Martyrs Speusippus

CONCERNING THE HOLY MARTYRS SPEUSIPPUS, ELEUSIPPUS, MELEUSIPPUS, TRIPLETS; LEONILLA, JONILLA, NEON, TURBON.

Speusippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Eleusippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Melasippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Leonilla, grandmother of the triplets, Martyr (St.) Neonilla, Martyr (St.) Neon, Martyr (St.) Turbon, Martyr (St.)

From various sources.

Section I. The cult, acts, and era of the triplets.

[1] Most celebrated in the sacred calendars is the memorial of the holy triplet brothers on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of February, on which day Usuardus records: At Langres, the birthday of the holy Twins Speusippus, The birthday of these Saints: Elasippus, and Melasippus, who, when they were twenty-five years old, together with their grandmother Leonilla, and Jonilla, and Neon, were crowned with martyrdom in the time of the Emperor Aurelian. Concerning the same, most manuscripts treat of them, and likewise the published Bede, Ado, Rabanus, Notkerus, Maurolycus, Galesinius, Canisius, Bellinus, the Roman Martyrology, Felicius, and Saussaius; of whom most add Turbon. The most ancient manuscript Martyrology of St. Jerome has the following: At Langres, the passion of the holy twins Speusippus, Elasippus, Melasippus, Leonilla, Junilla, Neno. The Dungallense manuscript: Of the three brothers, Speusepi, Helapi, Munici. The most ancient Rhinaugiense manuscript: At Langres, the passion of the holy twin Martyrs. Wandalbertus:

And let the sixteenth day be devoted to the virtue of Antonius: This day also excels in the shared honor of the Twins, Whom the people of Langres celebrate, covered by one stone.

[2] Scarcely will you find the names of Saints written in such varied ways. For Speusepus, the names are variously written: Speosippus, Sensippus, Speusipus, Spensippus, Peusippus, Speusipius, is said; which is Speusippus, ^a name meaning "one who urges on horses." But Eleusippus, meaning "one who comes by horse" or "contends"; Elensippus, Eleusipus, Heleusippus, Eleusipius, Helapus, Eleosippus, and (not improperly, as if "one who goads ^a horse") Elasippus. Melasippus indeed, Meleusippus, Maleusipus, Melensippus, Meleusipus, Municus, Meleosippus, Malensippus, Mesippus. Leonilla also, Leouilla, Lonilla, Neonila, Neouilla. Jonilla moreover, Jouilla, Conilla, Jeonilla, Lonilla, Louilla, Innilla, Jonella, Janilla, Junilla. Neon finally some call Nero, others Neona, others Neno; the German Martyrology asserts that Neon was ^a woman, suspended by the hair like Leonilla and Jonilla, and after enduring other tortures, beheaded.

[3] Ancient Acts; Neon and Turbon are said to have recorded the acts of these glorious champions. Whether they survive anywhere, we are unable to determine. Our Rosweydus believed them to be what we present here, copied in his own hand from the most ancient codex of Marcus Velserus, plainly excellent, were they not mutilated. We have received others from the manuscripts of Audomarense, St. Maximinus, and St. Mary de Ripatorio, which Surius polished somewhat, others by the author Warnaharius: and Mombritius and Cornelius Grasius published in contracted form. The author of these was Warnaharius, who is called Wariharius by Molanus and Euariharius by Galesinius. He dedicated them to St. Ceraunius, or Cerannus, Bishop of Paris, who is said to have held office under Clovis II, before Leudebertus, who was present at the Council of Reims under Sonnatius in the year 630. Galesinius says these later acts are sprinkled with some errors. Surius himself acknowledges the same. But Baronius, volume 2, at the year 179, number 37, says: whose acts of martyrdom survive, genuine indeed, but somewhat corrupted by the injury of time. Most suppose that these are the very acts that St. Neon originally wrote, which indeed they do not prove to us: Rosweydus believed those Velserian ones to be the work of Neon; nor is that clear.

[4] What Baronius chiefly complains is vitiated in them is the chronological indicator, since they are said to have suffered under the Emperor Aurelian in the time of St. Polycarp; when they suffered: whereas it is established that Polycarp underwent martyrdom in the seventh year of Marcus Aurelius, which was the year of Christ 168; while Aurelian obtained the empire in the year 270. Therefore Baronius restored "Aurelius" for "Aurelian"; in whose time, he says, from the Prefect Quartus, who is placed there, these are known to have suffered. For Quartus was ^a distinguished Consular in the time of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus in the City; he also held the consulship together with Lucius Verus. But the Prefect named in the Acts is not Quartus, but Quadratus, although the one whom Baronius writes held the consulship with Lucius Verus was not Quartus, but T. Numidius Quadratus, in the year of Christ 167. But from what evidence is it established that he is the same Quadratus who is enumerated among the Chief Men and Judges of the people of Langres by Warnaharius? Nearly all the Martyrologies (except the Roman one corrected by Baronius, and ^a certain manuscript of the monastery of St. Maximinus) have not Aurelius, but Aurelian. Ado nevertheless, Notkerus, Maurolycus, Felicius, and some manuscripts, record that they were converted by St. Benignus, ^a disciple of St. Polycarp, and slain under Aurelian; which details are hardly consistent with one another.

[5] In the earlier life, no mention is made of either Aurelian or St. Polycarp; nor are they said to have suffered at Langres, but in Cappadocia. Where. The Greek Menaea and Maximus Cytheraeus support this; for on January 16 they have the following: On the same day, of the holy Martyrs and brothers Peusippus, Elasippus, and Mesippus, and of Neonila their grandmother.

Though they be horsemen by the signification of their names, Yet the Triplets run on foot to the flame. And old Neonila endures the monstrous pyre As if she were some vigorous young maiden.

These were from Cappadocia, born in ^a single birth, outstandingly skilled at taming horses and driving them on the plain. When once, while celebrating in their homeland the festival of Jupiter Nemesius, they had invited their grandmother to the banquet; she, being well instructed in the faith of Christ, set forth to them His dispensation toward us, and mocked the idols of the pagans. Immediately that discourse became for them the occasion of salvation: for each one recalled the dreams which had been presented to them the previous night, opening the way, as it were, to the faith of Christ. Therefore, suddenly destroying the idols and confessing Christ with the utmost freedom, they were cast into fire by their Masters and received the crown of martyrdom. Maximus relates nearly the same. The acts report that their grandmother Leonilla alone was struck by the sword: certain Martyrologies state that she was tormented together with Neonilla and Neon by many punishments: the Menaea here, that she endured the torment of fire. As for the fact that her triplet grandsons are said to have been cast into fire by their Masters, understand this to mean the Prefects and governors of the state.

