Thomas Aquinas

ON ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, ANGELIC DOCTOR, OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS,

IN THE YEAR 1274.

Preliminary Commentary.

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (St.)

Section I. The Acts of St. Thomas written by various authors: what is published here. His sacred cult.

[1] About to treat the life, death, miracles, and translations of St. Thomas Aquinas, after very many other and illustrious writers, we select the primary foundations of all, and those not yet published in print, referring the benevolent reader to the other authors, whom we briefly indicate. The most ancient notice of St. Thomas, Notice of St. Thomas in the Lives of the Brothers of the Order of Preachers, though without mentioning his name, is found in the Lives of the Brothers of the Order of Preachers, which Gerard de Fracheto wrote at the mandate of Humbert, Master General, who governed the Order from the year 1254 to the year 1263, and died in the convent of Limoges in the year 1271, that is, two years and five months before St. Thomas departed this life. mention made by Cantimpré, Another who treated of St. Thomas while he was still living is Thomas of Cantimpré, who in book 1 of On Bees, chapter 20, number 10, praises his constancy and patience. Closest to these is Stephen de Salanhac, who died in the year 1290, Salanhac, who inserts his virtues in his book on the four things with which God distinguished the Order of Preachers: this exists in manuscript at Milan in the Convent of the Graces. A student of St. Thomas was Ptolemy of Lucca, Ptolemy of Lucca, from the Order of Preachers, Bishop of Torcello near Venice, whose Annals from the year 1060 to the year 1302 exist published in the Lyon press, in which at the year 1274 are indicated St. Thomas's illness, death, burial, and the glory of his miracles.

[2] Meanwhile the process of promoting the Canonization of St. Thomas began to be pursued more eagerly, and his Acts were more carefully examined and written out. Thomas Maluenda in volume 1 of the Annals of the Preachers at the year 1237, page 594, Life written by William of Tocco, asserts that he came upon a very ancient volume written on parchment that contained the life and miracles of St. Thomas, by Brother William of Tocco, a religious man of the Order of Preachers, who, as the inscription declared, saw and heard the Blessed Thomas himself in his lifetime, teaching and preaching. This is the same man who most actively promoted the Canonization of St. Thomas, and in the year 1319 presented the Apostolic letters of Pope John XXII at Naples to the Inquisitors while the Process for the Canonization was being conducted, and himself as a sworn witness indicated various miracles to them: many of these he examined at the monastery of Fossanova, the castle of Maenza, and other places, which sworn witnesses also brought forward about him, contained below in the Process of Inquisition. it seems to be the one published here, We judge the Life which we give in first place to have been written by him: certainly at number 29 the same person asserts himself to be the one who conceived of weaving the history of his life, and returning to the Papal Court to pursue his Canonization, and soon, when St. Thomas appeared to him, he confesses that he had written his entire history, and is informed after death that his companion Raynald, not Peter de Sicia, as he had supposed and written, and had deposed before the Inquisitors, had preached about his virginity. Another apparition made to him is contained in number 50, and at number 80 miracles are written which occurred during the prosecution of the Canonization to the Brothers to whom the inquisition about miracles was entrusted through Brother Robert of St. Valentine, then Vicar of the Master of the Order, and it is indicated at length how those sailing from Naples toward France, tossed by a storm, were delivered from the danger of death.

The names of these men are indicated by Bernard Gui below at the end of the miracles, namely William of Tocco, Prior of the convent of Benevento, and his companion Robert the Lector. Out of modesty, of course, the author everywhere suppressed his own name, while being lavish in adducing the names of others. The time frequently indicated agrees with our opinion: thus at number 18 those who knew the Mother of St. Thomas report, and the recent and praiseworthy memory of his sister Theodora is said to exist, indeed her son Lord Thomasius, Count of Marsico, still living, bears witness. What meanwhile Maluenda cites as written by William of Tocco is sometimes narrated in precisely the same words, sometimes differs both in words and in substance, so that what we publish appears to have been written more accurately afterward, or certainly what Maluenda has appears to have been altered by others from the same source: however, since we have not been able to see it in its entirety, we leave it to the judgment of others to examine. The Process of Inquisition made in the year 1319 is added. The said history ends with the Process of Inquisition brought to Avignon to John XXII, so that the Process itself may rightly be appended to it, hitherto unpublished: which was shown to us at Rome and permitted to be transcribed by that most humane and most learned man, Paul Frigerius, a priest of the Congregation of the Oratory. This Inquisition was completed at Naples on the 18th day of September in the year 1319, after which another was substituted, indicated below in Bernard Gui. The Canonization of St. Thomas followed, or his enrollment in the number of Saints, The Bull of Canonization made in the year 1323 is omitted, made in the year 1323 by John XXII, whose Bull issued on this matter on the 15th before the Kalends of August, in the seventh year of his Pontificate, is found in volume 1 of the Bullarium collected by Laertius Cherubini, in Abraham Bzovius in his Annals at the year 1274, number 20, in Flaminius in the Life of St. Thomas to be mentioned below, and others: omitted by us here, lest the bulk of the work grow too much.

[3] At that time Bernard Gui flourished, of the Order of Preachers, Bishop of Tuy in Galicia, then in the year 1324 appointed Bishop of Lodève in Narbonnese Gaul, Life written by Bernard Gui, who died on December 13 in the year 1331. By his pen we have the Acts of St. Thomas written, comprised in two books, of which the first contains the deeds of the same Saint, and the various translations of his body up to the Canonization itself. All of which, because they are taken from the earlier Acts of William of Tocco, or the Process of Canonization, we omit to report, with only the chapter titles indicated together with the numbers of the earlier Acts from which they are transcribed. The second book contains miracles, divided by us into three parts: with miracles, some of which are published, of which the first is found in the Acts related above or the Process of Inquisition, also omitted by us: the second part, taken from a second Inquisition which we have not yet seen, is published; the miracles of the last part are said to be approved and verified by report and assertion, of which we give only those not contained in the earlier Acts already presented. We found the said Acts in codex 1218 of the Vatican Library, and we supplemented some among the last miracles from codex 3847. The same exist in manuscript in the College of the Society of Jesus at Poitiers, and the Parisian monastery of Canons Regular of St. Victor, found in various manuscripts, and in the library of the Cathedral Church of Prague: indeed, what is contained chiefly in the first book has been printed in volume 2 of the Lives of Saints which Boninus Mombritius collected and published about two hundred years ago. and in Mombritius. The same Acts, but with the order of narration sometimes changed and some miracles omitted in the last part, we have from the manuscript codex of Rouge-Cloître near Brussels, which is inscribed the first part of the Hagiologium. Jacques Boëtius, a Canon Regular of the same monastery, is preparing for the press the Library of St. Victor: in which he will bring to light various ancient treatises hitherto unpublished, and in the second volume of this library will be published this Life of St. Thomas Aquinas, which for this very reason we the more willingly omit here. We also possess a parchment codex, written in elegant script: in the first part of which are the Acts of St. Thomas, then the Life of St. Dominic written by Theodore of Apolda, and finally the Life of St. Peter Martyr composed by Peter Raganus in the year 1455. But who collected those Acts of St. Thomas Another manuscript Life collected from the earlier ones, is not indicated. The first fourteen chapters of these are the same as those read in Bernard Gui, with a preface placed before them from the earliest Acts, which we judge to have been written by William of Tocco, from which the rest are condensed, preserving the words of those earlier Acts more carefully than was done by Bernard Gui. From these we make some observations on the earlier Acts. The conclusion is reached with the death of St. Thomas and the earlier Translations: from which it seems possible to infer that the collection is quite ancient.

[4] While we were staying at Milan in the year 1662, we were admitted with great kindness to the library of the Convent of the Graces of the Dominican Fathers, another found at Milan and Utrecht, in which we inspected many volumes of records of the Order, from which we were permitted to transcribe whatever we wished: these had been collected from everywhere with great labor and industry chiefly by Ambrose Taegio of Milan, about whom one may read Anthony of Siena in the Library of the Order. Among those records there were some Acts of St. Thomas, which we judged to be condensed from others: appended to them were various miracles divided into headings, of which we transcribed only the titles. Similar Acts and miracles, but reduced to a compendium, we have from a manuscript codex of the Church of the Holy Savior at Utrecht, from which we select some miracles not indicated by others, and to them we add the titles of the Milan codex. from this some miracles are published, These Acts and miracles seem to have been written at Pavia, not long after the Canonization. Thus at number 11 it is said Dominicus de Tremonia is now a citizen of Pavia, who, having heard the letter with miracles about the Canonization of St. Thomas, devoted himself to him and was healed.

[5] There follow the various Translations of the Body of St. Thomas, which was twice removed from the monastery of Fossanova by Honoratus, Count of Fondi, and handed over to the Order of Preachers, and finally given to them by Urban V, and translated to Toulouse in the year 1368 by Elias Raymond, then Master General of the Order of Preachers. The history of this Translation, together with the Apostolic Bulls granted for that purpose, Double history of the Translation to Toulouse, and the various miracles then performed, was written by Raymond Hugo, companion and eyewitness of the said Master General: which we give from the autograph manuscript preserved at Toulouse among the Dominican Fathers, communicated to us at Paris by the Reverend Father Francis Combefis of the same Order of Preachers. Another history of the Translation we found at Rome in the Vatican Library, appended to the above-cited Life by Bernard Gui, which we also give, because it contains various matters also about Raymond Hugo himself, which he neglected here. We found the same at Milan in the codex of Ambrose Taegio, but interpolated from the earlier account, whose additions we did not wish to insert for that reason: we append what records we have found about the arms brought to Paris and Naples. Finally we present miscellaneous materials about the relics and cult of the same Saint, submitted from various places or observed by ourselves. and miscellaneous materials.

[6] Among others who subsequently published the deeds of St. Thomas, Peter de Natalibus is to be reckoned in first place, who wrote his Catalogue of Saints in the year 1369 and the following, The deeds of St. Thomas were written by Peter de Natalibus, and inserted in it a rather distinguished Life of St. Thomas, up to the placement of the body before the altar of the church of Fossanova. Among the illustrious men of the Order of Preachers, in Leander Albert, book 4, folio 136, James of Soest is cited, who among other records wrote a Chronicle of the deeds of the Order of Preachers, James of Soest, and intermingles various things about St. Thomas: among those which he reported about his paternal and maternal lineage, they are cited by Maluenda at the year 1237 and rejected. But more illustrious in virtue and learning than these was St. Antoninus, St. Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence from the Order of Preachers, who died in the year 1459. He in part 3 of his Chronicle, title 23, chapter 7, traces the Life and miracles of St. Thomas, and mentions the body translated to Toulouse. James de Voragine is cited by some, The Continuator of James de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa from the Order of Preachers, who died in the year 1298, who should be placed above among the more ancient writers, if he had published the Life of St. Thomas in the Golden Legend or Lombardic History, but this was subsequently added by others at number 211, and in it the Canonization, long after the death of James de Voragine, is treated, even in the work printed in the year 1485. Then followed Claude de Rota, but with the order changed in the appended Saints.

[7] In the century just recently elapsed after the fifteen hundredth year, very many continued to extol the praises of St. Thomas in their writings, among whom John Garzo or Garzonius of Bologna, John Garzo, inscribed the Life of St. Thomas to Leander Albert, who in the description of Romagna acknowledges him as his own Master, and published the Life of St. Thomas sent to him at the beginning of book 4 of the Illustrious Men of the Order of Preachers, which work appeared at Bologna in the year 1517. John Anthony Flaminius, At the same time there lived John Anthony Flaminius of Imola, who at Bologna in the year 1529 published the Lives of the Fathers of the Order of Preachers, in the Catalogue of Saints then inscribed, namely SS. Dominic, Peter Martyr, Thomas Aquinas, Vincent, and Antoninus, and he traces the Life of St. Thomas with miracles added, the Bull of Canonization, the translation, and the approbation of the Parisian Doctors. Among the miracles he records two recent ones related to him by Dominic Calvisianus of the Order of Preachers, which the benevolent reader will find there. Surius, In the same century Lawrence Surius published Lives of Saints, and mostly from ancient writers, but the Life of St. Thomas was collected and arranged by him from trustworthy writings: which Anthony of Siena deemed worthy to be added separately among the Lives of the Holy Fathers of the Order of Preachers published at Louvain in the year 1575. The collector of the works, The works of St. Thomas had already been printed at Rome in the year 1570 by the command and at the expense of Pope Pius V: to which another Life of St. Thomas was also prefixed, recently collected from several authors. The said Anthony of Siena also published in the year 1585 a Chronicle and Library of the Order of Preachers with an illustrious encomium of St. Thomas in both. Indeed Sixtus of Siena, Demetrius Cydonius, and after him Alfonso Fernandez add that Demetrius Cydonius discussed the life, doctrine, and miracles of St. Thomas: which work we have not yet been able to see. and very many others. The testimony of Giles of Rome, Bishop of Bourges, is adduced below in the Acts, as is that of Henry of Ghent in the Annotations. If any desire more, let them consult Trithemius, Bzovius, Ulderic Raynaldus, Spondanus, Coquetius, Bellarmine, Possevinus, Michael Pius, Ferdinand de Castillo, Ignatius Calvanus, John Rehacus, Theodore Valleus, and all who have published Lives of Saints, even in foreign languages. We omit the names of those who have written panegyric treatises, orations, homilies, and commentaries.

[8] The sacred cult is clear from the Bull of Canonization, by which John

XXII commands his feast to be celebrated with due veneration on March 7, as a Confessor: Ecclesiastical Office, but Pope Pius V in the year 1567 decreed that his feast day should be honored as is customarily done for the four Doctors of the Church. Ancient Missals and Breviaries confirm the cult, in which proper hymns and Lessons about him are found: some of which from an ancient Capuan Breviary were sent to us by Sylvester Aiossa, a Canon there, whose courtesy we once experienced at Capua. Concerning the particular veneration of him among the Neapolitans and others, we shall treat below among the Miscellaneous Materials. His name also began to be inscribed in most Martyrologies long ago, of which we have various manuscripts under the name of Usuard, his name inscribed in Martyrologies, but augmented for the use of individual churches. Bellinus, Maurolycus, Galesinius, Canisius, and Saussaius, Ferrari list the same, as do Grevenus and Molanus in the Supplement to Usuard. Concerning him the following is read in the Roman Martyrology: In the monastery of Fossanova near Terracina, of St. Thomas Aquinas, Confessor and Doctor, of the Order of Preachers, distinguished for the nobility of his birth, the holiness of his life, and his knowledge of Theology.

Section II. The nobility of the family of St. Thomas. Place of birth. Time of life and death.

[9] Aquino is a city of ancient Latium, now assigned to the Kingdom of Naples, from whose Counts St. Thomas de Aquino drew his origin: The family of the Counts of Aquino indicated from the year 996, whose ancestors are reckoned as follows: his father Landulf, his grandfather Thomas, his great-grandfather Lando, his great-great-grandfather Pandulf, his great-great-great-grandfather again Lando, all Counts of Aquino: before whom there was Adenulf, as Leo of Ostia teaches in book 2 of the Cassinese Chronicle, chapter 16, in these words: At that time, around the year 996, Adenulf, surnamed Summacula, presided over the Gastaldship of Aquino, the great-great-grandfather, namely, of those who are now called the Counts of Aquino, around the years 1090 and 1108, so that perhaps between Adenulf and the elder Lando some unnamed person must be interposed. Camillus Peregrinus in his History of the Lombard Princes, published at Naples in the year 1643, pages 194 and following, proves at length that this Adenulf was a Campanian Patrician, and that his entire family down to the times of the most illustrious Aquinate Doctor, and even below, was considered both of Capua and Campanian: indeed that these Counts of Aquino were related to the Lombard Princes residing at Capua: and some were even Dukes of the city of Gaeta. Concerning the great-great-great-grandfather Lando and his brothers Siconulf and Adenulf, Leo treats in book 2, chapter 68, as he does concerning the great-great-grandfather Pandulf in book 3, chapter 6, and the great-grandfather Lando in book 4, chapter 16. The grandfather Thomas and the father Landulf are admitted by all everywhere. Landulf's brother was Raynald, from whom Thomas de Aquino, Count of Acerra, was descended, a cousin of St. Thomas. These are frequently treated in the Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, volume 3 of Sacred Italy. For the rest, we do not wish to dwell on these matters; and it suffices for those interested in genealogy that these things have been proposed from the notes of Michael Monachus, transmitted to us from Capua. Was the Mother a Caracciola from the Counts of Chieti? The mother of St. Thomas, Theodora, is said by the anonymous writer of the Life published before the works to have been the daughter of the Count of Chieti, of Norman origin. Hence others infer that she was a Caracciola, because at that time the Counts of Chieti flourished from this family. Pope Clement VIII, when he granted the Neapolitans that St. Thomas should be added to the other Patrons of that city, acknowledged his father Landulf, Count of Aquino, and his mother Theodora, daughter of the Count of Chieti, of the Caracciola family. Concerning the brothers and sisters of St. Thomas, the matter is treated below in the Acts and the Process of Inquisition.

[10] Concerning his fatherland or place of birth another doubt is commonly raised. In the Lives of the Brothers of the Preachers, book 4, chapter 17, he is called a very noble Brother from the parts of Rome; the birthplace, Rocca Secca, and by Cantimpré, book 1 of On Bees, chapter 20, number 10, a noble youth from the parts of the Romans. In the castle of Rocca Secca below in the Life, numbers 2 and 3, his mother both lived while pregnant and raised the little boy, and at number 9 he was detained in prison after being snatched from the Order of Preachers, and the castle is said to be situated on the borders of the Kingdom of Sicily and Campania, where by Campania the Roman domain of the Apostolic See is understood, and the Kingdom of Naples was called Sicily on this side of the Strait. That Rocca Secca is in the diocese of Aquino, not far from that city. From that place a public Instrument was sent to us drawn up by James Anthony Castiglia, a public Notary, in the year 1650, by which Francis Angelo the Syndic, John Horatio Mancinus, Jerome di Cossia, and Francis di Nordo, Officials, attest and testify that it is held and believed by ancient tradition that St. Thomas was born in the said castle of Rocca Secca: the same is read in the Annals of the said town, and a chapel built in honor of St. Thomas is seen to this day at the place where he is believed to have been born.

[11] St. Thomas born in the year 1225, St. Thomas was born at the beginning of the year 1225, at least before March 7, as is certainly established from the time of death and the age of the same. He entered the Order of Preachers in the year 1243, in his 19th year of age. These things are manifest from his captivity inflicted upon him within a few months after assuming the habit, he entered the Order in the year 1243, during which he was principally in the year 1244, when both the Emperor Frederick and Pope Innocent IV were in Etruria, the former at Acquapendente, a city of the territory of Orvieto, the latter partly in the city of Castellana, partly at Sutri in the domain near Rome commonly called the Patrimony of St. Peter. sent to Cologne in the year 1245, All of which are more conveniently proved at chapter 2 of the Life, and confirmed from what follows. St. Thomas was in prison for more than a year, as is indicated in the Process of Canonization, number 76, which time some assert to have been about two years. Released from prison and returned to the Neapolitan convent, he was sent from there to Rome in the year 1245, when the General Chapter was being held there under John the Teutonic, Master of the Order: from there he was taken to Paris, then to Cologne, created Doctor in the year 1253 or the following, where under Blessed Albert the Great he studied for some years, afterward sent back to Paris, and made Bachelor, he lectured on sacred Theology. In the year 1253 or the following, created Doctor of Theology, he spent the last twenty years of his life teaching, writing, and preaching. Finally, with his 49th year of age completed and his 50th begun, on March 7 of the year 1274, he migrated to the heavenly seat of Angels and Saints, died in the year 1274, to enjoy the eternal vision of God. All of which are contained in the more ancient Acts.

[12] the body translated several times. The body was translated several times: first to the Chapel of St. Stephen a few days after the burial: but after seven months it was returned to the former burial place, and the head was severed from the body about eight months after death. Another Translation was made after seven years had elapsed from that point: another made in the fourteenth year after death, and a hand was given to his sister Theodora. Concerning the body carried to Fondi and finally to Toulouse in the year 1368, there is a careful discussion below.

LIFE

By William of Tocco of the Order of Preachers.

From the manuscript of Cologne, of the monastery of the Crosiers, collated with various manuscript Acts derived from it.

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (St.)

BHL Number: 8152, 8153

BY WILLIAM OF TOCCO. FROM MANUSCRIPTS.

INDEX OF TITLES

prefixed to individual Chapters, which, having been converted into numbers, give a new division of Chapters. Up to this point the Chapters were annexed to the titles, which in the following were missing, and supplied by us: which also seem to have been lacking in the last two chapters, since the number 67 is found twice.

CHAPTER I.

Preface. Presage before birth. Birth. Acts of adolescence. Studies. Entry into the Order.

[1] God, who said that light should shine out of darkness, in modern times, as if at the evening of the world, when he seemed to have hidden the light of his knowledge in his hands; The Church was illuminated: 1. by the Apostles, pitying, he again shone upon the Church with the rays of a new light: and with as many Doctors as he newly taught his faithful, he wonderfully illuminated the world with as many stars. For when that Wisdom of God, the Word of the Father, had been manifested in the flesh, to enlighten every man in mind, and by a first dispensation had immediately shone upon the Apostles, the first foundations of faith were laid through them, just as from the birth of the Lord, as if from the quarry of the whole Church, they were hewn: from whom, as from golden shields illuminated by the very sun of justice, by a second dispensation of the divine Word, the Doctors of the Church shone forth as the highest mountains of divine contemplation. 2. by the Doctors, Who, as the diversity of errors demanded, and the truth of inspired faith persuaded, drawing out understanding from the veil of both Testaments into open knowledge, wrote as many books as, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, they built as many towers with battlements against the siege engines of heretics. Who, imitating the foresight of Joseph, gathered from the harvests of the Old and New Testament the threshed grain of the divine word, as if in certain granaries, collected them in books. 3. by the priests of the Order of Preachers, And since these were not so readily available to the faithful that the sowers of the divine seed could easily bring them out of the granaries and sow them in the Lord's field; God provided that by a third dispensation the commission of the divine word should be given to the Order of the Brothers Preachers: which from the western parts of the world, where the physical light of the sun sets, in its Father Dominic, who founded it, was divinely foreseen and began. To whom it was granted, with the Spirit teaching, to extract from the hidden honeycombs of Sacred Scripture the honey of the divine word, and to demonstrate the more useful things to the faithful, as it were the fruit of the kernel from the shell of the more difficult letter, through a clearer understanding: and from the books of the Doctors, as if from filled granaries, to bring out the threshed and more finely sifted grain, and to gather again in books what was more useful, so that it might more easily reach the faithful through a more lucid doctrine. This is the order of stars remaining in the vow of professed obedience, which fought against Sisera, that is, the battle-line of heretics: shining like stars, who, when called, said: We are here, at the command of the Church commanding, for the destruction of heretical depravity and the diffusion of lucid and refined doctrine. Judges 4 and 5 To whom, that he might receive the promise of enduring until the end of the age, it is said prophetically to him and his Father who founded it: My spirit, which is in you, and my words which I have placed in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, henceforth and forever. Isaiah 59:21 Which word of preaching, when it shall have ceased in this life at the end of the world, shall pass over into the proclamation of praise in the life to come. Whence also the aforesaid Order is fittingly understood in the likeness of the morning and evening star, because among the mendicant Orders it appeared first in institution and preaching at the beginning of the aforesaid illumination, and will remain last for the testimony of the faith to be preached.

[2] From the aforesaid order of stars, that is, of the Preachers, where St. Thomas Aquinas is the greater star, it was fitting that some luminary should shine forth more learnedly than others by divine appointment, and therefore from it more than

from others a more illustrious Doctor shone upon the Church, who like a bright and morning star appeared in the dawn of the aforesaid illumination, and like the evening star of the late hour remained to illuminate the world until the end of the age in his books for the enlightenment of the faithful. This is Brother Thomas of Aquino of the Order of the Brothers Preachers, of the noble family of Counts, of the house of the Aquinos; born in the Kingdom of Sicily, more conspicuous for the splendor of his character, life, and learning than distinguished for the nobility of his parents. Concerning whom, the future wondrous Doctor, so that it might be divinely foreknown how great a splendor of light the one to be born would shed upon the world; the one about to be born was foreshown from the mother's womb, before his mother knew foretold by a hermit, that he had in truth been conceived in her womb. For when his mother, Lady Theodora, conspicuous for the splendor of both her character and her parentage, was in the castle of Rocca Secca on the border of the Kingdom of Sicily and Campania, there came to her in the spirit a man named Bonus, better in life and religion, who had long led a hermit's life on the mountain of the said Rocca with many others; who was considered a Saint by the people of that region, and he said: Rejoice, Lady, for you are with child, and you will bear a son, whom you shall call Thomas: and you and your husband will plan to make him a monk in the monastery of Monte Cassino, in which the body of Blessed Benedict rests, having hope of attaining the great revenues of that monastery through the eminence and prelacy of your son: but God will ordain otherwise concerning him, for he will be a Brother of the Order of Preachers, of such brilliance in learning and holiness in life that his equal in his time will not be able to be found in the world. To whom the aforesaid Lady replied: he is born, I am not worthy to bear such a son; may God do what is pleasing to his will. All of which, as it had been prophetically spoken, was truly fulfilled. For immediately there followed the appearing fecundity of the mother; the joy of the offspring born, with the imposition of the foretold name, just as the aforesaid series of the vision declared, so that there was no doubt that all things foretold in the promise would be fulfilled in the child.

[3] And because the divinely ordained presages of the future custody of bodily life were to be shown in advance in the child, who was to be preserved in mind; I do not think it should be passed over that I also write this, he is preserved in a storm, which is said to have happened by divine agency at the beginning of his life. For in the said castle, when a sudden terrifying storm had arisen in the air, lightning struck the tower and killed the sister of the said child, who was sleeping in the tower, and the horses that were in the stable. But the mother, who was more anxious about the child than about her daughter, came trembling to the bed in which the nurse was sleeping with the child, and finding him safe with the nurse, gave thanks to God: who little by little was beginning to fulfill in the child what he had promised.

[4] I also think the frequent signs should be retained in memory and marked with indelible writing, which, shown in the years of infancy of the aforesaid child, seem to have been presages of all the divine grace that was to be in him. For it happened that his aforesaid mother went to the baths in the city of Naples with other ladies, and the aforesaid son was carried with her by his nurse. When the nurse had placed him in the usual place of the bath to sit, the child took a small piece of paper divinely found in that same place, The little child holds a paper containing the Hail Mary in his closed hand, with no one seeing. But when the nurse wanted to undress him and open his hand in which he was holding the paper, the child began to cry loudly: and the nurse, feeling compassion, bathed the child with his hand closed, dried and dressed him, and carried him home with his mother, still holding his hand closed. When his mother had opened the closed hand of her son, however much the little child cried, she found in his hand a little paper containing nothing other than the Hail Mary, the Salutation of the glorious Virgin. For it was fitting to divine Providence that there should be shown in advance in the child what was to be later in the Master, so that it might be foreknown what salutary doctrine the holy man was destined to pour forth, whom it befell, led by no other than the divine Spirit, to find a piece of paper containing the beginning of our salvation. From then on a wonderful habit divinely implanted, not acquired from the frequency of similar acts, grew in the aforesaid child: that whenever the child fell into weeping from whatever cause, he would not rest from weeping at any soothing of the nurse until the weeping child had a written piece of paper: which, once received, he immediately placed in his mouth. Whereby it was divinely shown in advance in the child what a discerning rumination of the Scriptures was to precede in him, which he would learn by reading: and how great a taste of sweetness the future Doctor would sense as he learned: and how much he would leave for others to taste as he composed by writing: so that he seemed to be, as it were, a certain wondrous bee, divinely taught, which from the various flowers of the Scriptures, by the flight of study, would gather the honeyed words of divine knowledge, as if in honeycombs, in his books, and seal them in his hive for the whole Church to extract with his most learned mouth. This is he to whom a book is offered from the hand of an Angel, which through the meditation of discernment he would eat, as it were by chewing, as is commanded to Ezekiel: and for the swiftness of finding what he would learn, as is said in the Apocalypse of John, he would devour: because in the book of the old Law, the sense had to be discerned from the letter as if by chewing: but in the new, the divine sacraments of faith were so manifestly proposed as to be immediately swallowed with the open mouth of the mind, in which this wondrous Doctor, sufficiently instructed, by infused light knew how to discern the old as if by eating, and to show the new by devouring.

[5] Then his parents had the child nurtured with all diligence, as a wondrous child whom prophecy had promised at five years old sent to Cassino, and grace so manifestly showed. Having nurtured him thus, they willingly offered him to God, and sent him at five years of age to the aforesaid monastery of Monte Cassino with his nurse and a good retinue, in which he might be instructed in holy conduct, to be prepared for divine illuminations. This by divine ordaining counsel, lest so useful a luminary of the Church should die in darkness, and so remarkable an exemplar of holiness should be nurtured with harmful habits among the worldly: all of which was obtained from the faithful narrative of his mother, who also shone with examples of holiness and ended her life with praises in a happy death. When the aforesaid little boy had begun in the said monastery to be more diligently educated under the discipline of a master, he is educated in pious conduct, as an indication of future progress, at so tender an age, ignorant of knowable things, he who could not yet know himself, in a wonderful way, not yet knowing God, led by divine instinct, sought to know. Concerning whom it was to come to pass that, since he thus anxiously sought God more maturely than others, he is first instructed in the rudiments of letters, he would write more brilliantly than others what he was destined to know, what he would find more studiously and swiftly concerning God, with God himself bestowing it. Still a small child, he frequently absented himself from the company of noble boys who were being raised there in manners, as was the custom of the country: having in his hand a little paper containing in writing the first childish rudiments of learners. The aforesaid child was not garrulous in words, but already beginning to meditate within himself, silent: not dissolute and wandering about, but quiet from all childish levity, and, as he could still show, devout in prayer: so that already in him his young age showed what his more advanced years would afterward demonstrate. When his aforesaid mother was told of this, she marveled with joy at the child, keeping these things in her heart and hoping that what had been foretold would be fulfilled in her son by the pronouncement of the divine Spirit.

[6] The prudent Abbot of the aforesaid monastery, when he observed in the child such certain and mature indications of future perfection, he studies humane and philosophical letters at Naples, and already clear and foretelling seeds of the future harvest of the Scriptures, summoned Lord Landulf, the father of the aforesaid child, and prudently advised him that the child should be sent to Naples to study: where, studying, he might begin to learn what God had begun to foretell by so many signs. Whence the child was sent to Naples by the counsel of both parents, and was instructed under Master Martin in grammar and logic, and under the studies of Master Peter of Ireland in natural philosophy. In their schools he began to be of such brilliant talent and perspicuous understanding that he repeated what he had heard more deeply, profoundly, and clearly than he had heard from his teachers. And what was fitting to divine Providence, the presages of his future doctrine, which it had begun to demonstrate, through the grace which it poured forth, did not cease to continue in the aforesaid young man. For to a certain Brother of the Order of Preachers, marveling at the wondrous learning of the aforesaid youth, he is illuminated by a ray of the sun, there appeared the following vision about him: that a splendor proceeded from his face like the rays of the sun, which would illuminate the sight of all at a great distance. This vision appeared to the same Brother three times and indicated the certainty of the future effect.

[7] And when the wondrous young man's swift progress in learning, which seemed to be of divine rather than human power, he enters the Order of Preachers, brought his Masters and others to wonder, and his celebrated fame flew through the schools, the aforesaid young man reflected (who was moved by the same spirit as an adult as he had been foretold when about to be born) that it could be damnable for him if he should hide the talent of natural talent committed to him, augmented by the gift of the spirit of grace, under the earth as it were with the napkin of a more negligent life, which he could augment by passing to some Order; he was led to the Order of the Brothers Preachers, long desired in the longing of his heart, by that same guide by whom it had been foretold in the prophetic vision. Brother John of San Giuliano of the aforesaid Order, renowned in fame and reputation, became the divinely appointed executor of his divine vocation: he admonished the aforesaid young man, destined to him by God, and inclined him, already disposed in mind for entry into the aforesaid Order, that this young man should wish to accomplish what God had deigned to foretell concerning him.

Thomas Agni of Lentino, then Prior of Naples, who became Archbishop of Cosenza, and the same, being transferred, became Patriarch of the holy city of Jerusalem. So it says there. He was created Archbishop in the year 1268, Patriarch in 1272, and died in the year 1276. He published the Life of St. Peter Martyr. Gui was transcribed by St. Antoninus and others. Our author better abstains from all these things, as not entirely certain. Concerning the year of age, we treated above.

CHAPTER II.

The Captivity of St. Thomas. Various temptations overcome in custody.

[8] At his entry the nobles of the city were amazed that so noble a young man would desert the house of his parents, Lest his mother, as was wrongly believed, should be an obstacle, and conceal so bright a beginning, which was a prognostic sign of future advancement, under the habit of a poor Order. Therefore the Brothers of the aforesaid Order rejoiced in the Lord that so noble and wondrous a young man had been divinely destined for them, whom they already hoped by sure indications would attain the great summit of learning. When a truthful report of this reached the Vassals of his parents at the aforesaid Rocca, and was intimated by them to his mother with tears and plaintive voices; she immediately took up an honorable escort of her people, mindful of the prophetic promise which she saw being fulfilled in her son; and came to Naples with joy, wishing to confirm him in the aforesaid Order, divinely foreseen for him, with maternal admonitions. But the Brothers, not knowing the good mother's well-ordered affection, which they believed to be disturbed by maternal feeling, anxious for the safekeeping of so precious an entrusted treasure, sent the aforesaid young man he is sent to Rome and to Paris, first to Terracina, then to Anagni, and as far as Rome to the convent of Santa Sabina with a suitable company of Brothers. His anxious mother pursuing him, who was driven by maternal affection, coming even to Rome, was deprived of the fruit of so great a labor and the desired sight of such a son. But the Brothers, believing beyond the powers of a maternal spirit that the mother had no other affection, placed such great custody over the young man that they might lead him from Rome without fear of capture, and sent him fleeing to Paris with a good company of Brothers.

[9] But the mother, troubled by this because she could not see her son, by command of the offended mother, and because the Brothers did not believe her many assertions about her well-ordered affection; with the promise of faith overcome in her spirit by bodily affection toward her sons who were with the Emperor Frederick at the castle of Acquapendente in the region of Tuscany, she sent a special messenger, commanding them under the obligation of a mother's blessing that they should take Thomas her son, and their brother, whom the Brothers Preachers had clothed in the habit of their Order and were fleeing with out of the kingdom, into their hands, and should send him to her under good custody. They, wishing to fulfill their mother's command captured by his brothers, and to demonstrate the desire of their own affection, having explained their mother's order before the Emperor and received permission, sent guards through the roads and highways. And it happened that they found the aforesaid brother resting near a certain fountain with four Brothers of the said Order: upon whom they rushed not as brothers but as enemies, unable to strip him of the habit of the aforesaid Order, which he firmly held to, and especially lest the young man should incur some danger because of that injury in his distress; dismissing the other Brothers, they sent him, thus clothed, to their mother under good custody. When his mother saw him with joy, he is detained under custody, and could not induce him to lay aside the aforesaid habit, she had him kept under good custody at the mountain of St. John and the aforesaid Rocca until the return of her sons. In the meantime, however, she had him moved by various means, wishing to test whether the true prophetic promise could be changed by human temptation. But the Brothers, from whose hands so precious a prize had been taken by worldly power, greatly troubled as if over the loss of Joseph, with the authority of Innocent IV interposed, came with groaning to the Supreme Vicar of Christ, Pope Innocent IV, who was then in Tuscany, as to another Patriarch Jacob. When the complaint was presented before him, that by the Emperor's command so great an outrage had been permitted against the Order, and that the affection of his carnal brothers, like a most foul beast, had devoured Joseph; the Supreme Pontiff was disturbed that so great an outrage had been committed as if within his own province, and commanded the aforesaid Emperor, who was in a neighboring region, to exact due punishment on the captors as appropriate satisfaction. The Emperor, fearing to incur the indignation of the Supreme Pontiff if he did not endeavor to correct the outrage through justice against the persons, had the aforesaid blood brothers of Thomas arrested. When the Brothers of the aforesaid Order were asked whether they wished to lodge a complaint about the injuries inflicted upon them; fearing scandal to the Order and danger to their consciences from this, they entirely desisted from lodging a complaint, especially since they had heard that the aforesaid young man was firmly holding to the habit, even while kept in prison.

[10] he reads through the Bible, In such a prison, with the young man more tightly confined, although deprived of light and the liberty of going out, light was present to him in the darkness, and in chains he found more freedom. For while he was confined in body, he was released in mind: upon whom God in his mercy so shone with the rays of spiritual understanding that there he read through the Bible, and learned the text of the Sentences, and, as is said, compiled the treatise on the Fallacies of Aristotle; and instructed his sisters in sacred letters as a presage of his future teaching office. Already beginning to bear fruit in his doctrine, he led his sister, whom his parents had sent to seduce him, to the love of God and contempt of the world by his admonitions and examples. he persuades his sister to enter a monastery, She, taking the religious habit of St. Benedict, on account of her integrity and the merit of her life, was elected and confirmed as superior, and assumed the governance of the monastery of St. Mary of Capua. Meanwhile the devout young man, to make certain his election through good works of his calling by the grace of God; so completely devoted himself to prayer, contemplation, and reading that his spirit could not be changed by any persuasions, temptations, or threats, by which the hearts of serious persons are accustomed to be shattered: indeed he gathered more strength from the attack, the more blows of combat he received while under assault. When his brothers, after their return, attacked him more severely, they attempted to disturb him by insults whom they could not break by terrors nor soften by persuasions. Whence they had the habit of the aforesaid Order torn from him, he is variously attacked by his brothers, so that in shame he would lay aside the torn one and put on another that might please him. When he had borne the inflicted injury most patiently, as if he had put on Christ in the said habit, he wrapped himself in its tatters; considering himself no less clothed if he held the torn habit, who held intact what he had assumed out of devotion.

[11] Since they could not overthrow him by the said injury, he drives away a wanton girl sent in with a firebrand, they devised another kind of attack to conquer him, by which towers are accustomed to be shaken, rocks softened, and the cedars of Lebanon uprooted by storm. In which we find all combatants; but few victors on account of the difficulty. For they sent to him, alone in the chamber in which he slept under such custody, a most beautiful girl, adorned in the dress of a harlot, who might entice him to sin by her appearance, her touch, her playfulness, and by whatever other means she could. When the unconquered champion, who had already taken the Wisdom of God as his bride, with whose love he burned, saw her; and felt the stimulus of the flesh rising within him, he is girded by Angels, which he had always held subject to reason (this being permitted by the counsel of divine Providence, so that a more glorious triumph might arise for him from the combat) — seizing a firebrand from the hearth in the fervor of spirit, he drove the young girl with indignation from the chamber, and approaching in the fervor of spirit the corner of the chamber, he imprinted the sign of the Cross on the wall with the tip of the firebrand: and prostrate on the ground, with tears he asked of God in prayer the girdle of perpetual virginity, which he had granted him to keep unviolated in the combat. When, while praying thus with tears, he had suddenly fallen asleep, behold, two Angels were sent to him from heaven: who, asserting that he had been heard by God and had obtained triumph from so difficult a combat, girding him on either side in his loins, said: Behold, on behalf of God we gird you with the girdle of chastity that you sought, which no assault can hereafter dissolve, and what cannot be held by the merit of human virtue is granted to you as a gift of divine bounty. He was certain that he never felt any breach of that girdle, as will be said below, discovered by the attestation of his Confessors at his death. he would remain a Virgin thereafter, For the virginity which he kept unviolated in so severe a combat, he could not feel to have been violated until his death. Whence from that time he always abhorred the sight of women, and avoided their company, conversation, and fellowship with all his might. He was also accustomed to marvel exceedingly at this, and was wont to reprove men devoted to divine speculations who could spend long periods of time in conversation with women, unless some very useful business arose from the cause of necessity; or a discourse about God or about divine things was at hand. In which constriction of the Angelic touch, when he perceived a sensible pain, he was awakened with a cry, and to those asking why he had cried out, he refused to reveal the gift divinely given to him, he later reveals it to his companion Raynald, but kept it hidden for revelation until his death. Which nevertheless he revealed to his companion Raynald, who for the praise of God and the revelation of the Saint, revealed it to many as an example. O happy enclosure of prison, in which so great a splendor of understanding shone forth! O salutary fetters, which conferred so many freedoms upon the one contemplating heavenly things! O temptation, happy in victory, strong in combat, which when the enemy strove to conclude for a fall, arose by divine assistance into triumph! O manifest and mature indications of the merits of holiness and life, that the unconquered champion, attacked from both sides of sensible life, by delights on the one hand and injuries on the other, could neither be softened nor crushed. O manly champion and unconquered recruit, who, having vanquished the ancient familiar attendant, carried off an unprecedented victory from so difficult a combat: worthy hereafter to carry away the crown! O happy traveler and guest of the world, who from victory became a citizen of heaven, who merited by divine dispensation to see his fellow citizens: to whom the companionship of Angels, while he is girded with chastity, is not denied, who merited to become Angelic in purity, while he fought for his virginity on earth.

[12] And because all these things were being done around the aforesaid young man by the counsel of divine disposition, nor was he to be left by the Brothers, snatched from the Order, he receives other garments in custody, who had been preserved by divine mercy in so severe a temptation, who was someday to be restored to the Order by prophetic promise; the said Brother John of San Giuliano did not cease to visit him in prison, whom he had heard to maintain such constancy in the combat and such discipline in his conduct.

For this Reverend Father preserved in his mind the same love which he had conceived in receiving him into the Order, in the hope that he would someday be restored to the Order. He secretly brought him tunics to wear, which he would leave with him in the chamber after undressing himself, lest the young man should finally suffer want in body, who was so greatly strengthened in mind by such virtue. Having been thus kept in prison for nearly two years, within two years let down through a window he comes to Naples, he showed by the constancy of his mind how great he was to be in life: whose provident mother, when she saw that what had been foretold by the aforesaid hermit through divine revelation of the Spirit must be fulfilled in her son; lest she should seem to be fighting not so much against the constancy of the young man as against the providence of God, prudently dissimulating the custody, she allowed him to be let down from a window by a rope: where the Brothers, having received him with joy, led him to Naples, rejoicing in the Lord over the recovered Joseph, who like that one had the spirit of understanding and understood more than all the Wise Men of Egypt. The Brothers thus received him from prison as one instructed, as if he had long remained in the study of scholastic discipline.

CHAPTER III.

Studies at Cologne under Blessed Albert the Great. The Doctoral Laurel. Theology lectured at Paris.

[13] Sent to Rome, thence to Cologne, After Brother Thomas, just as he had been divinely dedicated to the Order, so was divinely restored; a great joy was made among the Brothers, seeing the sudden divine provision: who, considering that it was not safe to retain so noble a young man in the region of his birth, although his parents and his brothers, having seen his constancy, had ceased from their attack upon him, they sent him to Rome for the General Chapter: in which provision might be made for him on account of the hope of future progress in the nearest place of general study. When Brother John the Teutonic, Master of the Order, received him as a most dear son in Christ, he took him to Paris, and then to Cologne: where under Brother Albert, Master in Theology of the same Order, he studies under Blessed Albert the Great, a general study flourished: who was reputed singular in every branch of learning. When the aforesaid young man arrived there and heard him teaching profound and wondrous things in every branch of knowledge, he rejoiced that he had quickly found what he sought: from whom he could eagerly drink what he thirsted for. Who, to show that he was pressing toward the purpose for which he had come, began in a wonderful manner to be silent and taciturn, assiduous in study, devout in prayer, inwardly collecting in memory what he would later pour forth in teaching. Since under the veil of wonderful simplicity he hid in silence whatever he was learning from his Master and whatever God was mercifully infusing in him, he is called the dumb ox, the Brothers began to call him the Dumb Ox, not knowing that from him there was to be a future Master in doctrine. Indeed he was usefully silent in outward speech for himself and others, so that he might become more talkative in secret with his own thoughts, so that thence, being silent, he might more quickly collect the disposition of knowledge, which no exterior speech would impede. And while he thus progressed in silence, whose progress human opinion did not know, Master Albert began to read the book On the Divine Names of Blessed Dionysius, and the aforesaid young man to listen to the lesson more attentively. When a certain student, not knowing how great a power of understanding lay hidden in him, wished out of compassion to join him in repeating the lesson to him, he, being most humble, gave thanks and accepted: and when the student began to repeat and yet faltered, the aforesaid Thomas, as if having now received permission from God, distinctly repeated the lesson, and in his repetition supplied many things that the Master had not said: at which the student marveled and asked that henceforth Brother Thomas should repeat the lessons and in this way respond to him as a favor of mutual exchange. but when his learning was discovered, When he had humbly promised this, he asked that it not be revealed to others, so that he might still remain hidden in his simplicity. But the student, though he promised this, severely reproaching himself if he should keep silent, indicated to the Master of Students the treasure of unexpected wisdom found in the said young man. Who, secretly inserting himself in place of the repetition and perceiving his sufficiency even more than he had heard from the student, endeavored to indicate to Master Albert the progress of his disciple for the consolation of the Master. It also happened in those days that the said Master disputed a difficult question, and when Brother Thomas had written it up, collected on a sheet, and a certain student, having found it by chance before his cell, showed it with joy to the Master, the Master, reading it and marveling at the studious plunder of his disciple, perceived in him that so long a silence, with such simplicity and purity of conduct and life, was not without the privilege of some great and hidden grace. confirmed by Blessed Albert the Great to be an ox, Whence he commanded the Master of Students to assign to him a sufficiently difficult question, to which he would respond the next day: and when out of humility he was unwilling to accept it, he obeyed from the necessity of obedience. Whence betaking himself to his accustomed place of prayer, and humbly commending himself to God as he began his first scholastic act, he prepared himself the next day in the schools to respond to the question, as far as he could with the aid of divine help. When, after repeating the Master's arguments, he had first proposed a certain distinction, and responded to the arguments most sufficiently, the aforesaid Master said to him: Brother Thomas, you do not seem to be taking the place of a respondent, but of a determiner. To whom he replied with all reverence: Master, I do not see how I can respond to the question otherwise. whose bellowing would be heard throughout the world, Then the Master said: Now respond to the question according to your distinction: and he posed four arguments so difficult that he entirely believed he had concluded against him. When Brother Thomas had responded to these most sufficiently, it is reported that Master Albert said by the spirit of prophecy: We call this one the dumb ox; but he will yet give such a bellowing in doctrine that it will sound throughout the whole world. Which prophetic saying was truly fulfilled: for throughout the whole world, while his doctrine is spread among the faithful, the Church is instructed by his words. But the young man, who had founded his heart on the pavement of humility, was not lifted up in pride of spirit from the testimony of so great a Master or from so honorable a scholastic act, nor did he change the example of his customary simplicity: keeping in the future the same manner of living which he had begun, although the aforesaid Master committed to him all difficult scholastic acts, whom he found more competent than others. After this, when the aforesaid Master Albert was reading the book of the Ethics with questions, Brother Thomas studiously collected the Master's lectures and reduced them to writing as a work, eloquent in style, profound in subtlety, as he could draw from the fountain of so great a Doctor, who in learning surpassed every man of his age. And it well accords with the counsel of divine Providence that from the reading of the book On the Divine Names, the aforesaid Brother Thomas should receive from God the permission to speak and to manifest himself, to whom he was about to grant the manifestation of the doctrine of his name; and that from the names of God he should receive the lesson of divine knowledge, which he would perfect by reading unto the end of his life, which he would not be silent about even while dying by writing.

[14] Nor is it irrelevant to the commendation of the disciple if we add something about the commendation of the Master. The aforesaid Master Albert was of singular excellence in all the sciences: similar to his Master Albert in doctrine and holy life, concerning whom when the Supreme Pontiff, foreseeing his worth, placed him over the Church of Regensburg as Pastor; he himself, renouncing the dignity of honor and burden, preferred to attend quietly to the contemplative life and the meditation of knowable things rather in the Order of Preachers, from which he had been taken, than to serve burdened by the business of Pastoral care. Who every day in prayer in his chapel would say one Psalter, reserving the remaining time for meditating on knowable things, so that the admirable Master would simultaneously offer the study of learning and the example of life to his disciples. Of whom it is also said that he was distinguished by miracles, which demonstrated the merit of his life: whose body, sought out of the grace of devotion, which had been placed in the tomb in the usual manner on its back, was found, as was his custom in life, reclining as if in prayer: to whom the divine Spirit quickly and wondrously made the divine disciple equal in both respects, as the merit of his life showed, and his shining instruction in all the sciences.

[15] After this, since Brother Thomas was progressing so wonderfully in learning and in life, at his instigation, by order of his General, and it was committed to Master Albert by the Reverend Father, Brother John

the Master of the Order, was charged with providing the Parisian studium with a sufficient Bachelor; the Master, foreseeing the swift progress of his aforesaid disciple in doctrine, persuaded the aforesaid Master by letters Created Bachelor at Paris, he teaches Theology, to provide Brother Thomas of Aquino as Bachelor in the aforesaid studium, describing his sufficiency in learning and life. When he did not immediately consider him acceptable, being as yet unknown to him personally; at the suggestion of Lord Hugh, Cardinal of the same Order, to whom the matter had been communicated by letter, the aforesaid Master accepted him as Bachelor of the aforesaid studium; writing to him to proceed immediately to Paris and prepare himself to lecture on the Sentences. He, out of humility always thinking humbly of himself, would have wished to decline this promotion, had he not been obliged to obey the Master's letters. But having been made Bachelor, when he began by lecturing to pour forth what he had resolved to conceal in silence; God infused in him such great knowledge, and in his lips such great doctrine was divinely poured forth; that he seemed to surpass even all the Masters, and by the brilliance of his doctrine to provoke students more than others to the love of learning. For he was raising new articles in his lecture, finding a new and clear method of determining, and adducing new arguments in his determinations: so that no one who heard him teach new things and define doubtful matters with new arguments doubted that God had illuminated him with the rays of a new light, since he had immediately begun to be of such certain judgment that he did not hesitate to teach and write new opinions which God had deigned newly to inspire. Whence he wrote during his Baccalaureate and at the beginning of his Mastership a work on the four books of the Sentences, eloquent in style, he writes on the four books of the Master of the Sentences, profound in understanding, clear in intelligence, and expanded with new articles: in which, since he had brought human sciences, as handmaids, to the citadel of divine Wisdom in service, harmonizing them with sacred opinions, he seemed to have understood the human sciences thoroughly, and to have fixed the highest degree of his study in the wisdom of divine things, in which he appeared newly instructed and delighted by the taste of divine Wisdom, whom God now made the guide of his utterances: whom he so filled with knowledge that he might illuminate others. Nor should it seem absurd to anyone that in the opinions of divine Wisdom one should use secular sciences, since from the same divine intellect the objects of all sciences proceed, from which the truths of divine Wisdom emanate, to which all sciences by right serve, and from which even humanly acquired knowledge proceeds.

[16] And because so splendid a luminary, which the merciful God wished to send to the faithful in the evening of the world, had to be foreshown from the very beginning of the world, as it were; therefore in the Old Testament a manifold figure of the aforesaid Doctor was not wanting, which divinely foreshadowed what he was to be: so that the fruit of the New Law might be foretold in its final times in ancient figures; and God, while fulfilling past things in the present, might show future things to pertain to himself. Whence this wondrous Doctor can be said to have been foreseen in Isaac, the son of Abraham; compared to Isaac, who, when he goes out to the field of the Scriptures at the evening of the aging Church to meditate, just as that one merited to have Rebecca, so this one merited to have the Wisdom of God as his Bride, through whom, just as when the pitcher was set down for Abraham's servant, water was given even to the camels; so through his knowledge, as through a pitcher, the water of divine wisdom is given to all the faithful with wondrous felicity. He can fittingly be called Jacob, to Jacob, who after the struggle of a conquered combat, and having received the sweetness of the blessing from the dew of heaven, arriving at the well of the Scriptures, drew a drink, as it were for the sheep of Rachel, that is, for the faithful of Christ, and merited to have Rachel herself, the Wisdom of God, whom he desired when he beheld her, and obtained in the Angelic promise the name of Israel, after he had had from the divine Scriptures a clear vision of truth. He, like Jacob, upon the Rock Christ, while he rested in submission through humility, merited to become supreme in meditation: whence he saw in dreams a ladder by which he was to ascend to the highest knowledge of truth, to touch heaven, and Angels ascending by the ladder, who would offer to God the prayers of the praying Thomas; and descending, who would reveal to the contemplating one the divine secrets in truth; and the Lord leaning upon the ladder, who would show the aforesaid Doctor that he had inspired his knowledge and accepted his doctrine. This is fittingly composed in the manner of a ladder, because in it there is always some known principle, and as if by certain steps, through fitting propositions, the conclusion of truth is inferred. This is that Joseph, to Joseph, who, while he is filled with the Spirit of wisdom in prison, having been brought forth from it, merited to know divine things more than all the Egyptians, and to preserve the grain of the divine word, threshed from the harvests of both Testaments, stored in books as in granaries: who, as Joseph did for his brothers, first freely gave the grain of the divine word to their minds, and afterward provided for the whole Church to distribute the nourishment of divine Wisdom without envy. And it can be appropriately and singularly said that he was like another Moses, to Moses, who, drawn from the waters of worldly vanity, because he is born of the lineage of the Aquinos, is wonderfully returned through the daughter of Pharaoh to Mother Church, from whom he was taken, and is nourished at the breasts of divine Wisdom with milk. This is Moses, to whom the Lord speaks from the bush under the likeness of a flame of fire, and he is instructed as if God had spoken to him: who, sent to his brothers, not without wondrous signs and wonders, is appointed leader of the people. This is Moses, who, under the double column of cloud and fire, led the faithful out of the darkness of Egypt, taught with the garment of a twofold knowledge: so that in the column of cloud may be understood the knowledge of secular writings, which he acquired by the senses; and in the column of fire, that fiery law which he received from the right hand of divine bounty, with God revealing it. This is Moses, who ascending the mountain of divine contemplation, not without the pen of the divine finger writing in his mind, carried under the likeness of two tablets the knowledge of the two Testaments from the summit of divine contemplation. This is again Moses, whose face is made radiant from sharing in the divine discourse, so that the children of Israel could not look upon him except with veiled faces: whom God had decreed to illuminate for others, so that while today the faces of certain ones remain veiled, their gaze of understanding does not reach the face of this Doctor's intelligence, obscured either by blind rivalry or by the darkness of ignorance. This is Moses, who speaks to the Lord face to face: who understood the divine things which God wished to reveal to him so lucidly, as if he had seen openly that enigmatic face of God in the Scriptures. Since he frequently suffered being rapt from his senses, he is believed to have seen divine things beyond human understanding, by which his mind was absorbed: and having understood the magnitude of which he would despise what he had written because of the excellence of those things he had seen: as appeared especially near the end of his life, when on account of the magnitude of the revelation he ceased from further writing out of astonishment: and when he had put an end to these, he revealed the mystery to his companion who marveled at his rapture. He disputed, like Solomon from the cedar to Solomon, which is in Lebanon to the hyssop which grows from the wall, that is, from the Son of God, begotten of the Father in the splendor of divinity, to the same one who assumed from the glorious Virgin a body of our humanity: from whom, just as the pursuit of inspired truth began, so he ended the boundary of writing and seeing in him who had given knowledge and life, by a happy death. One more thing can be said of this Doctor: he was, as it were, that Thomas, not doubting, to the Apostle Thomas, but as it were certain in the knowledge of divine things: who was called the abyss on account of the profundity of his talent, or who, invited, enters the abyss in the side of Christ, and described in his books the secrets of divine things to be examined with such certain knowledge inspired in him, as if he held them before his eyes and as if he touched with his very hand what he indicated with the finger of his understanding: so that nothing more remained except that, beyond understanding, as far as was possible for a man, he should behold in divinity the one whom he had learned enigmatically beyond others. And so the wondrous Bachelor, destined to be a Doctor, finished the Sentences; leaving the Students eager for his future Mastership, whom he had made attentive while he taught: beloved of God, who grants knowledge, and acceptable to men, upon whom he shone as with new rays of truth.

[17] After the fruitfully completed course of study, when the time was at hand for Bachelors of Theology to be presented to the Parisian Chancellor; not observing the order according to the customary anticipation of time, the aforesaid Chancellor commanded the Prior of Paris of the Order of the Brothers Preachers, that on his behalf he should command the aforesaid Brother Thomas, notwithstanding the custom by which others were to be preferred before him, to prepare himself without any objection to receive the Mastership in Theology. He, humbly excusing himself on account of deficiency of learning and age, could not obtain his excuse because of the precept of obedience which compelled him. Humbly accepting the burden imposed, About to be created Master in Theology, he betook himself to a place of prayer: in which, prostrate, he prayed to God with tears to deign to infuse in him knowledge and grace for receiving and exercising the Mastership, whom he had still deigned to anticipate, though unworthy, with many graces. And beginning the Psalm: Save me, O God, for truths are diminished among the children of men, praying long with tears he fell asleep: and behold a messenger was sent to him from heaven, a certain ancient Brother of the same Order, exceedingly reverend, in sleep, confirmed by a vision indicating his theme, and said to him: Brother Thomas, why do you pray to God with tears? He responded: Because the burden of the Mastership has been imposed on me, for which my knowledge does not suffice: and what I should propose for my inception does not occur to me. To whom the old man said: Behold, you have been heard; accept the burden of the Mastership, for God is with you. And for your inception, propose nothing other than this: Watering the mountains from his upper rooms: the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of your works. Psalm 103:13 At which word Brother Thomas, awakening, gave thanks to the Lord, who had quickly heard him. Which word was not only the theme of his inception, but indicated the sufficiency of his entire study: for from those things which he received from the mountains of divine contemplation, he satisfied the whole Church, like a field of divine seed watered with the rains of wisdom. For it is manifest to all that throughout the whole world among Catholic faithful in philosophy and theology in all the schools, nothing else is read but what is drawn from his writings: although many other Masters, imitating his style of writing with what study they could, as if having from his writings a key of knowledge, have entered the secret cellars of divine things: and have written many volumes, exercising their study upon the foundation laid by the said Doctor: divine dispensation wondrously permitting that whoever wish to depart from the writing of this Doctor should happen either to err in faith or in morals: so that both those who follow

may commend what they assert, and those who detract from the truth may bear testimony that they depart from the truth.

CHAPTER IV.

Books written. Errors of various persons refuted. Jews converted.

