ON SS. PRIMUS AND FELICIANUS,
ROMAN MARTYRS ON THE NOMENTAN WAY.
UNDER DIOCLETIAN.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
Primus, Roman Martyr, on the Nomentan Way (S.)
Felicianus, Roman Martyr on the Nomentan Way (S.)
G. H. & D. P.
§. I. On their Acts & Relics.
Among the more illustrious Roman Martyrs,
who in the persecution of Diocletian &
Maximian, after enduring very many
torments, suffered, deservedly are reckoned
SS. Primus & Felicianus, &
themselves Roman citizens. The Acts of the martyrdom
were edited by Laurentius Surius, but (as he prefaces) with phrase altered
& described somewhat more briefly. We have found them
in very many ancient manuscript codices, of which
we have two by us, and one indeed written in a
most ancient hand. The Acts of the martyrdom are given from ancient Mss. We also have the same
Acts from manuscript codices of the Cathedral Church of Saint-Omer
in Artois, of the Trier monastery of S. Maximinus,
of Rebdorf of the Canons Regular in the diocese of Eichstätt,
of Utrecht of S. Salvator, of Parc near Louvain,
& a triple one of the Queen of Sweden. The same in Kaiserwerth
on the Rhine, at Capua & Naples in Campania,
then also at Rome in the Vallicellian, Lateran
& Vatican Libraries are extant, and they are also in volume 2
of Boninus Mombritius. There is everywhere a great agreement to amazement,
if some minutiae of almost no moment are excepted.
Meanwhile they do not please John Hesselius; perhaps
because the Saints are said to be presented to both Emperors,
which should be attributed to one. Nor do we believe them to be of the first
class and taken from Proconsular Acts: but
long afterwards adorned with rhetorical style, and with circumstances of speeches
held back and forth, perhaps even of various punishments: yet we think they were written long before
the translation of the bodies.
[2] On the same ancient Acts the Martyrologies rely, &
what we have, Cult from ancient Fasti. the most ancient Epternach apograph of S. Jerome
begins this IX day thus: V Ides
of June. At Rome of Primus & Felicianus. In a very ancient Ms.
of the Queen of Sweden, valued by Lucas Holstenius in his Animadversions on
the Roman Martyrology, is added "on the Nomentan
Way." In the Corbie apograph printed at Paris
it has thus: At the city of Nomentum, the passion of SS. Primus
& Felicianus, Martyrs. That they were delivered by command of the Emperors
to Promotus, Governor of the city of Nomentum,
the Acts have at no. 3. That the city of Nomentum is called
at this time Lamentana and was restored from the ruins of ancient Numentum,
a town of the Sabines,
and that not far thence the Numentan Way
falls into the Salarian, Athanasius Kircher accurately teaches in his
Latium p. 221; with whom agrees in these Acts the noted distance
of XIII miles from the city of Rome. There therefore at the Numentan
arches, buried near (others within) the Sand-pit,
& when the persecution of the Pagans had ceased, the Christians
there built a basilica in honor of Primus and Felicianus.
And thus the Acts end, with the agreement of the ancient Fasti.
[3] Anastasius the Librarian, in the Life of Pope Theodore
of Rome, when he had related that Paul, Bishop of Constantinople,
and Pyrrhus, having relapsed into the heresy of the Monothelites,
and condemned by Theodore (which is said to have been done
in the year DCXLVIII); Translation to the church of S. Stephen on the Caelian hill adds these things.
At the same time were revealed the bodies of the holy
Martyrs Primus & Felicianus, which were in the Sand-pit
buried on the Nomentan Way, and were brought into the city
of Rome. Which were also deposited in the basilica of B. Stephen
the Protomartyr on the Caelian hill, where also gifts
he offered, three golden bowls, silver tablets
before the confession, two silver arches. Hence Baronius,
in his Notes on this day, has these things: In the same
ancient memorial of S. Stephen the Protomartyr, placed on the Caelian
hill, still are extant their most ancient
sacred images, woven in mosaic work, where also
their bodies were deposited, on which account
in the Martyrologies of various authors, written after this translation,
the natal day of the same Martyrs
is described as at the Caelian Hill. So Usuard, on the V
Ides of June, says, At Rome on the Caelian Hill SS. Primus
& Felicianus, under Diocletian & Maximian the Emperors.
