John

ON ST. JOHN, BISHOP AND MARTYR,

AT SPOLETO IN UMBRIA.

About the middle of the sixth century.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

Mention of the saint among more recent writers; the Acts; translations of the body; the cult.

John, bishop and martyr, at Spoleto in Umbria. (S.)

BY J. P.

In more than one place, on occasion of other saints whose Acts have hitherto been discussed, mention has been made of this holy bishop and martyr in our work, The memory of the saint and by design in volume 1 of the month of July, page 5, among the Prætermissi; because, namely, Ludovico Jacobilli in his Italian work on the Saints and Blesseds of Umbria, volume 2, treats of him on the very Kalends of the said month, as being proper to his martyrdom. But because both Jacobilli himself and Ughelli in the Bishops of Spoleto, volume 1, column [ ] of the Italia Sacra, second edition, assert that the feast of St. John is kept on the 19th day of September, it then seemed good to defer to this very day the examination of his deeds. Ferrarius also had gone before, in both his Catalogues of the Saints (for in the older sacred calendars I have not found the saint's memory), announcing him on the same day of September in the general Catalogue of the Saints in these words: At Spoleto, of St. John, bishop and martyr, under king Theodoric; that is, one who flourished under Theodoric, as will appear below from himself: but in his annotations he indicates whence he obtained knowledge of him in the following words: From the Tables of the church of Spoleto, where we read his manuscript Acts, and transcribed his Life in our Catalogue of the Saints of Italy.

[2] That the reader may have some preliminary idea of the saint's Life, in Ferrarius it will be worth while to have transferred it also from the aforesaid Ferrarius; it runs thus: John, born at Spoleto in a station by no means obscure, brought up from boyhood in the Christian religion, and instructed as a youth in the sacred Letters, made himself wholly over to the divine ministry, being enrolled in the number of the clergy, and not departing from the church. Having been made archdeacon, he afterwards succeeded archbishop Meletius, taken from among men, whom he had also succeeded in the archdeaconate. And in the episcopal charge he bore himself so brilliantly that not only in Umbria but through almost all Italy the fame of his sanctity spread abroad; he was the father of the poor and the advocate of the oppressed, spending his means on feeding the needy and repairing the churches. He flourished under king Theodoric, whose favor he obtained, and gained many things and profited many. But under Totila he suffered much, yet relieved the people by his prayers. When about to visit the thresholds of the Apostles, he had scarcely set out on the journey when he fell in with soldiers, who ran him through with lances and cut him down. His body, when the soldiers had withdrawn, was buried by the clergy, not without tears and mighty sighs, near the city, where, when it had lain hidden for about a hundred years, the Goths having been driven out of Italy by Narses, it was discovered by a heavenly sign; for when the sky seemed to flash by night above the place like a fiery column, and sweet odors were breathed forth, and resounding songs were heard; Gondecara, a noblewoman, abbess of the monastery of St. Euphemia, roused by so many signs, goes by night, accompanied, to that place, and the stones being taken away, found the hidden sacred relics and translated them to her own church. And when this became known to the city, the tomb of the holy martyr began to be an object of veneration, many miracles following upon divers persons laboring under diseases. Thus far Ferrarius, from the monuments and lessons of the church of Spoleto.

[3] from Spoleto manuscripts; Our Henschen, together with Papebroch, was at Spoleto about the year 1660, and there, as he himself indicates in volume 3 of March, page 30, he learned that three very large and ancient books had been lost, which used to exist in the episcopal archive of the cathedral church of Spoleto and to be called by the name of Lectionary or Passionary, because from them the lessons at Matins used to be recited, and these more frequently contained the Passions of the martyrs. For my part I scarcely doubt that the said books are the same monuments which Ferrarius cites, from which he asserts that the Life of St. John was transcribed by him, and which were afterwards lost: for I do not see what should have hindered the men of Spoleto from exhibiting to our elders these things which had before been granted to Ferrarius. This loss the aforesaid Jacobilli in some measure made up, who, when our elders were lodging at Foligno, having by then already finished three volumes of his said work, granted them the use of a manuscript collection extracted from those same books under this title: From the archive of the bishopric in the cathedral of Spoleto, in three very large ancient books, extracted from the same archive by D. Bartolomeo Tiberio of Spoleto.

