had two sons of his own, and we were all present at their death and funeral. Go, therefore, and see their tombs, for these are open, and they are risen; and behold, they are in the city of Arimathæa, spending their time together in offices of devotion. Some, indeed, have heard the sound of their voices in prayer; but they will not discourse with any one, but they continue as mute as dead men. But come, let us go to them, and behave ourselves towards them with all due respect and cau tion. And if we can bring them to swear, perhaps they will tell us some of the mysteries of their resurection. When the Jews heard this, they were exceedingly rejoiced. Then Annas and Caiaphas, Nicodemus, Joseph, and Gamaliel, went to Arimathæa, but did not find them in their graves; but walking about the city, they found them on their bended knees at their devotions. Then saluting them with all respect and deference to God, they brought them to the synagogue at Jerusalem; and having shut the gates, they took the book of the Law of the Lord, and putting it in their hands, swore them by God Adonai, and the God of Israel, who spake to our fathers by the law and the prophets, saying, If ye believe him who raised you from the dead, to be Jesus, tell us what ye have seen, and how ye were raised from the dead. Charinus and Lenthius, the two sons of Simeon, trembled when they heard these things, and were disturbed, and groaned; and at the same time looking up to heaven, they made the sign of the cross with their fingers on their tongues. And immediately they spake, and said, Give each of us some paper, and we will write down for you all those things which we have seen. And they each sat down and wrote, saying, O Lord Jesus and Father, who art God, also the resurrection and life of the dead, give us leave to declare thy mysteries, which we saw after death belonging to thy cross; for we are sworn by thy name. For thou hast forbid thy servants to declare the secret things, which were wrought by thy divine power in hell. When we were placed with our fathers in the depth of hell, in the blackness of darkness, on a sudden there appeared the color of the sun like gold, and a substantial purplecolored light enlightening the place. Presently upon this, Adam, the father of all mankind, with all the patriarchs and prophets, rejoiced and said, That light is the author of everlasting light, who hath promised to translate us to everlasting light. Then Isaiah the prophet cried out, and said, This is the light of the Father, and the Son of God, according to my prophecy when I was alive upon earth. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim beyond Jordan, a people who walked in darkness, saw a great light; and to them who dwelled in the region of the shadow of death, light is arisen. And now he is come, and has enlighted us who sat in death. And while we were all rejoicing in the light which shone upon us, our father Simeon came among us, and congratulating all the company, said, Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God. Whom I took up in my arms when an infant in the temple, and being moved by the Holy Ghost, said to him, and acknowledged, That now mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. All the saints who were in the depth of hell, hearing this, rejoiced the more."* This is only a small portion of the whole account of the interview with the risen sons of Simeon, which extends through nearly eight chapters more, and is concluded as follows: "And after they had made an end of writing, and had wrote in two distinct pieces of paper, Charinus gave what he wrote into the hands of Annas, and Caiaphas, and Gamaliel. Lenthius likewise gave what he wrote into the hands of Nicodemus and Joseph; and immediately they were changed into exceeding WHITE FORMS, and were seen no more.”† I see nothing in any part of this story which is not worthy of as much credence as the brief and partially corresponding statements of Matthew. Miracles said to have been wrought by Jesus, during his childhood. These were many and various; and some of them are minutely detailed in the two Gospels of the Infancy of Jesus. I will here introduce a few specimens of these accounts: "The following accounts we found in the book of Jo* Nicodemus, xii. 13—25; xiii. 1—9. † Ibid, xxi. 7, 8. seph the high priest, called by some Caiphas. He relates, that Jesus spake even when he was in his cradle, and said to his mother: Mary, I am Jesus the Son of God, that Word, which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the angel Gabriel to thee, and my Father hath sent me for the salvation of the world."* "And it came to pass, when the Lord Jesus was born at Bethlehem, a city of Judæa, in the time of Herod the King, the wise men came from the East to Jerusalem, according to the prophecy of Zoradascht, [Zoroaster] and brought with them offerings: namely, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worshipped him, and offered to him their gifts. Then the Lady Mary took one of his swaddling clothes in which the infant was wrapped, and gave it to them instead of a blessing, which they received from her as a most noble present. And at the same time there appeared to them an angel in the form of that star which had before been their guide in their journey; the light of which they followed till they returned into their own country. On their return their kings and princes came to them, inquiring, What they had seen and what they had done? What sort of journey and return they had? What company they had on the road? But they produced the swaddling cloth which St. Mary had given to them, on account whereof they kept a feast. And having, according to the custom of their country, made a fire, they worshipped it. And casting the swaddling cloth into it, the fire took it, and * Infancy, chap. i. 1-3. kept it. And when the fire was put out, they took forth the swaddling cloth unhurt, as much as if the fire had not touched it."* "And when the Lady St. Mary had washed the swaddling clothes of the Lord Christ, and hanged them out to dry upon a post, a boy possessed with the devil took down one of them, and put it on his head. And presently the devils began to come out of his mouth, and fly away in the shapes of crows and serpents. From that time the boy was healed by the power of the Lord Christ, and he began to sing praises, and give thanks to the Lord who had healed him." "When they came afterwards into the city of Bethlehem, they found there several very desperate distempers, which became so troublesome to children by seeing them, that most of them died. There was there a woman who had a sick son, whom she brought, when he was at the point of death, to the Lady St. Mary, who saw her when she was washing Jesus Christ. Then said the woman, O my Lady Mary, look down upon this my son, who is afflicted with most dreadful pains. St. Mary hearing her, said, Take a little of that water with which I have washed my son, and sprinkle it upon him. Then she took a little of that water, as St. Mary had commanded, and sprinkled it upon her son, who being wearied with his violent pains, was fallen asleep; and after he had slept a little, awaked perfectly well and recovered. The * 1 Infancy, ii. 1-3. tlbid, iv. 15—17. |