Exhortation to Martyrdom, Addressed to Fortunatus.

 Heads of the Following Book.

 On the Exhortation to Martyrdom.

 2. That God alone must be worshipped.

 3. What is God’s threatening against those who sacrifice to idols?

 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters.

 5. That God is so angry against idolatry, that He has even enjoined those to be slain who persuade others to sacrifice and serve idols.

 6. That, being redeemed and quickened by the blood of Christ, we ought to prefer nothing to Christ.

 7. That those who are snatched from the jaws of the devil, and delivered from the snares of this world, ought not again to return to the world, lest t

 8. That we must press on and persevere in faith and virtue, and in completion of heavenly and spiritual grace, that we may attain to the palm and the

 9. That afflictions and persecutions arise for the sake of our being proved.

 10. That injuries and penalties of persecutions are not to be feared by us, because greater is the Lord to protect than the devil to assault.

 11. That it was before predicted that the world would hold us in abhorrence, and that it would stir up persecutions against us, and that no new thing

 12. What hope and reward remains for the righteous and for martyrs after the conflicts and sufferings of this present time,

 13. That we receive more as the reward of our suffering than what we endure here in the suffering itself,

5. That God is so angry against idolatry, that He has even enjoined those to be slain who persuade others to sacrifice and serve idols.

In Deuteronomy: “But if thy brother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or thy wife which is in thy bosom, or thy friend which is the fellow of thine own soul, should ask thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, the gods of the nations, thou shalt not consent unto him, and thou shalt not hearken unto him, neither shall thine eye spare him, neither shalt thou conceal him, declaring thou shalt declare concerning him. Thine hand shall be upon him first of all to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people; and they shall stone him, and he shall die, because he hath sought to turn thee away from the Lord thy God.”32    Deut. xiii. 6–10. And again the Lord speaks, and says, that neither must a city be spared, even though the whole city should consent to idolatry: “Or if thou shalt hear in one of the cities which the Lord thy God shall give thee, to dwell there, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known,33    The Oxford edition inserts here, “Thou shalt inquire diligently; and if thou shalt find that that is certain which is said.” slaying thou shalt kill all who are in the city with the slaughter of the sword, and burn the city with fire, and it shall be without habitation for ever. Moreover, it shall no more be rebuilt, that the Lord may be turned from the indignation of His anger. And He will show thee mercy, and He will pity thee, and will multiply thee, if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt observe His precepts.”34    Deut. xiii. 12–18. Remembering which precept and its force, Mattathias slew him who had approached the altar to sacrifice. But if before the coming of Christ these precepts concerning the worship of God and the despising of idols were observed, how much more should they be regarded since Christ’s advent; since He, when He came, not only exhorted us with words, but with deeds also, but after all wrongs and contumelies, suffered also, and was crucified, that He might teach us to suffer and to die by His example, that there might be no excuse for a man not to suffer for Him,35    Or, “for a man who does not suffer.” since He suffered for us; and that since He suffered for the sins of others, much rather ought each to suffer for his own sins. And therefore in the Gospel He threatens, and says: “Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven; but whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”36    Matt. x. 32, 33. The Apostle Paul also says: “For if we die with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us.”37    2 Tim. ii. 11, 12. John too: “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; he that acknowledgeth the Son, hath both the Son and the Father.”38    1 John ii. 23. Whence the Lord exhorts and strengthens us to contempt of death, saying: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to kill soul and body in Gehenna.”39    Matt. x. 28. And again: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he who hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.”40    John xii. 25.

CAP. V.--- QUOD SIC IDOLOLATRIAE INDIGNETUR DEUS, UT PRAECEPERIT ETIAM EOS INTERFICI QUI SACRIFICARE ET SERVIRE IDOLIS SUASERINT.

In Deuteronomio: Quod si rogaverit te frater tuus, aut filius tuus, aut filia tua, aut uxor tua quae est in sinu tuo, aut amicus tuus, qui aequalis est animae tuae, latenter dicens: «Eamus et serviamus diis aliis , diis gentium;» non consenties ei, et non exaudies eum, et 0659Anon parcet oculus tuus super eum, et non celabis eum, annuntians annuntiabis de illo. Manus tua erit super eum, in primis interficere eum, et manus omnis populi postremo; et lapidabunt eum et morietur, quoniam quaesivit avertere te a Domino Deo tuo (Deut. XIII, 6). Et iterum loquitur Dominus et dicit nec civitati parcendum, etiamsi universa consenserit ad idololatriam: Aut si audieris in una ex civitatibus quas Dominus Deus tuus dabit tibi inhabitare te illic, dicentes: «Eamus et serviamus diis aliis,» quos non nosti , interficiens necabis omnes qui sunt in civitate caede gladii, et incendes civitatem igni, et erit sine habitaculo in aeternum. Non reaedificabitur etiam nunc, ut avertatur Dominus ab indignatione irae suae. Et dabit tibi misericordiam et miserebitur tui, et multiplicabit te, si exaudieris vocem Domini Dei tui, et observaveris praecepta 0659Bejus (Deut. XIII, 12). Cujus praecepti et vigoris memor Mattathias interfecit eum qui ad aram sacrificaturus accesserat (I Machab. II, 24). Quod si ante adventum Christi circa Deum colendum et idola spernenda haec praecepta servata sunt, quanto magis post adventum Christi servanda sunt; quando ille veniens non verbis tantum nos hortatus sit, sed et factis, post omnes injurias et contumelias passus quoque et crucifixus, ut nos pati et mori exemplo suo doceret, ut nulla sit homini excusatio pro se non patienti, cum passus sit ille pro nobis; et cum ille passus sit pro alienis peccatis, multo magis pro peccatis suis pati unumquemque debere? Et ideo in Evangelio comminatur et dicit: Quicumque confessus 0659Cfuerit me coram hominibus, et ego confitebor eumcoram Patre meo, qui in caelis est; qui autem negaverit me coram hominibus, et ego negabo eum coram Patre meo, qui in caelis est (Matth. X, 33). Item Apostolus Paulus: Si enim commorimur, inquit, et convivemus: si toleramus, et conregnabimus: si negabimus, et ipse negabit nos (I Tim. II, 12). Item Joannes: Qui negat Filium, neque Patrem habet: qui confitetur Filium, et Filium et Patrem habet (I Jo. II, 23). Unde nos ad contemptum mortis hortatur Dominus et corroborat dicens: Nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam 0660Aautemnon possunt occidere. Magis autem metuite eum qui potest animam et corpus occiderein gehennam (Matth. X, 28). Et iterum: Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam: et qui odit animam suam in isto saeculo, in vitam aeternam conservabit illam (Joan. XII, 25).