ON S. AQUILINA THE VIRGIN,
MARTYR AT BYBLOS IN PHOENICIA.
IN THE YEAR CCXCIII.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
On her Acts, principal cult at Constantinople, & notice among the Latins.
Aquilina, Virgin & Martyr, at Byblos in Phoenicia (S.)
BY THE AUTHOR G. H.
[1] Byblus, by Stephanus Byzantinus on
Cities, is called a city of Phoenicia,
most ancient of all. It is mentioned
by Strabo, Ptolemy, Pliny,
& others; between Tripoli &
Berytus, not far from the sea situated.
This, among the first centuries of Christ Episcopal, had Euthalius
the Bishop, Greek Acts of martyrdom who baptized S. Aquilina, of whom
we now treat. We give the Acts of martyrdom,
such as after the lapse of many centuries composed we
can give; & them Latin-Greek. These, we found at Rome
in the Vatican Library, in the codex marked number
1667, which we judge once to have pertained to
the monastery of Grottaferrata, & that William
Sirletus the Cardinal used it, & sent the Acts translated into Latin
to Aloysius Lipomanus Bishop of Verona, & Latin.
who inserted them into the second part of the seventh volume of the Lives
of the Holy Fathers, & from there received them Laurence
Surius edited on this XIII June. We shall use the same version,
but collated with the Greek text & corrected. Mention
of those Acts is made by Leo Allatius, in the Diatribe on
the writings of the Simeons page 123, but by typographical error
it is called the Martyrdom of saint Aquilinus, when it is of S. Aquilina.
Allatius moreover judges, that they were not written by Simeon
Metaphrastes: & we also judge the author much more ancient
. The illustrious memory of that Saint is in
all the most ancient Fasti of the Greeks everywhere, as
are the Typicon of S. Sabas, the Ms. Synaxarion of the Church of Constantinople, Memory in the Greek Fasti
pertaining to the College of Clermont
of the Society of Jesus at Paris; the Menology of Basil the Emperor
Porphyrogenitus; various Ms. Menaea
at Milan in the Ambrosian Library, in which
the whole Ecclesiastical Office of this Saint is set forth.
From these have drawn their own Maximus Bishop of Cythera
ἐν βίοις ἁγίων (in the lives of the saints), Antonius Arcudius in
the New Antheology under Clement VIII, the already cited
Sirletus in his Greek Menology, & other authors
of Horologia.
[2] The aforesaid Office was composed & adorned by S. Joseph
the Hymnographer, & in his manner he made an acrostic Canon
, of which the initial letters of each strophe
constitute this Verse with the name of the author: with a Canon of S. Joseph the Hymnographer:
Δέχου τὸν ὕμνον, καλλίπαι Ἀκυλίνα. ΙΩΣΗΦ.
Which Verse with the same number of letters thus thou shalt render in Latin.
Receive. Aquilina Καλλίπαι, the Hymn of Joseph.
Καλλίπαιδας the Greeks call Mothers, conspicuous for beautiful offspring: which Epithet rightly thou wilt wonder to be added to Aquilina,
since in the Encomium thou shalt read, the Virgin to have been twelve years old,
when she made her martyrdom. Either therefore the sacred Poet
regarded in a higher sense her contemporaries, imbued by her with the faith of Christ,
of whom, even in such tiny age, she was the spiritual mother
; or by that compound he used as if
he had written καλὴ παῖς, beautiful girl. More properly
to the history pertains the first of three Similar Tones, thus
composed. Νυμφὴν ἀδιάφθορον, καλλωπισθεῖσαν ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ γινώσκοντες, in which is the testimony of miracles at the body; τελοῦμεν τὴν μνήμην σου τὴν φωτεινοτάτην, Μάρτυς ἀθλοφόρε, καὶ προσκυνῶμεν εὐσεβῶς τὴν τῶν λειψάνων σου ἁγίαν λάρνακα, τὴν ῥῶσον ἐῤῥυομένοι τὴν τῶν παθῶν πάντοτε, Ἀκυλίνα πανεύφημε. οἱ πιστῶς γεραιζαίροντες.
The undefiled Bride, & by the Holy Spirit
adorned, knowing thee, we celebrate thy most splendid
memory, Martyr victorious in contests; &
religiously we adore the holy shrine of thy Relics
; because deliverance from passions we always
obtain, O most celebrated Aquilina, thee in faith
praising. More distinctly also speaks the Canon, Ode 8
Strophe 3, Νόσους ἀνθρώπων θεραπεύει, καὶ ἀπελαύνει δαιμόνων λώβην τὸ ἅγιον σῶμά σου, Ἀκυλίνα, πανένδοξε, ἐν τάφῳ κείμενον. The diseases of men
it heals, & the injuries of demons drives away thy sacred body,
lying in the tomb, most glorious Aquilina.
