African Martyrs Perpetua

ON THE HOLY AFRICAN MARTYRS PERPETUA, FELICITAS, SATURUS, SATURNINUS, REVOCATUS, AND SECUNDOLUS, AT CARTHAGE OR THUBURBO,

YEAR 203.

Preliminary Commentary.

Perpetua, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Felicitas, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Saturus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Saturninus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Revocatus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Secundolus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

[1] The Acts of these Martyrs, known to Tertullian, St. Augustine, the Venerable Bede, and other ancient writers, have lain hidden until now, recently brought to light from a manuscript codex of the sacred monastery of Monte Cassino, and published in print through the effort and labor of Lucas Holstenius, Canon of the Vatican Basilica and Prefect of the Library: these, with his posthumous Notes, The genuine Acts of these Martyrs: and his own additional notes, Peter Possinus of our Society, as historian, published in the year 1663. We, according to our custom, divide them into chapters, adorn them with marginal additions and more necessary annotations, referring the reader to the fuller Notes of these illustrious men. What is contained in the first three chapters was written by St. Perpetua the Martyr herself — that is, as she states at the end, all that was accomplished up to the day before the spectacle, or martyrdom. There is then appended the vision of St. Saturus the Martyr, also written down by himself. Another person then added what he had witnessed with his own eyes, shortly after their martyrdom: so that he might carry out, as it were, the commission of the most holy Perpetua, indeed the trust committed by her faith, as he testifies below at number 17.

[2] Holstenius then added the testimonies of the ancient writers of the Church, Sermons of St. Augustine: such as Tertullian from his book On the Soul, chapter 55, and especially of St. Augustine, whom Possidius in his Index writes as having delivered three treatises on the birthday feast of these Martyrs, which Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology believed to have been lost. But they survive in the Plantin and Parisian editions among the other works of this Author. Another sermon of St. Augustine on the Birthday of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas was found in the most ancient parchments of the Vatican Library in the book marked number 3836: a copy of which was given to us at Rome by the same Holstenius, when we were with him at Rome during his final illness in the year 1661. This sermon, published by him at the end of the testimonies, we give here, omitting the rest since they survive among his works, and from both those and other treatises of this Saint we insert various excerpts here and there.

[3] The time of the martyrdom is indicated at numbers 8 and 17, when the birthday of the most noble Caesar Geta was being celebrated. Geta was the second-born son of the Emperor Severus, whose first-born was Antoninus Caracalla, his successor in the Empire. These brothers were made sharers in the Empire by their father Severus The Martyrs suffered in the year 203: in the seventh year of his reign, the year of Christ 199: Antoninus was created Augustus, but Geta only Most Noble Caesar. The persecution against Christians was then renewed by Severus in the tenth year of his reign, the year of Christ 202, and in the following year 203 Geta Caesar held the consulship with Septimius Plautianus, and the opportunity was seized to honor his birthday with gladiatorial games and spectacles of the arena. Nor does it seem possible to defer this further, since in the twelfth year of Severus, the year of Christ 204, the name of Augustus was shared with Geta. All these matters Possinus learnedly sets forth, and shows that some time after these events Tertullian's treatise to Scapula was written, since in it the eclipse of the new moon of the year 210 is described, and indeed the Emperor Severus and his son Antoninus are spoken of as though already deceased: and so the mention in that treatise of Hilarianus the Prefect, under whom these Martyrs suffered, presents no obstacle.

[4] A greater difficulty appears regarding the place of martyrdom. The Venerable Bede in his genuine Martyrology, hitherto unedited, assigns Carthage with these words: On the Nones of March. At Carthage, and at Carthage according to Bede: of Perpetua and Felicitas, who were assigned to the beasts under the Emperor Severus, and when Felicitas was in labor in prison, by the prayers of all the soldiers who were suffering together with her, it was obtained that she should give birth in the eighth month. Now indeed it was granted to Perpetua among other things that her mind should be in some manner turned away from her body, in which she endured the charge of the cow, so that she still expected what was to come, not knowing that what had already happened to her had taken place. So Bede. The very same words are read in several manuscript Martyrologies under the name of Bede, although they have been variously augmented, and they are preserved at Rome in the Vatican Church of St. Peter, at Tournai in the monastery of St. Martin, at Liege in the Cathedral Church of St. Lambert, at Liessies in the monastery of Hainaut, at Aachen in the greater Church, and elsewhere. Likewise in the illustrious manuscript Martyrology of St. Cyriacus, which Baronius used extensively in compiling the Roman Martyrology: Ancient Martyrologies: to all of which must be added the printed Martyrology of Rabanus Maurus: and the same words are set forth everywhere. The earlier words also, which bear on the question at hand, with the rest omitted, are found in the very ancient Martyrology of the sacred monastery of Monte Cassino, in which the ancient Acts were found, and also in the Roman manuscript

of the Duke of Altemps: At Carthage, of Perpetua and Felicitas, who were assigned to the beasts under the Emperor Severus.

The same is related in the ancient manuscript of the Queen of Sweden, and another of St. Martin at Trier: but "at Carthage" or "in Carthage," not "near Carthage," is given. Moreover Bede, what he handed down in his genuine Martyrology, and the Chronicles of various authors: also wrote in his book On the Six Ages of the World under Severus Pertinax: Perpetua, he says, and Felicitas, near Carthage of Africa, in the military camp, were assigned to the beasts for Christ on the Nones of March. These same words, almost verbatim, Freculphus of Lisieux, Ado of Vienne, Regino Abbot of Prum, Marianus Scotus, and Hermann Contractus transcribed in their Chronicles.

