ON SS. TERENTIANUS AND FLACCUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR, AND MARTYR, AT TODI IN UMBRIA,
AT TODI IN UMBRIA
About the year 118.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
Terentianus, bishop and M., at Todi in Umbria. (S.)
Flaccus, M., at Todi in Umbria. (S.)
BHL Number: 8002
Written by J. S.
§ I. The place of the martyrdom, the cult and the relics: the Terentianus of Tortona not distinguished from the one of Todi.
[ ] Tuder is an ancient city of Umbria,
which more recent writers have called Tudertum,
At Todi in Umbria St. Terentianus is venerated as patron, but which the Italians name Todi.
Orlendius, in part 2, book 3, chapter 10, describes its site
in these words: Tuder, now
Tudertum, is a city of Umbria, set upon a hill
by the river Tiber, midway between Perugia and
Narni. He then adds the following: At the beginning of the Christian
name's propagation through Latium and Umbria,
Tuder received the faith of Christ, which afterwards the holy
Terentianus, its first bishop, consecrated
about the year 122, confirmed, and for which
he also underwent martyrdom in the year 138 on the Kalends of September,
in the reign of Hadrian. His memory stands
in the Roman Martyrology. Hear the very words
of the Martyrology: At Todi in Umbria, of St. Terentianus,
bishop and martyr, who under the emperor
Hadrian, by order of the proconsul Lætianus, was tortured on the rack
and with scorpions, and at last, his tongue being cut off,
was condemned to lose his head, and so completed his martyrdom.
That no other arena of this Saint's martyrdom is to be sought,
we shall presently show against the scruples
that arose from certain of the Hieronymian copies.
Meanwhile let us hear what the said Orlendius adds
concerning his cult: To Tortona (Dertona)
the sacred body of Terentianus is said to have been translated,
where his memory is famously kept.
At Teano, however, an arm of the same Saint, and at Parma
a portion of his relics, is preserved. For the rest, by the people of Todi
the birthday of St. Terentianus, as of their tutelary saint,
is kept with solemn pomp.
[2] whose memory is in the ancient Martyrologies: That the cult of St. Terentianus is ancient will abundantly
appear from the Hieronymian copies, in which
his memory is celebrated, but very variously,
as is wont to happen in those faulty copies.
In Florentinius it is read thus: In Tuturtina
of Tuscia, the birthday of the holy Terentianus, bishop,
etc. For Sanctorum (of the holy ones) we must doubtless read Sancti (of the holy one):
for there follows, of Felix, of Donatus. But these
do not belong to Terentianus; they are two of
the twelve Brothers, of whom we shall treat on this very day.
On the first words Florentinius comments thus:
In the city of Tudertum of Tuscia, I altogether judge
is to be read, the Corbie Martyrology especially furnishing the torch.
For the Corbie copy, published by us
after the seventh volume of June, page 35, has it thus: In
Tutertina of Tuscia, etc. Florentinius adds: At Todi
in Umbria the Roman Martyrology reads,
as indeed the town now is in Umbria; but in Antoninus
Tudernum is a town of Tuscia, in others Sudernum,
in the territory of Viterbo. Hence the most illustrious
Francesco Maria de Aste, in his Disputations upon
the Roman Martyrology, page 403, doubts whether
our St. Terentianus should be ascribed to Umbria or
to Tuscia, and wishes that in the Roman Martyrology
these words, in Umbria, be omitted, and that there be written only, At Todi,
of St. Terentianus, bishop, etc. His reason is the same;
for, he says, in Antoninus Tudertum,
or Tudernum, is a town of Tuscia, by others called Tudernum,
in the territory of Viterbo; and besides, the Acts
give Tudertum with no further addition. I shall endeavour to remove
this scruple, which rests upon almost no
foundation.
[3] Ptolemy in book 3 of his Geography numbers among the inland
cities of the Tuscans Sudernum, the Saint did not suffer in Tuscia, but in Umbria,
in others Sudertum, of which Cellarius treats in his Ancient
Geography, book 2, chapter 9, page 456; and Cluverius,
in book 2 of Ancient Italy, chapter 3, page 516.
But neither of them asserts that Sudernum in the Itinerary of Antoninus
is called Tudertum, nor could I find that in the Itinerary
of Antoninus. Cluverius does say, however,
that Tudertum is read in the Itinerary of Annius of Viterbo,
so that one may doubt whether he perhaps found it in some
copy of his own. Therefore, first, it is not likely
that that town of Tuscia was called Tudertum,
since Ptolemy, Pliny and Livy,
cited in Cluverius and Cellarius, called it Sudertum
or Sudernum, and its inhabitants Sudertans.
Secondly, the people of Sudertum never had
a bishop, so far as we know; nor do they ever
seem to have venerated St. Terentianus as
their patron or their bishop. On the contrary,
Tuder, a city of Umbria, is well enough known to the ancients, and has had bishops
from the first centuries of the Church. Moreover,
it has long venerated St. Terentianus as its patron,
nor does anyone before Florentinius ever seem to have doubted
that St. Terentianus was really bishop of Tudertum
in Umbria. There is therefore only one difficulty
here to be removed, and that not a great one, namely
that Tudertum is ascribed to Tuscia in the said copies.
