 Introduction to Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1. Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1 by John Fox, edited by William Byron Forbush. Introduction. Sketch of the Author's Life, John Fox, or F-O-X-E, was born at Boston in Lincolnshire in 1517, where his parents are stated to have lived in respectable circumstances. He was deprived of his father at an early age, and notwithstanding his mother soon married again, he still remained under the parental roof. From an early display of talents and inclination to learning, his friends were induced to send him to Oxford in order to cultivate and bring them to maturity. During his residence at this place, he was distinguished for the excellence and acuteness of his intellect, which was improved by the emulation of his fellow collegians, united to an indefatigable zeal and industry on his part. These qualities soon gained him the admiration of all, and as a reward for his exertions and amiable conduct, he was chosen fellow of Magdalen College, which was accounted a great honor in the university, and seldom bestowed unless in cases of great distinction. It appears that the first display of his genius was in poetry, and that he composed some Latin comedies which are still extant. But he soon directed his thoughts to a more serious subject, a study of the sacred scriptures. To divinity, indeed he implied himself with more fervency than circumspection, and discovered his partiality to the Reformation, which had then commenced before he was known to its supporters, or to those who protected them, a circumstance which proved to him the source of his first troubles. He is said to have often affirmed that the first matter which occasioned his search into the Popish doctrine was that he saw diverse things, most repugnant in their nature to one another, forced upon men at the same time. Upon this foundation his resolution and intended obedience to that church were somewhat shaken, and by degrees a dislike to the rest took place. His first care was to look into both the ancient and modern history of the church, to ascertain its beginning and progress, to consider the causes of all those controversies which in the meantime had sprung up, and diligently to weigh their effects, solidity, infirmities, etc. Before he had attained his thirtieth year he had studied the Greek and Latin fathers, and other learned authors, the transactions of the councils, and decrees of the consistories, and had acquired a very competent skill in the Hebrew language. In these occupations he frequently spent a considerable part or even the whole of the night, and in order to unbend his mind after such incessant study he would resort to a grove near the college, a place much frequented by the students in the evening, on account of its sequestered gloominess. In these solitary walks he was often heard to ejaculate heavy sobs and sighs, and with tears to pour forth his prayers to God. These nightly retirements in the sequel gave rise to the first suspicion of his alienation from the Church of Rome. Being pressed for an explanation of this alteration in his conduct he scorned to call in fiction to his excuse. He stated his opinions, and was, by the sentence of the college, convicted, condemned as a heretic, and expelled. His friends upon the report of this circumstance were highly offended. When he was thus forsaken by his own friends a refuge offered itself in the house of Sir Thomas Lucy, a Warwickshire, by whom he was sent for to instruct his children. The house is within easy walk of Stratford on Avon, and it was this estate which, a few years later, was the scene of Shakespeare's traditional boyish poaching expedition. Fox died when Shakespeare was three years old. In the Lucy house Fox afterward married, but the fear of the popish inquisitors hastened his departure thence, as they were not contented to pursue public offenses, but began also to dive into the secrets of private families. He now began to consider what was best to be done to free himself from further inconvenience and resolved either to go to his wife's father or to his father-in-law. His wife's father was a citizen of Coventry, whose heart was not alienated from him, and he was more likely to be well-intreated, or his daughter's sake. He resolved first to go to him, and in the meanwhile by letters to try whether his father-in-law would receive him or not. This he accordingly did, and he received for answer, quotes open, that it seemed to him a hard condition to take one into his house, whom he knew to be guilty and condemned for a capital offense. Neither was he ignorant what hazard he should undergo in so doing. He would, however, show himself a kinsman, and neglect his own danger. If he would alter his mind, he might come, on condition to stay as long as he himself desired. But if he could not be persuaded to that, he must content himself with a shorter stay and not bring him and his mother into danger, quotes closed. No condition was to be refused. Besides, he was secretly advised by his mother to come, and not to fear his father-in-law severity, quotes open. For that perchance it was needful to write as he did, but when occasion should be offered he would make recompense for his words with his actions, quotes closed. In fact he was better received by both of them than he had hoped for. By these means he kept himself concealed for some time, and afterwards made a journey to London, in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII. There, being unknown, he was in much distress, and was even reduced to the danger of being starved to death, had not Providence interfered in his favor in the following manner. One day, as Mr. Fox was sitting in St. Paul's Church, exhausted with long fasting, a stranger took a seat by his side, and courteously saluted him, thrust a sum of money into his hand, and made him cheer up his spirits. At the same time informing him that in a few days new prospects would present themselves for his future subsistence. Who this stranger was he could never learn, but at the end of three days he received an invitation from the Duchess of Richmond to undertake the tuition of the children of the Earl of Surrey. Who, together with his father, the Duke of Norfolk, was imprisoned in the tower by the jealousy and ingratitude of the King. The children thus confided to his care were Thomas, who succeeded to the dukedom, Henry, afterwards Earl of Northampton, and Jane, who became Countess of Westmoreland. In the performance of his duties he fully satisfied the expectations of the Duchess their aunt. These Halcyon days continued during the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII, and the five years of the reign of Edward VI, until Mary came to the crown, who, soon after her accession, gave all power into the hands of the papists. At this time Mr. Fox, who was still under the protection of his noble pupil, the Duke, began to excite the envy and hatred of many, particularly Dr. Gardner, then Bishop of Winchester, who in the sequel became his most violent enemy. Mr. Fox, aware of this, and seeing the dreadful persecutions then commencing, began to think of quitting the kingdom. As soon as the Duke knew his intention he endeavored to persuade him to remain, and his arguments were so powerful and given with so much sincerity that he gave up the thought of abandoning his asylum for the present. At that time the Bishop of Winchester was very intimate with the Duke by the patronage of whose family he had risen to the dignity he then enjoyed, and frequently waited on him to present his service when he several times requested that he might see his old tutor. At first the Duke denied his request, at one time alleging his absence, at another in disposition. At length it happened that Mr. Fox, not knowing the Bishop was in the house, entered the room where the Duke and he were in discourse, and seeing the Bishop withdrew. Gardner asked who that was. The Duke answered that he was his physician, who was somewhat un-courtly, as being new come from the university. I like his countenance and aspect very well, replied the Bishop, and when occasion offers I will send for him. The Duke understood that speech as the messenger of some approaching danger, and now himself thought it high time for Mr. Fox to quit the city and even the country. He accordingly caused everything necessary for his flight to be provided in silence by sending one of his servants to Ipswich to hire a bark and prepare all the requisites for his departure. He also fixed on the house of one of his servants, who was a farmer, where he might lodge until the wind became favorable, and everything being in readiness Mr. Fox took leave of his noble patron, and with his wife, who was pregnant at the time, secretly departed for the ship. The vessel was scarcely under sail when a most violent storm came on, which lasted all day and night, and the next day drove them back to the port from which they had departed. During the time that the vessel had been at sea, an officer dispatched by the Bishop of Winchester had broken open the house of the farmer with a warrant to apprehend Mr. Fox wherever he might be found, and bring him back to the city. On hearing this news he hired a horse under the pretense of leaving the town immediately, but secretly returned the same night, and agreed with the captain of the vessel to sail for any place as soon as the wind should shift. He desired him to proceed and not to doubt that God would prosper his undertaking. The mariner suffered himself to be persuaded, and within two days landed his passengers in safety at Newport. After spending a few days in that place Mr. Fox sent out for Basel, where he found a number of English refugees who had quitted their country to avoid the cruelty of the persecutors, with these he associated, and began to write his history of the acts and monuments of the church, which was first published in Latin at Basel in 1554, and in English in 1563. In the meantime the reformed religion began again to flourish in England, and