Stephen

ON ST. STEPHEN, ABBOT, AT RIETI IN ITALY

IN THE SIXTH CENTURY OF CHRIST.

HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.

Stephen, Abbot, at Rieti in Italy (St.)

By G. H.

Section I. The sacred veneration of St. Stephen; his life and death as related by St. Gregory the Great.

[1] Rieti, an ancient city of the Sabines, famous from the march of Hannibal in Livy, book 25, and to Cicero in the Third Catilinarian and in On the Nature of the Gods, book 2, as also to Festus, only a prefecture, Rieti in the Sabine country, situated in a valley through which the river Velino flows and divides the city, is forty miles distant from Rome, and is believed to have received the Christian religion from the times of the Apostles at the same time as Rome, with St. Prosdocimus, a disciple of the Apostle Peter, Prince of the Apostles, bringing the light of the Gospel -- he who was afterward given as Bishop to the Paduans, as will be said on November 7, his birthday.

[2] Among the Saints of Rieti is Stephen, Abbot of a monastery established near the walls of the city, whose annual commemoration is celebrated on February 13; St. Stephen the Abbot is venerated on February 13. on which day Galesinius has the following: At Rieti, of St. Stephen, Abbot and Confessor. The Roman Martyrology: At Rieti, of St. Stephen the Abbot, a man of wonderful patience, at whose passing (as Pope St. Gregory relates) holy Angels were present, with others also seeing them. The same words are read in the monastic Martyrology of Menard and Dorgany, but more abridged in Wion, and somewhat more fully expanded in the German Martyrology of Canisius. Peter de Natalibus in the Catalogue of Saints, book 3, after treating in chapter 120 of St. Stephen, Abbot and founder of the Order of Grandmont (whose Life we gave on February 8), adds in the following chapter 121 another St. Stephen, Abbot of Rieti, and narrates his deeds from Pope St. Gregory. praised by St. Gregory the Great: The rest of the Martyrologists follow Peter; to whom is added Ferrarius in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, where he published another summary from St. Gregory. Wion records the same St. Stephen again on March 24, and following him, Dorgany and the author of the Martyrology printed in French at Liege. St. Gregory treats of him in Homily 35 on the Gospels and on March 24 and in book 4 of the Dialogues, chapter 19. We give both passages here; in the former he has the following:

[3] I think it not irrelevant, dearest brethren, to tell you one example of preserving patience for your edification. There was in our days a certain man named Stephen, the Father of a monastery established near the walls of the city of Rieti, a man of great holiness, singular in the virtue of patience. And many still survive who knew him and tell of his life and death. His language was rustic, but his life was learned. devoted to poverty, prayer, and especially patience: He had despised all things for the love of the heavenly homeland and fled from possessing anything in this world. He avoided the tumults of men and was intent on frequent and prolonged prayers. Yet the virtue of patience had grown exceedingly in him, so that he counted as a friend whoever had inflicted any annoyance upon him. He returned thanks for insults. If any loss was inflicted upon him in his very poverty, he considered it the greatest gain. He regarded all his adversaries as nothing other than helpers.

[4] When the day of death pressed him to depart from the body, many gathered to commend their souls to so holy a soul departing from this world. When all who had gathered stood around his bed, in death he is visited by Angels, some saw Angels entering with their bodily eyes, but they could in no way say anything. Others saw nothing at all, but a most violent fear struck all who were present, so that no one could stand there as that holy soul was departing. all who were present fleeing: Both those who had seen and those who had seen nothing at all -- all were struck and terrified by the same fear and fled; and no one could be present as he was dying.

[5] Consider then, brethren, how Almighty God inspires fear when the strict Judge is to come, if he so terrified those present when he came as a gracious rewarder; he is abundantly rewarded, or how he can be feared when he can be seen, if he so prostrated the minds of those present even when he could not be seen. Behold, dearest brethren, to what a summit of recompense this patience, preserved in ecclesiastical peace, has raised him. What did his Creator give him inwardly, about whom so great a glory was made known to us outwardly on the day of his departure? like the Martyrs With whom shall we believe him to be associated, if not with the holy Martyrs -- him who is known to have been received by blessed spirits with bodily eyes also bearing witness? He fell by no stroke of the sword, and yet at his departure he received the crown of patience that he had held in his mind. So far St. Gregory in Homily 35 on the Gospels, who in book 4 of the Dialogues explains chapter 19, "On the passing of Stephen, man of God," in these words:

[6] For from the aforesaid Probus and other religious men narrating, I learned those things which I took care to set forth to my hearers about the venerable Father Stephen in the homilies on the Gospel. For he was a man, as the same Probus and many others testify, who possessed nothing in this world, sought nothing, loved poverty alone with God, always embraced patience amid adversities, fled the assemblies of worldly people, and always desired to devote himself to prayer. he bears calmly the burning of his harvest, I relate one good deed of his virtue, so that from this one his many good deeds may be weighed. For when one day he had brought the harvest, which he had cut with his own hand, to the threshing floor, and had nothing else with his disciples for the provision of the whole year, a certain man of perverse will, instigated by the goads of the ancient enemy, set fire to that same harvest, just as it was on the threshing floor, and burned it. When another man noticed what had happened, he ran to the servant of God and reported it. After giving his report, he added, saying: "Alas, alas, Father Stephen, what has happened to you!" To which Stephen immediately replied with a calm face and mind: "Alas, what has happened to the one who did this to me? grieving more for the arsonist's sin For what has happened to me?" In these words of his it is shown at what summit of virtue he sat, who lost with so serene a mind the one thing he had for the expenditure of the world, and grieved more for the one who had committed the sin than for himself who bore the losses of that sin; nor did he consider what he himself was losing outwardly, but how much the one guilty of the fault was losing inwardly.

