Aurea

ON SS. AUREA, OR CHRYSE, VIRGIN, CENSORINUS, FELIX, MAXIMUS, HERCULINUS, VENERIUS, STYRACINUS, CENAS, COMMODUS, HERMES, MAURUS, EUSEBIUS, RUSTICUS, MONAGREUS, AMANDINUS, OLYMPIUS, CYPRIUS, THEODORE THE TRIBUNE, AND SABAÏNUS,

MARTYRS AT OSTIA ON THE TIBER,

About the middle of the third century.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

Some of these Martyrs treated elsewhere; the cult of St. Aurea among the Greeks and the Latins; the Acts corrupted; the copies of them.

Aurea, or Chryse, virgin martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Censorinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Felix, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Maximus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Herculinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Venerius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Styracinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Cenas, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Commodus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Hermes, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Maurus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Eusebius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Rusticus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Monagreus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Amandinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Olympius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Cyprius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Theodore the tribune, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Sabaïnus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

BY J. P.

In volume II of January, at the XXX day of that month, among those Passed Over and deferred to other days, this handful of holy Martyrs was long ago noted from the Greek Menæa, Some of these Martyrs are given elsewhere: although, as we there observed, their names are not altogether correctly expressed; of which account will be taken below on occasion of the Acts. Further, Maximus the priest, Archelaus the deacon, and Cyrinus the bishop, who are named together with the others at the said day, we omit today, because we treated of them yesterday together with the Roman Martyrology: in which, for Cyrinus, Quiriacus is written, who elsewhere is called Cyriacus, as may be seen on the XXIII of this month. But on the XXII day of the same month we spoke of St. Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, following the aforesaid Martyrology; who was noted among the same Passed Over from the cited Menæa, but had been deferred to that day. Having advised the reader of these matters, we proceed to illustrate the public veneration of our Champions: and first we shall speak of the Greeks, from whose Menæa we have just now recited them.

[2] The narration of the martyrdom, or elogium, which is extant in the same Menæa of the Greeks, the cult of the others even though it is not long, we forbear to transcribe here: for since the Martyrs belong to the Latins, and indeed their cult, and such history as there is, was derived from the latter to the former, there is no reason for us to seek in the East information about matters that were transacted in the West. It will not, however, be beside the purpose to have observed in passing that three Martyrs out of the many announced above are expressly named in that elogium, namely Censorinus, Chryse or Aurea, and her servant Sabaïnus; before whom these verses are set, which we render from the Greek into Latin in our accustomed manner. And of St. Censorinus indeed the Greek Menæa have this:

Τείνων τράχηλον τῷ ξίφει Κενσουρῖνος Ἦν οἷον ξυρῷ τοῖς συνάθλοις ἀκόνη.

While Censorinus offered his neck to the sword, What the whetstone is to the razor, that was he to his companions.

Among the Adages collected by Paulus Manutius, and published at Oursel in the year 1603, page 35, there is this: ξυρὸς εἰς ακόνην, the razor to the whetstone: the meanings of which proverb may be read there; but they differ altogether from that which the poet seems to have wished to indicate in this frigid verse, if I rightly grasp his sense, which I judge can be expounded, at least by conjecture, in this or a like manner: As the whetstone sharpens the razor for cutting, so Censorinus, comforting the Christian champions and feeding them with food, in a manner sharpened them like a whetstone for martyrdom. See the Acts, which we are about to give, chapter 1, number 6. But how far-fetched that allusion is, no one fails to see.

[3] The same Greek Menæa sing this concerning St. Sabaïnus, among the Greeks, which we thus render into Latin:

Σπλάγχνα φλέγουσι Σαβαΐνου λαμπάσι Τὰ παμπόνηρα τέκνα τῆς άσπλαγχνίας.

Thy bowels, O Sabaïnus, an evil race burns — A race without bowels, barbarous, unfeeling, fierce.

The allusion lies in the words σπλάγχνα and ἀσπλαγχνίας: as though the poet said, "With torches they burn the bowels of Sabaïnus — most wicked men, who have no bowels of mercy." In which allusion there is little or no poetic charm.

The aforesaid Menæa continue with these verses

upon the martyrdom of St. Aurea, or Chryse, which we thus render into Latin:

Χρυσῆ βυτῷ βληθεῖσα παστῷ τοῦ πόλου Νύμφη πρόσεισι προσφάτως λελουμένη.

Chryse was cast into the deep whirlpool: Newly washed, the bride enters the heavenly bridal chamber.

Among the Greeks χρύσεος, contracted χρυσοῦς, is golden; in the feminine χρυσῆ: whence the proper name Χρυσῆ, Aurea.

