Placid the Hermit

OF ST. PLACID THE HERMIT, FOUNDER OF THE CISTERCIAN MONASTERY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

NEAR OCRE IN THE DIOCESE OF AQUILA IN ITALY.

A.D. 1248.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

On the place of the monastery, the year of death, and the Author of the life, and the cult of the Blessed.

Placid, Hermit near Ocre, in the diocese of Aquila in Abruzzo (St.) D. P.

Forcona, an ancient city among the Vestini, was distinguished by an Episcopal See from all memory back: but, the people and the Cathedral being translated to Aquila about the middle of the 13th century, In the diocese of Forcona, it so wholly perished, that concerning the site and name there are in doubt those who wrote books on the origin of the city of Aquila, endowed about the year 1250 with the right and title of a city, Bernardine Cyrillus, in the year 1570; and Salvator Massonus, in the year 1594. The latter of these, having more accurately scrutinized all things, on p. 95 produces an instrument, by which it is proved both that the name of Aquila is older than the founded city; and that Forcona was not destroyed by the Lombards, as some think; while in it is read: "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that in the year from his incarnation one thousand and five, over which in the year 1195 Odorisius presided, Indiction 13, the church of the Blessed Mary of Aquila, by Odorisius the Venerable Bishop of Forcona, … with two altars, one lower and the other upper, was dedicated." But to the one describing that instrument the word "hundredth" seems to have fallen out, and the year 1195 is to be understood: for otherwise, only Indiction III would have to be counted. With such a correction also coincides the bronze coin alleged by the same Massonus, on whose front part is impressed a Papal mitre, with the circumscription, "Innocent III"; on the back, an Eagle with wings spread, with the circumscription, "Aquilan liberty." For that Pontiff first began in the year 1198. Whatever, however, be of the age of Odorisius, it is established from the Bulls produced by Ughelli, vol. 1 col. 428 and 429, under the year 1257, that to the Bishopric of Aquila, then first instituted, that of Forcona was united, and that for the rest the Prelate of the place be named, not Bishop of Forcona, but of Aquila.

[2] Berard was he of this name the second, whose predecessor T., elected in the year 1225, and the last Thomas, who is also Bishop of Aquila is thought to have succeeded Raynerius, renowned for miracles, concerning which Honorius III committed an inquiry to the Bishop of Penne, as Ughelli teaches from his Register, vol. 5. This I note for this reason, that if perhaps that matter had progress, and Raynerius obtained the cult of a Saint, I may rouse the diligence of the people of Aquila, to make known to us the day and manner of the cult. But that I have here mentioned also T. of Forcona, the aforetitled Blessed Placid caused, whom the instrument concerns, produced by the same Ughelli, vol. 6 col. 897, expressing the name of the Bishop thus entirely. "We Thomas, Bishop of Forcona, for the salvation of our soul in the year 1226 the monastery of the Holy Spirit is founded give and grant to Brother Placid and the Brothers, license of building a monastery, in honor of the Holy Spirit, in the territory of Ocre, in the place which is called Pretula, who ought to live according to the order and rule of the Cistercian Order, both in the offices and in other regular disciplines… Given at Forcona, the 6th day of December 1226." But they had handed over the place for this, into the hands of Placid de Vena of Ocre, "In the name of the eternal Lord, in the year of his Incarnation 1222, in the month of November, Indiction

10, in the place which Berard de Ocra had given to the Blessed Placid. in the same Pisan Style as above, Berard de Ocra, by the grace of God and of the Emperor Count of Alba, together with his Lady mother Roalda de Ocra, by an instrument, which may be read entire in the aforecited volume 6, col. 895 and following.

[3] There follows in the same place, col. 898, the Life of the Blessed Placid of Rodio, Monk of the Cistercian Order, His Life in Ughelli written by Roger, Monk of Casanova, his contemporary, and hitherto unpublished. The probability of a contemporary author is made by no. 4, where Simeon the Priest is so simply named, as if a person, then most well known to all, were being treated of. But whence Ughelli received the name of Roger, neither does he himself explain, nor is it found in the manuscript copy which he himself gave us, whose title is "The Life of the Blessed Placid of Rodio, Monk of the Cistercian Order, of Vena of Ocre, from the ancient Life of the Lord Paul of Celano, Monk of Casanova." But that this is not the original Life of this Paul either, the Fossa copy persuades, given to us by the same Ughelli with this title; from the older one of Paul of Celano, "The Life of the Blessed Placid of Rodio, Monk of the Cistercian Order, contracted into an epitome by the zeal of Antony Amicius, Doctor of Both Laws, from the ancient Life of Paul of Celano, Monk of Casanova, and dedicated to the Clergy of Fossa." Fossa is distant from Aquila, descending the Aterno second to it, only 6 or 8 miles; but from Ocre only 2; and the plain added to it, even now named the Plain of Forcona, proves that old Forcona was there. But just below Ocre, the Monastery is situated on a mountain, the above-said monastery of the Holy Spirit; concerning which, says Ughelli, "more would have to be said, which for brevity's sake we pass over: perhaps in another place the discourse will return." Whether it returned, I do not know; I certainly have not yet found the place in the remaining three volumes of Ughelli: more therefore, if it be worth the trouble to weave in here, I will await from Aquila or Fossa. But I suspect that the Fossa copy, or even the other aforenoted one, reduced into a compendium by Antony Amicius was submitted to Ughelli after the book was published, to correct the error committed in the name of the author. Meanwhile, that that Life which he gave us printed is not the original, is proved by this Epistle prefixed to the Fossa copy.