[7] When therefore the day of death pressed him to depart from the body, As he was dying, only Angels, many gathered to commend their souls to so holy a soul departing from this world. When all who had gathered stood around his bed, some saw Angels entering, but they could in no way say anything; others saw nothing at all. But a most violent fear struck all who were present, so that no one could stand there as that holy soul was departing. Both those who had seen and those who had seen nothing at all, no mortal deserved to be present, all struck and terrified by the same fear, fled, so that it might be openly understood what and how great was the power that received that departing soul, whose departure no mortal could endure.

Section II. Another Stephen, Abbot of Rate in Lusitania, distinct from him.

[8] A new difficulty is raised here by the Portuguese, as if this Stephen should be attributed not to Italy but to Lusitania. Braga Augusta was the former seat of the Suevian and Gothic Kings, At the same time there lived in Portugal Stephen, Abbot of Rate, anciently included in Tarraconensian Spain, then comprehended under the kingdom of Portugal; whose Archbishops contend with those of Toledo for the primacy. Near this Braga there is a very ancient church of Rate, with an adjoining Benedictine monastery, over which in the times of St. Gregory the Great an Abbot named Stephen presided, as Maximus, Bishop of Caesaraugusta, writes in his Chronicle. And first, at the year of the Hispanic Era 1128, of Christ 590, among the Abbots who, in addition to 72 bishops, attended the Council of Toledo, is listed Stephen, Abbot of Rate, of the Order of St. Benedict; of whom, however, no mention is made in the Third Council of Toledo itself, as published by Garcia de Loaisa from five manuscript codices. Then at the year of the Hispanic Era 1136, of Christ 598, the following is read in the same Chronicle of Maximus: "St. Stephen, at Rate near Braga Augusta."

[9] On the occasion of these words, Rodrigo de Acunha, in part 1 of the History of Braga, chapter 79, writes thus about that Stephen: "As far as concerns the Acts of his Life, among our people there is profound silence. The Father of lights, who sees in secret, will reward the merits of that holy Abbot. For that same M. Maximus places the death of the Saint in the year 598, nine years after the conclusion of the Third Council of Toledo. A certain burning suspicion seizes us that this blessed Stephen the Abbot is the same believed to be the same one praised by St. Gregory, whom the Roman Martyrology commemorates on the Ides of February, at whose glorious death a host of Angels, whom those present deserved to perceive, carried his spirit to heaven, as St. Gregory relates. And so instead of 'Rieti' one should substitute 'Rate,' so that the miracle would be believed to have occurred not in Italy but in Portugal, the fame of which penetrated all the way to Rome, to the throne of so great a Pontiff." So far Acunha, cited by Tamayo-Salazar in his Notes for February 13. What was proposed by this burning suspicion is assumed as certain and undoubted by George...

[5] From the earlier Life we have the following about his age: "When he had reached a mature age, his father forthwith commended him to Clothar, King of the Franks... For the said St. Licinius was a wise youth... When the aforesaid King had found him so proven and worthy, he himself had served under Clothar II, he employed him in his service and appointed him Count of his Stable and of all his horses, and their keeper. For his strength in waging war and his power, adorned by him with great honors, with the Lord's help, who guarded him in his actions, were great." Marbodus in chapter 1 writes thus: "King Clothar willingly received him, and after a short time, having honored him with the belt of military service, began to have him among his friends, recognizing him clearly as worthy to consult about great matters and the administration of the kingdom." And a little later: "Whence it came about that, at the demand of all, he was made by the King a Tribune of soldiers, who is now in our usage called Count of the Stable." Then he was made Count and Duke of Angers; and, as the earlier Life has it in number 9, he was powerful among the foremost in the palace of the said King. But at length he became a Cleric, and when he had lived for some time in a congregation of religious men, the fame of his holiness, as is said in chapter 2, number 11, spread through many places, even to the royal palace, finally made a Bishop, and came to the King's knowledge. And at length, with the passing of years, it happened that the aforesaid city of Angers needed a Bishop.

[6] From these facts a conjecture must be drawn about the time when he was elevated to the episcopate. Clothar II, son of Chilperic, began his reign in the year 584, being four months old; he died in the year 628. Grandinus writes that Licinius was ordained in the year 586. It must be admitted that most of the offices and dignities he held in the palace were conferred upon him by Clothar's guardians, not by the infant King himself. Yet how could he have been made a Bishop in the year 586, not in the year 586, Clothar's third year? For there were certain stages both of the said offices and of his age itself. He came to the Court as a young man, perhaps about twenty-four years old, for he had reached a "mature age" (as was said); then he served in the military, was employed in the King's intimate counsels, presided over the royal stable, governed the province of Angers with the power of Count and Duke; then he bade farewell to all these things and lived for some time among the company of consecrated men. Who does not see that many years passed in the discharge of these offices? yet before the year 601. Before the year 601, however, he was already a Bishop and had a famous name, as is clear from the cited letter of St. Gregory.