[6] Concerning their homeland, Raderus briefly comments in his manuscript Notes on the Menaea: They suffered in Cappadocia, Raderus's judgment on the place. and were translated to Langres, which according to Livy are among the Padus and the Alps, peoples of the Celts. But he errs in two respects: for the Italian Lingones did not dwell between the Alps and the Padus; nor did the Triplets, whether living or by the transportation of their remains thither, come to belong to those Lingones. Livy, book 5: Then the Boii and the Lingones, having crossed by the Pennine pass, since all the land between the Padus and the Alps was already occupied, crossed the Padus on rafts and drove out not only the Etruscans but also the Umbrians from their territory: yet they kept themselves within the Apennines. Nor is there scarcely any mention of them elsewhere, so that one might conjecture that the people were small and obscured by the name of the Boii. The Lingones, however, who were ennobled either by the birth or by the relics of the Triplets, are those in Transalpine Gaul, still famous today, whose capital, situated near the sources of the river Marne in the first province of Lugdunensis, is called Langres in French.

Section II. The relics translated to Ellwangen.

[7] On other days too, mention of these holy Martyrs is made in the Martyrologies, Their commemoration, January 9. either because the office was transferred here from there, or on account of some translation. Saussaius in his Supplement to the Gallican Martyrology records them on January 9, or at least Leonilla, Jonilla (whom he erroneously makes ^a daughter of Leonilla), Neon, and Turbon; and he reports that Leonilla was buried at Dijon in the same crypt where St. Benignus the Martyr had been interred by her with great reverence. But it is not likely that St. Benignus was killed before Leonilla, as we shall discuss on November 1.

[8] In the Calendar of the monastery of St. John at Capua, which Michael the Monk cites, they are recorded on January 18, on which day Galesinius states: At Lyons, of St. Peusepius and companion Martyrs, the 18th and 19th of the same; who are crowned under Caesar Aurelian. Ferrarius has the same. Both cite Mombritius, who narrates the acts of St. Speusippus and companions. The manuscript Florarium on that day: The finding and dedication of the holy Martyrs, Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus. Ferrarius again, on January 19, from Canisius: At Ellwangen in Swabia, of the Holy Twins: rather Triplets, whom we shall soon say are honored at Ellwangen, but on January 17. Finally the same Ferrarius on February 18: February 18. At Lyons, of the holy Martyrs Speusippus and companions. On September 18, the manuscript Florarium: Likewise the finding and dedication of the holy Martyrs Speusippus, September 18. Eleusippus, and Meleusippus. Mention of this finding, and of the dedication of their basilica, is made at the end of the acts by Warnaharius: if these were written by him, some earlier finding of the Triplets occurred, unknown to us. Petrus de Natalibus: The bodies of all of them, he says, having lain hidden for ^a long time, were in the course of time discovered and entombed with fitting honor.

[9] In the following century after the age of Warnaharius, their sacred remains were translated to Swabia. The author of the life of St. Anno, found in Surius on December 4, The bodies translated to Ellwangen. book 1, chapter 38, testifies: In Swabia, he says, at the place which is called the Cell of St. Vitus, ^a certain Duke of the Alemanni and Burgundians, having established ^a church there long ago, caused it to abound with his hereditary goods for the sustenance of monks serving God in that place. This man, instructed equally in devotion and faith, having come to Dijon out of zeal for sacred relics, carried away with him on his return the body of the most beloved Martyr of God, Benignus: who, divinely sent from the East to the Gauls, after many contests was finally struck by the lance of ^a soldier under Caesar Aurelian, and penetrated the heavens in the likeness of ^a snow-white dove. The same Duke also obtained those Triplet brothers, Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus, who had been baptized by the aforesaid Martyr and gloriously crowned at Langres, together with the body of St. Mamertus, Bishop of that city, by the grant of Christ: and returning joyfully to the territory of Alemannia with so great ^a pledge of heavenly patronage, he consigned the desirable treasure to the church which he had built. Cornelius Grasius narrates the same in other words.

[10] That Duke was the Blessed Hariolphus, whose life, written by Ermenricus, The situation of Ellwangen, or at least the origins of the monastery of Ellwangen, we shall present on August 13. Ellwangen is ^a magnificent monastery and town of Swabia, on the river Jagst, in the district or region called Virguna, commonly Virngrund. Bruschius calls it Elephanciacum and Elephancense; Crusius, in his Swabian Annals, book 11, part 1, calls it Elephanticum and Elephancense; others Ellwancense and Ellwangense. Crusius reports that the name was derived from an elk (which we call Ellend or Elland in German) captured there; its name. and that in memory of this event, on solemn feast days the Gospels are customarily chanted in that church, with the book placed on the lectern covered with ^a shaggy elk skin. Its foundation. Bruschius writes that the monastery of Ellwangen was founded in the year 764, and then, contradicting himself, says that Victerbum, the second Abbot, died in the year 752. Crusius says it was founded in the year 754. From Ermenricus it is established that the bodies of the holy Martyrs Sulpitius and Servilianus were given to the Blessed Bishop Erlolfus by Pope Adrian, and thus translated here to Ellwangen by his brother Lord Hariolphus. But Adrian was created Pope in the year 772. From the same brother Erlolfus he perhaps received the relics of the holy Triplets; unless he himself, as some report, succeeded his brother in the bishopric of Langres and bestowed that treasure upon his monastery.

[11] Moreover, the Triplets are venerated at Ellwangen as secondary Patrons (the principal one is St. Vitus, The feast of the Triplets there. as we shall discuss on June 15) with the double rite of the second class with an octave, as is evident from the proper offices of that Church confirmed in the year 1631 by the Sacred Congregation of Rites. Concerning the Translation, at the end of the sixth Lesson the following is recorded: Whose bodies, together with certain relics of St. Desiderius, Bishop and Martyr, were translated from the city of Langres to Ellwangen by the Blessed Hariolphus and his brother Erlolphus, Bishops of Langres, and rest in the collegiate church of St. Vitus.

