(A.D. 203.)
[Roman and all Western Martyrologies on this day, but by the Greeks
on March 1st. Authorities:--The genuine Acts of these martyrs, and a
sermon by S. Augustine of Hippo on them. The names of Perpetua and
Felicitas occur in the Canon of the Mass. The first part of the Acts
was written by S. Perpetua herself, and reaches to the eve of her
martyrdom. S. Saturus then took the pen, and added the account of his
vision; and when he had gained his crown, an eye-witness of their
passion closed the account. Tertullian quotes these Acts in his Book
De Anima, c. 55; and S. Augustine in his Sermons, 280, 283, and 294.
They were anciently read publicly in the churches of Africa.]
A violent persecution broke out under the Emperor Severus, in 202.
It reached Africa the following year; when, by order of Minutius
Timinianus, or Firminianus, five catechumens were apprehended at
Carthage for the faith; namely, Revocatus, and his fellow-slave
Felicitas, Saturninus, and Secundulus, and Vivia Perpetua. Felicitas
was expecting her confinement; and Perpetua had an infant at her
breast, was of a good family, twenty-two years of age, and married to
a person of quality in the city. She had a father, a mother, and two
brothers; the third, Dinocrates, died about seven years old. These
five martyrs were joined by Saturus, probably brother to Saturninus,
and who seems to have been their instructor: he underwent a voluntary
imprisonment, because he would not abandon them. The father of S.
Perpetua, who was a Pagan, and advanced in years, loved her more than
all his other children. Her mother was probably a Christian, as was one
of her brothers, the other a catechumen. The martyrs, for some days
before they were committed to prison, were kept under a strong guard
in a private house: and the account Perpetua gives of their sufferings
to the eve of their death, is as follows: "We were in the hands of our
persecutors, when my father, out of the affection he bore me, made new
efforts to shake my resolution. I said to him, 'Can that vessel, which
you see, change its name?' He said, 'No.' I replied, 'Nor can I call
myself any other than I am, a Christian.' At that word my father in a
rage fell upon me, as if he would have pulled out my eyes, and beat me;
but went away in confusion, seeing me invincible. After this we enjoyed
a little repose, and in that interval received baptism. The Holy Ghost,
on our coming out of the water, inspired me to pray for nothing but
patience under bodily sufferings. A few days after this we were put
into prison; I was shocked at the horror and darkness of the place; for
till then I knew not what such sort of places were. We suffered much
that day, chiefly on account of the great heat caused by the crowd,
and the ill-treatment we met with from the soldiers. I was, moreover,
tortured with concern, because I had not my baby with me. But the
deacons, Tertius and Pomponius, who assisted us, obtained, by money,
that we might pass some hours in a more commodious part of the prison,
to refresh ourselves. My infant was then brought to me almost famished,
and I gave it the breast. I recommended him afterward carefully to
my mother, and encouraged my brother; but was much afflicted to see
their concern for me. After a few days my sorrow was changed into
comfort, and my prison itself seemed agreeable. One day my brother
said to me, 'Sister, I am persuaded that you are a special favourite
of heaven; pray to God to reveal to you whether this imprisonment will
end in martyrdom, or not.' I, knowing God gave me daily tokens of His
goodness, answered, full of confidence, that I would inform him on the
morrow. I therefore asked that favour of God, and had this vision. I
saw a golden ladder, which reached from earth to heaven; but so narrow
that only one could mount it at a time. To the two sides were fastened
all sorts of iron instruments, swords, lances, hooks, and knives; so
that if any one went up carelessly, he was in great danger of having
his flesh torn. At the foot of the ladder lay a dragon of enormous
size, who kept guard to turn back and terrify those that endeavoured to
mount it. The first that went up was Saturus, who was not apprehended
with us, but voluntarily surrendered himself afterward on our account:
when he had reached the top of the ladder, he turned towards me, and
said, 'Perpetua, I wait for you; but take care lest the dragon bite
you.' I answered, 'In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he shall
not hurt me.' Then the dragon, as if afraid of me, gently lifted his
head from under the ladder, and I, having got upon the first step,
set my foot upon his head. Thus I mounted to the top, and there I saw
an extensive garden, and in the middle of it a tall man sitting down
dressed like a shepherd, having white hair. He was milking his sheep,
surrounded with many thousands of persons clad in white. He called me
by my name, bid me welcome, and gave me some curds made of the milk
which he had drawn: I put my hands together, and took and ate them;
and all that were present said aloud, Amen. The noise awakened me,
chewing something very sweet. As soon as I had related this vision to
my brother, we both concluded that we should suffer death.
