Sabinianus

ON S. SABINIANUS, MARTYR, S. SABINA, VIRGIN, AND MANY OTHER MARTYRS, AT TROYES IN GAUL.

Under Aurelian.

Sabinianus, Martyr at Troyes in Gaul (S.) Sabina, Virgin at Troyes in Gaul (S.) Many other holy Martyrs, at Troyes in Gaul.

From various sources.

Section I. The public veneration of these Saints.

[1] Rilliacum, a small town of Gallic Champagne on the River Seine, four leagues from the city of Troyes, ennobled by the martyrdom of S. Sabinianus, was afterward called S. Savinianus from his name, and is now known by the name of S. Lyria, as Nicolas Camuzat attests in the Storehouse of Sacred Antiquities of the Diocese of Troyes, in his Notes on the Life of S. Sabinianus. The feast of SS. Sabinianus and Sabina in the sacred calendars on 24 January. His sister Sabina, admonished by a divine oracle to go to her brother, fell holily asleep not far from there, within sight of the city of Troyes, and was also deemed worthy of heavenly honors along with her brother. In the very ancient manuscript Martyrology of the monastery of S. Martin at Tournai, the memory of both is joined on 24 January thus: On the same day, at Troyes, the passion of S. Sabinianus, Martyr, and the deposition of S. Sabina, Virgin, his sister. The very ancient manuscript of Laon likewise: On the same day, at Troyes, the passion of S. Sabinianus, and the deposition of S. Sabina, his sister, Virgin. and of Sabinianus alone on that day. Nicolas Des-Guerrois testifies in the History of the Saints of Troyes that the feast of S. Sabinianus is celebrated on that day throughout the entire diocese of Troyes. On which day the Carthusians of Cologne mention him in their supplement to Usuard, with these words: In the territory of Troyes, of Sabinianus, alias Savint, Martyr, whom the Emperor Aurelian ordered to be bound to iron bars and beaten, and a fiery helmet to be placed on his head; then placed in the fire but not harmed in any way, he ordered him beheaded. Canisius has nearly the same. But the Cologne Martyrology: At Troyes, of Blessed Sabinianus, Martyr, who, after the iron bed, after fire and other torments of various kinds, was beheaded; through whom also more than nine thousand of the Gentiles, confessing Christ, suffered similar martyrdoms. Maurolycus and Felicius report the same. Saussay celebrates his deeds in a rather lengthy eulogy in the Gallican Martyrology on this same day, the ninth day before the Kalends of February, on which day he is said in both versions of the Acts to have suffered; so that we suspect a typographical error crept in where Camuzat says he died on 27 January, a day on which we find his name in no Martyrologies.

[2] On the day after his death, that is, 25 January, the name of S. Sabinianus is thus inscribed in the Florarium of the Saints: and on 25 January. In the territory of Troyes, the birthday of S. Savianus, alias Sabinianus, Martyr, who by order of the Emperor Aurelian, after innumerable tortures, was beheaded. And the Saint, rising, carried his head forty-nine feet to the place where he now rests. He suffered in the year of salvation 277. In the Viola of the Saints he is celebrated with a longer encomium taken from his Life, and Sanianus is written erroneously (as are many things in that book). In the ancient manuscript of the Professed House of the Society of Jesus at Antwerp, which bears the name of Bede: At Poitiers, of S. Sabinianus, Martyr. Whether this is to be understood of our man, and Troyes read in place of Poitiers (since below in the same manuscript S. Sabina is again mentioned), or whether he is Sabinus, or Savinus, who is venerated with S. Cyprian at Poitiers on 11 July, is hidden from us.

[3] In other Martyrologies he is recorded on this 29 January, on which day he is said to have died in the Acts related by Mombritius and on the 29th, and Vincent of Beauvais. On that day the manuscript Martyrology of Bede from the monastery of S. Riquier has thus: In the territory of Troyes, of S. Sabinianus, Martyr. Usuard, Bellinus, and the Roman Martyrology add: Who by order of the Emperor Aurelian was beheaded for the faith of Christ.

[4] In several manuscript copies of Usuard, he is called Sabinianus, Sabianus, and Fabianus. Hence Peter de Natalibus, supposing them to be two persons, writes thus, book 3 of the Catalogue, chapter 42: Sabianus the Martyr suffered in the territory of Troyes under the Emperor Aurelian; who, while he was residing in the parts of Spain and Gaul and had arrived at the city of Troyes, had Sabianus, who had been arrested and was preaching Christ, beheaded, and he was buried there on the fourth day before the Kalends of February. And again, book 7, chapter nor is Fabianus a different person from him, 134, of S. Sabinianus the Martyr and S. Sabina the Virgin, he narrates their Life at greater length. Galesin records on this day: In the territory of Troyes, of S. Fabianus the Martyr, killed under the Emperor Aurelian for the faith of Christ. In the same place on this same day, of S. Savianus the Martyr, killed by the sword under that same emperor in the greatest constancy of confession. He cites in his Notes for Fabianus a manuscript codex and Peter de Natalibus (in whom Sabianus is read in our copies); for Savianus, Usuard, Vincent of Beauvais, and others. Maurolycus and Felicius, who had previously recorded S. Sabinianus on 24 January, write thus on this day: In the territory of Troyes, of S. Fabianus, beheaded by order of the Emperor Aurelian, and likewise of S. Sabina, Virgin, sister of S. Sabinianus the Martyr. Ferrarius in the General Catalogue of Saints: At Troyes in Gaul, of the holy Martyrs Fabianus, and Sabina the Virgin, sister of S. Sabinianus the Martyr, under Aurelian. He adds in his Notes that these are treated in the Passion of S. Sabinianus. But that he is mistaken will be clear below from the Acts. Saussay, after treating of S. Sabinianus on 24 January, adds thus: On the same day, at Troyes, of S. Fabianus the Martyr, a follower of the same S. Sabinianus and companion in his palm, whom the same Aurelian killed there by the sword.

[5] Of Sabina alone there is mention on this day in the ancient manuscript Martyrology of the monastery of Celles near Troyes: In the territory of Troyes, in the place called the Island of Germanica, The feast of S. Sabina on 29 January. of S. Sabina the Virgin, who, having undertaken a most laborious pilgrimage for the love of Christ, glorious also in virtues and miracles, rested in peace. And in the manuscript Martyrology of the Society of Jesus at Antwerp: On the same day, the birthday of S. Sabina the Virgin. And that she died on this day will be clear below in the Life. Camuzat and Des-Guerrois attest at the Life of S. Sabina that her feast day is celebrated throughout the diocese of Troyes on this 29 January with public solemnity everywhere.

[6] Concerning S. Sabinianus again on 8 June, Saussay writes: At Troyes, the solemnity of S. Sabinianus the Martyr, crowned under Aurelian, The commemoration of S. Sabinianus on 8 June. who completed his triumph by a glorious contest on the ninth day before the Kalends of February. What the origin of this repeated solemnity was, he does not indicate. Did he begin to be venerated at the same time, or was his cult joined with the celebration of S. Lyria? For she is honored on that day with an innumerable concourse of pilgrims, as will be said there; and when Saussay had treated of her, he adds a repeated eulogy of S. Sabinianus: Likewise at Troyes, the repeated celebration of the holy Martyr Sabinianus himself, whose glorious passion brought a new trophy to heaven on the ninth day before the Kalends of February, the day on which he completed his contest. Did Saussay take from S. Sabinianus what Camuzat writes at his Life about the festivity of S. Lyria?