[4] St. Aurea is honored with an annual cult among the Latins, and of St. Aurea in the Roman Martyrology: and is thus announced in the Roman Martyrology on this XXIV day of August: At Ostia on the Tiber, St. Aurea, virgin and martyr, who, with a stone tied to her neck, was sunk in the sea; whose body, cast up on the shore, blessed Nonnus buried. Among the Passed Over at the XX day of May it was long ago observed by us that St. Aurea is celebrated at Ostia, that is on the Tiber, as virgin and martyr in the Epternach copy of the Hieronymian Martyrology; but that in others the name Aureus is read instead of hers, and that Nustra, etc., is added in place of Ostia. Which is no wonder amid so great a dislocation and corruption of the Hieronymian copies. Ferrari in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy marks her on this day, and narrates her martyrdom from her manuscript Acts, out of which Antonio Gallonio wove her life. Since from these things her public veneration is sufficiently established, we do not seek out further announcements concerning her, if any exist. Observe in passing that Ferrari, just cited, treats separately of St. Sabinianus, the servant of St. Aurea, who among the Greeks was above called Sabaïnus: of whom mention will recur hereafter; but he reports very little about him from the Passion of the same St. Aurea, whose history or Acts are of very slight authority and stand in need of a liberal sponge.

[5] But since those Acts are so compounded and mingled her Acts, that they record the contest of very many other Martyrs, of whom we treated on the XXII and XXIII days of this month, as was indicated at the beginning of this Commentary, certain remarks will be of use to us which were then set forth on occasion of those Saints. First, then, let those things be here regarded as inserted which at the said XXII day, page 506, in the historical Commentary on St. Hippolytus, §2, were at length discussed concerning the time of his martyrdom; which, after the various opinions of others had been reported and the difficulties weighed, was there said in a certain broad way to have occurred about the middle of the third century. And since the reckoning of the time is the same for St. Aurea and for St. Hippolytus in the accomplishing of their martyrdom, let the reader turn to the place just cited.

[6] the day of the martyrdom: certain observations What shall I say of the day on which the Saint of today obtained the laurel of the contest? What of the burial of her body? I answer to the first. In the copy which will be given below to the press from a manuscript of St. Maximin at Trier, it is indicated that she accomplished the course of her martyrdom on the XXIII day of August. See what is to be said there at numbers 17 and 18. But in another manuscript of ours, which I call the anonymous, because I do not find noted upon it whence it was taken, it is reported that this happened on the XXIV day of August, in these words: The governor in anger ordered the Virgin to be beaten naked with leaded scourges: then, with a stone tied to her neck, to be sunk in the depth of the sea, on the IX Kalends of September. But why in the Menology of the emperor Basil, in Ughelli's Italia Sacra, volume 10, among the Anecdota published by him, column 333 of the latest edition, she should be reported on the XXIX day of January; and why likewise in the Great Greek Menæa she should be celebrated on the XXX of the same month, I do not know. Nor ought it to seem strange that the Greeks here disagree with the Latins, since the Latins themselves not seldom announce the same Saints on different days.

[7] concerning the burial I answer to the second, concerning the burial of the Saint. The Acts from the manuscript of St. Maximin write thus of it, with us at number 18: The holy body came to the shore, which blessed Nonnosus gathered up — he who is also called Ypolitus — and buried it with all diligence in his estate, where he had dwelt, on the fourth Kalends of September. But in another anonymous manuscript of ours there is this: Her body, cast up on the shore, was gathered up by Hippolytus, bishop of Porto, who was called Nonnus; which, embalming it with spices and wrapping it in linens, he buried with all diligence in the city of Ostia: where until now the memory of the holy Virgin flourishes, and her relics are venerated with worthy honor. Ferrari, in his Annotation on the Acts of St. Aurea indicated before, says: Concerning Nonnus the bishop, who buried St. Aurea, there is a dispute among writers: for some think him the same as Hippolytus, bishop of Porto, of whom mention is made in the Acts of St. Aurea, as Baronius and Antonio Gallonio seem to hold; which nevertheless is repugnant to historical truth, since St. Hippolytus of Porto suffered before St. Aurea, according to the Roman Martyrology and the Acts of both. How then could he bury the body of Aurea? Others think that Nonnus was bishop of Edessa, who converted Pelagia. In which opinion is Peter Damian, in his letter to Pope Nicholas II. But he lived not under Alexander, but under the emperors Theodosius the younger and Valentinian, as appears in Nicephorus's Ecclesiastical History, in the Life of the emperors. But see what has been said of this error of St. Peter Damian in St. Hippolytus, martyr of Porto, §2, page 506, numbers 9 and 10.