[18] After his Mastership the aforesaid Doctor, when he had begun to dispute and lecture, He has very many students, even those later created Doctors, so great a multitude of students entered his schools that scarcely could the place of the schools contain those whom the doctrine of so great a Master drew and provoked to the pursuit of advancement. Under the lucid and clear doctrine of this Doctor very many Masters, both religious and secular, flourished on account of his method of teaching, which was compendious, clear, and easy: which, because it was unprecedented, is believed, together with his knowledge, to have been divinely inspired. This Doctor seemed, as if entering the field of secular sciences, to have plucked little flowers from the thorns, and to have a full hand of Apostolic baskets of fragments of Sacred Scripture: which God commanded the Apostles to collect lest they perish, and to preserve for future Doctors to arrange. Who from the full granaries of the sacred Doctors, storing grain threshed from the harvests of both Testaments, collected the more useful things in books, and no truth of Scripture remained hidden from him, nor was the writing of any Doctor inaccessible or obscure. So that it might be known how great a gift of this Doctor's knowledge lay hidden in his heart, it was granted to him by God to manifest it in the manifold work of his writings. he writes the Summa Theologiae, For besides the work he made on the four books of the Sentences, he made a Summa, which he distinguished into books, ordering the materials of the four books differently: which he expanded with many articles and with more subtle arguments, determining them by the authorities of the Saints. He also wrote the book entitled Against the Gentiles, Against the Gentiles, eloquent in style and profound in the novelty and subtlety of its arguments: in which he showed in a wonderful manner what he had from his own talent and what he obtained through rapture of the mind to God in prayers. Through which he manifestly showed to other nations, not subject to the faith, how great is the truth of the Christian faith: which, if it transcends human reason, is nevertheless plausibly argued by natural reasons, even if because of its loftiness it is not proven: so that the infidels themselves from this writing may have a hearing for the faith, and may not refuse to have an understanding of the said writing: since they observe that they cannot attack our faith with arguments to which the defenders of the faith could not respond with arguments. Whence while writing the aforesaid book, he was frequently observed to be almost totally alienated from his senses, who was always intent on divine revelations. The aforesaid Doctor wrote a work on the four Gospels, wonderfully woven together from the authorities of the Saints, from which he so continued the history of the Gospels that it seems to be the Postilla of a single Doctor: in which work it is believed that God showed a wondrous miracle: on the four Gospels, because, traveling through various monasteries and reading the volumes of various Saints, he for the most part retained their authorities in his memory, which he noted in his exposition: for he was moved by the same spirit a Postilla on the Gospel of St. John, by which as a reading Doctor he collected what he would preserve by writing. On account of which work he made a Postilla on the Gospel of Blessed John, in which he showed how deeply from his own talent, aided by grace, he arrived at the profound mysteries of the book, which he illuminated with the authorities of the Saints. He wrote on all the Epistles of Paul, whose Scripture above all others except the Evangelical he commended, in the exposition of which at Paris he is said to have had a vision of the aforesaid Apostle. on the Epistles of St. Paul, He wrote on Isaiah, in a certain difficult passage of which, after frequent prayers and tears, on Isaiah, some Psalms, Job, he is said to have had a vision of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, who instructed him. He wrote on a great part of the Psalter. He wrote on Job literally, which no Doctor had attempted to expound literally on account of the profundity of the literal sense, to which none could attain. In which work, as if he had been placed as arbiter between Job and his friends by common agreement, he responded on both sides to individual points, just as if each could have revealed orally what he proposed to argue. He moreover wrote on potency, on truth, and on evil, great volumes. He wrote a book various treatises and opuscules, which he named the Compendium of Theology, Quodlibetal Questions, On the Perfection of Spiritual Life, On Separated Substances, Questions on the Soul, on Dionysius's On the Divine Names, on the Trinity, on the Hebdomads of Boethius, and many other opuscules of Theological truth, to more than twenty different lords and religious persons: to whom, just as they sent him doubts, he, divinely illuminated, gave responses about the truth: the Office of the Blessed Sacrament, so that no doubt in human understanding lay hidden from him, to whose secret he could not reach by divine light. He wrote the Office of the Body of Christ by command of Pope Urban, in which he set forth all the ancient figures that pertain to this Sacrament, and compiled the truths that belong to the new grace. He also wrote on the book On Causes and the compositions of Proclus. various philosophical works, He also wrote on Natural and Moral Philosophy and on Metaphysics: for the books of which he procured that a new translation should be made, which more clearly contains the truth of Aristotle's meaning, and many other opuscules on natural questions, and he wrote some things on Logic: and whatever he could read, aided by divine light, he could explain. In this God showed that he had chosen him to seek out the truth of all things, whom he illuminated concerning all things more than others: because he never placed an obstacle in preaching against him from whom he sought truth in prayer. God seems to have shown one manifest miracle in the said Doctor while he lived, that in so short a time (perhaps in twenty years, within 20 years, which elapsed in his life between his Mastership and his death, going twice to Paris and returning to Italy) he could reduce so many books to writing through his scribes, discuss so many questions so sufficiently, and teach so many new things by writing: that he does not seem to have occupied all his time except in meditations on holy Scriptures, so that in eating, walking, and doing whatever else, it was not thought possible for him to have meditated in contemplation on anything other than what he would have needed to write or dictate after eating. That he could have produced so many books in so short a time, God also wonderfully demonstrated through another admirable sign. For as was truly discovered by the truthful account of his companion and of his student scribes, he dictates to several scribes at the same time, the aforesaid Doctor dictated on diverse matters to three scribes and sometimes four in his chamber at the same time, with the Spirit revealing, so that God seemed to infuse into his understanding diverse truths simultaneously, which he would simultaneously dictate, not without a manifest miracle. And this wondrous Doctor does not seem to be seeking things unknown: but as if revealing from the treasure of the Spirit of manifold Wisdom things divinely collected in his memory: so that the disposition of this Doctor's knowledge seemed to be an overflowing river of the doctrine of the Scriptures, descending from the fountain of divine Wisdom, which he would channel into various books, as into various streams. Of whom a certain Breton scribe of his, Evenus Garuith, of the diocese of Tréguier, reported that after he had dictated to him and two other scribes, the said Doctor, as if weary from the labor of dictating, would lay himself down to rest for the sake of relaxation, and even while sleeping he dictated. even while sleeping, What the aforesaid scribe heard from his sleeping mouth, he reduced to writing, continuing the subject about which he had written before: so that his intellectual soul seemed to be freed from the burden of the flesh, so that he could say: I sleep and my heart watches, who even while awake slept in the leisure of contemplation with God.

[19] How useful to the Church the doctrine of this Doctor was, not only for the manifestation of the Catholic truth of both Testaments, but for the confutation of heretical depravity, God showed in mercy at the very beginning of his Mastership and thereafter. For besides the aforesaid great volumes, like foundations of the Christian faith placed on holy mountains, in which he confuted ancient heresies, against the error of Averroes, as if all had one intellect, he writes, he also destroyed those arising in his own time by the revelation of the divine Spirit, the first of which heresies was that of Averroes, who said that there is one intellect in all men. This error favored the errors of the wicked and detracted from the virtues of the Saints: since, with one intellect existing in all, there would be no difference among men, nor any distinction of merits. This error so prevailed even in the minds of the simple, and so dangerously infused itself, that a certain knight at Paris, when asked whether he wished to purge himself of his crimes, replied: If the soul of Blessed Peter is saved, I too shall be saved: because if we know by one intellect, we shall end without destruction by one. When students of the Goliard school, who were common followers of Averroes, were imitating this error, the aforesaid error could infect more people, to whom they could persuade the aforesaid error by sophistical arguments. Whence against this error the aforesaid Doctor produced a wonderful writing, in which, besides the arguments of faith by which the aforesaid error is shattered, he also uproots it from its root through the sayings of Aristotle, which Averroes had misunderstood, and demonstrates that it has nothing of reason: so that no one who could grasp the sayings of Aristotle would doubt that the aforesaid error is irrational.

[20] After this error the aforesaid Doctor at Paris destroyed another that had newly arisen: which error did not arise from the commentary of an infidel, William of Saint-Amour and his followers condemning the Mendicant Orders, but was invented by the faithful, in this matter unfaithful — William of Saint-Amour, Siger, and their other followers. Who erroneously said that mendicant Religious, not working with their hands, could not be saved in the contemplation of study alone, detracting from the perfection of the counsels and supererogatory justice: adding also many other erroneous and false sophisms against Religious, poverty, and their salutary institutions; wishing to utterly undermine the Religious orders of poverty, which, pricked by envy alone, they could not tolerate. Whose error brought danger to the faithful all the more, the more the authority of their mastership gave credence: and when they had reduced it to writing, they accused their own malice, from which they were unwilling to turn away even while meditating at length as they wrote: not wishing to observe how great was the iniquity of attacking the Saints of God out of envy alone, who had written a flying scroll of malediction and heretical impiety for their destruction. Which then,

in order that it might be divulged in the ears of the universal Church, also by a writing offered to Clement IV, to the infamy of the poor Religious and the subversion of the religion of poverty and life, and for the ruin of perpetual destruction, they presented it to the most holy Father, Lord Pope Clement IV, as though they were zealots of the Church and champions of the faith. When, at the petition of the Reverend Father, Brother John of Vercelli, the aforesaid Master of the Order, whose duty it was, by mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, to respond to the aforesaid volume, it was assigned to the aforesaid Doctor while he was at a Chapter at Anagni before the Brothers, not without sighs and tears, who were in doubt about the state of the Order and the combat of such grave adversaries; Brother Thomas, taking up the volume and commending himself to the prayers of the Brothers, when he had read it through more carefully and understood it more deeply, found that the aforesaid Masters, whom neither love of recognized truth inspired nor zeal for fraternal salvation kindled, but envy, the rival of truth and the enemy of charity, was driving, had erred from the foundations of faith and had poorly understood the authorities of the Saints that had been adduced. Whence when the Brothers were again called together in Chapter by mandate of the Master of the Order, Brother Thomas, inspired by the divine Spirit he convicts them of errors, by which he was moved in all things, said: Brothers, trust in God, who called you to his service: for I have read the booklet of the attacking treachery, and I have found it poorly grounded in the truth of the faith, and poorly constructed with the authorities of the Saints in aid of its support. To which nefarious booklet, having invoked the Holy Spirit, who strips away falsehoods when he reveals hidden things, I shall respond with a booklet consonant with the truth. When he had completed this in a short time by mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, responding to the nefarious arguments and superimposing the foundations of faith, he presented the booklet to the Supreme Pontiff. Who, accepting it and judging it purely Catholic, condemned the opposing booklet as suspect in the faith. Which booklet, to explain their malice and to implore the justice of God from the Vicar of God, he began thus: For behold, your enemies have roared, and those who hate you have lifted up their head. They have taken malicious counsel against your people and have plotted against your Saints, etc. The aforesaid Doctor does not appear to have composed this book by human talent, but rather to have received it in the Spirit from the right hand of the one seated on the throne. In which, when the aforesaid Doctor had utterly extracted all the weapons of the most wicked enemy, the Supreme Pontiff, condemning the booklet itself with those expelled from the chair, and the nefarious authorities, deposed the Masters of errors themselves with their accomplices from the chair, and deprived them, expelled from the Parisian studium, of all dignity. The aforesaid Doctor, after the divinely obtained victory, returned to Paris not elated but more humble before God, and for the confusion of those insulting the Saints and the consolation of those following truth, he published the aforesaid booklet which he had made by disputing against the articles: in which he showed the foundations of Religion to be most firm, the way of voluntary poverty counseled by the Lord, from which the persistent malice of the persecutors had strayed, daring to place in it the ruin of salvation and the occasion of destruction. And because it was fitting the victor, from St. Louis, sees schools granted to his Order, that some favor for the increase of ecclesiastical discipline should arise for the unconquered champion of the Church, which would encourage study, for the aforesaid splendid triumph of victory, from the illustrious King St. Louis, the Order of Preachers merited to have in sacred Theology at Paris two schools, so that honor might arise for the Order from the fact that the aforesaid Doctor of the Church had defeated the adversaries of the faith by scholastic disputation.

[21] This wondrous Doctor also destroyed a third pestiferous error of depravity, which error was ancient and arose anew more perniciously, which, containing under a pious name all the destruction of impiety, is called the new spirit of liberty. Its followers and inventors at the same time call themselves Little Brothers of the poor life, the Little Brothers of the poor life, introducing a new Spirit of liberty, so that under this sophistical name of humility they might seduce the hearts of the simple: whom, rather captured by heretical depravity, they leaven, whose minds, since they do not test whether the spirits are from God, the lying spirit has so demented that as if under one head, Christ, they establish two Churches: one of the carnal, over which the Supreme Roman Pontiff presides, under whom throughout the various provinces Prelates govern it by his authority. Against which Church, which is joined to Christ as a Bride, they blaspheme so profanely that, having rejected this one, they invent another Church of spirituals, of which they, the inventors of the error and its followers alike, assert themselves to be. Who, while they say they are led by the spirit of liberty, fall by the same spirit into every servitude of heretical depravity, he attacks them in writing, by the most wretched crimes, because the spirit of division and error was able to subvert their fantasies, it gave them so many sects of heretical depravity to invent. Whose madness, to found heretical depravities in ruin without foundation, fabricates a third new state, and without Christ as testator a Testament of the new spirit, under which the state of the Church must be changed in this new time. Whose errors the aforesaid Doctor shattered in his writings in various places: showing that after the Gospel of Christ and the last Testament of the Son of God, through which every faithful person enters into the heavenly inheritance, no other state of the Church ought to succeed, but this one which is now of grace, preparatory for glory, should remain until the end of the age. And because from the writings of Abbot Joachim the aforesaid heretics draw fuel for the aforesaid pestiferous error, the aforesaid Doctor in a certain monastery requested the book of the aforesaid Abbot, and when it was brought, read through the whole thing, and wherever he found anything erroneous or suspect, he condemned it with a line drawn under it, and prohibited from being read and believed everything that he, with his learned hand, had struck out. Against which pestiferous error the most holy Father Pope John XXII, to whom it pertains to condemn heresies, published a wondrous decretal, in which, while he described their errors, he powerfully shattered them with the authorities of sacred canon law.

[22] Fourthly, the aforesaid Doctor destroyed that ancient error of the schismatic depravity of the Greeks: [he champions the authority of the Supreme Pontiff against the errors of the Greeks,] who, besides other heresies into which the zeal of schismatic depravity hurls them, fell into this error of refusing to obey the Roman Pontiff, Successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ. Against whom, by mandate of the Supreme Pontiff Urban, he published a special treatise, in which through the Doctors of the Greeks themselves he convicted them with perspicuous truth. Nor did the aforesaid Doctor only destroy the aforesaid errors, but as many as could have arisen if it had happened that the aforesaid Doctor had not taught so many truths of the faith. For he was a most learned Scribe, bringing forth new and old things from the New and Old Testament. But because it frequently happens that while the understanding contemplates subtle things above, the affection below relaxes from devotion, the aforesaid Doctor was accustomed each day to read for himself one lesson from the Conferences of the Fathers in order to stir up devotion. When asked why, intent on this reading, he reads the Conferences of the Fathers daily, he sometimes left off speculating, he replied: In this reading I gather devotion, from which I more easily rise into speculation, so that the affection may have something from which to pour itself out in devotion, and the understanding, from the merit of this, may ascend to higher things. In this he imitated the example of his Father Dominic, who, reading more frequently in the said book, apprehended the great summit of perfection: whence it is believed that the aforesaid Doctor has nothing less than the great Doctors in glory, who had nothing less in life, in holiness, and in doctrine: as was shown in an open vision to Brother Albert of Brescia, who was also distinguished by miracles in life and after death, while he was watching and praying, shown to be equal to St. Augustine in glory, that the blessed Doctors Augustine and Thomas were equal in glory, although Augustine preceded in the miter and Thomas excelled beyond Augustine in virginity. Which open vision the aforesaid Brother Albert, adjured, was compelled to reveal, since he had frequently been heard asserting that the aforesaid Thomas was a great Saint in heaven, and publicly preaching this: because no one can doubt the glory of so great a Doctor, of whose life such certain testimonies exist.

[23] And God wished not only to convict heretical depravity through the aforesaid Doctor, but also deigned mercifully to illuminate the darkness of Jewish blindness. For in the castle of Molara of Lord Richard the Cardinal, near Rome, he converts two Jews, when the aforesaid Doctor was staying with the aforesaid Lord on the feast of the Nativity of the Lord, and two great Jews, learned and rich, had come to him, as they were accustomed to do every year, the aforesaid Lord asked the aforesaid Doctor to treat with them concerning their conversion. When he had conferred with them at length about the Old Law and proved the coming of the Savior through the sayings of many Prophets, he gave them a deadline on the following day to respond concerning their conversion and about the things he had proposed. When the pious Doctor had prayed for their conversion and asked it of the Son of God, that he might deign to grant it in the joy of his Nativity, behold, the Jews came to the aforesaid Doctor at the appointed time, were converted, confessing that they could not resist the spirit of wisdom that spoke in him, nor respond against what he had purely persuaded. Great joy arose from the feast of the Lord's Nativity, and because this benefit of conversion was given to the perfidious Jews by the mercy of God, the Lord Cardinal celebrated the feast of both events with great joy. Moreover, the aforesaid Doctor was accustomed every year at the aforesaid feast to have some new vision of the Son of God and the glorious Virgin, which would bring joy to his reason and satisfy the affection of his soul.

namely at the same time when William of Saint-Amour lived at Paris for the sake of studies and obtained the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology, afterward progressed to Italy and was enrolled in the Order of Friars Minor, spent the last part of his life at Aquila, and lest he be compelled to celebrate Mass, amputated his own thumb. To this Codex, therefore, lest it perish, was added or sewn that prophecy fabricated at the said time: whose beginning in Bzovius reads: There shall arise peoples who shall eat the sins of the people, holding a mendicant Order, etc. The heretics of our time have greatly altered the same prophecy with this opening: In those days a senseless, pompous, greedy, treacherous, and hateful people shall arise, who shall eat the sins of the people. Holding the Order of certain devotees under the pretended appearance of mendicants, etc.

And so that there might be full security in lying, the aforesaid heretical fabricators pretend that when the monastery of St. Hildegard was destroyed by wars in Germany, her ancient volumes perished or were transferred elsewhere. Whence then could they have obtained what they so freely produce, unless from their own imagination? We were in the year 1600 at the monastery of Bingen, and having venerated the sacred relics of St. Hildegard and examined her ancient volumes, which still exist there, handwritten on parchment, we found nothing of the sort. Meanwhile some Catholics, having changed the words, constructed a worse meaning, and where in the heretics it read "following satisfaction" they substituted "following the SOCIETY" or something similar: which the place required should be said here in passing. Henry of Ghent, a contemporary author, testifies in his Appendix on Ecclesiastical Writers that St. Thomas refuted the error of William with a most subtle opuscule.

CHAPTER V.

Humility and purity of soul.

[24] And lest the root of this Doctor's knowledge, which was to be so manifoldly multiplied in the fruits of doctrine, should in some way remain hidden from us; but for the praise of God and the Saint, Endowed with virtues, and as an example, it should become known to all, we ought not to pass over the narration of his acts and virtues. For the aforesaid Doctor was most humble in his own estimation, most pure in body and mind, devout in prayer, prudent in counsel, placid in conduct, diffuse in charity, lucid in understanding, acute in talent, certain in judgment, retentive in memory, raised from his senses almost daily, and almost contemptuous of all temporal things, so that one man might possess the habits of all virtues, from which effects similar to them might be produced for his own merit and for the example of others.

[25] And first let us take the beginning of narrating his virtues from his humility, from which the increase of all virtues proceeds. Whence concerning his humility the aforesaid Doctor is reported to have said in his purity: supremely humble without vainglory, I give thanks to God that I never had from my knowledge, my magisterial chair, or from any scholastic act a motion of vainglory that might lift my spirit from the seat of humility. And if I had a first motion anticipating reason, I suppressed it by the supervening judgment of the same reason: for he could not have raised his spirit to so sublime a height toward divine things unless he had laid down human things at the foundation of his humility. For he was conscious that he had this knowledge from God, who had given it; and therefore he could not have in his spirit a harmful motion of vainglory, who daily knew that an influx of divine truth was being made to him. gentle in conduct, The indication of his humility is shown from his humble conduct: from which is taught what his interior spirit was. Whence, though the wondrous Doctor could have descended from that sublime speculation from the divine to the human, he was so tractable in conduct and so gentle in speech that he truly showed himself to proceed by way of example from the form of Christ, whose life he merited both to know through contemplation and to teach through preaching, because he could not have had such great knowledge from God unless he had first learned through living the doctrine of his humility.

[26] Concerning his wondrous humility the following is related: when the aforesaid Doctor, passing through, was staying in the convent of Bologna, and was walking contemplatively through the cloister as was his custom, he acted most humbly with an outside Brother at Bologna, a certain Brother from another convent, who did not know the Doctor, came to him, having asked and obtained permission from the Prior to go into the city for his business with the first person he should meet: and he said to him: Good Brother, the Prior has commanded that you come with me. He immediately inclined his head and followed him. And when he could not walk so quickly after him, frequently reproved by his companion, he humbly excused himself. But the citizens, who knew him, marveling that so great a Doctor should walk behind a Brother of such condition, by whom he was worthy to be preceded; thinking that this had happened by some mistake, pointed out to the Brother who it was that he was leading. Who, turning to Brother Thomas, asked his pardon, that he might forgive his ignorance: and when the aforesaid citizens, turning with reverence, questioned the Master about so great an example of humility, he replied: That in obedience all religious life is perfected, by which a man is subjected to a man on account of God, just as God obeyed man on account of man. O happy humble soul, whom the dignity of the Mastership did not exalt, nor did the condition of so great a Doctor's status uproot from the roots of humility: to whom it did not seem right to oppose any excuse where it was made known by the word of the Prior that he should obey. Who, although he was not accustomed to hurrying about, because he was always intent on divine meditations, nevertheless had obedience ready at hand, which he knew to be the mistress of all virtues by its nobility.

[27] Another example of humility, as an indication of the aforesaid Doctor's perfection, was related with sworn attestation by those he bears with equanimity a contrary opinion being defended, who were with him at Paris. When a certain Religious at Paris was to be examined by the Chancellor for the Mastership, at vespers, as is the custom, the licentiate held an opinion contrary to the truth on the proposed questions, which the Doctor had previously determined in his schools. When that most patient man, not considering himself prejudiced in what had been contradicted by a still novice Master, as a truly humble man who magnanimously despised contempt of himself, returned to the convent with his companion Brothers, quiet in mind and tranquil in word. But the students and his aforesaid companion, not bearing such an injury, said: Master, we are gravely offended in your person, because that Master should not have spoken against your opinion, and you should not have endured this injury to truth before all the Masters of Paris. To whom the quiet Master replied, more in spirit than in word: Sons, it seemed to me that the new Master should be spared at his inception, lest he be confounded before the gaze of all the Masters. asked by others, he modestly shows his opinion to be true. But I do not doubt my doctrine on account of the contradiction of any Doctor whatsoever, which, with God working, I have established with the authorities of the Saints and the arguments of truth. If, however, it seems otherwise to the Brothers, tomorrow I shall be able to supply what I omitted. On the following day, when Brother Thomas had assembled with students for the same purpose in the hall of the Lord Bishop before the same persons, and the same questions and determinations had been repeated by the licentiate without any correction; Brother Thomas said with all moderation: Master, your opinion, saving truth, cannot be held, because it is against such-and-such a Council: whence you must say otherwise, if you do not wish to disagree with the Council. Then the other began to speak differently, but did not change his opinion in substance. Arguing against him again, and adducing the Council against him, he compelled him to confess his error and humbly to ask the aforesaid Doctor to know the truth more fully. Then Brother Thomas said: Now you speak well, and he taught him what was to be held for the truth. At which all the Masters marveled at the tranquility of his mind and word, who so argued against his adversary as though he were teaching a student, and that he had suddenly proposed so wondrous an instruction of such great learning, so that each kept its place and each paid its due — namely the hidden virtue of the soul and the manifested truth of the Master.

[28] The aforesaid Doctor also merited to be raised to such great wisdom, not only from the humility by which he prepared himself obediently to receive it, He obtains purity of soul in prayer, but from the purity of mind and body by which he worthily merited before God to have it. For he had read and written that into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter, nor will it dwell in a body subject to sins. Wisdom 1:4 And therefore he strove to have purity of mind and body, which, knowing it could not be had from human merit, he asked of God to bestow upon him as a gift; and it is certain that the gift of virginity was conferred upon him, as was shown by the real sign of the angelic vision which he had in prison. Concerning the purity of mind and body of this Doctor, testimony was given by the confession of Brother Raymond of Severi, of the aforesaid Order, who frequently asserted with an oath that, being at Paris in the studium with the aforesaid Doctor, he did not recall in seven years during which they had been together he never gave consent to any carnal thought, that he had ever heard in his Confession that he had given consent to a carnal thought, and he very rarely had even a first motion, since during all that time they mutually opened their consciences to each other through Confession and alternately assisted each other at the sacred mystery of the Mass. The aforesaid Brother Raymond was of great religiosity and reputation, whom the companionship of so great a Doctor for so great a length of time showed to have been a holy man. immune from every stain, like a five-year-old child, The assertion of his Confessor and continual companion at the end also testifies to this purity, namely Brother Raynald of Piperno, who merited to be the companion and witness of his entire life: who related to many and on many occasions that the Confession of the said Doctor was in the end like the Confession of a five-year-old child who had never given consent to mortal sin in any depravity.

[29] Concerning the wondrous and inviolate purity of this Doctor, unheard of in modern times, a revelation was made to a certain devout Brother of the said Saint, of whom it will be said below, that he had a revelation about a silver net,

woven with various precious stones at its knots, when he had been thinking of weaving his history and with what virtues he might commend him. When, about to pursue the Canonization of the aforesaid Doctor, he returned to the Curia and was at the port of Astura amid an intolerable storm; [in an apparition made in sleep to the writer of the Life, he acknowledges his virginity,] he asked the aforesaid holy Thomas, as he had frequently prayed, to show him some revelation by which, in so great a danger and weariness of toil, he might somewhat relieve him. As he prayed more devoutly with tears, around dawn, after his insistent petition, Blessed Thomas appeared to the sleeping Brother, quite young, as he had been at the time when he departed this life. When he marveled at this, he said to another Brother, whom the Doctor himself had received into the Order: Behold, St. Thomas seems to be younger than you. To whom the said Doctor replied: Thus are Saints young. When he wanted to question him about the history he had written about him, he said: Master, I have written your entire history; one thing, however, is remarkable, about which tell me, if the full truth is as I have written: that you died as pure and a Virgin as you came forth from your mother's womb: which after your death Brother Peter de Sicia preached. Who, turning as if blushing somewhat at the praise of himself, said: It was so, but it was not Brother Peter who preached it, but my companion Raynald. When he wanted to ask him about the whole history, whether it contained the truth in all things, three globes of light, equal in splendor, but one was above the other two, suddenly appeared before him. Then the Brother, remembering what he had read, said: You taught, Master, and wrote that the Saints had a threefold vision of God: one sensible, one imaginary, one intellectual: the aforesaid Brother understanding that these three globes of light designated this threefold mode of vision. Who replied: It is true, and immediately the vision disappeared. O diffuse holy piety, and the kindness of the Doctor inclined even to an unworthy and almost meritless disciple, who sustained the old man in life, and in the midst of innumerable afflictions upheld him, fallen, in such great labors of a repeated journey, so that we may hope that he grants greater spiritual aids to his devoted ones, whom he does not cease to help daily with temporal things. To this purity above all things the manner and wondrous conduct of his life bore testimony, he preserved his purity by continual prayer and study, who was so daily intent on divine contemplations that he could in no way become occupied with contrary things. For the weight of the flesh could not lay down his mind, unceasingly intent on divine things, from its elevation, who had resolved, while still living in the body, to dwell in spirit in heavenly things. The divine Spirit had granted him to occupy his life in such a way, never idle, that he might always run from virtue to virtue, so that the understanding might grow bright from the contemplation, and the edification of action might increase the affection: whose whole life was so occupied with sacred actions that he either prayed, meditated, read, preached, wrote, or dictated; so that he would lose no leisure time of his life that was not spent in the exercise of holy action.

* Number 50.

CHAPTER VI.

Prayer. Elevation of the body. Kindness.

[30] And because it was fitting that he who had laid so profound an example of humility as the foundation in the lowest place, and had raised such an edifice of purity in the middle, should perfect the devotion of his mind in the highest; therefore in the third place we shall speak of the elevation of his mind and his prayer. Devout in prayer, His prayer was devout beyond measure, by which he ascended so freely to God with the devotion of his mind, as if he sustained no contrary weight of the flesh. It was his habit never to excite a motion contrary to reason, who had compelled his body to be subject under reason. Which appears not only from the things said about his humility, conduct, and purity; but from what follows, which is approved by truthful attestation. For he was especially devout toward the most holy Sacrament of the Altar: about which, because it had been granted to him to write more profoundly, he was also gifted to celebrate more devoutly. For every day he said one Mass, unless sickness prevented, how he celebrates Mass, and heard another of his companion or of someone else, at which he himself more frequently served. He was accustomed to be frequently rapt during Mass with so great a feeling of devotion that he was entirely bathed in tears, and frequently serves, absorbed in the sacred mysteries of so great a Sacrament and refreshed by its gifts. Whence when once in the Neapolitan convent, on the day of the Lord's Passion, with many knights standing by, he was celebrating Mass more devoutly, in the prosecution of the sacred mystery he had begun, he was suddenly seen to be so absorbed by the loftiness of the Sacrament as if he seemed to be admitted to be present at the divine mysteries and was thought to be affected by the sufferings of Christ the man: and suffers ecstasy, which the divine abstraction of his mind and the overflowing flood of tears seemed to indicate. When he remained thus for a long time, the Brothers, marveling, approached and by touching him, that he might continue the sacred mysteries, roused him from the depth in which he seemed to be rapt, to be present at the mysteries. After the sacred mystery had been consumed, some Brothers and knights who were familiar with him asked that he might deign to tell them what had happened to him in that rapture and reveal what might serve for their edification. He refused to speak and concealed it lest he betray things revealed. He was also frequently seen, when that verse was sung at Compline during the Lenten season: Do not cast us away in the time of old age, and at Compline, when my strength fails, to be as if rapt and absorbed in prayer, bathed in many tears, which he seemed to draw from the eyes of a pious mind. Psalm 70:9 Furthermore, the aforesaid Doctor at nighttime, assigned to human rest, he devotes the time to prayer or studies, after a brief sleep in his chamber or in the church, to which he had access at night, in the place he had chosen for prayer, lay prostrate in prayer; where by praying he might merit to learn what he would need to write or dictate after prayer. For thus he distributed the time of his life, granted to him for merit, for advancement, so that besides that small amount of time which he had cursorily allowed himself for sleep or for the taking of food for the health of his body, he spent the rest on prayer, reading, preaching, meditation, or on writing or dictating questions: so that no time of his life was empty that was not occupied with sacred actions. So that if sometimes for the consolation of the Brothers or of other venerable persons he was compelled to leave his study and sit in the parlor, he was not idle, even in that small hour, from the progress of virtue and study. rarely in conversations, For after dispatching those matters to which he needed to respond when proposed, he would briefly discuss something historical or moral for edification; and if any remaining time was left before he returned to his chamber after the conversation was completed, rising from the place where he had sat with whomever it might be, as if not paying attention, intent on divine things, walking through the cloister or garden, he would spend the accustomed time on his meditations and speculations: thus again prepared for prayer, as if he had not left the oracle, whose affection no occupation could change: because his affection delighted in nothing else but those revelations which he had obtained by praying.

[31] And because from what is asked of God, prayer is heard, it is necessary to say through prayer he attained the wisdom he sought, what the aforesaid Doctor was accustomed to ask in prayer. Since he was noble, of noble family, and could have had temporal riches, just as he despised them when he had them, so when he did not have them, he did not seek them: but after the example of Solomon, he sought nothing other than the wisdom of God, which he loved, in prayer. Whence it is most certainly believed and manifestly proved that the aforesaid Doctor devoutly obtained by the merit of his devout prayer from God what he wrote, what he taught, what he dictated. Which was learned from the mouth of the aforesaid Brother Raynald, his companion, who kept secret during the life of the said Doctor what he had seen of him. The aforesaid companion related after the death of the aforesaid Master, that when he had returned from the monastery of Fossanova, and had resumed his lectures where he had left off, since he was a Lector at Naples, he said with great weeping: Brothers, I was forbidden by my Master during his lifetime from revealing the wonderful things I had seen of him: among which was that his knowledge, which he had as a wonder beyond others, he acquired not by human talent but by the merit of prayer. For whenever he wished to study, dispute, read, write, or dictate, he first went to the secret of prayer, accustomed to pray before studies and actions, and prayed with profuse tears for finding the divine secrets in truth: by the merit of which prayer, just as he had approached doubtful about the things sought before prayer, so afterward he returned instructed. And when some doubt occurred without having yet consulted the oracle of devotion, approaching prayer, he would find by divine miracle what had been doubtful to him laid open. Whence in his soul the understanding and the affection seemed, just as they mutually comprehend each other as free powers, so to mutually serve each other in their actions as supreme: so that the affection by praying might merit to enter into divine things, and the understanding by the merit of this might behold what it would more deeply understand, as the affection burned more ardently with love for what it might grasp by light.

[32] Concerning this wondrous Doctor his aforesaid companion revealed another stupendous marvel. That when he was writing on Isaiah and by expounding and writing was bringing to light the profound mysteries of the Prophet, he arrived at a certain text of that book, seeking the true sense of Isaiah by fasting and prayer, which he did not understand, nor could he arrive at an understanding of the letter that satisfied him, and having afflicted himself for many days with fasting and prayers, the insistence of his prayer obtained that the doubt be divinely explained to him orally, which he had devoutly sought in prayer. For on one of the days, after having celebrated the fast with devotion, at night his aforesaid companion heard him speaking, not knowing with whom or with what persons: perceiving the sound indeed, but not grasping the subject about which the speech was running. When the conversation was finished, the aforesaid Doctor said to his companion: Son Raynald, arise, and light the candle, and take the notebook in which you had written on Isaiah, and prepare yourself to write again. And when he had written for a long time what the Doctor was dictating with that ease as if he were reading in a book, the Doctor said to the Brother who was writing, after some time: Go, Son, to rest, for there still remains much time for rest. And the companion, more eagerly desiring to know the secret marvel of his Master, which had been revealed to him by the conversation he had heard, fell at the feet of his Master

with tears, on bended knees, and said: I shall not rise from this place unless you tell me with whom or with what persons you spoke for so long this night: and he began to adjure him strongly by the name of the Lord God. When he had refused to speak many times and said: Son, you do not need to know this; being adjured yet more strictly, lest he seem to despise the name of God by which his companion had dared to adjure him, the aforesaid Doctor, breaking into tears, said: Son, you have seen my affliction these days over the doubt I had about this text, which I have now expounded, which I sought to know from God with many tears: whence this night God, having mercy on me, sent to me the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, he is taught by the appearing SS. Peter and Paul, through whom I had asked him, who taught me all things most fully. But on behalf of God I command you not to dare reveal this during my lifetime. O stupendous mystery of divine dispensation; that God should hide for a time the understanding of his divine Scripture, which at another time he reveals with wondrous piety; that it may be known how much human understanding falls short of divine things, which by itself does not reach to divine mysteries: that understanding may be sought from him whose it is to reveal secrets, and that we may learn to guard divine gifts in humility, which we seek and find with difficulty: that the pious and efficacious prayer of the Doctor, which so quickly inclined the hearing of divine piety, may teach a man to bear patiently when he does not grasp the divine things he desires, and to trust that by praying he will more quickly obtain what he seeks. O happy Doctor, to whom the Keyholder of heaven opened the door of divine Scripture, and Paul, that wondrous climber of heavenly things, taught the secret in truth. O happy Doctor, guest of the world and citizen of heaven, who speaks with the heavenly ones while he still lodges in the body. O certain, true, and worthy of faith, the approved doctrine of the aforesaid Doctor, which is received by divine revelation and taught by heavenly Doctors.

[33] His aforesaid companion related another great marvel about the aforesaid Doctor, which he revealed to him at the end for the praise of God and for his consolation. That the blessed Virgin, glorious Mother of God, appeared to him, [from the appearing Mother of God he is made certain about his life and knowledge,] who assured him about his life and his knowledge, and whatever he had deliberately asked of God through her, and that he would not change the state of his Order, as he had frequently asked in prayer, he obtained. For the aforesaid Doctor was a most pure Virgin, bright in mind and body, as was most certainly discovered from the mouths of his Confessors. For that most valiant of women, the pious Mother, knows how to move not only within the orders of heaven: but deigns also not to deny the solace of her presence to pilgrims: who always looks back to whence she ascended, and yet as Queen sits confidently beside her Son. Who is piously believed to have obtained for her Doctor that singular knowledge from her Son, which he sought with the lily of purity: which just as he offered immaculate to God, so he preserved.

[34] To have an indication of the said Doctor's wondrous devotion and prayer, concerning the elevation of his mind and body, there must be added a most certain sensible proof of open vision. For when he was at Salerno in the convent of the Brothers, the aforesaid Doctor was seen, being before the high altar in prayer, after Matins by the Brothers James and his aforesaid companion, who were observing him by way of example, he is elevated from the ground in prayer, raised two cubits from the ground, as if, if it is permissible to say, he had received a future participation of agility or something similar, by which he would remain as it were in his lightness without weight. For it was worthy that the obedient body should follow that soul which no affection violated, which God wondrously revealed by miracle, that he had supernaturally granted it as a gift.

[35] A similar but more stupendous thing was seen in the Neapolitan convent concerning the aforesaid Doctor by Brother Dominic of Caserta, the Sacristan, a man devout in prayer, diligent in action, and proven in virtue, who on other occasions had wondrous visions: who, noticing that Brother Thomas always descended from the chamber of his study to the church before Matins, and lest he be seen by others hurried back to his chamber, once observed him more curiously. And approaching from behind in the chapel of St. Nicholas, where he remained fixed in prayer, he saw him elevated about two cubits in the air. At which he marveled for a long time, and suddenly heard from the place to which the aforesaid Doctor had turned to pray with tears, this kind of voice from the image of the Crucifix: Thomas, you have written well about me; what reward will you receive from me for your labor? and he hears: You have written well about me, etc. He responded: Lord, nothing but you. And at that time he was writing the third part of the Summa, on the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. After that writing he wrote little, on account of the wondrous things which God wondrously revealed to him. For it was a most certain sign that he should cease from the work of writing, since already he was being asked by the Lord about his reward: which he asked fittingly enough as a recompense, that he might have what would refresh him in his homeland, concerning whom he was delighted with such sweetness while writing on the way: whom, since he had understood him beyond others while he lived, he merited to see more clearly than many others as he passed away.

[36] Furthermore the aforesaid Doctor was prudent in counsel, because it was fitting that he who knew divine things should judge most certainly about human affairs. Who, although he was wondrously removed from temporal and worldly business, he prudently gives counsel, even to King St. Louis, because he was entirely intent on divine things; nevertheless, when he turned his speculative understanding, when consulted, to practical and temporal matters, he advised so subtly and usefully that one would seem to have sought divine counsel; inasmuch as he had before his eyes those rules by which everything that is humanly done is divinely determined. Whence concerning the illustrious King of France, St. Louis, it is said that he always sought the counsel of the said Doctor in difficult matters, which he had frequently found to be certain: so that in this the holiness of both might be perceived, both of the illustrious King, who in doubtful matters would seek a Doctor to be consulted, and of the holy Doctor, who by the divine Spirit would answer what was truer. Whence it is said that when at Paris he was to have counsel the next day on certain difficult and necessary matters, in the evening he would command the aforesaid Doctor to apply his mind that night to the doubtful matter of the imminent case, so that he might think about what would be useful to answer the next day: which the obedient man, just as he had received the command, so he fulfilled.

[37] And because it was fitting enough that he who had received so many benefits from divine bounty more abundantly than others, kind toward others, should pour himself out to all in charity; the aforesaid Doctor was also diffuse in charity and piety, so as to anticipate others from himself in graces, to whom he was given by God to shine in doctrines. He was wondrously kind in spirit, being wholly gentle in word and generous in deed: so as to show all what Spirit inhabited his mind, from which such great gentleness proceeded from his mouth: so that everyone who had seen the image of his entire conduct could read the holiness of his mind. Although he would rise up beyond measure against sinners, he rises against sinners, that they may be corrected, he who did not know sins himself; but for love of justice and the salvation of his neighbor's soul he would advise the Judge and Prelate to rise up against the fault itself, so that the Prelate by his counsel might become at once the persecutor of the crime and the liberator of the man: so that the crime might suddenly cease and the man not perish with the crime. And although this Saint found it difficult to believe that a man sinned, esteeming all to be like himself or better in innocence or nature; when it was established that someone had sinned out of weakness, he so wept over the faults of others as if they were his own; imitating the example of him who through compassion was burned as by his own fires in the failings of others. he refreshes others by his mere appearance, From which kindness of charity a wondrous affection seemed to arise from his bodily appearance alone, so that no one who had looked upon him for some time in speaking and conversing could fail to draw from him the grace of special consolation: whence Brother Eufranon of Salerno, celebrated throughout the Order of Brothers Preachers in reputation and fame, was accustomed to say many times that as often as he looked upon the aforesaid Doctor with the affection of devotion, so often from his appearance and conversation he would draw the grace of spiritual joy, which could not be without the presence of the Holy Spirit, from whom such great grace proceeded. Whence from the root of his diffuse charity fruit and a certain liquor of piety burst forth in the branches. For he was wondrously compassionate toward the poor, he helps the poor, being accustomed to give so abundantly from his tunics and possessions to the needy, as much as it had been necessary for him to abound in affections; reserving nothing for himself of superfluous things, knowing that by the Lord's precept they were to be given to supply the needs of others. Of which from his knowledge he reserved nothing for himself for the morrow, knowing that it was the duty of anyone in the moment of necessity.

CHAPTER VII.

Natural descent and bodily constitution. Talent, judgment, memory. Contempt of temporal things. Abstraction of mind.

[38] And although it is necessary to recognize that the grace of God is the fontal principle of all the virtues in the aforesaid Doctor, it is nevertheless not to be omitted to say Born of a holy lineage, that if we seek and find his natural descent, it is itself the natural foundation of his moral virtues: so that in all things God may be praised, who founded nature and augmented it through grace. he had a devout and abstinent mother, For the aforesaid Doctor was disposed to these virtues by the ancient nobility of his parentage, if his proximate generation be considered, which is still held in recent memory. The mother of this Doctor (as those who knew her report) is said to have been of great devotion and abstinence, who, prostrating herself on hands and knees in prayer, had produced calluses, and struck the ground with her multiplied genuflections: who would not have merited to have such a son unless her prayer had pleased God. The sister also of this Doctor, the Lady Theodora, mother of Lord Thomasius of St. Severino, Count of Marsico, whose recent and praiseworthy memory serves as an example, is said to have been of such piety toward others, his sister was devoted to the poor, harsh to herself, that whatever she could have for the necessities of her person, content with little, she poured out in works of mercy.

But regarding herself she is said to have been of such harshness that she converted a great part of the nighttime, granted to others for rest, into torment for herself, beating herself with most severe disciplines of an iron chain: she was provident in sense, magnificent in dispensation, and discreet in promise, singular in all the virtues in which she could exercise herself. Her body after her happy death, incorrupt after death, when it had been translated to another place for her veneration, was found whole, and gave forth a great fragrance to those standing by, which gave certain testimony and proof of her holiness. To this virtuous lineage, which has passed into the memory of the Saints, the still-living son of the said Sister and nephew of the said Doctor, the aforesaid Lord Thomasius, Count of Marsico, bears witness. her nephew and brothers illustrious in deeds, Who, while he renders the fragrance of the said virtues, shows himself to be the heir of the aforesaid holy generation: so that the generation of the said Doctor does not appear to have been a novelty in goodness, which was professed in the nobility of character and of family, in trunk and in branches, by the long antiquity of preceding times. Concerning the brothers also of this Doctor, great things are reported about the virtues of their spirits, who for the defense of and zeal for Holy Mother Church endured exile from the Emperor Frederick, and some of them torment for their fidelity.

[39] Concerning the natural disposition of the said Doctor's body, as well as mind, it is said that he was large in body and of upright stature, large in body and head, which corresponds to the uprightness of his soul: of a wheaten complexion, as an indication of his temperate constitution: having a large head, since the perfections of the animal powers, which serve reason, require perfect organs: somewhat bald. He was of a very tender constitution in the flesh, as the aptitude of his understanding indicated in his mind. He was virile in strength when he exercised his body in some acts of virtue: who also by the virtue of his soul feared nothing, fearless in storms, despised nothing abject with pious humility; and for this reason trusted in the divine co-assistance: of whom it is also said that while going to Paris, when he was suffering a terrifying storm at sea from the weather, with even the sailors fearing death, he himself remained fearless throughout the entire storm: so that God seemed to have prepared so noble a body and instrument, which would serve obediently for acts of virtue, and would never be contradicting the judgment of reason. In terrors of the air, of thunder and tempest, as if opposing himself as a shield, fortifying himself with the sign of the Cross, he would say: God came in the flesh, God died for us.

[40] And because no sensual passion disturbed the mind of the aforesaid Doctor, no affection for temporal things weighed upon it, subtle in talent, nor did the ambition of any honor inflate it; it was fitting that he should be subtle in talent, and the subtle Spirit of God's wisdom should sharpen his understanding, in which it dwelt through grace. Whence he is reported to have said once in familiar conversation with students, he understands what he reads, not for the pursuit of vainglory but for the proclamation of divine praise and grace, that he had never read a book which, aided by the divine Spirit, he did not understand and did not arrive at the profound mystery of the book. For it was worthy that since divine providence had ordained him for the examination of divine things, the divine Spirit should by right of desire hide nothing from him: but should reveal to him what was necessary for sacred doctrine. For he was the instrument of divine Wisdom, through which God wished to reveal his secret. The subtlety of his talent, the acuteness of his understanding, and the decisive swiftness of his judgment are sufficiently shown by the multitude of books he published and the novelty of the opinions he discovered: so that scarcely could anyone, however great in talent and diligent in study, read through for honor the books he published while studying, which he himself was able to investigate and dictate in a short time.

[41] And because certitude of judgment follows upon subtlety of talent, Outstanding in judgment, since the understanding, what it can grasp by subtlety, is also able to judge what is true; therefore it was fitting that the aforesaid Doctor, just as he is said to have been of subtle talent, should most evidently be judged to have been of certain judgment. he suffers envy For the opinions and arguments which he discovered while still a Bachelor, with few exceptions, once made a Master he wrote, held, and defended. Whence when his writings were exposed to examination at Paris by the hidden and wondrous disposition of God, through the jealous envy of certain Masters procuring it, as if owls dared to judge light, and through this his writings shone more brightly in truth, since they had nothing in them that they could reproach as untrue; a certain Master of the Hermits, Brother Giles, who was afterward Archbishop of Bourges, who had listened to this Master for thirteen years, of other Doctors, said of the aforesaid Doctor, deriding the insufficiency of the censors: In this wondrous Doctor, Brother Thomas of Aquino, worthy of memory, there was a manifest sign of the subtlety of his talent and the certitude of his judgment: that the new opinions and arguments which he wrote as a Bachelor, once made a Master, with few exceptions, he changed neither in teaching nor in writing: but we of modern times, as men of uncertain and doubtful judgment, change opinions which we once held to the contrary, refuted by a slight argument. Whence also those who examine his writings, not understanding what they judge, labor only by the sting of envy, and flies leap into the light, for they do not recognize what they criticize; and they are darkened by the light, since they do not think well of the truth unknown to them: so that the Church may justly complain of them and say that word of the Psalmist: but he becomes greater from it, You, illuminating wondrously from the eternal mountains: all the foolish of heart were troubled: which seems to ask that God by just judgment may strike the rivals of truth, while the aforesaid Doctor shines with divinely inspired doctrine: that by the light by which the Saint is instructed, the envious man may be deprived of knowledge. Psalm 75:5 And thus it happened by divine miracle that from the very thing by which the holy Doctor is detracted, from that very thing glory is heaped upon God and his Saint.

[42] And because no passion disturbed his mind, which was receiving a continuous influx of divine knowable things, Of great memory, for he was drawn away by a greater interval from contact with temporal things than that his affection should be disturbed by any passion. Consequently the aforesaid Doctor was of a wonderfully retentive memory, being of such great capacity and retentive power that what he once grasped by reading he retained perpetually: so that in his soul there seemed to be a continuous formation and influx of the disposition of knowledge. And therefore no forgetfulness could occur in his mind, in which there was a continuous certainty of knowable things. A certain indication of his wondrous memory was not only the disposition of knowledge which he had so collected in his mind, he retains the sayings of the Saints, as if he had it copied in a book; but also that wondrous work which, at the command of Pope Urban of happy memory, he composed on the four Gospels from the sayings of the Saints: because reading through the books of various monasteries, he is believed for the most part to have committed them to memory in such a way, as if he had before his eyes the sayings of the Saints which he had read in books.

[43] And because it necessarily follows that a man despises earthly things whom divine affection adorns: therefore it was fitting that the aforesaid Doctor should despise worldly things, he despises riches and honors, who would not find in sensible things anything to love: since it is said of him that he was in a wonderful manner contemptuous of temporal things; whether of possessions by which a man provides for the necessary sustenance of the body, or of those whose dignity of prelacy is sought. For divine Wisdom, which is better than all riches, which he had taken as his bride from his youth, had so intoxicated him with charity that no worldly thing attracted his mind, who possessed in one thing the sufficiency of all goods. Who, when he had despised the allowed goods he had, did not covet those he did not have: but with greatness of soul he despised what was offered, and forgetting those things which are behind, he left all things and, stretching forward to those things which are ahead, he loved what he had obtained. For though he was of noble family and could have aspired to an abundance of temporal possessions and the glory of honors; he considered it greater riches and glory to imitate the poor and humble Christ than, abounding in riches, to obtain a sublime degree of temporal glory. Of whom it is said he prefers the Homilies of St. Chrysostom on Matthew to the city of Paris, that once, coming from Saint-Denis with his students, where he had gone to visit the relics of the Saints and that holy college of monks; and seeing from nearby the city of Paris, the students said to him: Master, see how beautiful the city of Paris is: Would you wish to be the Lord of this city? For they believed they would hear some word of edification from him. He replied: I would more willingly have the Homilies of Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. Matthew. For if this city were mine, the care of governing it would rob me of the contemplation of divine things and impede the consolation of my soul. For it is so that the more one is weighed down by love of temporal things, the more dangerously one is separated from heavenly things. For the aforesaid Doctor knew that no one serving God entangles himself in secular affairs, that he may please him to whom he has proved himself, and therefore he was unwilling to entangle himself with the world, who had proved himself in the pursuit of learning to have pleased God, lest if he had already put his hand to the plow, listening to the letters of the Sacred Scriptures, he should turn back to look at the things he had left behind, and not be rendered fit for the things ahead, which he loved. And therefore he refused at the same time the many dignities and revenues offered to him by Blessed Clement IV, he does not accept revenues and honors offered by Clement IV, the Supreme Pontiff, who held the said Doctor most dear, content with his poverty and humility. Although the aforesaid Doctor had all his relatives and nobles of his family confounded in Campania under the persecution of the Emperor Frederick for the cause of the Church: toward whose relief even with ecclesiastical goods by permission of the Supreme Pontiff, natural affection could have moved him, and the gratitude of charity owed to such noble exiles for the cause of the Church: who, just as he bore his own necessities for the love of God, so he could bear those of others. indeed not even the Archbishopric of Naples. He showed a similar example of perfection and humility on another occasion, when, having received the Bull from the same Pontiff for his promotion to the Archbishopric of Naples, with the addition of the revenues of the monastery of St. Peter ad Aram, he refused to accept the dignity, and humbly begged the Supreme Pontiff not to promote him further to other things. O happy Doctor, despiser of the world! O lover of heaven; who did what he taught; who so despised earthly things as if he had a pledge of the possession of heavenly things which he hoped for.

[44] Furthermore the aforesaid Doctor was wonderfully contemplative, Abstracted from his senses even in conversation, and devoted to heavenly things, for by the greater part of himself he was absent from his senses, who was wholly intent on heavenly things, so that it was believed he was more truly where he directed his mind than where he remained in the flesh. For it was a marvel to see a man using his senses and conversing with sensible things in

food or the company of any persons, however noble, in which the senses are accustomed to be distracted, and to be suddenly elevated to heavenly things: as if he were not where he bodily stood, but where he mentally adhered. Concerning his wondrous and unheard-of distraction of mind and contemplation, it is said that when once St. Louis, King of France, had invited him to his table, and he had humbly excused himself on account of the work of the Summa in Theology which he was then dictating. But when the command of the King and the Prior of Paris prevailed, so that the humble Master, sublime in contemplation, might be inclined, at the express command of the King and the Prior, indeed even the table of the King, having left his study with that thought which he had conceived while remaining in his cell, he came to the King: and being near him at table, suddenly inspired by the truth of faith, he struck the table and said: Now it is concluded against the heresy of the Manichaean. The Prior touched him and said: Take care, Master, for you are now at the table of the King of France, and he pulled him strongly by the cape to rouse him from his abstraction from the senses. Who, as if returning to himself, inclining himself to the holy King, asked that he be pardoned, who had been so distracted at the Royal table. At which the King was greatly amazed and edified by the Master, that since he was noble and the invitation of so great a King could delight him and distract him from contemplation, the abstraction of his mind showed that, elevated in spirit, the senses did not press him down in the company. Moreover the holy King was prudent, so that the meditation that could have distracted the Doctor's mind would not happen to be lost. Whence calling his Scribe, he wished that in his presence he should reduce to writing what the Doctor had kept in secret; although in the Doctor's memory nothing at all perished that the divine Spirit infused to be preserved. Brother Raymond Stephani reported a like thing in all respects, who heard it from the Archbishop of Capua, who was a disciple of the aforesaid Doctor. When a certain Cardinal, who was then Legate in the kingdom, and the conversation of a Cardinal, had heard these and other admirable things about him, he said to the aforesaid Archbishop: Arrange for us to have a familiar conversation with the aforesaid Master. When, summoned from his study, he had come down, and yet remained in his abstraction, and they had waited for him for a long time thus abstracted, suddenly the Doctor showed a cheerful face, indicating the joy of his mind, and said: Now I have what I was seeking. and the Archbishop of Capua. And when he showed no sign of reverence toward them, the Cardinal began to despise him, whom he saw remaining thus. To whom the Lord Archbishop said: Lord, do not marvel, for he is frequently so abstracted that, with whatever persons he may be, he does not speak. And then he pulled him strongly by his cape, and as if waking from the sleep of contemplation and noticing that he was among such great persons, inclining himself reverently to the Lord Cardinal, he asked pardon, because, abstracted for so long, he had not shown them the reverence due. When asked why in that abstraction he had shown so cheerful a face, he said: Concerning a certain question upon which I had long been thinking, I have now found a beautiful argument, from which the joy of my soul manifested the outward cheerfulness that I showed.

CHAPTER VIII.

Revelations, Visions, Sermons.

[45] And because the aforesaid Doctor was so abstracted from sensible things, from which through contempt he was entirely alienated; it was fitting that, In a vision he understands his sister is in purgatory, while he yearned more for heavenly than earthly things, he should have more consolations from the heavenly citizens. Whence it is reported that while he was at Paris, his sister appeared to him in an imaginary vision: who, saying that she was in purgatory, asked for a certain number of Masses, through which she hoped to be freed with God's favor and his intercession. He, calling his students, asked that they say Masses and pray for his sister's soul. Who afterward, when the aforesaid Doctor was at Rome, again appeared to him in a vision, and revealed that she had been freed from purgatory and was enjoying glory, and then freed, after the Masses she had requested were said. When the Doctor asked about himself, what his state was, she responded: You, brother, are in a good state, and you will come to us soon: but greater glory is prepared for you than for us. Just hold on to what you have. When he asked about his brother Landulf, she responded that he was in purgatory: and about Lord Raynald, his other brother, she said that he was in Paradise: about whom he had this vision, that when a book was shown to him by an Angel, which was written in golden and azure lines, the Doctor found his brother's name among the golden lines, which were those of the Martyrs, and likewise the state of his brothers, because for his loyalty to the Church, as he died under the tyranny of the persecution of Emperor Frederick, his death was reckoned as martyrdom, which was meritorious and accepted before God.

[46] Another more wonderful vision was revealed to the said Doctor, not imaginary but corporeal and open: when he was in the Neapolitan convent in the church to pray, Brother Romanus, a Master in Theology, appeared to him, he converses with a certain one, whom he had left lecturing at Paris: to whom Brother Thomas, being present, said: Welcome. When did you arrive? He responded: I have passed from this life, and it has been granted to me to appear on account of your merit. Then the aforesaid Doctor, gathering his spirit, which had been disturbed by that sudden apparition, now coming from heaven, responded: Since it pleases God, on his behalf I adjure you to answer what I ask. I ask, what is my state? And do my works please God? And he responded: You are in a good state and your works please God. Then the Doctor added: What about you? He responded: I am in eternal life, and I was in purgatory for sixteen days on account of negligence I committed in regard to a certain testament which the Bishop of Paris had committed to me to expedite quickly, and I from my own fault delayed in expediting it. and inquires various things. Then he added: I ask, what about that question which we frequently disputed: whether the habits acquired in this life remain in the homeland? But he responded: Brother Thomas, I see God, and ask nothing further about this question. And again he asked of him: Since you see God, tell me whether you see God without any intervening species, or through some likeness? Then he responded: As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, and immediately he disappeared. The Doctor remained astonished at so wonderful and unusual an apparition, and joyful at the placid response. Happy Doctor, to whom heavenly secrets are so familiar, whom the citizens of heaven so familiarly anticipate and lead to the heavenly kingdom.

[47] The aforesaid Doctor also had another prophetic and imaginary vision. For when he was at Naples in the Choir while the conventual Mass was being said, the porter called a certain Brother from the choir to the door: to whom a pastry was presented, so that he might carefully deposit it in his cell; he returned to the choir: where, when he was thinking about how he could eat his pastry alone and not be obliged to invite others, He sees the temptation of another and a demon dancing, he could not be at ease in the choir, because the temptation was pressing upon him. The aforesaid Doctor, seeing in the spirit the cause of his unease, called the tempted Brother to himself and said to him: Brother, attend to what you are thinking: do not carry out that by which you are tempted. Who, when he said: Master, I am thinking of nothing other than hearing the Mass which is now being said. The Master said: Tell me why you were called from the choir. Then the Brother narrated to him in order the series of events and the temptation that was anxiously pressing upon his mind. Then the Master said: I saw a Demon dancing before you and showing you your pastry, and beware lest you eat it alone; but distribute it to other Brothers out of charity. At which the Brother, amazed, gave thanks to God and to the Master, through whom he had been freed from the danger of temptation.

[48] It is also said of this Doctor that while he was at San Severino, the castle of his sister, with his aforesaid companion and other Brothers of his Order, he suffered an ecstasy for a great space of time, so that he seemed to be totally abstracted from his senses. in abstraction of mind he sees wondrous doctrine, When his sister was especially troubled by this, she asked his companion what this was that had suddenly happened to her brother. Who said to her: He is frequently rapt in spirit when he contemplates certain things: but in all his time, as now, I have never seen him so alienated from his senses. Whence after some time the companion went to the Master and, pulling him strongly by his cape, as if finally roused him from the sleep of contemplation. Who, sighing, said: Raynald, my son, I reveal to you in secret, forbidding you to dare reveal it to anyone during my lifetime. The end of my writing has come, for such things have been revealed to me that what I have written and taught seems small to me, and from this I hope in my God that just as there will soon be an end to my doctrine, so too an end to my life. For just as that wondrous God to those who were the chief ones in the Law of Moses, and he wrote nothing more, who brought the law of justice to the Jews, and to Paul who preached the law of grace to the Gentiles, beyond human understanding

he revealed very many things; so also to this Blessed Thomas, who received from the hand of the one seated on the throne the little book of both laws wrapped up, and offered it opened by expounding it to the whole Church, it pleased God to reveal another supernatural light of understanding, so that he might believe greater things remained which he did not see by natural intelligence. Happy Doctor, from whom present things are not hidden and future things have been revealed; to whom it was given, from those things which he merited to write, to see more excellent things; so that from the confession of present things, a more certain expectation of future things might be his. So great, moreover, was the abstraction of this Doctor's mind that sometimes he did not perceive himself being harmed even by a bodily injury. Whence once, when it had been decided by the advice of physicians that he should bear a cautery on his shin, he said to his companion: When the one who must apply the fire comes, let me know beforehand. while abstracted he does not feel a cautery being applied to him, When this was done on the bed where he was to be cauterized, preparing himself with his shin extended, he was raised by so great an abstraction that he did not perceive the cautery by the application of fire: the sign of which was that he did not move from the place where he had extended his shin. Another similar miracle of wondrous abstraction was observed. When once the aforesaid Doctor was in his chamber and was dictating the Summa of the treatises on the Trinity, having taken a candle in his hand, he said to his scribe: Whatever you see in me, beware lest you call out. or his fingers by a candle, And then, while he was abstracted in contemplation, the candle after an hour was consumed down to his fingers, but the Doctor did not feel the flame of the candle adhering to his fingers for a long time; and he endured the fire itself without any movement of his fingers until it expired. A similar thing was observed about him at Paris, when he needed to have bloodletting done, so that before the bleeder approached to open the vein, he should provide for the abstraction of his mind from the senses to contemplation; or a vein being opened, and yet the bleeder, safely opening the vein, could not disturb the imagination of the Brother Doctor, whom he happened to find abstracted from his senses. For he was wondrously sensitive, and therefore was suddenly disturbed by an injury to the body. Whence it was miraculously granted to him by God that he might live in a sensitive body and yet sometimes not feel an injury to the body.