These most glorious Martyrs, leading a long
life in the Lord, & now together enduring like,
now separately various and exquisite torments,
at length completed the course of their happy combat being smitten with the sword.
It is added in the Roman Martyrology,
By Promotus, Governor of Nomentum. In the same manner
Ado and Notker begin this day, who weave a very long
elogium from the same Acts: & these the later writers commonly follow.
[4] Relics at Legione on Lake Verbano. That at this time no notable Relics of
SS. Primus & Felicianus are extant at Rome, we gather from the Index
of Relics, published by Octavius Pancirolus in the Hidden Treasure
of the city of Rome, where there is nothing about them, not even
in the church of S. Stephen on the Caelian hill, now the Rotunda,
of which he treats in region 2 church 5. There is a place,
on the left side of Lake Verbano, now Maggiore, called Legione;
which Paul Morigia in the History of the said lake
describes in ch. 23, and asserts that the body of S. Primus & Relics
of S. Felicianus were deposited in the church dedicated to S. Primus,
and that they were given by Pope Sergius II,
the monument of which translation Galesinius in
his Notes on this day asserts is read thus: Here rests buried the body of S. Primus Martyr,
to be venerated in Christ:
which the Pope worthy of God Sergius the Younger
granted to Erembertus an illustrious man from the city of Rome, with
hymns and praises, and spiritual canticles, when
it was translated; whose spirit holds the primacy among His Saints
has been declared by many signs.
The body of B. Primus the Martyr with the Relics
of S. Felicianus was deposited in the year of the Incarnation of Our Lord
Jesus Christ DCCCVI, on the Kalends of August, Indiction
VIII. By the ordering of the Lord Angilbertus Archbishop
in his XXIII year. The Passion of the Saints on the VI Ides of June.
The same monument is exhibited by Bonaventura Castilioneus,
on the ancient Seats of the Insubrian Gauls in
Italy illustrated col. 373, but Indiction IX.
But because Sergius II sat from the day XXVII of January
of the year DCCCXLIV to the next XXVII of January of the year
DCCCXLVII, we judge it should be read in the year DCCCXLVI,
Indiction IX, in the XXIII year of Archbishop Angilbertus,
because he is proven to have begun the Archbishopric of Milan
in the year DCCCXXIV. In the same monument such as it is
there is again error, when the passion of the Saints VI Ides of June,
instead of V Ides of June, is ascribed. Wrongly also, in the
Appendix to volume X of the Ecclesiastical Annals,
the same matter is transferred to Pope Sergius III, because
he sat from year V to XII after the nine hundredth, because then
among the Milanese not Angilbertus, but Acho or
Atho held the Episcopate, as can be seen in our
Exegesis on those Archbishops before volume 7 of May.
Then Sergius the Younger is wont to be called the second, not
the third. But because Castilioneus asserts that, from the remains
of the ruins of the little town of Legiunum, how great its extent
had once been can easily be discerned (which ruins were perhaps made
when Frederick Barbarossa in the year MCLXI overturned Milan,
as we have more fully recounted at the Life of S. Galdinus XVIII
April), it can be that on this occasion the aforesaid Relics
were carried elsewhere.
[5] Jacobus Gualla, lib. 5 Sanctuary of Pavia ch. 20,
deduces the Acts of the Martyrdom of SS. Primus & Felicianus, At Pavia, and calls them
brothers & asserts that their bodies were brought to Ticinum.
But in the preceding chapter he treats of the Church of S. Agatha,
there founded by Partharitus King of the Lombards, adding,
that it is adorned with the venerable Relics of the Divine Martyrs Primus
& Felicianus. But before, namely
lib. 4 ch. 14, he had said, among the Relics
found in the year MDIV in the church of S. Peter in Caelo-aureo,
were some of SS. Primus & Felicianus. That some Relics also
of these are in the village of Quadringentum in the Alexandrian territory in
of these Saints. The same in the General Catalogue indicates,
that at Tuscana in Etruria is celebrated on the IV day of March
the Translation of SS. Cornelius & Pontianus the Pontiffs,
Primus, Felicianus, & other Martyrs, about which since
he adds nothing in his Notes, nor have we read anything elsewhere,
further information must be awaited by us concerning the quality and quantity
of the same Relics, and concerning the time
& author of the donation made to this church, which commonly
has the name Tuscanella, between Orvieto & Castro, At Tuscanella
as among the Passed-Over we have said.