[4] His Acts, by whom By that manuscript collection, which contains very many Lives of the saints of Umbria, Jacobilli in some measure, I say, made up the loss; not fully: for by an unskilled copyist it has been so wretchedly defaced, and everywhere teems with so many errors, that often you can scarcely, even by conjecture, arrive at the author's meaning. Among those Lives it embraces also the Passion of our saint, the translation of his body, and some miracles, taken from volume 1, page 110, of the said Lectionary or Passionary; but not all the things are read in them which we read above in Ferrarius and which Jacobilli reports, although he cites in the margin the said Lectionary and the saint's Life from it, as I shall show, after I have discoursed a little about the author's name, state, and age. His name and state he betrays at the end of the prologue, thus invoking the saint: Holy John, martyr of Christ, intercede for the offences of John, a sinful monk. Then he indicates that he is a monk of Cassino, and Jacobilli asserts that he was such, and that he dwelt in a certain monastery near the city of Spoleto.

[5] It is not much more difficult to find the date; for he wrote, and when they were composed: as he signifies in the same prologue, at the request of the nuns and of Bertha, abbess of the monastery of Spoleto, which before had taken its name from St. Euphemia, but then was called from St. John, bishop and martyr; namely after the sacred body of the latter had been translated by Gunderada, one of those who had preceded the said Bertha in the office of abbess, into the church of the said monastery in the times of the emperor Otto II, as he himself again clearly signifies, and so at the close of the tenth century. But that monastery, having been abandoned, was granted by the emperor Henry II about the year 1012 to Heribert, bishop of Spoleto, that he might build from it an episcopal palace for himself, as Jacobilli writes. With Jacobilli agree Ughelli in the Bishops of Spoleto and Agostino Lubin in the Notitia of the Abbeys of Italy, except that the latter notes the year 1015; but both wrongly write Henry the Third; and hence it follows that our author wrote at the end of the tenth century or at the beginning of the eleventh, and consequently more than four centuries after the saint's death, which both he and other more recent writers indicate to have happened about the middle of the sixth century. Nowhere does he indicate whether, or from what older monuments, he drew the deeds and martyrdom of the saint described by him, nor consequently how much credit they deserve.

[6] The few things which the biographer already designated wrote down about the deeds of the saint's life and his martyrdom, some things omitted in them are added from others, so far as I can gather from our manuscript, other more recent writers, as I hinted above, have enlarged with some additions. Thus he says baldly that the saint was born in the city of Spoleto; Jacobilli in the Italian Life, and Bernardino of the counts of Campello, volume 1 of the History of Spoleto, page 250, add, of a noble family. He, having related in the fewest words his study of the sacred Letters and of piety, presently subjoins, he was raised to the priestly mitre with worthy praises: but they premise that the saint had first been adorned with the dignity of the archdeaconate in the cathedral of Spoleto, and on the death of Meletius was substituted for his prelate; indeed Jacobilli adds that he was confirmed as such and consecrated with the title of archbishop by Pope Symmachus in the year 500. Finally the biographer does not even express the name of king Theodoric; they, like Ughelli, say that the saint from this Arian king

obtained thanks and favors. It is right to believe that some of these things were passed over by the careless copyist in our manuscript, or at least were received from the monuments of Spoleto and added by the named writers. Especially because Ferrarius, earlier than these, has almost all the same things, as we saw above, and testifies that he read the manuscript Acts at Spoleto and transcribed the Life.

