Michael the Archangel

ON ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, AND ON ALL THE ANGELS,

HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.

Michael the archangel (S.) All the AngelsBHL Number: 5948, 5951

BY J. S.

§ I. The commemoration of St. Michael and of the Angels in the Martyrologies and in other sacred calendars, and their various festivals.

The memory of St. Michael on Mount Gargano That we may be able to set forth and elucidate more clearly, each in its own order, the several apparitions of St. Michael the archangel and the festivals instituted on account of them, we shall first briefly gather together the things which are found concerning them on various days and months in the older calendars. I begin from this day, the XXIX of September, on which the principal festival of St. Michael and of all the Angels is celebrated in the Roman Church and throughout the whole Latin Church. In the Hieronymian Martyrologies, in Florentinius, the following is read at this day: The dedication of the basilica of the angel Michael, or on the mountain which is called Garganus, where God has displayed many marvels. In the Epternach copy it is read more briefly: And the dedication of the basilica of St. Michael. In the Corbie copy, more fully: The dedication of the basilica of the archangel Michael on the mountain which is called Garganus. In the Reichenau copy: And the dedication of the basilica of the holy archangel Michael. The Gellone, the Augsburg and the Labbean copies agree, except that in the last there is added, on Mount Gargano. In the Calendar which Florentinius calls the Little Hieronymian, and which he published after the Martyrology, it is read thus: The dedication of St. Michael the archangel. The Corbie copy is briefer and differs from all the rest. For it has this: At Rome, at the sixth milestone, the dedication of the basilica of the angel Michael, or on the mountain which is called Garganus. But that phrase, At Rome, at the sixth milestone, seems corrupt, since in Florentinius there stands, At Rome, six soldiers, and mention of these is had in others also. Therefore those first words look to something else and are corrupted.

[2] Bede in the Martyrology published by us in vol. 2 of March agrees with the aforesaid: or a dedication celebrated in the ancient calendars; The dedication of the church of the holy angel Michael. The same author in the metrical Martyrology in vol. 10 of the Spicilegium:

The third day (namely the Kalends of October) hallows the dedication of Michael's temple.

The Old Calendar published in the same place agrees. All the ancient Martyrologies and Calendars also which Martène published in vol. 3 of the Anecdota announce the same dedication of the church of St. Michael in similar words, except the briefer Corbie copy reprinted in the same place, of which I have treated, and the last Calendar, which has thus: The feast of St. Michael the archangel. Most of those also which Martène gave in vol. 6 of the Amplissima Collectio agree with what has already been said. The ancient Calendar of Stavelot has in express words: On Mount Gargano the dedication of the basilica of the archangel Michael. Of another published in the same place I shall speak presently. Wandelbert omits the place of the dedicated church, perhaps for the sake of the metre, singing thus:

Mighty in heavenly power, and prince of the supernal Host, Michael on the third day (Kalends of October) hallowed temples to himself.

But Rabanus, Notker, Usuard, and the others to be cited presently, express Mount Gargano: yet they treat of the dedication of one church only. I transfer hither only the words of Rabanus: The dedication of the church of the holy Angel Michael on Mount Gargano. Usuard and Notker leave it doubtful whether they meant to announce a dedication or some other festival, of which I shall speak below.

[3] in some there is added the Dedication of the same church at Rome. The author of the Little Roman Martyrology, which Rosweyde published, recorded two festivals of St. Michael on the same day, writing thus: On Mount Gargano, the venerable memory of the archangel Michael. And at Rome the dedication of the church of the same Archangel, built by blessed Pope Boniface in the Circus, which place is called AMONG THE CLOUDS. Ado, who was accustomed to follow that Martyrology, begins thus the ample history which he recounts concerning the veneration of St. Michael on Mount Gargano: On Mount Gargano, the venerable memory of the blessed archangel Michael, where a church consecrated to his name is had, made indeed of mean fashion, but endowed with heavenly power. Then, having related the history, he adds: But not long after, at Rome the venerable Pontiff Boniface likewise dedicated a church built in the name of St. Michael, stretched out in vaulted fashion very high on the summit of the Circus by wondrous workmanship. Whence also that same place, containing the church on its summit, is called situated WITHIN THE CLOUDS. The Martyrology of Auxerre has things conformable to these: On Mount Gargano the venerable memory of St. Michael the archangel, where God has displayed many marvels. At Rome the dedication of the oratory of St. Michael, which the venerable Pontiff Boniface dedicated on the summit of the Circus, stretched out very high by wondrous workmanship. In all the Martyrologies and Calendars also which Georgi published after Ado, the memory of St. Michael is recalled on this day, and in some it is called a dedication. From these I add only the words of the Vatican Calendar: On Mount Gargano, the dedication of the basilica of the archangel Michael. In several Auctaria of Usuard, in our Sollier, there is announced at the VI of October the Octave of St. Michael, because in some churches his feast is celebrated with an Octave.

[4] We have seen two churches of St. Michael whose dedication seems to have been celebrated in ancient times. The church of St. Michael on the Via Salaria Georgi in his Annotations on Ado records a third also, whose dedication was celebrated from the fifth century or earlier, but on the XXX day of September, unless by the fault of the copyists or printers the day has been erroneously expressed. Bianchini in the Prolegomena to Anastasius the Librarian, vol. 4, published an ancient little work, to which this title is prefixed: An old Book of Sacraments of the Roman Church. This he says he brought to light from a manuscript book, … written a thousand years ago, … of the chapter of Verona. But in it, on page XXXIX, this title is read: On the day before the Kalends of October, the N. (that is, the birthday) of the basilica of the Angel on the Salarian Way. Georgi, alleging these things, says that perhaps by the error of a copyist there is read, on the day before, for on the third day before the Kalends of October. Nevertheless that corruption is uncertain, and the dedication may also have taken place on the day before the Kalends. But whatever be the case as to the day, I do not think that this is the church which we saw just now built in the Circus. For in support of the church mentioned Georgi cites a Notice published by Eccard, which is not at hand for me, and out of it he recites these words: By the same way (the Salarian) one comes to the church of St. Michael, at the seventh milestone from the City. But the church situated in the Circus was either within the City, or at any rate stood less distant from the City, and was also built later. Therefore I cannot assent to Georgi that this church of the Salarian Way is treated of in the Hieronymian calendars, or at least that is less probable. For the briefer Corbie copy cited at num. 1, which alone seems to favour this opinion, is more probably corrupt, and differs from all the older copies.

[5] Nevertheless from the Sacramentary cited we have at least this, A dedication celebrated from the fifth century, that from the fifth century the festival of St. Michael and of the Angels was celebrated in the church dedicated to him outside the City on the Salarian Way. And that the dedication of this church was celebrated we understand from the Sacramentary cited, page XL. For these things are read there: It is truly meet, … and to proclaim thee with abundant joys on the day of this day's festival, whereon in honour of the blessed archangel Michael places consecrated to thy name have been established for the divine mysteries. For although the dwelling of that sublime and glorious substance is always in the heavens, yet the affection of thy faithful presumes, out of reverence for thy power, to retain through these offices of pious devotion a certain pledge on earth of the Ministers who stand continually in thy sight. From the words already given, and still more from the remaining prayers, it is further gathered that that festival was celebrated not of the archangel Michael alone, but also of all the Angels together. The same is implied by these words in the same place: In honour of the blessed archangel Michael we frequent with mystical homage the places dedicated to thy name: grant, we beseech thee, that we may rejoice in the suffrages of those whose sublime merits we recount.

[6] so that perhaps the dedication of three churches was brought down to one We have now three churches dedicated to St. Michael in ancient times, whose dedication is said to have been honoured with an ecclesiastical Office. But it becomes probable enough that all these dedications coalesced into one festival, which is still celebrated on the XXIX day of September, and is called the Dedication of St. Michael the archangel. Baronius believed that on that day the church of St. Michael on Mount Gargano was dedicated, and he indicates this in his Annotations. In the text of the Martyrology he has thus concerning that festival: On Mount Gargano the venerable memory of the blessed Michael the archangel, when a church was there consecrated to his name, made indeed of mean fashion, but endowed with heavenly power. That this is the day of the dedication on Mount Gargano becomes most probable from the very ancient calendars cited above. Yet the Roman church of St. Michael in the Circus also could have been dedicated on the same day. But the one which was on the Salarian Way seems to have been dedicated either on the following day or even on the same day, from the very ancient festival. Further, that festival, even though it be called a Dedication, is not performed as the Dedication of other churches is, but rather in memory and honour of St. Michael and of the Angels, and that custom is most ancient, so that it seems to be called a Dedication only because the festival was fixed on the day of the dedication.

[7] it is the festival of St. Michael and of the Angels. In the ancient Calendar of the Roman Church, which Martène published in vol. 5 of the Anecdota, with the Gospels assigned, the festival is appointed in these words: On the XXIX day of the month of September. The dedication of the church of St. Michael the angel: but for the Gospel there are assigned these words from Matthew chap. 18: The disciples came to Jesus saying: Who, thinkest thou, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? &c., where at ℣ 10 the following is read concerning the Angels: For their Angels in heaven always behold the face of my Father, who is in heaven. These words included in the Gospel show that the Angel or of the Angels

was appointed as a festival, not one of a simple dedication. In the Book of Sacraments published by Thomasius no mention is made of a dedication, but only this is read: Prayers on the third day before the Kalends of October, of the holy archangel Michael. In the other, published by Ménard, which is attributed to St. Gregory, this title is read: The dedication of the basilica of the holy archangel Michael. But again the prayers which are prescribed are not referred to the dedication of a church, but to the honour and worship of St. Michael and of the Angels, as may be seen in the same place.

[8] which is indeed called a Dedication, but rather In the Roman Calendar published by Fronto the title is read thus: On the XXIX day of the month of September, the dedication of the church of the Archangel. But since the same Gospel is assigned here as above in Martène, Fronto rightly observes this: Not only is the Dedication celebrated on this day, but also a special memory of St. Michael. Hence a proper Gospel is assigned. Again, in the Calendar which Allatius printed in his Work on the Agreement of the Western and Eastern Church, col. [ ], that festival of St. Michael is announced thus: On the third day before the Kalends of October, the Dedication of the holy Angel. But I find no other reason why that festival is commonly called a Dedication in the ancient calendars, than that it took its origin from the dedication of a church, and was fixed on that day on which either the church on Mount Gargano, or others also, were dedicated to St. Michael. For it is manifest that even in ancient times the memory of St. Michael and of the Angels was celebrated on that day, just as it is done in our times, the ancient name being retained.

[9] Certainly in the Books of Sacraments already mentioned all things are referred to the honouring of the memory of St. Michael and of the Angels, is performed in memory of St. Michael and of the Angels. mention even of the places sacred to St. Michael being omitted, which had been added in the Sacramentary of Leo. Hence in the Gregorian the Preface has thus: It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should always and everywhere give thee thanks, holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God, proclaiming the merits of the holy archangel Michael. For although all the Angelic sublimity which stands in the sight of thy Majesty is to be venerated by us, yet that is to be honoured more particularly which in the dignity of its order merited the princedom of the heavenly host. Through Christ &c. For the rest, I altogether judge that this festival was not at first distinct from the other, which is called that of the Apparition, since this latter, of which I shall now treat, appears to be much more recent.

[10] Baronius in the Roman Martyrology at the VIII of May announces another festival of St. Michael, The Apparition of St. Michael celebrated on the VIII day of May, less solemn than the preceding, yet common to all who use the Roman Breviary. His words are these: On Mount Gargano the Apparition of St. Michael the archangel. Baronius does not assign in his Annotations the time at which this feast was instituted, nor does he allege ancient Martyrologies for it. In most of the more ancient ones no mention of it is found, whether in the Hieronymian, or in the genuine ones of Bede, Ado, Usuard, Wandelbert, Rabanus, Notker. Nevertheless in an ancient Calendar which d'Achery published in vol. 10 of the Spicilegium from a Corbie codex, and which in the Preface he proves to have been written in the year 826, these things are read at the VIII of May: The Finding of St. Michael the archangel on Mount Gargano. There is added another Corbie Calendar, which Martène published in vol. 3 of the Anecdota from a codex of the tenth century. In this, at the same day, it is thus read: The Revelation of the basilica of the holy archangel Michael.

[11] The Appendix of Ado has thus: On Mount Gargano the Apparition of St. Michael the archangel, and recorded in several ancient calendars. when that arrow, as though driven back by a blast, straightway returning struck him by whom it had been shot: and it was said to the bishop: I am Michael the archangel, who stand always in the sight of God. In the Auctaria of Usuard, in Sollier, the Pulsano codex has thus: On Mount Gargano, the Apparition of the most blessed Michael the archangel &c. The Hagenau codex: In the borders of Apulia, on Mount Gargano, the Finding of the oratory of the blessed Michael the archangel &c. The Lübeck-Cologne edition has more, but less approved. The Ottobonian Martyrology in Georgi, likewise at the VIII of May: And the dedication of the church of St. Michael on Mount Gargano. In the same a Dedication is also read at the XXIX of September, as commonly in others. In the same author, in the second Milanese Calendar, at the VIII of May: The Apparition of St. Michael. I could add to these very many Martyrologies of more recent age, and among them not a few in manuscript. But I pass over all these, because it is abundantly established that that feast has now been celebrated for several centuries. Concerning the time at which it was roughly instituted, as also the first Apparition, if it can in any way be discovered, I shall discourse afterwards.

[12] At the same day, the VIII of May, in Sollier, from a Brussels codex, another apparition of St. Michael is recorded in these words: Another Apparition celebrated on the XVI day of October. Likewise the Apparition of St. Michael the archangel. Who admonished St. Autbert, bishop of the church of Avranches, once, a second time and a third, that he should found in the sea, in the place which from its eminence is called Tumba, a church dedicated to his name… And from that time thereafter, as on Mount Gargano, the memory of St. Michael the archangel began to be frequented. But this festival of St. Michael belongs to the XVI of October, where the same codex has thus: Likewise on the mountain of the sea, which is called Tumba, the dedication of the church of St. Michael the archangel. Concerning the same apparition the Florentine codex in the same place suggests these things: The second Apparition of St. Michael the archangel, which is read to have happened about the year of the Lord seven hundred and ten. The same Apparition is recorded in various editions of Usuard. From these I subjoin the words of Greven: In the territory of Avranches, the Apparition of St. Michael the archangel, who about the year of the Lord DCCVII appeared to Autbert, bishop of Avranches, admonishing him that in the place of the sea which is called Tumba from its eminence, and also Amid the Perils of the Sea, he should found a church in memory of him, wishing forsooth that a veneration equal to that on Mount Gargano should be shown to him upon the deep. I pass over the more recent Martyrologies in which this festival is recorded. I shall examine the history and the time of the thing accomplished in its own place; where we shall see that it is not a general but a particular celebration. In several particular Martyrologies at the XXV of March there is read, joined together with the death of Christ, the Victory of St. Michael the archangel against the dragon, as may be seen in vol. III of March, page 541, num. 6. The principal feast of St. Michael and of the holy Angels

[13] The Greeks likewise have several feasts of St. Michael the archangel, but on other days. Three are recorded in the Sirletian Menology, namely at the VIII of November, which is at the same time that of all the Angels, as is the principal one among the Latins. Concerning it he has thus briefly: The celebration of Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, and of the remaining incorporeal powers. The same festival is commemorated in the rest of the calendars of the Greeks also, and an ample Office concerning it is read in the printed Menæa, as it is still had in their most recent ritual books. The Muscovites according to custom likewise announce in their calendars this celebration of the Greeks concerning St. Michael and the rest of the Angels. But in this feast no Apparition of the New Law is celebrated, nor any particular benefit bestowed upon men under the New Law; but the obedience of the Angels is praised, set over against the sins of Lucifer and the rebel angels: there are also recorded those things which are found in the Old Testament concerning St. Michael; and the benefits of Michael and of the other Angels toward men are proclaimed in general.

[14] the feast on the VIII day of November; Eutychius of Alexandria in his Annals, as they were rendered from Arabic into Latin and printed in the year 1656 at Oxford, page 435, seems to derive the origin of this feast from this, that St. Alexander, patriarch of Alexandria, had dedicated to St. Michael the archangel a temple formerly built by queen Cleopatra, in which an idol Michael was worshipped. Selden in his Work on the Sanhedrins of the ancient Hebrews, book 3, chap. 15, num. 8, discourses much on that passage of Eutychius. He acknowledges, however, that nothing is found on that matter among the older writers. Therefore, since an idol of that name is utterly unknown, and the breaking of an idol in the city of Alexandria in the time of Constantine the Great is not made probable, and Eutychius himself is a most fabulous writer, and here too mixes with his assertions circumstances altogether improbable, I judge that the whole matter is to be banished among the fables, as Tillemont has already intimated in vol. 6, in St. Alexander, art. 2; and Renaudot in the Patriarchs of Alexandria, page 80. Wherefore concerning this feast of the Alexandrians, as will be said below, and equally concerning that of the Greeks, let it suffice to have said that it is a general feast of St. Michael and of all the holy Angels, such as the Latins celebrate on the XXIX of September. The verses which are read in the Menæa indicate nothing else. Two are had upon St. Michael, as prince of the heavenly host: two again upon the nine choirs of Angels, namely upon the Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Powers, Principalities, Virtues, Archangels and Angels. So are they there enumerated. The verses, as having nothing particular, I omit. Molanus also commemorated this festival of the Greeks.

[15] Famous likewise among the Greeks and the Muscovites in their principal calendars is another festival of St. Michael at the VI of September, another concerning the Apparition on the VI day of September: as was said by us there in the Prætermissi. The Sirletian Menology has briefly the following concerning it: The commemoration of the miracle displayed by Michael, prince of the heavenly host, in the city of the Colossians, which was afterwards called Chonæ. In the Menæa an Office concerning that benefit of St. Michael is prescribed on the same day, and the miracle is briefly narrated. In the Basilian Menology the same miracle is related somewhat more at length, but in a manner somewhat different. We shall examine the fact below, and shall inquire into the time. Meanwhile let it suffice to have said here that the festival is famous, and is recorded commonly in all the Greek calendars, and that it is commemorated by Molanus equally with the former. The Copts are added: for in their calendars also, published by Ludolf, that feast is announced at the IX of the first month, that is, at the VI of September.

[16] At the VIII of June in the Sirletian Menology these things again are read: another particular one on the VIII day of June: The celebration of the archangel Michael. Our predecessors, at four consecutive days of June, namely at the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth, noted some things concerning St. Michael the archangel in the Prætermissi. At the IX of June, I think, they touch upon the same feast of which the Menology cited speaks on the day before. I transfer the words hither: The celebration of St. Michael the archangel at Sosthenion, a suburb of Constantinople, is indicated in a manuscript Synaxarion of the church of Constantinople and in another of Milan. The celebration at the suburb of Sosthenion was a particular one, perhaps of the dedication of a church. For that a church was built in that suburb of Constantinople to St. Michael by Constantine the Great, and that it became most famous, we shall say in the course of this work. Yet another particular feast of St. Michael could also have been kept in that church, which is said to have been renowned for miracles. But that it was celebrated only in that church, I think to be the reason why it has not been ascribed to the Menæa and to most other calendars.

[17] Again I find another feast of St. Michael announced for the churches of the patriarchate of Alexandria

subject to it, at the VI of June, others among the Ethiopians and Copts in the month of June, where in the Prætermissi these things were noted: That a feast of St. Michael the archangel is kept on account of a miracle wrought by him at Alexandria is indicated in the Arabo-Egyptian Martyrology, translated from the Arabic tongue into Latin by the aforesaid Gratia Simonius, and transmitted to us from Rome by Athanasius Kircher, and in another published by Selden, where also it is noted that a second and a third feast are to be kept on the two following days. I find all these things noted thus, but that phrase on account of a miracle is not added in Selden, while in the Martyrology on the contrary no mention is made of a second and third feast. In Ludolf, in the calendars of the Ethiopians and Copts, at the same day the calendars of the Ethiopians have: Michael the archangel, but nothing on the following days about a second and third feast. But the calendars of the Copts at the VI: The Prince of the Angels; at the VII: The second feast of Michael; at the VIII: The third feast of Michael. Among the Ethiopians, on the VII day Gabriel the archangel is marked.

[18] Besides these, a feast of St. Michael the archangel is marked among the Ethiopians on the XII day of each of their months, which sometimes coincides with the ninth, at other times with the eighth, at other times with the seventh, at other times with the sixth or even the fifth day of our months. Yet only in the month of June do I find mention of a second and third feast, and among the Ethiopians in each month. which in that month can be continued for three days on account of some notable benefit, and only among the Copts. But these do not have that festival in their calendars every month. The Ethiopians, however, besides the monthly one, have also in the first month, on the IX day, which coincides with the sixth of September, the festival common to all the Greeks, of which I treated above. That which is kept concerning St. Michael and all the Angels on the VIII of November falls on the XII day of the third month, where it is also noted from the calendars of the Copts, and in the Arabo-Egyptian Martyrology praised above it is marked in these words: The feast of Michael. Prince of the heavenly angelic powers, and guardian of the faith, when the demon fell from his seat and princedom. Thus far concerning the festivals in which St. Michael the archangel is honoured by name.

[19] Some others among the Ethiopians and Copts But since together with St. Michael all the Angels are honoured at once, both on this day among the Latins, and among the Orientals, the Greeks and the Muscovites on the VIII day of November, it has seemed good to gather here also those things which offer themselves to be said concerning the particular feasts of the Angels, excepting however SS. Gabriel and Raphael, who as they have their own names so also have feasts proper to themselves. In Ludolf, in the calendars of the Ethiopians, at the IX of our November it is read: Seraphim and Cherubim, so that on that day a special festival of those blessed Spirits seems to be held. In the same calendars at the XX of November there is noted, Seraphim, which implies a particular feast concerning them. But in the calendars of the Copts it is read: The twenty-four angelic Elders, upon which Ludolf observes: Those are understood of whom mention is made in Apocalypse 4, ℣ 4. The passage is this: And round about the throne were four and twenty seats, and upon the thrones four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and on their heads crowns of gold. But whether by the four and twenty elders Angels are to be understood, I leave to the interpreters to examine: for I see the passage explained otherwise. Further, the Seraphim and Cherubim, who are the highest orders of the Angels, are again celebrated among the Ethiopians at the XXVII of our June, as was also noted on that day in the Prætermissi. At the VIII of November in the said calendars the Cherubic horses are recorded, but less fittingly. For if they have understood this of the four living creatures, of which Apocalypse 4, ℣ 6, as Ludolf conjectures in his Annotations, again the interpreters have gone off into various opinions concerning them. Thus what is read at the XV of July, Uriel the archangel, will not please Catholics, since that name of an Angel has not become known from the canonical Scriptures, but is read only in the apocryphal ones.

[20] The feast of the Guardian Angels Concerning the Guardian Angels, whose festival under that title came into use later in the Latin Church, only the more recent Martyrologies make mention. Yet the Church anciently honoured the guardian Angels in the general feast of St. Michael and of all the Angels, which the Hagenau codex in Sollier's Usuard at the XXIX of September indicates in these words: On this day also it has pleased holy mother Church that the memory of all the holy Angels should be solemnly kept, because each single man is believed to have one Angel appointed to him by God for his guardianship. But the piety of the faithful afterwards introduced also a special festival concerning one's own guardian Angel. Greven has thus concerning it at the XXVIII of September: The feast of one's own Angel they keep indeed here. Canisius adopted this very thing in his German Martyrology, as was said yesterday in the Prætermissi. Several record that particular festival at the I of March, Molanus leading the way, whose words are these: The festival of the holy Angels who are guardians of individual men. Canisius, already praised, agrees on the same day. But Saussay in the Supplement at the same day has thus: The feast of the guardian Angel, brought over from the pious custom of the church of Toledo to the people of Rodez, by the authorship of the blessed (that is, of blessed memory) Francis de Stanno, bishop of Rodez, with the approval of the Apostolic See. Francis presided over the church of Rodez at the beginning of the sixteenth century.

[21] The same feast is more ancient in Spain, where Ferrari announced it at the same day in his General Catalogue in these words: At Toledo and elsewhere in Spain, the feast of the guardian Angel. He adds in his Annotations: From the registers of the church of Toledo and of others. John Tamayo in the Spanish Martyrology likewise at the I of March has thus: In Spain a famous festival of the holy guardian Angel continues in all the churches of the province, although from the records of some the day of the Office varies. He adds in his Annotations that that festival was celebrated on various days, as follows. For the church of Toledo, of Compostela, of León, of Oviedo, of Salamanca, of Córdoba, of Cuenca, of Segovia, of Sigüenza, of Pamplona, of Zamora, of Calahorra, of Astorga, of Cádiz, of Urci, of Guadix, of Mondoñedo and of the Canaries and of Granada, and their dioceses, and likewise the Military and Regular Orders, celebrate this feast on this day (the I of March). The church of Seville, of Plasencia, of Jaén, of Ávila, of Málaga, of Cartagena and the Order of Blessed Mary of Mercy on the I day of October. The church of Valencia and of Saragossa on the first Sunday after the Octave of the Apostles Peter and Paul. That of Tarragona on the first Sunday of May: that of Tortosa on the I day of August: that of Segorbe on the second Sunday of October: that of Tarazona on the XV day of July: that of Lérida on the VI day of September: that of Urgel on the third Sunday of July: that of Osma on the XIII day of the same: that of Badajoz on the II day of October. Thus far Tamayo, although I would not assert that this whole enumeration of days is altogether accurate.

[22] Among us in the Prætermissi at the X of March it was observed from Martín de Roa, at length fixed on the 2 day of October. that on that day the holy guardian Angel is honoured in the church of Córdoba. At the XV of July the same worship in the diocese of Tarazona was asserted for the third Sunday of that month. At the X of May this observation was given: That the feast of the guardian Angel was accustomed to be observed in Styria is handed down in the Annual Letters of our Society for the year MDCVI, page 484. It is now celebrated in the Church on the 2 of October. Previously, however, our predecessors had referred it to the I day of October, because before Clement X no other day was appointed than the next after the feast of St. Michael. Saussay at the 2 of October has thus: On this day is celebrated the feast of the guardian Angel by decree of Paul V, namely where that day was the next unimpeded one after the feast of St. Michael. For the 2 of October was fixed later by Clement X. But let us return to Saussay: Which solemnity, he says, being soon received at Paris, was instituted in the church of the holy confessors Lupus and Ægidius, by the authority of the Pontiff himself and by the permission of Henry, the Cardinal called de Retz, bishop of the city. Where every year this festival itself is performed with exceeding devotion, not only of the parishioners, but also of many other distinguished citizens, who seek the protections of Angelic guardianship. But long before, St. Louis, that he might fortify himself with Angelic patronage, had founded at Chartres in the chief church of the Mother of God a chapel in honour of the holy Angels. And at Clermont in Auvergne there exist most ancient altars, named after the guardian Angels, so that this devotion among the peoples of France may deservedly seem not recent, but old enough, and flowing from the fountains of most holy religion, which have streamed down from our forefathers to their posterity. Clement X at length in the year 1670 fixed the Office of the Guardian Angels for the whole Church on the 2 day of October. Hence today in the Roman Martyrology at the 2 of October these words are read: The feast of the holy guardian Angels. But let these things from the Martyrologies suffice for the present.

§ II. There are recounted the things which are found concerning St. Michael in the sacred Scriptures.

[ ] From the things related concerning St. Michael in Daniel, Although it is not my purpose to examine all the things which can probably be gathered concerning St. Michael from the sacred Letters, yet I shall gather here those which seem more certain, and are approved by the common opinion of the Fathers and theologians. In four places only is St. Michael recorded by express name in the Scriptures. Daniel in chap. 10 expresses the name of St. Michael twice, when he narrates the vision of the Angel speaking to him, who by most is believed to have been Gabriel. This vision I shall recite below at num. 35. To St. Michael belong the following words of the Angel: But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians. And below, at ℣ 20, still in the same vision, the Angel says: And now I will return, that I may fight against the prince of the Persians. When I went forth, there appeared the prince of the Greeks coming. But nevertheless I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth: and none is my helper in all these things but Michael your prince. Of another passage of Daniel there will be treatment below.

[24] he is understood to have been the protector of the Hebrew people. St. Jerome on Daniel chap. 10, where he explains the passage alleged, judges that by the princes of the Persians and of the Greeks are understood the Angels to whom those kingdoms had been entrusted by God, and to prove that opinion he alleges these words of Deuteronomy 32, ℣ 8: When the Most High divided the nations, and scattered the sons of Adam; he appointed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the Angels of God. But that passage is alleged according to the Septuagint interpreters, from whom the Vulgate Scripture dissents together with the Hebrew text, so that that proof is less effective, since in the Vulgate no mention is made of Angels. Nevertheless we shall see afterwards that the passage is rightly explained of the Angels who are protectors of the Persians and Greeks. As to what belongs here, those words, And behold Michael, one of the chief princes

came to help me, the aforesaid Jerome thus expounds: While the Angel of the Persians was resisting thy prayers and my embassy, who was offering thy prayers to God; there came to help me the angel Michael, who is set over the people of Israel. But by the chief princes we understand the Archangels. Again, upon those words, And none is my helper in all these things but Michael your prince, Jerome comments thus: I am, he says, that Angel who offer thy prayers to God: and there is no other who is my helper in entreating God for you, except Michael the archangel, to whom the people of the Jews has been entrusted. Therefore from the passage alleged St. Jerome gathered that St. Michael the archangel was the protector and president of the Hebrew people, and that is the obvious and common understanding of the passage. Hence Chrysostom in Homily 2 on the Praises of St. Paul says: To Michael was committed the nation of the Jews: and that is the common opinion both of Jews and of Christians, as Calmet asserts upon the passage alleged.

[25] The second passage in which the name of St. Michael is expressed is in the canonical Epistle of the apostle Jude, as his altercation with the devil concerning the body of Moses also implies. which has thus: When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he durst not bring against him a railing judgment; but said: The Lord command thee. St. Jerome alleges this text in his commentary on the Epistle to Titus, chap. 3, and subjoins these words: If therefore Michael durst not bring a railing judgment against the devil, and one certainly most worthy of a curse; how much more ought we to be pure from every curse. The devil deserved a curse: but through the mouth of an Archangel blasphemy ought not to have gone forth. Concerning the cause of the dispute of St. Michael the archangel with the devil nothing is read in sacred Scripture. But since in Genesis 50, ℣ 6, it is said concerning the sepulchre of Moses; And no man hath known his sepulchre until this present day; the interpreters probably conjecture that the devil wished the sepulchre of Moses to become known to the Israelites, or that his body should be buried in a place known to the Israelites, in order to furnish an occasion for idolatry, to which the Hebrew people was prone: but that Michael, out of care for the Hebrew people, carried the body away and hid and buried it in a place wholly unknown, lest the Israelites might pay it undue honour. For most judge it most probable that the body of Moses was buried by God through the ministry of Angels, as was said at the IV of September in St. Moses, §50, where the cause of this dispute also was treated. Therefore that dispute again shows the care which St. Michael the archangel bore for the Hebrew people.

[26] The third passage in which Michael is named is this, Apocalypse 12, ℣ 7: The battle of St. Michael with the dragon, And there was a great battle in heaven: Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels: and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were sent down with him. It is not agreed among the learned as to which battle of St. Michael is treated of in that place. It will be enough for me to transfer hither those things which Cornelius a Lapide wrote upon the passage alleged, explaining his own opinion. I say, he says, that there is here an historical allusion to the battle of Lucifer with his followers, waged with Michael and his adherents in heaven: for that is here most clearly touched upon. For then Lucifer with his followers, being cast down from heaven, was made from an angel a devil. But by this battle there is symbolically signified the war which Lucifer daily wages against the faithful in the Church, and against their tutelary Angels: but prophetically and genuinely according to the letter there is signified the battle which he himself will wage, most fierce and final, at the end of the world against the Saints. For this is properly here intended: for it is a continuous prophecy concerning the end of the world…

[27] Then therefore Michael with his Angels will fight against Lucifer and his demons, by aiding, strengthening and loving * the Christians who are braver and more constant, that they may with Elias and Henoch openly and nobly set themselves against Antichrist, with whom and for whom Lucifer will fight by blandishment, cunning, frauds, feigned miracles, hypocrisy, threats, torments, and the other arts and arms which he himself will suggest to Antichrist. Again, Michael will then fight by defending these his faithful ones in the judgment of God, especially after their death, against the accuser the devil… From this passage the doctors gather that St. Michael was and is the prince of all the Angels who persevered in the obedience of God, and consequently in heaven; just as Lucifer was prince of all those who fell. Wherefore St. Michael was of old the president of the synagogue of the Jews, as now he is president and prince of the Church of Christians. Thus far Cornelius in the same place.

[28] it seems to be referred to the same time The fourth passage which expressly sets forth the name of St. Michael is had in Daniel, chap. 12. At that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people: and a time shall come, such as never was from the time that nations began to be, even until that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book &c. Many things follow there, from which it is proved that the time of Antichrist is treated of, as St. Jerome expounded the passage, and most of the Fathers, Calmet confessing it upon this passage. Deservedly therefore the aforesaid Cornelius a Lapide on Daniel chap. 12 judges that John in the Apocalypse and Daniel in this place treat of the same battle of Michael against Lucifer and the apostate angels. Michael shall rise up, that is, he says, Michael shall rise up in battle against the king of the North, that is, against Antichrist, that he may protect the faithful and the Saints in such great persecutions against him and against Lucifer… Whence St. Thomas and others teach that in this battle Antichrist is to be slain by Michael. For so he explains that of 2 Thessalonians 2, ℣ 8: "Whom (Antichrist) the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth, that is, by his command." Because, he says, Michael is to slay him on the Mount of Olives, whence Christ ascended into heaven. Christ therefore will commit the execution of his sentence against Antichrist to Michael, who after Christ is the supreme judge and president of the divine justice.

[29] the victory of St. Michael foretold by Daniel; Then he refutes those who by Michael understand Christ. For it is certain, he says, that the Angel (who spoke the words alleged to Daniel) here understands the same Michael whom he understood in chap. 10, ℣ 13 and 21: but there he understood Michael the archangel: for he calls him the prince of the Jews. In like manner he names him here, saying: "Who standeth for the children of thy people," that is, who presides over and protects the Jews as the faithful, and the people of God and the sons of the patriarchs: and therefore he will take care that the Jews at the end of the world be converted to Christ and be saved. He refutes also those who refer everything to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, and by Michael understand Mattathias, which St. Jerome disapproved in Porphyry. But the following words stand in the way, says Cornelius: And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach. Which it is clear must be taken literally of the resurrection, not a moral one to the virtue and constancy of fathers and forefathers, … but a natural one unto life everlasting, as St. Jerome, Theodoret, and commonly both the ancients and the moderns take it. Assuredly none of the Machabees or of their followers then rose again unto life everlasting, so that the passage cannot be accommodated to their times, save by violence. Wherefore the opinion of the Fathers and of Cornelius and of very many others concerning Michael as about to fight for the Christians in the time of Antichrist seems to me far more probable than the opposite one, which refers the prophecy of Daniel to the times of Antiochus, and the battle recorded by John to the persecutions of the Roman emperors, or to the times of Diocletian.

[30] Yet those things can be true which Calmet infers from those passages otherwise expounded in his Biblical Dictionary at the word Michael, where from the passage of Daniel given he gathers these things: St. Michael therefore, being sent to bring succour to the (Jewish) people fainting under the weight of persecutions, although St. Michael brought help at other times also, sharpened the valour of the Machabees, struck down the impious Antiochus, and at length raised up the Jewish church oppressed by harsh persecutions. These things, I say, can be true as regards the perpetual protection by which St. Michael preserved the Jewish people; but nearly everything implies that things future in the time of Antichrist are there foretold. Likewise I would readily admit as true the things which he thus infers from the passage of the Apocalypse. From these words of Scripture men commonly gather that the archangel St. Michael was given as patron to the Christian Church, of whose care toward us he exhibited a specimen chiefly in the persecutions of the heathen against the faithful. For on that occasion he repressed the assaults of satan, and vindicated the Christian faith, crushing the boldness of the persecutors. But that some one of those persecutions was revealed to St. John, and called by him a great battle in heaven, I should not so readily say, since that battle seems to have been ended, or to be about to be ended, with a happier issue than any persecution has been ended.

[31] St. Gregory the Great in Homily 34 on the Gospels writes these things concerning St. Michael: as St. Gregory the Great also judged: For Michael (is interpreted) Who is like God… And as often as anything of wondrous power is done, Michael is said to be sent, so that from the very act and name it may be given to understand that none can do what God is able to do. Whence also that ancient enemy, who through pride desired to be like God, saying: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the North, I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High": when at the end of the world he shall be left in his own strength, to be destroyed by the last punishment, he is said to be about to fight with Michael the archangel, as is said through John (Apocalypse 12, ℣ 7): "There was a battle with Michael the archangel": that he who in pride had raised himself up to the likeness of God, being destroyed by Michael, may learn that none should rise up in pride to the likeness of God. I see that this passage in the index of the most recent edition of St. Gregory is referred to Lucifer. But since he is said to be about to be destroyed and to have been destroyed, Gregory is speaking of Antichrist, yet in such a way that he affirms Lucifer to be overcome in Antichrist. For in book 18 on Job, on chap. 18, ℣ 17, he says: For the head of the wicked is the devil. For he himself, entering in the last times into that vessel of perdition, will be called Antichrist, or as another reading has, because he will be called Antichrist. Therefore according to the mind of Gregory, by the death of Antichrist the devil also will be conquered. I shall not transfer hither more concerning St. Michael. If anyone many things probably to St. Michael

desires to see the things related, he will be able to consult the aforesaid Cornelius a Lapide on chap. 12 of Daniel.

*. read: animando.

§ III. The things related in the Scriptures concerning SS. Gabriel and Raphael the archangels.

[ ] Since the Church honours all the Angels together with St. Michael in the same festival, The famous vision which St. Gabriel, appearing I have judged that there should be gathered here also the things which are recorded concerning SS. Gabriel and Raphael in the sacred Scriptures. Our Henschen indeed treated at the XXVI of March of the worship of St. Gabriel, and likewise the worship of St. Raphael will be able to be set forth on that very day on which his principal festival is kept; yet in this place we shall give from the Scriptures those things which concerning all the Angels pertain to history, passing over the questions which look solely to theology. The prophet Daniel in chap. 8 relates a most famous vision, which St. Gabriel the archangel expounded to him, beginning thus: In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar a vision appeared to me. I Daniel, after what I had seen in the beginning, saw in my vision, when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the province of Elam: and I saw in the vision that I was over the gate Ulai. And I lifted up my eyes, and saw &c.

[33] expounds to the prophet Daniel; The vision being related, which may be read in the same place, at ℣ 15 Daniel continues thus: And it came to pass, when I Daniel saw the vision, and sought the meaning; behold there stood before me as it were the appearance of a Man. And I heard the voice of a Man between Ulai: and he cried, and said: Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. And he came, and stood near where I stood: and when he was come, I fell on my face trembling, and he said to me: Understand, O son of man, for in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled. And when he spoke to me, I fell flat on the ground: and he touched me, and set me upright; and he said to me: I will show thee what things are to come to pass in the end of the malediction, for the time hath its end. Then St. Gabriel expounds the vision to Daniel, as may be seen in the passage alleged. But that the vision was expounded by Gabriel, the passage itself manifestly has. Yet it is not added by whose voice he was bidden to expound the vision. St. Jerome writes the following concerning this on this passage. That Man who commanded Gabriel to make Daniel understand the vision, the Jews assert to be Michael. And consequently, because the vision was concerning battles and the contests of kings, or rather the successions of kingdoms, Gabriel, who is set over battles, is assigned to this office. For Gabriel is rendered into our tongue, Fortitude, or the strength of God. Whence also at that time, when the Lord was about to be born, and to proclaim war upon the demons, and to triumph over the world, Gabriel came to Zachary and to Mary.

[34] and again reveals to him the prophecy of the seventy weeks: Another apparition of Gabriel Daniel relates in chap. 9, made in the first year of Darius the Mede. Daniel first narrates that he prayed for his people, when the end of the seventy years was at hand, during which the Babylonian captivity was to last. Then at ℣ 20 he continues thus: And whilst I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins, and the sins of my people Israel, and presenting my supplications in the sight of my God, for the holy mountain of my God: as I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice. And he instructed me, and spoke to me, and said: O Daniel, I am now come forth to teach thee, and that thou mightest understand. From the beginning of thy prayers the word came forth: and I am come to show it to thee, because thou art a man of desires: therefore do thou mark the word, and understand the vision. Then he adds the most famous revelation concerning the seventy weeks. Yet another vision Daniel relates in chap. 10 and 11, and most interpreters judge that it was the same Gabriel who then appeared to Daniel. This, however, does not seem altogether certain, both because it is not said in the Scriptures, and because the Angel appeared in a far more august form.

[35] the same Gabriel, as is believed, appearing in a more august form, The vision, from ℣ 4, Daniel narrates thus: And in the four and twentieth day of the first month (and in the third year of Cyrus king of the Persians, ℣ 1) I was by the great river, which is the Tigris. And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw: and behold a man clothed in linen, and his loins were girded with the finest gold: and his body was like the chrysolite, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as a burning lamp: and his arms, and all downward even to the feet, like in appearance to glittering brass. Behold, I Daniel alone saw the vision: but the men that were with me saw it not, but an exceeding great terror fell upon them, and they fled away and hid themselves. And I being left alone saw this great vision: and there remained no strength in me, but my countenance also was changed in me, and I fainted away, and retained no strength. And I heard the voice of his words: and when I heard I lay in a consternation upon my face, and my countenance clave to the ground. And behold a hand touched me, and lifted me up upon my knees, and upon the joints of my hands. And he said to me: Daniel, thou man of desires, understand the words that I speak to thee, and stand upright: for I am now sent to thee. And when he had said this word to me, I stood trembling. And he said to me: Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, to afflict thyself in the sight of thy God, thy words have been heard: and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians.

[36] But I am come to teach thee what things shall befall thy people in the last days, he foretells to Daniel many things to come, even to the times of Antichrist. for as yet the vision is for days. And when he was speaking such words to me, I cast down my countenance to the ground, and held my peace. And behold as it were the likeness of a son of man touched my lips. And I opened my mouth and spoke: and I said to him that stood before me: O my lord, at the sight of thee my joints are loosed, and no strength hath remained in me. And how can the servant of my lord speak with my lord? For no strength remaineth in me, and my breath also is stopped. Therefore he that looked like a man touched me again, and strengthened me, and said: Fear not, O man of desires: peace be to thee: take courage and be strong. And when he spoke to me, I grew strong, and I said: Speak, O my lord, for thou hast strengthened me. And he said: Dost thou know wherefore I am come to thee? And now I will return, that I may fight against the prince of the Persians. When I went forth, there appeared the prince of the Greeks coming. But nevertheless I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth: and none is my helper in all these things but Michael your prince. And from the first year of Darius the Mede I stood that he might be comforted and strengthened. And now I will tell thee the truth &c. Presently he begins to foretell many things concerning the kings of the Persians and of the Greeks in chap. XI and 12, going on even to the last times of Antichrist, as may be read in the same place. But that it was Gabriel who revealed all those things to Daniel is, as I have said, the opinion of most interpreters, even though his name is not read expressed in that vision.

[37] Two apparitions of St. Gabriel St. Luke narrated in the Gospel, chap. 1. Again Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist In the first, to Zachary the priest, when he was ministering in the temple and putting on incense, he foretold that a son, John the Baptist, would be born to him. This is thus related from ℣ XI: And there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zachary seeing him was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the Angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard: and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John: and thou shalt have joy and gladness: and many shall rejoice in his nativity: for he shall be great before the Lord, and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb: and he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God: and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people. And Zachary said to the Angel: Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. And the Angel answering said to him: I am Gabriel, who stand before God: and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time. And the people were waiting for Zachary: and they wondered that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out he could not speak to them &c.

[38] and announced the nativity of Christ. Then the other apparition of Gabriel is set forth from ℣ 26 in this manner: And in the sixth month (after John the Baptist was conceived) the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the Virgin's name was Mary. And the Angel being come in unto her, said: Hail, full of grace: the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the Angel said to her: Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found grace with God: behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the Angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the Angel answering said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this

is the sixth month with her that is called barren: because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word. And the Angel departed from her. We do not find more apparitions in the Scriptures in which mention is made of St. Gabriel. From the passages cited we have it that the greatest things were announced by Gabriel.

[39] St. Raphael, to Tobias and Sara at their prayers, St. Raphael the archangel became known by a single apparition, but one exceedingly wonderful and long-continued, which we learn from the book of Tobias. Now St. Raphael was sent by God to restore two persons, eminent in piety and faith toward God, and pressed by many afflictions. The first was the elder Tobias, father of the younger Tobias, whose virtues and pious works are related in the first three chapters of the book, as also his captivity in Assyria, his blindness, and his other afflictions, and his prayer to God. The other was Sara, the daughter of Raguel, whose affliction on account of the seven husbands slain by the demon is set forth in chapter 3, as also her piety and her prayer. Then indeed at verse 24 these words follow: At that time the prayers of them both were heard in the sight of the glory of the most high God: and the holy angel of the Lord, Raphael, was sent to heal them both, whose prayers at one time were recited in the sight of the Lord. Hither I shall transfer all things pertaining to St. Raphael, passing over for brevity's sake those which do not regard the holy Archangel.

[40] Tobias, among the pious instructions related in chapter 4, said to his son at verse 21: [he offers himself, unknown, to the younger Tobias, who was seeking a guide for his journey,] my son, that I gave ten talents of silver, while thou wast yet a little child, to Gabelus in Rages, a city of the Medes: and I have his handwriting with me: and therefore inquire how thou mayest go to him, and receive of him the aforesaid weight of silver, and restore to him his handwriting. To this Tobias the son answered in chapter 5: But how shall I seek this money, I know not. He knoweth not me: and I know not him. What token shall I give him? Nor did I ever know the way by which one may go thither. Then his father answered him, and said… Go now, and seek thee out some faithful man, to go with thee for his hire… Then Tobias going forth, found a beautiful Young man, standing girded, and as it were ready to walk. And not knowing that he was an Angel of God, he saluted him, and said: From whence art thou, good Young man? But he answered: Of the children of Israel. And Tobias said to him: Knowest thou the way that leadeth to the country of the Medes? To whom he answered: I know it: and I have often walked through all its ways, and I have abode with Gabelus our brother, who dwelleth at Rages, a city of the Medes, which is situate in the mount of Ecbatana. To whom Tobias said: Stay for me, I beseech thee, till I tell these same things to my father. Then Tobias going in, told all these things to his father. Whereupon his father being in admiration, desired that he would come in unto him.

