The Church Fathers · c. 203–213
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting
Scorpiace
Tertullian · c. 155–c. 220
What it is
Written against Gnostics who told Christians it was permissible to deny the faith under torture, arguing that martyrdom is willed by God and not merely tolerated.
Why it lasted
The clearest evidence that early Christians argued among themselves about whether martyrdom was a duty at all.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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