Sulpitius Pius

ON SAINT SULPITIUS PIUS, BISHOP OF BOURGES IN GAUL.

About the Year 647

Sulpitius Pius, Bishop of Bourges in Gaul (Saint)

From various sources.

Section I. The first and second Saints named Sulpitius distinguished.

[1] Two Bishops named Sulpitius governed the Church of Bourges: the first, surnamed Severus, under King Guntram; the other, Pius, under Clothar II and Dagobert: both enrolled among the Saints, the latter on January 17, the former on January 29. Whether ^a third Sulpitius, far more ancient, ^a disciple of Saint Martin, is rightly numbered among them by some, we shall discuss elsewhere. Feast of Saint Sulpitius Pius. Concerning Pius, Usuardus has on this day: "In the city of Bourges, the burial of Saint Sulpitius the Bishop, whose life and precious death are commended by glorious miracles." The Roman Martyrology has the same (except that it adds "surnamed Pius"), as do Bellinus, Maurolycus, Menardus, and many manuscripts. Rabanus, Ado, Felicius, Canisius, the manuscript Florarium, Ghinius, Dorganius, Saussaius, and others to be cited below also mention him.

[2] Many, because they believed that the Sulpitius who is venerated on January 29 had been ^a disciple of Saint Martin, have shamefully confused the other two. Certainly Molanus in his earlier edition added this to Usuardus: Things wrongly written about him, by Molanus, "the burial of Saint Sulpitius Pius, to whom Gregory of Tours wrote the history of the Seven Sleepers in the Greater Monastery." And Guibert of Gembloux in his apology for Severus. In his later edition, however, he noted this: "This is not Severus, but Pius, to whom Saint Gregory of Tours dedicated the history of the Seven Sleepers in the Greater Monastery." Galesinius: "At Bourges, by Galesinius, Saint Sulpitius Pius, Bishop, who, educated from boyhood in sacred letters and exercised in the institutions of discipline, shone in all virtue even when still ^a layman: then, having become ^a monk and thence an abbot, and finally created bishop, he was famous for the sanctity of his life and holiness, and for his miracles, and rested in the Lord." In his Notes, he comments thus: "Of Saint Sulpitius Pius, namely the first, who was present at the second Council of Macon. For there was ^a Sulpitius Severus, Archbishop of Bourges, whose life was very finely composed by Giselinus at the beginning of his works. But the life of the first is in Surius, volume 1." So he writes. Concerning the Council of Macon we shall say more below. The Sulpitius whose life Giselinus wrote was the Severus who was ^a disciple of Saint Martin, who lived ^a century before that council, so that if he had truly been ^a bishop and our Pius had subscribed to that council, he could not be called "the first" here.

[3] By Baronius: Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology for this day writes: "This one is called Sulpitius Pius, in distinction from another Sulpitius, Bishop of the same city, surnamed Severus. Gregory of Tours writes about Sulpitius Pius in the proem to the History of the Sleepers, and Guibert in his apology for Severus. He succeeded Bishop Remigius in the times of Guntram, King of the Franks, in the year of the Lord five hundred and eighty-seven, as the same Gregory testifies in his History of the Franks, book 6, chapter 39; although in his Life, which Surius describes in volume 1, he is said to have succeeded Austregisilus in the times of King Clothar. But in these matters we give more weight to Gregory of Tours, whose opinion is rendered most certain by the Acts of the second Council of Macon, which was celebrated in the twenty-fourth year of the same King Guntram; in which synod Sulpitius was present and subscribed. For in the times of King Clothar, it was not Sulpitius or Austregisilus but Probatianus, Felix, Honoratus, and Arcadius who presided over the Church of Bourges, as the councils celebrated in his times indicate. By the same standard the tables of the Bishops of Bourges compiled by Democharis must be corrected, in which there also appears the more serious error of thinking that Sulpitius Severus was the one who was present at the second Council of Macon, under King Guntram; when it is certain and evident that Severus lived in the times of the elder Theodosius and his son Honorius, Emperors. According to the Acts of Saint Austregisilus, which Surius recites in volume 3, one must say that yet ^a third bishop of the same name presided over that Church. But enough of this. Sulpitius Pius, however, of whom we treat (as Aimoinus writes, book 4, chapter 16, and others) departed this life in the year of the Lord five hundred and ninety-four; that is the sixteenth year of King Childebert, in which he died, as Gregory of Tours attests, History of the Franks, book 10, chapter 26. He had Eustasius as his successor."

[4] So writes Baronius, who, although in volume 5 of the Annals, year 431, number 190, he acknowledges that Severus the disciple of Saint Martin does not seem to have been ^a bishop, nevertheless judges that an error crept into the tables of the Church of Bourges, in that the name Sulpitius Severus is applied to the one who was ^a contemporary of Gregory of Tours, whom Baronius considers to be Pius, about whom we treat here. Then in volume 8, year 595, number 90, from the same Turonensian author he reports the death of the holy Bishop Sulpitius, and says he is venerated by the Church on the sixteenth of the Kalends of February, "as all the Martyrologies of the Latins," he says, "indicate." It was Severus who died in that year, about whom we shall treat on January 29, not Pius. But each point must be briefly examined. Concerning the History of the Sleepers dedicated to Sulpitius, we shall treat on November 4, and concerning the apology of Guibert of Gembloux on January 29.

[5] Refuted. Saint Sulpitius Severus succeeded Remigius, or Remedius; and Eustachius, or Eustasius, succeeded him. Pius, however, succeeded Saint Austregisilus, whom we shall treat on May 20; and Wulfeodus, or Wulfolentus, succeeded Pius. And thus Surius does not contradict Gregory of Tours. Severus subscribed to the second Council of Macon in the year of Christ 585, the twenty-fourth of King Guntram, and the second of Clothar II: Pius subscribed to the Council of Reims under Archbishop Sonnatius around the year 630. The other bishops whom Baronius mentions, though in ^a confused order, as presiding over the Church of Bourges were present at councils during the reign of Clothar I: Honoratus at the second Council of Orleans in the year of Christ 533, and the first Council of Clermont in 535; Arcadius at the third Council of Orleans in 538 (Baronius omitted Desideratus, who subscribed to the third Council of Orleans in 549 and the second Council of Clermont); Probianus, or Probatianus, at the second Council of Paris in 555 and the third Council of Paris in 557; Felix at the fourth Council of Paris in 573, in the twelfth year after the death of Clothar, and eleven years before the birth of the younger Clothar. But Baronius unjustly criticizes the tables of Democharis, since in them it is not the Severus who died at the beginning of the fifth century, but one much later, who is said to have held the see under Guntram. Nor will it be necessary to acknowledge three Bishops of Bourges named Sulpitius, if we remove the disciple of Saint Martin; but only two, whom that Church has venerated from all antiquity. Aimoinus book 4, chapter 16, does not write about the elder Sulpitius but about Pius; and he commemorates not his death but the restoration of Clothar's health by his prayers.

[6] After such great authorities, it is less surprising that Wion errs when he posits three Sulpitii: first, the disciple of Saint Martin, who is venerated on January 29; Wion variously corrected. second, Pius the successor of Remigius, venerated on this day; third, another Pius succeeding Saint Austregisilus, on January 16. But we have found no one before Wion who assigned ^a Sulpitius to January 16. He cites Ado, in whom we do not find his name on January 16 but on the 15th, on which his translation is observed, as we shall say below. He accuses Surius and Petrus de Natalibus of calling the one who is venerated on this day Sulpitius Pius and the successor of Saint Austregisilus: and rightly so indeed; Wion is wrong, who says the one who flourished in the age of Guntram was ^a Sulpitius who had previously been ^a monk and Abbot of Saint Nicetius at Lyon, whereas Saint Gregory of Tours, book 6, chapter 39, says he was one of the leading Senators of Gaul: and Menardus acknowledges he was never ^a monk. But more on him on January 29. Following Wion rashly, Dorganius and Ferrarius also placed the later Sulpitius on January 16. On January 26, in certain manuscripts of Ado, the common Bede, Notker, and others, Saint Sulpitius of Bourges is listed, but whether this one or Severus, it is unclear. Nor should it be omitted that the surname "Severus" is by no means given to the first Sulpitius by the ancients. The name perhaps arose because some thought him to be the Sulpitius Severus who was ^a friend of Saint Paulinus.

Section II. The Life of Saint Sulpitius Pius, or the second.

[7] We give ^a double Life of Saint Sulpitius Pius, both written by his contemporaries. The first had been published by Surius with the style altered. We have restored the original phrasing from the manuscripts of Sainte-Marie du Ripoire, Rougevallee, Life of Saint Sulpitius Pius, by ^a contemporary author, and Corsendonk. The author indicates his own time in chapter 1, number 4: "Certainly, as far as we have learned from the account of those who were his companions or ministers from his childhood up to our own times." And in chapter 2, number 12: "And since we have set down in order the deeds which we learned from our elders who were contemporaries of the blessed man, with the same fidelity as they came to us, let us now take as our starting point our own time, partly what we ourselves have witnessed, and partly what has been transmitted to us by our fellow students, and let us leave it for the memory of posterity." Chapter 3, number 15, treating of the Jews converted by him: "Some of them," he says, "still live today under the religion of our faith." Chapter 4, number 17, concerning the one who obtained the faculty of speech through his merits: "And he speaks wonderfully to this day with various responses in conversation." And number 18, concerning the boy recalled to life: "He is believed to survive today, safe from the peril of famine: for he dwelt with us ^a long time afterward." Finally, chapter 8, number 34, concerning Ansulphus, who was badly maltreated by ^a demon and cured by the Saint's prayers: "This indeed we have learned from the very one who suffered it, confirmed by the testimony of the faithful."

