesus Christ had wrought many and great and unwonted wonders in Judaea, and for that cause was envied by the Hebrews: Pilate being governor in Jerusalem, and Annas and Caiaphas being high priests: there came certain of the Jews unto the same high priests, even Judas, Levi, Nephthalim, Alexander, Syrus, and many others, speaking against Christ; whom also those high priests sent to tell Pilate also these things.
The story follows the same lines as A, naturally, but with differences great and small; and the individual manuscripts often make large insertions. Pilate gives his own mantle (μανδύλιον) to the messenger, whom one manuscript calls Rachaab. The Hebrew words except Hosanna are eliminated: one manuscript then interpolates a notice of the call of the apostles and a great many of the miracles of the ministry, and brings the narrative down to the denial of Peter. Malchus, it says, was the one who buffeted Jesus. Another manuscript, omitting all that has preceded, begins the story with the repentance of Judas. He brings the money back to the priests, and they abuse him at some length for his treachery. Then he casts down the money and leaves them.
And departing to his house to make a halter of rope to hang himself, he found his wife sitting and roasting a cock on a fire of coals or in a pan before eating it: and saith to her: Rise up, wife, and provide me a rope, for I would hang myself, as I deserve. But his wife said to him: Why sayest thou such things? And Judas saith to her: Know of a truth that I have wickedly betrayed my master Jesus to the evil-doers for Pilate to put him to death: but he will rise again on the third day, and woe unto us! And his wife said to him: Say not nor think not so: for as well as this cock that is roasting on the fire of coals can crow, just so well shall Jesus rise again, as thou sayest. And immediately at her word that cock spread his wings and crowed thrice. Then was Judas yet more convinced, and straightway made the halter of rope and hanged himself.
ACTS OF PILATE PART II. THE DESCENT INTO HELLThis writing, or the nucleus of it, the story of the Descent into Hell, was not originally part of the Acts of Pilate. It is—apart from its setting—probably an older document. When it was first attached to the Acts of Pilate is uncertain. The object of this prefatory note is to say that we have the text in three forms.
1. Greek, only in late manuscripts of Recension B. Tischendorf used three. 2. Latin A, found in the majority, perhaps, of the Latin manuscripts. Be it noted that all the Latin manuscripts have both parts of the Acts of Pilate. 3. Latin B, rather an abridged text in the account of the Descent, differing in order of contents and in setting from A.But the opening section is far longer than either of the others. There are no early versions except the Latin. The Coptic, Syriac, and Armenian contain Part I only. The order of the story in the three recensions demands a note. Latin A and Greek go together. Latin B differs.
| i. | The two men (nameless in Greek) are found and induced to write their story. | i. | The two men are found, write their story, and return to their tombs. |
| ii. | The story. A light shines in Hell. Adam, Esaias, Simeon speak (not in B). (In Greek, Abraham and Esaias.) John Baptist comes. | ii. | The story. A light shines. A voice: Lift up the gates. Satan has the doors secured. |
| iii. | Seth’s story of the oil of mercy. | iii. | Dialogue of Hell and Satan (A. iv). |
| iv. | Satan’s dialogue with Hell. | iv. | Seth’s story. |
| v. | First cry: Lift up the gates. David and Isaiah speak. Second cry. David speaks. Christ enters. (Greek, David speaks only once.) | v. | Isaiah and John Baptist (A. ii). |
| vi. | Address of Hell to Christ (not in B). Satan bound. | vi. | David and Jeremiah. Satan not allowed to leave hell. |
| vii. | Hell derides Satan. | vii. | Cry: Lift up the gates. The good thief appears (A. x). Second cry. |
| viii. | Christ greets Adam and takes all saints out of hell. David, Habacuc, Micheas speak (not in B). (Greek omits the prophecies.) | viii. | Doors broken. Christ enters. Satan bound. |
| ix. | They meet Enoch and Elias (not in B.). | ix. | Christ greets Adam and Eve (not in A). |
| x. | They meet the thief. | x. | Sets up his cross in hell (not in A). Leaves hell. Conclusion. |
| xi. | Conclusion. | ||
| xii. | The two men vanish, &c. | ||
In order to place the material fairly before readers it seems necessary to give all three texts. Here the Greek, which, like the rest of Recension B, is of late type, shall be relegated to the second place, and preference given to Latin A. The chapter and verse-numberings are those of Tischendorf.
