Atkinson, The Passions and the Homilies from Leabhar Breac (1887) — translated from the Irish. The file contains the conclusion of the Passion homily (the trial before Pilate and the crucifixion), homily XIX on the Resurrection morning with its literal, moral and anagogical interpretations and the rules for keeping Easter, and homily XX on the Harrowing of Hell after the Gospel of Nicodemus — which breaks off mid-sentence at the end.

¹ “As the Lord revealed to me,” says the Evangelist, “there came Jesus into the presence of the governor, and the governor asked him: ‘are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus said: ‘you say however it is I; as it were, I bless you not.’ And though he was accused and reproached by the chief priests, Jesus gave them no answer. Then Pilate said to Jesus: ‘Hear you not the words these people speak against you?’ Yet Jesus gave the governor no answer, though the governor wondered at it.

² The governor was custom at the feast of Easter to release a prisoner to them, that is, to the children of Israel; and the reason for releasing him to them was this — it was at Easter the children of Israel were freed from the bondage of Egypt; or the reason for freeing him was that a foreign ruler governed them, that the Jewish people might be reconciled to him. Now there was a notorious prisoner in custody with the governor at that time, named Barabbas; and that Barabbas was the son of a good man of the Jews, and the reason of his imprisonment was that he had killed a man of the people of Jerusalem. When the Jews had gathered into one place, Pilate said to them: “Which of these two would you rather I released to you — Barabbas the murderer, or Jesus who is guiltless?” For he knew that it was not for any other cause they had delivered Christ to crucifixion and passion, but for envy and malice.

³ Now when Pilate sat in the presence of the royal seat, his wife sent a messenger to him — Procula was her name, as Nicodemus relates; and this is what she said through the messenger: “Have you no part in doing evil to this righteous man, for today I have suffered much hardship in a dream on his account.” It was a demon, moreover, that went there to hinder the passion — for it was through the passion of Christ that weakness came upon him; he it is who was urging the passion forward. The chief priests and the elders of the people, however, urged that Barabbas be spared and Jesus crucified.

⁴ The governor answered and said to them: “Which of the two would you prefer me to release to you?” All of them said: “Barabbas to be spared!” Pilate said to them: “What then shall I do with Jesus, whose name is Christ?” They all said: “Let him be crucified.” The governor said to them: “Why, what evil has Jesus done you?” They paid no heed to Pilate’s words, but raised a great shout and clamour against him, saying: “Crucify, crucify!” said they.

⁵ When Pilate saw that it was not easy for him to spare Jesus, but that a shout and clamour were being raised against him, water was brought to him and he washed his hands in the presence of the people, saying: “I am innocent of the blood of this holy man; and see that you have no ill consequence among yourselves from his crucifixion!” All the people answered and said: “Let his blood and its vengeance be upon us and upon our children after us!” said they. An evil aftermath the Jews invoked upon themselves there — the blood of Christ to be exacted of their children after them! Then Barabbas was released, and Jesus was handed over to them to be crucified after being scourged. The commentators relate that there still remain traces of Christ’s blood, after the scourging, upon the stones that were nearest to him at that time in the royal palace. It was for this reason Jesus was scourged by them — for it was a custom of the Romans that whoever was condemned to be crucified should first be scourged. Then the governor’s soldiers took the Saviour out of the court, that is, out of the royal guardhouse, and gathered to him all the host of the Jews. Then they stripped him and took his own clothing off him; and they put a purple garment about him to mock him, and fashioned a crown of sharp-pointed thorns upon his head as a royal diadem; and they knelt to him in derision, saying: “God save you, O king of the Jews!” They spat their spittle upon him, and took the rod from his hand and struck him on the head with it; and when they had had their fill of mocking him, they took the purple garment off him and put his own clothing upon him, and led him away to crucify him. While they were going along after the scourging, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, and they made that man carry the cross of Jesus. Free was the prisoner, but noble was the slave — Jesus was innocent, was righteous, was pure, humble, long-suffering, merciful, forgiving. Woe to the exceeding wicked who pronounced injustice upon the King of justice; woe to the city in which this deed was done; woe to the chief priests and priests who were agreeing to this deed; woe to the heart that conceived it; woe to the ear that heard and refused it not; woe to the eyes that saw this man in the middle of the city with his nail-pierced cross upon his back, and did not lament him! They came then to the place called Golgotha — which is the same as “the place of ill-treatment.” Great indeed was the ill-treatment done there — the Son of the King of heaven and earth crucified without guilt!

⁶ And they gave him bitter wine to drink, and when he had tasted it he would have no more. After he had been crucified by the soldiers, and nails of iron driven through his hands and feet, they cast lots for his garments — that is, for the tunic, the lot was cast separately, as John relates, so that the tunic came to Pilate by right of the lot. In this wise, moreover, Jesus was set upon the cross: his back to the east toward the rising of the sun, his face to the west toward the sun’s setting, his left side to the south facing the sun, his right to the north facing the sunset still. They sat down then and kept watch over him, and the soldiers placed above his head in one writing the cause for which they had crucified him — Iesus Nazarenus rex Iudeorum, that is, “This is Jesus of Nazars, king of the Jews.” Then they crucified along with him two robbers — a robber on his right, Dismus by name, and a robber on his left, Gestus by name, as Nicodemus relates. The people who passed by reviled him and wagged their heads at him in mockery. Luke relates what Jesus said upon the cross: “Heavenly Father, forgive these people, if they repent of the grievous sin they have committed, for they know not that what they do is evil.” This also is what the Jews said to Jesus: “It is pity for you to be thus, O king of the Jews! Great is the thing you said — that you could cast down the temple of God and rebuild it in three days; save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down now out of the bloody cross!” The same thing the chief priests and the elders of the people said: “Many you have healed,” said they, “and yourself you can not heal. If he be the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him. Let him trust in the Lord, and the Lord will deliver him if he will — for he said another time that he was the Son of God.”

