De virgine quadam Antiochena
The Virgin's Resolve
A virtuous virgin in Antioch faces the threat of persecution and chooses to preserve her soul's integrity over her physical safety.
There was a certain virgin in Antioch, whose story Ambrose recounts in his book. He writes in these words: 'Recently in Antioch there was a certain virgin who avoided the display of being seen in public.' But the more she avoided being seen, the more she inflamed the desires of the shameless. For beauty, whether heard of or seen, is desired all the more through the two spurs of love and curiosity; for nothing occurs that is less pleasing, and what is pleasing is imagined to be even greater—something that the eye does not discover as a witness, but the loving soul longs for. Therefore, so that the hope of gaining her might not be fed any longer, the holy virgin declared her integrity and modesty, restraining the faces of the wicked so that she was no longer loved, but betrayed. Behold, persecution. The girl, not knowing how to flee and fearful in her youth, prepared her soul for virtue so she wouldn't fall into the hands of those who would ambush her modesty; she was so religious that she didn't fear death, and so chaste that she awaited it. For the day of her crown arrived, the greatest expectation of all, and the girl was brought forth, having professed a double struggle: that of chastity and of religion. But when they saw the constancy of her profession, the boundary of her modesty, her readiness for torture, and her blushing at their gaze, they began to plot how they might strip away her hope of chastity and her religious life, so that once they had taken away what was greater, they might also snatch away what remained. She is ordered either to sacrifice or to be prostituted in a brothel. How do they worship their gods, who vindicate themselves in this way, or how do they live themselves, who judge in this way? This girl, not because she doubted her religious life, but because she trembled for her modesty, said to herself: 'What are we doing today?' 'Whether as a martyr or as a virgin, one of these crowns is being begrudged us.' But the name of virgin is not recognized where the author of virginity is denied. For how can you be a virgin if you worship a prostitute, how can you be a virgin if you love an adulterer, how can you be a virgin if you seek such love? It is more tolerable to have a virgin mind than a virgin body. Both are good, if permitted; and if not permitted, let us be chaste not for man, but for God. Rahab was a prostitute, but after she believed in the Lord, she found salvation. And Judith adorned herself to please an adulterer, yet because she did this out of religious duty and not out of love, no one judged her an adulteress. This is a good example, for if she who committed herself to religious discipline preserved both her modesty and her country, perhaps we too, by keeping to our religious discipline... ...will also preserve our chastity. But if Judith had wanted to prioritize her modesty over her religious duty, she would have lost the first, and in doing so, would have lost her modesty as well. Therefore, instructed by such examples and keeping in her heart the words of the Lord where He says, 'Whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it,' she wept and remained silent, so that the adulterer might not hear her even speaking; she chose not the injury of her modesty, but refused the injury of Christ. Judge for yourselves: could she have committed adultery in her body, when she did not even commit it with her voice?
The Divine Rescue
Through prayer and divine intervention, a soldier is moved to assist the virgin, leading to a miraculous exchange of roles.
My prayer has long been hesitant, and it fears to approach and explain this series of criminal acts. Close your ears, virgins of God! A girl of God is led to a brothel, but listen closely, virgins of God: a virgin can be forced into prostitution, but she cannot be forced into adultery. Wherever a virgin of God is, there is the temple of God; brothels don't defile chastity, but chastity actually wipes away the shame of the place. A huge crowd of the wanton gathers at the brothel. Learn the miracles of the holy virgin martyr; learn the names of these places: a dove is shut inside, hawks screech outside, and they fight among themselves over who will be the first to seize the prey. But she, with hands lifted to heaven as if she had come to a house of prayer and not a den of lust, said: 'Christ, you tamed fierce lions for a virgin; you can tame even the fierce minds of men.' Fire cooled for the Chaldeans; for the Jews, the water held itself back by your mercy, not by its own nature; Susanna bent her knees for her execution and triumphed over the adulterers; the hand that violated the gifts of your temple withered; now the temple itself is being touched—do not allow the defilement of sacrilege, you who did not allow theft.1 May your name be blessed, so that I, who came here a virgin to face adultery, may leave a virgin. She had barely finished her prayer when a soldier, terrifying in appearance, burst in—how the virgin trembled, she before whom a trembling crowd had once given way! But she, not forgetting the lesson, said, "Daniel, too, came to witness the punishment of Susanna, and the one whom the people had condemned, he alone acquitted." Even in this wolf's clothing, a sheep may be hiding. Christ also has his soldiers, and he even has legions at his command; perhaps it was a persecutor who entered, but don't be afraid, my soul—such men are often the ones who make martyrs. O virgin, your faith has saved you. The soldier replied to her, "I beg you, sister, don't be afraid; I have come here to save your soul, not to destroy it." Save me, so that you yourself may be saved; I entered as if I were an adulterer, but if you wish, I will leave as a martyr—let