1 And Joseph arose and said unto Annas and Caiaphas: Truly and of right do ye marvel because ye have heard that Jesus hath been seen alive after death, and that he hath ascended into heaven. Nevertheless it is more marvellous that he rose not alone from the dead, but did raise up alive many other dead out of their sepulchres, and they have been seen of many in Jerusalem. And now hearken unto me; for we all know the blessed Simeon, the high priest which received the child Jesus in his hands in the temple. And this Simeon had two sons, brothers in blood, and we all were at their falling asleep and at their burial. Go therefore and look upon their sepulchres: for they are open, because they have risen, and behold they are in the city of Arimathaea dwelling together in prayer. And indeed men hear them crying out, yet they speak with no man, but are silent as dead men. But come, let us go unto them and with all honour and gentleness bring them unto us, and if we adjure them, perchance they will tell us concerning the mystery of their rising again. 2 When they heard these things, they all rejoiced. And Annas and Caiaphas, Nicodemus and Joseph and Gamaliel went and found them not in their sepulchre, but they went unto the city of Arimathaea, and found them there, kneeling on their knees and giving themselves unto prayer. And they kissed them, and with all reverence and in the fear of God they brought them to Jerusalem into the synagogue. And they shut the doors and took the law of the Lord and put it into their hands, and adjured them by the God Adonai and the God of Israel which spake unto our fathers by the prophets, saying: Believe ye that it is Jesus which raised you from the dead? Tell us how ye have arisen from the dead. 3 And when Karinus and Leucius heard this adjuration, they trembled in their body and groaned, being troubled in heart. And looking up together unto heaven they made the seal of the cross with their fingers upon their tongues, and forthwith they spake both of them, saying: Give us each a volume of paper, and let us write that which we have seen and heard. And they gave them unto them, and each of them sat down and wrote, saying:
1 O Lord Jesu Christ, the life and resurrection of the dead (al. resurrection of the dead and the life of the living), suffer us to speak of the mysteries of thy majesty which thou didst perform after thy death upon the cross, inasmuch as we have been adjured by thy Name. For thou didst command us thy servants to tell no ae the secrets of thy divine majesty which thou wroughtest in hell. Now when we were set together with all our fathers in the deep, in obscurity of darkness, on a sudden there came a golden heat of the sun and a purple and royal light shining upon us. And immediately the father of the whole race of men, together with all the patriarchs and prophets, rejoiced, saying: This light is the beginning (author) of everlasting light which did promise to send unto us his co-eternal light. And Esaias cried out and said: This is the light of the Father, even the Son of God, according as I prophesied when I lived upon the earth: The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim beyond Jordan, of Galilee of the Gentiles, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them did the light shine. And now hath it come and shone upon us that sit in death. 2 And as we all rejoiced in the light which shined upon us, there came unto us our father Simeon, and he rejoicing said unto us: Glorify ye the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; for I received him in my hands in the temple when he was born a child, and being moved of the Holy Ghost I made confession and said unto him: Now have mine eyes seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel. And when they heard these things, the whole multitude of the saints rejoiced yet more.
3 And after that there came one as it were a dweller in the wilderness, and he was inquired of by all: Who art thou? And he answered them and said: I am John, the voice and the prophet of the most High, which came before the face of his advent to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation unto his people, for the remission of their sins. And when I saw him coming unto me, being moved of the Holy Ghost, I said: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him that taketh away the sins of the world. And I baptized him in the river of Jordan, and saw the Holy Ghost descending upon him in the likeness of a dove, and heard a voice out of heaven saying: This is my: beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And now have I come before his face, and come down to declare unto you that he is at hand to visit us, even the dayspring, the Son of God, coming from on high unto us that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
1 And while all the saints were rejoicing, behold Satan the prince and chief of death said unto Hell: Make thyself ready to receive Jesus who boasteth himself that he is the Son of God, whereas he is a man that feareth death, and sayeth: My soul is sorrowful even unto death. And he hath been much mine enemy, doing me great hurt, and many that I had made blind, lame, dumb, leprous, and possessed he hath healed with a word: and some whom I have brought unto thee dead, them hath he taken away from thee. 2 Hell answered and said unto Satan the prince: Who is he that is so mighty, if he be a man that feareth death? for all the mighty ones of the earth are held in subjection by my power, even they whom thou hast brought me subdued by thy power. If, then, thou art mighty, what manner of man is this Jesus who, though he fear death, resisteth thy power? If he be so mighty in his manhood, verily I say unto thee he is almighty in his godhead, and no man can withstand his power. And when he saith that he feareth death, he would ensnare thee, and woe shall be unto thee for everlasting ages. But Satan the prince of Tartarus said: Why doubtest thou and fearest to receive this Jesus, which is thine adversary and mine? For I tempted him, and I have stirred up mine ancient people of the Jews with envy and wrath against him. I have sharpened a spear to thrust him through, gall and vinegar have I mingled to give him to drink, and I have prepared a cross to crucify him and nails to pierce him: and his death is nigh at hand, that I may bring him unto thee to be subject unto thee and me.
3 Hell answered and said: Thou hast told me that it is he that hath taken away dead men from me. For there be many which while they lived on the earth have taken dead men from me, yet not by their own power but by prayer to God, and their almighty God hath taken them from me. Who is this Jesus which by his own word without prayer hath drawn dead men from me? Perchance it is he which by the word of his command did restore to life Lazarus which was four days dead and stank and was corrupt, whom I held here dead. Satan the prince of death answered and said: It is that same Jesus. When Hell heard that he said unto him: I adjure thee by thy strength and mine own that thou bring him not unto me. For at that time I, when I heard the command of his word, did quake and was overwhelmed with fear, and all my ministries with me were © troubled. Neither could we keep Lazarus, but he like an eagle shaking himself leaped forth with all agility and swiftness, and departed from us, and the earth also which held the dead body of Lazarus straightway gave him up alive. Wherefore now I know that that man which was able to do these things is a God strong in command and mighty in manhood, and that he is the saviour of mankind. And if thou bring him unto me he will set free all that are here shut up in the hard prison and bound in the chains of their sins that cannot be broken, and will bring them unto the life of his godhead for ever.