[5] The genuine Acts support this: These clearly seem to be excerpted from the ancient Acts themselves, in which at number 8 they are said to have been transferred as captives to the military prison, for they were to fight in the military spectacle: and at number 19 they are said to have proceeded from the prison to the amphitheater, in which, with the people watching on all sides and joining their eyes (as is said below) as accomplices in the murder, they consummated their martyrdom. The Proconsul was Minucius Timinianus, and upon his death Hilarianus, who is said at number 7 to have interrogated all of them, and especially St. Perpetua, and urged them to offer sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperors: when this was not obtained, he condemned them all to the beasts. Finally, at number 19, the Martyrs entered the amphitheater, came before the sight of Hilarianus, and in his presence, while he was celebrating the birthday of Caesar Geta, were thrown to the beasts, and at last by the sword obtained the crown of martyrdom. All of which can very well be assigned to Carthage, the rival of the city of Rome, where the seat and residence of the Proconsuls was, where there was a public amphitheater, or where among the types of entertainments the one spectacle of gladiatorial shows the inhabitants most eagerly attend, as that Greek Notitia made in the time of the Emperor Constantius relates, according to Charles a S. Paulo in his Sacred Geography, book 4, section 2; who then in section 4 proves from St. Cyprian that in the third century of Christ there was only one Ecclesiastical province in Africa properly so called, which also had Numidia and the two Mauritanias attached to it, over all of which the Metropolitan of Carthage presided, as in civil affairs the Proconsul did; whom from these Acts we show to have been celebrating there the birthday of Caesar Geta in the amphitheater, with these Martyrs exposed to wild beasts in a public spectacle. Finally Victor of Utica supports this, in book 1 of the Vandal Persecution, where in treating of the churches occupied by the Arians at Carthage, he writes thus: And their bodies were buried in a basilica at Carthage: And to speak of necessities, the greater basilica, where the bodies of the holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas are, of Celerina or of the Scillitans, and other churches which they did not destroy, they seized for their own religion by tyrannical license.

We treated of St. Celerina on February 3. The Scillitan Martyrs will be treated on July 17, and some matters will be touched upon shortly here.

[6] Notwithstanding these things, another arena is assigned to these Martyrs by some: of whom Usuard in his Martyrology writes thus: On the Nones of March. In Mauretania, [In some Martyrologies the place of martyrdom is said to be the city of the Thuburbitani in Mauretania:] in the city of the Thuburbitani, the birthday of the holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, and with them Revocatus, Saturninus, and Secundolus, the last of whom died in prison; all the rest were given over to the beasts under the Emperor Severus. Ado adds: on the day of his birthday. And while they were still kept in prison, and Felicitas was in labor, by the prayers of all the holy fellow soldiers it was obtained that she should give birth in the eighth month. He adds other things which we gave above from the genuine Martyrology of Bede, into whose printed Martyrology the same things that are read in Ado have been interpolated. While meanwhile both Bede in his book On the Six Ages and Ado in his Chronicle relate that SS. Perpetua and Felicitas were assigned to the beasts near Carthage. The same as in Ado's Martyrology is found in Notker, the manuscript Martyrology of the monastery of St. Maximin, and Bartholomew of Trent's Lives of the Saints edited by Holstenius.

But first it is displeasing that they are said to have been given over to the beasts under the Emperor Severus and indeed on his birthday, since it is twice stated in the Acts that it was the birthday of his second-born son Geta Caesar, then Consul. Then why was St. Saturus omitted by Usuard and others, about whom very many and most illustrious things are found in the Acts — knowledge of which we do not believe reached these authors. With Saturus also omitted, the following is read in the Tables of the Roman Martyrology: At Thuburbo in Mauretania, the birthday of the holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, who, being pregnant (as St. Augustine says), was waited for according to the laws to give birth; while she was in labor she suffered pain, but when thrown to the beasts she rejoiced: and with them suffered Revocatus, Saturninus, and Secundolus, the last of whom died in prison; all the rest were given over to the beasts under the Emperor Severus. For these three men, Usuard, Ado, and Peter in his Catalogue are cited in the Notes. But the last added St. Saturus. Now St. Augustine in his treatise On the Time of Barbarism, chapter 5, among other things has this: A few days ago we celebrated the birthday feast of the Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas and their companions. And since there are so many men there, why are these two women named above all, unless because the weaker sex either equaled or surpassed the fortitude of the men? One of them pregnant, the other nursing: Felicitas was giving birth, Perpetua was nursing ... Felicitas was both giving birth and suffering pain; thrown to the beasts she rejoiced rather than feared. So much from that passage. But let us return to the arena or place of martyrdom. In the manuscript Martyrology that is preserved at Rome among the Fathers of the Congregation of the Oratory, there is this: In Mauretania, in the city of the Tuberbitani, the birthday of the holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, Saturninus and Secundolus — with Saturus and Revocatus omitted. The first part, about Perpetua and Felicitas alone, is read in the Martyrology edited by Rosweyde. In the Cologne manuscript of St. Mary ad Gradus, with Secundolus omitted, there is added "and of the three brothers Saturus, Saturninus, and Revocatus." But from the Acts it cannot be concluded that they were brothers. In the very ancient parchment codex of Cardinal Barberini: In Mauretania, in the city, of SS. Perpetua, Felicitas, and Victorinus. In Africa, of SS. Satyrus, Saturninus, Vocatus, and Secundinus — where the last two are those who in the Acts are called Revocatus and Secundolus. In the ancient Reichenau manuscript, there is this: In Mauretania, of Secundus, Satyrus, Saturninus, Perpetua, and Felicitas. In Africa, of Satyrus, Revocata, Jocundus. In the Martyrology of St. Jerome which is preserved among us, the same names are repeated several times and joined with others in a disordered arrangement, in this manner: On the Nones of March. In Africa, of Satyrus, Revocatus, Jocundus, Saturninus; elsewhere of Silvanus ... In Antioch, of Leocis, Taxis ... and to these are added the names of Satyrus, Saturninus, Revocatus, Secundolus, Italicus. In Mauretania, in the city of the Turbitani, the passion of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas. And on March 6 in the same codex, with other Martyrs who suffered in Africa, mention is made of Perpetua, Felicitas, and Jocundus. In the Martyrology of St. Jerome printed at Paris and Lucca and in the Blume manuscript, nearly the same things are found, and the city of the Turbitani is read everywhere, which to others is that of the Thuburbitani, sometimes Tiburbitani, Tuberbitani, or Tuturbitani — the last two coinciding. The Turbitani are placed by no one else in Mauretania or Africa. Moreover it does not seem that the collectors of these calendars had read or seen the ancient passion of these Martyrs.