[3] But where? At Byblos thou wilt say: where (as has
the Encomium) her Martyrion, or church, dedicated to the memory
of her martyrdom, is unto this day; & where
many healings are divinely accomplished. I judge
however that Joseph did not look here, when the Office
he composed; but to her body, or to notable parts of it,
translated from Byblos to Constantinople: for this was
the ordinary cause for foreign Saints to be more solemnly
venerated in that City, & for proper Oratories
or churches to be built for them as Virgin and Martyr. So
moreover at Constantinople S. Aquilina was venerated, even alone
might prove the metric Ephemeris, proposing her by this
Verse:
Τῇ δὲ τρίτῃ καὶ δεκάτῃ Ἀκυλίνα λαιμὸν τμήθη.
On the thirteenth Aquilina's throat is cut.
The place of the cult moreover the Elogium describes, or Epitome
of the Acts; to which in the Synaxarion of Divion this Distich is prefixed:
Τὸν παστὸν εὐπρέπιζε, λαμπρὲ Νυμφίε· Ἀκυλίνα σοι τέμνεται διὰ ξίφους.
Illustrious Bridegroom, prepare thy bridal chamber:
Aquilina for thee has her head cut off with the sword.
[4] The Elogium itself, which on account of the faults to be noted below
I forbear to transcribe, everywhere ends thus. Τελεῖται δὲ αὐτῆς σύναξις ἐν τῷ ἁγιωτὰτῳ αὐτῆς μάρτυρείῳ, τῷ ὄντι ἐν τοῖς Φιλοξένου. Her solemnity
is performed in her most holy martyrium or temple, Her temple at Constantinople.
which is constructed in the place of Philoxenus. This place moreover
is Πλησίον τοῦ Φόρου, near the forum, the Synaxarion of Clermont
indicates: nay also another place of cult
it adds; Ἐν τῷ περιτειχίσματι, In the circuit
of the walls of the City. About this I read nothing in the Constantinopolis
of Cange, much less in what part of its circuit
the Saint had a place dedicated to her. About Philoxenus
he suggests Georgius Codinus, in the Origins of Constantinople
writing, that Philoxenus with
Constantine the Great came to Byzantium, & a cistern,
by him called Philoxene, founded. But
Cedrenus, describing the Lansiac Palace, indicates,
that cistern to have been called Philoxene, because to strangers
it gave water: which Scylitzes places near the Justinianean
triclinium. In that confine therefore was the
temple of S. Aquilina the Martyr near the forum of Constantine;
& that ancient; as we gather from the Chronicle
of Alexandria, in which in the year V of Justinian, &
of Christ DXXXI, is said the temple of S. Aquilina, up
to the vaults of the other harbor in the Constantinian forum,
was burnt by flames. But afterwards it was restored,
from the said Synaxarion, indeed from the printed Menaea; we gather.
[5] The Latins following the Greeks, S. Aquilina to their fasti
had inscribed, Cult among the Latins. Genebrardus, Galesinius, Molanus, Canisius,
Renatus Benedictus, Arthur, and others with
the present-day Roman Martyrology, in which these things are read.
At Byblos in Palestine, S. Aquilina the Virgin & Martyr,
who twelve years old, under Diocletian
the Emperor & Volusianus the Judge, for the confession of the faith
beaten with blows & lashes, & with red-hot awls
pierced, finally struck with the sword, her virginity
with martyrdom consecrated. Baronius in the Ecclesiastical
Annals referred this martyrdom to the year
CCCVIII num. XVII. Time of martyrdom But by then for some years
Diocletian & Maximian had resigned the Empire,
over which then were Galerius Maximian and
Constantius Chlorus. But since in the Acts, both
Greek and Latin, it was said, S. Aquilina
was in the tenth year, is added: At which time
it was the seventh year of Diocletian the Emperor: that
was either the year CCXC, when he from the day XVII September
took the Empire, or the following year about the earlier
months. But afterwards, when before Volusianus strong & constant
S. Aquilina was in confessing the faith, ἦν δυοδεκα ἔτη ἄγουσα τὴν ἡλικίαν, under Volusianus the Proconsul. She was then
twelve years of age: & therefore, because on this XIII day
of June she completed her martyrdom, we judge it to have been
the year two hundred ninety-three. It could
however have been Volusianus the Proconsul, who in the year
CCLXI was Consul with the Emperor Gallienus; or
certainly some one of his family, on whom the Proconsular dignity
had been conferred; especially if he descended from the family
of Urbius Trebellianus Gallus, who with his son Volusianus
ruled the Empire from the year CCLI to CCLIV, in which they were
both killed.
ACTS OF THE MARTYRDOM.
By an ancient author before the times of the Metaphrast
From the Vatican Ms. & the translation of Sirletus.
Aquilina, Virgin & Martyr, at Byblos in Phoenicia (S.)
TRANSLATOR SIRLETUS.
FROM A MS.