⁷ The same thing the robbers crucified with him did — upbraiding him. Luke relates that only one of the robbers did not revile him; Gestus was the name of that robber. Dismus, however, believed in Jesus; and Jesus said to him: “you shall be with me today in paradise, in my Father’s kingdom.” And that is an example for men of late repentance — that they should turn earnestly to God, that he may grant them forgiveness. From the sixth hour to the ninth hour, that is for the space of three hours, there came a great darkness over the earth. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out upon the cross with a loud voice, saying: “Ely, Ely, lama zabatany?” — which is the same as “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Some of them who were listening said: “It is Elijah,” said they, “he is calling to deliver him.” Then one of the soldiers ran at once and put bitter wine with myrrh on the point of a rod and gave it to Jesus to drink — Zephaton was the name of that soldier, as the writings relate. Ceteri vero dicebant: sine, videamus an veniat Elias liberare eum. The hosts moreover said: “Let him,” said they, “alone, that we may see whether Elijah will come to deliver him.” Then another of the soldiers took a spear and thrust it into Jesus’s right side, and there came forth blood and water. Then Jesus said to a company of people whom he saw walking on the paths near him: “Good people,” said he, “has my sickness been left upon any man in the world ever?” Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and sent forth his spirit, saying, as in Psalm 30: “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum” — which is the same as “Heavenly Father, I commend my soul and my spirit into your hands.” And afterwards the veil of the temple was rent in two parts, from its top to its bottom; et terra mota est — and the earth was shaken; et petrae scissae sunt — and the rocks were rent; et monumenta aperta sunt — and the graves were opened.

⁸ Now when it was the dead creatures without law and without understanding that mourned the Lord, how much more fitting is it for the living and the lawful to lament him. I beseech the mercy of almighty God that he may protect us — Matthew son of Alphaeus, the glorious sage, in whose likeness may no demon pass over us.

Nineteen #

¹ Some of those who were listening to Jesus when he sent forth his spirit spoke in this wise in teaching the people: “So it shall be,” said they, “if you keep faith in every cause, whenever there shall be two witnesses or three unimpeached men asserting it — for it was in accordance with truth, moreover, for that reckoning, that the excellent chosen ones came, namely the angels of the God of heaven, to preach and confirm the Lord’s resurrection.” Now the angel’s brightness shone like lightning, and for that reason the angel appeared in the form of bright lightning — to give light in the night to the holy women, and also to dismay and terrify the impious guards who were around the tomb. These are the names of the four soldiers who were guarding the tomb of Jesus — Lixus, Helixus, Membrón, Acherón. The angel’s clothing shone like snow. The reason the angel appeared in the winsome bright form of snow was that the holy women might be the less frightened at the sight of him; for it is fear and dread that are produced by the lightning, whereas gentleness and pleasure are perceived in the snow.

² Now that foursome is fittingly compared with the angel, for the heavenly angels are a terror to sinners, but gentle and winsome to the saints and the righteous. “Then a heavy fear seized the guards at the sight of the angel, and the appearance of death came upon them.” Though a great dread seized the impious guards, it was not they whom the angel addressed but the holy women, for their fair deserving; and so it was to confirm that understanding that Matthew said: “Then the angel answered, and this is what he said to the women: ‘Let there be no fear or dread upon you’” — as though the angel had said, “it is manifest that fear and dread befit the party for whom our coming to them was no joy, to seize them upon their sepulchre. But as for you, O holy women, why should our terror be upon you? For I know that it is the crucified Jesus you are seeking” — as though the angel had said, “I know that you still have your doubts about the resurrection and your certainties about the passion.” He is not here present in his body — he who was full of all things in presence and in the power of his divinity, as the prophet testifies in the person of the Lord, saying: “All creatures are full of me,” says the Lord; for the creatures cannot encompass him nor contain him, according to the law of bodily extent in his nobility and his greatness. Fitting is that, for it is he who sustained them.

³ “For he is risen as he foretold” — and apply your minds to the thing he foretold, namely his resurrection after three days. “Come and see the place where they laid him” — “if you believe not my words,” says the angel, “believe the empty tomb.” “Go now quickly and tell his apostles, ‘Jesus is risen from the dead’” — and earnestly resolve, that you women may be the first to tell life to the world, since it was through a woman that death came into the world. “And Jesus shall go before you into Galilee; there shall you find him, as he foretold you.” The angel did not say this because the apostles would first see Jesus after the resurrection in Galilee — for Luke and John testify that the apostles saw him often before that in Jerusalem; but this is said because it was in Galilee that Jesus most fully taught his apostles concerning the divine mysteries, saying to them when he sent them from him: “Go now,” said Jesus, “to preach and to teach all the people of the world,” said he.