[8] of the holy Martyr, Moreover the same chastisement which Ferrari employed against Baronius and Gallonio is deserved by the copy of the Acts of St. Maximin: for after it had reported at the cited number 18 that the body of the Saint was buried by Nonnosus or Hippolytus on the fourth Kalends of September, it is added in the same place at number 20 that Hippolytus had completed his martyrdom before the XXIV day of the same month, since on the XXIII he is recorded to have been buried. Here is a fragment of the text for you: The Christians… took up the body, which also they buried… on the tenth Kalends of September. The anonymous manuscript reports that St. Aurea was sunk in the sea on the IX Kalends of September, from number 6 above; and then that she was buried by Hippolytus, as we said just now at number 7: but afterward in the same copy it is said of Hippolytus the bishop: He fulfilled his martyrdom on the XI Kalends of September. Has an error, then, crept into the numbers? Or was the unskilled martyrographer ignorant of the manner of reckoning the days of the month by Kalends? Or does he thrust upon us two bishops named Hippolytus? But the history of Hippolytus is long, and long are its windings, as may be seen in St. Hippolytus, martyr of Porto, page 506, which I just now indicated, and following. Concerning the said body of St. Aurea something also falls to be observed: for, as is read in Ferrari in the Annotation cited, Antonio Gallonio and Baronius testify that it is extant at Ostia in its own church. But the Tables of the church of Parma indicate that it rests in the Cathedral of that city. But I answer that either a part of the body is perhaps extant in each of these places, or that at Parma are the remains of another Saint of the same name.

[9] Besides what has already been related against the Acts of St. Aurea, whose Acts are corrupted: let the reader consult the censures with which the Acts of St. Hippolytus were criticized on the same pages 506 and 507; and likewise what was said in SS. Quiriacus the bishop and the other Martyrs of Porto at the XXIII day of August, page 566. And from the error into which St. Peter Damian stumbled it is manifest that those Acts were even then corrupted and confused. Not to go further afield, I add this briefly: that the history of St. Hippolytus, of St. Aurea, and of the other holy Martyrs connected with the same history, has met with a like fortune to that which innumerable other Acts have undergone, in which, even when they perhaps relate the truth, you may doubt whether you plant a firm foot or stick fast in the mud. Let us now say something about the copies of the Acts, and first indeed about the Latin ones.

[10] The anonymous manuscript, of which above, is headed with this title: the copies of the same: The Martyrdom of St. Aurea, virgin and martyr, and of her companions. It begins: At the time when Severus Aurelius Alexander was guiding the scepters of the Roman empire, Domitius Ulpianus Romulus being prefect of the city of Rome. But in the copy of St. Maximin at Trier the event is said to have happened under Claudius: for it thus begins: At the time when the most wicked Claudius took upon him the rule of the city of Rome, etc. We have besides a transcript of the Martyrdom of St. Cyriacus the bishop, which is noted as taken from the parchment manuscript Passional of the monastery of Böddeken, of the Order of Regulars of St. Augustine, in the diocese of Paderborn; in which transcript the Acts of St. Aurea and of very many other Martyrs are mixed together. We have also a fragment entitled The Passion of St. Aurea, virgin, which is noted as taken from the collections of Father Gallonio, volume L, folio 193, and which begins: In the times of the emperor Alexander, Ulpianus being prefect of the prætorium, and Ulpius Romulus vicar of the City, etc. We have also a Greek fragment from a manuscript of the Duke of Savoy, Βίοι διαφόρων Ἁγίων, folio 423, to which this title is prefixed: Μαρτύριον τῶν ἁγίων Κυριακοῦ, Ἱππολύτου, Μαξίμου, Χρυσῆς, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν. That is, The Martyrdom of the holy Cyriacus, Hippolytus, Maximus, Chryse, and the rest. This exordium follows: Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Κλαύδιου τοῦ παρανόμου βασιλέος, παρόντος βικαρίου Οὐλπίου Ῥωμύλλου, μέγιστος ἀνήφθη διωγμὸς τοῖς τηνικαῦτα οὖσιν Χριστιανοῖς. Which I thus render into Latin: In the days of Claudius the wicked emperor, while Ulpius Romulus was vicar, a very great persecution blazed out against those who were then Christians. What need of words? Here now are the Acts, such as they are, set forth with modest Annotations: for since the Commentary prefixed to them is very small, I send you thither, reader, for further knowledge of them.

\ read quod*.

ACTS

From a manuscript of St. Maximin at Trier.

