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glorious vii iness of God, composed many Writ-ings Whereby the memory os his Worthy name Sur vives ; and although the profuso fertiliu of his eloquence and of God's grace so expands itself in tho exuberance and richness of his discourse, that he will probably never cease to speah even to the end of the world;yet, since to his morks and deseris it is justly duo that his example should be recorded in Wriling, I have thought it weli to prepare this bries and compendious narrative. Notthat tho lise of so great a man can be unknown to any evon of the heathen nations, but that to our posteri also this incomparabie and losty patiem may be prolonged into immortal remembrance. It would assuredly be hard that, whon Our sathers have given such honour even to laypeoplo and catechumens Who have obtained martyrdom, forreverence of their Very martyrdom, as to record many, or Iliad nearly said, weli nigh all, of tho circumstances of their sufferings, so that they might be brought to our knowledgealso who as Fet were not born, the passion of such a priestand such a martyr as Cyprian should be passed Over, Whο,
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worid. And, indeed, these doings of his mere such, and sogreat, and so admirabie, that I am deterred by the contemplation of their greatness, and consess myself incompetent todiscourse in a way that shali M Worthy of the honour of his deseris, and unable to relate such nobio deeds in such a Waythat they may appear as great as in faci they are, excepi statino multitudo of his glories is iueis suffcient for iraeli, and netas no Other heraldo. It en hances my dissicultri that Fou also are anxious to hear very much, or ii it be possibis
2. At What potnt, then, shali I begin,-srom What directionshali I approach the description of his goodness, excepi Domino beginning of his salth and irom his heavenly blath
in comparison of the observance of continen . For he
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thought that tho heari might then become What it ought tobe, and the mind attain to the fuit capaci os truth, ii hotrod undor fisi tho lust of tho flesti milli tho robust and healthy vimur of holiness. Who has ever recorded sucha marvel' His second birth had not yet enlightened thoneW man with the entire splendour of the divino light, yetho Was Hready overcoming the ancient and pristine daanem by the mere daWning of the light. Then-What is evengreater-When he had learned hom the reading οξ Scriptum certain things not according to the condition of his noviciate, but in proportion to the earlinem of his salth, he immediateblaid hold of What he had discovered, for his own aduantam
in deseruing meli os God. By distributing his means fortho relies of the indigenes of the poοr, by dispensing the
purchas money of entire estates, he at onco realized two benefila,- the contempt of this Worid's ambition, than whichnothing is more pernicious, and the observance of that mercy
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THE LIM AND PASSION OF CYPRIAM in any respect sin against God. Ηo fidit, and I thinh hoatone, furnished an illustration that greater progress is made by faith than by time. For although in the Acts of tho Apostles in the eunuch is described as at onco baptizod is Philip, beeauso he belleved with his Whole heari, this is nota fair parallel. For he was a JeW, and as he came frem thotemplo of the Lord he was reading the prophet Isaiah, and ho hoped in Christ, although as yet he did not belleus that
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-E LIM AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN. xvii Nossing his God mith a gratesul faith even in his adversity.
4. IIo had a closo association among us With a just man, and of presseW thy memor' by name Caecilius, and in ageas Weli as in honour a presbyter, Who had converted his hom his Worldly errore to the achno ted ent of the true divinity. This man ho loved with ontiro hononr and allobservance, regarding him With an obedient veneration, notonly as the friend and coinrade of his mul, but as the parent of his now liso. And at length ho, influenced by his attemtions, Was, as Weli he might be, stimulated to such a piteli ofexcessive love, that When he Was departing hom this morid, and his summons mas at hand, he commended in him his missand chil Men ; so that him Whom he had mado a pariner in the followship of his Way os lite, he aftem da made tho heiros his affection. 5. It would bo tedious to go throno individual circumstances, it Would be laborious to enumerate ali his doings.
