Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
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Tertullian of Carthage
AD 220
! He will have commanded either no martyrdoms at all, or those which must be understood in a sense different from the ordinary, being such a person as to urge no one to a risk of this kind as to promise no reward to them who suffer for Him, because He does not wish them to suffer; and therefore does He say, when setting forth His chief commands, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."