Agritius of Trier

ON ST. AGRICIUS, OR AGROETIUS, BISHOP OF TRIER.

About A.D. 335.

Agricius, Bishop of Trier (St.)

[1] St. Agricius is recorded by Claudius Robertus and our Christophorus Brouwer as the twenty-seventh Bishop of Trier; in Demochares he is the twenty-fourth. Bede and the Roman Martyrology record his birthday on the Ides of January as follows: "At Trier, of St. Agricius, Bishop." Rabanus omits the place: "On the same day, of St. Agricius, Bishop." The manuscript of St. Maximin, which agrees with Rabanus in most matters: "On the same day, of St. Agritius, Archbishop of Trier." The birthday of St. Agricius. But certain manuscripts of Ado, and others bearing the name of Bede: "At Trier, of Agricius, Confessor." The ancient Martyrology of Cologne and of Brussels, the Viola Sanctorum, the manuscript Florarium, and very many manuscripts under the name of Usuard read: "At Trier, of St. Agricius, Bishop and Confessor, ^a man of admirable sanctity and learning: who, being Bishop of the city of Antioch, was sent by Pope St. Sylvester at the request of St. Helena to convert the people of Trier, who after the times of Eucharius, Valerius, and Maternus had largely returned to their former vomit of paganism. Where the holy man, like ^a second Eucharius, snatched the people from the ancient error of idolatry, and there ended his life in peace." Almost the same is found in the Carthusians of Cologne in their Additions to Usuard, Maurolycus, Galesius, Molanus, Ghinius, and others. Miraeus in the Fasti Belgici and Saussaius at length also treat of him on this day; the latter, however, wrongly states that he succeeded Mauritius, for Mauritius I, the fifteenth Bishop of that See, preceded Agricius by nearly sixty years; Mauritius II succeeded St. Felix II.

[2] Under January 9 the Cologne Martyrology records "Agetius, Confessor," whom the Carthusians in their Additions to Usuard and the Florarium call "Agecius," The name expressed variously. the German Martyrology "Agrecius," and Maurolycus "Agretius." This appears to be our subject, who is commonly called Agritius, and rightly Agricius and Agroetius, as he himself signs at the First Council of Arles; wrongly "Agnitius" in Maurolycus for this day.

[3] The Life. A certain Lambert of Liege is reported to have written the Life of St. Agricius nearly 600 years ago. We have not yet seen it, unless it is the very one which we here present from an ancient codex of the monastery of St. Maximin. Its epitome was published by Antonius Liber of Soest, or whoever is the author of the second part of the Legenda, as Molanus calls it. Our Christophorus Brouwer treats of him at length in book 4 of the Annales Trevirenses, and solidly confirms most of what is narrated here. The author of the manuscript History of Trier also treats of him, as do Lupus in the Life of St. Maximin, the manuscript Life of St. Paulinus, Bishop of Trier, the Chronica Agrippinensia, Cratepolius, etc.

[4] When he began to hold the See. Concerning his dates, we can only pronounce that he held the See in the year of Christ 314; for in that year, under the consulship of Anianus and Volusianus, he subscribed to the First (not the Second, as Miraeus, Ghinius, and certain other moderns would have it) Council of Arles, since that second council was held more than 100 years after the death of Agricius. From this, the elaborate arguments of the author of the Life and of Brouwer — that Agricius was summoned from Antioch by Helena and St. Sylvester after the discovery of the Holy Cross — are undermined. The relics were perhaps sent later by Helena to Agricius, who was personally known to her. As for the common assertion that he had previously been Patriarch of Antioch, this is not satisfactorily proven even by Brouwer: Whether he was Patriarch of Antioch. for he thinks Agricius was merely chosen from among the clergy of Antioch, or at most was ^a Patriarch of Antioch-designate who was drawn by Helena's zeal to an equally noble See, or who voluntarily withdrew, offended by the disturbances in the East, when the hope of an ample harvest beckoned him elsewhere. Saussaius says that while he flourished at Rome with great sanctity and excelled in learning, he was ordained Bishop by Pope St. Sylvester: he says nothing of his origin. We do not clearly see what reason there could have been for seeking ^a Bishop from Syria, when there were in Gaul at that time many men outstanding in every praise. What of the fact that the name Agroetius was famous in Gaul itself? — unless someone thinks that the others received the name from this man, out of ^a certain religious devotion, as commonly happens now. Several men named Agroetius in Gaul. For besides Agricius (or Agroetius) of Sens, who is venerated on June 13, there was Agroetius of Antibes, who subscribed to the Council of Agde under the consul Messala in A.D. 506, and to the Fourth Council of Orleans under the consul Opilio in A.D. 524 (his name being represented by Cataphronius the Presbyter); and at the Second Council of Macon in the 24th year of King Guntram, A.D. 585, Agroetius, Bishop of the Church of Glandate. Gregory of Tours also mentions Agroetius, Bishop of Troyes. Ausonius, in his Professors of Bordeaux, Epigram 15, praises Censorius Atticus Agroetius the Rhetorician, whom he also commends as distinguished by birth.

[5] A second marker for establishing the date of our Agricius is this: St. Athanasius was honourably received by St. Maximinus, the successor of Agricius, as St. Jerome writes in his Chronicon; this happened in A.D. 336, the 30th year of Constantine, as is established from Theodoret, book 1, chapter 31. From which the manuscript Florarium, which says St. Agricius died in the year 344, should be corrected, as well as the manuscript Annales Trevirenses, which record that he was made Bishop in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 368; When St. Agricius died. but the writer of those Annals seems to have followed ^a different method of reckoning the years. We therefore believe, with Brouwer, that Agricius died around the year 335. That he may have attended the Council of Nicaea is suggested by the author of the Chronicon Altissiodorense, who writes: "It is also reported that St. Agroetius, Archbishop of Sens, was present at the aforesaid Council." We take this rather as referring to the Bishop of Trier, who was then living; for the Bishop of Sens held his seat 140 years later.

LIFE

From ^a manuscript of the monastery of St. Maximin.

Agricius, Bishop of Trier (St.) BHL Number: 0178

By an anonymous author. From manuscripts.

CHAPTER I.

St. Agricius is designated Bishop of Trier.

[1] When the woman of pious memory Helena, the venerable Queen, having celebrated the discovery of the most precious Cross at Jerusalem, had returned to Rome to her son; and while she rejoiced with due exultation of charity on account of the salvation of the many peoples that had at that time been converted to the Lord, she also grieved with righteous zeal of piety for the darkness of infidelity of the city of Trier, St. Helena is concerned for the conversion of the people of Trier. which was related to her by blood — for, as one who knew how to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep through the bowels of mercy, she did not allow drowsiness to her eyelids, nor sleep to her eyes, nor rest to her temples; she did not cease from unutterable groans or from unceasing prayers, until at last she obtained from God and from the holy Pope Sylvester the assurance that ^a preacher would be sent to her homeland.

