Bernerius

ON ST. BERNERIUS, HERMIT, AT EBOLI IN THE DIOCESE OF SALERNO, IN THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES,

At the end of the 12th century.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

On what day St. Bernerius is venerated; his biographers; what he did; whether he built the church of Eboli; whether he is to be confused with another; in what century he died; his cult.

Bernerius, hermit, at Eboli in the diocese of Salerno. (S.)

Reasons for speaking of St. Bernerius on this day Being about to set out the life of St. Bernerius so far as the known documents allow, we must first give the reason why we ascribe his memory to this day and not to another: which matter is involved in some difficulties. For at the front of the Office of this Saint for the use of the land of Eboli of the diocese of Salerno in the kingdom of Naples, printed at Naples in the year 1604, these words are read: "It is celebrated on the 20th of November"; and this by the ordinance of the S. R. Congregation, as is clear from these words which are found at the end: "The feast of St. Bernerius, Confessor, in the land of Eboli of the diocese of Salerno was established by the Congregation of sacred Rites under the abovesaid day, the 18th of May 1602, while Mr. Alessandro Graziani was acting as prosecretary of the Congregation, and signed and fortified with the seal by the most illustrious lord Cardinal of Florence as prefect of the Congregation under the 27th day of September of the same year 1602. — So it is, Gio: Paolo Mucanzio, for the secretary of the Congregation. — The original copy, revised and signed by the most illustrious Baronius, is with me, the aforesaid secretary." But, if I trust certain suitable writers, either this decree must have been abolished or changed, or the feast of our Saint is not celebrated by all on the same day. For in the general Chronicle of the Minims and in their Diary François Lanovius, to be believed the rather because the monastery of Eboli belonged to his Order, openly refers the feast of St. Bernerius to the 16th day of October. Moreover Ferrari in his general Catalogue of the Saints, at the same day of October, celebrates St. Bernerius thus: "At Eboli among the Picentini, of St. Bernerius, solitary": to which memory he adds in the annotations: "From the tables and monuments of the church of Eboli, which holds him in place of patron, and venerates him especially on this day. Whose Acts we saw at Rome in MS. together with the proper Office which the people of Eboli used before the correction of the Breviary." His testimony, therefore, is not without its weight. The same hagiophile in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, printed in the year 1613, after he had briefly reviewed the life of St. Bernerius at the present day from the lessons wont to be recited in his office, adds: "On this day, however, not his birthday but his finding is celebrated for eight days." In the Office, however, to be held on the 20th of November, which indeed is done with double rite, no mention of an Octave occurs. But since the birthday itself, as will be seen below, is subject to some dispute, the reader will easily decide whether we ought to treat of St. Bernerius rather on the present day, on which Ferrari relates his feast is kept more solemnly, than on the 20th day of November, which perhaps rests only on conjectures.

[2] are set out; The other reason why this day pleases more is this: when Tamayo Salazar in the Spanish Martyrology at the 11th day of April had celebrated this memory: "St. Bienerus, anchorite at Burgo de Osma in Spain, wonderful both for austerity and for continuance of penance, rendered his soul to God, leaving to posterity a pattern of his holiness and virtues"; and in the added notes had undertaken to prove to the reader that this Saint is the same as the one of Eboli of whom Ferrari speaks; our predecessors, reviewing at the aforesaid 11th of April those passed over and thrown back to other days, put off the examination of the whole question to the day "when these things will be more conveniently discussed and more fully treated, the 16th of October." Lest, therefore, we be excessive in referring Saints from one day to another, we shall tread the footsteps of Ferrari, which were also retraced by the writer of the sacred Italian Hagiology. Nevertheless I would have the reader warned that the universal martyrologist Chastelain departed from Ferrari, and announced Saint Bernerius on the 20th day of November; but he himself, weaving the catalogue of the aemeri, does not exclude from it St. Bernerius of Eboli, discoursing thus in French: "St. Bernerius, who died in the diocese of Salerno, is noted by some on the day sacred to St. Bernward of Hildesheim (the 20th of November The Roman Martyrology indicates the 20th of Oct.; the rest the 20th of Nov.), until his day of death be found." Whence Chastelain is to be said to be opposed only in appearance.