[8] It may perhaps be permitted to suspect that this author was the Abbot Domio, a monk of Saint Sulpitius. about whom the second life speaks in chapter 2, number 10, or one of his monks. This is suggested both by certain of the passages already cited, and by the fact that what the author of the second life writes about the basilica enlarged by him, the first author relates in such ^a way that he seems deliberately, out of modesty, to conceal by whom it was done. The monastery over which Domio presided, which was afterward called Saint Sulpitius's, was, according to Joannes Chenu in his Chronology of the Archbishops of Bourges, founded by Clothar II outside the walls of the city, in the place where there was ^a chapel called Blessed Mary de la Nef. He commemorates more about the same monastery in that work. Saussaius writes that Saint Sulpitius himself built two monasteries, one for virgins within the city itself, and another for men outside the walls. The latter is called "Navense" in the Life of Saint Leopardinus.

[9] A shorter Life by another contemporary author. The other, shorter Life, Rosweydus had formerly copied from ^a very ancient codex of Canon Preudhomme of Cambrai: we have collated it with the manuscripts of Corsendonk and Saint-Maximin. The author lived at the same time. It is evident from the Prologue: "A few things which I myself saw, or from the account of those who served him from adolescence to decrepit old age; or what was made known by very many of the faithful who saw them, I have taken care to set forth briefly." Chapter 1, number 4, concerning the mute man cured: "And he survives to this day, and speaks perfectly." Number 5, concerning the Jews converted: "They are seen to live under Christian discipline to this day." Chapter 2, number 8, shows that he wrote under Wulfolendus, the successor of Sulpitius: "Who, having received the episcopate of this city, still today governs the Church in the name of God." That this life was written in the manner of ^a letter is clear from number 12: "Nor does the form of this letter permit it." There are not ^a few errors, even against syntax, whether from the ignorance of the author or the carelessness of copyists; we have changed nothing.

[10] Writings about him by others. The deeds of Saint Sulpitius are also commemorated by others: Vincent of Beauvais, book 23, chapters 27 and the two following, in almost the very words of the first life, but abridged; and from him Saint Antoninus, part 2, title 13, chapter 6, section 3; Petrus de Natalibus, book 2, chapter 94; Franciscus Haraeus, who thinks he can resolve the question discussed in the preceding section about the two Sulpitii by positing ^a single one who first lived at the court of Prince Theodoric, namely the brother of Clothar I, and then under Clothar himself; and afterward succeeded Saint Austregisilus (whom he says was called Remigius Austregisilus); and finally died around the year of the Lord 594. But, apart from the fact that it is established that Austregisilus was quite different from Remigius, he lived not under Theodoric I or Clothar I, the sons of Clovis, but under Theodoric the son of Childebert and Clothar II the son of Chilperic, the grandson of Clothar I, and Dagobert. Jacobus Doubletius, Zacharias Lippelous (who also confuses him with the other Sulpitius), and Trithemius in his work on Illustrious Men of the Order of Saint Benedict, book 3, chapter 81, and book 4, chapter 55, also treat of him. Antonius Yepes in the Benedictine Chronicle, century 2, year 588, makes this one the successor of Remigius; and yet tells of him whatever Surius tells, now saying he lived under Clothar, now under Guntram. Domeneccus likewise conflates the deeds of both into the praise of one, whom he says lived under Guntram.

[11] Saints familiar with Sulpitius. Baudemundus mentions Saint Sulpitius in the Life of Saint Amandus on February 6: "After this," he says, "having received the blessing from the Abbot of that place and from the Brothers, he went to the city of Bourges to the holy Austregisilus, who was then held to be magnificent and distinguished in the things of God. And when he had been most kindly received by him and by his Archdeacon, namely the most holy Sulpitius, who afterward became illustrious as bishop, all hospitality was shown to him," etc. Notger has nearly the same in the Life of Saint Landoald on March 19, and Harigero the Abbot in chapter 41. But Harigero, in chapter 48, speaking of Saint Remaclus: "There are two Metropolitan sees: one of Bordeaux, always distinguished by the titles of great men; the other of Bourges, having at this time as its Archbishop the holy Austregisilus, and as Archdeacon the Blessed Sulpitius, who was shortly afterward honored with the dignity of bishop." Notger, in his Life of the same Saint Remaclus on September 3: "The boy Remaclus, of good character, was educated under Blessed Sulpitius, in whose honor it is known that many churches in our diocese (of Liege) were afterward dedicated by the same holy man." In the Life of Saint Dulcardus on October 25: "From which time he so fixed himself in the heart of the Lord Sulpitius, Bishop of Bourges, that this great Bishop deigned to visit him most frequently, intending to have conversations with him about heavenly glory."

Section III. The age of Saint Sulpitius.

[12] Concerning the date as reported by others: The opinion of those who would have Saint Sulpitius Pius die under Guntram, before Saint Gregory of Tours, has already been refuted. Constantinus Ghinius states, erroneously, that he died around the year 600: the Florarium says the year 629; Trithemius that he flourished in 640; Joannes Chenu that he held the see from 628 to 640; Aimoinus that he was present at the assembly of Clichy in 659, which will be refuted below.

[13] From the Life it is established that he received the burden of the clergy under King Theodoric, and attained the rank of Levite: that in the camp of Clothar he held the office of Abbot; from the author of the Life. and at his command he earned the episcopal See: that he obtained from Dagobert the abrogation of an unjust tribute, and the King himself died after ^a brief space of time. Theodoric died in the year 613. Clothar attained the monarchy of the kingdom of the Franks in 614 and died in 628. Dagobert died in 644. Flodoardus, in his History of Reims, book 2, chapter 5, writes that Sonnatius, Archbishop of Reims, held ^a synod in the time of King Dagobert, with forty or more bishops of the Gauls, among whom he numbers Sulpitius of Bourges. That this synod was held around the year of Christ 630 is shown by our Sirmondus.

[14] But in what year he received the episcopate is not clear. It is established that his predecessor, Saint Austregisilus, held the see for twelve years. Joannes Chenu writes that he was created bishop in 615: whence it would follow that he died in 627 or 628, and thus that Sulpitius was created bishop in the very last years of Clothar. Whether created bishop in the last year of Clothar: But from the Life of Sulpitius it is clear that Austregisilus held the see under Theodoric. He orders the chronology of kings differently, however, as does Sigebert, who writes at the year 627: "In the Gauls there flourished Austregisilus of Bourges, and under him Sulpitius."

[15] Others hold that Sulpitius himself held the see under Theodoric. We shall give on October 7 ^a double Life of Saint Leopardinus, Abbot and Martyr; in the other of these the following is found: "For hearing by the daily certainty of true report, whether under Theodoric. that in the time of King Theodoric, the blessed and great Sulpitius Pius, the ornament of all religion, surnamed 'of praise,' presides in the archiepiscopal see at Bourges, he set out on the road to visit him." More is then added about their mutual meeting and later deeds. In the Life of Saint Austregisilus it is also said that while Blessed Austregisilus was still alive, "from the court of King Theodoric, with the King's permission, Guarnerius, ^a most savage man, came to the city of Bourges, intending to exact from that city money in the King's name which it was not accustomed to pay, but he was even forbidden entry to the city by Saint Austregisilus. Then indeed, furiously angry that he could not fulfill the King's will and his own against the opposition of the Bishop, he went back in ^a rage to the King; he reported to him that, with Bishop Austregisilus resisting, he had been unable to do what the King had ordered. Meanwhile, however, Blessed Austregisilus rested in peace at ^a blessed end, and his Deacon Sulpitius succeeded him. Afterward Guarnerius returned to carry out under Sulpitius what he could not under Austregisilus. But Sulpitius, in his anxiety, took refuge in the Lord, seeking from Him counsel for managing the affair well: for he was ^a gentle and mild man, and did not see how he could resist the violence of the man. The wrong done to him and his people is divinely avenged. Then he went to Guarnerius: he begged that those who under his predecessor had been immune from such ^a burden should also in his time be allowed to enjoy their accustomed liberty. But Guarnerius, ^a fierce man, scorned the prayers of the man of God. Therefore Sulpitius said to him: 'If indeed you obtain your wish against right and justice, you will not endure it unpunished for long.'" The author then continues in Surius with the vengeance that God soon took upon the blasphemous and cruel man.

[16] Someone may object that these things were added to the Life of Saint Austregisilus by ^a later writer, who also appended events from the age of Pippin; and that therefore ^a lapse of ^a hundred and fifty years afterward seems more tolerable. But the earlier parts at least, which are established to have been committed to writing by ^a contemporary, When he was made Deacon. conflict with the Life of Saint Sulpitius: for the latter reports that under Bishop Austregisilus he received the burden of the clergy by having his hair cut; while the former says he was already ^a Deacon when Austregisilus entered upon the episcopate: "For when he had first entered the borders of the city of Bourges, on that night he stayed in the estate called Germigny: and at dawn he summoned to himself the Deacon Sulpitius, who afterward succeeded him in the episcopate, and likewise the Deacon Desiderius, and said to them:" etc. Perhaps for this reason Saussaius wrote in his Martyrology that Sulpitius was raised through the customary grades to the Levitical order by Saint Apollinaris, Archbishop of Bourges. Nor is it surprising that anyone should err in memory, even when narrating things he has seen: nevertheless, regarding chronology, more credence should be given to the one who deliberately sets out to recount the deeds of Sulpitius himself. Concerning Saint Apollinaris, the predecessor of Saint Austregisilus, we shall treat on October 5.

[17] Now concerning the death of Sulpitius we must inquire. Wion states on January 16 that he died in the year 647; Chenu says 640; Claudius Robertus 640 or 641. In the shorter Life, chapter 1, number 7, it is said that after the violent census which Lullus was preparing by the authority of King Dagobert was abrogated: When he died. "Nevertheless, it is believed that by divine vengeance both the King and his agent died after ^a brief space of time." Since Sulpitius seems to have survived even after that affair, it is not improbable that he lived to the year 647, which Wion assigns (though we do not know on what author's authority). Wulfoledus, Bishop of the Church of Bourges, subscribed to the Council of Chalon, held under Clovis around the year of Christ 650, as Sirmondus judges; and to the privilege of liberty granted to the monastery of Saint-Denis by Landericus, Bishop of Paris, in the fifteenth year of Clovis II, the year of Christ 658. Whence it is manifest that Aimoinus errs in book 4, chapter 41, when he writes that Blessed Sulpitius was present at the assembly of Clichy, at which King Clovis ordered ^a precept of his authority to be written concerning the same liberty of the monastery of Saint-Denis, in the year of Christ 659. Nor is Wulfolenus himself found to have subscribed there.