[6] We celebrate on this day the martyrdom of S. Vincent of Agen
in Aquitaine; At Agen in the church of S. Caprasius, where also S. Caprasius suffered martyrdom
on XX October: in whose church there
are preserved the Relics of the bodies of SS. Primus & Felicianus,
not however of the head: and thence the occasion was seized
of saying that these Martyrs were there crowned together with Caprasius:
& this is inserted in some Acts of S. Caprasius.
Which however is not found in the more accurate
Acts, such as are extant in Labbé in the Appendix to
Volume 2 of the New Library; nor likewise in any ancient
Martyrologies, in which the memory of S. Caprasius is
celebrated, and indeed with a fuller elogium, but without
any mention of these Martyrs. It is not new
that by error Martyrs are said to have suffered there, where their
Relics are extant. Examples occur very often in
this our work. I bring one from Gregory of Tours
book 1 of Miracles ch. 47, where the reading of their combat
relates that SS. Nazarius & Celsus suffered at Embrun, a city of the Gauls,
& that their bodies were there
buried; whereas it is certain that they were taken away by the sword at Milan,
as is to be said on XXVIII July. In the Gallican Martyrology
of Saussay on the second day of June are joined to S. Vincent
SS. Primus & Felicianus, as if they had suffered together,
which we reject to the Acts of S. Vincent of Agen on this IX of June;
until learned men among the people of Agen
shall supply us with more certain documents, for separating
their Saints from those whom we here put forth, Among the Vermandois. with the Acts
of S. Caprasius on the day XX October to be elucidated. Meanwhile
we see no cause why Saussay could have referred them to 2 June, as he did,
& we said among the Passed-Over then. Among the Relics (which with the body of S. Rigobertus,
Archbishop of Reims, are enumerated IV January
in the history of the Translation ch. 4, in the year DCCCXCIV
translated to the Vermandois, & placed at his head) are also reckoned some of SS. Primus & Felicianus
the Martyrs.
[7] Masinus in his Bologna surveyed, on this IX of June
asserts, S. Felicianus is venerated in various Churches, Relics of S. Felicianus at Bologna. on account of the Relics
brought from Rome; namely among the Nuns of S.
Louis on the Pratella street, on account of the body of some S. Felicianus
received in the year MDCXXII with the faculty of Gregory XV:
likewise in the Church of the Servites; because there is the Head
of S. Felicianus Martyr, obtained from the cemetery of S. Cyriaca
in the year MDCLX. He also says that some Relics
are in the church of S. Columban of the Fathers serving the sick,
as also in the church of All Saints:
but of these we believe nothing pertains to the Saints
of whom we now treat. Several by that name may have suffered
at Rome; on several also the same name may have been imposed
by exhumers of sacred bodies, who were believed
to be of Martyrs, but bore no indication of name:
to such, that some name be given at the discretion of the Pontifical
Vicar, who permits the same to be carried to public cult,
the custom has obtained.
[8] Of S. Primus among the Comensians, Thus the body of S. Primus Martyr, suffering at Rome,
buried in the cemetery of Cyriaca, in the year MDCLXVII
was brought into the diocese of Como to the village
of Campo Dulceno in the valley of S. Jacobi, & the memory
inscribed in the Martyrology of Como of Primus Aloysius
de Tattis; who however prudently warns, that this Primus
should not be considered the brother of S. Felicianus, which same is to be said of
other Relics under both names among various places:
for also our College of Münster
in Westphalia, & elsewhere of both. has some Relics under the names of SS. Primus &
Felicianus, & at Tuscanella in Etruria the same are named among
the Saints, concerning whose translation to the church
of S. Mary Major there is performed an Office
Double on the day IV of March.
§. II. On the Bodies of the same Saints, at Lithopolis in Carniola.
[9] Joannes Ludovicus Schonlebius, Archdeacon of Lower
Carniola, In the town of Stain in Carniola, most studious of this our work,
has often written to us about the bodies of both Saints,
long honored in his province, in a church
once dedicated to S. Radegund, but now bearing the name of both
Saints, near the town of Stain, which the learned
call Lithopolis. The tenor of his last letter
is this: I am soliciting documents about the bodies
of SS. Primus & Felicianus Martyrs, which are said to be preserved
in Carniola; & indeed in a place distant only
three miles from this city of Laibach which I inhabit.