[7] Perhaps the occasion was seized from St. Augustine and from certain badly compiled Acts. St. Augustine, in sermon 32 of those which our James Sirmond published, entitled On Contempt of the World — in which near the end he treats of the imitation of Christ suffering, through tribulations, through false accusations, through spitting in the face, through slaps and the lashes of scourges, What the women Martyrs of Thuburbo in St. Augustine are: through the crown of thorns, through the cross and through death — and then: Women followed, whose birthday feast we celebrate today. We celebrate the solemnity of the women Martyrs of Thuburbo. So much from that passage; but that SS. Perpetua and Felicitas are necessarily to be understood here does not follow, since there are so many sermons of St. Augustine about these holy Women, and they are often praised elsewhere without any mention of Thuburbo, and on the contrary other illustrious Virgins who suffered there are venerated on July 30, whose eulogy appears in the Roman Martyrology: At Thuburbo Lucernaria in Africa, of the holy Virgins and Martyrs Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda: of whom the first two, in the persecution of Valerian and Gallienus, were given vinegar and gall to drink, then beaten with most severe blows, and stretched on the rack, also burned on gridirons and rubbed with lime; afterward with Secunda, a Virgin of twelve years, they were simultaneously thrown to the beasts, but untouched by them, and at last slain by the sword. So much from that passage. Why should not St. Augustine have meant those women, who are reported in very many ancient Martyrologies, including that of St. Jerome and others, which will be cited at that day? There is in Africa properly so called, and in its Proconsular province, a double city of that name: Thuburbo Maius, which here seems to be called Lucernaria or of Lucernaria, and Thuburbo Minus: whence the Greater and Lesser Thuburbitani in the Conference of the Donatists. But these cities are far distant from Mauretania, since the province of Numidia lies between them. Holstenius in his Observations on the Roman Martyrology notes that to the word "Thuburbo" there is appended in the manuscript of the Queen of Sweden "near Carthage," and indeed, as he asserts, most correctly: and therefore "in Mauretania" should be deleted from the above-mentioned Martyrologies. But a scruple remains about the city of Thuburbo, lest from confused Acts of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas, which exist in many manuscript codices, every error has emanated. Those Acts begin with these words: When therefore a persecution was made under Valerian and Gallienus, and then: The Proconsul Minutius said: Certain Acts badly compiled from various sources: The most invincible Emperors Valerian and Gallienus have ordered that you sacrifice — and at the end: They suffered under the Emperors Valerian and Gallienus. This is the first error. The second is equally enormous regarding the manner of martyrdom, because Satyrus and Perpetua are said to have been devoured by lions, Revocatus and Felicitas by leopards, Saturninus torn out by bears and struck with the sword. But in truth Perpetua and Felicitas were injured by a most ferocious cow, and after being previously thrown to other beasts, they consummated their martyrdom by the sword: the genuine Acts agree with St. Augustine. I omit listing other errors which Peter Calo and Peter de Natalibus, cited by Lucas Holstenius, also described. Whether from similar Acts, which abound with errors, the occasion was taken for writing that they suffered in the city of the Thuburbitani, as is stated at the beginning and end, let the judgment rest with learned readers. Those confused manuscript Acts add "in Africa"; in place of which the aforementioned Peter Calo and Peter de Natalibus have, along with the Martyrologies cited above, "in Mauretania." Finally, even if it were certainly established that St. Augustine in the above-cited sermon meant SS. Perpetua and Felicitas by the women Martyrs of Thuburbo, it still cannot be concluded that they suffered at Thuburbo rather than at Carthage. For in the same persecution of Severus, there were crowned with martyrdom at Carthage St. Speratus,

Bishop of this city, and many companions of both sexes, who are commonly called the Scillitans, even by Victor of Utica, since Scillita is an episcopal city in the same Proconsular province of Africa. And let it suffice to have set forth these things regarding the place of martyrdom, with the final judgment, as we have already said, left to learned readers.