[7] But from wherever Jacobilli received what he alleges concerning the saint's consecration performed by Pope Symmachus in the year 500, it is convicted of error from the Acts of the first synod celebrated at Rome under the same Pope, where among the subscriptions of the bishops is distinctly read John of Spoleto, namely from Jacobilli, who nevertheless is corrected, as may be seen in Labbe, volume 4 of the Councils, column [ ]; then under the same name he occurs also among the bishops who subscribed the Acts of the third synod; and John of Spoleto among the subscriptions to the Acts of the fourth, fifth, and sixth synods celebrated under the same Pontiff. And so John was bishop before the Kalends of March of the year 499, when the said first synod was celebrated; and hence it follows not only that what Jacobilli writes about the year of the consecration is erroneous, but that it is altogether doubtful whether that consecration was performed by Symmachus or while he held the Pontificate, to which he was raised only in the month of November in the year 498. Moreover, not Jacobilli alone but Ughelli and Campello also attribute the title of archbishop to St. John; and Campello indeed says that he is depicted in the most ancient images with the archiepiscopal pallium, and that in the Life of St. John of Parano in Mombritius he is called Metropolitan. Ferrarius too concurs, in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy at the 16th day of December, on which he keeps the memory of St. Meletius, and where he subjoins the following annotation: The church of Spoleto, or Spoletina, was once metropolitan: and it had several archbishops, to whom as suffragans the bishops of Norcia, Trevi, Bevagna, Spello, Foligno, and others were subject. Among these Meletius, John, and Laurence flourished after Britius.

[8] and from the Life The Life of John of Parano, in which Campello said that our John is called Metropolitan — namely because the author, speaking of Spoleto, calls the city a metropolis — our elders published in volume 3 of March, page 31, from a Spoleto and other manuscripts and from Mombritius: whence it is worth transcribing some things which pertain to our saint and are likewise omitted by our biographer. The author first relates that St. John of Parano came from Syria into Italy, and near the metropolitan city (that Spoleto is meant will presently be seen), at an angel's bidding, rested under a tree which (this is said to have happened in the month of December) blossomed like a lily; that he was found there and questioned by huntsmen passing by; and at length he continues in these words: And as they gazed at the tree (for the tree shone like a lily) then the men knew that the Lord was with him, and they announced this event to Blessed John, bishop of the city of Spoleto. And when Blessed John the bishop had heard this, he was filled with great joy: and rising he made his way to the place where Blessed John, the servant of God, was praying to the Lord. And when they had seen one another, for joy they poured out tears to the Lord. And Blessed John inquired of him about all these things which are written. Then all who were present gave thanks; and by the mercy of the Lord a multitude of people gathered and built a monastery there, and he dwelt there all the days of his life, and sat in that place forty-four years.

[9] of St. John of Parano. Ferrarius at the 19th day of March in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, again praising the monuments of the church of Spoleto, asserted that that monastery was built by our saint, and Galesinius says the same in his Martyrology at the same day, writing thus: At Spoleto, of St. John the confessor. He, born in Syria, came into Italy to the city of Pinna at God's admonition; where, a monastery having been built for him by John, bishop of Spoleto, he lived piously and holily for forty-four years. But in his Notes he cites Usuard, Ado, and Bede; and indeed the first two give a long elogium of John of Parano drawn from the Acts; but neither mentions St. John, bishop of Spoleto. The same Galesinius at length subjoins: But in the Martyrology of Cremona his (John of Parano's) Life is narrated at greater length, which is thought to have been written by John, bishop of Spoleto. This last, understood namely of our saint, and of the Life printed in volume 3 of March, becomes less likely, because both in Mombritius and in the Spoleto manuscript he is constantly called Blessed John the bishop, with which title he would not have adorned himself; indeed it is altogether improbable, if John of Parano came into Italy only under the reign of Justinian, as Ferrarius holds, or of Justin the elder, as Campello will have it: for since in the Life and in the elogia in Ado, Usuard, and others he is said to have governed the said monastery for forty-four years, his death cannot certainly be set before the year 560, by which time, according to everyone's reckoning, John the bishop had long ceased to live; being, as he was, slain by the Arian Goths, whose kingdom in Italy was extinguished long before the year 560.