[49] And because the wondrous Doctor was thus elevated to God, thus diffuse in charity toward his neighbor, he formed his sermons, by which he might please God and benefit the people, he says useful things in preaching, so that they were not in the curious words of human wisdom, but in the spirit and power of speech; and avoiding in the prosecution of his sermon those things that serve curiosity rather than utility, in that vernacular of his native soil, which on account of the continual rapture of his mind he could not change, he proposed and pursued things useful to the people, leaving the subtleties of questions to scholastic disputation: and he was heard so reverently by the people, as if his preaching proceeded from God. What he said with his mouth he fulfilled in deed: and he did not dare say anything which God had not given him to fulfill. He wondered very greatly, as was frequently heard from his mouth, how anyone, and especially religious, could speak of anything other than God, or of those things which serve the edification of souls. Whence it was his habit even in his tender youth that in common conversation, if those with whom he was speaking about God and things orderable to God...had relaxed their mouths, he would immediately withdraw from the parlor from the company of anyone, and he speaks of God, as if a conversation that did not savor of the edification of the neighbor did not pertain to him; or if those speaking of God did not say the things that are of God: for he had so disposed himself in that hearing of the word of God, that he either wrote or taught something, so that he himself in a certain way completed a circle: so that from himself he would begin the motion of his mind toward God by praying, and from God he would end toward his neighbor by teaching, from whom he would rise to God by contemplating and praying, whence he would again begin the circle of his motion.

[50] The history of this Saint, in its manifold and wondrous variety and the splendor of his virtues, was truly shown in a dream to a certain Brother. His life compared to a silver net, Who, when he had begun anxiously in mind, devoutly in affection, to think how he might fittingly weave the history of the said Saint, illustrious with so many wondrous indications and diffused in truth with the proclamations of praises, which would contain the original beginning, the course of his life, the pursuit of scholastic discipline, and his blessed death at the end, and was praying God about these things to infuse them, and Blessed Thomas to obtain for him sufficiency in writing; around dawn after the aforesaid prayer he fell asleep, interwoven with precious stones, and saw in his dreams before him a silver net, woven with silver chains and precious stones of various colors, wondrously interwoven at the knots of the net. In which vision, when he understood that in that net of precious stones the life and virtues of the aforesaid Doctor were specially designated, he was thinking in his dreams which stones could be fitted to which virtues, so that the various stones would also fittingly correspond to the various virtues. Long delighted in this vision, waking he returned to pursuing the history he had begun: wherefore there is no doubt to anyone that the whole life of the said Doctor was, from this apparition, as it were silver, that is, bright in conduct, most pure in action, and resonant in doctrine. Which therefore had the likeness of a net, because his life was in harmony with his doctrine in all things: in which net as many stones were seen to be inserted as there were virtues divinely inspired in his soul. The life of this Doctor can not unfittingly be designated in the Breastplate of Judgment, in which twelve precious stones were interwoven, which the Supreme Pontiff had to wear before his breast, in which doctrine and truth were written: because the life of the said Doctor shone with truth, and our Lord the Supreme Pontiff, while he held it in his sight and affection, as it were in the Breastplate of Judgment, approved the authority thereby given with the title of Canonization.

CHAPTER IX.

Some miracles performed during his life.

[51] Several miracles are also said to have been performed by God through the merits of the aforesaid Doctor, which are appended. For when the companion of the aforesaid Doctor was suffering a continuous fever, A fever is driven away, Thomas came to him to refresh the sick man by his visit and to comfort him in the Lord: and when he had encouraged him to patience, he advised him to conceive a special devotion to Blessed Agnes, from whom he should confidently hope for the benefit of health. by the application of the relics of St. Agnes. When the aforesaid Doctor had implored her merits before God, he placed the relics of the said Saint, which he carried suspended at his breast out of devotion, praying upon the breast of the sick man, and the sick man sat up in bed, healthy and cheerful. Some attributed this miracle to the praying Master, others to the aforesaid Virgin, but it is better said to have been done by the merits of both: so that the prayers of both might ascend to God, and the holy Virgin, moved by the Doctor's prayers, might obtain the grace of health for the sick man.

[52] It is also said of the aforesaid Doctor that at Paris in the schools, when he was to determine on the morrow before the University a question he had disputed the day before; rising at night, as was his custom, to pray, he perceived in his mouth that a superfluous tooth had grown, which was causing no small impediment to speaking. When he had indicated this to his aforesaid companion, perplexed because the hour was not convenient for applying a remedy, the said companion advised that the University should be told the next day that an impediment had occurred to the Master which totally excused him from the determination, and then a remedy should be arranged, namely the extraction of the tooth with an iron instrument. A tooth grew in his mouth, The Doctor, considering the scandal to the University and the danger that could threaten him from the extraction of the tooth, said to his companion: after prayer it fell out, I see no other remedy for myself than to commit myself to the providence of God. And approaching his accustomed place of prayer, praying long with tears he sought the benefit and committed himself to divine providence. While he prayed more insistently, that superfluous tooth was pulled out without any pain or violence, by the light touch of his hand, and the Doctor was totally freed from the impediment of speech. Which tooth he carried with him for a long time to recall the benefit of divine piety: lest forgetfulness, the mother of ingratitude, should efface it, and so that he might always have greater confidence in his prayer, which had thus been so quickly heard. Happy Doctor, whose impediment of mouth God could not endure longer, but filled it with the abundance of doctrine, lest the tongue of the Doctor fail in the expression of the word, which God was teaching for the instruction of the faithful; and the tooth fell without pain, which the innocent Doctor did not feel.

[53] Another admirable prodigy of divine power is said to have been divinely shown to the aforesaid Doctor. asked by the Parisian Doctors, For when the Parisian Masters had devised diverse arguments on the question of the dimensions of the Body of Jesus Christ and of the accidents existing without a subject in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, whose evidence of accidents the senses prove and whose existence without a subject the understanding of faith persuades, and the said Masters disagreed on the method of teaching this mystery, they all agreed on this judgment: that whatever the aforesaid Doctor Brother Thomas should say and definitively determine about this, should be held by all as true and consonant with the faith, he explains the mode of existence, and persuadable by reason: about whom they had experienced in other matters that he more subtly grasped the truth in every question and more clearly taught it: about which question, when everything that each one seemed to think had been brought to him in writing, having gathered his spirit within himself and elevated his understanding higher in contemplation, having first offered devout prayer as was his custom, what he could discover and what God deigned to infuse in him, he arranged in writing as briefly and clearly as he could. Which, since he did not presume to propose in the schools before the Masters of Christ in the Eucharist unless he first consulted him about whom the question was, whom he had prayed to teach him; approaching the altar, he placed the notebook which he had written on the aforesaid question before himself as if before his Master, and with hands raised to the Crucifix he prayed thus: Lord Jesus Christ, who are truly contained in this wondrous Sacrament and wondrously work as the artificer, in whom I seek to understand you and truly to teach about you, I humbly ask that if what I have written is true from you and about you, you grant me to say and openly discuss those things. But if I have written anything that is not

consonant with your faith and alien from the mysteries of this Sacrament, prevent those things which seem to deviate from the Catholic faith from being able to proceed. When the aforesaid companion with some other Brothers was observing the Doctor praying, approved by the appearing Christ, they suddenly saw Christ standing before the said Doctor upon the notebook he had written, and saying to Brother Thomas: You have written well about this Sacrament of my Body, and you have determined well and truly the question proposed to you: as far as can be understood by a man on the way, and humanly defined. While he continued longer in prayer, whom the intellectual, not sensory, vision delighted, the aforesaid Doctor was seen to be elevated about one cubit into the air, whom so great a power of contemplation had raised up and divine assistance attracted. To behold this prodigy they called the Prior of the convent and many other Brothers, to whom this wonder had been revealed, as witnesses. Who, coming, saw it and reported it to many others, among whom was Brother Martin Scola of the province of Spain, a man of great devotion and fame, who heard it from the Brother who saw the aforesaid wondrous vision, who related it in the convent of St. Maximin to the aforesaid Brother and his companion, who were going to the Curia for the Canonization of the aforesaid Doctor, in the presence of many, and confirmed it with certain attestation, considering that it would redound to the glory of God and the Saint if he revealed what he had heard about so great a Doctor. The Doctor, having been wondrously made certain of the definitive truth of the proposed question, so joyfully and lucidly proposed the proposed question before the University, because evidently Christ, about whom the question was, had more fully illuminated his Doctor about the truth.

[54] Another miracle is narrated of the aforesaid Doctor. When the aforesaid Doctor had preached in Holy Week on the Passion of the Lord at Rome in the church of St. Peter, A flow of blood is stanched by the touch of his cape, and had provoked the people to tears, on the day of the Lord's Resurrection in his preaching he led them to rejoice with the glorious Virgin at the Resurrection of her Son, just as the day before they had been compassionate about the Passion: and when he had descended after the sermon from the pulpit, a certain woman who had suffered a flow of blood for a long time, with no remedy of medicine helping her, wondrously touched the hem of the holy Doctor's cape, and immediately felt herself freed from her infirmity: and following him as far as the convent of Santa Sabina, she indicated the benefit she had received to the Doctor's companion, who afterward recounted it many times and to many. Happy Doctor, who shines with a miracle similar to the Savior: whose hem of garment when touched, the sick woman is cured, so that it might be known how great was the merit in his soul, since so great a power was found in his cape.

[55] And because it was fitting to the counsel of divine Wisdom that some remarkable prodigy of light should prefigure the singular ray of doctrine of the future Doctor, A star seen entering his chamber, there were not lacking wondrous signs which preceded the aforesaid Doctor, indications of his future sufficiency in knowledge and life. For once when the aforesaid Doctor was in the convent of Naples, so weak as to be in his chamber and reclining on his bed; Brother Bonfilio of Naples, who served him, being absent, the brother of the Saint's attendant, then a little boy, remaining to guard the chamber, saw through the window of the chamber a shining star of the measure of the greatness of the window enter, and rest for a little while upon the head of the aforesaid Doctor. and resting above his head, When the aforesaid boy had seen this, after a little while it departed whence it had come: which boy survived as an old man in good health until these times, relating this prodigy, which he deposed under oath before the Inquisitors named below, and confirmed as true. Nor should the aforesaid Doctor have had as a presage anything other than the light of a star, who was about to pour forth to the whole Church a shining instruction of the Christian Faith.

[56] Another indication of his holiness was divinely shown concerning the aforesaid Doctor in the aforesaid convent, which, just as the preceding was a testimony of knowledge, so the following was of life. For although from the combat which the aforesaid Doctor had with the adversary in prison, the triumph of victory which he sought remained with him, so that the enemy would now blush to fight again with the Doctor; yet the bold and audacious one, so often defeated by the boy, did not blush to enter battle more often with the Master: so that the soldier should not fear to fight again with the enemy, because though twice defeated in battle, he did not refuse to tempt the Lord a third time in the desert: who, defeated, is driven back, so that the faithful of Christ may know that the enemy, when resisted, is overcome. This was seen by Judge John of Blasio of Naples, when he was a young man, devout to the Brothers and the aforesaid Master: to whom the demon appeared in the form of an Ethiopian when he approached the aforesaid Master's chamber to tempt him, and the Master put him to flight by opposing the sign of the Cross [a demon approaching in the form of an Ethiopian is driven away by the sign of the Cross,] and also by crying out. For the aforesaid Doctor was unconquered by divine power against the three ways by which the enemy has access to the human race: from the concupiscence of the flesh he was already divinely girded by the Angelic hand with the girdle of chastity; from the concupiscence of the eyes the delight of divine contemplation had uprooted him; and him whom the pride of life had tempted, humility in no way permitted to be exalted. For it was fitting to the providence of the supreme Father that he should defend the examiner of his Wisdom, the observer of heavenly things, and the keyholder of all doubts in every temptation, and if he permitted the fight, should nevertheless freely grant him to obtain the triumph of victory over every attack: so that the victor might always rise gloriously, whom no temptation of the adversary could overcome; and he might now be certain of his reward, who had risen from the defeated adversary with triumph, and his whole life through itself might be completed for merit and might shine forth for others as an example.

CHAPTER X.

The illness of St. Thomas, his death, burial. Miracles and visions then performed.

[57] After these things, when the aforesaid Doctor was going to the General Council to be celebrated at Lyons, by mandate of the Most Holy Father Gregory X, and was carrying the booklet which he had made by mandate of Pope Urban against the Greeks to convict them of their errors and of the crime of schismatic depravity; it happened that he traveled through Campania; and turned aside, being weak, to the castle of Maenza, which belonged to the Lady Francesca, his niece, where he so completely lost his appetite that he could taste no food. Sardine fish are changed into herring, When asked by Master John de Guidone of Piperno, a physician, whether he desired any food, and he said he could taste no food except herring, which he had eaten in France, the physician was anxious because he could not provide a remedy for so great a Doctor who was ill, since such fish could not be found. Going out to the square of the castle, he found a man carrying one bundle of fresh sardines from Terracina. When he had it set down on the ground to search whether any other fish were mixed with the sardines, he found one basket of fresh herring: at which the physician marveled, because such fish had never been seen in those parts, and because the fish carrier repeatedly asserted that he had bought sardines; he ordered the aforesaid fish to be brought with joy to the Master, believing that he would be consoled by the food he desired, divinely provided for him. But the prudent Doctor, conscious of the heights of divine counsel, observing that this had been a great miracle granted to his appetite by divine piety, refusing to eat the fish, said to the physician: Master, it is better that I commit myself to divine Providence than that I presume to eat these fish granted by divine power, which I desired with excessive longing. Because many people ate of these fish, and because the aforesaid physician related it to many who still survive, the miracle remained widely known throughout that entire region. O wondrous sign of divine piety, who wished to refresh even the sensible appetite of his devoted one, as a sign that he had never allowed his appetite to oppose itself to reason. O admirable gratitude for the divine benefit in the aforesaid Doctor, who, when he merited to experience the affection of divine piety, refused to satisfy his appetite: following the example of David, who refused to taste the desired water, which the valor of three mighty men had procured by God's miracles.

[58] After this, when the aforesaid Doctor had been somewhat strengthened by remedies, so that it seemed to him he could continue the journey he had begun toward Rome, he turns aside to the monastery of Fossanova, passing near the monastery of Fossanova, invited by the Abbot and monks, wishing to regain his strength there for some days, he entered the aforesaid monastery with a suitable retinue of monks running up and accompanying him. When he had first entered the church and shown due reverence to the sacred altar, he entered the cloister, where the hand of the Lord came upon him, and touched by the spirit of prophecy, he said to many listening monks and Brothers of his own Order, and especially to his companion, to whom he was accustomed to reveal similar things: Son Raynald, this is my rest forever and ever; he foretells his death, here I shall dwell, for I have chosen it. Happy Doctor, who, when he merited to foreknow his departure from the prison of the body and at the same time the entrance to eternal felicity, understood that there the rest of the homeland would succeed for him where he would end the course of the way: and while he would not spare himself in the prosecution of obedience in such a case, it was given to him to pass on to the tribunal of the higher Judge, about to live in eternity, at once foreknowing his rest, at the beginning of life and the end and setting of his labor. After which prophetic word about his death, with the Brothers, he experiences great charity, especially of his own Order, lamenting, the Doctor was placed in the chamber of the Abbot, with the other companions, as necessity required, lodged with great affection of charity. Where, when the aforesaid Doctor lay ill for many days, more and more burdened by his sickness, the monks began to serve him with such reverence and humility that they even carried wood from the forest on their own shoulders; counting themselves fortunate if they could render service to the holy Doctor, who while still living was hastening toward the kingdom. But the prudent Doctor himself, compassionate toward himself and others, said: Whence comes this to me, that even the servants of God should serve a man, and carry so great a burden from afar, by which they labor? Although he was exceedingly weak, because he believed, as he had prophesied, that he was about to pass from life, when asked by some monks who could comprehend, to leave them some memorial of his learning at the end, he briefly expounded to them the Song of Songs: he expounds the Song of Songs, so that in this case, as the body was failing from mortal life, that soul might not fail from the necessary act of teaching, and the study of ecclesiastical discipline might pass over into the Song of celestial glory. And it well befits the aforesaid Doctor, about to pass from the prison of the body, that the study of his wisdom should end in the Song of love of the beloved and the beloved, so that just as he directed his study toward his God,

so he might arrive at having the embrace of the Beloved.

[59] Then, when the aforesaid Doctor began to fail from excessive weakness and to foreknow his departure from this life, with great devotion he asked that the viaticum of the Christian pilgrimage be administered to him, he requests the sacred Viaticum, the most holy Sacrament of the Body of Christ. When this had been reverently and devoutly carried by the Abbot and monks, and he himself, prostrate on the ground, weak in body but strong in mind, had come to meet his Lord with tears, when the Sacrament of the Body of the Lord was offered to him (and when he had been asked, as is the custom, what every Christian is examined about in his last moments concerning the faith of this most excellent Sacrament, whether he believed that the consecrated Host was the true Son of God, who came forth from the womb of the Virgin and hung on the gibbet of the Cross, who died for us and rose on the third day) in a free voice, with attentive devotion and with tears he responded thus: he professes the faith, If greater knowledge than that of faith about this Sacrament can be had in this life, in that knowledge I respond, that I truly believe and know for certain that this is true God and man, the Son of God the Father and of the Virgin Mother, and thus I believe in my soul and confess in word, as the Priest has proposed concerning this most holy Sacrament: and having first spoken some devout words, in receiving the Sacrament he said: he subjects his writings to the judgment of the Church, I receive you, the price of the redemption of my soul, for love of whom I studied, kept watch, and labored; you I preached and taught; I never said anything against you, nor am I obstinate in my own opinion, but if I have said anything amiss about this Sacrament, I leave it all to the correction of the Holy Roman Church, in whose obedience I now pass from this life. It is also said of the aforesaid Doctor that at the elevation of the Body of Christ he was also accustomed to say: You, King of glory, Christ, You are the everlasting Son of the Father, to the end, with great devotion and tears. Having received this Sacrament, so devoutly for his own merit and as an example for others, he then asked on the following day for the oil of sacred Anointing, anointed, he dies, the Sacrament of those departing: so that the spirit of anointing, which had anointed him above his companions, might lead him to heaven, where he was tending. And after a little while he returned his spirit to the Lord: which, just as he had received it holy, so he preserved it, who departed from the body as joyfully as he had wondrously seemed to live outside the body. Happy Doctor, who ran so lightly in the stadium, fought so manfully in battle, that he may say with the Apostle: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of justice, which he truly merited for himself from the pursuit of inspired doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:7

[60] soon a triple star seen in sleep by someone, And because some new signs had to precede the eclipse of so great a luminary which the Church was about to suffer in the passing of this Doctor from this life, which would seem to indicate the happy passing of this Doctor; there were not lacking manifest and justly wondrous indications which demonstrated the departure of this Doctor and his entrance into future felicity. For at the hour of the passing of the aforesaid Doctor, a certain monk of the aforesaid monastery, praying in the church, fell asleep, and behold, he saw one star of wondrous splendor fall upon the monastery, and two stars combined with it descend from heaven, and after a little while lift up to the heavens the first star which he had previously seen: which seemed to reach the splendor and equal the magnitude of the two stars. After which vision, awakened from sleep, hearing the tablet being struck as the sign of the Doctor's death, and also a comet before his death, who had died at the hour of the aforesaid vision, he understood that the first star designated the soul of this Doctor, which had then departed from the body and ascended to heaven accompanied by the other two. Another sign was seen in the same monastery, for a certain star in the manner of a comet was seen above the monastery for three days before the death of the aforesaid Doctor, which, while it was not known what it signified when it appeared, showed the death of the aforesaid Doctor when it ceased.

[61] And because the aforesaid Doctor had a special devotion to the Blessed Apostle Paul, who with Blessed Peter revealed to him the doubtful text of Scripture, as was said before; at Naples, at the hour of death, in a dream, in death he was not deprived of Apostolic consolation: for at the very time he was departing at Fossanova, Brother Paul of Aquila, a man of great probity and fame, who was a Lector and Inquisitor of heretical depravity, being in the Neapolitan convent, saw in an imaginary vision the aforesaid Doctor reading at Naples in the schools before a copious multitude of students, and Blessed Paul entering his schools with a company of Saints. number 32. When the Lector, descending from the chair, wished to meet him, the Apostle nodding to him to read and to continue the lecture he had begun, the Doctor asked the Apostle St. Paul seen leading him to heaven, whether he had had a true understanding of his Epistles. Who responded: Well, as far as a man living in the body can know in this life: but I wish you to come with me, and I will lead you to a place where you will have a clearer understanding of all things; and he seemed to take him by the cape and lead him out of the schools. At the departure of this Doctor, the aforesaid Brother began to cry out loudly: Help, for Brother Thomas is being taken from us. At his cry the Brothers, aroused, asked what he had seen while crying out in the vision: and he narrated the vision in order. Who, noting the hour, discovered that at the very time the Doctor had been granted to pass from this life, the Blessed Apostle had been seen inviting him to glory. Happy soul of the Doctor, whom the heavenly citizens come to meet, to lead to the heavenly kingdom: and whom he merited to have as an instructor in knowledge while he lived, he had as a guide to celestial glory as he passed from this life.

[62] When the aforesaid Doctor had died with so many signs and testimonies of holiness, Lord John of Ferentino, Sight is restored to the blind, Subprior of the said monastery, suffering so seriously in his eyes that he could scarcely see, had himself led to the body of the said Saint. Prostrate at his feet with reverence and devotion, he had himself applied to the corpse, and placing his face upon his face, he prayed to God that by the merits of the said Doctor, to whom he had devoted himself by praying, the restoration of the sight he lacked might be granted to him. Who, immediately perfectly illuminated, cried out: Blessed be God, for by the merits of this Saint my sight has been most perfectly restored. And it was well fitting that God should grant light to one seeking sight by the merits of the Saint, to whom God immediately, when he passed, granted the light of glory, that he might see him in eternity.

[63] The Abbot and monks, having seen so many indications of holiness and so many signs, sorrowing at so sudden and painful an eclipse of so great a luminary of the Church, and rejoicing that they had merited to have such a Patron before God, many running to him, celebrated solemn exequies around the body of the Saint. At his funeral and exequies many Brothers of his Order were present, who had come from various convents to visit him. The Reverend Father Lord Francis, Bishop of Terracina, of the Order of Friars Minor, was also present with many of his Order, and many nobles from Campania: of whom very many were drawn by natural affection, since the aforesaid Doctor had many relatives by blood in Campania, and many were attracted by the fame of his learning, the signs of miracles, and the examples of his holiness and life. When the body of the aforesaid Saint was being carried with all these to the church with chant and reverence, also to his niece, the Lady Francesca, his niece, who did not dare enter the monastery, asked the Abbot as a favor to have the body of the aforesaid Doctor brought to the door of the monastery. When she saw it, she with two others made a mournful lamentation over the body of so great a man, as was the custom, and a mule that suddenly died, as the affection of kinship could express and the magnitude of grief at his death. And when the groaning with their cry resounded at a greater distance, the mule on which the aforesaid Doctor had ridden broke loose from the stable by breaking its rope, he is buried, and approaching the bier with no one leading it, died without any other illness: so that even in animals God might show that a great light of the Church had failed. After these things his body was carried to the church, in which it was venerably entombed, and the heavenly star hidden by the clod of earth; until his holiness should yet be manifestly made bright by miracles, which God would wondrously demonstrate.

[64] After the devout Office of burial, paid with mournful sorrow and solemn devotion, Brother Raynald of Piperno, who merited to be the witness and companion of his entire life and whose blessed death tempered the excess of grief, Raynald of Piperno, companion, adding testimony of his life to a certain monk — which would serve as an example for the hearers and would serve as a remedy for their grief — consented that he should obediently serve reason for the commendation of his Master and for the debt owed to the disciples of the said Doctor, who expected to hear the merit of his life, of whose holiness they saw such evident indications. Rising therefore into their midst he preached and said: I am a witness of the entire outward life and conscience of this Doctor, and I frequently heard his merit so evident: and now I have heard his general Confession, whom I always found as pure as a five-year-old boy: because he never felt the contagion of his flesh, nor had consent in any depraved pleasure. After which, having sought a place of silence conscious of tears and a friend of grief, he testifies to his innocence, he burst into groaning, seeing himself, together with the human race, deprived of the presence of so great a luminary. And no wonder: for who could have, at the death of so great a Doctor so justly falling, restrained the grief of the heart, contained tears, silenced complaints, in whom the light of knowledge was obscured, the flower of innocence fell, the organ of doctrine was silenced, and the example of holiness disappeared: and death, welcome to him and bitter to us, dried up that fountain of wondrous sweetness, so that the passing to glory of the Master could not fully gladden the disturbed soul of the disciple. Whom he served not only as a disciple to a Master, as a son to a Father, but as a devoted one to a Saint: around whom it was always necessary to assume the office of a nurse, on account of the almost continual abstraction and frequent rapture of his mind to heavenly things, so that it was necessary to anticipate the one thus abstracted from external things even with necessary bodily nourishment, and to prepare before him what he might consume, lest in those things that might harm him an error should occur if, continually abstracted, he should err in what he consumed. Although that gentle Doctor, mindful of such a disciple, when at the end of his life, wished to console him. When the companion revealed to the Master one cause of his sadness — because he had hoped that at the Council of Lyons, where he was heading, the Master would be elevated to some great dignity, which would redound to the honor

of the Order and the temporal glory of his own family — the holy Doctor, who was always content with the sole love of divine Wisdom, higher than the world, and his humility, and more sublime than every temporal dignity, said to him: Do not be troubled, Son, about this cause, for this I asked of God among my other desires, and giving thanks to God I obtained that he would receive me, unworthy, from this life in this degree of humility, from which no dignity of authority would change me. And although I could have profited more in knowledge and been useful to others in doctrine from the revelation made to me, it now pleased the supreme knowledge to reveal its secret, whence it conferred more upon me, unworthy, than upon other Doctors who remained longer in this life, so that I should more quickly than others yield to the present mortal life and enter into the eternal one, consoled. Therefore be consoled, Son, for I am consoled in all things.

[65] On the third day after the death of the said Doctor, Brother Raymond Maturus, of our Order, a Pisan by birth, a man exceedingly laborious and wholly humble, who had happily persevered from the time of Emperor Frederick until these times, [seen by another in sleep celebrating, preaching, and indicating knowledge granted in heaven,] who had been very familiar with the said Doctor in the Anagni convent, saw the following vision from God. For when he had long wept in the evening from grief at the death of so great a Doctor, thinking that with him so much knowledge had been lost; falling asleep after his groaning, it seemed to him that Brother Thomas came out of the sacristy clothed in priestly vestments, and that proceeding to the altar prepared with his ministers he came to celebrate Mass, while Brother Raymond himself was singing in the choir in the usual manner. In which, when the Doctor had proceeded, after the Gospel turning to the people he preached solemnly. When the preaching and Mass were finished, and he was returning to the sacristy, when the whole choir after the Office of the Brothers inclined more devoutly before him, and the said Brother Raymond was looking at him curiously, he observed that the said Doctor's right eye was much larger than the left, and incomparably brighter, of wondrous splendor: about which difference when he greatly marveled, the said Doctor said to him: You marvel at this, Son, that you perceive so great a difference in my right eye from the left: so great is the difference of the knowledge which I now have in the homeland from that which I had while I was on the way. A fitting vision, which would satisfy the grieving one, who was deploring the Doctor's lost knowledge, and would show the same man's knowledge amplified.

[66] The aforesaid Doctor died in the year of the Lord one thousand two hundred and seventy-four, died in the year 1274, his 49th year completed, in the fourth year of the aforesaid Lord Pope Gregory X, in the second Indiction, on the seventh day of March, at the morning hour. For it was fitting to divine providence that at the time of that month God should assign to his Doctor the entrance to eternal life, in which from eternity he had foreseen producing and leading the universe; so that the aforesaid Doctor should be made like God in his works, so that as if on the completed sixth day of the work of writing, the seventh day should succeed for him for rest; and completing his forty-ninth year of life, he should begin from the fiftieth the Jubilee of eternal glory: and at the morning hour the dawn of enigmatic vision should reach its end, and the Saint should begin the day of glory of full light.

CHAPTER XI.

Various Translations of the incorrupt body and of the hand.

[67] After these things the aforesaid Abbot, thinking that the place in which the body of the said Doctor was buried was well known, The body translated to the chapel of St. Stephen, and that it could be taken from them through the efforts of the Brothers of his Order, by a mandate of the Supreme Pontiff; because the body had been commended to the said monastery as in a place of deposit; he had it secretly transferred from the church to the chapel of St. Stephen near the cloister. Concerning which, when the aforesaid Doctor, appearing in a dream to the aforesaid Abbot, severely reproached him, because due reverence had been detracted from his body, and because the Brothers of his Order had been deceived, who truly did not know the place in which they should pay him reverence; when he appeared and ordered it returned, he threatened him unless he quickly returned his body to the former place, in which no one who came to visit his tomb would err. Thinking and fearing the judgment of divine vengeance if he should pass over the command he had heard in the vision; and wishing nevertheless that this should be hidden from the claustral monks, having obtained the keys of the aforesaid chapel from Lord Blasius, and having taken two visiting monks and some oblates, he went to the chapel in which the body of the said Doctor was buried, and having opened the tomb with iron instruments, after a long time from the day of his exhumation, when he had been translated from the church burial, it exhales a sweet fragrance, so great a fragrance suddenly exhaled from the burial place that it did not seem to have been the burial place of a dead human body, but a shop of many spices. The fragrance was so great and so diffused itself through everything that the monks, divinely stirred by it with no other indication, assembled. it is found intact, Before them, when the body of the buried Doctor was more fully displayed, they saw his body intact in its members and in its clothes, cape and hood, in the habit of his Order, just as it had been placed in the tomb before, in no way whatsoever changed; although the said Doctor's body had been stout, fat, and large, and the soil of his burial place damp and deep. The monks, seeing around the Doctor's body such manifest, such great, such multiplied miracles, the body of the Saint fragrant and unchanged in substance and figure by any corruption, having placed the holy body on the bier of the dead and lifted it up, to carry it to the church with solemnity, it is carried back with solemn singing, not having first arranged what they should sing, the Cantor in a loud voice began: This Saint is worthily turned into the memory of men, who has passed to the joy of Angels. When it was thus carried with singing and reverence, and a Mass of a Confessor celebrated, near the high altar in the tribune of the church, the Abbot had it placed in a certain marble tomb, and the community sang the Mass of one Confessor, such open miracles having been seen that there could be no doubt about his glory. Since the Cantor had not premeditated which Introit he should begin, he suddenly began to sing: The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment. It happened, when the monks had gone to their meal, that among other guardians of the holy body a certain Master James the barber remained to guard it with others, for the preparation of the tomb: the earth from contact with the body becomes fragrant, who, opening the board by which the chest of the holy body was covered, drew out the earth that had fallen around the breast, which had been collected: which gave forth so great a fragrance that it diffused itself through the whole choir with wondrous fragrance, so that all who were present marveled, astonished that not only the body of the Saint gave forth fragrance, but also everything that had adhered to the holy body. Whence a certain nobleman, who had come to obtain relics of the said holy Doctor's body, took some part of that earth with him and preserved it as his relic. preserved as relics. For it was fitting that the lifeless body of the said Doctor should shine with great signs of miracles, which while alive had served in so many duties to God, and should give forth fragrance by divine power alone, since it had organically obeyed so many acts of virtue.

[68] Nor is it without the admirable hidden mystery of divine counsel that in the aforesaid monastery of Fossanova, of another Order and of great religion, Testimony contributed by the monks of Fossanova, death should extinguish the life of the holy Doctor in so fruitful a journey in obedience to the Holy Roman Church, where the trustworthy testimony of so many holy religious, having seen the miracles of the dead holy body, should stir up his memory, and they themselves should be compelled, with the signs of miracles crying out, to be witnesses of his holiness, who were striving to conceal what was becoming bright with miracles. For they had good reason to suspect that the Brothers of his Order would show greater effort to have his body if they had testimony of the truth about his miracles from them. For who would have believed the Brothers of his Order about the fragrance of the holy body, since his burial place was fragrant many times, that it had not been introduced by human ingenuity, which was felt diffused with such wondrous sweetness, unless it had been manifested to others in the hands of so many witnesses: so that both the journey which was cut short by his death and the end at which his life was concluded might manifestly show how great an obedience he had rendered to the Roman Church while living, and was still rendering while dying.

[69] It pleased God and the Saint to repeat this miracle of the integrity and fragrance of the holy body. in the 14th year after death the body is incorrupt, For in the fourteenth year after his death, Peter of Monte San Giovanni, who was Abbot of the said monastery, was asked by the Lady Theodora, sister of the said Doctor, to give her the right hand of her Brother as a relic. The Abbot, wishing to satisfy her wishes, agreeing and permitting it to be given, went to the tomb of the said Saint: and when the stone of the burial place had been with difficulty lifted with iron instruments, and the precious treasure of the holy body laid open, as before, a similarly great fragrance came forth. To which, as before, all the monks assembled, and found his body intact in its members and in the garments of his habit, as before, except for the tip of the nose, which had been slightly worn away by the length of time. The right hand of his holy body, which he had expected to pull off as putrid, the hand given to his sister, he was compelled to cut off. Which hand, although prudent in his astonishment at the miracle, yet bold from the devotion he had conceived, he received and carried with reverence to the aforesaid Lady, who was waiting with desire. Who, receiving it devoutly with tears, had it more carefully preserved with other relics she had: which to this day, just as it was received whole, so it appears preserved without any change, and is kept with veneration at the Salernitan convent of his Order, in which the body of his aforesaid sister is deposited. O admirable prodigy of divine power, and stupendous miracle in its rarity, that the earth should not dare to corrupt the earthly body entrusted to it, which it had received as a deposit without corruption! O manifest indication of the holiness of the aforesaid Doctor, that for his body, which while living he had merited to have raised in the air in prayer, he should obtain when dead that it should not be reduced to dust:

so that the divine sentence about the dissolution of the human body seemed to be deferred in him; until it should be manifest by this doubled miracle how much the blessed Doctor was entirely free from fault, whose body had been preserved without any corruption whatsoever.

CHAPTER XII.

Various miracles performed.

[70] God added yet again a repetition of the aforesaid miracle, for a more certain proof of the truth of the preceding things. For when the aforesaid hand of the Doctor was being kept with reverence in the chapel of the castle of San Severino of the aforesaid Lady, a certain Cleric of Salerno, a Canon, most devout to God, appointed Procurator of the Rector of the said chapel for a certain time, He who refuses to venerate the hand of St. Thomas is punished with trembling, came out of devotion to see the relics that were kept there with reverence. When he had adored these with reverence, and the right hand of the aforesaid Doctor was likewise presented to him by the Chaplain to adore; and he, smiling, had disdained to adore and look at it, a great trembling suddenly seized him. Who, perceiving that because of the contempt by which he had disdained to adore the hand of the Saint, he trembled from a sudden change in his body, penitent he fell prostrate at the feet of the Priest and humbly asked to be absolved, contrite, of the contemptuous words he had spoken against the Saint. And when he had been absolved by him, and had received a salutary penance, since the punishment of trembling still lasted, penitent, having venerated it, he is freed, he asked that the said hand of the Saint be shown to him, so that being penitent he might render the due reverence to the Saint which he had denied in disdain. Which, when on bended knees and bathed in tears he had adored it, he asked God to absolve him by the merits of the said Saint from the fall of his crime and to free him from the punishment of trembling inflicted upon him: and approaching more closely with reverence, still trusting in the greater piety of God and the Saint, he kissed it, from which he perceived so great a fragrance that he did not recall having perceived the like: and immediately the trembling ceased from his body, and there was wrought in him by God a wondrous change for the better of devotion in his mind. preserving a sweet fragrance from its touch for a long time, From the touch of his kiss of the sacred hand, the fragrance which he had perceived adhered to him and to the hood, which while he held it at his neck had touched the pouch in which the sacred hand was hidden, so strongly: that from the hood, whenever he put it on, a frequent memory of the aforesaid miracle was brought to him by its fragrance, and a frequent inquiry from those meeting him: what fragrant thing was he carrying that changed the smell of those who met him: and so frequently during the day he had to recount the miracle of his liberation and of the fragrance, so that for the glory of the said Saint he might make amends for the fault of his contempt. The aforesaid miracle occurred in the forty-second year after the death of the said Doctor, so that from the length of time during which the said hand had remained in its integrity, and still wonderfully persists, the divine power may appear in it, he is freed in temptations, which also endures together with the fragrance. The aforesaid Cleric also perceived with the aforesaid fragrance, in every danger of temptation, assistance, and as often as he felt himself being attacked by the adversary, even if he had already resolved in his mind to consent, having invoked the help of God by the merit of the said Saint, he immediately perceived himself free from all danger and, with God's favor, secure.

[71] And because the hand of so great a Doctor, through which God had arranged so many truths, was not to be kept The hand brought to Salerno, except in some place of his Order, where the illuminated soul of the Doctor had taught; for this reason, when the aforesaid miracle had been narrated many times to Lord Thomasius of San Severino, Count of Marsico, praising God for the miracle and thinking that the aforesaid hand of the said Doctor would be kept more reverently by the Brothers of his Order, he granted it to the Prior and Convent of Salerno, to be preserved with reverence. from time to time it breathes forth a sweet fragrance, When a certain very devout Brother had approached to venerate it with due devotion, hoping to perceive the fragrance of sweetness which he had heard from others; but when he had not perceived it, as he had piously hoped, preparing himself with greater devotion to adore it more reverently, he perceived a wondrous fragrance, the like of which he did not recall ever having perceived. Which miracle he reported to his Prior, and afterward narrated it to many for the glory of God and the Saint. Since this fragrance is not perceived by all who adore the hand of the Doctor, nor every time it is adored, it is free from all suspicion that it is not a fragrance procured by human ingenuity, which appears sometimes granted by divine power: which is purged of all human fraud, since no fragrance of any natural thing is found similar to it. The hand of that Doctor is whole, it is intact except for the thumb, except for the thumb, which was taken by someone's devotion, extended, dried, and not changed from its original color: so that from this it is shown to all that it was not preserved without a miracle. The aforesaid miracle of fragrance was divinely shown not only at his hand, but those who approached to adore other relics of the said Saint report that they also received other benefits of health. And it well accords with divine Providence that the hand of the said Doctor should be worthy of divinely pouring forth fragrance, which merited to write many things for the faithful toward the fragrance of divine knowledge: which opened that book in the spirit with the finger of understanding, which it received from the right hand of the one seated on the throne, to teach others: which still remains in its integrity, which, not without a miracle, the quality of air from the antiquity of time has not corrupted.

[72] As time progressed, with the devotion of the people growing at the tomb of the aforesaid Saint and the fame of the aforesaid miracle of fragrance and of the integrity of his holy body being frequently repeated, the devout custom commonly grew that men occupied in their works in the fields, whenever they were suddenly burdened by any infirmity, A sufferer of gout is healed, would hasten to the tomb of the said Saint and there find grace through the Saint's merits. Among whom a certain physician named Raynald, a resident of San Lorenzo, a castle near the monastery of Fossanova, having suffered gout for ten years, so severely that he could not walk without assistance, was carried to the tomb of the said Saint, and when he had prayed to God before the whole community and promised to amend his life for the better within a year if he obtained health by the said Saint's merits, he suddenly rose before all of the community, perfectly cured, and giving thanks to God and rendering praises to the said Saint, he ran swiftly to his horse, and mounting it lightly, said: For ten years I have not been able to mount this horse, and now I mount it and return healthy by the merits of St. Thomas. At which, amazed and astonished, they rang the bells and solemnly sang the Te Deum laudamus.

[73] Peter Francisci of Piperno, an Oblate of the said monastery, while in his bed, possessed by a demon, the evil spirit appeared to him in the form of an ape mocking him: and it made him so immobile that he could not fortify himself with the sign of the Cross, nor had natural movement of the members of his body. When he was thought by all to be possessed by a demon, two monks and a certain Oblate monk carried him with devotion to the tomb of the said Saint: where, when on bended knees they had devoutly implored God through the Saint's merits, the one possessed by the demon was immediately restored from all infirmity to his former health. Who immediately leaving the world, became a Lay Brother of the said monastery, devout in life and conduct.

[74] Lord Matthew Angeli of Piperno, suffering arthritis in his right arm, those afflicted with arthritis, since he could do nothing with that arm, having conceived devotion to the aforesaid Saint, he went with reverence to his tomb with full faith. When, praying to God upon it, he had implored grace through the Saint's merits, having placed his sick arm upon the tomb, he was immediately restored to his former health.

[75] Thomas Paganus of Piperno, having suffered fever for many weeks, hearing from pilgrims who had passed through the said monastery fever, that many miracles were being performed at the tomb of the said St. Thomas, while actually suffering, vowing to visit his tomb and to have one Mass celebrated there in his praise; he was immediately cured of all infirmity: and approaching with reverence, he fulfilled the vow he had promised with thanksgiving.

[76] Dom Rayner of Babuco, a monk of the said monastery, having suffered fever for thirteen days, by which he was greatly burdened; likewise fever, having conceived devotion, he went on hands and feet to the tomb of the aforesaid St. Thomas: where when he had asked by praying to be freed by God through his merits, he immediately rose, cured of all infirmity, giving thanks to God and praising the merits of the said Saint.

[77] A certain young man of Piperno, Thomas, being infected with leprosy, not yet separated from the company of men, leprosy, with devotion he went to the tomb of St. Thomas, trusting in his merits: near which, while the monks with pious dissimulation permitted the aforesaid young man to be carried, at night St. Thomas appeared to him while he slept and said to him: What do you ask of me? And when he had responded: I ask to be freed by God through your merits, the Saint responded to him: Rise and be well. Who, waking with joy, found himself perfectly cured of all infirmity, and gave thanks to God, praising the merits of the said Saint with all devotion.

[78] Brother Bartholomew of Ferentino, a Lay Brother of the said monastery, being afflicted with an abscess and given up by the physicians, an abscess, since he could be healed by no remedy of medicine; induced by his Abbot to conceive devotion to the aforesaid Blessed Thomas and to commend himself to God and his merits, he immediately, having made a vow, vomited forth the abscess, and was totally cured of all the infirmity by which he was afflicted. Who added to this that whenever some severe storm occurred in the air, which the monks feared out of timidity, with the divine name invoked, through the merits of the said Saint, when a procession was made to his tomb, the storm immediately ceased.

[79] A certain man, poor in temporal substance but rich in the grace of devotion, having from birth weak shins and legs, weakness of the legs and shins, so that he could not walk but dragged them behind himself as if certain pieces of flesh; hearing that many miracles were being performed at the tomb of the said Saint by God through his merits, having conceived devotion, he had himself carried to the tomb of the said

Saint: where, praying long with tears for God's benefit, through his merits, with his shins and legs suddenly strengthened, he rose and stood erect and began to walk, healed; giving thanks to God, who through the merits of the Saints heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.

CHAPTER XIII.

Acts concerning the Inquisition to be established at Naples for the Canonization of St. Thomas.

[80] For the glory also of the said Saint, the miracles must be written To procure an inquisition about miracles, which divinely occurred in the prosecution of his Canonization to the Brothers, to whom the inquisition about miracles performed by God through his merits was entrusted through Brother Robert of St. Valentine, then Vicar of the Master of the Order, and the Definitors of the Provincial Chapter in the convent of Galatina, so that they should have the miracles found written down and propose them to the most holy Father Lord Pope John XXII without any hesitation, who related the following miracle done to them by the merits of the said Saint. When the said Brothers were sailing in a certain galley loaded with very many Provincials, sailing from Naples to France, from Naples toward the Roman Curia, with two sails raised and filled with a favorable but excessively strong wind, so that it stirred up a great storm at sea for those sailing, the sailors began to be very afraid, because the galley seemed to be more dangerously tossed about by the storms, since besides this it was night and they were afflicted by rain. When, as they sailed, the wind was driving the galley toward Mount Argentario and the mariners were unable to divert it, they are delivered from the storm and the danger of death, each one on the galley began to remove his clothes, so that they might not perish but save themselves by swimming: and one began to cry out in loud voices to the said Brothers, who were hiding in the bilge out of fear of the storm: Pray, Brothers, to your Saints, for the galley is about to break as it heads toward the mountain. When they had mutually prepared themselves for Confession and for the passing which they believed was soon to come with all human aid removed, they began with great weeping and voices to invoke the Queen of Virgins, the Star of the Sea, Blessed Dominic, Blessed Peter Martyr, and lastly Blessed Thomas, as for immediate help. Imploring his aid more insistently with groaning, as if they had summoned the Saint by obligation for aid in the divine judgment, who had so faithfully labored for his honor, they asked with greater confidence to be delivered by his merits through a miracle, lest the written miracles of the said Saint which they were carrying should perish. A wondrous prodigy: as if it were the business of the said Saint, if he should provide aid to the said Brothers and to all on the galley; when the galley was close to the ruin of being broken, a new wind blew from the side of the mountain and diverted the galley, which was being carried by its impetus toward the mountain, from the destruction of impact, and it proceeded, divinely delivered from all danger, onto the open sea looking at the mountain from the side. Then all cried out: A Miracle, praising God: whom the sea and winds obey, when the Saints intercede for those sailing in danger.

[81] And because the entire process which had suddenly been instituted for the honor of God and the said Saint by divine command had been frequently resumed, and was manifestly divinely inspired; Pope John XXII praises the life and doctrine of St. Thomas, the history of the prosecution of the said process must be continued, up to the point where the prosecution of the Inquisition for inquiring into the miracles of the said Saint was committed by the Most Holy Supreme Pontiff John. Before this Most Holy Father, when the aforesaid Brothers had set forth the said cause of their coming to the presence of his Holiness, and had presented letters from Great Men about this, by which they implored that the inquisition for finding miracles performed through the merits of the aforesaid Saint should be committed by Apostolic authority; the aforesaid Supreme Pontiff, breathed upon by the divine spirit with which he was filled, said: We believe that Brother Thomas is glorious in heaven: because his life was holy, and his doctrine could not be without a miracle. And he added to the Brother who had made the proposal: We assign you the first consistory, in which you may propose these same things before us and our Brothers. Which response of the Supreme Father the Cardinals of our Order, hearing, and with the Cardinals approving, he prescribes the Process of inquisition, said was divinely inspired in such a petition, and that the progress of the begun business was being made by God, who was always wondrous in the works of his Saint. When on the third day the aforesaid petition had been proposed in Consistory by the same Brother, and by mandate of the Supreme Pontiff the aforesaid Brother who had proposed it had withdrawn from the Consistory; the Supreme Pontiff, breathed upon by the same Spirit with which he had been filled in the first response, directing the gaze of his kindness like a ray of the sun here and there to the Cardinals, said: Brothers, we shall consider it a great glory for us and for our Church if we can inscribe this Saint in the catalogue of Saints, provided that some miracles can be found concerning him: for he illuminated the Church more than all other Doctors, and in his books a man profits more in one year than in the doctrine of others for the whole time of his life. To which, with all the Cardinals assenting as Sons, the Supreme Pontiff named three Prelates for the said Brother for the office of inquisition of miracles, to which, with more deliberate counsel, he committed the aforesaid Inquisition with the form of Inquisition to the Reverend Fathers the Archbishop of Naples, the Bishop of Viterbo, and Lord Pandulf de Sabello, his Notary, first having preceded an inquisition about the fame of the life and miracles of the said St. Thomas. And when it was completed, it was read and accepted in Consistory at the Curia, lest by the length of time the desired Canonization of the Doctor should be too long delayed, toward which the affection of the Most Holy Father was hastening, foreseeing that through it the Church committed to him would be advanced, edified by his merits and illuminated by his doctrines.

[82] After the return of the said Brothers from the Curia, with the letters about the Inquisition to be conducted on the aforesaid matters, with the authority committed, miracles performed at Fossanova are collected, before the letters were assigned to the aforesaid Prelates at Naples, because the third could not be present, in the meantime, before the aforesaid Lord Bishop came to the aforesaid city in which the Inquisition was to be conducted, having called witnesses from the monastery of Fossanova, the Abbot and monks, some of whom had seen the aforesaid Saint and his miracles, and some had received divine benefits through his merits by God's piety; by supernatural power, through the merits of the said Saint, many miracles were performed on account of the devotion of the people, which on the occasion of the said inquisition resounded throughout the region from common fame; and by the wonderful providence of God, which showed itself more wondrous through the merits of the said Saint. Some of these miracles were not found before the aforesaid Inquisitors: because the witnesses could not come to Naples on account of the distance and their inability: and the Reverend Father the Bishop of Naples, on account of old age, could not without danger to his life come together with his said Lord colleague the Bishop at the place of the said monastery, in which and around which the witnesses were. The aforesaid Brother, lest anything should be detracted from the divine glory, which shows himself wondrous in his Saints, and from the fame of the holy Doctor, if the miracles should be consigned to oblivion which had been performed for the knowledge of divine glory, during that time in which the aforesaid Lord Bishop was preparing himself to come, waiting for him in the said monastery for four months, collected all the wonderful things he could find: some of which were performed in his presence during that time, and certain others were collected from nearby, which are noted below. By the multiplication of which, the aforesaid Saint was seen to intend the multiplication of the signs described below, as he was seen to demonstrate in the following vision.

[83] Lord Bartholomew of Sulmona, a monk of the aforesaid monastery of Fossanova, a man of great religion, as the Saint himself revealed to a certain person present, devotion, and fame, by the testimony of his Abbot, saw in those days in which all the aforesaid things were being done, as in a nocturnal vision, Brother Thomas of Aquino, accompanied by many Brothers of his Order, entering the choir of his Order and of the said monastery. Marveling at his arrival, he asked about the reason for his new coming to the monastery. He said: I have heard that the Supreme Pontiff is having my deeds investigated, and I have come for this. The aforesaid monk responded: Is it true that you are to be canonized? However, Brother Peter of Morrone was not canonized until he was dead, and you are still living. St. Thomas responded: Son, no one is canonized unless he is living, and Brother Peter of Morrone is living, and therefore was canonized: and inclining himself, he began to show the manner of praying of the said Saint, making straight, deep inclinations, as that one used to do in his cell, and he added: Brother Peter was canonized as a Saint, because he was exceedingly devout in prayer. Then you will sing this Invitatory, which he was seriously telling him in his dreams. Who, waking and marveling, did not remember the Invitatory, and it seemed that the said Brother Thomas was vesting himself for Mass. In which, as he proceeded, he was awakened, rejoicing that God had deigned to reveal to his Saint wondrous past things, which on account of the length of time seemed forgotten.

CHAPTER XIV.

Miracles performed at Fossanova and Piperno.

[84] Lord John of Adelasia, a monk of the aforesaid monastery, of Piperno, while lying in the dormitory, An abscess is cured, suddenly in the night such intense pains came upon him that he seemed about to die. When the monks had assembled around him, they carried him to the infirmary, where remedies could more suitably be applied. Since the medicines applied brought him no remedy, they persuaded him to conceive devotion and vow himself with all his affections to the aforesaid Blessed Thomas. When he had done so, and others were imploring the Saint's help along with him, the abscess suddenly left his body, leaving absolutely no injury in him, and he devoutly gave thanks to God, who had freed him through the merits of the said Saint.

[85] Lord John of the Slavs, a monk of the said monastery, suffering a most severe abscess and fever, another abscess with fever, so that the physician had no hope of health from his infirmity; vowing himself to Blessed Thomas and God, commending himself to his merits, he was immediately cured of both infirmities.

[86] Lord James of Pastina, a monk of the aforesaid monastery, when he was being sent by command of his Abbot

to the Curia, fever, suddenly when a very severe fever came upon him, and he revealed this to his Abbot, having conceived devotion, he devoted himself to the said Doctor. When he prayed devoutly at the tomb of the Saint, he was immediately cured of his infirmity.

[87] Lord James of Feresalon, called Rubeus, of the said monastery, when he was suffering a most acute fever, again fever, lying in bed and vowing himself to the said Doctor, was immediately freed.

[88] Lord James of Piperno, Cellarer of the said monastery, a storm calmed, when he was coming to the monastery of St. Mary de Cannis, a convent of nuns of Sonnino, for the funeral Office of a certain nun, and was suffering on the way a most severe storm of hail and thunder, so that he feared for his safety, because the hailstones were injuring him with their impact on account of their size, having invoked the help of God through the merits of St. Thomas, the entire storm immediately ceased.

[89] Brother Emanuel of Piperno, a Lay Brother of the said monastery, having suffered for fourteen months a most acute pain in his right arm, pain in the arm removed, so that he could not raise it to his head, having conceived devotion to the aforesaid Saint and made a vow that every year while he lived he would fast on his vigil; when he had prayed at his tomb and reclined upon it for a while on his sick arm, after a short time he arose perfectly cured.

[90] Brother Leonard of Piperno, a novice Lay Brother of the said monastery, and a blacksmith, since he did not believe the miracles of the aforesaid St. Thomas, and likewise of another punished for his incredulity, but doubted greatly, because he himself had not yet seen any open miracle; lying in his bed covered in the usual way, in the morning he arose and found his right arm paralyzed: and since he could do nothing with it, not even pick up a straw from the ground, believing this had happened to him from the cold, going to the furnace he began to rub his arm next to the fire, in which he was burdened with excessive pain: and when he had felt no effect of mitigation, mindful of the excess of his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the aforesaid Saint, he came to his tomb, and there praying for a while, having placed his sick arm upon it, he felt the pain somewhat mitigated, and rising he believed himself totally freed. But when he had taken a hammer, testing whether he could do any work, and could not, thinking that he had not yet been fully reproved for his unfaithfulness, he approached again the tomb of the said Saint, and there confessing his unfaithfulness, when with all the devotion of his heart he had asked of God the benefit of health through the merits of the said Saint, lest he be useless in the monastery, promising never to doubt the miracles of the Saint, he felt himself immediately perfectly cured; using his cured arm as before for his work, giving thanks to God, who through the merits of the said Saint absolved his spirit from the crime of unfaithfulness and his arm from pain.

[91] Peter Carellus, an Oblate of the said monastery, having a certain daughter, a girl healed from infirmity, deprived of all motive power in her whole body by a grave infirmity, who was daily tormented by pains, having conceived devotion to the aforesaid St. Thomas, asked that he either take her from this life or heal her from pain: upon which petition with the vow of devotion she was immediately cured of all infirmity.

[92] James Gulgunaris of Piperno said that he was present when John, called the Hermit, having such an infirmity and a hermit, that he could not sleep, on bended knees entering the choir, approaching the tomb of the said Saint and there devoutly praying to God to grant him health through the merits of the said Saint, was immediately freed, giving thanks to God, because he had quickly obtained the benefit of health through the merits of the aforesaid Saint.

[93] Nicholas de Maximo of Piperno, grievously wounded by his enemies, and with a total fracture of his right arm, suffering a fracture of the arm, having obtained health from the wound by the remedy of medicine, from the fracture his arm remained completely immobile, without hope of being cured by any remedy of medicine. When he was grievously tormented by this, having heard that frequent miracles were being performed at the tomb of the said Saint, his wife said to him: Conceive such devotion to this Saint, about whom so many miracles are narrated; and I hope you will immediately obtain health through his merits. When, having conceived devotion, he had promised to spare his enemies and to be reconciled to them the next day with the kiss of peace, and to bring a waxen arm to the tomb of the said Saint, having said this in the evening, sleeping he arose at dawn perfectly cured, giving thanks to God, and paying the waxen arm, and completing the treaty of reconciliation of peace which he had promised.

[94] James, son of Peter of Tibaldo of Piperno, said that when he had suffered quartan fever for four months with severe pain in his right arm, in which he was currently suffering pain and fever, afflicted with quartan fever, having conceived devotion to the said Saint, and vowing, if he were cured by God through his merits, to visit his tomb with bare feet and to have one Mass celebrated in his praise in the said monastery, he was immediately freed from the fever and perfectly cured of the pain in his arm, giving thanks to God and the said Saint, paying with devotion what he had vowed.

[95] Marcus Brachialis of Piperno, when he was suffering a severe cough cough and vomiting of blood, and from its violence frequently vomited blood, and could not be cured by the remedy of any medicine; he approached with devotion to the tomb of the said Saint: where when he devoutly prayed to God and asked to be freed through the merits of the said Saint, he was immediately perfectly cured of the said infirmity.

[96] goiter of the throat, Nicholas of Monte San Giovanni, a resident of Piperno, having a daughter with a goiter, and being unable to marry her off because of the goiter of her throat, brought her to the aforesaid monastery of Fossanova. Since the daughter was not permitted to enter, he asked the Sacristan of the monastery that the relics of the said Saint be brought to his daughter: which, when brought with reverence and devotion conceived, he asked to be applied to his daughter's throat. When they had been applied, after a short time, when she was returning home, on the way she vomited a certain ball of flesh, and the swelling of the throat immediately ceased.

[97] The aforesaid Nicholas, having seen such great power exercised in his daughter through the merits of the said Saint, pain in the side, suffering pain in his right side so that he could not bend over; having conceived devotion from the preceding miracle, he came to the tomb of the said Saint, and upon it, with pious devotion and presumption and devout confidence, he stretched himself out on the side of the aching part, asking that the benefit be bestowed on him through God by the merits of the said Saint, as it had been for his daughter. When he had rested upon it for a while, he arose cured of all infirmity.

[98] Matthew, son of John of Leone of Piperno, an Oblate of the said monastery, blockage of the throat, when on Monday in the octave of Easter in the evening he had eaten healthily and cheerfully, around midnight suffering severe stomach pain, with such a blockage of the throat that he could scarcely breathe; fearing that the danger of death was immediately threatening, having conceived devotion in his heart which he was unable to express by voice, he said: Help me, Blessed Thomas, lest I die unconfessed, for I am an Oblate of this monastery in which your holy relics rest, and I vow to visit your tomb with reverence and lit candles. Which words, spoken in his heart by the conception of his mind, he was immediately cured of his infirmity, giving thanks to God and paying the vow he had promised to the Saint.

[99] fever, Petrucius of Piperno, an innkeeper, having a certain small daughter suffering a most severe fever, when he and his wife had vowed to visit the tomb of the aforesaid Saint with offerings, she was immediately cured of the fever and of all the infirmity she was suffering. They, giving thanks to God, fulfilled their vows.

[100] Matthew Capuanus of Piperno, having a small son, frequent hiccoughing, who from eating a certain fish fell into such severe and frequent hiccoughing that from its frequency he became epileptic, as the signs showed; he brought him to the tomb of St. Thomas, asking that he be freed through his merits: when the little boy had rested a while upon it and the father had prayed for his health, he arose cured of all infirmity.

[101] blindness, Peter Balia of Piperno, when he had continuously lost his sight four times, and the remedies of medicine were not helping as he was tending toward blindness, he finally became totally blind. Who, having heard the miracles which were being performed daily at the tomb of the said Saint, having conceived devotion, he had himself led to it by someone going ahead: where, when he had long prayed, pouring forth prayers to God for his health, through the interceding merits of St. Thomas, he was immediately restored to his sight.

[102] Gregory Citer of Piperno, having a small son who had fallen into insomnia, never sleeping insomnia, but always watching, and no remedy of medicine applied to him being of any avail, having conceived devotion, brought the aforesaid son to the monument of the aforesaid Saint, and placed him upon the tomb of the aforesaid Saint. The boy immediately became quiet from crying, and he who had not slept for a long time fell asleep, and thereafter arose perfectly cured of both ailments. His father, seeing in his son so manifest a miracle, whom the Saint had so swiftly aided, since he himself was suffering pain in his right knee and could not walk without a cane nor place his foot straight on the ground, pain in the knee, having conceived devotion, he again prayed to the Saint, and immediately extending his shin as if healthy, without a cane, the father returned home healthy with his healthy son, giving thanks to God for the doubled miracle.

[103] James Marcellucci of Piperno, suffering a Boethian tumor in his throat, coming with his mother to the monument, tumor of the throat, he approached with devotion to the venerable tomb of the said Saint, where, when he prayed devoutly, he asked for the relics to be applied upon the tumor. When they were applied, the tumor immediately disappeared, and he remained perfectly cured of the infirmity.