It may be added that the proconsul
of Tuscia ordered our Saint to be tortured. I answer
that both come about for this reason. In
the Little Book of the Roman provinces, among the provinces of Italy
is Tuscia with Umbria. The same man, therefore,
who presided over Tuscia, also governed Umbria as comprehended under
Tuscia. Hence we understand, first,
why the proconsul of Tuscia is everywhere named in the Acts;
and next, why either the author or the interpolator
of those copies ascribed Tudertum to Tuscia —
namely, either because, finding the proconsul of Tuscia
everywhere in the Acts, he thought it really
to be in Tuscia, from whose borders it is not far
distant, or because he made of Tuscia and Umbria only
one province. I do not see, then, why one should doubt
about the arena of St. Terentianus, or why the words
in Umbria should be erased from the Martyrology.
[4] In other Hieronymian copies also the memory of St. Terentianus is announced
without any mention
of Tuscia. and with him St. Flaccus, who is venerated at Todi on another day: The Reichenau copy, published by us after
the seventh volume of June, has it thus: And at Tudertum, of Ferrentianus
(read Terrentianus), bishop. The Augsburg copy,
without a place: of Terentinus, bishop. The Labbean:
of Terentianus, bishop. So too the Gellone copy in d'Achery,
volume 2 of the reprinted Spicilegium, page 34; and
the one he calls the Most Ancient, in Martène,
volume 3 of the Anecdota, col. [ ]. Usuard and the other
martyrologists of that period did not record
St. Terentianus. His memory nevertheless occurs
in various codices of Usuard afterwards enlarged, as
may be seen in the Usuard published by the care of our Sollerius
at 1 September. Indeed it is found there also
at 30 August and 28 September. Hear the elogium
of Grevenus at 30 August: On the same day, according to
the Catalogue of the Saints, of the holy Therentianus,
bishop and martyr. Who in the time of Hadrian,
at Tudertum of Tuscia, refusing to sacrifice, was
hoisted on the rack, beaten with scorpions, and fire was set
to his sides. Then, his tongue being cut away, since
he nonetheless confessed Christ plainly, he was
beheaded together with Flaccus, a priest of the idols converted
and baptized by him. Of St. Flaccus among the ancients
I find nothing. He is venerated, however, in the church of Todi,
as Ferrarius asserts in his Catalogue of the Saints
of Italy, and Giovanni Battista Possevino in
the Lives of the Saints of Todi, both at the
18th of September, on which day they testify that he is venerated, so that
the festivity of St. Terentianus alone may thus be carried out
with greater solemnity, with its Octave. But we treat of St. Flaccus
here together with him, because nothing has become known of him except
from the Acts of St. Terentianus.
[5] a hymn, in which the martyrdom of both is described. Ferrarius at 1 September recites a hymn
from the Office of the church of Todi, in which
the contest of both Martyrs is thus described:
We sing praises to the martyr
Terentianus the bishop;
Come all of you as suppliants,
Old men, and young men with them.
Whom in his aged years
Lecianus, most wicked,
Afflicted with very many punishments,
As he besought God with prayers.
He in the time of Hadrian
Was thrust away into prison
By the most savage proconsul
Of Tuscia, Lecianus.
And when this man compelled the Martyr
To deny Christ the Lord,
The wretch at once was struck dumb,
And lost his life along with his voice.
The priest Flaccus is blind:
At the Saint's prayer he is made whole;
At his bidding he is washed,
And is reborn in the sacred font.
Both, cut down by the sword,
Enjoy an equal gladness,
Holding the gates of heaven
And the rewards of paradise.
[6] The relics of both: certain bones of St. Terentianus also at Tortona, Besides the things which have been said of the relics of St. Terentianus
in number 1, the already-praised Possevino writes,
on page 65 in Italian, what I render into Latin: The bodies
of both of these Saints are in the castle of St.
Terentianus, in the church dedicated to his name.
Jacobilli, in the Lives of the Saints of Umbria, volume 1,
page 721, speaks thus of the same: In the city of Tortona
a part of the body of St. Terentianus is said to be kept,
where his festivity is celebrated on the first day of September.
But he is believed to be another than the one of Todi,
since he is said to have been bishop of that city of Tortona,
in which he was crowned with martyrdom on the same
first day of September, but in the year 187, that
is, 49 years after the one of Todi. Ughelli, in volume
1, among the bishops of Todi, col. [ ], does not distinguish
the one of Tortona from the one of Todi: for he enumerates his relics
thus: At Tortona also a famous memory of this Saint
is kept, where they affirm that his body was
laid; likewise at Teano, where
the inhabitants venerate an arm of the same Saint;
at Parma also, which city most honourably preserves
no contemptible portion of that Saint's relics.
For the rest, with a more splendid pomp of solemnity
the people of Todi pay their due rites to St. Terentianus
as their tutelary Saint. Thus far he.
[7] But in volume 4, column 626, he inserts Terentianus into
the catalogue of the bishops of Tortona in these words: some think that these are of another Terentianus, bishop of Tortona:
St. Terentianus is numbered after Ammonius among the prelates
of the church of Tortona, and in the public records of that
church he is set down as having been chosen about the year
of the Lord 176, and crowned with martyrdom in the year
187. His feast is celebrated on the 1st day of
September. For the rest, the Roman Martyrology
on this very day makes mention of another Terentianus, bishop and martyr
of Todi, this Terentianus of Tortona
being suppressed. I have suspected that it is one and the same
Terentianus, who is attributed to both these
churches through the error of writers; or
that there really are two, but that they flourished at different times,
and that the people of Tortona celebrate the feast of their Terentianus
on this very day (because the genuine day is unknown
among them) on which, consummated by martyrdom,
he increased the number of the heavenly citizens. Such is our conjecture.
