Note 81 — BOOK II THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE FAITH

The well-known recital of the martyrdom of S. Maurice and of the Theban Legion, whether it be accepted as absolutely genuine or not, is an admirable instance of the ever-present dangers and difficulties of a Christian soldier of the Empire. The scene of the terrible and wholesale martyrdom was Agaunum (S. Maurice), some nine miles distant from Octodurus (Martigny) in the Canton of Valais, and the date was circa A.D. 292–6. Maximian was then reigning as colleague of Diocletian. The authenticity of the story is maintained by Ruinart, who includes it in his Acta Sincera; by Tillemont, and in our days by Allard, who, however, cuts down the Legion to a cohort. Harnack, on the other hand, and others doubt its authenticity.