[7] On 29 August S. Sabinianus is recorded by Ferrarius: At Troyes in Gaul, of S. Sabinianus the Martyr, under Aurelian. Cited in the Notes are Peter, in the Catalogue, book 7, chapter 134, and Maurolycus, who celebrate him together with his sister. of both on 29 August. The words of Maurolycus are: In the city of Troyes, under Aurelian, of Sabinianus the Martyr, and his sister Sabina, who, having undertaken a most laborious pilgrimage for the love of Christ, rested in peace, glorious in virtues and miracles. Felicius agrees with Maurolycus. Several Martyrologies record only Sabina on that day. Usuard: In the district of Troyes, of S. Sabina (in some manuscripts Savina) the Virgin, who, having undertaken a most laborious pilgrimage for the love of Christ, rested in peace, glorious also in virtues and miracles. The same is read in the Florarium, the Brussels and Utrecht manuscript Martyrologies, and others. Bellinus, published at Paris in the year of Christ 1536: In the district of Troyes, of S. Sabina the Virgin. Galesin: In the district of Troyes, of S. Sabina the Virgin. She, burning with love for Christ her spouse, having piously and devoutly made a pilgrimage, flourishing in the glory of a most chaste life and of miracles, fell asleep in the Lord. The Roman Martyrology: In the district of Troyes, of S. Sabina the Virgin, glorious in virtues and miracles. She is celebrated with a longer encomium in the German Martyrology: so that it is surprising that she is nowhere treated in the Gallican Martyrology of Saussay, especially since in the Supplement for 29 August he celebrates S. Sabina, Virgin and Martyr of Rome, with whom the authors, ignorant that this Sabina died on this 29 January, seem to have joined this Sabina.

[8] Finally, on 5 September, both are recorded by the Carthusians of Cologne in their supplement to Usuard: and on 5 September. At the city of Troyes, the commemoration of SS. Sabina the Virgin and Sabinianus the Martyr, her brother. The same is found in the German Martyrology.

[9] Now we must inquire concerning the companions of S. Sabinianus. In the first version of the Acts, number 2, it is said that one thousand and eighteen believed with Blessed Sabinianus, Who are the companions of S. Sabinianus? and one hundred and nine souls were baptized by the hand of the Saint himself. In the other version of the Acts from Camuzat, number 4, one thousand and ninety men are said to have been converted to the Lord. Viellius and Des-Guerrois agree. But Peter de Natalibus says that 1,108 men believed in the Lord. These seem to be treated in the Cologne Martyrology quoted above: More than nine thousand of the Gentiles, confessing Christ, suffered similar martyrdoms. Maurolycus and Felicius also state: Through Sabinianus, nine thousand and more of the Gentiles, confessing Christ, were afflicted with the same punishments. Nor have we read anything else about so many Martyrs. Below in the Acts, number 5, forty-eight soldiers are said to have been converted by S. Sabinianus and to have completed their martyrdom by being beheaded for the faith of Christ. The Acts in Mombritius, volume 2, and in Vincent, book 11, chapter 105, agree. In the later Acts from Camuzat and in Des-Guerrois only twelve are recorded. Three additional men, reproaching the cruelty of the Tyrant, are said in both versions of the Acts to have been beheaded, and thus on account of the grace granted to Sabinianus to have ascended to the kingdoms of heaven.

Section II. Acts. Relics. Date of death.

[10] We give a twofold Life of S. Sabinianus: the first and older from a very ancient codex of the monastery of S. Maximin at Trier (which we have collated with a manuscript copy Life of S. Sabinianus, twofold; sent to us from Rouen by our Frederic Flouet); the other from the Antiquities of Troyes of Nicolas Camuzat, somewhat more prolix and for the most part more elegantly polished from the former. Camuzat testifies that he had a third, fuller and more ample history of the Acts of S. Sabinianus, but written only in the form of a paraphrase, which he deliberately omitted. We have received the Life of S. Sabina from the same codex of S. Maximin at Trier: to which a nearly equal one, and of S. Sabina, somewhat even more elegant and briefer, is reported by Camuzat from the Breviary of Troyes. Mombritius, volume 2, and Vincent, book 11, chapters 105, 106, and 107, present a condensed Life of both. Peter de Natalibus, book 7, chapter 134, in which Baronius says much worthy of censure is found, in his Notes at 29 August. Viellius and Des-Guerrois largely reproduce the second Life of Sabinianus, and have perhaps added some things from the third cited by Camuzat.

[11] All the Acts and Martyrologies attest that Sabinianus suffered under the Emperor Aurelian. Baronius, volume 2 of the Annals, at the year The date of S. Sabinianus, of Christ 275, number 6, writes thus: In the Gauls indeed, among many other Martyrs, those who suffered under the same Emperor Aurelian at Troyes are recorded on the twelfth day before the Kalends of August: Claudius, Justus, Jucundinus, and five companions: likewise in the same place on another day, namely the twelfth day before the Kalends of February, S. Patroclus. For Flavius Vopiscus relates in his Life of Aurelian that Aurelian set out for the Gauls this year to repel the invading barbarians and to liberate Augusta Vindelicorum, which they had besieged. And shortly after: Sabinianus the Martyr is also found to have suffered in the territory of Troyes, whose birthday is inscribed in the catalogue of Martyrs on the fourth day before the Kalends of February. Following Baronius, Camuzat, Des-Guerrois, and others assign his martyrdom to the same year 275. In the manuscript Florarium quoted above, he is said to have suffered in the year 277. But Aurelian had already died by then. What we said above at the Life of S. Patroclus on 21 January is relevant here.

[12] Concerning the date of S. Sabina, Camuzat determines thus: Since she is said to have been dipped in the sacred bath of baptism at Rome by Pope Eusebius, who, installed in the Apostolic chair in the year 310, of S. Sabina, presided over the whole Church; S. Sabina herself could have arrived at Troyes around the year 313, and thirty-eight years after the death of S. Sabinianus. Des-Guerrois places her death in the year of Christ 310.

[13] The relics of S. Sabinianus, as Camuzat attests, were preserved for a very long time at Rilliacum: Relics of S. Sabinianus, at length they were transferred to the principal church of Troyes; where they are venerated with due reverence, inserted in a reliquary which is partly of gilded bronze, partly of silver, and covered with many small images, also of gilded silver, all of which are wrought with very fine craftsmanship.

[14] But, as he further relates, in the western suburbs of the city of Troyes stands a shrine consecrated to the memory and name of S. Sabina: Relics of S. Sabina and her body is kept in the Celles monastery, not far from the aforesaid shrine, placed in the high altar on the south side; while that of S. Frodobert is on the other side, as Des-Guerrois writes. The origin of this church is thus related in the Life of S. Frodobert, Abbot of Celles, on 8 January, number 1: Ragnegisilus, an Aquitanian by nation, and church, the seventeenth Bishop of the said city of Troyes: of whom it is reported, among other things, that he built the basilica of S. Sabina the Virgin on land belonging to him by right, making the Church over which he presided his heir, and in which he lies honorably buried. Camuzat attests that the stone coffin in which he was interred nearly a thousand years ago still exists. Des-Guerrois adds that these suburbs, with the parish church of S. Sabina, were given by Count Theobald of Champagne to the monastery of Celles at the request of Abbot Bernard; the donation was confirmed by Philip, King of the French, on 15 August 1071.

ACTS OF S. SABINIANUS from two ancient manuscripts.

Sabinianus, Martyr at Troyes in Gaul (S.) Sabina, Virgin at Troyes in Gaul (S.) Many other holy Martyrs, at Troyes in Gaul. BHL Number: 7438

From manuscripts.

CHAPTER I. The baptism of S. Sabinianus, his preaching, imprisonment. The martyrdom of 48 soldiers.