[18] There is extant in volume 1 of the Frankish writers of Andre du Chesne ^a letter of Saint Desiderius, His letter. Bishop of Cahors, about whom we shall treat on November 16, inscribed to the holy Patriarch Sulpitius; and one of Sulpitius himself, Bishop of the city of Bourges, inscribed "To the Lord ever proper and to be venerated by the Apostolic See, Desiderius, Pontiff of the city of Cahors"; and another "To the Lord ever to be respected and venerated with all honor, the Lord Desiderius, Pope." Another letter of the same Sulpitius to Verus, Bishop of the city of Rodez.

Section IV. Relics. Their translation.

[19] Vincentius Antonius Domeneccus, in his book on the Saints of the Principality of Catalonia, Relics at Villefranche, writes that the head of Saint Sulpitius, Archbishop of Bourges, was brought to Villefranche, ^a town in the district of Conflent on the river Tet, and is preserved there with great veneration in the parish church. In ^a certain Martyrology of the Charterhouse of Brussels, the following is written in the margin by ^a later hand concerning Saint Sulpitius: and elsewhere. "He now rests at Abresouse." What that place is, we do not know.

[20] Ado has the following on January 15: "In the city of Bourges, the Translation of Sulpitius, Bishop and Confessor, who, educated from boyhood in sacred letters and conspicuous for the light of holy conduct, was renowned even as ^a layman for his virtues. Translation on January 15. Then, after laying aside his hair, he became the Father of monks: and thence raised to the episcopal chair, famous for his life and glorious for his miracles, he rested." The common Bede has the same. Wion, Menardus, Saussaius, the Florarium, and other manuscripts also mention this Translation. But at what time or to what place it was made, they do not disclose. Joannes Chenu reports that his body once rested in the church of the monastery of Saint Sulpitius, carefully preserved by the religious.

[21] On January 26, as we noted above, the name of Saint Sulpitius of Bourges is recorded in certain Martyrologies: whether this one or the first, whether ^a feast was customarily celebrated anywhere on that day; whether any translation of either was made on that day; whether instead of "Bituricensis" one should read "Baiocensis" (of Bayeux, whose bishop is venerated the following day) — this is unknown to us. And August 17. But again on August 27, the Carthusians of Cologne in their supplement to Usuardus, Bellinus of Padua in the Paris edition of 1521, and the German Martyrology have: "In the city of Bourges, the Translation of Saint Sulpitius, Bishop and Confessor." The same is mentioned on that day in certain manuscripts and by Saussaius.

LIFE

By ^a contemporary anonymous author, from three ancient manuscripts.

Sulpitius Pius, Bishop of Bourges in Gaul (Saint)

BHL Number: 7930

By ^a contemporary anonymous author, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE.

[1] With the radiant glory shining forth, by which, through the gift of the eternal Emperor and the merits of the nurturing Bishop, the hall of the Church is filled, resplendent with the lamp of virtues, though we are less than fit to speak worthily, nevertheless we attempt to bring it, even in humble speech, to the ears of the devoted people: especially since it is the fruit of those who hear The fruit of the Lives of the Saints. to review by the pen the deeds of faithful men for the memory of the peoples.

And though the just man needs nothing from mortal writing, whose name is already contained in the heavenly page; yet the growth of faith increases when the recent examples of the Saints are recounted, since both the shepherd, now enclosed in paradise, is represented in earthly writing to the flock of Christ's people, and the flock, summoned by examples, directs its steps toward heaven: so that, according to the oracle of Daniel, the people taught by the instruction of their patron may shine like the splendor of the firmament, and the teacher may gleam with starry light accumulating upon himself: especially since, for the declaration of his merit, in the vast expanse of Gaul, amid the frequent matter of virtues, A lamp overflowing with oil at the tomb of Sulpitius. by the notable gift of Christ, at his sacred body, ^a perpetual fountain of oil abounds with heavenly dew, and thus the fire takes continuous fuel, so that by the infusion of the Holy Spirit the liquid receives continual increase: for though nature extinguished the mortal frame of this prudent man by the death that was owed, yet the monument of his living miracles shines forth. Daniel 12:3.

CHAPTER I.

The conduct of Saint Sulpitius in secular life.

[2] In that time Blessed Sulpitius, born of distinguished parents, virtually among the foremost citizens, raised in the royal court, Saint Sulpitius devoted to piety from boyhood: was the illustrious Pastor of the city of Bourges, and is now by his glorious departure become its Patron. He, in the flower of his earliest age, having broken the snares of the world, took up the warfare of Christ with ^a resolution of perseverance: and the blessed man had burned with so great ^a zeal for embracing the religious life, even as ^a mere boy, that (so to speak) if the time of persecution had not been lacking, he would have recklessly thrown himself into dangers of his own accord. He then began to devote himself to the reading of divine books and to exercise himself not sluggishly in the teachings of the faith.

[3] He restrains his desires by prayer and abstinence: Therefore, for the purpose of repressing youthful desires and acquiring the advances of wisdom, he bound himself with the reins of prayers and abstinence. And from his very cradle the ecclesiastical rule was so honorable to him in its observance that he not only converted to the faith the crowds of many young and old men who flocked to him inquiring about the religion of our faith, but also formed them in the practices of the perfect life. The divine grace was manifestly present in him, he instructs others: through which he provoked innumerable persons to imitate him in the faith of God. Above all things he held that the precepts of the Gospel and the voice of the Savior must be fulfilled with the highest love and zeal. For although he seemed perhaps young and of less mature understanding, yet as an indication of the most perfect chastity, maintaining continence as ^a kind of first foundation, he set it in his soul; a lover of chastity: and thus he proceeded to build the remaining virtues upon this one; and according to the faith of the Gospels, in which the exhortation of the Savior's voice is set forth, "Because there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God," spurning the bond of marriage, he maintained his resolution of chastity. Matthew 19:12.

[4] Certainly, as far as we have learned from the account of those who were his companions or ministers from his boyhood up to our own times, he adorns sacred places: while still in secular garb he appeared to do nothing other than build monasteries, erect basilicas with new construction, restore ruined churches, bring aid to the wretched, he assists the needy: provide necessities from his own resources to the poor and the destitute, and not only encourage the afflicted with the speech and exhortation of perfect and spiritual teaching, but also free many from the penalties of imprisonment and its squalor through his own services and efforts.

[5] There was ^a certain church, not far from his parents' home, which had been nearly destroyed by enemies, where there was no gathering of clergy or people. There, as the blessed man frequently offered the profits of his prayers — who indeed, wishing to avoid the inducement of vainglory, when the deep silence of the nights came, would secretly put on the garments customarily worn by penitents, and unarmed would proceed to keep vigil throughout the night in sacred prayers; He frequents the church at night, in the garb of penitents: and with the sacred labor of scorning the sloth of sleep, having passed the time in sweet meditation, when the splendor of the rosy dawn illumined the world, he would again be dressed in secular attire, and thus he strove to conceal his holy purpose.

[6] These were the first childish beginnings: this was the play of his infancy: such was the affection toward God that burned in him. One night, in the church of which we have spoken, [he puts demons to flight with the sign of the Cross, who were troubling his attendants:] while keeping vigil with two small boys and applying himself more intently to prayer, with all the delight of his mind suspended in the depths, two most foul and monstrous spirits, similar in appearance to Ethiopians, seized the individual boys and tried to drag them violently from the church. At last the man of God, hearing them wailing behind him with great cries, found his attendants; he beheld the foul spirits, raised his hand against the adversaries, and as the spirits were already snatching the boys away and gaining the exit, he brought down the sacred standard of the Cross of God. Immediately, with the foul and bloody ones having fled, the boys remained safe.

[7] From that time, therefore, the rival of all goodness and enemy of truth and foe of human salvation, directing all his devices against the soldier of God, and unable to corrupt him in his mind, strove to terrify him with phantasmic threats. Concerning this, anyone who wishes to learn more thoroughly, we shall show briefly ^a little further on in its proper place. He becomes famous for other miracles: Meanwhile he began to become illustrious with signs and to be adorned with miracles of virtues. For even while still in secular garb, he put demons to flight by his word and healed the sick by his prayer; the athlete of Christ laboring with all his might so that from his holy purpose, which he desired to hide from human favor, he flees vainglory: no breath of this world's favor might burst forth and defile his ears with the pollution of arrogance.

[8] Therefore, while these things were being done by him, and through the goodness of his deeds the truth of our God was known by ^a kind of silent proclamation; and since quite often (as usually happens) the splendor of this light kindled some to pious belief while the dark gloom of clouded faithlessness engulfed others who impiously detracted, so that what is written in Genesis seemed fulfilled: "Because there was thick and palpable darkness upon the Egyptians; but for the children of Israel there was light in all their dwellings"; nevertheless our God continues to be magnified in his Saint, he shines with the splendor of virtues. and to advance the work of the virtue begun with more prosperous successes. Exodus 10:22.

e. The same: "These."

CHAPTER II.

His life in the religious habit before the episcopate.

[9] When therefore the fame concerning him had spread far and wide, and had winged its way especially in the region that lies under the western sky, Austregisilus, Bishop of the city of Bourges, asked Prince Theodoric to grant him permission to share with Sulpitius the teaching office in the Church, because multitudes were flocking to him for the sake of his teaching. Without delay: the royal authorization was conveyed, He becomes ^a Deacon: that with his hair cut, he should take up the burden of the clergy; and advancing through the successive grades, for ^a year and more, placing him above the rest, he was invested with the Levitical rank and ministered in the Church.