1 And as Satan the prince, and Hell, spoke thus together, suddenly there came a voice as of thunder and a spiritual cry: Remove, O princes, your gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. When Hell heard that he said unto Satan the prince: Depart from me and go out of mine abode: if thou be a mighty man of war, fight thou against the King of glory. But what hast thou to do with him? And Hell cast Satan forth out of his dwelling. Then said Hell unto his wicked ministers: Shut ye the hard gates of brass and put on them the bars of iron and withstand stoutly, lest we that hold captivity be taken captive. 2 But when all the multitude of the saints heard it, they spake with a voice of rebuking unto Hell: Open thy gates, that the King of glory may come in. And David cried out, saying: Did I not when I was alive upon earth, foretell unto you: Let them give thanks unto the Lord, even his mercies and his wonders unto the children of men; who hath broken the gates of brass and smitten the bars of iron in sunder? he hath taken them out of the way of their iniquity. And thereafter in like manner Esaias said: Did not I when I was alive upon earth foretell unto you: The dead shall arise, and they that are in the tombs shall rise again, and they that are in the earth shall rejoice, for the dew which cometh of the Lord is their healing? And again I said: O death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory?
3 When they heard that of Esaias, all the saints said unto Hell: Open thy gates: now shalt thou be overcome and weak and without strength. And there came a great voice as of thunder, saying: Remove, O princes, your gates, and be ye lift up ye doors of hell, and the King of glory shall come in. And when Hell saw that they so cried out twice, he said, as if he knew it not: Who is the King of glory? And David answered Hell and said: The words of this cry do I know, for by his spirit I prophesied the same; and now I say unto thee that which I said before: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, he is the King of glory. And: The Lord looked down from heaven that he might hear the groanings of them that are in fetters and deliver the children of them that have been slain. And now, O thou most foul and stinking Hell, open thy gates, that the King of glory may come in. And as David spake thus unto Hell, the Lord of majesty appeared in the form of a man and lightened the eternal darkness and brake the bonds that could not be loosed: and the succour of his everlasting might visited us that sat in the deep darkness of our transgressions and in the shadow of death of our sins.
1 When Hell and death and their wicked ministers saw that, they were stricken with fear, they and their cruel officers, at the sight of the brightness of so great light in their own realm, seeing Christ of a sudden in their abode, and they cried out, saying: We are overcome by thee. Who art thou that art sent by the Lord for our confusion? Who art thou that without all damage of corruption, and with the signs(?) of thy majesty unblemished, dost in wrath condemn our power? Who art thou that art so great and so small, both humble and exalted, both soldier and commander, a marvellous warrior in the shape of a bondsman, and a King of glory dead and living, whom the cross bare slain upon it? Thou that didst lie dead in the sepulchre hast come down unto us living: and at thy death all creation quaked and all the stars were shaken: and thou hast become free among the dead and dost rout our legions. Who art thou that settest free the prisoners that are held bound by original sin and restorest them into their former liberty? Who art thou that sheddest thy divine and bright light upon them that were blinded with the darkness of their sins? After the same manner all the legions of devils were stricken with like fear and cried out all together in the terror of their confusion, saying: Whence art. thou, Jesus, a man so mighty and bright in majesty, so excellent, without spot and clean from sin? For that world of earth which hath been alway subject unto us until now, and did pay tribute to our profit, hath never sent unto us a dead man like thee, nor ever dispatched such a gift unto Hell. Who then art thou that so fearlessly enterest our borders, and not only fearest not our torments, but besides essayest to bear away all men out of our bonds? Peradventure thou art that Jesus, of whom Satan our prince said that by thy death of the cross thou shouldest receive the dominion of the whole world. 2 Then did the King of glory in his majesty trample upon death, and laid hold on Satan the prince and delivered him unte the power of Hell, and drew Adam to him unto his own brightness.
Then Hell, receiving Satan the prince, with sore reproach said unto him: O prince of perdition and chief of destruction, Beelzebub, the scorn of the angels and spitting of the righteous, why wouldest thou do this? Thou wouldest crucify the King of glory, and at his decease didst promise us great spoils of his death: like a fool thou knewest not what thou didst. For behold, now, this Jesus putteth to flight by the brightness of his majesty all the darkness of death, and hath broken the strong depths of the prisons, and let out the prisoners, and loosed them that were bound. And all that were sighing in our torments do rejoice against us, and at their prayers our dominions are vanquished and our realms conquered, and now no nation of men feareth us any more. And beside this, the dead which were never wont to be proud triumph over us, and the captives which never could be joyful do threaten us. O prince Satan, father of all the wicked and ungodly and renegades, wherefore wouldest thou do this? They that from the beginning until now have despaired of life and salvation—now is none of their wonted roarings heard, neither doth any groan from them sound in our ears, nor is there any sign of tears upon the face of any of them. O prince Satan, holder of the keys of hell, those thy riches which thou hadst gained by the tree of transgression and the losing of paradise, thou hast lost by the tree of the cross, and all thy gladness hath perished. When thou didst hang up Christ Jesus the King of glory thou wroughtest against thyself and against me. Henceforth thou shalt know what eternal torments and infinite pains thou art to suffer in my keeping for ever. O prince Satan, author of death and head of all pride, thou oughtest first to have sought out matter of evil in this Jesus: Wherefore didst thou adventure without cause to crucify him unjustly against whom thou foundest no blame, and to bring into our realm the innocent and righteous one, and to lose the guilty and the ungodly and unrighteous of the whole world? And when Hell had spoken thus unto Satan the prince, then said the King of glory unto Hell: Satan the prince shall be in thy power unto all ages in the stead of Adam and his children, even those that are my righteous ones.