[10] The aforesaid writers do not agree about the year of the martyrdom; The time of the martyrdom; the body translated three times Ughelli and Jacobilli note the year 541, Campello differs into 547, namely after Spoleto had been besieged and taken by Totila's army; but our biographer speaks too obscurely for me to be able to determine anything from him: and therefore above I have more broadly marked his death as about the middle of the sixth century. But of the place and manner of the martyrdom and burial, and of the prodigious finding of the body and its first translation, made about the end of the tenth century, I add nothing, since about these there is sufficient agreement among the same authors, and the reader can be sufficiently instructed from Ferrarius's words recited in number 2, and from the Life, to be elucidated by the necessary annotations. It remains therefore that I should mention in few words what others add about his relics and cult. His sacred body was accordingly preserved, and was famous for various miracles, which likewise we shall give as described by our biographer, in the monastery called first of St. Euphemia and afterwards of St. John, until the times of Heribert, bishop of Spoleto, and of St. Henry the emperor, when the eleventh century was not far advanced, at which time, as I said above, the same monastery passed into an episcopal palace.

[11] But then, on the testimony of Jacobilli, by order of the same bishop Heribert the sacred body was translated to the ancient cathedral church, it is now kept in the church of St. Peter the Apostle which was situated outside the city and dedicated to St. Peter, and was laid in an old stone monument; and in this it was kept until the year 1500, in which Francesco Erulo, bishop of Spoleto, opened and visited it. Finally in the year 1619, on the 21st day of March, by Lorenzo Castrucci, likewise bishop of Spoleto, the magistrate assisting, as Campello adds, the sacred body was translated into a more honorable monument, and laid beneath the chief altar of the same church, where until now it is honored together with the body of St. Peter, bishop of the same city. So nearly Jacobilli, who then subjoins that the memory of our saint is kept every year in the city and diocese with a double rite on the 19th day of September, with a Mass and Office of a pontiff martyr; but Campello says that he is held among the chief patrons, and that one of the twelve regions of the city is called by his name.

[12] Of the bishop Peter just mentioned, mention was made among us among the Prætermissi of the 29th day of June, volume 5, page 397. together with the body of Peter, bishop of Spoleto. Jacobilli also treats of him in volume 1 of his work at the 21st day of the said month, and repeats about his body, laid beneath the chief altar in the year 1619, the same things which we have already mentioned; but he does not indicate whether any day is proper to his cult, or whether he is celebrated with an Office: nor in any sacred calendars, not even in Ferrarius's Catalogues, does the memory of this Peter occur. Wherefore, until certain indications of a special cult are brought forward, besides the aforesaid Jacobilli, Campello and Ughelli may be consulted. Receive meanwhile a brief elogium of him from the Life of St. John, which the same Jacobilli praises in the margin: And very many of its archbishops were strong in equal sanctity, among whom one, the most holy Peter, shone forth, whose works and virtues a lyric versification sets forth on marble tablets; and certain others, glorified by signs and prodigies in a like poem, rest in serene peace in the hall of blessed Peter the Apostle. Thus far our biographer.

[13] How the Acts are to be reprinted. These things, moreover, I have transferred hither, because I thought that the greater part of the manuscript Passion or Life, containing these and similar matters about other bishops, about the dukes of Spoleto, and about the various vicissitudes of the city of Spoleto, ought to be cut away: both because they scarcely, or not scarcely at all, pertain to the saint's deeds and martyrdom, and because, as I have warned, they are so faultily written that, even with the most frequent correction applied, they can hardly be restored. For the rest, that the other part, properly regarding the saint, might be in some measure made fit for the press, I have observed this method: the clearer errors of the copyist, who was either most negligent or scarcely imbued with the first rudiments of Grammar, I have myself corrected; but the doubtful ones I have noted in the margin; and those which I could not restore I have passed over, leaving a space; and I have observed the same in the miracles to be appended to the Life or Passion.

THE PASSION, THE TRANSLATION OF THE BODY, AND THE MIRACLES

By John, a monk of Cassino

From a manuscript Lectionary of Spoleto.

John, bishop and martyr, at Spoleto in Umbria. (S.)

