.
. . even if the martyrs amid the fervour of their glory were to pay scant
regard to the Scripture and to go too far in their wishes contrary to the law
of the Lord, nevertheless it would still be the duty of the presbyters and
deacons to present them with guiding counsel, just as always happened in the
past.
And
that is why God in His strictness does not cease to rebuke us, by day and
night. For in addition to visions of the night, during the day also innocent
young boys, who are here with us, are being filled with the Holy Spirit, and in
ecstasy they see with their eyes and they hear and they speak the words of
warning and instruction which the Lord in His goodness gives to us. And you
shall hear all of these things when the Lord who bade me withdraw has brought
me back to you. (Epistle 16.3.2-4.1in The Letters of St. Cyprian, Volume 1 [trans.
G. W. Clarke; Ancient Christian Writers 43; New York: Newman Press, 1984], 95)
