Acts of Thomas (106-110)

And Charisius said unto the apostle: Up, thou wicked one and destroyer and enemy of mine house: for me thy sorcery harmeth not, for I will visit thy sorcery on thine head. And when he so said, the apostle looked upon him and said unto him: Thy threatenings shall return upon thee, for me thou wilt not harm any whit: for greater than thee and thy king and all your army is the Lord Jesus Christ in whom I have my trust. And Charisius took a kerchief [*] of one of his slaves and cast it about the neck of the apostle, saying: Hale him and bring him away; let me see if his God is able to deliver him out of my hands. And they haled him and led him away to Misdaeus the king. And the apostle stood before the king, and the king said to him: Tell me who thou art and by what power thou doest these things. But the apostle kept silence. And the king commanded his officers (subjects) that he should be scourged

But the apostle went unto the prison rejoicing and exulting, and said: I praise thee, Jesu, for that thou hast not only made me worthy of faith in thee, but also to endure much for thy sake. I give thee thanks therefore, Lord, that thou hast taken thought for me and given me patience: I thank thee, Lord, that for thy sake I am called a sorcerer and a wizard. Receive thou me therefore with the blessing [*] of the poor, and of the rest of the weary, and of the blessings of them whom men hate and persecute and revile, and speak evil words of them. For lo, for thy sake I am hated: lo, for thy sake I am cut off from the many, and for thy sake they eall me such an one as I am not.

And as he prayed, all the prisoners looked on him, and besought him to pray for them: and when he had prayed and was set down, he began to utter a psalm in this wise:

[*]

1 When I was an infant child

in the palace of my Father,

2 and resting in the wealth and luxury of my nurturers,

3 out of the East, our native country, my parents provisioned me and sent me.

4 And of the wealth of those their treasures they put together a load,

5 both great and light, that I might carry it alone.

6 Gold is the load, of them that are above (or of the land of the Ellaeans or Gilaeans),

and silver of the great treasures (or of Gazzak the great),

7 and stones, chalcedonies from the Indians,

and pearls from ‹the land of› the Kosani (Kushan).

8 And they armed me with adamant ‹which breaketh iron›,

9 and they took off from me [*] the garment set with gems, spangled with gold, which they had made for me because they loved me,

10 and the robe that was yellow in hue, made for my stature.

11 And they made a covenant with me, and inscribed it on mine understanding, that I should ‹not› forget it, and said:

12 If thou go down into Egypt, and bring back thence the one pearl

13 which is there ‹in the midst of the sea› girt about by the devouring serpent,

14 thou shalt put on ‹again› the garment set with gems, and that robe whereupon it resteth (or which is thereon),

15 and become with thy brother that is next unto us [*] an heir [*] in our kingdom.

16 And I came out of the East by a road difficult and fearful, with two guides,

17 and I was untried in travelling by it.

18 And I passed by the borders of the Mosani (Maishan) where is the resort of the merchants of the East,

19 and reached the land of the Babylonians ‹and came unto the walls of Sarbug›.

20 But when I entered into Egypt, the guides left me which had journeyed with me.

21 And I set forth by the quickest way to the serpent, and by his hole I abode,

22 watching for him to slumber and sleep, that I might take my pearl from him.

23 And forasmuch as I was alone I made mine aspect strange, and appeared as an alien to my people.

24 And there I saw my kinsman from the East, the free-born

25 a lad of grace and beauty, a son of princes (or an anointed one).

26 He came unto me and dwelt with me,

27 and I had him for a companion, and made him my friend and partaker in my journey (or merchandise).

28 And I charged him to beware of the Egyptians, and of partaking of those unclean things (or consorting with those unclean men).

29 And I put on their raiment, lest I should seem strange, as one that had come from without

30 to recover the pearl; and lest the Egyptians should awake the serpent against me.

31 But, I know not by what occasion, they learned that I was not of their country.

32 And with guile they mingled for me a deceit, and I tasted of their food.

33 And I knew no more that I was a king’s son, and I became a servant unto their king.

34 And I forgat also the pearl for which my fathers had sent me,

35 and by means of the heaviness of their food I fell into a deep sleep.

36 But when this befell me, my fathers also were ware of it, and grieved for me,

37 and a proclamation was published in our kingdom, that all should meet at our doors.

38 And then the kings of Parthia and they that bare office and the great ones of the East

39 made a resolve concerning me, that I should not be left in Egypt,

40 and the princes wrote unto me signifying thus [*]:

41 From the (thy) Father the King of kings, and thy mother that ruleth the East,

42 and thy brother that is second unto us; unto our son that is in Egypt, peace.

43 Rise up and awake out of sleep, and hearken unto the words of the letter,

44 and remember that thou art a son of kings; lo, thou hast come under the yoke of bondage.

45 Remember the pearl for the which thou wast sent into Egypt [*]

46 Remember thy garment spangled with gold,

47 ‹and the glorious mantle which thou shouldest wear and wherewith thou shouldest deck thyself.›

Thy name is named in the book of life,

48 and with thy brother whom thou hast received ‹thou shalt be› in our kingdom.