BHL Number: 4437

The author's prologue. You compel me, O most sacred college, together with the devotion of Bertha, your leader of the monastery of the holy martyr John — which, founded from its foundation in honor of the most blessed virgin Euphemia by the most devout abbess Gunderada, we keep in mind — that I should not refuse to set forth in my own pen the signs and virtues and miracles of the aforesaid martyr, whose body you deserve continually to guard. A perilous work indeed you lay upon me, but one whose reward of devotion shall profit ^a … but because Christ chose the poorest fishermen rather than dialecticians and rhetoricians and the bedizened proud, trusting in him I shall undertake what you ask, hoping [*] from him for the remedy whose signs and miracles … you have been zealous to make known. Holy John, martyr of Christ, intercede for the offences of John, a sinful monk. Amen.

[2] The saint's deeds and episcopate. And so for you … he was born and nourished in the aforesaid city ^b, and from the very infancy of his youth was instructed in the sacred Letters, and, desiring with every effort the life of holy religion, was raised with worthy praises to the priestly mitre. Committing himself wholly to God at every hour by fastings and prayers, he was free for works of mercy and piety ^c day and night. And when he was intent upon these works, suddenly a rumor of destruction, as sounded above ^d. All being shaken with that terror, sought, as they were able, a refuge for escaping: among whom that most blessed man also, shut in ^e as a most sturdy comforter, remained, continually beseeching the Lord with tears and groans. And when he had spent some days thus,

by a device of malice and treachery, as though the terror were over, in open places bands of the Getuli [*] remained to seize the innocent.

[3] But now, since the saint saw that he could not go about the churches of the saints in his accustomed manner, The martyrdom. armed with faith and strengthened by the sign of salvation, like a most valiant warrior, in order to beseech the Lord against the peril of so great a calamity, wasted with fasts and afflicted with countless sighs, going out he intently frequented the bodies of the martyrs. And when these works had been performed and the sacred mysteries celebrated, as he was returning ^f, he was beset by an ambush, and, standing still like a most gentle ram, he awaited undaunted the death of the slaughter. But suddenly, surrounded by dogs, pierced on every side by the little lances of those making sport, and at last beheaded, clothed as he was in sacred prayers, at the very crossroads, his soul penetrating heaven [*], his most holy body was left. And afterwards, when the terror had subsided, his fellow-citizens, groaning exceedingly, laid it in that very place in a most ancient basket ^g.

[4] In nearly the hundredth year also after these things ^h, when now, after the ruin of the aforesaid city, the almighty Lord granted that the places of the saints round about should be rebuilt, the people increasing, the pledge of that most holy martyr began, in the very place where he had been buried, … the city, because it was near, about two stadia off, to shine forth with amazing signs. The prodigious finding of the body For frequently that place was seen to flash with lights from heaven: and sometimes a song of exceeding sweetness was heard there. Sometimes, like a column of fire raised with flashing brightness even to heaven, it was wonderfully seen. Nor did the most holy sepulchre of that martyr receive the weight or burden of any traveller. For with vessels … often cast far from it, very many made trial; and these also, reporting to one another countless other signs, confessed them in the presence of many. For when that place shone with lights, no one in the night season dared to pass by his sepulchre; but, struck with fear, he completed his journey by fleeing far outside the road.

[5] But when by these signs and virtues the saint himself shone forth with many things and on this side [], and the translation. some attempted secretly to carry off so most precious a pledge and to place it fittingly in their own churches. But almighty God was unwilling to cheat of so great a gift of salvation the monastery of the most holy virgin and martyr Euphemia, so that both the city of Spoleto might remain unharmed through him, and all dwelling in it might, by his merits and intercessions, stand firm and secure from all the snares of their enemies. It seemed good therefore to the abbess beloved of God, Gunderada by name, of the aforesaid monastery, that she should translate the most holy body into the church of her own monastery: and most devoutly, in the hour of the night's silence, two or three virgins being taken along, and together with them their own venerable priest and minister, they came to the body with precious linens and incense: and so, prayer having been made, the covering of the sacred body was lifted with such speed that the female sex seemed most sturdy and manly; suddenly sprinkled with wondrous odors, the holy pledge having been gathered up, with exultation of gladness they returned to their own place ⁱ, and at once, counsel having been taken, beside the altar of the aforesaid most blessed virgin in the aforesaid monastery, which is situated next to the episcopate ^k of the Mother of our Lord, an altar [] having been built on the northern side, in the reign of the second most pious Otto, they most zealously laid it there.

