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And that which was spoken by our Lord was fulfilled, that a time will come in which everyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 5.1.16 Here, then, the holy martyrs endured punishments beyond all description, with Satan striving eagerly that some blasphemy might also be spoken through them; 5.1.17 But all the rage of the mob and governor and soldiers fell exceedingly upon Sanctus, the deacon from Vienne, and upon Maturus, newly enlightened, to be sure, but a noble combatant, and upon Attalus, a Pergamene by race, who had always been a pillar and foundation of those here, and upon Blandina, through whom Christ showed that the things that appear cheap and unseemly and contemptible among men are accounted worthy of great glory with God on account of love for him, which is shown in power and does not boast in appearance. 5.1.18 For while we all feared, and her fleshly mistress—who was herself also one of the combatants among the martyrs—was in agony lest she should not even be able to make her confession with boldness on account of the weakness of her body, Blandina was filled with so much power that those who by turns were in every way torturing her from morning until evening were exhausted and gave up, and they themselves confessed that they were defeated, having nothing more that they could do to her; and they marveled that she remained still breathing, her whole body being broken and laid open, and testified that one form of torture was sufficient to bring out the soul, much less such and so many. 5.1.19 But the blessed woman, like a noble athlete, renewed her youth in her confession, and her refreshment and rest and painlessness from the things happening was to say, "I am a Christian, and among us nothing evil is done." 5.1.20 And Sanctus himself also, exceedingly and beyond all men, nobly enduring all the torments of men, while the lawless were hoping on account of the persistence and magnitude of the tortures to hear something from him that ought not be said, arrayed himself against them with such steadfastness that he told them neither his own name, nor nation, nor city from which he was, nor whether he was a slave or a freeman; but to all the questions asked he answered in the Roman tongue, "I am a Christian." This, instead of name and instead of city and instead of race and instead of everything, he confessed again and again, and the heathens heard no other sound from him. 5.1.21 And so a great rivalry of both the governor and the torturers arose against him, so that when they had nothing more that they might do to him, at last they applied red-hot brazen plates to the most tender parts of his body. 5.1.22 And these indeed were burning, but he remained unbent and unyielding, firm in his confession, being bedewed and strengthened by the heavenly spring of the water of life that proceeds from the belly of Christ. 5.1.23 And his poor body was a witness of what had happened, one whole wound and weal, drawn together and having lost its outward human form, in which Christ suffering was accomplishing great glories, bringing the adversary to nought and showing for an example to the rest that there is nothing fearful where the Father's love is, nor painful where Christ's glory is. 5.1.24 For when the lawless men after some days were again torturing the martyr, thinking that, with his body swollen and inflamed, if they should apply the same instruments of punishment, they would overcome him, since he could not even bear the touch of a hand, or that by dying under the tortures he might strike fear into the rest, not only did nothing of this sort happen to him, but also, contrary to all human expectation, his poor body recovered and was straightened in the subsequent tortures, and he recovered his former appearance and the use of his limbs, so that the second torture became for him not a punishment, but a healing, through the grace of Christ. 5.1.25 And Biblis also, one of those who had denied, whom the devil already thought he had swallowed up,

