that he is altogether ignoraūt of our doctrine & learnyng, or els if he knoweth the same, he dare not vtter it for feare of his auditors, which thyng, as I sayd before, is a profe that he is no Philosopher, but a slaue to vaine glorye, which maketh none accompt of that, which his owne Maister Socrates had in so great estimaciō. And thus muche of Iustine, out of Iustine him selfe.

Now to verifie that, which Iustine here of hym selfe doth prophecie, that Crescens would and did procure his death,MarginaliaTatianus cōmended. Tacianus (a man brought vp of a childe in the institutions of the Gentiles, and obtained in the same not a little fame, and whiche also left behynd hm many good monumentes and Commentaries) writeth in his booke agaynst the Gentiles in this sort:MarginaliaThe prayse of Iustinus Martyr. And Iustine sayth he, that most excellent learned man, full well spake and vttered his minde, that the afore recited men were lyke vnto theeues or lyars by the hygh waye side. And in the sayd booke speakyng afterward of certaine Philosophers, the sayd Tacianus inferreth thus: Crescens therefore (sayth he) when he came first into that great Citie, passed all other in the vicious loue of children, and was very much geuen to couetousnes, and where he taught that men ought not to regarde death, he him selfe so feared death, that he did all his indeuour to oppresse Iustine with death, as with the most greatest euill that was, and all because that Iustine speakyng truth, reproued the Philosophers to be men onely for the belly and deceauers, and this was the cause of Iustines Martyrdome. Ierome in his Ecclesiasticall Cataloge thus writeth:MarginaliaEx Catalo Hiero. Iustine when in the Citie of Rome he had his disputations, & had reproued Crescens the Cinike, for a great blasphemer of the Christians, for a bellygod and a man fearyng death, and also a follower of lust and lechery:Marginalia154.
The death & martyrdome of Iustinus the noble Philosopher & Christian Martyr. at the last by his indeuour and conspiracie was accused to be a Christian, & for Christ shed his bloud in the yeare of our Lord. 154. vnder Marcus Antonius, as the Chronicles do witnes, Abb. Vrsperg. and Eusebius in his Chronicle in the. xiij. yeare of the Emperour Antoninus.

MarginaliaPraxedis
Potentiana
Christiā virgines. Among these aboue recited is also to be nūbred Praxedis a blessed virgine, the daughter of a Citizē of Rome, who in the tyme of Anicetus there Byshop, was so brought vp in the doctrine of Christ, and so affected to his religion, that she with her sister Potentiana, bestowed all her patrimony vponthe releuyng of poore Christians, geuyng all her tyme to fastyng and prayer, and to the burying of the bodyes of the Martyrs. And after she had made free all her famelie with her seruauntes, after the death of her sister, she also departed and was buried in peace.

MarginaliaProlomeus
Lucius, Martyrs. Vnder the same Antoninus also suffered Ptolomeus, and Lucius for the confession of Christ, in a Citie of Egypt called Alexandria, whose history because it is described in the Apologie of Iustinus Martyr, I thought therfore so to set forth the same, as it is alledged in Eusebius, declaryng the maner and occasiō therof. Lib. 4. cap. 17. in wordes and effect as followeth. &c.

MarginaliaEuseb. Lib. 4. cap. 17. There was (sayth he) a certaine woman maryed vnto a husband, who was geuen much to lasciuiousnes, whereunto she her selfe in tymes past was also addict. But she afterward beyng instructed in the Christiā Religion, became chaste her selfe, & also perswaded her husband to liue chastly: often tymes tellyng hym that it was written in the preceptes of the Christians, that they should be punished eternally, which lyued not chastly and iustly in this life. But he still continuyng in his filthynes, therby caused his wife to estraunge her selfe from his company. For why? the womā thought it not conuenient to continue in her husbandes cōpany, which contemnyng the law of nature, sought otherwise to satisfy his filthy appetite. Therefore she was purposed to be deuorced from him. But her neighbours & kinsfolkes prouoked her, by promising his amendemēt, to keepe company againe with him, and so she did. But he after this, tooke his iourney into Alexandria, and when it was shewed her, that therehe lyued more licenciously, then at any tyme before, for that she would not be counted partaker of his incestous life by couplyng her selfe anye longer with him: she gaue him a letter of diuorce, & so departed from him. Then her husband, who ought rather to haue reioiced to haue so honest and chast a wife, which not onely would not commit any dishonest thyng her selfe, but also could not abide any lewde or misordered behauiour in her husband, and that by this her separatiō she went about to reclayme him from his incest & wickednes to better amendment of life: He in recōpence to his wife againe, accused her to be a Christiā, which at that tyme was no lesse then death. Wherevpon she beyng in great perill and daunger deliuered vp vnto the Emperour (as Iustinus in his Apologie writyng to the Emperour him selfe declareth) a supplication, desiryng and crauyng ofhis maiestie, first to graunt her so much licence as to set her familie in order, and that done, afterward to come agayne & make aūswere to all þ^t might or should be layd agaynst her: wherunto the Emperour cōdescended. Then her husband seing that he could haue no vātage agaynst her deuised wyth himselfe, how he might bryng Ptolomeus (which was her instructour in the fayth of Christe) into trouble & accusatiō: vsyng the meanes of a certayne Ceturion who was his very frend, whom he perswaded to examine Ptolomeus whether he were a Christian or not. Ptolomeus (as one that loued the truth, and not thinkyng good to hide his professiō) confessed no lesse to the examinour, openly declaryng that he had (as truth was) taught & professed the veritie of Christian doctrine. For who so denyeth him selfe to be that he is, either condemneth in denying that thyng that he is, or maketh him selfe vnworthy of that, the confession wherof he fleyth: whiche thyng is neuer founde in a true and sincere Christian. Thus then he being brought before Vrbicius the iudge and by him cōdemned to suffer: One Lucius, beyng also a Christian, standyng by, and seyng the wrong iudgemēt, and hasty sentence of the Iudge, sayd to Vrbicius: what reason, I pray you or equitie is this, that this man, who neither is an adulterer, nor fornicator, nor homicide, nor fealon, neither hath committed any such crime, wherein he maye be charged, thus is condemned onely for his name and confession of a Christian. This condemnation and these maner of Iudgementes (O Vrbici) are neither seemly for the vertuous Emperour, nor to the Philosopher his sonne, nor yet for the state of the Senate of Rome.

