ON S. MONTANUS, A SOLDIER, MARTYR AT TERRACINA AND GAETA IN CAMPANIA.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
On his Martyrdom & cult: with Acts written only late.
Montanus, a Roman soldier, Martyr on the island of Pontia, at Terracina & Gaeta in Campania (S.)
G. H. & D. P.
The illustrious Martyr Montanus, by the confession of his faith, made famous the city of Rome, his homeland: from which, after enduring various torments, The places made famous by the Saint's martyrdom, he was sent into exile to Pontia, an island of the Tyrrhenian sea, opposite the city of Terracina: on which island we shall say that S. Silverius the Pope also died a Martyr, an exile, & worn out with hardships, on the 20th of this June. But since he was eminent here both for the holiness of life & for the fame of miracles, he was led away to the city of Terracina: in which we have also reported that S. Flavia Domitilla, with her eunuchs Nereus & Achilleus, bore a long exile for Christ, on the 12th day of May; indeed that S. Epaphroditus also was ordained Bishop there by S. Peter, we indicated, with the Roman Martyrology, on the 22nd of March. And in that place S. Montanus, with a stone bound to him, was cast headlong into the sea, exile, death, & half-alive was carried to the shores of the island of Pontia, & after a dead man was raised up, he expired: whose body, afterward carried into Gaeta, the neighboring city of the opposite shore, & cult made famous. now obtains a religious cult.
[2] His memory is contained on the 17th day of June in the Tables of the Roman Martyrology in these words: At Terracina, S. Montanus the Soldier, Memory in the Roman Fasti, who under the Emperor Hadrian & Leontius the Consular, after many torments received the crown of martyrdom. Baronius asserts, in his Notes on the Martyrology, that he received the Acts of his Life from the Church of Gaeta, with this exordium: Montanus, a soldier & citizen of Rome. So also Philippus Ferrarius, who had mentioned him in his New Topography, & in Ferrarius. treating of the city of Terracina, after a long elogium which he published in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, professes that he took this from the ancient lessons of the Church of Terracina, & from the monuments of the Church of Gaeta.
[3] The Acts alleged by Baronius & Ferrarius, he received from the Codices of the same Church of Gaeta, & transmitted to us at Naples, Antonius Beatillus, The Acts are given from a Gaeta Ms., who once deserved most well of the Lives of the Saints of the Neapolitan Kingdom. In these, after the first Confession at Rome, Montanus is said, by order of the Emperor Hadrian, to have been brought from Pontia, the island of his exile, to Terracina for new interrogations: but with those circumstances which sufficiently show that everything is of an altogether later age & faith, since a disciple of the Apostles is deferred down to the reign of Hadrian, who reigned from the 6th day of August of the year 117 up to the 12th of July of the year 138; though of no great fidelity, & yet in the later interrogation
at no. 13, he says: "Just as before this year, those who were Princes inflicted on me many punishments": as though one who, under several reigning together, had undergone his first interrogation, & indeed only one year before. But the first who reigned at Rome with equal right were Marcus Aurelius & Lucius Verus, from the year 161 up to 169, in which Verus died: Commodus first succeeded his father Marcus in the year 180, & the same soon restored peace to the churches; although, being worse than Nero & Gaius, he nevertheless always treated the Christians well; so that, to avenge their blood, he seemed to have been sent by God upon the Roman Gentiles. especially as to the time of the Martyrdom, Besides, the order of monstrous butchery, such as is here described, as also the colloquies of the Martyr with the Governors, plainly seem invented at will, & do not agree well enough with those centuries. I pass over many other marks of paradox, which the Reader will be able to observe by himself. Yet, while nothing else worthy is available; & while the source must be indicated of the elogium inserted into the Roman Martyrology by the Gregorian recognizers; we are compelled to bring into the light what we have. Meanwhile, indeed, the Martyrdom of S. Montanus, more rightly perhaps to be transferred to the age of Diocletian, we do not dare to ascribe to the times of Hadrian.
ACTS
Of slight age & certitude
From a Ms. of the Church of Gaeta
Montanus, a Roman soldier, Martyr on the island of Pontia, at Terracina & Gaeta in Campania (S.)