[41] Going in therefore he saluted him, and said: Joy be to thee always. and takes upon himself the care of leading him, on the journey, And Tobias said: What manner of joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness, and see not the light of heaven? To whom the Young man said: Be of good courage, thy cure from God is at hand. Tobias therefore said to him: Canst thou conduct my son to Gabelus at Rages, a city of the Medes? And when thou shalt return, I will pay thee thy hire. And the Angel said to him: I will conduct him thither, and bring him back to thee. To whom Tobias answered: I pray thee, tell me, of what family, or what tribe art thou? To whom Raphael the angel said: Dost thou seek the family of him thou hirest, or the hired servant himself, to go with thy son? But lest I should make thee uneasy, I am Azarias the son of the great Ananias. And Tobias answered: Thou art of a great family. But I pray thee be not angry that I desired to know thy family. And the Angel said to him: I will lead thy son safe, and bring him to thee again safe. And Tobias answering, said: May you have a good journey, and God be in your way, and his Angel accompany you. Then all things being made ready that were to be carried in their journey, Tobias bade farewell to his father and to his mother, and they set forward both together. And when they were departed, his mother began to weep, fearing for her son; among other things Tobias said to her by way of consolation: For I believe that the good Angel of God doth accompany him.

[42] Presently in chapter 6 the journey of Tobias with St. Raphael, and the things done on the way, are treated in this manner: he warns him to take the fish that assailed him; And Tobias went forward, … and lodged the first night by the river Tigris. And he went out to wash his feet, and behold a monstrous fish came out to devour him. And Tobias being afraid of him, cried out with a loud voice, saying: Sir, he cometh upon me. And the Angel said to him: Take him by the gill, and draw him to thee. And when he had done so, he drew him out upon the land, and he began to pant before his feet. Then the Angel said to him: Take out the entrails of this fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver for thee: for these are necessary for useful medicines. And when he had done so, he roasted the flesh thereof, and they took it with them on the way: the rest they salted, as much as might serve them, till they came to Rages the city of the Medes. Then Tobias asked the Angel and said to him: I beseech thee, Azarias my brother, to tell me what remedies these things have, which thou hast bid me keep of the fish? And the Angel answering, said to him: If thou put a little piece of its heart upon coals, the smoke thereof driveth away all kind of devils, either from man or from woman, so that they come no more to them. And the gall is good for anointing the eyes, in which there is a white speck, and they shall be cured.

[43] being first instructed concerning the pious contracting of marriage, And Tobias said to him: Where wilt thou that we lodge? And the Angel answering said: There is here one named Raguel, a near kinsman of thy tribe, and he hath a daughter named Sara, but he hath no son nor any other daughter beside her. All his substance is due to thee, and thou must take her to wife. Ask her therefore of her father, and he will give her thee to wife. Then Tobias answered, and said: I hear that she hath been given to seven husbands, and they all died: but I have heard this also, that a devil killed them. I fear therefore lest these things befall me also: and whereas I am the only child of my parents, I should bring down their old age with sorrow to the grave. Then the angel Raphael said to him: Hear me, and I will show thee who they are, over whom the devil can prevail. For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understanding: over them the devil hath power. But thou when thou shalt take her, go into the chamber, and for three days keep thyself continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to prayers with her. And on that night, the liver of the fish being burnt, the devil shall be driven away. But the second night thou shalt be admitted into the society of the holy Patriarchs. And the third night thou shalt obtain a blessing, that sound children may be born of you. And when the third night is past, thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather for love of children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou mayest obtain a blessing in children.

[44] he procures Sara as his wife. Then in chapter 7 it is set forth how Raphael came with Tobias to Raguel, and how lovingly they were received by him. But when Raguel said many good things of Tobias the father, at verse 5 the Angel said to Raguel: Tobias, concerning whom thou inquirest, is this young man's father. Again, when Tobias the son asked Sara of Raguel for his wife, and he durst not consent on account of the death of the former bridegrooms, and gave no answer to him that asked, the Angel said to him: Be not afraid to give her to this man, for to him who feareth God is thy daughter due to be his wife: therefore another could not have her. Immediately Raguel willingly consented, and gave his daughter Sara to Tobias to wife. And Tobias indeed, as is narrated in chapter 8, carefully followed the admonitions of St. Raphael. Then, as is said at verse 3, Raphael the angel took the devil, and bound him in the desert of Upper Egypt.

[45] At the request of Tobias, he receives the money for him from Gabelus, But when Raguel desired to detain Tobias with him for some time, he sent Raphael to receive the money, as is related in chapter 9 in this manner: Then Tobias called the Angel to him, whom indeed he took to be a man, and said to him: Azarias my brother, I beseech thee to hearken to my words. If I should give myself to be thy servant, I should not be worthy of thy providence. Nevertheless I beseech thee to take with thee beasts or servants, and to go to Gabelus at Rages the city of the Medes; and to restore to him his handwriting, and receive of him the money, and desire him to come to my wedding. For thou knowest thyself that my father numbereth the days: and if I stay one day more, his soul will be afflicted. And surely thou seest how Raguel hath adjured me, whose adjuration I cannot despise. Then Raphael took four of Raguel's servants, and two camels, and went to Rages the city of the Medes: and finding Gabelus, he restored to him his handwriting, and received of him all the money. And he told him concerning Tobias the son of Tobias all that had been done: and made him come with him to the wedding. And when he was come into the house of Raguel, he found Tobias sitting at table: and leaping up, they kissed each other, namely Gabelus and Tobias.

[46] Then in chapter 10 is related the solicitude of the elder Tobias and the departure of the younger, [and on his return he tells him in what manner his father shall recover his sight,] to whom at his going away Raguel said: May the holy Angel of the Lord be in your journey, and bring you through safe, etc. Then in chapter XI these things are read concerning the return: And as they were returning, they came to Charan, which is in the midway to Ninive, the eleventh day. And the Angel said: Brother Tobias, thou knowest how thou didst leave thy father. If it please thee therefore, let us go before, and let the family follow our steps at a slow pace, together with thy wife, and with the beasts. And as this was agreeable, that they should go, Raphael said to Tobias: Take with thee of the gall of the fish: for it will be necessary. So Tobias took some of that gall, and departed. Then it is related that the coming of Tobias was known from afar by his mother Anna,

and told to her husband, and it is added: And Raphael said to Tobias: As soon as thou shalt come into thy house, forthwith adore the Lord thy God: and giving thanks to him, go to thy father, and kiss him. And immediately anoint his eyes with this gall of the fish, which thou carriest with thee. For be assured that his eyes shall be presently opened, and thy father shall see the light of heaven, and shall rejoice in the sight of thee.

[47] There follows the most joyful and most dutiful coming of Tobias to his parents, as happens at his coming. To both the Tobiases, offering him an ample reward, and at verse 13: Then Tobias taking of the gall of the fish, anointed his father's eyes. And he stayed about half an hour: and a white skin began to come out of his eyes, like the membrane of an egg. And Tobias taking hold of it, drew it from his eyes, and immediately he recovered his sight. And they glorified God, etc.… And he (the younger Tobias) told his parents all the benefits of God, which he had done about him by the Man that had conducted him. After the arrival of Sara his wife, and of all the family, of the cattle and the money, and after the seven days of the wedding feast, in chapter 12 both the Tobiases began to think of a most ample reward to be given to Raphael: and calling him, that is to say the father and the son, they took him aside: and began to desire him that he would vouchsafe to accept of half of all things that they had brought. Then he said to them secretly: Bless the God of heaven, and give glory to him in the sight of all that live, because he hath shown his mercy to you. For it is good to hide the secret of a king: but honourable to reveal and confess the works of God. Prayer is good with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasures of gold; for alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting. But they that commit sin and iniquity, are enemies to their own soul.

[48] I discover therefore the truth unto you, and I will not hide the secret word from you. When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house, St. Raphael declares who he is, admonishing them to praise God. and bury them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord. And because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee. And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee, and to deliver Sara thy son's wife from the devil. For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord. And when they had heard these things, they were troubled, and being seized with fear they fell upon the ground on their face. And the Angel said to them: Peace be to you, fear not. For when I was with you, I was there by the will of God: bless ye him, and sing praises to him. I seemed indeed to eat and to drink with you: but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men. It is time therefore that I return to him that sent me: but bless ye God, and publish all his wonderful works. And when he had said these things, he was taken from their sight, and they could see him no more. Then they lying prostrate for three hours upon their face, blessed God: and rising up, they told all his wonderful works. Thus far concerning the wonderful apparition of Raphael. Some questions might here be proposed. But since the context is clear enough, and the wonderful goodness of God, and the most kindly care of the Angel in all things, is made known most plainly from the words themselves without any commentary, I shall add no more. The interpreters of sacred Scripture may be consulted, as well concerning these things as concerning the others that went before.

§ IV. The apparitions of Angels who are not named; and other things related of them in the Pentateuch.

[ ] Hagar is commanded by the Angel to return to her mistress: That the perpetual care of the Angels for the human race may shine forth the more, it is my pleasure to transfer hither also those apparitions of Angels which are related in the Scriptures without their names, and in that very order in which they are there read. When Hagar, the handmaid of Sara, had fled from her mistress because she was afflicted, Genesis 16, she was brought back to the house of Abraham and Sara by the excellent counsel of an Angel appearing to her. Hagar had conceived by Abraham, and therefore had begun to despise Sara. Sarai therefore afflicting her, as is said at verse 6, she ran away. And when the Angel of the Lord had found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, which is in the way to Sur in the desert, he said to her: Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, whence comest thou? and whither goest thou? And she answered: I flee from the face of Sarai my mistress. And the Angel of the Lord said to her: Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hand. And again: I will multiply, said he, thy seed exceedingly, and it shall not be numbered for multitude. And thereupon: Behold, said he, thou hast conceived, and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Ismael, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. He shall be a wild man: his hand will be against all men, and all men's hands against him: and he shall pitch his tents over against all his brethren. Thus far the Angel, whom Hagar obeyed, being also comforted after some years by another apparition of an Angel, as we shall see.

[50] Abraham receives three Angels as guests, Most celebrated is the apparition, Genesis 18, of the three Angels whom Abraham received as guests after the manner of men, because he believed them, at the beginning at least, to be men. Of that apparition, together with the following one in chapter 19, the Apostle speaks in Hebrews chapter 13, when, treating of the hospitality which he commends, he says: For by this some, being not aware of it, have entertained Angels; that is, not knowing it, they received Angels into their hospitality. The apparition is related in this manner. And the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) in the vale of Mambre, as he was sitting at the door of his tent in the very heat of the day. And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three Men, standing near him. And as soon as he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground. And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant: but I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree. And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken. Abraham therefore made haste with Sara, and prepared a feast for his Guests, as may be read in the same place.

[51] Then at verse 9: And when they had eaten, they said to him (the Angels to Abraham): Where is Sara thy wife? and from them he learns that a son shall be born to him, He answered: Lo, she is in the tent. And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara thy wife shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent… And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sara laugh, saying: Shall I who am an old woman bear a child indeed? Is there any thing hard to God? According to appointment I will return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son. Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh, for she was afraid. But the Lord said: Nay, but thou didst laugh. And when the Men rose up from thence, they turned their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on the way. And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do: seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed? For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.

[52] And the Lord said therefore: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and praying for the Sodomites, he is graciously heard. and their sin is become exceedingly grievous. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may know. And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord. And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein? … And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty. And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty. Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak. What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there. Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord: What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more. What if ten should be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place. Many things in this apparition are said and done after the manner of men, as that twice-repeated life accompanying, and that: I will go down and see, and some others besides. But one of the three Angels is frequently called the Lord, because, as the interpreters say, he was the chief judge, and represented the person of God.

[53] Lot receives two Angels, and is saved by them Of him no mention is made in the apparition of the other Angels at Sodom, which presently follows in chapter 19 in this manner: And the two Angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of the city. And seeing them, he rose up, and went to meet them: and worshipped prostrate to the ground, and said: I beseech you, my Lords, turn in to the house of your servant, and lodge there: wash your feet, and in the morning you shall go on your way. And they said: No, but we will abide in the street. He pressed them very much to turn in unto him: and when they were come into his house, he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Meanwhile the Sodomites, who supposed them to be young men, came up, that they might bring them forth out of the house of Lot; and when he withstood them, they made ready to use force: and now it was near that they should break open the doors. And behold the Men (that is, the Angels in human form) put out their hand, and drew in Lot unto them, and shut the door: and them that were without they struck with blindness from the least to the greatest, so that they could not find the door. And they said to Lot: Hast thou here any of thine, son in law, or sons, or daughters? All that are thine bring them out of this city: for we will destroy this place, because their cry is grown loud before the Lord,

who hath sent us to destroy them. So Lot went out, and spoke to his sons in law that were to have his daughters, and said: Arise, get you out of this place; because the Lord will destroy this city. And he seemed to them to speak as it were in jest.

[54] and he with his own is led out of Sodom, soon to perish. And when it was morning, the Angels pressed him, saying: Arise, take thy wife, and the two daughters which thou hast; lest thou also perish in the wickedness of the city. And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters, because the Lord spared him. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city: and there they spoke to him, saying: Save thy life: look not back, neither stay thou in all the country about: but save thyself in the mountain, lest thou also perish. And Lot said to them: I beseech thee my Lord, because thy servant hath found grace before thee, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown to me, in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil seize me, and I die: there is this city here at hand, to which I may flee, it is a little one, and I shall be saved in it: is it not a little one, and my soul shall live? And he said to him: Behold also in this, I have heard thy prayers, not to destroy the city for which thou hast spoken. Make haste, and be saved there; because I cannot do any thing till thou go in thither. Therefore the name of that city was called Segor. The sun was risen upon the earth, and Lot entered into Segor. And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, etc. The ruin of those cities follows in the same place with the rest, without further mention of the Angels.

[55] The boy Ismael saved by the voice of an Angel speaking to Hagar: Another apparition of an Angel by a voice is related in chapter 21. Hagar the handmaid, with her son Ismael whom she had borne to Abraham, had been cast out by Sara, or rather dismissed by Abraham himself on account of his wife's complaints, and reduced in the wilderness of Bersabee to the utmost straits. And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy under one of the trees that were there. And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way off, as far as a bow can carry. For she said: I will not see the boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy: and an Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, saying: What art thou doing, Hagar? fear not. For God hath heard the voice of the boy, from the place wherein he is. Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes. And she seeing a well of water, went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink. And he was with him, etc. Thus by the voice of an Angel was the boy Ismael rescued from imminent death.

[56] In like manner an Angel forbade that Isaac should be slain, as is related in chapter 22. the death of Isaac likewise hindered by the voice of an Angel. For when God would prove the faith and obedience of Abraham, and make it manifest to the world, he commanded him to offer up his son Isaac. Abraham obeyed, and led his son, and laid him upon the altar upon the pile of wood. And he put forth his hand, and took the sword, that he might sacrifice his son. And behold an Angel of the Lord from heaven called out, saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am. And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to him. Now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake. And a little after: And the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying: By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake; I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore: thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. It may be observed that Isaac is here twice called the only begotten of Abraham, even though he had also his son Ismael. But he was the only son by Sara, and, as the Apostle has it, Hebrews XI verse 17, he that had received the promises.

[57] Moreover, how great was Abraham's confidence concerning the help of the Angels, Abraham's confidence in the help of the Angels. is clear from what is related in chapter 24, where Abraham sends his servant into Mesopotamia to seek a wife for his son, and says to him among other things at verse 7: The Lord God of heaven… He will send his Angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son. These words the servant of Abraham related when he had come to Bathuel the father of Rebecca, when he sought Rebecca as a bride for Isaac. But I, said the servant at verse 39, answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me? The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his Angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father's house. So prosperously did Abraham's servant set out for Mesopotamia, so happily did he accomplish all things there, so easily did he obtain Rebecca for Isaac and bring her to Isaac, that Abraham's confidence concerning the protection of an Angel to be sent by God does not seem to have been vain.

[58] The protection of the Angels is again intimated in chapter 28 by the ladder, The protection of the Angels shown to Jacob by the ladder, which Jacob saw when he was setting out into Mesopotamia to his uncle Laban. The matter is thus narrated from verse XI: And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same place. And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the Angels also of God ascending and descending by it, and the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed, etc. Some believe that he also was an Angel of the higher order, who made to Jacob in the name of God the promises there more largely expressed. Thus many other things which are related in sacred Scripture to have been done by God, are with probability believed to have been done by the Angels his ministers in his name. But these I shall not relate, on account of the variety of opinions, being content to recount those which are clearly attributed to the Angels. Nor would I set forth all the mysteries of that ladder, but only observe briefly that by the Angels … ascending and descending is intimated the care which, at God's command, they undertake concerning men. Of this vision in the place thence called Bethel, mention will presently be made in another.

[59] and manifested in other ways, Again Jacob in chapter 31 was admonished by an Angel in his sleep, that he should return from Mesopotamia, where he had grown rich with Laban his uncle, to his own land. That admonition at verse 3 is attributed to the Lord in these words: Especially the Lord saying to him (that is, to Jacob): Return into the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee. But both concerning the cause of his riches, and concerning the command to return, Jacob at verse XI speaks thus to his wives, Rachel and Lia: And the Angel of God said to me in my sleep: Jacob. And I answered: Here I am. And he said: Lift up thy eyes, and see that all the males leaping upon the females, are of divers colours, spotted, and speckled. (The matter concerns the sheep and other cattle, of which Jacob received by agreement all that were of divers colours, and so was greatly enriched.) For I have seen all that Laban hath done to thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou didst anoint the stone, and make a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and go out of this land, returning into the land of thy nativity. He obeyed the Angel, or rather God, in whose name the Angel spoke, and departed secretly from Laban with his wives and servants and flocks. He experienced also the singular protection of God against Laban, who being angry pursued Jacob for seven days; but, God forbidding him, he did him no harm.

[60] chiefly by the Angels meeting him, and in the wrestling: Jacob feared not from Laban alone, but also from his brother Esau, who had likewise been made rich and powerful, and whose anger he had formerly fled. Against this fear therefore he seems to have been comforted by a twofold Angelic vision in chapter 32. The former is narrated in these words: Jacob also (after the departure of Laban) went on the journey he had begun: and the Angels of God met him. And when he saw them, he said: These are the camps of God, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, Camps. Yet this vision did not wipe away all fear, as is clear from the embassy which he is said presently to have sent to Esau. His fear increased when from the returning messengers he understood that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. And so by another vision, and that a very wonderful one, God vouchsafed to mitigate that fear, as is narrated from verse 24 in this manner: And having brought over all things (by the ford of Jaboc) that belonged to him, he (Jacob) remained alone: and behold a Man wrestled with him till morning. And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the sinew of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank. And he said to him: Let me go, for it is break of day. He answered: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said: What is thy name? He answered: Jacob. But he said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel: for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men? Jacob asked him: Tell me, by what name art thou called? He answered: Why dost thou ask my name? And he blessed him in the same place. And Jacob called the name of that place Phanuel, saying: I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved. And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he had passed Phanuel: but he halted on his foot.

[61] Many things might here be inquired into, but it is enough for me to have observed and this he attested at the end of his life. that by most it is believed to have been an Angel who wrestled with Jacob, and that this favour is said to have been shown him to take away, or at least to lessen, his fear. The prophet Osee, chapter 12, verses 4 and 5, looking to these things, says of Jacob: And in his strength he was directed by an Angel. And he prevailed over the Angel; and was strengthened: he wept and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel: and there he spoke with us. For the rest, that he had been delivered from many dangers by his Angel, Jacob attests when near to death

Genesis 48, verses 15 and 16, when he blessed his grandsons, the sons of Joseph, in these words: God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked; God that feedeth me from my youth until this day: the Angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless these boys: and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth. Concerning that passage, however, not a few doubt whether the word Angel is taken in the common signification, since to bless belongs rather to God than to an Angel. Certainly Jacob prays for God's blessing upon the boys, but perhaps he wished to join the Angel as God's minister, or to ask God that he would do good to the boys by the ministry of an Angel.

[62] Celebrated is the apparition which is narrated in Exodus 3, An Angel appears in God's name to Moses in the bush, where the Lord is said to have appeared to Moses in the bush. But St. Stephen records the same in Acts 7 verse 30 in these words: There appeared to him (Moses) in the desert of mount Sina an Angel in a flame of fire in a bush. And at verse 35: This Moses… God sent to be prince and redeemer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. The vision in Exodus 3 is thus related: And Moses fed the sheep, … and when he had driven the flock to the inner parts of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt. And Moses said: I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am. And he said: Come not nigh hither: put off the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And he said: I am the God of thy father, etc. Presently the sending of Moses to Pharao to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt is described at large, as may there be seen. But all things are transacted in the name of God, and therefore are omitted by me.

[63] Most celebrated is the favour of God shown to the Israelites in their departure out of Egypt and in the whole journey unto the promised land, He goes before the Israelites in a pillar of fire and of cloud, in which he sent before them an Angel as their leader. Of that favour the Scripture speaks thus in Exodus 13 verse 21: And the Lord went before them (the Israelites) to show the way, by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire, that he might be the guide of their journey at both times. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people. In Deuteronomy 1, verses 32 and 33, Moses says of these things to the people: And yet for all this you did not believe the Lord your God, who went before you in the way, and marked out the place wherein you should pitch your tents, in the night showing you the way by fire, and in the day by the pillar of a cloud. Likewise in Numbers 14 verse 14 God is said to have gone before in a pillar of a cloud … by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. I pass over other places in which mention is made of the same benefit of God. Yet one place I bring forward, from which it may be clear that God did this by an Angel. For when the Israelites had their camp at the Red Sea, and the Egyptians were pursuing them, Exodus 14, these things are narrated at verse 19: And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removing, went behind them; and together with him the pillar of the cloud, leaving the forepart, stood behind, between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and it was a dark cloud (to the Egyptians, that is,) and enlightening the night (to the Israelites,) so that they could not come at one another all the night.

[64] and does many things with Moses in God's name, Nay rather, that all those things also which are said to have been transacted between God and Moses were done by the ministry of Angels, but in the name of God, St. Augustine altogether believed and proved, as I have shown on the IV of September in St. Moses §9. Hence St. Stephen in Acts 7 attributes various things to the Angels which elsewhere are read as attributed to God, and rightly indeed: for the Angels performed those things both by the command and in the name of God. This he says at verse 38: This is he (Moses) that was in the church in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on mount Sina. And at verse 53: You who received the Law by the disposition of Angels. Hence also in Galatians 3 verse 19 the Law is said to have been ordained by Angels. Many things therefore were done by Angels at mount Sinai which are related in Exodus 19 and the following chapters, and thereafter in many places. But these, as done in the name of God, I shall wholly pass over. That it was Michael the archangel who led the Israelites in the name of God, and spoke to Moses, some believe. This I will neither affirm nor deny: yet I judge that to that Angel belongs the promise of God, which in Exodus 23 verse 20 is thus related among the things done at mount Sinai: Behold I will send my Angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned; for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him (that is, he shall act in my name.) But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak; I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee. And my Angel shall go before thee, and shall bring thee in unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, whom I will destroy.

[65] which are more probably to be attributed to an Angel properly so called. Those who expounded the cited passage of the Son of God have been rightly refuted by St. Augustine, as I have shown in Moses at the place assigned above. The opinion of those also who would have Josue designated by that Angel is sufficiently refuted from the Scripture itself. Certainly in Exodus 32 verse 33, when Moses prayed for the people who had sinned, after other things the Lord answered him: But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee: my Angel shall go before thee. Again in chapter 33 verse 2 the Lord says to Moses: Go, get thee up from this place, thou and thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, into the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: To thy seed will I give it: and I will send an Angel before thee, that I may cast out the Chanaanite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, the Hevite, and the Jebusite, and that thou mayest enter into a land flowing with milk and honey. All these things seem to be said of the same Angel whom God had before promised, and of an Angel properly so called; even as of an Angel are to be understood the words which Moses in Numbers 20, verses 14 and 16, said by his messengers to the king of Edom: Thou knowest all the labour that hath come upon us, … and how we cried to the Lord, and he heard us, and sent an Angel, who hath brought us out of Egypt.

[66] Of Balaam, who was called by the king of the Moabites to curse the Israelites, To Balaam, setting out to harm the Israelites, God at first forbidding him to go; but afterwards permitting it on this condition, that he should do nothing except at God's command, the matter is treated in Numbers 22. But concerning his journey these things are read at verse 21: Balaam rose in the morning, and saddling his ass, went with them (namely with the king's messengers.) And God was angry. And an Angel of the Lord stood in the way against Balaam, who sat on the ass, and had two servants with him. The ass seeing the Angel standing in the way, with a drawn sword, turned herself out of the way, and went into the field. And when Balaam beat her, and had a mind to bring her again to the way, the Angel stood in the narrow place between two walls, wherewith the vineyards were enclosed? And the ass seeing him, thrust herself close to the wall, and bruised the foot of the rider. But he beat her again: and nevertheless the Angel going on to a narrow place, where there was no way to turn aside either to the right hand or to the left, stood to meet him. And when the ass saw the Angel standing, she fell under the feet of the rider: who being angry, beat beat her sides more vehemently with a staff.

[67] And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she spoke: an Angel stands in the way to oppose him. What have I done to thee? why strikest thou me, lo, now this third time? Balaam answered: Because thou hast deserved it, and hast mocked me: I would that I had a sword, that I might kill thee. The ass said: Am not I thy beast, on which thou hast been always accustomed to ride until this present day? Tell me, if I ever did the like thing to thee. But he said: Never. Forthwith the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel standing in the way with a drawn sword, and he worshipped him falling flat on the ground. And the Angel said to him: Why beatest thou thy ass these three times? I am come to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse, and contrary to me; and unless the ass had turned out of the way, giving place to me who stood against thee, I had slain thee, and she should have lived. Balaam said: I have sinned, not knowing that thou didst stand against me: and now if it displease thee that I go, I will return. The Angel said: Go with these men, and take heed thou speak no other thing than what I shall command thee. Of Balaam and of his wonderful deeds I have said more in Moses §44. Here I only briefly observe that the Angel withstood the evil will of a man who, overcome by greed of gifts, seemed to seek and desire an occasion by which he might curse or harm the Israelites, as indeed he did harm them much by his most wicked counsel. Thus far concerning the Angels out of the Pentateuch of Moses.

§ V. Things related of the Angels in the books of Josue, Judges, Kings and Paralipomenon.

[ ] An Angel, appearing to Josue, instructs him, When after the death of Moses Josue had by divine command undertaken the government of the Hebrew people, to him also the help of the Angels was not wanting. Notable is the apparition related in Josue 5 and 6, in which an Angel taught Josue in what manner he should take Jericho, the first hostile city after the passage of the Jordan. For in Josue 5 verse 13 these things are read: And when Josue was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a Man standing over against him, holding a drawn sword, and he went to him, and said: Art thou one of ours, or of our adversaries? And he answered: No: but I am Prince of the host of the Lord, and now I am come. Josue fell on his face to the ground. And worshipping, said: What saith my Lord to his servant? Loose, saith he, thy shoes from off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Josue did as was commanded him. Now Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of the children of Israel, and no man durst go out or come in.

[69] in what manner the city of Jericho is to be taken: And the Lord said to Josue: Behold I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and all the valiant men. Go round about the city, all ye fighting men, once a day: so shall ye do for six days. And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee: and shall go before the ark of the covenant: and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets. And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand. Some would have it that it was the Son of God who here appeared to Josue. But it seems not to be doubted that it is that Angel whom God had promised to the Israelites in Exodus 23 verse 20, who was to act in the name of God. Hence the more common opinion after St. Augustine is that it was a true Angel, whom many think to be St. Michael. Jericho was taken in that manner in which the Angel had foretold it was to be stormed, as immediately follows.

[70] afterwards he reproves the Israelites for their disobedience. But when the Israelites had not sufficiently executed the commands of God in rooting out the inhabitants of the land promised to them, they were reproved by an Angel, in all likelihood the same, in Judges 2 in this manner: And an Angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to the Place of weepers, and said: I brought you out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land for which I swore to your fathers: and I promised that I would not make void my covenant with you for ever: on condition only that you should not make a league with the inhabitants of this land, but should throw down their altars: and you would not hear my voice. Why have you done this? Wherefore I would not destroy them from before your face, that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your ruin. And when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, they lifted up their voice, and wept. And the name of that place was called: The place of weepers, or of tears: and there they offered sacrifices to the Lord. Concerning the Angel here mentioned there are various opinions. Some would have it that he was the high Pontiff of the Hebrews, others preferred that he was a Prophet sent by God. Others more rightly, in my judgment at least, hold that he was a true Angel. I certainly have not found in the whole of sacred Scripture any place in which either a Priest, or a Pontiff, or a prophet is so called an Angel of the Lord that it in no way appears that he was a man. Still less does it suit any man whatsoever to say: I brought you out of Egypt, and For which I swore to your fathers, etc., which are said in the name of God, and suit the Angel who had brought the Israelites into the promised land.

[71] An Angel appearing to Gedeon exhorts him, Most celebrated is the apparition of an Angel which was presented to Gedeon, Judges 6, when the Israelites were oppressed by the Madianites. The matter is narrated from verse XI in this manner: And an Angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak, that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon his son was threshing and cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men. And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why have all these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us out of Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of Madian. And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee. He answered and said: I beseech thee, my Lord, wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man. And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me. And depart not hence, till I return to thee, bringing a sacrifice, and offering it to thee. The word sacrifice perhaps does not there signify a sacrifice properly so called, which is offered to God, but a small present, as from the things to be brought it becomes likely, unless Gedeon wished to offer a sacrifice through the Angel, whom he could believe to be a prophet. But perhaps Gedeon wished to prepare a dinner for the Angel, whom he believed to be a man; which, when brought, the Angel himself turned into a sacrifice. I return to the text.

[72] And he (the Angel) answered: I will wait for thy coming. to deliver the Israelites from the yoke of the Madianites. So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried all under the oak, and presented it to him. And the Angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so, the Angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the Angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight. And Gedeon seeing that it was the Angel of the Lord, said: Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not, thou shalt not die. And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it, The peace of the Lord, until this present day. The remaining commands are afterwards said to have been given to Gedeon by the Lord or by God, and are therefore omitted, even though all things could have been done by the ministry of an Angel. These may be read in the same place, as also Gedeon's very great victory over the Madianites, related in a manner plainly wonderful. This Angel also many think to have been St. Michael.

[73] The same St. Michael is again believed to have been the Angel in Judges 13, An Angel foretells to the parents of Samson that he shall be born, who appeared and foretold to the parents of Samson that a son should be born to them. The whole relation I transfer hither: Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, who had a wife that was barren. And an Angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said to her: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son: now therefore beware, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: because thou shalt conceive and bear a son, whose head no razor shall touch: for he shall be a nazarite of God from his infancy, and from his mother's womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. And when she was come to her husband, she said to him: A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an Angel, very terrible. And when I asked him whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me: but he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine nor strong drink, and that thou eat no unclean thing: for the child shall be a nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother's womb until the day of his death. Manue therefore prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, that the man of God, whom thou didst send, may come again, and teach us what we ought to do concerning the child that shall be born.

[74] teaches in what manner he is to be brought up, And the Lord heard the prayer of Manue, and the Angel of God appeared again to his wife, as she was sitting in the field. But Manue her husband was not with her. And when she had seen the Angel, she made haste, and ran to her husband, and told him, saying: Behold the Man hath appeared to me, whom I saw before. He rose up, and followed his wife: and coming to the Man, said to him: Art thou he that spoke to the woman? And he answered: I am. And Manue said to him: When thy word shall come to pass, what wilt thou that the child should do? or from what shall he keep himself? And the Angel of the Lord said to Manue: From all the things I have spoken of to thy wife, let her refrain herself: and let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine: let her not drink wine nor strong drink, let her eat nothing unclean: and whatsoever I have commanded her, let her fulfil and observe. And Manue said to the Angel of the Lord: I beseech thee to consent to my request, and let us dress a kid of the goats for thee. And the Angel answered him: If thou press me, I will not eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the Angel of the Lord. And he said to him: What is thy name, that, if thy word shall come to pass, we may honour thee? And he answered him: Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful?

[75] and offers in sacrifice the food brought by them. So Manue took a kid of the goats, and the libations, and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doth wonderful things: and he and his wife looked on. And when the flame from the altar went up to heaven, the Angel of the Lord ascended also in the flame. And when Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground, and the Angel of the Lord appeared to them no more. And forthwith Manue understood that it was an Angel of the Lord, and he said to his wife: We shall certainly die, because we have seen God. And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill us, he would not have received a holocaust and libations at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor have told us the things that are to come. So she bore a son, and called his name Samson, etc. The deeds of Samson against the Philistines are afterwards related at length. From the two latter visions of the Angel it is gathered that it was the persuasion of some that death was imminent upon them after an Angel had been seen. Yet in that opinion were not many others before mentioned, nor even the mother of Samson, as appears from her answer. The Angel's answer, when asked concerning his name, that it is wonderful, even though in Hebrew it might be taken for a proper name, is certainly not held for such in the Church, which acknowledges only three names of Angels.

[76] The great esteem of the Hebrews and of others concerning the Angels. From the passages hitherto alleged it abundantly appears that the Angels were most well known to the Hebrews, and held by them in great honour. To foreigners also neither the Angels seem to have been unknown, nor the goodness and holiness of the Angels. Certainly in 1 Kings 29 verse 9 Achis, king of Geth a city of the Philistines, says to David: I know that thou art good in my sight, as an Angel of God. By which comparison that Philistine king altogether intimates the greatest esteem of the perfection of the Angels. So the wise woman of Thecua, when in 2 Kings 14 she was seeking David's favour for Absalom, says to the King at verse 17: For as an Angel of God, so is my lord the king, that he is neither moved with blessing nor cursing. Again at verse 20: But thou, my lord the king, art wise, according to the wisdom of an Angel of God, to understand all things upon earth. In like manner Miphiboseth in 2 Kings 19 verse 27 to

win his good will, says to David: But thou, my lord the king, art as an Angel of God, do what pleaseth thee. Esther also said to Assuerus, chapter 15 verse 16: I saw thee, my lord, as an Angel of God. All these things intimate the holiness, justice, wisdom, and other perfections of the Angels, with which David, as excelling in virtues, is compared.

[77] Nevertheless holy David, although sometimes compared with the Angels, David punished by an Angel with pestilence, God commanding it, learned thereafter by experience how far the frailty of mortal men stands from the constant holiness of the Angels, and saw his own people, when he had sinned, chastised by the ministry of an Angel. We have the example in 2 Kings 24, where it is read that David offended in that he had commanded his people to be numbered. But being reproved by the prophet, he received the choice whether he would rather be chastised by famine, or by war, or by pestilence. David chose the pestilence, and immediately it was sent by God through an Angel, concerning whom at verse 16 these things are read: And when the Angel of the Lord had stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord had pity on the affliction, and said to the Angel that slew the people: It is enough; now hold thy hand. And the Angel of the Lord was by the threshingfloor of Areuna the Jebusite. And David said to the Lord, when he saw the Angel striking the people: It is I that have sinned, etc. The same is related somewhat more at large in 1 Paralipomenon 21, where in the very choice given to David the prophet sets before him the Angel of the Lord slaying in all the borders of Israel.

[78] And when David had chosen this before the others, concerning that plague these things are subjoined at verse 14: and being freed from that plague by his admonition, he builds an altar. So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. And he sent an Angel to Jerusalem, to strike it: and as he was striking it, the Lord beheld, and took pity for the greatness of the evil, and said to the Angel that destroyed: It is enough, now stop thy hand. And the Angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David lifting up his eyes, saw the Angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand, turned against Jerusalem: and both he and the ancients, clothed in haircloth, fell down flat on the ground. And David said to God, etc.… And the Angel of the Lord commanded Gad (the prophet) to tell David to go up, and build an altar to the Lord God in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And when David had done this, he (God) heard him by fire from heaven upon the altar of holocaust. And the Lord commanded the Angel, and he put up his sword again into the sheath.

This was the end of the pestilence. But how great was David's terror from the sight of the Angel is added at verse 30 in these words: And David could not go to the altar (in Gabaon,) there to pray to God: for he was seized with exceeding great fear, seeing the sword of the Angel of the Lord. But if that holy king once felt the hand of the striking Angel, as we have seen, six hundred times did he rejoice in their protection and help, as we shall afterwards see from the Psalms.

[79] When the prophet Elias had been seized with grievous fear on account of the threats of queen Jezabel, An Angel comforts the sorrowful Elias, he was refreshed by the protection of an Angel, 3 Kings 19, where at verse 4 these things are read: And when he was come, and sat under a juniper tree, he (Elias) requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord, take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers. And he cast himself down, and slept in the shadow of the juniper tree. And behold an Angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat. He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: he ate therefore and drank, and he fell asleep again. And the Angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go. And when he had risen, he ate and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto the mount of God, Horeb. Many other things follow concerning Elias, but there the Lord is said to have spoken to him.

[80] and admonishes him to foretell death to king Ochozias. But again an Angel spoke to Elias in 4 Kings 1, when Ochozias king of Israel had sent messengers to consult Beelzebub in the city of Accaron concerning his infirmity. For at verse 3 it is said: And an Angel of the Lord spoke to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Arise, and go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them: Is there not a God in Israel, that you go to consult Beelzebub the god of Accaron? Wherefore thus saith the Lord: From the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die. When these things had been reported to the king, he twice sent fifty men to fetch Elias. But they, speaking with authority, were consumed by fire sent from heaven. Yet the king sent a third time fifty men: but their leader, taught by the example of the others, chose rather to use humble prayers than authority. And (verse 15) the Angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, saying: Go down with him, fear not. Elias obeyed, and spoke constantly to the king, and foretold his death to him.

[81] An Angel in one night in the camp of king Sennacherib Famous is the history which is narrated in 4 Kings 19. Sennacherib king of the Assyrians had led a huge army against Ezechias king of the Jews, and had threatened many things both to the king and to the city of Jerusalem, with not a few blasphemies against God added, when in one night almost his whole army was destroyed. Of this it is briefly said at verse 35: And it came to pass that night, an Angel of the Lord came, and struck in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when he (Sennacherib) arose early in the morning, he saw all the bodies of the dead: and withdrawing, he departed. Of that event the prophet Isaias wrote, setting forth in chapters 36 and 37 the machinations of king Sennacherib, and the horrible blasphemies of himself and of Rabsaces, whom he had sent toward Jerusalem, and then in chapter 37 verse 36 these things concerning the slaughter of the Assyrians: And an Angel of the Lord went out, and struck in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And they arose in the morning: and behold they were all dead bodies. The cause of so great a slaughter is expressed in Tobias 1 verse 21 in these words: When king Sennacherib was come back, fleeing from Judea by reason of the slaughter that God had made about him for his blasphemy.

[82] slays a hundred and eighty-five thousand men, Again in Ecclesiasticus 48 verse 20 these things are read: In his days (Ezechias's) Sennacherib came up, and sent Rabsaces, and lifted up his hand against them, and stretched out his hand against Sion, and became proud through his power. Then their hearts and hands trembled… And they called upon the merciful Lord: … and the holy Lord God quickly heard their voice… He overthrew the camp of the Assyrians, and the Angel of the Lord destroyed them. Of that slaughter of the Assyrians the first book of Machabees also speaks, chapter 7 verse 41, in this manner: They that were sent by king Sennacherib, O Lord, because they blasphemed thee, an Angel went out and struck of them a hundred and eighty-five thousand: and more briefly the second book of Machabees, chapter 8 verse 19: And he (Judas Machabeus) admonished them also of the helps of God … and that under Sennacherib a hundred and eighty-five thousand perished. The same History is narrated in 2 Paralipomenon chapter 32, with all the things that had gone before between the kings Ezechias and Sennacherib, and at verse 20 these things are said: Then Ezechias the king and Isaias the prophet the son of Amos prayed against this blasphemy (of Sennacherib,) and cried out even to heaven. And the Lord sent an Angel, who struck every stout man and warrior, and the prince of the army of the king of the Assyrians: and he returned with disgrace into his own land.

[83] Concerning these things St. Jerome upon the alleged place of Isaias speaks thus: which seems to be understood of a good Angel. A hundred and eighty-five thousand of the bravest men are cut down by one Angel in one night, and without wounds of the slain a cruel death runs through, shutting out the souls from the bodies by the will of God. This exposition seems altogether agreeable to the places alleged. For that immense slaughter is so described in the book of Kings and by Isaias, that it seems to have been accomplished without a murmur, and to have become known to king Sennacherib only when he arose at daybreak or in the morning, and saw the bodies of the slain. Some would have it that it was St. Michael the archangel who brought so great a slaughter upon the Assyrians: this I will neither certainly affirm nor deny, since St. Michael was the protector of the Jews, and therefore on this occasion also could have defended them against the Assyrians, yet nowhere in the Scriptures is it expressed who the Angel is that did it. But certainly the opinion of those does not please me who say that it was an evil Angel both here and in the pestilence related, by which king David was chastised: nor the conjecture of those who attribute the slaughter of the Assyrians either to storms or to mutual slaughters, since sacred Letters are silent concerning all these things.

§ VI. Things related of the Angels in the remaining books of the Old Testament.

[ ] The protection of the Angels indicated by Judith, I shall not repeat those things which have already been recited out of the following books of sacred Scripture concerning the deeds before narrated. Yet I briefly observe that in the book of Tobias much confidence of the Hebrews concerning the guardianship of the Angels is intimated, as may be seen in §3 in the deeds of St. Raphael. Judith had the same trust in the protection of the Angels, since, being snatched from the greatest dangers, when she had returned from the slaying of Holofernes, she spoke thus in chapter 13 verse 20: As the Lord liveth, his Angel hath been my keeper both going hence, and abiding there, and returning from thence hither: and the Lord hath not suffered me his handmaid to be defiled, but hath brought me back to you without pollution of sin, rejoicing for his victory, for my escape, and for your deliverance.

[85] In the book of Job mention is likewise made from time to time concerning the Angels. First the excellence of the Angels above men is intimated in chapter 4 verse 18 in these words: by Job, Behold they that serve him (God) are not steadfast, and in his Angels he found wickedness. How much more shall they that dwell in houses of clay, (that is, men,) who have an earthly foundation, be consumed as with the moth? Such is the reasoning: If a part of the Angels, who are of a more excellent nature, has nevertheless fallen into sin; how much more shall men not be free from sin? The patronage of the Angels for men with God is signified in chapter 33 verse 23 in this manner: If there shall be an Angel speaking for him, one among thousands, to declare man's uprightness: he (God) shall have mercy on him, and shall say: Deliver him, that he may not go down to corruption: I have found wherein I may be merciful to him. But St. Gregory by

Angel here understands Christ: others however an Angel properly so called, others also understand the place otherwise.

[86] in the Psalms, and by Eliseus: In the Psalms the Angels are more frequently mentioned; but I shall select a few only. The protection of the Angels granted by God to men is clearly affirmed in Psalm 33 verse 8: The Angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them. That such protection of the Angels was given to the prophet Eliseus in 4 Kings 6, the interpreters everywhere acknowledge, and deservedly, although the name of Angels is not there expressed. Eliseus was in the city of Dothan, when the king of Syria, that he might seize him, suddenly sent an army, by which the city was surrounded by night. And the servant of the man of God (Eliseus) rising at daybreak (as is read at verse 15) went out, and saw an army round about the city, and horses and chariots: and he told him, saying: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, what shall we do? But he answered: Fear not. For there are more with us than with them. And when he had prayed, Eliseus said: Lord, open the eyes of this man, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw: and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, round about Eliseus. I shall not add in what manner Eliseus delivered the army of the Syrians, stricken with blindness, into the city of Samaria and into the hands of the king, which may there be read. It will be enough to have observed that there befell Eliseus that very thing which the Psalmist affirms concerning all that fear God.

[87] other things in the Psalms concerning the excellence of the Angels. The guardianship of the Angels is asserted in plain words in Psalm 90 verse 10, where these things are read: There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling. For (God) hath given his Angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. To the praising of God the Angels are from time to time invited in the Psalms. One place I recite, because in it there is intimated at once both strength and obedience in executing the commands of God. In Psalm 102 verse 20 they are thus invited: Bless the Lord, all ye his Angels, you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; you ministers of his that do his will. In Psalm 103 verse 4 the prophet says to God: Who makest thy Angels spirits; and thy ministers a burning fire. This place the Apostle alleges in Hebrews 1 verse 7, to prove that the Angels are far inferior to the Son of God or Christ. And on that occasion he says of the Angels in the same place at verse 14: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation? Lastly in Psalm 8 verse 5 the Angels are said to be superior to man by nature in these words: Thou hast made him a little less than the Angels. For although the Apostle in Hebrews 2 refers the place to Christ, whom he proves far superior to the Angels, yet at the same time it is intimated that human nature is inferior to the Angelic.

[88] The three Hebrews saved by an Angel in the burning furnace, Ecclesiastes chapter [ ] verse 5 says: Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: neither say thou before the Angel: There is no providence. St. Jerome upon this place judges that this Angel is the guardian, who attends each one as a companion. And although he there speaks according to the opinion of his Hebrew teacher, yet we shall see that the same opinion concerning the guardian Angel is Jerome's own. The Epistle of the prophet Jeremias, which is written in Baruch chapter 6 to those that were being led away captive into Babylonia, thus speaks in the name of God at verse 6: For my Angel is with you: by which words there seems to be indicated the guardian Angel of the nation of the Jews, whom most interpreters judge to be St. Michael. The same St. Michael is by some believed to be he of whom it is read in Daniel 3 verse 49, when the three companions of Daniel were being cast by the command of Nabuchodonosor into the burning furnace: But the Angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his companions into the furnace, and drove the flame of the fire out of the furnace, and made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind bringing dew: and the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them, nor did them any harm. Nabuchodonosor himself acknowledged the benefit bestowed on them by God through an Angel, and said at verse 95: Blessed be the God of them, to wit, of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who hath sent his Angel, and delivered his servants that believed in him.

[89] By the same Michael again some would have Daniel to have been saved, [likewise Daniel twice in the den of lions, to whom also a dinner was brought by the help of an Angel.] when in Daniel 6 he had been cast by king Darius into the den of lions. Certainly Daniel was preserved unhurt among the lions, and that this benefit was bestowed on him by God through an Angel he himself attests at verse 22, thus addressing the king: My God hath sent his Angel, and hath shut up the mouths of the lions, and they have not hurt me, forasmuch as before him justice hath been found in me, etc. The two latter benefits of the Angels are also briefly mentioned in 1 Machabees 2 verse 60. When Daniel had been cast a second time into the den of lions, Daniel 14, and was there six days, so that he was in no less peril from hunger than from the lions, God not only protected him against the lions, but in a wonderful manner also sent him food, as is narrated at verse 32 in these words: Now there was in Judea a prophet called Habacuc, and he had boiled pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl: and was going into the field, to carry it to the reapers. And the Angel of the Lord said to Habacuc: Carry the dinner which thou hast into Babylon to Daniel, who is in the lions' den. And Habacuc said: Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the den. And the Angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon over the den in the force of his spirit. And Habacuc cried, saying: O Daniel thou servant of God, take the dinner that God hath sent thee. And Daniel said: Thou hast remembered me, O God: and thou hast not forsaken them that love thee. And Daniel arose and ate. And the Angel of the Lord presently set Habacuc again in his own place. Here also some judge it to have been St. Michael. But the reason which is taken from this, that he was the president of the Hebrew nation, becomes more likely in benefits bestowed upon the whole people.

