Eusebius of Cremona

ON ST. EUSEBIUS OF CREMONA, AT BETHLEHEM IN PALESTINE.

AROUND THE YEAR 423.

Eusebius of Cremona, at Bethlehem in Palestine (St.)

[1] The Life of St. Eusebius of Cremona, collected, arranged, and published from the writings of St. Jerome and others, was the work of Francis Ferrarius, Doctor of Sacred Theology, Canon of Cremona, and Oblate of St. Ambrose at Milan; which, printed at Cremona by decree and at the expense of the city in the year 1612, the Life of St. Eusebius written by Francis Ferrarius. we here give again, divided in our customary manner into chapters and numbered sections, and illustrated with marginal additions and other annotations. We note from the dedicatory letter that the author sets certain things as certain, probable things as probable, and doubtful things as doubtful; we observe moreover that some things do not seem to pertain to St. Eusebius. Peter de Natalibus formerly published some Life of this Saint in book 7 of the Catalogue of Saints, chapter 64, another by Peter de Natalibus, with his memorial attached to August 14, on which day the birthday of St. Eusebius the Priest is celebrated, who at Rome, by the Arian Emperor Constantius, for his defense of the Catholic faith, was enclosed in a room and fell asleep. recorded under August 14. On the same August 14, Hermann Greve, who died in the year 1480 at the Carthusian monastery of Cologne, inserted in his Additions to Usuard: Of Eusebius the Confessor, disciple of Bl. Jerome, a native of Cremona, who after the death of Jerome, having laudably governed his monastery, when he was about to be committed to burial, a certain monk who had lost the light of his eyes kissed his body and recovered his sight. The same things are related somewhat more fully in the German Martyrology of Peter Canisius, and more briefly in Maurolycus and Felici,

by whom he is wrongly called a native of Genoa (he was from Cremona). But on October 19, St. Eusebius the Confessor, memorial on October 19. disciple of St. Jerome, is inscribed in the manuscript Florarium Sanctorum.

[2] Concerning his celebrated veneration among the Bethlehemites, we treat below in the Life, number 39. To which may be added what Francis Quaresmius writes in book 6 of his Elucidation of the Holy Land, chapter 20, concerning the sepulchre of St. Eusebius, Abbot of Cremona, veneration at Bethlehem which is visited as the thirteenth station in the second pilgrimage, namely that the pious faithful return to the tomb of St. Eusebius the Abbot, empty also of its sacred relic, where they venerate God and the Saint, as at other places... Upon this sepulchre and those of SS. Jerome, Paula, and Eustochium, Mass is celebrated and the Office is solemnly chanted on the feast days of these Saints, with the Brethren also coming together from Jerusalem for the festivities. There is inserted in that work a ground plan of the church of Bethlehem, engraved on a copper plate, in which number XIV shows the altar of this St. Eusebius.

[3] At Cremona, the veneration of St. Eusebius was augmented and renewed, as is related below in the Acts, number 42. and at Cremona on March 5. In the Diary of the city of Cremona published by Joseph Bresciano in the year 1638, it is added that the feast of St. Eusebius is celebrated on March 5 in the church of St. Mary of the Star, which is said below to be adjoined to the walls of the city itself; and that there all things are administered by a confraternity erected in honor of St. Eusebius; and on the same day two torches are offered at public expense of the city, and two persons are deputized to attend the solemn Sacrifice of the Mass; and a decree concerning these matters was made in the year 1606. On the same March 5, the following is found in Galesinius' Martyrology: On this same day, of St. Eusebius the Abbot. This citizen of Cremona, disciple of Bl. Jerome, piously engaged in sacred learning and the duties of the religious life, and enriched with the praise of holy deeds, rested in the Lord. Ferrarius treats of him on this day in his General Catalogue, as also in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, with a eulogy mainly composed from Peter de Natalibus and transcribed by the aforementioned Quaresmius. The same is also honored with ecclesiastical worship at Bologna in the church of St. Barbatian, and everywhere by the Hieronymite monks, as Masini relates on this day in his survey of Bologna.

[4] After these had been sent to press, we received a letter from Francis Ghiringello, Rector of the Jesuit College of Cremona, along with a book published in Italian by Peregrino Merula, Rector of the Parish Church of St. Nicholas and St. Michael in the city of Cremona, another compendium of the Life. concerning men of Cremona illustrious for holiness, the first of whom is established as St. Eusebius, and whose life's eulogy is presented from Francis Ferrarius, and certain other authors are cited in whom mention of St. Eusebius is found. But in a preceding letter the same Rector Ghiringello indicated to us that the Life written by Francis Ferrarius is held in great esteem at Cremona, and that nothing is known that could be added to it.

THE LIFE, by Francis Ferrarius as author.

Eusebius of Cremona, at Bethlehem in Palestine (St.)

By Francis Ferrarius.

DEDICATORY LETTER

To the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord, D. Balthasar Sudato of Milan, General Prefect of the Order of Hermit Monks of St. Jerome, Francis Ferrarius sends greeting.

[1] The life of St. Eusebius, a citizen of Cremona, monk and Abbot, was by right owed to another monk and Abbot of the same Religious Order. I have done it willingly; but whether it will be pleasing to you, a man of great and outstanding genius, I do not dare to affirm. Eagles fly from the peaks of mountains down to the lowest valleys for food; you, treating of sublime things and feasting on divine banquets, need neither descent nor pasture. But if the descent to my level is not approved, let not the ascent to higher things be neglected, where Eusebius dwells. Rigid censors will perhaps assert that I sometimes deviate from the laws of history; the author sometimes digresses to untangle difficulties, but by others I shall be not ineptly defended on account of the difficulty of the matters I was obliged to unravel. And if they still insist, I say the same: let them undergo the same risk, so that judgment may be passed on their work. That I have written in Latin will be less welcome to many. What is that to me? I write for the few, and for those most devoted to the Saints. This little book, written in Latin, will come into the embrace of religious men; another, translated by me into the Italian language, will go forth to meet the rest. Almost all will undoubtedly appreciate the double language, to be read through by two kinds of men; certain things it was proper to pass over in silence in the vernacular tongue, which in Latin will lie open only to the learned. We speak of certain heresies in this history; these I would neither dare nor be permitted to set forth unless in Latin. If anyone affirms that I narrate things scarcely credible and omitted by many, I have others, and indeed most weighty men, whom I can set against them. These things, found among ancient authors and among the books of St. Jerome, can also be judged true and worthy to be committed to print for the memory of posterity. You will say that times and names are confused; perhaps that is true; but the deeds are recounted in order and without error. Those who are about to speak of the deeds of Saints must borrow from all who write of them, for we are reminded by the arguments and examples of others; yet I shall set before your eyes certain things as certain, probable things as probable, he distinguishes certain, probable, and doubtful matters. and doubtful things as doubtful; wherefore no one will have cause for complaint against me. Be that as it may, I have drawn much from the divine Jerome, some things from Eusebius himself, and very few from others. But even if one or another may be uncertain about some part of the narrative, I and you are by no means so. I, I say, who strive to deserve well of Eusebius; and you who have already deserved well. But come, I beseech you, so that I too may deserve well of you on account of Eusebius. Farewell.

PREFACE.

[2] For one about to write the life and distinguished deeds of St. Eusebius of Cremona, a monk of Bethlehem, who was the inseparable friend of St. Jerome and the companion of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the author wishes the Life of St. Eusebius had been written by St. Jerome, no prudent person is unaware that the tongue of Jerome himself would be needed. For who could set forth with more elegant speech his calling's beginnings, his bodily afflictions, his admirable holiness, his actions worthy of eternal renown, or the whole course of his past life? The greatest harmony of mind existed between them, a similarity of character, constant occupation together with the utmost good will in the same pursuits, and a common plan of life and duties; and therefore no one could weave the history of Eusebius more aptly and easily. Eusebius was a disciple of this most distinguished Doctor, and was educated under his guidance with singular love, benevolence, and solicitude; therefore he could utter praises worthy of so great a man concerning the subtlety of his intellect, the powers of his memory, his study of sacred literature, the maturity of his judgment, his skill in speaking, and his wondrous knowledge of all the sciences. Indeed, if anyone were to be chosen from many who would adorn his life with praise in a weighty and polished oration, the divine Jerome alone should be chosen and acclaimed with universal applause; he who had employed the most learned Rhetoricians of that golden age: namely Victorinus, Gregory of Nazianzus, Didymus of Alexandria, and Apollinarius, Bishop of Laodicea, and in this faculty he so excelled that he far surpassed all the orators of his own time, with none dissenting. To signify this, the ancients applied the most beautiful hieroglyph of the lion, to declare that his roaring had put to flight and averted all heretics and all the monsters of heresy. It would therefore have been fitting for the most eloquent divine Jerome to address a discourse concerning the rarest offspring of his eloquence, about his friend Eusebius, about a disciple to his teacher, about an Abbot to another Abbot. And would that it were permitted us today to peruse with our eyes some book about St. Eusebius written by the hand of St. Jerome; there would assuredly be nothing that we would desire in this kind of writing. For where so great a man set his hand, no one doubts that nothing more elegant could be said or written. If he had done so, it would not be necessary for us to gather here and there the abundance of things done by St. Eusebius, which through the antiquity of the times have almost slipped from human memory. From this life there passed away Nepotian, nephew of the great Bishop Heliodorus, who, having been ordained a Priest, shone with so many and such great virtues; and who consoled his uncle on his death with well-nigh divine eloquence? epistle 30. St. Jerome. as he wrote the Lives of others: St. Marcella died, a woman illustrious in holiness of the Roman race, the glory and ornament of all women of that age; and who, writing to the Virgin Principia, herself also a Roman lady, most diligently heaped up her singular praises? epistle 16. St. Jerome. Who copiously set forth the piety and religion of St. Lea, Abbess of the monastery of Bethlehem, combined with the austerity of her life? epistle 24. St. Jerome. He did the same on the death of Blaesilla, daughter of St. Paula, for whom he composed an illustrious epitaph. epistle 25. He also described for posterity and set before their eyes the illustrious ornaments of virtue of Paulina, wife of Pammachius (who erected a hospice for pilgrims in the port of Rome, for those who came to the threshold of the Apostles). epistle 26. epistle 27. He did the same at the death of that most distinguished woman, Paula of Rome, who for her chastity consecrated to God, poverty, fasts, prayers, and penance, was always worthy of admiration, omitting nothing that could serve to extol so great a woman with praises, striving to alleviate his own grief and that of her daughter Eustochium. Wherefore, and would have done so had he survived him. if it had happened that Eusebius exchanged this life for death before the day of St. Jerome, he would have had the same herald of his virtues, and indeed a greater one than Homer was for Achilles, Virgil for Aeneas, Curtius for Alexander, and Plutarch of Chaeronea for many Emperors. And indeed, if this had happened, we too would be most happy; for we would not be compelled to beg from other sources what must be commemorated concerning the excellence of his deeds, things which all the learned well understand have been consumed by most voracious time through the course of so many centuries. But since the tongue of this most holy and most learned Doctor is now most happily exercised in higher praises in heaven together with Eusebius himself, and I, stammering though I am, must compose the history of this Saint with a running pen, I call God to witness that I shall write almost nothing about him except what can be said on the testimony of St. Jerome; this is gathered almost entirely from his writings. for from his books I have gathered the flowers of St. Eusebius' life like a bee, so that what I shall set before your view you will unanimously confirm to be taken from the same source, and you will judge that nothing has been written by my own will; for the other writers are so few in describing the deeds of Eusebius that they barely indicate his very name and immediately pass on to other things.

CHAPTER I.

Various men named Eusebius. His homeland, friendship with St. Jerome. The pilgrimage of both to Palestine and Egypt.

[3] There were many men named Eusebius who lived in the very same century as St. Eusebius of Cremona; among many Eusebiuses, and first of all there was Pope Eusebius, who held the pontificate in the time of Constantine the Great, whom Melchiades succeeded, and then Silvester, certainly a holy man and worthy to hold the office of Pope. Next comes Eusebius Pamphili or of Caesarea, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, who described the deeds of the martyrs and of Constantine the Great, a man learned in both Greek and Latin letters, but who incautiously fell into the Arian heresy, and therefore was condemned as an Arian in the Second Council of Nicaea. Other Eusebiuses follow, namely Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and Martyr, who was exiled at Alexandria on account of the Catholic faith and preached the most holy Gospel in the Eastern Church, as he had done in the Western; he was killed by a tile thrown from above by an Arian woman, whence he rendered to Christ the Savior a most illustrious testimony of his faith by his own blood. Eusebius of Emesa was a supporter of the Arians, by whose help he invaded the See of the great Athanasius at Alexandria, and of whom St. Jerome makes mention in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers. Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, a man of unconquerable spirit who deserved well of the Catholic faith and was crowned with martyrdom: when the Emperor Constantius had sent a messenger ordering him to immediately restore a certain decree written in favor of the Arians, with instructions to threaten the penalty of cutting off his hand if he did not comply, he intrepidly replied: "Cut off both; for I will not restore the decree." The Emperor so marveled at this display of his indomitable spirit that he did not cease to recall this deed in the presence of most distinguished men for many days. Thus are the rightly spoken words or bravely done deeds of wise men admired, so that even enemies are compelled to extol them with praise. Eusebius of Nicomedia was an Arian and the inventor of so many falsehoods written against Athanasius, concerning which, when he had written letters to Pope Julius, he obtained such a victory that, by the just judgment of God, before the slanderer of Athanasius could reach Rome, he was deprived of this light. Eusebius, chamberlain of the Emperor Constantius, was a most wicked eunuch, who, upon the death of Constantius, paying the penalties for his crimes under Julian, was deservedly deprived of life. Eusebius, Bishop of Bologna, who heard St. Ambrose preaching On Virginity at Milan, whom Felix, Deacon of St. Ambrose, a man of incomparable virtue, succeeded. Eusebius called "the Enclosed," because, confined by the Arian Constantius between two narrow walls, after six months, worn out by the confinements of prison and other hardships, he flew to the glory of martyrdom in heaven; of whom the Venerable Bede wrote much, and at Rome a church was dedicated in his name, whose title is held by the Most Illustrious Cardinal Taberna. Eusebius, Bishop of Valentianopolis, a most fierce defender of John Chrysostom, sent by the Synod of Constantinople to Rome against Antonius, Bishop of Ephesus, of whom Baronius makes mention in volume 15; whom another Eusebius, Deacon of the Church of Constantinople, followed, in order to defend the cause of the same Chrysostom before Innocent. Eusebius the Scholastic, who celebrated the death of Gainas in four books of heroic verse, and was a disciple of Troilus the Sophist. Eusebius, an Origenist monk, who sailed to Constantinople to find supporters for Origen. Eusebius, Prefect of the city of Milan in the time of St. Ambrose, who, while the Emperor was exhibiting a spectacle of Libyan beasts to the people, violated the immunity of the Church by sending soldiers to seize Cresconius from the altar, which the Bishop with his clergy had surrounded, and they brought him by force to the amphitheatre; but — O wonderful thing — the leopards that were released, running with a swift leap to the place where Eusebius and other judges were sitting in the upper section, tore them apart. Wherefore Count Stilicho, moved to repentance, made satisfaction to St. Ambrose for many days, and the accused, who was an accomplice in many crimes, was punished with exile, with indulgence following not long after; and the servant of Stilicho was immediately seized by a demon, as St. Paulinus, Bishop of the city of Nola, attests in his Life of St. Ambrose.

