Deferred Martyrdom

Neque enim in tribus pueris minor fuit martyrii dignitas, quia mortem frustrata de camino ignis incolumes exierunt: aut non consummatus Daniel exstitit in suis laudibus, quia qui leonibus missus fuerat ad praedam, protectus a Domino, vixit ad gloriam. In confessoribus Christi dilata martyria non meritum confessionis minuunt, sed magnalia divinae protectionis ostendunt. Repraesentatum videmus in vobis, quod apud regem fortes atque illustres pueri praedicaverunt, ipsos quidem paratos esse ardere flammis, ne diis eius servirent, aut imaginem quam fecerat adorarent; Deum tamen quem colebant, quemque et nos colimus, potentem esse ut eos de camino illis eximeret, et de regis manibus ac de poenis praesentibus liberaret. Quod invenimus in confessionis vestrae fide, et in Domini circa vos protectione nunc gestum; ut cum vos parati fueritis et prompti omne subire supplicium, Dominus tamen vos poenae subtraheret, et Ecclesiae reservaret. Regredientibus vobis breviata non est in episcopo confessionis suae dignitas, sed magis crevit sacerdotalis auctoritas: ut altari Dei assistat antistes, qui ad confessionis arma sumenda et facienda martyria non verbis plebem, sed factis cohortetur; et imminente Antichristo paret ad praelium milites non solo sermonis et vocis incitamento, sed fidei et virtutis exemplo. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola LVIII, Ad Luciam Papam Source: Migne PL 3.973a-974a

The value of martyrdom was not the less for the three youths because their deaths were frustrated when they came forth unharmed from the fiery furnace, nor was Daniel unworthy of praise because when he was sent to the lions as prey, he was protected by the Lord and lived on to glory. 1 Among the confessors of Christ, martyrdoms which are deferred do not diminish the merits of confession, but they do show the greatness of Divine protection. We see represented in you what the brave and illustrious youths announced before the king, that they indeed were prepared to burn in the flames, so that they might not serve his gods, nor worship the image he had made, and that the God whom they worshipped, and whom we also worship, was able to free them from the furnace, and to deliver them from the hands of the king, and from imminent sufferings. Which we now find performed in the faith of your confession, and in the Lord's protection over you, so that while you were prepared and ready to suffer every punishment, yet the Lord delivered you and preserved you for the Church. There has been no reduction of the dignity of the confession of a bishop because of your return, but rather the priestly authority has grown, so that such a man who serves at the altar of God and exhorts the people to take up the arms of confession and to submit to martyrdom when the Antichrist is near, prepares the soldiers for battle not only by the exhortation of his words and voice but by the example of his faith and courage. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, from Epistle 58, To Pope Lucius 1 Dan 3-4