9

seeing not two daughters dying at once, but with her own hand dragging them to death, consider what martyrdoms she demonstrated, which others cannot even bear to hear, she endured in deed.

The soldiers, therefore, knowing none of these things, waited to take them again, but they were now with the soldiers of Christ, the heavenly angels; but those watching did not see; for they did not have the eyes of faith. Paul says concerning the mother, that she will be saved through childbearing; but here the daughters were saved through their mother. Thus mothers ought to be in labor. For these birth pangs are better than the former ones, having a more bitter pain, but a greater gain. Those who have become mothers know of those birth pangs, what pains it is to see daughters dying; but for her to become the slayer with her own hand has an unspeakable excess. 7. But for what reason did the woman not come to the court? Before the battle she wished to take the trophy, before the contests to seize the crown, before the wrestlings to receive the prizes, not fearing tortures, but the licentious eyes of the unbelievers; she did not fear that someone would pierce her sides, but she was afraid that someone would corrupt her daughters’ virginity. And that she feared this fear, not that one, and for this reason did not come to the court, is clear from that. She endured far greater tortures 50.640 in the river; for it is much more difficult and painful than seeing flesh being torn, as I have already said, to sink her own bowels, I mean her daughters, with her own hand, and to see them drowning, and to endure the tortures, she needed a much greater philosophy, so as to be able to hold the right hands of her children, and to drag them with herself into the currents of the river.

For it is not the same, in terms of pain, to see them suffering evils at the hands of others, and for she herself to minister to their death, for her to become the servant of their end, for her to stand as executioner to her daughters; but this is far more difficult and unbearable than that. And all you who have become mothers, and have experience of birth pangs, and have had daughters, will bear witness to my word. How did she touch the right hand of her children? How did her hand not grow numb? How were her nerves not loosed? How was her mind not driven mad? How was her reason strong enough to serve what was happening? For what was happening was more bitter than ten thousand tortures, as her soul was being torn instead of her body. But how long do we strive to pursue the unattainable? For no word will be able to represent the magnitude of the suffering, but only the woman who has experienced and struggled knows what these wrestlings are. Let mothers hear these things, let virgins hear, mothers so that they might thus instruct their daughters, and virgins so that they might thus obey their mothers. For it is not right to praise only the mother who commanded such things, but also to marvel at the daughters who obeyed such things; for neither did the mother need bonds for the sacrificial victims and offerings, nor did the heifers leap away, but with equal eagerness and soul, pulling the yoke of martyrdom, they thus entered the river, having left their sandals outside on the bank; and this they did, sparing the guards; such was the forethought of those saints. To leave behind; for they were eager to leave an apology for them at the court, so that that cruel and harsh judge would not be able to accuse them of betrayal, and that having taken silver they let the women go; for this reason they left their sandals as a witness to the good faith of the soldiers, that they deserted to the river without their knowledge, but in their ignorance. Perhaps a great longing for those saints has come upon you; with this fire, therefore, let us fall down before their relics; let us embrace their tombs; for even the tombs of martyrs can have great power, just as indeed

9

δύο θυγατέρας ἀθρόον αὐτῇ οὐχὶ ὁρῶσα ἀποθνησκούσας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς οἰκείας χειρὸς πρὸς τὸν θάνατον ἕλκουσα, ἐννόησον ὅσα ἐπεδείκνυτο τὰ μαρτύρια, ὃ μηδὲ ἀκοῦσαι ἑτέροις φορητὸν, διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων ὑπομείνασα ἐκείνη.

Οἱ μὲν οὖν στρατιῶται τούτων οὐδὲν εἰδότες ἔμενον ὡς ληψόμενοι πάλιν αὐτὰς, ἐκεῖναι δὲ ἦσαν μετὰ τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ στρατιωτῶν λοιπὸν τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγγέλων· οἱ δὲ τηροῦντες οὐκ εἶδον· οὐ γὰρ εἶχον τοὺς τῆς πίστεως ὀφθαλμούς. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Παῦλός φησι περὶ τῆς μητρὸς, ὅτι Σωθήσεται διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας· ἐνταῦθα δὲ αἱ θυγατέρες διὰ τῆς μητρὸς διεσώθησαν. Οὕτως ὠδίνειν χρὴ τὰς μητέρας. Καὶ γὰρ αὗται αἱ ὠδῖνες τῶν προτέρων βελτίους, πικροτέραν μὲν ὀδύνην, μεῖζον δὲ ἔχουσαι κέρδος. Ἐκείνων ἴσασι τῶν ὠδίνων, ὅσαι μητέρες ἐγένοντο, οἷαι αἱ ὠδῖνες θυγατέρας ἰδεῖν ἀποθνησκούσας· τὸ δὲ καὶ αὐτὴν αὐτόχειρα γενέσθαι τῆς σφαγῆς, ἄφατον ἔχει τὴν ὑπερβολήν. ζʹ. Ἀλλὰ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον ἡ γυνή; Πρὸ τῆς μάχης ἐβουλήθη τὸ τρόπαιον λαβεῖν, πρὸ τῶν ἀγώνων τὸν στέφανον ἁρπάσαι, πρὸ τῶν παλαισμάτων δέξασθαι τὰ βραβεῖα, οὐ βασάνους δεδοικυῖα, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀκολάστους τῶν ἀπίστων ὀφθαλμούς· οὐκ ἐφοβεῖτο, μή τις αὐτῇ διορύξῃ τὰς πλευρὰς, ἀλλ' ἐδεδοίκει, μή τις τῶν θυγατέρων διαφθείρῃ τὴν παρθενίαν. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτον ἐδεδοίκει τὸν φόβον, οὐκ ἐκεῖνον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, δῆλον ἐκεῖθεν. Πολλῷ μείζους βασάνους ὑπέμει 50.640 νεν ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ· καὶ γὰρ τοῦ σάρκα καταξαινομένην ὁρᾷν πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον καὶ ὀδυνηρότερον, καθάπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, τὰ οἰκεῖα σπλάγχνα, τὰς θυγατέρας λέγω, διὰ τῆς οἰκείας καταδῦσαι χειρὸς, καὶ ἀποπνιγομένας ἰδεῖν, καὶ τοῦ τὰς βασάνους ἐνεγκεῖν πολλῷ μείζονος ἔδει τῆς φιλοσοφίας αὐτῇ, ὥστε δυνηθῆναι κατασχεῖν τὰς δεξιὰς τῶν παιδίων, καὶ συνεφελκύσασθαι μεθ' ἑαυτῆς πρὸς τὰ ῥεύματα τοῦ ποταμοῦ.

Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἴσον εἰς ὀδύνης λόγον ὑφ' ἑτέρων κακῶς πασχούσας ὁρᾷν, καὶ αὐτὴν διακονεῖσθαι τῷ θανάτῳ, αὐτὴν ὑπουργὸν γενέσθαι τῆς τελευτῆς, αὐτὴν ἀντὶ δημίου καταστῆναι ταῖς θυγατράσιν· ἀλλὰ πολλῷ τοῦτο ἐκείνου χαλεπώτερον καὶ ἀφορητότερον. Καὶ μαρτυρήσετέ μου τῷ λόγῳ πᾶσαι ὅσαι μητέρες ἐγένεσθε, καὶ πεῖραν ὠδίνων ἐλάβετε, καὶ θυγατέρας ἐσχήκατε. Πῶς ἥψατο τῆς δεξιᾶς τῶν παιδίων; πῶς οὐκ ἐνάρκησεν ἡ χείρ; πῶς οὐκ ἐλύθη τὰ νεῦρα; πῶς οὐκ ἐξέστησαν αἱ φρένες; πῶς ἴσχυσεν ὁ λογισμὸς ὑπηρετήσασθαι τοῖς γινομένοις; Καὶ γὰρ μυρίων βασάνων πικρότερα ἦν τὰ γινόμενα, ἀντὶ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῇ διαξαινομένης. Ἀλλὰ μέχρι τίνος φιλονεικοῦμεν διώκειν ἀκίχητα; οὐδεὶς γὰρ παραστῆσαι δυνήσεται λόγος τοῦ πάθους τὸ μέγεθος, ἀλλὰ μόνη ἡ πεῖραν λαβοῦσα καὶ ἀγωνισαμένη γυνὴ οἶδεν, ὁποῖα ταῦτά ἐστι τὰ παλαίσματα. Ταῦτα ἀκουέτωσαν μητέρες, ἀκουέτωσαν παρθένοι, μητέρες μὲν ἵνα οὕτω παιδεύωσι τὰς θυγατέρας, παρθένοι δὲ ἵνα οὕτω πείθωνται ταῖς μητράσιν. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον τὴν μητέρα ἐπαινεῖν χρὴ τὴν τοιαῦτα ἐπιτάξασαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας θαυμάζειν, αἳ τὰ τοιαῦτα ὑπήκουσαν· οὔτε γὰρ ἡ μήτηρ ἐδεήθη δεσμῶν πρὸς τὰ ἱερεῖα καὶ τὰ θύματα, οὔτε αἱ δαμάλεις ἐσκίρτησαν, ἀλλ' ἴσῃ τῇ προθυμίᾳ καὶ ψυχῇ τὸν ζυγὸν ἕλκουσαι τοῦ μαρτυρίου, οὕτως εἰσῄεσαν εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν τὰ ὑποδήματα ἔξω τῆς ὄχθης ἀφεῖσαι· τοῦτο δὲ ἐποίουν, φειδόμεναι τῶν φυλάκων· τοσαύτη ἡ πρόνοια τῶν ἁγίων ἐκείνων ἦν. Καταλιπεῖν· γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἀπολογίαν ἐσπούδαζον εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, ἵνα μὴ ὁ ὠμὸς καὶ ἀπηνὴς δικαστὴς ἐκεῖνος ἐγκαλεῖν ἔχῃ προδοσίαν, καὶ ὅτι λαβόντες ἀργύριον τὰς γυναῖκας ἀφῆκαν· διὰ τοῦτο κατέλιπον τὰ ὑποδήματα τῇ γνώμῃ μαρτυροῦντα τῶν στρατιωτῶν, ὅτι οὐκ εἰδότων αὐτῶν, ἀλλ' ἀγνοούντων πρὸς τὸν ποταμὸν ηὐτομόλησαν. Τάχα πολὺς ὑμῖν ἐγένετο πόθος τῶν ἁγίων ἐκείνων· μετὰ τούτου τοίνυν τοῦ πυρὸς προσπέσωμεν αὐτῶν τοῖς λειψάνοις· συμπλακῶμεν αὐτῶν ταῖς θήκαις· δύνανται γὰρ καὶ θῆκαι μαρτύρων πολλὴν ἔχειν δύναμιν, ὥσπερ οὖν