Nonresistance

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

SUMMARY: The law will no longer say, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," to someone who counts no one as an enemy but sees all people as neighbors. Christians follow the new law because the old law has been wiped away. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" is the language of justice, but not resisting is the language of goodness and patience. If someone hits you on your right cheek, turn the other cheek to him also, and you will be perfect. Not resisting also means not taking to court those who steal from us and rob us. It means being patient when we are hurt. It means not correcting sinful wrongdoing with violence. It means not fighting in self-defense. It means not hitting the other person. It means not paying back force with force. It means not hurting anyone at any time. It also means not resisting at all when you are arrested. In the Lord's eyes, both the person who starts the trouble and the person who answers back are blamed for hurting someone. The one who pays back an injury wants to copy the very person who hurt him. We are able, by our own choice, to obey what is commanded. Do not hesitate to give, and do not complain when you give. No one should be refused alms, but woe to those who have and who take by false excuses or who could help themselves but still want to take from others. Polycarp: Let us then keep going faithfully in our hope and in the promise of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ, who bore our sins in his own body on the tree, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, but endured everything for us so that we might live in him. Let us then copy his patience. And if we suffer for his name's sake, let us honor him. For he has given us this example in himself, and we have believed that this is true.

IRENAEUS: For the law will no longer say, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," to the person who counts no one as an enemy but all people as neighbors. Therefore, that person cannot reach out a hand at all for revenge.

ATHENAGORAS: When they know that we cannot stand even to watch a man be put to death even if it is done justly, who among them can accuse us of murder or cannibalism? Who does not count the contests of gladiators and wild beasts among the most interesting things, especially the ones that are put on by you? But we believe that watching a man be put to death is almost the same as killing him. So we have turned away from those shows. How then, when we do not even watch, so that we will not take on guilt and pollution, can we put people to death?

TATIAN: You have heard that it was said, "Eye for eye and tooth for tooth." But I say to you, do not fight back against an evil person; instead, whoever hits you on your right cheek, turn the other cheek to him also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your wrapper also; and whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. And to the one who asks you, give; and to the one who wants to borrow from you, do not refuse him; and do not prosecute the one who takes your property; and just as you want people to do to you, do the same to them.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Therefore, who else is meant but us? We have been fully taught by the new law, and we follow these practices. The old law has been wiped away. The action itself of beating swords into ploughs shows that its ending was coming. Under the old law, the custom was to take revenge with the sword. It was to demand eye for eye. It was to pay back injury with the same kind of harm. But under the new law, the custom was to point people to mercy. It was to turn the old wildness of swords and lances into peace. It was to reshape the old practice of war against the rivals and enemies of the law into the peaceful work of ploughing and tilling the land.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian, Christ clearly teaches a new kind of patience. He actually forbids the payback that the Creator allowed when He required: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Instead, Christ tells us the opposite: to him who strikes us on the one cheek, to offer the other also, and to give up our coat to him that takes away our cloak. No doubt these are extra teachings added by Christ, but they fit well with what the Creator teaches. So this question must be settled right away: does the Creator command the discipline of patience? When, through Zechariah, He commanded, "Let none of you imagine evil against his brother," He did not clearly include "neighbor." But in another place He says, "Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor." The one who advised that an injury should be forgotten was even more likely to advise patient endurance of it. And when He said, "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay," He teaches that patience calmly waits for vengeance to be carried out. So, since it is hard to believe that the same God would seem to require "a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye" in return for an injury, and yet forbid not only all payback but even a revengeful thought or memory of an injury, it becomes clear what He meant by "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." He did not mean it to allow people to repeat the injury by paying it back. In fact, it basically prohibited that when it forbade vengeance. Instead, He meant it to stop the injury from happening in the first place. The law had forbidden the injury by warning that retaliation or equal payback would follow. So, because a person was allowed to inflict a second injury in return, he might hold back from doing the first wrong that started it. For He knows it is much easier to hold back violence by the threat of retaliation than by the promise of unlimited vengeance later. Still, both results had to be provided, because of the nature and faith of people. The person who believed in God could expect vengeance from God, but the person who had no faith, in order to restrain him, might fear the laws that required retaliation. Christ, as the Lord of the Sabbath, and of the law, and of all the Father's plans, both revealed this purpose of the law and made it understandable. He did this when He commanded that "the other cheek should be offered to the smiter." He did it so that He might more effectively put out all payback for an injury. The law had tried to prevent payback by using retaliation as a method, and Revelation had clearly limited it, both by forbidding the memory of the wrong and by handing over the vengeance for it to God.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Long ago, people were used to demanding eye for eye and tooth for tooth, and paying back evil with evil, with interest. This was because, at that time, patience was not on earth, because faith was not either.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. In the same way, eye for eye and tooth for tooth has now grown old ever since Let No One Repay Evil for Evil grew young.

