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deemed worthy of honor by emperors, having then distinguished himself by his unswerving and steadfast confession of Christ, he was adorned with the diadem of martyrdom, having nobly completed the contest. And a certain holy and admirable woman, famed among all the Antiochenes for her wealth, and lineage, and good repute, having raised a pair of distinguished virgin daughters, since much envy was stirred up concerning them, she called them back to Antioch from their hiding and sojourn in a foreign land; but they were already enveloped within the nets of the soldiers, and seeing herself and her daughters in a helpless situation, and having considered the terrible things that come from men, unable to bear hearing the threat of fornication even with the tips of her ears, and declaring that serving demons was worse than all deaths and all destruction, she proposed to herself and her daughters one release from all these things, flight to the Lord. And so, having agreed on the plan together, and having modestly arranged their garments, coming to the middle of the road, they hurled themselves into a river flowing by; indeed they themselves. And another pair of virgins in Antioch itself, in all things befitting God and truly sisters, of distinguished lineage, illustrious in life, young in years, beautiful in body, reverent in soul, pious in manner, admirable in zeal, the worshippers of demons delivered over to the depths of the sea. Why must I now mention the rest by name, and count the multitude of men, and describe the manifold tortures of the wondrous martyrs of Christ, who at one time were slain with axes, as happened to those in Arabia, at another time had their legs broken, as occurred to those in Cappadocia; and at another, being hung high up by the feet, head downwards, and with a slow fire burning beneath, were choked by the smoke sent up from the burning material, as was inflicted on those in Mesopotamia, 20.1533 and at another, having their noses, and ears, and hands mutilated, and the other limbs and parts of their body cut to pieces, as was the case in Alexandria? Why need I rekindle the memory of those in Antioch, who were roasted on fiery grates, not to death, but for prolonged torture, while others thrust their right hand into the fire sooner than touch the accursed sacrifice? Some of whom, fleeing the trial before being captured and falling into the hands of their persecutors, threw themselves down from high rooftops, making death a prize snatched from the wickedness of the impious; But others in Pontus suffered things dreadful to hear, having their fingers pierced under the nails of their hands with sharp reeds, and others having their backs poured over with boiling and fiery molten lead, and having the most necessary parts of their bodies roasted; and others, in their private limbs and parts, endured shameful, and pitiless, and unspeakable torments. Such then were the extremities of their misfortunes, when at last the governors in every province had grown weary at the excess of evils, and, having tired of killing, they turned to what they considered to be kindness and humanity, and then it was commanded that eyes be gouged out, and one of the legs be maimed. For these were their "humane" acts, and the lightest of the punishments against us, so that on account of this "humanity" of the impious it was no longer possible to tell the number of those beyond all reckoning who first had their right eyes cut out with a sword and seared with a hot iron, and then had their left feet disabled at the ankles with branding irons, and after this were condemned to the copper mines in the provinces, not so much for service as for ill-treatment and hardship.