"After some days, a rumour having got about that we were to be
examined, my father came from the city to the prison, overwhelmed with
grief. 'Daughter,' said he, 'have pity on my grey hairs, if I yet
deserve to be called your father; if I have brought you up. I pray
you consider that my love of you made me always prefer you to your
brothers, and make me not now a reproach to mankind. Have respect for
your mother and your aunt; have compassion on your child that cannot
survive you; lay aside this obstinacy, lest you ruin us all; for not
one of us will dare open his lips any more if misfortune befall you.'
He took me by the hands at the same time, and kissed them; he threw
himself at my feet in tears. I confess, I was pierced with sorrow
when I considered that my father was the only person of our family
that would not rejoice at my martyrdom. I endeavoured to comfort him,
saying, 'Father, grieve not; nothing will happen but what pleases God;
for we are not at our own disposal.' He then departed, much concerned.
Next day, whilst we were at dinner, a person came in suddenly to summon
us to examination. The report of this soon brought a vast crowd of
people into the audience chamber. We were placed on a sort of scaffold
before the judge, Hilarian, procurator of the province, the proconsul
having lately died. All who were questioned before me boldly confessed
Jesus Christ. When it came to my turn, my father stood forward, holding
up my infant. He drew me a little aside, conjuring me in the most
tender manner not to be insensible to the misery I should bring on that
innocent creature, to which I had given life. The president Hilarian
joined with my father, and said, 'What! will neither the gray hairs of
a father, nor the tender innocence of a child, move you? Sacrifice for
the prosperity of the emperors.' I replied, 'I will not do it.' 'Are
you then a Christian,' said Hilarian. I answered, 'Yes, I am.' As my
father attempted to draw me from the scaffold, Hilarian commanded him
to be beaten off, and he had a blow given him with a stick, which I
felt as much as if I had been struck myself, so much was I grieved to
see my father thus treated in his old age. Then the judge pronounced
our sentence, by which we were all condemned to be exposed to wild
beasts. We then joyfully returned to our prison; and as my infant was
not yet weaned, I immediately sent Pomponius the deacon, to demand
him of my father, but he refused to send him. And God so ordered it,
that the child no longer required to suck, nor did my milk incommode
me." Secundulus, being no more mentioned, seems to have died in prison
before this interrogatory. Before Hilarian pronounced sentence, he had
caused Saturus, Saturninus, and Revocatus to be scourged; and Perpetua
and Felicitas to be beaten on the face. They were reserved for the
shows which were to be exhibited for the soldiers in the camp, on the
festival of Geta, who had been made Cæsar four years before, by his
father Severus, when his brother Caracalla was created Augustus.
S. Perpetua relates another vision with which she was favoured, as
follows: "A few days after receiving sentence, when we were all
together in prayer, I happened to name Dinocrates, at which I was
astonished, because I had not before had him in my thoughts; and I that
moment knew that I ought to pray for him. This I began to do with great
fervour before God; and the same night I had the following vision:
I saw Dinocrates coming out of a dark place, where there were many
others, exceedingly hot and thirsty; his face was dirty, his complexion
pale, with the ulcer in his face of which he had died at seven years
of age, and it was for him that I had prayed. There seemed a great
distance between him and me, so that it was impossible for us to come
to each other. Near him stood a vessel full of water: he attempted to
drink, but could not reach it. This mightily grieved me, and I awoke.
By this I knew my brother was in pain, but I trusted I could relieve
him by prayer: so I began to pray for him, beseeching God with tears,
day and night, that he would grant me my request; and I continued doing
this till we were removed to the camp prison: being destined for a
public show on the festival of the Cæsar Geta. The day we were in the
stocks[27] I had this vision; I saw the place, which I had beheld dark
before, now luminous; and Dinocrates, with his body very clean and well
clad, refreshing himself; and in the place of his wound was a scar
only. I awoke, and knew he was relieved from his pain.[28]
[27] These stocks, called Nervus, were a wooden machine with many
holes, in which the prisoners' feet were fastened and stretched to
great distances, as to the fourth or fifth holes, for the increase of
their torments. S. Perpetua remarks, they were chained, and also set in
this engine during their stay in the camp-prison, which seems to have
been several days, in expectation of the day of the public shows.
[28] It is evident from the visions S. Perpetua had of her little
brother, that the Church, at that early age, believed the doctrine of
Purgatory, and prayed for the faithful departed.