⁴ It is fitting to know, moreover, that the resurrection of Christ from the dead was figured and foretold long ago by the elders of the Old Testament, as the Church declares every year at this feast of Easter; for the Lord’s resurrection has so much age and dignity that all creatures were prefiguring and foretelling it. Now that resurrection of Christ from the dead was figured in the rising of our first father Adam from his sleep after Eve was formed from his side — in the figure of Christ rising from the dead after the holy Church was formed from his side in the sleep of the cross. The resurrection of Christ was figured in the turning of Moses’s rod into a serpent — it suffered death in being made serpent of the magicians’ serpents, and back into a rod again; so Christ then was turned into death, and his death back again into the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ from the dead was figured in the deliverance of Jonah the prophet after three days from the belly of the great beast — the resurrection of Christ after three days from the womb of the earth. The resurrection of Christ from the dead was foretold in patriarchs and by prophets. First Jacob son of Isaac foretold it when he was prophesying to his son Judah, saying: “The likeness of Judah to me,” said Jacob, “is a lion’s whelp — who shall dare to wake him?” For this is the nature of that whelp: it is three days dead after it is born, until the lion comes to it and breathes his breath upon it and roars over it with a great voice, and then the whelp arises to life — in that wise, moreover, Christ rose from the dead through the power of the heavenly Father. Job the prophet foretold it, the man of divine grace, saying: “It is my belief,” said Job, “that Jesus Christ my Redeemer lives in the resurrection, and that I myself shall arise along with all in the great assembly of the day of judgement.” The author of every prophecy foretold the resurrection — Jesus himself, saying: “Destroy you this temple,” said Jesus, “that is, the temple of my body, and I will raise it up in three days.” And that is the manifest distinction of these readings.

⁵ Now as to the allegory: the vespera sabbati — the evening of the sabbath — spoken of here, this is what it signifies: the end and conclusion coming upon the written law with the coming of the gospel, as the apostle testifies, saying: “There have perished before me,” says the apostle, “the figures and foreshadowings of the Old Testament, and all things have been made new through Christ the Son of the living God.” The first day of the sabbath spoken of here signifies, by allegory, the beginning of the New Testament, which is required of every believer — a ceasing from sins and vices. The two Marys who were seeking Christ at the tomb signify this: the two churches that are seeking the Lord today in the New Testament — the church of the believing Jews and the church of the elect gentiles. Now the women’s coming to the tomb in the early morning signifies this by allegory: the twofold church we have spoken of coming from the time of its baptism and from the beginning of its faith and belief at once to the wise teachers of the New Testament, to ask knowledge and wisdom of them. The great earthquake that happened at that time signifies this: all the gentiles being shaken out of the idolatry in which they were of old, serving idols and demons, to seek now their healing and their help from the Saviour of the creatures. That an angel of God came from heaven signifies this: the Saviour Jesus, whose name in the Scripture is “the angel of the great counsel,” coming from the heavens by the will of the heavenly Father to the earth to help and deliver men. When the angel came and rolled the stone from the tomb, this is what that signifies allegorically: when Christ came in the flesh he banished the hardness and harshness of the law’s teaching through the gentleness and winsomeness of the gospel teaching. The empty tomb signifies this: the pure mysteries of the Old Testament being revealed today in the New Testament.

⁶ The angel sat upon the stone — this is what it signifies: that his law and his gospel are manifest, that Christ is king and judge of all creatures. The angel’s brightness like lightning signifies this: that the Saviour Jesus Christ is a terror and harsh to sinners and the impious; and that he kindles the minds and natures of his saints and his righteous with the flame of charity and good works. His clothing shining like snow signifies this: that the Lord is gently winsome to the righteous, as Jesus testifies where he says in the gospel: “O men,” says Jesus, “learn of me gentleness and winsomeness, for so am I myself, gentle and winsome.” The trembling and fear of the guards signifies this allegorically: that the Jews and gentiles who were guarding of old the vain service of the law have now attained through the grace of repentance and contrition of heart to faith and belief. The appearance of death coming upon them signifies this allegorically: that the labour which believers perform in mortifying their fleshly desires is almost a likeness of death. “Let there be no fear or dread upon you” signifies this: that the fear of God need no longer be upon the Church for punishment or damnation — as the apostle testifies, saying: “When the grace of God comes perfectly to anyone,” says the apostle, “it casts out from him the imperfect fear”; for men of charity need not have the perfect fear of the Lord upon them, since great is their familiarity and faithfulness to him besides, because of their charity — for the Lord’s dwelling is not the same now among men as it was in the vain observance of the Jewish law. “For he is risen as he foretold” — that is, the Lord’s exaltation is henceforth in the nobility and brightness of the gospel teaching. “Come and see the place” — the humanity — that it is a fitting dwelling for the Son according to divinity. “Go quickly and tell his apostles that Jesus is risen from the dead” — that is, tell now to the Church that the Lord has left the Jews who died of old in serving the letter of the law, and has come today to the believing gentiles to be worshipped. “He shall go before you into Galilee” — that is, let all believers know that the Lord is not to be sought in the observance of the law, but that it is there in truth they shall find him — in Galilee, that is, in passing over from sins to perfection, from death to life, from vengeance to forgiveness, from darkness to light, from evil to good, from hell to paradise.

