African Martyrs Hermes and Solutor

ON THE HOLY AFRICAN MARTYRS HERMES AND SOLUTOR.

Hermes, Martyr in Africa (S.) Solutor, Martyr in Africa (S.)

Cognate names are found elsewhere for these two, but they are nowhere brought together as a pair. The ancient manuscript of S. Jerome has given them to us, in which the following is found: "In Africa, Solutor, Hermes." And the Dungal manuscript: "Salator, Hermes." Nothing more is found elsewhere.

ON S. VITALIS AT SPOLETO IN UMBRIA.

Vitalis, at Spoleto in Umbria (S.)

That S. Vitalis was customarily venerated at Spoleto in Umbria we learn from the manuscript of S. Jerome. And it is probable that he departed from this life there, whether by natural death or (what is more likely) by martyrdom. The manuscript reads thus: "In the city of Spoleto, Vitalis." Another Vitalis is assigned to this day by the Carthusians of Cologne in the supplement to Usuard: "Vitalis the Martyr of Agaunum, of whom mention is made in the Acts of S. Maurice on 22 September." Whether perhaps relics of that one were in ancient times brought to Spoleto, or whether the compiler of that supplement, having read of a Vitalis, conjectured he was the one from Agaunum; or whether he found him recorded as of Agaunum in some ancient codex, we do not know, since the Acts of the Spoletan Vitalis are themselves lacking.

ON S. PATROCLUS, MARTYR AT TROYES IN GAUL.

Under Aurelian.

Patroclus, Martyr at Troyes in Gaul and at Soest in Westphalia (S.)

[1] Troyes is an ancient and illustrious city of Gaul on the river Seine, which some call in the vernacular Trecae, formerly Augusta Trecarum, the city of the Tricassini, in French Troyes. Here S. Patroclus was born and achieved the triumph of martyrdom. The feast of S. Patroclus. His name is inscribed in the most ancient Martyrologies of S. Jerome, Bede, Usuard, Ado, and the Roman Martyrology; to say nothing of Galesinius, Maurolycus, Saussaius, Felicius, and other more recent authors.

[2] Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology judges his Acts to be genuine. That they are ancient will be evident from S. Gregory of Tours. Two sets of Acts: Surius acknowledges that he copied them from an ancient manuscript codex, which in many places was difficult to read on account of characters almost effaced. We have obtained others, and, if we are not mistaken, more ancient ones, from the manuscripts of S. Maximin at Trier and S. Mary of Ripatory. Concerning both we judge as follows: these appear to be the very ones known to S. Gregory and Vincent of Beauvais, formerly in common use at Troyes; since Ripatory, or Arripatory, from whose codex we copied them, is a monastery of the diocese of Troyes. But those which Surius published, far more elegant indeed, received from a codex of Cologne or a nearby place, were composed or polished, with the words of the earlier version sometimes retained, after S. Bruno, nearly 700 years ago, obtained the relics of the holy Martyr from Ansegisus, Bishop of Troyes, and transferred them to Cologne, as we shall relate below.

[3] Peter de Natalibus briefly reviews his contest in book 2, chapter 108, but erroneously writes that he suffered at Sens and that he lies buried in the city of Sens. Other writings about him. Vincent of Beauvais, book 11, chapter 108, professes to narrate his martyrdom from the Acts, and although he does so briefly, he nevertheless employs the very words of the earlier Acts. Zacharias Lippelous draws from Surius. Johannes Basilius Sanctorius and others narrate the same.

[4] Concerning the Acts and miracles of S. Patroclus, S. Gregory of Tours writes the following in book 1 of his Miracles, chapter 64: "Patroclus too, the Martyr who is buried in the city of Troyes, has frequently shown himself to be a friend of God by many miracles. For there was over his tomb a small oratory, in which only one cleric served. For the people of the place showed scant devotion to the Martyr, because the history of his passion was not readily available. For it is the custom of country folk to venerate more attentively those Saints of God whose combats they read. The Acts once brought to light; A certain man, therefore, coming from a distant journey, brought a booklet of his contest to the lector whom we have said served in that place, and presented it for reading. He, after perusing the text, greatly rejoicing, swiftly copied it by lamplight during the night. When the travelers had departed, this man presented to his Bishop what he had found, thinking to gain the favor of the Prelate through it. But the Bishop, not believing it, judging it to be nothing but a fabrication, ordered the cleric to be beaten and rebuked and to depart, saying: 'It is clear that you yourself composed these things according to your own fancy: for you never obtained them from any man.' But after a long time, so that the power of the Martyr might not remain hidden, an army went into Italy: and brought back the history of this passion, the same brought from Italy. just as it was held in the cleric's written copy. Then the Bishop, greatly confounded, recognized that what the cleric had said was true. And the people from that time began to honor the Martyr more greatly; and having built a basilica over his tomb, they devoutly celebrate his feast each year."

[5] In what year S. Patroclus underwent martyrdom may be inquired. The manuscript Florarium has: "in the time of the Emperor Aurelian, in the year of salvation 273." Baronius, volume 2 of the Annals, at the year 275, number 6, writes that Aurelian came to Gaul in that year S. Patroclus was killed under Aurelian, to repel the invading barbarians and to free Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), which they were besieging. Cornelius Grasius and others follow Baronius. The Martyrologies, both Roman and others, state only that he completed his martyrdom under the Emperor Aurelian. Aurelian reigned from about March of the year 270 for 5 years and 6 months. Both sets of Acts report that S. Patroclus was killed on Friday, the twelfth before the Kalends of February; therefore when the Dominical Letter was B. This did not occur during the entire reign of Aurelian except in his first year; but in January of that year he was not yet Emperor. Others have perhaps noticed this, concerning whom Constantius Felicius writes: "Patroclus the Martyr, a noble and wealthy Gaul of Sens, was beheaded near the river Seine, in the reign of Aurelian, or, as others maintain, of Claudius II." But at that time Aurelian was not in Gaul, but in Thrace or the neighboring regions, repelling invading barbarians, as is clear from Pollio and Vopiscus.

[6] What if the earlier Acts intend that his martyrdom occurred not under an Emperor, but under a Governor named Aurelian? Unless perhaps P. or Pr. (standing for Principe, "Prince") was taken by a copyist as Praeside ("Governor"). Otherwise, Aurelian was already conducting wars in Gaul from the time of Valerian and Gallienus. A distinguished commander, Vopiscus recites a letter of Valerian in which the following is said about Aurelian: "For what in that man is not illustrious? What is not comparable to the Coruncanii and the Scipios? He is the liberator of Illyricum, the restorer of the Gauls, a commander of the highest example in all things." Aurelian was all the more praised and beloved by the most cruel Valerian, but hostile to Christians, because he too was mortally hostile to Christians, since, as Aurelius Victor writes in his Epitome, he was "savage and bloodthirsty and fierce at all times, even the killer of his sister's son"; and born of a mother who was a priestess of the Sun. Hence those praises heaped upon him by Vopiscus: "Whatever crime there was, whatever evil conscience or deadly arts, whatever sedition, Aurelian utterly purged from the entire world." By this periphrasis the impious writer described the Christian religion. Aurelian himself reveals his hatred of us in a letter concerning the consultation of the Sibylline Books: "I am amazed," he says, "holy Fathers, that you have hesitated so long about opening the Sibylline Books, as though you were deliberating in a church of the Christians, not in the temple of all the gods."

[7] If Aurelian killed S. Patroclus before his reign, and that on Friday the twelfth before the Kalends of February, it could have occurred in the year 259, perhaps before the Empire. in the consulship of Fulvius Aemilianus and Pomponius Bassus II, the sixth year of Valerian, when 21 January fell on a Friday. But if anyone prefers what the manuscript of S. Maximin has below, namely that he was killed not on the twelfth but the fifteenth before the Kalends of February, that is, on a Friday when the Dominical Letter was F; well, this did not occur during the reign of Aurelian except in his third year, the year of Christ 272, a bissextile year, after the intercalary day, and thus not in the month of January. It is easy for an error to creep into the numbering of the days of the week. Unless someone should contend that he completed his martyrdom on the eleventh before the Kalends of February, as Notker has it; for that day fell on a Friday in the year 275. And in that year Aurelian perished, in September or thereabouts.

ACTS

from two ancient manuscripts.

Patroclus, Martyr at Troyes in Gaul and at Soest in Westphalia (S.)

BHL Number: 6520

From manuscripts.

CHAPTER I.

The devout life of S. Patroclus. The first interrogation.

[1] In that time, under Aurelian the Governor, so fierce a storm of persecution was raised against the Christians Aurelian persecuting the Christians. that nearly all who appeared to be Christians in that time were subjected to torture. At that time the persecution of the Christians was exceedingly wicked: and a search was made for men who loved the Catholic law, and when they had found them, they killed them with various punishments: and many, having been crowned through suffering, passed from the world into the kingdom of heaven.

[2] There was at that time in the city of Troyes a most noble man, S. Patroclus of Troyes, named Patroclus: he had a dwelling outside the city, about two hundred paces distant, which his parents had left him with many buildings: and he lived in that dwelling and served the God of heaven day and night; and he loved the Catholic law, a learned man, being well instructed in letters and wisdom, and bending his knees in prayer at every hour; so that he did not refresh himself with food each day pious, until the twelfth hour of the day: temperate, yet before his meal he offered praises to the Lord with many prayers and supplications: and everything that he possessed of his parents' substance generous, he distributed among widows and orphans, who loved Christ with their whole heart, so that all Christians regarded him as a heavenly steward. Thus the holy man persevered in the ministry of God, and in heavenly service, and in prayer and fasting; splendidly reflecting upon the adornment of heavenly warfare, as it is written in the books of the holy Gospel, in which the Lord himself says: "Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Matt. 19:21. The holy man Patroclus, therefore, persevered in the fear of God and in prayer: he put demons to flight: renowned for miracles, and the Lord showed many miracles through him: and all venerated him as a just man and a worthy minister of God. He was of devout bearing, with a beautiful countenance and appearance: he was greatly venerated in many ways both for his nobility and his service, and for the honor of his religion, to which he ceaselessly devoted himself day and night with vigils and fasts.

[3] Now the most impious Aurelian, persecutor of the Christians, setting out from the region of the city of Sens, which is a most noble city, was proceeding to Troyes, and hearing about the blessed Patroclus, that such deeds had been done, he inquired about him more secretly. And when he had found him, he said to him: "I have heard about you, he is brought before the court; that you practice such things in ignorance, and with vain religion you worship and adore one who was struck with blows by men." But Patroclus gave no reply to his foolish speech. Aurelian said: "What is your name?" He answered: "I am called Patroclus." Aurelian said: "Of what religion are you? Or what god do you worship?" Patroclus answered: "I worship the living and true God, who dwells in heaven and looks upon the lowly and knows all things before they come to pass." Aurelian said: "Withdraw then from this folly, and worship our gods, and serve our gods, from whom you can obtain honor and great riches and a great name; by whom you can be honored." Patroclus said: "I know no other God, and is tested in various ways: except the one and true God who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who made things visible and invisible." Aurelian said: "Prove it, if what you say is true." Patroclus answered: "True and demonstrable are the things that I set forth; but I know that falsehood hates the truth." Aurelian said: "I will hand you over to the fire until you sacrifice to the gods." Patroclus said: "I offer the sacrifice of praise, and I present myself as a living offering to God, who has deigned to call me to martyrdom for his name."

[4] Aurelian, moved with fury against the law of the Christians, spoke thus: "Put fetters on his feet; he is bound in chains. and ignited chains on his hands, and beat his back with rods, and shut him up in a cell in secret, until I decide what is to be done with him." Thus the holy man chosen by God, bound in chains, was handed over to Elegius, one of the attendant ministers, who was to guard him until the third day. S. Patroclus, while he was in custody until the third day, prayed to the Lord and said: in custody he prays: "Let your mercy come to me, O Lord, that it may comfort me according to your word to your servant." Ps. 119:76. And afterwards: "I will rejoice and be glad in your mercy, O Lord, for you have regarded my lowliness." Ps. 31:8.

CHAPTER II.

The second interrogation. The sentence of death.

[5] And on the third day, he was brought out in public. The judge said to him: "Come, contemner, redeem yourself and sacrifice to the gods." Patroclus said: "The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants, and all who trust in him shall not be found guilty. Nevertheless I can bestow upon you something from my treasure, if you are willing to receive it, for you are poor." Aurelian said: "How do you call me poor, He declares Aurelian a pauper: I who possess great riches?" Patroclus said: "You have earthly riches; but you are poor in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, which you have been unwilling to store up within yourself. He himself will therefore condemn you, and your father the devil." Aurelian said: "You heap many insults upon me, so that I shall have no more pity on you." Patroclus said: "God, whom I have served from my youth, will have mercy on me; for your vain and superstitious honor, your temporal and most wretched and perishable glory, we abominate. But woe to you when you come to that place where the devil is tormented; where you too will behold how eternal punishment awaits you."

[6] Aurelian said: "I have never heard or known such things, yet I know that all your punishments are in my hands, and your body and blood." Patroclus said: "You have my body in your power to torment, he despises punishments: yet my soul you will not be able to tear, because no one has it in his power except God alone, who placed it in my body; as the Lord himself said: 'Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do; but rather fear him who, after he has killed the body, is able to cast the soul into hell.'" Matt. 10:28. Aurelian said: "Do our gods, who speak true prophecies, have no power, they who have even permitted you to live until now?" Patroclus said: "Who are your gods?" Aurelian said: "Apollo is the best and the true God; Jupiter too is the greatest God; Diana also, who is the Mother of the Gods, who speak true prophecies to men." Patroclus said: he mocks the gods: "As for Apollo, whom you say is a God, we have heard from our elders that he pastured the flocks of King Admetus, and Jupiter, whom you worship as the Purifier, died of a stomach ailment; and I know that he was a wicked man, most vile, an adulterer, a fornicator, a plunderer, an abettor of all evils, who sowed scandals and sedition among his neighbors, and a despoiler of the poor: wherever he dwelt, there was immediately sedition or murder committed, and therefore he died a most shameful death; the earth did not receive him. And as for Diana, whom you call the Mother of the Gods, who does not know that she is a noonday demon? O the incredulity of men, who worship what is vain, who adore in vain what they themselves do not understand; as it is written: 'Let those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them.'" Ps. 115:8.

[7] Aurelian said: "With great patience I endure listening to your audacity. Unless you worship Apollo, Jupiter, and the Mother of the Gods, I will today put you to death with various punishments." Patroclus said: "You are like an abominable brigand, to whom a corpse may be left if he has killed someone, but the body he cannot devour." And when the blessed Patroclus had spoken these words, Aurelian, moved with fury, said: "Patroclus, guilty and detestable, he is condemned to death: who has brought confusion upon us and insulted our gods, let him be struck with the sword, that he may no longer speak. Lead him to a watery place, and there behead him, so that his body may not rest on dry ground."

CHAPTER III.

The execution. Burial. The oratory.

[8] Thus the blessed man was handed over to the executioners and led to the bank of the Seine. Then the blessed Patroclus prayed and said: "Lord Jesus Christ, do not suffer this, that my body should rest in this watery place; but grant victory to your name, he crosses the river untouched by the water: that it may be glorified among all nations; lest they ever say: 'Where is their God?' Hear, O Lord, my prayer, as you heard Moses and Aaron with your people, and opened the sea for them, and led them through on dry ground; so, Lord, permit me to cross this river, as it is written: 'Rescue me from the mire, that I may not sink; and deliver me from those who persecute me.'" Ps. 69:15. And when S. Patroclus had prayed, the eyes of those who held him were darkened. And he entered the river and came out on the other bank, and the water did not touch his knees, even though the water had been flooding at that time. And when the blessed Patroclus had come forth from the water, he proceeded to a dry place, which is the Hill of the Idols, and said: "The Lord guards the souls of his saints, he goes to a hill: and the Lord will deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

[9] Then those who had held him feared Caesar and said: "How great is his God, whom he worships, who has delivered him!" But others said: "No, it was a phantom." They whispered among themselves, and there was a great dispute among them. While they were contending, a seditious woman, herself a pagan, came and said: "The Christian man whom you seek, found by the executioners, I saw on the hill beyond the river, prostrate on the ground upon his face, and thus he was worshiping his God." And when they had seen him, straightway -- as their feet were swift to shed innocent and righteous blood -- they proceeded to him, and when they found him praying, one of them came forward, who was the chief officer appointed over his punishment, and said to him: "You are truly guilty, who escaped from us: and behold, you are in our hands, and you shall not depart from us until you die or sacrifice to our gods." Patroclus answered: "I do not worship unclean demons, but only the one true God." The executioners said: "Then what manner of God is your God, born or maker?" Patroclus answered: he preaches Christ to them: "O superstitious love! Who can speak worthily of God? He who created all things whatsoever, whether in heaven or on earth; afterwards he sent from himself his Son, Jesus Christ, who, shedding his blood for us to redeem us from destruction, was buried and on the third day rose from the dead, then ascended with glory into heaven; and sent from himself the Holy Spirit, with whom he filled the world, in whom we must believe. For those whom you believe in with most foul error and vain love, I know to be demons, who shall in many ways be scattered, as the Prophet said: 'In that day when fire shall come to test, woe to the deceit of demons and their works.' As it is written: 'Whoever sacrifices to demons shall be plunged with them into eternal fire.'"

[10] While the blessed Patroclus was saying this, Elegius, moved with fury, said: "Bind his feet with chains, and fasten his hands with fetters, and strike him with the sword; since he has insulted our gods." Thus S. Patroclus, bending his knees upon the ground, was struck down by the executioner, and as he was struck, he said: he is beheaded: "Into your hands I commend my spirit and my soul; for I know that it is for your name that I suffer these punishments." Thus struck and beheaded with the sword, they cast his head from him, drenched in blood. And after the death of his passion, returning to Caesar, they left his body alone. He was beheaded on the twelfth before the Kalends of February, on the sixth day of the week, which is the day of preparation.

[11] Now two old men, who were themselves waiting for alms, heard of this, he is buried: and carried his body with fear and great trembling, and kept watch over him until evening. And Eusebius, who was Archpriest in that place, with Liberius the Deacon, came by night with linen cloths and wrapped his body and buried him with a small light on account of the crowd of pagans: for they kept vigil with those two old men and said: he is honored with a vigil, "How precious, O Lord, in your sight is the death of your Saints!" And the Lord himself said: "Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." David also said: "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous," and again: "The righteous man shall rejoice in the Lord and shall trust in him." Matt. 5:10. Ps. 32:11. Ps. 64:11.

[12] After no long time the persecution of the Church subsided. Eusebius, who had laid him in the tomb, himself built over his body a small cell, according to his means; and with an oratory. and when the accident of human frailty befell him, he requested burial near the place where the blood of the blessed Martyr Patroclus had been shed, who suffered for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever, Amen.

OTHER ACTS FROM SURIUS.

Patroclus, Martyr at Troyes in Gaul and at Soest in Westphalia (S.)

BHL Number: 6521

From Surius.

CHAPTER I.

The devout life of S. Patroclus.

[1] To die gloriously for one's country, to live blessedly in one's homeland: it is pleasant and delightful, after wars well fought, to enjoy at last perpetual peace. This the wise of the world praise, the brave desire, and the writers of history magnify. All indeed run, but one receives the prize, It is glorious to die for Christ. he who in the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God denies himself, that he may follow Christ. For this is the way of salvation, the singular truth, the eternal life, as a light shining in the darkness, which God has hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed to little ones, that is, to the humble, whom he willed to be his witnesses, beginning from Jerusalem, so that through the contemptible things of this world the strong might be confounded. For to such, because they are proud, God resists; but to the humble he gives grace. Truly wise, truly strong were those for whom to live was Christ, and to die for Christ was gain. Truly blessed indeed are those who so became imitators of Christ that, just as they had died with him, so they received the power to reign with him.

[2] From among such soldiers, then, sworn to the mysteries of Christ, Patroclus, a man of magnificent holiness, shone forth like a certain light in the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, holding forth the word of life. And because he was a light in the Lord, he showed the fruit of light in himself. For the fruit of light, as the Apostle says, The homeland of S. Patroclus, "is in all goodness and righteousness and truth." He possessed, in the territory of the city of Troyes, about two hundred paces from the same city, a house and quite ample estates left to him by his parents. For they were noble and wealthy in worldly goods. his lineage, But the man of God drew all the brightness of his noble birth inward; reflecting that the dignity of his soul could preserve his nobility only if he always attended solely to his Creator above him. his devotion to reading, As a diligent reader of Sacred Scripture, he kept watch: there, whatever he had heard concerning the Catholic Faith, whatever concerning the rule of God's commandments, whatever concerning the sweetness of his promises, he embraced as delightfully as the Lord God himself. For he applied to these things not only the ears of the body, but much more the ears of the heart. For the word of God was a lamp to his feet and a light to his paths: therefore he hated every way of iniquity.

[3] his abstinence, He was so devoted to the works of abstinence and frugality that he thought he should take only a small amount of food and drink, and only at the last hour of the day. Continence and chastity indeed reigned in him. his generosity, His possessions, moreover, as though they were not his own but entrusted to him solely for this purpose, he diligently distributed to the needy. He relieved the necessities of each according to his means, and desired to be of service even beyond his means. Therefore, according to the Apostle, he became all things to all men, seeking not what was useful to himself, but what was useful to many, that they might be saved. 1 Cor. 9:22. Thus it came about that by the Christians of that province he was called a heavenly steward and father of the citizens. Signs and wonders were also frequently performed through him: his miracles. so that he drove demons from possessed bodies by the power of the Spirit, and conferred the remedy of desired healing upon all the sick: so that the invisible Wisdom might demonstrate through visible miracles that she dwelt in him as in her temple.

CHAPTER II.

The first interrogation.

[4] Living thus in the peace of the Church, he led a most devout life, fleeing the joys of the world, awaiting the kingdom of God. But when the storm of persecution arose under Aurelian the Prince, who was the twenty-ninth from Caesar Augustus to preside over the Roman Empire, when the Judge of all wished to reveal what were the counsels of hearts, Against Aurelian the persecutor the worshipers of perverse doctrines began everywhere to press the people of Christ to sacrifice to idols. Prov. 11:3. But, as was said through the Wise Man, "the simplicity of the just directed them, and the treachery of the perverse destroyed them." For when the snares of the enemy were frustrated, the camp of God stood firm bravely in the contest, and the spirits of illustrious men strove by virtue to escape to glory.

[5] At the same time Aurelian, that most savage persecutor of the Christian name, setting out from the region of the city of Sens, he is informed, burning with the zeal of bitterness, came to Troyes, a town of Gaul; and there, hearing of the life, faith, and deeds of the blessed Patroclus, how by the will of his God Jesus Christ he disregarded his possessions, despised all transitory and momentary things, and proclaimed the idols to be vain and of no use, he immediately had him sought out most diligently. he is seized: And when he had been brought before him, he said to him: "I have heard that you are deceived by ignorance, so that you dare to introduce a superstitious sect, and to the injury of our gods, you contend that a certain one, who was struck with blows by men, is to be worshiped." But the holy Patroclus made no reply to his foolish proposition. Aurelian said: "Of what name and of what religion are you?" He answered: "I am called Patroclus, and I am a Christian. I worship the living and true God, who dwells on high and looks upon the lowly, he replies to him nobly: and knows all things before they come to pass." Aurelian said: "What you say is foolish and vain. Withdraw therefore from this folly of yours, and worship our most invincible gods, by whom you can be enriched and honored." Patroclus answered: "I know no other God, except the one, only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he sent, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are in them, visible and invisible." Aurelian said: "Argue your case, and prove that what you say is true." Patroclus answered: "True indeed and demonstrable are the things that I set forth; but because falsehood has prevailed, truth begets hatred. This you will never understand unless you believe. For by the words of our Lord Jesus Christ it is forbidden that what is holy be given to dogs, or that pearls be cast before swine." Then Aurelian, moved with anger, said: "Unless you quickly consent to this, that you offer sacrifice to the omnipotent gods, I will hand you over to be consumed by fire." The holy Patroclus replied to these words with a cheerful countenance and a joyful heart: "I always offer the sacrifice of praise to the Lord my God: for there is the way by which he will show me his salvation." he is handed over to prison: Aurelian, no longer enduring the constancy of the speaker, burst forth in these words: "Are you standing there idle? Attend to your duties! Bring chains of red-hot iron and fetters, so that with his hands bound behind his back and his feet shackled, this rebel may be thrown into custody, until I decide how I may destroy him as an example to his like." Thus the holy man, already the chosen Martyr of the Lord, bound in chains, was handed over to Elegius, one of the attendant ministers, who was to guard him until the third day. The holy Patroclus, while he was in custody, prayed to the Lord saying: "Let your mercy come to me, O Lord, that it may comfort me, according to your word to your servant. For thus I will rejoice and exult in your mercy, O Lord: for you have regarded my lowliness."

CHAPTER III.

The second interrogation. The sentence.

[6] When after the third day he had been brought out in public, the judge said: "Come, contemner of our gods, redeem yourself at last, and sacrifice to the gods." The blessed Patroclus answered: "The Lord will redeem the souls of his Saints, and all who trust in him shall not be found guilty. But you, wretched and unhappy man, do not desire to be freed from eternal misery, and make yourself unworthy of the grace and favor of your Creator, treasuring up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and of the revelation of his just judgment. Although you already refuse the gifts of salvation, when interrogated again he responds with equal constancy and do not wish to consider that a desirable treasure rests in the mouth of the wise; I would yet wish to bestow upon you something from the treasure of my Lord, because I see you to be needy and poor." Aurelian said: "How do you call me poor, I who abound in such great riches?" The blessed Patroclus answered: "You have earthly riches, soon to perish; yet you are poor, and do not even possess yourself, because you have been unwilling to enclose the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in the coffer of your heart. Therefore when he comes as judge, he will condemn you with the devil your father for all eternity." Aurelian said: "By your audacity you heap many insults upon me, so that I shall no more have pity on you." But the holy Patroclus, strengthened in the Lord, said: "My God, whom I have served from my youth, will have mercy on me. But you will in a moment of time lose this vain and superstitious honor of yours, in which you swell with pride, and this temporal and perishable glory, by which you are honored among men. And woe to you, when you come to that place where eternal torment with the devil awaits you."

[7] he exposes the vanity of the gods: Aurelian said: "I do not know what you are saying. But you, whether you wish it or not, shall be in my power: nor is there anyone to snatch you from my hands." The blessed Patroclus answered: "If you have my body in your power, you will certainly not be able to harm my soul: for no one has it in his power except my Lord and Creator alone, who gave us this assurance, saying: 'Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.' Luke 12:4. But rather fear him who, after he has killed the body, has the power to cast the soul into hell." Aurelian said: "Do our gods, who speak true oracles to us, have no power, they who have even permitted you to live until now?" S. Patroclus answered: "Who are your gods?" Aurelian said: "Apollo, the best and true god, and Jupiter, the greatest god, and Diana, who is the mother of the gods." The blessed Patroclus answered: "As for Apollo, whom you say is your god, we have heard from our elders that he pastured the flocks of King Admetus, and that there he not only suffered the loss of the flock, but even lost his own weapons. And as for Jupiter, whom you worship, we have learned that he was a most vile man, a plunderer and adulterer; who was always seditious toward his neighbors, and being himself free of no crime, both in life and in death he drew others with him into wickedness. And while he himself is tormented in hell together with the devil, he does not yet cease to gather those who are to be condemned. And Diana, whom you call the mother of the gods, who does not know that she is a demon? O the pitiable madness of men, who vainly worship these vanities which profit neither themselves nor others." Aurelian said: "Great is the patience of my mind: for a long time I have restrained myself to listen to your audacity. But now, unless you worship Apollo and Jupiter and Diana the mother of the gods, I will today put you to death with various punishments." S. Patroclus answered: "An abominable brigand, however wicked, even if he can kill an innocent man, cannot devour his body. But you, who boast that you have my body in your power to kill, even if you should devour it, you will not be able to harm my soul."

[8] he is condemned to death. And when the blessed Patroclus had spoken this, Aurelian Caesar, filled with fury, pronounced this sentence: "Patroclus, guilty and detestable and liable for treason, who has brought confusion upon us and has foully insulted our gods, let him be struck with the sword, so that the wickedness of his verbosity may be silenced. Lead him now to a muddy and marshy place, and there leave him beheaded, so that not even his body may rest on dry ground."

CHAPTER IV.

Death. Burial.

[9] Thus the blessed Patroclus, handed over to the executioners for beheading, went with them exulting to the bank of the Seine. Then the holy man prayed to the Lord, saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, do not suffer my poor body to be submerged in this watery place: but give glory to your name, that it may be glorified in the sight of your enemies, lest they ever say among the nations, 'Where is their God?' Hear, O Lord, my prayer, you who heard Moses and Aaron praying for your people, and divided the Red Sea, and led them through on dry ground. So therefore, Lord, permit me to cross this river in your name. Rescue me from the mire, that I may not sink: deliver me from those who persecute me." He crosses the river unharmed: And when S. Patroclus had prayed, the eyes of the one holding him were darkened. And he entered the river, passed through, and came out unharmed on the other bank, so that his knees did not touch the water, which was nevertheless rapid and greatly flooding at that time. And when he had come forth, he proceeded to a dry place, where there was a hill of the idols, singing thus and praising the Lord: "The Lord guards the souls of his Saints: he has delivered them from the hand of the wicked."

[10] he is again betrayed to the executioners: But those who had held him, struck with amazement on account of their fear of Caesar, said: "How great is the God whom this man worships! See how he has delivered him!" But others said: "No, it was a phantom." In this manner they disputed, and there was division among them. While they were thus contending, a certain seditious woman, herself a pagan, came and said: "The Christian man whom you seek, I saw just now on the hill beyond the river, prostrate on the ground, and thus he was praying to his Lord." seized again, But they, who had feet swift to shed innocent and righteous blood, when they heard this, immediately proceeded to him. And when they had come to the place where he lay prostrate, they found him praying. Then one of them, who was the chief, said to him: "You are now guilty, because you escaped from us, and behold, you are in our hands, and you shall not depart from us until you die or else sacrifice to our gods." The blessed Patroclus answered: "I will never worship unclean demons, but only the one true God who is in heaven." The executioner said: "Then what sort of God is your God? Born, or made?" The blessed Patroclus said: "O most vain error! O incredulity of deceit! O superstitious speech! How can a man speak of God? he preaches Christ to the soldiers: 'His generation, who shall declare?' He spoke, and they were made: he commanded, and they were created, all things that exist. He himself sent for the redemption of the human race his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for us, to free us from destruction and eternal death: on the third day after this he rose from the dead: then, in the sight of his disciples, he ascended into heaven, and sent them the Holy Spirit promised by himself. What he himself taught, the world rightly believes. But whoever does not believe this shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. Therefore whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's, and it is fitting that we should suffer for his name. But whoever sacrifices to demons shall with them be plunged into eternal fire."

[11] While the blessed Patroclus was saying this, Elegius, moved with fury, said: he is beheaded: "Let his feet be bound with chains, and his hands with fetters, and let him, thus prostrate upon the ground, be struck with the sword, because he has heaped such insults upon our gods." Then Patroclus, bending his knees upon the ground, was struck by the executioner. And as he was being struck, he said: "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit: for you know, Lord, that it is for your name that I suffer these punishments." Thus he was struck and beheaded with the sword. His head they cast far from his body, drenched in blood. This took place on the twelfth before the Kalends of February, the sixth day of the week.

[12] After his passion was thus completed, the executioners, returning to Caesar, left the body alone without a guard. When two old men, who had themselves been accustomed to receive alms from the holy man while he still lived, heard of this, they took his body with trembling and great fear and kept watch over it until evening. And Eusebius, who was Archpriest in that place, with Liberius the Deacon came on the following night, he is buried: and taking the body of the holy man, wrapped it in linen cloths, and with a few lights lit on account of the crowd of pagans, buried him. And those two old men kept solemn vigils there in memory of the Martyr, he is honored with solemn vigils, saying: "How precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints!" And many other things throughout the whole night they sang in praise of the Lord and in veneration of the Martyr.

[13] After not much time the persecution subsided. For the Emperor himself, who had stirred it up, while traveling with a dense throng of attendants, felt the terror of a most violent thunderbolt before him and was struck dumb: then, after this ill-omened sign had been sent ahead, he was slain on that same journey by his own men: and he who shortly before thought he could extinguish the glory of the divine name among men, lost his name, his family, his life, and the very hope of salvation, which does not abandon those who believe in Christ even in death. Then Eusebius built over the body of the holy man a small church with his modest means; and after the death of the Emperor, with a church and miracles. and there, near the holy body, he also requested that his own burial be prepared, so that as a Confessor of the Lord he might be worthy to lie near the most holy Martyr. From that time, continual benefits and the remedies of desired healing are bestowed upon those who worthily petition there. For the Martyr, who lost his temporal life for the covenant of God, now lives without end with the Lord.

ON THE TRANSLATION OF S. PATROCLUS.

Patroclus, Martyr at Troyes in Gaul and at Soest in Westphalia (S.)

Year 960. 9 December.

From various sources.

[1] S. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, brother of the Emperor Otto the Great, transferred the relics of S. Patroclus to Soest around the year of Christ 960. The relics of S. Patroclus brought to Soest. Soest is one of the principal cities of Westphalia, in the County of the Mark; not situated on the river Lippe, as Ferrarius writes, but not many miles distant from it; enclosed with walls by Henry the Fowler, father of the Emperor Otto, as Werner Teschenmacher reports in part 2 of the Annals of Cleves, etc.

[2] In it, as Georg Braun writes in his Theatre of Cities, there is a magnificent collegiate chapter of canons sacred to S. Patroclus, who is also the tutelary patron of the city. A church dedicated to him there. Concerning this, the manuscript codex of the Dominicans of Soest cited by the same Braun, which is entitled Mappa Mundi, by James of Soest, states: "There are several churches there, beautiful with the praises of Saints, completed at glorious expense; among which is the great and famous church of wonderful size, with a tower of the greatest height, of the glorious Martyr S. Patroclus, the glorious patron of said city." Werner Rolevinck the Carthusian also writes, in his work On the Customs of the Westphalians, book 3, chapter 8: "At Soest, S. Patroclus the Martyr."

[3] The history of the Translation was described by Roger the monk in his life of S. Bruno, which we shall present here; the complete life will be given on 11 October. Writings on this Translation. The Great Chronicle of Belgium mentions it: "By the effort of this Bruno, the bodies of SS. Eliphius, Patroclus, Privatus, and Gregory, together with the staff of S. Peter, were translated from Rome to Cologne: Bruno also brought back the body of S. Evergisius to Cologne: and he collected the bodies and relics of many other Saints from wherever he could, and prepared for them places and ministries with every expense and provision in abundance; among whom, the renowned and illustrious Martyrs -- Patroclus, whom he brought from the city of Troyes, he sent on to Soest, and S. Eliphius he placed at S. Martin's in Cologne." We shall treat of S. Eliphius on 16 October. Of S. Privatus the Martyr on the 17th of the same month; on the 24th, of S. Evergisius. Of S. Gregory of Spoleto on 24 December. Werner Rolevinck also mentions this same Translation in his Fasciculus Temporum: "S. Otho, Bishop of Canterbury," he says, "and S. Bruno of Cologne translate the bodies of SS. Eliphius, Patroclus, Privatus, and Gregory, with the staff of S. Peter, from Rome to Cologne." We shall present the life of S. Odo on 4 July. He died in the year 959, advanced in age, and does not appear to have traveled to Italy or indeed anywhere outside Britain after Bruno was made Archbishop in 953. Albert Krantz, Metropolis, book 3, chapter 27: "Bruno the Archbishop, brother of Otto the Great, was translating the bodies of SS. Patroclus, Gregory, and Esitius, with the staff of S. Peter, from Rome to Cologne. And the holy Martyr Patroclus, a soldier of Troyes, he transferred to Soest, a town of the Angarii." The German-language Chronicles of the city of Cologne also treat of this same Translation.

[4] But Teschenmacher is in error in the cited Annals: "The great Bruno," he says, "Archbishop of Cologne, Teschenmacher corrected. son of Henry the Fowler, having received the relics of S. Patroclus through Eucraerus, Bishop of Liege, from the Bishop of Carcassonne in Gaul, honored that town (Soest)." He cites no authority. The one he calls Eucraerus is called Eucrarius by Roger; Eraclius by Anselm the Canon; Euracrus and Eueracrus by our Bucherius; Eueracus, Euraclus, and Eueraclus in manuscripts cited by Chapeauville. This man, as Aegidius, a monk of Orval, writes, "born of illustrious Saxon blood, was placed at Cologne for his early education in letters, and afterwards attained such great knowledge in both divine and human matters that he was considered the equal of the greatest philosophers. He is reported to have been so dear to the Emperor Otto and to Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, that they undertook no major affair except in his presence, unless it had been confirmed by his counsel." He held his see from the year 959 until the sixth before the Kalends of November 970. Moreover, it was Ansgisus, or Ansegisus, called Ansersus by others, who was Bishop of the Church of Troyes, as may be seen in Camuzat, Claude Robert, and others. Among the Bishops of Carcassonne, none is found bearing that name.

[5] Furthermore, the day on which those relics of the holy Martyr were brought to Soest was consecrated by an anniversary commemoration on the fifth of the Ides of December, on which day the manuscript Florarium has: The day of the Translation. "The Arrival of S. Patroclus the Martyr." The Cologne Martyrology: "At Soest, the Arrival of S. Patroclus the Martyr." The Carthusians of Cologne in the additions to Usuard: "At Soest, a town of the diocese of Cologne, the Arrival of S. Patroclus the Martyr, translated from the city of Troyes by Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, of holy memory." Canisius reports nearly the same. Ferrarius also mentions it.

[6] Andrew Saussaius in his Supplement to the Gallican Martyrology, at 11 April, writes thus: "The body of the most holy Pontiff (Leo), instrument of so many divine wonders, Some relics at Perigueux. in the course of time was translated from Rome to Aquitaine and honorably placed in the main church of Perigueux under the title of S. Stephen Protomartyr, together with the sacred bones of S. Patroclus and S. Sabina the Virgin, as Pope Sixtus IV attests in his bulls." We have not yet read those bulls. It is probable that the bones of S. Patroclus and S. Sabina, of whom we shall treat on 29 January, were brought together from the territory of Troyes to Perigueux, either before the time of S. Bruno, or perhaps from some relics remaining in the city of Troyes. Unless these are the remains of another S. Patroclus, of whom we shall treat on 19 November.

HISTORY OF THE TRANSLATION

from the life of S. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, 11 October. By Roger the Monk.

Patroclus, Martyr at Troyes in Gaul and at Soest in Westphalia (S.)

BHL Number: 6523

From the Life of S. Bruno.

[1] S. Bruno collected from every quarter the bodies and relics and any memorials of the Saints, S. Bruno seeks out various relics of Saints. in order to multiply patronages for his people and to spread the glory of the Lord far and wide among many peoples through this celebration; for them he prepared places and ministries with every expense and provision in greater abundance. Concerning each of these, more would need to be said if the promised brevity permitted. These are signs of an unconquered faith, by which he sought not what was his own, but what belongs to Jesus Christ. The staff and chain of S. Peter -- with what diligence, what fervor, what joy he brought the one from Metz and the other from Rome to Cologne, all know: in whose honor he wonderfully enlarged his most honored church, which from beautiful he made most beautiful. The renowned and illustrious Martyrs Patroclus, Eliphius, Privatus, and Gregory, whose deeds are most magnificent, whose merits are glorious, whose patronage is sure; the precious relics of Christopher and S. Pantaleon, to whom as patrons he specially committed himself, as it were most pleasing gems and sweetest pledges, he drew with wondrous zeal from various places to the most holy See of his Church.

