Perpetua and an enslaved young woman Felicitas were martyred in Carthage in CE 203. Most of the text is narrated from the first person singular, apparently Perpetua herself. An editor, perhaps Tertullian, edited the text after her death. In the two sections here, the editor provides a bit of introduction, and then Perpetua begins her narrative, “written in her own hand and from her own perspective.”

§2

The Narrator Introduces Perpetua

Apprehensi sunt adolescentes catechumeni, Revocatus et Fēlicitas, conserva eius, Saturninus et Secundulus. Inter hos et Vibia Perpetua, honeste nata, liberaliter instituta, matronaliter nupta, habens patrem et matrem et fratres duos, alterum aeque catechumenum, et filium infantem ad ubera.  Erat autem ipsa circiter annōrum viginti duorum. Haec ordinem totum martyrii sui iam hinc ipsa narravit sicut conscriptum manu sua et suo sensu reliquit.

Nota

adulescens, -ntis m/f. - young man/woman

Revocatus, -i m. - Revocatus (an enslaved man)

Felicitas, -tatis f. - Felicitas (an enslaved woman)

conservus, -i m. / conserva, -ae f. - fellow enslaved person

Saturnius, -i m. - Saturnius (a freedman of low birth)

Secundulus, -i m. - Secundulus (a freedman of low birth)

Vibia Perpetua, -ae f. - Vivia Perpetua. Vibia refers to Perpetua’s nomen  (name of gens), and Perpetua is the cognomen (personal name)

liberaliter instituta: “liberally educated” (nom.)

matronaliter nupta: “honorably married”

duo, -ae, -o - two

uber, uberis n. - breast

circiter - around, about

viginti duorum - twenty-two

ordinem totum: “whole account”

martyrium, -ii n. - martyrdom

hinc - from this place (adv.)

suo sensu: “from her own perspective”

§3a

Perpetua Talks with her Father

Cum adhuc, inquit, cum prosecutoribus essemus et me pater verbis evertere cuperet et deicere pro suā affectione perseveraret: 

“Pater,” inquam, “vides verbi gratiā vas hoc iacens, urceolum sive aliud?”
Et dixit: “Video.”
Et ego dixi ei: “Numquid alio nomine vocari potest quam quod est?”
Et ait: “Non.”
“Sic et ego aliud me dicere non possum nisi quod sum, Christiana.” 

Tunc pater motus hoc verbo mittit se in me ut oculos mihi erueret, sed vexavit tantum et profectus est victus argumentis diaboli. Tunc paucis diebus quod carueram patre, Domino gratias egi et refrigeravi absentiā illius. In ipso spatio paucorum dierum baptizati sumus, et mihi Spiritus dictavit non aliud petendum ab aquā nisi sufferentiam carnis. 

cum...perservaret… : cum here is a conjunction meaning “when”.  Translate the three imperfect subjunctive verbs with the equivalent English imperfect indicatives: “When we were (essemus)…, was desiring (cuperet)..., was persisting (perseveraret).” This is an example of a cum clause with the subjunctive, explained in Unit 8.

prosecutor, -is m. - attendant; official judicial attendant

everto, evertere, everti, eversum - to turn out, overturn

affectio, -onis f. - feeling, attitude, mood

vas, vasis n. - vessel

urceolus, -i. m. - small water pitcher

Numquid: interrogative word, usually without an English equivalent

quod = id quod

ut...erueret: ut here introduces a purpose clause with the subjunctive (Unit 7). Translate “in order to tear out my eyes.”

vexo (1) - to shake, disturb

argumentum, -i n. - argument

diabolus, -i m. - Devil

carueram: translate this pluperfect indicative with quod as: “that I had been without. . .” (remember that careo takes the abl.)

gratias egi: ago, -ere  + gratias means “to thank” (+ dat.)

refrigeravi: translate this as “I cooled off.”

absentia, -ae f. - absence

baptizo (1) - to baptize

dicto (1) - to dictate, prescribe

petendum (esse): from peto, -ere, -ivi, -itum. Gerundive form (Unit 10) that implies necessity. Supply esse and translate as the verb with aliud as its subject in an indirect statement “that not anything else should be sought”

sufferentia, -ae f. - endurance, sufferance

§3b

Perpetua Describes Prison Conditions

Post paucos dies recipimur in carcerem; et expavi, quia numquam experta eram tales tenebras. O diem asperum: aestus validus turbarum beneficio, concussurae militum. Novissime macerabar sollicitudine infantis ibi. Tunc Tertius et Pomponius, benedicti diaconi qui nobis ministrabant, constituerunt praemio uti paucas horas emissi in meliorem locum carceris refrigeraremus. Tunc exeuntes de carcere universi sibi vacabant.  Ego infantem lactabam iam inediā defectum; sollicita pro eo adloquebar matrem et confortabam fratrem, commendabam fīlium; tabescebam ideo quod illos tabescere videram mei beneficio. Tales sollicitudines multas dies passa sum; et usurpavi ut mecum infans in carcere maneret; et statim convalui et relevata sum a labore et sollicitudine infantis, et factus est mihi carcer subito praetorium, ut ibi mallem esse quam alicubi.

expavesco, -ere, expavi - to be greatly terrified

O diem: acc. of exclamation

asper, -era, -erum - rough, harsh

aestus...militum: supply erat. This list of prison conditions explains the hopelessness of prison life.

aestus, -us m. - heat

beneficio: beneficio + gen. means “because of”

concussura, -ae m. - extortion of money by threats

macero (1) - to weaken, torment

sollicitudo, -inis f. - care, anxiety

Tertius, -i m. - Tertius (probably a freedman, of low birth)

Pomponius, -i m. - Pomponius (probably a freedman, of low birth)

benedictus, -a, -um - blessed (bene + dico)

diaconus, -i m. - servant (of the church), deacon

ministro (1) - to attend, wait upon

emitto, -ere, -misi, -missum - to send out

uti . . . refrigeraremus:  uti introduces an indirect command with the subjunctive (Unit 9): “that we be refreshed”

lacto (1) - to nurse

inedia, -ae f. - lack of food, fasting

sollictus, -a, -um - throughly moved, agitated

adloquor (1) - speak to, address (ad + loquor)

comforto (1) - to strengthen

commendo (1) - to commend (to somebody’s care)

tabesco (1) - to be consumed, languish

usurpo (1) - to obtain, ask (that)

ut...maneret: ut introduces an indirect command with the subjunctive (Unit 9): “that he remain”

convalesco, -ere, -lui - to recover, convalesce

relevo (1) - to relieve

praetorium, -ii n. - palace

mallem: ut introduces a result clause with the subjunctive (Unit 7): “so that I preferred”

alicubi - at any place, anywhere