[7] How many years St. Licinius held the episcopate could be gathered from the Life of St. Magnobodus, his successor, which we shall give on October 16, if it were accurately arranged. He is said to have been born when Lothair, son of Chilperic, being still within the years of adolescence, together with his kinsmen -- namely Theuderic and Theudebert -- was engaged in dispute with feuds arising on all sides. Clothar frequently waged war with those two Kings; for he himself first invaded them in the year 596, and inflicted a severe defeat. St. Magnobodus, In the year 600, attacking him together, they cut down his army and drove him to harsh terms, with a notable part of his territory torn away. In the year 604, Theuderic again crushed him when he rebelled. born in the time of Clothar II, Peace was established at Compiegne. St. Magnobodus therefore seems to have been born within that period of nine years. And when he had passed through the stages of infancy and childhood, with the growth of his years now reaching maturity, by St. Licinius, Bishop of Angers, with the hair of his head removed, he is tonsured as a Cleric by St. Licinius, he was instructed in the duties of the holy Church, and raised to the honor of the grades, he was commended to the sacred oracles in order. So it is recorded in chapter 1, number 3. And then "he decided to place him in a somewhat higher grade and to keep him with him, so that he might be a helper to him in all things, and the rest might become emulators of his example. Indeed, he appointed him Father over the holy congregation that served Christ in the monastery of Colonetum," etc. Somewhat more explicitly, Marbodus in the Life of St. Magnobodus, number 5: "When these things had come to the knowledge of the blessed Bishop Licinius, whose admirable holiness was then esteemed among the Gallic Bishops, congratulating the generosity of the divine gifts, he summoned the young man to himself and tonsured him in the ecclesiastical manner... With the passage of time he advanced him through the ecclesiastical grades all the way to the priesthood, he is ordained a Priest, judging him rightly worthy to share the care of his solicitude and by whose counsel he could be extricated from the difficulties of emerging problems." The same Bishop Licinius then, as the earlier Life has it, sent Magnobodus, a man of memorable holiness, promoted to the ministry of the ecclesiastical order, he is sent as legate to Rome; to Rome to the Supreme Pontiff as his Legate.

[8] These things having been accomplished, and the course of many years having passed, when the Almighty Lord wished to release the Bishop of Angers from this wretched and passing life and to establish the blessed Magnobodus as Pastor in his Church, being constrained by infirmity, he began to be deprived of his own strength. He called the companies of the Brothers to him, asked for the Viaticum, and having received the Eucharist of the sacred Body of Christ, he succeeds him, he was laid in the earth by his disciples with the greatest care, to rise again with glory. When he had been taken away, the whole people of Angers, both clerical and lay, gathered into one, with a united mind, together with the consent of the illustrious Dagobert, King of the Franks, son of Lothair, began to desire that Magnobodus be made their Pastor... But the blessed Magnobodus, as the assent of the people bore, having attained the priestly miter, was raised with the favor of all to the episcopal throne. Marbodus writes that Magnobodus did not succeed St. Licinius immediately, although perhaps not immediately, but that another was substituted. "But when that one too," he says, "died shortly after by God's dispensation, it was already quite clear that this man was demanded by divine judgment. By the common prayers of all, therefore, with the assent of King Dagobert, to whom the succession of the kingdom had now descended, he was elected and compelled, according to God's arrangement, to preside over the Church of Angers." The one interposed between these two holy Bishops is called Cardulphus by Demochares and Chenu, and Cardulphus or Radulphus by Claudius Robert.

[9] What is said here about the consent of King Dagobert is a manifest error. For St. Magnobodus, already a Bishop, attended the Synod of Rheims held under Sonnatius in the year of Christ 624 or 625, as has been proved elsewhere -- at least during the reign of Clothar. he attends the Synod of Rheims in the year 624: For John, Bishop of Poitiers, was also present, to whose successor Dido, Bishop of Poitiers, St. Leodegar was handed over by King Clothar to be imbued with learning at the very beginnings of his life, as Ursinus writes in the Life of Leodegar dedicated to Ansoald, Dido's successor. Modoald, Bishop of Langres, also attended the same Synod of Rheims; his successor Bertoald is mentioned in a diploma of the same Clothar II for the monastery of St. Benignus, as Claudius Robert relates in Gallia Christiana. Finally, Senocus, Bishop of Eauze, was present, who in the year 626 seems to have been perpetually exiled by order of Clothar. Thus indeed Fredegar writes in chapter 54: "In the 43rd year of the reign of Clothar, Palladius and his son Senocus, Bishop of Eauze, at the accusation of Duke Aiglinanus, on the charge that they had been privy to the rebellion of the Basques, are thrust into exile." Other arguments to prove this are gathered elsewhere.