MarginaliaThe boldnes and Christian constācie of Lucius Which words beyng heard, Vrbitius makyng no farther examination of the matter, said vnto Lucius: me thinketh thou art also a Christian.MarginaliaLucius condemned and Martyred. And when Lucius had geuen him to vnderstand that he was also a Christian, the Iudge without further delay commaunded him to be had away to the place of execution. To whom he aunswered: I thanke you with all my hart, that you release me from most wicked gouernours, and sende me vnto my good and most louing father, beyng also the kyng of all Gods.MarginaliaThe third also condemned and Martyred. And in like maner the third man also, commyng vnto him, & vsyng the lyke libertie of speech, had also the like sentence of death & condemnation, and crowned also with the same crowne of Martyrdome. And thus much out of þ^e Apologie of Iustinus, by the which story it may appeare not to be true,MarginaliaA place of Gracianus suspected. that Gratianus attributeth vnto Higynus Byshop of Rome, the decisyng of causes matrimon ial, seyng that in Iustinus tyme (who was in the same age of Higynus) the diuorcement of this woman in this history aboue touched, was not decised by any Ecclesiasticall lawe, or brought before any Byshop, but was brought before a Heathen Prince, & determined by the law ciuill.

MarginaliaConcordius Martyr Henricus de Erfordia recordeth out of the Martyrologe of Isuardus, of one Concordus a minister in the Citie of Spolete, who in the reigne of this Antoninus Verus, MarginaliaCōcordius spitteth in the face of the idole. because he would not sacrifice vnto Iupiter, but did spit in the face of the Idole, after diuers and sondry punishmentes sustained, at last with the sword was beheaded. Vincentius in his. x. booke, chap. 108. reciteth a long storye of his actes and lyfe, wherof some part perhappes may seeme tollerable. But this verely appeareth to be false and fabulous, concernyng the water flowyng besides his sepulcher in the forenamed Citie of Spolete, vnto the which water was geuen (sayth Vincentius) by the vertue of hym, for whose name he suffered, to restore sight to the blynd, to heale the sicke, and to cast out deuils. &c. Which kind of vertue to open the eyes of the blynd, and to expell Deuils, nether doth God geue to any creature of water, neither is it like that Concordius the blessed Martyr did or would require any such thyng at the handes of God.

Isuardus, and Bede, Vincentius, and Henricus de Erfordia, with other authors moe, make relation of diuers other Martyrs that by sondry kindes of tormentes were put to death, vnder the forsayd Antoninus Verus:MarginaliaSymmetrius.
Florellus.
Pontianus.
Alexander.
Caius.
Epipodus.
Victor.
Corona.
Marcellus.
Valerianus. martyrs.
Autors in the wryting the miracles of martyrs suspected. the names of whom be Simmetrius, Florellus, Pontianus, Alexāder, Caius, Epipodus, Victor, Corona, Marcellus, Valerianus. The cause of whose Martyrdome was the reprehēdyng of Idolatrie, and because at the Emperours commaundement, they would not sacrifice to Idols. Many sortes of punishmentes and of miracles are told of them, but at length the end of them all is this, that they were beheaded. Whereby it may the more be suspected, the histories of these writers not to be certaine or true, aswell touchyng these, as also other Martyrs, as may appeare in Vincētius, in Petrus de Natalibus, and other authors of like sort. In whiche authors they which list to read more of their miracles, there may fnde them.

MarginaliaGetulus
Cerealis. A litle before, pag. 41. mention was made of Symphorissa, otherwise named Symphorosa, wyfe of Getulus, with her. vij. sonnes. This Getulus or Getulius was a minister