Disputation of Achatius

1Whenever we recall the glorious deeds of God's servants, we give thanks to Him who guards the sufferer in his punishment and crowns the victor in his glory.

Martianus, a prefect of consular rank appointed by the Emperor Decius and an enemy of the Christian faith, ordered Achatius to be brought before him, for he had heard that Achatius was a follower and a refuge of that faith. When Achatius was led in, Martianus said to him, "As a man who lives under Roman laws, you ought to love our rulers."

Achatius answered, "Who holds the emperor more dear, and by whom is he so loved, as he is by Christians? Our prayer for him is constant and unceasing, that he may live a long life in this world, that he may govern the peoples with just power and enjoy a time of peace above all in his reign, and then that the soldiers may be kept safe and the world and the earth may stand secure."

Martianus said, "This I praise as well, but so that the emperor may know your loyalty more fully, pay sacrifice to him along with us." Achatius said, "I beseech my Lord, who is true and great, for the safety of the king, but sacrifice neither does He demand nor ought we to pay in full. For who would pay sacred rites to a man?"

2Martianus said, "Answer me: to which god do you pour out your prayer, so that we may pay sacred rites to him as well?"

Achatius said, "I want you to know my God, because it will do you good, and to acknowledge the God who is the true God." Martianus said, "Speak his name to me." Achatius said, "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6)."

Martianus said, "Are those the names of gods?" Achatius answered, "Not these men themselves, but the one who spoke to them is the true God, and him we must fear."

Martianus said, "Who is he?" Achatius answered, "The Most High Adonai, enthroned above the cherubim and the seraphim." Martianus said, "What is a seraph?" Achatius told him, "A servant of the Most High God, one who stands before His lofty throne."

3Martianus said, "What empty battle of ideas has deceived you? Scorn what is unseen, and acknowledge instead the true gods whom you see." Achatius said, "Who are the gods to whom you order me to sacrifice?" Martianus said, "To Apollo our preserver, who drives away hunger and plague, through whom the whole world is kept safe and ruled."

Achatius answered, "To that interpreter of yours, as you call him? The wretch burned with love for a girl and ran wild, with no idea that he would lose the very prize he wanted most. So it is plain that he was not divine, for he did not know what would happen, and he was no god, for a girl fooled him. Nor did his pain end there, for a crueler fortune soon punished him with worse loss. As you well know, he was base toward boys, and he lusted after the beauty of a boy named Hyacinth. Poor and blind to what was coming, he killed with his discus the very boy he longed to look upon. This is the one who once served as a slave alongside Neptune and herded another man's flocks. Are you ordering me to sacrifice to him?"

Achatius continued, "Or shall I spend sacrifice on Asclepius, who was struck by lightning, or on Venus the adulteress, and the rest of that sort? Shall I worship, for the sake of this life's outcome, those I do not think worthy even to imitate? I despise them, I accuse them, I shudder at them. If anyone today did their deeds, could he escape the harshness of your own law? Do you worship in some what you punish in others?"

Martianus said, "Christians always invent many curses against our gods. So I order you to come with me to Jupiter and Juno, so we may celebrate together with a sweet feast and give the powers what is due to them." Achatius answered, "How shall I sacrifice to one whose tomb is agreed to be in Crete? Has he risen from the dead?"

4Martianus said, "Either sacrifice or die." Achatius answered, "The Dalmatians do the same. They are experts at robbery. They block the narrow passes and the lonely places on the road in order to kill, and they hunt each traveler one by one. When a traveler sets foot there, he is held to a single bargain: he must leave either his money or his life. So no one there asks what is reasonable. He asks only what the man who forces him is able to do."

"Your sentence is like theirs. You order an unjust deed to be carried out, or you threaten destruction. I dread nothing. I fear nothing. Public law punishes the fornicator, the adulterer, the thief, the corrupter of males, the sorcerer, and the murderer. If I am guilty of these crimes, I condemn myself before you even speak. But if I am led to punishment because I worship the true God, then I am condemned not by the will of the law but by the will of the judge."

