A Prefect’s Wife Chooses Death over Dishonor

Now there was a certain woman, the wife of one of the senators who held the office of prefect. She was a Christian. When she learned that those who served the tyrant in such matters were standing at her house, and knew that her husband out of fear had told them to take her and lead her away, she asked for a short time to put on her usual dress, and went into her room. There, left alone, she drove a sword into her own breast and died at once. She left her dead body to the procurers, but by an act that spoke louder than any words she declared to all humankind, to present and future generations alike, that the chastity for which Christians are famous is the only thing that cannot be conquered or destroyed. Such was the conduct of this woman. [a]