Chapter xxxviij: Of The Virgin and the Martyr Colluthus
NOW there was another virgin there who was a neighbour of mine, and who dwelt near me, but whose face I had never seen, for, according to what they said about her, she had never gone down to the market from the day whereon she had become a nun, but had completed sixty years with the head of her nunnery. And finally, when she was about to depart from the world, the martyr, whose name was Colluthus, who had lived by the side of the nunnery, appeared unto her, and said unto her, “This day thou art about to depart from this world unto thy Lord, and thou shalt see all the saints; but come and eat a meal with us in the martyrium.” Thereupon she rose up early in the morning and arrayed herself in her apparel, and taking bread, and olives, and garden herbs in her basket, she went forth as she had done for many years; and having gone to the martyrium, she prayed, and having watched for the space of the whole day for an opportunity when no man would be found therein, she drew nigh and cried out unto that martyr, and said unto him, “Ask a blessing on my food, O Saint Colluthus, and accompany thou me on this my journey by thy prayers.” And having eaten her food and prayed, she came back at sunset to her nunnery, and she gave unto the head thereof the Book of Clement which is called “Stromata,” and [containeth] a commentary (or explanation) of Amos the prophet, saying, “Give this book to the Bishop who is in Alexandria in exile, and say unto him, ‘Pray for me,’ for I am about to depart.” And she died in the night without suffering either sickness or from pain in her head, but she rolled herself up in her garments and died.
Chapter xxxix: Of the Virgin and of Magistrianus who fought with Wild Beasts for her Sake
IN the ancient book which was ascribed to Hippolytus, who knew the Apostles, I have found the following history written:—There was a certain woman who was of noble birth and beautiful in her face, and who came from the city of the Corinthians, and who continued to live in a state of virginity, and certain people laid an accusation against her before the governor, who was a heathen, at the time of the persecution [of the Christians], and calumniated her, saying, “She hath abused the Government and the Emperors, she hath uttered blasphemies against the gods (i.e., the idols), she hath treated the sacrifices with contempt”; such were the lying words which the wicked men concocted [about her], because