[10] Although Dagobert was then King of Austrasia, but not of all of it, yet Angers was in no way subject to him, so that his authority would be needed for appointing a Bishop over them. And perhaps Magnobodus was a Bishop before Dagobert even obtained that half-kingdom. St. Licinius died before the year 618, Certainly St. Licinius died earlier. This is evident from the testament of St. Bertrannus, or Bertigrannus, Bishop of Le Mans, in which he mentions "the lord Licinius the Bishop of holy memory" -- words that are used only of one who has died. Thus he writes: "The vineyards which the lord Licinius the Bishop of holy memory gave me out of his affectionate love, near Cariliacum, as his gift, which we had previously purchased from a certain Sargitius, a merchant on behalf of the church, together with land, and there planted vineyards, as is evident from the testament of Bishop St. Bertrannus, and joined them in one enclosure with the vineyards of the holy Church -- we wish that the holy Church of Le Mans possess them for the reward of our soul." The author of the earlier Life of St. Licinius cites this same testament in chapter 2, number 16. The full testament survives in the history of the Bishops of Le Mans by the distinguished Antonius Corvaeserius, and is said to have been written on the sixth day before the Kalends of April, in the twenty-second year of the reign of the most glorious Lord Clothar the King. Now a threefold beginning of the reign of Clothar can be established: the first from the death of his father Chilperic, which occurred in the year 584; the second from the death of King Childebert in the year 596, when he claimed for himself (as we said) not a few territories that had been in the power of his kinsman Kings, and perhaps also the city of Le Mans; the third from the year 613, when the monarchy was obtained, or the beginning of the kingdoms of Burgundy and Austrasia. written in that year. It seems that his twenty-second year in the cited testament should be understood in the second way, so that it would be the year 618, before which year St. Licinius must have died. Nor are we persuaded by what Jean Bondonnet, otherwise a learned man, holds in the Acts of the Bishops of Le Mans: that the Licinius who gave those vineyards to Bertigrannus was a Chorepiscopus, or Co-bishop, in some city within the diocese of Le Mans; for he is named by St. Bertigrannus as a Bishop well-known everywhere and of celebrated fame.

Section II. The burial, annual celebration, and Relics of St. Licinius.

[11] Around the year 616, therefore, St. Licinius happily departed to the Lord on the Kalends of November, and was buried with magnificent honor in the church of St. John the Baptist, died on November 1; St. Licinius was buried in the church of John the Baptist, which he himself had founded anew, in which he had gathered companies of monks and established them to serve under the rule, as is said in the earlier Life, chapter 5, number 29. Concerning this church and monastery built by the holy Bishop, fuller treatment is given in the Life of St. Magnobodus, chapter 1, number 5, in these words: "When the aforesaid blessed Bishop Licinius wished to dedicate, in the suburb of the already mentioned city of Angers, a basilica built with wondrous design in honor of St. John the Baptist, which he had dedicated with relics received from Rome through Magnobodus, summoning the man of memorable holiness Magnobodus, promoted to the ministry of the Ecclesiastical Order, he directed him to the city of Rome, where the relics of the Apostles are honored with due veneration, so that he might deserve to obtain relics from the Supreme Pontiff, with which he could consecrate the basilica fitted out in modern style." And then in number 7: "Therefore, having obtained the relics of St. John for which he had gone, he returned with a prosperous course to the venerable Bishop Licinius at Angers, bearing the welcome relic. he had dedicated it, The Bishop eagerly received it, and, as he had conceived in mind, storing it within the oratory built in modern work, he dedicated it with a splendid ceremony; adding a richly endowed monastery. in which, gathering a community of monks to dwell together, he established them to live according to the norm of the holy profession, and assigned very many estates for the service of those serving God there, and arranged for the building of hospices and poorhouses and various dwellings." Marbodus narrates the same, and says that St. Licinius built from the foundations a church of costly and magnificent work, which is now called by his own name. Andreas Chesne writes that a college of Canons is now in that church and that it is called St. Julian's. Yet there is in it a chapel of St. Licinius. But concerning the first dedication of that church, Marbodus writes thus: "St. Licinius therefore, having received the relics that Magnobodus had brought, rendering no small thanks first to God, the giver of all good things, and then also to his disciple, celebrated the joys of the dedication of the new church with the same disciple, as he had wished, placing there with the sacred honor they deserved the holy relics of the Precursor of Christ."

[12] Although St. Licinius died on the Kalends of November, yet in no Martyrology do we find his name inscribed for that day, he is venerated not on that day, except in the General Catalogue of Saints by Ferrarius, who in his Notes cites the Monastic Martyrology and the Lives of Saints by Rene Benoit. But neither in these nor in that is there any mention of St. Licinius on that day. I believe it is because the solemnity of that day, indeed during the lifetime of Licinius himself at Rome, had been consecrated to the memory of All Saints by Boniface IV, and the same observance was prescribed a century later by Gregory IV for the other churches throughout the world, so that another feast day began to be observed in his name by posterity. This is February 13, but on February 13, on which he is venerated with a Double Office by the Church of Angers. And for that day Usuard commemorates him thus: "In the city of Angers, of St. Lucinius the Bishop, a man of venerable holiness." Bellinus, Maurolycus, Galesinius, Canisius, the Roman Martyrology, and very many manuscripts agree, but some add: "whose body is honored with frequent miracles." Many call him Licinius, not Lucinius.