[4] In the last place, let our Eusebius come forward, called "of Cremona" from that most illustrious city which was his homeland, St. Eusebius stands out, which among the most ancient cities of Italy has always flourished. For this city was founded, or rather fortified (for Cremona had been established long before), when Hannibal was invading Italy, as Tacitus witnesses, as a bulwark against the Gauls, renowned indeed for the fertility of its adjoining fields, but more renowned for the birth of St. Eusebius. From this most flourishing city, which has always been a seminary of most brave and most learned men, a native of Cremona, Eusebius drew his most happy beginning, not from any ordinary family, but from a noble and honorable one, as St. Jerome teaches, who, writing to Pammachius about St. Eusebius, says thus: "There was in our monastery a man of no mean standing among his own people, Eusebius of Cremona; illustrious indeed in homeland and lineage, of noble birth, but more illustrious in his virtues; for he so illuminated the splendor of his blood, and the stock of his grandfathers and great-grandfathers, with the integrity of his character, the austerity of his life, contempt for the world, and desire for heavenly things, that nothing more illustrious could be seen." And this is true nobility, which is not consumed by any course of time or any swiftness of years, but grows as the centuries age and daily acquires greater strength. Our citizen Eusebius was noble, and for this reason, which was the most important, and nobler in virtue: he strove to exercise the more sublime acts of virtue consonant with his nobility, serving God the Best and Greatest diligently and faithfully; which is the chief mark of Christian nobility, as Blessed Agatha said to Quintianus: "The highest nobility is that in which the service of Christ is proved." This not only makes us noble, but also admirable, for we cannot serve the Lord unless we fear him and obey his commandments; and whoever strives most diligently to do this is so perfect that Solomon calls him "the whole man": "Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole man." Ecclesiastes 12:13 To this pursuit, as to the highest praise and glory, St. Eusebius strove with all the powers and energies of his soul, considering himself to fail his nobility if he did otherwise; and in this way he accommodated himself most fittingly to the meaning of his own name, for Eusebius is a Greek word meaning "a good worshipper."

[5] He sets out for Rome: Therefore, lest this good worshipper of God should seem to be shamefully slipping into the idleness of his homeland, which is the root of all evils, by which young men, being captivated for the most part, are less versed in the acquisition of true praise; he began to be possessed by a very great desire for the nourishing City: both to visit the shrines of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and also to meet the holy Doctor Jerome, the fame of whose virtues, spread throughout the whole world, aroused in many most distinguished men a great desire to be attached to him. And so, bidding farewell to his homeland, his relatives, and his household, he set out on the journey with such eagerness of spirit that what he bore in mind he accomplished in a few days with divine help, and nothing further that he desired was left undone. Wherefore, having religiously visited the most holy churches of Rome, he gains the friendship of St. Jerome he quickly insinuated himself into the friendship of the holy Doctor Jerome, and was joined to him by so ardent a bond of love that, with wonderful ease, on account of their similarity of character and the same plan of studies, they became the closest of friends; for these things have the greatest power to unite wills in love.

[6] At that time St. Jerome was preparing himself for a very long voyage after the death of Pope Damasus, whose secretary he had been; for he desired to see with his own eyes the holy city of Jerusalem and all the places of Palestine made famous by the mysteries of Christ the Lord, and especially his divine birthplace at Bethlehem, and to adore the Lord religiously as if present; and nothing was lacking to bring the matter to completion: both sail to the East: only the opportunity of the time and favorable winds were awaited, so that he could safely commit himself to the sea. Our Eusebius burned with the same desire for the holy city; therefore, like another Elisha, he attached himself as a companion to Jerome. When the winds blew, they embarked from the mouth of the Tiber and, with full sails, came to Cyprus, where St. Epiphanius, the most loving Bishop of Salamis and friend of Jerome, was staying at that time; by whom they were most kindly received, received by St. Epiphanius, and somewhat refreshed from the labor of the long voyage. Departing thence, they were at last carried by a most happy course to the most desired port, Antioch, and were received by St. Paulinus, the Bishop, and Paulinus of Antioch: and in the middle of winter they came to Jerusalem. Having sought out almost all the places adorned by the blood or miracles of Christ, they finally decided to remain in the place where our Savior was born and laid in a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn, and where he was presented with gifts and worshipped by the Magi. they visit the holy places in Palestine, If anyone wishes to learn the plan of that journey and with what companions, let him read the last Apology of St. Jerome against Rufinus, where it says: "Do you wish to know the order of my departure from Rome? I shall relate it briefly. In the month of August, when the Etesian winds were blowing, with the holy Priest Vincent, and a young brother, and other monks who now reside in Jerusalem (he means Eusebius), I boarded a ship at the port of Rome without concern, accompanied by a great throng of the Saints. I came to Rhegium; I paused a little on the Scyllaean shore; and shortly after I chose to go by way of the Maleas and Cyclades to Cyprus, where I was received by the venerable Bishop Epiphanius, in whose testimony you glory. I came to Antioch, where I enjoyed the communion of the Bishop and Confessor Paulinus; and escorted by him in the middle of winter and very severe cold, I entered Jerusalem; I saw many wonders; those things which the report had previously conveyed to me, I confirmed by the judgment of my own eyes. From there I hastened to Egypt, and the monasteries of Nitria in Egypt. I visited the monasteries of Nitria, and among the choirs of the Saints I saw serpents lurking. Without delay, with quickened step I returned to my Bethlehem, where I adored the manger and the birthplace of the Savior." It would be wonderful to recount, if we wished to recall the things that are credible to have happened to these most pious men in the visiting of those holy places, persuaded by one single argument: that if men not greatly inclined to religion, wandering through those places, cannot contain their tears, but are moved in a wonderful way, either by love, or by the desire of suffering, or by joy, or by piety, so that their souls seem to want to be melted by the ardor of religion; what must we say of Jerome and Eusebius, who were endowed with remarkable religion? Who could easily recount the flood of tears they poured forth, the emotions of soul they stirred up, the meditations they performed, the prayers they offered, by what sparks toward Christ the Lord they were inflamed, with great devotion of soul: as they completed that journey? They wore hair-shirts under their private garments,

and afflicted their bodies with scourges, so that they might become worthy imitators of the Lord's Passion. They went on foot, descending from the highest mountains to the lowest valleys, and again hastening to the summits of the mountains, so that if any mystery had been wrought there, they might most diligently investigate it. Witnesses are the Mount of Olives, Calvary, Tabor, Hermon, the Valley of Gethsemane and of Jehoshaphat, the village of Emmaus, where, after Luke and Cleophas were refreshed with heavenly bread, the Lord vanished before their eyes; Cana of Galilee, where at the urging of his most holy Mother he turned water into wine, arousing admiration of himself; and finally other places which it would be far too long to recount, in which sometimes they rejoiced, sometimes they grieved, and sometimes, with a display of grateful heart toward Christ, they professed themselves to be his true disciples.

[7] Finally, having chosen the city of Bethlehem, small indeed in circumference but distinguished and most excellent for the birth of Christ, in that place they spent the remaining course of their life, having built a monastery. they build a monastery at Bethlehem, In it, very many men, received out of desire for the monastic life, persevered in their holy purpose until their last day, serving God under the rules prescribed by St. Jerome. Here, therefore, Eusebius, the companion of St. Jerome, devoted to fasts, prayers, poverty, and the study of sacred literature, remained for all the time that he lived, and at last closed the eyes of his teacher, and after two years departed to join him in heaven. From this mutual pilgrimage and shared manner of life, Jerome and Eusebius formed such a friendship that they loved each other reciprocally until the last breath of life. This can be most clearly understood from the writings of the divine Jerome: joined by the greatest friendship: for he calls Eusebius his household member, his intimate, his friend, and most often his brother. For Eusebius was indeed a brother, not by nature, but by the same will, the same studies, the same rules, and especially by the same piety, according to the Lord's saying: "Whoever does the will of my Father, he is my brother, and sister, and mother." Matthew 7:21

CHAPTER II.

The journey to Dalmatia and Italy. Defense against the injuries of Rufinus.

[8] After the monastery was built, therefore, Eusebius, complying with the wishes of his teacher under whose discipline he served, was serving God in his holy purpose; but since the news of St. Jerome's arrival at Bethlehem had been spread far and wide, from the whole world people flocked to see the birthplace of the Lord and Savior. But since many of those who came were afflicted with poverty, St. Jerome and Eusebius decided to build a hospice for the poor pilgrims who arrived, in order to assist pilgrims, which they accomplished with great speed. But the multitude of pilgrims flooding in was so great that the place was judged insufficient to receive such a number of pilgrims. Therefore St. Jerome thought of sending his brother Paulinianus and St. Eusebius of Cremona to Dalmatia, to sell the remainder of his own patrimony that survived at Stridon after the incursions of the Goths, who had devastated that entire province, for the enlargement of the same hospice; and then to go to Italy, and perhaps Eusebius, having been offered this opportunity, also came to Cremona to sell his own properties likewise and to contribute the money to that pious work, following the example of his teacher; who afterwards went to Rome he averts from others the danger of capital punishment, to free some of Jerome's friends from the danger of capital punishment. And these are the reasons for which St. Jerome sent Eusebius and Paulinianus to Italy, as he himself testifies against Rufinus, that all had been sent either for family business or to avert the danger of another's capital punishment. That Paulinianus and Eusebius set out together, you have in the last apology against Rufinus, where it says: "Paulinianus and Eusebius set out after the year of your voyage." And perhaps another reason for that departure could have occurred, namely on account of the business of St. Paula of Rome, who still had many interests at Rome. This most noble woman, having left behind at Rome her children, and perhaps to conduct the business of St. Paula, her homeland, and her most opulent patrimony, from the most illustrious family of the Gracchi and Scipiones, having despised her riches and set aside everything, consecrated herself perpetually to Christ the Lord, and following the example of the divine Jerome, went to Bethlehem, where, having built a monastery of Virgins, serving God with her daughter Eustochium, she completed the most happy course of her life and flew to eternal glory. These seem to me to be the reasons for the journey of Eusebius and Paulinianus. And so, in the year of the Lord three hundred and ninety-eight, on the Kalends of April, if we believe Cardinal Baronius, he sails with Paulinianus at which time Pope Siricius had died (he who held the pontificate for thirteen years after Damasus), Anastasius having succeeded him, they departed from the port of Jerusalem, and with favorable winds directed their course to Dalmatia, to Dalmatia, where they remained for all the time that was needed to sell off the family property of St. Jerome, which remained at the town of Stridon, from which he drew his origin, from the ruins of the Goths; and they probably sent the collected monies as quickly as possible to St. Jerome at Bethlehem for the support of the hospice of pilgrims. and to Aquileia, to St. Chromatius the Bishop: When these matters had been diligently completed, crossing the Adriatic gulf, they arrived at Aquileia, the metropolis of the province of Friuli, and were received as guests by Chromatius the Bishop, who was most devoted to Jerome. This is the Chromatius at whose urging St. Jerome translated the Book of Tobias from Hebrew into Latin, as appears from the preface to the same book, who also sent the Saint subsidies for expenses, so that he could support his scribes and copyists, as is evident from the Preface to the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs of Solomon.