⁷ There are four observances for the celebration of Easter, from which its mysteries and allegory are derived. The first observance is this — that it is celebrated after the passing of the equinox, that the light of day may be raised above the darkness of night and the victory of the light be taken over it. That is fitting for the feast in which the light of eternal life is typified for us, since it is then that the sun’s light first wins its first victory over the darkness of night each year. The second observance is this — that it is celebrated in the first month of the year, in the month of new fruits. And it was in that month that the world was first created and the first man set in paradise; this is what that signifies — that through the mystery of this feast we hope for the garb of immortality and incorruption, since we have fallen to reach it again. The third observance is this — that it is kept in the third week of that month, that is, from the fifteenth to the twenty-first. That is fitting for the mystery and joy of the resurrection which happened on the third day and in the third age: for there are three ages — the age of the natural law, in which the patriarchs were; and the age of the written law, in which the prophets were; and the age of the law of the Holy Spirit, in which he himself came — Christ the Son of God. The fourth observance for the celebration of Easter is the observance that multiplies the people of the New Testament — that it be celebrated on a Sunday rather than on every other day of the week; for it was on Sunday that heaven with its angels was made, and it was on it that Christ rose from the dead, and it is on it that we all hope to arise, so that it is fitting for us to choose it above every other day. That is the allegorical interpretation of these readings — historical interpretation being what is manifest, and allegorical interpretation what is secret and hidden.

⁸ Now this reading admits also a moral interpretation, which is fitting for every believer to learn and to meditate upon; for it is through the fulfilment of that interpretation that every believer is conformed to Christ and to the Church. The vespera sabbati spoken of here, whose meaning is requies, that is, rest — this is what it signifies morally: the slaying and the death of fleshly desires in men, as the apostle teaches the true believers, saying: “O men,” says the apostle, “mortify your flesh, to cut off and kill the fleshly desires in it.” That evening that shines here signifies this: man being renewed in virtues — the apostle also teaches, saying: “Put off,” says the apostle, “the oldness and antiquity of your sins and your vices, and let yourselves be renewed in Christ.”

⁹ The two Marys signify this morally: the body and the soul of the man who labours for God; or they signify the two lives after which every believer serves perfectly under the Lord — vita actualis and vita theoretica, that is, the active life, the mind on earth and in toil always, and the contemplative life, the mind on God always. The great earthquake that happened signifies this: the shaking and uprising of the body from its sluggishness and carnality to share the resolve of the soul that casts off its sins and its vices. That the angel of God came from heaven signifies this: the preaching of the word of God to believers out of the holy Scripture — and “of heaven” is a name for the Scripture there because of its nobility and its brightness. When the angel came and rolled the stone from the tomb and sat upon it, this is what it signifies: the divine teaching being impressed upon the hardness of heart and mind of every believing man, and being given to him to learn and to discern the gospel truth. The two forms moreover in which the angel appeared here — a terrible dreadful form like lightning, and a winsome bright form like snow — this is what they signify morally: the two forms that are in the divine teaching — a harsh terrible aspect when it promises punishments and torments to the impious and to sinners, and a gentle mild aspect when it promises gifts and rewards to the saints and the righteous. The guards signify this: the bodily senses, keeping watch against the vanities and follies of the world. “He is not here” — that is, the Lord’s delight is not there, in the hearts of sinners and of the impious. “He is risen as he foretold” signifies this: that the Lord’s exaltation exists in the souls of the saints and the righteous. “See the place” — that is, set right understanding upon the soul, in which are the form and likeness of God. “Tell his disciples” — that is, teach the bodily senses to do good; and the name “disciple” is given to them because, when the senses imitate Christ and take from him an example of good works, they are there reckoned among Christ’s disciples. “He shall go before you into Galilee” — that is, he shall go before you from the bodily joys to the spiritual joys, from pride to humility, from greed to charity, from harshness to gentleness. That is the moral interpretation of this reading.

¹⁰ Now as to the anagogy — that is, the interpretation which is fitting for Christ and for the heavenly Church: the vespera sabbati spoken of here signifies this — the end and conclusion of the world that shall be endured here through the six ages of the world, and the seventh age conjoined with them, that is, the age of rest of the righteous from Abel to Doomsday. The first day of the sabbath spoken of here signifies this: the beginning of the eighth age which the saints and the righteous shall endure there after Doomsday in the presence of God without end and without limit; for as Sunday is the first day of the week through its taking the beginning, in the same wise it is the eighth day through the enduring upon it from the east of the Lord’s resurrection. The two Marys who were earnestly there about the tomb signify this by anagogy: the two churches that shall be manifest on the day of judgement in the presence of God — the heavenly church and the earthly church. The earthquake signifies this: the meeting of the resurrection of all men on the day of judgement; but there will be a different distribution for them on that day — some of them shall go to heaven and others to hell. The angel who came from heaven on the day of the resurrection to proclaim it signifies this morally or anagogically: Michael the archangel coming from heaven to proclaim the Lord’s resurrection to the human race on the day of judgement, saying to them thrice: “Arise, arise, arise, O race of Adam!” — and all shall arise at that proclamation.