[8] It is pleasing to append a few things from the first Sermon of St. Augustine on these Saints, which he delivered concerning their veneration in these words: Praises from St. Augustine: Now their descendants, whose voices savagely raged in the flesh of the Martyrs, praise the merits of the Martyrs with pious voices. For the arena of cruelty was not then filled with so great a concourse of people to kill them, as the Church of piety is now filled to honor them. Every year charity beholds with devotion what impiety committed with sacrilege on a single day. Those too watched, but with far different disposition. They by their shouting accomplished what the biting of the beasts did not fulfill; but we both pity what the impious did, and venerate what the pious suffered. They saw with the eyes of the flesh what they might requite with the savagery of their hearts; we behold with the eyes of the heart what was snatched from them to see. They rejoiced over the dead bodies of the Martyrs; we grieve for their dead souls. They without the light of faith thought the Martyrs destroyed; we with most faithful gaze perceive them crowned. Finally their insult has become our exultation. The same Augustine begins his second Sermon with praise of these holy Women thus: The merit and name of Perpetua and Felicitas, holy handmaids of God, shines forth and stands preeminent among their fellow Martyrs. For there the crown is more glorious where the sex is weaker: because assuredly a manly spirit in these women accomplished something greater, when under so great a burden feminine frailty did not fail. And near the end of the same Sermon he has this: This was the name of both, which is the gift of all. For why do the Martyrs endure all things, if not to glory in perpetual felicity? Therefore they were called what all are called to. And so, although there was in that contest a most numerous company, by the names of these two the eternity of all was signified, the solemnity of all was sealed. Similar things are found passim in other treatises of St. Augustine. Veneration among the Greeks: The names of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas are recited daily by priests in the Canon of the Mass. The Greeks also venerate these Martyrs in the Menaea on the Kalends of March, but in place of Saturninus and Secundolus they set Tornilus and Secundus. But on the second of February their memory is celebrated in the manuscript Menaea of the Ambrosian Library and others. Some body of St. Perpetua is preserved at Bologna among the Conventual Franciscan Fathers, and they venerate that Saint on March 7 as though she belonged to them.

LIFE

Brought to light from the Cassino manuscript by Lucas Holstenius.

Perpetua, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Felicitas, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Saturus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Saturninus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Revocatus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

Secundolus, Martyr at Carthage, or Thuburbo in Africa (St.)

BHL Number: 6633

PREFACE.

[1] If the ancient examples of faith, both testifying to the grace of God and working the edification of man, were for this reason set down in writings, that by reading them, as by a reconsideration of the events, both God might be honored and man strengthened — why should not new testimonies, equally suited to both purposes, also be set down? Especially since these too will one day be ancient and necessary for posterity, even if in their own present time they are assigned lesser authority on account of the presumed veneration of antiquity. New things should be written, which will one day be ancient for posterity: But let those beware who judge the one power of the one Holy Spirit according to the ages of time: since the more recent things are to be considered the greater, as being the most recent, according to the superabundance of grace decreed for the last ages of the world. For in the last days, says the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and their sons and daughters shall prophesy, and upon my servants and handmaids I will pour out of my Spirit: and the young men shall see visions, and the old men shall dream dreams. Joel 2:28 Acts 2:17 And so we also, who recognize and honor new prophecies and likewise new visions equally promised, and assign the remaining powers of the Holy Spirit to the service of the Church, to which the same Spirit was sent, administering all gifts in all, as the Lord distributes to each one — we necessarily both set them down and celebrate them by reading to the glory of God, lest any weakness or despair of faith should think that divine grace was active only among the ancients, whether in the dignity of Martyrs or of revelations: since God always works what he promised — to unbelievers as a testimony, to believers as a benefit.

And so we also announce to you what we have heard and handled, written for eyewitnesses: brothers and little children: so that you who were present may recall the glory of the Lord, and you who now learn by hearing may have communion with the holy Martyrs, and through them with the Lord Jesus Christ: to whom be glory and honor forever and ever. Amen.

CHAPTER I.

The arrest of the Saints. The baptism of Perpetua, her confinement in prison. First vision.

[2] There were arrested as young catechumens, Revocatus and Felicitas his fellow-slave, SS. Revocatus, Felicitas, Secundulus, and Perpetua arrested: and Secundulus. Among these also was Vibia Perpetua, of good family, liberally educated, honorably married; having a father and mother and two brothers, one likewise a catechumen, and an infant son at the breast. She was herself about twenty-two years of age. She herself will from this point narrate the entire course of her martyrdom, she wrote the account of events: just as she left it written by her own hand and in her own words.

[3] While I was still, she says, with the persecutors, and my father was striving to overthrow me and to cast me down in his affection, I said: Father, do you see, for example, this vessel lying here, a little pitcher or whatever it may be? And he said: I see it. And I said to him: Can it be called by any other name than what it is? And he said: No. St. Perpetua overcomes her father: So also I cannot call myself anything other than what I am, a Christian. Then my father, moved by this word, threw himself upon me as if to tear out my eyes: but he only harassed me, and departed, vanquished along with the arguments of the devil. Then for a few days, being free from my father, I gave thanks to the Lord, and was refreshed by his absence. In that space of a few days we were baptized: She is baptized with others: and the Spirit dictated to me that nothing else should be sought from the water of baptism except endurance of the flesh.

[4] After a few days we were received into the prison: and I was terrified, because I had never experienced such darkness. She is thrust into a foul prison: O harsh day! The heat was stifling, the crowds were oppressive, the soldiers were rough. Above all, I was tortured with anxiety for my infant. Then Tertius and Pomponius, the blessed Deacons who were ministering to us, arranged by payment that for a few hours we might go out to a better part of the prison and be refreshed. Then going out of the prison, everyone occupied themselves. I nursed my infant, who was already faint with hunger; anxious about her infant: I was anxious about him, I spoke with my mother and comforted my brother; I commended my son to them. I was wasting away because I saw them wasting away on my account. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, and I obtained that my infant should remain with me in the prison, and immediately I recovered; and I was relieved from the labor and anxiety about the infant: and the prison became to me suddenly like a palace; so that I preferred to be there than anywhere else.

