Didascalia Apostolorum

Historical source scan page 115

DIDASCALIA. 87 hath said, "The spirit is ready and willing, but the flesh is weak," it Matt, is not merely ourselves whom we destroy, but also the souls of our brethren (S. + we kill along with ourselves) ; for when they see our denials, they will think that they have been taught 1 error of doctrines1, and when they are 2made captive2 we shall have to answer for them as well as for ourselves, every one of us to the Lord in the day of judgment. (S. 4- But if thou art taken and brought before the governor, and deniest thy hope in the Lord in thy holy faith, and art set free to-day, but to-morrow thou art sick with a fever, and fallest on thy bed, or thy stomach pain thee, and thou takest no food, but givest it back with severe pains, or fallest into the affliction of gripes, or of the hurt of one of thy members ; or thou sendest forth from thy bowels blood and gall by severe pains ; or thou hast a tumour in one of thy members ; and thou art cut up by the hands of doctors, and diest in afflictions and in great agonies, what will thy denial that thou hast made profit thee, O man ? for behold, thou hast caused thy soul to inherit pains and sufferings, and thou hast lost thy eternal life before God. Thou wilt burn and be tormented without rest for ever ; as the Lord hath said. " Every one who loveth his life shall lose Joimxii. . 25 sic it ; and every one that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." Therefore the Christian who denies, loves his life for a short time in this world, that he may not die for the sake of the name of the Lord God ; but he destroys himself for ever in the fire, for he himself falls into hell, because Christ denies him, as He hath said in the Gospel, "Whoso- Matt. x. 33 ever denieth Me before men, I also will deny him before my Father which is in Heaven." But those whom the Lord denieth go out and Matt. via. 12 are cast into outer darkness, and there they shall have weeping and gnashing of teeth ; for He has said that " every one who loveth his life more than Me is not worthy of Me.") But let us be diligent, my brethren, to commend our lives to the Lord God; and if a man be found worthy f. 6ob of martyrdom, let him receive it with joy, that he is thought worthy of this crown, and that his exit from this world should be by martyrdom ; for our Saviour has said that "there is no disciple that is above his Lord, but let Lukevi. *o every one be perfect like his Lord." (S. + Our Lord therefore chose all these sufferings in order to save us ; He accepted to be beaten and blasphemed against, and His face spat upon, and to drink vinegar and myrrh, and at length He endured even to being hanged upon the cross.) We therefore who are His disciples, let us be imitators of Him ; for if He endured everything for our sakes (S. even to sufferings) how much ought not we to bear for 1 S. doctrines of error 2 S. scandalized