the Popish faction much to decline by the death of Queen Mary, which induced the greater number of the Protestant exiles to return to their native country. Among others, on the accession of Elizabeth to the throne, Mr. Fox returned to England, where on his arrival he found a faithful and active friend in his late pupil, the Duke of Norfolk, until death deprived him of his benefactor, after which event Mr. Fox inherited a pension bequeathed to him by the Duke, and ratified by his son, the Earl of Suffolk. Nor did the good man's successes stop here. On being recommended to the Queen by her Secretary of State, the Great Cecil, Her Majesty granted him the pre-bundary of Shipton in the Cathedral of Salisbury, which was in a manner forced upon him, for it was with difficulty that he could be persuaded to accept it. On his resettlement in England, he employed himself in revising and enlarging his admirable martyrology. With prodigious pains and constant study, he completed that celebrated work in eleven years. For the sake of greater correctness, he wrote every line of this vast book with his own hand, and transcribed all the records and papers himself. But in consequence of such excessive toil, leaving no part of his time free from study, nor affording himself either the repose or recreation which nature required, his health was so reduced, and his person became so emaciated and altered that such of his friends and relations as only conversed with him occasionally could scarcely recognize his person. Though he grew daily more exhausted, he proceeded in his studies as briskly as ever, nor would he be persuaded to diminish his accustomed labors. The papists foreseeing how detrimental his history of their errors and cruelties would prove to their cause, had recourse to every artifice to lessen the reputation of his work. But their malice was of signal service, both to Mr. Fox himself and to the Church of God at large, as it eventually made his book more intrinsically valuable by inducing him to weigh with the most scrupulous attention the certainty of the facts which he recorded and the validity of the authorities from which he drew his information. But while he was thus indefatigably employed in promoting the cause of truth, he did not neglect the other duties of his station. He was charitable, humane and attentive to the wants, both spiritual and temporal, of his neighbors. With the view of being more extensively useful, although he had no desire to cultivate the acquaintance of the rich and great on his own account, he did not decline the friendship of those in a higher rank who proffered it, and never failed to employ his influence with them in behalf of the poor and needy. In consequence of his well-known probity and charity, he was frequently presented with sums of money by persons possessed of wealth which he accepted and distributed among those who were distressed. He would also occasionally attend the table of his friends, not so much for the sake of pleasure as from civility, and to convince them that his absence was not occasioned by a fear of being exposed to the temptations of the appetite. In short, his character as a man and as a Christian was without reproach. Although the recent recollection of the persecutions under Bloody Mary gave bitterness to his pen, it is singular to note that he was personally the most conciliatory of men, and that while he heartily disowned the Roman church in which he was born, he was one of the first to attempt the concord of the Protestant brethren. In fact, he was a veritable apostle of toleration. When the plague or pestilence broke out in England in 1563, and many forsook their duties, Fox remained at his post, assisting the friendless and acting as the almsgiver of the rich. It was said of him that he could never refuse help to anyone who asked it in the name of Christ. Intent and large-hearted, he exerted his influence with Queen Elizabeth to confirm her intention to no longer keep up the cruel practice of putting to death those of opposing religious convictions. The Queen held him in respect and referred to him as, quotes open, our father, Fox, quotes closed. Mr. Fox had joy in the fruits of his work while he was yet alive. It passed through four large additions before his decease, and it was ordered by the bishops to be placed in every cathedral church in England where it was often found chained, as the Bible was in those days, to elect her for the access of the people. At length, having long served both the church and the world by his ministry, by his pen, and by the unsullied luster of a benevolent, useful, and holy life, he meekly resigned his soul to Christ on the 18th of April, 1587, being then in the seventieth year of his age. He was interred in the chancel of St. Giles Cripplegate, of which parish he had been in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign for some time vicar. CHAPTER 1 OF FOX'S BOOK OF MARTIERS, VOLUME 1 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. FOX'S BOOK OF MARTIERS VOLUME 1 by John Fox, edited by William Byron Forbush, CHAPTER 1 HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN MARTIERS TO THE FIRST GENERAL PERSECUTIONS UNDER NERAL Christ, our Saviour, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, hearing the confession of Simon Peter, who first of all other, openly acknowledged him to be the Son of God, and perceiving the secret hand of his father therein, called him, alluding to his name, a rock, upon which a rock he would build. His Church saw strong that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. In which words three things are to be noted. First, that Christ will have a Church in this world, secondly, that the same Church should mightily be impugned, not only by the world, but also by the uttermost strength and powers of all hell, and thirdly, that the same Church, notwithstanding the uttermost of the devil and all his malice, should continue. Which prophecy of Christ we see wonderfully to be verified? In so much, that the whole course of the Church to this day may seem nothing else, but a verifying of the said prophecy. First, that Christ has set up a Church, need is no declaration. Secondly, that force of princes, kings, monarchs, governors and rulers of this world, with their subjects, publicly and privately, with all their strength and cunning, have bent themselves against this Church. And thirdly, how the said Church, all this notwithstanding, has yet endured and holden its own. What storms and tempests it has overpassed, wondrous it is to behold. The more evident declaration were of, I have addressed this present history, to the end first, that the wonderful works of God in his Church might appear to his glory, also that the continuance and proceedings of the Church, from time to time, being said forth, more knowledge and experience may rebound thereby to the profit of the reader and edification of Christian faith. This is not our business to enlarge upon our Saviour's history, either before or after his crucifixion. We shall only find it necessary to remind our readers of the discomforture of the Jews by his subsequent resurrection. Although one apostle had betrayed him, although another had denied him, and there's a solemn sanction of an oath, and although the rest had forsaken him, unless we may accept the disciple who is known as High Priest, the history of his resurrection gave a new direction to all their hearts, and after the mission of the Holy Spirit imparted new confidence to their minds. The powers with which they were endured emboldened them to proclaim his name, to the confusion of the Jewish rulers and the astonishment of Gentile proselytes. First, St. Stephen. St. Stephen suffered the next in order. The death was occasioned by the faithful manor in which he preached the gospel to the betrayers and murderers of Christ. To such a decree of madness were they excited that they cast him out of the city and stoned him to death. The time when he suffered is generally supposed to have been at the Passover which succeeded to that of our Lord's crucifixion and to the era of his ascension in the following spring. Upon this a great persecution was raised against all who professed their belief in Christ as a messiah or as a prophet. We are immediately told by St. Luke that there was a great persecution against the church which was a Jerusalem, and that they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. About two thousand Christians with Nicanor, one of the seven deacons, suffered martyrdom during the persecution that arouse about St. Stephen. Second, James the Great. The next martyr we meet with, according to St. Luke, in the history of the apostles' acts was James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John and the relative of our Lord. For his mother Salome was cousin German to the Virgin Mary. It was not until ten years after the death of Stephen that the second martyrdom took place. For no sooner had Herod Agrippa been appointed governor of Judea than with a view to ingratiate himself with them he raised a sharp persecution against the Christians and determined to make an effectual blow by striking other leaders. The account given us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be overlooked. That, as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostles' extraordinary courage and undoubtedness, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus did the first apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told our saviour he was ready to drink. Timon and Parmenas suffered martyrdom about the same time, the one at Philippi and the other in Macedonia. These events took place A.D. 44. 3. Philip Was born at Bethsaida in Galilee and was first called by the name of Disciple. He labored diligently in Upper Asia and suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis in Phrygia. He was scorched, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified. A.D. 54. 