The Franciscan Fathers have them at Stain
or Lithopolis, near whom on a high hill is
their bodies were brought thither; which from there were translated
into the town, only a small part being left
on the mountain, on account of the incursions of the Turks &
the insolences of the heretics. The bodies are believed to be held, There mostly lives
the Provincial of the Franciscans, whose Secretary, familiar
to me, will go thither in the first days, & will bring the requested
documents. Thus he on that day VII of July, at Laibach
in the year MDCLXXXI: but alas! soon afterwards extinguished, he could not transmit
whatever he had received.
[10] Yet the same Schonlebius published, in the same
year, Carniola old and new, or Annals sacred and profane of the famous
Duchy of Carniola, from the creation of the World
to our age, in volume 1
part 3 on the year DCCCCLXXIV p. 517 he is written to have these things,… In the same year Abraham Bishop of Pritingen,
driven into exile by the Emperor Otto,
because he had conspired with Henry of Bavaria, grasping the fasces of the Empire,
fled into Carinthia; where
at Lake Weresee he founded a Collegiate Church, in 874 brought;
with a Dean & five Canons, dedicated the sacred
edifice to SS. Primus & Felicianus the Martyrs,
with their lipsana brought in, which now in Carniola
at Lithopolis among the Franciscan Fathers under the high altar
are preserved: but how & when they were
translated hither, I have not yet detected. In the cemetery of this church
in our age, the skull of a certain one long since deceased,
separated from the rest of the bones,
and destitute of every natural tenor, from itself
brought forth a white lily, which together with the lily in the sacristy of the church
is today raised up. We have already seen a miracle similar to this, in the Addenda
to XVI May volume 7 p. 791; where is represented
the still incorrupt body of B. Francis of Siena
with a lily from his mouth, inscribed by leaves with the name of Mary. & they were still in 1689:
But after Schonlebius had written these things,
namely in the year MDCLXXXIX a Chronicle of Carniola in the native
German tongue was published by John Weichardus Valvasor,
& p. 810 says, the sarcophagus which now contains
the bones of the Saints, is offered to be seen under the altar through
iron grates: then p. 811 says, one league from the city
among snowy mountains one higher than the others
numbers four churches; the first of which is of SS. Primus
& Felicianus, the second of S. Radegund, the third of S. Lawrence,
the fourth again of SS. Primus & Felicianus; & in
this remains still a small shrine, containing some part
of the said Relics.
[11] How and when this was separated from the other parts,
the Instrument sent to us will likewise teach. for when these were demanded back from the Franciscans,
We Fr. Nardus of Monopoli, by the grace of God & of the Apostolic
See Bishop of Ansariensis, of His Imperial Majesty
Preacher & Counselor, Provost of Lansbron,
Canon of Olmütz, Parish Priest
of Gurkfeld, throughout Styria & Carinthia with
all authority Visitor delegated Apostolic
& Patriarchal. There is no one who does not know,
that the victories and glories of the Martyrs by this divine counsel
are frequented by peoples, that due honor
may be paid to them, but that honor is due, to be carried to the mountain to the proper church of the Saints which falls wholly to the glory of God:
thence indeed David exhorts us; praise
the Lord in His Saints; on account of which the Lord keeps
their bones, that not one of these may be broken, that
He may appear wonderful in His Saints, and as is fitting
be glorified by us. Wherefore since a certain difference
arose between the people of Camnik, & the Friars Minor of the
Observance so called, concerning the bodies of the holy Martyrs
Primus & Felicianus, where they ought to be preserved;
whether in the temple of the said Friars,
where now for many years they rest; or
truly upon the mountain afar, in the church constructed to the honor
of the same saints; We, first led,
because in the city, on account of nearness
and far lesser troubles of the times, greater concourses
of the peoples are made to the temple of the Friars Minor
of the Observance, where there is the presence of Christ our God
and Lord, the Propitiator; where divine Offices and sacred things
are celebrated, sung; where the Sacrament is administered,
sermons are attended, & professions:
to which reason alone & first
we must look, as we are admonished by the usage of holy Church, & by the testimonies of the holy
Fathers & Doctors: the Visitator Chorepiscopus in the year 1028
with this also added, that since custody must be applied to
the whole treasure (for he wishes to be plundered, who carries the treasure
publicly in the road) nor must it be exposed to the dangers
of enemies, of thieves, nor of solitude; and we are taught
by example, when from fear of the invading Turks,
by common vow of the peoples it was translated from the desert
to the habitation, where now the said Friars
will give attention to the cult of the holy Relics, of the church, of the altars,
not only to cult, but also to diligent custody,
and the citizens with them: finally, because the condition
of the possessor is better, especially of holy
Relics, as the custom & examples of the whole
Christian world supply, and in good faith
the Friars entered into the possession of the said church, conferred to them with annexed properties:
& for these causes,
and others known to us, of full judgment & sound
counsel, by no particular affection, had decreed to be left to the Friars, but led by the zeal of justice
& religion (of which the cult of the Saints is a species),
we adjudge the deposit of the said holy Martyrs
to the church of the Friars, & there to be preserved
we command and pronounce, under a double key,
of which one the city, the other the Friars shall have.