us exchange clothes; mine suit you and yours suit me, but both belong to Christ. Your cloak will make me a true soldier, and mine will make you a virgin. You'll be well-dressed, but I'll be better off stripped, so the persecutor recognizes me. Hand over that same habit that hides a woman, so it may consecrate a martyr. Put on the cloak that hides a virgin's limbs and preserves her modesty; take the cap that covers your hair and hides your face—those who have entered a brothel are used to blushing. Once you've left, don't look back, remembering Lot's wife, who lost her nature because she looked at the unchaste, even with chaste eyes; and don't fear that anything will be lost from the sacrifice. I will offer myself as a sacrifice to my God for you; you, for my sake, will be a soldier for Christ, holding to the good warfare of chastity, which serves for eternal wages, the breastplate of justice that clothes the body in spiritual armor, the shield of faith to ward off wounds, and the helmet of salvation. For where Christ is, there is the protection of our salvation; since the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ is the head of virgins. In the midst of these words, he took off the cloak, though it was still a suspect habit, belonging to both a persecutor and an adulterer.
A Shared Martyrdom
The virgin and the soldier both seek the crown of martyrdom, contending with one another for the privilege of dying for Christ.
The virgin began to offer her neck, and the soldier his cloak. What a display that was, and what grace, when they competed for martyrdom inside a brothel. Let the persons be added: a soldier and a virgin. They were different by nature, but through God's mercy they became alike, so that the prophecy might be fulfilled: 'Then the wolf and the lamb shall feed together.' Look, the lamb and the wolf don't just feed together; they are even sacrificed together. What more is there to say? With her habit changed, the girl flies from the snare—no longer on her own wings, for she was carried by spiritual ones—and, in a way no age has ever seen, the virgin of Christ departs from the brothel. But those who saw with their eyes and didn't see with their hearts roared like wolves for their prey, as if they were predators hunting a lamb. One man, more shameless than the rest, went in, but when he saw the situation with his own eyes, he asked, "What is this?" A girl went in, but a man is seen. Look, this isn't some myth about a deer replacing a maiden, but something true: a soldier born of a maiden. I had heard it and hadn't believed it—that Christ turned water into wine—but now he has begun to change the very sex. Let's leave here while we are still what we were. Have I myself been changed, seeing something other than what I believe? I came to a brothel; I see a legal pledge; and yet, while it's being changed, I'll leave. I who entered as an adulterer will go out chaste, by the judgment of the matter, because a crown was owed to such a victor: he was condemned for the maiden, who was seized for the maiden. Thus, not only virgins but also martyrs have come out of the brothel. They say the girl ran to the place of execution, and that both of them fought over who would be the one to die. When he said, "I am the one ordered to be killed; the sentence clears you, since I was the one they held," she cried out, "I didn't choose you as a guarantor of death, but as a guardian of my modesty." If it's modesty that's sought, my gender remains; if it's blood that's required, I don't need a guarantor! Where would I find a way out? I have the sentence that was passed, and it was passed for me. Certainly, if I had given you as a guarantor for money and, in my absence, a judge had awarded your property to a moneylender, you would use that same sentence to convince me to pay your debts from my own estate. If I refused, who would judge me unworthy of death, given how much greater the judgment on this life is? I will die innocent, so that I don't die guilty. There is no middle ground today: I will either be guilty of your blood or a martyr for my own. If I returned quickly, who would dare to shut me out? If I delayed, who would dare to absolve me? I owe more to the law, being guilty not only of my own flight but also of someone else's death. These limbs are enough for death, even if they weren't enough for the injury. In a virgin, there is a place for a wound that wasn't there for an insult; I avoided the disgrace, not the martyrdom. I yielded the clothing to you, but I didn't change my profession. But if you snatch death away from me, you haven't redeemed me; you've outmaneuvered me. I beg you, don't argue; don't you dare contradict me. Do not take away the benefit you gave, while you deny me this sentence and restore that former one. A judgment is overturned by a higher one if the later ruling doesn't bind me, but the higher one does. We can satisfy both judgments if you allow me to be killed first. They have another punishment they can use on you, but for a virgin, the shame is the real burden. Therefore, you'll be more glorious if you're seen to have made a martyr out of an adulteress, rather than having turned a martyr into an adulteress. What are you waiting for? The two of them contended and both won; the crown wasn't divided, but added to. And so, the holy martyrs, bestowing benefits upon one another, saw one provide the beginning of the martyrdom, and the other provide the fulfillment. But even the schools of the philosophers tell of Damon and Pythias, the Pythagoreans, one of whom, when sentenced to death, asked for time to settle his affairs. The tyrant, being very cunning and thinking he wouldn't be found, demanded he provide a surety who would be struck in his place if he delayed. I don't know which of the two was more noble; both were noble: one found a surety for his death, and the other offered himself.