BHL Number: 6011
FROM A MS.
CHAPTER I.
The earlier Life of Montanus; his confession of faith before the Governor: the punished obstinacy of the latter, who tortured the Saint in vain.
[1] Montanus, a soldier & citizen of Rome, suffered at Rome, & afterward in the city of Terracina. In those days he served an earthly King, afterward he was made a heavenly soldier, as the scripture says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; Blessed are they who suffer Persecution for the sake of Justice, A Roman Soldier, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5:10. Then Blessed Montanus, who had already been sent through various cities & villages & barracks, heard from the holy Apostles a the word of truth: that when our Lord himself was crucified, many marvels were done, the sun was darkened, & the rocks were rent, & the Tombs were opened, & many bodies of the sleeping rose; he began to commend his soul to God, & beat his breast, taught the passion of Christ, saying with a loud voice: Truly this was the Son of God. And after a little while, departing from his military service, he soon returned to Rome to his house, which is on the Appian Way; & began to follow the passions of all b the Saints, & the marvels which were done.
[2] Then he began to follow the precepts of God, &, receiving the seal of Christ, & being baptized he advances in virtue, he offered himself wholly to God; giving alms, & bringing his soul to piety; & restoring his body to chastity, he purely kept his conscience, & was adorned with a heavenly life & with all moderation in Christ & abstinence: he had indeed a full face, a moderate appearance, a comely aspect, & a humble disposition, wisdom in a passible body, & an untroubled soul. He, therefore, when he had become a visitor of all the sick, the blind, the lame, the demoniacs, & a healer of various infirmities; & leading c the life of Monks, began to restrain many from the worship of idols, & everywhere sowed the precepts of the Lord.
[3] But all these things came to the ears of the Judge, & he ordered him to be brought before him. And so Octavianus the Governor said: What are you called? B. Montanus said: Venerable d in the Lord. brought before Octavianus the Governor, The Governor said: Already those who were before you of this name came to a bad end; but you, tell your name, what are you called? B. Montanus answered: I am called Montanus. The Governor said: Of what city is Montanus? He answered: Of this city of Rome. The Governor said: A slave, or freeborn? Montanus answered: I was formerly a slave of sin, & an earthly soldier; but afterward the pious Lord Jesus Christ, by the ministry of his Apostle, sweetly freed me; first indeed by spirit & water, but now by my own blood; he professes the faith if indeed I shall be consummated in Confession, & shall complete the theater of martyrdom. The Governor said: For what cause then have you abandoned the worship of the gods? or who released you from your military service? Then the most blessed Montanus answered: I besought my brothers, & they took all my price & my possessions; for they used to give me yearly, for expenses, a hundred gold solidi, which I also spent on the poor of God; & a quiet life: but now I prayed to my Lord Jesus Christ, the king of heaven, & he loosed me alive from the bonds of the world, & freed me from the carnal military service, & gave me a spiritual employment, that I might live quietly, & that God might be glorified in me a sinner.
[4] The Governor said: Now then, venerable & most reverend man, glorious as you stand, obey & sacrifice to the gods, & eat of the sacrifices, that you may obtain a tranquil life, he defends the law of Christ: before your youth is destroyed by various punishments. The Saint said: No one can serve two Masters, because each of them has contrary tastes. But my Lord is the leader of sobriety, of meekness, of chastity, of piety, of poverty & of all modesty & humility, which lead to the Lord Jesus Christ & to eternal life: but your gods have contrary tastes, they are lovers of malice, of turmoil, of unrest, of avarice, of impiety, & of pride, & adversaries of all goodness. These are the consolation & the thought of sorrows; can the works of idols then be performed now, & not rather should one taste the things that are of my God? The Governor said: But what is detestable, as you say, & contrary, that our gods savor? & if your God, whom you adore, is just, how then does paganism provide defense to Kings or Princes? Wherefore daily the high is exalted, & the dishonorable is diminished. Then B. Montanus answered: You see then that paganism is contrary to Christianity; it is indeed an impediment to continence, a loss of sobriety, a prohibition of piety, he refutes the worship of idols. an alienation of faith, a blunting of the senses, a blindness of the eyes, an interruption of all discipline & meekness, a corruption of virginity, an outrage to the belly & gluttony, an expulsion of poverty, a desire of avarice, an overthrow of humility, a leader of pride, an origin of iniquity, a pollution of the soul, foul speech; the devising & worship of idols. For it holds men back neither from words, nor from evil morals, nor from vices: but shows the whole man wicked. If you command, I will tell the things that are of Christianity.