Aurea, or Chryse, virgin martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Censorinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Felix, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Maximus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Herculinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Venerius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Styracinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Cenas, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Commodus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Hermes, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Maurus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Eusebius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Rusticus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Monagreus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Amandinus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Olympius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Cyprius, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Theodore the tribune, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

Sabaïnus, martyr at Ostia on the Tiber (St.)

BHL Number: 0809

FROM THE MANUSCRIPT.

CHAPTER I.

The contest and torments of St. Aurea; the captivity of St. Censorinus; the keepers of the prison converted by St. Maximus.

When the emperor Claudius was persecuting the Christians At the time when the most wicked Claudius took upon him the rule of the city of Rome, he was filled by the devil with such wrath against the Christians that he could not so much as endure to hear the name of Christ. Then he ordered heralds to be sent through the streets and squares, that the whole

people should offer victims to the gods. But if anyone refused to sacrifice, he should be put to death by divers punishments: some indeed should perish torn by the bites of wild beasts; others should be drowned in the channel of the Tiber; others should be carried off into exile; and if anyone should feed a Christian, he should perish by divers punishments. Then the officers began carefully to search out the Christians, that they might sacrifice to the idols along with the peoples. And many Christians were found who were unwilling to sacrifice: who endured divers torments, and with the glory of martyrdom came to Christ. Among whom was found a most consecrated virgin, sprung of noble race, a daughter of emperors, and a Christian from her cradle, by name Aurea. She despised the commands of the most wicked judge, saying: "I confess God with my lips, and I cease not to call upon him with my heart: neither will I bow my neck to demons, of whom the Scripture bears witness, saying: Let them that make them become like unto them, and all that trust in them."

[2] St. Aurea is brought forward, Hearing this, the officers reported to the Augustus what had been done. Straightway he ordered her to be shut up in a certain prison, and that for seven days not even water should be given her. But when the seventh day was completed, he ordered her to be brought before his sight. And when she had been brought forward, Claudius said to her: "Why hast thou forsaken the immortal gods, whom thy parents worshipped from thy cradle, whom princes adore, through whom the commonwealth has ever flourished, and victory has been granted to the Roman empire, and the Romans have subdued the ferocity of all nations together with their wealth?" To whom the blessed Aurea confidently said: "O unhappy man, if thou didst know God the creator of heaven and earth and the maker of men, who wrought all these things which thou sayest were made by thy gods, which are stones or brazen things, and could help neither themselves nor others — thou wouldst sprinkle \* earth and ashes upon thy head, and thus, prostrate on the pavement, wouldst do penance for the blood of the Saints which thou hast shed, and wouldst repent of having sacrificed to idols, and wouldst believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God, born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary."

[3] she despises his threats and overcomes his torments. The emperor Claudius says to her: "Forsake this vanity, and humble thyself; and sacrifice to the gods, and take a husband, and rejoice in thy life." The blessed Aurea answered: "I have already a heavenly spouse, from whose love no man can separate me." The emperor said to her: "Were it not that thou art sprung of noble race, I would make thee perish by divers punishments." The blessed Aurea answered: "Once for all I have said, Cæsar, that I neither fear thy threats, nor do thy terrors separate me from the charity of my Lord Jesus Christ." Then the emperor in indignation ordered her to be lifted upon the rack; and she was fair to look upon and exceedingly beautiful, so that all beheld her beauty: and it needs must be that she whom God had suffused with his grace should be loved by all. And while she was stretched with the cords, she said nothing else, but only, "O Christ, help me"; and crying out she said: "I give thee thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, who hast deigned to number me, thy handmaid, among thy servants." And when she had been taken down from the rack, he ordered her to be thrust again into prison, saying: "If this woman be not destroyed, many will perish."

[4] But on the next day he ordered her to be pressed hard by his officers, She is tortured in vain with new torments: and thus accosts her, saying: "Either consent and sacrifice to the gods, or I will make thee perish by divers punishments." The blessed Aurea answered: "I have always sacrificed, and I shall sacrifice, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I offer myself an unspotted sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness: for a sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit." But the emperor, seeing that he had been overcome in all things, ordered her to be stripped and beaten with cudgels, saying: "Now I shall see whether thy Christ will deliver thee." Then the blessed Aurea, lifting up her eyes to heaven, said: "Thou who didst deliver the three children from the furnace of burning fire, and Susanna from a false charge, and Daniel from the den of lions, do thou give strength to my heart and to my body to endure the torments, that this dragon of iniquity may not prevail against thy handmaid who trusts in thee." Claudius, in anger, ordered her to be lifted from the ground and, bound with chains, to be carried off into exile to Ostia \* together with religious men and consecrated virgins and all her household: and she began to dwell outside the walls of the city of Ostia, in a place which is called Euparistus, on her own estate; and there day and night she feasted upon fastings and prayers.

