g their youth and beauty, merely imprisoned
them. News of his sister's imprisonment being brought to Flora's
brother, he induced the judge to make a further examination of her, and
she was brought out of prison before the Kadi, who, pointing to her
brother, asked her if she knew him. Flora answered that she did--as her
brother according to the flesh. "How is it, then," asked the judge,
"that he remains a good Moslem, while you have apostatized?" She
answered that God had enlightened her; and, on professing herself ready
to repeat her former denunciations of the Prophet, she was again
remanded to prison. Here she and Maria are threatened with being thrown
upon the streets as prostitutes[2]--a punishment far worse than the
easy death they had desired. This shakes their constancy; when they
find an unexpected comforter in Eulogius himself, who is now imprisoned
for being an encourager and inciter of defiance to the laws. It is
strange that he should have been allowed to carry on in the prison
itself the very work for which he had been imprisoned. The support of
Eulogius enabled these tender maidens to stand firm through another
examination, and the judge, proving too merciful, or too good a Moslem,
to carry out the above-mentioned threat, they were led forth to die
(November 24, 851). Before their death they had promised Eulogius to
intercede before the throne of God for his release, which accordingly is
brought to pass six days after their own execution.[3]

An interval of only a little more than a month elapsed before
Gumesindus, a priest of the district called Campania, near Cordova, and
Servus Dei, a monk, suffered death in the same way (January 13, 852).[4]

[1] Eulog. to Alvar, i. sec. 2; "Life of Flora and Maria," by
Eulog., sec. 12.

[2] _Ibid._, sec. 13, and Eulog., "Doc. Mart.," sec. 4.
Eulogius tried to lessen the terror of this threat by pointing
out that "non polluit mentem aliena corruptio, quam non foedat
propria delectatis,"--a poor consolation, but the only one! He
does not seem to have known--or surely he would have quoted
it--the express injunction of the Koran (xxiv. verse
35):--"Compel not your maidservants to prostitute themselves,
if they be willing to live chastely ... but, if any shall
compel them thereto, verily God will be gracious and merciful
unto such women after their compulsion."

[3] Eulog., letter to Alvar, Florez, xi. 295. Fleury, v.