[5] Octavianus the Governor said: You have philosophized much, & have said nothing: Praised for the beauty of his body, come forward then & sacrifice to the gods, & taste of the flesh of the sacrifice, & God will pardon you, on account of legal necessity. Do these things, because I see you very slender, & beautiful, so that your very eyes are rays of the Sun, & your face that of Trivia, & your whole body shining, & it pleases me that so great beauty is in you: for which reason you cannot endure punishments; he invites the Governor to the faith of Christ: because most bitter torments will come upon you, which you will not be able to bear, & when you have confessed, you will do this. Montanus answered: If you wish to hear true counsel from me, rather offer yourself to Christ, & my Christ will pardon you, because you have known the great God in unity; but if you are unwilling to believe your King, the punishments will not touch you; only be faithful: for the wickedness of Kings does not impede the piety of Christ.
[6] The Governor said: Bring shears, & knock out his teeth, with his tongue cut out he speaks, & cut off with the sword his tongue that speaks iniquitously, & blasphemes the Gods. Then the questioners did what had been enjoined them, & cut off his tongue. But blessed Montanus manfully endured for the faith of Christ, & said to the Governor: If you believe them to be gods, allow me to shatter them; & if they are truly Gods, let them help themselves. The Governor said: O evil head! You endure such great torments, & why does your Christ not come to your aid? Montanus answered: Do you not see, O senseless one, that you have inflicted such great torments on me, & they do not crush me, as you know: give me therefore power, as I said, to shatter your Gods: & if they harm me at all, I will believe in them; but if my God harms you, believe in him, because truly he is God. The Governor said: Do you have power against our Gods? And the Roman people too began likewise to cry out against B. Montanus: Do you have power to shatter our Gods? but try, that you may believe in them.
[7] Then Blessed Montanus, hearing these things, started off at a run; he breaks the idol, & when he came to the temple of Hercules, he found there an axe placed at its feet: & when he had seized the axe, he shattered Hercules himself; & he overturned all the tables of the gentiles, which were there; likewise he poured out their libations; & at once the demons, who dwelt in the idols, fled, & one of them clung to the chief Governor of the city of Rome: but the rest entered into the officials of the Judge, & all were alike barking with much madness. & drives out the demons, Who, while they were being seized by the devils, whom they said were their Gods, began to cry out, & to bark together with a canine voice: Why have you brought this man to us, whom we knew to be Holy, the true servant of God Montanus, a citizen of Rome, that he might cast us before our time out of our dwellings? Then they began to roll themselves before the feet of B. Montanus, saying & confessing: We know you, that you are a servant of the true most high God, Montanus. Then B. Montanus began to question the Devils themselves, saying: By what occasion do you dwell in these images, & are in the air? The demons answered: We find statues adorned all around, & he compels them to confess their own malice. where the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is not invoked, nor his sign, the Crucified one whom you adore; finding also sacrifices & libations, set up in our name, & those invoking our names day & night: & when we find men who are like you, having the sign of Christ, but feignedly, departing from the Mercy of their God, & approaching to our misery, we entered into them, since we ourselves have no mercy.