[2] Although the glorious heroine Helena is known to have spent no small amount of time and the greatest labour in the devotion of so pious ^a supplication, it is nevertheless not unknown that with no less zeal of charity and devotion, both by her and by Pope Sylvester, long and careful vigil was kept, until at last ^a worthy and suitable visitor and preacher might be found, by the regard of divine mercy, for so glorious ^a rank and so famous ^a city of antiquity. For the holy Pontiff Sylvester, The praise of the city of Trier. examining the Annals containing the most ancient records of that same city, keenly investigated the nobility and most ancient dignity of its eminence, and learned that it so surpassed all the cities of Gaul and Germany, both on account of the most solid preeminence of its buildings and on account of its nobler citizens, that it had deservedly received the name of ^a second Rome, by the judgement of the Romans themselves. By the zeal of his inquiry he also recalled to memory that Blessed Peter had once so noted the authority of that place that he delegated as preacher to that nation no other than ^a disciple of the Lord, namely Eucharius, one of the seventy-two.

[3] Wherefore he was tossed about by no small waves of deliberation, for while he desired to subject so authoritative ^a city to God, the author of all, he feared lest he himself in some way diminish the rank of eminence which that city had held up to his own times. Finally, the holy man together with the holy woman, Agricius is designated Bishop of Trier. placed in the straits of so pious ^a desire, at last experienced the most ample bowels of divine mercy, by which the desires of the just are never frustrated. For suddenly there arose the unanimous voice of all, proclaiming the Patriarch of Antioch, named Agricius, and him alone — as the most excellent of all the bishops of that time, sufficient and suited, and most fit for the dignity of the city of Trier — just as the unanimous acclamation declared, so the constant assent of all affirmed.

[4] Without delay, legates appropriate to the authority of so great ^a man were dispatched to Antioch to bring the holy Patriarch Agricius to Rome, He is summoned to Rome. with letters of supplication and exhortation of perfect charity. When therefore they came to the holy Patriarch, and the reason for their coming was set forth, both by the charitable words of the messengers and by the suppliant letters of those who sent them, though it is difficult to narrate, it is easy to imagine with what mighty shafts of fatherly devotion and fraternal charity the heart of so kind ^a father was pierced — mighty indeed, because "love is strong as death" Song 8:6; of devotion, on account of the children he had begotten for Christ, whom he would have to leave behind; of charity, on account of those who were to be begotten and brought to the true light, which is Christ — those who, still placed in the darkness of unbelief, had not yet seen the light of truth. Yet in the holy psychomachia battle of the soul, perfect charity conquered — that charity not afraid to die for Christ, and therefore secure in leaving behind homeland and parents, children also with ^a wife, and, so to speak, all the furnishings of the entire world. In short, led by holy charity, the holy man Agricius visited the Bishop of the city of Rome. He, together with the glorious Empress Helena, received him with due reverence, and they unfolded to him the secrets of their will and the decrees of their charity — namely, the office of preaching in the city of Trier, which by the common judgement of all, as if by the judgement of one man, had been conferred upon him.

[5] Though for some time he humbly excused himself under the pretext of fear for the children he would have to leave behind, and objected that he owed the work of good especially to them as members of the household of faith, He accepts the burden laid upon him. he was soon freed from this fear by the intervention of perfect charity, when the Pontiff of the Supreme See, together with the holy woman — most worthy not merely of one man's but of the whole world's submission — prostrated themselves before him in humble supplication for this matter. The holy woman, having thus obtained her wish, how greatly she exulted in the praises of God, how greatly in acts of thanksgiving to him, is openly declared by that zeal of charity which she showed even toward foreign nations.

[6] Therefore the Queen, who "stood at the right hand of the Lord in gilded vesture," as ^a bee composes ^a honeycomb of nectar from diverse flowers, so she composed ^a reliquary from the diverse relics of the Saints, in which she placed the Blessed Apostle Matthias, translated by her from Judea, ^a nail also by which the Lord's body had been fastened to the cross, together with the knife which our Lord Jesus Christ used at the most sacred Supper, and other relics of the Lord, which she placed in the same reliquary. With this admirable and desirable treasure she wished to fortify and distinguish her homeland, He receives various relics from Helena. so that she who had been ^a pillar of restoration to the whole world through the discovery of the Holy Cross might also be ^a special adornment in some measure to her own country. She would most willingly have brought these relics of the Saints to the city of Trier in person, had her son been able to do without her bodily presence and the prudence of her mind even for ^a short time. Since her son thus opposed her wishes, she entrusted these venerable relics to the holy Patriarch Agricius, whom she had appointed as preacher and Primate of that country, commending them under the testimony of Christ, and also earnestly supplicating him for the pastoral care of that city.

[7] He is adorned with an illustrious prerogative by the Pope. Moreover, the aforesaid Bishop of the Roman See, St. Sylvester, who had committed to him the governance of so preeminent ^a bishopric, anxiously took care to provide that the status of dignity which that city had until then maintained inviolate, as was said, should not be altered through any negligence of his successors, or through the unjust power of anyone, or, God forbid, be weakened henceforth. For Pope Sylvester composed the following privilege, to be conveyed to that place by the hand of the holy Father Agricius, by which he fixed with perpetual stability its ancient dignity and preeminent nobility. It does not seem beside the point to insert ^a copy of it here, which is known to contain this order of words: "As by your own strength in pagan times, so now, O Trier, claim for yourself ^a special primacy over the Gauls and Germans, which Peter, the head of the Church, marked as belonging to you above all bishops of these peoples, through the first teachers of the Christian religion, namely Eucharius, Valerius, and Maternus, and by his staff, in ^a sense diminishing his own dignity so that he might make you ^a sharer in it. This primacy I, Sylvester, his unworthy successor in the succession, renewing through Agricius, Patriarch of Antioch, do confirm, in honour of the homeland of the Lady, the Empress Helena Augusta, ^a native of that same metropolis, which she herself, the blessed one, magnificently enriched through the Apostle Matthias translated from Judea, together with the nail and the other relics of the Lord, and especially promoted. Let the harmful rivals who know of this privilege be cut off from communion, since they are stained with anathema."

CHAPTER II.

The state in which he found the Church.