[10] Meanwhile the grace of signs girded him more and more. And when the faithful had persuaded Prince Clothar, then Abbot in the army. the Prince immediately asked the Bishop to grant permission, for his own salvation and that of his army, for the blessed man to hold the office of Abbot in his camp. Therefore, when provisions were supplied at the expense of himself and all his men for three days, He distributes the royal rations to the poor. keeping the supply for one day, he distributed the rest to the needy. And when his men were murmuring out of fear of want: "Fix the eye of your mind," he said, "O sons, upon the Lord the Savior; seek first his kingdom and his justice, and all things shall be added to you. Psalm 33:11. Remember that prophetic word: 'Those who seek the Lord shall not want for any good thing.'" More is supplied. Indeed, so great an abundance of food was immediately sent to him by the faithful that it would not be absurd to say he rejoiced at having received, without human glory, the hundredfold return which the faithful Rewarder had promised to his disciples. Matthew 19:29.

[11] At length, after ^a few days had passed, the King was afflicted with ^a cruel illness, and the poison spreading through his limbs hastened him headlong toward death. Meanwhile the Queen, struck with sudden grief, cast aside her jewels, tore her garments, lacerated her hair and cheeks, and was already mourning her husband as though lost. The household was in turmoil; the tears of the servants were joined to the lamentations of their mistress. They ran to the most blessed man, He prays and fasts for the ailing King: they clung to the Saint's knees, they watered his feet with tears, that the pious Priest might pour forth ^a prayer to the Lord for the King's health. He, however, whose hope was in Almighty God, watered his face with tears and beat his breast and drew forth painful sighs; he continued in vigils and fasting, ceaselessly pouring forth prayers for the sick man. After five days the King slipped closer and closer to death: then the Priest was asked by his companions to take ^a small amount of food to temper his excessive fasting. "I will not eat," he said, "until I can obtain health for the Prince from Christ the Lord, whom I serve." And when they were crying out that the Prince was already at the point of death and nearly lifeless, and that he was afflicting his innocent body to no avail by prolonged abstinence; He foretells that the King will be healed. he, whose salvation was firmly in God, promised that after seven days were completed the Prince, having recovered his former strength, would take food together with himself and the other companions. And so the day longed for by the prayers of all arrived: the promises of the Priest were fulfilled: swift healing was granted to the Prince: the Priest was raised up in glorious triumph by the hands of all, and was summoned to the royal banquet with great honors. He was indeed dear and acceptable to all on this account.

[12] And since we have set down in order the deeds which we learned from our elders who were contemporaries of the blessed man, with the same fidelity as they came to us; The age and trustworthiness of the author. let us now take as our starting point our own time: partly what we ourselves have witnessed, and partly what has been transmitted to us by our fellow students, and let us leave it for the memory of posterity.

CHAPTER III.

The apostolic life in the episcopate.

[13] When therefore the royal court bloomed with fair beauty from the flowers of his virtues and the gems of grace and signs, and ^a certain splendor of light had shone forth upon this world, and the fragrance of his sweetness had filled far and wide; it happened that the holy Bishop, of whom we made mention ^a little above, Upon the death of Saint Austregisilus, departed to the Lord by ^a glorious passing. And when the entire people of the Church had assembled together for the election of ^a bishop, and one was clamoring for one and another for another, as is customary in such matters, and ^a certain faction of the more reckless crowd was giving its consent in favor of certain powerful men among the leading citizens, Many pursue the see of Bourges by simony: and through ^a mortal and presumptuous Prefect, with infinite weights of gold and silver, they had presented to the King ^a declaration of assent, so that according to the sacrilegious sect of the accursed Simon, they might seize the heavenly grace against right and justice: but our men, whom the Savior addresses, "Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom," were asking from the immortal Christ and perfect God that the blessed man might be their priest; they nonetheless sent ^a modest petition in few words, and through one of those of whom it is said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," they made their case known to the King's ears. Luke 12:32. Matthew 5:3. Since the King (as often happens), infected by the poison of human cupidity, had bent his mind toward the copious money that had been brought, At the urging of the Queen, his wife, kindled with divine love, admonished her husband, crying out that it would be worthy and just, after the passing of so great ^a man, to appoint to his see one who was equal in merit, and adorned with signs and miracles, and supported by ^a similar beauty of the grace of virtues. And the glorious woman recalled to her husband's memory with what labor and prayer he had recently drawn him back from the precipice of death. At last, by heavenly indulgence, the Prince took deeper counsel: having suppressed the poison of cupidity and spurned the promptings of evil men, he ordered without delay that what belonged to divine providence be fulfilled. Sulpitius is appointed successor. And thus, with the Lord arranging it, he earned the episcopal see of the first rank of Aquitaine. For the aid of God's will was present, so that ^a swift conversion recalled the peoples who were at variance with one another and dissenting in spirit to the love of the Bishop, and suddenly united them in one accord.

[14] Having therefore obtained the ornament of the pontificate, he yielded to the burden, not to the honor: he was indeed made all things to all men, He lives most holily in the episcopate. not seeking what was useful to himself but what was useful to many, that they might be saved: and suddenly, like ^a lamp, the Lord hastened to kindle his Priest. For the blessed man gave himself wholly over to the most abundant abstinence, to unceasing fasts, to almost continuous vigils, so that whenever the necessity of nature demanded ^a little sleep, it was not upon the softness of ^a bed, which he was never accustomed to use, but upon the surface of ^a mere straw mattress and ^a hair shirt that he would lie.

[15] This venerable and God-worthy man, though he was distinguished in all things for purity of life and virtues of the soul, did not esteem highly the ornament of speech, namely because in him the soul was adorned with divine virtues, as well as with the grace of signs which had been granted to him by our Lord Jesus Christ; increasing daily the preaching of the word of God, He devotes himself to preaching. and more broadly sowing the salutary seeds of the kingdom of heaven throughout the whole land. He soon advanced so much in amending the Jewish people, who were infected with ancient poisons, that they seemed to see as it were ^a new light of truth arising for them: He converts many Jews. and since the teacher of religion taught many things by words but more by examples, and they did not see him imposing upon his disciples what he himself had not first done: he did not allow ^a single Jew to dwell without the grace of baptism in the city entrusted to him from heaven. For as he ceaselessly besought the Lord for their conversion, and taught them that through baptism they had the remission of sins, and that they could not otherwise enter the kingdom of God, as if the rays of the true sun had shone into their hearts, astonished and beholding the glory of God with face unveiled, repenting of their ancient errors, coming with faithful confession, they were baptized by the same Bishop. By the divine gift, therefore, the excellent warrior snatched the prey from the enemy and restored it to its Author, and by the love of Christ drove from the innermost recesses of their hearts the stain of unbelief. Some of them live under the religion of our faith to this day.

[16] He shines with apostolic signs. For after ^a brief time such great grace of virtues was increased in him that signs were done through him no less than formerly through the Apostles. For since we said ^a little above that he put demons to flight by his word and healed the sick by his prayer, our God added to magnify his Saint; so that in the course of time he restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, life to the dead, hands to the maimed, and the ability to walk to the lame, and

very many other things which it would take long to enumerate one by one: of which, if God's favor assists, we wish to touch upon ^a few. Come then, discourse, deliver what you promise.

CHAPTER IV.

Various miracles performed by him.

[17] A certain Gunthoaldus brought before the feet of the blessed man his son, about ten years old, whose throat had so adhered to his tongue that intelligible speech had never been uttered from his mouth: he made the whole situation known. But the Bishop, moved by human compassion, with groaning and sighs raised his eyes and palms toward heaven at the same time; He obtains the power of speech for ^a mute by the sign of the Cross. he invoked with tears poured forth in full faith Christ, who is God over all, and after offering ^a prayer, he touched the boy's tongue and impressed the sign of the Cross upon it. Immediately the tongue was freed, and with various responses in conversation he speaks wonderfully to this day. Stupendous deeds follow upon the illustrious and glorious signs.

[18] At the time when ^a deadly famine had ravaged all the provinces, ^a certain boy, nearly dead with hunger, rolled himself at the Saint's knees with feeble breath and implored him to have mercy on him. The man, full of piety, having compassion, looked to the one who was in charge of the household and said: "I commend this one to you with the utmost care, under the testimony of Christ." Then that man, just as he had been ordered, promised he would exercise diligence: but being occupied here and there with various duties, he began to take somewhat negligent care of the poor boy, who, consumed at once by cold and lack of food, threw himself into the furnace of the baths. And since, with feeble breath, he could no longer move his exhausted limbs, he finally perished. When all had been examined, the servant at length, searching everywhere and finding no trace of the boy, the blessed Bishop demanded from his servant the one who had been entrusted to him. But the servant, clasping his knees, confessed that he had lost him. Immediately the blessed man entered his cell, prostrated himself on the ground, poured forth abundant tears, redoubled deep sighs, besought the Lord Jesus that the boy might at last be returned to his sight. For he had taken so hard what he heard, and uttered such weeping with cries, as if mourning his own crime, as if before the tribunal of the eternal Judge the soul of the dead were being required from his hands. Meanwhile, the one whose duty it was hastened to light the furnace, and finding the corpse, tried to drag the rigid limbs; and recognizing the lifeless body, he reported it to the blessed Bishop. He recalls to life one killed by cold and starvation. Again the Bishop, prostrate on the ground, groaned, poured forth prayers, and remained long in sighs; then, lifting his head, he ordered hot water to be poured over the bones of the lifeless body. Meanwhile the Priest of God, without ceasing, was imploring the Lord with ^a beating breast for that same one. The limbs of the dead man began to move gradually, and the bones began to return, ministering to their functions, to their former service: and though faintly, while the blessed man continued in prayer, the boy rolled himself at his feet, and having touched the footstep, he recovered his former strength. He is believed to survive today, safe from the peril of famine: for he dwelt with us ^a long time afterward.

