Bertigrannus

Concerning St. Bertigrannus, or Betrannus, we shall treat on June 6 or 30: for he is said to have died on the former day, and to be venerated on the latter. We have spoken above about his Testament.

This monastery, situated in the suburbs of the city of Le Mans, is commonly called "de Cultura," or "de la Coulture": mention of it is made in the chapter "Venerabili," 24, concerning censuses.

Grandinus says that on Sundays and solemn days he was accustomed to use this food and drink as his greatest delicacies.

CHAPTER III.

The miracles of St. Licinius. The solitude he sought.

[19] On a certain day, when the oft-mentioned holy Bishop of God, Licinius, was celebrating a general three-day fast, he frees a woman possessed: it happened that a certain woman, filled with a demon, began to rage and make an uproar before the people, performing diabolical displays. The holy man, looking upon her, signaled to the people to be silent from the tumult and laughter: and before everyone, having made the sign of the Cross, with exorcisms and sacred prayers, at that very hour, with divine grace assisting, he freed her from the demon: and she confessed in the church before all the people that she had seven demons within her.

[20] Likewise, on a certain Lord's day, while the said holy Bishop of God was holding a public service with due solemnity in his church and was sowing the divine word among the people, a certain man named Ghiso, having lost both lights of his head, began to beg the Bishop that by his merits and prayers he would restore the lost light to him. a blind man sent to him by heavenly direction, The holy man, rebuking him, said: "Why, brother, have you disturbed me and the people?" To whom the same blind man, answering, said: "My lord, Bishop chosen by God, my desire looks upon nothing more dearly than to merit having light through your holy prayer: for I trust in the Lord that I ought to obtain light through your merits and prayers. For this very night a certain holy man came to me in a vision and commanded me to come to you in haste, because I was about to receive light through your merits; obeying his commands, I came here. Now whatever you command, I will willingly endure." For this man the Saint of God ordered the clergy and people to make common prayer: and when the service was completed, [having prayed with the people, he privately anoints the man with sacred oil and gives him sight:] and the people had returned to their homes, anointing him around the eyes with consecrated oil in his private chamber, with divine grace assisting, he restored to him his own sight.

[21] When this was heard, many blind and infirm persons began to flock to him continually day by day with fitting wonder, seeking from him the restoration of their health. Wherefore he, greatly troubled, he hides in his cell, fleeing the snare of vainglory, withdrew, remaining in seclusion with only one cleric and two young attendants to serve him; and removed from the affairs of the world, he began to devote himself to the Lord alone. On this account also a great crowd of the infirm, the blind, the lame, and those afflicted with various other diseases kept watch at the door of the little cell in which the Saint of God was reading and praying: and even so he heals the sick by his prayers: many of whom, healed by his prayers and merits, returned home in good health. Though wishing to conceal himself, he lay hidden and yet was not hidden: by fleeing glory, he merited glory, because the Lord so willed it.

[22] But when the holy man saw that even so he could not be removed from the crowds of the people converging upon him, he began to request permission from the aforesaid King, as well as from the other bishops and fellow priests, he wishes to withdraw into the desert, to penetrate into the wilderness and there devote himself to the Lord alone. The bishops, priests, the King, and the people, resisting these petitions, began to entreat him that he would act as the divine and canonical authority enjoins, and that he would not neglect the people committed to him by the Lord, but teach them wisely and govern them prudently, and strive to win for the Lord the sheep entrusted to him; so that coming into the Lord's presence, he might present many sheaves gathered from them, and thus might merit to hear from the Lord: but he yields to the King and Bishops who forbid it: "Well done, good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful in a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord." Yielding to these exhortations, the holy man, since he recognized that it could not be otherwise, and since he was obedient in all things to all that was good and moderate, began to preach wisely and to rule and govern prudently the people committed to him. Whence he also merited to obtain the grace of the Lord, since the Lord was always present in all his works, as Scripture says: "The Lord cooperates with everyone who works good."

The Chesne manuscript has "Guiso." Grandinus has "Gliso."

The Sirmond manuscript has "conspicit" looks upon.

CHAPTER IV.

The buildings of St. Licinius. Other miracles.

[23] With these things accomplished, then, let us pass on to others. On a certain day, when the service was finished, the Lord Bishop said to his disciple Magnobodus: "Let us go to see our craftsmen, he heals now the blind, now the lame, what they are working on." And as they walked, they found twelve men, both blind and lame, who were being carried in the hands of others, who immediately accosted him, saying: "Lord Licinius, extend to us something from your substance, importunately begging alms, that we may be able to live." And he gave them no reply, because he was intent upon prayer. But again they cried out to him even to a third time. Then he, as if moved with anger, looking upon them, raised his hand and made the sign of the holy Cross toward them, he heals them with the sign of the Cross: and immediately the blind saw, and the lame stood upon their feet, and they followed him. And his disciple, looking behind him, saw them following, and said to St. Licinius: then where he had stood, he builds a church of the Holy Cross: "My lord, behold wonders." But when he had looked back at them, he asked him, saying: "Where was I standing when I made the sign of the holy Cross?" And he showed him the place. And the blessed Licinius, returning to that very spot, stood there and sent the same disciple to the workmen who were building a church in honor of St. John the Baptist, ordering them to build a church in honor of the holy Cross: which the holy Bishop himself afterward erected.