[5] Then my brother said to me: My lady sister, you are now in great favor; so great that you may ask for a vision, and it may be shown to you whether it is to be suffering or release. And I, who knew that I conversed with the Lord, whose great benefits I had experienced, confidently promised him, from a vision granted to her: saying: Tomorrow I will report to you. And I asked, and this was shown to me: I see a ladder of marvelous height, reaching all the way to heaven, and narrow, a ladder raised to heaven: by which only one at a time could ascend: and on the sides of the ladder every kind of iron instrument was fixed. There were swords, lances, hooks, daggers: so that if anyone climbed carelessly, or not looking upward, he would be torn and his flesh would cling to the instruments. And beneath the very ladder lay crouching a dragon of marvelous size, who laid ambushes for those ascending and terrified them from climbing. But Saturus climbed up first, who had afterward voluntarily given himself up on our account, and had not been present when we were arrested: and he reached the top of the ladder, and the ascent of St. Saturus and her own: and turned and said to me: Perpetua, I support you; but see that the dragon does not bite you. And I said: He shall not harm me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and from beneath the very ladder, as if fearing me, he slowly put forth his head: and as if I were treading on the first step, I trod upon his head. And I ascended and saw an immense garden space, and in the middle a gray-haired man sitting, in the garb of a shepherd, tall, milking sheep: and standing around him were many thousands in white. And he raised his head and looked at me and said to me: Welcome, child. And he called me, and of the cheese he was milking he gave me a morsel, as it were. And I received it with joined hands, and of the morsel offered: and I ate; and all who stood around said: Amen. And at the sound I awoke, still chewing something I know not what. And I reported it immediately to my brother, and we understood that it was to be the Passion: and we began to have no further hope in the world. She understands it means martyrdom.

CHAPTER II.

The constancy of St. Perpetua when assailed by her father. Confession of faith, condemnation. The deliverance of Dinocrates from purgatory shown in a vision.

[6] After a few days a rumor ran that we would be heard. And my father also arrived from the city, consumed with grief: he came up to me to cast me down, saying: Have mercy on my gray hairs, daughter; have mercy on your father, if I am worthy to be called father by you: if with these hands I have brought you up to this flower of your age: She is assailed by her father: if I have preferred you to all your brothers — do not give me over to the disgrace of men. Look upon your brothers, look upon your mother and your aunt; look upon your son, who will not be able to live after you. Lay aside your resolution, lest you destroy us all: for none of us will be able to speak freely if anything should happen to you. These things my father said out of his affection, kissing my hands and casting himself at my feet: and with tears he called me not daughter, but Lady. And I grieved for my father's sake, because he alone of all my family would not rejoice at my suffering: and I comforted him, she comforts him: saying: On that platform it shall happen as God wills. For know that we are not placed in our own power, but in God's. And he departed from me grieving.

[7] On another day while we were at dinner, we were suddenly snatched away to be heard: and we came to the forum. Immediately a rumor ran through the neighboring parts of the forum, and an immense crowd gathered. We mounted the platform; she is led with others to the tribunal: the others were interrogated and confessed. Then it came to my turn, and my father appeared there at once with my son, and drew me from the step, imploring: Have mercy on the infant. And Hilarianus the procurator, who had then received the power of the sword in place of the deceased Proconsul Minucius Timinianus, said: Spare the gray hairs of your father, spare the infancy of the boy; offer sacrifice for the welfare of the Emperors. And I answered: I will not do it. She confesses herself a Christian: Hilarianus said: Are you a Christian? And I answered: I am a Christian. And when my father persisted in trying to overthrow me, he was ordered by Hilarianus to be thrown down: and he was struck with a rod, and it grieved me as though I myself had been struck: so I grieved for his wretched old age. She is condemned to the beasts: Then he pronounced sentence on us all, and condemned us to the beasts, and cheerfully we descended to the prison. Then because my infant had been accustomed to take the breast from me and to stay with me in prison, I immediately sent the deacon Pomponius to my father, asking for the infant. But my father refused to give him; and as God willed, neither did the child desire the breast any longer, nor did they cause me inflammation, so that I was not tortured by anxiety for the infant and pain in my breasts.

[8] After a few days, while we were all praying, suddenly in the middle of prayer a word came forth from me, and I named Dinocrates: and I was astonished, because he had never come to my mind until then; she prays for her dead brother Dinocrates: and I was grieved at the recollection of his misfortune, and I knew that I was immediately worthy, and that I ought to pray for him. And I began to make much prayer for him, and to groan to the Lord. Immediately that very night this was shown to me: I see Dinocrates coming out of a dark place, where there were also many dark places, very hot and thirsty, with a dirty face and a pale complexion: and a wound on his face, which he had when he died. This Dinocrates had been my brother in the flesh, seven years old, who through illness died wretchedly with a cancerous face, she understands he is suffering in purgatory: so that his death was hateful to all people. For him I had made prayer: and between me and him there was a great gulf, so that neither of us could approach the other. There was moreover, where Dinocrates was, a pool full of water, having a rim higher than the stature of the boy; and Dinocrates was stretching himself as if to drink. I grieved that the pool had water, and yet because of the height of the rim he would not be able to drink. And I awoke, and I knew that my brother was suffering; but I trusted that I could help his suffering, and I prayed for him until we were transferred to the military prison: for we were to fight in the military spectacle (it was then the birthday of Geta Caesar); and I made prayer for him day and night, and weeping, that he might be granted to me.

[9] On the day when we remained in the stocks, this was shown to me: I see that place which I had seen before, and Dinocrates, clean of body, well clothed, and refreshed: and delivered from it: and where the wound had been, I see a scar; and that pool which I had seen before, with its rim lowered to the boy's navel; and he was drawing water from it without ceasing, and on the rim was a golden bowl full of water. And Dinocrates came and began to drink from it; and the bowl did not fail, and satisfied, he departed from the water to play in the manner

of children, rejoicing; and I awoke. Then I understood that he had been translated from punishment.