[1] Our Saviour Jesus Christ having become man from heaven, and his glorious appearance for the salvation of sinners having taken place upon the earth, and the miracles by him having been accomplished, and the world being enlightened, and the deceiver of men being abolished through his voluntary passion, and grace gushing forth into the world through his glorious resurrection, and the human race having been made faithful, after his ascension into the heavens and his being seated at the right hand of the Father, the Apostles, having received his commands, were preaching his faith to all the world; and many being catechized by the apostolic preaching, and all at once being enlightened by the Holy Spirit at the will of the Lord, the faith throughout the whole world grew strong; and the Apostles having fulfilled their ministry, and having departed to the Lord, the word of their preaching throughout all the earth caused many to fear the Lord.
[2] In Byblos a city of Palestine were Christians, who by the Apostles had been catechized in the word of piety: of these therefore a certain man by name Eutolmius brought to himself a wife in that same city. And while both lived together, God granted to them fruit, which would abolish the lawless decrees of the tyrant. For the woman having conceived from her husband Eutolmius bore a child, whom they also named Aquilina. She, when she had advanced to the progress of years, & being yet of young age, made void the idolatrous ordinances of the lawless Kings. For the child having been born, and being of four months age, her mother brought her to Euthalius the Bishop; and they signed her in the name of the Lord, making her a catechumen: and after again another two months she brought her to the same Euthalius, and so enjoyed the enlightenment in Christ.
[3] And the child being of a year's age, her father Eutolmius departed from human life in Christ; and her mother remained nurturing the child. And she being seven years old, she was taught by her mother all the work of women. And the child growing strong in the increase of age, was filled with the Holy Spirit, advancing and being venerated in the grace of Christ. And being ten years old she did not cease through all things calling upon God.
[4] And it came to pass in the reign of Diocletian, in the seventh year of his reign, a certain Volusianus, offspring of the devil, took the principate of the consulship; and not knowing the Lord, he began to persecute the workers of piety. Many being crowned with the victory of Christ, and the greatest contests being accomplished by the athletes of the Lord, the devil saw his counsel being undone by the victors of Christ, and brought on the madness of his own end. These things being so done, the blessed Aquilina, as a venerable virgin, having in herself much knowledge of God, herself going to her contemporaries, conversed with them every day, saying: Now what profit is there to you from the idols which ye worship? Do ye not know, that those who have put their trust in them lie under vain expectations, and on empty and lying and soul-destroying and demoniac hopes do these rely? For of these every invocation is useless, and whosoever seem to offer them sacrifice for propitiation, these labor vainly; for things which are dead, & cannot grant themselves to speak, how can they benefit others?
[5] But all the women who conversed with her, said to her: Since thou seemest to overturn the gods, what God dost thou worship? Aquilina said: I worship the God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, who also has benefited from the age all who have trusted in him, and still is able to benefit unto the age those who call upon him. But the women said: And how? since we heard that this God whom thou worshippest was killed by the Jews? Aquilina said: All those who have been swallowed up by death my God redeems, for death does not have dominion over him; for since he saw the works of his hands living in much error, he was pleased to become man, that he might extinguish the error working in the world, and confer grace with justice on the world. The women said: And who then is the one whom they say was crucified? Aquilina said: He himself the Saviour of all, through his own love of mankind, wishing to grant to every man the regeneration through water and spirit, was pleased to undergo the cross, not only saving those upon earth, but also freeing those in Hades, he showed to all through his three-day resurrection, that to all also the resurrection from the dead shall come. The women said: If he did these benefits to the world, as thou sayest, why do not the Jews, from whom he was, worship him as God? Aquilina says: Always the nation of the Jews does not receive the type of truth, but being stiff-necked are sent away from justice; for this cause they also denied him who variously had shown piety to them, whom also having delivered to Pilate, they subjected to be crucified, he himself with his own willing mind willing it.
[6] But while she was conversing about these things with the women in the house, one Nicodemus by name, being of the order of the Proconsul, heard the words of the blessed Aquilina; and immediately running he departed to Volusianus the Proconsul, and says to him: Proconsul, the Sovereign Kings, obtaining the benefit from the gods, themselves also reverently with edicts have thus sent forth titles into every city, that all who do not sacrifice to them be killed in the worst manner; but there is in this city a maiden, who opposes the gods, and does not obey the edicts of the pious Kings, but also has her whole hope on the Crucified, and teaches the women the steadfastness denying the gods, and not only this, but also calls them demons.
[7] Hearing these things the Proconsul, sent some of the order to her; and having seized her, they brought her to the tribunal. And the Proconsul looking intently at her said: Art thou the one opposing the edicts of the Sovereigns, and teaching deceitful words to the women, that they may no longer be subject to the gods, but also serve the Crucified? Or knowest thou not, that the Kings being angry against him, by inexorable punishments have ordered those who worship him to be killed? Therefore thou also from his teaching wishedst to depart, and to the unconquered gods bring fitting sacrifice hasten, lest somehow we be forced to subject thee to tortures, because thou blasphemest the gods. Aquilina said: When I shall be subjected to tortures by thee, Proconsul, then I expect to receive the crown of incorruption from my Saviour, as not denying him; therefore do not hesitate planning tortures against me, that thou mayest know that I stand armed before thee with faith, not being cowed by thy threats.