[8] He comes to Belgica. Having received this privilege from the hand of the Supreme Pontiff, and having taken from the hand of the glorious Queen the most precious treasure of relics, the region of Belgic Gaul was visited by the man of God. What manner of man Agricius was in the dispensation of the divine word, how great in the radiance of miracles, the man filled with God on this journey, cannot be doubted by anyone who has known how to admire with due reverence either his most proven sanctity or the glorious dignity of the relics he carried. For how great ^a knowledge he had of sowing the divine word in the Lord's field, we are instructed by the very efficacy of his name. For what does "Agricius" mean except "learned in the field" (that is, in cultivation), since the composition of his name says nothing more than the most beautiful cultivation of that field itself, rejoicing in the unfailing threshing of perpetual fruit, testifies to? We say "unfailing" because, although the personal Trinity, Creator of all things, and the essential Unity, by the original splendour of the holy Gospel, through the labour of those three workers — namely Eucharius, Valerius, and Maternus — to be perpetually rewarded, deigned to visit the metropolis of Trier The dignity of the Church of Trier. and to exalt it above all surrounding churches with ^a certain equality of apostolic authority, so that as long as the conoid sphere of this world revolves, the Bishop of Trier should be preferred above all bishops of Gaul and Germany by paternal right and ancestral merit — that is, in his predecessors and successors — with ^a special patriarchate, and for this reason infinite thanksgiving should be owed to the most just ordinance of divine providence by all the inhabitants of that city; nevertheless, so great an ordinance of holy charity suffered ^a defect among us, for the ancient adversary of the human race, that tireless worker for the disruption of ecclesiastical peace, It is weakened by the persecution of Diocletian. raised so great ^a storm of persecutions through his instruments — namely Diocletian and Maximian, as well as Rictiovarus — that wherever in the world any guardian of the Christian religion was either seen or heard, he was immediately either compelled to sacrifice to idols or killed with various and exquisite kinds of torments.

[9] How great was the enormity of that persecution the city of Rome proves with the bodies of very many holy Martyrs. Agaunum also testifies, where St. Maurice and his companions were slaughtered at that same time. In the city of Trier, how many thousands of innumerable Saints were killed in the raging storm of that tyranny, we are openly taught in the Passion of the holy Martyrs Fuscianus, Victoricus, and Gentianus in these words: "Rictiovarus, stirring up the weight of the Prefecture entrusted to him against the Saints, and thirsting for their blood, allowed no one to live if he had any opportunity to find one of them. Having entered the city of Trier, which is situated near the bank of the river Moselle, he perpetrated such slaughter among them that rivulets of blood, flowing down and mingling with the water of the river, changed it to their colour, so that, its natural clarity removed, the waters blushed with ^a foreign rather than their own colour." And below it adds: "While the bodies of the Saints still lay unburied, the river provided ^a tomb, in which, with the frame of their limbs restored, it would present them for the future judgement."

[10] We also read in the Life of St. Hildulphus, Bishop of Trier, that among the magnificent works which the same Blessed Hildulphus performed in great number, [The bodies of SS. Agricius, Nicetius, Maximinus, and others are translated by St. Hildulphus.] he translated the body of the most Blessed Maximinus from the crypt where the most worthy Bishop Paulinus had buried it after bringing it back from Aquitaine, to the church where he is now venerated, which the same Bishop Hildulphus himself had raised from the foundations and brought to completion, on the 4th before the Kalends of June May 29. Together with this, he magnificently placed in the same basilica the bodies of the holy bishops Agricius and Nicetius, as well as three hundred bodies of the aforesaid Martyrs, and he enriched that place with its furnishings and its estates, and filling it with monks, he established ^a community of one hundred.

[11] Moreover, as has come down to our knowledge by the report of all our forefathers, A well full of the relics of Martyrs. the Christians who — very few in number — had escaped the storms of the aforesaid tempest, filled ^a certain well of immense capacity, neglected from old age and drained of water, with the bones of those same Saints. In this well also the Blessed Athanasius, ^a guest of Blessed Maximinus, is said to have dwelt out of love for those same relics, and there to have composed the rule of the Catholic faith in the psalm whose beginning is "Quicumque vult" "Whoever wishes"; this psalm was afterwards recited at the Council of Milan and approved.

[12] In veneration of these Saints also, and in honour of the holy Mother of God, the Christian religion having at last been restored by Blessed Agricius, the Blessed Felix, Bishop of the same metropolis, ^a man of such dignity before God The Church of St. Paulinus. that he enjoyed frequent conversations with Angels and God glorified him while he was still in the flesh with the working of miracles, built ^a monastery of lofty workmanship and distinguished dignity, in which afterwards the body of the holy Father Paulinus, translated from Phrygia, when it had been placed there with due honour, obtained the entire governance of that place.

CHAPTER III.

Labours in cultivating the Lord's vineyard.

[13] St. Agricius cultivates the Church of Trier. But while we briefly note individual matters, either marvelling at the piety of the Saints or execrating the cruelty of the tyrants, we have somewhat digressed from our subject, namely St. Agricius. We must therefore return to the point from which the occasion of this digression arose. We said, indeed, that this holy Father Agritius would be an unfailing cultivator in the Lord's field, providing the threshing of the divine harvest for his fellow servants; whence, as it is fitting to rejoice with those who rejoice on account of the progress of the faith, so it is right to weep with those who weep on account of the failure of the same faith. For because the wickedness of the aforesaid tyrants abounded beyond measure, the charity of many grew cold and failed. But because the ardour of holy charity abounded in Blessed Agricius, he prepared an unfailing fire on the Lord's altar — that is, ^a permanently enduring harvest of charity — among the faithful people, as in ^a field. For all the thorns of infidelity that had sprung up there in so very long ^a span of time, he so thoroughly uprooted them, as ^a strong farmer skilled in the cultivation of the field, that no root of unbelief ever again spread there. For, as we have ascertained by careful calculation, we find that there were two hundred and one years between the glorious departure of St. Maternus from this world and the blessed entry of Blessed Agricius into this city, during which interval the bishopric of this See was vacant, with the pagans occupying the city itself. Rightly therefore did the foreknowledge of God name this Saint "Agricius," to whom he assigned for cultivation ^a field made extremely hard by long lying fallow and the interruption of cultivation, ^a field that had utterly forgotten the ploughshare. Rightly, I say, was he called Agricius, to whom the Lord's field was so entrusted that, once all the ancient offshoots of thistles and thorns — that is, all the most ancient impediments of vices and impurities — had been purged through his knowledge of agriculture, no dominion of wickedness ever arose in this field again. For he whose ploughshare of preaching was guided by him to whom the Psalmist cries: "Direct my steps according to your word, O Lord, and let no iniquity have dominion over me" Ps. 118:133.

