pointed for him,” while St. Paul endured for but a little whilernlonger, before “departing thus from this world.” Peter was crueifiedrnupside down on Vatican Hill, where his bones now r e s t -rnHie place where Constanhne located his “trophy.” St. Paul vasrnbeheaded —”poured out like a drink offering” —having “finishedrnthe course” and “kept the faith.”rnThe early success of Christianit}- seems to have caused anrnincrease in persccufion. Domifian (AD. 81-96) smellcdrninsurrection when his cousin, Mavius Clemens, and his wife,rnDomiHlla, refused to burn incense to him and acknowledge hisrntitic—dominm et dens noster—which he had taken to himselfrnout of jealoush’ for his deified fether and brother. This actionrnled to Domitian’s identification of Christianity with “atheism”rn—a charge that would stick throughout the Age of MartTs.rnFlavins Clemens —also a consul —was one of manv thatrnDomitian executed for “crimes against the state,” and Domitillarnwas exiled.rnThe greatest of Roman emperors, Trajan, set the first officialrnpolics of persecutiou for Chrisfianit)’, alfiiough during his reignrn(A.D. 98-117) this policv was only sporadicallv enforced.rnChristianit)’ had become a problem in Bitlivnia, and the governorrnPliny, who was also Trajan’s friend, a,skcd for a ruling onrndifferent aspects of tlic probleui. Should women and die agedrnbe executed alongside the voung men? Should a person’s merernembrace of the name “Christian” be enough to warrant a deathrnsentence, or must he be guilt of a legal iolation —sav, refusingrnThe Spring That Was Not Forthcomingrnhv Constance Rowell MastoresrnAlthough field after fieldrnof white flowersrnbegin to scatter in the wind,rnI cannot say when this springrnbegan, so quicklv it camernand disappeared.rntl le lig it sfill raw, a little blank.rnthe greens hazy and immaterial,rnthe chafing squirrelrnand fat world of summerrnout there somewhere,rnbut not quite yet;rnnot quite yet Hie clamprnof normalcy, the filled-out page.rnHere, flutter in the stomach,rnself-agonv and doubt.rnto burn incense to the Roman gods? These were questions on-rnIv die Augustus could answer.rnTrajan’s answer was conservafive, balancing the law againstrncquih’ and common sense. “No universal rule,” he .said, “to bernapplied to all eases, can be laid down in this matter.” 1 rajanrnspeaks with admiuistrativc indifference: “They slioidd not bernsearched for; but when accused and convicted, they should bernpunished; yet if any one denies that he has been a Christian,rnand proves it bv acfion, namely, bv worshipping our gods, he isrnto be pardoned upon his repentance.” He goes on to sav thatrnanouvmous accusafions agaiust Chrisfians are to be deemed inadmissiblernin court because “they arc contrar}’ to our age.”rnOne effect of Trajan’s ruling was to define die assembh’ ofrnthe Church as an illegal club, one of the forbidden collegia orrnfiodalitas that threatened imperial solidarit)’. Cluirelies erectedrnbuildings, and Christians enjoyed a certain level of freedom inrntheir worship, but they were subjected to molestation wheneverrna natural calamih-, border strife, or petty bickering occurred.rnTertullian, in his Apologiae, described fiiis policv as both “lenientrnand cruel.”rnThe persecufions eonfiiiued under Hadrian (A.D. 117-n8),rnthough with less fanfare and fur>. Hadrian seemed to hate Judaismrn—wifii which he was more familiar—more dian Chrisfianih’.rnhi Jerusalem, he built temples of Jupiter and Venus overrndie site of the Temple and at the place of the Crucifixion. Arnman of scholarship and reason, Hadrian was die recipient ofrnsome of the first Christian apologcfic writings—those of Quadratusrnand Aristidcs—diough it is doubtfid lie ever read diem.rnllndcr his siccessor, Antoninus Pius (..n. 138-161), whornserved as high priest in the Roman temples, fiic Church ofrnSunrna and its great bishop, St. John’s beloved disciple Polycarp,rnwere persecuted. It was Smyrna Hiat St. John admonished,rn”Be fiiithful unto death.” When faced widi the stake atrnage 86, he refused to avail himself of clemency: “F.ightv’ and sixrnyears have I served Christ, nor has he done me any harm. How,rnthen, shovild 1 blaspheme ni’ King who saxed me?”rnMarcus Aurelius, the Stoic emperor (A.D. 161-180), mightrnliae been more snipathetic toward the Christian faith, sincernthe Christians exhibited die muted calm in the face of deadirnthat was so prized by the Stoics. Howe er, Toronto, Marcus’s tutor,rnhad taught him to despise this braveiy, since it was based uponrna hope of future personal reward in the heavenly kingdom.rnThe philosopher-emperor believed that Christians were actingrnirrationally by boldly confessing dieir faith in the hour of trial.rnMarcus een issued an edict forbidding the promotion of anyrnphilosophy that sought to change the moral actions of iudividualsrnbased on fear of a deit).rnA.D. 166 marks the beginning of the greatest terrors miderrnxVIarcus Aurelius. It was called an annus calamitosus: ThernTiber flooded, and Hiere were sceral eardiquakes in the westernrnporfion of die empire. Crop tliilures and plague in Gaul,rncoupled with raids from barbarians, caused great anxietv, andrnMarcus allowed his governors to quell the supcrsfifions of theirrnsubjects b’ .slaughtering Christians.rnIn Rome, die greatest of the early apologists, Jusfin, was beheaded,rnalong with six ofliers, in die ‘ear of calamih’. His immeasurablerncontributions to die Church include his Dialoguernwith Tr)’pho the Jew, in which he explains Christ’s presence onrnever- page of the Law and Prophets, and the records of his publicrntrial and debate widi die cynic Crcscens. Standing beforernthe tribunal of Rusticus, he refused to talk his way out of his sentence,rnsaing oulv that he desired “nodiing more than to sufferrn18/CHRONICLESrnrnrn