ORIGEN: Celsus, a pagan critic, pulls from the Gospel the command, "To him who strikes you once, offer yourself to be struck again," even though he does not give any passage from the Old Testament that he thinks is against it. On the one hand, we know that "It was said to them in old time, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." And on the other hand, we have read, "I say to you, whoever shall smite you on the one cheek, turn to him the other also." But there is reason to believe that Celsus brings up objections he has heard from those who want to make a difference between the God of the Gospel and the God of the Law. So we must answer that this command, "Whoever shall strike you on the one cheek, turn to him the other," is not unknown in the older scriptures. For this is what is said in the Lamentations of Jeremiah: "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth; he sits alone and keeps silence because he has borne it upon him; he gives his cheek to him that smites him; he is filled full with reproach." So there is no disagreement between the God of the Gospel and the God of the Law, even when we take the command about being struck on the face in a literal way. So then, we conclude that neither Jesus nor Moses has taught falsely. The Father, in sending Jesus, did not forget the commands which He had given to Moses. He did not change His mind, condemn His own laws, and send by His messenger counter-instructions.

ARCHELAUS: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth—that is the expression of justice; and as to his command that a man, when struck on one cheek, should offer the other also, that is the expression of goodness. Well then, are justice and goodness opposed to each other? Far from it. There has only been an advance from simple justice to clear goodness. The Didache: If someone gives you a blow on your right cheek, turn to him the other also, and you shall be perfect. If someone forces you to go for one mile, go with him two. If someone takes away your cloak, give him also your coat. If someone takes from you what is your own, do not ask for it back, for truly you are not able. Give to everyone that asks you, and do not ask for it back. For the Father wills that to all should be given of our own blessings, as free gifts. Happy is the one who gives according to the commandment, for he is guiltless. Woe to the one who receives! For if someone who has need receives, he is guiltless. But the one who receives without having need shall pay the penalty: why he received, and for what. And when he comes into trouble and confinement, he shall be examined about the things he has done, and he shall not escape from there until he pays back the last farthing. But even now, about this also, it has been said: let your alms sweat in your hands, until you know to whom you should give.

2 CLEMENT: Brothers and sisters, since we are willingly leaving our stay in this present world, let us do the will of Him who called us. Let us not be afraid to leave this world. For the Lord says, "Be as lambs in the middle of wolves." And Peter answered and said to Him, "What then if the wolves tear the lambs to pieces?" Jesus said to Peter, "After the lambs are dead, they have no reason to fear the wolves. In the same way, do not fear those who kill you and can do nothing more to you. But fear Him who, after you are dead, has power over both soul and body to throw them into hellfire." And consider, brothers and sisters, that living in the flesh in this world is only brief and passing. But the promise of Christ is great and wonderful. It is the rest of the kingdom that is coming, and life everlasting. What way of life then will help us reach these things? It is by living a holy and righteous life. It is by treating these worldly things as not belonging to us, and by not setting our desires on them. For if we desire to own them, we fall away from the path of righteousness.

ARISTIDES: Christians reach out to those who hurt them, and they try to win them over as friends. They are eager to do good to their enemies.

POLYCARP: But the one who raised him from the dead will also raise us if we do his will. We must walk in his commandments and love what he loved. We must keep ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, and false witness. We must be not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing. Instead, we must remember what the Lord said in his teaching.

