Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Vol. 1 (Augustine: Confessions, Letters)

...disapproval or condemnation. He seldom, if ever, discusses and refutes their views. His interests lie evidently in other directions; he is concerned with higher things. A still more strongly marked difference between himself and many churchmen of his age lies in his large liberality toward those of his own day who differed from him on minor points of faith, and his comparative indifference to the divergence of views between the various parties in the Church. In all this, we believe, one sees not simply the inherent nature of the man, but that nature as trained in the school of Pamphilus, the disciple of Origen.

§ 3. The Persecution of Diocletian.

In this delightful circle and engaged in such congenial tasks, time must have passed very happily for Eusebius, until, in 303, the terrible persecution of Diocletian broke upon the Church almost like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. It is not my intention to discuss here the causes of the sudden change of policy on Diocletian’s part or the terrible havoc wrought in the Church (see below, Bk. VIII. chap. 2, note 3 sq.). We are concerned with the persecution only in so far as it bears upon the present subject. In the first year of the persecution, Procopius, the first martyr of Palestine, was put to death at Cæsarea (Eusebius’ Martyrs of Palestine, Cureton’s ed. p. 4), and from that time on, that city—which was an important Christian center—was the scene of a tempest that raged with greater or less violence, and with occasional pauses, for seven years. Eusebius himself was an eyewitness of many martyrdoms there, of which he gives us an account in his Martyrs of Palestine.

The little circle that surrounded Pamphilus did not escape. In the third year of the persecution (Martyrs of Palestine p. 12 sq.), a youth named Apphianus, or Epiphanius (the former is given in the Greek text, the latter in the Syriac), who “resided in the same house with us, confirming himself in godly doctrine, and being instructed by that perfect martyr, Pamphilus” (as Eusebius says), committed an act of fanatical daring that caused his arrest and martyrdom. It seems that without the knowledge of his friends, concealing his design even from those who dwelt in the same house with him, he grabbed the hand of the governor, Arbanus, who was on the point of sacrificing, and endeavored to dissuade him from offering to “lifeless idols and wicked devils.” His arrest was, of course, the natural consequence, and he had the glory of witnessing a good profession and suffering a triumphant death.

Although Eusebius speaks with such admiration of his conduct, it is quite significant of the attitude of himself, and of most of his circle, that Apphianus felt obliged to conceal his purpose from them. He undoubtedly feared that they would not permit him to perform the rash act he meditated. We may conclude from that, that the circle in the main was governed by the precepts of good common sense and avoided the fanaticism that so frequently led men, as it led Apphianus, to expose themselves needlessly and even to court martyrdom. It is plain enough from what we know of Eusebius’ general character that he himself was too sensible to act in that way. It is true that he speaks with admiration of Apphianus’ conduct, and in Church History VIII. 5, of the equally rash procedure of a Nicomedian Christian; but that does not imply that he considered their course the wisest one, or that he would not rather recommend the employment of all proper and honorable precautions for the preservation of life. Indeed, in Church History IV. 15, he speaks with evident approval of the prudent course pursued by Polycarp in preserving his life so long as he could without violating his Christian profession, and with manifest disapproval of the rash act of the Phrygian Quintus, who presumptuously courted martyrdom, only to fail when the test itself came. Pamphilus also possessed too much sound Christian sense to advocate or practice any such fanaticism, as is plain from the fact that he was not arrested until the fifth year of the persecution. This unhealthy state of mind in the midst of persecution was indeed almost universally condemned by the wisest men of the Church, yet the boldness and the very rashness of those who thus voluntarily and needlessly threw their lives away excited widespread admiration and, too often, a degree [of imitation].