Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

224 THE FIRST AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.sonal conduct at a later period of his life how hewould treat the profession of the Christian Faithif it thwarted a ruling desire. When, after fifteenyears of incessant travel, study, and observation,he returned to Rome, and had enclosed at Tivolia space of eight miles in circumference, adornedwith copies of the most beautiful temples in hiswide dominion, he offered sacrifices and consultedthe gods as to the duration of his work ; but hereceived for answer that the gods who inhabitedtheir images were tormented by the prayers whichthe widow Symphoros and her seven sons offereddaily to their God.45 If she and her childrenwould sacrifice, they promised to grant all his demands.Upon this Hadrian ordered Symphorosaand her seven sons to be brought before him, andendeavoured by kind words to bring them to sacrifice.She replied, "It was for not consentingto what you ask that my husband Ga3tulius andhis brother Amantius, both tribunes in yourarmy, suffered various tortures, and, like generouschampions, overcame your demons by aglorious death. If their death was shameful beforemen, it was honourable in the sight of the45 So the persecution of Diocletian is said to have arisen from Apollodeclaring that the just who were upon the earth prevented him fromuttering true oracles ; and a like answer was received hy Julian theApostate at Antioch, where the relics of S. Babylas had been translatedby Gallus to Daphne, near a celebrated temple of Apollo. Here Julian,offering in rain a great number of sacrifices to the demon, was at lengthinformed that the body of the saint condemned him to silence, andordered the Christians to remove it. S. Chrys. torn. ii. 560.