The Graceful Example of St. James

St. Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339), in his famous History of the Church, recounts the following about St. James the Apostle, the son of Zebedee:

"At that time, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, King Herod persecuted certain men of the Church, and killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.  A memory of this event is preserved by Clement, in the seventh book of his Institutions, which has been accepted by the greater number of people.  He says that when the man who brought James to the judge saw how James freely confessed his faith in Christ, he was moved by his constancy and declared that he too was a Christian.  Clement says that both of them were led off to punishment together.  And when the man begged James to forgive him, James delayed but a short time, and said to him, 'Peace be with you,' and immediately kissed him.  In this way, they were beheaded together."

The book mentioned as written by Clement, who was later Bishop of Rome, is apocryphal in nature and was not, in fact, by Clement.  All the same, the book was authored at an early date and so the account related by Eusebius may well preserve a historical event.