Martyrs Petronius the Bishop

ON THE HOLY MARTYRS PETRONIUS THE BISHOP, MODESTUS, DOMITIANUS, EUSTASIUS THE PRIEST, CARPUS, FIRMUS OR CONFIRMUS, PAUL, MACEDONIUS, PATRICIUS, FELICION, JOVINIANUS, HILARIUS, CONCESSUS, AND BASILISSA, WHO SUFFERED IN ASIA.

Petronius, Bishop, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Modestus, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Domitianus, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Eustasius, Priest, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Carpus, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Firmus, or Confirmus, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Paul, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Macedonius, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Patricius, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Felicion, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Jovinianus, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Hilarius, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Concessus, Martyr in Asia (S.)

Basilissa, Martyr in Asia (S.)

[1] In the very ancient codex of the library of Queen Christina of Sweden, marked 313, after the other Saints whom we have treated, we read the following: "In Asia, of Petronius the Bishop, Modestus, Domitianus, Eustasius, Priests." These were excerpted from that codex by Holstenius and published in his Observations on the Roman Martyrology. The same four, with their dignity prefixed, are inscribed in the Martyrology of S. Jerome, and more names of Martyrs are added, namely Carpus, Firmus, Paul, Macedonius, Patricius, Felicion, Jovinianus, Hilarius, Concessus, or in other readings, Confirmus, Jovianus, and Patricia. Of these, in the Tallaght manuscript, mention is made of Macedonius, Jovianus, and Felix, who is above called Felicion. In later sources the name of Basilissa is added, and indeed in two as the daughter of Conis or Cionis, or rather, as it reads in our ancient manuscript: "of Eustasius the Priest, Basilissa the daughter, Cionis"—so that "daughter" could refer to either. In the Martyrologies printed at Paris and Lucca it reads: "Of Eustasius the Priest, Basilissa his wife, Felicion, etc." In the Blumian manuscript: "Of Basilissa, wife of Felicion." But a difficulty arises from the fact that in four copies of S. Jerome, on the following day, 13 March, in the first place Martyrs of Nicomedia are recorded, among whom mention is made of Eustasius the Priest and Basilissa his wife, as is read in the Parisian edition and the Blumian manuscript. But since in the other two codices the name is "Basilla," and in one without the added word "wife," we confess the reading is doubtful to us, unless greater light is shed on these obscure matters from elsewhere.

ON S. PAUL, BISHOP OF LÉON, AMONG THE ARMORICAN BRETONS, A.D. 573.

HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.

Paul, Bishop of Léon among the Armorican Bretons (S.)

§ I. S. Paul's See, Acts, Translation.

[1] After the Saxons, having turned their arms against the Britons whom they had come to defend against the violence of the Picts and Scots, had driven the remnants of the Roman name and the Christian faith—partly to seek other settlements among the Armorican Bretons, partly into the extreme corners of the island (which are now called by the names of Wales and Cornwall)— Britons driven out by the Saxons nearly two centuries passed before they subjected the remaining part of the British dominion to their rule. The Britons, meanwhile, neither in their homeland nor in exile found so safe a refuge from the barbarians that in the former they were not continually worn down by the incursions of the victorious people, and in the latter they did not have to contend with the piratical fleets of the Danes, by whom the coasts of lower Armorica, facing the British ocean, are said to have been occupied, according to the annals of that people; to the Armorican Bretons until they were driven out by a certain Rivallo, who at the time of Clothar, King of the Franks, was leading a new colony of refugees from Cornwall and neighboring regions: who, with no one opposing him, claimed for himself the kingdom or principality of those parts, and named it Domnonea after the ancient name of his homeland.

[2] The inhabitants of this region in former times were called Osisimi by Caesar and Ptolemy, They occupy the district of the Osismii: Osismii by Mela, Sismii by Solinus, and perhaps by Strabo as well, although now Timii is read in him: their chief settlement was called Osissimum by Antoninus, but by the Britons themselves Ocismor; it is then believed to have been called Legio from a Roman Legion once stationed there for the defense of the Armorican coast, as others were elsewhere: now it bears a nobler name from S. Paul, its first Bishop, and is commonly called the city of Saint Paul of Léon, whose capital then takes its name from S. Paul. Saint Paul de Léon. For the name of Léon or Legio is retained by the entire diocese, extending from north to south and forming the extreme corner of Gaul projecting into the Ocean: the more western part of which is called by the name of the district of Ach in the Acts of S. Paul, while the other part is assigned to the district of Léon.

[3] Over this region Withurus, Count by the benefaction of Childebert, King of the Franks, is said to have presided when S. Paul arrived there: Counts appointed by the Franks whence I conclude that these Kings or Princes of lower Letavia (for this name too prevailed among the Britons), descendants of Rivallo, were to some extent subject to the power of the Franks, just as the others descending from Conan. Hence, when Count Comorus, given as successor to Withurus by the same Childebert (as it seems), had removed Jona, Rivallo's great-grandson, and had cast his son Indwalus into chains, S. Samson is said to have fled to Childebert, as supreme lord, for the purpose of obtaining justice, in the Acts to be presented on 28 July. Hence also, when S. Paul was consecrated Bishop, Childebert subjected to him the districts of Ach and Léon; Indwalus, nevertheless restored to liberty and his ancestral domains, either first bestowed upon S. Paul the possession of the city itself, or ratified a donation made by another.

[4] Whether, moreover, Indwalus and others who preceded or followed him, whether here or in upper Letavia, besides whom there were other hereditary Kings are to be honored with the royal title, there is much contention between Frankish and Armorican writers: the latter asserting that the descendants of Conan and Rivallo both were called and could be called Kings, by the same right as the last of the Merovingian blood—in reality shadows of Kings rather than Kings; the former denying it, because S. Gregory of Tours, book 4, chapter 4, says that the Britons were always under the power of the Franks after the death of King Clovis, and were called Counts, not Kings.

Nor is the prejudice slight for this opinion, taken from the very Acts of S. Paul, which the author professes to have received from British writings, or Dukes they had. who would not have omitted mentioning Kings had he found any called by that name. Yet he does not call Indwalus a Count (as others are called, both here and in Gregory of Tours, holding the territory of one larger city under their rule) but "the most noble Duke of a great part of the Domnonean homeland." So that he seems to make some distinction between those who, by right of hereditary succession, ruled more broadly—whether in reality or only in name—and are sometimes read to have assumed for themselves the title of Kings; and others who held power in Armorica by the free appointment of the Frankish Kings or by violent usurpation.

[5] The Acts of S. Paul If Albert le Grand had simply translated the aforesaid Acts into the French language, he would find more credibility in the Lives of other Saints, which he says he received from similar Acts. But now, when he adds on his own that S. Paul, designated for the Episcopate, was not sent to King Childebert but to Indwalus, who happened then to be at Paris in the court of Childebert, with whom Indwalus, as a matter of honor, communicated the business commended to him by Withurus—he makes himself suspect to us, lest there be no Life among his writings that he has not similarly interpolated and fitted to his chronology and his preconceived opinions about the succession of British Kings, as well as to uncertain popular traditions. We have received these Latin Acts from two manuscripts, collated received from manuscripts, with a fragment of the same published by Boscius in the Floriacensis Library, and two other manuscripts that, by cutting back the prolixity of sentences here and there, narrate the same events in a more abridged form and in nearly the same words. Of the complete text, one copy was sent to us from a manuscript codex of the monastery of Vaux-de-Cernay in the diocese of Sens by the Reverend Father Petrus Franciscus Chifflet; the other from the parchments of a certain Senator of Rouen by the Reverend Father Frederick Flouet, both priests of our Society. Of the other two manuscripts, one we have from the manuscript collections of Nicolas Belfort, the other we received from Armorica from the Reverend Father Jacques Bernard, also of our Society—much more condensed than the former Belfort copy, and mutilated in nearly the latter half; which in the notes we shall sometimes call the third manuscript.

[6] The author being a Floriacene monk. The author of these Acts indicates in the very preface that he is a monk of that monastery which had been endowed with the precious gift of the saint's body when he wrote: and this monastery is read to have been the Floriacene in a fragment of the History of France, published by François du Chesne, in which it is said: "In the time of this man (namely Abbot Wulsad), Mabbo, a Bishop of the Bretons, from the town called Saint Paul's, brought the body of the same holy Bishop Paul to the monastery of Fleury, with many ornaments." Albert nevertheless, concluding the Life of S. Paul, says: "The precious treasure did not long lie hidden underground, God making it known by frequent miracles: moved by which, Golvenus, successor of Cetomerinus, Not to the monastery of S. Florentius, raised the sacred body from the tomb, and wished the venerable bones, enclosed in precious caskets, to be reverently placed among the other relics of Saints with which the Church of Léon is fortified and adorned: where they were preserved and honored by a great concourse both of Bretons and of pilgrims, until the year of grace 878; when, the Danes having invaded Armorican Brittany and ravaging everything sacred and profane with fire and sword, Liberalis, then Bishop of Léon, carried the relics of S. Paul to the monastery of S. Florentius; where they remained until in the year 1567 the Huguenots, having seized that monastery, converted the caskets, rich in gold and silver, into plunder, and either impiously scattered the relics or sacrilegiously consigned them to the fire."

[7] As Albert reports, contradicting himself, Thus Albert, with great confusion of persons and times, very much in apparent contradiction with what he himself writes, both before and after, in the same work on the Saints of Armorica. For in the Life of Felix the Abbot on 9 March, he narrates a votive pilgrimage of the same Saint to Fleury to the bodies of SS. Paul and Benedict; but here he writes that the journey was undertaken to the monastery of S. Florentius. Moreover, in his Catalogue of the Bishops of Léon, he says that Liberalis was deposed from the Episcopate in the year 855 at the Council of Rennes on account of the vice of simoniacal promotion, and, fearing worse, secretly returned to the city of Léon, and thence furtively took away the relics of S. Paul; but to Fleury, and having placed them in the monastery of Fleury, betook himself to Charles the Bald—without any mention of a Danish invasion, which from the year 843 to 862 of the same century is recorded as having been of no memorable significance. Then, when he comes to Bishop Mabbo, ordained in the year 940, he cites Claude Robert in his Gallia Christiana, asserting that this Bishop made the translation of the sacred body to Fleury—the very thing he had written in the aforementioned Life of S. Felix.

[8] Partly by Bishop Liberalis, In which Life, however, lest he seem to contradict what he had said about Liberalis, he notes that this passage is to be understood concerning the remaining part of the sacred body: and this explanation is supported by the Acts, number 47, where it says: "His body, remaining intact and incorrupt for many ages... preserved for a long time the appearance and integrity that it seemed to have when the soul was taken up: but for what reason it is now divided, is by no means to be inserted into this work." The writer here hints, therefore, at a division of the body, and by keeping silent about the cause of making it, he sufficiently suggests that the cause was not such as would be fitting for Vitalis, the apparent author of this division, to commit to writing. Concerning Mabbo, however, the matter stands differently: partly by Mabbo. for since the Normans in the year 912, through the cession of Charles the Simple, peacefully entered into possession of the regions they had occupied, claiming by the same cession that supreme power over the Bretons belonged to them, they began to harass them with continual incursions; and indeed in the year 944, Frodoard writes and Albert admits that the Bretons were slaughtered by the Normans and Dol was occupied—although Argentré greatly objects, wishing to argue that that disaster pertains to the year 1208; but that at this time and for many years afterward the Bretons were free, the barbarians having been expelled from the whole province.

[9] But just as nothing prevents the city from having been captured in both years, so the silence of the Breton writers or of Crantzius, on which Argentré relies, is not a sufficient argument for that victory to be regarded as fictitious: After the disasters inflicted by the Normans in the year 944. especially if five years before this, the Bretons had expelled the victorious Normans from all of Armorica, as he himself says. For who would believe that a people unaccustomed to being conquered did not bend their minds toward every opportunity of avenging themselves as soon as possible? And indeed Frodoard says that the Normans were defeated in battle by the Bretons in the year 939, and a certain Norman castle was captured: the joy of this victory was such that the Bretons thenceforth observed 1 August as a festival, according to Argentré, who perhaps exaggerates that victory beyond the truth. But the Bretons gave the Normans an occasion not to keep the treaties that followed, being divided among themselves by the discord of Berengar and Alan; "attacked therefore by the enemy" (says Frodoard, who died in the year 966—so that Argentré's evasion to the disaster of 1208 is ridiculous) "and worn down by great slaughter: their city, named Dol, was captured, and the Bishop of the same city was crushed and killed by the press of the crowds fleeing into the church. The Bretons then, having repaired their forces, entered into battle, in which the Normans seemed to have been superior. Finally, a third engagement being joined, a great multitude fell on both sides: the Normans, having gained the victory, slaughter the Bretons to destruction, and disperse them from their own land; and the Normans themselves, who had recently come from overseas regions, invade their territory."

[10] And so, after these disasters and the Norman invasion of Armorica that followed (for repelling which the Bretons had no forces remaining), Mabbo, looking about for safer places, betook himself to Fleury, to Wulfald, whom, after Arcambald had already then succeeded Odo, who was taken from this world in the year 937, we gather from this passage to have been already in office, although no certain beginnings of his rule are recorded. And this Mabbo, "a Bishop of the Bretons," as the author of the aforementioned fragment speaks, Albert le Grand asserts to have prolonged his life thereafter until the year 995 of that century, but without testimony he will have difficulty persuading anyone—especially because from Claude Robert (whom the Sammartan brothers follow) he wishes it to be believed that Paulinianus, a Bishop of Brittany, subscribed to a diploma for the restoration of the monastery of S. Peter of Vallée in the year 954, and Paulinianus having been ordained, was Bishop of Léon. For it is asserted entirely without foundation that Paulinianus and Mabbo are the same person: for even if it were established that Mabbo lived so long, it would nevertheless be much more probable that Mabbo, wearied by the tedium of hostile incursions and the desire for monastic quiet, abdicated the Episcopate and transferred it to Paulinianus. This, at least, is suggested by Chapter 11, book 3 of the Miracles of S. Benedict, authored by Aimoin of Fleury, where the translation of S. Paul is reported in these words:

[11] "S. Paul, in the place of Brittany called the Town, illustrious for many virtues in his life, there merited burial by divine designation: whose body, having become a monk, after long ages had passed since his death, was translated by Mabbo, the Bishop of that place, to this our monastery of Fleury. The sequence of this translation, because the occasion presented itself—although it was accomplished many ages ago—just as we learned it by hearing from our predecessors, we have thought worthy to relate. The aforementioned venerable Bishop Mabbo, inflamed with divine love for the contemplative life, was uncertain in his mind as to where he might best fulfill his purpose: and it was divinely inspired to him that nowhere could he accomplish this more suitably than in the presence of the Body of our most holy Father Benedict, who would be the leader and standard-bearer of that way of life and having died at Fleury. which he desired to follow. Having therefore taken the Gospels and a not inconsiderable collection of sacred vestments, together with the most sacred body of the excellent Bishop Paul, he arrived at the dwelling he desired. The Abbot of this sacred monastery, named Wulfald in the preceding book, and the entire congregation, receiving him with a most grateful display of affection, honorably kept him with them for as long as he lived: and having completed the course of a praiseworthy life, he obtained burial before the altar of S. John the Evangelist in the basilica of the holy Mother of God, Mary. The body, moreover, of the aforesaid Confessor Paul they placed in its own coffin behind the coffin of the most holy Father Benedict; enclosing both, however, in one larger shrine, which was also covered with silver."

[12] What this account by Aimoin concerning Mabbo suggests is entirely confirmed by the history of the translation of S. Matthew the Apostle from Ethiopia to Brittany, his successor betakes himself to Calabria. and thence to Italy, and finally to Salerno in the year 954, described by Paulinus (whom we may believe to be the same as Paulinianus), Bishop of Léon, as the title has it in an ancient parchment of the Vallicellian library, and the miracles of the same, by the same author, in the time of Gisulf I, Prince of Salerno, who beyond 974

did not survive: a similar cause could have driven this Paulinus into Calabria, as had driven his predecessor Mabbo into France; to whom finally Eudo, as Albert would have it, was appointed as successor in the year 995. As for Liberalis, whether he deserted his Church as a deserter to the Franks or as a refugee from the Danes, there is no reason to believe that this treasure was translated to the Abbey of S. Florentius near Saumur, at the mouth of the Thouet flowing into the Loire, since that place is so near the borders of Brittany; whereas the monastery of Fleury, situated in the diocese of Orléans Do any relics of S. Paul survive? and nearly in the heart of France, would have offered a safe refuge on all sides. And so the monks of Fleury, who long boasted that the relics of S. Benedict had been translated to them, were enriched two centuries after Abbot S. Mummolus with this new pledge: whether it was rescued from the fury of the Huguenots with the same good fortune as the former, is unknown to us. The various miracles of S. Paul, performed in favor of S. Jaova miracles involving dragons—of what kind? and recorded in his Life on 2 March, we did not think should be repeated here; we are only moved to wonder how all the Saints of Ireland and Armorican Brittany are recorded as having extinguished one or more dragons of prodigious size and terrifying ferocity. As for the size, I generally think a great hyperbole underlies it, or a diabolical illusion of the evil spirit, which delights in being feared under such an appearance. As for the frequency, I very much fear that, as is customary with those peoples, a deed performed by one Saint was transferred to many: thus the miracle of the repression of birds by Paul is attributed in the less ancient Life of S. Iltutus to Samson, Paul's fellow-student.

§ II. S. Paul's Homeland, Age, Cult.

[13] Whether his homeland was Cornwall, The Acts call S. Paul's homeland Penhoen and interpret it as "Head of Oxen": whether I should assign this region to Wales or to Cornwall, I hesitate in uncertainty; for in both provinces, place-names beginning with Pen (which signifies "head" or "hill") are very common: and the extreme point of Wales is called Pembroke; the end of Cornwall is called Penwith. In favor of Cornwall is the fact that the Cornish people seem to have migrated along with the names of Dumnonia and Cornwall into the regions of the Osismii and the Corisopitenses: and thus Paul and his companions would have been transferred to their own kinsmen, God so disposing; or was it Wales? and Withurus, Count of Léon, could truly have been, as it says in the Acts, a cousin of S. Paul. Albert le Grand also seems to make S. Paul a Cornishman, when he pretends that the diocesan from whom he received Holy Orders was the Bishop of Winchester: for Winchester, a city of the West Saxons, is much nearer to Cornwall than to Wales. I say "pretends" because it is certain that neither Christians nor a Bishop existed in that place at that time, and indeed it is established that there was not even a city there then. On the contrary, a stronger argument for Wales is provided by the school of S. Iltutus, or rather a monastery, called Llanilltud by Camden, above the town of Neath on the river of the same name, on its eastern bank: which, just as it was very convenient for the Demetian nobility (from which Gildas the Wise and Samson of Dol, Paul's fellow-students, drew their lineage) on account of its proximity, to send their sons there for education, so it was farther removed from the Damnonii or Domnonii inhabiting Cornwall; nor could it be reached except by crossing the intervening arm of the Ocean or by a longer circuit by land.

[14] Who was King Marcus, instructed in the faith by Paul? From the resolution of this question, an answer must be sought to another no less difficult one: what was the royal seat of that King Marcus (at whose court our Paul either preached the Christian faith when it had been abolished, or raised it up when it lay prostrate)? For it is gathered that his homeland was more remote from the southern ocean than was the homeland of S. Paul, from the fact that, about to cross over to Armorica, he found it necessary to come to his sister, serving God on the paternal estate, as is more credible. S. Paul is said to have met the King at a place called Bannedos; but I find the name of this place surviving nowhere, nor any record of it left elsewhere in writings: one may only suspect that "ban" crept in through the fault of transcribers or those ignorant of the language, in place of "lan," a very common word among the Britons; and perhaps this place is Llanidloes, a town near the sources of the Severn River, known to Camden in the county of Montgomery, about forty English leagues distant from the monastery of S. Iltutus toward the north, and occupying nearly the middle position between Montgomery itself and three adjoining counties. If this were true, it would easily be understood how King Marcus is said in the Acts to have ruled over four peoples, even if the gloss, by which those peoples are said to have differed in language also, should be rejected as uninformed—the occasion for so speaking having been taken from the fact that at that time Picts, Scots, Saxons, and Britons, diverse in languages and customs, each held their own part of the British island.

[15] [The birth of S. Paul and his fellow-students around the end of the fifth century.] As regards the age of S. Paul, the Acts make it more than a hundred years; Albert defines it as two above a hundred, and considers him to have died in the year 594; and thus he nicely makes him a contemporary of his fellow-students—namely Gildas, whom we have demonstrated from his own writings to have been born in the year 493; and Samson, who (if he truly attended the Council of Paris, and is not mistakenly taken for some Bishop of the same name among the Franks) can be believed to have been sixty years old in the year 556 or 557, when that Council was held; but Paul is said to have lived a hundred and twenty years—which, although some contend it should seem by no means surprising among the Britons or Irish, we do not willingly believe on the sole authority of the Acts alone, because we find the writers of those peoples everywhere quite liberal in increasing beyond truth and credibility the age of the Saints. And so we also regard as suspect such a great age for S. Paul, was his age more than a hundred years? resting on no other foundation, and leaving him more than forty years of retirement from the pastoral office after the appointment of Jaova; or at least twenty-seven after the ordination of Cetomerus, which took place (as Albert would have it) in the year sixty-six of that century.

[16] Paul seems to have died in the year 573. This doubt of ours is strengthened by the manuscript Florarium, compiled largely from the very Acts of the Saints that the author read, where after these words: "On the same day, the deposition of Paul, Bishop of Léon, a man of great abstinence," the following eulogy is read from number 12: "For his food after long mortification consisted of bread weighed on an equal balance with dry salt; on solemn days, as a great display, he added a few small fish." As a conclusion, however, it is added: "He died in the year of salvation 572"—by which calculation he would have lived six years after abdicating the Episcopate for the last time, and would have died, according to us (who begin the years from January, which the Franks of that time, from whom these accounts are taken, reckoned from Easter) in the year 573 of the common era, in which precise year the twelfth day of March fell on a Sunday. 12 March on a Sunday: This was far removed from the year that Albert indicates to us, when 12 March was a Friday; but an Angel had predicted that Paul would die on a Sunday. If this reasoning of ours accords with the truth, nothing prevents S. Paul from being said to have departed this life between his eightieth and ninetieth year, and this is sufficient for him to be believed to have renounced the Episcopate as decrepit in age and exhausted in strength: for who would not admit this of one who had then spent seventy and more years living?

[17] He is renowned for miracles after death. What miracles he was renowned for after death, the Acts do not relate: one quite singular miracle performed at the monastery of Fleury at the beginning of the eleventh century in favor of Felix, afterward the restorer of the monastery of Rhuys, we have related among the miracles of S. Gildas on 29 January, and we shall not be reluctant to repeat it here: "When the same Felix was at the aforesaid monastery of Fleury in the time of Abbot Abbo, and was oppressed by a severe illness, and, given up by the physicians, was in no way believed likely to survive, Blessed Paul the Bishop appeared to him while he was awake and praying, standing before his bed with a great light, and said to him: 'How are you, brother, and where does this illness hold you?' And he replied: 'Who are you, Lord?' 'I,' he said, 'am Paul the Bishop, whom you were seeking.' 'Lord, behold,' he said, 'in this side the illness has long held me.' And he showed him the place. But that one, drawing near, lightly removed with his finger a putrefied rib from his side, and showed it to him by the light of the lamp, saying: 'This will harm you no more.' And saying this, he cast it away, and disappeared from the wondering man's eyes along with his light; but a most sweet fragrance remained throughout the whole night in that room. And so, when he had been made well, no one preceded him to the night vigils. All marveled that he whom they had expected to be already dead was alive; and they inquired how he had been healed. He told how he had been visited by Blessed Paul, and what he had said to him, and how he had also drawn out a broken and putrefied rib from his side. 'And behold it,' he said, and lifting it from the ground, he showed it to all. All marveled at the deed, and together rendered praises to the Lord with the sound of cymbals."

[18] To the Saints Gildas and Samson, a third fellow-student is added, David, He was not the fellow-student of S. David of Menevia. surnamed Aquarius, on account of the great abstinence of his body and the frequent drinking of water; that this was the celebrated Bishop of Menevia, whose Acts we gave on 1 March, I absolutely cannot agree with Colgan: for besides the fact that by the very surname each seems manifestly to be distinguished (for why would not the Episcopal dignity be named in David, as in Samson, if it belonged to him?), and the fact that it is established that the Menevian David was instructed not by Iltutus but by Paulinus (which names Colgan gratuitously takes for the same person), the reckoning of time entirely opposes the idea that David of Menevia learned letters together with the three already mentioned; for we have shown him to have been born in the year 446 and to have died in 544, and therefore to have been very advanced in age at a time when they were still boys.

[19] Cult in the Breviaries The Ecclesiastical cult of S. Paul is further proved by the ancient Breviaries of nine British Bishoprics, cited by Albert: one of which, of a very ancient printing, is in our possession, containing the Life of this holy Bishop, divided into nine lessons and composed word for word from the Acts to be presented. The same Albert adduces as testimony the manuscript Legendaries of the Churches of Léon, Tréguier, and Nantes: to which may be added Usuard augmented for the use of various Churches, such as the one that exists in manuscript among the Carmelites of Cologne, and Martyrologies and another that the Carthusians of Cologne brought to light in the year 1490. A new edition of 1521, following through Hermann Greven, added to these words (which Molanus of 1573, and Galesinius and Ferrarius also nearly use): "In Lesser Brittany, of S. Paul, Bishop and Confessor of Léon," the following: "whose faith was so great that, placing pebbles on the seashore, he forbade the sea to advance beyond those boundaries: and the sea is observed to obey his prohibition to this day."

of the sea, he forbade the sea from advancing beyond those boundaries: and the sea is observed to this day to obey his prohibition.

[20] And in the Hagiologies of the Benedictines: To these are now added all the writers on the Saints of the Benedictine Order (to which the monastery of Fleury, ennobled by the treasure of the sacred body, is known to belong)—Trithemius, Wion, Bucelinus, Yépez, Gonon, and others—putting forward Paul, Bishop of Léon, as an undoubted Saint of their Order; which indeed we do not believe he was, but neither do we greatly marvel that it is said. But that Bucelinus should also drag to this Order the holy Iltutus, to whom S. Iltutus is also ascribed who was an Abbot in Britain at a time when no Benedictine had yet set foot on that island, will perhaps seem less tolerable. S. Iltutus is venerated on 6 November; but as regards the day, Bucelinus followed André du Saussay, who, having put forward in the Gallican Martyrology an elegant eulogy of S. Paul, comprising the history of his life in summary, added in the supplement of that Martyrology on this day, to the Saints to be venerated at Léon in Armorica, Golvenus and Mabbo, bishops of that city after S. Paul; and in conclusion: "Likewise in Lesser Brittany," he says, "the memorial of S. Ydultus the Confessor, who instructed S. Paul, the aforementioned Bishop of Léon, from adolescence in the monastery, and indicated to him the entrance to eternity with pure footsteps, radiant with the beauty of all grace and virtue."

[21] Neither he nor S. Golvenus belongs to this day. The feast day of S. Golvenus, who rests at Rennes in the monastery of S. Melaine, the Bretons celebrate on the first of July with an Office of nine Lessons, says Albert, presenting his Life on that day; although the Breviary of Rennes has that Office on the eighth. If he had known that the memory of S. Ydultus or Iltutus was held in some veneration among them, I certainly do not believe he would have kept silent about it: nor do we sufficiently dare here to trust du Saussay or Ferrarius, who so confidently number Mabbo among the Armorican Saints—the latter citing the records of the Church of Léon, nor does Mabbo belong to the Catalogue of Saints. the former weaving a distinguished eulogy for him—whom Albert, after having examined the Archives of all the Breton churches, writing about the Armorican Saints among the Armoricans and composing a catalogue of the Bishops of Léon, does not deign to honor even with the title of Blessed, and adds not even the slightest word to indicate that he either lived or died with any praise of virtue.

LIFE

By a Monk of Fleury.

From the MS. of Vaux-de-Cernay collated with other MSS.

Paul, Bishop of Léon among the Armorican Bretons (S.)

BHL Number: 6586

BY A MONK OF FLEURY.

PREFACE

[1] The Life of S. Paul Those who diligently endeavor to commit to writing in an intelligible manner the deeds of the Saints strive to leave behind for their posterity an illustrious record of virtue: for the way of pilgrims journeying to the homeland of celestial glory is the life of the good. For in the sacred Scriptures we find the rule of living justly; in the examples of the Fathers who preceded us, we take on the form of doing good works. Indeed, what things are written are written for the benefit of others, so that through the consolation of Scripture we may hold fast to the hope of the promised homeland. Confusedly written by the Britons; Whence the life of Blessed Paul shines forth, full of examples, which presents to us a true simplicity tempered with the sharpness of prudence, and demonstrates the path of humility to the joys above. The deeds of this holy man I found indeed written down, but so confused with British garrulity that they became burdensome to readers. The illustrious marks of virtue were therefore neglected, through the fault of an unskilled writer. For the unsuitable composition of words and sentences secured for itself no reader through any delight of attention, docility, or goodwill. A strange arrangement of cases, an unheard-of manner of expression, kept away even the most studious from reading: therefore they were wholly neglected by all.

[2] For which reason, prompted by the benefit of many and drawn on by the bodily presence of Blessed Paul (for we rejoice that we have been gifted by God with the precious treasure of his body), we have taken care to abbreviate the length of the sentences and, here arranged more briefly and suitably, as best we could, to polish the order of words to perfection. In this work, let no one accuse us of having failed to please every taste; for if we had aimed at that, we would have written nothing at all. For just as voice and countenance differ in all, so understanding and taste differ in everyone. Omitting superfluous barbarian names. Nor let the reader's mind be disturbed by the discordant names of the Britons, which we have interspersed; for we could not entirely avoid them, since the material of the work consists in them. We have avoided very many, indeed: for the names of the man of God's brothers, because they seemed barbarous and unnecessary for our labor, we have passed over untouched; and the names of the Priests, who are read to have adhered to the same Saint everywhere, we have left out, because we believed they would be more of a burden than a benefit, even if they were noted in this little preface.

CHAPTERS OF THE FOLLOWING BOOK

I. On the beginning of his holy way of life.

II. That he was educated in letters under Iltutus.

III. What he merited to obtain together with his master.

IV. How he led birds to the pens like sheep.

V. Why he sought the desert.

VI. On King Marcus.

VII. How he left his homeland.

VIII. On the enlargement of his sister's possession.

IX. On his arrival at the district of Ach.

X. On the wild ox that was put to flight.

XI. On the springs bestowed through his prayers.

XII. On the discovery of the town.

XIII. On various sick persons restored to health.

XIV. On the discovery of the prince, and the bell wondrously brought.

XV. On the expulsion of the serpent from the same island.

XVI. How he was made Bishop.

XVII. On the ordination of Bishops made while he was still living.

XVIII. That he announced things to come by the spirit of prophecy.

XIX. On his death.

XX. On the dispute between the monks and the clerics.

CHAPTER I

The deeds of S. Paul under the teaching of S. Iltutus.

CHAPTER I

[3] The holy Paul, surnamed Aurelianus, the son of a most illustrious man of the Britons Born of noble stock, named Perphius, strove to lead a life worthy of God; who, born in the province that is called in their language Pennohen, but in Latin speech is interpreted "Head of Oxen," divinely chosen, like another David, from the noble progeny of his brothers, was in the days of his tender infancy suffused with the grace of the Holy Spirit: at which age the recesses of his little heart began to burn perfectly with the fire of divine service. He hastened to intimate the desire of his heart to his father. But the father, having heard his son's wish he is handed over to be instructed in sacred letters, and saddened at seeing his inclination toward the love and study of letters, at first refused to let his request be carried out; but, overcome by the perseverance of the holy boy, burning for the service of Christ, and by the prudent counsels of friends, he at length consented that the boy should be imbued with sacred letters, according to his wish. For he hoped to have him as the hereditary guardian of his goods after himself, because he loved above all others the one whom the Creator of all things, sanctifying him from his mother's womb, had chosen for Himself. And so, with many prayers, the father, offering his son to Almighty God, like another Abraham offering the holy Isaac, handed him over to be formed in the divine teachings: rejoicing to offer to Christ from his offspring one who could more closely beseech the Author of life for his own salvation and that of his family.

CHAPTER II

[4] He is therefore entrusted to the blessed man Iltutus, who, being nearly the most learned of his time, To Blessed Iltutus, master of SS. Daniel, David, and Samson, was forming very many in doctrine and morals in those days: for under his teaching, all the nobles commended their sons to be nurtured in the service of Christ. In which school of virtues, three particularly outstanding students then shone forth, burning with love of the Holy Trinity, who, as followers of their master, radiated with the brilliance of merits like lamps of immense light: namely David, who on account of the great abstinence of his body and the frequent drinking of water was called "Aquarius"; also Samson, who, afterward made Bishop, pursued the life of Angels on earth by his merits; and Gildas, whose keenness of mind and industry of spirit is reported to have been admirable. Among these, Paul, a fresh recruit in literary discipline, admitted to the school, nourished the tenderness of his age with the sweet nourishment of heavenly teaching. And makes excellent progress. He tasted with the tender palate of his heart the honeys of knowledge, and adorned the play of his sacred childhood with a pleasing maturity of character. The vigilance of his mind anticipated the days of approaching adolescence; and he rejoiced in gradually comparing his holy ingenuity worthily with that of his schoolmates. In short, he was wholly admirable to his master, delightful to his companions, and joyful in the schools. The envy of no one harmed him, because he charmed all with his simple life. And within a few days he was second to none of his fellow-students, inasmuch as the Holy Spirit, the teacher of hearts, illumined him.

CHAPTER III

[5] Now the site of the island, which to this day they call the monastery of Iltutus, in which great lamps of Christ the Lord lay hidden, as it were under a bushel, Iltutus, at the students' request, was badly constricted by the incursion of sea waves. Whereupon, having taken counsel, the aforementioned students—David, Samson, and Gildas, and the venerable Paul—humbly approached their master, and wisely urged him to pour forth a prayer to God for some small enlargement of the place. Hearing this, and being conscious of their virtuous lives, he bade them pray together with him and ask for the same thing. And after prayer was drawn out at length, Father Iltutus began to speak thus: restrains the troublesome inrush of the sea, "Father of all, God, who by Your Word divided the masses of waters from the lands, and by eternal law restrained the sea from transgressing the boundaries You had set: grant to us, Your servants, that this harmful incursion of the sea may be pressed back into the depths of the abyss, flowing back into its own channel, and may never henceforth dare to approach our borders; by the assent of Your Son with the Holy Spirit." When the students responded "Amen," the sea at once began to recede from the place, and immediately, with the same students accompanying him, the master arrived with his staff at the edge of the river bank, where, making a sign on the margin of the sea, lest it should again cross the boundary of the sign that was made, the holy man imposed a law upon the sea; which, by the sustaining virtue of the Holy Trinity, it keeps to this day.

CHAPTER IV

[6] When the students ascribed this virtue to their venerable master, and the master to the same students, such a friendly rivalry arose among them as is read to have existed once between Benedict, the lawgiver of monks, and his disciple Maurus, in the rescue of the boy borne along by the river. The land, moreover, emptied of the sea waves, served the needs of the holy man Iltutus. In its broad plain he set about sowing wheat, and entrusts the harvest to them for guarding: which sea-birds began to ravage insatiably. Unable to drive them away by any means, he imposed on the four students the care of defending the harvest, and so distributed the burden of labor that the fatherly command would not weigh upon any of the sons. When the ripeness of the ears was already approaching, one night the army of birds so devastated the field that no hope of gathering the crop remained; and that was the night assigned to Blessed Paul. Rising before dawn, he went to the field and immediately recognized the destruction of the crop; and accusing himself as a negligent guardian, he stayed away from his master's presence for two days, out of youthful shame.

[7] Paul drives the troublesome birds to his master: But on the third day, meeting his fellow-students, he said: "Let the grief of the humble Paul, over the loss of our common master, touch your hearts, I pray. Let us take vengeance unanimously, if the damage to our teacher pains you equally. The enemy is at hand, who devastated the fruits of the crop entrusted to me, and the wheaten hope of our master. See, as if mocking us, he has returned to the field, to destroy what he left behind. I will make satisfaction to our master for this, if I have you as helpers. Let him suffer the penalties he deserves, who devastated the ears of corn of our master."

His most kindly companions, obedient to his counsels, immediately surrounded the field together with him, and led the immense multitude of troublesome birds, like a flock of sheep, to the enclosure of the monastery, as if they were culprits. The winged creatures were directed to the pens like some sluggish cattle. But when they came to the threshold of their prison, like captives they filled the sky with a pitiful clamor. The master, immediately summoned to this spectacle, inquired where such a prize was being led; to whom Paul said: "These are the enemies who devastated your crop, whom we have brought before you so that, at your command, they may suffer the penalties they deserve for the crimes of their great presumption." Stunned by his words, the father stood amazed, and marveling at a faith comparable to a mustard seed in his dear son, he was astonished at such a miracle.

[8] And turning to the praise of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, blessing God, who promised his faithful: "Whatever you ask the Father in my name shall be done," and through whom Blessed Paul was able to do what he did, he honored him with a sacred song, addressing no longer a disciple but a father in Christ: for he did not think that one should be regarded as a disciple whom he saw adorned by the Lord with wondrous signs on earth.

"Almighty One, who by Your power govern all things, what the earth confers, and what the sky contains; with exalted voices we humble ones all praise You; sense and lowliest mind have blessed You with rejoicing. You who, illumining the great Paul through the ages in piety, adorn him with holy merits. For by Your gift he tamed in the cave of the prison the untamed birds, making them peaceful as sheep. What he was able to do through You, O benign Christ, King of Kings, may He likewise be able to join us to Yourself: that by his merits we may be worthy to be linked to those above, by the gift of God most high, everywhere gracious. Amen."

[9] And when, the song of praise being finished, the man of God wished to decline the favor of the brothers S. Paul offers him a place, but could not, bathed in tears he began to ascribe the miracle of the deed to their merits, not his own, and humbly begged the master to let the birds go free. Father Iltutus, considering his innate generosity, said: "Cease weeping, my son: for the devout Creator of all, God, has arranged to make known to men the devotion of your heart toward His love through the sign of this wonder, lest the talent of heavenly doctrine entrusted to you should lie hidden in obscurity, like a lamp under a bushel. By the steps of good works may your blessedness increase daily from virtue to virtue, for heavenly clemency will never be absent from you. As a child you sought this place of our school, where, by the provision of God who chose you, you have surpassed in understanding the measure of your years. I rejoice, moreover, that the Almighty has specially called your Brotherhood to Himself from our flock: for you will appease Him on our behalf by your prayers—Him whom we greatly dread on account of our offenses. Moreover, the gift of divine wisdom, which the heavenly judge has bestowed upon your soul, strive diligently to impart to your neighbors, wherever you can. For the kindness of nature has so raised you from the cradle of blessed infancy that you may be able to win very many for Christ, who redeemed you, by the word of holy exhortation. This place, the nursery of your childhood, I willingly yield to your holiness, where as a Prelate you may seek the fruit of souls. But the heavenly King will provide for me a place where I may end what remains of my old age."

"The birds also, as you beseech, I permit to return to their own places, on the condition that they cause us no further damage."

[10] But Paul modestly declines the offer. To these words, the most blessed Paul, with the reverence of subjection, gave an answer of the utmost humility: "May Almighty God, most loving Father, recompense the gift of perpetual happiness to your goodness, who nourished the tenderness of my infancy with fatherly affection, and gently raised me up to this day with the nourishment of saving doctrine: you have kindly poured out upon me the depths of fatherly love, which have sweetly instructed me to seek the benefits of eternal life—which, had it not been for your grace, O Father, perhaps I would not yet have been able to recognize today. Wherefore, that reward without doubt awaits you in heaven which has been promised to those who instruct many unto justice: in whose order you will sit in a singular place, by the quality of your merits. And so, according to the measure of my understanding, I give you thanks for the monastery offered to me, which, happily possessing, you will happily govern forever. For the possession of my youth is the heavenly kingdom, to which I stretch with all my hope, and which I long for with all my mind. For its sake I have both left and utterly leave behind my paternal wealth." With these words spoken, and at the master's command, the birds with a joyful harmony sought the air with their recovered wings, and were not afterward seen in that place; and those who had gathered returned to their own homes, praising God in all things, who works wonders through His servant Paul.

CHAPTER II

Deeds in Britain and departure to Armorica.

CHAPTER V

[11] After this, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with the utmost desire, as a soldier perfected in the fear of Christ the Lord, he wished to seek the vastness of the desert alone: S. Paul withdraws to the desert, for the more remotely he could place himself from the society of this world, the more intimately he desired to devote himself to Almighty God. Concerning this matter he met with his Teacher, and made known to him the desire of his heart, and asked permission, so that his devotion to the Creator of all might be more pleasing, supported by the counsel of his spiritual Father. From whom, fully receiving a word of exhortation and being perfectly instructed—because it is not the one who begins, but the one who perseveres in the good contest who is crowned—having received permission with Christ as his guide, and having given the kiss of peace to the Father and all the Brothers, in the sixteenth year of his age, separated from his master, full of the Holy Spirit, he sought the seclusion of a certain desert adjacent to his paternal borders. In which place he constructed dwellings suitable to the place and the time. He also built there an oratory, which is said to flourish still under his successors, adorned with fitting buildings.

[12] And there leads a holy and austere life: There also, most worthy by his merits, he received the rank of the Priesthood, and with twelve Priests most devoutly serving God under his authority, he remained there for some time. He gave himself constantly to sacred reading, and was formed by the heavenly examples of the holy Fathers; also watchful in meditation, he called back before the eyes of his mind the commandments of the Lord, which he embraced with his whole will. Moreover, he was untiring in his devotion to prayer, lest any fraud of the most cunning enemy should in any way violate the fortress of his soul, which was fortified on every side. Often he afflicted his body with a two-day or even three-day fast, so that he might offer the pure sacrifice of a contrite heart to Almighty God all the more worthily, the more diligently the pleasure of the flesh was subdued: for his food, after long mortification of the body, was bread weighed on an equal balance with dry salt; and on solemn days he added to such fare only a few small fish as a great display. The flesh of biped or quadruped, throughout his whole life, he is not recorded to have tasted; wine also, and everything that could disturb the state of the mind—except at the solemnities of the Mass—he never tasted at all: indeed, he did not even take water as much as the necessity of nature demanded.

CHAPTER VI

[13] A certain King named Marcus flourished in the vicinity at the same time, whose imperial rule gave laws to four peoples, King Marcus deliberates about summoning him: differing in their speech. Therefore the celebrated fame of the most blessed Paul by no means escaped his notice, and having summoned the nobles of his realm, he addressed them thus: "The intent of my soul, examining the various sects of faith within itself, has chosen from all of them to follow only the Catholic unity, which is able both to guard our kingdoms in peace and to bestow upon us a happy life. Wherefore, if you agree with my devotion, O faithful ones, and fully support it, choose for yourselves Blessed Paul as the master of this holy institution, whom the happy reputation of his merits celebrates as venerable to all. And just as you have me as your earthly prince in earthly affairs by the will of God, so choose to have him perpetually as your guide and teacher in heavenly commandments." When all the princes favored his opinion, the King continued: "Let vigorous men therefore be sent, who may prudently reveal our will to the same blessed man, and humbly make known the devotion and affection of our entire realm toward the faith of the Holy Trinity, and tell him that the salvation of our souls rests in his hand, that we all pray for the coming of his presence, and suppliantly beseech him to hasten to come."

[14] With all rejoicing and acclaiming that this holy purpose had been infused from heaven into the mind of the King, Paul instructs him and his people in the faith; according to what had been commanded, the most holy Paul was summoned with humble words. Although what was being ordered seemed burdensome to him, that precept of the Apostle came to his mind: "For he who resists the power resists the ordinance of God" Rom. 13:2; and assenting to the holy command of the King, accompanied by the twelve Priests who lived with him, he came to the place called Vannedos, to seek the King. By whom he was received most graciously, and was treated as befitted the sanctity of his life. Imparting to all the doctrine of holy religion, in a short time he fully instructed both the King and all the surrounding inhabitants in the teaching of the Catholic faith and in the discipline and example of good works: for he commended by the merits of his life whatever he announced by word. Nor were those able to withhold the faith of their hearts from him who marveled at the miracles of virtues that were performed daily. And when he had for a long time instructed the minds of the faithful there by word and life with great zeal, King Marcus, made glorious by so great a teacher, began through himself as well as through his princes to beg the ears of the same most blessed Paul, asking that he would take upon himself the pastoral office over them. This request, repeated to him many times, became more a cause for departing than for remaining there: for it is reported that he often said he would rather seek the vastness of any remote desert by sailing across many stretches of sea than assume the care of the Pontifical burden.

CHAPTER VII

[15] For the devotion of the Saints is accustomed to fix the eyes of the mind upon divine contemplation all the more purely, fearing the Episcopate about to be imposed upon him, the more diligently it withdraws its foot from the snare of worldly association: for the soul cannot remain quiet within itself while it is swept away to the diverse pursuits of worldly affairs. Whence holy men strive to flee the bustle of the world, so that they may more purely offer to their Creator the worship of justice in silence together with the mortification of the flesh. Among whom, the most holy Paul, singularly radiant and glorious in the merits of his life, while he was being somewhat called back from his purpose of holy living by various affairs arising from the company of the aforementioned King, desired with all his vows to seek the remote desert.

[16] He was therefore earnestly thinking of going forth, like another Abraham, from the land of his birth; but the place he is admonished by an Angel to migrate elsewhere. in which he might more secretly devote himself to God, he revolved in his whole mind: for he had so committed himself and his will to the Maker of all, that, after the manner of the Israelite people, he waited for his remaining or his departing from a place to be done at His command. While he was seeking this with long persistence of prayers and vigils, one night, giving his limbs to slumber, behold, he beheld a youth of angelic beauty standing beside him; who, recounting the desire of his mind, said: "Go, and according to your will do not hesitate to change this place: for the Lord is with you, from whom your purpose never differs. But if you hesitate about the place you ought to seek, know that you have me as guide and leader everywhere by the command of the supreme Emperor, and I shall lead you to the place where the Almighty commands you to go." Shaking off sleep and exulting at so clear a vision, he gave thanks to Christ the Lord, who is ever accustomed to be present to His faithful.

[17] He obtains permission from the King. When morning came, he communicated the vision to King Marcus through his closest friends, and humbly begged that he would kindly grant him permission to carry out the command of the Lord. But the King, charmed by the agreeable intimacy of the holy man, both feared the vision and for the present denied what was requested. When this was reported to the venerable man of God, he went to the King in person and declared that he could in no way delay the divine oracle. "I obeyed your command, O most serene King," he said, "when I hastened to come here in the service of your will; and if I obeyed you, how much more must I obey the commands of the King of heaven, who orders me to change my place—whom I must in no way oppose. But departing from you in body, not in mind, I seek your kind permission, whose perpetual friendship I embrace. For I know that you wish in nothing to dissent from the Lord's will."

[18] With these words the King, though unwilling, granted him permission to depart. Having received it, yet not the coveted bell: the blessed man asked the King for one bell as a blessing. For it was the custom that seven bells be rung for the servants reclining at the King's table; which the King by no means granted, hoping that the man whose departure he bore with difficulty would return to him on account of such a matter. But how the King of kings and the Lord of hosts bestowed upon His servant one more excellent and resonant of those very bells, the subsequent order of the narrative will relate. The venerable friend of God, however, committing himself and his journey to the Governor of all, set out on his way and with a prosperous course joyfully arrived at the house of his sister, situated on the shore of the British sea. Now this same sister of his had been devoted to Christ from her infancy, persisting in the divine commandments with a devout mind; with whom her glorious brother lodged for as long as was needed to prepare all things suitable for the journey.

CHAPTER VIII

[19] When all was prepared and the ship was already ready on the seashore, Blessed Paul, amid salutary conversations about the heavenly life, amid the sweet affections of brotherly love, he sails to his sister, told his sister that he wished to depart on the morrow. Troubled by this word, the handmaid of God, full of fraternal longing, replied: "If you have resolved to leave me such that in this present life I can no longer behold the angelic face of your countenance, I beseech you, grant me your presence for at least the space of one week, that you may more fully form my soul in the heavenly commandments." To whom her brother said: "You see, most holy sister, how all things await me alone—the equipment of the ship, the company of my companions, and the favorable breath of the inviting breeze. But lest I offend your love, I shall spend three days with you." When the third day dawned, the handmaid of God, foreknowing that her brother was about to depart shortly, with tears welling up, amid other words of fraternal affection, began humbly to entreat him thus: "Since it is difficult, dearest brother, to change your resolve, by which you have once determined for love of Almighty God to flee utterly from homeland and kinsmen, grant me, I beseech you, your beloved sister, a small boon of virtue, which may attest your long love toward me and your fraternal affection. For I trust in the Lord that whatever you ask of Him, you will obtain."

[20] To whom her brother replied: "Whatever it is you beseech, and being asked by her if my weakness is able to provide it, I willingly agree; but if it should be beyond our powers, we shall implore the grace and help of our Lord, that He Himself may accomplish that in which we are insufficient: only speak what you wish." Gladdened by this promise, the sister sought a gift useful not for herself alone but for all the inhabitants of the same island, saying: "This island which I inhabit, removed from the world and how delightful it appears to those serving Christ! But it is narrowed on one side by wicked co-heirs, on the other by the immense inundations of sea waves, covering our boundaries more than usual. But with you invoking the Almighty, to push back the sea and widen the extent of land, I believe without hesitation that this small place can be enlarged by your prayers. For you will easily obtain what I desire, if you turn your prayers to God on this matter, as I beseech, that the waves of the sea may be restrained in their appointed channel, and the desired land may be enlarged for us by some extent." To whom the venerable brother said: "Since your request is great and unequal to the merits of our life, join your prayers, and let us invoke our Lord with common prayer, that by His grace He may deign to grant what you ask."

[21] When they prostrated themselves in prayer and were still praying, suddenly, through the mercy of God, which is always accustomed to be present to His servants, he satisfies her request: the sea began to draw back its waves, and dry land began to appear in a wonderful order. When this was heard and truly recognized through the disciples, they rose from prayer and, praising with devout spirit the wonders of divine power, they gave thanks to the heavenly majesty; and thence, his sister accompanying them with the disciples, the most blessed Paul set out to follow the fleeing waves to the shore. Drawing near to the bank, the venerable brother commanded his beloved sister the waters driven back a thousand paces, to carry pebbles from the new land in her hands all the way to the highest edge of the sea. When they had arrived there, he ordered them to be placed along the breadth of the spacious shore. For the land, drained of waters for a thousand paces or a little more, was expanded for the use of the holy woman through the prayer of Blessed Paul.

[22] These things accomplished, they knelt before God in prayer on the shore of the sea. When prayer was finished, Paul, turning toward the sea, said: "Let the pebbles which I have placed on your borders be a sign between me and you, that you may never again transgress them, nor dare to enter these our territories." The command of his words, the dreadful element of the sea keeps inviolate to this day. Miraculously born rocks restrain it. And when they were returning home, suddenly—wonderful to tell!—they beheld in prospect the pebbles that the blessed sister had carried, transformed by divine power, which created all things from nothing, into stone columns of wondrous size. By a marvelous working of divine clemency, so that a simple thing requested was returned doubled, and a second virtue might be perceived in perpetuity, if the first were abolished by the torpor of negligence. The path also that they took that day, proceeding through the midst of those columns, is still called by the transmarine Britons the "Path of Paul." When they had arrived home, blessing the Lord, they took food with joy; and they spent nearly that entire night wakeful in the praises of God.

[23] And sailing toward Armorica with his companions, When the morning sun had risen, bidding each other farewell, his sister persevering in her purpose, the most blessed Paul made for the sea, promptly boarded the ship, and eagerly left the harbor; and with God directing his course, they joyfully landed at a certain island named Ossa, distant from the region of Armorica sixteen miles or a little more. There were with him twelve Priests of Christ, fellow-soldiers of his faith, and many others adhering to the same holy man more by the bond of kinship than by the affection of charity, with a sufficient retinue. When all had been disembarked at the place called the Port of Oxen, the holy man immediately ordered the island and its inhabitants to be carefully explored, he chooses a solitary place for himself on the island. and to learn by what rule of life and what worship they lived. He himself, however, with a few companions, endeavored to explore a suitable and solitary place for himself. And having traversed nearly the whole island, he finally found a property on which a spring triumphed, bubbling up with the clearest water and gracefully irrigating the pleasant surface of the fertile fields; in which place, drawn both by the beauty of the location and by the weariness of the journey, having built a small oratory with modest annexes, the most blessed man remained for some time.

CHAPTER III

The first seats of S. Paul in Armorica, and miracles.

CHAPTER IX

[24] He was anxiously considering whether this was the place that the Lord had promised him through His Angel. Concerning this matter, in order to become more certain and to build there more securely, he offered suppliant prayers to God every day and night. And so one night, when he had composed his limbs, weary from frequent fasting and vigils, in brief rest, an Angel of the Lord standing beside him related

the following to him: "You have taken salutary counsel in consulting Almighty God commanded to migrate onward from the island, concerning the matter about which your heart was hesitating: for this is not the place designated for you. Another awaits you, in which a manifold people of diverse kind will be gained for Christ through your teaching. Do not, therefore, fear to depart from here: for heavenly power will lead you by an easy way to the place prepared for you, in which you may be able to put an end to such great cares. In that place, indeed, the Almighty has assigned you a fixed seat on earth, for whose love you have equally cast off parents and homeland. In heaven, too, with a worthy reward, He will refresh your labors, recompensing the rewards of eternal blessedness among the blessed Senators of the heavenly court." When these words had been spoken, the vision of the one conversing was taken away. But the man of the Lord, soon shaking off sleep, summoned his companions and openly narrated what he had seen and heard.

[25] He therefore commanded the ship to be prepared and the journey to be hastened, so that, seizing the promised seat as quickly as possible, a new seat they might be able to put an end to such great labors. "This," he said, "will be our last voyage by sea, God helping." Having said this, he boarded the vessel with his companions, departed from land, and began to sing hymns and praises to the Helmsman over the deep seas. At length, with a prosperous course, he arrived at a certain rock called Admachen, near an island which is itself called Medonia. Having found a pleasing harbor there, he ordered the prow to approach the shore, and soon disembarked all his companions with him on the bank. He fixes his seat in Armorica: Then, surveying the land he had entered, he came to a certain parish of the Ach district, anciently called Telmedonia. This district itself is a considerable part of the Domnonean homeland, situated toward the West: in which district he found a property having a very clear and sweet spring. The place itself where the spring flows is now called Villa Petri, which, as it is reported, was the property of a kinsman of the blessed man himself. There at last, giving thanks to God, he built a small oratory and remained for a few days.

CHAPTER X

[26] Some of his companions also built various dwellings in different places. And the cell of his disciple Vinehinus. One of them, seeking a very remote place, named Vinehinus, who on account of his most strict life and solitary habit was called a monk by all, found a certain very clear spring, shaded by woods: drawn by the beauty of the place and the delightfulness of the spring, he began to dwell there, having constructed a small hut. But the ancient enemy, always envious of good things, soon prepared trouble for the kindly brother. For a certain wild ox, frequenting those same glades and accustomed to come to the spring, appeared one day, furiously cast down the hut of the servant of God, tore it apart, and tossed it this way and that with its horns: and so great was the terror it inspired in the surrounding inhabitants that no one dared to face its presence. But the servant of God, returning from manual labor and seeing the damage, understood the tricks of the adversary and patiently began to repair his dwelling. The savage beast, however, returning to the same place again, understanding that it had been repeatedly demolished by a fierce wild ox, as if mocking him, completely destroyed everything that had been restored while the Brother was absent, and departed.

[27] This battle, this contest between the man of God and the wild ox, continued up to four times: the man built, the beast demolished; the man restored, the beast destroyed. The aforementioned Vinehinus, therefore, seeing that the enemy prevailed, went to his master, revealed the matter of so great a contest, and humbly begged that he would deign to go to that place himself. Seeing the brother's distress, he resolved to go to the place of battle, as though armed. When he had arrived and surveyed the grace of the delightful beauty and the grassy fields, he requests the place itself for himself, he said: "Brother Vinehinus, unless it displeases you, let us exchange our dwellings. Let mine be yours, and I shall remain in this seat, with your peace." To which the other said: "Master, do as seems worthy to your blessedness. For I judge that your will must be obeyed in all things." To whom the man of God replied: "Nay, it is not my will but God's that must be obeyed." And the brother said: "Therefore yours also, which in no way is proved to differ from God's."

[28] While they were still conversing, that fearsome beast was seen coming; and drives away the beast. which, when it caught sight of Blessed Paul standing at a distance before the doors of the hut, now nearly restored, fell to the ground in fear and trembling; and finally, approaching most gently and bending its knees three times, with bowed head, it prostrated itself at his feet on the ground, as if begging pardon for the offense committed. The holy man, without delay, pardoned the fault of the one making satisfaction, saying: "I forgive you this offense: go in peace; only take care that you appear in these places no more." And the wild ox, bowing its head as if saying farewell, departed and withdrew entirely, so that it was never afterward seen there by anyone. The enemy having been put to flight and the brother sent to another place, the victor dwelt there for some time, blessed the place and the spring, and there built an oratory according to his custom. Which place to this day is called the monastery, or what is better known in the language of the Britons, Lanna-Pauli; where Almighty God bestows many benefits, if the faith of those who ask is complete.

CHAPTER XI

[29] Not long after, admonished again by an Angel, his disciples being pressed by thirst, he hastened to approach the Prince of the region to which he had come. He had also long desired to seek a place in which he might more secretly devote himself to devout prayers. Continuing his journey, therefore, with all his companions, they arrived at a certain parish which the surrounding inhabitants call Lapidos, in the farthest part of the district of Léon, situated on the shore of the British sea. Within the bounds of this parish, the blessed man Paul, wearied by the long road, sat down. His disciples, however, though severely tired and driven by thirst, wandered through the woods in every direction, seeking water if perchance they might find it; and finding it nowhere, they returned in sorrow to the man of God, and proclaimed that their life was laboring at the very point of death from the necessity of thirst, which the heat of the sun increased with excessive fervor. They protested that they would never return from such solitude unless some means of drinking were soon at hand, by which they could quench their burning thirst, which had lasted too long.

[30] The wondrous man, mercifully moved by their lamentations, prostrated in prayer, draws water from the earth, began to implore the Lord's clemency more earnestly: "Almighty Creator of all things," he said, "who brought forth water from the vein of rock for the people of Israel in the desert by the hand of Moses, and who in the waters of Baptism prepared the salvation of our souls, have mercy on this flock, and give us from the bowels of the present earth a spring of modest water, by which it may be refreshed, so that it may always rejoice in Your blessing." Having said this, rising from prayer, he confidently struck the earth with his staff in three places, and ordered three clods to be dug up, one from each: which, when they had been pulled out, were immediately followed by such an abundance of water that it not only refreshed and entirely quenched the thirst of the gathered company, but also adorned the whole country with a copious stream. All who were present, marveling at this, gave manifold thanks to God, who always works wonders through the hands of His servants.

CHAPTER XII

[31] And while he was resting his limbs in the same place and the disciples were spreading through their limbs the draught of water eagerly consumed, and seeking the opportunity of a more secluded place, by God's arrangement a certain little man familiar with the region appeared, who, when asked whose family he belonged to, by what prince the land itself was governed, and finally when much entreated about showing a very secluded place, humbly bowing his head, and looking at the holy Paul, whose face and speech marked him as a lord, began to speak thus: "I, O man most dear to God, follow the pigs of a certain most Christian man named Withurus, to whose lordship this whole region is also subject, by the grant of the Emperor Childebert, whose warlike power France then obeyed. If you seek to see his face, you will have me as your guide, if you please. I will likewise show you a most pleasant and most remote place, as you ask. And lest I seem a deceiver and a vain talker, behold, follow me, and I shall willingly fulfill my promises." With him leading the way, S. Paul with his companions took the public road tending westward, he blesses the spring of the city of Léon: and arrived at the town now called by his name. Entering its gate, which on the western side is now built with a nobler structure, he immediately beheld a very clear spring, which he forthwith consecrated with the sign of the cross in the name of the Holy Trinity: from whose sacred infusion the weak and sick are frequently healed of various infirmities.

[32] This town, at that time surrounded by earthen walls, is now seen to be honorably fortified with stone strength in the necessary places. For it is situated on a certain island, whose approach is open only on the southern side. On the other sides it is washed by the British sea, with a curving inlet in the shape of a well-strung bow; and the wild animals found in the place most beautiful in situation, full of pastures, pleasant for crops, and conspicuous with every mark of distinction. We have also thought it worthy to designate briefly what inhabitants S. Paul found there when he came, for when he was carefully examining the interior of that stronghold of ancient construction, a wild sow was seen lying, at whose teats suckling piglets hung. Although at such a time she is most ferocious, gently stroked by the blessed man's hand, as if she had been tamed in years past, she thereafter remained domesticated, so that for many years her offspring lasted there among the other pigs of the region, as if royal and preeminent. He also found in the hollow of a certain tree a beehive, he makes them tame. filled with a generous gift of honey and bees: which, when divided without violence, is reported to have filled innumerable vessels. The beasts of fiercer nature that he found, he drove far away by command alone. For a huge bear in those regions, fleeing the presence of the holy man, fell headlong into a ready-made pit and broke its neck. For he also expelled with a prohibition the wild ox already driven from another place. When the pestiferous monsters had been cast out, he sprinkled the place with holy water inside and out, and blessed it, and consecrated it as his own in perpetuity.

S. Paul would have had to head toward the north to arrive at his destination.

CHAPTER IV

Other miracles of S. Paul in the presence of Count Withurus.

CHAPTER XIII

[33] After this, he hastened to seek the prince, who, dwelling on a certain island four miles distant from the aforementioned fortress, named Batha, with a few companions, Setting out to Count Withurus, was devoted to the study of the Scriptures: for he is reported to have flourished honorably both in liberal and in spiritual disciplines; whence he also fled the tumults of men and the quarrels of secular affairs. When the man of God, preceded by the swineherd, was already approaching him, it happened that blind men came to meet him, whom a certain boy was playfully dragging together through byways; who, when they heard the noise of the passers-by, cried out as if with one voice: "If gifts are ready at hand for the prince and his companions to be distributed, we beseech you to have mercy on us." Hearing this, the most kind Paul, moved with compassion, knelt and prayed for a considerable time; then rising, he said to them: "The gifts you seek are not at hand: but what is more useful, may Almighty God bestow upon you." And approaching them, he said: "He who opened the eyes of the blind who cried out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us,' he illuminates two blind men, may He Himself deign to restore to you the light you have lost." And immediately, placing under their eyes the staff he carried, their opened eyes marveled at the unfamiliar sun, and they devoutly praised their Creator.

[34] Having traversed a small stretch of the road, he again encountered two men who lacked the faculty of speech he gives speech to as many mute persons, and used the sign of their hands in place of a tongue. Having equally pitied them, by the grace of the Lord he restored to them also the gift of speech, and admonished them to give thanks to their own Maker. Proceeding thence, he beheld four more paralytics being carried on their beds; who, when they sought alms, merited to hear that response of the Apostle Peter: he heals four paralytics. "Silver and gold I do not possess, but what I am able to do through the clemency of God, this I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, arise and walk." And immediately, rising up, they walked, both with the steps of their feet and with the improvement of their conduct. All of the aforesaid were admonished by him not to spread his name abroad: but departing, they found it impossible not to proclaim the power shown in themselves.

CHAPTER XIV

[35] The man of the Lord, passing with his companions through a certain ford called Globa, arrived at a place properly called Secretum, and is kindly received by the Count, in which he found the long-sought Count Withurus, diligently copying the books of the four Evangelists. The man of the Lord greeted him with humble speech, and immediately, being recognized by him, was greeted in return with fitting words; and having shed tears of joy, clinging long to each other in the kiss of charity, they at length sat down by mutual invitation. For they were bound by a double bond of affection: since noble birth of the flesh had made them cousins, and mutual love in Christ had joined them as brothers. When the gentlest of men, narrating to the inquiring Prince his own labors and those of his companions and the courses of their journeys, had come to that point in his account where, departing from Prince Marcus, he had asked for a bell and had not obtained it, suddenly the man he receives a bell to whom the care of the fish-pond had been entrusted entered, laden in both hands. For in one he carried a large salmon, and in the other a wondrous bell.

[36] The Count, seeing this and giving thanks to God, began to testify that such great gifts, sent by divine power through the merits of Paul, although he turned away from them, saying: "Brother Paul, since you came here, neither so valuable a fish nor any bell has this sea or fisherman presented to me." When, at the Prince's command, a friend had received it to be struck, and heard its sound, cheered a little more than usual, he began to laugh with an honest countenance. Asked why he was laughing, he replied: "This bell has cheered my spirit, for this is truly that which I said I had long ago asked from the King and by no means obtained. I give thanks to the Ruler of all, who bestows His gifts on whom He wills and when He wills. For all things are ordered at His bidding: whence from man something is sought in vain which he had asked from King Marcus, which, when He is unwilling, one by no means deserves to obtain. Let us therefore, turning our prayers to God, humbly seek what we piously desire; because with His favor we shall easily obtain it. But if our prayers are sometimes delayed, we must not despair, but trust more devoutly in His mercy: for this indeed happens so that things may be granted more wonderfully, when Almighty God has approved our patience—which is also clearly manifested in the present sign. For it was wondrously brought to you, so that it might be received all the more dearly, the more faithfully it is both believed and seen to have been sent to us by Him, and not by another."

[37] And gives thanks to God: The Count, hearing this gladly, said to him: "Paul, friend of Almighty God, what man is more foolish than he who wishes to oppose God? For no prudence, no counsel avails against God. Do you therefore willingly accept the gift which, although it is bestowed through us, is known to have been sent to you by divine power." And he, rendering due thanks to God, blessed the Count for such a gift. This bell, moreover, received its name Hyrglas from the people of the Letavians, from the color of its metal and from the form of its composition: for it is seen to be green and oblong. By its sound, through the prevailing merits of S. Paul, not only are diseases still put to flight; but those who saw it also attest that a certain dead man was brought back to life by its touch.

CHAPTER XV

[38] After this, amid the pleasant conversations of friendly intimacy, the Count mentioned an unheard-of serpent: a horrible serpent in that place, whose ferocity had claimed for itself by force a great part of the eastern side of that same island. Its cruelty and voracity were so great that it could scarcely be appeased by the bodies of two men and as many oxen. "To fight against it," the Count said, "both I and my men have often gone forth armed, and not only were we unable to wound it in any way, but with many slain, only a few of us escaped. For its nature is such that, although it lacks feet, it relies on its scales, which extend nearly to its lower belly, as if they were claws, and on its ribs as if they were legs. Nor does it move in the manner of other serpents, gradually extending and contracting the parts of its body, but swiftly wheels itself about with alternating efforts. So that through the curvature of its spine it seems to direct the edge of its ribs, and thus with its ribs raised upward, it drives its scales like claws into the earth.

[39] "By doing this rapidly, it not only glides over level ground but also climbs convex surfaces, marking its path with as many tracks as it has ribs. And therefore from behind, javelins rebound as from a rock that has been thrown, and all weapons bounce off uselessly; and then, with its rage burning, it is accustomed to crush and trample with its bite, and to destroy whatever is in its path with its pestilential breath. As soon as it has heard any sound, and very harmful, it places its swollen neck upon a millstone, if it happens to find one, with its hinder parts extended far behind; for it is of immense size, so that from head to the tip of its tail it is reported to have one hundred and twenty feet or more. This might justly be thought incredible by those hearing it, were it not that those who have seen it attest to it. For to inspire belief, the place of its habitation is said by the colonists, swearing to it, to be capable of holding a bushel and a half of barley seed, which is said to abound on that same island." But when Blessed Paul heard this, he immediately rose and said that he wished to see such a beast. "The seeds of such a monster," he said, "must be rooted out as quickly as possible: for its head will soon be struck down, with God as the author; only let there be someone to guide me on the way."

[40] He attacks it: Though the Prince objected, the man of God protested with the assertion of an oath that he would taste neither bread nor water until he beheld the wicked devastator of the Christian people, and either he himself was conquered or he conquered, liberating all the people from the dominion of such a dire depopulation. Having spoken these things, with many accompanying him who wished to see what he would do, he finally arrived at the place where the serpent had gone out to exercise its rapine beyond its usual boundaries. But when it heard the tumult of those approaching, it raised its head according to its custom and immediately prepared itself for battle. But beholding the blessed man, armed with the standard of the cross, coming to meet it as one more valiant, it trembled with downcast eyes, and immediately became like one seeking the refuge of flight. But the holy Paul, mindful of the Lord's promise by which Christ the Lord strengthens His own soldiers—"You shall tread upon serpents and scorpions, and they shall not harm you"—standing close to it without hesitation, said: "What are you contriving here, malicious enemy? Why have you invaded these abodes of men? How have you presumed to approach, to inhabit, and finally to devastate these territories that are ours by right? Behold, recognize, wretch, the power of my God, and laying aside the pride with which you have swelled until now, immediately obey the voice of His humble servant."

[41] Having said this, binding the serpent's neck with the stole he was wearing and seizing his staff, and having bound it, leads it to the sea, by the road that faces the northern side, like a furious dog, often striking it, the venerable man led the serpent, as though unwilling to follow, all the way to the sea. The Saint, looking at it on the boundary of land and sea, said: "Before you are plunged into the whirlpools of the sea, stretch out your dark neck, and I shall take back my garments." When these had been recovered, he commanded it to go into the precipice of the sea, ordering with a prohibition that it never again approach any regions of Christians, nor harm any person in any way whatsoever. With this said, it disappeared more swiftly. When it had been cast down, those who had come to so wondrous a spectacle gave thanks to Christ the Savior of all, exulting that they had been freed from the very brink of death. The aforementioned Count, seeing the island wondrously rescued from the deadly enemy through the intercession of Blessed Paul, most willingly bestowed upon the same blessed man by perpetual gift both the same island and the aforementioned town, and the text of the Gospels that he himself had written, and likewise assigned the tribute owed there.

it was preserved, and in the year 1352 was covered with gilded silver plates, by the liberality of William de Rochefort, Bishop of Léon.

CHAPTER V

S. Paul's Episcopate of Léon, and his Vicars therein.

CHAPTER XVI

[42] In which places the venerable man, persevering in the service of Almighty God day and night, remained until the end of his life. S. Paul is to be consecrated Bishop: Withurus himself, with the blessing of the same Saint, migrated to other places to dwell. On that island Paul both built a church in fitting manner, with other buildings added, and honored the aforementioned town, which was dear to him, with a basilica, and adorned it with many inhabitants. And since he continued in prayers day and night, and illuminated the whole country with the rays of his virtues (for he was truly a burning and shining lamp), the multitude of all the people conceived a plan to establish him as their Bishop and the master of their salvation and faith. But they were forestalled by the wiser counsel of their Prince, Withurus. For he had often prayed about this matter; but what he could not obtain by prayers, he used a stratagem to ensure that he would somehow, in accordance with the people's desire, be made Bishop.

[43] He is directed to King Childebert. For by inventing plausible pretexts, he came to the holy man and humbly poured out his prayers before him, saying: "Since you, Brother Paul, dearer to me than life, since Childebert, King of the Franks, committed this region to my care to govern, I have had no conversation with him, neither through myself nor through any faithful envoy; wherefore various difficulties press upon my mind, concerning which it is most useful for me to consult the same Lord. And I find no one more useful than you to send to him, if I have found grace in your sight, since you are my intimate friend and can accomplish this business alone more effectively. Everything necessary for your journey will be provided by me. When you have approached the said King, you will immediately present him with the letters sealed with his own ring, which he gave me when I departed from him, and which you will carry with you; and he will at once recognize his own token. When the letters have been read through, whatever he commands my humble self by word or by return letters, you will report to us with a keen mind."

[44] The letters, moreover, were written in these words: "When you receive, Having set out to him, my Lord King, this letter, know that I, your servant Withurus, have sent to you this man of God, named Paul, so that, although unwilling, at our prayer, you may ordain him Bishop before your presence. For this office, though he is worthy and capable, he has refused to accept, though admonished many times: for above all men of our age or country, we attest that he is most worthy of this ministry, both by doctrine of wisdom and by merit of life." Paul, therefore, assenting to his commands, took twelve Priests and several servants, and, relying on God's help, set out on his way. O blessed simplicity, which believes all things and deceives no one! Behold, the venerable servant of God becomes the instrument of a scheme by which he receives what he does not want: and like a child of true innocence, he carries, as it were, the chain by which he is to be bound, so that he may loose others. For he is about to receive on earth the role of Blessed Peter, the prince of the Apostles, so that what he binds may be bound, and what he looses may be loosed in heaven. Continuing his journey, therefore, he finally arrived at Paris, where he humbly approached the King and handed over what he was carrying.

[45] The King immediately broke the seal, and having read the letters, he is compelled to accept the Episcopate: turning to Paul, he said: "Paul, friend of Christ, why have you delayed to bestow upon your brothers the talent of the divine gift committed to you from heaven? Why have you hitherto refused to bear the sweet yoke of the Lord and His light burden? What room for excuse will you have on that day of the strict examination, when you have the power to benefit very many—why is the will lacking in you? Look and know that our God promises rewards to those who distribute His gifts, but threatens punishments to the avaricious who give nothing to their least brothers. Therefore, so that you may be worthy to hear: 'Well done, good and faithful servant, set over many things,' strive to impart to your brothers the few things that have been committed to you, having accepted through me the care and solicitude for them." But the holy Paul, stunned at the fault with which he was charged and of which he was unaware, prostrated himself on the ground, begging pardon and promising that he would carry out everything, if what was being said were made clearer to him.

CHAPTER XVII

[46] And consecrated. King Childebert, raising him from the ground and taking the staff of a certain Bishop, said: "Receive the pastoral rank, by which office you may be able to benefit the salvation of many." And having summoned three Bishops who would bless him, the man of God, bathed in tears, willing or unwilling, received what he had long deferred. When he had been blessed, the glorious King immediately handed over the Ach and Léon districts, with the revenue owed to him, by the command of royal authority. He ordered that he be received honorably every day through the royal residences, until he should enter his diocese. And so, having received permission to return, he thanked the King and bade farewell. Entering the diocese of his Episcopate, received with great rejoicing by all the people and placed in his see, he returns; he served the office of pastoral care for many years and performed so many and such great miracles that, if we wished to write them, neither tongue would suffice for speaking nor hand for writing. The temples of idols were therefore destroyed, because through all Brittany, with Paul as teacher, the brightness of good works shone forth. For all the notable men strove with devout minds to build churches for God the Creator, to construct monasteries in which they might consecrate themselves and their families to the divine service. Anyone found to be a pagan was confounded He enriches the diocese of Léon: by the admirable signs and astonishing virtues of the most holy Paul: holy preaching softened the hearts of unbelievers, and the life of the preacher was in harmony with it. For it delights the mind of man to see in the preacher what he hears.

[47] When now throughout the whole region the Church flourished in the grace of one faith, Johaevius, and resounded with the eternal harmony of one song, the most blessed Paul, wearied by old age, in the presence of all the people established one of his disciples, Johaevius by name, to perform his office. When this man had served for one year and fallen asleep in Christ, he honorably appointed another of his own, called Tiernomailum, Tirnomailum, in his place; who, having performed the office entrusted to him for one year and one day, rested in the Lord. When he had died, the venerable man for a short time again served in his own office. But with his strength failing, he again ordained a certain one of his own, Cetomerinus by name, to minister in his place. And he establishes Cetomerinus in his place: What happened on the day of his ordination, I have thought worthy to relate. Indwalus, surnamed Candidus, a most noble Duke of the greater part of the Domnonean homeland and a kinsman of Saint Samson, had chanced to come at that time to commend himself to Paul's prayers: in whose presence, when a certain blind man cried out, "Have mercy on me, Paul, servant of God," touched by the hand of the Saint, he immediately received his sight. The Duke, seeing this miracle, immediately handed over to the same venerable man, for the redemption of his soul, the territory now called by the name of Paul. Commended by his prayers and having received his blessing, he returned to his own lands.

[48] And he migrates to the island of Batha: The blessed servant of God, leaving his see to the aforesaid Cetomerinus, migrated to the island of Batha, where, with a very large flock of monks living rightly under his governance, he spent a great deal of time, so that, because of the weight of old age, with his flesh nearly consumed, his dry skin seemed to cling to his bones, and as through translucent glass, so through his palm you could discern the ray of the sun shining: that this was so, his most sacred body, remaining intact and incorrupt for many ages, provided proof to many. For the appearance and integrity that it seemed to have when the soul was taken up, it preserved for a long time. For what reason it is now divided, it is by no means to be inserted into this work.

[49] Among other gifts of the Holy Spirit also, when the end of life was approaching the same most blessed man, illuminated by the Spirit of prophecy. by continual prayers he merited to attain the grace of prophecy. For he foretold what was about to come soon to the surrounding peoples. He urged them to guard against the sword, barrenness of the land, and various plagues by prayers and alms. He also predicted many things about what would happen after his death, long before: for he forewarned of the future dispute between the monks of his island and the clerics of the town with their Bishop concerning his body, and he indicated by what peace their quarrel would be settled. He also declared that the Normans would come to the same island and would destroy, burn, and raze to the ground all its buildings. That this happened just as the man of God had prophesied is known to all: for after his passing, in a brief span of time, they do not cease to devastate, plunder, and grievously afflict that same island with frequent incursions.

CHAPTER VI

The blessed death and burial of S. Paul.

[50] He is admonished by an Angel of his approaching death: There was a certain cell built next to the monastery,

in which the blessed old man was accustomed to refresh the weary limbs of his now nearly broken body after long vigils. There, one night, when after prolonged vigils he desired to take a little sleep, God, wishing to transfer him from such great labors to true rest, designated through an Angel the last day of his death. Appearing to him in his sleep, he filled that dwelling with so brilliant a light that he banished the darkness of the entire night and represented the most luminous day; and looking at him, he said: "You have fought the good fight, O Saint of God, and have completed a happy course of life: now it is time for you to receive the reward of your labor with the choirs of the Saints. The next day is at hand for you, on which the long-awaited recompense of eternal blessedness will be repaid to your soul. Therefore, joyful, await the joyful day of the Lord, on which your spirit, freed from the prison of the body, will happily enter the long-desired joy of eternal life."

[51] And he admonishes his disciples of this. When these things had been said, the angelic vision disappeared; but the light that was taken away remained with the holy man. When the sun had flooded the earth, having gathered his disciples together, he predicted the last day of his departure from the body. He commanded that, when he breathed his last, his body should be carried to the monastery situated in the open country, and there committed to burial: which monastery is called to this day Paul's Town. The reason for this translation was that the people coming to his relics might not suffer the violence of the sea. He also knew, as he had also predicted, that both monks and clerics would dispute over his body. Then, up to his last hour, he did not cease to instruct them in divine reading and to teach the sentences of mystical understanding; and at night he devoted himself to prayer.

[52] When the hour of his departure arrived, he said to the Brothers standing by: "My little children, the last hour of my departure draws near. For behold, what I have loved, I now see; what I have sought, I now behold; Christ the Lord and King, to whom I owe what I am, I now contemplate." And gives them his last instructions, And when all were weeping and saying, "What shall we do, Father? To whom do you leave us?" he replied: "Do not, my children, commend my spirit with mourning. Let not my visible absence trouble you, for I shall be present to you everywhere in spirit. You have, moreover, a chosen pastor with you, one most proven in the faith and love of the Lord, and other men learned in all spiritual doctrine. You know what examples of life I have shown you, and what teachings of heavenly discipline I have handed down. Do these things, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you." When he had said this, having received the divine Sacraments, he raised his hand to bless them, and blesses them. saying: "May the blessing of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon you." And when all had responded "Amen," in the sight of all who were present, without any pain of limb, he returned his holy soul to Christ. And so on the fourth day before the Ides of March, the Blessed one, resting in peace, a Confessor and a Virgin, merited to enter heaven. He lived, as we have learned, a hundred years and more.

CHAPTER XX

[53] When he had fallen asleep in the Lord, a great quarrel arose between the monks of the island and the clerics of the town concerning his body. The argument of the townspeople was as follows: "He is owed to us by right, because he was our Bishop. He illuminated the blind for us and enriched the lame with their proper functions. That he lived among you toward the end, Between the monks and the clerics you ought to be grateful, because it was our benefaction. He himself, moreover, at the last commended that his body be placed with us. Setting aside hostility, therefore, let us carry out what he himself commanded." To whom the islanders replied with this argument: "If you desire to claim him for his virtues, he performed more for us. For what is more wonderful than what he did among us, when he hurled the serpent into the sea like a dog and liberated the whole country from the danger of death? A controversy arises over the body. We know that he was appointed Bishop for you; but toward the end he left you, came to us, died among us, and is more justly owed to us: unless he had resolved to lie among us, he would never have left you. Divide the possessions he left you; let us, dead to the world with Christ, at least have him dead, and depart."

[54] The venerable Bishop Cetomerinus, recalling what the man of God, while still living, had been eager to commend to him concerning this matter, ordered two vehicles to be prepared, and yoked the same number of oxen to each: It is settled by a miracle: these were so arranged that one faced toward the island and the other toward the town. Having placed the bier with the holy body on both in equal balance, they left it to the choice of the Saint himself, to which place he would command himself to be carried for burial. By the wondrous power of God, the bier with the body suddenly vanished in such a way that no one could perceive on which vehicle it had been placed. And so each party, following its own vehicle, hoped to have the body deposited, for which it had previously waged war. But the islanders, frustrated in their hope, coming home, found their vehicle empty. The townspeople, however, brought the treasure of the holy body with praises to the town, and the body is conveyed to the city. where it was buried with the highest honor: by whose merits many benefits are bestowed upon the faithful, both there and in other places sacred to his holy memory, to the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever and ever, amen.

ON S. GREGORY THE GREAT, ROMAN PONTIFF AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH.

A.D. 604

Preliminary Commentary.

Gregory the Great, Roman Pontiff and Doctor of the Church (S.)

BHL Number: 7549

§ I. Sacred Veneration among the Latins and Greeks.

[1] Saint Isidore, who was created Bishop of Seville while S. Gregory was still alive, thus opens the eulogy of this Doctor in his book on Ecclesiastical Writers, chapter 27: "Gregory, Eulogy from S. Isidore, Pope, Bishop of the Apostolic See of Rome, full of the compunction of the fear of God, and supreme in humility, and so endowed with the light of knowledge through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that not only was no Doctor of the present times his equal, but none was ever his equal even in past times." And S. Ildefonsus. S. Ildefonsus, Bishop of Toledo, a disciple of S. Isidore, repeats the same things in his own book on Ecclesiastical Writers, and adds the following: "For he shone forth so sublime in the perfection of all merits, that, excluding all comparisons with illustrious men, antiquity shows nothing similar to him: for he surpassed Anthony in holiness, Cyprian in eloquence, Augustine in wisdom." On account of his sanctity, the name of Gregory himself is found inscribed in absolutely all Latin Martyrologies and Greek Menaea or Menologies. His memorial in all the Martyrologies, That Martyrology of S. Jerome, which is produced by us more frequently on individual days, augmented by later writers, has the name of S. Gregory at the end of this day; and indeed in our codex, written around the year 700, the following is added: "Of S. Gregory, Pope of Rome." In the same Martyrology, printed at Paris and Lucca, and in the Blumian manuscript, the following is subjoined: "At Rome, the deposition of S. Gregory the Pope, of blessed memory." Added in the last place in the more ancient ones. These same words are plainly read in the genuine Martyrology of Bede, without mention of any other Saint, and were perhaps thence transcribed into the said Martyrology of S. Jerome. In the same manner, after other Martyrs, the memorial of S. Gregory is recorded in the more ancient manuscript Martyrologies of Lucca, Reichenau, Corbie, Augsburg, and Labbé, cited passim in this work. In the remaining Martyrologies, the eulogy or at least the feast of S. Gregory the Pope is set forth in first place; in others placed first, similar are two manuscripts of Monte Cassino in Lombard script, another of Queen Christina of Sweden held in the highest esteem by Luca Holstenius, another of S. Cyriacus frequently cited by Baronius: likewise the Vatican of the Church of S. Peter, those of Trier of S. Maximinus and S. Martin, and those of Tournai and Liessies. Usuard joined it with S. Innocentius in these words: "At Rome, of the blessed Pontiffs Gregory, Doctor and Apostle of the English, and Innocent or Innocentius." Which Notker and others adorned with long encomia. Bellinus and others treat only of S. Gregory, concerning whom the following is read in Rabanus: "At Rome, the deposition of S. Gregory the Pope, who was the most brilliant Doctor in the law of God, and converted the English nation to the faith through Augustine and Mellitus and John, servants of God." Ado praised him in a long and exceptional encomium in his Martyrology, as did others afterward more recent: whose very names we do not think need be produced. In today's Roman Martyrology the following is found: "At Rome, of S. Gregory, Pope and outstanding Doctor of the Church, who, on account of his illustrious deeds and the conversion of the English to Christ, was called the Great and considered the Apostle of the English."

[2] Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, and eleven other Bishops of Anglo-Saxon England, gathered in a Synod at Clovesho in the year 747, Solemn veneration established among the English in the year 747. among other Canons established this seventeenth concerning the feast to be celebrated of S. Gregory and Augustine, in these words: "By the seventeenth decree it was established that the birthday of the blessed Pope Gregory, and also the day of the deposition (which is the seventh day before the Kalends of June) of S. Augustine the Archbishop and Confessor, who, sent by the aforesaid Pope and our Father Gregory to the English nation, first brought the knowledge of the faith, the Sacrament of Baptism, and the knowledge of the heavenly homeland, should be honorably venerated by all, as is fitting: so that both days should be observed as holidays by both ecclesiastical and monastic persons; and the name of the same blessed Father and Doctor of ours, Augustine, should always be spoken in the chanting of the Litany after the invocation of S. Gregory." Thus far the Canon of the Synod, which Henry Spelman published from an ancient codex written in Saxon script, and which is confirmed by Gervase of Canterbury in the Acts of the Pontiffs of Canterbury and by William Thorn in his Chronicles. The words of the former concerning Archbishop Cuthbert are: "He established, among other chapters of the Councils, that the feast of S. Gregory the Pope and of S. Augustine, Apostle of the English, should be solemnly celebrated in England." In Thorn, chapter 3, §7, the following is read: "Cuthbert, in the year 747, in the month of September, in a Synod at Clovesho, with all the Bishops of the English subscribing, among other synodal decrees ordained that the feasts of S. Gregory the Pope and of S. Augustine, Apostle of the English, should be observed in perpetuity with special solemnity, with King Ethelbald of the Mercians then present with his nobles and approving this." Where Thorn calls it "special solemnity," and the Irish, as he saw it being observed in his own time around the year 1380. The Irish, having taken the veneration of S. Gregory from the neighboring English, in order to make it proper to their own nation, however, his ancestors did not originate from there, inscribed in their Chronicles that the ancestors of S. Gregory originated from Ireland: which we regard as purely the dreams of the apocryphal. On

On 25 February, S. Felix III the Pope, who died in the year 492, is venerated; he was the great-great-grandfather of S. Gregory, and was himself born of Felix, a Priest of the titulus of Fasciola, who was S. Gregory's great-great-great-grandfather. Whether the family can be traced further back to Anicius Tertullus, we have inquired in that same place.

[3] Sacred cult among the Greeks. The Greeks also wished to celebrate this Doctor of the Church, Gregory, above the rest of the Latin Saints, with an annual solemnity, and inscribed his sacred day in the printed Menaea and in various manuscripts, and in other Synaxaria and Menologies. But on the day before, or 11 March, he is remembered in the Menology of the Greeks, composed by order of the younger Emperor Basil around the year 984, from which we give the following eulogy, hitherto unpublished: "Memorial of our holy Father Gregory, Pope of Rome. Under the reign of Justinian, this holy Gregory became a monk in a monastery near Rome. He was exceedingly excellent in virtues, and especially in mercy toward the poor. God wished to test him, and sent to him an Angel in the guise of a shipwrecked man, and found a mind given to almsgiving. He gave him, as he had asked, fifty coins, then six, and a third time others, to such an extent that he emptied the purse of the monastery of gold. Afterward created Roman Pontiff, he summoned daily twelve poor persons, to whom on one occasion a thirteenth appeared, visible to the Pontiff alone: when he asked him to indicate his name, he heard that it was 'Wonderful'; and thus he fell silent, understanding that it was an Angel of God. He was moreover instructed in all learning, and most knowledgeable in Scripture, and left many lucubrations to posterity, composed indeed by himself in the Latin language, but also translated into the Greek tongue. Having lived thus, and having also worked very many miracles, he departed in peace to the Lord." Thus far from that source. From his volumes, the four books of Dialogues were translated into Greek by S. Zacharias, Roman Pope, and the book on the Pastoral Care by S. Anastasius Sinaita, Patriarch of Antioch, which are treated below in the Acts. Concerning the time of his monastic life we shall treat presently.