¹¹ “Beloved brothers,” says the sage, “today we keep the feast — the feast of Easter; and this feast deserves its honour and its dignity greatly from all believers.”

¹² Now in three ways the dignity of this feast is ordained: the first dignity is celebration and preaching of the word of God; the second dignity is the giving of alms in honour of the Lord, out of love and mercy upon the poor; the third dignity is the Mass, in which sacrifice of Christ’s body and his blood is offered on behalf of the righteous. And though every feast greatly deserves its dignity and honour in these ways, this feast most greatly deserves it; for this is the feast of the assembly of the household of heaven and earth, this is the feast of the Old Testament and the New Testament, this is the feast proper to the heavenly Father, this is the feast of the Lord’s resurrection, this is the feast that excels every feast, this is the honourable and venerable feast of the household of heaven and earth — this feast of Easter; for many are its wonders and miracles. For it was at Easter the angel passed through the households of the children of Israel and slew all the firstborn of Egypt; it was at Easter the people of Israel came out of Egypt to journey to the Land of Promise; it was at Easter, moreover, that Christ rose from the dead after loosing the devil’s bond in hell; it was at Easter the souls of the saints and righteous of the five ages came out of hell into paradise; and it is at Easter, moreover, that shall be the notable day — the day of judgement.

¹³ For great and manifest are the deeds of that day — for then the whole world shall be one fiery blaze, from the rising of the sun to its setting; and that flame shall burn the sinners like terrible lightning, and shall be like a gentle winsome dew to the saints and the righteous; for their alms and their offerings shall protect them on that day from the fire of doom. On that day heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them shall be cast down; on that day the earth shall be burnt until it is ashes — but afterwards those creatures shall be renewed again, in a form more beautiful and more comely by far than as they were made at first. On that day Michael the archangel shall make his proclamation to all men, saying to them thrice “Arise!” — and all shall arise from death to life at that command, both those whom the earth has swallowed and the wave drowned, whom fire has burnt and beasts devoured. On that day — the day of judgement — our Lord shall come to us, Jesus Christ: he who came humbly and lowly the first time in his birth shall come terrible and dreadful the second time, on the day of judgement; and he who came to be judged by the living shall come to judge the living and the dead; and on that day his saints and his righteous shall be separated from the sinners. And this is what the Lord shall say to them as he refuses them and drives them from him: “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire — where there shall be for you lamentation and gnashing of teeth and the streaming of tears; where there shall be worms and terrible beasts, and a fire unquenchable avenging your sins and your iniquities upon you; where there shall be for you the fulness of every evil and the lack of every good; where death shall be desired by the sinners and they shall not find it” — for they would greatly prefer to find death and pass into nothingness at once than to endure the eternal punishments and torments for ever and ever. This is what the Lord shall say to his saints and righteous — that is, the people of charity and mercy — calling them to him into the heavenly kingdom: “Come, you blessed, and inherit my Father’s kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world — where there shall be for you these great goods: life without death, youth without age, health without sickness, joy without sorrow; where there shall be for you every rest one upon another” — where there shall be the desirable rewards in the land of the living, a full reward for their bodies and their souls in the kingdom of heaven for ever and ever.

¹⁴ Then the saints and the righteous shall be in that great assembly with the Lord, in the delight and joy of the heavenly kingdom for ever, in the union of the nine orders of heaven who have not transgressed, in the union of the divinity and humanity of the Son of God, in the union nobler than every union — the union of the almighty Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. I beseech the mercy of Jesus Christ who arose on this day today from the dead, that we may all reach that union — may we merit it, may we dwell in it, in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Twenty #

¹ Ero mors tua, o mors, et morsus tuus, o inferne — “I will be your death, O death, and your sting, O hell.” The Holy Spirit — the Spirit that excels every spirit, the Spirit that has enlightened each of the two churches, the Old Testament and the New, with the grace of wisdom and prophecy — it is that Spirit who spoke these words from the mouth of the prophet Hosea, to foretell the great deed that came to pass on this day: Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the Saviour of the whole world, after the completion of his cross and passion on behalf of Adam’s race, after leaving his body in its tomb, went in his soul into hell to free and loose from their captivity the prisoners of hell whom the devil had carried off during the five ages — from Adam until Christ came in the flesh and suffered on behalf of Adam and his children, and his soul went into hell, and he put a bond upon the mighty champion who had wrought defeat upon Adam’s children — upon the devil — in fiery chains in the deepest abyss of the pain of hell, and he overthrew him and took out by force the souls of the elect who were in hell; and so it was to foretell this great victory which Christ took from the devil that the prophet said, through the urging of the Holy Spirit, ero mors tua, etc.

² Nor does the consecrated Scripture only relate the deed of this noble and wonderful work — Christ taking the captives out of hell — but it also shows the many dead who arose from death along with Christ, and they were walking in Jerusalem and in the many cities of the land of Judah, preaching the resurrection of Christ from the dead — as Nicodemus relates; he was a doctor of the law, and was of the household of Christ, and was praising Christ in the presence of the Jews and of Pilate, and said: “It was unrighteous of them to slay Christ.” The Jews were angry at what Nicodemus said, and said to him: “May that be your portion on the day of judgement!” Nicodemus answered them, saying: “Amen, amen,” said he, “may my portion likewise be with Christ in the life there!” Now Joseph, a holy and noble man of the people of the city called Arimathea, said that what they had done was unrighteous — to slay Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, the Lord and Creator of the world, who came to save Adam’s children from the devil.