[24] visiting the diocese, On a certain day, the aforesaid St. Licinius, while going about his diocese preaching, confirming, and performing other good works, and visiting each of the churches, a certain leprous man came to him begging alms, of elegant stature but destitute of mercy shown by others. he receives a leper as a guest, Moved by compassion, as he always was merciful, he ordered him to be received as a guest and all necessities to be diligently provided for him. When, after the service and his ministry were completed, the holy Bishop had returned home and begun to take food with his guests and pilgrims, he ordered the said leper to be brought before him and refreshed from his own food, and to be presented to him after the Completorium was finished. When Compline was completed, he refreshes him with food, the holy man persisted in prayer throughout the whole night for the leper: and when morning came, he made holy water with which, washing him with his own hands, he healed him of the leprosy and restored him, adorned with an elegant form as he had been before, with Divine grace assisting: [washing him with blessed water, he heals him, then later consecrates him a Priest:] and retaining him with himself, he instructed him in the knowledge of letters; and after some years had passed, he ordained the now-blessed man a Deacon, and afterward, after some further time had elapsed, having been proven in character and conduct, he consecrated him a Priest; and his life too is reported to have been admirable and exceedingly praiseworthy, following in the footsteps of his holy patron.

[25] Nor do I think it should be passed over, what was accomplished in our aforesaid city by the merits of the aforesaid man. On a certain day, when the oft-mentioned St. Licinius was walking before the gate of the said city, prisoners who were kept in the jail cried out to him, saying: "Help us, he intercedes for captives: our Father and Pastor, that we may be freed from this prison, lest we innocent persons perish here." For these the Saint of God sent to the keeper of the prison, to entreat that he might extract them all, at least by his intercession, and that he himself would willingly make amends from his own goods for whatever they had neglected, indicating also that he himself would not on that day move away from the said gate or prison before the prisoners were released from jail. repulsed by the guard, The keeper of the prison, spurning his prayers, sent back word that he would do nothing of the kind. When the Saint of God recognized his disobedience and obstinacy, and that his entreaty availed nothing with him, trusting in the mercy of God, he cast the sign of the Cross upon the door of the prison. At his word the door of the prison, he opens the prison with the Cross, by divine command, opened of its own accord, and with no one touching it, nor anyone unlocking or breaking the iron bars with which it was bound and secured, the prisoners leaped forth from the jail, and honored by the Bishop, and having promised that they would no longer commit theft, robbery, homicide, he releases them. adultery, or other evils, they returned rejoicing to their homes, and the Bishop returned to his See.

[26] The remaining signs of great miracles and mighty works that he performed, avoiding prolixity and striving for brevity, we have not inserted here, but we have described some of them in another document, lest those who, through the prolixity of them, might be too lazy to read this Life in its entirety, be found uninstructed concerning his good deeds. Beyond those which we have set forth, there are also many other things other miracles of his written by the Author elsewhere; which the Lord deigned to work through the said St. Licinius, unknown indeed to us but known to the Lord. But as much as has been brought to our ears, as the aforesaid faithful men related. If I were to begin to pursue all of them, as has already been said, the day, I think, would fail before the discourse: far more has been omitted. since indeed to the blind he restored sight, to those in peril life, to the paralyzed their gait, to lepers cleanliness, to the deaf hearing, and to those possessed by demons he restored health.

St. Magnobodus, commonly known as Mainbeuf, Bishop of Angers, is venerated on October 16. We have treated of him in the preliminary commentary.

Concerning that church, it has been said above that there are now Canons in it.

Grandinus writes that St. Magnobodus himself had this church of the Holy Cross built.

So both manuscripts. Perhaps the author wrote "iter ageret" were making a journey.

Whether that document survives, we have nowhere read.

Perhaps "disseruimus" we have discussed?

CHAPTER V.

The illness, death, burial of St. Licinius, and the miracles at his tomb.

[27] While, therefore, amid these and innumerable other good works he was leading an angelic life, and now the almighty Lord wished to call his athlete to his destined prize, he was pressed by his final day. he suffers from fever, For in the month of August, during the burning heats, he fell into the ardor of a fever. And when, after despair, he had begun to breathe again by the mercy of the Lord, when it relents, he grieves, aspiring to heaven, weeping (as I learned from those who related it) he would say: "Alas for me! For my sojourning has been prolonged: I have dwelt with those who dwell in Kedar; my soul has long been a pilgrim." Weeping also, with his eyes and hands raised to heaven, he was accustomed to say frequently: "Why have I, wretched man, been brought back from the light of the Angels, and reserved for this wicked world, placed as it is in darkness? Indeed we do not merit what we have lost: but we give immense thanks to the almighty Lord for what we have had, or rather, by the Lord's bounty, shall have. For all things live unto the Lord, and whatever is referred to the Lord is counted in the number of his household: and how great a habitation is the loss of that heavenly home." Whence also, groaning more frequently at other times, he would say: Psalm 38:13 "I am a stranger and a pilgrim, as all my fathers were." Philippians 1:23 And again: "I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ." Moreover, as often as he was vexed by the infirmity of his poor body, which he had contracted by incredible abstinence and redoubled fasting, he turned this upon his lips: "I chastise my body, and bring it into servitude, lest while preaching to others I myself be found unworthy." 1 Corinthians 9:27 And: "It is good not to drink wine, and not to eat flesh." Romans 14:21 And: "I humbled my soul with fasting." And: "You have turned all his bed in his sickness." Psalm 34:13 and 40:4 and 31:4 And: "I was turned about in my misery while the thorn was fastened in me." And amid the stings of pain, he endured with wondrous patience, speaking as if he beheld the heavens opened before him: "Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and be at rest?"