[14] Nor is it surprising that the right hand of the Lord guided the one whom he saw to be so prompt an executor of all his commandments, in that he had fearlessly left behind the most noble See, namely the Church of Antioch, with all the children he had begotten for Christ therein, as well as all the allurements of the whole world, and turned the order of holy charity upon ^a nation devoid of charity, He is compared to St. Peter. and trusting rather in demons than in the Lord — following in this his predecessor, the first occupant of the same See of Antioch, namely the Prince of the Apostles, who, having founded the Church of Antioch in Christ and multiplied an abundant harvest of charity in it, when finally, after the example also of his own master, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, he was about to demonstrate the summit of perfect charity, entered Rome, as divine providence ordained, to preach Christ and to suffer there for him. "For no one has greater love than this," as the Lord says, "that one lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13. Blessed Agricius, therefore, followed this master and predecessor of his, the Apostle Peter, with manly emulation in all things; for the same Church of Antioch which the Prince of the Apostles himself had first begotten for Christ, this Saint, as it were, bore in the Lord; when he bestowed upon it the bowels of maternal devotion with willing care; and when through the vigour of paternal solicitude he commended it to Christ, having brought it to the age of manly spirit; and he entered the city of Trier — ^a second Rome, just as Peter had entered the first — to win it for the Lord.

[15] That St. Agricius would most willingly have followed also the example of the martyrdom of the same Blessed Peter, had it been the Lord's will, there is no doubt. I hope and trust, and most truly believe, that he has as his witness the one who saw the desire of his heart and knows the hearts of each, that if he had been called to martyrdom among many, he would have been the first to give his name, stretch out his hands, mount the rack, and answer with emulation the love of the Crucified One, which was as strong as death and as hard as hell; nor would he have been found inferior to any Martyr, but exulting and rejoicing toward the crown, he would have run willingly, as to the bridal chamber of the Bridegroom and to the festive banquet of the wedding feast, hastened impatiently, offered his body gladly to the torturers, with such rejoicing that he would have celebrated even amid the lashes, and burned and nearly consumed on the gridiron, he would have solemnly rejoiced. He suffered much for Christ. But the crown of martyrdom was not lacking to Blessed Agricius the Confessor, who gladly bore the hardships, labours, sorrows, and all the tribulations of this world for the sole love of martyrdom... he who, by living holily and justly, rendered himself so conformed to the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he wished now to be dissolved and to be with Christ, who judged him solely for this: that for his manifold combat of victory, he might at last receive him with ^a manifold recompense of rewards.

CHAPTER IV.

Relics brought to Trier by him.

[16] For it is manifestly clear that no one at that time was holier than he, who happened to be the bearer of sacraments more precious than gold and topaz, He brought one of the nails of Christ to Trier, for which the entire human race owes ineffable rejoicing: I speak of the thrice-blessed nail, by which God and man was suspended on the wood — on which, as on ^a scale, weighing himself as our price, he paid our debt, and dying on that wood of the Cross, he mixed his drink with tears, triumphed over the devil with perpetual rejoicing, and redeemed the world with his blood. If this Saint had carried this nail alone, without the accompaniment of the other relics of the Lord, he would have feared no snares of the ancient enemy, no barbaric threats of his members; rather, he would have put them to flight more quickly than ^a word (as long ago crushed by the point of this nail in the Lord), or perhaps, should they attempt to engage him in single combat, he would easily have overcome them at his pleasure. Moreover, that he also carried other relics of the Lord, no less venerable than the nail itself, both the aforesaid privilege testifies and the Church in the city of Trier, dedicated by him in honour of the Prince of the Apostles, and other relics. glories in the Lord for those stored in the treasury of its treasure-house. What stupendous magnitude of reverence is owed to these is, I think, openly declared if one recalls to memory one sign of their sanctity that they gave.

CHAPTER V.

The nail of Christ, made famous by miracles.

[18] Lest anyone, through astonishment at this miracle, should — God forbid — prepare some disparagement of the Lord's nail, revolving within himself some such meditation: "Perhaps these relics of the Lord are of greater merit than the nail of the Lord itself. For you have said nothing of the sort about the nail — which neither removes the sight from the eyes of those who look upon it, nor shrinks from the hands of sinners who touch it." I say, lest anyone should become foolish in this manner, we wish it to come to the knowledge of all that, just as these relics of the Lord, whatever they may be, took away the sight of one man alone by ^a hidden judgement, Miracles performed through the nail of Christ. so the nail of the Lord, by the manifest proof of his mercies, was for very many the restoration of sight, the driving out of demons from possessed bodies, and the most efficacious cure of various diseases. Of these we ourselves have personally witnessed not ^a few; we have learned of no small number from those devout men and holy women who had likewise seen them, in so truthful ^a report that we are no less certain of them than if we had observed the same things ourselves. We have not, however, undertaken to enumerate them, because we judged it better to be silent about them than to say too little in proportion to the greatness of the matter.

[19] One thing, however, which this same nail of the Lord gave as ^a sign of its preciousness, we do not wish to pass over in silence. For when the brother of the Emperor Otto I (for there were three), called Bruno, held in his power the better bishoprics of Lotharingia — namely Trier and Cologne — St. Bruno, Bishop of Cologne, attempts to steal this nail. as well as the greatest part of this kingdom, prompted, as is evident, by no good spirit, he wished to transfer this very nail of the joyful memorial of our salvation — the nail of which we speak — secretly, not to say by stealth, to an unknown destination. Having corrupted the guardian of this treasure of the Lord, he had another nail prepared, so similar to it that the true could hardly, or not at all, be distinguished from the false by any diligence of those examining both.

[20] When the guardian, therefore, led by the price, had received this from the hand of the aforesaid Bishop, and thought he had found ^a suitable opportunity for the wicked theft, he attempted in vain to finally carry out the long-contrived deceit. For, having replaced the original with this counterfeit nail in the chapel of the most venerable nail of the Lord, he carefully wrapped the precious testament of our redemption in ^a clean linen cloth, and placing it in his bosom, prepared to proceed by ^a swift path to his lord the Bishop. But, that it might be openly understood how special was the privilege of love with which Christ embraced the Church of Trier, betrothed to him through Blessed Agricius, ^a miracle foremost among the Lord's miracles, and one to astonish the whole world, was displayed by the Lord in this very nail of our redemption. He is deterred by the miracle of blood flowing from the nail. For when that most perfidious guardian, like ^a most vile deserter, corrupted by the price of iniquity, had turned his back on faith and was preparing to carry away its precious pledge from the bosom of the bride of Trier — wondrous thing! — no small quantity of blood, poured forth from the nail itself onto the linen cloth, and thence into the fold of his shirt, flowed so abundantly that all the inward parts of that most wretched bearer grew cold with fear. Confounded by this, and compelled to confess publicly both his own guilt and the Bishop's, when presently all had assembled — summoned by the long ringing of the bells and the extraordinary rumour of so great ^a miracle, unheard of in any age — with the same wicked thief placed in their midst, the blood-stained cloth displayed before all, and the most sacred nail itself, the very source of this blood: ^a single voice of all praising God was raised. And when this had been repeated at frequent intervals for ^a long time, by the common counsel of the wiser men who were present, ^a sentence of penance fitting for so great ^a sacrilege was pronounced upon that wretch — if one may still call him ^a guardian. Annual commemoration of the miracle. The very day also on which these mercies of God were divinely celebrated among us was immediately recorded in the Martyrologies — namely, the twelfth before the Kalends of July June 20. If anyone, God forbid, hesitates to lend ^a believing ear to this unheard-of miracle of the Lord, he can still see (if permitted) the cloth bearing the stains of blood, and the same counterfeit nail, in the Church of St. Peter.