[5] Now there was in the city of Ostia a bishop named Cyriacus, she is strengthened by the prayers of St. Cyriacus: a God-fearing man, with his priests Maximus, Eusebius, and Concordius, presbyters, and Archelaus the deacon: by whose prayers the Lord wrought many marvels. In that same place the sick were healed of their diseases by their prayers, demons were driven out, the blind were given light. When the blessed Aurea learned this, being filled with joy, she came to St. Cyriacus the bishop, and prostrate at his feet began with tears to beg that he would pour out a prayer over her. Then the blessed Cyriacus, spreading out his hands to heaven, said: "Lord Jesus Christ, king of angels, lover of chastity, who after thy resurrection didst appear to many, and didst promise eternal life to all that believe in thee: be present to our supplications, and bestow upon this thy handmaid the help of thy power, that with the palm of martyrdom she may deserve to enter the gates of the heavenly kingdom, and, with those wise virgins, with their lamps lighted, may attain thy bridal chamber, O Christ the Lord ^a, who livest and reignest, God, throughout all ages of ages." And all said: "Amen." Then the holy bishop, performing the things that are of God, they partook of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and giving thanks to God, they all began together with one accord to continue in the praises of God. In those days a great persecution arose against the Christians: and because burning lamps cannot be set in a hidden place nor under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that they may give light to all that are in the house of God.

[6] Now there was a man set over the office of master, and secretly a Christian, fearing God and believing in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ: St. Censurinus appears before Claudius, who daily in secret feasted upon his prayers and fastings and almsgivings. Hearing this, the emperor, moved with anger, ordered him to be seized and brought before his sight. Now this man did not withdraw from the presence of Claudius; but if he saw any of the Christians being dragged to death or to custody, he secretly comforted them, and supplied them, so far as he could, with food in their prisons, in their confinements, and in their bonds. To him he spoke thus: "Thou art that man Censurinus, a worshipper of the gods, and ever courteous to our majesty. Our clemency despises no one who serves it, but has ever advanced those who govern this commonwealth in the worship of the gods." Then the blessed Censurinus answered: "I am a Christian, and I bear testimony concerning my Lord Jesus Christ, that he is the true God, who was crucified and buried, and on the third day rose again, those very men seeing it who had crucified him, that after death he lived; and on the fortieth day he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father.

[7] and professes the orthodox faith; "In our own times he deigned to come to the earth, and clothed himself with the servile garment of a body, that he might free us from the servitude of the devil." Claudius in anger said: "Thou art mad, Censurinus." The blessed Censurinus said: "I am not mad, but from madness I have returned to a right mind, to my creator and Lord Jesus Christ, who gave light to the blind and raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, and walked with his own feet upon the sea, and did many other and innumerable things, and made wine from water: him do I confess forever." Then he ordered him, on account of his fellowship in the army, to be committed to custody at Ostia, not far from the city of Rome, at the fifteenth milestone. But he in his custody and bound in chains sang praises to God day and night.

[8] to whom St. Aurea supplies food. St. Maximus converts There was then in the city of Ostia a certain matron of the race of royal power, by name Aurea, who, having already experienced many persecutions, had been condemned by proscription, and lived in retirement upon her estate with religious men and consecrated virgins. She daily, night and day, supplied to St. Censurinus provisions and nourishment; and washing his chains with water with her own hand, and pressing them to her eyes and to her face, she returned with joy to her house. Now there was in the city of Ostia Maximus the presbyter and Archelaus the deacon, who daily offered sacrifices to God with hymns and praises; and there the blessed Maximus wrought many marvels in the name of the Lord. And when he had entered in to the blessed Censurinus, straightway the chains were loosed from his hands and feet. Then the blessed Maximus, opening his mouth, began to say to the keepers: "Brethren, forsake the temporal demons, and know God the creator, the Lord, and Jesus Christ his Son, who was before the ages, and ever is, and is to come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. For our world shall pass away, heaven and earth shall pass away, but the Lord Jesus Christ is always and the same."

