The Ecclesiastical History. Eusebius

of James, and said, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ these same Scribes and Pharisees said again to one another, ‘We have done badly in supplying such testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, in order that they may be afraid to believe him.’

15. And they cried out, saying, ‘Oh! oh! the just man is also in error.’ And they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah,22 ‘Let us take away23 the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.’

16. So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to each other, ‘Let us stone James the Just.’ And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned and knelt down and said, ‘I entreat thee, Lord God our Father,24 forgive them, for they know not what they do.’25

17. And while they were thus stoning him one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of the Rechabites,26 who are mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet,27 cried out, saying, ‘Cease, what do ye? The just one prayeth for you.’28

18. And one of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom.29 And they buried him on the spot, by the temple, and his monument still remains by the temple.30 He became a true witness, both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. And immediately Vespasian besieged them.”31

19. These things are related at length by Hegesippus, who is in agreement with Clement.32 James was so admirable a man and so celebrated among all for his justice, that the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martyrdom for no other reason than their daring act against him.

20. Josephus, at least, has not hesitated to testify this in his writings, where he says,33 “These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ. For the Jews slew him, although he was a most just man.”

21. And the same writer records his death also in the twentieth book of his Antiquities in the following words:34 “But the emperor, when he learned of the death of Festus, sent Albinus35 to be procurator of Judea. But the younger Ananus,36 who, as we have already said,37 had obtained the high priesthood, was of an exceedingly bold and reckless disposition. He belonged, moreover, to the sect of the Sadducees, who are the most cruel of all the Jews in the execution of judgment, as we have already shown.38

22. Ananus, therefore, being of this character, and supposing that he had a favorable opportunity on account of the fact that Festus was dead, and Albinus was still on the way, called together the Sanhedrim, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ, James by name, together with some others,39 and accused them of violating the law, and condemned them to be stoned.40

23. But those in the city who seemed most moderate and skilled in the law were very angry at this, and sent secretly to the king,41 requesting him to order Ananus to cease such proceedings. For he had not done right even this first time. And certain of them also went to meet Albinus, who was journeying from Alexandria, and reminded him that it was not lawful for Ananus to summon the Sanhedrim without his knowledge.42

24. And Albinus, being persuaded by their representations, wrote in anger to Ananus, threatening him with punishment. And the king, Agrippa, in consequence, deprived him of the high priesthood,43 which he had held three months, and appointed Jesus, the son of Damnæus.”44

25. These things are recorded in regard to James, who is said to be the author of the first of the so-called catholic45 epistles. But it is to be observed that it is disputed;46 at least, not many of the ancients have mentioned it, as is the case likewise with the epistle that bears the name of Jude,47 which is also one of the seven so-called catholic epistles. Nevertheless we know that these also,48 with the rest, have been read publicly in very many churches.49

1 See above, Bk. I. chap. 12, note 14. 2 See above, chap. 1, note 11. 3 φιλοσοφίας. See Bk. VI. chap. 3, note 9. 4 See the preceding chapter, note 1, and below, note 40. 5 See chap. 1, above. 6 On Hegesippus, see Bk. IV. chap. 22. 7 As the Memoirs of Hegesippus consisted of but five books, this account of James occurred in the last book, and this shows how entirely lacking the work was in all chronological arrangement (cf. Book IV. chap. 22). This fragment is given by Routh, Rel. Sac. I. p. 208 sqq., with a valuable discussion on p. 228 sqq. 8 μετὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων, “with the apostles”; as Rufinus rightly translates, cum apostolis. Jerome, on the contrary, reads post apostolos, “after the apostles,” as if the Greek were μετὰ τοὺς ἀποστόλους. This statement of Hegesippus is correct. James was a leader of the Jerusalem church, in company with Peter and John, as we see from Gal. ii. 9. But that is quite different from saying, as Eusebius does just above, and as Clement (quoted by Eusebius, chap. 1, §3) does, that he was appointed Bishop of Jerusalem by the apostles. See chap. 1, note 11. 9 See chap. 1, note 6. 10 “The dramatic account of James by Hegesippus is an overdrawn picture from the middle of the second century, colored by Judaizing traits which may have been derived from the Ascents of James, and other Apocryphal sources. He turns James into a Jewish priest and Nazarite saint (cf. his advice to Paul, Acts xxi. 23, 24), who drank no wine, ate no flesh, never shaved nor took a bath, and wore only linen. But the Biblical