Cyprian & Lactantius · a new plain-English translation from the original language
Letter XII. Cyprian to the presbyters and deacons, his brothers, greeting. Although I know that you, dearest brothers, have often been reminded by my letters that every care should be shown to those who confess the Lord with a glorious voice and are held in prison, still I press this upon you again and again, so that nothing may be lacking to their comfort who lack nothing for their glory. And would that the condition of my place and rank allowed me to be present myself now: I would gladly and readily fulfill, in the customary ministry, every office of our love toward these bravest of brothers. But let your diligence stand in for my office and do all that ought to be done for those whom the divine favor has made illustrious by such merits of faith and courage. And to the bodies also of all who, even though they were not tortured, nevertheless depart from prison by a glorious death, let a more watchful care and concern be shown. For their virtue and honor are no less, so that they too should be counted among the blessed martyrs. What lay in their power they endured, whatever they were ready and eager to endure. He who offered himself to torments and death before the eyes of God suffered whatever he was willing to suffer; it was not that he lacked the torments, but the torments lacked him. "Whoever will have confessed me before men, I too will confess him before my Father," says the Lord — they have confessed. "He who endures to the end will be saved," says the Lord — they endured, and all the way to the end they bore onward the merits of their virtues, untainted and whole. And again it is written: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" — faithful unto death they have arrived, steadfast and unconquerable. When to our will and confession in prison and in chains the end of dying is added, the glory of martyrdom is made complete. Finally, note also the days on which they depart, so that we may be able to celebrate their commemorations among the memorials of the martyrs — though Tertullus, our most faithful and devoted brother, among the other cares and concerns which he shows the brothers in every service of his labor, and who is not lacking even there in caring for the bodies, has written and will write and inform me of the days on which our blessed brothers pass in prison, through the outcome of a glorious death, into immortality, so that here among us offerings and sacrifices may be celebrated for their remembrance; these, God protecting us, we shall celebrate before long in your company. Let your care and diligence also not fail the poor, as I have already often written, those, that is, who stand firm in the faith and, fighting bravely alongside us, have not abandoned the camp of Christ: to these indeed greater love and care ought now to be shown by us, since, driven neither by poverty nor cast down by the storm of persecution, as they serve the Lord faithfully, they have set before the rest of the poor a pattern of faith to follow. Dearest brothers, whom I long for so much, may you always be well, and keep me in your thoughts; convey my greeting to the brotherhood. [Farewell.]
Letter XIII. Cyprian to Rogatianus the presbyter and to the rest of the confessor-brothers, greeting. Some while back, dearest and bravest brothers, I had already sent a letter rejoicing over your faith and courage in exultant terms; and even now my chief concern is simply this: with a glad heart, again and again, to proclaim the glory of your name. For what greater or better wish could I hold than to see Christ's flock lit up by the honor of your confession? Since every brother is bound to rejoice at this, within that shared joy the bishop's portion runs deeper still; for a church's glory is nothing other than its leader's glory. Just as we grieve over those the hostile storm brought down, so equally we take joy in you, whom the devil failed to overpower. Still, by the faith we hold in common, and by the genuine, unaffected love our hearts bear you, we urge you, who defeated the adversary in this opening clash, to hold onto your glory through courage that does not waver. We remain in the world still, still drawn up in battle-line, contending daily for our very life. Effort is needed, so that beyond these beginnings you press on toward growth, and what you launched with such fortunate first steps reaches completion in you. To have managed to gain something is a small thing; the greater thing is being able to hold on to what you gained — just as faith itself, and the saving birth, give life not merely by being received, but by being guarded afterward. It is not the initial gain but the eventual completion that keeps a person safe for God. The Lord taught exactly this through his own instruction, saying, "Look, you have been healed — sin no more, so that nothing worse befalls you." Picture him saying the same thing to his confessor: "Look, you have become a confessor — sin no more, so that nothing worse befalls you." Consider Solomon, and Saul, and many others besides: for as long as they strayed from the Lord's paths, they could not hold on to the grace given them — once the Lord's discipline left them, grace departed along with it. We must keep to the narrow, cramped path that leads to praise and glory; and since calm, humility, and the settled peace of good conduct suit every Christian — for God's own word looks to no one except the person who is humble, quiet, and trembles at his sayings — confessors above all are bound to keep and practice this, since you have become the pattern for the other brothers, the model by which everyone's conduct and behavior ought to be measured. For just as the Jews became estranged from God — and because of them his name is cursed among the nations — so, on the other hand, those are precious to God through whose good order the Lord's name gets proclaimed with praise, exactly as it stands written, the Lord giving this warning beforehand: "Your light must shine in front of everyone, so that they can look at your good deeds and give glory to your Father in the heavens." And the apostle Paul says: "Shine as lamps within the world." Peter gives a similar exhortation: "As foreigners and travelers," he says, "hold yourselves back from fleshly cravings, which wage war against the soul; keep your manner of life upright among the pagans, so that even while they speak ill of you as wrongdoers, they will look at your good deeds and end up glorifying God." Most of you, I am glad to say, take this seriously; made better by the honor your confession brought, you protect and preserve your glory through a peaceable, upright manner of life. Yet word reaches me that a few are tainting your ranks and wrecking the praise attached to your distinguished name through their own corrupt behavior — men whom you yourselves, being the ones who love and guard that praise, ought to scold, restrain, and set right. Think how much shame is heaped on your name when one man lingers about, drunk and indecent, or another slips back to the very homeland he was banished from, only to be caught and die not as a Christian but as a criminal. I hear too that some are growing puffed up and swollen with conceit, though it is written: "Do not think too highly of yourself, but be afraid — for if God spared not even the natural branches, he may well not spare you either." Our Lord was brought like a sheep to slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, he did not open his mouth: "I am not," he says, "defiant, nor do I argue back. I offered my back to the lash and my cheeks to the blows; I did not turn my face away from the disgrace of spitting." And yet does anyone, living now through him and within him, still dare to swell with pride, forgetting both the deeds he performed and the commands he handed down, whether directly or through his apostles? Given that no servant outranks his master, those who follow the Lord ought to trace his footsteps in humility, calm, and silence — for whoever ranks lowest becomes the greatest, as the Lord states: "Whoever is least among you, that one shall be great." Then again — and this ought to strike you as detestable — we have learned, with the deepest groaning and grief of spirit, that there is no shortage of men who defile God's temples, sanctified and made splendid by confession, staining their own bodies through shameful, disreputable union, sharing beds indiscriminately with women. Even granting that no actual sexual sin weighs on their conscience, it remains a serious offense in itself that their scandal breeds examples leading others to ruin. Nor should there be quarrels or rivalries among us, given that the Lord bequeathed us his peace and it stands written: "You are to love your neighbor as yourself." But if you go on biting and blaming one another, watch that you are not devoured by one another. I beg you also to steer clear of insults and cursing, since those who curse will not inherit God's kingdom, and a tongue that once confessed Christ must be kept whole and clean, along with its own dignity. For whoever speaks what is peaceable, good, and just, in keeping with Christ's command, confesses Christ anew each day. We had already renounced the world at our baptism; yet only now do we truly renounce it, since, tested and approved by God, having left behind everything of our own, we follow the Lord, living and standing firm in fear of him and faith. Let us build one another up through mutual encouragement and advance ever further in the Lord, so that once he, in his mercy, brings about the peace he has promised, we may come back to the church as new men, almost transformed — met by our brothers and by the pagans alike as people corrected in every respect and reshaped for the better, so that those who once admired the glory of our courage under trial may now admire instead the discipline of our conduct. Dearest brother, I wish you lasting good health.
