Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/144

 in the first half of the fifth century by a certain Prochorus (Acts of Apostles, VI, 5), a supposed disciple of John. Prochorus no doubt perused the Leucian Acts, as can be seen from a comparison of two manuscripts Q (cod. Paris, gr. 1468 of the XI cent.) and V. (Vat. gr. 654; XII or XIII cent.). The narrative of Prochorus is, a Catholic revision of the Johannine legend. It was first published by Michael Neander in an appendix to the third edition of his Græco-Latin edition of Luther's smaller catechism, Basel, 1567 (p. 526–663), and is now accessible in Zahn's edition (Acta Joannis, 1–105).

The beginning of the Acts, c. 1–14, which describes John's journey from Ephesus to Rome and banishment to Patmos, which Bonnet puts at the beginning, and c. 15–17, which describe John's return from Patmos, and which Bonnet puts below the text, may contain some original matter, though nothing certain can be ascertained for the present. These chapters were formerly published by Tischendorf (p. 262–272). For the benefit of the reader we give these chapters as they are given by Bonnet (p. 151–160).

1. When Agrippa, King of the Jews, who advised for peace, was stoned and put to death, Vespasian Caesar, coming with a great army, invested Jerusalem; some prisoners of war he took and slew, others he destroyed by famine in the siege; most he banished and at length scattered them. And having destroyed the temple, and put the holy vessels on board a ship, he sent them to Rome, to make for himself a temple of peace, and adorned it with the spoils of war.

2. And when Vespasian was dead, his son Domitian,