[28] Furthermore, the aforesaid Lord Bishop Licinius thus distributed to each person the money entrusted to him, intensely devoted to almsgiving: as each had need, not for luxury but for necessity. For rarely did any poor person return empty-handed from him: which he achieved not by the magnitude of his riches but by prudence in dispensing; always repeating that saying: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7 And: "As water extinguishes fire, so almsgiving extinguishes sin." Sirach 3:33 And: "Make for yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, who may receive you into eternal tabernacles." Luke 16:9 and 11:41 And: "Give alms, and behold, all things are clean for you." Daniel 4:24 And the words of Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar, admonishing him to redeem his sins with almsgiving: and other similar passages of this kind he would recite to his listeners.

[29] When, while he lay ill -- though not gravely suffering, because the Lord sustained his infirmities -- having faithfully completed his course, and filled with the fruit of all good works, with the day of his death approaching, he happily departed to the Lord on the Kalends of November: he dies on November 1; he is buried in the monastery of St. John, and he was buried with magnificent honor in the church of St. John the Baptist, which he himself had founded anew: in which he had gathered bands of monks and established them to serve under the Rule. In which church also, at his tomb, many benefits are bestowed upon all who come and pray there, by his intercessions. a sweet fragrance diffused from heaven: For it is reported that so great a fragrance was perceived there at the time of his burial as no physician could compound: so that all, filled with the sweet odor, praised the Lord with immense joy.

[30] Two blind persons on that very day were given sight by his merits; and others oppressed by various ailments were healed. [miracles performed on that day, and many others afterward, while the author himself looked on:] We ourselves at his tomb have seen innumerable persons suffering from fevers healed, and various blind persons given sight, and the lame -- who indeed were carried not by themselves but by others -- receive the ability to walk, and hearing restored to the deaf by his merits, and innumerable miracles of other great powers and of various kinds performed: and, what is greater, we believe the burdens of the sins of many are there continually, with Divine grace assisting, absolved.

[31] We also saw a certain man keeping long vigil at the aforesaid man's tomb, sight, and indeed eyes themselves, given to a man who prayed. who had never had eyes, nor had perceived any trace of eyes. But just as his face was, so too was there a flat surface in the place of his eyes. Nor did he have even a socket where his eyes should have been. This marvel was known to everyone in our province, and by the merits of the aforesaid St. Licinius, keeping long vigil at his tomb and truly serving, he so received the sight of both eyes as though he had never been blind.

[32] Very much omitted here. These few things from among the many miracles or good works of this man we have, as best we could, committed to writing. For the rest, if we had striven to pursue all the good things he did with our pen and insert them into parchments, we would have produced an enormous volume, burdensome for readers. But we, striving for brevity, reserve the rest to be written by more diligent and wiser masters. In the venerable place of his repose, moreover, many wonders are performed, as we have said, by his merits, even in our own sight, and various ailments are cured to the present day, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with God the Father is honor, praise, and glory in the Holy Spirit, through all ages of ages. Amen.

The Sirmond manuscript has a different reading.

ANOTHER LIFE

by Marbod, Archdeacon of Angers and later Bishop of Rennes, from two ancient manuscripts.

Licinius, or Lucinius, Bishop of Angers in Gaul (Saint)

BHL Number: 4918

By Marbod, Bishop, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR.

[1] Desiring to set forth the life and deeds of the Blessed Bishop and Confessor Licinius, we have wished to invoke the Lord God, from whom all wisdom proceeds; that, with the same Saint interceding, he may open to us the door of speech, so that we may say things that are true, not superfluous, and profitable to our hearers. We think this can be accomplished if, passing over none of the deeds -- as we have gathered them from the earlier edition -- we entirely cut away the various additions and repetitions [Marbod polished the earlier Life of St. Licinius at the request of the Canons of Angers.] which bear the mark either of prolongation or ostentation, and which bring more tedium to the reader than ornament to the reading. For this was the chief reason that impelled our Brothers to enjoin upon us the present work, since in the earlier work the importunate loquacity of superfluous speech seemed to diminish the dignity of the subject matter. For frequent revolving of words around the same point suggests in a manner a deficiency of things to be said. Nor indeed have we been led by levity of mind or by any vanity to seek out vulgar scraps of gossip, as though we wished, as correctors of another's work, to parade our own study; but rather, moved by the prospect of eternal reward and overcome by the entreaties of persons of distinction, we have not refused a labor greater than our powers. For we presume not upon ourselves but upon divine assistance. We shall relate, therefore, as best we can, under the aid of Christ, what must be said, preserving fidelity to the facts, to the praise of the aforesaid Saint to the glory of God and of the Saint and the glory of God; desiring to achieve the benefit not only of ourselves but of all readers. For he reaps a great fruit of his study who, by writing things whereby readers may be edified, serves the advancement of many. We shall strive, therefore, to employ a style that is moderate and restrained, so that neither gravity may produce obscurity, nor humility baseness, nor prolixity tedium. The reader's part, moreover, will be to receive these things attentively and faithfully: lest what has been prepared for his salvation be turned, through his negligence, to his destruction. But let us now make a beginning of the narrative.