Achatius says the prophet cries out in warning: "There is no one who seeks God; all have turned aside, and together they have become worthless" (Psalms 14:2-3; Romans 3:11-12). So you cannot clear yourself. For it is written: "In whatever judgment a man judges, so he will be judged." And again: "As you judge, so you will be judged, and as you do, so it will be done to you" (Matthew 7:1-2).

Martianus said, "I was not ordered to judge, but to force. So if you show contempt, be certain of punishment." Achatius answered, "And I was commanded never to deny my God. You serve a fragile man of flesh who will soon depart from this world, and whom you know the worms will soon eat. How much more must I obey the most powerful God, whose power endures forever? His is the saying: 'Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 10:33), when I come in the foretold glory and power to judge the living and the dead."

5Martianus said, "What I have always wanted to learn, you have suddenly confessed: the error of your belief and law. So God has a Son, as you say?" Achatius answered, "He has." Martianus said, "Who is the Son of God?" Achatius answered, "The Word of truth and grace." Martianus said, "Does he have this as his name?" Achatius answered, "You had asked not about his name, but about the power of the Son himself." Martianus said, "Make the name plain." Saint Achatius answered, "He is called Jesus Christ."

Martianus said, "From which wife of God was he conceived?" Saint Achatius answered, "God did not beget his Son by intercourse with a woman, in the manner of men. He formed Adam first, with his right hand fashioning him. Far be it from you to ascribe the touch of a mortal girl to the divine majesty. He put together the limbs of the first man from mud, and when he had already completed the whole figure, he granted him soul and spirit. In the same way the Son of God, the Word of truth, came forth from the heart of God. For this reason it is written: My heart pours out a good word (Psalms 45:1)."

Martianus said, "So God is bodily?" Achatius said, "He alone knows that. We do not know his invisible form, but we revere his strength and power." Martianus said, "If he is not in a body, he also knows nothing of a heart. For sense cannot exist without limbs." Achatius answered, "Wisdom is not born in these limbs, but it is given by God. What, then, does the body have to do with sense?"

Martianus said, "Look at the Cataphrygians, men of an ancient religion. They have turned to my rites, abandoned what they were, and with us they pay their vows to the gods. Be quick to obey in the same way. Gather the Christians of the whole church, and with them observe the religion of our emperor. Let the whole people come with you; it hangs upon your decision." Achatius answered, "They are all ruled not by my nod, but by the command of God. So let them listen to me if I persuade them of what is just, but if it is perverse and harmful, let them refuse me."

6Martianus said, "Give me the names of them all." Achatius answered, "Their names are written in the heavenly book, on the pages of God. How then could mortal eyes see what the immortal and invisible power of God has written?"

Martianus said, "Where are the sorcerers, the partners in your craft or the teachers of this cunning deception?" Achatius answered, "We have received everything from God, and we still receive it. But we dread the school of the magical art." Martianus said, "You are sorcerers because you are bringing in some new kind of religion or other."

Achatius answered, "We destroy the ones you first make yourselves, and then fear once you have made them. Your gods will run out if the craftsman runs short of stone, or the stone finds no craftsman. For we fear him, not one we make, but one by whom we were made. As Lord he created us, as Father he loved us, and like a good patron he snatched us from eternal death."

7Martianus said, "Give the names, so you yourself do not sink under the punishment." Achatius answered, "I stand before the tribunal myself, and you ask for my name? Do you hope to conquer many, when I alone extinguish you? If names are dear to your heart, I am called Achatius, and if you seek my proper name, I am called Agathangelus, and Piso bishop of the Trojans, and Menander presbyter. Do now what you please."

Martianus said, "You will be received back into prison, so the emperor may learn the proceedings and what should be done with you may be decided by his nod."

When all the proceedings had been read, the Emperor Decius wondered at the exchange of the answer already given and broke into laughter. He soon gave Martianus the prefecture of Pamphylia, but he greatly admired Achatius and gave him back to his own judgment and his law. This was done by Martianus the consular, under the Emperor Decius, four days before the Kalends of April.