Platform: The platform was a raised place on which slaves for sale, or defendants to be judged or tortured, were displayed, just as the pulpit in a church was a higher place. Hence St. Cyprian, epistle 33, praises a Reader who had come to the pulpit after the platform on which he had confessed Christ, and St. Romanus the Martyr says in Prudentius: Hear, all of you; I cry out and proclaim afar, I raise my voice higher from the platform.

CHAPTER III.

New assault on St. Perpetua by her father. Her third vision.

[10] Then after a few days, Pudens the soldier, a deputy officer set over the prison, who held us in great esteem, began to understand that there was a great power in us: he admitted many to visit us, so that both we and they might mutually be refreshed. When the day of the spectacle drew near, A new vexation is inflicted by her father: my father came to me, consumed with grief, and began to tear out his beard and throw it on the ground, and to prostrate himself on his face, and to reproach his own years, and to say such words as would move all creation. I grieved for his wretched old age.

[11] On the day before we were to fight, I see in a vision this: Pomponius the Deacon had come to the door of the prison and was knocking violently: and I went out to him and opened to him. He was dressed in a white garment without a belt, wearing elaborate sandals. And he said to me: Perpetua, we are waiting for you; come. And he took my hand, In a vision she is led to a contest: and we began to go through rough and winding places. At last we arrived breathless at the amphitheater, and he led me into the middle of the arena: and he said to me: Do not be afraid; I am here with you, and I labor together with you. And he departed. And I beheld a huge crowd, astonished: and because I knew that I had been condemned to the beasts, I marveled that no beasts were sent against me. And there came out against me a certain Egyptian, against an Ethiopian: hideous in appearance, with his assistants, to fight against me. And there came to me also handsome youths, my helpers and supporters: and I was stripped, and I became a man. And my supporters began to rub me with oil, as is customary for a contest, and I see that Egyptian on the other side rolling in the dust. And there came forth a man of marvelous stature, so that he even exceeded the top of the amphitheater, wearing a loose purple garment with two stripes across the middle of his chest, having sandals of many forms made of gold and silver, carrying a rod like a trainer, and a green branch on which were golden apples. And he asked for silence and said: If this Egyptian conquers this woman, the prize being offered: he shall kill her with the sword; and if she conquers him, she shall receive this branch. And he withdrew. And we approached each other she fought: and began to exchange blows. He tried to seize my feet; but I struck his face with my heels: and I was raised up into the air and began to strike him thus, treading the ground. But when I saw there was a delay, I joined my hands so as to interlock my fingers: and I seized his head, and he fell on his face, and I trod upon his head. She conquered: And the people began to shout, and my supporters began to sing. And I went to the trainer and received the branch. And he kissed me and said to me: and received the prize: Daughter, peace be with you. And I began to walk in glory toward the Gate of the Living. And I awoke, and understood that I was to fight not against beasts but against the devil: but I knew that the victory was mine. This I have set down up to the day before the spectacle: but as for the events of the spectacle itself, let whoever wishes write them.

CHAPTER IV.

The Vision of St. Saturus.

[12] But also the blessed Saturus made known this vision of his, which he himself wrote down: We had suffered, he says, and had departed from the flesh, In a vision made to him, St. Saturus and St. Perpetua: and we began to be carried by four Angels toward the east, whose hands did not touch us. We went not on our backs facing upward, but as though ascending a gentle slope: and freed from the first world, we saw an immense light, and I said to Perpetua (for she was at my side): This is what the Lord promised us; carried by Angels into a great light: we have received the promise. And while we were being carried by the same four Angels, there opened up a great space before us, which was like a garden, having rose trees and every kind of flower. The height of the trees was like that of cypresses, whose leaves were falling without ceasing. And there in the garden were four other Angels, more radiant than the rest: who when they saw us, gave us honor and said

to the other Angels: Here they are, here they are! with admiration. And the four Angels who were carrying us, trembling with awe, set us down: and on our own feet we crossed a stadium by a broad road; where we found Jocundus, they see Martyrs: and Saturninus, and Artaxius, who in the same persecution were burned alive; and Quintus, who himself also a Martyr had departed in prison. And we inquired of them where the others were. The other Angels said to us: Come first, enter in, and salute the Lord.

[13] And we came near a place, the walls of which were as though built of light: and before the entrance of that place four Angels stood, who clothed those entering in white robes. Led to the throne of God: And we entered, and we heard a united voice saying: Holy, holy, holy, without ceasing. And we saw in the same place one sitting who was like a gray-haired man, having snow-white hair, yet with a youthful face; whose feet we did not see. And on his right and on his left were four elders, and behind them many more elders stood. And entering with admiration, we stood before the throne. And four Angels lifted us up, they are received with a kiss: and we kissed him, and with his hand he passed over our faces. And the other elders said to us: Let us stand. And we stood, and exchanged the kiss of peace. And the elders said to us: Go and play. And I said to Perpetua: You have what you wished. And she said to me: Thanks be to God, that as I was cheerful in the flesh, so I am more cheerful here now.

[14] And we went out, and we saw before the doors Optatus the Bishop on the right, and Aspasius the Priest and Teacher on the left, separated and sad, They reconcile Bishop Optatus and Priest Aspasius who were at odds: and they cast themselves at our feet, and said: Make peace between us, because you have gone forth and have left us thus. And we said to them: Are you not our Pope, and you our Priest? Why do you cast yourselves at our feet? And we were moved, and we embraced them. And Perpetua began to speak with them: and we led them apart into the garden under a rose tree. And while we were speaking with them, the Angels said to them: Let them be; let them be refreshed. And if you have any dissensions among you, forgive one another. And they rebuked them. And they said to Optatus: Correct your people, because they come to you as though returning from the circus, and contending in their factions. And so it seemed to us as though they wished to close the gates. And we began to recognize many brethren there, and also Martyrs. We were all nourished by an indescribable fragrance, which satisfied us. Then, rejoicing, I awoke.