[90] The prophet Zacharias, who frequently makes mention of the Angels, A vision of many Angels presented to Zacharias, has thus in chapter 1 verse 7: Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month which is called Sabath, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying: I saw by night, and behold a Man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, that were in the bottom: and behind him were horses, red, speckled, and white. And I said: What are these, my Lord? And the Angel that spoke in me said to me: I will show thee what these are. And the Man that stood among the myrtle trees answered, and said: These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk through the earth. And they answered the Angel of the Lord, that stood among the myrtle trees, and said: We have walked through the earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest. And the Angel of the Lord answered, and said: O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Juda, with which thou hast been angry? This is now the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the Angel that spoke in me, good words, comfortable words. And the Angel that spoke in me said to me: Cry thou, saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts, etc. The same Angel explains another vision to the prophet at verse 19; and again another at verse 21. But upon the words given it may be observed that the chief Angel, who is everywhere believed to be St. Michael, is first called a Man, then the Angel of the Lord; and that he prayed for the Jews placed in captivity, so that the intercession of the Angels for men with God is made manifest from the alleged place.

[91] [and these expounded concerning St. Michael and the Angels who preside over provinces:] St. Jerome excellently explains the place, both historically and morally. Wherefore out of his historical interpretation I shall here recite those things which regard the Angels, the rest omitted. First he observes that the Man or Angel who was riding upon the red horse, and … stood among the myrtle trees, is believed by the Hebrews to be St. Michael the archangel. Then concerning the whole vision he speaks thus: When therefore the prophet saw a Man riding upon a red horse, and behind him horses red, speckled, and white; and knew not what he had seen, and desired to know the reason of his vision, and said: "What are these, my Lord?" the Angel that spoke in him promises that he will tell: and while he keeps silence, the Man who stood among the myrtle trees relates… Finally the Angels who presided over kingdoms and nations come not to another, but to that same Man and Angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtle trees, and say: "We have walked through the earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited and is at rest." And the sense is: All the kingdoms under us are safe and at peace, nor are they pressed by any distress. From which answer the Angel who was interceding for Israel takes occasion of praying for the people: and says to the Lord: Since the whole world is quiet and at peace, why, O Lord, dost thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Juda; especially since according to thy promises the time of the captivity is fulfilled? And the Lord answered the Angel that spoke in the prophet, good words, comfortable words concerning the necessity of the present. These things according to the letter, lest we should seem to hide from our own those things which we have learned from the masters of a foreign tongue. Then he subjoins the mystical exposition.

[92] more mysteries indicated to the same Zacharias by Angels. Zacharias in chapter 2 narrates another vision of Angels in these words: And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: and behold a Man, and in his hand a measuring line. And I said: Whither goest thou? And he said to me: To measure Jerusalem, and to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great the length thereof. And behold the Angel that spoke in me went forth, and another Angel went out to meet him. And he said to him: Run, speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, etc. St. Jerome observes that the happy prophecy concerning the breadth of Jerusalem, which was a type of the Church, was in some measure fulfilled in the building of the city, but more in the Church. But concerning the Angels he says that the one is believed by the Hebrews to be Michael, the other Gabriel; and to Christ he seems to refer the Man who was measuring Jerusalem. So by the interpreters the Angel who in chapter 3 is read to have stood for Jesus the priest, is everywhere believed to be St. Michael. For me it will be enough for our purpose to have observed that the prophet Zacharias many things by Angels

was taught, as the studious reader will find also in chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6. For the greatest mysteries, and many things regarding Christ and the Church, are there related, which I shall not transfer hither on account of the variety of interpretations.

[93] In the time of the Machabees the temple of Jerusalem The confidence of the Hebrews concerning the guardianship and help of the Angels flourished also in the time of the Machabees. Celebrated is the example of that protection which is read in 2 Machabees chapter 3. Heliodorus was sent by the king to carry off the treasures from the temple of Jerusalem. Onias the high priest had vainly endeavoured to oppose him, and to persuade Heliodorus to desist. But Heliodorus (as is read at verse 23) was executing what he had decreed, being himself present with his guards about the treasury. But the Spirit of the almighty God gave a great evidence of his presence, so that all that had presumed to obey him, falling down by the power of God, were struck with fainting and dread. For there appeared to them a horse with a terrible rider upon him, adorned with a very rich covering: and he ran fiercely and struck Heliodorus with his forefeet. And he that sat upon him seemed to have armour of gold. There appeared also two other young men, beautiful and strong, bright and glorious, and in comely apparel: who stood by him, on either side, and scourged him without ceasing with many stripes. And Heliodorus suddenly fell to the ground, and they took him up covered with great darkness, and having put him into a litter they carried him out. So he that came with many servants and guards into the aforesaid treasury, was carried out, no one being able to help him, the manifest power of God being known: and he indeed by the power of God lay speechless, and deprived of all hope and safety.

[94] But these blessed the Lord, because he magnified his place: defended against Heliodorus by Angels: and the temple, that a little before was full of fear and trouble, was filled with joy and gladness, the almighty Lord appearing. Then indeed some of the friends of Heliodorus forthwith begged Onias that he would call upon the Most High, to grant him his life who was ready to give up the ghost. So the high priest, considering that the king might perhaps suspect that some mischief had been done to Heliodorus by the Jews, offered a saving sacrifice for the health of the man. And when the high priest was praying, the same young men, clothed in the same garments, stood by Heliodorus and said: Give thanks to Onias the priest: because for his sake the Lord hath granted thee life. And thou having been scourged by God, declare unto all men the great works and the power of God. Of these things, as follows, Heliodorus himself showed himself a witness to all. And that God used the ministry of Angels in these things the interpreters acknowledge.

[95] When Judas Machabeus with his men was about to set out against the numerous army of the general Lysias, 2 Machabees XI, by their help, victory over the generals Lysias, Timothy, he prayed to God, as is there read at verse 6: Now when Machabeus and they that were with him understood that the strongholds were besieged, they and all the people besought the Lord with lamentations and tears, that he would send a good Angel to save Israel. Then Machabeus himself first taking his arms, exhorted the rest to undergo the danger together with him, and to bear aid to their brethren. And when they were going forth together with a willing mind, there appeared at Jerusalem a horseman going before them in white clothing, with golden armour, shaking a spear. Then they all together blessed the merciful Lord, and took courage; being ready to break through not only men, but also the fiercest beasts, and walls of iron. So they went on courageously, having a Helper from heaven, and the Lord who showed mercy to them. And rushing violently upon the enemy like lions, they slew of them eleven thousand footmen, and sixteen hundred horsemen: and put all the rest to flight, etc. A like favour had befallen Judas Machabeus before against the general Timothy, as is narrated in chapter 10, where in like manner with humble prayers he implored the divine help, and then advanced against the enemy: But when the battle was hot, there appeared to the enemies from heaven five Men upon horses, comely, with golden bridles, conducting the Jews: two of whom took Machabeus between them, and covered him on every side with their arms, and kept him safe: but cast darts and fireballs against the enemy, so that they fell down, being both confounded with blindness, and filled with trouble. And there were slain twenty thousand five hundred, and six hundred horsemen, etc.

[96] and Nicanor, related by the Machabees. Mindful of these benefits of God through the Angels was Judas, when he was about to fight against the blasphemous Nicanor, threatening the Jews with a huge army, book 2 chapter 15, where at verse 7 it is said: But Machabeus ever trusted with all hope that God would help them: and he exhorted his men not to fear the coming of the nations, but to remember the help they had before received from heaven, and now to hope for victory from the Almighty. Then before the battle he is read to have thus prayed to God at verse 22: Thou, O Lord, who didst send thy Angel in the time of Ezechias king of Juda, and didst kill a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the army of Sennacherib; send now also, O Lord of heaven, thy good Angel before us, for the fear and dread of the greatness of thy arm, that they may be afraid, who come with blasphemy against thy holy people. And Nicanor, and they that were with him, came forward with trumpets and songs. But Judas, and they that were with him, calling upon God by prayers, joined battle, fighting indeed with their hands, but praying to the Lord with their hearts, and they slew no less than thirty-five thousand, being greatly cheered with the presence of God. And when they had ceased, and were returning with joy, they understood that Nicanor was slain with his armour. And so a shout being raised, and a tumult stirred up, they blessed the almighty Lord in their own language, etc. Thus far out of the Scriptures of the old Testament.

§ VII. The principal things concerning the Angels out of the sacred Scriptures of the new Testament.

[ ] Joseph's doubt concerning Mary with child taken away by an Angel: Of the Angels the sacred Scriptures of the New Testament make mention most frequently. It would be tedious to recite all, yet I shall give the principal things out of the Gospels and the other books, keeping rather the order of time than of the Gospels and of the remaining books. The twofold embassy of the archangel Gabriel, the first to Zacharias concerning John the Baptist who was to be born, the other to Mary concerning Christ, has already been given in §3. A third embassy of an Angel was sent to St. Joseph, when he was anxiously in doubt because he had understood St. Mary to be with child. This Matthew in chapter 1 thus narrates from verse 18: When his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost. Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins… And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his Wife.

[98] the shepherds taught by Angels concerning the birth of Christ: The vision of Angels presented to the shepherds, when Christ was born, is thus related in Luke 2 verse 8. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock. And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the Angel said to them: Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: for this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you: you shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. And it came to pass, after the Angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, etc.

[99] Again St. Joseph was admonished by an Angel, when Herod wished to kill the child Jesus, Joseph commanded by an Angel to flee into Egypt and afterwards to return. as Matthew has it in chapter 2 verse 13 in this manner: And after they (the magi) were departed, behold an Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the Child and his Mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to destroy him. Who arose, and took the Child and his Mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod. Then concerning the other apparition at verse 19: But when Herod was dead, behold an Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Arise, and take the Child and his Mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the life of the Child. St. Joseph obeyed again, as follows.

[100] Afterwards the Angels are mentioned in the Gospel, when Jesus was tempted in the desert, Matthew 4. The Angels ministered to Christ: The devil dared among the temptations of Jesus to object the protection of the Angels prepared for the just, in these words at verse 6: For he hath given his Angels charge over thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone, whereby he might persuade him to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. The Lord did not deny the truth of the words, but taught by those words, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, that the devil abuses sacred words to persuade to evil. But when the Lord had commanded the tempter to depart, Matthew subjoins at verse XI: Then the devil left him: and behold Angels came and ministered to him, etc. Mark 1 verse 13: And the Angels ministered to him. Namely after the fast of forty days, and after the temptation. When the Lord was beginning to call his disciples, in John 1 verse 51 he says to Nathanael, who wondered that Jesus had shown that something hidden was known to him: Greater things than these shalt thou see. And he saith: Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Ministries of great moment to be performed for him by the Angels the Lord intimated in those words. Yet it is not sufficiently agreed among the learned what those are of which he there chiefly spoke.

[101] The benefit which God bestowed upon the Jews through an Angel, An Angel moved the water of the pool, by which he that entered first was healed: John narrates in chapter 5, beginning thus: Now there is at Jerusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered, waiting for the moving of the water. And an Angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond, and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. Many things

interpreters dispute about that pool, which matters I pass over.

Nor shall I inquire whether it was St. Michael who stirred the water of that pool, as someone has maintained, or Raphael, who is called the medicine of God, as others hold. For Scripture says only that this was done by an Angel, and let that suffice for us.

[102] the Angels will be present with Christ at the judgment, In Matthew 13 the Lord taught a number of things about what is to be done by the Angels at the end of the world. For when he had set forth the parable of the wheat among which tares had been sown, he answered those who wished to gather and root out the tares, at v. 30: Let both grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn, but gather the wheat into my barn. This the Lord then expounded from v. 39: But the tares are the children of the wicked one… And the harvest is the consummation of the world. But the reapers are the Angels. Even therefore as the tares are gathered up and burnt with fire, so shall it be at the consummation of the world. The Son of man shall send his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity: and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire. After another parable, that of the net, which tends to the same conclusion, the Lord again added this exposition at v. 49: So shall it be at the consummation of the world: the Angels shall go out and shall separate the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. So too in Matthew 16 v. 27 he says that the Angels will be present with him at the judgment, in these words: For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.

[103] and will gather those to be judged: To the time of the judgment likewise, and to the presence of the Angels, belongs what Christ says in Mark 8 v. 38: For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, … the Son of man also will be ashamed of him, when he shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels. Likewise Luke 9 v. 26: For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words; of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the holy Angels. Likewise chapter 12 v. 8: Every one whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the Angels of God: but he that shall deny me before men, shall be denied before the Angels of God. The same is intimated in Apocalypse 3 v. 5. In Matthew 25 v. 31 Christ again speaks thus: And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty, and all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. This separation seems, in the parable of the wheat and tares above, and in the other of the net, to be attributed to the Angels, so that the Lord appears about to make the separation by the ministry of the Angels. Certainly the Angels will gather all men, as is said in Matthew 24 v. 31 in these words: And he shall send his Angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the highest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them. And Mark 13 v. 27: And then shall he send his Angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Of these things the Apostle also says in 1 Thessalonians 4 v. 15: Because the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an Archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first, etc. Of the resurrection of the dead at that trumpet 1 Corinthians 15 v. 52 also speaks. Concerning these offices of the Angels at the time of the judgment, which I have here reviewed in the order in which they were made known by Christ, the theologians and some interpreters will supply more.

[104] the good will of the Angels, their beatitude: The Lord declared the good will of the Angels toward living men in Luke 15 v. 10 in these words: So I say to you, there shall be joy before the Angels of God (namely in heaven, as we read at v. 7) upon one sinner doing penance. The same passage indicates that the Angels are in heaven; which is made manifest from many other passages. That they are there blessed with the vision of God, Christ intimates in Matthew 18 v. 10: See, he says, that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their Angels in heaven always see the face of my Father, who is in heaven. What we have from this passage in favour of guardian Angels will be given separately later. Concerning the blessed and settled state of the Angels in heaven Christ also intimates something in Luke 20 v. 35 and 36, where he affirms that the Blessed after the resurrection will in some respects be equal to the Angels, in this manner: They shall neither be married, nor take wives: neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the Angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Yet the Angels do not cease to have care of men, and even of the souls of those who have died piously, as is gathered from the words of Christ in Luke 27 v. 22 concerning Lazarus the beggar: And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom.

[105] Interpreters believe that the Angels also served Christ everywhere in the miracles Christ also made use of their ministry. which he wrought. When before his passion the Lord deigned to be seized with immense sadness and grief in the garden, and in that sadness prayed, he did not disdain, as Luke witnesses in chapter 22 v. 43, to have an Angel for his comforter. And there appeared to him an Angel from heaven, strengthening him. Moreover, if, as man, he had desired the help of the Angels, he could have had it against his Jewish persecutors, as he intimates to St. Peter, when the latter had cut off with the sword the ear of the servant of the high priest, speaking thus in Matthew 26 v. 52: Put up again thy sword into its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of Angels? How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled? etc.

[106] After the resurrection of Christ there were various apparitions of Angels. Various apparitions after the resurrection of Christ In Matthew 28 v. 2 we read this of the first: And behold there was a great earthquake. For an Angel of the Lord descended from heaven: and coming (to the sepulchre of Christ, where he had risen) rolled back the stone (of the tomb) and sat upon it: and his countenance was as lightning: and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. When these things had been done, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary drew near, who are said at v. 1 to have come to see the sepulchre. How the Angel dealt with them follows at v. 5 in this manner: And the Angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified: he is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid. And going quickly, tell ye his disciples that he is risen: and behold he will go before you into Galilee. And they went out quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell his disciples. Of these things Mark in chapter 16, where Salome is added, has this at v. 5: And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe, and they were astonished. Who saith to them: Be not affrighted: you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he is risen, he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there you shall see him, as he told you. But they going out, fled from the sepulchre: for a trembling and fear had seized them.

[107] Luke in chapter 24 seems at first sight to relate another vision of Angels, though I would not venture to affirm it, apparitions of the Angels, since interpreters believe it to be the same, and endeavour to reconcile everything. And on the first day of the week, he says of the aforesaid women, very early in the morning they came to the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared: and they found the stone rolled back from the sepulchre. And going in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were astonished in mind at this, behold two Men stood by them in shining apparel. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their countenance towards the ground, they said unto them: Why seek you the living with the dead? he is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you, when he was yet in Galilee, saying: that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words. And going back from the sepulchre, they told all these things, etc. John in chapter 20 speaks thus of Magdalene's first approach to the sepulchre: And on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene cometh early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre: and she saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre. She ran therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, etc. Here no mention is made of any vision of an Angel or of Angels, and moreover Magdalene believed that the body of the Lord had been taken away.

[108] in which the Evangelists can easily be reconciled: Nevertheless the interpreters judge that all the Evangelists are speaking of the same approach of the women, and that the diversity of the account arises solely from this, that each of them omitted something. All things certainly can be reconciled, but the interpreters, as happens, have gone off into various opinions. It is not my purpose to discuss these matters at length. As concerns the Angels, however, everything seems to me easily reconciled, provided we say that one Angel appeared to the women at the beginning, and in a very kindly manner spoke those things which Matthew and Mark report; but that after the women had inspected the place of the sepulchre where the Lord had been laid, two Angels were seen by them, who addressed them somewhat more severely, as Luke has it, because they did not believe the Lord's resurrection already asserted by the Angel at the beginning. If John is speaking of that same approach of Magdalene together with the other women, he omitted that vision of the Angels along with the rest of the women, in order afterwards to set forth at greater length in what manner Christ then appeared to St. Mary Magdalene.

[109] Magdalene seems to have seen the Angels twice. Certainly Magdalene came again to the sepulchre, after the Apostles had been informed of what was done at the first approach. Magdalene also remained there, after Peter and John had surveyed the sepulchre and were returning, as John has it in chapter 20. For after relating these things, the following is read at v. XI concerning Magdalene: But Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping. Now as she was weeping, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre: and she saw two Angels in white, sitting, one at the head,

and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid. They say to her: Woman, why weepest thou? She saith to them: Because they have taken away my Lord: and I know not where they have laid him. But when she had said this, she saw Jesus, and a little after recognized him. Wherefore Magdalene seems to have seen the Angels twice, first with the other women, then alone, just before the apparition of Christ himself. Of the former vision Cleophas speaks to Christ, who appeared in unknown guise on the road to Emmaus, saying this in Luke 24: Yea and certain women also of our company affrighted us, who before it was light were at the sepulchre, and, not finding his body, came, saying that they had also seen a vision of Angels, who say that he is alive. For nothing is here said of Jesus having been seen, although at the second coming to the tomb Magdalene did see him, and announced this very thing to the Apostles, Mark 16 v. 10.

[110] Just as the resurrection of Christ was first announced by Angels to the pious women, the Angels confirmed Christ's ascension into heaven. so also his ascension into heaven was confirmed by the voices of Angels to the Apostles and the others present who had seen him ascending, as we read in Acts 1 v. 9 in this manner: And when he (Jesus) had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two Men stood by them in white garments, who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven. Upon these things it is worth observing that the chief mysteries of Christ's life on earth were announced to men by Angels. That John the forerunner of Christ, and Christ himself, were to be born, the archangel Gabriel foretold; that he had been conceived by Mary, her virginity remaining whole, an Angel disclosed to Joseph; his birth an Angel announced at once to the shepherds; just as we have now seen his resurrection and ascension made known by Angels. Hence the Apostle, in 1 Timothy chapter 3 v. 16, says of the mystery of Christ's Incarnation: He appeared unto Angels.

[111] When the Apostles were being held in the public prison at Jerusalem by the prince of the priests, the offices of the Angels who appeared they were freed by an Angel, of whom we read this in Acts 5 v. 19: But an Angel of the Lord by night opening the doors of the prison, and leading them out, said: Go, and standing speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. The Apostles obeyed, and were again arrested, though not cast into prison. To Philip, who was one of the seven deacons, an Angel was at hand for the conversion of the eunuch of Candace queen of the Ethiopians, as is read in Acts 8 v. 26: Now an Angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: Arise, go towards the south, to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza: this is desert. And rising up he went. And behold a Man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge over all her treasures, had come to adore in Jerusalem, and was returning, sitting in his chariot, and reading Isaias the prophet. And the Spirit said to Philip: Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. This Philip did, and instructed and baptized the eunuch. Then follows v. 39: And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more… But Philip was found in Azotus, a city of the Philistines. By the Spirit here perhaps the aforesaid Angel is indicated.

[112] Famous is the conversion of Cornelius the centurion to Christ, on behalf of the Apostles, and of others which is narrated in Acts 10. He (Cornelius, a religious man and one fearing God) saw in a vision manifestly, about the ninth hour of the day, an Angel of God coming in unto him, and saying to him, Cornelius. And he, beholding him, seized with fear, said: What is it, Lord? And he said to him: Thy prayers and thy alms are ascended for a memorial in the sight of God. And now send men to Joppe, and call hither one Simon, who is surnamed Peter. He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side. He will tell thee what thou must do. And when the Angel who spoke to him was departed, he called two of his household servants, etc. Cornelius therefore sent to Peter, and set forth the vision to St. Peter by his messengers; in which account it is said of the Angel: Behold a Man stood before me in white apparel. The whole history of the conversion may be seen in the same place.

[113] The deliverance of Peter from the prison into which he had been cast by king Herod is narrated in Acts 12 in this manner: in the time of the Apostles And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by him: and a light shined in the room: and he striking Peter on the side, raised him up, saying: Arise quickly. And the chains fell off from his hands. And the Angel said to him: Gird thyself, and put on thy sandals. And he did so. And he said to him: Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And going out he followed him, and he knew not that it was true which was done by the Angel: but thought he saw a vision. And passing through the first and the second ward, they came to the iron gate that leadeth to the city: which of itself opened to them. And going out they passed on through one street: and immediately the Angel departed from him. And Peter coming to himself, said: Now I know in very deed that the Lord hath sent his Angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. Whither St. Peter betook himself may be seen in the same place. The wretched death of Herod Agrippa, who had killed James the brother of John and had bound Peter, is related a little later at v. 23, and is attributed to his pride, because he had heard the people crying out: It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. For it is added: And forthwith an Angel of the Lord struck him, because he had not given the honour to God: and being eaten up by worms, he gave up the ghost.

[114] both in other matters, When St. Paul, after he had long been kept in bonds in Judea, was sailing to Italy, and had come to the island of Crete, he foretold to the centurion who was conducting the prisoners to Italy that there would be great peril to the ship and to all, if they proceeded to sail at that time; yet the centurion wished to go on, Acts 27. Accordingly they were tossed about the sea by so great and so long a storm that all hope of safety was now taken away. Then is added at v. 21: And after they had fasted a long time, Paul standing forth in the midst of them, said: You should indeed, O men, have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you. For an Angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me this night, saying: Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar: and behold, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. It happened as the Angel had promised St. Paul, and all the men escaped safe to the island of Malta, as is there related more fully.

[115] but most of all in the conversion of men, That the labours and praiseworthy endeavours of holy men are a care to the Angels is also gathered from the words of St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 4 v. 9: For we are made a spectacle to the world, and to Angels, and to men: for he is speaking of himself and the other Apostles. I do not sufficiently see why some have wished this to be said of the evil Angels. Chrysostom explains the passage thus: But what does he mean by, And to Angels? Men can be a spectacle to men, but not to Angels, when their deeds are mean: but our contests are such as are worthy to be beheld by the Angels. Hence, even though he is not called an Angel, no one doubts that it was an Angel who appeared to St. Paul in Acts 16 and invited him into Macedonia. Of which we read this at v. 8: And when they had passed through Mysia, they went down to Troas: and a vision was shewed to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, beseeching him, and saying: Pass over into Macedonia, and help us. And as soon as he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, being assured that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Of this passage we shall have to treat again later.

[116] Paul shows great veneration toward the holy Angels in 1 Timothy 5 v. 21, all the Angels are ministers whose work God employs. where he adjures his disciple in these words: I charge thee before God and Christ Jesus, and the elect Angels, that thou observe these things, etc. Much veneration for the Angels, I say, does the Apostle display in these words, since in his adjuration he joins the Angels to God and to Christ. Nevertheless, writing to the Hebrews in chapter 1, he proves at length how immense is the difference between Christ the Lord and the Angels, the ministers of God; and of these he speaks thus at v. 14: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation? Then in chapter 2 v. 5: For God hath not subjected unto Angels the world to come, whereof we speak. Of whatever world he is here speaking — a point on which the interpreters do not agree — the Apostle teaches that it is not subjected to the Angels as to lords; but that all the things which they do in the world for the salvation of men are done by the Angels as by ministers of God, and by his will and command, the former words altogether indicate. The multitude of the Angels who exhibit their ministries to the Church militant the Apostle in some measure shows in Hebrews 12 v. 22, speaking of the Church in these words: But you are come to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of Angels, etc. I pass over other things, and all that is asserted concerning the Angels in the Canonical Epistles, because these can be of little profit to our purpose.

[117] The Apocalypse of St. John makes mention of Angels more frequently [the things written in the Apocalypse were revealed to John by God through an Angel.] than any other sacred book. But since it is a prophecy of things to come, most of it is exceedingly obscure, and that obscurity has greatly varied the opinions of interpreters. Hence I shall omit most of it, and select only a few things. That all things were revealed to him by Jesus Christ through an Angel, John indicates at the very beginning, opening thus: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to make known to his servants … and he signified, sending by his Angel to his servant John, etc. Hence again toward the end, in chapter 22 v. 6, it is said: And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his Angel to shew his servants the things which must be done shortly. And at v. 16: I Jesus have sent my Angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. Of this Angel John says in chapter 19 v. 10:

And I fell down before his feet, to adore him. And he saith to me: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Adore God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Again in chapter 22 v. 8 we read this: And I John, who have heard and seen these things. And after I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the Angel, who shewed me these things. And he said to me: See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book: Adore God. These passages are objected by heretics against the cult of the Angels, but without adequate reason, as others have long since proved.

§ VIII. The nine choirs or orders of Angels.

[ ] the Angels, who take their name from their office, are wholly incorporeal, It is not our purpose to dispute of all the things which the theologians at length inquire into and discuss concerning the Angels. We shall set forth only those which are more clearly known than others from the sacred Scriptures and the Fathers, all the rest being passed over. This, however, I briefly note, that the Angels received their name from the office by which they are sent by God to men, and that the name is Greek, which in Latin is rendered Sent One or Messenger. Moreover I observe that no one ought to be disturbed because bodies are frequently attributed to the Angels in sacred Scripture, and actions like the actions of men. For they can assume bodies for a time, that through these they may appear to men and perform in human fashion the things which they are sent by God to do. Nevertheless the common and certain opinion of theologians today is that the Angels are spirits lacking every body, even the thinnest and most subtle, that is to say, substances wholly incorporeal. Of this truth some of the Fathers formerly doubted, and those too most learned, and several seem to have attributed to them subtle or celestial bodies. But that opinion was afterwards rejected, and the true view, that the Angels are wholly incorporeal spirits, altogether prevailed and was received by the common consent of theologians. Let it suffice to have observed this, lest we be compelled to weave lengthy dissertations.

[119] and some are more exalted than others, That not all the Angels are of the same dignity or excellence, but that some are more exalted than others, the Fathers and theologians teach from the Scriptures. Nevertheless the Fathers have not handed down precisely the same things concerning the different orders of Angels. For some of them did not take care to enumerate all the orders or choirs of Angels which others gathered from the Scriptures. Among the latter, however, who enumerated nine orders or choirs of Angels from various places of sacred Scripture, St. Gregory the Great is not to be reckoned in the lowest place; and his opinion has been so adopted by the theologians that some nevertheless have preferred in certain points to adhere to St. Dionysius the Areopagite, whom they believe to be the author of the Work on the Celestial Hierarchy. Both agree about the nine orders of Angels, which many others also acknowledge: but in the order of enumerating all the choirs they somewhat vary. Indeed St. Gregory himself enumerates the same choirs in two places, but not in the same order.

[120] they are distinguished into nine orders or choirs, For in book 32 of the Morals on Job, chapter 23 of the new edition, number 48, he has this: For since through the sacred Words themselves the Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Principalities, Powers, Cherubim and Seraphim are mentioned in open narration, it is shown how many are the distinctions of the heavenly Citizens. But in Homily 34 on the Gospels he enumerates the same choirs in this manner: We have said that there are nine orders of Angels; because, namely, we know by the testimony of sacred Scripture that there are Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. Gregory, who ascends from the lowest to the highest, did indeed place in both passages the Angels and Archangels as the last choirs, and the Seraphim and Cherubim as the highest; but in the middle ones he varies, as is clear from the comparison.

[121] concerning the order of all the choirs Dionysius the Areopagite, or the author of the Works published under his name (whom I do not here inquire into, but refer the whole controversy to the IX of October), in the book on the Celestial Hierarchy, chapter 6, divides those nine choirs of Angels into three hierarchies. In the first and highest hierarchy he sets as first or chief the Seraphim, then the Cherubim, and last the Thrones. In the second he reckons the Virtues, Dominations and Powers: in the third the Principalities, Archangels and Angels. This enumeration differs in order from both of Gregory's. For, beginning from the least, this is the order of the nine choirs: Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Dominations, Virtues, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. Nevertheless in this order he himself changed something in chapter 8. For when he sets forth the names of all the choirs, beginning from the higher, he there puts the Dominations, which he seemed to have placed after the Virtues, before them, and thus enumerates all the choirs in chapters 7, 8 and 9, namely Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones in the first hierarchy; in the second Dominations, Virtues, Powers; in the third Principalities, Archangels, Angels.

[122] From the passages of the Apostle, out of which St. Gregory proved the five intermediate choirs, it is not so certainly established: I find likewise nothing certain for establishing their order. For the one passage, Ephesians 1 v. 21, has it that Christ was raised above all Principality, and Power, and Virtue, and Dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. If the Apostle intended to enumerate the order of the four choirs which he here names according to dignity, he probably began from the lower ones, and thus these will agree with the order given last by Dionysius, and by the final words, and every name, etc., he will intimate that there remain other and higher choirs which he does not name. But the other passage, Colossians 1 v. 16, does not intimate the same order, since the Principalities are there placed in the middle. For the passage runs thus: For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers. Here the Principalities are placed between the Dominations and the Powers, whereas in the former passage they are set before both, so that we cannot from these give the Principalities a certain place. Nevertheless the order of the three hierarchies, such as I have given from Dionysius, is more received among the theologians, to whom I leave further proof.

[123] The nine choirs of Angels themselves the praised Gregory proves in the Homilies on the Gospels by this reasoning: but the nine Choirs are proved from the Scriptures by St. Gregory. For that there are Angels and Archangels almost all the pages of sacred Scripture testify. And of the Cherubim and Seraphim the books of the Prophets often speak, as is well known. The names of four orders also the Apostle Paul enumerates to the Ephesians, saying: "Above all Principality and Power and Virtue and Dominion." And again, writing to the Colossians, he says: "Whether Thrones, or Powers, or Principalities, or Dominations." The Dominations and Principalities and Powers he had already described when speaking to the Ephesians: but intending to name these also to the Colossians, he set before them the Thrones, of which he had as yet said nothing to the Ephesians. When therefore to those four which he named to the Ephesians, that is, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, and Dominations, the Thrones are joined, there are five orders which are specially expressed. And when to these are added Angels and Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, without doubt the orders of Angels are found to be nine. Thus far Gregory, whose proof of these matters will suffice for us.

[124] Then the praised Father distinguishes the several choirs also by their offices or ministries, the offices of the Angels, of the Archangels, beginning from the least. But, he says, why have we touched upon these choirs of the persevering Angels by enumerating them, if we do not also express with precision their ministries? For in the Greek tongue Angels are called messengers, but Archangels chief messengers. It must also be known that the word Angel is the name of an office, not of a nature. For those holy Spirits of the heavenly fatherland are indeed always spirits, but they can by no means always be called Angels: because they are Angels only then, when something is announced through them. Whence also it is said by the Psalmist: "Who maketh his Angels spirits": as if he plainly said, He who makes those, whom he always has as spirits, Angels also when he wills. So indeed Gregory. Yet it seems rather that they are commonly called Angels from the office to which they are appointed, than from the actual exercise of that office. But those, Gregory goes on to say, who announce the least things are called Angels; those who announce the highest are called Archangels. For hence it is that to the Virgin Mary not any Angel whatever, but the archangel Gabriel is sent. For to this ministry it was fitting that the highest Angel should come, who announced the highest of all things.

[125] and the names of three explained, They are therefore also reckoned by proper names, that by their words too it may be signified what they are capable of in operation. For not in that holy city, which the full knowledge of the vision of almighty God perfects, do they obtain proper names because their persons could not be known without names: but when they come to us to minister something, they take among us their names also from their ministries. For Michael means, Who is like God: Gabriel, the Strength of God: Raphael is said to mean, the Medicine of God. And as often as anything of wondrous power is done, Michael is said to be sent, so that from the act itself and from the name it may be given to understand that none can do what God alone is able to do. He there adds more concerning St. Michael, already given at number 31.

[126] whom we commonly call Archangels: To Mary also is sent Gabriel, who is named the Strength of God. For he came to announce him who deigned to appear in lowliness to overthrow the powers of the air. Of whom it is said by the Psalmist:… "Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." And again: "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." Therefore he was to be announced by the Strength of God, who as Lord of hosts and Mighty in battle came to war against the powers of the air. Raphael also is interpreted, as we have said, the Medicine of God; because, namely, when he touched the eyes of Tobias as by the office of healing (enjoining this on the younger Tobias) he wiped away the darkness of his blindness. He therefore who is sent to heal, it was fitting should be called the Medicine of God. These things having been dispatched on occasion of the two choirs among which Gregory seems to have numbered Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, namely the Archangels (even though certain more recent interpreters refer them to the higher choirs, and indeed even to the highest, a matter which I shall not examine, as being above my understanding), he goes on to explain the ministries of the other choirs rather from their names than from certain authorities of sacred Scripture.

[127] which from the Angels are Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Of the Virtues, whom he places above the Archangels, and whom Dionysius, as I have said, places in a far higher rank, he has this: For those Spirits are called Virtues through whom signs and miracles are more frequently done. When he says more frequently, he altogether intimates that miracles are done through the other choirs also. Gregory subjoins concerning the Powers: The Powers

also are those called who have received this more powerfully than the rest in their order, so that the adverse powers (that is, the demons) are subject to their dominion, and are restrained by their power, lest they should prevail to tempt the hearts of men as much as they wish. Then of the Principalities, whom Dionysius placed in a lower rank above the Archangels, Gregory discourses thus: They are called Principalities also who preside over the good Spirits of the Angels themselves: who, while they dispose whatever is to be done by others subject to them, hold princedom over them for the fulfilling of the divine ministries.

[128] Then he distinguishes the Dominations from the Principalities in this manner: But those are called Dominations who by a lofty unlikeness transcend even the powers of the Principalities. Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim. For to hold princedom is to be first among the rest: but to hold dominion is also to possess all those who are subject. Those companies of Angels therefore, which are pre-eminent by wondrous power, are called Dominations, for this reason, that the rest are subject to them in obedience. To the Thrones he proceeds thus: Thrones also are those companies called, over which almighty God always presides for the exercise of judgment. For since in Latin speech we call Thrones Seats; those are called the Thrones of God who are filled with so great a grace of the Godhead that the Lord sits in them, and through them decrees his judgments. Whence also it is said by the Psalmist: "Thou who sittest upon the Throne, who judgest equity." Of the Cherubim he adds: Cherubim also means fulness of knowledge. And those more sublime companies are called Cherubim for this reason, that they are filled with a knowledge so much the more perfect as they contemplate the brightness of God the more nearly; so that, according to the measure of a creature, they know all things the more fully as they draw near by the merit of their dignity to the vision of their Creator. Of the Seraphim finally he has this: Seraphim also are called those companies of holy Spirits which, from their singular nearness to their Creator, burn with an incomparable love. For Seraphim are called the Burning, or the Enkindling ones. And these, because they are so joined to God that between them and God no other Spirits intervene, burn so much the more as they see him the more nearly. Whose flame is indeed love; because the more subtly they behold the brightness of his Divinity, the more strongly do they blaze in his love. Thus far Gregory.

[129] Of the properties of the several choirs Dionysius also discourses, whether any of the highest choirs of Angels but his assertions seemed to me rather obscure. The theologians also inquire into many more things about them, and I would rather refer the reader to them than discourse at greater length upon matters which I find proved neither from the Scriptures nor from the consent of the Church or of the holy Fathers. But those things which I have given from Gregory, even though to someone they may seem not all equally certain, appear to me at least clear enough, and sensible and probable. Wherefore I would rather reverently acquiesce in his assertions than investigate by new reasonings, after St. Gregory, matters so sublime that we wretched mortals understand them but little. Gregory then discourses somewhat by way of inquiring whether from all the choirs of Angels some are sent by God to render ministries to men, and leaves the matter undecided. It is reported, he says, that Dionysius the Areopagite, an ancient and venerable father indeed, says that from the lesser companies of Angels some are sent forth, either visibly or invisibly, to fulfil a ministry; namely, because they come as Angels or Archangels for the consolation of men. For those higher companies never withdraw from the inmost things; since those which are pre-eminent have by no means the use of exterior ministry. In these words thus far he sets out that opinion of Dionysius, which is not his own.

[130] Then he frames an objection against it in this manner: are never sent by God on a ministry, To which matter that seems to be contrary which Isaias says: "And one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth." What Dionysius answers to the objection he then explains, going on thus: But in this saying of the Prophet he (namely Dionysius) will have it understood that those Spirits who are sent receive the name of those whose office they discharge. For he who, in order to burn away the sins of speech, carries a coal from the altar as an Angel, is called a Seraph, which means a burning. The answer of Dionysius is read in chapter 13, where he says that the action is attributed to a Seraph because the Angel purged the lips of Isaias in the name or by the command of a Seraph. But Gregory subjoins: And to this sense (that the highest choirs are not sent) that also is believed not unfittingly to lend support which is said by Daniel: "Thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him." For it is one thing to minister, another to stand by: because those minister to God who go forth also to us with a message: but those stand by who so enjoy the inward contemplation that they are by no means sent forth to fulfil works outside. These things indeed Gregory brings forward in favour of Dionysius' opinion, and yet he did not venture to assert it, as is clear from what follows.

[131] St. Gregory examines, but does not determine, Certainly against that opinion, that some from the highest choirs are not sent, there can be objected the general assertion of the Apostle concerning the Angels, Hebrews 1 v. 14: Are they not all ministering Spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation? For not only are all here said to be ministering Spirits, but all also are said to be sent on a ministry, and that for the salvation of men. Hence Gregory declared his doubt thus: But since in certain places of Scripture we have learned that some things are done by the Cherubim, some by the Seraphim; whether they do these things by themselves, or whether they are done by the companies subject to them, which, as is said (namely by Dionysius, whose opinion he is examining), in that they come from Greater ones, obtain the names of those Greater ones, we are unwilling to affirm what we do not prove by open testimonies. I praise the moderation of Gregory, who is unwilling to affirm of the Angels what he cannot prove by the testimonies of Scripture.

[132] Yet he says that the Lesser are sent by the Greater. That Angels, however, are sent by other Angels also, he both found in Scripture and asserted without hesitation, going on thus: This nevertheless we know most certainly, that for the fulfilling of a ministry from on high some Spirits send others, the Prophet Zacharias, namely, testifying, who says: "Behold the Angel that spoke in me went forth: and another Angel went out to meet him, and said to him: Run and speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls." For when an Angel says to an Angel: Run and speak, there is no doubt that one sends another. And the lesser are those who are sent; the greater those who send. But this also we hold as certain concerning those companies which are sent; that even when they come to us, they so fulfil their ministry outwardly that they are nevertheless never wanting inwardly through contemplation. They are therefore both sent, and stand by: because although the Angelic spirit is circumscribed, yet the supreme Spirit himself, who is God, is not circumscribed. The Angels therefore are both sent and are before him; because whithersoever they come when sent, they run within him. This last observation Gregory seems to have added in order to answer the objection drawn from the words of Daniel given above, And ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him, so as to show, namely, that they can both minister and stand by at the same time. If anyone desires more of these matters, he will be able to consult the theologians.

§ IX. Guardian Angels asserted for individual men from the sacred Scriptures and the Fathers.

[ ] Sacred Scripture assigns a guardian Angel to each person; Concerning the protection of the Angels very much has already been given, and not a few texts of sacred Scripture have been cited, from which the holy Fathers taught that a guardian Angel has been given by God to each individual man. Nevertheless, since we have a particular feast of the guardian Angels, and are here treating of them by name, that truth must be confirmed and elucidated at somewhat greater length. In Psalm 90 from v. XI we read this concerning the guardian Angels given by God, and concerning their remarkable care for their clients: For he hath given his Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. Psalm 33 v. 7: The Angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. But since someone might say that in those places of the Psalms that privilege is asserted only of those who greatly trust in God's protection, or of the just alone, I bring forward a passage in which certainly it is not a question of those alone. In Matthew 18 v. 10 Christ speaks thus to his Disciples: See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their Angels in heaven always see the face of my Father, who is in heaven. So much for the present from the Scriptures, to which we shall join the authority of the chief Fathers, and on that occasion other passages of Scripture will from time to time be adduced.

[134] St. Jerome, on the passage of Matthew just alleged, as St. Jerome asserts and proves. Because their Angels, etc., exclaims thus: Great is the dignity of souls, that each one should have from the moment of birth an Angel appointed for its keeping. It is worth while to cite certain other passages also from Jerome. The alleged place of Psalm 33 he likewise explains of the guardian Angels, on chapter 4 of the Epistle to the Galatians, at those words, But is under tutors and governors, which he says can also be understood of the Angels of little ones, Who, he says, daily see the face of the Father, and intercede for them. Of whom it has been said: "The Angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them." In the Epitaph of St. Paula, near the beginning, he speaks thus: I call to witness Jesus and his Saints, and her own proper Angel, who was the guardian and companion of that admirable woman, etc. On Isaias, at chapter 66 v. 20, he reasons thus: It would be long, if we wished to explain both testimonies. This only will I say, that the various vehicles by which men are brought to the faith are Angels, or holy men who from men have advanced into Angels. But that each one of us has Angels, many Scriptures teach, among which is this: "Despise not one of these little ones, for their Angels daily see the face of the Father, who is in heaven." And when the girl Rhode * announced the Apostle Peter, others believed it was his Angel. But if this is said of the least, and of one man, how much more is it to be thought of all the Saints, and especially of the Apostles? whose Angels daily see the face of the Father, according to that which is written: "The Angel of the Lord encompasseth them that fear him." Ps. 33. 7. And Jacob says of himself: "The Angel who delivered me." Gen. 48. 16. Thus far Jerome, who has other like things in other places.

[135] St. Hilary, on the alleged passage of Matthew, See that you despise not, etc., comments in this manner: He has imposed a most binding bond of mutual love,

chiefly toward those St. Hilary also asserts the guardianship of the Angels who had truly believed in the Lord. For the Angels of the little ones daily see God; because the Son of man came to save that which was lost. Therefore both the Son of man saves, and the Angels see God, and there are Angels of the little ones. (Elsewhere it is read: The Angels of the little ones preside over the prayers of the faithful, as the editor observes.) Then follows: That the Angels preside over the prayers of the faithful is an absolute authority. The Angels therefore daily offer to God the prayers of those saved through Christ. Dangerously therefore is he despised whose desires and petitions are conveyed to the eternal and invisible God by the eager service and ministry of the Angels. Hilary asserts the guardianship of the Angels against the malignant spirits in Psalm 134, number 17, in these words: For there are Angels of the little ones, daily seeing God. These Spirits therefore have been sent forth for the salvation of the human race: for our weakness would not, unless Angels were given for its keeping, withstand so many and so great wickednesses of the spiritual powers of heaven. There was need for this of the help of a mightier Nature: and that this is so we are taught from those words by which the Lord confirms the trembling and fearful Moses, saying: "Behold my Angel shall go before thee." Exod. 23. 23. These Winds therefore he brings forth out of his treasures, bestowing in them help to human weakness, that these divine defences may protect us against the world-rulers of this darkness in the salvation that is to be our inheritance. The same he acknowledges in a few words on Psalm 65, number 13, and in number 14 he says: Therefore the incorporeal God protects the nations with the eyes of his mercy, and as it were by the ministry of the attending Angels: and upon all believers he pours out the gift of the divine compassion. These things and others Hilary has, and namely on Psalm 129, number 7.

[136] and at least in general terms St. Ambrose: St. Ambrose, in Sermon 7 on Psalm 118, number 36, says: If we understand good guardians, assuredly they are the Angels. Earlier, in Sermon 1, number 9, he had said that all things are full of Angels — the air, the lands, the sea, the Churches, over which the Angels preside: for the Lord sends his Angels for the defence of those who are to be heirs of the heavenly promises. Then in number 10 he thus addresses sinners: Would you not have reverenced the presence of the Angels, if you believed them to be present? On Luke, book 7, number 210, where he had observed that the Angels rejoice at the redemption of men, he subjoins: Although this too may serve as an incitement to uprightness, if each man believes that his conversion will be pleasing to the assemblies of the Angels, whose patronage he ought either to seek, or whose offence to fear. In the Sermon against Auxentius, number XI, he recalls the multitude of Angels which in 4 Kings 6 was shown by Elisha to his frightened servant, and subjoins: You have observed, therefore, that those who are not seen guard the servants of Christ more than those who are seen. But if the latter also guard, they guard because they have been called upon by your prayers. Thus Ambrose, abundantly declaring the general guardianship of the Angels, yet speaking less expressly of the particular guardianship of individual men. This I suspect happened because he did not write upon those passages of Scripture in which that is more clearly asserted.

[137] Chrysostom seems to attribute guardian Angels Chrysostom, who expounded sacred Scripture for the greater part, and considered it most diligently, on the passage of Matthew: Because their Angels, etc., seems altogether to attribute guardian Angels to all men. For after the words of Scripture he subjoins what, on account of the diversity of reading, I shall give in Greek.

ἐντεῦθεν

δῆλον,

ὅτι

ἀγγέλους

ἔχουσιν

ὁι

ἅγιοι

ἐκεῖ

πάντες.

So Montfaucon printed it, but he noted that the last words are read thus in the Morellian edition, ὁι ἅγιοι, ἢ καὶ πάντες, and I can scarcely have any doubt that this is the true reading, since the whole context requires it. The former words are rendered literally into Latin thus: Hence it is manifest that the Saints there all have Angels. That word there manifestly is superfluous, as also the Greek ἐκεῖ. But the sense of the other reading is elegant, and agreeable both to the further proof which is subjoined, and to Chrysostom's opinion as declared in other places also. For thus it is rendered in Latin: Hence it is manifest that the Saints have Angels, or indeed all men. In these words nothing is superfluous, but that is inferred which had to be inferred. For if the little ones have their own Angels, as Scripture has it, it is rightly inferred that these are not wanting to others either, and we shall presently see a similar reasoning of Chrysostom. He supports this reasoning, however, with yet another argument, which he subjoins thus: For the Apostle says of a woman that she ought to have power, that is, a veil, upon her head because of the Angels. The same argument Jerome also employs on the alleged passage of Matthew, to confirm that to each one an Angel has been deputed for his keeping.