³ Now Joseph asked Pilate for the body of Christ to bury it. He obtained that of Pilate, and put a clean linen cloth about Jesus’s body, and afterwards laid him in a new tomb which Joseph had made for himself. Now when the Jews heard that Joseph had done this, they were angered at him, and bound him and put him in prison until the sabbath should pass, and said to him: “Since you gav your tomb to Christ, your body shall not go into any tomb of ours, but it shall be left to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.” After the close of the sabbath, however, the chief priests — Annas and Caiaphas — came to the door of the prison, and found the prison under the seal they had set upon it. They opened it then, and found not Joseph within. Silence fell upon them at this, and they wondered greatly that the prison remained under the same seal and Joseph had not been found within. Then three days later certain men came from Galilee to Jerusalem — Phinees a priest, and Anna a teacher, and Agius, he a doctor of the law; and they said to the chief priests: “The Jesus whom you crucified — we have seen him speaking with his apostles, himself in the middle of them on the summit of the Mount of Olives; and this is what he said to them: “Go and teach every nation, and baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and he that shall be baptised and shall believe shall be saved”; and when Jesus had said these words to his disciples, we saw him ascending to heaven.” When the chief priests and the elders of the people heard these tidings, they adjured the men who had told them not to tell them to anyone from then on, and gave them great wages and much wealth to be silent about the report from then on. Then all the great assembly of the Jews was gathered together at that time, and they wondered at the great and wondrous signs that had been wrought in the land of Israel at that time — the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and Joseph’s escape out of the sealed prison. Now Annas and Caiaphas the chief priests — it was they who were strengthening [the council] then: “Let us go,” said they, “to Joseph’s city, to Arimathea, and let it be found out for us whether Joseph is in it.” Then messengers went from them to Arimathea and found Joseph in it. The messengers returned and told the priests that Joseph was in Arimathea. Now when the Christians heard that Joseph was in Arimathea, they rejoiced greatly and praised the Lord for Joseph’s deliverance from the prison in which he had been.

⁴ Now the chief priests sent a letter from them to Joseph, summoning him to them to Jerusalem to speak with them; and this is what they said to him: “By the ever-living God, tell how you cam out of the sealed prison in which you were with us?” Joseph answered them: “When,” said he, “you had shut the prison upon me on the evening of the day of preparation, and I was in it praying at midnight of the sabbath, the house was lifted up from me on high by the four corners of the prison in which I was, and I saw Jesus, and he shining like the sun, and I fell to the earth for the greatness of my fear. Jesus came to me then, took my hand and raised me from the ground, and said to me: “Let there be no fear or dread upon you, O Joseph; it is I, Jesus, the Son of God — it is my body you did bury.” I said to him: “Show me the tomb in which I buried you.” Jesus took my hand and brought me with him to the tomb in which I had buried him; and he showed me the linen cloth I had put about him. Then I recognised him, that it was Jesus, and I adored God and said to him: “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” Then Jesus took my hand and brought me to my own house in Arimathea, and said to me: ‘Peace and fair meeting to you! and go not out of your own house for the space of forty days. As for me,’ said Christ, ‘I go to strengthen my disciples.’”

⁵ Now the Jews and the chief priests, when they heard these tidings, fell into silence, and their faces fell to the earth as though they were dead; and they said among themselves: “What sign is this in the land of Israel?” Then Joseph arose and said in the presence of the people to Annas and Caiaphas: “It is a wonder to you,” said he, “that Christ has risen from the dead — and yet a greater wonder to you still: not only has Christ himself risen from the dead, but he has raised many other dead with him from death; and they have arisen out of their tombs, and many have seen them walking in Jerusalem. Hear me yet further,” said Joseph, “and I shall tell you somewhat else. You all knew Simeon the holy priest; it was he who took the infant Jesus upon his arms in Solomon’s temple. That Simeon had two sons — Carinus and Leucius were their names; we were all present at their death and at their burial. Go, then, and look at their tombs — and this is how you shall find them: open and empty, for they arose along with Christ, and they are still alive in the city called Arimathea; and they are heard singing prayers, and they speak to no man. Let us all go to them with honour and great humility, and let us bring them with us to Jerusalem and adjure them — and it is certain they will tell us what causes the resurrection.”

⁶ Now when the Christians heard these tidings they rejoiced greatly; and Annas and Caiaphas and Nicodemus and Joseph and Gamaliel went to look at the tomb, and found the tombs open and empty with no bodies in them. Then they went to seek them in Arimathea, and found them there — at prayer and kneeling. Then they blessed them — Annas and Caiaphas and Joseph and Nicodemus and Gamaliel — and kissed them, and brought them with honour and reverence to Jerusalem, and all the Jews gathered to them there; and they put books of the law and the prophets into their hands. Then they adjured them, and this is what they said: “By the living God, who gave law and prophecy to our fathers before us — if you believe that it is that God who has raised you from the dead, tell us how you arose from the dead.”