JUSTIN MARTYR: We will not ask you to punish our accusers; they are already punished enough by their present wickedness and by not knowing what is right.

JUSTIN MARTYR: And about our being patient when we are hurt, and being ready to serve everyone, and being free from anger, this is what he said: "To the one who hits you on one cheek, offer the other also; and the one who takes away your cloak or coat, do not stop him; and whoever is angry is in danger of the fire; and everyone who forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two, and let your good works shine before people, so that they, seeing them, may glorify your Father who is in heaven." For we should not fight; he has not wanted us to copy wicked people; instead, he has urged us to lead all people, by patience and gentleness, away from shame and the love of evil. This is clearly shown in the case of many who once thought the way you do but have changed their violent and tyrannical attitude. They were won over either by the steady faithfulness they have seen in the lives of their Christian neighbors, or by the unusual patience they have noticed in their fellow travelers when they were cheated, or by the honesty of those they have done business with.

IRENAEUS: Jesus commanded His disciples not only to not strike others but also, when they themselves were struck, to offer the other cheek to those who mistreated them. He commanded them not only to not refuse to give up the property of others but also, if their own property was taken away, to not demand it back from those who took it. He commanded them not only to not harm their neighbors or do them any evil but also, when they themselves were treated wickedly, to be patient. He told them to show kindness to those who injured them and to pray for them so that through repentance they might be saved. He taught this so that we would not, in any way, copy the arrogance, lust, and pride of others.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus, the Gnostics claim that he suffered only in appearance, because if he did not truly suffer, then we owe him no thanks since there was no suffering at all. And when we actually begin to suffer, he will seem to be leading us astray. He tells us to endure being hit and to turn the other cheek. But if he himself did not really suffer the same things before us, then his words would mislead us. Just as he misled them by seeming to them to be what he was not, so he would also mislead us. He would be telling us to endure what he did not endure himself. In that case, we would be even above the master because we suffer and put up with what our master never carried or endured. But our Lord alone is truly master. In the same way, the Son of God is truly good and patient. The Word of God, the Father, was made the Son of Man, because he fought and conquered. He was a man struggling for the fathers, and through obedience, he completely did away with disobedience. He tied up the strong man and set the weak free. He gave his own handiwork salvation by destroying sin, because he is a most holy and merciful Lord, and he loves the human race.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. The law of liberty, that is, the word of God, preached by the apostles who went out from Jerusalem across all the earth, caused such a change in how things were. These nations did form their swords and war lances into ploughshares; they changed them into pruning hooks for reaping the corn, that is, into tools used for peaceful purposes, and they are now not used to fighting. But when struck, they also offer the other cheek.

ATHENAGORAS: We have learned not to hit back when someone hits us. We have also learned not to take to court those who steal from us and rob us. Instead, if someone hits us on one side of the face, we offer the other side too. And if someone takes away our coat, we also give our cloak. But when we have given up our property, they still make plans against our very bodies and souls. They pile up huge accusations against us. They accuse us of crimes we are innocent of, even in our thoughts. But these crimes really belong to those useless talkers themselves, and to the whole group of people who are like them.

ATHENAGORAS: But among us you will find uneducated people, and workers, and old women. If they cannot use words to prove the value of our teaching, they still show the value that comes from being convinced it is true by what they do. They do not practice speeches; instead, they show good works. When they are struck, they do not strike back. When they are robbed, they do not go to court. They give to those who ask them, and they love their neighbors as themselves.