[13] Benedict Dorgany in the Benedictine Calendar, and Ferrarius in his Notes for November 1, hold that he was entered in the calendar of the Blessed on February 13, on which day he is said to have been canonized, which Grandinus reports was done in the year 664, by the authority of Pope Vitalian. At least his deposition is not observed on this day, as it is expressed in the Roman Martyrology, and Saussaius seems to agree in the Gallican Martyrology on the same day, and again on June 8, where he writes: "On the same day at Angers, the ordination of St. Lucinus, Bishop and Confessor, who is recalled as having entered the heavenly court on February 13." For that eighth day of June, in the ancient Martyrologies of Ado, Bede, and Notker, and likewise in the manuscript of the Church of St. Lambert at Liege, and in the supplement of Hermann Greuen to Usuard, the memory of St. Licinius exists with no distinction of ordination or other celebration: "At Angers, of St. Licinius, Bishop and Confessor." He is also named in the Martyrology printed at Cologne in the year 1490, but as Lucianus, instead of Lucinius or Licinius.

[14] On the day before the Ides of February, Saussaius in the Supplement to the Gallican Martyrology recorded the canonization of St. Licinius, believing he had died on the following day (as we said), in these words: "At Juliomagus of the Andes, or the day before, in the year 664, the commemoration of the canonization of St. Lucinus, Bishop of Angers, whom ancient tradition of that Church relates was enrolled in the register of Saints by Pope St. Vitalian (who began to reign in the year 655)." On the same day, Ferrarius in the General Catalogue of Saints: "Likewise, the Canonization of St. Licinius, Bishop of Angers." But in his Notes he warns that others place it on the following day. In the manuscript Florarium and in the printed supplement of Hermann Greuen to Usuard, on the same February 12, Livinus Bishop and Confessor is mentioned, whom we suspect to be Licinius, since we know no other Bishop Livinus except as a Martyr. But Maurolycus, who with others assigns St. Licinius, Bishop and Confessor, to the Ides, has the following for the day before: "Likewise at Angers, of Licinius, Bishop and Martyr. Of Lucianus, Confessor."

[15] In the year 1169, when Henry II, King of England, held the County of Anjou, the Relics were translated on June 21, 1169, the relics of St. Licinius were translated with solemn ceremony on June 21 by Geoffrey, Bishop of Angers, Stephen of Rennes, and Hamo of Leon, as Grandinus relates, who also writes that he was inaugurated as Bishop on that very same day of old. Hugh Menard and Benedict Dorgany mention this translation in the Benedictine Martyrology at June 21.

[16] Grandinus, cited frequently, testifies that the body, bones, and ashes of St. Licinius, enclosed in artfully made reliquaries, are reverently preserved in that church which he had built in honor of St. John the Baptist; the bones still survive, also that the sacred vestments in which his corpse lay wrapped for thirty-three years in the earth still survive, uncorrupted and intact, even after so many centuries. He adds that very many pregnant women flock to that church, vestments and girdle, salutary for pregnant women, even from distant regions, and reverently girding themselves with the holy Bishop's belt, pray for a happy delivery, and very many experience certain help from this.

[17] It is worthwhile to append the prayer that the Church of Angers recites on the solemn feast days of St. Licinius, from its Breviary: Prayer for St. Licinius. "Grant us, Almighty God, to venerate worthily the memory of our Guide and Pastor Licinius; and just as he by his prayers, with your favor, protects his city safe from enemies and seducers, so may he himself be a shield for our souls and bodies against all the wiles of enemies. Through our Lord."

LIFE

by an anonymous author of Angers, from two ancient manuscripts.

Licinius, or Lucinius, Bishop of Angers in Gaul (St.)

BHL Number: 4917

By an anonymous contemporary author, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR.

[1] Commemorating the venerable works of holy men, we pray to the Lord that he may open our mouth, so that, being able to narrate something worthily about them, we may be able to hand down to posterity wonder and example, The Author writes the deeds of St. Licinius at the urging of a Bishop, and commend them to memory in writing. For the Lord says: "Open your mouth, and I will fill it"; and by the encouragement of friends, the exhortation of many servants of God, and especially of our Bishop, I was provoked to dare to undertake this work. Psalm 80:11 Obeying their commands, lest I be condemned by the evil of disobedience, and especially the commands of our Bishop (since no one ought to be disobedient to the Bishop), I have endeavored to record some knowledge of the good deeds of St. Licinius, Bishop of Angers.

[2] which he learned from trustworthy witnesses, How the same holy Bishop conducted himself for the most part, or how he dealt with his people, I learned from a certain Daniel, his disciple, narrating. Some things I also found written in his letters and small works, and those of his disciples. Of the many miracles performed by him, therefore, I have chosen the few that I judged worthy to collect and insert into this small work, having learned them not on the authority of any single author, but by the assertion of innumerable faithful witnesses, who could know or remember these things. I pray the reader, however, that whatever he believes should be added or corrected, he may endeavor to do truthfully. Before our aforesaid Patron, namely the Lord Licinius, and before all readers, I humbly pray that I may find the fruit of pious intercession. You will also determine by your prudent counsel that, just as it is meritorious to unfold to the faithful something new of doctrine and good conduct for the instruction of souls in the Catholic religion, so I consider it criminal to conceal in silence those things that can be profitable as increments for those who hear and wish to imitate the examples of the Saints.