[4] Antony Amicius, to the Clergy of Fossa, greeting. Since among our ancestors the Relics of the Saints were always held in the highest honor and at great value, and dedicated to the Clergy of Fossa and St. Chrysostom deservedly exhorts all, that, for the obtaining of some blessing, we often with great faith touch them, imitate the Saints themselves, and adore their tombs; led by pious zeal, I contracted the Life of our Blessed Placid (whose venerable Relics are kept in the church of the Holy Spirit, where his feast is celebrated annually) into a compendium from a most ancient writing; and the more gladly took care that it, of whose scarcity we have long complained, be committed to the types, that both he and the temple itself may be of greater veneration to us, that we may please immortal God and Placid. For who would deny that the histories of the Saints, commemorated by pious men, beget very much piety and religion toward God and the Saints themselves? nay, that they kindle, instigate, urge them to walk along the narrow way of faith and good works, which leads to life? That therefore the piety of us all, with a testimony of the annual festivity. by which we embrace also this Saint, may be increased; let us read again and again such a Life, which I wish dedicated to you. For it can by no means happen, that rereading the deeds of the holy man, we should not more venerate his Relics, whence we may know that we too are aided by his patronage and intercessions with God. Receive therefore with cheerful brow whatever of labor I have undertaken for the honor of the most high God and the holy man, that I might restore to our fellow-countrymen the history given over to oblivion, which we by no means doubt will be most welcome to you. May each of you fare well in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. And soon, "Here happily begins the Life of the Blessed Placid," word for word the same as that which Ughelli published, with whose edition we collated the double copy.

[5] From the epistle we are made certain about the cult; and we know that this compendium, such as it is, was made after the typographical art was invented, and began to be used in Italy, two hundred years ago. To give the compendium itself to be reprinted here, is of no concern; since we have the same most ancient writing which Amicius had before his eyes; just as Brother Paul of Celano, Monk of Casanova, sent it to the Lord (or to Domninus, or Dominic, if it be a proper name, not the appellative "Lord"?) Archpriest of St. Martial of Rodio, the fatherland of the Blessed Placid himself, of the diocese of Forcona. In this dedicatory letter Paul congratulates himself, that out of all the Congregation of Casanova (into whose jurisdiction the Blessed had transferred his new monastery) assisting at his death, he was chosen, that the blessing of the dying man might come upon his head, as if foreknowing that his life was to be written by Paul; "just as I saw," he says, "or learned by the report of trustworthy men, and those things which I deserved to hear familiarly from his most holy mouth." The old manuscript, diligently sought, he found; and at the request of the Reverend Father John Francis Vannius, our Professor of the Hebrew language in the Roman College, in the year 1691 the most Illustrious Lord Joseph Caprini, Patrician of Aquila, transcribed it for us, under this title adapted by himself; "The Life of the Blessed Placid, Monk of the Order of St. Benedict, of the Cistercian Congregation, whose body rests in the Abbatial church of the Holy Spirit of Ocre near Fossa, of the diocese of Aquila." Now Celano, the fatherland of Paul, is situated on a mountain near the Fucine lake, to which it today communicates its name, distant from Ocre to the South 12 miles; nor far thence is Casanova, on the shore of that lake; so that I have no doubt that here was once the Abbey, to which Placid handed over himself and his own.

[6] But that Paul says, even as related in the Compendium, who writes that the Blessed died in 1248 on the 12th of June, that the Blessed died in the year 1248 within the Octaves of Pentecost on the 12th day of June: but since in no. 17 "the second day of the week Monday" is named, it is without doubt an error of the transcriber, reading second for sixth, or II for VI. There must have been some obscurity in the old writing, by which it happened that Amicius read Feria V Thursday. But how to the same one, for the day before the Ides of June, that is the 12th, "on the Ides," that is the 13th, crept in, it is not easy to divine. Nor can the Epitaph help here, anciently sculpted on a stone, inserted in the pavement of the church, before the foot of the altar, by which the year and day of death appears to have been expressed, from the traces of the remaining letters; but so worn away, by the testimony of Caprini, that the numbers cannot be fully discerned. Now as to what pertains to the time of the Life being written; since in the last place among the miracles are narrated seven possessed women freed from unclean spirits, on Sunday, the fifth of July; and since this concourse is held in the very year in which the Saint died; we shall not incongruously judge, that all things were written within the fourth week from the death of the Saint; nor shall we wonder that nothing is added about his feast, whose Anniversary had not yet come. Today, in the place now almost deserted, no longer is the entire body found, but only certain chief bones. So the aforepraised Lord Joseph Caprini to our Vannius.

LIFE

By the Author Paul of Celano, familiarly known to the Saint, published within the first month from his death.

Placid, Hermit near Ocre, in the diocese of Aquila in Abruzzo (St.)

BHL Number: 6865

BY PAUL OF CELANO.

PROLOGUE.

To the Reverend Father in Christ the Lord Archpriest of St. Martial of Rodio, of the diocese of Forcona, Brother Paul of Celano, least of the Monks of Casanova, grace in the present and glory in the future.

[1] The illustrious deeds of the Blessed Placid Even if I be somewhat idle, I should deservedly be reproved by the Father of the household, who led into his vineyard those standing idle the whole day: wherefore I am required by your Paternity to describe the Life of our St. Placid, if the weakness of my style does not blacken our talent. For it is worth the trouble to describe the illustrious deeds of the Saints, that the truth may more lie open as an example and a mirror of others, and may be as it were a certain seasoning, especially to those to write he presumes the author: who cannot draw honey from the rock and oil from the hardest stone. But what manner of man am I, that I should dare to write the life of the Blessed Placid? For if all the members of my body were turned into tongues, and all my limbs resounded with sonorous voice, they would not suffice to narrate his virtues. But since this work which I have undertaken is directed toward him, who among my most special and dear Saints was foremost; who, having enjoyed his final blessing, I presume to attempt to undertake this work, that all posterity may relate it again in blessing, and may bring the gift of reward to be taken in the future. So, placed at the end in Religion—nay, at the beginning, according to that, "I have consummated the work"—then I met him perhaps by divine arrangement, chosen, I believe, out of all the congregation of Casanova, that the blessing of the dying man might come upon me; and although he could by no means move his other members to give the blessing, yet he blessed me upon my head, and I carefully possess the marks of the blessing.

