408 BISTORT OF ARKEXIA*
by him to that degree that they scarcely bited one feature by which they might be A.D.^W3. recognized as human beings. After enduring m 302. all that the cruel ingenuity of their tormentors could devise, they were burnt alive. Among the victims that were hourly exposed to torture and death in the city of Duin, were seven men from the province of Albak, the chief of whom was Atom. These were so noble in stature, and so beautifnl in countenance, that they struck almost every beholder with admiration. Bulah tried every gentle method to induce them to renounce their f&ith, but all was ineffectual. Wh6n he perceived this, he tortured them ; but the same power which enabled them to withstand the solicitations of, their tormentor, gave them forti-^ tude to endure all the severity with which he treated them. They were afterwards crucified. The executioii of these and the others whom we have noticed^ took place in the years 852 and 853. Johannes the pon tiff subsequently appoint- ed a day to celebrate the feast of these martyrs. The inexorable severity of the governor at length roused to exertion those chiefs who had not yet fallen into his hands, and who bad taken refuge in places where they could bid defiance to the tyrant. These having collected a few troops took post in a certain valley, through which one of the detachments of the
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