[21] We also think it should not be passed over in silence — that proclamation of surpassing solemnity concerning this most true remedy for our infirmity, which we received from ^a most wicked witness, namely the enemy of our salvation, through the mouth of ^a woman possessed by him. For ^a certain woman named Winiberga, ^a native of the city commonly called Regensburg, was so tightly and inseparably bound by the chains of the ancient enemy that, although she had been led around from that place to this through very many shrines of the Saints, A demoniac is brought to Trier: she had felt no relief whatsoever. When, therefore, this wretched woman, brought nearly to the point of death, had been brought into this city of Trier, and when all who had seen the torments she suffered said they had never seen such pitiable tortures of ^a human being, it pleased all the congregations of that place, having compassion on the cruel tortures of that person, to take turns in prayers and exorcisms, each in turn on individual days and nights, for her liberation.

[22] When the canons and monks, observing such turns in orderly fashion, had been frustrated in their labour for ^a long time, the order of such watches came to the monastery of holy women. When they too, after celebrating very many sessions of prayer and applying not ^a few threatening formulas through the various relics they possessed, had accomplished nothing, they took counsel and had the nail of the Lord brought to them secretly. As soon as the guardian had taken it in his hands to carry it there, the demon cried out from the woman in an exceedingly loud voice: "Ah, you treacherous women! By this counsel you have defeated me, for you are preparing to apply to me the nail of the Lord's passion!" When some of them asked the demon, he responded: "Behold, it is now being carried from the Church of St. Peter for my torment." Then, with the help of priests, they compelled him by the torments of exorcisms to tell them more quickly which part of the Lord's body had been the cause of the nail's sanctification. Then the demon, although he is the father of lies, she is freed through this sacred nail. since he did not have the power to conceal the truth, said: "Truly I tell you that this nail which is being brought was driven through the right foot of the Lord on the cross; and because he was victorious over me there, I cannot resist him here. For I already know that the one who carries this sign of his victory has come to the houses adjoining this monastery." Scarcely had the bearer of the most precious treasure crossed the threshold of the same monastery when the demon, giving ^a great bellow and tearing greatly at the woman's poor body, at last left it nearly dead. Whence it is quite credible that the woman's body was invaded by the demon chiefly so that this testimony might be rendered to the nail of the Lord — especially since, before he had given this testimony to the nail, he could by no means be driven from her, and afterwards he did not remain in her even ^a little while.

[23] Should we believe the demon's statement that this is the nail of the right foot? Nor should the truth be considered less manifested because it was brought forth from the mouth of the adversary; for no one is unaware that no controversy about ^a matter ever arises among friends when even the voice of the adversaries themselves, albeit unwilling, supports it with ^a truthful testimony of praise. For thus in the Gospel we hear that many demons, driven from men by Christ, departed saying: "We know that you are the Son of God" Luke 4:41. Thus also ^a certain Pythia proclaimed Blessed Paul to be ^a true Apostle of Christ by following him through the streets for ^a long time, until Paul himself drove the spirit of Python from her and quieted her Acts 16:16-18. Thus also ^a certain man seized by ^a demon recounted very many miracles of the Blessed Nicetius, the most vigorous Archbishop of the metropolis of Trier, in the Church of St. Peter before ^a great multitude of clergy and people, in the presence of King Theodebert, while at the same time he laid bare not ^a few crimes of that same King.

[24] Digression in praise of St. Nicetius. If we wish to praise this Blessed Nicetius briefly and truthfully, we may deservedly compare him to Blessed Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, from the very great similarity of the miracles performed by each during his lifetime. For just as that most pious Nicholas of holy memory, while still placed in this earthly pilgrimage, mercifully freed Christians from ^a storm at sea through the invocation of his name, so this Bishop Nicetius of ineffable merit is known to have freed even pagans from ^a similar danger of the sea — pagans who had been led to invoke his name through the warning of ^a certain Christian who alone was among them — and this while he still remained in the body. When the Blessed Bishop Gregory of Tours records these things, along with other equally great or even greater miracles of his life, in the book of miracles which he wrote, he confirms that this Saint was in no way inferior to any most holy Confessor. De gloria Confessorum, ch. 94.

CHAPTER VI.

Faith deeply rooted at Trier through Agricius.

[25] Praise of St. Agricius. While we briefly note these things, in whatever modest manner of speaking, concerning the special prerogative of love shown through the nail of the most loving Lord, we prepare, I think, no small heap of praise also for his bearer, the blessed Patriarch Agricius. For what storm of any tempest would presume to rage against one who alone was worthy to carry so incomparable ^a treasure of our redemption into the metropolis of the Gauls, namely Trier?

[26] The relics of St. Matthias at Trier. Moreover, he carried the bones of the Blessed Apostle Matthias, which, after celebrating the solemn funeral rites due to so great ^a man, he joined to the bones of the holy Confessors of Christ, Eucharius and Valerius, and thereby exalted the bishopric of Trier with the perpetual honour of the Apostolate. It is also well known that the Blessed Eucharius brought to this place the staff of the Prince of the Apostles, Peter, received from his own hand The staff of St. Peter. as ^a consolation for the death of ^a brother and in honour of apostolic dignity. Wherefore, as the privilege preserved in the Roman treasury testifies, no successor of the same Prince of the Apostles in the Roman See makes use of the staff's support.

[27] Therefore the city of Trier, although defiled for some time by the dregs of the ancient enemy Trier never again fell from the faith after Agricius. and deformed for ^a time, was nevertheless so purged by Blessed Agricius of all the filth of unbelief, through the merits and intercession of the holy Empress Helena, and was so reformed by him to the image of God its Creator, that from his time the status of the patriarchate of holy Christianity in this place has never been weakened; but it has preserved inviolate to this day, and will preserve without end, that seal of faith by which Blessed Agricius reformed it for Christ, as without ceasing it cries in its prayer: "The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us; for you, O Lord, have singularly established me in hope" Ps. 4:7, 10. For hope, as the Apostle says, does not confound, because the charity of God has been poured forth in the heart of this Church through the Holy Spirit, who was given to it through the laying on of the hand of the Blessed Patriarch Agricius, truly ^a rock of the firmest faith Rom. 5:5. For the diocese of Trier has never wavered in the structure of the Catholic faith since the Lord founded it upon this rock.