the people, he Was chosen to the office of tho priosthood and tho degree of tho episcopale while stili a neophyte, and, as it Was considere' a novice. Although stili in tho early dvs of his salth, and in tho untaught season of his spiritual lis' a generous disposition so stione sortii in him, that althoughnot yet resplendent With tho glitter of offce, but only of hope, he gave promise of entire trust orthinem for thopriesthood that Was coming upon him. Μοrmver, I milinoi paas over that remactabis faci, of the Way in Which,
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cliam to so great honour, so that he thus became more morthy. For he is made more Worthy Who dispenses Withwhat he deserves. And with this excitement xvere the eager
apostolic experience might then have happened to him, as hodestred, of being let doWn throuo a mindoW, had he also been equat to tho apostle in the honour os ordination. It was plain to bs seen that ali the rest Were expecting his comingwith an anxious spirit os suspense, and received him When hocame Willi excessive joy. I speis unWillin y, but I must
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TAE L E AND PASSION OF CYPRIAM
he who in the secret recesses of his conscience Was ricli in thoiuli honour os religion and faith, should moreover be renownedin the publicly diffused report of the Gentiles. He might,
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Who Was there to raise up such great martyra by the exho talion of his divine discourso Τ Who was there, in Ahori, to animate so many consessors fealed Mith a second inscription ontheir distinguished brows, and reserved alive for an exampleos martyrdom, kindling their ardour With a heavenly trumpet 'Fortunately, fortunately it occurred then, and truly by the
Spiries direction, that tho man who was needed for so many and so excellent purposes Was Withheld froin the consumma
touched stlotly on the matter. By What appears subs quently to havs occurred, it sollοWs that me may provo thatthat withdra at was not conceived by human pusillanimi , but, as indeed is the case, Was truly divine. The unusualand violent rage of a cruei persecution had laid wasto God'speoplo; and since the ansul enomy could not deceive ali isone haud, Whereuer the incauticus soldier laid baro his fide, them in various manifestations of rage he had destroyed individuals With different hinds of overthrow. There needed
the various art of the attaching enem' use the remedy of tho celestiat medicine according to the nature of the wound, either for culting or tor cherishing them. A man was pr served of an intelligenco, besides other excellerices, also spiritualty trained, Who belWeen the refounding waves of the opposing schisms could siser the middie course of tho church
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many, and, by the contemplation os a tot which in their turnwould bo thetis, demanded the pity of the passer is forthemselves. No one regarded anything besides his cruel gains. No one trembled at tho remembrance of a similar event. No ouo did in another What he himself Wished is experience. In these circumstances, it Would M a Wrong to pras overwhat tho pontiss of Christ did, who excelled tho pontiffs of the w id as much in Endly affection as he did in truth os religion. On the peoplo assembled together in one placo lis firat os allurged the benefiis os mercy, teaching is examples hom divine
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THE LIM AND PASSION OF CYPRIAMoxample os his Father It hecomes us,' said he, tonus er to our birth ; and it is not fitting that those who amovidently born os God should bo degenerate, but rather that the propagation of a good Father should be proved in Hisostspring by the emulation os His goodness. 10. I omit many other matters, and, indeed, many important ones, Which the necessity of a limited space does notpermit to bo delailed in more longiliened discourse, and con- cerning Whicli this much is sum cient to havo been said. Butis tho Gentilos could have hoard these things as they stoodbesore the rostrum, they Would probably at once have belleved. What, then, should a Christian people do, Whose Very namo procoeds frem salthi Thiis the ministrations are constantly di tributed according to the quality of the men and their degrees. Many Who, by the stratin ess os poVerty, Were unable to manifesttho hindness of wealth, manifested more than wealth, mining up by their oWn labour a service dearer than ali riches. Andunder such a teachor, Who Would not press formard to be found in some pari os such a Warsare, Whereby he might pleaso both God the Father, and Christ the Judge, and for the presentso excellent a priest ' Thus What is good was dono in tholiberality of Overeo ing Works to ali men, not to those onlywho are os the liousehold of faith. Somothing more Wasdono than is recorded of the incomparabie benevoloneo ofTobias. Ηe must sorgive, and forgive again, and frequently largive; or, to speah more truly, he must os right concedo that, although very much might be done betare Christ, yetthat something more might be done astor Christ, since to Histimes ali fulness is attributed. Tobias collected together those who wero flain by the king and cast out, os his oWn race only. 11. Banishment followed these actions, so good and sobenevolent. For impiety alWays mahes this retum, that itrepays the better With the worse. And what God's priost replied to the interrogation of the proconsul, there are Acts whicli relate. In the meantime, he is excluded from thociu Who had done some good for the ciu's saia ,-he Whohad striven that the eyes of the living should not suffer tho horrors of the infernat abode,-he, I say, Who, vigilant in the