[8] Volusianus said: I see thee standing by my tribunal, being yet a child in years, but comely in beauty, and I spare thee; for if I should proceed
to subject thee to tortures, I shall destroy thy tender members with swords; for if I shall order the executioners to torture thee, they will not spare thee, & thou being a child, badly drained by tortures, wilt depart life, and the God of the Christians, whom thou worshippest, will be able to help thee nothing; for the blessed Aquilina was twelve years of age, when she stood before the Proconsul. But she said to him: I do not wish to be pitied by thee; for thinking to pity me, thou rather harmest me; but I beseech thee, be wild against me, that by patience thou mayest know, that those who have hope in the Lord, remain unconquered.
[9] Volusianus the Proconsul hearing these things from the child, ordered the executioners coming forth to strike her vehemently with blows, & said to her, What is it, Aquilina? Has this beginning of tortures pleased thee? Aquilina said: Thou, tyrant, art not ashamed having ordered struck the one made according to the image of God, & my God will not spare thee in the day of judgment. Volusianus the Proconsul said: I judge, that the greatest gods, caring for the salvation of the world, also in that age there have the salvation in their power. And saying these things, he ordered her stripped to take a girdle, & being stretched by two executioners to be beaten her bitterly. But the Proconsul said to her: Didst thou not say, Aquilina, that thy God will not spare thee in the day of judgment? He therefore who does not spare me, where is he? Let him come & deliver thee from my hands; I shew thee to flee the vain heresy of the Christians.
[10] And saying these things, he ordered those striking her to spare, & says to her: Tell me, wretched one, whom dost thou know ever, or hast heard hoping in the Crucified, that he was able to escape my hands? or whom ever of those believing in him have the Kings let obtain life. Come therefore & hear me, & be freed from the madness possessing thee. Aquilina said: Dost thou now think, tyrant, that in being tortured I felt the wounds, fierce-named one? Know this, that as many engines as thy father the devil shall propose against me, so many & more of these my Lord furnishes me as helps. Volusianus said: These things we were taught by the wise before us, to sacrifice to the gods; wherefore I order to be given thee some days for counsel, if perhaps having considered, thou wilt hasten to bring service to the gods & wilt obtain life from us, & thou shalt have the greatest honors from the Sovereigns. Aquilina said: How many days dost thou give me to consider, Proconsul? Volusianus said: As many as thou wilt, & shalt request from me. Aquilina said: This therefore I ask from thee, not at all to grant me any time for consideration; for I from infant age have remained considering this with myself, & have not found another God, who is able to do good, & to whom one must flee, except to the heavenly God.
[11] Volusianus said. Therefore, Aquilina, in vain is my exhortation to thee. Aquilina said: I am not persuaded by thee in this; do not labor in vain, but whatever thou canst by devices bring against me, the useless handmaid of God, that I may again show thee defeated, as I showed thee in the past tortures.
[12] Volusianus said: Let iron awls be heated, & let them be passed through her ears. The executioners having done what was ordered, & having heated the awls, & having passed them into the ears of the child to such an extent, that the vapor alone burned the brain of the child, & made flowing from her nose. The brain therefore of the Martyr burning, having prayed to the Lord she said: O thou who hast nourished me from my youth, Christ, who hast enlightened my hidden thoughts with the rays of thy justice, who hast fortified me with thy noble patience to struggle against the adversary, who hast sent down thy true & ineffable wisdom into all the faithful, finish for me the course of the contest, & make unquenchable for me the lamp of my virginity, that I also may be able to enter in with the five virgins into thy undefiled bridechamber & glorify thee who hast granted me my petitions.
[13] And she having prayed these things, & being for a long time burnt by the heat of the irons, became half-dead, so that Volusianus the Proconsul thought Aquilina was dead; & ordered her thrown out from the place, where she was being examined, to be cast outside the city; for the Proconsul said, as having denied the gods, & insulted the Sovereigns, neither should she be worthy of burial, but thus to dogs for food to be set out. Aquilina remaining the whole day in the way, & evening overshadowing, about midnight came down an Angel of the Lord, & touched Aquilina, & said to her: Rise up healthy, & rebuke Volusianus the Proconsul, that he himself is nothing, & his devices vain. And immediately at once Aquilina having arisen healthy, gave thanks to the Lord and said: I give thanks to thee, supplier of my life, giver of healings, redeemer from iniquities; for thou art Lord who art before the ages, & abidest unto the ages, & beside thee there is no other; but this I ask of thee, to perfect me in the prize of patience, that I may take up the crown on my head, & delight in thy unfailing promises, hymning thee with the choir of the Saints who have witnessed through thee.