[12] with two particles sent back to the mountain But truly, since many attest the devotion of the peoples
towards the church above the mountain,
& allege that it was built in honor
of the said Saints, & that if it should be destroyed
it will fall; for the greater honor of the Saints, the devotion
of the peoples, & a notable increase of merit, from
both bodies a fragment of bone honorably and processionally
shall be transferred thither, & preserved under a double
key likewise, of which one the Parish Priest, the other
the City shall hold. And so the city of Camnik, as
Sion will be; a wall and outer-wall will be placed in it: it will enjoy a double
protection of city & fields;
within and without the spirit will find pastures: in the lower
church the weak shall be healed of sins, that with virtues
advancing they may be able to ascend to the mountain. We wish
the authentic copy of our decree
to be communicated to the parties, the original being diligently kept
with the Parish Priest. In faith &c. Given at Laibach
on the first day of February in the year of the virginal birth MDCXXVIII.
And it was subscribed; Fr. Caesar Bishop of Ans.
Apostolic & Patriarchal Visitor. So the transcript, sent to us
from Carniola, where the Visitor's name, at the beginning
Nardus, the name & title of that Visitor, at the end Caesar written, throws upon us the suspicion
that neither place is sound, but he is to be called Caesnardus.
Nor does it seem more accurately to be said Bishop
of Ansariensis, instead of Ansamensis: since Anserium
is known nowhere to be or to have been, Ansamum a city of Moesia
Secunda is shown from the old register of the Empire
by Ortelius: whence that title could be taken, as
commonly they are wont to be taken from the Parts of the infidels which it is the custom
to give to such Bishops, ordained for the support of the greater Bishops,
just as this one seems to have been ordained
in support of the Patriarch of Aquileia, Stain is also called Camnik. for visiting the more remote
Churches. Finally I wish here from the Carniolans
to inquire how the city commonly called Stain by a general
name, signifying Citadel or Stone, is here called
Camnik, whether perhaps that older and proper
name which in the time of that Visitor the half-learned affected,
the more usual being despised?
ACTS
From various ancient manuscript Codices.
Primus, Roman Martyr, on the Nomentan Way (S.)
Felicianus, Roman Martyr on the Nomentan Way (S.)
BHL Number: 6922
FROM MSS.
[1] The idolaters inciting, In the time of Diocletian & Maximian the Emperors,
so that whoever was found a follower of this way,
& had not been willing to agree with the idols,
was punished by various and diverse tortures. Therefore the holy men, Primus
& Felicianus, persevering in the faith of Christ, were
by the Pontiffs of the temples accused before Diocletian
& Maximian, who said: The gods scorn to give us responses,
saying; Unless you compel Primus & Felicianus
to sacrifice, you can attain no benefits.
Therefore succor us & your Empire,
lest we perish. Then Diocletian
more diligently, bound by order of the Emperors, they should arrest them: for they were
Roman citizens. And when they were searched out, they were arrested
by the soldiers: who leading them to the Emperors,
bound with iron, they ordered them to be shut in prison. they are consoled by an Angel:
And when they had been bound for the name of Christ,
an Angel of the Lord b stood by them, to console them;
& freed them from the chains, with which they were bound.
And the blessed Martyrs said: We bless Thee, Lord
our God; because Thou hast consoled us Thy servants,
& hast loosed all our chains through Thy
Angel, just as Thou didst to Blessed Peter Thy Apostle.
And we beg Thee, Lord Jesus Christ,
that Thou wouldst not make us aliens from his merits.
