TACITUS (c.56 - c.125) - The Fire of
But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the
propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief
that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently,
to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted
the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their
abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus,
from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty
during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our
procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a
most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke
out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil,
but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from
every part of the world find their centre and become popular.
Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded
guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was
convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of
hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and
perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the
flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when
daylight had expired.
Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a
show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals
who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a
feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the
public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were
being destroyed.
Pliny to the Emperor Trajan
It is my practice, my lord, to refer
to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give
guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in
trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses
it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have
been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on
account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature;
whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a
Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name
itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.
Meanwhile, in the case of those who
were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I
interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I
interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those
who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature
of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be
punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were
Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to
Soon accusations spread, as usually
happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred.
An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those
who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in
words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which
I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods,
and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really Christians, it
is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should be discharged. Others
named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it,
asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before,
others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your
image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.
They asserted, however, that the sum
and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to
meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a
god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit
fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a
trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to
depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent
food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which,
in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden
political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find
out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called
deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive
superstition.
I therefore postponed the
investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to
warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many
persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be
endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the
cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and
cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost
deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites,
long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals
are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is
easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity
for repentance is afforded.
You observed proper
procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced
to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to
serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are
denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation,
that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by
worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall
obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to
have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of
precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.
THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP (c.69-166)
The magistrate tried to persuade
Polycarp to sacrifice to the gods; but finding that
he could make nothing of him, he pushed him out of the chariot so roughly that
the old man fell and broke his leg. But Polycarp bore
the pain without showing how much he was hurt, and the soldiers led him into
the amphitheatre, where great numbers of people were gathered together. When
all these saw him, they set up loud cries of rage and savage delight; but Polycarp thought, as he entered the place, that he heard a
voice saying to him, "Be strong and play the man!" and he did not
heed all the shouting of the crowd. The governor desired him to deny Christ,
and said that, if he would, his life should be spared. But the faithful bishop
answered "Fourscore and six years have I served Christ, and He hath never
done me wrong; how then can I now blaspheme my King
and Saviour?" The governor again and again urged him, as if in a friendly
way, to sacrifice; but Polycarp stedfastly
refused. He next threatened to let wild beasts loose on him, and as Polycarp still showed no fear, he said that he would burn
him alive. "You threaten me," said the bishop, "with a fire
which lasts but a short time; but you know not of that eternal fire which is
prepared for the wicked." A stake was then set up, and a pile of wood was
collected around it. Polycarp walked to the place
with a calm and cheerful look, and, as the executioners were
/going to fasten him to the stake with iron cramps, he begged them to spare
themselves the trouble. "He who gives me the strength to bear the
flames," he said. "will enable me to remain
steady." He was therefore only tied to the stake with cords, and as he
stood thus bound, he uttered a thanksgiving for being allowed to suffer after
the pattern of his Lord and Saviour.
When his prayer was ended, the wood was set on fire, but we are told
that the flames swept round him, looking like the sail of a ship swollen by the
wind, while he remained unhurt in the midst of them. One of the executioners,
seeing this, plunged a sword into the martyr's breast, and the blood rushed
forth in such a stream that it put out the fire. But the persecutors, who were
resolved that the Christians should not have their bishop's body, lighted the
wood again, and burnt the corpse, so that only a few of the bones remained; and
these the Christians gathered out, and gave them an honourable burial. It was
on Easter eve that St. Polycarp suffered, in the year
of our Lord 166.