ATHENAGORAS: But even though this is our character, oh, why should I speak about things that should not even be said out loud? The things said about us are an example of the proverb: "The harlot reproves the chaste." The people who set up a marketplace for sexual sin, and who set up shameful places for young people for every kind of filthy pleasure, do not even abstain from males. They have males with males committing shocking abominations. They insult and abuse the noblest and most beautiful bodies in all kinds of ways. In this way they dishonor the beautiful work of God. Beauty on earth is not made by itself but is sent here by the hand and will of God. These men, I say, insult us for the very things they know they do themselves. They also blame these things on their own gods. They even brag about them as noble deeds, and as deeds worthy of the gods. These adulterers and homosexuals speak evil about the eunuchs and the once-married. Because of this, not even the governors of the provinces you send are enough to hear the complaints against those people. It is not even lawful for them, when they are struck, not to offer themselves for more blows. And when they are slandered, it is not lawful for them not to bless. For it is not enough to be just. Justice is to return like for like. But it is required of us to be good, and to be patient when evil is done to us.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: you should take on manliness so you can have confidence and patience. This helps you do what Scripture says: to him that strikes on the one cheek, to give to him the other; and to him that takes away the cloak, to yield to him the coat also. Do this firmly, while holding back your anger. We do not train our women, like Amazons, to be manly in war. We want the men to be peaceable too. I hear that the Sarmatian women practice war just as much as the men do.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Above all, Christians are not allowed to correct sins by using violence. God crowns not those who avoid wickedness because they are forced, but those who avoid it by choice. It is impossible for a person to be steadily good except by their own choice. A person who is made good because someone else forces them is not truly good. That is because they are not what they are by their own choice. The freedom of each person is what makes true goodness. It also shows real wickedness. And so, through these attitudes, God planned to make His own attitude clear.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: The saying that rich people will enter the kingdom with difficulty should be understood in a thoughtful, educated way. It should not be understood in an awkward way, or in a rough, uneducated way, or in a fleshly way. Because if the saying is understood this way, then salvation does not depend on outward things. It does not depend on whether those things are many or few, small or great, famous or unknown, respected or disrespected. Instead, it depends on the virtue of the soul. It depends on faith, hope, love, brotherliness, knowledge, gentleness, humility, and truth. The reward for these is salvation. It is not because of a good-looking body that anyone will live, or, on the other hand, perish. But the person who uses the body given to him in a pure way and in a way that follows God will live. And the one who destroys the temple of God will be destroyed. An ugly man can live in sin, and a good-looking man can be self-controlled. Neither strength nor great body size makes someone live, and none of the body parts destroys someone. Instead, the soul that uses them provides the reason for each result. So then, it says, "Bear it when you are struck on the face." A man who is strong and healthy can obey this. And again, a man who is weak may break this command because of a stubborn, rebellious temper. In the same way, a poor and needy man may be found drunk with sinful desires. And a man rich in worldly goods may be self-controlled, poor in indulgences, trustworthy, intelligent, pure, and disciplined.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Hippias, a pagan, is put to death for making plots against the state. No Christian ever tried to do such a thing for his brothers and sisters, even when persecution was scattering them everywhere with every kind of cruelty. But someone will say that some of us also turn away from the rules of our discipline. In that case, however, we no longer count them as Christians.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. But for Christians, how is their case like this? No one is ashamed. No one is sorry, except for their past sins. If someone points at them because of their religion, they take pride in it. If they are dragged to trial, they do not fight back. If they are accused, they make no defense. When they are questioned, they confess. When they are condemned, they rejoice. What kind of evil is this, where the very nature of evil stops in its tracks?

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian, listen to what is predicted in Zechariah. The Lord of hosts will protect them. They will devour them and subdue them with slingstones. They will drink their blood like wine. They will fill the bowls, as if they were the bowls of the altar. And the Lord will save them in that day, even His people, like sheep. Because, like sacred stones they roll, chapter 3, verse 1, and so on, so that you will not think these predictions are about the kind of suffering that waits for them because of so many wars with foreigners. Think about what the suffering is like. If a prophecy is about wars that will be fought with proper weapons, no one would think it would list stones as weapons. Stones are better known in common crowds and unarmed riots. No one measures the large streams of blood that flow in war by bullfulls. No one limits it to what is poured out on a single altar. No one calls people sheep when they fall in battle with weapons in their hands, while they fight back with force against force. People are called sheep only when they are killed while they give themselves up in their place of duty, with patience instead of fighting to defend themselves.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian, if someone tries to stir you up by using physical violence, the Lord's warning is ready. To him, he says, "Who hits you on the face, turn the other cheek also." Let their outrageous behavior get tired out because you are patient. Whatever that blow may be, along with the pain and the insulting treatment, it will receive a heavier blow from the Lord. You hurt the one acting outrageously more by enduring it. That is because he will be beaten by him, for whose sake you endure. If the bitterness of the tongue breaks out in a curse or an insult, look back at the saying, "When they curse you, rejoice." The Lord himself was called cursed in the eyes of the law, and yet he is the only blessed one. Therefore, let us servants follow our Lord closely. Let us be cursed patiently so that we may be able to be blessed.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. What difference is there between the one who provokes and the one who is provoked, except that the first is found to be earlier in doing evil and the second later? Still, each one is blamed for hurting a person in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord both forbids and condemns every kind of wickedness. When it comes to doing evil, no one counts who went first, and position does not separate what their similarity joins together. The command is absolute: evil must not be repaid with evil.