[104] John of Theodinus, a young man, while filling a vessel with water in the river of the said monastery, freed from the danger of drowning, the current of the said river swept him with the vessel and cast him through the mill channel with such velocity that he could in no way help himself. When he had suddenly been dashed against the instrument by which the wheel of the mill turns, he cried out with great devotion: St. Thomas of Aquino! and immediately he perceived himself being seized by the head by a man who freed him from danger and placed him outside the water: to which miracle Brother Manuel, a Lay Brother of the aforesaid monastery, came running.

[105] Floredensa of Piperno, having lost her left eye, from the pain of which she could not even see from her right, blindness, and having thus remained for three days without the light of her eyes; when no health had resulted from the applied remedies, at night commending herself to God through the merits of St. Thomas, after prayers and tears, wearied by many sighs, resting for a while, after a little rest awakening, she found herself perfectly cured of both. She, calling her husband

and her neighbors with joy, she announced the benefit of her illumination bestowed upon her through the merits of St. Thomas, whom she had found as a helper before God.

[106] Alexandra of Piperno, an elderly devout woman, suffering pain in her right arm and unable to be freed by any remedy of medicine; she placed her rosary, with which she used to count whenever she said the Lord's Prayer, and with which out of devotion she had touched the relics of the said Saint, pain of the arm, under her arm in which the pain was intense: and prostrating herself on the spot, she said: Blessed Thomas, I cannot touch your relics; obtain for me the benefit of health through this rosary, with which I recall having touched your relics. Which word having been spoken with devotion, she immediately felt herself entirely cured of all pain.

[107] A certain woman of Piperno, suffering a severe pain in her neck, of the neck, having invoked the help of the said Saint, was immediately cured of all pain.

CHAPTER XV.

Miracles performed at Sonnino, Terracina, Fondi, Naples: some concerning the cooperators of the Inquisition for the Canonization.

[108] John Capocius of Sonnino, when in his jaw

without any change in the load he was carrying, he went for a drink, and was in no way impeded in his journey. Which miracle drew all who were present into astonishment, since the animal could not have escaped by the power of nature, even if it had fallen without a load.

[125] The aforesaid Lord Matthew said that a similar miracle had been divinely granted to him for his horse through the merits of the said Saint: and the horse from falling, when with both hind legs it had slipped and its whole body was on the rock, and it was supporting itself by its front legs near the road, and he had let go of the reins entirely, considering it lost, since it could not be helped by human aid: having invoked the help of God through the merits of the said Saint, whose inquiry into miracles he was carrying in outstretched form, the horse with a great effort pressing on its front legs, leaped to the road, ready for the journey: and the power of divine might supplied in the horse what was lacking to the power of nature.

APPENDIX.

V. Watering the mountains from his upper rooms, R. the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of your works. At the Benedictus: Shining with the light of the divine gift, of the new and likewise the old law, since, Thomas, you now enjoy God, join us by praying with those above. Verse: Your light shall rise in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.

Prayer. O God, who made Blessed Thomas your Confessor shine with the singular splendor of your light, mercifully grant that your Church, aided by his merits and illuminated by his doctrines, may merit to enjoy eternal joys. Through our Lord, etc.

Prayer of Blessed Thomas of Aquino, which he himself composed and said daily, bowing with tears. Grant me, I beseech you, merciful God, ardently to desire those things which are pleasing to you, prudently to investigate them, truly to recognize them, and perfectly to fulfill them, to the praise and glory of your name.

PROCESS OF INQUISITION

made concerning the life, conduct, and miracles of the revered memory of

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (St.)

BHL Number: 8150

From Manuscripts.

CHAPTER I.

Preliminary apparatus for the Inquisition. Papal Bulls read aloud.

OF BROTHER THOMAS OF AQUINO,

of the Order of the Brothers Preachers, Doctor of Sacred Theology, in the Year of salvation 1319, by John XXII, Supreme Pontiff, in the third year of his Pontificate, through Humbert, Archbishop of Naples, and Angelo, Bishop of Viterbo and Tuscania, as Inquisitors, together with Lord Pandulf de Sabello, Notary of the Lord Pope, deputies appointed for this purpose by the same Pontiff.

[1] Present: the Archbishop of Naples, the Bishop of Viterbo, This is the Process of Inquisition made concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the revered memory of Brother Thomas of Aquino, of the Order of the Brothers Preachers, Doctor of Sacred Theology, by the Reverend Fathers and Lords, by the grace of God Humbert, Archbishop of Naples, and Angelo, Bishop of Viterbo and Tuscania, appointed for this purpose together with the venerable man Lord Pandulf de Sabello, Notary of the Lord Pope, with the clause insofar as you, or two of you, and three Notaries, were specially deputed by the most holy Father and Lord, Lord Pope John XXII, in the presence throughout the entire Process of Inquisition of the same, of Peter son of John of Rocca Tarani, of the Sabine diocese, by Apostolic and Imperial authority, and of Francis of Laureto, of the diocese of Penne, by Apostolic and Royal authority, public Notaries, whom the said Lord Inquisitors specially assigned to faithfully commit the said Process to writing, written by me Peter, the aforesaid Notary.

[2] In the Name of the Lord. Amen. In the Year of the Lord's Nativity 1319, in the year 1319, July 21, on Saturday, the 21st of July, in the second Indiction, in the third year of the Pontificate of the Most Holy Father and Lord, Lord Pope John XXII, the religious man Brother William of Tocco, Procurator of the convent of the Brothers Preachers at Benevento, being at Naples in the chamber of the Reverend Father Lord Humbert, Archbishop of Naples aforesaid, in the presence of the same Lord Archbishop and of the Reverend Father Lord Angelo, Bishop of Viterbo and Tuscania aforesaid, concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the revered memory of Brother Thomas of Aquino, of the Order of the Brothers Preachers, Doctor of Sacred Theology, the Apostolic letters of John XXII presented, Inquisitors deputed by the Apostolic See, presented to the same Lords Archbishop and Bishop certain patent letters, and certain other sealed Apostolic letters, on behalf of the aforesaid Lord Pope, sealed with genuine lead bulls of the same Lord Pope, hanging on intact hemp cords, and urgently requested by the same Lords that they should solicitously and attentively, as they were bound, proceed in the business of Inquisition committed to them through those same letters: which letters the aforesaid Lords Archbishop and Bishop received, having removed their birettas, with great reverence, and ordered the aforesaid patent Apostolic letters to be read publicly before them immediately, commanding us, Peter son of John of Rocca Tarani, Cleric of the Sabine diocese, by Apostolic and Imperial authority, and Francis of Laureto, of the diocese of Penne, by Apostolic and Royal authority, the aforesaid public Notaries, to register and faithfully write the aforesaid Apostolic letters and the Inquisition and the entire Process to be made by them in this business of Inquisition; with the Venerable and discreet men, Abbot Marino de Caraccioli, Vicar of the aforesaid Lord Archbishop, Abbot Raynald Magnone, Canon of Naples, before other witnesses, and Lord Laureto de Tuncosis, Canon of the Church of St. Mary in Trastevere in Rome, a Priest, Robert, Canon of the Church of St. Stephen of Viterbo, Chaplain of the aforesaid Lord Bishop, and many others present as witnesses called and requested for the aforesaid matters. The aforesaid patent letters, not scraped, not cancelled, nor in any part suspect, but free from all suspicion, were in all respects of the following tenor and content.

[3] John, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, to our Venerable Brothers the Archbishop of Naples and the Bishop of Viterbo, and to our Beloved Son Master Pandulf de Sabello, our Notary, greeting and Apostolic blessing. From the hidden counsels of divine wisdom, from the powerful hand of unconquered virtue, and from the benefits of accustomed piety, gifts are sent to the Church Militant for necessary solace in battle; and she is anticipated with the sweetness of mental consolations, who is invited to the banquets of the heavenly marriage: for which we rise in due praises when we celebrate with interior joys and praises the festivals of the Saints in heaven, and we give thanks to God, who consoles his Church while she is on pilgrimage from the homeland, whom he strengthens with continual aids while she is attacked on the way. Of whose care, although unworthy, since we have assumed it by divine compassion, as the Vicar of Christ, we rejoice at the progress of the same Church committed to us: when from various parts of the world it is intimated to us for joy that infidels from the nations come to the Church by the fishing of the faith, and the faithful ascend from the world to the homeland: who having attained from corruption cleanliness, from frailty constancy, and victory from infirmity by God's gift, and sometimes (lest the faith of believers should waver about these things, at the instance of the Queen of Sicily and other Princes, but praising God in his Saints, should be nourished by the strongest arguments, and should desire out of grace to imitate what it venerates, to attain what it praises) are reported to shine with known miracles. Indeed, some time ago on the part of our most dear daughter in Christ, Mary, Queen of Sicily, relict of Charles the Second, King of Sicily, of illustrious memory, and of our beloved sons, noble men, the Prince of Taranto and John, Count of Gravina, and of many other Counts and Barons of the aforesaid kingdom, and also of the Community and University of Masters and Students of Naples, and the University of Naples, it was proposed before us and our Brothers, and announced by their letters, that the revered memory of Brother Thomas of Aquino, of the Order of the Brothers Preachers, Doctor of Sacred Theology, while he lived, shone with the fragrance of holiness, was resplendent in conduct, concerning the sanctity and miracles of St. Thomas, and was distinguished by many great miracles both before and after his death, wherefore on their behalf it was humbly entreated of us that, having first made an Inquisition concerning the life and miracles of the said Brother Thomas, if we should find the aforesaid supported by truth, we should inscribe him in the catalogue of the Saints and have him solemnly venerated with fitting honor throughout all the Churches. But although the aforesaid things set forth before us and our Brothers, if they are true, have filled our hearts and those of the same Brothers with great joy; yet considering that the Roman Church, especially in so great a matter of faith, where so arduous a thing is being investigated, is accustomed to proceed with great maturity, and that it is written: The case that I did not know, I diligently investigated (for if it is glory to conceal a word, yet it is the glory of a King to investigate a saying), we committed to our Venerable Brother Arnold, Bishop of Albano, and our Beloved Sons William, Cardinal Priest of the title of St. Cyriacus in the Baths, and William, Cardinal Deacon of St. Nicholas in Carcere Tulliano, somewhat discussed by the Cardinals, that they should receive information by testimony of trustworthy persons before the Apostolic See concerning the fame of such holiness of life and miracles of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, and take care to report this to us, so that having drawn therefrom a likelihood, we might more safely proceed in the aforesaid business; and because through the faithful report of the said Cardinals made before us and our Brothers, we have received some information about the fame of holiness and miracles aforesaid; considering it pious and fitting that if the aforesaid things are true, they should not lie hidden, with the advice of our Brothers, we have deemed fit to assent to the faithful supplication, as described in the series of the present letters. Job 29:16 Wherefore we command your discretion, in which we obtain full confidence in the Lord, the process is ordered to be made, by Apostolic writings, that you, or two of you, in the place or places where you see it expedient, should diligently inquire into the truth concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, and other circumstances touching the matter of the faith, according to the form which we transmit to you enclosed under our bull; and what you find concerning the aforesaid, faithfully committed to writing, under the testimony of your seals, you shall send by suitable men to the Apostolic See; so that, sufficiently instructed by your Inquisition, as the matter requires and it seems expedient, we may more safely proceed in this business. Given at Avignon, on the Ides of September, in the third year of our Pontificate.

[4] In the same year, on Monday the 23rd of the said month of July, in the second Indiction, in the Palace of the Archbishopric of Naples, the Reverend Fathers, from other open letters, July 23, the Lords Archbishop and Bishop, Inquisitors aforesaid, had the aforesaid sealed Apostolic letters, of which mention is made above, opened and read in their presence by me, Peter, the same Notary, whose tenor in all respects is as follows: The form according to which you shall examine witnesses,

concerning the life, the form to be observed in the process is prescribed, conduct, and miracles of the revered memory of Brother Thomas of Aquino, of the Order of the Brothers Preachers, Doctor of Sacred Theology, you shall take care to diligently examine the legitimate witnesses whom you must receive concerning the life, conduct, and miracles of the said Brother Thomas, after an oath has first been taken by them, and concerning all the things they shall say, you shall interrogate them: how they know, at what time, in what month, on what day, in whose presence, in what place, at whose summons, and with what words interposed, and concerning the names of those around whom miracles are said to have been performed: and whether they knew them before, and how many days before they saw them sick, and how long they had been sick, how long they were seen to be well, from what place they are. The interrogations of all concerning all circumstances shall be diligently made, and the aforesaid questions and the series of testimony and the words of witnesses shall be faithfully committed to writing for each and every chapter, as is proper.

[5] The aforesaid Inquisitors therefore, desiring and resolving to proceed in the office of Inquisition committed to them according to the series of the aforesaid commission, for the Process of this Inquisition made in the city of Naples, The Process takes place at Naples, because the said Lord Archbishop, being detained by illness, could not travel to other places outside Naples, they ordered the following witnesses to be summoned, sometimes by their letters, sometimes through Lord Leonard, a Priest of Naples, their sworn messenger: concerning whose summons, both through the responses of the Commissioners, to whom it had been committed by letter to summon the witnesses, and through the faithful oral report of the said sworn messenger, made to the same Lord Inquisitors, it fully appeared: from which witnesses, witnesses summoned, and examined after taking an oath, at the terms of their summons before the said Lord Inquisitors, being present in the said palace of the Archbishopric of Naples, at the same summons the same Inquisitors received them, and the witnesses themselves in the hands of the same Lord Inquisitors took a corporal oath on the holy Gospels of God to speak the pure truth concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the said Brother Thomas of Aquino, with all prayer, payment, subornation, hatred, favor, or love, or any other form of corruption removed. After the oath had been thus received from the said witnesses in their turns, they received and diligently examined them concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the same Brother Thomas, separately and in secret, according to the form given to them by the Apostolic See. The names and surnames of these witnesses, the depositions and statements received under the obligation of the oath taken by them, and the days and places or place of the oaths and depositions of these persons are distinctly and particularly contained below. Namely, on the same Monday, the 23rd of the same month and Indiction, at Naples, in the palace of the Archbishopric.

CHAPTER II.

Witnesses heard on July 23, 24, and 25: the King's Commissioner, the Abbot, and three monks of Fossanova.

[6] Lord Peter Grassus of Naples, a knight of the King, Commissioner and familiar, of the age, as he said, of about sixty years, Peter Grassus testifies, who said that he had experienced and also received some miracles of the said Brother Thomas of Aquino in himself, summoned to the presence of the said Lord Inquisitors and sworn before the same Inquisitors to speak the pure and true truth concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the said Brother Thomas, which he knows from sight, hearing, and belief, and that he will also truthfully respond to questions concerning the inquisition, with love, hatred, prayer, payment, favor, and any subornation removed. And first, questioned concerning the life and conduct of the same Brother Thomas, he said that from the time when the witness himself was a student and a boy, he heard, with no one disagreeing, commonly said and held that the said Brother Thomas was a man of most holy life; and many held that he was a Virgin just as from his mother's womb, and that every day he said his Mass before all others, and by his own arrangement he continuously maintained besides this concerning his holiness that immediately after his own Mass was completed, before he had fully divested, another Priest was vested for saying another Mass: which he also heard to the end, before he was drawn to other acts; and moreover that he never, besides the hours of natural rest, had any idle hour in which he could be drawn or in any way occupied with any secular acts, but either read, or wrote, or had things written, or prayed, or preached. Asked from whom he heard these things, he said that sometimes from common fame, sometimes from Religious, sometimes from students, and frequently from Lord Bartholomew of Capua, Logothete of the Kingdom of Sicily, Brother Raynald of Piperno, companion of the said Brother Thomas, Brother James, and other Brothers of the Order of Preachers, whom he sometimes heard conversing about such matters: and he added that once, in the presence of the holy memory of Brother James of Viterbo of the Order of Hermits, then Archbishop of Naples, when discussion was had about men of learning and the knowledge of certain persons, and his doctrine, the said Archbishop said that none should attribute or ascribe to themselves fully knowing anything in sacred learning, unless they follow and adhere to the learning and writings of Brother Thomas of Aquino, who opened the way for the understanding to know. Asked about the place where he heard the aforesaid things said, he said that in all places where the said witness had at various times stayed, and for the most part in the city of Naples.

[7] Likewise, questioned concerning the miracles of the same Brother Thomas, he said and deposed, as is particularly contained below, namely that the said knight, deprived for about ten months of the usual strength and use of his right arm, so that he could exercise neither the usual uses of that arm nor of his own hand, lost use of the arm, indeed not even comb his head or tie a band under his chin except through another helper: he had to go on a pilgrimage to Rome in the following year of the first Indiction most recently past, in the Lent of the said year; and while he was on the way, it occurred to him around Terracina to visit the blessed body of the said Brother Thomas, which he had heard had formerly been buried in the monastery of Fossanova, and then conceiving in his mind and also taking faith that he could be helped in the affliction of his said arm through the merits of the same Saint, he resolved and vowed in his mind to turn aside there in any case. And so it happened that from the whole company with which he was traveling to the City, having taken as companions two Neapolitan knights, namely Lord Nicholas Filmarino and Lord Henry Carraccuso, who also eagerly wished to visit the site of the said tomb, he arrived there together with them; at his tomb, and upon entering the courtyard of the said monastery of Fossanova, he immediately sought and found one of the monks of the said monastery, whom he asked to show him the place of the tomb of the aforesaid body. When the tomb was pointed out to him from a little distance by that monk, which tomb the said knight said was on the left side of the high altar of the aforesaid monastery as one goes toward it, and having inspected a certain carpet upon the tomb, which he had removed from there, he knelt on the ground before the said tomb and prayed the Lord for the recovery of the health of his said arm in these words: Lord God, who are wondrous in your Saints, grant me through the merits of this Saint the customary health of my lost arm. And immediately, having stretched himself entirely upon the said tomb, he recovers it, he notably felt the lost strength of the aforesaid arm restored to him: with only a certain numbness remaining around the joints of the said arm, in the manner of a certain sluggishness or drowsiness of the nerves, which entirely vanished around the evening of that day. He immediately turned to the same companions and notified them of the miracle done to him through the merits of the said Saint, and from then on, after the said day had passed, he so perceived and had the health of the said arm restored entirely, as if he had never had any affliction in it. Asked about the time of the affliction of the aforesaid arm, he said that the affliction had seized him in the same arm from the month of May of the year of the fifteenth Indiction most recently past, and lasted until the time of this health thus restored to him, which was in the month of May then immediately following. Asked about the place and those present, he said as he deposed above.

[8] 2. The Abbot of Fossanova, On Tuesday the twenty-fourth of the same month, at Naples in the palace of the Archbishopric, the Venerable and Religious man, Brother Nicholas, Abbot of the monastery of Fossanova, of the Cistercian Order, summoned to the presence of the said Lord Inquisitors and sworn before them to speak the pure and true truth concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the said Brother Thomas, which he knows from sight, hearing, and belief, and also to truthfully respond to questions, with love, hatred, prayer, payment, favor, and any subornation removed: and first, questioned concerning the life and conduct of the same Brother Thomas, he testifies to the illness and pious death of St. Thomas, he said that formerly in the time of the happy memory of Lord Pope Gregory X, when the said Brother Thomas, having been summoned, was going to the Council of Lyons and was passing through Campania, he fell ill at the castle of Maenza belonging to a certain Lord Annibald de Ceccano;

and when he was burdened by the illness itself, he said, as the witness heard from many: if the Lord wishes to visit me, it is better that I be found in the house of Religious than in the houses of seculars: and from then on, for the sake of devotion, he had himself carried to the monastery of Fossanova, which is about six miles from the said castle, where he lay sick for about a month: and when he had arrived at the said monastery, at its entrance the said witness heard it said that the said Brother Thomas said: This is my rest forever and ever, here I shall dwell, for I have chosen it. And while the same Brother Thomas lay ill, the monks of the said monastery, out of the great devotion they had for him because of the fame of his holiness, carried wood from the forest with their own hands to him for making a fire, not thinking it fitting that brute animals should carry wood for the use of so great a man. And whenever he saw the monks carrying the wood to the chamber where he lay, he rose up with great devotion and humbly, saying: Whence comes this to me, that holy men should carry wood to me? Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that he was present and saw and heard the aforesaid. He also said he had seen that the said Brother Thomas received the ecclesiastical Sacraments in the same monastery with great devotion, reverence, and an outpouring of tears, during the same illness from which illness he died. Asked about the time, namely the year, month and day, he said he did not remember: he said however that it was during Lent. Asked in whose presence he saw and heard the aforesaid, he said that in the presence of Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni and Brother Octavian of Babuco, monks of the said monastery now living, and many other monks of the same monastery now deceased. Asked whether he knew anything else about the life and conduct of the same Brother Thomas, and his most chaste life, he said that he heard it said that the said Brother Thomas was a man of great honesty, purity, and holiness, and every day while he was healthy, he celebrated Mass and continually devoted himself to study and prayers: he also heard that he was a Virgin while he lived, just as from his mother's womb. Asked from whom he heard the aforesaid things said, he said from the aforesaid Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, who had heard it from his Confessor, and that Brother Peter had formerly lived with the said Brother Thomas. Asked concerning miracles, whether he knew any to have been performed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, the body returned at his command when he appeared, either during his life or after his death, he said that after his death, while the body of the said Brother Thomas was buried before the altar of the said monastery, the monks of the same monastery, fearing lest the body be stolen, secretly transferred the body from the said tomb to a certain chapel called the chapel of St. Stephen of the same monastery: and after a space of about seven months, the same Brother Thomas appeared in a dream to Brother James, then Prior of the same monastery, as was publicly said in the same monastery and is still said, and said to him: Return me to my former place; and so it was done with due solemnity by the monks of the said monastery. He also said that at the opening of the tomb itself so great a fragrance of odor issued forth that the said chapel with the cloister of the said monastery was filled with a most sweet fragrance. He also said that the entire community of the said monastery then celebrated a Mass for the said Brother Thomas as for a holy Confessor, with a fragrance of odor, singing: The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, etc., considering it was not fitting to sing a Mass for the Dead for him, since they held him to be a holy man. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that he was present and saw the aforesaid. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said that it was within one month, and a Mass sung of a Confessor, or thereabouts, after the death of the said Brother Thomas, as above; he said however that he did not remember the month and day. Asked in whose presence, he said that in the presence of all the monks of the said monastery, of whom the abovesaid witness himself, and the abovesaid Brother Peter and Brother Octavian. Asked about the place, he said as he deposed above. Asked at whose summons the witness himself went to see and experience the aforesaid, he said that he went at the sweetness of the fragrance which he perceived at the opening of the aforesaid tomb.

[9] Likewise, asked whether he knew any other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he heard many other miracles spoken of, and especially that while the said Brother Thomas lay ill in the said castle of Maenza, and was asked to take some food, he said: If I had fresh herrings, I would eat. It happened that a carrier passed through with sardines, sardine fish changed into herrings, and while fish were being sought from him, it was found that one basket of those fish was full of fresh herrings, which had been full of sardines: and that when the herrings were brought to the said Brother Thomas, he refused to eat. He also said that he heard it said about a certain man who was called Master Raynald, who had been lame, and through the merits of the said Brother Thomas was freed, a lame man healed, while he was at his tomb. Asked from whom he heard the said two miracles, he said that the said miracle of the fish he heard related by Brother William of Tocco, Prior of Benevento of the Brothers Preachers, which Prior had told them that he had heard it from many men of the said castle of Maenza, where the said miracle was said to have been performed; and the said other miracle of the lame man he says he heard from the aforesaid Brother Octavian, who told the same witness that he himself had seen the miracle: he also said that about the aforesaid things there is public voice and fame in the aforesaid monastery.

[10] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Nicholas of Fresolino, a monk of the said monastery, a sworn witness in the presence of the said Lord Inquisitors concerning the life and conduct and miracles of the said Brother Thomas, to speak the pure and true truth, a monk of Fossanova, which he knows from sight, hearing, and belief, and also to truthfully respond to questions, with love, hatred, prayer, payment, favor, and any subornation removed. First questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said that he was a man of holy life and conduct while he lived: and the witness himself saw when the said Brother Thomas came ill from the castle of Maenza to the said monastery of Fossanova, testifies to his pious death, and there in that illness received the Body of the Lord and the ecclesiastical Sacraments with great reverence and devotion and tears, and since the witness himself was then a novice in the said monastery, he said he had no knowledge of other particulars of the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas. He further said he had heard it said by the abovesaid Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni that the said Brother Thomas at the entrance of the said monastery said: This is my rest, etc. Asked about the time, month, and day of the arrival of the said Brother Thomas at the abovesaid monastery, he said that it was forty-five years ago, and that it was in the month of February, and he died on the ninth of March, then immediately following the said month of February, that is, during Lent. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas during his life or after his death, he said that while the body of the said Brother Thomas had been buried before the altar of the church of the said monastery, and Brother James of Florentino, then Prior of the said monastery (he himself and other monks of the said monastery fearing the fragrance of odor at the return of the body, lest the body be taken away from there) had it transferred from the tomb to the chapel of St. Stephen, and there it lay for seven months, and afterward the said monks carried the body back to its former place: and at the opening of the tomb such a great fragrance issued forth that the said chapel and cloister were filled with the aforesaid fragrance, so that the witness himself together with other monks of the same monastery ran to the aforesaid fragrance.

[11] Likewise, asked whether he knew any other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that Master Raynald, a surgeon, a resident of the castle of San Lorenzo della Valle, while he had been limping because of a disease of the feet, so that without the support of canes or crutches he could not stand and walk; a lame man cured of gout, he came to the said monastery, summoned for the treatment of a certain sick person named Brother John de Amico, who was in the monastery, and while he was there, having heard the fame of the said Brother, with great devotion he went to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, and lying for some time upon the tomb itself and praying, he suddenly obtained health from the said illness, and departed healthy from the said monastery without any support to his own home. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that he was present and saw the aforesaid. Asked about the time, month, and day when the said miracle was performed, he said he did not remember: he said however that he estimated it was about the fifth year after the death of the said Brother Thomas. Asked in whose presence the said miracle was performed, he said that there were present the witnesses themselves, Brother Peter of Fondi, Brother Martin of Pastina, monks, and Brother Nicholas of Paleario, a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery, and many other monks of the same monastery. Asked about the place, he said as above. Asked at whose summons the witness himself and the aforesaid other monks went to see the said miracle, he said that he had been present from the beginning with the sick man himself, and both he and other monks of the same monastery had been assembled in the choir of the church of the same monastery at the sound of the bell, who, having seen the miracle, sang solemnly: Te Deum laudamus. Likewise, asked what words the said Master Raynald interposed in praying when he was freed, he said he had not heard the words by which he prayed, but saw him praying secretly upon the aforesaid tomb. Asked whether he had known the said Master Raynald and had seen him sick in his feet before the miracle, he said yes. Asked how long he had known and seen him sick or in that infirmity, he said for a year and more. Asked how long he had seen him healthy after the said miracle, he said he knew nothing else except that he saw him departing healthy immediately after the miracle was performed. Asked what infirmity of the feet the said Master Raynald was afflicted with, and whether he had feet that were whole or contracted, he said that they were whole, yet burdened with gout. Asked what kind of gout, he said gout of the feet. Asked whether the said

he carried canes for his support in his hands, or under his arms, so that his body was supported upon the canes themselves; he said that he carried those canes under his arms or in his hands. Asked whether he was supported solely by the aid of the canes, or by the assistance of another person, he said that he used both aids; for otherwise he could not walk. Asked whether the said miracle was performed during the day or at night, he said that it was during the day. Asked at what hour of the day, he said that it was after Terce and before None. Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he did not know of any from sight, yet he had heard it said that many who made vows to the said Brother and went to his tomb obtained health from their infirmities: he also said that about all these things there is public voice and fame in the said monastery and the neighboring places, and especially in Piperno.

[12] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Martin of Pastina, a Priest and monk of the said monastery, a sworn witness according to the form noted above, another monk, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he had heard it said that the same Brother Thomas was a spiritual man, of holy conduct and life, and that he was a Virgin up to the time of his death. testifies to the holiness of his life, Asked from whom he had heard this said, he said that he commonly heard it said by the monks of the said monastery. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the same Brother Thomas performed during his life or after his death, he said he had heard it said that when the body of the said Brother Thomas was transferred from the chapel of St. Stephen of the said monastery to his former place before the high altar of the church of the said monastery, from the tomb itself from which it was transferred, a great fragrance of odor issued forth. fragrance of odor from the tomb, Asked from whom he had heard this said, he said from Brother Nicholas, now Abbot of the said monastery, and from Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, and from Brother Blasius, the Master of the witness, and from the monks of that monastery who were present at the opening of the tomb, as they told the witness himself; and the witness himself also, after five years, when the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, which was before the abovesaid altar, was opened again, perceived a sweet fragrance of odor, as if of incense: and then the same witness inquired whether incense had been placed there, and found that no incense had been placed there, and that the said odor issued from the body of the said Brother Thomas.

[13] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the same Brother Thomas, he said he knew that Master Raynald Amicus, a physician from San Lorenzo della Valle, who had come to treat a sick monk of the same monastery called Brother John de Amico, while he was so burdened with gout that he could not stand or walk by himself except with the support and assistance of others; having heard there that God had performed many miracles through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, for the sake of devotion and recovering his health, he had himself carried to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas by two men who supported him: a lame man with gout healed: and while he had been there for about an hour, during which they might have sung the seven Psalms, the said physician was miraculously freed. Asked how he knew this, he said that he was present and saw the same sick man carried to the aforesaid tomb, and afterward leaping up by himself, healthy, and saying: I am well. He also saw him riding by himself freely when he departed from the said monastery, and saying: It has been ten years that I was ill, and now I am well. Asked about the time when the said miracle was performed, he said that it was about thirty-eight years ago or thereabouts; about the month, day, and hour he said he did not remember. He said, however, that it was performed during the day, and at such an hour that the said physician was able to ride for ten miles, and that it was during Lent, as it seemed to him. Asked who were present when the said miracle was performed, he said that many were present, but he did not remember all of them, except Brother Fidele, who has died. Asked about the place where the said miracle was performed, he said in the said monastery at the tomb of the said Brother Thomas. Asked at whose summons the witness himself went to see the said miracle, he said that when the said miracle was performed, the bells of the same monastery were rung, and then he and the other Brothers of the said monastery went to the choir of the church of the same monastery, and there assembled, they sang Te Deum laudamus on account of the said miracle. Asked whether others gathered to see the said miracle, he said that all the household members of the said monastery ran to it: before whom he also rode and departed healthy, as stated above. Asked which bells were rung for the solemnity of the said miracle, he said all the bells, great and small, in the bell tower of the church of the said monastery. Asked what words the said sick man used when he prayed beside or upon the aforesaid tomb, he said he did not know: because although he had seen the sick man approaching the said tomb and afterward healed, he had not heard his prayer. Asked whether he had known the said Master Raynald before the said miracle, he said yes. Asked how long he had known the said Master Raynald, he said he had known him for many years. Asked how long the said Master Raynald had been ill, he said he did not remember the number of years, except insofar as he heard from him that he had been ill for ten years, and he himself had seen him sick with the said disease on many and diverse occasions and at various times. Asked whether after he departed healthy from the said monastery, he saw him well, he said that he did not see him again, neither well nor ill.

[14] Likewise, asked whether he knew any miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he heard from many, a demoniac freed, and especially from a certain demoniac freed by him, who afterward became a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery. Asked his name, he said he was called Peter. Asked from whom he heard this said, he said he heard it from many monks of the said monastery who, as they said, had been present at the said miracle: he said he did not remember the names of those monks, since the witness himself had been absent from the said monastery for fifteen years and more. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame in the said monastery and neighboring places, he said yes, concerning those things which he deposed.

[15] On Wednesday the twenty-fifth of the said month, in the same place, Brother Octavian of Babuco in Campania, 25 July, another monk, a Priest and monk of the said monastery of Fossanova, a sworn witness according to the form noted above, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew this about it: that the same Brother Thomas was a man of holy life, honest conduct, great chastity, abstinence and sobriety in food and drink, and a man devoted to prayers, from knowledge of 4 years fasts and studies, and in his prayers he shed tears; and that he was a man of great charity, compassion and humility, devotion and wisdom toward God and neighbor. Asked the reason for his knowledge, testifies to the holiness of his life, he said that he saw the same Brother Thomas and lived with him and served him at times, and saw him celebrating Mass and weeping around the time of communion. Asked how long he had known the said Brother Thomas before his death, he said for about four years. Asked in what places he saw him and lived with him and served him, he said that he saw him and lived with him and served him at the castle of Maenza, to which castle he frequently came to visit a certain Lady who was his kinswoman, and at the monastery of Fossanova. Asked whether he knew that he had continued the said holy life and conduct until death, he said yes. Asked how he knew, he said as above. Asked how much time had passed since the said Brother Thomas died, he said it was about forty-six years: he also said that he had seen the said Brother Thomas coming from the castle of Maenza, where he had fallen ill, to the said monastery of Fossanova, and at the entrance of the said monastery he came before the choir of the church of the said monastery, virtues in illness and said these words: This is my rest, etc., as above. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that he was present and heard the aforesaid words spoken by the said Brother Thomas. Asked who were present when he said the aforesaid words, he said the witness himself and Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, a monk of the said monastery who is still alive, and many other monks of the same monastery, whose names he said he did not remember. Asked whether the said Brother Thomas was patient in his illness, and at death, he said yes, and he was of such gentleness that he did not disturb anyone serving him. Asked whether in the same illness he received the ecclesiastical Sacraments, he said that he heard from the monks of the said monastery that he did, and with great devotion and reverence and an outpouring of tears. Asked whether the said Brother Thomas died from the said illness, he said yes. Asked in what place the body of the said Brother Thomas was buried, he said that the burial was made before the high altar of the said church of the said monastery, and he lay there for only one day; but on the following night he was secretly removed from there by some monks and buried in the chapel of St. Stephen of the same monastery: body found intact after 7 months and he was there for about seven months, and afterward from that burial he was transferred to the former burial place before the altar: and he said that in the same transfer they found the body intact, and from it issued a fragrance of great odor, and they carried it to the said first burial place with a procession and singing. with a fragrance of odor, Asked whether at the transfer of the body any Mass was celebrated, he said yes, on the following morning after the transfer. Asked what Mass they sang, he said the Mass for a Confessor, in which is sung: The mouth of the just, etc. Asked how he knew, he said that he was present at the said transfer and at the Mass, and he sang in the same Mass with the others. Asked which Priest sang the same Mass,

that he was tall, stout, and bald on the forehead, about 50 years old. he said he did not remember. Asked what stature the said Brother Thomas was, he said that he was of great stature and stout, and bald above the forehead. Asked what age he was at the time of his death, he said that he was, as it seemed to him, about fifty years old.

[16] Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas performed during his life or at his death or after his death, healed he said that after his death he saw a certain physician, named Master Raynald of San Lorenzo, coming to the said monastery on horseback upon a certain donkey, who was suffering from the disease of gout in his feet, to such a degree that he could not stand by himself nor walk unless supported by others; a man with gout brought on a donkey, who, having heard the fame of the holiness of the said Brother Thomas, had himself carried by two men for the sake of recovering his health and devotion to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas: upon which tomb, having been prostrate for some time in prayer, he at last rose up, freed from the said illness. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that he was present and saw all the aforesaid things which he deposed, and that he saw him healed, standing by himself and walking without anyone's assistance. Likewise, asked at what time, month, and day the said miracle was performed, he said he did not remember the time, month, and day; however, he knew that it was after the aforesaid translation. Asked whether it was performed during the day or at night, he said during the day, about the hour of None. Asked about the place, he said as above. Asked at whose summons he went to see the said miracle, he said at no one's, but he himself, seeing the sick man go, as he said above, to the said tomb for the sake of devotion, prayer having been made went there to see the outcome of the matter, and by persevering there he saw the aforesaid things. Asked in whose presence, he said in the presence of himself as witness, Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, Brother Peter of Fondi, and many other monks of the same monastery, whose names he said he did not remember. Asked what words he used in his prayer, he said that among other things he heard the sick man saying: I vow to God, and a vow, and to St. Thomas of Aquino, if he shall free me, to have an image of wax made for him. Asked whether before the said miracle he had known the said Master Raynald, he said yes, for a year and more. Asked whether during all that time in which he knew him before the said miracle, he had known him to be ill with the said infirmity, he said that he saw him many times, and whenever he saw him during that year before the said miracle, he saw him ill with the said infirmity. Asked how many times he had seen him thus ill, he said he did not remember: he said, however, that on many occasions at various intervals of time he had seen him ill, as he said. Asked whether any solemnity was observed in the said monastery on account of the miracle, he said that immediately the bells of the said monastery were rung, and that the monks of the same monastery solemnly sang Te Deum laudamus.

[17] Likewise, asked whether he knew other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that Brother John of Florentino, who was then Subprior of the said monastery, had suffered in his eyes for many months, so that he could not see, and while praying at the foot of the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, and a man blinded by disease of the eyes, by his merits he was miraculously and suddenly freed from the said infirmity of the eyes. Asked how he knew, he said that he saw the same Brother John unable to see because of the disease which he suffered in his eyes, and afterward saw him freed: and when he asked the same Brother John how he had been freed, he told him that while he prayed at the foot of the tomb of the said Brother Thomas for the recovery of his sight, he was suddenly illuminated. Asked what disease he had seen impeding him in his eyes, he said a certain disease which is called cataract. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said that it was about thirty years ago that he heard the aforesaid things recounted by the said Brother John, and that the said miracle had been performed on a certain day in the month of March. Asked whether he knew of anyone who had been present at the said miracle, he said that he heard from Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni that he had been present at the said miracle. Asked how long he had known the said Brother John to have been deprived of sight before the said miracle, he said for a month and more: but if he had been deprived of sight for a longer time, he said he did not know. Asked how long he was healthy and with sight restored after the said miracle, he said until the day of his death, and he lived for four years and more; within which time he was also promoted to the Episcopate of the Church of Umbriatico. Asked how he knew, he said he saw him many times and frequently, as a monk of the said monastery, and also afterward when promoted to the said Episcopate, with sight restored and healthy, as he said above.

[18] Likewise, he said that a certain Lady from Piperno, whose name he did not know, being in labor and unable to give birth, a woman in labor freed, at the invocation of the name of the said Brother Thomas and at the application of a belt which had been placed upon his tomb, gave birth and was freed. Asked from whom he heard these things, he said from the husband of the said Lady, whose name he likewise did not know. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said yes, concerning those things which he deposed above, both in the said monastery and in the neighboring places.

* perhaps on the Nones?

CHAPTER III.

Four monks of Fossanova admitted as witnesses on the 26th and 27th of July.

[19] On Thursday the twenty-sixth of the same month, Brother Nicholas of Piperno, otherwise called de Paleares, a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery, another monk a witness cited and sworn in like manner and form as noted above, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas of Aquino, he said that he saw the said Brother Thomas of Aquino in the monastery of Fossanova, ill, who had come there from the castle of Maenza, to which castle, going to the Council of Lyon, as he heard, he had turned aside, in the time of Gregory X, and from then he heard it said that the said Brother Thomas had been a man of holy life, testifies to the holiness of his life, and that he had always been a Virgin, as from his mother's womb: yet he himself had not seen nor known him before: and while he was in the same monastery, he saw him humble, kind, and patient, without any disturbance or anger, until the time of his death, and he heard that he received the Sacraments of the Church in the same illness with great reverence and devotion: and he heard it said that he had been summoned to the Council because he was considered one of the holiest and wisest men in the world. He also said that he heard it said that when the said Brother Thomas entered the choir of the church of the said monastery, he said: This is my rest, etc. Asked from whom he had heard the aforesaid things said, he said that concerning the holy life and conduct of the same, he heard it said by Brother James of Florentino, then Prior of the aforesaid monastery, and by many other monks of the same monastery, whose names he said he did not remember: and that he had said, This is my rest, etc., he said he heard from a certain monk of the same monastery, whose name he said he did not remember. Asked about the time when he saw him ill in the said monastery, he said it was about forty-five years ago. Asked what stature the said Brother Thomas was, he said the quality of his stature and age: that he was of great stature, and bald, and that he was also stout and dark. Asked what age he was, he said that according to his estimation, it seemed to him that he was fifty or sixty years old.

[20] Likewise, asked about the miracles of the same Brother Thomas, whether he knew of any performed during his life or at his death or after his death, he said that after a long time following his death, about seven months, the integrity of the body when the body of the said Brother Thomas was transferred from the chapel of St. Stephen of the same monastery to the tomb before the high altar of the church of the said monastery, he saw the body of the said Brother Thomas intact and giving off a great odor of sweetness: and again, after a space of about fourteen years after his death, at the instance of the Lady Theodora, Countess and his sister, his tomb was opened, and at the request of the same Lady to have relics of the said Brother Thomas, one hand of the body of Brother Thomas was given to her: and and the right hand given to his sister: he said that the body itself was found intact and redolent with a great sweetness of odor. Likewise, concerning the reason for his knowledge, he said that he was present and saw the aforesaid things and perceived the aforesaid odors on both occasions. Asked about the time, he said as above. Asked about the month and day, he said he did not remember. Asked who were present, he said that at the said first opening and translation, nearly the entire community of monks of the said monastery was present, who carried the body in procession with the Cross, holy water, and other vestments: but at the second opening, when the hand was given, he said that Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, then Abbot of the said monastery, was present.

[21] Likewise, he said that a certain physician who was called Master Raynald of San Lorenzo, suffering from an infirmity

in his feet, a man with gout healed, so that without a cane or the support of another he could not stand or walk, betook himself to the said monastery, hearing the fame of the holiness of the said Brother Thomas, and went to his tomb for the sake of devotion and recovering the health of his feet, and praying there for some time, he suddenly obtained health of the said feet. Asked how he knew, he said that he saw the same physician when he came to the said monastery limping and walking with the support of canes up to the tomb, and after he had prayed upon the said tomb, he saw him healed and walking freely by himself through the monastery without the support of canes or any other assistance. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said he did not remember. Asked whether the said miracle was performed at night or during the day, he said during the day about the hour of Terce, as he seemed to remember. Asked about the place, he said as above. Asked in whose presence, he said in the presence of himself as witness and many other monks of the said monastery, whose names he said he did not remember, since it was a long time ago. Asked at whose summons he went to see the said miracle, he said at no one's, but he went of his own accord. Asked whether any solemnity was observed in the said monastery for the said miracle, he said that the bells were rung, at whose ringing all the monks of the said monastery assembled in the church of the same monastery. Asked what words were interposed, he said that he did not hear the words of the prayer, since he had prayed secretly. Asked whether he had known and seen the said Master Raynald ill before the said miracle, he said that he had never seen or known him either before or after the miracle, except when he came to the said monastery on the aforesaid occasion. Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he heard it said that a certain sick boy, and a sick boy, though he did not know what infirmity he had, placed upon the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, was freed; and that many other miracles at various times and occasions are said to have been performed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, on account of which many votive offerings hang above his tomb. Likewise, asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said that concerning what he deposed about the life and miracles, there is public voice and fame in the said monastery and other neighboring places.

[22] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Peter Francisci of the town of Piperno, a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery, another monk, a witness cited and sworn according to the form noted above, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he had publicly heard it said in the said monastery, in the town of Piperno and other neighboring places, that the said Brother Thomas was of holy life and conduct, and is commonly reputed, held, and named as a Saint in the monastery and the aforesaid places; he said he knew nothing else about his life, since he is young, so that he could not have seen him. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the same Brother Thomas, if he knew any, he said that while he, before he entered the religious life, was in a certain house of the same monastery which is called the Calsolaria, serving those monks in the craft of shoemaking, and while he was lying in his place during the day and wished to rise and go to drink, there appeared to him around his bed a certain hairy man, who seized him by the feet, pushing and pulling his feet back to their place, and saying to him: previously by an appearing devil, Do not rise, for I shall bring you water. And he said: Go, and bring me water, thinking him to be one of the companions serving the same monastery, and that hairy man, going and returning, brought him water in the palms of his hands, with his hands joined together, and said to him: Drink. And the witness himself, looking at the appearance of the one bringing the water, it seemed to him that he had the stature of a dog and the face as if of a man, hairy and terrible: and from him there issued a great and abominable stench, contracted and immobile, at which the witness, terrified, hid his face and said: Go away, for I do not wish to drink. And such fear seized him that he almost lost all his strength, and he could not speak until the following day, and his hands and fingers were so contracted that the thumb of his right hand was wrapped against his arm contrary to nature, and the fingers of his left hand were so contracted that he could not extend those hands or their fingers in any way: and his feet became heavy and insensible, so that he could not walk: and thus impeded in his whole body, he could not move himself. And thus impeded and contracted, he was carried to the house of his mother near Piperno, where he lay thus for eight days: and while within those eight days his mother sought remedies for the aforesaid illness, it was advised to his mother that she should have the witness carried to the tomb of the aforesaid Brother Thomas. According to which advice, his said mother had him carried to the said tomb; healed at the tomb of St. Thomas, and when he had been placed upon the said tomb and had been there for a short time, he immediately rose up, standing upright, made healthy and fully freed from the said contraction of illness and impediment, and he freely began to walk and praise the Lord, since he was well: and from that hour onward he remained in lay garb for a year serving the same monastery, and he was always healthy afterward, and is now as well. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said that it was about five years ago: about the month and day, he said he did not remember, except that it was at harvest time. Asked in whose presence he was freed, he said in the presence of Brother Gregory of Castro San Stefano, a Priest and monk of the said monastery, and a certain Frenchman named Perrotto, a servant of the same monastery, now deceased, and his mother who was outside the gate of the said monastery, since no woman dares enter within, who had come with her son, and when she learned of the liberation and health of her son, she departed joyful and giving thanks to God and went to Piperno; on account of the benefit of which miracle, in honor of God and in reverence of the said Brother Thomas, each year at that time when the said miracle was performed, his said mother fasted for three continuous days.

[23] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said testifies that a certain man was freed from severe coughing that he saw a certain Oblate of the said monastery, who is called Master Matthew, son of John Leo, of Piperno, going to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas at the evening hour with a long candle, of about the length of the stature of the one carrying it, and placing it lit on the wall above the tomb; and when the witness himself asked him why he was doing this, he replied that he was doing this, and had arranged and promised to do it for fifteen days, in honor and reverence of God and the said Brother Thomas, to whom he had promised this by a vow on Tuesday after the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord most recently past, at Rocca-bita, where he had married, and which is two miles distant from the said monastery; because on that day such a violent cough, which is called catarrh, had seized him more than usual, so that he truly believed he was dying: on account of which he made a vow in these words in his mind, since he could not speak with his mouth because of the aforesaid cough: Blessed Thomas of Aquino, help me, that I may not die here, and grant me that I may be able to return to the monastery of Fossanova and die at the feet of the convent of Fossanova, of which I am an Oblate. And immediately upon making the aforesaid vow, he was freed from the force of the said cough, and thus freed he returned to the said monastery, just as he had asked in the same vow. And these things were recounted to the same witness by the said Master Matthew, as the witness himself deposed. Asked about the time when the said Master Matthew recounted these things to him, he said during the same week of Easter. Asked about the place, he said in the church of the said monastery. Asked who were present then when he heard these things from the said Master Matthew, he said there was present a certain small infant child, the son of the said Master Matthew, and no one else. Asked whether the said Master Matthew is alive, he said no; rather he had died in the said monastery according to the aforesaid vow in June most recently past. Asked whether any others knew of the aforesaid miracle, he said he believed that the wife of the late Master Matthew knew. Asked what age the said Master Matthew was, he said he was very old. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said yes, concerning those things which he deposed above, in the said monastery, in Piperno, and other neighboring places.

[24] On Friday the twenty-seventh of the same month and Indiction, in the same place, Brother Gregory of Santo Stefano, another monk testifies a Priest and professed monk of the same monastery of Fossanova, a witness cited and sworn according to the form noted above, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew nothing about it, since he is young, and could neither see nor know him. Asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas performed during his life or at his death or after his death, he said he knew this: that Brother Peter Francisci of Piperno, a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery, a man contracted and immobile by diabolical art, before he assumed the habit of the religious life, while he had been attacked by a malign spirit, and was so contracted in hands and feet, and twisted in mouth and face, without the senses of the body, that he seemed almost dead, and when fire was applied to his limbs he did not feel it; the same witness together with a certain Frenchman named Perrotto, who has died, carried the same Peter thus ill to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas. carried by him to the tomb of St. Thomas And the witness himself and the said Perrotto placed the same Peter, stretched out upon the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, and while he was there for about an hour, he rose up made healthy and fully freed, with all the senses of his body restored and all his limbs straightened and returned to their former state, and healed, as if he had never suffered the said attack and affliction. Asked the reason for his knowledge

and about the place, he said as above, namely that he was present and carried him together with the said Perrotto to the said tomb, as stated above, and remained there until he saw him rising from the said tomb free and fully healthy, as deposed above. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was five years ago that the aforesaid miracle was performed; about the month and day, he said he did not remember. Asked whether the said miracle was performed during the day or at night, he said during the day about the hour of None. Asked who were present at the miracle, he said the witness and the said Perrotto; however, all the monks then residing in the same monastery, having heard of the miracle, went to the church and found the said Peter healthy and fully free. Asked about the names of those who saw the said Brother Peter detained by the aforesaid attack or disturbance and afterward freed, he said that they had seen him thus: Brother Nicholas of Sectia, Brother John de Sclavis, and many others, whose names he said he did not remember. Asked at whose summons or request he carried the said sick man to the said tomb and stayed with him until he was freed, he said at the request of the said Perrotto. Asked whether the said sick man, lying upon the said tomb, prayed or made any vow for the recovery of his health, he said no, because he could not speak nor was he conscious; however, the witness himself and the said Perrotto prayed for him. having recited the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Salutation three times, Asked what words they used in their said prayer, he said that each of them said three times the Our Father with three salutations of the Virgin Mary, that God by the merits of the said Brother Thomas would restore the sick man to his former health. Asked whether he had known the said Brother Peter before the said miracle, he said yes, for two years. Asked how many days before the said miracle he had seen him thus ill, he said he had seen him ill for eight days. Asked whether he had seen him ill thus at other times, he said no, but he had always known him to be healthy. Asked whether after the said miracle he ever relapsed into the said illness, he said never; rather he was always healthy afterward and free from the aforesaid illness. Asked whether at the time of the said miracle he was a secular or a religious, he said he was a secular, but having recovered the said health, out of devotion to the said Brother Thomas he made himself a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery. Asked whether he knew the cause of the said illness, he said no, except insofar as the said Brother Peter narrated to him, as is contained above in the deposition of the same Brother Peter.

[25] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that Brother John de Sclavis had formerly suffered an abscess with fever, so that the physicians had despaired of his recovery and life, an abscess with fever removed: and while the said sick man had vowed himself to the said Brother Thomas for the recovery of his health, he was miraculously freed from the said illness. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that he saw the said Brother John suffering gravely and heard from the Physician who was treating him that he despaired of his recovery and life. Asked the name of the same Physician, he said he was called Master Nicholas, son of Master John of Piperno, who is now alive; and afterward he saw the said sick man healed, from whom he later heard that on account of the vow which he made to the said Brother Thomas, he had been freed, who also still lives. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said yes, concerning those things which he deposed, in the said monastery and in neighboring places, and especially in Piperno.

[26] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Leonard of Piperno, a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery, a witness cited and sworn in like manner and form another monk as witness, as above. And first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that while he was in the world and after he entered the religious life, he had publicly heard for forty years and since, that the said Brother Thomas was a man of holy conduct and life: he said he knew nothing else in particular about his life. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas performed either during his life or after his death, he said that while Brother William of Tocco and his companion, of the Order of Preachers, prosecutors of the cause of the said Brother Thomas, grumbling about the holiness of Blessed Thomas, were staying in the said monastery of Fossanova and had two mules there for their mounts, which needed to be shod, and the witness himself was required to shoe them, because he is a farrier; he, affected by weariness of the labor, conceived and said in his mind: how much these Preacher Brothers harass and annoy us on account of this Brother Thomas; if he was such a holy man, let him perform some great miracle, so that these Preacher Brothers may depart from here and stay here no longer. And immediately he was struck in his right arm with such pain punished with pain of the arm, that he could not move it, nor bring it to his mouth, nor perform any service with it; and he suffered such pain and impediment until the following day. He then on the following day remembered that he had thought ill against the aforesaid Brother, and recognizing and repenting that he had done wrong, he went to his tomb, standing there for an hour and praying, and immediately obtained health of the said arm, so that on the following Monday he worked at his trade, and with great joy shod the said mules of the aforesaid Brothers. Asked about the time, healed praying at the tomb, month, and day, he said it was this year, in the month of June, of the present second Indiction, namely on a certain Saturday after None and before Vespers, when he incurred the said illness, and afterward on the following Sunday in May after Mass he went to the said tomb, where he was freed, as stated above. Asked who were present at the said miracle, he said no one: he said however that his apprentices in the farrier's trade saw him impeded by the aforesaid illness and afterward freed, and he revealed to them the said impediment and his aforesaid liberation. Asked about the names of his said apprentices, he said one was called James of Sonnino and the other Leo of Piperno. Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said that God had performed many other miracles through the merits of the said Brother Thomas; he did not know of others in particular, however, because he is a novice in the said Order and monastery: he also said that about the aforesaid things which he deposed, there is public voice and fame in the said monastery and neighboring places.

[27] On the same day, in the same place, Brother John of Adelasia of Piperno, a Priest and monk of the said monastery, another monk as witness, a witness cited and sworn in like manner and form as above, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard through public voice and fame from many Religious that the same Brother Thomas was a man of holy life and conduct as long as he lived, and that he was of such prayer and contemplation concerning his holiness, that he seemed entirely drawn from earthly things to the Divine: he also heard that he was a Virgin as long as he lived, and that he celebrated Mass every day, and that at his end he received the Body of the Lord with great reverence and devotion, in the reception of which he said: I have written much about the most holy Body of Christ, all of which I leave to the correction of the holy Roman Church: and when he also received the holy extreme unction, and his writings submitted to the correction of the Church: the same Brother Thomas responded in the Office of Unction itself. Asked about the names of those from whom he heard the aforesaid things said, he said from Brother Nicholas, now Abbot of the said monastery of Fossanova, from Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, formerly Abbot of the same monastery, and from Brother Richard of the Order of Preachers, nephew of Brother Raynald of the same Order, who was the companion of the said Brother Thomas for a long time, and from many other Religious, Preachers and monks of the said monastery, whose names at present he said he did not remember. Asked about the place where he heard the aforesaid things said, he said in the aforesaid monastery, in the city of Anagni, and in many other places.

[28] Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas performed during his life or after his death, he said that while this year, in the month of January, of the present second Indiction, he felt on a certain night a most severe pain in his intestines, he himself freed from a severe abscess: on account of which he believed he was truly dying, he began to invoke the name of the said Brother Thomas with great devotion: and while it lasted until the middle of the night, the said pain began to intensify so much and afflict him more vehemently, so that he lost the strength of his body and seemed to be breathing his last, and then, pricked in heart and mind with greater devotion and with an outpouring of tears, he began to invoke the name of the said Brother Thomas and implore his help: after which contrite and tearful invocation, suddenly through a certain vomiting and discharge, through which he emitted almost nothing except flesh and blood, he was totally freed from the said pain. And when morning came, the physician of the said monastery, seeing what he had emitted through vomiting and discharge, said that it was from an abscess, from which abscess he should naturally have died. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was in the present year, in the month of January, of the present second Indiction, and on a certain Saturday night as Sunday was approaching. Asked who were present at the said miracle, he said there were present Brother Richard of Fondi the Sacristan, Brother Nicholas of Rocca, then Prior of the said monastery, and many other monks. Asked about the place, he said it was in the infirmary chamber of the said monastery. Asked what words were interposed and in what words he prayed, he said he prayed thus: Blessed Thomas of Aquino, help and free me from this illness, for I shall be devoted to you for the whole time of my life. Asked how long he suffered the said pain, he said from the first sleep of the said night until the middle of the same night. Asked whether he believed and held that he was miraculously freed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, or by a benefit of nature, he said that he firmly

held and has held, believed and has believed, that according to the disposition of his body and the vehemence of the pain and suffering and the bitterness of the said illness, he was miraculously freed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas and not by a benefit of nature; and the same thing was judged and held by the aforesaid physician. Asked the name of the said physician, he said he was called Master Nicholas, son of Master John of Piperno.

[29] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he saw Nicholas Massinus, who had been struck in the arm by his enemies; from which blow the bone of his arm which joins with the shoulder was completely dislocated and broken and separated from each other. testifies And although through the work of physicians the flesh over the bone had been knit together, yet the bone remained divided, so that by the physician's work it could not be joined: a broken arm bone healed, on account of which he remained weakened in the same arm, to the extent that he could not move it; finally, one evening when he put himself to bed, turning in devotion to the said Brother Thomas, he prayed that he would free him: and in the morning, awakened from sleep, he felt himself totally freed, in that with the said bone remaining thus divided, he had and now has the power and strength and use of the said arm, just as he had before the blow, and with it he works and exercises all uses as if fully healthy. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that when the same Nicholas came to the aforesaid monastery for the purpose of fulfilling a vow which he had promised to Brother Thomas, he narrated to the witness himself and to many other monks of the said monastery the said miracle of his liberation, and the witness himself, for verification, touched the place of the wound and found the bone divided: and notwithstanding this, he saw the same Nicholas moving the said arm back and forth, up and down, as if he had never had any injury in it. Asked about the time, day, and month when he saw the aforesaid, he said in the present year, of the second Indiction; about the month and day, he said he did not remember.

[30] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he saw Brother Peter Francisci of Piperno, a Lay Brother of the said monastery, and a demented demoniac freed, as if demented and possessed, as he demonstrated by the signs of his mouth and eyes and the gestures of his body: and his mother came to the monastery to see him, and he did not recognize his said mother: he saw him afterward healthy, and when he asked how he had been freed, he heard from Brother Gregory of Santo Stefano and Perrotto the Frenchman, an Oblate of the said monastery, that they had brought the said Brother Peter to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas and placed him upon the same tomb, and while they prayed for him as he lay almost sleeping upon the same tomb, he suddenly woke up and rose healthy, and so he saw him always healthy afterward. Asked about the time, day, and month, he said he did not remember.

CHAPTER IV.

Witnesses heard on the 28th and 30th of July: three monks of Fossanova and a nobleman of Naples.

[31] On Saturday the twenty-eighth of the same month, Brother John de Sclavis, another monk as witness a Priest and monk of the said monastery of Fossanova, a witness cited and sworn according to the aforesaid form; and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said by many Religious and secular persons concerning the holiness of his life, that the said Brother Thomas was a man of holy conduct and life, of fasts and prayers, and a man devoted to God and of the greatest honesty. Asked about the names of those from whom he heard this said, he said from Brother Nicholas of Sora, a monk of the said monastery, his uncle, who had known the said Brother Thomas and had lived with him, and from many others whose names he said he did not remember. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas performed during his life or at his death or after his death, he said the liberation of a demoniac, that he saw Peter Francisci of Piperno, now a Lay Brother monk of the said monastery, impeded and vexed by demons, and he saw him afterward free and healthy; and when he asked how he had been healed and freed, he was told that he had been carried to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, and through his merits he was there miraculously and suddenly healed and freed. Asked from whom he heard this said, he said from the same freed Brother Peter, and from Perrotto the Frenchman, and from Brother Gregory of Santo Stefano, who had carried him to the said tomb and had seen the miracle thus performed. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said he did not remember; it seemed to him, however, that about five years had elapsed.

[32] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he saw Nicholas de Maximo of Piperno, who said he had been struck in the arm by a certain enemy of his: from which blow the bone of his arm had been totally broken and divided, and a broken arm bone cured, and he recounted to the same witness and to many other monks the manner of his liberation: namely, that he had vowed himself to many Saints for the recovery of the health of his arm and had not obtained health: but turning to the intercession of the same Brother Thomas and vowing himself to him, he was freed miraculously and suddenly in this manner, that with the bone remaining divided he moved his arm as if he had never had any injury in it. When this miracle was heard, many of the monks of the said monastery, for their own verification, touched his arm at the place of the blow and found the bone of his arm divided, as those who touched it reported: and in the presence and sight of the witness himself, the aforesaid Nicholas freely moved the same arm as if healthy, and could work freely with it. Asked about the names of those monks who touched the said arm, he said he did not remember. Asked about those present, he said there were present the witness himself, Brother Richard the Sacristan of the same monastery, and many others: of whom, because of the multitude of those present, he did not remember. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was this year, of the present second Indiction: about the month and day, he said he did not remember. Asked about the place, he said it was in the cloister of the said monastery. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said yes, in the said monastery, in Piperno, and other neighboring places concerning those things which he deposed above.