Others more sagacious will provide
what in this matter is to be said as more consonant with the truth.
You see, reader, that Ughelli is in doubt.
And indeed from the things which we have thus far brought forward, the matter
seems ambiguous enough.
[8] Nevertheless I am altogether persuaded that the Terentianus
who is venerated at Tortona [but the people of Tortona themselves once believed the bones to be those of St. Terentianus of Todi,] is no other
than the holy Bishop of Todi. I gather this from the documents
which in the year 1662 were most kindly
transmitted to our Elders by Giovanni Battista Chapuis,
canon of the cathedral church of Tortona. He, in
a brief collection concerning the Saints of his own church, at the day
1 September records these things: In the month of September,
on the first day, there is marked in all the ancient Calendars
a double Office of St. Terentianus, bishop and martyr,
and his relics are in the cathedral. In the synod
of Tortona of the year 1595, among the sacred relics of the cathedral
there is placed: Of the bones of St. Terentianus, bishop
and martyr, with four teeth. In the parchment
Antiphonary book of the cathedral church
there is a proper Office of St. Terentianus, in whose
antiphons and responsories, since mention is made of the emperor Hadrian
and of the proconsul Læcianus,
and he is never called bishop of Tortona,
it is a sign that this is the Office of St. Terentianus, bishop
of Todi, who under this day is announced in the Martyrology,
and that he is venerated here at Tortona on account of his
relics, which had once been found together with
the body of St. Martianus, and laid beneath the altar, as
was said here under the day 17 July, on which is noted
the solemnity of the reinterment of the holy martyrs Martianus,
Terentianus, Vitalis and Agricola. There he notes, to
our purpose, the following concerning the Office of that feast: Terentianus,
moreover, of whom this is said, was believed by the composer of the Office
to be St. Terentianus, bishop of Todi,
of whom the Martyrology speaks under the first day of September;
and this is argued from the third responsory of the first
nocturn of the said Office, where it stands thus: “The prelate
of the city of Todi, worshipper of the Trinity, martyr
of the highest sanctity, Terentianus is here present.”
It is therefore necessary that the relics of this Saint
were at some other time translated to Tortona, and afterwards
found with the relics of St. Martianus.
[9] These things intimate clearly enough what was once
the opinion of the people of Tortona themselves about their holy
Terentianus. so that the opinion about a Terentianus of Tortona is to be disregarded, Another opinion indeed afterwards prevailed
there, but this need not detain us. Hear nevertheless
what the said Canon subjoins after the former things:
Nevertheless, among the holy bishops of Tortona,
in the table of bishops of the synod of the year 1659,
St. Terentianus is numbered in the fourth place under
this tenor of words: St. Terentianus was raised to the see of Tortona
by the votes of the clergy and the people.
The morals of clergy and of men were then ruined.
The public cause of Christ was going almost to wreck: countless
corruptions had sprung up; the priests had been driven
into flight; and the church herself, long widowed of her spouse,
bewailed the darkness. By the efforts of the new Prelate there was restored,
so far as that decline of the times allowed,
faith to the Christian commonwealth, comeliness to the sacred rites,
and religion to the priests and to God. At length,
after many torments, in the reign of Marcus Aurelius,
he was crowned with martyrdom. He sat about 11
years. Of him the synod of Tortona celebrated in the year
1595 makes mention, where in the index of sacred relics
these words are found: Of the notable bones of St.
Terentianus, bishop of Tortona and martyr,
in the cathedral, under the title of the provostship. Of St. Terentianus
Ferrarius writes in his Topography.
[10] which seems to have arisen from ill-founded conjectures: From these things let us observe a few points. First, nowhere
is it said that the whole body of St. Terentianus is kept
at Tortona, but only that certain relics are had there.
Secondly, the Synod of Tortona of the year 1595
does not call him bishop of Tortona, so that the synod
of the year 1659 seems to have added that from an ill-founded
conjecture. From a like conjecture I should believe
to have proceeded what they assert, that he was crowned with martyrdom
under the rule of Marcus Aurelius — for no other
reason, perhaps, than that they could find no fitter place
for him in the catalogue of the bishops of Tortona.
Certainly it cannot be believed that any ancient monuments
were at hand from which that could be
gathered, since no mention is made of monuments of that kind,
and yet the authority of the
synod of the year 1595 is adduced, and of Ferrarius, in whom nothing
of the sort is read. Wherefore, since the author of the ancient
Office makes that Terentianus bishop of the church of Todi,
and it is not likely that he did so
without reasons, I can scarcely doubt that in fact
it is the Bishop of Todi who is venerated at Tortona,
as is also gathered from the sameness of the day on which he is venerated
in both places.
[11] St. Terentianus once venerated also at Capua. The church of Capua also venerated St. Terentianus,
as we understand from the ancient Breviary
of Capua, in which three lessons are had concerning him.