[4] The ordination of S. Gregory on 29 March. His veneration is referred to 29 March in Hermann Greven's additions to Usuard, and in the Tallaght Martyrology among the Irish, with no reason added. But it is called his Ordination in the manuscript Martyrologies of Aachen and Brussels and in the manuscript Florarium. On which day du Saussay also has the following in the Gallican Martyrology: and Mellitus on 3 September. "At Liège and Soissons, the Ordination of S. Gregory the Pope is venerated on this day according to ancient observance." But others better refer his Ordination to 3 September, on which it was performed. Thus Usuard in the primary manuscript codex of Paris from the monastery of S. Germain: "At Rome, the Ordination of S. Gregory the Pope." It is added in the Centula manuscript: "The divine Doctor of the entire Church, Apostle of the English." In the Vatican manuscript of the Church of S. Peter, the following is found: "At Rome, the Ordination of the illustrious and most learned Gregory, Pope." Similar things are read in various manuscripts and printed Martyrologies, likewise in Bellinus, Maurolycus, Canisius, Galesinius, and others. In today's Roman Martyrology he is honored with this eulogy: "At Rome, the Ordination of the incomparable man S. Gregory the Great, as Supreme Pontiff, who, compelled to undertake that burden, from a higher throne shone forth in the world with the brighter rays of holiness."

§ II. The Life of S. Gregory written by various authors. The time of his See and of his remaining life.

[5] The illustrious deeds performed by S. Gregory have been recorded in writing by very many, of whom the first might be considered S. Gregory, Bishop of Tours, The Life of S. Gregory written by Gregory of Tours: but he was snatched from life many years before him. In book 10 of the History of the Franks, at the fifteenth year of King Childebert, or the year of Christ 590, he describes the Ordination of S. Gregory as Roman Pontiff, and on this occasion the life conducted up to that time: which, omitted here, can be read in his frequently reprinted work, especially since the same things are repeated in what follows. In the first place, therefore, we give the Life written after his death by a Synchronous but anonymous author. Another, by an anonymous contemporary author, For thus he asserts in number 26: "After his death we learned the narrative from a faithful and religious man, and one most intimate with this our Father, namely Paul the Deacon, who, it is established, did not remain long in life after the death of S. Gregory"—of whom we treat separately below. These Acts exist in very many manuscript codices, and those very ancient, published from manuscripts: some of which belong to our library. We have the same also from the manuscripts of the Cathedral Church of S. Omer and the Church of S. Martin at Trier; and we have collated them with a double codex of Queen Christina of Sweden, marked numbers 81 and 569, likewise with a distinguished codex of the monastery of Bonnefont in France. To this we had planned to add the Life of the same S. Gregory composed by the Venerable Bede; another composed by Bede, but because this exists among his works and is usually printed together with the lucubrations of S. Gregory, we have decided to omit it, lest the bulk of the work increase—especially since most of it appears to be transcribed from the Life already cited. The Greeks also, just as they had various works of his translated into their language, so too had his Acts written in Greek: another translated from the Greek. of these we found some in the Vatican Library again rendered into Latin, which we had copied for us from codex 6073, and would publish here, were it not that the same, copied from the library of the Lords of Venice and rendered into Latin by Francesco Zino of Verona, though in different words, had been published by Luigi Lippomano in volume 7 of the Lives of the Saints, and had been reprinted before the works of S. Gregory, where by a common error they are attributed to Metaphrastes, because in the judgment of learned men not even the collection of Lives of Saints for the month of March was made by him. In this Life, the alms given by S. Gregory are chiefly treated, and we believe the eulogy from the Menology of Emperor Basil, cited above, was derived from it.

[6] In place of all these, we give the Life written in four books by John the Deacon, another written by John the Deacon, collated with manuscript codices, and illuminated by our notes. We have collated it chiefly with two manuscript codices: the older of these belongs to our library, and the other we have from the library of the Corsendoncana, a house of Canons Regular near Turnhout. We have found the same Life twice at Rome in the Archive of S. Peter, and have collated several passages, and we have also seen it in various libraries here and there. Twelve distichs are customarily prefixed, which more truly should have been appended as an epilogue: in the ninth of which the author has the following:

"I chose to play in the field of varied order, After Prose fled, the playful Muse returns."

From which it seems not unreasonably deduced that a prologue similar to the epilogue had been prefixed to this work by the same author—unless perhaps he had composed some larger and more prolix poem on the praises of S. Gregory before applying himself to writing the Life. For what he has in the aforementioned epilogue,

"And in verses we have sung of the illustrious man,"

someone might perhaps take in a past sense, so that by a certain poetic license he said "concinimus" for "concinuimus." Hence we diligently searched whether we might find any such poem anywhere, but in vain. Who also wrote something in verse: We did find, however, at Bruges in the Cistercian monastery of Dunes, from the remains of the Thosan library, an ancient book on parchment, inscribed with this title: "Here begins the Life of S. Gregory, metrically composed in two persons of Disciple and Master," in which the beginning of this introductory Dialogue was: "Since all the progress of Ecclesiastical discipline comes from the word and example of those who seek the highest." Not, however, the metrical Life which exists as a MS. at Bruges, The Master thus begins the Life itself:

"From Rome's rosy garden burst forth a little flower, Who, filling the shapely world with life-giving fruits, Satiates the faithful peoples through the heights of his stock. This flower is Gregory, whose fruit through the ages Grows as an example of those who have followed heavenly gifts."

[7] A vast work, comprising more than two thousand five hundred verses: all of which, however, from a preconceived opinion that they were the sought-after poem of John the Deacon, long ago transcribed by the care of Rosweyde from a most faulty original even more faultily, we have diligently collated with the autograph itself, and corrected and emended from the most probable conjectures countless times, and divided in our manner into fewer chapters, unworthy of John, and illuminated with notes and marginals, we were preparing for the press—until at last the style, frequently offending against metrical and grammatical rules, and moreover so barbarous that John never seems likely to have written in such a way, persuaded us to desist. But what entirely convinced us was chapter 80 and 81 according to the original division, corresponding to the last number of book 4: in which John narrates what business he had with an appearing demon when completing his work. For not to say that this at least would have been for the Poet (if he were the same John) an occasion to speak of himself in his own person, as is done in prose: it was evident that before the Life was written in prose, this metrical version could not have been written, since it contained history pertaining to times later than three books of the said Life, and almost the fourth itself. Finally, considering that the author of this metrical version follows in all things the same order of narrating events (excepting only the epistles) that John maintained; translated into verse from his own work, perhaps 400 years ago; and that in the middle and at the end of verses he likes to employ similar cadences, as is customary in the verses we call "Leonine"; and that nowhere else was such a poem known to exist: we believed that a probable conjecture could be formed about the author—that some four or five hundred years ago, when this kind of verse was growing among those ignorant of true Latinity, some Thosan monk, for whatever purpose of exercising his pen, took up the Life written by John to be rendered by him in verse; as we know was done in many other cases around the same periods. Wherefore, to the learned man of the Cistercian Order, Edmund Schipman, Prior of the monastery of Dunes at Bruges, who was contemplating the separate publication and illumination of that metrical Life but was recoiling from the undertaking on account of the smallness and obscurity of the characters, the transposition of words, the uncertain abbreviations, and the frequency of errors, we willingly granted both our copy, just as it was corrected and adorned, and our brief notes on it. Should he now resume his plan, the reader will easily excuse our having omitted that poem here out of a desire to avoid prolixity.

[8] The time during which Gregory presided over the Church as Supreme Pontiff is entirely certain and undoubted, The time of his See from 3 September of the year 590, until 12 March of the year 604, as we show below in the Acts themselves. But what age of his life he had reached when he died is not clear. S. Gregory made much mention below before death of various diseases: but nowhere did he complain of old age or decrepit years. Therefore we believe he was only about seventy or younger than seventy, so that he may be said to have been born around the year 540 or some years earlier, when Justinian was then reigning, prolonging his life in the kingdom until the year 565: and of the monastic life begun, before whose death it seems

that he began to build his monasteries, so that from this the Greeks report that he became a monk and an Abbot or Hegumen of a monastery while Justinian was reigning, as is read in the great Menaea: with which the words of the Menology of Emperor Basil, cited above, are consonant. In order that something may be established concerning the time of S. Gregory's monastic life, a few things concerning the Bishops of Milan and the Aquileian schism must be indicated. In the time of the said Justinian, therefore, in the year 553, the fifth ecumenical Council was held at Constantinople concerning the three Chapters explained elsewhere more often. This Council is reported to have been condemned in the Pseudo-Synod of Aquileia, when Paulinus was also consecrated Bishop of Aquileia by Vitalis, Bishop of Milan. This controversy was examined by us on 5 February, in the Life of S. Ingenuinus, Bishop of Sabiona. When Bishop Vitalis of Milan was taken from the living around the year 555, S. Auxanus succeeded, and after him, three years later, S. Honoratus, whose Acts we have illustrated on 8 February, the day on which he is venerated; and we established that he died in exile among the Ligurians in the year 570, after Milan had been occupied by the Lombards. [After the death of S. Honoratus, and the succession of Laurentius to the See of Milan,] In his place, Laurentius, likewise an exile there, seems to have been elected by the Clergy and people of Milan at that time. Meanwhile, Junctus Frontonius seized the See of Milan by dishonest arts and long held it as a Pseudo-bishop (whom they report was either swallowed up by the earth gaping open, or consumed by celestial fire), not to be counted among the Bishops. Laurentius lived until the year 591, and Constantius was appointed in his place, to whom S. Gregory wrote several letters, among which the one pertaining here is epistle 2 of book 3, which he begins thus: "My most beloved son Boniface the Deacon reported something to me from a writing of your fraternity, in secret, that on a sought-out rather than found occasion, three Bishops have separated themselves from the pious communion of your fraternity, saying that you have consented to the condemnation of the three Chapters and have given a guarantee. And indeed, if anything about the three Chapters has been named in any word or writing whatsoever, your fraternity well remembers: although your fraternity's predecessor Laurentius sent to the Apostolic See a most rigorous guarantee, in which the most noble men subscribed in the lawful number: among whom I too, then holding the Urban Prefecture, likewise subscribed." Thus S. Gregory: from which words it is certain that under the Emperor Justinian, or during the lifetime of Bishop Honoratus of Milan—that is, before the year 570—he had not embraced the monastic life; indeed, when Laurentius was established as Bishop, he was still holding the Urban Prefecture. But it is debated whether, after the death of the Pseudo-Bishop Frontonius, the quiet possession of Laurentius in his See of Milan is to be understood—to which the year 581 is assigned—or rather when, in exile among the Ligurians, he was legitimately elected and ordained Bishop by the Clergy and people of Milan. Not counting the intruded Frontonius; We incline more to the latter opinion: so that he himself lived as a monk for a longer time under two Abbots, and then presided over the rest as Abbot.

[8] That he was subject to at least one Abbot is indicated by the first Life from the manuscripts, and that S. Gregory was substituted upon his death is clearly explained in the poem. Under Abbot Valentio. That the name of the Abbot was Valentio, Gregory himself indicates several times in the books of the Dialogues: certainly in book 1, chapter 4, where he writes of a certain miracle of S. Equitius the Abbot, he says: "I learned this from the narration of my sometime most reverend Abbot Valentio." And in book 3, chapter 22: "This thing that I narrate was done in the province of Valeria, and was made known to me by the report of my Abbot Valentio of blessed memory." And more clearly in book 4, chapter 21: "The venerable Valentio of life, who afterward, as you know, presided over my own monastery in this city of Rome, first governed his own monastery in the province of Valeria." In place of this Abbot Valentio, the printed Life reads "Hilarion"; in our Antwerp and Corsendoncana manuscripts, "Laurion"—twisted incorrectly in both cases. Besides this Valentio, and perhaps Maximianus; Maximianus is also added, whom S. Gregory is said to have succeeded, and who was ordained Deacon of the Holy Roman Church under Pope Benedict I, as these things are read in the Life, book 1, number 25. S. Benedict I sat from the year 573 to 578, when he died on 31 July. All of which necessarily require that, although, when the above-mentioned Laurentius was established as Bishop around the year 570, S. Gregory was still holding the Urban Prefecture, he nevertheless began the monastic life not long afterward. Pelagius II succeeded Benedict, when he was sent to Constantinople. by whom he was sent to Constantinople as Apocrisiarius to the Emperor Tiberius. Both were appointed in the same year 578, but Pelagius sat until the year 590, when S. Gregory succeeded him; Tiberius, however, died along with his Imperial authority on 14 August of the year 582, Indiction 15—before whom S. Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople, is most clearly reported by Theophanes to have died on 6 April of the same year. This is that Eutychius whom S. Gregory convicted and converted for holding an erroneous opinion about the Resurrection of the dead. It is remarkable that Baronius should think differently, and push the death of the Emperor Tiberius and of S. Eutychius to the year 586, and even assert that S. Gregory was still administering the Roman Prefecture in the year 581 and then assumed the monastic habit.

§ III. The monastic life of S. Gregory.

[9] A controversy indicated concerning the rule of his monastic life, The same Baronius raises another question, when he attempts in the same place to prove that S. Gregory was not a professor of the institution of S. Benedict, but lived according to the monastic institutes of S. Equitius. We gave the Life of S. Equitius on 7 March, from the above-cited chapter 4 of book 1 of S. Gregory's Dialogues. But grant that S. Equitius had his own proper institute of living: it does not thence follow with certainty that Valentio, even if he was an Abbot in the same province of Valeria—indeed, even though he reported certain things about S. Equitius to S. Gregory—lived according to the monastic institutes of S. Equitius. For S. Gregory in the passage indicated above says that Valentio previously governed his own monastery in the province of Valeria—his own, I say, not that of Abbot Equitius—and perhaps one erected by himself. But it matters little for settling the said controversy whether Valentio governed his own or S. Equitius's monastery. Formerly very manifold. What Cassian had said a hundred years earlier, in book 2 of the Institutes of the Coenobia, chapter 2—that he had seen almost as many types and rules used in the West as he had seen monasteries and cells—this seems to have been observed up to those times of Valentio and S. Gregory, so that the founders of monasteries prescribed different rules for their monks according to the diversity of customs and temperaments. Thus S. Romanus, who served S. Benedict when he was hiding in the cave at Subiaco, is reported by S. Gregory to have lived in a monastery under the Rule of Father Theodatus, in the Life of S. Benedict to be elucidated on 21 March. Meanwhile, the Supreme Pontiffs, or even other Bishops, especially when gathered in some Synod, were accustomed to prescribe various observances for monks. Thus S. Gregory, created Pontiff, wrote to the Subdeacon Anthemius a letter which is number 48 of the first book of the Register, with this opening: "Just as we have received the place of governance, God disposing as pleased Him: so it behooves us to be solicitous about the souls committed to us." And then through him he desires to prevent Things prescribed for monks different from the Rule of S. Benedict: women from being allowed to dwell or remain near monasteries of monks on the islands of Orphiaria, Palmaria, and others. Indeed—what pertains more to the proposed controversy—he prohibited boys from being received in monasteries before the age of eighteen years. But when in subsequent years he wrote, in book 2 of the Dialogues, the Life of S. Benedict, he praises the younger S. Maurus and S. Placid, still of boyish age, as having been admitted by Benedict; he adds that a young boy monk, crushed by a fallen tree, was recalled to life by him; and that the body of another dead boy monk, ejected from the sepulcher, was retained in it by the communion of the Lord's body sent to him. Indeed, S. Benedict himself, in chapter 30 of the Rule praised by S. Gregory, prescribes what punishment boys of this sort or those of more youthful age should receive when they transgress. Would he, therefore, if he had lived as a monk and presided over others according to the Rule of S. Benedict, have so quickly upon being created Pontiff prohibited boys from being received in monasteries before the eighteenth year of age, and afterward have praised that custom practiced by S. Benedict?

[10] Meanwhile, others, chiefly on the ground that S. Gregory, compelled by the Brothers who lived with him familiarly (as epistle 50 of book 2 says), most diligently and copiously pursued the deeds of S. Benedict in the entire second book of the Dialogues, and in chapter 36 thereof pronounced his Rule for monks to be preeminent in discretion and lucid in expression, this Rule praised by S. Gregory. judge that he professed the monastic life under the Rule of S. Benedict. It may also be added that S. Benedict seems to have been called by a certain preeminence "the best Master of the most strict life" by S. Gregory in book 4 of his Exposition on chapter 9 of the first book of Kings, where, after the words "Because you have asked a King for yourselves," with a few words interposed, he thinks it noteworthy that Almighty God, in prescribing the right of the King, gave to religious Superiors the form of government. Why? "So that those who command the most strict way of life may not readily grant access to those newly approaching. Wherefore also the best Master of that most strict way, a disciple instructed by the highest truth, cut short, saying: 'Test the spirits, whether they are from God.' And again: 'Let there be announced to him the hard and difficult things through which one goes to God.'" These two admonitions are read in Rule 58 of S. Benedict, under the title: "On the discipline of receiving Brothers." From all these things, however, it cannot be proved that S. Gregory's monastery lived from the beginning under Valentio as first Abbot according to the Rule of S. Benedict. For what if it be supposed that as Pontiff he reformed his monastery according to that Rule? It may be answered that S. Gregory asserts he learned the deeds of S. Benedict from four of his disciples; and the first named is Constantinus, who succeeded him in the governance of the monastery and is reported to have died seventeen years after S. Benedict, in the year 560. Another indicated is Simplicius, whom Peter the Deacon, in his work on the Illustrious Men of Monte Cassino, chapter 5, writes to have been Abbot at Monte Cassino, and to have delivered the Rule, which his Master had composed, and known: to be read publicly to all the monks. And he was in the times of the Emperor Justin; the monks of Monte Cassino report that he departed this life in the year 576. From which they gather that S. Gregory, even before he was yet a monk, could have had ample knowledge of both the life and the rule of S. Benedict. Concerning Simplicius, the matter is complicated—whether this one is to be established as different from the companion of S. Maurus, or whether he should be said to have presided in the Lateran monastery after Valentinianus, and indeed as the third from him and before Honoratus, as he is placed among these by S. Gregory.

[11] But with these and other arguments, which can be urged on both sides, set aside, did those sent by him to England have this Rule? we further suggest one thing

brought forward below by John the Deacon, book 4 of the Life, number 82, namely that S. Augustine and his companions, sent to England from the monastery of S. Gregory, were of the Order of S. Benedict: and this reason is added: "Because in those parts it is scarcely possible to find any monk by whom the Rule of S. Benedict is not observed, both in purpose and in habit." But when John the Deacon wrote this, three hundred years had elapsed since the founding of S. Gregory's Roman monastery and his reception of the monastic habit in it: before which time, especially under the Emperor Louis the Pious, we have stated at the Life of S. Benedict of Aniane the Abbot, illustrated on 12 February, that in many monasteries other institutes had been abandoned and the Rule of S. Benedict assumed. And here it could be asked whether the same was done in England. Various writers accumulate many arguments on both sides, which it does not please us to bring forward and discuss in full. In the above-mentioned Council of the Bishops of England, held in the year 747 at Clovesho under Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury, many things are prescribed for Abbots and Abbesses and their subjects concerning the monastic habits and conduct and their propriety, the study of reading in individual monasteries, and the regular life, with no mention made of S. Benedict or his Rule. S. Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, who died in the year 709, had already long ago lived, having been created Abbot of Malmesbury in the year 675. S. Aldhelm favors this, Bede praises this man and his books on Virginity, book 5 of the History, chapter 19. He composed works both in verse and in prose, and among other illustrious men he mentions Benedict, of whom he thus begins in verse:

"In those same times the blessed Benedict flourished, Whom God, the gracious author, had bestowed upon Italy, That, as a leader, he might bear the people of the Lord, walking the straight path, To the footsteps of the eternal kingdom."

And having related various miracles of his, he thus concludes:

"He who first established the contests of our life, How monasteries should maintain the desired rule, And in what way the holy cultivator should hasten along the straight path, Ascending to the lofty heights of heaven; Whose illustrious life, unfolding it from the beginning, The Bishop Gregory had once described in writings; Until, blessed, he migrated to the ethereal citadel: In the number of his children we are joyfully gathered, Whom fertile Britannia bears as citizens in her bosom: From whom the grace of Baptism has already flowed to us, And the venerable company of Masters has hastened."

And although the last six verses seem to be explained concerning S. Gregory, in the former verses he nevertheless implies that the monasteries hold the Rule or norm of living of S. Benedict, and that he established the contests of our life therein, and S. Wilfrid. which can be understood of the English monks. At the same time as S. Aldhelm there lived S. Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, who, in William of Malmesbury's book 3 on the Deeds of the Pontiffs of England, asserts that he was the first who taught the true Easter in Northumbria after the Scots were expelled, who established Ecclesiastical chanting antiphonally, and who ordered the Rule of the most holy Benedict to be observed by monks. Where he supposes as if certain that in the other kingdoms of England, along with the true Easter and Ecclesiastical chanting, the Rule of S. Benedict had been observed.

[12] The same Malmesbury writer a little further on writes that S. Oswald received the monastic habit at Fleury in France, in the monastery of the most blessed Benedict: "from whom," he says, "this kind of religious life took its origin." S. Oswald, from Bishop of Worcester made Archbishop of York, flourished at the end of the tenth century: whose Acts we published on the last day of February; in which it is said that by the command of S. Benedict, appearing to a fisherman, he built the monastery of Ramsey, and having expelled the Clerics, constructed seven monasteries in his diocese of Worcester, introduced monks, and placed Abbots over them, together with S. Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, being appointed to the reformation of the Clergy in a general Council of England in the year 969 under S. Dunstan, Archbishop of York, and King Edgar, who throughout the kingdom of the English caused forty monasteries to be built. At which time S. Abbo, a monk of Fleury, was summoned to England and taught in the monastery of S. Benedict at Ramsey; Does the Regularis Concordia made in the tenth century argue against? as Aimoin reports in his Life, to be given on 13 November. There was then, under King Edgar and S. Dunstan and other Bishops, a Regularis Concordia of the English nation for monks and nuns formulated: the prooemium of which, both in Saxon and in Latin, Selden published in his Notes on Eadmer's History, where it is asserted that the reformation was made with monks called from Fleury and Ghent. The very words of the prooemium are: "For immediately obeying the commands of Edgar with all the effort of their mind, and recalling the teachings of our holy Father Gregory, by which he was eager to admonish Blessed Augustine, so that he should establish in the rude English Church not only the honorable customs of Roman Churches, but also those of the Churches of Gaul, adorning it; having summoned monks both of Blessed Benedict's Fleury and also of the preeminent monastery called by the celebrated name of Ghent, they collected whatever seemed honorable from their worthy customs... and with great and subtle discretion of the nation, placed it in a small booklet." This Regularis Concordia of the English nation, accommodated to the Rule of S. Benedict, the Malmesbury writer above seems to have called "the origin of this kind of religion." But SS. Aldhelm and Wilfrid had already long ago lived, and indeed John the Deacon as well, the writer of the Life of S. Gregory. From all of which, many things are proposed for discussion in favor of the question, rather than things that absolutely convince the opponents, given the silence of Bede and other contemporary writers.

[13] Published by the Parisian press in the year 1490: "The second book of the Dialogues of Blessed Pope Gregory, on the Life and miracles of the most blessed Benedict. And the cited approbation of the Rule said to have been made by S. Gregory. The Rule of the same nourishing Father Benedict; and the Mirror of Bernard, Abbot of Monte Cassino, concerning those things to which a monk is obligated in his profession." Before these, after the approbation, the following was prefixed, under this title: "On the approbation of the Rule of Blessed Benedict, by the divine Pope Gregory." And then this Bull was inserted: "I Gregory, Bishop of the Holy Roman Church, wrote the Life of Blessed Benedict, and read his Rule, which the Saint himself wrote with his own hand. I praised it and confirmed it, both in a holy Synod and throughout various parts of Italy, and wherever Latin letters might be read; and I ordered that all who were to approach the grace of conversion, even to the end of the world, should diligently observe it. And I confirm the twelve monasteries that the Saint himself built." There followed, expressed in red characters: "These words of Gregory in a certain privilege granted to the monastery of Subiaco." Baronius in the Annals at the year 595, number 59, mentions a written codex of Subiaco, by which it is indicated that Pope S. Gregory approved and confirmed the Rule of S. Benedict in a Roman Council. But which side of the disputants this Bull, if it be considered legitimate, favors, we leave to the judgment of the readers.

§ IV. Whether the body of S. Gregory is still preserved at Rome. Churches, relics, and veneration at Rome, Bologna, and in Sicily.

[14] The body of S. Gregory buried before the secretarium, First, it is undoubted by the testimony of all that the venerable body of S. Gregory was buried before the secretarium of the basilica of Blessed Peter the Apostle. John the Deacon, book 4 of the Life, number 68, places the secretarium at the extreme portico of the basilica. But it is debated whether from there, and indeed in the year 826, it was taken to Gaul, to the monastery of S. Medardus at Soissons; or whether by Gregory IV (who presided over the Church from 24 January of the year 828 until 23 January of the year 844) the body was merely elevated and placed within the church of S. Peter. Anastasius, Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, who in the said ninth century committed to writing the History of the Lives of the Pontiffs, Gregory IV writes the following concerning Gregory IV: "While he was completing those things which have been mentioned above, the Pontifical spirit of that man then began to attend most earnestly to other works of the Saints. And since, inflamed with the divine fire of love, he carries the body within the church of S. Peter to the altar of S. Gregory: he took the body of Blessed Gregory, Bishop of this universal Church, through whom the grace of the Holy Spirit introduced the inextinguishable gift of wisdom throughout the whole world, from the place where it had previously been buried; and brought it, not far from there, to another newly constructed place within the church of Blessed Peter the Apostle, with the highest honor; and adorned its sacred altar on all sides with silver panels, and titled the oratory with his holy name, and painted the apse of the same with gilded mosaic: in which oratory he brought the bodies of the Saints, the blessed Martyrs Sebastian, Gorgonius, and Tiburtius, from the cemeteries in which they had previously lain, and placed each of them at separate altars: for which, during the time of his Pontificate, he decreed that the monks who are appointed to perform the office in the Church of Blessed Peter the Apostle should not cease to sing praises to the Almighty Lord there every day. He also offered in the same oratory eighteen large or small silk veils; which he adorns with various vestments, three vestments over the altar under which the body of the most holy Pope Gregory rests, one having an embroidery in gold thread with a history... and over each altar of the aforementioned Martyrs one vestment of brocade: and finally three silvered images above, also gilded, bearing the face of the Lord and their own painted images, and with images: whose special bodies, buried there, are powerful in miracles and virtues."

[15] These things Anastasius the Librarian committed to writing at Rome in the same century in which they occurred; and at the same time John the Deacon wrote the same things in the Life, book 4, number 80, from which Bernard Gui in his manuscript Deeds of the Pontiffs writes the following concerning Gregory IV: "He also placed the body of Blessed Gregory, Pope and Doctor, which had been translated before the new secretarium, where also his pallium and other things are preserved: under the altar of his name, with apses constructed as we now see them: where his anniversary solemnity is celebrated with the most grateful veneration, all vying with each other in keeping vigil all night: at which his pallium and phylacteries, and also his belt, are customarily kissed." But Platina expounds it thus: "The same most holy Pontiff translated the body of Blessed Gregory and placed it in the spot where it now lies, with great ornaments employed: in which place many in those times had been accustomed to keep vigil for reasons of religion or of a vow. They also say that the bodies of Sebastian and Tiburtius were translated by him from the cemeteries in which they had previously lain to the basilica of Peter." The same things, but a little more briefly, are read in John Stella's book on the Supreme Pontiffs. But many more things from Anastasius were transferred into the description of the old Vatican Basilica by a Roman author, a Canon of that same Church: which work Abbot Paul de Angelis unearthed from manuscripts and illuminated with notes, and he argues against Onofrio Panvinio, who in his book on the Seven Churches, chapter 4, writes that the oratory and altar were erected not only under the name of the most holy Pontiff but also of S. Andrew. The words of Onofrio, page 44, are these: "At the end of the Church, where the penitentiaries sit, there is an oratory and altar of SS. Andrew and Gregory, made by Gregory IV, under which lies the body of the same holy Doctor. In the ciborium, however, which is above the altar, stands the head of S. Andrew the Apostle, placed there by Pius II."

But with no mention made of the altar of S. Gregory, Ferrarius, in the Notes on the eulogy of S. Gregory in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, asserts that the body of this most holy Pontiff was translated by Gregory IV and placed beneath the altar of S. Andrew the Apostle. Ciaconius has the same. On the contrary, John the Deacon, book 4 of the Life, chapter 8, affirms that it was placed under the altar of his own name, without any mention of S. Andrew, which Anastasius also does above. The aforementioned Paul de Angelis in his description of the ground plan of the old basilica of S. Peter, number 85, places the altar of S. Gregory the Pope made by Gregory IV, in the same place where the head of S. Andrew was placed by Pius II: above which is the head of S. Andrew the Apostle placed by Pius II, perhaps on account of the singular veneration with which Gregory honored this Apostle. But Pius II was Pontiff more than eight hundred years after Gregory IV, which Onofrio, Ciaconius, and Ferrarius did not reflect upon.

[16] But now in the new basilica of S. Peter, for those going to the Confession, on the left is the altar of S. Andrew, where his head is preserved. The privileged altar of S. Gregory the Great, however, is at the greater sacristy itself, where his body is observed by the said Paul de Angelis to have been placed, in the Description of the ground plan of the new Vatican temple. Now deposited at its own altar. Andrea Vittorelli, in his Additions to Ciaconius concerning Gregory IV, indicates that Clement VIII wished the body of S. Gregory to be placed in the altar of the chapel of Gregory in the more recent basilica of St. Peter, across from the altar to which Gregory XII caused the relics of S. Gregory Nazianzen to be transferred from the church of the nuns of S. Mary in Campo Marzio. The body of S. Gregory brought to the Gregorian chapel by Clement VIII, Giovanni Severano, in part 1 of the Sacred Memorial of the Seven Churches of Rome, page 135, reports that the body of S. Gregory the Great was furthermore translated on 8 January of the year 1606 by Pope Paul V to the oratory and altar which is across from the Gregorian chapel; and was brought there from the altar of S. Andrew, at which it had been deposited not by Gregory IV, but afterward in some new translation by Pius II in the year 1464, and in 1606 by Paul V. before the head of S. Andrew the Apostle was brought to the same altar on 15 June. And that these things are reported in book 8 of the Commentary of Pius II, which we have in the edition of 1614 from the Aubry press: but in it we found nothing about the final deposition of the head of S. Andrew, nor did André du Saussay, who in part 2 of the Glory of S. Andrew the Apostle, book 3, chapter 5, transcribed from that Commentary everything pertaining to the translation of the said head. Paul de Angelis in the cited Description of the ground plan of the old temple places, at number 153, the altar of S. Andrew, where the Supreme Pontiffs performed certain solemn rites, with no mention then made of the head of S. Andrew; which he had said above was placed above the altar by Pius II. This altar, just as it is called by Onofrio the altar of SS. Andrew and Gregory, so by Ferrarius and Ciaconius it is called that of Andrew alone—whence others seem to have seized the occasion of adding further details. Finally, whatever may be the case regarding the name of this altar, In the Order of the Divine Office the memory is renewed. this is certain and undoubted among the Romans: that the body of S. Gregory the Great is preserved in the church of S. Peter, or the most sacred Vatican basilica, and is so printed annually in the Order of the Divine Office to be recited in that basilica, as I write this from the Order composed by Giuseppe de Fide, Master of Ceremonies, for the year 1665.

[17] Churches dedicated to him at Rome, He is furthermore honored with particular veneration at Rome in three churches dedicated to his name, and especially on the Caelian Hill, where in the monastery once built by himself in honor of S. Andrew, he both led the monastic life and presided over the rest as Abbot. Concerning these churches, Ottavio Panciroli should be read, in the Hidden Treasure of the City, region 5, church 21, and region 9, churches 3 and 28. To these may be added the new church of the Fathers of the Congregation of the Oratory in the Vallicella, dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God and to S. Gregory. As also at Bologna. Masini in his Bologna Surveyed indicates that the feast of S. Gregory the Great is celebrated at Bologna with solemn worship in various churches or altars dedicated to him, and indeed in the parish church of SS. Gregory and Satyrus some of his relics are preserved, just as also a part of his Dalmatic in the church of S. Stephen. In the church of the archmonastery of Monte Cassino, we offered the sacrifice of the Mass in the year 1661 at the altar of S. Gregory the Great. Nor is there any doubt that in various places in Italy S. Gregory obtains singular solemnity, cult elsewhere. and indeed most especially in Sicily, where he founded six monasteries and endowed them with sufficient estates.

[18] Baronius, at the year 827, number 34, inserts into the Annals the translation of the body of S. Gregory the Great reported by Anastasius the Librarian and John the Deacon: and as though nothing could be objected, he proceeds without concern, only anxious about the body of S. Sebastian, which ancient writers said was brought to Gaul in the year 826. A notice for what follows. And Anastasius, who flourished in the same century, also asserts that it was carried by Gregory IV, created in the following year, to the basilica of S. Peter and placed at its own altar: whence Baronius infers that not the entire body is to be understood as translated, but only a part of it—as also Ado, Bishop of Vienne, who lived in Gaul in the same century, attested in his writing. This must necessarily be said in what follows concerning the body of S. Gregory.

§ V. On what basis the body of S. Gregory is believed to have been brought to the monastery of S. Medardus at Soissons in Gaul.

[19] The Franks celebrate an illustrious memorial of the sacred veneration of S. Gregory, and rightly so, while they believe that his sacred relics were once brought from Italy into their kingdom, and they glory that they are still preserved. Hence du Saussay in the Gallican Martyrology begins the twelfth of March thus: "At Soissons, the feast of S. Gregory, Pope, surnamed the Great, outstanding Doctor of the Church: The body of S. Gregory is said to have been brought to Soissons: whose sacred body is placed there with great honor in the monastery of S. Medardus." That this body was translated to Gaul together with the body of S. Sebastian the Martyr is taught by the contemporary author, a monk of the said monastery of S. Medardus, in the history of this Translation published by us on 20 January. In this history, the embassy of Rodoin the Provost, undertaken by the command of the Emperor Louis the Pious in the year 826, is explained at length, in the year 826 when he set out from his monastery to Rome and obtained the body of S. Sebastian. When these things had been accomplished, Rodoin, as it says in number 31, "whom the force of love and impatient desire for obtaining the pledges of the Saints had animated with the affection of pious devotion, together with the body of S. Sebastian, having bribed the sacristans, whose duty it then was to guard the basilica of S. Peter, that same night boldly approached the tomb of the most blessed Pope Gregory, which was before the secretarium, and his body, raised with the utmost reverence and decently arranged, was carried over the altar of Blessed Peter and deposited next to the venerable body of the already-mentioned Martyr. Then Rodoin gladly received from his men the pledge of faith when asked, and willingly fulfilled the oath of sacrament over the same most sacred remains of the Martyr Sebastian and the Pontiff Gregory, received under oath, that it should be kept secret: that they would never reveal or make public to any mortal what had been done, but would keep it buried in perpetual silence. Hence our people, praiseworthy in their pious fraud, with doubled joy, magnanimous with tacit breasts, having taken away the holy bodies from there, brought them without any obstacle to the monastery of Ingoald."

[20] Then the journey from the city of Rome to the monastery of S. Medardus at Soissons is described, and illustrious miracles divinely performed on the said journey are narrated: After miracles performed on the journey, for three blind men were healed, and four lame men, one of whom was moreover mute and deaf and was freed from all evils; very many other sick persons also obtained the desired health; and a demoniac likewise escaped free from his diabolical guest. The deposition of these holy bodies in the monastery of S. Medardus at Soissons was made on 9 December, a Sunday, in the above-cited year 826. Deposited on 9 December. The innumerable miracles of every kind that followed are attributed to S. Sebastian, perhaps on account of the oath by which they were bound not to reveal the body of S. Gregory to anyone. Meanwhile, that precious treasure could not long remain hidden. There was living at that time Ostroldus, by others called Ostrualdus and Astrualdus, Bishop of Laon: to whom, when he was dissuading a pilgrimage to S. Sebastian, the holy Martyr appeared, and is read in number 66 to have addressed him with these reproaching words: "I am Sebastian, defender of the Church, revealed through an apparition. who once at Rome died for the love of Christ, where I also lay buried in body until now. But now, by God's predestination, out of love for Medardus, Bishop of Noyon, whom you see standing at the left, I and this one on the right, Gregory, Pope of the city of Rome, have been sent to Soissons, so that we may guard that place and its inhabitants by our patronage, and by guarding them, cherish them."

[21] At the same time there lived Nithard, grandson of the Emperor Louis the Pious, who in book 3 of his history, in André du Chesne's volume 2 of Writers of the History of the Franks, after relating the battle between the sons of Louis the Pious in the year 842, writes the following on page 372: Translated by Charles the Bald together with other sacred bodies. "When King Charles was heading for the city of Soissons, monks from S. Medardus met him, begging that the bodies of SS. Medardus, Sebastian, Gregory, Tiburtius, Peter and Marcellinus, Marius, Martha, Audifax and Abacuc, Honesimus, Marcesina and Leocadia, Marianus, Pelagius and Maurus, Florian with his six brothers, Gildardus, Serenus and Domnus, and Remigius, Archbishop of Rouen, be transferred to the basilica where they now rest, and which had then already been largely built." Acquiescing to their request, he remained there and, as they had asked, translated the bodies of the Blessed on his own shoulders with all veneration. Thus Nithard, and these things are confirmed in the Chronicle of S. Medardus published by d'Achéry in volume 2 of the Spicilegium, where on page 785 the following is found: "This Charles the Bald was afterward Emperor of the Romans: for he caused the bodies of SS. Medardus and Sebastian and Gregory and others to be moved and placed in crypts on the sixth day before the Kalends of September." But that this Translation has been celebrated hitherto on the seventh before the Kalends of September will be evident below.

[22] Concerning the arrival and reception of the bodies of the holy Martyrs Tiburtius, Marcellinus, and Peter, and ten others, the monk Odilo wrote a letter to Ingrannus: in whose prologue he asserts that the deposition of them was made in the monastery of SS. Medardus and Sebastian and Pope Gregory. He then begins the narrative with a prolix encomium of the Emperor Louis the Pious.

and after other things he inserts the following: [The monastery called SS. Medardus, Sebastian and Gregory, in the twelfth century.] "He also brought many bodies of Saints from many parts of Italy into the kingdom of France: where especially the people, proud in nobility, distinguished in the prowess of arms, powerful and prevailing with no small praise of wisdom, together with industry and prudence: by whose ingenious diligence the bodily remains of the most blessed and most worthy of every praise Martyr Sebastian, together with the most holy members of Pope Gregory of blessed memory, are seen to have been brought, deposited, and kept within the walls of Soissons in the basilica of the supreme Confessor of Christ, Medardus." Thus the monk Odilo to Ingrannus, and indeed, as is generally held, the Abbot of the monastery of SS. Medardus, Sebastian, and Pope Gregory, as we have seen it called when he presided in the twelfth century of Christ. Claude Dormay, book 4 of the History of Soissons, chapter 10, among the gifts offered by the Emperor Louis to the said monastery, mentions a book written in golden letters and also covered with golden plates, [A book still preserved, offered by the Emperor Louis the Pious at the reception of the body.] of which afterward, when the cover was removed, the said Ingrannus had it covered with silver plates, and those gilded: on which these words are still read: "This tablet was made by Lord Ingrannus, Abbot of this place, in the year 1168, the tenth of Alexander III, the thirty-third of the reign of Louis the Younger." The book itself was offered by the Emperor Louis to Blessed Sebastian at the reception of the same illustrious Martyr and of Pope Gregory of the city of Rome. Ingrannus, from Abbot of Marchiennes, became Abbot of S. Medardus in the year 1148 of the twelfth century, and renounced the same Abbacy in the year 1177. So says the above-cited Chronicle of S. Medardus.

[23] Various solemnities of S. Gregory among the people of Soissons: In the Sacred Calendar of the monastery of S. Medardus at Soissons, transmitted to us from Cerbie by the Reverend Dom Ildephonsus Vraijet, various days are assigned to the veneration of S. Gregory, of which the more solemn is the twelfth of March, on which they venerate him as Patron of the monastery: next to this is 3 September, dedicated to his Ordination as Roman Pontiff; which solemnity is continued through the entire Octave. The same Ordination is also recalled on 29 March according to ancient observance. Other days are common to him with S. Sebastian, namely 9 December, on which the Arrival of the bodies brought there is venerated, and 13 October on account of a certain Elevation of the said bodies. Another solemnity is held on 26 August: the Translation of the Saints resting in the same place. Finally, on the twelfth before the Kalends of May, or 20 April, the Raising and Glorification of the holy bodies, of which the Raising and Glorification of the relics which had lain prostrate on the ground for a year, made in the year 1038, is recalled. In a manuscript codex of the Most Serene Queen Christina of Sweden, to which the number 1466 was assigned, the history and occasion of the sacred bodies deposited on the ground and then glorified is contained, which is said to have been accomplished by a judgment and sentence delivered by S. Gregory: this is therefore to be presented here to the reader, with a brief notice concerning Odo, the first Count of the royal palace, and his sons, and Duke Gothelon of both Lorraines. Their wars are narrated in volume 4 of the Writers of the History of the Franks, from a fragment of a manuscript Chronicle, on page 97, as follows: "In the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1037, the aforesaid Prince of Champagne, after the alienation of the Provostship of Donchery. namely Count Odo, leading an army against the Alemanni and Lotharingians with excessive pride, afforded them a great triumph over himself. For having joined battle with the most powerful Duke Gothelon of the Alemanni, having lost a great multitude of his men, he turned his back and, pierced through, fell dead. When he had died, Theobald, the elder son, claimed for himself the city of Chartres and Tours; Theobald's younger brother Stephen received the cities of Meaux and Troyes. But both of these began to rebel against King Henry." Similar things are contained in another fragment of the History of the Franks in the same volume 4, page 86. At which time King Henry, in order to keep Duke Gothelon bound to him, bestowed upon him the provostship of Donchery near the city of Sedan. With these premises, the history itself to be given has its own authority, and is as follows.

[24] After the death of the most glorious King of the Franks, Robert, when his son Henry was reigning, and when he had already made progress in his kingdom and was disposing the rights of the commonwealth with just moderation, after some years had already elapsed, it happened that Odo, the first Count of his palace, died; whose sons, Theobald and Stephen, desiring to possess the dignity of their father's honor in its entirety, Amid warlike tumults, with discordant spirits, did not in the least hesitate to take up arms against the royal power, surrounded by a large military force. The King, however, claiming many things for his dominion that the father had possessed in peace, among other acts, with excessive perturbation of mind, casting aside the right of equity, delegated a most famous possession of the monastery of S. Medardus and S. Sebastian, situated on the River Meuse, the Donchery possession of the monastery of S. Medardus which was named Donchery and was subject to their jurisdiction, to serve his palace through his own ministers. alternatively Donchereius, Finally, considering it far distant from the estates abundantly supplying the royal palaces with an abundance of resources and produce, and since he had no need of its revenues for his own uses, and lest he seem to have claimed the estates of the Saints for his dominion for no other reason than to avenge his fury, King Henry I gives it to Duke Gothelon of Lorraine. he handed it over to a certain Duke of the kingdom of Lorraine, named Gothelon, to be held as a benefice; who, seized by no fear of God, rashly accepted what he knew had been unjustly taken from the sanctuary of God.

[25] The Abbot, together with the monks, grieves, The Abbot of the monastery of the aforesaid Saints, therefore, contemplating such violence of royal power, which had been inflicted upon the Church committed to him, together with the entire congregation of the monastery, turning joys into mourning and the organ of those serving God into the voice of weeping, was affected with excessive sorrow of mind. Not knowing, moreover, which way to turn—from whom to seek justice regarding such violence (inasmuch as the censure of royal indignation pressed upon him, and no hope of advocates raised him up)—he sought with the whole congregation the help of Almighty God, who never abandons those hoping in Him and is an untiring helper in needs and in tribulation. Having therefore taken counsel with the Brothers, he arranged for something to be done that would both terrify the King concerning his unjust domination, and him who had accepted the possessions of the Saints concerning his unjust and rash acceptance. Placing himself with the Brothers in mourning and lamentation, he deprived the Church in which he served of the divine offices; He places the bodies of the Saints on the ground. and the bodies of the Saints, which had been placed in a fitting spot, he prostrated on the ground, as though grieving together with him over the loss of their property: so that the mercy of Almighty God might both come to the aid of the afflicted Church and might cause the relics of His Saints to be placed again in their proper honor, with the glorification of His name, when the property was restored.

[26] Duke Gothelon sets out for the Emperor. When the course of a year had elapsed, while the aforementioned Duke securely possessed the property of the Saints as if it were hereditary, it happened that the Paschal solemnity of the Lord's Resurrection, to be solemnly observed by all Christians, arrived in its proper time. An Imperial edict summoned that Duke to be present at the court, at the palace called Nimeguen. As he was setting out with all his retinue and was already approaching his destination, on the night preceding the Lord's Supper, On the Lord's Supper, falling asleep while praying, when, admonished by Christian religion, he had risen for the celebration of the matins vigils, and the matins solemnities had been completed, and the candles extinguished according to Ecclesiastical custom, with the whole house darkened, he prostrated himself in prayer to beseech God. While he was praying, seized by sleep, he saw in an ecstasy of mind these Saints: Sebastian and Gregory on the right, Medardus on the left; preceded by a multitude of white-robed figures with crosses and candles. He heard them deliberating among themselves what they should do about him who had received the property of their Church from the King, In a vision, by the command of S. Gregory, who at that time was not disposing the governance of the commonwealth by just right, and was unjustly possessing them as if left by his parents. As they were deliberating among themselves what should be done about him, at the command of the blessed Pope Gregory, struck by S. Sebastian, the holy and most unconquered Martyr of Christ, Sebastian, struck him with the lance he was holding, with a certain severity. Awakened by the blow, he felt blood drawn from his body through his nostrils and mouth; and summoning his traveling companions, who were attending him in the customary manner, he pours blood from his mouth and nostrils: he made known to them with a lamentable cry what he had heard and seen; and what he had suffered, the blood flowing from his mouth and nostrils made evident. Having then received there the divine counsel for his salvation, he devoutly returned the land to the Church of the Saints, from which it had been unjustly taken, to be possessed in perpetuity; and restores the Donchery possession. harshly accusing his own rashness and everywhere proclaiming the merits of the Saints.

[27] In this way the possession was restored to the Saints, and the church joyfully received what it had sadly lost. The bodies of the Saints, moreover, which had lain prostrate on the ground, were restored to the fitting place of their honor with the greatest veneration The bodies of the Saints are raised up. and the glorification of God's name: and the praises of divine worship, which had long been silent in that same church, the Brothers sounded forth with praises and hymns giving thanks to God.

[28] Thus far the history of the holy bodies deposited on the ground and returned to their former place, found in the manuscript codex of Queen Christina of Sweden, before which were placed twelve lessons which were customarily recited at Matins in this solemnity, with this opening: In the lessons of this Raising "The venerable merits of all the Saints, our Lords, resting here, triumphantly exalted by the power of divine virtue, the special solemnities of the present day make manifest." Then, after various things concerning the Provostship of Donchery torn away and recovered, and the triumph of the Saints indicated, the ninth lesson is entirely about the praises of S. Gregory, who is called "the Procurator of our salvation, a vessel of election, a habitation of the Holy Spirit, praises of S. Gregory are mixed in: an Organ of the Holy Spirit, a Doctor of the highest truth and of the Catholic faith," and finally the lesson is ended thus: "Supreme Pastor and Pontiff, protect, we beseech, with your clemency, those to whom you have deigned to show your presence." In lesson 11, the names of the holy Confessors resting in the same place are recalled, and the blessed Pope Gregory, because he is preeminent of the holy Roman and Apostolic See, is placed first in order by the prefixing of his name. So far from that source, which will be published in full elsewhere.

[29] An illustrious procession with the sacred relics and bodies of the Saints resting in the said church of S. Medardus was established in the year 1530 by Jean Olivier, Abbot of the monastery of S. Medardus, [In a procession in the year 1530, the relics of S. Gregory are magnificently carried about:] when between the Emperor Charles V and Francis I, King of France, after the latter's captivity at the city of Pavia and the release of his hostage sons, peace had been established with the greatest joy of all. In this procession, the twelfth bier containing the relics of S. Gregory was carried by the Abbot of Ourscamp of the Cistercian Order in the diocese of Noyon, vested in Pontifical robes with a mitre, and the Grand Dean of the Cathedral Church of Laon, with two Priests assisting on either side in bearing the burden.

dressed in the deacons' dalmatics. The canopy with which the bier was covered, made of golden cloth, was carried by four men of illustrious nobility, and they were surrounded by twelve other noble persons, vassals of the said Church of S. Medardus, carrying partly staves and partly torches: before whom a Priest proceeded, holding the crosier of the said Abbot. Following were the Prior of S. Peter à la Chaussée of the Cluniac Order, and flanking him the Prior and Subprior of the Abbey of S. John of the Vine, clothed in precious tunics of golden fabric like deacons. All things performed in that procession were formerly printed at Paris, and recently at Soissons.

[30] Scattered by the Huguenots in the year 1564. The most hostile enemy, the devil, could not permit the glory of the heavenly ones with an equal mind; but against the sacred relics he stirred up the furious Huguenots, who, creeping forth from Calvin's cesspool, took Soissons by treachery on 27 September of the year 1564, and immediately laid their criminal hands on sacred things and made such devastations of churches that the traces of them were long afterward, and perhaps to this very day, visible. Then, bursting into the church of S. Medardus, they destroyed and smashed the altars and images of the Saints, and the caskets of the relics of SS. Sebastian, Gregory, and Medardus, extracted from their hiding place, plundered of their riches, foully violated, scattered, or threw into the water. But through the grace of God, these sacred remains did not entirely perish: for some, floating on the water, were extracted by pious and Catholic men; found in a vineyard, others, and especially those of S. Gregory, were found in a vineyard, in a small bag of violet damask, decorated with golden trimmings, about fifteen inches in length and eight in width: in which were the ashes of some part of the body of S. Gregory, reduced to ashes by the Romans. And after a diligent investigation of everything was made, the Lord Bishop declared and affirmed that these were true relics of SS. Sebastian, Gregory, and Medardus, and ordered them to be placed in three different caskets: and to each casket a parchment document written in Latin was affixed, setting forth the above-mentioned verification, enclosed in caskets. and each signed by Baptiste Petit, scribe of the said Lord Bishop: who also composed the construction and verbal process of the said attestation. All of these things were compiled by Alexandre Salnoue and rendered into Latin by Nicolas Bézançon, and we published them from the manuscript of Nicolas Belfort on 20 January, pages 295 and following.

§ VI. The head of S. Gregory is believed to have been translated to the monastery of S. Peter-le-Vif at Sens.

[31] Thus far we have treated of the body of S. Gregory the Great, which both the Romans assert is still preserved in the Vatican basilica, and the people of Soissons contend was once brought to them. They seem, by the said opinion of Alexandre Salnoue, to be content to admit that there were brought to them the ashes of some part of the body of S. Gregory, reduced to ashes by the Romans, The head of S. Gregory is said to have been brought to the monastery at Sens. and that the principal part of the body was left at Rome with his venerable head, which the Portuguese, Bohemians, French, and perhaps others claim for themselves. Du Saussay in the Gallican Martyrology on this day, having treated of the body of S. Gregory deposited at Soissons in the monastery of S. Medardus, adds the following: "At Sens, the venerable head of the same is preserved with fitting worship in the monastery of S. Peter: where by Ansegisus, Metropolitan of this See, who had received it as a gift from Pope John, by the favor of Charles the Bald, Most Christian King and Emperor, it was long ago placed with religious pomp." Thus far from that source. Ansegisus was created Archbishop of Sens in the year 871 and departed this life in the year 883, around the year 876, during whose time Charles the Bald, King of France, was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day itself in the year 875 by John VIII, who presided over the Church from the year 871 to 882 of that century, before whom Charles Augustus died in the year 877. So much for the time. Oderanus reports, But the deed itself is narrated thus by Oderanus in the Chronicle of S. Peter-le-Vif: "Ansegisus, bringing from the city of Rome the head of S. Gregory the Doctor, enclosed in lead, together with the arm of S. Leo the Doctor, deposited them to be preserved in the same monastery of S. Peter."

[32] These things are explained more fully by Clarius the monk in another Chronicle of S. Peter-le-Vif, in d'Achéry's volume 2 of the Spicilegium, page 716, where he writes the following: "The same Ansegisus requested from Pope John that relics of the Pontiffs and Doctors Gregory and Leo be given to him, which he also obtained: Clarius, for he very often celebrated the solemnities of Masses at the Apostolic See. Pope John then gave him the head of Blessed Gregory, universal Pope, son of Gordianus, enclosed in lead, and the arm of S. Leo, Pope and Doctor. Receiving this gift, the same Ansegisus brought it to Sens, to the basilica of S. Peter, where it is preserved with great honor to this day." Robert also, a monk of Auxerre, in his Chronology, confirms the aforesaid with these words: The monk of Auxerre. "After Egil, Ansegisus the monk presided over the Church of Sens, a man acting most excellently in all things: in whose time the Church of Sens flourished with great and peaceful honor. For Pope John conferred upon him the primacy of all Gaul and Germany, so that he should be first after the Pope, should convoke a Synod of Bishops, and should judge concerning whatever stronger and weightier matters: which Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims, wished to resist, but was suppressed by Apostolic authority. To this same venerable Bishop Ansegisus, the aforesaid Pope gave the head of the blessed first Pope Gregory and the arm of S. Leo, Pope and Doctor, which venerable relics he brought to Sens and deposited with due veneration in the church of S. Peter-le-Vif." So far from that source. Solemnity on 19 March. The solemnity of the translation of the head of S. Gregory is celebrated in the said monastery of S. Peter-le-Vif on 19 March.

[33] Several translations of this holy head from old caskets to new ones have been made: of one of which mention is made in a parchment manuscript codex of that monastery, written under King Louis VI of France, called "the Fat," around the year 1109: in which, on page 120, the following is read: Translation made in the year 1095. "Likewise, in this year 1095, by the command of Lord Archbishop Richer, a solemn gathering was held at the monastery of S. Peter-le-Vif, and the most sacred head of the most blessed Doctor Gregory, which had been placed in a certain small casket, together with a bone from the body of our holy Father Benedict the Abbot, was shown publicly to all, 24 April. and thenceforth on the sixth before the Kalends of May, it was established that this day should be solemnly observed in the same monastery." Geoffrey à Colone, in the Inventory of relics of this monastery, narrates the matter thus: "Lord Ansegisus, a praiseworthy man, Archbishop of Sens, obtained from Pope John the head of the aforesaid S. Gregory, which he placed in the monastery of S. Peter-le-Vif. Afterward, in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1095, a solemn gathering of Clergy, monks, and people was held, by the command of Lord Archbishop Richer, and then the aforesaid sacred head was placed in a certain silver casket, and its placing in a silver casket: which afterward Lord Abbot Geoffrey honorably renewed." Richer sat from the year 1062 to the year 1096 of the eleventh century; but the Chronicles of the said monastery and the Sammartan brothers from them report that Geoffrey or Godfrey de Montigny was created Abbot in the year 1240 and repaired that monastery.

[34] In the following century, William de Brosse flourished as Archbishop of Sens, Visitation of the head in the year 1333. ordained in the year 1330 and dying in the eighth year of his pontificate. In the year 1333 he instituted a solemn visitation: the acts of which, signed by two notaries, still exist on parchment, with an illustrious testimony concerning the head of S. Gregory. Similar things were again performed by Archbishop Louis de Melun in the year 1439, and in the year 1439. and what was afterward done by the same Archbishop—a translation of the same head—is read on an ancient parchment: A former translation in the year 1459. "In the year of the Lord 1459, according to Gallican usage, Indiction 7, on the twentieth day of the month of March, in the first year of the Pontificate of the Most Holy Father in Christ and our Lord, Lord Pius III, by divine Providence Pope, under the reign of our Most Christian and Most Serene Lord, Charles, King of France, and with our dearest son in Christ, Brother Olivier Chapperon, Abbot presiding in the said monastery of S. Peter-le-Vif; We, betaking ourselves to the church of S. Peter-le-Vif of the said monastery (whose church's dedication, once dedicated and consecrated by God and His Angels, is customarily celebrated solemnly on that very day: in reverence of which, a general and plenary indulgence is said from all time to exist and is piously believed in that same church; and to acquire it, a copious multitude of people from various parts of the kingdom is accustomed to flock there each year), at the earnest supplication of the said Abbot and Convent, that, moved by devotion, they had long desired the aforesaid most glorious head of S. Gregory to be placed in a certain magnificent gilded silver casket, presented and exhibited to us for this purpose, constructed in the shape of a head, in a new casket: with a Papal crown or tiara above, which they had caused to be fabricated and constructed to the praise and glory of Almighty God and of the aforesaid distinguished Doctor, we would be willing and deign to place the aforesaid sacred head in the same new casket, etc."

[35] This diploma is signed by two Notaries, Jean Picou and Théobald Laurent, in the presence of Abbots Guichard of S. Columba and Guérin of S. Rémi of the Benedictine Order, and Peter, Abbot of S. John of the Order of Canons Regular of S. Augustine; and it is still preserved inserted in a small casket, and with it enclosed in the head itself. In the same casket there are also preserved minute fragments of the same head of S. Gregory, and other documents pertaining to the same head: copies or an index of which were sent to us from Corbie by the above-named Reverend Dom Ildephonsus Vraijet, who adds that Pope Urban VIII desired a small particle of the same sacred head to be given to him, and for that reason sent Lord Spada, his Apostolic Nuncio in France (who was afterward admitted to the number of Cardinals), with an Apostolic Brief to the Archbishop of Sens, Octave de Bellegarde: A particle of the head given to Urban VIII in the year 1628, to satisfy whose request, a certain fragment abstracted from the head was delivered on 6 December of the year 1628, by generous gift, into the hands of the said Nuncio, and by him transmitted to Rome to the Supreme Pontiff, and by him afterward given to the church of S. Mary and S. Gregory in the Vallicella of the Fathers of the Congregation of the Oratory: by him deposited in the Vallicellian church. which the Fathers themselves testified in letters sent from Rome on 29 January of the year 1657. We ourselves saw at Rome in the year 1661 of this century the sacred relics of this church, and in the following year at the monastery of S. Peter-le-Vif itself we venerated the sacred head of S. Gregory.

§ VII. Relics of S. Gregory preserved in Germany: is his head there too?

[36] From France we proceed to Germany, to the monastery

called Petershausen, or Domus Petri, which had been founded after the form of the basilica built for the Prince of the Apostles, in the suburb of Constance on the bank of the Rhine, around the end of the century, in honor of S. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church, The church of S. Gregory at Constance. to whom its founder, S. Gebhard, Bishop of Constance, was most devoted. "He hastened to Rome, that he might obtain from the thresholds of the Apostles both the relics of the Saints and a privilege of liberty, which he magnificently obtained... Among the other relics that Pope John had given to the blessed man, he also bestowed upon him the head of the most holy Pope Gregory, but with few knowing this, and those his most intimate friends. The head of S. Gregory was believed to be there, The man of God, having received so great a gift, suffused with the greatest joy, hastily left the city, fearing that which would indeed have happened had he not departed by divine provision. For the Romans, learning that they had been deprived of so great a pledge, groaning as though bereft, left the city and unanimously pursued the man of God"—as Felix Manilius reports in his Life, to be elucidated on 27 August. These things are read thus in the Chronicle of Constance published by Johannes Pistorius among the six Writers of German Affairs: "In the year 992, Blessed Gebhard dedicated the church in honor of S. Gregory the Pope with great glory. Being also bound with singular affection to that place, it was his intention to obtain from the Apostolic See a privilege of immunity for the monastery itself, given to S. Gebhard, Bishop, who traveled to Rome, and for that reason he went in person to the city of Rome; and coming to Rome, he was so honored by Pope John... out of veneration for him, that he not only granted him the privilege he himself sought, but by the Pontiff's grace it was permitted him to put his hand to the body of Blessed Pope Gregory, on this condition: that whatever he should lift in one touch of sacred bones with his hand, he should carry away with him. And so, by the grace of God, he took his head together with other magnificent relics of his body, and having obtained everything he wished at his pleasure, he returned joyfully. This sacred head, indeed, after many ages had elapsed, was found in a casket, once firmly sealed, but because of its antiquity and without any protection entirely dissolved, which in former times, as was said, had been hidden in the altar of S. Peter on the southern side. When the casket was opened, within it another reddish casket was found, full of relics of the Saints, among which the most beloved treasure of the head of the most holy Pope Gregory was found shattered, and several other relics were found in the same casket." S. Gebhard died on the sixth before the Kalends of September, in the year 996, and was buried in the basilica of S. Gregory that he had built: which was therefore also afterward called the church of S. Gebhard. By Pope John XV in the year 989. Furthermore, the Pope was John XV, for whom VI was erroneously read; his fourth year, with the second Indiction, corresponds to the year 989, when the privilege of the Supreme Pontiff is indicated as having been given to S. Gebhard upon his journey to Rome.

[37] By the Emperor Charles IV. Concerning the head of S. Gregory brought from Constance to Prague, the following is added on this day in the Prague manuscript Martyrology: "The head of this Saint, the Most Serene Prince Charles IV, Emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, and King of Bohemia, having obtained it from the monastery of S. Gebhard in the city of Constance, and decorated it with gold and silver, bestowed upon the Church of Prague." Brought to Prague. We have reported in the Appendix of the first volume of January, page 1084, the feast of the relics deposited at Prague by the said Emperor Charles IV: among which the head of S. Gregory the Great is mentioned, and accordingly with other Saints it has its own veneration there on the second of January.

[38] Aegidius Gelenius, in his book on the Greatness of Cologne, enumerates some relics of S. Gregory the Great preserved in seven churches, and indeed a portion of his head in the church of SS. John and Cordula, Relics at Cologne, a knuckle of a finger at S. Pantaleon, and a tooth, a large bone, and a small bone held in veneration among the Carthusian Fathers. That in various churches of Belgium there are also some relics of the same S. Gregory, Raisse advises in his Belgian Sacred Treasury. And in Belgium, The Canons Regular of S. Autbert in the city of Cambrai and the Carthusians of Rueil near the River Meuse stand out: among the latter a large bone is said to be preserved, among the former an arm of the same Saint. But it is to be feared that from other Saints called by the name Gregory, these may seem to have been transferred to this preeminent one, as we observe happening quite often everywhere. Thomas à Kempis, after sermon 8 to Novices, narrates various miracles performed by the merits and patronage of S. Agnes the Virgin and Martyr, published by us with the Acts of the same on 21 January: Patron of those learning letters. where in number 6, a Priest is said to have loved S. Gregory the Pope with special affection, because on his feast he first entered the schools to learn the alphabet with other boys. This pious custom is still observed in many places of Belgium, where S. Gregory is considered the Patron of those learning letters. That devotion seems to have grown because S. Gregory was accustomed to redeem English boys for sale and to hand them over to be imbued with letters: and perhaps that piety emanated from the English to the Belgians, who were once instructed by them either in faith or in piety.

§ VIII. Veneration of S. Gregory among the Spaniards. His head is also said to be preserved in Portugal.

[39] The cult of S. Gregory among the Spaniards: That the memory of S. Gregory the Great was celebrated at all times among the Spaniards is observed by Tamayo Salazar in the Hispanic Martyrology, enumerating the ancient Breviaries of the principal Churches in which his veneration is prescribed. He traces the origin of this to the affection with which S. Gregory honored SS. Leander, Isidore, and Fulgentius, brothers, and other Bishops, Abbots, and illustrious men of Spain, and the Catholic King Reccared himself: whose brother S. Hermenegild the Martyr he honored when he narrated his martyrdom for the Catholic faith in book 3 of the Dialogues, chapter 11, as will be said on his feast day of 13 April. We bring forward much concerning his mutual love with S. Leander on the next day, 13 March, in the latter's Life. Another monument of S. Gregory's munificence toward the Spaniards is indicated: an image or icon of the most holy Mother of God, Mary, which is renowned for miracles at Guadalupe in Extremadura, which they assert S. Leander received from S. Gregory, sent to him together with his Commentaries on Job—concerning which matter Tamayo Salazar may be read on 8 September, on which day the Finding of this icon is solemnly celebrated. We have touched on some of these matters on 14 January in the Life of S. Fulgentius, chapter 3, letter b, and on 11 March among those Passed Over, page 53, where we treated of Simon Roland, known to the Spaniards as Simon Vela, the finder of this image.

[40] At Lisbon in Portugal, in the church of the Professed House of the Society of Jesus, there are very many relics of various Saints, among which also of S. Gregory the Pope, How his head is said to be in Portugal. as was said on 25 January among those Passed Over and referred to other days. Nineteen leagues from Lisbon, on the River Tagus, is the Carmelite convent of Torres Novas, in which there is solemn veneration of S. Gregory, and the name is inscribed by George Cardoso in the Lusitanian Hagiology, because in that place, before the convent in honor of the Blessed Mary, Mother of God and Virgin, was built for the said Carmelites in the year 1558, there was a small chapel dedicated to S. Gregory, in which the head of the same most holy Doctor and Pontiff, enclosed in another silver head, is preserved at a particular altar privileged, as they call it, for souls; whence the monks are commonly called the monks of S. Gregory. But how the sacred head was brought there, the aforementioned Cardoso confesses that, after diligent investigation, he was unable to ascertain: whether it was formerly exposed for veneration in the ancient chapel, or whether, as the monks seem to assert, they received it from their founder, who was Don Jaime de Lancaster, Bishop of Ceuta, buried there in the choir. Why might they not have applied to this preeminent Saint, above the others called by the name Gregory, both the veneration of the said head, and indeed the nomenclature of the ancient chapel—even though it may have been that of some other S. Gregory, or perhaps a hermit who led a holy life in that place? Concerning the foundation of the said convent, the same Cardoso compiles more in his Notes on 12 March.

LIFE

By an anonymous but contemporary author.

From several ancient manuscript codices.

Gregory the Great, Roman Pontiff and Doctor of the Church (S.)

BHL Number: 3640

CHAPTER I

The birth, studies, monastic life, and Constantinopolitan embassy of S. Gregory.

[1] Gregory, born in the city of Rome, of his father Gordianus and his mother Silvia, Born of illustrious ancestors, traced his origin not only from the distinguished lineage of Senators, but also from a religious one. For Felix, Bishop of this Apostolic See, a man of great virtue and the glory of the Church in Christ, was his great-great-grandfather. But Gregory raised this line of such great nobility by his character, and adorned it with upright deeds. For, as he afterward shone forth publicly, rightly called Gregory, not without great presage was he given such a name: for Gregory, from the Greek, sounds in our language as "Watchman" or "Vigilant." For in truth he watched over himself, while by adhering to divine precepts, he lived laudably; he watched also over the faithful peoples, while by the ingenuity of his abundant doctrine he revealed to them the path by which they might ascend to heaven.

[2] Together with learning, he imbibes virtue: In the liberal disciplines, that is, Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectic, he was so trained from boyhood that, although studies of letters flourished here most especially at that time, he was thought to be second to none in this city. Already at a young age there was in him a mature eagerness—namely, to cling to the words of his elders; and if he could perceive anything worthy of hearing, not to consign it sluggishly to oblivion, but rather to commend it to a tenacious memory. Already then, with a thirsty heart, he was drinking in the streams of doctrine, which at a fitting time afterward he would pour forth from a honeyed throat. In the years of adolescence, in which youth of that age is accustomed to enter the ways of the world, he began to be devoted to God and to aspire with all his desires to the homeland of the heavenly life. But while he long and far deferred the grace of conversion, and after he was inspired with heavenly desire, he thought it better to be covered with a secular habit and wished to serve the present world, He is detained by worldly cares. as if only in appearance, many cares of the same world began to grow up against him, so that in it he was retained not only in appearance but, as he himself asserted of himself, in mind as well.

[3] At length, when by the death of his parents, which had occurred some time ago, he had free power to dispose of his affairs, he revealed what he had previously carried in his mind; and what he already was in the divine gaze, He founds seven monasteries: he also showed to human eyes. For immediately he distributed all that he could have to the work of piety, so that, himself poor, he might follow Christ, who became poor for our sake. Building six monasteries in Sicily, he gathered brothers there to serve Christ; the seventh, moreover, within

the walls of this city he established a monastery, in which he himself afterward served under the regular path, with many brothers joined to him, under the authority of an Abbot. He becomes a monk: To these monasteries he assigned so much from the revenues of his estates as could suffice for the daily sustenance of those living there. The rest, however, together with his entire household estate, he sold and distributed to the poor, and that nobility which he seemed to have for the world, he converted entirely, by the grace of God granting it, to the attaining of heavenly dignity and glory. And he who before had been accustomed to proceed through the city in his consular robe, adorned with woven silk and glittering gems, afterward, covered with a cheap garment, poor himself, ministered to the poor. For suddenly, having changed his secular habit, he sought the monastery and escaped naked from the shipwreck of this world; in which he began to live with such great grace of perfection that even then, at the very beginning, he could be counted among the number of the perfect. There was in him such great abstinence in food, From excessive abstinence he falls dangerously ill: watchfulness in prayers, and vigor in fasting, that with his stomach weakened, he could scarcely stand. He endured, moreover, constant bodily infirmities, and was especially afflicted by that malady which physicians call in Greek syncope (synkopis): by the discomforts of which he was so tortured by the failure of his vital powers that, seized by frequent crises, he approached death at almost every moment of the hours.

[4] What he was like in the monastery, and with what laudable zeal he directed his life, we can gather from his own words, which he himself, already placed in the Pontificate, used while conversing with his Deacon Peter, speaking with tears, In the Prologue of the Dialogues. saying: "For my unhappy soul, struck by the wound of its occupation, remembers what it once was in the monastery: He himself prefers this monastic life to the Pontificate: how all transient things were beneath it; how much it towered above the things that pass away; how it was accustomed to think of nothing but heavenly things; how, though still held by the body, it already passed beyond the very enclosures of the flesh by contemplation; how it loved even death, which is a punishment for nearly all, as the entrance to life and the reward of its labor. But now, because of the pastoral care, it endures the affairs of secular men, and after so beautiful a vision of its repose, is defiled with the dust of earthly activity. I consider, therefore, what I endure, I consider what I have lost: and when I look upon what I have lost, what I bear becomes heavier. For behold, I am now tossed by the waves of a great sea, and in the ship of my mind I am dashed by the storms of a violent tempest: and when I recall the state of my former life, as though turning my eyes backward, I sigh at the sight of the shore; and what is still more grievous, while I am carried along, troubled by immense waves, I can scarcely any longer see the port I left behind." These things he was accustomed to report about himself, not boasting of his progress in virtues, but rather bewailing the loss that he feared he had incurred on account of the pastoral care. But although he said such things about himself from the intent of great humility, we ought nevertheless to believe that he lost nothing of monastic perfection on account of the pastoral care; indeed, that he then gained a greater advance from the labor of the conversion of many than he had once had from the quiet of his own way of life.

[5] He is created Cardinal Deacon: But how this holy man ascended to the Office of the Diaconate, and afterward to the summit of the Pontificate, the following discourse will declare. For the Roman Pontiff who then presided over the Church, seeing that Blessed Gregory was ascending to great heights by the steps of virtues, drew him from the monastery and raised him to the office of the Ecclesiastical Order, and appointed him as the seventh Deacon to his aid; and not long after, he sent him as Apocrisiarius to the city of Constantinople for Ecclesiastical responses. He is sent to Constantinople as Apocrisiarius: Nevertheless, although he was living in the earthly palace, he did not abandon the purpose of the heavenly life. For many Brothers from his monastery followed him, bound by fraternal charity: which is seen to have been done by divine dispensation, so that by their example, as if by the cable of an anchor, he might be held fast to the placid shore of prayer; so that, Among his monastic companions he preserves the monastic spirit: while he was tossed by the incessant beating of secular affairs, he might flee to the bosom of their company, as to the safest harbor, after the turmoils and waves of earthly activity. And although that ministry, having drawn him from the monastery, had extinguished him from his former life of quiet by the sword of its occupation, yet among them, through the conversation of diligent reading, the aspiration of daily compunction animated him. By their companionship, therefore, he was not only fortified against earthly attacks, but was also more and more inflamed to the exercises of the heavenly life.

[6] Then, being earnestly asked by these same Brothers, and especially compelled by the venerable man Leander, Bishop of Seville, who had come to Constantinople at that time as Legate on behalf of the Visigoths, He expounds the book of Job: he was prevailed upon to unravel the book of Blessed Job, wrapped in many mysteries. Nor could he refuse the work which fraternal love, with charity intervening, imposed upon him as destined to be useful to many. But that same book—how it is to be understood according to the letter, how it is to be referred to the sacraments of Christ and of the Church, and in what sense it is to be adapted to each of the faithful—he taught through a series of thirty-five books with wonderful reasoning. In these books he so discoursed on virtues and vices that he seems not only to expound them in words but in some way to demonstrate them in visible forms. Whence there is no doubt that he attained the perfection of those very virtues whose effect he was able to convey so efficaciously.

[7] [He extinguishes a heresy that had arisen concerning the state of the Resurrection.] While he was still stationed in that royal city, he crushed a new heresy springing up there concerning the state of our Resurrection, at the very beginning of its rise, with the help of the grace of Catholic truth. For Eutychius, Bishop of that city, was teaching that our body in that glory of the Resurrection would be impalpable, more subtle than the winds and the air. Hearing this, Gregory proved by the reasoning of truth and by the example of the Lord's Resurrection that this doctrine was in every way contrary to the orthodox faith. For the Catholic faith holds that our body, raised to that glory of immortality, is indeed subtle through the effect of spiritual power, but palpable through the truth of nature, according to the example of the Lord's Body, concerning which, resurrected from the dead, He Himself says to His disciples: "Touch and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me to have." Luke 24:39 In the assertion of this faith, the venerable Father Gregory so strove to labor against the rising new heresy, and with such insistence, with the aid also of the most pious Emperor Tiberius Constantine, did he crush it, that none was afterward found to be its reviver.

CHAPTER II

S. Gregory's pious exercises during the plague: election as Pontiff: books written, illnesses.

[8] After the flooding of the Tiber, Therefore, after the venerable Deacon had returned to Rome, with some time having elapsed, the River Tiber, in such a great flood, overflowed the course of its channel and swelled so much that its wave flowed over the walls of the city and occupied a very great part of the region, so that it destroyed the walls of many ancient buildings. By the violence of the waters, the granaries of the Church were also overturned, in which several thousand measures of wheat perished. At that time, indeed, a multitude of serpents, together with a great dragon the size of a strong beam, descended through the channel of this river into the sea; but the beasts were suffocated among the salty waves of the turbulent sea, and without delay were cast upon the shore. From the inguinal plague. There followed immediately a plague, which they call the inguinal: for in the middle of the eleventh month it arrived, and first of all, according to what is read in Ezekiel: "Begin from my sanctuary," it struck Pope Pelagius when Pope Pelagius was killed, and without delay killed him. When he had died, such a slaughter of the people was made that everywhere, with the inhabitants removed, very many houses in the city remained empty. Ezekiel 9:6

[9] S. Gregory is elected against his will: But since the Church could not be without a Rector, all the people elected Blessed Gregory, although he resisted with all his might. He, more anxiously trying to flee that summit, cried out that he was utterly unworthy of such an honor: fearing, namely, that the glory of the world, which he had previously cast aside, might in some way creep upon him under the guise of Ecclesiastical government. Whence it happened that he directed a letter to the Emperor Mauritius, whose son he had received from the holy font of Baptism, He tries to free himself through the Emperor: adjuring and earnestly requesting that he never give his assent to the people to exalt him with the glory of this honor. But the Prefect of the city, named Germanus, anticipated his messenger, and having seized him and torn up the letters, directed to the Emperor the consent that the people had made. And he, giving thanks to God for the friendship of the Deacon, because he had found an opportunity of conferring honor upon him as he desired, immediately gave orders that he be appointed.

[10] While it remained for him to be blessed, and the plague was devastating the people, He exhorts the people to penance: he began a discourse to the people for the doing of penance in this manner: "It is proper, dearest Brothers, that we fear the scourges of God, which we should have dreaded when they were coming, at least now that they are present and experienced: let sorrow open the door of conversion for us, and let the very punishment that we suffer dissolve the hardness of our heart. For as the Prophet testifies, it was foretold: 'The sword has reached even to the soul.' Jeremiah 4:10 For behold, all the people are struck by the blade of heavenly wrath, and individuals are devastated by sudden slaughter: nor does illness precede death, but as you see, death itself outpaces the delays of illness. For the one struck is snatched away before he can turn to the laments of penance. Consider, therefore, in what condition he arrives before the sight of the strict Judge, who has no time to weep for what he has done. The inhabitants are not withdrawn in part, but fall together. Houses are left empty, parents watch the funerals of their children, and their heirs precede them to destruction. Let each of us therefore flee to the laments of penance, while there is still time to weep before being struck. Let us recall before the eyes of the mind whatever we have committed in our wandering, and let us punish with weeping whatever we have done wickedly. Let us anticipate His face

with confession, and as the Prophet admonishes, let us lift up our hearts together with our hands to God: for to lift up hearts together with hands to God is to raise the zeal of our prayer along with the merit of good works. Lamentations 3:41

"He certainly gives, He gives confidence to our trembling, who cries out through the Prophet: 'I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that he may be converted and live.' Ezekiel 33:11 Let no one despair because of the enormity of his iniquities. For a three-day penance wiped away the inveterate sins of the Ninevites, and the converted thief merited the rewards of life even in the very sentence of his death. Let us therefore change our hearts, and let us presume that we have already received what we ask: the Judge is more quickly bent by prayer, if the petitioner is corrected from his depravity. With the sword of so great a visitation threatening, therefore, let us persist in importunate weeping. For that importunity which is displeasing to men pleases the Judge of truth: because the good and merciful God wishes to be entreated in prayers, who does not wish to be angry as much as we deserve. Psalm 50:15 Hence it is said through the Psalmist: 'Call upon me in the day of your tribulation, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.' He Himself is therefore a witness to Himself that He desires to have mercy on those who call upon Him, who admonishes that He be invoked."

[11] He proclaims a sevenfold Litany: "Wherefore, dearest Brothers, with contrite heart and corrected deeds, from the very dawn of Wednesday let us come to tears in the devotion of the sevenfold Litany, so that the strict Judge, when He considers that we are punishing our own faults, may Himself spare us from the sentence of proposed damnation." We thought this exhortation of Blessed Gregory should be inserted into this little work, in order to show from what great perfection of preaching he took his beginning. Therefore, while a great multitude of Priests, Monks, and persons of every sex and age, according to the prescription of Blessed Gregory, had come on the appointed day to beseech the Lord, the plague itself, by divine judgment, raged to such an extent that within the space of one hour, while the people were sending forth voices of supplication to the Lord, Amid great slaughter of people, he persists in prayer: eighty persons, falling to the ground, breathed their last. But the great Priest did not cease to preach to the people, that they should not desist from prayer, until by divine mercy the plague itself should grow quiet.

[12] And while the future Bishop was preparing hiding places for flight, watchfulness was assigned to the city and guards to the gates, until the divine rites might be fittingly and gloriously completed in him, as the Sacred Order demands. He is hidden in a hiding place, He obtained from merchants that he should be concealed in a basket and carried out of the city, and thus he hid himself in concealment for three days, until the Roman people obtained him through fasts and prayers, when a pillar of light, sent from heaven upon him on the third night, he is betrayed by a pillar of fire, shining in a straight line from the summit of heaven all the way to him for no small space of the night, showed the seekers their desired object. And to a certain holy anchorite adjacent to the city, Angels ascending and descending upon him through the aforesaid pillar were seen, and by the ascending and descending of Angels: who immediately, taking a happy and sacred augury from the ladder that S. Jacob saw in his sleep, and saying that the house of the Lord would be there, exclaimed that the Ruler of the house of God, which is the Church—indeed the very temple of God—was hidden there. He is consecrated Pontiff. And at last, the chosen and beloved of the Lord is found, seized, and dragged away, and led to the basilica of Blessed Peter, and there, consecrated to the office of Pontifical grace, he is made Pope of the city.

[13] At which time, when he was reproved by John, Bishop of the city of Ravenna, He writes the book on the Pastoral Care: for why, being so capable, he had wished to withdraw himself by hiding from the Pastoral office, compelled by this occasion, he composed the excellent volume called the Pastoral Book; in which he made clear with manifest light what sort of person should be chosen for the government of the Church, how the Rectors themselves should live, with what discretion they should instruct each and every person among their hearers, and with what great consideration they ought daily to weigh their own frailty. Homilies on the Gospels, He also composed Homilies on the Gospels, forty in number, which he divided in equal portions into two volumes. He also published four books of the Dialogues, in which, at the request of his Deacon Peter, he collected for the example of posterity the virtues of the Saints Four books of the Dialogues, whom he knew to be more illustrious in Italy: so that, just as in the books of his expositions he had taught what virtues should be labored at, so also by describing the miracles of the Saints he might show how bright those same virtues are. He also demonstrated how much light the first and last parts of the Prophet Ezekiel, On the Prophet Ezekiel: which seemed more obscure, contain within, through twenty-two homilies. He wrote, moreover, various other things, and also very many letters, Various letters: all of which to mention individually, I have omitted for the sake of brevity.

[14] And it is all the more wonderful that he could compose so many and such great volumes, since throughout the entire time of his youth, to speak in his own words, he was tortured by frequent pains in his intestines; Meanwhile afflicted by many diseases. at every hour and moment he grew weary as the strength of his stomach failed; he gasped with slow but nevertheless continual fevers; frequent pain in his legs also afflicted him severely. But amid these things, while he anxiously considered that, as Scripture testifies, "Every son who is received is scourged," the more harshly he was pressed by present evils, the more certainly he drew breath in the presumption of eternal things. Moreover, the continual worry of organizing the watches of the city wearied him, And occupied with other anxieties. lest it be captured by enemies. The reported dangers of his children from here and there also incessantly burned his soul. But yet he, caught amid so many and such great hardships, never indulged in idleness, but was always either serving the needs of his children, or writing something worthy of the Church, or through the grace of contemplation participating in the secrets of heaven.

CHAPTER III

Exiles and the needy aided by S. Gregory: the English converted to the faith through his efforts.

[15] He aids exiles driven out by the Lombards, At length, while from nearly all of Italy very many were fleeing from every direction to the city of Rome, fearing the swords of the Lombards, he exercised diligent care for all, and ministered to everyone both the nourishment of the word and the sustenance of the body. For the love of mercy had so bound his soul that he not only came to the aid of the needs of those whom he had present, but also extended the help of his generosity to those far away—to such a degree that he even sent whatever was necessary to the servants of God stationed on Mount Sinai. Also to others dwelling on Mount Sinai, For other Pontiffs indeed devoted their effort to building and adorning churches with gold and silver; but he both attended to these things and, as if setting these aside, devoted himself entirely to the gaining of souls; and whatever money he could have, he took zealous care to scatter and give to the poor, And to any and all the needy everywhere: so that his justice might remain forever, and his horn might be exalted in glory—so that he could truly say with Blessed Job: "The blessing of him that was about to perish came upon me; and I comforted the heart of the widow. I put on justice, and I clothed myself with it as with a garment and a diadem, my judgment. Job 29 I was an eye to the blind and a foot to the lame. I was a father to the poor; and the cause which I did not know, I investigated most diligently." And a little later: "If I have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten of it; because from my infancy mercy grew up with me, and from my mother's womb it went forth with me." Job 31

[16] To the work of his justice and piety it pertains that he snatched the English nation from the teeth of the ancient enemy through the preachers He procured the conversion of the English: whom he sent there, and made it a sharer in eternal liberty. For since he who faithfully adheres to our God always happily ascends to better things from His bountiful gift, while this most blessed Saint Gregory was striving with burning zeal for the gathering of the souls of the faithful one by one, the merciful Lord granted him the grace to convert an entire nation at once. The occasion of this conversion, as is believed, was divinely brought about as follows: When one day, with merchants recently arrived, many goods for sale had been gathered in the marketplace of Rome, and many were flocking from every direction to buy, it happened that Blessed Gregory, Who had once beheld certain boys for sale, before he had the Pontifical honor, was passing through the marketplace, and among other things saw boys put up for sale, with milky bodies and beautiful faces, and hair of outstanding whiteness. When he looked at them, he asked from what region or land they had been brought: and it was said that they were from the island of Britain, whose inhabitants all shone with such beauty. He asked again whether those same islanders were Christians or entangled in the errors of the Pagans; and it was said that they were Pagans. But he, drawing long sighs from the depth of his heart, said: "Alas, what sorrow! He had grieved that they were Pagans. that the author of darkness possesses men of such radiant countenance, and that so great a grace of facial beauty bears a mind empty of inner joys." Therefore he asked again what was the name of that nation. The answer was that they were called Angles. And he said: "Well, for they have Angelic faces, together with the entire nation and King; and it is fitting that such ones should be co-heirs of the Angels in heaven." "What," he said, "is the name of the very province from which they have been brought?" The answer was that those provincials were called Deirans. And he said: "Well, Deirans—snatched from wrath (de ira) and called to the mercy of Christ. How is the King of that province called?" The answer was that he was called Aelle. And he, playing upon the name Aelle, said: "The Alleluia ought to be sung to the praise of God the Creator in those parts."

[17] And having obtained permission from the Pontiff, And approaching the Pontiff of this Roman and Apostolic See, he asked that he would send to the English nation in Britain certain ministers of the word, through whom they might be converted to Christ: asserting that he himself was prepared to accomplish this work, with the Lord cooperating, if it should please the same Apostolic Pope that this be kindly done. Since the Pontiff at first by no means assented to this, at last, overcome by his untiring prayers, he consented. Gregory, concealing the business of his departure from the citizens—since if they had known, they would never have acquiesced in any way— He sets out toward England: as quickly as he could, undertook the journey with the Apostolic blessing. Meanwhile, this came to the notice of the people; by unanimous agreement all the citizens and those of the suburbs, or whoever could run to meet him upon hearing, divided themselves into three parts, and cried out with terrible voice to the Apostolic Pelagius, who was setting out for the Church of S. Peter: "Come now, Apostolic one! What have you done? You have offended S. Peter! You have destroyed Rome! You have not so much sent Blessed Gregory as expelled him!"

The Pontiff, therefore, horribly moved by these cries but when the Roman people urged that he be recalled, and fearing the people most vehemently, sent after him with the utmost haste, with a command obliging him to return to Rome as quickly as possible. But before the messengers had reached him, when three days' journey had already been completed, while the same man of the Lord, Blessed Gregory, as is the custom of travelers, was sitting and reading around the sixth hour in a certain meadow, with some of his companions resting and others standing by him or occupied with necessary things, a locust came to him, and giving a leap, settled upon the page he was reading. The blessed man of the Lord, Gregory, seeing it remain so tamely in the place where it had settled, as he himself had predicted that he would be recalled, began, rejoicing with his companions, to interpret its very name, saying: "This locust may be said to be, as it were, 'Stay in place' (loco sta)." And adding, he said: "Know that it is not permitted for us to extend our begun journey further; nevertheless, arise and saddle the beasts, that as far as is allowed, we may hasten where we are heading." But while they were conversing about this among themselves and questioning; He had returned. the messengers of the Apostolic arrived, their horses sweating and greatly fatigued; and immediately they held out to him with great speed the letter they had brought. Having read it through, he said: "It is so, companions, as I predicted; we shall return to Rome more swiftly."

[18] The Pontiff sends Apostolic men. And in such order, with the fulfillment of his devotion meanwhile deferred, as soon as he himself had assumed the office of the Pontificate, he completed the desired work; sending other preachers, to be sure, but himself supporting the preaching, so that it might bear fruit, with his exhortations and prayers and gifts. At length he sent to that same island servants of God: Mellitus, Augustine, and John, with many other God-fearing monks; who within a brief space of time converted that King, who was dwelling at the head of that island, together with his people. To whom the Almighty Lord conferred such great grace of performing miracles that they confirmed the word of faith, which they preached by mouth, with the efficacy of signs. And that Kings were converted to the faith. Whence it came about that, with a few years passing, the other Kings of that island also, together with those subject to them, came to the faith of Christ the Lord. Concerning the conversion of this nation, together with the prodigies of miracles that were performed there, Blessed Gregory thus testifies in his books of Moralia, saying: "Behold, the tongue of Britain, He rejoices: which knew nothing else but to gnash barbarously, has already long since begun to sound Hebrew words in the divine praises. Behold the once swelling Ocean, now subdued, serves at the feet of the Saints, and the mouths of Priests bind with simple words those barbarous movements of his which earthly Princes could not tame with iron: and he who unfaithful had in no way feared the bands of warriors, now faithful fears the tongues of the humble. For since, with the heavenly words received and miracles also shining forth, the power of divine knowledge is poured into him, he is restrained by the terror of that same Divinity, so that he fears to act wrongly, and with all his desires longs to come to the glory of eternity." He should be called the Apostle of the English: All of which, that it might come to pass, divine grace so granted to the same Blessed Gregory, that he deservedly ought to be called Apostle by the English peoples, because even if he is not an Apostle to others, he is nevertheless one to them; for the seal of his apostleship they are in the Lord.