[3] from one of the three Lives of St. Bernerius Since whatever is known of the deeds of St. Bernerius is to be drawn from his biographies, it is pleasing to say a few things about them by way of preface. They are, namely, three in number: the first, which is the most ancient, and has not yet, so far as I know, seen the light, exists in the Royal Burgundian Library of Brussels, copied by our predecessors, at num. 8950, and bears in the margin a sign by which it is stated to be a copy of a MS. codex of the Fathers of the Oratory; which that it was the Roman

one I judge. This Life was not written by a contemporary author, as may easily be seen from num. 12; but perhaps a hundred years after the death of St. Bernerius. Nor are we such as to embrace with open arms whatever is asserted in it; and so in the annotations we shall mark those things which seem interpolated and were either struck out or at least not admitted by the S. R. Congregation. Further, in the MS. codex from which it was taken the Life was divided into XII lessons, each of which will constitute a number with us. The second Life known to us was put together by Ferrari from the Eboli lessons wont to be recited in the Office of St. Bernerius, and inserted in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy. But these lessons, which served him as a light, must be different from the aforepraised Life, both because they attribute to St. Bernerius the construction of the church of St. Peter of Eboli, and because they mention the finding of the Relics and the miracle that followed. He who patched together the Italian Hagiology used Ferrari's work, and copied it word for word, if the finding of the Relics, omitted by him I know not why, be taken away. Tamayo, however, published Ferrari's writing in such a way that he added to it only a few things from Pseudo-Julian. The third Life, or Office, which we have already mentioned, is woven almost from commonplaces.

[4] his deeds are briefly recited. Since Ferrari's little work comprises in brief whatever seems to have been known or maintained about St. Bernerius, it will help to present it in this place; we shall enclose in brackets what Tamayo At the 11th day of April, p. 571. mixed into it from polluted sources. "Bienerius, or Bernerius, a Spaniard from the city of Uxameburg, which is now called Burgo de Osma in Spain, born of illustrious family, from his earliest age shrinking from the pleasures of the world, having left his native land, undertook the pilgrimage of the principal churches. In which, when he had spent a great part of his life, coming at length into Italy, he stopped at Eboli, a town among the Picentini. Where, having built a little cell, seeking his food, content with a little bread and wine on account of the health of his stomach, he distributed the rest to the poor. When he had miraculously baked bread for a certain poor man who lacked wood and fire, by that miracle his holiness began to be spread abroad; which very many miracles that followed confirmed. For when the count of Eboli had undertaken to build a bridge over the river Sele, and what was built up on one day fell down on the next, Bernerius, having collected money by begging, and having bought stones and mortar with it, undertook the building of the bridge with his own hands; so that what had been done on one day was found doubled on the next. The bridge therefore being completed, he built near by a church to St. Peter the Apostle; which he served for a long time, until, called by God, he passed to heaven, the bells ringing of their own accord, and a most sweet odour exhaling from his body. His body was buried in that church which he himself had built, where oil, which had been congealed, overflowed long and incessantly. And when it had lain hidden for many years, in the year of salvation 1554, on the 17th day before the Kalends of November, it was found, and, confirmed by the miracle of rain asked for and obtained, was honourably laid away again; and at his tomb even now demoniacs are freed. Wherefore he is venerated with special honour by the people of Eboli on this day." So Ferrari, and after him, nearly, Tamayo.