His memory is found in the ancient Calendars
which Michele Monaco published in the Sanctuarium
Capuanum. The same author, on page 540, testifies that in a manuscript
Lectionary this prayer is read of SS. Priscus
and Terentianus together: Be favourable, we beseech thee,
O Lord, to us thy servants through the glorious merits of these holy
martyrs of thine, Priscus and Terentianus, who
rest in the present church,
and by their loving intercession may we ever be
protected from all adversities, through our Lord, etc. Hence Monaco
goes on thus: Therefore the church of Capua
had relics of St. Terentianus. Moreover, holy
Terentianus had a church in the suburb by the
gate of the Bridge, and to this day the naming of the place from
that Saint endures. Further, this is the same St. Terentianus,
as is gathered from the lessons. Thus the relics of this
Saint were kept in various places, and nowhere
the whole body. Let these things suffice concerning the cult and the relics.
§ II. Various Acts, but none sufficiently trustworthy: a summary of the Acts from the Capuan Breviary; the time at which the Saints suffered.
[ ] Various Acts, of all of which Mombritius published the worst: We have various Acts of St. Terentianus, both printed
and manuscript, of which some
are less faulty than others, but I could find none at all
that do not labour under their own defects. Baronius
saw the manuscript Acts of the church of Todi, as he testifies
in his annotations to the Martyrology; and he brands them with no
censure; rather he seems, at least in part,
to have approved them, since he inserted into the Martyrology an elogium
put together out of them. Tillemont, however,
in volume 2 of the Monuments, in the Persecution of Hadrian,
article 3, censures gravely the Acts of St. Terentianus, as he saw them published in
Mombritius, volume 2, from folio 327,
affirming that they are worth nothing at all.
Now none of the copies of the Acts which we have
are more faulty than those of Mombritius.
Hear what is said at the beginning of these concerning the emperor
Hadrian: Hadrian therefore the emperor, who was also
called Helios, that is, the sun, while he was visiting the Eastern
parts, was informed by certain worshippers of Christ
about Jesus Christ the Son of God, that
he had worked many miracles there. He at once believed,
and began to rebuild the house of the Lord, and constructed it with wonderful
workmanship, and moreover conferred many gifts
there, and repaired the city of Jerusalem from the ground;
and moreover through all parts of the world he set forth
an edict, that no Christian should be punished for Christ,
unless he were found guilty of some other crime.
First, Hadrian's forename was not Helios,
but Ælius. Next, Hadrian was neither a Christian,
nor did he rebuild the temple at Jerusalem,
and therefore neither did he confer gifts upon it. Jerusalem
indeed he restored under the name of Ælia Capitolina,
but he did not do that out of love of the Christians,
since he set up idols in the sacred places. He wrote back also
to Minucius Fundanus, proconsul of Asia,
in favour of the Christians, whom he was unwilling to have condemned
by the shouts of the people alone, as may be seen in
Eusebius, book 4, chapter 8: but he gave no such edict
as is here described. These things therefore doubtless
displeased Tillemont, and, with others
presently to be recorded, could give him cause for utterly
rejecting the Acts.
[13] But all these things are not read in the other
copies of the Acts, other, less fabulous copies are enumerated; so that it must necessarily be said
that that fabulous preface was added to the Acts
by a bold and unskilled man. For
besides one manuscript copy, formerly sent from the monastery of Böddeken,
which agrees almost with the Mombritian Acts,
we have four other copies,
transmitted from various places of Italy, of which
none has that beginning. The first of those copies
was taken from an ancient Legendary of Orvieto,
in which, without any preface, the Acts begin
from Hadrian's return from the parts about Jerusalem.
The second is marked as from Ms. 2061 of His Eminence
Cardinal Francesco Barberini, in quarto; the third from the Acts
anciently printed of the church of Teano. These
two copies, however, have another preface
about the time at which Terentianus suffered; and they are divided
into nine lessons; and finally there is subjoined
in these copies the Translation of the arm to Teano,
which likewise is divided into nine lessons.
Of all the copies, none agree better with one another
than these two. The fourth copy
we received from a manuscript of the Reverend Fathers of the Oratory
at Rome. To this also something has been added at the beginning
which is not found in the rest. Receive that brief
supplement: The persecution of the Christians was still severe
through the whole province, so that if anyone did not
prostrate himself and sacrifice to the idols, he was tormented with punishments.
For at that time of the emperor Hadrian there was
a certain man of venerable life, Terentianus, bishop
in the city of Todi, a true worshipper of God. He,
serving the Lord all the days of his life, and
persisting in pious works, and fulfilling the commandment of the Lord
with the alms of charity, he was ever persisting in fastings, and vigils
and prayers, and was converting many
souls to the faith of Christ.
[14] [but neither are those free from blemishes: which copy is to be published, and how.] From what has been said I gather that those different prefaces
were added to the Acts, and therefore that from their faults
no sufficiently effective argument can be drawn
against the Acts themselves. Nevertheless it is to be feared
that the Acts have been interpolated in other places also, and this especially
appears in the Mombritian ones, which differ more from the others;
for the rest disagree less frequently,
and only in words which do not alter the history.
Besides, certain things are read in all
the copies by which the credit of the Acts is lessened.
First, Hadrian seems to be said to have passed a law that
the Christians should be compelled to sacrifice to the idols,
and that those refusing should be afflicted with various torments.
But a law of that sort is generally denied to Hadrian by
the learned. Certainly Tertullian in the Apologeticum, chapter
5, reckons Hadrian among those emperors who
did not pass a law against the Christians. Next,
Terentianus disputes much with the proconsul Lætianus
about the mysteries of the Christian faith, which are not
altogether likely, since the Christians would not easily
disclose to the gentiles the hidden mysteries of our faith.
