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116 [103]

Emilianus the President said: I see you are ingrateful men, and consider not the benignity of the Emperors, wherfore you shal no longer remaine in this citye, but shall be sent out to the partes of Libya, vnto a towne called Cephro. MarginaliaDionysius banished to Cephro.For that place by the commaundement of the Emperours I haue chosen for you. Neither shall it be lawfull for you, to conuent your assembles, or to resorte, as ye are wont to your burial places. And if any of you shall be found out of the place, wherunto you are appointed, to your peril be it. And thinke not contrarye, but ye shall be watched well inough. Depart therefore to the place as is cōmaunded you. And it followeth more in the sayd Dionysius speaking of himselfe: And as for me (sayth he) although I was sycke, yet he vrged me so straightly to depart, that he woulde not geue me one daies respite. And how (sayth he, writing to Germanus) could I congregate, or not congregate any assembles? And after a few lines it followeth: And yet neither am I all together absent from the corporall societye of the Lordes flocke, MarginaliaInfidels cōuerted by Dionysius in his banishment.
Ex Dionyso contra Germanū.
Eus. lib. 7. cap. 11.
but I haue collected them together, which were in the city being absent, as thoughe I had bene present, absent in body, yet present in spirite. And in the same Cephro a great congregation remayned with me, as well of those brethren which followed me out of the citie, as also of them which were remayning there out of Egypt. And there the Lorde opened to me the doore of hys word, although at the fyrst entraunce I was persecuted and stoned among them, yet afterward a great number of them fell from their idoles and were conuerted vnto the Lorde. And so by vs the word was preached to them which before were infidels: which ministerie after that we had accomplished there, the Lorde remoued vs to an other place. For Aemilianus translated vs frō thence to more sharpe and straighter places of Libya, commaunding vs to meete all together at a citie Mareota, thinking there to separate vs seuerally into sundry villages, or thinking rather to take and preuent vs by the waye. After we were come thither, it was assigned to me (saith Dionysius) to go to Colluthion: which place I neuer heard of before: which was þe more griefe to me, yet some solace it was to me, that the brethren tolde me, it was nere to a citie named Parætonium. For as my being at Cephron gotte me the acquaintance of many brethren of Egypt, so my hope was that the vicinitie of that place where I should be, to the citie, myght procure the familiaritie and concourse of certayne louing brethren, which woulde resorte and assemble with vs, and so it came to passe. &c.

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MarginaliaEx Dionyso ad Domitium & Didimum
Eus. ibidē.
Moreouer the sayd Dionysius in hys epistle ad Domitium et Didymum, making mention of them which were afflicted in thys persecution of Valerian recordeth in these wordes, saying: it were superfluous (sayth he) here to recite the names particularly of al our brethren slayne in this persecution, which both were many, and to me vnknowen. But this is certaine, MarginaliaMartyrs of all sortes & ages.that there were men, wemen, yong men, maidens, old wyues, soldiors, simple innocentes, and of all sortes and ages of men. Of whom some with scourginges and fire, some wyth sworde, obtained victory and got the crowne. Some cōtinued a great time, and yet haue bene reserued. In the which number am I, reserued hitherto to some other oportune time knowen vnto the Lorde, which sayth: In the time accepted, I haue heard thee, and in the daye of saluation I haue helped thee. &c. Nowe as concernyng my selfe in what state I am, if thou desire to know, first how I and Caius, and Faustus, Petrus and Paulus, being apprehended by the Centurion, wer taken away by certayne of the towne of Mareotte, I haue declared to you before. Now I and Caius, and Petrus alone ar left here included in a waste place of Libya, distant the space of. iij. dayes iourney from Paretonium. &c. And in processe farther he addeth: In the city (sayth he) wer cer-tayne priuely which vsed to visit the brethren, of priests, Maximus, Diostorus, Demetrius, and Lucius. For they which were more notable in the world, Faustinus and Aquila, do wander abroade in Egipt. Of the Deacons, besides them whom sicknes hath consumed, Faustus, Eusebius, and Cheremon are yet alyue. MarginaliaCommēdacion of Eusebius the Deacon.Eusebius hath God raysed and styrred vp to minister to the confessours lying in bandes, and to bury the bodyes of the blessed martyrs, not without great perill. Neither doth the President cease yet to this day, cruellye murdering such as be brought before hym, some tearing with tormentes, some imprisoning and keeping in custody, commaunding that none shoulde come to them, inquyring also who resorted vnto them. Yet notwithstanding god with cherefulnes and dayly resorte of the brethren doth comfort the afflicted. Hæc Dionysius.