[5] It is asked whether he is the same as a certain supposed St. Bienerus, Further, whatever is to be commented on concerning St. Bernerius is attached to a certain question raised by Tamayo de Salazar, who confused our Saint with a certain St. Biendrius or Bienerus, who seems never to have existed in the nature of things. Let Tamayo be heard Ibid. loc. cit.: "I recognize two solitaries of this name (Bernerius or Bienerus) among different peoples; the one other, and the other a Spaniard; perhaps you will detect them as one in essence and identity. For this is the old mind of my task, to make public whatever pertains to our province. Therefore I shall bring authorities into the midst, the devout reader will at once embrace the more secure opinion. Our Julian in the Chronicle, at the year 1006, num. 523, breaks out in these words: 'At Uxameburg, which is now called the town of Burgo de Osma, St. Bienerus, solitary, is venerated on the 11th of April.' Almost equal in name, similar in state, and undoubted in origin, he is recorded by Filippo Ferrari … on the 16th day of October …," etc. But Tamayo, before he inquired and investigated whether St. Bienerus of Osma was the same as St. Bernerius of Eboli, ought to have inquired whether St. Bienerus was ever venerated at Osma, indeed whether he ever existed. "But our Julian testifies": but let the studious reader know that this Julian is the same as Julian Peter: which name, no less than the name of Flavius Lucius Dexter and of so many others who were forgers of lies among the Spaniards, is a mere mask with which someone covered himself at the beginning of the 17th century, as may be seen at length in the Bibliotheca Hispana vetus Vol. II, p. 36 and following of Nicolás Antonio. Now, as Tamayo himself testifies, who was writing in the middle of the 17th century, the Acts of St. Bienerus were not known at Osma in his times: whence he would not lean even on probability who should conjecture that a Life of St. Bienerus had served Pseudo-Julian as a light. Here is Tamayo's testimony: "If this one (St. Bernerius of Eboli) is the same as that one (St. Bienerus) of whom our Julian speaks, the man of Eboli (any citizen whatever) will find the day of his passing and the reckoning of the year" (which are in fact unknown) "to insert in his acts; and the Church of Osma in Spain will know the acts of so great a Saint, so that both this (the Church of Osma) and that (the Church of Eboli) may celebrate a singular feast with anniversary rejoicings." But from the last words, by which it is hinted that not even a yearly feast is celebrated at Osma in honour of St. Bienerus, an argument arises against Pseudo-Julian, which is somewhat confirmed from elsewhere: for I have in my keeping the Calendar of Osma of the year 1718; and in it neither at the 11th of April, nor at the 16th of October, nor at the 20th of November is any mention made of St. Bienerus or Bernerius; likewise in Flórez's España Sagrada, where España Sagrada, Vol. VII, p. 299. the Saints of the diocese of Osma are treated, the memory of St. Bienerus nowhere occurs; nor does the historiographer of Osma, Loperráez Corvalán Vol. II, p. 36 and following, make any mention of the same Saint.

[6] devised by Pseudo-Julian and championed by Tamayo: From the foregoing it is already clear enough that St. Bienerus of Osma, maintained by Pseudo-Julian, is deservedly called into doubt. But even if we grant that he existed, I do not see why he should be confused with St. Bernerius of Eboli: for from the surviving monuments (if indeed the offspring of Pseudo-Julian be a monument) they are not to be said to have lived at the same time. Above, Julian was heard asserting that St. Bienerus was already venerated at Uxameburg in the year 1006 on the 11th day of April; but both according to the Life published by Tamayo himself, by Ferrari and the Italian Hagiologist, and according to the MS. Life to be published by us, St. Bernerius of Eboli had not yet died at least in the year 1160.

[7] the negative opinion is established from the age of the church of Eboli. In Ferrari's little work, namely, our Saint is said to have contributed his work to building the church of St. Peter of Eboli, and in the MS. Life, which is much preferable for us, only these words stand out at num. 10: "This Saint therefore dedicated himself to the service of the church, to serve in it according to the strength of his infirm body. And the church which he was most accustomed to frequent is the basilica of the Blessed Apostle Peter and the dwelling of holy monks, where also the people of Eboli venerate his threshold." Since from these things it is evident that the age of St. Bernerius is by no means to be referred to before the construction of this church, it can be shown without trouble that this Saint had not yet departed from among the living when the supposed St. Bienerus or Biendrius is said to have been already venerated. Let Ughelli, then, be heard Ital. Sacr., Vol. VII, col. 401.: "At this time too (about the year 1156), by the authority of Romuald (II, archbishop of Salerno), John, abbot (of Eboli), founded the church of St. Peter of Eboli; which work some wrongly refer to the same archbishop; for thus the inscription in the church itself testifies:

Guillelmi regis, Antistitis et Romualdi Temporibus domus hæc ædificata fuit. Abbas istud opus venerabilis ille Joannes Fecit, laus cujus est probitate minor. (Desunt duæ voces) muros studiosi Bartholomæi Fecit materiam; sed superavit opus. Anno D. MCLX.

[In the times of King William and of the Prelate Romuald this house was built. That venerable abbot John made this work, whose praise is less than his uprightness. (Two words are lacking) the walls of the studious Bartholomew made the material; but the work surpassed it. In the year of the Lord 1160.]"

Lanovius, in the general Chronicle of the Minims at the year 1557, num. 3, relating in what way this monastery passed to his Order, ties the foundation of this monastery, according to the common opinion or report, to the age of the Norman William II, surnamed the Good, whom he establishes as founder of the monastery.