[8] Then the Governor, hearing these things from the devils, said: He has made phantasms, & deluded our senses. Then there was a certain man named Aphrodisius who said: after the tongue of Aphrodisius the Christian was cut out Great is the God of the Christians & there is no phantasm with him, nor deceit: do not therefore presume against God lest something worse befall you. Octavianus the Governor said: I order your tongue to be cut off forthwith that you may not speak, wretch. But Montanus said: Thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, because for my service you have given me also another brother, whom you may make acceptable to you. When therefore the tongue of Aphrodisius was being cut, B. Montanus sighed with a groan to
God: the Governor blinded, & immediately the hand of the Lord came upon the Governor, the devil's accomplice: & dissolved by weakness, he was made blind. And when Aphrodisius saw him not seeing the light, he began to exclaim with a loud voice: You are just, Lord, & right is your judgment! Then the Governor, seeing himself blinded, began to cry out with a loud voice: My lord, brother Aphrodisius, now I feel that this is the power of God: Ask your brother my lord Montanus to pray for me: because my soul labors much in this night, because I did much iniquity against the servants of God. Then Aphrodisius the citizen of Rome said: Did I not tell you, Do not do these things? he asks that prayer be made for him: Do not lay your hands upon the servants of God, because our God is true & just, & therefore you see me unworthy, with my tongue cut, speaking with you now. The Governor said: Brother Aphrodisius, not only have I lost my eyes, but also my heart, & my entrails are most grievously tormented. Then Aphrodisius said: If you wish to obtain mercy, believe in my God, & not in vain & wretched stones, which can help neither themselves nor others: they have eyes, & do not see; they have ears, & do not hear; they have nostrils, & do not smell; they have hands, & do not feel; & he dies miserably, they have feet, & do not walk; nor does it cry out in its throat, for there is no breath in their mouth. But the Governor was tortured, in whom there was no mercy, but only bellowing in the house of the Governor. And when the heart of the Governor had been hardened by the devil, thus in the very punishment e he expired; & in a moment the Devil won him; & he lost the mercy of God, & of SS. Montanus & Aphrodisius. After these things S. Eusebius f wrote down nearly all the martyrdoms of the city of Rome, & of all Italy.
NOTES BY D. P.
CHAPTER II.
The repeated confession, torments, miracles.
[9] Then Hadrian, when a palace had been built, & he had wished to dedicate it; & had begun to do this with abominable rite, with sacrifices of idols & demons; began to demand responses from those who dwelt in the idols: & the demons answered, & said: The demons fall silent; Montanus the man of God tears us daily by invoking the name of the Lord his God; if he is not taken from our midst, wherever we are invoked, we shall not be able to grant the benefits which you ask. Then Hadrian ordered him to be held.
And that same midnight there appeared to him an infant, not more than four years old (for our Lord himself was descending with his Angels to S. Montanus the Martyr) & struck his side, & Montanus strengthened by Christ; saying: Montanus, have my grace in you: I have always been & am with you, because you will still have much to confess, & they have many punishments to set before you. And what shall I say to you? by myself I will swear & by my right hand, that the Princes, & powers, & Kings of the earth shall in no way prevail against you, & I have many Marvels to show through you among the nations who have not known me, & in the Kingdoms which have not invoked my name, or mercy. Be fixed in me (& saying these things the Lord touched S. Montanus); let your heart be strengthened in me, & be firm; & the Lord ascended into heaven to the Father with his Angels.
[10] Then the saint began to cry out with a clear voice saying: Blessed are they who believe in Christ: & they who commit their faith to him, they truly are wise. he converts many: And while he was saying these & similar things, certain Roman men, about a thousand, came in to Hadrian, & said to him: A certain man, named Montanus, cries out before the doors, praising & blessing the name—we know not whose—of Jesus Christ, & many have already believed in his preaching. Then the Emperor Hadrian ordered the Governor, without any excuse, to proceed against Montanus the Martyr of Christ, & to examine him more sharply. Then the Governor went to the Saint, & when he had ordered him to be brought in, he being brought in, said: What is it, Montanus, that you were speaking before the doors? The Saint answered: I was happily praising Christ, whom in years past, when I served an earthly Prince, I denied. The Governor said to him: I marvel at you, or at your very brow, that you do not blush to name him: because whoever names him, the Emperor persecutes him unto death. again he confesses Christ, Montanus said to him: In this the Lord appears, who has now converted me from error, & led me into the right way, & made me know that he is the true God. The Governor said to him: All grow in wisdom & in sense, that from the wise they may become wiser; but you from a wise man have become foolish. For foolishly you say that he is God, who was crucified by the Jews, as you have heard from the Christians themselves. The Saint said to him: I heard that he was crucified, & having fallen into error I thought he was not the Lord, & I blasphemed daily, day & night, his holy name: but now I do penance for my past crimes & blasphemies, & I confess this my Lord. The Governor said to him: Tell me, when did you become a Christian: for a year ago you were denying that Christ? S. Montanus said: That very hour, when, confessing Christ, I believed, then I felt myself to have been made a Christian, & therefore, just as I renounced with my whole heart the vain & mortal idols, so with my whole heart, believing in the immortal Christ the Son of God, now I preach the true name, the holy name, the immaculate name, the name in which there is no dissimulation, no iniquity which reigns in idols.