ANNOTATIONS.

* sperans

* Gothorum

* cælum

perhaps ultra citraque*

* altari

MIRACLES

From the same manuscript Lectionary.

John, bishop and martyr, at Spoleto in Umbria. (S.)

BHL Number: 4438

BY J. P.

Preface to the miracles; To the Acts now recited there are presently appended some miracles which, by the saint's patronage, were wrought at the time when his sacred body was kept in the church of the monastery of St. Euphemia, and, so far as I conjecture, were collected by the same author, but by the same copyist in many places so foully corrupted that, since I was sometimes unable to connect the words with the words, I have taken pains to attain the author's meaning and have expressed the matter itself in another type, the circumstances being omitted. Thus the author prefaces: These things therefore having been done, his tomb began to abound in benefits of health, for those afflicted with divers sicknesses, coming to him with the devotion of faith, were healed. Paralytics indeed and those in fever, with Christ's help, clinging to his sepulchre, were healed. And being strong in these virtues, he rested for the space of some years; but because the Creator of all things advances him to greater and more amazing wonders, I shall undertake, by the vow of our littleness, to make known his more recent and new virtues, which very many (plurimas or plurimi should be read) from that city, and especially the assembled flock of that sacred monastery, have brought to me.

[2] From the narration of the first miracle I gather this sense. broken legs are instantly restored. One of the judges of the city of Spoleto, having received a vision in sleep, understood that the body of St. John was not buried with sufficient [ ]: wherefore, being awakened, at earliest dawn he ordered a new tomb to be placed on a wagon to be carried to his church. But the wagon was drawn, not by beasts, but by men, and among these probably the judge himself; and when they had come near the church, he fell beneath the wagon, and by the wheel passing over him each of his legs was broken: but the martyr's help being invoked, he at once raised himself on his feet, and with a most swift running entered the church, ordered the sign to be given by the nuns, and the clergy having been called together laid the sacred body in the tomb, praising the Lord.

[3] Here the author interposes some things about the multitude of miracles the contracted; which were wrought there, and then sets forth in these words: But a certain man, loosened in all his limbs, wholly contracted and rolled into a ball, was brought from distant regions. On a certain night he was resting in the house of a man near that monastery. He testified that at the hour of deep night he saw Peter and Paul and John with exceeding splendor, who suddenly seizing him, one by the crown of the head and the others by the feet, stretched him out with the greatest power, so that the household of the house, awakened, rose at his cries and shrieks … giving thanks to God and to the merits of blessed John; who afterwards … returned again contracted in the shin, and went away sound. The points designate what has been passed over, which I could not reduce to a perfect sense.

[4] Nor is it to be kept silent how another man of the shining (perhaps of the Foligno territory or) county was healed: and the blind when he too was resting in a house near the aforesaid church, the holy martyr appeared to him, saying: Rise, and hasten to me in the church. And he: How, he said, Lord, can I come, who lack both step and sight? And the saint: Awaken this man who sleeps beside you, that he may take a light and lead you out. And when he had been awakened, the light going before, they made their way swiftly to the altar. And presently with shrieks [and] horrid outcry he was stretched out and enlightened. And the hour of Matins was at hand when these things were done, and while the assembly of the congregation rejoiced in the choir, they gave glory to God more and more with exultation. There follows the narration of another miracle, from which I understand that a man enormously bent, when he touched the most sacred body, was terribly straightened; and that a certain noble of the province, who coming thither about the same time for the sake of refreshment and health had promised his companions that, if he should see any miracle, he would bestow a gift on the church, on learning of this miracle paid his vow and departed unharmed.

