Maximilian lived during the latter part of the third century. He was a military brat (his father, Victor, was a Roman soldier stationed in present-day Tunisia and Libya). It was fully expected–Butler reports that it was the law–for the sons of soldiers to become soldiers themselves.

So Maximilian went to enlist, as it were. He was found to be of an appropriate stature (5’10” in height, according to ancient records that were converted to 18th-century English measures). But when it came to his uniform, Maximilian refused to don a leaden collar around his neck upon which the Emperor’s name and motto were engraved. He also refused to have a military mark or tattoo placed upon his hand.

This didn’t go well for Maximilian. It went even worse when he gave out the reason that the Roman army was filed with superstitions and that, as a Christian, he wanted no part of them. No part of the hazing, no part of the uniform, no part of the military life for our Maximilian.

In the end, yes, Max ended up with a military deferment: he was beheaded–a fate that he himself found preferable to being in the Roman army.

What do you make of this?