4. Matthew His occupation was that of Tolgatharer, was born at Natharis. He wrote his Gospel in Hebrae, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James Seles. The scene of his labors was Parthia and Ethiopia, in which later country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd, in the city of Nadebach, and non-dominic Sixty. 5. James Seles Is supposed by some to have been the brother of our lord, by a former wife of Joseph. This is very doubtful, and accords too much with the Catholic superstition that Mary never had any other children except our savior. He was elected to the oversight of the churches of Jerusalem and was the author of the epistle ascribed to James in the Sacred Canon. At the age of 94 he was beaten and stoned by the Jews and finally had his brains dashed out with the Fuller's Club. 6. Matthew Of whom less is known than of most of the other Disciples was elected to fill the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded. 7. Andrew Was the brother of Peter? He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations, but on his arrival at Edessa he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the derivation of the term St. Andrew's Cross. 8. St. Mark Was born of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi? He is supposed to have been converted to Christianity by Peter, whom he served as an Amanoensis, and under whose inspection he wrote his gospel in the Greek language. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria at the great solemnity of Serapis, their idol, ending his life under their merciless hands. 9. Peter Among many other saints, the Blessed Apostle Peter was condemned to death and crucified as some do of right at Rome, albeit some others and not without cause, do doubt as they are of. Hegesypus says that Nero sought matter against Peter to put him to death, which when the people perceived they entreated Peter with much ado that he would fly the city. Peter, through their importunity at length persuaded, prepared himself to avoid. But coming to the gate he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to whom he worshipping said, Lord, with our dust do go, to whom he answered and said, I am Camaggan to be crucified. By this Peter perceiving his suffering to be understood, returned into the city. Jeremiah says that he was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was, he said, unworthy to be crucified, after the same form and manner as the Lord was. 10. Paul Paul's Apostle, who before was called Saul, after his great travail and unspeakable labours in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also in this first persecution under Nero. Abdeus declares that under his execution Nero sent two of his esquires, Fereca and Parsemius, to bring him word of his death. They, coming to Paul instructing the people, desired him to pray for them, that they might believe, who told them that shortly after they should believe and be baptised at his sepulchre. This done, the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword. 11. Jude The brother of James was commonly called Tadeus. He was crucified at Odessa, Anodomne 72. 12. Bartolomne Preached in several countries and having translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, he propagated it in that country. He was at length truly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters. 13. Thomas Called Didymus, preached the Gospel in Parse and India, where exciting the rage of the pagan priests, he was murdered by being thrust through with a spear. 14. Luke The evangelist was the author of the Gospel which goes under his name. He travelled this pole through various countries and is supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree by the idolatrous priests of Greece. 15. Simon Surnamed Zalotes preached the Gospel in Mauritania, Africa and even in Britain, in which later country he was crucified Anodomne 74. 16. John The beloved disciple was brother to James Grape. The churches of Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea and Theatira were founded by him. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped the miracle without injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However, the successor of Domitian recalled him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death. 17. Barnabas Was of Keprov's, but of Jewish descent, his death is supposed to have taken place about Anodomne 73. And yet, notwithstanding all these continual persecutions and horrible punishments, the church daily increased, deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles and of men apostolical, and watered plentiously with the blood of saints. End of Chapter 1 Chapter 2, Part 1 of Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1 by John Fox edited by William Byron Forbush. Chapter 2 The Ten Primitive Persecutions, Part 1 The First Persecution under Nero, Anodomne 67 The First Persecution of the Church took place in the year 67 under Nero, the Sixth Emperor of Rome. This more or not reigned for the space of five years with horrible credit to himself, but then gave way to the greatest extravagancy of temper and to the most atrocious barbarities. Among other diabolical whims, he ordered that the city of Rome should be set on fire, which order was executed by his officers, guards, and servants. While the imperial city was in flames, he went up to the tower of Masaneas, played upon his harp, sung the song of the burning of Troy, and openly declared that he wished the ruin of all things before his death. Besides the noble pile, called the Circus, many other palaces and houses were consumed, several thousands perished in the flames, were smothered in the smoke, or buried beneath the ruins. The dreadful conflagration continued nine days, when Nero, finding that his conduct was greatly blamed, and the severe odium cast upon him, determined to lay the whole upon the Christians, at once to excuse himself, and have an opportunity of glutting his sight with new cruelties. This was the occasion of the first persecution, and the barbarities exercised on the Christians were such, as even excited the commissuration of the Romans themselves. Nero even refined upon cruelty, and his crime thrived all manner of punishments for the Christians, that the most infernal imagination could design. In particular, he had some suit up in skins of wild beasts, and then worried by dogs until they expired, and others dressed in shirts made stiff by wax, fixed to axlet trees, and set on fire in his gardens, in order to eliminate them. This persecution was general throughout the whole Roman Empire, but it rather increased than diminished the spirit of Christianity. In the course of it, St. Paul and St. Peter were martyred. To their names may be added, Erastus, Chamberlain of Corinth, Aristarchs, the Macedonian, and Trophimus, and Epesians, converted by St. Paul, and fellow labourer with him, Joseph, commonly called Barthabas, and Ananias, Bishop of Damascus, each of the seventy. The Second Persecution, under Domitian, Anodominus 81. The Emperor Domitian, who was naturally inclined to cruelty, who was naturally inclined to cruelty, pressed through his brother, and then raised the Second Persecution against the Christians. In his rage he put to death some of the Roman senators, some through malice, and others to confiscate their estates. He then commanded all the lineage of David to be put to death. Among the numerous martyrs that suffered during this persecution was Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, who was crucified, and St. John, who was boiled in oil, and afterwards banished to Potmos. Flavia, the daughter of a Roman senator, was likewise banished to Pontus, and a law was made that no Christian, when brought before the tribunal, should be exempted from punishment without renouncing his religion. A variety of fabricated tales were, during this reign, composed in order to endure the Christians. Such was the infatuation of the pagans that if famine, pestilence, or earthquakes afflicted any of the Roman provinces, it was laid upon the Christians. These persecutions among the Christians increased the number of informers and many for the sake of gain swore away the lives of the innocent. Another hardship was that, when any Christians were brought before the magistrates, a test oath was proposed, when if they refused to take it, death was pronounced against them, and if they confessed themselves Christians, the sentence was the same. The following was the most remarkable among the numerous martyrs who suffered during this persecution. Dionysius, the Aureopagid, was an Athenian by birth and educated on all the useful and ornamental literature of Greece. He then travelled to Egypt to study astronomy and made very particular observations on the great and supernatural eclipse, which happened at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion. The sanctity of his conversation and the purity of his manners recommended him so strongly to the Christians in general that he was appointed Bishop of Athens. Nicodemus, a benevolent Christian of some distinction, suffered at Rome during the rage of Domitian's persecution. Protasius and Gervasius were martyred at Milan. Timothy was the celebrated disciple of St. Paul and Bishop of Ephesus, where he zealously governed the church until Anodominus 97. At this period, as the pagans were about to celebrate a feast called Catagogion, Timothy meeting the procession, severely reproved them for their ridiculous idolatry, which so exasperated the people that they fell upon him with their clubs and beat him in so dreadful a manner that he expired of the bruises two days later. The third persecution under Triane, Anodominus 108. In the third persecution, Pliny II, a man learned and famous, seeing the lamentable slaughter of Christians and moved their wits to pity, brought to Triane, certifying him that there were many thousands of them daily put to death, of which none did anything contrary to the Roman laws worthy of persecution. The whole account they gave with their crime or error, whichever it is to be called, amounted only to this, with that they were accustomed on a