Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/21

 suffered (before), as well as at the time when he was in Ephesus. That the "Journeys or Circuits of Paul" are identical with the "Acts or Deeds of Paul" needs no explanation.

Nicephorus then continues as follows: "When Jerome was head of the city, Paul came forth boldly. And he (Jerome) said, 'This is very good, but not the right time for such speeches.'" The populace of the city, however, being enraged, had Paul put in chains and locked up in prison, till he was cast before the lions to be eaten. But Eubula and Artemilla, the wives of prominent Ephesians, who were his disciples and sought his communion at night, desired the grace of divine baptism. By means of an extraordinary divine power and angels, which had spears and illuminated the darkness of the night by the abundance of inner splendor, Paul was released from his fetters and brought them to perfection through the divine baptism, having gone to the seashore without being noticed by the prison keepers. He returned again to the prison, to be kept as food for the lions. A very big and strong lion was let loose upon him, and having run up to his feet, lay down, and though many more beasts were let loose upon him, none would touch the holy body, which was supported and strengthened by prayer. While this was going on, an awful hailstorm came and crushed the heads of many men and of the wild beasts. Jerome too was hit by a hailstone, and in consequence of this he turned with his followers to the God of Paul, and received baptism. But the lion ran away to the mountains, and Paul sailed thence to Macedonia and Greece."

Eusebius (Hist, eccles., Ill, 25, 4), places the Acts of Paul amongst the Antilegomena, under the heading of nothoi or spurious, but ranks them with the Shepherd of Hermas, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Didache, and even the Apocalypse of John and the Epistle of the Hebrews.

In the list of books given in the Codex Claromontanus (