[19] Not much time having elapsed, another deed divinely accomplished through him is also recorded. There was ^a certain deep pool situated in the small field of the people of Vierzon, so copious with the mass of its waters and as if consecrated to demons, that if anyone entered it for whatever reason, he was immediately wound about with demonic bonds and cruelly lost his life. But by the help of God, the arrival of Blessed Sulpitius came at ^a certain time. Then the local inhabitants clung to the Saint's knees: they implored the Priest to help them, for they were lamenting that they had lost many relatives and servants there. He drives ^a demon from the waters by chrism. But he (as always), moved with his whole heart by compassion, ordered ^a small amount of chrism to be mixed with oil and water, and blessing it, gave it to ^a disciple, commanding him to say in the manner of the Prophet Elisha: "Thus says the Lord: I have healed these waters, and there shall no longer be in them death or barrenness." 2 Kings 2:21. When this was done, the most evil enemy was so completely driven from that place that from then on all pass through with good fortune, and an abundance of fish is drawn from the banks, and no one experiences danger. Health was therefore restored to the people, and the affliction of the water was removed.

[20] Not long afterward ^a far more illustrious miracle follows. When one of the rustics had voluntarily thrown himself into the river to relieve the summer heat, he was immediately bound by the snares of Satan and his life was violently cut short. This place is situated not far from the house of the basilica, where the Saint of God was reclining with the Brothers at ^a meal in ^a certain portico for the sake of refreshment. Meanwhile, ^a certain old woman, who was standing at ^a distance, suddenly signaled with her hand to the servants who were attending in the sight of the blessed Bishop. But they tried to ascertain the meaning of the matter through one of their fellow servants. And when they came to the place, the woman indicated that ^a certain man had been submerged in the depths and had lost his breath. Then she summoned her companions and reported it to the Bishop, who ordered the recovered body to be kept until the Ninth Hour. And when all had finished their meal, he went to ^a place of prayer: and indeed, immediately, just as he had requested, he obtained the restoration to life of the lifeless man. But he decided to let three hours pass from the Sixth Hour, so that no one would doubt that the man had truly been dead. At length he rose from prayer, He restores to life by the sign of the Cross one drowned in the river. and commanded the lifeless body to be placed before him, and raising his hand he impressed the image of the Cross: with his breath restored, the limbs of the dead man moved in every direction: at the voice of the Bishop he quickly rose up unharmed; having recovered his strength, he returned home on his own feet.

CHAPTER V.

Other miracles performed by the sign of the Cross.

[21] At ^a certain time ^a man of the nobility, named Theodegisilus, came to visit the blessed Bishop: he showed the affection which he knew was bestowed upon all: and since it was winter, much fuel was heaped upon the fire: the minds of the servants were perhaps occupied elsewhere, and no one was attentive to the danger of fire. At length the flames voraciously devoured the roof: and now everything that had been sprinkled began to be shaken, and threatening to collapse, they met with powerful flames: the copious fire had thrown all into terror, owing to the great difficulty, since no one dared to climb onto the roof: with all hope of rescue abandoned, everyone took to flight. He extinguishes the flames. With the banner of the Cross the Priest strove to resist the flames with his hand. And to the wonder of all, the balls of flame were immediately extinguished before the Priest of God withdrew his hand, as if they had been surrounded on all sides by the force of the waters of ^a great river.

[22] Let us now relate ^a similar deed. Within the walls of the city, ^a certain noble woman had filled ^a great granary with sheaves of grain: in the dead of night ^a criminal secretly entered and set fire to it: He sets ^a boundary to the fire. soon the flames

surrounded it on every side. Nor could it be hidden, when the grief of all made it known: an outcry arose, while the blessed man was weighed down by unusual slumber. At length through ^a disciple he learned the cause of the affair, and hurrying with swift pace, he circled the pyre of flames with spiritual hymns, and in wondrous ways fixed ^a boundary with his staff, ^a fiery hill which the flames might not cross. From every side, as they touched the neighboring and adjoining houses, the flames turned back upon themselves and were extinguished into one mass, fleeing the boundary they dared not cross. Rejoicing, the Father returned to the church to pay the praises due at the morning hours.

[23] Let us add ^a third similar miracle. The man of God had built ^a certain monastery in the same city with the greatest effort, in which he had enclosed ^a company of virgins and continent women, where he had raised the structure of stones with grand edifices. Through the fault of some careless person, when the silence of night came, fire was gradually caught from ^a wall and grew; soon, breaking through the house, it hastened to reach the neighboring buildings. And now the mass of flames had grown into ^a great mountain. At length the Priest of God, summoned by the prayers of his flock, ran to the fold, and with the sign of the Cross prepared to resist the flames of immense height. He extinguishes the fire again, with ^a dove flying down from heaven. Immediately in the midst of the pyre ^a holy aid appeared, in the form of ^a dove, in which the Holy Spirit had descended upon the Lord when he was baptized. Suddenly the flames, extinguished, did not dare to touch the other houses. The shepherd strengthened the rescued flock with salutary admonitions, through whose teaching the resolution of chastity shines among them to this day; and while they clothe themselves with the pursuit of wisdom, they consecrate not only their bodies but also their souls to virginity, preparing pure vessels for wisdom, from which they seek holy and immortal unions of the divine word, from which ^a posterity is left that is by no means subject to corruptible mortality: but how great ^a grace of abstinence, sobriety, and honesty shines among them with fair beauty, powers of speech cannot convey. Let us now return to the thread of our narrative.

[24] Far from the city, in ^a place called Anatra, he ordered an immense tree to be cut down with axes, and as it fell swiftly when cut, By the sign of the Cross he turns ^a falling tree to the other side. one of the boys, his mind occupied elsewhere and standing stupefied, did not flee from death in his heedlessness. Immediately the Priest raised his hand with the sign of the Cross, wondrously turned the tree to the other side, and snatched the boy safe from the peril of death.

CHAPTER VI.

The unjust tribute abolished through his efforts.

[25] And when already, shining like the light of the brightest stars, with infinite miracles of signs, with the faith flourishing by which all everywhere had equally believed in the Lord the Savior; that rival of all goodness and ancient deceiver of the human race, through certain malicious men, strove to attack by internal war the Church resting in peace with all its people; and he inflamed ^a certain Prince of the provinces of Gaul with the fire of cupidity, When an unjust tribute is imposed on the city, and urged him by secret persuasions to enroll the people of Bourges together with the priests of the Church in an accursed tax. And like ^a beast hissing with ^a double mouth and darting diabolic venom with twin tongues, he sent one of his followers to shake the said people. But because the divine power and grace never forsakes its own in the greatest and most critical contest, the accursed agent under the cruelty of the King had compelled the Christian multitude, which had been free from of old, to submit to servitude.

[26] The whole multitude, not enduring the wicked affliction, flocked to the pious Pastor, and such was the roar of the weeping throng with uplifted voices that it seemed to those who heard it to be ^a terrible thunderclap. All their voices clamored this one thing: "O pious Pastor, come to the aid of the flock which until now you have cherished with pastoral affection. Act, lest the flock entrusted to you by the Lord perish: defend it from the wolf who tears it with his rabid tooth." Whence he himself, moved by exceeding piety, proclaimed ^a fast for all, and gently addressed the Assessor, that he might cease to carry out the wicked order. But when his hard mind was not broken by pride, having proclaimed ^a fast and he burned ever more fiercely, spurning the words of the Priest; the Blessed One went to his cell, prostrated himself on the ground, beat his holy breast, and sought from the Lord what he had been unable to obtain from the Governor; and knowing that it is no less ^a virtue of spirit to pray to the Lord for an enemy than to lay down one's life for the Lord, he asked for the conversion of his enemies rather than their destruction. And indeed immediately, had he asked, ^a fitting punishment would have struck the intemperate Prince and the most savage Assessor. But the blessed man was always gentle and compassionate toward his adversaries.

[27] Meanwhile he sent one of his solitaries, named Ebregiselus, who had renounced all things, that is, the world with its works, and who in life and speech was, after the example of the blessed man, more outstanding than the rest, he sends one to warn: to rebuke the cruelty of the Prince, and to announce to him that, unless he changed his ways to amend his life, sudden destruction was imminent. The Blessed One's follower also added, warning the Prince about the impieties and crimes he had committed, if perhaps he might be led to repent of his offense, if he might weep for his crime, and extinguish the avenging flames of punishment with an abundance of tears, because God does not so much will the death of the sinner as that he be converted and live. He obtains amendment from him. When the King heard this, he was seized with exceeding fear and shaken with such terror that, immediately acknowledging his fault and atoning for his offense with tears, performing penance without royal pride, he willingly fulfilled what had been communicated through the disciple by so great ^a Priest. The unusual tax was swiftly abolished, the impious registration was rescinded, salvation was given to the people, and as if after an exceeding storm the splendor of the sun had been restored, with peace granted to the Churches, the joys of the Priests were increased. The King also wondrously added that ^a general decree be issued so that the wicked exaction would never again be repeated upon the people. But as for the cruel Assessor, The refractory Assessor divinely punished. who would not give his consent to the King's amendment, divine vengeance struck him, and he immediately lost with disgrace the life he had enjoyed unworthily. For the agent of so great ^a crime could not escape unpunished. O blessed man in all respects, who never defended himself against the fury of his adversaries with hand or weapon, but by continuous fasts and vigils, stationed beneath the altar, through supplication prepared God as his defender and that of his Church. And who could ever have been able to deter him by his devices and attacks, when he always remained safe and unconquered by the helping right hand of Christ?

CHAPTER VII.

He takes on ^a coadjutor. Exercises of virtue.