[138] Chrysostom, moreover, in Homily 7 on the Praises of St. Paul, declares his opinion again, to all men, and confirms it by another passage, which we have already seen likewise alleged by Jerome. For if, he says, to those who govern their own life only, and do nothing for the common good, Angels have been appointed by the Lord of all as guardians, as is added in the Greek, as one of the just says (namely Jacob, Genesis 48 v. 16), "The Angel who delivered me from my youth": much more are the heavenly Powers present to those to whom the care of the whole world has been committed. He speaks most clearly on that passage of Acts 12 v. 15, It is his Angel, which was said of Peter knocking at the gate when he had been delivered from prison. Hence, he says, it is proved true that each one of us has an Angel. The same argument again Jerome employed. The praised Chrysostom, in Homily 3 on the Epistle to the Colossians, number 3, says that the Angels are according to the number of the faithful, and to prove it adduces the frequently praised passage of Matthew, from which he concludes: For every one of the faithful has an Angel. For even from the beginning every upright man had an Angel, as he again proves by the example and words of Jacob, Genesis 48. On the Epistle to the Hebrews, Homily 14, near the end, he says: We too have supporters, if we will. To each one of us an Angel sits beside. From the passages alleged we have this, that Chrysostom sometimes speaks as if he believed guardian Angels to be assigned to the faithful alone, and sometimes ascribes guardian Angels to absolutely all men.

[139] Nevertheless I judge that the opinion of Chrysostom and of Jerome was the same, although he does not everywhere say so, and that both attributed guardian Angels to individual men. Of Jerome this is beyond all doubt from his words on Matthew. Chrysostom, however, seems in one passage on the Epistle to the Colossians to say less, because it was not necessary there to assert more, since he was not explaining a passage of Scripture treating of the guardian Angels. So we frequently do not assert the whole of what we think about a matter, when that is not necessary for our purpose. In that very Homily 3, and in the very same passage in which he so attributes Angels to the individual faithful as not to deny them to unbelievers, he clearly shows that he does not always say the whole of what he thinks. For of the Angels under the old Law he speaks thus: At first (under the old Law) the Angels were according to the number of the nations. But now (under the new Law) not according to the number of the nations, but according to the number of the faithful… For every one of the faithful has an Angel. For even from the beginning every upright man had an Angel, as Jacob says: "The Angel who feedeth me, and delivereth me from my youth." If therefore we have Angels, let us conduct ourselves modestly, as though certain tutors were present with us. As he did not wish to say that there were no more guardian Angels under the old Law than there were different nations, since he immediately attributes an Angel to all upright men under the old law; so he did not wish to restrict the number of guardian Angels to the number of the faithful.

[140] [he clearly assigns them, as does the author of the Homily published with his writings.] Chrysostom's purpose there was not to hand down a complete doctrine concerning the Angels, but to exhort to peace and concord in fervent discourse, as he immediately begins to do. And so those words of Chrysostom are rather to be considered where he says: To each one of us an Angel sits beside, and, That each one of us has an Angel. For since in his sermons he was not speaking to the faithful alone, but also to heretics, to gentiles, to Jews, to catechumens, and in short to all who wished to be present, he could not truly speak thus unless he had believed that all men have Angels as guardians. Among the spurious Works formerly attributed to Chrysostom, in Montfaucon, volume 8, page 285, there is read a short Homily on the Angels, whose author most clearly attributes guardian Angels to all men as well as to provinces, in these words: For not only have the Angels been bidden to guard the nations, … but individual men also have obtained an Angel by lot.

[141] St. Basil ascribes Angels St. Basil, on Psalm 33, number 5, writes the following concerning the guardian Angels: An Angel sits beside every one who believes in the Lord, unless we drive him away by evil works. For just as smoke puts bees to flight, and a stench drives away doves; so lamentable and foul-smelling sin drives away the Angel who is the guardian of our life. If you have in your soul works worthy of Angelic guardianship, and a mind rich in the contemplation of truth dwells within you, then, on account of the riches of the illustrious works of virtue, God necessarily appoints for you sureties and guardians, and fortifies you with the guardianship of the Angels. Consider, moreover, how great is the nature of the Angels, since a single Angel is compared to a whole army and to camps thronged with soldiery. Because of the greatness therefore of him who guards you, the Lord bestows camps upon you; but because of the strength of the Angel, he fortifies you on every side with his protection as with a wall. For that word, ROUND ABOUT, signifies this very thing. For just as the walls of cities, drawn round about on every side, ward off the assaults of enemies from every quarter: so also the Angel both fortifies in front and guards behind, and leaves nothing on either side unguarded. For this reason "a thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand", but to thee not even the stroke of any enemy shall draw near, since he hath given his Angels charge over thee. So Basil on that v. 7: The Angel of the Lord shall pitch his camp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. In the Vulgate, instead of shall pitch his camp, we have shall encamp.

[142] to the individual faithful, Again on Psalm 48, number 9, he says: For to every one of the faithful an Angel is joined. And in book 3 against Eunomius, number 1, he discourses thus: Assuredly all the Angels, as they have one appellation, so also have altogether the same nature among themselves: but nevertheless some of them are set over the nations, others are joined as companions to each one of the faithful. And by as much as a whole nation surpasses one man, by so much certainly must the dignity of an Angel presiding over some nation be greater than the dignity of another to whom the protection of a private man is entrusted. But that an Angel is present to each one of the faithful, as a kind of tutor and shepherd directing his life, no one will deny who remembers the words of the Lord, who

says: "Despise not one of these little ones, because their Angels, etc."

[143] He adds proofs from other passages of Scripture already related. yet he does not expressly except unbelievers. Then he also proves that Angels preside over whole nations, of which afterwards. But this I observe, that Basil does not say in the two latter passages that the Angel withdraws on account of the sins of his clients, or is driven away by their sins. Wherefore I would not believe that Basil thought that the guardian Angel so withdraws from a sinner as to lay aside all care of him and to cease to be his guardian Angel; but that he does not attend him with so great diligence as that with which he surrounds and protects the just and the Saints, as he sets forth magnificently on Psalm 33. I observe besides that Basil so attributes Angels to every one of the faithful that nevertheless he nowhere excepts unbelievers in express words.

[144] St. Gregory Nazianzen wrote fewer things indeed concerning the guardian Angels: Nazianzen attributes them to all, yet since in his Orations he acknowledges Angels as guardians both of churches and of cities, as we shall see later, there can be no doubt that he also acknowledged the guardianship of men, which is more clearly asserted in the Scriptures. Moreover, that help is afforded us through the Angels he declares in express words in Oration 40, page 664, writing this: Nay more, someone (Psalm 75) addresses God in this manner: "Thou enlightenest wonderfully from the everlasting hills"; that is, as I take it in my opinion, from the Angelic powers, which are a help to us toward all that is best. But he affirms the guardianship of men more clearly in the Poem on substances endowed with mind, volume 2, page 169, where he enumerates the various offices of the Angels, and reckons among their charges, which God gave to different ones differently, men, cities, and whole nations, as the Greek words have it. Therefore there is no doubt that Nazianzen acknowledged that to some Angels the guardianship of men, to others that of cities, to others that of whole nations, had been committed. But just as he writes that κόσμον ἅπαντα, the whole world, has been committed by God to the care and guardianship of the Angels, and excepts neither the cities of unbelievers nor nations lacking faith, so he is not to be reckoned to except unbelieving men.

[145] St. Gregory of Nyssa, in Homily 7 on the Canticles, acknowledges the Angelic protection Nyssen ascribes guardian Angels to all men by which we are hedged about, and thinks it is indicated by the tower of David, from which hang a thousand bucklers, Canticles 4 v. 4; and having expounded the passage he subjoins: So that what is said agrees with that which is in the Psalms: "The Angel shall pitch his camp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them." In the Life of Moses, or in his mystical interpretation of it, volume 1 of the edition of the year 1615, page 194, he shows that the doctrine of the guardian Angel of every man is drawn not only from sacred Scripture, but also from tradition. For when, in the mystical exposition of the circumcision of the son of Moses, by which in Exodus 4 v. 26 the Lord is said to have been appeased toward Moses, he had said that the Angel of God is made propitious to us when by mystical circumcision we cast off depraved doctrines, a little afterwards he writes the following: But lest the riddle of the history should seem to be expounded by riddles, what I think must be explained more broadly. A certain more hidden tradition, and a true account, has come down even to us, by which it is believed that, after our nature had fallen into sin, it was not altogether neglected by the divine clemency, nor dismissed without its patronage, but that some one of the Angels, who are by nature incorporeal, was appointed as a support for each person: and that the corrupter of our nature, striving against in all things, appointed for each individual some depraved and malignant demon, driving men to live wickedly. Presently he says that the guardian Angel stirs us to good things, the demon to evil.

[146] without any exception. And again he subjoins: If therefore (a man) has separated himself from those things by which he was being enticed to evil, his thoughts being turned to better things, and vice being as it were cast behind his back, and has set his mind like a kind of mirror over against the hope of future goods, so that he may be able by the purity of his soul to express the forms and images of the virtue divinely shown to him, then more manifestly the helps of the Brother appear to him on every side, armed with him against his enemies. For in a certain manner the Angel is the brother of man: for they are bound together with him by a rational and intellectual nature: and he seems most of all to assist us, as has been said, when we draw near to Pharaoh. So he there: and going on to reason about his own exposition, he again on page 196 mentions the guardian Angel divinely given to us. Again in the same place he acknowledges that he (the Angel) is most of all a help to us when we rise up against incorporeal enemies. From the passages alleged I conclude that Nyssen so attributes a guardian Angel to all and each that he excepts neither sinners nor unbelievers. Moreover, since he rightly observes that the helps of the Angels are more manifestly present to us when we strive to act rightly, his words seem to avail for expounding the words of St. Basil given at number 141, in which he says that the Angel is put to flight by sins, just as I have already expounded them. For since Nyssen, the brother of Basil, attributes an Angel absolutely to all, without exception, just as Nazianzen, the friend of both, excepts no one; it does not become likely that Basil felt otherwise on these matters than his most learned brother, or than his most friendly Nazianzen.

[147] Origen frequently acknowledges guardian Angels, Origen, in the book on Prayer, volume 1 of the Works of the most recent Paris edition, page 215, attributes an Angel to each one, writing thus: But also the Angel of each one, even of those who are little ones in the Church, always seeing the face of the Father who is in heaven, and beholding the Divinity of God our Creator, prays with us, and, so far as may be, labours together with us for the things we ask. He has similar things in book 8 against Celsus, page 767, and again page 769, where he teaches that the demons cannot harm Christians: The reason for which, he says, is that the Angel of the Lord shall pitch his camp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. And his Angel, who always sees the face of the heavenly Father, always offers his prayers through the sole High Priest to the God of all, and himself prays together with him whose care has been committed to him. In Homily 2 on Numbers, volume 2, page 350, he has this: There is present to each one of us, even to the least who are in the Church of God, a good Angel, an Angel of the Lord, to rule, to admonish, to govern, who daily, for the correcting of our acts and for obtaining mercies, sees the face of the Father who is in heaven, as the Lord signifies in the Gospels. Similarly he attributes an Angel to each one in Homily 23 on Josue, and in many other places. But I omit much, because Origen wrote more concerning the Angels than he was able to prove, and not a few things which have been utterly disapproved by the Church.

[148] but not everywhere rightly, Moreover in the passages alleged he speaks in such a way as to seem to attribute guardian Angels to the faithful alone. Elsewhere too he hints that they withdraw on account of sins, but hesitantly. Nay, in several places he even intimates that guardian Angels belong only to little ones, and not likewise to the greater — again, however, doubtfully, and certainly improbably, just as he also sustained the discussion of many other far more absurd and false things concerning the Angels, which I shall pass over. Of the others I shall bring over a few things here from his Commentaries on Matthew, printed in volume 3. Explaining the words of Christ in Matthew 18: See that you despise not one of these little ones, … because their Angels in heaven always see the face of my Father, etc., he rightly observes first, on page 605, that some are little ones or small in body, others in mind and in slenderness of virtues. But he does not rightly strive, in his discussion, to infer that the little ones have Angels, while the leader of the perfect is the Lord himself. Neither of the two passages which he alleges is of any use for proving this. For the former, from Psalm 33 v. 7, The Angel of the Lord shall pitch his camp (or, as the Vulgate has it, shall encamp) round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them — which Origen wrests to little ones or the imperfect, as if all fear of God signified imperfection — is more rightly explained by others of the Saints. The words also of Psalm 90 v. 15: I am with him in tribulation, are alleged in vain. For God indeed is with the just man in tribulation, and protects him with his grace. But the just man is not therefore without the help of the Angels, since in the same Psalm it is said: For he hath given his Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways, etc.

[144] It is certain therefore that neither do the imperfect lack the help of Christ through inward grace; nor did he write things consistent with one another, nor do the perfect lack the guardianship of the Angels. But Origen, striving to the contrary, objects to himself the passage of Acts 12 v. 15 concerning Peter knocking at the gate: It is his Angel. For by these words a guardian Angel is attributed to Peter, who was the greatest in Apostolic virtues and in the glory of miracles. He answers, however, that the words of those who said these things are not necessarily to be held as doctrine. But at least the words alleged prove that that opinion concerning the guardian Angel of every person was common among the first Christians of Jerusalem. Moreover those words were spoken in the house of the mother of St. John Mark, where the first Christians were gathered and were praying for Peter, and in that same house probably the Apostles with others were gathered when they received the Holy Spirit. It is added that Luke the Evangelist related these things, and did not correct by even the least indication the opinion concerning the guardian Angel of every person which they involve, but rather confirmed it by his simple narration. Hence Jerome, Chrysostom, and other Fathers believed that the common opinion concerning the Angels of every individual is solidly confirmed by those words.

[150] Again in the same place, page 607, Origen inquires from what time the Angels undertake the guardianship of little ones, yet he acknowledged the common opinion concerning all, whether from baptism, or from birth itself, and does not decide the question. But today the theologians, with St. Jerome, attribute guardian Angels to all from the very beginning of birth. Origen himself sometimes hints that this opinion flourished in his time, although he himself doubted. For on page 576 he says: If indeed it is to be said that every human soul is subject to some Angel. Again in Homily 12 on Luke he seems to declare his opinion in these words: But that which he says of individual provinces, I think must be believed generally of all men also. To each one two Angels stand by, one of justice, the other of iniquity. If good thoughts have been in our heart, and justice has sprouted in our mind, there is no doubt that the Angel of the Lord speaks to us. But if evil things have been turned over in our heart, the angel of the devil speaks to us. So Origen, whose opinion concerning the evil angels, or concerning the devil, I shall not examine. Let it suffice to have observed that he himself wrote many things in different places concerning the Angels, and from time to time things not cohering with one another, some also commonly disapproved by other Fathers, which I judged should be omitted for the sake of brevity: yet that the common opinion of theologians concerning the guardian Angels of all, without any exception, was asserted by Origen also.

[151] Lastly guardian Angels are attributed to all St. Augustine, who wrote after the Fathers hitherto alleged, in the Work on the City of God, which as an old man

he completed, in book 20 chapter 14 clearly acknowledges guardian Angels of all and of individual men, none excepted, when he declares his doubt concerning the character of the book which is to be opened at the last judgment, and on that occasion suggests this conjecture: Will there be present (at the judgment) as great a number of Angels as there will be of men, and will each one hear his life recited by the Angel assigned to him? The conjecture itself I do not examine, as belonging less to our purpose; but I only observe that it could not have been proposed by Augustine unless he had believed that individual men have their own Angels. That the holy Angels, moreover, are helpers to us for obtaining the eternal salvation which they themselves enjoy, he indicates in various places. On Psalm 62, number 4, he speaks thus: Therefore they (the Angels) are blessed, and of so great a blessedness, because they are in that heavenly city Jerusalem, from which we are now on pilgrimage; they attend to us pilgrims, and pity us, and by the command of the Lord help us, that we may one day return (that is, come) to that common fatherland, and there with them be one day filled at the Lord's fountain of truth and eternity.

[152] by St. Augustine, as also by the scholastic theologians. In the book of the 83 Questions, question 65, number 7, he observes that we are indeed helped by the Angels, but without grief on their part. For although, he says, they help us according to their sublimity, while they obey God, who deigned to send even his only Son for us; nevertheless they are to be believed to do this without groaning and griefs, etc. The clearest words of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus I shall give at number 404. I pass over other similar things, and indeed not a few Fathers and writers of the earlier centuries, and especially the most ancient, even though they attributed guardian Angels to individual men, and some of them joined an evil Angel also to each person. I pass over also St. Thomas Aquinas and the remaining doctors of scholastic theology, whose opinion is sufficiently established. Whoever desires more of these matters may consult Suarez, book 6 on the Angels, chapter 17 and following, or other theologians.

* Acts 12

§ X. Guardian Angels of kingdoms, cities, churches, etc.

[ ] that Angels are set over kingdoms and nations also, Not only to individual men did the holy Fathers assert guardian Angels, but also to kingdoms and provinces, to cities and churches, sacred Scripture again leading the way, from which they drew that opinion. I shall give only the chief authorities, as I have already begun to do, and shall first set down some texts of sacred Scripture. In Daniel 10 v. 12 the Angel who was appearing to Daniel, and whom most interpreters believe to have been St. Gabriel, said to Daniel: Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, to afflict thyself in the sight of thy God, thy words have been heard: and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. Again at v. 20 the same Angel says to Daniel: And now I will return, to fight against the Prince of the Persians. When I went forth, there appeared the Prince of the Greeks coming. But I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth: and none is my helper in all these things but Michael your prince. From that passage the Fathers and most interpreters infer that mention is here made of the tutelary Angel of the Persians and of the Angel of the Greeks, just as Michael the prince of the Jews is recorded; and some add that Gabriel himself was likewise set over the Jews in exile.

[154] Nevertheless some have maintained that by the princes of the Persians and of the Greeks is understood from the prophecy of Daniel, the kings of those nations are to be understood, not Angels. But this does not seem to me to be asserted on probable grounds, since it is certain that by Michael the prince of the Jews an Angel is designated; and since the Angel speaks of Michael the prince in the same manner in which he speaks of the Princes of the Persians and of the Greeks, except that he attributes to them opposite endeavours. For Michael was standing with the speaking Angel on behalf of the Jews, and the Prince of the Persians was fighting against the Jews. Of the Prince of the Greeks it is not yet said in the words alleged which side he defended: but this is in some measure understood from the following chapter according to the common exposition, by which all the princes are Angels who are guardians of kingdoms, and according to St. Jerome's opinion on these matters. But the coming of the Prince of the Greeks makes me altogether unable to understand on what ground some would have kings understood by the Princes of the Persians and of the Greeks. For we easily understand that the Angels set over those kingdoms interceded at the same time before God, each for his own clients; but that the king of the Greeks or of the Macedonians was at the court of the king of the Persians, as would have to be said according to that interpretation, is plainly not intelligible. And so the interpretation of St. Jerome is to be followed, who explains everything of Angels as guardians of kingdoms.

[155] And his explanation is this: But the prince of the Persians, etc.; as it is expounded by St. Jerome, It seems to me, he says, that this is the Angel to whom Persia was entrusted… But the prince, that is, the Angel of the Persians, resisted, acting on behalf of the province entrusted to him, lest all the people of the captives should be sent away. And perhaps, since on the first day from which the prophet set his heart to understand he was heard by God, therefore the Angel was not immediately sent to announce to him God's indulgence; because for one and twenty days the Prince of the Persians resisted him, enumerating the sins of the people of the Jews, that they were justly held captive and ought not to be dismissed. Then on those words: And behold Michael, etc., he has this: While the Angel of the Persians resisted your prayers and my embassy, who was offering your prayers to God, there came to my help the Angel Michael, who is set over the people of Israel. And by the chief princes we understand the Archangels. Then on those words, And now I will return, to fight against the Prince of the Persians, he comments thus. What he says is this: I have indeed come to teach you that your prayers have been heard: but I shall return again, to fight against the Prince of the Persians in the sight of God, who does not wish your people to be released from captivity. And on those words: When I went forth, there appeared the Prince of the Greeks, etc. I, he says, was going forth from the sight of God, to announce to you the things that shall come upon your people in the last days; although I am not yet secure, while the Prince of the Persians stands and contradicts your prayers and my embassy.

[156] And behold the Prince of the Greeks, that is, of the Macedonians, was coming, and entered into the sight of God, to accuse the prince of the Persians and of the Medes; that in their place the kingdom of the Macedonians might succeed. And truly, wondrous are the mysteries of God! and by other Fathers and interpreters: For when the people of the Jews had been released from captivity, Alexander king of the Macedonians overthrew the kingdom of the Persians and of the Medes, Darius being slain, and the Prince of the Greeks conquered the Prince of the Persians. Finally he expounds the last words: And none is my helper … but Michael, thus: I am, he says, that Angel who offer to God your prayers: and there is no other who is my helper in beseeching God for you, but Michael the archangel, to whom the people of the Jews has been entrusted. This exposition of Jerome, in so far as by the princes he understands Angels to whom the protection of kingdoms has been committed, pleased all the ancients everywhere, and those more recent writers also who wished to interpret the Scriptures according to the mind of the holy Fathers; yet they did not equally adopt all the other accompaniments of the interpretation, which do not conduce to our purpose, nor do I undertake to examine them further.

[157] Jerome asserts that prefecture of the Angels in many places. The said prefecture of the Angels Jerome asserts also on chapter 7 of Daniel v. 2, expounding those words, And behold the four winds of heaven, etc. By the four winds of heaven, he says, I judge are meant four Angelic powers to which the principal kingdoms have been committed, according to that which we read in Deuteronomy (chapter 32 v. 8 according to the Septuagint:) When the Most High divided the nations; when he separated the sons of Adam, he appointed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the Angels of God. But the Lord's portion is his people, etc. This passage is alleged for proving the same thing by very many Fathers who followed the edition of the Septuagint. Nevertheless in the Vulgate it is not read the Angels of God, but the children of Israel. Jerome was not ignorant of this when he cited the passage here, and again in the place presently alleged; since he himself had translated from the Hebrew text as the Vulgate has it. And so he believed that the authority of the Septuagint version was not to be despised, and that it availed at least for confirming an opinion already proved from elsewhere. And so again on chapter 15 of Isaias, near the end, he says without hesitation of the Angels: Who preside over individual nations. And in chapter 48 he says that the Angel who is guardian of the Babylonian nation is signified. Similarly in chapter 57 he mentions Angels as presidents of churches. And finally, to pass over other things, in Epistle 93 to the lapsed Sabinian he speaks thus: And behold that Angel, the doorkeeper of Mary's chamber, the guardian of the Lord's cradle, and the bearer of the infant Christ, in whose presence you did such things, he himself has betrayed you.

[158] The same, from the same passage of Daniel, St. Gregory the Great, in book 17 of the Morals on Job, chapter 25, examines the passage of Daniel alleged above, and inquires how the highest peace is said to be preserved among the sublime beings, if the Angels resist one another: for by the princes of the Persians and of the Greeks he understands, with Jerome, the Angels set over those regions. Whom therefore, he says, does he call other princes of the nations, but the Angels who could resist him as he went forth? What peace therefore can there be among the sublime beings, if among the Angelic spirits themselves also, who always stand in the sight of Truth, a contest of battle is carried on? To the objection, however, he answers thus: But since certain ministries of Angels have been set over the governing of each several nation, when the ways of their subjects deserve that the aid of the presiding Spirits be turned in turn against them, those very Spirits who preside are said to come against them. For that Angel who spoke to Daniel is recognized as set over the captives of the Israelite people who were established in Persia: but Michael is found to have been set over those who from the same people had remained in the land of Judea. Whence also by this same Angel it is said a little later to Daniel: "None is my helper in all these things but Michael your prince." Of whom he also says that which we have set down above: "And behold Michael, one of the chief Princes, came to help me." Who, since he is by no means said to be present together, but to come to help, is plainly recognized as set over that people which was held captive in another region.

[159] What is it therefore for the Angel to say: "I am come for thy words: on which he discourses fittingly concerning the opposing aids of the Angels, but the Prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me", unless to announce his labours on behalf of his subjects? As if he plainly said: The merits of thy prayers indeed require that the Israelite people be stripped of the yoke of its captivity: but there is yet something in that same people which must be purged under the dominion of the Persians, so that concerning its deliverance the Persians'

Prince may with right contradict me, although the tears also of those who are in Judea aid thy prayers: Whence he subjoins this also, which we have mentioned: "Michael your prince came to help me." And when he goes forth to fight against the Prince of the Persians, the Prince of the Greeks appears coming toward him. By which it is intimated that Judea had committed something against the Greeks also, for whose cause assuredly he was resisting her deliverance. The Angel therefore hears the prayers of the Prophet, but the Prince of the Persians resists: because although the life of the just man who prays already requires the deliverance of the people, yet the life of that same people still gainsays it; so that, since those who had been led into captivity are not yet fully purged, the Persians may still with right hold dominion over them. Michael helps, but the Prince of the Greeks comes to battle; because so long a captivity of the oppressed could indeed merit pardon, but this also, that they had transgressed against the Greeks, stood in the way of the benefit of their deliverance.

[160] Rightly therefore is it said that the Angels come against one another; St. Gregory likewise asserts. because the merits of the nations subject to them in turn gainsay. For the sublime Spirits, holding princedom over those same nations, by no means contend on behalf of those who act unjustly, but, judging their deeds justly, examine them. And when either the fault or the justice of each nation is brought to the counsel of the heavenly court, the Prefect of that same nation is said either to have prevailed in the contest or not to have prevailed. Yet of all of them the one victory is the supreme will of their Maker over themselves: and while they always behold it, they never will what they are not able to obtain. Well therefore is it said: "Who maketh concord in his high places." These are the words of Job 25 v. 2, on occasion of which St. Gregory discoursed all those things. The studious reader will easily see that what was uttered by the Prophet after the human manner of acting is expounded most piously and probably; and that the whole exposition, in so far as it regards the princedom of the Angels and our purpose, is plainly conformable to Jerome's; yet that it differs in this, that Jerome gave one reason why the Prince of the Greeks came, and Gregory another. But this does not pertain to our purpose.

[161] St. Basil, in book 3 against Eunomius, number 1, St. Basil agrees, and alleges other things also from the Scriptures: after he had asserted that Angels are guardians of men, goes on thus: But that there are again certain Angels who are set over whole nations, Moses teaches us through his Canticle, when he says: "When the Most High divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam, he appointed the bounds of the nations according to the number of his Angels." And the wise Daniel in the vision of the Angel heard him saying: The prince of the kingdom of the Persians, etc. He alleges the passage of Scripture already given. Then he subjoins: But he too who was manifested to Josue the son of Nun at the Jordan is called the commander and leader of the hosts of the Lord. The apparition which Basil here rightly brings forward for the confirmation of his opinion is read in Josue 5, and was given above in §5, number 68. The Angel said of himself: I am the Prince of the host of the Lord. He was therefore the guardian of the Israelite nation, which constituted the army. Moreover, by the same reasoning by which Basil assigns the said vision to confirm the tutelage of whole nations by Angels, the passage given at number 64, Exodus 23 v. 20, seems able to be adduced in confirmation: "Behold I will send my Angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in the way, etc."; since without doubt that promise is given to Moses on behalf of the whole nation.

[162] to which are added both some things from the Scriptures, and some Fathers. But if anyone should wish to contend that by a singular privilege a guardian Angel was given by God to the Israelites, and that therefore it is not rightly inferred from their example that tutelary Angels were set over other nations also; I would answer that the same cannot be said of the Angels of the Persians and of the Greeks. There is added, according to the interpretation of various writers, the guardian Angel of Macedonia, who is read to have appeared to St. Paul in Acts 16 v. 9, as was related at number 115. St. Jerome also finds Angels of provinces in the vision of Zacharias, related at number 91 with St. Jerome's interpretation, who explains those words: These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk through the earth, of the guardian Angels who presided over kingdoms and nations. Isidore of Pelusium, book 2, Epistle 85, plainly agrees that to each nation an Angel has been assigned, as does Nazianzen also, praised at number 144. Origen mentions the Angels who preside over provinces in various places, and namely in Homily 23 on Josue, and Homily 12 on Luke, where he believes the Angel who appeared to St. Paul in Acts 16 to be the guardian of Macedonia. I pass over others, lest I become longer than is right.

[163] Angels are guardians of other things also. It is the opinion also of many Fathers that their own guardian Angels preside over the several churches. Yet the passage of the Apocalypse, chapters 2 and 3, where John is bidden to write to the Angels of the seven churches, which several have alleged to prove the aforesaid prefecture of the Angels, is commonly explained otherwise, namely of the bishops. And rightly indeed do we deny that by Angels there the blessed Spirits are signified, since some of them are reproved for certain defects which do not fall upon the holy Angels, who always see the face of God and are without experience of sin. It was an error of Origen that some of the Angels from time to time failed in their office, and so sinned and fell even from the grace of God. But that error has been condemned for many centuries, and refuted by most of the Fathers. St. Augustine, in book of the 83 Questions, Question 79, says: Each visible thing in this world has an Angelic power set over it, as the divine Scripture testifies in several places. Again in book 8 on Genesis according to the letter, chapter 23, he teaches that God has subjected all creatures to some other more sublime creature, and then in chapter 22 writes this: And through this, to the sublime Angels, who in subjection enjoy God and blessedly serve God, is subjected every bodily nature, every irrational life, every will whether weak or depraved, that they may do with regard to those subject to them, or together with those subject to them, what the order of nature demands in all things, at the command of him to whom all things are subject. Many particular things Origen handed down, concerning which the theologians may be consulted. It is not my purpose to heap up more of these matters.

§ XI. The chief benefits of the Angels, and especially of the guardian Angels, toward their clients, which are gathered from the sacred Writings.

[ ] Guardian Angels toward their clients Saint Augustine, in book 1 on Christian Doctrine, chapter 30, writes this: But now, if he to whom the office of mercy is to be shown, or he by whom it is to be shown to us, is rightly called a neighbour, it is manifest that by this precept, in which we are bidden to love our neighbour, the holy Angels also are comprehended, by whom so great offices of mercy are bestowed upon us, as it is easy to observe in many places of the divine Scriptures. By these words he intimates that the offices of the Angels toward men are made known partly by the general words of Scripture, partly by particular examples. General are the words of Psalm 90, He (God) hath given his Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. From these St. Bernard, on the said Psalm, Who dwelleth, in Sermon 12, thus admonishes: How great a reverence ought this word to inspire in thee, how great a devotion to bring thee, how great a confidence to confer upon thee! reverence for their presence, devotion for their good will, confidence for their guardianship. Walk warily, as one to whom, namely, Angels are present, as it has been commanded them, in all thy ways. In whatever lodging, in whatever corner, have reverence for thy Angel. Wouldst thou dare in his presence what thou wouldst not dare if I saw thee? Or dost thou doubt that he is present, whom thou dost not see? What if thou didst hear him? what if thou didst touch him? what if thou didst smell him? See, that the presence of things is not proved by sight alone… If thou consult faith, it proves to thee that the Angelic presence is not wanting… They are present therefore, and present to thee, not only with thee, but also for thee. They are present to protect: they are present to profit. Thus far Bernard concerning the presence of the guardian Angel in every place.

[165] The same presence he confirms in Sermon 39 on the Canticles, are everywhere present, and protect the pious where at the same time he teaches that the Angel is present to turn away all dangers from his client. Thou shouldst know, he says, that a soul of this kind (namely a pious one) is never without the guardianship of Angels, who are jealous over it with the jealousy of God, anxious to keep it for their Husband, and to present it a chaste virgin to Christ. And say not in thy heart: Where are they? Who has seen them? The prophet Elisha saw them, and moreover by praying brought it about that Giezi also saw them. Thou dost not see, because thou art not a prophet, nor a prophet's servant. The patriarch Jacob saw, and said: "These are the camps of God." The Doctor of the gentiles also saw, who said: "Are they not all ministering Spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" That general protection of the pious by the guardian Angels is excellently confirmed from Psalm 33 v. 7: The Angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them. For there these words precede: And he saved him out of all his troubles — namely God saved the poor man crying to him: and then follow the words about the protection of the Angel, as though to explain how God is to deliver the pious out of all their troubles.

[166] That she had been delivered by God from great dangers Judith acknowledged in dangers when, after Holofernes had been slain, she spoke thus in chapter 13 v. 20: But as the Lord himself liveth, his Angel hath kept me both going hence (to the camp of Holofernes) and abiding there, and returning from thence hither. And Judith testifies that she was delivered not only from the dangers of the body and of life, but also that she returned without the pollution of sin. Jacob in Genesis 48 acknowledges that he was rescued from all evils by the Angel. Preservation likewise in grave and manifest dangers is signified by those words of Psalm 90 v. 12 which follow the words alleged above: In their hands they shall bear thee up; lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. Bernard, praised before, gathers from the words alleged how great is our need of a guardian Angel, since we live among so many dangers, and are little ones and feeble.

[167] and in temptations. For see, he says in Sermon 12, how necessary to thee is that protection, that guardianship in all thy ways. "In their hands (he says) they shall bear thee up, lest ever thou dash thy foot against a stone." Does it seem to thee a small matter that there is a stone of stumbling in the way? Consider what follows: "Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon." How necessary a tutor, nay even a bearer, especially for a little one walking among these things! "In their hands (he says) they shall bear thee up." In thy ways indeed they will keep thee and lead thee as a little one, because a little one can walk. But for the rest they will not suffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able to bear, but will lift thee in their hands, that thou mayest pass over the stumbling-block. How easily he passes over,

who is borne in their hands [ ] Hence he immediately admonishes thus: As often therefore as a most grievous temptation is seen to press, and a vehement tribulation to threaten, call upon thy Guardian, thy leader, thy helper in opportunities, in tribulation. Cry out to him, and say: Lord, save us, we perish. Before this he had given courage in these words: But for the rest, even though we are such little ones, and so great a way remains for us, and not only so great but also so perilous; what nevertheless should we fear under such Guardians? They can neither be overcome nor seduced, and much less can they seduce, who keep us in all our ways. They are faithful, they are prudent, they are powerful. Why do we tremble? Let us only follow them, let us cleave to them, let us abide under the protection of the God of heaven.

[168] so far as it is profitable to them for salvation. Bernard adds those last words because so singular a protection is promised to those who dwell in the aid of the Most High, and who fear God, such as Jacob was, such as Judith, such as Tobias, whom in a singular manner the Angel Raphael protected against all dangers, as we saw in §3. But if anyone should wish to object that grave losses, inconveniences, adversities, calamities and miseries sometimes arise even for the just, as befell Job, Tobias, and very many others; and that these are not turned away by the guardian Angels: it will easily be answered that temporal adversities frequently profit those who love God for the obtaining of immense and eternal goods in heaven, and that therefore they are not always turned away either by God or by the guardian Angel, who follows the will of God. Hence Raphael in Tobias 12 v. 13 says to the elder Tobias: And because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee. And in chapter 2 v. 12, after relating the blindness which had befallen Tobias, Scripture subjoins: Now this trial the Lord therefore permitted to happen to him, that an example might be given to posterity of his patience, as also of holy Job. For whereas he had always feared God from his infancy, and kept his commandments, he repined not against God because the evil of blindness had befallen him, but continued immovable in the fear of God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life. For as kings insulted over holy Job, so his parents and kinsmen mocked at his life, etc.

[169] That those who sin do not enjoy so singular a protection of the guardian Angel, St. Bernard observes in Sermon XI on these words, The Guardian has not so great a care of those who act wickedly, In all thy ways, subjoining the following: In which all thy ways? Those by which thou turnest aside from evil, by which thou fleest from the wrath to come. Many are the ways, and many the kinds of ways: assuredly a great danger for the traveller! How easily, when many meet him, will he stray in his own way, who has lacked discernment of the ways! For neither did he give his Angels charge to keep us in all ways, but in all our ways. But there are ways from which, not in which, one ought to be kept. He observes also in Sermon 12 that the Angel sometimes conceals his presence, even though he is really present to his client, adding: For these hands (of the Guardian) are spiritual, and the helps are assuredly spiritual, which are spiritually and in manifold ways displayed to each of the elect, according to the measure of each one's peril and of the difficulty set before him, as of the size of a mass of stone, by those Angels who have been deputed to them.

[170] I say, however, some of these things which I judge to be more common, but great toward those who are troubled by inward and unexperienced by few among you. Is anyone vehemently troubled, whether by some bodily inconvenience, or by some worldly tribulation, or languishing with spiritual sloth and a certain failing of soul? Already he begins to be tempted above what he can bear, already he will strike and stumble against the stone, if there be none to come to his aid. But what is that stone? I understand it to be that stone of stumbling and rock of scandal, against which if any strike, he shall be dashed to pieces: but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder; assuredly the corner stone, elect, precious, who is the Lord Christ. To strike against this Stone is to murmur against him, to be scandalized through pusillanimity of spirit and through storm. And so he has need of Angelic aid, of Angelic consolation, of Angelic hands, who now has failed, now is well-nigh striking against the Stone. And truly he strikes against the Stone who murmurs and blasphemes, dashing himself to pieces, and not him against whom in his fury he hurls himself. I think indeed that such men are sometimes supported by the Angels as it were by two hands, so that in a certain manner without feeling it they pass over what they so greatly dreaded, and afterwards wonder not a little, as much at their later power as at their earlier difficulty.

[171] Do you wish to know what two hands I understand? Assuredly a twofold demonstration, troubles. while namely on the one side the brevity of tribulation, on the other the eternity of the recompense is shown, or rather is painted or impressed upon the heart, so that we may feel with inmost affection that this momentary and light tribulation of ours worketh in us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory. But who would not believe that such good suggestions are made through good spirits, since it is certain that, on the contrary, evil visitations assuredly are made through evil Angels? Have the Angels for your familiars, my brethren; frequent them with diligent thought and devout prayer, who are always present to you for guardianship and consolation. Thus Bernard, who, while he asserts that good thoughts of this kind are suggested to the tempted by the guardian Angels, does not exclude the inward grace of God, which in many places he testifies to be necessary. If we weigh the pious counsels which Raphael suggested to the younger Tobias, which the Angel appearing to Cornelius suggested in Acts 10, and other Angels in the other places mentioned before, we shall not doubt the assertions of St. Bernard.

[172] The same writer records other offices of the Angels also in Epistle 78 to Suger, abbot of St. Denis, whom he congratulates on the restoration of monastic discipline, and on occasion of the singing in choir speaks thus of the Angels: Other benefits of the Guardians, O if anyone had opened eyes, such as the prophet (Elisha) by praying revealed to the boy (Giezi), he would without doubt see how the Princes go before, joined with those who sing psalms, in the midst of young maidens playing on timbrels. He would see, I say, with what care and with what dancing they take part in the songs, are present with those who pray, are within those who meditate, are over those who rest, and preside over those who pray and provide. Assuredly the heavenly Powers recognize their fellow-citizens, and for those who receive the inheritance of salvation they anxiously rejoice together, strengthen, instruct: they protect and provide for all, all in all things. So certainly did Raphael provide for Tobias.

[173] by which their clients are bound. Hence in Sermon 12 on Psalm 90 he indeed admonishes that all things are done by the Angels at God's command, and that therefore the glory is to be referred to God alone; yet he presently adds the following: Nevertheless, although he gave the command, we may not be ungrateful to them also, who both obey him with so great charity and come to our aid in so great necessity. Let us therefore be devoted, let us be grateful to such guardians; let us love them in return, let us honour them, as much as we can, as much as we ought. And lower down: In him (God) therefore, brethren, let us affectionately love his Angels, as those who will one day be our co-heirs, but who meanwhile are governors and guardians appointed by the Father and set over us. In many other places St. Bernard exhorts to the cult of the Angels, not only as lawful, of which no Catholic doubts, but also as useful and greatly fruitful for us. The cult of the Angels could be vindicated against the heretics who assailed it: but this has been done by more writers than would make it seem necessary to confirm that Catholic doctrine further here.

[174] The Angels offer our prayers to God, It is also the office of the guardian Angel to stir up his client to good works, as the words of Bernard just alleged clearly intimate; and to offer to God our prayers and pious vows and good works, as Raphael says he did in Tobias 12 v. 12 in these words: When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, etc. … I offered thy prayer to the Lord. The same is also indicated in Apocalypse 8 v. 3 and 4 in this manner: And another Angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer: and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all the Saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne of God. And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God from the hand of the Angel. But they are to be reckoned so to offer our prayers to God as to join their own prayers for us to God. For that the Angels pray for us is gathered also from Daniel chapter 10, where the Angel appearing to Daniel, who is believed to be Gabriel, stood with Michael on behalf of the Jews against the Prince of the Persians, namely by pleading with God in prayers for them, as the holy Fathers expound.

[175] and intercede for us with God, St. Bernard in Sermon 31 on the Canticles sets forth most piously how in these matters the guardian Angel deals with the soul, and intercedes for the pious soul with God: But his Angel also, he says at number 5, who is one of the companions of the Bridegroom, deputed to this very thing, assuredly the minister and arbiter of that secret and mutual greeting: he, I say, that Angel, how he dances, how he rejoices and delights together, and turning to the Lord says: I give thee thanks, Lord of majesty, because thou hast given her the desire of her heart, and hast not defrauded her of the will of her lips. It is he who in every place, like a diligent attendant of the soul, ceases not to urge her, and to admonish her with assiduous suggestions, saying: Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the petitions of thy heart. And again: Expect the Lord and keep his way. Likewise: If he make any delay, wait for him, for he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. But to the Lord he says: As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters, so panteth this soul after thee, O God. She has desired thee in the night, but thy Spirit also in her inmost heart has watched for thee from the morning. And again: All the day she stretcheth out her hands to thee: send her away, for she crieth after thee: Turn a little, and be entreated over her. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit her that is desolate. A faithful Bridesman, who, conscious of their mutual love but not envious, seeks not his own but the Lord's glory; he runs to and fro between the Beloved and the beloved one, offering vows, bringing back gifts. He rouses her, he appeases him. Sometimes also, though rarely, he presents them alike to one another, either snatching her up or leading him in: since indeed he is of the household, and known in the palace, and fears no repulse, and daily sees the face of the Father. Thus far Bernard, warning that all this is to be understood mystically.

[176] Again it is the office of the Angels to restrain the demons, they check the temptations of the demons: lest they tempt men more than they are able to endure, or than God has permitted. This is gathered from the deed of St. Raphael in Tobias 8 v. 3, where it is said: Then Raphael the Angel took the devil, and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt. To that also belong the words of Psalm 90: Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, etc. Wherefore St. Bernard

in Sermon 13 infers the very great necessity of Angelic guardianship, writing this: But hear more plainly how needful it is for thee to be borne in the hands of others, and yet in no other than Angelic hands: "Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon." What would a human foot do among these? What of human feeling would stand firm among such horrible monsters? Assuredly they are spiritual wickednesses, and designated indeed by no unfitting appellations… But who can know whether the operations of malice, the ministries of iniquity, are divided among them, so that, having obtained different names also from their different offices, or rather misdeeds, one is called an asp, another a basilisk, another a lion, and another a dragon, because namely in their own invisible manner they do harm in different ways, as one by biting, another by sight, another by roaring or by a blow, another by his breath? I pass over very many Fathers who acknowledge the protection of the Angels, especially against the demons.

[177] From various passages of Scripture it also seems to be gathered that offenders are corrected and amended by the Angels, they seem sometimes to chastise offenders, and even driven to amendment by punishments, just as the sick are not seldom treated more harshly by physicians, and sons by their own parents, if that seems expedient or necessary for their healing or amendment. Concerning the Angel whom God gave to the Israelites as guardian, he thus admonished in Exodus 23 v. 20: And think not that he is to be despised, because he will not forgive when thou hast sinned. Hence in Judges 2 the Angel, who probably was the same guardian of the Israelites, gravely rebuked the assembled people because they had not destroyed the inhabitants of the promised land, and adds the punishment in God's name at v. 3, speaking thus: Wherefore I would not destroy them from before your face, that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your ruin. Grave indeed is the punishment which the Angel threatens in the name of God on account of disobedience, and from it St. Augustine, in question 12 on Judges, infers that some sins also come from the wrath of God, namely because God, in punishment of a preceding sin, does not turn away the occasions by which men slip into other sins, as here God threatens through his Angel that he will do. Nor yet is that punishment anything other than the withdrawal of benefits in no way owed. How David also was punished through an Angel was related at number 77.

[178] and to withdraw their visitation. Wherefore St. Bernard in Sermon 1 on the feast of St. Michael admonishes thus: And since these things are so, weigh, dearly beloved, with how great solicitude we too have need to show ourselves worthy of their company, and so to conduct ourselves in the sight of the Angels that we do not perchance offend those holy gazes. For woe to us if ever, provoked by our sins and negligences, they shall judge us unworthy of their presence and visitation, so that we must then both lament and say with the Prophet: "My friends and my neighbours have drawn near and stood against me; and they that were near me stood afar off; and they that sought my soul used violence" — those, namely, being removed whose presence could protect us and drive off the enemy. But if we have so necessary a familiarity with the Angelic condescension, their offence must be avoided by us, and we must exercise ourselves most of all in those things in which we know them to take delight. He adds some good works of men which are most of all pleasing to the Angels. But, that I may not become too long, let it suffice to have said that all things which please God will please the Angels also.

[179] Helps from the Angels in perils of life, That men are also snatched from manifest perils of losing their life by the aid of their Angels is proved by various examples. Thus in Genesis 21 the boy Ismael, whom his mother Agar had already abandoned as about to die, was preserved in life at the urging of an appearing Angel. Thus in Daniel 3 Ananias, Misael and Azarias were preserved unharmed in the midst of the burning furnace by an Angel. Thus Daniel was preserved in life in the den of lions, Daniel 6, and again in Daniel 14 was not only preserved from the lions, but also, lest he should die of hunger, received food by the help of an Angel. Thus St. Peter in Acts 12, when he was to be put to death by the order of Herod, was loosed from his chains by an Angel, led out of the prison, and freed from imminent death. Other particular benefits also, pertaining to the present life, not a few have obtained through the Angels. In Genesis 16 the Angel by his admonitions brought back the handmaid Agar, who, fleeing from the house of her mistress, was exposed to dangers in the desert, and in God's name promised her a numerous posterity. When Elias, on account of the threats of queen Jezabel, had been seized with vehement fear, and even desired death, 3 Kings 19, sitting in the desert without food and drink, an Angel was at hand, and restored him in his fear, and supplied him with food and drink. And Elisha, when in 4 Kings 6 he was surrounded by the army of the Syrians, had many Angels as helpers, and escaped safe.