stated day to meet before daylight, and to repeat together a sad form of prayer to Christ as a God, and to bind themselves by an obligation, not indeed to commit wickedness, but on the contrary, never to commit theft, robbery, or adultery, never to falsify their word, never to defraud any man after which it was their custom and reassembled to partake in common of a harmless meal. In this persecution suffered the blessed martyr Ignatius, who is hailed in famous reverence among very many. This Ignatius was appointed to the bishopric of Antioch next after Peter in succession. Some do say that he, being sent from Syria to Rome, because he professed Christ, for the given to the wild beasts to be devoured. It's also said of him that when he passed through Asia, being under the most strict custody of his keepers, he strengthened and confirmed the churches through all the cities as he went, both with his exhortations and preaching of the word of God. Accordingly, having come to Smyrna, he wrote to the church at Rome, exhorting them not to use means for his deliverance from martyrdom, which should deprive him of that which he most longed and hoped for. Now I began to be a disciple, a care for nothing of visible or invisible things, so that I may but when Christ let fire on the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body and all the malice of the devil come upon me, be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus. And even when he was sentenced to be thrown to the beasts, such as the burning desire that he had to suffer, that he spake what time he heard the lion's roaring, saying, I am the wheat of Christ, I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread. Tryon being succeeded by Adrian, the latter continued the third persecution with as much severity as his predecessor. About this time Alexander Bishop of Rome, with his two deacons, were martyred as were Quirinos and Harnes with their families. Thenon a Roman nobleman and about ten thousand other Christians. In Mount Ararat many were crucified, ground with sorens and spears run into their sides in imitation of Christ's passion. The use, a brave and successful Roman commander, was by the emperor ordered to join in an idolatry sacrifice to celebrate some of his own victories. But his faith, being a Christian in his heart, was so much greater than his vanity that he nobly refused it. Enraged at the denial the ungrateful emperor forgot the service of this skillful commander and ordered him and his whole family to be martyred. At the martyrdom of Faustinis and Jovita, brothers and citizens of Brestia, their torments were so many and their patience so great, Zancalocharius, a pagan, beholding them, was struck with admiration and exclaimed in a kind of ecstasy, great is the god of the Christians for which he was apprehended and suffered a similar fate. Many other similar cruelties and rigors were exercised against the Christians. Until Quadratus, bishop of Athens, made a learned apology in their favour before the emperor co-happened to be there and Aristides, a philosopher of the same city, wrote an elegant epistle which caused Adrien to relax in his severities and relent in their favour. Adrien dying anodomony 138 was succeeded by Antonius Pius, one of the most amiable monarchs that ever reigned and who stayed the persecutions against the Christians. The force persecution under Marcos Aurelius Antonius anodomony 162 Marcos Aurelius followed about the year of our lord 161 a man of nature more stern and severe and although in study of philosophy and in civil government yet, toward the Christians sharp and fierce by whom was moved the force persecution The cruelties used in this persecution were such that many of the spectators shuddered with horror at the sight and were astonished and the interpity of the sufferers. Some of the martyrs were obliged to pass with their already wounded feet over soreness, nails, sharp shells, etc. upon their points Others were scorched until their sinews and veins were rare and after suffering the most excruciating tortures that could be devised they were destroyed by the most terrible death. Germanicus, a young man but a true Christian being delivered to the wild beasts on account of his face behaved with such astonishing courage that several pagans became converts to a face which inspired such fortitude. Polycarp a noble bishop of Smyrna hearing that persons were seeking for him escaped but was discovered by a child After feasting the guards who apprehended him he desired an hour and prayer which being allowed he prayed with such fervency that his guards repented that they had been instrumental in taking him he was however carried before the proconsul condemned and burned in the marketplace the proconsul then urged him saying swear and I will release thee, reproach Christ Polycarp answered eighty and six years have I served him and he never once wronged me how then shall I bless him my king who has saved me at the stake to which he was only tied but not nailed as usual as he assured them he should stand immovable the flames and darkened linked the faggots and circled his body like an arch without touching him and the executioner on seeing this was ordered to pierce him with a sword when so great a quantity of blood flowed out as extinguished the fire but his body at the instignation of the enemies of the gospel, especially Jews was ordered to be consumed in the pile and the request of his friends who wished to give at Christian Burial rejected then ever so less collected his bones and as much of his remains as possible and caused them to be decently interred metrodors a minister who preached boldly and peonius who made some excellent apologies for the Christian faith were likewise burned carpus and papillus towards the Christians and agatonica a pious woman suffered martyrdom at Pergamopolis in Asia felicitatis an illustrious roman lady of a considerable family and the most shining virtues was the devout Christian she had seven sons whom she had educated with the most exemplary piety Gianorius the eldest was scorched and pressed to death with weights felix and philip the two next had their brains dashed out with clubs sylvanus the fourth was murdered by being thrown from a precipice and the three younger sons commander witalis and marshal were beheaded the mother was beheaded with the same sword as the three letter justin the celebrated philosopher fell a martyr to his persecution he was a native of neopolis in samaria and was born anodomani 103 justin was a great lover of truth and a universal scholar he investigated the stoic and peripatetic philosophy and attempted the Pythagorean but the behavior of our of its professors disgusted him he applied himself to the platonic in which he took great delight about the year 133 when he was 30 years of age he became a convert to christianity and then for the first time perceived the real nature of truth he wrote an elegant episode of the Gentiles and employed his talents in convincing the Jews of the truth as the christian rates spending a great deal of time in traveling until he took up his abode in Rome and fixed his habitation upon the women of mount he kept a public school taught many who afterward became great men and wrote a treatise to confuse heresies of all kinds as the pagans began to treat the christians with great severity justin wrote his first apology for their favor this piece displays great learning and genius and occasion the emperor to publish an edict in favor of the christians so later he entered into frequent contests with crestsens a person of a vicious life and conversation but a celebrated cynic philosopher and his arguments appeared so powerful yet disgusting to the cynic that he resolved on and in the sequel accomplished the second apology of justin upon certain severities gave crestsens the cynic an opportunity to prejudicing the emperor against the writer of it upon which justin and six of his companions were apprehended being commanded to sacrifice to the pagans idols they refused and were condemned to be scorched and then beheaded which sentence was executed with all imaginable severity several were beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to the image of dupiter in particular concordus a diacon of the city of spolito some of the restless northern nations having risen in arms against thru the emperor marched to encounter them he was however drawn into an embuscade and dreaded the loss of his whole army enveloped his mountains surrounded by enemies and perishing with thirst the pagan deities were invoked in vain when the men belonging to the militine or thundering legion who were all Christians were commanded to call upon their god for succor a miraculous deliverance immediately ensued a prodigious quantity of rain fell which being caught by the men and filling their dykes afforded a sudden and astonishing relief it appears that the storm which miraculously flashed in the face of the enemy so intimidated them that part deserted to the Roman army the rest were defeated and the revolted provinces entirely recovered this affair occasioned the persecution to subside for some time at least in those parts immediately under the inspection of the emperor but we find that it soon after raged in France particularly at Lyons where the tortures to which many of the Christians would almost exceed the powers of description the principle of these martyrs were Vettius Agatus a young man Blandina a Christian lady of a weak constitution Sanctus a diacon of Vienna red-hot plates of brass were placed upon the tenderest parts of his body Biblia's a weak woman once an apostate Attalus of Bergamos and Pocinus the venerable bishop of Lyons who was 90 years of age Blandina on the day when she and the three other champions were first brought into the amphitheater she was suspended on a piece of wood fixed in the ground and exposed as food for the wild beasts at which time by her earnest prayers she encouraged others but none of the wild beasts would touch her so that she was remanded to prison when