ACTS

from the old manuscript of M. Velserus.

Speusippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Eleusippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Melasippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Leonilla, grandmother of the triplets, Martyr (St.) Neonilla, Martyr (St.) Neon, Martyr (St.) Turbon, Martyr (St.)

BHL Number: 7828

From manuscripts.

CHAPTER I.

The triplets are variously invited to the faith.

[1] The triplets exercise horses. Three young brothers, like three roses blooming from one stem, so these, born together from one womb, excelled both in the grace of their appearance and in the progress of their wisdom. Their greatest concern was this: to rear horses and to enlarge their household. Their grandmother, Leonilla by name, had ^a thorough knowledge of medicine, and being diligently trained in its arts, Leonilla their grandmother skilled in medicine. was regarded as incomparable. The aforesaid three boys, her grandsons, were both excellent breeders of horses and incomparable riders. They rode at the most rapid pace nearly every day to ^a place called Pasmasus, in which stood the Goddess Nemesis, whom the pagans worshipped with superstitious devotion.

[2] When therefore they had invited their grandmother Leonilla to their banquet, and had set out the things which they had brought from the sacrifices of Nemesis she spurns the meats offered to Nemesis: as if they were blessings, their grandmother Leonilla said: So thoroughly educated in all wisdom are you, yet you do not know that the worship of idols has always been the enemy of human salvation, and binds souls to eternal punishments in Tartarus? I am ^a handmaid of Christ, she instructs her grandsons in the faith. who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all things that are in them; who after the dark and blind night commanded light to come forth, separated the rising and setting of the sun, established the days, arranged the seasons, ordained the moon to travel along the courses of heaven by the fixed turnings of its appointed paths, and adorned the sky with stars shining with varied brilliance; He established the mountains, opened the springs, spread out the plains, bestowed perpetual courses upon the rivers, brought forth fruits from trees, produced clusters of grapes from vines, and supplied olive groves with the grace of richness both for nourishment and for light; He released the clouds on their course so that they might flow where the blasts of the winds, as He commands, have directed them; which now with ^a gentler warmth temper the world, now penetrate it with rigid cold, so that they might impart fertility to the fields and protect the health of all living things: by His will we live, by His nourishment we are fed, by His provision we are clothed. This God I worship, and I urge you to worship Him also. For Nemesis is an idol, which God, who is in heaven, abhors. For you ought to know God, the Creator of all things, so that you may pass from darkness to light, Their mother was Christian, their father pagan. and rise from death to life. For I instructed your mother in this faith, who, after she had brought forth you three in ^a single sudden birth, was commanded in the third year after your birth to depart from this world and hasten to the other world. After her death, your father was an impediment to you, preventing you from being able to attain the truth and to reach the harbor of salvation through the tempests of the demons. But now all impediments have been removed, and wisdom reigns in your minds, and I say nothing from my mouth which you cannot more clearly recognize. And therefore I ask you, the second fruit of my womb, open your eyes to heaven, and cast away the worship of all idols as the enemy of your salvation, so that you may be able to attain eternal joys.

[3] When Leonilla had said these things, the boys, astounded, looked at one another, The triplets are converted, and shedding tears they began to say: O sweetest grandmother, where until now have you hidden this truth from our souls? To which she replied: Because your father could never have consented to this truth, for that reason I kept silent, lest the word of God, which I might have sown in your minds, should be unable to bear fruit because of his prohibition.

[4] Then those three recalled the visions which they had seen in the night each had previously been invited to this by ^a diverse and wondrous dream: that had passed, and Speusippus cried out and said: I saw myself in ^a vision of the past night in the lap of my grandmother, who, pouring from her breast full of milk upon my lips, said: Speusippus, drink this milk, so that when you come to the contest and the struggle, the more you have drunk, the more bravely and swiftly you shall conquer. And when Speusippus had said this, Eleusippus said: Believe that I too saw ^a vision of this kind: I saw one seated in heaven upon ^a great throne fashioned of amber and gems; and while fear held me, so that I shaded my eyes from the overwhelming splendor, He called me to Himself saying: Do not be afraid: you shall conquer your enemy, and when you have conquered, you shall attain the palms of victory. And when Elasippus had related this, Melasippus cried out saying: I too saw ^a vision, and I beheld ^a certain King purchasing us. He was writing our documents in gold, and granting our freedom simultaneously, He enrolled all three of us in military service, girded us with belts, clothed us in cloaks, saying: Your grandmother has offered me such gifts, and has poured out such prayers for you day and night, both in her own person and through my friends, that you should serve in my palace. And as I gladly listened to what was being told us, the King said to me with ^a cheerful countenance: Melasippus, I have prepared immortal horses for you and your brothers.

CHAPTER II.

After overthrowing the idols, they are more fully instructed.

[5] And saying these things, the three brothers marveled at one another, and could not restrain their weeping; saying that their visions had been so bound by the chain of forgetfulness that, had not our grandmother spoken these words to us, what we now see would never have returned to our memory at all. Then they said with one accord to their grandmother: Tell us what we ought to do, so that we may worship this God who is true. At their grandmother's direction, Leonilla said to them: Let the army of the Emperor teach you what it does to ^a tyrant and his satellites, so as to please its King; and you, to please the heavenly King, do this to the devil, who is the true tyrant, and to his satellites, that is, the demons who dwell in idols. There were in their house twelve temples, they overthrow the idols. in which there were twelve images, in which they offered sacrifices on individual days in individual months. Coming together with one accord with their servants, they cast down the idols, smashing them to pieces, and they razed their temples to the foundations: the meats, moreover, which had been sacrificed, they threw to the dogs.

[6] The grandmother gives thanks to God. Then Leonilla, placing her knees on the ground and stretching her hands toward heaven, said: These are Your works, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God and our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed to You in the Gospels saying: I confess to You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to little ones. Matt. 11:25. Luke 10:21. For behold, You have revealed Your kingdom to little ones, and having strengthened their minds, You have heard my prayer, and have freed the souls of my grandsons, and have loosed with Your own hands their senses that were bound to vain images.