[2] But after some days, the Emperors ordered them
to be presented to their sight. And when
the blessed Martyrs Primus & Felicianus had been brought in,
from the Office it was said: They stand by. And the Emperors said to them:
Are you the ones, who scorn our commands, they refuse to sacrifice to Hercules & Jupiter,
& reckon them as nothing? The holy Martyrs said:
We have always reckoned them as nothing. The Emperors
said: We patiently bear your insults:
sacrifice to the god Hercules & Jupiter, & do not destroy
the dignity of your race. The blessed Martyrs said:
We offer to God a sacrifice of propitiation & praise in
an odor of sweetness; & we do not consent to the works
of darkness; of which you are partakers. The Emperors
said: Approach & sacrifice to the god Hercules
& Jupiter the most invincible; otherwise, the executioners will mightily
tear you. The blessed Martyrs said: We do not fear
to suffer torments for the name of Christ, that we may
be able to attain the crown of martyrdom: but we even gladly
embrace these, that we may merit to be partakers
of His promises. The Emperors said: ready to suffer martyrdom: Let words cease,
& offer libations to the gods, & to their aid
invoke them. The holy Martyrs Primus &
Felicianus said: We marvel at your imprudence.
How then can we invoke stones & wood
to our aid, which are reduced to such miseries,
that unless they are helped by men,
& unless they have been more tightly fastened with iron & lead,
they can in no way stand; & unless they are guarded by dogs,
they are stolen by thieves at night. And knowing these things,
why are you blind? Then Diocletian was indignant
& Maximian, & they ordered the soldiers, that they should lead
them to the temple of Hercules; &, if they were unwilling to sacrifice,
they should mightily afflict them with punishments. they are beaten with rods: And the soldiers receiving
them, led them according to the order of the Emperors
to the temple of Hercules. And when by no
reason could they move them, but for the name of Christ they preferred
rather to die than to live: the soldiers extended them,
& mightily slaughtered them with rods, saying to them:
Why do you not obey the decrees of the Emperors, & sacrifice
to the omnipotent gods? The Martyrs said,
We must obey the heavenly Emperor, who has power,
& can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.
Your earthly Emperors, who worship vain and empty
images, Gehenna of inextinguishable fire shall receive.
[3] When the soldiers had announced to the Emperors
what had been done; very angry, taken away to Numentum, they ordered them to be handed over to Promotus
Governor of the city of Numentum, that he should mightily
tear them: &, if they were unwilling to place libations to the gods,
he ordered them to be killed. And the soldiers receiving them, led them
on the way, which is called Numentan, at the thirteenth milestone,
bound with iron; & they put them in prison
near the forum of the city. But the blessed Martyrs Primus
& Felicianus did not cease from prayer and hymns;
singing psalms to the Lord and saying: For the honor
of Thy name, Lord, free us; & be propitious
to our sins, for Thy name; lest sometime
the gentiles say, Where is their God? But daily
they were refreshed by an Angel of the Lord, & they blessed
the Lord. But after a long time, Promotus the Governor
ordered a tribunal to be prepared for him in the forum of the city of Numentum:
& sitting at the tribunal, said: Let
the persons be brought in. And when they had been brought in
holy Primus & Felicianus, the Governor said to them: According to
the precept of our Lords the Princes,
sacrifice to the gods, whom divinity has
declared to be great. The holy Martyrs said: they are refreshed by an Angel: Do not say
Of our Lords, but say, Of the impious, who kill
those who believe in Christ, & worship stones & wood. How
can your gods bestow benefits on you,
who speaking do not speak, seeing do not
see, nor shall ever see?
[4] Hearing these things, the Governor ordered them to be separated from each other,
S. Felicianus is separated from Primus, estimating that they could be changed by punishment
from their consent, & thus sacrifice. And with B. Primus separated, the Governor
says to B. Felicianus; Take counsel for your old age,
& sacrifice to the most invincible God Jupiter, according to
the command of our Lords. B. Felicianus answered:
The Lord my God will take counsel for my old age,
who has preserved me from my youth in the faith of His
name, & may He deign henceforth to preserve me.
For your threats can inflict on me earthly terror, he is beaten with leaded scourges,
but can in no way change my mind.
