[19]The reference is very loosely to Matt. xix. 23 and 25.
[20]Viz. those who held no prominent position; the ordinary folk.
[21]Cp. Gal. ii. 9.
[22]Cp. Acts xxviii. 23 and Rev. i. 9.
[23]There is evidently an allusion here to Matt. v. 11 and Luke vi. 22.
[24]Viz. the ungulæ, with which the flesh was torn from the bones.
[25]Only three are mentioned in the text.
[26]i. e. some time between 251, when persecution ended with the death of Decius, and 257, when Valerian revived it.
[27]The first was a martial offence, the second a civil.
[28]i. e. by being allowed to follow Christ’s example.