The Rule the Martyrs Kept

So the saints, as I said before, were abundantly kept safe in their flight by the Providence of God, like physicians, for the sake of those who were in need. And to all people in general, even to us, this law is given: to flee when persecuted and to hide when sought, and not to tempt the Lord rashly, but to wait, as I said above, until the appointed time of death arrives, or the Judge decides something about them, as seems good to him. People should be ready, so that when the time calls, or when they are taken, they may contend for the truth even to death. This rule the blessed martyrs kept in their various persecutions. When persecuted they fled; while in hiding they showed courage; and when discovered they submitted to martyrdom. And if some of them came and presented themselves to their persecutors, they did not do it without reason. For in that case they were martyred at once, and so made it plain to all that their zeal, and this offering of themselves to their enemies, came from the Spirit.