There may be added certain sayings of Terentianus harsher than is just.
But neither is Hadrian's law asserted in the manuscripts so
clearly that they cannot be explained of the emperor's mere
order to persecute the Christians, which
Hadrian in fact did; nor are the other blemishes in the manuscripts
so notable, or so frequent, that we should wish all
credit whatsoever taken away even from the facts,
or pronounce with Tillemont that the Acts are worth
nothing at all. We shall therefore give these Acts, not
indeed as original and certain, but as not wholly
unworthy of credit in all those matters against which no weightier
authority stands. Further, since all the copies
are disfigured by a number of errors, I shall follow none
of them so closely as not to correct from the others,
when I find in them a more correct phrasing,
yet in such a way that I shall throughout publish the manuscript of the Most Eminent Barberini,
which is preferable to the rest,
and shall advise the reader when I have
thought that it should be corrected from the others.
[15] The history of the translation of the arm is fabulous and to be omitted: I have already said that in two copies there is also read
of Campania Felix, which now is commonly called Terra di Lavoro;
it is episcopal under the archbishop of Capua,
and is called Teanum Sidicinum, to distinguish it
from another Teanum, now almost destroyed, which is surnamed
Apulum. But that history of the translation
is even less worthy of credit than are the Acts of the martyrdom.
For not only are all the things narrated there
marvellous beyond belief, but some of them are contrary
even to the traditions of the church of Teano itself.
For the translation is said to have been made only twelve
years after the Saint's martyrdom under Hadrian, and therefore
before the middle of the second century. But then
there is brought forward a bishop of Teano who went out
to meet the woman carrying the relics. Yet from the traditions
of the church of Teano the first bishop of that city
in the time of Constantine the Great, that is, in the
fourth century, is by all held to be St. Paris, whose
Acts we gave in volume 2 of August from page 73. Thus
there is here a manifest anachronism. Wherefore
receive in a few words a summary of that writing. It is said that
St. Terentianus, in the twelfth year after his martyrdom,
appeared to Laurentia, who had been present at his burial,
and taught her the place of his tomb, which
she said she had forgotten. She, as she had been bidden, betakes herself thither
with another woman, finds the body, takes up the arm
and keeps it three months in her own house. The women, seized
with fevers, commit themselves to an unknown journey,
after a month reach Rome, and thence after
eight days Teano, where the bishop, warned by an earthquake,
meets them as they come. The relics are brought
into the city, and the gate through which they are carried in
thereafter permits no one exit or entrance.
To have related these things is enough, nor is there need of further refutation,
even though the aforementioned Giovanni Battista
Possevino and Jacobilli inserted that fabulous history
into their Works. We, however, shall not
deny that the arm of St. Terentianus was at some time
translated to Teano; but we shall not believe that it
happened in the manner aforesaid; nor shall we publish that writing.
[16] At length, before I subjoin the Acts,
a few things must be discussed concerning the time of the martyrdom. the time about which the Saints suffered. That
St. Terentianus suffered with Flaccus under the rule of Hadrian
all agree; but various years are
assigned. Possevino sets down the year 123, Jacobilli
and Orlendius 138, Ughelli about the year
138. But I suspect that the martyrdom of our
Saints happened at the beginning of Hadrian's rule,
or while he had returned for the first time from the East:
for all the copies of the Acts have it that St. Terentianus
was denounced to Hadrian while
he had returned to Rome from the parts about Jerusalem.
Moreover, in the two prefaces, as also
in the Capuan Breviary, this epoch is set down: From
the Passion of the Lord the eighty-fifth year was almost
running out when the holy bishop Terentianus
suffered. I should not wish here to examine
whether this epoch is altogether correct; for that cannot
be done unless the intricate controversy be threshed out about
the year of the common era in which Christ suffered. It is
wholly correct if the Saint was crowned in the year 118,
in which Hadrian returned from the East, as Tillemont holds,
and if the opinion of those is true who set down Christ's
death in the thirty-third year of the common era,
or even the thirty-fourth. But
whatever be the case about the year of our Lord's death, which
different men set differently, I shall place the martyrdom of SS. Terentianus
and Flaccus about the year 118, in which for the first
time Hadrian returned from the East: for, although
he returned thence more than once, the eighty-fifth year
after Christ's death, in everyone's opinion, favours the year
118 more than the later years.
ACTS
by an anonymous author
From a Ms. of His Eminence Cardinal Francesco Barberini, collated with
three other Mss. and the edition of Mombritius.
Terentianus, bishop and M., at Todi in Umbria. (S.)
Flaccus, M., at Todi in Umbria. (S.)
BHL Number: 8003
By an Anonymous author.
CHAPTER I.
St. Terentianus is denounced to Hadrian, and on his account a persecution is stirred up: the Saint, being arrested, is set before the proconsul Lætianus, and disputes much with him concerning the Christian faith.
[ ] The time at which St. Terentianus suffered with St. Flaccus: In the forty-second year of Cæsar Augustus,
there being completed, according to the Hebrew verity,
from the beginning of the world three thousand nine hundred
and fifty-two years, Jesus Christ the Son of God
hallowed the world by his coming; and in the eighteenth year of Tiberius
Cæsar he redeemed the world by his passion.