[28] Therefore, just as Trier is called ^a second Rome St. Agricius is compared to St. Peter, and praised variously. because it once rivalled it in the marvellous workmanship of its material structures, so assuredly St. Agricius may be called in ^a way ^a second Peter, since he is known to have imitated him very greatly in the building of spiritual edifices — that is, of temples of God. Just as this same city of Trier was claimed from the error of its ancient paganism by the Blessed Apostle Peter, who among the twelve stars of the apostolic summit merited the primacy for the constancy of his true faith, and was freed from the ancient prejudice of the old man by the most merciful operation of the Holy Spirit the Paraclete — when it was visited by three chief worshippers of the Holy Trinity sent by him — so now, no raw novice was delegated as preacher to so great ^a city by the Bishop of the Roman See, but ^a man apostolic in all things, who would suffice to hold the place of the supreme Apostle: Agricius. For it was necessary that, where the ancient plunderer of the human race had already rebuilt the most entangled labyrinth of idolatry, there the benign God, the liberator, should direct his most valiant warrior. For the lowest things do not match the greatest. It was therefore fitting in every way that the impregnable wall of Trier's unbelief should be broken down by the very hard horns of so great ^a battering ram; so that just as the pride of the city was once tamed by ^a Roman prince, as the histories relate, so now its sacrilegious superstition might be wholesomely overcome by the spiritual Prince of the Roman See through "the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." For it was permitted to no one to make the Trier battle-line yield except to the might of Rome alone. For just as it followed that the summit of Roman sovereignty should be conquered through the Prince of the Apostles, so also it seemed fitting that through the faith-armed constancy of his successor Agricius, namely the Patriarch of Antioch, the fortification of Trier, as ^a lesser Rome, should yield in surrender to Christ. Moreover, the fact that the people of that city first received the word of the Holy Trinity from three preachers, and afterwards from one, typologically signifies the unity of the Godhead which is in the persons of the same Trinity, as the Apostle says: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" Eph. 4:5. And just as the first patriarch Abraham saw three by the oak of Mamre and worshipped one Gen. 18. This order of holy charity, therefore, the personal Trinity and the essential Unity celebrated with us when it administered to us the faith of the Holy Trinity through Blessed Agricius, who uniquely followed the footsteps of his predecessors, the three preachers of the same faith in this city, while he strengthened in this place the same Lord whom they had preached, the same faith, the same baptism, with the concord of the most authoritative agreement.

CHAPTER VII.

His gentleness, his zeal, and his other virtues.

[29] The Acts of St. Agricius are obscure. With what great perils to his bodily life, with what great darts of miracles, this Saint pierced the most hardened wall of Trier's unbelief, in the manner of ^a most experienced athlete, is not clear, as has been said, due to the negligence of our predecessors. Nevertheless, through the reception which we know Blessed Eucharius and his companions had there, we can also conjecture the meaning of this Saint's entry. Digression on St. Eucharius. For we read in the Life of Blessed Eucharius that when one day he entered the city of Trier with his companions to preach the word of life, the priests of the Capitol, inflamed with zeal against them, stirred up the greater part of the people against them, and driving them out of the city, they began to overwhelm them with stones. Against these, St. Eucharius and his companions, seizing the weapons of prayers, so bound from heaven that entire raging mob that some of them stood inflexible with their arms extended to throw, while others, bent down to pick up stones for the same purpose, clung to the earth with their necks bowed forward — and all remained immobile, each according to the position of his body, until, having promised obedience and faith to the man of God, they received from him their former state of health. They were soon baptized by him and also received the perpetual health of their souls from him against whom, ^a little before, they had raged with intent to inflict bodily death.

[30] Whence it does not seem incredible if the progeny of these vipers were said to have similarly poured the poison of their ancient malice upon this Blessed Agricius as well, and to have received from him, as ^a most skilled physician of souls, an antidote of similar medicine. Unless perhaps we attend to this: that we believe this mob, The gentleness and humility of St. Agricius. however fierce, nevertheless restrained its hands from this St. Agricius for this reason — because not with the rod of discipline, with which St. Eucharius had entered to them, but in ^a spirit of gentleness and with the entry of humility, he humbly calmed all impulses of cruelty and all gestures of stiff-neckedness with the wise counsel of sweetness, as it is written: "Wisdom conquers malice; it reaches from end to end mightily, and disposes all things sweetly" Wis. 8:1. Nor is it surprising that he conquered through humility, who both possessed it in himself in an ineffable manner, and carried it in the bones of the Blessed Apostle Matthias, and bore in the very component parts of his name the help of the most gentle humility — for he is proven to be of the most exalted humility both in name and in merit, since "Matthias" is interpreted as "the little one of God," that is, the humble one, and he who by the merit of that humility possessed the throne of apostolic dignity. For what we note about the humility of either the Apostle Matthias or the Patriarch Agricius is small, if we consider the ineffable merit of the relics of the Lord and Saviour himself, by which he who is the former and the form of true humility, "humbled even unto death, the death of the cross," had loosed the ancient bonds of human pride.

[31] So, to pass over the rest, he rightly had ^a peaceful entry who carried the sacraments of the Lord's body, most worthy of the veneration of the entire human race — by whose help, long ago, when we were enemies of the grace of God, according to the common captivity of the world, we cast off the bonds of the devil by which we were entangled, and by the grace of adoption we obtained from heaven the liberty of the children of God. Comparison of SS. Eucharius and Agricius. In short: Eucharius, armed with the staff of the Prince of the Apostles, Peter, visited the city of Trier; and when it stirred up its fury against him, he struck it while it rebelled, as was said, in order to heal it when it obeyed. He first applied the rod of discipline, so that he might afterwards apply the cure of salutary medicine. But the Blessed Agricius, enriched with the precious relics of the Lord and the bones of the Blessed Apostle Matthias, entered the same city — which he is not recorded as having struck, but is known to have healed of all sicknesses of souls with so powerful ^a hand of healing that, from that acceptable and salvifically efficacious time when St. Agricius the Patriarch, the physician of our infirmity, entered it with the beautiful feet of one who brings the Gospel, there has been no more cry, nor mourning, nor any pain of the error of infidelity condemned by him among the people of that city.

[32] Nor was the breadth of charity that was in this St. Agritius confined to the shelter of one city, St. Agricius benefits the rest of the Belgians and Germans. but just as from ^a single root of ^a tree ^a very great multitude of branches is extended all around, so the oil of singular charity and sweetness, after it was poured out by him upon this Church, was also diffused from it into the entire broad bosom of Belgic Gaul and also of Germany, of the greatest capacity. And as it descended from the head of this Church of Trier into all Gaul and Germany, as into some sort of beard, just as it gave to that beard perpetual verdure of the faith, so it preserved for its head the primacy of perpetual blessing. This is shown to this day, when the house of the blessed Empress Helena, which at the request of that most holy woman was dedicated by the blessed Patriarch Agricius in honour of the Prince of the Apostles, Peter, as the episcopal See of the metropolis, The metropolitan church from the palace of Helena. and was nobly enriched and specially honoured with ^a treasure of incomparable merit — namely, the nail and the other relics of the Lord — is indeed the first See of Gaul and Germany, and is so called.