[2] How S. Patroclus too came to us must not be passed over in silence. Prov. 15:30. For, as it is said by Solomon, "a good report makes the bones fat." With this kind of fatness and richness let our soul be filled. In the year from the beginning of our salvation, that is, from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the two hundred and seventy-fifth, Aurelian obtained the rule of the Roman Empire, destined to reign only five years and six months. Under him the glorious and holy Martyr of the Lord, Patroclus, happily completed the course of his victorious contest, and, borne aloft in the chariot of God among ten thousands multiplied, that is, among thousands rejoicing, he triumphed into the city of the heavenly commonwealth, setting up in the city of Troyes the trophy of his glory, his body to be honored by posterity and proclaimed even to foreign nations. From that time, after about six hundred and eighty-five years, S. Bruno, the most reverend Archbishop of the Church of Cologne, was sent by the Emperor Otto Augustus, his brother, into Gallia Lugdunensis, He sets out for Gaul to his sisters, for us at a timely moment, for the people of that province almost too late; where the diverse wills and divided opinions of the citizens were such that each had his own desire; and they were at variance not only in counsel and zeal, but even in arms and camps. For there the sons of his two sisters held supreme power. These kinsmen, bound to each other by ties of blood, but discordant in spirit, were a mockery to their own avaricious soldiers: who, intent only on the profits of wealth, had no loyalty to either side. For where the princes of a region pant with the fevers of avarice, the wretched vainly await the joys of peace. But the glorious Archbishop, a messenger of peace, more swiftly than could be believed, silenced the heated tumult with the majesty of his hand: then he taught what was useful to all, what was expedient for each: and having reconciled the citizens to one another, by goodness toward his own and justice toward all, he restored a most perfect peace.

[3] When these things had been accomplished and he was now preparing to return, he obtained by many prayers from Ansgisus, the venerable Bishop of the Church of Troyes (whom, having been expelled shortly before, he had restored to his own See among other notable deeds of his embassy, with great applause of the people), that he should give him the body of the blessed Martyr Patroclus to carry away with him, he obtains the body of S. Patroclus from Troyes: whose passion whoever wishes to read and whose merit to weigh has ready at hand. The Bishop, who owed much, overcome, so to speak, by this opportunity, and further compelled by endless entreaties, at last complied with the petitioner, lest he appear ungrateful; especially because the mind of the requester, intent solely on this gift, utterly refused other things. For, captivated by love of religion, just as he possessed outwardly by virtue the power to repel the insolence and wickedness of the proud; so inwardly by piety he took care to diligently administer the beauty of the house of the Lord.

[4] And when he rejoiced that he had earned this welcome gift from the Bishop with the consent of the clergy and the entire people, he himself, so as to leave nothing undone, being still occupied with many matters, sent to receive the relics a man worthy of all praise, Euercharus, Bishop of Liege, the body dug up by the Bishop of Liege, and with him devout clerics and monks. Among whom a considerable multitude of faithful people flocked together for the sake of this praiseworthy spectacle. And when they had come to the appointed place, seeing there a marble pavement spread over it, but recognizing no certain sign of the hidden treasure; some indeed worshiped, but certain others doubted. Then, with the Bishop admonishing and exhorting those who had assembled, after a solemn prayer had been offered, they undertook with confidence the work for which they had come. Immediately, as soon as they opened the earth with their mattocks (wondrous to tell!), all were filled with a most powerful fragrance, with a sweet fragrance bursting forth, more delightful than anything they had ever perceived: and the nearer anyone was to the sepulcher, the more he testified that he was affected by the sweetness of the fragrance. Whence it came about that all the religious then desired to be diggers, so that they might more abundantly receive the wondrous power of the divine fragrance. Yet no one who was within the walls of that church was found without a share in this sweetness: nor was there anyone who would admit that he had ever smelled anything so delightful or anything similar. The delectable aroma increased more and more, until they came to the body of the holy Martyr. Then indeed all were so wonderfully filled that they seemed to themselves utterly full from what they had perceived, and yet, as though still thirsting, they strove to drink in yet more. Truly this man was wondrous, who appeared, according to the Apostle, to be the good fragrance of Christ to God in every place, in death as in life. 2 Cor. 2:15.

[5] The relics of the holy Martyr were therefore raised from the stone sarcophagus, and thence with a prosperous journey, accompanied by a throng of exulting people, were translated to Cologne. That city, the metropolis and mother of churches of a faithful people, transferred to Cologne; extended the primacy of its authority far into the Gauls on one side, and to the Ocean on the other. A worthy place indeed to guard in its bosom the body of the holy Martyr brought to it: in which not only a great number of holy bodies and relics, but also unnumbered thousands of Martyrs await their Lord who is to come on the day of judgment.

[6] But the solicitude of the supreme Pontiff, judging that nothing should be neglected, kept watch in every way to make all things perfect, to make what was already great even greater, to supply what was lacking, and to magnificently illuminate what had been neglected. Accordingly he resolved thence to Soest. that a certain place of Saxony, called Soest, rich in worldly goods, full of people, very well known far and wide to the surrounding Saxon peoples and to the populations of the provinces, but still almost ignorant of religion, should be adorned with these pledges of S. Patroclus and, as it were, initiated into the mysteries of future salvation; acting confidently in him and believing that that fragrant smoke which, at the manifestation of his holy body, was invisibly diffused and perceptibly recognized, as we have said above, would through the fame of his merits profit many. Whence it came about that the body of the blessed Martyr, brought from Cologne by the venerable Archbishop Bruno, was carried into Soest with great honor and joy, the people coming forth with the clergy to meet it: where it was placed in the church with divine praises, which the same pious Bishop had founded and enriched with fitting endowments: where also it is held in great veneration by the citizens and inhabitants of the land and is honored to the present day. For the house too, in which the feet of the Lord were anointed by Mary, was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. The mystery of this seems, as it were, to be explained when the bride speaks to the bridegroom: "Your name is as ointment poured forth." Song of Sol. 1:2. For what then occurred in one house, the whole world now knows to be fulfilled in itself.

OF THE HOLY MARTYRS OF TRAPEZUS: VALERIANUS, CANDIDUS, AQUILA, AND EUGENIUS.

ACTS FROM THE GREEK MENAEA.

Valerianus, Martyr at Trapezus in Cappadocia (S.) Candidus, Martyr at Trapezus in Cappadocia (S.) Aquila, or Acylas, Martyr at Trapezus in Cappadocia (S.) Eugenius, Martyr at Trapezus in Cappadocia (S.)

These accomplished their martyrdom under the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, and under the commander Lysias; who apprehended Valerianus, Candidus, and Aquila while they were hiding in the mountains near Trapezus. But confessing Christ, they were exiled to a very narrow fortress of the region of Lazica, which received its name from the Pine; and thence recalled to Trapezus, they were brought before the commander and beaten with leather straps: The torments of the Martyrs, then, suspended, they were torn with iron claws and burned with blazing torches. And when the lictors who were torturing them fell forward, the commander Lysias, thrown into confusion, ordered the Saints to be led to prison. A few days later S. Eugenius was also apprehended (for before this he had been unable to be found anywhere), and he too, having confessed Christ, was beaten atrociously and savagely. Then, having entered with the commander into a temple of idols, by his prayers he cast down everything and reduced it to dust. Thereupon he was stretched with ropes and beaten with very thick clubs. Then, suspended again, he was cruelly lacerated on his sides with iron claws and burned with blazing torches, and tormented with salt and the most biting vinegar poured into his wounds. Finally they were all cast together into a burning furnace, their death. and being delivered from it, they ended their sufferings by the sword.

a

The Menaea also record the same saints on 20 January, in these words: "On the same day, the memory of the holy Martyrs Eugenius, Candidus, Valerianus, and Acylas."

"Eugenius and his three companions in the contest The sword slays together on account of the nobility of their souls."

Here there is a play on words between Eugeneia, which signifies nobility or generosity, and Eugenius. The same Menaea on 21 January: "On the same day, the contest of the holy Martyrs Valerianus, Candidus, and Acylas." Maximus Cythereius has the same on both days, except for those two verses. Rader in his manuscript Notes on the Menaea seems to consider them different persons, and denies that he has read them anywhere together elsewhere, although persons called by each of these individual names are found in great numbers. Molanus, however, on 21 January: "On the same day, of the holy Martyrs Eugenius, Canidius, Valerianus, and Aciclas." Rader correctly translates Aquila for Acylas.

ON S. EUSTASIUS AT NICOMEDIA IN BITHYNIA.

Eustasius, at Nicomedia in Bithynia (S.)

From various sources.

At Nicomedia, a most celebrated city, very many shed their blood in defense of the Christian religion, especially at the time when Diocletian and others established their imperial seat there. We believe S. Eustasius to be of their number, although martyrdom is not expressly mentioned in the manuscripts of S. Jerome and the Dungal manuscript, from which we have drawn his name. Their words we have given above, where we treated of SS. Felix, Celsianus, Caecilianus, etc. On 7 November we shall treat of another Eustasius, recorded by the same Martyrology of S. Jerome and others, together with Polisius, Primus, and Rogatianus.

ON S. AGNES, VIRGIN AND MARTYR, AT ROME.

Third century.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

[1] In the literature and languages of all nations, as S. Jerome writes in letter 8 to Demetrias, and especially in the churches, the life of Agnes has been praised, she who conquered both her age and the tyrant, The renown of S. Agnes, and consecrated the title of chastity by martyrdom. It would therefore be superfluous to gather the praises of the Holy Fathers who celebrate her, or the eulogies of the Martyrologies, in which she is called Agnes, Agne, Agna, and by the Greeks Hagne, that is, her feast, even among the Greeks; pure, chaste, inviolate. For the Greeks too venerate her on 14 and 21 January, and 5 July, and it is clear from the words of the Menaea that it is the same person in all these places. The Menaea on 14 January have the following: "On the same day, the holy Martyr Hagne, having been cast into a dark prison, meets her end."

"Hagne, the pure one, the impure casting into a house of darkness, Procured for her a house wholly radiant with light."

The same couplet is found on 21 January in the same Menaea, with a lengthy eulogy, which, because it differs not a little from the Latin Acts, we shall present separately, not because we think it should be believed in preference to these, but lest the reader be unaware of what others have reported concerning the Saint. But here the opening words of the couplet are expressed thus: "Hagne, the pure one, the lustful casting..." And on 5 July: "Hagne, the pure one, the lustful casting her into a house..." Concerning the Office of this day, Galesinius has much in his Notes on the Martyrology; and Gavantus in his Commentary on the Rubrics of the Breviary, section 7, chapter 3, who observes that, on account of her outstanding fortitude, the psalms from the Common of male Saints are said both at Matins and at Second Vespers: the Office of the feast, and the same are to be said at First Vespers in her own church, just as they are said on the feast of S. Agatha. Indeed, even if the feast should fall on Monday after Septuagesima Sunday, the feast of SS. Fabian and Sebastian having been transferred.

[2] The Acts of S. Agnes (whose author is believed to be S. Ambrose, and which are extant in volume 5 the Acts, of his Works, book 4 of the Letters, letter 34) were published by Surius; we have collated them with the manuscripts of S. Martin and S. Maximin at Trier, S. Omer, S. Mary of Ripatory, and not a few others, and with several more correct editions. The same most sacred Virgin is mentioned by the same S. Ambrose in book 1 of On Virgins and in his commentary on Psalm 104. And in book 1 of On Duties, chapter 4: "What shall I say," he asks, "of S. Agnes, who, placed in danger of two of the greatest things, chastity and life, protected her chastity and exchanged her life for immortality?" The hymn of Prudentius, Peristephanon 14, contains the contest of S. Agnes; other writings about her, which was also sung in verse about 700 years ago by Hroswitha, a most noble virgin. Among the works of Philip of the Abbey of Bonne-Esperance, of the Premonstratensian Order in Hainaut, there is an elegiac poem on the martyrdom and praises of S. Agnes, which begins:

"Let sacred Agnes gild the pen of her writer, Let her drench my tongue with a shower of nectar."

Others believe this to be by Hildebert of Le Mans; Gerard Johannes Vossius, John Pitts, and John Bale attribute it to Alexander of Esseby, an Englishman who flourished around the year 1220. We have collated it with an ancient codex of the finest quality. We have also found in the manuscript of Ripatory a not inelegant sermon on S. Agnes, whose opening is: "Since throughout the whole world the virginal flower of Mary weaves unfading crowns and preserves the scepter-bearing palace of modesty with immaculate devotion; to such an extent has integrity persevered unto the palm that it has seized the trophy of holiness in young girls, and through the footsteps of the Virgin Mother has arrived at the heavenly bridal chamber. Hence it is that Agnes declares herself to be betrothed by a ring of faith, and cries that she is bound by love," etc. S. Aldhelm the Bishop also mentions S. Agnes, in his book On the Praise of Virginity, book 2, chapter 6. Peter de Natalibus, book 2, chapter 107.

[3] Concerning the time of her martyrdom, Baronius writes the following in his Notes on the Martyrology: "It is sufficiently clear that she was crowned with martyrdom in the last persecution of the Church: The time of martyrdom: whether under Diocletian, for the Author reports that there were still some survivors who had seen with their own eyes the things that are narrated about Agnes, and had related them to Constantia, the daughter of Constantine." The opinions of others generally agree. We would like one scruple, though not a grave one, to be removed. The first is that in the history of the Finding, Agnes herself says that S. Benignus was her spiritual godson, whom she had lifted from the baptismal font and adopted as her son. But S. Benignus, in the Lessons of the ancient Breviary of Utrecht, is said to have been killed under Aurelian, who was slain nine years before Diocletian, the author of the last persecution, seized power. But we shall examine these Acts in their proper place.

[4] The second scruple is that what is found in the Acts, number 11: "Then the Vicarius, named Aspasius, ordered a great fire to be kindled in the sight of all," is expressed thus in the manuscript of S. Maximin: or under Gallienus. "Then the Vicarius named Aspasius Paternus, Proconsul from his lords and princes Valerian and Gallienus, ordered," etc. And there was an Aspasius Paternus who served as Proconsul under those same princes in Africa, who is mentioned in the Acts of S. Cyprian on 14 September. And the same was perhaps the Prefect of the City in the year of Christ 264 and 265, in the former of which Gallienus the Emperor was consul for the sixth time, and in the latter Valerianus the Younger for the second time. Again, in the year of Christ 281, in the consulship of Probus IV and Tiberianus, the Prefect of the City was Ovinius Paternus. But was he first substituted for Sempronius (or Symphronius, or Symphorianus, whose name is not found in the published catalogue of Prefects of the City), and afterwards held that prefecture in his own right? He is called Proconsul, perhaps because PR. was written, that is, Praefectus ("Prefect"), and was incorrectly read as Proconsul; or because the same man, or his brother, or father, or son, was also consul in the year 267 with Arcesilaus, the following year for the second time with Marinianus; and in the year 269, Claudius the Emperor for the second time and Ovinius Paternus, with no added note of a repeated third consulship, as if he were a different person. And indeed there could have been survivors from the time of Gallienus to the beginnings of Constantine's reign who could narrate the deeds of Agnes to the virgin Constantia.

LIFE OF S. AGNES, BY S. AMBROSE.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

BHL Number: 0156

By S. Ambrose, from manuscripts.

CHAPTER I.

S. Agnes refuses to marry the son of the Prefect of the City.

[1] Ambrose, servant of Christ, to the sacred Virgins.

Let us celebrate the feast day of the most holy Virgin. Let psalms resound on one side, let readings echo on the other. Let the crowds of people rejoice on one side, and on the other let the poor of Christ be relieved. Let us all therefore rejoice in the Lord, and for the edification of Virgins, let us recall to memory how the most blessed Agnes suffered. In the thirteenth year of her age she lost death and found life, because she loved only the Author of life. She was reckoned a child in years, but her mind was of immense maturity: S. Agnes at thirteen youthful indeed in body, but aged in spirit; beautiful in face, but more beautiful in faith.

[2] While she was returning from school, she was loved by the son of the Prefect of the City. When he had sought out and found her parents, he began to offer many gifts and promise even more. She is loved by the son of the Prefect of the City: In the end, he had brought with him the most precious ornaments, which were refused by the blessed Agnes as so much dung. Whence it happened that the young man was goaded by an even greater stimulus of love. And thinking that she wished to receive better ornaments, she is courted with gifts; he brought with him the full glory of precious stones: and through himself and through friends, acquaintances, and relatives, he began to address the ears of the Virgin; promising riches, houses, estates, households, and all the delights of the world, if she would not refuse her consent to marriage with him.

[3] she rejects them: To this the blessed Agnes is said to have given the young man the following reply: "Depart from me, you kindling of sin, nourishment of crime, food of death: depart from me, for I have already been forestalled by another lover, who has offered me ornaments far better than yours, she professes herself betrothed to Christ: and has given me the pledge of his ring of faith, far nobler than you in both lineage and dignity. He has adorned my right hand with a priceless bracelet, and encircled my neck with precious stones: he has placed on my ears pearls beyond price, and surrounded me with blooming and glittering gems. He has set his seal upon my face, that I may admit no lover besides himself. He has clothed me in a garment woven with gold, and adorned me with immense necklaces. He has shown me incomparable treasures, which he has promised to bestow upon me if I persevere with him. Therefore I shall not be able, to the insult of my first lover, even to look upon another, and to abandon him to whom I am bound by love: whose nobility is loftier, whose power is mightier, whose countenance is fairer, whose love is sweeter, and who is more excellent in every grace than all others. By him a bridal chamber has already been prepared for me, his instruments resound for me with melodious voices, his virgins sing for me with the most righteous voices. Already I have received honey and milk from his mouth: already I am held fast in his chaste embraces: already his body has been joined to my body, and his blood has adorned my cheeks. His mother is a virgin, his father knows no woman. Angels serve him, the sun and moon admire his beauty: by his fragrance the dead are restored to life, by his touch the sick are healed: his wealth never fails, his riches do not diminish. To him alone I keep my faith. To him I commit myself with all devotion. When I love him, I am chaste; when I touch him, I am clean; when I receive him, I am a virgin. Nor shall children be lacking after the nuptials, where childbirth follows without pain, and fruitfulness is daily increased."

[4] when the suitor falls ill, Hearing this, the foolish young man is consumed by a blind love, and amid the anguish of mind and body he is tormented with panting breath. Thereupon he is laid low in bed, and through his deep sighs his love is revealed by the physicians. What had been discovered by the physicians is made known to his father; and in the father's voice the same things that had already been said by the son are repeated in petition to the Virgin. The most blessed Agnes refuses, and declares that she can by no means violate the covenant of her prior spouse. When the father said she is solicited by his parent: that he was holding the prefecture, being established in the fasces of office, and that therefore she ought by no means to prefer another, however illustrious, to himself, he nevertheless began vehemently to inquire who the spouse was, of whose power Agnes boasted. Then there arose a certain one of his parasites, who said that she was a Christian from her infancy, and so occupied with magical arts that she called Christ her spouse.

[5] Hearing this, the Prefect was overjoyed, and sending an apparitor with a great clamor, he ordered her to be brought before his tribunal. She is dragged to court. And at first he sought to win her over in private with flattering words, then assailed her with threats. But the Virgin of Christ was neither seduced by blandishments She is tested with threats and flattery: nor shaken by terror: but persevering with the same countenance and the same spirit, she equally mocked in her mind both the one who threatened and the one who flattered. Seeing, therefore, such constancy in the girl, Symphronius the Prefect addressed her parents. And because they were noble and he could not use force against them, he raised against them the charge of Christianity. On the following day he ordered Agnes to be brought before him, and returning again and again, he began to repeat the discourse about the young man's love. And when all his speech had failed with vain labor, he ordered her to be brought again before his tribunal; and he said to her: "The superstition of the Christians, of whose magical arts you boast, unless it be separated from you, you will not be able to cast off the madness of your breast, nor to give your consent to the most reasonable counsels. Wherefore it is necessary that you hasten to venerate the Goddess Vesta, so that if the perseverance of virginity is pleasing to you, you may devote yourself to her sacrifices day and night."

[6] She laughs at the gods. To this the blessed Agnes said: "If I refused your son, though vexed by an unjust love, yet a living man, a man endowed with reason, who can hear, see, touch, and walk, and enjoy the brightness of this light with the good; if then I can by no reason look upon this man for the sake of the love of Christ, how can I worship dumb and deaf and senseless and lifeless idols, and bow my neck to vain stones to the injury of the Most High God?" Hearing this, Symphronius the Prefect said: "I wish to have regard for your childhood, and for this reason I delay while you blaspheme the gods, because I see that your years are below the age of understanding. Do not therefore so despise yourself that you incur the anger of the gods." The blessed Agnes said: "Do not so despise the youth of my body as to think that I wish to have you as my advocate. For faith is carried not in years but in understanding: and Almighty God approves minds rather than ages. As for your gods, whose anger you do not wish me to incur, let them be angry themselves: let them speak, let them command this of me, let them order themselves to be worshiped, let them order themselves to be adored. But since I see that you are striving for what you will not be able to obtain, do whatever seems good to you."

d Others read in.

CHAPTER II.

Superior to the brothel and the flames, she is struck with the sword.

[7] Symphronius the Prefect said: "Choose one of two things: either sacrifice with the virgins of the Goddess Vesta, or you shall be made a harlot in the company of prostitutes at a brothel. And far from you shall be the Christians, who have so imbued you with magical arts that you trust you can endure this calamity with undaunted spirit. Therefore, as I said, either sacrifice to the Goddess Vesta to the credit of your lineage, or to the disgrace of your birth, you shall be a public prostitute of common abjection." Then the blessed Agnes said with immense constancy: She scorns the threats of public prostitution. "If you knew who my God is, you would not utter these things from your mouth. Therefore, because I know the power of my Lord Jesus Christ, I despise your threats with confidence, believing that I shall neither sacrifice to your idols nor be polluted by the defilements of others. Relying on the protection of an Angel. For I have with me the Angel of the Lord as guardian of my body. For the only-begotten Son of God, whom you do not know, is an impenetrable wall to me, and a guardian who never sleeps, and a defender who never fails. Your gods, however, are either made of bronze, from which cooking pots are better fashioned for human use; or of stone, from which streets are better paved to avoid the mud. Divinity therefore does not dwell in vain stones, but in heaven; not in bronze or any metal, but abides in the heavenly kingdom. But you and those like you, unless you withdraw from the worship of these things, a similar punishment will encompass you. For just as those idols were melted by fire to be cast, so those who worship them will be melted by perpetual fire: not to be cast, but to be confounded forever and to perish."

[8] She is led to the brothel. At this the maddened judge ordered her to be stripped and led naked to the brothel, with the voice of a herald proclaiming: "Agnes, a sacrilegious virgin who hurled blasphemy against the gods, is given over as a prostitute to the brothels." But as soon as she was stripped, with her hair unbound, naked, but covered by her hair: divine grace granted such thickness to her hair that she appeared better covered by its fringes than by garments. Upon entering the place of shame, she found an Angel of the Lord prepared there, who surrounded her with an immense light, so that no one could either touch her or see her because of the splendor. For that entire cell shone as the radiant sun in its strength: and the more curiously anyone tried to look, the place divinely illuminated, the more his eyesight was blunted. And when she had prostrated herself in prayer to the Lord, there appeared before her eyes a garment of the purest white. And taking hold of it, she put it on, saying: she receives a garment from an Angel: "I give you thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, who, counting me among the number of your handmaids, have commanded that this garment be bestowed upon me." For the garment was so fitted to the measure of her small body, and so conspicuous with exceeding whiteness, that no one doubted it had been prepared by angelic hands alone.

[9] Meanwhile the brothel became a place of prayer: in which everyone who entered would adore and venerate, and giving honor to the immense light, would go out more pure than he had come in. While these things were happening, the Prefect's son, who was the author of this wickedness, came to the place with his young companions, as if to mock the girl, with whom he believed he could carry out the sport of his lust. The lustful son of the Prefect, suffocated by the devil; And when he saw the frenzied youths who had entered before him, raging shamefully, come out with all veneration and immense admiration, he began to reproach them as impotent and to judge them vain and soft and wretched. And mocking them, he boldly entered the place where the Virgin was praying. And seeing so great a light around her, he did not give honor to God: but rushing into the light itself, before he could even touch her with his hand, he fell upon his face and, suffocated by the devil, expired. When his companions saw that he was lingering within, they thought he was occupied with obscene acts. And one of the youths, who was more intimate with him, entered as if to congratulate him on his insult: and finding him dead, he cried out with a loud voice, saying: "Most pious Romans, come to our aid! This harlot has killed the Prefect's son by magical arts."

[10] Suddenly there is a rush of the populace to the theater and a varied outcry of the frenzied people. Some called her a sorceress, others innocent, others cried out that she was sacrilegious. But the Prefect, hearing that his son had perished, came to the theater with immense tumult and grief. And entering the place where the body of his son lay lifeless, he said with a great cry to the most blessed Virgin: "Most cruel of all women, you have chosen to demonstrate the proof of your magical art upon my son!" And when he repeated such words and others of this kind, and vehemently demanded from her the causes of his death, the most blessed Agnes said to him: "He whose will he wished to fulfill, that one received power over him. But why are all who entered to see me unharmed? Because they all gave honor to God, who sent his Angel to me, who both clothed me with this garment of mercy and guarded my body, which has been consecrated and offered to Christ from the very cradle. Seeing therefore the angelic splendor, having given the father an account of the event, they all worshiped and departed unharmed. But this shameless one, as soon as he entered, began to rage and roar; and when he was reaching out his hand to touch me, the Angel of the Lord delivered him to the reprobate death which you behold." The Prefect said to her: "In this it will be apparent that you have not done these things by magical arts, if you will beseech that same Angel to restore my son to me alive." To whom the blessed Agnes said: "Although your faith does not deserve to obtain this from the Lord, nevertheless, since it is the time for the power of my Lord Jesus Christ to be manifested, she raises him by her prayers: go out, all of you, that I may offer my customary prayer to him." And when all had gone out, prostrating herself on her face, weeping, she began to beseech the Lord to raise the young man. And while she was praying, the Angel of the Lord appeared, who raised her as she wept, and strengthening her spirit, raised the young man to life. He went out and began to proclaim with a public voice, saying: "There is one God in heaven and on earth and in the sea, who is the God of the Christians. For all temples are vain; all the gods who are worshiped are vain, and can offer absolutely no help either to themselves or to others."

[11] At this voice all the soothsayers and pontiffs of the temples were thrown into confusion, and through them a sedition of the people more violent than before broke out. And all cried out with one voice: "Take away the sorceress, take away the witch, who both changes minds and alienates spirits." But the Prefect, seeing such marvels, was struck with amazement. Yet fearing proscription if he should act against the pontiffs of the temples and defend Agnes against his own sentences, he left a Vicarius as judge to deal with the sedition of the people. He himself departed in sorrow, because he had not been able to free her after the raising of his son. Then the Vicarius, named Aspasius, ordered a great fire to be kindled in the sight of all, she is cast into the fire by the Vicarius, and commanded her to be thrown into the midst of the flames. When this had been done, the flames immediately divided into two parts and were burning the seditious people on either side, unharmed; but the fire did not touch the blessed Agnes in the slightest. All the more the people, attributing this not to divine powers but to sorcery, she praises God: roared among themselves and sent up infinite cries to heaven. Then the blessed Agnes, stretching out her hands in the midst of the fire, poured forth a prayer to the Lord in these words: "Almighty, adorable, worshipful, awesome Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, I bless you, because through your only-begotten Son I have escaped the threats of impious men and have traversed the filth of the devil by an unpolluted path. And behold, now through the Holy Spirit I am bathed in heavenly dew: the fire beside me dies, the flame divides, and the heat of this conflagration is poured back upon those by whom it is administered. I bless you, O Father worthy of all praise, who permit me to come to you unafraid even amid the flames. Behold, now I see what I believed; what I hoped for, I now hold; what I desired, I embrace. You I confess with my lips, you I desire with my heart, you I long for with all my being. Behold, I come to you, the one and true God; who with our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, and with the Holy Spirit, live and reign for ever and ever, Amen."

[12] the fire extinguished, she is slain with the sword. And when she had completed her prayer, the entire fire was so extinguished that not even the warmth of the conflagration remained. Then Aspasius, Vicarius of the city of Rome, not enduring the sedition of the people, ordered a sword to be plunged into her throat. And by this death, bathed in the rosy redness of her own blood, Christ consecrated her as his bride and Martyr.

f

Prudentius describes this miracle more explicitly:

"Having so spoken, he orders the Virgin To stand publicly at the bend of the street. The sorrowful throng shrank from her as she stood, Averting their faces, lest too boldly Anyone should gaze at the revered place. One by chance cast his eyes impudently Upon the girl, nor hesitated to gaze Upon the sacred form with lustful eye. The more impudent gaze punished from heaven. Lo, a winged fire like lightning Is hurled blazing and strikes his eyes: Blinded by the flashing light he falls, And writhes in the dust of the street. His companions lift him half-dead from the ground, And mourn him with funereal words. The Virgin went on in triumph, singing A sacred song to God the Father and to Christ, That beneath the stain of profane danger The chaste brothel, inviolable, Her victorious virginity had proved to be. There are those who report that, when entreated, She poured forth prayers to Christ, that he might restore Light to the youth lying prostrate: then the breath Of life was renewed in the young man, with sight restored."

But it may be debated whether this does not combine another miracle with that of the prostrate and revived son of the Prefect.

CHAPTER III.

The death of S. Emerentiana. The conversion of Constantia.

[13] Her parents, having no sorrow whatsoever, took away her body with all joy, and placed it on their small estate, not far from the city, on the road called the Nomentana. And when the whole crowd of Christians gathered there, Those praying at her sepulcher are attacked by the Pagans: they suffered an ambush from the pagans: and seeing the crowd of unbelievers approaching armed, all fled. A few, however, escaped wounded by the blows of stones. But Emerentiana, who had been her foster-sister, a most holy virgin, though still a catechumen, stood firmly, undaunted and immovable, and rebuked them with these words: "Superfluous, wretched, perishable, and most atrocious people, you kill those who worship Almighty God, and for the defense of stones you slaughter innocent men." While she was saying these and similar things to the raging mobs, she was stoned by them, and praying beside the tomb of the most blessed Agnes, she gave up her spirit. Whence there is no doubt that she was baptized in her own blood, Emerentiana, rebuking them, is killed. she who for the defense of righteousness, while confessing the Lord, steadfastly accepted death. Then in that very hour there was a most violent earthquake: and although the sky was perfectly clear, there were such flashes, such lightning and thunder, that a very great part of the maddened populace perished. Many perish in the sudden storm. Whence it came about that no one at all from that time stirred up any troubles against those coming to the tombs of the Saints. But the parents of the blessed Agnes, coming with priests at night, took away the body of the holy Virgin Emerentiana and buried it in the border of the little field of the most blessed Virgin Agnes.

[14] When, therefore, the parents of the blessed Agnes were keeping vigil at her tomb in continual nightly watches, they saw in the silence of midnight an army of Virgins, S. Agnes appears to her parents, with other virgins. all clothed in garments woven with gold, passing by with immense light: among whom they saw the most blessed Agnes, shining in a similar garment, and at her right hand a lamb standing, whiter than snow. When her parents and those who were with them saw this, they fell into a kind of stupor of mind. But the blessed Agnes asked the holy Virgins to halt their steps for a moment, and standing, she said to her parents: "See that you do not mourn me as though I were dead: but rejoice with me and congratulate me, because with all these I have received a radiant dwelling, and I am joined in heaven to him whom, while placed on earth, I loved with all the attention of my soul." And having said this, she passed on.

[15] This vision was daily spread abroad publicly by all who had seen it. Whence it came about that after some years this event was narrated to Constantia, daughter of Constantine Augustus, by those who had seen it. For Constantia the Queen was herself a most prudent virgin, but so beset with sores that from head to foot no part of her limbs remained free. Having received counsel, Constantia is healed of her ulcers by the aid of S. Agnes, with hope of recovering her health, she came to the tomb of the Martyr by night: and although a pagan, yet with a believing intention of mind, she faithfully poured forth prayers. While she was doing this, she was seized by a sudden sweetness of sleep, and saw in a vision the most blessed Agnes, offering her these admonitions: "Act with constancy, Constantia, and believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God and your Savior, through whom you will now obtain healing from all the wounds which you suffer in your body." At this voice Constantia awoke, healed, so that not even a trace of any wound remained on her limbs.

[16] Returning therefore to the palace in perfect health, she brings joy both to her father Augustus and to her brothers the Emperors. The whole city is crowned: there is gladness among the soldiers and civilians, and all who hear these things. She has a church built for her. The unbelief of the nations was confounded, and the faith of the Lord rejoiced. Meanwhile she begs her father and brothers the Augusti to have a basilica of the blessed Agnes built, and she ordered a mausoleum to be placed for herself there. This report runs to all, Many miracles there. and as many believers as came to her tomb were healed, whatever infirmity had held them. That Christ does this even to the present day no one doubts. Moreover Constantia, daughter of Constantine Augustus, persevered in virginity: through whom many virgins, both of middling, noble, and illustrious rank, received the sacred veil. [Constantia with other virgins preserves her virginity, by the example of S. Agnes.] And because faith does not suffer the losses of death, to this very day many Roman Virgins attend upon the most blessed Agnes as though she remained in the body; and provoked by her example, they persevere manfully in their integrity, believing without doubt that those who persevere will obtain the palm of perpetual victory.

[17] These things I, Ambrose, servant of Christ, having found written in hidden volumes, have not suffered to be covered by unfruitful silence. To the honor therefore of so great a Martyr, as I have learned of her deeds, I have written them down: and for your edification, O Virgins of Christ, I believed the text of her passion should be sent to you, beseeching the love of the Holy Spirit, that our labor may find fruit in your imitation in the sight of the Lord, Amen.

THE SAME ACTS FROM THE GREEK MENAEA.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

From the Greek Menaea.

[1] The holy Martyr Hagne was born in the city of Rome, of illustrious parentage. She ordered her life in a manner befitting her name, and taught the word of truth to many women who came to her, S. Agnes converts many. and exhorted them to acknowledge Christ as God and to venerate him alone. When these things had been reported to the Prefect, she was immediately arrested and brought before his tribunal, and ordered to sacrifice to the gods; if she refused, having professed her faith, she was to be dragged to a brothel. But she said: "I will neither sacrifice to your gods, nor will I suffer any stain upon my virginity. I trust that by the protection of my God, in whom I confide, I shall escape unharmed." Hearing this, the most wicked judge summoned a pimp and delivered Hagne to him -- she who expressed the force and meaning of her name by the most blameless conduct -- she is condemned to a brothel: and ordered her to be paraded clothed in a single garment, for a public display.

[2] But when she arrived at the workshop of Satan, whoever wished to insult her modesty entered, with no one forbidding it but rather all encouraging them to abuse her freely and with impunity: but suddenly they would freeze with stupor, all lust suppressed, those who approached being struck from heaven, like dead men. Then a certain one, thinking himself clever, boastful and mocking those who had entered before him, like a horse rushing with a kind of fury into lust, approached the holy Virgin with shameless audacity. one of them killed But immediately he fell lifeless to the ground. And when no small time had elapsed, one of those who stood by, seeing what had happened, cried out: "Great is the faith of the Christians!" The rest entering, all cried out with one voice: "Great is the power of Christ!"

[3] When these things had been reported to the Prefect, the Virgin was again brought before his tribunal, and at the same time the lifeless body was dragged into view. Then the Prefect said: "Tell me, wicked woman, how you killed this youth." But she said: "When you ordered me to be dishonored, as soon as I was led away, a youth clothed in white garments followed me, by an Angel, and entering, stood beside me, and then quenched the desire of the other young men, and the one whom you see here lifeless, he himself -- when the youth entered with impudence and audacity -- before he could touch me, before he could speak a word, reduced him to the form and condition which you behold." The Governor said: "And who was he?" Hagne answered: "The Lord my God sent his Angel, who forbade any injury to be done to me." she raises him by her prayers: But the Governor said: "If you want us to believe you, invoke your God and raise this man." The Martyr, raising her hands to heaven, prayed to God, and immediately the dead man arose. All were astounded at this unprecedented marvel, and the Governor himself and many of the bystanders exclaimed: "Great is the power of the Christians! Truly great is the God of this most noble Virgin." But certain impious and impure men cried out: "Take her away, for she does these things by magical tricks, performing things that seem greater than the ordinary manner." Therefore he commands the Virgin to be consumed by fire. she dies in the fire. And when a great pyre had been raised, the Saint, signing herself, entered intrepidly into the midst of the flames: and when she had completed her prayers with her lips, she left her body and departed to Christ. Then, when the flames had subsided, certain Christians secretly gathered her venerable relics and buried them with honor, celebrating God with praises.

"Having so spoken, he orders the Virgin To stand publicly at the bend of the street. The sorrowful throng shrank from her as she stood, Averting their faces, lest too boldly Anyone should gaze at the revered place. One by chance cast his eyes impudently Upon the girl, nor hesitated to gaze Upon the sacred form with lustful eye. The more impudent gaze punished from heaven. Lo, a winged fire like lightning Is hurled blazing and strikes his eyes: Blinded by the flashing light he falls, And writhes in the dust of the street. His companions lift him half-dead from the ground, And mourn him with funereal words. The Virgin went on in triumph, singing A sacred song to God the Father and to Christ, That beneath the stain of profane danger The chaste brothel, inviolable, Her victorious virginity had proved to be. There are those who report that, when entreated, She poured forth prayers to Christ, that he might restore Light to the youth lying prostrate: then the breath Of life was renewed in the young man, with sight restored."

But it may be debated whether this does not combine another miracle with that of the prostrate and revived son of the Prefect.

CHAPTER III.

The death of S. Emerentiana. The conversion of Constantia.

THE SAME ACTS FROM THE GREEK MENAEA.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

From the Greek Menaea.

ON THE RELICS OF S. AGNES.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

From various sources.

Section I. Basilicas and relics of S. Agnes at Rome.

[1] Very many churches of the Christian world boast that they preserve and venerate the relics of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr. Perhaps they possess some part of them; since Rome claims for itself most of the bones of her sacred body; or they are certainly relics of another Agnes: for many holy virgins have borne that name. For to say nothing of Agnes of Montepulciano, recently enrolled in the calendar of Saints, Many holy Virgins called by the name of Agnes. whose life we shall give on 20 April; of Agnes, sister of S. Clare, a most devout virgin, not yet honored on earth with the honors of the blessed, but commonly honored at Assisi with the appellation of Saint, as Ferrarius attests on 28 August; of Agnes, Countess of Braine, afterwards professed in the Premonstratensian institute, whose piety Saussaius proclaims on 31 March; of Agnes, sister of B. Juliana, celebrated with the same praise of piety, whom we have said is recorded on this day by some in the catalogue of the Pious, by others on 5 April; of that most noble Agnes, daughter of the Emperor Louis of Bavaria, who died most holily at the age of seven on 11 November; to say nothing finally of many others, whose virtue is adorned with the illustrious praises of writers -- above on 13 January, in the Acts of S. Potitus, mention was made of an Agnes who was the daughter of Antoninus Pius and was baptized, although we do not know what end of life she met: another, on 18 January, in the narrative of the Translation of S. Archelaa and her companions, is mentioned as the blessed Virgin Agneta. Another is recorded by Antonius Gallonius, a holy Roman virgin Agnes, from William of Tyre, book 18, chapter 5. Another is found in Octavius Pancirolus, in the Hidden Treasures of the Noble City, region 2, church 61: B. Agnes, Abbess of the monastery which was once at the basilica of S. Agnes on the Via Nomentana, of which more below. Another was Agnes from the glorious company of S. Ursula, Virgin and Martyr, whose relics we have here at Antwerp in the church of the professed house of the Society of Jesus. We suspect that to other anonymous Virgins also the names Agnes or Agna were given, as were Victoria, Felicitas, Fortunata, Vincentia, and other names of that kind, either by the Pope who permitted the exhumation of their bodies, or by the one who exposed them for public veneration: we know for certain that this has been done in some cases; nor can we disapprove, since it is established that the names of Saints have sometimes been changed by the authority of the Roman Pontiff and by the heavenly prompting of the Saints themselves; thus S. Mengor ordered himself to be called Megengaudius; thus the Pontiff directed that S. Knut the King be called Canutus. And indeed, certain Saints are celebrated under different names among different peoples.