The Nobility of Grace
Ambrose reflects on the superiority of this Christian martyrdom over the classical friendship of Damon and Pythias.
So, while the accused delayed his execution, his guarantor faced death calmly and didn't refuse it. As he was being led away, his friend returned, took his place, and bowed his neck to the blade. The tyrant, amazed that their friendship was dearer to the philosophers than life itself, asked to be accepted into their friendship by those he had condemned; such was the grace of their virtue that it moved the tyrant. They are worthy of praise, but less so than ours: for those were two men, while this was a single virgin who even overcame her own sex; those were friends, these were strangers; those offered themselves to one tyrant, these to many and even crueler ones; the one was spared by the tyrant, but these were killed. Among the former, there was a necessity imposed on one; among the latter, the will of both was free. These are also wiser: for the goal of the others' pursuit was the grace of friendship, while for these it was the crown of martyrdom. For the others struggled for the sake of men, but these for the sake of the Lord. This is from Ambrose.
Read the original Latin
Virgo quaedam fuit Antiochiae, cujus hystoriam Ambrosius in IL. libro de virginibus recitat in haec verba, Antiochiae nuper virgo quaedam fuit, fugitans publici visus ostentationem. Sed quo magis vitabat oculos, incendebàt affectus eo amplius impudicos. Pulchritudo enim audita nec visa plus desideratur duobus stimulis cupidita, ium amoris et cognitionis, dum et nihil occurrit, quod minus placeat, et plus putatur esse, quod placeat; quod non index oculus explorat, sed animus amator exoptat. Itaque sancta virgo, ne dintius aleretur potiendae spes cupiditatis, integritatem pudoris professa sic restrinxit improborum facies, ut jam non amaretur, sed proderetur. Ecce persecutio. Puella fugere nescia, aetate pavida, ne incideret in insidiatores pudoris, animam ad virtutem paravit, tam religiosa, ut mortem non timeret, tam pudica, ut mortem exspectaret. Venit enim coronae dies, maxima omnium exspectatio, producitur puella duplex professa certamen, castitatis et religionis.
Sed ubi viderunt constantiam professionis, metam pudoris, paratam ad cruciatus, erubescentem ad adspectus, excogitare coeperunt, quemadmodum spem castitatis religionem tollerent, ut cum id abstulissent, quod erat amplius, etiam id eriperent, quod derelinquerent. Aut sacrificare virginem autlupanari prostitui jubetur. Quomodo colunt Deos suos, qui sic vindicant, aut quemadmodum ipsi vivunt, qui ita judicant? Haec puella, non quod de religione ambigeret, sed quod de pudore trepidaret, ipsa secum inquit: quid agimus hodie? aut martir aut virgo, altera nobis invidetur corona. Sed nec virginis nomen agnoscitur, ubi virginitatis auctor negatur. Nam quemadmodum virgo, si meretricem colas, quemadmodum virgo, si adulterum diligas, quemadmodum virgo, si amorem petas? Tolerabilius est mentem virginem quam carnem habere.