she was again produced for the third and last time she was accompanied by Ponticus a youth of 15 and the constancy of their face so enraged the multitude that neither the sex of the one nor the use of the other were respected being exposed to all manner of punishments and tortures being strengthened by Blandina he persevered unto death and she, after enduring all the torments heretofore mentioned was at length slain with the sword when the Christians upon these occasions received martyrdom they were ornamented and crowned with garlands of flowers for which say in heaven received eternal crowns of glory it has been said that the lives of the early Christians consisted of persecution above ground and prior, below ground their lives are expressed by the coliseum and the catacombs beneath them are the excavations which we call the catacombs which were at once temples and tombs the early church of Rome might well be called the church of the catacombs there are some 60 catacombs near Rome in which some 600 miles of galleries have been traced and these are not all these galleries are about 8 feet high and from 3 to 5 feet wide containing on either side several rows of long low horizontal recesses one at a time horizontal recesses one above another like berths in a ship in these the dead bodies were placed and the front closed either by a single marble slab or several great tiles laid in mortar on these slabs or tiles epitaphs or symbols are graved or painted both pagans and Christians buried their dead in these catacombs when the Christian graves have been opened the skeletons tell their own terrible tale heads are found severed from the body ribs and shoulder blades are broken bones are not offered calcined from fire but despite the awful story of persecution that we may read here the inscriptions breathe force peace and joy and triumph here are a few here lies Marcia put to rest in a dream of peace Lawrence to his sweetest son born away of angels victorious in peace and in Christ being called away he went in peace remember when reading these inscriptions the story the skeletons tell of persecution of torture and of fire but the full force of these epitaphs is seen when we contrast them with the pagan epitaphs such as live for the present hour since we are sure of nothing else I lift my hands against the gods who took me away at the age of 20 though I had done no harm once I was not now I am not I know nothing about it and it is no concern of mine traveler curse me not as you pass for I am in darkness and cannot answer the most frequent Christian symbols on the walls of the catacombs are the good shepherd with a lamp on his shoulder a ship under full sail harps, anchors crowns, vines and above all the fish End of Chapter 2 Part 1 Chapter 2 Part 2 of Fox's Book of Martyrs Volume 1 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Fox's Book of Martyrs Volume 1 by John Fox Edited by William Byron Forbush Chapter 2 The Ten Primitive Persecutions Part 2 The fifth persecution commencing with Severus Anodomini 192 Severus, having been recovered from a severe fit of sickness by a Christian became a great favor of the Christians in general but the prejudice and fury pursued prevailing obsolete laws were put in execution against the Christians The progress of Christianity alarmed the pagans and they revived the stale columnar of placing accidental misfortunes to the account of its professors Anodomini 192 But though persecuting malice raged yet the gospel shone with resplendent brightness and firm as an impregnable rock withstood the attacks of boisterous enemies with success Tertullian, who lived in this age, informs us that if the Christians had collectively withdrawn themselves from the Roman territories, the empire would have been greatly depopulated Vector, bishop of Rome suffered martyrdom in the first year of the third century Anodomini 201 Leonidus, the father of the celebrated Oregon was beheaded for being a Christian Many of Oregon's heroes likewise suffered martyrdom particularly two brothers named Plutarchus and Serenus another Serenus, Heron and Heracles ladies were beheaded Raiys had boiled pitch poured upon her head and was then burned as was Marcella her mother But Aenea, the sister of Raiys was executed in the same manner as Raiys had been but bussy ladies and officer belonging to the army and ordered to attend her execution became her convert bussy ladies being as an officer required to take a certain oath refused, saying that he could not swear by the Roman idols as he was a Christian struck with surprise the people could not at first believe what they heard but he had no sooner confirmed the same than he was dragged before the judge committed to prison and speedily headed Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons was born in Greece and received both a polite and a Christian education it is generally supposed that the account of the persecutions at Lyons was written by himself he succeeded the martyr Potinus as bishop of Lyons and ruled his deosies with great propriety he was a zealous opposer of heresies in general and about anodomony 187 he wrote a celebrated tract against heresy Victor the bishop of Rome wanted to impose the keeping of Easter there in preference to other places it occasioned some disorders among the Christians in particular Irenaeus wrote him a synodical epistle in the name of the Gaelic churches this zeal in favor of Christianity pointed him out as an object of resentment to the emperor in 1902 he was beheaded the persecutions now extending to Africa many bermartured in that quarter of the globe the most particular of whom we shall mention Bepetua a married lady of about 22 years those who suffered with her aware felicitas a married lady big with child at the time of her being apprehended and Revocatus, catechoman of cartage and a slave the names of the other prisoners destined to suffer upon this occasion were Saturninus, Secundulus and Sator on the day appointed for their execution they were led to the amphitheater Sator, Saturninus and Revocatus were ordered to run the gauntlet between the hunters or such as had the care of the wild beasts the hunters being drawn up in two ranks they ran between were severely lashed as they passed felicitas and Bepetua were stripped in order to be thrown to a mad bull which made his first attack upon Bepetua and stunned her he then darted at felicitas and gored her dreadfully but not killing them the executioner did that with a sword Revocatus and Sator were destroyed by wild beasts Saturninus was beheaded and Secundulus died in prison these executions were in the 205 on the 8th day of March Spiratus and 12 others were likewise beheaded as was Undoclas in France as Clepiades, Bishop of Antioch suffered many tortures but his life was spared Cecilia, a young lady of good family in Rome was married to a gentleman named Valerian she converted her husband and brother who were beheaded and the Maximus or officer who led them to execution becoming their convert suffered the same fate the lady was placed naked in a scalding bath and having continued their a considerable time her head was struck off with a sword Anodomini 222 Callisto's Bishop of Rome was martyred Anodomini 224 but the manner of his death is not recorded and Urban Bishop of Rome met the same fate Anodomini 232 the sex persecution under Maximus Anodomini 235 Anodomini 235 was in the time of Maximus in Cappadocia the president Serimianus did all he could to exterminate the Christians from that province the principal persons who perished under his reign were Pontianus, Bishop of Rome Anteros Agression his successor who gave offense to the government by collecting the acts of the martyrs Pamachius and Quiritus Roman senators with all their families and many other Christians Simplicius senator Calipodius a Christian minister thrown into the Tiber Martina a noble and beautiful virgin and Hippolytus a Christian prelet tied to a wild horse and dragged until he expired during this persecution raised by Maximus numberless Christians were slain without trial and buried indiscriminately in heaps sometimes 50 or 60 being cast into a pit together without the least decency the tyrant Maximus dying Anodomini 238 was succeeded by Gordian during whose reign and that of his successor Philip the church was free from persecution for the space of more than 10 years but in Anodomini 249 a violent persecution broke out in Alexandria at the instigation of a pagan priest without the knowledge of the emperor the 7th persecution under Dissius Anodomini 249 this was occasioned partly by the hatred he bore to his predecessor Philip who was deemed a Christian and was partly by his jealousy concerning the amazing increase of Christianity for the heathen temples began to be forsaken and the Christian church is wronged these reasons stimulated Dissius to attempt the very extirpation of the name of Christian and it was unfortunate for the gospel that many errors had about this time crept into the church the Christians were at variance with each other and divided those whom social love ought to have united and the virulence of pride occasioned variety of factions the heathens in general were ambitious to enforce the imperial decrees upon this occasion and looked upon the murder of a Christian as a merit to themselves the martyrs upon this occasion were innumerable but the principal would shall give some account of Fabian the bishop of Rome was the first person of eminence who felt the severity of this persecution the deceased emperor Philip had on account of his integrity committed his treasure to the care of this good man but Dissius not finding as much as his ever is made him expect determined to break his vengeance on the good prelate he was accordingly seized and on January the 20th and not a minute 250 decapitation Julian a native of Scelechia as we are informed by Saint Chrysostom was seized upon for being a Christian he was put into a leather bag together with a number of serpents and scorpions and in that condition thrown into the sea Peter a young