[33] On the same day, in the same place, Brother James of Fresolone, called Rubeus, a Priest and monk of the said monastery, a witness cited and sworn according to the form noted above: another monk as witness, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had publicly heard it said by many Religious and secular persons that the said Brother Thomas was a man of holy life and honest conduct, a man of great prayer, devotion and reverence, and honesty toward God. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, freed from a fever: he said that while he himself suffered a certain fever for three continuous days (the onset of which fever seized him at the hour of Compline and held or afflicted him until the hour of None of the following day, and on the third day at night around the Matins hour), while he was gravely detained by the said fever, he vowed himself to the said Brother Thomas, that he would free him from the same fever: and after a brief interval had passed, before the Lauds of the same Matins, he was fully freed from the said fever, so that the same fever never seized him afterward. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was in September most recently past: about the day, he said he did not remember. Asked about the place, he said it was in the dormitory of the monks of the said monastery, where he was lying. Asked what words he used in the said vow, he said he spoke thus: Blessed Thomas, holy body, free me from this fever; and I promise you to make a votive offering of wax, if I shall be freed from the said fever. Asked whether he held and believed that he was freed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas or through some natural termination of the fever, he said that he firmly believed and undoubtedly held that he was miraculously freed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas and not through a benefit of nature: since there had been no sweat nor any other aid by which sick persons are accustomed to be freed from such illnesses. Asked whether anyone was present, he said no, since it was at night; however, in the morning he made it known to many, and especially to Brother Richard, the Sacristan of the said monastery.

[34] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he knew of the miracle performed in the person of Nicholas de Maximo of Piperno, asserts the cure of a broken arm bone, who had and has the bone of his arm broken and totally divided from a certain blow of a knife: who, coming to the said monastery of Fossanova, recounted to the witness himself and to several other monks of the said monastery how he had been struck in the said arm by a certain enemy of his, and how from the same blow he had had and had the bone of his arm broken and divided, although the flesh over the fracture of the bone had been knit together and made whole by the work of physicians: and that the same arm had been so weakened and made useless that he could not move it unless it was moved by another: and that vowing himself one evening to the said Brother Thomas for the recovery of the health and power of the same arm, in the morning he rose restored to the strength and power and to every exercise of working with the same arm, while the aforesaid bone nonetheless remained divided. Having heard this, the witness himself, wishing to verify the aforesaid, touched with his own hand the aforesaid arm on the bare flesh at the fracture of the said bone, from which touch he perceived the bone to be divided. Asked in what place the fracture of the bone was, he said approximately in the middle of the bone between the elbow and the shoulder. Asked whether it was the right or left arm, he said he did not remember. Asked who were present, he said in the presence of Brother James of Piperno, who also

in like manner touched the same arm, finding the bone thus, together with many others, whose names he said he did not remember. Asked about the place, he said in the cloister of the same monastery. Asked whether he saw the said Nicholas move the said arm as if healthy and performing other exercises with the same arm, he said that he saw him moving the same arm back and forth, up and down, as if he had never had any injury in it. Asked whether from that hour onward he saw the said Nicholas working at anything with the said arm, he said that he had many times since then seen the same Nicholas lifting weights and loading pack-animals with grain, and laboring, and with forks and shovels turning over and winnowing grain on the threshing floors. Asked what vow the said Nicholas said he had made, and what words he had used in the same vow, he said that, as the said Nicholas recounted, he promised to make an arm of wax and place it at the tomb of the same Brother Thomas: about the form of the words which he used in the same vow, he said he knew nothing else about it. Asked at whose summons he went to hear and see the aforesaid, he said that at the report of certain monks narrating the aforesaid, he himself heard and palpated the aforesaid, as stated above. Asked whether before the said blow and miracle he knew the said Nicholas, he said yes: because he had many times seen him in the said monastery. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said yes, concerning those things which he deposed above, both in the said monastery and in neighboring places, and especially in the town of Piperno and the town of Sonnino.

[35] On Monday, the penultimate day of the same month and Indiction, in the same place, Brother Peter of Fondi, a Priest and monk of the aforesaid monastery of Fossanova, another monk as witness, a cited witness and sworn in the above-written form, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew nothing else about it, because he had not seen or known the said Brother Thomas; except that for about forty-two years, during which he had been a monk of the said monastery, he had heard it said almost continuously in the aforesaid monastery and in the towns and surrounding places concerning the holiness of his life, that the said Brother Thomas, as long as he lived, was a man of holy life and conduct, of great prayer, of most honest and most pure life, and of great humility and devotion, and that at the end of his life he received the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the other ecclesiastical Sacraments with great reverence and devotion. Asked from whom he had heard the aforesaid things said, he said from Brother Nicholas, who is now Abbot of the aforesaid monastery, from Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, and from Brother Octavian, monks of the same monastery, who told him they had seen the aforesaid things and had known the said Brother Thomas, and asserting that they had lived with him, and that they had been present when the said Brother Thomas died in the aforesaid monastery.

[36] Likewise, asked about the miracles of the same Brother Thomas, whether he knew of any performed during his life and at his death or after his death, he said that a certain paralytic boy, who is called James, son of James Romanus of Piperno, and a paralytic healed, was suddenly freed and healed from the disease of paralysis when he had been placed upon the tomb of the said Brother Thomas. Asked how he knew, he said that he was present when the father of the said paralytic, who is called James Romanus, carried the same paralytic to the said monastery and placed him with devotion upon the said tomb, and prayed there for the restoration of the health of his said son: and when the boy had been upon the said tomb for an hour, until the Mass which was then being said in the church of the said monastery was brought to its end, at the end of the same Mass he was fully restored to his former health. Asked about the time, year, month, and day, he said it was at the time when he was a novice in the said monastery, which was about forty-two years ago; about the certain month and day, he said he did not remember; however, he said he remembered that it was the first Sunday of Lent of that year 1276, about the hour of Terce, at which hour Mass was customarily celebrated in the said monastery. Asked who were present at the said miracle, he said that he was present, and the father of the said boy, and Brother Blasius of Florentino, a monk of the same monastery, who was then the Master of the witness himself, then a novice, who has died, and also many other monks, whose names he said he did not remember. Asked about the place, he said it was upon the said tomb, as he said above. Asked what words the father of the said paralytic boy spoke and interposed in the prayer which he made for the recovery of the health of his said son, he said he had not heard: because he prayed quietly there, so that he could not understand; however, he said that immediately upon placing his son upon the said tomb, he placed there a votive offering of wax in the form of an image of a boy. Asked whether he had seen and known the said boy before he had then been carried there, he said no. Asked how he knew that the said boy had been paralytic, he said that then, when he was carried to the said tomb, he saw him trembling in his hands, arms, and other limbs, and agitated back and forth because of the weakness of his sinews, so that he could not stand firm by himself without support. Asked whether he knew how long he remained healthy after the said recovery of health, he said that from the time when he was healed and thereabouts, he remained healthy, and is now healthy, and is a Lay Brother of the said monastery. Asked at whose summons the witness himself went to see the aforesaid, he said at no one's summons, but he was then standing in the choir of the church of the said monastery, from where he saw all the aforesaid.

[37] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, he said he also knew that a certain physician named Master Raynald of San Lorenzo della Valle, who was suffering gravely in his feet from the disease of gout, was suddenly and miraculously freed at the tomb of the said Brother Thomas. a man with gout, Asked how he knew, he said that he saw the said Master Raynald when he came to the said monastery upon a certain donkey, detained by the said disease, and so burdened by the said disease that he could not walk by himself, but walked with the support of canes: and afterward he saw him after a brief interval perfectly healthy, so that by himself without any support he walked and ran about the said monastery: and he asserted that he had been healed through the merits of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, asserting that he had gone to his tomb and prayed there with devotion for the recovery of his health: and many other monks of the said monastery, who had been present and had seen the aforesaid, likewise asserted the same. Asked about the reason why the said Master Raynald had come to the said monastery at that time, he said he had come to treat Brother John de Amico, a monk and then cellarer of the aforesaid monastery, who was suffering. Asked what art of medicine the said Master Raynald practiced, he said surgery. Asked about the time, namely the year, month, and day on which the said miracle was performed, he said he did not remember because of the length of time: he said, however, that it was already about thirty-eight years ago that the said miracle was performed, and he said it was at harvest time on a certain day about the hour of None. Asked in whose presence the said miracle was performed, he said in the presence of Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, a monk and then Abbot of the said monastery, Brother Nicholas of Fresolone, Brother Octavian, Brother Martin, Brother Nicholas of Paleario, monks of the aforesaid monastery. Asked about the place, he said it was at the place of the aforesaid tomb, as he said above. Asked at whose summons he went to see the said Master Raynald healed, he said at the sound of the bells, because when the said miracle was performed, all the bells both great and small of the said monastery were rung: on account of which ringing he and many monks assembled at the sound of the said bells to hear and see the said miracle, and the other things stated above. He also said that the monks of the aforesaid monastery, on account of the said miracle, sang with great solemnity Te Deum laudamus in the choir. Asked whether he knew what words the said Master Raynald had used at the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, he said he did not know, because he had not heard. Asked whether he knew that the said Master Raynald had made any vow upon the tomb of the same Brother Thomas for the recovery of his health, he said he had heard it said by him that among other things the same Master Raynald had vowed to return to the Order of Friars Minor, of which he himself had been a Religious, if God by the merits of the said Brother Thomas would free him from the said infirmity. Asked whether he had known the said Master Raynald before he came to the said monastery, he said no. Asked how many days he saw him ill before the said miracle, he said only on that day, until the hour of the aforesaid recovery of health. Asked how long he saw him healthy after the said miracle, he said for many days during which he remained in the said monastery for the treatment of the aforesaid monk for whom he had come to the monastery: but after he departed from the monastery, he did not see him again nor inquire about him. Asked from what place the said Master Raynald was originally from, he said he did not know: but he had heard it said that he was a resident of the town of San Lorenzo della Valle. Asked what stature and age the said Master Raynald was, he said that when he saw him ill and afterward healed, he was of medium stature and about fifty years of age, as his appearance showed. Asked what clothing he was wearing when he came to the aforesaid monastery, he said that over his other garments he was wearing a certain cloak of red color.

[38] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said by Brother Peter Francisci of Piperno, now a Lay Brother of the said monastery of Fossanova, that before he became a Lay Brother monk, while he was serving in the same monastery as a servant, he had been vexed and impeded by a demon, and through the merits of the said Brother Thomas he was suddenly and miraculously freed at his tomb: a demoniac freed, and he said he had heard the same things from Brother Gregory of Santo Stefano, a monk of the same monastery, who is still alive, and from a certain Frenchman named

Perrotto, now deceased, who had been a servant in the same monastery, who both asserted that they had carried the said Brother Peter, vexed and impeded by a demon, to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, when he was there suddenly and miraculously healed and freed: and from many monks he had heard that they had seen the said Brother Peter vexed and impeded by a demon, and afterward had seen him freed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas upon his sarcophagus: and the witness himself said he had seen the same Brother Peter perfectly healthy, and he is now a healthy Lay Brother of the aforesaid monastery.

[39] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew that Nicholas Maximi of Piperno, who from a certain blow which he had received in his arm had the bone of his arm cut and separated or divided, a broken arm bone healed, with the flesh knit together and the bone itself remaining divided, out of the devotion which he had for the said Brother Thomas, and from a vow which he made to him, was miraculously restored to the use of the same arm: so that with the same arm, which he moved as if healthy, he labored and did whatever he wished, as if the bone of his arm were whole, just as he could do before he was struck and the said bone was separated. Asked how he knew, he said that he saw the said Nicholas coming to the said monastery with a certain votive offering, namely an arm of wax, which he carried to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas: which arm of wax the same Nicholas asserted he had vowed to carry to the said tomb, if God through the merits of the said Brother Thomas would restore to him the health and power of his said arm. Which votive offering of wax he brought to the said tomb after he had obtained power in the said arm: and the said votive offering of wax still hangs above the said tomb: and he also saw Brother John of Adelasia of Piperno and Brother Richard of Fondi the Sacristan, monks of the said monastery, touching the arm of the said Nicholas which had been struck: which monks, after they had touched the said arm at the place of the blow, publicly reported to the witness himself and to many others that they had found the flesh solid and the bone of the arm divided and separated. Asked about the time, namely the year, month, and day when he saw and heard the aforesaid, he said he did not remember: however, he said it was already about a year ago, as he believed. Asked who were present when he heard and saw the aforesaid, he said he himself and the aforesaid two monks, and many other monks, whose names he said he did not remember. Asked about the place in which he heard and saw the aforesaid, he said it was in the courtyard or plaza which is between the door of the church and the entrance gate of the said monastery. Asked at whose summons he had come to hear and see the aforesaid, he said he came at no one's summons, but by chance, while walking through the monastery, he found the said Nicholas telling and recounting in the aforesaid manner the said miracle which he had received in his own person through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, and so he stopped and stayed to see the aforesaid. Asked whether he knew by what words the said Nicholas vowed and commended himself to the said Brother Thomas, he said he did not know, except insofar as he saw the said votive offering, namely the arm of wax, as he said above. Asked whether he had known the said Nicholas before he was struck and before he had been, as stated above, healed, he said yes. Asked how long he had known him before, he said for nearly twenty years. Asked how long the said Nicholas had been impeded in the said arm and how many days he saw him impeded, he said he had heard it said that he had been impeded for about a month; but he himself had not seen him from the time he was struck and impeded, except on that day when he came to the aforesaid monastery and asserted he had been healed in the aforesaid miraculous manner. Asked how long he had seen him afterward healthy and with power in the said arm, he said many times he had seen him; and as often as it happened that he saw him, he saw him healthy and laboring with the said arm in the art of mortella, in which he was accustomed to labor in the said monastery, and leading loaded pack-animals, and also freely moving the same arm as if healthy, as he wished: and he is still healthy, and works with the same arm as with a healthy one. Asked whether the said Nicholas was a young or old man, he said he could have been, as he believed, about thirty years of age.

[40] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the same Brother Thomas, he said that he himself received a miraculous benefit in himself through the merits of the said Brother Thomas: and the witness himself was freed from gout, namely, that at the time when the said Bishop of Viterbo came to the aforesaid monastery to carry out the inquisition committed to him by the Apostolic See concerning the life and miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he had suffered and was suffering in his left foot from the disease of gout with vehement pain: and he, grieving in his heart that he could not be present to testify about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, asked Brother William of Tocco of the Order of Preachers, then present in the said monastery, to ask the aforesaid Brother Thomas of holy memory to free him from the said disease, so that he could go to Naples with the other monks of the said monastery to testify about the aforesaid miracles before the Lord Archbishop of Naples and the aforesaid Bishop, since the witness himself considered himself unworthy to obtain the aforesaid grace from so illustrious a man of life, namely the aforesaid Brother Thomas: and the said Brother William, at his request, as the same Brother William reported to the witness himself, asked the said holy man to free the said witness, namely Brother Peter of Fondi, from the aforesaid disease, and thus the witness himself was fully healed of the aforesaid disease. Asked about the time, namely the year, month, and day when the said miracle was performed in him, he said it was in the present year 1319, in the month of July, on Tuesday the seventeenth of the same month, when the aforesaid Lord Bishop of Viterbo had come to the aforesaid monastery for the aforesaid business. Asked for how many days he had been suffering the said disease before the said Bishop arrived at the said monastery, he said for three days. Asked whether the said Brother William offered a prayer to the said Brother Thomas for the restoration of the said health, he said yes, as the said Brother William had reported to him. Asked on what day and at what hour he had offered the said prayer, he said on the aforesaid Tuesday, in the morning before Terce. Asked whether he immediately obtained health, he said yes; because since he could not walk, on account of the said miracle he was freed on that same day, so that he walked freely and came and was present at the dinner of the said Lord Bishop with the other monks of the aforesaid monastery. Asked in what words the said Brother William prayed for him to the said Brother Thomas, he said he did not know, but the same Brother William knows, who offered the prayer. Asked whether he had previously had the said disease, he said he had had it many times. Asked how long he remained healthy after the aforesaid recovery of health, he said that from about the aforesaid day he was always healthy, and he hoped to be always healthy from the same disease through the merits of the aforesaid Brother Thomas. Asked whether there is public voice and fame about all the aforesaid things which he deposed, he said yes, both in the aforesaid monastery and in Piperno and in many other surrounding places.

[41] On the same day, in the same place, the noble man Lord Henry de Carrahulis of Naples, a knight, a noble Neapolitan as witness, a witness cited and sworn in the aforesaid form, to speak the truth on the aforesaid inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he had often heard it recounted that the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas had been honest, pure, and holy, and that he was a man of great contemplation and prayer, concerning the holiness of his life, and that every day he said Mass and heard another Mass, and when he could not say Mass himself, he heard two Masses, and afterward he devoted himself to study: so that during the entire time of his life, apart from the uses of nature, he was either reading or writing or praying. Asked from whom he had heard, he said from Brother John of Naples, Master in Theology of the Order of Preachers, from Brother William of Tocco, and from Lord Bartholomew of Capua, and many others. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the same Brother Thomas, he said that while he was going to Rome on pilgrimage with Lord Nicholas de Filimarino, and Lord Peter Grassus and other Neapolitans, he, for the sake of devotion and to see the tomb of the said Brother Thomas and also the monastery of Fossanova, and the use of an arm restored, with the said Lord Nicholas and Lord Peter, turned aside to the said monastery: where the said Lord Peter Grassus prayed upon the said tomb, prostrate upon it, and after the prayer he rose and reported to the witness himself that he had there felt good aid from the said Brother Thomas; because he felt himself freed in his arm, as he said, and then the witness himself imagined and conjectured within himself, pondering and recalling that he had somehow noticed the said Lord Peter not freely using the said arm as if healthy, but after the aforesaid words of Lord Peter, he saw the same Lord Peter freely using the said arm as if healthy, and he still uses it as if healthy. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that he was present when the said Lord Peter gave himself to prayer upon the said tomb, and he heard the aforesaid recounted by the same Lord Peter. Asked about the time, he said it was during Lent in the year most recently past of the first Indiction: about the month and day, he said he did not remember. Asked what words Lord Peter had used in his prayer, he said he did not know, because he had prayed secretly. Asked whether he had previously known the said Lord Peter, he said yes, for a long time, as a fellow citizen and friend. Asked how long he saw him ill, he said by conjecture, as above. Asked how long he saw him afterward healthy, he said that from about that time he always saw him healthy. Asked whether he knew of other miracles, he said no: however, he said he had publicly heard that God had performed many miracles through the merits of the said Brother Thomas: he also said that there was public voice and fame in Naples about all the things which he deposed.

CHAPTER V.

Four Brothers of the Order of Preachers, a Neapolitan nobleman, and a Canon of Salerno, witnesses produced on the 31st of July and the 1st of August.

[42] On Tuesday, the last day of the aforesaid month, in the same place, Brother James of Caiazzo, James of Caiazzo, Order of Preachers, of the Order of Preachers, a witness cited and sworn in the aforesaid form, to speak the truth on the aforesaid inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said witness that he saw the said Brother Thomas as a contemplative man, totally drawn from earthly things to heavenly things, a lover of solitude; for he willingly dwelt alone, concerning the holiness of his life, and he was of great honesty and modesty and great sobriety, never requesting special foods, but content only with those things which were set before him, and he used them temperately and soberly, and every day he celebrated Mass and heard another: then he devoted himself without idleness to prayers, study, and Scripture. Asked how he knew this, he said he had known and seen him. Asked in what places he had seen him, he said at Naples and Capua, studies, in the houses and convents of the Preachers. Asked what stature the said Brother Thomas was, he said stature, that he was of great stature and bald on the forehead. Asked how long ago it was that he saw him, he said, as it seemed to him, about forty-five years ago. Asked what age Brother Thomas was when he saw him, he said that when he first saw him, he could have been about forty-six years old. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, if he knew any, miracles, he said he had often heard it said that God, on account of the merits of the said Brother Thomas, had performed many miracles and had cured many persons in various places of various infirmities. Asked where he had heard the aforesaid things said, he said in the cities of Naples and Capua, and in many other places both beyond and on this side of the mountains. Asked from whom he had heard the aforesaid things said, he said from many Religious and secular persons, and especially from Lord Bartholomew of Capua. Asked whether there was public voice and fame about the aforesaid things which he had deposed, he said yes. Asked in what places there was public voice and fame about the aforesaid, he said at Naples, Capua, and in many places on this side of and beyond the mountains.

[43] On the same day, in the same place, the noble man Lord Nicholas de Filimarino, Nicholas Filimarinus a witness cited and sworn in the aforesaid form, to speak the truth on the aforesaid inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said that he had been a man of holy life and honest conduct, of great chastity, humility, and sobriety, witness concerning the holiness of his life, and of most excellent holiness. Asked from whom he had heard the aforesaid things said, he said from Lord Marinus his father, and from Lord Marinus his uncle, formerly Archbishop of Capua, who had known and seen the said Brother Thomas and had long lived with him, and who had held him in the greatest devotion and reverence, to such a degree that the aforesaid uncle, when he named the said Brother Thomas, on account of his holy life, almost always shed tears. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, if he knew any, he said he knew this: that while he, together with Lord Peter Grassus, Lord Henry Carrathulus, Lord James Capuanus, knights of Naples, and many others, some time ago, in the year of the first Indiction most recently past, during Lent, was going to Rome for the sake of pilgrimage, he turned aside to the monastery of Fossanova with the aforesaid Lord Peter and Lord Henry: where the witness himself saw the said Lord Peter bowing down and prostrating himself upon the tomb of the said Brother Thomas: and the use of an arm restored, and the said Lord Peter prayed there for a brief time and, rising from the said prayer, immediately asserted and said to the witness himself and the others present there: Hear a great miracle; for I was suffering great pain in my arm, and now upon this tomb, after I prayed, I am healed: and he affirmed this with an oath upon the Saints. Asked who were present when the said Lord Peter reported the aforesaid, he said the witness himself, Lord Henry Carrathulus, and Lord James Capuanus aforesaid. Asked about the time, he said it was in the year of the first Indiction most recently past; about the month, he said he did not remember: however, he said it was on a Thursday between Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday, at the hour of Vespers. Asked at whose summons he went to the said place to see the aforesaid, he said that he and the others aforesaid went to the aforesaid place out of the devotion which they had for the aforesaid Blessed Thomas, the aforesaid Lord Peter first proposing the words that they should turn aside to the aforesaid place. Asked by what words the said Lord Peter had prayed upon the said tomb, he said he did not know, because he prayed secretly and he himself did not pay attention. Asked whether he had previously known the said Lord Peter, he said he had known him for a long time before as a citizen of Naples. Asked whether he knew how long the said Lord Peter had suffered pain in the said arm, he said he did not know, except that Lord Peter himself said he had suffered for a long time. Asked from what place the said Lord Peter was originally from, he said he believed him to be originally from Naples. Asked how long he saw him afterward healthy, he said that from then on he saw him healthy whenever he saw him.

[44] Asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew this, namely, that when he, together with the aforesaid company, went to the said monastery, and the aforesaid Lord James Capuanus likewise prayed upon the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, and a pain of the eyes dispelled, and after he rose from prayer, he asserted to the witness himself and the aforesaid Lord Peter that he had been healed by the said Brother Thomas from a certain pain which he asserted he had suffered in his eyes. Asked with what words interposed the said Lord James prayed, he said he did not know, because although he had seen him prostrate upon the said tomb for praying, he had not heard the words which he spoke. Asked whether he had previously known the said Lord James, he said yes, and for a long time. Asked whether he had known him to be suffering pain in his eyes before, he said he did not know him to be suffering in his eyes except insofar as Lord James himself told the same witness and the aforesaid Lord Peter that he had been suffering pain in his eyes and had then been healed in the aforesaid manner. Asked whether he afterward saw the said Lord James healthy in his eyes, he said that from then on he always saw him healthy. Asked from what land the aforesaid Lord James was originally from, he said from Naples. Asked whether there was public voice and fame about the aforesaid things which he deposed, he said that about the life and conduct aforesaid there was public voice and fame at Naples and in many diverse places: but about the aforesaid miracles, it was known among the persons named above.

[45] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Peter of San Felice, of the Order of Preachers, Peter of San Felice, Order of Preachers, witness, a witness cited and sworn in the aforesaid form, to speak the truth on the aforesaid inquisition about the life and conduct of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, he said that the said Brother Thomas was a man of great purity, both with regard to himself and with regard to others, desiring them to be as himself, and of wondrous humility and patience, to the degree that he never saddened anyone with any bombastic or insulting word; likewise, he was a man of great contemplation, concerning the holiness of his life, and continuously either prayed or wrote or studied, and every day he celebrated Mass himself and heard another, and was totally drawn from earthly things to divine things: and he never requested special foods, but was content with those things which were set before him: and even at table he often contemplated, and contemplation at table, so that a person could take away from him the things which were before him and he would not notice: he also said that he was not fastidious in clothing. Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he had seen him and had been his student, and for a year had lived with him in the Order, and he also heard the aforesaid recounted by many Preacher Brothers, and especially by Brother Richard of Piperno, who was the companion of the said Brother Thomas for a long time, and by Brother Benedict of Monte San Giovanni of the same Order. Asked in what place he saw him, he said in the convent of Naples, in his cell, in the choir of the church of the aforesaid convent, stature, and in the chair reading, and also preaching. Asked what stature the said Brother Thomas was, he said he was of great stature, and he was stout and bald on the forehead. Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard from the report of many trustworthy persons and miracles, that after the death of the said Brother Thomas, God had performed and performs many miracles on account of the merits of the said Brother Thomas, and that many from diverse places and with diverse infirmities had been healed through his merits. Asked whether about all the aforesaid things which he deposed there was public voice and fame, he said yes, in the entire province of Terra di Lavoro and in many other places.

[46] On the same day, in the same place, Abbot Thomas de Mathia, a Canon of Salerno, a witness cited a Canon of Salerno as witness, and sworn on the said inquisition to speak the truth according to the form noted above, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said through public fame that the said Brother Thomas was a man of holy life and honest conduct: he knew nothing else. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that when he formerly, to the praise of God and the Holy Cross, began to build a certain chapel in the place of the Cross, and with great solicitude sought relics of the Saints to place in the aforesaid chapel, he went to the chapel of San Severino of the diocese of Salerno, and found there Lord Matthew de Adiutorio, the Chaplain of the same chapel, and asked him to show him relics of the Saints, if he had any: the Chaplain showed him first many relics, which he reverently viewed, and afterward the said Chaplain told the same Abbot Thomas that he had more precious relics: and asked which ones, he responded that he had the hand of Brother Thomas of Aquino of the Order of Preachers: which witness, receiving this derisively and

mockingly, said not esteeming his holiness, that the same Brother Thomas was not a Saint, but was merely a certain Preacher: and he refused to see it. And immediately a certain tremor seized him, and it seemed to him that he had a head swollen to the size of a large chest and very heavy: then he, repenting of the things which he had said and of his aforesaid incredulity, began to weep, seized by trembling: and he asked pardon from the Priest of the same chapel: and repenting of his contempt and the words spoken by him about the said Brother Thomas, he asked pardon from the aforesaid Priest: which having obtained, he went with devotion to pray to and kiss the aforesaid hand. healed upon kissing the hand of St. Thomas In the kissing and adoration of which, the said witness was suddenly freed from the tremor and swelling of the head and made healthy: and he perceived a most powerful odor issuing from the said hand. From the touch of the aforesaid hand on his hood, which he was wearing on his neck, exhaling an odor: he himself and the hood gave off such a fragrance that for a long time it seemed to those among whom he was living that he was carrying musk with him, and on account of this it was necessary for him to recount all the aforesaid things and miracles. He also said that he then felt such great consolation with an outpouring of tears, and had such faith from then on in the said Brother Thomas and still has it, that when tempted at times by the sin of the flesh, and with full deliberation thinking of carrying out the act of sinning carnally, by commending himself to the said Brother Thomas, he felt the aforesaid thoughts extinguished in himself, freed from carnal temptation: and from then on, many times in such temptations, invoking the name of the said Brother Thomas, he felt assistance and the stings of such temptations extinguished in himself. Asked about the time, month, and day of the said miracle and of his said liberation, he said it was in the year of the seventh Indiction most recently past; about the month and day, he said he did not remember. Asked who were then present with him at the said miracle, he said the said Chaplain, who has died, and Maffeus Aconziaceus of Ravello, and a certain servant of the same Maffeus, whose name he did not know. Asked about the place, he said in the town of San Severino, and in the church of the same town. Asked what words he used in the prayer which he made to the said Brother Thomas, he said in these words: O Blessed Thomas, I hold you as a Saint, and I repent of the things which I said, and I lied: I commend myself to You, help me: which prayer having been said, he said he was immediately freed and made healthy. Asked how long he suffered the said tremor and swelling and heaviness of the head, he said until he confessed and returned to the altar and made the aforesaid prayer. Asked how long afterward he was healthy, he said he was always healthy afterward. Asked how the said hand of the said Brother Thomas had come to the said church of San Severino, he said that the aforesaid Chaplain narrated to the witness himself that the Lady Countess, wife of the late Lord Roger, Count of San Severino, sister of the said Brother Thomas, out of the devotion the hand of St. Thomas deposited there, and love which she had for the said Brother Thomas, procured for herself the said hand to be given by the Abbot and convent of the monastery of Fossanova: which hand the said Lady afterward placed in the aforesaid church. Asked whether the said hand was intact, he said he saw it with skin, flesh, bones, sinews, and nails intact, lacking however the thumb. Asked whether about the aforesaid miracles there is public voice and fame, he said yes, in the said town, after his report about the miracle was made.

[47] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Conrad of Sessa, an elderly Priest of the Order of Preachers, Conrad of Sessa, Order of Preachers, witness, a witness cited and sworn on the said Inquisition to speak the truth according to the form noted above, and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that the said Brother Thomas was a man of holy life and honest conduct, peaceful, sober, humble, concerning the holiness of his life, quiet, devout, contemplative, and chaste; so that he was reputed a Virgin: and in food and drink he was of such sobriety that he did not request particular foods, nor did he even care about the quality of his clothing, and every day with great devotion he either celebrated Mass himself or heard one or two Masses, studies, and apart from the hours of natural rest he always devoted himself either to reading or to writings or to prayer or to preaching. Likewise, asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he had known and seen him living the aforesaid life, and had lived with him for many years at Naples, at Rome, and at Orvieto in the time of Lord Pope Urban of happy memory, where by his command the same Brother Thomas made commentaries upon the four Gospels. Asked whether the aforesaid Brother Thomas had continued the said life commentaries on the four Gospels, while he knew him, he said yes; indeed he was always progressing from good to better and growing from virtue to virtue. Asked how long he had lived with him and had knowledge of his said life, he said for many years and at various times. Asked how long ago it was that he first saw and knew him, he said sixty-two years had elapsed. Asked how old the witness himself was, he said he was seventy-seven years old: which age his appearance and physical aspect also demonstrated. Again asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, and miracles: he said he had heard it said that God had performed many miracles through his merits. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said yes, concerning the things which he deposed above, in the said Order among those who had known him.

[48] On Wednesday, the first of August, of the second Indiction, at Naples in the Archiepiscopal Palace, Brother John of Naples, of the Order of Preachers, Doctor of Sacred Theology, John of Naples, Order of Preachers, witness, a witness cited and sworn in the aforesaid form, to speak the truth on the said Inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said by many elderly Brothers of the Order of Preachers, who had been in various convents with him, that he was a man of holy life and conduct, of exemplary contemplation, concerning the holiness of his life, and that every day he commonly celebrated one Mass and heard another, or if he did not celebrate, he heard two: but the first was more frequent, namely that he celebrated one and heard another. Likewise, that in nothing did he appear attached to any temporal things whatsoever, namely the honors and riches of this world. Likewise, that he occupied almost his entire time contempt for honors, riches, and recreations, in good work, namely in study, reading, and writing or prayer, and that the things pertaining to the recreation of the body, such as eating and sleeping and suchlike natural needs, he did in passing, so that he spent little time in such things. Asked from whom he had heard the aforesaid things said, he said from many elderly Brothers of the said Order, who said they had lived with the said Brother Thomas; however, he did not remember all of them specifically. Asked whether he had heard it said by the aforesaid or others that the said Brother Thomas had continued his said manner of life as long as he lived, he said yes, and he had never heard the contrary. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, if he knew any, he said he had heard it said and recounted to him by Brother Leonard of Naples, of the Order of Preachers, who had been in the said Order an esteemed Lector, and Prior and Inquisitor of heretical depravity, and afterward Bishop of Vico Equense, and finally Archbishop of Acerenza: and an iliac disease removed, who, when he had once turned aside to the monastery of Fossanova to lodge there while going toward the Roman province, was suddenly seized by great iliac pains, which he had been accustomed to have frequently at other times; on account of which he broke out into great cries and lamentations: at which the monks of the same monastery came running and asked the cause of the cries, and hearing it from him, they said they advised him to use the medicine which they themselves used for their infirmities and pains and were frequently healed: namely, by stretching out the belt with which he was girded upon the tomb of Brother Thomas of Aquino of happy memory, of the Order of Preachers, who was buried in the same monastery, and then prostrating his whole body upon the same tomb: and Brother Leonard, having conceived devotion on account of the words he had heard, responded that he would willingly use such medicine, because he had known the aforesaid Brother Thomas while he was alive and knew him to have been of a most holy and most religious life and of great merit with God: and rising, he went to the said tomb, and following the advice given to him, first stretched out his belt upon it, and then, prostrating himself upon it with devotion, prayed to the aforesaid Brother Thomas, and immediately rose up perfectly healed, so that he never afterward felt such pains. Asked about the place where the said Leonard had told him the aforesaid, he said he did not remember: however, he said that it was certainly known to him that he had heard this from him directly.

CHAPTER VI.

Two monks of Fossanova, witnesses heard on the 1st and 3rd of August.

[49] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Peter of the town of Monte San Giovanni, an elderly Priest and monk of the monastery of Fossanova, a monk of Fossanova, a witness cited and sworn in the above-written form, to speak the truth on the said inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, testifies he said he knew the said Brother Thomas to have been a man of holy life and honest conduct, contemplative toward God, pure, humble, peaceful, and modest, the holiness of his life, separated from earthly things and drawn to heavenly or divine things, almost continuously with his eyes raised to heaven, and sober in food and drink, and who almost always devoted himself to study, or to reading, or to writings, or to prayer, and every day he celebrated Mass with tears and heard another with devotion. Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he had seen and known him and had lived with him for a long time and in various places. Asked in what places, he said in the town of San Giovanni Marsico, in the city of Naples, in the castle of Maenza, and in the monastery of Fossanova: in which places he said he had seen him living the aforesaid life and being as he said above. Asked how long he had known him and lived with him, he said for ten years, during which at various and frequent intervals of time he had lived with him and had always seen him living the aforesaid life, which he continued and is commonly and publicly said to have continued until the very end of his life: at which the said Brother Peter was present, ministering to him. He also said that while the said Brother Thomas was going to the Council of Lyon, having been summoned by Lord Pope Gregory X of happy memory, and was passing through the castle of Maenza of the diocese of Trani, and there tarried for some days because he was somewhat fatigued; Brother James of Florentino, then Prior of the said monastery of Fossanova, together with the witness himself, Brother John of Piemonte, and Brother Fidele, monks of the same monastery, went to visit the said Brother Thomas at the said castle of Maenza, where the Prior himself and the monks stayed with him for four or five days: during which he saw him celebrating with great devotion and an outpouring of tears, as he said above. In which place, while the said Prior had been secretly urged by Brother Raynald, the companion of the said Brother Thomas, to ask him what had happened to him when he received the Mastership in Theology, and to beseech the same Brother Thomas to tell him these things; the same Brother Thomas, at the great insistence of the said Prior, narrated to him that when it had been enjoined upon him by his Prior in Paris, at the command of the Chancellor of Paris, an apparition made to him; to prepare himself to receive the Mastership in Theology, and he considered himself unfit for this on account of his youth, and placed in perplexity as to what he should do, he gave himself to prayer before a certain altar, where, as he fell asleep, there appeared to him in a dream a certain Preacher Brother, grey-haired and elderly, who said to him: What are you thinking about, Brother Thomas? And he responded: I have been commanded to prepare myself to receive the inception, and I am thinking about what I should propose. And he said: Propose this text and no other: Watering the mountains from his upper chambers, the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of your works. Psalm 103:13 And he said he had proposed this authority at his said inception and had developed it. After four days had passed, the aforesaid Brother Thomas rode with the said Prior and monks and his other companions from the said castle of Maenza to the said monastery of Fossanova: and when he had entered the said monastery, in the place of the parlor, he said these words: This is my rest forever and ever; here I shall dwell, for I have chosen it. And staying in the same monastery, he began to be weighed down by illness, his holy death, which illness bearing with great patience, he received the ecclesiastical Sacraments with reverence and devotion, and especially the Body of Christ with many tears and great devotion: and before the reception of the Body of Christ he spoke many beautiful words about the Body of Christ before the entire community of the said monastery and many from the Order of Preachers and Friars Minor, among which he inserted these words: I have taught and written much about this most holy Body and about the other Sacraments in the faith of Christ and the holy Roman Church, to whose correction I subject and expose all things: and having received the Body itself, he lived for three days, and on the third day he fell asleep in the Lord. At whose funeral a certain Preacher Brother, who had been for a long time the Confessor of the same Brother Thomas, preached publicly before all those standing by, saying: I heard the general confession of the same holy man, about whom I testify that I found him as pure as a five-year-old boy; because he never experienced the corruption of his flesh. and burial: After this, the body of the same Brother Thomas was buried with due solemnity in the aforesaid monastery.

[50] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas performed during his life, at his death, or after his death, he said that during his life this miracle occurred: namely, that while the said Brother Thomas was alive and was at the castle of Maenza and had begun to become somewhat ill, and on account of his weakness was asked by his companion to take food, the said Brother Thomas said to him: Do you think fresh herrings could be found? sardines changed into fresh herrings: And his companion responded: I think they could be found in the regions beyond the mountains, in England and France. And while they were discussing this with each other, a certain fish-seller, called Bordonarius, coming from Traetto to Maenza with sardines, as he was accustomed, the companion of the said Brother Thomas, who is called Brother Raynald of Piperno, asked the same fish-seller what fish he had, and he said sardines; and when he had the baskets in which the said fish were carried uncovered, he found one of those baskets full of fresh herrings. When this was seen, all who saw it rejoiced and were amazed, because fresh herrings had never been found in the regions of Italy, and the said fish merchant was even more astonished and affirmed absolutely that he had bought sardines and not herrings, and the aforesaid Brother Raynald, running to the said Brother Thomas, said to him: God has fulfilled your wish, and you have what you desired; because the herrings which you named have been found. And he said: Where did they come from, and who brought them here? And he said: God sent them to you. Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said that this happened during those four days mentioned above, during which the witness himself was with his aforesaid Prior and other monks at the aforesaid castle of Maenza, and he was present and saw the aforesaid, and he also ate, and the said Brother Thomas also ate of the herrings, with his entire company, and many other Religious and secular persons ate, and the Lady Francisca, Countess, wife of Lord Anibald of Ceccano, lord of the said castle and nephew of the said Brother Thomas, likewise ate of the same herrings. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was at the aforesaid time when Lord Pope Gregory X of happy memory was at Lyon and was convening the Council, to which Council the said Brother Thomas, having been summoned, was going: about the certain month and day, he said he did not remember: however, he said it was during Lent and within the aforesaid four days. Asked who were present and saw the aforesaid, he said the witness himself and the above-named Prior, Brother John of Piemonte, and Brother Fidelis of Tuscany, the aforesaid monks, and Brother Raynald of Piperno, companion of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, and a certain servant of the said Brother Thomas called James of Salerno. Asked whether the aforesaid are presently alive, he said no, because all have died, the witness himself alone excepted. Asked about the place, he said it was in the said castle of Maenza. Asked at whose summons he went to see the aforesaid, he said he went to the said castle of Maenza with his said Prior at his command to visit the said Brother Thomas, and while he was there, the said miraculous event occurred, so that he saw and ate, as he said. Asked whether he knew what words were interposed by the said Brother Thomas after the said miracle occurred, he said those which he stated above: which words he said he had heard spoken by the said Brother Thomas to his said companion, and by his companion to the same Brother Thomas. Asked how he knew that the aforesaid fish were herrings, he said he had seen salted herrings at the Roman Curia near Viterbo, so that through those he recognized these to be herrings, because they were similar to them, and the aforesaid Brother Raynald, companion of the said Brother Thomas, who had seen and eaten fresh herrings in the regions beyond the mountains, testified and affirmed them to be herrings. Asked in what manner he and the others who ate the said herrings ate them prepared, he said boiled in broth and also roasted.

[51] Likewise, asked whether he knew of any miracle of the said Brother Thomas performed at his death or after his death, he said that when the said Brother Thomas had died, while he was still lying on the bed in the chamber in which he died, before his body was washed, Brother John of Florentino, then Subprior of the said monastery, a blind man given sight, who had lost the sight of his eyes, when he kissed with devotion the feet of the same Brother Thomas, as the other monks did, on account of his holy life, it was said to the same Brother John by way of advice: Join and place your eyes beneath the eyes of this holy man. And then the same Brother John with devotion placed and joined his eyes to the eyes of the said Brother Thomas, and immediately and suddenly he received his former sight and was fully freed and illuminated. Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he was present and saw, and was also one of those who gave to the said

Brother John the abovesaid advice. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was on the day of his death, but about the specific month and day he said he did not remember: but he remembered that it was at the time of the abovesaid Council. Asked who else were present when the said Brother John in the aforesaid manner recovered the sight of his eyes, he said there were present Lord Francis, Bishop of Terracina, of good memory, the abovesaid Brother Raynald, four or five Friars Minor, and many Preacher Brothers, and monks and Lay Brothers of the aforesaid monastery, numbering about one hundred. Asked in what place the said miracle was performed, he said in the aforesaid monastery, in the chamber and on the bed on which the said Brother Thomas lay dead. Asked at whose summons the witness himself went to see the said miracle, he said he did not go at anyone's summons, but he was continuously staying and attending to the said Brother Thomas while he lay ill in the said monastery, and at his death he likewise attended dutifully, so that the same Brother Thomas died beside the witness himself who was attending and serving him: and after he died, he remained and washed with the other monks his body, and furthermore saw all the aforesaid things in person. Asked what words the said Brother John used in prayer when he placed his eyes upon the eyes of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had not heard, because he had prayed mentally. Asked whether before the said miracle he had known the said Brother John, he said yes, because he was his companion in the said monastery. Asked for how long before the said miracle he had seen him suffering a defect in the sight of his eyes, he said for twenty days. Asked how he knew that the said Brother John lacked sight, he said he saw him unable to discern or recognize people by sight, nor could he even read. Asked how long he knew the said Brother John to be thus healed of his sight, he said that from then onward for thirty years he saw and knew him to be sound of sight. Asked from what place the said Brother John was originally from, he said from Florentino in Campania.

[52] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas performed after his death, he said that after seven months following his burial in the chapel of St. Stephen of the said monastery, the body transferred with a fragrance of odor, the body was exhumed from the same chapel and transferred and buried before the high altar of the church of the same monastery, and at the opening of the tomb such a fragrance of odor flowed forth that it filled the entire chapel and even the cloister: and his vestments, and found intact, with which he had been buried, were still sound and intact, and also his entire body was intact and uninjured, except that a slight rupture appeared on the tip of his nose, and several of the monks of the said monastery, wishing to ascertain whence such an odor flowed, approached and placed their nose upon his body, 7 months after death and smelling, they perceived in that smell the said sweetness of odor proceeding from his body and vestments: on account of which, with greater devotion having been assumed by the monks of the said monastery, the Prior and two other ministers from the said monks vested themselves in silk vestments or paraments, and they thus vested and the entire community processed and transferred the body from the tomb in which it was to another, which is before the aforesaid altar: from which tomb after seven years, when the witness himself had been made Abbot of the said monastery, he again had the body exhumed and transferred to another more honorable place: and again after 7 years: namely, to the left side of the altar, as one goes toward it, in a stone tomb above the ground: and at the opening of this tomb, a similar odor emanated from the body, as in the first translation already mentioned: and both the body itself and his aforesaid vestments were intact and uninjured, as above at the aforesaid first opening, except that a small part of the tip of the thumb of the right hand was missing: and in both the said first translation and the second, a Mass was sung for a Confessor by the monks of the same monastery, because they considered the same Brother Thomas a Saint, and did not consider it fitting and proper to sing a Mass of Requiem, as for a dead person. Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he was present at both the first and second aforesaid translations and saw and perceived the aforesaid: and he also had the aforesaid second translation carried out as Abbot of the said monastery. Asked about the time, months, and days of both translations, he said that the first translation was made about seven months after the death of the said Brother Thomas: and the second translation was made seven years after the first translation: about the distinct and certain months and days, he said he did not remember because of the length of time. Asked who were present at the first and second translations, he said that at both the first and second translations there were present Brother Leo of Santo Stefano, Brother Grilardus of Castelnuovo, the abovesaid Brother James the Prior, Brother Peter Francisci of Piperno, Brother Mauritius, monks of the said monastery, and generally the entire community of monks and Lay Brothers of the said monastery. Asked about the place, he said as above. Asked at whose summons, he said that at the first translation he, together with the other monks of the said monastery, acted at the command and summons of the Prior of the said monastery. But at the second he, as Abbot of the said monastery, summoned the others to this; he himself was not summoned by them.

[53] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that after his death, many years having elapsed, a certain surgeon named Raynald of San Lorenzo, while he was suffering the disease of gout in his feet so gravely a man with gout healed: that without the support of others he could not walk, out of devotion and for the recovery of his health, having heard the fame of the holiness of the said Brother Thomas, came on horseback to the said monastery: and after he entered the said monastery, he had himself carried to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, upon which prostrating himself and praying, he immediately rose perfectly healed, so that he immediately ran and walked by himself as if healthy, crying out and saying: I am well through the merits of St. Thomas of Aquino: on account of which miracle the community of monks who were then present in the church of the said monastery for the saying of the Canonical Hours, having seen the miracle, with the bells of the same monastery rung, solemnly sang Te Deum laudamus. Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he was present and saw the sick man with the said infirmity carried to the said tomb, and lying upon the same tomb, and praying and rising healthy, walking and running like a healthy man, and he heard him crying out and saying: Blessed be God, for I have been made well through the merits of St. Thomas of Aquino: and the witness himself, who was then Abbot of the same monastery, together with the other Brothers sang on account of the miracle the said hymn, Te Deum laudamus. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said he did not remember. Asked about the hour, he said the miracle was performed about the hour of Vespers, as it seemed to him, though he did not fully remember. Asked who were present, he said the monks of the community who were then in the same monastery, who had assembled in the same church to sing Vespers. Asked about the place, he said as above. Asked at whose summons he went to see the aforesaid, he said that both he and the other monks had assembled in the same church for the saying of the Canonical Hours. Asked what words the said Master Raynald had used in his prayer, he said he had not heard, because he prayed secretly. Asked how long he had known the same Master Raynald before the said miracle, he said for about twelve years. Asked how long he had been detained by the said infirmity and how many days he had seen him ill, he said that within the said time of twelve years, many times at various intervals of time he saw him, and as often as he saw him, he saw him detained by the said infirmity. Asked how long he saw him healthy after the said miracle, he said for many years, and he knew him to be healthy until his death. Asked from what land the said Master Raynald was originally from, he said from the aforesaid town of San Lorenzo. Asked what stature and age the said Master Raynald was, he said he was of medium stature and age.

[54] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew that a certain woman named Margaret of Piperno, while she was betrothed and about to be given in marriage, an infirmity befell her in her throat, so that she had a scrofulous throat, a throat freed from swelling, and very swollen: on account of which infirmity and disfigurement, the man who had betrothed her refused to marry her. Whence the mother of the said Margaret and Margaret herself, having heard the fame of the holiness of the said Brother Thomas, came with great devotion to the great gate of the said monastery of Fossanova, and since she could not enter the said monastery, because no woman is permitted to enter it, they earnestly and insistently asked the said Brother Peter the witness to have something of the Relics of the said Brother Thomas brought to them for the sake of God, so that they might place it upon the throat of the said Margaret, hoping through this that by the merits of the said Brother Thomas the same Margaret would obtain health. At the entreaties of which women, the said Brother Peter the witness had the head of the said Brother Thomas carried to the same women by the Sacristan of the said monastery, which head was separated from the body of the said Brother Thomas and was guarded and is still guarded in the sacristy of the same monastery: and the said Sacristan placed the same head upon the throat of the said woman where she was suffering. Which having been done, the aforesaid Margaret with her mother, departing from the said monastery toward Piperno, which is two miles distant from the same monastery, on the way as she was departing, she vomited from her mouth something like a piece of flesh, and was fully healed in her throat after that vomiting during the same departure; as the same Margaret reported to the witness himself and to many people of Piperno, and she still professes and publicly testifies that she was healed in the aforesaid manner through the merits of the said Brother Thomas. Asked how he knew, he said he was present when the said head, as he stated above, was brought to the said woman and placed upon her throat: and afterward he saw the same woman fully

healed of the said infirmity, and she professed to have been healed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said he did not remember. Asked who were present, he said the witness himself, and the aforesaid Sacristan, Brother Peter called de Morrone, a monk of the said monastery, the full brother of the said Margaret, and the mother of the said Margaret, and many women of Piperno who had followed the same woman. Asked what words the said woman used when the said head was placed upon her throat, he said the said woman bowed and knelt with devotion, but he did not hear her speaking words. Asked whether he had known the said woman, he said yes, for a long time before. Asked whether he knew how long she had suffered the said disease, he said for a long time, and many times at intervals he had seen the said woman with the said swollen and inflated throat. Asked how long the said woman was afterward healthy, he said that from then on he had seen her healthy many times, and she is still healthy. Asked whether after the said health was restored to her in the said throat, the same woman had confirmed and completed the marriage with the man to whom she had been previously betrothed, he said yes: and from him she has had and has offspring. Asked whence the said woman was originally from, he said from the town of Piperno.

[55] Asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he did not know others from sight except the aforesaid; however, he heard it said by Brother Peter Francisci of Piperno, a Lay Brother of the said monastery, a demoniac freed, how he had been vexed and impeded by a demon and deprived of his natural powers, and that through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, when he had been carried to his tomb, he was miraculously and suddenly freed, and he saw the same Brother Peter narrating the aforesaid things in good health; who is also now healthy in the said monastery: adding that the aforesaid miracle was and is well known in the said monastery. Likewise, he said he had heard from the Father of Nicholas de Maximo of Piperno a broken arm bone healed, that the same Nicholas his son, from a certain blow of a knife, had the bone of his arm totally broken and divided, and that vowing himself to the said Brother Thomas, he recovered the power and health of his arm, so that with the bone remaining divided, he did everything with the same arm as with a healthy one. Asked whether about the aforesaid there is public voice and fame, he said yes, in the said monastery, the town of Piperno, and other neighboring places.

[56] Another monk On Friday the third of the said month of August, of the second Indiction, Brother Peter of Piperno, called de Morrone, a monk of the aforesaid monastery, a witness cited and sworn in a similar form to speak the truth on the said inquisition; and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had publicly heard it said that the said Brother Thomas was a man of holy life and conduct, and many good things are said about his holiness; otherwise he did not know, since he was not of an age to have been able to see him. Likewise, asked whether he knew of any miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew that his sister, testifies that his sister was freed from swelling of the throat, named Margaret of Piperno, who from the years of her childhood had a swollen and inflated throat from an accumulation of humors, came with the witness himself and their mother to the monastery of Fossanova out of the devotion which they had conceived from hearing the great fame of the holiness of the said Brother Thomas and how God was performing many miracles through his merits: when she arrived at the gate of the said monastery, which no woman can enter, she humbly asked Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni, a monk of the said monastery, to have something of the relics of the said Brother Thomas brought to her and placed upon the said throat: which Brother Peter, acceding to her request, had the head of the said Brother Thomas, which was in the sacristy of the said monastery, carried by the Sacristan and placed upon the throat of the said woman: which woman, on her departure, vomiting congealed humors in the form of a piece of flesh, was fully healed on the way of the said infirmity of the throat. Asked how he knew, he said he was present and saw the said head placed upon the throat of his said sister, and he, remaining in the said monastery, within three days went to Piperno and found his said sister healed of the said infirmity: and she narrated to him that she had been healed in the aforesaid manner on the road when she was returning from the said monastery. Asked about the time, he said about one year had now elapsed: about the month, he said he did not remember; however, he said it was on a certain Sunday after dinner. Asked about those present, he said there were present the witness himself, and the aforesaid Brother Peter and the Sacristan and his mother. Asked the name of the Sacristan and whether he was alive, he said he was called Brother Richard of Fondi, who is alive and exercises the office of Sacristan in the said monastery. Asked about the place, he said it was before the first gate of the said monastery that the head of Brother Thomas was placed upon the throat of the said woman: which woman was afterward healed on the road during her aforesaid return. Asked at whose summons he went to see the aforesaid, he said at the request of his mother and of his said sister. Asked by what words the said woman prayed and commended herself to the said Brother Thomas, he said he had not heard the words: however, he saw that his said sister humbly and with devotion knelt when the said head was placed upon her throat. Asked how long she had suffered and how many days he had seen her suffering the said infirmity, he said that from the time of her childhood she had a swollen and inflated throat, and he had seen her thus. Asked how long the said woman was and remained healthy from the said infirmity, he said that from about the day of the said miracle she was and is healthy. Asked what place his said sister and he were originally from, he said from Piperno. Asked whether his said sister was married, he said that before the said miracle she was betrothed to a man who refused to marry her on account of the said disfigurement, but after the said miracle he consummated the marriage with her, and from her he has offspring. Asked the name of his mother and the name of his sister's husband, he said the mother is called Bellitia, and the said husband is called Nicholas.

[57] Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard from his father that he had been miraculously healed of iliac pain through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, and his father from iliac pain, to whom he had devoutly commended himself. Likewise, he said he had publicly heard it said in the aforesaid monastery that Nicholas Maximi of Piperno, who from a certain blow which he had received in his arm, had and has the bone of his arm cut and separated, another from a fracture of the arm, so that he had lost all the strength, function, and power of the same arm, and could not be cured by anyone; through the merits of the said Brother Thomas, to whom he devoutly commended himself, he was miraculously and fully restored to all the strength, power, and function of his said arm, even with the bone of the arm remaining divided: and he said this miracle was public in the said monastery and town of Piperno. Likewise, he said he had publicly heard it said in the said monastery another from a malign spirit, that Brother Peter Francisci of Piperno, a Lay Brother of the said monastery, who had been vexed and impeded by a malign spirit, carried to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, was there miraculously and suddenly freed: and he said this miracle was likewise public in the said monastery and in the aforesaid town of Piperno.

* mastership

CHAPTER VII.

Two Priests of the Order of Preachers with another witness heard on the 4th day of August.

[58] On Saturday, the fourth of August of the same second Indiction, William of Tocco, Order of Preachers, in the same place, Brother William of Tocco, of the Order of Preachers, a Priest and elderly Religious, Prior of the house of the Preachers in Benevento, a witness cited and sworn in like manner as above, to speak the truth on the said inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said witness concerning his practices and the holiness of his life, that he saw him writing a commentary on the book On Generation and Corruption, which he believed to have been his last work in philosophy: and he heard him preaching and lecturing, and a great crowd flocked with devotion to hear his preaching: he also said that he was a man who was gentle, humble, despising temporal honors, most pure and chaste, to the degree that it was commonly said he was a Virgin, just as from his mother's womb: and this was affirmed by Brother Peter of Sectia, Procurator of the Preachers in England, who preached at the funeral of the said Brother Thomas in the same sermon in which he said he had heard at his death his general confession, and his entire life was either to pray and contemplate, or to read, preach, and dispute, or to write or to dictate: and that he was so sober that he never cared about the delicacy and particularity of foods, nor about the quality of clothing. Likewise, he said he had heard from Brother Raynald of Piperno, companion of the said Brother Thomas, about his knowledge, infused knowledge, that his knowledge had not been acquired by natural talent, but by revelation and infusion of the Holy Spirit: because he never set himself to write any work without first offering prayer and shedding tears: and when he doubted about anything, he had recourse to prayer, and bathed in tears

he returned from the same doubt clarified and instructed: and this testimony the said Brother Raynald reported to the witness himself and to many others publicly in the schools, asserting with tears that he had been forbidden by the said Brother Thomas to reveal it to anyone during his lifetime.

[59] Likewise, he said that he had frequently heard from the mouth of Lord Francis de Amore, of Alatri, Vicar of the Lord Bishop of Nola, that the same Lord Francis had frequently heard from the mouth of Brother Raynald, companion of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, that when the said Brother Thomas was writing on Isaiah, he came to a certain passage of Scripture which he could not fully understand: and for many days he afflicted himself with prayers and fasts, asking God to reveal to him the secret of the said Scripture. After some days, the said Brother Raynald heard the said Brother Thomas at nighttime in his chamber speaking with others, with whom or with what person he did not know. After which conversation, the aforesaid Brother Thomas immediately asked his said companion testifies to the apparition of Saints Peter and Paul explaining the difficulty, to light a candle for him, and when it was lit, he said to him: Write in the notebook on Isaiah. And when he had written for a long time and had resolved the said doubtful passage, he said to him: Son, go to rest. And he, kneeling, asked with tears and adjured him to reveal to him with whom or with what person he had been speaking. And he, lest he seem to despise the name of the Lord by which he was adjured, broke into tears and said that God, having mercy on him, had sent him the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, who had most fully taught him about the same doubtful and secret passage, and he added: On the part of God I command you that you dare not reveal these things during my lifetime. Asked how he knew the aforesaid things which he said about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he saw and knew the said Brother Thomas, and had lived with him on many occasions at Naples, and he also heard the aforesaid things said and related by many elderly Religious and secular persons who had known him and lived with him, and especially by the abovesaid Brother Raynald and by Lord Bartholomew of Capua.

[60] Likewise, asked about the miracles of the same Brother Thomas, whether he knew of any performed either during his life or at his death or after his death, he said that miracles performed during the life of the said Brother Thomas through his merits are commonly narrated among the Preacher Brothers: the first, namely, about a superfluous tooth, which at Paris, rising from sleep, he found had grown upon him, a tooth grown and fallen from his mouth in a single night, which impeded him in speaking: and since he was supposed to determine a certain question, not knowing what remedy to apply, he went to his accustomed place of prayer, and while praying the tooth fell into his hand, which he showed to his companion: and to remember the benefit of God he carried the same tooth with him for a long time. This the aforesaid deponent said he had frequently heard from Lord Thomas of San Severino, Count of Marsico, nephew of the said Brother Thomas, and from Brother Bartholomew, Bishop of Torcello, who is at the Curia with the Lord Cardinal of Sabina, who was a student of Brother Thomas and wrote much about his holiness. Asked about the time when he heard the aforesaid, he said he heard the aforesaid from the said Brother Bartholomew in the month of August of the year most recently past of the first Indiction, when the witness himself was at the Roman Curia: but from the aforesaid Lord Count, he said he had heard it, as he believed, in the month of November of the year of the fifteenth Indiction most recently past. Likewise, the aforesaid deponent said he had heard from the said Brother Bartholomew that when the companion of the said Brother Thomas, the abovesaid Brother Richard, fell ill with a continuous fever, a fever removed by the relics of St. Agnes, the said Brother Thomas placed the Relics of St. Agnes, which he wore at his neck out of devotion, upon the breast of the sick man, praying for him to Blessed Agnes, and he was immediately cured. Asked about the time, he said he heard this at the same time and month when he was at the Roman Curia. Likewise, he said he had commonly heard it said by the more elderly Brothers of the said Order of Preachers and by the aforesaid Lord Count that when the said Brother Thomas was made Master in Theology, while he prayed, a certain elderly Brother in a capuce was sent to him, and aid provided in receiving the Doctorate, who told him that he should confidently receive the Mastership, and should propose nothing else for his inception but this: Watering the mountains from his upper chambers, etc.; which the said Lord Count heard from the mouth of the said Brother Thomas, as he related to the witness himself. Asked about the time, he said as before.

