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Likewise when she had had her fill of sleep, Peter began to speak instructively to the mother who had awakened: I want you to know, woman, the manner of life of our religion. We worship one God who made the world which you see, and we keep His law which contains, first, to worship Him alone and to hallow His name, to honor parents and to be temperate, and to live justly. In addition to this, not living indiscriminately, we do not partake of the table of the Gentiles, since indeed we are not able to dine with them because they live impurely. Except when we persuade them to think and to do the things of the truth, having baptized them with a certain thrice-blessed invocation, then we associate with them. Since not even if it happens to be a father or a mother, or a wife or a child or a brother or some other person having natural affection, are we able to dare to dine with him; for we do this because of a difference in religion. Do not therefore consider it an insult that your son does not dine with you, until you think and do the same things as he. And she, having heard, said: What then prevents me from being baptized today? I who, before I saw you, turned away from the so-called gods with this reasoning: that though I sacrificed to them many things almost daily in my necessities, they did not stand by me. And concerning adultery, what need is there even to speak? Since not even when I was rich, did luxury deceive me into this, nor has the poverty after this been able to compel me to come to this, as my chastity claims for itself the greatest beauty, for the sake of which I came into such distress. But neither do I think you, my lord Peter, are ignorant that the greater desire comes from good cheer. Wherefore, having been chaste in good cheer, I do not give myself over to pleasures in despair. But do not think that even now my soul has been freed from afflictions, having obtained some small comfort through the recognition of Clement. For the loss of my two children entering in its place also darkens the small joy. For I will be comforted concerning them that they perished at sea, but <not> that in addition to this, having been destroyed outside the walls of the religion of God, they lost both their bodies and their souls. And their father, and my husband (as I learned from Clement), having gone out in search of both me and his sons, has been unseen for so many years, and has surely died; for the wretched man, loving me out of chastity, was also fond of his children. Wherefore, being deprived of all of us who were loved by him above all things, the old man perished from the greatest despair. As the mother was saying these things, the sons who were listening according to Peter's instruction could no longer contain themselves, but rising up they embraced her, weeping much and kissing her. And she said: What does this mean? And Peter answered: Prepare your mind bravely, O woman, so that you may enjoy your children. For these are Faustinus and Faustinianus your sons, whom you said had died in the deep. But how they are alive, who died to you on that most terrible night, and how now one of them is called Nicetas, and the other Aquila, they themselves will be able to tell you; for with you we are to learn. When Peter had said these things, the mother, rejoicing greatly, almost fainted from exhaustion. But when we had revived her, she sat down and having come to herself, she said: I beseech you, my longed-for children, tell me the things that happened to you after that terrible night.