[28] About the same time, the man of God, adorned with signs and all virtues in every respect, and observing apostolic simplicity in the word of God, inferior to none and in every way ^a perfect priest and offering of God, while he was striving everywhere with solicitude to complete the work long since undertaken on behalf of the need of the poor; In old age he takes on ^a Coadjutor. and since his now mature age was sinking toward decrepit old age, and he saw that he could not suffice for everything, either to be free for deeper divine contemplation, or to remain in holy prayers as he constantly desired; or to fulfill the instruction of those who were daily being restored to the faith, by all of which combined he was not given so much as ^a single hour of free time to catch his breath, since he was always being called from one thing to another, so that from the first light of dawn until the deep evening he never ceased to be occupied in various activities; seeing himself weighed down by so great ^a burden, he judged it more useful to entrust to one of the faithful Christians, ^a leading man of the region who was already fully and excellently instructed, Vulfelentus, the sharing of his office and labor, and to commit to him the ministry of the divine word, and so, with the clergy assembled, he received the rights of the priesthood there.

[29] Who could describe with what humility, with what charity, He devotes himself to the care of his companions and the poor. he thenceforth was content to devote himself to the support of his companions and ministers and of the poor? He who always chewed over that Gospel saying with his most pure lips, and strove with all his strength to fulfill it in deed: "He who wishes to be first among you, let him be your servant; and he who wishes to be your lord, let him be your slave." Matthew 20:26. And because he had the eye of his mind entirely fixed on God, he unceasingly contemplated that our Lord Jesus Christ, made man for our sake, had taught us this: that we should struggle against sin even unto death; for indeed he did not think it robbery to be equal with God, He strives to emulate the humility of Christ. but emptied himself, taking the form of ^a servant, and being found in human form, he humbled himself even unto death: whom Sulpitius, the servant of God, followed, undertaking all the labors of affliction and torments of flesh and mind, lest he stain the resolution of faith with his conscience.

[30] For indeed if we now wish to narrate the virtues of the Blessed Bishop Sulpitius and set forth the strength of his constancy, neither do we have the abundance of so great ^a discourse, nor do we think these things would seem credible to any except those alone who beheld them with their own eyes. Now let the discourse run through what he had previously begun, so that we may endeavor to weave together ^a few things about the miracles which he thereafter accomplished through heavenly aid, with his associate ruler now joined to him. At ^a certain time, one of the wicked and, as it happens, of the needy, violently threw himself at night into the storehouse of the blessed man; immediately he tried to seize what his fierce mind had conceived as the crime of theft: and hastening to depart, no way out lay open to the one returning, and as if enclosed by every fortification like ^a prison, He divinely perceives ^a thief wandering in the storehouse: the guilty man was bound on every side. Therefore, having consumed the journey of the entire night in vain, he to whom entry had been easy found not even ^a narrow exit. Meanwhile the splendor of day illuminated the world, and the man of God summoned one of his guards, sending word to his companion to seize the man whom he would find in the storehouse, exhausted by his wandering and bound fast as though by certain chains.

[31] Without delay: the servant hastened to his companion, and when summoned they found the criminal inside, and immediately seized him to drag him out. Between their hands the slippery fellow suddenly escaped, and seeing himself hemmed in by his crime and surrounded on every side by the crowds, preferring to undergo ^a swift death rather than endure long torments for his offense, he casts himself headlong into ^a very deep well: he threw himself headlong into ^a well of nearly eighty cubits' depth, which was nearby, intending to perish. Nevertheless, when the devouring earth had received him, he implored the aid of the blessed Bishop. Then the man of God, arriving with swift haste, ordered one of the boys to descend after the fallen man on ^a rope, admonishing him carefully to pull the criminal up, well secured. And when all were crying out that the man could no longer be alive, whom the maw of so great ^a depth had swallowed, and rather all believed he had already perished; he commanded the boy to obey his orders swiftly. The servant entered, and armed with the sign of the man of God, without hesitating, he is drawn out unharmed. found alive the one whom all had believed to be dead: fastening the captive with ropes, he restored him to the upper ground: the walls were packed with crowds of people: for the spectacle of so great an event nearly the entire city had converged: clapping their hands, the voices of all resounded: they marveled that the one whom they had thought already dead, drowned in the depths of so great ^a height, was unharmed. The criminal at last, shaken from his deep stupor of mind, prostrated at the Saint's feet, begged pardon for his crime. Immediately the man, full of compassion, pardoned him and provided him with the necessities of life, admonishing him often that he should rather ask than seize; that he should wish to obtain his sustenance by gift, not by plunder. And because in him there was perfect humility, ready mercy, holy simplicity, who could express what patience and long-suffering he possessed?

[32] When one of his disciples, of the order of Levites, requested permission to return to his homeland, the Bishop, out of the affection of his love, lest some accident befall him on the long journey, did not grant him freedom to depart. But this man, armed with the spirit of pride, had scarcely let the first rest relax the forgetting of his cares The disobedience of ^a Deacon chastised. when he immediately seized upon flight with ^a swift vehicle, spurred on by his offense: and he was struck with so fitting ^a punishment of blindness that he wandered all night long, here and there, in vain labor. When day returned to the world, having consumed his journey in vain, he saw himself standing in the place from which he had hastily set out. At length he sought pardon for his offense from the Priest, whom I believe nothing escaped; he clung to the Saint's knees, confessed what had happened in order: ^a mind most prompt in compassion forgave him, and immediately granted pardon to the one confessing.

CHAPTER VIII.

Attacks of demons repelled.

[33] For what arts and with what intent the most wicked demon, with his entire army, fought against him, and brought forth new devices beyond all others who at that time were contending in the name of Christ, and stirred up the weapons of demonic fury against him, we have taken care to set forth briefly for those who wish to know. And since we have already said ^a little before about his frequent nocturnal vigils; when in the depth of ^a certain night's silence he had performed the melodious office of the psalms in the baptistery, he set out with ^a few companions to the basilica of the Blessed Martin, so that he might feast upon the divine praises there for the remaining space of the night until matins. And when, with ^a boy preceding him with ^a lantern, he had already reached the doors of the basilica, the deadly demon, thrusting himself forward, in the form of ^a strong and most foul and horrible bird, first tried to extinguish the light that went before. Then he hurled himself with great force into the face and eyes of the holy man, and flying about here and there, with ridiculous attacks, he made himself violent and troublesome again and again. At this the man of God, considering the deeds of the evil one, said: He repels the attacks of demons by the sign of the Cross. "I know who you are, servant of the ancient serpent, nor do you allow yourself to be hidden, you who show yourself as the most wicked persecutor almost constantly." At last, raising his hand with the sign of the Cross, the demon not only dared not hurl himself further, but at the imprint of the impressed Cross he vanished utterly.

[34] Being shameless and engaged in wretched deception, he next kindled the seditious enemy to outrages against the holy man. And so, when he had commanded one of the boys, simple in mind and conversation, named Ansulphus, to go to ^a certain place for the purpose of procuring the necessary sustenance for the Brothers and the poor; without delay, Ansulphus obeyed the commands, fulfilled the orders, and hastened to return home: but the most savage demon, with his attendants, placed himself in his path: he threw him from the vehicle and left him badly beaten with blows, He divinely perceives his servant badly beaten by ^a demon: so that he was carried half-dead to the house by those nearby. And since, on account of the injury done to Saint Sulpitius, no one reported to him what had happened; at last, divinely through the Spirit (for he had received the grace of prophecy), he perceived that his servant had remained mute and blind for ten consecutive days, with all his limbs nearly dead, and his mouth so sealed shut with his teeth that no one could pour even ^a drop of water inside. Meanwhile the man of God indicated to the Brothers, in the order of events, what he had perceived in spirit, grieving for the afflicted one from his affection, and pouring forth tears from compassion, for

as ^a pious shepherd he lamented that ^a sheep was being tortured with bitter pain in his stead. Immediately, however, he prostrated his holy body on the ground, he heals him by prayer. and rising from the ground after prayer, he ordered ^a morsel of bread with wine to be brought to the lifeless man. Immediately, when his teeth were opened with an iron tool, those nearby poured into his mouth ^a drop of the wine that had been sent: and soon the lost senses were restored to the man who was for the most part already dead, and his limbs returned, ministering to their former functions, to their previous vigor. This indeed we have learned from the very one who suffered it, confirmed by the testimony of the faithful.

[35] Not long after, at the setting of the day, he undertook to keep vigil in the church with ^a few companions, and when deep quiet was present, the cunning of the serpent first beguiled with ^a gentle hissing in the air. Then, when quiet was everywhere, with ^a violent assault upon the enclosures of the church, he shook the arches, altars, lamps, and other furnishings, so that the disciples thought the entire church was being utterly destroyed. And when, trembling with exceeding fear, they left off singing the psalms and the hymns, watching for their destruction as they clung to the floor, the blessed and unconquered man in all things persevered so bravely in the divine hymns, making little of what the envious one perpetrated, that he had never been more constant or more illustrious even in prosperous times. At last the envious serpent, with his entire army, gathered himself into one mass, and thinking to terrify that unshaken constancy with heavier blows and noise, He bravely despises the terrors of the demons. crashing with an immense tumult, he hurled himself upon the pavement before the face of the blessed man, so that the disciples thought their Master had been crushed to pieces. They indeed remained long in astonishment: but the glorious Priest, wounding the adversary with divine weapons, persevered in the spiritual hymns: indeed he rebuked the disciples for why they had left off the hymns and been frightened by phantasmic threats. But what wonder if the enemy of the human race sought the death of so great ^a Priest, since he was the leader and standard-bearer among the people of God, when that nefarious and impure evil once even directed its crimes against the very Divinity itself?