COMMODIANUS: there are many kinds of martyrdom that happen without shedding blood. Do not desire other people's goods; want to receive the benefit of martyrdom. Hold back your tongue. You ought to make yourself humble. Do not willingly use force. Do not return force that is used against you. Have a patient mind. Understand that you are a martyr.

ORIGEN: The Savior said, "I say to you, do not resist evil." And when He gives certain other commands, He means nothing else than this: it is in our own power to obey what is commanded. Therefore, we are rightly held responsible and liable to condemnation if we break those commandments that we are able to keep.

ORIGEN: Neither Celsus, a pagan critic, nor those who agree with him can point to any act by Christians that smells like rebellion. And yet, if a revolt had led to the forming of the Christian community so that it got its start this way from the Jews, who were allowed to take up arms to defend their family members and to kill their enemies, then the Christian lawgiver would not have completely forbidden putting people to death. And yet he never teaches that it is right for his own disciples to use violence against anyone, no matter how wicked that person is. He did not think it fit, with laws like his that came from a divine source, to allow the killing of any person at all. And if Christians had owed their beginning to a rebellion, they would not have adopted laws so extremely gentle that, when it was their fate to be killed like sheep, they were not allowed, on any occasion, to resist their persecutors. Because Christians were taught not to take revenge on their enemies, and so they have kept laws that are gentle and loving toward others, and because they would not, even though they were able, have made war even if they had been given authority to do so, they have received this reward from God. He has always fought on their behalf, and at certain times he has held back those who rose up against them and wanted to destroy them. For to remind others that, by seeing a few people struggling for their religion, they also might be better prepared to despise death, some people, on special occasions, and these individuals who can be easily counted, have endured death for the sake of Christianity. God did not allow the whole nation to be wiped out. Instead, he wanted it to continue, and he wanted the whole world to be filled with this health-giving and religious teaching.

ORIGEN: Christians also have, he says, Celsus, a pagan critic, a rule like this: we should not take revenge on someone who hurts us. Or, as Christ says it, whoever strikes you on one cheek, turn the other to him also. This is an old saying, Celsus says, that was said very well long before. They have only repeated it in a rougher way. For Plato brings in Socrates talking with Crito like this: must we never do injustice to anyone? Certainly not. And since we must never do injustice, must we not pay back injustice for an injustice done to us, as most people think? It seems to me that we should not. But tell me, Crato, may we do evil to anyone or not? Certainly not, oh Socrates. Well, is it just, as people commonly say, for someone who has suffered wrong to do wrong in return, or is it unjust? It is unjust, yes, but to harm a man is the same as to do him injustice. You speak truly. We must then not do injustice in return for injustice. We must not do evil to anyone, whatever evil we may have suffered from him. That is what Plato says. And he adds: consider, then, whether you agree with me. Starting from this principle, can we not come to the conclusion that it is never right to do injustice, even in return for an injustice that has been received? Or on the other hand, do you disagree with me and not accept the principle we started with? That has always been my opinion, and it still is. These are Plato's views. In fact, divine men held these views even before his time. From these comments, it is clear that when Jesus said, roughly, as Celsus calls it, to him who strikes you on the one cheek, turn the other also. And if any man wants to sue you in court and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. Jesus said it in a way that makes the command have more practical effect than Plato's words in the Crito. Plato's words are so hard for ordinary people to understand that even those who were raised in schools and trained in the famous Greek philosophy have trouble understanding him. It should also be noted that the command to be patient when we are hurt is not corrupted or lowered at all by the plain and simple language our Lord uses.

