Christian and Pagan in the Roman Empire

4. To the Martyrs

4 T O T H E M A R T Y R S Introduction For several reasons this little treatise deserves a place in a collection that attempts to elucidate the Christian response to a pagan world. First, the treatise introduces us, if a little obliquely, to some of the circumstances concomitant with the confession of the Name before the pagans. If we may judge from the account of the martyrdom of Perpetua and her companions, written shortly after this treatise,1 Christians found themselves in prison not as a punishment for their confession, but either to await trial before the governor, or to await their death after they had stood trial and made their confession. We can see from this treatise , as also from the diary of Perpetua, that prisons in the Roman world were dark and unpleasant. Moreover, food and clothing had to be supplied by friends and relatives. The first chapter of To the Martyrs indicates that the Church undertook to supply the physical needs of Christian prisoners; by contrast Tertullian offers his treatise as a contribution to their spiritual needs. Further, the circumstances of the prison could easily give rise to contention among the confessors—strife might arise even from the custom, to which Tertullian alludes here, of martyrs -designate offering the peace of the Church (in effect, for1 . For the dating of To the Martyrs (197), see the general introduction, p. xvii, above. For the martyrdom of Perpetua and her companions, see Spectacles, n. 59, and Apology, nn. 16 and 13. 107 giveness) to those who had denied the faith under the pressure of pagan persecution. A half century later the correspondence of Cyprian, bishop of Carthage during the Decian persecution, would add vivid detail to the allusive generalities of Tertullian. In the second place, the treatise reflects the strong sense that Christianity and paganism constituted opposing worlds. In chapter 2 Tertullian offers comfort to the prisoners on the grounds that they are now free to construct in the prison their own “Christian” world, removed as they are from the inescapable idolatry and degradation of pagan society. Strikingly, it is the contrast between the pagan and Christian world that legitimizes the introduction of “pagan martyrs” in chapter 4: if pagans have suffered thus, what should Christians not be willing to suffer? Finally, the metaphors of soldier and athlete in chapter 3 reflect the fundamental conception of martyrdom generally held by the early Christians: confession of the Name played a climactic part in the Christian’s warfare against the demonic, for the struggle to death was both combat and contest with Satanic power, and the Christian’s death, like the death of Christ itself, was a decisive and major victory over the devil. It was above all in martyrdom that the Church confronted the evil powers that fed and controlled the idolatrous and degrading structures of the social and political life of paganism. The Text c h a p t e r 1 (1) Blessed martyrs elect,2 along with the nourishment for the body that our Lady Mother the Church from her breasts,3 108 t e r t u l l i a n 2. The Latin Church adopted the word “martyr” from the Greek martys (stem martyr), meaning “witness.” While the word might be used to refer to anyone who made a public confession of faith, especially in the face of hostile powers , in time its use came to be restricted to refer to those who had confessed and been punished, while the term “confessor” was given to those who had confessed but had not yet been punished. “Elect” here translates designati, “those appointed martyrs,” which qualifies the confessors’ right to the unrestricted use of the word “martyr.” The word is carefully studied in Graham Clarke, ed. and trans., The Letters of Cyprian of Carthage, vol. 1, Ancient Christian Writers, vol. 43 (New York, N.Y.: Newman Press, 1984); see esp. the notes to Epp. 10 and 15. 3. For the image of “lady,” see 2 John 1 and 5. The significance of the im- as well as individual brethren from their private resources, furnishes you in prison,4 accept also from me some offering that will contribute to the sustenance of the spirit. For it is not good that the flesh be feasted while the spirit goes hungry.5 (2) Not that I am specially entitled to exhort you. Yet...