[8] [From the same source a conjecture can be made about the time in which St. Bernerius lived.] These things being laid down, let whoever is eager to champion the assertions of Tamayo now extricate himself. For it is necessary for him first of all to deny that St. Bernerius died after the year 1160, than which that St. Biernerus must be reckoned much older whom Pseudo-Julian related was venerated at Uxameburg in the year 1006. From what has been said it is also clear that the most deserving Chastelain was mistaken when in his Universal Martyrology p. 592, in the margin, beside the memory of St. Bernerius, he established the time of death about the year 980. Which error is to be attributed to Tamayo, who writes these words: "As to the year in which the holy anchorite departed from this pilgrimage, the writers are silent. Only Julian records his cult at Osma at the year of Christ 1006. From which it can easily be believed that he received veneration earlier." Between the year of death and the year 1006 of the supposed cult Chastelain will have inserted about 25 years; which reckoning brought him back to the year 980. From the premises, however, I will willingly tie the death of St. Bernerius to the end of the 12th century, until reasons hitherto unknown to me persuade otherwise. That the day of death too is called into doubt I noted at num. 2 from Chastelain: which, however, I would refer to about the middle of winter on account of the miracle done at his death, by which the oil which then WAS CONGEALING there (in the church of St. Peter) overflowed incessantly; were it not that, since nothing exactly certain occurs, the authority of the S. R. Congregation is to be venerated by me, which in the year 1602 approved the Office in which St. Bernerius is affirmed to have passed to heaven, illustrious with miracles, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of December.

[9] The fortunes of the abbey of Eboli, where this Saint rests, The place in which St. Bernerius is venerated, and some other things pertaining to the honours paid him, remain to be illustrated in a few words. "Eboli," namely, as Lanovius speaks in the Chronicle of the Minims at the year 1577, num. 3, "not far from the river Sele, above Salerno, eighteen thousand paces to the East, over which space a pleasant and flourishing plain extends, is a rich, populous and famous town, which a river of the same name washes, not farther than four thousand paces from Campagna, an episcopal city. It does not however lie in the diocese of Campagna but in that of Salerno," as

both Agostino Lubin teaches in the Brief Notice of the Abbeys of Italy p. 121., and a certain MS. Codex of the Taxes of the Apostolic Chamber, written at the beginning of the 14th century, and now kept among our literary treasures. In this town, which is commonly called Evoli, there had long ago been founded an abbey of the Benedictine Order, dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle, its founder being (as report has it) the Norman William II, king of both Sicilies, to whom on account of his piety, prudence and the preservation of his unimpaired authority the surname of the Good was given. Which foundation, however, begun about the year 1156, as had to be noted above, Romuald, at that time archbishop of Salerno, did not touch with even a word in his very full Chronicle of Salerno, which Muratori published at the beginning of volume VII of the Rerum Italicarum. Romuald himself, however, contributed somewhat to the stability of this foundation, when in the year 1160, on the 15th day of January, in the 9th indiction, in the 7th of his archiepiscopate, he confirmed to John, abbot of Eboli, and his successors all the goods and rights of the abbey. So Ughelli Ital. sac., Vol. VII, col. 401. Venice ed. and Lubin Notit. abbat. Ital.. p. 121.; who moreover teaches that this abbey had long since been consistorial and wont to be given in commendam; indeed Lanovius adds that before the year 1577 it had already been deserted for a long time; and he subjoins: "But the Most Illustrious and Rev. Lord Antonio Carafa, adorned with that priesthood and the supreme honour of the hat by Pius V, and holding that abbey in commendam, held nothing more important than to introduce into that monastery professors of an exemplary and austere life. Having made a choice, therefore, he selected the Minims for this matter, and in the year 1577 put them into possession, perpetual yearly rents and revenues being assigned from the goods of the monastery itself, which Gregory XIII, Supreme Pontiff, approved and praised. The monastery enjoys a privileged altar, as they call it, and retains the ancient title of St. Peter.