[2] However this matter may stand, the principal relics of the Roman S. Agnes are preserved in the City itself, The church of S. Agnes at Rome, built by S. Constantia; laid in various basilicas. The chief of these is the one which Constantia Augusta had built on the Via Nomentana (which led from the formerly Viminal Gate -- now, since that is blocked up, from the Porta Pia, which Pope Pius V built -- to Nomentum, a town of the Sabines), and ordered a mausoleum to be placed for herself there, as was stated in the Acts. There she herself also dwelt with the daughters of S. Gallicanus, Attica and Artemia, as we shall say in her life on 18 February; and this is clear from the book On the Roman Pontiffs, in the entry on Liberius, where the following is found: "Liberius, returning from exile, dwelt in the cemetery of S. Agnes with the sister of Constantius Augustus, as if through her intervention or petition Liberius might return to the city. But Constantia Augusta, who was faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, was unwilling to entreat Constantius Augustus her brother, because she perceived the scheme of treachery." We shall treat of this whole matter more fully on 23 September in the life of S. Liberius, and on 29 July in the life of S. Felix II, Pope.

[3] adorned by S. Liberius; Here Liberius, as the same book has it, adorned the sepulcher of S. Agnes the Martyr with marble tablets. The church, weakened by age, was restored by Honorius I, who held the see under the Emperor Heraclius. restored by Honorius I. The same book on Honorius: "At the same time he built the church of the blessed Agnes the Martyr, three miles from the city of Rome, on the Via Nomentana, from the ground up, where she rests; which he adorned and embellished on every side, and where he placed many gifts. He adorned her sepulcher with silver, weighing 252 pounds. He placed over it a bronze gilded canopy of wondrous size. He also made four golden plates, each weighing one pound. He made the apse of the same basilica in mosaic, where he also offered many goods." Gabatae, or gabati, are dishes or platens. Afterwards toward the end of the eighth century, Pope Hadrian I, by Hadrian I. as Anastasius the Librarian writes in his life, renewed from the ground up the church of the blessed Agnes the Martyr, or the basilica of the blessed Emerentiana, and likewise the church of the blessed Nicomedes situated outside the Porta Nomentana, and also the cemetery of the blessed Martyr Hippolytus near S. Laurence, which had fallen into decay in earlier times.

[4] by Julius II. Long afterward, Julius II, who sat from the last of October 1503 to 21 February 1513, rebuilt the church of S. Agnes, as Ciacconius writes in his life. Finally, Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici turned his attention to the restoration of that church, who was afterwards called Pope Leo XI. by Leo XI. The work begun by him was continued by Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, by Cardinal Sfondrato, nephew of Gregory XIV, who adorned that church with a notable coffered ceiling: and undertaking to repair the high altar, he found the very bodies of SS. Agnes and Emerentiana, who found the relics there; which were afterwards honorably replaced by Paul V on the very feast of S. Agnes. Concerning the same Cardinal Sfondrato, the compiler who enlarged Ciacconius writes: "He sought, found, and arranged for the religious burial of the bodies of the holy Virgins and Martyrs Cecilia and Agnes (to say nothing for now of the relics of other Saints), and adorned the churches of both (that of Cecilia especially) with no common embellishment: he ordered ninety lamps in S. Cecilia's and ten in S. Agnes's to burn perpetually day and night at his own expense."

[5] Pope Paul V himself also adorned that church. Abraham Bzovius is a witness in his life: as also Paul V. "In addition to these things," he says, "Paul V erected in the suburban church of the holy Virgins and Martyrs Agnes and Emerentiana an altar of the most precious stones, in elaborate mosaic work; and enclosed their sacred relics in a silver casket worth 5,000 gold coins. For the solemn pontifical celebrations to be performed with majesty, he procured an episcopal tiara, most richly adorned with diamonds and pearls, worth 70,000 gold coins."

[6] Here, therefore, the body of S. Agnes is preserved, or at least its principal bones: for the head and other parts of the body are elsewhere, as we shall presently say. A vast throng of people gathers here on the twelfth before the Kalends of February, the feast day of the most holy Virgin. Lambs are blessed on this day. On that day two snow-white lambs are blessed with ancient ceremony: from their wool palliums, or stoles marked with various crosses, are woven, with which it is the custom for the Pontiff to be clothed when he performs solemn services. Octavius Pancirolus and Andreas Fulvius, in his book Roman Antiquities, chapter 12, report this.

[7] "There exists," says Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology, "not only the illustrious basilica of S. Agnes on the Via Nomentana; but that place also where she was brought out, so that her virginity might be violated, The place of the Saint's prostitution, held sacred. is held sacrosanct, namely the very arches of the Circus Agonalis." Andreas Fulvius treats of that Circus in Roman Antiquities, book 4, chapter 18, and reports that it is now called the Agone, or Piazza di Navona. But in Pancirolus, region 12, church 7, it is called simply Navona.

[8] Other relics of hers at Rome: In the basilica of the Holy Savior, called "At the Holy Stairs," there are said, on the testimony of the same Pancirolus, to be preserved in silver cases the heads of the holy Virgins Agnes and Praxedes: an arm and one finger in S. Peter's in the Vatican: certain other relics of hers in S. Mary Major, a piece of her garment in S. Louis's, a piece of her girdle in the monastery of S. Martha near the Roman College, and other relics in other churches.

[9] other churches elsewhere. That many churches in Italy were dedicated to S. Agnes is clear from the Sanctuaries of Peregrinus Merula of Cremona and the Capuan work of Michael the Monk.

Section II. Relics of S. Agnes at Utrecht.

[10] At Utrecht, an ancient and noble city of Lower Germany, and throughout its entire diocese, Relics at Utrecht: the feast day of S. Agnes has for many centuries been customarily solemnly observed; because relics of hers are deposited there, celebrated with very many and very great miracles. But when they were brought there from Rome is not established. For although Aubert Miraeus, Johannes Molanus, our Heribert Rosweyde, Johannes de Beka, and other more recent writers maintain that this was done through Baldric the Pious, tutor of S. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, in the time of Otto I; brought there by B. Baldric the Pious, this is neither proven by the testimony of any earlier writer, nor is it consistent with the ancient records of that Church. It is indeed true that there is this old quatrain:

"Bishop Baldric made Utrecht magnificent, Which, utterly destroyed by the Danes, he restored; Noble and pious and worthy of every honor, Through whom came hither Pontius, Agnes, and Benignus;"

and Baldric did bring the relics of Pontianus from Italy: but it does not immediately follow that he also received the remains of Benignus and Agnes from the same place. not from Italy,

ON THE RELICS OF S. AGNES.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

From various sources.

Section I. The basilicas and relics of S. Agnes at Rome.

[1] Very many churches of the Christian world boast that the relics of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, are preserved and venerated among them. Perhaps they possess some portion of them, since Rome claims for itself most of the bones of her sacred body; or else they belong to another Agnes: for there have been many holy virgins of that name. For to pass over Agnes of Montepulciano, recently enrolled in the register of Saints, Many holy virgins called by the name of Agnes. whose life we shall give on 20 April; to pass over Agnes, the sister of S. Clare, a most devout virgin, not yet honored with the honors of the Blessed on earth, yet everywhere at Assisi customarily honored with the appellation of Saint, as Ferrarius attests under 28 August; to pass over Agnes, Countess of Braine, and afterwards professed in the Premonstratensian order, whose piety Saussaius commends on 31 March; to pass over Agnes, the sister of B. Juliana, celebrated with the same praise of piety, whom we have said is commemorated by some on this day in the catalogue of the Pious, by others on 5 April; to pass over that most noble Agnes, daughter of Emperor Louis of Bavaria, who died most holily at the age of seven on 11 November; to pass over, finally, very many others whose virtue is adorned with the distinguished praises of writers; above, on 13 January, in the Acts of S. Potitus, mention was made of an Agnes who was a daughter of Antoninus Pius and was baptized, although we do not know what end of life she met: another blessed Virgin Agnes is mentioned on 18 January in the narrative of the Translation of S. Archelaa and her companions. Another holy Roman Virgin Agnes is reported by Antonio Gallonio, from William of Tyre, book 18, chapter 5. Another is recorded by Octavius Pancirolus in the Hidden Treasures of the Blessed City, region 2, church 61: B. Agnes, Abbess of the convent which once stood at the basilica of S. Agnes on the Via Nomentana, of which more below. Another was Agnes from the glorious company of S. Ursula, a Virgin and Martyr, whose relics we have here at Antwerp in the church of the professed house of the Society of Jesus. We suspect that on other anonymous virgins as well the names Agnes or Agna were bestowed, just as Victoria, Felicitas, Fortunata, Vincentia, and other names of that kind were, either by the Pontiff who allowed their bodies to be exhumed, or by the one who exposed them for public veneration: we know for certain that this was done in some cases, nor can we disapprove, since it is established that the names of Saints were sometimes changed both by the authority of the Roman Pontiff and by the heavenly admonition of the Saints themselves; thus S. Mengor ordered that he be called Megengaudius; thus the Pontiff decreed that S. Knut the King should be called Canutus. What of the fact that certain Saints are celebrated under other names among other peoples?

[2] However that matter may stand, the City itself has preserved the chief relics of S. Agnes of Rome, The church of S. Agnes at Rome built by S. Constantia; deposited in various basilicas. The chief of these is the one that Constantia Augusta caused to be built on the Via Nomentana (which leads from the gate formerly called the Viminal, now, since that has been blocked up, from the Porta Pia, which Pope Pius V built, to Nomentum, a town of the Sabines), and she placed her mausoleum there, as has been stated in the Acts. There she herself also dwelt with the daughters of S. Gallicanus, Attica and Artemia, as we shall say in his life on 18 February; and it is clear from the book On the Roman Pontiffs under Liberius, where the following is found: Now Liberius, returning from exile, dwelt in the cemetery of S. Agnes with the sister of Constantius Augustus, so that through her intervention or entreaty Liberius might return to the city. Then Constantia Augusta, who was faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, refused to entreat Constantius Augustus, her brother, because she had perceived the plan of deceit. We shall treat of this whole matter more fully on 23 September in the life of S. Liberius, and on 29 July in that of S. Felix II, Pope.

[3] Adorned by S. Liberius; This Liberius, as the same book records, adorned the sepulchre of S. Agnes the Martyr with marble panels. The church, weakened by age, was restored by Honorius I, who held the see during the reign of Heraclius. Restored by Honorius I. The same book under Honorius: At the same time he built the church of B. Agnes the Martyr, at the third milestone from the City of Rome, on the Via Nomentana, from the ground, where she rests; which he everywhere adorned and furnished, and there he placed many gifts. He adorned her sepulchre with silver, which weighed 252 pounds. He placed over it a bronze-gilt ciborium of wondrous size. He also made four golden dishes, each weighing one pound. He made the apse of the same basilica in mosaic, where he also offered many fine things. Dishes, or gabati, are platters or bowls. Afterwards, toward the end of the eighth century, Pope Adrian I, By Adrian I. as Anastasius the Librarian writes in his life, renewed from the foundations the church of B. Agnes the Martyr, or the basilica of B. Emerentiana, and likewise also the church of B. Nicomedes situated outside the Porta Nomentana, as well as the cemetery of B. Hippolytus the Martyr near S. Lawrence, which had decayed in ancient times.

[4] By Julius II. Long after, Julius II, who reigned from the last day of October 1503 to 21 February 1513, repaired the church of S. Agnes, as Ciacconius writes in his life. Finally, Cardinal Alexander de' Medici, who was afterwards called Pope Leo XI, turned his attention to the restoration of that building. By Leo XI. Cardinal Paulus Aemilius Sfondrato, Cardinal Sfondrato, nephew of Gregory XIV, continued the work begun by him and adorned the building with a distinguished ceiling: and having undertaken to repair the high altar, he discovered the very bodies of SS. Agnes and Emerentiana, Who found relics there; which were afterwards honorably replaced by Paul V on the very feast of S. Agnes. Of the same Cardinal Sfondrato, the continuator of Ciacconius writes: He sought and found the bodies of the holy Virgins and Martyrs Cecilia and Agnes (I pass over in silence the relics of other Saints), and had them reverently enshrined, and adorned the churches of both (especially that of Cecilia) with no ordinary devotion: in S. Cecilia's he ordered ninety lamps, and in S. Agnes's ten lamps, to burn perpetually day and night at his own expense.

[5] The Pontiff Paul V himself also adorned that temple. Abraham Bzovius in his life is a witness: As also Paul V. Besides these things, he says, Paul V erected for the holy Agnes and Emerentiana, Virgins and Martyrs, an altar of the most precious stones, in ornate mosaic work, in their church outside the city; and he placed their sacred relics in a silver chest worth 5,000 gold coins. For the performance of Pontifical rites with majesty, he acquired an episcopal tiara, most richly adorned with diamonds and pearls, at a cost of 70,000 gold coins.

[6] Here, therefore, the body of S. Agnes is preserved, or at least the principal bones of hers: for the head and other parts of the body are elsewhere, as we shall presently say. A vast throng of people flocks here on the twelfth before the Kalends of February, the birthday of the most holy Virgin. Lambs are blessed on this day. On that day two snow-white lambs are blessed according to an ancient ceremony: from their wool pallia are afterwards woven, that is, stoles marked with various crosses, with which it is the custom for the Pontiff to vest himself when he celebrates solemn sacred rites. This is reported by Octavius Pancirolus and Andreas Fulvius in his book of Roman Antiquities, chapter 12.

[7] There exists, says Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology, not only the distinguished basilica of S. Agnes on the Via Nomentana; but also that place where she was led forth so that her virginity might be violated, The place of the Saint's prostitution, held sacred. is held sacrosanct, namely the very arches of the Circus Agonalis. Andreas Fulvius treats of that Circus in Roman Antiquities, book 4, chapter 18, and reports that today it is called the Agone, and piazza di Navone. But according to Pancirolus, region 12, church 7, it is simply called Navona.

[8] Other relics of hers at Rome: In the basilica of S. Salvator, which is called Ad Scalas Sanctas At the Holy Stairs, there are reported, on the testimony of the same Pancirolus, to be preserved in silver cases the heads of the holy Virgins Agnes and Praxedes: an arm and one finger in the Vatican church of S. Peter: certain other relics of hers in S. Maria Maggiore, a part of a garment in S. Luigi, a part of a girdle in the monastery of S. Martha near the Roman College, and other relics in other churches.

[9] Other churches elsewhere. That very many churches in Italy were dedicated to S. Agnes is evident from the sanctuaries recorded by Peregrinus Merula of Cremona and by the Capuan Michael Monachus.

Section II. The relics of S. Agnes at Utrecht.

[10] At Utrecht, an ancient and noble city of Lower Germany, and throughout its entire diocese, Relics at Utrecht: the feast day of S. Agnes has for many centuries past been solemnly observed; because her relics are deposited there, celebrated by very many and most illustrious miracles. But when they were brought there from Rome is not established. For the claim that this was done through Baldric the Pious, the tutor of S. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, in the time of Otto I -- as Aubert Le Mire, Johannes Molanus, our Heribert Rosweyde, Johannes de Beka, and other more recent writers maintain -- is neither proved by the testimony of any more ancient writer, nor is it consistent with the old records of that Church. That old quatrain is indeed genuine:

Bishop Baldric magnified Utrecht, Brought there by B. Baldric the Pious, Which, utterly destroyed by the Danes, he restored; Noble and pious and worthy of every distinction, Through whom came hither Pontius, Agnes, Benignus;

and Baldric did bring the relics of Pontian from Italy: but it does not immediately follow that he also received the remains of Benignus and Agnes from the same place. Not from Italy,

[11] Johannes Molanus in the Feast Days of the Saints of Belgium writes thus: The relics of Agnes are held at Utrecht in the Lower Country. For Baldric, the fifteenth Bishop of Utrecht, As many writers state; son of Count Rixfrid of Cleves, restored his city, which had been devastated by the Norsemen, and further adorned it with sacred relics. For in the year 966, as Becanus writes, crossing the Alps on certain matters of utility for the Church, he sought the presence of King Otto; and bidding him farewell, he brought back with him the bodies of the holy Martyrs Pontian, Benignus, and Agnes. From which time the feast of S. Agnes on the 21st of January has been most celebrated throughout the entire diocese. The day of the Translation is the 4th before the Nones of September. We have given the very words of Johannes de Beka on 14 January when we treated of the Translation of S. Pontian; and we showed that Baldric appears to have gone to Italy not in 966 but in 967, and to have returned in 968.

[12] Molanus adds: It is not likely, however, that the Romans gave all the relics of so famous a Martyr to the people of Utrecht, but only a portion, Nor the whole body; since the body itself is affirmed by all inhabitants to be preserved among them. Nor in the Utrecht Martyrology is more read than that her relics are held at Utrecht in the Lower Country. Although I know that the merits of Otto, through whom these things were obtained, were so great that they would not have denied even the chief relics of the holy Virgin to an importunate prince. The same Molanus in the Index of the Saints of Belgium: The relics of S. Agnes, the most celebrated Virgin, rest honorably in a tomb at Utrecht in the cathedral church. He adds the same account of the Translation from Italy through Baldric, and adds: The day of the Translation is the 4th before the Nones of September. Aubert Le Mire writes that through the intervention of Emperor Otto, Baldric obtained from the Roman Pontiff, and brought with him from Italy to Utrecht, the bones of S. Agnes the Virgin, and likewise of SS. Pontian and Benignus, Martyrs.

[13] But from the History of the Finding of the relics of SS. Agnes and Benignus, it is clear that they were carried away from Rome long before; but afterwards, Only from another church. lest they should be exposed to the fury of the pagan Danes, they were buried, and finally discovered in the time of Baldric, and given to him by a friendly Count, with the assistance perhaps of Archbishop S. Bruno, and transported to Utrecht to the cathedral church of S. Martin. We have received this history from an old manuscript of the Church of S. Paul at Utrecht; a certain abridgment of it had been copied by Rosweyde in his own hand from a manuscript of Rouge-Cloitre, and the same is found nearly identical in an old Breviary of the Church of Utrecht for 2 September.

[14] [A threefold translation of them: 1. from Italy, 2. into the Cathedral under Baldric,] A threefold Translation of S. Agnes was therefore made: the first, in the time of Clovis I, as is suggested in the same history, or perhaps of Clovis III, from Italy into Gaul. But the day of this Translation is uncertain, its memory obliterated: nor is it sufficiently established to what place they were brought, as we shall say below. The second Translation occurred on the day before the Kalends of April, in the year of Christ 964, indiction 7, on the fifth day of the week, as is evident from the manuscript history. We have found it recorded in no Martyrology except the manuscript Florarium. In it it reads thus: At Utrecht in the Lower Country, the Translation of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, performed by Baldric, the fifteenth Bishop of that city, in the year of salvation 964.

[15] 3. In the year 1421 into a new shrine. The third, under Frederick of Blankenheim, the fifty-first Bishop, was performed on 2 September, of which the same Florarium records on that day: At Utrecht in the Lower Country, in the principal church of S. Martin, the elevation, or translation, of the body of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, performed by the venerable lord Frederick, the third of that name, the fiftieth Bishop of the same Church, in the year of salvation 1421. The Carthusians of Cologne in their additions to Usuard: At Utrecht in the Lower Country, the Translation of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr. Canisius: Likewise at Utrecht in Holland, the elevation of the holy Virgin and Martyr Agnes. The Martyrology, or Register, of the Charterhouse of Utrecht: The Translation of Agnes to Utrecht. Molanus in his supplement to Usuard: On the same day at Utrecht, the Translation of Agnes the Virgin.

[16] The same Molanus, as we have noted above, in the Index and the Feast Days of the Saints of Belgium, considers that on that day the memory of the first translation is observed, which Saussaius also wrote: At Utrecht, he says, the reception of the relics of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, which Baldric, Bishop of that See, having brought from Italy together with the sacred relics of the Blessed Martyrs Pontian and Benignus, placed in his cathedral church to be honored with perpetual veneration. We have already said, and it will be more clearly apparent below, that they were indeed placed by B. Baldric in the cathedral church, but not brought by him from Italy. Although, moreover, the translation that occurred in the time of Baldric took place not on 2 September, The 2nd and 3rd Translations are observed on 2 September, but on 31 March, the fifth day of the week, on Holy Thursday, nevertheless it began to be observed on this day with an anniversary celebration after Bishop Frederick relocated those relics more honorably in another shrine on the same date: and in the old Utrecht Breviary there was on that day a double Office of the Canons; which in the new Breviary, conformed to the Roman rite, was entirely omitted. But of SS. Benignus and Pontian there is no mention on that day in it, nor in any other Martyrology that we have seen, except the Gallican Martyrology of Saussaius. The feast of S. Benignus, Bishop and Martyr, is celebrated in the old and new Breviary on 28 June.

[17] By decree of Frederick III, Bishop. The first five Lessons of the old Office for 2 September contain the history of the Finding performed in the time of Baldric; the sixth records the occasion for instituting the celebration on that day, and reads thus: Frederick, Bishop of Utrecht, ordained that this day of the Translation in honor of B. Agnes the Virgin should be solemnly and devoutly venerated in the aforesaid Church of Utrecht in perpetuity with each year's return. In which same church, the same Virgin was on the same day honorably placed in a most precious shrine by the aforesaid Bishop; and there she shines forth with many miracles, through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. The author of the Florarium above, at number 15, reports this was done in the year 1421; but Thomas a Kempis in the Chronicle of Mount S. Agnes, chapter 28, records the year 1414. When and by whom the third was performed; It should also be noted, he says, that in the year of the Lord 1414, in the time of the Lord Frederick of Blankenheim, the reverend Bishop of Utrecht, the holy relics of the most blessed Virgin Agnes were transferred from their old wooden chest into a new silver chest, beautifully gilded on the outside, with great reverence, on the day after the feast of S. Giles the Abbot, the second day of the month of September, by the honorable Lord Hermann Lockhorst, Dean of the principal Church of S. Martin the Bishop, who was the principal agent of this new translation of the holy relics of S. Agnes into the new silver chest adorned with gold. The old chest was afterwards carried to Mount S. Agnes, as will be said below. Lest anyone suspect that that Translation, or Finding, through Lambert the Priest, at the prompting of Amolwin, occurred in the time of Frederick and not of Baldric, Different from that which occurred under Baldric. the certain chronological markers, the codex from which we have transcribed this history (which is much older than the time of Frederick), and finally other arguments all argue against it: and the old Office itself acknowledges that it happened when Otto I was Emperor.

[18] At the time when the people of Utrecht exchanged Catholic rites for Calvinist delusions, pious men concealed the relics of S. Agnes Those relics are now hidden. lest they, like other relics of the Saints, be destroyed by fire or by some other unworthy means. Saussaius writes that they were transferred to France long before, but does not cite his authority. We shall nevertheless give below what he reports concerning the relics preserved in France, wherever they may have been brought from. Concerning the gifts customarily given even now at Utrecht on this and S. Pontian's day, we spoke on 14 January when we treated of the Translation of S. Pontian, and noted that they are called Pontian and Agnetian gifts. Gifts at that place on the feast of S. Agnes.

Section III. Some relics of the same in France.

[19] Out of order, we inquire where the remains of S. Agnes were first taken and when they were carried from Rome, after it was shown in the preceding chapter that they were not brought from Rome by B. Baldric to Utrecht, Relics of S. Agnes brought to Villa Vidua near the Loire; but from some place in Gaul. The History of the Finding records that Villa Vidua was demolished to nothing by the Danes, ascending by pirate fleet up the Loire river, since it was situated on the very bank of the river bed: and that it was at that time a royal estate; and that by royal munificence a monastery had been built there, exalted with many honors of royal dignity, so that King Clovis, who was the first of the Frankish kings to be both instructed and baptized by S. Remigius, Archbishop of Reims, and to submit his neck to the yoke of Christ, soon built it in honor of Christ, enriching it with many possessions, exalting it with very many gifts, and endowing it with the patronage of innumerable Saints, and he gathered there no small congregation of those serving God, etc.

[20] When we first read this, we understood it to refer to some place situated near the city of Utrecht, and took the Loire river, which in the Breviary of Utrecht is called Ligera, to be the Lek, which borders the eastern side of the island of the Batavians from the branching of the Rhine, Not among the people of Utrecht, and was formerly the boundary between the Gauls and the Germanies, and perhaps received its name from some legion deployed at fixed stations. There are those who believe that Utrecht, and the entire nation of the Batavians and Frisians, obeyed the rule of Clovis; and was illuminated with the Christian faith as soon as he himself embraced it: which is not so unreasonable that, if proved by the testimony of an ancient writer, it could not be believed, since the Sicambri, bordering on the Batavians, were Franks, or mingled with the Franks; and in their province at Tolbiac, which is now the town of Zulpich in the territory of Julich, Clovis devoted himself to Christ after the victory over the Alemanni. Nor, however, is it sufficiently proved by ancient records either that Utrecht was under Frankish dominion before the times of Pippin of Herstal and Charles Martel, or that the people were imbued with the mysteries of the faith before the age of S. Willibrord. For what the Abbot of Ursperg writes, that S. Sigibert gave the episcopate of Utrecht to S. Koniochus, since he confirms this by the authority of no ancient writer, and since he errs in many respects in the Gallic history of that period, it ought not to be considered a sufficiently valid argument to compel us to acknowledge that there were already bishops at Utrecht at that time; especially since Upper Utrecht then had its own bishops. S. Remaclus was given by King S. Sigibert as bishop after S. Amandus, as we shall say on 3 September, and the name of Remaclus seems to have been corrupted into Koniochus.

[21] And if the relics of S. Agnes had been placed there by Clovis I, they would have needed to be buried not only on account of the Danish incursions, but much more on account of the hostile disposition of the Frisians toward our religion, and this for several centuries. For in the life of S. Willibrord, Then pagans; which we shall give on 7 November, it is written thus: Therefore the man of God with his companions, as we have said above, set sail, until with a favorable course he lowered his sails at the mouth of the Rhine river, and there they were refreshed by the welcome landfall of the shore; and soon they arrived at the fortress of Utrecht, which is situated on the very bank of the river, in which also after some time, by God's gift and the growth of the gift of faith, S. Willibrord himself had the see of his episcopate. But because the same Frisian nation, in which that fortress was built, together with their King Radbod, was still polluted by pagan rites, etc. Wherefore, when the earlier opinion, concerning relics found in the vicinity of Utrecht, was agreeable to us, we thought that the name of Clovis III had been substituted for that of Clovis I. For Clovis III succeeded his father Theodoric about the year 690 and reigned four years, around which time the Frisians were subdued by Pippin of Herstal.

[22] But it now seems to us far more probable that the Loire should be understood here as that most celebrated river of Gaul, near which, in some monastery founded in those heroic times of Clovis I, the relics of S. Agnes But in Celtic Gaul, and of S. Benignus, Bishop of Chartres, were deposited; in the ninth century, when the Danes or Normans were savagely ravaging the Gauls, they were buried; and finally, about the year 961 or 962, they were found; and three years later a portion of them was given by Count Thiadbold to B. Baldric, Bishop of Utrecht, who held the chief authority with S. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, Whence they were brought to Utrecht; as his tutor. And perhaps it was through the influence of S. Bruno that Thiadbold was induced to comply with his pious wishes, since Bruno was not only the brother of Emperor Otto, but the uncle of King Lothair and of Hugh Capet, Duke of the Franks, and had come to Gaul about that time to reconcile his nephews, as has been said in the life of S. Patroclus on this same day.

[23] Whether some relics of S. Agnes were retained there and afterwards deposited at Breuil-Saint-Benoit, or whether, as Saussaius maintains, they were brought here from Utrecht, is uncertain. That relics were carried away from Utrecht is nowhere mentioned by Beka or Heda, writers on Utrecht affairs; but Saussaius writes thus on this day: The Triumph of S. Agnes, most illustrious Virgin and Martyr: whose glorious trophies of combat and the brilliant honors of her virginal palm the most holy and eminent Fathers, namely Ambrose and Augustine, as well as Maximus of Turin and Gregory the Great, celebrated magnificently with almost competitive praise. Her most sacred body, long after her passion, was brought from Rome into the Gauls, together with the body of S. Pontian the Martyr, and was honorably placed at Utrecht by Baldric, Bishop of that See, Some to Paris, during the pontificate of Benedict VIII, in his cathedral church. From there it was conveyed to the monastery of Breuil-Saint-Benoit, of the Cistercian order, in the diocese of Evreux; the greater part was finally transferred to Paris, by permission of Pope Paul III, and solemnly placed in the most famous church of S. Eustache, which had originally been distinguished under the name of that most holy Virgin, by Charles, Bishop of Megara, Abbot of Saint-Magloire, acting on behalf of Cardinal Jean du Bellay, Bishop of the city: where it is preserved to this day with great veneration in a silver reliquary overlaid with gold on every side. The precious head of the same glorious athlete of Christ is kept with fitting honor at Rouen in the noble basilica of S. Ouen, Some to Rouen; whither it was auspiciously transferred from the aforesaid monastery of Breuil lest it be subject to the impious attacks of the raging heretics who in the same century ravaged the Gallic sanctuaries, plundering everything in their path. So he writes. But he errs regarding the Pope Benedict; it was not VIII but V who held office about that time. Perhaps a portion of the head is at Rouen, since the head is also said to be at Rome.

[24] The same Saussaius also inscribed in his Martyrology the day on which these holy relics were brought from the monastery of Breuil, situated on the river Eure, to Paris, namely 18 April: At Paris, he says, On which day to Paris. the reception of the relics of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, from the monastery of Breuil-Saint-Benoit in the diocese of Evreux, performed in the year of salvation 1545, in the abbatial church of S. Magloire in Paris, by Charles, Bishop of Megara, Abbot of Saint-Magloire, by the authority of Pope Paul III and with the consent of the Bishop of Paris, Jean, with great triumph of ecclesiastical ceremony.

[25] Some are found at Melun, That certain relics of the same holy Virgin were found at Melun is attested by Saussaius on 22 September: On the Sunday after the feast of S. Matthew, he says, there took place at Melun on the Seine a miraculous finding of relics of S. Gregory the Pope, and of the Blessed Bishops Aspasius and Blasius, of B. Mary Magdalene, and also of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr: which were placed with fitting honor in the monastery of S. Peter.

[26] The Metropolitan Church of S. Peter at Cologne holds, among other illustrious relics of the Saints, At Cologne, as Erhard Winheim testifies in the Sacrarium of Cologne, an arm of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr: whether of this one or of another, it is not for us to inquire.

[27] At Brussels, Among the relics also of the Palace of Brussels, there are various particles of the relics of S. Agnes. In the Sacrarium of the professed house of the Society of Jesus at Antwerp there is a tooth and a broken bone of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, for the other Agnes, companion of S. Ursula, has been mentioned before. At Antwerp.

HISTORY OF THE FINDING AND TRANSLATION OF SS. AGNES AND BENIGNUS THE BISHOP, FROM GAUL TO UTRECHT,

from an old manuscript of S. Paul's at Utrecht.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

BHL Number: 0165

FROM MANUSCRIPTS.

CHAPTER I.

The relics of SS. Agnes and Benignus, once buried, are revealed to Amolwin, a peasant.

[1] At the time when, during the raging of Danish cruelty, the sword of persecution so savaged the regions of Gaul In the time of Danish devastation, that, as the sins of the people demanded, it nearly reduced the land to a desert, with the inhabitants led away into captivity; in that same tempest the places of the Saints, by God's permission, in punishment of crimes, did not cease everywhere to be utterly ruined. Now Villa Vidua (for so it was called by the inhabitants) was demolished to nothing by the same Danes, ascending by pirate fleet up the Loire river, since they found it situated on the very bank of the river bed. For it was at that time a royal estate, The relics of S. Agnes and S. Benignus and by royal munificence a monastery had been built there, exalted with many honors of royal dignity, so that King Clovis, who was the first of the Frankish kings to be both instructed and baptized by S. Remigius, Archbishop of Reims, and to submit his neck to the yoke of Christ, soon built it in honor of Christ, enriching it with many possessions, exalting it with very many gifts, and endowing it with the innumerable patronages of the Saints, and he gathered there no small congregation of those serving God. Among the very many relics of Saints, he placed there with precious veneration the precious Martyr Benignus, namely the Bishop of Chartres, together with the thrice blessed Martyr and Virgin Agnes.

[2] When the aforesaid persecution threatened, the custodians of the sanctuary did not delay in hiding the treasure of the holy relics in the recesses of the excavated earth. For, as has been said, Buried in the earth: the invading pagans levelled to the ground the place that had shortly before been raised to heaven, and scarcely today do traces of its former state survive, nor does the present age recall such great buildings except in a few remains. For even now a mere chapel rejoices in a few or even a single priest, where once innumerable monks flourished within the cloisters of the monastery in the struggle of holy religion. Now in the first year of the reign of the most Christian Emperor Otto Augustus, and the ninth of King Lothair, a divinely granted revelation was made of the holy bodies of B. Benignus, Martyr and Bishop, and also of S. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr of Christ; and it was made in this way: Revealed to a Priest; Although a certain priest of the same church had often been admonished from heaven in dreams about this matter, distrustful of the vision, he at first treated it with rather too much negligence: but the divine dispensation, which in all things surpasses the capacity of the human mind in a wondrous way, choosing the most humble things of the world to shame the mighty, But when he neglected it, willed that this too should come to the knowledge of our salvation through a person of humility.

[3] Now it happened that a certain peasant, at the command of his master, set out for the forest with a wagon and yoked teams of oxen to fell timber for building. He himself, exhausted by labor, climbed onto the vehicle in the manner of a peasant, intending to rest a little while before the work ahead, To Amolwin the peasant, by S. Agnes herself, and succumbed to a sleep not his own. Soon S. Agnes appeared to him in a vision, calling him by his own name: Are you awake, are you awake, Amolwin? For so he was called. I am Agnes, a Virgin of Christ; do not fear: put faith in my commands: do not believe me to be a phantom. Not you alone, but a considerable part of the earth will prove that what I reveal to you is true. God, the lover of the humble, does not disdain, through you who are despised by men, to make known to the world a matter of this kind, as it has seemed otherwise to Him. Go, therefore, and tell Lambert the Priest that he should no longer delay, to his own harm, in unearthing and bringing to light the body of Benignus the Martyr and mine; for he is the Bishop of Chartres who shed his blood for the name of Christ, and he was my spiritual godson, whom, having raised from the regenerating font of his mother, I adopted as my son; and now I rejoice that he is present as a companion in heaven. Beneath the eaves of his church, in trenches dug in the earth toward the south, he will find an altar with glass tablets shattered over it, near which he will discover the sarcophagus of Benignus, and at its head mine also. If perhaps he does not wish to believe your words through these signs, objecting that you are deluded by vain dreams, as a liar, you shall add these further instructions without fear: bid him persist in searching, so that at least through these things he may prove you, and acknowledge that you assert true things, not false. Between the very place of the trench to be opened and the Loire river, at equal distances measured from either side to the middle, with a vineyard's space between, a well will be found by the searchers in the middle, stopped up when the inhabitants cast in various goods for safekeeping during the aforesaid tempest of the Danes. With the place indicated, and other signs. When it has been cleaned out and its water has risen to the top, two bells of good metal will be found at the bottom. Let him not waver in believing you after at least these things have been tested, nor defer any longer in carrying out these commands. For let him announce to the people that our feast days are to be celebrated. Let him not fail to declare the feast day of Benignus the Martyr on the vigil of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul; as for mine, known to the world, he need not make it known to anyone. Here that angelic spirit, putting an end to his discourse, withdrew to his own abode.

[4] Amolwin, awakened as it seemed to him from sleep, long wavered in doubt whether these things had happened while he was awake or while he was sleeping. When at last he came to himself and saw that the wagon, not straying from the path, had been brought to the very tree that he had marked the day before for the work, he believed the vision, and did not doubt, greatly marveling, that this had been accomplished by divine power. Without delay he soon set about the work, The Saint admonishes him again; loaded the wagon, and hastened to accelerate his return. On the following day, however, the same vision appeared to him in the customary manner of the former, rebuking him rather sharply for negligence and threatening that he would suffer punishment if he did not hasten to carry out the commands. Soon roused from sleep, he was struck with fear; he did not delay in reporting what he had seen to the Priest. But while this matter was being whispered about among his people, it did not escape the notice of Thiadmar, the master of works. Beaten by his lord Thiadmar on that account, For he was beaten by him with a severe thrashing and was completely prevented from going. He was reproached for laziness in his work, and accused of fabricating vain dreams on that account, so as to be free from labor: he was pressed more violently than usual, willing or not, to add effort to effort.

[5] What more? On the third day, as he made his way toward the forest, a third vision was not lacking, adding this to the former ones and strengthening him with these consolations: She consoles him: Do not fear, she said, that your being beaten on account of my commands will go unavenged. This sorrow will be turned to joy for you, and to a heap of grief and pain for him: he will learn, even against his will, both that you speak the truth and that through you he will incur a retribution of suffering. But do not withdraw your foot from what you have begun before you have set forth all things in order. When the slumber departed, mindful of the command, he left the yoke-teams there with the wagon, and hastening on foot with swift running, he secretly, apart from the elder, laid bare the whole matter afresh to the Priest alone.

CHAPTER II.

The relics found by Lambert the Priest.

[6] The Priest, also not sufficiently believing him, judging the peasant's words less fairly, put off what he had heard and dulled his mind to such matters. She appears also to the Priest himself, Not giving credence to the signs he had heard, he endeavored to investigate the cause of the truth. But not long after, when the morning hymns were finished, as he was of good conduct among his people and his life was not at odds with his conduct, while he laid his limbs upon his bed and sleep crept over him; as he was gently lulled to sleep, the Virgin appeared to stand before him, of such elegant beauty that nothing could surpass it, reproving him not gently for his negligences; and threatening that unless he assented to the peasant's words and hastened to fulfill the commands, he would not escape the guilt of what had been entrusted to him. Awakened by these words, the Priest, not free of fear, turned his mind this way and that through every anxiety, yet still wavered in mind whether this had happened by divine agency: he sought refuge in the Church, taking good counsel, and asked the Lord that, if this admonition were by His pleasure, he might not be denied being admonished once more, or, if he should presume to speak, a third time. Again, And he, offering prayers not in vain, was divinely heard. For on the following night, as the dawn broke through the darkness, he was similarly admonished as on the day before. And a third time. For on the third night, at the very twilight between night and dawn, when sleep customarily steals over the resting more lightly than usual, uncertain, as he often attested, whether fully awake or asleep or under the cloud of a dream, as he lay there, but, as he more truly affirms, sleepless, S. Agnes stood before him a third time. For naming herself thus, she said: I am Agnes; why do you doubt, Lambert? Why do you hesitate so greatly to assent to my admonitions? Cast away fear: do not be afraid of offending any human face, nor concern yourself with delaying the return of your master, whom you perhaps fear from the enemy. Let go of dread, and by fulfilling the command, the Lord will be with you. Saying these things, and repeating again all the records of the signs and places, she set forth in order what had previously been indicated through the peasant.

[7] Scarcely had the vision ceased when the shadow of sleep vanished from him; and he, not doubting the matter, having given thanks to God, soon summoned those of the same Church whom he knew to be of sounder mind and more faithful to God than the rest, and set forth and explained to them in full the same vision, the message of the vision, and the whole truth of the matter from the beginning. All of them, offering unanimous counsel, attempted to carry out the effect of their counsel, with God's permission, and did so. At once all set about the work, The relics are found. together with the Priest; with mattocks they did not delay in digging the earth deep at the designated place. When it was uncovered, the treasure long hidden in the recesses of the earth was publicly brought to light. Nor were signs lacking there. For the well did not conceal what it held from the searchers, but all things, just as they had been foretold, were found by them readily -- to the faithful for testimony, to the unfaithful for a stumbling block. Therefore, when the relics of the holy bodies had been found, all gave glory to God, and lifting them from the ground with joy and honor, they brought them within the walls of the church. Without delay the Priest reported the whole matter in full, and not silent about the message of the event, he duly proclaimed to the people that the feast day of Benignus the Martyr should be celebrated with festive rite, not forgetful of the command.

