CAP. XXV.
The martyrdome of Theodosia a virgine, of Domninus and Auxentius, the death of Ʋrbanus the president.
THe persecution beyng nowe continewed vnto the fift yeare, the seconde daye of the moneth Zanthicus, to wete the 4. of the Nonnes of Aprill, the selfe same sonday being the resurrec∣tion of our sauiour, & called the feast of Easter, againe Theodosia a virgine, a modest & chri∣stian mayd of Tyrus, who had neuer yet seene the full cōpasse of eightene yeares, came to certaine prisoners in Caesarea stāding at y• barre which with cōstancy protested y• kingdome of Christ, both louingly to salute them, & also (as it is very like) to entreate thē to remēber her after their depar∣ture vnto the Lord. the which when she had done (as if hereby she had cōmitted some hainous and horrible offence) y• catchpoles hale hir & present hir before the president. he forth with like a mad mā, bereued of his wits scourgeth her bare sides with bitter and greuous lashes, renteth with the* 1.1 whip her white breasts, & tender duggs, vnto the bare bones. In the end this holy virgine hardly drawing breath yet pacient, & cherefull inough, for all these punishments, was throwen at the cō∣mādemēt of y• presidēt into y• swift waues of y• surging seas. Afterwards hauing ended with hir, he takes the other cōfessors in hand, & condemneth thē to the digging of metalls in Phaenos of Palae∣stina. After these thinges the fift day of the moneth Dius, after the Romaines in the nonnes of No¦uember, the same president in the selfe same citie cōdemned Siluanus (who as then was minister &* 1.2 had freely protested his faith, who also in a while after was chosen bishop & dyed a martyr) toge∣ther with other confessors, after their great constancy in defence of christian religion, to the same druggery & digging of metalls. first he commaunded their knees should be vnioynted & sawed of, afterwards seared with hott yron, & then sent to the quarries. The sentēce was no sooner pronoū∣ced vpon these, but he chargeth that Domninus (a man very famous among the inhabitants of Pa∣laestina, for his infinite protestations of the Christian faith, and his libertie of speache in the be∣halfe of our religion) should be bounde to the stake and burned to ashes. after whose condēnation, the same iudge, a suttle inuentor of michiefe, & deuiser of crafty sleyghts contrary to the doctrine of Christ, found out such punishments as neuer were heard of before to vexe the godly withall. he* 1.3 gaue sentēce that three of thē should buckle, iuyst, and buffet one an other. he deliuered Auxentius a graue, a godly, & a good old man, to be torne in peces of wild beasts. other some, of mens estate, and of great strength, he gelded and condēned to y• quarries. againe others he tormēted greuously and chasticed with imprisonment and fetters. of which nūber was Pamphilus, of all my familiars, my dearest friende, a man who amonge all the Martyrs of our tyme, excelled for euery kinde of vertue. First Ʋrbanus made a tryall of his gift of vtterance and skill in philosophicall discipline, next he enioyned him to sacrifice, whome, when he perceaued to be altogether vnwillinge, and not at all to weye of his thunderinge speaches, beyng throughly moued with boyling choler, and* 1.4 burning heate of furious rage, cōmaundes that forth with he should be greuously and bitterly tor∣mented. wherefore the mercilesse and moste cruell president, mangled the tender sides of the bles∣sed martyr with the longe incision of sharpe rasors, at length hauinge his fill, and as it were