Between the lines, in the same hand or at least an ancient one, was written: "or reading."

CHAPTER I.

The studies of St. Licinius, his Palatine offices, his profession of a holier life.

[2] St. Licinius, of royal stock, Licinius, therefore, born of the most illustrious lineage (for he numbered the Kings of the Franks among his ancestors), endowed by nature with all goods of soul and body, crowned his good fortune with the pursuit of virtue. His manner of life from boyhood onward was such that in him there shone forth the appearance of a certain future perfection and of an extraordinary example. For besides the excellence of his outward form and the modesty of his countenance, by which he charmed the minds of beholders with a certain hidden gift, this stood out as remarkable in the boy: moderate in boyhood, that those vices which seem innate to tender age, and which dominate all as if by right of nature, he even then, prevented by the grace of God, despised. For he was neither excessive in play, nor importunate in eating, nor garrulous in speech. He did not rashly indulge anger; nor did he rage among his peers with petty, arrogant violence; nor was he, with the levity of mind that characterizes boyish fickleness, immediately swept off to various pursuits, so as to eagerly begin something and then suddenly abandon it. In short, in the boy were seen very many signs of manly constancy.

[3] When, therefore, after his first elements, as the children of nobles are accustomed, he had been given over to the discipline of letters, there indeed the kindliness and receptive genius of his noble nature shone forth. diligent in studies What he heard from his teachers he easily grasped and retained in memory. Nor did fear of the rod extort his attention, as it commonly does, but the love of knowledge kindled it. He knew how to show reverence to his teachers, obedience to his tutors, goodwill to his fellow students, and humility to all. He was neither offended by the slowness of others nor did he boast of his own quickness. and free from the vices of youth He so abhorred the baseness not only of deeds but also of words that he would not suffer it to go unreproved even in others. Already plainly a censorious boy, he was feared by his companions if they dared anything unlawful. He bore the enmities of rivals with equanimity and ended them swiftly. He conquered anger with patience, pride with humility: he lent neither ear nor tongue to the slanders of his companions: insults hurled against himself he disregarded, those against others he mitigated. In short, while in the profession of a student, he had become a master of morals.

[4] When, therefore, the years of his boyhood had been spent in this pursuit, and he had added not a little to the knowledge of his teachers in sacred and secular letters by his own industry, at the command of his father, who held the first place in the Palace after the King, he is led by his father to the Court: he was compelled to renounce philosophy and was transferred from leisure to business, from study to military service, from the schools to Palatine duties. King Clothar, both on account of their kinship of blood and on account of the distinction of his remarkable form and the elegance of his character, which were eminent in the young man, gladly received him: and shortly thereafter, having honored him with the belt of military service, he is made a soldier by Clothar II, began to count him among his friends, having plainly found him worthy to consult with on great matters and the administration of the kingdom. For he lacked neither prudence for counsel, nor fidelity for keeping secrets, nor vigor for execution. Nor was he wanting in ready eloquence or in the love of justice: whence he appeared very useful both in the conduct of cases and in the administration of law.

[5] Moreover, as the guardian and devotee of perpetual chastity, he adorned the judgment of the King concerning his intimacy in the eyes of all. Toward his fellow soldiers he so conducted himself that he strove to earn the favor of each by some act of service. benevolent toward courtiers He showed himself affable to all: he met the necessities of all, if not with material aid, at least with counsel: he grieved in the adversities of all: he counted the prosperity of all as his own gain. At Court he assisted whomever he could, and he could assist all whom he wished. Thus no one was left to whom some benefit of his did not extend. He praised the brave deeds of each, while concerning his own virtue no one was silent except himself. In short, amid the retinue of the Court, he discharged the functions of a steward. Whence it came to pass that he was created by the King, at the demand of all, Tribune of the Soldiers, who is now called in our fashion the Count of the Stable. This office he discharged in such a manner he is made Count of the Stable: that he was deemed most worthy of a greater one. His mind, however, amid all these things always kept watch toward God, to whom without ceasing he poured forth pure prayers, that he might snatch him uncorrupted from the present wicked age. To sacred reading he gave his attention whenever he could, by the assiduity of which he might kindle his desire more ardently toward heavenly things. The ardor of youth he anticipated by frequent fasts, rather than extinguished it, he lives piously at Court: lest through luxury and license the human spirit might grow insolent. Toward the poor and afflicted he so abounded in the bowels of mercy that he let no opportunity of place or time pass by without helping them. Plainly, in the soldier he bore the monk; in the active man, the contemplative: he so fulfilled both roles as though each were his only one; and was hindered by neither in discharging the other.

[6] Meanwhile, as prosperity succeeded upon prosperity, when his paternal goods had come to him by hereditary right, and he flourished in the most ample honors by royal munificence (for he had been made Count of Angers), at the urging of friends and of the King himself, he is made Count of Angers: he betrothed to himself a maiden of the most illustrious family, against the vow of his own heart, by which he had already long ago resolved to lead a celibate life and, having renounced honors, to devote himself to God. he is forced into marriage: his bride suddenly becomes leprous, When he was already preparing to take her home (wondrous to say!), in the solemn assembly he found her struck with leprosy. Thus he was released from the necessity of marriage, which the counsels of his friends were imposing upon him, by a misfortune he had wished for.