Utrumque bonum, si liceat, et si non liceat, saltem non homini castae, sed Deo simus. Et Raab meretrix fuit, sed postquam domino credidit, salutem invenit. Et Judith se, ut adultero placeret, ornavit, quae tamen quia hoc religione non amore faciebat, nemo eam adulteram judicabat. Bene successit exemplum, nam si illa, quae se commisit religioni, et pudorem servavit et patriam, fortassis et nos servando religionem . servabimus etiam castitatem. Quodsi Judith pudicitiam religioni praeferre voluisset, perdita prima etiam pudicitiam perdidisset. Itaque talibus informata exemplis silenter animo tenens verba domini, quibus ait: quicunque perdiderit animam suam propter me, inveniet eam, flevit et tacuit, ne eam vel loquentem adulter audiret, neo pudoris elegit injuriam sed Christi recusavit. Aestimate, utrum adulterare potuerit corpore, quae nec voce adulteravit.
Jamdudum verecundabatur oratio mea et quasi adire gestorum seriem criminosam atque explanare formidat. Clau' dite aures, virgines Dei! ducitur puella Dei ad lupanar, sed aperite aures virgines Dei, virgo prostitni potest, adulterari non potest. Ubiceunque Dei virgo est, templum Dei est, nec lupanaria infamant castitatem, sed castitas etiam loci abolet infamiam. Ingens petulantium concursus fit ad fornicem. Discite martiris miracula sanctae virginis, discite locorum vocabula, clauditur intus columba, strepunt accipitres foris, certant singuli, quis praedam primus invadat. At illa manibus ad coelum levatis quasi ad domum orationis venisset, non ad libidinis deversorium: Christe, inquit, domuisti virgini feros leones, potes domare etiam hominum feras mentes. Chaldaeis roravit ignis; Judaeis sese unda suspendit misericordia fua, non natura sua, Susanna ad supplicium genua flexit et de adulteris triumphavit, aruit dextra, quae templi tui dona violabat, nunc templum ipsum attrectatur tnum, ne patiaris incestum sacrilegii, qui non passus es furtum.
Benedicatur et nomen tuum, ut quae ad adulterium virgo veni, virgo discedam. Vix compleverat orationem et ecce miles specie terribilis irrupit: quemadmodum virgo tremuit, cui populus tremens cessit! Sed illa non immemor lectionis: et Daniel, inquit, supplicium Susannae spectaturus advenerat et quam populus damnaverat, unus absolvit. Potest et in hoc lupi habitu ovis latere. Habet et Christus milites suos, qui etiam legiones habet: aut fortasse percussor intravit, me verearis anima: et tales solent martires facere. O virgo, fides tua te salvam fecit. Cui miles: quaeso, ne paveas soror: huc veni salvare animam, non perdere. Serva me, ut ipsa serveris, quasi adulter ingressus, si vis, martir egrediar, vestimenta mutemus, conveniunt mea tibi et tua mihi, sed utraque Christo.
Tua vestis me verum militem faciet et mea te virginem. Bene tu vestieris, ego melius exuar, ut me persecutor agnoscat. Same habitum, qui abscondat feminam, trade, qui consecret martirem. Indue chlamydem, quae occultet membra virginis et servet pudorem, sume pileum, qui tegat crines, abscondat ora: solent erubescere, qui lupanar intraverunt. Sane cum egressa fueris, ne respicias retro: memor nxoris Loth, quae naturam suam, quia impudicos licet castis oculis adspexit, amisit; nec vereare, ne quid pereat sacrificio. Ego pro te hostiam Deo meo reddam: tu pro me militem Christo babens bonam militiam castitatis, quae stipendiis militat sempiternis, loricam justitiae, quae spirituali munimine corpus induat, scutum fidei, quo vulnus vepellas, galeam salutis. lbi enim est praesidium nostrae salutis, ubi est Christus: quoniam mulieris caput est vir, virginum Christus. Et inter haec verba chlamydem exuit, suspectus tamen adhuc habitus et persecutoris et adulteri.
Virgo cervicem, chlamydem coepit miles offerre. Quae pompa illa: quae gratia, cum inlupanari de martirio certarent. Addantur personae miles et virgo. Hae dissimiles inter se natura: sed Dei miseratione consimiles, ut compleatur oraculum : tunc lupi et agni simul pascentur. Ecce agna et lupus non solum simul pascuntur, sed etiam immolantur. Quid plura? Mutato habita evolat puella de laqueo: jam non suis alis, ntpote quae spiriinalibus ferebatur et, quod nulla unquam viderunt saecula, egre-ditur de lupanari virgo Christi. At illi, qui videbant ocalis et non videbant corde, ceu raptores ad agnam lupi fremuere ad praedam.