man amiable for the superior qualities of his body and mind was beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to Venus he said I am astonished you should sacrifice to an infamous woman whose debauchery even your own historians record and whose life consisted of such actions as your laws would punish now I shall offer the true God the acceptable sacrifice of praises and priors Optimus the proconsul of Asia on hearing this ordered the prisoner to be stretched the bones were broken and then he was sent to be beheaded Nihomahus being brought before the proconsul as a Christian was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan idols Nihomahus replied I cannot pay that respect to devils which is only due to the almighty this speech so much enraged the proconsul that Nihomahus was put to the wreck after enduring the torment for a time he recanted scarcely had he given this proof of his frailty then he fell into the greatest agonies dropped down on the ground and expired immediately Denisa a young woman of only 16 years of age who beheld this terrible judgement suddenly exclaimed oh unhappy wretch why would you buy a moment's ease at the expense of a miserable eternity Optimus hearing this called her to be a Christian she was beheaded by his order soon after Andrew and Paul two companions of Nihomahus the martyr Anno Domini 251 suffered martyrdom by stoning and expired calling on their blessed redeemer Alexander and Epimahus of Alexandria were apprehended for being Christians unconfessing the accusation were beat with staves torn with hooks and at length burned in the fire and we are informed in a fragment preserved by Oesobius that four female martyrs suffered on the same day and at the same place but not in the same manner for these were beheaded Lucian and Marcian to wicked pagans becoming converts to Christianity to make amends for their former errors lived the lives of hermits and subsisted upon bread and water only after some time spent in this manner they became zealous preachers and made many converts the persecution however raging at this time they were seized upon and carried before Sabinos the governor of Bithynia when being asked by what authorities they took upon themselves to preach Lucian answered that the laws of charity and humanity obliged all men to endeavour the conversion of their neighbours and to do everything in their power to rescue them from the snares of the devil Lucian having answered in this manner Marcian said their conversion was by the same grace which was given to St. Paul who from a zealous persecutor of the church became a preacher of the gospel the proconsul finding that he could not prevail with them to renounce their face condemned them to be burned alive which sentenced them soon after executed 3400 picos to eminent men were seized as Christians and imprisoned at Niki their feet were pierced with nails they were dragged through the streets scorched torn with iron hooks scorched with lighter torches and at lengths beheaded February the first Anodomini 251 Agata, a Sicilian lady was not more remarkable for her personal and acquired endowments than her pity her beauty was such that Quintinian, governor of Sicily became enamoured of her and made many attempts upon her chastity without success in order to gratify his passions with the greater convenience he put the virtuous lady into the hands of Afrodica a very infamous and licentious woman this wretch tried every artifice to win her to the desired prostitution but found all her efforts were weighing for her chastity was impregnable and she well knew that virtue alone could procure true happiness Afrodica acquainted Quintinian with the inefficacy of her endeavours who, enraged to be foiled in his designs changed his lust into resentment on her confessing that she was a Christian he determined to gratify his revenge as he could not his passion pursuant to his orders she was scorched born with red-hot irons and torn with sharp hooks having born these torments with admirable fortitude she was next laid naked upon live curls intermingled with glass and then being carried back to prison she there expired on February the 5th, 251 Carol, Bishop of Gortina was seized by order of Lucuse the governor of that place who nevertheless exhorted him to obey the imperial mandate perform the sacrifices and save his venerable person from destruction for he was now 84 years of age the good pilot replied that as he had long taught others to save their souls he should only think now of his own salvation the worthy pilot heard his furious sentence without emotion walked cheerfully to the place of execution and underwent his martyrdom with great fortitude the persecution raged in no place more than the island of Crete for the governor being exceedingly active in executing the imperial decrees that place streamed with spious blood Bubblas a Christian of a liberal education became Bishop of Antioch Anno Domini 237 on the demise of the Benos he acted with inimitable zeal and governed the church with admirable prudence during the most impestuous times the first misfortune that happened to Antioch during his mission was the siege of Ed by Sappor King of Persia who having overrun all Syria took and plundered the city among others and used the Christian inhabitants with greater severities than the rest but was soon totally defeated by Gordian after Gordian's death in the reign of Decius that emperor came to Antioch where having a desire to visit an assembly of Christians Bubblas opposed him and absolutely refused to let him come in the emperor dissembled his anger at that time but soon sending for the bishop he reproved him for his insolence and then ordered him to sacrifice to the pagan deities as an expiation for his offense this being refused he was committed to prison loaded with chains treated with great severities and then beheaded together with three young men who had been his pupils Anno Domini 251 Alexander Bishop of Jerusalem about this time was cast into prison an account of his religion where he died through the severity of his confinement Julianus an old man lame with the goat and crony on another Christian were bound on the backs of camels severely scorched and then thrown into a fire and consumed also 40 virgins at Antioch after being imprisoned and scorched were burned in the year of our lord 251 the emperor Decius having erected a pagan temple at Ephesus he commanded all who were in that city to sacrifice to the idols this order was nobly refused by seven of his own soldiers Maximianus Martianus Johnus, Malchus, Dionysius Seraion and Constantinus the emperor wishing to win these soldiers to renounce their face by his entreaties and lenity gave them a considerable respite until he returned from an expedition during the emperor's absence they escaped and hid themselves in a cavern which the emperor being informed of at his return the mouth of the camp was closed up and they all perished with hunger Theodora a beautiful young lady of Antioch and refusing to sacrifice to the Roman idols was condemned to the stews that her virtue might be sacrificed to the brutality of lust Didimus, a Christian disguised himself in the habit of a Roman soldier, went to the house informed Theodora who he was and advised her to make her escape in his clothes this being effected and a man found in the brothel instead of a beautiful lady Didimus was taken before the president to whom confessing the truth and owning that he was a Christian the sentence of death was immediately pronounced against him Theodora, hearing that her deliverer was likely to suffer came to the judge through herself at his feet and begged that the sentence might fall on her as the guilty person but death to the cries of the innocent and insensible to the calls of justice the inflexible judge condemned both when they were executed accordingly being first beheaded and their bodies afterwards burned Secondianus, having been accused as a Christian, was conveyed to prison by some soldiers on the way Varianus and Marcellinus said where are you carrying the innocent this interrogatory occasion seemed to be seized and all three after having been tortured were hanged and decapitated Origin the celebrated presbyter and catechist of Alexandria at the age of 64 was seized thrown into a loathsome prison laden with feathers his feet placed in the stalks and his legs extended to the utmost for several successive days he was threatened with fire and tormented by every lingering means the most internal imaginations could suggest during the cruel temporizing the emperor Dysius died Angalus, who succeeded him engaging in a war with the Goths good Christians met with the respite in this interim Oregon obtained his enlargement and retiring to Tyre he there remained until his death which happened when he was in the 69th year of his age Gallus, the emperor having concluded his wars a plague broke out in the empire sacrifices to the patendetes were ordered by the emperor and persecutions spread from the interior to the extreme parts of the empire and many film martyrs to the fallacy of the rebel as well as the prejudice of the magistrates among these were Cornelius the Christian bishop of Rome and Lucius his successor in 253 most of the errors which crept into the church at this time arose from placing a human reason in competition with revelation but the fallacy of such arguments being proved by the most able divines the opinions they had created vanished away like the stars before the sun end of chapter 2 part 2 chapter 2 part 3 of Fox's book of martyrs volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Fox's book of martyrs volume 1 by John Fox edited by William Byron Forblish chapter 2 the 10 primitive persecutions part 3 the 8th persecution under Valerian on Nodomini 257 began under Valerian in the month of April 257 and continued for three years and six months the martyrs that fell in this persecution were innumerable and their tortures and deaths as various and painful the most eminent martyrs were the following though neither rank, sex