[9] Departing from that place not many days later, and traveling through Italy, he goes to Rome: they at length went to Rome, and having greeted Anastasius — which Eusebius perhaps had been instructed to do — and having commended the Bethlehem affair to him, they diligently attended to the other matters for which they had come to Rome. Rufinus, a Priest of Aquileia, was then at Rome; he had translated the book Peri Archon of Origen Adamantius, which was teeming with many errors. Origen was a man of the greatest learning and the most acute genius; but on account of his excessive subtlety he fell upon many reefs of error; although, as St. Jerome testifies, where he wrote well, nothing could be better, and where badly, nothing could be worse. Rufinus had therefore translated that book from Greek into Latin, full of various opinions contrary to the Catholic faith; copies of the already translated book were passing through many hands, recognized by Rufinus, and had been sent by Pammachius and Oceanus, friends of the divine Jerome, to the same, as can be gathered from letter 65 to Pammachius. When the holy Doctor had seen these pages bespattered with much darkness of heresies, armed with zeal for the faith, he could not contain himself from rebuking Rufinus. First, because he so boldly affirmed that Origen was not a heretic; then because he had translated his book Peri Archon, full of heresies; which, since it was being read commonly by everyone, there was an evident danger of losing the faith for those who read it. But Rufinus, having been informed of what St. Jerome had written, and seeing the arrival of St. Eusebius of Cremona in Italy, his mind, which had been fighting uncertainly about whose efforts had brought his book into the hands of St. Jerome, after many reasons thought out on all sides, at length rashly judged that it had been done through the industry of St. Eusebius, and that his scribe had been bribed with gold by the same Eusebius so that he could obtain copies to transmit to his teacher in Palestine; and therefore that Jerome had seized the occasion to tear apart his reputation, namely, that he was a heretic and a supporter of heretics. Wherefore Rufinus hurls darts of slander against St. Eusebius, attacked with insults: speaking of him not modestly, but indeed licentiously, in this vein: book 1, Invective. "If this man, who came from the monastery to Rome as if most skilled in slander, had committed this in the forum or in secular affairs, everyone knows what would follow under the public laws for one guilty of such a crime. But now, because he has left the secular life and has turned from that evasion of public proceedings to the monastery and has attached himself to a noble master, he is taught by him once again to rage and be insane instead of modesty, to stir up seditions instead of quiet, to wage wars instead of peace, to stir up dissensions instead of concord, to be treacherous instead of faithful, and a forger instead of truthful. Believe me, the wickedness of his crime would have been a living example even to himself, had not that Jezebel appeared" — he means St. Marcella, with whose help he believed Eusebius had obtained his papers from his scribe by offering money, and who had impeded Rufinus' attempt. And a little later he accuses the same Eusebius of having brought his papers forth in public while he was at Rome and could have dealt with him face to face, driven by a certain frenzy of mind, not by the zeal of correcting error, and of tearing apart an absent man whom he could have corrected if present. "This man," he says, "because the consciousness of his falsehood deterred him, did not bring the matter to me, whose writings he wished to incriminate, but carried them around through houses, through monasteries, through each and every Brother, by which sound alone he might be able to cause disturbance; and he did this at the very time when he was about to leave the City immediately, lest, if caught, he should have to give reasons for his deed. From that point, as may be understood, following the command of his Master, he spreads accusations against me throughout all Italy, stirs up crowds, disturbs the Churches, pollutes even the ears of Priests; and in all these things he abuses our modesty as if it were guilty conscience." These are the words of the Disciple; but his Eastern Master, etc., and so forth.

[10] St. Jerome refutes these ravings. For God, who is the defender of the righteous, did not permit defended by St. Jerome: that such great falsehood ascribed to the Saints should be believed for long; and St. Jerome, knowing well how great was the integrity of soul in his Eusebius, complains greatly about this in the First Apology against the same Rufinus, and proves by many arguments that Eusebius bore no guilt in this matter. First, because before Eusebius came to Italy, Atterbius was reading aloud his translated book before St. Epiphanius, Bishop of

Constantia in Cyprus, who was then at Jerusalem, and was barking at it with many words against him; and therefore he should cease thinking that he had sent Eusebius to Rome for that purpose. And these are the words of St. Jerome: "If I had sent Eusebius to bark, who stirred up the fury of Atterbius and the others against you?" And continuing to defend Eusebius, he writes thus: "Just as I condemn even a true accusation, so I do not accept the falsification of papers in a holy man" (for Rufinus was attacking Eusebius on the grounds that he had bespattered his uncorrected papers with the venom of heresies by his own hand). "For what could a Latin man change in a Greek translation? Or what could he subtract or add in the books of the Peri Archon, where everything is so closely woven together that whatever you wished to add or remove would immediately appear like a patch on a garment?" And shortly after: "If Eusebius," he says, "redeemed uncorrected papers with gold in order to falsify them, bring forth yours, which have not been falsified; and if you prove that there is nothing heretical in them, then he will be held guilty of falsification. However much you change, however much you correct, you will not prove them Catholic."

And with a few words interposed, he proceeds to prove that no crime could have been in Eusebius: "Because," he says, "the papers were uncorrected and not yet polished to a final draft, they were therefore more easily falsified by Eusebius. Either I am rather slow, or this seems sufficiently foolish and dull to me. If the papers were not yet corrected and brought to a final form, the error in them shall not be imputed to Eusebius, but to your delay and sluggishness, because you ceased to correct them; and he will be culpable only in this, that he disseminated your writings quickly among the public, which you had decided to correct gradually. But if, as you maintain, Eusebius falsified them, why do you complain and pretend that they burst forth into the public uncorrected and not brought to a final form? For both corrected and uncorrected admit of the same falsification. No one, you say, had those books, or very few did. In one statement, what diversity! If no one had them, how were they among a few? If a few had them, how do you falsely claim that no one had them? Since, moreover, you say they were among a few, and by your own confession the claim that no one had them is overturned, where is what you complain about, that your scribe was bribed with gold? Tell the name of the scribe; how much gold was given, where, through whom, or to whom it was given. See whether it is not more true that copies were given by those few friends of yours both to Eusebius and the rest, which so agree and correspond with each other that they do not differ even by a single point. Then, what kind of prudence is it to give copies to others that you had not yet corrected? The papers had not yet been written in final form, and others already possessed the errors you intended to correct. Do you not feel that lies do not hold together?" These and many other things his friend Jerome brought forth in defense of holy Eusebius against Rufinus, which we deliberately omit, lest we seem to have heaped together superfluous and empty things to increase the length of the history.

[11] Rufinus' fabrication exposed: But let us proceed to far greater matters. Rufinus, angered on account of the things we have narrated thus far, saw to the dissemination of a certain fabrication about St. Jerome, cleverly invented by him. For he composed a letter in the name of St. Jerome, in which Jerome appeared to be doing penance, saying that in his youth he had been induced by the Hebrews to translate the Hebrew volumes into Latin, in which there was no truth. This letter St. Eusebius of Cremona found among the African Bishops, Apology 2 against Rufinus. who had come to the Court for ecclesiastical causes, and, to repay kindness with kindness, quickly forwarded it to his teacher at Jerusalem, so that he might repel so great an injury by his writings. Such was the bond of love between these Saints that if anyone offended Eusebius, he also offended Jerome; and if Jerome, immediately also Eusebius. When the letter was read, St. Jerome was astonished at the man's audacity, who had dared to fabricate and write such things about him; and immediately taking up his pen, lest his reputation in the faith be diminished, he excellently defended himself in the Apology against Rufinus. For such was the fortitude of the holy man that he easily despised private injuries with wonderful humility; but those in which he could be said to be insufficiently Catholic he repelled so effectively that how faithful he was, and how constant in defending the faith, is most clearly understood from his writings confuting the errors imputed to him.

CHAPTER III.

The learning of St. Eusebius: books written by him, others dedicated to him by St. Jerome.

[12] Serving under the discipline of St. Jerome, St. Eusebius drank such rivers of doctrine that he became most learned; yet he joined his studies, which seem to be the true praise of a Christian Doctor, with piety and religion. And although from his early youth he had heard the Masters of various sects (as he himself testifies in the letter he wrote on the death of St. Jerome, which no one moderately versed in history denies to be by Eusebius), and the old wives' fables of poets and the dirges of tragedians, as a youth he was trained in poetry, and the opinions of various Philosophers; yet after he attached himself to St. Jerome and was joined to him by an inexpressible bond of love, he so eliminated those trifles from the seat of his mind that he embraced only sound doctrine; and he himself affirms this in these words: "For we were like wandering sheep amid erroneous and superstitious fables, not hearing sound doctrine, but heaping up for ourselves pseudo-prophets, who, rising up among the people, introduced as teachers false sects of various perdition; until this day dawned which, shining like the sun for fifty years and six months, with many labors and hardships, in reading and vigils, afterwards imbued with sacred knowledge, sweating to break for us the bread of doctrine, putting to flight the shadows of errors and freeing all from perdition, shone forth in the temple of God; and beginning from the East even to the West, he took away the wars of heretics and shattered their bow, burned their arms and shields with fire." These things Eusebius says modestly about his own progress, under the guidance of St. Jerome, who was such and so great that he was very learned in divine letters and judged by all a most worthy disciple of St. Jerome. In his time, as Gennadius attests, he wrote on the mystery of the Cross: he wrote on the mystery of the Cross, showing that the constancy of Peter and the Apostles derived its force and efficacy from the Cross itself and from perfect faith. The style of St. Eusebius, although it may seem harsh at first glance, is nevertheless, to one meditating carefully, easy and of great sweetness, adorned with weighty sentences drawn from the holy Scriptures like gems, in a good style, flowing sweetly in imitation of the holy Doctor, as can be seen in the history he wrote of his death, in which he sets the deeds so vividly before the eyes that nothing more seems to be desired. He did not have knowledge of the Greek language, just as neither St. Ambrose, nor Gregory, nor very many other Latin Fathers did; in Latin, nevertheless, he was so learned that on any subject proposed, being sufficiently cultivated in both divine and human letters, he could speak and write with wonderful facility.

[13] he urges St. Jerome to write commentaries on Matthew. Wherefore to the same St. Eusebius, his disciple, as to a most learned man, St. Jerome dedicated his commentaries on the most holy Gospel of Matthew, with no small display of love, since Eusebius had most insistently requested them from him before he departed from Palestine and sailed to Italy, with his departure already imminent. The Saint wished to avoid this labor as less than necessary, and all the more so because he understood the interpretation of that Gospel to be an immense work, and it was impossible to bring it to completion in so short a time. But lest he seem less gracious to his friend and companion if he refused, he undertook the task with such speed and diligence that he even completed and finished it in a few days. And he consecrated that book to none other than his Eusebius, as is most clearly evident from the prefatory letter: for after having set out certain rules that seemed most helpful for the correct understanding of the Gospel, turning his discourse to Eusebius, he speaks thus:

[14] which he inscribed to him in a dedicatory letter: "I am greatly surprised, dearest Eusebius, that you, about to sail suddenly to Rome, wished to have this as a kind of provision for your journey from me, that I should briefly expound Matthew, compressing the words and expanding the meanings. If you remembered my response, you would never demand in a few days a work of years. For first it is difficult to read all who have written on the Gospels; then it is much more difficult, having applied one's judgment, to select what is best. I confess to having read, some years ago, the twenty-five volumes of Origen on Matthew and the same number of his homilies, and his verse-by-verse style of interpretation; and the commentaries of Theophilus, Bishop of the city of Antioch, and likewise of Hippolytus the Martyr, and of Theodore of Heraclea, Apollinarius of Laodicea, Didymus of Alexandria, and of the Latins Hilary and Fortunatianus — from all of which, even if only a few things, something worthy of remembrance could be written. But you, with two weeks remaining before Easter and with the winds already blowing, force me to dictate, so that there is no time for the scribes to take notes, no time for the pages to be written, no time for them to be corrected, no leisure to bring them to final form — especially since you know that I have been ill for three months, so that I am only now barely beginning to walk, and I cannot compensate for the greatness of the labor by the brevity of the time. Therefore, setting aside the authority of the ancients, for whom I have been given neither the opportunity to read nor to follow, I have briefly composed the historical interpretation, which you most requested, and interspersed here and there flowers of spiritual understanding, reserving the complete work for the future. If, however, a longer life is granted me, or if in returning you fulfill your promises, then I shall endeavor to accomplish what remains — indeed, with the foundations laid and the walls partly built, to place the most beautiful roof upon them, so that you may know how great the difference is between the boldness of sudden dictation and the carefully wrought diligence of composition. Certainly you know (and I would blush to call upon you as a witness of my falsehood) that I dictated the present little work with such speed that you would think I was reading others' works rather than composing my own. And do not think this is said from arrogance or confidence in my talent, but because I desire to show you how much you can influence me, since I would rather risk my reputation among the learned than deny anything to you, who ask so earnestly. Wherefore I beseech you, if the style is less polished and the speech does not flow with its usual power, attribute this to haste, not to ignorance; and when you arrive in Rome, give copies to the Virgin Principia, who has asked me to write on the Song of Songs — from which work I have been excluded by prolonged illness — postponing my hope to the future; binding you by this condition, that if you withhold from her what has been written for you, she too will keep locked away in her cabinet what will later be written for her." These are the words of St. Jerome to Eusebius, which I wished to insert here word for word, not only so that it might be clearly recognized how greatly the prayers of his Eusebius prevailed with St. Jerome, since, to do him a favor, he did not refuse so great a labor;

but also so that it might be clearly apparent what a man of refined genius Eusebius was, since the same Saint, conspicuous throughout the whole world, who had composed so many books and had so studiously interpreted the sacred pages, begs St. Eusebius to spare him if the style should be less polished and elegant, excusing himself that this had happened to him on account of the brevity of time.

[15] and the commentaries on Jeremiah and the Lamentations. To the same Eusebius likewise, as to a man well deserving of sacred letters, he dedicated his commentaries on the prophet Jeremiah and his Lamentations, teaching the order of the Hebrew alphabet, with no obscure declaration of benevolence. And when St. Jerome had composed six books of commentaries on Jeremiah, he prefixed a preface to each of them, in which the name of Eusebius was mingled with a sweetness more delightful than honey. For in the preface to the first book he says this about Eusebius: "Dedicating to you, brother Eusebius, these little commentaries, so that you may join the Evangelical man with the Evangelist Matthew, on whom I discoursed in summary fashion many years ago at your urging." In the second preface: "Dictating the second book on Jeremiah with swift speech, brother Eusebius, turning aside our ears for a little while, let us not hear the judgment of blood." In the third, thus: "I shall begin the third book on Jeremiah, in which I shall endeavor, brother Eusebius, to compress the very broad fields of exposition into the narrow path of Commentaries." In the fourth, he gives him the reason why he takes his beginning from those words: "The devil always threatens good work. Why I have used this beginning, brother Eusebius, the following discourse will show." In the fifth, he has thus: "The fifth book of commentaries on Jeremiah, brother Eusebius, will take its beginning from two baskets." At the close of the sixth preface, he asks St. Eusebius to pray for him, that he may be able to bring the work he had begun to its desired end: "Pray, brother Eusebius, to the Lord Jesus Christ, that by the same labor and grace of the Spirit by which we have interpreted the prophecies of other Prophets, and especially of Isaiah, we may also be able to explain this Prophet, who, as much as he seems simple and easy in words, is so much the most profound in the majesty of his meanings."

CHAPTER IV.

The heretics Vigilantius and Valerianus opposed. The innocence of St. Eusebius defended.