1 And the Lord stretching forth his hand, said: Come unto me, all ye my saints which bear mine image and my likeness. Ye that by the tree and the devil and death were condemned, behold now the devil and death condemned by the tree. And forthwith all the saints were gathered in one under the hand of the Lord. And the Lord holding the right hand of Adam, said unto him: Peace be unto thee with all thy children that are my righteous ones. But Adam, casting himself at the knees of the Lord, entreated him with tears and beseechings, and said with a loud voice: I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast set me up and not made my foes to triumph over me: O Lord my God, I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me; Lord, thou hast brought my soul out of hell, thou hast delivered me from them that go down to the pit. Sing praises unto the Lord all ye saints of his, and give thanks unto him for the remembrance of his holiness. For there is wrath in his indignation and life is in his good pleasure. In like manner all the saints of God kneeled and cast themselves at the feet of the Lord, saying with one accord: Thou art come, O redeemer of the world: that which thou didst foretell by the law and by thy prophets, that hast thou accomplished in deed. Thou hast redeemed the living by thy cross, and by the death of the cross thou hast come down unto us, that thou mightest save us out of hell and death through thy majesty. O Lord, like as thou hast set the name of thy glory in the heavens and set up thy cross for a token of redemption upon the earth, so, Lord, set thou up the sign of the victory of thy cross in hell, that death may have no more dominion. 2 And the Lord stretched forth his hand and made the sign of the cross over Adam and over all his saints, and he took the right hand of Adam and went up out of hell, and all the saints followed him. Then did holy David cry aloud and say: Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvellous things. His right hand hath wrought salvation for him and his holy arm. The Lord hath made known his saving health, before the face of all nations hath he revealed his righteousness. And the whole multitude of the saints answered, saying: Such honour have all his saints. Amen, Alleluia.
3 And thereafter Habacuc the prophet cried out and said: Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people to set free thy chosen. And all the saints answered, saying: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. God is the Lord and hath showed us light. Amen, Alleluia. Likewise after that the prophet Micheas also cried, saying: What God is like thee, O Lord, taking away iniquity and removing sins? and now thou withholdest thy wrath for a testimony that thou art merciful of free will, and thou dost turn away and have mercy on us, thou forgivest all our iniquities and hast sunk all our sins in the depths of the sea, as thou swarest unto our fathers in the days of old. And all the saints answered, saying: This is our God for ever and ever, he shall be our guide, world without end. Amen, Alleluia. And so spake all the prophets, making mention of holy words out of their praises, and all the saints followed the Lord, crying Amen, Alleluia.
But the Lord holding the hand of Adam delivered him unto Michael the archangel, and all the saints followed Michael the archangel, and he brought them all into the glory and beauty (grace) of paradise. And there met with them two men, ancients of days, and when they were asked of the saints: Who are ye that have not yet been dead in hell with us and are set in paradise in the body? then one of them answering, said: I am Enoch which was translated hither by the word of the Lord, and this that is with me is Elias the Thesbite which was taken up in a chariot of fire: and up to this day we have not tasted death, but we are received unto the coming of Antichrist to fight against him with signs and wonders of God, and to be slain of him in Jerusalem, and after three days and a half to be taken up again alive on the clouds.
And as Enoch and Elias spake thus with the saints, behold there came another man of vile habit, bearing upon his shoulders the sign of the cross; whom when they beheld, all the saints said unto him: Who art thou? for thine appearance is as of a robber; and wherefore is it that thou bearest a sign upon thy shoulders? And he answered them and said: Ye have rightly said: for I was a robber, doing all manner of evil upon the earth. And the Jews crucified me with Jesus, and I beheld the wonders in the creation which came to pass through the cross of Jesus when he was crucified, and I believed that he was the maker of all creatures and the almighty king, and I besought him, saying: Remember me, Lord, when thou comest into thy kingdom. And forthwith he received my prayer, and said unto me: Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise: and he gave me the sign of the cross, saying: Bear this and go unto paradise, and if the angel that keepeth paradise suffer thee not to enter in, show him the sign of the cross; and thou shalt say unto him: Jesus Christ the Son of God who now is crucified hath sent me. And when I had so done, I spake all these things unto the angel that keepeth paradise; and when he heard this of me, forthwith he opened the door and brought me in and set me at the right hand of paradise, saying: Lo now, tarry a little, and Adam the father of all mankind will enter in with all his children that are holy and righteous, after the triumph and glory of the ascending up of Christ the Lord that is crucified. When they heard all these words of the robber, all the holy patriarchs and prophets said with one voice: Blessed be the Lord Almighty, the Father of eternal good things, the Father of mercies, thou that hast given such grace unto thy sinners and hast brought them again into the beauty of paradise and into thy good pastures: for this is the most holy life of the spirit. Amen, Amen.