[7] Then she went to St. Macarius the Confessor, who had been sent into exile from Antioch in ^a prison of Cappadocia, on mount Athar, which is in the suburb of the city of Nazianzus, who by his prayers caused water to flow together on that very mountain; for from the ninth milestone the exiles condemned in that place used to carry water for themselves. She therefore brought her grandsons to him: and he, receiving them, [They are brought to St. Macarius, by whom they are taught the mystery of the Trinity.] taught them all the mysteries of the Catholic faith, the unity of the Trinity, the truth of the Deity, the equality of omnipotence — that nothing is greater, nothing less — that the substance, majesty, and deity are the same; that the Father is truly Father, who begot the Son, as light from light, ^a river from ^a spring, as ^a word from ^a voice, as ^a sound from ^a word, as reason from counsel, as joy from good news; that the Son is from Him from whom the Father is, just as ^a river is from that from which ^a spring flows. Which river, even if it be shown to have begun flowing later, was nevertheless always ^a pulse in the heart of the spring. For ^a spring could never have been without water, just as the Father was never without the Son: as ^a word from ^a voice; for from that from which the voice proceeds, from that also the word. So also reason from counsel; for from that from which counsel proceeds, from that also reason: just as joy from good news; for from that from which good news comes, from that also joy. For this reason the Gospel is interpreted as "good news," because it bestowed joy upon the weeping, freedom upon servants, redemption upon captives, restored light to the blind, hearing to the deaf, salvation... here (alas!) one leaf had been cut out.

[12] Melasippus responds nobly to the Prefect. Hermogenes says to him: Fool, do you think our delays are idle? You shall not perish as you wish. Melasippus said: The choir of Christians awaits us. We wish to hasten there, if not at the sixth hour, then at the ninth: if not at the ninth, then at the eleventh, so that we too, like those who are shown to have labored before us, may receive the reward of martyrdom. Quadratus says to him: Wretch, you see your death before your eyes, and you speak without fear? Melasippus said: We do not see death, but we see our life, our Lord Jesus Christ, looking upon us with ^a cheerful countenance, whom you cannot see, because your eyes are full of the darkness of idols.

CHAPTER IV.

They are crowned with martyrdom, together with their grandmother and others.

[13] Then they order their grandmother Leonilla to be brought, and calling her, they say to her privately: The grandmother, ordered to recall them from the faith, confirms them in it. Go to your grandsons, and tell them to put aside the vanity of their minds, and rebuild the temples, and restore the gods, so that they may, as they have always been loved, be loved even more. To whom Leonilla says: I shall go, and I shall persuade them to live. And when Leonilla had come to them, approaching with ^a cheerful countenance, she kissed them and said: O lambs without blemish, placed in the midst of wolves, be wise as serpents and simple as doves, in the gentleness of Christ: let no difficulty terrify you, let no punishments dismay you: for to be killed for Christ is greater than to assume ^a kingdom. For this kingdom which is in the world is mortal, but that life is eternal.

[14] Then they ordered the three boys to be suspended on ^a single tree, binding their hands upward and their feet downward, and they stretched their limbs with shrieking pulleys to such an extent that their bones were visible, Stretched out, they exult in their torments: and their sinews were extended as if on ^a lyre. But they, having sweat upon their faces, gave thanks to God with silent voices. Then Quadratus said: Where is your God? Speusippus said: He is here, and He Himself helps us, so that from your punishments we not only feel no pain, but even laugh. Palmatus said: Unhappy and wretched men, with one mind you hasten to the destruction of your death. Elasippus said: One womb bore us on one day, one mother gave three sons to the world, one tree has delivered three Martyrs to God. Quadratus said: You shall not die on this tree, but today fire shall consume you. Melasippus said to him: What single fire will there be that shall deliver our trinity to the triune God as ^a sacrifice?

[15] Then, at the command of Palmatus, Hermogenes, and Quadratus, ^a great fire is kindled. But when those carrying the wood were causing delay, the brothers turned to their grandmother and said: Remember us always in your prayers, and when you receive food and break bread, and crumbs begin to fall from the fragment, gather the crumbs from the table, and remember our names, so that we too may taste of the crumbs of the table of our King, because upon the face of the earth we have not been washed, baptized only in their own blood. that we might taste the bread from His table. To whom Leonilla said: Be satisfied, for your blood shall wash you, and your confession shall clothe you in white garments. And immediately you shall recline at the table of your King among the invited guests, because you have received the wedding garment in martyrdom. For from that day you were baptized, from the day you broke the idols, and believing in God you received within your soul the word of life. For just as if someone is baptized and does not believe with his whole heart, the water of baptism not only does not remove the sins he had, but begins to add to him the guilt and crime of his own unbelief; so he who has believed with his whole heart, if baptism was lacking to him, is not excluded from the number of the faithful: For with the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom. 10:10.

[16] Cast into the fire, they are unharmed: Therefore, when they heard her and believed, they were cast with bound feet and hands into the midst of the fire. Immediately, just as one reads of the three Hebrews, their bonds were broken, and they began to stand in prayer and to give thanks to God. For the flame rose up in the shape of an arch toward the clouds, but they remained unmoved, admonishing their servants and saying: See that you are not deceived by them, and do not fear vain men, and do not approach their sacrifice at all. But those carrying the wood gave out. Dan. 3. They ordered torches, oil, pitch, and wax to be thrown in, all of which burned, but the fire did not touch the servants of the Lord in the slightest.

[17] But when the fires and the wood were exhausted, the Saints began to taunt their Judges, they taunt the Judges: to whom they also said: The Lord our God has given us power over whether we wish to depart from the body or not: and we asked Him that, when the fire had failed, we might mock your faithlessness, which He has deigned to grant us. Behold, now we go forth exulting, bearing no scar on our bodies from your fire. They die in prayer. And saying this, having placed their knees in prayer, they gave up their spirits, like lambs still bearing the voice of benediction upon their lips.

[18] In that hour ^a certain Junilla, holding ^a small child, threw it down, Junilla the Christian is suspended, and cried out saying: I am ^a Christian. I believe in one God, my Lord Jesus Christ, the immortal and perpetual King. Enraged, they ordered her to be suspended by her hair with her hands behind her back, saying: Unless you promise to deny Christ and to eat of the sacrifices, you shall not be taken down from there. Her husband approached her saying: she spurns her husband's blandishments, My Junilla, good wife, have pity on me and on your infant son. To whom do you abandon him? To whom she replied: I bore the child, but God created me: whom ought I to put first, my child before my Creator, or my Creator, she is beheaded together with Leonilla. who both created me and shall judge me? But to strike fear into the others, she was quickly ordered to be led to the village of Orbatum and beheaded together with Leonilla, the grandmother of the Saints.