[16] He is sent to Vigilantius. Nor were there small indications of his learning, besides those mentioned above, in that Eusebius discharged a worthy and weighty embassy on behalf of St. Jerome to the heretic Vigilantius, to bring that man back to the Catholic faith. This Vigilantius, or, as Jerome more truly calls him, "Dormitantius" (the Drowsy One), was the first monster of heresy that Gaul produced, since before him it had abounded in the bravest and most learned men. From his early years he had been in Egypt and had stayed in that desert where St. Jerome was. Wherefore, on account of their residence in the same place, no small opportunity presented itself to form a friendship with the Saint; which Jerome recalls in letter 75 to the same man. But having become a Priest, he obtained a parish in the city of Barcelona in Spain, a man polished in speech but not exercised in the meaning of the Scriptures; seduced by human praise and presuming beyond his strength, an iconoclast, he fell into the heresy of those who, denying the cult of images, are therefore called Iconoclasts; as those who are proud and puffed up in spirit and who trust too much in themselves are very often accustomed to do, preparing ruin not only for themselves but also for others. Therefore he is placed by all in the Catalogue of heretics. This man, then, having become a heretic, began to inveigh against St. Jerome, to detract from his reputation before all, and to ascribe to him being an Origenist and defending the errors of Origen. This was a most open falsehood: detracting from the reputation of St. Jerome: for no one more sharply and vehemently refuted Origen than St. Jerome, who, while he was most patient in other calamities, was greatly angered at this alone, as we said before: that he was called a heretic and an opponent of the Catholic faith. Nor was Vigilantius content with this, but he threatened to publish books against St. Jerome. The Catholic Doctor was preparing his defense; but before he undertook the matter itself, he began to consider whether he could in some way win back his brother and dissuade him from his errors before he wrote and committed his writings to books; for they then remain as an eternal memorial, whereby the reputation of those against whom they are written is most gravely injured. He therefore wished, first of all, in accordance with the evangelical precept, to send a fraternal correction, from which, if the man were amended, it would not be necessary to compose anything. But if he were found obstinate in his opinion, then, lest errors be concealed, he would respond to Vigilantius, compelled by necessity. This matter seemed very difficult and arduous, and required the most prudent and wisest men, who would know how to gain a brother, not lose one. Wherefore, after lengthy deliberations and having called the matter into council, so that "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might stand," he chose three men whom he considered most approved, who would meet Vigilantius and so act as to recall his mind from erroneous opinions and restore it to the Catholic faith. These were Vincent, Paulinianus, and Eusebius of Cremona, of whom St. Eusebius, the most learned, began thus:

[17] "Your friend Jerome, who from the time when he began to know you in person while you were in the same Egyptian solitude, has followed you with great benevolence, has learned with no small grief of soul from the letters of many that you think ill of him, and that you do not cease to bark openly before everyone, accusing him of being a supporter of the errors of Origen; and, what is most serious, that you prohibit the due veneration of the Saints and are an iconoclast. If these things are true, he earnestly begs you to beware of so great an evil, and returning to your heart, to do penance for such abominable errors. For if in a penitent, faith, not yet shaken, still perseveres intact, no small hope remains of recovering salvation; but if that is lost, all the foundations of justification must necessarily collapse as well. The errors of which you are accused are principally these: he sets forth and refutes his heresies: That you deny veneration to the sacred relics of the Saints, asserting that it is useless to adore what are dust and lifeless bones; that you forbid lights to be lit at the tombs of Martyrs, knees to be bent, and prayers to be poured forth; and, which is the seedbed of all evils, that you deny that alms should be sent to the poor living in Jerusalem. From the beginning, these things were by no means believed by my Father Jerome; but with the testimony of many coming together and letters flooding in from all sides, he was compelled in some measure to think that you do indeed believe these things; nevertheless, lest he seem to violate the laws of friendship, he gave us instructions to deal with you about these matters in your presence. And as for what pertains to the honor of the Saints, I beseech you, recall to mind the things that are declared about them by the most august King and Prophet David: 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints.' Psalm 115:15 And if it is seen as precious in the sight of God, shall it be despised by mortals? God will exalt his friends in that heavenly homeland, and will he allow no account to be taken of them in this earthly world, whose souls enjoy eternal happiness? Do you not know that our Savior said to the Apostles in St. Luke: 'He who receives you receives me, and he who despises you despises me'? Luke 10:16 He is said to receive the Saints who venerates God in the Saints. He despises the Saints who does not receive God in them. Nor are there lacking very many authorities of sacred Scripture which not only foreshadow but clearly express this truth and set it before our eyes. Read, if you will, Deuteronomy, where you will find that God the Best and Greatest did not disdain to bury the body of the great Priest and leader of the Hebrews with his own hands: 'Moses died,' it says, 'at the Lord's command, and he buried him in the valley of the land of Moab, and no man knows his sepulchre.' Deuteronomy 34:5-6 Read the fourth book of Kings, where the resurrection of a dead man is recorded by the power of contact with the bones of the Prophet Elisha: 'Certain robbers,' so it reads in the text, 'threw a corpse into the sepulchre of the Prophet Elisha; and as soon as it touched the bones of the Prophet Elisha, the man came back to life and stood upon his feet.' 4 Kings 13:20, Genesis 50 Read the holy book of Genesis, and you will see with how much honor the body of the Patriarch Jacob was treated, first embalmed with spices and then carried from Egypt to Palestine in solemn procession. His son Joseph likewise obtained from the people that, following his death, when they departed from Egypt they would bring his bones with them, which was carried out according to his wish, as is more fully read in Exodus. These authorities demonstrate that the relics of the Saints should be honored. Exodus 13 But as for the second head of the disputation, he shows that alms can be sent to Jerusalem. the Christian piety of those who send alms to the poor who are in Jerusalem for their sustenance is no less clear; for we read that the Apostles also did this, collecting alms from the faithful so as to send them for the relief of the needy in Jerusalem; which is deduced from the letter to the Romans and to the Corinthians. Indeed, in the Acts of the Apostles, speaking before the Proconsul Felix, Paul spoke thus: 'After many years I came to Jerusalem to bring alms to my nation.' Romans 15; 2 Corinthians 8; 1 Corinthians 16; Acts 24:17 Do not, therefore, dearest Vigilantius, permit the honor of your name to be disfigured by this most foul stain; nor allow your soul to be dishonored by their soot. Cease, cease to be cruel to yourself and to all others, stripping yourself and others of the help and intercession of the Saints; which indeed is not without impiety, denying to those same Saints the veneration owed them by every right and necessary to the whole world." These and other such things Eusebius of Cremona said to Vigilantius, which are read more fully in the letter of St. Jerome subsequently sent to the same man, to recall him to the former path of salvation, proceeding with the best arguments to demonstrate that St. Jerome had never shared the views of Origen but had rejected his errors on many occasions. These most apt arguments of St. Eusebius, suited to remove any intellect from errors, were so far from being profitable in the case of Vigilantius that they even made the heretic more obstinate. Wherefore, having recognized his obstinacy, and that his wound was incurable from St. Eusebius' report, Jerome with many arguments blunted the audacity of the most arrogant man, writing against him expressly, as can be seen in the letter to Vigilantius, which is letter 54 in order, where among other things he especially complains that Vigilantius would not allow himself to be persuaded by Eusebius and his two other legates, attributing too much to himself, as if he were Cato, the most eloquent of the Roman race: "The judgment of the Priests Vincent and Paulinianus and of Brother Eusebius displeases you; you alone are Cato, the most eloquent of the Roman race."

[18] But this was not the first occasion that St. Eusebius of Cremona had to fight against heretics,

but he also sometimes ably attacked them by letters, as is evident from the letter he wrote to Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, in defense of the Catholic truth against the heretic Valerianus, a disciple of Pelagius, he writes against Valerianus, a disciple of Pelagius, in the time of Pope Innocent, while the divine Jerome was still living; since a year before he had sent another letter to the same for the same cause, which was found by the most learned Cardinal Baronius in the Library of Cardinal Sirleto and recorded in his Annals for the memory of future times. year 417, 15 This Valerianus was a most impious heretic who had migrated from the West to Alexandria so that, living there more safely, he might insinuate himself into the friendship of Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria; for which reason St. Eusebius of Cremona thus wrote to Cyril of Alexandria: "To the Lord holy and worthy of every honor, and Most Blessed Pope Cyril, to Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, Eusebius, a brother in Christ. I have given thanks to my God that I have merited the words of your Beatitude's letter of greeting, sweeter than honey; because you have deigned to resound to the one who strikes, O Lord holy and worthy of every honor, Most Blessed Pope. Wherefore, I ask that you deign to receive willingly the discourse of my littleness, and not consider as arrogance the liberty which we seem to have in the faith of Christ. The See of Alexandria, from the time when the name of Christ became known to the entire world, is known always to have adhered to Italy, by the bond of Christ, more than to other provinces. How is it now that, when Innocent of blessed memory has condemned Pelagius and Coelestius with their leaders, and all in the East are rejecting them, the Church of Alexandria has received them into communion, which alone and first among its co-provincials ought to have refused such persons? But that is the pestilent one about whom I wrote to your Holiness a year ago, the standard-bearer and confederate of theirs, Valerianus the ventriloquist, who, serving his gullet, wherever he finds something idle for his flattery, there he announces holy and most faithful men. But let your Beatitude not think him a free man: he is a slave of the Ariminian profession, of the Most Illustrious Count Valerius, whom out of reverence for your love we have allowed to be reclaimed by you, making silence for the time being. Rather deign to pray for us, and to cast such persons from your fellowship, remembering the writing of the holy Prophet: 'Meats bound in a garment. The Priest, though he does not sanctify what is polluted, is himself contaminated by what is polluted': this is the test of Priests. But deign to pardon my boldness and littleness, as I asked above. May the inviolable Trinity deign to protect your Beatitude and keep you mindful of me, holy Pope."

[19] Thus far our Eusebius. From which anyone may not obscurely gather how great was the zeal he had for the Catholic faith, and in what matters he expended his efforts, powerful in doctrine and speech. Wherefore you must be filled with the greatest joy, O city of Cremona, not only because from almost your earliest foundation, but also because in every age you have abounded in the most excellent men, as is evident from the very long series of years; to say nothing of those who on this very day are the greatest splendor of the fatherland, whom it would not be tedious to enumerate, were I not to seem to be flattering and fawning upon them. For James Majuoldus, President of the most excellent Senate of Milan, and other most distinguished Senators — Gallaratus, Madius, Cattaneus, Trussus, all well-deserving of the city — and very many others, who illuminate this most noble fatherland with the rays of their own virtues, would never allow me to lie, if I could trust myself to avoid the vice of flattery. Give thanks, therefore, to the best Parent of all things, well-deserving of his fatherland and the Catholic religion. O most fruitful parent of such men, producer and nurse of so many most happy talents, and mother of so many most learned men; but above all rejoice, since in the time of St. Jerome your citizen Eusebius was the hammer of heretics and the firmest bulwark of the Catholic faith; whose footsteps you are bound to follow as those of a most religious standard-bearer, prepared rather to die a thousand times than to deviate even a fingernail's breadth from the right path of the faith, in defense of which Eusebius allowed the Pelagian heretics to find no rest anywhere.

[20] But let us return whence we digressed to the same Eusebius, to whom, as he continued the practices established by St. Jerome in the monastery of Bethlehem, a certain noteworthy event occurred, by which both he himself was slandered, and St. Jerome was not a little injured and accused of ignorance. St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, had written to John, Bishop of Jerusalem, a certain letter, in which he first exonerated himself from the charge imputed to him of having ordained Paulinianus, St. Jerome's brother, as a Priest, a letter of St. Epiphanius to John, Bishop of Jerusalem, as one not subject to him, contrary to canonical sanctions; from which charge Epiphanius briefly freed himself, showing that this was lawful for him because Paulinianus was living in a certain monastery of Cyprus, where he had established domicile, and therefore he had rightfully promoted him to the Priesthood without violating ecclesiastical laws. Secondly, he rebuked the same Bishop for holding with Origen certain perverse errors, as can be seen in the letter written to the same, which is found in the second volume of the works of St. Jerome, where he shows for many reasons that the errors of Origen cannot be defended, because they are manifest heresies. This letter, written in Greek, was commonly read by everyone in Palestine and praised, he asks St. Jerome to translate it into Latin: not only on account of the doctrine it contained but also on account of the purity of its language, by the learned and unlearned alike. St. Eusebius of Cremona, since he did not at all understand the Greek language, began earnestly to beg St. Jerome to deign to translate it from Greek into Latin for his sake; about which St. Jerome, writing to Pammachius on the best kind of translating, to use his own words, says thus: "About two years ago, the aforementioned Pope Epiphanius had sent John the Bishop letters, reproving him in certain dogmas and afterwards clemently calling him to repentance. Copies of these were eagerly snatched up in Palestine, either on account of the author's merit or the elegance of the composition. There was in our monastery Eusebius of Cremona who, when the letter was passing through many mouths and the learned and unlearned alike were admiring it for its doctrine and purity of speech, began earnestly to beg me to translate it into Latin for him and to explain it more clearly for ease of understanding, for he was entirely ignorant of Greek speech. I did what he wished; and having summoned a scribe, I dictated it rapidly and quickly, briefly noting in the margin on the side what each chapter contained internally. For he had earnestly demanded that I do this for him alone; which was stolen from him, and I asked him in return to keep the copy at home and not readily publish it. Thus a year and six months passed, until the aforementioned translation migrated to Jerusalem from his cabinet by a new trick; for a certain pseudo-monk, either having accepted money, as is clearly understood, or by gratuitous malice — as the corrupter vainly tries to persuade — (he means Rufinus, who seized for himself the occasion to bark against St. Jerome), having plundered his papers and resources, became a Judas the betrayer, and gave the adversaries occasion to bark against me, to preach among the ignorant that I was a falsifier; that I had not expressed word for word; and that for 'honorable' I had said 'dearest'; and by a malicious interpretation — which is abominable to say — I had not wished to translate ἀιδὲσιμον ὠσίν ἁπάντων, 'reverend to the ears of all.'" Of this letter, the Saint speaks thus in the Apology against Rufinus: "This is the letter which you brought forth from the room of Brother Eusebius with gold coins, so that you might calumniate the translator and hold me guilty of the most open crime," and what follows. St. Jerome excuses himself, saying that he had attended not to the words but to the sense of the words, as faithful translators are accustomed to do, according to the rule transmitted by Horace Flaccus and received by all:

"Nor will you, as a faithful translator, take care to render word for word."

