Cyprian

“ For you, by God’s will, when you confessed, not only frightened back the great serpent himself, the pioneer of Antichrist, [2] (but) have conquered him, by that voice and those divine words, whereby I know how you love the faith, and how zealous you are for Christ’s discipline, in which I know and rejoice that you are actively occupied. ”

“ And therefore, brother, as here, since the Lord has begun to give peace to the Church itself, according to the precept of Paulus, and our tractate, the case being set forth before the bishop, and confession being made, I ask that not only these may have peace, but also (all) those whom you know to be very near to our heart. ”

“ Moreover, all of us whom the Lord has condescended in such tribulation to call away, by our letters, by mutual agreement, have given peace to all. You see, then, brother, how (I have done this) in part of what Paulus bade me, as what we in all cases decreed when we were in this tribulation, wherein by the command of the emperor we were ordered to be put to death by hunger and thirst, and were shut up in two cells, that so they might weaken us by hunger and thirst. Moreover, the fire from the effect of our torture was so intolerable [4] that nobody could bear it. ”