The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity · §10 · Passion of Perpetua and Felicity

Perpetua fights the Egyptian and wins the branch

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Perpetua herself narrates in her prison diary the vision she saw the day before she is to fight in the public games.

The day before we were to fight, I saw this in a nighttime vision. Pomponius the deacon came to the prison door and knocked hard. I went out to him and opened the door for him. He wore a loose white robe and many little sandals. He said to me, “Perpetua, we are waiting for you. Come.” He took my hand, and we started walking through rough, winding ground. We barely reached the amphitheater at last, out of breath, and he led me into the middle of the arena. He said to me, “Do not be afraid. I am here with you, and I am struggling alongside you.” Then he left.

I looked out at a huge crowd standing in shock. I knew I had been condemned to the wild beasts, so I was surprised that no wild beasts were sent out for me. Then an Egyptian came out against me to fight me, foul-looking, along with his helpers. Handsome young men also came to me as my helpers and supporters. I was stripped, and I was made male. My supporters began rubbing me down with oil, as fighters do before a contest, and I saw that Egyptian on the other side rolling in dust. Then a man of astonishing size came out, so tall that he rose even above the top of the amphitheater. He wore a loose purple robe with two stripes down the middle of his chest, and also ornate sandals made of gold and silver. He carried a staff like a trainer and a green branch hung with golden apples. He called for silence and said, “If this Egyptian defeats her, he will kill her with the sword. If she defeats him, she will receive this branch.” Then he stepped back.

We came together and started trading blows. He tried to grab my feet, but I kept striking his face with my heels. I was lifted into the air and began beating him as if I were not touching the ground. When I saw the fight dragging on, I clasped my hands to lace my fingers together, grabbed his head, and he fell flat on his face. I trampled his head. The crowd began to shout, and my supporters began to sing. I walked up to the trainer and took the branch. He kissed me and said to me, “Daughter, peace be with you.” I set off in glory toward the Sanavivarian Gate. Then I woke up. I understood that I would fight not against the wild beasts but against the devil, yet I knew the victory would be mine.

I have written this account up to the day before the public games. Let whoever wishes write the story of the public games themselves.

Latin

Pridie quam pugnaremus uideo in horomate hoc: uenisse Pomponium diaconum ad ostium carceris et pulsare uehementer. Et exiui ad eum et aperui ei; qui erat uestitus discinctam candidam, habens multiplices galliculas. Et dixit mihi: Perpetua, te expectamus, ueni. Et tenuit mihi manum, et coepimus ire per aspera loca et flexuosa. Uix tandem peruenimus anhelantes ad amphitheatrum, et induxit me in media arena, et dixit mihi: Noli pauere; hic sum tecum et conlaboro tecum. Et abiit. Et adspicio populum ingentem adtonitum. Et quia sciebam me ad bestias damnatam esse, mirabar quod non mitterentur mihi bestiae. Et exiuit quidam contra me Aegyptius foedus specie cum adiutoribus suis pugnaturus mecum. Ueniunt et ad me adolecentes decori adiutores et fautores mei. Et expoliata sum, et facta sum masculus. Et coeperunt me fautores mei oleo defricare, quomodo solent in agonem; et illum contra Aegyptium uideo in afa uolutantem. Et exiuit uir quidam mirae magnitudinis, ut etiam excederet fastigium amphitheatri, discinctatus purpuram inter duos clauos per medium pectus, habens et galliculas multiformes ex auro et argento factas, et ferens uirgam quasi lanista et ramum uiridem in quo erant mala aurea. Et petiit silentium et dixit: Hic Aegyptius si hanc uicerit, occidet illam gladio; haec si hunc uicerit, accipiet ramum istum. Et recessit. Et accessimus ad inuicem et coepimus mittere pugnos; ille mihi pedes adprehendere uolebat, ego autem illi calcibus faciem caedebam. Et sublata sum ab aere, et coepi eum sic caedere quasi terram non calcans. At ubi uidi moram fieri, iunxi manus, ut digitos in digitos mitterem, et adprehendi illi caput, et cecidit in faciem; et calcaui illi caput. Et coepit populus clamare et fautores mei psallere. Et accessi ad lanistam et accepi ramum. Et osculatus est me et dixit mihi: Filia, pax tecum. Et coepi ire cum gloria ad portam Sanauiuariam. Et experrecta sum. Et intellexi me non ad bestias, sed contra diabolum esse pugnaturam; sed sciebam mihi esse uictoriam. Hoc usque in pridie muneris egi; ipsius autem muneris actum si quis uoluerit scribat.

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About this text

The prison diary of Perpetua, a young mother of Carthage, with the visions of Saturus and an editor's account of how she, the slave woman Felicity and their companions died in the arena in 203.

This account was put together by Perpetua, Saturus, and an unnamed editor. Perpetua wrote her prison diary in her own hand, Saturus wrote his own vision, and the editor arranged and supplemented their words with a beginning and an end. It is addressed to fellow Christians, called brothers and little children, who will hear or read the account in the church.

It was written because new visions and martyrdoms had occurred. The editor holds that they should be written down and read in church like older examples, so that God is honored and faith is strengthened rather than supposing that grace worked only in the past. He argues that recent prophecies, visions, and martyrdoms carry the same authority as ancient ones because the Holy Spirit was promised for the last days and God still acts for believers and against unbelievers.

The reader will meet Perpetua, Felicity, Revocatus, Saturninus, Secundulus, Saturus, Dinocrates, Hilarianus, Tertius and Pomponius, Pudens, Optatus, and Aspasius, with Perpetua and Saturus speaking in the first person and the editor speaking around them. Here martyrdom means suffering from arrest to execution accepted as faithful witness, vision means sleep vision received as promised revelation, to confess Christ means to declare Christian identity before interrogation, wild beasts means the arena animals and the public execution, public games means the imperial birthday show where the sentence is carried out, baptism covers water baptism and blood as a second cleansing wash, relief means release from prison misery and suffering after death, and the devil is the opponent met as dragon, serpent, Egyptian, and cow. The work cites the last days promise of the Spirit in the form found in Acts, given here as Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:17-18, with ancient book and divine names in modern form such as Jesus Christ, Felicity, Revocatus, Ceres, Saturn, and Geta Caesar.

Printed text used

Translated from Oscar von Gebhardt, Acta martyrum selecta (Berlin: A. Duncker, 1902) (Latin)

This work has passed our source check. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Latin on any section, or the Latin source link, to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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