[8] Nor did the punishment that S. Agnes had foretold pass without effect: that the aforesaid Thiadmar had beaten the one narrating this revelation with an undeserved thrashing. Thiadmar is punished by the death of his offspring. Grievously afflicted by the sudden death of his only child on the very next day, he led a life hateful to himself, and the light of day in the grief of mourning for the pain of his child: and tormented by so great a sorrow, he recalled that he had committed a very great crime in beating the poor man, and that this could by no means pass unavenged. He confessed that he justly suffered the punishment: he hastened first to be reconciled with the poor man; then, supplicating the merits of the Saints with humble prayer, he begged to deserve forgiveness, lest he should feel that crime more greatly avenged by divine power against himself: and he vowed thenceforth never to perpetrate anything of the sort, God being merciful.

CHAPTER III.

Those who profane the feast days are punished.

[9] When the cycle of days had passed and the people were solemnly celebrating the same feast day again in honor of so great a Father and Martyr, it happened that a certain man, reckless of mind, secretly among the people, stirred by the instigation of the wicked spirit who always opposes the growth of the Christian religion, Violating the feast of S. Benignus with his household, disturbing the assembly of the Church, reproaching the feast day, did not fear to heap no small insults upon the Priest: Whose bones, he said, I know not -- if the Priest has dug them from tombs by rummaging in a burial place, who would be so foolish as to hasten to celebrate a feast day in idleness in his honor? None of my household shall be idle from work today on that account. We are all fools in doing this, and are held worthy of ridicule. And blaspheming, Persisting in these and other insults, he left the people quite suspended in doubt. At length, returning to his home, he forbade his household the leisure of a holiday; moreover, yoking his teams of oxen, he went out as if to plow the field. His wife, likewise, did not delay in going to weave the loom.

[10] But immediately, as he reached the level ground of his field, scorning to return home with the plow, one of the oxen, tumbling headlong, struck its neck and was killed. Nor was that wretched man's mind blunted by this, but he incurred a second calamity. For an equal fate followed in equal destruction, paying the master's penalty. He is punished by the death of his oxen, Nor did the loss of a third ox delay in scourging the master. At last, even against his will, he recognized that he had grievously sinned against the Saint of God: he repented of his undertaking, hastened to hang up the plow: but while he hurried to unyoke the oxen, the fourth slipped dead from his hands. For having ascended the field with eight yoke-animals, he returned home with scarcely four and with difficulty, and even of these the fourth collapsed dead at the entrance of the house, inflicting loss upon its master by the force of its fall. Nor meanwhile was the house lacking its share of retribution: pain and grief redoubled on every side, within and without. For his wife, whose name was Leuduza, when she sat at the loom, as she was about to cast the weft transversely across the warp in the manner of weavers through the heddles, And his wife by the crippling of her arm. drew back her hand and part of her arm up to the elbow, reversed to the bone in both flesh and skin, not without great pain, weak and utterly useless. It came about that they gave themselves over to lamentations and mourning who had disdained to enjoy the leisure of the feast. At length, even against their will, having taken the counsel of their people, they sought the protection of the blessed Martyr Benignus: they subjected themselves with their children and possessions to the service of his Church, lest the punishment for their offense should rage further against themselves and their descendants in the future.

[11] A girl, on the same feast day, negligent, A certain girl also, having neglected the solemnity of the same day, with the womanly tool that they call a distaff, wandering through the courtyard of the church in the manner of country women, spinning a useless thread by turning the spindle as she strolled about, suddenly fell prostrate to the ground before all, and with all her limbs contracted and weakened by the magnitude of a dreadful pain, she was long tormented and at last unexpectedly carried home by her people: there arose within the walls of her parents' house a wailing, Is punished by the contraction and weakness of her limbs: and outside, the tearful terror of the neighbors. Rushing in from all sides, thunderstruck with amazement, they stood around the half-dead girl, and rightly accused her of the crime of a bold deed; yet they begged God to be propitious in these matters, for whom it is easy to bestow joys that surpass human prayer. What more? After the confession of the offense that had been lamented, the salvation that had already been despaired of was not delayed by God, for whom this exercise of His gift is more powerful than anyone might think. Her parents, as she herself tearfully begged, brought her within the walls of the church, submitting her with affection to the patronage of the Saints as their handmaid. Nor was it long delayed. She is healed by the help of the Saints. It became publicly manifest what merit the Saints have before God. The limbs already half-dead were restored to their former state. She who had been nearly lifeless and already despaired of by her own people, scarcely represented to the church as alive by a single breath, rose up and leapt forth sound, in the presence of the people. At this sight, not only the girl's parents, but the populace and all raised praises and thanks to God. And rightly, for He who had declared the relics of the Saints with such great miracles, and had deigned to exalt the homeland with such great patronages.

CHAPTER IV.

The relics are transferred to Utrecht.

[12] Who could doubt that the people, divinely instructed by these events, venerated the solemnity of so great a day with festive leisure? The assembled multitude of the people also cries out: these signs bear witness that God is offended by anyone who, inflamed by the torch of the wicked spirit, refuses to observe the solemn feast of the Saints. Other miracles performed there. This was also confirmed by divine power through the subsequent miracles of very many healings, and thus the supreme reverence of the solemn day grew ever more widely in the world and from day to day among all those dwelling round about. Nor were cures for illnesses lacking to those who devoutly honored the patronage of so great a Father and so great a Lady. Passing over very many, we nevertheless think it not beside the point to insert into the reading what S. Agnes likewise, appearing to the same Priest in a dream about the same time, said: Beware lest you be circumvented by monks who are contriving a fraudulent theft against you by a devised trick. For two are coming here under the pretext of praying, S. Agnes, having warned the Priest, prevents the theft of the relics. but the real reason is to violate our relics. You shall advise Count Thiadbold to restore the return of the ancient estate's market here along with the fairs, hastening the time and expenses in repairing the place speedily. Otherwise, he will feel in the near future that he will fall into danger not without harm to himself or his people. Having said no more, she withdrew to her abode. The Priest, when he was roused from sleep, having revolved the vision in his heart, hastened to proceed to the church, and leaving the vessel empty upon the altar while concealing the matter, secretly placed the relics of the Saints in a granary situated behind the altar. Scarcely had he departed thence when, behold, two monks who had set out from S. Julian's, relying in vain on their cunning, arrived, asked him for a place and suitable time for prayer in the church, and disguised the appearance of religion with the paint of falsehood. Nor did he refuse, by no means ignorant of the Saints' affair, entirely secure in himself. What more? Attempting to deceive him as though he were unknowing, they were completely deceived: yet they pursued their undertaking. Having broken open the reliquary, tricked by appearances, they found their hope vain. Thence, not without shame, having failed in their quest for the treasure, they returned home empty. The Priest, having found the traces of the deceit and theft, disclosed the whole business of the affair to his people: nor did the monks any longer conceal it from those who inquired. Thereafter a reverence born of fear grew ever greater among the inhabitants concerning the patronage of the Saints.

[13] Since these things were so, the deed did not long escape the notice of Baldric, Bishop of Utrecht. For when has anything new in the world ever escaped his notice? Baldric obtains them from Count Thiadbold, Having observed these things and turning his mind to the acquisition of the relics, he burned in spirit, revealing the fervor of his desire to God; nor did he long endure it untested, impatient of delay, whether he might obtain by persistent prayer a treasure of such great value. For having quickly sent envoys to Count Thiadbold, whom his long-standing fidelity had bound to him with a most inextricable pledge of friendship, he urged that this too should be a proof of that friendship: not to deny him the relics of the Saints recently declared to the world by divine power. The Count too, quite anxious as to what he would prefer, was in an agony of indecision whether to comply with his friend or to strip himself and his people of such great patrons: for if by refusing he should wish in any way to taint the bond of friendship, he would by no means give assent to his feelings. But at last, by God's will, or rather, if I may say so, unwillingly, he gave the gift that had been demanded, not doubting that the gift thus given would not be displeasing to God and the Saints.

[14] The Bishop, therefore, having obtained his wish, raising thanksgivings to God with praises, with a choir of clerics assembled and a multitude of the people, went out to meet the Saints, as was fitting to honor them, and having received them with due honor, he placed them within the hall of the Episcopal See of Utrecht on the day before the Kalends of April in a single location, And transfers them to Utrecht, 31 March 964. but in separate coffers, in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ nine hundred and sixty-four, indiction the seventh, on the fifth day of the week. For now Utrecht rejoices to be adorned with these gems; it rejoices to be enriched with the wealth of so great and such a treasure, drawing daily from the Lord joyfulness, the jubilation of peace, the increase of salvation, a remedy for vices, a medicine for souls, a bulwark against enemies; and it cherishes in its bosom, rejoicing, those by whose patronage it does not waver to be sustained, with such intercessors pleading before God on its behalf. The people and inhabitants are eager to render due honor: for what they seek with suppliant prayer, they praise God that it is not denied them through their intercession. Nor should persons of sound faith doubt that through the glorious merits of the Blessed Martyr Benignus and the thrice blessed Martyr and Virgin Agnes, whatever is sought from them in the name of the Savior with unwavering faith is divinely granted to all who honor their patronage. Wherefore let us also, who desire to be aided by their merits, devoutly celebrating the honor of the feast day, earnestly beseech them to intercede with God for us; so that we may deserve to obtain, through their intercession together with all the Saints, the heavenly joy which we cannot achieve by ourselves, through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who denies nothing to His Saints, reigning with the Father and the Holy Spirit and governing the fabric of all things without end of ages, Amen.

ON THE RELICS OF S. AGNES

Translated to Constantinople, and afterwards to Spain.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

[1] The relics of S. Agnes were also transferred to Constantinople, and even earlier than to Belgian or Celtic Gaul. Baronius in his Notes Relics of S. Agnes brought to Constantinople, on the Martyrology, reports that this was done in the time of Emperor Marcian, and states that Theodore the Lector so writes. In truth, the latter in book 2 of his Collectanea, toward the end, has the following: Under his (Theodosius the Younger's, whom Marcian succeeded in 450) reign, the relics of SS. Stephen, Lawrence, and Agnes were deposited in the martyrium of S. Lawrence, on the twenty-first of September; and their memory is celebrated there to this day on that date. But in the Greek Menaea and Menologion there is no mention of them on this day; nor on 27 September, which was the day expressed in the Latin translation of Theodore.

[2] Concerning the translation of S. Stephen separately, Nicephorus writes in book 14, chapter 9. Concerning S. Agnes and S. Lawrence, in the following chapter he writes thus: It has indeed been commonly reported that God foretold future things to this Empress (Pulcheria) in many other matters as well, Through the agency of S. Pulcheria, and bore the greatest testimony to her religion and piety and to that of her sisters, who also cultivated the same way of life. For she also brought the relics of Lawrence the Martyr and of Agnes, having found them, to Constantinople; where she built a church of the greatest size and most beautiful elegance. When she was administering the Empire and Gennadius was presiding over the Church of Constantinople, the relics of S. Anastasia the Apothecary were brought from Sirmium, etc. -- which last details seem to indicate that the earlier relics were brought to Constantinople before she herself assumed the rule of the Empire upon her brother's death in 450.

[3] Antonio Vincenzo Domenech in his History of the Saints of Catalonia reports from an old manuscript of the Church of Manresa that those relics of S. Agnes were brought from Constantinople into Gaul by William, son of the Count of Vienne, Thence to Gaul, and finally to Manresa; together with the body of S. Anthony, then to the monastery called Bages, situated near Manresa, and finally to Manresa. And indeed this last translation, as drawn from the proper records of that place, fully deserves credence: but in the earlier parts there is much that a curious reader might rightly suspect. For on 17 January, in the Translation of the body of S. Anthony, no mention is made of S. Agnes: that body was brought by Jocelin, or Jacelin, Although part of the history is suspect. the son of Count William, not by William himself. Furthermore, Domenech implies that the same William gave the relics of S. Agnes to the envoys of the King of Castile and his brother the Archbishop of Toledo: and he conjectures that this king was Alfonso VI, who was called Emperor. But the remains of S. Anthony were brought into Gaul long before the time of Alfonso VI, who held the kingdom from 1108 to 1159. Nor did Alfonso VI have a brother who was Bishop of Toledo, but Alfonso VII had Sancho. What of the fact that he says a sister of Emperor Marcian was married to the Duke of Austria? What the condition of Noricum (which was afterwards called Austria) was under the empire of Marcian is clear from the beginning of the life of S. Severinus, Apostle of the Noricans, on 8 January: nor did Noricum pertain to the Byzantine Empire. He says that when the Romans refused to give the relics, Marcian threatened to seek them by war: if he had had such forces as to be able to transport an army into Italy, he would rather have brought aid to those same Romans against the Vandals and other barbarians. Finally he writes that the relics were placed at Constantinople on the left side of the altar, because the right side was already occupied by the body of S. Anthony: whereas we have shown above that this was brought to Constantinople long afterward, since it had not even yet been found.

[4] This was our reason for by no means translating Domenech word for word, but compressing the entire narrative in summary; perhaps about to pronounce something more certain if we had seen the Manresan codex that he cites.

NARRATIVE OF THE TRANSLATION,

from Antonio Vincenzo Domenech.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

[1] In order to explain the latest Translation of the holy Virgin Agnes more easily, we shall briefly comprehend all of them. Agnes was a certain niece of the Constantinopolitan Emperor Marcian, the daughter of his sister. A royal virgin at Constantinople seized by a demon, While she was enjoying herself in the country and, captivated by the appearance and clarity of a spring she had come upon, had tasted its water, she was suddenly seized by an evil spirit, and struck her uncle the Emperor with great grief. When for this reason it had pleased him to institute public supplications, a voice was heard from heaven, which declared that the virgin could not be freed unless the body of that holy woman who had passed through fire unharmed were brought to Constantinople. The obscure oracle, By the relics of S. Agnes, at divine prompting, when supplications were renewed and the voice was heard again, was interpreted to mean Agnes, entombed in marble at Rome.

[2] An embassy having been sent, the body of the virgin could scarcely be wrested from the Romans on account of their religious devotion -- not by prayers, but barely by terror. Sought from Rome and brought to the court by a miracle, Brought to Constantinople, it was conveyed to its church with the greatest joy and most splendid pageantry. When it had drawn near, immediately the beasts of burden were thunderstruck and could not be driven either forward or back. But when all had cast themselves upon the ground, beseeching God, the animals of their own accord took a straight course to the palace, which was situated near S. Sophia. In it there was a chapel, into which the sacred remains were brought by the Emperor's command, and the possessed girl was led to them. She immediately collapsed to the ground and lay for an hour, resembling a dead person. The terror was increased by a foul and horrible whispering: Why do you torment me? Why do you drive me out? Why do you harass me, holy Virgin? She is freed, And not long after, the spirit was driven out and expelled: she was freed, to the immense congratulation and joy of all. When her uncle the Emperor then asked S. Agnes herself appearing to her. what had happened to her when she lay on the ground, stricken by a fainting spell, she confirmed that a tender young virgin had seemed to speak to her thus: that she was Agnes, and that she ordered the foul spirit to depart and forbade it to return. Then the vision vanished. The Emperor, moved by religious awe, thereupon commanded that Agnes be honorably interred there, that the tomb be covered with gold and adorned with gems. Thus far the first Translation; the second follows.

[3] William, son of William, Count of Vienne, having devoutly visited Jerusalem, had then lived with the Constantinopolitan Emperor for two years. The relics of the same, and of S. Anthony, brought to Gaul. Having bound the Emperor to himself with the greatest love, and having with difficulty prevailed upon him to allow his return to his homeland, he carried away from the Emperor -- who had sworn that he would give whatever pleased him -- the bodies of SS. Anthony and Agnes to his homeland, and placed them in a church of the Virgin Mother of God, in a place called La Motte, where great miracles were afterwards performed.

[4] The third translation was made at the request, through envoys, of the King of Castile and his brother the Archbishop of Toledo, Those relics given to the King of Castile, through the supreme generosity of Count William. For when they had come to request a notable portion of the bones, most were given, and only a small part was retained there, together with relics of S. Maurice, the chief of the Theban Martyrs. The envoys, having crossed the Pyrenees and being exhausted by long journeys, when they had halted at the village of S. Fructuosus, half a league from the town of Manresa, in a monastery of the Benedictine order, and wished to rest from the labor of the journey, most of them were seized by illness and died there. The rest, having deposited in that church these relics and those of SS. Fructuosus, Eulogius, and Augurius, which they had obtained from the people of Tarragona while journeying into Gaul, led by the hope that afterwards from that place, both despised and subject to the Roman Church, the relics would be more easily recovered than if they had placed them at Manresa, departed for home.

[5] In the year of Christ 1372, the Senate of Manresa, after great contention and effort had been expended, Then brought to Manresa with the relics of SS. Maurice and Fructuosus. having at last obtained authority from Guido, Bishop of Porto and Legate a latere of the Supreme Pontiff in Aragon, on 30 August, with great pomp and a very large procession, transported to Manresa the bones of SS. Fructuosus, Eulogius, Augurius, Maurice, and Agnes.

[6] In that translation, a man afflicted with great torpor and lethargy of body, A sick man is healed, so that he could not walk at all, when the procession was being led past his house, having prayed to the Saints themselves and especially to Agnes, suddenly leapt up and himself followed the procession to the sacred church.

[7] By a similar benefit, on the same day, with like prayers, a woman named Amata, living in the suburb, who had completely lost the faculty of sight, A blind person recovers sight. when the bodies of the Saints were being carried past her house, suddenly recovered it and joined herself to the multitude of the procession.

[8] Nor indeed did our Saints leave any kind of disease or affliction uncured. James Desprat, a shopkeeper of Manresa, was struggling with a most fierce fever and pains in the kidneys Fever and kidney pains cured. at Palermo in Sicily. As soon as his brother promised a silver lamp to S. Agnes for the sick man, he recovered as if more swiftly than the word and the vow: and returning home, he fulfilled the vow. Many others were cured of the same diseases.

[9] Elizabeth Paguera, having fallen from the window of a tall building, instilled in her mother, who was watching, the religious impulse to conceive a vow to B. Agnes in the face of her danger, One who fell from a height is not injured. and by that same vow she overcame the danger. She was brought back uninjured by her father, who rushed to what he supposed was his daughter's death.

[10] Fever driven away. A certain woman named Radiola was nearly dead from fever and given up by the physicians. Her brother vowed money to the Saints for the adornment of their tombs. Once the vow was conceived, she began to recover. A little boy had lived for eight days, A dead child is raised. the infant son of Alfonso Sabater. After those days he died. He had lain without life for more than three hours. A vow to the holy Martyrs was made by a pious woman who was present, that the expenses which the infant's burial would incur should be redirected to the repair of the Manresan tombs. He revived and lived for many years thereafter. A certain man, suffering from fever, kept vigil with his wife at the tombs of the Martyrs. A heavenly light seen at the relics. They saw two very large lights fly through the window to the sacred altar, by whose light the whole building seemed somehow to blaze. For half an hour they shone on this side and that, and then both slipped away to heaven by the same entrance, leaving a great light in the hearts of the married couple.

ON THE MIRACLES OF S. AGNES.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

From various sources.

[1] Many and great are the benefits of S. Agnes toward mortals. We shall set forth a few here, besides those already commemorated in the history of the translation. And first, in the life of S. Boniface, Bishop of Lausanne, which we shall give on 19 February, the following is narrated: A certain Cardinal was sick at Paris even unto death, and Master William of Milidon was ministering to him, who said to his companions: I am going to rest a little, because I am very weary. And when he had gone out, immediately the venerable Boniface appeared in a vision to the sick man, splendidly adorned with pontifical vestments, S. Boniface, Bishop of Lausanne, heals a sick man, bringing with him a certain most beautiful Virgin, most becomingly adorned with jewels. And Boniface said to the sick man: Lord, how are you doing, and how are you? He answered: I am very weak. And the Bishop signed his forehead with his finger, In the presence of S. Agnes. and with his hand wiped his face and breast; and thus, having given a blessing, he immediately recovered. Meanwhile, when the sick man asked who that maiden was, the Bishop answered: This is S. Agnes. And immediately the vision disappeared.

[2] S. Bridget of Sweden honored S. Agnes with singular devotion: wherefore the Virgin is read to have appeared to her very frequently and to have imbued her with heavenly admonitions. In book 3 of the Revelations, chapter 12, while praying for a certain bishop, she teaches that people often resist the grace of God S. Agnes frequently appears to S. Bridget and teaches her many things. by which they are drawn to the pursuit of virtue, and dangerously defer the pursuit of good works to the end of life. In the same book, chapter 3, she exhorts Bridget to honor the Mother of God diligently and to love her; whom she also compares to a lily, as Gonzalvus Durantus explains in his Notes on that passage. In book 4, chapter 11, Agnes intercedes with the Virgin Mother of God on her behalf. In the same book, chapter 17, she delivers to her precepts of a pious and honest life, as also in chapter 20; and in chapter 124, she places upon her a crown of seven precious stones on account of afflictions patiently endured. In the Extravagant Revelations, chapter 63, the Mother of God addresses Bridget with these words: Stand therefore steadfast, and obey Agnes in the counsels that she gives you in spiritual vision, and your Master, who both instruct you from one spirit; and by obeying either of them, you obey both.

[3] That there is a great safeguard in her patronage for the protection of chastity is made clear from what the author of the Lombardic History, James of Voragine, commemorates -- not indeed always a writer of the greatest reliability, but what we draw from him here is also recounted by Claudius Rota of the Order of Preachers: A certain man betroths himself to a statue of S. Agnes, A certain man named Paulinus, performing the office of the priesthood in the church of S. Agnes, began to be assailed by a remarkable temptation of the flesh. But since he did not wish to offend God, he sought permission from the Supreme Pontiff to contract marriage. The Pope, considering his goodness and simplicity, gave him a ring with an emerald, and commanded him to order the beautiful image of B. Agnes, And is freed from the temptation of the flesh. which was painted in his church, on his behalf to allow herself to be betrothed. And when the priest issued the command to the image, she immediately extended her ring finger, and having received the ring and withdrawn her finger, she banished all temptations from the priest. The aforesaid ring is said to appear on her finger even now. Elsewhere, however, it is read that when the church of B. Agnes was falling into ruin, the Pope said to a certain priest that he wished to entrust to him a certain bride to be kept and nourished, namely the church of S. Agnes: and giving him a ring, he commanded him to betroth the said image. Which she, extending and withdrawing her finger, betrothed. So they write; and although these accounts are not established by the necessary markers of time and testimonies, and are therefore less adapted to inspire belief, nevertheless, since churches are also read to have been betrothed by Saints, and some have bound themselves to the Saints, or to the Virgin Mother, Queen of the Saints, with a similar pledge of spiritual marriage, in their statues or images, we cannot entirely reject them.

[4] S. Agnes, patron of the Trinitarian Order, Fr. Paul Aznar, in his book of Spiritual Exercises, writes that S. Agnes is the primary President and Patron of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity. We shall treat more fully of that Order on 17 December in the life of B. John of Matha, and of B. Felix on 4 November, the first founders of that congregation.

OTHER MIRACLES

from Thomas a Kempis, after Sermon 8 to the Novices.

Agnes, Virgin and Martyr at Rome (S.)

BHL Number: 0167

By Thomas a Kempis.

Section I. A sickness driven away by the aid of S. Agnes.

[1] A certain brother of our house frequently suffered from headache, and for that reason was sometimes compelled to leave the choir. He had, however, a special devotion to the venerable Virgin S. Agnes, our patroness, overflowing with the sweetness of great piety. He therefore desired with an intense affection of heart to visit her sacred relics at Utrecht, which are preserved there with honor in a silver chest covered with gold, in the cathedral church of S. Martin. [At the old, and now empty, shrine of the relics of S. Agnes, a headache is driven away.] It happened, therefore, that he went with his Prior to visit the aforesaid place of supreme reverence, and coming to the hall of the aforesaid cathedral church, becomingly adorned with the relics of many Saints, he asked the custodian to show him the chest of the most blessed Agnes, long desired on account of the urgency of his devotion. Then the custodian of the sacred relics said: It is not easily permitted for me to open the precious chest of S. Agnes: but I shall gladly show you the old casket of the gracious Virgin, in which her sacred relics long rested, to the praise and glory of God. Hearing this, the brother was gladdened and consoled, expecting the honorable coffin to be presented to him. When he saw it and it was opened, he bowed reverently, and kissing the sacred chest, he confidently placed his head inside, hoping that aid would be present to him without hesitation through the merits of S. Agnes. When these things had been done, he gave the greatest thanks to God and to S. Agnes the Virgin, that he had merited to behold these things with his own eyes. From this time and thereafter, he was relieved of his former pains, not only in body, but also advanced in greater devotion of mind: and he completed the remaining time of his life, in a joyful and blessed struggle, well ended in the fervor of the spirit.

[2] Another brother, when he had read the lesson at supper on the eve of S. Agnes's feast, it happened to him unexpectedly that, while eating alone afterwards, a fish bone broke in his mouth; and it adhered so firmly to his palate that he could neither extract nor spit out its point. A fish bone dangerously stuck in the throat, Wherefore, greatly grieved and fearing the danger to his voice from this injury, he waited patiently for the evening hour when the Office of S. Agnes was to be solemnly chanted in choir. When the cantor had begun the responsory Pulchra facie Beautiful of face at a higher pitch, and the assembled choir with joyful voices pursued the remainder in honor of S. Agnes, devoutly singing and praising, the injured brother began likewise to sing along and to invoke S. Agnes, his beloved and kind patroness, with supplication, that in that hour she might come to his aid and free him from this injury. And (O wondrous clemency of God, and how ineffable is His virtue and power, who does not forsake those who hope in Him, from whatever tribulation they cry out to Him!) for immediately, when he sang these words with the community, Intercede for us all, he felt a certain irritation in the palate of his throat, and began to cough a little; and in an instant, with the saliva of his mouth, he spat out the fish bone without any pain to his throat. By the aid of S. Agnes it is expelled. Then, made cheerful, he gave thanks to God and to S. Agnes the Virgin, that he had so quickly merited to be heard and cured. When vespers were finished, he remained silently in the choir, prostrating himself humbly upon his footstool, kissing the wooden floor from the deepest affection of his heart, secretly rejoicing at so great a benefit conferred on him through the merits of S. Agnes. Then, wishing to be more certain of the present occurrence, he sought the fish bone cast from his mouth and found it fallen in the sand: taking it with him to his cell, he placed it beside the image of S. Agnes, as a perpetual remembrance of her special love. By her sacred patronage, may the merciful Lord deign to guard us always and everywhere from every danger, and to preserve us in good conduct together with all those commended to us in prayer, Amen.

Section II. Lost money recovered.

[3] There was in the city of Zwolle a certain citizen, named Hermann de Oever, wealthy and upright, pious and merciful toward the poor, and a faithful procurator for the sick and needy in the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. When a certain disturbance arose in the city against him and some of his fellow citizens, he took refuge at our monastery on Mount S. Agnes the Virgin, for the sake of hospitality. A certain layman staying at Mount S. Agnes, He was received for his uprightness and gentleness, and kindly treated, with much charity and brotherly goodwill. After a short time had passed, he learned to read the Confiteor and to serve the priest at Mass, although he was already an old man and entirely ignorant of letters. This he did with such diligence and devotion that, when others were occupied elsewhere, he often gladly and eagerly served priests at Mass two or three times in a single day. Indeed, he frequently served our venerable Father William of Vornick, at that time the Prior of our house, a special lover of S. Agnes, during High Mass while the choir was singing, himself vested in a surplice at the back of the church, with great devotion. It happened on a certain occasion that he lost some money from the cell in which he was staying: at which he grieved greatly, wondering who had done this: for he had not yet given up his possessions, but was living among the brothers in the cloister walk as a guest and faithful friend. For during the midday dinner, a certain stranger and unknown person had secretly entered his room through an open window and stolen as much as he pleased and quickly departed. His stolen money After dinner, therefore, when Hermann entered his cell after saying grace, he looked for his money and did not find it; and quite distressed, he said in complaint to one of the lay brothers, Brother John de Eme, who was familiar to him: O good and dear Brother John, are there thieves in this house? He said: Certainly not, good Hermann. Then he revealed the theft that had been committed against him, saying: I have lost the money that I had in my cell, and just now during dinner it was secretly stolen. Brother John, consoling the grieving man, replied: Do not think, good friend, that any of our brothers or any member of this household did this: but perhaps some outside visitor who entered the garden of the orchard, being tempted, did this, as we have sometimes experienced in past times when garments were secretly stolen. When our venerable Father and Prior William heard this, he was greatly saddened, and all the brothers grieved at the loss of the good man and the shame of the theft. Then certain of our brothers, who were more familiar with him, consoling and exhorting him to patience, said to him: O dearest Hermann, be patient in this, for perhaps our Lord God does not wish you to occupy your heart any longer with that money. He vows it to S. Agnes if he should recover it, Therefore now make a virtue of necessity: and offer it to God and to S. Agnes, for the salvation of your soul. And if it should afterwards happen that you recover it, may you not wish to retain anything of it: but let all of it go to the worship of God and the service of S. Agnes. He did with a good spirit and pious intention what was advised, freely vowing all things fully to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to S. Agnes, the patroness of our church, recently consecrated. Therefore, when this votive offering was completed, after three days there came a good messenger from Zwolle, sent by Lord John of Haarlem, then rector of the devout Beguine Sisters, saying: Brothers, do not be anxious and sad about the lost money; you will soon receive it back, with God's favor. He recovers it, When these things were heard, Hermann rejoiced, and with him our Prior and the whole community. But who this thief and robber was, whether a cleric or a layman, is not known to this day. For it is hoped that he repented, and secretly asked Lord John to send everything back to the monastery, which he also faithfully did without revealing the name. From the money thus recovered, there were bought and prepared in honor of S. Agnes And he spends it on ornaments for the church. two priestly vestments and one silver-gilt chalice, with the name of Hermann de Oever inscribed beneath the foot of the chalice.

Section III. Other benefits of the Saint.

[4] [One doubting the faith is confirmed by divine power, through the example of S. Agnes and others.] A certain brother of our house, celebrating Mass in the Chapter house at the altar of S. Agnes the Virgin, was suddenly tempted during Mass by the snares of the devil concerning the faith and the sacrament of the Body of Christ, in which he had very often found great consolation. Feeling, therefore, a grave question flooding in, he quickly turned to the merciful Lord Jesus with groaning and a right intention of faith in prayer. And immediately he heard a divine response, spoken to him inwardly: Believe as S. Agnes, Cecilia, Barbara, and the other holy Virgins believed; who suffered for Christ and never doubted any word in the faith. When these words were heard, the temptation ceased, and the doubt of the question. And very often afterwards, against diabolical assaults, he revolved these words: Believe as Agnes, Cecilia, and Barbara, and you will never err in the Catholic faith. For there are as many true testimonies as there are holy words in the Bible.

[5] Another of our sick brothers also communicated with devotion in the same place and at the same altar, A crippled man suddenly recovers through the aid of S. Agnes. who for a long time had been accustomed to walk bent over, supporting himself with canes. But after the celebration of Mass, by the power of Christ and the merits of S. Agnes, he so recovered that he left his canes there after Mass and afterwards passed joyfully and upright to the choir and the community. When a certain brother marveled at this occurrence, he piously began to inquire what the sick man had done and what he had thought during Mass. The healed man answered: I thought about and revolved the words of the holy Gospel, as Luke relates concerning our Lord Jesus Christ: Luke 6:19 And all the multitude sought to touch him, for power went forth from him and healed all. Therefore good faith and the power of the sacrament, together with the prayers of the Saints, can still heal those who are weak in mind and body; that they may become fervent in the love of God, and more ready for every good work, and obedient to their superiors without delay. These are the miracles of eternal salvation, which Christ still frequently works among the devout, with wondrous clemency.

[6] It happened at a certain time in Lent that a certain brother was asked to celebrate Mass early, about the fifth hour, for the guests and the entire household of our house; as it is customary to do for the good protection of those laboring in their offices and for those traveling on nearby or distant roads. The brother piously consented and did willingly out of charity what he was asked. It was then the feast of S. Gregory the Pope, whom the brother loved with special affection, because on his feast day he had first entered school to learn the alphabet with the other boys. When he had therefore approached the altar, he began to think about what Mass he wished to read, whether of the fast or of S. Gregory: immediately it came to his mind: You have not yet read a Mass this week of S. Agnes, for the special cause entrusted to you. Read therefore now of S. Agnes, with the collect of S. Gregory; and afterwards you shall sing the Mass of him in choir with the whole community, with a joyful heart. He did so in the name of the Lord with good confidence, fulfilling his vows concerning S. Agnes, our patroness, most beloved of Christ. A fire extinguished through the merits of S. Agnes. When, therefore, nearly all were gathered in the church and hearing Mass, a danger of fire occurred in our farmhouse, with no one yet aware of it. But the merciful and compassionate God provided most excellently that the fire was quickly extinguished. For a certain lay brother of ours, a Donatus named Matthias, leaving the church after the elevation, came upon it and put out the source of the fire. This we trust should be attributed to the merits of S. Agnes, of whom the Mass was then being specially read, to beseech the Lord for that particular cause. For God, who preserved B. Agnes unharmed in the midst of flames as she prayed with outstretched hands, Himself on that day guarded our house with all its furnishings from burning, through her prayers and merits, with merciful goodness. For one of the laymen had entered the church with the others to hear Mass and had neglected to extinguish a lantern under the roof of the house, which, its cord having burned through, fell upon the grain lying there and set it alight. But the merciful Lord, who sees all things and mercifully attends to the prayers of the needy, granted that this danger be met in time through another (as has been said). When our devout and beloved Father, Brother Theodoric of Cleves, the third venerable Prior of our house, heard that the danger of fire had occurred and had quickly ceased by the grace of God, he was at first quite alarmed -- nor is it surprising. Then he was consoled and gave thanks to God that so grave a danger had not advanced but was suddenly dissipated. When, therefore, the rumor of the fire had reached the ears of the others, the brother who had celebrated the Mass of S. Agnes on that same day privately approached the Prior, his Father, and humbly informed him: Dear Father, let us give thanks to God and to S. Agnes, our patroness; for the Mass of her was read today for a special cause; and I trust that she faithfully prayed for us and the Lord delivered us from this fire. Then the good Father and pious shepherd, rejoicing greatly, Prayers and alms in thanksgiving. as a chaste lover of S. Agnes, enjoined special prayers upon the brothers and ordered more generous alms to be distributed to the poor, for so evident a protection from the present fire and from every future evil: Amen.

ON S. BUSIRIS, CONFESSOR, AT ANCYRA IN GALATIA.

TOWARD THE END OF THE FOURTH CENTURY.

Busiris, Confessor, at Ancyra in Galatia (S.)

[1] Ancyra, the metropolis of Galatia, among its other trophies of the Saints, also proclaims the contest of Busiris undertaken under Julian the Apostate, afterwards crowned by the distinguished innocence of his life. More recent writers have inscribed his name in the register of Saints, The name of S. Busiris in the sacred register, Canisius, Ferrarius, the author of the Gallo-Belgian Martyrology; and with a fuller eulogy, Galesinius: At Ancyra in Galatia, he says, the feast of S. Busiris the Martyr. He, under Emperor Julian, vehemently attacking the cult and impiety of the pagans, was torn with iron hooks for the religion of Christ, then tortured with many other torments, and underwent martyrdom with a steadfast spirit. He did not, however, die from the torments; but when the death of Julian was announced, he was released from prison, and prolonged his life to the reign of Theodosius, that is, beyond the year 379, when Theodosius was made Emperor by Gratian Augustus at Sirmium on 14 February.

[2] The deeds of Busiris were described by Sozomen in book 5, chapter 10, which Cassiodorus faithfully translates thus in the Tripartite History, book 6, chapter 13. His contest for the faith, They say that Busiris at Ancyra of Galatia had a most illustrious and most courageous confession, although he had been in the heresy called that of the Encratites, that is, the Abstainers. For when the judge had arrested him on the charge of insulting the pagans, he wished to torture him publicly and ordered him to be hung on a frame. His remarkable constancy. Then Busiris, quickly extending his hands above his head, bared his sides, saying that there was no need for the ministers to labor in hanging him up and taking him down, since he himself was ready for whatever punishment they wished to inflict, and offered his sides to the torturers. The judge, marveling at his readiness, was even more astonished by the proof of the event. For when the iron hooks had most violently furrowed his sides, as long as it pleased the judge, he held his hands extended and received the blows with cheerfulness. After this he was led back to prison and rested. Then, shortly after, when the death of Julian was announced, he lived until the principate of Theodosius, and dwelt in the Catholic Church, having done penance for his former heresy.

[3] So Cassiodorus, translating Sozomen almost word for word, except that the latter expressly states that Busiris (whom he also writes as Busouris), being then of the heresy of those called Encratites, Whether he was then Catholic. when the death of Julian was announced, was released, and returned to the Catholic Church, having condemned his former heresy; whereas Cassiodorus leaves it ambiguous whether he was a heretic when he suffered these things. Nicephorus too, in book 10, chapter 10, implies that Busiris was then Catholic: him, who had formerly been of the heresy of the Encratites, etc., whom the prefect of the province seized as he vigorously and fearlessly attacked the idols, etc. Whether, however, he had already at that time been reconciled to the Catholic Church, or was still held in heretical error, the most gracious Deity brought it about that he completed his invincible strength of soul with the profession of the true religion. The Encratites, who are called by some Encratistae, that is, the Continent or Abstainers, abominated marriage, abstained from meat and wine, asserted multiple first principles including the devil among them; and although they were called Continent, yet they traveled with women and lived in common with them, as S. Epiphanius writes in Heresy 47, and Baronius at the year 174, number 10.

ON S. EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP OF PAVIA IN ITALY.

Year of Christ 496.

Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia in Italy (S.)

[1] In the dark and most wretched times of the Roman Empire declining to its destruction, the virtue of S. Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia in Cisalpine Gaul, shone forth and fulfilled the splendor of his name (for epiphanes signifies illustrious and splendid). The feast of S. Epiphanius, The Roman Calendar and others propose him for public veneration among the Saints on the 12th before the Kalends of February, others on the 11th.

[2] The deeds nobly accomplished by him were described by the Blessed Ennodius, his disciple and Bishop of the same see, in the third of his miscellaneous works, which, His Life, in the judgment of Sirmond, appears to be among the Ennodian writings both the greatest and the best, and embraces the varied and manifold history of those times. Scarcely a third of it had been published by Surius and others: our Andreas Scottus and Jacques Sirmond supplied the rest from old manuscripts: Rosweyde had transcribed it from an ancient codex of Francis Modius, and we give it as here. Cardinal Baronius treats of him at length in volume 6 of the Annals, Paul the Deacon in book 16 of the Roman History, Bernardino Sacco in book 7 of the History of Pavia, and following him Antonio Maria Spelta and Giacomo Gualla: but these three, whose authority on matters of their own country should be the greatest, either did not read Ennodius or did not esteem him as much as he deserves, and expressed matters with very little exactitude.

[3] Andreas Saussaius also inscribed his name in the Gallican Martyrology in the Supplement, His memory among the French, because he was sent by Emperor Nepos to Euric, King of the Visigoths, at Toulouse: he could also have been inscribed on the further ground that he came as an envoy from Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, to Gundobad, King of the Burgundians, at Lyon. Certainly in both places he left many traces of his wisdom and sanctity imprinted.