Letter XIV. Cyprian to the presbyters and deacons, his brothers, greeting. I had truly hoped, dearest brothers, to send my letter in greeting to our entire clergy, whole and untouched by harm. But since the raging storm that struck down most of our people has, on this front too, piled fresh grief upon us by cutting into a portion of the clergy as well, we pray the Lord that going forward, through his divine mercy, we may greet as safe those of you whom we recognize as standing firm in both faith and courage. And though the situation urged me to hurry to you in person — first from sheer longing for you, which sits at the top of my wishes, and then so we might jointly weigh what the common good demands for steering the church, refining it through the counsel of many — it still seemed wiser, for now, to stay hidden and quiet, out of concern for other advantages bearing on the peace and safety of all of us. Tertullus, our dearest brother, will give you the reasons for this; besides the rest of the diligent effort he pours into the works of God, he was also the one who urged this course, that I remain careful and restrained and not rashly show my face in public, above all in that place where I had so often been sought out and demanded. Trusting, then, in your love and devotion, which I know well, I both urge and instruct you through this letter: since your presence there draws far less resentment and danger than mine would, act in my place in carrying out what the church's administration requires. Meanwhile let care for the poor be maintained as far as circumstances allow — for those, that is, who have stood by unshaken faith and never left Christ's flock — so that through your diligence they receive the means to bear their hardship, lest need succeed, against them once they are struggling, where the storm failed against them while they stood confident. Show a still greater measure of care to the glorious confessors as well. Although I know that most of these have already been taken in hand by the brothers' devotion and goodwill, still, if any lack clothing or supplies — as I had written to you before, back when they were still confined in prison — let whatever they need be provided; only see that they learn from you, and are taught and come to understand what church discipline, following the teaching of Scripture, requires of them: that they must be humble, modest, and quiet, so as to protect the honor attached to their name, so that those glorious in voice may prove glorious in conduct too, and thereby show themselves worthy — so that, earning the Lord's favor in everything, they may reach the heavenly crown once their praise is brought to completion. For more still lies ahead of them than what already appears behind them, since it is written: "Do not praise anyone before his death," and again, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life," and the Lord likewise says, "The one who holds out to the very end will be saved." The Lord himself should be their pattern: at the very hour of his suffering, humility grew in him rather than pride, and it was in that hour that he knelt down to wash the feet of his disciples, telling them, "Since I, your master and lord, have knelt to wash your feet, the duty falls to you likewise, that you wash the feet of one another; what I have done for you stands as a model, so that you would treat others exactly as I have treated you." Let them likewise follow the teaching of Paul the apostle, who, after repeated imprisonment, after floggings, after wild beasts, stayed gentle and humble through it all, and even after being caught up to the third heaven and paradise claimed nothing for himself out of arrogance, saying: "We did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but toiled night and day in labor and exhaustion, so as not to weigh any of you down." I beg you, drive each of these points home to our brothers. And since whoever humbles himself will be lifted up, now more than ever they must fear the adversary lurking in ambush, who presses hardest against the strongest, and, sharpened by the very defeat he has suffered, tries to overcome the one who overcame him. The Lord will grant that I too may see them and, through a wholesome exhortation, steady their minds toward guarding their glory. For it grieves me to hear that some are behaving shamelessly and recklessly, wasting themselves on foolishness and quarrels, fouling through illicit unions bodies that belong to Christ and have already confessed him, refusing to be governed by deacons or presbyters — acting so that the corrupt, wicked conduct of a few taints the honest glory belonging to the many good confessors. Those men ought instead to be respected, for fear that, once condemned by their own testimony and judgment, they be cut off from fellowship with them. For only that confessor is truly illustrious and genuine of whom the church later feels no shame, but rather takes pride in. As for the matter our fellow presbyters Donatus, Fortunatus, Novatus, and Gordius wrote to me about, I could not answer any of it on my own, since from the very start of my time as bishop I decided never to act on my private judgment alone, apart from your counsel and the people's consent. But once I come to you, by God's grace, we shall then deal together with what has already been done or still needs doing, as the respect we owe each other requires. Dearest brothers, whom I long for above all, may you always fare well and keep me in mind. Give my warm greeting to whatever brotherhood remains with you, and remind them to remember us. Farewell.