CHAPTER IV

Miracles performed by S. Gregory concerning the Eucharist, Relics, and the Sign of the Cross.

[19] Now, whether this man of such great merit was distinguished by any miracles is a superfluous question, since it is clearer than light that he who was able by his merits to acquire signs of virtues for others, with Christ granting them, He is renowned for miracles: could more easily have merited these also for himself, if the occasion had required it. But lest satisfaction be lacking for those who, with the Jews, seek visible signs to demonstrate sanctity; and that edification may profit those who seek to be kindled and advanced to better things by the examples of the Saints, I think certain things should be related, which the Lord decreed to bring about and make manifest through him, for the purpose of arousing and strengthening the tepidity of our mind, and of destroying the unbelief, rather than the ignorance, of many. A certain noble matron was in this city of Rome, who, out of zeal for religion and devotion, was accustomed to make offerings and to bring them to church on the Lord's Day, and by the grace of Ecclesiastical custom and familiarity to offer them to the Supreme Pontiff. He confirms a woman doubting in the faith of the Eucharist. One day, when she came in her turn, according to custom, to receive communion from the hand of the Apostolic, and the Pontiff held out to her the morsel of the Lord's Body, saying: "May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ profit you for the remission of sins and for eternal life," she smiled. The man of the Lord, seeing this, withdrew the sacred communion from her and placed it separately on the altar, and gave it to the Deacon to be kept until all the faithful had communicated. When the sacred mysteries were completed, Blessed Gregory asked her, saying: "Tell me, I pray, what arose in your heart, that you smiled when you were about to communicate?" And she said: The sacred host transformed into flesh by his prayers, "I recognized that the little portion was from the same offering that I had made with my own hands and offered to you. And when I understood you to call it the Body of the Lord, I smiled." Then the holy Pontiff of the Lord delivered a sermon to the people on this subject, and exhorted them to beseech the Lord suppliantly, that, for the strengthening of the faith of many, He would show to the eyes of the flesh what the unbelief of this woman ought to have seen with the eyes of the mind and beheld with the lights of faith. When this had been prayed, he himself, rising from prayer together with the people and the same woman, came to the altar, with all beholding and pressing together to see the heavenly spectacle; he lifted the corporal cloth, and, with the entire people and the same woman looking on, found a part of a little finger stained with blood, and said to the woman: "Learn, I say, to believe at last in the truth that testifies: 'The bread that I give is my flesh; and my blood is truly drink.' But our Creator, foreknowing our weakness, by that power by which He made all things from nothing and by the working of the Holy Spirit fashioned for Himself a Body from the flesh of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, converts bread and wine mixed with water, the proper appearance remaining, into His Flesh and Blood, at the Catholic prayer, for our restoration, by the sanctification of His Spirit." And thereupon he commanded all to beseech the divine power to reform the Most Sacred Mystery into its former form, And then restored to its former form: so that it might be possible for the woman to receive it—which was also done. Whence the often-mentioned woman, profiting greatly in holy religion and faith, was consecrated by the participation of the Lord's Sacrament; and all who had seen it grew more fervently in divine love and orthodox belief.

[20] A certain man, most noble according to the lineage of the flesh and most powerful according to royal magnificence in his own way, having obtained familiarity with the Apostolic See through intermediaries, and having been sufficiently imbued in the worship of God and the Saints by frequent admonition and the instruction of letters transmitted by Blessed Gregory, sent through vigorous and devout messengers fitting gifts to the Pontifical seat, requesting that relics of the blessed Apostles and Martyrs be sent to him. To one requesting sacred relics through envoys, The holy Apostolic, receiving his envoys honorably and gladly, caused them to stay with him for some time, and, ceaselessly going around the memorial of the holy Apostles and the cemeteries of the Martyrs, celebrating Masses according to ancient custom for this kind of business and consecrating relics in their veneration, always having the aforesaid envoys as his companions—when he had completed the celebrations of those whose relics were sought, He sends cloths in which these had been wrapped: he divided the same consecrated cloths, upon which he had celebrated the Holy Rites, into portions, and placed each one individually in small boxes, and having sealed them with the seal of his holy authority, delivered them to the petitioners according to Ecclesiastical usage. They, receiving with due veneration the blessing sought and accepted, departed on their way rejoicing.

[21] But while for some days they were traveling on their return journey, the one who was considered the first among the rest was overcome by a curiosity friendly to human nature, telling his companions that they had foolishly undertaken the labor of the journey, since they did not know what precious thing they were bringing back to their lord. But as the exchange of words gradually grew Who, having returned with indignation, and the suggestion of the companions gained strength, the seals of the Apostolic dignity were broken, the boxes were opened, and in each one a single small portion of cloth was found. And immediately, returning to Rome with indignation, they approached the Archdeacon complaining: "Why," they said, "has the Lord Apostolic so despised our Lord, who had hoped to have obtained such great favor with him, that he thus wished to mock him and to subject us to his dishonor and offense? For we thought we were carrying from here the precious bones of the Apostles or Martyrs, as would have been fitting for such a man as our Lord is, sought from such a great See after so long and most difficult a journey: and small portions of cloth were given to us, as if such a kind of rags could not be found among us. For unless careful diligence had come to our aid, so that we might know what we were carrying, and we had thus come foolishly to our Lord, there is no doubt of the danger to our honor and

that we must have incurred loss of his grace." The Archdeacon reproved them with a modest rebuke for having burst into such presumption as to break the Apostolic seals, urging them to return and bring to their Lord with honor what they had received. But they in no way acquiesced to his counsels and came before the presence of the Lord Gregory, who, having learned what had happened, bore their foolishness most patiently, He receives them patiently, and commanded them to be present at the most sacred solemnities of the Mass.

[22] Then, when it came to the time for his sermon, he urged the people to implore the grace of God and the Saints, so that He would deign most openly to make His power manifest in this matter, so that the less believing and ignorant might be able to recognize more clearly what faith deserves. And when prayer had been made, And having obtained by prayers a flow of blood from them, he took from the one who had violated the seals a knife, and taking up one portion of the cloth over the altar of the Body of S. Peter, he pierced it through the middle and cut it: from which blood immediately flowed and stained the entire same portion. The above-mentioned envoys and all the peoples, seeing this stupendous and hidden miracle of the sacred faith, fell prostrate on the ground, adoring the Lord and saying: "Wonderful is the God of Israel in His Saints; the God of Israel Himself will give virtue and strength to His people, blessed be God." And when silence was made, among other lessons of faith, Blessed Gregory said to those who had thought little of these venerable relics: "Know, Brothers, that in the consecration of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, when for the sanctification of the relics in honor of His Apostles or Martyrs, to whom they were specially assigned, when libations were offered upon the most sacred altar, the blood of those who shed it for the name of Christ our Lord always entered these cloths." And when all who had seen were edified in faith, and the boxes were again sealed with his sign, he delivered to them the incomparable gifts of their vow. He confirmed their faith. And returning with great joy, they reported to their lord all these things that they had seen and heard, and made him the possessor of his desire; who reverently received the precious patronage of the Saints and honorably placed them in a venerable location: in which God deigns to work more frequent miracles than in the church of S. Peter, to the praise and glory of His name, to this very day.

[23] There was also a father of a household in Rome, very rich in possessions but exceedingly poor in religion, who, no less full of vices than of wealth, when his wife had displeased him, made a divorce from her contrary to the precept of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He strikes an adulterer, often vainly admonished, with anathema: The matter could not escape the notice of the most blessed Pontiff Gregory, most pious, because both the magnitude of the evil and the knowledge of the persons easily betrayed it. Blessed Gregory strove most diligently and most frequently, indeed unceasingly, to persuade him, both with many and most gentle admonitions and with terrors of the strict divine examination, to receive his wife back into peaceful grace, from whom he could in no way be separated except by death or by the consent of both. But he, irremediably possessed by diabolical stubbornness, spurned the counsels of the most blessed Gregory, man of God. The same most holy Pope Gregory, by Apostolic authority, separated him from the Church under anathema unless he should repent. Bearing this excommunication very ill and heaping sins upon sins, the man hired two sorcerers by agreement for money to exercise the demonstration of their art against the holy Apostolic in vengeance. They, not knowing him by face, Therefore while riding, he is assailed by enchantments, while on a certain day Blessed Gregory was proceeding to a procession according to custom, standing at a distance beside his route, asked that he be pointed out to them. They were told that he was the one who, riding alone in Pontifical dignity, had the preceding and following company of Ecclesiastical men. And looking at him, they immediately caused his horse to be vexed by demons through their sorceries. But Blessed Gregory, having invoked the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and having made the sign of the Cross, He stops the horse with the sign of the Cross, disturbed the demons from the horse; and looking in that direction, as soon as he caught sight of the sorcerers, they were blinded and, overcome by those same demons, fell backward. The man of the Lord understood thence that this had been perpetrated by their wickedness; and when he had ordered them brought to him, upon being questioned, they revealed the order of events. To them the most blessed Pontiff replied: "You ought to be perpetually blind, He punishes the sorcerers with blindness, lest, seeing, you be tempted to return to your accustomed perversity. But in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the working of Blessed Peter, be free from the vexation of demons." They were immediately freed from the demons and, believing, were washed in the saving font; and condemned to permanent blindness, by the command of Blessed Gregory, they were henceforth fed by the Church's alms.

[24] But a certain tyrant was also inflicting much oppression with nearly unbearable importunity upon the peace of the holy Roman Church, and was most cruelly devastating the possessions and slaves belonging to it. He reconciles a rebel to the Church. When rebuked by the admonition of the blessed Pontiff through messengers, he burned with even greater madness, to the point that he approached the City intending to devastate it. Blessed Gregory went to meet him as he arrived, in order to converse with him; and the tyrant found such force present in his words by divine command that with the most humble indulgence he made satisfaction to the religious Apostolic, and pledged himself henceforth to be subject to him and a devoted servant of the holy Roman Church. He recovers health for a sick man: This same man, afterward sick unto death, begged for the prayer of the venerable Pope; and received in response that the Lord would still grant him a space for penance; and that to recover more fully, he should take care to indulge in those foods with which he had been nourished. Obeying these commands, he recovered, and lived more devoutly for the rest of his life.

CHAPTER V

Prayer for the soul of Trajan. Books written. Death.

[25] The same most perfect Priest, acceptable to God, while one day passing through the Forum of Trajan, which is known to have been built with wondrous workmanship, and observing the marks of his mercy, among other things discovered that memorable deed—namely, that when the same Prince of the world was going on an expedition, surrounded by companies of soldiers, Mindful of the gentleness of Trajan, he met there an aged widow, worn out by old age, grief, and poverty alike, by whose tears and cries he was thus addressed: "Most pious Prince Trajan, behold, these are the men who have just now killed my only son, the staff and solace of my old age; and though wishing to kill me together with him, they disdain even to render me any account for him." To whom he, passing by in haste as the business required, said: "When I return, tell me, and I will do you full justice." Then she said: "Lord, what if you do not return—what shall I do?" At which words he stopped and had the accused brought before him; nor, when all were suggesting that he hasten the business, did he move his step from the place until he had ordered that what was decreed by juridical sanctions be paid from the treasury to the widow; and finally, moved by visceral clemency at the supplications, prayers, and tears of those who repented of their deed, he released those bound in Praetorian chains, not so much by his power as by entreaty and gentleness. Moved to compunction by this deed, the venerable Pontiff bewails his error, began with tearful groans, amid words of prayer, to unfold these prophetic and evangelical oracles: "You, Lord, have said: 'Judge for the orphan, defend the widow, and come and argue with me; forgive, and you shall be forgiven.' Be not unmindful, I beseech You, most unworthy sinner that I am, for the sake of the name of Your most holy glory and Your most faithful promise, in the deed of this most devoted man." And arriving at the tomb of Blessed Peter the Apostle, he prayed and wept there for a long time; and as if seized by a very heavy sleep, he was caught up in an ecstasy of mind, in which through a revelation he learned that he had been heard, and merited to be admonished not to presume henceforth to make such requests concerning anyone who had died without holy Baptism. Was he heard? In this matter, although a mind of perfect faith and any curious person may be able to raise objections, believing in the Truth that promises and says things greater than these: "What things are impossible, or seem so, among men, are possible with God"—yet it seems safer in this act to venerate the judgment of divine piety and power, and that it ought to be examined by no one.

[26] Moreover, from a faithful and religious man, and one most intimate with this our most holy Father by the merit of his religion and usefulness, He is instructed by the Holy Spirit appearing in the form of a dove. we faithfully learned after his death the following narration: that, when the same vessel of election and habitation of the Holy Spirit was interpreting the last vision of the Prophet Ezekiel, a curtain being stretched between himself and the same secretary who received his discourse, and while the former was silent for rather long intervals, that same servant of his pierced the curtain with a stylus, and looking through the hole at what was happening, saw a dove, whiter than snow, sitting upon his head and holding its beak applied to his mouth for a long time; and when it removed itself from his mouth, the holy Pontiff would begin to speak, and the Notary would impress the stylus on the wax. But when the organ of the Holy Spirit was silent, his servant would again apply his eye to the hole, and would observe him, as if in prayer with hands and eyes lifted to heaven, receiving the beak of the dove in his mouth in the accustomed manner. Which at length the blessed Pontiff Gregory, most holy, learned by the revelation of the same Spirit; and being made extremely sorrowful, he threatened with Apostolic authority the one who was aware of the divine miracle performed in him, that he should by no means reveal it to anyone during his lifetime. And keeping this secret in the meantime, after the death of that same most holy Priest, compelled by the envy of certain persons who were detracting that the most blessed man had spoken such great things about the mysteries of heavenly secrets out of the swelling of presumption, he faithfully revealed that he had thus seen all these things.

[27] When the oft-mentioned Most Reverend Pontiff had migrated to the Lord, After death, appearing, he reproved his successor. while a most severe famine was raging more than enough, not only in this city of Rome but also in all the surrounding regions, and he who had succeeded him in the Pontifical See was opening the granaries of the Church to those buying grain, but closing them to those whom Blessed Gregory had ordained to be fed by Ecclesiastical stipends in monasteries and hospices or deaconries or hospitals—those compelled by the want of famine began to trouble the Apostolic's ear, saying: "Lord Apostolic, those whom our Father, your predecessor, the most holy Gregory, has hitherto been eager to feed, let not your Holiness allow to perish of hunger." He, bearing ill these outcries of their voices, replied: "If Gregory my predecessor took care to receive all peoples for the fame of his own praise, we cannot feed everyone"; and thus he ordered them to depart empty-handed. These words of response,

when he kept repeating them to those who cried out to him more frequently, the most blessed servant of God, Pope Gregory, the ornament of the Roman See, appeared to him in a vision three times, and gently rebuking him concerning his disparagement and his own tenaciousness, and the need of the wretched, admonished and corrected him. But he neither bent his heart to mercy, nor wished to set a guard on his mouth against detraction, nor extended his hand in generosity. Thereupon, the most blessed Pope Gregory, a man adorned with wondrous sanctity and piety, appeared to him a fourth time, rebuked him horribly, and threatening with the rod he held in his hand, struck him lightly on the head: tormented by the pain of this and equally by the rancor of his heart, he died shortly after.

[28] These things have been briefly said about the life and deeds of Blessed Gregory. For the rest, as long as the course of this world continues, his praiseworthy merit always receives increase; because without doubt it is ascribed to his glory that this city of Rome itself, together with the holy Apostles, is seen to stand by his prayers. And that the Church of the English is always fruitful with new offspring, and that by his teachings throughout the whole world many are drawn away from sin Epilogue, and recalled to the holy Confession of their sins, and equally to true penance, and return to the clemency of Christ (who is good and merciful in all His ways, and whose wisdom, as the Psalmist testifies, is without number). And that good and spiritual people are inflamed by his persuasions, by the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, the supreme Creator of all things visible and invisible, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are in them, and seek with longing and with the most pious affection of the heart the heavenly homeland, where there is praise and joy without end, day without night, the sun shining without cloud, satisfaction without hunger. This most blessed Pontiff and most pious servant of God, after he had most gloriously governed the See of this Roman and Apostolic Church for thirteen years, six months, and ten days, was taken from this light and translated to the eternal seat of the heavenly kingdom, with Angels accompanying him, and all God's elect joyfully rejoicing together. He was buried in the Church of Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, before the Secretarium, on the fourth day before the Ides of March, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns in perfect unity through infinite ages of ages. Amen.

ANOTHER LIFE

By John the Deacon.

Collated with manuscripts.

Gregory the Great, Roman Pontiff and Doctor of the Church (S.)

BHL Number: 3641

BY JOHN THE DEACON

PROLOGUE: To the most blessed and most happy Lord John, Bishop of the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Roman Church, John, the least of the Deacons.

Recently, at the Vigils of Blessed Gregory, the Roman Pontiff, that is, the Apostle of the English nation, when the customary reading about Paulinus, Bishop of the city of Nola, was sounding forth, you were seen by the venerable Bishops, moved as if by a certain divine impulse, to inquire why so great a Pontiff, who had woven the Lives of many Saints, should have lacked his own deeds in his own church at least—especially since among both the Saxons and the Lombards, a nation most hostile to him, he flourished everywhere with his own deeds. And when the venerable Bishops responded that these were indeed possessed by both nations, but in the most summary form, calling also upon my insignificance, you commanded that I should endeavor to gather the Life of that same man from the archives of the holy Apostolic See, all the more fully and all the more certainly. The author writes the Life of S. Gregory by command of the Roman Pontiff: But while I, conscious of my own inertia, utterly hesitated to compare myself with my predecessors and therefore wiser men, who had described his Life, briefly indeed but with pious zeal and the most beautiful style, you again and again, by commanding, vehemently encouraged me to describe the Pontiff of the Roman See by the authority of the Bishop of the same See—to whom Almighty God has without doubt given special power to approve or reject all writings whatsoever. And so, at last compelled by such imperious authorities, I had barely completed the first book of Gregory's Life, when, as the Vigils of the same came round again with the annual cycle, your authority both approved and published it.

He divides it into four books: Thereupon, made anxious about the rest, gathering a few things from many, with you as inspirer, you as preceptor, you as supporter, and you as judge, I compressed them, with the Lord's help, into four books; and according to the arrangement of the same Doctor, who had divided his book of the Pastoral Rule by a fourfold scheme, I too have set forth how he came to the summit of government in the first book of this work; and having duly arrived at this point, I discussed how he lived in the second; and living well, I showed how he taught in the third; and teaching rightly, I concluded in the fourth how he daily recognized his own weakness with what great consideration. Following other authors: Nor have I greatly compared times with times, but I have fitted similar things to similar matters; because in truth I have been careful to select not so much when he acted but how much he acted. In these matters, although I have omitted many and various things worthy of mention for the sake of brevity, I recall having put nothing down that cannot be defended by the authority of ancient writers, except for those miracles which, performed in our own times, are celebrated by the living voices of many who are still alive. He adds miracles then performed. If, however, it should seem otherwise to anyone, as is usual, let him have recourse to the fullness of your archives, and let him peruse as many paper books of the letters of the same Father as there are years he is proved to have lived. And because some of those letters, sent at various times, retain a variety of meanings, and the same appear to some entire but to others diminished in some part according to the dispensation of persons, places, or times, let him read through to the end; and thus, at last knowing the lucid truth, let him either defend me with his friends or accuse me with his detractors. Although, in that I please your judgment, I presume that I shall perpetually please all who protect the truth. I ask, therefore, that, just as I have humbly obeyed your commands, so by the prayers of Blessed Gregory I may merit to be mercifully freed both in this world from the ambushes of rivals and in the future from the bonds of sins, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. On the lineage of Blessed Gregory. 2. On the name, which he had befitting the pursuits of his life, and on others. That he was "truly named" (pherōnomos). 3. On his education. 4. Where he is described as Urban Praetor. 5. Where he built six monasteries in Sicily. 6. Where, serving under Abbots in the monastery of his own house, he was afterward Abbot. 7. Where he is unable to fast on Holy Saturday. 8. Where he obtains from the Lord the strength to fast. 9. Where his mother Silvia customarily sends him vegetables. 10. Where he is tested twice by an Angel of God, but the third time is proved most generous. 11. Where a Brother committing theft is vexed by a demon and freed by Gregory. 12. Where a fugitive Brother is blinded and freed from the bites of a black dog. 13. Where a Brother plotting flight is seized by a demon and freed by Gregory. 14. Where the hiding places of Brothers are recognized by the immobility of horses. 15. Where Brother Justus is severely punished in death for a private possession. 16. Where his soul is freed from the torments of hell. 17. Where, sins being forgiven, Antonius is ordered to die. 18. Where Gerontius with certain Brothers asserts that he will die. 19. Where John, healed by the Apostle, is summoned by a dead man. 20. Where Brother Merulus dreams he is crowned with white flowers. 21. Where he inquires about English boys for sale. 22. Where he is released to go to Britain for the conversion of the English. 23. Where he is ordered to return by the Bishop, dismayed by three outcries. 24. Where he learns through a locust that he will immediately return. 25. Where, drawn from the monastery, he is consecrated Deacon. 26. Where he is sent to Constantinople as Apocrisiarius. 27. Where he is earnestly asked to expound the book of Blessed Job. 28. Where, disputing with Eutychius, he is acknowledged the victor. 29. Where the book of Eutychius is consigned to the flames by the Emperor. 30. Where Eutychius, dying, held the skin of his hand, saying that he would truly rise again in it. 31. Where the quality of Gregory's apocrisiariat is declared. 32. A letter of Pope Pelagius is sent to Gregory. 33. Where Maximianus with the Brothers is freed from shipwreck. 34. Where the city of Rome is inundated by the flood of the Tiber. 35. Where the River Adige is miraculously solidified. 36. Where, a dragon being killed with beasts in the sea, the air is corrupted. 37. Where, celestial arrows bearing destruction, Bishop Pelagius is killed. 38. Where Theodore, freed from a dragon, is converted. 39. Where Gregory is unwillingly elected to the Pontificate. 40. Where, eager to flee the Pontificate under subterfuge, he secretly sends letters to the Emperor. 41. Where he preaches penance in a sermon. 42. Where he locally ordains the sevenfold Litany. 43. Where eighty people are struck down by the pestilence. 44. Where, fleeing from the city, he is shown by a heavenly sign; and, brought back, is consecrated Pontiff of the First See. 45. Where it is truly demonstrated that he did not wish the supreme priesthood. 46. Where the perfect quality of his discretion is indicated. 47. Where he strove to be beyond the world and beyond the flesh, and to aspire to the vision of God. 48. Where he grieved that the lamentation of his ruin was renewed. 49. Where, from the writings of Patriarch Anastasius, receiving health as though the repose of blessedness, thirsting he finds a fountain, and sweltering he finds shade. 50. Where he did not depart from the charity and spirit of Andrew the Illustrious. 51. Where he experienced the good excellence of John the Ex-Consul. 52. Where he was unwilling to reply to Leander, Bishop of Seville, about the letters sent to him.

53 Where he assumed the Supreme Priesthood with how great anguish of soul.

54 Where no man can suffice to investigate the judgments of heaven.

Moreover, in our custom we divide the Life into larger chapters, and

in place of the numbers which we elsewhere add to individual Acts, here we insert the Chapters already indicated.

BOOK I

The Life of S. Gregory up to the Pontificate unwillingly assumed.

CHAPTER I

The lineage, studies, administration of the Praetorship, monastic life, and office of Abbot of S. Gregory.

[1] Born of a most noble and holy family. Gregory, Roman by birth, a philosopher by training,

the son of Gordianus, a man of the highest rank, and of the Blessed Sylvia,

presided over the Roman See for ^a thirteen years, six months,

and ten days, in the times of ^b Tiberius, Maurice, and Phocas

Augustus. This man, sprung from a Senatorial family,

drew his lineage from a family most noble as well as most devout,

so that ^c Felix the Fourth, Pontiff of the Apostolic See,

a man of great reverence in the Church of Christ ^d

[who most beautifully built the Basilica of SS. Cosmas and Damian the Martyrs, on the

Sacred Way near the temple of Romulus, as is seen to this day]

was his great-great-grandfather, and the Blessed

^e Tarsilla the Virgin, who when about to die

heard the harmony of a heavenly promise, and merited to see

Jesus Christ coming to receive her, was likewise his aunt.

[2] This twofold line of nobility Gregory exalted by his pious

character and adorned by his upright deeds: so much so that

by a certain foreshadowing he was called in Greek Γρηγόριος, which in Latin

means Vigilantius. For in that Gregory, that is, Vigilantius, so called: the right things which he was to teach,

he fulfilled by living works, he proved that he had surely

been vigilant for himself. And when the right things which

he did, he also expounded by teaching, he is recognized

to have been vigilant not only for himself, but also for the

Christians of future times.

[3] He is imbued with learning: For already in his tender age there were mature

studies present in him, and eager to learn what was unknown, he clung

as a most skillful investigator to devout elders: and having received the

seeds of doctrine, he stored them up to be ruminated upon with tenacious memory, that he might afterward

proclaim them to the people with honeyed eloquence. And so

the teachable youth, when having passed through the common style

of rising childhood, he had arrived at the crossroads of the Pythagorean

letter, unhesitatingly began to abandon the left path

with its worldly pleasures, and to aspire with all his strength

toward the right path with heavenly desire.

[4] But while, prolonging the grace of his conversion too long,

he thought he would serve Christ more safely he becomes Urban Praetor: if under

the garb of Urban Praetor he served the world only in appearance,

many things from the care of that same world began to grow up against him:

so that he was held back not merely, as he had proposed, in appearance,

but was also retained in mind.

[5] At length, bereft of his father, when he had obtained the free power of disposing

of his possessions, he founds 6 monasteries in Sicily, he built six monasteries

in Sicily and filled them with a sufficient number of Brothers.

To these he bestowed as many estates as

could support, without want, the daily sustenance of those serving God there.

[6] A seventh monastery he built within the walls of the city of Rome, in honor

of S. Andrew the Apostle, ^f near the Basilica of SS. John

and Paul at the Clivus Scauri, in his own

house. In which, having given away his silk garments, another at Rome: his togas

resplendent with gold and gems, together with the rest of his household goods

for the use of the poor, in it he lives as a monk, then as Abbot: he escaped naked from

the shipwreck of this world: and receiving the long-desired

monastic habit, first under ^g Hilarion,

then under Maximianus, venerable Fathers,

he served with many Brothers joined to him, on the regular path

^h. But afterward, when he preferred to be subject, by the unanimous

vote of the Brothers he did not refuse to preside,

as will appear in what follows.

[7] His abstinence from food was so great, his diligence in prayers

and fasting, from abstinence and labors he falls ill: his eagerness in studying the sacred

books so devoted, that with his stomach weakened and failing,

he could scarcely stand, it seemed beyond doubt. For when at a certain

time he suffered a collapse of his vital organs, which the Greeks call

συγκοπὴν, and through frequent distresses at every passing hour

he was failing and approaching death,

and unless the Brothers frequently restored him with food,

it seemed his vital spirit would be utterly cut off; On Holy Saturday he cannot fast: the Paschal

day arrived: and while on the most sacred Saturday,

on which even small children fast, he himself could not

fast, he began to fail more from grief than from illness.

[8] He at once summoned the most holy man Eleutherius, who had long been

placed over many at Spoleto, by prayers he drives away the disease: but was then a

monk of that same monastery of his, from whom he had heard

that a dead man had been raised, and went to the oratory,

and with tears gave himself to prayer that at least on that day

strength for fasting might be given to him. And after

a little while, when the prayer was completed and he had departed, he recognized

that his stomach had received such strength that food

and illness were utterly taken from his memory. He began

to wonder at himself, who he was, who he had been: and when

the infirmity returned to his mind, he could recognize nothing in himself

of those things which he remembered. And when

his mind was occupied with the arrangement of the monastery, he utterly forgot

his illness. But if the illness returned to his memory, since he felt himself

so strong, he wondered whether he had not eaten. Coming to the evening,

he recognized that such great strength remained in him

that he could have extended his fast to the next day,

if he had wished. His mind he immediately occupies: But although he wasted away with almost daily

languor, nevertheless he desired no rest for his body,

so long as he might either pray, or read,

or write, or dictate.

[9] In the inner chambers of this sacred monastery the same man

of almighty God, Gregory, was fed by his mother ^i Sylvia (who at that

time near the gate of the Blessed Apostle Paul, he lives on raw vegetables. in a place which

is called Cella-nova, where to this day an oratory dedicated

to her name, and the famous monastery of S. Sabas the Confessor

of Christ, whose praise is in the sixth and seventh

councils, is seen to have been established, was dwelling) with raw vegetables.

[10] To an Angel in the guise of a shipwrecked man he repeatedly gives alms, There while he was writing in his usual manner, an Angel

of God found him, and tearfully begged him for mercy under the guise

of a shipwrecked man. Gregory, compassionate from his inmost heart,

gave him six coins and ordered him to depart. Not much later that same day

the same shipwrecked man returned, and declared that he had lost much

but received little. From him, having taken six coins in the same manner,

he departed joyfully. But on the third day returning, the shipwrecked man again

was demanding assistance with importunate cries.

To him the most generous father, having summoned his wardrobe-keeper,

and ordering six more coins to be given, learned that in the wardrobe

no coins remained with which he could console the shipwrecked man.

He did not know what to do. The piety of a heart devoted to God

was burning, not bearing to have left the misery of a neighbor empty-handed.

also his mother's silver dish; Again asking his wardrobe-keeper whether perhaps

he might have any vessel or garment, he

heard that absolutely nothing remained except his mother's silver

dish, which was customarily sent with vegetables poured in.

At once more cheerful, he said: Then, Brother,

take this, lest he go away sad, the poor man who seeks consolation.

And so, Gregory quite cheerfully bestowing the dish that was brought,

afterward helped by the Angel and S. Andrew. the man who was thought to be a pauper joyfully embraced it,

about to return not to seek, but to confer assistance.

By whom indeed, at the time of the Angelic visitation,

he was made renowned by such miracles and such virtues

that he was both an example and a source of awe to all who lived with him.

For he was considered to have presided over his monastery not alone,

but in company with the Blessed Apostle Andrew, with evident signs.

^a Years and days of the Pontificate. From 3 September of the year 590 to 12 March of the year 604, and so that the ten days here assigned may be correct, both termini, that is, the day of consecration and the day of death, are included: in some MSS. of Anastasius the Librarian, nine days are read.

^b Indeed the times of Tiberius do not pertain to his Pontificate: but to that Emperor he was sent as Deacon and Apocrisiarius at Constantinople. Tiberius the Emperor.

^c Indeed the third Felix, as was said above, and at his Life on 25 February.

^d These words enclosed in parentheses should be expunged, as they pertain to S. Felix IV: whose Acts we have given; on January.

^e Concerning S. Tarsilla, and his other aunt S. Aemiliana, a fuller treatment is given below in Book 3, Chapter 6.

^f Concerning

these places, Pancirolus treats in the New Treasury of the City of Rome, region 9,

church 30 and 32. And more extensively Antonio Yepez, volume 1, at the year 576, chapter

1. They were on the Caelian Hill.

^g Valentio. Our MS. and that of Corsendonk read Laurionis, but it should be read as Valentionis, as was said above.

^h It is read in the Poem that he was substituted for the deceased Abbot.

^i S. Sylvia is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology on the 3rd of November.

CHAPTER II

Various monks divinely punished for their crimes: helped by S. Gregory.

[11] A monk who committed theft, seized by a demon. For to speak of a few things out of many, one day

he sent out two Brothers from there who were to buy something

for the use of that same monastery.

One was younger, who seemed more prudent: the other older,

who was to be the guardian of the younger. Both went, and from

the price which they had received, the one who had been sent as guardian

of the younger, without the other's knowledge, committed theft. As soon

as they returned to the monastery and came before the threshold of the oratory,

the one who had committed the theft was seized by a demon

and fell. But when released by the demon, with the monks gathering,

by the Abbot's command he was asked whether perhaps

he had committed theft from what he had received. He denied it, and

was again tormented: released, after various denials, confessing, he is freed: and again questioned,

he denied it, and was again tormented. And so eight times

he denied, eight times he was tormented. But after the eighth

denial, questioned by Gregory, he confessed

that he had stolen the coins: and prostrating himself before him,

he testified that he had sinned: and having received his penance,

the demon never again approached him.

[12] A monk contemplating flight from the monastery, made blind and twisted, At another time also, while on the birthday

of the same Apostle, at the midday hours the Brothers were resting,

suddenly a certain Brother with open eyes was blinded

and began to tremble and cry out loudly: by which

cries he testified that he could not bear what he was suffering.

The Brothers ran together and saw him blind with open eyes,

and trembling and crying out, and estranged from those present,

perceiving nothing that could be done from without.

They lifted him up in their hands and, at the command of ^b Gregory,

cast him before the altar of S. Andrew

the Apostle, and themselves prostrated in prayer for him.

He was immediately restored to himself,

and confessed that a certain old man had appeared to him and

had released a black dog to tear him apart, saying:

Why did you wish to flee from this monastery? By prayers he is healed: And since

I could by no means escape from the bites of the dog, certain

monks came and entreated that same old man on my behalf:

who at once ordered the dog to depart, and I myself

returned to my senses. He also frequently confessed afterward,

saying that on that day on which he had endured those things, he had formed a plan

of fleeing from the monastery.

[13] likewise another seized by a demon for the same reason, Another monk also, planning to leave that same

monastery secretly, wished to enter the oratory,

but being seized by the demon, he could not. He was left alone

by the demon as long as he stood outside the oratory: if

he tried to enter, he was immediately handed over to the evil spirit

and tormented. When this happened repeatedly, at length ^c Gregory

inquiring, he confessed that he had wished to flee from the monastery:

and by his piety, together with the prayers of the Brothers over three days,

he was so healed by divine mercy that the evil spirit afterward

never attempted to approach him.

[14] two apostate monks hiding in a crypt, Two other Brothers also fled from that same Father's

monastery: who had first given some signs by conversing with

the Brothers that, descending by the Appian Way,

they were heading for Jerusalem. Going out,

they turned aside from the route, and so that they could not

be found by pursuers, they discovered remote crypts near the Flaminian

Gate and hid themselves in them. But when

at the evening hour, by the command of ^d Gregory, they were sought and not

found in the community, certain Brothers mounted horses

and followed them. Going out through the Metrovian Gate,

in order to follow them along the Latin or Appian Way,

suddenly a plan came to them that they should seek them on the Salarian

Way outside the city. betrayed by motionless horses, Therefore going forth

they turned their route, and not finding them on the old Salarian Way,

they decided to return through the Flaminian Gate.

And as they were returning, as soon as the horses came before those

crypts in which the monks had hidden themselves,

they fixed their step. Struck and driven, they refused to move a pace.

The horsemen considered that such a thing could not be without

a mystery. Therefore looking at the crypts,

they saw their entrances blocked by built-up masonry:

but since their horses refused to go anywhere, they dismounted,

and removing the stones which had been arranged at the mouths of the crypts,

they entered and found them in those same dark

hiding places, prostrate on the ground. by exhortation he corrects them: Brought back to the monastery,

both by the wonder of the miracle and by the exhortation

of the venerable Father Gregory, they were so improved

that it profited them greatly to have departed from the

monastery for a short time.

[15] ^e At another time also a certain monk named Justus,

imbued with the medical art ^f, had been accustomed to serve

the Blessed Gregory diligently and to watch over him

in his constant illnesses. This man, therefore, overtaken

by a bodily illness, was brought to the point of death. To him in his very distress

his own brother by blood, named Copiosus, ^g was ministering.

But the aforesaid Justus, when he now recognized that he had reached

the end, informed his brother Copiosus that

he had three gold pieces hidden. he discovers a monk possessing property contrary to his Rule: This indeed

could not be concealed from the Brothers. Who, searching carefully

and examining all his medicines,

found those same three gold pieces hidden among his medicines.

When this was reported to Gregory,

he could not bear with equanimity so great an evil from a Brother

who had lived in common with him. ^h For he had long since established

all the Brothers should live so in common that

none of them individually should be permitted to possess anything of his own. Then Gregory,

struck with overwhelming grief, he does not permit others to be present at his death: began to consider both what he might do

for the purification of the dying man and what he might provide

as an example for the living. Therefore, summoning to himself Speciosus,

the ^i Provost of that same monastery, he said: See to it that

none of the Brothers join himself to the dying man, nor

let him receive any word of consolation from any of their mouths:

but when in the moment of death he asks for the Brothers,

let his own carnal brother tell him that on account of the coins which

he had secretly kept, he is abhorred by all the Brothers: so that

at least in death the bitterness of his fault might pierce

his mind, and purge him of the sin which he had committed.

But when he has died, let his body not be placed

with the bodies of the Brothers: but dig whatever sort of

pit you can in a dung heap, and there cast upon him the three

gold pieces which he left behind, all crying out together:

"Your money be with you in perdition," and so cover him

with earth. In both of which measures the most skillful

Father Gregory decreed that one should benefit the dying man, the other

the living Brothers: he commands the dead man to be buried in a dung heap with his money: so that both the bitterness

of death might make that man absolvable from his fault, and the great

condemnation of avarice might prevent the others from being entangled in such things.

This was done accordingly. For when the same monk had come

to the point of death, and anxiously was seeking to commend himself

to the Brothers, and none of the Brothers attempted to approach

or speak to him, his carnal brother revealed to him why

he was abhorred by all. He, as soon as he heard, deeply

groaned over his guilt, and in that very grief

he departed from the body. And he was buried as Gregory

had commanded: but all the Brothers, terrified by that same sentence of his,

began individually to bring forward their most meager and worthless

possessions, and those which they had always been regularly permitted to have,

and to fear greatly lest anything should be found with them

for which they might have been reproved.

[16] But when after the brother's death thirty days had now

passed, after 30 days have elapsed, Gregory's soul began mercifully

to feel compassion for him, and to weigh his punishments

with heavy grief, and to inquire whether there might be any remedy for his deliverance.

Then, summoning to himself that same Speciosus, the ^k Provost

of his monastery, he said sadly: For a long time now that

Brother Justus who has died has been tortured in fire. We ought

to show him some act of charity, and insofar as we can,

lend him our aid that he may be delivered.

Go therefore, and from this day on strive to offer the sacrifice

for him on thirty continuous days, so that absolutely

no day is omitted on which the saving victim is not offered

for his absolution. He at once departed and obeyed. But while Gregory attended to other matters

and did not count the days as they passed, he orders sacrifice to be offered for him: for the same number of days, the same Brother

who had died appeared one night to his brother Copiosus

in a vision. When he saw him, he inquired,

saying: What is it, brother? How are you? To which he

replied: Until now I have fared ill, but now

I am well, because today I received communion. Which same

Copiosus, going at once, reported in the monastery

to the Brothers. And the Brothers carefully counted the days,

and found that very day to have been when the thirtieth

oblation had been completed for him: though Copiosus did not know what

the Brothers, at Gregory's initiative, were doing for him: He is freed from the punishments of Purgatory. and the Brothers

did not know what Copiosus had seen concerning him. Therefore at one

and the same time, when that one acknowledges the oblation, ^l

these hear of the dream and recognize the thirtieth day,

with the vision and sacrifice agreeing together, the matter clearly

became evident: that the Brother whom, under a sentence of correction,

Gregory had allowed to die, had been freed from punishment

through the saving victim.

^a That is, Gregory the Abbot; in the Poem he is called the Master.

^b Gregory the Abbot; in the Poem he is called the Patron.

^c In the Poem he is called Master and Patron, and his servants the monks, so that he is indicated to have then been Abbot.

^d And here in the Poem Gregory is called the Pastor, and his sheep the monks.

^e Three years before he

wrote the books of the Dialogues, as he asserts in Book 4, Chapter 55, where he narrates this

story; therefore around the year 590, when he had already long since returned from Constantinople.

^f "To me," says S. Gregory, "when I was established in that same monastery": who in the Poem is called Pastor, Patron, Father, Master.

^g "Who himself also now in this city through the same art of medicine pursues the means of temporal life." So says S. Gregory.

^h S. Gregory: "For it had always been the Rule of my same monastery," which argument is taken from the Rule of S. Benedict not having been adopted.

^i Pope Zacharias in the Dialogues translated into Greek calls him τὸν

τοῦ

μοναστηρίου

οἰκονόμον, the steward of the monastery: therefore he is wrongly called Abbot by more recent writers.

^k Again in Greek: τὸν

αὐτὸν

οἰκονόμον.

^l S. Gregory: "These learn what that one had seen."

CHAPTER III

The monks and disciples of S. Gregory who died holy deaths. His journey undertaken and impeded for the conversion of the English.

[17] The disciples and monks of S. Gregory, forewarned from heaven, die: S. Anthony, But because I have already touched in part upon how the same venerable Father

was a source of fear to the Brothers,

I thought it should be briefly indicated how they advanced by his examples.

A certain Brother in that same monastery

^a, named Anthony, clung devotedly to the Blessed Gregory:

who, admonished by the words and examples of so great a Father,

aspired with many daily tears to the joys of the heavenly

homeland. And while he most zealously and with great fervor of desire

searched the sacred scriptures, with Gregory as his guide,

he sought in them not the words of knowledge but the weeping

of compunction: so that through these his excited

mind might be inflamed, and leaving lower things, might fly up

to the contemplation of the heavenly homeland. To him through a nocturnal

vision it was said: Be ready; for the

Lord has commanded you to depart. And when he said

that he did not have the means for traveling, he immediately

heard the reply, saying: If the matter concerns your sins, they have been

forgiven. But when he had heard this once and still trembled

with great fear; on another night also he was admonished

in the same words. But after five days, seized by fever,

with all the Brothers weeping and praying, he

died.

[18] In the same monastery ^b a certain Brother was called

Gerontius: who, when he had been oppressed by a grave bodily illness,

Gerontius foresees that others will die with him. in a nocturnal vision he saw men clothed in white and of altogether

splendid appearance descending from above into this same monastery.

When they stood at the bedside of the one lying ill, one of them said:

We have come for this purpose, that from Gregory's monastery we might send certain Brothers

into service. And commanding another,

he said: Write down Marcellus, Valentinianus, Agnellus,

and others of whom I have no knowledge.

When these things were completed, he added, saying: Write down also this very one

who is looking at us. From this vision Gerontius, having been made certain,

when morning came he made known to the Brothers how many and

who from that same monastery would die, and that he himself

would follow them shortly. When on the next day the aforesaid Brothers

began to die, and followed one another in death

in the same order in which they had been named in the list:

and at the very last he himself also died, who had foreseen that those same Brothers

would die.

[19] Another Brother also in the same monastery ^c was called

Merulus, S. Merulus, exceedingly devoted to tears and almsgiving

from the teaching of the venerable man Gregory.

Psalmody from his mouth was accustomed to cease at almost no time,

except when he gave food to his body

or his limbs to sleep. To him in a nocturnal vision

it appeared that a crown of white flowers descended from heaven

upon his head. He was soon afflicted with bodily illness

and died with great security of soul and cheerfulness.

At his tomb, when after fourteen

years Peter, ^d who during the pontificate of this Blessed Gregory

presided over that same monastery, wished to make

a burial place for himself, such a fragrance of sweetness

emanated from that same tomb of Brother Merulus

as if the perfumes of all flowers had been gathered there.

From which thing it was manifestly evident that what was true was

what the disciple of so great a Father saw through nocturnal vision.

[20] Another Brother also in that same monastery was called

John, a youth of great character, who surpassed

his age in the sweetness of understanding and humility and in the gravity

of his conduct, with Gregory as his teacher.

When he fell ill and was brought to the point of death, through

a nocturnal vision the Blessed Apostle Andrew appeared to him

in the guise of an old man, touched him with a staff, and said to him:

Rise; for from this illness you will by no means die now.

But be ready, because you will not remain here for a long time.

Though he had already been given up by the physicians,

he was suddenly healed and recovered. He narrated the thing he had

seen, and for two years devoted himself to the service of God,

as I said, beyond his years. ^e But when

two years had passed, after a certain Brother had

died and had been buried in the cemetery of that same monastery ^f by

Gregory and the Brothers, when all were departing thence,

the same John, as he afterward told Gregory and the Brothers, pale and

trembling, was found alone and

called from his grave by that same Brother who had been buried.

And this was soon shown by the death that followed.

For after ten days, seized by fevers,

in dying he followed the one who had called him. But because the account

is long and much remains that can be proclaimed

concerning this man's holiness with certain testimonies, and also what I have learned

from the accounts of elders or the writings of predecessors,

I have determined to insert into this work.

[21] S. Gregory, gazing upon English boys for sale, One day, when recently arrived merchants

had set out many wares for sale in the forum of the city of Rome,

and many had gathered from all sides to buy,

it happened that Gregory, a man most worthy of God,

passed by. Who, seeing among other things that boys of fair

body, most beautiful in form, with charming countenances,

and conspicuous also for the splendor of their hair, were for sale, asked

the merchant from what land he had brought them.

He replied: From the island of Britain, whose inhabitants

all have faces gleaming with similar fairness. he grieves that they are pagans, Gregory said:

Are those islanders Christians, or are they still

held entangled in pagan errors? The merchant replied:

They are not Christians, but are held ensnared in pagan

bonds. with their nation and King: Then Gregory, groaning deeply: Alas,

what sorrow! he said, that the prince of darkness now possesses

faces so splendid, and that such beauty of countenance bears

a mind empty of the inner grace of God. Again

he asked what was the name of that nation. The merchant

replied: They are called Angli. And he said: Rightly,

Angli, as it were Angels, because they have angelic countenances, and

it is fitting that such should be fellow-citizens of the Angels in heaven. Again

therefore he asks what name the province itself bore.

The merchant replied: Those provincials are called Deiri.

And Gregory said: Rightly, Deiri, because they must be snatched from wrath

and called to the grace of Christ. The king

(he said) of that province, what is he called? The merchant

replied: He is called Aelle. And Gregory, playing

upon the name, said: Rightly, because the king is called Aelle: for Alleluia,

the praise of the Creator, ought to be sung

in those parts.

[22] to convert them At once, therefore, approaching ^g Benedict, the Pontiff

of the Apostolic See, he began vehemently to request

that he send some ministers of the word to Britain.

When he perceived that no one was willing to go, he himself

did not hesitate also to offer himself, provided the Pontiff

would grant him permission. Who, he departs toward Britain: though with the great

reluctance of the entire Clergy and people, permitted Gregory, who desired

to set out willingly, to go, praying that divine

prosperity might be bestowed upon him.

[23] he predicts that he will be recalled by the Pontiff: At his absence the Romans were greatly disturbed,

and having deliberated, they divided themselves in three groups along the adjacent

places of the road by which the Pontiff was to proceed

to the basilica of Blessed Peter, and addressed him in companies

as follows: You have offended Peter, you have destroyed Rome, because you have

let Gregory go. By which pronouncements the Pope, utterly

terrified, immediately sent messengers to recall

the man of the Lord, Gregory, which he himself had already

predicted to his traveling companions would happen. he is recalled.

[24] And now, when a journey of three days had been completed,

they had by chance turned aside to a certain place to rest. While

each one was resting, Gregory was reading. A

locust alighting upon him compelled him to pause a little from reading,

and from the consideration of its name taught him that

he ought to remain in that place. Then he is reported to have said:

Locusta, he said, can be understood as loco sta stay in place. And at once

encouraging his companions, he strove to go more quickly: but

overtaken by apostolic messengers, although he was greatly

saddened, he was compelled to return to the care of his own monastery.

[25] he is made Deacon. At length the venerable Pontiff Benedict, ^h seeing

Gregory ascending to great heights by steps of virtue,

forcibly drawing him from the quiet of his monastery,

elevated him with the office of the Ecclesiastical Order, and consecrated him

as the seventh Levite for his own assistance.

In which office the venerable Father Gregory flourished with such humility

and ministered with such skill: that in the ministry of the Ecclesiastical

hierarchy he seemed truly to be equal to the divine Angels

not only in the splendor of his garb but also in the brightness

of his praiseworthy conduct.

^a S. Anthony is venerated on 17 January, where these things are explained, which S. Gregory relates in Book 4 of the Dialogues, Chapter 47.

^b S. Gregory adds "ten years earlier," in Book 4 of the Dialogues, Chapter 22, where he narrates these things: the year indicated is 583, when he was at Constantinople.

^c Concerning

SS. Merulus and John, S. Gregory treats in the aforementioned Chapter 47 of Book 4, after

having treated of S. Anthony, with whom they are also venerated on 17 January.

^d S. Gregory: "Who now presides over my monastery," namely in the year 593; therefore, at least fourteen years having elapsed, he must be considered to have died before the year 580.

^e S. Gregory: "Three years before this," therefore around the year 590.

^f S. Gregory: "Buried by us, with all of us departing from that same cemetery."

^g In

the earlier Life, these events are said to have occurred in the time of Pope Pelagius, his successor,

after S. Gregory's return from the city of Constantinople.

^h These

things also the earlier Life transfers to Pope Pelagius. The ordination of this Pelagius

fell in truly most calamitous times: since (as Anastasius

the Librarian says) the Lombards were besieging the city of Rome, and much

devastation was being wrought by them in Italy.

CHAPTER IV

The Legation of S. Gregory to Constantinople. The Exposition of Job begun.

Eutychius the Patriarch, thinking wrongly about the Resurrection of the flesh, corrected.

The Letter of Pope Pelagius. The storm at sea.

[26] He serves as apocrisiarius at Constantinople. Not long after, he was sent to the city of Constantinople

by the Bishop Pelagius for ecclesiastical responses;

where, although he dwelt in the earthly palace,

he did not abandon the purpose of the heavenly life. For

many Brothers from his monastery followed him,

bound by fraternal love, which is seen to have been done by divine

dispensation: so that by their example

he might be held fast to the tranquil shore of prayer, as if by the rope of an anchor:

and while he was tossed about by the continuous

whirlwinds of worldly affairs, he might flee to their fellowship as

to the haven of a most secure port. And although that

ministry, having drawn him from the monastery, extinguished the life

of his former quiet also by the sword of his occupation,

yet among them the discourse of most devoted reading

and the daily aspiration of compunction animated him.

[27] He begins to write expositions on Holy Job, By the fellowship of these men, therefore, he was not only

fortified against earthly assaults, but was also kindled

more and more to the exercises of the heavenly life. For, earnestly

entreated by those same Brothers, and especially compelled

by Leander, Bishop of Seville, who as Legate for the affairs

of the Visigoths had come to Constantinople at that same time,

he undertook to unravel the Book of Blessed Job, which was involved

in many mysteries. Nor could he refuse the work which

fraternal love, useful to many, was imposing upon him as a future benefit.

But he taught, by a wonderful method, how the same book was to be understood

according to the letter, how it was to be referred to the Sacraments

of Christ and the Church, and in what sense it was to be applied

to each of the faithful, through the threefold modes of interpretation.

In these, however, he discoursed on virtues and vices in such a way

that he seemed not only to set them forth in words

but in a way to demonstrate them with visible

or palpable words. at the request of S. Leander. Whence there is no doubt

that he had attained the perfection of those same

virtues, whose progress he was able so effectively to indicate.

[28] [He opposes the Patriarch Eutychius, who thought wrongly concerning the Resurrection of the flesh:] Furthermore, the venerable Levite Gregory, while residing

in that same royal City, crushed a nascent new heresy

concerning the state of our resurrection, together with its very

beginning in which it arose, with the help of the grace of our Redeemer.

For Eutychius, the Bishop of that city,

in a book he had composed concerning the Resurrection of the dead,

was teaching that our body in that glory of the resurrection

would be impalpable, more subtle than the winds and air.

Hearing this, Gregory proved by the argument of truth

and the example of the Lord's resurrection that this

dogma was entirely contrary to the orthodox faith.

For the Catholic faith holds, he said, that our body,

sublimated in that glory of immortality,

will indeed be subtle through the effect of spiritual power,

but palpable through the truth of nature: According to the example

of the Lord's body, concerning which, raised from the dead, He Himself says

to His disciples: Touch and see, for a spirit

does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me have. Luke 24.

And when Gregory had brought forward this testimony of evangelical truth,

Eutychius said: The Lord did this for the purpose

of removing the doubt of His resurrection from

the hearts of the disciples. To whom Gregory said:

What you assert is truly a remarkable thing: that doubt should arise in us

from that very thing by which the hearts of the disciples were healed

of their doubt. For what worse thing can be said

than that we should have doubt about His true flesh

through that by which His disciples were restored to faith

from all doubt? For if He is asserted not to have had

what He showed, the very thing by which the faith of His disciples was confirmed

destroys ours. Eutychius said: He had a palpable

body, which He showed: but after the hearts

of those who touched were confirmed, all that in the Lord which

could be touched was reduced to some subtlety.

To this Gregory replied: It is written: Christ

rising from the dead dies no more, death shall have

dominion over Him no more. Rom. 6 If therefore anything in His body

after the resurrection could be changed, contrary to the truthful

sentence of Paul, the Lord returned to death

after the resurrection. Which who would presume to say, even a foolish man,

unless one who denies the true resurrection of His flesh?

Then Eutychius objected, saying: Since it is written,

Flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God,

by what reason is it to be believed that the flesh truly rises?

1 Cor. 15 To whom Gregory replied: he explains the varied meaning of "flesh" in Scripture: In sacred Scripture

flesh is spoken of in one sense according to nature, and in another according to

fault or corruption. For flesh is spoken of according to

nature, as it is written: This now is bone of my

bones and flesh of my flesh. Gen. 2, John 1. And: The Word was made flesh,

and dwelt among us. But flesh according to fault, as

it is written: My Spirit shall not remain in these men,

because they are flesh. And as the Psalmist

says: He remembered that they are flesh, a spirit that goes

and does not return. Gen. 6, Ps. 77, Rom. 8. Whence also Paul said to his disciples:

But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. For

they were not without flesh, those to whom he was sending his letters:

but because they had overcome the passions of carnal desires,

now free through the power of the spirit, they were not

in the flesh. What therefore the Apostle Paul says: That flesh

and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God; he meant flesh

according to fault, not flesh according to

nature. 1 Cor. 15 Whence also presently, because he was speaking of flesh according to

fault, he showed by adding: Neither shall corruption

possess incorruption. In that glory of the heavenly kingdom, therefore,

flesh will exist according to nature, but will not exist according to

corruption or even the desires of passion:

because, with the sting of death conquered, it shall reign

in eternal incorruption. Having heard these things, Eutychius replied that he

at once consented, but still denied that a palpable

body could rise. He also, in the booklet which he

had written, had included the testimony of Paul as well, saying:

What you sow is not brought to life unless it first

dies. And: You do not sow the body that shall be,

but a bare grain. This indeed he was hastening to show:

that the flesh would be either impalpable or would not itself exist. he resolves another objection:

Since the holy Apostle, treating of the glory of the resurrection,

said that it is not the body that shall be that is sown,

but a bare grain. But to this Gregory quickly replied:

The Apostle Paul, saying: You do not sow the body

that shall be, but a bare grain, intimates

what we observe: that a grain sprouts with a stalk

and leaves, although it is sown without stalk and leaves.

That one therefore, in the increase of the glory of the resurrection,

did not say that what was present is lacking to the seed grain; but that there is present

what was not there. But you, while you deny that the true body rises,

by no means say that what was lacking is present,

but that what was present is lacking.

[29] The Emperor Tiberius orders Eutychius's book to be burned. Then therefore Gregory, the Roman Deacon,

and Eutychius, the Bishop of Constantinople,

drawn into a long ^a contention over this matter, began

to recoil from each other with the most grievous ^b animosity.

Then Tiberius, of pious memory, the Emperor of Constantinople,

receiving each one privately, learned what discord

existed between them. And weighing the arguments of both parties

carefully, destroying by his own reasoning as well the same book which Eutychius

had composed on the resurrection, he determined that it ought

to be consigned to the flames. As they went out

from that most pious Emperor together, after the conflict

of the most prolonged disputation, both falling ill at the same time, they took to their beds.

[30] Eutychius comes to his senses and dies. And so while Gregory burned with the most severe fevers,

Eutychius, struggling with death, held

the skin of his hand, saying before all: I confess

that we shall all rise in this flesh. After which

confession of the Catholic faith ^c he died. When he

was dead, because there was almost no one who would follow his teachings,

Gregory refrained from pursuing what he had begun, lest he seem

to hurl words at ashes.

[31] But with what authority he fulfilled the ministry of his office as Apocrisiarius,

He is praised by Pope Pelagius. with what reverence he stood before the Emperors,

and with what solicitude he repeatedly caused help to be sent to afflicted Italy,

if anyone desires to know more fully, let him peruse

the letters of his predecessor Pope Pelagius, sent to him

concerning the manifold needs of the Church of God,

which to this day are most carefully preserved in the archive

of the holy Apostolic See. From the great number of which,

I here insert ^d one, so that both the quality of that ministry

and the tenor of the rest may be recognized.

[32] Which reads as follows: Pelagius the Bishop, to his beloved

son Gregory the venerable Deacon. and the Republic is commended to him against the attacks of the Lombards. We have taken care

to communicate to you through the notary Honoratus all things

that were necessary, whom we have sent together with our brother and

fellow Bishop ^e Sebastian to your Charity:

so that since in those parts he has been up to now

at Ravenna with the glorious lord Decius the Patrician,

he himself may endeavor by his own account to inform you about all things,

or if you have judged any matters necessary, he may be able to suggest them

to the Lord Emperor. Because such calamities and tribulations

have been inflicted upon us by the treachery of the Lombards,

contrary to their own oath, that no one is able

to suffice in reporting them. Moreover, how we received the aforesaid Brother

Sebastian and in what charity he has been among us

at your suggestion, you will be able to learn from his own account.

He has also already promised us to suggest to the most pious Lord

Emperor the necessities and dangers of all Italy.

Therefore speak and deliberate together

how you may quickly come to the aid of our dangers.

Because the Republic is so constricted here that unless

God the most pious inspires in the heart of the Prince to bestow upon

his servants the mercy innate in him, and deigns to grant

over that ^f province even one Master of Soldiers and

one Duke, we are left destitute in every distress.

Because the greatest parts of Rome appear to be deprived of all

protection, and the Exarch writes that he can

provide no remedy for us, since he testifies that he is unable

even to suffice for the guarding of those parts.

Therefore may God command him to quickly come to the aid

of our dangers, before the army of the most wicked nation

should prevail, God being opposed to them (which God forbid),

to occupy the places that are still held by the Republic. Moreover,

hasten to send a Priest to us, with God's help,

because both in your monastery and in the work to which we have

appointed him, he is recognized to be entirely necessary.

Given on the fourth of the Nones of October, ^g Indiction III.

[33] To this monastery, which Pope Pelagius here

mentions, ^h Maximianus the Sicilian, who afterward became Bishop of Syracuse,

presided at that time.

He came to the venerable Levite Gregory, laboring in the palace

of that same royal city S. Maximianus and others return from S. Gregory, for ecclesiastical responses,

out of the grace of visitation with the Brothers; and

while he was returning to Rome, to his monastery, also entrusted to himself,

he was caught in the Adriatic Sea by so great a storm

that by an extraordinary and unusual miracle,

he came to know both the wrath and the grace of almighty God

toward himself and all who were with him. For while

the waves, raised by the excessive force of the winds, raged

for their destruction, the rudder was lost from the ship, the mast was broken,

the sails were cast into the waves, and the entire hull of the ship, battered

by the excessive waves, they are shaken by a severe storm: had been dissolved from its entire structure.

Therefore, with the seams gaping, the sea entered, and

filled the ship up to the upper planks, so that it seemed

that the ship was no more among the waves than the waves were now within the ship.

Then those sitting in that same ship, disturbed not now

by the proximity of death but by its very present sight,

all gave one another the kiss of peace, they are fortified by the sacred Eucharist: received the Body and

Blood of the Redeemer, each one commending himself

to God, that He might graciously receive their souls

whose bodies He had thus delivered to terrifying death. But

almighty God, who had so wondrously terrified their minds,

also more wondrously preserved their lives through the merit of His servant

Gregory, for whose special love they had come. For

for eight days that same ship, full of water up

to the upper planks, making its proper course,

swam on. But on the ninth day, ^i it was brought

to the port of the castle of Croton, from which all came out unharmed

who had been sailing with the aforesaid venerable man

Maximianus. on the 9th day they are freed, And after they had departed, he himself also having

disembarked, the ship at once sank

into the depths of that same port, as if with their departure

it had lost the weight for buoyancy, and the ship which, full of men, had carried water

on the open sea and had floated, when Maximianus with the Brothers

departed, could neither carry water without men in port the ship then sinks in port.

nor float. So that by this almighty

God showed that through the merit of Gregory, whom

the Brothers had visited, He had held this laden vessel with His own hand,

which, once empty of men, could not remain

upon the waters.

^a MS. contention.

^b Ibid. simulation.

^c Theophanes writes that S. Eutychius died in the 4th year of Tiberius, on the 6th of April, Indiction 15, therefore in the year of Christ 592.

^d This one alone survives, reprinted from the volumes of the Councils.

^e Concerning the same Sebastian, it seems, there is a treatment in Book 3, nos. 13 and 49.

^f Διακόπωσις: a splitting apart: for from διακόπτω, I split, comes διακοπή, a fissure, and thence διακοπόω, I make a fissure.

^g In the year 584.

^h Maximianus the Sicilian: "Sicilian" is added to

distinguish him from the earlier Maximianus, whom S. Gregory succeeded. Concerning this S.

Maximianus and his death, we shall treat below. These things are related by S. Gregory in Book

3 of the Dialogues, Chapter 36, with the name of the Sicilian omitted: as is also done in the Vatican MSS.

^i Cortona, an ancient city of the Bruttii on the Ausonian Sea, now called Crotona in Calabria Ulteriore. Cortona. In our MSS. of the Dialogues it is called the port of the castle of Chotronensis; in the printed Dialogues, Cothronensis. In our MS. and in Corsendonk, Crotonensis; in Surius, Cortonensis: elsewhere Crotoniensis.

CHAPTER V

The flooding of the Tiber and the Adige. The inguinal plague. A monk of evil life corrected. Litanies instituted. The Pontificate of S. Gregory.

[34] Therefore, after Gregory the venerable Levite returned to Rome,

after some time had intervened, the river Tiber

overflowed its channel with so great a flooding

and rose so high the Tiber floods at Rome, that its waves flowed over

the walls of the city, occupied the greatest regions within it,

and cast down many monuments of ancient buildings:

and also violently overthrew the ecclesiastical granaries,

in which many thousands of measures

of wheat perished.

[35] At Verona, the Adige. At that time indeed, near the city of Verona, the river

Adige, as the same Gregory relates, rising,

came to the church of the Blessed ^a Zeno the Martyr and Bishop.

Though the doors of that church were open, the water

did not at all enter into it. Book 5 of the Dialogues, Chapter 19 Which, rising a little more, reached

up to the windows of the church, which were next to the roof.

And so, standing still, the water closed the door of the church

as if that liquid element had been changed

into the solidity of a wall. the water standing still before the open doors of the church. And since there were many found within,

but with the whole church surrounded by the magnitude of the waters,

they had no means of egress, and there feared that they might

perish from thirst and hunger, they came to the door of the church

and drew water to drink: which

had risen up to the windows; and yet it was by no means able

to flow into the church like water. Standing

therefore before the door, to show to all the merit

of the Martyr, the water was both an aid and yet the water

was not there to invade the place. Which miracle indeed

may be reckoned not unlike the miracle of that Babylonian fire

which did not even touch the garments of the three youths

but burned their bonds.

[36] on account of the infected air, At that time also a countless multitude of serpents

with a great dragon, in the form of a strong beam,

descended through the channel of the Tiber River into the sea. But

the beasts, suffocated among the salty waves of the most turbulent sea,

without delay settled upon the shore, and by their rottenness corrupted

the whole atmosphere.

[37] There followed immediately in its wake the inguinal plague, which

ravaged the city of Rome with so violent a pestilence the inguinal plague having arisen

that even with bodily sight arrows were seen to come from heaven and

to strike each and every one. Which, coming in the ^b

eleventh month, first of all, according to

that which is read in the Prophet Ezekiel, "Begin

from my sanctuary," Pope Pelagius dies. struck Pope Pelagius and

without delay killed him. When he was dead, it raged so

upon the rest of the populace that, with the inhabitants removed, it left

very many houses in the city utterly empty.

[38] ^c At that same time in the monastery of the venerable

Levite Gregory, Theodorus, a monk of evil life, a most unruly boy named Theodorus

was living with a devout Brother more out of necessity than

will, and it was exceedingly burdensome to him if anyone said anything

to him for his own salvation. But he could not bear

not only to do good things, but even to hear them. He testified,

swearing, growing angry, and mocking, that he would never

come to the habit of holy life. Who, nevertheless, struck

by the blow of that same pestilence in the groin, was brought

to the point of death. When he was breathing his last,

the Brothers gathered with Gregory to protect his departure

by their prayers. His body had already been dead

from the lower parts: only in his breast alone

did the vital warmth still pant. All those,

however, who were present, began to pray for him the more earnestly

as they saw him departing with swiftness.

When suddenly he began to cry out to those same Brothers standing by, near death, about to be suffocated by the devil,

and with great cries to interrupt their prayers,

saying: Step back, behold I have been given to the dragon to be devoured,

who on account of your presence cannot

devour me. He has already swallowed my head in his mouth.

Give him room, so that he may torment me no longer,

but do what he is going to do. If I have been given to him to be devoured,

why do I suffer delays on account of you? Then the Brothers

with Gregory began to say to him: What is it

that you say, Brother? Make the sign of the holy Cross

upon yourself. He replied with great cries,

saying: I wish to sign myself, but I cannot, because I am pressed

by the scales of this dragon. When the Brothers heard this,

together with the Levite of God, Gregory, they prostrated themselves on the ground

and with tears began to beseech the Lord more vehemently

for his deliverance. And behold, suddenly

the sick man began to cry out with great cries, saying: Thanks

be to God: behold the dragon who had taken me up to devour me

has fled, freed by the prayers of S. Gregory and others, he is converted. driven out by your prayers; he could not stand.

Now intercede for my sins, because I am prepared

to be converted, and to abandon the secular life completely.

The man, therefore, who, as was said, had already been dead

from the lower parts, by Gregory's prayers

was spared both the death of the body and gained the salvation of his soul.

[39] S. Gregory, wholly unwilling, is elected Roman Pontiff, But as the pestilence raged beyond measure, because

the Church of God could not be without a Ruler, Gregory,

though resisting with all his strength, was unanimously chosen

as their Pontiff by the Clergy, Senate,

and Roman people. Determining to avoid this summit with all his might,

he kept crying out that he was utterly unworthy of such an honor:

fearing, that is, lest the glory of the world, which he had previously

cast off, might in some way creep back upon him under the color

of ecclesiastical governance.

[40] he endeavors to be exempted through the Emperor: But when he could not escape the decree of the general body,

he at length simulated that he would one day consent, and

secretly dispatched letters to the Emperor Maurice, whose son

he had raised from the holy font of baptism, adjuring him and

beseeching him with many prayers never to give his assent to the people

that they might elevate him with the glory of this honor. But

the Prefect of the city, named Germanus, anticipated

his messenger, and having seized and torn up the letters,

sent to the Emperor the consent which the people had given.

And he, giving thanks to God for the friendship of the Deacon,

because he had found the opportunity to confer honor upon him as he had desired,

having issued a decree, commanded that he be ordained.

Meanwhile, while the assent of the Emperor was being awaited from the royal city,

and the plague itself was devastating the people even more violently,

the venerable Levite Gregory addressed a discourse to the people,

saying:

[41] with the plague still raging, he exhorts the people to repentance: It is fitting, dearest Brothers, that the scourges of God,

which we ought to have feared before they came, we should at least fear now that they are

present and experienced. Let sorrow open for us the door of

conversion, and let the very punishment which we suffer dissolve

the hardness of our heart. For as the Prophet witnesses, it was foretold:

The sword has reached even to the soul. Jer. 4 Behold,

the entire people is struck by the blade of heavenly wrath, and individuals

are laid waste by sudden slaughter. Nor does illness

precede death, but the very swiftness of death, as you see,

outstrips the delays of illness. Each one struck is snatched away before

he can be converted to the laments of Penance. Consider, therefore, in what condition

he comes before the sight of the strict Judge, who is not

permitted to weep for what he has done. And inhabitants indeed are not

partially removed, but fall together. Houses are left

empty, parents watch the funerals of their children,

and their heirs precede them to destruction. Let each one

of us therefore flee to the laments of penance,

while there is still time to weep before being struck. Let us call back before

the eyes of the mind whatever we have committed in error: and

let us punish with tears the wicked things we have done. Let us come before

His face in confession, and as the Prophet admonishes:

Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to

God. Lam. 3 To lift up our hearts with our hands to God

is to raise the effort of our prayer together with the merit of good works.

Surely, surely He gives confidence to our trembling,

who cries through the Prophet: I do not desire the death

of the sinner, but that he be converted and live. Ezek. 18 And let no one

despair on account of the enormity of his iniquities. For the inveterate

sins of the Ninevites were wiped away by three days' penance,

and the converted thief earned the rewards of life even at

the very sentence of his death. Let us therefore change

our hearts, and let us presume that we have already received what we ask:

the Judge is more quickly moved by prayer if the petitioner

is corrected from his wickedness. With the sword of so great a punishment therefore

threatening, let us insist with importunate prayers.

For that very importunity which is customarily unwelcome to men

is pleasing in the judgment of truth: because the pious and merciful

God wills that pardon be demanded of Him through prayers, He who, in proportion as

we deserve, does not wish to be angry. For hence through the Psalmist

He says: Call upon Me in the day of your tribulation, and I will deliver

you, and you shall glorify Me. Ps. 49 He Himself is therefore His own witness

that He desires to have mercy on those who call upon Him, He who admonishes

that He be called upon. Therefore, most reverend Brothers, with

a contrite heart and corrected works, let us come tomorrow

at first light to the sevenfold Litany, he proclaims a sevenfold Litany, according to the arrangement

designated below, with devout and tearful

mind. Let none of you go out to earthly

works in the fields, let none presume to conduct

any business: so that, gathering at the church

of the holy Mother of God, we who have all sinned together

may all together bewail the evils we have done:

so that the strict Judge, when He considers that we have

punished our own faults, may Himself spare us

from the sentence of proposed damnation.

[42] ^d Let the Litany of the clergy go out from the church of S. John

the Baptist. The Litany of men, from the church of the holy Martyr

Marcellus. arranged from various churches: The Litany of monks, from the church of SS.

John and Paul. The Litany of handmaids of God, from the church

of the Blessed Martyrs Cosmas and Damian. The Litany

of married women, from the church of the Blessed first

Martyr Stephen. The Litany of widows, from the church of the Blessed

Martyr Vitalis. The Litany of the poor and of children, from

the church of the Blessed Martyr Cecilia ^e.

[43] 80 people suddenly struck down by plague; he does not cease from prayer: Therefore, when a great multitude of diverse age,

sex, and profession, according to the instruction of the Levite

Gregory, had come on the appointed day to beseech the Lord;

the plague itself so raged by divine judgment that within

the space of a single hour, while the people were sending up

cries of supplication to the Lord, eighty persons, falling

to the ground, breathed out their spirits. But by no means

did that most eloquent Orator cease to preach to the people

that they should not desist from prayer until, by divine mercy,

the pestilence itself should abate.

[45] brought back from hiding by a heavenly sign, he is consecrated Pontiff. But when the future Bishop still thought

that he had completely turned the Emperor away from consenting

to his consecration, he finally learned that his letters had been intercepted

by Germanus, the Prefect of the City. For which reason,

anticipating the imperial response, which he believed

would be contrary to his will, because he could not openly pass through the gates

of the city, he cunningly contrived, as is reported, to have himself

carried out by merchants in a disguised habit;

he sought the clearings of forests and the hiding places

of caves. In which, while he was being sought by everyone with the utmost diligence,

he was detected by the sign of a shining column, perpetually

hanging over him from heaven; he is recognized, seized, dragged out:

and at the temple of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles,

he is consecrated Supreme Pontiff.

^a S. Zeno is venerated on 12 April.

^b In the month of January of the year 590.

^c S. Gregory described these events in Homily 38 and in Book 4 of the Dialogues, Chapter 37, but without making mention of his own presence, which is here inserted.

^d The Litany is arranged differently in Gregory of Tours. Baronius, volume 8, year 590, no. 12, thinks that such Litanies were not proclaimed just once; Litany.

and that for the diversity of days diverse inscriptions were posted in the churches,

individual ones for individual days, and that the Deacon of Gregory of Tours

described his from one, and another reported from another among the letters.

^e Baronius from an ancient reading adds: These things were done in the basilica of S. Sabina on the fourth day before the Kalends of September, Indiction eight. Concerning the Antiphon "Regina caeli," sung by the Angels in the Litanies, one should read what is written in the Rituals.

CHAPTER VI

Testimonies of S. Gregory himself concerning the Pontificate declined and unwillingly assumed.

[45] But because there are certain faithless ones among the Lombards

That S. Gregory fled the Pontificate who maintain that Gregory sought the pontificate

rather than fled it; I think it worthwhile

to insert a few things out of many, by which, insofar as could be done

without the vice of obstinacy, I may make it clearer than daylight that he did not wish the pontificate, indeed

that he wished to avoid it utterly as an insupportable burden.

For he says, almost at the very beginning of his consecration,

in a letter to Paul the Scholastic:

Whatever outsiders smile upon me about the honor of the priestly office,

it is shown from his letters, I do not much regard. Book 1, Letter 3 But from you who smile

upon me for this reason, I am not a little grieved,

you who know my desire most fully, and yet

believe I have advanced. to Paul the Scholastic, For the highest advancement for me

would have been if I could have fulfilled what I wished; if I had been able

to perfect my will, which you have long known, by obtaining

the desired quiet. But now,

because I am held bound in this city of Rome by the chains

of this honor, I have something to rejoice about even to your Glory.

Because when the most eminent lord, the Exconsul Leo,

arrives, I suspect you will not remain in Sicily,

and when he himself also, bound by the honor of his office,

begins to be retained at Rome, you will know what grief, what bitterness

I suffer. But when the magnificent lord Maurentius the Chartulary

arrives, I ask that you assist him

in the needs of the city of Rome, because we are pierced

without ceasing by hostile swords from without, but

we are also pressed by the internal danger of sedition of soldiers more grievously.

[46] Likewise Gregory ^a to John, Patriarch of Constantinople:

If the virtue of charity consists in the love of one's neighbor,

if we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, to John, Patriarch of Constantinople,

what is it that your Blessedness does not love me as he loves himself? Book 1, Letter 2.

For with what ardor, with what zeal you desired to flee the burdens

of the episcopate, you know. And yet you did not resist

lest those same burdens of the episcopate should be imposed upon me.

It is evident, therefore, that you do not love me as you love yourselves:

because you wished me to undertake those burdens which you

were unwilling to have imposed upon yourselves. But since I, unworthy and weak,

have received an old and greatly damaged ship

(For on all sides the waves enter, and the planks, decayed

and battered by the daily violent tempest,

sound of shipwreck) through the almighty Lord I beg that in

this peril of mine you extend to me the hand of your prayer:

because you can beseech the more earnestly, the further

you stand from the confusion of the tribulations which we suffer

in this land.

[47] Likewise Gregory ^b to Theoctista, sister of the Emperor:

How great the devotion with which my mind prostrates itself

before your Veneration, I am unable to express in words. Book 1, Letter 5. Theoctista, sister of the Emperor, Nor, however,

do I labor to betray myself, because even with me silent, you read

in your heart what you feel about my devotion. But I am astonished

that you have withdrawn your long-standing restraints toward me

on account of this present restraint of the pastoral office:

in which, under the guise of the episcopate, I have been brought back

to the world, in which I serve so many earthly cares

as I never recall having served when in the lay life:

for I have lost the deep joys of my quiet, and falling inwardly,

I seem to have risen outwardly. Whence I deplore that I am

cast far from the face of my Creator. For I was endeavoring

daily to be beyond the world, beyond the flesh,

to drive away all phantasms of the body from the eyes of the mind,

and to see the heavenly joys incorporeally. And not with

the voice alone, but with the very marrow of my heart, panting for the vision of God,

I said: To You my heart has spoken, I have sought Your face;

Your face, O Lord, I will seek. Ps. 26. Desiring nothing, moreover, in

this world, fearing nothing, I seemed to myself

to stand on a certain summit of things, so that I almost believed

to be fulfilled in me what, with the Lord promising, I had learned

from the Prophet: I will raise you above the heights of the earth. Isa. 58.

For he is raised above the heights of the earth who, by the contempt

of his mind, tramples upon even those things which seem high

and glorious in the present world. But suddenly from that summit of things

I fell, struck by the whirlwind of this temptation, to fears and terrors:

because even if I fear nothing for myself, for those

who have been committed to me I greatly dread. On all sides

I am shaken by the waves of causes and depressed by storms,

so that I rightly say: I have come into the depth of the sea,

and the tempest has engulfed me. I desire to return after such causes

to my heart, but excluded from it by the vain tumults of thoughts,

I cannot return. And thus what is within me has been made

far from me, so that I am unable to obey

the Prophetic voice which says: Return, you transgressors,

to the heart. Isa. 46. But, pressed by foolish thoughts, I am compelled only

to cry out: And my heart has forsaken me.

I have loved the beauty of the contemplative life as Rachel,

barren but seeing and beautiful. Which, though

by its quiet it produces less, nevertheless more subtly

sees the light. But by what judgment I do not know, Leah has been joined

to me in the night, that is, the active life, fruitful but bleary-eyed;

seeing less, though bearing more. I hastened

to sit at the feet of the Lord with Mary, to receive

the words of His mouth: And behold, with Martha I am compelled to minister

in outward things and to be anxious about many things. Freed

from the legion of demons, as I believed, I wished

to forget those I knew, and to rest at the feet of the Savior:

and behold, unwilling and compelled, it is said to me: Return

to your house, and announce how great things the Lord has done

for you. But who among so many earthly cares can

proclaim the miracles of God, when it is already difficult for me even

to recall them? For pressed in this honor by the tumult

of worldly affairs, I see myself to be among those of whom

it is written: You have cast them down while they were being raised up. For

he did not say, You have cast them down after they

were raised up: but, while they were being raised up. Ps. 72. Because wicked men, while

they are supported by worldly honor, seem to rise outwardly, but inwardly

they fall. The very elevation, therefore, is a ruin: for while they are propped up

by false glory, they are emptied of true glory. Ps. 67. Hence

again it is said: Let them vanish like smoke that vanishes. For smoke

vanishes by ascending, and disappears by spreading.

Thus indeed it happens when present happiness accompanies

the life of a sinner. Because by that which he is shown to be lofty,

by that same thing it is brought about that he is not. Ps. 82. Hence again it is written: My God,

make them like a wheel. For a wheel is raised from the rear

part and falls in the front. Our rear parts, however,

are the goods of the present world which we have left behind:

but the front parts are the eternal and abiding things

to which we are called, as Paul attests, who says: Forgetting what lies

behind, I stretch forward to what lies ahead. The sinner,

therefore, when he has advanced in the present life, is placed like a wheel:

because falling in the front, he is raised from the rear.

Phil. 3. For when in this life he receives the glory

which he left behind, he falls from that which comes after this life. And

indeed there are many who know how to govern outward advancements

in such a way that they by no means fall inwardly through them.

Whence it is written: God does not cast away the mighty, since

He Himself also is mighty. Job 36, Prov. 1. And through Solomon it is said: And the one who understands

will possess the helm. But these things are difficult

for me, because they are also very burdensome. And what the mind does not voluntarily

receive, it does not fittingly arrange. Behold, the most serene

Lord Emperor has commanded a monkey to become a lion.

And indeed, at his command it can be called a lion,

but it cannot become a lion. Whence it is necessary

that all my faults and negligences should be attributed not to me, but

to his Piety, who has committed the ministry of virtue to one who is weak.

[48] ^c Likewise Gregory to Narses the Patrician: While you describe

at length the sweetness of contemplation, you renew

the groaning of my ruin. Book 1, Letter 6. Narses the Patrician Because I have heard what I lost within,

when I ascended, unworthy, outwardly to the summit of governance.

And know me to be struck with such grief

that I can scarcely speak; for the shadows of sorrow

besiege the eyes of my mind. Everything I look upon is sad:

whatever is believed delightful appears lamentable to my heart.

For I consider from what summit of my quiet I have fallen,

to what summit of outward advancement I, cast down, have ascended.

And for my faults, sent into the exile of occupation

from the face of the Ruler, I say with the Prophet,

as it were in the voice of destroyed Judah:

He who consoled me has departed far from me. Lam. 1. As to your

forming scriptural clauses and declamations by making

a comparison of both cause and name, certainly, most reverend

Brother, you are calling a monkey a lion. Which we observe

you to do in the same way that we often call

mangy puppies leopards or tigers. For I, good

man, have lost my children as it were, because through earthly cares I have lost

righteous works. Ruth 1. Therefore do not call me Naomi, that is,

beautiful, but call me Mara, for I am full of bitterness.

[49] Likewise Gregory ^d to Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch:

The letters of your Blessedness I found as rest for one who is weary,

health for one who is sick, a fountain for one who thirsts, shade for one who burns:

For those words did not seem to be expressed

through the tongue of flesh: Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch, because his mind so revealed

the spiritual love it bore toward me, as if it spoke through itself. Book 1, Letters 7 and 25.

But what followed was very hard:

because your love commanded me to carry earthly burdens:

and the one whom you formerly loved spiritually, after, as I think,

loving temporally, you pressed me down to the very earth with the burden

placed upon me: so that, utterly losing all rectitude of mind

and losing the keen sight of contemplation,

I may say not through the spirit of Prophecy, but through experience:

I am bowed down and humiliated exceedingly. Ps. 37.

For such great burdens of occupations press me down

that my soul can by no means be raised to heavenly things. I am shaken

by the waves of many causes, and after that quiet

of leisure, I am afflicted by the storms of a tumultuous life, so that

I rightly say: I have come into the depth of the sea, and the tempest

has engulfed me. Ps. 68. Therefore, to me in peril, extend the hand

of your prayer, you who stand on the shore of virtues.

As to your calling me the mouth of the Lord, a lamp,

and declaring that by speaking I can benefit many and shine for many,

you have brought my estimation of myself, I confess,

into the greatest doubt. For I consider

who I am, and I perceive in myself no sign of this good.

But I consider who you are, and I do not think

you can lie. When therefore I wish to believe what you say,

my weakness contradicts me. When I wish to examine

what is said in my praise, your Holiness

contradicts me. But I ask, holy man, let us come to some

agreement in this contest of ours: that if what you say is not

so, let it be so because you say it.

[50] Likewise Gregory to Andrew the Illustrious ^e: May almighty

God indicate to your sweetest heart that, though absent

in body, I have not withdrawn in spirit from your Charity. Book 1, Letter 29. Andrew the Illustrious, For

your good qualities, even if I wish, I am unable to forget. But

as to this, that you know I have attained to the Order of the Episcopate,

if you love me, weep: because here the occupations

of this world are so great that through the Order of the Episcopate

I seem to be almost separated from the love of God. Which I bewail unceasingly,

and I beg that you pray to the Lord for me.

[51] Likewise Gregory to John, Exconsul and Patrician

and Quaestor: Having experienced the good qualities of your Excellency, John the Exconsul, Patrician, and Quaestor,

I am bound to you by such love that the memory of you

can by no means be effaced from my heart. Book 1, Letter 30 But against

love I am not a little saddened, because this good mind

of yours—may God repay you with eternal blessings: but may He absolve me

from so great a peril of this place, in whatever way He wills. Because as

my sins deserved, I have been made the Bishop not of the Romans but of the

Lombards. Whose conventions

are swords, and whose grace is punishment. Behold where your patronage

has led me. I groan daily, pressed by occupations,

and cannot breathe. But you, who still have the strength,

flee the occupations of this world: because

the more anyone has advanced in it, the more, as I see,

he decreases from the love of God.

[52] Likewise Gregory to Leander, Bishop of Seville:

I would have wished to respond to your letters with all my attention,

but the labor of pastoral care so wears me down S. Leander, Bishop of Seville, that

I prefer rather to weep than to say anything. Book 1, Letter 41. Which

your Reverence also vigilantly perceives in the very text of my letters,

when I speak negligently to him

whom I love intensely. For I am shaken by so great waves in this

place of the world's affairs that I am utterly unable

to direct to port the old and rotting ship which, by the hidden

dispensation of God, I have undertaken to govern.

Now the waves rush in from the front: now from

the side the foaming billows of the sea swell: now from

behind the storm pursues. Amid all this, troubled,

I am compelled now to steer the very helm into the face of adversity,

now, with the side of the ship turned, to deflect the threats of the waves

obliquely. I groan because I feel that, through my negligence,

the bilge of vices is growing, and as the storm violently

assails, already, already the rotting planks

sound of shipwreck. Weeping, I recall what I have lost—the

calm shore of my quiet, and sighing, I look upon the land

which, however, with the winds of affairs blowing against me, I cannot

reach. If therefore, most reverend Brother,

you love me, extend to me the hand of your prayer in these waves:

so that, by the very fact that you help me in my laboring, by that same

return of reward you may become stronger in your own

labors as well.

[53] But since it has been sufficiently proved (as I think) that

Gregory not only wished to decline, but also assumed

the Supreme Priesthood with great anguish of soul:

it seems that it should be briefly indicated with what discretion he did so,

lest so great a man be thought to have succumbed, even slightly,

to the vice either of obstinacy or of pusillanimity. For he says in a letter

to Anastasius, Archbishop of Corinth: The judgments

of the Lord, inasmuch as they are inscrutable,

ought to be the more feared by human minds.

Book 1, Letter 26 Anastasius, Archbishop of Corinth, And because mortal reason cannot

comprehend them, it is necessary that it prostrate itself before them

with the humble neck of the heart: so that wherever the will

of the One who governs has led, it may follow with obedient steps of the mind.

I, therefore, considering that my weakness could not attain

to the summit of the Apostolic See, preferred

to decline this burden, lest in pastoral governance I should succumb

through the exercise of an inadequate administration. But since it is not right

to oppose the judgment of the disposing Lord, I have obediently

followed what the merciful hand of the One who governs

wished to work concerning me. For it would have been necessary

to inform your Fraternity, even if the present occasion

had not arisen, that the Lord has deigned that I, though unworthy,

should preside over the Apostolic See.

[54] Likewise the same, concerning the same matter, ^f to Philip, Count of the Excubitors:

Insofar as a man cannot examine and investigate

the judgments on high, and Philip, Count of the Excubitors. so much ought he

to bend the neck of his heart beneath them. Book 1, Letter 31. And because he does not know

by what judgment what is granted to him is disposed, he ought neither to persist

presumptuously in seeking a position, nor be found

contumacious in rejecting it. Whence I, unworthy,

have submitted myself to receive the burdens of the episcopate at the command

of almighty God and your will, whose grace

rather than any estimation of judgment has wished me to preside. For God is able,

on whose account you love me though unworthy, to repay you

this reward in perpetuity, so that the grace which you bestow

upon His unworthy servants you may find multiplied before Him.

But I shall here rest a little from the work of excerpting,

so that the things which are especially to be said concerning his Pontificate

may be related, with the Lord's help, in another book

^g.

^a He was consecrated on 12 April of the year 582, with whom S. Gregory had lived several years at Constantinople. Concerning him, mention is frequently made below.

^b To the same he wrote Letter 39 of Book 9.

^c Narses,

at the request of Chosroes, King of the Persians, was appointed by Maurice as Duke of the army.

So Simocatta, Book 5, Chapters 3 and 5, and we on 10 January, in the Life of S.

Domitian, Bishop of Melitene.

^d This is S. Anastasius Sinaita, of whom mention is frequently made below. He is venerated on 21 April.

^e In the Register there is added "of Dibiria." He is different from Andrew the Scholastic, to whom many letters were sent.

^f So the MS. of Corsendonk. And the printed Letters of S. Gregory. Surius has "Philippico."

^g In the same MS. there was added: Here ends the first book, here begins the second. In other printed copies, these were appended: Chapters of Book 2.

1 Where Gregory, writing himself Servant of the servants of God, dresses in modest garments. Chapters of the second book.