[7] Nor indeed did he hasten to abolish his embarrassment by a second marriage; but rather, understanding that the providence of God was in harmony with his own vows, he turned the accident into an opportunity, lest he be forced to attempt again what had previously turned out otherwise when attempted. And so, with his resolution confirmed, that he might delay no longer what he had long desired, having immediately obtained his discharge, he laid aside the belt of military service and renounced transitory honors, and delivering himself entirely to the service of God, he received the clerical tonsure together with his profession. he becomes a Cleric and a monk. O what great joy he gave the Brothers on his own account! With what praises of God he filled the mouths of all! How many hearts he moved to compunction, how many eyes he loosed to tears, when they saw that scion of the most noble stock, exalted by authority and riches, pre-eminent in beauty, resplendent in glory, despising all things, bending his noble neck to the yoke of Christ; and by voluntary exchange becoming poor from rich, to the great joy of the good: weak from powerful, a servant from a master! A rare thing indeed, and to be followed with the highest praises, to despise without difficulty things that are present, the mere hope of which scarcely anyone relinquishes even amid adversity. But the servant of God was thinking of the future glory, in comparison with whose beauty everything earthly grows sordid. It was good for him to cling to God, and to place his hope not in the uncertainty of riches, but in the Lord God.

[8] Now indeed, how much he advanced in the clerical state we can estimate from what preceded. All the industry which he had previously expended on the functions of the world he turned to the benefit of his own soul and of the Brothers with whom he lived: and he who had sufficed for both with divided attention, with his powers collected, sufficed most abundantly for the one. he lives holily and humbly in the community: Never did the glory of his high blood tempt him to refuse subjection to the services of the lowliest: nor did his erudition ever mock the simplicity of the unlearned; fasting, he did not disparage the meals of others; keeping vigil, he did not despise those who slept: he hastened to recall the quarreling to peace, the undisciplined to order: the good qualities of all he set before himself for imitation, the faults for caution. And while he was loved by all as a father, he venerated all as masters.

CHAPTER II.

The episcopal functions of St. Licinius.

[9] Invited to the banquet of the Church according to Christ's precept, he had reclined in the last place. When, therefore, the time had come for the Lord to say to him, "Friend, go up higher," it was also said to the Bishop of the See of Angers, as bodily illness struck: "Give place to this man." Luke 14:10 he is made Bishop of Angers, unwillingly: When, therefore, Audoinus, who previously seemed to govern the Church of Angers, had died, and when the reputation of the holy man had already spread far and wide, by the acclamation of both orders, with the most ready assent of the King, he was sought, seized, and ordained: and he who had chosen to be despised in the house of God was compelled, unwilling and weeping, to preside. Most worthily indeed, so that the good things which he had long accumulated within himself through retirement, he might at last pour forth through his stewardship for the benefit of many.

[10] Having therefore assumed governance, judging that not so much honor as a burden had accrued to him, as though he had hitherto made no progress, he then began what he had already completed, and he who had long surpassed all others in holiness of life resolved, in the only thing that remained, to conquer himself. But since he could be shown to lack no virtue, he undertakes greater penances, he had no means by which to grow, save to add in intensity what he could not add in number. He therefore extended his vigils, enlarged his prayers, prolonged his fasts, wore down his flesh with a hair shirt, tortured his body with cold; and he who had nothing of his own to expiate, after the example of Christ, transferred to himself the sins and ailments of those committed to his care. poured out upon every work of mercy, The distribution of his alms he poured forth so abundantly that from distant provinces also, flocks of the poor, roused by his fame, hastened to him: for he neglected no portion of munificence. He clothed the naked, refreshed the hungry, procured medicine for the sick, burial for the dead: to pilgrims he gave hospitality, to the sorrowful he extended consolation: to captives he provided ransom, to orphans protection, to widows patronage: he washed the feet of the poor with his hands, wept over them with his eyes, kissed them with his lips, wiped them with his hair. In short, he exercised as many mercies as human life suffers miseries. Nor did his generosity extend only to the poor, but also to all orders, and even to certain Bishops.

[11] Nor meanwhile did he neglect the office he had undertaken, celebrating the mysteries of the Sacraments on each and every day, he celebrates daily: and publicly preaching the word of God, threatening sinners with the terrors of punishment, setting before the penitent the joys of rewards. He sang mercy and judgment to you, O Lord: judgment upon the rebellious, mercy upon the suppliant. he preaches the word of God: So great was the grace poured forth upon his lips that what he said displeased no one. He noted privately the vices of individuals, reproving the fault, not the person: and while each one recognized himself in his words, no one could recognize anything insulting said against himself. Nor indeed did subject matter ever fail him in teaching, since his life served him as his book. Whenever he needed to seek what to say, it was ready at hand for him to remember what he did.

