Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

210 THE FIEST AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.were not exempt from this severity. We findTrajan acting upon this law in the year 111, whenPliny, being governor of Bithynia, brings expresslycase of the Christians before him. And theterms in which he does this show at once the temperof the Roman magistrate in such cases and thestateof the law.have never been present," he says, "atthe trials of Christians, and therefore do not knoweither the nature of their crime, or the degree ofthe punishment, or how far examination should go.And I have been in great hesitation whether agemade any difference, or the tender should not bedistinguished from the strong; whether they shouldbe pardoned upon repentance, or, when once a manhad been a Christian, ceasing to be so should notprofit him; or whether the mere profession withoutany crime, or whether the crimes involved in theprofession should be punished. In the mean time,with regard to those brought before me as Christians,my practice has been this : I asked them ifthey were Christians. If they admitted it, I putthe question a second and a third time, threateningthem with death. If they persevered, I orderedthem to be led away to execution.38 For whateverto have been a senator, having m;Senate, suffers martyrdom.38 Duel jussi (confer Acts xii. 19, The extremebrevity with which the most urbane, kind-hearted, and accomplished ofmen as Mr. Merivale conceives himhaving ordered a number of men and women to be put to death for theprofession of Christianity, is remarkable and significant. Compare it