[14] And the Lord said to her: Go, let it be done to thee according to thy word; & having said these things to her, thus he ascended into the heavens. Guided by an Angel, she came as far as the gate of the city, & it was opened to her at once, & she entered into the city. The Angel went before her, until he led her into the praetorium of Volusianus. And he being awoken & having seen her, standing at his head, became astonished, & called some of those waiting on him in the praetorium, & said: Observe who this is, standing at my head. And they having brought in lights, saw, & said to him: We beseech thee, Proconsul, this is Aquilina, whom thou hadst ordered cast to dogs in the north. Hearing these things the Proconsul, ordered her to be kept until morning. On the morrow he ordered her to be brought before the tribunal, & said to her: Art thou Aquilina? But she said to him: Most unholy one, granted, the eyes of thy heart are blinded by thy father the devil, dost thou also not see with thy bodily eyes? I am Aquilina, who now stand before thee. The Proconsul rubbing his face with his hand, & remaining dumb, said within himself: If her brain was burned, & she was not subjected to death, no other torture can take hold of this one.
[15] And saying these things, he pronounced sentence against her of completion by the sword thus: Aquilina the champion of the most wicked heresy, who is a child in years, & is full of magic, this one according to the most pious decrees of the Kings & Sovereigns we have caught, disobedient to the gods, & contradicting the kings, but having besought her many things by exhortations, we were unable to transfer her from the madness of the Crucified, & to make her of the true knowledge of the unconquerable gods one of their own; this one also having received the trial of many torments, remained through magic untroubled by all of them; for the rest therefore, lest in mockery the sacrifice of the gods be dispersed, we order her to be taken outside the city, to undergo capital punishment.
[16] The blessed Aquilina being led away, & her executioner going before, she came to the appointed place of the sentence; & having requested a time to pray, lifting up her vision to heaven, & having prayed she said: Master Lord Almighty, I give thanks to thee, that behold thou hast shown me the hour of my completion; I praise thee, my God, the maker of all things, that thou hast not made me run in vain the course of my stadium; I bless thee, Creator of all things, that thou hast confounded the tyrant, & hast crowned me; this therefore I beseech thee, receive my spirit with peace, that for the rest having left earthly things, in the heavenly goods I may delight, having received through thee the crown of incorruption.
[17] And she having prayed these things, a voice came to her saying: Come, elect lamb, who hast trampled down the gnashing of the tyrant, who hast crushed the sting of the devil through thy contest, & hast shown Volusianus the Ruler defeated; receive thy prize set before thee. On earth thou hast suffered, in the heavens delight. This voice having been brought to her, before the executioner brought the sword upon her neck, the holy Martyr of Christ our true God was completed. The executioner, after she rendered up her spirit, then took off her head, by the command of the Proconsul; but instead of blood a flowing of milk came forth upon the earth.
[18] But Christian men standing by took up her remains more precious than stone; & having cared for her with precious ointments, & new sindon-cloths, buried her in a tomb in that city of Byblos. The blessed Aquilina was completed in the consulship of Diocletian, Volusianus being Proconsul, in the month June on the thirteenth, which is the 18th before the Kalends of July. Her martyrion is in the city of Byblos unto this day, where also many healings are performed, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.
[1] After the faith brought by Christ, After our Saviour Jesus Christ descended from heaven, & was made man, & appeared on earth for the salvation of sinning men, & by his miracles the world itself was abundantly illuminated, & by the things which he willingly suffered, the empire of the devil, who had ensnared man, was emptied out, & divine grace, through his glorious resurrection redounding into the world, converted the human race to the faith; finally after he himself ascended from earth into heaven, & sat at the right hand of the Father, the Apostles, having received the mandates from him, & preached by the Apostles preached his faith through the whole world. And when many were instituted by Apostolic preaching, & with God's help all those were enlightened by the Holy Spirit;
the faith itself flourished through the whole world. The Apostles indeed, when they had completed their office, ascended to the heavenly Lord, but their preaching nevertheless brought it about, that through the whole earth many feared God.
[2] And so in a certain city of the region of Palestine, which was called Byblos a, there were Christian men, who by the Apostles b themselves had been instructed in the doctrine of piety, of whom one Eutolmius by name, S. Aquilina born and baptized at Byblos, in that city took a wife: who when they were living holily together, God himself gave to them a fruit & offspring, which would empty out the wicked decrees of the tyrant. For when that woman had conceived from Eutolmius her husband, she bore a girl, whom the parents named Aquilina. This one when she had become a little larger, & yet being of tender age, overturned the constitutions concerning preserving the worship of the unjust Emperors. For when the girl herself was of four months age, her mother carried her to c Euthalius the Bishop, whom in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ he signed, & made a catechumen. After two months indeed when the mother brought her to Euthalius himself, the girl was enlightened with the baptism of Christ.