[180] and in other necessities, St. Joseph in Matthew 1 was admonished not to put away his most holy spouse Mary, which he was thinking of doing; and again in chapter 2, to withdraw the child Jesus and his Mother from the persecution of Herod, and afterwards to return from Egypt into Judea. Again in John 5 an Angel by his ministry restored health to the sick at the pool of probation. Christ himself, the Lord, when for our sake he willed to be in agony, Luke 22, did not disdain to have an Angel for his comforter. Yet in Matthew 26 he was unwilling to ask for legions of Angels, that he might suffer for us. After the resurrection Angels are present, to announce the resurrection of Christ to the mourning women, and through them to the Apostles, and by this means to give them courage. So in Acts 27 an Angel revealed to St. Paul that none of those who were in the ship that was to perish would lose his life, and thus restored those who were as it were dead with fear, and made them all of calmer mind. I pass over various things related before, but concerning the help rendered by the Angels in wars I shall briefly gather what has already been given.

[181] First, in Exodus 14, when Pharao with his army was pursuing the Israelites, [[ ] in wars,] the Angel so placed the pillar of cloud between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel that the Egyptians were unable to approach, and thus brought it about that the trembling Israelites were compelled neither to fight nor to surrender themselves as captives. Secondly, in Josue 5 and 6 the Angel taught Josue in what manner the city of Jericho was to be taken, and in exactly that manner was that city stormed. When the Israelites were oppressed by the Madianites, an Angel in Judges 6 appeared to Gedeon, and encouraged him to free his people from the yoke of the Madianites, which he happily accomplished with only three hundred men by divine help, as is related in chapter 7. The pious king Ezechias, in 4 Kings 19, when a huge army of the Assyrians was threatening every extremity, was delivered by an Angel, a hundred and eighty-five thousand being slain in one night, and the rest fleeing. Judas Machabeus at various times routed huge armies of the enemy by Angelic help, and famous leaders he partly put to flight, partly slew — namely Timotheus, whom he first conquered with immense slaughter and then slew: Lysias, with a most numerous army, he overcame and put to flight: and Nicanor at last, after a slaughter of the enemy the greatest of all, he learned to have been killed in the battle. These things I judged should be briefly reviewed, lest anyone should at once think that similar things must be held for fables, if he should read them in ecclesiastical or profane histories.

[182] Other particular benefits of the Angels could also be added, [and very many others. The same are believed to carry the souls of the pious departed] since St. Raphael procured a rich and pious wife for the younger Tobias, and rendered him help in recovering the money from Gabelus: and restored the sight of his father Tobias, gave excellent admonitions to the younger, and freed him from all dangers on the long journey — so that it seems to be inferred that similar things are not seldom rendered by the guardian Angels to their pious clients. But both these and other things we have reviewed before, and what has been given is enough for us to understand that there is no necessity either of soul or of body in which the Angels do not succour their clients, as often as it shall please the divine Majesty. Lastly therefore I add the final benefit which is believed to be rendered by the guardian Angels to the souls of the pious after death, namely that they lead them into heaven, if they are altogether pure, or into the place of purgatory, if there be any stains to be expiated. This is gathered from the words of Christ the Lord in Luke 16 v. 22 concerning the beggar Lazarus: And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom.

[183] Hence St. Bernard, in Sermon 13 on Psalm 90 v. 12, into heaven or purgatory. reasons thus: We can take this verse which is in hand, namely, "In their hands they shall bear thee up," etc., as said not only of present consolation, but also of that which is to come. Assuredly the holy Angels keep us in our ways, but the way being finished (which is assuredly life being finished) they lift us in their hands. For faithful witnesses are not wanting to us. There was lately read to you concerning our most blessed father, truly in all things Benedict, that, while he seemed to hold the intent gaze of his eyes in the splendour of a flashing light, he saw the soul of Germanus bishop of Capua carried by Angels into heaven in a fiery sphere. But why should we require testimonies of this kind? Truth itself in the Gospel says of the beggar full of sores that he was carried by Angels into Abraham's bosom. For neither could we ourselves walk in that region so new and so unknown to us, etc. This St. Bernard believed to be necessary on account of the demons; and for the same reason he had said in Sermon 7 concerning the dying: Since there will altogether be need there of a guardian, need of a faithful leader, need of a great consoler, on account of those horrible visions, no less than here of a helper and defender against the invisible tempters. In this place, however, he seems to speak rather of Christ as helper than of the guardian Angel.

[184] More concerning the guardian Angels has been inquired into by others. More concerning the Angels I shall not inquire, even though the theologians dispute far more about them. And so I shall not investigate from which orders or choirs of Angels the guardians of men are, or the guardians of churches, congregations, cities, provinces: no more shall I inquire whether the guardians of bishops, princes, kings, supreme Pontiffs are of another order of Angels than the Angels of private persons. I shall not examine whether some placed in dignities of this kind have twin guardians, one for their own person, another by reason of their office, as some have maintained. Even more doubtful seems to me the question whether from all the orders of Angels some are dispatched by God for the guardianship of men, or at least are sent to render certain offices to men; or whether they are chosen from only some of the lower orders — too doubtful for me to care to discuss it. We saw at numbers 129 and 130 that St. Gregory the Great doubted about this matter, and I have not yet found the grounds of doubt which he brings forward clearly removed. Hence consequently we cannot determine of what choir of Angels SS. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are, whom we know to be ministering

spirits, and sent on a ministry. For some will have it that they are of the highest order of the Seraphim, others of the order of the Archangels, others of different orders. I would rather learn more of these matters than teach them.

§ XII. On the apparition of St. Michael at Chonae, related in the Calendars of the Greeks: of what sort the Acts of this apparition are, and at about what time it seems to have happened.

[ ] From the apparition of St. Michael and the miracle That among the Greeks there is celebrated on the VI of September the famous apparition of St. Michael, which is said to have happened in the city of the Colossians, which was afterwards called Chonae, we observed at number 15 from the Menologium and other Calendars of the Greeks, the Muscovites and the Copts. In the printed Menaea, at the VI of September, the event is narrated in Greek words, which, rendered into Latin, I transfer hither: Gentile men, pining with envy on account of the miracles which were done in the temple of the chief captain Michael, wished to turn a river flowing in the neighbourhood against the temple, that they might both submerge the temple and destroy the venerable man Archippus, who dwelt near by. But the divine Chief Captain, appearing alone and bidding Archippus be of good courage, strikes a rock with his staff, making in it a passage for the river: from that time to this it is seen to pass over, poured in. In the Basilian Menologium, at the same day, the matter is narrated in a somewhat different manner.

[186] the city of Colossae is said afterwards to have been called Chonae. Wherefore I transcribe its account also: In that city which is now called Chonae, but formerly Colassa, a certain pious man fearing God, by name Archippus, dwelt at that place from which by the working of the great Chief Captain waters had flowed forth. When there, by the innumerable miracles which were performed through the water, he was converting and baptizing many unbelievers, he stirred up the envy of the Greeks, who could not bear to see those wonderful prodigies. And so, inflamed with monstrous rage against the lustral water and against holy Archippus, having gathered an innumerable band of workmen, and having drawn two great rivers together into one channel, they let loose the rapid mass of flowing water upon that place, that they might tear down at once both the temple and that lustral water and Archippus. But when Archippus perceived the roar of the rushing water, he implored the help of the Chief Captain: who was at once present, and, striking the rock with the staff which he held in his hands, buried the waters in a sudden chasm of that same rock: and from that time that place has been called Chonae. This reason for the change of the city's name is asserted also in the Synaxary of Sirmond, to be praised from time to time below. The studious reader will easily see that there is some diversity in these accounts. For in the Menaea mention is made of one river only, in the Menologium of two. According to the Acts to be given and the Synaxary, the impious wished to lead two rivers at once headlong from the mountains into the oratory of St. Michael, as the Menologium has it.

[187] As concerns the place designated, it is a city of Phrygia Pacatiana, the river Lycus near Colossae went under the earth, which was formerly called Colossae, or, as some will have it, Colassae, and was afterwards called Chonae. Cellarius treats of it in his Ancient Geography, volume 2, page 92, and shows that Colassae was situated on the river Lycus, and that Laodicea and Hierapolis, cities of the same province, were near. He brings forward also these words of Herodotus: He came to Colossae, an excellent town of Phrygia, where the river Lycus goes under a chasm of the earth, and then, emerging after about five stadia, itself glides into the Meander. Near the same city he mentions also the river Caprus. He there cites likewise the following words of Pliny concerning the river Lycus: They go under the earth and are given back again: the Lycus in Asia, the Erasinus in Argolis, the Tigris in Mesopotamia. Strabo, in book 12, page 578, where he had treated of Laodicea, and had said that the Colossians dwelt in the neighbourhood, subjoins this: There also the Caprus and the Lycus fall into the Maeander. The Lycus is a river of fair size, from which Laodicea also has its surname, so that it is called Laodicea on the Lycus. Above the city is situated mount Cadmus, from which the Lycus flows down, and likewise another river of the same name as the mountain: which, since it goes under the earth for no small distance and, emerging again, mingles with the remaining rivers, at once both declares the soil to be pierced with many openings, and easily liable to earthquakes, etc.

[188] These things concerning the river going under the earth I wished to bring forward, so that this is not to be attributed to a Miracle of St. Michael: because they exhibit something similar to those things which in the aforesaid Calendars are said to have happened by a miracle of St. Michael. For from mount Cadmus two rivers are said to rise, one the Lycus, the other of the same name as the mountain, that is, the Cadmus. So the Acts at number 12 exhibit two rivers on the mountain, and call them the Cuphus and the Lycocaprus. The Menologium, moreover, adds that these were sunk into the earth by St. Michael, as the Lycus is said to go under a chasm of the earth. But that the Acts themselves are of slight authority we shall see below. Wherefore many will easily suspect that that wonderful course of the river Lycus, which long before the birth of Christ was seen to go under the earth and then to break out again, as is established from Herodotus and the others alleged, gave occasion for embellishing the miracle of St. Michael. I confess that I too am perplexed by the observation alleged, because in the very same place, as it seems, where the river had already before entered under the earth, it is said by a miracle of St. Michael to have been poured into a chasm of the earth. Nay, in the Menaea, the Menologium, the Synaxary, the Acts published by Surius, and other Greek pieces wrongly attributed to Archippus, St. Michael is said to have made almost such a chasm of the earth to afford a passage for the river as we know to have been there before. And so I do not hesitate to declare that in all those monuments the miracle is related in a corrupt fashion.

[189] who nevertheless there repressed the inundation of the waters, But the Greek Acts, which I shall presently publish, even though they are not free from other defects, seem to set forth that miracle of the repressed waters more correctly. Certainly the observation about the Lycus going under the earth at Colossae from most ancient times does not conflict with them, but rather in this respect wins them probability. For we easily grasp that some river which for a notable distance runs through a rather narrow chasm of the earth must necessarily rise and overflow before the chasm, when a greater abundance of waters comes down than the chasm is able to transmit. But in the Acts to be given, at numbers 16 and 17, it is only said that St. Michael first held back the waters as they approached the oratory and rose on high, and then drove them back to the rock already broken through before and gaping in a kind of likeness of a furnace, that is, to the very chasm of the earth through which the Lycus used to flow. The author of the Acts therefore agrees with the ancient geographers concerning the chasm of the earth through which the Lycus flowed. But we acknowledge the miracle in this, that the Archangel held back the waters until they could flow away through the accustomed chasm, and perhaps made the chasm wider, as is likely, if the earthquake which he adds is true.

[190] and had a famous shrine at Colossae, whose name But whatever the miracle of St. Michael may have been, certainly the shrine sacred to St. Michael at Colossae or Chonae was famous. Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions it in his Work on the Themes, theme 3, in these words: The twelfth (among the cities which he enumerates) is Colossae, which is now called Chonae, where is seen a most celebrated temple of Michael the archangel. That change of name, which in the Menologium and the Synaxary is attributed to the miracle of Michael, seems to have happened in the VII or VIII century: for in Le Quien's Oriens Christianus, volume 1, columns 815 and 816, bishops of Colossae are enumerated, and these, in the subscriptions of councils down to the Trullan council, which in Labbe volume 6, column [ ], is set at the year 692, are called Colossians, just as Cosmas is read at column [ ] to have subscribed to the canons of the said council.

[191] was changed in the VII or VIII century to Chonae. On the other hand, at the VII ecumenical synod, or Nicaea II, in volume 7 of the Councils, column 571, Dositheus bishop of Chonae is read to have subscribed. This council was held in the year 787. That the earlier name, however, was not then wholly obliterated we learn from the list of bishops which preceded, since in it, at column 549, mention is made of Δοσιθέου ἐπισκόπου Ψόνων (Χώνων) ἤτοι Κολασσῶν; of Dositheus bishop of Chonae or of Colossae. That in the words alleged Χώνων is to be read, as Le Quien has it, and not Ψόνων, the matter itself declares, and the subscription of the bishop himself which follows. Those bishops of the same city who are afterwards enumerated in Le Quien, having been made metropolitans in the IX century, are all called of Chonae or Chonenses. But I do not sufficiently understand why the praised Le Quien says, Wherefore the bishopric of Colossae was altogether transferred to Chonae, unless he means that Colossae was destroyed, and Chonae arose in its neighbourhood at the temple of St. Michael. But nearly everything that he adduces rather intimates that the name of the city was changed. Nor is it improbable that the change of name arose from the miracle of St. Michael.

[192] The Acts of the Apparition at Chonae published in Latin: But as concerns the Acts of the apparition of St. Michael at Chonae, both those which have been published in Latin and those which we have unpublished in Greek, they labour under many difficulties, as we shall presently see. Lipomanus, in volume 6 of the Lives, folio 229, among those Acts which he attributes to Metaphrastes, published the Acts of this apparition, as they had been made Latin from the Greek, under this title: A narration of the miracle which was wrought in the region of Chonae by Michael the archangel, prince of the heavenly host. This edition was afterwards reprinted in Surius at the XXIX of September, on which the Latins celebrate the chief feast of St. Michael. Lipomanus, however, wished to express the particular festivity of the Greeks, but instead of the VI of September, on which that apparition is celebrated, he noted the V of September. We have also another Latin translation of the same Acts, which in the time of Bolland some priest of our Society worked out, as I gather from the handwriting: for the name of the translator is not found written on it. Whoever he may have been, that translation will be of little profit, since I am not going to reprint those Acts, which I judge to be rightly ascribed to Metaphrastes, but shall give others in Greek, which seem to have lighted the way for Metaphrastes.

[193] We received these through Pierre Poussines, a man of our Society most well known for his learnedly written and published Works, others in Greek to be published by us, which Poussines found who in the year 1640 sent those Acts with his letter to Bolland. He himself copied out the Acts with his own hand from the library of the most illustrious lord Charles de Montchal, archbishop of Toulouse, and from the codex which among his manuscript books is fifty-first in order. In his letter he says that that codex was written by a hand not indeed ancient, but plainly from overseas. He adds that in the same codex there is a collection of Homilies without order, prefixed with the great names of Chrysostom, Proclus, Damascene; but he does not venture to answer for the truth of the inscriptions. The Homily, however, of which we are treating, is ascribed to Sisinnius patriarch of Constantinople. Of the truth of this inscription also it will be possible to doubt, even though Poussines intimates no doubt at all. Among the patriarchs of Constantinople there were two Sisinnii, namely in the V century St. Sisinnius, and Sisinnius II at the end of the X century. Poussines seems to have believed it the offspring of the first Sisinnius, since he writes in his Letter: It is something, in narrations so paradoxical, to have as it were a foundation, and as it were a surety

able to offer the name of an author of suitable antiquity and dignity. And lower down: There is, I think, ground for my venturing to hope that in those Calendars of yours our Sisinnius may have that place which hitherto his mutilator and well-nigh plagiarist (he means Metaphrastes) had occupied.

[194] From these words it is clear that to Poussines the author of that Sermon seemed to be St. Sisinnius the first, ascribed to Sisinnius of Constantinople. who administered the patriarchate of Constantinople from the year 426 until nearly the end of the year 427, not a full two years, as may be seen before volume 1 of August in the Patriarchs of Constantinople. For Sisinnius II flourished after Symeon Metaphrastes, so that Metaphrastes could have been neither his mutilator nor his plagiarist. Leo Allatius, in his Diatribe on the writings of the Simeons, page 96, assigns the said sermon with its opening and its prefixed title, and attributes it to Sisinnius of Constantinople, but does not add whether it be the first or the second, in this manner: Θαυμάσια τὰ ἔργα σου, Κύριε, ὁ μεγαλοφωνότατος προφήτης Δαυὶδ. Sisinnii archiepiscopi Constantinopolitani λογος, εἰς τὸ ἐν Χώναις θαῦμα τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου Μιχαὴλ. The former Greek words exhibit the opening, the latter the title of the Sermon. But the title with the rest is thus rendered into Latin: A Sermon of Sisinnius archbishop of Constantinople on the miracle of Michael, prince of the heavenly host, which was wrought at Chonae. Allatius does not intimate, as I have said, of which of the two Sisinnii the Sermon is. I judge that it is of neither the first nor the second Sisinnius of Constantinople, and I shall allege my reasons: but certain other things must first be observed.

[195] That there was a superstitious cult of the Angels in Phrygia and among the Colossians is gathered from the Apostle, There formerly flourished at Colossae and in Phrygia Colossians 2 v. 18, thus admonishing: Let no man seduce you, willing in humility and religion of Angels, walking in the things which he hath not seen, in vain puffed up by the sense of his flesh, and not holding the head, from which the whole body, by joints and bands being supplied with nourishment and compacted, groweth unto the increase of God. This passage has exercised the wits of many interpreters. But at least they agree that a superstitious cult of the Angels, which some were endeavouring to bring in, is condemned. The interpretation of Chrysostom pleases me, who observes this on the passage alleged: There were some who said that we ought not to be brought near through Christ, but through the Angels. Most think that it was Jews who preferred the Angels to Christ. Hence those words, and not holding the head, that is, Christ. Hence the council of Laodicea, which was held in the IV century, in Labbe volume 1, column [ ], has in canon 35: That Christians ought not, forsaking the Church of God, to go away and to name Angels, or to hold assemblies, which is forbidden. If therefore anyone shall be found to give himself to this hidden idolatry, let him be anathema, because he has forsaken our Lord Jesus Christ and has gone over to idolatry.

[196] a superstitious cult of those who preferred the Angels to Christ, Theodoret, on the given passage of the Apostle, writes the following: Those who defended the Law were leading men also to worship the Angels, saying that the Law had been given through them. And this vice remained a very long time in Phrygia and Pisidia. Accordingly the synod which met at Laodicea of Phrygia forbade by law that they should pray to the Angels. And even to this day oratories of holy Michael may be seen among them and among their neighbours. Theodoret speaks in agreement with the words of the Apostle which he explains, and proves that the vice which the Apostle had reproved remained a long time, from the council of Laodicea by which it had been condemned. Yet he does not say that that vice continued down to his own times; but by the words remained a very long time he rather hints at the contrary: for otherwise he would have said, it has remained until now, or something similar.

[197] but afterwards a lawful one. But in what he adds, that in his own time also oratories of St. Michael were seen in those parts, he does not seem to disapprove: rather by those words he intimates that the lawful cult of St. Michael flourished most of all in those parts where formerly it had been excessive and superstitious. Certainly in Theodoret's time there were churches dedicated to St. Michael both at Constantinople and at Rome, as will be said in the course of this work, and a man of the highest erudition could not be ignorant of this, and consequently could not disapprove his oratories, especially since he both thought excellently concerning the cult of the Saints, and acknowledged that we need the help of the Angels, on Genesis, Question 4, and in the same place, Question 3, attributes guardian Angels to individual men. But let this suffice in few words: for the place does not require that I should show at greater length that Theodoret thought rightly concerning the cult of the Angels.

[198] The Acts are perhaps of some other Sisinnius. This only do I here urge: Theodoret at least does not seem to have known that famous temple of St. Michael at Chonae, since he assigns oratories of St. Michael to those parts, but none famous beyond the rest and renowned for miracles. Moreover, as I have already said, the name at Chonae, or of the city of Chonae, seems more recent, and certainly arose after the V century, in which both Sisinnius the first of Constantinople and Theodoret flourished. Thirdly, in no monuments of the V century, nay nor of the VI nor VII nor VIII, have I found any mention of the apparition or of the temple of St. Michael at Chonae, so that all those things seem more recent. Wherefore I do not judge that that Sermon of which we are treating is the offspring of the first Sisinnius of Constantinople. To the second Sisinnius I would no more venture to attribute it, since it seems more ancient than Metaphrastes. Perhaps some other Sisinnius is the author of that Sermon; but I shall scarcely believe it older than the VIII or IX century. If we consult the indexes of the councils in Labbe, we shall find that in the VII and VIII and IX centuries there were very many Sisinnii, Eastern bishops, in the Constantinopolitan councils of those times and in Nicaea II. Among them is one of Hierapolis, another of Laodicea, who were neighbours of Chonae, as were also several others mentioned in the same place. Wherefore I rather believe that some bishop of those parts is the author of the Sermon, than Sisinnius of Constantinople.

[199] There exists also another manuscript account of the same Apparition, Other Acts ascribed to Archippus, which we had copied out from the Greek Vatican codex 807, and which we ourselves in the year 1753 collated with the codex. The praised Allatius mentions it on page 94, giving this opening: Ἡ ἀρχὴ τῶν ἰαμάτων καὶ δωρεῶν καὶ χαρισμάτων τῶν δοθέντων ἡμῖν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ. He exhibits the title only in Latin, with a slight change, in this manner: A Narration of Archippus, hermit and paramonarius, concerning the miracle of St. Michael the archangel wrought in the City of Chonae. In the codex this account is placed, not at the VI of September, on which that feast is celebrated by the Greeks, but at the VIII of November, on which the chief festivity of St. Michael is performed among them. But the full title runs thus: Διήγησις καὶ ἀποκάλυψις τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Αρχίππου καὶ προσμοναρίου τοῦ πανσέπτου ναοῦ τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου Μιχαὴλ ἐν ταῖς Χώναις. I shall render it word for word into Latin: The narration and revelation of our holy father Archippus, and prosmonarius (that is, sacristan, I suppose) of the venerable temple of St. Michael at Chonae. That title seems to make Archippus himself, who at various points in the course of the account is called προσμονάριος, the author of that little Work. Nevertheless the whole account is so woven together that the writer extols Archippus with wondrous praises, and always speaks of him as of another person.

[200] Allatius on page 113 mentions as it were another writing of the same Archippus in these words: but the author's name seems fictitious. Τῶν θαυμάτων καὶ δωρεῶν καὶ χαρισμάτων τῶν δοθέντων ἡμῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ. But if anyone will diligently compare this opening with the opening of the writing already mentioned, he will see that the words are the same, except for three terms, and that for ἡ ἀρχὴ τῶν ἰαμάτων there has been substituted τῶν θαυμάτων, the rest agreeing. The title also hints at the same writing. Allatius expresses it thus: Archippi prosmonarii περὶ τῆς ἀποκαλύψεως τοῦ ἀρχαγγέλου Μιχαὴλ. Concerning the revelation of Michael the archangel. Fewer things are said in this title than more fully in the former, and the Graeco-barbarous words παραμονάριος and προσμονάριος signify the same thing also, derived from the words παραμονὴ and προσμονὴ. Or rather that very word προσμονάριος, which is in our manuscript, seems to prove that that writing is not of the earlier centuries, since that word appears altogether to be of a more recent age. But if it were a writing of Archippus, and worthy of credit, it would seem to be referred to the times of the Gentiles ruling in Asia Minor, or to the second or third century, or at least to the fourth. Wherefore I cannot make that Archippus, to whom the revelation is said to have been made, the author of that writing. Hence I doubt whether that Account is older than the Sermon attributed to Sisinnius, or more recent, and I rather believe it more recent than older, since in several places it enlarges those things which in both writings seem fabulous.

[201] All the Acts labour under many faults, As concerns now the authority of the Acts of the apparition, both those which I am presently to give under the name of Sisinnius, and those to which the name of Archippus has been improbably attached, I find in them difficulties for me altogether insuperable. The same must be said of the Acts of Metaphrastes published in Latin, and indeed of the compendium of the Acts which is found in the Constantinopolitan Synaxary at the VI of September: for this is nearly conformable to the Acts, but much shorter. For first, the beginning of the miracles of St. Michael in the place where the famous temple of St. Michael stood is traced back to the times of the Apostles John and Philip. But I find no one among the ancient writers who mentions these things, no document at all concerning them which I can believe older than the VIII or IX century. Secondly, neither the Laodicean canon nor the words of Theodoret, which were given at numbers 195 and 196, agree well with the celebrity of that church, in which, according to the Acts, in their time the lawful cult of St. Michael also would have flourished and would have grown famous by many miracles. Thirdly, Archippus the keeper of the temple is represented in the Acts as a man of the most severe and most holy life: and yet in no Calendars of the Greeks do I find that that Archippus was ever honoured with ecclesiastical cult, or mentioned on any other occasion. Fourthly, the machinations of the Gentiles against the oratory of St. Michael are exaggerated beyond likelihood, as is the whole account from beginning to end. I pass over other things, easily to be detected by the readers themselves.

[202] yet the whole history does not seem to be denied. What then is to be done? Are all things to be banished to fables, and is even the apparition of St. Michael itself, which gave occasion to a feast of all the Greeks and Orientals, to be rejected? I do not think so. For we know that fabulous narrations for the most part arise from some true beginning; but that the truth is so frequently exaggerated by invented narrations that it can with difficulty be said what of truth they contain. So I shall believe it to have happened here also. I shall not deny that there existed in Phrygia near Colossae some oratory of St. Michael, of which a pious man had the care, who may also have been called Archippus. But I shall not easily believe that it is to be referred to the times of the Apostles or of St. John: rather it seems to be much later. It is not incredible that that oratory was at some time in manifest peril from an overflowing of the rivers, together with its keeper, and that by the benefit of the appearing Archangel it was preserved against

the onrush of the waters, and that it grew famous by other miracles of St. Michael. If anything of this sort happened, as we can conjecture with likelihood and probability — whether the peril arose from the malice of some men, or even by chance accident — we easily understand that by an excessive licence of exaggerating and of inventing fictitious circumstances the account which we have could gradually have arisen. This therefore I shall subjoin, as it was sent hither by Poussines, with annotations added at the foot, partly to elucidate some points, partly to indicate those things which differ notably in the other Acts.

§ XIV. The Acts of the apparition at Chonae attributed to Sisinnius, with the translation of Poussines and our Annotations.

[ ] BY SISINNIUS AS AUTHOR

ΘΑυμάσια

τὰ

ἔργα

σου

κύριε,

ὁ

μεγαλοφωνότατος

προφήτης

Δαβὶδ

καὶ

θεοπάτωρ,

μελωδῶν

ἐκήρυξε.

Καὶ

πῶς

γὰρ

οὐ

θαυμαστὰ

καὶ

ἐξαίσια,

τά

τε

ἤδη

καλῶς

μεγαλουργηθέντα,

καὶ

ὡς

οὐκ

ἀν

ἐφίκοιτο

λόγος

τῆς

τούτων

ἐκφράσεως;

ἐπείπερ

αὐτοῖς

τὸ

καλὰ

εῖναι

παρὰ

τοῦ

δημιουργοῦ

λόγου

ἀποκεκλήρωται.

Καὶ

ἃ

νῦν

δι᾽

ἁγίων

ἀγγέλων

ὅσαι

ἡμέραι

μεγαλοπρεπῶς

τελεσιουργεῖται.

Εἰ

γὰρ

θαυμάτων

ὧν

ἡττᾶται

νοῦς

ἅπας

καὶ

λόγος

ἀνθρώπινος,

πολλοὶ

τὴν

οἰκουμένην

ἐπλήρωσαν,

οἷς

ἡ

τοῦ

ἁγίου

πνεύματος

διὰ

τῶν

φυλασσόντων

ἀγγέλων

ἐπεσκίασε

δύναμις,

ὅσων

καὶ

οἵων

εἰκὸς

αὐτῶν

τοῖς

ἀΰλοις

μετεῖναι

καὶ

μάλιστα

τῷ

πάσης

τῆς

τῶν

ἀγγέλων

στρατιᾶς

προεξάρχοντι;

Καὶ

εἰ

τοὺς

σῶμα

περικειμένους

τοσούτων

καὶ

οὕτως

ὑπερφυῶν

δωρεῶν

καὶ

χαρισμάτων

ἠξίωσεν,

ὧστε

καὶ

νεκροῖς

τὸ

ζῆν,

καὶ

τυφλοῖς

τὸ

ὁρᾶν,

καὶ

χωλοῖς

εὐδρομίαν,

καὶ

δαιμονῶσι

τὸ

μηκέτι

διοχλεῖσθαι,

χαρίζεσθαι·

καὶ

ταῦτα

δύνασθαι

κατορθοῦν

τῷ

ἐκείνου

ὀνόματι,

ὅσης

χρὴ

λογίζεσθαι

τῆς

δυνάμεως

τοὺς

ἀσωμάτους

λειτουργοὺς

τῆς

ἄνω

λαμπρότητος,

τοὺς

δι᾽

ὧν

κἀκείνοις

τοῖς

ἐν

σώμασι,

γεγόνασιν

αἱ

τῶν

Θαυμάτων

ἐνέργειαι;

[2] Καὶ

γὰρ

τοῖς

ὑπὲρ

ἀνθρωπίνην

κατάληψιν

σημείοις

καὶ

τέρασιν,

ὁμοῦ

τε

τὸ

τῆς

ἰσχύος

αὐτῶν

παραδεικνῦσι

μέγεθος

καὶ

ὅτι

δεύτερα

φῶτα

αὐτοῦ

μεθέξει

τοῦ

πρώτου

φωτὸς,

χρηματίζουσι.

Τοιγαροῦν,

μηδεὶς

τῶν

ἐνταῦθα

συνειλεγμένων

τοῖς

βιωτικοῖς

καὶ

οἷς

ἥκιστα

χρὴ,

τὸν

νοῦν

ἐχέτω

περιελκόμενον

μηδ᾽

ἐπὶ

τὰ

ἔξω

διαχεόμενον,

ἀλλὰ

πάντων

ἀπηλλαγμένον,

καὶ

πάσης

ὑλικῆς

φροντίδος

σχολάζοντα

τοῦτον

δεικνύτω,

καὶ

παρ᾽

ἑαυτῷ

συναγέτω,

ἵν᾽

εὐθέως

τῶν

λεγομένων

μεταλαμβάνοιτο.

Προθεῖναι

γὰρ

ὑμῖν

ἐπειγόμεθα,

τὰ

δι᾽

ὧν

ἡ

τοῦ

μεγάλου

ἀρχιστρατήγου

Μιχαὴλ

ἅπασιν

ἐκηρύχθη

χάρις

καὶ

δύναμις,

καὶ

τὰ

τοῦ

Θεοῦ

ἡμῶν

μεγαλουργήματα·

ὃς

ἐν

τούτῳ

διαφερόντως

γνωρίζεται

καὶ

θαυμάζεται,

τῷ

τὰ

κρείττω

λόγου

καὶ

ἀκοῆς,

τοῦτο

μὲν

δι᾽

ἑαυτοῦ,

τοῦτο

δὲ

καὶ

διὰ

τῶν

αὐτοῦ

θεραπόντων,

παραδύξως

ἐπιτελεῖν.

[3] Ἀλλ᾽

ἀρκτέον

ὅθεν

ἡ

τοῦ

κηρύγματος

χάρις

διὰ

τῶν

ἀποστόλων

Φιλίππου

καὶ

Ἰωάννου,

τοῖς

πᾶσιν

ἔθνεσι

διεδόθη.

Καὶ

γὰρ

ἐκεῖθεν

ἡ

τῶν

θαυμάτων

ἀρχὴ

πρόεισιν·

ἐπεὶ

καὶ

τῆς

ἐκείνων

θαυματουργίας

φύλαξ

ὁ

μέγας

τοῦ

Θεοῦ

γέγονεν

ἀρχιστράτηγος.

Τῶν

τοῦ

λόγου

κηρύκων

ἄλλων

ἀλλαχοῦ

τῆς

οἰκουμένης

περιθεόντων

καὶ

τὰς

πόλεις

καὶ

κώμας

περιἳόντων

καὶ

τὸ

εὐαγγέλιον

κηρυττόντων,

ὁ

τῆς

βροντῆς

υἱὸς

περὶ

τὸ

κήρυγμα

τὸν

αὐτὸν

ἐκείνοις

ἀγῶνα

ποιούμενος,

ὡς

τῶν

ἴσων

ἠξιωμένος,

μᾶλλον

δὲ

καὶ

μειζόνων

ὅσω

καὶ

πλειόνως

ἠγαπήθη

τε

καί

ἠγάπησεν,

ὡς

καὶ

παρὰ

τῷ

σωτηρίῳ

σταυρῷ

ἑστὼς,

ἀκοῦσαι

υἱὸς

τῆς

τοῦ

κυρίου

μητέρος.

οὗτος

ἐν

ἐφέσῳ

γενόμενος,

καὶ

τὸ

ἐν

τάυτῃ

τοῖς

ἀνοήτοις

τιμώμενον

τῆς

Ἀρτέμιδος

καταστρεψάμενος

ἄγαλμα,

ἦκεν

εἰς

Ἱεράπολιν,

συμπαρειληφὼς

τὸν

ἀπόστολον

Φίλιππον,

ὡς

κἀνταῦθα

τὸν

τῆς

πίστεως

λόγον

κηρύξαντες,

καὶ

τῆς

τῶν

δαιμόνων

ἐξαπάτης

τοὺς

ἀνθρώπους

ἐλευθερώσοντες.

[4] Οἱ

γὰρ

δαίμονες

μυρίας

μορφὰς

τρεπόμενοι,

καὶ

πάντα

φθόνῳ

τῷ

πρὸς

ἡμᾶς

μορφαζόμενοι,

πολλάκις

καὶ

θηρίων

ὁμοιότησιν

εἰκαζόμενοι,

καὶ

τῆς

ἑαυτῶν

κακίας

καὶ

πονηρίας

τούτοις

ὀργάνοις

χρώμενοι,

δι᾽

αὐτῶν

ἐγχέουσι

τοῖς

ἀφυλάκτοις

τῶν

ἀνθρώπων

τὸν

τῆς

ἀπωλείας

ἴον.

Καὶ

γὰρ

δὴ

καὶ

τότε

στήλην

ἐχίδνης

διὰ

τῆς

τῶν

ἑλλήνων

ἀνοίας

στησάμενοι

καὶ

πρὸς

αὐτὴν

εἰσιόντες,

οὕτως

τοὺς

ἕλληνας

ὑπηγάγοντο,

ὡς

μίαν

τῶν

παρ᾽

αὐτοῖς

σεβομένων

καὶ

τιμωμένων

θεῶν

καὶ

τὴν

ἔχιδναν

ὑπειλῆφθαι

φάσμασί

τισι

φοβεροῖς

τοὺς

ἀθλίους

καταγοητεύοντες,

καὶ

παντοίως

αὐτοὺς

κατασοφιζόμενοι.

πολλάκις

δὲ

Φιλίππου

τοῦ

ἀποστόλου

τοὺς

ἐν

Ἱεραπόλει

προσφοιτῶντας

αὐτῷ,

τὰ

θεῖα

διδάσκοντος,

καὶ

πείθοντος

ἀφέντας

τὸ

ἐπὶ

ματαίοις

ὀνειροπολεῖν,

εἰς

ἐπίγνωσιν

γενέσθαι

Θεοῦ,

ἐξελθεῖν

αὐτὸν

τῆς

πόλεως,

πρὶν

κακῶς

ἀπολέσθαι,

διὰ

τῆς

ἐχίδνης

φωνὴν

ἀφιέντες,

προυτρέποντο·

ἀλλὰ

τότε

μὲν

τῶν

δαιμόνων

τῇ

τῶν

ἀποστόλων

προσευχῇ

τῆς

πόλεως

ἀπελαθέντων,

οἱ

τῇ

πλάνῇ

δουλεύοντες

πρός

θεοσέβειαν

μετετάξαντο.

[5] Ἑπεὶ

δὲ

τὸ

τῆς

πίστεως

κήρυγμα

θαυμάτων

ἐπιδείξεσιν

αὐξάνεσθαί

τε

ὁμοῦ

καὶ

βεβαιοῦσθαι,

ἡ

τῶν

καιρῶν

ἀπῄτει

κατάστασις,

εἰς

τόπον

ἀφικόμενοι

Χαιρέτοπα

προσαγορευόμενον

οἱ

τοῦ

λόγου

αὐτόπται,

κᾀνταῦθα

πνεύματι

ἁγίῳ

Θαυματουργοῦσιν,

ἐπισκιαζούσης

ἐκεῖσε

καὶ

θείας

χάριτος

πρότερον,

ταῖς

τοῦ

μεγάλου

ἀρχιστρατήγου

Μιχαὴλ

ἐντεύξεσι

καὶ

πρεσβείαις,

οὐδὲν

ἧττον

τοῦ

μωσαἳκοῦ

θάυματος,

μᾶλλον

δὲ

κρεῖττον

καὶ

ὑψηλότερον.

ὁ

μὲν

γὰρ

ἐν

ἐρήμῳ

πέτραν

ἄνικμον

πηγάζουσαν

τοῖς

Ἰσραηλίταις

ὕδωρ

ἀωέδειξε

σπμάτων

δίψαν

ἰώμενον,

οἱ

δὲ

πηγὴν

ὕδατος,

οὐ

σώμασι

μόνον,

ἀλλὰ

καὶ

ψυχαῖς

τὰς

ἰάσεις

βλυστάνοντος,

δι᾽

εὐχῆς

ἀπειργάσοντο,

ἔνθα

καὶ

τέμενος

τοῦ

ἀρχαγγέλου

ἵδρυτο.

Ἕως

μὲν

οὖν

οἱ

ἀπόστολοι

ἐπὶ

γῆς

ἔτι

ὄντες,

τάς

τε

πόλεις

καὶ

κώμας

περιἳόντες

τὰ

τῆς

εὐσεβείας

δόγματα

τοῖς

ἔθνεσι

παρετίθεντο,

καὶ

τῇ

σαγήνῃ

τῆς

πίστεως

πάντας

ἐφείλκοντο,

οὐδεμία

τοῖς

εἰδωλοθύταις

κατὰ

τῶν

Χριστιανῶν

ἐδίδοτο

πάροδος,

τὰς

παρὰ

τῶν

ἀποστόλων

ἐπιτελουμένας

δυνάμεις

τοῦ

σωτῆρος

ἡμῶν

Ἰησοῦ

Χριστοῦ

δεδιόσιν.

[6] Ἐπεὶ

δὲ

οὗτοι

τῶν

ὧδε

ἀπάραντες,

ἐν

οὐρανοῖς

κατεσκήνωσαν,

αὖθις

οἱ

ἕλληνες

τὸ

τῆς

δυσσεβείας

ὑποτρέφοντες

νόσημα

ἐπετίθεντο,

καὶ

τοῖς

προτέροις

ἐπηγωνίζοντο

καὶ

κατὰ

τῶν

Χριστιανῶν

ἐξεκαίοντο,

καθορῶντες

μάλιστα

τοὺς

τῷ

ἁγίῳ

ὕδατι,

καὶ

τῷ

τοῦ

ἀρχαγγέλου

σεπτῷ

σκηνώματι

προσιόντας,

τῶν

νοσούντων

ἀπαλλαττομένους,

καὶ

τῷ

θείῳ

προσερχομένους

βαπτίσματι.

Άνὴρ

δέ

τις

ἐν

Λαοδικείᾳ

τηνικαῦτα

ἦν

προσανέχων

εἰδώλοις

καὶ

τούτοις

τὸ

σέβας

ἀποδιδοὺς·

οὗτος

πατὴρ

μονογενοῦς

ὑπῆρχε

θυγατρὸς,

ἀλάλου

ἀπὸ

κοιλίας

μητρὸς.

τοῦτον

δὴ

βουληθέντα

σὺν

ἑτέροις

ὁμόφροσιν,

ἔνθα

τὸ

ἅγιον

ὕδωρ

τὰς

ἰάσεις

ἐπήγαζεν,

ἀφικέσθαι

ἐπὶ

τὸ

καταχῶσαι,

καὶ

ἀφανισμῷ

αὐτὸ

παραδοῦναι,

ἐπιστὰς

κατ᾽

ὅναρ

ὁ

ἀρχιστράτηγος

οὐκ

ἐκώλυσεν,

ἀλλ᾽

ἄπιθι,

φησὶ,

μετὰ

τῆς

παιδός

σου,

ὅπου

τὸ

ἅγιον

ἅναδέδεικται

ὕδωρ,

καὶ

εἴ

γε

πιστεύσεις,

τῆς

ἰάσεως

ἡ

παῖς

ἐπιτεύξεται.

[7] Ὁ

δὲ

ἀφυπνιθεὶς

εὐθέως

μετὰ

τῆς

παιδὸς

ᾔει

πρὸς

τὴν

ἴασιν

ἐπισπεύδων·

καὶ

τὸ

ἁγίασμα

κατιδὼν,

τοὺς

θεραπευομένους

ᾔρετο·

τίνος

ἐπικλήσει

τοῖς

σώμασιν

ὑμῶν

τοῦτο

ἐνίετε;

τῶν

δὲ

ἐπ᾽

ὀνόματι

τοῦ

πατρὸς

καὶ

τοῦ

υἱοῦ

καὶ

τοῦ

ἁγίου

πνεύματος,

εἰρηκότων,

πρεσβεύοντος

μεγάλου

Μιχαὴλ

γνησίου

καὶ

παναληθεστάτου

θεράποντος

τῆς

αὐτῆς

ἁγίας

καὶ

ὁμοουσίου

καὶ

τρισυποστάτου

θεότητος·

διάρας

οὗτος

πρὸς

οὔρανον

τὰς

χεῖρας,

προσηύξατο,

λέγων·

Κύριε

ὁ

Θεὸς

τῶν

δυνάμεων,

πατὲρ

παντοκράτορ

υἱὲ

μονογενὲς,

καὶ

τὸ

πανάγιον

πνεῦμα,

ἡ

τρισυπότατος

κὰὶ

ὁμοούσιος

θεότης,

καὶ

βασιλεία

καὶ

δύναμις,

ταῖς

τοῦ

μεγάλου

ἀρχιστρατήγου

Μιχαὴλ

πρὸς

σὲ

ἀκαταπαύστοις

ἐντεύξεσι,

βοήθει

μοι

τῷ

εἰλικρινῶς

σοι

πιστεύσαντι,

καὶ

παράσχου

τῇ

παιδίσκῃ

σου

ταύτῃ

τὴν

ἴασιν.

καὶ

ἀρυσάμενος

τοῦ

ἁγίου

ἐκείνου

ὕδατος

ἐπήντλει

σὺν

τῇ

ὄψει

καὶ

ὅλῳ

τῷ

σώματι

τῆς

παιδός.

ἡ

δὲ

παραχρῆμα

δεξαμένη

τὴν

ἴασιν,

χεῖρας

τῳ

στήθει

ἐπιθεῖσα,

μέγα

ἐβόησε·

δόξα

τῷ

ἐν

πατρὶ

καὶ

υἱῷ

καὶ

ἁγίῳ

πνεύματι,

προσκυνουμένῳ

Θεῷ

ἡμῶν·

μεγάλη

τῷ

ὄντι

ἡ

ἐκ

Θεοῦ

σοι

δοθεῖσα

δύναμις,

Μιχαὴλ

ἀρχιστράτηγε.

Βαπτισθεὶς

οὖν

αὐτίκα

οὗτός

τε

καὶ

ἡ

παῖς

καὶ

οἱ

περὶ

αὐτὸν

ἅπαντες,

τὸ

ἐπ᾽

ὀνόματι

τοῦ

ἀρχιστρατήγου

Μιχαὴλ

αὐτόθι

εὐκτήριον

περικαλλὲς

ἀπειργάσατο.

Καὶ

οὕτω

σὺν

θυγατρὶ

τὸν

Θεὸν

εὐλογῶν

ἐπὶ

τῇ

παραδόξῳ

ταύτῃ

θαυματουργίᾳ

ἐπορεύετο

ἀγαλλιώμενος·

οἱ

οὖν

ἕλληνες

διεπρίοντο,

καὶ

πρὸς

ὀργὴν

ἐκμανῶς

ἠρεθίζοντο,

τὴν

ἀπὸ

τοῦ

ἁγιάσματος

ἀρυομένην

ἀλεξίκακον

δύναμιν,

καὶ

τὴν

τοῦ

ἀρχαγγελικοῦ

τεμένους

μεγαλοπρέπειαν

μὴ

στέγοντες

καθορᾷν.

[8] Χρόνων

τοίνυν

ἐνενήκοντα

σχεδὸν

παρωχηκότων,

ἀφ᾽

οὗπερ

ὁ

Θεῖος

οἶκος

ἐκεῖνος

εἰς

κάλλος

ἐπῳκοδόμητο,

θεοσεβὲς

παιδίον,

ᾧ

πόλις

ἦν

ἱεράπολις,

δέκατον

ἔτος

ἄγον

τῆς

αὐτοῦ

ἡλικίας,

πρὸς

τὸ

ἱερὸν

ἐκεῖνο

ἀφίκετο

τέμενος.

Άρχιππος

ὄνομα

τούτῳ

ὃς

τῷ

θησιαστιριῳ

ἀδιαλείπτως

προσήδρευεν.

οὗτος

ἐπειδὰν

πρὸς

μέτρον

ἧκε

τῆς

τελειότητος,

τοσοῦτον

τῆς

ἀσκήσεως

εἴχετο,

ὥστε

ἄρτου,

ἢ

οἴνου,

ἢ

τῶν

ἄλλων

ἐδωδίμων

ἔκ

τοτε

μὴ

μεταλαβεῖν.

Καὶ

οὕτω

διήνεγκεν

ἐπὶ

χρόνοις

ἐκήκοντα·

καὶ

τροφῇ

μὲν

ἐχρῆτο

βοτάναις

ἀγρίαις,

ἃς

αὐτὸς

ἑψῶν,

ἤσθιεν

ἁλῶν

ἄνευ,

ἅπαξ

τῆς

ἑβδομάδος·

ποτῷ

δὲ

ὕδατος

οὐγγίαις

τρισὶν,

εἰς

ἀνάκτησιν

τοῦ

κατεσκληκότος

τῇ

ἄγαν

ἀσιτίᾳ

καὶ

κατειργασμένου

σώματος.

ἀρετῆς

γὰρ

εἶναι

κρηπίδα

τὴν

ἐγκράτειαν

ἐλογίζετο·

ἦν

δὲ

καὶ

τὸ

ἔνδυμα

αὐτοῦ

σάκκος

τρίχινος,

ὅνπερ

ἀμπεχόμενος

οὐκ

ἀπετίθετο,

μέχρις

οὗ

περὶ

τὸ

σῶμα

αὐτοῦ

δειῤῥύη·

ἡ

δὲ

τούτου

εὐνὴ

λίθοις

ὀξέσι,

ὑπέστρωτο,

ἐφ᾽

ὧν

ἐρικνωμένον

ῥάκκος

ἐτέτατο,

χάριν

τοῦ

μὴ

τούτους

ὁρᾶσθαι.

