182. Eusebius de Martyr. Palestin. c. 13. He closes his
narration by assuring us that these were the martyrdoms
inflicted in Palestine during the whole course of the
persecution. The ninth chapter of his eighth book, which
relates to the province of Thebais in Egypt, may seem to
contradict our moderate computation; but it will only lead
us to admire the artful management of the historian.
Choosing for the scene of the most exquisite cruelty the
most remote and sequestered country of the Roman empire, he
relates that in Thebais from ten to one hundred persons had
frequently suffered martyrdom in the same day. But when he
proceeds to mention his own journey into Egypt, his language
insensibly becomes more cautious and moderate. Instead of a
large but definite numbers he speaks of many Christians
(***), and most artfully selects two ambiguous words (***
and ****) which may signify either what he had seen or what
he had heard; either the expectation or the execution of the
punishment. Having thus provided a secure evasion, he
commits the equivocal passage to his readers and
translators; justly conceiving that their piety would induce
them to prefer the most favourable sense. There was perhaps
some malice in the remark of Theodorus Metochita, that all
who, like Eusebius, had been conversant with the Egyptians,
delighted in an obscure and intricate style. (See Valesius
ad loc.)