St. John the Apostle, in the sixty-ninth
year after the Lord's passion, and in the ninety-seventh of his own
age, in the times of Trajan,
rested at Ephesus by a peaceful death. From the passion of
the Lord the eighty-fifth year, or nearly so, is counted
when St. Terentianus a the bishop suffered
in the times of the emperor Hadrian: who came to the palm
of martyrdom in this manner.
[2] St. Terentianus is accused before the emperor, While the emperor Hadrian was reigning in the city of Rome,
and while he was returning from the parts about Jerusalem b,
there met him Marianus the prefect c, and, making a suggestion
to his glory, said to him: O emperor, let your august
piety not disdain to hear my
petition, so that, as your serenity is renowned throughout the whole
world, so the commonwealth may ever be governed
through the honour of our gods. I make known
to your piety that there is in a certain town
not far from the city of Rome a man who worships Christ,
by name Terentianus, a bishop already old in years,
who with continual empty Christian persuasions teaches the people
not to believe in the immortal gods, preaching
I know not what Christ. Whence it is fitting that either
he offer sacrifices to the immortal gods, or, if he will not,
that he be afflicted with the sharpest torments. And Hadrian
the emperor, hearing this on the fourth of the Kalends
of August, as he was standing before the temple d of the city of Rome,
gave this reply: Truly with joy have I received
your petition. And he spoke to him, saying:
It is fitting that your request be not denied,
so that the will of all may be made plain. Then with angry countenance
he proclaimed such a law, that wherever a Christian
be found, he should be condemned by universal judgment,
if he did not bow his neck to the immortal gods.
[3] But Lecianus, proconsul of Tuscia, and Andreas
the gowned advocate, while they were standing in the sight of Hadrian
Augustus, Marianus the prefect said: I have announced my suggestion
to your serenity; [who orders the Christians to be compelled to sacrifice, or, refusing, to be killed:] let only the command of our
august lords e prevail.
Hadrian the emperor said: Let your petition rejoice,
and let all things be fulfilled by common command. Hadrian
the emperor at last gave this reply: Victorious
Hadrian f, the renowned Augustus, perpetual
triumpher, exalted with general honour and piety
throughout the whole Roman world, and an ornament of honour
to the most sacred immortal gods. For it is just to serve
continually the most sacred gods, through whom Roman felicity
flourishes and the commonwealth is governed; and it is fitting
that, according to the suggestion of the magnificent
man Marianus the prefect, a just petition be not denied.
Therefore I will that wherever a Christian be found,
he first be compelled to sacrifice,
and if he refuse to fulfil this, that he be afflicted with various
torments, so that honour to our gods may in all things be
increased by the libation of sacrifices. This command g was at last
set forth on the fourth of the Kalends
of August in the forum of Trajan h.
[4] Lecianus, proconsul of Tuscia, according to the command
of the emperor Hadrian, coming into the town
of Todi, St. Terentianus, being taken, is set before the proconsul, and unfolding before all the sacred
imperial command, called together the elders
and the magistrates Lucius and Gabinus i; and sitting
in the forum before all, he spoke, saying:
Men, fathers and friends of the princes, learn the most blessed
and sacred command k. And it was read out
in the common tongue, as has been declared above l.
And all cried out: Augustus, mayest thou ever conquer.
This was said seventeen times m. Lecianus the proconsul
said: May the propitious gods flourish, and may the religiousness
of our gods shine forth, and let the Christians not delay
to present themselves at once. But if they do not present themselves,
let them be smitten with the penalty of the guilty. And all departed.
On another day the enemies of the Christians seized
the most blessed bishop Terentianus n, and led
him to Lecianus the proconsul, saying:
Magnificent sir, of this sacrilegious man mention
has been made to the lord emperor Hadrian in the city of Rome.
He o seduces the people, and preaches we know not
what Christ; and therefore they offer no sacrifices,
and burn no incense. Therefore we receive no answers
from our gods according to the sacred custom.
[5] But Lecianus the proconsul said to the blessed Terentianus
the bishop: with whom he disputes Old man, we ask your greatness
not to hide from us the prudence of your art,
that you may enjoy the friendship of our Augusti,
and bestow on us with your excellent means
the promised gifts [p]. St. Terentianus the bishop said:
If you truly desire to receive all good things, and to possess
the heavenly kingdoms, seek first what is just, to know
the true God who is in the heavens, and
then you will be able to know the truth of true salvation,
and to exult in all good things. Lecianus the proconsul
ordered St. Terentianus the bishop to come inside
the palace, that he might speak with him more secretly of these things;
and when he had entered, Lecianus the proconsul said to
him: Cast out this most empty superstition, and
hear my admonitions, that through you many may rejoice
and flourish, and you likewise may rejoice in all good things.
St. Terentianus the bishop said: Truly I lament the more
if I do not scorn to hear your admonitions. But
do you rather hear me, and believe in God almighty,
who reigns in the heavens, and you shall flourish with all
good things for ever. Lecianus the proconsul said:
I ask you to tell me the secret of your art, and not
to hide why the immortal gods avail nothing while you
are preaching, and why our priests, and the virgins
burning the accustomed incense, receive no
answers, and why the fire of the sacrifices is extinguished. St.
Terentianus the bishop said: If you wish to know,
learn first the truth, and I will show you the reason
of this matter. Lecianus said: Make that truth clear to me.