τῇ

δὲ

κεφαλῇ

σάκκος

ἀκανθῶν

πλήρης

ὑπέκειτο,

ἐν

οἷς

ὁ

ὅσιος

πῶς

εἴπω

ἐπλήττετο

μᾶλλον

ἢ

ἀνεπαύετο;

Καὶ

οὕτω

τὸν

τῆς

ἀγρυπνίας

πικρότατον

καὶ

δυσφορώτατον

ὕπνον

ἐξετέλει,

καιρὸν

ἀνέσεως

μηδόλως

ἑαυτῷ

παρεχόμενος·

ἀλλὰ

τὸ

μὲν

σῶμα

μετὰ

τὸν

θεῖον

ἀπόστολον

ὑπωπιάζων,

τὴν

δὲ

ψυχὴν

ἄσπιλον

καὶ

ἀνωτέραν

τῶν

τοῦ

πολεμίου

θηράτρων

διατηρῶν

ὅτι

μάλιστα.

Τὴν

γὰρ

στενὴν

καὶ

τεθλιμμένην

τρίβον

βαδίζειν

ἑλόμενος,

μὴ

Χαρείην,

ἔλεγεν,

ἐπὶ

γῆς,

κύριε,

μὴ

τὰ

τοῦ

κόσμου

τούτου

τερπνὰ

ἐπ᾽

ἐμὲ

ἔλθοιεν·

μὴ

μετεωρεσθεῖεν

οἱ

ὀφθαλμοί

μου

τῇ

ματαιότητι

τοῦ

αἰῶνος

τούτου,

ἀλλὰ

δακρύων

μᾶλλον

πνεευματικῶν

ἐμπλησθεῖεν

καὶ

ἡ

καρδία

μου

εἰς

ἐπίγνωσιν

τῶν

σῶν

ἐντολῶν

φωτισθείη.

[9] Τί

γάρ

μοι

τοῦτο

τὸ

σῶμα

ἢ

βόρβορος

πάντως

δυσωδίας

ἀνάπλεως,

εἰς

διαφθορὰν

καταβαῖνον;

καὶ

κόσμος

μὲν

ὁ

τούτου

ἀκοσμία

ψυχῆς·

περιστολὴ

δὲ

ταύτης

κοσμία,

πίστις

ἀδίστακτος

πρὸς

Θεὸν,

καὶ

ἀκηλίδωτος

βίος,

σαρκὸς

ὑπεροψία

καὶ

νῆψις

διηνεκὴς,

χαμευνία,

προσευχὴ,

ἐλεειμοσύνη,

δάκρυα

συνεχῆ,

καὶ

τὸ

πάντα

ποιεῖν

εἰς

δόξαν

τοῦ

πεποιηκότος

Θεοῦ

ἡμῶν·

τότε

γὰρ

οὐ

μὴ

αἰσχυνθῶ,

καὶ

ὁ

προφὴτης

ἔφησεν,

ἐν

τῷ

με

ἐπιβλέπειν

ἐπὶ

πάσας

τὰς

ἐντολάς

σου.

Τούτοις

ὑπερήδεται

ψυχὴ,

τούτοις

ἐγκαλλωπίζεται,

ὥσπερ

τοῖς

ἐναντίοις

τὸ

σῶμα,

γαστριμαργίαις,

ἀκολασίαις,

πονηρίαις,

ἐπιθυμίαις

ἀτόποις,

καὶ

πᾶσιν

οἷς

τὸ

κρεῖττον

αἰχμαλωτίζεται.

Τοῦτον

ἑαυτὸν

τοῖς

λογισμοῖς

ἀεὶ

κατεπᾴδων,

προσηύχετο

λέγων.

Βοήθησόν

μοι,

κύριε

ὁ

Θεός

μου,

καὶ

σῶσόν

με;

καὶ

τὴν

καρδίαν

μου

σύντριψον,

καὶ

ταπείνωσον·

ὅπως

ἂν

μὴ

ἐξουδενωθῶ

παρά

σου.

τὸ

πρωῒ

γὰρ

ὡσεὶ

χλόη

ἤνθησα,

καὶ

ἑσπέρας

ἀποπίπτων

παρέρχομαι.

Καὶ

ὁ

ταῦτα

μελετῶν

νυκτὸς

καὶ

ἡμέρας,

καὶ

βίον

ἰσάγγελον

ἐν

σαρκὶ

μετερχόμενος,

τὸν

τὴν

ὑπομονὴν

αὐτῷ

παρεχόμενον

ἐδόξαζε

κύριον.

[10] Οἱ

δὲ

τῆς

ἀληθείας

ἐχθροὶ

βαλλόμενοι

τοῖς

τοῦ

φθόνου

τοξεύμασιν,

οὐχ

οἷοί

τε

ἧσαν

σφαδάζοντα

τὸν

φυμὸν

παρ᾽

ἑαυτοῖς

κατασχεῖν·

ἀλλ᾽

ἐντόπως

παρεσκευάζοντο

τόν

τε

δοῦλον

τοῦ

Θεοῦ

διασπᾶσαι,

καὶ

τὸ

ἅγιον

τέμενος

σὺν

ἁγιάσματι

καταστρέψαι,

νόμου

γὰρ

θείου

τὸ

φαῦλον

ἀνήκοον.

δι᾽

ὃ

καὶ

παρανομεῖ·

ὁ

μὲν

γὰρ

καὶ

τοὺς

ἐχθροὺς

ἐντέλλεται

ἀγαπᾶν·

οἱ

δὲ

κακὰ

τῷ

μηδὲν

ὅλως

ἠδικηκότι

ἐτέκταινον,

ὥστε

καὶ

πολλάκις

εἰσιόντες,

οἱ

μὲν

μάστιξιν

αὐτὸν

ἀνηλεῶς

κατῃκίζοντο,

οἱ

δὲ

τῶν

τριχῶν

ἐπειλημμένοι

τῆς

κεφαλῆς

ἔσυρον,

ἅλλοι

τὸν

πώγωνα

ἔτιλλον.

Ὁ

δὲ

ὅσιος

κατὰ

θεῖον

ἀπόστολον

χαίρων

ἐν

τοῖς

παθήμασι,

τὸ

προφητικὸν

ἐπλήρου

ῥητὸν,

καὶ

τὸ

τοῦ

σωτηρίου

πάθους

ἐμιμεῖτο

ἑκούσιον,

ὅπερ

δι᾽

ἡμὰς

ὑπέστη

Θεὸς,

ἱν᾽

ἡμῖν

χαρίσηται

τὴν

ἀπάθειαν,

οὐκ

ἐρίζων

οὐδὲ

κραυγάζων,

οὐδὲ

ἐν

πλατείαις

φωνὴν

προἳέμενος.

Τῷ

δεσπότῃ

γὰρ

κατὰ

τὸ

δυνατὸν

ἐξωμοίωτο,

καὶ

μέγα

τι

χρῆμα

ἡγεῖτο

ἀρετῆς

τὴν

πραότητα,

ἣν

ὁ

καθ᾽

ἡμᾶς

γενόμενος

ἄνθρωπος

καὶ

τῆς

οἰκείας

θεότητος

μὴ

ἐκστὰς,

τύπους

ἡμῖν

διδοὺς

καθυπέδειξεν

ὑπὸ

τῶν

ἀγνωμώνων

βαλλόμενος

καὶ

παιζόμενος.

[11] Τινὲς

δὲ

αὐτῶν

ἐπέτρεχον

μὲν,

ὡς

τὴν

τοῦ

ἁγιάσματος

πηγὴν

καταφράζοντες·

Θεώμενοι

δὲ

φλόγα

πυρὸς

ἐκεῖθεν

ἐξιοῦσαν,

καὶ

κατὰ

πρόσωπον

αὐτοῖς

ὑπαντῶσαν,

ἔκφρονες

καὶ

περιδεεῖς

ὑπενόστουν.

Τούτων

οὕτω

μανιωδῶς

καὶ

δυσμενῶς

ἐχόντων,

ὁ

ὅσιος

καίπερ

ἀφορήτοις

ἀεὶ

προσπαλαίων

κακοῖς,

οὐδὲν

ἧττον

ὅμως

ἀκλινὴς

ἔμενε,

τὸ

τῆς

ψυχῆς

ὄμμα

πρὸς

Θεὸν

ἀνατείνων,

καὶ

ὅλος

τῆς

εἰς

αὐτὸν

ἐλπίδος

γινόμενος·

ψυκὴ

γὰρ

ἀρεταῖς

παντοίαις

κεκαθαρμένη,

καὶ

Θεῷ

προσῳκοιωμένη,

ἀνένδοτος

ταῖς

τῶν

πειρασμῶν

καταιγίσι

πέφυκε

διαμένειν·

ὁ

δὴ

τοὺς

εἰδωλοθύτας

διαφερόντως

ὑπέκνιζεν·

ὡς

γὰρ

τοῦ

φωτὸς

τὸ

ἀνακλώμενον

ἐνοχλεῖ

τὰς

ἀσθενεῖς

ὁράσεις·

οὕτω

τὸ

πρὸς

τὰ

δεινὰ

τοῦ

ὁσίου

εὐσταθὲς

καὶ

γενναῖον

παράστημα,

οὐ

μικρῶς

παρελύπει

τοὺς

τὴν

κακίαν

ὑποικουροῦσαν

ταῖς

ψυχαῖς

κεκτημένους·

ὁρῶντες

οὖν

αὐτὸν

οὕτως

ἔχοντα

καρτερῶς

καὶ

διαφυλαττόμενον

ἀσινῆ,

καὶ

ἅμα

τὴν

οὐκ

εἰς

μακρὰν

ἐσομένην

τῶν

Θεῶν

αὐτῶν

ἐξουδένωσιν

λογιζόμενοι,

ἐπικεχειρήκασι

μὲν,

ὤ

τῆς

ἐκείνων

τόλμης,

τὸ

ἐπ᾽

ἐκείνου

τοῦ

χώρου

κατερχόμενον

ποτάμιον

ὕδωρ,

ὅ

δὴ

χρύσης

κατονομάζεται,

καὶ

τῷ

θυσιαστηρίῳ

ἀεὶ

παραῤῥέον,

ἐνῶσαι

τῷ

ἁγιάσματι,

καὶ

τοῦτο

κατεπικλῦσαι.

[12] Ὡς

δ᾽

ἀνήνυτον

τὸ

ἐγχείρημα

καὶ

οὐδὲν

ἦν

αὐτοῖς

πλέον,

ἡνίκα

γὰρ

ἐπειρῶντο

τοῦτο

ποεῖν,

θείᾳ

τινὶ

δυνάμει

τὸ

ὕδωρ

εἴργετο

τοῦ

προσώπου

καὶ

τῆς

φορᾶς

ἀνεκόπτετο,

διχῆ

τε

διαιρούμενον

ἐν

δεξιᾷ

τοῦ

θυσιαστηρίου

διήει,

μὴ

δ᾽

ὁτιοῦν

λυμαινόμενον,

διηποροῦντο

ὅτι

καὶ

δράσαιεν.

Ἀλλ᾽

ὁ

τῶν

ζιζανίων

σπορεὺς

οὐκ

ἐνεδίδου

ὑποσπορῶν

αὐτοῖς

καὶ

ὑποτιθέμενος,

ἅπερ

ἦν

εἰκὸς

αὐτόν

τε

εἰσηγεῖσθαι,

κἀκείνους

ὑπηρετεῖν,

τοὺς

ἅπαξ

ἁλόντας

τοῖς

αὐτοῦ

δικτύοις

καὶ

μηχανήμασι.

συμμορίαν

γὰρ

οἱ

τῆς

τῶν

εἰδώλων

θρησκείας

ὡσεὶ

πεντακισχιλίων

ἀνδρῶν

συναγηοχότες

ἔν

τε

Λαοδικείᾳ

γενόμενοι

συμβούλιον

ἐπ᾽

ὀλέθρῳ

τῆς

ἑαυτῶν

κακοτέχνου

ψυχῆς

τίθενται·

ὅπως

τοὺς

ἐξ

ἑώας

ἑτέρους

δύο

ποταμοὺς

κατιόντας,

καὶ

οὐ

πολὺ

τοῦ

εὐκτηρίου

διέχοντας·

ὧν

τὸν

μὲν

Κοῦφον,

τὸν

δὲ

Αυκόκαπρον

προσηγόρευον,

ἀλλήλοις

τε

κατὰ

τὴν

τοῦ

ὅρους

κορυφὴν

συνεισβάλλοντας,

καὶ

μέχρι

τῶν

τῆς

Λυκίας

ὅρων

διήκοντας,

κατὰ

τοῦ

θείου

τεμένους

ἐκείνου

καὶ

ἁγιάσματος

ἐπαφήσουσι,

μὴ

πολλοῦ

πόνου

δεήσειν

αὐτοῖς

λέγοντες

εἰς

τὴν

τοῦ

τόπου

κατάκλυσιν,

τῶν

ποταμῶν

ὑψόθεν

κατερχομένων,

καὶ

κατὰ

πρανοῦς

φερομένων·

οὐκ

ἔσται

γὰρ

οὐδὲν

τὸ

τὴν

φορὰν

ἐφέξον

αὐτῶν

πρὸς

τὸ

μὴ

πάντα

ῥαδίως

ἐπικλυσθῆναι

τῷ

ὕδατι.

οὐδὲ

γὰρ

ἠνείχοντο

τὴν

ἑαυτῶν

μὲν

καθορᾷν

ἤδη

ἀσέβειαν

ἀπεληλαμένην,

θεοσέβειαν

δὲ

ταῖς

τῶν

ἀνθρώπων

ψυχαῖς

εἰσαγομένην

καὶ

τιμωμένην.

[13] Καὶ

δὴ

ἀπὸ

τῆς

ἀκρωρείας

ἀρξάμενοι,

ἕνθα

οἱ

ποταμοὶ

συνέῤῥεον,

βαθείαν

διώρυγα

πεποιήκασιν,

ἵν᾽

ἐν

ταύτῃ

τὸ

ὕδωρ

καθελκύσωσι,

καὶ

οὕτω

τὸ

ἁγίασμα

τοῦ

Θεοῦ

ἐπικλύσωσιν·

ἀναστομωσάντων

δὲ

τὰς

τῶν

ὅρων

διεξόδους,

τὸ

ὕδωρ

ὅτι

μάλιστα

πλεῖστον

συῤῥεῦσαν

τὰς

τῶν

ὁρῶν

πεπλήρωκε

φάραγγας.

ὁ

δὲ

ὅσιος

ὁρῶν

τὰς

διὰ

τῶν

εἰδωλοθυτῶν

μεμηχανημένας

ἐπινοίας

τοῦ

διαβόλου,

ἐπὶ

γῆς

ὡσεὶ

νεκρὸς

ἐῤῥιμμένος

τὸν

Θεὸν

ἐξελιπάρει

τοῦ

τὸν

ἅγίον

τόπον

ἐκεῖνον

διαφυλαχθῆναι

ἀλώβητον

τῆς

τῶν

ὑδάτων

ἐπικλύσεως·

καὶ

διῆγεν

ἐπὶ

πλείσταις

ἡμέραις

ἀπόσιτος

ὢν

καὶ

μὴ

ἀνιστάμενος.

ἀλλ᾽

οἱονεὶ

τῷ

ἐδάφει

κεκολλημένος

ἐναποπνιγῆναι

τῷ

ὕδατι

μᾶλλον

ᾑρεῖτο,

ἢ

τοῦ,

ἐν

ᾧ

κατέκειτο,

τόπου

μετακλιθῆναι,

πιστεύων

εἰς

τὸν

Θεὸν,

τὸν

ἀπὸ

ὀλιγοψυχίας

καὶ

καταιγίδος

τοὺς

εἰς

αὐτὸν

ἠλπικότας

ῥυόμενον·

ἐπεὶ

δὲ

τοῖς

ἀσεβέσι

πάντα

πρὸς

τὸ

δοκοῦν

παρητοίμαστο,

ἀλλήλοις

παρεκελεύοντο,

λέγοντες·

ἀφέντες

κατὰ

τοῦ

λεγομένου

ἁγιάσματος

τοὺς

ποταμοὺς

στῶμεν

ὡς

ἀποτάτω,

καὶ

τη

ἐξ

αὐτῶν

τούτου

παράληψιν

θεασώμεθα.

[14] Τοῦτο

οὖν

ἐργασάμενοι,

ἐξ

αὐτῆς

ᾤχοντο

φεύγοντες

τὸ

μὴ

τῷ

ὕδατι

ἐναποληφθῆαι.

καὶ

πόῤῥω

ποι

ἀφικόμενοι

πρὸς

μεσημβρίαν,

ἑώρων

ἀλλήλοις

τὸ

ὕδωρ

ὑποδεικνύντες

σὺν

πολλῇ

τῇ

ῥύμῃ

καὶ

ἤχῳ

καταφερόμενον·

ὁ

δὲ

ὅσιος,

ὢ

τῆς

ἀδιστάκτου

πίστεως·

πρὸς

τὸν

δυνάμενον

σώζειν

Θεὸν

ὅλον

ἑαυτὸν

ἀναθέμενος,

πρηνὴς

εἰς

τοὔδαφος

κείμενος,

καὶ

δακρύων

πηγὰς

ἐκχέων,

ἀνενδότως

δὲ

τὸν

Θεὸν,

ὥσπερ

ἔφθην

εἰπὼν,

ἐπιβοώμενος,

ἐξαποστεῖλαι

Μιχαὴλ

τὸν

μέγαν

αὐτοῦ

ἀρχιστράτηγον·

καὶ

κύκλῳ

τούτου

παρεμβαλεῖν

καὶ

ῥύσασθαι·

ὥσπέρ

τινι

κέντρῳ

θείᾳ

δυνάμει

νυγεὶς,

ἀθρόως

ἐξαναστὰς

ἤρξατο

τὸ

προφητικὸν

ἐκεῖνον

ᾄδειν

μελώδημα.

Ἐπῇραν

οἱ

ποταμοὶ,

κύριε,

ἐπῆραν

οἱ

ποταμοὶ

φωνὰς

αὐτῶν·

ἀροῦσιν

οἱ

ποταμοὶ

ἐπιτρίψεις

αὐτῶν

ἀπὸ

φωνῶν

ὑδάτων

πολλῶν.

τὰ

μαρτύριά

σου

ἐπιστώθησαν

σφόδρα.

τῷ

οἴκῳ

σου

πρέπει

ἁγίασμα,

κύριε,

εἰς

μακρότητα

ἡμερῶν.

ἐν

ᾧ

δὲ

ταύτα

οὗτος

ἔψαλλεν,

εὐθέως

ἦχος

βροντῆς

ἐξαίσιος

ἐπὶ

τῇ

τοῦ

μεγάλου

ἀρχιστρατήγου

Μιχαὴλ

γέγονε

παρουσίᾳ.

οἶδε

γὰρ

ἐντέλλεσθαι

κύριος

τοῖς

ἀγγέλοις

αὐτοῦ,

τοῦ

διαφυλάττειν

τὸν

ἐν

τῇ

αὐτοῦ

κατοικοῦντα

βοηθείᾳ

ἐν

πάσαις

ταῖς

τούτου

ὁδοῖς.

[15] Ἵν᾽

οὖν

ὅ

τε

δίκαιος

φυλαχθείη,

καὶ

ὁ

τοῦ

ἁγιάσματος

τόπος

τε

καὶ

ναὸς,

καὶ

οἱ

διὰ

κενῆς

ἀνομήσαντες

εἰς

ἐπίγνωσιν

θεῖαν

μεταμειφθεῖεν,

καὶ

δοξασθείη

Θεὸς,

ὁ

ποιῶν

μεγάλα

καὶ

ἀνεξιχνίαστα

θαύματα,

ὤφθη,

ὡσεὶ

στύλος

πυρὸς

ἀπὸ

γῆς

εῖς

οὐρανὸν

διήκων,

Μιχαὴλ

ὁ

ἀρχάγγελος,

καὶ

ἐπὶ

τῆς

πρὸς

τᾦ

θυσιαστηρίῳ

ἐρηρεισμένης

στερεᾶς

πέτρας

ἑστὼς,

μεγάλῃ

φωνῇ

τὸν

ὅσιον

μετεκαλέσατο,

γενοῦ,

λέγων,

πρός

με

Θεοῦ

ἄνθρωπε.

ὁ

δὲ

τὴν

ἀπαστράπτουσαν

αἴγλην

τῆς

ἀγγελικῆς

δόξης

μὴ

στέγειν

οἷός

τε

ὢν,

εἰς

ἀγωνίαν

ὑπαχθείς

τε

καὶ

φόβον,

ἐπὶ

γῆς

ὡσεὶ

νεκρὸς

ἔπεσε.

Καὶ

ὁ

ἀρχιστράτηγος

αὖθις

ἀναστῆναί

τε

καὶ

τάχιστα

πρὸς

αὐτὸν

ἀφικέσθαι

προσέταξε.

τοῦ

δὲ

σφόδρα

περιδεῶς

εἰρηκότος,

κύριε,

οὐκ

εἰμὶ

ἄξιος

προσελθεῖν

σοι,

φρίττω

γάρ

σου

τὴν

θέαν,

ἀνάστηθί,

φησι,

μηδὲν

δεδιὼς·

ἀναστὰς

οὗν

δέους

ὁμοῦ

καὶ

θάμβους

τὴν

ψυχὴν

πεπλησμένος,

καὶ

μικρόν

τι

προσελθὼν,

ὑπότρομος

ἔστη.

Καὶ

τῷ

μὲν

ἀπροσίτῳ

μεγέθει

τῆς

δόξης

αὐτοῦ

οὐδ᾽

ἀτενίζειν

ἐδύνατο,

φωνῆς

δέ

μεγίστης

ἤκουσεν

οὑτωσὶ

λεγούσης·

ἐγώ

εἰμι

Μιχαὴλ

ὁ

ἀρχιστράτηγος

τῆς

δυνάμεως

κυρίου.

καὶ

εἰ

αὐτὸς

δίκαιος

ὢν

τὴν

ἐμὴν

τοῦ

δούλου

καταπλήττῃ

μορφὴν,

πῶς

ἄρα

οἱ

ἐν

ἀδικίαις

βιώσαντες

ὑποστήσονται

τὴν

μεγάλην

τοῦ

Θεοῦ

καὶ

σωτῆρος

ἡμῶν

Ἰησοῦ

Χριστοῦ

δευτέραν

ἐπιφάνειαν,

ἡνίκα

ἐμφανῶς

ἥξει;

στῆθι

οὖν

ἑδραῖος,

μηδαμῶς

δεδιττόμενος.

[16] Καὶ

ἰδοὺ

τὸ

ὕδωρ,

βαβαὶ

τοῦ

θαύματος·

περιστρεφόμενόν

τε

καὶ

ἐλισσόμενον

ἤχῷ

τε

πολλῷ

καὶ

ῥαγδαίως

φερόμενον,

τῷ

τόπῳ,

οὗ

εἰστήκει

ὁ

ἀρχιστράτηγος,

προσεπέλασε

μὲν,

τῷ

δὲ

αὐτοῦ

ῥήματι

ἐπιτιμηθὲν,

θᾶττον

ἢ

λόγος

ἀνεχαιτίσθη.

καὶ

ἐπὶ

πολὺ

μετεωρισθὲν,

τρόμῳ

οἱονεί

πως

δεδιττόμενον,

ὡς

ἐφ᾽

ὕψους

τινὸς

ἀπηώρητο·

εἰ

γὰρ

ὡσεὶ

τεῖχος

ἐπάγη

πάλαι

τὰ

ὕδατα

ῥάβδῳ

πληγέντα

Μωσέως,

στρατὸν

ἀπ᾽

Αἰγύπτου

πρός

τὴν

γῆν

τὴν

ἐπαγγελίας

μετάγοντος,

πῶς

οὐχὶ

καὶ

τοῦ

ταξιάρχου

Μιχαὴλ

τῆς

οὐρανίου

ἁπάσης

στρατιᾶς

τῷ

ῥήματι

τῆς

δυνάμεως;

εἶτα

φησὶν

ὁ

ἀρχάγγελος

πρὸς

τὸν

ὅσιον·

ὁρᾶς

ὅση

τίς

ἐστιν

ἡ

δύναμις

τοῦ

Θεοῦ;

ὁ

δὲ

φρίττων

ὁμοῦ

καὶ

χαίρων,

ὁρῶ,

ἔφησε,

κύριε.

[17] Καὶ

τηνικαῦτα

ὁ

ἀρχιστράτηγος

τὸ

παράδοξον

ἐκεῖνο

καὶ

λόγου

κρεῖττον

ἐνεδείξατο

θαῦμα·

ῥάβδου

γὰρ

πληγῇ

καὶ

μόνῳ

προσφθέγματι

τὴν

τῶν

ποταμίων

ὑδάτων

πλημμύραν

κατὰ

τῆς

ἤδη

ἀποῤῥαγείσης

πέτρας,

καὶ

δίκην

οὔσης

χωνείας,

προὐτρέψατο

εἰς

ἀεὶ

μεταφέρεσθαι·

αὐτίκα

δὲ

τῶν

ὑδάτων

ἐν

τῇ

πάλαι

χωνείᾳ

καταῤῥαγέντων,

καὶ

πάσης

ἐντεῦθεν

τῆς

περιχώρου

κατασεισθείσης,

καὶ

ὡς

εἰκὸς,

πάντων

καταπλαγέντων

ἐν

αὐτῇ,

ὁ

ἀρχιστράτηγος

σφραγίδα

τῷ

χάσματι

ἐπιθεὶς,

ἔφησεν·

ἐν

τῷ

ὀνόματι

Ἰησοῦ

Χριστοῦ

τοῦ

ἀληθινοῦ

Θεοῦ

ἡμῶν

καὶ

σωτῆρος,

πᾶσα

μαλακία

ἐν

τῷ

τόπῳ

τούτῳ

συντριβήσονται,

οἱ

ὀχλούμενοι

πνεύμασιν

ἀκαθάρτοις

ἰαθήσονται,

καὶ

πάντες

οἱ

πίστει

ἀδιστάκτῳ

καὶ

εἰλικρινεῖ

προσιόντες,

καὶ

τοῦδε

τοῦ

ἁγιάσματος

ἀρυόμενοι

εὐθέως

θεραπευθήσονται.

Καὶ

ὁ

μὲν

ταῦτα

εἰπών,

ἐπὶ

τὴν

οὐράνιον

ἄνεισι

τρίβον.

[18] Ὁ

δὲ

ὅσιος

ὁρῶν

αὐτὸν

ὡσεὶ

φλέγον

πῦρ

εἰς

οὐρανοὺς

ἀναχθέντα,

ἰλίγγου

καὶ

φρίκης

πλησθεὶς,

εἴσεισι

ψάλλων

πρὸς

τοῦ

Θείου

τεμένους

ἄδυτα·

ἐξαπέστειλεν

ὁ

Θεὸς

τὸν

ἄγγελον

αὐτοῦ,

καὶ

ἐῤῥύσατό

με,

καὶ

ἔσωσε

τῆς

τῶν

θηρευόντων

παγίδος,

καὶ

τὸν

ἅγιον

αὐτοῦ

οἶκον

ἀλώβητον

τῆς

τῶν

ὑδάτων

ἐτήρησεν

ὺποκλύσεως.

οὕτως

οὖν

μελῳδήσας

προσέμεινεν

ἔκ

τοτε

τῷ

θυσιαστηρίῳ,

τῆς

τε

ἀσκήσεως,

καὶ

τῆς

πρὸς

Θεὸν

αὐτὸν

ἀναγούσης

διηνεκοῦς

προσευχῆς

καὶ

νήψεως

ἀνδρικώτερον

ἀντεχόμενος,

μέχρις

οὗ

πρὸς

ὃ

ἐκ

πλείονος

εἶχεν

ἐφετὸν,

μετετάξατο.

Ταῦτα

τῆς

τοῦ

Χριστοῦ

δυνάμεως

τὰ

τέρατα·

ταῦτα

τῆς

παντοδυνάμου

χειρὸς

αὐτοῦ

τὰ

μεγαλουργήματα.

Ταῦτα

τοῦ

ἀρχιστρατήγου

Μιχθαὴλ

τῆς

θερμῆς

προστασίας

καὶ

ἀντιλήψεως

τὰ

ἐκ

Θεοῦ

τούτῳ

δοθέντα

ἐξαίσια

θαύματα.

Τοιγαροῦν

καὶ

ἡμεῖς

τὸν

θαυμάσιον

τοῦτον

Ἄρχιππον

μιμησώμεθα,

τὸν

ἄξιον

ἑαυτὸν

δι᾽

ἀρετῶν

οἰκειότητα

τῆς

τοῦ

μεγάλου

ἀρχιστρατήγου

Μιχαὴλ

θέας

ἀναδείξαντα,

καὶ

τοῦ

κατὰ

Θεὸν

βίου

τὴν

ἀγωγὴν

ἔργοις

αὐτοῖς

ἀσπασώμεθα.

μηδενὶ

τῶν

ἐν

τῷ

βίῳ

τερπνῶν

περισπώμενοι,

ἵνα

τῷ

μεγάλῳ

τούτῳ

ἀρχιστρατήγῳ

συνόμιλοι,

ὡς

ὁ

θαυμάσιος

οὗτος,

γενόμενοι,

τὸν

ἀκατάπαυστον

ὕμνον

τῷ

παναιτίῳ

Θεῷ

προσάγωμεν.

[19] Ἀλλ᾽

ὦ

τοῦ

Θεοῦ

Μιχαὴλ

ἀρχιστράτηγε·

ὀ

μεγάλα

καὶ

ἐξαίσια

ὑπερθαύμαστά

τε

καὶ

παράδοξα

τῇ

ἐκ

Θεοῦ

σοι

δοθείσῃ

χάριτι

καὶ

δυνάμει

ἐκτελῶν

τεράστια,

αὐτὸς

ἄνωθεν

καὶ

ἡμᾶς

ἐποπτεύων

πᾶν

εἴ

τι

καλὸν

καὶ

συμφέρον,

ταῖς

σαῖς

πρὸς

Θεὸν

ἀπαύστοις

δεήσεσι,

καὶ

πρεσβείαις

ταῖς

ψυχαῖς

ἡμῶν

ὅσαι

ἡμέραι

πρυτάνευσον.

Καὶ

ἀνεπαίσχυντον

τὴν

ζωὴν

ἡμῶν,

καὶ

ἀνώδυνον

παρὰ

Θεοῦ

ἡμῖν

αἴτησαι

τοῖς

ὑμνοπόλοις

σου

βραβευθῆναι.

καὶ

ὡς

εἰρήνης

ἄγγελος,

καὶ

πιστῶν

ὁδηγὸς,

σωμάτων

τε

καὶ

ψυχῶν

ἡμῶν φύλαξ, ὁπηνίκα τῶν ἐνταῦθα ἀπᾴρωμεν, μετὰ δόξης ἡμᾶς προσλαβεῖν, καὶ εἰ τὸ αἰτούμενον μέγα, ἐπίνευσον, ὡς ἄν καὶ αὐτόθεν ᾄδωμεν εὐχαριστήρια τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν ᾄσματα. ᾧ πρέπει πᾶσα δόξα, τιμὴ, καὶ προσκύνησις, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν

Preface, on the power of the Angels Wonderful are thy works, O Lord, proclaims in his songs that most eloquent prophet and father of God, David. For how should they not be wonderful and astounding, all of them already so gloriously and so plainly magnificently brought to completion, that no speech can overtake them in the telling? Since indeed their beauty is agreed to have been derived from their maker, the Word of God, and since they are now day by day magnificently accomplished through the holy Angels. For if many have filled the world with miracles surpassing every human thought and reckoning — men over whom the power of the guardian Angels, working the deeds of the Holy Spirit, cast its overshadowing — how great and of what sort is it reasonable to suppose was permitted to those minds themselves, which are separated from matter, and above all to that great Commander of the Angelic hosts? If, I say, He has deemed men entangled in a body worthy of gifts and graces so great and exceeding nature by so vast an interval, that through them life was granted to the dead, and sight to the blind, and an upright gait to the lame, and calm to those tormented by a demon — and that they could accomplish these things by the mere mention of His name — how great a power must we suppose is possessed by the incorporeal ministers of the light on high, by whose aid the working of miracles is communicated to those who have bodies?

[2] For by those signs and prodigies greater than human comprehension they at once display the greatness of their own power, in the working of miracles. and at the same time bring it about that the secondary lights should draw from the primary light some participation in its brightness. Wherefore let none of those who have gathered here have his mind distracted by worldly matters — and those the ones with which it least ought to be occupied — nor let it be poured out upon outward things; but let him present it detached from all things and free from every lowly care, and let him collect it within himself, so that he may at once perceive what is to be said. For it is our purpose to set before you those things through which the grace and power of Michael, the great commander of the soldiery of heaven, has been made manifest, and the mighty works of our God, whom we recognize and admire in this above all: that both by Himself and through His servants He wonderfully accomplishes things which can neither be sufficiently set forth in speech nor grasped by the hearing ^a.

[3] But we must begin from that point at which the grace of the Gospel preaching was published to all the nations through the apostles Philip and John. John and Philip the apostles, having entered Hierapolis, For from thence proceeds the beginning of the miracles, since the guardian and, as it were, the administrator of their wonder-working power was that great Commander of the armies of God. While the heralds of the divine word and the other Apostles were hastening to the various coasts of the world and publishing the Gospel through cities and villages, the son of thunder, applying himself to preaching with equal zeal — as one who had been deemed worthy of gifts equal to theirs, indeed of greater, inasmuch as he was both more loved and had loved more, so much so that, standing beside the saving cross, he heard himself called by the Lord the son of the Lord's Mother — this man, while he was at Ephesus, and had overthrown the image of Diana adored by the madmen in that city, came to Hierapolis, taking with him the apostle Philip ^b, that there too they might publish the word of faith and free men from the deceptions of the demons.

[4] For the demons, putting on countless shapes, and out of envy of our race refusing no guise of phantom by which they might hope to deceive, often even counterfeited the forms of wild beasts, and using such instruments of their own wickedness and malice, poured through them their pestilential venom into unwary men. For at that very time, when the madness of the Gentiles had set up the image of a viper as their minister, entering into it they drew the wretches to such a pitch of superstition that they received this viper too ^c into the number of the deities worshipped and adored by them — deceiving the wretched with terrifying apparitions, and mocking them with every artifice of malice. But often, when the apostle Philip was teaching those who came thronging to him at Hierapolis concerning divine things, and was urging them that, laying aside the dreams of foolish superstitions, they should come to the knowledge of God, they exhorted him, sending forth a voice through the mouth of the viper, to depart from the city before he perished miserably. But then indeed, when the demons had been cast out of the City by the prayer of the Apostles, those who had been in bondage to error went over to the religion of God.

[5] and they cause a spring, famous for miracles, to gush forth, But since the state of those times required that the preaching of the faith be both increased and confirmed by displays of miracles, the Apostles, eyewitnesses of the Word, setting out to the place called Chæretopa ^d, there, with the Holy Spirit working with them, perform wonders — that place having already beforehand been overshadowed by divine grace through the prayers and intercessions of Michael, the great prince of the heavenly soldiery, by a miracle not inferior to that of Moses, indeed more illustrious and more sublime. For he in the desert struck out of the dry rock an overflowing abundance of water, healing the thirst of bodies. But they by prayer brought forth a spring of water gushing with medicine not only for bodies but also for minds: in which place a temple of the Archangel had been built ^e. And so long as the Apostles survived, hastening through cities and villages, setting the doctrines of religion before the nations, and drawing all men in the net of faith, no opening was given to the idolaters to make an assault upon the Christians, since they feared the powers of Jesus Christ which were wrought through the Apostles.

[6] where a girl, who had been born mute, But after those men, departing from human affairs, had fixed their tents in the heavenly places, the heathen ran against them once more, being at last carried away by the furies of an impiety long dissembled, championing the old error, and inflamed with hatred of the Christians and with envy as well: especially since they saw a multitude flowing together to the holy spring in the venerable temple of the Archangel, both to be freed from diseases and to come to divine baptism. Now there was at that season at Laodicea a certain man given over to idols, and rendering the highest honours to them. He was the father of an only daughter, mute from her mother's womb. As he was preparing to set out with others of the same sect to the place where the sacred water poured forth its cures, with the intention of burying the spring and utterly obliterating it, the Archangel, standing over him in a dream, did not forbid him, but said: Go with thy girl to where the sacred spring wondrously came forth; and, if thou shalt have believed, the girl shall obtain her cure.

[7] obtains speech, and her father builds an oratory to St. Michael. And he, awaking, went at once with the girl, hastening to the cure, and gazing upon the holy spring he asked those who were being healed: At whose invocation do you apply this water to your bodies? And when they answered, In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, by the intercession of the great Michael, the faithful and most true servant of that same holy, consubstantial ^f Godhead having three hypostases: he, lifting up his hands to heaven, prayed, saying: Lord God of hosts, Father almighty, only-begotten Son, and Holy Spirit, Godhead consubstantial in three Persons, and thou, kingdom and power of Michael the great prince of the soldiery, help me by continual prayers before thee, who believe in thee sincerely, and grant a cure to this thy little daughter: and having drawn that holy water he poured it both upon the face and upon the whole body of his daughter. And she, suddenly cured, laying her hand upon her breast, cried out aloud: Glory to our God, who is adored in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Truly a great power has been given thee by God, Michael, prince of the soldiery. Being therefore baptized at once, he and his daughter and all who were about him, he built there that most elegant oratory in the name of Michael the prince of the soldiery ^g: and thus with his daughter, blessing God for that unlooked-for miracle, he returned exulting. The heathen, moreover, gnashed their teeth and were furiously stirred to wrath, not enduring to see the healing power that was drawn from the sacred spring, and the magnificence of the Archangel's shrine.

[8] Now when nearly ninety years had elapsed from the time that divine house was built with greater elegance ^h, Archippus, notable for austerity of life a little boy devoted to religion, whose native place was Hierapolis, being in his tenth year, betook himself to that sacred temple; Archippus was his name: and he sat unceasingly beside the altar. When he had attained the measure of full age, he was seized with so great a zeal for a more austere life that from that time he used neither bread nor wine nor the other customary foods: and so he persevered for sixty years ⁱ. And for food he used wild herbs, which he himself cooked and ate without salt once in the week; and for drink, three ounces of water, to repair his poor little body, broken and worn out by excessive abstinence. For he reckoned that temperance is the foundation of virtue. His garment was a sack of haircloth, which, once he had put it on, he did not lay aside until it fell apart about his body. But his bed was strewn with sharp stones, over which a patchwork quilt woven of bristles was stretched, for this reason only, that they might be withdrawn from the sight of men. And beneath his head lay for a pillow a sack stuffed with thorns, on which the holy man was pricked — or shall I say rested? — and in this way he got through a sleep far more bitter and more intolerable than waking, allowing himself no space of relaxation: but chastising the body, according to the divine Apostle, and guarding the soul unstained and above the snares of the enemy so far as he could. For since he had chosen to enter by the strait and narrow path, he would say: Let me not rejoice, O Lord, upon the earth: neither let the delights of this world come to me: let not my eyes be lifted up by the vanity of this age, but rather let them be filled with spiritual tears; and let my heart be enlightened unto the knowledge of thy commandments.

[9] For what is this body to me but mire altogether full of stench, and eminent for sanctity, dwells beside the oratory of Michael, tending to corruption? And its adornment is indeed the foulness of the soul. But the excellent garment of the soul is sure faith in God, and an unstained life, contempt of the flesh, unremitting fasting, lying on the ground, prayer, almsgiving, continual tears, and the doing of all things unto the glory of Him who made us, God. For then shall I not be confounded, says the Prophet also, when I shall have looked into all thy commandments. In these things the soul takes delight beyond measure, with these it is adorned; just as the body is with their contraries — with surfeits, lusts, disgraceful deeds, absurd desires, and all things like them, by which the better part of us is subjected to the lower. Vowing himself continually to be such a man in his silent thoughts, he prayed in this manner: Help me, O Lord my God, and save me; and break my heart and humble it, lest I be brought to nothing before thee: for in the morning I have flourished like the grass, and in the evening, falling away, I pass on. And he indeed, meditating these things night and day, and leading in the flesh a life like that of the angels, glorified God, who granted him patience.

[10] But the enemies of the truth, wounded by the darts of envy, were no longer able to contain the wrath boiling up within themselves, and he suffers much at the hands of the impious, but seizing their opportunity, they made ready both to tear the servant of God in pieces and to destroy the holy temple together with the wondrous spring. For the impious do not hear the law of God: wherefore they also sin. For these things the enemies

He even bids us love. But they prepared evils for a man who had never in any way deserved ill of them at all: so much so that some, often bursting in, cruelly cut him with scourges, some seized him by the hair and dragged him by the head, others plucked out his beard. But the Saint, rejoicing in his sufferings according to the divine Apostle, fulfilled the prophetic saying, and imitated that freedom with which Christ of His own accord offered Himself to the Passion that was our salvation — which God endured for our sake, that He might graciously bestow impassibility ^k upon us — neither striving nor wrangling, nor sending forth His voice in the streets. For, so far as lay in him, he showed himself like to the Lord, and reckoned that meekness was a certain surpassing virtue: of which He who was made man after our likeness — yet without falling away from His own Divinity — shaped for us the pattern, while He was buffeted and mocked by the impious.

[11] who contrive to mingle the spring with the river. And some of the gentiles indeed came running with a band, as if to stop up the sacred spring; but seeing a flame of fire flashing thence and meeting them in the face, they withdrew terrified and out of their senses with fear. And while they were venting their sacrilegious hatred in such fury, the Saint, though wrestling always with intolerable evils, nevertheless stood unconquered none the less, directing the eye of his mind upon God and hanging wholly upon the hope that came from thence. For a soul purged by virtues of every kind, and reconciled to God and brought nearer to Him, is able and accustomed to stand unmoved against the storms of temptations. And this, of course, distressed the idolaters incredibly. For as refracted rays of light strike weak eyes, so that noble and constant bearing which the holy man opposed to all adversities pricked with no slight pain the souls of the impious, swollen with the venom of malice. Seeing him therefore conducting himself so bravely and, by God's protection, untouched by harm, and at the same time understanding that the destruction of their superstition was not far off, they attempted — O incredible audacity! — to mingle with the holy spring the river which passed that way, called Chryses, flowing beside the sacred altar, and so to overwhelm the miracle.

[12] When the first attempt is without effect, a greater number gathers But as the contrivance was void of success, and the undertaking did not go forward (for precisely when they were most striving to do it, the water was driven back from the front by a certain divine force, and its onrush was broken, and dividing itself in two it flowed harmlessly to the right of the altar), they had no idea what plan to adopt. But the sower of tares did not yield in defeat, sprinkling upon their minds and suggesting to them what it was fitting both that he should prompt and that they should carry out, once they had been caught in his nets and snares. For an idolatrous cohort of about five thousand ^l men having been gathered, they entered at Laodicea upon a plan destined to issue in the ruin of its own authors. Namely, that two other rivers descending from the eastern side, and not far distant from the oratory, of which they called the one Cuphus and the other Lycocaprus ^m, they should mingle with one another on the summit of the mountain, and, leading them thence to the borders of Lycia, should send them into the divine temple and the sacred spring: saying that it would be no great labour for them to destroy the place by a flood, with the rivers rushing headlong down upon it from on high; for surely nothing would stand in the way of so great a force to prevent all things being easily overwhelmed by the waters. And they could no longer endure to see their own superstition an exile ⁿ, but religion admitted into the minds of men and held in honour.

[13] and they attempt to overwhelm the place with the waters of two rivers: Beginning therefore at the ridge of the mountain, where the rivers flowed together, they dig out a deep trench, that they might divert the water into it and so submerge the temple of God. And because they had carefully blocked up the steep places and slopes of the mountains with barriers, all escapes being stopped, the water, flowing together in vast abundance, filled the chasms of the mountains. Now the Saint, seeing the devilish contrivances of the gentiles, cast down upon the ground like a dead man, besought God that He would grant that holy place to be preserved unharmed from the flood. And thus afflicted he continued for many days without food, as though fixed to the soil, resolved rather to be drowned by the inundating waters than to give way from the place in which he had settled, believing in God, who delivers those that hope in Him from faintness of spirit and from the tempest. But after all things had been made ready by the impious for their purpose, they exhorted one another, saying: Having let the rivers into the spring and the place that is called Holy, let us stand off as far as possible and watch its submersion, and the flooding of them that is presently to come.

[14] All things therefore being finished, they withdrew from that place, taking care not to be caught first by the water. but while Archippus prays for the preservation of the place, And having advanced far to the South, they watched, one pointing it out to another, the water rushing down with great force and noise. Meanwhile the Saint — O unwavering faith! — betaking his whole self to God who is able to save, lying prostrate on the ground and pouring out a flood of tears, and, as I have already said, without intermission asking God with a loud voice that He would send Michael, His great prince of the soldiery, and that he would pitch his camp round about and protect him. Then suddenly, as if goaded by some divine frenzy, rising up swiftly, he began to sing that prophetic song: The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice: the floods shall lift up their waves at the voices of many waters. Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible. Holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days. And while he was chanting such things, suddenly there was a fearful crash of thunder, witness of the presence of Michael the great prince of the soldiery. For the Lord knows how to give His Angels charge to keep him who dwells in His help, in all his ways.

[15] In order therefore that both the just man might be preserved, and the place and the sacred temple, and with St. Michael the archangel appearing, and that those who had sinned to no purpose might be converted to the knowledge of God, and that God might be glorified, who does great and unsearchable miracles — Michael the archangel was seen, like a fiery pillar reaching from earth to heaven, and standing upon the rock on which the altar rested ^o, and with a great voice he called the Saint to him: Come hither, he said, man of God. But he, not able to bear the flashing splendour of the Angelic glory, and stunned and terrified, fell to the earth as though dead. But the Prince of the heavenly soldiery bade him rise and come to him as quickly as possible. And when in the utmost trepidation he had answered, Lord, I am not worthy to come near thee; for I am shaken with horror at the sight of thee: Rise, he answered, fearing nothing. When therefore he had risen, his mind full of fear and amazement, and had gone forward a little, he stood trembling: and indeed he could not even gaze upon the unapproachable greatness of his glory; but he heard a very great voice speaking thus: I am Michael, commander of the army of the Lord: and if thou, being just, art dismayed at the appearance of me a servant, how shall those who have lived in iniquities endure the great second appearing of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, when He shall come manifestly? Stand therefore unmoved, in no wise fearing.

