The Church Fathers · 212
To Scapula
Ad Scapulam
Tertullian · c. 155–c. 220
What it is
An open letter to a persecuting proconsul, warning him without threatening him and stating plainly that it is no part of religion to compel religion.
Why it lasted
One of the earliest arguments anywhere for freedom of worship as a matter of principle.
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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