ously deuised, and no les greuous & sharpe: so notwithstanding therwith, were these Martyrs neither dismaied nor ouercome, but rather therby cōfirmed & strengthned, so merely and ioyfully sustayned they what soeuer was put vnto them. MarginaliaEusebius a beholder & witnes of these sufferynges.Eusebius saith that he hymselfe beheld and saw the huge and great persecution that was done in Thebaide, MarginaliaThe swordes blunt, & the hāmen weryed wyth slaughter.in somuch that the very swoordes of the hangmen and persecutours being blunt wyth the great and often slaughter, they them selues for wearynes sat downe to rest them, and other were fayne to take their places. MarginaliaThe maruelous constācie of the Martyrs of GOD in persecutiō, and at the tyme of death.And yet all thys notwithstandyng the murthered Christians shewed their marueilous redynes, wyllingnes, and diuine fortitude, whiche they were indued with, with stout courage, ioy, and smiling receauing the sentence of death pronoūced vpon them, and soong euen vnto the last gaspe hymnes & Psalmes to God. So did also the Martyrs of Alexandria, as witnesseth Phileas aboue mencioned. The holye Martyrs sayth he, keeping Christ in their mindes, being led with the loue of better rewards, sustayned not onely at one tyme, what soeuer labour and deuised punishmentes they had to lay vpō them: but now also the second tyme haue done the same, and haue borne all the manaces of the cruel soldiours, not onely in woordes, wherewyth they threatned them, but also what soeuer in deede and worke they coulde deuise to their destruction, and that with most manly stomackes, excluding all feare, wyth the perfectiō of their inspeakeable loue towards Christ, whose great strength and fortitude cannot by wordes be expressed. MarginaliaMartyrdōe more desyred in the olde tyme, thē bishoprickes be now.And Sulpitius sayth in the seconde booke of hys sacred history, that then the Christiās with more gredy desyre preased and sought for martyrdome, then now they desyre bishoprickes.

MarginaliaChristians that denied in this persecution.Although some there were also, as I haue sayd, that wyth feare and threateninges, and by their owne infirmitie, were ouercome and went backe. Eusebius. lib. 8. cap. 3 amongest whom Socrates nameth MarginaliaMiletius reuolteth frō the faith & is excōmunicated. Miletius. lib. 1. cap. 6. and Athanasius in his seconde Apologie nameth the bishop of Licus a City in litle Egipt, whom Peter the bishoppe of Alexandria excommunicated, for that in this persecution he sacrificed to the Gentyles Gods. MarginaliaMarcellinus the bishop reuolteth, & commeth again to the fayth, & is martyred.Of þ^e fal of Marcellinus þ^e bishop of Rome, I wil speak afterwardes. For he beyng perswaded by others, and specially of the Emperoure Dioclesian himselfe, did sacrifice, wherupon he was excommunicated, but afterwardes he repenting the same, was a gayne receaued into the Congregation, and made Martyr, as Platina and the compilor of the booke of the generall councels, affirme. The number of the Martyrs increased daylye, sometymes ten, somtimes twenty were slayne at once, some whyles. 30. and often times. 60. MarginaliaA hundred Martyrs in one day.and other whyles 100. in one day, men, women, and children, by diuers kindes of death. Euseb. lib. 8. cap. 9. also Damasus, Beda, Orosius, Honorius & others do witnesse, that ther wer slayne in thys persecutiō by the name of Martyrs, MarginaliaSeuentene thousand Martyrs in one monthwithin the space of. 30. dayes. xvij. thousand persons, besyde an other great number and multitude that were condemned to the mettall mynes and quaryes wyth lyke crueltye.

MarginaliaThre hundred slayne at one time I AlexādriaAt Alexandria, with Peter the bishoppe, of whom I haue made mencion before, were slayne with axes. 300 and aboue, as Sabellicus declareth. MarginaliaGereon,
Martyr.Gereon was beheaded at Colonia Agrippina, with. 300. of his felowes, as sayth Henricus de Erfordia. MarginaliaMauriti⁹,
with 6666. Martyrs.Mauritius the captyne of Christian religon with his fellowes. 6666. MarginaliaVictor,
wyth. 360. martyrs slayne.Victor in the citie of Troy now called Xanthus with his felowes 360. were slayne, as sayth Otto Phrisingensis. lib. 2. cap. 45. Reginus reciteth the names of many other martirs to the number of. 120.