[2] I hand over to you therefore an efficacious work, that those things which I saw, or learned by the report of trustworthy men, and those things he trusts that his smallness will be divinely aided. which I deserved to hear familiarly from his most holy mouth; with a true and pure narration, in a simple style not falsely varied, I may make manifest to others, according indeed to my smallness; that from this matter a certain pottage may be made for the sons of the lands, in which, if I shall negligently mix gourds; [our] Elisha, as I trust, with a little flour will season the bitterness of my rude style, and the affection of my devotion will excuse the excess of my foolishness, and the kindness of the said Saint will pardon the defect; lest the sublimity of so great a work, brought down to an unskilled craftsman, be dashed as if shipwrecked on the rocks of my foolishness. May the clemency of Christ at last cherish my living tongue, and from the dry rock may grace arise for the thirsting people; that it may worthily hear those things which the Saint began in deed from the beginnings of boyhood; and in the midst of adolescence, and continued until the end in death, and after death the miracles which God worked through him, in testimony of his holiness.

CHAPTER I.

The advancement of the pious youth to every virtue: the beginnings of the solitary life, the place often changed.

[3] The boy Placid, beloved of God and men, was sprung from the parts of Amiternum, from a little town which is called Rodio, born as it were of a little Bethlehem: a leader indeed of Christ, who should afford leadership to the Christian people. Born of rustic but pious parents, His parents, according to the dignity of the world the lowest, altogether poor in the world, were rich in Christ. His father lived by his own resources, sought food by the hand and art of agriculture: but his mother, keeping the Apostolic rule, was subject to her husband, rearing the sons in the fear of the Lord, and in the discipline of the Christian faith: in her simple hut simply confessing God and strongly believing, she kept his commandments without complaint, the boy with senile gravity, and, grace helping, panted greatly toward God, loved by a certain reasoning. Nor is it a wonder if the knowledge of God fell upon that simple woman; because the Philosopher says: "That God is eternal, is the common judgment of all living by reason." But Placid, third in the order of the sons, was from his very boyhood bearing a senile heart, gave his mind to no pleasure. He was ingenious and obtained a good soul; generous toward others not knowing letters, when he entered the powers of the Lord; and made later for the service of God, the boy bore and did many things, sweated, and was cold. For toward his companions he was kind, and humble and munificent; so that the bread, which his mother gave him while occupied in pasturing the flock, he distributed to the other shepherds; and returning fasting to his house, he carried back his fasting and weary limbs glad to his home.

[4] He was a most ardent lover of poverty; continually singing the Lord's prayer, he never mingled himself with games and vanities. For divine grace planted such great gravity in the boy, as nature did not place in a decrepit old man. No one saw him laughing and jesting, as is the custom: obedient to his parents, he showed humility to all: and when, some time having elapsed, advancing in age and grace with God and men, the boy Placid passed into adolescence; severe toward his own body, he girded the members of his body with iron belts, keeping the abstinence of the rule at all times, continually striving with all eagerness to keep fasting for thirty-seven years; always having in his mouth that Apostolic word, "The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared to the future glory which shall be revealed in us." Upon his head a razor did not come: he always lay upon the bare ground, nay rather sat, so that to the very extremity of his life he stood leaning, for a little slumber; never washing the hidden sack with which he was once clothed; saying that it was superfluous to seek cleanliness in a rustic hair-shirt. Yet in him there was always cleanliness with sweet odor; and in a wondrous manner, neither pressed with squalor nor defiled with sweat, he appeared white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.

[5] he excelled in charity, He was especially founded in charity, and strongly rooted; so that neither injury inflicted, nor infirmity of body, nor any temporal adversity drew him away from charity and from fraternal compassion, saying that Apostolic word: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is scandalized, and I am not scandalized?" Spiritual fortitude flourished so in him, in fortitude that to him could be applied that of Solomon: "The just man, confident as a lion, shall be without fear." 2 Cor. 11:23, Prov. 28:1 in humility, But humility, as the guardian of all virtues, had strongly bound his mind; so that, although he was greater in merits with God than his contemporaries, he esteemed himself the least of all. He was so endowed with justice, in justice, that he seemed to observe all the parts of justice, rendering to God fear and love; knowing that of the Prophet Malachi, "If I am the Lord, where is my fear? and if I am a father, where is my honor?" and to his parents obedience and reverence, in obedience, knowing that "a wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is the sadness of his mother." Mal. 2:6 To the poor he gave alms, with all alertness; to his companions service, with purity of heart; and so, made all things to all, he gained all for all. That of the Proverbs he demonstrated in word and deed; in courtesy. "The treasures of impiety shall not profit, but justice shall deliver from death." Frequently the mind of Placid was occupied about the churches; and returning from the field, in meditation. he learned a lesson from the Psalter from the little scholars; which afterward he meditated in the field, and pondered in the plains of the wood.