[11] The Governor said: Then is there iniquity in our Gods? The Saint said to him: Then does not imposture reign in all these images, which man has hewn in wood & cast from bronze, & filed in iron, he mocks the idols, & set fast in lead, which dogs guard by night, which spiders weave over, which within their hollow are full of moisture? I lie if I cannot prove these things; but since I do not lie, it is just that you consent to the truth, & call your mind back from falsehood. For it is fitting that you, who judge others as liars, & he urges upon the Governor the faith of Christ. should not be able to judge yourself, unless you remove yourself from falsehood, & convert yourself to the truth which is Christ. The Governor said: Then our Gods are neither true, nor living? The Saint said: We see the effigy of idols, without hearing, without movement, without smell; but God is living, invisible. For these are guarded, but he guards. If this is not the truth, I ought to be refuted by reason: but if it is a matter of power, it is established that you are overcome by reason.
[12] The Governor said to him: As I see, you are unhappy, Montanus, & you desire to perish by an evil death: & Montanus said: I desire to find many good things. The Governor said: Know you, Montanus, that if you wish to persevere in this folly, first I will apply to you various punishments, & thus I will kill you cruelly. But Saint Montanus said: And I desire to suffer, just as before this year those who were Princes inflicted on me many punishments—they harmed me in nothing, he spurns the threats of torments: because I desire to be crowned by my Lord Jesus Christ. The Governor said to him: You ought to take counsel for yourself, because many criminals & fools have incurred death. Montanus said: This is the highest wisdom, that I beget a philosophy out of all your torments, so that I fear nothing at all. Nor am I proved to have defended myself by an irrational consideration, when I prefer perpetual life to all those rejoicing on earth. The Governor said: Then you choose torments rather than rest; & you desire death rather than life. Montanus said: I do not fear these torments, nor do I shudder at death; but I fear those torments which have no end; & I dread that death which has eternal darkness. But these punishments, which you can inflict, receive a brief end: but the torments which are inflicted on the worshippers of idols rage more keenly, & will find no end.
[13] The Governor said: Let the deserter Montanus be hung on the rack, that he may abandon these words under sharper lashes. But when he had been hung on the rack he said: hung on the rack Behold, now twice I confess, & twice I shall be Martyred because I am lifted up on a cross (for the rack bears a likeness made to a Cross), I give you thanks, because you have permitted me to be lifted up in your sign. The Governor said to him: Unhappy one, spare your flesh. To whom the saint said: Unhappy one, you ought to spare your soul: for I do not spare my flesh temporally, that my soul may be spared eternally. he is torn with claws & burned with torches. Then the Governor was moved with excessive fury, & ordered his sides to be torn with claws & his body to be burned with a burning torch. But Saint Montanus cried out nothing else in the torments, except only this; Christ, Son of the living God, you I confess, you I have known: you are my salvation, you are my protector, join me also in the number of your Saints: & saying these things he was constant in strength, so that he was not thought to suffer or be tortured, & the torturers & the very torments now failed.
NOTES BY D. P.
CHAPTER III.
Exile to Pontia, death, deposition.
