Cyprian:
“This pestilence and plague, which seems horrible and deadly, searches out the righteousness of each one. . . . It reveals whether those who are in health will tend the sick. It reveals whether relatives affectionately love their kindred.”
Clement of Alexandria:
“Repentance, then, is a result of faith. For unless a man believes that to which he was addicted to be sin, he will not abandon it. And he must believe that punishment looms over the transgressor. He must believe that salvation belongs to the one who lives according to the commandments. Otherwise, he will not reform.”