[4] Spelta reports that he died while Emperor Zeno was still alive, His dates. Simplicius was occupying the see of Rome, in the year 481. But Theodoric had not yet come to Italy in that year; and so Spelta contradicts himself and the other writers. Zeno died in the sole consulship of Olybrius the Younger, in the year 491, at which time Odoacer, besieged at Ravenna, was still shut up there; after whose death Epiphanius is known to have been still alive. Sacco, although he himself also does not arrange the chronology well enough, nevertheless admits that he died under the pontificate of Gelasius, who held office in the times of Emperor Zeno and King Theodoric. Our Jacques Sirmond writes that S. Epiphanius died on the 12th before the Kalends of February in the year 497, not yet having completed the fifty-eighth year of his age; born in the year 439, made Bishop in the year 467. But Dionysius Petavius reports that he was made Bishop in the year 466: which will seem more probable to one reading his life, which Ennodius arranged with care. We shall treat of his relics below.

LIFE

BY B. ENNODIUS, BISHOP,

from a most ancient manuscript of Francis Modius.

Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia in Italy (S.)

BHL Number: 2570

By B. Ennodius, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE.

[1] The Author professes that he wishes to amplify nothing beyond the truth, Although the uncertain necessity of undertaking this work presses upon me, and on the other hand a treatise has been imposed that is not free from my own labor nor from the caviling of detractors -- a treatise in which a twofold caution of diction here demands richness of talent, and there imposes reins even upon tongues rich in narration; since even those persons who are considered most eminent in the world through vain inflation, if anyone has been too zealous to elevate them with windy praise, or to confine them within the limits of their deeds through poverty of eloquence, both results are judged ungrateful by them. For in praises themselves it is shameful to forge things which not even the person of whom they are told would recognize; just as it is considered injurious and worthy of grief to pass over in silence what a true account could exalt. For the noble deeds of our predecessors receive their value in our estimation according to the ability of the narrator. For truly either something perishes from notice or passes diminished to posterity when a meager vein of words has undertaken to explain it: and that praise which is too freely given takes away as much glory as it has added of falsehood. It often happens, moreover, that an accumulation lacking in credibility diminishes the well-done deeds of many, and a vain narrative that grows from lies is untimely and too impoverished, failing to reach its goal. Wherefore, as I am about to narrate the life of the most blessed Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia, I invoke the Holy Spirit, witness and companion of his deeds, so that with His aid I may commit to pages destined to endure in the world the glory of a most serene conscience, which He granted to him, so that the fame of one who is destined to furnish an example of virtues may never die. In which work, however, even if the narrowness of eloquence running under a fixed rule does not constrain me, so that at least I may set forth in order the bare facts of his merits, yet I shall find nothing of his labors so mediocre or lowly that I need amplify it with the necessary ornaments (as most are wont to do) of vivid speech. Who writes while witnesses are still living. I shall also summon witnesses of events still warm, and shall display his trophies still smoking and adorned with the spoils of diabolical destitution. For no one commemorates things that are almost present before everyone's eyes and too well known, unless he trusts in the truth, so that those whom perhaps, if I were about to tell fictions, I would avoid as being conscious of my own impudence, to their ears I may read back those things which their own sight has recognized.

CHAPTER I.

The holy youth of Epiphanius.

[2] The aforesaid distinguished man Epiphanius was by origin a native of the town of Pavia, begotten by his father Maurus and born of his mother Focaria, The homeland of Epiphanius, who also belonged to the lineage of the holy Myrocles, Confessor and Bishop, people descending from the clear fountain of freeborn status. But why should I rehearse the prerogative of blood of those His family, parents, whose son is the head of their house and nobility? Under his predecessor, the upright Pontiff Crispinus, he began the training of the heavenly warfare, and at about eight years of age received the office of ecclesiastical Lector, His education under S. Crispinus; his cradle illuminated from heaven. a sign having been shown beforehand from heaven. For while he was still in the playthings of suckling infancy, very many people saw his cradle illuminated by a supernatural light, so that a brilliance illuminating and preceding him might show forth the future clarity of his mind and might already then mark with a prefigurative light the splendor that was to follow in his character.

[3] Having quickly mastered the abbreviations of writing and the various symbols that comprehend a multitude of words in brief, he shone forth, dedicated among the number of Notaries: and he began to take notes of such quality He becomes a Notary. as could be dictated without reproach from good men. Therefore, in the progress of time and labor, having been brought by divine favor to the sixteenth year of his age, he meditated mature counsels in his boyish years. He serves S. Crispinus assiduously: In him, above all others, flourished modesty, the mother of good works. He served the Bishop so willingly that if any task were performed by another, he took it as a grievance that the service had been snatched from him: He shines with virtues, he received the elderly with gravity, the young with courtesy, and even then boldly restrained evildoers: he was subject to those above him, obedient to superiors who commanded holy things, gentle and obliging to his equals, and common to his inferiors with remarkable charity; preferring himself to none, though in his devout course along the heavenly path he surpassed all; empty of the love of praise, though praiseworthy things grew daily in him: and although he accomplished things worthy of glory with every passing hour, Especially in humility. he considered that the fruit and reward of glory would perish if men should display openly what he offered only to the Lord in secret: in short, mindful of the Apostolic oracle, rejecting flattery, he took satisfaction in himself with conscience as his witness for the recognition of good work. 2 Cor. 10.

[4] Indeed, I do not deny that this should be sampled: that the beauty of bodily light in him was an indicator of his soul; and the grace of his form shone forth so much against his own inclination that it could not be overturned even by a strong man attacking it. His cheeks smiled, Endowed with extraordinary bodily beauty, even when his spirit was dulled with sadness: his gleaming lips doubly commended the honey of his words: and wherever he turned his eyes, his gaze announced the serenity of his mind: his brow was of waxen beauty and of that whiteness which, having endured the rays of the sun, drew its color from the sky: his nostrils were formed with such natural splendor that no painter reproducing bodies in images could rival them: his hands smooth, his fingers long, from which even a stranger would rejoice to receive something: a becoming tallness of stature that prefigured in his limbs the eminence of the dignity that would follow, yet did not exceed the measure of the most elegant height. But lest perhaps some malicious interpreter should object that mention has been inappropriately made in a man of such great virtues concerning the beauty of the flesh, since it is rooted in that ancient foundation of heavenly commandments that the bodies of priests ought to be examined with careful inspection, lest there be anything weak or deformed, anything too much or too little, lest a surface foul with blemishes disgrace skin marked by them, A comely form of body is required in priests. and lest a fracture of the hand, or fracture of the foot, or a hunchback render a Bishop unworthy of the altars; Lev. 21:18 ff. and since the Teacher of the Gentiles and Vessel of Election cries out that a man must come clean to such an office, which is believed to have been said especially not only about the beauty of the soul but also of the body -- He who commands the deformed and disabled to be excluded from His sacrifices Tit. 1:15 is found to willingly admit those who are pleasing in many ways, especially one in whom the splendor of the soul surpasses the beauty of the limbs, and that natural earthly grace is not aided by any artifices.

[5] Having therefore briefly touched on those things which ought not to be omitted, so that to whom the man immense in his works was made known, he might also be presented in his appearance, let me pass to those things which are narrated with no ordinary distinction concerning the servants of our Lord. In him there was speech suited to teaching, fashioned for persuasion, already skilled in intercessions, S. Epiphanius was gracious in speech. full of authority in correcting individuals, most sweet with the necessary charm in exhorting all. His voice was resonant, seasoned with the substance of manly elegance, yet neither rustic nor crude; not broken, nor gradually descending from masculine firmness. Whoever saw him, though he had not yet crossed the threshold of any dignity, believed he had already passed through all the distinctions that were to follow.

CHAPTER II.

The office of Subdeacon. Injuries endured.

[6] Such was he when he reached the eighteenth year of his age, He is made Subdeacon at the age of 18. in which, dedicated in the second rank after the Levites, as a youth he was joined to the assemblies of the elders. Very many were astonished, but outsiders who joined his character with the immaturity of his age: those who knew him believed this dignity had been conferred late. But that venerable Crispinus the Bishop, ignorant of favoritism, holding his censure with persistent strictness, and who was never led to favor except by a good conscience, He refreshes S. Crispinus with his virtue. so soothed him with his feelings that he bit with his glance, and under the appearance of a stern countenance nourished a hidden affection toward his disciple. The Father was nourished by the delightful conduct of his pupil and found delight for his eyes in all his actions; in which order of the subdiaconate, however, he remained no more than two years, borne up and leaping forward by the bounds of his merits, nor did his rich soul long suffer itself to be restrained within the confines of a modest honor. His conscience hastened toward the Levitical dignity, which his ambitions had never presumed: his way of life demanded what his desires utterly did not know. Near the limits and end of the aforesaid office, however, it is fitting to touch upon one small work of his.

[7] The field called Summias is situated in that place where the gluttonous bite of the Po's whirlpool gnaws at the earthen bank, and the river, winding serpentinely, grants in the gain of one Pleading the cause of the Church, what it steals from another, and the calamity of a stranger becomes the profit of a neighbor. A certain Burco was contending with the Clergy in an ancient lawsuit concerning the boundaries of this estate: to settle which dispute, this boy, still a youth, was sent -- a mission exceeding his years and more venerable than could be conjectured. For he was chosen who could both firmly receive the charges brought and temper with mature counsel those to be brought in return. Nevertheless, intention, the mother of all crimes, brought what it usually brings: for in the course of the altercation and quarrel, He is beaten with a club: Burco himself, who was currying favor for his own malice with sordid assent, committed the utmost crime without any fear: for he struck the holy man with a club so that blood immediately gushed forth.

[8] But that most peaceable man suppressed his anger; nor did he boil over, provoked by the hope of revenge, The mother of the assailant begging pardon for the offense, but rather soothed the troubled and astonished attacker with the most gentle speech. Immediately Capraria, the mother of Burco, rushed forward crying that she was wretched and bereft of her son on account of the atrocity of the deed: you would have thought she was tossing about with that lamentation which drives away all counsel, as in the deaths of loved ones, around the funeral of her child: the wailing mother was licking the footsteps of the most holy youth; and she cried, Spare! to him whom no force had ever driven to indignation. The city conspiring for vengeance, But he forbade the suppliant, lest by her entreaty she should stir up ill-will against him, lest she should burden him, who did not deserve it, with the weight of the honor thus conferred. The city was suddenly thrown into tumult, the minds of all Christians were turned to fury. Burco was demanded for destruction, and in so great a multitude of men no one was found mild except the one who had suffered the injury. He himself dissimulates the injury. The excellent Pontiff wept, while his disciple rejoiced over his own weaknesses and troubles; for he so made satisfaction on behalf of the one who was thought his enemy, to each and all, that he neither boastfully sought glory by sparing, nor by avenging transgressed the heavenly commandments.

c Thus Lucan, book 6: The earth flees from those masters; to these the fields Come by gift of the Po as settlers.

CHAPTER III.

Virtues exercised in the diaconate.

[9] He is made Deacon at the age of 20. Shortly after, raised to the insignia of the Diaconate, he reached his twentieth year of age, his face not yet well bearded. The man was troubled by the novitiate of the honor he had received, he who could already fulfill the role of a Christian leader; out of modesty he avoided the gaze of individuals, he whom the entire city regarded as some sign of salvation. His proven industry and fidelity prepare him as successor to the Bishop, Meanwhile the aforesaid Bishop committed to his power the entire substance of the ecclesiastical administration and the riches of his poor; wishing before the episcopate to ascertain what kind of bishop he was preparing for future times: and although it is scarcely possible for envy to be restrained toward those persons about whom even the slightest suspicion of succession is sown, in this man's favor the holy Father believed that whatever had been less fully displayed would be lost to him; he wished that in him some things should be his own, some things greater. But the youth by his daily progress had surpassed even the wishes of a most eager parent in prayer. For he was a parent whose womb, impregnated with the seed of the heavenly word, had brought him forth through the Gospel.

[10] For what shall I say of the chastity of my young man, in whom chastity had established its home, Chaste, and continence had fixed its roots deep? He did not know himself to be a man except through the patience of labor: he did not know he had flesh except when he remembered that he must one day die. Yet whenever bodily appetite, as I learned from him, played upon him with the images of dreams, he immediately ran with full eagerness to holy vigils, continuous fasts, and the necessity of standing for the longest time; Mortifying the flesh in various ways, and the warrior right hand of his soul so treated his flesh in its combats that afterwards it needed to be relieved out of necessity. Nor yet did he indulge in leisure when his little body was refreshed. He used reading for rest, taking up the instruments of venerable books instead of pleasures. He would recite from memory what he had read through once: and lest it be believed that he had merely flown over the path of the divine Scriptures with speed of words alone, he painted with his deeds the page he had read. If a Prophet had been in his hands, Assiduously intent on sacred reading, you would see in the reader, once the book was laid aside, one who prophesied: if he had reviewed the volumes of the Old Testament, he walked as a worthy rival of Moses, as if the Israelite hosts were following him through the desert; if the written text had revealed the Apostolic milk of words and the honey of the Lord's passion, seasoning the severity of the law, immediately from his mouth flowed words sweeter than honeycombs. In short, his life signified what the books had taught.

[11] He so governed the house of the Church that he neither exhausted by immoderate expenditure the provisions entrusted to him, nor by sordid parsimony incurred hatred: he was even then rehearsing the contests of intercessions. For wherever he was sent by the Bishop's command for the relief of the wretched, Moderate, he obtained the benefit with such skill of supplication that very many felt that the Bishop himself, through him, had been of service to their causes. Dear to all. The popular affection for him increased daily, and the love that descended from judgment was increased by great successes. The priesthood was desired in him, though no one wished for the death of his mentor: yet not even a whiff of this opinion had reached him; he judged it sufficient for his advancement to serve always with a good reputation.

[12] After, however, feeble old age, ever complaining of infirmities, He assists S. Crispinus, now elderly. had overtaken the venerable Pontiff Crispinus, Crispinus was supported by this man's hands, and leaning on this man rose in his embrace: he was his foot, his eye, his right hand, by whose ministry he saw whatever he wished done fulfilled before his command: for good minds anticipate the desires of those whom they serve with integrity. Such was he who in the Diaconate, beginning from his twentieth year, completed eight years. Other distinguished men then at Pavia. And indeed the state of the Church of Pavia at that time was strong with the good harvest of its clergy. There were heavenly men, whom he, beginning from perfection, surpassed. There was at that time Silvester the Archdeacon, a man most proven in the ancient training of the disciplines: there was a most distinguished man, Bonosus the Priest, as noble in sanctity as in blood, Gallic indeed in lineage but heavenly in citizenship: there were others both more numerous and outstanding in virtue, of whom I make mention for this reason, that he deserves small praise who is preferred only to the wretched.

[13] Near the end of his life, however, which the holy Bishop foresaw in spirit, By S. Crispinus, who foresaw his own death, he sought out the neighboring city of Milan, where the offspring of noble families had grown up in a certain quality of pure free birth, and having sought them out by way of a visit, the man of God addressed them with the following words: Behold, my sons, now my age drives me toward my passing, now earth recalls its original particle to its own right. I commend the city, I commend the Church, He is commended to Rusticius, a distinguished man; I commend this one, to whose labor and grace I owe it that I have lived until this time, old and feeble; whose bodily strength and virtue of soul bore my weakness without weariness; with whose feet I walked, held something with whose hands, saw with whose eyes, directed with whose speech: we appeared as two to those who saw us, when through concord one was made from two.

[14] These words, spoken to Rusticius, an illustrious man, sank deeply into him, who, being most practiced in every kind of oratory, began with this speech: Who assents to his judgment. We know, holy Father, we know, and with deep consideration we have perceived that this young man ought not to be judged by the immaturity of his age; nor ought his tender years to be brought as some obstacle against men of weighty counsel. For a man commendable for the venerable integrity of his character is worthy of double praise if his youthful body obeys the venerable command of his mind. Yet live, live on, you who are the model and pattern of good works, and add to him, if they can still grow, the richer fruits of a shining life. Having said these things, he fell silent. But that most pious Pontiff, rendering thanks for his goodwill, because he felt the same estimation of his disciple as himself, bade farewell and departed; and returned to Pavia as if hastening to his tomb, and after some days had passed, being smitten with jaundice, he exchanged the light of our world for a heavenly dwelling.

CHAPTER IV.

The episcopate received. Beneficence in that office.

[15] Immediately from that time the unanimous consent of all good men is brought together: there was at once a great concourse throughout the entire city. The bishop-to-be is snatched from the lamentation of the funeral to the joy of the people. He wept excessively from the grief of his father's death, for the joy of the promiscuous multitude did not permit the due tears to be rendered. He resisted as much as he could, and in Apostolic imitation already proclaimed himself unworthy: S. Epiphanius is unwillingly consecrated at Milan as Bishop of Pavia, but the affection of all rose in him to the same degree that in a great multitude he alone was the one who called himself unworthy. Now why should I use more words, when I cannot explain everything? The zeal of neighboring cities was united, and so great a gathering was drawn together as if a bishop for the whole world were to be inaugurated. He was led to Milan still resisting and promising great gifts if he were released -- he who, in order to be made bishop, was unwilling to promise even the smallest things: he was consecrated with the full celebration of all: the world exulted at the marks of so holy an ordination: the inhabitants of foreign cities tossed themselves about in such rejoicing, as if one about to benefit them personally had received the priestly insignia. Some inhabitants of great cities, however, were consumed by gnawing envy that the narrow confines of the town of Pavia had merited so great a bishop, while among themselves only the titles of metropolitan boasting defended their pontiffs.

[16] When, therefore, the day of his consecration was completed, he returned to Pavia, and having convened all the priests and ministers, he instructed and strengthened them with the following address: Although, dearest brothers, the weight of your judgment and of the dignity I have received has weighed down upon me, stumbling immaturely at the outset; I remember, nevertheless, that I owe great things to your favor, since you have bestowed the greatest things upon me: and although I have had the will to obey you rather than to command, I have changed through the office the person of service, but have not lost the spirit. Be peaceful, be unanimous: He exhorts his clergy to virtue, and to admonish him if he errs: divide my burden with me: for a load that many necks support becomes easy to carry. I promise you that my communion is to be maintained with all humility; and that there will be no one who can offend me except together with our Lord. Preserve chastity, the author of good works: and do not think it injurious that a boy addresses the aged and priests about preserving continence and integrity; it is one's way of life, not years, that reveals either youth or old age. Examine the inner life of my conduct; and if you recognize anything unworthy, restrain it. Let no one fear to admonish the head of the Church, if he proves him to be in error. Having thus spoken, he fell silent; all arose, and with a harmonious voice, as if from previous meditation, All applaud. yet spontaneous, they said: Hail, most proven Father: hail, singular Pontiff: the election of all has indeed found you good, but even your own addresses testify that you are excellent. You grow in holy merits in our conscience, and are found by the light of your works to exceed what opinion had supposed. When these matters had been briefly touched upon, all departed, having received their charge.

[8] But that most peaceable man suppressed his anger; nor did he boil over, provoked by the hope of revenge, The mother of the assailant begging pardon for the offense, but rather soothed the troubled and astonished attacker with the most gentle speech. Immediately Capraria, the mother of Burco, rushed forward crying that she was wretched and bereft of her son on account of the atrocity of the deed: you would have thought she was tossing about with that lamentation which drives away all counsel, as in the deaths of loved ones, around the funeral of her child: the wailing mother was licking the footsteps of the most holy youth; and she cried, Spare! to him whom no force had ever driven to indignation. The city conspiring for vengeance, But he forbade the suppliant, lest by her entreaty she should stir up ill-will against him, lest she should burden him, who did not deserve it, with the weight of the honor thus conferred. The city was suddenly thrown into tumult, the minds of all Christians were turned to fury. Burco was demanded for destruction, and in so great a multitude of men no one was found mild except the one who had suffered the injury. He himself dissimulates the injury. The excellent Pontiff wept, while his disciple rejoiced over his own weaknesses and troubles; for he so made satisfaction on behalf of the one who was thought his enemy, to each and all, that he neither boastfully sought glory by sparing, nor by avenging transgressed the heavenly commandments.

c Thus Lucan, book 6: The earth flees from those masters; to these the fields Come by gift of the Po as settlers.

CHAPTER III.

Virtues exercised in the diaconate.

[9] He is made Deacon at the age of 20. Shortly after, raised to the insignia of the Diaconate, he reached his twentieth year of age, his face not yet well bearded. The man was troubled by the novitiate of the honor he had received, he who could already fulfill the role of a Christian leader; out of modesty he avoided the gaze of individuals, he whom the entire city regarded as some sign of salvation. His proven industry and fidelity prepare him as successor to the Bishop, Meanwhile the aforesaid Bishop committed to his power the entire substance of the ecclesiastical administration and the riches of his poor; wishing before the episcopate to ascertain what kind of bishop he was preparing for future times: and although it is scarcely possible for envy to be restrained toward those persons about whom even the slightest suspicion of succession is sown, in this man's favor the holy Father believed that whatever had been less fully displayed would be lost to him; he wished that in him some things should be his own, some things greater. But the youth by his daily progress had surpassed even the wishes of a most eager parent in prayer. For he was a parent whose womb, impregnated with the seed of the heavenly word, had brought him forth through the Gospel.

[10] For what shall I say of the chastity of my young man, in whom chastity had established its home, Chaste, and continence had fixed its roots deep? He did not know himself to be a man except through the patience of labor: he did not know he had flesh except when he remembered that he must one day die. Yet whenever bodily appetite, as I learned from him, played upon him with the images of dreams, he immediately ran with full eagerness to holy vigils, continuous fasts, and the necessity of standing for the longest time; Mortifying the flesh in various ways, and the warrior right hand of his soul so treated his flesh in its combats that afterwards it needed to be relieved out of necessity. Nor yet did he indulge in leisure when his little body was refreshed. He used reading for rest, taking up the instruments of venerable books instead of pleasures. He would recite from memory what he had read through once: and lest it be believed that he had merely flown over the path of the divine Scriptures with speed of words alone, he painted with his deeds the page he had read. If a Prophet had been in his hands, Assiduously intent on sacred reading, you would see in the reader, once the book was laid aside, one who prophesied: if he had reviewed the volumes of the Old Testament, he walked as a worthy rival of Moses, as if the Israelite hosts were following him through the desert; if the written text had revealed the Apostolic milk of words and the honey of the Lord's passion, seasoning the severity of the law, immediately from his mouth flowed words sweeter than honeycombs. In short, his life signified what the books had taught.

[11] He so governed the house of the Church that he neither exhausted by immoderate expenditure the provisions entrusted to him, nor by sordid parsimony incurred hatred: he was even then rehearsing the contests of intercessions. For wherever he was sent by the Bishop's command for the relief of the wretched, Moderate, he obtained the benefit with such skill of supplication that very many felt that the Bishop himself, through him, had been of service to their causes. Dear to all. The popular affection for him increased daily, and the love that descended from judgment was increased by great successes. The priesthood was desired in him, though no one wished for the death of his mentor: yet not even a whiff of this opinion had reached him; he judged it sufficient for his advancement to serve always with a good reputation.

[12] After, however, feeble old age, ever complaining of infirmities, He assists S. Crispinus, now elderly. had overtaken the venerable Pontiff Crispinus, Crispinus was supported by this man's hands, and leaning on this man rose in his embrace: he was his foot, his eye, his right hand, by whose ministry he saw whatever he wished done fulfilled before his command: for good minds anticipate the desires of those whom they serve with integrity. Such was he who in the Diaconate, beginning from his twentieth year, completed eight years. Other distinguished men then at Pavia. And indeed the state of the Church of Pavia at that time was strong with the good harvest of its clergy. There were heavenly men, whom he, beginning from perfection, surpassed. There was at that time Silvester the Archdeacon, a man most proven in the ancient training of the disciplines: there was a most distinguished man, Bonosus the Priest, as noble in sanctity as in blood, Gallic indeed in lineage but heavenly in citizenship: there were others both more numerous and outstanding in virtue, of whom I make mention for this reason, that he deserves small praise who is preferred only to the wretched.

[13] Near the end of his life, however, which the holy Bishop foresaw in spirit, By S. Crispinus, who foresaw his own death, he sought out the neighboring city of Milan, where the offspring of noble families had grown up in a certain quality of pure free birth, and having sought them out by way of a visit, the man of God addressed them with the following words: Behold, my sons, now my age drives me toward my passing, now earth recalls its original particle to its own right. I commend the city, I commend the Church, He is commended to Rusticius, a distinguished man; I commend this one, to whose labor and grace I owe it that I have lived until this time, old and feeble; whose bodily strength and virtue of soul bore my weakness without weariness; with whose feet I walked, held something with whose hands, saw with whose eyes, directed with whose speech: we appeared as two to those who saw us, when through concord one was made from two.

[14] These words, spoken to Rusticius, an illustrious man, sank deeply into him, who, being most practiced in every kind of oratory, began with this speech: Who assents to his judgment. We know, holy Father, we know, and with deep consideration we have perceived that this young man ought not to be judged by the immaturity of his age; nor ought his tender years to be brought as some obstacle against men of weighty counsel. For a man commendable for the venerable integrity of his character is worthy of double praise if his youthful body obeys the venerable command of his mind. Yet live, live on, you who are the model and pattern of good works, and add to him, if they can still grow, the richer fruits of a shining life. Having said these things, he fell silent. But that most pious Pontiff, rendering thanks for his goodwill, because he felt the same estimation of his disciple as himself, bade farewell and departed; and returned to Pavia as if hastening to his tomb, and after some days had passed, being smitten with jaundice, he exchanged the light of our world for a heavenly dwelling.

CHAPTER IV.

The episcopate received. Beneficence in that office.

[15] Immediately from that time the unanimous consent of all good men is brought together: there was at once a great concourse throughout the entire city. The bishop-to-be is snatched from the lamentation of the funeral to the joy of the people. He wept excessively from the grief of his father's death, for the joy of the promiscuous multitude did not permit the due tears to be rendered. He resisted as much as he could, and in Apostolic imitation already proclaimed himself unworthy: S. Epiphanius is unwillingly consecrated at Milan as Bishop of Pavia, but the affection of all rose in him to the same degree that in a great multitude he alone was the one who called himself unworthy. Now why should I use more words, when I cannot explain everything? The zeal of neighboring cities was united, and so great a gathering was drawn together as if a bishop for the whole world were to be inaugurated. He was led to Milan still resisting and promising great gifts if he were released -- he who, in order to be made bishop, was unwilling to promise even the smallest things: he was consecrated with the full celebration of all: the world exulted at the marks of so holy an ordination: the inhabitants of foreign cities tossed themselves about in such rejoicing, as if one about to benefit them personally had received the priestly insignia. Some inhabitants of great cities, however, were consumed by gnawing envy that the narrow confines of the town of Pavia had merited so great a bishop, while among themselves only the titles of metropolitan boasting defended their pontiffs.

[16] When, therefore, the day of his consecration was completed, he returned to Pavia, and having convened all the priests and ministers, he instructed and strengthened them with the following address: Although, dearest brothers, the weight of your judgment and of the dignity I have received has weighed down upon me, stumbling immaturely at the outset; I remember, nevertheless, that I owe great things to your favor, since you have bestowed the greatest things upon me: and although I have had the will to obey you rather than to command, I have changed through the office the person of service, but have not lost the spirit. Be peaceful, be unanimous: He exhorts his clergy to virtue, and to admonish him if he errs: divide my burden with me: for a load that many necks support becomes easy to carry. I promise you that my communion is to be maintained with all humility; and that there will be no one who can offend me except together with our Lord. Preserve chastity, the author of good works: and do not think it injurious that a boy addresses the aged and priests about preserving continence and integrity; it is one's way of life, not years, that reveals either youth or old age. Examine the inner life of my conduct; and if you recognize anything unworthy, restrain it. Let no one fear to admonish the head of the Church, if he proves him to be in error. Having thus spoken, he fell silent; all arose, and with a harmonious voice, as if from previous meditation, All applaud. yet spontaneous, they said: Hail, most proven Father: hail, singular Pontiff: the election of all has indeed found you good, but even your own addresses testify that you are excellent. You grow in holy merits in our conscience, and are found by the light of your works to exceed what opinion had supposed. When these matters had been briefly touched upon, all departed, having received their charge.

[17] He abstains from baths, supper, and luxurious foods. Soon the blessed Bishop dictated for himself by his own mouth the rules by which he might govern himself. First he determined that he should not bathe, lest baths, more akin to defilements, should break the splendor of his soul and the strength of the inner man. Then he had decreed that he should never eat a midday meal; but lest the force of unexpected visitors should violate the resolution of his purpose, and he should be harmed either by the clouds of ostentation or the reputation of avarice, he determined that he should never eat supper, so that the exchange of hours might afford him the occasion of taking food once a day: he ordered that he should prefer the cheapest foods, and that nothing in the preparation of dishes should be able to offend his nose and taste, unless it were seasoned with spices. He was nourished on meals of vegetables and legumes, but took neither of these to the point of satiety: he took a small amount of wine, yet mindful of the Apostolic admonition, he took even this small quantity to avoid weakness of the stomach. 1 Tim. 5:23.

[18] Constant in sacred rites; He decided that he should proceed to church earlier than all others in every kind of threatening weather, so that the Bishop, preceding the lectors, should set the standard for the vigils. After he had reached the precincts of the altar, he determined that there should be no necessity by which he could be drawn away thence without completing the solemnities, and he established that he must stand with his feet joined until the completion of the sacred rite, so that the moisture of his footprints would mark his place and indicate it to those looking from afar. Ready to bring help. He proposed for himself such great care for intercessions that he believed he was himself inflicting upon the wretched whatever trouble he had allowed through negligence to be inflicted by anyone. In a time of leisure he trained his body to endure labor, so that it might be sufficient for the demands that arose. This was the law of living and the rule of discipline that he proposed for himself, undertook, kept, and fulfilled.

CHAPTER V.

The embassy undertaken to Emperor Anthemius on behalf of peace.

[19] Soon the fame of his holy conduct throughout the entire world -- that fame which, though it is usually slower in glorious deeds -- did not keep silent, but brought it to the ears of Ricimer, who at that time governed the commonwealth with the reins second only to those of Emperor Anthemius. For with the Emperor stationed at Rome, that envy which separates rulers sowed the seeds of scandal between them, and equality of dignity became the cause of discord. For so great a fury and dissension had arisen that they were preparing mutual war: and beyond the stimuli that the origin of the quarrels suggested on their own, the strife itself was nourished by the counsel of those around them. The state of imperiled Italy was tottering, and was afflicted more gravely by the very dangers, while it awaited future dangers. [Ricimer is asked by the Ligurians to allow himself to be reconciled with Emperor Anthemius.] Meanwhile, before the patrician Ricimer, then residing at Milan, there was held a conference of the Ligurian nobility, who on bended knees, prostrate on the ground, begged for peace between the princes, and prayed that from one side opportunities for reconciliation be offered, and that both parties desist from the quarrel. Why should I weave more? Ricimer is appeased and, moved by the tears of many, promises that he wishes to restore concord: But who, he says, will most aptly bear the weight of this embassy? Whom does the care of so great an undertaking await? Who is there who can recall an agitated Galatian prince? When he seeks a suitable ambassador, Epiphanius is proposed, For he who does not restrain his anger with natural moderation always grows excessive when entreated. Then all with one voice responded: Only let your consent be inclined toward peace; there is a person recently appointed to the priesthood of the city of Pavia, to whom even wild beasts submit their necks: to whom a benefit is offered before prayers, whatever he may have come to ask: whose countenance is like his life, which anyone can venerate His eloquence is praised: if he is Catholic and Roman; and certainly love, if he deserves even to see him, even if he is a mere Greek. Now if we come to his speech, never could a Thessalian enchanter so summon dread serpents from their lairs with violent incantations with his word-fingers as that man wrests the effect of his petition even from those about to refuse: when he has begun to speak, the judgment of the listener hangs upon his will: he who has determined to excuse himself will lose his right if that man is granted the opportunity to bind him. Then the patrician Ricimer thus replied: Fame has brought to me this man you describe as glorious: Ricimer assenting, and in this I admire him more, that though he has all men as his praisers, his novelty, which is usually abundant in producing enemies through envy, reveals none. Go therefore and ask the man of God to go. Join also my own prayers.

[20] Having left the council, they immediately make for Pavia: they narrate the cause: B. Epiphanius is asked with tears poured forth to undertake this labor. At the request of his own people, He, lest he should diminish the benefit by tormenting his sons with a long supplication, anticipated the desires of those requesting, yet addressed them thus: Although the necessity of so great a matter requires the weight of a most proven person, and an immature bearer stumbles under a heavy load, yet I shall not deny the affection that I owe to my homeland. When he had briefly said these things, He comes to him: since he was sparing in speech, he went to the patrician Ricimer, by whom he was at once seen and chosen. Therefore, having received the arrangement of the embassy, he set out for Rome. On which journey, what troubles he endured and what virtues he displayed, I pass over as I hasten to greater things.

[21] He is sent to Rome. But as soon as he entered the gates of the aforesaid city, the fame that had made him known in his absence began to point him out: the eyes of all were immediately turned, and astonished minds marveled that his appearance, the indicator of his holiness, should demand such great reverence be shown to him: anyone of the powerful confessed himself guilty of an inexpiable offense if he had merely embraced his knees. He is received with great honor by the Romans: A clamor was raised to heaven: no one counted him among the number of mortals, since they saw that all the gifts of heavenly grace were present in him. It was reported to Emperor Anthemius that a bishop of Liguria had come on a diplomatic mission, a man whom no one, however rich in eloquence, could adequately describe. But he said: Ricimer contends with me through cunning art even in his embassies. By Anthemius, though suspecting the embassy, He sends such men as can conquer by supplication those whom he provokes by injuries: bring, however, the man of God to me; if he asks what is possible, I shall grant it; if what is difficult, I shall beg that he not be grieved to accept my refusal. I doubt, however, whether Ricimer will obtain from me what he seeks; whose agent I know to be intemperate in his desires, and to observe no limit of reason in proposing conditions: but let the directed Bishop come, and let him present the appearance long since praised. The Palatine officials go out: throughout the entire city, He is admitted: the Bishop was hearing the words, "Order him to be asked in."

[22] But the venerable and universally proven Pontiff, after he had entered and was granted license to speak, although the insignia of fleeting power -- the purple and gleaming gems -- were suppressed by the radiance of his reverend appearance (for just as if the Emperor were absent, he had drawn the eyes of all to himself), nevertheless beginning with the following discourse he opened the door of his lips: He pleads for peace: It has been ordained by the supreme disposition of the heavenly Lord, O Venerable Prince, that he to whom the care of so great a commonwealth was entrusted should acknowledge through the dogma of the Catholic faith the Lord and Author and Lover of piety, through whom the arms of peace shatter the fury of wars, and concord, treading upon the neck of pride, conquers what force cannot prevail. For thus the spirit of sparing his enemy rather than the intention of avenging rendered David praiseworthy: thus the perfect kings and lords of the ages learned by heavenly art to pardon those who supplicate. For he who exalts his rule with piety possesses the likeness of heavenly dominion. Therefore your Italy, relying on this judgment, and the patrician Ricimer, have sent my humble self to entreat, conjecturing without doubt that the Roman Lord will grant the peace that even a barbarian entreats. For it will be a triumph especially profitable to your annals if you conquer without blood. At the same time, I know not what form of war can be stronger than to fight against wrath and to burden the honor of a most fierce Goth with benefits: for he is struck more gravely if his requests are granted, he who has thus far been ashamed to supplicate. Then the uncertain outcome of war must be considered: in which, however, if sins so prevail in the contest, your kingdom will be defrauded of what both sides have lost: for whatever is safe with Ricimer, if he is a friend, is possessed by you together with the patrician himself. Consider also that he who first offers peace directs the order of his cause well.

CHAPTER VI.

Peace is established. Other distinguished works of Epiphanius.

[23] Having continued thus far, the admirable Pontiff made an end of speaking. Then the Prince, raising his eyes, saw that he was deserted by the gaze of all, and that the faces of everyone were directed toward the Bishop; and he himself did not cease to admire him. Anthemius, having first complained much about the ingratitude of Ricimer, Then drawing his words from a deep sigh, he thus began: Although, holy Bishop, I have an inexpressible cause of grief against Ricimer, and it has profited nothing that he was endowed by us with the greatest benefits; whom we have even -- which must be said not without shame to our kingdom and our blood -- joined into the stock of our family, while we yielded to love of the commonwealth what seemed to pertain to the hatred of our own kindred. For who of the ancient princes of old ever did this, that among the gifts that it was necessary to give to a skin-clad Goth for the sake of common peace, his own daughter should be included? We knew not how to spare our own blood while we preserved another's. Yet let no one believe this was done on account of personal fear. For in so great a concern for the safety of all, we know not how to fear for ourselves alone. For we well know that an emperor who does not fear for the precaution of others loses the praise of his own virtue. But to open fully to your reverence his designs -- as often as Ricimer has been heaped with greater gifts by us, so often has he appeared a more grievous enemy. What great wars has he prepared against the commonwealth? What great strength did foreign nations receive through him in their fury? Finally, even where he could not harm, he nevertheless suggested the fuel of harming. Shall we give peace to this man? Shall we endure this domestic enemy under the garment of friendship, whom not even the bonds of kinship have held to the pact of concord? It is a great safeguard to have recognized the mind of an adversary: for to have perceived an enemy at once is to have conquered him: detected hatreds always lose the stimuli that they had conceived when hidden.

[24] But if in all these matters Your Reverence comes forward as both surety and mediator, who can by spiritual investigation discover wicked counsels and correct what is discovered, I dare not refuse the peace that you too demand. Finally, if the cunning of his accustomed craftiness should deceive even you, let him undertake battle already wounded. Yet I commend and entrust to your hands myself and the state of the commonwealth, and the favor that I had determined to refuse to Ricimer if he himself were the suppliant and prostrate, I am the first to bestow through you: He nevertheless obtains it: for by deep deliberation we provide for our advantage in this matter, if in the uncertain wanderings of the storm we steer the ship by the direction of a good helmsman. For who would presume to refuse a benefit to you when you ask, to whom it should have been offered before any prayer? So spoke the Emperor. But the venerable Priest said: Thanks be to the almighty Lord, who has implanted His peace in the mind of the Prince, whom He willed to be the vicar of His power for mortals in the image of heavenly dominion.

[25] When these things had been briefly narrated, having also received an oath from Anthemius for the firmness of the concord, he departed, hastening to return to Liguria, since the time of the Lord's Resurrection was at hand, during which, with bodies macerated by the cross of fasting and the flesh grown cold, the joyful spirit might grow warm again, while death is conquered by our Redeemer in dying and the soul is fattened with the foods of faithful hope. The twentieth day from his departure from Rome promised the coming Easter. Yet he completed the journey with such speed that on the fourteenth day, unexpected and outrunning the news, he entered Pavia, He returns to Pavia, having left behind on the road very many companions, because they could endure neither his abstinence nor his labor. Behold the throng of those awaiting the arrival of so great a Bishop -- they saw at home one whom they had not yet known to have left Rome. The rejoicings of the glad city were announced to the astonished Ricimer: He is received with the great joy of all: all proclaimed with one voice that peace had been made: infinite was the exultation of the provinces, and as is the manner of men, to hold more gratefully what is restored than if it had never been lost at all, the concord was sweeter that was recalled after strife, and the peace that had occurred when almost despaired of. The reverend Pontiff was summoned to present his long-awaited appearance to the Milanese. But he, lest he should seem to be exacting due thanksgivings in person, declined their visits under a colored pretext.

