the anomymous Letter to Diognetus:The life of the early Christian

They live in their own countries, but only as aliens. They have a share in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their native land, and yet for them every native land is a foreign land. They marry, like everyone else, and they beget children, but they do not cast out their offspring. They share thir board with each other, but not their marriage bed. It is true that they are "in the flesh," but they do not live "according to the flesh." They busy themselves on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require. They love everyone, and by everyone they are persecuted.