[1] At that time, when S. Sabinianus was in the city of Samon, earnest in prayer, ready in fasting, S. Sabinianus preaches Christ though not yet baptized: generous in almsgiving, and freely declared the glory of God, his sound went forth into all the land, and it was reported to the Emperor that Blessed Sabinianus stood firm in angelic revelation and with the most glorious words preached God who dwells in heaven. Then the Emperor spoke to Crispinus the Governor in his wrath, that he should go forth running in his fury, and that leading soldiers throughout the whole world should root out Christians and destroy them, saying: Wherever you find them, if they do not sacrifice to our gods, subject them to these punishments: wheels of bronze, and iron hooks, cutting off their heads from their necks. When many who had shortly before said they were Christians heard this report, they began to deny God.

[2] But Saint Sabinianus did not despair of God's patronage, but fasted and prayed continually, and gave food to the hungry. A small man named Julian came out and said: Most holy Sabinianus, do you wish to prepare your soul for battle? He departs from his homeland: Or have you not heard what has been prepared for Christians? Flee from the mouth of our enemies, or let your praise be spoken in the praise of the Saints. Then Blessed Sabinianus, with humble heart and resolute mind, trampling desire underfoot, visited many regions, that he might find a place where he would deserve to receive the crown. After a short time, provoked to honor by prayer and fasting, he came at length to the city of Troyes, and went about it; He comes into the territory of Troyes: and when he had gone down below upon the River Seine, he found a most precious place prepared for him, and he gave thanks to God, and prostrated himself on the face of the earth, and made prayer, saying: Lord Jesus Christ, who placed many kinds of animals in the ark of Noah, and established them in the pools of waters; grant me your servant baptism, that my sins may be washed away. When he had prayed this, behold a cloud descending from heaven shone upon him, He is baptized: and a voice from heaven said to him: Sabinianus, chosen servant of God, you have found the grace of your Lord; love what you wished to find, for you have been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and many through you shall be baptized in the Holy Trinity. S. Sabinianus said: Glory to you, O Christ, who convert the ignorant and lead them to the way of truth. And when he had been baptized, by the miracle of a staff bursting into flower taking a reed in his hand, he fixed it in the ground, and prayed to the Lord, and said: Lord my God, make my rod to flower, and to have good branches and to produce beautiful leaves, that this people may believe in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He converts many. And many, seeing that rod flower, believed with Blessed Sabinianus, one thousand and eighteen; and one hundred and nine souls were baptized by the hand of the Saint himself.

[3] The Emperor, hearing these things, that a great part of the people believed through S. Sabinianus, When soldiers do not dare lay hands on him, ordered Crispinus the Governor to come to him with ninety soldiers, to bring him before the Emperor in chains. When they came to the Saint of God, they found him praying, and they were afraid to approach him. The Emperor, hearing that they had accomplished nothing to harm the servant of God, again sent another hundred and ninety to him, and they found him in the same manner completing his prayer, and they too began to pray with him. When S. Sabinianus had completed his prayer, he rose, and the Governor spoke to him: Sabinianus, were you cast out from your homeland, or what are you doing in this place? S. Sabinianus answered him: I was not cast out from my homeland; but I sought God, whose power I came to know, and I found grace. And the soldiers said to him: Sabinianus, our Lord the Emperor desires to see you. S. Sabinianus answered them: If it is my will, I come; if not, I do not come: nevertheless I go with you. He goes willingly to the Emperor: And he commended his petition to the Lord, and proceeded to the Emperor.

[4] And when he had come to the city of Vienne, they entered the palace. But when the Emperor saw that he was a great man and a Christian, he was afraid, and immediately ran to his consistory, where seventy-two demons sat, to whose counsels he had recourse. After a short time he returned, sitting on the tribunal, and questioned him, saying: Who are you? Or where are you from? Or what is your name? S. Sabinianus answered him: I am from the city of Samon, and from my birth I am called Sabinianus. And the Emperor said to him: Wild beast, ugly face, He responds to him nobly, will you not sacrifice to my gods? Or in what places do you dwell? S. Sabinianus answered him: Truly you have spoken well, Aurelian, for you are a portion of death and like your father the devil: and your gods, to whom you say one should sacrifice, are vain; nor can they help those who worship them: and you, like a fool, worship them. If only you would hear me and worship my God, who made heaven and earth, who has power to deliver you from fire and to forgive all your sins. But he, like a fool, thought within himself, saying: How can I do this, since you were nurtured among wild beasts? I cannot overcome this man except by the most exquisite torments.

[5] Then he ordered S. Sabinianus to be put in prison; forty-eight soldiers came to guard him: and when they saw S. Sabinianus, 48 soldiers, converted by him, are killed, they were converted and laid down their weapons on the ground, saying: We too believe in the Lord of Sabinianus, and we worship him. And the Emperor said to them: Are you also accursed, that you wish to follow him? Come and worship my gods, and I will give you gold and silver, and I will establish you in the greatest honor. But the soldiers said to him: May your money be with you for destruction; we have all been baptized and we believe in the Holy Trinity. And the Emperor, angered, ordered them to be beheaded. And they, on account of the grace granted to S. Sabinianus, completed their martyrdom.

h Vincent: 120.

CHAPTER II. The torments inflicted on Sabinianus. The martyrdom of three men.

[6] But the Emperor, angered, said in his heart: If I do not destroy this accursed man with his sorceries, and Sabinianus is beaten: he will draw all the people to himself. Then the Emperor ordered S. Sabinianus to be brought before him, and said to him: Wild beast, ugly face, how long will you persevere in this faith? How long shall I keep you in custody until you sacrifice to my gods? To this S. Sabinianus answered: I would wish to lead you to the good faith, that you might abandon the devils and worship my Christ, who has power over your life and death. And the Emperor said: Are you still standing in this folly? And S. Sabinianus answered and said: I am not a fool, but a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ; but you are like a fool and senseless, who do not confess my Lord, but confess Satan your father. The Emperor, angered, ordered his hands and feet to be bound and beaten at iron bars, He is tortured with a fiery helmet, and a fiery helmet to be placed on his head. Then three men said: You would have been blessed, Aurelian, if you had never been born, who have ordered such torments to be inflicted on a servant of God. And the Emperor, angered, ordered them to be beheaded: and they, on account of the grace granted to S. Sabinianus, three men who reproached the tyrant being killed for it: ascended to the kingdoms of heaven.

[7] Then S. Sabinianus said to him: If you can inflict more torments on me, do so; for they are life to me, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Then the Emperor ordered an iron bench and furnace to be made according to his stature, He is placed on a burning bench: that is, twelve cubits, and it was done according to the command of the Emperor; and they placed them in the middle of the city, and he ordered S. Sabinianus to be bound, and much wood to be placed beneath with fire, and to burn him: and he commanded forty casks of oil to be brought and poured upon the flame of the fire. S. Sabinianus threw himself into the midst of the flame, saying: Through these torments which you inflict upon me, your shame and your gods shall be consumed. I have told you that I do not fear your torments, nor your anger. When he had said this, from the intensity of the fire the bench became like wax. And the Emperor came and saw S. Sabinianus standing in the midst of the flame and praying; He remains unharmed; and his face was like a rose and a lily descending from heaven: and when the Emperor saw him, he fell on his face from great fear, from the first hour until the ninth hour. The Emperor is terrified: And after he rose, he said to him: Wild beast, are not the sins of the souls you have led into error enough for you, and you would not allow them to sacrifice to my great gods, but have drawn all the people to yourself? S. Sabinianus answered and said: Yet many souls have still to believe in God through me, and you yourself. And the Emperor, like a fool, blasphemed and said to him: Do you wish to lead even me into your sorceries? So may my gods do to me and so repay me, if by this hour tomorrow I have not destroyed your soul, and I will make you come as an example to all.

