Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/281

 woman cried out, "Apostle of the new God, who hast come to India, and servant of that holy and good God—for by thee he is proclaimed the Saviour of the souls of those which come to him, and by thee the bodies of those are healed which are punished by the enemy, and thou hast become the cause of life of all, which turn to him—command that I be brought to thee, that I may tell thee what happened to me, and that perhaps there may be hope to me and to those who stand by thee, to be more confirmed in the hope in that God whom thou preachest. For not a little have I already been tormented by the enemy for five years. As a woman I formerly had rest, surrounded everywhere by peace, [and I cared for nothing]. For I had none to care for.

43. "And one day when I left the bath, it happened that I met a man who looked troubled and disturbed. And his voice and answer seemed to be very weak and thin. And coming up to me he said, 'Let us unite in love and have intercourse with each other as a man with his wife.' And I answered and said, 'I had no intercourse with my betrothed, as I refused to be marrried [sic]—how should I give myself up to thee, that wishest to have intercourse with me as in adultery?' And having said this, I passed by. And to my maid I said, 'Didst thou see the young man and his impudence, how shamelessly and boldly he talked to me?' And she said, 'I saw an old man talking with thee.' When I had come to my house and had supped, my mind