[14] Then the Governor, by the will of God, who wished his servant to be martyred more, & to confess Jesus Christ, an exile on the island Pontia ordered that B. Montanus be cast out of the city, & that the soldiers pass the night with him on the island of Pontia; where he might suffer so much, & nothing be given him except a little bread toward evening. But the mercy of God was prepared for him on the island of Pontia, because he found there a man, named Maxentius with his daughter Margarita, who began to come to him, & to offer him clean bread. To whom B. Montanus the Martyr of Christ said: Have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who fattens me daily through you. he lives a holy life, But the Governor who had sent Blessed Montanus into exile, within six days having become leprous, expired amid worms. But Saint Montanus, being intent on fastings & prayers, occupied himself day & night in the holy Scriptures. And while he thus exulted in his exile, it happened that the Virgin of Christ Margarita, who was the spouse of an earthly man, became through B. Montanus the spouse of Christ. Then the report of B. Montanus began to go out through the whole province, & of his great deeds; so that if anyone had him in his prayer or held him in mind, & he works miracles, he saw great deeds & marvels through his prayers. And therefore there were brought to him on the island the sick who were despaired of by physicians, & lunatics, & demoniacs full of unclean spirits, who all returned safe, believing in Christ through the prayers of B. Montanus.
[15] And while these things were being done on the island of Pontia, the priests a made a representation about him to Leontius the Consular; & he sent men to bring him with haste from the island of Pontia, brought to Terracina that he might see whether he would sacrifice. And so when the soldiers had gone by boat, they seized S. Montanus, & cast him out of the island of Pontia, & put him on the boat bound with iron. But when they had led him into the city of Terracina, with a herald's voice the Consular questioned him, saying: What are you called? The Saint answered: I am called Montanus. The Consular said: Are you a slave, or freeborn? Montanus said: I am the servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. Then the most impious Consular Leontius ordered him to be led to the Secretarium, he is afflicted with torments which is in the middle of the forum of the city of Terracina, & to be vexed with various kinds of blows, & afterward to be lifted up on the rack, & burning torches to be applied to his sides, & he questioned him whether he would burn incense. S. Montanus answered, & said to the Consular: Wretched & unhappy one, if you do not depart from the worship of demons, you will burn with them forever. Then the Consular called to himself his man, a Scribe named Pergentius, & said to him: Montanus, stretched on the pulley. that treacherous & evil head, I order to be led with all speed to the temple of Hercules, that there he may be hung by his hair. And when this had been done, & in no way did Montanus the servant of God consent to his threats & terrors, he ordered a post to be fixed around the temple of Hercules, & there B. Montanus to be stretched on the pulley, & to be beaten with cudgels, & to be pierced in the breast.
[16] But after seven days, that is, on the eighth day of his martyrdom, he frees the possessed Margarita, while these things were being done in the city of Terracina, there was Margarita, the daughter of Maxentius, on the island of Pontia; who had already for a year been vexed by demons. She, at the report of him, burst in, & threw herself at the feet of S. Montanus with her father, saying: Look upon me a sinner, have mercy, pardon my necessities. Why do you turn away your eyes? why do you flee from one who entreats? Do not despise me, but have mercy on my soul, & save me, that I may be a handmaid of Christ. Then B. Montanus lifted up his eyes to heaven, & bathed in tears blessed her, & spat in her face, by the example of the Savior: & immediately by the power of the Lord Margarita was freed, & began to render thanks to almighty God, because through his servant Montanus she had been cured. Then B. Montanus said: If I am the true servant of Christ, & all the things which have gone out of my mouth are firm, & the Spouse of Christ Margarita has heard & believed; let the Lord Jesus Christ command, that a true Spouse may merit to be made a true martyr of Christ. Then Margarita began to cry out with a clear voice, saying: Blessed are you, & blessed is the speech of your mouth, & blessed are they who have believed through you in Christ the Son of the living God; because I who was held by the devil, through your prayer have been made safe. To whom B. Montanus said: Consider your dignity, & begin to be with Christ, & he makes her a spouse of Christ. & to believe in him, who handed over his only Son to passion & death, that he might free us from eternal passions, & perpetual death.