"Some days after, Pudens, the officer who commanded the guards of the
prison, seeing that God favoured us with many gifts, had a great esteem
of us, and admitted many people to visit us, for our mutual comfort. On
the day of the public shows, my father came overwhelmed with sorrow. He
tore his beard, threw himself on the ground, cursed his years, and said
enough to move any creature; and I was ready to die with sorrow to see
my father in so deplorable a condition. On the eve of the shows I was
favoured with the following vision. The deacon Pomponius, methought,
knocked very hard at the prison door, which I opened to him. He was
clothed with a white robe, embroidered with innumerable pomegranates
of gold. He said to me, 'Perpetua, we wait for thee, come along.' He
then took me by the hand and led me through very rough places into the
middle of the amphitheatre, and said, 'Fear not.' And, leaving me, said
again, 'I will be with thee in a moment, and bear a part with thee in
thy pains.' I was wondering the beasts were not let out against us,
when there appeared a very ill-favoured negro, who came to encounter me
with others. But another beautiful troop of young men declared for me,
and anointed me with oil for the combat. Then appeared a man of a great
stature, in rich apparel, like the master of the gladiators, having a
wand in one hand, and in the other a green bough on which hung golden
apples. Having ordered silence, he said that the bough should be my
prize, if I vanquished the negro: but that if he conquered me, he would
kill me with a sword. After a long and obstinate engagement, I threw
the negro on his face, and trod upon his head. The people applauded
my victory loudly. I then approached the master of the amphitheatre,
who gave me the bough with a kiss, and said, 'Peace be with thee, my
daughter.' After this I awoke, and found that I was not to combat with
wild beasts so much as with devils." Here ends the relation of S.
Perpetua.
S. Saturus had also a vision, which he wrote down himself. He and his
companions were conducted by a bright angel into a most delightful
garden, in which they met some holy martyrs lately dead, namely
Jocundus, Saturninus, and Artaxius, who had been burned alive for the
faith, and Quintus, who had died in prison. They inquired after other
martyrs of their acquaintance, and were conducted into a most stately
palace, shining like the sun; and in it saw the king of this most
glorious place surrounded by his happy subjects, and heard the voice
of a great multitude crying, "Holy, holy, holy." Saturus, turning to
Perpetua, said, "Thou hast here what thou didst desire." She replied,
"God be praised, I have more joy here than ever I had in the flesh."
He adds, that on going out of the garden they found before the gate,
on the right hand, the bishop of Carthage, Optatus, and on the left,
Aspasius, priest of the same church, both of them alone and sorrowful.
They fell at the martyrs' feet, and begged that they would reconcile
them together, for a dissension had happened between them. The martyrs
embraced them, saying, "Art not thou our bishop, and thou a priest of
our Lord? It is our duty to prostrate ourselves before you." Perpetua
was discoursing with them; but certain angels came and drove away
Optatus and Aspasius; and bade them not to disturb the martyrs, but
be reconciled to each other. The bishop, Optatus, was also charged to
heal the divisions that reigned in his church. The angels after these
reprimands seemed ready to shut the gates of the garden. "Here," says
he, "we saw many of our brethren and martyrs likewise. We were fed with
an ineffable odour, which delighted and satisfied us." Such was the
vision of Saturus. The rest of the Acts were added by an eye-witness.
God had called to himself Secundulus in prison. Felicitas was eight
months gone with child, and as the day of the shows approached, she
was inconsolable lest she should not be confined before then; fearing
that her martyrdom would be deferred on that account, because women
with child were not allowed to be executed, before they were delivered:
the rest also were sensibly afflicted on their part to leave her
behind. Therefore they unanimously joined in prayer to obtain of God
that she might be delivered before the day of the shows. Scarce had
they finished their prayer, when Felicitas found herself in labour.
She cried out under the violence of her pain; then one of the guards
asked her, if she could not bear the throes of childbirth without
crying out, what she would do when exposed to the wild beasts. She
answered, "It is I myself that am enduring these pangs now; but then
there will be another with me who will suffer for me, because I shall
suffer for Him." She was then delivered of a daughter, which a certain
Christian woman took care of, and brought up as her own child. Pudens,
the keeper of the prison, having been already converted, secretly did
them all the good offices in his power. The day before they suffered
they were given, according to custom, their last meal, which was
called a free supper, and they ate in public. Their chamber was full
of people, with whom they talked, threatening them with the judgments
of God, and extolling the happiness of their own sufferings. Saturus,
smiling at the curiosity of those that came to see them, said to
them, "Will not to-morrow suffice to satisfy your inhuman curiosity?
However you may seem now to pity us, to-morrow you will clap your
hands at our death, and applaud our murderers. But observe well our
faces, that you may know them again at that terrible day when all men
shall be judged." They spoke with such courage and intrepidity that
they astonished the infidels, and occasioned the conversion of several
among them. The day of their triumph having come, they went out of
the prison to the amphitheatre full of joy. Perpetua walked with a
composed countenance and easy pace, with her eyes modestly cast down;
Felicitas went with her, following the men, not able to contain her
joy. When they came to the gate of the amphitheatre, the guards would
have given them, according to custom, the superstitious habits with
which they adorned such as appeared at these sights. For the men, a
red mantle, which was the habit of the priests of Saturn; for the
women, a little fillet round the head, by which the priestesses of
Ceres were known. The martyrs rejected those idolatrous vestments;
and, by the mouth of Perpetua, said they came thither of their own
accord, on the promise made them that they should not be forced to
anything contrary to their religion. The tribune then consented that
they should appear in the amphitheatre habited as they were. Perpetua
sang, as being already victorious; Revocatus, Saturninus, and Saturus
threatened the people that beheld them with the judgments of God: and
as they passed before the balcony of Hilarian, they said to him, "Thou
judgest us in this world, but God will judge thee in the next." The
people, enraged at their boldness, begged that they might be scourged,
and this was granted. They accordingly passed before the Venatores,[29]
or hunters, each of whom gave them a lash. They rejoiced exceedingly
in being thought worthy to resemble our Saviour in his sufferings.