XII (XXVIII) This chapter is not found in the majority of copies. Pontius Pilate unto Claudius , greeting.There befell of late a matter which I myself brought to light (or made trial of): for the Jews through envy have punished themselves and their posterity with fearful judgements of their own fault; for whereas their fathers had promises (al. had announced unto them) that their God would send them out of heaven his holy one who should of right be called their king, and did promise that he would send him upon earth by a virgin; he, then (or this God of the Hebrews, then), came when I was governor of Judaea, and they beheld him enlightening the blind, cleansing lepers, healing the palsied, driving devils out of men, raising the dead, rebuking the winds, walking upon the waves of the sea dry-shod, and doing many other wonders, and all the people of the Jews calling him the Son of God: the chief priests therefore, moved with envy against him, took him and delivered him unto me and brought against him one false accusation after another, saying that he was a sorcerer and did things contrary to their law. But I, believing that these things were so, having scourged him, delivered him unto their will: and they crucified him, and when he was buried they set guards upon him. But while my soldiers watched him he rose again on the third day: yet so much was the malice of the Jews kindled that they gave money to the soldiers, saying: Say ye that his disciples stole away his body. But they, though they took the money, were not able to keep silence concerning that which had come to pass, for they also have testified that they saw him arisen and that they received money from the Jews. And these things have I reported ⟨unto thy mightiness⟩ for this cause, lest some other should lie unto thee (Lat. lest any lie otherwise) and thou shouldest deem right to believe the false tales of the Jews.
1 O Lord Jesu Christ, the resurrection and the life of the world, give us grace that we may tell of thy resurrection and of thy marvellous works which thou didst in Hell (Hades). We, then, were in hell together with all them that have fallen asleep since the beginning: and at the hour of midnight there rose upon those dark places as it were the light of the sun, and shined, and all we were enlightened and beheld one another. And straightway our father Abraham, together with the patriarchs and the prophets, were all at once filled with joy and said one to another: This light cometh of the great lightening. The prophet Esaias being there present said: This light is of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: concerning which I prophesied when I was yet alive, saying: The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, the people that sat in darkness, hath seen a great light.
2 Then came there unto the midst another out of the wilderness, an anchorite (ascete), and the patriarchs said unto him: Who art thou? and he said: I am John, the end of the prophets, which made straight the ways of the Son of God, and preached repentance unto the people for the remission of sins. And the Son of God came unto me, and when I saw him afar off I said unto the people: Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. And with mine hands I baptized him in the river Jordan, and saw as it were a dove, and the Holy Ghost coming upon him, and I heard also the voice of God and the Father thus speaking: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And for this cause sent he me unto you also, to proclaim that the only begotten Son of God cometh hither, that whosoever believeth on him may be saved, and whoso believeth not on him may be condemned. Therefore say I unto you all, that when ye behold him ye shall worship him, for now only is the time of repentance for you, for that ye did worship idols in the vain world that is above, and for the sins which ye have committed: but at another time it is impossible that this should come to pass.
And as John was thus teaching them that were in hell, the first-created Adam, the first father, also heard it, and said unto Seth his son: My son, I would have thee to tell the forefathers of the race of men, and the prophets; when I laid me down to . die, whither I did send thee. And Seth said: Ye prophets and patriarchs, hearken: My father Adam, the first-created, laid him down on a time to die, and sent me to make supplication unto God hard by the gate of paradise, that he would lead me by his angel unto the tree of mercy, and I should take the oil and anoint my father, and he should arise from his sickness. Which also I did; and after my prayer an angel of the Lord came and said unto me: What askest thou, Seth? askest thou for the oil that raiseth up the sick, or for the tree that floweth with that oil, for the sickness of thy father? this cannot be found at this time. Depart therefore and say unto thy father, that after there are accomplished from the creation of the world five thousand five hundred years, then shall the only-begotten Son of God become man and come down upon the earth, and he shall anoint him with that oil, and he shall arise: and with water and the Holy Ghost shall he wash him and them that come of him. And then shall he be healed of every disease: but now it is not possible that this should come to pass. And when the patriarchs and prophets heard these things, they rejoiced greatly.
1 And while all of them were thus joyful, Satan the inheritor of darkness cometh and saith unto Hades: O thou that devourest all and art insatiable, hearken to my words. There is one of the race of the Jews, Jesus, who calleth himself the Son of God; but he is a man, and by our contrivance the Jews have crucified him. And now that he hath died, be thou prepared that we may make him fast here. For I know that he is a man, and I have heard him saying: My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. And he hath done me much hurt in the world that is above while he walked among men. For wheresoever he found my servants he did persecute them, and as many as I caused to be maimed, or blind, or lame, or leprous, or any such thing, he healed them with a word only: and whereas I made ready many to be buried, them also he quickened again only with a word. 2 Hades saith: And is he indeed so mighty that he can do such things with a word only? or, if he. be such, art thou able to withstand him? it seemeth to me, no man will be able to with stand him: but whereas thou sayest that thou hast heard him fearing death, this he said to mock thee and in sport, willing to seize on thee with a mighty hand: and woe, woe unto thee for everlasting! Satan saith: O thou Hades that devourest all and art insatiable, didst thou fear so much at that thou hast heard concerning our common adversary? I feared him not, but I did set on the Jews, and they crucified him and gave him also gall to drink mingled with vinegar. Prepare thyself, therefore, that when he cometh thou mayest hold him fast.
