The Garden of Wisdom Book 2, Part 3
¶ Of Athanasius.
AThanasius was an inuincible defendour of ye catholyke trouth, whō because ye most pestilēt secte of the Arriēs coulde not ouercome wt scriptures & argumētes, they had cōspired to laye feloniouse crymes to his charge, & so to put hym down. Wherfore throughe their maliciouse suggestiōs they had so kyndled ye emperour Constācius agaynst this most godly bysshop, yt he strayght awarded out his cōmission vntounto suche as they them selues named, to sytte vponupon hym. Two principall crymes were layde to hys charge, the one was, that he had rauyshed a woman, the other, that he had cut of, a deade māsarme to serue for enchauntement. For the proufe of ye first, they had hired a womā, to gyue euidence agaynst hym yt he had rauished her. For the probation of the other crime, they had gotten one Arsenius sometime Athanasius lcctour, whiche for feare of the byshops chastenynge, whom he had offended was fled away from hym. Thys fugitiue Arsenius the Arrians had hyd out of mens syghtes for a good space to the intente it myghte be the better beleued that he were deade. Neuertheles thys Arsenius when he had learned througly what they had in hande agaynst his olde maister, whether he abhorred theyr detestable cō spiracye, or whether he was desyrouse by this occasyon to come in fauour agayne wyth hys byshop, pryuily by nyght sted his way out of the secrete place where he was hydden, and arriuyng at Tyre came to Athanasius, vntounto whom he opened all the matter. Here this noble prelate as he was passinge holy, so also beyng of a ryght sharpe wyt (for accordynge to the Lordes commaundement he had ioyned the simplicite of the doue with the prudence of the serpent) he gaue Arsenius in commaundement to hyd hym selfe, tyll tyme he shulde be called forthe for the purpose. To be shorte, the councell is assembled, the commissyonred, the woman appeareth, the biere of a deade man to the terrible syght of all that were present is brought in, a dead mans arme cut of beyng layd vponupon the biere, is shewed forth. Mens myndes were stryken at the syght herof with indignation and hatred. For who wold hauehave thought that these thynges had bene fayned, namely of prestes? The womā whiche had her lessō redy taught her before, beginneth to tel, how on a time she harboured this bishop athanasius in her house, and how in ye night season when she suspected nothyng les then any such matter, she was by hym rauyshed perforce. Athanasyus was brought forth to make aunswere to this accusatiō. Here Athanasius of an excedyng pregnaūt wyt, secretly warned Timothie his preste to coūterfeyt hym & make aunswere in his stede to the womā. For he perceyued ful well yt the womā knewe hym not so much as by syght. Whē she had ended her accusatiō, thē thus beginneth Timothie in hys maisters name Sayest thou, womā, I had euer carnally to doo with the & that also by force? Yea euen thou, ꝙ the woman, thou I say yf thou remembrest in suche a place at suche a tyme didest forcybly rauyshe me. Some of them were ashamed seyng ye womans sklander thus so easely detected and auoyeded. Yet neuertheles they did not acquitte Athanasius neyther punyshe ye womā for her sklaunder, bycause the selfe same were hys iudges and hys accusers. They came thā to thother crime loo, say they, this mater is to playne, here ye se ye arme of Arsenius, which to what purpose it was by the, cutte of, declare thou Athanasius vntounto vsus. Here with lyke sharpnes of witte the prudent byshop asketh thē, whether they euer wel knew Arsenius. Some of them make aunswere they knewe hys face verye well. Athanasyus desyreth leaue to sende for one that he shulde hauehave nede offor thys mater. They graunted hym. To make short tale, Arsenius is brought forth, & his face discouered, Loo ꝙ ye bishop here is Arsenius a lyue, beholde hys right arme, beholde his left, hole & sownd, nowe howe yonder arme commeth cutte of, declare you. Let thys exemple of thys moste holye lyuer admonyshe vsus to fense our selfes ayenst the wyly and crastye foxes wyth columbyne prudencie, for all hasardes and chaunces.