Cyprian of Carthage, Treatises Treatise 1

When the Lord warns us, "You are the salt of the earth" (Matt 5:13), and commands us to be simple in innocence yet prudent in that simplicity, what else, beloved brothers, should we do but provide for ourselves? We must watch with a solicitous heart so that we both understand and guard against the cunning enemy's insidious plots. We have put on Christ, the wisdom of God the Father; we must not appear less wise in safeguarding our salvation. Persecution is not the only thing to fear—open attacks that rage against God's servants to overthrow and cast them down are not the sole danger. Caution comes easier when fear is manifest, and the mind prepares itself for the contest when the adversary reveals himself. The enemy is far more to be feared and avoided when he creeps in secretly, deceiving by an image of peace and slipping in by hidden approaches; that is why he bears the name of serpent. This is his constant cunning, the blind and hidden deceit with which he circumvents humanity. From the very beginning of the world he deceived, flattering simple souls with lying words and catching them in unguarded credulity. He even attempted to tempt the Lord Himself, secretly approaching to deceive Him again, but he was recognized and repulsed, prostrated because he was detected. Therefore an example has been given to us: we must flee the way of the old man and follow in the footsteps of the living Christ, lest, being unguarded, we fall once more into the snare of death; instead, forewarned of the danger, we may attain immortality. But how can we attain immortality unless we keep the commandments of Christ, by which death is overcome and conquered, while He Himself warns and says, "If you wish to enter life, keep the commandments" (Matt 19:17), and again, "If you do what I command you, I no longer call you servants, but friends" (John 15:14)? These He calls strong and stable, founded on a massive rock, solidified with immovable and unshakable firmness against all the tempests and whirlwinds of the world. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them," He says, "I will liken to a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock" (Matt 7:24–25). Therefore we must stand firm on His words, learning and doing whatever He taught and did. How can anyone believe he is in Christ if he does not do what Christ commanded? From where will he obtain the reward of faith who refuses to keep the faith of the commandment? He must inevitably waver and wander, seized by a spirit of error and blown about like dust the wind scatters; he will not advance toward salvation who does not hold fast to the truth of the saving way. We must beware, beloved brothers, not only of open and manifest dangers, but also of those that deceive by the subtle craft of hidden fraud. What could be more cunning or subtle than this: after the enemy was detected and prostrated by the advent of Christ—after the light came to the Gentiles and the saving light shone for humanity, so that the deaf might receive the hearing of spiritual grace, the blind open their eyes to God, the weak be strengthened by eternal health, the lame run to the Church, the mute pray with clear voices and prayers, idols be abandoned, and his own seats and temples deserted by the multitude of believers—he devised a new fraud to deceive the unguarded under the very title of the Christian name? He invented heresies and schisms to subvert faith, corrupt truth, and divide unity. Those he cannot hold in the blindness of the old way, he surrounds and deceives with the error of a new way. He snatches men from the very Church; while they think they have approached the light and escaped the night of the world, he pours in other darknesses unknown to them, so that, not standing with the Gospel of Christ and its observance and law, they call themselves Christians, and walking in darkness, believe they have the light. The adversary flatters and deceives, transforming himself, as the Apostle says, into an angel of light, and his ministers into ministers of righteousness, calling night day, destruction salvation, despair hope, perfidy faith, antichrist Christ—so that by speaking what is plausible they frustrate the truth with subtlety. This happens, beloved brothers, when we do not return to the origin of truth, nor seek the Head, nor preserve the doctrine of the heavenly Master.