[61] Likewise, the same deponent said that when, returning from the Curia in the year most recently past, about the end of December, he passed through Anagni and was there in the convent of the Preachers, he heard from Brother Robert of Sitia, who is a great Brother in the Order and a Lector and distinguished preacher, that he together with Brother Stephen his uncle, a very religious man ... that when the aforesaid Brother Thomas was in prison in the castle of Monte San Giovanni, having been seized from the Order by his own brothers, since he in no way wished to lay aside the habit constancy in driving away an immodest girl: or change the purpose of his will, they, wishing by all means to extract him, sent to him a most beautiful and adorned young woman who would induce him to sin: but when the same Brother Thomas saw this and felt the stimulus of the flesh aroused in himself, seizing a burning firebrand from the hearth, he expelled her with indignation, and going to the corner of the chamber, he imprinted the sign of the Cross with the tip of the firebrand on the wall: and praying for a long time with tears, he asked from God that he might never feel the stimulus of the flesh that would violate the integrity of his mind and body: and thus praying he fell asleep. And behold, two Angels were sent to him in a vision, who revealed to him that he had been heard by God and had gained a triumph from the struggle he had undergone: and from each side they girded him tightly at the loins, and the binding of the loins with a belt by Angels, and said: Behold, on the part of God we gird you with the belt of chastity, which can be dissolved by no temptation: and in that tightening he felt a perceptible pain and cried out and was awakened, and once awakened he refused to reveal why he had cried out. Afterward, however, he revealed these and many other things to his aforesaid companion for his consolation.

[62] Likewise, he said that when the said deponent was in Marsico with the said Lord Count of Marsico, and was investigating the miracles which God had performed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas of Aquino both during his life and after his death, at the command of the Provincial of the Kingdom of Sicily, who had ordered this for reporting to the Supreme Pontiff; the Lady Catherine, niece of the said Brother Thomas, mother of Lord Roger de Marra, an elderly and very devout Lady, a revelation made to his mother about St. Thomas not yet born, before the same deponent, a judge and public Notary, and witnesses sworn on the holy Gospels of God, said she had heard from the Lady Theodora, mother of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, that while she was in her castle of Roccasecca, a certain hermit came to her, named Brother Bonus, who on the mountain of the said Roccasecca had led the eremitic life with many others and was considered a Saint by everyone of that region, and he said to her: Rejoice, Lady, for you are pregnant and will bear a son whom you shall call Thomas: you and your husband will think of making him a monk at Monte Cassino, but God has ordained otherwise concerning him; for he will be a Brother of the Order of Preachers, of such holiness and knowledge that the like of him cannot be found in his time. He also said how he was raised in the aforesaid monastery, and from there sent to Naples, where he entered the Order of Preachers, and how his mother wished to see him, and his brothers chased him to Rome to the convent of Santa Sabina, his entry into the Order, and how the said Brother was then captured by his own brothers, who were with the Emperor Frederick, and sent with the habit of the said Order to his mother: and how he was kept in prison until the return of his brothers, and that in the same prison he was attacked to make him lay aside the habit, which he never wished to lay aside: and how in prison he taught his sisters letters, his captivity and restoration: and he himself also learned much: and that finally his parents and brothers, vanquished by his constancy, restored him to the Order, and he was then sent to Cologne for studies. Asked before whom the said deposition was made, he said it was made before the said Lord Count, and the Lady Suena his wife, Countess, and knights of his household, whom he did not remember. Asked about the time, he said it was in the year most recently past of the first Indiction, in the month of February, as he believed: about the day, he said he did not remember.

[63] Likewise, the deponent said that when he was at the monastery of Fossanova and was awaiting there the aforesaid Lord Bishop of Viterbo, Inquisitor of the said miracles of the said Brother Thomas appointed by the Supreme Pontiff, the day before, Brother Peter of Fondi, a monk of the said monastery, who was one of the witnesses to the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, said to the said deponent: Attend, Brother William, for I shall not be able to come to Naples, gout removed, because I am suffering from gout in my feet: I ask however that you pray to the said Saint, that God by his merits may free me. He promised to pray to the Saint, and when he was still burdened, the aforesaid deponent asked him with tears: and returning to the place where the sufferer was sitting in the second cloister, he found him free and healthy, walking: and on the second day he rode with the others and came to Naples. Asked about the time, he said it was in the month of July, on the 17th day of the same. Asked before whom, he said he found only the sufferer himself, complaining; but his infirmity was known to all in the monastery, and likewise his cure: he did not know, however, whether they had noticed. Likewise, he said that while he was in the monastery of Fossanova, a certain woman came to him, named Stephania of Rocca, an inhabitant of the town of Sonnino, dropsical and swollen in her whole body, and came to the gate of the said monastery, dropsy, asking that the Relics of Brother Thomas of Aquino be brought to her; because she had conceived devotion for him and believed she would be cured through his merits. To whom, when the said deponent with many monks had brought something of the aforesaid Relics (because the woman did not dare enter the said monastery), prayer having been made there by the sick woman herself and the monks, and the Relics having been applied to the breast of the sick woman, she departed, and on the way while departing was cured, and sent her son to inform

the said deponent and the monks, which the same deponent also heard from many others; because she was perfectly cured from the day on which she saw and venerated the same Relics. Asked about the time, he said it was in the month of June, on the 12th day of the same month, of the present year of the second Indiction.

[64] Likewise, he said that in the same year and month, on the 13th day of the same month, while the said deponent was at the doorway of the said monastery, a certain poor woman of Campeneto came, named Maria de Nicolao, and asserted before many that while she had long been paralytic, she came trembling, paralysis, as she could, gathering ears of grain as a poor woman at the stubble-fields of the said monastery: and when the Lay Brothers of the said monastery saw her trembling, they advised her to vow herself to the said Brother Thomas, who would certainly free her: and when she had made a vow to bring a lit candle and send it to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, she was immediately cured. Asked before whom, he said he did not know the names of those Lay Brothers. Likewise, he said that Nicholas de Leone of Sonnino, when he was alone in the field, was suddenly seized by a grave pain in his hip, a grave pain, so severe that he did not think he could return to his home: then, recalling that he had seen that God was performing many miracles at the tomb of the said Brother Thomas through his merits, with great devotion he vowed to visit the same tomb with bare feet and a stone hanging from his neck: and immediately he was fully freed, and the following day he came to the said deponent and narrated the miracle to him. Asked before whom the said miracle was performed, he said that he had no witness of the said miracle, since he had been alone; but concerning the fulfillment of the vow, he said that Lord Richard of Fondi, a monk and Sacristan of the said monastery, was present, to whom he narrated the miracle itself with the stone hanging from his neck. Asked about the time, he said it was in the month of July, on the 16th day, of the same present year of the second Indiction. Likewise, he said that James, son of Peter de Thibaldo, of Piperno came to the said deponent and narrated to him that while he was suffering a most vehement pain of the right arm, on the day when he was actually suffering the fever and pain, he vowed himself to the said Brother Thomas of Aquino, a fever, that if through his merits he should be cured by God, he would go to his tomb barefoot and carry a candle and have one Mass sung there. Which vow having been made, the fever and pain immediately left him, and he never felt it afterward. Asked about the time, he said it was in the present year of the second Indiction, in the month of February, on the 20th, a Sunday. Asked about those present, he said that there were present the Lady Thomassia his mother with her whole household, and Naldus, brother of the same James.

[65] Likewise, he said that Nicholas Maximi of Piperno, when he had been struck in the right arm and the bone had been broken, was cured of the wound by the remedies of medicine, while the broken bone remained: an arm previously broken cured: since he could not move his arm, at the inducement of others he vowed to the said Brother Thomas to spare his enemies and to carry a wax arm to his tomb: and having made the vow he slept, and upon waking he knew himself to be fully cured, and began to bend the said arm as if healthy and to work with it. Which miracle the said deponent, wishing to see, had the said Nicholas asked to come to him: and he came up to the tomb, and there baring his arm to show the miracle, the said deponent touched the arm with his own hand and, as it seemed to him, found the bone broken, as he could perceive by touch. Asked about the time, he said it was in this present year of the second Indiction, in the month of March: about the day, he did not remember. Asked who were present, he said that only the wife of the said Nicholas was present when the said Nicholas made his vow. Likewise, he said that Peter Balie of Piperno, a blind man given sight, having begun to lose his sight over many years, for nearly ten years, at last totally lost it; and then having himself led to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, and there making a vow and praying, he rose fully with his sight restored. Asked about the time, he said it was in that year when the aforesaid Brother Thomas had died: he could not however say the month or the day. Asked before whom, he said he did not remember which monks or secular persons were then present: this miracle was narrated to the aforesaid deponent by the said Peter when he met him at the gate of Piperno. Likewise, the aforesaid deponent said that coming to the monastery of Fossanova, entering the sacristy, he had Lord Richard of Fondi the Sacristan show him the reliquary and an odor flowing from the relics, in which some of the bones of the body of the said Brother Thomas were kept: and when he had shown them due reverence, opening the reliquary, he perceived a great odor unlike the odors of other natural things: and when he asked the said Sacristan about the odor, he swore upon the altar that he had never placed any perfumed substance there: but he said that all the bones of the said Brother Thomas thus give off fragrance: and the same deponent said that according to the disposition of his devotion and that of others, the said bones sometimes gave off more or less of the odor. Asked about the time when he saw the same Relics, he said it was in this present year of the second Indiction during the Octave of Easter, and thence until the 15th day of the month of July, when he departed, he had seen the aforesaid Relics many times.

[66] Anthony of Brescia, Order of Preachers On the same day, in the same place, Brother Anthony of Brescia, of the Order of Preachers, a Priest and student in the Neapolitan convent, a witness cited and sworn in the aforesaid form, to speak the truth under the same inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said witness that he had heard it said and recounted on the island of Cyprus by a certain Brother Nicholas of Marseilles, of the said Order of Preachers, an elderly Chaplain and Counselor of the King of Cyprus, who had been a student of the said Brother Thomas and had lived with him for a long time at Paris, that this Brother Thomas was a man of holy life and honest conduct, concerning poverty, and among other things he was an outstanding lover of poverty, to the degree that while he was writing the Summa contra Gentiles, he did not have paper sheets on which to write it, so that he wrote it on small slips; and he was a man of great honesty and always avoided the company of women. avoidance of women, Likewise, he said he had heard it said that the said Brother Thomas was a despiser of temporal goods, and among other things he had heard it said that the said Brother Thomas, upon entering the city of Paris, said: and contempt for temporal things, I would rather have Chrysostom on Matthew than this city. Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had frequently heard from Brother Albert of Brescia, a man of the greatest holiness and Lector at Brescia, that the said Brother Thomas was of such holiness that he was renowned for many miracles, and the said Brother Albert, being a particular follower of the doctrine of the said Brother Thomas, frequently while lecturing asserted the said Brother Thomas to be a saint, as if the glory of his holiness were established for him, saying: I know, dearest Brothers, that he is a great Saint in heaven: and from this frequently heard assertion, the said deponent with another companion of his asked the said Brother Albert for a long time, and at last constrained him by adjurations, to tell them how he so certainly asserted the said Brother Thomas to be a saint in eternal life: and he, lest he seem to despise the name of the Lord by which he had been adjured, said: Dearest sons, you know how I have followed in all things the doctrine of Brother Thomas of Aquino, and I have frequently marveled how he could have attained such holiness and knowledge in so short a time as he lived: whence, since I had more frequently prayed to God, the Blessed Virgin, and Blessed Augustine about this marvel, that his glory which he possessed might be shown; on one occasion I cast myself in prayer before the altar of the Blessed Virgin, and when I had more intensely prayed for a long time with tears, while I was awake in prayer, two venerable persons appeared to me with wondrous splendor and adornment, concerning a vision of the appearing St. Thomas one of whom wore a mitre on his head, the other was in the habit of the Order of Preachers, who wore a golden crown on his head, interwoven with precious stones, and he had around his neck two rings, with St. Augustine, one of silver and one of gold, and on his breast he had a great precious stone which illuminated the Church: and he wore a cloak entirely set with precious stones throughout; but his tunic and hood were of snowy whiteness. And Brother Albert, astounded by the wondrous vision, cast himself at their feet, praying that they would reveal to him who they were, who appeared to him in such a wondrous manner. And then the one who wore the mitre responded: Why, Brother Albert, are you so amazed? Your prayers have been heard: and behold I now reveal to you that I am Augustine, Doctor of the Church, who have been sent to you to show you the doctrine and glory of Brother Thomas of Aquino, who is with me. For he is my son, explaining his glory, who has followed the Apostolic and my doctrine in all things, and has illuminated the Church of God with his doctrine: which the precious stones signify, and especially the stone which he wears on his breast, which signifies the right intention which he had for the defense of the faith, and showed by his exposition: which precious stones, and especially this stone, signify the many books and works of his writing which he composed — that he is equal to me in glory, except that he surpasses me in the crown of Virginity. After which, the said Brother Albert forbade the said deponent and his companion to reveal the aforesaid to anyone during his lifetime, unless an inquisition should be made concerning his miracles and Canonization. Asked who were present when he revealed the aforesaid, he said no one else except the deponent himself and Brother Janinus his companion, of Brescia, who has died. Asked about the time, he said it was now nine years ago when he heard the aforesaid, in the month of January; about the day, he said he did not remember. Asked about the place, he said the said Brother Albert revealed these things to them in his cell.

[67] Likewise, he said he had heard from the said Brother Albert that when the said Brother Thomas died, the Lord Albert the German, concerning the death revealed to Blessed Albert the Great, while he was at table during Lent, suddenly broke into tears, and when the Prior asked why he had wept, he said to the abovesaid Brother Albert and the Prior of the convent: I tell you grave news; for Brother Thomas of Aquino, my son

in Christ, who was the light of the Church, has died, and this has been revealed to me by God: and then the Prior noted the time, and it was found that he had died at the time when this was revealed. About the time, companion, and place, he said as before. Likewise, he said he had heard from Lord Gratia of Brescia, of the Order of St. Benedict, who was a man of great holiness and knowledge, a follower of the doctrine of Brother Thomas, who said to the aforesaid deponent, when mention was made of the aforesaid Brother Thomas: Son, I have seen, and God has revealed to me, that Blessed Augustine and Brother Thomas were walking under the same yoke in the glory of Paradise, and glory of the other, and I know that the holy Brother Thomas was of the greatest purity. Asked about the time, he said it was ten years ago, in the month of November on the feast of Blessed Cecilia. Asked who were with him when he heard this, he said he did not remember his companion. Asked about the place, he said it was in the chamber of the said Brother Gratia near the church of San Clemente in Brescia. Likewise, he said he had heard from Brother Nicholas of Marseilles, Counselor and Chaplain of the King of Cyprus, of the Order of Preachers, who had been at Paris a student of the said Brother Thomas, of great holiness and knowledge, who said to the said deponent with tears: Brother Anthony, I was with Brother Thomas at Paris, and before God I say that I never saw a man of such purity and a lover of poverty; concerning the book against the Gentiles written on slips, because when he was writing and composing the book against the Gentiles, he did not have paper, but wrote it on slips: although it was certain that he could have had it, but he did not care about temporal things. Asked about the time, he said it was thirteen years ago, in the month of September; about the day, he said he did not remember. Asked about those who were present, he said it was Brother Peter of Mantua, and that there were many others whose names he said he did not remember. Asked about the place, he said it was in the convent of Nicosia on the island of Cyprus, in the schools of the convent.

CHAPTER VIII.

Six witnesses from the monastery of Fossanova, the Order of Preachers, and others, heard on the 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th of August.

[68] On the same day, in the same place, Maffeus Aconzaiocus of Barello, another witness, a witness cited and sworn in the prescribed form to speak the truth on the said inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew nothing about it from certain knowledge; but from hearing, he said he had publicly heard it said many times by Religious and elderly laypersons that the said Brother Thomas was a man of holy life and conduct, and that God had performed and was performing many miracles through the merits of the same Brother Thomas. Likewise, asked whether he knew of any miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he on one occasion went with Abbot Thomas de Mathia, a Canon of Salerno, to the town of San Severino, to the church of San Severino, concerning the punished Canon, which is in the same town, according to his custom of going to see certain Relics of Saints which are in the said church, among which is one hand of the said Brother Thomas, and in the presence of the said Abbot Thomas he adored the said relics and the said hand of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, as a man who had and has great devotion to the said Brother Thomas as a Saint: and the aforesaid Abbot Thomas mocked him for adoring the said hand: mocking the relics, and the same Abbot Thomas immediately after the mockery began to tremble all over and to say: I cannot see. And immediately he called a Priest, to whom he confessed with great contrition and great weeping: after which confession and absolution received, he adored the said hand, and immediately his head ceased to tremble, and he recovered his sight, as the same Abbot Thomas then publicly asserted. and healed: Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he saw the said Abbot Thomas after the said mockery trembling all over, and after the confession, absolution, and adoration of the aforesaid hand, secretly made by the same Abbot Thomas in the presence of the witness himself, he saw him freed from the said trembling: but the loss of sight and the restoration of the same sight, he said he did not know except through the admission of the said Abbot Thomas, who asserted the aforesaid to him and to the said Chaplain of the aforesaid Church. Asked about those present, he said there were not present with the said Abbot Thomas anyone except the witness himself and the Chaplain of the said Church, who is now deceased. Asked to which Priest the said Abbot Thomas confessed, he said to the aforesaid Chaplain. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said he did not remember. Asked whether from then on he was always healthy from the said infirmity, he said yes.

[69] On Monday the 6th of the said month of August, of the second Indiction, another witness in the same place, Lord James Capuanus of Naples, a knight, a witness cited and sworn in the below-written form to speak the truth: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew nothing about it from certain knowledge, but he had heard it said through public voice that he was a man of great knowledge and holy life and honest conduct. Likewise, asked whether he knew of any miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he himself received a miraculous benefit in himself through the merits of the said Brother Thomas; he was freed from an infirmity of the eyes: namely, while he had in his eyes a bloody humor from which he was suffering grave pain in his eyes, and was going on pilgrimage to Rome, having heard on the way the fame of the holiness of the said Brother Thomas, with devotion conceived he turned aside to the aforesaid monastery of Fossanova, in which the body of the said Brother Thomas rests: and with great devotion he knelt before the tomb of the said Brother Thomas and bowed his head, placing it upon the same tomb, and touching the tomb itself with his eyes, he prayed to God that through the merits of Brother Thomas He would free him from the said illness of the eyes, and he said a Pater noster there: and immediately rising, before he turned to other activities and left the church, he was freed from the aforesaid disease of the eyes. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was formerly in the year of the first Indiction most recently past, during Lent, on the Thursday after Passion Sunday. Asked who were present, he said Lord Peter Grassus, Lord Nicholas Filimarinus, Lord Henry Carrathulus, Abbot Raynald Magnotia, and two other Clerics of Naples, whose names he said he did not remember. Asked what words he used in his said prayer, he said as above. Asked how long he had been suffering the said infirmity of the eyes, he said for many days before he then departed from Naples. Asked how long after the said liberation he was healthy from the said disease, he said always.

[70] A Neapolitan judge as witness On the same day, in the same place, Lord John Blasii, a Judge of Naples, a member of the household of the most excellent Lady Maria, Queen of Sicily, a witness cited and sworn on the said inquisition to speak the truth in the aforesaid form: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that he was a man of holy life and conduct and of great honesty concerning his holy life, and sobriety, and he always ate in the refectory of the Brothers, and only once a day. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said he had seen him preaching for ten years and more, and had lived with him for five years and more in the refectory and in his cell: during which time he always saw him celebrating Mass every day, and he saw him throughout an entire Lent preaching with his eyes closed, contemplative, and directed toward heaven: and his preaching during the same Lent was on the Ave Maria, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. And while he was with him one day in his cell, Lenten preaching with closed eyes, and the said Brother Thomas went out from his cell to a certain open terrace, a demon appeared to him visibly in the figure of a certain black man dressed in black garments: and when the same Brother Thomas noticed and saw him to be a demon, he ran against him with his fist raised: and when he struck him with the same fist, saying: Why did you come here to tempt me? and a demon put to flight, and when he drew near to him, the said demon vanished and appeared there no more. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said he was present and saw. Asked how he knew that he was a demon, he said he had previously seen the same demon in a certain crystal, when a certain conjuration of demons was being made to find a certain book stolen from a certain scholar, and he then recognized him in that apparition which was made to the said Brother Thomas. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said he did not remember. Asked about the hour, he said it was about the third hour. Asked who were present, he said no one else was present except the witness himself and the said Brother Thomas and the demon himself. Asked about the place, he said in the city of Naples, in the house of the Preacher Brothers, on a certain terrace or open roof-terrace near the cell in which the said Brother Thomas lived.

[71] On Tuesday the seventh of the said month, and of the same Indiction, in the same place, Brother Nicholas of Roccasecca, a monk of Fossanova, a monk and Priest of the monastery of Fossanova, a witness cited and sworn on the said inquisition to speak the truth in the aforesaid form: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said from certain

knowledge he knew nothing about it, because he is young, witness and had not seen the said Brother Thomas: but he asserted he had many times heard it said and recounted by the elderly monks of the said monastery, who had seen and known the said Brother, that he was of holy conduct and life, concerning his holy life, and a man of such great chastity that he seemed to have been a Virgin as long as he lived, just as from his mother's womb: and that he continuously devoted himself to reading, writing, study, and prayer, studies, and that he continued such a life until death: and he said that about the aforesaid holy life and conduct there was and is public voice and fame in the said monastery, in the town of Piperno, and in other surrounding places. Likewise, asked whether he knew of any miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew concerning an abscess removed, that Brother John of Adelasia, a monk of the said monastery, on a certain evening being healthy, was suddenly tortured by great pains in his body, to such a degree that he was believed to be dying, and found no place of rest: on account of which infirmity the same Brother John, having recourse with great devotion to the said Brother Thomas, vowed himself to the said Brother Thomas, and prayed God that through the merits of the said Brother Thomas He would free him from the said pains and infirmity: on account of which that same night the abscess which had formed in his body was immediately and miraculously broken, and he expelled it through a discharge, and was fully freed that same night. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said that on the evening of the same night in which he suffered, he saw him healthy standing with the witness himself and with certain other monks by the fire: and after they had all gone to sleep, the said infirmity came upon the said Brother John: who, unable to rest, rose crying out and lamenting the said pains, and the witness himself and many other monks rose at his cries, and he saw him twisted and gravely afflicted by the said pains, so that he seemed to be dying, as he said above: and in the morning the witness himself went to the infirmary in which the said Brother John was lying, and thinking he would find him in danger of death, he found him healed: and when he asked him how he had been made well, he recounted to him that he had been healed through the merits of the said Brother Thomas in the aforesaid manner. Asked about the time, month, and day when the aforesaid occurred, he said it was in the present year, in the month of January most recently past, as it seemed to him, on a certain Saturday evening. Asked who were present, he said the witness himself and Brother Richard of Fondi, a monk and Sacristan of the said monastery, were present and saw the said Brother John gravely twisted and afflicted by the said pains, as he said: and the manner of the aforesaid liberation was recounted to him, as he said: but whether he recounted it to others and whether others were present, he did not remember. Asked at whose summons he went to see the aforesaid, he said that the said Brother John, while afflicted by the pains, called the said Sacristan, and the said Sacristan called the said witness. Asked how long he saw him afterward healthy, he said the said Brother John was from then on always healthy from the same infirmity, as he saw. Asked whence the said Brother John was originally from, he said from Piperno. Likewise, asked whether he knew of other miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard from the mouth of Citeris of Piperno and a pain in the knee, that while he was in Piperno and was suffering in his knee a pain so grave that he could not set foot on the ground, he vowed himself with devotion to the said Brother Thomas, and was immediately healed, and is still healthy. Likewise, he said he had heard from Nicholas Moleus of the town of Postertio and the sight of an eye restored: that when he had lost the sight of one eye because of a certain blow, and was passing through places near the aforesaid monastery, he saw the said monastery: and recalling to memory that in the same monastery lay the body of the said Brother Thomas, through whose merits God had performed and was performing many miracles, he vowed himself with devotion to the said Brother Thomas, that he would restore to him the sight of the said eye. Which vow having been made, he immediately recovered sight in the aforesaid eye. Asked whether about the aforesaid things which he deposed there was public voice and fame in the said monastery and in the surrounding places, he said yes.

[72] On the same day, in the same place, Brother Richard of Fondi, a monk and Sacristan of the aforesaid monastery, another monk testifies, a witness cited and sworn on the said inquisition to speak the truth in the prescribed form: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had many times heard it said and recounted that the said Brother Thomas was of holy conduct and life throughout the entire time of his life until death. Likewise, asked whether he knew of any miracles of the same Brother Thomas, an abscess removed, he said he knew this: that Brother John of Adelasia of Piperno, on a certain night, after going to sleep healthy and cheerful, rose with great painful agonies, and called the same Sacristan to rise and open for him and help him: and the same Sacristan rose and opened for him: and when asked what he had, he told him that he had such vehement pain in his body that he was dying: and he threw himself upon his bed, very much afflicted by the said pains: and the same Sacristan persuaded the same sufferer to vow himself to Brother Thomas and ask God that through his merits He would free him from the said pains. Afterward the said sick man was carried to a bed in the infirmary of the said monastery, and the same Sacristan remained in his own bed to sleep. And in the morning the said Sacristan, rising, went to the said Brother John who was suffering, to see how he was, and found him fully healed: and when he asked how he had been made well, he told him that after he had vowed himself to the said Brother Thomas, the abscess which he had had in his body was broken, and he expelled the same abscess through a discharge, whence he was made well. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said he was present and saw the aforesaid, as he said above. Asked about the time, month, and day, he said it was in the present year, in wintertime, and on a Saturday night: about the month and day, he said he did not remember. Asked about those present, he said the witness himself and Brother Nicholas of Roccasecca were present. Asked at whose summons he saw the aforesaid, he said at the summons of the said sufferer, as he said above. Asked with what words interposed he prayed to the said Brother Thomas, he said that with hands joined and raised to heaven he said: O Blessed Thomas, I ask you to free me from these grave pains by which I am afflicted. Asked how long he suffered the said pains, he said only from the first hour of the night, when he went to sleep healthy and afterward rose ill, as he said above, and he remained ill only until he was made well that same night. Asked how he knew that the aforesaid infirmity was an abscess and that it was a mortal abscess, he said that Master Nicholas, son of Master John of Piperno, the physician of the aforesaid monastery, saw the said Brother John healed and his discharge, and judged it to have been an abscess so dangerous that no one having such an abscess could be freed according to nature and the art of medicine, and he judged him to have been miraculously healed.

[73] Likewise, he said that a certain man named Nicholas Moleus, of the town of Postertio in Campania, the sight of an eye restored, who from a certain blow which he had received on the eyebrow of one eye had lost the sight of the same eye, coming from the town of Sonnino, saw the aforesaid monastery of Fossanova: and remembering that in the same monastery lay the body of the said Brother Thomas of Aquino, of whom he had heard that God through his merits had performed and was performing many miracles, with devotion he immediately knelt at the place from which he saw the same monastery, and there he prayed and commended himself to the said Brother Thomas, and immediately and miraculously recovered his sight or vision. Asked how he knew the aforesaid, he said he had heard it said by the said Nicholas Moleus, who narrated the aforesaid to him in the sacristy of the said monastery and set it forth with an oath. Asked before whom he narrated the aforesaid to him, he said before Brother Nicholas of Roccasecca, who was present with him. Asked at what time the said Nicholas Moleus narrated the aforesaid to him, he said in the present year: about the month and day, he said he did not remember. Asked how long the said Nicholas Moleus had lacked sight after he had been struck on the said eyebrow, he said he did not remember. Asked whether he had known him before, he said no, except by hearsay: he said, however, that he always saw him healthy afterward.

[74] Likewise, he said that James Martellutius of Piperno had a swollen and inflated throat, and out of the devotion a swollen throat healed, which he had for the said Brother Thomas of Aquino, came to the said monastery of Fossanova, and asked the same Sacristan to show him the relics of Blessed Thomas which he had in the sacristy and to place them upon his throat; and he showed and placed upon his throat the said relics of Brother Thomas: and the same witness saw him going and returning to the same monastery within three days with a votive offering of wax to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, fully healed in that throat. Asked what relics of Brother Thomas those were which he placed upon the aforesaid throat, he said they were three small particles of the neck bone of the said Brother Thomas. Asked how long ago this was, he said this year: about the month and day, he did not remember. Asked about those present, he said no one was present except the witness himself and the said James. Asked about the place, he said the placing of the said Relics was in the aforesaid sacristy. Asked how long the said James had had the said swollen throat, he said from the time of his birth, as he reported to him; but he had not seen him before. Asked how long he remained afterward healthy in the said throat, he said he was always healthy afterward, and he always saw him healthy afterward. Asked what words the said James used when he placed the said Relics upon his throat, he said he recited the Our Father. Likewise, he said that from the relics and from the head of the said Brother Thomas which were in the sacristy of the said

monastery, a most sweet odor continuously emanates. Likewise, he said that about the things which he deposed, there was public voice and fame in the aforesaid monastery and in the surrounding places.

[75] On Wednesday the 8th of the said month of August, in the same place, Brother Leonard of Gaeta, Leonard of Gaeta, Order of Preachers, witness, a Priest and elderly Brother of the said house of Preachers, a witness cited and sworn on the said inquisition to speak the truth in the prescribed form: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he was a man of holy conduct and life, concerning his holy life, since he celebrated one Mass every day and heard another, or two: then he continuously devoted himself either to preaching, or to reading, or to study, or to writing, or to prayers: and he was a man of great humility and patience, so that he never seemed to be disturbed by anything: and also of great sobriety and vigilance, so that he occupied only a small amount of time in taking food or in sleeping. Asked the reason for his knowledge, he said he had seen and known him, and had lived with him in the Order at Naples, where he continuously saw him living the aforesaid life: and such a life, as he saw and heard from other Brothers, he continued until the very end of his life. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard from Brother Raynald of Piperno, who was the continuous companion of Brother Thomas, a flow of blood cured, that when on a certain day, namely the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, the said Brother Thomas was preaching in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, a certain woman who had long suffered and was suffering a flow of blood, standing to hear the said preaching, thought that if she could touch the fringe of his garment, she would be healed of the aforesaid flow: and when the preaching was finished, the said woman managed to touch the fringe of his garment, as she had thought, and was immediately healed. And the said witness asked the said Brother Raynald how he knew these things; he said that the aforesaid woman had told him the aforesaid. Asked before whom the said Brother Raynald recounted the aforesaid to the witness himself, he said before Brother John of Cavacia, who was then Prior Provincial of the Roman Province, and before Brother Angelo of Termoli, who was then Prior of San Sisto, who died a long time ago. Asked about the time, month, and day before whom he heard the aforesaid said, he said he did not remember, because thirty-five years and more had now elapsed. Likewise, he said he had heard from Brother Thomas de Fuscis of Rome, who was a student of the said Brother Thomas of Aquino, that he had heard from a certain hermit of holy life from Campania, that the same hermit at the time of the death of the said Brother Thomas had seen a certain great star falling upon the monastery of Fossanova, and he saw two other stars descending a star falling at his death, which raised the said great star up to heaven.

CHAPTER IX.

The Logothete and Protonotary of the Kingdom and two Priests, witnesses heard on the 8th of August and the 18th of September. Conclusion of the process.

[76] The Protonotary of the Kingdom On the same day, in the same place, the magnificent man Lord Bartholomew of Capua, Logothete and Protonotary of the Kingdom of Sicily, a witness cited and sworn in the prescribed form, and asked what he knew and how about the life and miracles of the abovesaid Brother Thomas of Aquino of venerable memory, Doctor of Sacred Theology, of the Order of Preachers, he said he knew these things from the following detailed knowledge: that while he had come to the Neapolitan studium as a very young man, he frequently went to the house of Blessed Dominic of the said Order, formerly familiar with various members of the Order of Preachers: and lived there with Brother John of Caiazzo of the aforesaid Order of Preachers, who was a man of great authority and a good Cleric, very familiar with the said Brother Thomas, and had been his student at Paris and in the Kingdom: and then there were in the said house of the Preachers at Naples, Religious men of great knowledge, authority, and reverence: Brother Eufranon de Porta, Brother James of Massano, Brother Trojan, Brother Matthew of Castromaior, Brother Hugh of Magdalan, and Brother John of San Giuliano, a very elderly Brother, a man of great life and humility, who was known to have received the said Brother Thomas of Aquino into the Order of Preachers: and the said witness heard it said by the same Brother John of Caiazzo, and by the same Brother John of San Giuliano, and from a certain common report, that the father of the said Brother Thomas, testifies to the nobility of his parents, noble and powerful in origin, placed the said Brother Thomas as a boy in the monastery, intending to make him Abbot of Monte Cassino. The same Brother Thomas, however, growing in life, manners, and knowledge, was virtuous and exemplary to men: and sent to the Neapolitan studium, he surpassed all in Grammar and Logic, studies, by conferring and disputing: and as soon as he reached the years of discretion, greatly anticipating, not yet even having reached puberty, he entered the aforesaid Order of Preachers: but the Preacher Brothers, fearing the power of the father of the said Brother Thomas, his entry into the Order, arranged for the same Brother Thomas to be removed from the Kingdom and sent to their general studium. But through the favor and power of the said father, the same Brother Thomas was captured and detained in his father's castle, in which he was closely confined for more than a year: and although his father offered him monastic or secular garments, he never wished to receive them; rather, with the father's heart hardened his captivity, and the son's constancy remaining firm, the religious garments which the man of God wore were almost completely worn through. Nor was he unmindful, upon entering prison, to ask the same Brothers for a Bible and a Breviary, which he immediately obtained, with the Lord's assistance, as he had requested: in which Bible he progressed so wonderfully and profoundly that upon leaving his father's prison he doubted on few points of the Bible. At length, since his constancy could not be overcome by his father's harshness and severity, his liberation, the same father, prevailed upon by many prayers of his wife, the mother of the said man, and by intercessions, freed the said Brother Thomas from prison. The same witness also said he had heard it said by common assertion, both of Brothers and of others, that the aforesaid Brother John of San Giuliano was captured together with the aforesaid Brother Thomas by his said father. Which Brother John narrated many great and miraculous and wonderful things about the constancy and holiness of the said Brother Thomas.

[77] Likewise, the same witness said he had commonly and confidently heard it said by many and diverse persons who lived with the said Brother Thomas, his holy life in religion, and especially by some of the aforesaid Preacher Brothers of great authority and reverence, that they truly believed the Holy Spirit to be with him; because they always saw him having a cheerful countenance, mild and sweet, involving himself in no secular affairs, always devoting himself to study, reading and writing, and prayers for the illumination of the faithful. And he heard from the said Brother John of Caiazzo that the same Brother Thomas was always the first to rise at night for prayers, and as soon as he heard others coming to the choir, he would withdraw and go to his chamber: and the witness himself frequently saw the said Brother Thomas, whom he gladly observed whenever he could, always drawn away and removed from all temporal entanglements, always looking upward: and he had publicly heard it said, and it is commonly held, that he was a Virgin, pure and intact, nor was anyone found who heard a single idle word from his mouth: indeed in disputations, in which men are sometimes accustomed to exceed measure, he was always found mild and humble, using no boastful or bombastic words: and he was so drawn away from temporal ambitions that at table while eating, he always had his eyes directed upward, and the dish would be placed before him and removed many times without his noticing: and when the Brothers led him to the garden for recreation, he would suddenly withdraw alone, entirely abstracted, and return to his chamber. Likewise, the same witness said he had heard from the aforesaid Brothers, or from some of them, and from many others, and especially from Lord Nicholas Fricius, who entered the schools of the said Brother Thomas and every day went to hear Mass in the said house of the Preacher Brothers, that the same Brother Thomas every day at earliest dawn celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Nicholas, and his continual occupations, and when it was celebrated, immediately another Priest was ready who celebrated another Mass: and after hearing the same Mass, having removed his vestments, he immediately ascended the chair: after descending from the chair, he set himself to writing and dictating to many scribes: afterward he ate, and then returned to his chamber and occupied himself with divine things until rest: and after rest he resumed writing, and thus he directed his entire life toward God. And as the same witness heard from many, from a certain well-known common report, scarcely is there found a space of time which passed uselessly for him: and the witness himself, who saw the said Brother Thomas for many years at Naples and lived in the said house of the Preacher Brothers, never remembers seeing him outside the cloister except once, just about the time of Vespers: and his modesty in disputing, and another time he saw him at Capua, where the Royal Court was, where he had gone on account of a certain hindrance which befell his nephew, the Count of Fondi, as the said witness heard it said. Likewise, the said witness said he had heard from many trustworthy Preacher Brothers that when the same Brother Thomas was once disputing at Paris, where Brother John of Pecham of the Order of Friars Minor was present, who was later Archbishop of Canterbury, however much the said Brother John provoked the same Brother Thomas with bombastic and swollen words, yet the same Brother Thomas never restrained a word of humility, but always responded with sweetness and courtesy: and the same Brother Thomas did the same in every disputation, however sharp and keen.

[78] Likewise, the same witness said he had heard it said

by the said Brother John of Caiazzo, who was very familiar with the said Brother Thomas, as the witness himself firmly believes, three things asked of God revealed: that the aforesaid Brother Thomas asked of God in devout prayer that he might never be drawn to the love of earthly things, nor ever change his state: and that God would reveal to him what had become of the soul of Raynald his brother, whom the Emperor Frederick had killed, and unjustly, as he believed: and he received the answer that he would never change his state, nor be drawn to the love of earthly things, and that the name of Lord Raynald was written in the book of life. And while the same Brother Thomas was on the road going to the Council of Lyon, summoned by Lord Pope Gregory X of happy memory, descending from the city of Trani by the road of Borgo Nuovo, he struck his head on a certain tree which had fallen across the path, so that he was almost somewhat stunned by the fall: and immediately Brother Raynald of Piperno, his constant companion and intimate, and a certain Lord William, then Dean of Teano, who was afterward Bishop of Teano, and Abbot Roffridus his nephew, who was afterward Dean, came to him: and the said Brother Raynald asked the same Brother Thomas whether he was injured by the blow, and he responded that it was slight. Then the same Brother Raynald wished to engage the said Brother Thomas in conversation according to his opinion about some diversion, his humble responses: and said to him: Lord, you are going to the Council, and there many good things will be done for the universal Church, for our Order, and for the Kingdom of Sicily. And the same Brother Thomas responded: God grant that good things be done there. Then the same Brother Raynald went further and said: You and Brother Bonaventure will be made Cardinals, and you will exalt your Orders. And then the same Brother Thomas responded to Raynald: In no state can I be as useful to our Order as in this one. Then the same Brother Raynald replied: Father, I do not say this for you, but for the common good. Immediately the same Brother Thomas cut off the conversation and responded to Raynald: Be assured that I shall never in eternity change my state. These things the aforesaid Abbot Roffridus, known and intimate with the said witness, who was present and saw and heard the aforesaid together with the same Bishop of Teano, told the aforesaid witness. And while the same Brother Thomas was returning from Saint-Denis to the city of Paris, when they saw it, they rested for a while: and one of those Brothers said, directing his speech to the same Brother Thomas: Father, what a beautiful city this Paris is! Brother Thomas responded: Certainly beautiful. Then the Brother said: If only it were yours. And the same Brother Thomas responded: What would I do with it? love of St. Chrysostom's commentary on Matthew more than the city of Paris: And the Brother responded: You would sell it to the King of France, and with the money you would build all the houses of the Preacher Brothers. And the same Brother Thomas responded: In truth, I would rather have Chrysostom on Matthew. These things the aforesaid witness said he had heard from many and many persons, and especially from Brother Nicholas of Malasorte of Naples, Counselor of the King of France, who had been a student of the said witness and a special friend, and coming as a messenger from the same King of France to the illustrious Prince Lord King Charles the Second, he said this to the said witness in the land of San Germano, and said that this was commonly and almost universally known at Paris.

[79] Likewise, the same witness said that when the said Brother Thomas was celebrating Mass in the said chapel of St. Nicholas at Naples, he was moved by a wondrous change, on account of a revelation made during Mass, and after the same Mass he did not write nor dictate anything; indeed he suspended the instruments of writing in the third part of the Summa, in the treatise on Penance: and when the same Brother Raynald saw that the same Brother Thomas had ceased writing, he said to him: Father, how have you abandoned so great a work, which you had begun for the praise of God and the illumination of the world? To which the said Brother Thomas responded: I cannot. And the same Brother Raynald, fearing that on account of too much study he might have incurred some loss of mind, kept pressing that the same Brother Thomas should continue his writings, and likewise the same Brother Thomas responded: Raynald, I cannot: because all things which I have written seem to me like straw. Then Brother Raynald, astounded, that he had ceased from all writing, ... that the said Brother Thomas should go to the Countess of San Severino, his sister, whom he loved with great charity, to whom he hastened with great difficulty, and when he arrived there, he scarcely spoke to the Countess herself when she came to meet him. Then the Countess said to the said Brother Raynald with great fear: What is this, that Brother Thomas is entirely stupefied and has scarcely spoken to me? The same Brother Raynald responding said: Since about the feast of Blessed Nicholas he has been in this state, and since then he has written nothing: and the same Brother Raynald began to press the said Brother Thomas to tell him for what reason he had refused to write, and why he was thus stupefied: and after many questions put with every importunity by the same Brother Raynald, Brother Thomas responded to the same Brother Raynald: I adjure you by the living and almighty God, and by the faith which you hold to our Order, and that he had not esteemed his own writings: and by the charity by which you are now bound, that you reveal to no one during my lifetime the things which I shall tell you. And he added: All things which I have written seem to me like straw in comparison with the things which I have seen and which have been revealed to me. And with the aforesaid Countess remaining very desolate, Brother Thomas departed and returned to Naples, and then undertook the journey to go to the Council according to the summons made to him, writing absolutely nothing: and on the journey illness seized him at the castle of Maenza in Campania, from which he afterward died: and then, some years having elapsed, the said Brother Raynald, burdened by illness from which he died, confessed at his last moments to Brother John de Judice of the Order of Preachers, originally from Anagni, truly an elderly man of great conscience and probity, as he was regarded in the Order, particularly and distinctly the things which are contained in the present article: and the same Brother John de Judice revealed all these things to the said witness, and confessed them to him at Anagni in the house of the Preacher Brothers, where the said witness was lodged, shortly before Lord Pope Boniface was captured; and the said witness revealed and told these things as soon as he could to Brother William of Tocco and to many other Preachers, and afterward to Lord Pope Benedict of happy memory, then residing in Rome, who heard the aforesaid with great attention and vehement exultation.

[80] Likewise, the said witness said that when the same Brother Thomas began to be weighed down by illness in the same castle of Maenza, testifies to his pious death, he asked with much devotion to be carried to the monastery of St. Mary of Fossanova: and so it was done. And when the said Brother Thomas entered the monastery, ill and weak, he held fast by the hand to the doorpost and said: This is my rest forever and ever, etc. and the words said at the reception of the Viaticum, And this is common and well known in the same monastery and among many other good men: and he stayed in the same monastery for many days, ill, with patience and great humility, and wished to receive the Body of our Savior: and when the Body itself was brought to him, he knelt, and with words of wondrous and prolonged adoration and glorification he greeted and adored it: and before receiving the Body he said: I receive Thee, the price of the redemption of my soul; I receive Thee, the viaticum of my pilgrimage, for whose love I have studied, watched, and labored, and preached and taught; never have I said anything against Thee, but if I have said anything in ignorance, nor am I obstinate in my own opinion; but if I have said anything amiss, I leave all to the correction of the Roman Church: burial: and subsequently he died, and was buried near the high altar of the church of the same monastery in a marshy place near a certain garden of the same monastery, where there is a stream from which water is drawn by a wheel, through which that entire place is moistened, as the witness himself frequently and carefully observed. Afterward, about eight months having elapsed, a rumor arose that Brother Peter of Tarentaise of the Order of Preachers had been made Pope, the head separated from the body, and wished the body of the said Brother Thomas to be transferred to some more honorable house of the Preacher Brothers: on account of which the monks of the said monastery of Fossanova, fearing to lose the body of the aforesaid Brother Thomas, restricted themselves to three: and on a certain night they exhumed the body of the said Brother Thomas from the place where it was, and cut off his head, and placed it in a certain secret place in the corner of a certain chapel which is behind the choir, which the same witness saw many times; with the consideration that if they should lose the said body, at least the head would remain with them: and the witness himself heard from Brother Peter of Monte San Giovanni that it was intact and incorrupt and fragrant: and a certain other Sicilian Brother, then Subprior as was said, that the entire body was intact and had no diminution or corruption, nor had the hairs of the head fallen; except however for the hand, which the Countess of San Severino, his sister, had: and it had a diminution at the tip of the nose in the form of a mouse bite, and the body gave off fragrance, and this is well known and common, and has been so for many and many years: and he himself frequently and often heard this in the same monastery and outside, when the witness himself, on account of the devotion which he had and has for the same holy man, when he went to the Roman Curia ... of the illustrious Kings of Sicily his Lords, leaving the shorter road of Campania, he would go to the coast and lodge in the same monastery; whence he always conversed with the monks of the said monastery about these and other things concerning the holiness, purity, and miracles of the said Brother Thomas; whence all the aforesaid things in the present article, and many other things touched upon above, the witness himself knew from a certain present, well-known report, frequent hearing, and the familiar conversation which he had with the said Brothers over many and many years and successive times: and the same witness heard in the said monastery that when the body of the same Brother Thomas was being carried at night after the said exhumation through the church, there was around the body a certain illumination like the lustre of alabaster.

[81] Likewise, the same witness said that he had publicly heard it said testifies that many sick persons were healed, that in one year there was a general epidemic of mortality

of people in the land of Piperno in Campania, which is near the said monastery at one or two miles distance, and the sick came to the tomb of the said Brother Thomas, and commonly all departed healthy. Likewise, the said witness heard it said very commonly and confidently that the monks of the same monastery, fearing to lose the body of the same Brother Thomas, concealed many miracles which God performed through him. Likewise, the same witness said he had heard from the aforesaid Brother John of Campania, as he firmly believes, and had also commonly learned from others, that while the same Brother Thomas rose at night for prayer, a tooth fallen out during prayer: he found on one side of his mouth a tooth which had suddenly grown during that night, which held his lip somewhat turned back and impeded his speech, so that he could not speak articulately: and when the same Brother Thomas perceived this, he said: Ah, God, will this impede my lecturing and preaching? And immediately he went to prayer in his usual manner before the great altar of Blessed Dominic, and while he was there at prayer, that superfluous tooth which had grown fell into his hand. Likewise, the same witness said he had heard it said by Preacher Brothers that the aforesaid Brother Raynald of Piperno, the intimate and constant companion of the same Brother Thomas, had said after his death, reading from the chair as a lector, swearing by the power of God and of the Religion of his Order, that in the doubtful points which occurred to the said Brother Thomas, he would go to the altar, his recourse in doubtful matters to prayer: and was there with many and great tears and sobbing, and afterward returned to his chamber continuing his writings. Likewise, the same witness said he had heard it said by Brothers that one of the chief recreations of the body of the said Brother Thomas was to walk alone through the cloister with his head raised: and the witness himself frequently saw him thus walking alone through the cloister of the said house of Blessed Dominic. Likewise, the said witness said he had heard from many Preacher Brothers who lived with the same Brother Thomas that when nephews and other blood relatives of his died, and he was told of their death, a quiet spirit at the death of relatives: he neither changed his face nor his eye, nor by word or deed gave any sign of grief: but with a serene and quiet face he had Masses celebrated and prayers offered, and he himself prayed for them: through the announcement of the death of the same nephews and relatives, no change could be perceived in him.

[82] Likewise, the same witness said he had heard from Brother Hugh of Lucca, Prior Provincial in Tuscany, whose intimate friendship he first had at Anagni, that Blessed Albert the Great wept at his death, and then at Lucca when the witness himself was going to the Province, that when the said Brother Thomas had died, Brother Albert, who had been his teacher, hearing of his death, then wept bitterly, and whenever he afterward heard his memory mentioned, he wept, saying that he had been the flower and glory of the world, so that the Brothers grieved at his weeping, fearing that on account of the old age of the said Brother Albert, those tears proceeded from lightness of mind. Afterward the rumor spread that the writings of Brother Thomas were being attacked at Paris: whence the said Brother Albert said he wished to go there to defend those writings: but the Preacher Brothers, fearing the decrepitude of his age and the long journey, that he had defended his writings at Paris, dissuaded him from the aforesaid journey for some time, chiefly for the reason that since the said Brother Albert had been a man of great reputation and authority at Paris, they feared that on account of his age he might decline in memory and common understanding. Finally, however, the same Brother Albert, who was Archbishop or Bishop of Regensburg, said he wished by all means to go to Paris to defend such noble writings: and he went to Paris, in whose company the aforesaid Brother Hugh went, as he himself asserted to the witness. And when the said Brother Albert was at Paris, having convoked the general studium of Paris, he ascended the chair of the Preacher Brothers at Paris, proposing the authority: What praise is there for the living, if he is praised by the dead — supposing the said Brother Thomas to be living and the others dead: and saying glorious and exalted praises of the same Brother Thomas, he said he was prepared in an examination of experts to defend the writings of the said Brother Thomas as shining with truth and holiness. And after many things said and collected in honor of God and the approbation of the same writings, the same Brother Albert returned to Cologne, and the said Brother Hugh with him, as he told the same witness. And the said Brother Albert wished after the same return to have all the writings of the said Brother Thomas read to him in a certain order: and at Cologne: and having held a solemn assembly, he bestowed on the same Brother Thomas extraordinary, glorious, and exalted commendations: and in conclusion he said that the same Brother Thomas in his writings had put an end to all who would labor until the end of the world, and that all would labor in vain henceforth. And as the same Brother Hugh reported to the witness, never was the same Brother Thomas named without his breaking into tears.

[83] Likewise, the aforesaid witness said that Brother James of Viterbo of good memory, Doctor of Sacred Scripture, Archbishop of Naples, his writings greatly praised by James of Viterbo, Archbishop of Naples a father and special friend of the said witness, told him frequently and familiarly that he believed in faith and in the Holy Spirit that our Savior had sent Paul the Apostle as Doctor of truth for the illumination of the world and the universal Church, and afterward Augustine, and in the most recent time the said Brother Thomas, after whom until the end of the world he did not believe another would succeed. The same Brother James also told the witness that Brother Giles of Rome, Doctor of Sacred Theology, and Giles of Rome: of the Order of Augustinians, had frequently told him in private conversation at Paris: Brother James, if the Preacher Brothers had wished, they would have been the learned and understanding ones, and we the ignorant, and they would not have shared with us the writings of Brother Thomas. The same Brother James told the said witness that in his writings common truth is found, common clarity, common illumination, common order, and a teaching for quickly arriving at perfect understanding: and the same Brother James told the witness that after he tasted the sweetness of those same writings, he never wished to see other writings except the originals and writings of the said Brother Thomas: and the same Brother James held and believed, as he frequently told the said witness in familiar conversation, that the things which Brother Thomas wrote were rather from spiritual thought through the illumination of the Holy Spirit than acquired by human talent. And when the said Brother James first came to Naples, he visited the house of the Preachers and had himself led to the chamber which had been the said Brother Thomas's, and had shown to him the place where his desk had been, and immediately, kneeling there before many Brothers, he said: I have come to worship in the place where his feet stood: and this the same witness holds and believes according to the capacity of his own understanding, by multiple consideration: first, because so many great writings, which he produced, to be declared summarily below, it is not plausible according to human talent that they could have been made in so short a time as the same Brother Thomas lived, who is commonly said to have ended his days in his forty-eighth year, continuing divine offices, lectures, and prayers, and never interrupting them. Second, because many writings of great men and Doctors after their death would be found to have been attacked and torn apart: but the writings of the same Brother Thomas, although after his death they were attacked by many and great persons, and assaulted with bites of criticism, yet his authority never diminished, but always grew stronger, and was spread everywhere throughout the lands with worship and reverence, and as the same witness heard from very many, even to barbarous nations. The third consideration is that everyone according to the measure of his thought or capacity can easily grasp the fruit from his writings; and therefore even laypeople and those of little understanding seek and desire to have those writings.

[84] Likewise, the said witness said that about the life and conduct, doctrine and holiness of the said Brother Thomas there is public voice and fame, almost everywhere throughout the entire kingdom, the witness concerning his holy life: especially among the great, good, and learned men, and almost commonly the greater part of the good and understanding men of the said kingdom believes, holds, and feels that the said Brother Thomas was a man chosen by God, an outstanding Doctor, a pure and intact Virgin, humble and devout, and drawn away from all secular entanglements. Likewise, the same witness said about himself that while he was in a certain grave persecution, he specially and devoutly asked the said chosen man of God to assist him and free him from his persecutors: and that entire day the said Brother Thomas appeared to the witness himself in the habit he himself freed from persecution by the appearing St. Thomas: in which he was accustomed to see him visibly, and said to him: Do not fear, for you will be freed, and they will not prevail against you, or similar words, of which the said witness does not clearly remember: however, he well remembers that he was entirely freed from the aforesaid persecution in that manner, or nearly so, which the same chosen of God had said. Likewise, the same witness said that he himself experienced a miraculous benefit in himself; and from a vehement pain of the neck namely, that while he himself was suffering a vehement pain in his neck, which pain extended to his arms, from which pain he could not turn or move his head back and forth, nor even lay it down on the bed when he wished to sleep, but it was necessary for him to sleep sitting and reclining almost upright: and while Brother William of Tocco was showing secretly to the Lord Bishop of Carmicensis, who is of the said Order, certain relics of the said Brother Thomas, he himself, seeing how the said Brother William was showing the said relics, although he did not then know whose relics they were, went with devotion to the said Brother William and asked him to place the said relics upon his neck, because perhaps God would free him through the merits of that Saint whose relics they were: by the touch of the relics: and the said Brother William placed the said relics upon his neck. And the witness, after he was touched on his neck by the said relics, immediately felt himself greatly relieved of the said pain, so that he could move his head back and forth: and in the evening of that day he felt

himself more relieved: and on the following morning he felt himself fully healed of the aforesaid pain. Asked at what time, month, and day he received the said miracle in himself, he said in the present year, and in the present month of August, and on Monday the thirteenth of the same month, namely at the hour when Mass was being said. Asked about the place, he said it was in the sacristy of San Domenico of the Preacher Brothers at Naples. Asked about those present, he said there were present with him the said Brother William and the said Bishop of Carmicensis. Asked for how many days before he had been ill with the said infirmity, he said for eight days, and every day he was burdened by the said infirmity until that hour in which the said relics were placed upon his neck. Likewise, he said that when the said relics were placed upon him, he did not know whose Saint they were, but after he was healed he asked whose relics they were, and he was told by the aforesaid Brother that they were relics of the said Brother Thomas.

[85] In the same year, on the 18th day of the month of September, of the third Indiction, at Naples, Lord James of Viterbo, a Canon of Naples, a Canon of Naples testifies a witness cited and sworn according to the above-written form to speak the truth on the same inquisition: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said that since he is young he could know nothing else about it except what he had heard said from public fame, that he was of holy conduct, contemplation, and life. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the same Brother Thomas, he said that while in the month of August most recently past, of the second Indiction, Master Matthew of Viterbo, Chaplain and member of the household of the aforesaid Lord Archbishop of Naples, fell gravely ill in the house of the same Lord James with a certain double tertian fever, to the degree that they had more hope of his death than of his life; the said Lord James, having heard the fame of the holiness of the said Brother Thomas concerning many miracles a double tertian fever removed: with which he is said to have shone, made a vow to visit his tomb together with the said Master Matthew, if he would free him from the said illness, the said Master Matthew afterward accepting the same vow. Which vow having been made, when he was expecting another attack from which it was least hoped he would escape, when the day and hour of the attack arrived, by the grace of God and the merits of the said Brother Thomas he felt nothing of it, but rather found himself totally freed. Likewise, he said that while the aforesaid Master Matthew, after his convalescence from the aforesaid illness, had taken a certain medicine to preserve the said convalescence he had recovered; and the said medicine produced no evacuation, but rather was generating grave symptoms, and the danger from the retention of medicine, to the degree that the said Master Matthew seemed almost to be at death's door because of the retention of the aforesaid medicine; with the aforesaid vow confirmed both by the said James himself and by the aforesaid Matthew, invoking the aid of the holiness of Brother Thomas with the greatest devotion, that he would free him from this deadly condition, suddenly and almost immediately, without the taking of any other medicine, the aforesaid medicine began to work perfectly, so that he immediately received relief, and successively the health of his entire body. Asked before whom he made the aforesaid vow, he said he made it in secret, and afterward published it to his mother and to the aforesaid Matthew, for whom he made the vow. Which vow the said Master Matthew immediately accepted when it was made known to him.

[86] On the same day, in the same place, the aforesaid Master Matthew, a witness cited and sworn in a similar form to speak the truth on the said inquisition: he himself, healed, testifies to the same: and first questioned about the life and conduct of the said Brother Thomas, he said he knew nothing else except what he had heard from public fame and common report, that the said Brother Thomas was a man of very holy life and conduct. Likewise, asked about the miracles of the said Brother Thomas, he said he had heard it said by many upright men that God had performed many miracles through the merits of the said Brother Thomas: he also said that he himself received a miraculous benefit in his own person through the merits of the same Brother Thomas, deposing and narrating about his illness, about the aforesaid vow, and about the health recovered, in almost all respects as the aforesaid Lord James had deposed in his testimony.

[87] So that undoubted faith may be given to all the aforesaid, the present text or quire has been made in testimony of these things Conclusion with the subscription of the Notaries, by the hands of me, Peter of Rocca Tarani of the diocese of Sabina, the above public Notary by Apostolic and Imperial authority; strengthened by the signs and subscriptions of me and the afore-named Master Francis of Laureto of the diocese of Penne; and enclosed under the proper seals of the said Reverend Fathers, by the grace of God Lords Humbert, Archbishop of Naples, and Angelo, Bishop of Viterbo and Tuscania. And I, the above Peter of Rocca Tarani of the diocese of Sabina, public Notary by Apostolic and Imperial Authority, at the request, petition, and command of the aforesaid Lords, the Reverend Fathers Humbert, Archbishop of Naples, and Angelo, Bishop of Viterbo and Tuscania, was present at the aforesaid presentation of the Papal letters, the acts, the inquisition of witnesses, oaths and examination, and the process conducted and carried out in person by the said Lords Archbishop and Bishop, or before them, in the Archiepiscopal Palace of the city of Naples, in the afore-titled years, months, and days, together with the afore-named Master Francis of Laureto, public Notary by Apostolic and Royal authority, and faithfully put them into writing together with him, and arranged them all in the present text or quire, and wrote, subscribed, published with my own hand, and put them into this public form, and signed them with my customary sign.

And I, the above Francis of Laureto of the diocese of Penne, public Notary by Apostolic and Royal authority, at the request, petition, and command of the aforesaid Reverend Fathers, by the grace of God Lords Humbert, Archbishop of Naples, and Angelo, Bishop of Viterbo and Tuscania, was present at the aforesaid presentation of the Papal letters, the acts, the inquisition of witnesses, oaths and examinations, and the process conducted and carried out in person by the said Lord Archbishop and Bishop, or before them, in the Archiepiscopal Palace of the city of Naples, in the afore-titled year, month, and days, together with the afore-named Master Peter of Rocca Tarani of the diocese of Sabina, public Notary by Apostolic and Imperial authority, and faithfully put them into writing together with him, and arranged them in the present text or quire, and subscribed myself to the writing written by the hand of the said Master Peter, and signed it with my customary sign.

ANOTHER LIFE

By Bernard Gui, Bishop of Lodeve, from 5 manuscript codices and Mombritius.

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (Saint)

BHL Number: 8155, 8156

BY BERNARD GUI. FROM MANUSCRIPTS.

BOOK ONE

On the birth, life, death, and deeds of St. Thomas.

Since nearly all these things are taken from the Acts given above, with the order of narration changed in many places and only a different style substituted, here, lest the volume grow too large, we give only the titles and indicate the numbers of the earlier Acts from which they are copied and generally abbreviated. We also note below the few additions made from the Process of Inquisition already published. The titles, therefore, are placed before them.

