36. And⁶², when they attended to their Teacher, (Jesus) enjoined upon them the grievous things, (which should happen to them) in these words which He said to them, (viz.) "In the world ye shall have tribulation⁶³;" and again -- " Ye shall weep and mourn, but the world shall

rejoice⁶⁴," How plainly did the firmness and deep (sincerity) of their character not appear, since they fled not from these (severe) exercises of the soul, nor betook themselves to the things of the desires ? nor did their Lord moreover allure them by way of deception, or make them His by promising them the things which supply ease and comfort; but, truly and freely foretold to them those which should happen to them; and enabled them to choose for themselves the sort of conduct, which He had laid down for them. Of this sort were the things, which He foretold and attested, respecting the persecutions that were to happen to them, because of His name, (viz.) "that they should come before governours, and even kings⁶⁵;" and, that they should suffer every sort of punishment and vengeance, not on account of any thing hateful, nor for any other just cause ; but for this only, (viz.), for their testimony respecting Him; which (indeed), we have seen with our own eyes, has happened even to this time ? His prediction moreover, is worthy of our admiration ; for the testimony (given) respecting the name of our Saviour, and the confessing of Him, had usually the effect of inflaming the anger of the Rulers. And, even if nothing hateful had been perpetrated by any one confessing Christ, they punished and injuriously treated him, on account of His name, as evil, and more evil than any other thing: but, if any one did not confess His name, but denied that he was a Disciple of Christ, he was immediately set at liberty, even if he were implicated in many things which were abominable! But, What necessity can there be, that I should collect and endeavour to record, the many things relating to the lives of the Disciples of our Saviour, when the things already advanced, will be sufficient proof of (all) that is before us ? To these (however) we will again add the things (following), here in (their) place; and with these we will conclude our discussion.