[21] The Saint excellently defends himself in the Apology against the detractor Rufinus, showing that the calumny of that letter had its origin in ignorance combined with malice. But St. Jerome was not so much distressed in soul on account of what the adversary objected — Eusebius, thus accused, is defended: for he himself had asserted that he had attended not to the words but to the intimate sense of the words — but he bore it hard that the entire blame was cast upon St. Eusebius, either because Eusebius had bespattered the letter with many errors, or because he had stolen it from the divine Jerome with his own hands and, contrary to his command, had published it. To which objection the holy Doctor responds in a twofold manner: First, because Eusebius was ignorant of Greek speech and could change nothing in the Greek writing. Second, because for many years, on account of his proven faith, Eusebius was sufficiently well known to him; and he preferred to believe that some monk, either made a traitor by his own malice or corrupted by gold offered by Rufinus, had stolen it from Eusebius' room by theft. He addresses Rufinus with these words: "Who stole from the room of Brother Eusebius the letter praising you?" And he adds many other things to defend the reputation of his Eusebius, which it would be excessively lengthy to recount, and which can be read at full length in the third Apology against Rufinus. From all of which, only this can be concluded: how dear to St. Jerome's heart was the dignity of St. Eusebius of Cremona.

CHAPTER V.

The proven holiness and Priesthood of St. Eusebius. His familiarity with holy men.

[22] But setting aside these matters, which seemed for the most part to pertain to the learning of Eusebius, let our discourse proceed to things far greater and more divine; for sacred learning and the disciplines of the liberal arts, unless joined to holiness of life, can claim no praise or certainly only a slight one; and let us begin to say something about his purity and holiness of life. Compared with other pre-eminent Saints The holiness of men is discerned from many things, but especially from three: from calling, from election, and from perseverance. By calling, John the Baptist, the Precursor of Christ our Lord and Savior, is celebrated as great in holiness, of whom it was said: "Before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you and appointed you a Prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 "He shall be great before the Lord." From the same source the Apostles are also regarded as conspicuous in holiness, called by the same Savior from fishing to follow him. By the election of a more austere and harsher life, Antony, Hilarion, Arsenius, and very many other monks and hermits are proclaimed most holy. By persevering holiness, the same Hilarion, Antony, and Paul, the prince of hermits, are illustrious, who for immense spans of years served God faithfully and most perfectly. He himself should be considered a Saint on account of his calling. From all of these, the holiness of St. Eusebius of Cremona shines forth greatly. First, on account of his calling, since, called by Christ the Lord through the innermost inspirations of his soul, he not only did not refuse but immediately followed the one calling; nor were riches, which he possessed at Cremona and which may be believed to have been quite ample, an impediment to him, nor relatives, nor the enticements of concupiscence, nor very many other things by which Satan is accustomed to ensnare very many young men and draw them back from good work; but despising and renouncing everything, he traversed the greatest expanses of lands and seas,

choosing as the guide and governor of his life St. Jerome, most excellent in holiness, to whose discipline he entrusted himself, and in which he always persevered with the greatest praise and the edification of the faithful until his last day.

[23] on account of his chosen manner of life, Then let us add that Eusebius chose that manner of life which, in the judgment of all, was the more austere; for what was the mode of living of those monks is evident, not only from the rules prescribed by St. Jerome far and wide, but also from his letter to Rusticus, where it is most clearly deduced: "A monk," he says, "must live under the discipline of one Abbot in the community of many, so that from one he may learn humility, from another obedience, and from others patience, silence, meekness, and other virtues." And from what follows, it is clear that the monks of St. Jerome were accustomed to do, not what was most pleasing to the senses, but what was entirely contrary to them. They ate most sparingly, what was set before them, without complaint or murmur; and they put on whatever garments were given them by the Abbot with charity and thanksgiving, and the arduous monastic exercises, and if they seemed less suitable, they nevertheless complied, setting aside self-love. The entire part of the day that remained after prayers and psalmody was spent in manual labor; nor did they interrupt their labor until, out of excessive bodily fatigue, they were compelled to take a little sleep to satisfy nature. And when they had barely begun to sleep, they were again awakened and returned to choir with cheerful countenance and eager heart, where, intent upon the divine praises, they made everything resound with hymns, psalms, and canticles. But as for the entire range of virtues that consist in action, they vied with one another in honoring each other, each striving to serve his brother, to wash the feet of newcomers, to minister to the sick, to bear injuries patiently, to give examples of humility, and to perform all the duties of charity. These were their exercises and their studies; and while they were occupied in them, not even the slightest opportunity for temptation was left to the devil, since not even a small space of time was allowed for thinking about earthly things, which cause the mind to fly from divine things to human ones. How they were dressed is indicated by St. Jerome writing against Jovinian: "They went barefoot, in a coarse tunic and a black undergarment, in clothing, dirty and pale, bearing a hand calloused by labor." And rebuking Jovinian, because he had formerly been a monk in the monastery of St. Ambrose at Milan and had defected from it to the world, to the ruin of many — for St. Ambrose speaks of him and his disciples thus: letter to the Vercellians, no. 82 "They were among us, but they were not of us," etc. — Jerome describes what was the form of dress and food of the monks of his time. Certainly their diet was so meager in food, that they abstained entirely from meat and wine, unless perhaps a physician in the most serious illnesses should advise otherwise for the preservation of life. And concerning this wonderful abstinence, the Saint speaks thus: "Wine is a luxurious thing, drunkenness is tumultuous; everyone who mingles with them will not be wise." Proverbs 20:1 "Let us not take such foods as we would either digest with difficulty, or, having eaten, would grieve at being acquired and lost with great labor. The preparation of vegetables, fruits, and legumes is easier and does not need the art and expenses of cooks, and without care sustains the human body." And in the Life of St. Paula, he asserts that his monks were accustomed to drink cold water, so that not even ailing monks used heated water; for to have eaten something cooked was considered a luxury. And in the second book, rebuking the same Jovinian for having returned from religion to the world, like a dog to his vomit, entangled by the allurements of the present age, he describes what kind of mortification his monks endured in their own body: "The fat, sleek, whitened ones favor you; add, if you wish, according to the Socratic mockery, all the pigs and dogs; and because you love the flesh, also the vultures, eagles, hawks, and owls. The multitude of Aristippus will never terrify us. Whatever handsome men, whatever curled men, whatever men with arranged hair, whatever men with ruddy cheeks I shall see, they are from your herd; indeed, they grunt among your swine." (He alludes to Grunnius, a disciple of Jovinian.) "From our flock come the sad, the pale, the dirty, and as if pilgrims of this world, although they are silent in speech, they speak by their habit and bearing." Concerning the most austere life of St. Jerome and his monks, St. Augustine in Sermon 24 to the Brothers in the Desert speaks thus: "The holy Father Jerome led a most austere life, so much so that I have heard of no one among modern faithful who was more austere." Under these most harsh rules, St. Eusebius of Cremona was serving in the campaigns of Christ the Lord, desiring to advance with great ardor of soul; to which, if we add the occupations of sacred studies, to which he devoted constant effort, it may be concluded that his life was a perpetual kind of warfare against the body.

[24] But what shall we say about his perseverance in the monastic habit? Let himself be the witness, in the letter on account of perseverance for more than 50 years: he wrote on the death of St. Jerome, in which he confesses that he completed fifty years and six months in his holy purpose. But if we wish to include in this number all the years, taking the beginning from the time when he was the companion of St. Jerome in the fields and solitudes, up to the last year when he died, they will undoubtedly be far more; for St. Eusebius lived for yet another two years after the death of the divine Jerome, and thus there would have been about sixty-three years in which he served Christ the Lord. Wherefore, both on account of his election of a purer life and on account of his long perseverance in that state, our Eusebius seems sufficiently commendable in holiness.

[25] But let us respond to the objection of some who, denying that Eusebius was a Priest, try to draw others to their opinion, persuaded by this sole reason, promoted to the Priesthood: that in many places he is called Brother by St. Jerome, by which name those who were distinguished by no character of Orders were customarily called. But whoever will diligently observe will find that he is called a Priest by St. Jerome in more than one place. In the first Apology against Rufinus, he has thus: "Vincent, Paulinianus, Eusebius, Rufinus, Priests." And in the letter he writes to St. Augustine and Alipius, in which he excuses himself for having received very late the booklets sent through the hands of St. Eusebius, he also calls him a Priest: "You should know," he says, "that I received the books sent in pages by the holy Brother Eusebius the Priest not much time ago." And Marian Victorious, a most learned man and Bishop of Rieti, was of this opinion, in his notes on the letter to Pammachius on the best kind of translating; for after he had affirmed that Cremona is a famous city of Italy, when the conversation fell upon St. Eusebius, he subjoins these words: "Concerning this Eusebius, who was a Priest, the divine Jerome has taught elsewhere above." And although he is sometimes called Brother by the same, this is for no other reason than the singular love by which they were mutually bound. And certainly this one argument of holiness should not be lacking in Eusebius, that he was a Priest, on account of his holiness of life: daily offering at the altar the immaculate victim for the living and the dead. That this is an illustrious indication of holiness is evident from the fact that at that time men did not run to receive Orders as sheep do, as St. Bernard says; but those to be ordained were called by God, like another Aaron. No one contended to minister at the altar; but even those purer in the integrity of their life judged themselves unworthy of so great a ministry. No one offered himself; but with wonderful lowliness of mind they drew back from this most weighty and truly formidable office. Wherefore, when someone was to be promoted to the Priesthood, he was first approved by the testimony of the Brothers; then proposed to the Bishop, who, having summoned him and holding his mouth shut so he could not protest, was adorned, almost against his will, with the sacerdotal dignity. And in this manner Paulinianus, the brother of St. Jerome, was ordained by St. Epiphanius. O happy and golden age, in which the Priests were golden, although they used wooden chalices! But in our day, wooden Priests handle golden vessels. Since, therefore, St. Eusebius was a Priest in that most blessed age, who would dare deny that he was a most upright and most holy man, and judged worthy of so great an office by St. Jerome and all the monks?

[26] Since St. Eusebius was most illustrious in holiness, and every like thing seeks its like, familiar with SS. Augustine, he also formed friendships with the holy men who were then living; for St. Augustine sent him letters, making use of his services when he was at Rome, whenever anything was to be sent to St. Jerome, which is confirmed by the testimony of Jerome himself in his letter to Augustine and Alipius. Epiphanius, Paulinus, He enjoyed the familiarity of St. Epiphanius and St. Paulinus; by one of whom he was received as a guest on more than one occasion, and by the other he was led to Jerusalem and visited those most holy places with the greatest joy and most abundant fruit. At Rome, while he lingered there, he made use of the companionship of St. Paulinus, who was afterwards made Bishop of Nola. This is the Paulinus who was a Gaul by birth, a man of consular rank, who had prepared lodgings for pilgrims who came to Rome from Jerusalem; who was ordained a Deacon and Priest by St. Ambrose at Milan, with his wife Therasia passing to the monastic life. To whom St. Jerome, writing, says: "You have here Brother Eusebius, most devoted to you, who has doubled for me the grace of your letters, reporting the honesty of your character, your contempt for the world, the faithfulness of your friendship, your love for Christ; for your prudence and the charm of your eloquence the letter itself displayed." epistle 103 I omit St. Marcella and her daughter Principia, St. Paula, Eustochium, and other women who served the Lord and were illustrious in holiness, with whom he was joined in charity and benevolence. The friendship of these Saints, however, Eusebius had won for himself not by the advantage of family wealth, not by crafty flattery, not by the presence of bodies; but he had acquired it through the fear of God, the studies of divine Scripture, and the bond of Christ the Lord and Savior. Our Eusebius, therefore, retaining intimacy with holy men, and especially St. Jerome. was likewise holy; but he was rendered more illustrious in the same kind of holiness by the closeness and singular benevolence of St. Jerome. For the fact that, from among so many innumerable monks who lived with him, St. Jerome chose Eusebius of Cremona as his friend and dearest companion; that he made use of his services in arduous and most difficult matters; that he undertook his defense against all and wonderfully safeguarded his dignity — this is a sign that admirable rays of holiness shone forth in Eusebius, on account of which he was rightly considered by the holy Doctor as worthy to be preferred to all the monks of his monastery.

"Although I was baptized by Delphinus at Bordeaux, and ordained by force at Barcelona by Lampius amid the sudden frenzy of the people, I was nevertheless always nourished in the faith by the affection of Ambrose, and now am cherished in the order of the Priesthood." In letter 6 to Severus, he asserts that he was initiated into the Presbyterate in the city of Barcelona.

CHAPTER VI.

The deeds of St. Eusebius at the death of St. Jerome. His election as Abbot.