[19] Neon the Notary destroys the idols, But Neon the Notary, who had written the acts themselves, closing his codices in which he had recorded them, entrusted them to his colleague Turbon, and ran to Nemesis, cast it down, and smashed its marble to pieces, and broke all the small idols that were around it. When the guards of the temple reported what had happened, they seized him and kept beating and stoning him he is killed. until, having confessed the Son of God, he breathed out his spirit.

[20] Turbon is killed. Turbon, moreover, while writing the victories of those who confessed the Lord — Speusippus, Elasippus, and Melasippus, Leonilla, Jonilla, and Neon — not long afterward suffered martyrdom. They suffered, those mentioned above, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of February, in the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.

OTHER ACTS

BY THE AUTHOR WARNAHARIUS,

from three ancient manuscripts.

Speusippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Eleusippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Melasippus, triplet brother, Martyr (St.) Leonilla, grandmother of the triplets, Martyr (St.) Neonilla, Martyr (St.) Neon, Martyr (St.) Turbon, Martyr (St.)

BHL Number: 7829

By the author Warnaharius, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR.

[1] To the holy one, and one to be preferred before me by the pontifical summit, the Lord Ceraunius, Bishop, Warnaharius sends greetings. Not ceasing to be constantly made equal in merits to the most distinguished persons of the most blessed Bishops, hastening to be adorned daily in every practice of the priesthood with holy devotion, St. Ceraunius, Bishop of Paris, collects the deeds of the Saints. you have traversed all teachings in the studious reading of divine literature: now, devoted in the city of Paris, you endeavor to gather the deeds of the holy Martyrs, for the increase of your praise, out of love for religion. Whence you are to be made equal to the holy Eusebius of Caesarea in the zeal of emulation, and to be remembered perpetually with an equal gift of glory. Pardon our lack of skill, since we are unable to praise you as much as you would deserve to be exalted in our heart, if eloquence were to come to our aid. The deeds of the Holy Twins, who in the suburb of the city of Langres attained the precious consummation of martyrdom; and of the most Blessed Desiderius, Martyr and Bishop of that same city, even as you have commanded through the zeal of devotion, so may you most desirably recognize me through the obedience of service.

CHAPTER I.

The arrival of St. Benignus at Langres.

[2] We are compelled by Christ's authority to disclose more diligently the glorious contests of the Martyrs, which we confess beyond doubt to have been performed in the love of His faith. Therefore it is entirely fitting to explain rather than to pass over by what great rewards the three holy twin brothers, Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleosippus, arrived at the dignity of martyrdom. It is sufficiently worthy of admiration, and to be extolled in manifold ways by the predestination of Almighty God. Therefore, pursuing the order of this matter and more diligently weighing the benefits of the graces of the Giver, let us make public the beginning.

[3] And so St. Polycarp, Bishop of the city of Ephesus, perfectly instructed in the teaching of the most blessed John the Apostle and Evangelist, filled with the Holy Spirit, desiring by the guidance of faith to enlarge the soldiery of Christ, directed his disciples to various parts of the world, St. Polycarp sends his men to diverse places; to preach the word of our Lord Jesus Christ to the nations with confidence. Hearing therefore that the Emperor Aurelian, after the departure of the impious persecutor Severus, had again revived ^a most cruel persecution, and that ^a worse Prince had succeeded ^a bad Prince in the kingdom, and that he had promulgated an edict in the provinces of Gaul before himself and his Prefects, and generally among all the people subject to him, and had decreed that all Christians without exception should be punished with various tortures, the Blessed Polycarp dispatched the holy Priests of God, that is, Andochius and Benignus, Presbyters, three holy men into Gaul: and Thyrsus, ^a Deacon, there for the purpose of preaching — men most distinguished in their virtues, overflowing with the love of God, eager for the contest of the struggle, altogether devoted to undertaking the labors of travel for the name of Christ, not slow to endure the perils of the sea, cheerfully eager to seek out pilgrimages, and gladly leaving their parents for the religion of Christ, desiring rather than fearing the torments of punishments and the passion of ^a blessed death.

[4] These three men, obedient to the holy instructions, boarding ^a small ship, he bids them well as they depart. the holy Polycarp bidding farewell to the holy ones, entrusted to them these commands: Go, brave men, fighting bravely in the strength of Christ, acquire through the holy confession of Christ many fellow soldiers; with whom, triumphing in victory, you may be able to attain an everlasting name and the glory of honor. May the fruits of your labor be accumulated with manifold abundance; may the seats of the just in paradise rejoice greatly through you in the acquisition of holy souls. With these and many other prayers St. Polycarp accompanied them.

[5] Sailing successfully under divine guidance, they arrived quite swiftly at the shores of Marseilles: and going ashore, with an Angel of God leading the way, making ^a prosperous journey, They are received among the Aedui by Faustus: they enter the city of the Aedui: and there, by the Lord's provision, having found Faustus, ^a man of ^a most noble family, distinguished by Senatorial rank and elevated by Praetorian office, they were most graciously received by him as his guests. When he had learned that they were Presbyters, he humbly requested that they make his friends and household Christians through the washing of baptism. He himself, on account of the intense persecution, worshipped Christ in secret. He also presented his son, Symphorianus, they baptize his son Symphorianus. ^a young man whom the preaching of the Saints and divine predestination would make ^a renowned Martyr in succeeding times. And entrusting him to the holy hands, that he might be baptized by the holy Benignus and received from the sacred font of the baptismal washing by the holy Andochius, he earnestly besought them. They indeed, eagerly performing the work for which they had come and complying with the prayers of so great ^a man, satisfied his desires in all things through the grace of baptism.

[6] After this, when the aforesaid Faustus had more diligently explored the reason for their petition through an exchange of conversations with the holy Priests, divine mercy brought to his mind his sister and her grandsons. Then he said to them: I have ^a full sister, Leonilla by name, an illustrious matron, ^a citizen of the city of Langres; who has grandsons by her son, three twin brothers born together in ^a single birth, educated in the liberal arts, yet still living in pagan error through their father's tradition; whom their grandmother desires to enlist in the soldiery of Christ. Aid them, most holy Priests, in their devotions, St. Benignus is sent to Leonilla, the sister of Faustus, and the most noble family in nobility, which you have begun. Having said this, the holy men, more attentively considering the matter for which they had come, it pleased both parties that St. Benignus should hasten to illuminate the territory of Langres, according to the judgment of God. The holy Andochius and Thyrsus, greatly augmenting the town of Autun with divine preaching, not long after were crowned with blessed martyrdom under Prince Aurelian. The aforesaid Faustus therefore sent the holy Benignus to his sister as ^a divine gift, just as he was, at once. She received him, as it were, like the manna that descended from heaven, with all veneration.