2 Where he dictates the irreproachable creed of his faith.

3 Where he sends his Synodal letter to the patriarchal thrones.

4 Where he declares that he venerates five Councils.

5 Where, having convened a Synod, he condemns depraved customs.

6 Where, compiling the Antiphonary, he establishes a school of singers.

7 Why Westerners corrupt the sweetness of chant.

8 That they were corrected through John, a Roman cantor.

9 How King Charles, offended by the discordance of chant, left two of his clerics to be trained at Rome.

10 How the same Charles, offended by the discordance of chant, received two Roman cantors from Pope Hadrian.

11 Where Gregory, having dismissed laypeople, chose clerics as his familiars.

12 Where he made the Roman Church such as the first was under the Apostles.

13 What great and excellent studies then flourished again at Rome.

14 That he summoned to his counsel not the wealthy but the wise.

15 Why laypeople first began to receive the tonsure.

16 Where he admits laypeople not to ecclesiastical office but only to the monastic habit.

17 Where he abridges the Gelasian codex.

18 Where, establishing stations, he proclaims homilies on the Gospels.

19 Where, together with the nourishment of the word, he ministers food to the poor.

20 Where he introduces new customs.

21 Where he humbly gives satisfaction to those murmuring about the same.

22 Where he receives the Lord in the guise of a guest.

23 Where, with twelve invited, he divinely recognizes a thirteenth Angel assigned to him.

24 Where he decrees that distributions should be made four times a year through the register.

25 Where he bestows gold coins and foreign garments.

26 Where he distributes various goods month by month.

27 Where he annually provides eighty pounds to three thousand handmaids of God.

28 Where he daily dispatches prepared stipends through couriers.

29 Where he most vehemently laments on account of a pauper who has died.

30 How many and of what sort the names of those to be remunerated are kept in the archive.

31 Where he dedicates the basilica of the Arians in the Subura to the Lord.

32 What great miracles were divinely shown there.

33 Where he sends Augustine with others to convert the Anglo-Saxons.

34 Where he exhorts those wishing to return without result, to continue their journey.

35 Where Augustine, setting out, accomplished what was commanded.

36 Where Augustine, having been consecrated Bishop, requests helpers.

37 Where Gregory sends him the Pallium and diverse necessities, together with certain responses.

38 Where, asked about degrees of consanguinity, he explains the matter to Bishop Felix.

39 What great and excellent things Gregory proclaims concerning the conversion of the Saxons and the miracles of his disciples.

40 Where he admonishes Augustine not to be puffed up on account of miracles.

41 Where a morsel of bread was transformed into flesh, and the flesh again reformed into the original bread.

42 Where he pricked a cloth and blood flowed out.

43 Where he punished sorcerers with blindness.

44 How it should be understood that Gregory freed the soul of Trajan from the torments of hell.

45 Where he miraculously absolves a monk who died under excommunication.

46 Where he purchases pagan boys to make them Christians.

47 Where he threatens Bishops on account of pagan peasants.

48 Where he lightens the payments of converted Jews.

49 Where he bestows garments on those to be baptized.

50 Where he preaches that the children of Arians should be helped.

51 Where he appoints individual rectors to individual deaconries or hospices.

52 Where, establishing a hospice at Jerusalem, he assigned annual stipends both there and on Mount Sinai to monks.

53 Where he appoints rectors to individual estates.

54 Where he defines that two ministries may by no means be committed to one person.

55 Where he arranges almsgiving both locally and personally.

56 That he voluntarily gave to all who asked.

57 That he also ministered necessities to those who did not ask.

58 Where the innocence of his generosity is proved.

59 Where he purchases grain for fifty pounds of gold for the purpose of giving alms.

60 What sort of dream a hermit came to know about him.

BOOK II

CHAPTER I

The modesty of S. Gregory in pontifical titles. The Synodal letter

sent to the Patriarchs. The profession of faith. Ecclesiastical chant ordered.

[1] Come now, since the robust limbs of the athlete of Christ,

Gregory, strenuously laboring in the gymnasium of His holy

Church, S. Gregory forbids the Patriarch of Constantinople the title of Universal. have been described in the preceding book:

let it now be brought forth, with the Lord's inspiration, how

he also contended in the arena. Book 2. For as soon as he obtained the Supreme Pontificate

of the most blessed city of Rome, with Christ providing

for mortals, he rejected under the most severe

sentence of threat the superstitious title of Universal,

which ^a John, Bishop of Constantinople,

was at that time insolently usurping for himself,

in the manner of his predecessor Pontiffs: and he first

of all defined, with sufficient humility, that he should be written in the beginning

of his letters as Servant of the servants of God, and to all

his successors he left as an inheritance the record of his humility,

both in this and in the modest pontifical vestments,

which indeed is preserved to this day in the holy Roman

Church.

[2] from the watchtower of the universal Church he issues the creed of faith: Then, standing on the watchtower of the holy universal Church,

a man of total humanity and authority and orthodox faith,

where the evangelical herald could be seen and heard more clearly,

with the most divine sword of his mouth he both fortified the true

faith and scattered all heresies with a single creed.

Which creed of sacred confession indeed

reads thus: I believe in one God almighty,

Father and Son and Holy Spirit, three persons,

one substance: the Father unbegotten, the Son

begotten; the Holy Spirit indeed neither begotten nor

unbegotten: but coeternal, proceeding from the Father and the Son.

I confess the only-begotten Son consubstantial,

and born without time from the Father, Creator of all visible

and invisible things, light from light,

true God from true God, the splendor of glory,

the figure of substance: who, remaining the Word before the ages,

was created perfect man toward the end of the ages,

conceived and born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary:

who assumed our nature without sin, and

under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried: on the third

day He rose from the dead: on the fortieth day

He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father: thence

He shall come to judge the living and the dead, placing before

the eyes of all the hidden deeds of each one, about to give

to the just the perpetual rewards of the heavenly kingdom, and to the wicked

the punishments of eternal fire: about to renew the world through

fire, and the resurrection of the flesh. I confess one faith,

one baptism, one Apostolic and universal

Church, in which alone sins can be forgiven in

the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[3] Gregory also sent his Synodal letter, according

to the ancient custom of his predecessors, he sends Synodal letters to the Patriarchs of the East, to John

of Constantinople, ^b Eulogius of Alexandria,

Gregory ^c of Antioch, ^d John of Jerusalem,

and Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch. Which

reads thus: When I consider that, unequal in merits

and resisting with all my soul, I have been compelled to bear the burdens of pastoral care,

the gloom of grief presents itself, and my sad

heart sees nothing other than those shadows which permit it

to see nothing. Book 1, Letter 24 For what else is a Bishop chosen for before the Lord

than as an intercessor for the sins of the people? With what confidence, therefore,

do I come to Him as intercessor for the sins of others, written with great lowliness of soul: before

whom I am not secure concerning my own? If perhaps someone

should seek me to become his intercessor before a powerful man who was both angry

with himself and unknown to me,

I would immediately respond: I cannot come to intercede,

because I do not have familiarity with him from regular acquaintance.

If, therefore, I would rightly be ashamed to become an intercessor

before a man in whom I had no confidence:

how audacious is it that before God I hold the place

of intercessor for the people, when I do not recognize myself as familiar to Him

through the merit of my life? In which matter there is yet

another thing more gravely to be feared, because as all of us clearly

know, when one who is displeasing is sent to intercede,

the mind of the angry one is provoked to worse things.

And I am greatly afraid lest the faithful people committed to me

should perish through the addition of my guilt,

whose sins the Lord had until now patiently tolerated. But

when I somehow suppress this fear and gird my consoled

mind for the studies of the pontifical work,

I am deterred by considering the very immensity of the task. For I see

that all care must be taken that the Ruler be pure in thought,

outstanding in action, discreet in silence,

useful in speech, nearest to each one in compassion,

raised above all others in contemplation,

a companion through humility to those who do well, raised up against

the vices of the delinquent through zeal for righteousness,

and the rest, which he pursues more broadly afterward in the Pastoral Book.

[4] Furthermore, because, he says, with the heart one believes unto justice,

and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation: as he admits the 4 Gospels, so also the first 4 Councils: as I receive and

venerate the four books of the holy Gospel, so I profess to receive

and venerate the four Councils: namely the Nicene, in which

the perverse dogma of Arius is destroyed: the Constantinopolitan

also, in which the error of Eunomius and Macedonius is

refuted: the first Ephesian as well, in which the impiety

of Nestorius is judged: and the Chalcedonian, in which

the depravity of Eutyches and Dioscorus is condemned—I embrace with total devotion,

I guard with the most complete approbation.

Because in these, as in a squared stone, the structure of the holy

faith rises: and whatever may be the life and conduct

of any person, whoever does not hold their solidity,

even if he seems to be a stone, nevertheless lies outside the building.

^e I also equally venerate the Fifth Council,

in which the letter called that of Ibas, full of error, is condemned;

and Theodorus, separating the person of the Mediator between God and

men into two substances, is convicted of having fallen into the perfidy

of impiety. The writings also

of Theodoret, by which the faith of Blessed Cyril is criticized,

put forth by the audacity ^f of envy, are refuted. All the persons, moreover,

whom the aforesaid venerable Councils reject,

I reject; those whom they venerate, I embrace. he also venerates the fifth: Because since they were established

by universal consent, he destroys not them but himself,

whoever presumes either to loose those whom they bind

or to bind those whom they loose. Whoever therefore thinks otherwise, let him be

anathema.

[5] After Gregory, in this manner, had lucidly set forth the foundation

of his faith to the Apostolic thrones, according to the ancient custom

of his predecessor Pontiffs, perceiving that he had been established

by the Lord as Supreme Pontiff over nations and kingdoms,

so that, according to that prophetic text, he might root out the roots of vices, He abolishes customs contrary to Apostolic Tradition.

destroy and scatter them: and thus at last build

and plant virtues: he segregated from the body of the whole holy universal

Church all customs which he recognized had recently

sprung up contrary to the ancient Apostolic tradition—namely concerning ministers,

singers, laypeople adhering familiarly to the Pontiff,

concerning the prejudicial titling of certain properties, concerning

the covering of the Apostolic bier with dalmatics, concerning ^g the payment

for the Pallium or the consecration of Pontiffs, and

concerning the indiscriminate admission of laypeople to the office of ecclesiastical law—

first indeed from the Roman Church, afterward

^h having gathered the Bishops of the surrounding

provinces, from the body of the entire holy universal

Church, and condemned them under the interposition

of a terrible anathema, both generally and perpetually. Jer. 1.

[6] Then in the house of the Lord, in the manner of the most wise

Solomon, he establishes a school of singers: he arranges the Antiphonary, for the sake of the compunction of musical sweetness,

he most diligently and usefully compiled the Antiphonary, a patchwork

of singers, and established a school of singers,

which to this day modulates according to those same institutions

in the holy Roman Church; and he built for it,

together with certain estates, two dwellings, namely one under

the steps of the Church of S. Peter the Apostle, and the other under

the buildings of the Lateran patriarchate. Where to this day

his bed, on which he reclined while directing the chant,

and his whip, with which he threatened the boys, are preserved

with due veneration, together with the authentic antiphonary.

Which places indeed, through the terms of a decree,

under the interposition of anathema, for the sake of the daily ministry

in both places, he divided.

[7] Chant corrupted elsewhere, The sweetness of this chant, among other

peoples of Europe, the Germans or Gauls were able to learn and frequently

to relearn remarkably: but they were by no means able to preserve it uncorrupted,

both because of the levity of their spirit, since they mixed some things of their own

with the Gregorian chants, and because of the fierceness

of their nature as well. For the Alpine bodies, thundering

loudly with the booming of their voices,

do not properly reproduce the sweetness of the chant they have received, because the barbarous

ferocity of their bibulous throats, while striving to produce a gentle

melody through inflections and reverberations, by a certain natural

harshness, like carts confusedly rattling over steps, hurls forth

rigid voices, and so disturbs the minds of the hearers,

whom it should have soothed, by exasperating and making noise rather than by charming.

[8] Carried to England, reformed there by John the Roman. Hence it is that in the time of this Gregory, with

Augustine then going to Britain, singers of Roman training

also dispersed throughout the West, remarkably taught the barbarians.

When these had died, the Western Churches so corrupted

the system of chant they had received that John, a certain Roman cantor, together with

^i Theodore, also a Roman citizen but Archbishop of York,

was sent from ^k Pope Vitalian through Gaul to Britain:

who, calling back the children of the surrounding

Churches to the pristine sweetness of chant ^l,

both through himself and through his disciples, preserved the rule of Roman teaching

for many years.

[9] But our Patrician Charles also, King

of the Franks, offended at Rome by the discordance of the Roman and Gallic ^m chant,

and in Gaul by Charles the Great, with 2 Clerics trained at Rome: when the impudence of the Gauls argued that the chant had been

corrupted by some of our people,

and our people on the contrary credibly displayed the authentic antiphonary:

is said to have asked which customarily preserves

clearer water—the stream or the fountain. When they replied, the fountain,

he prudently added: Therefore we also, who have been drinking corrupted water

from the stream until now, must return to the original

springs of the perennial fountain. At once, therefore,

he left two of his skilled Clerics with the then Bishop Hadrian:

who, at length sufficiently well trained,

restored the metropolitan city of Metz to the pristine sweetness of chant,

and through it he corrected all of his Gaul.

[10] But when many years later, after the death of those who

had been educated at Rome, the most prudent of kings

saw that the chant of the Gallic Churches differed from that of Metz,

and noticed that each was boasting that the other's chant was corrupted;

Again, he said, let us return to the fountain. Then, moved by the King's

entreaties, as certain truthful witnesses attest today, Pope Hadrian sent

two cantors into Gaul: by whose judgment the King

recognized that all had indeed corrupted the sweetness of the Roman chant

through a certain levity: but that the people of Metz, by their natural

fierceness alone, and by 2 others sent from Rome by Pope Hadrian. deviated only a little. And so

to the degree that the Metz chant yields to the Roman,

by that same degree the chant of the Gauls and of the Germans

yields to that of Metz, as is proved

by those who love the pure truth. These things, therefore,

I have related by way of anticipation, lest I seem

to have passed over without examination the levity of the Gauls.

^a Concerning this presumption of John in usurping the title of Universal, a fuller treatment is given below, Book 3, no. 51.

^b Theophanes attributes 27 years to the See of S. Eulogius, from the 2nd year of the Emperor Tiberius, A.D. 580, to the 7th year of the Emperor Phocas, A.D. 608. S. Eulogius of Alexandria. Concerning him, frequent mention is made below. He is venerated on 13 September.

^c Two

Patriarchs of Antioch are referred to here: of whom S. Anastasius was living

in exile, while Gregory presided: Theophanes places the beginning of the See of S. Anastasius

at the 33rd year of Justinian, Indiction 8, S. Anastasius and Gregory of Antioch, which year of Christ is 570. He refers the following things concerning his deposition to the fifth year of Justin. When that great Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch, had attacked in his Synodal Letters John, Bishop of Constantinople (who was sitting in place of S. Eutychius, who had been driven into exile), because he had consecrated John of Alexandria, the predecessor of the said Eulogius, and had also attacked in his letters the said John of Alexandria, who had been ordained, he was deposed from his See by the command of Justin, and in his place Gregory, a monk and Apocrisiarius of the monastery of the Byzantines, was promoted. Evagrius should be consulted, Book 5, Chapters 5

and 6, who in Book 6, Chapter 23, after relating the return of S. Anastasius, concludes his history. S. Gregory in Book 4 of the Register, Letter 27, congratulates him on his return, in Indiction 3, the year of Christ 595, to which five years are assigned by Theophanes from his restoration, but six in the Catalogue of Nicephorus.

^d Theophanes assigns 20 years to John of Jerusalem, from the 8th year of the Emperor Justin, A.D. 573, to the 2nd year of Maurice, John of Jerusalem. A.D. 593.

^e Concerning

the 5th Synod and the Three Chapters condemned therein—namely of Ibas of Edessa,

Theodorus of Mopsuestia, and Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus—we treated on 5

February in the Life of S. Ingenuinus, Bishop of Sabiona. Synod 5

^f So our MS. with Surius: elsewhere it is printed as "of madness."

^g Concerning the payment customarily given by Simoniacs, a fuller treatment is given below, Book 3, no. 5.

^h Then he ordered Severus, Bishop of Aquileia, to come to Rome with his followers, as is said below, Book 4, no. 38.

^i S.

Theodore was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and was Archbishop not of York but

of Canterbury: he is venerated on 19 September, as Bede relates, Book 4, Chapters 1 and 2,

and Book 5, Chapter 8.

^k Ordained by Pope S. Vitalian on the 7th day before the Kalends of April of the Lord's day, in the year 668. So Bede, Book 4, Chapter 1. We gave the Life of S. Vitalian on 27 January.

^l Bede: The sounds of singing in the church, which until then they had known only in Kent, chant in England from this time began to be learned through all the Churches of the English.

^m Concerning chant in Gaul under King Pippin, father of Charles the Great, we spoke on 19 January in the Life of S. Remigius, Bishop of Rouen, and Gaul. brother of the same Pippin.

CHAPTER II

Counsellors chosen from the Clergy by S. Gregory. Regulations prescribed for laypeople

and soldiers concerning Ecclesiastical functions. Various matters concerning the Mass

and Stations ordained.

[11] Furthermore, the most prudent Ruler Gregory,

having removed secular persons from his chamber, S. Gregory employs Clerics for his counsel; chose

the most prudent Clerics as his Counsellors and familiars:

among whom Peter the Deacon, his contemporary,

with whom he afterward composed, in dialogue, the four books of the Dialogues:

also Aemilianus the Notary, who

with his companions ^a took down the forty Homilies on the Gospels:

^b Paterius, likewise a Notary, who, having been made by him

the secondary keeper of records, excerpted certain most useful things from his books:

and John the Defensor, who, sent by his command as judge to Spain,

^c restored Januarius, Bishop

of the city of Malaga, who had been deposed by his own compatriot Bishops,

to his own See, and condemned his deposers together with the one who had crept into his place with an equal sentence. He chose the holiest monks as his familiars: he has monks as familiars: among whom Maximianus, the Abbot of his own monastery, whom he made Bishop of Syracuse and to whom he committed his ^d authority throughout Sicily: Augustine, the Provost of that same monastery of his, and Mellitus, through whom he summoned the English nations to the grace of Christianity: Marinianus, a monk of that same monastery of his, whom he consecrated as Bishop in the metropolis of Ravenna: ^e ^f Probus, whom, suddenly constituting as Abbot by the revelation of the Spirit, he sent to Jerusalem for the building of a hospice: and likewise ^g Claudius, Abbot of the city of Classis, who, while the Pope discoursed, composed much—though not in the same sense—concerning Proverbs, the Song of Songs, the Prophets, the Books of Kings, and the Heptateuch.

[12] imitating the Apostles and the first Christians: Spending day and night with these, Gregory left nothing of monastic perfection in the palace, nothing of pontifical instruction in the Church wanting. Everywhere, together with the most learned Clerics, the most devout monks were seen adhering to the Pontiff, and in their diverse professions a common life was maintained: so that the Church under Gregory in the city of Rome was such as Luke commemorates it to have been under the Apostles, and Philo commemorates it to have been under Mark the Evangelist in Alexandria.

[13] Then the Wisdom of things was in a manner visibly building herself a temple at Rome, and with the sevenfold arts as columns she was supporting the court of the Apostolic See with the noblest stones of equal number. No one of those serving the Pontiff, from the least to the greatest, exhibited anything barbarous in speech or dress, he restores the elegance of the Latin language and studies: but the togaed Latinity, in the manner of the Quirites or wearing the trabea, uniquely maintained its Latium in that very Latial palace. There the studies of the diverse arts had flourished again, and whoever perhaps lacked either holiness or prudence, by his own judgment did not have the confidence to stand before the Pontiff.

[14] To the profound pontifical counsels there were summoned prudent men, such as I have mentioned, rather than powerful ones: he employs the wise, not the wealthy, for his counsel, and while poor Philosophy within was inquiring by skillful arguments what was rather or most to be followed in each matter, wealthy inertia, which now avenges itself upon the wise with equal fortune, remained despicable outside the doors of the chamber. Only the bilingual skill of interpreting was lacking; and the most eloquent Cecropian virgin, who once had transmitted the keen insights of her mind to the Latins when Varro took away her celibacy, was claiming for herself the illusions of impostures, as he himself complains in his letters.

[15] No layman administered any ministry of the palace or any ecclesiastical patrimony, but all duties of ecclesiastical law were undertaken by ecclesiastical men as well: he excludes laypeople from Ecclesiastical functions: with laypeople being assigned solely to the military service of arms or to the continuous care of the fields. For this reason certain of the nobility began first to have themselves tonsured under the pretext of religion. Against whose evasion the Emperor Maurice prudently intervened, having issued a law through Longinus the Commander that whoever had been entangled in public administrations should not be permitted to come to ecclesiastical office. Which law Gregory praised greatly on this point, saying: He who, abandoning the secular habit, hastens to come to ecclesiastical offices, does not wish to leave the world, but to change it.

[16] [Soldiers desiring to be admitted to the Clergy, he wishes first to be tested, to live in monasteries, and then to be enrolled in the Clergy:] But when to the Clerical profession, both from ecclesiastical as well as from secular military service, an almost innumerable multitude was flocking daily on various occasions; the Pastor, provident in all things, judged that they should by no means be received for the office of ecclesiastical distinction, but only for adopting the monastic way of life, saying: We know that many from ecclesiastical or secular military service hasten to the service of almighty God, so that, free from human servitude, they may seem to live more familiarly in divine service. Whom if we dismiss indiscriminately, we provide an occasion for all to flee the dominion of ecclesiastical or secular law. But if we incautiously retain those hastening to the service of almighty God, we shall be found to deny certain things to Him who gave all things. Whence it is necessary that whoever from the service of ecclesiastical or secular military law desires to be converted to service, should first be tested while established in the lay habit: and if his character and conduct bear witness to his good desire, let him be permitted without any hesitation to serve almighty God in a monastery, so that he may depart free from human servitude, he who seeks to undertake a stricter servitude in the divine service. But if also in the monastic habit he has lived blamelessly according to the rules of the Fathers, after the times prescribed by the sacred canons, let him then be freely promoted to whatever ecclesiastical office: provided he has not been stained by those crimes which in the Old Testament are punished by death.

[17] But he also abridged ^h the Gelasian codex concerning the solemnities of the Masses, removing much, changing a few things, adding some He abridges the Gelasian Codex: for the exposition of the gospel readings, into the volume of a single book. In the Canon he added: "And dispose our days in Your peace, and command us to be snatched from eternal damnation and to be numbered in the flock of Your elect."

[18] ^i He carefully ordered the Stations through the basilicas or the cemeteries of the Blessed Martyrs, he arranges the stations, according to which to this day the Roman people, as if he were living, eagerly run about. Through which he also himself went about, while he was still able to speak, and proclaimed twenty Homilies on the Gospel before the Church at various times. But the remaining ones of the same number he indeed dictated, but with his stomach failing from continuous illness, he committed them to others to pronounce.

[19] he preaches to the people: The army of the Lord followed the Blessed Gregory as he went before, on both sides, and innumerable companies of every sex, age, and profession voluntarily gathered from all sides to hear the word of teaching. To whom he, as the leader of the heavenly army, supplied spiritual weapons to all. But to the poor and to foreigners who had flowed into Rome on account of the conditions of the times, he ministered daily stipends.

[20] Over the bodies of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, he decreed that the solemnities of the Masses be celebrated, he celebrates Masses over the bodies of the Apostles: having acquired most numerous olive groves, the total of which he inscribed on marble tablets before the doors of that same basilica. He added lights, assigned diligent services, prohibited hoping for burial near the church as a privilege, declared that seven of the defensors should be honored with the rank of regionarius. He caused the Alleluia to be sung at Masses outside the time of Pentecost: he ordained that Subdeacons should proceed unrobed: he commanded the Kyrie eleison to be sung, and judged that the Lord's Prayer should be recited immediately after the Canon over the host.

[21] Concerning which, when he afterward perceived certain persons to be murmuring, as though he were following the customs of the Church of Constantinople, in these matters, why the Alleluia is said, the most pious Father did not disdain to give an explanation, saying: In none of these have we followed another Church. For the Alleluia was said to have been brought here to be sung from the Church of Jerusalem, from the tradition of Blessed Jerome, in the time of Pope Damasus of blessed memory. And therefore in this See we have rather abolished the custom which had been handed down here from the Greeks. But that I should have Subdeacons proceed unrobed was the ancient custom of the Church. But it pleased a certain one of our Pontiffs, I know not which, to command them to proceed vested. For did the Churches of Sicily receive their tradition from the Greeks? Whence then do they have today that subdeacons proceed in linen tunics, unless because they received this from their Mother, the Roman Church? Kyrie eleison. As for the Kyrie eleison, we neither said nor say it as it is said by the Greeks: because among the Greeks all say it together: but among us it is said by the Clerics together, and the people respond. And the Christe eleison is also said the same number of times, which among the Greeks is by no means said. In daily Masses, moreover, we omit other things that are customarily said: we say only the Kyrie eleison and Christe eleison, so that we may be occupied a little longer in these voices of supplication. The Lord's Prayer, moreover, we say immediately after the prayer for this reason, because it was the custom of the Apostles to consecrate the host of the oblation by that prayer alone. And it seemed to me very unfitting that we should say over the oblation the prayer which a Scholastic had composed; and The Lord's Prayer. not say over His Body and Blood the very tradition which our Redeemer composed. But the Lord's Prayer is also said among the Greeks by all the people: but among us by the priest alone. In what, therefore, have we followed the customs of the Greeks, we who have either restored our own ancient customs or established new and useful ones, in which, however, we are found to imitate no others? Therefore let your Charity, when the occasion arises, going to the city of Catania or in the Church of Syracuse, teach those whom you believe or perceive could have murmured about this matter, by holding a conference, and not cease to instruct them, as it were, on another occasion. For as to what they say about the Church of Constantinople, who doubts that it is subject to the Apostolic See? Which both the most pious Lord Emperor and our Brother, the Bishop of that city, constantly profess. Yet if that same Church or any other has anything good, I am prepared to imitate them, together with those under me whom I prohibit from unlawful things, in what is good. For he is foolish who thinks himself the first to such a degree that he disdains to learn good things which he may see.

^a Concerning the secretaries of these Homilies, S. Gregory treats in the Prologue of the same to Secundus, Bishop of Taormina.

^b It is commonly believed that this is S. Paterius, Bishop of Brescia, who is venerated on 21 February, where we treated of him.

^c Januarius,

the 4th Bishop of the city of Malaga, unjustly deposed, with a certain John intruded,

and restored in the year 603, is narrated by Martin de Roa, Chapter 12 of the History

of Malaga.

^d In the month of December, Indiction 10, therefore in the year 591, as is evident below, Book 3, no. 25.

^e He is said to have been consecrated in the year 595; concerning him, more is frequently said below.

^f Concerning him and the hospice at Jerusalem, there is again treatment below at nos. 52 and 55.

^g Concerning him, Rubeus should be read, Book 4 of the History of Ravenna, who asserts he died in the year 602.

^h Ancient Missal. Gelasius

I, Pope, created in the year 492, reviewed the ancient Missal or Codex of the Mass,

as afterward S. Gregory did, and after him very many

Pontiffs, and most recently Clement VIII and Urban VIII: hence the Gelasian codex, and then the Book of Sacraments of S. Gregory, so called:

the latter was published with the learned Commentaries of Hugo Menard, but augmented after the death of S.

Gregory, since among the Saints his birthday is recorded.

^i These

stations are still noted in the Missal; as on the appointed days in Advent,

Lent, the Ember Days, Rogation Days, and the feasts of the Lord's Nativity

and Circumcision, Stations. His Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost they are observed.

CHAPTER III

The generous spirit of S. Gregory in giving alms. A church dedicated. Miracles.

[22] Gregory remained of such great hospitality even in the

patriarchate itself, He receives foreigners, and among them Christ: that besides those whom

he mercifully nourished with church alms both through various regions

and at Rome as well, as they fled the swords of the treacherous Lombards,

he daily invited whatever foreigners he could to his table.

Among whom one day a certain one came, into whose hands, when he himself wished to pour water out of the ministry of humility, he turned and took the pitcher: but suddenly could not find the one into whose hands he had wished to pour the water. And when he marveled at this within himself, that same night the Lord said to him through a vision: On other days you received Me in My members, but yesterday you received Me in Myself.

[23] At another time also the same Gregory, according to his custom, ordered his ^a treasurer to invite twelve pilgrims to dinner. with 12 pilgrims invited, he perceives an Angel added, Who, going, fulfilled the commands and arranged them together at table. But while they were reclining together, the Pope, looking, counted thirteen. And summoning the treasurer, he inquired why he had presumed, contrary to his command, to invite a thirteenth. He, astonished, more carefully counted the dining pilgrims and, finding only twelve, replied as if confident: Believe me, honorable Father, there are only twelve, just as you yourself commanded. Therefore, while he repeatedly counted twelve when refuted, and could not see the thirteenth, whom only the Pope could see; the spiritual Father Gregory, observing that the man reclining nearest to him was frequently changing his appearance, now simulating a youth, now an old man of venerable gray hair, when the banquet was over, permitted the twelve indeed to depart: but taking the thirteenth by the hand, he led him into his chamber, earnestly adjuring him to deign to reveal simply both himself and his name to him. Who, answering, said: And why do you ask about my name, which is wonderful? But know, recalling by memory, that I am that shipwrecked man who once came to you when you were writing in the cell of your monastery at the Clivus Scauri, to whom you gave twelve coins and the silver dish which the Blessed Sylvia your mother had sent to you with vegetables poured in. and that for his alms he has been assumed to the Pontificate, And let this be known to you for certain: that from that day on which you bestowed these things upon me with a cheerful spirit, the Lord destined you to become the Bishop of His holy Church, for which He also poured out His own blood, and to be the successor and Vicar of Peter, the prince of the Apostles, whose virtue also you have imitated, in dividing the offerings of those who brought them, as each one had need. Hearing these things, Gregory said: And how do you know that the Lord then destined me to preside over His holy Church? And he said: and that he has been given as his guardian: Because I am His Angel, and was then sent by Him to inquire into your purpose. Then Gregory, because he had not yet manifestly seen an Angel, was utterly astonished, and heard him speaking thus to him: Do not fear, nor be afraid. For behold, the Lord has sent me to be your guardian as long as you shall be in this mortal world: so that whatever thing you ask, you may confidently obtain through me from Him. Immediately Gregory fell upon his face, saying: If on account of the small gift of my littleness the most almighty Lord repays me so much, that He has made me Pontiff of His holy Church and has assigned His Angel as my guardian, how much do I think will be restored to me if, persevering with all my strength in His commandments, I shall endeavor to distribute more from more.

[24] four times each year he most generously gives alms, Therefore, beginning to be so much more generous with the temporal advantage bestowed upon him as he was more certain of receiving the eternal reward, he converted the revenues of all the patrimonies and estates into money, from the Gelasian ^b register, of which he appeared to be a most diligent follower, and with their payments in gold and silver (having been distributed to all ecclesiastical and palatine orders, monasteries, churches, cemeteries, deaconries, hospices, both urban and suburban), he decreed through a register, by which they are distributed to this day, how many solidi should be distributed four times a year, namely at Easter, the birthday of the Apostles, the birthday of S. Andrew, and his own birthday.

[25] Besides which, at the first dawn of the Lord's Resurrection, at the same time bestowing the kiss of peace: in the basilica of the once most learned Pope Vigilius, near which he customarily resided, sitting to bestow the kiss of peace, he distributed gold coins to all Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and other dignitaries. On the birthday of the Apostles or his own, offering mixed solidi, he also gave garments to pilgrims.

[25] On absolutely every Kalends, he generally distributed to the poor the same kinds of goods which were gathered from the revenues, he distributes various goods on the first day of each month: and in their season wheat, in their season wine, in their season cheese, in their season legumes, in their season lard, in their season edible animals, in their season fish or oil, this most discreet head of household of the Lord would divide. But spices and other delicate commodities he honorably offered to the leading men, so that nothing else but common granaries, as it were, was the Church considered to be.

[27] he supports 3,000 nuns: To three thousand handmaids of God, whom the Greeks call Monastriae, he gave fifteen pounds of gold for bedding, and annually conferred upon them for daily stipends eighty pounds. ^c Concerning whom, writing to the Patrician Theoctistus: Book 6, Letter 23 Their life, he says, is such and so strict in tears and abstinence that we believe that if they did not exist, none of us could have subsisted in this place among the swords of the Lombards for so many years.

[28] daily he dispatches cooked stipends through couriers: On each and every day, through the streets and crossroads of all the regions, he sent cooked stipends by appointed couriers to the infirm or to those weakened in any part of the body. And to the more modest, before he himself took food, he took care to send from his own table a dish of Apostolic blessing from door to door: so that the benevolence of the most merciful provider utterly excluded no one whom the knowledge of the almighty Creator had drawn to the faith.

[29] When it happened that a certain one of these poor people was found dead by gravediggers in the narrow recesses ^d of alleys, he is afflicted by the death of a pauper: thinking that he had perished from want of alms, he was so saddened for some days, as it is said, by abstaining from the celebration of Masses, as if he had killed him with his own hands, which is an unspeakable thing to say.

[30] he compiles a book of remunerations. There still exists to this day in the most sacred archive of the Lateran Palace a great volume made of paper, compiled in his time, in which the names of both sexes, of all ages and professions, living both at Rome and in the suburban cities and those nearby, as well as in distant maritime cities, are more expressly contained with their surnames, dates, and remunerations. The total of which, lest it become tedious, I refrain from transcribing, and I direct the eye of my reader to the fullness of that venerable archive, whose authority, with the Pope's permission, I have followed in almost all things.

[32] ^e Furthermore, since the basilica of the Arians, in the region of this city called the Subura, had remained closed until the time of Gregory's Pontificate, [he purifies and dedicates a church usurped by the Arians, with relics introduced:] it pleased him that it should be dedicated in the Catholic faith, with the relics of the Blessed Sebastian and S. Agatha the Martyrs introduced there: which was done. For Gregory, singing praises with a great multitude of the people, arrived and entered the aforesaid basilica. And while the venerable Pontiff was already celebrating the solemnities of the Masses, and on account of the narrowness of that same place the crowd of people was pressing together, certain of those who were standing outside the sanctuary suddenly felt a pig running here and there among their feet. Which, while each one felt it and pointed it out to those standing near him, that same pig sought the doors of the church and turned all through whom it passed to astonishment. But nothing could be seen, although it could be felt. Which thing divine mercy showed so that it might be evident to all in the likeness of a pig, the devil flees: that with Gregory coming with the relics of the Saints, the unclean inhabitant was departing from that place.

[32] with terror and noise it vanishes: Therefore, when the celebration of the Masses was completed, the Pope withdrew with the people. But during that same night a great noise was made in the rafters of that same church, as if someone were running about in it errantly. On the following night, however, the noise grew louder, when suddenly so great a terror resounded as if that entire church had been overturned from its foundations. And it immediately departed, and no further disturbance of the ancient enemy appeared there: but through the sound of terror which it made, it became known that from the place which it had long held, it was being forced out by the invocation of Gregory. But after a few days, in a great serenity of the air, a cloud descended from heaven upon the altar of that same church and covered it with its veil, and filled the whole church with such terror and such sweetness of fragrance a fragrant cloud approaches: that, though the doors were open, no one presumed to enter. And the Priest and the custodians, and those who had come to celebrate the solemnities of the Masses and saw the thing, could by no means enter, and yet they inhaled the sweetness of a marvelous fragrance. But on another day, the lamps in it were lit without fire. Again after a few days, the lamps are divinely lit. when the solemnities of the Masses had been completed and the lamps extinguished, the custodian had gone out of that same church, and after a little while entered and found the lamps, which he had extinguished, burning. He believed he had negligently extinguished them, and now more carefully extinguished them. Going out, he closed the church: but after a space of three hours, returning, he found the lamps, which he had extinguished, burning: so that indeed from that very light it might clearly be evident that through the Blessed Gregory that place had come from darkness to light.

^a In S. Antoninus he is called the Sacellarius, that is, the Treasurer of the Church, Sacellarius. which

office S. Gregory II had held before the Pontificate, as we said on 13 February

in his Life, §1, no. 3, with an exposition of this word. In

the Poem he is called the Steward.

^b A Polyptychon is a booklet or register in which the names of the citizens of the city were contained, from which it could be known who ought to be assisted: Polyptychon. the name was given from the many folds. S. Gregory, Book 7 of the Register, Letter 40, says that the record of the donation was not drawn up from the registers.

^c MS. Corsendonk: to the Patrician Theoctistus; the title of Letter 23 of Book 6 of the Register is: Gregory to Theotista and likewise Andrew.

^d Ἀνδρών is a place in which men alone dwell, hence androna was formed. Androna.

^e These

things are more fully related in Book 3 of the Register, Chapter 30, and are explained at length by us

on 5 February in the Commentary on the Relics and Churches

of S. Agatha, §1, page 631 and following.

CHAPTER IV

The conversion of the English, procured by apostolic men sent by S. Gregory.

[33] But since S. Gregory was urged by constant waves of thoughts for converting the Anglo-Saxons, just as he had proposed during his monastic life; as soon as, with the state of the Church settled, he entered ^a the fourth year of his Pontificate, he sent Augustine with other monks of his own monastery to Britain for the sake of evangelizing. He sends S. Augustine and companions to convert the English, Who, after some days weighed down by sluggish weariness of their undertaken pilgrimage, decided rather to return home than to approach a barbarous, fierce, and unbelieving nation whose language they did not even understand. Without delay they sent back Augustine, whom he had designated to be consecrated Bishop for them if they were received by the English, to Rome; beseeching the Supreme Pontiff that he remove the pilgrimage so laborious, so uncertain, and so perilous, recently imposed upon them, and permit them to return to their own. To whom he wrote back, saying:

[34] ^b Gregory the Bishop, servant of the servants of God, servant of our Lord Jesus Christ. he confirms by letter those he has sent. Since it would have been better not to begin good things than to turn back in thought from those which have been begun: with the greatest zeal, most beloved Sons, you ought to complete, with the Lord's help, the good work which you have begun. Let neither the labor of the journey, therefore, nor the tongues of evil-speaking men deter you, but with all persistence and all fervor, carry out what you have begun, with God as the author: knowing that great labor will be followed by the greater glory of eternal reward. When therefore Augustine your Provost returns—whom we have also appointed as your Abbot—obey him humbly in all things: knowing that whatever is fulfilled by you at his admonition will in all ways be profitable to your souls. May almighty God protect you with His grace, and grant me to see the fruit of your labor in the eternal homeland, so that even if I cannot labor with you, I may be found together in the joy of the reward, because indeed I wish to labor.

[35] Strengthened by these exhortations, Augustine with the Brothers, through the hospitality of ^c Etherius, the Bishop of Arles, and through that of other Bishops and Kings of Gaul, they are humanely received in England, to whom the most pious Father had commended them in his own letters, made his way to Britain; and coming to King Ethelbert of the Cantuarians, with God's grace cooperating, he easily obtained not only permission to preach but also provisions and lodgings in the city of Canterbury, which was the ^d metropolis of his kingdom. Approaching which city, Augustine with his companions, bearing the Cross or an image of the Savior before them, sang, saying: We beseech You, O Lord, in all Your mercy, that Your fury and Your wrath may be removed from this city and from Your holy house, for we have sinned. And as they preached and performed miracles in the name of Jesus, many believed and were baptized, marveling at the simplicity of their innocent life and embracing the sweetness of the heavenly doctrine.

[36] For this reason Augustine ^e came to Arles and, according to Gregory's command, S. Augustine is ordained Bishop, was consecrated Bishop by Etherius and returned to Britain: and immediately ^f through Laurence the Priest and Peter the monk, he informed Pope Gregory of the conversion of the English nation and of his own consecration, suggesting that he send more ministers of the word, since the harvest was indeed plentiful but the laborers were few.

[34] Rejoicing in Christ at these reports, Gregory sent to Augustine many ministers of the word, among whom the principal ones were ^g Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus, and Ruffinianus: S. Gregory sends him the Pallium and designates bishoprics: and through them all things that were necessary for the worship of the Church—namely sacred vessels and vestments for the altars, ecclesiastical ornaments, clerical garments, relics of the Apostles and of many Saints, and many books. He also sent him the Pallium, commanding him to ordain twelve Bishops under his metropolis of Canterbury: and to send individual Bishops to London and York, who, consecrating twelve Bishops under themselves as well, should receive the Pallium from the Apostolic See: he commands the temples of idols to be consecrated as churches: and after Augustine's death, the one among them who had merited to be consecrated first should be considered the first. He also commanded that in the English nation the temples of idols should not be destroyed, but sprinkled with sanctified water and dedicated as basilicas. And because the Saxons were accustomed to slaughter many cattle in sacrifice to demons, he ordered that on the day of dedication or the birthdays of the holy Martyrs whose relics were placed there, they should make tabernacles for themselves of the branches of trees around those same churches which had been changed from temples, and celebrate the due solemnities with religious feasts. And since Augustine, questioning him about certain points, asked how a Bishop ought to live with his Clerics, the most humble Doctor, among other things, wrote back thus: Since your Fraternity, educated in the rules of a monastery, ought not to live apart from your Clerics; in the Church of the English, which has recently been brought to the faith, you ought to institute the way of life all things should be common to the Bishop and Clerics: which was the practice of our Fathers in the beginning of the nascent Church: in which none of them said that any of what they possessed was their own, but all things were common to them. Book 12, Letter 31 When Augustine asked why, since the faith is one, the Gallic custom of celebrating Mass differed from the Roman, Gregory said: Your Fraternity knows the custom of the Roman Church, in which you remember having been raised. But it pleases me that if in the Roman or in any Church you have found anything that can more greatly please almighty God, the best customs of other Churches should be chosen; you should carefully choose it and pour it into the Church of the English, which is still new to the faith, by preeminent instruction—what you have been able to gather from many Churches. For things are not to be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things. From individual Churches, therefore, choose what is pious, what is religious, what is right, and having collected these as it were in a bundle, turn them into custom among the English people. When asked also how what thieves have stolen from churches should be restored, the most gentle Father said: God forbid that the Church should receive with increase what it seems to lose of earthly goods, and seek gain from losses. Indeed, when asked by the same Augustine to what degree of kinship the faithful ought to be joined, Gregory wrote with dispensation as follows: degrees of consanguinity to be observed in marriage, A certain earthly law in the Roman republic permits that the children of a brother and sister, or the son and daughter of two brothers or two sisters, may marry: but we have learned by experience that from such a union offspring cannot grow, and the sacred law forbids the revealing of the shame of kinship. Whence it is necessary that in the third or fourth generation, the generation of the faithful may lawfully be joined. For the second, which we mentioned above, must absolutely abstain.

[38] But when, long afterward, asked by ^h Felix, the Bishop of Messina in Sicily, with some dispensation for neophytes: whether he had written to Augustine that among the English the marriages contracted in the fourth generation should by no means be dissolved, the most humble Father Gregory, among other things, gave this explanation: What I wrote to Augustine, Bishop of the English nation, your alumnus indeed, as you recall, concerning the conjunction of consanguinity—know that I wrote this to him and the English nation specifically, which had recently come to the faith, lest by fearing stricter things it should withdraw from the good which it had begun, and not generally to others. Book 12, Letter 32 Whence also the entire Roman city is my witness. Nor did I send these things in those writings with the intention that after they have been firmly established in the faith with solid root, they should not be separated if found within their own consanguinity, or that they should be joined within the line of affinity, that is, up to the seventh generation. But since they were still neophytes, they should most often first be taught to avoid illicit things, and be instructed by words and examples, and what they afterward do concerning such matters should be reasonably and faithfully excluded. For according to the Apostle, who says: I gave you milk to drink, not food: these things we have indulged for them for this time, not for later times, as was stipulated, lest the good that had been planted with still weak root should be uprooted, but rather the beginning should be strengthened and preserved to perfection. 1 Cor. 3

I have taken care to summarize these things so that those who, on the occasion of the new dispensation, contract illicit marriages may know that the most learned Pope Gregory did not regularly concede the union of the fourth generation, but rather permitted it as a pardon and likewise temporarily. By whose prayers almighty God conferred such grace upon Augustine and his companions for performing signs that they confirmed by the efficacy of signs the word of life which they preached with their mouths. Whence it came about that within a few passing years, the other Saxons also came to the faith of Christ the Lord through his disciples.

[39] Book 27, Chapter 8 Concerning the conversion of this nation and likewise the prodigies of miracles which were happening there, he proclaims the miracles performed, Gregory thus declares in the books of the Moralia, saying: Behold, the tongue of Britain, which knew nothing else than to grind in a barbarous way, has long since begun to sound forth Hebrew words in the praises of God. Behold, the once proud Ocean now serves, prostrate at the feet of the Saints, and its barbarous movements, which the earthly Princes could not tame with the sword, are bound by the mouths of Priests with simple words for the sake of divine fear: and he who, as an infidel, never feared the hosts of warriors, now as a believer fears the tongues of the humble. Because, having received the heavenly words, and with miracles also shining forth, the power of divine knowledge is poured into him, he is restrained by the fear of that same divinity, so that he fears to act wickedly, and desires with all his longing to come to the grace of eternity. Gregory also wrote back thus to Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria, who was reporting praiseworthy things about the teaching of his Church, the conversion of heretics, and the harmony of the faithful: Since in the good things which you do, I know that you rejoice also with others, I return to your Grace an equal favor: Because when the English nation, situated in a corner of the world, had remained faithless in the worship of wood and stones until now, it pleased me, with the help of your prayer, to send to it, under God's guidance, a monk of my monastery. Book 7, Letter 30 Who, with permission given by me, was made Bishop by the Bishops of the ^i Germanies, and with their support also was led to the aforesaid nation at the end of the world. and compares them to the miracles of the Apostles. And now letters have reached us about its salvation and work, because both he himself and those who were sent with him shine with such miracles among that same nation that they seem to imitate the virtues of the Apostles in the signs which they display. Indeed, at the solemnity of the Lord's Nativity, which ^k passed in the first Indiction, more than ten thousand English are reported by our aforesaid Brother and fellow Bishop to have been baptized. I have related this so that you may know what you accomplish by speaking among the people of Alexandria, and what you accomplish by praying at the ends of the world. For your prayers are in that place where you are not, and your holy works are shown in the place where you are.

[40] Book 9, Letter 58 He also writes to the same Augustine among other things concerning these same miracles, saying: I know that almighty God, through your love, has shown great miracles among the nation which He wished to choose. Whence it is necessary that you both rejoice with fear and fear with joy over that same heavenly gift. You should rejoice, namely, because the souls of the English are drawn to interior grace through exterior miracles: but you should fear, lest amid the signs that are performed, the weak mind should lift itself up in its own presumption, and whence it is raised outwardly in honor, thence through vainglory it should fall inwardly.

^a Indeed he had already long been in his sixth year, since he sent them in the year 596, as was said above.

^b This letter is related by Bede, Book 1, Chapter 22, and is said to have been written on the 10th day before the Kalends of August, Indiction XIV, in the year 596.

^c We traced this

journey through Gaul on 2 February in the Life of S. Laurence, then companion of the

journey, afterward Archbishop of Canterbury, where in §2 we showed that Etherius

was the Archbishop not of Arles but of Lyon, and we indicated the cause

of the error.

^d The metropolis of the Cantuarians, Doroverna, was afterward called Canterbury.

^e Indeed to Lyon, where Etherius was Archbishop.

^f In the year 598.

^g From these were afterward the Archbishops of Canterbury: S. Mellitus and Justus, of whom the former is venerated on 24 April, the latter on 10 November: and S. Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, on 10 October. They departed from Rome in the year 601.

^h There survive

letters 38 and 64 of Book 1, written in Indiction

9, in the year 591, to Felix, Bishop of Messina, and letters 10 and this 32 of Indiction 7, written

in the last period before death. But whether there were two Felixes of Messina,

we inquire below, Book 3, Chapter 2, letter b.

^i Sidonius Apollinaris, Book 5, Letter 7, calls it the Lyon of Germany, Lyon of Germany. because in that region the Burgundians, Germanic in origin, held sway: which manner of speaking S. Gregory imitated.

^k In the year 597, at its end.

CHAPTER V

Miracles of S. Gregory concerning the Eucharist and Relics, and performed through the sign of the Cross. Whether the Emperor Trajan was aided by his prayers?

[41] [By the prayers of S. Gregory, the host is transformed into flesh for the confirmation of faith,] The miracles of Gregory that are commonly read in those same Churches of the English I do not think should be omitted, lest the studious reader suspect that I have either obstinately defrauded or negligently passed over fitting knowledge. A certain matron had offered the customary oblations to the Blessed Gregory as he celebrated the solemnities of the Masses through the public Stations. When he was about to give her communion, saying: "May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul," she laughed wantonly. He immediately turned his right hand from her mouth and placed that portion of the Lord's Body upon the altar. When the solemnities of the Masses were completed, he inquired of the matron before the people why she had presumed to laugh when about to receive the Lord's Body. And she, after long hesitation, finally burst out: Because, she said, the bread which I recognized I had made with my own hands, you were declaring to be the Lord's Body. Then Gregory, on account of the woman's unbelief, prostrated himself in prayer with the entire congregation. And after a little while, rising, he found that the particle of bread which he had placed upon the altar had been made flesh. Which, demonstrating to the incredulous matron before all, he was able both to recall her to the grace of belief and took care to confirm the entire people. again into the host: Then again, prostrating himself in prayer with the same people, he reformed the piece of flesh into the original form of bread.

[42] likewise from a brandeum of relics, blood emanates At another time also the man of God, Gregory, performed a miracle almost similar to this one. For when, at the request of certain Westerners, through their legates, enclosing in individual boxes a brandeum in the customary manner under the names of the requested Martyrs, he had sealed them above and bestowed them upon the legates. They, carrying the received relics with due veneration, after they had consumed certain miles of the journey, began to murmur foolishly that they had made so great a journey if they did not know whether they had received the bones of Saints, or rather their flesh, from the Roman Pontiff. And so, by common counsel, removing the pontifical seal and opening the boxes, they found pieces of brandeum. At once returning to the walls of the city with great fury, they tearfully complained through the Archdeacon to Gregory that they had been deceived, to receive a cheap cloth in place of relics, saying that their lords abounded in most beautiful cloths, and therefore had no need of the cheap brandeums of the Romans. It happened that Gregory was then celebrating the solemnities of the Masses: when these were completed, receiving the brandeum from those same legates before all, he placed it upon the altar and gave himself with everyone to prayer, that almighty God might quickly indicate whether what had been sent from the thresholds of the Apostles in the customary manner ought to be venerated as relics of the Martyrs. Then, rising from prayer, he had the incredulous legates stand nearby, asked for a knife, and in the manner of the most holy Pope ^a Leo, he pricked the brandeum, from whose punctures blood immediately emanated. By which miracle, with the legates confounded and all who were present trembling, at Gregory's command they prostrated themselves together on the ground: nor did they cease from prayer until all the holes in the brandeums were divinely closed.

[43] Moreover, a certain one of the wealthy Romans, having abandoned his wife, had been deprived of communion by the Pontiff. A horseman, about to be killed by the incantations of sorcerers, Which he bore most grievously, and being unable to annul the authority of so great a Pontiff, he sought the aid of sorcerers: who, persuaded by great gifts, confidently promised that they could by their spells cause a demon to be sent so that the Pontiff's horse would be tormented until it endangered its rider. This adulterous judge, delighted by the promise, positioned the sorcerers beside the road along which the Pontiff was to proceed to the station, in a hidden and elevated place, so that they could see passersby but not be seen by them. And when the sorcerers recognized the great Pontiff from the processions of planet-bearers and standard-bearers, [by the sign of the Cross he stops the horse and strikes the sorcerers with blindness:] they sent a demon that tormented his horse so violently that it seemed it could by no means be held by its rider or by the grooms. Then Gregory, with the Holy Spirit revealing the demonic attack, making the sign of the Cross, both freed the horse from the present frenzy and, commanding the sorcerers to be brought down from their hidden height, punished them with perpetual blindness. They, confessing their guilt at the suggestion of the adulterous judge, and afterward coming to the grace of holy baptism, he nevertheless refused to restore their sight, lest they practice magic again, yet he ordered that they be nourished at ecclesiastical expense.

[44] Whether, remembering the clemency of Trajan, It is also read in those same English Churches that Gregory, proceeding through the Forum of Trajan, which he had once adorned with most beautiful buildings, recalled and remembered his act of judgment by which he had consoled a widow. Which, as it is handed down by the ancients, goes as follows ^b. At a certain time, as Trajan was hastening most urgently to the preparations of an imminent war, a certain widow came forward, tearfully saying: My innocent son has been killed under your reign. I beseech you, since you cannot restore him to me, to deign to legally avenge his blood. And when Trajan replied that, if he returned safe from the battle, he would fully avenge him, the widow said: If you die in battle, who will provide for me? Trajan replied: He who shall rule after me. The widow said: And what good will it do you if another does me justice? Trajan replied: Certainly none. And the widow said: Is it not better for you that you do me justice and receive your reward for this, than that you transfer it to another? Then Trajan, moved equally by reason and by compassion, dismounted from his horse, and did not depart before he had concluded the judgment of the widow, attending to it himself. They assert, therefore, that Gregory, recalling the clemency of this judge, came to the basilica of the Blessed Peter the Apostle, he wept over his error, and there wept so long over the error of so most merciful a Prince, until on the following night he received the response that he had been heard on behalf of Trajan, only that he should never again pour out prayers for any pagan. But while no Roman doubts the foregoing miracles, concerning this one, which is read among the Saxons, that the soul of Trajan was freed from the torments of hell by his prayers, doubt seems to arise especially because so great a Doctor would by no means have presumed to pray for a pagan outright, who in the fourth book of his Dialogues had taught that the same reason why the Saints do not pray in the future judgment for sinners condemned to eternal fire is also the reason why holy men do not now pray for unfaithful and impious men who are dead. Not perceiving that it is not read that Gregory prayed for Trajan, but only that he wept. For thus, since he did not pray, Gregory by weeping could be heard, just as when Moses was grieving in silence, he could be seen to have cried out. To whom the Lord said, while his lips were silent: Why do you cry out to Me? Exod. 14 Surely almighty God searches the hearts and minds, and frequently in mercy grants what a man, though he desires it as a carnal being, nevertheless does not presume to ask. Whence the Psalmist says: The Lord has heard the desire of the poor, and Your ear has heard the desires of their heart. Ps. 7, Ps. 9 and freed him from torments? And it should be noted that it is not read that the soul of Trajan was freed from hell by Gregory's prayers and placed in Paradise: which would seem entirely incredible, on account of that which is written: Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven: but it is simply said to have been freed only from the torments of hell, which indeed can seem credible. John 3 Since a soul can exist in hell and yet, through the mercy of God, not feel the torments of hell, just as the one fire of Gehenna can hold all sinners together, but by the justice of God cannot burn all equally. For in proportion as each one's guilt has deserved, by the just judgment of God, so also will the punishment be felt.

^a S. Gregory, Book 3, Letter 30, asserts that S. Leo, when certain Greeks doubted, took up shears and cut the brandeum, and from the very incision blood flowed forth. S. Leo is venerated on 11 April.

^b The Anglo-Saxons, that is, the English. Concerning this story, we have said some things in the earlier Life.

CHAPTER VI

The zeal of S. Gregory in correcting a proprietor monk: in the conversion of Pagans and Jews.

[45] Likewise from the book which is called by the Greeks λειμών, and by the Latins is understood as field or ^a meadow, my teacher among other miracles already famous throughout the world, translated for me, writing: He excommunicates a proprietor monk: A Priest named Peter told us about S. Gregory, Pope of Rome (for this most reverend Priest was from there). He, he said, having become Pope, built a great monastery of men, and gave the command that no monk should have anything of his own, down to a single coin. A brother from the monastery, therefore, had a secular brother, and asked him, saying: ^b I do not have a tunic, but do me the charity of buying me one. The secular brother says to him: Behold, three coins; take them and buy whatever pleases you. The monk, therefore, having received the three coins, kept them with him. But another Brother, seeing him having three coins, went and reported it to the Abbot. The Abbot, hearing it, reported it to the most blessed Pope. The most blessed Gregory, learning this from the Abbot, separated him from communion, as one who had violated the rule of the monastery. Therefore after a short time, the segregated Brother died, without the Pope's knowledge. After two or three days, the Abbot went and reported to him that the Brother had departed this life. At this, he was not a little saddened, because before he departed this life he had not released him from the ^c punishment of excommunication. And writing a prayer on a tablet, he gave it to one of his Deacons, commanding him to go and read it over the Brother. The prayer was one that absolved the dead man from excommunication. The Deacon goes, therefore, as he had been commanded, and over the Brother's tomb reads the tablet containing the prayer. And that very night the Abbot saw in a vision that same deceased Brother and said to him: Are you not dead, Brother? He replied: Yes. And again the Abbot asks him: Where were you until today? The Brother replied: Truly, Lord, in custody, and until yesterday I was not absolved. the dead man he absolves and frees his soul: Therefore it became known

to all that in the hour in which the Deacon read the prayer over the tomb, in that same hour he was absolved from excommunication, and his soul was freed from condemnation.

[46] Therefore Gregory not only dedicated the Saxons, dwelling in their own lands, he commands English boys to be purchased and instructed in monasteries: to Christ the Lord: but also purchased their boys, scattered through foreign regions, at his own expense annually, and led them to the knowledge of the faith. Whence he admonishes Candidus the Priest, saying: Going, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, to govern the patrimony which is in Gaul, we wish your Charity to buy, from the solidi which you have received, clothing for the poor, or English boys who are between seventeen and eighteen years of age, so that, given to God in monasteries, they may advance: so that the solidi of Gaul, which cannot be spent in our land, may be usefully spent in their own place. Book 3, Letter 10 And if you can recover anything from the monies of the revenues which are said to have been seized: from these also we wish you to buy clothing for the poor, or, as we said above, boys who may advance in the service of almighty God. But since those who can be found there are pagans, I wish that a Priest be sent with them, lest any illness befall them on the way: so that those whom he sees about to die, he should be able to baptize.

[47] Gregory, the gentlest of rulers, also grieved ^d that the peasants of Sardinia remained in the error of their antiquity to such a degree that, reproving Januarius, Bishop of Cagliari, for his negligences, he wrote among other things: Another very lamentable thing has happened, that your Fraternity's negligence has until now permitted those very peasants whom the Church has to remain in unbelief. Book 3, Letter 26 And what do I admonish you, [he commands the Bishops of Sardinia to be vigilant for the conversion of the peasants:] to bring strangers to the Lord, you who neglect to correct your own from unbelief? Whence it is necessary for you to be vigilant in every way for their conversion. For if I shall be able to find a pagan peasant belonging to any Bishop in the island of Sardinia, I shall punish that Bishop severely. But if a peasant shall be found to be of such great faithlessness and obstinacy that he by no means consents to come to God, he must be burdened with so great a weight of taxation that the very punishment of his exaction may compel him to hasten to righteousness.

[48] When Gregory recognized that this had been fruitfully and wholesomely applied to the peasants of Sardinia, he also attempted to extend it to the Jewish peasants of his patrimonies in a not dissimilar manner. Whence he writes to Cyprian the Deacon ^e, saying: It has come to me that there are Hebrews on our properties who by no means wish to be converted to the Lord. Book 4, Letter 6 he reduces the payments of converted Jews: But it seems to me that you ought to send letters throughout all the properties in which Hebrews are known to be, promising them specifically from me that whoever from among them shall be converted to the true God and our Lord Jesus Christ, his burden of taxation shall be reduced in some part. Which I also wish to be done thus: that if anyone of them shall be converted, if he has a solidus of taxation, a tremissis should be remitted to him; if three or four, one solidus should be remitted. If something more, the remission ought to be made according to the same measure, or certainly according to what your Charity shall foresee, so that both the burden of the one who is converted may be relieved, and the ecclesiastical welfare may not be pressed by a heavy loss. Nor do we do this uselessly if, for the sake of lightening the burdens of taxation, we lead them to the grace of Christ. Because even if they themselves come less faithfully, those, however, who shall be born from them will already be baptized more faithfully; and therefore we shall gain either them or their children. And so it is not burdensome, whatever of the taxation we remit for Christ.

[49] Indeed, both by the reductions of payments and by the promises of the heavenly kingdom, Jews throughout various places began to come to Christ, whom their Fathers had denied. To whom, together with the salvation of their souls, he also conferred garments suitable for those about to be baptized. Whence ^f to Fantinus the Defensor, he says: The Lady Abbess of the monastery of S. Stephen, which is established in the territory of ^g Agrigento, has informed us that many Jews, inspired by divine grace, wish to be converted to the Christian faith: but that it is necessary that someone should go there by our mandate. Book 7, Letter 24 Therefore by the authority of this letter we command you to proceed, with all excuse removed, to the aforesaid place, and to hasten to assist their desire, with God's help, by your exhortations. But if they find the Paschal solemnity long or difficult to wait for, he prescribes prior abstinence for those to be baptized, and you know them to be hastening now to baptism, lest, which God forbid, long delay might recall their certain intentions, speak with the Bishop of that same place; so that, with a penance and abstinence of forty days prescribed, he may baptize them either on a Sunday or, if a most celebrated festivity should happen to occur, under the protection of the mercy of almighty God. Because the quality of the time also, on account of the ^h calamity that threatens it, urges that their desires should be deferred by no delay. And whomever among them you know to be poor and unable to afford clothing for themselves, we wish you to buy and provide for them clothing which they may have at baptism, in which the price you have paid you should know to be charged to your accounts. But if they shall choose to wait for holy Easter, speak likewise with the Bishop, so that for the present indeed they may become catechumens, and he should frequently visit them, and bear solicitude, and to bestow garments upon them: and kindle their spirits with the admonition of his exhortation: so that the longer the awaited festivity is delayed, the more they should prepare themselves and sustain it with fervent desire. Likewise to Peter, Bishop of Corsica, among other things: We have sent, he says, to your Fraternity fifty solidi for purchasing garments for those who are to be baptized.

[50] he collaborates in their conversion No less did Gregory extend the solicitude of his pastoral care for the little ones of the Arians, to be united to the Catholic faith. Wherefore, writing to all the Bishops of Italy, he says: Since the most wicked ^i Autharic, on this Paschal festivity which has recently been completed, prohibited the children of the Lombards from being baptized in the Catholic faith: for which sin the divine Majesty destroyed him, so that he should not see the Paschal solemnity again, your Fraternity ought to admonish all the Lombards throughout your districts that, because a grave mortality threatens, they should reconcile those same children of theirs, baptized in the Arian heresy, to the Catholic faith, so that they may placate the wrath of almighty God upon them. Book 1, Letter 17; Book 2, Letter 2 Likewise to ^k Preiectitius, Bishop of Narnia: It has come to us that, by reason of threatening sins, mortality is raging utterly in your city, which fact has greatly afflicted us. Wherefore, greeting your Fraternity, we most urgently advise you not to cease admonishing both Lombards and Romans who dwell in that same place, by no means, and especially the gentiles and heretics, to be converted to the true and right Catholic faith. For thus either divine mercy will perhaps help them in this life for their conversion, or if they happen to depart, they will pass from their sins absolved, which is indeed more to be desired.

^a The Spiritual Meadow of John Moschus, where in Chapter 92 these things are found.

^b In the Meadow: "I do not have a tunic." In Greek: καμίσιον οὐκ ἔχω. S. Jerome, Letter to Fabiola: "Soldiers are accustomed to have linen tunics, which they call camisias." Isidore, Book 19 of the Origins, Chapter 22: "They are called Camisias because we sleep in them on our beds (camis), that is, in our couches." Consult the Onomasticon of Rosweyde: for cama is even today in Spanish a bed, a couch.

^c So the MSS. In Greek: οὐκ ἔλυσεν τὸ τοῦ ἀφορισμοῦ ἐπιτίμιον. In the Spiritual Meadow: "the bond of excommunication." In Surius, epitonum is corruptly read.

^d Below, Book 3, no. 1, he calls these Barbaricini, where some things are noted, and concerning Bishop Januarius, there is frequent mention below.

^e S. Gregory adds: "and to the Rector of the patrimony of Sicily." He is so called below at no. 53.

^f MS. Corsendonk: Fautino, but Faustinus and Fantinus are written in the letters of S. Gregory. Concerning him, see nos. 53 and 55.

^g Concerning Agrigento, we treated on 29 January in the Life of S. Potamion the Bishop, and especially on 25 February in the Life of S. Gerlando the Bishop.

^h So the MSS. and the letter of S. Gregory. Surius has "damnation."

^i So the MSS. But Surius and commonly the printed Life have Antarith. S. Gregory in the cited letter has Autaris, whom Paul the Deacon, Book 3 of the Deeds of the Lombards, Chapter 36, relates died after having reigned six years, on the Nones of September at Ticinum from having received poison, and indeed in the year 590. Autaris the King, From the succession of King Agilulf we have proven this on 5 February in the Life of S. Ingenuinus, Bishop of Sabiona, §1, page 670.

^k MSS: Preiecto, but Proiectitius is called by Ughelli in volume 1 of Sacred Italy among the Bishops of Narnia in Umbria, who adds that he sat from the year 565 to 595.

CHAPTER VII

The prudence of S. Gregory in appointing and directing

the Prefects of hospices, and of the patrimonies of the Church, and the Superiors

of monasteries.

[51] He grants privileges to the prefects of the hospice, Therefore the most prudent head of household of Christ, Gregory, appointed suitable men to individual deaconries and hospices. Whom he also decreed should be fortified with privileges of this kind, so that they might labor more securely, indeed more sagaciously, in the work of piety and mercy. Although those who with pious intention devote the care of solicitude to the weak and needy can be protected before all by their own devotion, it is nevertheless better if for their peace of mind they have been secured concerning the things they have done, lest an occasion of disturbance should arise for them from the very thing for which they ought rather to be praised. Since, therefore, provoked by the zeal of your intention, we have chosen you, a devout man, to be placed over the tables of the poor and the administration of the deaconry, lest any doubt arise for you from this administration, we have seen fit to fortify you with this protection: establishing that for what you have received or shall hereafter receive to be distributed for the tables of the poor or the administration of the deaconry, you shall never by any means or device be compelled by anyone whatsoever to render an account, nor shall you have to suffer any annoyance. and inculcates various admonitions: But because we wish you to be thus absolved of all human accounts, know that you will render an account to our God for those things which we have committed to you: we exhort that sincerity of faith may flourish in you: let your mind be more attentive to affairs, your care more diligent, your zeal more vigilant, your devotion more distinguished, your performance more effective: so that while, with divine help from within, you skillfully fulfill this work, both those for whom you bear solicitude may be usefully consoled by the comfort of your zeal, and you may receive the good of your reward in eternal life, He builds a hospice at Jerusalem: with the grace of our Redeemer compensating.

[52] These things indeed Gregory exercised within and outside the city from the zeal of piety. But he sent the devout Abbot Probus with much money to Jerusalem, through whose industry he established a venerable hospice. And both there and on Mount Sinai near Arabia, to the servants of God established under the direction of Palladius, he took care to send annually a supply of daily food and clothing,

as long as he was able to live.

[53] He appoints industrious rectors of the patrimonies of the Church: He likewise, throughout various provinces, for the guarding of sacred Religion and the energetic governance of the affairs of the poor, enlisted industrious men as rectors of the patrimonies of his Church. Among whom were Cyprian the Deacon, of the Sicilian patrimony; ^a Pantaleon the Notary, of the Syracusan; Fantinus the Defensor, of the Panormos; ^b Sergius the Defensor, of the Calabrian; Romanus the Notary, of the Apulian; Benenatus the Defensor, of the Samnite; ^c Anthemius the Subdeacon, of the Neapolitan; Peter the Subdeacon, of the Campanian; Candidus the Defensor, of the Tuscan; Urbicus the Defensor, of the Sabine; Optatus the Defensor, of the Nursian; Benedict the Defensor, of the Garseolan; Felix the Subdeacon, of the Appian; ^d Castorius the Chartulary, of the Ravennese; Castorius the Notary, of the Histrian; Antonius the Subdeacon, of the Dalmatian; John the Notary, of the Illyrian; Symmachus the Defensor, of Sardinia; Boniface the Notary, of the Corsican; Pantaleon the Notary, of Liguria; Jerome the Defensor, of the Cottian Alps; Hilary the Notary, of the Germanic; and Candidus the Priest, of the Gallic. These things, moreover, the most prudent Father Gregory judged should be observed perpetually not only in the Roman Church but also throughout the various Churches. Whence he writes to Januarius, Bishop of Cagliari, among other things, saying: It has been reported to us that, by committing the care of your patrimony to certain laypeople, they have afterward been detected in plundering your peasants and thereby wearying them. Book 7, Letter 67 Which, if it is so, ought to be examined strictly by you, and the case between them and the peasants of your Church should be examined more carefully, so that whatever fraud is found in them, they may be compelled to restore it with the penalty established by law. Moreover, your Fraternity should take care for the future not laypeople but clerics. that the property of any Church should not be committed to secular men and those not living under a Rule, but to proven Clerics of your office: in whom, if anything of dishonesty can be found, you may be able, as in subjects, to correct what has been unlawfully done. Whom indeed the obligation of their office should rather make fit to appear before you than excuse them.

[54] He also said that individual offices of ecclesiastical law ought to be committed individually to individual persons, asserting: because just as in one body we have many members, but all the members do not have the same function: so in the body of the Church, according to the truthful sentence of Paul, in one and the same spirit, to one this office must be conferred, he prohibits two offices being committed to one person: to another that must be committed. Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12. Nor should the offices of two things be committed at one time to any single person, however experienced. Because if the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? For just as the variety of members, through diverse offices, both preserves the strength of the body and represents its beauty: so the variety of persons, distributed likewise through diverse offices, manifests both the strength and the comeliness of the holy Church of God. And just as it is unseemly for one member in the human body to perform the office of another; so indeed it is harmful and most shameful if the individual ministries of things are not distributed to the same number of persons. Hence it is that he frequently imposed the reins of moderation upon certain ambitious persons, as can be found in his letters, which I have omitted for the sake of brevity. Book 9, Letter 66 Whence he commands Anthemius the Subdeacon, on behalf of Bishop Paschasius, who by himself remained both his own Major-domo and Vice-dominus, among other things, saying: We wish, however, that our Brother Paschasius should appoint for himself both a Vice-dominus and a Major-domo: so that he may be able to be suitable and prepared either for guests who arrive or for cases that come up. But if you perceive him to be negligent or delaying to fulfill what we say, all his Clergy should be assembled, so that by common counsel they themselves may choose persons who are fit for those things which we have mentioned to be appointed. Likewise he resisted the Clerics of Ravenna, who were importunately striving for the governance of monasteries, ^e writing to John, Bishop of Ravenna: It has come to me that in the Churches of your Fraternity certain places, long since consecrated as monasteries, have now been made habitations of Clerics or even of laypeople: and while those who are in the Churches pretend to live devoutly, they seek to be placed over monasteries, and through their way of life the monasteries are destroyed. Book 4, Letter 1 For no one can both serve in ecclesiastical duties and persist in an orderly manner in the monastic Rule, nor should Ecclesiastical Clerics be placed over monasteries, so as himself to maintain the discipline of the monastery, who is compelled daily to remain in the ecclesiastical ministry. Therefore let your Fraternity hasten to correct this, wherever it has been done. Because I will by no means tolerate that sacred places be destroyed through the ambition of Clerics. Likewise to Marinianus, Bishop of Ravenna: It had long since come to us from the report of many that the monasteries established in the territory of Ravenna are greatly oppressed by the domination of your Clerics: so that on the pretext of governance, they possess them, which is grievous to say, as if in proprietorship. Book 6, Letter 40 Grieving not a little for them, we sent letters to your predecessor, that he should have corrected this in all respects. But since he was overtaken too quickly by the end of his life, lest this burden remain upon the monasteries, we recall having written the same things to your Fraternity. And because, as we have learned, there has been no correction of this matter to date, we have seen fit to direct these writings to you again. We therefore exhort that, with all delay and every excuse removed, you should strive to relieve those same monasteries from this kind of burden, so that henceforth Clerics, or those who are established in sacred Orders, should have no permission of access to them for any other purpose except only for the purpose of praying, or if they should happen to be invited to perform the sacred mysteries of the Mass. But lest they suffer any burden whatsoever on account of the promotion of any monk or Abbot, you must take care that if any of the Abbots or monks from whatever monastery shall have come to the office of the Clergy or to sacred Order, he should not have any further power there, as we have said: lest the monasteries, under the cover of this occasion, be compelled to sustain the burdens which we prohibit. or constitute them Abbots, All these things, therefore, your Holiness, admonished now for the second time, should not delay to correct with vigilant care, lest, if after this we should perceive you to be negligent—which we do not believe—we be compelled to look after the quiet of the monasteries in another way. For let it be known to you that we will no longer tolerate the congregation of the servants of God to be subjected to so great a necessity. Likewise to Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse, after some matters: Do not permit Priests, Deacons, and other Clerics of whatever order who serve Churches in any manner to be made Abbots in monasteries: but let them either, having abandoned their clerical service, be advanced to monastic orders: or if they decide to remain in the place of Abbot, let them by no means be permitted to retain their clerical service. Book 3, Letter 11 For it is quite unfitting that, when one of these cannot be diligently fulfilled on its own because of its magnitude, a person should be judged fit for both: and so the ecclesiastical order should be hindered by the monastic life, and the Rule of monasticism by ecclesiastical needs.

^a Concerning the Notary Pantaleon, see below, no. 58, and Book 4, no. 24, unless a different Pantaleon from the one referred to here is understood. Concerning Cyprian and Fantinus, see above.

^b Concerning Sergius, see below, no. 40 of Book 3. As also frequently concerning Romanus. What, moreover, was the office of the Defensor, S. Gregory explains in Letter 25, Book 4, and elsewhere.

^c The Subdeacon Anthemius is mentioned again shortly at nos. 54 and 55, as in Book 3, no. 37, and Book 4, no. 31. So also Peter is mentioned shortly at nos. 55, 58, and 59.

^d Below, no. 55, Castorius is called Deacon and Chartulary of Ravenna. Concerning him, see also Book 4, nos. 2 and 6.

^e John was

elected in the year 575, died on the third of the Ides of January of the year 595, to whom Marinianus

succeeded. Consult Rubeus, Book 4 of the History of Ravenna.

CHAPTER VIII

Various alms given by S. Gregory, indicated from his own writings.

[55] The alms of S. Gregory are distributed or received by Anthemius the Subdeacon. How Gregory, through the administrators of the ecclesiastical patrimonies, like a certain most luminous Argus, carried the eyes of his pastoral solicitude throughout the breadth of the whole world, I should not think it beside the point to touch upon briefly. For he says in a letter to Anthemius the Subdeacon: When you were departing, I gave you instructions, and I recall having enjoined you by subsequent precepts, to take care of the poor and, if you recognized any there to be in want, to indicate it in returning letters—and you have scarcely taken care to do this even for a few. Book 1, Letter 37 But I wish that, as soon as you have received the present order, you offer to the Lady my Patriarchess forty solidi for the boys' shoes, and four hundred modii of wheat: to the Lady Palatina, widow of Urbicus, twenty solidi and three hundred modii of wheat: to the Lady Viviana, widow of Felix, twenty solidi and three hundred modii of wheat. Which altogether eighty solidi shall be charged to your accounts. Send the total of the payment with haste, and come, with the Lord's help, by Easter day. Likewise to the same: It has been reported to us that certain handmaids of God of the city of Nola, dwelling in the house of Aboridana, are suffering extreme want of food and clothing. Book 1, Letter 23 For whom it is fitting that we assist them by God's precept, and relieve their want as much as we can, with the Lord's gift. Therefore by the present order we command your experience that from this present ninth Indiction you should give them forty solidi in gold, and henceforth in succeeding Indictions annually minister twenty solidi, which can be charged to your accounts. Moreover, to Paulinus, Priest of the monastery of S. Erasmus, which is situated on the side of Mount Soracte, Paulinus the Priest, and also to two monks serving in the oratory of the holy Archangel, which is known to be in the fortress of Callanum near the basilica of S. Peter, we order you to give two solidi each at present, which shall also be charged to your accounts. Therefore act so that you may share in the reward of the expenditure. Book 1, Letter 57 Likewise to the same: If in the necessities of our neighbors we come with compassion and benign mind, we shall without doubt find the Lord merciful in our own petitions. For the illustrious woman Palatina has informed us that, because of continuous hostility, she is subject to many necessities. Therefore by the present authority we command your experience not to delay giving her thirty solidi annually for her sustenance, which can afterward be charged to your accounts. Therefore act so that you both, by ministering well, may receive the advantage of reward, and bring our commands to effect. Likewise to Peter the Subdeacon: It has been reported to us that Marcellus of the ^a Church of Barruntitana, assigned there in the city of Palermo to penance in the monastery of S. Adrian, is suffering not only the necessity of food but also the excessive distress of nakedness. Book 1, Letter 18 Peter the Subdeacon, For which reason we need to command your diligence by the present order to determine for him, for food and clothing and a bed sufficient for decency, and a ration for his boy, as much as you shall see to be enough, so that his want and nakedness may be provided for by such foresight: and so that the things which you shall assign to that man may afterward be charged to your accounts. Therefore act so that you both fulfill our command and you yourself, by disposing this well, may share in that same reward. Likewise to the same:

The monastery of the holy Archangel, which is established at Tropea, we have learned from the information of the bearer of these presents, is in need of food. Book 2, Letter 1, Indiction 10 Therefore let your experience diligently watch over it: and if you find that the monks of that same place conduct themselves well, in whatever things their need is evident by manifest truth, you shall hasten, supported by this authority, to assist them in every way: knowing that whatever you provide by our command is to be charged to your accounts. But also a small piece of land of our Church, neighboring to them, which they assert pays one solidus and two tremisses in rent, if this is so, grant them under a lease at the rate of one tremissis. Let it be your care, therefore, to complete all these things, if, as we have said, its monks have been diligent in the service of God, as is fitting. Book 1, Letter 44 Likewise to the same: The divine precepts admonish us to love our neighbors as ourselves: and since we are commanded to love them with this charity, how much more ought we to assist them in the relief of carnal necessities, so that we may alleviate their distresses with some supports, if not all? Since, therefore, we know that the son of the most worthy Godelstadius suffers want not only from the loss of sight but also from the lack of food, we have deemed it necessary, insofar as our ability allows, to provide him with assistance. Therefore by the present order we command your experience to minister to him annually twenty-four modii of wheat, also twelve modii of beans, and twenty ten-gallon measures of wine for the sustenance of his life: which can afterward be charged to your accounts. Therefore act so that the bearer of these presents suffers no delays in receiving the gifts of the Lord, and that you too may be found a sharer in the reward of well-dispensed goods on the day of the Lord. Likewise Gregory to Cyprian the Deacon: Cosmas says that, from the various necessities of his dangers, he is bound by many debts, Cyprian the Deacon, so that he says his children are detained by his creditors on account of them. Book 2, Letter 56 Which matter, if it is so, moves us greatly. Wherefore we exhort your Charity that, since the matter concerns giving from the resources of the poor, you should investigate his case with the utmost care: and if you find him truly so entangled in the aforesaid debts that there is no substance from which he can pay them, approach his creditors, and for the recovery of his children, settle for whatever amount you determine. And since he himself, as he says, has nothing from which to repay, pay from the resources of the poor by our present authority. Knowing that whatever is given there under your supervision is to be reckoned against the payments of our patrimony. Likewise to the same: Zeno, our Brother and fellow Bishop, has made known that certain persons in his city are suffering the necessity of provisions. Book 5, Letter 4 To whom, since it is possible, we desire to bring some relief; therefore we assign your Charity to give to the aforesaid Brother and fellow Bishop of ours one thousand modii of wheat, or if he is able to transport more, up to two thousand, by these present writings. We therefore exhort you to bring no delay or excuse in providing these: so that while the time allows, he may be able, with God's help, both to return home safely without danger, and more quickly to assist those suffering want. Likewise Gregory to Eusebius the devout Abbot: Let your Charity believe me; I am greatly saddened by your sadness, etc. Therefore we have caused one hundred solidi to be given to your Charity through Peter the Subdeacon, which I ask him to receive without offense. Book 2, Letter 24 Likewise Gregory to Candidus the Defensor: It is fitting that pontifical assistance be present to those suffering need. Book 3, Letter 28 Candidus the Defensor, For which reason we command your experience by the present authority to not fail to provide two tremisses annually to Albinus, who has lost his sight, the son of the late Martin the colonus, without any delay: not doubting that this will without question be charged to your accounts. Likewise Gregory to Fantinus the Defensor: The bearer of these presents, Cosmas the Syrian, declares that in the business he was conducting he contracted a debt. Fantinus the Defensor, Book 3, Letter 43 Which, with many others and also his tears attesting, we believe to be true. And since he owed one hundred fifty solidi, I wished that his creditors should make some arrangement with him: since the law also provides that a free man may by no means be detained for a debt if the property that could be applied to that same debt is lacking. Therefore it is possible, as he asserts, for his creditors to agree to eighty solidi. But since it is too much to demand eighty solidi from a man who has nothing, we have sent sixty solidi to you through your notary, so that you may speak carefully with those same creditors, and explain to them that they cannot hold his son, whom they are said to be holding, according to the laws. And if it can be done, let them settle for something less than what we have given: and whatever remains from those same sixty solidi, hand it over to him, so that he may be able to live with his son from it: but if nothing remains, at least strive to reduce his debt to that same amount, so that he may be free to work for himself afterward. But manage this skillfully, so that, having received the solidi, they may draw up for him a full release in writing. Book 4, Letter 24 Likewise Gregory to Castorius the Deacon and Chartulary of Ravenna, Castorius the Deacon, among other things: The monk Valerianus, whom you corrected and placed in the monastery of Blessed John in Classis, we wish him without question to remain in that same monastery. Furthermore, lest your experience suffer any necessity in expenses, we wish you to make all your expenditures from the revenues of the holy Roman Church which have been gathered there under your supervision: and if anything is left over, bring it to us when you come. Likewise Gregory to Romanus the Defensor: The words of the divine precepts admonish us to provide ecclesiastical assistance to those suffering need. Book 7, Letter 38, Indiction 2. Romanus the Defensor, Since, therefore, our most beloved Son Cyprian the Deacon asserts that Gaudiosus, the Defensor of our See, who is shown to dwell at Syracuse, is pressed by the want of poverty: therefore by the present authority we command your experience not to delay giving him six solidi annually from the present second Indiction: so that he may enjoy the comfort of this remedy, and you should know that what you have given is without question to be charged to your accounts. Likewise Gregory to Libertinus the Ex-Praetor: How great the distress of this world presses upon you is not unknown to us. Book 8, Letter 31 But since for those placed in the utmost tribulation the only consolation is the mercy of the Creator, Libertinus the Ex-Praetor, place your hope in Him, turn yourselves to Him with all your mind: who both justly permits whom He wills to be afflicted, and will mercifully free the one who trusts in Him. Give thanks therefore to Him, and patiently endure whatever has been brought upon you. For it is the mark of a right mind to bless God not only in prosperity but also to praise Him in adversity. In these things which you suffer, therefore, let no murmur against God creep into your heart: because it is unknown to what purpose our Creator works this. For perhaps, magnificent Son, when you were placed in prosperity you offended Him in something, for which He wishes to purge you with a gentle bitterness. And therefore let neither temporal affliction crush you nor the loss of possessions torment you: because if, giving thanks in adversity, you make God placable to you through patience, both what was lost will be restored multiplied, and above these things eternal joys will be granted. But I ask that you not consider it offensive that we have written through Romanus the Defensor that twenty annual garments be provided for your boys: because from the property of the Blessed Apostle Peter, although the things offered are small, they should always be received as a great blessing. Since he will be able both to bestow greater things upon you here, and to grant eternal benefits before almighty God. Book 11, Letter 28 Likewise Gregory to Philip the Bishop: I received the letters of your Charity, Philip the Bishop. in which you took care to inform me that the venerable man Andrew the Priest has departed from this light. At his deliverance I rejoiced, because he has attained the eternal joys which he always sought. Concerning the solidi, however, which were left by our Son Probus the Abbot at Jerusalem for building the hospice, I could not change what had been deliberated as needing to be done: but I have sent to your Holiness a small blessing of fifty solidi.

^a In the MS. of Corsendonk: Barimicanae; in the letters of S. Gregory: Barbicanae, Barubicanae, and Barolitanae.

CHAPTER IX

Other benefactions of S. Gregory's generous spirit, divinely approved. The frauds of others impeded.

[56] It would be lengthy and exceedingly difficult if I were to pursue even such activities of his almsgiving. Book 4, Letter 30

I assert briefly He generously distributes alms to those who ask, that he both distributed voluntarily to those who did not ask and cheerfully ministered to all who asked. Whence to Elias, Priest and Abbot of the province of Isauria, he says: We have sent the Gospels as you requested. And after a few words: You wished fifty solidi to be sent for the needs of the Cell. Considering this to be much, you gave us ten of them, so that we might send forty: but lest perhaps even this should be burdensome, you deigned to bestow upon us yet another ten of them. But since we have found you to be very generous in your continence, responding to that same generosity in like manner, we have sent fifty. And lest perhaps it should be too little, we added another ten: and lest even this should still be too little, we caused another twelve to be joined. In this, however, we recognize your charity, that you presume so much of us, as indeed you ought to presume.

[57] Likewise the same to Julian: Receiving the writings of your Glory, I joyfully opened them to read, but sadly folded them back when read through. Book 11, Letter 23 For in them it was said likewise to those who did not ask. that out of shame you had been silent to me for a long time about things that needed to be said. And it is certain (because he who is still embarrassed about is less loved) that I was extremely saddened: because I have learned that I was less loved by you than I had estimated. But in this you greatly oblige me, if you diligently seek occasions of reward to be continually provided for me: nor ought it to be a matter of shame to say something importunately about alms to one who is known to have not his own things but the property of the poor to dispense. Therefore you ought to have dealt freely with a Bishop about the causes of reward, even if you did not know what my disposition was in my love for you. Since both we utterly love your Glory, and hold the place of dispensation in the affairs, as you know, of the poor, I confess your modesty was very much to be blamed: which I therefore pursue with so many words of reproof, that I may utterly drive it from your heart and have great comfort in the causes of reward from your foresight. Therefore to your monastery, which has been built by you in the city of Catania, through Hadrian the notary and rector of the patrimony, we have assigned by an issued page of decree ten annual solidi. Which we ask to be received without offense, because it is not our offering but the blessing of S. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, that offers this to you.

[58] he watches lest fraud be admitted through tax collectors: But since there are some who indeed give what they have, but do not cease to seize

what belongs to others, which they do not have; and while they greatly desire to appear munificent, they violently take from those who have, what they may, as it were mercifully, bestow upon those who have not: I here insert two letters of Gregory, by which the innocence of his generosity may be wonderfully demonstrated. For he says in a letter to Pantaleon the Notary: Your experience remembers what kind of oath you took before the most sacred body of the Blessed Apostle Peter. Book 11, Letter 41 Whence we also, being assured, have committed to him the causes of examination in the patrimony of the part of Syracuse. It is fitting, therefore, that you always have before your eyes your oath and the fear of that same Blessed Apostle Peter, and so act that you may not be reproached either by men in the present life or by almighty God at the last judgment. For we have learned from our chartulary Valerius's report that you found the measure with which the colonists of the Church were compelled to give their grain to be of twenty-five sextarii, which we utterly execrated, and we grieved that you had made that same examination too late. But since you mention that you broke that same measure and made a just one, we were delighted. But since the aforesaid chartulary also took care to indicate to you the total which has already been collected from the frauds of the leaseholders in two territories from your experience: just as we are glad that you acted diligently in breaking the unjust measure, because it will profit us for the future; so also we think of past sins: but restitution should be made with utmost integrity lest if those things which the leaseholders fraudulently took from the peasants come to us, the sins which were perpetrated by them may be drawn upon us. And therefore we wish, with all faith and all purity, with the fear of the almighty Lord recalled to mind, the strictness of the Blessed Apostle Peter remembered, that your experience should list through each estate the poor and needy colonists, and from those monies which have been found in the frauds, purchase cows, sheep, and pigs, and distribute them to the individual poorer colonists. Which we wish you to do with the counsel of the most reverend Bishop John and our chartulary and rector Hadrian. But if it should be necessary for counsel, our son the lord Julian should also be called in: so that no one else may know this, but it should be entirely secret. Therefore deliberate among yourselves whether those same things should be given in gold or in the monies themselves to those poorer colonists. But whatever you shall have jointly decided, first make a list, as I have said, and afterward strive to distribute to each one according to the quality of his poverty. For I, as the Teacher of the nations testifies, have all things and abound: nor do I seek money, but reward. Phil. 4 Therefore act so that on the day of judgment, concerning that same cause of reward which has been committed to your experience, you may show me the fruit which you have produced. And if you have acted purely and faithfully and strenuously, you will receive it both here in your children, and afterward you will have full recompense at the examination of the eternal judgment. Likewise the same to Peter the Subdeacon: That we have dismissed your representative late was because, entangled by the engagements of the Paschal festivity, we were unable to release him sooner: but the causes about which you took care to communicate, having investigated them all carefully, you will learn below how we have disposed of them. Book 1, Letter 42 We have learned that the peasants of the Church are severely burdened in the prices of grain, so that the established price is not maintained for them at the time of abundance in their purchases. And we wish that at all times, whether grain grows less or more, a just measure of price should be maintained in their purchases. Moreover, and the proper measure of bushels should be maintained: grain that perishes by shipwreck we wish to be fully credited: so, however, that there be no negligence on your part in sending: lest, while the time for sending is neglected, loss be generated from your fault. Moreover, we have perceived it to be very unjust and iniquitous that the peasants of the Church should have anything taken from them as a surcharge on the measure, and be compelled to give grain by a larger measure than is brought into the granaries of the Church. Whence by the present admonition we command that grain should never be received from the peasants of the Church by a measure of more than eighteen sextarii: unless perhaps there is something which the sailors, according to custom, take in addition, which they themselves attest is reduced in the ships: ^a and the rest, which are sought in that very work of the most holy man's Letters.

