Leaving the schedule, we looked in detail at the Martyrium of Polycarp. We were struck by its apparent realism, and the humor of Polycarp. Many of the issues seemed to relate to what we know of events in Africa at the beginning of the Third Century, such as the martyrdom of Perpetua, which might suggest the later of the possible dates for Polycarp, though it makes it more difficult to believe that he was a pupil of John the Apostle.