To the Martyrs 6

But let us leave aside these examples of constancy that come from mere craving. Let us turn to the contemplation of the human condition itself, so that it too may instruct us whether things that commonly befall even the unwilling are to be faced with constancy. How often have fires burned people alive? How often have beasts, both in their forests and in the middle of cities, having escaped their cages, devoured people? How many have been killed by robbers with the sword, by enemies even with the cross, after first being tortured, indeed, finished off with every outrage? Anyone can suffer, even for the sake of a man, what he hesitates to suffer in the cause of God. Of this let even the present times be proof to us: how many persons, and of what rank, have met ends unexpected for their birth, their dignities, their bodies, and their ages, for the sake of a man: either at his hands, if they acted against him, or at the hands of his adversaries, if they stood by him.