[3] When she was in her ninth year, her father Eutolmius passed from human life to Christ: but her mother was raising the girl. So when she was seven years old, by her mother all the institution becoming to women was taught her; she the more she grew in age, the more she was filled with the Holy Spirit, & adorned with the grace of Christ. But when she was in her tenth year, she never ceased to invoke God himself.
[4] But it came to pass, in the seventh year of Diocletian the Emperor, that a certain Volusianus d, a wicked man & a true progeny of the devil, Volusianus persecuting Christians there, received the administration of the province of Palestine: who since he did not know God himself, began to persecute the worshippers of divine piety. When therefore by the victory of Christ many were being crowned, & the athletes of the Lord Jesus rightly endured the greatest contests; the devil himself seeing his counsels destroyed by the victorious soldiers of Christ, was pouring forth all madness and fury. While these things were so happening, the blessed and honest virgin Aquilina having much knowledge of God, & meeting with her equals, & daily conversing with them: What, she said, shows her contemporaries the vanity of idols benefit is there to you from the idols, which you worship? Or know ye not, that those who have placed faith in these have vain expectation, & empty, trifling, soul-corrupting, & demonic hope? For the invocation of these is most useless, & those who offer sacrifice to these gods, to make them propitious to themselves, consume futile labor. For those who are dead, & cannot give themselves the faculty of speaking, how can they do good to others?
[5] When Aquilina said these things, all the women, who were speaking with her; & she provokes them to faith in Christ, Since, they said, thou deniest the gods themselves, & seemest to overturn them, come, tell us; What God dost thou worship? Aquilina replied: I worship that God, who created heaven, earth, & sea, & who from all ages has done good to all those, who have had faith & hope in him; & still he can do good in perpetuity to those, by whom he is invoked. Then those women: And how, they say, have we heard, that this one, whom thou callest God, was killed by the Jews? But Aquilina: All, who had been absorbed by death, my God redeemed: for death does not lord it over him. He therefore when he saw the works of his hands, that is, men themselves wandering in much error, willed to make himself a man, that he might extinguish the error of the world, & bring to us grace joined with justice. giving the reason for the cross endured by him. Those women said: And who is the one, whom they call Crucified? He himself, said Aquilina, is the Saviour of all, who through his love towards men, when he willed to bring to all men through water & spirit a new generation, willed to undergo & endure the cross, that he might confer salvation not only to those who are on earth, but also to those, who were held among the underworld: & to all, because he himself rose from the dead on the third day, he showed that it would come to pass, that they too in their time would rise from the dead. Then they: If this one bestowed these benefits on the world, as thou sayest, why do the Jews, from whom he himself was, not worship him as God? To this Aquilina: Always, she said, the nation of the Jews has turned away from the way of truth: & since they are of hard neck & obstinate mind, they reject what is just & true: wherefore they also denied him, who in many ways had behaved piously towards them, handing him over to Pilate, that he might raise him on the cross, demanding from him. Yet Jesus himself willingly underwent that cross.
[6] While Aquilina was speaking these things with those women, a certain Nicodemus, This is reported to Volusianus, from the number of those who were with the Proconsul, heard what Aquilina was saying: & immediately ran to Volusianus the Proconsul, & said: Behold, Proconsul, the Emperors themselves professing the benefits of the gods, have sent edicts through all cities, that whoever do not sacrifice to the gods themselves, in the worst manner be killed. But there is in this city a girl, who opposes the gods, & does not obey the edicts of the religious Emperors, but has placed all her hope in that Crucified man: nay also she teaches other women themselves, to deny the stable & composed religion of the gods: add, that she also calls the gods themselves demons.
[7] When the Proconsul had heard these things, he sent some from his cohort, who might seize her: who tempts her by threats in vain to deny the faith, whom when they had held, they led to the tribunal. Then the Proconsul looking upon her: Art thou, he said, she who resists the edicts of the Emperors, & instructs other women with false discourses, that they may no longer obey the gods themselves, but may worship a crucified man? Or knowest thou not, the Emperors themselves are angry at this crucified one? since they have ordered, with whatever inevitable penalties & the highest tortures, those to be killed, who worship Jesus? Wherefore both depart thou from his doctrine, & study to bring victims fitting to our unconquered gods, lest in some way we be forced to subject thee to tortures, because thou speakest against the gods themselves. To these things Aquilina: When, she said, I shall have been subjected to tortures by thee, Proconsul, then I expect to receive the crown of immortality from my Saviour, because I do not deny him. Wherefore without delay devise whatever torments against me, that thou mayest know, that I, armed with faith, stand by thee, & do not at all fear thy threats.
