Source edition
Cyprian. Saint. S. Thasci Caecili Cypriani Opera omnia, Pars I (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Volume 3.1). Hartel, Wilhelm von, editor. Vienna: Gerold, 1868.
Source data
Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is an apologetic treatise written by Cyprian, the 3rd-century Bishop of Carthage, addressed to the pagan Demetrianus, who blamed Christians for the contemporary disasters and plagues. The author argues that the decline of the world and the natural disasters are not caused by Christians, but are rather due to the natural aging process of the world itself and the wrath of God against those who worship idols instead of the true God. He denounces the absurdity of the persecution and torture inflicted on innocent Christians, explaining that their endurance under suffering stems from their absolute faith in divine justice and future salvation. Finally, Cyprian warns of the eternal punishment that awaits non-believers on the Day of Judgment and strongly urges Demetrianus and his peers to repent and turn to the true God while there is still time, in order to attain the gift of immortality.