For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Rom. 13:4
The punishment of criminals, consummated in the highways, is not for children to see. The man of God . . . cannot possibly learn anything from such spectacles or be delighted with them. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.544
It is good, no doubt, to have the guilty punished. Who but the criminal himself will deny that? And yet the innocent can find no pleasure in another’s sufferings. He rather mourns that a brother has sinned so heinously as to need a punishment so dreadful. But how am I guaranteed that it is always the guilty who are thrown to the wild beasts, or to some other doom? How can I be guaranteed that the innocent never suffer from the revenge of the judge, the weakness of the defense, or the pressure of the torture rack? How much better, then, is it for me to remain ignorant of the punishment inflicted on the wicked. Tertullian (c. 197)
In our case you actually conduct trials contrary to the usual form of judicial process against criminals. For when culprits are brought up for trial, if they deny the charge, you press them for a confession by tortures. However, when Christians confess without compulsion, you apply torture to induce them to deny. Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.110
[EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS GENTILE LAWS:] If a man drove out his father by force of arms, the Falcidian and Sempronian law would bind the murderer of his father in a sack with beasts. If a man violated his sisters, the Papinian law would punish the outrage with all penalties, limb by limb. If a man invaded another’s wedlock, the Julian law would visit its adulterous violator with the death penalty. If a man defiled freeborn boys, the Cornelian law would condemn with novel severities the crime of transgressing the sexual bond. Tertullian (c. 200, W), 3.150
Shall the Christian apply the chain, the prison, the torture, and the punishment—he who is not the avenger even of his own wrongs? Tertullian (c. 211, W), 3.99
Pregnant women are not allowed to be publicly punished. Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas (c. 205)
There are many places, too, in the kingdom of Persia where men kill their wives, brothers, and children—yet incur no penalty. In contrast, among the Romans and the Greeks, he who kills one of these incurs capital punishment, the severest of penalties. Bardesanes (c. 222, E), 8.730
Among the Romans, he who commits a small theft is whipped and sent about his business. Bardesanes (c. 222, E), 8.731
Although a judge may be angry with [criminals] without incurring blame, let us, however, suppose that he should be of a sedate mind when he sentences the guilty to punishment. For he is the executor of the laws, not of his own spirit or power. Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.274