being tossed about by the animal, but feeling none of
the things which were happening to her, on account of her hope and firm
hold upon that which had been entrusted to her, and her communion with
Christ, she also was sacrificed. And the heathen themselves confessed
that never among them had a woman endured so many and such terrible
tortures."

The horrible circumstances attending the persecution at Lyons seem to
have been largely instigated by the fury of the ungovernable mob; there
are indications that the trial of Christians was oftentimes carried on
in strict conformity with legal measures, and also with some show of
pity on the part of the judges. The punishments in cases like these were
no less severe; but there is some, comfort in thinking, inasmuch as the
persecutors were members of the human race like ourselves, that they
felt bound by their consciences to proceed to these extreme measures in
the endeavor to put down what they believed to be a dangerous
innovation. To understand persecution rightly, it is necessary not only
to sympathize with the sufferers, but also, so far as is possible, to
take the viewpoint of the persecutors. It is only in comparatively
recent times that barbarities in legal proceedings have been
discontinued. Age has not yet destroyed all the implements of torture
that were considered part of the necessary furniture of a European
prison. Far down in Christian times, the examination of a prisoner was
considered to be very properly and justly facilitated by the application
of thumbscrews and iron boots. Even our own memory is not entirely
lacking in incidents where water has been used to the great discomfort
of a prisoner, with the object of expediting his confession. Hence, it
would be absurd to expect to find a Roman magistrate of the second
century after Christ contenting himself with expostulating with those
whom the laws, the traditions, and the customs of his country condemned.
This failing, he would naturally try a stronger argument.

This is illustrated in the cases of the renowned martyrs Perpetua and
Felicitas. These were ladies of Carthage, who suffered during the reign
of Severus. Perpetua was only a learner in the Christian faith, not yet
having been baptized. She was young, married, and possessed a still
stronger tie to existence in the young infant which she carried in her
arms. Her father, by whom she was greatly beloved, visited her in prison
and endeavored to persuade he