To Bishop Irenaeus, on Two Martyrs and the Sea

Comparisons of this kind are forbidden by the divine apostle. In his letter to the Romans he writes, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and make known the purposes of the heart. And then each one will have his praise from God.” And he is quite right. We can see only outward deeds, but the God of all knows also the intention of those who do them, and when he passes sentence he judges not so much the deed as the will. So he will crown the divine apostle, who became to the Jews as a Jew, to those under the law as one under the law, and to those without the law as one without the law. His aim in putting on this actor’s mask was to do good to people. His was no opportunist’s career. The gain he got was loss, but he won the good of those he taught. As I said, then, the divine Paul tells us to wait for the judgment of God. But we are venturing on lofty themes. We are handling a theology beyond understanding and beyond words. We are not seeking out blasphemous positions, as the unholy heretics do, but trying to refute their impiety and, as far as we can, to give praise to the Creator. So we will do nothing unreasonable in trying to answer your question. [a]

You have put to me the case of an impious judge who gave two athletes of true religion a choice: either sacrifice to demons or throw themselves into the sea. You describe the first as choosing the sea and plunging into the deep without hesitating. The second refused both. He showed just as much horror of the worship of idols as his companion, but he would not commit himself to the waves, and waited for that fate to be forced on him by violence. You have put this case to me, and you ask which of the two took the better course. I think you will agree with me that the second was more praiseworthy. No one ought to take himself out of life unbidden. He should wait for either a natural or a violent death. Our Lord taught us this when he told those who are persecuted in one city to flee to another, and again told them to leave that one too and go to another. In obedience to this teaching the divine apostle escaped the violence of the governor of the city. He did not hesitate to tell how he fled, but spoke of the basket, the wall and the window, and boasted and gloried in what he did. For what looks discreditable is made honorable by the divine command. In the same way the apostle called himself at one time a Pharisee and at another a Roman, not because he was afraid of death, but because these were fair tactics in a fight. In the same way, when he learned of the Jews’ plot against him, he appealed to Caesar, and sent his sister’s son to the commander to report the schemes being hatched against him. He did this not because he clung to this present life, but in obedience to the divine law. For surely our Lord does not want us to throw ourselves into obvious danger. He taught us this by deed as well as by word, for more than once he escaped the murderous violence of the Jews. And the great Peter, first of the apostles, when he was freed from his chains and had escaped from the hands of Herod, came to the house of John, who was called Mark. He relieved his friends’ anxiety by his visit and told them to keep silent, and then went off to another house, trying to hide himself more effectively by moving. We will find just the same kind of wisdom in the Old Testament. The famous Moses acted bravely in his struggle with the Egyptian, but the next day he found out that the killing had become known. So he ran away, traveled a long journey, and came to the land of Midian. In the same way the great Elijah, when he learned of Jezebel’s threats, did not give himself up to those who wanted to kill him, but left the world and hurried to the desert. And if it is right and pleasing to God to escape the violence of our enemies, surely it is far more right to refuse to obey them when they order a man to become his own murderer. Our Lord did not give in to the devil when he told him to throw himself down. And when the devil had armed the hands of the Jews against him with the scourge, the thorns and the nails, and creation itself was urging him to bring utter destruction on his wicked enemies, the Lord himself forbade it, because he knew that his suffering was bringing salvation to the world. That is why, just before his suffering, he said to his apostles, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation,” and taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Now let us shift our ground a little, and we will see our way more clearly. Let us take the sea out of the argument, and suppose that the judge had given each of the martyrs a sword, and ordered the one who refused to sacrifice to cut off his own head. Who in his right mind would have brought himself to redden his hand with his own blood, become his own executioner, and lift his hand against himself, in obedience to the judge’s order? [c]

Clearly your second martyr deserves the higher praise. The first does indeed deserve credit for his zeal, but the second is adorned with sound judgment as well. I have answered you according to the measure of wisdom given to me. He who knows thoughts as well as deeds will show which of the two was right, in the day of his appearing.