But the angry Governor: ordered him to be mightily beaten with
the leaden scourges. Afterwards, having raised him, he said to him; Why
do you not put away this insanity of your breast, &
choose good & pleasant days, & not with various torments
macerate your body? B. Felicianus said: I
am now eighty years old, & it is thirty years
since I knew the truth of God, & I chose to live well
in Christ, who will free me from the hands of your cruelty.
And when he said many things similar to these, the Governor
ordered him to be tied to a post, & sharp nails in his hands
& feet to be fixed, he commanded. And the insane Governor said to him;
So long will you stand fixed, as long as to the immortal gods
you render the due office. his hands & feet are pierced with nails: To these things S. Felicianus,
fixed in the love of the Lord, with a joyful gray-haired face,
hanging on the wood, was singing psalms to the Lord, saying: In the Lord
will I hope, I shall not fear what man may do to me.
The Governor says to him; Wretch, put away this vanity of your mind,
& deny that you are a Christian, & free yourself from
the various torments, which are prepared for you. To whom
S. Felicianus answered, saying; Unhappy man and most wretched
of all, shall I deny my Creator, who
made heaven & earth, the sea & all things which are in them?
And how can I deny this, & adore
dead trunks & vain gods? Then filled with fury
the Governor, ordered him to be tortured for a long time. But the holy Felicianus
said: I give Thee thanks, Lord Jesus Christ,
only-begotten Son of the living & true God, because I have merited
now to be counted in the society of those, who for Thy name
have attained to the crown of martyrdom. tied to a post for three days he remains without food, But the angry Governor;
ordered him for three days & three nights to remain
on the same wood, & neither water, nor bread
to be ministered to him, saying; Or thus he will fail. And when
three days & three nights had been completed, & S. Felicianus
remained in the praises of God satisfied with heavenly food,
he was saying: beaten with scourges he is shut in prison. Be my helper, do not forsake me, nor
despise me, God my Saviour. But the Governor,
filled with fury, ordered him to be beaten with scourges, & thus from
the post taken down, & shut in custody; & ordered that
no one should enter to him at all.
[5] But on another day, he ordered B. Primus to be presented to him.
And when he had been brought, Promotus the Governor said to him:
Behold your brother c, already consenting to the decrees of the Emperors,
sacrificing to the omnipotent gods, S. Primus does not believe the Governor about S. Felicianus perverted, is now
Whence you, if you likewise consent, & sacrifice
to the most invincible gods; both of you will be friends of the Augusti.
S. Primus answered: Although you may be a son
of the devil, yet you foretell that my brother has consented
to the heavenly Emperor, & not to most vain men,
who refused to place their hope in the Lord, &
therefore their soul will be in extermination, & in destruction:
& now as if by persuading, you meditate things feigned, & not
true: for they can be ignorant of nothing who receive
the Holy Spirit. For B. Felicianus, whom
you wearied with tortures, & could not change
from his purpose, you have made to be in custody: but he
for the name of the Lord, as if in paradise, so rejoices.
Yet whatever punishments &
beatings you have inflicted on him, today have been announced to me
through an Angel of the Lord: whence I do not deserve to be separated
from his passion. Then he ordered him to be beaten with the strongest cudgels,
until he should consent to sacrifice. And when he was being beaten,
B. Primus answered: Even if you have my body in your
power, my soul however no one has
in power except God alone. Again the Governor said to him: he is beaten with cudgels,
Approach & sacrifice to the gods. S. Primus said: You sacrifice
to your gods, & all who stand by you: but I
will sacrifice to my God a sacrifice & offering of propitiation.
Again the Governor said to the soldiers, that with torches
his sides should be burned. And when they had raised him
on the rack, & burned his body with torches;
the blessed and glorious Martyr of Christ Primus was singing psalms,
saying: Thou hast tried us with fire, as
silver is tried; & I shall not die, but shall live, he is burned with torches & I shall narrate
the works of the Lord. And I bless Thee, Lord Jesus Christ,
because trusting in Thee I feel nothing of what the ministers of the devil
have inflicted on me. And when the Governor had heard this
that he felt nothing, he said to his own: I think the gods have shown
their virtues to men, or by sorceries
this man overcomes all things. To these things S. Primus said: feeling nothing: Do you presume
to impute to sorceries, what Christ to the praise
of His name has deigned to confer on His servants? And
he ordered him to be taken down from the rack, & he commanded lead to be melted,
& stretched on a bed, boiling
he commanded to be poured into his mouth, boiling lead that all his interior parts
might be consumed: & he commanded S. Felicianus to be present,
that as if terrified by his suffering, he might consent to the sacrifices.
