There
are two kinds of martyrs, one in open suffering, the other in hidden virtue of
the spirit. For many, enduring the snares of the enemy and resisting all carnal
desires, because they have sacrificed themselves in their hearts to the
almighty God, have also become martyrs in time of peace, and if they had lived
in time of persecution, they could have become martyrs in reality.
--St.
Isidore of Seville, Etymologies, 7, 11.
