, like athletes who had
already been several times victorious, and were contending for the crown
of crowns, they braved the stripes with which they were beaten, the
bites of the beasts that dragged them to and fro, and all that was
demanded by the outcries of an insensate mob, so much the more furious
because it could by no means overcome the firmness of the martyrs or
extort from Sanctus any other speech than that which, on the first day,
he had uttered--'I am a Christian.' After this fearful contest, as life
was not extinct, their throats were at last cut, when they alone had
thus been offered as a spectacle to the public instead of the variety
displayed in the combat of gladiators.

"Blandina, in her turn, tied to a stake, was given to the beasts; she
was seen hanging, as it were, on a sort of cross, calling upon God with
trustful fervor, and the brethren present were reminded, in the person
of a sister, of Him who had been crucified for their salvation. As none
of the beasts would touch the body of Blandina, she was released from
the stake, taken back to prison, and reserved for another occasion.

"Attalus, whose execution, seeing that he was a man of mark, was
furiously demanded by the people, came forward ready to brave
everything, as a man deriving confidence from the memory of his life,
for he had courageously trained himself to discipline, and had always
among us borne witness for the truth. He was led all round the
Amphitheatre, preceded by a board bearing this inscription in Latin:
'This is Attalus the Christian.' The people pursued him with the most
furious hootings; but the governor, having learned that he was a Roman
citizen, had him taken back to prison with the rest. Having subsequently
written to Caesar, he waited for his decision as to those who were thus
detained.

"This delay was neither useless nor unprofitable, for then shone forth
the boundless compassion of Christ. Those of the brethren who had been
but dead members of the Church were recalled to life by the pains and
help of the living; the martyrs obtained grace for those who had fallen
away; and great was the joy in the Church, at the same time virgin and
mother, for she once more found living those whom she had given up for
dead. Thus revived and strengthened by the goodness of God, who willeth
not the death of the sinner, but rather inviteth him to repentance, they
presented themselves before the tribunal, to be questioned afresh by the
g