[8] And on another day he ordered S. Sabinianus to be brought. And when he had been brought into his presence, he said to him: Now sacrifice to my gods, or understand my words, lest torments be added to you. S. Sabinianus said: I have told you He cannot be pierced by arrows: that I do not fear your torments, nor your anger; because I have my faith, which I obtained through the grace of baptism. Then the Emperor ordered a great piece of wood to be brought according to his stature, and to be placed before the palace, and soldiers were summoned, and they came in order, and they shot three arrows each at him, that he might be killed more quickly. And the Emperor supposed that all the arrows would be fixed in his body: but the arrows were suspended by the wind to his right and to his left, and not even one touched his body. After sunset he ordered him to be guarded by soldiers, lest the Christians suddenly come and he be released during the night.

[9] And on another day a great multitude of people were watching, to see the power of God. Then the Emperor said: Let us go and see that accursed one, what is his situation. And the Emperor came and said to him: Where is your God? One arrow bouncing back into the Emperor's eye, Let him come and deliver you from my hands, or from these arrows. And one of the arrows, bouncing back, entered the eye of the Emperor and blinded him. Then S. Sabinianus said: I say to you, fool, if you believe in my God, He is ordered to be thrown into prison: you shall see the light of God. But the Emperor, angered, ordered ninety soldiers to put him in prison and to guard him more carefully in iron chains, and on the morrow to take his head from him. While S. Sabinianus was being led to prison, he offered this prayer, saying: Lord Jesus Christ, He is snatched away by divine power, who led your people out of the Red Sea and freed them from the gods of Pharaoh, free me your servant from these fetters, and command me to be transferred to that place where I deserved to receive the grace of baptism. When he had prayed this, the soldiers were blinded, and the iron chains were broken, and S. Sabinianus, swiftly making his way, arrived at the place where he had received baptism.

CHAPTER III. The death, burial, and miracles of S. Sabinianus.

[10] The Emperor, hearing this, ordered soldiers He is sought by soldiers: to search for him, saying: Wherever you find that magician, behead him. And the soldiers going forth met a poor old man, but not a Christian. Then he spoke to them: The other day at the fourth hour a Christian was seen being carried by his feet against the rising sun, like the wind from the face of the earth. And the soldiers pursued him. S. Sabinianus came first to the bank of the Seine, and he was glad to cross the great river, and he looked back. And many enemies were rising against him. S. Sabinianus there prostrated himself in prayer, saying: Lord Jesus Christ, for I hated the congregations of the wicked, and I declared your power, Lord, He walks upon the waters: grant your servant by secret revelation to enter this place where I received baptism. When he had prayed this, the water became like rock, and the Saint himself walked on foot to the place shown to him. The soldiers, seeing the great expanse of water, were confounded. S. Sabinianus again prostrated himself on the face of the earth, and made a great prayer before the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, who from my youth have deigned to govern me, show your power in me, He prays to become a Martyr: and more swiftly command me to be crowned with whatever crown you shall ordain, and grant me your servant, that whoever in this place, where you have delivered the crown to me, shall pour forth prayer and invoke my name for the sake of your name, may be heard in his prayers and may deserve to be saved.

[11] When he had prayed this, he raised his eyes and saw certain soldiers who, with drawn sword, were running swiftly to behead him: but the soldiers were afraid to approach him. He himself encourages the hesitating soldiers: To this S. Sabinianus spoke to them: Come, and turn, and gather from my blood, and bind it in a linen cloth, and carry it to the Emperor Aurelian, that he may see the power of God. And when he had been struck, a drop of blood fell upon the head of the executioner, He is beheaded, and carries his head in his hands, and they were converted, and cried out with a loud voice, saying: Lord, spare our sins, for we have been baptized by your holy blood. S. Sabinianus, taking his head, carried it forty-nine feet. The soldiers are converted. And the soldiers gathered from his blood, and bound it in a linen cloth, and carried it to the Emperor Aurelian. When it came into his presence, the linen cloth being opened, that blood became like a rose and a lily, and in that very hour the eyes of the Emperor were opened, where the arrow had been fixed, By his blood the Emperor's sight is restored, and he saw the light of God, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying: How good and glorious is the God of the Christians, who does the will of those who fear him!

[12] Hearing this, a certain woman named Syria, who had sat blind in her eyes for forty years, said to her parents: Lead me to the delightful joy, where the most holy Sabinianus won heavenly glory. S. Syria receives her sight at his tomb, But her parents abandoned her and were unwilling to go with her. A little boy from their family came out and went to her, and taking her by the hands they walked in her ways, and they did not know where to find the holy passion. And when they had come to where S. Sabinianus rested, their feet were held fast, and they could go no further, because they had arrived at the holy place. She with humble heart began to bend her knees to the ground and to pray confidently, saying: God of the Christians, and S. Sabinianus, who obtained for yourself a precious crown adorned with precious stones, show your power in me. When she had prayed this, in that hour her eyes were opened, and she saw the light of day and the sepulchre of S. Sabinianus. And a great multitude of people hastened to see the power of God. Then Syria spoke to them: She builds a cell. Let us cherish this burial place, and let us build a great cell, where S. Sabinianus did not lay down his life but exchanged it. These things were done under the former Emperor Aurelian on the ninth day before the Kalends of February, in the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory and power both now and forever and ever, Amen.

OTHER ACTS, by an anonymous author, from the Antiquities of Troyes of Nicolas Camuzat.

By an anonymous author, from Camuzat.

CHAPTER I. The conversion, pilgrimage, and preaching of S. Sabinianus. The martyrdom of 12 soldiers.

[1] S. Sabinianus devotes himself to study: Blessed Sabinianus, the venerable Martyr of Christ, was born in the city of Samos in Greece, of a pagan father named Savinus, who had him instructed in the study of the liberal arts. And Blessed Sabinianus, now a philosopher, when he had come to know that the gods of his father were nothing, and rightly perceived that God was one, the creator of all things, desired and sought him with all his might. He reads the Scripture, Whence it came about that, in reading the psalter, he read this verse: You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, etc., turning it over again and again, and like a fish on a hook, so the blessed boy was held fast by the Holy Spirit. Psalm 50:9. The meaning is taught him by an Angel: And the Lord, seeing the tears, the desire, and the prayers of his future servant, sent him his Angel, who explained that very verse, saying: You shall be cleansed as you desire, and made whiter than snow, when you have been washed in the sacred font of baptism: and having said this the Angel vanished.

[2] But Sabinianus from that time, having assumed the vigor of faith, though not yet baptized, preached the Gospel teaching to the people. He preaches Christ: When his father heard this, he was kindled with anger, and dissembling his anger he summoned him, inquired the cause, and found the truth. For he found his son confessing Christ, wherefore he was stricken in mind, made threats, threatened punishments; then he flattered with words, He is variously tested by his father: attracted with promises, heaped up riches, multiplied honors. But the blessed young man was neither shaken by threats nor seduced by promises; yet he feared lest, overcome, he might succumb to the laws of nature. He consulted Christ through his Gospel, left his father and his homeland, and naked followed Christ. And so he went as a pilgrim, yet not alone, He flees from his homeland: for God was always with him.

[3] Having traversed many places, he was directed by divine will all the way to Troyes, where the harvest was great but the laborer rare; He comes to the territory of Troyes: where the field was fertile but the seeds of the word were few: and there by the revelation of the Holy Spirit he chose his dwelling place and built a habitation above the River Seine, not very far removed from the city, nor yet very close to the city. And although, as we believe, he had already been baptized by the Holy Spirit, desiring to be reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he prayed on bended knee that he might deserve to obtain the grace of baptism from the Lord: He is miraculously baptized: whereupon a cloud immediately descended upon him, and from the cloud a voice came to him: What you ask, Sabinianus, you shall obtain. And straightway he who spoke from the cloud baptized him. And being reborn, he devoted himself to fasts, vigils, and prayers. Then his wonderful holiness began to shine forth everywhere, because a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14.

[4] But since the people are more quickly converted to the faith if a miracle follows the preaching, by a staff putting forth leaves, the Saint fixed in the ground the staff which he carried in his hand, and having made a prayer, caused it to produce fronds and leaves. And those who were present, seeing the miracle, were converted to the Lord, He converts many, one thousand and ninety men in number.