[27] But hitherto, O Eusebius, we have narrated things full of love and duty between you and St. Jerome; we have been sailing with favorable winds, we have avoided Scyllas and Charybdes. But now our vessel will headlong strike upon rocks, and it will be necessary for it to experience the swelling waves of the billows, by which, being tossed, there is no small danger that it be carried into the Syrtes. For our history has reached that point where your Father, Abbot and governor Jerome, is about to depart from this prison of life; about to leave the world, he will also leave behind the things that are in the world. Wherefore he will bid farewell to you and to all the monks. But how will you patiently bear this departure? How, left alone without so great a leader and teacher, will you spend the remainder of your life? What consolation will you apply to your grief? What repair for so great a ruin? The fateful hour has now arrived, long desired by him, in which he may obtain the reward of all his vigils and labors. When the Saint himself recognized this, and, seized by a malignant fever, lay in his bed, he ordered all the monks of his monastery to be summoned to his cell; among whom was St. Eusebius, who never departed from his side; for he strove to sit by him, to serve him diligently, and to anticipate the duties of all, intent upon prayer and beseeching the Lord Jesus Christ that he not be deprived of so great a Father; St. Jerome is ill, and Eusebius ministers to him: and if a certain day of his death were at hand, that he himself might also be carried on the same bier, who had enjoyed the same companionship. What more? When all the sons stood weeping by their most loving Father, and grieved most deeply over so great an impending loss, St. Eusebius, unable to contain the sorrow conceived in the depths of his breast, poured himself entirely out in tears, perhaps bursting forth into those words which the disciples of St. Martin once spoke at his death: he is distressed: "Why do you leave us, Father, or to whom do you abandon us in our desolation? For ravening wolves will invade your flock." Then St. Jerome, raising his eyes for a moment and seeing his most loving Eusebius grieving excessively, addressed the one he loved from his inmost heart in a voice not so low that it could not be heard by all, and earnestly begged him not to be saddened at his departure from this life. Which Eusebius himself elegantly describes in these words:

[28] "When the last hour was pressing him to depart from the body, already having completed ninety-six years, burning with a violent fever, he wished his sons, whom he had established from their youth like new plantings, to be gathered around him. Seeing their faces heavy with grief, roused by St. Jerome: as one who was pious and merciful, moved somewhat by their tears, he groaned in spirit and, raising his eyes a little toward me with tears, said in a clear voice: 'My son Eusebius, why do you pour out these useless tears? What man living will not see the dissolution of this body? What God has spoken once, and you have heard, do you dare to contradict? And you know that no one can resist His will. Now, my son, I beg you, do not walk according to the flesh; cease weeping: certainly the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.' Then with a cheerful and joyful countenance and an eager voice, addressing the rest of his sons, he exclaimed: 'Let mourning cease, let grief depart; let the voice of all be one of rejoicing: For behold, now is the acceptable time, behold the day of jubilation and gladness above all the days of my life, as well as to the others in which the Lord, faithful in all his words and holy in all his works, opens his hand to recall my exiled soul from the prison of this death, incurred through the guilt of my forefather Adam, to the heavenly homeland, redeemed by the precious blood of his Son. Do not, most beloved Sons, whom I have always held in the depths of my charity, hinder my joy; do not prevent rendering to the earth what is its own: strip my body at once, give it to the earth from which it was made, that it may return whence it came.'" When these words were finished, all the Brothers, moistened with tears, baring his most sacred body, so emaciated and disfigured by his austerities — which indeed was terrible to behold for all — for so great was the emaciation that his bones could be counted through his joints, so bloodied with scourgings that one would think it the body of a leper — they immediately laid it upon the bare ground and covered him with a linen sack. But when the man of God felt the harshness of the earth, he was exceedingly delighted, and turning to the Brothers, who were flooding with fountains of tears from grief and anguish, he said: "I exhort you, my dearest and most beloved sons, whom I have begotten in the heart of Jesus Christ," and the rest that follows. For St. Eusebius proceeds to narrate the fatherly admonitions and salutary counsels which St. Jerome left to his monks to be kept after his death and frequently recalled to memory.

[29] Then, after he had exhorted his soldiers to be strengthened and robust, and to exercise themselves constantly in the works of charity, poverty, obedience, and other holy virtues proper to religious men, so that they might attain to higher degrees of perfection, by which they might finally obtain the rewards of eternal life; shortly after, when the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist had been brought to him by a Priest, after receiving the sacred viaticum he was raised somewhat from the ground by St. Eusebius, who during that illness had ministered to his dearest Father with the greatest diligence and love, and received it with great ardor of soul, with tears, piety, spirit, and compunction of heart. When these things were done, looking out for his flock and providing for the future, lest that family, so long bound together in the holy bond of love, should be brought down by discord and torn apart into different factions, but should persevere in the most august covenant of peace; and lest he lose anyone of those whom the Holy Spirit had entrusted to his care; and finally, since one should be chosen for the sake of peace who would lovingly govern them and cherish them as most beloved sons; knowing well how much St. Eusebius excelled in talent, prudence, authority, and the other virtues most necessary for the best governance of souls, to be appointed Abbot: choosing him and naming him in his own voice as Abbot of the monastery after his death, he exhorted all the monks to obey him and to be faithful in keeping the rules, and not to depart in the least from his counsels and fatherly admonitions. Turning his discourse to them, therefore, he recalled many things concerning the preservation of monastic discipline, which St. Eusebius proceeds to narrate in these words.

[30] "For when the mourning and sadness of all those present had grown at the exhortations of the most holy man, and no one could refrain from tears, he deplores with his followers the departure of St. Jerome from life. but there was one voice of all lamenting and saying: 'What shall we do without you, Father? Where shall we go? You transplanted this vine from Egypt and planted it; why do you turn your face from it? In the light of your countenance we walked; you were the glory of our strength. Alas, what shall we do any longer without you? You are Father, you are Doctor and refuge, you are the pattern of innocence. Would that we might be allowed to die with you. Now we shall come to nothing. We shall be like sheep without a shepherd; there will be no one to comfort us. Your sons shall become orphans and shall suffer hunger like dogs; going about on every side, they shall not find you. Alas, how great a fire has fallen upon us! We shall no longer see you as our sun. What shall the congregation of the faithful do without you? You were the disperser of heretics, you were their slayer by the sword of your mouth, you were their hammer and axe, crushing their teeth in their mouth, breaking the jaws of lions, and leading them down into the pit of destruction. Now they will rejoice and exult and humble your people and vex your heritage; they will hunt for the soul of the just and condemn innocent blood; they will burn the sanctuary of God with fire and tear the truth of the Faith.' Deeply moved by these words, he wept somewhat, an exhortation is given, for he always overflowed with the depths of mercy in the Lord; and turning to them, he responded to them as they wept with this voice: 'Come, good soldiers of Christ, trust in the Lord and in the power of his might. Do not fear; you shall obtain mercy from the Lord if you hope in him; for he is kind and merciful and forsakes no one who hopes in him. Who has trusted in the Lord and been forsaken by him? If indeed I now leave you, will the Lord not receive you? For he himself will establish a law for you in his life, will direct you in the right path, and will not deliver you into the soul of those who persecute you. Act manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, and wait for the Lord; for God is in heaven, kind and merciful, who can help his servants in a thousand ways. Let not your heart be troubled or afraid; hope in the Lord and pour out your hearts before him, for he himself will be your helper. For if I now go away, you shall see me again, and we shall rejoice together; for not many days hence, where I go, you also shall be able to come; and where I shall be, you also shall be in joy which no one shall take from you. Remember, dearest Brothers and sons, how after the death of Moses, God chose Joshua as leader and protector for his people, and preparation, and when Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind by a chariot of fire, he made Elisha a Prophet among the people, in whom the double spirit of Elijah rested' (these words are preparatory to the election of St. Eusebius as Abbot). 'Is the hand of the Lord now emptied? Has God forgotten to be merciful, or will he contain his mercy in anger? The Lord shall be the portion of your inheritance and of your cup, and he himself shall restore your inheritance to you. For he shall raise up from among you another Pastor, to whom he shall give the word of preaching, and he shall enter in without stain and shall work justice. And I pray the Lord my God, who has led and brought me back according to his will, that if any Spirit of his was in me for obedience to his commands, the same may be made double in this one whom he shall send to you as Comforter and Pastor. Behold, you shall have Eusebius, my most beloved son, with you, he is chosen as Abbot: and you shall hear him as you would me; he shall be to you a Father, and you shall obey him as sons in charity, with all humility and meekness and with all patience. If you have any need, you shall refer it to him. I beseech you to be solicitous to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace: be one body and one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling. One is

God and Father of all, Jesus Christ, whom alone, living together in one brotherhood, you desire to please. Therefore be imitators of him, as most beloved sons, and walk in love, as he himself loved you and gave himself for you, that he might redeem you and make you acceptable to himself, zealous for good works. To each of you may he give grace according to the gift of his bounty; may he give you abundantly from the dew of the Holy Spirit, that you may have a heart to worship him. May he open your heart in his Law and his commandments, that you may know him and do his will, and may he never abandon you." These things, though lengthy, could not be omitted without prejudice to the election of St. Eusebius; and although some part of them may seem not to pertain to the matter, yet since they relate to the election of St. Eusebius, they had to be recounted by us in the order in which they were done.

[31] When these words had been spoken by St. Jerome to the entire congregation of monks, by which their minds were prepared to receive St. Eusebius of Cremona as their Pastor and Prelate, directing his speech to the same Eusebius, he thus sweetly exhorted him: "But you, my son Eusebius, arise, arise, put on strength; be always subject to the Lord, he receives final instructions, and do not rival him so as to act wickedly. The Lord shall be your salvation forever, so that your righteousness may not fail. Be humbler than all; lift your eyes to heaven," and what follows. Then, handing over the precepts of good governance, he was pleased to add these: "Let the Law of God be in your heart. Do not fear the reproach of men, and do not dread their blasphemies; if you hope in the Lord, you will take on strength, and wings will come to you like an eagle's, and you will fly and not grow weary. You will speak all things of the Lord's Law securely to all; do not be afraid before the face of men, for the Lord is always with those with whom truth is, and he descends with them into the pit, and in chains does not abandon them; but he protects them from deceivers, and is their helper and protector in the time of tribulation. Certainly he does not easily fear this death — indeed, you should say even more — he hates this life, who sees himself acting rightly. Behold, I set you over this community, to pluck up and to tear down, to scatter and to destroy, and to build up and to plant. For it is necessary for you to be irreproachable. He can badly correct others to whom the one being corrected can say: 'And you do likewise.' From now on, your labor will be greater, but your reward will be greater also. Be sober, prudent, and chaste, hospitable and a teacher. Do violence to no one, but love all equally, and love the better ones all the more. Be not a persecutor, but modest; not quarrelsome, nor covetous. But preach the word of God in season. All Scripture divinely inspired is useful for teaching. Acquire by prayers the words that you preach. For such preaching and teaching avails to enlighten and reprove, to rebuke and to instruct in righteousness, so that the hearer may be perfect and equipped for every good work. For Jesus Christ is in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the power of God, revealing mysteries and teaching all knowledge. In all things, most beloved son, show yourself an example of good works in all holiness and goodness; for when the head suffers, the whole body is weakened. Therefore, to teach you briefly: you will do all good things if you fear God."

[32] Having said these things, he ordered many things to be done by him, and especially that he should inform St. Augustine of his death and write to him, and the instruction to write about his death to St. Augustine and others: that he was departing this life gladly, for he knew him well to be a most firm bulwark of the faith against heretics and a rampart against the enemies of the Cross of Christ. He also ordered him to greet other friends and send them letters about his departure. Then, embracing Eusebius and each of the Brothers in turn, he imprinted the kiss of peace on all, as a true disciple of Christ, while they all wept together on account of the grief they felt. These were the last words of St. Jerome to Eusebius of Cremona, these the admonitions of so great a Father, these the divine and singular precepts, than which nothing could be done more lovingly. From these it may be concluded that St. Eusebius was recognized and held by the divine Jerome as a holy man, regarded as a holy man by St. Jerome, he who chose one from among many as Abbot of the monastery he most loved, of which he himself had formerly been the founder and over which he had presided for so many years. Vincent the monk was still alive, who was called holy by Jerome in more than one place. Paulinianus, his brother, was still alive, an eminently holy Priest, approved as such by St. Epiphanius on more than one occasion; and nevertheless the supreme authority was conferred upon St. Eusebius. At last St. Jerome breathed out his most blessed soul, and Eusebius of Cremona closed his eyes; he closes the eyes of the dying Jerome: for so it was fitting for a son toward a Father, a disciple toward a teacher, and a most dutiful friend and monk toward another friend and Abbot, overflowing with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and all virtues. He celebrated the funeral rites with great lamentation, and adorned that last day, sad and grieving, with many praises. The body was committed to the earth, as St. Jerome had commanded, he sees to the funeral rites: not far from the manger of our Savior, where he had prayed for so many years. And near the same place St. Eusebius was also buried, who remained bereft of his dearest Father, and like another Elisha, heir to the virtues and holiness of his teacher; for two years he presides as Abbot. by whose radiance he shone upon that congregation of monks for all the time he survived, governing them with great peace and tranquility, for at least two years, as is deduced from a most ancient writing found among the books of St. Jerome under the name of Cyril of Jerusalem.

CHAPTER VII.

Things done at the death of St. Eusebius, from a History of doubtful reliability. Sacred worship at Bethlehem.

[33] The letters under the name of St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Augustine, We have now arrived at that part of the History which by some is called false, by others more moderately speaking uncertain and ambiguous, because what is narrated is taken from a certain letter of Cyril of Jerusalem to St. Augustine, who, since he had already died, could not have written that letter; and from another of St. Augustine to Cyril, which is evidently not by St. Augustine, for it is most remote from his style. Indeed, since the letter of Cyril contains the heresy of the Monothelites, who admitted only one will in Christ the Lord — a heresy which it attributes to St. Jerome, who did not even dream of it but fought against it in many writings while alive, showing that truly and really there were two wills in him, one divine and the other human — from this the detractors of that letter deduce that it was fabricated by a heretical person rather than by Cyril. Wherefore from these things they conclude that either no faith, or certainly very little, should be given to it. But let them say what they will; I, along with approved writers, hold this opinion: As for the letter of St. Eusebius on the death of the divine Jerome, I believe it is truly the work of St. Eusebius of Cremona, his inseparable companion, although it circulates under false names; for it is written to Damasus, who indeed, if we wish to understand by him the one who was Supreme Pontiff, had died long before the day of St. Jerome's death; but if we think it is said of another Damasus, who was Bishop of Portus, perhaps the things that are written in the letter about him do not cohere. What appears under the name of Cyril to Augustine, and of Augustine to Cyril, seems rather to be by some other person, as the most learned Marian Victorious and St. Antoninus have noted before me. But should everything that is set forth therein therefore be believed to be false and fictitious? How many things circulate under false authors' names — either to be sold more dearly or to be read more eagerly — which are nevertheless not false but most true? Who does not know that many things have been ascribed to St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Thomas, John Chrysostom, and other holy Doctors just as many other treatises published under the names of others, which are not only learned and true but worthy of being read by all? The commentaries on the Proverbs of Solomon, attributed to the divine Jerome and divided into three books, are those of the Venerable Bede, as Trithemius has rightly noted. The commentaries on the Lamentations, apart from the Preface to Eusebius of Cremona, were compiled by Rabanus Maurus and were placed among his works; but the printers, so that they might sell more readily, inserted them among the works of St. Jerome. The annotations on the Acts of the Apostles were collected by the Venerable Bede. The commentaries on the Apocalypse, under the name of St. Ambrose, are proved not to be his but another's by the explanation of chapter 17, in which the author confesses that he wrote after the Roman Empire was seized by the Lombards; and thus many things have been ascribed to three other holy Fathers — which, for the sake of brevity, I gladly omit — which, though weighty and most true, no one has dared to disapprove. I have chosen to bring forward only these few, some may contain truths: so that all may understand that a falsified title does not render the history false; for an interpretation will not be false because it bears a name other than that of its true author; for truth is proved or disproved by the thing itself, not by the name of the writer. As for the miracles narrated in that letter under the name of Cyril, they do not contradict the omnipotence of God, who in all ages has raised the dead and illuminated the blind through the prayers of his Saints; especially since the divine Scripture says he will do the will of those who fear him; and many of them have obtained things even greater than these, so that they have even moved mountains, firmly established with their heavy mass, by their word and command alone. Nor indeed, granted that the letter of Cyril is bespattered with the Monothelite heresy, because that letter is besmirched with the soot of the Monothelite heresy, should it therefore be believed to be tainted with falsehood; for many other writings of the Saints have been adulterated by heretics, which, having been purified afterwards, brought great benefit to the Church, and it is not necessary to enumerate them here, because among learned men this admits of no doubt. Indeed, the apparition of St. Jerome made to Eusebius of Cremona is found interwoven in the writings of other approved men, to prove that the souls of the departed have appeared to the living and taught them many things, as we shall say below.

