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Defence before Constantius

7.This charge utterly incredible and absurd.

Is it not mere madness in my accuser even to suspect me of such a thing? What, I ask again, could induce me to place confidence in this man? What trait did I perceive in his character on which I could rely? He had P. 241 murdered his own master; he had proved faithless to his friends; he had violated his oath; he had blasphemed God, by consulting poisoners and sorcerers ¹ contrary to his Law. And with what conscience could I send greeting to such a man, whose madness and cruelty had afflicted not me only, but all the world around me? To be sure, I was very greatly indebted to him for his conduct, that when your departed brother had filled our churches with sacred offerings, he murdered him. For the wretch was not moved by the sight of these his gifts, nor did he stand in awe of the divine grace which had been given to him in baptism: but like an accursed and devilish spirit, he raged against him, till your blessed brother suffered martyrdom at his hands; while he, henceforth a criminal like Cain, was driven from place to place, ‘groaning and trembling ²,’ to the end that he might follow the example of Judas in his death, by becoming his own executioner, and so bring upon himself a double weight of punishment in the judgment to come.

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Apologie de Saint Athanase à l'Empereur Constance

7.

Le seul soupçon d’un tel forfait n’est-il pas pour mon accusateur un acte de démence? Car qu’est-ce qui me persuadait de me fier à cet homme? Quelle sécurité trouvais-je en lui? Est-ce parce qu’il avait tué son maître, trahi ses amis, violé, ses serments et commis l’impiété contre Dieu, en recourant, malgré la décision divine, aux magiciens et aux enchantements?¹ Avec quelle conscience l’aurais-je salué, lui dont la fureur et la cruauté m’avaient plongé dans la douteur et, avec moi, la partie de la terre que forme notre empire? Je lui devais, sans doute, beaucoup de reconnaissance pour avoir égorgé ton bienheureux frère qui remplissait les églises d’offrandes! En vain, le scélérat voyait ces bienfaits: il ne les respecta pas; il ne redouta pas la grâce que le baptême avait communiquée au bienheureux mais, comme un démon exterminateur, il s’élança avec fureur contre lui. Pour le bienheureux, ce fut le martyre,² et lui depuis, semblable à un captif, gémissant et tremblant comme Caïn, se vit poursuivi, jusqu’à ce que, devenu son propre bourreau, il imitât Judas dans sa mort et s’attirât un double châtiment dans le jugement qui suit cette vie.