[10] and the honours which are attributed to him are somewhat illustrated, The monks of this place also keep the sacred body of Blessed Bernerius, solitary, whose power shines out especially in expelling demons. The people of Eboli keep his feast day as that of their patron on the 17th day before the Kalends of November." So far Lanovius. The Office which we said at num. 1 was granted in the year 1602 is from the common of a Confessor not a Pontiff, apart from the fourth and fifth lessons of the second Nocturn; and that it is to be recited also on another day than the 20th of November is clear from these words of the approbation: "… Our Most Holy Lord (Pope Clement VIII) … granted that, even though it be not entered in the Roman Calendar, it may and can be freely and lawfully printed, and publicly recited in the aforesaid land ON THE PRESCRIBED DAYS together with its Mass," etc. About these days, however, one may conjecture from what was brought forward at num. 1. In this oft-mentioned Office there also exist two images of St. Bernerius, which are merely imaginary fictions. In each he is painted in the fields, and beside him rises the church or monastery of Eboli; in each he appears bearded, in the former with long hair, in the other covered with a hood; in both he holds a staff, as being an old man; in the former moreover he carries a book and has an ankle-length garment, in the other he is clothed in the monastic one; in this one shines the shield of the Minims, radiant with glory, with the word inscribed: Charitas; in the former he carries a rosary, too long to be able to be confused with that short series of beads which men in the West used not only in the 12th century, as the finding of the body of St. Rosalia, Virgin of Palermo, disclosed (see her Life in our work at the 4th day of September), but already in the 7th century, as the tomb of St. Gertrude of Nivelles in Brabant revealed Ryckel, Life of St. Gertrude, p. 791 and following; and indeed so long that it must be called the Dominican rosary: and therefore it seems an anachronism.

LIFE OF ST. BERNERIUS, HERMIT.

From a MS. codex of the Oratory, probably the Roman one.

Bernerius, hermit, at Eboli in the diocese of Salerno. (S.)

BHL Number: 1252

BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR.

St. Bernerius Formerly, dearest brethren ^a, we know that the Church of Christ fought by the number of cenobites, and that the choirs of the citizens of heaven were restored: this is manifestly written in Genesis: Increase and multiply and fill the earth. For when the poor of Christ pass from the world, adorned with the necklaces of the monasteries, they fill the land of promise, distilling the sweetness of milk and honey; for this is that land of which it is written in the Song of Songs: The flowers have appeared in our land. And to these colleges of the Saints we know that the most Blessed Bernerius was joined with an immense heap of virtues; for this both the notable deeds of his life prove, and this the frequent flashing miracles protest.

[2] He was, I say, a Spaniard by nation, sprung from an illustrious lineage, and because the delights of the world excite the appetite of the flesh, a Spaniard, an austere anchorite, the delight of the flesh being now despised, desiring to serve God, he decided to hand over his body to be macerated by the harshnesses of want and labours. This inspiration * of the Holy Spirit, then, having been turned over many times through the corners of his heart, he resolved to visit with his own feet the bodies of various Saints; which also was so done.

[3] he visits the bodies of the Saints, In this pilgrimage, then, occupying a long extent of time, he studied to keep the hall of his conscience undefiled for God; for it did not befit his dish-bearer to serve so great a king in a filthy garment, the Lord saying through the prophet: He that walked in the undefiled way, he served me; and again: The innocent and the upright have adhered to me. For although young in body, he bore an old man's heart, in the work of holiness not as if usurping a name for himself, but having obtained a good soul, conforming the thing to the quality of the name. He made public his light to those standing round: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

[4] he comes into Italy, These visitations, I say, being now completed, deprived now of the strength of his body by age, seeking rest for his body, he resolved to turn aside into Italy, where he might see the bodies of the Blessed Apostles, and of very many Holy Virgins, and also end the course of the present life under the service of divine veneration; for he said: "Here at other times the detestable vices of the errors of the gentiles flourished; I will go, and, preaching, I will confirm them in the truth of the Christian religion, lest the little branches of the errors of their ancestors be able to sprout, as the Philosopher says: A small error at the beginning is great at the end."

[5] he preaches at Eboli, See, dearest brethren; let not the thoughts which rose up into the Saint's heart trouble us; for although he was stripped of human knowledge, this did not stand in the way of his being able to show forth the proclamation of the divine word by evangelizing; hence the Lord says: For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. And again the Apostle: The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. The Saint came, then, into Italy; but he turned aside to Eboli ^b sooner than elsewhere ^c, both because the enemies of the human race, desiring to invade him, were wont to pursue very many, and because the malice * of men also abounded in it more than in the others. But from the time the Saint entered the gates of the land, the invasion of the demons ceased, and very many desisted from wickednesses at the barkings of his diligent preaching.