[6] At last, arranging an ascension in his heart, he began to premeditate flight: having gone on pilgrimage to Compostela, and going out with Abraham from his land and kindred, and from the house of his father, he set out to the ends of Spain, to behold the threshold of the Blessed James of Compostela. When he had kept watch a whole year among the Brothers of the said Blessed James; returning after a year, he fell into a very great infirmity: for a period of five years he was so burdened in bed with ill health, that he could neither rise from the bed, he is sick for five years, nor lift his head, without the support of others. Affliction was added to the afflicted for a crown: because "whom God loves he corrects, and is well pleased in him as in a son." And when he was placed in such great pains, he said it was well with him, since the wicked flesh was purged by various tribulations, which from his tender boyhood he had subjugated under the divine spirit, doing those things which are necessary for the flesh, and having from this a most strong argument; since, for so long a space of time burdened in infirmity, he neither received medicines, nor dipped himself in a bath; but that medicine, which descends in the haste of a cloud. then he goes to Rome and to St. Michael. Soon healed, he visited the threshold of the Apostles and of the Blessed Michael the Archangel; not permitting his horse to rest, because "it does nothing harmful to add the spur to a horse already sweating"; he was also a more frequent visitor of the Martyrs.

[7] Among these things the holy man, thinking and weighing, that it was by no means safe to stay in the wicked world, began to be anxious whither he should tend, that Poetic word—"Wherever the storm snatches my fortune, I am borne a guest." But divine piety was not lacking, nay was present, meeting the wavering one, and met more quickly what he sought. For there is a mountain, which is called Corno, beginning and raising itself to a point in the likeness of a horn, on every side preserving the greenness of grass and trees at all times: on whose side, thence to the monastery of St. Nicholas where there was a certain Hermit, in a most lofty place he placed himself; so that to that place could be applied that little verse: "Narrow within, it seeks the lofty thresholds, and steps too difficult through hard and rough things." From which Hermit he sought and received the monastic habit, and under his teaching stayed a whole year, devoting himself to fastings and prayers for God. But because, where there was the impetus of the spirit, thither he went; to the monastery of St. Nicholas, which was not far off, he transferred himself; that his simplicity might be made prudent by the converse of many wise men.

[8] And after a year he came to the church of the Savior; and to the church of the Holy Savior where, tried like gold in the furnace, he learned to fight against the hostile incursions of the world, the flesh, and the devil. For the sister of the Provost of that same church considered the youth comely in appearance; and like that shameless woman, who seizing Joseph's cloak said, "Sleep with me"; she, caught by the snare of the eyes, daily sought the youth for a wicked deed. But he, seeing that he could not overcome so savage a beast, took to flight, according to that of the Apostle, "Flee fornication": for it is safer to yield than to fight. 2 Cor. 6:18 And so he ascended into the mountain of Casentino, hiding under a certain rock for five months; and believed himself to be separated from his enemies. But the revived temptation of women was not lacking to him; for new songs of women from the said farmstead frequently resounded in the ears of the man of God: by which, as if despairing, the man of God knew not whither to flee from the face of the troubler; but taking wings like an eagle, and finally to Ocre he wished to set his nest in steep places; and exulting as a giant to run the way, in a narrow rock under the castle of Ocre, which is pathless, he hid himself, and in it for twelve years he lay hidden. But a lamp could not be hidden under a bushel. His miracles growing bright, many began to run to him; and to Pretula. but few, on account of the difficulty of access, could reach the rock. To which there came a certain Priest, named Simeon; but falling from the rock, he died. Which the holy man hearing, grieved so much, that he abandoned his own dwelling: and coming on a shady mountain above Pretula, there under a certain hut among the timbers of the woods he hid himself from the sight of men; living on the leaves of herbs and on roots.

NOTES OF D. P.

CHAPTER II.

The Saint's other exercises, the monastery built, the future predicted, his pious death.

[9] There the Lord deigned to appear to him by a fitting revelation, carrying in his hands a written paper, refreshed by a divine promise, and it was said by the bearer: "Read, Placid, servant of God." Who answered that he did not know how to read such letters. But the Lord, opening his understanding, showed him all the tears, prayers, alms, and other good things which he himself had done. Nor is it a wonder, because where the Holy Spirit is the teacher, what is taught is easily learned. And that he might be more certain of the vision of God, the Lord said to him: "Fear not, Placid, my servant: for as you asked me, so also I asked the Father, that your faith may not fail"; and so, comforted by so great a vision, he applied himself more and more to prayers and fastings; always having psalms in his mouth, and the psalter never fell from his hands; for he said the psalmody with such great jubilation, that with scarcely attenuated breath he could express the words, repeating one verse of the Psalm three and four times. he applies himself to continual Psalmody; But on a certain day, when he had continued prayer until evening, with hands raised and lowered, with genuflection, there appeared to him two doves, raising their wings and lowering them in the likeness of one pleading, so that the holy man could take them. And deservedly in the appearance of a dove the Holy Spirit appeared to him, who always kept simplicity and the dove's groaning: for birds join to those like themselves, and every animal, as Solomon says, loves things like itself. Ecclus. 13:19,

[10] of rigid abstinence, At all times, except on Sundays, he fasted; he never used either seasoned blood or flesh; and besides his accustomed fasts, he made a hundred and fourteen Lents, in which he used neither what was roasted by fire nor cooked with water, but herbs and pulse; and others he made, in which, eating nothing, he drank only cups of water. See how great is he, who was the imitator of Moses and Elijah, nay of our Savior. Likewise for twelve years before his death, with frequent tears, on three days in the week, he ate no bread at all. The holy Father prayed without intermission, and expiated the sins of the people with many tears; knowing that prayer soothes the Lord, the tear compels [him]. He could say with the Prophet: "My tears have been bread to me day and night." A thousand times in the day and night he recited the Our Father and the Hail Mary. He bent his knees, and had all his heart fixed on God; in attentive prayer. thinking of nothing else than of God himself, having in mind that of Cyprian. "When we stand," he says, "at prayer… let there be no carnal and secular thought; when then the mind thinks only of that which it prays": and according to the Rule of the Blessed Benedict our Father, at all times the Monk guarded his life, especially in the days of Lent.