BOOK II.

On the miracles of St. Thomas.

PROLOGUE.

After the happy passing of St. Thomas, divine miracles were not lacking, by which the Lord made His Saint wondrous: and by evident signs and miracles and great and many shining prodigies He declared to those on earth that he had been assumed into glory. Of which not a few, through the carelessness of the Brothers, long neglected, have been consigned to oblivion and commended by the testimony of no writing. Those, however, which follow below, collected in summary and brief speech, lest a longer discourse should bring tedium to readers, have been gathered and received from both the first and the second inquisition, made concerning the life, conduct, and miracles of the same by Inquisitors given by the Apostolic See in the year of the Lord's Incarnation thirteen hundred and nineteen, up to his Canonization, which was made afterward when four years had already elapsed, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation thirteen hundred and twenty-three. At the end of the preceding miracles, moreover, certain other things have been added which have been approved and ascertained by the report and assertion of very many, and other things may also be added in the future. These, then, are miracles collected from the Process of the first inquisition made concerning the life, conduct, and miracles of St. Thomas by his Inquisitors, apart from those which concerning the fragrance of the wonderful odor have been described above in the context of the history.

PART I.

The earlier miracles are found either in the Acts given above or in the Process of the Inquisition; we omit repeating them here: and only, as we have already done concerning the life and death, indicate the titles.

PART II.

The later miracles are published from manuscripts, whose prefixed chapter titles are as follows.

25 On one healed from pain in the kidneys.

26 On one healed from pain in the neck through the relics of St. Thomas.

27 On one healed twice by a vow made to St. Thomas.

28 Likewise on the same, that the taste of fish was granted to him.

29 On one healed from grave pain through a vow made to St. Thomas.

30 On one cured from arthritic gout and pain.

31 On one healed from pain of the arm and shoulder-blade.

32 On one healed from a grave fever.

33 On one healed from pain in the kidneys.

34 On one preserved from danger in a fall.

35 On one cured from a continuous fever.

36 On one healed from a swelling of the throat.

37 On a girl healed from pain and crying.

38 On one healed from pain of the eyes.

39 On one healed from a rupture and swelling of the groin.

40 On a boy healed from a continuous fever.

41 On one healed from a double infirmity of the foot and shin.

42 On one healed from grave ill health.

43 On one healed from pain of the arm and right shoulder.

44 On one healed from weakness of the shins and knees.

45 On a boy healed from a flow of blood.

46 On one freed from vehement pain and danger of death.

47 On one healed from a swelling of the finger.

48 On one freed from trembling of the hands and fever.

49 On one healed from a grave pain of the head.

50 On one healed from fever and cough.

51 On one healed from grave pains of the head.

52 On a boy healed from the falling sickness.

53 On a boy healed from a grave infirmity from which danger of death was imminent.

54 On a girl healed from a continuous fever.

55 On one healed from a quartan fever.

56 On one healed from a rupture of the groin.

57 On one healed from the disease of quinsy.

58 On one healed from grave pain of the shoulder and arm.

59 On one healed from fever and other grave symptoms.

60 On one healed from swelling of the face and throat and binding of the tongue.

61 On one healed from ringing and deafness of the ears.

62 On one healed from grave deafness.

63 On a boy healed from grave swelling and redness.

64 On one healed from pain of the arm.

65 On one healed from grave pain of the throat.

66 On one healed from continuous fever and danger of death.

67 On one healed from continuous fever.

68 On one healed from grave pain of the arm and shoulder-blade.

69 On one healed from grave infirmity.

70 On one healed from infirmity of his arm.

71 On one healed from fever and vomiting.

72 On one healed from grave cough and emission of blood.

[25] Brother Martin of Aperitio, of the Order of Preachers, pains of the kidneys cured, in the convent of San Domenico at Naples, was for twelve days so gravely vexed by pain of the kidneys that he could neither walk nor rise from bed because of the vehemence of the pain. He, having assumed confidence and conceived devotion to St. Thomas, of whom he had heard so many miracles recounted, made a vow that if through his merits he should be healed of the aforesaid pains, he would henceforth make a commemoration of him at Vespers and Matins: and having made the vow, he immediately obtained full health.

[26] Brother Thomas of Aversa was suffering a vehement pain in his neck extending to his arms, and of the neck: so that he could not turn his head back and forth, nor lay it down on the bed to sleep: but it was necessary for him to sleep sitting and reclining almost upright: and after he was touched on his neck with the relics of St. Thomas, he felt himself relieved, and on the following morning fully relieved.

[27] Master Matthew of Viterbo, Chaplain of the Lord Archbishop of Naples, who was one of the two who carried to the Roman Curia the inquisition made concerning the miracles of St. Thomas, a double tertian fever expelled, fell ill with a double tertian fever in the house of Lord James of Viterbo, a Canon of Naples, so gravely that his death was more expected than his life. The aforesaid James, however, having heard of the miracles of St. Thomas, feeling compassion for the sick man, made a vow that he would visit the tomb of St. Thomas together with the aforesaid Matthew, if through his merits he should be cured. Which vow having been made, when the day and hour of the coming attack of the illness arrived, he felt himself totally freed. And while the aforesaid Master Matthew, after the convalescence obtained by the gift of God, imprudently took a certain medicine on the advice of a physician (which however, for no apparent reason, rather generated grave symptoms, and the danger from the retention of medicine, to the degree that on account of this he seemed almost to be at death's door), he, repenting that he had not been content, as he should have been, with the health accepted and obtained by the gift of God, strengthens and confirms the aforesaid vow with a subsequent addition, imploring the aid of St. Thomas to free him from the aforesaid deadly condition: and suddenly, without the taking of any other medicine, it first began to work: from which he immediately received relief and continuous health of his entire body.

[28] The aforesaid Master Matthew of Viterbo, more than fifty years old, from his infancy could not eat fish nor had he ever eaten them: to one abhorring the eating of fish, indeed his nature so abhorred the taste and smell of fish that if at any time through the importunate urgings of others he attempted to eat even a little, it was necessary to throw it up by vomiting, or he incurred a fever. When, however, he had come to the Curia at Avignon with his colleague, bringing the inquisition made concerning the miracles of St. Thomas, as the season of the beginning of Lent approached, he asked St. Thomas to remove from him the abomination of fish, so that during that time he might live with his companions without grave scandal or disgust to himself and others. And behold, as he slept on the following night, it seemed to him that a table was set before him, and by a certain Brother in the habit of the Order of Preachers a fish was brought and courteously presented to him, with someone saying: Master Matthew, eat: because Brother Thomas sends you this fish, and as this one, so also others henceforth. Then, as it seemed to him, he ate the said fish with relish and eagerness. the taste of these is granted: And upon waking he gave thanks to God and related to his companions with joy the petition which he had made to St. Thomas, the prayer which he had promised, and the course of the vision. And so, when the hour of dinner came, fish were brought before him, which he began to eat with them with such relish, just as it had previously seemed to him he had eaten in the vision: subsequently also eating fish, he was freed from a certain trembling of the hands, since by eating he had previously incurred a cold irritation. This, moreover, when examined more carefully at the Curia before the Cardinals, he set forth under oath, and it was proven by the trustworthy testimony of very many who had known him and had lived with him for many years and had seen him previously abhorring fish and afterward eating them, and it was recited in Consistory and made known throughout the Curia.

[29] Peter Bacafocij of Piperno, from a fall in which he fell from a horse, was gravely injured in his face and both sides: one injured from a fall healed, and while burdened with excessive pain, having made a vow to St. Thomas that he would visit his tomb and make a silver votive offering and carry it there, he immediately began to sleep, and afterward, wakened from sleep, he found himself entirely freed, and he fulfilled what he had vowed.

[30] Brother Nicholas Zati of Piperno, a Lay Brother of the monastery of Fossanova, before he was a monk, suffered the arthritic infirmity in both hands for a long time, one laboring with gout of the hands, so that his hands were useless and painful to him. He, after entering the religious life, having conceived devotion to St. Thomas, devoted himself to the same, that he might also be freed through his merits from the aforesaid infirmity and pain: and approaching his tomb, kneeling, he placed both hands upon it, and after a brief space of time when he had prayed there, he immediately rose healthy and entirely free from pain.

[31] Brother Manuel of Piperno, a Lay Brother of the monastery of Fossanova, while suffering grave pain in his right arm and shoulder-blade pain of the arm and shoulder-blade, and finding no remedy of medicine, and carrying his arm suspended from his neck in a linen cloth for three months and more; at last going to the tomb he placed himself upon it, imploring the aid of St. Thomas, and resolving in his mind that each year on the day of his feast he would give twenty solidi for a pittance to the convent, if through his merits he would free him: and he immediately fell asleep there, and upon waking found his arm, extracted from the linen in which he carried it suspended from his neck, to be totally healthy, nor from then on did he feel pain in the arm or in the shoulder-blade, through the merits of St. Thomas.

[32] A certain woman of Piperno, having been afflicted by a grave fever for a month, a fever, at the advice of her brother, a Religious monk of the monastery of Fossanova, having made a vow to St. Thomas that if he freed her, she would visit his tomb with a silver votive offering, was immediately entirely freed from the fever.

[33] Leonard, son of Raynald Saraceni of Piperno, was suffering so great a pain in his kidneys pain of the kidneys: that he could scarcely move himself or walk upright: and going to the tomb of St. Thomas and placing himself upon it, imploring the aid of the Saint, having made a vow for his liberation that he would return again with a candle, he immediately felt himself freed, and rising upright returned to his home unharmed.

[34] preserved in a fall: Bartholomew Leonardi of Piperno, falling by accident from a very high place, while he was falling, crying out said: St. Thomas of Aquino, help me. And so he arrived upright on the ground, and immediately came from there to the tomb, where kneeling and giving thanks, he rose from there without pain, and with a certain companion of his age named Peter, when invited whether he wished to run with him, he outran Peter more swiftly.

[35] Brother Matthew Theobaldi of Piperno, a Lay Brother of the monastery of Fossanova, a fever removed, laboring with a grave continuous fever and for ten days imploring the aid of St. Thomas, he vowed that he would have a Mass celebrated in his honor: and having made the vow, falling asleep, after sleep he found himself so healed of the fever that from the house in which he had been lying ill, he walked through the monastery.

[36] Jacoba Waldeburn of Sonnino was suffering a great and large swelling in her throat, the size of two men's fists, swelling of the throat, so that she could scarcely breathe or speak intelligibly: and while she was going to Piperno to a surgeon to have it cut, being on the journey, seeing the bell tower of the monastery of Fossanova, having conceived devotion to St. Thomas, she devoted herself to the Church, asking that without the danger of incision she might receive health, and coming to the surgeon she showed him the swelling of her throat. Having seen it, the surgeon decided to open the same swelling with a blade on the morrow: but on the morrow, on which it was to be cut, she had no swelling or almost none in her throat. The surgeon, seeing that she had been healed, said that it would not be necessary to cut or touch her with a blade: and so, healed through the merits of St. Thomas, she returned to her own home with joy.

[37] vehement pain, Maria, a girl of seven years, daughter of Landulph of the town of Sonnino, was so twisted by a certain pain which came upon her that, contorting herself almost in the manner of a serpent,

she was crying out almost like one possessed by a demon: and Sophia her mother commended her to St. Thomas, promising that after her liberation she would bring her to the holy tomb and offer a candle there. When the vow was made, the girl was immediately freed, and on the following day she rose perfectly healthy and went about in the company of other girls.

[38] Bartholomew Boni-hominis of Sonnino, by a grave pain and burning in his eyes, grave pain and burning of the eyes, with humor flowing down to his eyes, was so afflicted that he could see almost nothing, nor could he work, and could scarcely go without a guide for about two months: and commending himself to St. Thomas, he vowed that he would visit his tomb barefoot with a lit candle, and having made the vow, on the morrow he found himself entirely freed from the said disease.

[39] Amatus Bruni of the town of Sonnino for six years and more suffered a rupture and swelling in his groin from a descent of the intestines; hernia, whence he was forced to wear a truss, nor could he be cured by medicines: and having conceived devotion to St. Thomas, he devoted himself to the same, promising that if he freed him from that infirmity, he would offer a silver truss upon his tomb. After the vow was thus made, within fifteen days he was freed from the infirmity, namely the swelling.

[40] Leo, a boy of three years, son of Crescentius Novellus of the town of Sonnino, continuous fever, lying gravely ill from a continuous fever with vehement heat and laboring at death's door, a vow having been made by his grandmother to St. Thomas, that he might free her grandson from danger of death through his merits, he was immediately freed, and began to play and walk with the other boys, his brothers.

[41] gout, Bartholomew Theobaldi of the town of Sonnino, from the infirmity of gout which he suffered in his shins and feet on one occasion, pain contracted from a blow, and on another occasion from a grave arthritic infirmity of his toe, which he had incurred from a blow, and from which he could not be cured by the remedies of medicine, having made a vow to St. Thomas, was totally freed and healed from both afflictions.

[42] Nicholas of the town of Sonnino, from a certain grave abscess which he had in his left hand, on account of which for a year he could do no work, an abscess, having made a vow to St. Thomas, after commending himself to the same Saint, there humbly prostrating himself and falling asleep, he rose healthy.

[43] Brother Waldebrunus, a Lay Brother of the monastery of Fossanova, was so burdened for many months by a certain grave pain in his arm and right shoulder-blade pain of the arm and shoulder-blade, that he could not help himself or work with his arm and hand, nor sleep on his right side. One night, having made a vow to St. Thomas that if he freed him, he would offer a silver votive offering at his tomb, he fell asleep, and in the morning upon rising, he found himself freed from the said infirmity.

[44] Master James of Piperno, an Oblate of the monastery of Fossanova, of the shins and knees, from the great pain which he suffered in his shins and knees, so that he could not walk without two canes for seven weeks, coming with devotion to the tomb of St. Thomas, with tears he implored his aid: and taking the covering which was upon the tomb, he touched and wrapped his shins and knees with it: and he immediately rose, freed from the pain and infirmity through the merits of St. Thomas, and from then on walked freely without a cane.

[45] Nicholas Petri, a boy, was for a year so burdened by a flow of blood a flow of blood, that from that illness he was believed to be dying. And when a vow was made by his grandmother for the said boy to St. Thomas, the boy immediately began to improve, and within a few days was totally restored to his former health and freed from the flow of blood.

[46] Peter of Terracina, surnamed Caroli, was so gravely twisted by vehement pain of the head and in all his limbs a lethal disease: that he was believed by himself and those standing by to be about to die on account of it. He, having made a vow to St. Thomas, imploring his aid, was immediately totally freed.

[47] Nicholas de Epuricio, a tailor, an inhabitant of Terracina, gout of the hands, was suffering arthritic gout in his feet, and suddenly a pain and swelling came upon the index finger of his right hand, fearing that from this he would be rendered unable to practice his trade, from which he lived, and thus lose his livelihood. Having made a vow to St. Thomas that he would bring a silver hand to his tomb, and devoutly imploring his aid for the cure of his right hand, he entered bed to sleep, and after a brief sleep upon waking, he found his finger to be healed: in which miracle was doubled upon miracle. For when the same Nicholas was afterward cited by the Inquisitors appointed by the Apostolic See to come and speak the truth about the miracles of St. Thomas, and he excused himself and gout, because he was burdened by arthritic gout in his feet and requested a delay to come another time to testify about the preceding miracle; suddenly an intense pain came upon the index finger of his right hand, and fearing vehemently the wrath of God and of St. Thomas, he decided without delay to implore his aid, so that he could come and the pain would cease. Which having been done, the pain of the finger immediately ceased, and with the impediment of his feet removed, he was able to walk and ride, and on the same day freely came to the said Inquisitors to bear testimony of truth about the miracles.

[48] Bartholomew Petri of Sermoneta for four continuous years suffered trembling of the hands and shins. trembling of the hands and shins, with fever: He, having conceived devotion to St. Thomas, commended himself to the same, that through his merits he would free him from the aforesaid trembling and from a supervening fever which he was then suffering: and on the following night, when he had given himself to sleep, he saw one in the habit of the Preachers, tall in stature and beautiful in countenance, coming to him, who touched him with his hand on the breast and limbs, and immediately, awakened from sleep, he found himself entirely freed both from the aforesaid trembling and from the fever.

[49] Peter Capiani of Sermoneta, hearing recounted to him the miracle and benefit of health bestowed through the merits and intercession of St. Thomas on the above-mentioned Bartholomew Petri, conceived devotion and commended himself to the same, that he might heal him from the grave infirmity which he had suffered and was suffering for two months and more from his liver: and therefore having a saffron complexion, he had lost his appetite for food and drink, and having become heavy and burdensome to himself in his limbs, he lay languishing in bed: a difficult infirmity, and having made his commendation and implored the aid of St. Thomas, at the hour of Vespers that same evening after Vespers, when he wished to enter bed, he felt himself entirely freed from the aforesaid infirmity.

[50] Maria Aegidii of Sermoneta for a year suffered from a dry cough with fever, a dry cough with fever, from which the physician judged she was going to die. She, having heard the fame of the miracles of St. Thomas, commended herself to the same, that through his merits he would free her from the aforesaid cough and fever, and immediately after the commendation she was entirely freed from the aforesaid afflictions.

[51] Rosa, wife of James Bellini of Terracina, for about nineteen years suffered a certain pain of the head on the right side, pain of the head, from which she was alternately and gravely scourged at intervals of days, nor could she be freed by any remedy of physicians. She, having heard of the miracles of St. Thomas, for her liberation to be obtained through his merits, devoutly commended herself to him, and from then on she was entirely freed from the aforesaid pains.

[52] Stephen, son of Guido, suffered from the falling sickness for a year and a half and more, the falling sickness, at the revolution of the moon sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes three times, sometimes four times, and sometimes six times. His father, grieving for the boy and fearing for his death, commended him to St. Thomas and carried him to his tomb and placed him upon it, imploring the aid of St. Thomas for the health of the boy: and from then on the boy was entirely freed from the aforesaid disease.

[53] James Salacini, while he was one year old, was suffering from an infirmity a lethal disease of an infant, such that his ribs on the front side seemed to be joining with his loins or kidneys: whence he could scarcely breathe, and in the judgment of physicians it was credibly believed he would die from this: and his mother Gemma, sympathizing with maternal affection, forewarned by a certain lady, kneeling devoutly commended him to St. Thomas, promising that she would send him to his tomb and offer an oblation for him. Which commendation having been made, the boy was immediately healed and in the succeeding time became a healthy man.

[54] Sibylla, a girl of five years of age, daughter of Peter of Piperno, suffered a continuous fever for fifteen days, and while she was believed to be dying from the same fever a continuous fever, and was almost laboring at death's door, Gemma, the mother of the said Sibylla, commended her to St. Thomas, that through his merits he would free her from that infirmity: which commendation having been made, the girl was immediately healed.

[55] Matthew de Noria of Piperno, suffering from a fever, while he was burdened by the aforesaid fever according to the advice of a physician given to him, a quartan fever, devoutly commended himself to Blessed Mary of Ripa and to Blessed Thomas of Aquino, promising that if he were freed from the quartan, he would go on his knees from the entrance to the tomb of St. Thomas and gird the same tomb with a silver thread. And having made the aforesaid vow, he began to sleep, and it seemed to him that there stood in the habit of the Preachers, with a staff in his hand, one coming from Fossanova to the abovesaid church, and when he had arrived, the Blessed Virgin came forth to meet him, saying: Thomas, where are you going? And he responded: I am going to help a certain poor man who does not cease to invoke me. And it seemed to the same Matthew that St. Thomas, approaching him, uncovered him, and immediately awakened, he got down from the bed: and from then on he never had the aforesaid fever, and found himself perfectly healed.

[56] John Gorri, a boy of seven years, from his birth had his right testicle larger than the other, and the swelling grew, so that he was ruptured in the groin, with the intestines descending below, on account of which he needed a truss, nor could he be cured without incision in the judgment of physicians. His grandmother Masa Symeonis of Piperno, grieving and sympathizing with him, hernia: having heard the fame of the miracles of St. Thomas, conceived confidence, and taught the boy to implore the aid of Blessed Thomas and to promise that if he would deign to cure him without incision, he would go to his tomb with a votive offering of a silver image of himself: and having made the vow, the boy was there improved and was totally cured without incision.

[57] Peter, surnamed Laetus, a native of Piperno, when a grave disease of quinsy suddenly came upon him, lost his speech: speech restored: so that he could neither speak at all nor move his tongue for three days: nor was he helped by the many remedies of physicians applied to him, and the physicians despaired of him: and having conceived devotion to St. Thomas, since he could not speak, he wrote with his own hand that he should be brought to the tomb of St. Thomas, hoping to be freed through his merits, and gave the writing to Peter his son-in-law; but the wife of the sick man objected to his being carried to the monastery of Fossanova, because women are not permitted to enter the monastery: which he, perceiving, within himself made a vow to St. Thomas, imploring his aid, and from then on he began to move his tongue and was perfectly cured on that same day.

[58] A certain woman named Thymiama, of Piperno, suffered for about four continuous years a pain in the right shoulder-blade and in the arm and in a finger, pains of the shoulder and arm removed, so that she could not spin with it. She, on the feast of St. Martin, coming to the monastery of Fossanova, commending herself to Blessed Thomas, made a vow that if he healed her of the aforesaid pain, she would render and offer a silver votive offering. Which vow having been made, from then on she did not feel the aforesaid pain, but remained healed.

[59] Nicholas Grassone of the town of Sermoneta, suffering for seven weeks and more a daily fever and disease of the liver and stomach and spleen with pain of the head, a daily fever with other diseases, having heard the miracles of St. Thomas, devoted himself to the same Saint, and the following morning found himself freed from the aforesaid afflictions.

[60] Brother Peter Crescentii, a Lay Brother of the monastery of Fossanova, was so burdened by a certain great swelling or inflation in the face and throat swelling of the face and throat, which had come upon him, that he could not speak, nor could anyone even open his mouth for him with a knife. He, placed in such affliction and persuaded by the advice of a certain devout person, having conceived devotion to St. Thomas, since he could not speak, commended himself in his heart to the same Saint humbly and devoutly: and on the same day falling asleep about None and waking at the hour of Vespers, he found himself healthy and could speak, and for the most part that swelling had subsided, and from then on he was healed.

[61] Nicholas Picardi of Terracina was vexed by a grave and vehement ringing of the ears: so that he could scarcely hear those speaking in a loud voice, ringing of the ears with deafness, but when a commendation was made by him to St. Thomas, rising in the morning he found himself entirely healed and hearing as before.

[62] Theodora Maniconensis of the town of Sonnino, having suffered for four months such grave deafness that she could not hear people shouting loudly nor her own child crying, another's deafness, having made a vow to St. Thomas that through his merits he would free her, the following morning she found herself freed from the aforesaid deafness.

[63] Peter of Piperno, a boy of four years, was suffering a swelling and redness from his leg to his foot, so that he could not be touched there without injury and trembling, swelling and redness of the feet, and the boy could not move himself for a month, and could not be freed without incision in the judgment of physicians. It was feared by the same physicians that if he were cut, he would be perpetually impeded. His mother, however, sympathizing with the boy, commended him to St. Thomas, and placed upon his tomb, after a short time he rose by himself, made healthy and fully freed.

[64] The Lady Lea de Anasola suffered for a year and a half an infirmity in the shoulder-blade and pain in the right arm, so that she could not help herself with it: pain of the arm, and when one day she had heard that some relics of St. Thomas had been brought to the church of Blessed Mary at Piperno, she went there to see those relics, and commending herself to Blessed Thomas, she placed her arm upon the capsule in which the relics were: and she was immediately healed and began to work and use her arm as before.

[65] Adelasia, daughter of Gemma of Piperno, suffered a grave and mortal disease of quinsy in her throat for many days: whence she could swallow nothing, and of the throat, and, persuaded by her mother, she devoutly commended herself to St. Thomas and was brought to the monastery of Fossanova, where at the touch of the capsule of the relics of St. Thomas she was healed and returned to Piperno, free as before.

[66] continuous fever, Jacoba Petri of Piperno suffered a continuous fever from which she had lost her speech and was believed by the bystanders to be dying: and her husband, commending her through the merits of St. Thomas, promised to bring her to the tomb of the Saint and to offer a lamp and a candle. Which having been done, she immediately began to vomit, and with her speech restored, the fever left her, and she was healed in that hour.

[67] Brandicia, a woman of Terracina, suffering a continuous fever for fifteen days, having heard the miracles of St. Thomas, having conceived devotion to him, again, vowed that if through his merits he freed her, she would visit his tomb: which having been done, she was immediately freed.

[68] Agnes Philippi of the town of San Lorenzo was suffering vehement pain in her arms and shoulder-blade on the right side, so that she could not rise from bed pain of the arms and shoulder-blade, nor move herself unless moved by another: and while she lay thus burdened for seven weeks, having heard the fame of the miracles of St. Thomas, commending herself to him, she devoutly implored his aid: which having been done, she was immediately freed.

[69] and of the right knee, Nicholas Bartholomaei of Piperno, suffering a vehement pain in his right knee for a year, so that he could in no way bend his shin but held it extended, and despite many remedies of physicians applied; persuaded by his mother, he gave himself to the merits of St. Thomas, promising that if he freed him from the aforesaid infirmity, he would visit his tomb with the offering of a candle: which having been done, in the morning he found himself healed.

[70] Peter Galgani of Piperno, from a certain blow struck on his right arm, of the arm, retained the said arm weak and painful after the wound was already healed, so that he could not close or open the arm: and when one evening he was more burdened than usual by the pain of the arm, at the persuasion of Belesia his wife, he commended himself to St. Thomas that through his merits he would be healed: and in testimony, rising, he felt no pain in the arm, and extended it freely, and showed it healed to his wife.

[71] fever and vomiting, Peter Hectarius of Piperno, while vehemently afflicted by a certain grave fever and vomiting, and fearing death from this, at the persuasion of his wife commended himself to St. Thomas, that through his merits he would free him from the fever and danger. Which having been done, the fever and vomiting immediately ceased, and made healthy, he walked freely.

[72] Master Marcus, a Cleric of the church of Santa Lucia at Piperno, cough and emission of blood, for three years suffered a certain cough with emission of blood through the mouth and through the nostrils. He, on a certain day in the monastery of Fossanova, having conceived devotion to St. Thomas for the recovery of his health, commending himself to the same Saint, placed himself upon his tomb, and from there returning to Piperno, on the following night, having emitted much blood through vomiting, from then on he was made healthy from the aforesaid infirmity through the merits of St. Thomas.

PART III

Up to this point the miracles have been collected and excerpted from both the first and second inquisition, made by the Inquisitors appointed by the Apostolic See concerning the life and conduct and miracles of St. Thomas: from here onward follow those collected and received from things which have been verified and ascertained by the trustworthy assertion of many persons.

The titles of this part are as follows: beneath which are noted the chapters or numbers of the earlier Acts in which the miracles omitted here are contained.

[79] A woman in labor freed. A certain Lady of Piperno, laboring dangerously in childbirth with pain, having invoked St. Thomas and having placed a certain belt which had been upon his tomb upon the body of the same woman, immediately gave birth freely, freed from the danger and pain ...

[86] The Lady Maria, wife of Lord Arnold, niece of the Supreme Pontiff through his sister, while she was pregnant at Avignon and also dropsical, had been despaired of for her health by the physicians. Whence she had obtained the full absolution and grace and indulgence of remission sent to her in such danger from the Lord Supreme Pontiff through the Bishop of Lodeve, as one about to die shortly. an extremely ill woman healed, Her own confessor persuaded her to conceive devotion to St. Thomas, about whose forthcoming Canonization proceedings were then being conducted, and to devote herself to the same for obtaining the benefit of health through the merits of the same Saint. Which when she had done, on the following night, while awake, she saw in a clear vision standing beside her bed St. Thomas in the habit of a Preacher Brother, saying to her in sweet speech and a gentle voice: Do you wish to be cured? And she, thinking him then to be another Bishop than the former, namely the Bishop of Canterbury, asked whether he had come to confirm the absolution made to her previously on the part of the Supreme Pontiff through the Bishop of Lodeve. For both Bishops had been taken from the Order of Preachers and wore its habit. And he responded to her that he was not the Bishop whom she supposed, St. Thomas appearing, but was Brother Thomas of Aquino, to whom she had devoted herself, and he added, saying to her: Lady, fulfill the vow which you made, and you will be cured. And she, calling her mother, related to her the course of the aforesaid vision. Therefore both, namely mother and daughter, vowed that she would send annually a wax candle of six pounds at Christmas to the nearest convent of the Order of Preachers, and would clothe one Brother in the convent of Avignon who was then most in need of garments. And so, when morning came, her body manifestly subsided in swelling, but she did not fulfill the vow promised at night. And when St. Thomas appeared to her again at night, he harshly rebuked her because she had not fulfilled what she had promised in making the vow, namely to clothe one Brother of the Avignon convent who was most in need: and thus admonished, she fulfilled the vow and continuously attained perfect health. The same Lady, moreover, when the time and hour of birth had come, and the fetus was partly within and partly outside her womb, but she could not give birth, invoked St. Thomas to her aid, she gives birth to dead offspring, and was soon freed and delivered by giving birth freely. Her mother, however, believing the offspring to be alive, which had already been born dead, immediately baptized it there.

At length, having discovered that in truth it had been born dead, she prayed devoutly with tears to St. Thomas, raised to life so that it might be baptized: that just as he had freed her daughter, the mother of the infant, twice, so he would raise her already dead son, that reborn by holy baptism he might not perish but live forever. And so, prayer having been made, the child appeared alive again, and regenerated by the sacred bath, soon passed on to live forever: thus joy is tripled in the triple miracle performed through the merits of St. Thomas.

[87] A quartan fever removed. A certain man laboring with a quartan fever devoutly commended himself to St. Thomas, imploring his aid for his health, and was suddenly freed from the quartan. And when the physician said that this could have happened by the power of nature, St. Thomas appeared to the physician, rebuking him because he had not given the honor to God for the miracle performed, but to nature: and he added, saying that soon the Office of the Mass for himself would be sung in the Church of God.

[88] pain of the kidneys, James of Piperno was vexed by grave pain of the kidneys, from which, murmuring against God, he frequently seemed to be disturbed by a spirit of blasphemy: he was reproved by the monks of the monastery of Fossanova and admonished to conceive and have devotion to St. Thomas: and he was brought to his tomb, where he merited to be cured, though not immediately; until recognizing that this was happening to him because of his grave fault of murmuring, he repented, and with tears prayed, and wrapping his shins in the covering of the tomb of St. Thomas, he said: Blessed Thomas, I shall not depart from here unless I am freed through your merits. Which having been said, he was suddenly cured, giving thanks to God and to the Saint through whose merits he was made well.

[89] Diadema, daughter of Nicholas, was suddenly on a certain night made arthritic, and trembling in body and mute: a triple disease: and when her father indicated to her that she should turn to some Saint and make a vow (at least in her mind, since she could not with her mouth) and she would not consent to his suggestion; he brought St. Thomas to her memory, urging her to make her vow to him. And she, invoking St. Thomas, with his name scarcely uttered, was immediately and totally restored to health.

[90] a demoniac healed, Maria Landulfi seemed to be vexed by a demon, and could not be held by anyone, nor did she take food. Her mother, sympathizing with her daughter suffering thus gravely, made a vow that she would visit the tomb of St. Thomas: which having been done, her daughter was suddenly and entirely freed.

[91] In the castle of Roccasecca, a certain man from the curse of his father, whom he had offended by striking him, was dissolved as if by paralysis, and in vengeance for his sin and his father's curse was made useless. He, repenting of his sin, had himself carried to the tomb of St. Thomas: a paralytic made so for rebellion against his father, where while praying and imploring that through the merits of St. Thomas the sentence of the paternal curse might be mercifully relaxed by God, he was restored to perfect health, and thus corrected he hastened to his father to implore pardon for the crime he had committed.

[92] Jordan de Marco from a certain preceding illness had become deaf. He went to the tomb of St. Thomas for the remedy of his health, instilling small drops of holy water into his ears, invoking the name of the same Saint, a deaf man and making a vow that he would bring his whole household with candles to his tomb; and prayer having been made there, while he was returning to his home, rebuked by St. Thomas for not fulfilling a vow, from each of his ears there fell something like a small piece of flesh, and so he received his hearing and the health of his ears. And he, delaying to fulfill the vow he had undertaken, was harshly rebuked in a vision by St. Thomas for his neglect, and thus corrected, he fulfilled the vow which he had made, now long delayed.

[93] The Lady Heremita, having a son afflicted with a swollen body so that he could not walk, brought him with her husband to the tomb of St. Thomas: one having a swollen body, and when he had been placed upon it for some space of time, he was immediately freed through the merits of St. Thomas and made healthy.

[94] a contracted child: A certain Lady of Astrubio, having a small and contracted son, hearing from the Preacher Brothers going for the Canonization of Blessed Thomas the miracles recounted which were being performed through his merits, carried the same boy to the tomb of St. Thomas: and when the small child had touched it, he was immediately healed.

[95] frenzy and lethargy cured: In the town of San Lorenzo della Valle near the monastery of Fossanova, a certain man had a daughter struck by a certain madness: from which in the course of time she became immobile, like a stone, and could no longer eat or speak or breathe comfortably. She seemed to have incurred a lethargic infirmity from either frenzy or maniacal affliction: and since she could not be helped by the remedies of medicine, her father, having heard the fame of the miracles of St. Thomas, made a vow and devoted her to St. Thomas, praying that through his merits she would either be taken from life or healed by God's mercy. The girl was therefore carried half-dead to the monastery, and in the church was brought inside to the tomb of St. Thomas by the Abbot's permission, and placed upon the tomb until the monks returned from the table, from which they went to the church to give thanks. While therefore out of reverence for the community the father wished to lift his daughter from the tomb, she spoke thus: Father, do not touch me, because a great Preacher Brother, who is healing me, St. Thomas appearing, stands before me and defends me from a certain black man who has held me thus bound. The Abbot and monks assembled there and prayed that through the merits of St. Thomas the prayers of the father might be heard, that his daughter might be freed. Then also it seemed to the girl that the aforesaid Brother drew both his hands from the girl's head to her feet, saying to her: Girl, arise, for you are cured. At which word the girl immediately arose, restored to her former health.

[96] a fistula in the toe: In the city of Naples, a certain young man named Eunuchus Mauremander was suffering a fistula and fracture in one joint or toe of his foot, where in the judgment of physicians it was necessary to cut, lest a graver danger threaten the whole foot or body. He vowed that he would visit the tomb of St. Thomas with a wax foot, that through his merits he might receive a cure for his foot, so that it would not be necessary to cut the toe: and behold, at night a Preacher Brother appeared who promised to cure him without incision. And so in the morning the physician came and found the young man cured, whom he had left so gravely afflicted the evening before.

[97] In the province of upper Lombardy, in the town of Piedmont which is called Tagnanum, a certain lady having a son in the Order of Preachers, named Brother Rufinus, a dead woman raised to life in the presence of her same son with many other relatives, lying ill, she died. And when all were weeping around the funeral, the said Brother, son of the dead woman, addressed the others thus weeping: Recently at the Roman Curia at Avignon, Brother Thomas of Aquino, Doctor, was inscribed in the catalogue of the Saints: Let us pray, I beseech, that through the merits of that Saint God may deign to raise this dead woman. All the relatives therefore knelt with their son and with tears devoutly supplicated God that through the merits of St. Thomas that dead woman might be raised: and behold, suddenly the dead woman sat up alive, with all who were present seeing and rejoicing: and the mourning of the weeping was changed to laughter, and grief to joy over the dead woman raised.

[98] Brother Eleutherius of the Order of Friars Minor, while he was perplexed in a certain question and was neglecting to seek the truth in the books of St. Thomas, devoutly prayed to the Lord and St. Francis that the truth might be revealed to him: and behold, he saw there in a vision St. Francis and St. Thomas of Aquino, the doctrine of St. Thomas approved by St. Francis appearing, clothed in a cloak adorned with splendid stars, and above them the Virgin Mother of God with her Son, holding two splendid crowns in her hands and placing them upon their heads: and while he was greatly delighted by such a vision, he heard St. Francis saying to him: Believe this one, showing and pointing to St. Thomas; because his doctrine will not fail for eternity. And upon waking and reading the writings of St. Thomas, he was certified about his doubt, having recognized the truth. The aforesaid Brother Eleutherius himself narrated the aforesaid to many, asserting under his faith that they were true.

[99] When Brother William of Tocco of the Order of Preachers, Prior of the convent of Benevento, was coming with his companion Brother Robert the Lector by sea to the Roman Curia at Avignon, with the inventories made of the miracles of St. Thomas, about whose canonization proceedings were then being conducted, it happened that while they were sailing one night, a great rain coming on the danger of shipwreck removed, and a most severe storm arising at sea, the galley in which he was sailing with others was being driven by the excessive violence of the winds toward Mount Argentaro, and without doubt would be shattered by the impact. For the sailors could not counter so great an onslaught, nor could such danger be overcome except by divine aid. The sailors therefore despaired of life and put off their clothing, hoping perhaps to escape by swimming: they cried out to the Brothers who were hiding below to invoke the Lord and the Saints, to come to the aid of the sailors about to perish in imminent shipwreck. The Brothers applied themselves to prayer and prayed to God and invoked Saints Dominic and Peter Martyr; and especially St. Thomas, for whose Canonization they were sailing, and with devout prayers they called upon them to come to their aid and for St. Thomas to be present as a helper: lest those miracles which God had performed through him, which they were carrying with them in writings to the Roman Curia, be submerged in a maritime shipwreck. In short, when the galley was nearer to the mountain and danger was imminent, suddenly another wind blew from the side of the mountain and forced the galley from the mountain onto a prosperous course with a saving voyage, and with the danger dispelled, directed it: and when they had escaped that danger, all began to cry out that a miracle had been performed by God, and thus freed from shipwreck through the intercession of St. Thomas, they immediately praised God and St. Thomas. Indeed God performed many other miracles through the merits of St. Thomas of Aquino in various parts of the world which are not written in the present treatise. Epilogue. These things, however, have been written for the glory and honor of God and His Saint, that readers may believe and conceive greater confidence in the same.

d In

the Poitiers manuscript there followed the Bull of Canonization, then, as also in other manuscripts, a brief Chronicle, and finally these words were appended: Here ends the Legend of St. Thomas of Aquino. All of which should be attributed to the same author. We have discussed the age of St. Thomas above.

OTHER MIRACLES

Excerpted from a manuscript Life in the Utrecht Codex.

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (Saint)

BHL Number: 0000

From Manuscripts.

[1] A swelling cured. Clarina, a nun in the city of Pavia, suffered a swelling the size of an eye in the joint of her left arm for eleven years, nor could she be cured. She devoted herself to Blessed Thomas of Aquino, promising that if he freed her, she would say one psalter and perform a hundred genuflections in honor of St. Thomas and fast on his Vigil as long as she lived: when the vow was made, she was immediately healed.

[2] again, James, a fisherman, invoked St. Thomas and was immediately healed from a swelling of the legs and thighs.

[3] contraction, A certain girl, contracted for nine years from the day of her birth, could not walk. Her mother devoted her to St. Thomas, who appeared to her in a vision, saying: Be of strong heart, because I shall soon have your daughter cured. And the girl, awakened, immediately began to run, and for many days afterward could not be kept in the house.

[4] Lord Regnus was vexed by grave pain of the joint of the foot and shin for three weeks, pain of the foot and shin, but when a vow was made, he was immediately healed.

[5] inability in walking, Harmilla, unable to go without the support of canes, devoted herself to Blessed Thomas, promising that she would carry a wax image to his altar if she were healed, and was immediately healed.

[6] continuous fever, Jacoba, losing her speech from a continuous fever, was believed to be dying: and her husband commended her to the merits of St. Thomas, vowing that he would bring her to his tomb and offer a lamp and candle, and immediately she began to vomit and speak, and was healed.

[7] Benedicta, suffering a continuous fever for fifteen days, having heard the miracles of St. Thomas, vowed that if he healed her, she would visit his tomb with a candle and offering, and was immediately healed.

[8] again, Lord Martin, a citizen of Pavia, labored with a continuous fever to such a degree that he could not move his hand, and the physician despaired. He made a vow, saying: If St. Thomas heals me by tomorrow at Terce, I shall visit his altar barefoot and offer a candle of my own height. Immediately he who had been immobile and could not turn himself in his place rose by himself healthy, and fulfilled his vow.

[9] disease of the throat, Cisnina, a Sister of the Order of Preachers at Pavia in the monastery of Santa Maria di Nazareth, laboring from the throat, was despaired of by the physicians: but having made a vow with another Sister to St. Thomas, she was cured through his merits.

[10] again, In the city of Pavia there was a girl of Lord Peter Seclasius, afflicted with goiter from birth, because she had three goiters: and when she was sixteen years old and could not be cured by medicine, her mother vowed to Blessed Thomas that if he cured her, she would always say in his honor three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys, and would offer a wax girl at his altar; and immediately when the vow was made, she was cured.

[11] Master Dominic of Tremonia, now a citizen of Pavia, leprosy, appeared leprous in his face, and what was worse, he was burning inwardly. Whence he said: I do not know if there is a greater punishment in hell than this which I suffer inwardly: nor could he sleep well or rest for four months, nor did he dare to appear during that time. He, having heard the letter with the miracles concerning the Canonization of St. Thomas, devoted himself to him. To whom St. Thomas appeared in a chair reading, having near his ear a dove which indicated to him what he should read. And he blessed and signed him, and he slept well that night, and rose healthy from the internal pain and from the disfigurement of his face.

[12] a flow of blood, Bolinus de Vallaria, a citizen of Pavia, suffered a flow of blood, and it came especially at midnight. He, at the persuasion of his companion, devoted himself to Blessed Thomas, promising that he would always fast on his Vigil: which vow his companion likewise undertook. When the vow was therefore made before the high altar, the aforesaid man heard in a vision on the following night Blessed Thomas reading in a chair: In the beginning was the Word. And when he had read the Gospel up to the words "the Word was made flesh," he awoke, saying this very thing: and immediately he felt himself totally freed.

[13] infirmity of the head. Master Andrew of Perathaon, having poured out prayer with tears at the altar of Blessed Thomas in the church of the Brothers at Pavia, was cured immediately of a grave and dangerous infirmity of the head through the merits of St. Thomas.

[14] Bartholomew, a citizen of Pavia, because of a certain throw of a stone which his companion made at his head in school, was for four years so gravely ill vertigo of the head, that he especially suffered vertigo, to such a degree that he often fell to the ground every week, unless he could notice the onset of the infirmity: because then he would enter his bed so that he would not be dashed to the ground. He devoted himself to St. Thomas, promising that if he cured him, he would always fast on his vigil, and he was soon perfectly cured.

[15] Peter de Campanili of the Penance of Blessed Dominic had a son of ten years who fell from a staircase onto an iron object and broke the bone of his head, a wound of the head, so that the wound emitted a great gust of air, to such a degree that it would have extinguished a lit candle, and he was continuously laboring. The father, fearing the outcome of death for the boy, devoted him to St. Thomas of Aquino and promised a wax head, kneeling with tears before his altar. And so immediately, as he returned home, he found his son healed.

[16] The Lady Jacobina of Bethania was ill from rheumatism to such a degree catarrh, that for seven weeks she could not move from her place. She, while on a certain Saturday she was worse, devoted herself to Blessed Thomas of Aquino, and that night she slept perfectly, and in the morning she felt herself immediately most fully freed. A similar account is read of the Lady Ymelia Liberosa.

[17] The Lady Helena, wife of Lord Peter Rubeus, bringing her votive offering to the altar of Blessed Thomas, again, protested before the Prior of Pavia that she had been ill from rheumatism for sixteen months, so that for the last four she could not help herself, but believed she was dying, and had already received the Body of Christ as Viaticum. She therefore who could not be cured by physicians made a vow to Blessed Thomas and was perfectly healed.

[18] Peter Caroli was so gravely twisted and crying out from pain of the head and in his limbs pain of the head that he was believed to be about to die. He, having made a vow to St. Thomas, immediately vomited while praying and was healed.

[19] A certain boy of Pavia, playing with other boys, was pushed by one of his companions, and falling from a certain high plank, was carried to his own home half-dead. injury of the head from a fall. At midnight, when the hour of death was approaching, the boy's father rose from bed and, kneeling together with the boy's mother, with a tearful voice they implored the patronage of St. Thomas, vowing that they would offer the boy upon his altar. After the vow, the boy opened his eyes and was healed.

[20] The Lady Ymelina, wife of Bernard Gallus of Pavia, had five children, a lethal infirmity, who all died of the same infirmity: and when she had another daughter laboring with the same infirmity, in whom the signs of death were already appearing in her mouth and on her face, the parents vowed that they would carry her with a wax image to the altar of St. Thomas, if he would free her; and behold, she who was dead arose unharmed.

[21] John of Cellanuova carried for twenty-four years a certain crossbow bolt, unknowing, in his body; because when he was struck, an abscess, the shaft of the bolt was extracted without the iron head, and at length it generated a dangerous abscess in his body with fever, nor could he be cured. But Simon Ordonus, a merchant and citizen of Pavia, his companion, while he was in the house of the Preachers on the feast of St. Thomas, vowed that if he healed him, he would offer one florin upon his altar: and on the same day the abscess was broken and the bolt came out, and he was cured.

[22] In the city of Pavia, Philip, son of Lord Albertinus, had secretly betrothed the young Ricadona; but this he did not publicly confess, indeed he said the complete opposite: and he told the said girl that she would sin mortally if she took another spouse. Therefore she waited thus for four years, hoping that God would change his will. But hearing that God was working wonders through the merits of Blessed Thomas in the city of Pavia, the effect of a betrothal procured, she prayed that through his patronage the said Philip would publicly marry her as his wife, as he was bound to do. And she vowed that from the labor of her hands she would give a complete set of vestments for one Priest; and would perform a hundred genuflections before his altar, and that every year as long as she lived she would visit his chapel, and would have him painted in the church of the Brothers, and herself and her husband at the feet of St. Thomas. When the vow was made and she was praying, St. Thomas appeared to her with two others, saying: I am Blessed Thomas of Aquino, whom you have sought with such insistence. And these two are the Apostles James and Philip, whom you hold in devotion: whence know that your petition has been fully heard. The said Philip therefore came and consummated the marriage, saying to the girl's mother: Truly I believe that you have cast a spell on me, because I could not rest these days, saying continually within myself: Go, go, betroth her. To whom the mother and the girl said it was not a spell but the benefit of God and St. Thomas. This done, the said Philip departed, because he did not dare to remain in the city.

[23] A certain boy of three years swallowed a coin of Tours, an evil averted: and the mother, fearing that it would cause great vomiting, having made a vow, the boy passed the coin through a discharge.

[24] The Lady Beatissima, wife of Lord Finibertus, a citizen of Pavia, was vehemently afflicted by a most acute pain of the heart: and when she had devoted herself to Blessed Thomas and promised a wax heart, pains of the heart cured, she also promised to have him painted, and was immediately freed.

[25] Peter Cirpiacus, having invoked the aid of Blessed Thomas and made a vow to offer a candle of his own size of the body, and one coin of Tours upon his altar, was cured of the greatest pain which he was suffering in his body, and fulfilled his vow.

[26] Brother Andrew, a Cistercian, through the merits of St. Thomas, whom he invoked, was suddenly freed from a vehement pain and redness of the face of the face, which he was suffering from a choleric humor.

[27] Lord Simon de Laboria, a citizen of Pavia, had a son an abscess, who through St. Thomas, when the abscess was broken, escaped the danger of death. For the physician had cut him,

and a small amount of blood had flowed out, but he had not at all recovered: on account of which, fearing his danger, immediately upon a vow being made by the father, he was cured and expelled the entire abscess through his own mouth.

[28] Constantia, a girl in Pavia, had an abscess in her ear, again, from which for five days she could not sleep or rest. She implored St. Thomas, having made a vow, and that night she slept well, and with the abscess broken, she was cured.

[29] Margaret, wife of Bartholomew the farrier, from a certain burning spark which struck her face and her right eye, swelling of the face, feared she would lose her eye because of the swelling of her face: and seeing that the danger was growing and medicine was not helping, invoking St. Thomas she vowed that she would offer a wax eye at his altar: and she was suddenly and fully freed.

[30] Lord Simon George, a citizen of Pavia, was laboring with many infirmities: a continuous fever, many diseases dysentery and vomiting and his tongue so dry that he could not form a word, and the physicians despaired of his bodily health. He himself and his wife with devotion had recourse to the intercessions of Blessed Thomas, making their vows, and he was suddenly cured.

[31] Ymilia, an old woman, having a swelling in her leg the size of a fist, devoted herself to Blessed Thomas, swelling of the leg, and immediately the swelling receded and she was totally freed.

TITLES OF THE MIRACLES

Excerpted from the manuscript Life of St. Thomas at Milan in the Convent of the Graces, from book 1 of Ambrose Taegius, folio 258.

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (Saint)

[1] Those freed from gout and arthritis. I A certain surgeon, II Nicholas Angeli of Piperno, III Boethius Passagethius of Terracina.

[2] The contracted: I Peter Francisci of Piperno, II a woman of the borough of Bassignano, III Souerr... of the borough of Santa Giustina, IV Hermela of Gravelono, V a girl of Pavia.

[3] Paralytics: I James Romanus, II Maria of the town of Carperito.

[4] Those with fevers: I Thomas Paganus of Piperno, II Raynerius of Babuco, III John of ... IV James of Pastina, V James son of Peter de Riboldo, VI Raynald Bugal, VII Caesarius de Bono, Neapolitan, VIII Humbert, Archbishop of Naples, IX Canon Matthew, X Meliorinus Tachonus, XI Joanninus son of Nicholas Fambertus, XII son of Zaninus of Pavia, XIII Orthinus of Barrocha, XIV Leonard son of Augustine Arsuerus, XV Lechetus.

[5] Lepers: I Thomas of Piperno, II Lord Primus of Cremona.

[6] Those with abscesses: I Bartholomew of Ferentino, II Simon Orsanus, III son of Simon of ... IV Constantia, a girl, V Albertinus of Bobellis, VI Bartholomew.

[7] Various sick persons: I John of Alderico, II Peter of Carellis, III Rochus of Cagnano, Priest, IV Beatrixina wife of Imabertus, V Beatrix of Pavia, VI Peter Turpianus.

[8] Those suffering from the stomach and liver: I John of Leone, II Consus of Terracina, III another freed on a Sunday.

[9] Those vexed with a flow of blood: I Simon George of Pavia, II Robinus of Valeria.

[10] The dying: I Immelina wife of Bernard Gallus, II Beltraminus son of Peter of Capresio, III a boy of four years.

[11] Epileptics: I Beatrixina of fourteen years, II Bertolinus of la Volta.

[12] Those with wasting diseases: I Aldoxina daughter of Zebellus, II Matthew Brachialis.

[13] The blind: I Peter Balia, II Floredensa of Piperno, III daughter of Anexia, four years old, IV Margaret wife of Bartolinus, V James of Capuanis, a knight.

[14] Those suffering in the face, etc.: I Andrew of Perazano, II Andrew of Pavia, of the Third Order, III Theodora, a nun, IV John Caponus, V Augustine of Strata.

[15] Those with rheumatism: I Jacobina wife of Bogognono, II Imilia Limbella, III Helena wife of Peter.

[16] Those suffering from the throat and neck: I James of Monte, II James Marcellucius, III a certain Notary, IV a certain girl, V Tismina of Vezano, VI Margaret, companion of Blessed Sibyllina, VII daughter of Peter Sedanus, VIII Tismina daughter of Robertinus, IX a boy of Tours, three years old.

[17] Those suffering in the arms: I Emmanuel of Piperno, II Leonard of Piperno, III Nicholas de Maximo, IV Alexandra of Piperno, V Peter Grassus, VI a Lay Brother of Fossanova, VII the servant of Lady Simona, VIII Clarina, a nun.

[18] Those suffering from stones and kidneys: I Nicholas of Monte, II Bonacursius, III son of Peter de Medicis.

[19] Those suffering from legs and feet: I a certain poor man, II Nicholas Joannis of Sonnino, III Humbert, Archbishop of Naples, IV James the fisherman, V Roger Cataneus, VI Aemilia of Pavia, VII Walter the Lorrainer, VIII John Panizarius.

[20] Those fallen from a height: I Matthew, Canon of Naples, II a boy, son of Peter Campanilis, III son of Lanfranc Machaeferri, IV son of Martin Maglius, V Pasquina, a pregnant woman.

[21] A husband recovered: Philip, son of Albertinus.

[22] Freed from sleeplessness: Gregory of Piperno.

[23] The niece of John XXII in danger of childbirth.

[24] A noble Countess at Naples freed from infirmity.

HISTORY OF THE TRANSLATION

Of the most holy body of the Doctor of the Church, the divine Thomas of Aquino, in the year 1368, on Sunday the 28th of January, by the order and concession of Pope Urban V, through the Most Reverend Father Brother Elias Raymond of Toulouse, General Master of the Order of Preachers and a son of the convent of Bergerac in the Province of Toulouse, made to the convent of Toulouse of the same Order. By Brother Raymond Hugo of the same Order and a son of the convent of Bergerac, and companion and most trustworthy eyewitness of the same Most Reverend Father Elias Raymond of Toulouse, General Master of the said Order.

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (Saint)

BHL Number: 8161

BY RAYMOND HUGO. FROM MANUSCRIPTS.

From the very ancient manuscript autograph on parchment still preserved at Toulouse by the Preacher Brothers.

CHAPTER I.

Proem: The body twice removed by the Count of Fondi.

[1] To know how the sacred body of Blessed Thomas of Aquino of the Preacher Brothers was translated from Italy, and first from the monastery of Fossanova of the Cistercian Order, and afterward from the castle and city of Fondi, to the Occitan land and the convent of Toulouse, the author of this history an eyewitness, and this through the Reverend Father in Christ Elias, Master of the aforesaid Order and a son of the convent of Bergerac in the Province of Toulouse; as I, Brother Raymond Hugo, a son of the aforesaid convent of Bergerac, who was the unworthy servant of the aforesaid Reverend Father Elias the Master before his Mastership, and during his Mastership continuously attended him, have gathered the things done in the said translation — antecedently, concomitantly, and consequently — as best I could, and afterward the bulls and deeds, various dangers and labors and difficulties, and have put them into this booklet for the consolation of those wishing to know how the aforesaid holy translation was made: and also to counter any who might be envious in the future and wish to object against the aforesaid translation and vitiate it with lies: because by the grace of God and the merits of the said Saint, they will in no way be able to defame it with the truth. However, before I come to the Bulls of Lord Pope Urban V, there are certain things to be noted, just as I learned from Brother Thomas of Sulmona, a truthful man, then companion of the Reverend Father Brother Philip of Teano, Master in Theology and Prior Provincial of the Kingdom of Sicily, to be written here in order. First, the division of matters to be discussed, that in the time of Pope Benedict XI, of our Order, the monks of Fossanova divided and separated the head from the sacred body of the said St. Thomas. Second, how Honoratus, Count of Fondi, with the consent of certain monks, received the sacred body from the aforesaid Abbey of Fossanova. Third, how the said Count, and why, once returned the said sacred body to the said monks. Fourth, how and why the aforesaid Count of Fondi again, after a lapse of time, received the sacred body from the said Abbey of Fossanova. Fifth, how long afterward the said Count of Fondi held the same holy body. Sixth, how the same Count returned the same holy body to our Order. Seventh, who helped in the history are listed. Eighth, how I know all the aforesaid, because I was present at everything.

[2] As to the first, then, it must be said that the monks of Fossanova, as is said in the Legend of St. Thomas, separated the head from the body of St. Thomas, the head separated from the body, so that they could place such great relics in different locations and consequently better preserve them, and if the body were taken from them, at least they could retain the head or the body with them. And it is probably believed and almost firmly held by many that the said monks had the body of Blessed Thomas boiled, and this for three reasons. The first, because the monks greatly feared that the sacred body would frequently be taken from them unwillingly by the Preachers, the body boiled, and especially from the time of Pope Benedict XI, who had been a Preacher. Therefore, so that they could more easily and more frequently move the body of the said saint (who was of very great size in human form, from whose lofty magnitude the said saint while he lived had been called the Great Ox of Sicily) from place to place, and consequently thus keep it with them in perpetuity, they had the said body boiled and thereafter preserved in a small space. The second reason for this is that it is certain that at the translation made after the Canonization in the monastery of Fossanova of the body of the said Saint, about which one reads in the Legend, the said body was intact and entirely incorrupt; from which then by the Abbot and convent of Fossanova the intact right hand was removed at the supplication of the Countess, sister of the said Saint, and assigned to the same sister as precious relics. And since the said hand now remains in the convent of Salerno of the Order of Preachers in that same integrity of flesh and free from all corruption in which it was at the time of the aforesaid translation, hence it is plausibly supposed and firmly believed that in a like and similar manner the entire aforesaid body would now and still remain intact without corruption, if it had not been boiled at some time. The third reason is that the bones of the most sacred body of Blessed Thomas are now of a somewhat red color and appear to have been forcibly separated from the flesh by the force of fire through boiling or other fiery alteration.

[3] As to the second, how the Lord Count of Fondi, Honoratus by name, received the sacred body from the Abbey. I say that in the year of the Lord 1349 or

thereabouts, the aforesaid Lord Count of Fondi was at war with another nobleman, who was then (as I believe) the Lord of Piperno: and the said Lord of Piperno considered that by force or by whatever means he could, he would receive or take away from the monks the sacred body of Blessed Thomas, so that he might afterward sell it to the King of Sicily, named Louis, a most sincere lover of the Order of Preachers, and that he would have money from it with which he would hire men-at-arms, with the help of a monk, and thus would defeat his adversary the Count of Fondi with them. But the often-mentioned Lord Count, learning of this in advance from the revelation of a certain monk of Fossanova who wished to be promoted at the Roman Curia with the favor of the said Count (which monk also knew the place taken away by the Count of Fondi, where the sacred body lay), with the help of the same monk, the aforesaid Count received the sacred body of Blessed Thomas, in the presence of certain of his household members, and especially Brother Jacobellus of Siena of the Order of Preachers, and for two years he reverently kept it in his castle. Our Brothers, however, knowing through the said Brother Jacobellus that the Lord Count had the aforesaid body, went many times to the aforesaid Lord, begging that he return the said sacred body to our Order, since it belonged to the Order. But he was willing to return it neither to our Brothers nor to the monks, nor even to King Louis, who wished to pay him fifteen thousand florins which he owed him: but he wished out of great devotion to keep it for himself.

[4] As to the third, it should be known that it happened at length, after some time, returned, that the said Count went one day for an outing with a certain brother of his, and that brother made his horse run in such a manner that he fell together with the horse and was entirely broken in pieces. The said Count, seeing this, dismayed in spirit, vowed his aforesaid brother to Blessed Thomas in this manner, that if he gave him health, he would return his sacred body to the monks: and this was consequently done. and placed in the bell tower: For the said Count, with the Abbot and one other monk alone and no others knowing, because they so feared the theft that the sacred body of St. Thomas would be taken away, placed it in the bell tower within the wall.

[5] As to the fourth, it should be known that after a lapse of time, taken away again by the Count of Fondi: when the said Abbot and monk who alone had been present at the aforesaid return had died, the said Lord Count, at the prayers of our Brothers, again secretly received the said sacred body from the monks in this manner. The aforesaid Count came one day at a late hour to the aforesaid monastery of Fossanova, pretending that he feared his enemies who were then quite nearby: therefore he asked the monks for the bell tower to sleep in for that night for his safety, which they very freely granted him. And when the Count was in the bell tower, he went to the place where he had previously placed the sacred body, from which he extracted it with iron instruments which he had brought with him for such a task: and the said Count nevertheless arranged with the monks that the bells should be rung for a certain reason which he told the monks. In truth, however, the said Count really intended, though he did not say so, that the bells should be rung so that the sound of the instruments would not be heard when the sacred body was being forcibly extracted from the tomb: and thus on the said night, the sacred body having been received, in the morning the said Count departed with the body of the said Saint without bidding his host farewell. The monks, however, did not notice this, but closed the door of the bell tower until the Sacristan needed to go there for the ringing of the bells: and when he went up and found mortar on the floor, he reported to the monks: who, hearing this, greatly astonished and thunderstruck, immediately realized that the deed had truly been done; but on account of the rumor of the people they kept silent and closed the said tomb and placed it more secretly.