[9] the keepers of the prison. The keepers answered and said to Maximus the presbyter: "What shall we do, that we may know him whom thou preachest, through whom we have perceived that at thy spoken prayers the chains are loosed?" Maximus the presbyter said: "Do penance, and let each one of you be baptized, and believe that Jesus Christ crucified is the Son of God, and forsake the empty idols; for in ignorance you have blasphemed the name of him whose Saints you were tormenting." Then Felix, Maximus, Taurinus, Herculanus, Benerius, Storacinus, Mennas, Commodus, Hermes, Maurus, Eusebius, Rusticus, Monaxius, Amandinus, Olympius, Cyprius, and Theodore the tribune ^b cast themselves with tears at the feet of the blessed Maximus the presbyter, and said: "We believe with our whole heart that there is no other God but the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the redeemer of our \*, who before our eyes shattered the iron bars." Then all gave thanks to God and to his Saints, by whose prayers they had seen the eternal light. Then the blessed Maximus appointed them a fast of three days; and when all had been fulfilled according to custom, he catechized them as they renounced the idols and all the commerce of the world. And they were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and the blessed Aurea received them, and furnished them with clothing and food. Then the blessed Cyriacus the bishop, coming and anointing them with the chrism of Christ, sealed them with the words of faith; and all partook of the most holy mysteries.

ANNOTATIONS.

from the Greek Menæa, and in St. Quiriacus the bishop above, at yesterday's day, page 566. In our anonymous manuscript there are Theodore the tribune, and his soldiers Martialis, Saturninus, Epictetus, Maprilis, Taurinus, Felix, Herculanus, Neberius, Stauracius, Menna, Commodus, Hermes, Maurus, Eusebius, Rusticus, Olympius, and Carporius. But who, in Acts so corrupted, could vouch for these names, or recall them to their genuine standard?

\ perhaps aspergeres*. \* Understand here and below Ostia on the Tiber. \ perhaps add animarum*.

CHAPTER II.

A dead man recalled to life; the martyrdom of St. Aurea and of the others.

The son of a cobbler converted to the faith Now there was a cobbler in that same place, whose son died at that very hour. As the blessed Cyriacus and Maximus and the blessed Aurea, soldiers of Christ, were passing by, the cobbler was lamenting over the death of his son. Then the blessed Maximus the presbyter said to the cobbler: "Do thou believe in the Lord Jesus Christ before us all, and thou shalt live, and shalt receive thy son." But he said: "In whom shall we believe? Surely not in him whom from my youth I have blasphemed?" The blessed Maximus said: "Do penance, for God is the God of the penitent, not rewarding us according to our sins, but according to his great mercy." And the cobbler said: "Baptize me in his name, that I may believe." Then, being baptized and made a Christian, when he had received the sign of Christ, he led them rejoicing to his son. And when the blessed Cyriacus and the blessed Maximus had seen him, they said with tears: "Lord Jesus Christ, who didst deign to take the form of a servant, that thou mightest free us from the servitude of the devil, look upon the works of thy hands, that they may know thee to be their maker and creator and restorer."

[11] is raised again: Then the blessed Cyriacus said: "O Lord, in thy name we bend our knees." And when they had prayed a long while, the blessed Cyriacus said: "Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified, who didst deign to raise up Lazarus already stinking, and didst raise the only son of the widow, show forth thy power upon this thy servant, that he may know thee, the living Lord and his true creator, in his regeneration; for thou reignest through all ages of ages." And when all had said "Amen," straightway he who was dead came to life again, and began to speak, saying: "I have seen the Lord Jesus Christ leading me back from darkness to light." Then he catechized him, and he was baptized, and received the seal of Christ; and the blessed Aurea received him. He was about ten years old, by name Faustinus.

[12] [which matter being reported to Claudius, he rages the more against the Christians:] At the same time it was reported to Claudius that at Ostia a dead man had been raised by the prayer of the Saints, and he said: "This is nothing but magical art." Then he called to him the vicar of the city of Rome, named Ulpinus Romulus, and gave him this charge, saying: "Go to the city of Ostia, and whatever Christians thou shalt be able to find there, constrain them with divers punishments: so that those who shall sacrifice to the gods may be enriched with riches and possessions and honors; but those who shall refuse, being worn down with divers punishments, shall be punished with death. But as for the sacrilegious Aurea, who has darkened the race of her royal power and has chosen to die by magic arts rather than to enjoy life with us — if she shall adore the gods and goddesses, let the proscription ^a confirmed against her be annulled. But those who shall be found continuing in her company, let them all together be tortured with punishments." Ulpinus Romulus therefore, coming into the city of Ostia, ordered all the Saints to be committed to custody. And rising at dawn, he commanded the blessed Aurea to be brought before him; to whom he spoke thus: "Lay aside the madness of the magic art which flourishes in thee, whereby thou hast destroyed thy royal majesty and darkened thine illustrious birth." The blessed Aurea answered: "I have darkened the demons, and spat upon the empty idols, and have known one God, living and true, and the Lord Jesus Christ his Son, who is to come to judge the living and the dead, and to condemn thy father the devil, together with Claudius, into the darkness."