And forasmuch as mencion here hath bene made of Mauritius and Victor, the particular description of the same history I thought here to inserte, taken out of Adoand other story wryters, as insueth.  

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St. Maurice and St. Victor

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).

MarginaliaThe historye of Mauritius captein of the Theban soldiours.Mauritius came out of Syria into Fraunce and Italie, beyng captayne of the band of the Theban Soldiours, to the number of. 6660. being sent for of Maximinus, to go against the rebellious Bāgandes, but rather as it should seme by the treasō of the tyrant, which thought he might better in these quarters vse his tyrannie vpon the Christians, then in the East part. These Thebans with Mauritius the captayne, after that they had entred into Rome, who were ther of Marcellus the blessed bishop, confirmed in the fayth, promising by oth that they would rather by slayne of their enemies, then forsake that faith which they had receaued, who folowed the Emperours host thorowe the Alpes euen into Fraunce. At that time the Cesarians were incamped not farre from the towne called Ottodor, where Maximianus offred sacrifice to his diuels, and called all the Soldiours both of the East and west to the same, straitly charging them by the aulters of his Gods, that they would fight against those rebels the Bangandes, and persecute the Christian enemies of the Emperors gods: which his commaundement was shewed to the Thebans host, which were also encamped about the Ryuer of Rode, and in a place that was named Agawne, but to Ottodor they would in no wyse come, for that euery man did certainlye appoynt and perswade with them selues rather in that place to dye, then eyther to sacrifice to the Gods, or beare armour againste the Christians. Which thing in deede very stoutly and valiantlye they affirmed, vpon their othe before taken to Maximianus when he sent for them. MarginaliaEuerye tenth man in the legion slayne.Wherwith the tyrant being wrathful and al moued, commaunded euery tenth man of that whole band, to be put to the sword, wherto striuinglye and with great reioysing they committed their neckes. To which notable thing and great force of fayth Mauritius hymselfe was a great incourager, who by and by with a most graue oration exhorted and animated his soldiours both to fortitude and constancie. Which beyng agayne called of the Emperour, answered in this wise saying: MarginaliaThe Oration of the soldiours to the Emperor We are O Emperor your Soldiours, but yet also to speake freely, the seruauntes of God. We owe to thee seruice of warre, to him innocencie: of thee we receaue for our trauel, wages: of hym the beginning of lyfe. But in this we maye in no wyse obey thee O Emperour, to denye God, our autor and Lord, and not onely ours, but your Lord likewise, wyl ye, nyl ye. If we be not so extreamely enforced that we offend him, doubtles as we haue hetherto before, we wil yet obey you, but otherwise we wil rather obey him thē you. We offer here our handes against anye other enemies: but to defile our handes with the bloode of innocentes, that we may not do. These right hands of ours hath skil to fight against the wicked and true enemies, but to spoyle and murder the godly and Cityzens, they haue no skil at al. We haue in remembraunce how we tooke armour in hand for the defence of the Citezens, and not against them. We fought alwayes for iustice sake, pietie, and for the health of innocents. These haue bene alwaies the rewardes of our peryls and trauell. We haue fought in the quarell of fayth, whiche in no wyse we can keepe to you, if we do not shewe the same to our God. We first sware vpon the Sacramentes of our God, then afterward to the kyng: and do you think the second wil preuaile vs, if we breake the first? By vs you would plage the Christians, to doo which feate we are onely commaunded by you. We are here readye to confesse God the autor of all thinges, and beleue in hys sonne Iesus Christ our Lord. We see before our eyes our fellowes and partakers of our laburs & trauels, to be put to the swoorde, and we being sprinckled with their bloud, of which our most blessed companions and brethren their end and death we haue not bewailed nor