That city is called Augustodunum, or Augustodunus,

which translates as "the mount of Augustus" in the Celtic language, as Ericus interprets in the life of St. Germanus of Auxerre. Whence correct what Cornelius Grasius writes, that the Saints went from Aedua to Augustodunum.

CHAPTER II.

The triplets are invited to the faith by their grandmother's admonition and by dreams.

[7] On that very same day, then, the aforesaid grandsons, in the field named Pasmasius, were offering profane sacrifices according to their customary rite to the image of the Goddess Nemesis; and from the superstitious offerings, they had reserved the leftovers for their grandmother: inviting her to ^a banquet, they brought them forth. But she, casting everything to the dogs, rejected it as dung. She sets forth the faith to her grandsons the Triplets. Then approaching them from ^a distance together with St. Benignus, she began to produce these words: Dearest grandsons, acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ as the true God, to whom Angels and every creature render their just service, who established the whole world and composed the entire substance of things, balanced by the sudden arrangement of His word; who by the same act extended the height of the sky; who spread wide the manifold expanses of the lands far and wide; who ordered the immense deep of the sea to be gathered and confined within shores by ^a momentary decree; who painted the sky with stars and, establishing two great luminaries, entirely decreed that they should adorn by alternating succession all things that He had made, and reveal everything clothed in light; who granted the whole sea to the habitation of fish for traversal; who clothed the entire earth with diverse trees and grasses; who created by that same establishment all the things of the world, all living, growing, or animate things. Lastly, He formed man in His own image and likeness, whom He endowed with the singular gift of wisdom and understanding so that he might more diligently seek out so great ^a fabric of worldly magnitude and all things that He has wrought, that he might discern good from evil, lest through the negligence of ignorance he should set aside the Creator; but so that from images made by human hands from diverse metals, devoid of sense and destitute of all vital breath, shaped by diabolic invention for the deception of humanity, he should not only not render to them the worship of veneration, but should also flee from them in every abuse as unclean. For it was the perverse invention of the devil that fashioned idols in this world, he who deceived Adam, the first man, established in Paradise, through transgression. Therefore, dearest grandsons, abandon all idols consecrated to demons, and confess without any hesitation our Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all things. Believe that this man, St. Benignus, whom you see standing before you, has been sent to you from ^a distant land by divine mercy. Attend therefore to the words of his mouth: for they are the precepts of God which proceed from his mouth; learn from him ^a teaching richer than any gift, and supremely opportune for your salvation.

[8] While St. Leonilla together with St. Benignus was preaching these most salutary words to her grandsons, and while the grace divinely inspired was already growing strong in their hearts, they stood transfixed with wondrous

astonishment alike, and looking at one another, considering all that had been said to them, they turned to their grandmother and said with one voice and one mind: Why have you kept so great and so extraordinary ^a thing concealed in silence for so long? Why have you hidden from us the way of truth and the brilliant light for so long ^a time? To whom she replied with gentle speech, raising her eyes and stretching her hands toward heaven, giving thanks to God, she said: My son, your father, persevered in such hardness of heart that, plunged into ^a seat of Tartarus, shadowed by the darkness of sins, destitute of all wisdom and blinded by the counsel of perversity, he neither believed in nor was ever willing to confess Christ the Lord. What good could the divine word have done for him, whose inner heart was entirely possessed by the malice of unbelief, and who could not see the true light, being surrounded by the darkness of idols? He made me keep the silence of taciturnity until now, while I feared that by his hostile persuasion he would cause you to deviate perpetually from the right path. But by the will of God, with his passing, all impediments have been removed. Behold, now is the acceptable time. Open therefore the eyes of heart and body, looking rather toward heaven, and filled with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, uproot from your souls the worship of idols, which is hostile to your salvation, so that you may be able to attain eternal joys.

[9] While the Blessed Leonilla together with St. Benignus had narrated these and many other things to her grandsons, so that divine mercy might reveal signs of their belief in them, they recalled to memory the visions which they had seen the preceding night. Each had been forewarned of his conversion and contest by ^a mystical dream. The first, Speusippus, said: I saw myself in ^a vision of the past night in the lap of my grandmother, who, pouring milk from her full breast upon my lips, said: Speusippus, drink this milk, for when you come to the contest and the struggle, the more you shall have drunk, the more bravely and swiftly you shall conquer. And when Speusippus had said this, Eleusippus said: Believe that I too saw ^a vision of this kind: I saw one seated in heaven upon ^a great throne, as if of amber and gems, radiant with the power of majesty, whose immense splendor overshadowed my sight, and the excessive astonishment struck my heart's understanding with fear. Then he, calling me to himself with ^a serene countenance, said: Do not be afraid; you shall merit the crown of victory. In the third place, Meleusippus set forth his vision: I too saw ^a certain King, great enough, holding singular scepters. He was summoning us three together to his military service, girding us with splendid belts, redeeming us from the bond of captivity at ^a great price, writing the terms of our perpetual freedom in golden letters, and rewarding us simultaneously with inexhaustible gifts. On top of these things, he added, urging me: Meleusippus, I have decided to place you three brothers in my palace and to crown you equally with eternal rewards. Your grandmother pours forth suppliant prayers every day and night for your salvation, that walking on the right path and freed from dark obscurity, you may be able to contemplate the true light and pass from the condemnation of death to perpetual life. These and many other words of exhortation the King of whom I spoke narrated to me in ^a vision. O how wondrous, how harmonious, and designating the signs of one and the same reality, or to be held in perpetual memory, were the visions which the three twin brothers, still placed in the darkness of night, already illuminated by predestination through the grace of the Holy Spirit, were worthy to see! To these three boys, through the intercession of their grandmother, the Trinity was revealed beforehand through grace, before they received the full teaching of Christ. They saw with eyes partly enlightened the Lord God first, before they more fully knew the Savior through the confession of the mouth.

