What follows is adapted from Perpetua's own words—one of the earliest Christian texts written by a woman, composed in a Carthaginian prison in 203 AD.
Standing Firm Against Family Pressure
"When we were still under legal surveillance, my father tried to persuade me to deny my faith out of love for me, as he saw it. 'Father,' I said, 'Do you see this vessel lying here, a pitcher or whatever it may be?' 'Yes, I do,' he said. 'Could it be called by any other name than what it is?' 'No,' he replied. 'Well, so too I cannot be called anything other than what I am, a Christian.'"
Christian Mother Prison Testimony Begins
"After a few days we were baptized, and the Spirit instructed me not to request anything from the baptismal waters except bodily endurance. A few days later we were lodged in the prison. I was terrified, as I had never experienced such darkness. O horrible day! The heat was stifling because of the crowded conditions; there was the extortion practiced by the soldiers. I was especially tormented there by anxiety for my baby."
God's Presence During Persecution
"Then I was granted permission for my baby to stay with me in prison. Immediately I recovered my health, my anxiety was relieved, and suddenly the prison became a palace. I preferred to be there than anywhere else."
Visions of Victory Over Death
Perpetua recorded her visions—a ladder reaching to heaven, a dragon at its base that she stepped upon to climb. She saw herself transformed into a man, wrestling with an Egyptian (the devil), and defeating him.
"I realized that it was not with wild animals that I would fight but with the devil, but I knew that I would win the victory."
On March 7, 203 AD, the diary ends. She was twenty-two years old.