[3] For the rest, Holy Father and Pastor, but he could not attain to everything. obeying your commands, as has been said, I did not delay to publish this work; but the simplicity of my heart and the fluency of my mind cannot unfold the praises of the virtues of so great a man, whose holy and sufficiently praiseworthy life and work arose in modern times -- how many good things he did, no one knows except he alone to whom he presented them inwardly. For the outcome of his work showed outwardly how much he had wrought while hiding inwardly, inasmuch as no servant was present to see this; since he was accustomed to do these things in secret hiding places, with the private gaze of his eyes, and avoiding human praise, he strove to please and devote himself to God alone. Whence it is clear that he accomplished greater and more admirable things than the report transmitted for the people in succeeding times seems to recall. And I humbly and suppliantly entreat that our common supplication may obtain pardon for me, devout as I am, if I have passed over anything of his virtues, lest I produce an excessive volume for readers. Yet, asked to write these things briefly, I deemed it fitting that all who understand his miracles by hearing may desire to imitate his examples. If therefore anyone searches out more zealously the deeds of the aforesaid Saint, he will always find something more to wonder at. And whatever bitter things we endure in this holy world, and whatever good we do for our Savior, we should know that it will be returned to us for the better in that prize of eternal glory through Christ our Lord.

Of Angers, as is evident below, where he calls St. Licinius "our Patron," and in chapter 4, number 25, "Angers, our city."

I do not believe these letters and small works survive.

Perhaps one should read "age" (seculo).

CHAPTER I

The courtly and religious life of St. Licinius.

[4] The most blessed Bishop Licinius, therefore, born of the royal line of the Franks, was exceedingly useful, noble, and most wealthy in worldly goods; but he remained yet nobler and more exalted in the discipline and faith of Christ. He grew in faith and age, better and more fully from day to day, and was filled with the grace of God. [The Author learned the deeds of St. Licinius from his close associates; he saw most of the miracles himself.] The praiseworthy deeds of this holy man that he performed -- some of these I learned from his close associates narrating them, who had seen his disciples, from whom they in turn received what they handed down to me; most of them I came to know myself, having witnessed things worthy of writing and preaching performed at his tomb through his merits.

[5] He himself, as I learned from the aforesaid holy men, was in his boyhood handsome and noble, chosen by birth, and grew up kindly among his kindred. Among his servants and acquaintances St. Licinius, a handsome boy, he excelled with a radiant countenance, prominent in age and in every bearing. When his father saw such great diligence in his son and recognized that he was beloved by all good people, he rejoiced in spirit and exulted with joy, giving immense thanks to the Lord, who had deigned to console him with such a beautiful child. When the time came for him to be given to the study of letters, he was soon handed over to a teacher and formed to be educated by the most learned masters of sacred literature. He, among his fellow students, sharp in intellect and capacious in memory, shone lovably; he studies letters successfully, and by the Lord's prompting he was subject to all, but in obedience, faith, and charity higher than all. When he had been instructed by the most prudent men, he returned to his father's house, passing beyond the spirit of childhood, and conducted his adolescence with diligence. devoted to piety in adolescence: Shining also with the spirit of wisdom and the grace of humility in his actions nobly, he grew from virtue to virtue and daily shone with good and holy works.

[6] When, fully educated, he had reached a mature age, his father forthwith commended him to Clothar, King of the Franks, of whom he was also a close kinsman. For the father of the said St. Licinius was a Satrap of the aforesaid King Clothar, he conducts himself honorably among the courtiers of Clothar II: and held a superior place among his closest associates. For the said St. Licinius was a wise youth, lovable in appearance, affable in conversation, walking in right conduct both with the King himself and in holy faith, and with his whole household, so that he became conformed to all the good, but alien to the bad and undisciplined. He was also outstanding in form, strong and swift, agile and very wise and gentle, and grounded in chastity, charity, and humility.

[7] When the aforesaid King had found him so proven and worthy, he employed him in his service he is made Count of the Stable, and appointed him Count of his Stable and of all his horses, and their keeper. For his strength in waging war and his power, with the Lord's help, who guarded him in his actions, were great -- especially since with his sword he very frequently put to flight many phalanxes of adversaries a distinguished soldier, with the Lord's assistance. For he was diligent in prayer and fasting, and was especially devoted to mercy toward the poor; he also very often devoted himself to reading, and, as it is written, he rendered to the Lord the things that are the Lord's and restored to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Matthew 22:21 He was indeed so perfectly fitted for all the elders, and he stands out among the Magnates: equals, and subordinates, that his eloquence pleased all who followed him, so that he restored joy to the sorrowful and discipline to the wicked.

[8] Meanwhile, when the time came, scarcely compelled by friends and parents, he betrothed to himself a girl from a distinguished and most noble family, to take her as his wife at the proper time. When the time came and his friends and parents pressed him more to take his bride as his wife, compelled to marriage, lest he remain without offspring and his inheritance subsist without its own heir -- for he had a great inheritance and possessed vast estates -- since he could no longer resist the words and exhortations of his friends without great enmity, it happened that, with an agreement made, he set a day on which, with the consent of friends and relatives, he would take the aforesaid bride in marriage. When, with all urging, he was about to take her, when the bride suddenly became leprous, by God's will she was found before everyone to be struck with leprosy, because the Lord so willed, that he might afterward become his Bishop, and just as he was chaste in mind, so he might become chaste in body.