[26] Therefore, in the course of time and through the daily successes of his labor, the merit of his life was doubled in him. He had a sister younger by birth and not unequal in religion, named Honorata, [He consecrates his sister Honorata and entrusts her to S. Luminosa for instruction.] whose life it would be long to recount through every kind of virtue: yet it suffices for the fullness of her praises to say she was a worthy sister of so great a man. Her he consecrated in the very year in which he returned from his embassy, and yet he committed her to be imbued with heavenly disciplines -- as if her holy nature were not sufficient for her -- to a certain Luminosa, a woman of stupendous sanctity and singular example: whose high birth it would perhaps be fitting to recount, had not her life been more illustrious than her blood. For she was such a woman that even he who was entrusting the companion of his womb to be educated believed he had something to learn from her. For in a short time the bishop's pledge, deposited with her, flourished and brought its laden shoots to the maturity of good fruit.

[27] Meanwhile the venerable Priest advanced along the path of life proposed for himself at a headlong pace, giving himself to almsgiving without hesitation: which gift he commended to the recipients with a most gentle countenance and spirit, so that to whomever he had granted merely the favor of his speech, that person by no means thought himself departing without a gift. Most kindly he aided the poor: For it was the highest reward merely to have seen such a Pontiff. His fame grew daily with glorious successes and filled nearly the entire world with his praise.

CHAPTER VII.

The journey to Toulouse to Euric on behalf of peace.

[28] When Ricimer and Anthemius had died, Olybrius succeeded, who closed his last day in the very beginnings of his reign. After him, Glycerius was raised to the throne, before whom, what great things the Bishop accomplished for the salvation of many, He is honored by Emperor Glycerius: I cut short for the sake of brevity. For at the holy man's supplication, he pardoned an injury inflicted on his mother by men of his own dominion; since in his estimation the reverence for the aforesaid Priest was even more exalted than that of his predecessor.

[29] After him, Nepos came to the throne. Then between him and the Goths, nurslings of Toulouse, whom King Euric governed with an iron dominion, a dissension arose; while they, scorning the novelty of Italian sovereignty, did not cease to assail the boundaries of the empire, which he had extended beyond the Gallic Alps; on the other hand, Nepos, lest the ill-advised presumption should be drawn into custom, He is sent by Emperor Nepos to Euric, King of the Goths: wished more strictly to vindicate the boundary of rule entrusted to him by the Lord. Hence the fuel of litigation began to rise on both sides, and while neither party laid aside in the zeal of conquering its swollen passions, thus the cause of discord prevailed. The most blessed man had already reached the eighth year of his priesthood, when suddenly the love of removing the dissension entered the mind of Nepos, so that with the poison of enmity repelled, charity might preserve among kings what arms could scarcely protect. The lights of Liguria were summoned to a council -- men of maturity, by whose deliberation the tottering state of the commonwealth might revive and its hopeless stability be restored to its ancient pillar: and as many came together for the conference at the Prince's command as could be rulers. A discussion was sown about arranging an embassy: the minds and eyes of all were directed to the most blessed man Epiphanius. The opinions of all were formed as if they were uttered from the mouth and breast of one man.

[30] Why more? With joy the soldier of Christ embraces the occasion of labor, and anticipates the effect with hope; trusting in the estimation of the business, he inquires into a means of improving the conduct of the affair: a cause nearly given up and very difficult he investigated with the aid of heavenly power, undertook, and fulfilled. The troubles and necessities of which journey I could not set forth in order even if words were poured forth to me through irrigated channels by the streams of a hundred tongues. For having departed from the town of Pavia, until he reached the destined places, he doubled the fatigue of his journey by the following method: if, considering the exhaustion of the beasts of burden more seasonably, they had turned aside to the lodging-places of the next inn, besides the continuation of the Psalms, He arranges his journey in a holy manner: besides the perseverance of reading -- none of which he did except standing -- he would choose a retreat enclosed by the foliage of a grove, where a domestic night was woven by the interlocking arms of the trees, which alone the sun, fleeing through the dark shadows, did not know: and natural grace would spread a bed of verdant turf. There, poured out in prayer with continuous weeping, he irrigated the earth, devoid of rains, with the showers of his eyes. Those fields were made fruitful by the abundance of his prayers, which could not be so by crops.

[31] Wearing himself down with such exercise, he entered the city of Toulouse, where King Euric was then residing: whom already the preceding report had made known to the ears of the Gauls -- what manner of man he was -- especially to the bishops of the same region, whom a profound investigation of the newcomers stirred in astonishment. Moreover at the same time there was a moderator and arbiter of the Prince's counsels named Leo, whom more than one palm of declamatory victory had already received on account of his merit in eloquence; who with the greatest joy announced the arrival of the Pontiff to public knowledge. The Bishop was summoned immediately to be presented to the King: to whom as soon as he entered, having seen and greeted him, he addressed himself: Although, O wondrous Prince of the earth, the fame of your virtue makes you terrible to the ears of many, and the swords with which you press your neighbors with continual devastation reap a kind of harvest of hostile stock, yet the dire ambition of waging war procures for you no favor of the heavenly Deity: nor does iron guard the boundaries of your empire if the heavenly Lord is offended. He exhorts Euric to peace; Remember that you have a King to whom you must consider what is pleasing; who, when He bore assumed manhood to heaven, commended peace to His disciples with admonition often repeated, as the gift of an immense inheritance: of which precept we must needs be guardians, especially since we know that a brave man cannot be called one whom indignation has conquered. Then it befits us to consider that no one guards his own possessions more diligently than he who does not covet another's. Wherefore Nepos, to whom the divine ordinance has committed the governance of Italy, has sent us to obtain these things: that minds being restored to fidelity, lands neighboring to him may be joined by the bond of affection: who, though he does not fear contests, first desires concord. You know in common by what boundary the antiquity of dominions has been limited; with what patience of service the rulers of those parts have sustained these regions. Let it suffice that he who deserved to be called Master chooses, or at least endures, to be called friend. So spoke the most distinguished man Epiphanius.

[32] But Euric, breaking off some kind of barbarian murmur, signified by the serenity of his countenance that he had been softened by his exhortations. Leo, named above, was held by such wonder at his address, He obtains it. that he believed minds could be conquered by such words -- if it be permissible to say it -- even if he were asking against justice. Yet the King is reported to have spoken thus to the interpreter: Although a breastplate scarcely leaves my breast, and a shield of bronze constantly encloses my hand, and the protection of iron guards my side; yet I have found a man who can conquer me, armed as I am, with his words. Those who say that the Romans have no shield or javelins in their tongues are deceived. For they know how to repel even the words that we have sent; and those that they direct from themselves, they aim at the innermost chambers of the heart. I do therefore, Venerable Father, what you ask, because the person of the ambassador is of greater weight with me than the power of the one who sent him. Accept now my pledge, and promise on behalf of Nepos that he will keep the concord inviolate; for that you have promised is as good as having sworn. When these words were spoken, a bond of agreement having also been entered into, the reverend Pontiff bade farewell and departed: He refuses to attend the banquet of the Arian King. to whom immediately a crowd of suppliants was sent, that on the following day he should attend the King's banquet: which he had already discovered to be constantly polluted through his Arian priests: to which he made his excuses, and said it was not his custom ever to partake of others' dinners, and that he preferred rather to depart the day after next, a resolve he hastened to fulfill: and he departed from Toulouse with so many accompanying him that the city seemed almost deserted when our Pontiff left. For he had in a short time bound so many to himself with sincere love that those whom necessity constrained to remain in their homeland wept as if in captivity.

[33] He visits Lerins and other holy places. Thence, however, returning, he visited one by one the places of the holy dwellings: the Median Islands, the Cyclades, Leros, and Lerins itself, the nurse of the loftiest peaks upon her level plain. Whence he gathered from all individual blossoms of life, which the fuel of good growth might graft into himself, and a tree heavy with heavenly fruits might bring to the time of maturity. Meanwhile the light awaited by the Italians was restored, and with the return of the singular Priest a gleaming radiance shone through the clear sky. He entered Pavia, long desired. He announces peace to Nepos. He communicated to Nepos the result of the accomplished embassy: and with the growing heap of praises, humility in him likewise felt an increase.

CHAPTER VIII.

Pavia, destroyed by King Odoacer, is revived and restored by Epiphanius.

[34] Therefore, while the worker of Christ our Lord was exercising himself with such disciplines and labors, behold that enemy, ignorant of rest and perpetrator of crimes, piles up great increases of suffering and seeks with what afflictions he might provoke the most upright man. He raises an army against the patrician Orestes and the secret underminer introduces the seeds of discord: Pavia being captured by Odoacer, with the hope of revolution he unsettles the minds of the desperate: he raises Odoacer to the ambition of ruling: and so that this ruin should occur in the city of Pavia, he invites Orestes to it in confidence of its fortifications. The Bishop was found present with all those belonging to him: there was a very great concourse in the city: the madness of plundering blazed forth: everywhere lamentation, everywhere terror, and everywhere the image of death in abundance: the Bishop ran about in his anxiety, while the one was demanded for punishment whose property an older pledge of friendship had made better known. And after it was plundered and burned, Some were setting flames to the buildings about to collapse, others were demanding the master for destruction, for whose safety the fight had been joined. They rushed to the house of the Church, all ablaze with the fires of plundering, for they suspected that one whom they saw distributing so much was concealing immeasurably more. O wickedness! The crude barbarity was seeking treasures in the earth which that man had transmitted to the secrets of heaven. His holy sister too was plundered, Epiphanius and his sister are captured: and led away separately from him to share the lot of captivity. All the families of the nobles were separated from their own: Luminosa, a most glorious woman, was constrained by an equal condition of necessity. O grief! Both churches were consumed by hostile flames: the entire city blazed like a single funeral pyre. The churches of Pavia were burned.

[35] The voices of all seeking the Priest were heard: no one had remembered his own danger while a greater portion of their salvation was being separated from them: to whom, although the confused crowd roared in the destruction of individuals, honor was nevertheless paid even among the swords. For immediately those whom he could see as captives ceased to be so. His venerable sister, before the baleful light of that day could slip into evening, he rescued: He frees her and many others from captivity: he also freed very many citizens by his entreaty before they could feel the chains of the harshest condition, especially mothers of families, for whom a more monstrous detention could await in this necessity.

[36] Finally, the state of the city, which the barbarian multitude was cutting down, was rising up again, supported by the aid of one most strong pillar: He restores the city, nor was an entire army sufficient for destroying as much as the person of one Pontiff was for restoring. When Orestes was removed, however, and slain near the city of Piacenza, the onslaught of plundering subsided. After him Odoacer, being raised to the kingdom, began to honor the distinguished man with such great devotion that he surpassed the attentions of all predecessors toward him. Meanwhile, lest the divine dwellings should long be pressed down by ashes, the glorious Bishop took up the spirit of rebuilding before he had prepared the expenses or the means: Especially the churches, although lacking money: he did not fear to raise structures of immense value without a store of money, not unaware of the Apostolic admonition that for those who seek the heavenly kingdom, an unfailing supply always overflows, and that he from whose willingness to be generous poverty does not oppress always imparts from a full store. For he used to say: It is scarcely the case that the ability to do deserts a rich spirit, and it is most difficult that abundance should follow a man who is a beggar in mind.

[37] Already the pinnacles of the greater church had reached perfection, with the building adorned and the marks of its dedication: The work is again overthrown, when suddenly the wall with its columns of another church was hurled down by the impulse of the cunning serpent: he wished to test whether he might overthrow the bishop by manifold vexation. But he rose up more vigorously lest he should yield to his evils, and immediately without any sign of distress he girded himself with full eagerness for its repair. He bears it patiently. Yet the whole community was held by great wonder, because the workmen fell from the very dome of the temple with a huge scaffold, yet none of them was made lame in leg or mutilated in any part of their limbs: which all understood had happened through the prayers of the Bishop, Workmen who fell from the dome of the temple are not injured, so that the collapse sustained its own mass and the stones were suspended from their own fall. Yet with the astonishing course of his administration, the work received perfection. For when it was completed, and he had begun the repair of the greater church, he saw the house of the Lord rise swiftly to the pinnacles of its former soundness -- he who had not yet learned it had been begun. Epiphanius drives demons from the possessed: When these things, however, had been quickly accomplished by him, divine favor soon showed itself in him: for in the course of that same year a great crowd of demons began to cry out from the bodies of the possessed that they were being compelled to flee by scourges and excessive torments at the command of the priest Epiphanius, whom he sent with a brief prayer poured forth with weeping to the uttermost boundaries of the earth, and by the authority of his merits he drove them out as they wailed with diverse voices. But although he continually did such things through the grace of Christ, he assumed nothing for himself from the puffs of presumption. For the confidence of kindness takes away the power of good merit from those in whom it has produced arrogance.

[38] Meanwhile, lest he should seem to have adorned the city with the buildings of temples only, he provided for the exhausted inhabitants of the same city with useful remedies. For having sent an embassy to Odoacer, he obtained a five-year exemption from fiscal taxes: [He obtains a five-year tax exemption for the citizens: he restrains the exactions of Pelagius, the Praetorian Prefect.] and in distributing these benefits to individuals he maintained such integrity that no one received less than the one through whose entreaty they had been granted. While these things were being done, however, the stored-up ardor of the malice of Pelagius, who was at that time Praetorian Prefect, boiled over for the ruin of the Ligurian landholders. For by the enormity of compulsory purchases he was doubling the most grievous taxes and making the burden twofold, which could not be sustained even when simple. Whence the crowd of the oppressed soon flocked to the holy man: who joyfully embraced the opportunities of bringing aid, and for the necessity of all he walked cheerfully, made his request, and obtained it.

CHAPTER IX.

Deeds with the Goths and the Rugians at Pavia.

[39] But why do I vainly endeavor to express the various forms of his labors one by one, when affection presumes what ability does not explain, and the narrowness of speech sets a limit for those who imagine broader things? Yet these were the desires of the most sacred Prophet: that though he did innumerable things, he wished that either nothing or very little be related of his praises. Whence if my poor tongue has opened less than it should, I leave it to the understanding of hearers and readers. After, however, the many embassies He approaches King Theodoric, that the violence of his supplication wrung from King Odoacer, by the disposition of heavenly command King Theodoric came to Italy with an immense multitude of his forces. To him the most upright man went, while he was already stationed at Milan: whom when that most excellent of kings inspected with the eyes of his heart, and weighed our Priest on the accustomed balance of his judgment, he found in him the weight of all virtues to be present: whose integrity he measured as it were with builder's lines to the perpendicular of the mind; and he used the following speech about him among his own people: Behold a man whose equal the entire East does not possess; to have seen whom is a reward, with whom to dwell is safety. And is received with honor by him: The city of Pavia is fortified, while this man stands unharmed, by a most strong wall that no force of attackers can overwhelm, that no flight of a Balearic sling can surpass: if any need arises amid the waves of conflict, it is safe to deposit with this man one's mother and family and to serve unencumbered in the excursions of war.

[40] Meanwhile the ambition of change inflamed the rebellious spirits of the surrendered army, whose head was Tufa, a man polluted in the long-standing infamy of deserters: who conceived in his haughty mind to hand himself over with his multitude to the desperate party. When King Theodoric had learned of this with princely anxiety, he immediately assembled that entire force which the whole East had scarcely sustained, and withdrew to the narrow confines of the city of Pavia. While Theodoric stayed with his army at Pavia, You would have seen a city swarming with crowds of families, the rooftops of immense houses opened up in the most cramped hovels: you would have seen immense buildings migrate from their foundations, and the ground itself unable to suffice for receiving the density of inhabitants. Amid these things, that man most practiced in good works, in whom the amplitude of spirit opened access to all, judging that an opportune time was being offered to him to spread the sails of his kindness to the full south wind and to reach the harbor of glory by a prosperous voyage through the acquaintance of various nations and the renown of his deeds; in the first place (which no pages of the ancients, He prudently conducts himself without suspicion, dear to both parties: no annals of the books say of anyone whatsoever, and which the narrator affirms with astonishment and the reader admits with admiration) dwelling as he was with a most sagacious nation -- one which no breeze of suspicion flies past in doubtful affairs, when the fear of danger agitates even gentle hearts against anyone -- he proved himself so faithful to them that he held the hearts of their enemies completely bound by affection, and among the quarreling princes he alone was one who enjoyed the peace of both: for he applied to the advantage of one whatever was bestowed by the other: and by the reverence and sweetness of his person he so tempered the spirit of the giver that it was by no means inflamed if an enemy too received some benefit through the Bishop. He was one around whom even combatants maintained concord, and whose peace wars did not injure.

[41] Now if we come to the point that he was daily nourishing the plunderers themselves with his humanity, He benefits all: and was providing necessities of sustenance to those within the city who had destroyed his estates outside with continual devastation. For so many thousands of men at one and the same time, when they demanded different things, he refreshed with kind words, humbled with his address, and fed with gifts. If anyone's children and wife had been seized by enemies intercepting from any quarter, immediately at the price of his supplication they were restored to their own, whom no outpouring of gold could have redeemed. He frees many captives, pleasing to Theodoric: He was most agreeable to the King and venerable above all the Saints, so that whomever among the Romans the license of warfare had made captive of his men, the King would soon restore to him, whom he understood to be enriched solely by the liberty of others. Then I could not count how many columns of the subjugated he restored to their own land, how many he took charge of lest they be vexed. He himself also suffers much from the soldiers. Now if I should recount the insolences of enemies that he endured, in what missions he labored, with what virtue he despised the tempests of the worst men; my tongue would not suffice to narrate these things. For it is good to pick out certain things where everything you might relate is worthy of admiration. Under such a cross he spent three years, manifesting the secrets of his sufferings to God alone, from whom he sought secret assistance to be ministered to him.

[42] After this, when the Goths had departed, the city of Pavia was handed over to the Rugians, The most savage Rugians, having gained control of Pavia, men of every kind of savagery, whom the fierce and bitter force of their spirits prompted to daily crimes: they considered a day lost that had fled from them without a crime, by some intervening chance. Yet the most blessed Bishop soothed them with the honey of his words, so that their fierce hearts submitted to the authority of the Priest, and they learned to love, whose hearts we know had always been dedicated to hatred. Through his merit their natural perversity was changed, while the root of an affection foreign to them was grafted into their uncultured minds. He wins them over with humanity. Who would believe without great astonishment that the Rugians loved and feared a Bishop who was both Catholic and Roman, they who scarcely deign to obey kings? Yet he spent nearly two full years with them in such a manner that they departed from him weeping, even though they were returning to their parents and families.

CHAPTER X.

Theodoric the victor is led to clemency.

[43] After the matter was finished with the wretched and destructive war, and he had conquered who after his triumph no one saw with a sword unsheathed from its scabbard, who ended the presumption of his army together with the battle; immediately the venerable Pontiff undertook to treat of the restoration of his city, and first, that he might fill it with worthy inhabitants, He restores Pavia, summoning settlers from elsewhere: he provided with the deliberation of spiritual counsel, and although, thanks to his entreaty, no whirlwind of temporal storm had driven it into devastation, yet he believed it could hardly suffice if, after the ruin of all the cities of Liguria, Pavia should exult content with its own inhabitants alone: he began to select the choicest blossoms from among the citizens of neighboring cities and, as a diligent cultivator, to carry shoots already proven into his own gardens, from which a productive and fit owner might gather the most suitable fruits.

[44] [He is sent to Theodoric, who was taking away the right of liberty from those who had at any time adhered to the enemy,] Meanwhile a sudden resolution seized the mind of the most excellent King Theodoric: to grant the right of Roman liberty only to those whom proven loyalty had joined to his party; but those whom any necessity had separated, he ordered to be removed from all license of making wills, and of their own dispositions and desires. When this decree was promulgated and by such a law the laws were trampled upon in the case of many, all Italy lay under a lamentable suspension of justice. They went again to that man who was accustomed to come to the aid of public wounds with a healing hand, whose spring had often extinguished the ardor of troubles; and when he said that he alone could not suffice to sustain so great a burden, the venerable Lawrence, Bishop of Milan, was likewise asked. They set out together and arrived at Ravenna at the same time, and were received with reverence. After the opportunity of acting was opened to them, B. Lawrence judged it necessary that the opportunity of pleading be given especially to the one whose footsteps the laborious path of frequent embassies had worn, and whom the rough dust of the camp had more than once rendered hardy as he hastened along the course of such a journey, and who began the public petitions with the following speech:

[38] Meanwhile, lest he should seem to have adorned the city with the buildings of temples only, he provided for the exhausted inhabitants of the same city with useful remedies. For having sent an embassy to Odoacer, he obtained a five-year exemption from fiscal taxes: [He obtains a five-year tax exemption for the citizens: he restrains the exactions of Pelagius, the Praetorian Prefect.] and in distributing these benefits to individuals he maintained such integrity that no one received less than the one through whose entreaty they had been granted. While these things were being done, however, the stored-up ardor of the malice of Pelagius, who was at that time Praetorian Prefect, boiled over for the ruin of the Ligurian landholders. For by the enormity of compulsory purchases he was doubling the most grievous taxes and making the burden twofold, which could not be sustained even when simple. Whence the crowd of the oppressed soon flocked to the holy man: who joyfully embraced the opportunities of bringing aid, and for the necessity of all he walked cheerfully, made his request, and obtained it.

CHAPTER IX.

Deeds with the Goths and the Rugians at Pavia.

[39] But why do I vainly endeavor to express the various forms of his labors one by one, when affection presumes what ability does not explain, and the narrowness of speech sets a limit for those who imagine broader things? Yet these were the desires of the most sacred Prophet: that though he did innumerable things, he wished that either nothing or very little be related of his praises. Whence if my poor tongue has opened less than it should, I leave it to the understanding of hearers and readers. After, however, the many embassies He approaches King Theodoric, that the violence of his supplication wrung from King Odoacer, by the disposition of heavenly command King Theodoric came to Italy with an immense multitude of his forces. To him the most upright man went, while he was already stationed at Milan: whom when that most excellent of kings inspected with the eyes of his heart, and weighed our Priest on the accustomed balance of his judgment, he found in him the weight of all virtues to be present: whose integrity he measured as it were with builder's lines to the perpendicular of the mind; and he used the following speech about him among his own people: Behold a man whose equal the entire East does not possess; to have seen whom is a reward, with whom to dwell is safety. And is received with honor by him: The city of Pavia is fortified, while this man stands unharmed, by a most strong wall that no force of attackers can overwhelm, that no flight of a Balearic sling can surpass: if any need arises amid the waves of conflict, it is safe to deposit with this man one's mother and family and to serve unencumbered in the excursions of war.

[40] Meanwhile the ambition of change inflamed the rebellious spirits of the surrendered army, whose head was Tufa, a man polluted in the long-standing infamy of deserters: who conceived in his haughty mind to hand himself over with his multitude to the desperate party. When King Theodoric had learned of this with princely anxiety, he immediately assembled that entire force which the whole East had scarcely sustained, and withdrew to the narrow confines of the city of Pavia. While Theodoric stayed with his army at Pavia, You would have seen a city swarming with crowds of families, the rooftops of immense houses opened up in the most cramped hovels: you would have seen immense buildings migrate from their foundations, and the ground itself unable to suffice for receiving the density of inhabitants. Amid these things, that man most practiced in good works, in whom the amplitude of spirit opened access to all, judging that an opportune time was being offered to him to spread the sails of his kindness to the full south wind and to reach the harbor of glory by a prosperous voyage through the acquaintance of various nations and the renown of his deeds; in the first place (which no pages of the ancients, He prudently conducts himself without suspicion, dear to both parties: no annals of the books say of anyone whatsoever, and which the narrator affirms with astonishment and the reader admits with admiration) dwelling as he was with a most sagacious nation -- one which no breeze of suspicion flies past in doubtful affairs, when the fear of danger agitates even gentle hearts against anyone -- he proved himself so faithful to them that he held the hearts of their enemies completely bound by affection, and among the quarreling princes he alone was one who enjoyed the peace of both: for he applied to the advantage of one whatever was bestowed by the other: and by the reverence and sweetness of his person he so tempered the spirit of the giver that it was by no means inflamed if an enemy too received some benefit through the Bishop. He was one around whom even combatants maintained concord, and whose peace wars did not injure.

[41] Now if we come to the point that he was daily nourishing the plunderers themselves with his humanity, He benefits all: and was providing necessities of sustenance to those within the city who had destroyed his estates outside with continual devastation. For so many thousands of men at one and the same time, when they demanded different things, he refreshed with kind words, humbled with his address, and fed with gifts. If anyone's children and wife had been seized by enemies intercepting from any quarter, immediately at the price of his supplication they were restored to their own, whom no outpouring of gold could have redeemed. He frees many captives, pleasing to Theodoric: He was most agreeable to the King and venerable above all the Saints, so that whomever among the Romans the license of warfare had made captive of his men, the King would soon restore to him, whom he understood to be enriched solely by the liberty of others. Then I could not count how many columns of the subjugated he restored to their own land, how many he took charge of lest they be vexed. He himself also suffers much from the soldiers. Now if I should recount the insolences of enemies that he endured, in what missions he labored, with what virtue he despised the tempests of the worst men; my tongue would not suffice to narrate these things. For it is good to pick out certain things where everything you might relate is worthy of admiration. Under such a cross he spent three years, manifesting the secrets of his sufferings to God alone, from whom he sought secret assistance to be ministered to him.

[42] After this, when the Goths had departed, the city of Pavia was handed over to the Rugians, The most savage Rugians, having gained control of Pavia, men of every kind of savagery, whom the fierce and bitter force of their spirits prompted to daily crimes: they considered a day lost that had fled from them without a crime, by some intervening chance. Yet the most blessed Bishop soothed them with the honey of his words, so that their fierce hearts submitted to the authority of the Priest, and they learned to love, whose hearts we know had always been dedicated to hatred. Through his merit their natural perversity was changed, while the root of an affection foreign to them was grafted into their uncultured minds. He wins them over with humanity. Who would believe without great astonishment that the Rugians loved and feared a Bishop who was both Catholic and Roman, they who scarcely deign to obey kings? Yet he spent nearly two full years with them in such a manner that they departed from him weeping, even though they were returning to their parents and families.

CHAPTER X.

Theodoric the victor is led to clemency.

[43] After the matter was finished with the wretched and destructive war, and he had conquered who after his triumph no one saw with a sword unsheathed from its scabbard, who ended the presumption of his army together with the battle; immediately the venerable Pontiff undertook to treat of the restoration of his city, and first, that he might fill it with worthy inhabitants, He restores Pavia, summoning settlers from elsewhere: he provided with the deliberation of spiritual counsel, and although, thanks to his entreaty, no whirlwind of temporal storm had driven it into devastation, yet he believed it could hardly suffice if, after the ruin of all the cities of Liguria, Pavia should exult content with its own inhabitants alone: he began to select the choicest blossoms from among the citizens of neighboring cities and, as a diligent cultivator, to carry shoots already proven into his own gardens, from which a productive and fit owner might gather the most suitable fruits.

[44] [He is sent to Theodoric, who was taking away the right of liberty from those who had at any time adhered to the enemy,] Meanwhile a sudden resolution seized the mind of the most excellent King Theodoric: to grant the right of Roman liberty only to those whom proven loyalty had joined to his party; but those whom any necessity had separated, he ordered to be removed from all license of making wills, and of their own dispositions and desires. When this decree was promulgated and by such a law the laws were trampled upon in the case of many, all Italy lay under a lamentable suspension of justice. They went again to that man who was accustomed to come to the aid of public wounds with a healing hand, whose spring had often extinguished the ardor of troubles; and when he said that he alone could not suffice to sustain so great a burden, the venerable Lawrence, Bishop of Milan, was likewise asked. They set out together and arrived at Ravenna at the same time, and were received with reverence. After the opportunity of acting was opened to them, B. Lawrence judged it necessary that the opportunity of pleading be given especially to the one whose footsteps the laborious path of frequent embassies had worn, and whom the rough dust of the camp had more than once rendered hardy as he hastened along the course of such a journey, and who began the public petitions with the following speech:

[45] How greatly, most invincible Prince, the divine favor has exalted your felicity through innumerable successes, if I recount in order, you will recognize that you, sparing in your prayers, have always received greater benefits from our God than you remember having desired. It suffices, however, to narrate one of these, but the greatest: that before you, O Prince, we plead the causes of your servants in the very place where your enemy used to rejoice in the possession of this throne. After recounting the blessings of God upon him, You owe very much to Christ our Redeemer: what we ask for, He Himself has bestowed. We must beware lest the Author of the gift be offended if we do not love what He has granted. Long do I hold back my confidence: it pleases me to go through the individual things which I have learned by report and which I have perceived to have come to you by divine assistance. You know what you promised to do when you were pressed by the densest wedges of the enemy, and the clang of the hostile trumpet sounded around the walls of the little city of Pavia; when your adversaries, superior in arms and in number, could not stand, with only the invisible heavenly power fighting alongside you. He who weighed your armies by mere estimation dared to attack you. All preparation for war could not sustain the weight of your reinforcements. How often the very air served your interests -- if you recall, the clear skies fought for you, the vault of heaven poured rains at your desire. Who dared resist your right hand, He exhorts him to clemency. and one fighting with heavenly grace? How often did your enemies fall by the swords of their own companions? How often did one who was fighting for the advantage of your enemies win the victory for you? Therefore repay these heavenly gifts with piety bestowed upon men. The sacrificial offerings of mystical oblation consist in not scorning the tears of suppliants. Consider well what kind of rulers you have succeeded in the kingdom; and if, as is clear, their malice expelled them, their fall must needs instruct those who follow: the ruin of predecessors teaches posterity: an earlier fall is always a safeguard for the future: he does not fight without an example who looks back at the reason for which his predecessor was expelled. Relying on these considerations, your Liguria supplicates together with us, that you may so bestow the benefits of your laws upon the innocent that you absolve the guilty. In the eyes of our God, the mercy is meager that only spares those who are free from guilt: to forgive faults is heavenly; to avenge, earthly.

[46] After this he fell silent. But the most eminent King began to speak; and while he spoke, terror gripped the hearts of all, astonished at his intention: Although, Venerable Bishop, I look up to you for the light of your merits, and you had stored up many benefits with me during the time of confusion, from which it is fitting that you should enjoy the tranquillity now restored; yet the necessity of ruling, by which we are constrained, does not everywhere open the way to the mercy that you urge, and amid the harsh realities of a nascent empire the utility of strictness drives out the sweetness of piety. He first states that severity must often be used against the conquered, My assertion relies on the testimony of heavenly examples: we read that a prince offended God who snatched from destruction an enemy destined by heaven for death. A penalty was earned by the leniency that severity could have inflicted. He who refuses to inflict retribution receives it. He who, when he gains power over his enemy, pardons him, either diminishes or despises the force of divine judgment. Those who are established to have not followed grace must be restrained by justice. He who pardons present faults transmits vices to posterity. For as to what you say about the patience of our Redeemer, the milk of grace truly embraces those whom the severity of the law informs. Never was a sick man brought to the fullest cure by any physician except the one who first cut away the putrid limbs with iron, and brought forth from the very bosom of the entrails the hidden corruption. He who allows criminals to pass with impunity exhorts the innocent to crime. Nevertheless, because earthly powers cannot resist your prayers, to which heavenly powers assent, we grant pardon to all in general: no one's head shall punishment lay low: since you can also act before our God, He banishes the instigators, pardons the rest: so that the criminal minds may depart from the perversity of their purpose. A few, however, whom I have discovered to have been instigators of evils, I shall deprive only of the habitation of their places: lest perhaps arising necessity should find nourishing neighbors at hand, and wars should arise aided by the successes of the wicked. Having spoken these words, the most excellent King ordered Urbicus, a Most Illustrious Man, to be summoned, who, bearing all the burdens of his Palace, surpassed Cicero in eloquence and Cato in fairness: to whom he commanded that a decree of general pardon be promulgated. This he, most ready for every act of kindness, immediately composed with such brevity and clarity that even those categories of offenses were recognized as abolished which were thought to have been reserved.

CHAPTER XI.

The journey to Burgundy for the redemption of captives.

[47] Meanwhile the most excellent King secretly commanded the venerable Priest Epiphanius to be summoned; and addressed him with the following words: Understand, glorious Bishop, the weight of our judgment from the very sentence itself: He summons Epiphanius separately: that although there appear to be so many Pontiffs in the circuit of our kingdom, you especially are chosen for so great a matter as if you were the only one: nor does a weakened opinion of this kind deceive the assessors through your merit. You alone are rightly believed to be the one by whose splendor, as by the globe of the moon, the light of the lesser stars is dulled, and the rays of a moderate light are darkened by the bright light of his conscience. Who would seek the lamp of the night where the radiance of the sun blazes forth? Who would seek the aid of a candle where the pyre of faith is kindled by unceasing hearths? Finally, one must be sent by me of such quality that the one receiving him may willingly listen. You see all the regions of Italy widowed of their native cultivators. To my sorrow, a field fertile in crops brings thorns and unbidden shoots, and that mother of human harvest, Liguria, which was wont to have a numerous stock of farmers, He laments the devastation of Liguria by the Burgundians, stripped and sterile, shows to our gaze a hungry sod. The land, wherever I look, assails me; a face rich with vineyards, unkempt with plows, distresses. O grief! No moisture is poured upon the lips of those whom antiquity called Oenotrians from the abundance of wine. Although the savage Burgundian has wrought this, yet if we do not remedy it, we have permitted it. Are we ceasing to aid our ravaged homeland, while gold is held among us in storage? What difference does it make whether we bend the spirits of our adversaries with money or with iron? He sends him to King Gundobad for the redemption of captives. To have offered what captures the mind of the enemy is to have conquered; to have hidden it is to be conquered. Take up, therefore, with Christ's help, the burden of this labor, from which we may have a shared reward in the heavenly promise; because this new title of praise, distinguished by its own insignia, accrues through your hands: to triumph over our assailants without blood. Their prince is Gundobad, in whom the grace of your name has been implanted; whom an overwhelming desire to see you stimulates. Believe me, the price of Italy's captivity will be your appearance: I shall consider those whom I desire to have been redeemed, if such a redeemer approaches those lands. With how great a force are the eyes to which we offer you conquered? But why do I delay hands that demand the fields? I promise you the revived condition of Liguria, I promise the joy of the soil, and after the Transalpine pilgrimage a returning fecundity. Gold is provided to you as you approach, for which cause so great an ambassador shall act.

[48] To these words, the light of bishops, Epiphanius, responded: How much, venerable Prince, you have filled my breast with rejoicing -- if it could be encompassed in speech, I would pour forth words unpremeditated and continuous in proportion to the riches of your merits; but that my speech is intercepted and denied success, the tears of joy demonstrate, which exultation now brings forth as the nurslings of sorrows. Understand therefore that for rendering thanks to so excellent a King, both for us and for himself, I can feel more than I can express. Shall I first commemorate that you have surpassed all emperors of the past in justice, or in the practice of war, or -- what is more excellent than these -- in piety? You have reason to accuse the rulers of our nation: you redeem those whom they very often either permitted to be made, or made, captive. We read that David, for the example of singular praise, achieved the closest proximity to the heavens especially because he spared Saul, his enemy, when offered to his hands: He willingly accepts the embassy, and as a testimony of the power granted to him, he seized a particle of his garments, by which he proved both his permission and his desire. Good God! In how great a recompense do You receive the deed of this man who treats for the liberty of so many thousands of the oppressed, You who exalted that man for the blood of one man saved! Hasten therefore to accomplish what has been begun, and joyfully bring the offering of your felicity, and spur me, although I am prepared, lest in offering so fragrant a sacrifice you be restrained by the obstacle of delay. It will be for Christ our Redeemer to grant, as we conjecture from the works to come, that you may truly offer your burnt offerings through my hands. Yet I beg that by the indulgence of Your Clemency, Victor, Bishop of the city of Turin, be joined to me as companion and sharer of this journey, Victor, Bishop of Turin, is given as his requested companion. in whom it is clear that a compendium of all virtues is present: with him as my associate, I promise confidently in our Lord that no effect will be denied to our own petitions. When these things were heard, the most eminent King assented. And the reverend Pontiff, having bidden farewell, departed.

[49] Immediately monies to be carried for the redemption are designated and received. He sets out: he comes swiftly to Pavia. And although the month of March was still imposing icy fetters on the rivers with its wintry torpor, and the peaks of the Alps, white with snows, threatened destruction to those who would cross; yet the ardor of faith surpassed the deadly cold He undertakes the journey in winter, with great spirit: and the clods frozen with frost: he who has his foundation set upon rock never slips upon the ice. Having therefore arranged the provisions for his journey, he set forth. You would say that every thing that necessity could have held back was pushing him forward: not even a delay for taking food was tolerated: and although that path, full of dangers, troubled every individual who accompanied him, he alone among the perils did not know fear, whom the certain hope of life accompanied.

CHAPTER XII.

Captives released partly free and partly for a price by the Kings Gundobad and Godegisel.

[50] He is kindly received by the Burgundians and the Gauls, Meanwhile that fame which had always preceded his journey and was diligent in preparation went before him, and so filled the Gauls with the report of his distinctions that they were disturbed as if by the coming or presence of a heavenly deity: every age and sex came running together, and those whom long distances had separated from the vicinity of his route, the ardor of their spirit brought near. Whatever anyone had that was precious, he offered; and if he had nothing, he bought it from elsewhere for the Father. Everywhere was opulent profusion: the tables of the travelers were heaped with unbought delicacies, and the strangers used without cost those foods which the inhabitants could not have had unless purchased. Then whatever needy persons he found, he distributed to them the things that had been given; at home and abroad he fed the wretched: nor could it happen that what was brought to him was withheld from the use of the poor. In this manner, with marvelous speed, he entered Lyon, And by the Bishop of Lyon, where Rusticius then occupied the episcopal chair, a man who, even in the prefiguration of his secular title, had always shown himself a priest, and under the pretext of the forum had borne himself as a governor of the Church: who crossed the Rhone river to meet his arrival, filled with the abundance of spiritual joy, inquired the reason for his journey, and informed him of the cunning of the King; and lest the craftiness of objections or replies should find him unprepared, he fortified himself within the innermost chamber of his heart with a rehearsal of contests.