And when B. Primus had been stretched out, he drank the lead, which they poured for him,
as if it were the coldest water: &
he was singing psalms to the Lord & said: he drinks it as water. Behold how good &
how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell as one. And again:
How sweet are Thy words to my palate, above
honey and the honeycomb to my mouth.
[6] And B. Primus said to the Governor: Behold he is not separated
from me, of whom you promised, & said to me, Both joined warn the Governor.
that he would consent to your mortal gods. But this one,
stands by trusting in the Lord, because He Himself
will free us from all punishments, for whose name
we suffer these things: because all things which are seen, are for a time;
but the things which God has prepared for those who love
Him, are eternal. Behold we have been united in the glory
of redemption: no enemy will deceive us by fraud,
nor will any darkness of shadows snatch Christ from us.
The Governor says to him; Sacrifice to the gods, & place libations:
else I will make you to be tortured by the bites of wild beasts.
The blessed Martyrs said: Hear us, & understand, &
return from the dead & perishing demons, & believe in
the living & true God, & in Jesus Christ His Son,
that your soul may be saved. Then the Governor, kindled
with fury, said to Felicianus: Why do you persist in insanity,
just as this lost one? Approach & sacrifice.
S. Felicianus said: For he is not lost: but if
you assent to his words, you will merit to enter into the powers
of the Lord: but because your father the devil has hardened you,
you will have entrance into eternal fire. And when
the Governor was placed in anguish of soul, he ordered
them to be led to the amphitheater, which is near the forum
of the city of Numentum: & sitting at the tribunal, he ordered
two huge lions to be released against them, Lions sent against them at whose roaring
all the people of the city of Numentum trembled.
And when they had been released, falling with a rush,
at the very feet they began to roll themselves; & as a father
seeing his son after a long time, so with all
joy & meekness they congratulated them, &
rolled themselves at their footsteps. & bears are tamed: And when the lions
had withdrawn, he ordered the most ferocious bears to be released against them:
who likewise when they had been released, putting off all
ferocity, were made as fawning lambs, & they too
began to roll themselves at the footprints of the holy Martyrs.
And the blessed Martyrs said: Governor of iniquity,
behold the beasts recognize their Creator; whereby when 1500 had been converted, & you
are hardened in heart, & you do not recognize God,
who deigned to create you in His image.
Then the people roared among themselves, & gave infinite
shouts to heaven; & there believed in the Lord
more than a thousand d five hundred men with all their own.
But the multitude of the neighboring cities had come
to the spectacle about twelve thousand; excepting
boys & women.
[7] & buried they shine with miracles: But the Governor seeing, that he could not overcome them,
& that many through them believed in the Lord,
ordered them to undergo capital sentence. And when they had been cast
outside the amphitheater, there nearby they were beheaded,
& their bodies they cast out unburied
to the dogs. But neither beast, nor bird, nor
fly could touch their bodies. But by night
their bodies were seized by faithful Christians, & they carried
them to the Numentan Arches within the sand-pit;
& there they made a great lamentation, & wrapping
them in a new shroud with aromatic spices, near the sand-pit
placed them; & in hymns and psalms for thirty
days and nights in the name of God e they persevered; where
many benefits abound unto the present day.
And if any of the sick were brought there; they were freed,
from whatever infirmity they were held.
Which thing also Christ does still now, let none doubt
unto the present day. & a basilica built they are honored. And after some
years when the persecution of the Pagans had ceased; many
Christians, in honor of the blessed Martyrs Primus
& Felicianus, built a basilica in their name f,
hoping to obtain mercy
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: but their basilica
is from the city of Rome g at the fourteenth mile.
Whose natal is V Ides of June, with our Lord reigning,
to whom is honor & glory, for ages of ages.
Amen.
NOTES OF D. P.
b This Angelic
presence is often found in Acts, written long after the martyrdoms;
nor do I doubt that they, as well as the words exchanged on both sides, are
at the discretion of the Author composed.
c Brothers, not
only in spirit, but also in flesh, that the Saints were full brothers, is
likely enough: but because this is not expressed in the beginning, neither did we
put it in the title.
g From
the fact that here no mention is made of revealed & translated bodies,
it is rightly inferred, that these Acts were composed long before, namely on the border
of the 7th or 8th century.