[59] to relieve famine, he purchases grain for 50 pounds of gold: Let it suffice that I have related this much about the innocence of Gregorian generosity. Moreover, because in time of famine he strove to purchase grain, so that he might have the means to assist the poor of Christ, I shall by no means pass over. For he says in another letter to the same Peter the Subdeacon, among other things: With fifty pounds of gold purchase new grain from outsiders, and store it in Sicily in places where it will not perish, so that in the month of February we may direct as many ships as we can there, so that the same grain may be brought to us. Book 1, Letter 7 But even if we delay in sending, do you yourself prudently provide ships, and send that same grain to us, with the Lord's help, in the month of February: except only for the grain which we are now expecting to be sent in the month of September or October according to custom. Therefore let your experience act so that the grain may be gathered without the vexation of any ecclesiastical colonist. Because the harvest was so small here that unless, with the Lord's help, grain is gathered from Sicily, a severe famine threatens.

[60] he is placed before a holy hermit, a despiser of the world A certain hermit, a man of great virtue, who possessed nothing in the world except one cat, which he fondled and frequently warmed in his lap as a sort of companion, came to know the multitude of this generosity, and is reported to have prayed to God to deign to show him what mansion of future reward he ought to hope for, he who, for love of Him, had abandoned the world and possessed none of its riches. And when one night he slept, he came to know that it had been revealed to him that he ought to hope that a mansion was being prepared for him together with Gregory, the Roman Pontiff. But he, groaning deeply, thought that the voluntary poverty of things and the great fasts of his seclusion had profited him little if he were to receive a mansion with one who abounded in such worldly riches. on account of his contempt of riches and holy distribution to the poor. But when he compared Gregory's riches to his own poverty day and night with sighing, on another night while resting, he heard the Lord saying to him in dreams: Since it is not possession of riches but desire that makes a man rich, why do you dare to compare your poverty with Gregory's riches? You are shown to love that cat which you have, petting it daily and conferring it on no one, more than he, who by not loving but despising such great riches, and generously bestowing them upon all, distributes them. Thus rebuked, the solitary man gave thanks to God, and he who had thought that his merit had decreased if compared with Gregory, began to pray more fervently that he might one day merit to receive a mansion with him. But let the end of this second book also come, so that the things which are to follow may be pursued, with the Lord's help, by the third ^b.

^a Here we are in doubt whether the following words are those of John the Deacon or only of Surius, who omitted that very lengthy letter;

it is found complete in

the MS. of Corsendonk and in the Life printed before his works: but it could

also have been inserted by later writers. Whatever the case, since it exists in the Register

of Letters, and this bulk grows excessively, and it contains almost nothing

historical, we think it sufficient to have informed the reader.

The MS. of Corsendonk adds: Here ends the second book, and the third begins: of which the following are the Chapters.

1 By what studies Gregory governed the Church committed to him. Chapters of the third book.

2 With what great authorities he fought against the simoniac and neophyte heresies.

3 That he ordered a Synod to be held for the same.

4 That he predicted those who did not fight with all their strength against the same would have their portion with Simon Magus.

5 How wisely he also prohibited the payment for the use of the pallium or the consecration of a Pontiff from being given or received.

6 That he noted three kinds of simoniac giving.

7 That in ordaining bishoprics he spared neither the Cardinals of his Church nor the monks.

8 That he promoted absolutely no one violently.

9 That he restored those violently promoted to their former rank.

10 That he recalled Cardinals promoted in external parishes back to the cardinal church.

11 That from wherever he could find better ones, he would consecrate Bishops.

12 With what great strictness he examined those to be consecrated.

13 That he also invited Bishops of other dioceses to govern the Churches of his own diocese.

14 How he united Episcopal Sees.

15 That he assigned vacant Bishops to vacant Churches.

16 That he installed expelled Prelates over enthroned Bishops.

17 That he changed the locations of Sees.

18 That on no occasion did he either transfer Pontiffs from one Church to another or permit them to be transferred.

19 That he consecrated for himself as Cardinal a parishioner of another.

20 How he permitted Clerics of another Church to be incardinated in others.

21 That he never placed those later ordained ahead of earlier Clerics.

22 How he committed the Churches of deceased Bishops to neighboring Visitors.

23 That he decreed nothing should be taken for making an inventory.

24 That he rejected customary payments or gifts.

25 That he decreed Bishops should come to the city of Rome only once every five years.

26 That he also refused to accept the prices of things.

27 That he provided necessities to his suffragan Bishops.

28 How carefully he sought holiness, wisdom, and generosity from those same Bishops.

29 Where he reproaches Bishop Marinianus for avarice.

30 Where he rebukes Bishop Serenus for broken images.

31 Where he deters Bishop Januarius from avenging his own injuries.

32 Where he reproves the same for plowing a harvest on the Lord's Day.

33 Where he corrects Bishop Desiderius for reading the books of the gentiles.

34 Where he reproves Bishop Natalis for negligence and banquets.

35 That he most wittily binds the same by his own assertions.

36 That he forbade Bishops to be absent from their church.

37 That he determined Bishops should not wander through various places.

38 That he did not hesitate to commit to memory the fall of his own aunt.

39 Where he rebukes Bishop Vitalianus for a woman who had changed her religious habit.

40 Where he reproves the defensor Sergius for negligence.

41 Where he restrains Bishop Paschasius from building a ship and from his own advantage.

42 Where he rebukes the negligences of the Bishops of Campania and of Victor of Panormos.

43 How moderately he judges Bishop Andrew for his concubine.

44 That he judged one should abstain from wicked counselors.

45 That he drove the fallen or criminal from the familiarity of Bishops.

46 That he decreed the wrath of Superiors should be restrained, and the fault of one should not be harmful to another.

47 That he forbade free men to be beaten or imprisoned.

48 How he publicly exposed and rebuked the vices of judges.

49 That at the devil's instigation, judges raged against him.

50 Where he manfully contradicts the Emperor Maurice, who was enacting a most wicked law.

51 Concerning the hypocrisy of John, Bishop of Constantinople, who declared himself Universal.

52 Where he rebukes the imperial letters pleading on his behalf.

53 Where he tarnishes the times and morals of Maurice.

54 Where he wisely undermines the pride of the hypocrite John.

55 Where, demonstrating his constancy, he asserts that he would by no means lose his faith for the sake of the Emperor.

56 Why he did not give the Empress the relics she requested.

57 That up to those times the Roman Pontiff conferred a brandeum for relics.

58 By what great miracles the vestments of holy John shone forth.

59 What is to be thought about those same vestments.

60 That Gregory repelled the plague of the universal title from the universality of his whole Church.

BOOK III

CHAPTER I

The labors expended by S. Gregory in extinguishing simony.

[1] S. Gregory brings back schismatics, converts pagans, With such studies the venerable Pope Gregory efficaciously governed the Church divinely committed to him. He had already compelled the Ligurians, Venetians, ^a Iberians, and others who had departed from the schism, to venerate the Council of Chalcedon upon a signed confession, recalling them to the unity of the holy Church. He had already removed the ^b Barbaricini, the Sardinians, and the peasants of Campania, corrected both by preaching and by punishments, from the vanity of paganizing. He had already, he restrains heretics, by the most powerful authorities of his writings and by importunate legations, with the Lord's support, separated from the body of the entire holy Mother Church the heresy of the ^c Donatists in Africa, of the Manicheans in Sicily, of the Arians in Spain, and of the ^d Agnoites in Alexandria. Only in Gaul ^e the heresy of the Neophytes, sprouting as if with as many roots as there were simoniac bribes, had grown far and wide and remained: against which the venerable Father vigorously fought before ^f Queen Brunhild, and also before Theodoric and Theodobert, Kings of the Franks, until by convening a general Synod he obtained that it be utterly condemned under anathema. Nor did he give the pallium, which ^g Bishop Syagrius of Autun and the Queen and Kings had urgently requested with many prayers, until in the presence of his Abbot Cyriacus they fulfilled what they had been admonished to do concerning the expulsion of heresies.

[2] For on behalf of these things he writes to Queen Brunhild among other things, saying: The sacerdotal office has been led there, he admonishes Queen Brunhild by letter to extirpate simony in Gaul, as we have learned, to such great ambition that Priests are suddenly ordained, which is exceedingly grave, from laypeople. Book 7, Letter 114. But what are these men going to do, what are they going to provide for the people, who desire to become Bishops not for utility but for honor? For those who have not yet learned what they should teach—what else do they do but ensure that the unlawful advancement of a few becomes the destruction of many, and that the observance of ecclesiastical moderation is brought to confusion? For where no regular order is observed. For he who comes to the governance of it unprepared or precipitately, with what admonition does he edify his subjects, whose example taught not reason but error? It is truly shameful, shameful, to command others what you yourself do not know how to observe. Nor do we pass over, but utterly execrate and detest as very grave, what must be corrected with similar amendment: that sacred orders there are conferred through the simoniac heresy, which was the first to arise against the Church and was condemned by a strict malediction. Hence, therefore, it comes about that the dignity of the priesthood is brought into contempt, and the holy honor is turned into crime. Reverence perishes, discipline is taken away: because he who ought to amend faults commits them: and by wicked ambition, the censure of the honorable priesthood is led to depravity. For who shall henceforth venerate what is sold? Or who shall not consider cheap what is bought? Whence I am greatly saddened and I grieve for that land: because while they despise having through divine gift the Holy Spirit, whom almighty God deigns to bestow upon men through the laying on of hands, but pursue it with bribes, I do not think that the priesthood will long endure there. For where the gifts of heavenly grace are judged to be for sale, life is not sought for the service of God, but rather money is venerated against God. Likewise concerning the same matters, to Theodoric and Theodobert, Kings of the Franks, after some preliminary remarks: It is said that the simoniac heresy, which first crept in against the Church of God through the devil's planting and in its very origin was struck and condemned by the weapon of apostolic vengeance, holds sway within the borders of your kingdom: whereas in Priests, faith with life ought to be chosen: which if it is absent, faith has no merit, as the Blessed James attests, who says: Faith without works is dead. Book 7, Letter 115, Acts 8, James 2 For what works can there be of a Priest who is convicted of having obtained the honor of so great a Sacrament through a bribe? From which it comes about that those who also seek sacred Orders Theodoric and Theodobert the Kings, do not strive to correct their life or to compose their morals, but to gather riches with which the sacred honor is purchased. Hence it also happens that the innocent and the poor, excluded and despised, recoil from sacred Orders: and when the innocence of the poor displeases, there is no doubt that there the bribe commends crimes: because where gold pleases, there also vice pleases. Hence, therefore, not only is a lethal wound inflicted upon the soul of both the ordainer and the ordained, but also your Excellency's kingdom is burdened by the fault of the Bishops, by whose intercessions it ought rather to have been aided. For if he is believed worthy of the priesthood whom not the merits of his actions but the abundance of his bribes supports; it remains that gravity should claim nothing for itself in ecclesiastical honors, industry should defend nothing, but the profane love of gold should obtain everything. And while vices are rewarded with honor, he who perhaps ought to have been punished is brought in place of the avenger: and hence Priests are judged not to advance but rather to perish: for when the shepherd is wounded, who will apply medicine to heal the sheep? Or when will he protect the people with the shield of prayer, who exposes himself to be struck by the weapons of the enemy? Or what sort of fruit is he going to produce, whose root is infected with a grave plague? Greater calamity, therefore, is to be feared for those places where such men among others are brought to the place of governance, who provoke in themselves rather the wrath of God than ought through themselves to have placated it for the peoples. Nor does our solicitude suffer this evil also to be negligently passed over, and that Priests should not suddenly come from laypeople. that certain persons, enticed by the instinct of vainglory, suddenly seize the honor of the priesthood from the lay habit: and (which is shameful to say and grievous to keep silent) those who are to be governed become Rulers, and those who are to be taught, not blushing and not fearing, become Doctors. They impudently assume the leadership of souls, to whom every road of the Teacher is unknown, and they are ignorant of where they themselves should walk. For since a general of an army is chosen only after labor and experience, let those who desire to ascend the summit of the episcopate with premature haste consider from the comparison of this thing alone what sort of leaders of souls they ought to be, and let them fear to undertake suddenly labors for which they have no experience: lest blind ambition for honor become both a punishment for themselves and they cast pestilential seeds of error for others, since they have not learned what they should teach. Therefore, greeting you with fatherly affection, we ask, most excellent Sons, that you strive to prohibit so detestable an evil from the borders of your kingdom, and let no excuse and no suggestion against your souls find a place among you: because beyond doubt he who neglects to correct what he can, bears the guilt of the one who commits it. Likewise, for the same heresies, to Siagrius, Bishop of Autun: Long ago, when a report was being circulated among us, He inculcates the same upon Bishop Siagrius: it was made known that in the parts of Gaul sacred Orders are conferred through the simoniac heresy, and we are afflicted with the vehement distaste of grief if money has any place in ecclesiastical offices, and what is sacred becomes secular. Book 7, Letter 110 Whoever, therefore, strives to obtain this by the giving of a price, desires not to be a Priest but only to be vainly called one. What else, what else is effected by this, except that there should be no testing of conduct, no solicitude about morals, no examination of life: but only he who has been able to give the price should be considered worthy? From which, if it is weighed by the examination of a just balance, while he improperly hastens to seize the place of utility for the sake of vainglory, by that very thing, he compares the Simoniac to those selling doves: because he seeks the honor, he is unworthy. For just as he who, when invited, refuses, when sought, flees, is to be brought to the sacred altars; so he who voluntarily seeks or importunately forces himself is without doubt to be repelled. For he who thus strives to ascend to the heights, what else does he do but decrease by growing, and by ascending outwardly, descend inwardly to the depths? Therefore, most reverend Brother, in the ordaining of Priests let sincerity prevail: let consent be simple without venality, let the election brought forward be pure: so that he who is advanced to the summit of the priesthood may be believed to be there not by the support of vendors but by the judgment of God. Matt. 21 For that it is an altogether grave crime to either purchase or sell the gift of God for a price, the Gospel authority is the witness. For the Lord and our Redeemer, entering the Temple, overturned the chairs of those selling doves. What else is it to sell doves than to receive a price for the laying on of hands, and to sell the Holy Spirit whom almighty God bestows upon men? Whose priesthood is signified to fall before the eyes of God by the very evident overturning of the chairs. And yet the wickedness of depravity still exerts its strength: for it compels those it has deceived into buying to sell. And while what is commanded by the divine voice is not heeded—Freely you have received, freely give—the result is that the condition grows and is doubled in one and the same crime, that of both the buyer and the seller: and while it is clear that this heresy crept in before all others with a pestilential root, often deceived by the devil under the appearance of virtue: and was condemned in its very origin by apostolic detestation, why is it not avoided? Why is it not considered that the blessing is turned into a curse for him who is promoted for the purpose of becoming a heretic? Matt. 10 Very often, therefore, the adversary of souls, when he cannot creep in through things that are openly wicked, craftily strives to supplant by casting the appearance of piety as it were: and perhaps persuades that it should be taken from those who have, so that there may be something that can be distributed to those who have not—provided only that he may thus pour forth the deadly poisons, concealed under the cover of almsgiving. For neither would the hunter catch the beast, nor the fowler the bird, nor the fisherman catch the fish, if the one should set a snare in the open, or the other should not have a hook hidden in the bait. Therefore the cunning of the enemy is utterly to be feared and guarded against, lest those whom he cannot overthrow by open temptation he may more savagely be able to slay with a hidden weapon. For it is not to be reckoned almsgiving if what is received from illicit sources is dispensed to the poor: because he who receives badly with this intention, that he may dispense it as if well, is burdened rather than helped. That almsgiving is pleasing in the eyes of our Redeemer which is not gathered from illicit means and iniquity, but which is expended from things permitted and well acquired. Whence also this is certain: that even if monasteries or hospices or anything else is built from the money given for sacred Orders, it does not profit toward reward: since while the perverse buyer of honor is sent into a holy place, and appoints others in his own likeness under the giving of a bribe, he destroys more by badly ordaining than the one can build who received the money of the Ordination from him. Lest, therefore, under the pretext of almsgiving we should strive to accept something with sin, the sacred Scripture openly prohibits us, saying: The offerings of the impious are abominable to the Lord, which are offered out of crime. Prov. 21. For whatever

is offered in the sacrifice of God out of crime, does not placate the wrath of almighty

God, but rather provokes it. Hence again it is written: Honor the Lord from your just labors. Prov. 3. He therefore who takes wrongfully in order to give, as it were, rightly, is without doubt one who does not honor the Lord. Hence also through Solomon it is said: He who offers a sacrifice from the substance of the poor is as one who slaughters a son in the sight of his father. Ecclus. 34. Let us consider how great is the sorrow of a father if a son is slaughtered in his sight, and from this we easily recognize how greatly almighty God is exasperated with sorrow when a sacrifice is offered to Him from plunder. Therefore it is very much to be avoided, dearest Brother, under the pretext of almsgiving to commit the sins of the simoniac heresy. For it is one thing to give alms on account of sins; another to commit sins on account of alms. that Bishops should not suddenly be made from laypeople: This also, which has come to us and which we embrace with no lesser detestation, we have not concealed: that certain persons, inflamed by the desire of honor, upon the death of Bishops, have themselves tonsured and suddenly become Priests from laypeople, and shamelessly, as Religious; Superiors seize the leadership, who have not yet learned to be soldiers. What do we think, what are these going to provide for their subjects, who before they touch the threshold of discipleship, do not fear to hold the place of mastership? For which reason it is necessary that, however blameless anyone may be in merit, he should first be exercised through the distinct offices of the Ecclesiastical Order. Let him see what he should imitate, let him learn what he should teach, let him be formed in what he should hold, so that afterward he may not err who is chosen to show the way to the erring. Therefore let him be long polished by religious meditation, so that he may please: and so let the lamp placed upon the lampstand shine, that the adverse force of the winds rushing upon it may not extinguish the conceived flame of learning but increase it. For since it is written: That one should first be tested, and so let him minister: much more is he to be tested first who is taken up as the intercessor of the people, lest bad Priests become the cause of ruin for the peoples. 2 Tim. 3 No excuse, therefore, no defense can avail against this: because it is clearly known to all what the solicitude of the outstanding Teacher is in this matter's negligence, who forbids a neophyte to approach sacred Orders. For just as then one was called a neophyte who was initially planted in the learning of the holy faith: ^h so now one should be considered a neophyte who, suddenly planted in the habit of religion, has crept toward coveting sacred honors. Therefore one should ascend to Orders in an orderly fashion. For he seeks a fall who seeks the ascent to the highest pinnacle of place by way of precipices, with the steps passed over. And since the same Apostle teaches among other things of the institution of sacred Order concerning the disciple, that hands are not to be laid on anyone hastily: what is swifter, what more precipitous than that the beginning should arise from the summit, and before one begins to be a disciple, he should be a master? 2 Tim. 5 Whoever, therefore, desires to obtain the priesthood not for the pomp of pride but for usefulness, let him first measure his own strength against the honor which he is about to undertake: so that the unequal may abstain, and even he who thinks himself sufficient may approach it with fear. But we do not act unreasonably if, for a reasonable argument, we gather the use of irrational things. For suitable timbers for buildings are cut from the forests, but the weight of a building is not placed upon them while they are still green, unless the delay of many days has dried their greenness and made them fit for the necessary use. And if this care is perhaps neglected, they are broken sooner by the superimposed weight, and what was provided as an aid produces ruin. Hence also physicians, who care for bodies, do not offer to the needy certain remedies recently made: but leave them to be matured by time. For if anyone gives them prematurely, there is no doubt that a thing of health becomes a cause of danger. Therefore let those who are entrusted with the care of souls learn, learn in their office to observe what men of diverse arts, taught by reason, keep, and let them contain themselves from headlong ambition, if not by fear, at least by shame. But lest perhaps anyone should wish to defend himself by the objection of a depraved custom, let the discretion of your Fraternity restrain them with the rein of reason, and not permit them to slip into illicit things: because whatever is worthy of punishment should be brought not as an example for imitation but rather as an example for correction. And after a few words:

[3] Concerning those things, therefore, which have been said above, Greg. Book 7. we wish your Fraternity, with God as the author, to convene a Synod, and in it, with our most reverend Brother, Bishop ^i Aregius, and our most beloved Son, Abbot Cyriacus, mediating, he orders a Synod to be convened for eradicating simony: let all things which, as we have said, are contrary to the sacred canons be strictly condemned under the interposition of anathema. Letters 110 and 111. That is: that no one presume to give any advantage for obtaining ecclesiastical Orders, or to receive for things given. Nor should anyone from the lay habit dare suddenly to arrive at the place of sacred governance, nor should other women dwell with Priests except those who are permitted by the sacred canons.

[4] The most prudent Doctor Gregory, seeing these pestilential heresies, he blames the connivance of the Bishops: through the connivance or silence of the Priests, being able more and more, with bribes spread like a pestilential cancer, not only to corrode the weak, but also to corrupt the strong members with the blade of the most beautiful things; moved by divine zeal ^k, brought forth to Bishop Victor a general sentence, saying: Whoever does not burn vehemently by the consideration of his office to correct this crime, namely the simoniac heresy of the neophytes, let him not doubt that he has his portion with him from whom this most heinous offense first took its beginning. Book 10, Letter 33

[5] But when he recognized that certain persons, to avoid the crimes of simoniac heresy, were craftily calling the gifts of pestilential commerce ^l a "pastillus," and by changing the name of this kind wished to conceal the avarice of their cupidity; he prescribes that nothing should be taken, even by notaries, for sacred Orders: the most prudent Doctor Gregory brought forth again the sentence which he had promulgated before the Synod at the beginning of his Pontificate, saying: Following the rule of the ancient Fathers, I decree that nothing at all should be taken by anyone for ordinations, nor from the bestowal of the pallium, nor from the delivery of documents, nor from that which a new pretense, invented through ambition, has called by the name of "pastillus." For since in ordaining a Bishop the Pontiff lays on his hand, the minister reads the Gospel reading, and the notary writes the letter of his confirmation; just as it is not fitting for the Bishop to sell the hand which he lays on, so the minister or notary ought not to sell his voice or his pen in his Ordination. For the ordination, therefore, or for the use of the pallium, or for the documents and pastilli, I entirely prohibit the one who is to be ordained or is being ordained from giving anything. If anyone out of these aforesaid things shall presume to demand or request anything under the name of a favor, he shall be subject to guilt at the strict examination of almighty God. Book 4, Letter 56 Likewise, to John, Bishop of Corinth, after much: Your Fraternity knows, he says, that formerly the pallium was not given without a payment being made. Which, since it was unfitting, having convened a council before the body of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, we have forbidden under strict prohibition the receiving of anything both for this and for Ordinations. It is fitting, therefore, that you should neither consent to nor permit anyone to be brought to sacred Orders either through a payment, or through favor, or through the supplication of certain persons.

[6] But the crafty iniquity of the most shameful cupidity, not suffering itself to be constrained from such great—though most shameful, indeed most perilous—gains, found a sufficiently artful device: by which, that is, it might elevate to the Priesthood those who after consecration would have to be all the more subject to it, inasmuch as they would recognize beyond doubt that they had been promoted not by divine but by human judgment. Wherefore the herald of almighty God, Gregory, in his homilies on the Gospels, Homily 4 on the Gospels. so that it might be more frequently read or heard, discusses the matter, saying: There are some not even regard for service or favor to be rendered afterward can be considered. who indeed do not accept monetary rewards from ordination, and yet bestow sacred Orders for the sake of human favor, and from that same bestowal seek only the recompense of praise. These assuredly do not freely bestow what they freely received, because from the office of holiness bestowed they demand the coin of favor. Whence the Prophet, when describing the just man, well says: Who shakes his hands free from every gift. Isa. 33. For he did not say: Who shakes his hands from a gift: but he added: from every gift. Because one kind of gift is from service, another from the hand, another from the tongue. A gift from service is the rendering of undue submission. A gift from the hand is money. A gift from the tongue is favor. He, therefore, who bestows sacred Orders then shakes his hands free from every gift when in divine matters he seeks not only no money but also no human favor.

^a The Irish Indeed we believe it should be read as "the Irish": there survives a letter of S. Gregory, number 36 of Book 2, Indiction 10, to these, concerning the cause of the Three Chapters. Furthermore,

we gather from this that they returned from their schism to Catholic communion and unity, because from Ireland Bishops consulted S. Gregory about doubtful matters, as others who were orthodox commonly did, as is evident from his lengthy Letter 61 of Book 9.

^b Concerning the conversion of the Barbaricini, S. Gregory treats in Book 3, Letter 25, to Zabarba, Barbaricini. Duke of Sardinia, where he says he was greatly delighted that he planned to make peace with the Barbaricini, and to lead those same Barbaricini to the service of Christ. And he asks that those whom he had sent to convert the Barbaricini be assisted.

^c Concerning

this heresy he writes to Victor and Columbus, Bishops of Africa, Book 3, Letters 32

and 35; he exhorts Pantaleon, Prefect of Africa, to suppress them.

^d The Agnoites were so called because they said Christ was ignorant of the day of judgment. Against these S. Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria, wrote, Agnoites. whose book, sent to him, S. Gregory praises in Book 8, Letter 42.

^e These things are explained at length in the letters that follow.

^f Brunhild Brunhild,

daughter of Athanagild, King of the Visigoths in Spain, married to Sigebert I,

King of Austrasia, bore Childebert, father of Theodoric and

Theodobert, who ruled with their grandmother from the year 596.

^g S. Syagrius is venerated on 27 August.

^h In the edition of the letters: "way of life."

^i S. Aregius, Bishop of Vapincum. Aregius, also called Aredius, Bishop

of Vapincum, in upper Dauphiné, whose feast the Sanmarthani observe to be noted on the Kalends of May from the Proper of the Church of Vapincum. In place of Aregius in

the letters of S. Gregory, also in volume 13 of the Councils of the Lipari edition, Syagrius is read, since it was written to Syagrius. To Aregius there survives the following letter 112, in other editions 113, as also Book 9, Letters 51 and 62.

^k Victor, Bishop of Panormos. This is the Bishop of Panormos, to whom this letter is inscribed, as also Book 4, Letter 4, Book 5, Letter 92, and Book 7, Letter 92.

^l Pastillus is a small mass baked in the form of a small loaf, for which it is also called pastellus, Pastillus. and hence pastellatium, the gift here indicated.

CHAPTER II

The method observed by S. Gregory, and prescribed to others, in appointing the best Bishops.

[7] He appoints the best possible Bishops. These are the sentences of the most learned Pope Gregory concerning simoniac and illicit ordinations, which he himself is shown to have observed with the greatest care, in that from the very beginning of his consecration throughout his whole diocese he most diligently ordained Bishops, finding the best ones from wherever he could. And whenever the necessity of ordaining a Priest arose, he by no means excused the Cardinals of his Church or the monks of his monastery even from among the Cardinals and monks: from being entrusted with a Church to govern, who could better edify it with both example and words. For, to touch upon a few things from many, from the Cardinal Priests of his Church he consecrated as Bishops: Boniface at Rhegium, ^a Habentius at Perugia, and ^b Donus at Messina in Sicily. From the Subdeacons: ^c Gloriosus at Ostia, ^d Festus at Capua, Peter at ^e Troyes, and ^f Castorius at Rimini. But from the monks of his own monastery he ordained as Bishops: Marinianus at Ravenna, Maximianus at Syracuse, and Sabinus at ^g Gallipoli; and he also commanded Augustine to be ordained by the Bishops of Gaul among the English. After whom likewise other monks of that same Father were advanced to the episcopate among that same people at various times: Mellitus, Justus, Laurence, and Paulinus. Only the Deacons of the Apostolic See did he in a manner spare in this respect: although, when he had a full complement of nineteen, he himself consecrated Boniface, Florentinus, and Epiphanius. Nor did he remove any of them from office except Laurence the Archdeacon, for pride and other crimes, in the Lateran basilica called the Golden, where he immediately appointed Honoratus as Archdeacon.

[8] And while Gregory, having seized the occasion, quite willingly advanced the Cardinals of his Church, if they consented, He permits no one to be promoted violently: he nevertheless by no means strove to promote anyone violently, however compelled by necessity, lest under such a pretext he should seem to be deposing anyone by eliminating them. Whence, writing to Scholasticus, Duke of Campania, he says: While we were very anxiously concerned about the care of the city of Naples, deprived of the comfort of a Priest, the bearers of these present letters arriving with a decree drawn up for Florentinus our Subdeacon, found something of relief for us in so great a weight of thought. Book 2, Letter 15 But since our aforesaid Subdeacon, fleeing that same city, tearfully avoided his ordination, know that our sadness increased, as it were, from an even greater desperation. And therefore, greeting and exhorting your Magnitude, we urge that you convene the Leading Citizens and the people of the city and think about the election of another who can be worthy to be promoted, with God's comfort, to the Priesthood. When the decree has been solemnly drawn up and sent to this City, confirmed by the signatures of all, let the ordination there at length take place, with Christ's help.

[9] He also recalled to their former ranks those promoted violently by others. Whence, writing to Antoninus the Subdeacon, he says: Honoratus, the Archdeacon of the Church of ^h Salona, had sent a petition to my predecessor of holy memory, requesting that he should by no means be compelled by his Bishop to be promoted against his will to the Order of a higher rank contrary to custom. Book 2, Letter 10 For he sought to have this forbidden not out of the grace of not being promoted, but out of the cause of ingratitude. he restores those violently promoted to their former rank: For which reason our predecessor of holy memory at that time had forbidden in his writings our Brother and fellow Bishop Natalis from promoting the aforesaid Archdeacon Honoratus against his will, and from any longer retaining in his heart the pain of his conceived displeasure. Gregory 20, 16. And since these things were also most earnestly forbidden by me to the same, he, neglecting not only the commands of God but also despising our writings, as if promoting the aforesaid Archdeacon to a higher honor, craftily attempted to degrade him. Whence it happened that, with him removed from the position of the Archdeaconate, he summoned another who could comply with his ways. We believe that this Archdeacon Honoratus could not have displeased his Bishop for any other reason than that he was preventing him from giving sacred vessels to his own relatives. Which cause both my predecessor of holy memory at that time and I now wished to examine with subtle investigation. But he, conscious of his own deeds, put off sending a person to judgment. Therefore we have thought fit to support your experience with the authority of the present precept, so that going to Salona, you should at least endeavor to exhort our Brother and fellow Bishop Natalis, admonished by so many writings, to restore the above-mentioned Archdeacon to his place immediately. But if he contumaciously, as is his custom, should perhaps delay to do this, forbid him, by the authority of the Apostolic See, the use of the Pallium which was granted by this See. And if you perceive him still persevering in the same stubbornness even after losing the Pallium, you will deprive that same Bishop of participation in the Lord's Body and Blood. But the one who, contrary to the rule of justice, consented to be promoted to the place of another, we command to be deposed from the honor of that same Archdeaconate. And if he shall presume further to minister in that same place, we deprive him of participation in sacred Communion. For it is just that he should feel the harshness of justice from those toward whom he has despised charity. Therefore, with the Archdeacon Honoratus restored to his place, let the aforesaid Bishop, at your compulsion, send an instructed person who may be able to demonstrate to us by his arguments that his intention is or was just. But we also command that same Archdeacon to come to us, so that whatever is just, whatever is pleasing to almighty God, we may determine once the arguments of both parties are known. For we defend no one out of personal love, but with God as our author, we observe the norm of justice, with the respect of any person set aside. Book 2, Letter 32, Indiction 11. Likewise to Honoratus of Salona, now reduced from the priesthood to the diaconate: Long since indeed the precept both of our predecessor and our own had gone forth to your Charity, in which you had been absolved of the charges calumniously brought against you, and we ordered you to be restored to the order of your rank without any dispute. But because again, not long ago, coming to the city of Rome, you complained about certain things done improperly there, and about the alienation of sacred vessels; and while we were waiting for persons who could respond to your objections in this cause, your Bishop Natalis departed from this light; we judge it necessary to confirm those same precepts, both of our predecessor and our own, which we formerly sent, as was said, for your absolution, by these present documents. Wherefore, fully absolving you from all the charges brought against you, we wish you to remain in the rank of your order without any dispute, so that the suit brought by the aforesaid man shall absolutely not prejudice you in any respect.

[10] He recalls Cardinals promoted in external parishes back to the cardinal church: Likewise, Gregory recalled Cardinals violently ordained in external parishes to their former cardinal church. Wherefore, writing to ^i John, Bishop of Syracuse, he says: It has come to us from the report of certain persons that Cosmas, who from a monk of the monastery of S. Lucia, was made a Subdeacon in the Church of Syracuse by your predecessor of venerable memory, Book 11, Letter 36 Maximianus, and is said to have been afterward ordained by you as a Priest in the estate called Juliana, is so vehemently afflicted by extreme sadness and the quality of the place that he considers life to be a punishment, and for his distress seeks the remedy of flight. And therefore, because we ought to be such toward our subjects as we would have wished our Superiors to be toward us if we had been subjects: it is a matter of great kindness if your Holiness should strive to bring him back to the Church where he performed the office of Subdeacon, and there to establish him as a Cardinal Priest. Which we judge you should also do, if there is nothing that justly provokes your mind against him. But if there is some fault, let your Fraternity inform us of this by his letters, so that we may know.

[11] He commends that fit Bishops be appointed: How carefully Gregory sought out fit persons for the governance of destitute peoples, I shall briefly indicate, so that it may be reasonably gathered that so great a man was a true head of household of the Lord's flock, proven not only by his teachings but also by his works. Book 2, Letter 8 For he says in a letter to Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse: The most illustrious man Felix, the bearer of these presents, has informed us that there is a certain Priest in those parts who appears worthy of being promoted to the Order of the Episcopate by the merit of his proven life. Indiction 10. Let your Fraternity, therefore, have him brought before you, and, as I am certain, for the sake of the danger to the soul, examine him diligently. If you perceive him to be worthy of being promoted to this rank, strive to send him to us; so that, with the Lord disposing, we may be able to ordain him as Pastor for the place which we shall have foreseen. Likewise to Cyprian the Deacon: I received in the month of November the very bitter letters of your Charity about the death of the lord Maximianus. Book 4, Letter 19 And indeed he has arrived at the desired rewards: but the unhappy people of the city of Syracuse are to be mourned, who did not merit to have such a Pastor for long. Therefore let your Charity bear the solicitude that in the same Church such a one should be chosen for ordination who may be seen not unworthy or undeserving to obtain the place of that same governance after the lord Maximianus. And indeed I believe that the majority will elect Trajan the Priest: who, as it is said, is of good mind, but as far as I suspect, is not suitable for governing that place. Nevertheless, if a better one cannot be found, and he himself is entangled in no crimes, the case can be condescended to him, compelled by very great necessity. But if my will is sought for this election, I indicate to you secretly what I wish, because no one in that same Church after the lord Maximianus seems to me as worthy as John, the Archdeacon of the Church of Catania. Who, if it is possible for him to be elected, I believe a very apt person will be found. But he too should first be more secretly inquired of by you about the crimes which can impede, and if he is found free from them, he can rightly be elected. And if this is done, our Brother and fellow Bishop ^k Leo also should give him a release, so that he may be found free for ordination. Book 8, Letter 17 Likewise to Clementina the Patrician: ^l Know, glorious Daughter, that Amandus the Priest has been elected by the people of Sorrento to the episcopate. Because we have written that he should be sent here, you ought not to be saddened at his absence, because he is not considered to have departed who is with you in mind. And since for those seeking a Pastor, he who long ago pleased you is welcome, rather rejoice in this with Christian devotion, blessing almighty God, and cheerfully strive to have him come to us more quickly, who will benefit others: because it is the mark of sincere charity to exult when he who is loved is called to this, that he may grow. Book 10, Letter 13 Likewise ^m to Passivus the Bishop: Your Fraternity well knows how long a time Aprutium has been destitute of pastoral solicitude. We have long sought someone who should be ordained, and we could by no means find one. But since ^n Opportunus is greatly praised to me for his conduct, for his zeal in psalmody, for his love of prayer, and is said to lead a thoroughly religious life: we wish your Fraternity to have him come to you and to admonish him concerning his soul, so that he may grow in good pursuits.

And if no crimes stand in his way which by the rule of sacred law are punished by death, then he should be exhorted to become either a monk or a Subdeacon appointed by us, and after some time, if it pleases God, he himself should be promoted to the pastoral care. Likewise to Venantius the Patrician of Panormos, who was requesting that a certain Priest be consecrated as Bishop for him, he writes back among other things, saying: Let your Excellency know that it is altogether difficult to give you this Priest, because the need for persons presses upon us to provide for other places destitute of Pastors, and this is no light constraint.

[12] and that they should first be examined with great strictness: But since he recalled that he was constrained by the need for persons to be ordained, lest it be thought that he promoted anyone without examination, it seems it should be demonstrated by one example. For he says in a letter to John the Bishop: Lest an incautious Ordination of those who are chosen for the episcopate should occur, it is necessary to inquire with vigilant solicitude about their persons. Book 12, Letter 6 For it has been reported to us that Florentinus, the Archdeacon of the Church of Ancona, who had been elected to the episcopate, does indeed have knowledge of sacred Scripture, but is already so broken by the infirmity of age that he cannot rise to the office of governance. They add also that he is so tight-fisted that a friend never enters his house for a charitable meal. But Rusticus, a Deacon of the same Church, who was likewise elected, is said to be a vigilant man: but as far as is asserted, he does not know the Psalms. Florentinus, however, Deacon of the Church of Ravenna, who is reported to have been chosen by all, we know to be diligent: but what he is interiorly we entirely do not know. Therefore let your Fraternity together with our Brother and fellow Bishop Armenius, the Visitor of the aforesaid Church of Ancona, hasten to go there, and diligently inquire about the life and morals of each one, whether they are conscious of any crime that would prevent them from approaching this office. It must likewise be inquired whether what has been said about the aforesaid Archdeacon—that a friend has never entered his house—is in truth so. And whether he is such out of necessity or out of stinginess: or if he is so old that he cannot rise to govern, or if, touching the most holy Gospels (as has been reported to us), he took an oath never to accede to the episcopate. And concerning Rusticus the Deacon, it should be examined how many Psalms he is deficient in. But for Florentinus the Deacon of Ravenna, if no crime, as we have said, stands in the way, it is necessary that his Bishop be approached so that he may grant him a release. But not by our mandate or word, lest he seem to concede him against his own will.

^a Habentius was present at the death of S. Floridus, Bishop of Tifernum, and at his burial; as is said in his Life on 13 November.

^b To him

are inscribed Letters 8 of Book 5, Letter 35 of Book 6, Letter 4 of Book 7, Letter 54

of Book 8, and Letter 46 of Book 9. And since in the first letter the use of the Pallium

is granted to him in Indiction 14, Donus, Bishop of Messina. he seems to have been made Bishop then, in the year 596. In the three following Letters, Bonus is incorrectly written for Donus. In the MS. of Corsendonk, Domnus is read.

But how he is to be reconciled with Felix, also Bishop of Messina of this year, is a serious controversy among the Messanesi and Sicilians. The opinion of those who place a middle one between two Felixes is not displeasing.

For to Felix, Bishop of Messina, there survive inscribed Letters 38 and 64

of Book 1, Indiction 9, therefore in the year 591, to whom this Donus was substituted in the said

year 596, and he sat for at least four following years. Again in Book 12 there are

Letters 10 and 32 given in Indiction 7, that is, in the last year of the life of S. Gregory.

But Letter 102 of Book 7, inscribed to Felix the Bishop in Sicily, pertains to another Felix, since Donus was then presiding. Thus the inscription of Letter 22 of Book 11 seems suspect, or not to pertain to this Donus. It is of this kind: Gregory to Leo the Bishop, Secundinus, John, Donnus, Lucidus, Trajan, Bishops of Sicily.

^c To Gloriosus, Bishop of Ostia, he wrote Letter 11 of Book 7.

^d Festus

is said by S. Gregory to have died at Rome, in Letters 12 and 13 of Book 4, Indiction

13, that is, in the year 596. That he was despised by his Clerics because of his avarice

is related in Letter 24 of Book 2 and Letter 26 of Book 4.

^e Both Trecas and Trecis are read. There is a celebrated city in Campania of the Gauls, but it was then called Augusta Tricassium, or the city of Trecassina and Trecassium: Peter, Bishop of Troyes whence

we believe an error crept into this passage, since among the Bishops

Tricassini or Trecenses no Peter is reported to have sat at this time.

Perhaps he is Peter the Subdeacon previously of Campania in Italy, to whom S.

Gregory wrote many letters, who was afterward made Bishop.

^f To Castorius were written Letters 9 of Book 2 and 43 of Book 4. His successor was Agnellus, to whom Letter 10 of Book 6 was written.

^g Gallipoli. Gallipoli is an ancient city of old Calabria on the Gulf of Taranto.

^h Salona. Salona

is the former metropolis of Dalmatia, whose Bishop Natalis S. Gregory

wrote Letters 19 and 20 of Book 1, and several others.

^i S. John the Bishop is venerated on 23 October: concerning him, frequent mention is made below: he was made Bishop in the year 596.

^k To Leo, Bishop of Sicily, there survives Letter 22 of Book 11, as indicated above.

^l The same election is mentioned in Letter 18 of Book 8.

^m Passivus was Bishop of Fermo in Picenum. To him is also inscribed Letter 72 of Book 7, and Letter 12 of this Book 10.

^n Aprutium

is the very region of Italy, from which the Abruzzo Bishops, whose See is in the city

of Interamna, commonly called Teramo, whose first Bishop is reckoned as this

cited Opportunus, called by others Importunus.

CHAPTER III

Various Episcopal Sees united by S. Gregory. The locations of Sees, not the Episcopates, permitted to be changed. Exiled Bishops assisted.

[13] He invites Bishops of other dioceses to govern the Churches of his own diocese: And indeed Gregory, prudently recognizing that the whole body of the Church stands as happily through good Bishops as it falls unhappily through bad ones, invited not only Clerics of diverse Orders from diverse nations, but also vacant Bishops to the bishoprics of his own diocese. Book 35, Letter 35 Whence he writes to the ^a Bishop Sebastian of Rhizinium, among other things, saying: Paying the proper greeting of salutation, I inform you that it has come to me, from the report of Boniface the Defensor, that our most holy Brother, the lord Patriarch Anastasius, wished to commit to your governance a Church in one of his cities, and you were unwilling to consent. Which feeling and wisdom of yours I very gladly embraced, and praised vehemently, and considered you fortunate and myself unfortunate, who at such a time consented to undertake the governance of the Church. If, however, your mind should ever decide to consent to this, yielding to the Brothers and intent upon works of mercy, I ask that you prefer no one else to my love: For there are Churches in the island of Sicily vacant of Bishops. And if it pleases you, with God as the author, to govern a Church, near the thresholds of the Blessed Apostle Peter you can do so better with his help: but if it does not please you, stand firm in happiness, and pray for us unhappy ones.

[14] Meanwhile, Gregory, having established Bishops in fortified places, was uniting scattered Churches. Wherefore he writes to ^b Bacanda, Bishop of Formiae, saying: Episcopal Sees, Both the necessity of the time presses upon us and the diminishment of persons requires that we should come to the aid of destitute Churches with a wholesome and provident arrangement. Book 1, Letter 8 of Formiae and Minturnae, And therefore, since we have recognized that the Church of Minturnae is completely destitute of both Clergy and people through desolation, and since we foresee that your petition—that it should be joined to the Church of Formiae, in which the body of the Blessed ^c Erasmus the Martyr rests, over which your Fraternity presides—is pious and most just, we have deemed it necessary, consulting both for the desolation of that place and for the poverty of your Church, that the revenues of the aforesaid Church of Minturnae, and whatever could or can belong to it by ancient or modern right or privilege by any reason, should migrate to the right and authority of your Church by the authority of this our precept, so that from the present time you should think of it as of your own Church, and arrange what pertains to it with your competent provision: so that henceforth what could have perished until now may profit for the poor and the needs of the Clergy of your Church.

[15] Likewise to Benenatus the Bishop: Both the quality of the time and the vicinity of the locations invite us to unite the Churches of ^d Cumae and Misenum. Book 2, Letter 31, Indiction 10. Since these are not separated from each other by a long distance of travel, and because of our sins of Cumae and Misenum there is not such a great multitude of people that they should have individual Priests as once was the case. Since, therefore, the Priest of the fortress of Cumae has completed the course of this life, know that we, by the page of the present authority, have united both Churches and committed them to you, and know that you are the proper Pontiff of both Churches. And therefore whatever may seem to you to be ordered and arranged concerning their patrimony or the Ordination and promotion of the Clergy, according to the statutes of the Canons, you shall have, as a Pontiff who is truly your own, free license from the consent and permission of our authority. But where you see it to be more convenient and useful, dwell: in such a way, however, that you arrange the other Church, from which you are corporally absent for the present, with solicitous and provident care, so that the divine mysteries there may be solemnly performed with the Lord's help. Therefore let your Fraternity always be vigilant with the more solicitous care in exhorting the people and winning souls, inasmuch as you know yourself to have undertaken the burdens of governing united Churches. Likewise to John, Bishop of ^e Velitrae: Since the impiety of the enemy has, by reason of sins, so desolated the Churches of various cities that no hope of restoring them remains, with the people failing, of Velitrae and Tres-Tabernae. we are constrained by a much greater care lest, upon the death of their Priests, the remnants of the flock, governed by no moderation of a pastor, be seized (which God forbid) by the envy of the cunning enemy through the pathless ways of the faith. Book 2, Letter 35, Indiction 10. Often admonished, therefore, by the solicitude of this matter, this plan has settled in our heart: that we should entrust them to neighboring Pontiffs to be governed. And therefore we have seen fit to commit to your Fraternity the care and governance of the Church of Tres-Tabernae. Which it is necessary to aggregate and unite with your Church, so that you may be able to exist as the Priest and Ruler of both Churches, with Christ's help: and whatever may seem to you to be arranged concerning its patrimony or the ordination and promotion of its Clergy with vigilant and canonical care, you shall have, as the proper Pontiff, free license from our present permission.

[16] He assigns vacant Bishops to vacant Churches. Moreover, Gregory took care to incardinate Pontiffs of desolated cities in vacant cities. Whence, writing to Martin, Bishop of Corsica, among other things: Since, he says, the Church of Tamitana, in which your Fraternity was formerly honored with the priestly dignity, has been so occupied and destroyed by the hostile fierceness, by reason of sins, that no hope of returning there any longer remains;

we establish you in the Church of ^f Aleria, which has long been destitute of a Pontiff's aid, as Cardinal Priest without question, according to the mode of your petition, by this authority. Book 1, Letter 77 Therefore with zealous care and with love of God, arrange and order all things according to the precepts of the Canons, so that both your Fraternity may rejoice at having obtained its desires, and the Church of God may be filled with mutual joy at having received you as its Cardinal Pontiff. Likewise to John, Bishop of ^g Squillace: The care of the pastoral office admonishes us to appoint proper Priests for destitute Churches, who ought to govern the Lord's flock with pastoral solicitude. Book 2, Letter 25, Indiction 10. Therefore we have deemed it necessary to establish you, John, Bishop of the ^h city of Lisita captured by the enemy, as Cardinal Priest in Squillace, so that you may fulfill the care of souls you have once undertaken in view of future reward: and although you have been driven from yours by the pressing enemy, you may govern another Church which lacks a pastor: in such a way, however, that if it should happen that that city should be freed from the enemy, and, with the Lord protecting, should be restored to its former state, you should return to the Church in which you were first ordained. But if the aforesaid city is continuously pressed by the calamity of captivity, you should remain in this Church in which you have been incardinated by us. ^i Likewise to Gratiosus, ^k Bishop of Nomentum, he joined by incardination the care and governance of the Church of S. Anthemius, established in the territory of Cures of the Sabines. Book 2, Letter 20, Indiction 11. Likewise to Agnellus, Bishop of Fundi, after some remarks: Since, on account of the disaster of hostile invasion, there is no permission for anyone to dwell either in your city or in your Church; therefore by our authority we establish you as Cardinal Priest of the Church of ^l Terracina. Ibid., Letter 13. And after a few words: It is also necessary for your Fraternity to know this: that we have established you as Cardinal Priest of the aforesaid Church of Terracina in such a way that you do not cease to be the Pontiff of the Church of Fundi as well, and you should not pass over its care and governance.

[17] He commends expelled Bishops to others: But also expelled Bishops, whom Gregory could not so quickly incardinate, or whose return to their own Sees he hoped could come about, he joined in the meantime to other Bishops, who were then dwelling in their own places, for the sustenance and support of the present life, saying generally: Strive to gladly receive our Brothers and fellow Bishops, whom the distresses both of captivity and of various necessities press, to be consoled and fed with you in ecclesiastical sustenance: not indeed so that by communion the dignity of the Episcopal throne should be divided, but so that they should receive sufficient food from the Church according to its ability. For thus we are shown to love both our neighbor in God and God in our neighbor. We grant them no authority at all in your Churches, but only most earnestly exhort that they be sustained by your consolations.

[18] He changes the locations of Sees: The most prudent Pontiff also changed the locations of Sees, having received just occasion. Whence he writes to John, Bishop of Velitrae, saying: The quality of the time admonishes us to transfer the Sees of Bishops, anciently established in certain cities, to other places of the same diocese which we judge to be more secure, where the inhabitants can now dwell and more easily avoid the barbarian danger. Book 2, Letter 11, Indiction 10. Therefore we command you, John our Brother and fellow Bishop, and your See of the city of Velitrae, to migrate thence to the place which is called ^m Arenata, to S. Andrew the Apostle: so that you may be able to exist more free from the incursion of hostility, and there arrange the rites of customary solemnities. And it should be noted that Gregory, although he united monasteries and bishoprics and strove to incardinate vacant Bishops in vacant cities, nevertheless never either himself transferred a Bishop from the integrity of his Church to another, or consented, under any pretext, to his migration. For after he deposed ^n Demetrius, Bishop of Naples, for manifest crimes, when the same Neapolitans earnestly sought to have ^o Paul, Bishop of Nepis, incardinated for them, the most discreet Pontiff, having delegated the visitation of the city of Nepis to ^p Bishop John, indeed gave them the same Paul as Visitor; but as for establishing him as Cardinal, he both first dispensationally delayed and afterward utterly refused. To whom he afterward granted permission to return to his own diocese, and commanded that one hundred solidi from the Church of Naples and one orphan boy, whichever he himself should choose from the household of that same Church, be given to him.

^a The See is thus indicated in the Register of Letters. It is a city of Mesopotamia on the border of Syria, not far from Edessa. It is called Rhisina by Ptolemy, Book 5, Chapter 18; Rhesina by some. In Surius and commonly in the Life printed up to now it says Bishop of Smyrna, but this See was subject to the Patriarch of Constantinople, not to the Antiochene, as Rhisina, city is said here. And Antiochus, Bishop of the Rhesinatis, subscribed to the first Antiochene Council. In the MS. of Corsendonk and in the margin of Surius he is called Bishop of Seriniensis, with the letters r and s transposed through

error. To the same Sebastian, Bishop of Rhizinium, Letter 25 of Book 1 was written,

where also S. Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch,

is treated. Concerning the same, see below, no. 49, where in the MS. of Corsendonk Syriniensi is read for Rhysiniensi.

^b Bacanda is printed in the Register, Letters 4 and 8 cited here of the first book. But Bacauda in Letter 18 of Book 12. In the MS. of Corsendonk and the printed Life before the works: Baganda; in Surius: Bagauda. Bacanda, Bishop of Formiae and Minturnae Formiae and Minturnae were cities of Campania near Latium on the lower sea, or Tyrrhenian.

^c This is S. Erasmus, who is venerated in the Ecclesiastical Office on 2 June, whose body, when the city of Formiae was destroyed in the 9th century, S. Erasmus. was transferred to the neighboring city of Gaeta together with the Episcopal See.

^d These were

cities of Campania opposite the island of Ischia: of these, Cumae is said to have been destroyed in the year 1207

by a contemporary author in the History of the 3rd Translation of S. Juliana the Virgin Cumae. and

Martyr, 16 February, page 882. But Misenum, the town, was demolished by the Saracens in the 9th century,

writes John the Deacon in the History of the Translation of S.

Sosius, 23 September. Misenum.

^e Velitrae is an ancient town of the Volscians in Latium, on the road from Terracina to Rome: Velitrae, Tres-Tabernae while

Tres-Tabernae (of which mention is made in the last chapter of the Acts of the Apostles) were near

the neighboring Astura River, where the place is now called Cisterna. Moreover,

the Bishop of Velitrae was formerly one of the seven Cardinal Bishops who

used to provide vicarious service to the Roman Pontiff.

Pope Eugenius III joined this See to Ostia.

^f Aleria is an ancient maritime city of Corsica situated to the East; even though it is almost ruined, Aleria. it still has its own Bishops under the Archbishop of Pisa.

^g Scyllacium, ancient city of the Bruttii, still an episcopal city in Calabria Ulteriore on the Ionian Sea, Scyllacium. whose gulf is called the Scylacian.

^h Charles de Saint-Paul in his Sacred Geography conjectures that this city of Lisita Lisita. is

Lista of the Sabines, which once was near the Velino River in Abruzzo

Ulteriore near the border of Umbria, where now the City of Caliense or Deicalis

is situated. But why not some town then neighboring Scyllacium called Lusitanum,

as Ughellus calls it among the Scyllacenses, was attached?

^i The following items of this number are absent in Surius; they are found in the Life printed before the works and in the MS. of Corsendonk: but in a different order.

^k Nomentum, ascribed to both Latins and Sabines, is distant about XV Roman miles from Rome: thence toward Umbria those traveling encounter Cures, an ancient city of the Sabines, whose inhabitants are Curites; whence, by Latin formation, they are believed to have been called Quirites. Nomentum. Tiberius of Curium of the Sabines and Servus-Dei of Nomentum, Bishops, were present at the Roman Council under Pope Hilarus in the year 467. But which Anthemius is venerated here we do not know. Leander Albertus in Umbria calls the Church that of D. Euthymius. Gratianus, Bishop of the city of Nomentum, subscribes to the Roman Council held in the year 595 and recorded in Book 4 of the Register, Letter 44: Cures. whom Ughellus here recorded considers to be the Gratiosus, but wrongly ascribes him to the Bishops of Humana. S. Anthemius. Humana, anciently Numana, was a city of Picenum on the Adriatic Sea: which See Pope Martin V subjected to that of Ancona.

^l The aforesaid Roman Council in the year 595 is subscribed by Agnellus, Bishop of the city of Terracina. Both cities had their own Bishops at this time; Terracina. Fundi. Terracina on the border of the pontifical territory and Fundi in the neighboring kingdom of Naples.

^m In the letters of S. Gregory it is called Harenata; in the MS. of Corsendonk: Arerata. Arenata. Could it be that the neighboring Aricia, called by the same name by ancients and moderns, is meant?

^n There survives a letter to Demetrius, Letter 14 of Book 1, and concerning his deposition to the Neapolitans, Letter 3 of Book 2, Indiction 10.

^o There survive letters to Paul the Bishop, Letters 7 and 12 of Book 2, Indiction 10, as also concerning him to the Neapolitans, Letter 6 of the same book. But the title prefixed to Letter 7, Nepis. Gregory to Paul, Bishop of Naples, seems to need correction, and should read "of Nepis," or be omitted, as was done in Letter 12. Nepis is an ancient city of Etruria, scarcely XX Roman miles from Rome, in the very territory of the Patrimony of S. Peter, still illustrious with an Episcopal See.

^p He is charged with that visitation in Letter 20 of Book 2, Indiction 10.

CHAPTER IV

The ordinances of S. Gregory to be observed in the promotion of Clerics, the death of Bishops, and the receiving of gifts.

[19] He retains a Deacon in the Church in which he was ordained: The most discreet Pontiff judged most discreetly concerning the Clerics of other parishes, for both himself and others. Wherefore, writing to Elias the Priest and Abbot of the province of Isauria after some remarks: You commanded, he says, that your son Epiphanius should be promoted by us to sacred Order and sent back to you, but in one thing we have heard you, in the other we could by no means. Book 4, Letter 30 He has indeed been made a Deacon, but whoever has once received sacred Order in this Church no longer has permission to leave it. If, therefore, I could not see you, I have this consolation from the matter, that I find rest in your son.

[20] Likewise to Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse: The bearer of these presents, Felix the Deacon, he permits Clerics, for pressing reasons, to be enrolled in other Churches since he has by no means lapsed into the dogmas of the heretics nor departed from the Catholic faith, led astray by perverse suspicions against the Council of Constantinople, had removed himself in the separation of the Istrians. Book 3, Letter 14 Who, having come to Rome, having received from us, with the Lord's help, a rational explanation, corrected his error by receiving the communion of the Lord's Body and Blood. Since, therefore, as was said, he did not fall into heresy, but erred from the sacred mysteries of the general Church as if from the zeal of right intention, consulting for his weakness and necessities, and especially providing for his sustenance out of piety, we have decided to incardinate him in your Church of Syracuse. Likewise ^a to Fortunatus, Bishop of Naples: We recall that your Fraternity asked us to grant Gratian, Deacon of the Church of ^b Venafrum, to be incardinated in your Church: and since he has neither a Bishop to obey nor his own Church—the enemy preventing it—where he should perform his ministry, we did not think your petition should be deferred: therefore by these present writings we have deemed it necessary

to grant him to you, who will have the license to establish that Deacon, with our authority intervening, as a Cardinal of your Church, with God's favor. Book 5, Letter 11; Book 5, Letter 20 Likewise to Cyprian the Deacon: Just as your Charity laboriously worked for the person of our Brother and fellow Bishop John, that he should be ordained, with God as the author, in the Church of Syracuse; so now it is necessary that through the efforts of your Charity the consolations of governance also be ministered to him. For he declares that he had a certain Priest of his own, who, however, is said to have been ordained by our Brother and fellow Bishop ^c Leo in the Church of Catania. And since he is going to a new Church and it is necessary for him to have his own people there, so that when he is pressed by the tumults of causes, he may find in his private circle a place where he may rest; you should gently and softly persuade our aforesaid Brother and fellow Bishop Leo to yield the aforesaid Priest to him, lest he who so kindly yielded him for ordination should perhaps seem to destitute the ordained one.

[21] He places earlier Clerics ahead of those later ordained. Gregory retained so diligently the most ancient order of ecclesiastical custom, handed down from the Apostles and solemnly preserved up to his own times, that he would place no one, however great in holiness, wisdom, or nobility, ahead of earlier Clerics in assembly, session, standing, or subscription. Whence, writing to Januarius, Bishop of Cagliari: Liberatus, he says, about whom your Fraternity informed us, who is said to be performing the office of Deacon, if he was not made a Cardinal by your predecessor, ought by no reason to be placed ahead of the Deacons ordained by you: lest those whom you are recognized to have approved by consecrating them, you should seem in some way to disapprove by placing another before them. Book 1, Letter 81 Therefore restrain the aforesaid Liberatus, whom the blameworthy spirit of ambition puffs up, with all insistence from the depravity of his intention, and establish him to stand last among the Deacons: lest, while he claims to be unlawfully preferred, he be judged unworthy of the place in which he is now situated. But if, however, you should be invited by his obedience and should wish to make him a Cardinal afterward, remember that his incardination must be abstained from unless he has merited, in the solemn manner, a release from his own Bishop. Since you do not doubt that it agrees with equity that you should not delay to preserve for others what you yourself desire to have preserved for you.

[22] Provoked indeed by the order of this most ancient custom, He commits the Churches of deceased Bishops to neighboring Visitors: Gregory commended the Churches of deceased Bishops to neighboring Bishops, for making an inventory and electing a Bishop of legitimate reputation, writing in this manner: A report sent to us has revealed the death of that Bishop. Wherefore we solemnly delegate to your Fraternity the task of visiting the destitute Church. Book 2, Letter 19, Indiction 10. Which it is fitting for you to carry out in such a way that nothing of the promotions of Clerics, revenue, furnishings, and sacred vessels, or whatever there is in the patrimony of that same Church, should be presumed upon by anyone. And therefore let your Fraternity hasten to go to the aforesaid Church, and hasten to admonish its Clergy and people with constant exhortations that, with party spirit removed, with one and the same consent, they should seek for themselves a Priest to be appointed who may be found worthy of so great a ministry and is by no means rejected by the venerable Canons. Who, when he has been postulated, should come to us to be consecrated with the solemnity of a decree confirmed by the signatures of all and with the testimony of your Charity's letters: taking care above all that no lay person of whatever standing or merit should presume to aspire to this, and that you should not, which God forbid, incur danger to your own Order. But monasteries, if there are any established in his parish, we grant to be under your care and direction, until a proper Bishop shall have been ordained there: so that by the vigilance of your solicitude, with God's help, their way of life may correspond by fitting action to their purpose. Ibid., Letter 27 Likewise to the Clergy, Order, and People: Learning of the death of your Bishop, it was our care to solemnly delegate the visitation of the destitute Church to that Brother and fellow Bishop of ours: to whom we have given instructions that he should not allow anything of the promotions of Clerics, revenue, furnishings, or sacred vessels to be usurped by anyone. Whom it is fitting for you to obey with constant exhortations, so that in the ecclesiastical service a Priest should be sought who by no reasoning disagrees with the venerable canons. Who, when he has been postulated, should come to us to be ordained with the solemnity of a decree confirmed by the signatures of all and accompanied by the page of the Visitor. Taking care above all that you do not presume to choose a lay person of whatever life or merit: for not only will he by no reason be promoted to the summit of the episcopate, but know also that you can merit no pardon through any intercessions: but know for certain that all of you who are found to aspire from a lay person shall be made strangers from office and from communion.

[23] He decrees that nothing should be taken for making an inventory: On no occasion did Gregory permit anything to be taken from the gifts or estates of any Churches. Therefore he writes to Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse, among other things, saying: We have taken care to remind your Charity that if any of the Bishops should depart from this light, or, which God forbid, should be removed for his excesses, with the hierarchical officials and all the senior members of the Clergy assembling and making an inventory of the Church's property in their presence, all things found should be carefully described: Book 3, Letter 11 lest, as was formerly said to happen, certain goods or anything else of the Church's property should be taken as if for the labor of making the inventory. For we desire those things which pertain to the protection of the property of the poor to be carried out in such a way that absolutely no occasion of venality for ambitious men should be left in their affairs. Let the Visitors of Churches and also their Clerics, who toil with them through the parishes of cities not their own, receive, at your direction, some compensation for their labor. For it is just that they should receive their stipend there where they are found to lend their service for the time being.

[24] Gregory shrank from receiving customary payments or gifts from his Bishops He rejects customary payments or gifts. as a kind of pestilent burden, with all the effort of his mind. Whence to Felix, Bishop of Messina: It is fitting, he says, for our consideration to remit the customs which are known to impose a burden upon the Churches: lest they should be compelled to bring in something where they ought rather to expect things to be brought to them. Book 1, Letter 64 Indeed you should maintain the custom inviolate for your Clerics and those of others, and transmit to them annually what is customary: but for us, henceforth, we forbid that anything should be sent. And since we are not delighted by gifts, ^d the palmatianas which your Fraternity sent, we received with thanks. But lest you should perceive any loss from them, we caused them to be sold at a fair price and have sent the sum to your Fraternity, sealed. But since we have learned that your Charity wishes to come to us, we advise by these present writings that you should not undertake the labor of coming: but pray for us, so that as much as the intervals of travel separate us, so much may we, with Christ's help, be joined to one another in spirit and in charity: so that, helping one another by mutual supplication, we may resign the office we have undertaken, whole, to the coming Judge. Likewise to John, Bishop of ^e Prima Justiniana, to whom he both sends the Pallium and commits his authority, after much he writes: I had wished not at all to receive the gifts of your Holiness, because it is very unfitting that we should seem to have received presents from afflicted and distressed Brothers. Book 4, Letter 8 But your representatives overcame me by another argument, bringing them to one from whom the offerings of your Fraternity could not be rejected.

[25] Hence it is that Gregory, not delighting to weary any of the Bishops by a journey to the City, committed his authority throughout all Sicily to Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse, commanding that all Bishops should come to Rome once every five years. Book 2, Letter 4, Indiction 10; Book 6, Letter 19 Whence, writing to Cyprian the Deacon, he says: He decrees that Bishops from Sicily should come to Rome once every five years: Your Charity knows that this custom has long been maintained, that our Brothers and fellow Bishops from Sicily should assemble at Rome once every three years, but we, consulting for their labor, know that we have decreed that they should present themselves here once every five years, etc. Where it should be noted that if the Blessed Gregory were yearning for gifts—which would be sinful to believe—he would not have extended the advent of the Bishops from a three-year to a five-year period; rather, he would beyond doubt have hastened it from a three-year to a two-year period.

[26] he refuses to accept the prices of goods: But when would he who feared to accept the alms of another for dispensing, yet both received them with fear and dispensed them most cautiously, have gladly received gifts? And who had been so accustomed to give of his own and not to accept what belonged to others that he even utterly refused the prices of certain goods? Whence he writes to Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria, among other things, saying: Concerning the logs, which you write were too short: it was the size of the ship through which they were sent that caused this. Book 3, Letter 29 Because if a larger ship had come, I could have sent larger logs as well. As to your saying that if we send larger ones, you will pay the price: we give thanks for the generosity indeed, but we are forbidden by the Gospel's prohibition from accepting a price. For we did not buy the logs which we send: and how can we accept a price, since it is written: Freely you have received, freely give? Matt. 10 Therefore now, according to the size of the ship, through the ship-master we have sent small logs: but next year, if it pleases almighty God, we are preparing larger ones.

[27] It is not surprising that the most generous Pontiff took no customary payments from his suffragans and no gifts, He provides necessities for his suffragan Bishops. since he himself, if they seemed to have any necessities, ministered to them quite cheerfully. Whence he writes to Venantius, Bishop of Perugia, saying: We have learned that our Brother and fellow Bishop Ecclesius is utterly suffering from the cold, because he does not have a winter garment, and since he asked that something be sent to him by us, we have sent to your Fraternity through the bearer of these presents for this purpose ^f a double-napped cloak, a tunic, and a breast-plate, so that they should be sent to him by you without delay, and therefore strive to send that same thing to our aforesaid Brother with all speed, and do not omit to report to us in your letters that you have sent it. Book 10, Letter 52 But act so that you make no delay in sending, because the cold is severe. Likewise to the same ^g Ecclesius, Bishop of Chiusi: Receiving the writings of your Fraternity, we were saddened to learn that you had been gravely ill and were still weak. Book 8, Letter 46 And although we had the desire of seeing your Holiness, you have nevertheless done well to keep yourselves there at this time, lest by coming here you should cause us renewed sadness from the distress of your illness. And after a few words: We have sent you one horse, such as we could find, as a blessing from S. Peter, so that you may have it to ride after your illness.

^a Fortunatus,

Bishop of Naples, was made in the year 593, whom S. Gregory instructs about the manner of living in his Church in Letter 61 of Book 2, Indiction 11. Fortunatus the Bishop. He inscribed very many letters to the same.

^b Venafrum is in the same Campania as Naples, an Episcopal See, at the Apennine mountain, not far from the Volturno River. Venafrum.

^c S. Gregory mentions Leo in Letter 70 of Book 1. He wrote to him Letters 34 of Book 3, 31 of Book 5, 21 of Book 8, 5 of Book 9, and 22 of Book 11.

^d Palmatianae, perhaps mats or similar items made from palm leaves.

^e Prima Justiniana,

a city of eastern Illyricum, named by the Emperor Justinian who was from there,

since it was formerly called Achrida; it is also called the royal city of Bulgaria. But S. Gregory commands

the Bishop John to have Felix, Bishop of Sardica, subject to him, in Letter

10 of Book 4.

^f Amphimallum: napped on both sides, just as heteromallum is napped on one side only. Surius has amphimachum; the MS. of Corsendonk has amphibalum, a word that is also used for a garment.

^g In this letter of S. Gregory, Eulogius was printed by error; in the preceding one, Ecclesius more correctly. We

are surprised that he was omitted by Ughellus from the Catalogue of Bishops of Chiusi. Chiusi is

a city of Etruria in the territory now of Siena, near the district of Perugia.

CHAPTER V

Vices of certain Bishops reproved by S. Gregory.

[28] Under such a Patron the Pontiffs of that era,

enriched, What virtues he requires in Bishops; began both to adorn new Churches built from the foundations

and also to renovate old ones most splendidly. For Gregory sought

nothing in his fellow Bishops more carefully than holiness, wisdom,

and generosity. Which,

that it may shine forth more significantly, I adduce certain of his letters,

by whose testimony my reader may recognize

the vices of certain Bishops that were reproved.

For he says in a letter to ^a Secundinus, the servant of God,

among other things:

[29] Rouse our Brother Bishop Marinianus

with whatever words you can, he reproaches Marinianus for avarice: because I suspect him of having fallen asleep. Book 5, Letter 29

For certain men came to me, among whom were

certain old beggars. Who were questioned by me,

from whom they had received and what: and item by item they reported

how much had been given to them and by whom on the journey. When I carefully

asked them about the aforesaid Brother, what he had given them:

they replied that they had asked him, but had received nothing from him:

so that they did not even receive bread for the journey, which it was always

customary for that Church to give to everyone. For they said:

He answered us, saying: I do not have anything to give

you. And I am astonished if he who has garments, has silver,

has cellars, does not have what he ought to give to the poor.

Tell him, therefore, to change his mind together with his position:

not to believe that reading and prayer alone

suffice for him, so that he should strive to sit apart

and produce no fruit from his hand: but let him have a generous hand,

let him attend to those suffering need, let him consider

the want of others as his own: because if he does not have these things,

he holds the name of Bishop in vain.

[30] Likewise to ^b Serenus, Bishop of Marseilles, after some remarks:

It had been reported to us that, kindled by inconsiderate

zeal, he rebukes Serenus for broken images, you had broken the images of the Saints under the excuse

that they ought not to be worshiped. Book 9, Letter 9 And

indeed that you forbade them to be worshiped, we entirely praise:

but that you broke them, we reprove. Tell me, Brother, has any

Priest ever been heard to have done what you have done?

If nothing else, at least this should have held you back: that, with others

despised, you should not believe yourself alone to be holy

and wise. For it is one thing to worship a picture, and another

through the story of a picture to learn what is to be worshiped.

For what Scripture provides to readers, this the picture provides

to the ignorant who look upon it: because in it the unlearned see

what they should follow: in it those who do not know letters

read. he explains their use, Whence, especially for the Gentiles, the picture takes the place of reading. Which your great care should have considered,

you who dwell among the Gentiles, lest while you are incautiously

kindled with righteous zeal, you should generate scandal

for the more fierce minds. Therefore what was not to be worshiped

in the Churches ought not to have been broken, but was placed there

solely for the purpose of instructing the minds of the ignorant.

And because antiquity not without reason admitted

that the histories of the Saints be painted in venerable places,

if you had tempered your zeal with discretion, and teaches its antiquity: you could

without doubt both have wholesomely obtained what you intended

and not have scattered the gathered flock, but could rather

have gathered the scattered: so that the title of Pastor might

excel in you by its merit, not the blame of the scatterer.

Hence, moreover, while you too incautiously pursue this

impulse of your mind, you are reported to have so scandalized your children

that the greatest part of them has suspended itself from your communion.

When, therefore, will you bring back the erring sheep to the Lord's fold,

who cannot retain those you have? Therefore we exhort you to strive to be

solicitous at least now, and to restrain yourself from this presumption, and

to hasten with all effort and all zeal to recall to yourself,

with fatherly sweetness, the minds of those whom you recognize

to be disjoined from your unity.

[31] He also writes to Januarius, Bishop of Cagliari,

after some remarks, saying: Among many complaints, Isidorus,

a most illustrious man, he deters Januarius from avenging his own injuries: has complained that he was excommunicated

and anathematized by your Fraternity without cause.

Book 2, Letter 34. Indiction 10. Which, when we wished to learn the reason from your

Cleric who was present, it became known that it was done

for no other cause than that he had insulted you.

Which greatly afflicted us. Because if this is so, you show yourself

to think nothing of heavenly things, but signify that your way of life

is earthly, since for the avenging of your own injury,

which is forbidden by the sacred rules, you brought down

the curse of anathema. Whence

henceforth be utterly circumspect and solicitous,

and do not presume to inflict such things upon anyone again

for the defense of your own injury. For if you should do anything of the sort,

know that afterward it will be punished in you.

[32] Likewise to the same: Paul the Apostle, preacher of the almighty Lord,

commands, saying: Do not rebuke an elder.

Book 7, Letter 1, Indiction 2; 1 Tim. 5. But this rule of his is to be observed

when the fault of the elder does not by its example drag

the hearts of the young to destruction. And he reproves him for plowing a harvest on the Lord's Day. But where the elder provides

an example of destruction to the young, he must be struck

with a severe rebuke. For it is written: The snare of the young

are all of you. Isa. 42. And again the Prophet says: A child of a hundred

years shall be accursed. Isa. 66. But such great wickedness

has come to my ears about your old age that, had we not still

considered the matter humanly, we would already have struck you with a fixed curse.

For it has been told me that on the Lord's Day, before you celebrated

the solemnities of the Masses, you went to plow the harvest

of the bearer of these presents, and after plowing it you celebrated

the solemnities of the Masses: and after the solemnities of the Masses

you did not even fear to uproot the boundary markers

of his property. What punishment this deed ought to have been followed by,

all who hear it know. We had indeed been uncertain about so great

a perversity: but our Son, Abbot Cyriacus, questioned by us,

declared that while he was at Cagliari, he had come to know that it was so.

And because we still spare your gray hairs, we exhort you:

come to your senses at last, old man, and restrain yourself from such levity

of morals and perversity of deeds. Because the nearer

you draw to death, the more solicitous and

fearful you ought to become. And indeed the sentence of punishment should have been

hurled against you: but because we know your simplicity together with your old age,

for the time being we are silent.

[33] Gregory absolutely forbade all Pontiffs from reading

the books of the Gentiles: Wherefore to ^c Desiderius,

saying: When many good things had been reported to us

about your studies, such joy was born in our heart that we could not

permit ourselves to deny those things which your Fraternity

had asked to be granted. Book 9, Letter 48 But afterward it came

to us, what we cannot recall without shame,

that your Fraternity is expounding grammar to certain persons.

Which thing we took so ill and so vehemently spurned

that we turned what had been previously said into groaning and sadness: because

in one mouth the praises of Jupiter and the praises of Christ cannot coexist.

And how grave and unspeakable it is for Bishops to sing

what would not even befit a devout layman, consider for yourself.

For although our most beloved Son, the Priest Candidus,

coming afterward, carefully questioned about this matter,

denied it, and strove to excuse you; it has nevertheless

not yet departed from our mind. Because as

execrable as it is to have this reported about a Priest, so much the more

must it be ascertained by strict and truthful explanation

whether it is so or not. Whence if after this it clearly appears

that these things which were reported to us are false, and it is established

that you do not study trifles and secular letters; we shall both

give thanks to our God, who has not permitted your heart to be stained

by the blasphemous praises of the wicked, and we shall already

treat securely and without any doubt about granting what you request.

[34] He likewise writes to ^d Natalis, Bishop of Salona,

saying: From many coming from your city, most reverend

Brother, I have learned that, with pastoral care abandoned,

you are occupied solely with banquets. Book 2, Letter 14, Indiction 10 he reproves Natalis for negligence and banquets: Which, having heard, I would not

believe if I did not confirm it by the experience of your own actions.

For that you by no means study reading, by no means

apply yourself to exhortation, but even ignore the very

practice of the ecclesiastical order, this is the testimony:

that you do not know how to maintain the reverence owed to those under whom you are placed.

[35] But since Natalis by vain Philosophy was striving

in his own writings to demonstrate himself blameless,

the gentlest Doctor Gregory wrote back thus: and he presses the one attempting to excuse himself: In

the defense of your banquets, your Fraternity mentions the banquet

of Abraham, in which, as the sacred text witnesses, he is said

to have received three Angels. Ibid., Letter 37. But by this example we do

not reprove your Blessedness, if we learn that you

receive Angels in hospitality. Again your Fraternity recounts

that Isaac, having been satisfied, gave his son a blessing.

Both of which things from the Old Testament,

because they were so performed through history as to signify

something through allegory, would that we might so run through the deeds

by reading that we might also, by foreseeing, perceive the deeds

to be done. For he, greeting one in three Angels,

declared the subsistences of the Trinity to be of one substance.

Gen. 8, Gen. 27. And the other, having been satisfied, blesses his son,

because he who is filled with divine banquets, he shows that the divine banquets are sacred Scripture, his understanding

is extended into the power of Prophecy. But the divine banquets

are the words of the sacred text. If, therefore, you read constantly, if drawing

an example from outward things you penetrate inner things,

you fill the stomach of the mind, as it were satisfied from the hunt of the field:

so that, with your son set before you—that is, the people you have received—

you may be able to announce things to come. But he already grows dim in this world

who prophesies something about God: Because it is truly

worthy that he should now see less here through concupiscence

whose understanding shines inwardly through intelligence.

Therefore draw these things to yourselves, and if you recognize yourselves to be such,

there is nothing that you need doubt about your own estimation.

I find also that your Blessedness rejoices if

it bears the name of glutton together with the Author of things. Matt. 11. Which I briefly explain: because if what is said about you is false, you truly bear this name with the Author of things: but if what is said about you is true, since who doubts that what was said about Him was false, the same name cannot absolve you, whose cause is different. For with Him the thief about to perish also received the cross: but the one whom his own guilt held, a like crucifixion did not absolve. I, however, beseech with whatever prayers I can, that not only the name but also the cause may join your most holy Fraternity to our Author, God. But the banquets which are held from the intention of bestowing charity, and that banquets should be held out of charity. your Holiness rightly praises in your letters. But it should be known that then they truly proceed from charity, when in them the life of those absent is not bitten, when no one is reproved by mockery, and when in them are heard not the vain tales of worldly affairs, but the words of sacred reading: when the body is served no more than is necessary, but only its infirmity is refreshed, so that it may be kept for the uses of exercising virtue. If, therefore, you do these things at your banquets, you are (I confess) the master of the abstemious. As for the testimony of the Apostle Paul which you placed before me—"Let not the one who does not eat judge the one who eats"—I think it was altogether incongruous: because neither do I not eat, nor was it said by the Apostle Paul for this reason, that the members of Christ, which are connected to one another in His body, that is, in the Church, by the bond of charity, should in no way have any care for one another. But if neither I belonged to you nor you belonged to me, I would rightly be compelled to be silent: so that I would not reprove one who could not be corrected. This saying, therefore, was spoken solely about those who strive to judge those whose care is not committed to them. But since, with the Lord as our Author, we are one, if we are silent to you about the things which should be corrected, we sin greatly.

[36] He forbids a Bishop to be absent from his Church: Gregory by no means permitted any Pontiff to depart from his parish even for a little while without an utterly unavoidable necessity, and he most vehemently forbade them to be occupied in worldly affairs. Whence he writes to ^e Romanus the Defensor, saying: It has been brought to us that our most reverend Brother, Bishop Basilius, is occupied, like one of the laity, in secular causes and uselessly attending at praetoria. Book 8, Letter 11 Which thing, since it renders him worthless and annihilates priestly reverence, as soon as your experience has received this precept, let it compel him to return with such strict execution that, at your insistence, he may not be permitted to linger there for five days under any excuse: lest, if you in any way allow him to remain there longer, you yourself begin to be gravely culpable before us together with him.

[37] Likewise to Anthemius the Subdeacon: It has come to us that Pimenius, Bishop of the city of ^f Amalfi, is not content to reside in his Church, but wanders about outside through various places. Book 5, Letter 23 Seeing which, he rebukes Pimenius, Bishop of Amalfi, for wandering through various places: others also do not keep themselves in the fortress: but following his example, they prefer rather to dwell outside. And since by doing this they rather invite the enemy to plunder them: therefore by this authority we command you not to cease warning the aforesaid Bishop to presume to do this no longer, but to reside in his Church in the manner of a Priest. And if you should learn that he is not corrected after your warning, you shall take care to assign him to a monastery and to inform us by all means, so that you may know by our further precept what you should do.

^a To Secundinus, the servant of God, an enclosed recluse, the long Letter 54 of Book 7, Indiction 2, was written.

^b To Bishop Serenus, S. Augustine had previously been commended in Letter 52 of Book 5, whom he had sent to England, as we said above. S. Serenus. He is venerated on 2 August.

^c S. Desiderius, This appears to be S. Desiderius, Archbishop of Vienne and Martyr, whose Life is to be illustrated on 25 May.

^d To Natalis, Bishop of Salona, Letters 19 and 20 of Book 1 were written; another is referred to below, Book 4, no. 28. Salona was a city of Dalmatia, Natalis, Bishop of Salona. celebrated for the palace of Diocletian, but it has since perished.

^e The letter is inscribed to the Defensor of Sicily.

^f Amalfi,

in the interior Principality of the kingdom of Naples, a city honored with the title of a Duchy; but made more illustrious by the body of S. Andrew the Apostle translated there. Amalfi.

CHAPTER VI

By the example of his aunts, S. Gregory reproves the sloth and worldly desires of Bishops.

[38] It is not surprising if Gregory, from the ministry entrusted to him, took care to reprove with salutary words the vices of any Superiors, The three aunts of S. Gregory, who did not hesitate to commit to the memory of posterity, for the instruction of the people, the fall of his own aunt. Homily 38 on the Gospels. For from the Gospel text which says, "Many are called but few are chosen," wishing to distinguish by forms of examples the calling of many from the election of a few, he says: My father had three sisters, who were all consecrated Virgins. Matt. 22. Of whom one was called Tharsilla, another Gordiana, another Aemiliana. All three, converted with one ardor, at one and the same time consecrated, living under the strictness of a Rule, led a common life in their own house. And when they had been for a long time in that same way of life, Tharsilla and Aemiliana began to grow daily in their love for their Creator, and while they were here only in body, daily to pass in spirit to eternal things. But on the contrary, Gordiana's spirit began to grow lukewarm in the love of interior warmth through daily decreases, and little by little to return to the love of this world. But Tharsilla was accustomed to say frequently to her sister Aemiliana with great groaning: I see that our sister Gordiana is not of our lot. For I perceive that she is flowing outward and does not guard her heart for what she has professed. They strove to correct her daily with gentle reproof and to reform her from levity of morals to the gravity of her habit. Who indeed would suddenly resume an expression of gravity among the words of reproof, but when the hour of that same reproof had passed, the superimposed gravity of honorable conduct would immediately pass as well: and at once she would return to frivolous words. She delighted in the company of lay girls, and every person who was not devoted to this world was exceedingly burdensome to her. S. Tharsilla admonished by S. Felix, But on a certain night, to this Tharsilla, my aunt, who among her sisters had grown in the honor and summit of holiness by the virtue of continuous prayer, the study of zealous affliction, singular abstinence, and the gravity of her life as venerable, as she herself related, our great-great-grandfather Felix, Bishop of this Roman Church, appeared in a vision and showed her a mansion of perpetual brightness, saying: Come, for I receive you into this mansion of light. Who, soon afterward seized by a fever, came to the last day. And just as noble women and men come when they are dying, and many gather to console their relatives: at that same hour, awaiting her departure, men and women stood around the bed, among whom my mother also was present. and dying as Christ appeared: When suddenly, looking upward, she saw Jesus coming, and with great intensity began to cry out to those standing around, saying: Step back, step back, Jesus is coming. And as she gazed upon Him whom she saw, that holy soul was freed from the flesh. And immediately such a fragrance of wondrous odor was spread about that the very sweetness showed to all that the Author of sweetness had come there. When her body, according to the custom of the dead, had been stripped for washing, it was found that on her elbows and knees, in the manner of camels, the skin had grown hardened from long use of prayer: S. Aemiliana, summoned by her, dies: and what her living spirit had always done, her dead flesh testified. These things, however, took place before the day of the Lord's Nativity. When this had passed, Tharsilla soon appeared in a vision to her sister Aemiliana through the nocturnal visitation, saying: Come, for since I spent the Lord's Nativity without you, I will celebrate the holy Theophany with you. To whom she immediately replied, anxious about the salvation of their sister Gordiana: Even if I come alone, to whom do I leave our sister Gordiana? To whom with a sad face she again said: Come: for our sister Gordiana has been counted among the laity. Which vision was soon followed by bodily illness, and Gordiana abandons her Profession, forgetful of divine fear: so, as had been said, before the day of the Lord's Apparition, with that same illness growing worse, she died. But Gordiana, as soon as she found herself left alone, her wickedness increased: and what previously lay hidden in the desire of her thought, this she afterward carried out in the effect of her depraved action. For forgetful of the fear of the Lord, forgetful of modesty and reverence, forgetful of her consecration, she afterward married the steward of her own fields. Behold, all three were previously converted with one ardor, but not all persevered in one and the same pursuit: because, according to the Lord's voice: Many are called, but few are chosen.

[39] Gregory also subtly inquired into the negligences of his subjects and corrected them with the most severe reproofs. Book 7, Letter 9, Indiction 1. Whence, writing to Vitalianus, Bishop of ^b Siponto: If, he says, you had known how to be either the guardian of the Religious habit another similar case is pointed out: or a Bishop, the daughter of Tullianus of glorious memory, the master of the soldiers, could not, while you were there, either have cast off her religious garments and returned to the secular habit, or have been permitted to send to us a perverse letter. But because you are weighed down by excessive sloth and excessive torpor, in your own disgrace an illicit deed has been committed with impunity for the present. For if, as we have said, you had been solicitous, the punishment of the most wicked woman should have reached us before the report of her fault. Since, therefore, you are so dull and so negligent that unless you have experienced the canonical coercion upon yourself, you do not know how to maintain strictness and discipline in others: how you should be solicitous, we shall show you, if it pleases the Lord, at a suitable time.

[40] Likewise to Sergius the Defensor: If you were a man or had any discretion, another's negligence is reproved: you should have been such a guardian of regular discipline that the things which are committed there unlawfully should have been corrected by punishment before the report of them reached us. Ibid., Letter 10 But since excessive stupidity makes you negligent, we are offended not only by them but are also provoked to punish your sloth.

[41] Likewise to Anthemius, Subdeacon of Campania: It has come to us that our Brother and fellow Bishop Paschasius likewise the worldly pursuits of Bishop Paschasius is so idle and negligent in all things that in nothing is it recognized that he is a Bishop: to such a degree that neither his Church, nor the monasteries, nor his children or oppressed poor feel any sign of his loving care toward them, nor does he lend any aid of defense to those supplicating him in matters where it is just: and, what is still graver to say, he does not endure to receive the counsels of the wise and those advising rightly by any reasoning: so that what

he himself cannot attend to by himself, he may at least learn from another: but, with the matters that pertain to the Pastor's care set aside, worldly pursuits are blamed: he occupies himself uselessly with all his zeal in building a ship. Book 11, Letter 31 Whence, as it is said, it has happened that he has already lost four hundred or more solidi. This also is added to his faults: that he is said to go down to the sea daily, so despised, with one or two Clerics, that among his own people he is a laughingstock, and to outsiders he appears so worthless and contemptible that he is judged to have nothing of episcopal talent or reverence. And if this is so, know it is not without your fault, since you have delayed in rebuking and restraining him as is fitting. Since all this not only condemns him but is also shown to pertain to the disgrace of the priestly office; we wish that you should publicly admonish him before other Priests or certain of his noble children and exhort him to shake off the vice of torpor and not be idle; but to be vigilant in the care of his Church and monasteries, to show fatherly charity to his children, to be active in the defense of the poor with discretion: in the matters where justice advises, to be upright: to receive willingly the counsels of the wise: so that both that city may be consoled by his solicitude, and he himself may be able to cover over the faults of his sloth. But if, which we do not believe, after this admonition of ours he shall still attempt to be negligent in his usual manner, he must be sent to us by all means: so that here, being present, he may be able to learn what a Priest ought to do and in what manner, according to the fear of God.