[5] But the sower of all evils, seeing the army of his followers greatly diminishing, went around the workshops of the raging, and fanning the flames of anger, sharpened hatreds against the holy man. For he ceaselessly urged the Emperor Aurelian and gravely incited him to the death of the holy man. There was therefore a great tumult in the palace about Sabinianus, because he blasphemed the worship of the gods, saying they were not gods but the works of hands. Crispinus is sent to seize him. Caesar therefore, angered by these and other such things, inspired by the ancient serpent, took the poisonous counsel that the Saint of God should be seized and brought to him, who was then at the city of Vienne. So the Governor Crispinus was sent with some armed men to Troyes, to bring the Saint of God. Coming therefore to Troyes he sees what grieves him, and hears what wearies him. He sees, I say, shrines destroyed, altars overturned, and statues trampled underfoot. He also hears that the people have become Christians, having cast aside the worship of the gods. At this he is disturbed, at that he is inflamed. And so, like a lion seeking whom he may devour, so Crispinus seeks where Sabinianus may dwell.

[6] Having therefore gathered a company of his men, in the spirit of great fury he proceeded to the dwelling of the man of God. The soldiers are driven back by divine power: They found him prostrate in prayer, and desiring to seize him they were unable, because they felt something divine, and fell backward. Wherefore those who had come raging hastened to depart in fear. When the Governor came to Aurelian and narrated the wonderful event, Caesar was angered; he accused the Governor of having fled; he rebuked his fellow soldiers for having feared; he charged all with not having brought him. Wherefore he sent more men than before again: who, when they had come to the Saint of God others pray with him, and observed him praying, gave themselves also to prayer. These are your works, O Lord. For persecutors came, and with the one who prayed they became those who pray.

[7] When the prayer was ended, Sabinianus, said the Governor, since you are a stranger and a foreigner, why have you come to these places? Were you perhaps expelled from your homeland for some crime, and do you preach something new to the nations? No violence, said Sabinianus, expelled me from my homeland; but rather the love of God drew me to himself, serving whom in faith I sow his seed in the field of the nations. And the soldiers who had come with the Governor exhorted him with many a prayer and they ask him to come to the Emperor, not to be unwilling to come with them all the way to the Emperor. And S. Sabinianus, hearing this, exulting in spirit, said to the soldiers: A soldier deserves nothing good from his Lord who trembles to offer his breast to battle; nor is he worthy of the palm who is fearful at the wounds of the fight. Therefore I hasten the way with you, because I know that I shall shortly receive the crown of eternal life. Sabinianus therefore set out with them to Vienne, where the Emperor Aurelian was present. Who, when he had gazed upon him, indeed distinguished in form, He is brought before the Emperor Aurelian: tall in stature, recalling also that he had heard him to be famous for holiness, having paid him respect, withdrew into the palace; where sitting on the tribunal, with the Senators of his Council assembled, gazing at Blessed Sabinianus, he said: What is your name, and of what region and religion? To whom Sabinianus responded, saying: By name I am called Sabinianus, born at Samos, and I am a Christian. Henceforth, said Aurelian, we must reason about the religion in which you are known to err more than all others. For you dare, in your madness, to despise the gods by whose wisdom the world is governed, the seasons are ordered, and the human race is ruled, and you presume to blaspheme them. Consult therefore the ancient ages, and they will teach you what you ought to believe: moreover, Rome, mistress of the nations, full of wise men and philosophers, observe what she does, lest you reject what she approves; lest you revile the gods whom she herself venerates and loves. Accept therefore counsel and follow the world.

[8] To whom Sabinianus replied: Thus far, Aurelian, you have said very much; but you have sown altogether upon sand: you have offered me counsel, but utterly pestilent counsel. Accept the counsel which I give you, and you shall recover salvation from the Lord. It is impious, Aurelian, to say, and much more to believe, that those are gods and goddesses whom you profess to worship. In divinity there is no sex, which exists in things for this reason, that mortal beings which fail by dying may be repaired from their seed. In the Deity nothing dies, nothing is repaired from seed, nothing is found from the contaminations of the flesh. He mocks the gods: But your divinities -- Jupiter, Venus, and other monsters -- are polluted by embraces, mixed by intercourse; some are impregnated, some are begotten; wherefore it is impious to believe that they are even gods. Yet you venerate their images as certain divinities: you offer them incense and libations: and the block which an artisan fashioned for himself at home, you worship as suppliants. In doing this, are you not more insane than those who are insane? Therefore accept salutary counsel, and leaving your idols, follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

[9] When Aurelian heard this, understanding that his words had accomplished nothing, he decided that punishments should be applied: so that what words had effected less externally, punishments might more sharply execute internally. While therefore the punishments were being arranged, thrown into prison, he converts twelve guards: Sabinianus was handed over to the depths of the prison; and twelve soldiers were assigned to guard him: to whom Blessed Sabinianus preached the word of life, announcing that remission is granted in baptism. When they believed and renounced the pomp of the devil, he baptized them in the faith of salvation. When Aurelian heard this, kindled with excessive fury, he ordered them to be brought before him; and he said to them: It is grievous for me to hear that you have attached yourselves to that sacrilegious Sabinianus, having changed your faith. What is your madness, he said, which has so changed your minds that you set aside the certain for the uncertain, the ancient for the new, and even prefer the gods to a mere man? Let it be judged by an equal judgment. Who is more worthy of worship, God or a man? Was not Christ a Jew, crucified by Jews? But those soldiers answered and said: Your opinion, excellent Emperor, pleases us very much: and would that what pleases you yourself might come to pass! For nothing is truer than what you assert: none other than God is to be worshipped. If therefore Christ is a mere man, as you suppose, what you say is true, that he is not to be worshipped. But since he is God and man in one person, it is certain that he ought to be worshipped by every creature. But your divinities are not gods but demons. Psalm 95:5. For it is written: All the gods of the nations are demons; they are beheaded. therefore they are not to be worshipped by you, but execrated. Aurelian, hearing this, ordered them to undergo a swift capital sentence.

CHAPTER II. The torments inflicted on Sabinianus. The martyrdom of three men.

[10] When these therefore had been glorified, by the command of Caesar, the man of the Lord was dragged from the depths of the prison; and Aurelian, gazing upon him, said: O Sabinianus, behold death and life are before your eyes; choose what pleases you. For if you sacrifice, you shall live and not die; but if not, life will fail you sooner than monstrous punishments will fail us. To whom Sabinianus replied: You can indeed overcome my flesh by killing it, but you cannot steal my soul by making it consent. And Aurelian, overflowing with the evil spirit, ordered the man of God to be beaten with clubs. Sabinianus is beaten with scourges and clubs: Torturers run up from every side, they traverse each limb with scourges, so that nothing in the body might remain uninjured: the air resounds with blows, but from the suffering Martyr no groan is heard.

[11] Aurelian said: These are for you, Sabinianus, the beginnings of pains; be obstinate in your error, and I shall be much more obstinate in your persecution. To whom the Martyr of God replied: Fruitful earth, the more it is cultivated, the more abundant are the fruits it produces: be therefore a stern farmer, furrow the earth of my body more deeply with the plough of beatings; bake it with the fire of every tribulation, so that whatever rust is in it may sweat out. He is tortured with a glowing helmet: Then the impious Aurelian had a bronze helmet heated red-hot and placed on his head, so that either death would follow from it, or all his senses would be endangered. But the merciful Lord did not fail his Martyr, and delivered him safe from that very danger. Then three men who were present, illuminated from heaven, said to the Emperor: Three men, reproaching the tyrant's cruelty, are slaughtered. He deserves eternal perdition, whoever persecutes someone for the sake of justice: the due fires of eternal death await you, who so mortify a man of God for the truth which he preaches. At these words Aurelian ordered their end to be hastened: straightway he commanded them to be beheaded there.