[11] Pestered by lice The Blessed man proposed to himself at the beginning of a certain Lent, to occupy the whole of it vigilant in the praises of God. But the enemy was not lacking, envying the desire of the man of God. He heaps so many lice in his garments and in his flesh, that he could scarcely think of anything else. And when through the whole Lent he endured an unheard-of war about the lice, grieving more for his disturbed mind than for his disturbed flesh; he is freed by a miracle: on the very holy day of Easter, dissolved in tears, he reckoned that he had lost those most holy days. As he thought these things, three doves suddenly ascended upon him, one within his right sleeve, another in the left, and the third in his mouth: and immediately the multitude of lice so vanished, that there seemed to remain neither signs nor traces. he lies hard, sleeps little, To wonderful things more wonderful succeed, to strong things stronger are added; nor is it a wonder, because God is wonderful in his Saints, and terrible in his works. For for thirty-seven years he never lay in a bed, never prostrate on the ground; but sitting or standing, he slumbered a little; so that he could say: "I sleep, and my heart watches." And when slumber had as it were stealthily come upon his eyelids, he raged in spirit and disturbed himself, remembering that of Solomon. Prov. 6:10 "When you sleep a little, you will slumber a little"; and that of Cato. "Watch always more, and be not given to sleep, For long-lasting rest ministers nourishment to vices."

[12] At last, his body being macerated and thoroughly dried up, the struggle against flesh and blood had failed; he wrestles against the demons, but it was not lacking against the princes and powers of these darknesses. For frequently he saw the mountain full of demons, who with great impetus rushed into his hut. But the Man of God said: "In the Lord I trust, why do you say to me, migrate into the mountain like a sparrow?" And so hedged about with the protection of prayers, he was in no way overcome by the adversaries. Ps. 10:3 The blessed man strove with all solicitude to call all of his kindred to the service of God: which he also did, sending some across the sea to visit the Lord's sepulcher; he gains many for God. keeping others with himself, to be instructed in the service of Christ; who after his death were coadjutors in carrying the Tabernacle of the Lord, as the outcome of the matter proved. For when, placed in prayer, he had seen above a great multitude of men, among whom stood many Princes and Magnates; there appeared to him a certain one in shining vesture, saying: "Man of God, bless those men who have come." he obtains Pretula And he signed them with the sign of the holy Cross, obeying with fear the one commanding. Then seeing below a certain rocky hill, which was called Pretula; a hill dry and arid, full only of stones and pebbles; and thinking that "from Nazareth there can be something good"; he obtained it from the Count of Ocre, named Berard. And the man going out to his work, and to his labor until evening, began to plant trees, to build little houses, and to derive waters from the brow of the mountain: and so setting dry land in the outlets of the waters, he placed there the hungry and thirsty, and builds a monastery in it; and they established a city of habitation; they sowed the fields, planted vineyards, and made the fruit of their birth: and the Lord our God blessed them, and the Brothers themselves were multiplied in merit and in number.

[13] and the soul of his nephew having died abroad being seen, The man of God stood among the Brothers, as one of them, laboring in digging from morning until evening, and in the late evening he ascended to his accustomed hut. Making the nocturnal prayers in the customary manner, he saw the God of gods in Zion, as in a morning watchtower of vision: in which he also saw the soul of his nephew, whom he had sent far to the Imperial Court for the affairs of the house, to have migrated from the body: and he announced to his Brothers with certainty the place, day, and hour of his death; of whom many remain until now, bearing testimony of the truth. Now seeing the time of his dissolution to be at hand, he thought to commit his flock to a Shepherd, lest the wolf, invading the wandering little sheep, deprived of the comfort of a shepherd, should snatch them. And hearing of the monastery of Casanova, a place renowned for its fame; he committed the Brothers to the same, he hands it over to the Cistercian Order: that they might be under the rule of the Blessed Benedict, and under the institute of the Cistercian Order. Which done, the devil, appearing to the man of God, returning to his hut, with great impetus tried to terrify him, saying: "You have done ill, Placid, you have done ill, because you have committed your house to others"; and almost cast him down headlong: but fortifying himself with the sign of the Cross, he immediately put the enemy to flight.

[14] Full of the prophetic spirit, The holy man was full of prophecy, and those things which he said of the future did not fall to the ground. For on a certain day Nicholas of Fossa, having two sons, one of them dead, hastened to the man of God in the wood with great griefs, wailing and protesting, that if the other survivor, John by name, should die before the father's death, he would throw himself headlong. Whom the Saint rebuking for the folly of his words, and that he was a rational and sensible man, yet uttered senseless words; could scarcely restrain him from words of this kind. And turning himself to prayer, he said to the man so crying out: "Go, Nicholas, and be secure, because you will die sooner than your son John, and your end will be near; but the boy John will grow, and before the great and powerful will be of much grace and worth." Clearer than light the truth followed: for the father not after many days paid the common debt; but the son, going to the Roman Curia, before the Lord Pope and the Curials obtained a good place and favor. a short life for the father, a long one for the son, The Blessed Placid also prophesied concerning that very place which is called Pretula; where the house and Church is translated, that the Lord would enlarge it in possessions and temporal things, and would convert the hearts of many to himself, and he predicts many great things for his monastery: saying to the few Brothers, who were with him as cooperators in grace; "This will not be impossible with God"; because of the impossibility and the height of the place it seemed to some Brothers to despair, on account of exceeding poverty: but today the prophecy is fulfilled by the evidence of the matter.

