O Beatum Carcerem : The Rhetoric of Incarceration in the Letters of Tertullian and Cyprian

Abstract

Abstract This article argues that Tertullian and Cyprian invoked commonplace imagery related to combat, agriculture, and mysticism to construe incarceration as spiritually beneficial for their North African Christian audiences. By subjecting to literary analysis passages from their letters in which incarceration is reimagined positively, we aim to demonstrate how these letters functioned rhetorically to teach and persuade Christians—both inside and outside of prison—about the value of incarceration and the need to persevere in the face of its well-known hardships. We also maintain that their innovative perspectives on incarceration not only addressed important issues in the second and third centuries, such as apostasy and martyrdom, but also operated within a broader Greco-Roman philosophical discourse that viewed incarceration as potentially beneficial for those capable of adopting the right mindset.