[9] While these things were happening, as we said above, he himself flourished in the palace with various honors and was first in the ministry, but his constant meditation kept watch over monasteries and holy places. But when the aforesaid matter concerning his wife came upon him, confused with shame, he resolved in his mind to dismiss all worldly military service and to serve the Lord alone, King of all Saints. Which was done undoubtedly by God's will. Having taken counsel according to the Lord's precept, who said: "Go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me," leaving all things, he devoted himself to spiritual and clerical service Matthew 19:21 he himself, already Count and Duke of Angers, and strove to devote himself to the Lord alone. For previously he was Count and Duke of Angers and was powerful among the foremost in the Palace of the said King. But at length, having become a Cleric, he strove to please the Lord alone and his spiritual brothers, he becomes a Cleric: desiring to lead a poor and common life, spurning the pomp of the world, and setting all his desire in the Divine will and its service.

[10] Henceforth, now that St. Licinius was made full of spiritual grace, robust in faith, obedient to the rules of the Holy Scriptures, imbued with divine knowledge of letters, he was lovable to all the soldiers of Christ and spiritual brothers. in a congregation of pious men, For he was most honorably devoted to great eloquence, tall in stature, most handsome among many, comely in appearance, sweet in speech, most acute in intellect, he excels in every religious virtue, provident in prudence, fervent in divine zeal and love, and a most devoted guardian of perpetual virginity, as he was -- since the Lord, Savior of all, had withdrawn him from marriage when he wished to marry, and preserved him to become his future Bishop, living in chastity. He was also full of charity and gentleness, devoted to obedience, strict in frugality, disciplined in fasting, watchful through long vigils of the nights, remembering that it is written: "Blessed are those servants whom, when the Lord comes, he finds watching." Luke 12:37

So the Sirmond manuscript. The Chesne manuscript has "relatives."

The Sirmond manuscript has "affection."

Wion in the Appendix to book 2 of the Wood of Life calls him Warnerius, Count of Burgundy, and cites Grandinus, who only says his father held the second place after the King in the palace. But Saussaius calls him Garnerius, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia under King Clothar. Who was his father? There was indeed a Warnacharius (whence the name Warnerius, as also Garnerius, is derived), Mayor of the Household in Austrasia, who passed over to King Clothar in the year 613, afterward became Mayor of the Household in Burgundy, and finally died in the 43rd year of the reign of Clothar, the year of Christ 626. But St. Licinius had long before been a Bishop; nor could he, as a youth, have been brought to the Court of Clothar by a father who was then serving under the Kings of Austrasia. By which reasoning it is established that neither was another Warnacharius the father of Licinius, whom Fredegar reports died in the 4th year of the reign of Theuderic, the year of Christ 599, for he was the Mayor of the Household of Theuderic in Burgundy, which did not belong to Clothar; nor can Warinarius the Frank, whom St. Gregory of Tours in book 4, chapter 33, writes was sent as an ambassador by King Sigibert to the Emperor Justinian together with Firminus of Auvergne, be considered the father of Licinius, unless he afterward passed from Austrasia into the territory of Chilperic or his son Clothar.

The Sirmond manuscript has "of his affairs."

Wion writes that he became a monk in the monastery of Cincillacum, or, he says, as the manuscript has it, but corruptly, Colonetum. If the manuscript has Colonetum, whence did he restore Cincillacum? Or who knows of such a monastery? Was Licinius a monk at Colonetum? St. Magnobodus was appointed by St. Licinius to the monastery of Colonetum, but nowhere is it said that Licinius himself previously lived in the same. Grandinus doubts whether the Colonetum monastery was not where the prefecture of Chalonnes now is, with an ancient castle, where was it? on the river Loire, four leagues below Angers on the Nantes road, belonging to the table of the Bishop of Angers.

CHAPTER II.

The episcopate and palace prefecture of St. Licinius.

[11] When the time came for the farmer to yield his fruit and the good deeds of so great a man to reach the benefit of the whole people, the fame of his holiness, spread through many places, reached even to the royal palace and the King's knowledge, He himself, famous for his reputation of virtue, for "a city set upon a hill cannot be hidden." For the Almighty Lord no longer allowed so great a man to be concealed under such circumstances, as the Gospel trumpet testifies: "No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, so that it gives light to all who are in the house." Matthew 5:15 When in these and other pursuits of diverse good works, the aforesaid St. Licinius, like a most powerful charioteer, kept watch, with the passing of years it happened he is sought as Bishop of Angers: that the aforesaid city of Angers needed a Bishop. Then a copious multitude of men inhabiting that region, knowing the prudence, faith, works, most noble conduct, and most illustrious life of the aforesaid St. Licinius, with one voice arranged to elect him as their Bishop.

[12] The magnates and most illustrious men, who at that time appeared as rulers of the Palace, made known to the glorious Clothar, King of the Franks, the aforementioned man's kinsman, the fame of the blessed man, he is nominated for this to Clothar: and not keeping silent about his deeds, they bore witness that so great and such a man was worthy to become their Bishop and that by their election he should perform the highest priesthood. Their petition obtained its effect with the Lord's help, and they willingly obtained what they devoutly requested. Then the whole people, having received counsel together equally in the Holy Spirit, with the command of the same King, with the Lord's assistance -- by whom he had been chosen long ago -- he was appointed to preside over the aforesaid Church of Angers. But he, weeping and compelled, because it was so pleasing to the Lord, he is ordained unwillingly: taking up the said Church to govern, was canonically ordained a Bishop.

