Primary source · Latin
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity
Vibia Perpetua (prison diary), Saturus, and an eyewitness redactor · AD 203
What this text is
The prison diary of a young Carthaginian noblewoman awaiting the beasts — the earliest surviving text written by a Christian woman — framed by the vision of her catechist Saturus and an eyewitness account of the martyrs’ deaths.
Interlinear passages
Word-for-word glosses of the original; the complete public-domain translation is linked below.
Chapter 3 — Perpetua answers her father
NonNotpossumcan Imemyselfaliudotherdicerecallnisiexceptquodwhatsum,I am,Christiana.a Christian
Public-domain translations
R. E. Wallis (ANF, 1897)
‘Father,’ said I, ‘do you see this vessel lying here, this little pitcher, or whatever it may be?’ And he said, ‘I see it.’ …‘Can it be called by any other name than what it is?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ ‘So also can I call myself nothing other than what I am, a Christian.’
Manuscript witnesses
Monte Cassino, Codex Casinensis 204
11th c.The fullest Latin copy of the Passio with the diary intact.
Jerusalem, Greek version (H. Sepulchri 1)
10th c.The Greek translation discovered in 1889, independent witness to the text.
Ruinart, Acta sincera
1689Classic printing of the Passio.
Provenance
Carthage, AD 203 — her prison diary inside an editorial frame
Editions & scholarship
Critical editions and standard translations behind the text above.
- The Passion of Perpetua and FelicityThomas J. Heffernan, 2012Critical edition, translation, and full commentary.
- Perpétue et Félicité (SC 417)Jacqueline Amat, 1996Critical edition with French translation.