God granted to each of them the death they desired; for when they had
discoursed together about what kind of martyrdom would be agreeable
to each, Saturninus declared that he should prefer to be exposed
to beasts of several sorts, in order that his sufferings might be
aggravated. Accordingly, he and Revocatus, after having been attacked
by a leopard, were also assaulted by a bear. Saturus dreaded nothing
so much as a bear, and therefore hoped a leopard would despatch him at
once with his teeth. He was then exposed to a wild boar, but the beast
turned upon his keeper, who received such a wound from him, that he
died in a few days after, and Saturus was only dragged along by him.
Then they tied the martyr near a bear, but that beast came not out of
his lodge, so that Saturus, being sound and not hurt, was called upon
for a second encounter. This gave him an opportunity of speaking to
Pudens, the gaoler that had been converted. The martyr encouraged him
to constancy in the faith, and said to him, "Thou seest I have not
yet been hurt by any beast, as I desired and foretold: believe then
stedfastly in Christ; I am going where thou wilt see a leopard with one
bite take away my life." It happened so, for a leopard being let out
upon him, sprang upon him, and in a moment he was deluged with blood,
whereupon the people jeering, cried out, "He is well baptized." The
martyr said to Pudens, "Go, remember my faith, and let our sufferings
rather strengthen than trouble thee. Give me the ring thou hast on
thy finger." Saturus, having dipped it in his wound gave it him back
to keep as a pledge to animate him to steadfastness in his faith, and
soon after, fell down dead. Thus he went first to glory, to wait for
Perpetua, according to her vision.
[29] Pro ordine venatorum. Venatores is the name given to those that
were armed to encounter the beasts, who put themselves in ranks, with
whips in their hands, and each of them gave a lash to the Bestiarii, or
those condemned to the beasts, whom they obliged to pass naked before
them in the middle of the pit or arena.
In the mean time, Perpetua and Felicitas had been exposed to a wild
cow; Perpetua and Felicitas were the first attacked, and the cow having
tossed the former, she fell on her back. Then putting herself in a
sitting posture, and perceiving her clothes were torn, she gathered
them about her in the best manner she could, to cover herself,
thinking more of decency than her sufferings.[30] Getting up, not to
seem disconsolate, she tied up her hair, which was fallen loose, and
perceiving Felicitas on the ground much hurt by a toss of the cow, she
helped her to rise. They stood together, expecting another assault
from the beasts, but the people crying out that it was enough, they
were led to the gate Sanevivaria, where those that were not killed by
the beasts were despatched at the end of the shows by the confectores.
Perpetua was here received by Rusticus, a catechumen. She seemed as if
just returning out of a long ecstasy, and asked when she was to fight
the wild cow. When told what had passed, she could not believe it till
she saw on her body and clothes the marks of what she had suffered. She
called for her brother, and said to him and Rusticus, "Continue firm in
the faith, love one another, and be not distressed at our sufferings."
All the martyrs were now brought to the place of their butchery. But
the people, not yet satisfied with beholding blood, cried out to have
them led into the middle of the amphitheatre, that they might have the
pleasure of seeing them receive the last blow. Upon this, some of the
martyrs rose up, and having given one another the kiss of peace, went
of their own accord into the arena; others were despatched without
speaking, or stirring out of the places they were in. S. Perpetua fell
into the hands of a very timorous and unskilful apprentice of the
gladiators, who, with a trembling hand, gave her many slight wounds,
which made her languish a long time. Thus, says S. Augustine, did two
women, amidst fierce beasts and the swords of gladiators, vanquish
the devil and all his fury. The day of their martyrdom was the 7th of
March, as it is marked in the most ancient martyrologies, and in a
Roman Martyrology as old as the year 554. S. Prosper says they suffered
at Carthage, which agrees with all the circumstances. Their bodies
were preserved in the great church of Carthage, in the 5th century,
as Victor of Utica relates. The body of S. Perpetua is said to be
preserved at Bologna, in the Church of the Franciscans, but it is very
questionable whether it is that of the S. Perpetua of Carthage, whose
passion has just been narrated.
[30] Does not this remind the classic scholar of the description of the
death of Polyxena, by Talthybius, in the Hecuba, "She even in death
showed much care to fall decently."