How the Ungodly Had Buried the Holy Tomb under Earth and Idols

For in times past ungodly men, or rather, I should say, the whole race of evil spirits working through them, had tried to bury in the darkness of forgetfulness that divine monument of immortality. It was there that the radiant angel had come down from heaven and rolled away the stone for those whose hearts were still like stone, and who supposed that the living One still lay among the dead. There too he had announced the good news to the women, and removed their stony-hearted unbelief by convincing them that the one they were looking for was alive. This sacred cave, then, certain ungodly and godless people had thought to remove entirely from human sight, foolishly supposing that in this way they could effectively hide the truth. So with great labor they brought a quantity of earth from a distance and covered the whole spot. Then, having raised it to a moderate height, they paved it with stone, hiding the holy cave beneath this massive mound. Then, as though their purpose had been fully achieved, they prepared on this foundation a truly dreadful tomb of souls. They built a gloomy shrine of lifeless idols to the impure spirit they call Venus, and offered hateful offerings there on unholy and accursed altars. For they supposed that their aim could not be fully achieved in any other way than by burying the sacred cave beneath these foul pollutions. [a]

Unhappy men! They could not understand how impossible it was that their attempt should stay hidden from the one who had been crowned with victory over death, any more than the blazing sun, when it rises above the earth and holds its usual course through the middle of the sky, is unseen by the whole human race. Indeed, his saving power, shining with still greater brightness and lighting up not the bodies but the souls of men, was already filling the world with the splendor of its own light. Even so, these schemes of ungodly and wicked men against the truth had prevailed for a long time. None of the governors, or military commanders, or even of the emperors themselves had ever yet appeared who was able to do away with these bold acts of ungodliness, except that one alone who enjoyed the favor of the King of kings. And now, acting as he did under the guidance of the divine Spirit, he could not bear to see the sacred spot we have spoken of buried in this way, through the schemes of the enemies, under every kind of filth, and left to be forgotten and neglected. Nor would he give in to the malice of those who had brought this guilt on themselves. Calling on God’s help, he gave orders that the place be thoroughly cleansed, thinking that the parts the enemy had most defiled ought to receive, through him, special signs of the greatness of God’s favor. As soon as his orders were given, these contrivances of deceit were thrown down from their proud height to the very ground, and the dwelling places of error, together with the statues and the evil spirits they represented, were overthrown and utterly destroyed.