[42] Likewise to the same: As often as we hear those things about our Brothers and fellow Bishops the negligence of the Bishops of Campania is rebuked which are able both to show them to be reprehensible and to generate sadness for us, the necessity compels us to think no little about their correction. Ibid., Letter 33 Since, therefore, it has been reported to us that the Bishops of Campania are so negligent that, forgetful of their honor, they neither display toward their Churches nor toward their children the care of paternal vigilance, nor bear solicitude for the monasteries, nor devote themselves to the protection of the oppressed poor: therefore by this authority we command you to summon them to you and sternly admonish them by our mandate to be idle no longer, but to show by their deeds that they have priestly zeal and solicitude. And let them be so vigilant in those things which it is fitting for them to do justly according to God, that no further murmur about them may exasperate us. But if you should learn that any one of them is negligent after this, send him to us without any excuse: so that he may be able to feel in himself, through regular strictness, how grave it is to be unwilling to be corrected from things that are reprehensible and very much to be blamed. Likewise to ^c Victor, Bishop of Panormos, after some remarks: Whose fault and of the Bishop of Panormos: you already are, he says, you understand, that I, placed so far away, should learn what is done in your city; and though occupied by so many cares, should arrange what ought to be done. Book 4, Letter 4

[43] The Bishop of Taranto is judged for his concubine. It should be noted, indeed, that just as the most discreet Prelate Gregory either scarcely or never let manifest crimes go without punishment; so indeed in doubtful matters he would never at any time bring forth a definitive sentence. Wherefore he writes to Andrew, Bishop of Taranto, saying: He who is conscious of his guilt will look with confidence upon the tribunal of the eternal Judge, who strives to appease him now with worthy penance. Book 2, Letter 44, Indiction 11. For we have learned in manifest truth that you had a concubine. From which a contrary suspicion has also arisen among certain people: but since in ambiguous matters the judgment ought not to be definitive, we have chosen to commit this to your own conscience. For which reason, if you recall that, while established in sacred Order, you were stained by intercourse with her, depositing the honor of the Priesthood, by no means presume to approach the ministry, knowing that you minister at the peril of your soul, and that you will without doubt render an account to our God if, being conscious of this crime, you choose to remain, concealing the truth, in the Order in which you are.

^a Concerning SS. Tharsilla and Aemiliana, and S. Felix the Pope, see above.

^b Concerning Siponto, a city of Apulia now destroyed, see 7 February in the Life of S. Laurence, Bishop of Siponto. Ughellus mentions this Vitalianus.

^c To Victor, Bishop of Panormos, Letters 41 of Book 5, 94 of Book 7, and 32 of Book 10 were also written. Rocchus Pirrus treats of his primacy.

CHAPTER VII

The precepts of S. Gregory concerning evil Counselors, the familiarity of the depraved

with Bishops, the wrath of Superiors, and the protection

of free men.

[44] He judges that one should abstain from wicked counselors, For this reason the most solicitous guardian of the Church of God, Gregory, arguing against the Counselors of each person, strove as much as in him lay to save absolutely everyone. Whence, writing to Venantius, from a monk now a Patrician, after some remarks, he says: I know that when my letter is received, friends immediately gather, literate clients are summoned, and counsel concerning the cause of life is sought from the promoters of death. Book 1, Letter 33 Who, since they love not you but your things, say nothing to you except what pleases for the moment. Such also were, as you yourself recall, the Counselors of old who led you to the commission of so great a crime. And that I may speak to you something from a secular author: all things are to be discussed with friends, but first about the friends themselves: but if in your cause you seek a man as a Counselor, I ask that you accept me as your Counselor. No one can be more faithful to you for counsel than one who loves not your things but you. Likewise to John, Bishop of the Church of Constantinople, after some remarks: I had written back to the most blessed lord John: but I believe that your familiar, that young man, wrote back to me, who has yet learned nothing about God, who does not know the bowels of charity, who is accused by all in heavenly matters, who fears not God and is not ashamed before men to lay daily snares against the lives of various persons through secret testaments. Book 2, Letter 33, Indiction 11 Believe me, most reverend Brother, if you have a perfect zeal for truth, you ought first to correct him: so that from those who are near you, even those who are not near may be better corrected by example: Do not receive the tongue of that man. He should be directed by the counsel of your Holiness, but your Holiness should not be bent to the words of that man. For if it hears him, I know that it cannot have peace with its Brothers. Likewise to Januarius, Bishop of Cagliari: Those, he says, by whose counsel you plowed the harvest of another and did not fear to uproot the boundary markers, we decree to be excommunicated for two months: in such a way that if anything should happen to them during the space of two months as mortal beings, they shall not be deprived of the blessing of the viaticum. Book 7, Letter 1, Indiction 2. Henceforth, however, be cautious against their counsels and guard yourself carefully, lest, if you have been a disciple to them in evil, to whom you ought to have been a master in good, we shall spare neither your simplicity nor your old age any longer. Likewise to ^a Callinicus, Exarch of Italy, after some remarks: Know that I was not a little saddened that the Major-domo, who received the petition of the Bishop wishing to return from the schism, professed that he had lost it, and was afterward held by the adversaries of the Church. Which I judge to have been done not out of negligence but out of venality. Whence I am astonished that your Excellency did not punish this fault in him: but since I was astonished at this, I quickly reproved myself. For where the lord Justin, who does not have peace with the Catholic Church, gives counsel, heretics cannot be won over. Furthermore, you are said to wish to celebrate the birthday of S. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, in the city of Rome. And we pray to the almighty Lord that He may protect you with His mercy and grant you to fulfill your vows. But I ask that the aforesaid most eloquent man may come at the same time. And if he shall not come, let him withdraw from your service: or certainly if your Excellency, perhaps because of emerging affairs, shall be unable to come, let him nevertheless communicate with the unity of the holy Church. For I hear he is a good man, if he were not of the worst error.

[45] Likewise to Serenus, Bishop of Marseilles, after much: It has come to us that the fallen and criminal should be removed from the familiarity of Bishops, that your Charity readily receives wicked men in your company or counsel: to such a degree that you are said to have as a familiar a certain Priest who, after his fall, is still said to be wallowing in the pollution of his iniquity. Book 9, Letter 9 Which indeed we do not entirely believe, because he who receives such a man does not correct crimes, but rather seems to give others license to perpetrate such things. But lest perhaps by some deception or dissimulation he has persuaded you to receive him and still hold him dear; it is fitting for you not only to expel him far from yourself but also to cut off his excesses with priestly zeal in every way: and others who are said to be wicked, strive to restrain with fatherly exhortation from their wickedness and to recall them to the path of righteousness. But if, which God forbid, you should see that they profit in nothing from salutary admonition, you shall take care to cast these away from you as well, lest their depravities, from the fact that they are received, should seem not to displease: and not only should they themselves remain uncorrected, but others also should be corrupted by the reception of them. And consider how both execrable before men and perilous before the eyes of God it is, if through the one by whom crimes ought to be punished, vices should seem to be nourished. Therefore, dearest Brother, attend to these things diligently, and strive to act so that you both wholesomely correct the wicked and do not introduce scandal from the company of evil men into the souls of your children.

[46] The most righteous Judge Gregory by no means permitted one person to be punished for the fault of another. Therefore, writing to Godescalcus, Duke of Campania, he says: That solicitude of Superiors is useful, that caution is praiseworthy, in which reason does everything and fury claims nothing for itself. Book 8, Letter 12 The power, therefore, must be restrained under reason, [he holds that the wrath of superiors should be restrained, and that the fault of one should not be harmful to another:] nor should anything be done before the agitated mind returns to tranquility. For in a time of agitation, wrath considers just everything it has done. It has come to us, therefore, that your Magnitude was driven by the impulse of fury to such a point that you not only caused the doors of the monastery of the holy Archangel to be broken, but also what was found there to be plundered. Moreover, you are said to have so raged against the Abbot of that same monastery that, had he not hidden himself, escaping the time of your fury, he would have incurred no light danger. Finally, so terrified by fear of you, he has not dared to go out until now from the house in which he had previously taken refuge. And lest you should seem to have done this in vain perhaps, you impute the flight of that same monk who went over to the enemy, as far as has been reported to us, to his fault, asserting that he fled by his will. Which

if this is so, we are saddened and greatly marvel at your wisdom. For if you think it lawful that the fault of some should be harmful to others, many can be subject to this charge. For the servants of various nobles, the clerics of many churches, the monks of various monasteries, and the men of many judges have often surrendered themselves to the enemy. Therefore, if this is believed, then surely the masters of servants, the bishops of clerics, the abbots of monks, and the judges of various fugitives are all constituted under guilt and crime. Did not many people in the days of your greatness flee from the city in which you reside to the soldiers of the Lombards? And who could be found of such indiscretion and such folly as to reckon their iniquity applicable to you?

[47] Gregory likewise defended the liberty of every individual person against the insolence of judges, that free persons should not be imprisoned and beaten: with free voice no less. bk. 8, ep. 51 Whence, writing to the ex-consul Leontius after some other matters, he says: If Libertinus is found culpable in this matter of the surety, what he may allege on his own behalf regarding other matters, I do not know. One thing, however, I know well and firmly: that even if he committed some fraud against the public treasury, his property ought to have been struck, not his liberty. For in this matter, that free men are beaten or imprisoned — to say nothing of the fact that Almighty God is offended, to say nothing of the fact that your reputation is gravely burdened — nevertheless the times of our most pious Emperor are utterly darkened. For this is the difference between the kings of the nations and the Roman Emperor: that the kings of the nations are lords of slaves, but the Roman Emperor is lord of free men. Whence, whatever you do, you ought to act first with justice preserved, and then with liberty guarded in all things. For it is written: "See that you do not do to another what you would not wish done to yourself." Tob. 4, Matt. 7 And Truth itself says: "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do also to them." Matt. 7 Therefore, in the liberty of those who have been committed to your examination, you ought especially to attend to your own; and if you do not wish your own liberty to be injured by your superiors, guard the liberty of your subjects by honoring it. For we know who said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Since his words do not pass away but are fulfilled in all things, let us fear what he says again: "With what measure you have measured, it shall be measured to you." Matt. 24, Matt. 7 But what does your glory think — that if we act proudly, if cruelly, despising God, we please a man before us? By no means. For he who is despised irritates against us the very one whom, by despising God, we wish to please. Let us therefore take care to please God in all things, who is powerful and able to bring even angry men to gentleness; for, as I have said, even gentle men are provoked to wrath when God is indignant. But if it is said that public frauds cannot be discovered without beatings and threats, I could admit this if the lord Leontius had not come in the matter of the accounts; for it is also true that those are wont to exceed with their hands who are deficient in sense and speech.

^a Callinicus the Exarch. Callinicus succeeded the Exarch Romanus in the year 598 — called Gallinicus by Surius — far more compliant to St. Gregory than Romanus had been; he died in the year 602. Mention of him is made below in bk. 4, no. 12.

CHAPTER VIII

The solicitude of St. Gregory in returning apostates to monasteries, and in reducing exactions. Protection of the monastic life against the Emperor's edict.

[48] He admonishes the Exarch of Italy not to protect an apostate from a monastery, Gregory restrained the greed and crimes of all judges, as if with a bit and bridle, by the most powerful authorities of his pontificate; and if he was unable to correct some gently from their depravity, he exposed them through the reproofs of his writings. Whence he writes to Romanus, the Exarch of Italy residing at Ravenna, saying: Before your excellency, the audacity of wicked men ought to find the stings of correction rather than the comfort of defense. bk. 4, ep. 18 For it is very grave that there should be a refuge for wicked action where it is fitting that the censure of discipline should proceed. It has come to our notice that a certain priest named Speciosus, who for good reason had been assigned to a monastery by ^b John, our brother and fellow bishop, went out from there against the will of his pastor, and, despising the force of ecclesiastical constitution, dares to resist the aforesaid bishop, relying on your protection. Since this undoubtedly strikes at the reputation of your excellency, it is necessary that you should, with due discretion, suspend your protection of him: lest, if by occasion of your name he proves disobedient or contumacious to his pastor, he be compelled in time to defend even your own judges against you, and your excellency be forced to take offense at this, and we likewise be saddened by your discord. We have also learned — which it is impious to say — or protect nuns who marry: that certain women who until now remained in religious and monastic habit are putting off the religious garment and — which we cannot relate without great sorrow — are being joined to husbands. But that they presume to say or attempt this, they are said to be supported by the patronage of your favor. This the bitterness of the perversity itself does not permit us to believe. We therefore ask that you should in no way involve yourself in so great a sin. For we will by no means suffer such iniquity to remain unpunished before God. Whence again we beseech that your excellency not involve itself in the defense of such causes: lest both God avenge his own injury, and the fault of others breed discord between us. Likewise to Venantius, once a monk, now a patrician: Many foolish men thought that if I were raised to the order of the episcopate, he gravely exhorts another apostate to return to the monastery. I would refuse to address you or correspond with you by letters; but it is not so. bk. 1, ep. 33 For I am now compelled by the very necessity of my position not to remain silent. And after a little: Compelled therefore by this consideration, whether you will or not, I will speak. For I desire with all my strength either that you be saved, or that I be rescued from your death. For you recall in what habit you once were, and, setting aside the punishment of the strict judgment above, you recognize to what you have fallen. Weigh therefore your fault while there is time; dread, while you can, the strictness of the future Judge: lest you then feel that bitterness when you can no longer escape it by any weeping. Matt. 12 And below: As the Gospel testifies, you know that divine severity reproves us for idle speech and subtly demands an accounting for every useless word. Acts 5 Consider, then, what it will do concerning perverse deeds, if it rejects some at its judgment for mere speech. Ananias had vowed money to God, which afterward, overcome by the devil's persuasion, he withheld; but you know well with what death he was punished. If that man, then, was worthy of the peril of death who took from God the coins he had given, consider with how great peril you will be worthy at the divine judgment, who have withdrawn from Almighty God not coins but yourself — you who had devoted yourself to him under the monastic habit. Wherefore, if you will hear the words of my correction and follow them, you will know in the end how kind and sweet they are. Behold, I confess that I speak in sorrow, and, overcome by the sadness of your deed, I can scarcely bring forth words; and yet your mind, conscious of its own action, can barely endure to hear what it hears; it blushes, is confounded, turns away. If, then, it cannot bear the words of dust, what will it do at the judgment of its Creator? I confess, however, that I believe it to be the very great mercy of heavenly grace that it sees you fleeing life and yet still reserves you for life; that it sees you being proud and bears with you. And when Venantius, remaining in the same apostasy, learned that his offerings had been rejected by John, Bishop of Syracuse, on account of certain animosities that had arisen, he was moved against the bishop in a hostile manner and did not fear to accuse him before Gregory. To whom Gregory writes back, saying: The letter you sent found us already saddened, that we learned a scandal had arisen between you and John, our brother and fellow bishop, of whose harmony we had desired to rejoice. bk. 5, ep. 42 For whatever the cause may have been, fury ought not to have broken out to such a point that your armed men, as we have heard, rushed upon the bishop and committed various evils in a hostile manner, and that this matter should meanwhile separate you from paternal charity. Could not the matter, if there was any dispute, have been calmly settled, so that neither the advantage of the parties nor goodwill suffered harm? Moreover, we are not unaware of what gravity, what holiness, what gentleness the aforesaid brother of ours possesses. From this we gather that unless excessive force of grief had compelled him, his fraternity would by no means have come to this matter of which you say you are aggrieved. Nevertheless, when we learned of this from his writing, we immediately wrote to him, admonishing him both to receive your offerings as before, and not only to permit Masses to be celebrated in your house, but, if you wished, even to perform them himself, etc. for eleven years, But Venantius, returning to concord with the bishop, after having been exhorted by Gregory through numerous letters for eleven years to return to his monastic profession, and having refused, fell into a most grievous illness. When Gregory heard this from John, Bishop of Syracuse, he wrote back, saying: I received the writings of your fraternity, which spoke to me of the illness of my most sweet son, the lord Venantius, and related all the things that had been done concerning him. bk. 9, ep. 31 But upon hearing at one time even when ill, lest he perish: both that he was in despair and gravely sick, and that wicked men were pressing upon the affairs of orphans — that is, his children — the grief could scarcely contain itself in my heart. But there was this consolation: that tears burst forth from me through groaning. Your holiness, therefore, ought not to neglect the first and fitting duty, to think about his soul, by exhorting, by entreating, by setting before him the terrible judgment of God, by promising his ineffable mercy, so that he may return to his habit even at the last, lest the guilt of so great a fault stand against him at the eternal judgment. If, however, Gregory perceived any judges to be inconvertible from their wickedness, he denounced them by his own writings to the princes. bk. 4, ep. 33 Whence he complains to ^c the Empress Constantina, he begs the Empress against excessive taxation in Sardinia, saying: When I had learned that there were many pagans on the island of Sardinia, and that they still served the sacrifices of idols after the wicked manner of paganism, and the priests of that island were sluggish in preaching our Redeemer, I sent thither one of the bishops from Italy, who, with the Lord's help, brought many of the pagans to the faith. But a certain man reported to me a sacrilegious matter: that those who sacrifice to idols on that island pay a fee to the judge so that they may be permitted to do this. And when some of them had been baptized and had ^d ceased to sacrifice to idols, that same judge of the island still demands from them, even after baptism, the fee that was formerly accustomed to be paid for the sacrifice to idols.

When the aforesaid bishop rebuked him, he replied that he had promised so great a subsidy that it could not be fulfilled except from such causes as well. Corsica, The island of Corsica, moreover, is pressed by so great an excess of tax collectors and so heavy a burden of exactions that those who are on it can scarcely suffice to pay what is demanded even by selling their own children. Whence it happens that, abandoning the pious republic, the landowners of that island are compelled to flee to the most abominable nation of the Lombards. For what graver, what more cruel thing can they suffer from barbarians than to be constrained and pressed to the point of being compelled to sell their children? In the island of Sicily, moreover, a certain Stephanus, a secretary of the maritime regions, and Sicily: is said to perpetrate such great injuries and such oppression by invading the properties of individuals, and without any adjudication of causes placing titles upon possessions and houses, that if I wished to recount all his acts individually which have come to me, I could not complete them in a great volume. Let the most serene lady look diligently upon all these things and restrain the groans of the oppressed. And after a little: For consider what minds, what feelings parents can have when they sell their children; and how one ought to have pity on the children of others, those who have their own children know well. Whence let it suffice for me to have briefly reported these things, lest, if your piety should not learn of the things that are done in these parts, the fault of my silence should punish me before the strict Judge.

[49] He incurs the hatred of judges: Hence it is that in the time of this Gregory, so many priests and laypeople in diverse regions are proved by the testimony of the Dialogues to have shone forth with miracles, as many as could never afterwards be found under later pontiffs. Therefore the enemy of the human race, envying so great the felicities of God's Church, inflamed not a few of the pontiffs and likewise secular judges to envy against him. Concerning the affliction from these, he complains among other things to John, Bishop of Ravenna, saying: I attribute this to my sins, that this man who is now present (doubtless meaning the Exarch Romanus) both dissimulates in fighting against our enemies and forbids us to make peace. bk. 2, ep. 3, Indiction 10. Although now, even if he wished, we can by no means do so: because ^e Ariulf, having the army of ^f Autarith and Nodulf, desires that it be given to him as a favor so that he might deign to speak with us of anything concerning peace. bk. 4, ep. 35 Likewise to Sebastian, Bishop of Rhegium, after some other matters: What we suffer in this land, most holy brother, from the person of your friend the lord Romanus, we are unable to express. Yet I say briefly that his malice against us surpasses the swords of the Lombards, so that the enemies who slay us seem more benign than the judges of the republic, who consume us with their malice, plundering, and deceits in thought; and to bear at one time the care of bishops and clerics, of monasteries and the people, to watch anxiously against the ambushes of enemies, always to be suspicious against the deceits and malice of dukes — of what labor this is, of what sorrow, your fraternity weighs more truly insofar as you love me more purely who suffer these things. bk. 7, ep. 3, Indiction 1. Likewise to the Patriarch Anastasius after many things: What evils we suffer from the swords of barbarians, what from the perversity of judges, I shrink from narrating to your blessedness, lest I increase the groaning which I ought to have diminished by consoling. bk. 8, ep. 45 Likewise to Palladius, a priest from Mount Sinai, after very many things: I ask that you should pray for me, so that Almighty God may deign to guard me both from evil spirits and from perverse men. Because in this pilgrimage of my life, evils both many and manifold surround me, so that with the Psalmist I may rightly say: "Your wraths have passed over me, and your terrors have troubled me. They have surrounded me like water all day long; they have surrounded me altogether."

[50] Furthermore, to Maurice, then a most avaricious and rapacious prince, he contradicts the Emperor Maurice who forbade soldiers the monastic life, upon the suggestions of his enemies issuing a most deadly law that no soldier — namely, anyone who had been marked in the hand — should be permitted to convert, he responded among other things as follows: To this end has power over all men been given from heaven to the piety of my lords, that those who desire good things may be aided, that the way to heaven may lie more broadly open, that the earthly kingdom may serve the heavenly kingdom. Ps. 87, bk. 3, ep. 62, Indiction 11. And behold, it is said in open voice that he who has once been enrolled in earthly military service may not serve Christ, unless his military service has been completed or he has been discharged for bodily weakness. To this, behold, Christ responds through me, his last and your servant, saying: "I made you from a notary a Count of the Excubitors, from a Count a Caesar, from a Caesar an Emperor — and not only this, but also the father of emperors. I committed my priests to your hand, and you withdraw your soldiers from my service?" Answer me, I beg, most pious lord, to your servant: what will you reply to the Lord your master when he comes and says these things at the judgment? And after a little: Let my lord therefore inquire what prior Emperor gave such a law, and let him consider more carefully whether it ought to have been given. Likewise to ^g the physician Theodore, after some things: Through my sins, he says, upon whose suggestion or counsel I know not, the Emperor has put forth such a law in his republic: that no one who has conducted public business, no one who was an option, or marked in the hand, or held among the soldiers, should be permitted to convert in a monastery, unless perhaps his military service has been completed. ibid., ep. 65 Which law, first, as those who know the ancient laws say, ^h Julian promulgated. About whom we all know how opposed to God he was.

^a Romanus was created Exarch in the year 587; he died in 598.

^b This is John, Bishop of Ravenna, about whom and whose death more is treated below, bk. 4, ch. 1.

^c Constantina, daughter of the Emperor Tiberius, married to Maurice, afterward declared Emperor, was slain by Phocas in the year 606 with her three daughters by the sword. Constantina, daughter of the Emperor. Surius calls her Constantia. She is frequently treated of below.

^d Surius and the MS. Corsend. read "deseruissent" had ceased.

^e Ariulf was the 2nd Duke of Spoleto, successor of Faroald; he died in the year 601. Ariulf the Duke. Paul the Deacon treats of his war against the Romans in bk. 4 of the History of the Lombards, ch. 17. For Ariulphus, others read Arnulphus.

^f King of the Lombards, but already dead for more than a year, whom we said died on the Nones of September in the year 590. Perhaps after this, Nodulf had commanded the army. Autarith the King.

^g Through this physician, not through his own apocrisiarius, he took care to have the aforementioned letter delivered into the hands of the Emperor. These events took place in the year 593.

^h Julian, the most impious apostate, who lived in that perfidy for about a year and a half, was killed on the 26th of June in the year 365.

CHAPTER IX

The fortitude of St. Gregory in rebuking the Patriarch of Constantinople who assumed the title of Universal Bishop.

[51] [He resists John, Patriarch of Constantinople, who assumes the title of Universal:] The madness of the judges was encouraged or fostered by John, then bishop of the royal city, formerly a monk, who at the time when Gregory, sent as apocrisiarius by Pope Pelagius, was residing at Constantinople, pretended as if humbly to flee the supreme priesthood. But ^a having assumed it, he grew to such pride of a deceitful mind that, seeking an occasion from another cause, ^b he held a synod in which he attempted to call himself Universal. When Pope Pelagius learned this, he sent letters and by the authority of the holy Apostle Peter annulled the acts of that synod; and he forbade the deacon who, according to custom, was attached to the emperors for conducting ecclesiastical business, to celebrate the solemnities of Mass with him. The blessed Gregory also, following his sentence, frequently admonished the aforesaid John, and when he differed in acquiescing, punished him with a like sentence, and commanded all bishops, under threat of losing their own honor, never to write the profane word "Universal," or to accept it when written, or to subscribe where it had been written. Wherefore John, redeeming the consent of the most avaricious Emperor to his hypocrisy by many deceits, obtained that the Emperor should write to Gregory that he should be peaceable toward him. Wherefore he wrote to the Empress Constantina among other things, saying: From the writing of my deacon and representative Sabinianus, I have learned how much your Serenity devotes justice to herself in the causes of the blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, against certain proudly humble and falsely gentle men. bk. 4, ep. 34 Whence I still ask that you permit the hypocrisy of no one to prevail against the truth. For there are some who, according to the word of the excellent Preacher, by sweet words and benedictions seduce the hearts of the innocent. They are despised in clothing, but they swell in heart; and as if they despise all things in this world, they seek to obtain all worldly things at once. They profess themselves unworthy of all men, but they cannot be content with private titles: because they seek that by which they may seem more worthy than all. And after a little:

[52] Moreover, I report that I have received the writings of my most pious lords, that I should be peaceable toward my brother and fellow bishop John. He rebukes the Emperor's letters, which plead on his behalf: And indeed it befits a religious lord to command such things to a priest. But when this same brother of mine, by new presumption and pride, calls himself Universal Bishop, so that in the time of my predecessor of holy memory he had himself inscribed in a synod with this proud title — although all the acts of that synod, with the Apostolic See contradicting, are void — the most serene lord intimates something sad to me: that he did not correct the one who is proud, but rather wished to turn me from my purpose, I who in this cause defend the statutes of the Gospels and Canons with the virtue of humility and rectitude. In which matter, by our aforesaid brother and fellow bishop, action is taken against the Gospel sentence, against the blessed Apostle Peter, and against all churches and the statutes of the canons. But there is Almighty God, in whose hand are all things, of whom it is written: "There is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord." And indeed the most frequently mentioned most holy brother endeavors to persuade many things to the most serene lord; but I know well that those great tears of his prayer permit nothing to be stolen from him by anyone against reason or his soul. Prov. 21 Yet it is very sad that it should be patiently borne that, all others being despised, the aforesaid brother and fellow bishop of mine should alone seek to be called Bishop. But in this pride of his, what else is designated but that the times of the Antichrist are already near? Because he imitates that one who, spurning the legions of Angels in their shared joy, attempted to burst forth to the summit of singularity, saying: "I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will sit on the mount of the covenant, on the sides of the North; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14 Whence through the almighty Lord I beg that you not permit the times of your piety to be stained by the elation of one man, nor in any way give any

assent to so perverse a title. And in this cause let your piety by no means despise me: He shows the Apostolic See was always venerable to Emperors: for even if the sins of Gregory are so great that he deserves to suffer such things, the sins of the Apostle Peter are none, that he should deserve to suffer such things in your times. Whence again and again through the almighty Lord I beg that, just as prior princes sought the grace of the holy Apostle Peter, you too should both seek and preserve it for yourselves; and that on account of our sins — we who unworthily serve him — his honor may in no way be diminished with you: who can both now be your helper in all things and hereafter be able to remit your sins. ^c For twenty-seven years now we have been living in this city amid the swords of the Lombards; how much is daily spent by this Church upon them, so that we may live among them, need not be reported. But I briefly indicate that, just as in the region of Ravenna the piety of our lords has a paymaster with the first army of Italy who makes daily expenditures for arising needs, so also in this city, in such matters, I am their paymaster. And yet this Church, which at one and the same time spends so much unceasingly on clerics, monasteries, the poor, the people, and in addition the Lombards — behold, it is still pressed by the affliction of all the churches, which groan greatly at the pride of one man, even if they presume to say nothing.

[53] Gregory also contradicts the most avaricious prince with a free voice, he defends the primacy of the Roman Church, writing after some things: Behold, Peter received the keys of the heavenly kingdom, beyond doubt. bk. 4, ep. 32 The power of binding and loosing is granted to him, the care and headship of the entire Church is committed to him — and yet he is not called Universal Apostle; and my most holy fellow bishop John attempts to be called Universal Bishop. I am compelled to cry out and say: O times, O customs! Behold, all things in the parts of Europe have been delivered over to the power of barbarians: cities are destroyed, fortresses overthrown, provinces depopulated. No farmer inhabits the land; worshippers of idols rage and daily hold sway over the slaughter of the faithful; and yet priests, who ought to have been lying weeping on the pavement and in ashes, seek for themselves names of vanity and glory in new and profane titles. Am I in this matter, most pious lord, defending my own cause? Am I vindicating a personal injury? I pursue the cause of Almighty God; I seek the cause of the universal Church. Who is this man who, against the statutes of the Gospels, against the decrees of the canons, presumes to usurp for himself a new name? Would that at least one may be without diminution, who desires to be universal. And indeed we know that many priests of the Church of Constantinople have fallen into the abyss of heresy, and have become not only heretics but even heresiarchs. For thence came Nestorius, who, thinking that Christ Jesus, the mediator of God and men, was two persons, because he did not believe that God could become man, burst forth even to Jewish perfidy. Thence came Macedonius, who denied that the Holy Spirit, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, is God. If, therefore, anyone in that church seizes that name for himself, whence so many heresiarchs are known to have come forth, then the entire Church — which God forbid — falls from its state when he who is called Universal falls. But far be it from Christian hearts that name of blasphemy, in which the honor of all priests is taken away while it is insanely arrogated by one. Indeed, for the honor of the blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, by the venerable Council of Chalcedon, it was offered to the Roman Pontiff; but none of them ever consented to use this name of singularity, lest while something were given privately to one, all priests should be deprived of their due honor. What is it, then, that we do not seek the glory of this title even when offered, and another presumes to seize it even when not offered? He, therefore, should rather be bent by the command of the most pious lords, who disdains to render obedience to canonical precepts. He should be restrained who does injury to the holy universal Church, who swells in heart, who desires to rejoice in the name of singularity, who even places himself above the honor of your Empire by a private title. Behold, we all suffer scandal on this account. Let, therefore, the author of the scandal return to the right way, and all disputes among priests will cease. For I am the servant of all priests, insofar as they live in a priestly manner. For he who raises his neck against Almighty God through the swelling of vainglory and against the statutes of the Fathers — I trust in the almighty Lord that he will not bend mine even with swords. But what was recently done in this city upon hearing this title, I have indicated more precisely to my deacon and representative Sabinianus.

[54] Likewise to John, Bishop of Constantinople: At the time he admonishes John who assumes for himself the title of Universal. when your fraternity was advanced to the priestly honor, it recalls what great peace and concord of the churches it found. bk. 4, ep. 38 But by what audacity, by what presumption I know not, it has attempted to seize for itself a new name, by which the hearts of all the brethren could be brought to scandal. In which matter I greatly wonder, because I remember that you wished to flee, so that you might not come to the episcopate: yet having obtained it, you desire to exercise it as if you had rushed to it with ambitious desire. You who confessed yourself unworthy to be called a bishop have at some point been brought to the point where, despising your brethren, you desire to be called bishop alone. And shortly after: Truly, weeping, I say, and from the intimate sorrow of my heart I attribute it to my sins that this brother of mine has not yet been able to be led back to humility, he who was placed in the rank of episcopate so that he might lead the souls of others back to humility: that he who teaches truth to others has not consented to teach himself, not even at my entreaty. Likewise after some things: Who, I ask, in this so perverse a title is proposed for imitation unless that one He detests his pride: who, despising the legions of Angels established with him in fellowship, attempted to burst forth to the summit of singularity, so that he might seem to be subject to no one and alone to be set over all? He who also said: "I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will sit on the mount of the covenant, on the sides of the North; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14 For what are your brethren, all the bishops of the universal Church, but the stars of heaven, whose life and speech shine like stars among the sins and errors of men amid the darkness of night? When you desire to set yourself above them by an exalted title and to trample their name by comparison with yours, what else do you say but "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven"? Are not all bishops clouds, who both rain with words and flash with the light of good works? When your fraternity, despising them, strives to press them beneath yourself, what else does it say but what is said by the ancient enemy: "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds"? When I behold all these things with tears and tremble at the hidden judgments of God, my tears increase, my groans cannot contain themselves in my heart: that that most holy man, the lord John, of such great abstinence and humility, has burst forth through the seduction of familiar tongues to such great pride that in the desire for a perverse name he strives to be like him who, while proudly wishing to be like God, even lost the grace of the likeness granted to him and lost true blessedness because he sought a false glory. Indeed, Peter, Prince of the Apostles, is the first member of the holy and universal Church. Paul, Andrew, John — what are they but the heads of individual peoples? And yet under one head all are members; and, to bind up all things in the brief girdle of one statement, the saints before the law, the saints under the law, the saints under grace — all these, composing the body of the Lord, are constituted in the members of the Church, and no one ever wished to be called Universal. Let your holiness therefore recognize how greatly it swells within itself when it desires to be called by that name by which no one presumed to be called who was truly holy. Likewise after a little: Indeed, for a long time now it is cried out through the Apostle: "Little children, it is the last hour"; and, as Truth foretells, 1 John 2, Luke 21 pestilence and the sword rage through the world, nations rise against nations, the earth is shaken, the world with its inhabitants is swallowed up as the earth opens — all things that were foretold are happening. The king of pride is near; and — which is impious to say — an army of priests is being prepared for him: because those serve the neck of pride who were placed to provide the leadership of humility. But in this matter, even if our tongue does not contradict, the power of him who specially opposes the vice of pride through himself rises in vengeance against elation. And below: It is fitting for us to consider lest some root of bitterness springing up should hinder, and through it many be defiled. But if we neglect to consider this, heavenly judgments will be watchful against so great a swelling of pride. Likewise to the same in another letter after many things: But even now I say: either receive those same persons, namely John of Chalcedon and Athanasius, priests of Isauria, in their Orders, and give them peace; or if you perhaps refuse this, setting aside all contention, in their cause keep the statutes of the elders or the limits of the canons; if, however, you do neither, we indeed do not wish to bring strife, but nevertheless we do not avoid that which comes from you. bk. 2, ep. 52, Indiction 11. Moreover, your fraternity well knows what the canons say about bishops who wish to be feared through beatings. For we have been made pastors, not strikers. And the excellent preacher says: "Argue, entreat, rebuke, with all patience and doctrine." 2 Tim. 4 But this is a new and unheard-of kind of preaching, which exacts faith through beatings.

[55] Likewise to the Deacon Anianus of Constantinople: Concerning the case of our brother, steadfast for truth and faith, the most reverend John, Bishop of Constantinople, I did not wish to compose two letters; rather, one brief one was made which should seem to contain both elements — that is, both rectitude and blandishment. bk. 4, ep. 39 Let your dear self therefore take care to give the letter I have now sent, for the Emperor's wishes, to him; for concerning what follows, another of such a kind will be sent, from which his pride will not rejoice. For he has come to this, that under the occasion of the Presbyter John he has sent here proceedings in which, in almost every line, he styled himself the Ecumenical Patriarch. But I hope in Almighty God that his heavenly majesty will dissolve his hypocrisy. I am amazed, however, that he was able to deceive your dear self, so that you permitted the lord Emperor to be persuaded to send his writings to me regarding this matter, in which he would admonish me that I ought to have peace with him. If he wishes to hold to justice, he ought to have admonished him to restrain himself from that proud title, and immediately peace would have been made between us. However,

with what cunning it was done by our aforesaid brother John, as I suspect, you did not at all consider. For that man did this so that either the lord Emperor would be heeded and he would seem confirmed in his vanity, or he would not be heeded by me and the Emperor's spirit would be irritated against me. But we will hold to the right path, fearing nothing in this cause other than the almighty Lord. Whence let your dear self tremble at nothing; let it despise all things that it sees to be lofty in this world against the truth, for the sake of truth, and let it trust in the grace of Almighty God and the aid of the blessed Apostle Peter; the primacy will perish if another is introduced let it recall the voice of Truth saying: "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in this world"; and in this cause, whatever is to be done, let it act with the highest authority. 1 John 4 For since we can in no way be defended from the swords of enemies, since for love of the republic we have lost silver, gold, slaves, and garments, it is exceedingly shameful that through them we should also lose the faith. For to consent to that wicked title is nothing other than to lose the faith. Whence, as I already wrote in previous letters, never proceed with him:

^a Consecrated on the 12th of April in the year 582.

^b That synod was held in the year 587, from which eight years had elapsed, as St. Gregory affirms in letter 36, book 4, Indiction 13, that is, the year 595, in which letter he exhorts the Patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria to attack the pride of this man on account of his assumption of the name "Universal."

^c From the year 568, when they principally invaded Italy, to 595.

CHAPTER X

The bodies of SS. Peter and Paul illustrious with miracles: their brandea and chains held in veneration, as also the pontifical tunic of St. John the Evangelist. The modesty of St. Gregory in not usurping the title of Universal Bishop.

[56] The bodies of SS. Peter and Paul are illustrious with miracles: But John, the inventor of a new presumption, when he had made Maurice, who was opposed to God, hostile to Gregory along with his accomplices, perceiving that the Empress Constantia was striving with all her efforts to urge the preservation of the privileges of the Roman Church, incited by whatever arts he could so that, on account of the church she was building in the Palace in honor of the holy Apostle Paul, she should request from Gregory the head of that same Apostle or some other part of his body to be sent to her. The most blessed Pope, recognizing this cunning, satisfied the mind of the Empress as follows: When I wished that those things should be commanded to me from which, rendering the easiest obedience, I could further provoke your goodwill toward me, a greater sadness seized me, because you command those things which I can neither do nor dare to do. bk. 3, ep. 30 For the bodies of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul shine with such great miracles and terrors in their churches that one cannot even approach there to pray without great fear. For when my predecessor of blessed memory wished to change the silver that was over the most sacred body of the holy Apostle Peter — yet some fifteen feet distant from that same body — a sign of no small terror appeared to him. Moreover, I similarly wished to make some improvement near the most sacred body of the holy Apostle Paul; and because it was necessary that the ground near the tomb should have been dug rather deeply, as also of St. Lawrence, the superintendent of that place found some bones — not, indeed, joined to the tomb itself. Because he presumed to lift them and transfer them to another place, certain sad signs appeared, and he died a sudden death. Besides these things, my predecessor of holy memory, desiring to make certain improvements near the body of the holy Martyr Lawrence, while it was not known where the venerable body was placed, the ground was dug up in searching, and suddenly the tomb itself was unknowingly opened. They cannot be touched or transferred elsewhere: And those who were present and working — monks and custodians — because they saw the body of that same Martyr (which indeed they by no means presumed to touch), all died within ten days, so that none who had seen the half-burned body of that saint could survive. Let the most tranquil lady know, moreover, that it is not the Roman custom, when they give relics of the saints, to presume to touch anything of the body; rather, only a cloth is placed in a box but their brandea, also illustrious with miracles: and set near the most sacred bodies of the saints. When lifted, it is deposited with due veneration in the church that is to be dedicated. And such great virtues occur there through this, as if their bodies were specially brought there. Whence it happened that in the time of Pope ^a Leo of blessed memory, as is handed down by our elders, when certain Greeks doubted about such relics, the aforesaid pontiff took scissors and cut that same cloth, and from the very incision blood flowed forth. In the Roman regions and throughout all the West, it is altogether intolerable and sacrilegious if anyone should chance to wish to touch the bodies of the saints; and if anyone presumes to do so, it is certain that this temerity will by no means remain unpunished. For which reason, regarding the custom of the Greeks, who claim to take up the bones of the saints, we greatly marvel and can scarcely believe it. For certain Greek monks came here two years ago, and in the silence of night, near the Church of St. Paul, were digging up the bodies of the dead lying in the open field and hiding their bones, keeping them for when they departed. When they were seized and diligently questioned as to why they were doing this, they confessed that they were going to carry those bones to Greece as relics of saints. From their example, as aforesaid, a greater doubt arose for us as to whether it is true that the bones of saints are said to be taken up. But concerning the bodies of the blessed Apostles, what shall I say, since it is well known that at the time when they suffered, the faithful came from the East to claim their bodies as those of their fellow citizens? These bodies, brought as far as the second milestone of the City, were placed in the location called the Catacombs. But when their whole multitude, gathering together, strove to take them from there, the force of thunder and lightning so terrified and scattered them that they never presumed to attempt such things again. Then the Romans, going out — those who merited this through the Lord's mercy — lifted their bodies and placed them in the locations where they are now buried. Who, therefore, most serene lady, could be so rash as, knowing these things, to presume to touch — I do not say touch, but even in any way to look upon — their bodies? Since, therefore, such things have been commanded to me by you, which I could in no way obey, I find that it was not from you, but rather certain men wished to excite your piety against me, a part of the chain of St. Paul is given to the Empress Constantia: so that they might withdraw — God forbid — the goodwill of your favor from me; and for this reason they sought a pretext by which I might be found as if disobedient to you. But I trust in the almighty Lord that nothing shall be stolen from your most benign will, and that you will always have the virtue of the holy Apostles — whom you love with your whole heart and mind — not from bodily presence but from their protection. The sudarium, moreover, which you likewise ordered to be sent, is with his body, and it cannot be touched, just as one cannot approach his body. But because the so religious desire of the most serene lady ought not to be left unfulfilled, I shall hasten to send you some part of the chains which the holy Apostle Paul himself bore on his neck and in his hands, from which many miracles are shown among the people — if, however, I shall be able to take some by filing. For since many frequently come from those same chains and seek a blessing, so that they may receive a little bit of the filings, a priest stands by with a file, and for some who ask, something is so quickly struck from the chains that there is no delay. But for others who ask, the file is drawn over the chains for a long time, and yet nothing comes from them.

[57] In these words of Gregory — which are assuredly truthful — it appears that up to those times the Roman Pontiff gave a cloth as relics, whereas in a later time, portions of the garments that are preserved under the altar of St. John in the Lateran basilica began to be given to those requesting sacred relics.

[58] The garment of St. John the Evangelist is illustrious with miracles, These garments are proved to shine even until now with such great miracles that, in a time of drought, when shaken out of doors, they bring rain; and in a time of flooding, they restore fair weather. For beyond what they do through the individual churches, I will not conceal what the Lord Almighty has done through them in the oratory of my house situated in the Subura. Recently, in the time of Pope ^b Hadrian, it seemed good to me that the altar of the holy Mother of God Mary, which was placed outside the oratory of St. John in a very open atrium and could not be honored with proper lamps, should be placed inside the oratory. Bishop ^c Gaudericus of Velletri, who is still seen to survive, was summoned, and with hymns and canticles he took out from the old altar two sealed boxes; one of which, at my entreaty, he opened — much alarmed — and found in it particles of those tunics, as far as could be discerned by careful eyes from the similarity, which he solemnly deposited under the new altar. Where, from that time, as many know who are proved to be still living, divinely kindled lamps appeared more frequently than usual. even with lamps divinely kindled: For in this ^d eighth Indiction, in the week before Christmas Day, while I had some slight doubt about such things, after the morning hymns were completed, the custodian extinguished the candle; wishing to light it after vespers, he found it burning, and realizing that he had carelessly extinguished it, on the following day he more carefully extinguished it entirely, and having locked the doors, he returned at vespers to light the lamp. When he found it likewise burning, from the knowledge of the key he had kept and the miracle of the oil not being diminished, he knew for certain that the one who had lit the lamp was the one who had divinely increased the oil so that it could not be diminished by the daytime burning.

[59] Of these garments, as I believe, one — which has narrower sleeves — is a pontifical tunic: is truly the tunic of St. John, which the blessed Gregory received in his time when a certain bishop brought it. Whence he writes to the Abbot John among other things, saying: Concerning the tunic of St. John, I received it with great gratitude, because you were careful to inform me; but let your dear self take care to send me the tunic itself, or — what is better — the same bishop who has it, with his clerics and the tunic, to me: so that we may both enjoy the blessing of the tunic and joined to it the dalmatic of St. Paschasius the Deacon: and be able to have merit from that same bishop and clerics. bk. 2, ep. 3, Indiction 11 The other, however, which has wider sleeves, appears clearly to be not a tunic but a dalmatic; unless I am mistaken, it belongs to ^e St. Paschasius, Deacon of the Apostolic See. Who, according to what the same blessed Gregory mentions in the fourth book of the Dialogues, when he had died in the time of Pope Symmachus, a demoniac touched his dalmatic placed upon the bier and was immediately healed. bk. 4, ep. 40 But the reason why

both garments are called those of St. John, I believe the ancient custom obtained because they were customarily stored beneath his altar. For that one of them belongs to John the Evangelist and not the Baptist, no one doubts, especially since every wise person knows that the Baptist used camel hair for clothing, while the Evangelist, who for so many years after the Lord's Passion held the pontificate and very frequently celebrated the solemnities of Mass, could by no means have been without priestly garments. If, however, it is said that the tunic and dalmatic, because they are pontifical vestments, should both be believed to belong to St. John, for the use of Mass. it must be considered that Gregory named to the Abbot John not a dalmatic but a tunic. If he had felt the dalmatic also to be St. John's, in seeking his tunic he would consequently not have been silent about also having his dalmatic.

[60] Let it suffice that I have, as best I could, inserted these matters concerning the garments of St. John, about which many have doubts, into the deeds of the blessed Gregory. After the death of John, Bishop of Constantinople, Cyriacus succeeds. Furthermore, John the Constantinopolitan hypocrite, who by many evasions refused to be converted from his ambition for the name "Universal," recognizing, according to the prophecy of that same Father, that the judgments of the Lord were watching over him, after no great space of time ^f died a sudden death; and he whose ambitious pride the whole world could scarcely contain was easily placed in the narrow space of a single tomb. After his gradual departure, when the Emperor Maurice — that despiser of the priests of Christ — urged that for ^g Cyriacus, who had succeeded John, Gregory should not labor over the cause of so frivolous a name, he resisted by the authorities of his pontificate for so long until he had utterly removed the pestilence of the name "Universal" even from the deceitful lips of flatterers. Wherefore, writing to the Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria after some things, he says: Your blessedness has been careful to indicate that you no longer write to certain persons the proud titles that spring from the root of vanity: St. Gregory abstains from the title of Universal, and you speak to me saying, "As you have commanded"; which word of command I ask you to remove from my hearing, because I know who I am and who you are. bk. 7, ep. 30, Indiction 1. For in rank you are my brethren; in character, my fathers. I did not therefore command, but I took care to indicate what seemed useful. Yet I do not find that your blessedness wished to retain perfectly this same thing that I brought to your memory. For I said that you ought not to write such a thing either to me or to anyone else. And behold, in the preface of the letter that you sent to me who forbade it, you were careful to impress the word of a proud appellation, calling me Universal Pope. Which I ask your sweetest holiness not to do henceforth, although it was granted in the Council of Chalcedon. because what is given to another beyond what reason demands is subtracted from you. For I do not seek to prosper by words but by conduct. Nor do I consider it my honor in which I know my brethren lose their honor. For my honor is the honor of the Universal Church. My honor is the solid strength of my brethren. Then am I truly honored when due honor is not denied to each and every one. For if your holiness calls me Universal Pope, it denies itself to be that which it professes me to be — universal. But far be this. Let words that inflate vanity and wound charity depart. And indeed your holiness knows that this was offered to my predecessors by the holy Council of Chalcedon and ^a afterwards by subsequent Fathers; but nevertheless none of them ever wished to use this title: so that while in this world they cherished the honor of all priests, they might guard their own before Almighty God. ^h

^a St. Leo sat from the year 440 to 461.

^b St. Hadrian I, created Pontiff on the 9th of February in the year 772, died in the year 795.

^c Called by others Iadericus; he sat in the time of Hadrian II and John VIII as Pontiffs; by the latter he was sent with other bishops in the year 876 to Charles the Bald, to summon him to Rome to receive the imperial insignia, as we read in Odrannus and others. The same approved the Commonitorium sent to the legates of the Apostolic See for receiving Photius in the year 879.

^d The year 875 is indicated.

^e St. Paschasius the Deacon is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology at May 3, where Baronius discusses the dalmatic at length in the Notes.

^f John the Patriarch presided for 13 years, created on the 12th of April in the year 582, died in the year 595, on September 2, on which day the Greeks in the Great Menaia and the Menologion of the Emperor Basil, and following them Molanus, celebrate his sacred memory, recounting various miracles. But Baronius holds the contrary opinion at the year 595, nos. 27 and following, and at the year 596, nos. 1 and 2. Which it suffices to have noted in this place.

^g Cyriacus is also inscribed in the Greek Menaia at October 27. On account of his election, St. Gregory gives thanks to the Emperor Maurice in ep. 6, bk. 6, and writes to the same Cyriacus in letters 4, 5, and 28 of the same book 6 and ep. 47 of book 11, and always treats of the peace and unity of the Church and the avoidance of the title "Universal."

^h In the MS. Corsend. the following is subjoined: "Here ends the third book; the fourth begins," whose chapters are listed as follows.

Chapters of the fourth book. 1. On the temperance of Gregory.

2. How he withdrew from John, Bishop of Ravenna, the use of the pallium and of mappulae.

3. That to the same, who sought back the use of the pallium, he granted it four times a year through the streets.

4. Where, having rebuked the same for various vices, he predicted to him the day of his calling.

5. Where, after John's death, he commits the Church of Ravenna to a Visitor, and, having consecrated Marinianus as bishop, grants him the use of the pallium in like manner.

6. Where, at Andrew's petition for the pallium, he prescribes an oath.

7. That when Marinianus was unable to defend the custom of the pallium as had been agreed, Gregory remained firm in his decision.

8. That he rebuked the Deacons of Catania for the usurpation of campagi.

9. On Maximus, the usurper of the Church of Salona.

10. How he defended the authority of his pontificate against the tyrannical Emperor.

11. Where, excommunicating Maximus with his accomplices against the Emperor's wish, he compelled his bishops to return to the Church.

12. Where he orders Maximus's case to be examined at Ravenna.

13. Where Maximus, falling to the ground, tearfully begs pardon.

14. Where Gregory decrees that Maximus, making satisfaction before the body of St. Apollinaris, should be shown mercy.

15. Where he humbly restores the grace of communion to Maximus when he makes satisfaction, and promises to give him the pallium.

16. How he terrified the proud Emperor with didactic responses.

17. Where death by the sword is prophesied to Maurice, who was raging against Gregory.

18. Where the penitent Maurice sees in a dream that he, with his wife and children, is delivered by divine judgment to the soldier Phocas.

19. Where, with a sedition stirred up, Maurice is slain by Phocas's command with his entire kindred.

20. Where, having received the imperial image, he wisely enumerates the vices of Maurice to the Emperor Phocas.

21. Where he sends him an apocrisiarius according to custom.

22. Where, with a heavy burden removed, he acknowledges that the imperial yoke has been made lighter.

23. That he sent his synodical letter according to custom, and that the Orientals inscribe no one's name in their diptychs until they have learned the synodical letter of his faith.

24. That, having received the decrees of the Milanese, he consented to their having a bishop ordained.

25. That he restored Anastasius of Antioch to his throne after many years.

26. That, restoring Adrian, Bishop of Thebes, to his order, he withdrew his diocese from the power of Bishop Alvaricus.

27. That, except for manifest crimes, he deposed no one from the priesthood, but deprived them of communion.

28. With what strictness he judged the suits of accusers, and what he decreed in the orders of trials.

29. How he confirmed the authorities of other bishops with his own authority, not diminishing them.

30. That, preserving their own rights to all bishops, he wished executors to be given and judges to be chosen by the accused.

31. That he punished false informers with the law of retaliation.

32. That he did not suffer once-introduced charges to pass unexamined, and with what penalties he punished wicked accusers of sinners.

33. That he ordered customary stipends to be administered even to sick clerics.

34. That he confirmed the guarantees made by bishops to their clerics, and ordered that their quarters be given to them in full.

35. That he absolved those bound by others.

36. That he received those purging themselves from heresy.

37. That he took care to invite schismatics to come to Rome to receive satisfaction.

38. That he compelled Severus, Bishop of Aquileia, to come to Ravenna: who, after he had returned to unity, reverting again to his schism and afflicting Catholic priests, became the cause of the perpetual division of his diocese.

39. That he gave no one a successor on account of bodily illness, and that he did not deny successors to those renouncing their sees, and ordered that their expenses be provided from the revenues of that same Church.

40. That he ordered a violated woman to be taken as wife by her violator.

41. That he commanded a man already tonsured to be returned to his wife.

42. That he decreed no violence should be inflicted on Jews.

43. That he judged that Christians should not be subjected to them on any occasion.

44. That he ordered Christians to be violently taken from them; those who could not be taken away, he decreed should be redeemed.

45. That he forbade their slaves, fleeing to the Church, to be returned.

46. That he decreed their pagan slaves, wishing to come to the faith, should not be returned.

47. That he declared that Jews' slaves who preceded their masters to the faith should by no means be reduced back to their servitude, even if the masters themselves followed them to the grace of baptism.

48. That he permitted no pagan to be circumcised.

49. That he decreed gifts should not be accepted from Jews.

50. How Jews were treated by the Roman Pontiffs.

51. That Gregory ordered the Sabbath not to be observed, and permitted bathing on the Lord's Day.

52. Of what great compassion he showed in the illnesses of the Bishops Castorius, Eulogius, and Marinianus, and of the patrician lady Rusticiana.

53. That he wished litanies to be held on account of barbarian incursions.

54. That he had the spirit of prophecy.

55. That he predicted worse things than the former would come.

56. That he permitted no one to be unjustly defended by the Church.

57. That he ordered oaths to be administered to those fleeing to the Church concerning the observance of justice toward them.

58. That he called all bishops "Brothers and Fellow Bishops"; deacons, "Most Beloved Sons"; and laypersons of both sexes, "Lords."

59. That he gave satisfaction concerning the faith both to Queen Theudelinda and to his subdeacon.

60. Where he calls himself unworthy of a revelation of God.

61. Where, comparing himself with a priest, he pronounces the other superior and better.

62. Where he professes himself unworthy of another's favor.

63. Where he prostrated himself on the ground before a monk who fell down before him.

64. That, when accused, he set forth his innocence.

65. What he thought concerning the end of the world.

66. What he wrote about the misfortunes of the City.

67. How, by reason of barbarian incursions, he desisted from expounding books, and by what pains he was tormented.

68. Of his death, and the silver canopies prepared by him, and also the place and inscription of his burial.

69. How Peter the Deacon, by dying, defended against rivals who were striving to burn his books.

70. How much Claudius noted down from his words, and that Gregory dictated many things that now cannot be found.

71. That he left twelve books of his letters, from which, in the time of Pope Hadrian, two volumes are seen to have been excerpted.

72. That he began his Moralia while in the diaconate, and how

he arranged them through books during his episcopate, and sent them at the request of Leander, the Spanish bishop.

73. That at the very beginning of his episcopate, composing the book of the Pastoral Rule in response to John, Bishop of the city of Ravenna, who had humbly reproached him for why so capable a man had wished to flee by hiding from the burdens of pastoral care, he silenced the unskilled.

74. That going about the Stations, he delivered forty homilies on the Gospel readings, which he sent at the request of Secundus, a servant of God.

75. How he wrote the four books of the Dialogues, which afterward Zacharias, bishop of the Apostolic See, translated into the Greek language.

76. That at the request of his citizens he treated the first and last parts of the prophecy of Ezekiel through twenty-two homilies.

77. How humbly he himself thought of his own treatises, which are praised as most eloquent by later doctors.

78. That, calling his own books chaff in comparison with the treatises of Augustine, he forbade them to be read as long as he lived.

79. With what great consideration he daily recognized the weakness of his own heart.

80. That his body was translated by Pope Gregory IV, and concerning its antiquity and moderateness and regular particularity.

81. That, being ignorant of the Greek language, he found false treatises titled with his name.

82. That the monks who were sent by him into Saxony had been devoted to the Rule of St. Benedict.

83. On the forms and garments of his father and mother.

84. On his own form and dress, together with a distich.

85. That afterward the monk Saturninus painted the images of the Apostles according to his likeness.

86. On John the Superior, who contended with the devil before Christ, and on his revelation and terrible passing.

87. On the torments of the steward who confessed to having sold charters of the monastery with the same Superior.

88. On the omen of death of Athanasius the steward, who defrauded the customary alms of the poor.

89. On the devil put to flight from the cloister of the monastery, who struck a lying monk.

90. On the vision of a monk who foresaw twelve men would die within as many days.

91. On the conversion, vision, and passing of Lucidus, Bishop of Ficulea.

92. On the revelation of a monk who, through the shedding of tears by a certain enclosed priest, his brother, learned of his healing and return.

93. On the demon driven out from the Berbilian estate, who, killing the steward and oxherds, pursued Ursellius.

94. On the vision of Tergaudus, formerly Bishop of Trier, who was driven from the monastery by blessed Gregory.

95. On the rebuke of Faraldus, who was suspended by demons all night long.

96. On the deserter of the monastery Indulf, struck by an old man, and on the revelation to a cleric and the departure of Suppo.

97. On Dominicus the Priest, who had uncovered the Gregorian fountain, bound and freed, and his wretched passing.

98. On the measure of the monastery and the variety of its abundance, and also the miracle of bread divinely multiplied.

99. How frequently Gregory appears in various places.

100. On the vision of a scribe, who could be terrified by a rival and deserved to be consoled by blessed Gregory.

BOOK IV

CHAPTER I

The prudence of St. Gregory in granting the use of the pallium to the Bishop of Ravenna at certain times.

[1] St. Gregory preserves the rights of individual churches: This is Gregory's opinion on the rejection of the name "Universal" — full of reason and humility. Who indeed knew how to use prudently the cunning of the serpent against the proud, and by no means departed from the simplicity of the dove toward the humble. bk. 2, ep. 30 Wherefore, conscious of his own temperance, he writes to Dominicus, Bishop of Carthage, after other matters: Concerning ecclesiastical privileges, what your fraternity writes, hold this without doubt: that just as we defend our own, so we preserve to each and every church its own rights. Indiction 10. Nor do I grant to anyone by favoring grace more than he deserves, nor do I take away from anyone, by the incentive of ambition, what is his by right; but I desire to honor my brethren in all things, and I am zealous that individuals may be elevated by honor, provided there be nothing that could be justly opposed by one against another. Likewise he writes to the Patriarchs Eulogius of Alexandria and Anastasius of Antioch, saying: When the excellent Preacher says: "As long as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I will honor my ministry"; and again elsewhere says, "We were made little ones in your midst": he without doubt shows an example to us who follow, that we should hold humility in mind and yet preserve the dignity of our order in honor: so that in us neither humility may be timid nor self-regard proud. And so forth. bk. 4, ep. 36, Rom. 11, 1 Thess. 2 Which Gregory both did and said, as can be most manifestly gathered from the preceding and following.

[2] For he rebuked ^a John, Bishop of Ravenna, who was frequently wearing the pallium in the swelling of pride and permitting his priests and deacons to process in mappulae, he rebukes John, Bishop of Ravenna, for abuse of the pallium first indeed through the notary Castorius in a familiar manner, and then, when John pertinaciously defended these practices as granted to him by custom or privilege, he punished him after some remarks with this sentence: For — to collect briefly what I have said above — I admonish that unless you demonstrate that these were attributed to you by privilege through the munificence of my predecessors, you should not presume to use the pallium in the streets any further, lest you begin not to have it even for Mass, what you boldly usurp in the streets as well. bk. 2, ep. 54, Indiction 11. Concerning the vestry, moreover, that your fraternity sat with the pallium and received the children of the Church — which it both did and excused — we ask nothing for now, because, following the decisions of synods, we decline to punish lesser faults that are denied. Yet we know that this was done once and again. But let your fraternity be altogether careful, lest what is still granted to incipient presumption be punished more severely as it progresses. And after a little: But what you wrote concerning the use of mappulae by your clergy, and of mappulae among the clergy: our clerics have strongly objected, saying that this was never granted to any other church, nor had the clerics of Ravenna, either there or in the city of Rome, presumed any such thing with their knowledge; nor, if it had been attempted, would a precedent be created by furtive usurpation. But even if this had been presumed in any church, they assert it should be corrected, what is presumed not by concession of the Roman Pontiff but by stealth alone. But we, preserving honor to your fraternity — although against the will of our aforementioned clergy — nevertheless permit your chief deacons, whom certain persons have testified to us had used them even before, to use mappulae in attending upon you only; but at any other time or by other persons, we most vehemently prohibit this.

[3] The man, most desirous of vainglory, bearing this sentence very ill, he grants him the use of the pallium on certain litany days: earnestly sought through whomever he could to have the use of the pallium restored to him. To whom Gregory wrote thus: I find your fraternity greatly saddened because the censure of reason forbids the wearing of the pallium in litanies. But through the most excellent Patrician Romanus, through the most eminent Prefect, and through other noble men of his city, he importunately sought that this should be granted. bk. 4, ep. 10 We, however, diligently inquiring from Adeodatus, formerly a deacon of your fraternity, learned that the custom for your predecessors was never to use the pallium in litanies except on the solemnity of blessed John the Baptist, blessed Peter the Apostle, and blessed Apollinaris the Martyr. We should by no means have believed him, because many representatives have been frequently at the city of your fraternity, who attest that they never saw any such thing. And in this matter the many should be believed rather than one testifying on behalf of his own church. But because we do not wish your fraternity to be saddened, and the petition of our sons should by no means be frustrated with us, we grant the use of the pallium — until we learn something more precisely and truly — on the solemn litanies, that is, on the birthday of blessed John the Baptist, blessed Peter the Apostle, and blessed Apollinaris, and on the celebration of your ordination. In the vestry, however, according to the ancient custom, having received and dismissed the children of the Church, your fraternity should put on the pallium and so proceed to the solemnities of Mass, and presume nothing more by the boldness of rash presumption: lest, while something is sought in outward dress in a disorderly manner, even what was lawfully permitted may be lost in an orderly fashion.

[4] He rebukes his corrupt morals: But the same John, restrained from the ambition of vainglory by the bridle of apostolic moderation, turned entirely to detraction of the Pontiff. Whence the most prudent Pontiff admonishes him thus, saying: First, this saddens me: that my brother writes to me with a double heart, and shows one thing in blandishments in his letters, and another in worldly fashion on his tongue. bk. 4, ep. 15, Indiction 13. Then it is grave to me that those mockeries which notaries as mere boys are accustomed to have, my brother John even to this day retains on his tongue: he speaks bitingly and, as it were, rejoices at such cunning; he flatters present friends and speaks ill of the absent. Third, it is grave to me and altogether execrable that upon his servants, whatever hour he has been stirred to anger, he imposes shameful charges, calling them effeminate — and even more grievously this is said more openly. After this, it has been added that there is no discipline for guarding the life of the clergy, but he merely exercises lordship over his clerics. The last thing, moreover — which is nevertheless the first in the weight of arrogance — is concerning the use of the pallium outside the church, which in the times of my predecessors no one ever presumed to do, and which was never presumed by his predecessors, as our representatives attest, except when relics were deposited — yet concerning relics only one could be found who in my days, in contempt of me, not only did this but even did it frequently, with the greatest audacity. From all of which I find that the honor of your episcopate is entirely outward, in display, not in the mind. And indeed I give thanks to Almighty God that at the time when this came to me — which had never come to the ears of my predecessors — the Lombards were stationed between me and the city of Ravenna. For I would perhaps have had to show people how well I know discretion. But do not believe that I wish your Church to be burdened or diminished in anything; remember, at the solemn Masses of the Romans, where the deacon of Ravenna used to stand, and inquire where he stands today, and you will know that I desire to honor the Church of Ravenna; but that anyone should seize anything from pride — this I cannot tolerate. Nevertheless, regarding this matter I have already written to our deacon at Constantinople, that he should inquire through all those who have even thirty and forty bishops under them, whether there is such a custom anywhere, that in litanies they walk with palliums: far be it that through me the honor of the Church of Ravenna should in any way be diminished. Consider, therefore, all these things that I have said above, dearest brother; attend to the day of your calling; consider what accounts you will render for the burden of the episcopate. Correct those manners of a notary. See what befits a bishop in tongue and in conduct. Be wholly sincere to your brethren. Do not say one thing and have another in your heart.

Nor desire to appear more than you are, so that you may be able to be more than you appear.

[5] [After John's death, he consecrates Marinianus as bishop and grants him the pallium.] Because John, in the haughtiness of his pride, disdained to amend these things, in the same year — just as Gregory had predicted to him — while he failed to attend to the day of his calling, he met it ^b, and burst before his swelling could be satisfied with the adornment of the pallium. For which reason Gregory, committing the visitation of the Church of Ravenna to ^c Severus, the Siculine bishop, according to ancient custom, consecrated ^d Marinianus, a monk and his familiar, as Bishop of Ravenna, and sent him the pallium, writing: Moved by the benevolence of the Apostolic See and the order of ancient custom, we have provided that the use of the pallium be granted to your fraternity, who is known to have received the office of governance in the Church of Ravenna. bk. 4, ep. 54, Indiction 13. Remember that you are not to use it otherwise than in the church of your own city, having already dismissed the children of the Church, proceeding from the salutatory to celebrate the sacred solemnities of Mass. After Mass has been completed, you will take care to put it down again in the salutatory. Outside the church, moreover, we permit you to use it no otherwise than four times a year, on the litanies that we specified to your predecessor John.

[6] But Marinianus, beguiled by the suggestions of his clerics, against the abuse of the pallium, he requires witnesses to take an oath: earnestly sought through Andrew, a distinguished man, and through whomever else he could, to have the use of the pallium restored to his church. Wherefore Gregory writes to the notary Castorius among other things, saying: Let your experience consider no person's face, no one's words; have the fear of God alone and rectitude before your eyes, and seek out the senior persons of that same church and the archdeacon — whom I do not suspect would perjure himself for another's honor — and others, more senior, who were in sacred orders before the times of Bishop John, or any who are more mature outside sacred orders; and let them come before the body of St. Apollinaris and, having touched his tomb, swear what the custom was before the times of Bishop John. bk. 5, ep. 33 Because, as you know, that man was very presumptuous and attempted to arrogate many things to himself through pride. And whatever shall have been sworn by the more faithful and serious men, according to the schedule appended below, this we wish to be preserved in that church. But see that you do not act negligently, nor let anyone corrupt your faith or devotion in this cause. For I know your zeal: act diligently, yet so that the aforesaid church is not burdened against justice, but the custom that existed before the times of Bishop John is preserved for it. He prescribes the formula of the oath at the body of St. Apollinaris: Require not two or three persons to satisfy you, but as many senior and serious persons as you find: that we may neither deny what was anciently the custom of that church, nor grant what was sought by new audacity. But do all things gently and sweetly, so that your action may be strict and your tongue mild: "I, N., swear by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the inseparable Trinity of divine power, and this body of the blessed Martyr Apollinaris, that I testify not out of favor for any person, nor with any advantage intervening: but this I know, and I have personally ascertained, that before the times of the late Bishop John, the Bishop of Ravenna, in the presence of the apocrisiarius of the Apostolic See, on such and such days, had the custom of using the pallium; and I did not know that he usurped this secretly or in the absence of the apocrisiarius."

[7] Gregory had commanded this oath through the fourteenth Indiction; but because, as the outcome of the matter shows, the testimonies were deficient and the matter remained undone through three continuous years, Marinianus again, compelled by the urging of his people, trusted that he could recover through the importunity of prayers the use of the pallium which he could not claim from custom as had been agreed. bk. 7, ep. 79 Wherefore Gregory, remaining in the same decision, writes to the same notary through the second Indiction, saying: When Florentinus, a deacon of the Church of Ravenna, was acting before us on behalf of our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Marinianus concerning the use of the pallium, he orders further inquiry about the use of the pallium among the Ravennates: asked by us what the ancient custom was, he replied that the Bishop of Ravenna used the pallium in all litanies. Indiction 2. That this is not so, we have learned both from others and from the letters of the late Bishop John, which we had shown to him, where it plainly appeared. But he asserted what he was told to say. For at the time when the same late Bishop John was prohibited by you from using the pallium in a disorderly and reckless manner, he wrote to us that this had been the ancient custom, that the bishop of that city used the pallium in solemn litanies. We have sent you copies of those letters for your information. Moreover, when Adeodatus, a deacon of the aforesaid church, similarly strove more earnestly to treat with us concerning the use of the same pallium during the time he was here, wishing to learn the truth, we took care likewise to inquire of him what the custom was. Who, so that he might persuade us to believe him and might obtain from us what he asked, testified under oath that the ancient custom was that the bishop of his city used the pallium at four or five solemn litanies. Let your experience therefore diligently keep watch, and with all care inquire how many solemn litanies there were from antiquity. And let him not take care to inquire by calling them solemn but rather major: so that through what the aforesaid Deacon Adeodatus testified to us, and the letter of the aforesaid Bishop John attests — once it is established how many litanies were solemn — knowing how often he was wont to be clothed with the pallium at litanies, we may most willingly grant it. But let him not inquire this from those and he provides for the peace of the Church. who are maintained by the church, but from others whom he knows to be free from partiality toward their side; and whatever he discovers by careful investigation, let him subtly indicate to us: so that, the truth being known as we have said, we may refresh the spirits of our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Marinianus. But because the ancient custom, subtly inquired into by our people, could in no way be proved by the Ravennates, that Gregory remained firm in his decision is without doubt shown by the fact that neither, as far as is known from his writings, was he solicited by anyone about this, nor did he himself, being unmoved, ever write back about it again.

^a John the Roman was created bishop in the year 575, and it is handed down that he obtained from St. Gregory the bodies of the holy Martyrs Northasius, Crispinus, Felix, and Hemilius. John, Bishop of Ravenna. Consult Ughelli, Rubeus, and others.

^b He died in the year 595 and was buried in the Classian church of St. Apollinaris, before the altar of SS. Mark, Marcellus, and Felicula, whose relics he had placed there.

^c Our MSS. and Corsend. read "Siculinus." Perhaps for some Sicilian? The Life printed before the works and in Surius reads "Ficulinus," as also below no. 90, Lucidus, Bishop Ficulinus. He seems to have resided at Ficulea near Rome on the Nomentane Way. Ficulea and the Ficuline Bishop. Cluverius compiles the testimonies of the ancients concerning Ficulea in bk. 2 of Ancient Italy, ch. 9.

^d Marinianus, nephew of the deceased John and himself a Roman, lived until the year 606. Consult again Rubeus and Ughelli.

CHAPTER II

Maximus, the invader of the See of Salona, is excommunicated by St. Gregory; repenting, he is received back into grace.

[8] Not only in great matters did Gregory turn the eyes of his solicitude: but also, He rebukes the Deacons of Catania for the usurpation of campagi: lest greater things might sometime be presumed with impunity, he most carefully guarded against this in the smallest matters. bk. 7, ep. 23, Indiction 1. Whence he writes to John, Bishop of Syracuse, saying: The order of ecclesiastical vigor is confounded if either unlawful things are rashly presumed or things not permitted are attempted with impunity. It has come to our notice that the deacons of the Church of Catania have presumed to process wearing campagi. That this was never permitted to anyone throughout all of Sicily except only the deacons of the Church of Messina, to whom it was undoubtedly granted long ago by our predecessors, you well recall. Because, therefore, the boldness of so great a temerity is not to be lightly regarded, let your fraternity inquire into this with all subtlety; and if it finds it to be as has come to us — whether they presumed this on their own or by someone's authority — let it subtly inform us: so that, the truth being known, we may determine what ought to be done. For if we negligently overlook things that are wrongly usurped, we open the way for others to transgress.

[9] Meanwhile, after Bishop Natalis died, when the whole body of the Dalmatians had concordantly chosen the Archdeacon ^b Honoratus — whom he himself had converted from a priest into a deacon — to be placed over them, He approves the elected Bishop of Salona: and the Pontiff had approved their decree, by the faction of Bishop Malchus, the administrator of the apostolic patrimony, and by military force, Maximus, entangled in many crimes, invaded the episcopate of the city of Salona. He opposes the invader Maximus: When Gregory heard this, he prohibited the Dalmatian and Iadertine bishops, under great threat, from laying hands on him. But Maximus, who had invaded the episcopal see against the canons, also did not fear to obtain the priesthood against God through simoniacal heresy from bishops who were excommunicated and corrupted, he excommunicates the one simoniacally ordained: with the opportune occasion of the times favoring him through the greed and insolence of the Emperor: whom, by squandering the resources of the invaded church, he made so much a defender of his crimes that he not only frequently asked Gregory to leave the promotion of Maximus unexamined, but also to receive with honor Maximus when he came to Rome to make satisfaction for simoniacal heresy and other crimes. But Gregory, guarding the face of no one against the truth, first deprived Maximus himself from the solemnities of Mass, then from the communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, until he should present himself in person. But Maximus, supported by imperial military forces, after the excommunication both sang Masses and, most unworthily, received the Sacraments. Wherefore he writes to the Empress Constantia after many other things, saying:

[10] The bishop of the city of Salona was ordained without my knowledge or that of my representative, and a thing was done he protests to the Empress Constantia: which occurred under no previous princes. bk. 4, ep. 34 When I heard this, I immediately sent word to that same transgressor, who was ordained in a disorderly manner, that he should by no means presume to celebrate the solemnities of Mass until I should first learn from the most serene lords whether they themselves had ordered this to be done — which I enjoined upon him under the threat of excommunication. And, with me scorned and despised, relying on the audacity of certain secular men to whom, having stripped his own church, he is said to have given many gifts, he has presumed until now to celebrate Masses and has refused to come to me according to the command of our lords. I, however, obedient to the command of their piety, have so forgiven from my heart that same Maximus — who was ordained without my knowledge — for the fact that in his ordination he presumed to pass over me or my representative, as if he had been ordained by my authority. But the other perverse evils of his — namely, the bodily crimes I have learned of, the fact that he was elected with money, and that he presumed to celebrate Mass while excommunicated — I cannot for God's sake pass over without examination. But I hope and pray to the Lord that nothing of these things which have been said may be found in him, and that his case may be settled without danger to my soul. ^c Before,

however, before these things were investigated, the most serene lord, by a dispatched order, commanded defended by the unjust favor of the Emperor Maurice: that I should receive him with honor when he comes. And it is very grave that a man of whom such great things are reported should be honored before he has been investigated and examined; and if the cases of bishops committed to me are arranged at the court of our most pious lords by the patronage of others, unhappy am I: what am I doing in this Church? But that my bishops despise me and have recourse against me to secular judges — I give thanks to Almighty God; I attribute it to my sins. This, however, I briefly suggest: that I wait for a while, and if he has long delayed in coming to me, I will by no means cease to exercise canonical strictness against him. But I trust in the almighty Lord that he will grant long life to our most pious lords, and will dispose us under your hand, not according to our sins, but according to the gifts of his grace.

[11] He separates other bishops from his communion: These things Gregory said to the dissimulating Empress. Furthermore, with the same Maximus remaining in his presumption, he separated the consecrators and all the Dalmatian and Iadertine bishops from his communion under excommunication — to such a degree that they should not even mention the name of Maximus during the sacred solemnities of Mass. By which action all were so dismayed in spirit that, under the satisfaction of penance, abandoning Maximus, they sought pardon. Whence the most merciful Pontiff, writing to ^d Sabinianus, Bishop of Iadera, says: Just as vengeance is rightly due to persevering guilt, He receives the penitent Bishop of Iadera back into grace: so pardon must be granted to those who repent. bk. 7, ep. 12, Indiction 1. For just as that matter can justly excite indignation against itself, so this matter is wont to propagate concord in its own love. And therefore, because your fraternity was suspended from the association and communion of Maximus — where neglect had first driven you — to such a degree that afterward the gravity of the priesthood recalled you to your senses, so that you were by no means content with his separation alone, but also, receiving yourself into the enclosure of a monastery, wept over your former offenses — for these reasons, have no doubt that you have been received back into our grace and communion. For as much as the fault of your charity had previously offended us, so much has your penance mollified us.

[12] And so Maximus, at last perceiving that it was hard to kick against the goads, He orders the case of the suppliant Maximus to be examined at Ravenna. abandoned imperial supports and, through the Exarch Callinicus, quite humbly requested that penance and pardon be granted to him by Gregory. Gregory, not wishing him to be wearied by a journey to Rome, committed the examination of his case to Ravenna, writing to ^e Constantius, Bishop of Milan: Maximus, the transgressor of the Church of Salona, he says, after he was unable to obtain anything through the greater powers of the world, turned to the lesser, and strives to prevail upon us both by the excess of his prayers and by the testimony of good works. bk. 7, ep. 69, Indiction 2. For which reason I considered it inhuman if he, who says he fears me so greatly, could not find me somewhat more temperate in any respect. And therefore I have decreed that our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Marinianus should examine his case in the city of Ravenna. If, however, his person should perhaps be held suspect, we wish that your fraternity also, if it is not too laborious for you, should trouble yourself to go to that same city and sit together with the aforesaid brother in the same judgment. Whatever pleases the holiness of both of you, know that it will please me in all respects, and I consider your judgment as my own.

[13] Meanwhile, the transgressor Maximus, in the seventh year of his excommunication, on account of public penance, after the chastisements and scourges of Gregory, returning to his senses, went to Ravenna and cast himself down within the city on the public street, crying and saying: "I have sinned against God and against the most blessed Pope Gregory." And while he was doing penance for three hours, the Exarch Callinicus and Castorius, notary of the Roman Church, ran with Bishop Marinianus and raised him from the pavement; and he even began to do greater penance before them. When Gregory heard this, he immediately returned to mercy, writing to Bishop Marinianus among other things: What the will and rather the petition of your fraternity is concerning the case of Maximus, he writes to Bishop Marinianus that he is to be received into grace: we have learned from the report of the bearer of the present letter, our notary Castorius; and therefore, if the same Maximus, having taken an oath before you and our aforesaid notary, shall have purged himself of simoniacal heresy, and, having merely been questioned about other matters before the body of St. Apollinaris, shall have replied that he is free of them — we commit his case to the judgment of your fraternity regarding the penance by which such a fault ought to be purged for the fact that he presumed to celebrate the solemnities of Mass while excommunicated. bk. 7, ep. 79, Indiction 2. And therefore, whatever pleases you according to God, arrange it securely, and have no doubt about us. For whatever is ordained by you in this cause, we both receive gratefully and willingly admit. We exhort you, however, to be careful and to temper what you see should be done, so that you may both grant him communion, if it seems fitting, and preserve the spirit of ecclesiastical vigor with fitting dispensation, as is proper. We have instructed the above-mentioned bearer in person as to what should be done with him in your presence; learning all things from him precisely, conduct yourselves in all matters so that we may feel our presence to have been in your care.

[14] Likewise to Castorius, Notary and secretary at Ravenna: Insofar as you see yourself entrusted with matters by us and to the Notary Castorius; and important causes enjoined upon you, to that extent you should show yourself more vigorous and careful. bk. 7, ep. 80 Therefore, if Maximus of Salona, having taken an oath, shall have affirmed that he is not held by simoniacal heresy, and, having merely been questioned about other matters before the body of St. Apollinaris, shall have replied that he is innocent, and shall have done penance for his disobedience as we have appointed — we wish that your experience should give the letter that we wrote to him, in which we indicated that we had restored to him our grace and communion, to console him. Because just as it behooves us to be severe with those who persist in contumacy, so again we ought not to deny a place of pardon to the humbled and penitent.

[15] And when Maximus had humbly made satisfaction concerning all things before the body of blessed Apollinaris according to Gregory's command, he receives him by written letter the notary Castorius gave him the consolatory letter, which in Gregory's words declared: Although you added a grave evil to the culpable beginnings of your ordination through the fault of disobedience, we nevertheless, tempering the authority of the Apostolic See with the moderation that was fitting, never blazed against you to the extent that the case demanded. bk. 7, ep. 81 But the solicitude entrusted to us was vehemently oppressing us, lest the ingratitude that you had stirred up against yourself should extend further, and lest we should seem to negligently overlook certain unlawful things that we had heard about you. Which, if you consider well, you yourself by delaying to make satisfaction were confirming, and by this you were more sharply inciting our zeal against you. But when at last, using wholesome counsel, you humbly submitted yourself to the yoke of obedience, and your dear self, doing penance, purged itself with fitting satisfaction as we had appointed, understand that the grace of fraternal charity is restored to you, and rejoice that you have been received back into our fellowship. Because just as it behooves us to be strict toward those persevering in fault, so it behooves us to be ready to pardon those who repent. Therefore, since your fraternity knows that it has restored communion with the Apostolic See, let it send a person to us who may receive from us the pallium to be brought to you according to custom. For just as we do not permit unlawful things to be perpetrated, he invites him to receive the pallium. so we do not deny those things that are of custom. Although the dispensation of our position has called us to grant these things, yet the petition of our most sweet and excellent son, the lord Exarch Gallicinus, demanded much of us that we should act more temperately toward you — whose most dear wish we neither endured nor could sadden.

^a Campagi, a kind of footwear used by Roman deacons. Campagi. So Papias. And the Fourth Council of Toledo: "Deacons are not permitted to be shod with campagi without apostolic license." Hence they were the proper use of bishops. Anastasius, in the Life of Pope Stephen III, says that the Subdeacon Maurinianus cut the campagi from Constantine the Antipope.

^b Concerning the Archdeacon Honoratus and Bishop Natalis, the matter is treated above, bk. 3, no. 9.

^c This was done by the Emperor Maurice in the year 595, as Baronius notes, no. 62.

^d Iadera, a city of Liburnia, archiepiscopal and the capital under the Venetians on the maritime shore, very well fortified. Iadera, city. But it is remarkable that Sabinianus is not found among the bishops of Iadera in Ughelli.

^e In our MSS. and in Surius he is called Constantinus, but Constantius in the Life printed before the works and in the Register. He sat from the year 592 to 600.

CHAPTER III

The Emperor Maurice is admonished by St. Gregory: he does penance; he is slain.

[16] St. Gregory is reproved by the Emperor Maurice, Moreover, the most greedy and tenacious Emperor, who by most ancient customs of payments very frequently defrauded the soldiers of his legions, as the Roman history narrates — perceiving that Gregory had absolutely no need of the imperial defenses against all the tumults of the world, by whose assistance he boasted of having raised him to the summit of the pontificate, but rather prevailed against all who thought highly of themselves by canonical authorities and the virtues of his holiness and prudence, with Christ being propitious — turned more and more to hatred and detraction of his reputation, reproaching the liberality of the Pontiff by subtle assertions because he had distributed both ecclesiastical and public grain to the starving soldiers. To whom Gregory — as one who attributed his advancement to the divine judgment, in whose hand the hearts of kings assuredly stand and are inclined wherever he wills, not to perishable human favors — contradicting with free voice, broke and disgraced him with these responses, and deterred him not a little by discoursing on the future judgment of God: In their most serene commands, he says, the piety of my lords, while endeavoring to reprove me for certain things, did not spare me by sparing me. bk. 4, ep. 31 For in those letters, under the term of urbane simplicity, he responds that simplicity is a virtue. he calls me a fool. For in sacred Scripture, when simplicity is taken in a good sense, it is carefully joined frequently to prudence or rectitude. Whence it is also written of blessed Job: "He was a simple and upright man." And the blessed Apostle admonishes, saying: "Be simple in evil and prudent in good." Job 1, Rom. 16, Matt. 10 And Truth itself in the Gospel admonishes, saying: "Be prudent as serpents and simple as doves" — indicating that it is very useless if either prudence lacks simplicity or simplicity lacks prudence. So that, therefore, he might make his servants trained for all things, he wished them to be both simple as doves and prudent as serpents: so that in them both the cunning of the serpent might temper the simplicity of the dove, and the simplicity of the dove might temper the cunning of the serpent. I, therefore, who in the most serene commands of my lords am proclaimed simple without accompanying prudence, deceived by the cunning of ^a Arnulf, am without doubt called a fool. Which I myself also confess to be so: for if your piety

were silent, the facts cry out. For if I had not been a fool, I would never have come to tolerate what I suffer in this place amid the swords of the Lombards. In that matter, however, which I reported about Arnulf — that he was prepared with his whole heart to come over to the Republic — since I am not believed, I am even reproved as having lied. But even if I were not* a priest, I know this is a grave injury to a priest — that one who serves the truth should be believed a deceiver. And I have long known that Arnulf was believed more than I, Leo more than I. And now to those who seem to be in the middle, more credulity is given than to my assertions. And indeed, if the captivity of my land were not increasing by daily moments, I would be silent, rejoicing at my own contempt and ridicule. But this afflicts me greatly: that while I bear the charge of falsehood, Italy is daily led captive under the yoke of the Lombards; and while my suggestions are believed in nothing, the forces of the enemy increase enormously. This, however, I suggest to my most pious lord: that he may think any bad things whatsoever about me, but that concerning the advantage of the republic and the cause of Italy's deliverance, he should not easily lend his pious ears to just anyone, but should believe facts rather than words. And let our lord not be hasty in his indignation toward priests from earthly power, Emperors owe reverence to bishops: but with excellent consideration, for the sake of him whose servants they are, let him so rule over them that he may also render due reverence. For in the divine scriptures, priests are sometimes called Gods, sometimes Angels. And through Moses it is said concerning the one who is to be brought to take an oath: "Bring him to the Gods," that is, to the priests. Ex. 22 And again it is written: "You shall not speak evil of the Gods," namely the priests. And the prophet says: "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts." Mal. 2 What wonder, then, if your piety should deign to honor those to whom, giving them honor in his own speech, God himself also calls them either Angels or Gods? ^b Ecclesiastical history also testifies that when written accusations against bishops were presented to the prince Constantine of pious memory, he indeed accepted the written accusations, following the example of the Emperor Constantine. but calling together those same bishops who had been accused, in their sight he burned the written accusations he had received, saying: "You are gods, established by the true God. Go and settle your cases among yourselves, for it is not fitting that we should judge gods." In which decision, however, pious lords, he gave more to himself through humility than he bestowed upon them through the reverence shown. For before him there had been pagan princes in the republic who did not know the true God but worshipped gods of wood and stone; and yet they rendered the greatest honor to their priests. What wonder, then, if a Christian Emperor, a worshipper of the true God, should deign to honor priests, when, as I have said, pagan princes knew how to render honor to priests who served gods of wood and stone? These things I suggest to the piety of my lords not on my own behalf, but on behalf of all priests. He acknowledges himself to be a sinner: For I am a sinful man, and because I daily sin unceasingly against Almighty God, I suspect there is some remedy for me at his fearful examination if I am struck with unceasing daily blows. And I believe that you please that same almighty Lord all the more, the more strictly you afflict me who serve him badly. For I had already received many blows, and with the arrival of my lords' commands, I found consolations that I had not hoped for. If I can, he enumerates the misfortunes he himself has suffered, let me quickly enumerate these blows. First, that the peace which I had made with the Lombards stationed in Tuscany, without any loss to the republic, was taken from me. Then, with peace broken, soldiers were withdrawn from the city of Rome; and indeed some were killed by enemies, while others, stationed at Narni and ^c Perugia — and so that Perugia might be held, Rome was abandoned. After this, the more grievous blow was ^d the arrival of Agilulf, so that with my own eyes I saw Romans tied with ropes around their necks like dogs, being led to Francia for sale. And because we who are within the city, with God's protection, escaped his hands, the question was raised as to how we might seem culpable — namely, why grain was lacking, which in this city cannot be stored in great quantity for a long time, as I more fully indicated in another report. And indeed concerning myself, I am troubled by nothing, because, with my conscience as witness, I confess that I am prepared to suffer any adversity whatsoever, provided only that I escape all these things with the salvation of my soul. But concerning the glorious men, the Prefect Gregory and Castorius, the Master of the Soldiers, I am not a little afflicted. and others on his account, They both in no way neglected to do all that could be done, and bore the very heavy labors of watching and guarding the city during that same siege. And after all these things they were struck with the heavy indignation of our lords — about whom I clearly understand that it is not their own deeds but my person that burdens them: because they had labored together with me in tribulation, they are tribulated together after the labor. But as for what the piety of my lords threatens me with that fearful and terrible judgment of Almighty God, he terrifies Maurice with the last judgment of God, I beg by that same almighty Lord that he do this no further. For we do not yet know who is what there; and Paul the excellent preacher says: "Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts." 1 Cor. 4 This, however, I say briefly: that I, a sinner and unworthy one, presume more upon the mercy of the coming Jesus than upon the justice of your piety. And there are many things concerning that judgment which men are ignorant of: for perhaps what you praise, he will reprove; and what you reprove, he will praise. I leave aside, therefore, what is uncertain; I return to tears alone, asking that the same Almighty God may both guide our most pious lord here by his hand, and in that terrible judgment may find him free from all sins; and may he make me please men, if it is necessary, in such a way that I do not offend his eternal grace.

