Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/51

 learned the miracles of God. And many of them bade adieu to the world, and lived an ascetic life with her. And a good report was spread everywhere concerning her, and cures were done by her. All the city, therefore, and country round, having known this, brought their sick to the mountain; and before they came near the door they were speedily released from whatever disease they were afflicted by; and the unclean spirits went out shrieking, and all received their own in health, glorifying God, who had given such grace to the virgin Thecla. The physicians, therefore, of the city of Seleucia were thought nothing of, having lost their trade, and no one any longer had regard to them. Being filled with envy and hatred they plotted against the servant of Christ, what they should do to her. The devil then suggested to them a wicked device; and one day being assembled, and having taken counsel, they consult with each other, saying : this holy virgin has influence upon the great goddess Artemis ; and if she ask anything of her, she hears her being a virgin herself, and all the gods love her. Come, then, let us take men of disorderly lives, and make them drunk with much wine, and let us give them much money, and say to them, If you can corrupt and defile her, we shall give you even more money. The physicians therefore said to themselves, that if they should be able to defile her, neither the gods nor Artemis would listen to her in the case of the sick. They therefore acted accordingly, and the wicked fellows went up to the mountain, and rushed upon the cave like lions and knocked at the door. And the holy martyr Thecla opened, emboldened by the God in whom she trusted; for she knew of their plot beforehand. And she said to them : ' What do you want my children ? ' And they said: 'Is there one here called Thecla?' And she said: ' What do you want with her ? ' They say to her : ' We want to sleep with her/ The blessed Thecla says to them : ' I am a poor old woman, a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ; and even though you want to do something unseemly to me, you cannot.' They say to her : ' By all means, shall we do to thee what we want.' And having said this, they laid fast hold of her, and wished to insult her. But she said to them with mildness: 'Wait my children, that you may see