nor age were regarded Rufina on Secunda wrote a beautiful and accomplished ladies daughters of Asterius a gentleman of eminence in Rome Rufina the Elder was designed in marriage for Armentarius a young noble man Secunda the Younger for Varinus a person of rank and opulence the suitors at the time of the persecutions commencing were both Christians but when danger appeared to save their fortunes they renounced their face they took great pains to persuade the ladies to do the same but disappointed in their purpose the lovers were based enough to inform against the ladies who being apprehended as Christians were brought before Junius Donatos governor of Rome where Anno Domini 257 they sealed their martyrdom with their blood Stefan Bishop of Rome was beheaded in the same year and about that time the Torninus the pious orthodox bishop of Toulouse refusing to sacrifice to idols was treated with all the barbarous indignities imaginable and fastened by the feet to the tail of a bull upon a signal given the enraged animal was driven down the steps of the temple by which the worthy martyrs' brains were dashed out Sextus succeeded Stefan a bishop of Rome he is supposed to have been a Greek by birth or by extraction and had for some time served in the capacity of a diacon under Stefan his great fidelity singular wisdom and uncommon courage distinguished him upon many occasions and the happy conclusion of a controversy with some heretics was generally ascribed to his piety and prudence in the year 258 Marcianus who had the management of the Roman government procured an order from the emperor Valerian to put to death all the Christian clergy in Rome and hence the bishop with six of his diacons suffered martyrdom in 258 let us throw near to the fire of martyred Lorenz that our cold hearts have been warned thereby the merciless tyrant understanding him to be not only a minister of the sacraments but the distributor also of the church riches promised to himself a double pray by the apprehension of one soul first with the rake of avarice to scrape to himself the treasure of poor Christians then with the fury fork of tyranny so to toss and torment them that they should wax weary of their profession with furious face and cruel countenance the greedy wolf demanded where this Lorenz had bestowed the substance of the church who, craving three days respite promised to declare where the treasure might be had in the meantime he caused a good number of poor Christians to be congregated so when the day of his answer was come the persecutor strictly charged him to stand to his promise then Valiant Lorenz stretching out his arms over the poor said these are the precious treasure of the church these are the treasure indeed in whom the face of Christ trinest in whom Jesus Christ has his mention place what more precious jewels can Christ have than those in whom he has promised to dwell there so it is written I was unhungered and you gave me meat I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was a stranger and you took me in and again in as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me what great riches can Christ our master possess than the poor people in whom he loves us to be seen oh what tongue is able to express the fury and madness of the tyrant's heart now he stamped he stared he ramped he feared as one out of his wits his eyes like fire glowed his mouth like a bore formed his teeth like a hellhound grinned now not a reasonable man but a roaring lion he might be called candle to fire he cried of wood make no spare has this villain deluded the emperor away with him away with him whip him with scourges jerk him with rods buffet him with fists brain him with clubs pin him with fury tongs gird him with burning plates bring out the strongest chains and the fireworks and the grated bed of iron on the fire wizard bend the rebel hand and food and then the bed is fire hot on with him roast him broil him toss him turn him on pain of our highest pleasure do every man his office oh ye tormentors the word was no sooner spoken after many cruel handlings this meek lamp was laid I will not say on his fiery bed of iron why not his soft bed of down so mightily God brought with his martyr Lawrence so miraculously God tempered his elements of fire so that it became not a bed of consuming pain but a pellet of nourishing rest in Africa the persecution raged with peculiar violence many thousands received the crown of martyrdom among whom the following were the most distinguished characters kiprian bishop of cartage an eminent pellet and a pious ornament of the church the brightness of his genius was tempered by the solidity of his judgment and with all the accomplishments of the gentlemen he blended the virtues of a Christian his doctrines were orthodox and pure his language easy and elegant and his manners graceful and winning in fine he was both the pious and polite preacher in his youth he was educated in the principles of gentilism and having a considerable fortune he lived in a very extravagance of splendor and all the dignity of pomp about the year 246 Coaikilius a Christian minister of cartage became the happy instrument of kiprian's conversion on which account and for the great love he always afterward bore for the author of this conversion he was termed Coaikilius kiprian previous to his baptism he studied the scriptures with care and being struck with the beauties of the truths they contained he determined to practice the virtues that are in recommended subsequent to his baptism he sold his estate distributed the money among the poor dressed himself in plain attire and commenced a life of austerity he was soon after made a presbyter and being greatly admired for his virtues and works on the death of Donatus in Anodominus 248 he was almost unanimously elected bishop of cartage kiprian's care not only extended over cartage but to Numidia and Mauritania in all his transactions he took great care to ask the advice of his clergy knowing that unanimity alone could be of the service to the church this being one of his maxims that the bishop was in the church and the church in the bishop so that unity can only be preserved by a close connection between the pastor and his flock in Anodominus 250 kiprian was publicly proscribed by the emperor Lysius under the appellation of Coaikilius kiprian bishop of the Christians and the universal cry of the pagans was kiprian does the lions kiprian does the beast the bishop however withdrew from the rage of the populace and his effects were immediately confiscated during his retirement he wrote 30 pious and elegant letters to his flock but several schisms that then crept into the church gave him great uneasiness the rigor of the persecution abating he returned to cartage and did everything in his power to expunge erroneous opinions a terrible plague breaking out in cartage it was as usual laid to the charge of the Christians and the magistrates began to persecute accordingly which occasioned an epistle from them to kiprian in answer to which he vindicated the cause of Christianity Anodominus 257 kiprian was brought before the proconsul Aspasius Paturnus who exiled him to a little city on the Libyan Sea on the death of this proconsul he returned to cartage but was soon after seized and carried before the new governor who condemned him to be beheaded which sentence was executed on the 14th of September Anodominus 258 the disciples of kiprian martyred in this persecution Verlusius Flavian Victoricus Julian Primalus and Donation At Utica a most terrible tragedy was exhibited 300 Christians were by the orders of the proconsul placed round a burning lime kiln a pan of coals and incense being prepared they were commanded either to sacrifice to Jupiter or to be thrown into the kiln unanimously refusing they bravely jumped into the pit and were immediately suffocated Fructosos Bishofoteregon in Spain and his two deacons Augurius and Eologius were burned for being Christians Alexander Malchus and Priscus three Christians of Palestine with a woman of the same place voluntarily accused themselves of being Christians on which account they were sentenced to be devoured by tigers which sentence was executed accordingly Maxima, Donatilla and Secunda three virgins of Toburga had gold and vinegar given them to drink were then severely scorched tormented on a gibbet rubbed with lime scorched in a critteron worried by wild beasts and at length beheaded It is here proper to take notice of the singular but miserable fate of the emperor Valerian and so long and so terribly persecuted the Christians This tyrant by a stratagem was taken prisoner by Sappor Emperor of Persia who carried him into his own country and there treated him with the utmost unexampled indignity making him kneel down as the meanest slave and treading upon him as a food stall when he mounted his horse After having kept him for the space of seven years in this abject state of slavery he caused his eyes to be put out though he was then 83 years of age This not satiating his desire of revenge he soon after ordered his body to be flayed alive unwrapped with salt under which dormants he expired and thus fell one of the most tyrannical emperors of Rome and one of the greatest persecutors of the Christians Anodomus 260 Galienus the son of Valerian succeeded him and during his reign a few martyrs accepted the church enjoyed peace for some years The ninth persecution under Aurelian Anodomini 274 The principal sufferers were Felix Bishop of Rome This prelate was advanced to the Roman seat in 274 He was the first martyr to Aurelian speciality being beheaded on the 22nd of December in the same year Agapetus a young gentleman who sold his estate and gave the money to the poor was seized as a Christian tortured and then beheaded at Praeneste a city within a day's journey of Rome These are the only martyrs left upon record during this reign as it was soon put to a stop by the emperors being murdered by his own domestics at Byzantium Aurelian was succeeded by Tacitus who was followed by Probus as the latter was by