Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/23



This is followed by the story of Paul and Thecla, the greater part of which is preserved.

The next scene is at Myra, where Thecla left him. Here lived the dropsical Hermocrates. Having heard of the power of the God whom Paul preached, he fell down at the feet of Paul together with his wife and children, beseeching his help. The apostle promised to help him in the name of Jesus Christ. At this the dropsical man fell down, his body opened and much water came forth. Those that stood by, believed the sufferer to be dead; but the apostle lifted him up and gave him bread to eat. At this Hermocrates and his wife were baptized. But the elder son Hermippus was not pleased with the turn of affairs, as he had already been counting on the inheritance. With his friends he plotted against the life of the apostle. In the meantime the second son of Hermocrates, Dion, who carefully listened to the words of the apostle, hurt himself and died. The apostle restored him to life again. Being admonished in a vision of the danger which threatened him, he receives Hermippus who rushes upon him with his drawn sword with the same word with which Jesus met the bailiffs in Gethsemane. Hermippus suddenly grows blind. He asks his companions not to leave him in his misery and accuses himself of having persecuted innocent blood. He prays all to ask Paul to cure him from his blindness and reminds them of what Paul did for his father and brother. Paul being deeply moved, goes away. The companions carry Hermippus to the house, in which Paul is teaching. The blind man touches the feet of all who went in and asks them to intercede for him before Paul. Among these are his parents Hermocrates and Nympha who bring corn and money to be distributed among the poor because of Dion's deliverance. The parents are greatly distressed at the condition of their son. Paul and the parents pray for Hermippus; he is healed and imagines that the apostle put his hand on him. . . . From Myra Paul went to Sidon. On the way some Christians from Perge in Pamphylia join him, Thrasymachus and Aline (or Alype) Cleon and