Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/201

 OF THE KOINIAN EMPIRE. 183 and, if he possessed the smallest degree of manly for- C f I A P. titude, rather to expose himself to the most cruel tor- _.J tares, than by a single act to exchange the reputation of a whole life, for the abhorrence of his christian bre- thren, and the contempt of the gentile world. But if the zeal of Cyprian was supported by the sincere conviction of the truth of those doctrines which he preached, the crown of martyrdom must have appeared to him as an object of desire rather than of terror. It is not easy to extract any distinct ideas from the vague though eloquent declamations of the fathers, or to as- certain the degree of immortal glory and happiness which they confidently promised to those who were so fortunate as to shed their blood in the cause of reli- gion". They inculcated with becoming diligence, that the fire of martyrdom supplied every defect and ex- piated every sin; that while the souls of ordinary chris- tians were obliged to pass through a slow and painful purification, the triumphant sufferers entered into the hnmediate fruition of eternal bliss, where, in the society of the patriarchs, the apostles, and the prophets, they reigned with Christ, and acted as his assessors in the universal judgement of mankind. The assurance of a lasting reputation upon earth, a motive so congenial to the vanity of human nature, often served to animate the courage of the martyrs. The honours which Rome or Athens bestowed on those citizens who had fallen in the cause of their country, were cold and unmeaning demonstrations of respect, when compared with the ardent gratitude and devotion which the primitive church expressed towards the victorious cham})ions of the faith. The annual commemoration of their virtues and sufferings was observed as a sacred ceremony, and Thomas Becket, we must acknowledge that he suffered death with a con- stancy not unworthy of the primitive martyrs. See lord Lyttelton's History of Henry the second, vol. ii. p. 592, etc. " See in particular the treatise of Cyprian de Lapsis, p. 87 — 98. edit. Fell. The learning of Dodwell (Dissertat. Cyprianic. xii. xiii.) and the in- genuity of INliddleton, (Free Enquiry, p. 162, etc.) have left scarcely any thing to add concerning the merit, the honours, and the motives of the martyrs.