3 Hades answered: O inheritor of darkness, son of perdition, devil, thou saidst but now unto me that many of them whom thou hadst made ready to be buried he did quicken again with a word only: now if he hath set free many from burial, how and by what strength shall he be held by us? Tindeed of late swallowed up a certain dead man named Lazarus, and after a little, one of the living by force snatched him up out of mine entrails by a word only: and I think this is he of whom thou speakest. If, then, we receive him here, I fear lest we be imperilled for the rest also; for I have swallowed up all men from the beginning: behold, I perceive that they are unquiet, and my belly paineth me, and this Lazarus that before was caught away from me I take to be no good sign, for he flew away from me, not like to a dead man but to an eagle, so instantly did the earth cast him out. Wherefore also I adjure thee by thy gifts and by mine own, that thou bring him not to this place, for I believe that he cometh hither to raise up all the dead. And this I say unto thee: by the outer darkness, if thou bring him hither, not one of all the dead will be left in me.
1 And as Satan and Hades spake thus with one another, there came a great voice as of thunder, saying: Lift up, O princes, your gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. When Hades heard, he said unto Satan: Go forth, if thou art able, and withstand him. So Satan went forth. Then said Hades unto his devils: Make fast the gates of brass well and strongly, and the bars of iron, and keep my locks, and stand upright, and beware at all points, for if he come in hither, woe will take hold on us. 2 When the forefathers heard that, they began all of them to insult him, saying: Thou that devourest all and art insatiate, open, that the King of glory may come in. David the prophet said: Knowest thou not, blind one, that when I lived in the world I did prophesy that word, Lift up, O princes, your gates. Esaias said: This I foresaw by the Holy Ghost and wrote: The dead shall arise, and they that are in the tombs shall awake, and they that are in the earth shall rejoice: and again: O death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory?
3 Then came there again a voice, saying: Lift up the gates. And when Hades heard the voice the second time, he answered as if he knew it not, and said: Who is this King of glory? The angels of the Lord said: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. And straightway at the word the gates of brass were broken in pieces and the bars of iron were ground to powder, and all the dead that were bound were loosed from their chains, and we with them, and the King of glory entered in, in fashion as a man, and all the dark places of Hell were enlightened.
1 Hades cried out straightway: We are overcome, woe unto us. But who art thou that hast so great authority and power? and what manner of man art thou that art come hither without sin? thou that appearest small and canst do great things, that art humble and exalted, a bondsman and a master, a soldier and a commander, that exercisest authority over the dead and the living? thou wast nailed to the cross, and laid in the sepulchre, and now art thou become free and hast destroyed our whole power. Art thou then that Jesus of whom the chief ruler Satan said unto us, that by thy cross and death thou shouldest inherit the whole world?
2 Then the King of glory took hold upon the head of the chief ruler Satan, and delivered him unto the angels and said: Bind down with irons his hands and his feet and his neck and his mouth. And then he delivered him unto Hades, saying: Take him and keep him safely until my second coming.
Then Hades, when he had taken Satan, said unto him: O Beelzebub, inheritor of fire and torment, adversary of the saints, what need hadst thou to provide that the King of glory should be crucified, so that he should come hither and strip us naked? Turn thee and see that not one dead man is left in me, but ali whatsoever thou didst gain by the tree of knowledge thou hast lost by the tree of the cross, and all thy joy is turned into sorrow, and when thou wouldest slay the King of glory thou hast slain thyself: for since I have received thee to keep thee safely, thou shalt learn by trial what evils I will practise upon thee. O thou head-devil, the beginning of death, and root of sin, and end of all evil, what ill didst thou find in Jesus that thou wentest about his destruction? how didst thou dare to do so great wickedness? how didst thou desire to bring down such an one into this darkness, whereby thou art bereaved of all them that have died since the beginning.
1 And as Hades talked thus with Satan, the King of glory spread forth his right hand and took hold on our forefather Adam and raised him up; and then turned himself unto the rest and said: Come with me all ye, as many as have suffered death through the tree which this man touched. For lo, I do raise you all up again through the tree of the cross. And with that he put them all forth, and our forefather Adam was seen full of gladness of soul and said: I give thanks to thy greatness, O Lord, for thou hast brought me up out of the lowest hell. Likewise also all the prophets and the saints said: We give thanks unto thee, O Christ, Saviour of the world, for that thou hast brought up our life from corruption.
2 And when they had thus said, the Saviour blessed Adam upon his forehead with the sign of the cross, and so did he also unto all the patriarchs and prophets and martyrs and forefathers. And he took them and leaped up out of hell. And as he went the holy fathers sang praises, following him and saying: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Unto him be the glory of all the saints.
He went therefore into paradise holding our forefather Adam by the hand, and delivered him, and all the righteous, unto Michael the archangel. And as they were entering in at the gate of paradise, there met them two aged men, unto whom said the holy fathers: Who are ye, which have not seen death nor come down into hell, but dwell in paradise with your bodies and souls? And one of them answered and said: I am Enoch that pleased God and was translated hither by him: and this is Elias the Thesbite: and we shall live unto the end of the world, but at that time we shall be sent by God to withstand Antichrist and to be slain of him, and after three days to rise and be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord.