⁷ Now when Simeon’s sons heard that adjuration, they turned their faces toward heaven and made the sign of Christ’s cross upon their mouths and their tongues, and Simeon’s sons at once spoke to them; and this is what they said to them: “Give us paper and parchment, that we may write for you what we have seen and heard.” Then the paper was given them to write, and this is the account they wrote and delivered:

⁸ “When we and all our elders were together in the darkness of hell, there came suddenly upon us a mighty light that drove from us all the darkness we had. Adam rejoiced at once at the coming of that great light to us, and all the patriarchs and prophets rejoiced along with him; and Adam said at that time: “This light — the Father of the everlasting light has promised us his light; it is he who comes to us now.” Then Isaiah the prophet said: “This is the light of Jesus Christ the Son of the living God which I foretold to you when I was alive on earth, saying: ‘The people that sat in darkness shall see a great light; upon him who is in the dominion of the darkness of death a great light shall shine’; and it is that light which comes to us now, it is it that illumines us and protects us from death.” Now when we all rejoiced at the coming of that great light to us, then came our father — Simeon, joyful as he was — and said to us: “Praise you all the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God — it is he who comes to us now; and I myself took him in my arms when he was an infant in Solomon’s temple.” Then John the Baptist said at that time: ‘This light which you see — it is Christ the Son of God; it is he of whom I spoke after the Holy Spirit revealed him to me, when Christ came to me to be baptised in Jordan, saying: “See the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the whole world”; and I baptised him then in the river Jordan; and I saw moreover the Holy Spirit coming upon him in the form of a dove, and I heard the Father’s voice from heaven saying: “See my own dear Son, who has done nothing but my will.”’ When Adam heard that Jesus had been baptised in the river Jordan, he said to Seth, Adam’s son: “Tell,” said he, “to your children — to the patriarchs and the prophets — what Michael told you when you went to the gate of paradise to ask somewhat of the oil of the tree of mercy that is in paradise, to anoint my body when I was in sickness and distress.” Then Seth came at Adam’s command to the patriarchs and the prophets, and this is what he said: “I went,” said Seth, ’to the gate of paradise and adjured the Lord there to give me somewhat of the oil of mercy to anoint Adam’s body; then Michael came to speak with me, and this is what he said: “It is I,” said he, “the angel of the human race — and ask not now the thing you seek, for its time has not yet come: until Christ the Son of God be born in the last time of the world to save Adam and his children from the death of sin. It is he who shall give the oil of his mercy to all through rebirth in baptism by water and the Holy Spirit into everlasting life, since he himself first went under baptism in the river Jordan. It is he who shall raise the body of Adam and the dead besides from death; it is he who shall bring Adam into paradise to the tree of mercy, after the rod of hell had humbled Adam and his children.”’ Now when all the patriarchs and prophets heard these tidings which Seth had told, they rejoiced greatly.

⁹ “Now when Satan — the chief of hell and leader of death — heard all the saints rejoicing, he said to hell: “Be in readiness, and take to you Jesus — who boasts that he is Christ the Son of God; he is a man who fears death, saying himself: “My soul is sorrowful even to the hour of my death.” This man is ever an enemy to me; much evil has he done me; many a time he has wronged me — the many to whom I gave blindness and deafness and leprosy and every kind of sickness that is in the world, this man has healed them in despite of me, by the command of the word only. The dead too, which I brought to you, this man has taken from you by force, and given them life in despite of us both. It is fitting for you so — great shall be the affliction you shall give him.” Hell answered its chief, Satan, and this is what it said to him: “What man is he who has this great power, and the fear of death upon him? For he is almighty upon the earth besides — his gifts under our two powers. How then has a man, upon whom is the fear of death, been able to come against your power? Yet moreover,” said hell to Satan, “I say a true word to you: if he have the great power you say in the portion of his humanity, he is almighty in the portion of his divinity; and no one else can come against his power; and when he spoke of the fear of death upon him, it was to deceive you he said it — and woe to you therefor, O Satan!” Then Satan the chief answered the devourer, that is, hell, and this is what he said: “Why are you in doubt and in dread,” said hell, “of our enemy of us both — that is, of Jesus being brought to you? For I alone have laid a brave ambush upon him — I provoked the Jewish people with envy and anger against him; I brought upon them his binding and his mocking and his crucifixion, and wine mixed with gall and myrrh to be given him to drink; and I brought upon them his wounding with a lance through his side, so that he died thereof; I brought him to you after his death — it is he who is gifted under the power of us both, of me and of you, O hell!” This is the answer hell then gave Satan: “It is certain with me,” said it, “it is through you your own ruin has ever come, O Satan, through this deed you boast of — the death of Christ. For there are many with me here, and they raised the dead from me when they were themselves alive; and not by themselves did they do that, but through the prayer and intercession of almighty God they did it. That man, however — this Jesus — took many from me by the command of his word only, without any intercession; and I believe it is he who raised Lazarus by the command of his word only, who was for the space of four days with me in death.” Satan said to hell: “It is certain indeed that it is this man who wronged me in the matter of Lazarus, and took him from you out of death to life.” Now when hell heard this saying of Satan’s, it said to Satan: “I adjure you by our kinship, bring not this man to me at all; for when I heard the command of his word in taking Lazarus from me, a trembling with terror seized me, and all my ministers and powers were disquieted; and Lazarus could not be held with me, though I desired it. I know that this man is a mighty God, and that he is the Saviour of Adam’s children; and I am certain that if you bring him to me he will loose all who are with me in prison and in bonds — he will free them and take them with him into everlasting life.”