[17] He is warned here of death by a monk, At length the Emperor Maurice, admiring the freedom of voice and the constancy of reproof of so great a Pontiff — because he had terrified him concerning the future judgment of God — was striving to proceed to exercise tyranny against him; when immediately in that same year a certain man, clothed in monastic garments, moved by a certain divine power, seized a sword in his right hand: which he carried naked from the forum all the way to the bronze statue of the gladiator, and proclaimed that the Emperor would die by the sword. When Maurice heard this, he restrained himself from the tyranny he would have inflicted on Gregory, and feared all the more that the divine judgment which Gregory had threatened him with would soon come upon him, insofar as he believed Gregory could not lie.

[18] ^e Immediately therefore, having composed prayers in writing, he dispatched them, along with large sums of money, he distributes alms: candles, and incense, to that same Gregory and to all Patriarchs, bishops, and monks of cities and solitudes alike, especially requesting that they should beseech the Lord to requite him in this world for the merits of his evil deeds — provided only that he might deserve to be redeemed from future torments. And when he himself had also most earnestly petitioned this for a long time with tears, one night while sleeping, he saw himself standing before the bronze statue of the Savior at the bronze gate of the palace before a great crowd of people. Then a terrible voice came from that very image of the incarnate Word, saying: "Deliver Maurice." And the ministers of judgment seized him and placed him beside the purple umbilicus he asks the appearing Christ to be punished in this life: that was there. To whom that same voice from the image said: "Where do you wish that I repay you the evils you have perpetrated in this world?" He replied: "O Lord, lover of mankind and just Judge, here rather, and not in the world to come, render them to me." Immediately the divine voice commanded that Maurice and his wife Constantia, with their sons and daughters and all his kindred, be delivered to the soldier Phocas. Waking, therefore, Maurice sent the ^f paracoemomenus and summoned to himself his son-in-law Philippicus, whom he had long suspected of ^g wishing to steal the Empire from him. But that man, conjecturing that he would be destroyed on account of the suspicion, having called his wife Gordia, bade her farewell as though she would never see him again. And having received the sacrament of communion, he came to the palace, he spares Philippicus: and entering the Emperor's chamber, he fell at his feet. To whom the Emperor, rising, likewise fell at his feet, saying: "Forgive me, I pray, for now indeed, taught by divine revelation, I have learned that you committed nothing against me from which I was suspicious; but if you know any man in our armies who is customarily called Phocas, tell me." And Philippicus, deliberating long within himself, said: "I know one Phocas who, recently named Procurator by the army, was opposing your rule." When Maurice inquired about his character, Philippicus said: He inquires about Phocas: "He is indeed a young man and reckless, but timid." And Maurice said: "If timid, then certainly a murderer." And while he wavered over this matter, the next day a magistrate, returning from the hermits to whom he had brought the Emperor's prayers, brought back the response, saying: "God, having accepted your penance, will save your soul and establish you with the Saints together with your whole household; but from the Empire you will fall with ignominy and peril."

[19] Having heard these things, Maurice, glorifying the Lord, held to his penance, but did not withdraw from the avarice of greed to such a degree that the army should winter in perilous places and, crossing the Danube, seek their provisions from the region of the Slavs at their own peril, lest they consume public provisions. When he pressed upon Peter, the Praetor, by fatal letters ^h, that man, calling the ^i Taxiarchs, said: "The Emperor's commands seem very heavy to me, on account of the mutinying soldiers, ordering Romans to winter in a foreign land. For it is cruel not to obey him, and in turn, most cruel to obey. Avarice produces no good, because it is the mother of all evils; languishing from which, the Emperor becomes the cause of these very great evils for the Romans." And so the army, hearing this through the Taxiarchs, turned to sedition, and having raised up the centurion Phocas on a shield, they acclaimed him Exarch; he incurs the calumny of the people, and having put the Praetor to flight, they send to Theodosius, the Emperor's son, and to his father-in-law Germanus, that one of them should strive to rule over them. They by no means consented; rather, they reported this to Maurice. But he wished to destroy Germanus; and since he had fled into a church, he flogged his son as a traitor of his counsel, and sending many to extract him from that church, he was never permitted to do so; indeed, he was torn by many insults from the people and called a Marcionist heretic. And when a grave tumult was stirred up within Constantinople, Maurice, in disguised garb, with his wife and children boarded a ship by night and fled to St. ^k Autonomus. But Phocas, coming with the army to the Septimum, was made Emperor: by whom Maurice, with his sons, wife, and daughters,

was beheaded near Chalcedon, with his family he is slain, just as it had been announced to him. And because the prayer of Gregory, by which he had asked that he be found free from all sins at God's terrible judgment, could not be empty, that same Maurice received what he deserved, and, blessing the Lord in all his misfortunes, deserved to be freed from eternal punishment.

^a Arnulf, Duke of the Lombards in Tuscany, about whom more is said shortly.

^b This is the Ecclesiastical History of Rufinus, in which these events are related in bk. 10, ch. 2, as having been done by the Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea.

^c Perugia. Perugia was wrested from the Lombards by the Patrician Exarch, but then besieged and captured by King Agilulf, as Paul the Deacon relates in bk. 4 of the History of the Lombards, ch. 7.

^d St. Gregory in the Preface to his second book on Ezekiel says that he had learned that Agilulf, hastening with the utmost effort to the siege of the city of Rome, had crossed the Po.

^e The following is read in exactly the same manner in Theophanes, from whom John the Deacon transcribed it.

^f Paracoemomenus. Theophanes has παρακοιμώμενον, the bed-attendant; corruptly in Surius "parochoenus"; in the MSS. also "paracenus" and "paratenus."

^g Theophanes gives the reason that the name began with the letter φ [phi], as if he would be destroyed by such a person — whom he had already learned would be Phocas.

^h Our MS. reads "imminuerat." Theophanes has κελεύσαντος, "commanding." It seems "innueret" hinted should be read.

^i Taxiarchs. Taxiarchs, Prefects of the Orders. Theophanes has Γουνδούην, perhaps the chief among the prefects.

^k St. Autonomus, a bishop, was a martyr in Bithynia under Diocletian; he is venerated on September 12. St. Autonomus.

* The printed text reads "sum" I am.

CHAPTER IV

The Empire of Phocas: letters of St. Gregory to him. His consent in the consecration of bishops.

[20] Therefore, on the seventh of the Kalends of May, ^a in the sixth Indiction, the image of Phocas and Leontia as Emperors was brought to Rome, with their favorable letters. Upon acclamation of Phocas as Emperor at Rome, And after acclamations were made for them by the clergy and Senate in the basilica of Julius, by Gregory's order the image was placed in the oratory of St. Caesarius established in the Lateran palace. bk. 11, ep. 38 He also wrote back to the Emperor Phocas as follows: Glory to God in the highest, who, as it is written, changes times and transfers kingdoms, and who has made known to all what he deigned to speak through his prophet, saying: "The Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever he wills." Dan. 2, Dan. 4 For in the incomprehensible dispensation of Almighty God, the alternating governances of mortal life are arranged; and sometimes, when the sins of many must be punished, one is raised up through whose harshness the necks of subjects are bowed beneath the yoke of tribulation: St. Gregory rejoices which we have proved in our own extended tribulation. But sometimes, when a merciful God determines to refresh the grieving hearts of many with his consolation, he raises one to the summit of governance and through the bowels of his mercy pours the grace of his own exultation into the minds of all. In which abundance of exultation we believe we shall be strengthened more quickly, we who rejoice that the benignity of your piety has reached the imperial summit. Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult, and let the people of the entire republic — vehemently afflicted until now — be gladdened by your benign acts. Let the proud minds of enemies be repressed by the yoke of your dominion; let the crushed and depressed spirits of subjects be relieved by your mercy. Let the virtue of heavenly grace make you terrible to enemies, and piety make you benign to subjects. Let plundering, set forth under the guise of lawsuits, cease in the most happy times of your peace throughout the entire republic. Let the snares of testaments cease, and gifts of donation violently extorted. Let there return to all a secure possession of their own property, so that they may rejoice to hold without fear what was not acquired by them through frauds. Let the liberty of each one be reformed under the yoke of a pious empire. For this is the difference between the kings of the nations and the Emperor of the Republic: that the kings of the nations are lords of slaves, but the Emperor of the Republic is lord of free men.

[21] And when Phocas requested with great reverential humility that a deacon of the Roman See be sent to him, he sends an apocrisiarius of the Holy Roman Church to Constantinople Gregory wrote back as follows: It is a pleasure to consider with joys and great actions of thanks how great are the praises we owe to the almighty Lord, because the yoke of sadness has been removed and we have arrived at times of liberty under the benignity of your imperial piety. bk. 11, ep. 38 For the fact that your serenity does not find a deacon of the Apostolic See residing in the palace, according to ancient custom, this was not from my negligence but from the most grievous necessity. Because while all the ministers of this Church shrank from and avoided such bruised and harsh times with fear, none of them could be compelled to go to the royal city to reside in the palace. But after they learned that your clemency, by the disposing grace of Almighty God, had arrived at the summit of Empire, they themselves also, with joy urging them, hasten to come to your feet — they who before had been very afraid to go there. But because some of them are so weakened by age that they can barely endure the labor, and others are vehemently involved in ecclesiastical cares, and the bearer of these present letters, who was the first Defensor of all, is well known to me from long association, approved in life, faith, and character — I have judged him suitable for the feet of your piety. Whence, by God's authority, I made him a deacon and took care to send him with speed, so that, having found an opportune time, he may be able to suggest to your clemency all things that are happening in these parts. I ask that your serenity deign to incline pious ears to him, so that you may be able to have mercy on us the more quickly, the more truly you learn of our affliction from his report. For how we have been pressed for thirty-five years by daily swords and the incursions of the Lombards, no words of any report can adequately express. But we trust in Almighty God, who will bring to completion the good things of his consolation that he has begun for us, and who, having raised up pious lords in the republic, will extinguish our cruel enemies.

[22] Likewise to the Empress Leontia: What tongue can speak, what mind can conceive how great thanks we owe to Almighty God for the serenity of your Empire, he congratulates the Empress Leontia, since such hard burdens of a long time have been removed from our necks and the light yoke of the imperial summit has returned, which it is a pleasure for subjects to bear? bk. 11, ep. 44 Let glory, therefore, be rendered to the Creator of all by the hymn-singing choirs of Angels in heaven; let thanksgiving be offered by men on earth: because the entire republic, which endured many wounds of sorrow, has now found the comforts of your consolation. Whence it is necessary for us to beseech more earnestly the mercy of Almighty God, that he may always hold the heart of your piety in his right hand, he commends zeal and gentleness to rulers. and may dispense its thoughts by the aid of heavenly grace: so that your tranquility may be able to rule more rightly those who serve it, the more truly it has learned to serve the Ruler of all. In the love of the Catholic faith, may he make those whom he has made our emperors through benign action into his defenders. May he pour into your minds zeal and gentleness together, so that by pious fervor you may always be able both not to leave unavenged whatever is transgressed against God, and to tolerate by forbearance if anything is done against you.

[23] Solicitous that synodical letters be sent by new Patriarchs, Gregory either soothed the new princes with these praises so that, hearing what manner of persons they ought to be, they might become milder than Maurice had been — whose times they knew to be involved in so many crimes — or because, seeing them most devoted to himself and his Church, he did not think they would rush into tyranny. Who, just as he rebuked the vices of any persons with free voice and permitted no one to act against the canons or ancient customs, so he by no means denied to anyone what was a matter of custom. For as soon as he shone forth as Bishop of the Apostolic See, he sent his synodical letter to the Patriarchal Sees, and afterward, writing to Secundinus, a servant of God who was an enclosed religious, among other things says: Hence it is that whenever bishops are ordained in the four principal sees, they send synodical letters reciprocally to one another, in which they profess that they keep the holy Council of Chalcedon with the other general councils. bk. 7, ep. 53 Likewise to the Priest Athanasius from Isauria, after many things: We wished to send our writings to our brother Cyriacus, bishop of the city of Constantinople, who was recently ordained in the place of the most reverend Bishop John. bk. 6, ep. 64 But because it is not the custom that we should write to him before his synodical letter is brought to us, for this reason we have deferred for now, but we will indicate later. bk. 3, ep. 64, Indiction 4. Which custom indeed, as those of ours who, sent ^b by Pope Hadrian two years ago, were present at the holy ^c eighth Synod, also testify: the Oriental sees especially retain it to this day, so that they might be inscribed in the diptychs. so that in their diptychs they inscribe the name of no pontiff until they receive his synodical letter, and they count the deceased pontiff among the living for as long as his successor has not taken care to send his own letters.

[24] Hence it is, indeed, that Gregory, not deviating from ancient custom, writes to John the subdeacon, rector of the patrimony of Liguria, [having understood the legitimate election, he orders the consecration of the Milanese bishops Constantine,] saying: Inasmuch as the Apostolic See, by God's authority, is known to preside over all churches, so among multiple cares that one also greatly concerns us, where our judgment is awaited for the consecration of a bishop. bk. 2, ep. 30, Indiction 11 Therefore, upon the death of ^d Lawrence, Bishop of the Church of Milan, the clergy made known to us by their report that they had unanimously consented to the election of our son, their deacon Constantius. But since that report was not subscribed, lest we omit anything that pertains to caution, it is necessary that, fortified by the authority of this command, you set out for Genoa, and because many of the Milanese reside there, compelled by the Lombard barbarian ferocity, you ought, having convened them together, to examine their wills. And if no diversity separates them from the unity of the election, if indeed you learn that the wills and consent of all persist in the aforesaid son Constantius, then have him consecrated by his own bishops, as the custom of antiquity requires, with the assent of our authority, the Lord assisting: So that this custom being preserved, both the Apostolic See may retain its proper vigor and may not diminish the rights granted to others by itself. But when, after some years, Constantius had distinguished himself nobly in the pontificate and ^e had fallen asleep in the Lord, the clergy and people of Milan, electing the deacon Deus-dedit, were being terrorized by King Agilulf to elect the one whom the barbarity of the Lombards wished. But they, sending their decree to Gregory, sought counsel and permission; to whom he wrote back among other things as follows: and after his death, Deus-dedit: Let not what you report was written to you by Agilulf trouble your dear selves: for we wish to consult for your benefit in a salutary manner, and to a man who is not elected by Catholics — and especially one elected by the Lombards — we will by no means give our consent: because the Vicar of St. Ambrose is manifestly shown unworthy if he is ordained as one elected by such persons. bk. 8, ep. 65, Indiction 3

And after a little: So that therefore in

ordaining the deacon Deus-dedit, who was elected by you, no delay should occur, we have sent our notary Pantaleon, who, as is the custom, with the supporting authority of our consent, should have him consecrated.

^a Of the year 603.

^b Hadrian II sat from the year 867 until the Kalends of November in the year 872.

^c This is the 4th Council of Constantinople, begun on the 5th of October in the year 869 and finished on the 8th of February in the year 870. 8th Synod. In it, Photius having been condemned with his followers, St. Ignatius was restored. After the Synod, Hadrian lived for two years and 8 months. Hence the words "two years ago" are understood from the return of the envoys, omitting the months, as if one were to say, "it is not yet three years."

^d In the year 591.

^e In the year 600.

CHAPTER V

Various bishops unjustly deposed and to be restored by St. Gregory. The rule prescribed for strictly examining charges brought forward.

[25] He encourages with letters Anastasius, the exiled Patriarch of Antioch. Gregory, that most valiant soldier of Christ, vigorously defended those oppressed by adverse powers; and those unjustly deposed he not only did not reckon among the deposed, but also restored them to their former ranks by the privilege of his authority. For ^a Anastasius, the Patriarch of Antioch, who, rebuking the Patriarch John of Constantinople with a free voice, had been thrust into exile by order of the Emperor Justin and remained there from the times of Pope John himself up to the times of his own pontificate — as soon as he merited the supreme priesthood, reckoning him among the Patriarchs, he encouraged him with such writings: Moreover, he says, as to the other Patriarchs who are your equals, I have sent you a synodical letter: because before me you are always what you have received to be by the gift of Almighty God, not what you are thought not to be by the will of men. bk. 1, ep. 23, bk. 1, ep. 7 Likewise, writing to the same in another letter after not many things, he says: I inform your fraternity that I have asked the most serene lords with whatever prayers I could that they should grant you, restored to your proper honor, to come to the threshold of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and to live here with me for as long as it so pleases God: he endeavors to have him restored to his proper see: so that, when I shall have deserved to see you, we may relieve the weariness of our pilgrimage by speaking to one another about the eternal fatherland. At length the most zealous Father Gregory so persistently pressed upon the Emperor Maurice with his suggestions until, after the course of many years, the great Anastasius was restored to his proper throne. bk. 4, ep. 37 To whom he wrote back in congratulation, saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will: because that great river, which had once left the dry rocks of Antioch, has returned to its proper channel and waters the subjected and nearby valleys, so that one may bear fruit thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.

[26] Adrian, Bishop of the city of Thebes, unjustly deposed by John ^b of Prima Justiniana and another John ^c of Larissa, He restores to his bishopric the Bishop of Thebes who was unjustly deposed: he not only restored to his proper see, but also, defending that same church by Roman right, withdrew it from the power of the Bishop of Larissa, saying among other things: We have found that Bishop Adrian both labored under your hatred, contrary to priestly conduct, and was condemned by your fraternity's sentence in monetary cases with no legal basis. bk. 2, ep. 7, Indiction 11. Since, therefore, having been deposed by the aforesaid John, Bishop of Prima Justiniana, against law and the canons, he could not have been deprived of the rank of his honor, we have decreed that he be restored to his own church and recalled to the order of his proper dignity. And although you ought to have been deprived of the communion of the Lord's Body for the fact that, having disregarded the admonition of my predecessor of holy memory, by which he exempted him and his church from your jurisdiction, you presumed to claim some right and authority over them again: nevertheless, we, decreeing more humanely and meanwhile preserving for you the sacrament of communion, he sternly warns bishops guilty of injustice decree that your fraternity abstain from all power of jurisdiction over him and his church previously exercised; but according to the writings of our predecessor, if any cause of faith, crime, or money should arise against our aforesaid fellow bishop Adrian, let it be investigated either through those who are or shall be our representatives in the royal city, if the matter is minor; or if it is weighty, let it be brought here to the Apostolic See, so that it may be decided by the sentence of our hearing. But if, against these things that we have decreed, you attempt to come at any time, by any occasion or surreptitious means, we decree that you be deprived of sacred communion, or suspends them from sacred rites for 30 days: and that you not receive it, except at the last moment of your life, without the permission of the Roman Pontiff being granted. For this we decree with a definition consonant with the holy Fathers: that he who does not know how to obey the sacred canons is not worthy either to administer at or to receive communion from the sacred altars. bk. 2, ep. 6 Likewise to John, Bishop of Prima Justiniana: After long tribulations which Bishop Adrian of the city of Thebes endured from his fellow bishops as if from enemies, he fled to the city of Rome. And although his first complaint was against John, Bishop of Larissa — that he had not been legally judged by him in monetary causes — nevertheless, afterward he complained more gravely against the person of your fraternity, by whom he demanded to have been unjustly cast down from the rank of the priesthood. And below: As for what pertains to the present matter, he says, having first annulled and reduced to nothing the decrees of your aforesaid sentence, or suspends them from sacred rites for 30 days: by the authority of the blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, we decree that you, deprived of sacred communion for a space of thirty days, should beseech Almighty God our Lord for pardon of so great an offense with the highest penance and tears. But if you learn that you have carried out this sentence of ours too leniently, know that not only the injustice but also the contumacy of your fraternity will, with the Lord's help, be punished more severely. Moreover, we dispose that the aforesaid Adrian, our brother and fellow bishop, condemned by your sentence — which, as we have said, in no way holds according to canons and laws — should return, with Christ as companion, to his proper place and rank: so that neither may the sentence pronounced by your fraternity against the path of justice harm him, nor may your charity, for the sake of appeasing the indignation of the future judge, remain uncorrected.

[27] another for 2 months: Hence it is that, except for manifest crimes, Gregory deposed no one from the priesthood, but rather, according to the qualities of their offenses, mercifully deprived them of communion. bk. 2, ep. 45, Indiction 11. Whence, writing to ^d John, Bishop of Callipolis, after some things, he says: Concerning the woman enrolled in the poor-register whom our brother and fellow bishop ^e Andrew, Bishop of Tarentum, had beaten with rods — although we do not believe that she died eight months later because of this — nevertheless, because he had her afflicted in this manner contrary to the order of his profession, suspend him from the solemnity of Mass for two months, so that at least this shame may teach him what manner of person he can show himself to be henceforth.

[28] [He sees to it that charges imposed on bishops are subjected to a new examination:] Whenever anything was to be examined concerning the crimes of priests, Gregory sought the measures of each particular charge with the highest strictness and great caution, promulgating his sentence with more difficulty than ease. Whence, writing to Natalis, Bishop of Salona, he says: While all matters require the solicitude of searching for the truth, those which pertain to the deposition of priestly ranks must be weighed more strictly: in which what is treated is not so much about human statutes as about the opposition, in a way, to the divine benediction. bk. 2, ep. 8, Indiction 11. For it has been reported to us that Florentius, Bishop of ^f the city of Epidaurus, was accused by certain persons on criminal charges, and without canonical proofs being sought, nor a priestly council having preceded in judgment, he was stripped of his office of honor not by right but by authority. Because, therefore, no one can be removed from the rank of episcopate except by just causes and the concordant sentence of priests, we exhort your fraternity to have the aforesaid man released from the exile into which he was thrust, and his case examined by episcopal discussion. And if he is convicted by canonical proof in those things for which he was accused, he must without doubt be punished with canonical punishment. But if otherwise than what was thought of him is found by synodal investigation, it is necessary that his accusers dread the strictness of just law, and that the unimpaired support of his innocence be preserved for the accused. We have entrusted the execution of the aforesaid business to our subdeacon Antoninus by our command, so that by his insistence both what is pleasing to the canonical laws may be decreed and the decrees, with the Lord's help, may be carried into effect. bk. 8, ep. 30 Likewise to Constantius of Milan: Having reread the letters you sent to us through Maurinus, the bearer of the present letter, we write back that your solicitude was pleasing to us, because you could not bear to dissimulate the case that came to you concerning our brother and fellow bishop Pompeius — who must be so called by us. But if the care that was in the inquiry had been matched by the same subtlety in the examination, nothing of what was said about him would have been ambiguous, but whether it was true or fabricated would have been clear. Because already formerly in Sicily, before our brother Bishop Maximinianus of reverend memory, such a charge — as we have learned — was raised against him: but because his case was investigated with altogether subtle examination, the one who had been accused of crime was found innocent. Now, therefore, since the things that were said against him were not investigated and recorded with the strictness that was fitting, and the proceedings that were compiled before your fraternity are proved to suffice neither for his condemnation nor for his absolution: the matter is not a light one, to be defined carelessly or in passing. For it is very grave and unseemly that a certain sentence should be pronounced in a doubtful matter. he advises that a certain sentence should not be pronounced in doubtful cases: And indeed these proceedings could have been sufficient for a decision if the confession of the accused had followed; if, however, the subtlety of the examination had elicited that same confession from hidden things and not severe affliction had extorted it — which frequently brings it about that the innocent are compelled to confess themselves guilty. For since the aforesaid bishop, as it is said, claims he was tortured by imprisonment and wasted by hunger, you should know, if this is so, whether it harms if a confession was thus extorted. When such cases receive a sentence and an appeal is made to the Apostolic See, is not the person who is being judged present, so that the truth may be most strictly sought from every side, and it may then be determined whether the sentence should or should not stand? And even if the aforesaid bishop wished to appeal to the Apostolic See, his case is to be examined inwardly and with all diligence? And therefore, since the person is absent and the proceedings you sent us do not appear, as we have said, to satisfy us adequately, we cannot and ought not to rashly decree anything about the person of a bishop — lest, God forbid, we be found reprehensible in our own judgments, who have the right to review the sentences of others by right. bk. 11, ep. 30 Likewise to John the Defensor, after some things: Because, he says, the Bishop Stephen

asserts that out of hatred certain persons brought fabricated charges and false accusations against him, and that nothing was done in an orderly manner, but that he was unjustly condemned — it must be diligently inquired: first, whether the trial was conducted in an orderly fashion; and that all circumstances are to be carefully examined: whether there were separate accusers and separate witnesses. Then the quality of the charges — whether they were worthy of exile or deposition; whether testimony was given against him under oath in his presence; whether the proceedings were in writing; whether he had the opportunity to respond and defend himself. But the persons of the accusers and witnesses must also be subtly examined: of what life, of what condition, of what reputation; whether they are not destitute; whether perhaps they had any enmity against the aforesaid bishop. Whether they gave testimony from hearsay or specifically testified that they personally knew. Whether the judgment was in writing and the sentence recited in the presence of the parties. But if by chance these things were not done according to proper form, and the case is not proved to be worthy of exile or deposition, let him by all means be recalled to his church.

^a This is St. Anastasius Sinaita, whom we said above is venerated on April 21.

^b Prima Justiniana was built by the Emperor Justinian among the Dardanians, where he was born, and was made the metropolis of the entire province and the archiepiscopal see of the Illyrians, as Procopius relates in bk. 4 of the Buildings, p. 67. Prima Justiniana.

^c Larissa was the metropolis of Thessaly, under which the city of Thebes lay.

^d Calliopolis, or better Callipolis, a city of Thrace on the Propontis, opposite Lampsacus in Asia. But here the Callipolis of the Salentini is meant, Callipolis. where Mela places the Greek city of Callipolis, now commonly called Gallipoli by the inhabitants, on the seashore not far from the Iapygian or Salentine promontory. But the death of Bishop John mentioned here is described by St. Gregory in bk. 5, ep. 21, Indiction 14, to Peter, Bishop of Hydruntum.

^e Andrew, the 6th Bishop of Tarentum according to Ughelli, to whom there is a letter of the same St. Gregory, no. 44 of bk. 2; and to his successor Honorius is written letter 24 of bk. 11, Indiction 6, or the year of Christ 603.

^f So our MS. and Corsend. In the Life printed with the works, "Epitauritanae." Hence more corruptly in Surius, "Tauritanae." Epidaurus is a city of Dalmatia, Epidaurus. commonly called Ragusa. A free emporium with an archiepiscopal see.

CHAPTER VI

Instructions prescribed by St. Gregory for bishops and other superiors. The law of retaliation to be applied to false accusers. Due stipends to be given to clerics.

[29] He confirms the authority of bishops with his own authority: Gregory in no way diminished the authority of any supreme pontiffs by the greatness of his own authority; rather, he multiplied and strengthened it. And although he recognized the authority of his primacy among the guilty, nevertheless among innocent bishops he showed himself utterly equal. Wherefore, writing to John, Bishop of Syracuse, among other things, he says: As for the Primate of Byzacena, who says he is subject to the Apostolic See because he has been challenged by his own bishops: if any fault is found in the bishops, I know not which bishop would not be subject to him; but when fault does not require it, all bishops are equal according to the reasoning of humility, etc. bk. 7, ep. 64, Indiction 2, pt. 2, ch. 6 Likewise, in the book of the Pastoral Rule: It is clear, he says, that nature has begotten all men equal, but by the varying order of merits, guilt places some behind others. But that very diversity which has come about through vice is dispensed by divine judgment: for since not every person can stand equally, one is to be ruled by another. Whence all who are in charge should weigh not the power of their rank but the equality of their condition: He wishes superiors to be mindful of their condition nor should they rejoice in ruling over men, but in being useful to them. For our ancient fathers are remembered to have been not kings of men but shepherds of flocks; and when the Lord said to Noah and his sons, "Increase and multiply and fill the earth," he immediately added: "And let the terror and dread of you be upon all the animals of the earth." Gen. 9 Since their terror and dread is commanded to be over the animals of the earth, it is assuredly forbidden to be over men. For man was set over the brute animals by nature, not over other men. And therefore he is told to be feared by animals and not by man: because to be proud against an equal is against nature. And yet it is necessary that rulers be feared by their subjects, when they perceive that God is not at all feared by them: so that those who do not fear divine judgments may at least fear sinning through human dread. lest they become puffed up Yet superiors should by no means become proud from this sought-after fear, in which they do not seek their own glory but the justice of their subjects. For in this, that they demand fear for themselves from those who live perversely, they rule, as it were, not over men but over animals. Because indeed, insofar as their subjects are bestial, to that extent they ought also to lie subjected to fear. But often the ruler, by the very fact that he is set over others, is swollen in thought by the inflation of elation; and while all things are subject to his use, while commands are swiftly fulfilled as he wishes, while all subjects extol whatever is well done with praises but no one has authority to contradict what is badly done, and they often even praise what they ought to have reproved — seduced by these things that abound below him, his spirit is lifted above himself; and while he is surrounded outwardly by immense favor, he is emptied inwardly of truth, and forgetting himself, he scatters himself among the voices of others and believes himself to be such as he hears himself to be outwardly, not such as he ought inwardly to have discerned; nor become inflated he despises his subjects and does not recognize them as his equals by the origin of nature; and those whom he has surpassed by the lot of power, he believes he has transcended also in the merits of his life; he thinks himself wiser than all, because he sees himself more powerful than all. He sets himself upon a certain summit within himself, and he who is bound by the equal condition of nature with others disdains to regard others as his equals; with Lucifer and so he is led even to the likeness of him of whom it is written: "He beholds all things sublime, and he himself is king over all the children of pride." Job 41 Who, seeking the singular summit and despising the shared life of the Angels, says: "I will set my throne in the North, and I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14 By a wondrous judgment, therefore, he finds within the pit of dejection, while outwardly he raises himself on the summit of power. He is made like the apostate Angel when a man disdains to be like other men. and Saul, Thus Saul, after the merit of humility, grew in the swelling of pride on the summit of power: for through humility he was set over others, and through pride he was rejected — the Lord testifying, who says: "Was it not when you were little in your own eyes that I made you the head of the tribes of Israel?" He had previously seen himself as little in his own eyes; but, supported by temporal power, he no longer saw himself as little. 1 Sam. 13 For preferring himself in comparison with others, because he could do more than all, he thought himself great above all. But by a wondrous turn, when he was little in his own eyes, he was great before God; but when he appeared great in his own eyes, he was little before God. Very often, therefore, when the mind is inflated by the abundance of subjects, it is corrupted into the luxury of pride, the very summit of power pandering to it; which power indeed he rules well who knows both how to hold it and how to combat it. He rules it well who knows how to rise through it above faults and how, with it, to be composed in equality with others. but let them set themselves above sinners with zeal for correction For the human mind is very often exalted even when it is not supported by any power. How much more does it raise itself on high when power also joins itself to it? Yet he who knows how to take from it what helps and to combat what tempts — to see himself as equal to others through it, and yet to place himself above sinners by the zeal of correction — dispenses that power rightly. But let us more fully recognize this discretion if we consider the examples of the chief Pastor. following the example of St. Peter, For Peter, holding by God's authority the headship of the holy Church of God, refused from the well-doing Cornelius, who also humbly prostrated himself before him, to be venerated excessively, and recognized himself as his equal, saying: "Rise up; do not do this, for I myself am also a man." But when he discovered the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, he immediately showed with what great power he had grown above others. For by a word he struck their life, which he detected by the Spirit's searching; and he recalled that within the Church he was supreme against sins — the honor vehemently shown to him that he had not recognized in the presence of well-doing brethren. In the one case, the sanctity of his action merited the fellowship of equality; in the other, the zeal of vengeance revealed the right of his power. And shortly after: But when superiors correct their delinquent subjects, it remains necessary that they carefully attend to the measure in which, through the obligation of discipline, they strike faults by right of power, yet through the preservation of humility recognize themselves as equal to those very brethren who are corrected. fearing more that they themselves sin with impunity, Though indeed it is often fitting that we should, in silent thought, prefer to ourselves those very ones whom we correct. For their vices are struck through us by the vigor of discipline; but in those things which we ourselves commit, we are not even wounded by the rebuke of anyone's word. Therefore, before the Lord, we are more deeply bound insofar as we sin among men with impunity. And so forth.

[30] With this equality preserved, Gregory writes to Romanus, the Defensor of Sicily, [how controversies of clerics among themselves or with their bishops should be settled:] saying: It has come to our notice that if anyone has a case against any clerics, you have them brought to your court, despising their bishops. bk. 9, ep. 32 Which, if it is so, because it is clearly very improper, by this authority we command you not to presume to do this henceforth. But if anyone has a case against any cleric, let him go to his own bishop, so that either the bishop himself may hear the case or judges may be appointed by him. Or if the matter should perhaps require recourse to arbitrators, let an executor appointed by the bishop compel the parties to choose judges. But if any cleric or layperson has a case against a bishop, then you should interpose yourself, so that either you yourself may hear the case between them, or, with your admonition, they may choose judges for themselves. For if his own jurisdiction is not preserved for each bishop, what else is being done except that through us, through whom the ecclesiastical order ought to have been guarded, it is confounded?

[31] Just as Gregory left no one convicted of a crime without canonical punishment, False informers should be punished with the law of retaliation: so indeed he punished a false informer by the regular path. Whence, writing to the Subdeacon Anthemius, he says: Since crimes that are brought against the innocent and especially against those in sacred orders are to be more severely punished, all of you who sat in the case of the Deacon John should take note how culpable you are, that no punishment from your sentence came to strike his accuser Hilary. bk. 9, ep. 66 Nor should you think that it is a sufficient excuse for you that our brother and fellow bishop Paschasius alone is said to have delayed while you wished to judge; for if zeal for rectitude had been vigorous in you, one could more easily have been rationally persuaded by many than many could have been deferred by one without cause. Because, therefore, so great an evil of wickedness should not pass without punishment, we wish that our aforesaid brother Paschasius be admonished to first deprive that same Hilary of the office of subdeacon, which he unworthily holds, and, having publicly chastised him with beatings, to have him deported into exile: so that the punishment of one may become the correction of many. But if perhaps the bruised reputation of his diaconate does not yet move him, and — which we do not believe — he is torpid in this, let your experience do what we have said and report to us about his negligence. Gregory therefore orders the subdeacon who did not prove what he had alleged to be deprived of his office: because according to the canonical sentences of the Fathers, he who does not prove a calumny he has brought must incur the penalty that the accused would certainly have endured had it been proved. And therefore, because the subdeacon could not prove the crime of the deacon — since he did not have the imposition of hands, which he could have lacked — he lost not the priesthood but his office, and, as truly infamous, deserved to be chastised with beatings. For it is no wonder that, since a crime of any kind is proved against him as against a layman with three witnesses, when he does not succeed in proving what he alleged, he should be subjected by the similarity of the law to bodily infamy, just as a layman. For what losing one's rank would be for a deacon, this was for a subdeacon to have lost the fullness of his reputation.

[32] Gregory by no means let crimes once brought to his attention pass without examination, even if the accused had returned to good terms with his accuser. bk. 2, ep. 38 [He does not permit charges once introduced to pass unexamined, and he punishes false accusers:] Wherefore, writing to all the bishops of Corinth, he says: Indiction 11. It is our desire to bring back the discordant to concord, and that those whom a diversity of will has made divided from mutual affection should be united in grace. Having therefore reread the writings of your fraternity, we have learned that those who had said certain things against our brother and fellow bishop Adrian have now come into friendship with the same bishop; and at present we had great joy at their unity. But since we do not suffer things that have been said to remain unexamined, we are sending a deacon of our see to investigate them: because the nature of the crime reported to us vehemently impels us not to dissimulate in any way what we have heard. Especially since you have indicated that the accusers and the accused have made peace between themselves, it is necessary for us to inquire into this more subtly, lest perhaps their concord was purchased. Which if — God forbid — it is found to have been made not from charity but from payment, this must be punished with even greater correction. For we, who canonically hasten, with God revealing, to cut away the preceding evils if they are indeed true, by no means dismiss a subsequently committed fault without punishment. Likewise to John, Bishop of the Corinthians, after some things: Paul the Deacon, he says, the bearer of the present letter — although his fault greatly confounds and rebukes him for having been deceived by a promise to desist from the accusation of his recently deposed former bishop, and for having, from desire of gain, consented to keep silent against his own soul rather than to produce the truth — nevertheless, because it is more fitting for us to be merciful than strict, we forgive him this fault and decree that he be received back in his order and place. bk. 4, ep. 50 For we believe the affliction he has endured from the time of the sentence pronounced can suffice as punishment for this fault. But Euphemius and Thomas, who accepted sacred orders in exchange for abandoning their accusation — we wish them to be deprived of those same orders and to remain, as they are, deposed; and we decree that they never be recalled to sacred orders under any pretext of excuse. For it is exceedingly unworthy and against the rule of ecclesiastical discipline that they should enjoy an honor that they received not from merits but as a reward for wickedness. Yet because it befits us to devote ourselves more to mercy than to strict justice, we wish those same Euphemius and Thomas to be recalled only to the order and place from which they had been promoted to sacred orders, and that for all the days of their life they should receive the sustenance of those same places as they were accustomed to before. ^a Clematius the Lector, likewise, I decree should be recalled, out of consideration for kindness, to his order and place. To all of these — that is, Paul the Deacon, Euphemius, Thomas, and Clematius — let your fraternity take care to provide their benefits according to the place and order in which each one of them is, as each was accustomed to receive, without any diminution, from the present Indiction.

[33] The customary stipends of clerics, the most merciful Father Gregory, on no occasions of whatever illnesses, withheld. He orders customary stipends to be administered to sick clerics: Whence, writing to Candidus, Bishop of ^b Urbs Vetus, he says: Since a bodily affliction — whether it occurs for purification or for punishment — because in this the judgment of God is unknown, no affliction ought to be added by us to those who are already stricken, lest the offense of guilt — God forbid — redound to us. bk. 2, ep. 5 And because the bearer of this letter, Calumniosus, asserts that on account of this affliction he suffers, his customary benefits are denied him by your church, we therefore exhort your fraternity by this letter that this illness should in no way hinder him from receiving what is customary. Indiction 10. For various kinds of sickness often befall those serving in the Church, as you know. And if they are deterred by this example, no one can henceforth be found who will serve the Church. But according to the order of his place, whatever could be administered to him if he were well, let your fraternity not cease to provide to him while sick, in consideration of the divine judgment, from whatever resources the Church can offer.

[34] The pledges made by venerable bishops to their own clerics Gregory strengthened by the authorities of the Apostolic See. bk. 11, ep. 40 Whence he writes to ^c John, Bishop of Palermo, saying: The desires of petitioners are always to be fulfilled, when they ask for things that do not deviate from reason. And therefore, because certain articles that you promised to your petitioning clerics you would observe are requested by them to be confirmed by our authority: [he wishes the guarantees made by bishops to their clerics to be strengthened by apostolic authority, and orders that their quarters be given to them in full.] we exhort your fraternity by these words, that you should observe what the present writing contains without any opposition. First, that you should provide to the clerics of your church the quarter of the revenues in its entirety, according to the merit or office or labor of each one, as you yourself shall see fit to give to each, without any delay. And concerning what shall accrue from the offerings of the faithful, likewise do not delay in giving them a quarter portion in cash or from the storehouse, according to the former custom. But all other movable goods you may retain in your power; let all immovable goods be added to the ecclesiastical revenues: so that, with the amount multiplied, they may serve for the uses of your clerics by God's bounty. Remember to ordain a steward together with the consent of the elders and clergy, who must each year, to remove any suspicion of fraud, solemnly present his accounts. At the time of the vintage, moreover, let the same clergy obtain the remedy of purchasing wine from the estates of your church at just prices, insofar as it is to be sold. For it is quite contrary to reason that what can be sold to outsiders should be denied to clerics when they offer the price. Therefore hasten to restore to the jurisdiction of your church, with all zeal and with civility preserved, estates or whatever other things belong to ecclesiastical right and are unduly held by outsiders, so that you cannot be seen as negligent in anything. But if anything concerning any cleric should come to your ears that could justly offend you, do not easily believe it, and let not an unknown matter inflame you to vengeance; rather, the truth is to be diligently investigated in the presence of the elders of your church, and then, if the nature of the case demands it, let canonical strictness strike the fault of the delinquent. Let it therefore be your care to observe all these things so attentively and gently that you may neither appear to have been forgetful of your promise, nor may they find a just occasion for murmuring against you. bk. 3, ep. 11 Likewise to Bishop Maximianus of Syracuse, after a little: We have learned that from the newly acquired revenues of the church, the canonical distribution of quarters does not proceed at all, but the bishops of the various places only distribute the quarter from the old revenues, while retaining what is newly acquired for their own uses. Wherefore let your fraternity hasten to vigorously correct this wrongly introduced custom: so that both from past revenues and from those that have newly come in or are coming in, the quarters may be dispensed according to canonical distribution. For it is incongruous that one and the same substance of the church should be judged, as it were, under a double law — that is, of usurpation and of the canons.

^a Clemacitus and Clematicus in the MSS. Surius reads Clementius.

^b Urbs Vetus, commonly Orvieto, a city of ancient Etruria in the pontifical territory, or Patrimony of St. Peter: whose first bishops John and Candidus are known only from the letters of St. Gregory.

^c John, Bishop of Palermo, succeeded Victor, about whom the matter was treated in bk. 3, no. 4, who died in the year 603.

CHAPTER VII

Heretics and schismatics brought or invited by St. Gregory to true concord with the Catholic Church.

[35] Those deprived of communion by other bishops Gregory restored to their former communion. bk. 2, ep. 26 Wherefore, writing to Magnus, a priest of the Church of Milan, he says: Indiction 11. Just as one is duly driven from the sacrament of communion when fault requires it, so such punishment ought by no means to be inflicted on the innocent. For we have learned He absolves those unjustly excommunicated by others. that our brother and fellow bishop Lawrence deprived you of communion with no faults standing against you. Therefore, fortified by the authority of this our command, carry out your office securely and receive communion without any fear.

[36] Those purging themselves of the charge of any heresy Gregory not only received but also declared Catholic. Whence he writes to John, Bishop of Constantinople, saying: bk. 5, ep. 15 Just as the depravity of heretics is to be suppressed by zeal for the right faith, so the integrity of a true confession is to be embraced. For if it is despised to believe one who faithfully confesses, the faith of all is brought into doubt, and mortal errors are incautiously generated by strictness. And hence, not only are straying sheep not recalled to the Lord's folds, but even those within are cruelly exposed to be torn by feral teeth. Let us therefore, most reverend brother, carefully consider this: that under the pretext of heresy we should not permit anyone to be afflicted who truly professes the Catholic faith. We were very much amazed why those who were appointed by you as judges in the cause of faith against John, the Priest of the Church of Chalcedon, He declares John, the Priest of Chalcedon, to be Catholic: negligently believed opinion rather than truth and refused to believe one who strictly professed — especially since his accusers, when asked about the Marcionist heresy they mentioned (by which they were attempting to make him guilty), responded by manifest profession that they did not know what it was. From which it is clearly recognized that they wished only by their own will to burden his person unjustly, without regard for God, and against their own souls. We, therefore, having held a council, as the tenor of the proceedings held before us shows, examining and treating all things that were

necessary with subtlety, since we could find the aforesaid priest guilty in nothing — especially because the libellus he presented to the judges delegated by you agrees in all respects with the sincerity of the right faith — we therefore, rejecting the sentence of those same judges, by our own definition declare him Catholic and free from every charge of heresy, by the grace of Christ our God and Redeemer being revealed. Likewise to the Emperor Maurice, after a little: Having brought before the council the proceedings against John, Priest of the Church of Chalcedon, together with the series of judgments, we found that he had sustained greater injustice. bk. 5, ep. 16 For it was not the guilt of wrongdoing but rather the uncertain accusation that wore down one who was crying out and showing himself to be Catholic — to such an extent that his accusers professed by open response that they did not know the Marcionist heresy they had mentioned. And they, who should have been immediately repelled at the very threshold of judgment, were permitted to remain uncertain in their accusation against him. But lest even a fabricated opinion could lacerate him, he offered a libellus of faith in which he took care to show himself openly a professor and follower of the right faith. But the judges appointed by my most holy fellow bishop John, unjustly and unreasonably neglecting this, while they strove to occupy themselves with his harm, rather showed themselves reprehensible. For no one doubts that it is faithlessness not to have faith in the faithful. bk. 5, ep. 14 Likewise to Count Narses, concerning the same, after other things: Concerning the Priest John, know that his case was decided through a synod, in which I clearly learned that his adversaries wished to make him a heretic and long strove to do so, but were by no means able. bk. 5, ep. 64 Likewise to the Priest Athanasius from Isauria: Just as we are afflicted and grieve over those whom the error of heretical depravity cuts off from the unity of the Church, so we rejoice together over those whom the profession of the Catholic faith contains within her bosom. And as it behooves us with pastoral solicitude to oppose their impieties, so it is fitting to lend favor to the professions of the latter and to declare what they hold to be sincere. And therefore, when a suspicion arose against you from the Priest Athanasius of the Monastery of St. Melas, whose name is Tannacum, which is situated in the province of Lycaonia, contrary to the integrity of the faith — in order that the integrity of your profession might appear — you chose to have recourse to the Apostolic See over which we preside, asserting also that you were corporally beaten and compelled to do certain things unjustly and by force. And although the things that are done under the compulsion of force and deeming an extorted confession invalid, are by no means accepted by the censure of the canons and are rightly held to be invalid — because he himself invalidates what he compels one to profess unjustly — rather, that confession is to be accepted and embraced which is shown to proceed from a spontaneous will, as you are known to have done before us. Lest, however, anything ambiguous should remain for us, we provided to write to the most holy John, our late brother, the bishop of the city of Constantinople, concerning you, that he might inform us by his letters what had been done; who, often admonished by us, wrote back and made known that a certain codex had been found in your possession that contained many heretical things, and that on this account he had been moved against your dear self. Because he took care to send it to us for your satisfaction, we went through the earlier parts of it with careful reading. And since we found in it manifest poisons of heretical infection, He absolves the Priest Athanasius from heresy. we forbade it from being read again. But since you have testified that you read this simply, and to remove the material for ambiguous suspicion, you presented to us a libellus written in your own hand, in which, setting forth your faith, you most openly condemned all heresies in general, and whatever is contrary to the integrity of the Catholic profession; and you professed that you have always accepted and do accept all that the holy four universal synods accept, and that you have condemned and do condemn what they have condemned; and you also promised to accept and keep that synod which was held in the times of the Emperor Justinian concerning the Three Chapters; and, forbidden by us to read that codex in which the poison of pestilent fraud is woven, you most willingly consented, also reprobating and condemning all things that were said in it or covertly inserted against the integrity of the Catholic faith, and you promised not to read it again. Moved by this reasoning, after from the tested page of the libellus also your faith was clearly revealed to us as Catholic by God's keeping, we decree that you are free from every stain of heretical perversity according to your profession, and we pronounce that you have been shown forth as Catholic and a professor and follower of faith sincere in all things, by the grace of Jesus Christ our Savior; also granting you free permission to return to your monastery, to your place and order, no less than before.

[37] He invites schismatics to satisfaction. Gregory invited schismatics to come and receive satisfaction. To whom, even if they had never wished to return to the unity of the Church, he promised he would inflict no violence. Whence, writing to the bishops Peter and ^b Providentius from Istria, he says: bk. 4, ep. 49 May God, who rejoices in the unity of the faithful and reveals the truth to those who seek it, open your hearts, most beloved brothers, to know with what great desire I wish you to be held within the bosom of the holy universal Church and to remain in concord in its unity. Which I do not doubt will come to pass, if, setting aside the stimulus of contention, you attend to having the truth genuinely set before you concerning those things about which there is doubt. Moreover, instructed by the report of my returning notary Castorius, I have learned that your fraternity has a desire to come to me, if a promise is given that you will suffer no trouble. I, learning this, both desire and, inflamed by the ardor of charity, invite you, that you should take upon yourselves the labor of coming to me, so that, conferring together, we may both speak of what is true and pleasing to our Redeemer and by all means hold to it. For my part, with the grace of divine protection assisting, I am prepared to satisfy you concerning the things about which you have doubt; and I trust in the mercy of our Almighty God that that satisfaction of mine will adhere to you inwardly, so that nothing ambiguous may henceforth remain for your charity. For those things that the most holy four synods held and defined, and our predecessor Pope Leo the most holy, so also do we hold, follow, and keep, nor do we in any way dissent from their faith. But because a person present gives more satisfaction than a letter, I exhort you, dearest brothers, that you should come to me, as I have said, provided that, reason having been received, no dissension may separate you from the concord of the holy universal Church. But let your charity be assured of this: that I both receive you with the affection that is fitting and release you with grace. Nor do I permit you or any others who wish to come to me for this cause to suffer any affliction or trouble. But whether the divine mercy has pierced your heart to agree with me, or whether — God forbid — it has happened that you continue in that dissension, we will take care to release you to return to your homes whenever you wish, according to my promise, without injury or trouble.

[38] He compels Severus, Bishop of Aquileia, the head of the whole schism, to come to Rome, He compels Severus, the schismatic Bishop of Aquileia, to come to Rome, saying: Just as the Lord with all eagerness embraces one walking through deviant paths who again takes up the right way, so in turn, concerning one who deserts the recognized way of truth, he is saddened with greater sorrow than the joy by which he rejoiced over the one who converted. Because it is a lesser offense not to know the truth than not to remain in what has been recognized; and it is one thing that is committed by one who errs, and another that is perpetrated through knowledge. bk. 1, ep. 19 And we indeed, as much as we rejoiced that you had previously been incorporated into the unity of the Church, so much more abundantly are we now confounded that you are dissociated from Catholic society. For this reason, with the bearer of the present letter pressing, according to the command of the most Christian and serene lord of affairs, we wish you with your followers to come to the threshold of the blessed Apostle Peter, so that, God being the author, a synod may be assembled and judgment may be rendered concerning the doubt that exists among you. ^c But Severus, compelled by the apostolic and imperial command alike, with the Exarch Smaragdus pressing and likewise Anthony, the Defensor of the Roman Church, from a partial repentance he returns to his vomit: was brought to Ravenna. Where, fearing to undergo a synodal conflict with Gregory, he returned to the unity of the holy universal Church through the mediation of John, the Pontiff of Ravenna. But when, after a year's space, he had returned to his own territory, persuaded by other schismatics, he not only returned to his former vomit, but also, having obtained by stealth a command from Maurice — always opposed to God — by which it was ordered that schismatics should by no means be compelled to return to the unity of the Church, while the remaining bishops were joining the Church, he stirred up the greatest seditions. Wherefore Gregory was determined to receive absolutely no one returning without a sworn guarantee. When this was given, he commended him to that same Patrician Exarch with letters of this sort: Our brother and fellow bishop Firminus, Bishop of the Church of ^d Trieste, He assists Firminus, the Bishop of Trieste, who sincerely converted: before the arrival of your excellency, by salutary counsel repenting of the schism to which he had adhered and returning to the unity of Mother Church, was confirmed by our letters, so that he should remain fixed and steadfast with fortitude of mind in the bosom of the true Mother Church which he had recognized. bk. 11, ep. 38 When this was heard, Severus, the ^e Bishop of Grado, head of that same schism, first attempted, if he could, to call him back from his good purpose by various persuasions. When he was by no means able to accomplish this, with God as the author, he did not fear to stir up a sedition of his fellow citizens against him. How much indeed our aforesaid brother and fellow bishop Firminus has endured from that same incitement, you will be able to learn more fully and truthfully from nearby. Therefore, having sent the orders of your excellency to those who, by God's authority, are known to act in your place in the parts of Istria, strictly command that they should both defend our aforesaid brother from the injuries inflicted, and by all means procure his peace, which will be profitable for many to imitate. So that this provision of yours may be both the desired security of converts and the ^f arising occasion of those who follow. At length, because Severus did not merit to return to the unity of the holy universal Church, by his own madness he provoked the Roman Pontiff to divide even the unity of his own diocese, The See of Aquileia divided on account of the schism. to such a degree that from the time of his ^g death, the diocese of Aquileia was divided into ^h two metropolitans — that of the Catholics and that of the schismatics. Nor has it been able, even though all generally returned from the schism to unity, to be restored to the union of its former conjunction even up to the present time.

^a Marcionists, named from Marcion, who lived in the 2nd century of Christ: whose heresies were refuted by Tertullian, Irenaeus, and others.

^b So the MSS. with Surius. In the edition of the works, "Prudentius." Moreover, in Istria the episcopal sees even now are at Trieste, Parenzo, and Città Nuova (formerly Aemonia). But their catalogs have none of these, being quite imperfect.

^c Severus was created Bishop of Aquileia in the year 589, about whom we have treated on February 5, in the Life of St. Ingenuinus, no. 14.

^d In the edition of the works, "Trigestinae." But the MSS. read "Tegrestinae." Why not also "Tergestinae"? Trieste. Certainly from Trigesto, by dropping a letter, comes Triestium, commonly Triest, a maritime city of Istria under Austrian dominion. Meanwhile, Bishop Firminus is missing from the Catalog of Bishops in Ughelli.

^e Severus of Aquileia above, now of Grado, because both his predecessor Helias and Severus himself resided on the island of Grado, fearing injury from the Lombards.

^f So the MSS. The printed text reads "oborta et apta."

^g That is, from about the year 605.

^h At Aquileia sat John, and at Grado, Candidianus. Hence both sees were held as patriarchal.

CHAPTER VIII

The teachings of St. Gregory concerning the renunciation of the episcopate on account of illnesses, concerning the violation of a virgin, and the dissolution of marriage.

[39] Just as Gregory did not diminish the quarter-share subsidies for any cleric on account of bodily illness, so he taught that no bishop should have a successor appointed on account of any illness. Whence, writing back to the Subdeacon Anatolius of Constantinople, he says: bk. 9, ep. 41 Your dear self has written to me that our most pious lord commands that a successor be given to our most reverend brother, the Bishop of Prima Justiniana, on account of the illness of the head from which he suffers, lest perchance, while that city lacks the authority of a bishop, it should — God forbid — perish at the hands of enemies. And indeed nowhere do the canons prescribe that a bishop should be succeeded on account of illness. And it is altogether unjust that if bodily trouble assails him, He prescribes that a bishop cannot be deposed on account of bodily illness: the sick man should be deprived of his honor. And therefore this can by no means be done through us, lest the sin of his deposition come upon my soul. Rather, it should be suggested that if the one who is in governance is ill, such a steward should be found for him who can carry out all his care and fill his place in the governance of the church — without deposing him — and in the guarding of the city: so that neither may Almighty God be offended, nor may the city be found to be neglected. But if that most reverend John perhaps, out of his modesty, should petition that he ought to be released from the honor of the episcopate, and gives that petition in writing, it is to be granted. but successors are not to be denied to those renouncing their episcopate: But otherwise, we are in no way able to do this, for fear of Almighty God. But if he refuses to make this petition, whatever pleases the most pious Emperor — whatever he pleases to do — is in his power; let him provide as he knows. Only let him not cause us to be involved in the deposition of an innocent man. But what he does, if it is canonical, we follow; if it is not canonical, we bear it insofar as we can without our own sin. Gregory by no means denied successors to bishops who voluntarily renounced their sees, and he decreed that they should afterward be sufficiently nourished from the revenues of the church they had left. Whence he informs Marinianus, Bishop of Ravenna, saying: bk. 7, ep. 49 How the Church of Rimini has hitherto been destitute of pastoral governance because of the bodily ailment — as is well known — that impedes the bishop we ordained, your fraternity has long known. While we, moved by the prayers of the inhabitants of that place, repeatedly urged him to return to his church with the Lord's help if he felt himself improved from that ailment of the head by which he was detained — with extensions granted — he was awaited during this four-year period. Indiction 2 When we more insistently urged him, at the admonition of clerics and citizens coming from there and pressing us with their entreaties, to go back with them with the Lord's help if he was able, he submitted a written petition asking us that, since he could in no way rise to the governance of that same church or to his assumed office on account of the same ailment by which he was detained, we should ordain a bishop for that church. He signifies that the care of all churches is entrusted to the Roman Pontiff: Whence, since the entrusted care of solicitude for all churches constrains us, lest the flock of the faithful should longer lack pastoral guardianship — compelled by their prayers and by his renunciation arising from his inability — it seemed right to us that a bishop should be ordained for that same Church of Rimini. And having given commands according to custom, we did not cease to admonish the clergy and people of that same church to come together in concordant provision for electing a bishop for themselves. bk. 11, ep. 7 Likewise to Bishop Eleutherius: Although what we say is very sad to us, and fraternal compassion urges us rather than permits us to define anything about what we have heard: nevertheless the solicitude of the governance we have assumed strikes our heart with an insistent goad, that we should look after the churches with great care, and before their welfare can perish, dispose by God's authority what ought to be done. It has come to our attention, therefore, that a certain bishop has so fallen into an affliction of the head that — it is a groan and tears to hear — what he does when mentally deranged. Lest, therefore, with the shepherd languishing, the flock — God forbid — be exposed to be torn by the teeth of the prowler, or the interests of that same church perish, it is necessary for us to consider with cautious provision. And therefore, since while a bishop lives — whom the necessity of infirmity, not a crime, withdraws from his office — no reasoning permits another to be ordained in his place unless he refuses; if he is accustomed to have intervals of his illness, let him, by a petition given, profess that he is no longer able to rise to this ministry, with the illness undermining him, nor to other offices, and let him request that another be ordained in his place. Once this is done, let another who is worthy be consecrated as bishop by the solemn election of all; yet so that, as long as life holds that same bishop in this world, due expenses be administered to him from that same church. Indeed, if at no time has he returned to the function of a sound mind, a faithful person of commendable life is to be chosen, who can be suitable for the governance of the church and who can think about the welfare of souls, restrain the restless under the punishment of discipline, manage the care of ecclesiastical affairs, and show himself mature and effective in all things. Who also, if he survives the bishop who is now ill, should be consecrated in his place.

[40] He imposes a penalty on one who violated a virgin: Gregory ordered the ravisher of a virgin to take her as his wife, or else the ravisher was to be chastised with beatings and consigned to a monastery. Whence he writes to ^a Felix, Bishop of Siponto, saying: We expected your fraternity to convert some to God by your preaching and to recall wrongdoers to righteousness. bk. 2, ep. 44 For this reason we are greatly saddened, because on the contrary, in the depravity of your nephew Felix, your fault — who raised such a person — is clearly demonstrated. Indiction 11. For it has come to our attention that the aforesaid Felix violated the daughter of your deacon Evangelicus. If this is true, although he would deserve by law to be struck with a heavy penalty, we, however, somewhat softening the harshness of the law, command by this arrangement that he take the one he violated as his wife; or if he thinks this should be refused, let him be strictly and corporally chastised, excommunicated, and thrust into a monastery where he may do penance, from which he shall have no permission to leave without our command.

[41] He does not permit a man to assume the monastic life without his wife's consent. A man converted without the will of his own wife, even if he had already been tonsured, Gregory ordered to be returned to his wife. Wherefore, writing to the notary Adrian of Palermo, he says: The bearer of the present letter, Agathosa, has complained that her husband has been converted in the monastery of the Abbot Urbicus against her will. Because this undoubtedly pertains to the fault and reproach of the same abbot, we command your experience to examine diligently whether perhaps he was converted with her consent or she promised to change her way of life. bk. 9, ep. 44 And if you find this, provide both that he remain in the monastery and that she be compelled to change as she promised. But if neither of these is the case, and you have not learned that the aforesaid woman committed the crime of fornication — on account of which a man is permitted to dismiss his wife — lest his conversion become an occasion of perdition for his wife left in the world, we wish you to return her husband to her, even if he has already been tonsured, with all excuse ceasing. For although worldly law prescribes that marriage can be dissolved by the desire of conversion, either party being unwilling, divine law does not permit this: for except for the cause of fornication, it allows a man to leave his wife for no reason. Because after the joining of marriage makes one body of the man and woman, it cannot be partly converted and partly remain in the world.

^a Concerning Siponto, a destroyed city of Apulia, we have treated at length on February 7, in the Life of St. Lawrence, Bishop of Siponto.

CHAPTER IX

The reasoning by which Jews should be tolerated and restrained. Not the Sabbath but the Lord's Day is to be venerated.

[42] Gregory strove to root out the perfidy of the Jews more by reasoning than by violence. Wherefore, writing to the Bishops ^a Virgilius and ^b Theodore of Gaul after some things, He decrees that no violence should be inflicted on Jews: he says: Very many persons of the Jewish religion, residing in this province and frequently traveling in the parts of Marseilles on various business, have brought to our notice that many Jews residing in those parts were led to the font of baptism more by force than by preaching. For I judge the intention of this sort to be praiseworthy and profess that it proceeds from the love of our Lord. bk. 1, ep. 45 But I fear that unless a proper effect of sacred Scripture accompanies this same intention, either no reward for the work may come from it, or — God forbid — some losses of the souls we wish to rescue may follow: for when anyone has come to the font of baptism not by the sweetness of preaching but by necessity, returning to his former superstition, he dies worse from the thing by which he seemed to have been reborn. Let your fraternity, therefore, rouse such people by frequent preaching, so that they may desire to change their old life more from the sweetness of their teacher; for thus both our intention is rightly fulfilled and the converted mind is not changed back to its former vomit. Speech must therefore be applied to them that both ought to burn the thorns of errors in them and, by preaching, illumine what is darkened in them; so that through frequent admonition your fraternity may gain a reward for these things and lead as many souls as God grants to the regeneration of new life. Likewise to Bishop Victor of Palermo: Just as it should not be permitted to the Jews to presume anything in their synagogues beyond what is permitted by law, so in those things that are granted to them, they ought to suffer no prejudice. bk. 7, ep. 26, Indiction 1.

[43] He does not allow Christians to be subject to Jews: Just as Gregory denied that Jews should be forcibly baptized, so he in no way permitted Christians to be subjected to them in any manner. Whence, writing to Libertinus, Praetor of Sicily, he says: It is reported that a certain most wicked man of the Jews, named Nasas, with punishable temerity has built an oratory under the name of the blessed Elijah and has deceived many Christians there by sacrilegious seduction to worship. bk. 2, ep. 37, Indiction 11. He is also said to have purchased Christian slaves and assigned them to his own service and uses. While, therefore, the most severe vengeance ought to have been taken against him for such great crimes, the glorious Justinus, soothed by the medicine of avarice, as has been written to us, has put off avenging the injury of God. Let your glory, therefore, investigate all these things with strict examination, and if you find such things to be manifest, make haste to exact most severe and bodily vengeance upon that same wicked Jew, so that from this cause

he may both win the grace of our God for himself and show himself as an example for posterity to imitate for their own reward. Moreover, bring to liberty, according to the precepts of the laws, without ambiguity, whatever Christian slaves he is found to have purchased: lest — God forbid — the Christian religion should be defiled by being subjected in any way to Jews. bk. 3, ep. 21 Likewise to Venantius, Bishop of ^c Luna: The report of many has brought to our notice that in the city of Luna, Christian slaves are held in servitude by Jews dwelling there: which thing seemed to us the harsher the more toilsome it is through the forbearance of your fraternity. For it behooved you, out of respect for your position and regard for the Christian religion, to leave no occasion for Jewish superstition, lest simple souls should serve, as it were, not so much through persuasions as by the right of power. Wherefore we exhort your fraternity that, according to the path of the most pious laws, no Jew should be permitted to keep a Christian slave in his own dominion; but if any are found in their possession, let liberty be preserved for them with the aid of protection, by the sanction of the laws.

[44] If any Christians, on account of the length of the journey through the provinces, Gregory was unable to free from the servitude of the Hebrews by legal force, He orders Christian slaves bought from Jews to be redeemed: he decreed that they should be redeemed with his own funds. Whence, writing to the Priest Candidus in Gaul: Dominicus, he says, the bearer of the present letter, has tearfully made known to us that four of his brothers were redeemed from captivity by Jews and are now held at Narbonne in the servitude of those same Jews. bk. 6, ep. 21 And because it is altogether grave and abominable for Christians to be in the servitude of Jews, we exhort your dear self by the present writing to search out with all subtlety and care, and if it is truly so and the truth is manifest to you — since neither they themselves have the means to redeem themselves nor the aforesaid bearer has the means — let it be your concern to redeem them, knowing that whatever you spend on them will without doubt be charged to your accounts.

[45] Gregory ordered that the slaves of Jews who once fled to the Church should never be returned by any persuasions whatsoever. Whence, writing to ^d Januarius, Bishop of Cagliari, among other things, he says: bk. 3, ep. 9 It has come to our notice that the male and female slaves of Jews, fleeing to the Church for the sake of the faith, He forbids the return of Jews' slaves who flee to the Church: are either restored to their unbelieving masters, or, to prevent their being restored, their price is paid. We therefore exhort you not to permit so wicked a custom to continue; but whenever any slave of a Jew takes refuge in a venerable place for the sake of the faith, you should in no way suffer him to sustain any prejudice. But whether he was formerly a Christian or is now to be baptized, without any harm to poor Christians, let him be defended in liberty by all means through the devout and religious patronage of ecclesiastical piety.

[46] Not only did Gregory legally restore Christian slaves to their former liberty, but he also in no way permitted pagan ones, He prohibits the sale of pagan slaves to Jews, wishing to come to the faith, to be sold. Whence, writing to ^e Fortunatus, Bishop of Naples, among other things, he says: Your fraternity ought to be diligent, and if not only a Jew but even any pagan wishes to become a Christian from the service of Jews, after his will has been made known, no Jew should have the power to sell him to anyone under any device or pretext; rather, the one who desires to convert to the Christian faith should be vindicated in liberty by all means through your defense. bk. 5, ep. 31 But lest those who must lose such slaves should perhaps think their interests are unreasonably impeded, it behooves you to observe this with careful consideration: that if they have purchased pagans from foreign borders for the purpose of trade, and within three months — while a buyer to whom they may be sold is being found — they happen to flee to the Church and have said they wish to become Christians, or even outside the Church have revealed such a wish, let them receive their price from a Christian buyer. But if any of such Jewish slaves, after the prescribed three months, shall have declared his wish and shall have wished to become a Christian, let no one henceforth dare either to buy him or let the master dare to sell him under any pretext of occasion, but let him without doubt be brought to the rewards of liberty: because one is understood to have kept him not for sale but for service to himself.

[47] and deems pagan slaves who convert to the faith free from their servitude: Gregory in no way restored pagan slaves who preceded their masters — namely, the Jews — to the faith back to their servitude, even if the masters themselves subsequently followed them to Christianity. Whence to ^f John, Bishop of Syracuse: Felix, he says, the bearer of the present letter, has complained to us that, though born of Christian parents, he was — which is a crime to say — given to a certain Christian by a Samaritan, and while men of such superstition are in no way permitted by either the logic of law or the reverence of religion to possess Christian slaves in any manner, he asserts that he nevertheless remained in his servitude for eighteen years. But when his predecessor, your predecessor of holy memory Maximianus, learned of this, moved — as was fitting — by priestly zeal, he says he was freed from the wicked servitude of the Samaritan. bk. 7, ep. 22, Indiction 1. But because the son of that same Samaritan, five years later, is said to have become a Christian, and certain persons are striving to reduce the aforesaid Felix back into his servitude — as he himself says — let your holiness diligently inquire into these things we have been informed of; and if it is established that it is so, let him take care to protect him and not permit him to be burdened by anyone under any pretext: because while the laws openly prohibit the slaves of a superstitious sect, who preceded their masters to the faith, from being reduced back to their servitude, how much more should this man, born of Christian parents and made a Christian from childhood, not have to endure any such question at all? Especially because he could not have been the slave of the father, who is known rather to be liable to punishment coming from the laws on account of his wrongful presumption.

[48] Gregory did not even permit any pagan to be circumcised. Wherefore to ^g Leo, Bishop of Catania: He does not permit any pagan to be circumcised: A matter, he says, altogether detestable and contrary to the laws has come to our attention, which, if it is true, vehemently accuses your fraternity, because it proves it guilty of too little care. For we have learned that Jews and Samaritans dwelling at Catania have bought pagan slaves and with reckless daring have presumed to circumcise them. Therefore it is necessary that you exercise priestly zeal in this matter with all your might, and with all diligence and care search this out. And if you find it to be so, vindicate those same slaves in liberty by all means and without delay, and extend to them the protection of the Church. And do not suffer their masters to receive any payment of any kind: for they are not only to be punished with this loss but will also be struck with other penalties by the laws.

[49] He abominates gifts from the Jews, Indeed, since the perfidy of the Jews was accustomed to mock the zeal of Christians by giving gifts against themselves, not only did he take absolutely nothing from them, but Gregory also judged their gifts to be abominable. bk. 7, ep. 120 Whence he afterward writes to ^h Reccared, King of the Visigoths, saying: Indiction 2. Moreover, I report that your work has grown in the praises of God by this, which I learned from the narration of my most beloved son, the Priest Probinus: that when your Excellency had issued a certain decree against the perfidy of the Jews, those against whom it was issued attempted to bend the rectitude of your mind by offering great sums of money: which your Excellency spurned, seeking to please the judgment of Almighty God, and preferred innocence to gold. In which matter the deed of King David has come to my memory, who, when the water from the cistern of Bethlehem that he coveted was brought to him by dutiful soldiers from among the enemy ranks, immediately said: "Far be it from me that I should drink the blood of these men." 2 Sam. 23 Which, because he poured it out and would not drink it, it is written: "He poured it out to the Lord." If, therefore, water spurned by an armed king was turned into a sacrifice to God, let us consider what kind of sacrifice the king offered to Almighty God who for love of him disdained to accept not water but gold. And so, most excellent son, I will say confidently: you have poured out gold to the Lord, which you were in no way willing to have against him, etc.

[50] Hence it is, as is handed down by our elders, following the example of other pontiffs. and as we ourselves saw with our own eyes up to our own times while we were still in our youth, that the ancient custom obtained that all persons of that superstition, however beautiful the merchandise they had brought, should never enjoy pontifical audiences, should never be admitted to the apostolic presence; but, sitting outside the curtain of the very long portico — not indeed on benches but on the marble pavement — they counted the prices they received, lest they should seem to have accepted anything from the hand of the Pontiff. For Pope ^i Nicholas of reverend memory so detested ^k Arsenius, formerly Bishop of the city of ^l Horta, when he first attempted to introduce Jewish furs, that he wished to deny him the palatine procession unless, by forswearing the garments of the superstitious people, he should take care to process in the customary manner with his priestly vestments.

[51] Gregory, threatening, thus refuted the precursors of the Antichrist who preached that the Sabbath ought to be observed: bk. 11, ep. 3 It has come to me He opposes those who preached that the Sabbath should be observed: that certain men of a perverse spirit have sown among you certain things wicked and contrary to the holy faith, so as to forbid anything to be done on the Sabbath day. Indiction 6. What else shall I call them but preachers of the Antichrist? who, when he comes, will cause the Sabbath day and the Lord's day to be kept from all work. For because he pretends to die and rise again, he wishes the Lord's day to be held in veneration. And because he compels the people to Judaize, to restore the outward rite of the law and to subject the perfidy of the Jews to himself, he wishes the Sabbath to be observed. For this indeed that is said through the prophet — "Do not carry burdens through your gates on the Sabbath day" — could be maintained as long as it was lawful to keep the law according to the letter. Jer. 17 But after the grace of our almighty Lord Jesus Christ appeared, the precepts of the law that were spoken through figure cannot be kept according to the letter. For if anyone says this must be observed regarding the Sabbath, let him say, necessarily, that carnal sacrifices must also be offered; let him say that the precept of bodily circumcision must still be retained. But let him hear the Apostle Paul speaking against him: Gal. 5 "If you are circumcised, Christ profits you nothing." We therefore accept what is written concerning the Sabbath spiritually; we retain it spiritually. For the Sabbath means rest. But the true Sabbath we have in our very Redeemer, Jesus Christ our Lord. And whoever recognizes the light of his faith, if he draws the sins of concupiscence to his mind through the eyes, introduces burdens through the gates on the Sabbath day. Therefore let us not introduce burdens through the gates on the Sabbath day if, constituted in the grace of our Redeemer, we do not draw the weights of sin to the soul through the bodily senses. For the same Lord and Redeemer is read to have done many things on the Sabbath day, so that he would rebuke the Jews, saying: "Which of you does not loose his ox or his ass on the Sabbath day and lead it

to water?" Luke 13 Whether one may bathe on the Lord's day. If, therefore, Truth itself commanded that the Sabbath not be kept according to the letter, whoever keeps the Sabbath idle according to the letter of the law, to whom else does he contradict but Truth itself? Another thing also has been brought to me: that it has been preached to you by perverse men that no one should bathe on the Lord's day. And indeed, if anyone desires to bathe for the luxury of the mind and for pleasure, we do not permit this to be done on any other day either; but if it is done for the need of the body, we do not prohibit this even on the Lord's day. For it is written: "No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it." Eph. 5 And again it is written: "Make no provision for the flesh in its lusts." Rom. 13 He who, therefore, forbids the care of the flesh to be made in its lusts assuredly permits it in its necessities. For if it is a sin to bathe the body on the Lord's day, then the face ought not to be washed on that same day either. But if this is granted for a part of the body, why is it denied for the whole body when necessity requires? What should be done on the Lord's day. On the Lord's day, however, one should cease from earthly labor and devote oneself entirely to prayers: so that whatever negligence is committed during the six days may be expiated through the day of the Lord's Resurrection by means of prayers.

^a This is St. Virgilius, Bishop of Arles, whose Life we have given on March 5.

^b This is Theodore, Bishop of Marseilles, an illustrious man, inscribed in the Gallic Martyrology at January 2.

^c Luna was a city of Etruria on the borders of Lucca; when it was destroyed, the episcopal see was transferred to the nearby city of Sarzana. Luna, city. Ughelli calls him "Sanctus" and doubts whether he pertains to October 13, on which day St. Venantius, Abbot of Luna, is inscribed in Ferrarius.

^d Cagliari, and more often Calaris, the chief city of Sardinia toward Africa.

^e Fortunatus, the 28th Bishop of Naples, served from the year 593 to 600.

^f John, the 33rd Bishop of Syracuse, was honored with the benefit of the sacred pallium by St. Gregory in the year 596, who sent him many letters. He died in the year 609. He is venerated on October 23.

^g Leo, the 7th Bishop of Catania in Sicily.

^h Reccared, the Catholic King of the Goths, reigned from the year 586 until the year 601. Consult Mariana, bk. 6 of the History of Spain, ch. 1.

^i This is Nicholas I, who sat from the year 858 to the year 867.

^k Arsenius was sent by Pope Nicholas into Gaul to recall King Lothair from his wicked love of Theutberga. Anastasius in the Life of the same.

^l Horta, a city of Etruria near the Tiber River, in the present-day Patrimony of St. Peter.

CHAPTER X

The compassion of St. Gregory toward sick bishops and other afflicted persons. Future calamities foretold.

[52] Gregory overflowed with such great grace of compassion toward all that, if you wish, you may see that he sustained another's infirmity in his own body. Solicitous about the health of Bishop Castorius of Rimini, bk. 2, ep. 22, Indiction 10. Whence, writing to John, Bishop of Ravenna, he says: We are commanded by the Lord's precepts to love our neighbors as ourselves and to share the grief of their ailments as of our own infirmities. Mindful of which, your fraternity, in the manner befitting you, took care first to visit ^a our brother and fellow bishop Castorius through compassion, and afterward to receive him in the city of Ravenna on account of his increasing bodily ailment. Whence you have made not only us but also God undoubtedly your debtor, who are proved to have shared the grief of a brother's infirmity, and to have not only visited but also received the sick one in the ailment of his own member. Whom I indeed absolutely refused to ordain there on account of his simplicity, but the importunity of the petitioners brought it about that I could in no way speak against it. If, however, it is possible, you would consult greatly both for me and for him if you would send him to me or by way of Sicily. Likewise to ^b Leontius, Bishop of Urbino: We are keeping our brother and fellow bishop Castorius at Rome on account of the ailment of his body. bk. 2, ep. 24, Indiction 11. And because he cannot now return to his church, we have therefore provided to delegate to your fraternity the office of visitation of that same church in his absence. Likewise to all the inhabitants of Rimini: If you wish, most beloved sons, to attend more carefully to your fault, you ought to purge yourselves with constant prayer before God, because you did not receive your bishop with a devout mind, nor as sons: whom the restlessness and tribulation you inflicted upon him brought him to the point of falling into bodily illness. ibid., ep. 25 Although we have found nothing of those things that were written to us in him, but we saw only weakness in him, on account of which we took care to keep him here. Likewise to the Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria: Before this time, the writings of my representative, the notary Boniface, of the Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria, who resides in the royal city, greatly troubled me; which said that your most sweet and pleasant holiness had suffered the loss of bodily sight. bk. 11, ep. 47 From which writings I was struck with heavy grief; but suddenly, with the grace of our Creator and Redeemer prospering, I received a letter from your blessedness, and, learning that you were well from that bodily ailment I had heard of, I rejoiced greatly: because such great joy of heart followed as great a bitterness of sadness had preceded. For we know that, in the help of Almighty God, your life is the salvation of many. bk. 11, ep. 24 Likewise to the Patrician Lady Rusticiana: Whenever anyone comes to us from the royal city, we take care to inquire about the health of your body; but, my sins causing it, I always hear what it wearies me to hear: because in such great thinness and debility, they report that the pains of gout still increase in you. But I pray Almighty God that all that is done in your body may be directed to the salvation of your soul. May temporal scourges prepare eternal rest for you, of Bishop Marinianus of Ravenna: and through those pains that are with an end, may he grant you joy without end. Likewise to Marinianus, Bishop of Ravenna: Certain men coming from Ravenna found me struck with the heaviest grief, because they reported that your fraternity was ill from vomiting blood. bk. 9, ep. 28, Indiction 4. For this reason we took careful pains to have the physicians whom we know here to be learned in their studies consulted one by one; and what each thought and prescribed, we have sent in writing to your holiness. They prescribe, however, rest and silence above all: which I am very doubtful your fraternity can have in your church. And therefore it seems to me that, having arranged things there for the church — both those who can perform the solemnities of Mass, those who can manage the care of the bishopric, show hospitality and receive guests, and those who may know how to preside over the monasteries to be guarded — your fraternity should come to me before summer, so that I may personally attend to the care of your illness as much as I am able, and guard your rest: because physicians say that the summer time is very dangerous for this illness, and I am very much afraid that if you take up any cares along with the adversity of your body, you may be more endangered from that same ailment. For I myself am very weak, and it is altogether useful that with God's grace you return well to your church; or certainly, if you are to be called, you may be called among the hands of your own people; and I, who see myself as near to death — if Almighty God wishes to call me first — ought to pass away in your hands.

[53] Gregory decreed that litanies should be held twice a week on account of barbarian incursions. Wherefore, writing to all the bishops of Sicily, he says: Beyond the afflictions and groans he ordains litanies against barbarian incursions: that we endure here from enemies in annual continuation, a greater fear torments us, because we know that our enemies are hastening with all effort toward the invasion of Sicily. bk. 9, ep. 45 But lest, while they are plotting this, the multitude of our sins should grant them prosperity, let us betake ourselves with our whole heart to the remedies of our Redeemer, and let us oppose with tears those whom we cannot resist with strength. For from the desolation of this province, you ought to gather what is to be guarded and what more vehemently feared by you. Therefore I exhort you, most reverend brothers, that you should without excuse ordain a litany every week on Wednesday and Friday, and implore the aid of heavenly protection against these incursions of barbarous cruelty.

[54] Gregory predicted that the same Sicily, reeking with simoniacal heresy and lust, would perish, as is ^c now seen, writing to Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse: He predicts the destruction of Sicily Such great evils that are being done in that province are repeatedly reported to us that, our sins causing it, we believe it will speedily perish — may Almighty God avert it. bk. 1, ep. 12

[55] But that worse things than the former would come, he writes with a prophetic spirit to Maximus, Bishop of Salona, saying: Our common son, the Priest Veteranus, coming to the city of Rome, found me so weakened by the pains of gout he encourages others against the worse times he predicts that I was by no means able to respond to the letters of your fraternity myself. bk. 8, ep. 56 And indeed concerning the Slavic people, which greatly threatens you, I am both vehemently afflicted and troubled. I am afflicted in the things that I already suffer in you; I am troubled because through the entrance of Istria they have already begun to enter Italy. But concerning Julian the Scribo, what shall I say, when I see everywhere that our sins answer back to us, so that we are disturbed both from without by the nations and from within by perverse judges? But do not be entirely saddened by such things, because those who live after us will see worse times, so that in comparison with their own time, they will consider that we had happy days. But insofar as your fraternity is able, it ought to set itself against oppressors. And even if it can accomplish very little, the devotion of mind itself that it has given suffices for Almighty God. Prov. 24 For it is written: "Deliver those who are being led to death, and do not cease to free those who are being dragged to destruction. If you say, 'Strength does not suffice': he who is the Inspector of the heart, he himself understands." In everything, therefore, that you do, seek to have the Inspector of the heart pleased; whatever there is by which you may please him, do not neglect to do it. For human terrors and favors are like smoke, which, seized by a gentle breeze, vanishes. Know this most certainly: that no one can please God and wicked men at the same time. Therefore let your fraternity estimate itself to have pleased Almighty God in proportion to how much it has known itself to have displeased perverse men. Yet let that defense of the poor be moderate and serious, lest, if you do anything too rigidly, people think you are being arrogant because of your youth. But such must your defense be found on behalf of the oppressed that the humble may feel your protection and oppressors may not easily find what they can reprove from a malevolent mind. Ezek. 2 Therefore consider what is said to Ezekiel: "Son of man, unbelievers and subverters are with you, and you dwell among scorpions." And the blessed Job says: "I was a brother of dragons and a companion of ostriches." Job 30 And Paul says to his disciples: "In the midst of a nation

depraved and perverse, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world." Phil. 2 Therefore we ought to walk all the more cautiously, the more we know we live among the enemies of God.

[56] Conscious of this caution of his, Gregory says to the Defensor Romanus: It has come to our notice that certain men, possessing altogether less discretion, desire us to be implicated in their dangers, He permits no one to be unjustly defended by the Church. and wish to be defended by ecclesiastical persons in such a way that the same ecclesiastical persons are held liable for their fault. bk. 7, ep. 24, Indiction 2. Therefore by this present command I admonish you, and through you our brother and fellow bishop the lord John and others who can be involved, that you should bestow the patronage of the Church — whether you receive my written instructions or even if none have been sent — with such moderation that those who are implicated in public thefts should not appear to be unjustly defended by us: lest we transfer to ourselves the reputation of wrongdoers by the boldness of indiscriminate defense. But as much as befits the Church, by admonishing, by offering a word of intercession, help those you can, so that you may both bring them aid and not stain the reputation of the holy Church.

[57] What kind of assistance he wishes conferred on those fleeing to the Church. Likewise to Bishop John, after some things: If any of those concerning whom there is some dispute should perhaps take refuge in the Church, the case should be so arranged that neither may they suffer violence, nor may those who are said to be oppressed sustain losses. Let it therefore be your care that an oath be promised to them by those concerned regarding the observance of law and justice, and they should be urged in every way to go out and give an account of their actions. To whom also it is fitting that you appoint a Defensor of your church, by whose diligence the things that have been promised to them may be kept.

^a Castorius, the 8th Bishop of Rimini, consecrated by St. Gregory in the year 592, who resigned on account of illness in the year 593, and Agnellus was elected as his successor.

^b Leontius is placed as the 2nd Bishop of Urbino.

^c In the year 873, when the author was writing. It was under the Saracens, having been occupied by them in the year 828.

CHAPTER XI

The supreme humility of St. Gregory in words and deeds.

[58] St. Gregory out of humility does not accept titles of honor: How great was the humility of Gregory can be perceived most clearly, among many other things, from this: that he named all priests "Brothers and Fellow Ministers" in his letters; clerics of various orders, "Most Beloved Sons"; but lay men, "Lords," and women, "Ladies": and he did not calmly permit himself to be called Supreme Pontiff, or Universal, or Lord by anyone. For — to pass over what has been written about such matters — writing to the Patrician Lady Rusticiana, he says: I received the writings of your excellency, which, when I was placed in a most grievous illness, completely relieved me with their tidings of your health, devotion, and sweetness. bk. 9, ep. 38 But one thing I received ill: that in those letters to me, what could have been said once was said many times — "Your handmaid" and "Your handmaid." For I, who by the burden of the episcopate have been made the servant of all, by what reason do you call yourself my handmaid, when before I assumed the episcopate I was properly yours? And therefore I beg, by Almighty God, that I may never find this word in your writings to me.

[59] With the gentleness of this humility, Gregory did not deem it beneath him to give satisfaction not only to Theudelinda, Queen of the Lombards, concerning the Three Chapters, but also among others to his own Subdeacon Sabinus, saying: [He gives satisfaction to Queen Theudelinda and a subdeacon in the matter of faith:] Wicked men going out have disturbed your minds, understanding neither the things they speak of nor the things they affirm: claiming that something was diminished from the holy Council of Chalcedon in the times of the Emperor Justinian of pious memory. Which we venerate with all faith and all devotion, and just as we accept the four holy synods of the universal Church as the four books of the holy Gospel. bk. 2, ep. 10, Indiction 11. Concerning the persons, moreover, regarding whom something was done after the conclusion of the synod, the matter was examined in the times of that same Justinian of pious memory — yet in such a way that the faith was not violated in anything, nor was anything else done concerning those same persons other than what had been constituted at that same holy Council of Chalcedon. We anathematize, moreover, anyone who presumes to diminish anything from the definition of faith that was set forth in that same synod, or, as if correcting, to change its meaning; rather, just as it was set forth there, we keep it in all things. It behooves you, therefore, dearest son, to return to the unity of the faith, so that you may be able to conclude the end of your life in peace, lest the evil spirit, who cannot prevail against you through other works, may find from this cause an occasion to obstruct you on the day of your departure at the entrance to the heavenly kingdom.

[60] Likewise to Gregoria, a chambermaid of the imperial household, after other things: He judges himself unworthy of a divine revelation: Because your sweetness added in her letters that she would be importunate with me until I should write that it had been revealed to me that her sins were forgiven — you have asked a thing both difficult and useless: difficult indeed, because I am unworthy to receive a revelation; useless, because you ought not to become secure about your sins until that last day of your life when you will no longer be able to weep for those same sins. bk. 6, ep. 22 Until that day comes, you should always be suspicious, always fearful, dreading your faults, and washing them with daily weeping.

[61] Likewise to the Priest Anastasius of Isauria, after some things: How perfect your fraternity is in charity, He recognizes himself as a great sinner and bears the sins of his subjects. I know. bk. 6, ep. 29 And because it greatly loves Almighty God, it ought to presume much concerning its neighbor. For it is not places or ranks that make us near to our Creator; rather, either good merits unite us to him or evil ones separate us. Because, therefore, it is still uncertain who is inwardly of what sort, why should you not dare to write, when you do not know who between me and you is superior? And indeed I know that you live well; but I recognize myself burdened with many sins: yet even if you yourself are a sinner, you are much better than I: because you bear only your own sins; but I bear both mine and those of the people committed to me. In this I see you as lofty, in this as great: that before human eyes you have not advanced to a great and lofty position, in which often, while honor is outwardly rendered by men, the soul is plunged to the lowest depths, because it is burdened by distracting cares. But Almighty God has disposed for you, according to what is written: "He has set ascents in his heart, in the valley of tears." Ps. 84 For you could seem to me much higher, much more sublime, if you had not even assumed the leadership of the monastery that is called Neas.

[62] He refuses to be praised in his lifetime: Likewise to Bishop Stephen, among other things: You have shown me much and beyond what I, unworthy, ought to hear of favor in your letters. bk. 6, ep. 8 And it is written: "Do not praise a man as long as he lives." Sir. 11 Yet though I was not worthy to hear such things, I ask through your prayers that I may become worthy: so that, if you said good things about me not because they exist, they may exist because you said them.

[63] But lest the humility of so great a bishop be thought to be urged only by words, it remains to demonstrate that same humility of the Father by living deeds, through Greek accounts recently translated for me, in which indeed it is related thus: ^b The Abbot John the Persian, a holy and reverend man, narrated to us about the great Gregory, the most blessed Pope of Rome, He prostrates himself alongside the prostrating abbot: saying: Because I went to Rome to worship at the tombs of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and one day, as I stood in the middle of the city, I saw Pope Gregory about to pass by me, and I thought to cast myself before him. When, therefore, the Pope had drawn near to me, seeing that I was about to cast myself before him — as I say before God, brothers — he first cast himself before me upon the ground, and did not rise before I first arose; and having embraced me with great humility, he gave me three coins by his own hand and ordered all my necessities to be given to me. I therefore glorified God, who bestowed upon him such humility toward all, and almsgiving, and charity.

[64] Innocent of anyone's death. Hence it is that the most patient pastor Gregory, having been long since accused before the Emperor Maurice, who was utterly hostile to him, that he had afflicted the Bishop Malchus, the administrator of his patrimony, so long in custody for withheld rents until he breathed his last, writes to his deacon Sabinianus at Constantinople, saying: There is one thing that you should briefly suggest to our most serene lords: that if I, their servant, had wished to involve myself in the death of the Lombards, the Lombard nation would today have neither king, nor dukes, nor counts, and would be divided in the utmost confusion. bk. 7, ep. 1, Indiction 1. But because I fear God, I dread to involve myself in the death of any man. Moreover, the same Bishop Malchus was neither in custody nor in any affliction; but on the day he pleaded his case and was condemned — without my knowledge — he was taken by the notary Boniface to his house, and there he dined, was honored by him, and in the night was suddenly found dead.

