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.And since the first man, who brought death into the worldthrough the transgression of the tree, had been produced from the spotless earth, it was necessarythat the Son of God should be begotten a perfect man from the spotless virgin, that He shouldrestore eternal life, which men had lost through Adam, and should cut off (4) the tree of carnalappetite through the tree of the cross.Hanging upon the cross, He stretched out His blamelesshands for the hands which had been incontinently stretched out; for the most sweet food of theforbidden tree He received gall for food; and taking our mortality upon Himself, He made a giftof His immortality to us.24 25AEgeates said: With these words thou shalt be able to lead away those who shall believe in thee;but unless thou hast come to grant me this, that thou offer sacrifices to the almighty gods, I shallorder thee, after having been scourged, to be fastened to that very cross which thou commendest.The blessed Andrew said: To God Almighty, who alone is true, I bring sacrifice day by day notthe smoke of incense, nor the flesh of bellowing bulls, nor the blood of goats, but sacrificing aspotless lamb day by day on the altar of the cross; and though all the people of the I faithfulpartake of His body and drink His blood, the Lamb that has been sacrificed remains after thisentire and alive.Truly, therefore, is He sacrificed, andtruly is His body eaten by the people, andHis blood is likewise drunk; nevertheless, as I have said, He remains entire, and spotless, andalive.AEgeates said: How can this be?The blessed Andrew said: If thou wouldest know, take the form of a disciple, that thou maystlearn what thou art inquiring after.AEgeates said: I will exact of thee through tortures the gift of this knowledge.The blessed Andrew declared: I wonder that thou, being an intelligent man, shouldest fall into(5) the folly of thinking that thou mayst be able to persuade me, through thy tortures, to discloseto thee the sacred things of God.Thou hast heard the mystery of the cross, thou hast heard themystery of the sacrifice.If thou be lievest in Christ the Son of God, who was crucified, I shallaltogether disclose to thee in what manner the Lamb that has been slain may live, after havingbeen sacrificed and eaten, remaining in His kingdom entire and spotless.AEgeates said: And by what means does the lamb remain in his kingdom after he has been slainand eaten by all the people, as thou hast said?The blessed Andrew said: If thou believest with all thy heart, thou shalt be able to learn: but ifthou believest not, thou shalt not by any means attain to the idea of such truth.Then AEgeates, enraged, ordered him to be shut up in prison, where, when he was shut up, amultitude of the people came together to him from almost all the province, so that they wished tokill AEgeates, and by breaking down the doors of the prison to set free the blessed Andrew theapostle.Them the blessed Andrew admonished in these words, saying: Do not stir up the peace of ourLord Jesus Christ into seditious and devilish uproar.For my Lord, when He was betrayed,endured it with all patience; He did not strive, He did not cry out, nor in the streets did any onehear Him crying out.(1) Therefore do ye also keep silence, quietness, and peace; and hinder notmy martyrdom, but rather get yourselves also ready beforehand as athletes to the Lord, in orderthat you may overcome threatenings by a soul that has no fear of man, and that you may get thebetter of injuries through the endurance of the body.For this temporary fall is not to be feared;but that should be feared which has no end.The fear of men, then, is like smoke which, while itis raised and gathered together, disappears.And those torments ought to be feared which neverhave an end.For these torments, which happen to be somewhat light, any one can bear; but ifthey are heavy, they soon destroy life.But those torments are everlasting, where there are dailyweepings, and mournings, and lamentations, and never-ending torture, to which the proconsulAEgeates is not afraid to go.Be ye therefore rather prepared for this, that through temporaryafflictions ye may attain to everlasting rest, and may flourish for ever, and reign with Christ
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