[6] As to the fifth, it should be known that the Lord Count then held the sacred body for a good ten years and more in his castle, the city of Fondi, within his own chamber, where Blessed Thomas appeared to the Lady Mother of the said Count who was ill, saying that her son did not keep his body with such reverence as he ought: because he kept it without a light. And then St. Thomas touched the said Lady and healed her: and from then on they placed his sacred body in a chapel and with a light reverently. that it be given to the Order of Preachers, And after a year St. Thomas appeared again to the said Lady, saying that he was not yet in the place where he ought to be, and she told her son the Count, and then the said Count dealt with Brother Philip of Teano, Master in Sacred Scripture and Provincial of the Province of the Kingdom of Sicily, who was then begging him to return the sacred body to the Order: and he responded that this was a very great matter, and that he would hand it over to no one except the Master of the Order, discussion with Simon of Langres, General, and that he wished to know well how and in what manner. The aforesaid Provincial, hearing this, wrote a letter of credence to the Master of the Order who existed at that time, namely Brother Simon of Langres, through his Definitor, Brother Francis de Vigilijs: and the aforesaid Count likewise wrote another letter of credence through the same Brother and Definitor of the General Chapter, which was to be celebrated at Nantes by the aforesaid Master of the Order. But however, in that year there was no General Chapter; because the said Brother Simon, Master of the Order, had during Lent been raised to the Episcopal dignity

Which the aforesaid Master, Provincial, and Prior of Fondi received with very great and undoubted joy. And then the aforesaid Abbot, knight, and squire opened the said reliquary, enclosed in a reliquary, and there showed to the Master of the Order the most sacred body of St. Thomas, long desired, wrapped in most precious and dignified cloths, and they counted its bones and carefully noted them all. Which having been done, all the aforesaid six — three on the part of the said Lord Count, namely the Abbot, the knight, and the squire, and the other three on the part of the Order, namely the Master of the Order, the aforesaid Provincial, and the Prior of the convent of Fondi — placed the said body within another case: in which there were three keys with which all the aforesaid together locked the said case, of which keys the said Lord Abbot had one, the Master another, and the Provincial the third, and they subsequently placed the same case, bound with strong and multiplied cords and specially sealed in various places with the proper seals of the said Lord Abbot, the Master of the Order, the Provincial of the Kingdom, and the Prior of the convent of Fondi, within the said convent in a secure place most secretly. And because the said Lord Count, from such a donation of so sacred a body made to the Order of Preachers, feared being plausibly burdened by the Lord Pope, then newly residing in Rome; deposited in the convent of Fondi: this fear was countered in the following manner. For although all the surrounding nobles certainly knew that the said Lord Count had taken away the body of Blessed Thomas from the monastery of Fossanova, out of shame and fear of the people they did not willingly report this publicly, although they asserted it to be well true in secret: therefore, lest the said Lord Count could be accused by the monks before the Lord Pope (who had been raised from the Order of St. Benedict to the Papacy) for the said offering secretly made to the Master of the Order, the Prior of our convent of Fondi, Secretary of the said Lord Count and who had also been present at the said offering and perfectly knew the tomb of Blessed Thomas in the bell tower of Fossanova from the information of the said Lord Count, went to the monastery of Fossanova, where he had some monks as familiar friends, to whom he secretly revealed that he wished entirely to transfer himself to their Order, and he had sufficient authority for such a transfer. Hearing this, the monks were delighted and familiarly admitted him to their secrets, and he, seizing the opportunity, ascended the bell tower of the same monastery and removed the marble stone from the tomb from which the said Count had long since taken the sacred body, and thus leaving the said tomb open, having explored the empty tomb, he immediately and secretly departed from the aforesaid monastery and quickly went to the convent of Gaeta, where the Master of the Order was awaiting the said Prior. And when he had arrived there, publicly carrying branches with him, at the entrance of the said convent he began to cry out loudly in a great voice: Victory, victory, adding that the body of Blessed Thomas was no longer in the monastery of Fossanova. And thus crying out he came to the Master of the Order, as if the Master knew nothing of the aforesaid, with joy saying thus: Reverend Master, rejoice in the Lord, for I announce to you that the most sacred body of Blessed Thomas has been brought to one of the convents of our Order, where under our power and authority it will be faithfully and securely preserved, until you shall have ordered otherwise. And hearing these things, the Master of the Order with many Brothers went to the choir, where for the giving of thanks he intoned Te Deum laudamus, Te Deum sung at Gaeta: solemnly chanted by the Brothers with the ringing of bells: and furthermore, at the command of the Lord Bishop, all the bells of the town were rung almost through the entire night until morning: and then on the same morning the Lord Bishop of the city of Gaeta came to the convent, and almost the entire town of Gaeta with him, to congratulate the Order on the grace made to it by God concerning the recovery of the body of St. Thomas: Mass on the next day, and also in the presence of the said Lord Bishop together with the entire people of the town, a Mass of St. Thomas was most solemnly celebrated in the convent.

[8] After Mass, however, with all the good men of the town, the aforesaid Lord Bishop with the Master of the Order and the Brothers entered the chapter house: and there with the greatest devotion of his name and his city, he begged the Order and the Master the body requested for the city of Gaeta that it would please the Order that the sacred body of Blessed Thomas might rest with them in perpetuity, alleging many reasons for this, and especially that the same Saint used to say, while he was alive, that he was from the boundaries of the convent of Gaeta, and they wished to venerate the said Saint in perpetuity and firmly promised to do so with all devotion and fitting reverence: and moreover the city on one side offered five thousand florins, and three burghers on the other three thousand florins, for making a shrine for the sacred body: and furthermore the said city obligated itself to provide for sixty Brothers and one Master in Theology with his Bachelor in the convent of Gaeta in perpetuity with necessities, out of reverence for St. Thomas resting there. The Master of the Order, however, giving the greatest thanks for these things, responded that it did not pertain to him but to the Lord Pope alone to dispose of such matters, and so the Master of the Order for the time being, as far as this was concerned, concluded with the Lord Bishop and the citizens of the said city, and hastened to attend to other matters. For on the same day, namely the fifteenth of February, the same Master of the Order wrote to the Lord Pope, to the Lord Cardinal of Ostia of our Order, and to many other Cardinals at Rome, through his companion Brother William of San Blasio of the Province of Provence, and also through other Brothers to the Lady Queen of Sicily, to the Lord Cardinal of Zaragoza then Legate at Naples, to the Lord Philip Emperor of Constantinople, and to certain persons of his kingdom, announcing that our Order had recovered the most sacred body of Blessed Thomas of Aquino. And then certain monks of the monastery of Fossanova, who were then serving the nuns of their Order in the monastery of St. Catherine at Gaeta, sent word to the monastery of Fossanova, announcing that the Master of the Order of Preachers had come to Gaeta and had there shown the greatest signs of joy, because he had the sacred body of Blessed Thomas of Aquino: sought back by the monks of Fossanova: and on account of this, the monks of Fossanova came to the Priors or Rectors of the town of Gaeta, the Bishop, the Canons, and to the entire city, requesting them that since the Master of the Preachers had been there and had brought there the sacred body of Blessed Thomas which he had stolen from them from Fossanova, they should make him return the aforesaid body to them, because it belonged to them. To whom the Lords Priors and Consuls, Capitulars or Aldermen, responded that it was true that the Master of the Order had been here and had made the Saint known publicly; but whether he placed the body here or not, we do not know: if he carried it elsewhere, we do not know: however, supposing it is here, you will not have it, nor will you remove it from this place. Hearing this, the monks returned to the Abbey and then sent a messenger to the Abbot, who was at Rome, announcing that the Master or someone in his name had entered the Abbey and broken into the bell tower and stolen the sacred body of Blessed Thomas.

[9] The Abbot, however, hearing this, immediately hired Lord James of Siena, the Fiscal Advocate, to present this before our Lord the Pope on Ash Wednesday: the General of the Preachers accused of theft before the Pope: which he did, aggravating the deed and saying that the Master had entered the convent of Fossanova, broken into the bell tower, committed sacrilege, and committed theft: all of which was false: but God and Blessed Thomas ordained that it should happen thus. For we were already in great perplexity as to how we could prove that we had the sacred body, because we did not yet have the head. For as I said before, the Lord Count did not wish to be named, and the Master had also sworn to him that he would never reveal him, so that the said monks cried out so much throughout Italy and before the Pope that they well proved our claim: and they gave the said James of Siena, their Advocate, fifty florins of the Chamber, which the Order afterward repaid them when we had the head, as is more fully contained in the instrument of settlement. The Lord Pope Urban, hearing this on Ash Wednesday, when after the Office he was removing his sacred vestments, was exceedingly disturbed, and then he committed this case to the Lord Cardinal of Beaufort, intending that he should immediately give a sentence that the body should be restored and placed where it was before: however, the matter was by God's grace prolonged for a time, and so the offering of the sacred body made by the Lord Count to the Order in the aforesaid manner, as he had desired, was kept concealed. Wherefore the Lord Count himself was on that account in no way troubled by anyone ... The Abbot of Fossanova, however, who was called Lord Raymond and was from Narbonne, deposed the Claustral Prior, the Cellarer, and many other of his Officials: and certain others left the Order and followed the Master, he implores the patronage of various persons at Naples: wishing to kill him. Finally the same Master went to Naples, where he was very honorably received by the Lady Queen, the Lords Emperor of Constantinople and King of Cyprus, who were then there: and also by the Lady Sister Flora the Minoress, niece of Blessed Thomas; and while lodging there, the Master heard of the aforesaid disturbance of our Lord the Pope. Wherefore he begged all the aforesaid and certain Counts of the family of St. Thomas to intercede before the Lord Pope for the Order, because the aforesaid Lady Joanna was then going to Rome to pay her respects to the Lord Pope: which they did, but could accomplish nothing. Then the Master departed Naples with the Lord Cardinal William of Sabina, the Legate, and was in his company up to twenty miles from Rome; because he did not dare to enter Rome, but went to Velletri, he hides at Velletri: where he was for fifteen days, and departed from there the day after Palm Sunday because of Holy Week: where he heard that the Lord Pope on the Vigil of Easter had issued proceedings against the same Master, excommunicating him and those giving him favor, counsel, and aid, and the document had been drawn up. The Master, hearing this, did not know what he should do: whether he should turn aside to other regions or not, or flee to Germany: however, it was concluded in council that he should go to Rome: which he did on the third day after Easter, where he was quite secretly for two days, taking counsel with the Lord Cardinals: he comes to Rome, and afterward went to the Lord Pope on the immediately following Saturday, and six Lord Cardinals had gone before, so that the Lord Pope would not notice that they were there for that reason in favor of the Order or the Master. he approaches the Pope, The aforesaid

six Lord Cardinals were these, namely the Cardinal of Sabina, Beaufort, the Cardinal of Limoges, the Cardinal of Saint-Martial, the Cardinal of Therouanne, and the Cardinal of Ostia: and when the Master entered the chamber, he said: Most Holy Father, good life and long to Your Holiness. The Lord Pope responded thus: he is rebuked: Thief, welcome. Is it you there? And he added: You have stolen the body of St. Thomas. The Master responded: Most Holy Father, he is our Flesh and Brother. By which the Master meant to say that no one steals his own property. And then the Lord Pope received him with the kiss of the foot, the hand, and the mouth: at which all who were present were greatly amazed at so gracious a reception, he is kindly dismissed, and not without reason: for the same Lord Pope had been so disturbed against the same Master of the Order that he had not wished to hear anyone speak of him. And the reason was that he had made a great celebration for him in Rome, and when he departed from him, he had said nothing to him about the matter of Blessed Thomas, which he was negotiating with the aforesaid Count of Fondi, nor could he; because he was bound by oath. For the said Count wished to adorn his city and that the said Saint should remain in the aforesaid convent of Fondi, and he also wished to move his own burial there. The Master, however, did not care where the holy body rested, only that the Order should have it. But God, who does not permit a light to stand under a bushel but upon a candlestick, wished the body of Blessed Thomas to be transferred to Toulouse so as to adorn that city. Note that all the aforesaid Cardinals feared that the Pope would say he would place it back in its original location: which however he did not say, but said: Where have you arranged to put it? The Master said: Most Holy Father, nowhere except according to what shall please Your Holiness. the Pope leaves the disposition of the body And the Pope: I shall do you justice. To which he responded: Most Blessed Father, I shall regard all your justice as grace. And then the Pope exceedingly and par excellence commended our Order above the other Mendicant Orders, in the presence of the aforesaid Lord Cardinals, saying especially: I do not fear heresies, nor their sprouting, while this Order endures. And he invited the Master to dinner on the morrow, he is invited to dinner: which was Low Sunday: on which, before dinner, he gave with his own hand to the Master of the Order three Agnus Dei, and on the preceding day he had given no more to any Cardinal: and so the Master and all the Brothers were then very justly consoled.

[10] That, however, which happened there when the Master on the aforesaid Saturday, namely of the year 1368, first entered the presence of the Lord Pope, I do not judge should be passed over in silence. For when the Master of the Order first entered the chamber where the Lord Pope was to hold an audience that day and found the aforesaid Lord Cardinals on his side, and the Lord Pope had not yet arrived, the Master of the Order, having shown them reverence, said: My Most Reverend Lords, would it not be good for me to withdraw outside, waiting at the door of the chamber until I am summoned by you my Lords: because if by any chance the Lord Pope is disturbed when he comes here and sees me here, I greatly fear he may be more fervently upset: but if he comes here in a happy mood, according to what seems right to you, you may call me. prudent in the said approach to the Pope, Master, we very much approve of this, the Cardinals said. the Cardinals having gone before, And then the Master of the Order went out before the door of the chamber, humbly awaiting the outcome of the matter. And quite soon after this the Lord Pope entered the chamber to give audience to those coming, entirely cheerful. Then the aforesaid Lord Cardinals, well assured by such a sign of cheerfulness about the will of the Lord Pope, summoned the Master through the doorkeeper. But while the Master still had his foot on the threshold of the door, it happened that looking behind him he saw Lord James of Siena, the Fiscal Advocate, and in the case of St. Thomas on behalf of the monks of Fossanova, wishing to enter. Then the Master, entirely terrified, standing somewhat deliberately on the threshold, said to the guard of the aforesaid door, and the Advocate of Fossanova excluded: named Bertrand: Lord Bertrand, if this Advocate who follows enters immediately, our business of St. Thomas will again be disturbed. And Bertrand immediately with one hand rather forcefully pushed the Master into the chamber, and with the other closed the door behind him, and so the said Advocate remained outside. Then immediately Lord Bertrand addressed the Master with this opinion: Lord Master, God loves, as it seems, and approves your action in the case of St. Thomas, which you are presently conducting: because before the Lord Pope now came out of the chamber in which he was sleeping and to come to this audience chamber, while I was with him, he asked me whether many Cardinals were present. To which I responded: Yes. And afterward he said to me: See, make sure that if James of Siena the Fiscal Advocate comes and wishes to enter, you make him wait a long time at the door: from which I certainly perceive, Master (said the said Bertrand) that your action is pleasing to God. Wherefore I shall make the said Lord James wait at the door until you have finished with the Lord Pope. And so by God's grace the Master of the Order was immediately received by the Lord Pope, as is noted above. The Master of the Order, moreover, then said the exclusion of the said Advocate was a true miracle, ascribing it to the merits of Blessed Thomas.

When he had arrived at his chapel, having been somewhat reproved by the Lord Cardinal of Beaufort for his tardy arrival, but afterward confirmed in his purpose and asked not to delay any longer to use the present opportunity, immediately after Vespers of the same feast of Corpus Christi, when the Lord Pope was holding audience for all the Cardinals, he approached him: and then the Master began to speak in these words: Most Blessed Father, I have a matter to plead before Your Holiness concerning our business, if it shall please you; but before I can explain the petition, permit me to put forward two points. The first, that St. Thomas of our Order, at the command of Lord Pope Urban IV, composed the present-day Office. on account of the Office of Corpus Christi made by St. Thomas, And immediately to this the Lord Pope said: I deny this to you; prove it. Then the Master cited the Legend and the common opinion of men. There also the Lord Count of Nola and all the Lord Cardinals, almost crying out, bore testimony that the said St. Thomas had truly and excellently, subtly and wonderfully composed the Office of the feast of Corpus Christi. After this the Lord Pope said that it was true. And he added that Blessed Thomas had a singular grace in writing about the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, and that he had also expounded that chapter "cum Marthae" in the extravagants on the celebration of Masses, which from the time of the same Blessed Thomas the Canonists could treat and safely read, but commonly not so before. And having said these things, the Lord Pope asked the Master about the second point. To whom the Master responded: Most Blessed Father, the second point which I put forward for my purpose is that the said St. Thomas made an excellent exposition on the four Gospels at the command of the said Lord Urban. and the exposition on the four Gospels Then the Lord Pope: I concede this to you. But what do you wish to conclude from this? To whom the Master said: Most Blessed Father, because Lord Pope Urban IV of happy memory imposed the aforesaid labors on St. Thomas, and since you by divine grace are Pope Urban V, I beg that you give the said Saint honors for the aforesaid labors. Then the Lord Pope: What honors should I give him? The Master to this: he asks for the body of St. Thomas, Most Blessed Father, that he may remain with his Brothers, namely the Preachers, who will honor him greatly. But against this the Lord Pope immediately replied thus: And is not my Order of St. Benedict most powerful, and your Order almost nothing for honoring the said Saint? It seems better therefore that he should remain with our monks. Then the Master of the Order with the greatest humility responded: Most Blessed Father, it is most true that the Order of St. Benedict is most powerful, and my Order in comparison with it is like a grain of sand and almost nothing. But it is the case that just as the Order of St. Benedict is most powerful, so it has almost infinite Saints, in honoring whom it should be occupied: and because the Order of Preachers, which, Most Blessed Father, you particularly love, as you have frequently uttered from your most holy mouth, has only two saints, apart from this St. Thomas, whom if you return to the Order, it will honor him supremely among the other Saints.

[13] Having heard these arguments, the Lord Pope, hesitating for a while, after a pause began to speak, commanding and indicating with his hand that all those standing by should draw near to him: and then when all who were in the chapel had quickly approached the Lord Pope, as if about to hear something new, the same Lord Pope gave this decision: We, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and our own, give and grant to you the Master, the Pope grants by solemn donation, and to the Order of Preachers, the body of Blessed Thomas of Aquino, Professed of the aforesaid Order, to be placed at Toulouse or Paris, as shall seem better to the General Chapter next to be celebrated and to the Master of the aforesaid Order. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And all those standing by responded: Amen. And the Master, kneeling at the feet of the Lord Pope, hearing this, gave glory to God and gave thanks to the Lord Pope and to the entire court, both celestial and terrestrial, for so great a gift, as best he could and as it occurred to him: and for the time being he withdrew, to return the next day on the advice of the Lord Cardinal of Sabina, and to give thanks more fully and seriously for today's gift, which he did: and when the thanksgivings were completed, the Lord Pope said: I gave you and your Order yesterday the body of Blessed Thomas, committing to your General Chapter to determine the place, but I have thought that in order to rescue you from the importunity of those soliciting from all sides, I myself choose as the place for the said holy body the church of your convent of Toulouse. And this first, for the Church of Toulouse because it is certain that Blessed Dominic founded the Order of Preachers at Toulouse, and he was an ultramontane, because he was Spanish. Therefore his body ought to be at Toulouse, and yet because in fact it is at Bologna in Italy, even if you were to ask for it by right, I would not grant it to you, because I would not wish to despoil Italy of so great a gift: but instead of it I grant you the body of Blessed Thomas for the Church of Toulouse of your holy Order. Second, for four reasons: because since you have asked that greater honors be shown to St. Thomas, I wish you to carry his sacred body to Toulouse: since I know no city and people anywhere more devout, who will therefore hold that Saint in the greatest honor. Third also, because there is a new University in Theology there, which I wish to be founded on the solid and firm doctrine of that Saint, so that the university of Clerics which is accustomed to assemble every week in your church of the Preachers may follow it by my present command. Fourth, because this most holy Doctor is ornate in his style and sentences, I wish to place his body in the most beautiful and fitting place that can be made: and I know that you have a sufficiently ample and magnificent church at Toulouse. And he granted to the Master of the Sacred Palace, who had come there with the Master of the Order, begging that the entire body of Blessed Thomas be brought to Paris, only the right arm to be sent to the King of France; but to be honorably placed in the convent of the Order at Paris, and the right arm for Paris: where with that holy arm he had written so many and such great things. The Master of the Order also then humbly and cordially begged for this. The Lord Pope immediately granted this, on the condition that the consent of the immediately following General Chapter would accede to this.

[14] And when the concession of the arm was made, the Lord Pope turned to the Master of the Order and questioned him thus: Do you have the head of Blessed Thomas? To whom the Master said: Most Blessed Father, no. Then the Pope: Do you know the head detained at Piperno, where it is? To whom the Master: Most Blessed Father, I do. And where is it? asked the Pope. To whom the Master: At Piperno, in the house of the Lord Abbot of Fossanova under the strongest guard, because it is guarded with four keys, one of which the Lord Abbot holds, another the magistrate of Piperno or the Council, and the other two are kept by the monks. And then the Lord Pope added: I give you the head of Blessed Thomas, that you may carry it together with the body to Toulouse. he grants it to be carried to Toulouse: Then the Master of the Order, entirely suffused with inestimable joys in God, in the Lord Pope, in St. Thomas, and in all the Saints, exulted and gave such thanks as he could to them. Afterward the Lord Pope said that much deliberation was needed as to how the head could truly be obtained from the said place without danger and scandal: and it was concluded by him and the said Lord Cardinal of Sabina that the Lord Pope would deign to think about this during the following night, and the Cardinal himself with the Master of the Order would also consider this, and on the morrow they would return to the Lord Pope. After these things, however, God, from whom come holy desires, right counsels, and just works, as is firmly believed, inspired the Master of the Order that the Lord William of Lordato, the business committed to William of Lordato, a native of Toulouse, present there and the principal Apostolic Collector in the regions of Campania, and a special friend of the Master of the Order, could receive the said sacred head from the said place of Piperno, according to the intention of the Lord Pope and the desire of the Master of the Order, better than anyone else. Wherefore without delay the Master of the Order presented the said Lord William to the said Lord Cardinal of Sabina or Zaragoza regarding this matter. And the Cardinal himself also named him to the Lord Pope as most suitable for carrying out this business: and the Lord Pope gave the said Lord William a special commission with great authority, to compel all persons having the body and head of Blessed Thomas to deliver them entirely to him, and through the same Lord William to faithfully bring them to the Lord Pope, and a Papal Bull given as a special Bull exists about this. By the authority of which Bull the said Lord William bound the Master of the Order and Brothers of the same Order and secular persons to reveal where the body and head of the Divine Thomas were. And when this revelation was made to him, the said Lord William, armed with the aforesaid Apostolic authority, with his wonderful prudence and solicitous diligence, from the convent of Fondi of our Order received the body of Blessed Thomas the body received at Fondi, solemnly and publicly, in and with a precious gilded silver casket, and from the Abbot of Fossanova and the community of Piperno he likewise received the head of Blessed Thomas and the head at Piperno, in and with a precious gilded silver casket. And the said Lord William carried the said sacred body and head of Blessed Thomas, together with the aforesaid Lord Abbot and other notable men of Piperno, to Montefiascone, where the Lord Pope was, with the Lord and God nonetheless disposing, and the watchful care of the Master of the Order specially mediating in this. The same Master of the Order, together with Brother Stephen of Cumba, Procurator of the Order, was personally present before the Lord Pope at the hour when the said Lord William with the said Abbot and the aforesaid notable men of Piperno presented to the said Lord Pope the body and head of Blessed Thomas. And when the Lord Pope had received them with fitting reverence and had immediately caused them to be solemnly placed in his chapel, the aforesaid Master of the Order humbly besought the Lord Pope brought to him, he grants them on the 4th of August that he would deign to give and grant the aforesaid head and body to the Order of Preachers of his most special grace. Which he did, and had them there immediately, namely on the fourth day of August, in the year 1368, in the sixth year of his Pontificate, actually delivered from the said chapel — the said body and head — to the aforesaid Master, through the Most Reverend Lord Cardinals of Therouanne and Mark of the Order of Friars Minor, Bishop of Viterbo, in the presence of many Illustrious persons and others: to the General of the Preachers, commanding

the same Lord Pope commanding and ordering the Master of the Order to carry the said sacred body together with the head to Toulouse, to be placed in the church of the Preacher Brothers: as is more fully contained in a certain Instrument then and there drawn up by two Apostolic Notaries. And the Master of the Order received the aforesaid — namely the body and head of St. Thomas — returned to the Order by the gift of the most high God and the grace of His Vicar on earth, namely the Lord Pope, and placed them with such thanksgiving as he could, and guarded them with all diligence.

CHAPTER IV.

The body of St. Thomas translated from Italy to Toulouse.

[15] After these things the Master of the Order approached the Lord Pope, most humbly beseeching him he prescribes the manner and order of carrying it to Toulouse: that he would deign to grant counsel and patronage concerning the manner of carrying the aforesaid holy body with the head. To which petition the Lord Pope, assenting with a most serene countenance, addressing the Master about this with immense joy, without delay and with all solicitude, ordered as follows: See and attend well that you place the aforesaid sacred body together with the head, with decent cloths, in the same chest, and have our arms painted on the outside of the chest, and have our Bull affixed upon the chest with nails, which we especially wish to arrange for this purpose and give to you: and subsequently after this, have the entire chest covered with black or dark cloth, and place all this in a saddlebag, and arrange that two Brothers carry the said saddlebag: you however shall neither go nor be in any place together with them, but they shall always precede you by half a day's journey, so that you shall always be at dinner where they have immediately before slept, and you shall also be at supper where they have dined: and let such arranged signs be left behind by them, that you may be able to know their good or ill fortune immediately and evidently: and if anything sinister should happen — which God and the Saint avert — you shall without delay remain with the body wherever it may be, and send Brothers or others to me, and I shall repair such defects with the help of God. Having, however, been granted by the Lord, as I firmly hope, a prosperous journey, proceeding to Toulouse, you shall place the sacred body with the head in such a chapel which is called del Feretra: where the aforesaid city will come to meet the said Saint, and from that chapel the city will receive the body and carry it honorably to the church of your convent: and we shall grant indulgences and certain privileges there for that day and for certain other days, out of reverence for St. Thomas, concerning which concessions letters and bulls now exist in the convent of Toulouse: a copy of which is also faithfully noted in this booklet for the consolation of Brothers and the faithful.

[16] At length, however, having obtained permission and the grace of departing from the Curia, the Master of the Order immediately departed, and Brother Stephen of Cumba, Procurator of the Order, with him; but the Brothers William of San Blasio the body carried to Florence, and Peter of Caishillo, together with the said sacred body, proceeded toward Bologna: because the aforesaid Master did not dare to go with the sacred body, lest it be taken from him: but he entrusted it to his other faithful men, of whom no one would suspect that they were carrying it to Bologna, and first passing through Florence, where a miracle is said to have occurred. For when the said Brothers had arrived at Florence, the guards of the gates had the said Brothers and everything which they were carrying and having carried searched with all diligence; because there was then a very strong and fierce war there: yet the donkey which was carrying the saddlebag in which the said sacred body was, which was then being led by the said Brothers before them, was almost entirely unseen, and was in no way touched by the said guards, the donkey unseen by the guards: neither at the gate nor within the city; the said donkey was then invisible to the Florentines within, nor was it much or little searched by anyone outside. And it was then said that after the aforesaid Brothers together with the said sacred body were outside Florence, it became known that the said sacred body had been carried through Florence and was being carried outside Italy: and many armed men immediately set out in pursuit of the said Brothers as they departed, but they were not found by them; rather the Brothers arrived at Bologna without obstacle, then to Bologna, where the Master of the Order narrated all the aforesaid to the Most Reverend Cardinal of Albano, the Apostolic Vicar residing in Bologna, to the glory of the said Saint and the special honor of the Lord Pope, the brother of the said Lord Cardinal: and then the said Lord Cardinal, out of devotion to the said Saint and reverence for the Lord Pope his brother and in favor of the Order, added to the two Brothers who were carrying the said sacred body by the Pope's arrangement, as stated above, Lord Gerard Testa, his auditor and Doctor of Decrees, with a fitting retinue. And the said Lord Gerard, at the expense of the said Lord Cardinal, together with the said Brothers, as far as the place of Ripolis, in the dominion of the Lord Count of Savoy, distant by about ten common day-journeys in wintertime, passing through Pavia and certain lands of the Lords of Milan, to Pavia, carried the said sacred body with all

The Lord, bountiful in mercy and glorious in all His works, committing to our insufficiency the governance of the universal Church, His illustrious Bride, with pious condescension, for the common peace, and placing upon the neck of our weakness the yoke of Apostolic servitude; has willed that we ascend this exalted throne, so that we may willingly and diligently carry out those things which are recognized as tending to the glory and honor of the divine name; and as if from the summit of the highest mountain turning our gaze down to the lowest things, we may more attentively observe what is fitting for the welfare of each ecclesiastical person and their state; and we may more carefully attend to how among them, with the thorns of all litigations radically removed, sincere affection may remain and the solidity of charity may flourish. For to this we have been called by the Lord, to this we continually pour out our thoughts, to this we eagerly devote the efforts of our heart; and that the relics of the Saints may be honorably placed, and the peaceful state of such ecclesiastical persons may be preserved, may rejoice in the abundance of peace, the sentence of excommunication revoked, and may be directed to a saving existence, we willingly expend solicitudes and labors. For recently against all and each who had received from the said monastery the body of St. Thomas of Aquino, which formerly rested in the monastery of Fossanova of the Cistercian Order, of the diocese of Terracina, and their receivers, supporters, and defenders, at the instance of our beloved sons the Abbot and Convent of the said monastery, we made and also permitted to be made various processes containing diverse sentences of excommunication, suspension, and interdict, and other penalties. Since, however, as we have learned from the report of trustworthy persons, from these processes grave scandals and great dangers are presumed similarly to follow in the future, unless we bring aid with a swift remedy; we utterly revoke the said processes and whatever has come from them or because of them, and the aforesaid concession, and we wish them to be considered entirely as if they had never been made; and moreover, intending to increase the devotion of Christ's faithful and to salutarily promote the profit of the souls of the same faithful, which we undoubtedly hope will come from the things written below; it is decreed that the body of St. Thomas is to be carried to Toulouse, and deeming it fitting and proper that the said body of that glorious Saint, who while he lived was a Professed of the Order of Preachers, and as an outstanding Doctor illuminated the universal Church through his most luminous and salutary teachings, adorning it with virtues and forming it in morals, should be placed with the same Brothers; from our certain knowledge, for the praise of God, the exaltation of the Church, and the salvation of the faithful, by the tenor of the present letters we establish and also ordain that the aforesaid body

of the diocese of Sabina, public Notary by Apostolic authority, was present at all and each of the aforesaid while they were thus, as stated above, being done and carried out by the said Lord Cardinals, together with the afore-named witnesses: whence on the present letters sealed with the seals of the said Lord Cardinals, I have subscribed with my own hand and signed with my customary sign, in faith and testimony of all the aforesaid, being called and requested.

Another Bull, by which our Lord the Pope forbids anyone to presume to extract the Body or Head of the Divine Thomas, or any part of the same, from the church of the convent of the Preacher Brothers of Toulouse, after they have been placed there, without permission, etc. And whoever shall do the opposite shall incur the sentence of excommunication, from which he cannot be absolved except by the Pope.

[4] Urban, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God. For the perpetual remembrance of the matter. The nurturing Mother Church, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, raises up the elect of God with special honor and venerates and preserves their bodies, so that they may also be honored by all the faithful of Christ. Since indeed the sacred and venerable body and head of Blessed Thomas of Aquino of the Order of Preachers are by our command, through our beloved son Elias Raymond, Master of the aforesaid Order, about to be transferred to the church of the Preacher Brothers of Toulouse, the body to be kept at Toulouse, and there to be kept and preserved in perpetuity, and to be extolled with all reverence; we, wishing to restrain the audacity of sacrilegious persons with what industry we can, by the tenor of the present letters strictly forbid all and each Clerics and ecclesiastical persons, both secular and regular, and also all laypersons and secular persons whatsoever, of whatever state or condition they may be, even if they shine with Pontifical or any other ecclesiastical or worldly dignity, even if express mention of it should be made in the present letters, not to presume to extract the head or body or any part of the same body or head of the said Blessed Thomas, after they have been duly and honorably placed in the said church, from the convent of Toulouse, or to carry them away from there, without the license and assent of our beloved sons the Master, who shall be in office at the time, and the General Chapter of the Brothers of the said Order, and the Prior and Convent of Toulouse. For if anything is done or attempted otherwise, we by that very fact render it void; and furthermore against all and each who shall carry away, steal, or remove the head or body or part of them of the said Blessed Thomas, after they have been translated or placed, as aforesaid, from the church

[10] A short time after the most holy body had been placed in the house of the Preacher Brothers at Toulouse, the ability to walk conferred: where it now lies by divine providence, and already his extraordinary virtues were becoming widely known; Joanna Danis, of the place of Beaumont, of the diocese of Montauban, vowed her five-year-old daughter, unable and unfit for the gait due to human nature, who had thus continuously remained for a lustrum of that time not without her mother's displeasure, to God and St. Thomas of Aquino, who deigns to provide aid to his devotees. Which having been done, not hesitating in good faith but trusting in the Saint's help, after two days she took the girl in a motherly manner and saw her standing on her own feet, a Cleric rescued from the danger of robbers: and on the third day immediately following she walked by herself without any assistance.

[11] A certain Cleric of the diocese of Cahors, with a pack of books in the company of certain merchants of his country, set out on a journey intending to go to the schools of Toulouse: but while they were on the road, they encountered a group of certain robbers, who rushed upon them in the manner of wild beasts, plundered the merchants in their presence, and molested them with various injuries and blows. But the Cleric, seeing the danger to his temporal goods and indeed to his body imminent, made a vow to God and St. Thomas, that if he and his books should happen to be preserved from the hands of the wicked, he would give a wax book of a certain weight and devoutly visit his tomb as soon as possible. Behold a great wonder. While the fierce ones came, they laid aside their fierce cruelty and forgot their anger, and not only did they inflict no harm on the Cleric, but through the merits of the holy Confessor they provided him help by accompanying him.

[12] Joanna, wife of John de Fargia, of the diocese of Toulouse, had an infant a disease of an infant cured, who for two days could not suck the breast, and all who saw him considered him as dead: and she, affectionately invoking our Saint, prayed for the health of the boy, and promising to place the infant's cloth with a wax image before the tomb of the sacred body, when the vow was made, the boy sucked the breast and recovered.

[13] A certain Religious woman of the Canonesses of St. Saturnin at Toulouse, swelling of the face, who from corrupted blood had contracted a swelling, which growing more and more, seemed at last to take away her sight entirely: and using medicine on the advice of the most skilled physicians, but falling into her illness, she was more deformed in the face than usual: having recourse to the intercession of the Saint, she was immediately relieved, and in testimony of gratitude, going to the tomb of the Saint, she hung up a wax head, from which time she remained entirely freed.

[14] A woman of Muret was so detained by an infirmity of the breast that it rendered her almost senseless, disease of the breast, nor could she bear any remedy: considering the power of St. Thomas over similar sick persons, she had recourse to him with a vow, and was immediately cured from that hour.

[15] A woman of Toulouse, suffering from dimness of sight for six years, blindness, and at last becoming entirely blind, having employed many physicians and very many remedies, and being in no way consoled thereby, soon invoking the Saint with firm faith, her sight was restored to her.

[16] fracture of the arm, A boy of Toulouse, having fallen from a high seat into a depth, and his parents running to him seeing him with a broken arm and near death; after a short while, invoking St. Thomas for the boy, he was restored to life and health.

[17] corrosion of the shin, A certain citizen of Toulouse, having suffered for four full years an infirmity of the shin hideously corroding it, making a vow to God and Blessed Thomas, as soon as he fulfilled it, he was perfectly cured.

[18] an abscess, A certain young man, being detained by an abscess, commonly called a Boss, in one of his shins, so that he not only lost his ability to walk but also languished in his whole body, so that his mother even despaired of his life: pouring out prayers to the holy Doctor for her son, from that hour he began to recover, and after a short time was totally restored to health.

[19] A certain Abbess of the Hermits of St. Augustine, a grave infirmity, having suffered her illness for a year and more, and having applied various remedies, as she asserted, and being in no way relieved, but indeed scarcely being any longer in possession of her senses; considering within herself the power of St. Thomas over those who were ill, since she had already made many other vows and had not benefited, she now vowed to St. Thomas that she would bring barefoot to the tomb a candle and a wax figure of a head: and no sooner did she do this than she obtained health.

[20] sacred fire in the hand, A certain Sister of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, suffering in her hand and thumb a corrosive disease, and by the force of the disease her finger was being consumed along with her hand, and after vows made to Saints Martial and Anthony, whose disease it was said to be, she had not recovered her health; turning to St. Thomas Aquinas and humbly asking to be freed by his intercession, she was immediately and forthwith freed from the infirmity and the horrible wound from which she was suffering.

[21] gout, A certain man named John, from the region of Toulouse, having long suffered swelling in his limbs and, with the gout growing worse by the contraction of the sinews in his shins, becoming deformed, after many other vows made to other Saints, turning to St. Thomas Aquinas and bringing two wax shins before his tomb, he was immediately freed.

[22] blindness, A certain man named Arnold, having been deprived of the sight of his eyes for five years, bearing his disease patiently, when his vow was made to the most Blessed Virgin and St. Thomas, he immediately received his sight; and he brought the wax, as he had promised, marked with the image of his face, to the tomb of the holy Doctor, giving thanks.

[23] A certain man of Toulouse of the best reputation, lethal wounds, named Raymond, sympathizing with his servant, lethally wounded with many wounds, and seeing that his bowels were protruding and there was no more hope of life, devoted him to God, the most Blessed Virgin, and the Holy Doctor: and within two days he obtained health, and both, walking barefoot together and giving thanks, offered the promised gifts of two candles at the tomb of the Saint.

[24] A certain citizen of Toulouse named Roger, gout of the hands, suffering for two years in his right arm and hand from Chiragra, and finding no remedy, having made a vow to St. Thomas Aquinas, was restored to health, and presented a wax arm at the tomb of the Saint in thanksgiving.

[25] When a certain Lord born at Rome, a lethal disease, a knight by profession, saw his little daughter so ill that he felt her lifeless and cold as a stone; a vow having been made by the mother to God and St. Thomas, she was healed. And in the morning with a cloth and also with a wax candle, as she had promised, she went to the tomb.

[26] gout, A certain noble woman suffering from gout, while she was staying with the Lady Duchess of Anjou at Toulouse and could not walk because of such great pain in her feet nor serve her Lady; having made a vow, she was healed, and went to the tomb of St. Thomas Aquinas with a wax shin to be offered.

[27] Raynald Joly, a citizen of Toulouse, a Fuller of the Most Illustrious Prince the Duke of Anjou, pain of the side, struck by an unexpected pain of the right side for four days in such a manner that, having received the Sacraments of the Church, deprived of rest, sleep, and the intake of any nourishment, he was expecting imminent death; having made a vow to the Saint, he immediately received health, and hung a wax image with thanksgiving at the tomb of St. Thomas Aquinas.

[39] Likewise, a certain woman named Nitatrix of Montoulieu at Toulouse, again, fatigued by a horrible pain of the throat, being able neither to speak nor swallow saliva, near death, as it seemed; having made a vow to St. Thomas Aquinas, she obtained the benefit of health quite swiftly.

[40] Likewise, a certain man named Vitalis of Saxis, ill in his whole body and unable to support himself, vowed himself to St. Thomas Aquinas: which having been done, he was most perfectly cured, and visited the sacred body with two wax shins, giving thanks.

[41] another infirmity, Likewise, a certain Shepherd, having a hand so broken that he could in no way use it, a broken hand, and having no other remedy, having made a vow to the Saint, he immediately began to move his hand: and being cured, he adored the holy Relics, offering one wax hand as he had promised.

[42] Likewise, John Pisani of Valencia, a merchant of Catalonia, infirmity of the feet being held ill in his feet from the feast of St. Saturninus the Martyr until the feast of Saints Tiburtius and Valerian, and other remedies having been applied in vain, being commended to the Divine Thomas Aquinas, he was healed within three days.

[43] Likewise, a certain boy of Alto-gradu, recently twisted, and for five days made impotent in his whole body, impotence, as soon as his parents had vowed him to St. Thomas, the next day they found him cured and healed.

[44] Likewise, Brother John de Fabrica, of the convent of Rieux of our Order, disease of the shins, having gravely suffered in his shins for three years, after three days, a vow having been made to St. Thomas, he was cured.

[45] a swollen face, Likewise, a certain boy, son of John de Garrigues, having fallen from a high place and having his face swollen and disfigured so that he could not see, his mother vowed him to St. Thomas: which having been done, the boy immediately opening his eyes, was shortly afterward healed.

[46] Likewise, a certain young man called Stephen of Sarlat, pain of the side and stomach, suffering so gravely in the right side and at the same time in the stomach that he had already lost both speech and all movement; a vow having been made to the Saint, he was immediately cured, and fulfilled his vow as he had promised.

[47] Likewise, a certain Brother named Bermundus of Urbana, a professor of Sacred Theology, of the Province of Provence, a grave infirmity: detained by a grave and sudden illness, having made a vow to the Holy Doctor, promising a certain patrimony for the construction of his venerable tomb, a wondrous thing! he was immediately restored to his former health, and devoutly paid what he had promised.

[48] Likewise, in that very year in which the body of St. Thomas was translated to Toulouse from the regions of Campania by the diligence of the venerable Father Brother Elias, Master of the Order, by the arrangement of the Lord Pope Urban the Fifth of this name, the Archbishop of Braga freed, the King of Portugal held Lord John

if he would bestow the most sacred body upon his kingdom. He added also that it would be just for his kingdom to receive glory from the Doctor's presence, especially since the survivor of those whose most illustrious stock and renowned lineage it had been — namely of the Kings and Counts of Aquino — was then reigning. The Count did not agree with the King, deeming it most unworthy to despoil his own country of so illustrious a treasure, and for the sake of temporal gain to prefer earthly riches to so wonderful a gift. Fearing, however, to provoke the royal power against himself, it is returned to Fossanova, he immediately and secretly replaced the sacred body where he had taken it from, awaiting an opportune time when he could carry it again to his city of Fondi.

[3] After not much time, the aforesaid Count, revolving the design of his mind with a firm heart, again transferred to Fondi, directed by divine counsel and by the prayers and petitions of the Preacher Brothers, went to the aforesaid monastery under a feigned necessity: and spending the night there, he received the sacred body at an opportunity divinely granted, and again took it with him to his city. These things became known to the venerable Father Brother Elias, then Master of the Order of Preachers, a man of great faith, fervent zeal, and firm constancy: who afterward came to Rome, where Pope Urban V of holy memory was residing with his curia. He, having won the good will of Count Honoratus, who had also then come to Rome on community business, sought from him the precious treasure of the sacred body with a request no less just than suppliant. given to the General and the Order of Preachers, What more? The Lord did not disappoint his mind, but after frequent conversations that magnificent Count both fulfilled the duty of justice and heard the desire of the devout Father: namely, bestowing the sacred body of the Doctor upon the same Father and the Order of Preachers, and granting it by an irrevocable restitution. Thus, dearest ones, the precious treasure is exacted from the Egyptians, thus a gem long hidden and lost is found by lighting a lamp, thus the bones of Joseph are brought back to his people. it is placed in their convent, The most sacred body was however placed and located in the convent of Fondi of the Preacher Brothers in the year of the Lord 1367, on the Ides of February, in the sixth year of the Pontificate of the most blessed Pope Urban V, where it rested for only four months.

[4] It should not, however, be passed over in silence what the Lord deigned to show for the verification of the matter and the glory of His Saint. For when the sacred body was being returned to the Preacher Brothers, the religious man Brother Raymond, to Raymond Hugo doubting about the truth of the body, companion and constant attendant of the aforesaid Master of the Order, was anxiously fluctuating with pious zeal: for a grave anguish pressed upon his heart, and his spirit was tormented by a wondrous hesitation, lest a deception should succeed in place of truth, and another body be handed over instead of the Doctor's. These, however, are Your works, O God, just as You permitted Your Apostle to hesitate, so that when the doubting one touched the wounds, he might confirm the proofs of the Resurrection. The Brother therefore spent the following night sleepless, agonizing in the struggle of his spirit, until at the first light of the rising dawn he betook himself to the church, the most certain oracle of truth. And so with all the spirits in his body aroused and all his limbs shaken with a certain stupor, he was running back and forth through the church, or rather being carried: at length, prostrate in the middle of the church, he stood before the Cross for some time, vehemently afflicted. St. Thomas appearing And behold, suddenly with an unexpected joy arising in his mind, raising his eyes to the image of the Crucified, he saw between himself and the aforesaid image, in beautiful form and with a handsome countenance, in the habit of the Preachers, elevated in the air and looking at him with a gracious gaze, the holy Doctor standing before him: and delighted by his gracious appearance, he was refreshed with such joy of heart that the enjoyment seemed not to be of the present pilgrimage but rather seemed to be a certain foretaste of future glory: he rendered him secure: and so it happened that the apparition, departing from his eyes, and the sight of the holy Doctor carried away entirely every scruple of doubt.

[5] Meanwhile the Abbot and monks of the aforesaid monastery, not bearing the injury of the body taken away, hastened to Rome,

out of reverence for your Lordship, he granted to me, the Master of the Order of Preachers, that I might give the arm of St. Thomas to your Highness: which I at present concede to your Serenity, and I swear that it is the true arm of Blessed Thomas of Aquino, and in testimony of this I reverently adore it. And then the King, kneeling, very reverently received it and offered it to the Lord Cardinal of Beauvais to be carried: and so with the aforesaid King accompanying, along with all the Prelates and Princes and all the peoples of the city, hastening on the said day itself to the church of the Preacher Brothers at Paris, all exulting exceedingly with divine praises, they arrived, and there with offerings of gold and silver gifts and other royal ornaments of various kinds, the illustrious King placed the most precious arm of the holy Doctor: and he wished that the chapel of St. Thomas be called the Royal Chapel. At the same time the aforesaid Lord Cardinal sang Mass, and at that time, on account of the multitude of the people, three were actually preaching: for in the church before the King the Abbot of Fecamp preached, in the cloister of the Brothers a Master of the Order of Friars Minor, and in the square of the church a Brother of the Order of Carmelites.

DONATION OF THE ARM OF ST. THOMAS

To be carried to Naples to the church of San Domenico.

From the collection of Antonio Caraccioli, Regular Cleric.

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (Saint)

BHL Number: 8167

To the Brothers most dear to him in the Son of God, Philip of Teano, Master of Sacred Theology, Provincial of the Province of the Kingdom of Sicily, and the others of the same Province of the Order of Preachers, Brother Elias, Master of the Brothers of the same Order, greetings and unity of spirit.

Although by the Lord of happy memory, Lord Urban, by divine providence Pope the Fifth, the bones of the Virgin Body of the outstanding Doctor St. Thomas, giving off a wonderful fragrance, were bestowed upon our Convent of Toulouse, with divine Clemency favoring us, which appears so glorious in miracles in His Saint there, that the faithful people undoubtedly hold that place to have been eternally chosen for the glory of His Saint; yet having diligently considered the purpose of the same Saint, and the affection of your innate devotion toward him, as well as the duty of our gratitude, and hoping that the regions of his own origin may flourish again with the revived joys of miracles, and that those saddened by his absence may be relieved by the remedy of singular consolation; by the will and assent equally of the Definitors of the General Chapter, celebrated at Toulouse in the year of the Lord 1372 on the Feast of Pentecost, May 16, as well as of the Prior of the convent of Toulouse and of the same convent unanimously and in concord, we transmit to you with a joyful and benevolent spirit the true bone of the arm, from joint to joint intact, of the wonderful Doctor St. Thomas, through our faithful and beloved sons, Brothers Francis de Vigilijs, Definitor of the said Chapter, and Nicholas of Penne, Master of Sacred Theology, of the aforesaid Province of the Kingdom; to be placed by the Prior Provincial and those carrying it in your aforesaid convent of San Domenico at Naples, to be preserved there in perpetuity. You therefore, exulting in the consolation of so great a gift, venerate it with due honor, and arrange that God Himself may receive praise, the Saint glory, and you yourselves may gain the grace of God and the Order and my own, and a good fame and name among other men. In testimony of which I have ordered my seal of office to be affixed to the present letters. Given at Toulouse in the year stated above, on the 28th day of May, in the Tenth Indiction, in the second year of the Pontificate of the most holy Father in Christ and our Lord, Lord Gregory, by divine providence Pope the Eleventh.

ANALECTA

Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Order of Preachers (Saint)

Section I. The singular veneration of St. Thomas at Naples, received as Patron. Papal Bulls.

[1] How great was always the esteem of the most religious superiors of this Order of Preachers among the citizens of Naples is most clearly shown by the fourteen convents of this

We pray that prosperous and happy things may befall our most Invincible and most August King Philip, all the Orders of the Fathers, and the Neapolitan people, according to all our wishes. Therefore, that it may be known to all, today the 20th of the month of January of the year 1605, in the Third Indiction, constituted in our presence: Fulvius Constantius, Marquis of Corleto and Regent of the supreme council at the side, John Simon Moccia, those deputized for this purpose, Horatius Ligorius, Marcus Antonius Mormilis, Alphonsus Ligorius, Francis Mormilis of the Seat of Portanuova, Felix de Marra, Marcus Antonius Caracciolo of the Seat of Capuana, John Paul Sanfelice, Fabius Surgens, Caesar Carmignanus son of the late Renaldus, Charles Miroballus, Horatius Muscetola of the Seat of Montagna, Don Caesar Pappacoda, Fabritius Tuttavilla, Jerome Macedonius of the Seat of Porto, Ascanius Carafa, Claudius Milan, Alonsus Brancatius of the Seat of Nido, Anellus de Martino, Francis Imperatus, Doctor of Both Laws, Horatius Campansile, Doctor of Both Laws, Octavius de Martino, Doctor of Both Laws, James Pintus, Francis Pavellus, John Jerome Romanus, and Anthony de Jacobo, Deputies for the most faithful people appointed by this most faithful city of Naples, present in the temple of San Domenico before the high altar, with a most crowded assembly of Nobles and an almost innumerable multitude of both citizens and foreigners, the aforesaid Deputies publicly declared that this most faithful city of Naples had long desired with the greatest eagerness and wished that St. Thomas of Aquino, they set forth their commission, the Angelic interpreter of the divine will, distinguished for the holiness of his life, his miracles, and his learning, should be numbered among the tutelary Patrons of the city: so that in addition to Januarius, Athanasius, Asprenus, Agrippinus, Severus, Eusebius, and Anellus, by the added prayers of St. Thomas also, the all-powerful and merciful God might avert all evils and bestow blessings with a full hand. To the reasons for desiring this patronage, besides those which can be common with others, these also were added: that from this very city, from the most noble family of the Aquini, he traces his origin; that here he was first educated in learning; that he spent a good part of his life in this city and sacred house, during which time he embraced all the citizens with singular devotion and publicly taught them sacred letters; that here also he merited to hear that divine oracle: You have written well about Me, Thomas. Wherefore, the matter having been communicated to the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord, Lord John Alfonso Pimentel de Herrera, Count of Benevento, the best and most outstanding Viceroy, he not only gave permission but also encouraged it, pledging his efforts before the Supreme Pontiff, and afterward promoted the whole matter with singular piety. Finally the most holy Lord Clement VIII, Supreme Pontiff, moved by the prayers of the city, and the assent of the Pope: having praised its zeal and piety, granted it the fulfillment of its wish, having transmitted to this most faithful city and those same Deputies the below-written Apostolic letters in the form of a Brief. Wherefore the aforesaid Deputies, wishing to fulfill its will in the name of the city, receive Thomas of Aquino, the Angelic Doctor, as Patron and Protector, and inscribe him among the other tutelary Saints of the city, and humbly and earnestly beseech the same Saint to pour out continual prayers for it to God, they inscribe St. Thomas among the Patrons: and to vindicate and protect the city from plague, famine, and war and other misfortunes. And to fill the citizens and inhabitants, received into his faith and protection, with every kind of good, and especially to obtain for us the divine service. Furthermore, to protect and foster Philip III, our King, the most vigorous Defender of the Catholic faith, with his Offspring, and to bless and direct his holy and just will, and to pray for him a long and happy life. Finally the aforesaid Deputies bring to the most august image of the same St. Thomas, which the faithful of this city bestowed upon the Brothers of the Dominican Religion, they bring a statue with relics, and a part of his right arm, with which by writing he routed heresies and illuminated sacred letters, placed in a silver case, to that chapel of the great temple which we call the Treasury,

we rejoice greatly in the Lord that it is increasing more and more day by day: and to those things which have been devoutly decreed for his honor, so that they may remain firm and inviolate, we willingly add the strength of Apostolic confirmation. For at another time, after the beloved sons, the Deputies and Elect of the city of Naples, besides Saints Januarius, Athanasius, Asprenus, Agrippinus, Severus, Eusebius, and Anellus, the established Patrons of the said city, had also decided, by praiseworthy counsel, to add St. Thomas of the Order of Preachers, the Angelic Doctor, sprung from the noble family of the Counts of Aquino, whose birth the aforesaid city gave rise to, and who in the noble Kingdom of Naples was distinguished both for the grace of holiness and miracles and for the praise of his doctrine, to the said Holy Patrons; Pope Clement VIII of happy memory, our Predecessor, greatly commending in the Lord the piety and counsel of the said Deputies and Elect, confirmed the election made by them by his letters in the similar form of a Brief with Apostolic authority, and established and commanded in perpetuity that in the future the same St. Thomas should be numbered among the other Holy Patrons of the aforesaid city, and also that by the entire secular and regular clergy of both sexes of whatever order of the same city, the Office of the same St. Thomas should be recited publicly and privately as of a Patron: and he ordained that the anniversary day of the translation of the arm of the said Blessed Thomas from the church of San Domenico to the Metropolitan church, he transfers the feast of the Translation of the arm to January 19, which was the twentieth of the month of January, should be celebrated as a feast of precept and with the double Office in the city and diocese of Naples. And since it was subsequently discovered that under the same twentieth day of January fell the feast day of St. Sebastian the Martyr, who is likewise celebrated with the double Office, and for this reason the feast of the translation could not be celebrated on the same day in the aforesaid manner; We, inclined by the petitions of the same Deputies and Elect, then presented to us, by other similar letters of ours transferred the annual celebration with the double Office in the city and diocese of Naples to be held each year according to the rite of the Roman Breviary to the nineteenth day of January, and granted and permitted that in the aforesaid city and diocese each year in perpetuity on the 19th of January the feast of the translation of the arm of St. Thomas of Aquino could be celebrated according to the prescribed rite of the Roman Breviary. And afterward (as was recently set forth before us in the name of the same Deputies and Elect), the Deputies of the same city, assembled in the church of San Domenico of the aforesaid city, in the name of the whole city, and with a most crowded assembly of Nobles and

who was ministering to the aforesaid Father Master Innocent, on the night preceding it seemed to him that he was dragged from his bed, and while waking up he seemed to hear the sound of a little bell. When these things were reported to me, there immediately came to my memory what had happened to me at that morning hour when I had given the potion to the sick man: for, going out from the confines of that chamber into the open corridor to catch the fresher air, meanwhile until the time of the expected evacuation should arrive, and there reciting my customary prayers, I heard the vehement sound of a certain little bell, caused by the frequent and rapid striking of a hammer, as happens when it is not moved by the reciprocal pulling of a rope but by the hand of one summoning the people to arms. This unexpected sound so struck me that I trembled in all my limbs: and as soon as I recovered my breath, I turned around, to see if I might perhaps be able to judge whence that signal had come, and I tried to persuade myself that the bell which they call the Chapter bell had been rung, placed not far from the Bell of St. Thomas. But neither would that bell, moved by the pulling of a rope as usual, have sounded in this manner, nor could it have imitated with its threatening sound the distinctive voice of silvery clarity: so that I can think nothing else than that this was the same ringing which the aforesaid Brother had heard at the same time. And these are the things which, to the glory of God and the honor of St. Thomas Aquinas, our Protector, I can testify. The corridor, moreover, in which I was then walking, was so near to the said little bell and offered so unobstructed a view of it that, turning suddenly, I could have seen whether anyone's hand was striking it: yet I saw no appearance of any living person.

[12] I also testify and declare to the honor of God and the glory of the said St. Thomas wishing to strike the bell with a cane, that in years past the Prior of this convent, Father Ambrose Palomma, a Neapolitan, moved by pious curiosity, ascended the bell tower to strike the aforesaid bell of St. Thomas with a cane which he held in his hand (Father Brother Francis d'Ensa of Montecorvino vainly dissuading him from doing so): and when he was just about to touch the sacred bell, he is punished with trembling and disease: a sudden chill struck his flesh and arm; and he, terrified by a trembling of his whole body, had to desist from his attempt: and on the same evening I learned that he was lying ill from a disease which he suffered for a long and dangerous time: but when he had begged pardon from the Saint for his fault, I believe that by the intercession of the same, his health was restored to him. I could also commemorate another example of a certain Lay Brother who, having been placed beyond hope of life for three days, deprived of all motion and sensation, and with his whole body completely cold, while in the meantime no sign of that bell was heard, at last recovered and after some time

she may legitimately be called Blessed by those who wrote her life and praises, having died in the year 1530: about whom it is fitting meanwhile to record in this place that on the vigil of the holy Doctor, gravely assailed by a demon, she rolled herself naked in thorns; and when she more ardently prayed to the Saint to deign to gird her also, she soon felt her loins bound with such force that the excessive bodily pain even compelled her to cry out.

[20] But to return to the Vercelli belt, and to be able to pass on to the institution of the Angelic Militia propagated from it, the efficacy of the Vercelli belts: it is fitting to present here the testimony of Camillus Quadrius, serving as Vice-Rector in our Society's College at Vercelli in the year 1644, given in these words on the 13th of March: Through the belt of the most holy and equally most wise Thomas Aquinas, it is not within the scope of my present purpose to recount all the most frequent benefits bestowed on others: they are such as would befit entire volumes. That, however, I cannot deny: that with many belts fashioned in its likeness and sanctified by its touch, I have experienced in people of every age and sex things which can be attributed only to the intercession of St. Thomas. Father Aurelius Corbellinus of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine and Consultor of the Sacred Inquisition at Vercelli asserted the same, and mentioned in particular one woman who had been given to lust for many years and could not be recalled from immodesty by any admonitions of the afore-named Father Cyprian, until the Father persuaded her to bind her impure loins with the belt of the Thomistic Zone; and when she did so, within a few days she who had been a public incentive to lust was turned into a mirror of continence: and this, says Corbellinus, we saw with our own eyes, heard with our ears, our hands touched, and we confirmed with a particular seal in the name of the Lord.

[21] the laws of the Angelic Militia, By these and other proofs, which the afore-named Deurwerder presents more fully in his own words, he was confirmed in the purpose which he had conceived at Rome and about which he had conferred with the Master General of his Order, Vincent Candidus, of establishing among his Belgian countrymen a sodality called the Angelic Militia under the belt of chastity of St. Thomas Aquinas, which, with the approval of the Ordinary, he would bind by these laws: I All who are about to serve under the heavenly belt of the Angelic Doctor shall take care to have their names inscribed in a book prepared at the house of the Preacher Fathers, so that they may be made partakers of indulgences and prayers. II On the very day of their admission they shall expiate their sins by a salutary confession, refresh their soul with holy communion, and resolve that they will always preserve chastity of mind (as the nature of their state shall require). III The belt of this militia, made of snowy white thread and marked with fifteen knots, after it has been blessed by the Reverend Father Director, they shall continually wear openly or concealed around the loins of their body. IV Daily in honor of St. Thomas, for their own and all who serve under him