[34] Add to this, most pious reader, that when I had written a letter to the Most Illustrious Cardinal Baronius shortly before his death, in which I earnestly asked him to deign to give the reason why, concerning those things that are read in that letter, namely about the death and miracles of St. Eusebius,

he had made no mention in his Annals; he replied in such a way as not to deny that they were true, but that they had been omitted by him because they labored under some uncertainty: for in a serious history, the judgment of Cardinal Baronius on these matters. such as that of the Annals, only serious things were to be described, things that rested upon the narration of illustrious men. Wherefore he omitted them, not because they were not true, but lest he should seem to weave less serious things, in his judgment, into a most serious history. But lest anyone think that I am narrating things invented from my own head, I am pleased to append here the text of the letter itself. "To the Most Reverend Francis Ferrarius, Canon and Theologian of the Cathedral of Cremona. Your letter has sufficiently delighted me, though occupied in the most serious affairs of the Church; for the investigation of those things which the early Saints did by divine inspiration especially delights me. Nevertheless, I thought I had previously freed myself from the anxious concern of that question which the published monuments of St. Eusebius of Cremona agitate among the learned: where, content with the gravity of history, I equally vindicated what a more serious narration would attribute to St. Eusebius of Cremona. For neither useful nor even delightful is a history that labors under such great uncertainty. And therefore those miracles which are attributed to St. Eusebius either from that letter of Cyril, as well as the remarkable events of his death and many other things, I passed over in silence; so that I, who had from the beginning distinguished a serious history, might refrain entirely from anything apocryphal or ambiguous. The title of St. Eusebius at Rome, moreover, bears the name of that Eusebius who is said by tradition to have died, imprisoned in the same place by Constantine; concerning which Eusebius the Priest, Bede, Ado, and other more recent writers have written at length. Farewell. To your Most Reverend Lordship, as a most loving Brother, Caesar Cardinal Baronius."

The arguments of this most distinguished Cardinal are by no means valid in our narrative; indeed, they will appear to have no force or weight to one considering rightly: for everything was to be set forth by us that was transmitted about St. Eusebius by the ancients, lest we seem to have defrauded readers of some part of the history pertaining to his life, and lest something that might justly be added be found wanting.

[35] In that letter, therefore, these things are described word for word: According to excerpts from the letter under the name of Cyril, "A man truly reverend and not to be consigned to oblivion, Eusebius, the noble citizen of Cremona, his disciple, in whom the holiness and learning of his master shone forth, whose wisdom, integrity, and excellence you are not unaware of; who, two years later, snatched from the misery of our mortality, followed his most beloved teacher Jerome to the homeland of heaven, as his frequent miracles indicate, of which I shall also treat somewhat below." And with a few words interposed, he says: "And first, let our discourse take its beginning from Eusebius, the most holy man and disciple of the same Jerome. After the death of the most glorious Jerome, a heresy having arisen, a certain heresy arose among the Greeks, that is, a sect, which reached even the Latins, which strove with its inept arguments to prove that the souls of the blessed, concerning souls waiting until the last day of judgment, until the day of universal judgment, on which they are to be reunited with their bodies, would be deprived of the divine vision and knowledge, in which the entire blessedness of the Saints consists; and that the souls of the damned would similarly until that day be tormented by no punishments. Their argument was as follows: Just as the soul merited or sinned together with the body, so also it receives rewards or punishments together with the body. Those most wicked followers of that sect also asserted that there is no place of Purgatory, in which souls that had not yet made full penance for their sins in the body might be purified. When this pestiferous sect grew stronger, such great grief fell upon us that we were weary of living any longer. Wherefore, having convoked all my suffragan Bishops and other Catholic men, I enjoined upon them fasts and prayers, that the divine goodness might not permit their faith to be so agitated. A wonderful thing, and perhaps never before seen in its likeness. by St. Jerome appearing, When three days of fasting and prayers had been completed, on the following night the glorious Jerome manifestly appeared to his most beloved son Eusebius, who was engaged in prayers, and comforting him with a kindly address, told him that there was nothing to fear in this pestiferous sect, since an end must now be put to it. Eusebius, gazing upon him shining with such great splendor that the human eye could not look upon him, as if waking from a deep sleep, shedding sweet tears through his eyes, so that he could scarcely form his voice, began to cry out as much as he could: 'Are you my Father Jerome? Why do you spurn my companionship? Certainly I shall hold you and not let you go, nor shall you walk without the son you loved.' To whom the glorious Jerome replied: 'I shall not abandon you, most beloved son. he learns the day of his own death, Be comforted, for on the twentieth day you shall follow me, and we shall remain together in joy without end. But tell Cyril and the other Brothers that tomorrow, beside the Manger of the Lord where my body rests, all should gather together, both Catholics and the men of that sect, and you shall have the bodies of three men who died this night in this city brought unburied to the place where my body is buried; and that the dead are to be raised by him: placing over them my sack, which I used, they shall be immediately restored to their former life and shall root out this heresy utterly.' Bidding him farewell, the glorious Jerome vanished. When morning came, the venerable Eusebius came to me — for I was then at Bethlehem — and narrated everything he had seen. Giving immense thanks to the Creator and to the glorious Jerome, with everyone gathered in the aforesaid place where the Savior was born for us of the inviolate Virgin, and where also the most sacred body of Jerome was buried, he had the bodies of the aforesaid dead brought in. O wondrous mercy and dispensation of God toward men! In how many ways he knows how to help those who hope in him! With what honors he exalts his Saints! Meanwhile, mockery was made by the followers of that sect, who believed that the hand of the Lord had been exhausted.

[36] who, having made a prayer, Let therefore the whole company of the faithful rejoice and sing to God with a voice of exultation, when we have received his mercy in the midst of his temple. For the venerable man Eusebius, approaching the bodies of each one, with his knees bent and his hands stretched toward heaven, prayed thus in the hearing of all: 'O God, to whom nothing is impossible, nothing burdensome, of unconquerable strength and power, who alone does great wonders and despises no one who hopes in you; now hear the prayers of your faithful ones; and so that your faith, which you have given, may remain inviolate and unbroken through the ages, and so that the error of these men may be made manifest; through the merits and intercession of the glorious Jerome, your beloved one, introduce into these corpses the souls which you willed to depart from them.' When that prayer was finished, and applied the sack of St. Jerome, he raises them: touching each corpse with the sack which the glorious Jerome had used upon his flesh, he immediately introduced into them the spirit of life. These men, having opened their eyes and shown all the signs of life, were perfectly raised, and began to proclaim in a clear voice to all the glory of blessed souls, and the punishments of sinners, both of Purgatory and of Hell. For as they told me when I afterwards questioned them, Blessed Jerome had led them with him through Paradise, Purgatory, and Hell, so that they might reveal to all what was done there, and had commanded them to return to their bodies and do penance there for the sins they had committed; because on that day and hour on which the venerable Eusebius was to depart, they too would die, and also, if they did penance well, would attain glory with him; which indeed was done, as I shall declare below. When these things had been accomplished, a great multitude of people, both faithful and defenders of that sect, who had gathered for so great a spectacle, seeing so certain a proof and test of truth, and the merits of Blessed Jerome, gave immense thanks with loud voices to the Creator, who does not abandon those who hope in him.

[37] And shortly after, coming to the death of St. Eusebius, he describes how it happened in this way: "But lest I stray too far from my purpose," he says, "I shall return to what was begun, completing the death of the venerable Eusebius first, and likewise writing of the passing of those three men whom you know were raised from the dead; because they were taken from this vale of misery in the world on the same hour and day as Eusebius; I shall introduce some miracles of St. Jerome out of many. When the day and hour arrived he himself falls ill, on which the venerable Eusebius, from the vision of Blessed Jerome of which I spoke above, had known he would depart, three days beforehand, shaken violently by the weakness of fevers, he had himself carried naked upon the ground by the Brothers, not unmindful of his master, and addressing each one with kindly consolation, he comforted them and most lovingly admonished them to remain in their holy purpose. he is covered with the sack of St. Jerome: Then he had the sack in which the glorious Jerome was clothed brought forth and ordered it to be placed upon himself; and he directed that he be buried naked, in the manner of the glorious master, outside the church in which the holy body of Jerome lay. After this, fortified with the communion of the most sacred Body of Jesus Christ, he commended himself to the Lord and to Blessed Jerome; and thus, for three days, deprived of speech and bodily sight, he lay while the Brothers standing by alternately read the Psalter, the Passion of the Lord, and other sacred texts continuously. It is indeed a hard thing, and formidable for all who live rightly in this world, what I now narrate. For on the day on which he was to die, for two hours before the departure of his blessed soul, the venerable Eusebius began to perform such terrible acts he is terrified by a vision of demons appearing, that the monks standing around, terrified with excessive fear, lay upon the ground like men out of their minds. For sometimes with eyes rolling, hands clasped, face terrible, and voice dreadful, he would cry out as if raging: 'I will not do it, I will not do it: you lie, you lie.' After this, falling back to the ground and pressing his face into the earth, he cried out as loudly as he could: 'Help me, Brothers, lest I perish.' When the monks saw this, weeping and trembling, they asked him: 'What is the matter, Father?' To whom he said: 'Do you not see the armies of demons who wish to overcome me?' And they: 'What did they want you to do when you were saying, I will not do it?' And he: 'They are trying to make me be found a blasphemer of the divine name, and therefore I cried out that I would not do it.' And they: 'Why, Father, did you hide your face in the earth?' And he: 'So that I would not see the face of him who is so foul and terrible that all the terrors in the world, compared to him, are nothing.' Amid these words, repeating his former actions, he came thus to his final hour. The Brothers who stood by, terrified with grief and fear, were as if dead, not knowing what to do. God, glorious in his Saints and wonderful in his majesty, kind and merciful to those who love him,

did not abandon his Saints in the time of necessity. For when the venerable Eusebius had reached his final hour, freed by the appearing of St. Jerome, the glorious Jerome appeared, kindly comforting him; at whose sight that entire troop of demons, seemingly infinite, terrified by fear of him, vanished from him like smoke, as many monks attest who say they saw this by divine dispensation with their own eyes. But this is further confirmed by the fact that all those standing around heard from Eusebius these words: "Whence do you come, Father? Why have you delayed so long? I beseech you, do not abandon your son." To whom immediately, with all hearing, another voice responded: "Wait, my son, do not be afraid, he dies: for I will not abandon you, whom I love so much." Having heard this voice, after a short interval, the venerable Eusebius expired. Why God permitted these terrible events to happen to a holy man of proven virtue, by which all those monks were terrified — perhaps it was so that, after the death of so great a Father, they might be more firmly kept in their duty by the fear of death. At the same hour those three who had been raised also departed, together with the 3 who had been raised: and, as I believe, arrived at eternal joys with Eusebius. For during those twenty days after they were raised, as you know, they so grieved for their past sins and did such penance that they undoubtedly enjoy and partake of eternal blessedness.

[38] When St. Eusebius of Cremona was dead, all the monks, like children deprived of a most beneficent father, he is borne to burial, followed his death with many tears and performed the funeral rites solemnly indeed, but with the greatest grief. But while his glorious body was being carried on a bier on the shoulders of the Brothers to the church, God, who is wonderful in his Saints, working miracles in heaven above and on the earth below, while summoning his soul to heavenly things, illustrated his body on earth with many miracles, which are omitted by the author of that letter; however, he describes two out of many, lest they be consigned to oblivion on account of posterity, the first of which is this: A certain monk of a certain monastery, deprived of the bodily light of his eyes from tears and vigils, he illumines a blind man: as soon as he touched the venerable body on the face, obtained the grace of his former sight. he frees a demoniac: The second that is narrated is about a demoniac who, while the sacred body was being carried to the church, encountering it, was immediately freed from the demon. Beside the church in which the most sacred body of the glorious Jerome was buried, the body of the venerable Eusebius was also buried, he is buried near St. Jerome: with due honor, naked in the manner of his Master. And in the cemetery of the same church, the bodies of those three men who died at the same hour were also entombed.

