The Martyrdom

1 The day of their victory dawned, and they marched from the prison into the amphitheater as if going to a feast, with joyful and radiant faces; if they trembled at all, it was with joy, not fear. Perpetua followed with a calm expression, walking with the step and bearing of a woman devoted to Christ and beloved of God, lowering her bright eyes from the gaze of the crowd. Felicitas too was rejoicing that she had safely given birth, so that she could now face the wild beasts — going from the blood of childbirth and the hands of the midwife to the arena, to be washed after delivery in a second baptism. When they were brought to the gate and forced to put on costumes — the men dressed as priests of Saturn, the women as priestesses of Ceres — that courageous woman resisted to the very end. She said, "We came here of our own free will, precisely so that our freedom would not be violated. We surrendered our lives so that we would not have to do anything like this — that was our agreement with you." Injustice yielded to justice; the tribune allowed them to enter dressed simply as they were. Perpetua was singing psalms, already trampling the head of the Egyptian underfoot in spirit; Revocatus, Saturninus, and Saturus shouted warnings to the watching crowd about their martyrdom. When they came within sight of Hilarianus, they began to say to him by gesture and word, "You judge us, but God will judge you." At this, the enraged crowd demanded that they be scourged as they passed along the line of beast-fighters. And indeed they rejoiced that they had shared in something of their Lord's sufferings. 2 He who had said "Ask, and you shall receive" granted to each of them the death they had wished for. Whenever they had discussed among themselves what kind of martyrdom they preferred, Saturninus had declared that he wished to be thrown to every kind of beast, so that he might win a more glorious crown. Accordingly, at the start of the games, he and Revocatus first faced the leopard, and then on the platform they were mauled by the bear. Saturus, however, dreaded nothing more than a bear; he expected to be finished off with a single bite from a leopard. So when a wild boar was brought out, it was the hunter who had supplied the boar who was gored by the beast, and the hunter died the day after the games. Saturus was merely dragged along; and when he was tied to the floor near a bear, the bear refused to come out of its den. And so Saturus was led away unharmed for the second time. 3 For the young women, however, the devil had prepared a particularly savage cow — an unusual choice, selected to match the sex of the victims with that of the beast. Stripped and wrapped in nets, they were led out. The crowd was horrified when they saw one young woman of delicate build, and another with milk still dripping from her breasts after recently giving birth. So they were called back and given loose robes to wear. Perpetua was brought in first. She was tossed and fell on her back; and when she noticed her tunic had been torn along her side, she pulled it over to cover herself, more concerned with her modesty than her pain. She was then summoned again, and she tied up her loose hair; for it was not fitting for a martyr to suffer with her hair disheveled, since that might make her look as though she were mourning in her moment of glory. She stood up, and when she saw that Felicitas had been knocked down, she went over and gave her a hand and helped her to her feet. The two of them stood side by side; and once the crowd's bloodlust had been satisfied, they were recalled to the Gate of the Living. There Perpetua was met by a catechumen named Rusticus, who stayed close to her; and she, as if waking from a deep sleep — so completely had she been caught up in the Spirit and in ecstasy — began to look around and said, to everyone's amazement, "When are we going to be led out to that cow?" When she heard what had already happened, she did not believe it until she noticed the marks of injury on her body and clothing, and recognized the catechumen. Then, calling the catechumen and her brother to her, she said to them, "Stand firm in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and do not be shaken by my sufferings." 4 Saturus meanwhile, at the other entrance, was encouraging the soldier Pudens, saying, "Here I am, just as I promised and predicted, for up to this moment I have felt no beast. Now believe with all your heart. Watch — I am going out to face that beast, and I will be finished with one bite from the leopard." And indeed, as the games were ending, he was thrown to the leopard; and with a single bite he was drenched in such a flood of blood that the crowd cried out to him as he came back, bearing witness to his second baptism: "Saved and washed! Saved and washed!"⁠a Truly saved was the one who had been glorified in such a way. Then he said to the soldier Pudens, "Farewell, and remember my faith. Let these things not trouble you, but strengthen you." At the same time he asked for a small ring from Pudens's finger, dipped it in his own wound, and returned it to him as a keepsake and a reminder of his blood. Then, now lifeless, he was thrown down with the rest in the usual place of slaughter. 5 When the crowd called for the martyrs to be brought into the open, so that their eyes could witness the sword entering the bodies, the martyrs rose of their own accord and moved to where the people wanted them; but first they kissed one another, to seal their martyrdom with the kiss of peace. The others received the death-blow without moving and in silence. Saturus, who had been the first to climb the ladder and the first to give up his spirit — for he had been waiting for Perpetua — died first. Perpetua, however, so that she might experience some of the pain, was pierced between the ribs and cried out loudly; then she herself guided the trembling right hand of the young gladiator to her own throat. Perhaps such a woman could not have been killed unless she herself had willed it, because the evil spirit feared her. 6 O most brave and blessed martyrs! O truly called and chosen for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! Whoever honors and glorifies and worships him ought to read these accounts for the building up of the Church, no less than the ancient ones, so that these new deeds of courage may also testify that one and the same Holy Spirit is always at work, even to this day, along with God the Father Almighty and his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, whose is the glory and boundless power for ever and ever. Amen.