^a Theudelinda, daughter of Garibald, King of Bavaria, first married to King Authari, then to his successor Agilulf. Theudelinda. Paul the Deacon in bk. 4 of the History of the Lombards, ch. 2, writes that St. Gregory sent the books of the Dialogues to this queen.

^b These very same words are read in John Moschus, in the Spiritual Meadow, or bk. 10 of the Lives of the Fathers, ch. 151.

CHAPTER XII

The disasters and ruins of the Roman Empire and of the City of Rome are indicated by St. Gregory as forerunners of the last judgment.

[65] Therefore in all his words and deeds, Gregory was pondering the approaching last day of future retribution, and he weighed the affairs of all with all the more caution the nearer he perceived the end of the world to be pressing, from its increasing ruins. Wherefore he declares in his Homilies on the Gospels, saying: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be great earthquakes in various places, and pestilences and famines." Hom. 1 on the Gospels And after some intervening passages, he added: "And there shall be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and waves." Of all of which, we already see some accomplished and dread others as coming near. [He indicates that the signs preceding the last judgment are the various ruins of the world,] For that nation should rise against nation and the pressure of them upon the lands should press — ^a we find this already more in our tribulations than we read in books.

That earthquakes overthrow innumerable cities, you know how frequently we have heard from other parts of the world. We suffer pestilences without ceasing. Signs in the sun and moon and stars we have not yet clearly seen; but that these are not far off, we gather from the very change of the atmosphere. Although before Italy was delivered over to be struck by the gentile sword, we saw fiery battle lines in the sky, flashing with the very blood that was afterward shed by the human race. A new confusion of the sea and waves has not yet arisen. But since many things already foretold have been accomplished, there is no doubt that the few things that remain will also follow: because the fulfillment of past things is the certainty of future things. And shortly after: Behold, my brothers, we already see what we used to hear. The world is pressed by new and daily increasing evils. Out of that innumerable populace, you see how many are left; and yet daily scourges press, sudden calamities overwhelm, new and unforeseen disasters afflict us. For just as in youth the body is vigorous, the chest remains strong and sound, the neck is muscular, the arms are full; but in the years of old age the stature is bent, the dried-out neck is bowed, the chest is pressed by frequent sighing, strength fails, the breath of the speaker cuts short his words (for even if sickness is absent, for the elderly health itself is often a kind of illness) — so the world in its earlier years flourished as if in youth, was robust for propagating the offspring of the human race, green in the health of bodies, fat in the abundance of things; but now it is weighed down by its very old age and is pressed, as if toward a neighboring death, by increasing troubles. And again: "Go and preach, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven has drawn near.'" This, most beloved brothers, even if the Gospel were silent, the world now cries aloud. For its very ruins are its voices; and yet crimes do not cease. which, having fallen from its glory through so many blows of attrition, shows us, as it were, that another kingdom is already near at hand. For its very ruins proclaim that it is not to be loved. If a tottering house threatened its own ruin, whoever lived in it would flee; and he who had loved it when standing would hasten to withdraw as quickly as possible from it as it falls. If, therefore, the world is falling and we embrace it with love, we wish to be crushed rather than to dwell in it. Because no reasoning separates us from its ruin, whom love binds in its sufferings. It is easy, then, now that we see all things destroyed, to disjoin our mind from love of it. But this was most difficult at that time, when then the Apostles were sent to preach the invisible heavenly kingdom, while they saw the kingdoms of the earth flourishing far and wide on every side.

[66] But what Gregory wrote about the misfortunes of this city, and general overthrows, I shall relate, so that those who now dwell in its ruins and do not think it was once more orderly and therefore stronger, may tremble. For he says in the eighteenth Homily on the exposition of Ezekiel thus: What is there, I ask, that now delights in this world? Everywhere we see grief, everywhere we hear groaning. Cities are destroyed, fortresses are overthrown, fields are depopulated, the land is reduced to a wilderness. No inhabitant remains in the fields, almost no dweller in the cities. And yet those very small remnants of the human race are still daily struck without ceasing, and the scourges of heavenly justice have no end, because not even among the scourges have the faults of conduct been corrected. We see some led into captivity, others mutilated, others killed. What is there, therefore, that delights in this life, my brothers? If we still love such a world, we love not joys but wounds. nor do crimes cease. That very city which once seemed to be the mistress of the world — behold how she remains, Rome, as you see. Worn down by immense sorrows in manifold ways, by the desolation of citizens, the pressure of enemies, the frequency of ruins, so that in her we seem to see fulfilled what was foretold against Samaria through the prophet Ezekiel: "Set on the pot, set it on, I say, and pour water into it; gather its pieces into it." Ezek. 24 And shortly after: "Its cooking has boiled over, and its bones are cooked in the midst of it." And again: "Heap up the bones, which I will burn with fire. The flesh shall be consumed, and the whole composition shall be cooked, and the bones shall waste away. Set it also empty upon the coals, that it may be hot and its bronze may melt." For then the pot was set on when this city was established. Then water was poured in and its pieces gathered when peoples from everywhere flowed into it, who, like boiling water, would seethe with the activities of the world, and like pieces of flesh, would melt in that very seething. Of which it is well said: "Its cooking has boiled over, and its bones are cooked in the midst of it." Because first indeed the activity of worldly glory grew vehemently hot in it, but afterward that very glory along with its followers failed. For by bones, the powerful of the world are signified; by flesh, the peoples are designated. Because just as flesh is carried by bones, so the weakness of the peoples is governed by the powerful of the world. He enumerates the disasters of the city of Rome: But behold, all the powerful of this world have already been taken away from it. Therefore the bones are overcooked. Behold, the peoples have failed: its flesh has melted. Let it therefore be said: "Heap up the bones, which I will burn with fire. The flesh shall be consumed, and the whole composition shall be cooked, and the bones shall waste away." Where is the Senate? Where now is the people? The bones have wasted, the flesh is consumed. The entire order of secular dignities in it is extinguished: its whole composition, therefore, has been overcooked. And yet we ourselves, the few who remain, are still daily pressed by swords, still by innumerable tribulations. Let it therefore be said: "Set it also empty upon the coals." Because the Senate is gone, the people have perished, and yet in the few who remain, sorrows and groanings are daily multiplied; therefore Rome now burns empty. But why do we say these things about people, when, with ruins increasing, we see even its very buildings being destroyed? Whence it is fittingly added concerning the already empty city: "Let it grow hot and let its bronze melt." For already the pot itself is being consumed, in which the flesh and bones were previously consumed: because after men have failed, even the walls are falling. Where are those who once rejoiced in its glory? Where is their pomp? Where their pride? Where their frequent and immoderate joy? Fulfilled in it is what is said through the prophet against the destroyed Nineveh: "Where is the dwelling of the lions and the feeding place of the young lions?" Nah. 2 Were not its leaders and princes lions, who, running through the various provinces of the world, seized plunder by raging and killing? Hence the young lions found pasture: because boys, adolescents, young men — worldly folk and the children of worldly folk — ran hither from every side when they wished to advance in this world. But behold, it is already desolate, already crushed, already oppressed with groanings. No one now runs to it to advance in this world; no powerful and violent man remains to seize plunder by oppression. Let us therefore say: "Where is the dwelling of the lions and the feeding place of the young lions?" What befell it we know was said through the prophet concerning Judaea: "Enlarge your baldness like an eagle." Mic. 1 For baldness in a man usually occurs only on the head; but the baldness of an eagle occurs over the whole body: because when it has grown very old, its feathers and plumes fall from all its members. Rome therefore expands its baldness like an eagle, because it has lost its feathers when it lost its peoples. For the plumes of its wings have fallen, with which it used to fly to its prey: because all its powerful have perished, through whom it used to seize the goods of others. and the prophecy of St. Benedict concerning it. Likewise, in the second book of the Dialogues: ^b Furthermore, he says, the bishop of the Church of Canosa used to come to Benedict, the servant of the Lord, whom the man of God greatly loved for the merit of his life. When, therefore, he was having a conversation with him about the entry of King Totila and the destruction of the city of Rome, he said: "This city will be destroyed by this king, so that it will no longer be inhabited." To whom the man of God replied: "Rome will not be exterminated by the nations, but, wearied by storms, lightning, whirlwinds, and earthquake, will wither away in itself." Whose prophecy's mysteries have already become clearer to us than light: for in this city we see walls dissolved, houses overturned, churches destroyed by the whirlwind, and we see its buildings, wearied by long age, being laid flat by increasing ruins. bk. 2, ep. 32 Likewise, in a letter to John, Bishop of Ravenna, after some things: If there is ever any opportunity to obtain it, let your fraternity urge upon the Exarch that we make peace with Arnulf, if we have any small ability; because the soldier has been taken from the city of Rome, as he himself knows. The Theodosians, moreover, who remained here, not receiving their pay, can barely accommodate themselves even to the guarding of the walls; and the city, deserted by all, if it does not have peace — how will it survive? Indiction 10.

^a So the MSS. Surius reads "in nostris tribulationibus patimur." In the text of the Homily, "in nostris temporibus cernimus."

^b This is the Dialogue of St. Gregory on the Life of St. Benedict, to be more fully elucidated below on March 21.

CHAPTER XIII

The illness, death, and burial of St. Gregory.

[67] Gregory was weighed down by such great tumults of cares for the safeguarding of souls and of the city alike, [Burdened by barbarian incursions and illness, he desists from the exposition of Ezekiel:] that, ^a falling into the troubles of colic, not only was he unable to treat the mysteries of Ezekiel in order as he had proposed, but also, burdened by hostile incursions and many bodily weaknesses, he desisted entirely from the work of exposition, and bewailed that he had reached those days, and sought the dissolution of his body with all his efforts. Wherefore he complains to that same Bishop John, saying: That I have not replied to your blessedness for so long, do not attribute this to my indolence but to my weakness: because, my sins causing it, at the time when Agilulf came to the city of Rome, killing some and mutilating others, I was so afflicted with sadness that I fell into the troubles of colic. Likewise, in the exposition of the last vision of the prophet Ezekiel: Because, with many cares pressing, it was not permitted to study thoroughly the whole book of the prophet before your charity in order, it seemed good to your kind wishes to request that at least his final vision, which was made to him about the building established on a mountain — which is also more obscure than all his other visions — should be expounded. In the Preface, bk. 2. And indeed it is necessary for me to comply with your will, but there are two things that trouble my mind in this matter. One is that this same vision is covered by clouds of such obscurity that scarcely anything appears in it with an illuminating understanding. The other is that we have learned that Agilulf, King of the Lombards, hastening with the utmost effort to besiege us, has crossed the Po. Consider therefore, dearest brothers, what a wretched mind occupied with the disturbances of its own fear can penetrate in abstruse and mystical senses? For the more

the mind busies itself with earthly things, the less it sees in the things that are heavenly; and because it is drawn outwardly by its cares, it is much lesser within itself. For it is written: "The earthly dwelling weighs down the mind thinking many things": for what a mind, even when collected, does not suffice to penetrate into higher things, consider what it can do when divided. Wis. 9 We all know that a river that is divided into many streams is dried up from its channel. Likewise, the same in the treatises on the same prophet, Homily XI: Whether, he says, a just man falls into fault or a sinner falls into death, the watchman must fear lest the guilt of the sinners also envelop him through his silence. Hom. 11 on Ezekiel. But meanwhile, while I speak, I wish to turn my eyes from myself, and behold, the divine word strikes me back upon myself, so that I may see my own negligence and tremble that these things I hear are said to me. For as I said above, whose heart, scattered by innumerable cares, can collect itself to itself? He strives to accommodate himself to his subjects: For when can I both carefully attend to all the things around me and view myself with a unified mind? When can I both correct the wickedness of the depraved by pursuing it, and guard the deeds of the good by praising and admonishing them — showing to some terror and to others sweetness? When am I able both to think about what is necessary for the brethren and to be vigilant against the swords of enemies, taking care about the watches of the city lest the citizens perish by a sudden incursion — and among all these things, to effectively and fully bestow the word of exhortation for the guardianship of souls? For to speak about God requires a very quiet and free mind. For the tongue is well directed in speech when the mind has rested securely in tranquility: because neither does troubled water reflect the image of the one looking into it, but the face of the one gazing is seen in it when it is not moved. What exhortation, then, can your watchman, dearest brothers, give you, whom the confusion of so many things disturbs? And shortly after: The priest, even after compunction and tears, is compelled to learn the needs of his sons, and to patiently hear things that his mind shrinks from, and after sighs for heavenly things, to bear the burdens of any carnal persons whatsoever, and often with those who come upon him to pour his heart into a diverse quality of feeling. For sometimes he rejoices over spiritual gains; but when someone grief-stricken comes upon him, unless he takes that person's grief upon himself, he is not compassionate to that person's tribulation. And sometimes he grieves over the losses of souls, but suddenly others come who rejoice in their prosperity; if the priest does not share in their joy, he is believed to love his sons less, in whose joy he does not exult — especially since Paul says: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep." Rom. 12 I see nothing, therefore, so burdensome in the order of priests as to bend the rigor of the mind by compassion and to change one's spirit with the persons who come upon him. And yet this is very necessary; for when, through his preaching, a sinner is brought back to the grace of good work, if the one who preaches seems ungrateful? Likewise, at the end of that same volume: Behold, we have searched out these things before you, dearest brothers, as we could with the Lord's bounty. Homily 22. But let no one reproach me if hereafter I cease from speaking: for as you all see, our tribulations have increased; we are surrounded on all sides by swords; on all sides we dread the imminent danger of death. Some return to us with their hands cut off, others are reported captured, others slain. Already I am compelled to hold my tongue from exposition, because my soul is weary of my life. Let no one now seek from me the study of sacred eloquence, because my harp has been turned to mourning and my organ to the voice of those who weep. Already the eye of the heart does not watch in the examination of mysteries, because my soul has dozed from weariness; already the reading is less sweet to my mind, because I have forgotten to eat my bread from the voice of my groaning. For one who is not permitted to live — how can it please him to speak of the senses of sacred Scripture? And I who am compelled daily to drink bitter things — when can I offer sweet ones? bk. 7, ep. 27 Likewise, the same to the Patrician Lady Italica and to Venantius, once a monk, now a patrician: When certain persons came from Sicily, I took care with the affection that was due to inquire about the health of your excellency; but they replied with sad news about the frequency of your illnesses. Indiction 2. But in saying this, he is confined to bed by the pains of gout for eleven months, I too find nothing else about myself that I should report to you, except that, my sins causing it, behold, it is now eleven months that it is very rare if I have been able to rise from bed at any time. For I am pressed by such pains of gout and such anguish of afflictions that my life is to me a most heavy punishment: for I daily fail in pain and await the remedy of death with sighing. Indeed, in the clergy and people of this city, such great weaknesses of fevers have burst upon them that almost no free person, no slave remains who is fit for any office or ministry. Moreover, from the neighboring cities, reports of the slaughter of mortality are daily brought to us. But how Africa is being devastated by mortality and sickness, I believe you know more precisely the closer you are. From the East, moreover, those who come report graver desolations. In all these things, therefore, since we know the general affliction to be that of the approaching end of the world, we ought not to be excessively afflicted by our own troubles. bk. 8, ep. 35 Likewise to the Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria: indeed for two years, Last year I received the most sweet writings of your holiness, to which I have not been able to respond until now because of the severity of my illness: for behold, nearly two years have now been completed since I have been confined to bed and am so afflicted with the pains of gout that I can barely rise for the space of up to three hours on feast days [he aspires to eternal salvation, he implores the prayers of the Patriarch of Alexandria,] and celebrate the solemnities of Mass. But I am soon compelled by so severe a pain to lie down that I cannot endure my torment even with interrupting groans: which pain is sometimes mild, sometimes excessive — but neither so mild that it departs nor so excessive that it kills. Whence it happens that I, who am daily in death, am daily driven back from death. But it is no wonder that a grave sinner is held long enclosed in the prison of such corruption. Whence I am compelled to cry out: "Bring my soul out of prison, to confess your name, O Lord." But because I do not yet deserve to obtain this by my own prayers, I beg that the prayer of your holiness may lend me the aid of its intercession and render me free from the weight of sin and corruption, into that which you well know — the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. Likewise to the same: I ask, moreover, that your holiness ought to pray more earnestly for me, because I am incessantly pressed by the pains of gout and the swords of barbarians and the afflictions of cares. bk. 7, ep. 78, Indiction 2. But if you bestow upon me the help of your prayer, I believe that you will powerfully aid me against all adversities. Likewise to the same: I beg, therefore, that you pray more earnestly for me, a sinner, because both the pain of my body and the bitterness of my heart and the immense devastation of mortality, amid so many swords of barbarians, vehemently afflict me; among all of which I seek not temporal but eternal consolation, which I cannot obtain through myself but which I trust to obtain through the intercession of your blessedness. bk. 11, ep. 47 Likewise to ^b Marianus, Bishop of Arabia: It has been a long time now since I have been unable to rise from bed. bk. 9, ep. 27 For now the pain of gout torments me, now I know not what fire spreads through my whole body with pain: and it often happens that at one and the same time the burning and the pain contend in me, and both body and spirit fail within me. But of how many other necessities I am afflicted beyond these infirmities I have mentioned, I cannot enumerate. But briefly I say that the infection of noxious humor has so soaked me that to live is a punishment for me and I longingly await death, which with my groans I believe to be the only remedy. his body becomes completely dried out: Therefore, dearest brother, beseech for me the mercy of the divine piety, that he may graciously soften the scourges of his chastisement toward me and grant me the patience to endure: lest — God forbid — through excessive weariness my heart may burst forth into impatience, and the fault that could have been healed through the blow may grow through murmuring. Likewise to the Patrician Lady Rusticiana: Concerning the ailment of gout that you have indicated befell you, I was both vehemently saddened and gladdened: gladdened, because the noxious humor, seeking the lower parts, has assuredly left the upper; saddened, because I fear that you suffer excessive pains in so very thin a body. bk. 9, ep. 38 For where flesh is lacking, what strength can there be to resist the pains? For me indeed, whom you know what I once was, the bitterness of my mind and the constant irritation, and besides this the affliction of gout, have so affected me that my body is dried up as if in a tomb: whence it happens that I can now rarely rise from bed. bk. 11, ep. 24 Likewise to the same: I live in such great groaning and occupations that it repents me to have arrived at the days I live, and my only consolation is the expectation of death. Whence I ask that you should pray for me, so that I may be brought more quickly out of this prison of the flesh, and not be tortured longer by such great labors. Likewise to Anastasius of Antioch: I beg that you pray more earnestly for the infirmity of my heart, so that Almighty God may guard my mind from all evils through your intercession and more quickly snatch me from the many storms of this tempest and bring me to the shore of eternal rest. bk. 7, ep. 3, Indiction 1.

[68] He dies on March 12: Gregory, at last heard by heaven in answer to such great prayers, after he had illuminated the see of the holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church for thirteen years, six months, and ten days with the happiest teachings and deeds alike, in the second year of the empire of ^c Phocas, in the seventh Indiction, on the fourth of the Ides of March, was taken from the corruption of the flesh, to be exalted in the glory of perpetual incorruption. Who indeed, in all the time of his life, just as he had by no means built new basilicas, so he repaired the roofs and structures of the old ones that had been built with the greatest care each year. Enriching them with revenues, lamps, services, and gifts, in the basilica of the blessed Apostle Peter he fabricated a canopy of the purest silver, which was transferred by ^d Pope Leo III to the Sixtian basilica dedicated to the name of holy Mary; and in the basilica of the blessed Apostle Paul he likewise provided another canopy over the altar. Buried in the portico of St. Peter, Moreover, the venerable body of this man was buried in the far portico of the basilica of the blessed Apostle Peter, before the then most ancient sacristy, where ^e Leo, Simplicius, Gelasius, and Symmachus, bishops of the Apostolic See, along with several others, are buried and still proclaimed by their epitaphs, and it is adorned with this inscription ^f:

Receive, O earth, a body taken from your body, Which you may return when God gives it life.

The spirit seeks the stars: the rights of death shall avail nothing, For him to whom death itself is rather the way to another life.

In this tomb are enclosed the remains of the Supreme Pontiff Who lives forever and everywhere in his innumerable good deeds.

He overcame hunger with feasts, cold with clothing, And shielded souls from the enemy by his sacred counsels.

Whatever he taught by word, he fulfilled by deed, That he might be an example, speaking mystic words.

He converted the English to Christ with a benign mind, Thus acquiring hosts of faith from a new nation.

This was your labor, this your study, this your care, this, O Pastor, you pursued: That you might offer to the Lord abundant gains of the flock.

And having been made God's consul, rejoice in these triumphs, For you now hold the reward of your works without end.

^a By colic troubles he means what we have called colic. κῶλον, the large intestine.

^b The MSS. with Surius read "Mariano"; in the Register, "Maximiano."

^c Phocas began in the year of Christ 602, Indiction 6, on November 23, Friday, crowned by the Patriarch Cyriacus; the time of the pontificate of St. Gregory. therefore on March 12 it was still the 2nd year of his empire, with Indiction 7. If one subtracts 13 years, 6 months, and 10 days during which he was Pontiff, one arrives at the year 590 and September 3, on which day the memory of his consecration is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology.

^d Leo III sat from the year 795 to the year 816.

^e The following presided over the Church: St. Leo I from the year 440 to 461, in which year he died and is venerated on April 11; St. Simplicius from the year 467 to March 2 of the year 483; St. Gelasius from the year 492 to November 21 of the year 496; and St. Symmachus from the year 498 to the year 514. He is venerated on July 19.

^f The Roman Canon adds that to the said epitaph the following was appended: "Here rests Gregory the First, Pope, who sat thirteen years, six months, and ten days, deposited on the fourth of the Ides of March."

CHAPTER XIV

Books written by St. Gregory. His modesty concerning these books.

[69] ^a When that most generous pastor had died, a most severe famine descended that same year. [While he wrote his books, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove sat upon his head.] And however much the scarcity of resources showed almost the entire world what a patron Rome then lacked, nevertheless the ferocity of the envious utterly failed to recognize it. For as is handed down by our elders, when the instigators of old calumnies were loudly clamoring that Gregory had been a prodigal squanderer of the manifold treasure of the patriarchate, and the personal target having failed, they began likewise to pant for the burning of his books. When they had already burned some and wished to burn the rest, Peter the Deacon, his most intimate associate, with whom he had discussed the four books of the Dialogues, is believed to have most vigorously resisted, saying that the burning of the books would accomplish nothing toward obliterating his memory, since copies of them, sent at the request of various people, had penetrated the circuit of the world. Adding that it was a monstrous sacrilege to burn so many and such great books of so great a Father, above whose head he himself had most frequently observed the Holy Spirit in the likeness of a dove while he was writing. Peter the Deacon attests this by his death: And when the deacon perceived that the populace, long devoted, was rising up against the envious on this occasion, he is said to have provoked the judgment of all to this: that if, confirming what he had said with an oath, he should deserve to die immediately, they should desist from burning the books; but if he should survive his own testimony, he would himself lend a hand to the burners. And so the venerable Levite Peter, ascending the ambo with the Gospels, as soon as he bore testimony to Gregory's holiness, breathed forth his spirit amid the words of his true confession; and, a stranger to the pain of death, beside the base of the pulpit — as is still seen — he, the Confessor of truth, deserved to be buried.

[70] Hence it is that the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is customarily depicted above the head of Gregory as he writes; and that the greater part of his expositions — which indeed is remembered to have been burned by the envious — is not extant. bk. 10, ep. 22, Indiction 5. Of these he himself seems to indicate the sum to his subdeacon John, his representative at Ravenna, whether various works have been lost: writing among other things as follows: Because my once dearest son Claudius had heard certain things from me as I spoke — concerning the Proverbs, the Song of Songs, the Prophets, and also the Books of Kings and the Heptateuch — which I was unable to commit to writing because of my infirmity, he himself dictated them in his own sense lest they should perish in oblivion: so that at an opportune time they might be brought to me and dictated more accurately. When he had read them to me, I found the sense of my sayings to have been much changed in many places. Whence it is necessary that your experience, with all excuse and delay ceasing, should go to his monastery and cause him to come and, with complete honesty, bring forth all the papers he took from various scriptures and present them; receive them and send them to me with the greatest speed. Indeed, because the diligence of Gregory, who survived after this for nearly three years, could not have been deceived, it is clear beyond doubt that he composed more books than are now extant. Of which a certain person, summarizing in his episcopal work, says: "He expounded Job, Ezekiel, the Gospels, and the Pastoral Rule, and many other things" — so that you may understand: things that ^b can no longer be found. Because they were indeed burned before being published, just as the rest of his works, which are now still kept in the holy Roman Church under guard, lest they should be completely made common.

[71] And so, if one considers more carefully, the entire time of Gregory's writing, in which he composed the books that are now extant, extends from his * diaconate to the penultimate year of his pontificate. And although, with the perfidy of the Lombards raging, 12 books of letters, he desisted from the exposition of books after the treatises on Ezekiel, he never entirely ceased from composing letters for as long as he was able to live: of which indeed he left as many books in the archive as the years he lived. Whence he left the ^c thirteenth book of letters, of the seventh Indiction, unfinished, since he did not reach the end of that same Indiction. From the great number of these, in the times of the first ^d Pope Hadrian, certain decretal letters were excerpted through individual Indictions and gathered into two volumes, just as is now seen. And Gregory, having long since been placed in the monastery — where the Angel of the Lord, in the guise of a shipwrecked man, had found him writing — had doubtless dictated certain things, so that he might arrive more prepared at the exposition of so great a profundity as he was able to penetrate in the book of Job, and the more skilled from the habit of dictating.

[72] Therefore Gregory, while in his diaconate, when the business of the Apostolic See held him in the city of Constantinople, when the expositions on Job were composed: and ^e Leander, the Spanish bishop, had been brought there by a legation entrusted to him for the cause of the faith of the Visigoths — with that same Leander, as I recall having said in the first book, most importunately urging him, along with the brethren then attached to Gregory — he began to expound the book of blessed Job. Setting these things before them in person, he delivered the earlier parts of the book orally; and because he found a somewhat more leisurely time, he dictated the later parts by way of exposition. And when more ample periods of time were available to him, adding much, subtracting little, and leaving some things just as they were found, he composed through books, by emending, those things that had been taken down orally under his direction. When, already made bishop, he was dictating the later parts at Rome, carefully attending to the style in which he had delivered the earlier parts, he took care that, running through them with studious emendation, he should, as it were, raise what he had spoken to the likeness of one who dictates, and that what he had dictated should not differ greatly from the discourse of one who speaks colloquially: so that while this is stretched and that is drawn, the product, produced in a dissimilar manner, might form a thing not dissimilar. Although the third part of that same work, as he produced it by speaking colloquially, he left almost as it was: because, while the brethren drew him to expounding other things, they did not wish this to be more subtly emended. Complying with them as they commanded many things — now through the mystery of exposition, now through the ascent of contemplation, now through the study of morality — he completed this work, extended through thirty-five books, in six codices: copies of which he first distributed among the monasteries of the city, and lastly sent to that same Bishop Leander.

[73] The book of Pastoral Care But at the very beginning of his episcopate, when he had been humbly reproached by John, Bishop of the city of Ravenna, asking why so capable a man had wished to flee by hiding from the burdens of pastoral care, he composed the book of the Pastoral Rule: distinguishing which by fourfold reasoning, he thoroughly taught that it must be very carefully considered — when the necessity of circumstances demands — how anyone should come to the summit of governance, and having duly arrived at this, how he should live, and living well, how he should teach, and teaching rightly, with what great consideration he should daily recognize his own weakness: lest either humility flee from approach, or life contradict attainment, or doctrine abandon life, or presumption exalt doctrine. First, therefore, let fear temper desire; then let life commend the magistracy that is received by one who does not seek it. Then it is necessary that the good of the pastor, which is shown by living, be also propagated by speaking. At the last, moreover, it remains that the consideration of one's own weakness should press down all perfect works, lest the swelling of elation extinguish these before the eyes of the hidden Judge. And because he had recognized that certain unskilled persons had conspired toward the priesthood, and foresaw that others would conspire — who, unable to measure themselves, would desire to teach what they had not learned, and would esteem the weight of the magistracy all the more lightly the more they were ignorant of the force of its greatness — he reproved these at the very beginning of his book: so that whenever the unlearned and reckless desired to hold the citadel of teaching, they would be driven from the boldness of their rashness at the very doorway of the Gregorian discourse. This book the Deacon Anatolius, his apocrisiarius, translated into Greek: had once offered to the Emperor who sought and commanded it; which the great ^f Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch, poured into the Greek language and provided the venerable work to the churches of the East.

[74] Then, just as I related in the second book of this work, while Gregory still had sufficient voice The work of 20 Homilies on the Gospels: and breath for speaking, going about the Stations, he declaimed 20 Homilies on the Gospel before the people at various times; the remaining ones, equal in number, he indeed dictated, but, with his stomach flagging from continual illness, he allowed others to deliver them: copies of which he sent to Secundus, a servant of God, at his request.

[75] And when Gregory was most earnestly entreated by his intimate associates to write something about the miracles of the Fathers, he wrote to Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse, saying: The brethren who live with me familiarly compel me by all means to briefly describe certain miracles of the Fathers that we have heard were done in Italy. bk. 2, ep. 50, Indiction 11. For this task I am vehemently in need of the help of your charity, that whatever comes back to your memory, whatever you have happened to learn, you would briefly indicate to me. For I remember your having related certain things about the Lord ^g Abbot Nonnosus, Books of the Dialogues on the miracles of the Italian Fathers, who was near the Lord Anastasius de Pentomis, which I have consigned to oblivion. And these things, therefore, and if there are any other things, I ask to be imprinted in your letters and sent to me with speed — if, however, you do not set out to come to me. Hence Gregory, strengthened, the miracles of the holy Fathers that he had brought forth with his deacon Peter through inquiry and response — interrupting the higher study of exposition — he distinguished by the simple notation of names alone and

arranged them in four books: so that, just as in the books of his expositions he had taught what virtues should be striven for, so also, by describing the miracles of the Saints, he might show with a clarity brighter than light what had been the splendor of those same virtues. Which books ^h Zacharias, bishop of the holy Roman Church, translated into Greek by Pope Zacharias: most learned in both Greek and Latin speech, in the times of the Emperor Constantine, after about one hundred and seventy-five years, converting them into the Greek language, published them to the churches of the East. Although the cunning perversity of the Greeks, in the mention of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father, of its own accord erased and removed the name of the Son.

[76] Homilies on Ezekiel. He also treated the first and last parts of the prophet Ezekiel, which seemed more obscure, at the request of the Romans, and, distinguishing them through twenty-two Homilies, he demonstrated how much light they contain within; and in these, as was shown above, he made an end of his expounding.

[77] While these books are truly declared by the doctors of the following age to be composed both with the most correct judgments and in the most brilliant style of rhetorical eloquence, the blessed Gregory, from the sweetness of his humility, calls them unpolished, writing to Bishop Leander among other things: I ask that, running through the words of this work (doubtless meaning the Moralia), you do not seek in them the foliage of words: because in sacred eloquence the levity of fruitless loquacity is studiously restrained by its expositors, he asserts that in his writings he did not affect pompous speech. since it is forbidden to plant a grove in the temple of God. Deut. 16 And we all assuredly know that whenever the stalks of a crop that is poorly luxuriant in its leaves grow tall, the grains swell with lesser fullness in the ears. Whence I have also disdained to observe that very art of speaking which the instruction of external discipline inculcates. For as the tenor of this letter also declares, I do not avoid the collision of ^i metaplasm, I do not shun the confusion of barbarism, I disdain to observe the positions and constructions of prepositions and cases: because I consider it exceedingly unworthy to confine the words of the heavenly oracle under the rules of Donatus. Nor indeed have these things been observed by any interpreters in the authority of sacred Scripture. From which, inasmuch as our exposition arises, it is assuredly fitting that, as offspring brought forth, it should imitate the appearance of its mother. But he is held to be eloquent by others. In which words it is recognized that Gregory did not affect pompous speech, but rather incurred it from the former habit of his secular practice. Whose harmony of eloquence Isidore, Bishop of the city of Seville, admiring in the exposition of Genesis, says: These things are taken from the authors Origen, Victorinus, Ambrose, Jerome, Cassian, Augustine, Fulgentius, and — in our own times — the remarkably eloquent Gregory. But Bede the Priest also, in his book on figures of speech, declaring that orators produce homoeoteleuton, proposed the example, saying: Blessed Job, known to God alone and to himself, was to be brought to our notice through temptation: he was touched by a wound, so that he might spread the fragrance of his strength the more widely, the better he might blaze — after the manner of aromatics — from being burned. Which figure the same blessed Pope Gregory, who said this, is known to have very frequently used. And I think orations of this kind are those which the blessed Jerome calls the well-crafted declamations of rhetoricians.

[78] He calls his writings chaff: But Gregory, admonished by the caution of his humility, not only despised the fragrance of his own eloquence, but also, calling his own dictation chaff in comparison with another's treatise, most vehemently forbade his own books to be read as long as he lived, writing to Innocentius, Prefect of Africa, among other things: That you wished a codex of the exposition on holy Job to be sent to you, we altogether rejoice in your zeal: because we perceive that your eminence devotes itself to that thing which neither permits you to go entirely outside yourself nor gathers you back — scattered by secular cares — to the heart. bk. 8, ep. 37 But if you desire to be fattened on delicious food, read the works of blessed Augustine, your fellow countryman; and in comparison with his fine flour, do not seek our chaff. bk. 6, ep. 9 Likewise to John, Bishop of Syracuse: Moreover, I hear that your fraternity has certain things I remember having written he does not wish them read before strangers, read at your table in the presence of outsiders. Which does not seem to me to be something you should do: because what you do out of charity, some, as far as I am concerned, may attribute to vainglory. And therefore, in the presence of outsiders, read the sayings of the ancients, from whose authority those who hear them may be instructed. bk. 10, ep. 22 Likewise to the Subdeacon John at Ravenna, after many things: That thing which has been brought to me by the report of certain persons, he says — that our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Marinianus has the commentaries on blessed Job read publicly at vigils — I have not received gladly: because that is not a popular work and generates more of a hindrance than an advancement for unlearned hearers. But tell him indeed he forbids them to be read at vigils during his lifetime: to have the commentaries on the Psalms read at vigils, which especially form the minds of secular people to good morals. For I do not wish, while I am in this flesh, that if I have happened to say anything, it should easily be made known to people.

[79] With what great consideration Gregory — who is shown, sufficiently as I think, to have humbly arrived at the summit of governance, to have lived well upon arriving at this work, and to have rightly taught by living well — recognized his own weakness, he manifests in the final book of the Moralia when he says: Having completed this work, I see that I must return to myself: for the mind, even when it strives to speak rightly, is much scattered beyond itself. bk. 35, ep. 26 For the integrity of the mind, since words are considered as to how they should be uttered, because they draw it outwardly, they diminish it. Therefore from the public forum of speech one must return to the court of the heart, so that I may, as it were, by a certain council of deliberation, summon the thoughts of my mind to discern myself: so that there I may see whether I have said bad things incautiously or good things not well. [he complains that in composing even rightly-intentioned works, some vainglory has mingled itself in:] For a good thing is then well said when the one who says it seeks to please only him from whom he received it, through what he says. And indeed, although I do not find that I have said any bad things, yet I do not assert that I have absolutely not said any; and of good things, if I have said any having received them from God, I confess that through my own fault I have said them less well. For returning within to myself, setting aside the foliage of words, setting aside the branches of sentences, when I subtly inspect the very root of my intention, I recognize that I wished supremely to please God through it: but to that same intention by which I strive to please God, the intention of human praise furtively — I know not how — inserts itself. Which, when I afterwards discern it tardily, I find that I am doing otherwise than what I know I began otherwise: for often thus our intention, while it is rightly begun before the eyes of God, is secretly overtaken — as it were catching it up on the way — and followed by the intention of human praise. Just as food is indeed taken out of necessity, but in the very eating, as gluttony furtively creeps in, the pleasure of eating is mixed in. Whence it often happens that we complete for the sake of pleasure a meal that we began for the sake of health. It must be confessed, therefore, that our right intention, which desires to please God alone, is sometimes attended by stealth by the less right intention that seeks to please men by the gifts of God. with humility and modesty he speaks of himself: But if we are strictly examined by God concerning these things, what place of salvation remains, when both our evil things are pure evil, and the good things that we believe we have can by no means be pure good? But I think it is worth the effort that I unhesitatingly open to fraternal ears everything that I secretly reprove in myself. Because, since in expounding I did not conceal what I thought, in confessing I do not hide what I suffer: through exposition I have made known the gifts; through confession I reveal the wounds. And because in this so great human race, there is no lack of small people who ought to be instructed by my sayings, nor of great people who are able to have mercy on my known weakness — through both of these I bestow, as much as I can, care upon some brethren and seek it from others: he asks the prayers of those who will read his works. to those I said by expounding what they should do; to these I open by confessing what they should spare; to those I do not withhold the medicines of words; to these I do not conceal the laceration of my wounds. I ask, therefore, that whoever reads this should bestow upon me before the strict Judge the solace of his prayer, and wash away by his tears everything that he finds sordid in me. Indeed, in the virtue of prayer and exposition compared, my reader surpasses me in recompense, if when through me he receives words, for me he gives back tears.

^a Concerning him, we treat separately below.

^b If these books were burned immediately after his death and could not be found elsewhere, it should not seem surprising if mention of them is not made by Isidore and others who cataloged his books.

^c Only 12 books of letters survive, arranged differently from what they were in the codex used by John the Deacon.

^d Hadrian I sat from the year 772 to the year 795.

^e The Life of St. Leander we give on March 13, where the Visigoths will be treated.

^f This is St. Anastasius Sinaita, about whom the matter has been treated above, who died in the year 599, on April 21.

^g St. Nonnosus is venerated on September 2; he is treated of in bk. 1 of the Dialogues, ch. 7.

^h St. Zacharias, Pope. St. Zacharias was Pope from the year 741 to the year 752, in which he died on March 15, about whom we shall treat then. This Greek translation exists after the Latin Dialogues themselves.

^i Metaplasm. "Metacismi" in our MS. and Surius; in the MS. Corsend., "Metatisini"; in the Life printed with the works, "Meotocismi." It is properly the repeated condensation of the letter M, or even the collision of any letters whatsoever. The word should be "Mytacismus" or "Motacismus," because the letter μῦ is also called μῶ, as Eustathius testifies.

* Perhaps "diaconate"? 12 books of letters.

CHAPTER XV

The veneration of St. Gregory: statues of him and of his parents.

[80] The venerable body of this most blessed Gregory, The body of St. Gregory was translated, translated by ^a Gregory IV, bishop of the Apostolic See, after ^b many years, before the new sacristy with apses constructed — as is now seen — is placed under the altar of his name, where his anniversary solemnity, with all vying in keeping vigil, is celebrated with the most grateful veneration: at which his pallium and phylacteries, as well as his belt, are customarily kissed. annual veneration, Each of which, considered individually, represents by conspicuous signs both the antiquity of the man, the moderation of his dress, modesty in dress: and the character of his regular way of life. For in the fact that his pallium, woven of shining white linen, is seen to have been pierced by no pins, it is recognized that it was thus wrapped around his shoulders, not fastened — just as is shown in the most ancient mosaics and paintings. But the fact that the phylacteries of relics appear to have been made of thin silver and hung from the neck on a cheap cloak demonstrates the moderation of his dress. Furthermore, in the slenderness of the belt, which never exceeds the measure of one thumb's width, the character of his regular

way of life, ^c established long ago by St. Benedict, whose life he described in the Dialogues, and whose Rule he also praised, whether he was a Benedictine monk. is made clearer than light that he observed it — especially since this same venerable doctor Gregory did not know the Greek language, and sent the monks of his own monastery, devoted to the rules of Benedict, into ^d Saxony.

[81] Indeed, that he did not know the Greek language, he himself testifies in a letter, writing to Eusebius, Bishop of Thessalonica: The bearer of the present letter, Theodore, a Reader of your church, coming to the threshold of the holy Apostles, since — being a new man — he had everyone unknown to him, innocently deposited with the monk Andrew, who had been enclosed near St. Paul, the goods and papers he had brought, he orders the destruction of books falsely written under his name in Greek: as if to one indeed known to him of old, believing that his mind was in accord with his habit, as we also formerly supposed. bk. 9, ep. 69 But that man was found to be of such great depravity that if the folly of his enclosure had been permitted a little longer, he would have deceived the souls of many with the falsehood of his malice and would have generated no small scandals. For among other things that this same Andrew most wickedly devised and did — he also, while the letter you sent to us was deposited with him by the aforesaid reader — falsified that same letter, so that whoever read it would plainly be convinced that you held neither Catholic nor right opinions. From which it happened that, while we diligently sought the truth, his iniquity, which had been hidden, was publicized; and so many things were found in him that they would not be believed even of any wicked layman. And because, among various evils, he also wrote certain sermons and titled them under our name — and we suspect he may have sent them somewhere — let your fraternity exercise care, and if it finds anything of the sort, let it have them cut out and utterly destroyed: because what one ignorant of letters and ignorant of divine Scripture, as we have said, entitled with our name, should not be able to infect the minds of certain people. For we neither know Greek nor have we ever composed any work in Greek.

[82] Whether Gregory sent Benedictine monks into Saxony? But that the monks who were sent by Gregory into Saxony were devoted to the Rule of St. Benedict is shown among other things also by the fact that from among his disciples, a monk can scarcely be found in those parts by whom the Rule of Benedict is not observed, both in his way of life and in his habit. Wherefore, just as it is established that the Gregorian monastery was converted from Latinity into Hellenism more by necessity than by will, so it faithfully awaits being restored, with the Lord's favor, to the practice of Latinity.

[83] In the atrium of that same venerable monastery, by Gregory's command, near the ^e nymphaeum, two very ancient ^f paintings, artistically executed, are still seen to this day: The appearance of Gordian, father of St. Gregory: in one of which the blessed Apostle Peter is seen sitting, having received with his right hand by the right hand likewise the standing Gordian, a ^g regionarius, namely the father of Gregory. Gordian's dress is a ^h chasuble of chestnut color, under the chasuble a dalmatic, on his feet he wears ^i stockings: his stature is tall, his face long, his eyes green, his beard moderate, his hair thick, his expression grave. and of Sylvia his mother In the other, moreover, the mother of Gregory, Sylvia, is depicted seated, covered by a white veil so folded from the right shoulder against the left that under it she draws her hands as if from beneath a chasuble, and around the breast below the chin an inner tunic of ^k pseudo-milky color appears, which flows down over the feet in a great drape, distinguished by two ^l bands in the likeness of dalmatics, but altogether wider: her stature is full, her face round indeed and fair, but already wrinkled with age — which very age signifies her to have been most beautiful. With glaucous and large eyes, modest eyebrows, graceful lips, her expression is cheerful, bearing on her head a matronly mitre of shining cloth, ^m interwoven by the thinness of the fabric, extending the two fingers of her right hand as if intending to sign herself with the sign of the cross: in her left hand, moreover, she holds an open psalter, in which is written: "My soul shall live and shall praise you, and your judgments shall help me." Ps. 119 From the right elbow to the left, a verse ascending around the shoulders turns back, which reads thus: GREGORIUS FECIT SYLVIAE MATRI ("Gregory made this for his mother Sylvia"). Ps. 119

[84] And in the apse ^n behind the brethren's refectory, Gregory is depicted by the skill of the same ^o artist in a round plaster medallion. and of St. Gregory himself. His stature is just and well-formed; his face, in a middle temperament between the length of his father's face and the roundness of his mother's, so that with a certain roundness it appears most becomingly to be elongated; his beard, after his father's fashion, is tawny and moderate; he is somewhat bald, so that in the middle of his forehead he has twin curls, rather sparse, and bent to the right; his tonsure is round and spacious; his hair is dark and neatly curled, hanging to the middle of the ear; his forehead is fine, his eyebrows raised and long but slender; his eyes have dark pupils, not large but open, the areas under the eyes full; his nose, from the root of the converging eyebrows, subtly straight, broader around the middle, then slightly curved, and at the end prominent with open nostrils; his mouth red, with thick and slightly divided lips; his cheeks well-composed; his chin prominently and becomingly projecting from the juncture of the jaws. His complexion is aquiline and lively, not yet — as happened to him afterward — ^p cardiac. His expression is gentle, his hands beautiful, with rounded and skillful fingers suited for writing. Moreover, a chestnut chasuble over a dalmatic, the Gospel in his left hand, the sign of the Cross in his right, with a modest pallium drawn circularly from the right shoulder under the breast over the stomach, then upward over the left shoulder and deposited behind the back — a part of which, coming over that same shoulder, hangs not through the middle of the body but from the side in its own straightness; around his head, moreover, bearing the likeness of a rectangular tablet — which is the sign of a living person — not a crown. From which it is most clearly declared that Gregory, while he was still living, wished his own likeness to be painted, in which he could be more frequently contemplated by his monks — not for the glory of vanity, but for the caution of their recognized strictness — where he himself composed this distich:

Christ, powerful Lord, bestower of our honor, Govern the entrusted office with your accustomed piety.

^a Gregory IV presided over the Church from the year 827 to the year 843.

^b So the MSS. read. The printed text reads "about fifty years" — a great error, since from the year 604, or the death of St. Gregory, 223 years have elapsed up to the beginning of the pontificate of Gregory IV.

^c The Institute of St. Benedict flourished when the author was writing, after the restoration of the Cassinese monastery under Pope Gregory III, Rule of St. Benedict. and by his successor Zacharias the codex of the holy Rule, which St. Benedict had written with his own hand, was presented. We shall treat of St. Benedict on March 21; in whose Rule it is read: "Girt individually with belts or cords," so that the author has added this, as it was then practiced.

^d Above in bks. 1 and 2 he calls Britain, and the inhabitants Anglo-Saxons. Nymphaeum.

^e A nymphaeum is taken for a bath or fountain: because the Nymphs were the goddesses of the waters.

^f The images described here of St. Gregory and his parents Gordian and Sylvia, Images. displayed in the chapel of St. Andrew, were had expressed from life by Angelo Rocca of Camerino, printed at Rome by the Vatican press in the year 1597, with his Commentaries, in which he says those had been painted about three hundred years earlier from those which John the Deacon here testifies existed in his time. From Rocca they are found among the works of St. Gregory.

^g A Regionarius Deacon appears to have been so on account of ecclesiastical vestments. Regionarius. These deacons presided over the diaconies or hospices of the individual regions of the City, ministers of widows in need and orphans: concerning whom and their privileges the matter was treated above, bk. 2, no. 51.

^h A chasuble, which Alcuin also assigns to Deacons and Amalarius to Clerics, Chasuble. is here indicated by Rocca of Camerino.

^i Stockings on the feet are sandals, which the very etymology of the name suggests: Stockings on the feet. for they seem to be called "caligae" because they are tied or fastened to the heel, whence gradually the straps drawn upward to the shins also cover part of the legs. Thus St. Peter, Acts 12, was ordered to bind on his sandals with these words: "Gird yourself and put on your sandals."

^k Pseudo-milky color: whitish or ash-colored.

^l Bands here are ribbons encircling the edge of the tunic all around, just as a dalmatic has a border at its edge for ornament.

^m Niblata or nimbata? Rocca of Camerino asserts that in all MSS. — certainly in ours — "niblatam" is read, for which word he conjectures "nimbatam" should be read: so that it would be a miter woven, or wound, or turban-like, from a certain small cloth or veil, here called brandeum. What if "nubilata" should be read? Because a thin white cloth on a background of another color presents the likeness of a cloud.

^n The MSS. read "super" above.

^o In the printed texts, "aurificis" goldsmith's.

^p Cardiac color is a saffron-like pallor, or yellow slightly tinted, Cardiac color. which he contracted from the cardiac disease, or the affliction of a languishing stomach, from which he often wrote that he suffered.

CHAPTER XVI

Miracles of St. Gregory: malefactors punished; others warned of impending death; others healed.

[85] There also, in the time of the Archdeacon Peter and the steward John, Candles divinely lit the monk Saturninus painted the images of the holy Apostles on the right and left of blessed Gregory, as they are now seen. In which place a candle is sometimes divinely lit, and in the likeness of that same image, blessed Gregory is often presented for the governance of his monastery.

[86] For — to touch upon a few out of many — in the time of ^a Pope Leo IV, when Megistus, Bishop of Ostia and Librarian of the Apostolic See, A priest of evil life, was presiding over that same monastery, the Priest John, Superior of the same, living shamefully with a certain woman, was seized by a most violent pain of gout. Who, cauterized by the hand of physicians, began to discharge chalk through the wound of the cauterization; and being unable to restrain it by any arts, he was brought to such desperation that he desisted from all visits by that woman, and she took another for herself under the same crime. But after a year, the priest returning to his former health — although he had resolved never to touch another woman — nevertheless, having sent a messenger to the same woman, he professed that he would return the following Lord's day. Upon receiving this, when he rejoiced that the woman's desire also agreed with his own, he went out to the baths. Returning from there, he so dissolved himself in potions of joy and songs that, sleep creeping upon him, he was never able to attend the night offices with the brethren. That same night, blessed Gregory appeared in a dream to a certain priest and monk, through St. Gregory appearing to a certain monk, saying: "Arise and tell the Superior that, doing penance, he should scatter the private wealth that he was not ashamed to gather, on account of the sin of his conscience, because on the third day he will be utterly extinguished from life." When the Superior heard this, he was greatly alarmed, and because he could not be incredulous to Gregory's command,

he began his penance, and distributing all his goods while still healthy, he was seized by such a burning fever he learns the day of his death: that from daybreak of the third day until the third hour, with great groaning on account of the burning, thrusting his tongue from his mouth, he drew out his last breath. The priests, seeing him laboring so hard, assigned monks there who might commend his passing with psalms, and they themselves devoted themselves to immolating solemn offerings to the almighty Lord for him. But the monks, abandoning their psalmody, did not fear to detract among themselves against the dying brother. But behold, the priests, returning from the solemnities of Mass around the seventh hour, were amazed that the Priest John, whom they had left struggling with death incredibly, was doing somewhat better, and they began to call him by name. Immediately he, opening his eyes with a smile, said: "May the Lord forgive you, brothers: why did you wish to disturb me? For from the very beginning of this day until now, I stood before Christ, presiding with many thousands of Angels, at judgment with the devil, and with the help of SS. Andrew and Gregory, I answered well to all his objections. But know this: the dying man is presented at the last judgment: that I most carefully carried to Christ, questioning even to the footstool of his feet, the monastery's sextarius, measure, pound, the custom of alms and lights, and every measure. But I confess that I blushed, convicted on one objection, concerning which, as you saw, I vexed myself greatly with laboring, and I have not yet been able to free myself." And when the brethren inquired about it, he said: "I dare not say, because when you called me and I was ordered by St. Gregory to return, so that I might also give you an account of the measures and customs of the monastery, the devil complained, thinking that Father Gregory had sent me back for penance. Wherefore I gave blessed Gregory as my surety, lest I should reveal the stirred-up charge to anyone." As they pressed him more, and promised they would pray to the Lord for him that he might reveal the matter to the brethren, disturbed by detractors, he turned to the monks who had previously remained with him and said: "All the things in which you detracted from me, brothers, I heard, although I was unable to respond, and you created no small impediment for me, because, accused at one and the same time both by you and by the devil, I did not know which calumny to answer first. But if you ever see anyone dying, have compassion on the common lot, and do not wish to judge the one who goes to the judgment of so strict a Judge with his accuser." Having said these things, he ordered all to withdraw, keeping with him only the priest who had foretold his death; who, afraid to remain alone, kept another with him, and urged him not to fear to reveal to him at least the matter for which he had contended. But he groaned deeply and, having cursed Andrew with dire words, turning his head to the wall, began to cry out, saying: "O Andrew, Andrew, may you perish this year, who drove me to danger by your wicked counsel!" Immediately the physician Zacharias — who the previous year had returned to his own people, namely the Saracens, by apostatizing — arrived, and, having touched his temples, began to swear that the priest would by no means die from that same illness. When the sick man heard him, he repelled him with great indignation, saying: "Brothers, my entire body is already dead; I retain my spirit, allowed, in my extremities; I am about to die immediately. Only sing psalms, so that I may see again the Angels whom I was seeing, and I will signal to you by nodding and show them." While they prayed, his whole body began to tremble and grow pale, and to gaze upward longingly. He dies: When suddenly, seeing spirits approaching, with eyes terribly rolled back, he signaled to the monks and departed; and he left them struck with such terror that for many nights they were afraid to lie there.

[87] On the same day, as was afterward discovered, and at the same moment [this man is divinely chastised on the same day for having stolen and sold charters of the monastery to outsiders,] when the dying priest had imprecated peril upon Andrew, that same Andrew — steward of the Barbilian estate, situated namely on the Ostian Way — fell into his bed, in which, seized by a long continuous languor, he so completely withered that his entire body seemed to be dissolving bit by bit. And while his flesh was melting away and he could be consumed but could not die, his wife — who could no longer endure the stench of his wounds and her husband's torments — understood that he had by no means incurred the troubles of so great an illness without a sentence of divine vengeance. Weeping, she took care to inquire of him, since he could not have been called in vain by the dying Superior, what he had committed with him — that he should reveal it to the monks, if perhaps the Lord, receiving his confession, might free him from such great torments. But he, recognizing that the evil he had done could not be hidden, asked that the monks of the monastery be summoned, and confessed to them that he had stolen certain charters of the monastery together with the same Superior and, having received payment, had handed them over to outsiders; and that he was certain that on account of this crime he could not die until he had revealed this before all. He expires in the confession of his crime: Which indeed the outcome of events clearly showed to be true. For as soon as so great a crime was made known to all, he who had long wished to die but could not, breathed forth his spirit amid the words of his confession. Whom Almighty God wished to be tortured for a long time but did not permit to be able to die until he confessed his guilt — so that by the example of his torment he might show what the consumers of Gregory's goods ought to expect for themselves.

[88] Athanasius, the Prefect of the monastery, withholds alms from the poor: In the time of that same Pontiff also, Athanasius presided over the monastery of that same Father — a man indeed conspicuous for chastity and a most careful administrator of his monastery. Who, recognizing a time of raging scarcity, lest necessity might perhaps press upon the monks, withdrew the meal of forty poor people whom blessed Gregory had decreed should be fed once a year. Perceiving that he had done this with impunity, he also completely intercepted the twelve denarii for twelve poor people who were customarily fed on the day of the deposition of blessed Gregory in commemoration of the twelve whom he had once invited, the thirteenth of whom had professed himself to be an Angel. When, in the same season of Lent, blessed Gregory appeared in a dream to that same priest ordered by the appearing St. Gregory to be warned and monk mentioned above, saying: "Go and tell the steward that because he has diminished the custom that I established, the Lord has also diminished his days." When the steward heard this, at first indeed he trembled, but afterward he believed all the less the further he recognized his life to be extending. And behold, during the very Easter octave itself, while attending the evening offices in the oratory of St. Severinus with the brethren, he saw the wall burning, and he ordered the brethren to extinguish it. While they thought him drunk, he at last threw down the staff he was holding and, running his hands over the wall, tried to extinguish outside the flames that plainly were devouring his interior. Finally, returning at last to his lodging, punished by death. he was kindled by such a burning fever that he was by no means able to reach the seventh day. Because, therefore, while he thought he had consulted for his monks, he did not fear to have harmed the poor; and consequently, by what he believed he could please Gregory, he utterly offended him: in vain did he wish to extinguish the flames of the wall, he who refused to extinguish the flames of his own avarice.

[89] At that same time also, behind the apse of the oratory of St. Mary ever Virgin, adjoining the oratory of St. Barbara He frees the oratory from the infestation of an evil demon where Gregory used to celebrate the praises of the Lord, a demon appeared and, making its lodging in the cave that is seen there, made such a racket at nighttime hours that it seemed to be tearing up all the foundations of the monastery. Sometimes taking horses from the stables, it was heard running about all night long; and it was proved to have plunged two of them over a precipice. And when it had completely driven the monks from the dining hall, where they used to lie in the open air because of the heat of summer, by the terror of such a noise, one of them, trusting in the power of Almighty God, lying down before the opening, having said a prayer, began to sleep. a monk sleeping there. To him the demon appeared in the likeness of a cat and attacked him, tearing at him with its claws: the monk, having repelled it by prayer, surrendered himself to slumber once more. When suddenly the demon appeared in the likeness of a certain Ethiopian, threatening with a spear, saying: "I am indeed leaving, but I leave you wounded." Saying which, it hurled the spear, and the monk cried out as if he had been truly struck. When the monks came running, though frightened, he reported what he had seen, and thereafter the demon never came there again.

[90] ^b In the time of Pope Benedict also, with ^c Lucidus, Bishop of Ficulea, presiding over that same monastery, when a very great multitude was daily perishing from a pestilence of the throat, that same monk came to the point of death with his throat blocked. To him in his despair, blessed Gregory appeared in a dream, saying: "Do you wish to be healed?" And he replied that he did. And blessed Gregory said: "If you promise me to say those things and a sick man is healed by St. Gregory; that I shall tell you, know that you will be healed; but if not, you will die more quickly." And when he promised with total certainty that he would say them, he heard: "Go and announce to the monks Saba, John, Benedict, Aiartinus, Palumbus, and Anthony, ordered to announce death to 12 monks who successively die, to the cook Lawrence, the carpenter Gemmosus, the baker Acceptus, and the laymen Andrew, Romanus, and Leo, that beginning from tomorrow, they will all follow one another in dying day by day. After their death, announce that Bishop Lucidus, who holds this monastery, will die on the seventh day." Having said these things, commanding the monk to open wide his mouth, he thrust two fingers into his throat and, breaking open the wound, ordered him to spit it out. Coughing, the man actually expelled a portion of coagulated blood in the form of a stone, and, freed from the very gates of death, that same night against all hope was present at the morning hymns. While the brethren marveled, he made known the manner of his healing: he indicated which members of the monastery's household would die, when, and how. But about the death of the bishop alone, for the time being doubting, he kept silent. And immediately the flying report ran into the ears of all those appointed to death, and when they learned from the monk's account that they would die on a certain day, having arranged their little possessions, they followed one another into death just as they had been named in the dream.

[91] and to Bishop Lucidus, And when the priest and monk feared to reveal so dire a message to Bishop Lucidus, yet dared not keep entirely silent, he finally tore himself from the monastery and approached the house of the bishop, located not far from the river Tiber — namely, in the region near the basilica of SS. Cyrus and John — to announce the dream. When he learned that the bishop was dining with the Pontiff in the palace, he waited for him to return, and took care to greet the priest clothed in sacerdotal vestments, radiant in complexion, and also in the best of health. To whom the bishop said: "Already now in the whole city you are held as divine, because of those you proclaimed would die, only one alone remains." But he replied: "Would that just as that one whom you think alive has also died, so the very one who is predicted to follow him might escape." And when the bishop inquired about this with all curiosity, and the monk was hesitant to speak, at last when he learned that he would die on the sixth day, he turned pale and trembled; and, recovering his strength, he gnashed his teeth against the monk, and retained him as he wished to leave; he wandered through the interior of his chamber, gradually felt his throat beginning to ache.

Then, taking his own pulse, he immediately recognized the signs of fever; having assumed the monastic habit, he believed the monk, set his house in order, came to the monastery over which he presided — still adorned in the same vestments in which he had returned from the patriarchate — and on Monday, while all marveled at so sudden a conversion, he assumed the monastic habit; and as the illness gradually worsened, at the dawn of Friday he fell into a light sleep. And being awakened again, he reported that the holy Apostle Andrew had appeared to him and that he would be called around the third hour, and that he had been commanded — since the monks, suspended by the expectation of his death, could not celebrate the customary observances of St. Fabian — to have his body delivered to burial at once, and, having received candles and incense from him, to hasten to carry out the solemnities. piously dying. And so at the third hour the bishop died joyfully, so that in the very joy of his expression, his conversion was shown to have been pleasing to God, for all to see.

[92] At the same time, the brother of a certain monk suffered mental insanity, An insane man is cured by the merits of St. Gregory: so that, fleeing human company, he roamed for a long time as a vagabond through solitary crypts and muddy tombs. His brother, exceedingly grieving for his insanity, daily besought St. Gregory with profuse tears to deign to restore his brother to him in good health. And so when one night after such weeping he was resting, blessed Gregory appeared to him, saying: "Seeing your tears, I have received your prayer; and behold, today I will bring back your brother to you in good health. And this will be the sign for you: as soon as day has dawned, the priest who is enclosed here will be taken out by the Pontiff's command." Who, rising in the early morning, told the brethren. By chance at that time, the same Campanian priest from the place called Claustrum, not far from Terracina, accused by his own people of a certain crime, was being held in that same monastery, and with many months passing, already despised by his accusers, he had been led into oblivion by all — since he could have no relative, no acquaintance in the city who might make a suggestion to the Pontiff on his behalf. And the monks indeed were busy on his behalf but had no means of accomplishing anything. The Pontiff, divinely reminded of him, at dawn ordered him to be taken from his prison and set free. Not long after, the monk's brother returned so fully restored to health that he was seen to have served thenceforth all the more faithfully in the monastery of that same Father, insofar as he remembered having returned to his former health by his aid.

[93] In the time also of Pope ^d Nicholas of reverend memory, with ^e Zacharias, bishop of the city of Anagni, administering the governance of that same monastery — as ^f he still survives today — a demon in the form of a bull, infesting many even invisibly, a demon attacked the Barbilian estate (which I had mentioned above) on account of the crimes of the inhabitants, and, in the likeness of a young bull, bellowing as it ran from the meadows to the house, was felt invisibly at night striking a man with its little horns, and pulling sheep from their stalls, driving them through the neighboring fields and crossroads at the greatest speed. And when it had done this for a long time and frequently threatened the rustics with harm, by afflictions of this kind it destroyed a certain Saxulus, the steward of that same estate. Then, attacking the oxherds, it so subdued them with such slaughter that within the space of three months it left no one there except one alone, named Ursellius, whom it was likewise afflicting. He, coming to Rome, while he was reporting to the brethren the peril of so great a disaster, broke off his speech, went out through the gates of the monastery, and, to the astonishment of the monks, did not return until the morning. When carefully questioned by them as to where he had rushed off so suddenly, he confessed, saying: "While I was revealing the demon's madness to you, the young bull appeared and, embracing me with its front hooves and striking me with its little horns, began to drive me before it, and all night long compelled me to climb walls and trees. And finally, when it was trying to plunge me off a bridge, I leapt from its embrace and, fleeing it with all my might, reached the gates of this monastery that Euthymius the steward had made. by the command of St. Gregory, Finding them closed, I seized with both hands both their rings, and while it was struggling to tear me away from them, a certain bald Pontiff, thrusting himself out sideways through the cracks of the doors, struck the head of the young bull with a staff and put it to flight, thus freeing me from its persecution." Therefore, when the inhabitants had perished and no one would settle there, and the monks were consequently worried about the desolation of the place, Gregory appeared in a dream to one of them and commanded that if they wished to drive the demon from the monastery's estate, he is put to flight by litanies and holy water. the brethren should proceed with litanies, sprinkling exorcized water, from the oratory of St. Martina on that same estate to the oratory of St. Mary, established there in the Lord's house. When this was done, the demon was so driven from every possession of the monastery that afterward, along the boundaries of the neighboring territory, it was noted by a swineherd to shoot flames from its mouth, nostrils, and eyes and to drive the pigs, but it was never permitted to enter within the borders of the monastery.

^a Leo IV presided from the year 847 to the year 855.

^b Benedict III succeeded the said Leo in the year 855 and died in the year 858.

^c Ficulino in the printed texts, or Ficuleno, of the town of Ficulea as said above; in our MS. "Ficudino"; in Corsend. "Sicundino" — by the fault of copyists.

^d Nicholas succeeded the said Benedict in the year 858 and died in the year 867.

^e Zacharias, sent by Pope Nicholas to Constantinople, acted perfidiously and adhered to Photius — as Anastasius relates more fully in the Life of Nicholas.

^f Hence it is necessarily concluded that Zacharias lived after the 8th Synod held in the year 870 under Hadrian II, and that Bishop Albinus, who subscribed to that same Synod, is erroneously listed among the bishops of Anagni.

CHAPTER XVII

Other miracles of St. Gregory. Those violating the rights of his monastery are punished. The writer's epilogue.

[94] Tergaudus, Bishop of Trier, excommunicated, At another time also, Tergaudus, former Bishop of Trier, who together with Guntharius, Bishop of Cologne, had been ^a deprived of his priestly office by Nicholas of reverend memory, received lodging in that same monastery through the liberality of Pope Hadrian. To him blessed Gregory appeared in a dream and struck him with the greatest terror, so that he would hurriedly leave his monastery. He, thinking the vision to have been phantasmal, having said a prayer, began to sleep again. To him Gregory appeared, clothed in pontifical dress, saying: is ordered by the appearing St. Gregory to depart from his monastery: "Did I not tell you to leave my monastery, which I dedicated to the Lord on my own property through the invocation of the holy Apostle Andrew, because it could in no way be permitted to become a hostel?" And when Tergaudus replied that he had received permission to lodge there from the Pontiff, Gregory said: "Both you who asked and he who gave it — both have acted against God, whose vengeance you will shortly incur." and by his sentence dies with his companions: Waking, Tergaudus trembled, and having said a prayer, wished to surrender himself again to sleep; when suddenly, hearing the sound of those approaching, he was greatly frightened and pretended to be asleep. Gregory therefore, drawing near, holding the holy Apostle Andrew by the right hand, commanded the subdeacon who preceded him with a light, saying: "Rebuke that one." When, thus rebuked, he sat up in bed with closed eyes, Gregory said: "Look upon us." Tergaudus, gazing upon them, trembled all the more and heard him threatening him as follows: "Because, admonished a second time, you have not wished to believe the words of my mouth, and by your disobedience you have so provoked me that I have taken the trouble to weary this Apostle of God to come here: know with certainty that unless you leave this monastery of mine today, next week you will be deprived of life with all your people; but if you do leave, you will be freed from this momentary sentence, yet neither you nor anyone dwelling here with you will see his homeland again." Immediately Tergaudus sprang from his bed and revealed the dream first to his own people, then to the monks of the monastery, and lastly to whomever he could. And because he could not more quickly obtain another lodging from the Pontiff, retreating to the Sabine country, in that same ^b year he was deprived of life with all his people.

[95] as also Faraldus, for introducing prostitutes into his monastery: At that same time also, Count Suppo of the Picene region lodged there, who showed the greatest generosity to the monks and forbade any usurpation of the property of so venerable a monastery by his men. A certain companion of his, named Faraldus, whenever Suppo proceeded to the palace, did not scruple — to the monks' abhorrence — to bring harlots there, and to celebrate with them illicit feasting and dancing. He then, going to the privy at the beginning of night, was suspended in the air by the hair by unclean spirits. And while, hanging all night, he had no power of voice, at the morning hours blessed Gregory showed himself to him, saying: "Enemy of God, are not the other evils you have obstinately perpetrated in my monastery enough for you, unless in addition you conduct theatrical harlots into a monastic cloister as if into a theater? Believe me, you will perish this year." Then he began with great effort to beg for penance and to promise complete correction from then on. Immediately Gregory ordered him to be released; and falling to the ground, because he refused to be corrected, in that same year he proved by dying that Gregory's sentence had been true.

[96] A man of that same Count, at another time, was called Indulf. and Indulf, for burning the property of the monastery When the cook asked him for money to buy wood and was by no means able to obtain it, he instead received wicked permission to attack and tear down the sheds and windows and boards of the neighboring dormitory, and burn them for his fire to prepare his dinner. When, the following night, the same Indulf went to the privy, he was questioned by a certain old man as to why he had so insolently ordered the boards of the monastery to be burned. But he, in the Gallic manner, rebuked the holy old man, calling him a ^c fool; by whom he was lightly struck with a staff; but the proud man fell with such force that he lay half-dead on the ground. At the same moment, under the same appearance, the same old man appeared to a certain cleric sleeping outside, saying: "Rise and tell the Count that he should depart safely from this monastery of mine, in which a hostel can in no way be made, before he provokes me to anger. Behold, I will bestow a fitting remedy upon his companion, who was insolent to me and whom I left struck before the privy." When the cleric asked who he was, he declared himself to be the one who could easily be recognized from the painting that hung above his bed. struck by the appearing St. Andrew, Immediately the cleric arose, seized a light, and from the likeness of the painting recognized that the holy Apostle Andrew had appeared to him. And so he went to the prostrate Indulf and found him already half-dead. Beginning to cry out with great wailing, he compelled both the Count and all who were sleeping under those same buildings to come with his piteous outcry. And pouring water on the face of the one lying there, through the invocation of the holy Apostle Andrew he at last made him speak, healed by invoking him. and together with him revealed to the Count all that had been revealed to them both. Who, when day came, summoned the monks and began to inquire with plaintive voice what he had committed against St. Andrew. But they showed him the destroyed dormitory by the hands of the cooks. And when the devout Count wished to give the monks silver for its repair,

he believed the monk, having assumed the monastic habit, set his house in order, came to the monastery over which he presided — still adorned in the same vestments in which he had returned from the patriarchate; on Monday, while all marveled at so sudden a conversion, he assumed the monastic habit; and as the illness gradually worsened, at the dawn of Friday he fell into a light sleep. And being awakened again, he reported that the holy Apostle Andrew had appeared to him and that he would be called around the third hour, and that he had been commanded — since the monks, suspended by the expectation of his death, were unable to celebrate the customary observances of St. Fabian — to have his body delivered to burial at once, and, having received candles and incense from him, to hasten to carry out the solemnities. piously dying. And so at the third hour the bishop died joyfully, so that in the very joy of his expression, his conversion was shown to have been pleasing to God, for all to see.

[92] At the same time, the brother of a certain monk suffered mental insanity, An insane man is cured by the merits of St. Gregory: so that, fleeing human company, he roamed for a long time as a vagabond through solitary crypts and muddy tombs. His brother, exceedingly grieving for his insanity, daily besought St. Gregory with profuse tears to deign to restore his brother to him in good health. And so when one night after such weeping he was resting, blessed Gregory appeared to him, saying: "Seeing your tears, I have received your prayer; and behold, today I will bring back your brother to you in good health. And this will be the sign for you: as soon as day has dawned, the priest who is enclosed here will be taken out by the Pontiff's command." Who, rising in the early morning, told the brethren. By chance at that time, the same Campanian priest from the place called Claustrum, not far from Terracina, accused by his own people of a certain crime, was being held in that same monastery, and with many months passing, already despised by his accusers, he had been led into oblivion by all — since he could have no relative, no acquaintance in the city who might make a suggestion to the Pontiff on his behalf. And the monks indeed were busy on his behalf but had no means of accomplishing anything. The Pontiff, divinely reminded of him, at dawn ordered him to be taken from his prison and set free. Not long after, the monk's brother returned so fully restored to health that he was seen to have served thenceforth all the more faithfully in the monastery of that same Father, insofar as he remembered having returned to his former health by his aid.

[93] In the time also of Pope ^d Nicholas of reverend memory, with ^e Zacharias, bishop of the city of Anagni, administering the governance of that same monastery — as ^f he still survives today — a demon in the form of a bull, infesting many even invisibly, a demon attacked the Barbilian estate (which I had mentioned above) on account of the crimes of the inhabitants, and, in the likeness of a young bull, bellowing as it ran from the meadows to the house, was felt invisibly at night striking a man with its little horns, and pulling sheep from their stalls, driving them through the neighboring fields and crossroads at the greatest speed. And when it had done this for a long time and frequently threatened the rustics with harm, by afflictions of this kind it destroyed a certain Saxulus, the steward of that same estate. Then, attacking the oxherds, it so subdued them with such slaughter that within the space of three months it left no one there except one alone, named Ursellius, whom it was likewise afflicting. He, coming to Rome, while he was reporting to the brethren the peril of so great a disaster, broke off his speech, went out through the gates of the monastery, and, to the astonishment of the monks, did not return until the morning. When carefully questioned by them as to where he had rushed off so suddenly, he confessed, saying: "While I was revealing the demon's madness to you, the young bull appeared and, embracing me with its front hooves and striking me with its little horns, began to drive me before it, and all night long compelled me to climb walls and trees. And finally, when it was trying to plunge me off a bridge, I leapt from its embrace and, fleeing it with all my might, reached the gates of this monastery that Euthymius the steward had made. by the command of St. Gregory, Finding them closed, I seized with both hands both their rings, and while it was struggling to tear me away from them, a certain bald Pontiff, thrusting himself out sideways through the cracks of the doors, struck the head of the young bull with a staff and put it to flight, thus freeing me from its persecution." Therefore, when the inhabitants had perished and no one would settle there, and the monks were consequently worried about the desolation of the place, Gregory appeared in a dream to one of them and commanded that if they wished to drive the demon from the monastery's estate, he is put to flight by litanies and holy water. the brethren should proceed with litanies, sprinkling exorcized water, from the oratory of St. Martina on that same estate to the oratory of St. Mary, established there in the Lord's house. When this was done, the demon was so driven from every possession of the monastery that afterward, along the boundaries of the neighboring territory, it was noted by a swineherd to shoot flames from its mouth, nostrils, and eyes and to drive the pigs, but it was never permitted to enter within the borders of the monastery.

^a Leo IV presided from the year 847 to the year 855.

^b Benedict III succeeded the said Leo in the year 855 and died in the year 858.

^c Ficulino in the printed texts, or Ficuleno, of the town of Ficulea as said above; in our MS. "Ficudino"; in Corsend. "Sicundino" — by the fault of copyists.

^d Nicholas succeeded the said Benedict in the year 858 and died in the year 867.

^e Zacharias, sent by Pope Nicholas to Constantinople, acted perfidiously and adhered to Photius — as Anastasius relates more fully in the Life of Nicholas.

^f Hence it is necessarily concluded that Zacharias lived after the 8th Synod held in the year 870 under Hadrian II, and that Bishop Albinus, who subscribed to that same Synod, is erroneously listed among the bishops of Anagni.

CHAPTER XVII

Other miracles of St. Gregory. Those violating the rights of his monastery are punished. The writer's epilogue.

[94] Tergaudus, Bishop of Trier, excommunicated, At another time also, Tergaudus, former Bishop of Trier, who together with Guntharius, Bishop of Cologne, had been ^a deprived of his priestly office by Nicholas of reverend memory, received lodging in that same monastery through the liberality of Pope Hadrian. To him blessed Gregory appeared in a dream and struck him with the greatest terror, so that he would hurriedly leave his monastery. He, thinking the vision to have been phantasmal, having said a prayer, began to sleep again. To him Gregory appeared, clothed in pontifical dress, saying: is ordered by the appearing St. Gregory to depart from his monastery: "Did I not tell you to leave my monastery, which I dedicated to the Lord on my own property through the invocation of the holy Apostle Andrew, because it could in no way be permitted to become a hostel?" And when Tergaudus replied that he had received permission to lodge there from the Pontiff, Gregory said: "Both you who asked and he who gave it — both have acted against God, whose vengeance you will shortly incur." and by his sentence dies with his companions: Waking, Tergaudus trembled, and having said a prayer, wished to surrender himself again to sleep; when suddenly, hearing the sound of those approaching, he was greatly frightened and pretended to be asleep. Gregory therefore, drawing near, holding the holy Apostle Andrew by the right hand, commanded the subdeacon who preceded him with a light, saying: "Rebuke that one." When, thus rebuked, he sat up in bed with closed eyes, Gregory said: "Look upon us." Tergaudus, gazing upon them, trembled all the more and heard him threatening him as follows: "Because, admonished a second time, you have not wished to believe the words of my mouth, and by your disobedience you have so provoked me that I have taken the trouble to weary this Apostle of God to come here: know with certainty that unless you leave this monastery of mine today, next week you will be deprived of life with all your people; but if you do leave, you will be freed from this momentary sentence, yet neither you nor anyone dwelling here with you will see his homeland again." Immediately Tergaudus sprang from his bed and revealed the dream first to his own people, then to the monks of the monastery, and lastly to whomever he could. And because he could not more quickly obtain another lodging from the Pontiff, retreating to the Sabine country, in that same ^b year he was deprived of life with all his people.

[95] as also Faraldus, for introducing prostitutes into his monastery: At that same time also, Count Suppo of the Picene region lodged there, who showed the greatest generosity to the monks and forbade any usurpation of the property of so venerable a monastery by his men. A certain companion of his, named Faraldus, whenever Suppo proceeded to the palace, did not scruple — to the monks' abhorrence — to bring harlots there, and to celebrate with them illicit feasting and dancing. He then, going to the privy at the beginning of night, was suspended in the air by the hair by unclean spirits. And while, hanging all night, he had no power of voice, at the morning hours blessed Gregory showed himself to him, saying: "Enemy of God, are not the other evils you have obstinately perpetrated in my monastery enough for you, unless in addition you conduct theatrical harlots into a monastic cloister as if into a theater? Believe me, you will perish this year." Then he began with great effort to beg for penance and to promise complete correction from then on. Immediately Gregory ordered him to be released; and falling to the ground, because he refused to be corrected, in that same year he proved by dying that Gregory's sentence had been true.

[96] A man of that same Count, at another time, was called Indulf. and Indulf, for burning the property of the monastery When the cook asked him for money to buy wood and was by no means able to obtain it, he instead received wicked permission to attack and tear down the sheds and windows and boards of the neighboring dormitory, and to prepare his dinner with the fire of those materials. When, the following night, the same Indulf went to the privy, he was questioned by a certain old man as to why he had so insolently ordered the boards of the monastery to be burned. But he, in the Gallic manner, rebuked the holy old man, calling him a ^c fool; by whom he was lightly struck with a staff; but the proud man fell with such force that he lay half-dead on the ground. At the same moment, under the same appearance, the same old man appeared to a certain cleric sleeping outside, saying: "Rise and tell the Count that he should depart safely from this monastery of mine, in which a hostel can in no way be made, before he provokes me to anger. Behold, I will bestow a fitting remedy upon his companion, who was insolent to me and whom I left struck before the privy." When the cleric asked who he was, he declared himself to be the one who could easily be recognized from the painting that hung above his bed. struck by the appearing St. Andrew, Immediately the cleric arose, seized a light, and from the likeness of the painting recognized that the holy Apostle Andrew had appeared to him. And so he went to the prostrate Indulf and found him already half-dead. Beginning to cry out with great wailing, he compelled both the Count and all who were sleeping under those same buildings to come with his piteous outcry. And pouring water on the face of the one lying there, through the invocation of the holy Apostle Andrew he at last made him speak, healed by invoking him. and together with him revealed to the Count all that had been revealed to them both. Who, when day came, summoned the monks and began to inquire with plaintive voice what he had committed against St. Andrew. But they showed him the destroyed dormitory by the hands of the cooks. And when the devout Count wished to give the monks silver for its repair,

Sergius the Master of the Soldiers resisted, promising that he would immediately restore it better on his behalf. Presently the Count, humbly withdrawing from the monastery cloister, retired with all his people to the house of Peter, son of the late Charles, and no longer allowed himself to be given lodging in that same monastery. Indulphus, however, left behind in the house of the same Sergius, Master of the Soldiers, perished, and showed that the holy Apostle had prevailed against him to his own detriment.

[97] Dominicus the Priest, having fornicated with a nun, Recently a certain Dominicus, a priest, when Zacharias the Bishop, whom I mentioned above, was administering the care of the Gregorian monastery, held the office of Provost of the monastery. Corrupted by the weakness of the flesh, he carried off or abducted a certain nun named Eupraxia from the monastery of St. Andrew the Apostle, which is called the Clivus Scauri, and placed her in the region of the seven roads, in the place called Vipera. When the corrupted nun, because she did not have a privy and oven nearby, seemed frequently troublesome to him, the wretched priest, connecting sin to sin, did not shrink from offending Blessed Gregory in order to please the little harlot. Tearing away the tiles of his wondrous, indeed most salutary fountain, he was not ashamed to construct a privy and oven for the prostitute. When these things were done, and on the following night he was now sleeping more securely, free from the complaints of the wanton woman, in that same house, he saw two terrible chamberlains leading him with bound hands back to the venerable monastery. Questioning them as to by whose command they were doing such things to him, he heard that the Roman Pontiff had given this order. and having stolen the tiles of St. Gregory's fountain, It happened that at that time ^d John, Pontiff of the Holy Apostolic See, was traveling along the coasts against the incursions of the Saracens. The bound priest, remembering his absence, rebuked them, adding: The Lord Pope set out the day before yesterday against the Saracens, and how do you say that he himself ordered me to be bound, since you have not seen him since then? But they said: If Pope John has departed from here, St. Gregory has remained here, who, making his customary inspection of his monastery's precincts, found his fountain destroyed by you, and we saw your harlot's oven and privy covered with tiles from it. When the priest heard this, most severely beaten by the appearing spirits, he blushed and trembled, and seeing himself held by their violence in the courtyard of the monastery, he heard a certain subdeacon coming out from within and saying to the chamberlains: Stretch him out and strike the belly of the fornicating and sacrilegious priest with forty stripes, and his back with as many. Truly awakened by the pain of these blows, the priest, now feverish, was placed on a horse and carried back to the monastery, supported on the right and left by others, and he declared the sentence of his guilt to the brethren. Torn by invisible blows in the manner of a fever, he could say nothing other than: Lord, I will restore it, Lord, I will restore it. And when he was asked why he repeated this so frequently, he said that he was groaning under continual beating: he dies. and so on the sixth day he died with this miserable cry. Indeed it has been proved by very many testimonies that those polluted by the contagion of fornication in that venerable monastery could in no way endure there for long.

[98] In this monastery, namely, the standard measure of weight and every measure which the same Blessed Gregory instituted is preserved to this day, along with the bushel measure. If anyone wishes to make loaves for the use of the monastery from this measure, thirty-five are produced, each weighing three pounds. But if anyone wishes to make them for another's use, he never reaches the same number. When the aforesaid Bishop Zacharias wished to learn this for certain, Loaves are divinely multiplied: for the celebration of the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle he gave the bakers the measure of ten bushels of wheat, from which, to the astonishment of the same bakers, he received loaves multiplied as from eleven bushels. They, of course, having carefully counted beforehand, would undoubtedly have kept any surplus for themselves if they had found any.

[99] Indeed how frequently Blessed Gregory appears, both there and in the basilicas of the Apostles, as well as in the Lateran, now exhorting the innocent, now deterring the guilty, in the very image of his recognizable form — because I am unable to narrate this now, I here make an end of this work, with the Lord's assistance, and leave the remaining miracles of the same Father to be recorded by those more learned who come after me. Truly his venerable merit, the merits of St. Gregory continually increase: as long as the orbit of this world revolves, will, as I confess with Paul, that most eloquent man, always receive increase: because without doubt it is ascribed to his glory both that the Church of the English is always made fruitful with new offspring, and that by his teachings throughout the whole world many, drawn away from sins, are converted to the mercy of Christ, and that all good people, inflamed by his exhortations, eagerly seek the heavenly homeland.

[100] Behold, O most studious of Pontiffs, compelled by the authority of your command, while I desired to glean certain deeds of Blessed Gregory your predecessor, namely the Apostle of the Saxon people, I, an unskilled writer, have described a man of rhetoric. But I entreat that with the same diligence with which you once commanded me to gather these things, you cause them to reach the notice of all, as you have begun, so that in that which I rejoice to have pleased your most sacred judgment, I may by no means be condemned by anyone's judgment, but rather be acclaimed as one about to judge. For very recently, the writer is frightened by an appearing demon, when with the Lord's cooperation I was eager to close this fourth book, on the night when the venerable day of the Lord's resurrection was dawning, while I was writing in my sleep, a certain one presented himself openly to be seen under the guise of a certain old deceiver, and dressed in a priestly manner in a most white and at the same time most thin tunic (through whose thinness the blackness of the undergarment shone through), he soon stood closer and, with puffed cheeks, could not contain his laughter. While I was thinking of preparing a chair for him, seeing him laughing beyond measure, I seemed to address him, asking why a man of a more serious office was making such a disturbance so insolently in the nocturnal silence. But he said: Because you write about the dead, whom you never saw when they were alive. And when I replied that I wrote all the more truthfully, the lamp is extinguished, inasmuch as I wrote of one unknown to me by face but not unknown by reading, without any fault of envy or flattery, he answered: You, as I see, have done what you wished; but I will not cease to do what I can. Saying this, he completely extinguished the flames of the lamp, by whose light I happened to be working. And indeed he could not extinguish the whole wick, but he so terrified me, placed in darkness, that I thought I would immediately be slaughtered by his swords. When after a little while Blessed Gregory appeared to me in my despair, by St. Gregory likewise appearing, he is restored. accompanied on his right by Pope Nicholas of revered memory, and on his left, as it seemed to me, by his deacon Peter, illuminated with much light, saying: O you of little faith, why did you doubt? When I, struck by my former fear, could not respond to him, the benevolent Father Nicholas, pointing with his finger at the adversary hiding behind the curtain that then surrounded my bed, said: Because this envious one extinguished the flames of the lamp itself, as far as was in his power. Immediately Gregory, seizing the hand of the deacon, who appeared to be holding a great torch, and burning with its flames the mouth and face of the insolent one, blackened him to the likeness of an Ethiopian. From which burning a very small spark, descending from the mouth of the insolent one, set the white tunic ablaze quicker than words can tell, and so he appeared entirely black. And when the deacon said that the adversary had been sufficiently blackened, Blessed Gregory said: We did not blacken him, but showed that he was black. Then, having encouraged me with various consolations regarding my misfortune, he departed. And indeed he took the torch with him, but he left the place where I was sleeping truly shining with so much light that, having been awakened, I called out repeatedly to the boys sleeping before me, and they could not respond in any way or rise from their heavy sleep until the abundance of the remaining light, gradually withdrawing, had completely faded away. But about these things let God see.

Nevertheless, strengthened by confidence in the divine hope, because ^f Gaudericus, Bishop of Velletri, entreats me, I shall, with the Lord's aid, turn my pen to the clement Bishop of the Roman See, so that I, who, worn down by continual misfortunes and unable to repay the merit of my friends by whom I am somehow sustained, may at least be recognized as not having denied the words that I am able to give.

^a Concerning the excommunication of these Archbishops, there exists a letter of Pope Nicholas himself among the Councils, and cited by Baronius at the year 866, nos. 67 and following: because they had permitted King Lothair, having repudiated his lawful wife Theutberga, to contract a new marriage with his concubine Waldrada.

^b Brower in his Annals of Trier, from ancient manuscripts, reports that in the year 870 he died wretchedly in exile, inglorious and barely obtaining the last sustenance of life, breathing out his spirit under a foreign sky.

^c Calling him a fool (follem, that is, stultum): hence folly in French foullie: to the Italians alone it is merely a fable.

^d This is John VIII, the successor of Hadrian, to whom these Acts are inscribed.

^e Understand chair (curulem as curule seat).

^f Gaudericus, by others Gaudentius, was sent by Pope John to Charles the Bald; he is reckoned the twelfth Bishop of Velletri.

EPILOGUE

in which the author seems to recall verses on the same subject previously written by himself.

Gregory the Great, Roman Pontiff and Doctor of the Church (Saint)

BHL Number: 3642

BY JOHN THE DEACON

Receive, O venerable Pastor, the Roman triumphs: Receive the deeds of your Saint Gregory. Who shone in deeds, in words, and in blessed writings, As the splendor of the golden-haired sun gleams in the world. Let him be your standard, honor, mirror, way, and life forever, If you desire to bear an eternal priesthood. For whatever Bishop does not follow his footsteps, Before God he will be not a Bishop, but a beast. Hence the Psalmist sings that man is like horses, The worthless fool who perishes under honor. Ps. 48:13 We have given the Saint a nocturnal and a daytime chant, And in verses we have celebrated a famous man. Repay the favor, O scribe, preserving the cola, commata, and puncta, Lest your page preserve a faulty work. Voice, countenance, life, and will unlike all others, A mind joined to the good, separated from the wicked. It pleased me to sport in the order of a varied field; After the prose has fled, the playful Muse returns ^a. These things you grant me, O precious Doctor Gregory, You who give good things to your servants, but no evil. Clothed, I began; naked, I have proclaimed your gifts: Clothe me with your deeds and your fleece. And since the exchanges of mortal flesh are lacking, Grant me to be able to lie at your feet.

^a This word "returns" has come down to us; indicating not only that something was previously written in verse by the same author, perhaps by way of a prologue (which is indicated much more clearly by the following verse: "Clothed," that is, in poetic garb, "I began: naked" of the same, "I have proclaimed your gifts"). But also that these verses are to be appended to the Life already given, by way of an epilogic address.