[13] another contest of St. Aurea, Romulus the vicar said: "Thou hast been led astray by the madness of the magic art; now forsake this vanity, and take counsel for thy noble birth." The blessed Aurea breathed into the face of the vicar, saying: "Wretch, if thou didst know God the creator of heaven and earth, thou wouldst not utter blasphemy out of thy mouth." Romulus in anger ordered her to be lifted upon the rack; and when she had long been tortured, with a cheerful and beautiful countenance she began to say: "I give thee thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, who hast deigned to lift me from the depths to the heights of heaven." To whom Romulus said: "Where is that Christ of thine whom thou preachest? Let him deliver thee." The blessed Aurea said: "I am unworthy; but he who has deigned to snatch me from the darkness of this world is able to destroy both thee and Claudius." When she had said this, the rack was broken, and she was taken down from it; and he ordered her to be beaten with cudgels, with a herald's proclamation, saying: "The sacrilegious Aurea, who has blasphemed the gods and the kingdom of Jupiter, the governor of the whole world, ought to be destroyed with the sharpest torments."

[14] and the martyrdom But she kept saying: "Blessed art thou, O Lord God, Jesus Christ, whom I behold." Romulus said: "Put flames to her sides." And when they had applied the flames, with a clear voice she said to Romulus: "O unhappy man, hast thou no shame to gaze upon the limbs of her who bore thee in the body, and to have them roasted with fires before thine eyes?" Romulus said: "Thine own unhappiness deserves this, thou who hast forsaken the immortal gods and thy royal majesty, and hast desired to be defiled with magic arts." Then he ordered her to be taken back into custody. And he commanded that Maximus the presbyter and Archelaus the deacon should be brought to him; to whom he spoke thus: "Through you and through your teaching the deities of the gods are blasphemed, and you lead men about, that they should not believe according to the custom of antiquity." Maximus the presbyter said: "We do not seduce men, but, so far as the grace of God grants, through the Lord Jesus Christ himself we free them from the error of this world and make them over to his holy name." Then Romulus in anger said: "These men indeed are worthy of death"; and he ordered the soldiers of Christ to be brought before him, who had believed through the blessed Cyriacus and Maximus and Archelaus and the blessed Aurea.

[15] To whom he spoke thus: "Sacrifice to the gods, or I will torture you with divers punishments." of very many Champions of Christ. They answered and said: "Already once for all we have offered ourselves a sacrifice to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has enlightened us through his Saints." Romulus in anger ordered them to be stripped and beaten with cudgels. But they kept saying: "We give thee thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, that we have deserved to become the companions of thy Saints." At that same hour he ordered them to be led to the arch before the theater, and there he made them undergo the capital sentence. Then all, as if with one mouth, said: "Lord God almighty, receiver of innocent souls, receive our spirit." And they were beheaded in that same place, giving thanks to God. But Romulus ordered the blessed Cyriacus to be beheaded in custody. Then the blessed Eusebius gathered up by night the bodies of the holy Cyriacus the bishop, Maximus the presbyter, and Archelaus the deacon, and buried them with all diligence. But the bodies of the holy soldiers Romulus ordered to be cast into the sea; which the blessed presbyter, being watchful, gathered up on the seashore, and hid in the field of Ostia, and buried near the City in the Ostian crypt, on the sixth Ides of August: but Taurinus and Herculanus he hid in the Roman port, and the blessed Theodore the tribune he laid in his own mausoleum \*; and all the rest he gathered and laid beside the bodies of the holy Cyriacus and Maximus, on the tenth Kalends of September.

[16] On the same day Romulus ordered the blessed Aurea to be brought before him. St. Aurea, after many torments, And when she had been brought before his sight, she said rejoicing to Romulus: "O wretch, why hast thou wasted thy days? Acknowledge thy creator Christ, who is God, and adore not stones and brazen things and gold or silver, but adore the Lord Jesus Christ, who rose again on the third day and ascended into the heavens, and thence is to come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire." To whom Romulus said: "Presently thou shalt see whether thy Christ will deliver thee, if thou wilt not sacrifice to the gods." The blessed Aurea answered: "Well hast thou said, wretch: for once thou hast brought forth truth out of thy mouth, saying, 'If thou wilt not sacrifice to demons, thou shalt see Christ.'" Romulus, seeing that he had been overcome in his own words, ordered that her jaws should be beaten with a stone. But she cried out, saying: "Glory be to thee, Lord Jesus Christ, for I have deserved to enter the gates of the heavenly kingdom." Romulus said: "Now take counsel for thy noble birth, and adore the gods, and take a husband, and rejoice in thy life." The blessed Aurea answered: "I have already a husband, the God of heaven and earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, the everlasting king: whom thou deniest that thou knowest; nor dost thou know his mercy, but thou knowest the demons, who have filled thy heart with madness and rage." At that same hour he ordered her to be cut down with leaded scourges before his eyes; and when she had long been beaten, she was the more strengthened.