[12] And Blessed Sabinianus, seeing that the tyrant had raged against his own men, while the soldiers of Christ had ascended to heaven, exulting and rejoicing, blessed God, who had once said to his own: Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. John 16:33. And he, now desiring to finish his course, sighing for the crown of justice laid up for him, like a good soldier, having resumed his strength, advanced readily to battle. What are you doing, he said, Aurelian? Where is your ferocity? Where your madness? Where your frenzy? Do you not see, wretch, how great is the fortitude of the soldiers of Christ, and how powerless is the fury of those who rage against them? Aurelian, inflamed by these words, devised a torment more grievous than every torment. For what is more grievous than fire? By eternal fire souls are tormented in the underworld, He is stretched on an iron bed with fire placed beneath, because no kind of torment is more monstrous than this kind. An iron bed was therefore swiftly prepared, upon which the venerable Martyr of God was stretched out, that with fire placed beneath he might be burned. And indeed, so that the fire might burn to their satisfaction, oil was abundantly poured on, by the monstrousness of whose heat the iron bed began to melt. And the impious King, full of fury, kindled with anger, rebuked the torturers, goaded the executioners to raise up the flames, to stir the fires, so that the rebel and the obstinate one might at last, being overcome, find rest. But what happened? The Lord of hosts was indeed at hand for his soldier in so great a danger of conflagration, He is not harmed: as once for the three boys in the furnace of burning fire. And since in the midst of the fire he was not scorched, he made known to all how wonderful God is in his Saints. But Aurelian, thinking concerning the Martyr that he was entirely consumed, gazing joyfully among the balls of flame, saw him whom he had supposed reduced to ashes, cheerful and unharmed, blessing God. O unhappy tyrant, why do you not in this imitate Nebuchadnezzar? For when he saw those men whom he had cast into the furnace unharmed, he gave glory to God and blessed him who lives forever and ever.

[13] But Aurelian again addressed the Saint of God, saying: Why, Sabinianus, do you not have pity on yourself? Why do you throw away your life? Do not persist in your sorceries, which will yield to punishments: let it be enough for you to have already given so many of your fellows to death. To this the Saint said: If only you understood, Aurelian, that your living is death, but their dying is life: He exhorts Aurelian to embrace the faith: for our religion requires that we love even our enemies in God: and although you threaten me with death, yet I wish you life and eternal salvation. Believe me, and be baptized; and by a blessed exchange you will trade an earthly empire for a heavenly one. Do not, said Caesar, try to seduce me, Sabinianus, do not weave your deceits for me. Let your trifles cease now, and let our punishments speak. Aurelian therefore commanded that a great beam be fixed in the ground, He is ordered to be pierced with arrows; to which Sabinianus, being bound, should be pierced through on every side with arrows. And the word was done without delay: yet martyrdom was unwillingly delayed. For none of the arrows that were shot could touch the man of God: He cannot be touched, since God was protecting him on every side under the cover of his hand. But a certain arrow, shot from a strong bow, rebounding by divine judgment, grazed the impious Aurelian in the eye: yet Aurelian, thus wounded, did not attend to the miracle, one rebounding wounds the tyrant's eye, but rather ordered holy Sabinianus to be shut up in a dreadful dungeon.

[14] The holy Sabinianus therefore, chained in the fearsome prison, poured forth prayers and tears to the Lord, and begged that he would give him rest: not, however, except through the bloody palm of martyrdom, which he wished to receive, and not elsewhere than where he had obtained the grace of baptism: and also that he might be a patron, present in body, to his children, whom while living he had adopted for Christ by holy regeneration. Sabinianus departs from prison. The divine power was therefore at hand, breaking the chains and striking the guards with blindness. The holy man, perceiving that he was set free, going out from the prison, found no impediment. That holy man therefore withdrew, not fleeing from enemies, nor declining the death which he hoped would be for his glory; but lest his children should mourn the death of an absent one whom they had greatly loved when alive and present.

CHAPTER III. The death, burial, and miracles of Sabinianus.

[15] The wicked King, hearing this, and burning for the martyrdom of the holy man no less than one greatly hungering for an abundant feast; and desiring his death no less than one in the greatest heat supremely thirsting for a fountain; gathered chosen soldiers, filled with every cruelty, and sent them to pursue the holy man in haste; He is sought: not to hold him and bring him back, but to seize and kill him. They, instigated both by the King's command and by their own malice, pursued the servant of God as an enemy, ran through passable ways, searched out byways. At length they came to the Seine, whose channel, swollen excessively by winter rains, He walks upon the waters: was not easy for anyone to cross on foot. But holy faith upheld the holy man as he entered, carrying him over the waves to the lands of the other bank without any danger. O venerable and praiseworthy power of God, which, to the wonder of nature, renders waves walkable!

[16] And by this power the man of God came to the place of baptism which he desired, having prayed that he might arrive at the palm of martyrdom, and he prepared the effect of the vow for which he aspired. For the holy man, raising his eyes to the other bank of the Seine, beheld the crowd pursuing him standing there, who had a great desire to cross but no ability. But as the man of God prayed, the crossing became very easy. For the Seine became a ford for them by the merit of the man of God, not by the quality of the season. And when they had arrived, yet not accosting him, Blessed Sabinianus addressed them thus: By his prayers he renders the river fordable for his persecutors: What are you doing, soldier, swift until now but now sluggish? Behold me whom you seek: carry out the purpose for which you have come. We, obeying our Emperors, shall surely be deemed worthy of their praise; you indeed by pursuing me, and I by dying. And each of us awaits the rewards of his own merits; He willingly offers himself to them: me indeed eternal life, but you perpetual death: and me perennial blessedness, but you everlasting confusion. Yet your guilt is the crime of another: and your commission is the eternal ruin of your King. Do not therefore delay my joys, nor postpone my rewards any longer. Draw your sword, and pour out my blood, and taking up some drops of my gore in a garment, you shall carry them to Aurelian as a blessing from us; so that when his eye is touched thereby, and his sight restored, he may confess, even at this late hour, the wonders of Christ. He is beheaded, And one of those who had come by the King's command, warmed by the admonition of the man of God, striking manfully with a single blow, beheaded the blessed Martyr. From the outpouring of whose blood, as the holy man had foretold, the garment of the executioner was stained.

[17] But Blessed Sabinianus, showing forth in himself that word of the Lord, He who believes in me, even though he has died, shall live, He carries it in his hands: retained his severed head, performing the office of one still living. For bearing it in his own hands before the very persecutors, he carried it a considerable distance to a place suitable for burial, and there, having set it down together with his body, that blessed spirit ascended to heaven, crowned with laurel, receiving the crown of justice which the King of eternal glory had laid up for him. And when the people of God's possession, that is, the entire Church of Troyes, heard this, they were shaken with excessive sorrow and at the same time lifted up with the greatest joy. They grieved indeed at having lost so great a patron, but they also rejoiced that the blessed Martyr had triumphed in such great afflictions: hence sorrow, hence joy, tears and joys accumulated upon one another. He is buried by the people of Troyes. Therefore people of every sex and condition ran together, entombing the holy body with honor and reverence where he himself had chosen the place of burial. There also, through his merits interceding, very many benefits are bestowed upon suppliants by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever and ever, Amen. The venerable Martyr suffered on the ninth day before the Kalends of February; at whose passion the citizens of heaven rejoice and praise the Son of God.