¹⁰ “Now while they were holding that converse between them — Satan and hell — they heard the great voice like a mighty thunder, saying: ‘Open your gates of iron, you princes of hell, that the King of glory may enter the house!’ Now when hell heard that saying, it said at once to Satan: ‘Depart from me, and be not at all in my dwellings; if you have power, fight without against the King of glory!’ Then hell drove out Satan the chief from its dwellings; and thereafter it said to its impious ministers: ‘Shut your brazen doors and put iron bolts upon them strongly; and take courage, that we be not enslaved both — for with us have all been in bondage until now.’”

¹¹ “Now when all the saints and righteous who were in Abraham’s bosom in hell heard this converse which Satan held with his impious ministers, they said to hell, reproaching and upbraiding it greatly: “O hell, open your doors, that the King of glory may enter the house!” Then David said at that time: “Little profit to you, O hell, is the strengthening you put upon your doors; for I foretold, when I was alive on earth, that Jesus Christ would break your strongholds, saying: ‘For he has opened the brazen doors and broken the iron bars.’” Then Isaiah the prophet said: “I foretold to you, O you saints, when I was alive on earth, this victory that Christ wins today, saying: ‘There shall be no strength since Christ has come.’” When all the saints heard the words of David and Isaiah, they said to hell: “Open your doors, O hell! for you shall now be overcome, and your powers and your dominion shall be taken from you for ever.” And a great voice was heard there at that time like thunder, and this is what it said: “Lift up your gates, you princes of hell, that the King of glory may enter in!” Now when hell heard that saying it said to the prophets, as though it knew not who had come: “Who is this that is called “the King of glory”?” Then David answered hell: “He is known to us,” said he, “that King — it is he I prophesied when I was alive on earth, when I said: “A Lord strong and mighty, a Lord mighty in battle — that is the King of glory!” Open you then, O hell, your doors, that the King of glory may come to you!”

¹² “Now when David had spoken these words, then came the King of glory in the form of a man — Jesus Christ. It was he who illumined the darkness of hell, broke its strongholds, loosed its bondsmen, and gave help to the company that were in the darkness of hell and death. Now when hell and Satan saw Christ within their dwellings, horror and dread seized them with their bloody impious ministers, through the great shining of Christ’s light gleaming in their dwellings; and they drew near to Christ, and this is what they said to him: “you have overcome us, and it is you who have boldly come into our territories, and have profaned the splendour of our powers by you, and loosed our legions — to loose from us the company that were bound with us in the sin of original idolatry, and to bring them into the ancient freedom in which they were before the offence, and to give a shining light to the company that were blinded by the darkness of sin; great is the insult and the wrong you do to us.” Then all the legions of the demons drew near together with great terror and dread, and this is what they said to Christ: “From where have you come, or who are you, O Jesus? For we have not seen a man of your like, for the greatness of your strength and your majesty, for your purity without fault, for your cleanness without sin; for the earthly world was under our power until now, and they ever paid us tribute — until you cam to us. It is likely of you that it is you who have boldly come to us, and not only do you not fear our torments, but you take from us even the company that are in torments with us. And we believe it is you who are the Jesus of whom our chief, Satan, told us long since that he would gain the over-lordship of the whole world through your crucifixion on behalf of Adam’s children.”

¹³ “Then the King of glory, Jesus Christ, took lordship over death, and seized Satan, the chief of death, by the throat, and gave him over into the power of hell. Then hell said to Satan at that time: “O prince of corruption, O leader of transgression, O author of death, O source of pride, O chief of all evils, O adversary, O hard-hearted senseless slave, O base, envious, proud, insulting, contemptible wretch, O cruel deceitful contentious rebel, O spiritless man — you have destroyed yourself and you have destroyed us all through the deed you have done: a holy and righteous man without guilt of crime — Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the King of glory — to be crucified by you unrighteously. Therefore have I turned upon you today, and all the wealth you did gain through the tree of transgression in paradise has been taken from you through the tree of Christ’s cross.” Now when hell had spoken these words to Satan the chief of death, the King of glory said to hell: “Let Satan the chief of death be under your power for ever in the stead of Adam.”

¹⁴ “Then the King of glory — Jesus — stretched forth his hand and made the sign of the cross upon Adam and upon all the saints who were in hell; and he said to Adam: “Peace and fair meeting to you and to your righteous children, O Adam!” And he took Adam’s right hand in his hand and brought him with him out of hell, with all his saints together with him; and he commended them all to Michael the archangel, and Michael brought them with him into the joy of paradise; and they were there from the Easter of the resurrection until the Ascension — when they went on the day of Christ’s Ascension under the protection of his cross and his passion, together with Christ to heaven, the place where they shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father: a kingdom in which is life without…” [the text breaks off here]