[15] he himself living most abstinently: Yet he was neither pressed by poverty, nor swelled with abundance, so that he could say: "Few things are enough for me, many things are little for me." O happy soul, which so despised the world, that it received nothing of the world's glory! He so afflicted his body with continual fastings and labors, that not even for an hour was he able to kick against the goad. He avoided wine as poison; and would not be sated even with water, which has little or no nourishment; knowing that drunkenness induces the exile of the mind, and provokes the appetite of lust. Not so do they who bind themselves as drinkers to equal draughts; who neither temper themselves with wine, nor observe the accustomed fasts; whom the Canonical sanction reproves, and who do not fast on the fourth and sixth day Wednesday and Friday, seem to crucify the Lord with those crucifying [him], and to betray the Savior with those betraying [him]. Happy indeed Placid, and with wondrous nobility in giving, had so made himself liberal, that, retaining for himself neither the necessary food, nor clothing, he distributed all to the poor, observing that: "It is, believe me, a royal thing to succor the needy." And that of the Blessed Bernard: "If the most prompt bestower of gifts find an empty hand, he will in judgment be an importunate exactor."

[16] At last the time came, in which this Saint should hasten to the palm, in his last sickness. in which the expectation of the just is gladness, and a terror to those who work evil. And behold, a great languor entered the little hut, and grievously tormented him. And when his bones and skin appeared, and upon them … continually … fever, he sought no medicines, nor delicate dishes. For the Lady Regalis of Ocre after many days, namely on the holy day of Easter, sent him a little flour with the juice of kid's flesh; which when he ate, and it was said to him by the bearer, in praise of the food sent him, that in it were kid's flesh, the Saint began to take it grievously, and that whole day was turned into weeping and into mourning. At last, the infirmity increasing, it was said by the Brothers, and by many others who had come to visit him, that he should descend to the church, which he himself was building below, he refuses the eating of flesh, from the hut. And the man of God acquiesced: and they began unanimously to carry him. And his eyes and hands raised to heaven, he began to sigh more deeply. And behold (all who were present seeing) an unheard-of miracle followed. For at the departure of the holy guest the timbers of the woods were moved; the trees bow themselves to him departing and what they could not by voice, naturally, nay supernaturally, they rendered obeisance to him departing, bowing themselves deeply. "Bend your branches, lofty tree, slacken your stretched fibers, and let that stiffness grow soft."

[17] At last, he being carried to the Church, there came up Robert, the venerable Abbot of Casanova; whose Confession having been heard, and Mass celebrated, and he himself expires before the Abbot. he fortified his departure by the reception of the Lord's Body and blood: and the colloquy finished, he handed over more fully to him the household of the house of the Holy Spirit with all its goods; and commended the Abbey to his guardianship, custody, and dominion, according to the rule of the Blessed Benedict from the institute of the Cistercian Order. Which done, on the second day of the week Monday within the octave of Pentecost, intent on prayer at vespers, and as it were placed in ecstasy, he raised his hands to heaven, and in the hands of the Abbot, the Lord Paul, the Lord Dominic, and others who were present, amid the words of prayer, he rendered his precious soul to his Maker, who is blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen. After these things, all of us who were present attest, and our testimony is true; we saw a certain glory of resurrection in the body of the deceased. For his face was brighter than light, the whole body appeared purer than glass, and those hidden members showed the appearance of a seven-year-old boy. Mass therefore having been celebrated, and the office of the funeral now performed, suddenly so great a multitude of men assembled, that the whole mountain of Pretula was full. The Clergy came together with processions and the old with the younger: and coming from the near and adjacent parts, all with chants and Christian honors cried out together: "Father Placid, why do you desert us? why do you leave us orphaned?" And after four days and nights, carrying his body to the tomb with jubilation, invoking and magnifying the Lord, concerning the immense miracles which the Lord did through him, and in that four-day period, all openly said: "The Lord has visited his people." Therefore in the year of the Lord 1248, on the 12th day of the month of June, in the seventh Indiction, St. Placid, dear to God, paid death, and found life; in whose death the Lord deigned to work the miracles written below.

NOTES. D. P.

p Here again an error in the number: for the sixth Indiction was to be written, agreeing with the year 1248.

q The whole following chapter Amicius dispatches with this brief period: "But these miracles were performed by him after death. Eleven oppressed by a demon were freed. One lame man, and another who was lame and bent, was healed. A blind man received sight. A mute woman spoke. Two with contracted sides, one with a contracted and crooked hand, and a paralytic, were restored, to the praise and glory of almighty God, who lives and reigns, throughout all the ages of ages. Amen."

CHAPTER III.

The miracles done after the death of the Blessed Placid.

as the whole village and neighbors testified; was brought to the man thus deceased; and having touched him, immediately received the clearness of light. And this sign was done in the presence of Master Bernard of that Village, and of Master Nicholas, of Dominic the Saint, and others of the people, who were neighbors at the funeral; and all the people, when it saw, gave glory to God.

[19] Laudonia of Fossa, vexed by a demon for twenty years, a possessed woman is freed, was brought as if by violence to the bier of the man of God, because so unconquered a demon greatly tormented her: and immediately she was made whole, and with all the people praised the Lord, she who possessed had at first blasphemed. And this was done in the presence of Dominic Bernard, her husband; Nicholas Aegidius, and all the people of Ocre: who continually for the aforesaid space had seen her vexed, and freed by the Blessed Placid.

[20] Peter Gualderius of St. Eusanius, who had been lame for ten years and enfeebled, so that he could neither walk nor see the sky, a lame man is raised up, on that day was carried to so great a spectacle: as soon as his limbs touched the body of the Saint, his bases and soles were made firm, and he went out jubilant and praising the Lord, and Placid his servant. And this sign was done in the presence of Roger of St. Eusanius, Berard Simeon, Bernard Gratianus, and all the people of St. Eusanius, who had come there, and had seen him thus contracted for the aforesaid space of time, and by the merits of the Blessed Placid raised up, and healed on that day in the presence of the aforesaid.

[21] Maria of St. Eusanius, possessed and likewise vexed by a demon for a long time, a possessed woman is cured, was freed by the Blessed Placid; and at this liberation the people of the said land of Ocre were present, who had earlier seen her possessed, and at the memorial of St. Placid freed.

