Easter with St Athanasius V

Taken from Athanasius Contra Mundum

Now if by the sign of the cross, and by faith in Christ death is trampled down, it must be evident before the tribunal of truth that it is none other than Christ himself that has displayed trophies and triumphs over death, and made him lose all his strength. And if, while previously death was strong and for that reason terrible, now after the sojourn of the Saviour and the death and resurrection of his body it is despised, it must be evident that death has been brought to nought and conquered by the very Christ that ascended the cross. For as if after nighttime the sun rises and the whole region of the earth is illumined by him, it is at any rate not open to doubt that it is the sun who has revealed his light everywhere, that has also driven away the dark and given light to all things; so now that death has come into contempt, and been trodden underfoot from the time when the Saviour's saving manifestation in the flesh and his death on the cross took place, it must be quite plain that it is the very Saviour that also appeared in the body who was brought death to nought, and who displays the signs of victory over him day by day in his own disciples.

For when one sees men, weak by nature, leaping forward to death, and not fearing its corruption nor frightened of the descent into Hades, but with eager soul challenging it, and not flinching from torture, but on the contrary, for Christ's sake electing to rush upon death in preference to life upon earth; or even if one be an eyewitness of men and women and young children rushing and leaping upon death for the sake of Christ's religion; who is so silly, or who is so incredulous, or who is maimed in his mind, as not to see and infer that Christ, to whom the people witness, himself supplies and gives to each the victory over death, depriving him of all his power in each one of them that hold his faith and bear the sign of the cross.

-On the Incarnation of the Word, no. 29