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παρὰ βασιλεῦσι τιμῆς ἀξιούμενος, διαπρέψας τότε τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν ἀδιατρέπτῳ καὶ ἀκλινεῖ ὁμολογίᾳ, τῷ τοῦ μαρτυρίου διαδήματι κατεκοσμήθη, γενναίως τὸν ἀγῶνα διηνυκώς. Καί τις ἱερὰ καὶ θαυμασία γυνὴ, πλούτῳ, καὶ γένει, καὶ εὐδοξίᾳ παρὰ πᾶσιν Ἀντιοχεῦσι βεβοημένη, παίδων ξυνωρίδα παρθένων διαπρεπῶν ἀναθρεψαμένη, ἐπειδὴ πολὺς ὁ περὶ αὐτὰς κινούμενος φθόνος, λανθανούσας τε καὶ ἐν ἀλλοδαπῇ διατριβούσας ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀντιόχου ἐκάλει· δικτύων δὲ ἤδη στρατιωτικῶν εἴσω περιεβέβληντο, ἐν ἀμηχάνοις ἑαυτήν τε καὶ τὰς παῖδας θεασαμένη, καὶ τὰ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων λογισαμένη δεινὰ, πορνείας τε ἀπειλῆν μηδ' ἄκροις ὠσὶν ἀκούειν ἀνασχομένη, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ δουλεῦσαι δαίμοσι πάντων θανάτων καὶ πάσης ἀπωλείας χεῖρον φήσασα εἶναι, μίαν ἑαυτῇ καὶ ταῖς θυγατράσιν ὑπετίθετο λύσιν τούτων ἁπάντων, τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον καταφυγήν. Καὶ δὴ τὴν γνώμην ὁμοῦ συνθέμεναι, τά τε σώματα περισταλεῖσαι κοσμίως, ἐπὶ μέσης γενόμεναι τῆς ὁδοῦ, ἐπὶ παραῤῥέοντα ποταμὸν ἑαυτὰς ἠκόντισαν· αἱ δὲ μὲν οὖν ἑαυτάς. Ἄλλην δ' ἐπ' αὐτῆς Ἀντιοχείας ξυνωρίδα παρθένων, τὰ πάντα θεοπρεπῶν καὶ ἀληθῶς ἀδελφῶν, ἐπιδόξων μὲν τὸ γένος, λαμπρῶν δὲ τὸν βίον, νέων τοὺς χρόνους, ὡραίων τὸ σῶμα, σεμνῶν τὴν ψυχὴν, εὐσεβῶν τὸν τρόπον, θαυμαστῶν τὴν σπουδὴν, θαλαττίοις βυθοῖς παρέδοσαν οἱ τῶν δαιμόνων θεραπευταί. Τί με χρὴ νῦν ἐπ' ὀνόματος τῶν λοιπῶν μνημονεύειν, καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀριθμεῖν, καὶ τὰς πολυτρόπους αἰκίας ἀναζωγραφεῖν τῶν θαυμασίων Χριστοῦ μαρτύρων, τοτὲ μὲν πέλυξιν ἀνηρημένων, οἷα γέγονε τοῖς ἐπ' Ἀραβίας, τοτὲ δὲ τὰ σκέλη καταγνυμένων, οἷα τοῖς ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ συμβέβηκε· καὶ ποτὲ μὲν κατὰ κεφαλῆς ἐκ τοῖν ποδοῖν εἰς ὕψος ἀναρτωμένων, καὶ μαλθακοῦ πυρὸς ὑποκαιομένου τῷ παραπεμπομένῳ καπνῷ τῆς φλεγομένης ὕλης ἀποπνιγομένων, οἷα τοῖς ἐν Μεσοποταμίᾳ 20.1533 ἐπενήνεκται, ποτὲ δὲ ῥίνας, καὶ ὦτα, καὶ χεῖρας ἀκρωτηριαζομένων, τά τε λοιπὰ τοῦ σώματος μέλη καὶ μέρη κρεουργουμένων, οἷά τε ἐπ' Ἀλεξανδρείας ἦν; τί δεῖ τῶν ἐπ' Ἀντιοχείας ἀναζωπυρεῖν τὴν μνήμην, ἐσχάραις πυρὸς, οὐκ εἰς θάνατον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μακρᾷ τιμωρίᾳ κατοπτωμένων, ἑτέρων δὲ θᾶττον τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτῶν πυρὶ καθιέντων ἢ τῆς ἐναγοῦς θυσίας ἐφαπτομένων; ὧν τινες τὴν πεῖραν φεύγοντες πρὶν ἁλῶναι, καὶ εἰς χεῖρας τῶν ἐπιβούλων ἐλθεῖν, ἄνωθεν ἀφ' ὑψηλῶν δωμάτων ἑαυτοὺς κατεκρήμνισαν, τὸν θάνατον ἅρπαγμα θέμενοι τῆς τῶν δυσσεβῶν μοχθηρίας· τὰ φρικτὰ δὲ ἀκοαῖς κατὰ τὸν Πόντον ἔπασχον ἕτεροι, καλάμοις ὀξέσι ταῖν χεροῖν ἐξ ἄκρων ὀνύχων τοὺς δακτύλους διαπειρόμενοι, καὶ ἄλλοι πυρὶ μολίβδου διατακέντος βραζούσῃ καὶ πεπυρακτωμένῃ τῇ ὕλῃ τὰ νῶτα καταχεόμενοι, καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἀναγκαιότατα τοῦ σώματος μέρη κατοπτώμενοι· διά τε τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων ἕτεροι μελῶν καὶ μερῶν, αἰσχρὰς, καὶ ἀσυμπαθεῖς, καὶ οὐδὲ λόγῳ ῥητὰς ὑπέμενον πάθας. Τὰ δ' οὖν τῶν συμφορῶν ἔσχατα, ὅτε δὴ λοιπὸν οἱ κατὰ πᾶσαν ἐπαρχίαν ἄρχοντες ἀπειρήκεσαν ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν κακῶν ὑπερβολῇ, καὶ πρὸς τὸ κτείνειν ἀποκαμόντες ἐπὶ τὸ νομιζόμενον αὐτοῖς χρηστὸν ἐτράποντο, καὶ φιλάνθρωπον τηνικαῦτα ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξορύττεσθαι, καὶ τοῖν σκελοῖν πηροῦσθαι θάτερον προσετάττετο. Ταῦτα γὰρ οὖν αὐτοῖς τὰ φιλάνθρωπα, καὶ τῶν καθ' ἡμῶν τιμωριῶν τὰ κουφότατα, ὥστε ἤδη ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς τῶν ἀσεβῶν φιλανθρωπίας οὐκ ἔτι εἶναι δυνατὸν ἐξειπεῖν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὑπὲρ πάντα λόγον τοὺς μὲν δεξιοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ξίφει πρότερον ἐκκοπτομένων, καὶ πυρὶ καυτηριαζομένων, τοὺς δὲ λαιοὺς πόδας αὖθις κατὰ τῶν ἀγκυλῶν καυτῆρσιν ἀχρειωμένων, μετὰ ταῦτα τοῖς κατ' ἐπαρχίαν χαλκοῦ μετάλλοις οὐχ ὑπηρεσίας τοσοῦτον, ὅσον κακώσεως καὶ ταλαιπωρίας ἕνεκεν καταδικαζομένων.