ORIGEN: Jesus's words about turning the other cheek are about more than just being patient for a long time. It goes against nature to be so arrogant that you would hit another person.

ORIGEN: But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for in doing this you will heap burning coals on his head. The Lord also commands these things in the Gospels. In the same way, we not only do not retaliate against enemies and those who injure us, but we even offer them good. To that same extent, we heap up their punishments at the judgment of God. Their condemnation is truly just if they are convicted before the Lord for having done evil to those from whom they received good things.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. Christians cannot be conquered, but they can die, and by this very fact they are unbeatable. They do not fear death; they also do not attack those who attack them. This is because it is not lawful for innocent people even to kill guilty people. Instead, they willingly give up both their lives and their blood, and since such evil and cruelty rages in the world, they can more quickly withdraw from what is evil and cruel.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian, believe in Christ, whom the Father has sent to give us life again and restore us. Stop harming the servants of God and of Christ with your persecutions. When they are hurt, God's vengeance protects them. None of us Christians, when we are arrested, fights back. We also do not take revenge against your unjust violence, even though our people are many and numerous. We are patient because we are sure that vengeance will come later. The innocent make room for the guilty. The harmless accept punishments and tortures. They are sure and confident that whatever we suffer will not go unpunished. They also know that the greater the injustice of our persecution is, the more just and severe the vengeance will be that is demanded for those persecutions. The evil actions of ungodly people never rise up against the name we bear without immediate vengeance from above coming with it.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. And because we must not hate, and we please God more by not paying back wrong, we urge you, while you still have the power, and while you still have some life left, to make satisfaction to God. Come out of the deep pit of dark superstition and into the bright light of true religion. We do not envy your comforts, and we do not hide God's benefits. We repay kindness for your hatred. And for the torments and punishments that are put on us, we show you the ways of salvation.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian, in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "Pay back evil for evil to no one." Also in the same place: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." About this same thing in the Apocalypse: "And he said to me, 'Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, because now the time is at hand; and let those who keep on hurting others, keep on hurting; and let the one who is filthy be filthy still, but let the righteous do even more righteousness; and in the same way, let the one who is holy do even more holiness.'" Look, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to repay every person according to his deeds.

THEONAS OF ALEXANDRIA: Never hurt anyone at any time, and do not stir up anyone to anger. If someone hurts you, look to Jesus Christ, and just as you want Him to forgive your sins, you should also forgive their sins against you.

LACTANTIUS: Religion should be defended not by killing, but by dying. It should be defended not by cruelty, but by patient endurance. It should be defended not by guilt, but by good faith. The first things belong to evil, but the second belong to good. And it is necessary for what is good to have a place in religion, and not what is evil. For if you want to defend religion by bloodshed, and by torture, and by guilt, it will no longer be defended; instead, it will be polluted and profaned. Nothing depends on free will as much as religion does. If the mind of the worshipper does not want it, then religion is immediately taken away and stops existing. Therefore, the right way is to defend religion by patient endurance, or by death. In this way, keeping the faith is pleasing to God Himself, and it also gives religion greater authority. Think about someone in an earthly war. If he keeps faith with his king in some famous act, then if he continues to live, he is more loved and accepted. And if he falls, he receives the highest glory because he has gone through death for his leader. How much more should faith be kept toward God, the Ruler of all? God is able to give the reward of virtue not only to the living, but also to the dead. Therefore, the worship of God, since it belongs to heavenly warfare, requires the greatest devotion and faithfulness. But we, on the contrary, do not demand that anyone should be forced, whether willing or unwilling, to worship our God, who is the God of all people. We are not angry if anyone does not worship Him. For we trust in the majesty of Him, who has power to punish contempt shown toward Himself. He also has power to punish the disasters and injuries done to His servants. And therefore, when we suffer such ungodly things, we do not resist, not even with words. Instead, we leave vengeance to God. We do not act like those who want it to look like they are defenders of their gods, and who rage without restraint against those who do not worship them.