[16] And behold the water — O miracle! — rolling itself along in whirling waves, the water brought down from the mountains first halts, rising on high, and plunging down with a great noise and crashing, did indeed draw near to the place on which the Archangel had taken his stand: but rebuked by his word, it was turned back quicker than the word. And long held in suspense, as if trembling with a kind of shudder, it was lifted up to a certain height. For if of old the waters, struck by the rod of Moses, who was leading the host out of Egypt into the land of promise, congealed into the solidity of a wall, why should not the same have been done by the word of Michael, the great commander of all the heavenly soldiery? Now then, says the Archangel to the Saint, dost thou see how great is the power of God? And he, trembling and rejoicing at once, said: I see it, Lord.

[17] then it withdraws to the rock, and receives the power of healing. And then the Prince of the soldiery on high displayed that unlooked-for miracle, greater than speech. For by the stroke of his rod [p] and by a single command of his voice he turned back the overflowing surge of the rushing rivers to a rock already broken through before and gaping in the likeness of a furnace, there to flow perpetually in the contrary direction. And as soon as the waters were broken away toward that shape of a furnace which had already long been there, and all the country round about was shaken, and all the inhabitants, as was fitting, were struck with awe, the Leader of the heavenly soldiery, setting the sign [q] of the cross upon the chasm, said: In the name of Jesus Christ our true God and Saviour, every infirmity in this place shall be crushed, those vexed by unclean spirits shall be healed, and all who shall have come with undoubting and sincere faith, and shall have drawn from this sacred spring, shall at once be restored to health. And having said these things he returned to heaven.

[18] The pious death of Archippus + But the Saint, seeing him borne back into the heavens in the likeness of flaming fire, full of dizziness and awe, entered the inner shrine of the sacred temple chanting: God sent His Angel and delivered me; and He saved me from the snare of the hunters, and kept His holy temple unharmed from the flooding of the waters. Having thus given thanks, he remained thenceforth beside the altar, applying himself the more nobly to the ill-treatment of his body, and to unremitting prayer that leads to God, and to fasting, until at last he was translated [r] to that place toward which he had so long been borne by desire. These are the prodigies of the power of Christ. These are the lofty works of His almighty hand. These are the astounding miracles, divinely given him, of the diligent patronage and kindly aid of Michael the prince of the soldiery. But let us imitate that admirable Archippus, who by the practice of the virtues rendered himself worthy of the vision of Michael the great prince of the soldiery. And let us embrace in our very works the discipline of a life pleasing to God [s], letting ourselves be drawn away by none of the joys of this life; that, being deemed worthy of converse with this great Archangel, as befell that Saint, we may render eternal thanks to God, the author of all good things.

[19] an invocation of St. Michael, But O Michael, prince of the divine soldiery! O thou who workest prodigies great and astounding, greater than wonder and than belief, by the grace and power divinely granted thee! Do thou thyself, beholding us from heaven, obtain day by day for our souls, by thy unremitting prayers and intercessions to God, whatever thou shalt see to be good and useful for us: and accomplish by thy prayer before God that a life free from reproach and grief be granted to us thy praisers. And as the Angel of peace, and the guide of the way for the faithful, and the guardian of our bodies and souls, grant — though great be what we ask — to receive us with glory whenever we shall depart hence: that for this very cause we may sing songs of thanksgiving to our God, to whom belong all glory, honour and adoration, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ANNOTATIONS.

he was at Hierapolis, or whether they were ever joined together in preaching, I have not yet discovered. But what St. John did against the sacrilegious cult of Diana, which flourished greatly at Ephesus, where he long dwelt, may be examined at the 27th of December.

p Archippus agrees about the manner, as does the Synaxary; but in Surius the sign of the Cross is substituted for the stroke of the rod. Yet here it is not said that St. Michael made the chasm in the earth, as all the rest have it, but that he drove the water back to a chasm in the earth which was there before, as was observed in the Commentary at num. 189.

q That sign of the cross is also in the Acts of Archippus and of Surius, with the words that follow; and yet all those things are not to be believed of St. Michael, but rather of the author, who probably devised all the words and deeds attributed to St. Michael. In the Synaxary of Sirmond, after relating the miracle by which the mass of waters is said to have been poured into the chasm of the earth, he adds that from this the place was called Χώνας, as the Basilian Menology also has it. And if this is true, the miracle certainly took place before the year 787, and probably after 692: for that within that period the name of Colossæ appears to have been changed into Chonæ, I showed in the Commentary at num. 191. I have found no record from which it could be established that the miracle is older.

r In the Acts attributed to Archippus his death is omitted, together with the rest of what follows. But in Surius he is said to have died here, and nowhere is the time either of the miracle or of the death of Archippus expressed, nor is any emperor or bishop named.

s In place of these things and of the following invocation of St. Michael, only this is read in Surius: But miracles abound the more richly to the faithful even to this day, by the intercessions of Michael himself, the prince of the incorporeal ones. The Synaxary adds concerning the cult of St. Michael: Διὰ ταῦτα τόινυν τὴν ἀνάμνησιν τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου ποιούμενοι, συναγόμεθα ἐν τῷ σεπτῷ ἀυτοῦ τεμένει τῷ ἐν τῷ ἀνάπλῳ. For this cause therefore, celebrating the memory of the Archangel, we gather in his venerable temple, which is situated in Anaplus. Of this church of St. Michael I shall speak at once.

§ XVII. Churches dedicated to St. Michael or to the Angels around Constantinople, and in the city itself.

Temples dedicated to St. Michael before the apparition at Chonæ. Baillet, at the XXIX of September, in his article on St. Michael, thinks that the general cult of St. Michael through the ecclesiastical Office among the Greeks took its beginning from the apparition of St. Michael at Chonæ. But I cannot subscribe to this opinion; rather I think that the festival of St. Michael and of all the Angels, which is celebrated on the VIII day of November, is more ancient, as was said at num. 13 and 14. For since it is established that from the fourth century churches were dedicated to St. Michael, it is not likely that he lacked an ecclesiastical Office until the eighth or ninth century, especially since his Office is much more ancient among the Latins. Of the time, however, at which it was instituted we find nothing, as happens with most of the festivals of the first centuries. The reason for honouring the Angels was their excellence, their sanctity, their beatitude, their patronage before God, the benefits given by God to men through them — of which things it has always been abundantly established from sacred Scripture: not any particular apparition, although apparitions may have contributed to increasing their cult.

[204] Concerning the church of St. Michael which was built near Constantinople by Constantine the Great, The shrine of St. Michael was famous, Sozomen treats in book 2, chapter 3, relating at the same time certain benefits bestowed there upon the faithful. He testifies that very many churches were built in that city by Constantine, and adds: But it is established that the most renowned of them, both among strangers and among the citizens, was at that time held to be that church which is in Hestiæ. It is a place formerly so called, which now is named Michaelium, situated on the right for those sailing from the Pontus to Constantinople, distant from the city about thirty-five stadia for one proceeding by ship, but by land, going round the intervening bay, seventy stadia and more. And this place obtained the appellation I have mentioned for this reason, that the divine Michael the archangel is believed to appear there. And I too, having received a very great benefit, testify that this is most true. But in a great many other cases also the very trustworthiness of the facts and experience declare that it is so.

[205] For some, having fallen into most grievous calamities or unavoidable dangers, and for benefits to the wretched others oppressed by diseases and by certain unwonted pains, when prayers had been poured out there to God, were straightway freed from their evils. But how these things happened, and to whom, it would be tedious to recount one by one. Yet what befell Aquilinus — a man who to this day lives together with me, and practises advocacy in the same court — I must needs relate, partly as I heard it from him, partly as I myself beheld it. For when a violent fever, arising from yellow bile, had attacked him, the physicians gave him a draught to purge the belly. This he vomited up: and together with the vomit the bile, spreading, tinged his whole skin with its colour. From which it came about that whatever he ate or drank he vomited up. And when he had suffered this now for a long time, and could in no way retain food, the physicians

despaired of curing the disease. He therefore, being now half dead, ordered his household to carry him into the church, affirming that it would certainly come about either that he should die there or be freed from the disease. As he lay there, the divine Power, appearing by night, bade him dip his food in a draught made of honey, wine and pepper mixed together. And this thing freed the man from his disease; although the physicians judged, by the reasoning of their art, that a draught so very hot was contrary to diseases of the yellow bile.

[206] famous for the benefits conferred there; I have heard besides that a certain Probianus, one of the physicians of the sacred palace, when he was vexed with a most grievous pain in the feet, was freed from the pain there, and deserved a certain divine vision altogether wonderful. For whereas he had at first been a Gentile, and afterwards became a Christian, he considered the other parts of our religion sufficiently probable; but this he by no means approved, that the cross had been the cause of the salvation of all. To him, thus minded, a divine vision presented itself and showed the sign of the cross which had been dedicated on the altar of the aforesaid church: and it openly affirmed that, from the time Christ had been crucified, of those things which had been done for the common benefit of the human race, or for the private advantage of certain persons, neither the divine Angels nor pious and holy men had accomplished anything without the venerable power of the cross. And these things indeed, out of what I have learned to have happened in this church, I have thought should be reported here, since to recount them all would be by no means seasonable. Thus far Sozomen concerning that church.

[207] which was built near Constantinople by Constantine Theophanes, at page 18, where he had treated of the Council of Nicæa and of the building of Constantinople, mentions also, among the temples built by Constantine, the church of the Archangel at the place which is called Anaplus. Cedrenus, at page 284, again mentions the same church built by Constantine at Anaplus and Sosthenium, adding concerning Constantine: Where also he miraculously heard the omens of divine voices and saw them. And he calls the church in Greek τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου, of the archistrategus, as the Greeks everywhere named St. Michael, which in the Latin version is more obscurely expressed by the words of the prefect of the forces, as though a man were in question, and would be more correctly expressed as of the prince of the heavenly soldiery. Nicephorus Callistus, in book 7, chapter 50, records more things, but not all equally certain. He asserts that not one only, but two temples were built by Constantine to St. Michael, beginning thus: ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνάπλῳ, καὶ ὃ Σωσθένιον ὁ χῶρος κλῆσιν ἠυμόιρησεν. I have given the Greek words, because they are not correctly rendered in Latin. And I think they should be rendered thus, as I subjoin with what follows: But also at Anaplus (and the place happily obtained the name Sosthenium) he built two other churches to the archangel Michael: in the splendid adorning of which he omitted nothing befitting imperial magnificence. Then, from the Argonauts, most famous among the poets, he repeats a history — which I rather believe to be a fable — from which that place was said to have been called Sosthenium.

[208] Leaving fables aside, let us hear what sort of vision he says was presented there to Constantine. At the time of taking sleep, a vision standing by him spoke thus: I am Michael, the master of the soldiery of the Lord Sabaoth of hosts, at the Bosphorus on the European or Thracian shore: the protector of the faith of Christians: who brought auxiliary arms to thee, His faithful and beloved servant, as thou wagedst war against impious tyrants. And so, roused from sleep, he adorned that region most beautifully, and, an altar having been built on the Eastern side with imperial and magnificent hand and liberality, he made that temple most celebrated among citizens and strangers alike. Yet the Archangel made that sacred shrine illustrious above all by his apparitions. He subjoins concerning the benefits obtained in that church much the same as what I have given from Sozomen. Then, concerning the place where it stood, he speaks thus: But this coast lies on the right hand for one sailing from the Pontus to Constantinople, about thirty-five stadia distant from it by the sea route, but seventy [ ] on foot for one going round the strait which lies between. From what has been cited we have it that that church was built on the Thracian shore of the Bosphorus, and was distant from Constantinople toward the Euxine Sea about thirty-five stadia, or nearly an hour and a half of travel along the Bosphorus. Yet the journey is of seventy stadia, or a little less than three hours, if one should wish to make the whole journey on foot and to go round the Ceratic gulf; but the journey will be much shorter if one betakes himself to the gulf and crosses it by boat.

[209] As regards the names of the place in which that church was built, the various names of the place in which it was founded are reported. Petrus Gyllius, in his work on the Thracian Bosphorus, book 2, chapter XI, treats of the village Michaelium and of the promontory Hestiæ, setting out the situation of the places more fully. For me, lest I grow too prolix, it will be enough to have transferred hither a few things in summary. Hestiæ was the name of the promontory on which the church of St. Michael was founded, and beside it grew up a village called Michaelium. Of the village the aforesaid Gyllius speaks thus: I came to the village Michaelium, situated on the maritime plain of a valley, five hundred paces broad beside the sea, six hundred long. And below he says of the village, which the Greeks today call Asomaton, that is, of the incorporeal ones, or of the Angels. Then he observes that the church is said by Procopius to have been built at Anaplus, and discusses that place at length ambiguously. To explain my mind in few words, I strongly suspect that Hestiæ is the older name of the same place, and Anaplus the more recent. Yet another name of the same place seems to be Sosthenium, which Nicephorus implausibly derives from the Argonauts. Gyllius will have Sosthenium to have been far distant thence, and at chapter 15 he thinks that the Leosthenian gulf is the same as Sosthenium. But Du Cange rightly opposes him, in his Constantinopolis Christiana, book 4, page 187, where he treats of the church of St. Michael. For that name of the place also seems to be more recent, and Nicephorus clearly says that Anaplus is also called Sosthenium.

[210] What Nicephorus said above about a twin church of St. Michael founded by Constantine, [Another church of St. Michael was on the opposite, Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus:] I cannot confirm from any other source. It is certain, however, that there was also an ancient church of St. Michael on the opposite, Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus, and that both were restored by the emperor Justinian. For Procopius, in his work On the Buildings of Justinian, book 1, chapter 8, has it thus: Two temples sacred to Michael the archangel, and facing one another, overlooked the strait (the Bosphorus) on either side: of which the one was at Anaplus, on the left of those sailing into the Euxine Sea; the other on the opposite shore, which in my judgment the ancients called Proochthos for this reason, that it juts out far beyond the rest of the coast, and which they now call Brochos, the ignorance of the natives corrupting words through length of time. When the priests of both saw that those temples were broken down by age, and greatly feared lest they should presently be crushed by their fall, they besought the emperor that he would restore both to their former shape. For under his principate no church could either be newly founded or, when ruinous, be repaired, save at the emperor's expense — not only at Byzantium, but throughout the whole Roman world as well.

[211] he levelled both to the ground, and rebuilt them more splendidly The emperor, seizing that occasion, at once levelled both shrines to the ground, that nothing of the old defect might remain: and the one that is at Anaplus he rebuilt thus. Enclosing the inner part of that shore with a stone quay, by which the harbour might be protected, he made a market-place out of the seashore, which here, most calm, mingles commerce with the land: so that maritime traders, bringing their merchant ships to the quay, exchange goods from the market with those who are on land. Behind that shore-market there lies before the temple a court, whose marbles here reproduce in colour various fruits, there snows. Those who walk there are wonderfully gladdened, on the one hand by their brightness, on the other by the sight of the sea: and at the same time they are refreshed by the breezes which blow together from the sea gliding past and from the hills. A portico, carried round in a circle and ending at its Eastern side, surrounds the shrine. In the middle is the temple, varied with a thousand colours of marbles and covered with a lofty dome. Who could recount, as the dignity of the work deserves, the hanging porticoes, the inner recesses, the most pleasing brightness of the marbles, which entirely clothe both walls and floor? Add the immense quantity of gold, laid on everywhere, so that it seems inborn… Thus was the temple of the Archangel built at Anaplus.

[212] Justinian, who also founded a third at the Bosphorus. But on the opposite shore, a little distance from the sea, is a place level in situation and raised on a stone mound. There was founded the second shrine of the Archangel, of the utmost beauty, of outstanding size, and of such magnificence that it is worthy to be called both sacred to Michael and set up by Justinian Augustus. At the same strait, likewise on the Asiatic shore, Justinian built yet another church to St. Michael. Concerning this the aforesaid Procopius writes as follows in chapter 9: There is a shore (they call it Mochadium) near the place which still retains the name of Hieron. Here he founded a most august temple to the Archangel, inferior in dignity to none of those dedicated to him which I mentioned a little before. Of the two latter churches Du Cange, cited above, also makes mention, and he brings forward more about the first at Anaplus, and shows further that it was restored and adorned by Basil the Macedonian, and is mentioned by several writers. The three churches of St. Michael thus far mentioned are certainly distinct, since Procopius treated of them all as distinct.

[213] Another sacred shrine of St. Michael by the river Athyras: The aforesaid Du Cange, at page 186 and following, brings forward from various writers four other shrines dedicated to St. Michael. The first, which becomes known from Zonaras, tome 2, page 247, and Cedrenus, page 753, under the empress Zoë, is certainly another, since it was in Thrace and distant from Constantinople toward the West, where there is the river Athyras, which runs into the Propontis. Both relate that Constantine Monomachus, when Zoë wished to marry him, was recalled from exile and led to the temple of St. Michael ἐν Δαμοκρανέιᾳ — which place I do not find, but Cedrenus adds that the said temple was near the Athyras.

[214] another in a suburb of Constantinople: For the second he cites the Alexandrine or Paschal Chronicle, in which, at page 389, it is related that in the time of the emperor Heraclius the chagan or prince of the Avars was with his army near Constantinople, and by a sudden assault wished to take the city, but that the attempt was vain. Nevertheless the Avars carried off great plunder from the suburban places, and are said to have entered the temple of SS. Cosmas and Damian in Blachernæ, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀρχάγγελον πέραν εἰς τὰ Προμώτου, which Du Cange in the Chronicle renders thus: And the church of the holy Archangel across the city in the suburb of Promotus. By the adverb πέραν, across, which is here rendered across the city, the aforesaid Du Cange thinks that across the Bosphorus is intimated, and thus he would place that church of St. Michael on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus. But that opinion seems improbable, since the Avars were in Europe, that is in Thrace, not in Asia, so that they could not attack a church situated there. This is gathered not only from the dwelling

of the Avars, who had their seats in what is today Hungary, but also from the church of SS. Cosmas and Damian in Blachernæ, which they entered at the same time. By the word across it is perhaps indicated that that church of St. Michael was across the Ceratic gulf. Whatever it be, it seems to be other than all those mentioned hitherto.

[215] Farther distant from Constantinople, and founded later, another monastery near the Pontus. was the monastery of St. Michael, which the aforesaid Du Cange reckons in the third place out of Nicetas Choniates, who in book 7, num. 4, concerning Manuel Comnenus, has it thus: And he built a monastery in the jaws of the Pontus, at the place which is called Catascepe, under the name of the archduke (rather, of the Archistrategus) Michael: in which he placed all the most celebrated and most excellent monks, on this plan, that they might be able to pass a solitary and quiet life without any anxiety. That monastery, then, was near the Euxine Sea, and was founded in the twelfth century, before whose middle Manuel Comnenus began to reign; he died in the year 1180, as Baronius and Pagi agree.

[216] Of another monastery the aforesaid Du Cange treats at num. 33 out of Leo Grammaticus, yet another, which took its name who, under the emperor Basil the Macedonian, at page 471, has only this: But Ignatius the patriarch made into a monastery of men a notable church built at the market of Sator under the name of the Archistrategus of the East, where his body was laid. And Du Cange observes, out of the Continuator of Theophanes and Symeon Logothetes — to whom may be added the Life of St. Ignatius — that for Σάτωρος we should read Σατύρου, and that it was called of the Satyr, because there, by Greek superstition, a shrine had been built to that same Satyr, from whose neighbourhood this very appellation had clung to the monastery, as the Continuator of Theophanes says at page 13.

[217] But the reason why the same monastery was called ἀνατέλλοντος, that is, of the East rising, from an ancient inscription found there. he adds thus: And that it should be called of the East, a cause of this sort occurred. When at some time the emperor Nicephorus came to those parts where the monastery has now been founded — because the place was thicketed and impassable, and suited to the hunting of wild animals — a very large stag having appeared, and having been taken by the pursuing hounds at that very place in which the sanctuary of the monastery has now been erected, an ancient table was found, supported by a column, with this inscription: τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ θυσιαστήριον τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου Μιχαὴλ τοῦ ἀνατέλλοντος, ὅπερ ἐνεθρόνισεν ὁ ἀπόστολος Ανδρέας. That is: This is the altar of Michael, prince of the heavenly soldiery, which the apostle Andrew set up. The same is read in Symeon Logothetes, under Basil the Macedonian, num. 9, and there the building of the monastery is referred to the VI year of Basil, which coincides with the year 872 of the Christian era. The word ἀνατέλλοντος, omitted by the translator in the words given, is also in the Logothete, and there is rendered in Latin of the East; but it can also be rendered appearing, and thus the sense will be: This is the altar of Michael, prince of the heavenly soldiery, appearing &c. There is therefore intimated some most ancient apparition of St. Michael, for the sake of which an oratory was founded that was afterwards destroyed.

[218] The first three at Constantinople, recorded by Du Cange from various sources. The aforesaid Du Cange, at page 97 and following, reckons in the city of Constantinople and its suburbs fifteen shrines sacred to St. Michael, of which I shall now treat in the same order. Of the first, George Codinus, in his Origins of Constantinople, page 59, has it thus: The temple of the blessed archangel Michael, called at the Abaci, which is near the Xerolophus, Leo Macelas built. And it was so named because there were found abaci of wonderful size. Of the Xerolophus, which was the seventh hill of Constantinople, Gyllius treats in book 4, chapter 7. Leo, surnamed Macelas, is the first emperor of that name, who after Marcian obtained the empire in the year 457. Of the second the same Codinus wrote this at page 60: The new church of the blessed Archangel Zeno (the successor of Leo) and Ariadne (the empress) built. In Greek it is called Small and New. For the third Du Cange cites Codinus, page 43, who has it thus: The temple of St. Michael the archangel, surnamed of Ada, was founded by the same Justin II (the emperor). And it has its surname from Ada the magister, whose house was there. Cedrenus agrees at page 391, and writes that the house was formerly inhabited by Adda. Yet the one has Ada, the other Adda.

[219] Du Cange's fourth, built by Basil the Macedonian, Of the fourth, if indeed it is distinct from the second, Du Cange cites several writers. Symeon Logothetes writes thus of it, under Basil the Macedonian, at num. XI: In the ninth year of Basil's reign the emperor began to build the New church. Again at num. 16: In the fourteenth year of Basil's reign, on the Kalends of May, the New church is dedicated, and is opened by Photius the patriarch for the public celebration of the divine offices. Of that church Constantine Porphyrogenitus speaks twice in the Life of Basil the Macedonian, and first at num. 76 he says: At that time was being built that most beautiful and notable temple which we have been accustomed to call the New basilica church, and it was being raised in the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of Michael the chief of the Angels, and also of Elias the Thesbite. He adds that tapestries of wondrous workmanship were given by the matron Danielis for the adornment of that church, and that was the reason for speaking there of that church. But at num. 82 he describes the same church at length, and adds other patrons to the preceding, beginning thus: Why indeed do we busy ourselves about the small among his (Basil's) works, even though those too are very great, and do not add that great work, worthy of all admiration, which he built beside the very court of the palace, himself presiding over the work and being the author of the undertaking; which even by itself can abundantly show his piety and worship toward God, and his magnificence and admirable endeavours in those things to which he set his hand? For, as though rewarding the benevolence toward him of Christ, and of the Chief of the Angelic powers [], of Gabriel, and also of Elias the Thesbite (that zealot who had been the messenger to his mother of her son's advancement to the throne of the kingdom), he built a divine and most beautiful temple in their name and everlasting memory; and likewise in that of the holy Mother of God, and of Nicholas, who holds the first place among the Hierarchs (that is, the bishops): in which by an equal compact art and riches and fervent faith and a most bountiful will came together, and the most beautiful things anywhere among the nations concurred: things of such a kind that they find greater belief with those who see them than with those who hear of them.*

[220] This temple, like a bride splendidly adorned and decked with pearls and with the sheen of gold and silver, and most splendidly adorned; and besides, gleaming with the manifold variety of the colours of marbles and with compositions of mosaic, and with coverings of silken cloths, he assigned to the immortal Bridegroom. For the roof, consisting of five semicircles, shines with gold, and glitters with images like the splendours of stars: on its outermost part reproducing as nearly as possible, in metals of bronze, the gleam of gold: the walls on this side and that, varied with precious marbles of divers colours, shine bright; and the very inner recesses of the temple, inlaid and varied with gold and silver and gems and pearls, are magnificently resplendent. The screens which shut off the sanctuary from the outer nave, and in them the rows of little columns, and set upon these what they call the hyperthyra; and the seats placed within, and the steps that are before them, and the sacred tables themselves — all stand made and compacted of silver, with gold poured over, and with precious stones and pearls set in. The very pavement will seem to grow heavy with silken weavings or with the spread work of Sidon. Thus the whole is adorned and diversified by the underlying facings of marbles of various colour, and by the encircling bands of mosaic work of various kind, and by the framework of exquisite art, and finally in all things by the abundance of grace flowing round about it. A multitude of singers ministering in it was appointed, and rich revenues were assigned, which he ordered to be magnificently and lavishly distributed among those who should be devoted to the services of such a mercy-seat; aiming, namely, at this, that he should surpass nearly all his predecessors in this kind of munificence. He describes also the outer adornment of the temple, as may there be seen.

[221] Of the same church several others cited in Du Cange treat more briefly, which nevertheless seems to have existed before Basil, whom I pass over for brevity's sake. Moreover, although we have seen several patrons of that church, yet that the name of St. Michael chiefly prevailed is gathered from Liutprand, who was afterwards legate at Constantinople. For in his History, book 1, chapter 2, he concludes the deeds of Basil the Macedonian with these words: And he built with precious and wonderful workmanship, beside the palace, toward the East, a church which they call νέαν, that is, New, in honour of the supreme prince of the heavenly soldiery, the archangel Michael, who in Greek is called ἀρχιστρατηγός. These words suggest that in the tenth century, in which Liutprand wrote, almost the name of St. Michael alone was in use. He mentions the same church in book 3, chapter 8, and there says that it was not only everywhere called νέαν, but by some also ἐννέαν, which, he says, in our language means Ninefold, because there the machine of the ecclesiastical hours sounds when struck with nine strokes or voices. I pass over Du Cange's further observations.

[222] One, from which I suspect that that church of St. Michael existed long before Basil the Macedonian, so that it may perhaps be the same as the second, which Basil restored. I transfer hither. Of the same shrine, he says, under the appellation of St. Michael and of the Αρχιστράτηγος, there is mention besides in Theophanes at the XX year of the emperor Anastasius, the XXXVI of Justinian the Great, and the VI of Constantine the son of Irene, pages 132, 200 (rather, 201) and 397; in Scylitzes, Glycas, &c. From this observation, which I acknowledge to be true, I further gather that that church existed long before Basil, since Theophanes is older than Basil and could not have written of that church unless it were standing. Hence it becomes most probable to me that it is the same as Du Cange's second, which Codinus says was founded by Zeno and Ariadne, and that it was restored by Basil the Macedonian. For in the first place it is said in Theophanes, in the shrine of the Archangel of the palace; at page 201 it is intimated that the church was near the palace; and at page 397 Plato the hegumen, who had withdrawn from the communion of St. Tarasius, is said to have been shut up in a prison at the shrine of Michael, prince of the heavenly soldiery, erected in the palace. All these things clearly indicate that long before the emperor Basil there existed in the palace, or beside the palace, a church of St. Michael. Nevertheless the writers whom we have seen, and several others, and by name George the monk, under Basil at num. XI, XIII and XIX, so report the building of that church — for the sake of which Basil is said to have despoiled many churches of their ornaments — as to suggest that it was built from the foundations. Wherefore I suspect that the former was first destroyed, and a new one built by Basil in an ampler form.

[223] The fifth in Du Cange, Of Du Cange's fifth, Codinus at page 19 makes mention so briefly, in these words, In the region of Michael the archangel, that the words would seem to be taken rather for a place or quarter so called than for a church. But the quarter may have taken its name from the church, since it is established from elsewhere too that there was some church of St. Michael in the Arcadianæ, where the said region was. Certainly in the Life of St. Basil the Younger, written by Gregory his disciple, and published by us at the XXVI of March, which Du Cange also cites, at chapter 4, num. 28, this is read: And the Saint then dwelt, as has been said, in the Arcadianæ, near two temples built under the invocation of the holy Archangels by the emperor

Basil, wishing thus to make amends for the slaying of Michael (the emperor, his predecessor, and) the son of the empress Theodora. Whether both were dedicated jointly to Michael and to the other Archangels, or whether the one was to St. Michael and the other to St. Gabriel, as Combefis conjectured, is not established for me.

[224] the sixth is a monastery, perhaps outside the city: Of the sixth Du Cange brings forward only the subscriptions of two councils. It is called the monastery Αιθρίου, of Ætrius, or ἐν τῷ Αιτρίῳ, in Ætrium. The superior of this monastery is read as subscribing or is mentioned in six places in the Council of Constantinople under Mennas, in Labbe, tome 5 of the Councils, namely at column 34 in this way: Polychronius, presbyter and prior (in Greek ἡγούμενος) of the monastery of Ætrius (Αιθρίου), petitioning, have subscribed. Then at page 63: Polychronius of Æthrius, as also at column 75. But at column III in this way: Polychronius, by the grace of God presbyter and archimandrite of the monastery of St. Michael the archangel in Æthrium, have petitioned and subscribed through Anastasius the monk; and in almost the same way at column 134, and finally at column 174: Polychronius, presbyter and archimandrite of the monastery of Saint Michael in Æthrium, have subscribed. From these we have it for certain that Polychronius was the superior of some monastery of St. Michael; but it is not clear whether that monastery of St. Michael was in the city of Constantinople itself.

[225] the seventh, a monastery in the city, Du Cange's seventh church is another monastery of the city, of which George Pachymeres makes mention in book 8, or part 2, book 2, chapter 27, treating of Cosmas the monk, who was afterwards patriarch of Constantinople. And of him, as the Latin version has it, he speaks thus: He, afterwards coming into the city, in the monastery of the emperor, which has its name of the Archistrategus from the saint to whom it is dedicated, the Prince of the heavenly soldiery, both exercised other ministries and discharged the office of ecclesiarch. These words certainly prove that there was some monastery of St. Michael in the city of Constantinople; and that it was one of those which are called βασιλικά, that is, the emperor's, is gathered not only from the words cited, but also from what immediately follows concerning the same: When the emperor had sent certain men to his own monastery.

[226] the eighth in the city; not so certainly the ninth, which is a monastery. Of the eighth church of St. Michael in Du Cange, Codinus writes this at page 48: Chrysobalandum, or the Golden Purse, was the house of Nicholas the patrician and domesticus of the Easterns, which he changed into two temples, of the holy archangel Michael and of St. Pantaleon, for this reason. The wife of the aforesaid domesticus, while her husband was staying in camp, was committing adultery with another. Being informed of this, he returned unexpectedly to the city, and, catching them both together, cut them limb from limb. But afterwards, from the remembrance and fear of the last judgment, he founded these two temples. And when, the structure being now nearly finished, he was greatly distressed by lack of money, the Archangel appeared to him in a dream, saying: Go to that place near the cistern of Aspar, and thou shalt find a purse containing a hundred pounds of gold. The domesticus therefore, going thither, found the purse, and, the building of the temples being completed, named the place, as we said before, Chrysobalandum. How much is to be believed concerning the origin of the name I leave to the judgment of the prudent reader. Of the ninth church Du Cange brings forward only this: Leontius, abbot of the monastery of St. Michael, or τοῦ ἁγίου Αρχαγγελου ἐν τοῖς Πουσέου, subscribed the petition of the monks to the synod under Hormisdas. From these words it is established that there was some monastery of St. Michael; not, however, whether it was in the city, and distinct from all those already mentioned.

[227] Of that which Du Cange puts tenth, this is read in Codinus at page 40: The tenth in the city, which was magnificently restored by Justinian. The temple of the Archangels, named of the Barren Woman (in Greek Στείρου), received its surname from a certain barren patrician lady (who bore a child, as is added in the Greek), and in the time of Leo Macelas it was a small oratory. But seventy-five years after that woman died, Justinian, the founder of the great church, built a temple there. And when it had been overthrown by an earthquake, after three hundred and thirty-eight years the emperor Basil renewed it, and moreover transferred thither a bronze basin taken from the Strategium. Du Cange thinks, with probability, that Procopius speaks of the same church in book 1 of the Buildings of Justinian, chapter 3, where he has it thus: At Byzantium (Justinian) had found the shrine of the Archangel Michael too narrow and exceedingly dark, and not worthy to be said to have been set up to the Archangel by a certain senator, an old patrician; since it was very like the bedchamber of a house not at all wealthy. Wherefore, having demolished it from the foundation, that nothing of the old squalor might remain, he made it very ample, such as we now see, and brought it to a beauty worthy of the highest admiration. This temple is so square that its length seems not much to exceed its breadth. The wall of the eastern side has its extremities thicker, and consists on both sides of a great mass of stones: in the middle, gradually drawing itself back and contracting, it forms a recess; the shrine being supported on this side and that by columns naturally many-coloured. Opposite, the wall which looks toward the setting of the sun is set with the doors of the temple. There is indeed a slight difference in the accounts given: for the one attributes the first foundation to a patrician lady, the other to a patrician; but this could have come about because the husband founded it for his wife's sake. Procopius calls it the shrine of Michael, Codinus of the Archangels. But what had at first been sacred to Michael could, when it was restored by Basil, have been dedicated to the Archangels generally.

[228] For the eleventh church of St. Michael Du Cange adduces the words of the emperor Justinian, The eleventh likewise in the city, but perhaps not distinct from the preceding, inserted in the Constantinopolitan Conference of the Catholics with the Severians, which are read in Labbe, tome 4 of the Councils, at column [ ]: I entered into the oratory of the glorious Michael the archangel, which is in Cochlium. In the margin the editor notes, in Choclium, and Du Cange reads, in Cochilum. Which of the three readings is the truer I cannot declare. But from the words cited it is gathered that the said oratory of St. Michael was at Constantinople. Yet I do not see that it must necessarily be distinguished from all the other Constantinopolitan ones by the surname in Cochilum or in Cochlium. It may perhaps have been the same Oratory which Justinian destroyed in order to found an ample church on the same spot, as we have already said.

[229] or perhaps the same as the twelfth. The twelfth church of St. Michael in Du Cange is mentioned by Theophanes at page 205, at the IV year of Justin the younger, saying that Justus the son of Justin was buried in it. To the same he refers the words of the Constantinopolitan Antiquities, book 3, in Anselmo Banduri, tome 1, page 47, where the title is set down, On St. Michael the archangel near St. Julian; and of the church this is read: In like manner Anastasius Dicorus built the shrine of St. Michael the archangel which is beside St. Julian, when he had come to the city from Dyrrachium. For, when he was a boy, dwelling there he learned his letters. With this the preceding one also could be the same.

[230] The thirteenth, with a deaconry. The thirteenth, which Du Cange says was raised up by Basil the Macedonian, Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions in the Basil, chapter 92; but to me he seems rather to say that it was restored by Basil than founded. From the different name of the place in which it is mentioned, too, it does not become certain to me that it was distinct from all the others. Likewise the divine temple of the Prince of the Angels, says Constantine of Basil, at Tzeri (it is a place or district so called), and the most humane ministry about it, and the provision for the poor, he himself willed to be his own care; both, that is, restoring the temple more splendidly, and fitting and advancing it to the beauty in which it is now beheld; and, the revenues being increased, providing that means should not be lacking for the service of the needy, and supplying liberally for the poor. All the words suggest that the church existed before, but was restored and more splendidly adorned by Basil, and that the deaconry attached to it was increased in revenues.

[231] The fourteenth, founded by Theophilus: For the fourteenth shrine of St. Michael Du Cange brings forward the anonymous continuator of Theophanes, whose Greek words in book 3, num. 8, are these: κατὰ δὲ τὸ προαύλιον τῶν τοιούτων παλατίων, τὸν τρίκογχον ναὸν κάλλει τε κάλλιστον, καὶ μεγέθει πολλῶν διαφέροντα καὶ τὸ μὲν μέσον εἰς ὄνομα τοῦ Αρχιστρατήγου, τὰ δὲ ἑκατέρωθεν τούτου εἰς μαρτύρων γυναικῶν ἁγίων ὀνόματα. These words Du Cange rendered into Latin thus, adding the verb built, which precedes: And at the forecourt of the same palaces (the emperor Theophilus) built a temple consisting of a triple apse, by far the most beautiful, and surpassing many in size: and the middle he dedicated to St. Michael, but those which are joined on either side, to holy women martyrs. Du Cange nevertheless doubts whether by the word τρικόγχου a single shrine is understood, as he expressed it, or a triple one. I judge that a single shrine is designated, even though someone is said to have been slain ἐν τῷ τρικόγχῳ παλατίου: for that can be understood of a neighbouring place which had taken its name from the shrine. The palace at whose forecourt this church was founded is called the Bryas palace, so that it is certainly distinct from the New church of St. Michael.

[232] The fifteenth in Galata, destroyed in the sixteenth century: Of the last church of St. Michael, which was in the town of Galata, Du Cange brings forward the words of Petrus Gyllius. And he, in his Topography of Constantinople, book 4, chapter XI, has it thus: But the market-place was on the plain near the harbour, where now a hospice has been built on the foundations of the temple of the divine Michael, which was standing entire when I came to Byzantium. I shall not inquire whether this church of St. Michael, which perhaps remained the last under the dominion of the Turks, was distinct from all the preceding. For since the town of Galata was a part of Constantinople, otherwise called Pera, the same church could have been mentioned under another name among the preceding. It seems to have been a parish of the Latins, since Wadding, in the Annals of the Minors, at the year 1326, num. XI, mentions a certain controversy settled between the Rector of the church of St. Michael of Peyra, … and the Guardian and the brethren (Minors) of the same place.

[233] Finally Du Cange assigns another church of the Angels at Constantinople, in book 4, page 188, another church at Constantinople, of the Nine Orders of Angels. which was called τῶν ἐννέα ταγμάτων, of the Nine Orders, namely of the Angels. Of that church John Cantacuzenus makes mention in book 3 of his Histories, chapter 88, relating that captives fled from the palace of Constantine to a neighbouring temple surnamed of the Nine Orders. The aforesaid Du Cange adduces several writers who have mentioned the same. These I pass over, because what has been brought forward thus far concerning the churches of St. Michael and of the holy Angels which existed at Constantinople and in its neighbourhood from the times of Constantine the Great down almost to the extinction of the Greek empire is abundantly sufficient for anyone to understand how great was the veneration of the Angels throughout the whole Eastern empire. For from the multitude of sacred shrines which were dedicated at Constantinople and in the neighbouring places to St. Michael and to the Angels, we shall judge by a most probable conjecture that many churches were erected to the Angels in the other provinces of the Eastern empire, especially since their feasts were nearly the same throughout the whole Eastern empire. Wherefore I shall not run through the other Eastern provinces to inquire

into the sacred shrines dedicated to the Angels, an investigation which would be far more laborious and tedious than useful or agreeable to readers.

* Michaelis (of Michael).

§ XVIII. Of what sort are the Acts of the Apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus: the time of the apparition is investigated.

[ ] The Acts of the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus I proceed to the most celebrated Apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, which is related in several manuscript codices, and in most of them in the same way, yet so that I am able to distinguish two kinds of Acts. The Acts, as they were written from the little book once placed in the church itself, I consider older than the others. We have them in three codices written about the ninth century, and in a fourth less ancient. The same we have in transcripts sent hither by our Chifflet from the manuscripts of the monasteries of Acey and of La Charité, of the Cistercian Order in the diocese of Besançon; likewise from a Trier codex of St. Martin, collated with another Trier codex of St. Maximin; and lastly from a Florentine codex of the library of St. Laurence. All these manuscripts I have wished to compare diligently with one another, and finally with the edition of Surius, who used similar codices, and I have found them all agreeing everywhere with one another in the facts, but not seldom disagreeing in the words. The author is anonymous and of uncertain age, and he likewise leaves the time of the Apparition of St. Michael uncertain, since it lacks chronological notes, nor does he name any person whose age is known.

[235] were composed long afterwards, at an uncertain time. This concerning the age of the writer is certain, that he wrote before Ado, who transcribed a great part of him, as the antiquity of the codices themselves also abundantly shows. But from another quarter it cannot be doubted that the author wrote a long time after the apparition took place, since he studiously abstained from the names of the Roman Pontiff and of the bishop of Siponto, of whom he makes mention. For a contemporary or nearly contemporary author could easily have known their names, and would by no means have omitted them. There are added the errors into which a writer near to the event would not have fallen. For he says that the name was given to Mount Garganus from a man Garganus, although that mountain had the same name in the time of Virgil and Horace, and retained it thereafter. Nor are the things reported of the war between the Neapolitans — whom the author makes pagans — and the people of Siponto free from error, as we shall see in §19. Several other assertions of the author, which we believe insufficiently probable, I shall examine below. Meanwhile I lay down nothing certain about his age, nor does it matter whether he wrote in the eighth century or at the beginning of the ninth.

[236] These were afterwards interpolated, chronological notes being added, Other Acts, or rather the same somewhat enlarged and interpolated, we have from Vatican codex 6074. Yet something is lacking to these at the end, because part of a leaf was missing in the codex; but this is no loss, since the Acts are the same as the preceding, except for those things which were afterwards unskilfully added for the chronology, and a very few others. Besides, we have them already published in Ughelli, tome 7 of Italia sacra, among the Bishops of Siponto, but with some diversity. For the chronology, which in the Vatican manuscript is placed at the beginning, in Ughelli is added at the end, and notably altered. In the rest these Acts differ almost in nothing from those to be given, except that they name the bishop of Siponto Laurence, and the Roman Pontiff who is said to have been consulted, Gelasius, which is in conformity with the chronology added at the beginning. A few other things I shall observe in the Annotations to the Acts presently to be given: here I shall examine what the added chronology is worth.

[237] which are inconsistent both with one another and with correct chronology. This is given at the beginning in the manuscript thus: In the five hundred and sixth year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the fourteenth Indiction, the emperor Zeno reigning, and Pope Gelasius presiding in the prelacy of the Roman See, and the prelate Laurence holding the chair of Siponto. This arrangement of the years is certainly faulty: for neither in the year 506 was the emperor Zeno living, who died in the year 491; nor St. Gelasius the Pope, who was translated to a better life in the year 496. The 14th Indiction agrees rightly with the year 506; but it is uncertain whether in the year 506 St. Laurence of Siponto already held the bishopric — of whom we have treated at the VII of February. In the aforesaid Ughelli, at column IIII, at the end of the Acts, the chronology is thus expressed: In the four hundred and ninety-third year from the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, on the eighth day of the month of May, in the fourteenth Indiction, the finding was made of the heavenly basilica of the wonderful and most glorious prince Michael the archangel on Mount Garganus, Gelasius I, most blessed Roman Pontiff, sitting, and Zeno, most pious emperor of Constantinople, reigning. Whence Ughelli took these things I plainly do not know. But it is certain that they are worth no more than the preceding. For in the year 493 the emperor Zeno was no longer surviving, nor was the fourteenth Indiction running, but the first. The eighth day of May too seems gratuitously thrust in, since it is not certain that the place was found on that day, on which the festival of its finding is now celebrated. Both epochs agree about Gelasius, which was perhaps taken from Anastasius the Librarian, who says under Gelasius: In his times the church of St. Angelus on Mount Garganus was found. But whence he took this, I do not know.

[238] so that from these the time of the apparition cannot become known. From what has been cited thus far, the time of the apparition of St. Michael, and of the finding of the crypt or of the dedication of the church on Mount Garganus, appears to me altogether uncertain. For by what reasoning shall we establish anything certain, when the Acts, as they were first written, lack chronological notes — especially considering the errors into which the interpolator fell, who afterwards, at an uncertain time, attempted to attach them to the Acts? Baronius looked to Pope Gelasius when, at the year 493, he recorded the Apparition from Sigebert in the second year of Gelasius. But the authority of Sigebert cannot be great for things so ancient, and he seems altogether to have followed the faulty chronology of the interpolator: for he likewise joins the pontificate of Gelasius with the reign of Zeno, and indeed fixes the death of Gelasius one year before the death of Zeno. For which reason, if the years of Zeno are considered, Sigebert writes this about the finding of the crypt of St. Michael at the year 488 (not 493): At this time was made the finding of the crypt of St. Michael the archangel on Mount Garganus: whence also his memory is recalled each year with a solemn festival in the churches of God. Other moderns also who treat of that finding are wont to look to Pope Gelasius. Hence, since Gelasius administered the pontificate from the year 492 to the year 496, the finding is fixed by most within that intervening period. I have carefully inquired whether I could establish this epoch of the finding by firm arguments: for the argument is far too weak which is furnished by the faulty chronology, in which the reign of Zeno and the 14th Indiction are combined with the pontificate of Gelasius, since Zeno was certainly dead before the pontificate of Gelasius, and no 14th Indiction coincides with the years of Gelasius.

[239] I consulted the Acts of St. Laurence, bishop of Siponto, of which two were given by us at the VII of February. In the twin Life of St. Laurence of Siponto the apparition In the Life published in the first place, chapter 3, this is read to our purpose: And at that time was made that most famous apparition of Michael the archangel on Mount Garganus, published throughout the world: and Michael the archangel himself told the Blessed Laurence by a vision what was to be done, forbidding his church to be consecrated by a man, saying: I have myself founded it for myself and also consecrated it. But do thou enter in with the people entrusted to thee, and, with me existing there as patron, frequent the place with prayers. In which matter the prudence of the Blessed Laurence shone forth exceedingly, and openly showed that he possessed the highest citadel of the virtues: for committing the whole business to the Lord, he presumed to do nothing rashly of himself; and obeying the Angelic command without delay, he most evidently declared himself the companion of the citizens above. These things agree after a fashion with what is related in the Acts of the apparition. Yet much less is asserted here than there, as I shall show below.

[240] The second Life of St. Laurence, which was written before the first, is fixed in his time, and is asserted to have been made to him. as will be proved, treats of the same things at chapter 2, num. 6, and omits some of what has been recited. But in the time of his (Laurence's) episcopate was made that most famous apparition of Michael the archangel on Mount Garganus, published throughout the world: and Michael the archangel himself told the Blessed Laurence by a vision what was to be done. In which matter the prudence of the Blessed Laurence shone forth exceedingly, and openly showed that he possessed the highest citadel of the virtues. Now [] committing the whole to God, presuming to do nothing rashly himself, and obeying the Angelic vision without delay, he most evidently declared himself the companion of the citizens above.* Here it is not said that St. Michael himself founded and consecrated the church, as in the other Life and in the Acts of the apparition; but Laurence is asserted only to have been instructed by St. Michael what was to be done. Many other things also in the Life printed in the second place seem to me to be related more probably than in the first or in the Acts of the apparition.

[241] Of the said Lives, the one written first is that Wherefore it seems it will be worth while if we examine which of those two Lives is the older: for that the one was composed from the other, the frequently identical words clearly show. Bollandus believed that the one which he published first was written first, and that the other was abridged from it and interpolated. But having weighed and collated both, I am compelled to judge the contrary, and to think that the one which was given in the first place was composed from the other, or somewhat amplified and interpolated. The reasons seem to me clear and certain. The author of the second Life clearly indicates that the Life of St. Laurence had not yet been written when he himself was asked to compose it. For when he had said that it is useful for many to know the deeds of the Saints, and that therefore their Acts should be written, he goes on thus at num. 2: Which thou, most rightly understanding, O prelate Benedict, hast often demanded, that he should commend the Blessed Laurence, bishop of the city of Siponto, by his writing, and that, to the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the edification of those who shall hear, what is found of him in divers places should be gathered into one place, and that the divers members, fitting one another, should form one body. Receive therefore what thou hast demanded, and let him who hitherto was held famous through the writings of others now, by my doing, become known by a record of his own, and living for ever fly upon living lips.