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MarginaliaEusebius the Deacon made bishop of Laodicea.Concerning these Deacons aboue recited, here is to be noted, that Eusebius afterwarde was made Byshop of Laodicia in Syria. MarginaliaMaximus byshop of AlexandriaMaximus the Priest aforesayd, had the ministration of the churche of Alexandria after Dionysius. MarginaliaFaustus long preserued, at last a Martyr.Faustus long after cōtinued in great age, vnto the latter persecution, where he being a verye old man at length was beheaded, and died Martyr.

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MarginaliaThe ende and death of Dionysius.As touching Dionysius himselfe, thus the stories reporte, that he suruiuing all these troubles and persecutions, by the prouidence of God, continued after the death of Valerian, vnto the. xij. yeare of the raygne of Galienus, which was about the yeare of our Lord. 268 and so departed in peace in great age, after that he had gouerned the Churche of Alexandria the space of. xvij. yeares, and before that, had taught the schole of the said city of Alexandria, the terme of. xvj. yeares. After whom succeeded Maximus, as is aboue specified. And thus much touching the full storye of Dionysius Alexandrianus, and of other also Martyrs and confessours of Alexandria.

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MarginaliaPriscus,
Malchus,
Alexander,
A woman.
Martyrs.
In Cesarea Palestine, suffered also the same tyme, Priscus, Malchus, and Alexander, the which thre dwelling in the country, and good men,  

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Priscus, Malachas, Alexander and remainder of eighth persecution

The Foxe Project was not able to complete the commentary on this section of text by the date by which this online edition was compiled (23 September 2008).

seing the valiaunt courage of the Christians, so boldly to venter, and constantly to stand, and pacientlye to suffer in this persecution, as men being greued with them selues, began to repent and to accuse their so great sluggishnes, and cowardly negligence, to see other so zealous and valiant, and them selues so cold and fayntharted, in laboryng for the crowne of Christian Martyrdome: first consulting and agreing within them selues, came to Cesarea and there stepping to the Iudge, declared them selues what they were, and obtayned the ende they came for, being geuen to the wylde beastes. After which like maner also and in the same Citye of Cesarea, a certayne woman, whose name Eusebius expresseth not, who had bene before of the sect of Marcion, was brought before the President, and likewise obtayned the same martyrdome. Euseb. lib. 7. cap. 12.

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MarginaliaThre hundreth martyrs in Carthage.
Ex specul. Vincēt. lib. 11. c. 83
Neither was the Citye of Carthage all thys whyle free from the stroke of this persecution, if credit should be geuen to the speculatiue glasse of Vincētius, who citing out of Hugo, recordeth of. 300. martyrs: of which 300. martyrs the history sayth thus, that the President setting before them coales and incense to doo sacrifice, by a lime kylne, which was ther neare at hand, offered vnto them this condition, eyther to sette incense to the coales, for sacrifice to Iupiter, or els to go into the furnace of lime: wherupon thei altogether with a general motion sodenly rushed into the kilne, and ther with the dusty smoke of the lyme were smothered. Vincen. Erfor.

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MarginaliaMaxima,
Donatilla,
Secunda,
virgins martirs
In Aphrica also in the citie Tuburba, the said Vincentius out of the Martyrologe inferreth mention of three constant virgins, Maxima, Donatilla, and Secūda, who in the persecution of this Valerian and Galienus, first had geuen for their drinke vineger and gaul,

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then
i.iiij.