LACTANTIUS: Therefore, since the Christian harms no one and does not want other people's property, and does not even defend his own property if it is taken from him by force, this is true. He knows how to patiently and calmly bear an injury done to him, because he is filled with virtue. So it is necessary that the just person should be under the unjust person, and that the wise person should be insulted by the foolish person. In this way, the one sins because he is unjust, and the other has virtue in himself because he is just.

LACTANTIUS: Steadiness is a virtue; this does not mean we fight back against those who hurt us, because we must give in to them.

LACTANTIUS: Cicero says in those same books about duties: "But if anyone should wish to clear up this unclear idea of his soul, let him at once teach himself that he is a good man who helps those whom he can and harms no one unless he is provoked by injury." Oh, how he ruined a simple and true thought by adding two words. What need was there to add these words, unless provoked by injury? He did it so he could attach vice like a shameful tail to a good man. He also made him seem like a man without patience, and patience is the greatest of all virtues. He said that a good man would hurt others if he were provoked. But then he must lose the name of a good man for that very reason, if he harms someone. It is just as much the act of a bad man to pay back an injury as it is to cause one. Where do quarrels come from? Where do fights and arguments among people come from? They come from impatience. Impatience, when it stands against injustice, often stirs up great storms. But if you meet injustice with patience, and no virtue is more true or more worthy of a man than that, the injustice will quickly die out. It is like pouring water on a fire. But if that injustice, which stirs up opposition, meets impatience that is just as strong as it is, then it is like pouring oil on a fire. It will start such a huge blaze that no river can put it out, but only the spilling of blood. So patience has a great benefit. Yet the wise man has taken it away from the good man. Patience alone makes it so that no evil happens. And if patience were given to everyone, there would be no wickedness and no cheating in human affairs. So what could be so disastrous for a good man, and so against his character, as to let anger run free? Anger takes away not only the title of "good man," but even the title of "man." Cicero himself truly says that to harm another person is not in line with the nature of man. If you provoke cattle or horses, they turn on you with their hoof or their horn. Serpents and wild animals, unless you chase them so that you can kill them, do not bother you. And to return to human examples, even the untrained and the foolish, if they ever receive an injury, are driven by blind and unreasonable rage. They try to strike back at those who hurt them. So how does the wise and good man differ from the evil and foolish? He differs because he has unbeatable patience, which the foolish do not have. He differs because he knows how to rule himself and calm his anger. Those others cannot hold it back because they have no virtue. But this clearly misled Cicero. When he was asking about virtue, he thought it was the job of virtue to win in every kind of conflict. He could not see that a man who gives in to sorrow and anger, and who gives these feelings free reign, even though he should fight against them instead, and who rushes wherever injustice calls him, does not do the duty of virtue. A man who tries to pay back an injury wants to copy the very person who injured him. So a man who copies a bad man cannot be good in any way. Therefore, by two words, Cicero has taken away from the good and wise man two of the greatest virtues: innocence and patience. Therefore, patience must be seen as a very great virtue. And so that the just man might gain this virtue, God willed, as has been said before, that he should be looked down on as slow and lazy. For unless he has been insulted, it will not be known what strength he has in holding himself back. Now, if, when he is provoked by injury, he begins to chase his attacker with violence, he is defeated.