[18] And the persecutors, returning to Caesar, and touching his eye with the blood-stained garment, By his merits sight is restored to Aurelian; when sight was restored, all burst forth in praise. For seeing the power of so great a miracle, the King and the others standing by gave glory to our God. For many years the body of the blessed Martyr lay hidden, because of the excessive persecution of the Christians; the place of his burial was known to God alone. Other miracles occur: Therefore that field became flowery with miracles and fragrant with virtues: on account of which those at a distance were aroused by the fragrance, those nearby were attracted by the sweetness: the sick came together and departed exulting in the health they had received.

[19] When therefore the report was spreading, a certain woman named Syria, having eyes lacking in light, seeking with her whole heart the hidden treasure of the blessed Martyr, also begged him that she might recover her sight. Seeking therefore him whom she desired in her heart, she invoked Christ with lamentations and besought the holy Martyr with prayers. She came to the place, and her prayer was not yet completed, and behold the woman was already heard: S. Syria receives her sight: for her eyes were restored to use, and the darkness being driven away, they were reformed for sight. O how many praises and thanksgivings she rendered to God and to the blessed Martyr!

[20] Therefore, when the miracle was published abroad, the citizens ran together, all hastened, all rejoiced together, and praises resounded to God with their voices, because he had deigned by so illustrious a miracle to reveal his Martyr to his people. Therefore by common resolution, A church is built for him; with Blessed Syria greatly urging it, a holy church was fittingly constructed. When it had been diligently built, not unmindful of the benefit received, Blessed Syria vowed to serve God and the blessed Martyr: there, afflicting herself with many fasts, devoting herself to prayers and vigils, she immolated herself as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Where Syria lives in holiness. And thus, by living justly and holily through the immense martyrdom of life, and through the service of great devotion, she deserved to attain the fellowship of the holy Martyr in heaven, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns as God through all ages of ages, Amen.

LIFE OF S. SABINA from an ancient manuscript of Trier.

From manuscripts.

CHAPTER I. The homeland, education, and flight from homeland of SS. Sabinianus and Sabina.

[1] Sabinianus and Sabina, born of noble parents. Savinus, a nobleman and wealthy man in the town of Samos, having lost his father and mother, was raised in the family home; and as he grew up, although he was a pagan, he was a man just in his works. When he had come to a lawful age, he took a wife born of ... parents: and she was very noble, and her name was derived from his own, Saviniana. And having lost his wife, he took another wife from the city of Pelopia, of the race of the Chaldeans, and she was very wealthy, and he had thence a son, and he called his name, and the name of his daughter, Sabinianus and Sabina; They are instructed in letters, yet both were raised in the paternal home in their studies.

[2] Then S. Savinus, clothed in good works, fasted and prayed continually, Sabinianus devoted to good works, and whatever he could take from the paternal home, he distributed to the poor. When he had read in the Davidic psalm: You shall sprinkle me, Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow; he sought within himself and could not find the meaning of the words. Psalm 50:9. And one day he entered his chamber, and put on the bolt, and clothed himself with ashes and sackcloth, and prostrated himself upon the face of the earth, and said: Death is easier than life, if I cannot find the meaning of the words. He is instructed by an Angel: That same night the Angel of the Lord entered the chamber, holding in his right hand a golden candlestick, and illuminated that chamber, and it was filled with a fragrance of sweetness, and he said to him: Sabinianus, do not afflict yourself unto death; for you have found grace with the Lord, and I will tell you the meaning of the words, You shall sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be cleansed: when chrism shall have been sprinkled upon your head, you shall be cleansed from the greatest offense: when you shall have been washed with living water, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be whiter than snow, which is baptism, the second regeneration through the washing of the font.

[3] The Angel of the Lord withdrew from him; and he arose and showed himself with a cheerful face. And entering the paternal home, he greeted his father and mother according to custom: and his father rebuked him and said: Have you come to me for this purpose, He flees from the paternal home, son, that you might destroy us and our houses? It is easier for me to destroy you alone than for you to destroy all of us. But he, having been rebuked, departed and took other ways unknown to him. His father sought him, and when he could not find him, he did not dare rebuke his daughter; but he summoned her with blandishments, to show her the gold of Arabia and precious stones, but she was unwilling to accept any single thing, or even to look at them. For she was afflicted with grief and desire for her brother.

[4] Sabina therefore mourning, And every day she took a flask of oil and incense, and went to her father's idols; and she wept there bitterly, and did not take food except in the evening. And one day she went to the idol according to her custom and wept there bitterly: She sacrifices to the idols in vain, then she placed her head upon a stone, and she was overcome by sleep through angelic power: and the Angel of the Lord stood before her and said to Blessed Sabina: Do not weep, for the Lord has heard the voice of your weeping, but it is necessary for you She is warned by an Angel to flee thence: to be snatched away from these wicked men who worship vain things, and you shall find your brother established in the greatest honor; for thus says the Lord: He who leaves father or mother for my sake shall be worthy of me: and he who leaves house, gold, silver, and many possessions, which is the vanity of this world: I will give him treasure in heaven, which rust does not consume nor moth destroy. Luke 18:29; Matthew 6:19. The Angel of the Lord withdrew from her.

[5] And she arose and said to her foster-sister: My dearest Maximinola, did you not perceive something? And she said: I did perceive, my Lady; She reveals her vision and her plan to her handmaid Maximinola: I saw a man unknown to me standing before me, clad in a white garment, and the wind did not stir his clothing, and thus he was speaking with you, his lips were moving, but I do not know what he was saying to you; and my soul was filled with a fragrance of sweetness. Then Blessed Sabina said to her: My dearest Maximinola, will you agree with me, and will you not publicly reveal what I shall ask of you, so that it comes to the ears of my parents? And she answered: Far be it from me, my Lady, that I should reveal your secret; only do not let me consent that you destroy yourself, for I see you afflicted. For the rest, whatever you shall undertake, so be it for me.

[6] And on the next day she walked to the idols according to her custom, She flees with her: and she did not permit the other handmaids to walk with her, but only Maximinola her foster-sister, most silently. At the third hour of the day she took to high and unknown, hard and rough ways: and her foot left the ground as if coming, and she was strengthened on her way. She heard the voices of singing Angels before her from afar, and she herself sang psalms.

[7] Her father and mother, relatives, friends, and servants sought her, She is searched for, through mountains and valleys and every thicket. When they could not find her, then Savinus stretched out his hands to heaven and said: If you are God, who have power in heaven and on earth, and there is no other God besides you; if you have power to save us, send down and strike the idol which I have worshipped until now, which did not save my children for me: or if I had lost them by death, Her father cursing the idols, I would have gone to their tombs and my soul would have been refreshed; because I do not know for what reason they have been taken from me. Then the Lord thundered from heaven and struck the idols and shattered them from top to foundation, they are cast down from heaven, and their golden images, which they worshipped there, he shattered like dust. Then there was a plague of pestilence throughout that whole region until the day of King Abgarus: and many through this began to believe in God.

CHAPTER II. The journey of S. Sabina to Rome, Ravenna, and into Gaul.

[8] Then after a long time had passed in her travels, Blessed Sabina came to Rome, S. Sabina comes to Rome: and she saw the blessed sepulchre of S. Peter and said to her handmaid: We must pray here and receive baptism in the name of the Lord. She attached herself to a certain handmaid of God named Justina; and they devoted themselves equally to prayer, so that neither the course of the day nor of the night passed them by unused. She adopted her as her daughter, She is baptized: and swiftly prepared baptism for her, and she was baptized by that holy and venerable man, Pope Eusebius: and while she was still in her white garments, she performed these miracles.