[5] are healed; Nor indeed shall I cease to give attention to a miracle no less. A certain man of Ancona, since he could in no way make his way except along the ground, as he himself was zealous to set forth in order, was brought before his sepulchre, and obtained that he should go out unharmed, and we have even seen him sound and strong. Moreover, a man deprived of sight, born and nourished in the county of Todi, having heard of the signs of so great a martyr, began to consider how he might be able to come to his sepulchre; and when he often turned this over in his mind, one day, going out of his house, thus turned toward the East, he prayed, saying: Eternal God, who art the true light and

guide of the right way, lead me to the house of thy martyr, for I am blind and know not whither I ought to go. At this utterance suddenly he who had never seen, beholding the order of heaven and earth, for joy cried out with a loud voice: Blessed be the Lord, the King of all the ages, who enlightens me by the merits of his martyr John, because I was always in darkness, and now I see. At this event all his neighbors came together, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ, who works wonders in heaven and on earth. Some things are subjoined by which it is signified that the man enlightened made his way to the saint's church to pay his thanks.

[6] a woman in the arm After these things a certain poor woman from afar, desiring to see his tomb, set out. For her arm had so clung hanging to her side that she seemed to all to have no arm at all; and her garments seemed not to have even any opening on that side. While she was standing at the hour of Matins in the church, suddenly she cried out to one of the sisters: Take, she said, a knife, and hasten to cut the garments here, because as soon as you begin to chant the Matins of All Saints, I shall be made whole. And so the iron being taken, she presently did as she had asked, and at the hour which she had foretold she was made whole, and the arm being lifted, it appeared wholly bloodied, and she at once with outcry showed to all … the benefits of the Creator. The healing of another woman is added, but from what disease and in what manner I cannot attain even by conjecture.

[7] and a man weak in his limbs; a girl deprived of sight, For a certain man, disabled in his joints, could not go unless carried by animals; and when he had remained there for some days, suddenly he deserved to receive the gift of health in a wine-vessel where he was resting, so that when morning came he was found standing upright before that very vessel, and presently, rendering thanks to Christ, went away glad with firm steps. And in recording this we believe that no small joy is afforded to those who hear. A certain girl, deprived of both eyes, walked, led by her nurse, wearied by the long distance. And when they were entering the gate of the city which is called blessed Laurence's, she said to her mother: O mother, behold, I see all these houses: for I can walk without a guide. And she, presently coming to the tomb of the martyr, gave thanks; and presently withdrew unharmed, her clear sight recovered [*].

[8] A certain loathsome man labored under the grave peril of leprosy, and when he was going about the enclosure (semptam, without doubt septa) of the monastery, a man infected with leprosy, another struck with palsy, he stopped, looking at a certain stone vessel before the church, containing water. But suddenly, moved from heaven, established in faith, and having washed thoroughly, he was wonderfully cleansed, and he too, rendering thanks to the holy martyr, went away sound and rejoicing. And it is worth the labor to relate with running pen: a certain very noble man was cherishing a most poor foster-child for the remedy of his own life. And when the fame of the holy martyr's sanctity had flown hither and thither, on a certain day, as if in jest … he addressed the needy man. Go, he said, and say on my behalf that holy John should heal you; and he at once, simple of heart as he was, made his way, and as soon as he came to the tomb, leaping up sound — he who had been paralytic and contracted — repaying grace for the gift, returned with joy and exultation to his foster-father.

[9] Many things there are, and very many, most beloved brethren, which … Christ our Lord has wrought for the glory of his name and the salvation of his faithful, which for that reason we avoid writing, and very many others are cured. lest by the prolixity of words the mind of the hearers grow weary, or it be turned into loathing for zealous readers. For of many things we have narrated few, which let no one doubt to believe sufficient for the glory of God and of his martyr John, or for the salvation of apostolic believers. After a few things which I cannot easily restore, the author at length concludes thus: His translation is celebrated on the fourth of the Kalends of September: the consecration also of that venerable altar, in the reign of Jesus Christ our Lord, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns through the infinite ages of ages. Amen. The feast of St. John, as was said in the Commentary, is to this day kept on the 19th day of September, or the thirteenth of the Kalends of October.

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