The Martyrdom of Polycarp
9.1f
But as Polycarp entered into the stadium, there was a voice from heaven, “Be strong, Polycarp, and be a man! And no one saw who had spoken, but those of our people who were present heard the voice. And then, when he was brought forward, there was a great uproar upon hearing that Polycarp had been arrested. Therefore when he was brought forward the proconsul asked him if he was Polycarp, and when he admitted it, the proconsul tried to persuade him to recant, saying, “Have respect for your age” and so forth as is their custom to say, “Swear by the fortune of Caesar, repent, say ‘Away with the atheists!’” But Polycarp, with a serious face, looked at the whole crowd, those lawless heathens in the stadium, and shook his hand at them, both groaned and looked up to the heaven, and said, “Away with the atheists!” But when the proconsul persisted and said, “Take the oath and I will release you. Revile Christ.” Polycarp responded, “Eighty-six years I have served him and he has done me no wrong. How could I blaspheme my king who saved me?”
A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church to AD 337
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