[51] When Gundobad, the lord of that land, learned that he had come, he said to his own people: Go and see a man whom I have always, both in merits and in countenance, joined to the person of Lawrence the Martyr: inquire when he wishes to see us, and when he has commanded, invite him. And by King Gundobad himself. Soon the entire crowd of Christians attending the Prince flocked to him, and they were abundantly seized with admiration that the fame of so many tongues showed itself so much smaller in his case than the reality, although it was ample; for it could never suffice in the poverty of words, however richer than fair it was in other respects. The day was therefore set for seeing the King: and when he entered his presence, he greeted him, and both were gladdened by the sight of each other. He gave the eminent man Victor permission, if he himself should command, to begin the order of the embassy, but Victor referred all the weight to him, as he was ever most prepared for all humility. Immediately the glory of Italy, our Bishop, began to address the King with the following words:

[52] For a long time, most proven Prince, an inexpressible love of you has imposed upon me the obligation to wage wars against nature and season along this journey, and not to fear the dangers of the crusted mountain, which, when it has compressed the waters into metal by solidifying them, threatens destruction from what was once liquid. I have crossed the snowy mountain passes in alien months: I have placed my steps where the force of cold held them bound in their places: in short, I did not fear death, so that I might swiftly bring you the reward of eternal light. Between two excellent Kings I am summoned to bear witness in the heavenly courts, if what the one mercifully asks, you graciously grant. Divide the gift of the Lord's promise on an equal balance, and when both shall have more, no one will mourn his losses. Contend, most invincible Commanders, and surpass each other by carrying out the mystical precepts; in which conflict the victor will so receive the prize that the vanquished will not lose the reward. He urges him to return the captives free of charge. Follow my counsel, and both will stand forth as superiors, both as equals. The one wishes to redeem the captives; you, return them to their native soil without a price. Believe me, no one will receive more abundantly in this cause, no one will receive more, than he who shall have received nothing. The reward of that party will be defrauded, and the profit of the other passes to your advantage, if those whom it is glorious even to sell, you arrange to give as a gift. Alas, how much loss from the divine promise will it inflict on one offering gold in this business, if it is returned! Or how great a poverty does it bring if it is accepted! The money despised will make your armies rich; if acquired, it will make them beggars. Hear the voices of Italian suppliants, and serenely admit the prayers of those who presume upon you. Hear Italy, never divided from you, and greatly trusting in the clemency of your spirit, which if it used one voice, would say this: How often, if you remember, did you present your iron-clad breast to enemies on my behalf? How often did you fight by counsel lest wars should steal in, lest any of my people should be led captive in any part of the world? Those whom you now hold, you yourself nourished. Deceitfully has your valor bestowed a benefit on me, if he who protected mine from strangers has invaded them as their keeper. Who, bound by the chains of fetters and hard fate, would not shed more abundant tears when his liberator drove him into servitude? Who would withdraw himself when the clash of your arms was heard, in whom in their necessities they had found the safest refuge? A noble matron, with her hands wrenched from her neck as she was dragged to chains, promised herself that you would be her avenger: a virgin believed that her modesty could displease you if she lost it to the snares of a ravisher. Always friends of the Burgundians. In sum, those were captured whom no one found fleeing. The laborious stocks of farmers, offspring exercised with hard hoes, whom an unaffected simplicity feeds upon their own land, when chains were fastened to their necks and a tight binding fettered their hands, cried out nothing else in their own defense: We know and clearly recognize: Are you not our Burgundians? See that you do not excuse before the pious King what you are doing, and suppress those crimes by the custom of city-dwellers. How often have these hands which you presume to bind paid tribute to our common lord! We know that he did not command these things to be done. With this authority the wretched used to console themselves: yet the confidence in your integrity caused many to be killed, when captives answered too proudly. Return therefore the survivors to their homeland, return them to their origin, return them to your glory. Love, as the ancient master, a province that the modern master also embraces: release, although to another's dominion, those who recognize themselves as yours even when placed there. For we bestow little gratitude upon the rule of one to whose mercy we owe nothing. Clear of thorns that Liguria which you well know, and fill it with cultivators. It will understand how much it is indebted to your gifts, if it ever recognizes its own face. It is always your custom to pardon suppliants, as it is to crush the proud: thus in both will you acquire the strongest triumphs -- there by the sword, here by moderation. Be moved by our tears and those of our people. So may a legitimate heir increase to you in the succession of this kingdom, and through the hope of mature offspring may you live again for the governance of the Burgundians. And although you attribute this to God, add also the consideration that you do not bestow this upon foreign men. Already the lord of Italy is joined to you also by the affinity of kinship. Let the release of captives be the wedding gift of your son: He adds tears to his prayers. let him offer to his betrothed a gift that Christ too may accept. When he had said these things, having admonished his holy colleague Victor, he rose, and weeping even to the King's breast, they bowed their heads together with all who stood nearby.

[53] Then the most proven King, as he was rich in speech and opulent from the resources of eloquence and a fluent advocate, thus responded with words to words: You, the counselor of peace, do not know the laws of war; and you, the author of concord, rip open the conditions decided by the sword. What you think an error is the law of combatants: enmity knows no bridle, which you, the radiance of Christian light, show. No one attaches moderation to battles, which is exalted by the splendor of your mouth, O distinguished moderator. It is the statute of combatants that whatever is not lawful, then is lawful: perhaps that quietude which you have narrated may claim these things for itself. He who has not harmed his enemy aids him. An adversary is gradually cut down from the mass of his kingdom, whose roots of empire are severed by turns. I have repaid the insult to the King of those parts, which you think was inflicted by me: mocked by the appearance of a treaty, I strove for nothing more diligently than, as a matter of precaution, to recognize open enemies. Yet may the assent of the Divinity grant The King, having spoken of the law of war, that the treaty established between us may be preserved for a long age: those parties will find one steadfast in friendship whom they perceived to have been ruinous to them while in conflict. You, however, holy men, depart to the houses in which you stay without trouble, while I, having examined the advantage of my soul and my kingdom, pronounce what it is fitting for me to bestow. Having heard these things, the Pontiffs withdrew.

[54] But he, having summoned Laconius, to whom the trust of both affairs and words had always been safely committed, whom both the prerogative of birth and the curule chairs of his ancestors had elevated through the marks of governing probity: with whom he confers whenever he meditates things pious and religious: [He orders through Laconius that those captured in battle be released for a price, the rest free of charge.] and since nobility is not allied with vices, nor is the light of nature bound to allurements, if he wishes to do anything kindly, this man, when consulted, urges that it be doubled. To whom the Prince said: Go, Laconius, and spread full the sails of your wishes; and by us the Priest and the Blessed Epiphanius have been gladly heard, that you were moved by his prayers, when he spoke before us, the tears, indicators of souls, testified: go and with full breast pronounce the decrees by which you may break the bonds of that most harsh agreement. Let it be permitted for all Italians -- whomever the fear of captivity among our Burgundians has made captive, whomever the necessity of hunger, whomever the fear of dangers has brought; finally, whomever the consent of their own Prince has yielded or led away -- let ours absolve. But for the few whom they snatched as if in the ardor of fighting from the dominion of their adversaries, let them receive some small payment for those, lest the hazards of combat become detestable to those who sustained the dangers but do not feel the profits.

[55] After the command of the revered King, that active man set forth by the leaps of his words the kinds or forms of the pardon, and brought the documents to the distinguished Bishop: which he received with the most eagerly awaited devotion and ambitiously embraced the bearer of so great a gift. When this news became known, so great a multitude of this now free population suddenly assembled that you would have believed even the fields of the Gauls were deserted of inhabitants. For I am a witness of this matter: through my hands the orders of the Priest elicited safe-conducts for the mountain passes, and four hundred persons were released in a single day from the city of Lyon alone to return to Italy: Ennodius was present then. likewise we learned without doubt that the same was done throughout the individual cities of Savoy and other provinces; so that of these, whom the prayers of the most blessed man alone had freed, more than six thousand souls were restored to their native lands: but the number of those Free releases amounted to about 6,000. who were redeemed with gold I could not fully ascertain, because among them flight too snatched away many. Thus it came about that the opportunity of departure granted at that time sufficed for the liberation of all the subjugated. After that heap of money had been poured out, however, the necessities for the expenses of redemption were immediately supplied by that treasury of the Church that is there -- Syagria, Various persons contribute money for the redemption of others. whose life demands a lengthy narration; yet it suffices that she be known from her works, which surpass words. The most excellent among the Gauls, Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, also gave, in whom learning had enclosed itself as in the lodging-house of a shining home. Why more? Through their gold it was for the most part accomplished that the youth of Liguria should no longer be led into servitude to the Gauls. Nor did the eminent man confine himself to one place in that region, lest perhaps the savagery of the masters might impede those dwelling at a distance. He was at Geneva, where Godegisel, the brother of the King, had established his home, Godegisel also releases his captives. who, following the pattern of his brother's decision, made himself a partner in his good works.

[56] In a short time, however, such great columns of the freed were sent back that you would see the roads far and wide seething with ranks of those returning, with the praise of our Lord, and also of the most splendid Priest Epiphanius, by whose ministry and labor they had been snatched away: and lest our light should be deprived of the trophy of so great a gift, and the most beautiful spectacle be removed from his own eyes, he himself returned with them. You would see a free people led in heavenly triumphs, Epiphanius returns, attended by columns of captives now freed: and instead of the blood of the slain, the earth moistened with the tears of the exulting, while the leader of these cohorts mounted the chariot of Elijah and was carried to the heavens by a four-horse team in the swift course of his merit. Not so did Alexander, the Pellaean Prince, whom vain praise sings as the pacifier of the world, lead his captive swarm of nations as this man recalled his own. Behold, then we discovered that the minds of armed men were conquered by sanctity, and that the Prince had yielded to the prayers of the Chosen One -- he who had always thrust his breast against opposing lances. How much sharper the blade of words was than of iron, let the reader learn from this: speech conquered, to which swords had withdrawn.

CHAPTER XIII.

The last embassy. Illness. Death.

[57] When, therefore, in the third month the Bishop was returning to Pavia with such a trophy, as he came to Tarantasia (for so is called the town near the Alps), there a certain woman was suffering from a severe vexation of an unclean spirit, and upon receiving his blessing she was immediately freed and departed. At Tarantasia he frees a woman possessed by a demon: He himself, however, appeared unexpected to his own people, before their unsuspecting eyes. He was suddenly seen, of whom it was scarcely believed any rumor could be heard.

[58] But as soon as he returned, he wearied his mind with cares as was his custom, lest perhaps those to whom our Lord had given freedom through him might be disturbed in the possession of their own property, especially out of consideration for noble persons, for whom a more monstrous calamity could be in store among their own people, if as returned exiles they should endure a life of want, and from the hardships of their exile should have lost even the consolations of mercy alone. He did not wish to go in person immediately to the most invincible King Theodoric, lest he should seem, if present, to exact from the King the recompense of his labor in the rendering of thanks or in the presentation of gifts. He writes to Theodoric about the success of the embassy: For he who, when the commissions of Princes have been carried out, himself as the agent announces what has been done, demands as it were a due remuneration. This, therefore, the man of utmost acumen, foreseeing, was eager to avoid. He wrote, however, and committed to letters what had been done, lest by keeping silent he should be pronounced contemptuous, or by appearing in person, intemperate through arrogance. How much more, O admirable Pontiff, did your absence accomplish at that time, how much did the humility thus perceived obtain -- let those say whom you made most wealthy from exiles. For the returned captives he obtains from the King what he desires. Therefore everything that the singular Bishop asked by letter from the most pious King on behalf of the wretched, he obtained without hesitation. The King serenely granted the request to the suppliant, since for the compensation of his labor it was believed that whatever benefit the redeemed and poor man might receive through him could suffice.

[59] After, however, all who had been recalled had been endowed with their rights by the indulgence of the aforesaid Prince, the admirable Bishop judged the mass of his troubles to have been discharged; when, before two years had elapsed, from the bosom of the peace he had established, as a boat from harbor, he was driven out by a storm brought upon others. About to intercede for taxes imposed on the Ligurians For upon the weak and tottering shoulders of the Ligurians a scarcely bearable burden of taxes was imposed. Again they ran to you, O consoler of the afflicted. You learned that you had in vain restored citizens to their homeland if you did not assist them when they were in danger on their ancestral soil. And because before you the one who asked was never wearied, you took up the causes of the unfortunate and immediately prepared yourself for renewed burdens. You hastened to Ravenna to entreat the King on our behalf -- that city which you had fled lest anyone should praise you there after your Gallic exploits. You overcame the threats of the sky and the dangers of storms, as if still strong in years or fortified by bodily health. Never did your limbs, however feeble, withdraw from the service of your spirit: cold, rain, the Po, He goes to Ravenna in winter: fasting, navigation, the dangers of thunder, lodging without a roof, on the banks of an uncertain river in a harbor almost without land, were sweet to your virtue and pleasing to your progress. Even that most eminent King, who ambitiously desired to see you, was saddened by your presence. You set forth our needs by your arrival, before you spoke; and the dangers you had overcome taught what manner of tears from your fellow-inhabitants had compelled you.

[60] But when he had nevertheless entered the Prince's presence, he began to speak thus: With your accustomed tranquillity of mind, O venerable King, understand the prayers of your servants. Both me to ask for necessities, and you to grant them, custom instructs. He begs for his people an exemption for one year: It is your law, O invincible leader, to show mercy continually: you have always nourished the hope of intercessions for the future by not resisting those in the present. The faith of benefits obtained has always opened the way for our supplication to further things before you. Bestow upon your Ligurians what you may display, grant what you may store up. A temporal indulgence is the profit of future times. It is the custom of a good prince to love fame together with virtues, and to order his kingdom as if it were to pass to the posterity of his stock. Wavering lords love only what they receive; the most steadfast, rather what they release. So we commit small seeds to the earth, that we may reap them multiplied: interest without crime is tripled. The wealth of the landholder is the wealth of a good emperor. Grant an exemption for the present year to Liguria, you who have recalled from foreign lands those who now supplicate. How abundant a present harvest we have had, let Your Clemency ask those who stand before you. No one lies to him whom those who can convict him serve.

[61] To this the Prince replied: Although the weight of immense expenditures entices us, and we ceaselessly lavish gifts upon envoys for their own peace; yet the force of your merits reverently intervenes in our deliberations. What you enjoin must be done: everything you prescribe is welcome. For we consider that whatever you yourself have taken away is added to our profits. Do not ask for anything as if by accident, you who have many things from us that you may demand back. Yet we cede two parts of the present indiction's fiscal assessment, He obtains a remission of two parts of the fiscal indiction. intending to receive only the third; lest either the straitened condition of our treasury should produce greater losses for the Romans, or your supplication should not bring back to the homeland the expected joys. To the aforesaid King the supreme Bishop thus rendered thanks, and bidding farewell, he departed.

[62] Alas, the grief and groaning! He was diligently running to meet everyone as if in the spirit of a final duty or a last visitation, and although the house itself was disgorging crowds of the Christian multitude, he himself nevertheless entered the inner chambers of all. No one, dulled by the density of the human mind, was touched by so mournful a suspicion that his passing was at hand, Returning to Pavia which he himself perceived by the revelation of the Spirit. In snowy weather, such as usually drives men to take shelter, he left Ravenna, and came swiftly through all the cities of Aemilia, as if hastening to the receptacle of the tomb, generous, approachable, and affable to all the bishops along the way, and leaving behind, as it were, a standard and model, more excellent than himself. But when he entered the city of Parma on the same route, immediately a fluid congealed in his vitals poured forth, which the physicians call a catarrh; He contracts a catarrh: which, inserting itself deep into the marrow, raged toward public ruin.

[63] But why do you shrink, O my discourse? Why do you shudder at them as at shipwrecking rocks? Willing or not, he whose life, even if conducted in summary, must have his death narrated; since by no pretext of the page, by no delays of promulgated praise, will his passing be able to be concealed. And although, as a sailing ship flees the Scyllaean dogs and the gaping jaws of Charybdis that threaten dangers with roaring tumult, the narrative does not omit the shipwreck of his death. Why do I fear to narrate tears, which a continual outpouring must always supply? Therefore, as he drew near to the town of Pavia, now wretched, he appeared as if cheerful and healthy: and although he had entered amid the exultations of all at his return, he immediately turned joy into tears, signifying on that very day that he was sick, On the very day he entered Pavia, he falls ill: and on the next day more seriously; and when the illness appeared greater each day, it was aggravated by the incompetence of the physicians. The people stood murmuring and thunderstruck, considering in one man the fall of the entire province, and dreading the death of the world. On the seventh day, however, an unexpected blow, He is badly treated: an unspeakable calamity, an inexpressible grief arrived.

[64] But when the most blessed Pontiff perceived that, having cast off the burden of the flesh, he was about to fly more speedily to the pure splendor of the heavens, He prepares himself piously for death: whose constant saying was, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," with a happy spirit and serene countenance he repeatedly recited those verses of David: "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever: with my mouth will I declare Your truth to generation and posterity." Psalm 89:1. And this: "Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." And moreover, secure in his perfection, he added: "My heart is confirmed in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in the Lord my Savior:" so that, resounding with hymns and canticles even in death, the heavenly soul might return to its seat, He dies. which brought to the tomb the fifty-eighth year of his age; having spent thirty years in this Priestly life, which, even if you, the reader, attend to it only in excerpt, you see engraved.

[65] For I ought not to pass over in silence that his holy relics, up to the third day on which they are known to have been deposited with the highest veneration, appeared to the eyes of all clothed with such light and grace that the countenance of the deceased bore the mark of the splendor of his life; and the glorious vessel was believed to have already now received the glory that had been laid down; in which there was truly enclosed the treasure of the great King. All mourn at his death. What rivers of tears were there, what great lamentations, I shall keep silent; lest after the courses of many years a writer should inflict fresh grief. Whatever mother came there proclaimed that her son had been freed by him; whatever wife, her husband; whatever sister, her brother; whatever unmarried man, himself; finally, in that great multitude of men and assembly (to speak boldly) of the whole world, there was no one who did not owe something to his benefits. But, I beg, let us now moderate our grief: let us relax the brow contracted by sadness; he possesses the heights with the Lord, on account of whose death we grieve on earth. But what shall I do? The sobs of your healer scatter my words, tears flood my face: all that I say resounds with groaning; and I understand that a weeping consoler never comes well to one who weeps. These things I have bestowed upon the holy Father and most learned Doctor, suited in affection, not in knowledge, so that I might review some blossoms of his way of life, as it is the custom of those making a long journey not to greet all whom they meet.

[66] Do you, O soul most powerful with our Redeemer, grant to me, Ennodius invokes him. that free from care and with a liberated heart, I may, pure myself, offer you the praises that are owed, as a pure man. For the rest, do not abandon one who has confidence in you after God, and him whom you have distinguished with the title of religion, render a partaker in the divine promise of the religious.

THE TRANSLATION OF S. EPIPHANIUS FROM PAVIA TO HILDESHEIM.

Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia in Italy (S.)

Year of Christ 863. 22 February.

From various sources.

[1] Hildesheim is a city of Lower Saxony, the seat of a most ample bishopric, first established by Charlemagne at the town of Elze on the stream Saale; Hildesheim then transferred by Louis the Pious to that place chosen, as it were, by divine power through a wondrous portent of sacred relics that could not be torn from the trunk to which they had been affixed; as Krantzius reports in Saxony, book 2, chapter 26. The relics of S. Epiphanius translated. Thither the body of S. Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia, was translated in the time of Emperor Otto I, through the industry of Bishop Otwin.

[2] This Translation was described by a certain clerk or monk of the Church of Hildesheim, a contemporary of Otwin, The History of the Translation. who attests that he learned what he writes partly from the priest Thangwardo, who with his own hands had exhumed the relics, and partly from those who had been present. This commentary of that author was first published from the library of the monastery of S. Michael by our Christopher Brauwerus in the book entitled Stars of Illustrious and Holy Men of Germany; but the final part, in which the Bishop, accompanied by a noble triumphal retinue from the Gallic embassy -- namely all the youth of Liguria whom the Goths had held, having been redeemed and freed -- is conducted to Pavia; and then, having died amid the great desire and mourning of all, is received into heaven, he confesses that he voluntarily omitted as foreign to his purpose, since it differed from the life written by Ennodius not so much in substance as in words. But, with all due respect to the great man, his memory or pen deceived him in writing this: it was not the Goths who had held that youth of Liguria, but the Burgundians.

[3] Since, however, it has been provided by the most severe edicts of the Pontiffs that no one should dare to steal relics of the Saints for that reason (which many examples found everywhere demonstrate to have been of less scruple to certain ancients), the same Brauwerus disputes about the legality of this translation thus: If any fair judge should assess this Translation by the law of sacred things, or receive judgment about it, he will immediately determine that this removal of relics was done neither by law Whether it was a lawful Translation: nor by custom; but will pronounce that those who acted and abstracted the sacred remains from their native soil and ground, as it were, were subject, to say the least, to the interdict Unde vi by which force, and could have been prosecuted by an action for extortion. In the meantime, however, the examples of this and the preceding age prevailed, and an excessive piety and religious devotion created for itself this license: so that, craftily, under the titles of pious theft and religious plunder, they judged these actions not by the strict law of equity; the judges for the most part overlooked the dispute, and the authorities very much turned a blind eye. Moreover -- and this is the crux -- the success of the outcome, and the reputation of the religion from the prodigies and miracles that followed, not only often established right and license for these removals, but turned the reproach of theft, or sacrilege, into glory: because the Franks and Germans, when the liberty of the Roman See was afflicted either by barbarians or tyrants, and when in the new or precarious Empire that the Popes gave, being often greater in spirit on account of their nobility and nation, were not content with civil power but applied their strength to sacred matters as well, and exercised religion more freely than was either expedient for themselves or right and lawful permitted. Hence they sought to subject almost all the rights of Latium to themselves together with churches and peoples, and those who were powerful in faith or arms among kings wished, not content with honor alone, but joyful also with rewards, to have much license for themselves against right, whether they were bishops or distinguished by the military belt. Yet the writer seems to have procured some pardon for Bishop Otwin and his priest Thangwardo, when he records that after prayers and fasts, the priest was divinely admonished in sleep about transferring S. Epiphanius.

[4] This Translation fell, as Brauwerus excellently deduces from the narrative of the ancient writer, at the end of the year 962 and the beginning of the next. For Otto, invited into Italy by John XII to suppress the tyranny of Berengar and Adalbert, came to Pavia in 961, and there, as the Continuator of the Chronicles of Regino records, ordered the palace destroyed by Berengar to be rebuilt. When it occurred. In 962, having celebrated Christmas at Pavia, he set out for Rome, was created and crowned Emperor by John, and restored all that had been taken from the Roman Church. Among many other bishops and princes, Otwin, Bishop of the Church of Hildesheim, subscribed to the diploma on 13 February 962, indiction 5, in the 27th year of Otto's reign. The diploma is found in Baronius, volume 10, at the same year, number 3 and following. Otto, having returned to Pavia, celebrated Easter there: he recovered the island of S. Giulio and restored it to the Church of Novara, by a diploma dated the 4th before the Kalends of August. The following year, having celebrated Christmas and Easter at Pavia, he besieged Berengar on Mount S. Leo throughout the summer. Therefore on the 10th before the Kalends of December in the year 962, the body of S. Epiphanius was exhumed by Thangwardo and soon sent to Germany; and having been brought to Hildesheim on the 8th before the Kalends of March by Otwin, who followed after.

[5] Where S. Epiphanius was first deposited at Hildesheim and where he is preserved in our memory, Brauwerus declares, writing thus: When inquiring into this translation procured from Italy to Saxony by the diligence of Otwin, Where the relics were placed at Hildesheim. before I had obtained the original acts themselves from the library of the monastery of S. Michael, the more recent charters suggested to me that the body of S. Epiphanius was deposited by the Bishop at that place where now stands the Chapter House, or the adjacent oratory bearing the name of S. Anthony. But S. Godehard retained the titles of the old church, which lay to the south of the principal basilica, namely those of the holy Mother of God and of Epiphanius; so that, as I investigated this memorial further and more fully with care, I discovered that the Baptismal Church, mention of which is made in the life of S. Godehard, is the one now used by the College of the Society of Jesus; and that the congregation of clergy had resided where the Fathers of the Society of Jesus now have their domicile. For the rest, I understand that the relic of S. Epiphanius is still today preserved in a silver tomb in the principal basilica, on the left side of the principal altar; and that a cage is shown suspended at the tomb of S. Godehard, in which the pious burden is said to have been conveyed from Pavia all the way to Saxony.

HISTORY OF THE TRANSLATION

By an anonymous contemporary author of Hildesheim, from the Stars of Christopher Brauwerus, S.J.

Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia in Italy (S.)

BHL Number: 2573

By an anonymous contemporary author.

CHAPTER I.

The occasion for transferring the relics of S. Epiphanius.

[1] Preface. The wise and in its disposition clement providence of divine grace -- the human flesh is not able either to admire it worthily or to perceive it clearly enough -- which so foresaw the aids of the elect for its Church from the very beginning that, while the enemy stirred up battle, the Church, supported by the merits of the pious, obtained the palm and glory of victory. Hence it is Many relics of Saints in Saxony. that all Saxony, applauding with spiritual joy, cherishes and cultivates in its devout bosom very many relics of Saints, unknown even to earlier generations, committing the path of this present life and the hope of the future to them in every way with certain faith. Among whom the venerable Father Epiphanius excels like the morning star, once the wondrous Doctor of Pavia, now the magnificent defender of our homeland, a man imitable in virtue by all of his time. Therefore, since the Lord has deigned to illuminate and fortify our homeland with the patronage of so distinguished a man, in what order his most sacred relics were first discovered, by the aspiring diligence of the Lord Otwin, most venerable Bishop of our Church, and conducted all the way to us -- as I learned from those who were present at this most happy office, and especially from the venerable Priest Thangwardo, whose effort particularly shone in this -- The age of the writer. elated by no talent, but prompted by the due zeal of devotion, I humbly transmit it, most diligently committed to writing, for posterity to use.

[2] When Berengar, together with his son Adalbert, was invading the scepter of the Italian kingdom; and both were usurping the diadem of one nation for themselves, Berengar himself burned to such a degree with the heat of avarice that, seized by money and confusing right and sacred law everywhere, he had even presumed to snatch some of the territories of S. Peter by predatory force. To repress his fury, While Otto I was in Italy, Otto the Great, namely the Cisalpine King, was invited to Rome by the envoys of the Apostolic Lord Octavian, who is also John, either to yield the Patriciate of the Roman City, which was his by inheritance from his ancestors, or to come to the aid of their afflicted affairs. Therefore the warlike soldier of the Churches and excellent Prince girded himself, with the common consent and counsel of his own people, against the Apostolic enemy, always surrounded by the strong and invincible force of his men, and also accompanied by a flock of bishops; among whom the Lord Otwin, Bishop of our Church, shone forth, commended to the Prince himself as much as he was proven in faith. When Berengar was captured in the fortress of S. Leo and destined with his wife for custody in Bavaria, and when Albert was likewise put to flight, peace having been restored to the Churches, Otto Caesar, now Patrician and Emperor, created by Apostolic blessing, returned to Pavia; and canonically reformed the Churches throughout Italy and Tuscany, neglected and desolated by the cruelty and insolence of former princes, and restored them to their ancient state.

[3] During this time the watchful guardian of the Lord's flock, Bishop Otwin, although separated from his people in body, yet joined to them by the zeal of charity and the goodwill with which he most wonderfully cultivated them, was eager to collect whatever he foresaw would be profitable for the utility of his Church and the convenience of his brothers; especially, however, in order to procure faithful patrons for himself and his people, he asked from the bishops for relics of the Saints, Otwin, Bishop of Hildesheim, obtains various relics of Saints. whom he discovered to be especially celebrated there, and easily obtained them; and at the same time, as a prudent man, he took care lest his efforts in receiving them should be frustrated by anyone's cunning. He likewise conveyed so great an abundance of books, both of divine reading and of philosophical composition, that those who previously had languished in idle torpor from a shortage of them now glow with the frequent business of study. And because he restrained himself from all the vanity of boasting in this progress, by divine grace he most wonderfully procured the most sacred relics of B. Epiphanius, once Bishop of Pavia. For since that venerable Father, out of respect for the divine honor by which his mind was always anxiously occupied, considered it presumptuous to steal the bones of Saints furtively, or to transfer them without the prompting of an oracle, yet he so balanced the judgment of his mind that neither did he himself undertake anything rash, nor did he by his own authority discourage what ought to be done. Whence it came about that the venerable Priest, our brother, whom we have mentioned above, burning in every way with zeal for such a task, since he dared not attempt, let alone accomplish, such a thing -- for he was advanced in years and simpler in temperament -- wearing himself down with frequent fasts and vigils during prayer, committed the desire of his heart to divine judgment for dispensation. Nor, however, was he in this undertaking entirely deprived of the Bishop's help, who afflicted himself all the more keenly in each particular, as he more subtly took counsel for them both.

[4] Therefore, when the solemnities of the fasts had been festively completed, by divine arrangement, as I believe, behold there arrived the priest of Landward, Bishop of Minden, a most intimate companion of our brother by reason of their fellowship; The Priest Landward carries off relics of S. Speciosa. who, since he was still wavering and had carefully opened his mind to him about everything, inquired as if he felt the same, and persuaded him to carry off the relics of the most holy Father Epiphanius and of the holy Virgin Speciosa, enclosed within the same circuit of the temple, saying that the time of the coming night was suitable and should not be deferred for any other purpose. Without delay it was agreed upon: having collected during the day the necessary equipment for this task, with the nocturnal silence aiding them, they entered the church, and prostrating themselves on the ground before so great a task, they accused themselves as unequal to it, and begged pardon for their bold undertaking, commending themselves more attentively to their patronage, so that they might deserve to be rewarded with their relics, or if they did not deign this, that they might at least be piously removed from the undertaking without harm to themselves, protected by them. Rising therefore, they strove long and with much sweat to open the sepulchre of B. Epiphanius, and making no progress with any ingenuity, though they expended all their effort, they readily opened the tomb of the Blessed Virgin Speciosa. Prostrating themselves therefore before the sacred relics on the pavement, and attending to prayer for a while, they rose, kissed them, and lifted them with hymns and praises: a portion of which our venerable Lord Otwin, of pious memory, who supported the zeal of our brother, afterwards transferred here together with the relics of B. Epiphanius, commending the portion that belonged to him to the venerable Bishop Landward.

CHAPTER II.

The relics exhumed and carried away.

[5] But when afterwards all the hope of our brother, by which he had labored in spirit to obtain S. Epiphanius, Thangwardo, by divine prompting, after fasting, had almost grown cold, and he had no further consolation for attempting it, he took refuge again in the support of prayers and fasts; what he did not presume of himself, he more attentively commended to the merits of this Saint. When several days had elapsed, not without great contrition on his part -- for he had poured himself out entirely to God in abstinence and supplication for this cause -- he was divinely admonished in his sleep, as he himself explained to me quite bashfully, for he absolutely refused all boasting; and being made more courageous, trusting in both fasts and the oracle, with the nocturnal hour favoring him, having taken along persons proven for such business, he approached the church of B. Epiphanius. And when he drew near to the door, commended to him as if by the grace of a previous success, he was pushed by guards who were following and gave way, and by chance struck upon a little opening the size of a window, of no more than two feet's measure, never known to him before, and entering, he avoided the assault of those pressing upon him and eluded their pursuit. Supported therefore by an unwonted confidence -- for he was of a simpler spirit -- after bringing in his companions, he was the first to undertake what must be attempted, and exhorted them as well.

[6] First, carefully examining the sepulchre of the holy Father everywhere with expert diligence, they saw that a sarcophagus, buried five feet below the underground vault, as later became clear, was supported above by marble, with a square wall moreover still built upon it. A marble column too, dedicated in his honor and in his name in lieu of an altar, stood erected toward the head, with its base occupying part of the sarcophagus, so as to provide a twofold grace, Attempting the sepulchre of S. Epiphanius, namely beauty and protection. When these things, therefore, were as far as possible accomplished, with some saying they should more wisely yield to time and labor, the aforesaid brother of ours was the first to gird himself for the task, and exhorted the others: and thus by the grace of God, emboldened by courage, they very easily cut away the wall in part and most wonderfully removed the marble of immense weight by the hands of very few, and clearing the holy place, they at last found the sepulchre. But as they strove to open it, He is miraculously aided; a very great difficulty arose concerning the column, which, although placed beneath as I said at the base, so possessed the sarcophagus that every effort and ingenuity was eluded in opening it. When all were already despairing, with action and counsel long suspended, a clear miracle of divine piety shone forth. For suddenly the column that occupied part of the tomb broke, to the astonishment of those present, while the other part firmly supported the altar unharmed; And a sweet odor also breathed forth; and by its very impetus, rolling further from the circumference of the sepulchre, it provided them both the means and the speed to complete the work they had begun. Then, with matters proceeding as desired, no part of the work was frustrated, and when the sarcophagus was opened without force, such a fragrance overflowed that it surpassed spices equally in likeness and in sweetness.

[7] God being praised in common, the oft-mentioned brother, rising from the earth and prostrating himself two or three times before the tomb, with faith and the utmost devotion collecting the heavenly treasure, He brings the body to Otwin; the latter sends it to Germany, the most precious body of the holy Father Epiphanius entire, wrapping it in a pure linen cloth prepared for this purpose, he brought the desirable gift to our venerable Bishop Otwin, who was already very anxious at his absence, and who, lying in bed to deceive others, kept vigil awaiting him about the third watch. He placed it, still wrapped as it was, upon the altar with the greatest devotion in the chapel of S. Michael, beside which he was staying; then, prostrating himself, he offered thanks to the Lord with prolonged melodies of hymns and great compunction of spirit, and rising, having most reverently deposited it in a chest provided for the purpose and most carefully sealed it with the impression of his ring, he sent it ahead to the Island of Reichenau, where he himself had once been monastically raised and had lived as a regular, to be kept by the Abbot who then presided over the monastery.

[8] When, however, an inquiry was made about this afterwards, with the Emperor gravely disturbed about it, and with the clergy and people unanimously crying out that the guardian of the city and defender of the homeland had been taken away (for after S. Syrus, whose merits especially flourish in that place, they relied on the patronage of this Saint), the clerics of all the bishops were ordered to be examined. But when this terror was divinely calmed, as I believe, with the peace of all, the devout Father Otwin, anxious about the care of the flock committed to him, which he had left for nearly two years, detained, though unwillingly, by service at court, arranged to revisit his Church; and having received Imperial leave, while speaking more intimately with the Emperor, the Bishop confessed the secret about the relics of S. Epiphanius as a pledge of faith, and thus relying on his authority, hastening toward the Alps, having crossed them safely, he ascended to the Island of Reichenau; He himself also follows. and staying there for a while, he imparted obedience to the brothers no less than he had been accustomed to as a young man; and having received a blessing, and enriched with his supreme Patron, with monks conducting the relics, he set out, and with the journey proceeding favorably, after several days had passed, he brought the uncorrupted treasure -- the relics of the most holy Father Epiphanius and of very many others -- to our Church.

[9] How great was the joy of the people then, how great the exultation of the mothers, or how great the devotion of the clerics hastening to meet so great a Father -- who can unfold? Who there could refrain from tears for joy, He transfers it to Hildesheim. when the glory of Italy shone upon our homeland; when a new star illuminated our countrymen? Now the body of the same blessed Father was removed by our brother on the tenth before the Kalends of December, and brought to us, with the grace of God accompanying, by our Lord Otwin, Bishop of holy memory, on the eighth before the Kalends of March, and placed in the church amid a very great gathering of the people and the rejoicing of the entire clergy.

CHAPTER III.

Miracles performed at the relics.

[10] I think that this too should be inserted with diligent devotion: how at the very beginning of the sacrosanct entry, the virtue of so great a Father shone forth with signs. For on the day when the holy relics were being brought to our Church, a great throng of both sexes came running in the road to attend upon so great a Father; among whom a certain man, wasting from a long affliction of gout, followed with slow step, and with his sinews already failing, he moved more by his staff than by his natural gait. When the relics were drawing near, At the relics of the Saint, gout is driven away, since each one was striving to outrun the other by running, as is customary on such occasions, he was suddenly left behind by all who had been his companions, and leaning on his staff with such effort as he could, forgetful, so to speak, of his pain, he pursued his companions from behind, lest he be crushed by the crowd, imploring constantly the merits of the holy Father, which were by no means hidden from the rustic; when behold, the gouty humor was gently restrained, the failing arteries were solidified, the soles of his feet were gradually formed for running. Yet although he came to beg salvation by faith, he did not believe this would readily be confirmed to him; but supporting himself more cautiously, while he strained with all his body more vigorously, the staff broke, and he was dashed to the ground with his full weight. Striving therefore to rise on his arms, while he tried the aid of his feet and carefully felt them, he found them endowed with perfect health, they that had before been hardened with swelling; and leaping forth, he followed along accompanying the holy relics. And since he was staying at the village of Upstedt, which was the house inhabited by Macco, the Advocate of our Church, he was recognized by him, whose regular attendance I also often enjoyed, and when he recounted to him the course of his cure, praising God for so manifest a miracle, he explained these matters to our venerable Bishop Otwin as a witness of both the infirmity and the health, and urged him to reveal and publicly proclaim this wondrous and manifest work.

[11] Nor do I think that other memorable and meritorious mark of his should be passed over, which the Lord deigned to work most wonderfully in Vulferius, a Deacon of our Church, to declare the merits of so distinguished a Father and at the same time to raise the hope of the entire congregation through his patronage; of whose healing there exist as many witnesses as there survive brothers who knew him in the monastery at that time. For he was suffering grievously from a violent pain in the kidneys, and could not be cured even by the skill of physicians, although many came to help and administered many remedies. And now the continual affliction, having progressed to an increase, began to grow more fiercely And kidney pains. and to increase more violently day by day; he could scarcely walk, leaning on a staff: sometimes too he moved on his hands by crawling, for otherwise he could not. But behold, on the vigil of this holy Father, when the canonical psalmody of the first hour of the day had been completed and the brothers were hastening to the collation, with the doors of the church still locked according to the rule of monastic life, that venerable man, having seized this time to offer himself more attentively and freely to so great a patron with tears and supplications -- knowing that no other time during the day would be suitable because of the people frequenting the feast -- driven by a heavy sigh, difficult breathing, and pain more severe than ever before, leaning on his staff, scarcely more than can be expressed, climbed up through the steps by crawling on his arms and hands; for the pain had now more fiercely invaded his knees and shins, running through his veins and sinews; and coming before the most holy body, he cast himself to the ground with much labor and immense torment of pain, and lingering very long in prayer, he poured out his whole self to the Lord with great contrition of heart: therefore, drenched more abundantly by a shower of tears, leaning on his arms, he gradually prepared to rise, then gently and very cautiously tried the familiar aid of his little staff; and being at last raised upright without pain, he marveled, was astonished, and yet, although he desired health, did not dare to believe; he applied his hand, felt the place where the pain had been most severe; and sensing no sign of pain, he prostrated himself on the pavement, gave thanks to God and to his patron father, and rising firmly, seeing the venerable Brother Wirindagus the Priest, he raised the staff -- the sign of his health -- by which he had previously been supported, and descended strongly, he who before had ascended by crawling. The brother, therefore, astonished by the sudden recovery, came to meet him as he descended, and recognizing the author of so great a miracle, praised him; and because on that day the brothers were engaged in the business of bathing, he hastened to the bath to meet them, to whom he fully explained the course of his recovery.

[12] How greatly from the very sacrosanct entry of the relics, the marks of his merits shone forth with daily increases of virtues, deeds speak more clearly than words. For how often have we calmed the intemperance of the weather or the filth of a pestilence that had arisen, A pestilence calmed, a tempest stilled: rain obtained. by carrying his relics in procession around our city? Often too, when continual drought was scorching the fields, we have, by carrying them about, as it were commanded the rains to fall. For who has ever prostrated himself at the bier of this Saint and, although broken by affliction, has not soon perceived his near assistance when rising in spirit during prayer? But these things perhaps seem superfluous to some; yet they are clear indications of his merits and firm consolations for posterity. These things only, concerning the benefits divinely bestowed upon us through the blessed and magnificent Bishop Epiphanius, have I briefly touched upon in proportion to the mediocrity of my talent; a bold undertaking and unequal to my powers, which I have submitted under the twofold obligation of devotion and due gratitude, so that I might most devoutly supply to the diligence of the brothers in the following age the works of God, which as it is written it is honorable to reveal and confess, for their devoted reading; and that for our own time, I might by my effort wipe away the mark of negligence and laziness in failing to transmit by pen to posterity such excellent deeds of God. Tobit 12:7.

ON S. AVITUS II, BISHOP OF CLERMONT IN GAUL.

TOWARD THE END OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY.

Avitus II, Bishop of Clermont in Gaul (S.)

From various sources.

[1] Johannes Savaro attests that the feast day of S. Avitus, the second bishop of that city by that name, is celebrated on this day among the Arvernians. Concerning whom the most ancient manuscript Martyrology, which we commonly cite under the name of S. Jerome, copied from the autograph of S. Willibrord Clement by the monk Lawrence of Echternach: The feast of S. Avitus, At Clermont, the deposition of Bishop Avitus. We have found scarcely any other more recent entry in that Martyrology: and Avitus was nearly a contemporary of S. Willibrord, so that it must be the case that he was most famous for the reputation of sanctity, since his name was inscribed in the register of Saints soon after his death. Unless perhaps S. Avitus I, who is now venerated on 20 September, was formerly observed on this day. The Irish manuscript of the convent of Dungal, likewise most ancient: Of Bishop Avitus. The Carthusians of Cologne in their additions to Usuard: At Clermont, of Bishop Avitus. A more extended eulogy is given by Andreas Saussaius.