CHAPTER V.

The death of St. Secundolus in prison. The childbirth of St. Felicitas. The deeds of all on the day before martyrdom.

[15] These are the more notable visions of the most blessed Martyrs themselves, Saturus and Perpetua, which they themselves wrote down. St. Secundolus dies in prison: But God called Secundolus from the world by an earlier death while still in prison — not without grace, so that he might be spared the beasts; yet the sword, if not his soul, at least his flesh acknowledged.

[16] As for Felicitas, the grace of the Lord of this kind befell her also. St. Felicitas, pregnant: When she had already carried her womb for eight months (for she had been arrested while pregnant), as the day of the spectacle approached, she was in great distress lest on account of her pregnancy she should be delayed: because it is not lawful for pregnant women to be presented for punishment; and lest she should afterward shed her holy and innocent blood among other criminals. But her fellow Martyrs also were deeply grieved lest they should leave behind so good a companion, as it were a fellow traveler, alone on the road of the same hope. Prayers having been poured forth: And so, joining together in united groaning, they poured out prayer to the Lord on the third day before the spectacle. Immediately after the prayer, pains seized her. And when in the natural difficulty of an eighth-month delivery she labored with pain, she gives birth in the eighth month with pain: one of the attendants of the prison guards said to her: You who suffer so now, what will you do when you are thrown to the beasts, which you despised when you refused to sacrifice? And she answered: Now I suffer what I suffer; but there another will be in me who will suffer for me, because I also am about to suffer for him. So she gave birth to a girl, whom a certain sister brought up as her own daughter.

[17] Since therefore the Holy Spirit permitted, and by permitting willed, that the course of this spectacle should be written down, though we are unworthy to describe the supplement of so great a glory, yet we carry out as it were the commission of the most holy Perpetua, indeed the trust committed by her faith, adding one testimony concerning her own constancy and sublimity of soul. When they were treated more harshly by the Tribune, because on the advice of the most foolish people he feared the invincible spirit of St. Perpetua: that they might be spirited away from the prison by some magical incantations, she answered him to his face: Why do you not allow the most noble condemned, destined for Caesar's spectacle, to be refreshed — that is, those who are to fight on his birthday? Or is it not to your glory if we are produced in better condition? The Tribune shuddered and blushed; and so he ordered that they be treated more gently, and that her brothers and others should have the opportunity to enter and be refreshed with them; the very deputy of the prison now believing.

[18] Also on the day before, when they were eating that supper which they call the free supper, as far as it was in their power they were celebrating not a free supper but an agape, with the same constancy hurling these words at the people, threatening the judgment of the Lord, attesting to the happiness of their passion, and of St. Saturus: mocking the curiosity of those who ran together, Saturus saying: Is not tomorrow enough for you, that you eagerly look upon what you hate? Today friends, tomorrow enemies: but mark our faces carefully, so that you may recognize us on that day. So all departed astonished, and of them many believed.

CHAPTER VI.

The events of the martyrdom.

[19] The day of their victory dawned, and they proceeded from the prison to the amphitheater as though into heaven, cheerful, They are led forth cheerfully, especially Perpetua: with beautiful faces — if anything, trembling with joy, not with fear. Perpetua followed with a radiant step, as a matron of Christ, as the darling of God, casting down the gaze of all by the vigor of her eyes. Likewise Felicitas, rejoicing that she had given birth safely, so that she might fight the beasts from blood — and Felicitas: all refuse profane garments: from the midwife to the gladiator's net, washed after childbirth in a second baptism. And when they were led to the gate and were being forced to put on the costume — the men that of the priests of Saturn, the women that of those consecrated to Ceres — that noble woman resisted to the very end with unwavering constancy. For she said: For this reason we came to this voluntarily, that our liberty might not be overridden; for this reason we surrendered our lives, that we might do no such thing: this we agreed with you. Injustice recognized justice: the Tribune conceded that they should be led in simply as they were. Perpetua was singing, already treading on the head of the Egyptian. Revocatus and Saturninus and Saturus were threatening the watching people about this. When they came before the sight of Hilarianus, they are scourged: by gesture and nod they began to say to Hilarianus: You judge us, they said, but God will judge you. At this the people, exasperated, demanded that they be beaten with whips along the line of the hunters. And indeed they rejoiced that they had obtained something of the Lord's sufferings.

[20] But he who had said: Ask, and you shall receive, had given to those who asked that end which each had desired. John 16:24 For whenever they talked among themselves about their desire for martyrdom, Saturninus indeed professed that he wished to be thrown to all the beasts, they long for the beasts: so that he might wear a more glorious crown. And so at the beginning of the spectacle, they are thrown to them: Revocatus, having been attacked by a leopard, was also mauled by a bear upon the platform. But Saturus abhorred nothing more than a bear: yet he already expected to be dispatched by a single bite of a leopard. And so when he was offered to a boar, St. Saturus twice unharmed: the hunter rather, who had tied him to the boar, was gored by the same beast and died after the days of the spectacle. Saturus was only dragged along, and when he had been tied up on the bridge before the bear, the bear refused to come out of its cage. And so for the second time Saturus was recalled unharmed.