[6] concerning the Christian faith, St. Terentianus the bishop said: The truth is,
that you believe Christ the Son of God, together with the Holy
Spirit, abiding in Trinity and in unity,
and you shall be saved. Lecianus the proconsul said: For this
I do not understand: how do you set before me Christ
the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit, remaining in Trinity and
in unity? St. Terentianus the bishop
said: I, a humble servant of Christ, already worn out with age,
say confidently that the Lord Jesus Christ
the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit, remain always in unity
and in Trinity. Lecianus the proconsul
said: Set out for me the rule of this matter and the property of so great
a name. St. Terentianus the bishop
said: If you desire to know this, learn first the property
of so great a mystery, and thus you will be able to come to the bright
comeliness of so great a light. For [q] God is almighty,
creator of all things visible and invisible,
and of all creatures in heaven above and on
earth beneath. He through whom all things were made, is himself
Jesus Christ the Son of God, who with the Holy
Spirit, creating and ruling all things, reigns through the ages
and lives for ever.
[7] and concerning the vanity of the idols. Lecianus the proconsul said: Then they are nothing
the gods, and do they not furnish the commonwealth with any truth
[*]? For how do they relate true things by oracles,
and pronounce things to come by their answers? St. Terentianus
the bishop said: This has been granted [r] to the demons,
that, because of the pride of the human race, and to those not believing
in the true God, they should speak empty things, pronouncing
falsehoods, so that they may deceive the minds of the unbelieving.
Lecianus the proconsul said: O magic art of the Christians!
which does not establish what is true,
and displays what ought not even to be heard, for the deceiving
of the minds of all peoples. St. Terentianus
the bishop said: Is it then not true to preach
the truth and to empty out falsehood? This I
admonish you, Lecianus, that you turn the eyes of your mind away
from the worship of idols, and so you will be able to know the true
and most full truth which is in God.
Lecianus the proconsul said: Lay aside this false
obstinacy, and sacrifice to the immortal gods;
but if you do not sacrifice, by the gods I will make you
perish by various punishments. St. Terentianus the bishop
said: From the day on which, by God's assent, I received the episcopal
honour, I have not ceased to sacrifice to God almighty
the victim of praise of the Body and Blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lecianus the proconsul
said: Is your Christ then frequently slain,
that you may continually sacrifice his body and blood?
St. Terentianus the bishop said: Truly your sense
is confounded, O devil, and hardened with every iniquity.
Know most truly that once for all Jesus Christ the Son of God
was slain for the salvation of all,
and was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead,
and ascended into the heavens, whence he will come to judge
the living and the dead, and your father the devil,
who holds you back from believing and knowing the truth
of your own salvation.
ANNOTATIONS.
p. More correctly, perhaps, the Mss. just mentioned. Hear the first: Do not hide the prudence of your wondrous greatness, that you may enjoy the friendship of the Augusti through our suggestion, and grant us the opportunity to make known what we ask. Mombritius has it thus: Do not hide your prudence from us, that you may enjoy the friendship of Augustus through our suggestion, and show us the truth which we entreat. From this perpetual diversity in setting out the sayings the studious reader will gather that these were expressed by each writer as he judged suitable to the persons. Let it suffice to have noted this once for all. The reply of Terentianus which follows is likewise set out in various ways; as also the remaining sayings of both, although otherwise they agree well enough as to substance.
q. These things are set out more at large in Mombritius. Receive his words: The almighty Father before all ages begot from himself the Son, in all things equal to himself, through whom and with whom he created out of nothing all things that are in heaven above and on earth beneath: whom at the end of the ages he willed to be born of a Virgin, and to take flesh, for the sake of man, created to his own image and likeness, whom the devil deceived by fraud, so that he who before was immortal should be made mortal. The Holy Spirit also, proceeding from both, being equal to the Father and the Son, if you shall believe, you shall be saved. I should not believe that things so sublime were straightway set before a pagan man. The other Mss. agree better with our edition.
r. In Mombritius he answers ineptly and falsely: This has been given to the demons by God, on account of their pride, that they should sometimes answer truly. And so they cannot answer truly except when the holy angels announce it, etc. For the demons do not learn from the angels, if they sometimes so pronounce things to come as they afterwards come about; but by divination they can say many things, of which some will be true and others false.
* otherwise: firmitatem (steadfastness)
CHAPTER II.
St. Terentianus is tortured with various torments: Flaccus, a priest of the idols, suddenly becomes blind; but the proconsul, when St. Terentianus's tongue has been cut off, is struck dumb and dies: Flaccus is converted and baptized, and with St. Terentianus undergoes martyrdom.
[ ] Flaccus, a priest of the idols, becomes blind; Lecianus the proconsul, full of wrath, ordered
his servants, saying: Crush his mouth
with a stone, because he has spoken proudly against the gods and
against our birth-gods. St. Terentianus the bishop
said: May our Lord crush you and your father
the devil, with whom you shall have punishment in the fire without
end for ever a. Lecianus the proconsul
said: Lay aside now the madness of your heart,
and sacrifice to the gods. St. Terentianus the bishop said:
The bond of death and of the devil, O unhappy man, you have received.
Therefore you utter blasphemy from your mouth,
and things that are not fitting. Lecianus the proconsul ordered
holy Terentianus the bishop to be stripped of his garments
in his sight; and he ordered the priests of the idols
to be called, that they might carry before him
all the apparatus of the sacrifices, and Hercules and
Jupiter, saying to him: Sacrifice to our immortal
gods. St. Terentianus the bishop, standing naked
in the sight of Lecianus the proconsul, lifting up
his eyes to heaven, said: Lord God of all
things, let all be confounded who adore
graven images, and who glory in their idols,
and deliver not to the beasts the souls of those who confess thee.