[36] And because malice unceasingly fights against goodness, and the rivalry of the adversary pursues the Saints of God, how much the most wicked enemy, manifesting himself through various illusions, is said to have heaped up the goads of his fury against the host of Christ, which His right hand was protecting through His priest, we cannot suffice to express. Nevertheless, let us briefly relate one of those things which he cruelly did against one of the servants of God before so many witnesses. When one of the company, whose duty it was to sing perpetually to God in the mother church, named Leguntius, was proceeding on his appointed course to keep vigil at the church, he encountered the enemy of the human race as his combatant. And the adversary, gnashing with fury, He restores one left half-dead to health by placing the Eucharist in his mouth. tried to call back the servant of God from the good work he had begun; and having afflicted him with many blows, left him half-dead and nearly lifeless. And when he was found the next morning lying prostrate on the ground by many people, he had lost the service of every sense. Then the holy man of God happened to be away from the city, and when he returned after three days, he found him half-dead and badly beaten with blows. Then, prostrating himself beside the limbs of the Brother, he groaned mightily, and when the teeth were forced open, the Priest of God poured the sacrifice into his mouth with his own hands, and to the marvelous astonishment of all those watching, immediately, the man seized the hand of the Priest, rose up unharmed before his face, as if he were thought to have suffered nothing wrong, and leaping everywhere he blessed the Lord.

CHAPTER IX.

Notable benefactions toward various persons.

[37] Not much time later, one of the rustics, having seized an axe in his hand, defiled the day of the Lord's Resurrection with ^a nefarious deed. One who labored on the Lord's Day, and was therefore punished, Immediately the sacrilegious hand withered, the skin dried up with the sinews, and the axe, clinging to it, was locked shut. At once he hastened to the Saint of God, threw himself at the feet of the athlete of Christ: the withered hand betrayed the author of the sacrilege. The Priest admonished the weeping culprit rather to come to the church, continued his prayers beneath the altar, so that at length he might obtain from Christ pardon for the crime he had committed. Meanwhile the Saint of God ran to his accustomed refuge, entered his cell sprinkled with ashes, spent the night in prayer with tears poured forth: and when in the morning the holy man of God came to the church to pay the praises due, with the crowd watching the man with his axe, he heals him by prayer. the man of God applied himself prostrate in prayer. And immediately the culprit, unable to endure the torments, cried out with great shouts, so that the very place seemed to be suddenly shaken: for an immense terror seized all. Meanwhile the sacrilegious hand was suddenly restored to its proper function, the bones, skin, and sinews were filled again with their humors, and the axe sprang apart from it in pieces wondrously: the criminal poured forth abundant tears, confessed his sin and was absolved, and returned home absolved. And so divine providence, surpassing in mercy, composes the diseases of the soul through the affliction of the body, according to the saying: "I will visit their iniquities with the rod, but my mercy I will not take from them." Psalm 88:33.

[38] And because the Lord and Savior, while on earth long ago, had said to his disciples: "If you believe in me, the works that I do you also shall do, and greater things than these you shall do"; indeed at last the spiritual flame had so kindled the blessed man to the love of the faith, The water with which he washed his hands heals diseases. that if anyone secretly took the water dripping from his hands when they were washed, and touched the body of any sick person with it, the person was immediately freed from most infirmities, but especially those afflicted by tertian and quartan fevers recovered their former health with wondrous amazement. John 14:12. For how many and what signs the Lord performed through him at the last, and declared with new and stupendous miracles, we think credible only to those who beheld them with their own eyes.

[39] And since he was believed to have communion of life and deeds not with other mortals, He despises the world. but with the immortal Angels; he so thoroughly rejected the deceits and blandishments of the world that he could rightly say with the Apostle: "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21. And this: "I desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ, were it not that I wished to live for the sake of those for whom I would also die." Philippians 1:23. He spurned the pomp of the world as dung, despised gold, rejected silver as mud. He celebrated councils, He instructs the clergy: summoned bishops through synods; admonished them frequently that the divine commandments should not be neglected, thoroughly repeating that commandment of the Savior: "Do not possess gold or silver," etc. But according to the Apostle: "Having food and clothing," he says, "let us be content with these, and those things which follow are to be avoided." Matthew 10:9. 1 Timothy 6:8. He himself labored with all his strength, chastising his body and bringing it into servitude, lest perhaps, while preaching to others, he himself should become ^a castaway. A lover of poverty and mortification. For ^a long time he neither possessed nor used silver vessels, but all his utensils were of wood, clay, and marble. O inviolate constancy, which trampled by the virtue of patience the life by which human frailty is buffeted! And since, according to the voice of the Savior, he taught those things which he himself had first done in all respects, no one doubted that he was great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:19. This was ^a Priest of God wearing the pontifical breastplate, who by crucifying his body in himself and pursuing vices attained ^a new martyrdom, not by death, but by the mortification of the flesh.

[40] And since he had by now built churches, monasteries, and cells abundantly and to spare, He founds many sacred places. he was made the Father of innumerable clerics and monks, with very many renouncing their possessions and devoting themselves to this kind of philosophy, distributing their goods to all the needy, and casting aside many cares of life as well, living outside the city in little gardens or whatever small fields they had: others indeed, just as in the Acts of the Apostles those who first believed are recorded to have lived, selling their possessions and estates, and placing the prices at the feet of the rest, with each receiving as he had need, so that they might easily fulfill the Gospel office. Acts 4. All those whom he desired he found most fully instructed in spiritual teachings, and so devoted to the study of Christian philosophy in imitation of

their blessed master that some even after three days would grant to the body food that was not so much desired as necessary; clearly because many, dwelling in the deeper understanding of the sacred books, as if hungering after sumptuous feasts, could not be satisfied, He teaches his disciples to yearn for the nourishment of wisdom. and by gazing more intently were the more inflamed, and by continual contest so struggled against the flesh that they yielded in nothing to its pleasure and desire; while ever increasing the nourishing of the soul with the pastures of wisdom and the food of knowledge. The Father, rejoicing in such zeal of his sons, at last hastened to demand from the eternal Father the interest that had been deposited: and suddenly the Lord was present to console and reward his faithful servant.

CHAPTER X.

Death. Burial. Miracles.

[41] And while he was flourishing with these miracles of virtues, the glorious time of his blessed consummation arrived. But although his limbs, now broken with age, were failing, the burden of abstinence strengthened his afflicted and dying body; and what nature had neglected, merit confirmed. And so, full of days, with the time of his age completed, shining with the splendor of his merits, He dies happily. he committed his earthly limbs to the earth, and his spirit ascended on high among the heavenly choirs of Angels.

[42] Therefore from every quarter of the city ^a throng of innumerable people suddenly converged from every direction. The walls, the halls, and all the streets were packed, A great concourse at the funeral. to such an extent that unless the aid of the blessed Bishop had been present, the greater part of the people, crushed underfoot and their breath forced out by the pressure, would have perished from the crowding of so many. The lamentation of all was immense, the grief intolerable, and the mourners burst forth with so great ^a groan that even hearts of stone would have shed boundless tears. I do not know whether there was anyone there so cruel and senseless who could have restrained himself from tears. For so great ^a roar of voices arose that the place seemed to be shaken as if by ^a great thunderclap. And when the grief of all souls was infinite, He is mourned by all. the spiritless lamentation of the clergy, with their sobs utterly broken, scarcely allowed the singing of the spiritual hymns; amid the words of their sobbing, the groans of the grieving wrung out only this: "Alas, desolate flock, what are you doing? Behold, with your shepherd lost, you are scattered, and who will be able to free you from the rabid teeth of wolves? At your death, O good shepherd, who can doubt that we have all perished?"

[43] Meanwhile they came to the basilica, where now the Priest of God, awaiting in glorious triumph the time of the resurrection, He is buried. lies interred with wondrous beauty, which indeed he himself had formerly built with the greatest effort. The body having been placed in the tomb, the entire people, unable to endure the absence of the Pastor, prostrate upon the pavement, uttered ^a moaning beyond human measure; so much so that not even the ministers of the church were permitted the freedom to perform their office. They mourned as if he were absent whom they had not lost but sent ahead; not knowing on what embassy, penetrating heaven on their behalf before the divine eyes, he was hastening to act, so that there he might intercede for the people what here he might render to those who asked in faith, there pour forth vows what here he might respond to vows.

[44] He is made illustrious by miracles. Nor does he suffer himself to be absent from the one whom, while placed on earth, he had cherished with unceasing labor; but immediately in spirit he hastens to visit the one whom he had left in body, not in affection. And so immediately, by restoring health to those suffering from various infirmities, he revealed himself to be present, so that, like ^a light shown from heaven, or ^a certain ray of the sun bursting forth, he illumined the whole world with the brightness of the heavenly light: from which through all cities and villages, like wheat at threshing time brought to the threshing floors, so an immense multitude of people was gathered to the churches. And not only the neighboring cities but all the kingdoms of the world, as if ^a most brilliant flame had shone forth as on the wing of ^a bird, were made aware of the various miracles of healing. And unless the basilica itself had been enlarged for the most part, it would not have been able to receive the multitude of the sick with its capacity. And if I shall merit God as my guide, I wish to show yet in brief discourse some of what this excellent champion now accomplishes. Fittingly indeed it was named by the ancients, where these things take place, the Ship, on account of the harbor for navigation, which, as if by ^a certain presage of the future, this name once indicated, which divine affection now makes manifest: for this is the ship in which those who cling to it cross the sea of this world; and arrive, free, at the homeland far away, namely that of the heavenly kingdom. There indeed, from the threatening storms of visible and invisible evils, ^a harbor of refuge is provided; there, the grace of escaping from the waves and tempests of the world is granted. There, daily, they pour in the salt of knowledge and faith for the sick and the ignorant. There, through the intercession of our blessed Father, from the eternal and invisible physician, healing is freely granted to the sick. Through it indeed the shipwrecked and the exiled are restored to their former homeland.

[45] Setting aside therefore the rest, to which, as I promised above, I shall devote my effort shortly; A lamp suspended before his tomb perpetually overflows with oil. now let me speak briefly of that lamp which is suspended before the tomb of the Blessed One. It is reported by the ministers to have been filled with oil once, and with the holy liquid overflowing, ^a multitude from above pouring forth in ^a perpetual stream, from which many who were anointed were freed from various infirmities. And this is to be said not without wonder: that one evening, while the priestly company was resounding with divine hymns, suddenly ^a heavenly flame, striking the fuel of the lamp like ^a bolt of lightning, before the eyes of all provided light wondrously, and thereafter never lost its glow, so long as the fuel has been maintained by the ministry that continues to this day.