[12] As regards strictness, he pursued faults but spared the nature; hating vices, he loved men. He reproved offenders in justice, mild in punishing. received penitents in gentleness: he so tempered zeal with indulgence, and indulgence with zeal, that neither corrupted the one nor wounded the other. In synodal deliberation he discussed mercy above all else, and in the defense of the accused, insofar as reason permitted, he exercised his mind and tongue: he was especially protective of accused priests. In the respect of persons he regarded not honors but morals, so that he showed more deference to each according as he perceived each to love God more. he visits the diocese, He made the round of the churches, visited monasteries: wherever he turned, spiritual gladness sprang up: he refreshed souls with the word, bodies with food: on every side, having rooted out vices, he planted virtues, and having expelled ailments, he restored health. With unmoved countenance and the same spirit he regarded both fortunes, so that he was neither elated by prosperity nor broken by adversity. In his dress and bearing he maintained moderation; in the number of his servants, only what necessity required; constant, in their quality he sought respectability: in short, he so administered public affairs frugal: as though he despised his private interests: he so attended to his private affairs as though he had no care for public ones: nor, as very many are wont, did he descend from brilliance to smoke; but from splendor to splendor, from lesser virtue he passed to greater.

[13] Already his radiance had illuminated all Gaul, and at his fame alone not a few of the nobility, spurning riches, followed Christ in poverty. he converts many by his example: Whence it may be judged how much he gained for the Lord when present, who even where he was not converted very many. Already the hopes and resources of the King of the Franks and of the magnates depended above all upon his authority: he is consulted by all: already even among the Bishops themselves he was regarded as someone great and wonderful. All had recourse to him in their necessities, as those who thirst to a fountain. All drew from him whatever each desired. Already plainly he seemed to all a kind of human angel, or rather an angelic man. For besides his incomparable holiness, he works many miracles: by which he exceeded the measure of man, he blazed with such power of miracles that no one doubted he possessed Apostolic grace. We shall recount some of his miracles, from which the reader's faith may estimate the rest. For from a few, many; and from lesser things, greater; and from what is manifest, what is hidden, are customarily inferred.

Grandinus has "Audouyno." Gazet has "Andouino." Saussay and Chesne, vol. 1 of the Francica, have "Audouino." Claudius Robertus has "Audoëno" and "Audonino."

CHAPTER III.

The buildings, love of retirement, and miracles of St. Licinius.

[14] When during a solemn fast a large crowd had assembled at the church, to which, according to the institution of their Pastor, they resorted most devoutly, behold, a woman who was held by a demon, with furious cries and frenzied gestures, burst into the assembly and began to perform theatrical buffooneries by running about through the church, and with wild words, such as the drunken are wont to utter, to provoke the laughter of the people. The holy man perceived the design of the devil, whose endeavor it ever is, as much as he can, [he frees a demoniac woman, who was disturbing the assembly, by prayers and the sign of the Cross:] to impede the service of God. Having therefore commanded silence, when he had briefly admonished the people, as the occasion demanded, concerning the present matter, he ordered that demoniac woman to be brought to him: and having poured forth prayer over her, while the people watched and awaited the outcome with minds held in suspense, by the power of the Cross and by sacred adjurations he immediately expelled the enemy. The woman, having recovered her mind, gave thanks, and by the public confession of her own mouth she magnified the great miracle in the eyes of all. For she testified that she had previously had seven demons. I would believe that no one there was silent in the praises of God, and I would suppose that none held back from extolling the merits of the Priest. Truly indeed the form of the head shines forth in the member, and at the same time the disciple represents the master in the image of his power. Christ cast out seven demons from Mary; from this woman the same number, through Christ's agency, did Licinius. O, although a servant cannot be compared with the Lord, yet in this miracle quality answers to quality, sex to sex, and number to number.

[15] Again, while during the solemnities of Mass on the Lord's day he was exhorting the people according to his custom, a certain blind man named Ghiso, standing in a corner, raised his voice and broke the silence, imploring the Bishop that he who drove away the darkness of minds by the word of his teaching might, by his holy prayers, banish the blindness from his eyes. a blind man, divinely warned that he would be healed by him, When the holy man had replied that this was not the place for making petitions, and that he should not make an untimely disturbance since the people's attention would be disrupted, the blind man said: "Most holy Bishop, do not ascribe this to importunity but to faith: for I do not doubt that I shall immediately receive my sight through your merits. For last night it was revealed to me in a vision that this grace was reserved for you. Whence also I was commanded to hasten to you, that you might bestow upon me what I desire." When the Bishop had heard this and in no way doubted the fulfillment of the promised miracle, yet preferring that this be attributed to the prayers of the whole Church with prayers prescribed for the people, rather than to his own merits, he ordered that a common prayer be offered for the blind man: and so, when the office of the Mass was finished, he dismissed the people -- not that he grudged them the grace of the coming miracle, but that he himself might avoid popular glory: then, taking the blind man aside in private, when he had anointed his eyes round about with sacred oil, he gives him sight with sacred oil: he sent him home seeing and joyful.