[6] where too he performs many good works. Coming, then, to Eboli, he studied to break up the slipperiness of the roads ^d, lest they should hurt the bare * of the needy. Inflamed with the fires of divine love, he also supplied the want of the needy, when he distributed the substance of his begging. He took a morsel of bread for the sustenance of his body, drinking a little draught ^e of water, except sometimes only a taste of wine for health. Men and women, to whom he turned aside to ask alms, he exhorted to purity of mind and to penance for what they had committed. Among the poor he abounded in goods more than the rest, presenting himself to the rest as an example of holiness. Of the things received, keeping a strict necessity of life, he gave to others what remained.

[7] He keeps the Sabbath, bakes loaves without fire, On the vigils ^f of the holy seventh day he refused servile works, imitating the footsteps of the Creator; for it is written in Genesis: God rested on the seventh day from all the work which He had done; and He Himself says: He that followeth Me shall have the light of life. Blessed Bernerius, desiring this life, granted by the Lord through His passion, awaited the rising Lord, putting aside every worldly occupation, dedicating his spirit to contemplation. After None *, then, it once happened that a certain poor woman had made loaves, and had no wood for baking. Saint Bernerius, then, moved by mercy, gave back the loaves set before him baked without fire. And his fame was published as the more virtuous.

[8] he helps the wretched, Brethren, then, this Saint, bearing kindly bowels towards the afflicted, cherished them from his own goods which he had acquired in the labour of begging; he visited the despised; he redeemed all the sick with the gain of his own sweat; he loved the good; yet he did not hate the nature of the wicked, though he hated their works; he very frequently strove to procure the health of his neighbours' body exceedingly, and of their soul above all: hence [g it is that a certain count ^h, who exercised lordship over Eboli, resolved to build a bridge of great construction on the river Sele, desiring to avoid the dangers threatening the faithful of Christ. When, therefore, he had begun to build the pier, which is founded in the middle, constructed on one day, it fell down on the next.

[9] he builds a bridge, But Blessed Bernerius, moved by zeal for the safety of the faithful of Christ, acquired money in good quantity in the labour of begging. Having first bought stones and mortar, he founded the pier with his own hands, and built it great, by the mediation of heavenly help. For what he built on the fabric on one day was doubled on the next; and although he kept others at his own price for the service of the works, his back did not turn aside from the burdens, but his own hands served in the basket.] The Saint's fame indeed flourished, declared by the holiness of his life and his wonderful acts. He was, then, deprived of the strength of his body, since he was very aged in time, and worn in the limbs of his body by labour.

[10] he serves the churches and dies; This Saint therefore dedicated himself to the service of the church, to serve in it according to the strength of his infirm body. And the church which he was most accustomed to frequent is the basilica of the Blessed Apostle Peter and the dwelling of holy monks, where also the people of Eboli venerate his threshold ⁱ. Hence it is said through the Prophet: With the holy thou wilt be holy. When, therefore, one day he turned aside to a certain oil-press to ask alms, called by the Lord he died ^k. His holy soul enters heaven triumphant, is crowned by the king of glory with a royal garland, which his notable deeds also prove.

[11] after death miracles And the odour which emanated from his body surpassed the fragrance of all spices and of every kind of ointment. And the bells of the aforesaid castle, as if proclaiming the Saint's herald in praises, all human help being denied, rang incessantly. And the people, rushing with one mind, the holy Relics being found ^l, placed them in the basilica of St. Peter. And the oil, which was then congealing there, overflowed incessantly; which benefit is still preserved out of reverence for the Saint.

[12] he works many and great things. At the death of this Saint, and after his death, God showed many miracles ^m to his praise and glory; God conferred on him a spiritual grace, so that not any contagions of unclean spirits are able to resist. We have indeed seen in our time, and have also learned ⁿ from those who went before, and from those who follow us, that very many will be saved by his merits, whom not even the Apostles saved. I say this, not as if we should reckon Blessed Bernerius of greater merit than they, but so that frequent miracles may protest the flashing merits of the Saint, as Gregory seems to prove in the Dialogue ^o. If indeed it would be long to relate the glorious miracles which God showed by his merits after his death, yet I desire you to know that if any harassed by unclean spirits, coming devoutly to his threshold, having received the benefit of health .

ANNOTATA.

* inspiratione inspiration

* tam so much perhaps is lacking.

* pedes feet is lacking.

* understand the hour.

* animas souls is lacking.

* supply recedunt they depart.