LACTANTIUS: It is not right for those who work to stay on the path of justice to be companions and partners in this public killing. When God forbids us to kill, He not only stops us from open violence, which is not even allowed by public laws, He also warns us not to do things that people think are lawful. So it will not be lawful for a just man to take part in war because his warfare is justice itself. It will also not be lawful for him to accuse anyone of a charge that could lead to death. It makes no difference whether you put a man to death by words or by the sword. The act of putting someone to death is what is forbidden. Therefore, for this command of God, there should be no exception at all. It is always unlawful to put a man to death because God willed him to be a sacred creature.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Being patient when you lose things is practice in giving and sharing. The person who is not afraid to lose does not find it hard to give. Otherwise, how will someone, when he has two coats, give one of them to a person with no clothes, unless he is also the kind of person who can offer his cloak to someone who takes away his coat? How can we make friends for ourselves from Mammon, if we love it so much that we will not put up with losing it? We will perish together with the Mammon that is lost. Why do we complain here, where it is our duty to lose? Showing impatience at every loss is the Gentiles' way. They may even put money ahead of their soul. That is what they do when, because they want money so badly, they face the profitable dangers of sea trade. They do it when, for money's sake, even in the public court, there is nothing that even damnation itself would fear that they hesitate to try. They do it when they hire themselves out for sport and for the army. They do it when, like wild animals, they act like bandits on the highway. But for us, because we are different from them, it is fitting that we do not lay down our soul for money. Instead, we lay down money for our soul, whether freely by giving or patiently by losing. Barnabas: Do not be quick to stretch out your hands to take while you pull them back when it is time to give. Do not hesitate to give, and do not complain when you give. Give to everyone that asks you, and you will know who is the good one who repays the reward.

THE DIDACHE: Do not reach out your hands to receive, and then pull them back when it is time to give. If you have anything at all, you will give through your hands as a ransom for your sins. Do not hesitate to give. Do not complain when you give. For you will know who is the good one who repays the wages. Do not turn away from the one who is in need. Instead, share everything with your brother, and do not say that these things are your own. For if you share in what is immortal, how much more should you share in things that are mortal?

HERMAS: practice goodness. From the rewards of your work, which God gives you, give to all who are in need with a simple and sincere heart. Do not hesitate about who you should give to or not give to. Give to everyone, because God wants His gifts to be shared with everyone. Those who receive will have to give an account to God about why they received and what they received for. The suffering people who receive will not be condemned, but those who receive by lying and pretending will suffer punishment. So the one who gives is not guilty. He received from the Lord, and in the same way he has carried out his service with a simple and sincere heart. He did not hesitate about who he should give to and who he should not give to. This service, when it is done with a simple and sincere heart, is honored by God. Therefore, the one who serves like this with a simple and sincere heart will live for God. So keep these commandments just as I have given them to you. Then your repentance and the repentance of your household will be found to be simple and sincere, and your heart will be pure and spotless.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: You should give alms, but do it with good judgment. Give to those who truly deserve it, so that we may receive a reward from the Most High. But woe to those who have and still take under false pretenses. Woe to those who are able to help themselves, but still want to take from others. For anyone who has, and who takes because of false pretenses or because of laziness, will be condemned.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: "Make friends for yourself with the Mammon of unrighteousness, so that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting homes." This shows that, by nature, all property a person has under his own control is not really his own. And from this unrighteousness, it is permitted to do something righteous and saving; that is, you can refresh someone who has an everlasting home with the Father. See then first that he has not commanded you to be begged or to wait until people keep asking you. Instead, you yourself should look for those who are to be helped and who are worthy disciples of the Savior. So, the apostle's saying is also excellent: "For the Lord loves a cheerful giver." The cheerful giver enjoys giving and does not hold back. He sows so that he may also reap in the same way. He gives without complaining, arguing, or regret. He shares, and this is pure kindness. But better than this is what the Lord says in another place: "Give to everyone that asks you." Truly, this is how much God delights in giving. And this saying is above all divinity: do not wait to be asked. Instead, ask yourself who deserves to receive kindness. How then does a person give these things? For I will give not only to friends, but also to the friends of friends. And who is the friend of God? Do not judge who is worthy or unworthy. It is possible that you may be wrong in your opinion. Since we are uncertain because of ignorance, it is better to do good to the undeserving for the sake of the deserving. It is better than trying to guard yourself against those who are less good and then failing to help the good. For even if you are careful and try to test who will receive in a deserving way or not, it is possible for you to neglect some who are loved by God. The penalty for that is the punishment of eternal fire. But if you offer to all, one by one, who are in need, then you will of necessity surely find someone who has influence with God to save. Do not judge then, so that you will not be judged. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you again. A good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, will be given to you.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. That no one should be denied alms. Also in the same place, give to everyone who asks you, and from the one who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away. Also in the same place, if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He says, "Which?" Jesus said to him, "Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these things I have observed, what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."