[33] In this, therefore — that the seed of the preaching of this Patriarch was diffused into the nations of so many peoples — he himself is also rightly called, like the first patriarch Abraham, the father of many nations. For, as the Apostle says, it is not those who are children of Abraham according to the flesh, but those who are according to the spirit Gal. 3. Now Abraham himself may be compared to Agricius, and Trier to Sarah: Trier is compared to Sarah, Agricius to Abraham. because, just as in Sarah, on account of her exceeding old age, all the incentive of desire and all the conceptive blood of the seed had grown cold — for it is written of her that "it had ceased to be with her after the manner of women" Gen. 18:11 — and just as in her now decrepit age she rather expected the end of life than hoped for the conception of offspring, so the people of Trier had grown old in the old age of their unbelief; and as in Sarah the warmth of conception had grown tepid, so in the body of that people the preserving fervour of charity had likewise grown cold. Whence, on account of the old age, so to speak, of its vices, it hoped for nothing less than the birth of the soul — just as Nicodemus despaired when he asked the Lord: "How can ^a man be born when he is old?" John 3:4 Just as the mercy of almighty God, dearest brothers, on account of the faithfulness of Abraham, gave fertility to Sarah, even though she was decrepit, so on account of the faith and humility of Blessed Agricius, the same regard of the mercies of God made fertile the old sterility of Trier; and like ^a tree planted by ^a most prudent farmer beside running waters, which preserves the perpetual greenness of its leaves and the perpetual burden of its fruit, so this Saint, from whose belly living waters flowed, extended the spiritual fertility of the field divinely committed to him into all posterity. Indeed, in the manner of the true vine, he produced from himself very many branches, which, filling them with the taste of his honeyed liquor, he made to abound in the further procreation of others from themselves, and thus caused the perennial liquor of eternal life to endure in the Lord's vineyard.

Brouwer confirms this from other authors and surviving monuments, and inclines toward the opinion of this writer about the homeland of Helena — namely, that she was from Trier, which he says was long ago chanted in that Church and introduced into the Breviaries for public use. Otto of Freising agrees (book 3, chapter 45) with these words: Whether St. Helena was from Trier: "They say this Helena was born in the district of Trier, whence they relate that she greatly adorned the same Church." And Gottfried of Viterbo, in part 15 of his Chronicle: "Some assert that this Helena was born in the homeland of Trier. Others say from the kingdom of Persia, where Constantius, sent to collect tributes, is said to have married her." Brouwer cites for the same view documents not to be despised from the ancient parchments of the Church of Bonn. But Nicephorus Callistus (book 7, chapter 18) says that Constantine was born to Constantius at Drepanum in Bithynia from Helena, the daughter of an innkeeper, who was offered to him as ^a concubine by her father. or rather ^a Bithynian: Cedrenus, however: "From Helena, his first wife, he begot Constantine, who was surnamed the Great, at ^a city of Dacia." Eutropius, hostile to Constantine and commonly derogating from his honour, nevertheless in book 10 only calls him "the son of Constantius by ^a rather obscure marriage," where also the author of the Miscella (book 11, chapter 2) and Paul the Deacon (book 10 of Roman Affairs). It is reported that St. Ambrose, in his funeral oration for Theodosius, says he was born of ^a mother who was ^a stable-keeper. Justus Lipsius (book 4, On Roman Greatness, chapter 11, and in his Notes) subscribes to Nicephorus, led especially by the authority of Julius Firmicus, who, while Constantine was still living, writes thus (book 1 of Astronomicon, chapter 4): "Our Lord and Augustus and Emperor of the whole world, the pious, fortunate, and provident Prince Constantine the Greatest, son of the divine Constantius, ^a prince of august and venerable memory, who was chosen by the favour of ^a propitious majesty to free the world from tyrannical excesses and to suppress domestic evils, so that through him, the squalor of servitude being wiped away, the gifts of secure liberty might be restored to us, and we might lay down the yoke of captivity from our already weary and oppressed necks; him, always fighting for our liberty, the most uncertain fortune of war amid human vicissitudes never deceived — born at Tarsus," etc. Lipsius contends that this Tarsus is not the metropolis of Cilicia but ^a town of Bithynia, namely Drepanum itself, so called from the curvature of the shore (for drepanon is "sickle" in Greek). We noted above, on January 9, in the Life of St. Eustratius, that there was ^a town of Tarsus in that region.

Whether British. Baronius contends that Constantine was born in Britain, and plainly considers the assertion of Nicephorus to be among falsehoods. His chief argument comes from ^a Panegyric addressed to Constantine himself: "Your father freed the Britains from servitude; you also ennobled them by being born there." But that "birth" of Constantine in Britain was the birth not of his life but of his rule, as Lipsius and Brouwer excellently show from Hubertus Giphanius. The monk of Westminster (under A.D. 302), Henry of Huntingdon (book 1 of his Histories), Ranulph of Chester (book 4, chapter 26), Nicholas Harpsfield, and very many other moderns make Helena the daughter of Coel, Duke of Colchester and afterwards King of the Britons. But these matters may be examined on August 18 in the Life of St. Helena. The argument from Firmicus is strong; yet not of such ^a kind that, though it assigns Constantine's birth to Tarsus, it necessarily takes Helena away from Belgica. His wife could have accompanied Constantius from Belgica to that place, even if not of equal nobility, for he was himself the nephew of the Caesar Claudius. If, as Nicephorus says, she had been ^a concubine, Eutropius would not have passed over this in silence.

CHAPTER VIII.

A disciple is divinely designated as his successor. His death.

[34] St. Maximinus and St. Paulinus, disciples and successors of St. Agricius. Among the many branches watered by the holy Bishop of God Agricius, two of honourable stature came forth, who shone like illustrious stars of the Church of God, and like two candlesticks or two olive trees in the temple of the Lord, gave the light of their brightness all around — namely Maximinus and Paulinus, Bishops of the metropolis of Trier, who, shining with the brilliance of their virtues and overflowing with the teaching of honeyed eloquence, by faithfully labouring in the Lord's field, by living well, by setting examples for their followers, and by happily completing the course of the contest they had begun until the day of their heavenly calling, fortified by the authority of the divine scriptures, like good shepherds instructed and trained by the Blessed Agricius, the most devoted shepherd, fought manfully against the raging fury of wolves for the sheep entrusted to them by the Bishop.

