joined unto thy kinship: look upon us, Lord, that have forsaken our fathers and mothers and
fosters, that we might behold thy Father, and be satisfied with his divine food: look upon us,
Lord, for for thy sake have we forsaken our bodily consorts and our earthly fruits, that we might
be partakers in that enduring and true fellowship, and bring forth true fruits, whose nature is from
above, which no man can take from us, with whom we shall abide and who shall abide with us.
The Seventh Act: Of the Captain.
62 Now while the apostle Thomas was proclaiming throughout all India the word of God, a
certain captain of the king Misdaeus (Mazdai, Syr.) came to him and said unto him: I have heard
of thee that thou takest no reward of any man, but even that thou hast thou givest to them that
need. For if thou didst receive rewards, I would have sent thee a great sum, and would not have
come myself, for the king doeth nought without me: for I have much substance and am rich, even
one of the rich men of India. And I have never done wrong to any; but the contrary hath befallen
me. I have a wife, and of her I had a daughter and I am well affectioned toward her, as also
nature requireth and have never made trial of another wife. Now it chanced that there was a
wedding in our city, and they that made the marriage feast were well beloved of me: they came
in therefore and bade me to it, bidding also my wife and her daughter. Forasmuch then as they
were my good friends I could not refuse: I sent her therefore, though she desired not to go, and
with them I sent also many servants: so they departed, both she and her daughter, decked with
many ornaments.
63 And when it was evening and the time was come to depart from the wedding I sent lamps and
torches to meet them: and I stood in the street to espy when she should come and I should see her
with my daughter. And as I stood I heard a sound of lamentation. Woe for her! was heard out of
every mouth. And my servants with their clothes rent came to me and told me what was done.
We saw, said they, a man and a boy with him. And the man laid his hand upon thy wife, and the
boy upon thy daughter: and they fled from them: and we smote (wounded) them with our
swords, but our swords fell to the ground. And the same hour the women fell down, gnashing
their teeth and beating their heads upon the earth and seeing this we came to tell it thee. And
when I heard this of my servants I rent my clothes and smote my face with my hands, and
becoming like one mad I ran along the street, and came and found them cast in the market-place;
and I took them and brought them to my house, and after a long space they awaked and stood up,
and sat down.
64 I began therefore to inquire of my wife: What is it that hath befallen thee? And she said to me:
Knowest thou not what thou hast done unto me? for I prayed thee that I might not go to the
wedding, because I was not of even health in my body; and as I went on the way and came near
to the aqueduct wherein the water floweth, I saw a black man standing over against me nodding
at me with his head, and a boy like unto him standing by him; and I said to my daughter: Look at
those two hideous men, whose teeth are like milk and their lips like soot. And we left them and
went towards the aqueduct; and when it was sunset and we departed from the wedding, as we
passed by with the young men and drew near the aqueduct, my daughter saw them first, and was
affrighted and fled towards me; and after her I also beheld them coming against us: and the
servants that were with us fled from them (Syr.) and they struck us, and cast down both me and
my daughter. And when she had told me these things, the devils came upon them again and
threw them down: and from that hour they are not able to come forth, but are shut up in one
room or a second (Syr. in a room within another): and on their account I suffer much, and am
ron
(Ron)
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