[13] In which rank, sowing the divine word in the hearts of believers, he benefits his subjects: healing the infirmities of souls and bodies, redeeming captives, caring above all for widows and the needy, he usefully governed the people entrusted to him by the Lord. And so thereafter, bearing the episcopal insignia, filled with the fear of the Lord, he daily multiplied his good office toward the poor. And hence it happened that he held also the domestic solicitude and the primacy of the Palace, he is placed over the Palace: as if unwilling, by the election of the King and all his Magnates.

With such great and such lavish munificence in almsgiving to the poor did the aforesaid holy man flourish, that even from distant regions and cities, as his fame spread, an innumerable throng of the poor hastened to Bishop St. Licinius to be refreshed.

[14] What manner of man he finally showed himself to be, and how great, no speech, he distributes alms generously: as I think, is able to set forth. For he was constantly persevering in the Divine Law: the course of his life he always kept fixed upon the Lord, heeding that prophetic word: "My eyes are ever toward the Lord," etc. His feet were directed to preach the peace of the Gospel: he preaches to the people: his counsel and his work he always turned toward the Lord: he devoted himself to preaching and prayer without ceasing: even as a faithful and prudent servant appointed by the Lord, that he might give his household their food at the proper time, so he hastened by every means to refresh the people committed to him with spiritual food. Psalm 24:15 For he was fervent in spirit and tireless in solicitude, adorned with good works and exceedingly illustrious, standing as a mediator between rich and poor, not showing regard for the persons of the powerful, but rather considering the character of the upright and those who feared the Lord. He taught mercifully he calls all back from sin: and gently instructed everyone, and he strove with all his strength to draw all back from the habit of sinning. For the more justly and holily he perceived each person to live, the more eminently he honored them. he washes the feet of the poor: He himself indeed brought food to the poor, and ministered to them, and washed and dried their feet with his own hands, and he strove to clothe the naked insofar as his means allowed.

[15] Whenever he visited the monasteries or churches of his diocese, almsgiving accompanied his preaching. He was moreover humble in his clothing and in all his attire, he conducts the episcopate splendidly, worthy of the pontificate and fortified with learning: he refused the honors of the world and cherished spiritual ones, strong in danger, patient in adversity, glorious in mercy, vigorous in the justice of discipline, merciful toward offenders: ready to forgive, inclined to obey, always turning over in his mind that which the Lord says: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7 Whenever he attended a synod, he treated more of mercy than of judgment. In the degradation of priests, moreover, he never lent either his mind or his person. But to defend those whom the other priests wished to degrade, he interposed himself prudently in mind and body and shielded them reasonably.

[16] For he was continually solicitous and attentive in all good deeds, and especially he kept watch most devoutly in the reception of monks or pilgrims; generous toward sacred persons, and questioning them, whatever good he heard, he committed to memory. The aforesaid holy Bishop therefore gave to Bertigrannus, Bishop of Le Mans, certain small properties and vineyards to assist in building the monastery of the Apostles, which he at that time he bestows various gifts on Bishop St. Bertigrannus for building a monastery: was striving to build in divine honor and that of the holy Apostles near the aforesaid city of Le Mans, in the territory of his See's Church, and to endow and enrich it devoutly from both his own resources and those of his aforesaid See's Church: as is found inserted in the testament which the said Lord Bertigrannus composed concerning the aforesaid monastery and confirmed with his own hand, together with the legal consent of other good men, both by royal and canonical authority, and which is preserved to this day.

[17] The aforesaid St. Licinius indeed sang Mass daily with immense compunction of heart, he celebrates daily: and diligently offered sacrifice to the Lord, and received the Eucharist of the Lord's Body and Blood with a devout mind, and persuaded the people committed to him to partake of it. He also preached to them that testimony of the holy Gospel where the Lord says: he encourages frequent communion: "He who does not eat me does not live on account of me." And elsewhere the Truth itself says: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." And other similar passages of this kind.

[18] Moreover, the abstinence and humility, and sanctity, and the rule of life of that man, none of us is able to narrate. For if we were to begin to write all those things which we learned from the aforesaid men, the day would fail before speech could set them forth. For to pass over the rest in silence, he fasts long and strictly: after three-day fasts or even longer he would most frequently take barley bread or a cup of water as his greatest delicacies. Clothed continually in a hidden hair shirt, he always wears a hair shirt: and thus with his limbs already worn away by vigils and fasts, he inflicted upon himself a twofold torment: and thus by words and example, with Divine grace supporting him, he caused innumerable persons to be converted from the pomp of the world he converts many from the world: and taught them to cling to the Lord alone and to devote themselves to him. By preaching the divine word to the crowds converging upon him from every side, and freeing many from various ailments in the Divine name, Divine grace bestowed upon him the signs of great miracles. Concerning which, I say, his life-giving miracles, he shines with miracles: the following discourse, with Christ's favor, hastens to set forth a few things.

Even Bishops in that age were appointed to the prefecture of the Palace, as was St. Leodegar, of whom we treat on October 2.

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.