And as they thus spake there came another man, humble of aspect, and bearing also a cross upon his shoulder, unto whom the holy fathers said: Who art thou that hast the appearance of a robber, and what is that cross that thou bearest on thy shoulder? He answered: I as ye say was a robber and a thief in the world, and therefore the Jews took me and delivered me unto the death of the cross together with our Lord Jesus Christ. When, therefore, he hung upon the cross, I beheld the signs which came to pass, and I believed on him and besought him and said: Lord, when thou shalt reign, forget not me. And straightway he said to me: Verily, verily, to-day, I say unto thee, thou shalt be with me in paradise. I came, therefore, bearing my cross, into paradise, and found Michael the archangel, and said unto him: Our Lord Jesus Christ that was crucified hath sent me hither; bring me therefore unto the gate of Eden. And when the flaming sword saw the sign of the cross, it opened unto me and I entered in. Then said the archangel unto me: Tarry a little, for Adam the forefather of mankind cometh with the righteous, that they also may enter in. And now, having seen you, Iam come to meet you. And when the saints heard these things, they cried aloud with a great voice, saying: Great is our Lord, and great is his power.
All these things did we see and hear, even we the two brethren which also were sent by Michael the archangel and appointed to proclaim the resurrection of the Lord, but first to go unto Jordan and be baptized; whither also we went and were baptized, together with other dead that had risen again. Thereafter we went unto Jerusalem also and accomplished the passover of the resurrection: but now we depart, for we are not able to abide in this place. And the love of God and the Father, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and ⟨the fellowship⟩ of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. When they had thus written and had closed up the books, they gave the one half unto the high priests and the one half unto Joseph and Nicodemus: and they themselves vanished suddenly. To the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1 I Karinus. O Lord Jesu Christ, son of the living God, suffer me to speak of thy marvellous works which thou didst in hell. When therefore we were holden in hell in darkness and the shadow of death, suddenly there shone upon us a great light, and hell did tremble, and the gates of death. And there was heard the voice of the Son of the most high Father, as it were the voice of a great thundering, and it proclaimed aloud and began: Draw back, O princes, your gates, remove your everlasting doors: Christ the Lord the king of glory approacheth to enter in. 2 Then came Satan the prince of death, fleeing in fear and saying to his ministers and unto the hells: O my ministers and all the hells, come together, and shut your gates, set in place the bars of iron, and fight boldly and withstand, that we that hold them be not made captive in bonds. Then were all his evil ministers troubled, and began to shut the gates of death with all diligence, and by little to make fast the locks and the bars of iron, and to take fast in hand all their instruments, and to utter howlings with dreadful and hideous voice.
1 Then said Satan unto Hell: Make thee ready to receive him whom I shall bring down unto thee. Thereupon did Hell make answer unto Satan thus: This voice was nothing else but the cry of the Son of the most high Father, that the earth and all the places of hell did so quake at it: wherefore I think that I and all my bonds are now wide open. But I adjure thee, O Satan, head of all evil, by thy might and mine own, bring him not unto me, lest when we would take him we be taken captive of him. For if by his voice only all my might hath been thus overthrown, what, thinkest thou, will he do when his presence is come unto us? 2 Unto whom Satan the prince of death answered thus: Why keepest thou this crying? Fear not, my friend of old time, thou most evil one, for I stirred up the people of the Jews against him, and commanded him to be smitten with buffets, and did contrive against him betrayal by his disciple: and he is a man that feareth death greatly, for he said in his fear: My soul is sorrowful even unto death: yet unto death have I brought him, for now he hangeth lifted up upon a cross. 3 Then saith Hell unto him: If it be he that by the word of his command alone made Lazarus, which was four days dead, to fly out of my bosom like an eagle, then is he not a man in his manhood, but God in his majesty. I beseech thee, bring him not unto me. Satan saith to him: Notwithstanding, make thyself ready, fear not: for already he hangeth upon a cross, and I can do no other. Then Hell spake thus unto Satan: If, then, thou canst do no other, lo thy destruction draweth near, and I shall at last be cast down and remain without honour; but thou wilt be tormented under my dominion.
1 Now the saints of God heard the contention between Satan and Hell: but as yet they knew not each other among themselves: nevertheless they were at the point to know. But our holy father Adam made answer unto Satan thus: O prince of death, wherefore fearest thou and tremblest? Behold the Lord cometh which shall destroy all thy creatures, and thou shalt be taken captive of him and be bound, world without end. 2 Then all the saints, when they heard the voice of our father Adam, how valiantly he made answer unto Satan, were glad and were comforted: and all of them ran together unto father Adam and were gathered about him in that place. Then our father Adam, looking earnestly upon all that multitude, marvelled if they all were begotten of him into the world. And he embraced them that stood near round about him, and shed exceeding bitter tears, and spake unto Seth his son: Declare, my son Seth, unto the holy patriarchs and prophets that which the keeper of paradise said unto thee when I sent thee to bring me of the very oil of mercy that thou mightest anoint my body when I was sick. 3 Then he answered: I, when thou sentest me before the gates of paradise, prayed and besought the Lord with tears, and I called the keeper of paradise to give me thereof. Then Michael the archangel came forth and said unto me: Seth, wherefore mournest thou? know thou before, that thy father Adam shall not receive of this oil of mercy now, but after many generations of the world. For the most beloved Son of God shall come down from heaven into the world and shall be baptized of John in the river Jordan: and then shall thy father Adam receive of this oil of mercy, and all they that believe in him: and the kingdom of een which have believed in him shall endure, world without end.