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ἐπληροῦτο δὲ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν εἰρημένον ὅτι ἐλεύσεται καιρὸς ἐν ᾧ πᾶς ὁ ἀποκτείνας ὑμᾶς δόξει λατρείαν προσφέρειν τῷ θεῷ. 5.1.16 ἐνταῦθα λοιπὸν ὑπεράνω πάσης ἐξηγήσεως ὑπέμενον κολάσεις οἱ ἅγιοι μάρτυρες, φιλοτιμουμένου τοῦ σατανᾶ καὶ δι' ἐκείνων ῥηθῆναί τι τῶν βλασφήμων· 5.1.17 ὑπερβεβλημένως δὲ ἐνέσκηψεν ἡ ὀργὴ πᾶσα καὶ ὄχλου καὶ ἡγεμόνος καὶ στρατιωτῶν εἰς Σάγκτον τὸν διάκονον ἀπὸ Βιέννης καὶ εἰς Μάτουρον, νεοφώτιστον μέν, ἀλλὰ γενναῖον ἀγωνιστήν, καὶ εἰς Ἄτταλον Περγαμηνὸν τῷ γένει, στῦλον καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῶν ἐνταῦθα ἀεὶ γεγονότα, καὶ εἰς Βλανδῖναν, δι' ἧς ἐπέδειξεν ὁ Χριστὸς ὅτι τὰ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις εὐτελῆ καὶ ἀειδῆ καὶ εὐκαταφρόνητα φαινόμενα μεγάλης καταξιοῦται παρὰ θεῷ δόξης διὰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγάπην τὴν ἐν δυνάμει δεικνυμένην καὶ μὴ ἐν εἴδει καυχωμένην. 5.1.18 ἡμῶν γὰρ πάντων δεδιότων καὶ τῆς σαρκίνης δεσποίνης αὐτῆς, ἥτις ἦν καὶ αὐτὴ τῶν μαρτύρων μία ἀγωνίστρια, ἀγωνιώσης μὴ οὐδὲ τὴν ὁμολογίαν δυνήσεται παρρησιάσασθαι διὰ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ σώματος, ἡ Βλανδῖνα τοσαύτης ἐπληρώθη δυνάμεως, ὥστε ἐκλυθῆναι καὶ παρεθῆναι τοὺς κατὰ διαδοχὰς παντὶ τρόπῳ βασανίζοντας αὐτὴν ἀπὸ ἑωθινῆς ἕως ἑσπέρας, καὶ αὐτοὺς ὁμολογοῦντας ὅτι νενίκηνται μηδὲν ἔχοντες μηκέτι ὃ ποιήσωσιν αὐτῇ, καὶ θαυμάζειν ἐπὶ τῷ παραμένειν ἔμπνουν αὐτήν, παντὸς τοῦ σώματος περιερρωγότος καὶ ἠνεῳγμένου, καὶ μαρτυρεῖν ὅτι ἓν εἶδος στρεβλώσεως ἱκανὸν ἦν πρὸς τὸ ἐξαγαγεῖν τὴν ψυχήν, οὐχ ὅτι γε τοιαῦτα καὶ τοσαῦτα. 5.1.19 ἀλλ' ἡ μακαρία ὡς γενναῖος ἀθλητὴς ἀνενέαζεν ἐν τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ, καὶ ἦν αὐτῆς ἀνάληψις καὶ ἀνάπαυσις καὶ ἀναλγησία τῶν συμβαινόντων τὸ λέγειν ὅτι «Χριστιανή εἰμι καὶ παρ' ἡμῖν οὐδὲν φαῦλον γίνεται». 5.1.20 ὁ δὲ Σάγκτος καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπερβεβλημένως καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα ἄνθρωπον πάσας τὰς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων αἰκίας γενναίως ὑπομένων, τῶν ἀνόμων ἐλπιζόντων διὰ τὴν ἐπιμονὴν καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν βασάνων ἀκούσεσθαί τι παρ' αὐτοῦ τῶν μὴ δεόντων, τοσαύτῃ ὑποστάσει ἀντιπαρετάξατο αὐτοῖς, ὥστε μήτε τὸ ἴδιον κατειπεῖν ὄνομα μήτε ἔθνους μήτε πόλεως ὅθεν ἦν, μήτε εἰ δοῦλος ἢ ἐλεύθερος εἴη· ἀλλὰ πρὸς πάντα τὰ ἐπερωτώμενα ἀπεκρίνατο τῇ Ῥωμαϊκῇ φωνῇ «Χριστιανός εἰμι». τοῦτο καὶ ἀντὶ ὀνόματος καὶ ἀντὶ πόλεως καὶ ἀντὶ γένους καὶ ἀντὶ παντὸς ἐπαλλήλως ὡμολόγει, ἄλλην δὲ φωνὴν οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔθνη· 5.1.21 ὅθεν δὴ καὶ φιλονεικία μεγάλη τοῦ τε ἡγεμόνος καὶ τῶν βασανιστῶν ἐγένετο πρὸς αὐτόν, ὥστε ὁπότε μηκέτι μηδὲν εἶχον ὃ ποιήσωσιν αὐτῷ, τὸ τελευταῖον χαλκᾶς λεπίδας διαπύρους προσεκόλλων τοῖς τρυφερωτάτοις μέλεσι τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ. 5.1.22 καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐκαίετο, αὐτὸς δὲ παρέμενεν ἀνεπίκαμπτος καὶ ἀνένδοτος, στερρὸς πρὸς τὴν ὁμολογίαν, ὑπὸ τῆς οὐρανίου πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἐξιόντος ἐκ τῆς νηδύος τοῦ Χριστοῦ δροσιζόμενος καὶ ἐνδυναμούμενος· 5.1.23 τὸ δὲ σωμάτιον μάρτυς ἦν τῶν συμβεβηκότων, ὅλον τραῦμα καὶ μώλωψ καὶ συνεσπασμένον καὶ ἀποβεβληκὸς τὴν ἀνθρώπειον ἔξωθεν μορφήν, ἐν ᾧ πάσχων Χριστὸς μεγάλας ἐπετέλει δόξας, καταργῶν τὸν ἀντικείμενον καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν λοιπῶν ὑποτύπωσιν ὑποδεικνύων ὅτι μηδὲν φοβερὸν ὅπου πατρὸς ἀγάπη, μηδὲ ἀλγεινὸν ὅπου Χριστοῦ δόξα. 5.1.24 τῶν γὰρ ἀνόμων μεθ' ἡμέρας πάλιν στρεβλούντων τὸν μάρτυρα καὶ νομιζόντων ὅτι οἰδούντων καὶ φλεγμαινόντων τῶν σωμάτων, εἰ τὰ αὐτὰ προσενέγκοιεν κολαστήρια, περιέσοιντο αὐτοῦ, ὁπότε οὐδὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν χειρῶν ἁφὴν ἠνείχετο, ἢ ὅτι ἐναποθανὼν ταῖς βασάνοις φόβον ἐμποιήσειεν τοῖς λοιποῖς, οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν περὶ αὐτὸν τοιοῦτο συνέβη, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ πᾶσαν δόξαν ἀνθρώπων ἀνέκυψεν καὶ ἀνωρθώθη τὸ σωμάτιον ἐν ταῖς μετέπειτα βασάνοις, καὶ τὴν ἰδέαν ἀπέλαβεν τὴν προτέραν καὶ τὴν χρῆσιν τῶν μελῶν, ὥστε μὴ κόλασιν, ἀλλ' ἴασιν διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν δευτέραν στρέβλωσιν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι. 5.1.25 καὶ Βιβλίδα δέ, μίαν τῶν ἠρνημένων ἤδη δοκῶν ὁ διάβολος καταπεπωκέναι,