Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity
One outstanding woman who achieved notability in the early Christian Church was Vibia Perpetua, who, along with Felicity and a group of others, was martyred in 203 CE. Perpetua’s journal, The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, was written by Perpetua while in captivity when she was about to be killed during the games in Carthage.
Perpetua, a 22-year-old noblewoman from Northern Africa, was a recent unbaptized convert, or catechumen, to Christianity. Her account starts with an argument between her and her father, who still has manus, or legal control, over his daughter. With a steadfast stubbornness, she refuses to let go of her religion, likening it to her identity as if it were her name:
Original Latin
Mē pater verbīs ēvertere cupīret et deicere prō suā affectiōne perseverāret: Pater, inquam, vidēs verbī grātiā vās hoc iacēns, urceolum sīve aliud? et dīxit: Videō. Et ego dīxī eī: Numquid aliō nōmine vōcārī potest quam quod est? et ait: Nōn. Sīc et ego aliud mē dīcere nōn possum nisi quod sum, Christiāna… supervēnit autem et dē civitāte pater meus, consumptus taediō, et ascendit ad mē, ut mē dēiceret, dīcēns: Miserere, filia, canīs meīs; miserere patrī, sī dignus sum ā tē pater vōcārī… Aspice frātrēs tuōs, aspice matrem tuam et materteram, aspice fīlium tuum quī post tē vīvere nōn poterit. Dēpōne animōs; nē universōs nōs exterminēs. nēmō enim nostrum līberē loquētur, sī tū aliquid fueris passa. Haec dīcēbat quāsī pater prō suā pietāte basiāns mihī manūs et sē ad pedēs meōs iactāns et lacrimāns mē iam nōn fīliam nōminābat sed dominam. Et ego dolēbam casum patris meī quod solus dē passiōne meā gāvīsūrus nōn esset dē tōtō genere meō. Et confortāvī eum dīcēns: Hoc fiet in illā catastā quod Deus voluerit. Scītō enim nōs nōn in nostrā esse potestāte constitūtōs, sed in Deī. Et recessit ā mē contristātus.[1]
English Translation
My father was like to vex me with his words and continually strove to hurt my faith because of his love: Father, said I, Do you see (for examples) this vessel lying, a pitcher or whatsoever it may be? And he said, I see it. And I said to him, Can it be called by any other name than that which it is? And he answered, No. So can I call myself nought other than that which I am, a Christian… Also my father returned from the city spent with weariness; and he came up to me to cast down my faith saying: Have pity, daughter, on my grey hairs; have pity on your father, if I am worthy to be called father by you… Look upon your brothers; look upon your mother and mother's sister; look upon your son, who will not endure to live after you. Give up your resolution; do not destroy us all together; for none of us will speak openly against men again if you suffer aught. This he said fatherly in his love, kissing my hands and grovelling at my feet; and with tears he named me, not daughter, but lady. And I was grieved for my father's case because he would not rejoice at my passion out of all my kin; and I comforted him, saying: That shall be done at this tribunal, whatsoever God shall please; for know that we are not established in our own power, but in God's. And he went from me very sorrowful.[2]
Whether Christian or not, Perpetua’s unwillingness to give up what she believes in is admirable. Over the course of the text her father becomes more and more beaten down. He begs Perpetua to give up her faith, but she refuses. Even with her father begging, and with death approaching very closely, she does not yield to the “arguments of the devil.”[3] Throughout the entire narrative, through many days in the dungeon, experiencing frightening and wonderful visions, being whipped, thrown to a bull, and stabbed, she remains joyful and faithful. Even in the last two defining scenes of her life, she remains calm and in control:
Original Latin
[After being thrown to the Bull] Et ubi sedit, tūnicam ā latere discissam ad velāmentum femōris redūxit pudōris potius memor quam dolōris. 5. dehinc acū requīsītā et dispersōs capillōs infībulāvit; nōn enim decēbat martyram sparsīs capillīs patī, nē in suā glōriā plangere vidērētur. 6. Ita surrēxit et elīsam Fēlīcitātem cum vīdisset, accessit et manum eī trādidit et suscitāvit illam.
[Her last moments] Perpetua autem, ut aliquid dolōris gustāret, inter ossa compuncta exululāvit, et errantem dexteram tirunculī gladiātōris ipsa in iugulum suum trānstulit. 10. Fortasse tanta fēmina aliter nōn potuisset occidī, quae ab inmundō spiritū timēbātur, nisi ipsa voluisset.[4]
English Translation
[After being thrown to the Bull] And when she had sat upright, her robe being rent at the side, she drew it over to cover her thigh, mindful rather of modesty than of pain. Next, looking for a pin, she likewise pinned up her dishevelled hair; for it was not meet that a martyr should suffer with hair dishevelled, lest she should seem to grieve in her glory. So she stood up; and when she saw Felicity smitten down, she went up and gave her her hand and raised her up…
[Her last moments] But Perpetua, that she might have some taste of pain, was pierced between the bones and shrieked out; and when the swordsman's hand wandered still (for he was a novice), herself set it upon her own neck. Perchance so great a woman could not else have been slain (being feared of the unclean spirit) had she not herself so willed it.[5]
Stained glass depiction of St. Perpetua in the Aloysius Church of Carthagena, Ohio,
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Here, Perpetua has displayed a powerful example of integrity, choosing to live and die in a way according to her beliefs. Her worry for modesty and presentability over death is courage that speaks for herself, not to mention the very stoic way she took control over her own life. The most miraculous aspect of this journal, however, is the praise given in it by Perpetua’s editor. In a time in which women were heavily suppressed both culturally and religiously, the fact that a story about a strong and inspired woman made it to the forefront of Christian moral literature is simply astounding.
I do not know how you, dear reader, will react to Perpetua’s decision-making. Was she right to abandon her father for her faith? Should she have died for it? These questions each one of us may consider for ourselves. Nevertheless, she demonstrated undeniable strength, courage, and modesty. It is no wonder that her story was celebrated in her own day and even in our own.
“What follows here shall she tell herself; the whole order of her martyrdom as she left it written with her own hand and in her own words.”[6]
“Haec ordinem tōtum martyriī suī iam hinc ipsa narrāvit sīcut conscriptum manū suā et suō sensū relīquit.”[7]
Notes
[1] Geoffrey Steadman, Passio Perpetuae Et Felicitatis: Latin Text with Facing Vocabulary and Commentary (2012), 2-12.
[2] Vibia Perpetua, "Medieval Sourcebook: Saint Perpetua: The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity," sections 3-5.
[3] Vibia Perpetua, "Medieval Sourcebook: Saint Perpetua: The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity," section 3.
[4] Geoffrey Steadman, Passio Perpetuae Et Felicitatis: Latin Text with Facing Vocabulary and Commentary, 36-40.
[5] Vibia Perpetua, “"Medieval Sourcebook: Saint Perpetua: The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity," sections 20-21.
[6] Ibid, section 2.
[7] Geoffrey Steadman, Passio Perpetuae Et Felicitatis: Latin Text with Facing Vocabulary and Commentary, 4.