CHAPTER III.

After overthrowing the idols, they publicly profess the faith.

[10] The Holy Twins therefore, deliberating among themselves about the correspondences of the visions, ceaselessly instructed by the preaching of St. Benignus and the prayers of the Blessed Leonilla, were considering more attentively what they should undertake to do; desiring also that, with the darkness wiped away, they might visibly contemplate the pure light of brightness in the sight of light, Instructed, they are baptized by St. Benignus. and know the living and true God without any hesitation. Then they said to their grandmother: Tell us what we should do, so that your preaching, having driven out all errors, may be able to profit for our salvation. At these words, the Blessed Leonilla, exulting in the holy confession of her grandsons and giving thanks to God, said to them together with St. Benignus: Keep therefore all the divine commandments, and believe without doubt that Christ, the King of kings, is God; separated from the abominable idols, offer yourselves to God your Creator. St. Benignus then taught them all holy doctrine, and when he recognized that they had perfectly and fully received ^a true and manifest confession of faith in Christ through the infusion of the Holy Spirit, he consecrated them equally with the grace of baptism. Then St. Benignus sought the fortress of Dijon, where, gathering many fruits of his labor, not long afterward he merited the fitting crown of martyrdom for his many merits.

[11] They overthrow the idols. The holy twin brothers, confirmed in every belief in Christ, commanded their servants to break the image of Nemesis, and to raze to the ground the twelve temples which had been established in their house; and also to smash the very statues of the idols, reduced to fragments, and to scatter them forthwith: and the servants did all things which had been commanded by their masters.

[12] Meanwhile swift fame, coursing through, traversed all the boundaries of the city of Langres, announcing that the three twin brothers, grandsons of the Blessed Leonilla, sprung from illustrious birth, had most manifestly turned to the worship of Christ through the zeal of devotion, and by trust in the omnipotent Jesus Christ, accounting the images of the gods as nothing and despising them in every scorn, had ordered them to be overthrown from their foundations together with the idols themselves. An immense rumor grows among the people, The people rush against them. the Chief Men, the Judges, and the priests of the idols are roused to anger, and inflamed with excessive fury they converge from all sides upon the children of God; and gathered together in one place, the Chief Men said to them: What sudden rashness has seized you? Who has persuaded you to abandon the worship of our gods, which our ancestors and yours are known to have cultivated from ancient times, overturning the decrees of the Princes? Christ, whom you adore as God, the Jews themselves nailed to the cross in ^a sentence of death. Then the Saints, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: O madmen plunged in the depths of darkness, overshadowed by perpetual gloom, They give an account of their faith, burdened by an excessive weight of sins, condemned to perpetual death by unending punishments, deceived by the error of the ancient enemy, why do you compel us to worship stones and other metals shaped into the likeness of men by men, which are seen to possess no breath of life? They are nothing, they feel nothing, and are worshipped as nothing at all by fools. The true and living God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, is one in the Trinity of the Deity and three in the unity of Majesty, to be believed. Our Lord Jesus Christ, He Himself is God from God, light from light, splendor proceeding from splendor, who always is and always was, and who Himself shall remain forever without end. He made all things that are in this world.

[13] Then the Chief Men of the people and the Judges and the priests, who had come for the spectacle, were moved to the greatest anger against the holy servants of God. Fearless before their torments. Quadratus then rose up, filled with wrath, and struck Speusippus and Eleusippus in the face with his fist, because those two alone had spoken. Meleusippus, grieving, cried out saying:

Why did you not make me ^a participant in this gift of blows together with my brothers? In them you have shown the desirable beginning of the passion, but me you have, as it were, honoring me for your unbelieving deeds, separated from the holy fellowship. We are of one mind in the confession of Christ; we equally rejoice through your faithlessness in the reward of Christ. Quadratus said: Today we plan to punish you with various tortures for your contempt of our gods. Eleusippus said: The greater the torments you prepare for us, the more you strengthen us by the grace of God. Palmatius said: Unless we cut out their tongues by the roots, they will not cease to speak insult against us and our gods. Speusippus said: If your cruelty cuts off our tongues of flesh, we shall proclaim the mighty works of God in our inward parts, and your malice shall never separate us from the holy faith in Christ. Again Palmatius and Hermogenes say: Wretched men, you hasten unanimously to the destruction of your death. Speusippus said: For to die for the name of Christ is glorious; thence we shall arrive more swiftly at eternal life, where there is no sorrow, but joys that are ended by no time.

CHAPTER IV.

Variously tortured, they are crowned.

[14] Palmatius and Quadratus and Hermogenes, seeing them persevere steadfastly in the confession of Christ, Leonilla is sent to lead them away from the faith, were considering more attentively what they should do, and by what most grievous punishments they should be afflicted, and by what manner of death they should be condemned most cruelly, on account of the presence of those who had come. While they were deliberating on this more carefully, they ordered the Blessed Leonilla to be summoned to them separately; if perhaps by her blandishments and parental persuasions she might be able to recall them to the worship of the gods, so that they would completely deny the Deity of the majesty of Christ. And when the Blessed Leonilla had come to them, the Judges said to her: Go to your grandsons, and if you desire to save them and to free them from the torments of punishment and the destruction of death, persuade them to rebuild the temples which they have destroyed; and worshipping our gods, let them offer the customary sacrifices. Saying these and many other things, the Blessed Leonilla said to them: I will go, and I will persuade them to do all things that are fitting for their salvation.

[15] The Blessed Leonilla therefore, coming to her grandsons, when she had found them persevering in their holy confession, she confirms them in it. was filled with great exultation, giving sweet kisses to all, weeping for joy, and pouring out many prayers to almighty God and giving thanks to Christ, she said to her grandsons: No one of your lineage is more noble, no one richer, no one more pleasing than you are found to be in Christ. You have perpetually illuminated your entire progeny by the glorious confession of Christ. Placed at ^a tender age, you have surpassed in wisdom all the elders of your ancestry. You have acquired through the soldiery of Christ an immense treasure richer than any price. Be therefore manfully persevering in the holy religion of Christ. Let no adversity break you, let no threats, let no torments of punishment terrify your spirits, bravely armed in the faith of Christ. The kingdoms of this world, which are seen and which end temporally with life, are nothing: for to desire the invisible and everlasting kingdom of God is the perpetual and perfect and supremely opportune fullness of wisdom. Through these temporal labors and briefly transitory punishments you shall arrive at eternal joys. Seeing them therefore full of the grace of Christ and remaining in their steadfastness, and bravely keeping the faith they had promised, commending her grandsons to God with complete devotion, she departed from them.

