Page:Apocryphal Gospels and Other Documents Relating to the History of Christ.djvu/551

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REVENGING OF THE SAVIOUR.
435

And Titus said these words,[1] Woe unto thee, emperor Tiberius, thou art full of ulcers and enveloped in leprosy, because such an offence hath been committed in thy realm; that hast made such laws[2] in Judæa, in the land of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ that they seized the king and slew the governor of the people, and did not cause him to come to us to cure thee of thy leprosy, and to cleanse me from my infirmity. Wherefore if they had been in my presence, with mine own hands I would have slain the bodies of those Jews, and hung them upon green wood, because they destroyed my Lord, and my eyes were not thought worthy to see his face.

And when he had said this, immediately the wound fell from the face of Titus, and his flesh and face were restored to health. And all the sick who were there were made whole in that hour. And Titus cried out with all of them with a loud voice, saying, My King and my God, because I have never seen thee and thou hast made me whole, command me to go with the ship upon the water to the land of thy nativity, that I may execute vengeance upon thy enemies: and help me, Lord, to blot them out and to avenge thy death. Do thou, Lord, deliver

  1. Literally "in his words."
  2. I would read reges for leges, because of the following qui. In fact we read of the 'reges Judæorum' a little further on. I would also read 'ut te mundaret a lepra et me curaret ab infirmitate mea,' because leprosy is said to be cleansed, and infirmity to be cured.