[17] is crowned with martyrdom and is buried: and of others Then he passed sentence against her, saying: "Let a great stone be tied to her neck, and let her be sunk in the sea." Her holy body came to the shore, which \* the blessed Nonosus gathered up — he who is also called Ypolytus — and buried it with all diligence in his own estate where he had dwelt, on the fourth Kalends of September. Then Romulus seized a certain Sabinianus, a husbandman of that place, and began to demand of him the goods of the blessed Aurea, saying: "The sacrilegious Aurea, who would not sacrifice to the gods nor keep the commands of the princes, has always held thy friendship in common: make haste to declare her treasures or her ornaments before our sight, and sacrifice to the gods, and live; and humble thyself to the commands of the princes." Sabinianus said: "I have always been taught humility by the blessed Aurea, who taught me to confess my Lord Jesus Christ, who was born of the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary. For know that we have no gold or silver or pearls." Romulus said: "Help thyself, and give back the hidden treasures of the princes, and sacrifice to the gods, and depart from this false madness."

[18] for Christ Sabinianus said: "I indeed am not worthy, because of my sins; but as far as the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ bestows, which he has deigned to give me, so believe me fit to know his mercy, who deigned to give me his grace in baptism. For know that I neither have nor can give this temporal gold, nor bend my neck to demons." Romulus in anger ordered that his neck should be beaten with leaded scourges, with a herald's proclamation, saying: "Blaspheme not the gods and goddesses of the princes." On the same day, hearing this, the blessed Ypolytus, who is also called Nonnus, offered himself before the sight

of Romulus, and with a clear voice said thus: "O wretch, if thou didst know, thou wouldst not torment the necks of the Saints, but wouldst humble thyself before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and wouldst serve him, and not empty stones." Romulus in anger commanded that he should be bound hand and foot and plunged alive into a pit. Then the blessed Ypolitus the bishop, lifting up his eyes to heaven, said: "Lord Jesus, king of kings and Lord of lords, I, a sinner, give thee thanks that thou hast deigned to crown me, thy servant, in a clean place amid the waters. I beseech thee, Son of the most high God, receive my spirit." And when he had been plunged into the pit before the walls of the City, beside the channel of the Tiber, there was heard for the space of one hour a voice as of infants saying: "Thanks be to God."

[19] of the Martyrs Romulus said: "This I recognize as the madness of the magic art. Behold, now you have heard the consolations of demons." Then the Christians secretly by night lifted the body out of the well with hymns and praises of God, and buried it with all diligence in the same place, not far from that well, but about sixty feet more or less, on the tenth Kalends of September. In which place the Lord wrought many marvels by his prayers, to the praise and glory of his name. Then Romulus in anger began to say with fury: "This Sabinianus, who is caught by the greed of the magic art and by lust for treasures — in a moment I will loose him from his madness, if he do not humble himself and sacrifice to the gods." And having said this, he ordered him to be beaten with cudgels, with a herald's proclamation, saying: "Give back the treasures of the princes, and humble thyself to the gods, by whom the commonwealth is governed." But he said with joy: "I give thee thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, who hast deigned to number me with thy servants." And though he was long beaten, he was firm in the faith and of a cheerful countenance.

[20] Then he ordered him to be lifted upon the rack and tortured. But he gave thanks to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ. their laurelled triumph. Romulus said: "This madman is confident because of his magical counsels"; and presently he ordered that he should be burned with flames. And when the flames had been applied to the sides of the blessed Sabinianus, Romulus began to cry out, saying: "Now take counsel for thyself, and give back the treasures." But he gave thanks to God, saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit." And suddenly he gave up his spirit; whose body he ordered to be cast into a well. Him the blessed Concordius the presbyter lifted out of the well by night, and joined to the blessed Aurea the martyr, on the fifth Kalends of September, our Lord Jesus Christ reigning; to whom be honor and glory, power and dominion, unto the ages of ages. Amen ^b.

ANNOTATIONS.

\ perhaps mausoleo*. \ quod*.