[8] Then Volusianus said: I see thee standing at my tribunal of an age quite youthful, as also by blandishments. but of appearance & beauty very honorable: & so I have a regard of thee: for if I subject thee to torments, thy tender members very soon will be destroyed by swords. But if I should order my executioners to torture thee, they will have no regard of thee: & thou indeed of an age very tender badly consumed by punishments, wilt end thy life, & no help will be able to be to thee the God of the Christians, whom thou worshippest. The blessed Aquilina was then of twelve years of age, when she stood by the Proconsul: who replying: I do not wish, said she, that thou follow me with mercy; for thinking thee merciful to me, thou affectest me with greater damage: but I ask from thee, that thou show thyself more fierce, that from my patience thou mayest know, those who have placed their hope in Christ the Lord, to remain unconquered.
[9] When Volusianus heard the girl saying these things, Struck with blows, he ordered the executioners to approach her, & constantly to strike her with blows, & added: See, Aquilina, whether these first-fruits of torments seem to thee sweet & pleasant. To these things Aquilina: Thou indeed, tyrant, hast not feared to order her to be struck with blows, who was made to the image of God: & so my God shall not spare thee in the day of judgment. Then Volusianus: I, he said, judge, our greatest gods to hold in their hand the salvation of the world, & in that other age to have all salvation in their power. And when he had said this, he ordered the girl to be stripped, & being girded with a small loincloth, to be sharply beaten by two stretching her, adding these words: Didst thou not, Aquilina, say it would come to pass, that thy God in the day of judgment would not spare me? & where is he now, who does not spare me? Let him come, & free thee from my hands. But I admonish thee, that thou flee that vain heresy of the Christians.
[10] Then he ordered the executioners to interrupt the beatings, & turning to Aquilina: Come, he said, she refuses the offered truce, tell me, wretched one; hast thou ever known anyone, or heard of one having hope in a crucified man, who could escape my hands? & whom of those, who have followed his faith, have the Emperors left alive? Come therefore, hear me, & withdraw thyself from that madness. To these things Aquilina: Dost thou, O most fierce tyrant, think that I have felt these torments? I would have thee know this, that however many engines thy father the devil suggests to thee against me, just so many & far more aids are supplied to me by God. Then Volusianus: We, he said, have been taught by the wise ones, who were before us, to sacrifice to the gods themselves: & so I order some days to be prescribed for thee, that meanwhile thou take counsel, whether, taking a better mind, thou wilt offer worship to the gods & obtain life from us & the greatest honors from our Emperors. To these things Aquilina: How many days dost thou prescribe me, in which to deliberate? As many, said Volusianus, as thou wilt, & shalt ask from me. But Aquilina said: This I ask from thee, that thou prescribe me no days, as concerns the consultation of this matter. For I from my earliest age always thinking on this, have found no other God, who can do me good, & to whom one must flee, except that heavenly God.
[11] prepared for whatever punishments. Then Volusianus: Vain is, as I see, my admonition, & in vain have I labored, when I have admonished thee. In no way, said Aquilina, in this matter do I obey thee: & so do not labor in vain, but whatever can be devised, apply against me the useless handmaid of God, that I may show thee again to have been conquered, just as in the previous torments thou wert conquered.
[12] Then Volusianus said: Let awls be heated, so that they are fiery, She is tortured with fiery awls driven into her ears. & let them be transmitted through her ears. When the executioners had done what they had been ordered, & had transmitted the burning awls into the girl's ears so far, that even the vapor alone of the fire burned her brain, & poured out through her nostrils; & when her brain was being burned, the girl thus prayed God: Thou Lord Jesus Christ, who hast nourished me
from my youth, who hast illuminated my most hidden thoughts with the rays of thy justice, who by thy generous & strong power hast made me strong, that I might fight against the enemy & adversary the devil, who hast imparted thy true & highest wisdom to all thy faithful; perfect the course of my contest, & keep the lamp of my virginity unextinguished: that I also, together with those five virgins, may be able to enter into thy most pure bridechamber, & celebrate thyself, who hast granted me my petitions.
[13] When she had prayed these things, & she was being burned for a longer time by the iron & burning awls, she became half-dead, Cast out as dead outside the city so that Proconsul Volusianus believed her to be dead. So he ordered her to be carried from there, & cast outside the city, as one who had denied the gods, & contemned the Emperors; & on that account he said she ought not be committed to burial, but cast as food to the dogs. But when Aquilina had lain on the way cast out for the whole day, about the middle of the night came down an Angel of the Lord, & having touched Aquilina; Rise, he said, & be whole, & rebuke Volusianus the Proconsul, that he himself is nothing, & his counsels are vain. Immediately Aquilina arose unhurt, & praising God said: I give thee thanks, author of my life, who bringest health, She is healed by an Angel, & freest men from iniquities: for thou art, Lord, who wert before the ages, & shalt remain unto the ages, nor besides thee is there another God. But this I suppliantly ask of thee, that when I shall have been consummated in the prize of patience, thou wouldst surround my head with thy crown, that enjoying thy most certain promises, together with the choir of thy Saints, who have completed martyrdom for thy sake, I may sing hymns to thee.