[2] S. Avitus was the successor of S. Praeiectus, whose life we shall give on 25 January; the brother and predecessor of S. Bonitus, whose life, written by a contemporary author, is found on 15 January; from which we learn His family. that he was sprung from a distinguished family of the city of Clermont: his father was called Theodatus, and his mother Syagria, from a noble lineage of the Roman Senate. Avitus Augustus, the father-in-law of Sidonius Apollinaris, who assumed the empire on the 6th before the Ides of July in the year of Christ 455, was also born at Clermont. Whether our Avitus drew from him not only his name but also his descent, we do not conjecture.

[3] He was indeed, as is recorded in the same life of S. Bonitus, a man learned in secular studies, His learning, excelling in sacred letters and in all divine offices; and for about fifteen years and more he governed with great alacrity the Church of Clermont committed to him. Savaro assigns him only ten years in the see, less three months. Duration of his see, But Savaro contradicts himself, when he writes that S. Praeiectus was killed in the year 670 (which he makes the fourth year of Pope Adeodatus, the 5th of Emperor Pogonatus, and the first of Childeric, King of the Franks; none of which agree, since 670 AD was the 14th year of Pope Vitalian, the 3rd of King Theodoric, and the 2nd of Constantine Pogonatus); in the year 670, therefore, Savaro writes that S. Praeiectus was killed and S. Avitus was appointed; and that S. Bonitus succeeded Avitus in the year 685, the first year of Pope John and of Justinian the Younger, and the 17th of King Theodoric. It is certain that S. Praeiectus was killed while Childeric was alive, and that Childeric died in 667. Bonitus was substituted for Avitus at the time when, under Prince Theodoric, Pippin, holding the primacy of the kingdom and managing the care of the palace, disposed all governance at his own discretion. Pippin obtained this dignity among the Austrasians after the removal of Wulfoad in the year 687, and in 691 he obtained the mastery of the entire kingdom. Whence it follows either that Avitus was not created immediately upon the murder of S. Praeiectus, but that the see was vacant for some time, especially since the affairs of the kingdom were disturbed by the murder of Childeric as well; or that he held the see for more than fifteen years, reaching at least the year of Christ 688, the 21st of Theodoric.

[4] The same Bishop Avitus, moreover, as is narrated in the life of S. Praeiectus, was eager to establish a monastery at the place where the Saints (Praeiectus, Amarinus, Elidius) had been killed, His buildings, to erect a basilica, and he appointed one of the relatives of S. Praeiectus, Godo by name, as Abbot. Savaro writes that besides these, other martyria of Saints were built by him; and that he transferred the relics of S. Austremonius, the first Bishop of Clermont, to that monastery of Volvic, over which he had placed Godo, And other works, after the town of Issoire was destroyed; concerning which matter we shall speak in the life of S. Austremonius on 1 November.

[5] At length, Avitus was seized by illness and brought to extremity: A successor designated, and perceiving that the day of his departure was imminent, inspired by the divine Spirit and having taken counsel, with the Church concurring, he judges the man of God Bonitus to be his successor and a most worthy Priest of his see... And when the aforesaid man of God, his brother, had sent a report for obtaining royal authority, etc. S. Bonitus was substituted for him, as is said in his life, who afterwards, judging that this election was not sufficiently in accordance with the sacred laws and the discipline sanctioned by the Fathers, abdicated the episcopate: although it is certain that, whether because he was ignorant of those laws or rather because he acted under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, Avitus committed no offense in that designation of a successor.

[6] His burial, S. Avitus was buried in the church of S. Venerandus, as Savaro reports from book 1, On the Saints and Churches of Clermont, number 10; and afterwards his relics were translated to the neighboring church of S. Illidius. A commemoration of him is made in the Breviary and Missal of Clermont on this day, His translation. on the testimony of the same Savaro.

ON S. MEINRAD, OR MEGINRAD, HERMIT AND MARTYR IN SWITZERLAND.

Year 863.

Meinrad, Hermit and Martyr in Germany (S.)

From various sources.

[1] The Hermitage of the Mother of God, commonly called Einsiedeln, is a most celebrated monastery among the Swiss, between the lakes of Zurich and Lucerne, in the Black, or Dark, Forest; first consecrated by the anchoritic habitation and then by the martyrdom of S. Meinrad, Einsiedeln, the monastery of S. Meinrad, afterwards adorned with a distinguished church and ample buildings, but especially ennobled by heavenly prodigies: so that Christopher Hartmann, a monk there, who published its annals compiled with singular care, freely declares in his prologue to Abbot Augustine: For either the love of the work I have undertaken and my profession lead me astray, or there is no other place anywhere in the Christian world either more religious by the presence of the Queen of Heaven, Celebrated or more illustrious by the nobility and succession of its bishops, or more honored by the privileges and benefits of Popes, Emperors, Kings, and Princes, or finally more frequented by the pilgrimages of almost all nations, and more distinguished by miracles. So much so that the supreme architect of all things seems in other places to have accepted and approved the sacred buildings established by others; And devout. but this one, as a perpetual monument of His love and honor toward His Mother, and at the same time a refuge and consolation for the human race, He seems to have placed as it were with His own hand, to have cherished and enriched with stupendous signs and unusual growth, and to have willed it to be celebrated by the worship, religion, and gathering of almost all provinces and peoples. Carolus Stengelius has described the same from Hartmann in his Monasteriologia. Martin Crusius, Gaspar Bruschius, and Sebastian Munster also proclaim its fame, although they are adversaries of monastic devotion. But concerning the dedication of the church, or at least the chapel of the Mother of God, divinely performed by Christ Himself, and concerning the monastery itself, more must be said in the life of B. Benno, or Benedict, the first restorer of the Cell of S. Meinrad, on 3 August; of B. Eberhard, the first Abbot, on 14 August; of S. Conrad, Bishop of Constance, on 26 November; and of S. Ulric, Bishop of Augsburg, on 4 July.

[2] The memory of S. Meinrad is recorded in the Roman Martyrology on 21 January in these words: The feast of S. Meinrad, In Gaul, in the monastery of Reichenau, S. Meinrad the Hermit, slain by robbers. He is also recorded on this day by others, Menardus, Dorganius, Wion, the Carthusians of Cologne, and Molanus in their additions to Usuard, Canisius, Galesinius, Felicius, and Saussaius. He is variously called Meinradus, Meynradus, Meginradus; by some Meinardus; Meinrardus by Galesinius; by Saussaius Meinhardus. In the manuscript Calendar of Saints of the Order of S. Benedict he is inscribed on 20 January. In the year 1599 the name of S. Meinrad was inserted in the new Breviary of the Church of Constance, with the office decreed as is customary for Martyrs, with the double rite; but on 23 January, on account of the feast of S. Agnes, which is observed on the 21st. Hugo Menardus makes two persons of Meinrad and Megimad, and of the former indeed on 21 January: In the monastery of Reichenau, S. Meinrad the Hermit, who in the hermitage adjacent to the lake of Zurich was slain by certain robbers on the 12th before the Kalends of February; after death he was illustrious for his virtues, and was buried at Reichenau: from whom up to this day the Hermitage itself, cultivated by holy and religious men, has grown into a noble monastery. In the earlier edition only this is found: Meginrad the Hermit is martyred; which Marianus Scotus also has at the same year. The Excerpt of the Austrian Chronicle by Matthaeus Mareschalcus of Pappenheim, at the year 860: Maginhardus the hermit is martyred. Sigebert of Gembloux has the same at the year 856. Francis Guillimann also treats of him in his book on the Bishops of Strasbourg, and very many more recent writers.

[3] The dedication of his oratory. The same Menardus better records on 14 September: At the lake of Zurich in Germany, the dedication of the oratory of S. Meginrad the Martyr. Different from him is Meginhardus, or Meginherus, Abbot of Hersfeld, whom the same Menardus records on 26 September and also calls Meginradus. But the Translation of our Anchorite and Martyr is celebrated on 6 October, as we shall say below.

[4] His Life; The life of S. Meinrad was published from the most ancient parchments of the monastery of Einsiedeln, or the Hermitage, by Christopher Hartmann; which Surius had published before, but differing somewhat in wording, perhaps slightly polished. The same Hartmann considers the author of that life to be Berno, yet does not explain who this Berno was. Perhaps he meant to write Benno, the second inhabitant of the Hermitage; which is made probable from the fact that no mention of Benno, or of the building begun there, is made in it, so that it seems to have been written at least not after Benno's time. The same life was written and published in the German language in the year of Christ 1603, together with the origins of the monastery, which Hartmann afterwards pursued more fully. We received this life and other materials concerning S. Meinrad from Constance, from Daniel Feldner, a priest of our Society, a man especially learned and humane.

[5] Very many others also mention S. Meinrad: Hermann the Lame, a member of the same monastery of Reichenau of which S. Meinrad himself was a pupil, in the Urstisius edition, at the year 861: Meginrad, a monk of Reichenau, Other writings about him: and the first inhabitant of the hermitage adjacent to the lake of Zurich, was slain there by certain robbers on the 12th before the Kalends of February, and after death was illustrious for his virtues, and was buried at Reichenau: from whom to this day the Hermitage itself, cultivated by holy and religious men, has grown into a noble monastery. In the earlier edition only this is found: Meginrad the Hermit is martyred; which Marianus Scotus also records at the same year. The Excerpt of the Austrian Chronicle by Matthaeus Mareschalcus of Pappenheim, at the year 860: Maginhardus the hermit is martyred. Sigebert of Gembloux has the same at the year 856. Francis Guillimann also treats of him in his book on the Bishops of Strasbourg, and very many more recent writers.

[6] Concerning the time of his death, Hartmann discusses thus: In the year eight hundred and sixty-three, nearly all the records of the Hermitage report that Meginrad was put to death. Time of death, Others record it variously: for Sigebert reports it happened in the year 856, Trithemius, Surius, and Baronius in 860. Hermann the Lame in the year eight hundred and sixty-one. Conrad of Lichtenau, Abbot of Ursperg, in the year 862. Nearly all our records, I say, affirm he was killed in the year eight hundred and sixty-three, on the 12th before the Kalends of February, in the 6th year of Pope Nicholas the Great, the 8th of Emperor Louis II, the 32nd of Solomon I, Bishop of Constance, and the 6th of Walther, Abbot of Reichenau. And rightly: for since the writer of his life records that he lived 26 years in the Hermitage of the Dark Forest, and Hermann the Lame notes the year eight hundred and thirty-eight as the one in which he passed into it, the reckoning of 26 years from that date will produce the year sixty-three. We do not find this at the year 838 in the copies of Hermann the Lame that we possess.

[7] Concerning the relics of S. Meginrad and the solemn honors which are accorded to the Saints and which were decreed for him by the Supreme Pontiff Benedict IX, the same Hartmann writes thus under Embricus, the sixth Abbot: Now when our temple was completed, with never-ceasing care and expense, and those things that seemed necessary for use had been arranged, Embricus invited and summoned Bishop Eberhard (of Constance) with Hartmann of Chur and many other most distinguished men of both orders for the consecration. Eberhard with great solemnity and congratulation dedicated that temple, as it had been before, to the Virgin Mother of God, S. Maurice, and the most sacred Theban Legion, on the 3rd before the Ides of October. The veneration of the place and the common joy were increased by the sacred relics of the body of S. Meginrad, Martyr and first guardian of the Hermitage, returned by the monks of Reichenau a little before, namely on the day before the Nones of the same month, with great pomp; whom, already celebrated by many miracles, His canonization; at the same time Pope Benedict had enrolled in the number of the Saints and judged worthy of altars and temples for his illustrious merits, in the one hundred and seventy-eighth year after he had fallen. And from the restoration of their patron, Translated to the Hermitage increased honor, fame, and attendance came to the Hermitage. I find in our records that the monks of Reichenau, afflicted and worn down by many and continual disasters, were long uncertain what the remedy of their ills could be. Finally the plan of returning the body of S. Meginrad, which they had obstinately refused until then, occurred to them. From that point an end to disasters and calamities followed; and the monastery, as before, so henceforth began to flourish. The relics of S. Meginrad were deposited at the altar of S. Maurice. So he writes.

[8] Not all the relics of the holy Martyr, however, were carried back to the Hermitage. For besides those which we shall say below were deposited on Mount Etzel, the monks of Reichenau assert that some still remain with them. And the author of the German Life of the Saint confesses: The head and other relics In the year 1039, he says, when the relics of S. Meinrad had been elevated at the monastery of Reichenau, his head and the principal parts of his body were carried with great honor to the Hermitage; where they are still preserved and shine with great miracles. This occurred on 6 October. And on the same day the German Martyrology records: Likewise the Elevation of the holy Hermit and Martyr Meinrad, 6 October 1039. when his head and relics were carried from Reichenau to the Hermitage, where they are still held in great veneration. His feast is observed on 21 January. The year 1039 is written in the margin.

LIFE BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR,

published from ancient manuscripts by Christopher Hartmann.

Meinrad, Hermit and Martyr in Germany (S.)

BHL Number: 5878

By an anonymous author, from Christopher Hartmann.

CHAPTER I.

S. Meinrad's education, monastic life, and love of solitude.

[1] Being about to relate the passion and death of the venerable man Meginrad, hermit and martyr, I may be permitted briefly to turn my pen back a little, and to touch briefly upon the time when he was taught, where, and whence, to whom he was first entrusted for learning letters, under what Abbot he undertook the monastic life to be observed, and how also from the fraternal battle line he entered the solitary combat of the desert. I shall therefore return to resolve more fully each of the things I have proposed.

[2] In the time of Charles, most glorious Emperor of the Franks, who was the first among them to receive the name of Caesar, S. Meinrad born of noble stock, the aforesaid man was born in Alemannia, in the district which antiquity called Sulichgeuwe, from its chief village. His parents were Alemannians, more conspicuous for the nobility of their character than for perishable riches. When he had reached the age at which he could be suited to the pursuit of letters, he was led by his father to the island which the ancients called Sindlochesaugia, from the name of a certain priest Educated at Reichenau who was called Sindloch, who first built habitations for monks upon it and brought Pirminius with his companions to dwell there, by the command of Berchtold, most noble Duke of the Alemannians, in the time of Pippin, King of the Franks, and gave the island a name from his own. Here therefore the aforesaid boy, led by his father, was entrusted to the monk Erlebald, a man most honorable in every way, By Erlebald: who was also related by carnal descent to the aforesaid little boy. When he perceived the child to be of good disposition, he gladly undertook to nourish him, diligently taught him, and so advanced him by instruction that he instilled in him the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. For the boy from his earliest age avoided the jests and errors in which the tender age is usually entangled; and he occupied his mind with receiving those things that his Master had taught.

[3] When he reached the twenty-fifth year of his age, through the agency of his same master, he was raised to the office of the diaconate, and not long after to the rank of the priesthood, He becomes a Deacon, then a Priest, In that same island at that time, when Emperor Louis, the son of Charles, was reigning, there was an Abbot named Hatto, a man greatly shining in learning and good works and nobility of character, who was also the Bishop of the Church of Basel. When he, spurning the affairs of the active life, transferred himself to the beauty of the contemplative life, the aforesaid Erlebald, elected by all with the permission of Emperor Louis, was placed over the aforesaid island and brothers and substituted in the office of Abbot. Who, immediately upon receiving this authority, Then a monk, persuaded the already oft-mentioned venerable man Meginrad to take up the yoke and submit to the rule of monastic life to be observed. He consented therefore to the salutary counsel and made his profession, Most devoutly religious: and with all intentness he strove to keep what he had promised, always prompt to obey, strict in fasting, assiduous in prayer, generous in works of mercy, and most of all prostrate before all in humility.

[4] While he was flourishing in these virtues, he was assigned by the aforesaid Abbot to a certain cell, He is placed in charge of a school: belonging to the aforesaid monastery, situated near the lake of Zurich, which the river Linth flows through, so that he might preside over a school there and disperse among many the talent with which he himself was enriched, for the Lord's profit. Some time had passed while he was occupied with these duties: one day he took with him the scholars he had nourished, and crossing the aforesaid lake, he entered the wilderness that lies adjacent to the shore of the lake and extends to the Pennine Alps, and to the village of Cham, for the purpose of fishing and viewing the places of the wilderness. They came therefore to a certain river that runs through that solitude: and there the blessed man occupied his companions with fishing; He surveys the wilderness: but he himself walked alone in contemplation of the solitude: for he was exceedingly inflamed with love of a solitary dwelling. While he long nourished his mind with this contemplation, he returned to his companions and found them laden with no small catch of fish, whom he addressed thus: Thanks be to the Giver, who has mercifully enriched us with His gifts. Now, my sons, if it pleases you, we must return to visit our own hearths. They return and arrive at a village situated not far from the shore.

[5] He reveals his desire to dwell there to a pious matron, There, entering the lodging of a certain matron, they rested a little, refreshing themselves with food and drink. But the man of God, perceiving the aforesaid matron to be full of the fear of God and most ready to serve her guests, opened to her the hidden ardor of his heart, beginning with these words: Dear woman of Christ, if you would hear, I would make known to you the secret of my heart: but before I do so, I ask that you conceal my words and my desire, until you see whether what I believe I have conceived with a devout mind can be accomplished in deed. I delight in dwelling in this wilderness beyond all riches, and I would wish now to set up my little dwelling in it, so that I might more intimately devote myself to prayers, if I could find someone Who pledges what is necessary for sustenance: who would be willing to minister the necessities of the body to me for the love of God. But because I am still deprived of this consolation, I ask that in the meantime what I desire be kept hidden. She, inspired by God (as I believe), answered: I shall reveal your secret to no one, unless you will it: but know that if you wish to persist in your undertaking, I shall minister what is necessary for the Lord's sake, and shall satisfy your wish as much as I can.

[6] He, giving thanks for the promises, returned to the cell from which he had departed, and there by continuous fasts and prayers he asked God to deign to confirm in his heart whatever pleased Him concerning this matter. At length, strengthened by divine inspiration, he left the cell and the school over which he presided, He dwells on Mount Etzel, and revisited his hostess, wishing to find out whether she wished to persist in her promise or not. When he perceived that she had persevered in providing the promised consolation to him, not far from that village in which the same woman lived, he built for himself a dwelling in the wilderness: and there, tireless in fasts and prayers, he served his Creator, with the aforesaid matron providing him with necessities, as well as other religious men.

p Hartmann and the German Life add that he obtained the grace and permission of Abbot Erlebald for this purpose. Hartmann says this retirement occurred about the year of Christ 832.

q The pious widow also caused a modest cell to be built for his use, and beside it a chapel, which still preserves the name of the Chapel of S. Meginrad on Mount Etzel. Hermann and the German Life.

CHAPTER II.

Solitary life in the Black Forest.

[7] Weary of crowds, he withdraws into the Black Forest: While he had spent seven years there waging the warfare of the Heavenly King, unable to bear the multitude of people coming to him, he changed his place, and found a plain four miles distant from the shore of the aforesaid lake, amid mountains of very difficult access. There, with the help of religious men and especially a certain Abbess named Heilwig, he constructed the habitations necessary for his purpose, and remained in that place for the rest of his life, wearing himself down with the greatest fasts, and praying without ceasing, as far as human frailty permitted. Whatever was sent to him by faithful men and women, he distributed as alms to all who came to him.

[8] It happened, moreover, amid these things that on a certain day, while he was praying, so great a multitude of demons was poured around him on every side that he could not even discern the light of day, since those ministers of darkness were darkening it. He is harassed by demons; While they wearied him with terrible threats and excessive horror, prostrate in prayer, as the matter demanded, he commended himself with all zeal to his merciful Lord. When this had gone on for a long time, he perceived a light from the East; which light an Angel followed, and reaching him where he lay in prayer in the midst of the malign spirits, he commanded the wicked host with great authority to depart, When they are driven out, he is refreshed by an Angel: and to dare no longer to inflict any temptation or terror upon him. When the enemies had departed, the aforesaid Angel consoled him in a friendly manner and departed: and from that day (as the venerable man used to relate) he sustained no further terror from the malign spirits.

[9] It happened also afterwards that a certain brother from the aforesaid monastery visited him out of kindness. Receiving him benignly, together with the companions who had come with him, he generously provided all things befitting guests, as far as possibility allowed. When evening had come and the shining stars invited sleep, they refreshed themselves with sweet conversations of the conferences, and after Compline went to sleep, Hospitable, the brother who had come in a separate place, his companions also apart; and the venerable man himself in his own little cell. Resting his little body a short while with sleep, the man of God rose, and watchful, applied himself to his accustomed prayers. The aforesaid brother, too, although he was resting in his bed, passed the night nearly sleepless. With an Angel attending, he prays at night. While he turned his eyes curiously this way and that, he saw a boy in white garments proceeding from the very place of the oratory, of wondrous beauty, apparently about seven years of age, who entered the presence of the man of God himself, and prayed with him as he prayed, and spoke various things with him. Although the aforesaid brother heard the voice of this conversation, he did not perceive the meaning of the voice. This boy also stood before the brother, who was fully awake, and admonished him about certain things which the brother said were entirely forbidden to him to bring forth publicly. I suppress many things, striving for brevity, which the certain account of many people demonstrates to be wonderful about him.

CHAPTER III.

The murder of S. Meinrad.

[10] When, therefore, he was spending his twenty-sixth year in that same wilderness, serving the Lord in fasting and abstinence from all worldly things, Two robbers conspire to murder him: it happened, at the instigation of him who entered the serpent and through its mouth deceived the first parents and expelled them from paradise, that two men hastened to his cell for the purpose of killing him. When they had come to a certain village situated on the shore of the lake of Zurich, they asked to be shown which passable route led to his cell. When it was shown to them, rising early by night, they undertook the route indicated to them, driven by the most foul spirit who had filled them. For a long time, however, they wandered from the right path leading to the cell itself, and at last, vexed by a demon, they arrived where they wished, They wander through the forest: with the greater part of the day already elapsed.

[11] He himself, applying himself to his accustomed prayers, was devoutly offering the solemn rites of Mass to his Creator. But before the wicked men had entered the cell itself (one of whom was called Richard, They are struck by a marvelous omen. and was Alemannian by race; the other was Peter, who was born of the Rhaetian nation), the chickens, which the venerable man had nourished in the same place, seeing them approach, fled through the wilderness as if being pursued by a fox, with unusual clamor and unheard-of commotion, filling the forest with resounding echo, so that even the robbers themselves were greatly amazed and astonished at this, and determined by the judgment of their own minds that this pertained to a prodigy.

[12] Yet not diverted from their undertaking, they approached the chapel in which the man of God, as has been said, S. Meinrad piously prepares himself for death: was appeasing the Lord with outpoured prayers, and had received the Lord's body as viaticum for his death, with a pure heart and devout mind, as if foreknowing the future. And now the man of God, when he sensed that his murderers were present, did not immediately present himself to them; but delaying a little while, he did not open the closed door of the chapel, so that he might linger a little longer in prayer. He therefore strenuously completed his prayer, and taking up in his hand and kissing each individual casket of relics, he commended his struggle to the Lord and to the Saints whose relics he reverently embraced. The wicked men who had come were watching him do this through a certain opening in the wall. And now the strong athlete, strengthened by God, about to fight, went forth and did not deny his presence to his slayers. He kindly receives the robbers, And first, speaking words of greeting to them, he then added: O companions, why have you come so late? Why did you not hasten to come to hear my humble Mass, so that I might entreat the common Lord on your behalf? But even now enter, and ask the Lord to be merciful to us, and His Saints, and afterwards return to me, so that whatever blessing I am able to offer you by God's gift, I may impart for His love, and so complete the work for which you have come. Entering the oratory, therefore, not intent on what they were advised, but on the evil that they had come to perpetrate, they immediately returned to him. To them the man of God gave his tunic and cowl, and added bread and drink as well, saying: Receive these things from my hands, and after you have completed what you have come to do, you may take for yourselves from what is here whatever you desire. For I know that you have entered to kill me, but I ask one favor of you: when you have ended the course of this present life in me, place the candles that you see, which I have also fashioned for this very purpose, one burning at my head He counsels them wisely: and the other at my feet, and depart quickly afterwards from this place, lest you be seized by those who usually come to visit me, and suffer punishment for your crime.

[13] Immediately therefore the aforesaid Richard seized the blessed man in the middle with his polluted hands and tightly gripped his little body, wasted by fasts, in his arms, and threateningly ordered his companion to strike the Saint with a club. He is killed by them, When he had long weakened him by striking him on the side and shins, while the Saint extended his hands to the Lord, the other said: O sluggard, why do you not strike him on the head so that he may receive a mortal blow? If you delay to inflict it, I shall do so most swiftly. And immediately, seizing the club, he aimed a most violent blow at his head. The holy man, thus wounded, fell half-dead to the earth; and they, immediately rushing upon him, strangled his throat with their hands until he had breathed forth his spirit. A sweet fragrance divinely diffused. As the soul was departing, in the very moment of the final breath, a fragrance of such sweetness poured forth and filled the entire space of the cell, as if the scents of all spices had been diffused and were fragrant there.

CHAPTER IV.

The punishment inflicted on the murderers.

[14] Afterwards they stripped him of the garment with which he was clothed, and carrying him, they placed him on the bed on which the man of God was accustomed to rest. Under his naked body they placed a piece of felt; placing also some fragments beneath, and, as the living man of God had asked, they took the candles, placing one at his head; and ran with the other to the chapel to bring thence a light which burned perpetually in that same oratory. A candle divinely lit, But returning to the little body of the deceased, they found the candle they had placed burning brightly, though it had been extinguished. So great a terror immediately invaded them that they dared not touch anything belonging to the appointments of the altar. The terrified murderers flee, Taking the garments and some bedding from his bed, they hastily retraced their steps to whence they had come.

[15] As they fled from there, the ravens, which had been accustomed in their usual manner to come to the servant of God while alive and to receive their food from his hands, With the ravens, the Saint's pets, pursuing them, as if desiring to avenge the dead man, followed the robbers, and with booming voices filled the forests, and flying as close as they could to their heads, they betrayed the crime perpetrated. Not long after, the wicked men were apprehended, They are punished. and the crime that they had perpetrated in secret was made known, since God did not wish the punishment of the sin to be deferred, which they had earned by the killing of His servant. For with the judges and the Christian people decreeing this under Count Adalbert, they were burned alive.

[16] The candle which they had placed at the head of the man of God, and which was lit from heaven, burned down to the bedding that had been placed over the deceased little body. S. Meinrad becomes illustrious for miracles: The fire also invaded part of them and reached the limbs of the deceased. But when it had touched them, just as it had been divinely lit, so also by God's will it was extinguished. Immediately thereafter the news of his death was spread abroad. When this was learned, the venerable Abbot Walther and the brothers dwelling under him, He is carried back to Reichenau. taking the body of the man of God from that wilderness and carrying it to the monastery of Reichenau, buried it there with due honor. The holy Martyr suffered on the twelfth before the Kalends of February, in the year from the Incarnation of the Lord eight hundred and sixty-three, when King Louis was reigning in East Francia, in the twenty-eighth year of his reign.

ON B. MACCALINUS, ABBOT IN BELGIUM.

Year 978.

Maccallinus, Abbot in Belgium (B.)

From various sources.

[1] The Monastery of S. Michael is in the Thierache, or, as it is called in the life of S. Ursmar, Theoracia, a province of Belgian Gaul, on the river Aisne, above the celebrated village of Hirson, under the rule of the King of the Franks, situated at the farthest borders of Hainaut: over which B. Maccallinus presided in the tenth Christian century. It was founded by Eilbert, a most noble Count, the elder brother of Count Gerard of Aalst and of Count Heribert of Saint-Quentin, by whom Charles the Simple, King of Gaul, is recorded to have been held captive at Peronne about the year 927. The history of the foundation of Waulsort, written in the year of Christ 1249, which we shall give on 30 April with the Life of S. Forannan, reports the following about this: Struck therefore by such and so great events, The Monastery of S. Michael in Thierache, the venerable Count began to fear the misfortune of various accidents of body and soul, and remembering the enormity of his former conduct and the past actions of ancient defilements, he began by long meditation to meditate what he had done, and to confess himself guilty with a tearful voice and on account of past crimes. And while he mourned the loss of his son with the constant anxiety of grief, he supplicated turned the action of his intention to the Lord, and in the pursuit of this good will, from his own proprietary right, together with his most distinguished wife Herinsinde, Built by Count Eilbert, he founded a basilica in Thierache in honor of the Archangel Michael: and having gathered brothers at that place fighting for God under the rule of B. Benedict, setting an Abbot over them, he established no small provision for the daily necessities of food, and placed that site under the authority and governance of the Bishop of Laon. His venerable wife Herinsinde, subjecting herself to those serving Christ there, began by the grace of piety to frequent it, and diligently endeavored to provide the necessary things according to the sublimity of her probity. And because she desired a small dwelling for her own body to be made for her there, she implored the aforesaid Count by long and frequent entreaty to have a monastery of religious women built not far from the same place; And another of nuns: so that he who had raised the summit of a sacred building for the chief Provost of Heaven and leader of souls, namely S. Michael, should by his own effort and labor compose a venerable temple for B. Peter, the bearer of the keys of Paradise, where the handmaids of Christ by the frequency of their prayers might expiate the offenses of their past crimes. Compelled therefore by her entreaty and by the veneration of B. Peter, he laid foundations at a distance of two miles from the monastery recently built by him, at a place called Bocileis, and raising the structure, he completed the temple; in which a congregation of religious women was established by him, and everything that the rule of such orders requires. When many buildings had been constructed in order, he appointed an Abbess with the pastoral staff; and placed that site, like the former, under the governance of the Church of Laon.

[2] And below: At that time Countess Herinsinde, persisting in pious works His wife was buried there: and advancing daily in holy conduct, assiduously adhered to frequenting the said basilica of B. Michael the Archangel: in which not long after, having laid aside the flesh, she received her burial chamber. Before her death, however, Count Eilbert, as is narrated there, by his own effort had shortly before acquired for the basilica of S. Michael the Archangel the memorable body of B. Adalgisus the Confessor, The bodies of S. Adalgisus deposited there, and had placed it in it with immense devotion and magnificent honor. We shall give the life of S. Adalgisus on 2 June. The body also of S. Eloquius, which was granted to the Count by the venerable Rodoard, Bishop of Laon, was translated from that place with honorable worship and no mediocre devotion by the clergy from the episcopate together with the Bishop, the Count, the most distinguished Countess, and the people of the land; and they carried it, not without the assistance of great miracles, all the way to the basilica of B. Michael: And of S. Eloquius. in which it rested until the anniversary day of its deposition, which is celebrated on the 3rd before the Nones of December. But these things more fully in the life of S. Forannan, and of S. Eloquius on 3 December.

[3] Whether Maccallinus was then in charge of the monastery of S. Michael is not easy to determine; since it is not sufficiently established when S. Forannan first came from Ireland. There and at Waulsort, B. Maccallinus was Abbot, In the government of the monastery of Waulsort, B. Kadroe succeeded S. Forannan, of whom we shall treat on 6 March: after him came B. Maccallinus, or Maccalinus, as others write, Makalinus, Malcallinus, Malcallanus, Malacanus; which is an Irish, or Scottish, word, and seems to mean the son of Kilian, or Kalan, or Kalin. The same history of the Origins of Waulsort: There then arose from the same company of noble Counts (namely of S. Forannan) a man of praiseworthy life, named Malacanus, who by the assent of all, with the approval of the Bishop of Metz, was constituted Abbot in the Church of Waulsort, and there having been regularly enthroned, was blessed by the Bishop of Liege. And because by the testimony of his life he merited this, he also obtained the government of souls in the basilica of B. Michael at the same time, and the care of all things pertaining thereto, having obtained the name of Abbot with worthy veneration.

[4] He himself also, living in the conduct of good action, and watching eagerly over his charge, with an upright and sovereign spirit manfully governed the rule of justice: and lest the cunning enemy should cause loss to him from the sheep committed to him, A holy man: he commended the conduct of himself and of his subjects to the Lord. Exercising himself with such zeal, that divine fire was vehemently kindled in him by his meditation, of which the supreme Wisdom says: I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I wish but that it burn? Luke 12:49. Seized therefore in this ardor of faith, the course of his last declining day was closed; and in the year of the Lord's Incarnation nine hundred and ninety he passed from this world in the basilica of B. Michael, and was buried in the same by the brothers of that place, with a burial chamber honorably constructed, and with the utmost care.

[5] The Appendix to the Chronicle of Flodoard, published by Andre du Chesne in volume 2 of the Frankish writers, disagrees, and reports he died twelve years earlier: His death, In the year nine hundred and seventy-eight, it says, the man of the Lord Malcallanus, Irish by nation, on the vigil of S. Vincent the Levite and Martyr, left the transitory life that he held in abhorrence, and began to live happily with the living God, whom he ceaselessly served while he lived. The aforesaid Abbot, buried in body, rests in the church of B. Michael the Archangel, whose abbey, while he lived corporally in this world, he governed with pious moderation.

[6] In the Pithou edition he is called Malcallinus; and for vir Domini man of the Lord, forte Virduni perhaps at Verdun had been written in the margin, which many recklessly followed. The English Martyrology: At Verdun in France, the deposition of S. Malcallinus, Abbot and Confessor; who, Irish by nation, born of noble family, crossed to France, and there embracing the monastic life, being then made Abbot of S. Michael at Verdun, he shone by the sanctity of his life and by every kind of virtue, especially the observance of religious discipline, His memory in Martyrologies. and in a good old age about the year of Christ 978 yielded up his spirit to God. His body was deposited in the same monastery, where it is preserved with great veneration. Philip Ferrarius in his new catalogue of Saints: At Verdun, S. Malcallinus, Abbot. And with some things interposed: In Lorraine, S. Michael's. There, S. Makalinus, Abbot. He cites the English Martyrology and Flodoard for Malcalinus; for the other, the Calendar of the Church of Verdun, Flodoard, Wion. We have not found the name Makalinus in Wion, nor in the Breviary or Missal of Verdun, which however we believe are also cited by Camerarius when he writes thus on 4 October: S. Malcallinus. On him, the tables of Verdun. Which tables? Why is he inscribed in their calendar on that day, when it is established he died on 21 January? He continues, with the same reliability, as we suppose: He had governed, before leaving Scotland, the monastery of Rathmelfigi. Arnold Raissius in his Supplement to the Natales of Molanus on 30 April, on which day we have said S. Forannan is also venerated: In Thierache, in the monastery of S. Michael, the feast of S. Macalinus, the third Abbot of Waulsort on the Meuse, etc.

[7] Better, Benedict Dorganius on 21 January: S. Malcallinus, Abbot. And Hugo Menardus: In the monastery of S. Michael, the feast of S. Malcallinus, Abbot, illustrious for his sanctity. The same, in book 1 of the Observations, advises that some place him incorrectly at Verdun, since there is no monastery of S. Michael in that city, of which Malcalinus himself is said to have been Abbot. Unless we wish, he says, Another monastery of S. Michael in Lorraine, to understand the monastery of S. Michael that Wilfrad, the Mayor of the Palace of Hilderic, built in the parish of Verdun on the Meuse, according to Sigebert at the year 667. Which is situated in the town that the people of Lorraine call Saint Mihiel, that is, S. Michael, in the diocese of Verdun. But this conjecture sufficiently collapses from what has been said before.

[8] The Mayor of the Palace of Hilderic (son of Clovis II and S. Bathilde, who was killed in the year 667) was Wulfoad, says Sigebert at the same year. He founded a monastery of S. Michael the Archangel in the parish of Verdun on the Meuse. Richard Wassebourg, Archdeacon of Verdun, himself a native of the town of Saint-Mihiel, in book 2 of the Antiquities of Belgian Gaul, accurately describes the origins of that monastery, and recites a part of the testament of Wulfoad, whom he calls Wolfandus, in which he confesses that for the salvation of souls and with an eye to God, Built by Wulfoad, with God's help, he built a monastery and a congregation of servants of God, with a most devout spirit, from a new foundation, from his own proprietary right, in the district of Verdun, at the place called Castellio, at the border of the village of Windimiacum, where at the very foot of the mountain rises a little stream called Marsupia, in honor of S. Michael the Archangel, and of S. Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, of S. Martin, and of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and also of the holy Martyrs, Confessors, and all other Saints. This donation was made in the monastery itself, in the presence of many good men, in the fifteenth year of the reign of our Lord King Childebert: this was the year of Christ 708 or 709. Wulfoad had withdrawn to Austrasia after the murder of Hilderic, where he was pursuing these and other holy counsels.

[9] Smaragdus, the fourth Abbot of that place (who lived in the time of Louis the Pious and wrote the Diadem of Monks), with the approval of the Roman Pontiff, demolished the monastery situated on a steep height, Renewed by Abbot Smaragdus. which suffered from a shortage both of water and of other supplies unless they were conveyed from elsewhere with great labor and expense; and founded a new one at the very mouth of the stream Marsupia where it flows into the Meuse, a league and a half from the former. Wassebourg recites the epitaph of Smaragdus, which still survives:

When the pious Louis held the reins of empire, Smaragdus flourished as Abbot of this place. Since this site was less suited to human needs, He transferred his seat from here to there afar. Yet when he merited to be called to the heavenly kingdom, He restored his limbs to the ancient place for cherishing. Scorpio was already pressing Phoebus in its twelfth division, When the stars lay open to the man of God.

[10] Who were Abbots there in the time of B. Maccallinus. Under Abbot Stephen (whom Wassebourg considers to be the same person who was made Bishop of Liege in the year 903 and held the see until 920), the building of a town near the monastery was begun. Stephen was succeeded by Halewin, Odo I, Sarouard, Odo II, Albert, and Nantherus, who lived in the times of the holy Emperors Henry and Conrad, and brought the relics of S. Callistus, Pope and Martyr, to his monastery.

[11] And from this you may refute what Ferrarius writes, that on this day the feast of S. Michael in Lorraine is observed, Ferrarius and Saussaius corrected. from whom a not inconsiderable town of S. Michael in the diocese of Verdun takes its name, and that S. Makalinus was Abbot there. But more disgraceful is the error of Saussaius, a Frenchman, otherwise learned and diligent, who in the Supplement of the Gallican Martyrology writes thus: In Lorraine, S. Michael the Confessor, whose name, long since given to a monastery and a not ignoble town of this region, perpetuates among the inhabitants a renowned memory of his merits and inspires a special veneration for his patronage. On the same day, S. Malcalinus, Abbot and Confessor, who, placed over the aforementioned monastery of S. Michael in the diocese of Verdun on account of the renowned lights of his sanctity, instructed the souls committed to him with divine conduct; and having fulfilled a most useful governance, he departed to the reward prepared for him by the Lord, whom he served with sincere affection. That monastery in the diocese of Verdun in Lorraine received its name from S. Michael the Archangel, not from a Michael the Confessor known to none of the ancients. Nor does B. Maccallinus the Abbot pertain to it, but to the monastery in Thierache in the diocese of Laon, named after the same most holy Archangel.

[12] For the rest, the monks of Waulsort in the province of Namur, who report that Maccallinus was their Abbot, do not honor him with any ecclesiastical office or indeed with any public veneration; except that in the catalogue of Abbots, the first two, Forannan and Kadroe, are called Saints; Maccallinus, Blessed; the rest, Lords. Arnold Raissius proclaims Count Eilbert himself as Blessed in his Supplement to the Natales of Molanus on 28 March. A certain other Maccallinus, or Maculinus, an Irish Bishop, is mentioned, whose life we have read in manuscript, but filled with wondrous and plainly incredible prodigies: and we have found his feast day expressed nowhere.

ON S. SYNALDUS, AT TRIER IN BELGIAN GAUL.

Synaldus, at Trier (S.)

[1] Johannes Scheckmann in his Epitome of the Deeds of Trier, booklet 3, title 10, enumerating the relics found on 13 April 1513 in the altar of S. Nicholas of the principal church, has among other things the following: Likewise an arm of S. Synaldus, Relics of S. Synaldus. whose feast is celebrated on the twenty-first day of January. We have found nothing else about him anywhere.