Carus This emperor being killed by a thunderstorm his sons, Carnios and Numerean succeeded him and during all these reigns the church had peace Diocletian mounted the imperial throne on Aurelian 284 At first he showed great favor to the Christians In the year 286 he associated Maximian with him in the empire and some Christians were put to death before any general persecution broke out Among these were Helikian and Primus drop brothers Marcos and Marcellinios were twins natives of Rome and of noble descent their parents were hisans but the tutors to whom the education of the children was interested brought them up as Christians They are constantly at length subdued those who wished them to became pagans and their parents and whole family became converts to a faith they had before reprobated They were martyred by being tied to posts and having their feet pierced with nails After remaining in this situation for a day and a night their sufferings were put an end too by thrusting lances through their bodies Though the wife of the jailer who had the care of the before mentioned martyrs was also converted by them and hung upon a tree with a fire of straw lighted under her When her body was taken down it was thrown into a river with a large stone tied to it in order to sink it In the year of Christ 286 a most remarkable affair occurred A legion of soldiers consisting of 6666 men Contained none but Christians This legion was called the Siban legion because the man had been raised in Sibias They were quartered in the east until the Emperor Maximian ordered them to march to Gaul to assist him against the rebels of Burgundy They passed the Alps into Gaul under the command of Mauritius Candidus and Exupernus They are worthy commanders and at length join the Emperor Maximian about this time ordered a general sacrifice at which the whole army was to assist and likewise he commanded that they should take the oath of allegiance and swear at the same time to assist in the extirpation of Christianity in Gaul Alarmed at these orders each individual of the Siban legion absolutely refused either to sacrifice or take the oath to assist the restriped This so greatly enraged Maximian that he ordered the legion to be decimated that is every 10th man to be selected from the rest and put to the sword This bloody order having been put in execution those who remained alive were still inflexible when a second decimation took place and every 10th man of those living was put to death This second severity made no more impressions than the first had done The soldiers preserved their fortitude and their principles but by the advice of their officers they drew up a loyal remonstrant to the Emperor This it might have been pursued would have softened the Emperor but it had a contrary effect for enraged at their perseverance and unanimity he commanded that the whole legion should be put to death which was accordingly executed by the other troops who cut them to pieces with their swords September 22 286 Alban from whom Saint Alban's in Hertfordshire received its name was the first British martyr Great Britain had received the Gospel of Christ from Lusius the first Christian king but did not suffer from the rage of persecution for many years after He was originally a pagan but converted by a Christian ecclesiastic named Amphibalus whom he sheltered on account of his religion The enemies of Amphibalus having intelligence of the place where he was secreted came to the house of Alban in order to facilitate his escape When the soldiers came he offered himself up as the persons they were seeking for The deceit being detected the governor ordered him to be scorched and then he was sentenced to be beheaded June the 22 Anodominus 287 The venerable Bede assures us that upon this occasion the executioner suddenly became a convert to Christianity and entreated permission to die for Alban or with him obtaining the latter request they were beheaded by a soldier who voluntarily undertook the task of the executioner This happened on the 22nd of June Anodominus 287 At Verolem now St. Albans in Hertford Shire where a magnificent church was erected to his memory about the time of Constantine the Great The edifice being destroyed in the Saxon Wars was rebuilt by Opha king of Mercia and the monastery erected adjoining to it some remains of which are still visible and the church is a noble Gothic structure Faith a Christian female in France was ordered to be broiled upon a grinion and then beheaded Anodominus 287 Quintin was a Christian and a native of Rome but determined to attempt the propagation of the Gospel in Gaul with one Luchian they preached together in Amiens after which Luchian went to Beaumaris for he was martyred Quintin remained in Picardy and was very zealous in his ministry being seized upon as a Christian he was stretched with pulleys until his joints were dislocated his body was sent torn with wires gorges and boiling oil and pitch poured on his naked flesh lighted tortures were applied to his sides and armpits and after he had been thus tortured he was remanded back to prison and died of the barbarities he had suffered 31st of October Anodominus 287 his body was sunk in the Somme the 10th persecution under Diocletian Anodominus 303 under the Roman emperors commonly called the era of the martyrs was occasioned partly by the increasing number and luxury of the Christians and the hatred of Galerius the adopted son of Diocletian who being stimulated by his mother a bigoted pagan never ceased persuading the emperor to enter upon the persecution until he had accomplished his purpose the fatal day fixed upon to commence the bloody war was the 23rd of February Anodominus 303 that being the day in which the terminalia were celebrated and on which as the cruel pagans bursted they hoped to put a termination to Christianity on the appointed day the persecution began in Nicomedia on the morning of which the prefect of that city repaired with a great number of officers and assistants to the church of the Christians where having forced open the doors they seized upon all the sacred books and committed them to the flames the whole of this transaction was in the presence of Diocletian and Galerius who not contended with burning the books had the church leveled with the ground this was followed by a severe edict commanding the destruction of all other Christian churches and books and an order soon succeeded to render Christians of all denominations outlaws the publication of this edict occasioned an immediate martyrdom for a bold Christian not only tore it down from the place to which it was affixed but executed the name of the emperor for his injustice a provocation like this was sufficient to call down the Christian vengeance upon his head he was accordingly seized severely tortured and then burned alive all the Christians were apprehended and imprisoned and Galerius privately ordered the imperial palace to be set on fire that the Christians might be charged as the incendiaries and the plausible pretense given for carrying on the persecution with the greater severities a general sacrifice was commenced and occasioned various martyrdoms no distinction was made of age or sex the name of Christian was so obnoxious to the pagans that all indiscriminately fell sacrifices to their opinions many houses were set on fire and hope Christian families perished in the flames and others had stones fastened about their necks and being tied together were driven into the sea the persecution became general to the masses but more particularly in the east and as it lasted 10 years it is impossible to ascertain the numbers martyred or to enumerate the various modes of martyrdom Drax, gorges, swords, daggers crosses, poison and famine were made use of in various parts to dispatch the Christians and invention was exhausted to devise tortures against such as had no crime and it was exhausted from the wateries of superstition a city of Phrygia consisting entirely of Christians was burned and all the inhabitants perished in the flames tired with slaughter at length several governors of provinces represented to the imperial court the impropriety of such conduct hence many were respited from execution but those they were not put to death as much as possible was done to render their lives miserable many of them having their ears cut off their noses slit their right eyes put out their limbs rendered useless by dreadful dislocations and their flesh seared in conspicuous places with red hot irons it is necessary now to particularize the most conspicuous persons who laid down their lives in martyrdom and this bloody persecution Sebastian a celebrated martyr was born at Narbon in Gaul instructed in the principles of Christianity at Milan and afterward became an officer of the emperor's guard at Rome he remained a true Christian in the midst of idolatry unaltered by the splendors of a court untamed by evil examples and uncontaminated by the hopes of preferment refusing to be a pagan the emperor ordered him to be taken to a field where the city termed the campus martyrs and there to be shot to death with arrows which sentence was executed accordingly some pious Christians coming to the place of execution in order to give his body burial perceived signs of life in him and immediately moving him to a place of security they in a short time affected his recovery and prepared him for a second martyrdom for as soon as he was able to go out he placed himself intentionally in the emperor's way as he was going to the temple and represented him for his various cruelties and unreasonable prejudices against Christianity as soon as the Occultian had overcome his surprise he ordered Sebastian to be seized and carried to a place near the palace and beaten to death and that the Christian should not either use means again to recover or bury his body he ordered that it should be thrown into the common sewer nevertheless a Christian lady named Lukina found means to remove it from the sewer and bury it in the catacombs or repositories of the dead End of Chapter 2 Part 3