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.And when the dawn had fully come, the blessed Matthew, having gone along with the bishopPlato, stood in the place in which the rod had been planted, and he sees the rod grown into agreat tree, and near it a vine twined round it, and honey coming down from above even to itsroot; and that tree was at once beautiful and flourishing, like the plants in paradise, and a riverproceeded from its root watering (3) all the land of the city of Myrna.(4) And all ran together,and ate of the fruit of the tree and the vine, just as any one wished.And when what had come topass was reported in the palace, the king Fulvanus, having learned what had been done byMatthew about his wife, and his son, and his daughter-in-law, rejoiced for a time at theirpurification; but seeing that they were inseparable from Matthew, he was seized with rage andanger, and endeavoured to put him to death by fire.And on that night (1) in which the kingintended to lay hands on Matthew, Matthew saw Jesus saying to him: I am with thee always tosave thee, Matthew; be strong, and be a man.And the blessed Matthew, having awoke, andsealed himself over all the body, rose up at dawn, and proceeded into the church; and havingbent his knees, prayed earnestly.Then the bishop having come, and the clergy, they stood incommon in prayer, glorifying God.And after they had ended the prayer, the bishop Plato said:Peace to thee, Matthew, apostle of Christ! And the blessed Matthew said to him: Peace to you!And when they had sat down, the apostle said to the bishop Plato, and to all the clergy: I wishyou, children, to know, Jesus having declared it to me, that the king of this city is going to sendsoldiers against me, the devil having entered into him, and manifestly armed him against us.Butlet us give ourselves up to Jesus, and He will deliver us from every trial, and all who havebelieved in Him.And the king, plotting against the blessed Matthew how he should lay hands onhim, and seeing also that the believers were very many, was very much at fault, and was in greatdifficulty.Therefore the wicked and unclean devil who had come forth from the king's wife, and his son,and his daughter-in-law, put to flight by Matthew, having transformed himself into the likenessof a soldier, stood before the king, and said to him: O king, why art thou thus put to the worse bythis stranger and sorcerer? Knowest thou not that he was a publican, but now he has been calledan apostle (2) by Jesus, who was crucified by the Jews? For, behold, thy wife, and thy son, andthy daughter-in-law, instructed by him, have believed in him, and along with him sing in thechurch.And now, behold, Matthew is going forth, and Plato with him, and they are going to thegate called Heavy; but make haste, and thou wilt find them, and thou shalt do to him all that maybe pleasing in thine eyes.The king having heard this, and being the more exasperated by the pretended soldier, sent againstthe blessed Matthew four soldiers, having threatened them, and said: Unless you bring Matthew76 77to me, I shall burn you alive with fire; and the punishment which he is to undergo, you shallendure.And the soldiers, having been thus threatened by the king, go in arms to where theApostle Matthew and the bishop Plato are.And when they came near them, they heard theirspeaking indeed, but saw no one.And having come, they said to the king: We pray thee, O king,we went and found no one, but only heard the voices of persons talking.And the king, beingenraged, and having blazed up like fire, gave orders to send other ten soldiers--man-eaters--saying to them: Go stealthily to the place, and tear them in pieces alive, and eat up Matthew, andPlato, who is with him.And when they were about to come near the blessed Matthew, the LordJesus Christ, having come in the likeness of a most beautiful boy, holding a torch of fire, ran tomeet them, burning out their eyes.And they, having cried out and thrown their arms from them,fled, and came to the king, being speechless.And the demon who had before appeared to the king in the from of a soldier, being againtransformed into the form of a soldier, stood before the king, and said to him: Thou seest, O king,this stranger has bewitched them all.Learn, then, how thou shall take him.The king says to him:Tell me first wherein his strength is, that I may know, and then I will draw up against him with agreat force
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