[46] With these deeds of the most illustrious man, though set forth in words unworthy of them, Epilogue. we now at the fitting time resolve to set ^a limit, we place our hand upon our mouth, we hasten to return inward to our conscience, and we ask in our prayers that he whom we cannot imitate may become our patron, so that we may be aided by the merits of the one whose birthday we celebrate, with his help who lives and reigns God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, through all ages of ages, Amen.

ANOTHER SHORTER LIFE

By ^a contemporary anonymous author, from three ancient manuscripts.

Sulpitius Pius, Bishop of Bourges in Gaul (Saint)

BHL Number: 7928

By ^a contemporary anonymous author, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE.

[1] From the beginning to the end, through every place and generation, I believe there have never been lacking men chosen by God, In every age there are some Saints. in whom the grace of the Holy Spirit might shine forth; and through whom the Lord might manifest signs of miracles, and the consolation and encouragement of those who seek Him: just as in modern times, through one of His Bishops Sulpitius, of whom I am speaking, He deigned by the merit of his life to show many and great miracles. About whom, at the command of the Brothers, I was required to write something that I knew for the memory of posterity that would be useful; although I know myself to be unequal to the burden of this imposed work; nor am I able to record the virtues of so great ^a man of God, which he performed from the beginning of his youth, nor to express them in fitting words as is worthy; but nevertheless, lest I stubbornly refuse the command laid upon me; either the few things which I myself saw, The author lived with Saint Sulpitius. or from the account of those who served him from his youth to his decrepit old age; or what was made known by very many of the faithful who saw them, I have taken care to set forth briefly.

CHAPTER I.

The outstanding virtues of Saint Sulpitius.

[2] Saint Sulpitius, pious from boyhood: Therefore, while the Blessed Bishop Sulpitius still seemed to be living in secular garb in his parents' house, he was so devoted to good works that he appeared to do nothing else more than either build churches, or construct monasteries, or exercise himself indefatigably in works of mercy toward the poor, and from love of chastity he was seen to have spurned the bond of marriage. And when the Lord deigned to satisfy his vow and good resolution, with the hair of his head cut off, he received the clerical tonsure; and ascending through the successive grades of ecclesiastical dignity to that rank, He becomes Bishop: he rose by the election of the people and the assembly of the clergy to the dignity of the episcopate. In which office, besides the governance of the Church, he insisted on nothing more than the care of the poor, and strove with the greatest effort always to provide them with food He benefits all. and with what might clothe them. A man who also provided the necessities of this common life.

[3] A noble man named Theudoghislus, ^a member of the royal household, came to the aforementioned Bishop for the purpose of visiting him. The Bishop received him kindly with his customary affection and ordered ^a feast to be prepared. Since it was the winter season, so that the servants might seem to ward off the injury of the cold, they lit ^a copious fire, and while no one was careful about fire; it happened by accident that the covering of that house caught fire, He extinguishes the fire by the sign of the Cross. and then the greater flame of that blaze began to spread and grow; so that the attendants and the rest, thrown into panic, could think of nothing other than rushing outside at full speed. And when those who should have climbed onto the roof were unable to ascend owing to the difficulty of the ascent, and that flame kept growing stronger; the same Blessed Bishop Sulpitius, raising his hand, opposed the banner of the Cross: and the same fire was stilled by wondrous power. Those who saw it then and survive today attest that the flame was stilled and extinguished with such speed that, before the Bishop himself drew his hand back to himself, as though much water had been poured upon it from above, that entire fire had been quenched.

[4] Not much later, as ^a certain Gunthoaldus reported, he brought his adolescent son, about ten years old, who was tongue-tied He restores speech to ^a mute by the sign of the Cross. and had never spoken an intelligible word since his birth, before the aforesaid Bishop and made the situation known. The Bishop, extending his hands and eyes toward heaven, after offering ^a prayer, touched the lips of the little boy and impressed the sign of the Cross, and handling his tongue with his hand; the Lord's mercy was present: he spoke at once: and he survives to this day and speaks perfectly.

[5] Nor did I think this should be passed over: that in his lifetime the holy man did not allow ^a single heretic, gentile, or Jew to dwell in the city of Bourges without the grace of baptism. He converts all the Jews. For when there were Jews in the city of Bourges at that time, and he often spoke kind words to them and preached to them the divine word, that according to the Gospel no one could enter the kingdom of God unless he was seen to be reborn of water and the Holy Spirit; and day and night he implored the Lord's mercy for their conversion; they, yielding to him, first ^a few, then all, came together to the church for the sacraments of baptism. John 3:5. Those who were baptized by the same Bishop are seen to live under Christian discipline to this day.

[6] What cleric could so keep vigil through perpetual nights in comparison with the blessed man, or fast to the same measure as he? He surpasses others in virtue. When he came to the church at night, he would not leave the church before he had finished chanting the entire book of the Psalms.

[7] At that time, prompted by cupidity, King Dagobert commanded his agent Lullo, ^a man fierce in character and without any trace of mercy, to impose an unaccustomed tax upon the people of Bourges; and that they should live under the obligation of the tax and serve the King's command. By this affliction the entire people of that region gathered together to the aforementioned man of God, and so great ^a multitude of mourners assembled, and with raised lamentation and confused cries they besought the man of God to come to their aid. In the affliction of the people he proclaims ^a three-day fast: He, moved by compassion, not enduring their wailing and tears, together with the clergy, having proclaimed ^a fast for three days, implored the Lord's mercy; that He might relieve the affliction of His said people. He therefore sent one of his clerics, named Ebrigiselus, who should rebuke the said King for this crime and announce to him swift destruction unless this were more quickly corrected. He obtains from Dagobert the abolition of the unjust tax. When this was done, the King, terrified by fear, immediately commanded his people to be relieved of that tax, and the registration that had been made to be returned. And that people, relieved from that affliction, remains to this day in its former liberty. Nevertheless, it is believed that by the report of divine vengeance, both the King and his agent died after ^a brief space of time.

CHAPTER II.

Death. Miracles at his tomb.

[8] He takes on ^a Coadjutor. When the aforementioned Bishop saw himself severely burdened by so great ^a load, amid the care of the Churches, the care of the poor, and the affairs of all the people, he asked the King for an associate in bearing this burden. The King gave his assent and granted him the prudent man he had requested, whose name is Vulfolendus: who, having received the episcopate of this city, still today governs the Church in the name of God. He indeed, under the same humility with which he had previously managed the care of the poor, seemed more and more thenceforth to furnish support for the poor. He assists the poor. Some, however, detracted from him, asking why he had left the episcopate and handed it over to another, and took delight in the increase of certain souls. But he persisted in the work he had begun; and fleeing human praise and avoiding the ostentation of vanity, he always persevered in relieving the poor from their want of food and clothing.

[9] He dies. And after this, with the time of his age now completed, full of days, he departed to the Lord in peace. And when he was being carried from the church to the tomb, He is buried, with great mourning, especially of the poor. so great ^a multitude of mourning poor filled the church; all the streets were packed, and confused voices were raised to heaven: so great was the roar, as if that place seemed to be shaken by ^a great thunderclap: and among the voices of the mourners no other word was heard except that all cried out: "Good shepherd, why do you abandon us? And to whom do you leave us? Today at your death it is clear that we all die." They arrived at the basilica which he himself had previously ordered to be built. When he was placed in the tomb, the poor could not endure the absence of the Pastor; so great ^a multitude lay like corpses in the church that not even the ministers of the church could freely perform their office.

[10] Without delay: after ^a few days had passed, ^a certain cripple who for ^a long time, with his limbs withered and his sinews contracted, He shines with miracles, had been unable to walk on his own feet, persisting in prayer in that place, so received his health that he was seen to return to the city on his own feet without the support of ^a staff. Why say more? As the venerable Abbot Domio and his monks, who day and night are seen to devote themselves to the divine office in the aforementioned basilica and who are reported to keep zealous vigils, attest, so great ^a multitude of the sick was healed there by the grace of the Holy Spirit from various infirmities, that the blind received sight, the deaf hearing, the lame the ability to walk, and those who seemed to be tormented by the cruelty of the evil spirit and the severity of diseases, through the intercession of the above-mentioned blessed man, all having recovered their health, returned cheerfully to their homes. Of these, many were seen in the city who said they had been struck with blindness for ^a long time, now seeing clearly: and many healed from various infirmities.

[11] And then, when the Lord deigned to show these miracles of healing through him, not only did this fame fill the neighboring cities, A great concourse to his tomb. but also the far reaches of regions, as if on winged flight: so that an innumerable multitude of mourners in various vehicles flocked to the place of burial of the aforementioned man; so that the capacity of that basilica could not hold so great ^a multitude unless the foresight of the aforementioned Abbot had enlarged that basilica for the most part. Of which multitude of the sick, many, having received health at that very place, blessing the Lord's mercy, returned cheerfully to their homes.

[12] What shall I say about that glass lamp which is before his tomb, Many are healed by the oil of the lamp at his tomb. which they report was filled once, and with the multitude of oil overflowing, which was flowing down from above onto the ground, many who were anointed were freed from their illness? Because it would take long to commemorate one by one the signs of healing which the Lord deigned to demonstrate there, and the form of this letter does not permit it, since it is still reported that great healings are wrought among the people oppressed by various infirmities, let these things briefly set forth suffice.

[13] The place of his burial. The place where that basilica stands, where the aforementioned man of God is buried, is called the Ship, because there appeared to be ^a harbor for navigation there: ^a most pleasant place between two rivers, abounding in groves, vineyards, meadows, and rivers, with an immense plain interspersed, so that those living there seem to possess ^a likeness of Paradise. In which place may the grace of the Lord deign to persevere for the salvation of the human race, through Him who lives and reigns, one eternal God, perfect in the Trinity, and remaining immutable without end through ages of ages, Amen.