Then Flaccus, the priest of the idols b, was blinded,
and fell upon his face, and the whole apparatus
of the sacrifices was broken to pieces, and the images of Hercules
and of Jupiter were shattered, and, crushed,
were reduced to dust.
[9] But Lecianus the proconsul, seeing this, ordered
him to be hoisted on the rack in his sight, The Saint is afflicted with various torments: and
said to him: Explain to us your magic art c,
and you shall live: for if you do not, by the gods I will hand you over
to the fire. St. Terentianus the bishop, smiling, said with a clear
voice: May Christ the Son of God destroy you.
Lecianus the proconsul ordered him to be afflicted with scorpions,
and, dragging him, they tore his body
most grievously. But he cried out with a loud voice: Glory
to thee, blessed Jesus Christ, Son of God, who
blessest all who hope in thee. Behold, now I know
thy blessing and thy mercy.
Lecianus the proconsul, exceedingly angry, ordered them to apply
fire to his sides, saying: Let us see
whether his magic art frees him, by which he blinded
the priest and worshipper of our immortal
gods. In that same hour fires were brought to his
sides. Lecianus the proconsul said to the blessed
Terentianus the bishop: Where is your Christ?
St. Terentianus the bishop answered: He is with me;
and if you will believe in him, you will obtain mercy
from the Lord Jesus Christ d.
[10] Lecianus the proconsul said: If you make me
know him, his tongue cut off, he speaks; but the proconsul is struck dumb and dies: I believe you are no magician, but
a perfect man and my friend, and you shall be released
from the torments. Blessed Terentianus the bishop said:
Do what you have begun: for if you cease to do
what you have begun, you bestow on me no benefit; but
what your father the devil has commanded you, carry out
at once. Lecianus the proconsul ordered his tongue
to be cut off; and in his sight his tongue was cut off,
and before all he had it trampled
underfoot. Then Lecianus the proconsul was struck dumb;
but holy Terentianus began to cry out, saying:
Glory to thee, O God; glory to thee, O God. And Lecianus
the proconsul, making signs with his hands, because he had been struck dumb
and could not speak, ordered him to be clothed in his own
garments. Then Lucius and Gabinus ordered
him to be shut up in prison, and Lecianus the proconsul
suddenly expired.
[11] But on another day Celsus and Leontius, of the augustales
e, led St. Terentianus the bishop
out of the prison, Flaccus the priest receives his sight and confesses Christ, and ordered him to be brought to the forum; and
when he had come, there met him Flaccus the priest of the idols,
who had been made blind, and cast himself at
his feet, saying: I adjure you by the living God
whom you preach, that you enlighten my eyes, because
today in a vision I saw a most beautiful man,
who admonished me, saying: Go to Terentianus
the bishop, and he will enlighten you. And all
who were present at this spectacle, hearing
the words of Flaccus, praised the Lord. St.
Terentianus the bishop, chained with fetters on neck and
hands, bending his knees, was praying to the Lord.
But Flaccus the blind man, fearing nothing, at once cast
himself down, and took his hands, bound with fetters,
and placed them upon his own eyes, beseeching him
to enlighten him. And St. Terentianus the bishop, trusting
in the Lord, said: May Jesus Christ
our Lord enlighten you, who is the true light, who has also
enlightened the hidden things of darkness. Then the eyes
of Flaccus were opened, and straightway he began to cry out: I believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God,
who has enlightened me, and whom I saw protecting
St. Terentianus the bishop.
[12] and, being baptized, he is condemned to death with St. Terentianus: And he said to those who were leading him bound:
Stand a little while, I pray, and wait for me.
And when they had stood, he said to St. Terentianus the bishop:
By Christ I ask you that what you know,
you do quickly upon me, that you may save my soul.
St. Terentianus the bishop said to him: If you wish to be saved,
be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Flaccus said to him: Bear with me a little,
and pray for me; and running he brought water in a little glass
jar. But they supposed that he was giving him
a drink. And St. Terentianus took the water, and
according to the custom of the Christians blessed
it, and baptized him in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And Flaccus followed him
until he came into the sight of Celsus and
of Leontius in the city of Todi. And when
Leontius, the gowned advocate of the Augusti, had seen Flaccus running
with joy after St. Terentianus the bishop,
he said with a clear voice: Behold what the magic art
of the Christians does, that the immortal gods are forsaken
and men hear the admonitions of the sacrilegious Terentianus. And
both gave order, saying: According to the sacred command
of our lords the Augusti let them be smitten
with the capital penalty.
[13] The martyrdom and burial of both Saints. At last both were led, St. Terentianus
the bishop and Flaccus the Christian, to the place
of suffering, and they were beheaded on the day of the Kalends
of September, beside the wall of the city near the river;
and immediately this was reported to Hadrian
Augustus. That same night a certain Exuperantius, a presbyter,
and Laurentia, admonished in sleep, gathered up
their bodies, and buried them at the eighth
milestone from the city of Todi, in a place which is called
Petrosus f, and is named Colonia; and many
marvels are wrought there down to the present
day, our Lord Jesus Christ reigning,
who with God the Father lives and reigns as God in the unity
of the Holy Spirit through all the ages of ages.
Amen g.