Hrotsvitha

“ HOPE. Here is the only clemency for which I long—here the only mercy I crave.
ANTIOCHUS. Sapientia, what are you murmuring there, standing with uplifted eyes by the body of your dead child?
SAPIENTIA. I am imploring Almighty God to give Hope the same firm courage that He gave Faith.
HOPE. Oh, mother, mother! How wonderful are your prayers! Even as you prayed the uplifted hands of the panting executioners became powerless. I have not felt a twinge of pain.
HADRIAN. So you do not mind scourging! We will try some sharper torture.
HOPE. The most savage and deadly you can invent! ”

“ We want to be worthy of eternal joy.
FAITH. Come, executioner, do your duty, and put an end to my life.
SAPIENTIA. I embrace the severed head of my dead child, and as I cover it with kisses I praise Thee, O Christ, Who hast given the victory to a little maid.
HADRIAN. Hope, listen to me. Believe me, I advise you with fatherly affection.
HOPE. What advice do you give me?
HADRIAN. I beg you not to imitate your misguided sister. I would not have you undergo the same torture.
HOPE. Would that I were worthy to imitate her sufferings, and so win a reward like hers! ”

“ HADRIAN. Let these women be taken to the prison near our palace, and give them three days to reflect.
ANTIOCHUS. Soldiers, see that these women are well guarded and given no chance of escape.
SCENE IV
SAPIENTIA. Oh, my dearest ones! My beloved children! Do not let this narrow prison sadden you. Do not be frightened by the threat of sufferings to come.
FAITH. Our weak bodies may dread the torture, but our souls look forward with joy to the reward.
SAPIENTIA. You are only children, but your understanding is ripe and strong. It will triumph over your tender years. ”

“ My only prayer is that beneath the executioner's sword you may keep the mystery of your name inviolate.
FAITH. Oh, my sisters, born of the same womb, give me the kiss of peace, and prepare yourselves for the struggle!
HOPE. Help us with your prayers. Pray with all your might that we may be found worthy to follow in your footsteps.
FAITH. Listen to the words of our holy mother. She has always taught us to despise the things of earth that we may gain those which are eternal. ”

“ Let me be gladdened by their glory, and although I may not like them chant the mystical song of virginity, let me praise Thee, Who art not Thyself the Father, yet art of the same substance as the Father, with Whom and with the Holy Ghost, one Lord of the whole world, one King of all things upon the earth and in the heights above and the deeps below, Thou dost reign and rule for ever and ever! ”

“ SAPIENTIA. That we can never do.
HADRIAN. Take warning. If you are obstinate, you will be put to the torture.
SAPIENTIA. It is in your power to kill the body, but you will not succeed in harming the soul.
ANTIOCHUS. The day has passed, and the night is falling. This is no time to argue. Supper is ready. ”

“ SAPIENTIA. It would be unprofitable if it did not lead us to appreciate the wisdom of our Creator, and the wondrous knowledge of the Author of the world, Who in the beginning created the world out of nothing, and set everything in number, measure, and weight, and then, in time and the age of man, formulated a science which reveals fresh wonders the more we study it. ”

“ Let all created things praise Thee, because Thou Who alone with the Holy Ghost art form without matter, by the will of the Father and the co-operation of the Spirit didst deign to become man, passible like men, yet impassible like God. ”

“ The martyrdom of the holy virgins Faith, Hope, and Charity, who are put to the torture by the Emperor Hadrian and slain in the presence of their mother Sapientia, she encouraging them by her admonitions to bear their sufferings. ”

“ I do not forget that Thou, perfect God yet true man, didst promise that those who for Thy sake renounced their earthly possessions would be rewarded a hundredfold and receive the gift of eternal life. ”

“ SAPIENTIA. When numbers of any magnitude are set down in order. the first set down is called the "minor term" and the last the "major." When, in making a division, we say by how many the number is to be divided, we give the "divisor," but when we enumerate how many there are in each of the parts we set forth the"quotient." ”

“ SAPIENTIA. Charity has now completed two olympiads, Hope two lustres, and Faith three olympiads.
HADRIAN. I am curious to know why the number "8," which is two olympiads, and the number "10," which is two lustres, are called "diminished"; also why the number "12," which is made up of three olympiads, is said to be "augmented."
SAPIENTIA, Every number is said to be "diminished" the parts of which when added together give a sum which is less than the number of which they are parts. Such a number is 8. For the half of 8 is 4, the quarter of 8 is 2, and the eighth of 8 is 1 ”