[21] But for the young women the devil prepared a most ferocious cow, unusual and procured contrary to custom, SS. Perpetua and Felicitas are thrown down: rivaling their sex even in the choice of beast. And so, stripped and clothed in nets, they were brought forth. The people shuddered, seeing the one a delicate girl, the other fresh from childbirth with dripping breasts. So they were recalled and clothed in loose garments. Perpetua was first tossed, and

she fell on her loins; and when she sat up, she drew back the tunic that was torn at the side to cover her thigh — mindful of modesty rather than of pain. Then she asked for a pin and fastened her disheveled hair; for it was not fitting for a Martyr to suffer with her hair loose, lest she seem to mourn in her glory. So she rose, and seeing that Felicitas had been struck down, she went to her and gave her hand and raised her up. And both stood side by side: and the hardness of the people having been overcome, they are recalled to the Gate of the Living: they were recalled to the Gate of the Living. There Perpetua was received by a certain man, then a catechumen, named Rusticus, who was clinging to her, and as though awakened from sleep (so deeply had she been in the Spirit and in ecstasy), she began to look around; and to the amazement of all she said: When, she asked, are we to be brought out to that cow? I do not know. And when she heard what had already happened, she did not believe it until she recognized certain marks of the mauling on her body and clothing, and recognized that catechumen. Then having summoned her brother and that catechumen, she addressed them, saying: Stand firm in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and be not scandalized by our sufferings.

[22] Likewise Saturus at another gate was exhorting a soldier, saying: In short, certainly, as I presumed and predicted, I have not yet felt any beast. And now believe with all your heart. Behold, I go out there, and by a single bite of a leopard I am consumed. And immediately at the end of the spectacle, when a leopard was released, St. Saturus is wounded by a leopard: from a single bite he was drenched in so much blood that the people, as a testimony of his second baptism, cried out to him: Well washed! Well washed! Truly he was saved indeed who had been washed in this way. Then to the soldier Pudens he said: Farewell, he exhorts the soldier: and remember my faith; and let these things not disturb you, but confirm you. And at the same time he asked for a ring from his finger, and having dipped it in his wound, returned it to him: leaving him an inheritance as a pledge and a memorial of his blood. Then, already half-dead, he was cast down with the rest for the throat-cutting at the customary place. And when the people demanded them in the middle, so that their eyes might join as accomplices in the murder as the sword penetrated their bodies, they kiss one another: they rose of their own accord and moved to where the people wished: but first they had kissed one another, that they might consummate their martyrdom through the solemnities of peace. The rest indeed received the sword motionless and in silence: and are killed by the sword: much more so Saturus, who had ascended first and was the first to yield up his spirit, for he was also sustaining Perpetua. But Perpetua, that she might taste some pain, was pierced between the ribs and cried out; and she herself guided the wavering right hand of the novice gladiator to her own throat. Perhaps so great a woman could not have been killed otherwise, since she was feared by the unclean spirit, unless she herself had willed it.

[23] O most brave and most blessed Martyrs! O truly called and chosen for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! Whoever magnifies and glorifies and adores him must surely also read these examples, no less than the ancient ones, for the edification of the Church, that new virtues too may testify that the one and same Holy Spirit is still at work even now, and the almighty God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: to whom be glory and immense power forever and ever. Amen.

SERMON OF ST. AUGUSTINE

Brought to light from a Vatican manuscript by Holstenius.

Two gems have today shone forth in the Church, and one radiance: for Perpetua and Felicitas, one solemnity. Nor can there be doubt about the felicity that possesses perpetual dignity. The custody of prison joined them, and grace also joined them: for there is no discord in them. Together they sing in prison; together they come to meet Christ in the air; together they fight against the cow; together they will enter into the eternal homeland: together they bore martyrdom; one was nursing, the other giving birth. Perpetua was saying, when she handed over her infant and put away the nursing child: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Felicitas was uttering groans in childbirth, and after her companions she hastened undaunted; and freed by her groaning, what did she say to Christ? You have broken my bonds; to you I will offer the sacrifice of praise. And the blessed David, to console her groaning, said: May the Lord grant you according to your heart, and confirm all your counsel. Ps. 19:5 O frailty! Darkness was fleeing, and the human condition was not passing away. But he who conquered death both delivered her from the peril of childbirth and relieved Perpetua from the burden of nursing. For when they ascended the steps of that ladder and trampled the treacherous neck of the dragon, they came to the garden of celestial meadows, and found there the Good Shepherd laying down his life for his sheep, and seeking the abundance of milk from his flocks: For there sat, she says, a Shepherd young and old: green in age, white-haired of head, who knows no old age. In him a youthful countenance shone; for he is the same, and his years shall not fail: he was white-haired of head, because the just Lord loves justice, and recognized equity in the Martyrs. Around him the sheep lay bowed down; he himself milked them with his pastoral finger, in whom he found an abundance of milk and a fruitful conscience of piety. He milked with his fingers and addressed them with fatherly consolations, with heavenly prizes prepared, saying: Come, blessed of my Father: receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And he showed them troughs of milk foaming with a pure heart through shining almsgiving, and says: I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me drink. Perpetua received from the sweet shepherd new milk before she shed precious blood. They answered: Amen, and began to seek mercy. They prayed in prison, now secure about the shepherd: Lord, they said, let not our Confession be barren, that we also may deserve to be associated with your precious flocks and not be separated from your Martyrs. There is set before them in a vision a wrestling-ground, a splendid arena in the amphitheater: that Egyptian is present, who was in heaven a beautiful light-bearer: he rolls in the dust, about to fight; and Perpetua, about to triumph with the Lord and Savior, joined her hands in the form of a Cross: having before her the Lord's young defender, she receives the triumph of victory and obtains the branch of the crown. Let us also offer them our gifts: others offered them in their time visits to the prison; let us offer them the vow of solemnity, that we may deserve to reign with all the Saints.