[9] By the sign of the Cross she heals the blind and the lame. Two blind men, and two disabled, and one man who was blind, lame, and disabled (his father carried him on his neck like an image), speaking with one voice, said: Blessed Sabina, have mercy on us. And she raised her eyes to heaven, saying: God is powerful, compassionate, and very merciful. Then she prostrated herself on the face of the earth and prayed: Lord my God, who rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, since you are the true light, grant through the hand of your sinful handmaid that health be restored to those who are fettered, on account of those standing by. When the prayer was completed, she arose and made the sign of the Cross on their foreheads, and to those who had not seen she gave the light of day; and those who had not walked she made to walk; and he who neither saw, nor spoke, nor walked, stood upon his feet and said: Most blessed Sabina among all virgins. Those standing around, seeing this, fell at her feet, magnifying God; each one bestowed upon her from his goods, and she distributed them to the poor. She was there for about five years.

[10] Warned by the Angel to go to her brother, One feast day, after the morning vigils, when she had laid down on her bed, the Angel of the Lord stood before her and said to her: Blessed Sabina, what have you done? You have despised father and mother and the paternal home, and now here you feast with delights, and you do not persevere in your pilgrimage? Arise, go to the city of Troyes in Champagne; there you will find your brother, whom your soul desires, clothed with a crown of precious stones. The Angel of the Lord withdrew from her; and she arose, and trembled all over, and was greatly afraid, even unto death. Then, strengthened in prayer, she said to her handmaid: My dearest, we ought not to dwell here. And Maximinola said: My Lady, what do you wish to do? If it happens that you die as a pilgrim on the journey, and there is no one to commit your body to burial? And the citizens here greatly rejoiced because of you. Then Blessed Sabina said to her handmaid: The Lord will provide all things for those who hope in him: do not be unbelieving, but be wise. Take two white loaves of bread, perhaps we shall find someone hungry; and one barley loaf for our own use. She departs from Rome with Maximinola: She did as her Lady had said, taking the accustomed road. The citizens sought her with mourning, and the holy and venerable man made inquiry as to who had offended her; but no one could find anyone.

[11] After some time had passed, she came to the city of Ravenna: She comes to Ravenna: she found the only daughter of a certain wealthy man prepared for death. When the holy and most blessed woman had come before the house, behold, she said to a handmaid coming out of the house: Return to the house, and tell the master of the house that a pilgrim here requests lodging. The girl said: My Lady, how can you have lodging here, since the daughter of the masters is prepared for death, and there are lamentations over her there? Blessed Sabina said to her: Return, tell them; she will not die on my account. The girl returned and said to her mistress: My Lady, a pilgrim here requests lodging. The mother rejoiced, running to meet her, and said: My Lady, come and see with what cruelty our daughter is prepared for death, and we cannot obtain mercy from God, that we might die and she might live. Taking her hand, she led her beneath the roof of the house. She greeted the household; then approaching the bed of the innocent girl, she prostrated herself on the face of the earth and prayed thus: My God, She heals a dying girl by her prayers: who have the power of killing and giving life, whose mysteries I cannot declare; who raised Lazarus from the tomb on the third day, already decaying; grant through the hand of your sinful handmaid that the innocent one be restored to her parents. She arose, and taking her hand she raised the girl; and she who had not spoken for three or four days said: For this reason you have come, handmaid of God, that you might lead me out of the underworld and gladden my parents: but give me to eat and to drink from your hand, that I may never hunger nor thirst: and taking your garment you will veil my head, for it is necessary for me to be with you in my life. Blessed Sabina said: Because of the beauty of your appearance you cannot walk with me, but if you persevere to the end, you shall always be with me in the glory of God. She does not allow her to go on pilgrimage with her. They pressed her to remain there, accompanying her with lamentation for joy all the way to another city.

CHAPTER III. The death, burial, and miracles of S. Sabina.

[12] When she had learned through other cities that the city of Troyes was now near, She comes within sight of the city of Troyes: she hastened more quickly to approach. When she had already come near the city, seeing the constructed walls (for they were among mountains), she said to a certain shepherd: Tell me, what is that which appears before us? And he said: Who indeed does not know that this is the city of Troyes? She raised her eyes and said: Lord, I give you thanks, because you have not defrauded the desire of my soul, and you have caused my steps to endure. When she had come a mile from the city, she said to her handmaid: My dearest Maximinola, let us sit here a little; perhaps someone will come out of the city who will gladden us and make us more certain. And while she was sitting near the beginning of the road on the pavement, behold a venerable man named Lucerius, coming out of the city, said to her: Where are you from? Blessed Sabina answered: My Lord, I am from another city than here. The venerable Lucerius said: Why have you lied to me, for your appearance From Lucerius she learns of the death and tomb of her brother: and speech indicate to me a pilgrim? And she said: My Lord, you have said it, for I am a pilgrim, and I am seeking my brother Sabinianus, who, departing from the paternal home, nowhere appeared before us; and it was indicated to me that he was here in this city. The venerable Lucerius said: The man you seek was here, but is not: a short time ago he was beheaded by persecutors for his good works, by order of the Emperor Aurelian and the Governor Valerianus; but may the Lord avenge his blood. If you wish to know more certainly where he is buried, go twelve miles from the city above the River Seine: there a certain woman built a cell over him, and he is buried; when you enter the cell on the east side, there is the stone where the one who built the cell itself is buried. And on the right hand there are two large stones: in the whiter stone, which is next to the wall, there is buried the one you say is your brother. Go there and return to us; you shall dwell with us for the rest of your life, and it shall be well with you.

[13] When he had passed by, Blessed Sabina prostrated herself on the face of the earth and prayed: Lord my God, who from my youth deigned to govern me, if indeed you know that I come to you intact, and I have not transgressed your commandments, command that you receive what you entrusted to me; do not permit me to be wearied further on hard journeys, She dies piously: and command my unworthy body to be committed to burial; and do not permit me to be moved from here; and I commend to you my handmaid, who has endured so much on my account, and my brother, whom I was not able to see in this world -- may I at least deserve to see him in your kingdom. When the prayer was completed, she breathed forth her spirit, and was received by Angels into heaven. The handmaid, sitting at her feet, wept bitterly, saying: My Lady, why did you not listen to me? Where is the water with which to wash your body? Where is the stone where I should lay your body to rest? For I have no ability to dig, nor to whom have you commended wretched me? Where do I seek the help of life?

[14] While she was weeping, behold the venerable Lucerius, returning to the city, saw that she whom he had seen alive just a short time before was now dead, and said to the handmaid: Do not weep, for I will go quickly and return to bury her. She is buried with honor: He went quickly to the city, and entering his house, opening the chests of his vestibules, he prepared choice garments, and a great stone for burying her. Then he sent a herald to cry through the city: Priests, servants, and pilgrims, come to bury a pilgrim woman who has died outside the city. Immediately there was great mourning in the entire city, so that neither man The body cannot be brought into the city, nor woman who could walk on foot remained there; but they hastened to bury her, and they tried to bring her into the city; but they could not move the blessed body.

[15] And behold, a certain woman named Eleutheria, who was blind and seemed to have withered hands, A blind woman recovers her sight by touching her garment, could not approach her on account of the multitude of the crowd, and said: I beseech you therefore to permit me to approach the blessed body, for I am not worthy to touch even the garment with which she is clothed. And when she had approached the blessed body and touched her garment, immediately her eyes were opened, and her withered hand was restored to its proper form.

[16] Recognizing therefore the power of God, they buried her in that very place. The venerable Lucerius prepared so much from his own goods that all were satisfied and each one returned to his own home. And when the venerable Lucerius was weighed down by infirmities, he turned his eyes to the wall and prayed confidently: Lucerius, summoned by a heavenly voice, dies. Lord God, you know how I have walked in the way of truth; grant refreshment to my soul, and permit me to build a cell over her. Then the voice of the Lord spoke to him, saying: Lucerius, you are about to depart, and your reward is with you; afterward a man, a ruler of the Church, will come who will build over her: then your brightness shall appear in the heavens, which you have prepared on earth by your works. This handmaid of God lived forty-eight years. She died in peace on the fourth day before the Kalends of February, in the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory, power and dominion, forever and ever, Amen.