[22] Raynald of Lucolo, who had a foot twisted for very many years, a twisted foot, limping strongly; by the touch of the sepulcher of that Blessed, was restored to full health, in the presence of Nicholas of Lucolo, the Lord Benedict de Raynaldis, John Nicholas Gregory, who had seen him lame and healed.

[23] a possessed boy, Petruccia of Cascia, who from her infancy had a learned demon (who according to his confession was called Tribulus, and said that he had been in heaven with others, and seen the wisdom and height of God the Father; asked why he fell; answered, that "many of us fell with our master, who wished to set his seat in the North, and to be like the Most High." Asked if he wished to return to heaven, he said: "It is too late") was freed by the Lord by the merits of the said Saint, in the presence of the Lord Paul, who questioned her, Gregory Bernard, Azzo of Fossa, John Nicholas Bernard, who had seen her possessed, and by the merits of St. Placid freed.

[24] a paralytic, Paul, son of Bartholomew of Pretorio, having his left side withered for a long time, and coming on the first day of the death of the Man of God, carried back his side sound and whole, in the presence of Fortis-brachius of Fossa, the Lord Master Benedict, John Berard, the Lord Berard, John Aegidius, and John Bernard: who had seen him sick that day, and healed at the memorial of the man of God.

[25] a possessed man, And because in various signs the divine munificence exalted the fame of the just one with praises, so that distant peoples cried out from the ends of the earth, and proclaimed the divine praise of the just one. Cola of Mascio of Valle Siciliana, having a most grave and savage demon, immediately when he touched his bier, even against his will the demon was put to flight from him, in the presence of James Bernard and Azzo Tomasius of the same land, who had seen him possessed, and put to flight, so that the demon went out from him; and he vomited one red stone, and one leaf.

[26] a mute woman, Geburga of Corno, who for a long time had lost her tongue and speech, was brought to the body of the man of God, touched his garments, and immediately recovered speech, rightly blessing God and Placid his servant. This sign was done in the presence of the Lord Paul Dominic, and Brother Aegidius, and many other men.

[27] Raynald in Calza of Corno, having for nine years his left thigh numb and infirm, a paralytic, at the touch of the man of God was restored to former health, in the presence of Gemma, sister of the Lord Paul, and Bartholomew.

[28] Maria of Podio Picentino had lost her left side, a paralytic woman, so that for a year she had had no feeling: approaching the place of the man of God, she was restored to health, and entirely freed: in the presence of the Lord Raynald of Corno, the Lord Matthew Bonutius, the Lord Teodinus, who had seen her sick, and healed by the merits of that Saint.

[29] Just as the good demons good Angels draw their names from the works which they perform; a possessed woman, so the evil demons are named from the works which they wickedly perform. For a certain demon who was called Cambo, had for seven years vexed Palmeria, daughter of the Lord Tomasius of the castle of St. Peter; and was consuming her as if desolate: but immediately when she was carried to the memorial of the man of God, the demon was put to flight, and she was restored to former health, in the presence of Angelo Tubortini,

Peter his Brother, the Lord Teodinus of Sinitium, and others, who had seen her possessed, and healed through Placid the servant of God.

[30] Peter, son of the Lord John of Rocca of Corno, having his right hand contracted and crooked from his mother's womb, a contracted hand, by the merits of St. Placid stretched out his hand, and was wholly restored to health; in the presence of the Lord John his father, and Mabilia of Rocca of Corno, who had seen his right hand thus contracted and healed.

[31] Luke of Zoto, for two years having his left hand withered and contracted: a withered hand, was freed by the merits of St. Placid, in the presence of Peter of Rome, Tomasius of Ocre, and John of Carapelle. Gualderius son of John of Colvaria, whose right arm a kind of infirmity rendered so feeble and infirm, a useless arm, that it served no part of the body. Coming to the sepulcher of the man of God, he was forthwith healed of all infirmity, in the presence of the Lord Paul Niger father of Peter Angelus, and Brother Aegidius, who saw him thus infirm, freed through St. Placid, and healed.

[32] The demons feared the Blessed Placid himself, and his fierceness. For Bona of Bazzano the Tavern-keeper, for four years agitated by a demon, a possessed woman, seeing a certain man, who in devotion secretly carried in his purse something of the sack of the tunic of the man of God, entering, that he might eat as a guest, into her house; began to chatter and cry out, "Why has Placidellus entered my lodging?" And when she could not approach him, the man disclosed what he secretly carried; and advised that the wretched woman should hasten to the holy man of God. She was brought, and freed from the demon, in the presence of the Lord Dominic, and Brother Aegidius, and Brother Paul, who saw her possessed and freed by St. Placid.

[33] Maria of Saxa, wife of Master Dudo, had been possessed and vexed by a demon for thirty years, possessed for 30 years, yet she was not publicly published through the quarter; but she was made known through a certain other possessed woman, who said to her, as soon as she saw her: "Why have you come? You have come ill": and they began to chatter together. "Nevertheless," she said, "you will be freed at his cave, and likewise another, and I will be freed at the tomb"; which indeed so happened, in the presence of the Lord Angelo Tubortini, Blasius of Popleto, Gualdericius of Piscaria, Tomasius of the Lord John Petittus, who saw her possessed, and whole.

[34] Gemma daughter of James, for a long time bent to the ground like an animal; a bent woman was raised up by the prayers and merits of the said Saint, before Nicholas Blasius, Vanne Paul, John Clement, and Ventura, who had seen her sick and whole.

[35] Maria of Saxa was so bent, that, her head pressed between her knees, and another, destitute of all her members, she could neither walk nor sit. She was presented at the tomb of the man of God, and immediately restored to health, so that she returned home with a swift step. And this was done in the presence of John Barbo, Raynald her father, and Peter Gualderius: who saw her thus sick, and freed by the merits of the Blessed Placid.