And while B. Montanus was saying these things, then the father of Margarita, having thrown himself at the feet of S. Montanus, began to say to him: Let Christ win my soul through you. And B. Montanus said to him: The Devil, whom you formerly adored, is recognized to be neither our Lord, nor creator, but God is proven to be our Father & Lord. And he began to pray with tears, & immediately a divine vision appeared, whose voice sweeter than honey said to the Virgin of Christ Margarita: Virginity is a precious gem; Virginity is the best of possessions; & the more you know yourself to have through my martyr Montanus, the more you ought to guard lest you lose it. And I do not desert you: & whatever you ask I will give you: I will hear you, & lead you to the crown of martyrdom. Then all began to adore the Spouse of Christ with her father, both of whom our Lord Jesus won through his servant Montanus.
[17] He, when he had long remained in prison, until a report should go & a response return; received the sentence, cast headlong into the sea with a stone, that, a stone being bound about his neck, he should be cast headlong into the sea. Then the most impious Consular had him cast down, & with the stone tied on, the holy man of God Montanus was cast headlong into the midst of the sea. At that same hour the Lord thundered, & thunders, & lightnings & hailstones came on, so that for fear many fell on their faces. Then the Lord descended to his Martyr with an army of Angels singing psalms, & twenty-four elders, & twelve Apostles bore up the body of B. Montanus. But the stone, which had been bound to him, became leaping b before the face of the Lord. And when they came to the island of Pontia, they found prepared there by the Lord a great stone on the shore, on which they laid him half-alive. But in that place where he was set, certain boatmen found him, who supposed him most certainly to be c a boatman, & to have abundant money; he is divinely set down on the Pontian shore thirty-five men being gathered, who remained in that same place, they thought to stone him. But when they began to throw stones, then the hand of the Lord, & of S. Montanus came upon them; & some of them were made blind, others seized by demons, & the hands & arms of others were made withered. And having no help, for fear & trembling, with a voice of howling they said: This man seems to us just, & he is the one who confessed the name of the Son of God. And while they were saying these things, a voice of the Lord came from heaven saying: This is the Martyr Montanus, in whom I have been thus well pleased with my Angels; & in nothing do I wish him to be grieved, in whom thus my Father, & I rejoice. And because some saw these things about the Martyr of God, others did not; there arose among them the greatest doubt on the island of Pontia.
[18] And while these things were being done, that there might be no unbelief about the Martyr of Christ, he raises a dead man on that same island of Pontia a boy a year old died, & was brought to B. Montanus by his parents. They threw him down at his feet, saying & crying out: We beseech you, by the most clement God, that you return to us our only son, & show the power of God, & yours, which is in the Saints of God. Then B. Montanus prayed, & said: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, & God of Jacob, behold now is the time that your power be manifested. Nor is this impossible, & we have a faithful promise from you, that those who ask obtain all things. And I believe that whatever I ask of you, you will not defraud me. And immediately fixing his eyes on heaven for the space of nearly one hour, his face was changed like snow; & he said to the body of the dead: To you I say, dry earth; in the name of him who raised up the four-day Lazarus, & now commands you, rise upon your feet. And when he said these things, the dead man rose, & began to cry out: O acceptable prayer, & immaculate virginity, which is in the holy man of God Montanus: & do not doubt, unbelievers, of God, & suddenly he expires, because he is one, & holy. Then all from that same place began to cry out: There is one God, the Father, & the Son, & the Holy Spirit, who is unto the ages of ages, Amen. And immediately a voice came to be in them, saying: I have believed, wherefore I have spoken: & suddenly B. Montanus rendered his spirit in peace.
Then the Christian men, & every age of infants & of women; lifting up the body of B. Montanus the martyr, buried it beside the shore in a crypt, on the fifteenth day of the Kalends of July, & his body was deposited in peace, to the praise & glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father, & the Holy Spirit lives, & reigns unto the ages of ages, Amen.
[19] But after much time the citizens of Gaeta, d divinely admonished, transferred his body into the city of Gaeta, & buried it in an ancient church, & he is laid at Gaeta. under the name of the holy Martyrs Quiricus e & Julitta, in the high altar, where at one time manna welled up.