Sapientia
Argument
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. After their death the holy mother recovers the bodies of her children, embalms them with spices, and buries them with honour about five miles outside the city of Rome.
Forty days later the spirit of Sapientia takes its flight to heaven while she is still praying by her children’s graves.
Characters
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Antiochus
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Hadrian
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Sapientia
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Faith
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Hope
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Charity
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Matrons
Sapientia
Scene I
| Antiochus | My Lord Emperor, what desire has your servant but to see you powerful and prosperous? What ambition apart from the welfare and peace and greatness of the state you rule? So when I discover anything that threatens the commonwealth or your peace of mind I try to crush it before it has taken root. |
| Hadrian | In this you show discretion, Antiochus. Our prosperity means your advantage. Witness the honours that we never tire of heaping on you. |
| Antiochus | Your Grace’s welfare is so dear to me that I do not seek to disguise what is hostile to your interests, but immediately bring it to your notice and denounce it! |
| Hadrian | Do you praise yourself for this? If you withheld such information you would be guilty of treason to our Imperial Majesty. |
| Antiochus | I have never been disloyal. |
| Hadrian | I do not question it. Come, if you have discovered some new danger, make it known to us. |
| Antiochus | A certain alien woman has recently come to this city with her three children. |
| Hadrian | Of what sex are the children? |
| Antiochus | They are all girls. |
| Hadrian | And you think that a handful of women threaten danger to the state? |
| Antiochus | I do, and very grave danger. |
| Hadrian | Of what kind? |
| Antiochus | A disturbance of the peace. |
| Hadrian | How? |
| Antiochus | What disturbs the peace and harmony of states more than religious differences? |
| Hadrian | I grant you that. The whole Roman Empire witnesses to the serious troubles they can cause. The body politic is infected by the corpses of slaughtered Christians. |
| Antiochus | This woman of whom I speak is urging the people of this country to abandon the religion of their fathers and embrace the Christian faith. |
| Hadrian | But have her words any effect? |
| Antiochus | Indeed they have. Our wives hate and scorn us to such an extent that they will not deign to eat with us, still less share our beds. |
| Hadrian | This is a real danger, I admit. |
| Antiochus | You must protect yourself. |
| Hadrian | That stands to reason. Let the woman be brought before me, and I will examine her and see what can be done. |
| Antiochus | You wish me to summon her? |
| Hadrian | I have said it. |
Scene II
| Antiochus | Foreign woman, what is your name? |
| Sapientia | Sapientia. |
| Antiochus | The Emperor Hadrian orders you to present yourself at the palace. |
| Sapientia | I am not afraid to go. I have a noble escort in my daughters. Nor do I tremble at the thought of meeting your scowling Emperor face to face. |
| Antiochus | It is the way of you Christian rabble to defy authority. |
| Sapientia | We acknowledge the authority of Him Who rules the world; we know that He will not let His subjects be vanquished. |
| Antiochus | Not so much talk. To the palace. |
| Sapientia | Go before us and show the way. We will follow you. |
Scene III
| Antiochus | That is the Emperor you see there, seated on his throne. Be careful what you say to him. |
| Sapientia | The word of Christ forbids us to take thought as to what we ought to say. His wisdom is sufficient for us. |
| Hadrian | Are you there, Antiochus? |
| Antiochus | At your service, my lord. |
| Hadrian | Are these the women whom you have arrested on account of their Christian opinions? |
| Antiochus | Yes, lord. |
| Hadrian | I am amazed at their beauty; I cannot help admiring their noble and dignified manner. |
| Antiochus | Waste no time in admiring them, my lord. Make them worship the gods. |
| Hadrian | It would be wiser to ask it as a favour to me at first. Then they may yield. |
| Antiochus | That may be best. This frail sex is easily moved by flattery. |
| Hadrian | Noble matron, if you desire to enjoy my friendship, I ask you in all gentleness to join me in an act of worship of the gods. |
| Sapientia | We have no desire for your friendship. And we refuse to worship your gods. |
| Hadrian | You will try in vain to rouse my anger. I feel no indignation against you. I appeal to you and your daughters as lovingly as if I were their own father. |
| Sapientia | My children are not to be cozened by such diabolical flattery. They scorn it as I do. |
| Faith | Yes, and laugh at it in our hearts. |
| Antiochus | What are you muttering there? |
| Sapientia | I was speaking to my daughters. |
| Hadrian | I judge from appearances that you are of noble race, but I would know more—to what country and family you belong, and your name. |
| Sapientia | Although we take no pride in it, I come of noble stock. |
| Hadrian | That is easy to believe. |
| Sapientia | My parents were princes of Greece, and I am called Sapientia. |
| Hadrian | The splendour of your ancestry is blazoned in your face, and the wisdom of your name sparkles on your lips. |
| Sapientia | You need not waste your breath in flattering us. We are not to be conquered by fair speeches. |
| Hadrian | Why have you left your own people and come to live here? |
| Sapientia | For no other reason than that we wished to know the truth. I came to learn |