[35] Indeed Blessed Agricius could no more be hidden than ^a city set on ^a hill, since the honeycomb of teaching that dripped from his lips not only satisfied the hunger of neighbouring peoples, The fame of St. Agricius. but the report of blessed abundance quickly spread to regions far distant. Whence the Blessed Maximinus and his spiritual son Paulinus, ^a young man of exceptional character, struck by the glorious fame of so great ^a man, left their native soil of Aquitaine and sought the oft-mentioned metropolis of Belgic Gaul, to drink the fountain of life from Blessed Agricius. Receiving them with all kindness, guarding them in all sanctity of life, he employed upon them such zeal of spiritual teaching that, if it were possible, he would have wished to express all the breasts of sacred Scripture in nursing them. It is therefore not to be doubted, my brothers, that this holy man was forewarned by the prophetic spirit how necessary such athletes would be in the house of God, He foresees how great his disciples will be. upon whom he is known to have lavished so outstanding ^a zeal of training: so that when they, instructed by this illustrious master of Christian warfare, should afterwards manfully repel all the missiles of Arian infidelity, they would not hesitate to say of this monitor of their salvation, in the words of ^a certain wise man: "If anything from his lips please you, the praise belongs to the teacher."

[36] When these twin pillars of the most robust charity had been placed in the temple of God upon so firm ^a rock of faith by this St. Agricius, that as long as the house of God was sustained by their support, its standing would be weakened by the blast of no tempest and the thrust of no force — at last it pleased the providence of just divine ordinance to call his holy servant Agricius, now weighed down by extreme old age, from this valley of tears, and to bestow upon him, for the course of this world's stadium manfully completed, the prize of eternal recompense. About to die, he is divinely commanded to consecrate Maximinus as his successor. For this purpose God made use of an angelic conversation, through which he both intimated to him the time of his calling and commanded him by divine authority to ordain one of his two disciples — or rather, the disciples of Christ — whom he had already brought up to the strength of manly knowledge, namely Maximinus, as the senior in age, as his successor in the pontificate, and to commend to him by divine authority the bishopric committed to him by apostolic authority.

[37] His familiarity with the Angels. It is not incredible, brothers, that the spirit of prophecy was not lacking to this holy Father Agricius, to whom it is established that angelic conversation was familiar. That he exulted with ineffable joy of mind at the most desired oracle of the angelic communication, the outcome proved. For, having summoned without any delay the great population of the entire city, he revealed with all cheerfulness of spirit that the time of his dissolution was at hand, which he said he had learned from an Angel of God; he also revealed with no less cheerfulness of countenance and spirit that it had been divinely enjoined upon him by the same Angel of God to appoint Blessed Maximinus to succeed him in the order of the pontificate, and to bestow upon him without delay the pontifical blessing by his own hand.

[38] At that same time there was ^a man of proven sanctity, named Quiriacus, who, having the holy custom of making the rounds of the oratories of the Saints each night, it happened that one night, during his usual circuit of prayer, when he had entered the oratory of St. Eucharius, he saw an Angel of God standing beside him, St. Maximinus is divinely warned to accept the bishopric. who likewise commanded him to announce to Blessed Maximinus, by the command of God, that he should not hesitate to accept the honour of the pontificate that was about to be conferred on him by St. Agricius. The man of God, Quiriacus, did not delay to announce this to Blessed Maximinus as he had been commanded. But Maximinus himself, an honourable imitator of the most exalted humility that was in his master, and ^a strong appraiser of his own frailty, judged humbly of himself and humbly excused himself as insufficient for the height of so great an honour. But after he saw the will of God concur in this matter with the authority of his master and with the greatest zeal of all the people and clergy, he was unwilling to prolong any further by his delay the will of God.

[39] He is consecrated Bishop. With the consent and rejoicing of all, therefore, the holy disciple Maximinus was consecrated by the holy master Agricius, and adorned with the pontifical mitre from his own hand. When this matter had been duly ordered according to the will of God and the needs of men, the grace of eternal blessing was not long delayed from Blessed Agricius. For not much time passed after this before he, about to be placed among the illustrious Confessors of Christ and the outstanding conquerors of this world, and to be crowned with ^a wondrous crown of heavenly glory by God, the rewarder of all good things, St. Agricius dies. departed from here, released from the flesh, to the heavenly realms on the Ides of January.

[40] His most sacred body, purified by manifold sufferings of the Christian warfare like the purest gold, and as though burnt upon the altar of the cross, the distinguished Bishop Maximinus together with his spiritual son Paulinus, ^a man apostolic in all things, He is buried. as he afterwards demonstrated in the Arian conflict, buried with the greatest concourse of people and clergy and with due honour — namely in that place and in that manner of burial which the most humble Father himself had dictated while still living in the flesh, and had ordained the instructions for his own burial to his disciples with his own mouth.

[41] How can it be doubted, brothers, that this St. Agricius is crowned manifoldly by the hand of God — for the manifold edifices, that is, of his construction upon the foundation which is Christ, whether built thus far in this Church, or to be built throughout all ages hereafter? For just as the eminence of every structure is raised from the foundation, How much the Church of Trier owes to him. and draws thence all its strength of standing, so to Blessed Agricius, the most firm foundation of our faith, is rightly referred after the Lord whatever of the structure of God, the cultivation of God, and the edification of God, in this temple of God which we ourselves are, has been built up until now or is hoped to be built up henceforward. Whence he is not undeservedly crowned beyond estimation by the Lord, through whom there is prepared for Him who is the perpetual inhabitant of the pure heart an abode of incomparable worth that will endure forever in us. The Word was made flesh, and made known to us by the saving doctrine of his successors, He will dwell in us.

[42] Epilogue. After the manner, therefore, of any illustrious material structure, we have in some fashion described the state of this Church as ^a kind of edifice of spiritual construction, whose foundation we have laid as Blessed Agricius, and the other things pertaining to this structure — indeed, those things greatly augmenting the glorious magnificence of this house of God — we have placed, by ^a somewhat brief recapitulation, in the composition of this material; namely in that order of discourse in which the composition of this material itself seemed to us to offer each one of these living stones on ^a reasonable occasion. These, moreover, are stones of inestimable worth shining in the house of God: Praise of Saints Agricius, Maximinus, and Nicetius. Maximinus, Agricius — who was also the first — and Nicetius, illustrious Bishops, conspicuous for holiness, who adorned the temple of the Lord not ^a little and fortified it exceedingly. Concerning these Fathers of blessed memory, therefore — Maximinus, Nicetius, and also Agricius, for whose name's title and memory we have related all that we have described — we ought to hold the faith and firm hope that, as much as they adorn the face of this temple by their presence, so much and more do they perpetually suffice to appease the face of the Judge and the Witness, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.