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Ὁμῶς ἐπεὶ κόρον ἔσχεν ὕπνου, διεγερθείσῃ τῇ μητρὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἤρξατο προσαγωγῶς λέγειν· Γινώσκειν σε θέλω, γύναι, τῆς ἡμετέρας θρησκείας τὴν πολιτείαν. ἡμεῖς ἕνα θεὸν σέβομεν τὸν πεποιηκότα ὃν ὁρᾷς κόσμον καὶ τούτου φυλάσσομεν τὸν νόμον περιέχοντα ἐν πρώτοις αὐτὸν σέβειν μόνον καὶ τὸ αὐτοῦ ἁγιάζειν ὄνομα τιμᾶν τε γονεῖς καὶ σωφρονεῖν βιοῦν τε δι- καίως. πρὸς τούτοις δὲ ἀδιαφόρως μὴ βιοῦντες τραπέζης ἐθνῶν οὐκ ἀπολαύομεν, ἅτε δὴ οὐδὲ συνεστιᾶσθαι αὐτοῖς δυνάμενοι διὰ τὸ ἀκαθάρ- τως αὐτοὺς βιοῦν. πλὴν ὁπόταν αὐτοὺς πείσωμεν τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας φρονεῖν τε καὶ ποιεῖν βαπτίσαντες αὐτοὺς τρισμακαρίᾳ τινὶ ἐπονομασίᾳ, τότε αὐτοῖς συναλιζόμεθα. ἐπεὶ οὐδ' ἂν πατὴρ ἢ μήτηρ τυγχάνῃ ἢ γυνὴ ἢ τέκνον ἢ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἄλλος τις ἐκ φύσεως στοργὴν ἔχων, συνεστιᾶσθαι αὐτῷ τολμᾶν δυνάμεθα· θρησκείᾳ γὰρ διαφερόντως τοῦτο ποιοῦμεν. μὴ οὖν ὕβριν ἡγήσῃ τὸ μὴ συνεστιᾶσθαί σοι τὸν υἱόν, μέχρις ἂν τὰ αὐτὰ αὐτῷ φρονῇς καὶ ποιῇς. ἡ δὲ ἀκούσασα ἔφη· Τί οὖν κωλύει σήμερόν με βαπτι- σθῆναι; ἥτις πρὸ τοῦ σε ἰδεῖν τοὺς λεγομένους θεοὺς ἀπεστράφην λογισμῷ τούτῳ ὅτι πολλὰ σχεδὸν καθ' ἡμέραν θυούσῃ αὐτοῖς ἐν ταῖς ἀνάγκαις οὐ παρεστάθησάν μοι. περὶ δὲ μοιχείας τί δεῖ καὶ λέγειν; ὁπότε οὐδὲ ὅτε ἐπλούτουν, τρυφή με τοῦτο ἠπάτησεν, οὐδὲ ἡ μετὰ ταύτην πενία ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐλθεῖν ἀναγκάσαι δεδύνηται ἀντιποιουμένης μου τῆς σωφροσύνης ὡς μεγίστου κάλλους, ἧς ἔνεκα εἰς τοσαύτην ἦλθον περίστασιν. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οἶμαί σε, κύριέ μου Πέτρε, ἀγνοεῖν ὅτι ἡ πλείων ἐπιθυμία ἐξ εὐθυμιῶν γίνεται. ὅθεν ἐγὼ ἐν εὐθυμίᾳ σωφρονέσασα, ἐν δυσθυμίᾳ πρὸς ἡδονὰς ἐμαυτὴν οὐκ ἀποδίδωμι. ἀλλὰ μηδὲ νῦν μου κακουχίας ἀπηλλάχθαι νομίσῃς τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν ποσῶς παραμυθίας τυχοῦσαν διὰ τὴν Κλήμεντος ἐπίγνωσιν. ἀντεισερ- χομένη γὰρ ἡ ἐκ τῶν δύο τέκνων μου ἀπώλεια καὶ τὴν ποσῶς ἀμαυροῖ χαράν. παραμυθήσομαι γὰρ περὶ αὐτῶν ὅτι ἐν θαλάσσῃ διεφώνησαν, ἀλλ' <οὐχ> ὅτι πρὸς τούτοις ἐκτὸς τειχῶν θρησκείας θεοῦ φθαρέντες τὰ σώματα καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἀπώλοντο. ὁ δὲ τούτων πατήρ, ἐμὸς δὲ σύμβιος (ὡς παρὰ Κλή- μεντος ἔμαθον) ἐπί τε τὴν ἐμὴν καὶ τὴν τῶν υἱῶν ζήτησιν ἐκβάς, τοσούτοις ἔτεσιν ἀφανής ἐστιν, πάντως δὲ ἐτελεύτησεν· καὶ γὰρ ὁ ταλαίπωρος ὑπὸ σωφροσύνης με ἀγαπῶν φιλότεκνος ἦν. ὅθεν πάντων ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ πάντα αὐτῷ ἠγαπημένων στερηθεὶς ὁ γέρων ὑπὸ μεγίστης ἀθυμίας διεφώνησεν. Τῆς μητρὸς ταῦτα λεγούσης κατὰ τὴν Πέτρου παραίνεσιν ἀκούοντες οὐκέτι στέγειν ἐδύναντο οἱ παῖδες, ἀλλ' ἐγερθέντες περιεπλέκοντο αὐτῇ πολλὰ δακρύοντες καὶ καταφιλοῦντες. ἡ δὲ ἔφη· Τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι; καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἀπεκρίνατο· Παράστησον, ὦ γύναι, γενναίως τὸν νοῦν σου, ὅπως τῶν σῶν ἀπολαύσῃς τέκνων. οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν Φαυστῖνος καὶ Φαυστι- νιανὸς οἱ υἱοί σου, οὓς ἐν βυθῷ τεθνάναι ἔλεγες. πῶς δὲ ζῶσιν ἐπὶ σοῦ θανόντες ἐν τῇ χαλεπωτάτῃ ἐκείνῃ νυκτί, καὶ πῶς νῦν ὁ μὲν αὐτῶν Νικήτης λέγεται, ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας, αὐτοί σοι εἰπεῖν δυνήσονται· σὺν σοὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς μα- θεῖν ἔχομεν. ταῦτα τοῦ Πέτρου εἰπόντος ἡ μήτηρ χαρεῖσα σφόδρα ὑπὸ ἐκλύσεως ὀλίγου διεφώνει. ὅτε δὲ αὐτὴν ἀνεκτησάμεθα, ἐκαθέσθη καὶ ἑαυτῆς γενομένη ἔφη· Παρακαλῶ, τέκνα μου ποθεινά, εἴπατέ μοι τὰ μετὰ τὴν χα- λεπὴν ἐκείνην νύκτα συμβάντα ὑμῖν.