Unus, qui erat immodestior, introivit, sed ubi hausit oculis rei 18 textum, quid hoo, inquit, est? puella ingressa est, vir videtur. Ecce non fabulosum illud cerva pro virgine, sed quod verum est, miles ex virgine. At etiam audieram et non credideram, quod aquas Christus in vina convertit, jam mutare coepit sexum. Recedamus hinc, dum adhuc, quod fuimus, sumus. Numquid et ipse mutatus sum, qui aliud cerno, quam credo. Ad lupanar veni: cerno vadimonium: et tamen dum mutatur, egrediar: pudicus exibo, qui adulter intravi: judicio rei, quia debebatur tanto corona victori: damnatus est pro virgine, qui pro virgine comprehensus est. lta de lupanari non solum virgines, sed etiam martires exierunt.
Fertur puella ad locum supplicii cucurrisse, certasse ambos de nece. Cum ille diceret: ego sum jussus occidi, te absolvit sententia, quoniam me tenuit, At illa clamavit: non ego te vadem mortis elegi, sed praesidem pudoris optavi. Si pudor quaeritur, manet sexus: si sanguis exponitur, fidejussorem non desidero! Unde dissolyam, habeo, in me lata est sententia, quae pro me lata est. Certe si pecuniae te fidejussorem dedissem et absente me judex tuum censum foeneratori adjudicasset, eadem me sententia convinceres meo patrimonio solvere tuos nexus. Si recusarem, quis me indignam morte censeret, quanto major est capitis hujus censura? Moriar innocens, ne moriar nocens. Nihil medium est hodie: aut rea ero sanguinis tui aut martir mei.
Si cito redii, quis me audeat excludere? Si moram feti, quis me audeat absolvere? Plus legibus debeo rea non solum fugae meae, sed etiam caedis alienae. Sufficiunt membra morti, quae non sufficiebant injuriae. Est in virgine vulneri locus, qui non erat contumeliae; ego opprobrium declinavi, non martirium: tibi cessi vestem, non professionem mntavi. Quodsi mihi praeripis mortem, non redemisti me, sed circumvenisti. Cave quaeso, ne contendas, cave me contradicere audeas. Noli eripere beneficium , quod dedisti, dum mihi hanc sententiam negas, illam restituis superiorem.
Sententia enim sententia superiore mutatur, si posterior me non tenet, superior sententia tenet. Possumus utrique satisfacere sententiae, si me prius patiaris occidi. In te habent aliam, quam exerceant poenam, in virgine obnoxius pudor est. Itaque gloriosior eris, si videaris de adultera martirem fecisse, quam de martire adulteram reddidisse. Quid exspectatis ? duo contenderunt et vicerunt: nec divisa est corona, sed addita, Itaque sancti martires invicem sibi beneficia conferentes, altera principium martirio, dedit alter effectum. At etiam philosophorum gymnasia Damonem et Synthiam Pythagoreos incolas ferunt, quorum unus, cum esset morti adjudicatus, commendandorum suorum tempus poposcit, Tyrannus antem astutissimus cum reperiri non posse existimaret, petivit, ut sponsorem daret, qui pro se feriretur, si ipse moram faceret. Quid de duobus praeclarius, nescio: utrumque praeclarum: alter vadem mortis invenit, alter se obtulit.
Itaque cum reus moram supplicio faceret, fidejussor sereno vultu mortem non recusavit. Cum duceretur, amicus reversus est, cervicem substituit, colla subjecit. Tunc admiratus tyrannus cariorem philosophis amicitiam quam vitam fuisse, petivit, ut ipse ab ipsis, quos damnaverat, in amicitiam reciperetur: tantam virtutis esse gratiam, ut tyrannum inclinaret. Dignalaude, sed minora nostris: nam illi ambo viri, hio una virgo, quae primo etiam sexum vinceret; illi amici, isti incogniti, illi tyranno uni se obtulernnt: isti tyrannis pluribus ac etiam crudelioribus; quod ille pepercit, isti occiderunt. Ínter illos in uno obnoxia necessitas, in his amborum voluntas libera. Hoc quoque isti prudentiores: quia illis studii sui finis amicitiae gratia, istiscorona martirii. Illi enim certaverunt hominibus, isti domino. Haec Ambrosius.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin text contains a likely corruption 'tnum' which has been interpreted as 'tuum' (yours) or a similar possessive in context.
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