1 Then all the saints when they heard these things rejoiced again with great joy, and one of them that stood by, Isaias by name, proclaimed with a loud voice, saying: Father Adam and all ye that stand by hearken unto my sayings. While I was upon earth, and the Holy Ghost taught me, I did sing in prophecy concerning this light, saying: The people which sat in darkness have seen a great light: unto them which dwell in the land of the shadow of death hath the light shined. And at his word Father Adam and they all turned unto him and asked him: Who art thou? for that which thou sayest is true. And he answered and said: I am named Isaias. 2 Then appeared there another beside him, as it were a dweller in the wilderness, and they asked him and said: Who art thou that bearest in thy body such signs? and he answered stoutly: I am John the Baptist, the voice and the prophet of the Most High. I went before the face of the same Lord to make the desert and rough ways into plain paths. I did show with my finger unto them of Jerusalem the lamb of the Lord and the Son of God, and glorified him. I baptized him in the river Jordan. I heard the voice of the Father out of heaven thundering upon him and proclaiming: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. I have received an answer from him that he would himself descend into hell. Then Father Adam, when he heard that, cried with a loud voice, and shouted again and again Alleluia, which is, being interpreted: The Lord cometh.
1 And again there came the voice of the Son of the most high Father, as the voice of a great thunder, saying: Lift up, O princes, your gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Then Satan and Hell cried out, saying: Who is this King of glory? And it was answered them by the Lord’s voice: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 2 After that voice there came unto us a man whose appearance was as that of a robber, bearing a cross upon his shoulder, who cried without and said: Open unto me that I may enter in. And Satan opened the gate unto him a little way and brought him within into the house, and shut the gate again after him. And all the saints saw him that he shone brightly, and said unto him straightway: Thine appearance is that of a robber: show us, what is that which thou bearest on thy back? And he answered humbly and said: ‘Of a truth I was a robber altogether, and the Jews hanged me upon a cross with my Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the most high Father. And at the last I have come hither before him; but himself cometh after me immediately. 3 Then the holy David’s anger was kindled against Satan, and he cried aloud: Open, thou most foul one, thy gates, that the King of glory may come in. Likewise also all the saints of God rose up against Satan’ and would have laid hold on him and parted him among them. And again there was a cry without: Lift up, ye princes, your gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. And again at that clear veice Hell and Satan inquired, saying: Who is this King of glory? and it was said unto ew by that marvellous voice: The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.
And lo, suddenly Hell did quake, and the gates of death and the locks were broken small, and the bars of iron broken, and fell to the ground, and all things were laid open. And Satan remained in the midst and stood put to confusion and cast down, and bound with a fetter about his feet. And behold, the Lord Jesus Christ coming in the glory of the light of the height, in meekness, great and yet humble, bearing a chain in his hands bound therewith the neck of Satan, and also, binding his hands behind his back, cast him backward into Tartarus, and set his holy foot upon his throat and said: Throughout all ages hast thou done much evil and hast never been quiet at any time. To-day do I deliver thee unto eternal fire. And he called Hell quickly and gave him commandment, saying: Take this most evil and wicked one and hold him in thy keeping until that day when I shall command thee. And he took him from beneath the Lord’s feet, and he was cast down together with him into the depth of the bottomless pit.
1 Then the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of all men, pitiful and most gracious, greeted Adam with kindness, saying unto him: Peace be unto thee, Adam, and unto thy children unto everlasting ages. Amen. Then Father Adam cast himself at the Lord’s feet, and rose up and kissed his hands, and shed abundant tears, saying: Behold the hands which formed me: testifying unto all. And he said to the Lord: Thou art come, O King of glory, to set men free and gather them to thine everlasting kingdom. Then our mother Eve also in like manner cast herself at the fect of the Lord, and rose up and kissed his hands, and shed tears abundantly, ae S Behold the hands which fashioned me; testifying unto all.
Then all the saints of God besought the Lord that he would leave the sign of victory—even of the holy cross—in hell, that the wicked ministers thereof might not prevail to keep back any that was accused, whom the Lord absolved. And so it was done, and the Lord set his cross in the midst of hell, which is the sign of victory; and it shall remain there for ever. Then all we went out thence with the Lord, and left Satan and Hell in Tartarus.
But unto us and many others was it commanded that we should rise again with our bodies, and bear witness in the world of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and concerning those things that were done in hell. These are the things, brethren beloved, which we have seen, and do testify being adjured of you, as he beareth witness who died for us and rose again. For like as it is written, so was it performed in every point.
But when the paper was wholly read through, all that heard it fell upon their faces weeping bitterly and smote hard upon their breasts, crying out and saying: Woe unto us: wherefore cometh this to pass unto us wretched men? Pilate did flee, Annas and Caiaphas did flee, the priests and Levites did flee, and all the people of the Jews beside, lamenting and saying: Woe unto us miserable men; we have shed innocent blood upon the earth. Therefore for three days and three nights they tasted not at all either bread or water, neither did any of them return unto the synagogue. But on the third day the council gathered together again, and the other paper, to wit of Leucius, was read, and neither more nor less was found in it, even to one letter, than what was contained in the writing of Karinus. Then was the synagogue troubled and they mourned all of them forty days and forty nights, looking for death at the hand of God and for the vengeance of God. But the Most High God, which is merciful and pitiful, destroyed them not immediately, but gave them freely a place of repentance: but they were not found worthy to be turned unto the Lord. These be the testimonies, beloved brethren, of Karinus and Leucius, concerning Christ the Son of God and his holy acts in Hell: unto whom let us all give praise and glory unto ages without end. Amen.