[39] These things are happily described by the author of that letter under the name of Cyril of Jerusalem; since they do not contradict the Catholic faith, and are not impossible for Almighty God, who daily works the same things at the intercession of his Saints, they can be believed to be true. For who would ever have dared to fabricate such things about the death of St. Eusebius and compose stories about his miracles, especially since to this day his sepulchre is visited by pilgrims, placed in the same location where we said above? Add that the apparition of St. Jerome made to Eusebius is adduced by other pious and learned men, especially by the Reverend Father Martin Delrio of the Society of Jesus, to prove the apparitions of the Saints, as can be seen in his books of Magical Investigations. Furthermore, who does not know that St. Eusebius of Cremona was placed by the Church in the diptychs of the Saints, enrolled among the Saints; and that his memory is renewed every year on the fifth of March, and that he was always regarded as such and worshipped by the faithful with the worship of Dulia, like the images of other Saints? This would certainly not have been permitted if the miracles recorded about him were not true. Indeed, in the place where his body was buried, honored with an erected altar: a marble altar was erected, at which the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered daily in his honor, and divine praises are celebrated, and vows are offered and supplications are made to him by the faithful who dwell in those places; and the same is done by all pilgrims who, flocking to Jerusalem, do not cease to venerate those places, as is clear from the trustworthy report of the Reverend Father Victorius Cicardus of the Order of Friars Minor of the Observance, who assumed the directorship of the monastery of the Brothers dwelling at Bethlehem; which was consigned to the Most Reverend Bishop Caesar Specianus of Cremona. The same Brother Victorius attests that daily at his sepulchre these praises are chanted by the Brothers:

Hymn.

This is the confessor of the Lord, consecrated.

Antiphon.

I will liken him to a wise man, etc. daily invocation customarily made

℣. Pray for us, Blessed Eusebius.

℞. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

May the intercession, we beseech you, O Lord, of Blessed Eusebius the Abbot, commend us, so that what we cannot obtain by our own merits, we may attain through his patronage. Through Christ our Lord. with indulgences granted to those visiting the sepulchre,

He affirms that the Brothers and all pilgrims visiting his sepulchre obtain an indulgence of five years and as many Quarantines, and that he himself held the directorship there for five years, having gone to Bethlehem on July 4, 1594, by the command of the Most Reverend Father Francis Salandri, Apostolic Commissary of the entire East for the province of Basilicata. To this may be added another report of the Reverend Father Aloysius Vulcanus of Padula, also of the Order of Friars Minor of the Observance, who visited the places of the Holy Land and described and committed to print for eternal memory all things worthy of note. For after commemorating the Chapel of the Holy Innocents slain by the most cruel King Herod, he subjoins these words: "Toward the west is another cave, and at its entrance on the right side we find an altar, within which is the sepulture of St. Eusebius, the disciple of the most glorious Doctor of the Church, Jerome; and on the left side is another altar, within which is the sepulchre of St. Paula of Rome and her daughter Eustochium; and opposite it is the place where the body of St. Jerome used to lie, which was later, it is said, translated to Rome. All of which sepulchres, covered with marble tablets, appear in the form of altars, and before each of them a glass lamp burns, with a glass lamp burning. and the aforesaid cave is not far from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre." These things clearly indicate that the things narrated about St. Eusebius in that letter are such that faith may be given to them without any hesitation, even though they circulate under the false name of Cyril.

* Censure in volume 9.

* In the Chronicle.

CHAPTER VIII.

Whether the Order of St. Jerome in Spain was begun by St. Eusebius. His veneration at Cremona.

[40] The Reverend Father Paul Morigia of Milan, a man very well versed in histories, in his book which he most diligently composed On the Origin of All Religious Orders, said by Morigia to be the founder of the monks of Guadalupe in Spain relates that St. Eusebius of Cremona was the founder of the monks of his order in Spain, and especially that he erected the monastery of the Guadalupan monks. And certainly this report is not without authority; for St. Eusebius was in Africa, as we learn from St. Jerome's second Apology against Rufinus. For he says: "Brother Eusebius writes that he found among the African Bishops, who had come to the Court for ecclesiastical affairs, a letter written as if in my name." From these words it can be clearly deduced that St. Eusebius was in Africa; for how could he write that he had found a letter among the Africans unless he had been there? And perhaps this could have happened when he was sent to the heretic Vigilantius, parish priest of Barcelona, and on that occasion he could have seen Spain and erected the Guadalupan monastery, which is certainly very ancient. But because Morigia, being an Italian by birth, might seem to some a less reliable witness concerning a matter done in Spain, and others, according to Emanuel Rodericus, let there be read, I ask, Father Emanuel Rodericus the Portuguese, in the book he entitled Regular Questions, question 3, article 4, where, asking from whom the congregation of Hermits of St. Jerome in Spain had its origin, after relating that some thought it had its origin from Lupus of Oliveto, he rejects this opinion, proving that the said Lupus was merely a reformer, and adds these words: "Others hold that this congregation had its beginning from Eusebius of Cremona, the disciple of the most glorious Jerome, whose footsteps the monks of Guadalupe in Spain are believed to follow." And although he relates another opinion of Father Jerome of Rome, a Spaniard, in his book On the Christian Commonwealth, who held that it had its origin from a certain Brother Thomas, nevertheless this cannot be true, since Brother Thomas lived in the year 1370, while the monks of Guadalupe are more ancient. Wherefore the truer opinion remains that they had their origin from St. Eusebius of Cremona. But when these monks had passed to the broader rules of St. Augustine, Brother Lupus of Oliveto, a Spaniard, reformed them together with five other monasteries of the same region, a rule collected by Brother Lupus of Oliveto. and established new ones in Italy, especially the Roman monastery of St. Alexius; he also most diligently collected the Rules from the writings of St. Jerome, by which those ancient monks had been governed, and obtained a rescript from Martin V, the Supreme Pontiff, by which the monks were obliged to comply with those laws (without, however, the danger of incurring mortal sin) which he had accumulated from various passages of the books of St. Jerome, whereas before they had obeyed the precepts prescribed by St. Augustine to his Brothers; to which the same monks afterwards returned, since they are not so austere and rigid, consulting the common welfare of the Brothers. In this, Lupus certainly achieved the greatest praise, and is most praised for it by Marian Victorious, Bishop of Rieti, with these words: "That this Rule of the monks was collected from the true sayings of the divine Jerome, no one who is versed in reading them can deny; but Lupus of Oliveto joined them together in one whole so aptly and fittingly that you would think Jerome had poured them forth exactly as you read here. And so, if the ancients deem the Homero-centones and Virgilio-centones, which the worthy Falconia, a woman

not unskilled, stitched together, worthy of so many praises; why should not anyone extol with praises these Jerome-centones? Especially since those deal with trivial matters, discordant with our religion; while these, however, are written about nothing other than the Christian profession and its principal virtues, and those things that pertain to the state of perfection." "Therefore," he says, "Lupus is worthy of many praises, who for rightly and holily ordering the life of men and for preserving the monastic profession, learnedly and fittingly gathered these things from Jerome (whom no one is unaware was a monk)." These things have been narrated by us in favor of a Spanish man, well disposed toward his religious order, who had made his profession in the Guadalupan monastery, founded, as is believed, by St. Eusebius of Cremona.

[41] And certainly, to pass over Lupus, among the Spanish the Religious Order of the monks of St. Jerome and St. Eusebius of Cremona was always held in great honor, Among the monks of SS. Jerome and Eusebius and many and indeed most weighty things testify to this. First, that Charles V, a man most excellent in this kind of life, with a singular desire for propagating the Christian religion, distinguished for the glory of warlike deeds, for victories over the fiercest generals and greatest armies; but more distinguished for his contempt of the world, his incredible zeal for ancient piety and orthodox faith, his worthy preparation for death and abdication of all his kingdoms, the Emperor Charles V lived and was buried there, so that he might devote himself entirely to divine service, content with a small stipend, he lived in a monastery under a completely monastic discipline. And perceiving that the hour of death was at hand and his bodily strength was failing, he ordered the final testimonies of his will to be written, among which that is outstanding by which the singular piety of his soul toward St. Jerome and Eusebius and their monks was excellently declared, commanding that his body be clothed in the garments of those monks and thus committed to burial — which indeed was carried out most faithfully as he had ordered. His son Philip likewise, who surpassed all the families of the whole world in power, might, and the abundance of the greatest wealth, and who far excelled in his zeal for piety and the strengthening of the faith, Philip II, King, a man most worthy of respect in peace and war, following the example of his most loving father, left many proofs of his piety toward the same monks. The first of which is that, while he enjoyed the use of this light, he very frequently withdrew from the most serious cares by which the greatest empires are surrounded, and spent time collecting himself somewhat with the same monks, so that he might be stirred up to desire for divine things. buried there Then, when lying in bed awaiting his last hour, he ordered his body to be clothed in the same monastic habit as his father and to be buried. The third monument of piety toward these monks is the monastery called the Escorial, built with royal munificence in honor of St. Lawrence, the Escorial monastery erected. and most religiously entrusted to the same monks for their residence. These signs of his religious devotion St. Eusebius left in Spain, if we consider so great a man as Morigia worthy of belief.

[42] At Cremona, the monastery of St. Eusebius, At Cremona, however, outside the walls of the city, there exists a single monastery of the monks of St. Eusebius, erected from its foundations by Francis Sforza, Duke of Milan, with a basilica consecrated in honor of St. Sigismund the King. In the suburbs there is also a small church church, under the invocation of St. Eusebius, which belongs to the Olivetan monks; in which, besides the name of St. Eusebius, there is almost nothing worthy of note. But God did not permit the memory of this Saint, which had lain hidden for twelve hundred years, to be thought entirely extinct; memory renewed: but after so many centuries he offered the people of Cremona new material for religion and piety toward their Saint. For in the year sixteen hundred and five, a certain pious man, named Paulinus de Peperariis, in order to collect the number of Cremona's Saints and record them in a catalogue for the memory of posterity, went to Verona and by chance found an image of St. Eusebius of Cremona; image sculpted, which, having summoned a painter, he had copied from the prototype and carried it to Cremona with a joyful heart. When he had shown it to many citizens, by their help and resources he had a statue of St. Eusebius carved in the likeness of the model and adorned with priestly vestments, as was the original; and he took care to have an altar erected for it in the church of St. Mary of the Star, adjoining the walls of the city. altar erected: This statue was carried by Caesar Specianus, Bishop of venerable memory, whom I recall for the sake of honor, to the Cathedral church, where he publicly and solemnly blessed it; then he appointed a set day on which all the clergy, both secular and regular, and the schools of confraternities should attend in numbers at the Cathedral church, so that with the greatest possible solemnity the sacred image might be transferred to its appointed place. When the day arrived, and all had been summoned and gathered, solemn procession instituted: the procession began to be organized, while six most noble men, clad in sackcloth, barefoot, and with their heads covered — lest they appear to be doing this for vainglory — carried the image of the Saint on their own shoulders with honor, following with wonderful piety the choirs of singers and bands of chanters; while everything resounded with the clanging of bells, the blare of trumpets, and the voices of those bestowing blessings. In so great a rejoicing of all, in so immense a joy of the people, it is wonderful how great a disturbance of the air the jealous enemy of the human race stirred up and agitated, opposing himself to the city lest it enjoy the joyful remembrance of the Father, by whose help he saw that many would be snatched from his jaws. For immediately he stirred up all the winds, not even interrupted by a storm: raised the most savage whirlwinds, and seemed to want to overturn everything with a sudden tempest; for so great was the fury of the winds that even the buildings trembled and were almost shaken from their foundations. With the winds blowing with the greatest force, therefore, little was wanting before the procession itself was scattered and those carrying the statue departed with the task unfinished, since they could by no means go forward. But at length a certain steadfast and unshaken resolution of mind, combined with religion, conquered the fury of the roaring air. For the people, not at all fearing that violent assault and terrible whistling of the breeze stirred up by the demon, and most patiently continuing on their way, at length reached the desired place, and having placed the image upon the altar, paid due praises to St. Eusebius and gave thanks to immortal God. O wonderful thing! Immediately there followed such great tranquility of the air that absolutely no trace of the former disturbance remained — the Saint, as is believable, by divine power driving away the spiritual wickedness from the air. The people satisfied the ardent desire by which they were possessed and venerated the image of their most beloved citizen despite the opposition of the most wretched enemy of mortals. From which it is clearly understood how much the enemy feared for himself on account of this Saint's intercession, knowing by experience that patron Saints bring the greatest aid to their citizens, placing themselves as suppliants before an angry God on account of the greatest sins. Wherefore we should not cease daily to approach him for obtaining favors, to offer vows, to light candles, and to hang up votives.

[43] by a vow offered, rain is obtained. Let us be permitted to place before your eyes, excellent citizens, one votive offering out of many, and also to diligently inquire into the reason why it was offered. It is a silver plate of larger form, which the confraternity of St. Jerome offered in the year 1605, to obtain suitable rains. On it, the city of Cremona and clouds pouring rain from the sky are depicted, and in the upper part the images of SS. Jerome and Eusebius, supplicating God, with these words in gold placed at the edge of the ornamental frame of the tablet: "The Brothers of the Confraternity of the divine Jerome, on account of the rain obtained, long publicly requested." This vow was made on the occasion of a great drought caused by the lack of rains, when the languishing plants, deprived of moisture, were taking away the hope of gathering fruits, and the sky itself was portending a very great scarcity of grain and costliness of provisions; for God, on account of our sins, had given a sky and an earth of bronze, and no other hope was left to the wretched than to flee to God through the intercession of some Saint and to avert his most just anger. Wherefore, when the Confraternity itself had done this and had chosen St. Eusebius as their Advocate before God, promising him that silver image, immediately the sky was covered with clouds and poured forth an immense quantity of rain from above, with which the fields, abundantly irrigated, produced a plentiful harvest of fruits that year. God willed that it be known to all, through this great benefit, how dear to him the prayers of St. Eusebius were — he who would meet approaching needs and offer suppliant prayers before his majesty.

[44] Let these things about the life, death, and miracles of St. Eusebius of Cremona be briefly said, which we have collected from here and there from various books of St. Jerome the author's epilogue. and other writers, and have recorded in this little book for the memory of future ages. If we have narrated less diligently and elegantly than was fitting and the dignity of this Saint demanded, we shall strive to obtain pardon for so great an error from God the Best and Greatest. From you, however, Most Reverend Father, I earnestly beg that you pardon me if the style seems less polished and the period, lacking its proper grace, seems to flow too insipidly. Deign not to disdain granting something to a running pen and to a dearest friend; I wish you to know meanwhile that these things could have been recounted by someone more elegantly, but not more lovingly; and in the meantime, defend me and my work with the shield of your authority, and do not allow anyone to calumniate me. And farewell forever with St. Eusebius.