“Nor must we forget that the toleration of Rome, such as it was, was nearer akin to contempt and indifference. Now, the toleration which springs from contempt is often intensely intolerant of one thing, namely, of enthusiasm… A wise recognition of local usages was one thing, provided always that the interests of the State were duly conserved; a toleration founded upon the claims of conscience and the rights of the individual soul was a matter too absurd even for philosophers to discuss.” Herbert Workman, Persecution in the Early Church, pp. 59-60.