[16] When crowds of the sick flocked together at the fame of Blessed Licinius's miracles, and his mind, devoted to contemplation, was suffering annoyance from the common throng, the servant of God, fearing lest perhaps the favor arising from the greatness of the miracles might diminish his reward with God, resolved no longer to expose himself to the converging multitudes, but, shut up within a secret cell, began to meditate upon angelic repose, shut up in his cell, he devotes himself to contemplation: content with only one cleric and two attendants. But since not even so could he exclude the tumult of those who knocked -- for those who were held back at the door would burst in with their cries, and by their importunity very many extorted the desired assistance -- nor even so free from the influx of the wretched, compelled by necessity he left the place, and began from that time to demand from the King and the Bishops of the province his release, so that with another substituted in his place, he himself might hasten to the wilderness. All protested against this petition, he wishes to resign the episcopate, (for who would doubt that Christ's flock, bereft by the absence of its Pastor, would become the prey of ravening wolves?) and when they objected that there would be more loss to him on this account than gain on the other; unless the King and Bishops had opposed it: moreover, that to prefer private advantage to public benefit was contrary to the law of charity, which seeks not its own things but those of many, that they may be saved -- at length, overcome by the prayers and reasoning of his fellow brothers, he laid aside the intention of solitude, and turning himself wholly, as if afresh, to the carrying out of the stewardship entrusted to him, he began to provide necessities for the household of Christ, hastening to make good the loss of interrupted contemplation by the gains of fruitful action. Whence it came to pass that he merited a greater grace from God, who had devoted himself entirely to the benefit of his neighbors. he works greater miracles: And that this might be evident to the world as well, the Lord from that time adorned him with greater and more frequent miracles. Of these some must be recounted, whose fewness may yet equal a great number by reason of their magnitude.

[17] The holy man had begun to build a monastery outside the city, not far from the walls, which he afterward, having richly endowed it with properties and possessions, dedicated in honor of St. John the Baptist, he builds a monastery: as he had desired. When on one occasion he was going to inspect this work, accompanied by only one disciple who was most intimate with him, he encountered a crowd of the poor, 12 of them partly blind, partly lame who began with importunate cries to beg from him the assistance of alms: among whom were twelve, whom we have learned were partly blind and partly lame; and when the Bishop made no answer to them -- for his mind was seized by the concentration of constant prayer, even while walking -- they continued to assail him with repeated clamors and to allow him no opportunity of passing them by. Moved, therefore, he halted his step for a moment, and as if in his own defense, raising his right hand against them, he opposed the sign of the Cross to those who pressed upon him. Immediately at the zeal of the Saint, their infirmity and blindness took fright, and with every ailment put to flight, the power of the Cross brought them health. he heals them with the sign of the Cross The healed, therefore, followed their physician, who had already departed, to render him the thanks they owed. Magnobodus (this was the disciple's name) looked back first and recognized the miracle, and in alarm cried out to his Master who was walking ahead: and the Master himself, looking back and seeing the grace he had earned unknowingly, unknowingly, gave much glory to the Creator for the manifold gift: and immediately, summoning through the same disciple the workmen whom he was going to visit, he inquired after the place from which he had made the sign, and ordered a church to be founded there in the honor and memory of the holy Cross, which, enduring to this day, represents the ancient miracle to believers.

and there he builds a church of the Holy Cross. Marbod himself mentions this in his Life of St. Magnobodus, October 16: "In the suburb of his city he began to build a monastery, following the example of his blessed Master and predecessor Licinius."

CHAPTER IV.

Other miracles of St. Licinius, his illness, death, and burial.

[18] It was the custom, as has been said, of the holy Bishop to visit by his own person the dioceses of his episcopate, and with pious solicitude to inquire into the necessities not only of each region but of each individual person, lest perchance through his own negligence or that of the priests the flock committed to him should be imperiled. he visits the diocese: He scattered everywhere the seeds of the word of God, he assists the poor: and strengthened the people with confirmations and blessings: beyond this, from his own resources he supplied the want of the needy, and at all times maintained a common table with his guests. It happened, therefore, that among other poor persons he received as a guest a leper, he refreshes a leper with food, whose excellent stature and elegant composition of limbs made the unfortunate disease all the more grievous. When the Saint had refreshed him with his own food, he withdrew to the oratory and passed the night that was at hand sleepless, while the same man stood by, as he wearied not in his prayers, entreating the merciful Lord on behalf of the wretch. and after prayers, washes and heals him, When morning came, having exorcised the waters, he washed the sick man; and at the touch of his sacred hands the leprosy vanished more swiftly than words can tell. O man of prophetic dignity! O new example of ancient virtue! Let not the former people glory in their miracles, so as to prefer the old Law to the new Testament. One Lord is the Lord of both, whose power is equal in each. We have the water, we have the Prophet, we have the leper: for us too there are at hand Naaman, Elisha, and the Jordan. But in this our cleansed man is better, that he did not return again to his former way of life, nor could he bear to depart from his Elisha, by whom, instructed in divine letters and formed in the ways of Christian discipline, he changed his habit and laid aside his hair, he who afterward was a Priest, a holy man. and so, tested through the lesser grades over time, he at length merited to attain the dignity of the priesthood: whose praiseworthy life, never departing from the footsteps of his Master, afterward provided to many a model and example of good living.