[36] Thomasia of Caporciano, who had her left arm as if lost, a useless arm, once received it sound at the memorial of the said Saint, in the presence of the Lord Dominic, and John of Caporciano.

[37] Peter, a boy of Bazzano, who had lost the feeling of his right arm, and again received it sound at the memorial of the said Saint, in the presence of the Lord John Nicholas, and many others.

[38] Tadeus of Caporciano, who had lost the feeling and strength of his right arm, and a third time, received it sound and firm, at the memorial of the man of God, before N. Archpriest of St. Fabian, James of Pizzulo and Paul, Canons of the same church: who saw [him] thus sick, freed by the merits of the said Saint.

[39] Benedicta daughter of Robert, bent for many years, and thoroughly curved, a bent woman, carried to the place of the man of God, was raised up and healed, before Matthew son of Raynald, Nicholas Cantalupi, and Robert her father.

[40] James son of John Ginolfi of Planella, for ten years in his legs, a paralytic, and arms, and as it were the whole body curved, lay contracted in his house: and immediately when he was carried to the sepulcher of the man of God, he was swiftly stretched out, and healed; who without support returned to his own home, in the presence of the Lord William of Poldano, Goffred his son, Simon Matthew, Dominic Riccardus, who saw him thus sick and healed by the merits of this Saint.

[41] and another, Nicholas son of Tomasius of Ofaniano for three years lay in bed, in his hands and feet, and the whole body contracted, who could neither walk nor sit; immediately when he was brought to the memorial of the man of God, he was fully freed, in the presence of the Lord Julian of the same land, who had seen him thus sick and healed.

[42] seven possessed women. And because the same Saint was full of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, he freed seven possessed women on Sunday the fifth of July: and those who likewise came wandering by chance, freed with grace returned to their own homes: whose names, on account of the exceeding frequency of the miracles, all of which are not written down on this page, the writer could not commend to memory. This sign was done before Brother Aegidius, the Lord Dominic Tomasius, the Lord John Petittus, who saw them possessed, and whole.

Praise to God, and to the Blessed Placid.

NOTES OF D. P.

p The same year 1248 in which the Blessed Placid died, after the Bissextile of April ran under the Dominical letter D, and so had the next fifth of July after death a Sunday; nor did the same concourse return except in the year 1254 and 1265. To me it is probable, that all the miracles hitherto related happened within the first three weeks: nor did the diligence of the Writer cease here, but was continued for some years more by him or others; yet nothing of them now survives: because this Life was written in the same month of July; and its Compendiator Amicius had no care of relating the miracles more distinctly; perhaps neither did others survive than those which Paul had written.

APPENDIX.

On the present state of the body and the church.

Placid, Hermit near Ocre, in the diocese of Aquila in Abruzzo (St.)

BY THE AUTHOR D. P.

[43] The most Illustrious Lord Joseph Caprini, by whose kindness we have given this Life, in his letters to us, which he gave from Aquila on the 12th of May 1690, renders an account of his double excursion to the places here mentioned, undertaken for this end, that he might inform us as accurately as possible about all things. Thus then he begins. "The church of the Holy Spirit of Ocre stands on a rocky hill, whence the place is called Pretola, that is Petrula. Until now it is kept well preserved, although the convent is extinct, together with many others smaller than just, by the Decree of Innocent X. Under the high altar are preserved the Relics of St. Placid, with great honor and veneration, within an iron coffer, closed with four locks; in which is contained another, covered with Damascene silk. Among those also are reckoned the shoes of that Blessed one, into which water being infused, it is given to be drunk on those days on which the Relics themselves are shown; namely on the second day of the week Monday, both of Easter and of Pentecost. On these days also a solemn feast is kept, and to the people flowing from every side a sermon is held on the praises of the Saint. To one about to speak it, the Life which I sent is usually exhibited, which I afterward found also at Fossa, the nearest town to Ocre, not only in Latin, but also rendered into Italian, for the use and devotion of the unlearned, by him who in the year 1638 had been invited to speak; but both I found in manuscript."

[44] "Through the walls of the church, on either side of the high altar, is seen expressed in paintings the whole Legend of St. Placid, and arranged into fourteen panels: whose series and argument may be known from the Italian Epigraph of each, in this order which I render into Latin. I. The Blessed Placid, still a boy and pasturing the flock, gave his loaves to the shepherds. II. Desirous of learning letters, he is taught by the Scholars to recite the Psalter by heart. III. As an adolescent he goes on pilgrimage into Galicia to St. James. IV. Returned from the pilgrimage, with singular patience he endures five years of infirmity. V. In the wood of the Pretulae of Ocre the Lord appeared to him, handing him a certain paper, and opening its meaning. VI. When he is filled with lice two doves appear, and free him from them. VII. A chapel of the Holy Spirit is built for him in a place of the territory of Ocre, named Pretula. VIII. Returned from the journey to St. Michael, on Monte-cornu he takes the religious habit. IX. Tempted by a certain woman, he flees into a deserted cave above Casentino. X. Devoting himself to prayer, and wearied by the impure songs of the women of Casentino, he flees toward Ocre. XI. A certain Priest having slipped and died through those rough places, he betakes himself to the wood of the Pretulae of Ocre."

XII. Broken by old age and disease, he is carried into the woodland chapel, the trees bowing themselves at his passing. XIII. He renders his spirit in the arms of the Abbot of Casanova. XIV. The Religious showing the Relics, infirmities of every kind are healed.

[45] At the same wall, moreover, are seen expressed in colors the following miracles, subscribed in this manner. He frees one mutilated in his members. He frees a blind man. He frees one mutilated and distorted. He frees a possessed man. He frees a mutilated man. He makes a mute woman speak.