[14] Then the Lord answered her: Go, let it be done to thee, as thou hast said: & saying these things he was taken up into heaven. & is brought back to Volusianus, At which heard, Aquilina greatly rejoiced. Then led by the Angel, she came to the gate of the city: which immediately being opened, she entered into the city itself. The Angel moreover was her guide, until he led her to the praetorium of Volusianus. Who when, awakened from sleep, he had seen her standing before his eyes, was struck with stupor: who at her presence is amazed: & immediately he called certain ones from those, who were staying in his praetorium, saying, See, who this may be, who stands before my eyes. And when, lights being brought, they had seen her, they said: Truly this is Aquilina, whom thou orderedst to be cast as food to the dogs. When the Proconsul had heard these things, he ordered her to be kept until the next day's time. Which when it had come, he ordered her to be led before the tribunal. And addressing her: Art thou, he said, Aquilina? Then she replied: Most wicked man, even though the light of thy heart has been blinded by thy father the devil, dost thou even with bodily eyes not see? I am Aquilina, who now stand by thee. Then the Proconsul rubbing his eyes with his hand, & having for a little while been struck dumb with stupor, was saying to himself: If her brain has been burned, & she has not been subjected to death, then no other torture can touch her.
[15] When he had said these things, he pronounced sentence, that she should be struck with the sword, such: & adjudges her as a sorceress to the sword: We have apprehended Aquilina, defender of the worst sect of the Christians, younger indeed in age, but great in sorceries, opposing the most religious edicts of the Emperors, neither obeying the gods, nor agreeing with the Emperors: whom though by many admonitions we have endeavored to lead from the madness of a crucified man to the truest knowledge of the unconquered gods, we have not been able. She has indeed experienced many torments, but by sorceries has made it so, that she could not be perturbed by any torments. It remains therefore as it seemed to me, lest the sacrifices of the gods be derided, that we order her led outside the city to be struck with capital punishment.
[16] When therefore Aquilina was being led out, & the executioner went before, she came to that place, in which she had been appointed to be struck by the sword. who having obtained a space for prayer There she asked the time of one hour, that she might pray to God. With eyes raised therefore to heaven: Lord, she said, omnipotent God, I give thee thanks, that thou hast shown me the time of my martyrdom. I praise thee, my God, the effector of all things, that thou hast not made me complete the course of my stadium in vain. I bless thee creator of all things, that thou hast confounded the tyrant, & hast crowned me. This therefore I suppliantly ask from thee, that thou accept my spirit in peace, that earthly things being abandoned, I may be able to enjoy heavenly goods; &, by thy authority, I may receive the crown of immortality.
[17] invited by a heavenly voice she expires: When she had prayed these things, a voice came from heaven, which said: Come, elect Virgin, who hast trampled down the roaring of the tyrant, & by thy contest hast crushed the stings of the devil, & altogether overcome the leader Volusianus, receive the prize set before thee. On earth thou hast borne labors & afflictions, in heaven now thou shalt enjoy pleasantness. When this voice had been brought to her, before the executioner had cast the sword on her neck, the blessed Martyr of Christ our true God perfectly underwent death, but the executioner, although she had rendered up her spirit, nevertheless, according to the command of the Proconsul f, cut off her head, from which instead of blood milk flowed down to the earth.
[18] But Christian men being at hand, took up her Relics, more precious than gems, & she is buried by the Christians. & wrapped in costly ointments & new linens, in a monument near the city Byblos they buried them. The blessed Aquilina was consummated by martyrdom, with Diocletian the Emperor, & Volusianus the Proconsul, on the thirteenth day of the month June. Her Martyrion moreover is in the city of Byblos g, where unto this day many cures are brought to men, in Christ Jesus our Lord: to whom be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.
NOTES BY D. P.
Μαρτύριον in Greek, as in Latin Confessio, is taken here for the place, in which a Martyr or some Saint laid to rest is honored, & so either for the church or oratory consecrated to him, or a special tomb within the church; not however for the place, in which some Martyr underwent death; such as however because Sirletus's version seemed to mean, I did not wish to write with him the place of Martyrdom.
For the rest I have not concealed what anyone can easily see, that this whole composition has more of rhetorical invention than of historical certainty; hence those dialogues between the Martyr & the Proconsul, & the Angelic & Divine voices: & would that at least the series of the torments themselves, & many other more important circumstances, were expressed from a more certain tradition of the people of Byblos! But what shall thou do? when destitute of better information, we ought to rejoice, to have found even such things, which at least prove this, that Aquilina, as a Martyr suffering at Byblos, was indubitably held to be; which information lest it be too dry, by such narration, if not true, at least not altogether unverosimilar may have been composed: which we ingenuously confess has happened with very many other Passions, written many centuries afterwards.