[16] When they were asked by the Judges whether they were willing to consent to them and to acknowledge the images of the gods by public declaration; since they persisted with obstinate determination in the love of Christ and were by no means willing to give assent to those who demanded it, they were suspended on ^a single tree with their hands bound upward and their feet downward: and they were stretched by such an invention of torments that they seemed almost to be separated from the very structure of their limbs. Strengthened nevertheless by Christ, so that the endurance of virtue, divinely administered inwardly, they remained manfully in the confession and faith of Christ: Suspended and tortured, they exult. and while suspended in those very torments with his brothers, Meleusippus taunted the Judges, saying: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, affixed with nails, to be worshipped in the Trinity, hung upon the holy wood for our redemption, whence we have merited to receive the sign of the Cross. We too, three servants of His, hanging on this one stake for His name, let us be made glorious Martyrs. O blessed fruit of that tree, which bore three Martyrs, consecrated in the name of the Trinity.

[17] The Judges, seeing them strengthened rather than saddened in their torments, said to them: You shall not die on this tree, as you say you wish, They are cast into the fire: but you shall perish by avenging fire. Meleusippus, responding again, said to them: The increase of our blessedness will be all the greater if, tested by fire, we pass to God, and from darkness come through this fire to perpetual light. Then finally the Judges, on account of the fear of the crowds who were present, prepared wood and other materials that are wont to provide fuel for fires; and ^a great fire was kindled. With their hands and feet bound, the Holy Twins were cast headlong into the fire. Christ the Savior was present in their midst, and with their bonds broken the holy Martyrs gloried in the fire, they remain unharmed: and no fire touched them. O blessed fire, which purged only original sin and inflicted no loss of diminution by burning upon the limbs of the Saints! The fire rather aided the Saints, through which the enemy wished to harm them but could not. The fire was kindled ever more fiercely by the unbelievers, so that the bodies of the Saints might be consumed without delay: but divine mercy, turning it to better purpose, thence prepared an inextinguishable light for the Saints. The burning flames were raised ever higher; but, serving the handiwork of Christ, they displayed the exceptional glory of the Saints, which had been prepared to their ruin by the persecutors. The fire could not exercise its own power to consume the limbs of the Saints, because the power of God tempered the force of the heat for His Saints out of the zeal of mercy.

[18] The impious and wicked persecutors saw the holy Twins exulting amid the immense flames and persevering unharmed, whom they had expected to see consumed at once by so great ^a conflagration. The freedom to walk in the fire was granted to the Saints by Christ, so that greater sorrow from confusion might increase for the unbelievers as they beheld the divine mysteries. And so the wood gave out, and all the fuel for the fires. The Holy Twins, standing in the midst as the flames died down, mocked the malice of the persecutors, saying: they taunt the Judges: The power to depart from this life to Christ has been given to us, if we wish; and, if we still desire it, we have been granted permission to taunt your madness while living in this world. For it is better for us to hasten to His banquet, where the generosity of the Giver does not fail. After the fire had been quenched, when the unbelievers had cautiously approached the Holy Twins of God from ^a distance, they were unable to see any scars from the fire on the limbs of the Saints. But so that no further delay might be imposed upon those who desired martyrdom, they see Angels: and so that they might now receive from Christ the Rewarder the unfading crowns long since prepared, seeing the choirs of Angels ready to receive them and standing before their eyes; then immediately bending their knees to the ground, prostrate in prayer, they die: invited by the blessed call of Christ, breathing forth their holy spirits together, they are known to have departed equally to heaven.

[19] Their bodies were carried and buried by the devout at the second milestone from the city of Langres, in the village called Urbatus, where two great roads come together, they are buried: and others from different directions join before these: so that there both the ready devotion of the willing and the convenient offering of travelers might always be abundant among the peoples at the frequented spot,

and at their threshold from every direction there might be ^a concourse for prayer. And there also whatever is devoutly prayed for is daily granted by God through the intercession of the holy brothers: they shine with miracles. there the aids of healing are diligently administered through the same saints to the sick: to the mourning, the consolation of comfort is granted without delay, and an outstanding devotion is always added around their basilica, and the generosity of gifts is daily increased for the better by the devout.

CHAPTER V.

The grandmother and other companions of martyrdom.

[20] It is also fitting to add, as pertaining to the increase of the praise of the Holy Twins and the cultivation of their religion; for through their holy acquisition the number of Martyrs was increased by the inspiration of God. When ^a certain woman named Jonilla saw the precious consummation of the martyrdom of the Holy Twins, Jonilla and Leonilla are crowned with martyrdom: spurning the companionship of her husband, abandoning the sweet embrace of her small and only son, amid the unbelieving crowds still stirred up in the heat of persecution, hastening with swift course, she cried out saying: I too am ^a handmaid of Christ; I proclaim Christ as the living and true God without any hesitation; I despise your disgraceful and utterly vain idols and refuse to worship them. At these words she was immediately seized, and out of fear of the surrounding crowds she was suspended by the hair and afflicted with many torments; and when, compelled to deny Christ, she by no means would consent, together with the Blessed Leonilla, grandmother of the Saints, she was led to the place of martyrdom, to the aforementioned village of Urbatus, and both were equally slain by the sword by the persecutors.

[21] Neon also, the notary and writer of this account, handing the codex to Turbon, likewise Neon and Turbon. entered into the midst of the crowds of persecutors, desiring to be joined to the most blessed soldiery of the Holy Twins, and confessed the name of Christ. He was immediately afflicted with various torments by the persecutors and, stripped of temporal life, forthwith merited to be honored with martyrdom. Turbon likewise, not long afterward, perfectly instructed in the teaching of the most blessed Twins, was seized by the persecutors and was himself enriched with the reward of martyrdom.

[22] These things were done under Prince Aurelian, with Palmatius, Quadratus, and Hermogenes as Prefects, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of February. The finding of the holy bodies of the Twins, and the dedication of the basilica of the Holy Twins, is to be celebrated on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of October, in the reign of Christ our God for ever and ever. Amen.