[19] As the Bishop was passing by the gate of the city, prisoners who were held in a prison attached to the gate, having learned that he was passing, cried out to him with tearful voices. Moved by distress at their plight, he resolved not to depart from the place unless he first freed the wretches: reckoning himself indeed bound in them, whose chains he transferred to himself through compassion. Having therefore sent messengers, he entreated the jailer, offering ransom money for the captives. But when the man's obstinacy could be bent neither by prayers nor by payment, the faith of the champion turned where it was accustomed, so that what it could not obtain from the wickedness of a man it might more wondrously obtain from insensible matter. He cast the sign of the Cross upon the door of the prison: and immediately (wondrous to say!) [with the Cross he opens the prison and loosens the fetters of the prisoners, and releases them:] the iron framework of the locks burst asunder, nor could the nature of the chains maintain its accustomed hardness where a stronger faith bore down upon it. With their bonds loosed, therefore, all leaped forth, and, comforted by the holy Priest in both words and provisions, they returned with joy to their homes. There are also many other deeds of his no less worthy of record, but for the sake of brevity let these suffice. For a faithful spirit desires nothing further, while an unfaithful one would not receive even more. Let us now hasten to his passing.

[20] Already the servant of God had fought the good fight, had finished the course, and had kept the faith: there remained for him from the just Judge the reward, the crown of victory, or the prize. To the soldier now emeritus was owed a good field, the land of the living: to the laborer who had borne the burden of the day and the heat was owed the denarius of eternal rest. Seized, therefore, in the month of August by the vehement fires of an acute fever, brought to the hope that he would now be dissolved, he suffers from fever, he awaited his departure with the greatest joy. But when after a time the burning had subsided, and he recognized it to be a chronic affliction, he groaned sorrowfully that he had been delayed and, as it were, driven back from a port already near: for, judging the present life a shipwreck, he sought the future homeland with all his strength. His desire increased from the delay, yet he relaxes nothing of his penance on that account: nor did he relax anything of his former habit of abstinence on account of the frequently returning annoyance of the fever. He did not on that account recline upon softer bedding, nor did he change the quality of his food or drink for the better. Indeed, now far more solicitous for the entrance of the Lord already knocking, for whatever time of life remained to him, he always drew his mind back from the body, thinking solely of the things to which he was going, forgetful of all that he was leaving behind.

[21] The fourth month was now at hand, and the furnace of tribulation had sufficiently tested the purest gold of Christ. Worthy, therefore, in all things to be laid up among the eternal treasures of the Lord, he dies on November 1, on the Kalends of November the most holy Bishop departed from the body, and was magnificently buried, with a great attendance of all orders, in the monastery of St. John the Baptist, which he himself had built from the foundations, he is buried, with a sweet fragrance diffused by the Angels: and in which he had established a permanent community of monks for the continuous service of God. At his funeral all who were present perceived that Angels were in attendance, suddenly suffused with so unusual a fragrance that they could compare no earthly perfume to it whatsoever. Moreover, the consolation of signs displayed in that same place wiped away the sorrow of all who grieved over the absence of their Pastor. For on that very day two blind persons were healed at his tomb, and very many of the sick. Nor indeed in the times that followed, even to our own age, have the divine gifts ceased in that place, illustrious then and afterward with many miracles. pertaining to the health of souls and bodies. Here to those who petition faithfully is given the remission of sins; here to the ailing is given the desired remedy; here to the needy is given the support of the present life.

[22] Here was displayed through the merits of the present Patron so great a miracle that it rightly deserves to be called more than a miracle. For if it is a miracle for the extinguished light of the eyes to be restored, it is clearly more than a miracle where they have never existed for the eyes themselves to be created: and if he is blind who, having eyes, lacks sight, he who lacks the eyes themselves a certain man with a flat face without eyes, is more than blind. A man therefore more than blind, but illuminated by illustrious faith, as the outcome of the matter proved, had for a long time been devoting himself at the Saint's tomb to assiduous prayers and devout supplications, in whom so great a novelty of nature appeared there he obtains eyes and sight. that he had neither orbs nor sockets, but -- what would seem like a monstrosity -- from the eyebrows his face descended flat. From every direction many flocked together to behold this spectacle, so that the fame of the unheard-of miracle would afterward spread all the more widely, the more widely the novelty of so great a marvel had previously been hidden from no one anywhere. This man, therefore, while he incessantly besought the Saint with prayers before his very body, suddenly found eyes and sight; and what the deficiency of nature had taken from him, the effect of Divine grace, through the Saint's merits, restored.

[23] We have placed this especially at the end of the work, as an epilogue, for this reason: that because it is recited last, it may occur first to the memory, since it is not buried under the mass of a superimposed narrative. From which single instance at any rate it is established -- namely that to which the whole intention of this labor of ours looks -- how well the supreme Lord is served, and how nothing is to be despaired of by the faithful, the end of this writing. since even the impossibility of nature does not resist Divine grace, through Christ our Lord; who with...

[24] I, Marbod, unworthy Archdeacon of the Church of Angers, have written and authenticated the Life of the Blessed Bishop Licinius, at the request of the Canons of the same Church. Whence they have promised and given me, as the reward for my labor, a share and communion in the prayers and benefactions [an excellent reward given to the Author for this writing by the people of Angers.] that shall be performed in that church at all times, and on each and every day while I live, one Collect at the morning Mass, "O God, who justifiest the ungodly": and after my death, the full service that is performed for one of the Canons in prayers and Masses, and each year to make a commemoration of my anniversary, as for one Canon. Moreover, on all and each day, excepting feast days, until the end of the world, to sing for me after Prime, as they go into Chapter, the psalm "De profundis" with the Chapter, "Requiem aeternam," and the Collect "Absolve, O Lord." Of this agreement between me and the Canons, may my Lord St. Licinius be mediator and witness, and guarantor. Amen.