the Thebaid.

Christian subjects in those days longed to be smitten with the sword
for the name of Christ. But the crafty enemy, seeking out
punishments which delayed death, longed to slay souls, not bodies.
And as Cyprian himself (who suffered by him) says: "When they
longed to die, they were not allowed to be slain." In order to make
his cruelty better known, we have set down two examples for
remembrance.

A martyr, persevering in the faith, and conqueror amid racks and
red-hot irons, he commanded to be anointed with honey and laid on
his back under a burning sun, with his hands tied behind him; in
order, forsooth, that he who had already conquered the fiery
gridiron, might yield to the stings of flies.

* * *

In those days, in the Lower Thebaid, was Paul left at the death of
both his parents, in a rich inheritance, with a sister already
married; being about fifteen years old, well taught in Greek and
Egyptian letters, gentle tempered, loving God much; and, when the
storm of persecution burst, he withdrew into a distant city. But


"To what dost thou not urge the human breast
Curst hunger after gold?"


His sister's husband was ready to betray him whom he should have