Simon fell in love with a woman named Luna, and, while waiting to marry
her, he proposed to St. Peter, to Zacchæus, to Lazarus, to Nicodemus, to
Dositheus, and to several others, that they should become his disciples.
Dositheus answered him at once with a blow from a stick; but the stick
having passed through Simon's body as if it had been smoke, Dositheus
worshipped him and became his lieutenant, after which Simon married his
mistress and declared that she was Luna herself, descended from heaven
to marry him.
But enough of the Confessions of St. Clement. It must, however, be
remarked that in the ninth book the Chinese are spoken of under the name
of Seres as the justest and wisest of mankind. After them come the
Brahmins, to whom the author does the justice that was rendered them by
all antiquity. He cites them as models of soberness, mildness, and
justice.
XXIII.
St. Peter's Letter to St. James, and St. Clement's Letter to the same
St. James, brother of the Lord, governor of the Holy Church of the
Hebrews at Jerusalem, and of all churches. St. Peter's Letter contains
nothing curious, but St. Clement's is very remarkable. He asserts that
Peter declared him bishop of Rome before his death, and his coadjutor;
that he laid his hands upon his head, and made him sit in the episcopal
chair in the presence of all the faithful; and that he said to him,
"Fail not to write to my brother James as soon as I am dead."
This letter seems to prove that it was not then believed that St. Peter
had suffered martyrdom, since it is probable that this letter,
attributed to St. Clement, would have mentioned the circumstance. It
also proves that Cletus and Anacletus were not reckoned among the
bishops of Rome.
XXIV.
St. Clement's Homilies, to the number of nineteen. He says in his first
homily what he had already said in his confessions--that he went to St.
Peter and St. Barnabas at Cæsarea, to know whether the soul was
immortal, and the world eternal.
In the second homily, No. xxxviii., we find a much more extraordinary
passage. St. Peter himself, speaking of the Old Testament, expresses
himself thus: "The written law contains certain false things against the
law of God, the Creator of heaven and earth; the devil has done this,
for good reasons; it has also come to pass through the judgments of God,
in order to discover such as would listen with pleasure to what is
written against Him," etc.
In the sixth homily St. Clement meets with Appian, the same who had
written against the Jews in the time of Tiberius. He tells Appian that
he is in love with an Egyptian woman and begs that he will write a
letter in his name to his pretended mistress to convince her, by the
example of all the gods, that love is a duty. Appian writes a letter and
St. Clement answers it in the name of his pretended mistress, after
which they dispute on the nature of the gods.
XXV.