[242] which was published in the second place: These things so openly indicate that no Life of St. Laurence existed when this one was written that no doubt seems to remain. For the author was being asked to see to it that he should commend the Blessed Laurence, bishop of the city of Siponto, by his Writing (that is, by a Life to be written). He was being asked to gather into one place what was found of him in divers places. Finally he says that he is doing what was demanded, so that he who hitherto through the writings of others

was held famous, may become known by a record of his own (that is, by a Life of his own) &c. The author of the Life published in the second place could have said none of these things if another Life of St. Laurence already existed in writing. And so that one is beyond doubt the first, and the more probable Life above all the rest, especially since the like is not read in the other. For the author of the one published in the first place did indeed adopt the beginning of the Preface, but omitted all the words just given. Therefore the Life published in the second place must altogether be called the first, as the rest also suggests: for the author of the other added almost everywhere something of amplification, and has many things which the first writer would not have omitted, if he had written after him — at least if he had believed them true.

[243] from these and from the Life of St. Sabinus the chronology is to be sought. Moreover I observe that in the Life of St. Laurence, which we now do not doubt to be the first in time, only such things are asserted about the apparition of St. Michael as nowhere depart from probability; but that these have been enlarged, not only by chronological notes, but also by some less probable assertions, in the other Life of St. Laurence; and finally that they have been much more amplified both in the Acts of the apparition of St. Michael and in the antiphons and responsories of the Office, out of which was given the third and metrical Life of St. Laurence. Some things also are found in the Life of St. Sabinus, bishop of Canosa, which bear upon the chronology and can raise a difficulty. But it must be confessed that none of the aforesaid Lives is by a contemporary or nearly contemporary writer, and that all are exceedingly imperfect and destitute of sure authority. Since, however, we have no better documents, it seems that we must examine what in them, both for the chronology and for the asserted facts, is the more probable — as I now set about doing.

[244] The Life of St. Laurence, older than the rest, has not a word about St. Gelasius the Pope, From the first Life it is gathered that St. Laurence nor does it assert that St. Laurence was made bishop under the reign of Zeno, even though it mentions Zeno. The contrary is rather gathered from that Life, if it be rightly considered. For at num. 3 it has it thus: When therefore the Blessed Felix, bishop of the city of Siponto, had died, the people of Siponto were long without a pastor, either because sedition prevented the election of a bishop, or rather because of the hindrance of the various disasters by which all Italy was then afflicted. For at that time the emperor Zeno presided over human affairs: and Theodoric, king of the Goths, sent by him to take possession of Italy, … was fighting fiercely against Odoacer, king of the Heruli, who himself held the city of Rome and all Italy in tyrannical dominion. Italy therefore laboured under endless miseries, some favouring the king of the Heruli, others the Goths: whence the citizens had a keener care for guarding their safety and life than for consulting about a bishop. But when the battles had in part been quieted, the citizens of Siponto, having taken counsel, sent men chosen from the clergy and people to the emperor, humbly beseeching that he would come to the aid of their church, and would send them from his own side such a man as he knew to be needful at such a time in the house of the Lord &c.

[245] If what has been cited — which agrees excellently with the history of that time — is true, as we may judge it to be true, it is certain, first, was made bishop after the times that St. Laurence came to the chair some years after the death of Zeno, who died in the year 491. For the see of Siponto is said to have been long vacant; and the cause alleged is the war which was waged in Italy between the kings Theodoric and Odoacer. But that war was not ended until the year 493, when Odoacer was slain. Secondly, since the people of Siponto are said to have asked for a bishop from the emperor at Constantinople, and since Siponto with all Italy was from the year 493 subject to king Theodoric, it does not become likely that a bishop was asked by them before concord had been entered upon between king Theodoric and the emperor Anastasius. For by what reasoning would the people of Siponto have dared to have recourse to the emperor for a bishop, so long as there was dissension between king Theodoric, whom they feared, and the emperor? And this dissension seems to have continued for some years after Theodoric occupied Italy, even though it did not break out into open war; and it is not certainly established in what year the emperor Anastasius consented that Theodoric should hold Italy with the title of king. Therefore from this observation the episcopate of St. Laurence seems to be deferred at least to nearly the end of the fifth century.

[246] Thirdly, many things concur from which it becomes more probable of Pope Gelasius: that St. Laurence was not made bishop before the sixth century was some years begun. For both in this Life and in the rest he is said to have lived until the times of Totila reigning in Italy, and for that reason the death of St. Laurence was rightly assigned by Bollandus to about the middle of the sixth century, or the year 550. Hence in the other Life, at num. 10, he is said to have flourished with St. Benedict, with St. Germanus of Capua, and with St. Sabinus of Canosa, of whom the last survived nearly to the year 566. The episcopate of Laurence would therefore have been exceedingly long, and prolonged to fifty years or more, if he had ascended the chair under Gelasius or a little after — whereas nowhere is he said either to have been made bishop as a young man or to have died an old man.

[247] There is added yet another reason, from the subscriptions of councils. For toward the end of the fifth century and the beginning of the sixth, six Roman councils were held in the time of Pope Symmachus. The lengthy catalogues of the bishops who subscribed the first, the third, But from the councils it is further inferred, the fourth and the sixth are extant in Labbe, tome 4, from column [ ] to 1370. But nowhere does Laurence of Siponto appear, so that it becomes most probable that the see of Siponto was vacant during all that time. Likewise there was not present at the said councils St. Sabinus of Canosa, who was not yet bishop. For to the first Rufinus of Canosa subscribed, in the year 499. Then to the third, the fifth and the sixth Memor of Canosa subscribed. To the fifth also very many subscriptions were added, but these are deservedly suspect, as is observed in Labbe, column [ ]; and for that reason they are omitted, even though neither in them do Laurence of Siponto and Sabinus of Canosa appear.

[248] that Laurence had not yet sat in the year 504. Now indeed from the said councils, the last of which is fixed in the year 504, it seems altogether to be said that Laurence was not sitting at Siponto in the year 504, just as Sabinus was not yet governing the chair of Canosa. For since most of the bishops of Italy were present at the said councils, it is not likely that Laurence was sitting as bishop and was absent from them all. Wherefore what the author of the Life published in the first place added, concerning the time of St. Laurence's episcopate, to the Life earlier written, must be held only as ill-founded conjectures, when he says at num. 3: And so in the four hundred and ninetieth year of the saving Incarnation of the Lord our Saviour, in the fourteenth Indiction, Gelasius the most blessed Pope presiding over the Roman See, and Zeno reigning in the royal city of Constantinople, the city of Siponto, inhabited by a countless people, was bereft of its prelate, Felix by name, &c. The reign of Zeno is wrongly joined with the pontificate of Gelasius, and this seems to have been the rock on which he struck who wished to attach a chronology to the Acts of the apparition.

[249] so that perhaps he was not bishop It may indeed be true that Felix of Siponto died under Zeno about the year 490, since the first biographer intimates this very thing. But he says that thereafter the see was long vacant. The second, however, adds a little after the epoch he has given: The aforesaid city of Siponto remained without a pastor for the round of one year, thus explaining that long of a single year, as though Laurence had been promoted in the year 491. But the word long there can signify not less than twenty years than one; and what has been said of the Roman councils suggests that the see of Siponto was vacant at least until the year 504. The reason for so long a vacancy may have been (after the war was ended and the dissension of the emperor Anastasius and king Theodoric removed) that the people of Siponto feared lest an Arian bishop should be thrust upon them, if they asked for one from Theodoric. Other reasons unknown to us may also have hindered the election, and the first biographer openly intimates that the reasons were not well ascertained by him.

[250] before the reign of Justin. Pompeo Sarnelli, in his Chronology of the bishops of Siponto, pages 34 and 36, says that the see of Siponto was vacant twenty-two years after the death of Felix. Whence he took this he no more indicates than whence he produced the many anonymous bishops of Siponto, whom both he and Coleti, in reprinting Ughelli, might have omitted without loss. To me, however, to state my opinion briefly, there is a suspicion that the see of Siponto may have remained vacant until the reign of the emperor Justin, which began in the year 518: for the emperors Zeno and Anastasius were heretics, but Justin a Catholic, so that it becomes more likely that Laurence was sent by him — who even so will have administered the episcopate for a long time, if he was made bishop about the year 520.

[251] Very far removed from these things is the aforesaid Chronology of Sarnelli, who fixes the beginning of Laurence's episcopate in the year 488, Those who will have Laurence to have sat in the time of Gelasius or earlier, and the death of Felix in the year 466. But that is asserted altogether without any proof, and against all the Lives of St. Laurence. Felix was in the year 465 at the Roman council under Hilarus, and we have nothing else about him, except that in one Life he is said to have died under Zeno in the year 490, and in the first-written one about the time when there was war between Odoacer and Theodoric. By what reasoning, then, is he asserted to have died in the year 466, that is, long before the reign of Zeno? Yet I see why Sarnelli hastened so. He was unwilling to depart from the common opinion by which the apparition of St. Michael has been fixed under Gelasius. I too could wish that I were able to confirm this: but the older records must be followed, not those which were afterwards adulterated by interpolators. Now of Gelasius no mention is made in the Life of St. Laurence as it was first written, nor any in that which was moderately enlarged and interpolated, so that neither does this favour the opinion of those who fix the apparition of St. Michael under the pontificate of Gelasius. The Acts of the apparition themselves also were first written in such a way that neither of Gelasius nor of the time in which the event took place is the least thing asserted.

[252] We are brought back therefore to the assertion of Anastasius the Librarian, can allege nothing except documents and to the antiphons and responsories of the ecclesiastical Office, which were composed in a more recent age about St. Laurence, and were given by us in the third place as a metrical Life. But we can put little trust in Anastasius for matters so ancient, and perhaps he spoke from conjecture alone; and the authority of a metrical Life can be but slight. The very passage in which the dedication of the Garganic church is said to have been attempted under Gelasius involves a manifest error. I transfer the words themselves hither:

While the Pontiff Gelasius was ordering the hall of heaven To be consecrated, there came together first Laurence, Here Sabinus of Canosa, Palladius of Salpi, And John of Rubi, Eutitius of Trani,

And with them Austerius of Venosa was present. This Michael the archangel, sent by God, forbade, Saying: This house I made and consecrated from heaven. While the Messenger of the highest King stood before them in a vision, The Archangel warned them to desist from what they had begun.

Among the bishops here reckoned is numbered St. Sabinus of Canosa. But in the year 504 Memor was still presiding over the church of Canosa, when Gelasius had already been dead eight years. And Sabinus, according to the chronology of his own Life, was not made bishop before the year 512, and our Bollandus, in tome 2 of February, page 300, fixes the death of Memor about 514. It is therefore certain that Gelasius is wrongly joined with Sabinus, and thus it becomes most probable that he is mentioned no more correctly with St. Laurence; and perhaps of those mentioned there not one was bishop under the pontificate of Gelasius. But there is no need to investigate that.

[253] Lest, however, anyone should be able to suspect that another Sabinus was bishop of Canosa in the time of Gelasius, interpolated, or at any rate faulty. I shall transfer hither the words of the Life of St. Sabinus, in which for another dedication the same bishops are found along with Gelasius. The said Life, published at the IX of February, at num. 5 has it thus: And so Sabinus, the servant of God, was deservedly venerated by all, so much so indeed that Gelasius, Pontiff of the city of Rome, held him before the other bishops as his companion and intimate. For when he wished to bless the church of Barletta in honour of the Blessed Apostle Andrew, he asked the same Pope Gelasius to come to him (which he did), and begged him to dedicate the aforesaid church, rejoicing greatly at the coming of the Bishop of the first See. Wherefore with eager mind, together with the other bishops whom he had called to the dedication of that church, he gave thanks to almighty God, because so great a Pontiff had come to him. For I think the names too of the bishops who were called should here be enumerated: Laurence, pontiff of the church of Siponto, Palladius of Salpi, Eutychius of Trani, John of Rubi, Austerius of Venosa. Here plainly the same bishops are said to have come together with St. Gelasius the Pope for the dedication of the church of Barletta who above are asserted to have assembled at Gelasius's order to dedicate the church of Mount Garganus; nor is there any doubt that the author is speaking of St. Sabinus, and wrongly makes him bishop along with Gelasius. Wherefore from what has been discussed the prudent reader will easily understand that no trust is to be placed in the chronological notes which were added to Lives written only in the eighth or ninth century; and that no solid argument is to be had by which the apparition of St. Michael can be referred to the time of St. Gelasius the Pontiff.

[254] [But it is established that the apparition of St. Michael happened while St. Laurence was sitting,] This one thing about the time of the apparition seems to me sufficiently certain, that it happened when St. Laurence was administering the chair of Siponto. But since we do not know in what year St. Laurence was made bishop, and since he seems at least not to have obtained the chair before the year 504, and is said to have flourished with SS. Benedict of Cassino, Germanus of Capua, Sabinus of Canosa, and above all with Totila king of the Goths, we can assign the time of the apparition only in a very broad manner. Perhaps it happened about the year 520, perhaps about 530, perhaps even about 540: to that whole period the episcopate of Laurence seems at least to be extended. In the Short Chronicle of St. Vincent of Metz, which Labbe published in tome 1 of his Bibliotheca, there is set at the year 533: The finding of the crypt of St. Michael. But it was not written before the thirteenth century. If the words of Ado, given at num. 3, But not long after, at Rome the venerable Pontiff Boniface also dedicated a church built in the name of St. Michael on the summit of the circus &c.: if, I say, these words had necessarily to be explained of Boniface II, as they can at least probably be expounded of him, the apparition of St. Michael would have to be fixed about the year 520, since Boniface II began in the year 530 a short pontificate of about two years.

[255] and by conjecture it can be fixed between the years 520 and 530. Baronius indeed, in his Annotations to the Roman Martyrology on the XXIX day of September, preferred to conjecture that that Roman church on the summit of the circus was built by Boniface III or by his successor Boniface IV, who held the pontificate in the seventh century. But he adopted that conjecture because he thought it had been built on the mole of Hadrian, now called the Castle of St. Angelo. But that opinion about the place is not approved by us, and I shall show below that the mole of Hadrian is unfittingly taken for the summit of the circus. And so Baronius rightly indeed shows that in the time of Boniface II there was not yet a shrine of St. Michael on the mole of Hadrian; but by that reasoning he gains nothing with us, since we believe another shrine is in question. Wherefore I should prefer to conjecture that, on account of the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, a shrine was built by Boniface II on the summit of the circus, and that this was done not long after that apparition, as Ado affirms; rather than to have recourse to the little shrine set on the mole of Hadrian in the following century on another occasion: but of these things we must treat more at large at num. 308. For the rest, if the author of the church is Boniface II, as we more probably believe, the Apparition of St. Michael will certainly have happened before the year 530, so that perhaps it cannot be more correctly fixed than between the years 520 and 530.

perhaps Nam* (For).

§ XIX. The place of the apparition: various assertions of the Acts are examined.

[ ] Mount Garganus in Daunian Apulia by the Adriatic Sea, There is no doubt that Mount Garganus is in Apulia, and in that part which was once called Daunian Apulia, by its modern name the Capitanata. And so the writer of the Acts, saying at num. 1 that it is situated within the bounds of Campania, neglected accurate geography, and extended Campania much farther than he ought, as others also did in the Middle Ages. Siponto, an ancient city which was afterwards destroyed, was on the Adriatic Sea, as the surviving ruins of the city show, one mile according to Leandro Alberti from Manfredonia, which arose in its neighbourhood. Of the name of the mountain the aforesaid Alberti speaks thus, at page 377, from the ancients, whose words I omit for brevity's sake: This mountain the ancients call Garganus — namely Strabo, Mela, Virgil, … Lucan, … Horace, … Silius Italicus, Livy, Ptolemy, and very many other writers. Hence he rightly infers that it is fabulous that in the Acts the name is said to have been given to the mountain from a man Garganus. It may further be conjectured that that very name of the man was fabricated from the mountain.

[257] Part of the words in which he describes the mountain I transfer hither: which is described, It is exceedingly lofty, and of most difficult ascent, on which certain most delightful woods are found, although in many places it is quite without trees, where nevertheless divers kinds of health-giving and medicinal herbs grow. On the side which looks toward the sea, as Strabo showed, it has a promontory running out eastward for the space of three hundred stadia. It begins from the Apennine, from whose roots there springs a most lofty ridge, two thousand paces in breadth, twenty in length: after which the mountain itself so gradually rises that it ends in the greatest (yet fruit-bearing) height, vastness and extent. It stretches so far into the sea that in the circuit of its roots, which the plain receives, it takes in two hundred thousand paces, although Pliny has reported this space to be a hundred and thirty-four. In many places it is steep and precipitous where it looks toward the sea, and the promontory mentioned a little above from Strabo. Let this suffice about the mountain.

[258] Of the cave, which he saw, he speaks thus: It is a crypt, it has the crypt of St. Michael by no means hollowed out of the living rock of the mountain by the wit or art of men, but by Angelic power and design: into which, downward, through a huge marble gate looking south, built by the princes of the kingdom, there opens an entrance of fifty-five steps toward the North: by which one could in no way descend without a torch, unless through very many air-holes and windows cut in the rock the daylight were let in upon the marble stairs. At the end of these there is a burial-place open in the level, with many chapels and monuments: among which on the left, before you enter into the most sacred cave, there appears a certain most beautiful one with the arms of the noble Neapolitan family of the Puderici, once lords of this place. Near this chapel, through another gate of bronze, wrought with the highest art, which looks toward the West, entrance is given into the cave itself, into which it is lawful for no one at all to enter before sunrise. On the right appears the wonderful crypt, extended eastward, the dwelling of the divine Michael the archangel, all of living and solid stone, perpetually dripping with pure moisture, awful, deep and dark, made, as I think, for no other end than for the sake of the salvation of souls. In the middle is a small shrine, with an ascent of four steps: and when you have come nearer to the most holy altar of the Angel, a little higher up, that place is, willy-nilly, to be venerated by you.

[259] with sacred places, as it is described, There is seen there the altar consecrated by the Archangel himself, and now clothed with the covering of another made by human hand: on which daily Masses are for the most part wont to be celebrated; and by no means are all indiscriminately admitted into these inner shrines. Not far thence is a perennial but modest spring, gushing with divine water, from which the townsmen make themselves medicine for almost all diseases. Then on the left are seen several other altars, chapels, and like hidden places for celebrating Masses, and especially two altars made also by the Archangel himself. Besides, the oratories which are above are thought not to have been made by design, but so created by nature in the rock, that by them mortals may be drawn to penitence and to the contemplation of the Divinity. The pavement of the cave is variously laid with white marble. The outer parts of the crypt, that is, its topmost roof, a green and dense grove of very tall trees covers, from which hangs a very great multitude of stones, which by reason of a vow men bear up, tied to their necks, to the ridge of the mountain, and there, their prayers performed, leave them hanging. This wood indeed has the greatest wonder about it, that for a great space round about no other shrub even appears: wherefore it is held to be a miracle rather than a natural thing that so many and such huge trees are here rooted in the living rock. The neighbours, when I was here, told me that about the time of Charles VIII, king of France, who in the year from Christ's birth CCCCXCIIII (above a thousand) took the kingdom of Naples, one of them was cut down by a certain French soldier, and that he straightway fell dead by divine punishment. We saw also in the consecrated cave a notable … cross of the purest crystal, nearly a span and a half long, which the priests of the place said had been found here at the time when the crypt itself was first wonderfully made known. With these things Ughelli agrees, in tome 7 of Italia sacra, column [ ], among the bishops of Siponto, though relating each point more briefly.

[260] and with the town of St. Michael. Now the celebrity of the cave of St. Michael brought it about that a town arose on the Garganus, of which the aforesaid Alberti treats, and after him Ughelli, writing thus: On the summit of Mount Garganus, at the sixth mile from Manfredonia, is situated the town of Sant' Angelo, of the same diocese of Siponto:

whence the mountain itself is sometimes called of St. Angelus. The place is fortified by nature, and abounding in a plenty of things necessary for human sustenance, and especially in most precious wine. This town, named of old from the apparition of the Angel Michael, the Saracens long inhabited… In this town of Sant' Angelo is seen the sacred cavern, or church, most celebrated in all the world under the title of St. Michael the archangel, not made by hand, not raised by human industry or labour, but by divine power, as the tradition of the place has it, shaped in the rock of Mount Garganus into the likeness of a certain temple. What is asserted about the place having been built by no human industry is likewise read in the Acts of the apparition; indeed also in the Life of St. Laurence of Siponto, which I have proved to be interpolated, Michael the Archangel is asserted at num. 13 to have said of the church: I have myself founded it for myself, and also consecrated it. But in the Acts to be given, at num. 7, the Archangel is said to have spoken thus: There is no need for you to dedicate this church which I have built: for I who founded it have also dedicated it. Ado, at the XXIX of September, gave such a summary of the Acts that he seems at least to have agreed about the dedication made by St. Michael.

[261] Nevertheless that tradition of a church built and dedicated by St. Michael seems to have been suspect to the authors of the Roman Breviary and Martyrology, In the Roman Breviary the church is not said to have been built by St. Michael, since it is altogether omitted in the Breviary, and in the Martyrology the contrary rather seems to be asserted. For in the Breviary, out of the whole account of the Apparition, only this was adopted: It came about that from the herds of a certain Garganus a bull strayed far away, which, being long sought, they found sticking in the entrance of a cave. And when one of them had shot an arrow to transfix the bull, the arrow, turned back, fell upon the archer himself. And when this event had affected those present, and thereafter the rest, with such fear that no one dared to come nearer to that cave, the people of Siponto consult the bishop: who, a fast and prayer of three days having been proclaimed, answered that the matter must be sought from God. After the three days Michael the archangel warns the bishop that that place is under his protection, and that by that token he had shown that he wished worship to be offered there to God in memory of himself and of the Angels. Wherefore the bishop, together with the citizens, proceeds to go to that cave. And when they had seen it shaped into the likeness of a certain temple, they began to solemnize that place with the divine offices: which was afterwards made illustrious by many miracles. Nothing here of a church built or dedicated by St. Michael.

[262] In the Martyrology it seems to be intimated that the church of St. Michael on the Garganus was dedicated in the usual manner, but in the Martyrologies an ordinary dedication seems to be asserted. since it has it thus: On Mount Garganus, the venerable memory of blessed Michael the archangel, when a church was there consecrated in his name, made indeed of mean fashion, but endowed with heavenly power. Those words indicate an ordinary dedication by bishops. And the ancient Martyrologies, which were certainly written before the Acts of the apparition, gave the lead to the Roman, since in nearly all of them there is recorded, The dedication of the basilica of St. Michael, and in several there is added, on Mount Garganus, as may be seen in §1 of this Commentary. The Life of St. Laurence of Siponto too, as I have proved to have been written first, has nothing of a church built or dedicated by St. Michael. Its words at num. 6 are these: But in the time of his episcopate was made that most famous apparition of Michael the archangel on Mount Garganus, published throughout the world: and Michael the archangel himself told the Blessed Laurence by a vision what was to be done. In which matter the prudence of the Blessed Laurence shone forth exceedingly, and openly showed that he possessed the highest citadel of the virtues. Now [] committing the whole to God, presuming to do nothing rashly himself, and obeying the Angelic vision without delay, he most evidently declared himself the companion of the citizens above.*

[263] These words indicate nothing else than that Laurence learned by the revelation of St. Michael The earlier Life of St. Laurence also affirms nothing what he ought to do. Nevertheless from them occasion was offered for various conjectures, which were afterwards made too liberally. If at this time also it be lawful to make conjectures, we shall be able to conjecture what follows. From the revelation of St. Michael, St. Laurence could learn that he must enter the cave where the miracle of the arrow returning upon its own archer had been wrought; secondly, that that place was under the protection of St. Michael, and that he wished himself to be chiefly honoured there; thirdly, that a church should be dedicated in that place, or, if perhaps one was already built there, that it should be frequented by the people, and the divine mysteries performed in it. That these things were revealed to the prelate by St. Michael, though it is not certain, is nevertheless not improbable: for there is no room to doubt of the apparition itself, nor of the cult of St. Michael begun on Mount Garganus by reason of the apparition.

[264] about a church built or dedicated by the Archangel, But it may be doubted whether before the apparition there was any church in that cave: which is neither asserted nor denied in the most ancient Martyrologies, nor in the Life of St. Laurence as it was first written. And if it were established that a church was there found by the bishop and by the others who entered the cave with him, it would not yet become certain that it had been built and dedicated by the Archangel himself. For we know that the Christians, in the time of the persecutions with which they were harassed by the gentile emperors, were wont to celebrate the divine mysteries in crypts and underground places. Wherefore, if a church was found in that crypt of Mount Garganus — which I should neither affirm nor deny — it could have been built and frequented by the Christians in the time of the persecutions; but afterwards abandoned because of its excessive inconvenience, and gradually left in oblivion, when Christians were free to perform their rites publicly and to build sacred edifices in the cities.

[265] and in our view that miracle should not be added to the rest. And so I judge that nothing is to be affirmed about a church built or dedicated by St. Michael, just as the Roman Martyrology and Breviary affirm nothing of them, and Baronius likewise nothing in his Annals at the year 493, saying only: Under this year … is placed the finding of the crypt of Mount Garganus in Apulia, which, made most celebrated by the apparition of St. Michael the archangel, was devoted to pious worship. Of these things there is no doubt, except that we have said the event took place later. Certain also are the things which he subjoins a little after: The religious cult of St. Michael the archangel, once begun there, grew day by day with greater accessions, and the whole Western Church undertook to celebrate it with an anniversary solemnity: and the place itself, on account of the vast miracles wont to be wrought there, was thenceforth frequented by a continual pilgrimage of the faithful.

[266] Certain other things in the Acts to be corrected. It may also be asked whether three distinct apparitions of St. Michael seem to be admissible, as they are related in the Acts, since only two are read in the twin Life of St. Laurence. To this I answer briefly that it is more probable that St. Laurence was taught by a single apparition of St. Michael all that pertained to the cave of the Garganus, just as everything is referred to a single apparition in both Lives of St. Laurence. For these Lives at least deserve greater credit — above all the one which was written first — than the Acts of the Apparition, in which not a few things are openly fabulous. Hence many other things asserted in these Acts, of which nothing is read in the Lives, seem less certain and doubtful: such as the consultation of the Roman Pontiff, whom the more interpolated Acts made to be Gelasius; the three-day fast proclaimed three times over; the finding of such a place that the bishop on the same day on which he entered offered there the Sacrifice of the Mass; and some other things which the prudent and learned reader will easily detect. Of the consulting of the supreme Pontiff both Lives are silent. The earlier Life attributes one three-day fast to Laurence; the other likewise records a single one, but adds the people subject to him. Of a church found in which Mass could at once be celebrated, both again are silent. To me at least it is more probable either that no church was found in the cave of the mountain, but that one was built at the command of St. Michael; or that perhaps the ruins of an ancient church were found, which had to be restored and adorned.

[267] The second apparition of St. Michael, which is asserted in the Lives also, The second apparition of St. Michael, not rightly corrected by Baronius, is not without improbable circumstances either, as it is related in the Acts of the Apparition at num. 4. Baronius, cited above, saw that the fact was not rightly related, and suggested an emendation, writing thus: There is extant a history of the event (in the Acts of the Apparition), to be emended, however, in this, that it is there said that war was then raging between the Neapolitans and the people of Siponto, and it must be restored as, between Odoacer and Theodoric: for by war of this kind, and by no other private one, was Italy then vexed; when the people of Siponto, who had surrendered themselves to Theodoric, were ill-treated by Odoacer. Wherefore, Odoacer being at length slain, the same Theodoric, having gained the sum of affairs, ordered the tributes of two years to be remitted to the merchants of Siponto. There is extant on these matters a Letter of the same king to Faustus the prefect. This correction of Baronius at first sight bears an appearance of truth. But if it be considered more attentively, it will not seem probable: for the apparition of St. Michael seems to have happened long after the death of Odoacer, slain in the year 493, so that the war between Odoacer and Theodoric cannot be in question; nor have we any argument by which it can be proved that the people of Siponto were ill-treated by Odoacer. Letter 38 of the second book, which Baronius cites, in no way proves that those damages which were inflicted on the merchants of Siponto, and for whose sake Theodoric provides for them, were inflicted by Odoacer, and much less does it establish that the people of Siponto waged war against Odoacer's party. To say it in a word, that Letter does not serve the purpose, since the merchants of Siponto could have been damaged by other enemies of Theodoric either at sea or in some part of the lands where they traded.

[268] I confess, however, that that war, whatever in the end it was, is not rightly related in the Acts at num. 4 and 5. in both Lives of St. Laurence it is related in a less improbable manner, First, it is false that the Neapolitans in the sixth century, in which that war would have to be fixed, were still gentiles. Secondly, Naples at that time was not independent, but at one time under the Goths, at another under the Greeks, so that the citizens of Naples could not wage war in their own name against the Beneventans or the people of Siponto. Wherefore the whole affair would become most suspect to me, were it not commemorated in both Lives of St. Laurence also, and there asserted in a less incredible manner. The Life first written has it thus of St. Laurence at num. 7: And when the Neapolitans were provoking his citizens with grievous battle, he trusted neither in horses nor in the array of arms: but afflicting himself in the charity of the Lord, he obtained victory from heaven. For Michael himself, the prince of the Angels, appearing to the bishop in a vision, promised the people of Siponto victory, and that he himself would fight for them. The other Life

at num. 13 agrees almost entirely: And when the Neapolitans were provoking his citizens with grievous battle, Laurence, the man of God, trusting that the strength of war consists not in the multitude of an army but in the power of God, procuring for himself the aid neither of horses nor of arms, but afflicting himself with a three days' fast together with the people subject to him, obtained victory from heaven. For Michael himself, the prince of the Angels, appearing in a vision to the bishop Laurence, promised the people of Siponto victory, and that he himself would fight for them. These things agree with the preceding, except for the three days' fast of the people of Siponto, which in the earlier Life is attributed below to Laurence alone.

[269] Moreover this fact is asserted with such confidence in both Lives that it does not seem to be deniable, even though it is incredible that the Neapolitans in their own name made war upon the people of Siponto in the time of the Goths. And so I conjecture and the victory of the people of Siponto is asserted without hesitation, that something of this kind happened in the long war which Justinian undertook in the year 535 through his general Belisarius against the Goths reigning in Italy, and which was waged with varying fortune. Naples belonged to the Goths when the war began: but in the year 536 it was stormed by Belisarius, and remained under the Greeks until the year 543, in which it was again taken by Totila, king of the Goths. In those times, therefore, the prefect of Naples, with the garrison soldiers and part of the people of the city and of the neighbouring countryside, could have undertaken some expedition against the people of Siponto, and been repelled by these through the patronage of St. Michael. And what the prefect of the city did with his own men and with the Neapolitans will have been attributed by the biographers to the Neapolitans. In these things there is nothing incredible, nothing improbable. And the biographers relate that victory of the people of Siponto with such confidence that on its account they compare the bishop Laurence with the prophet Daniel.

[270] so that neither the apparition nor the victory seems to be deniable, Let us hear the first. Let us, he says, turn back the ancient histories and compare the deeds of the Blessed Laurence with the works of the ancients. Daniel of old, that man of desires, having completed the fast of three weeks with which he afflicted himself in the sight of the Lord, learned that the prayers which he was making for the people had been heard. Laurence afflicted himself with a fast of three days, and heard that he had obtained from the Lord the safety of his people. To Daniel's prayer his people is promised as about to go forth free from the servitude of enemies. To Laurence's prayers the enemy is announced as turned to flight, and his people as about to trample upon the necks of the enemy. From Daniel it is related that against the Prince of the Persians, so that the people might more easily be freed, the Prince of the Greeks came. To Laurence, against the prince of the enemies, no foreign power is attributed. Gabriel gladdens Daniel, saying that Michael is with him for victory. Michael himself strengthens Laurence, and promises that he shall have victory over his enemies.

[271] although it is doubtful by whom they were attacked. Then the author invokes St. Laurence in these words: So ever, so, O Blessed Laurence, mayest thou beseech the Lord for the people committed to thee: and as thou hadst care of the people of Siponto when thou wast present in the flesh, so, and still more now, when thou art present with the Lord, deign to be mindful of them. If, while thou wast walking by faith, and wast a pilgrim from the Lord in the body, the Lord heard thee from His holy and heavenly dwelling-place, how much more do we hope that now thou wilt obtain from the Lord, in whose presence thou art, all that thou shalt ask? Obtain therefore always the protection of the Angels for thy city. Let the powers on high ever guard the place of thy habitation. Let thy citizens feel thee present: let thine enemies know thee powerful. Through thy prayers may we deserve to have Michael as helper, and as a most valiant fighter against the ancient serpent, who is Satan, &c. That victory of the people of Siponto must indeed be fixed under the episcopate of Laurence, but it may have happened many years after the revelation of the cave of Mount Garganus. Hence also it becomes doubtful whether they were attacked by some general of the Goths or of the Greeks, when they were delivered from that peril.

perhaps Nam* (For).

THE APPARITION OF ST. MICHAEL ON MOUNT GARGANUS

By an anonymous author

From five or six most ancient manuscripts, collated with one another and with several others.

BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR

The memory of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, The memory of the Blessed Michael the archangel, to be venerated throughout the whole world, the church declares, being both founded by his work and consecrated in his name. Which church, commended not by the gleam of metals [*], but by the privilege of signs, made of mean fashion, but endowed with heavenly power; inasmuch as the Archangel, mindful of human frailty, coming from heaven, deigned to found it for himself with his own hand, that mortals might there earn the fellowship of those on high. For, set on the peak of a lofty mountain, it is shown as hollowed out beforehand from the body of that same rock, after the manner of a cave. And the place is within the bounds ^a of Campania: where, between the Adriatic gulf and Mount Garganus, is situated the city of Siponto ^b: which mountain, rising up twelve thousand paces ^c from the walls of the city, bears on its topmost summit the church of blessed Michael ^d the archangel of which I have spoken. That this became known to mortals in this manner, a little book ^e, placed in that same church, declares.

[2] There was in that same city a certain very rich man, by name Garganus, by what miracle it was begun who also from what befell him gave the name ^f to the mountain. While his cattle, in whose countless multitude he was strong, were pasturing here and there along the sloping [] sides of the mountain, it happened that a bull of the herd, spurning the company of the flock, was wont to go apart, and at last, when the cattle returned, did not come back home. Him his master, gathering a multitude of servants, sought through all the trackless places, and at length found standing at the doors [] of a certain cave on the top of the mountain: and, moved with anger that it went wandering alone, he seized his bow and shot at it with a poisoned arrow. Which, as if turned back by a blast of wind, presently returned and struck him by whom it had been thrown. The citizens, troubled and astonished at how the thing had come to pass ^g (for they did not dare to approach nearer), consult the bishop ^h as to what needs to be done. And he, a three days' fast having been proclaimed, warned that it must be sought from God.

[3] Which being done, the holy Archangel of the Lord addresses the bishop ⁱ through a vision, by the apparition of St. Michael. saying: You have now done well in seeking from God the mystery which lay hid from men, namely the cause ^k of the man struck by his own dart. But know that this was done by my will. For I am Michael the archangel, who always stand in the sight of the Lord: and resolving to inhabit ^l this place on earth and to keep it safe, I have willed to prove by this token that I am the overseer and guardian of all that is done there, and of the place itself. Having learned these things by revelation ^m, the citizens made it their custom here to beseech God with prayers and holy [*] Michael; seeing indeed two doors there, of which the Southern, which was also the greater, could be approached by some steps sloping toward the West. But not daring to go further ⁿ into the crypt, they gave themselves to prayer daily before the doors.

[4] Meanwhile the Neapolitans, still straying in pagan rites ^o, Another apparition of St. Michael, attempt to provoke with war the people of Siponto and of Benevento, who are fifty [p] miles distant from Siponto. And they, instructed by the admonitions of their prelate, ask for a truce of three days, that by a three days' fast it might be lawful for them to implore the protection of St. Michael, as a faithful patronage. During which time the pagans by scenic games invite the aid of false gods. But behold, on the very night which preceded the day of battle, St. Michael is present in a vision, and appearing to the prelate, said that their prayers had been heard, promises that victory will be at hand [q], and forewarns that at the fourth hour of the day the enemy must be met in battle. Glad therefore in the morning, and certain of the Angelic victory, brought back by the Lord's [r] spirit, the Christians meet the pagans: and at the first array [] of battle, the Garganus is shaken with an immense trembling: frequent lightnings fly, and a dark mist covered the whole summit of the mountain, that prophecy being fulfilled which, praising the Lord, says: Who maketh His Angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.*

[5] and the victory over the enemy won by the people of Siponto is related. The pagans flee, driven partly by the sword of the enemy, partly by fire-bearing arrows: and, their adversaries following and cutting down all the hindmost, they at last enter dying within the walls of their own city, Naples. But those who escaped the peril, having learned that an Angel of God had come to the aid of the Christians — for they saw nearly six hundred of their own slain by lightning [] — straightway bowing their necks to Christ the King of kings, are clothed with the arms of faith. And when the victors, returned home, were rendering to the Lord their vows of thanksgiving at the temple of the Archangel, they see in the morning, beside the Northern door, which I have said was like a small postern, as it were the footprints of a man closely impressed on the marble: and they recognize that the Blessed Michael willed to show this sign of his presence []: where afterwards a roof was set up and an altar placed, and the church itself was called Apodanea [s] from the signs of the footprints.

[6] While the people of Siponto were in doubt, Meanwhile there arises [t] much doubt among the people of Siponto as to what they should do about that place, and whether it ought to be entered, or a church dedicated there. Whence, conference being held, to the East [] of that place they found and dedicate a church in the name of the Blessed Peter, prince of the Apostles: in which also they set up altars of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin and of the holy Baptist John. At length the prelate, having found a wholesome counsel, inquires by messengers of the Roman Bishop what is to be done about these matters. And he was at that time by chance staying on a mountain distant nearly fifty [u] miles from the city of Rome, which the inhabitants call by the surname of Saint Sylvester, because he himself had once been in exile there on account of the persecution of the faith, and had lain hidden on Mount Soracte [x]: and he sends back such directions as these: If it is a man's part to dedicate that church [], it must be done above all on that day on which the victory was given. But if it shall please otherwise the holy Provider of the place, on that same day especially his will in this matter must be sought []. Therefore as this time draws near, let us both keep a three days' fast with our citizens, asking the holy Trinity that the gifts which it has deigned [] to confer through the highest Minister of its throne it may bring to a sure end.

[7] It was done as the Prelate had suggested. But on the last night of the appointed fast the Angel [] of the Lord, Michael, appearing through a vision to the bishop of Siponto, St. Michael teaches the bishop what is to be done, said: There is no need for you to dedicate this church which I have built [y]: for I who founded it have also dedicated it. Do you only enter, and, with me standing by as patron, frequent the place with prayers: and while thou tomorrow celebratest Masses there, let the people communicate according to custom: but it shall be mine to show how I have consecrated that place through myself. They come in the morning with offerings, and with great urgency of prayers they enter the Southern gate. And behold, a long portico stretched toward the North, and reaching that postern outside which we have said the footprints were impressed on the marble. But before you arrive here [], there appears toward the East a very great basilica, to which one ascends by steps. This, together with its own portico, seemed able to hold nearly five hundred men, showing a venerable altar, covered with a little red cloth, near the middle of the Southern wall.

[8] Now that house itself was angular, not with walls raised after the manner of human workmanship, A description of the crypt of Mount Garganus, but broken off after the manner of a cave, and often with projecting

rocks roughening it: with a rocky roof too of varying height, which here can be touched with the crown of the head, elsewhere can scarcely be reached with the hand: I believe because the Archangel [] of the Lord teaches us to seek and love, not the adornment of stones, but purity of heart. But the summit of the mountain on the outside is partly covered with a wood of cornel-trees, partly spreads out in a green plain. And so, the celebration of the Masses being completed, all returned to their own homes, astonished with great joy. And the bishop, having appointed the office of ministers, singers and priests, and having built a dwelling, commanded the whole daily round of Psalms and Masses to be celebrated there in fitting order. But no one dared to enter here at night-time; rather, when the dawn is past, they sing the morning [] hymns there.

[9] And from the very rock by which the sacred shrine is covered, which is famous for miracles. to the North of the altar, sweet and exceedingly clear water falls drop by drop, which the inhabitants call the drip. For this reason a glass vessel too, prepared for the receiving of that same [] water, hangs suspended by a silver chain: and it is the custom, when the people have communicated, for each to go up by the steps to this little vessel and to taste the gift of the heavenly liquor: for it is both sweet to the taste and healthful to the touch. Indeed some, after long fevers' flames, having drunk this drip, straightway obtain a swift refreshment of health []. In countless other ways too the sick are frequently healed there: and many miracles are proved to be wrought which are permitted only to Angelic power [z]: yet above all on the day of his Feast, when both from the surrounding provinces a crowd flows together [] more than usual, and a greater attendance, in some manner, of Angelic power is believed to be present, so that what the Apostle said spiritually seems to be done bodily; for the Angels are ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who receive the inheritance of salvation*, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ANNOTATIONS.

p Here the codices disagree greatly. I have followed Chifflet's transcript, written from two codices, because this is at least nearer to the true distance between Siponto and Benevento. Nevertheless two of our codices, with the Florentine, the Trier, and the interpolated Vatican, have: a hundred and fifty miles, which certainly is not the distance between Siponto and Benevento. Indeed in one of ours there is read seven hundred and fifty, which is a more manifest error. It will have been written fifty, or perhaps fifty-seven miles: for this may be the true distance, as I conjecture from geographical maps: an unskilled copyist could have formed septingentis out of septem. On the war here related the Commentary at num. 267 may be consulted.

q Again some diversity of words in the codices, but the same sense. For victoriam spondet affuturam there is read in various ones spopondit se affuturum. Other differences are slighter.

r Here the various codices give a different sense, and some are faulty. The sense can be twofold, since some attribute the Lord's spirit to the Christians, others a demonic or demoniac one to the pagans. The first has been given in the text; the other, in one of our codices, which two others also favour, is expressed thus: dæmonico redactis spiritu obviant Christiani paganis. The sense given in the text is preferable, and is that of at least five codices; but for reducti there is in some redacti, in one Domini cordati spiritu.

s This word is corrupt in most codices, and is read appodanea, yppodonea, and expressed in other like ways.

t For Interea multa fit &c., in others only, Multa dubitatio &c.; but the sense is everywhere the same.

u About the distance of Mount Soracte from the City there is again much variety in the codices, which I shall note, that from this specimen the prudent reader may understand how greatly ancient codices have been corrupted by the negligence of copyists. At nearly the fiftieth mile, as I have put it in the text, is found in at least five manuscripts, so that I do not doubt it was so written, even though in truth the mountain's distance from the City is less. In one there is read, at the five hundredth mile, which is a manifest error. In the transcript sent hither by Chifflet from two codices there is at nearly the first mile, which is no less clearly faulty. In the Vatican codex, in which I have said the Acts were afterwards interpolated, the true distance is more nearly expressed, when the mountain is said to be distant from the City at nearly the thirtieth mile. This is to be taken as a correction.

x The name of the mountain is likewise corrupted, and correctly expressed in none. For the true name is Soracte or Soractes, and the mountain is situated in Pontifical Tuscany between the town of Nepi and the Tiber. It is called the mountain of St. Sylvester from the monastery of St. Sylvester, of which I treated in tome 1 of September, page 410, where I also observed that it is commonly called the mountain of St. Oreste, and I treated of the cause of that corrupted name at page 420. In the codices here, for Soracte, there is read Serapti, Sirapti, Syrapti and Sarepti.

y For ecclesiam, in a few manuscripts there is read basilicam. Of its building and dedication by St. Michael, asserted by some more recent writers also, but without sufficient authority, consult what was said in the Commentary at num. 261.

z Most codices have it as I have published it. In one of ours it is read thus: Countless sick people too are healed there: and many miracles are proved to be wrought there by Angelic power. I pass over other smaller matters, since I have omitted nothing of the variety of the codices which presents a different meaning. For the rest, after the Acts had been transcribed from the collated codices and illustrated with these Annotations, I consulted also the edition of Surius, before neglected: and I saw that it everywhere agrees with this one. The few things in which it differs arise partly from a concern to polish the style moderately, partly from the very variety of the codices.

in one, metalli*

elsewhere, divexa*

elsewhere, pro foribus*

elsewhere there is added intercessorem*

elsewhere, paratu*

in one MS., flumine*

elsewhere, monstrari*

in one, ad Meridiem*

in one, basilicam*

elsewhere, requirenda*

elsewhere, dignatus*

in one, archangelus*

in one, pervenirent*

elsewhere, Angelo*

elsewhere, matutinales*

elsewhere, ibidem*

in one, salute*

elsewhere, confluens*

§ XX. The church of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, famous for votive pilgrimages and miracles.

The church of Mount Garganus celebrated for pilgrimages. Of the votive pilgrimages to Mount Garganus Marcello Cavaglieri, of the Order of Preachers and afterwards bishop of Gravina, wrote at length in an Italian work which he published in the year 1680 and entitled Il peregrino al Gargano. But not all the things he relates are equally certain or proved; nor does it seem necessary to examine them one by one, since that examination would prove more lengthy than useful. Wherefore from the aforesaid work of Cavaglieri I shall take only some things which shall seem more certain, and I shall add from elsewhere what may suffice for the studious reader to perceive that the sacred shrine of St. Michael on Mount Garganus has always been famous for pious pilgrimages.

[273] it had grown much in wealth before the middle of the seventh century, I find nothing in the sixth century, in which the church of St. Michael began to become known on Mount Garganus,

which I think should be transferred hither. Nevertheless that the place was from the beginning celebrated and frequented by very many, we can conjecture from the increase of its wealth. For the treasure of that church had so grown about the middle of the seventh century that the Greeks thought of carrying it off to themselves. Paulus Diaconus, in book 4 of the Deeds of the Lombards, chapter 47, speaks thus of Grimoald, the Lombard duke of Benevento: Who, being a most warlike man and everywhere distinguished, when the Greeks came at that time to plunder the oracle of St. Michael the archangel situated on Mount Garganus, Grimoald, coming upon them with an army, laid them low in utter slaughter. On this passage, in tome 1 of the Writers of Italy, column 471, Muratori observes in his Annotations that the credit of Paulus Diaconus was suspect to Camillo Pellegrino, as though he had wished to attribute to the Greeks what the Lombards themselves attempted. But he both defends Paulus Diaconus there, and more carefully and openly in the Annals of Italy written afterwards, tome 4, at the year 650, where he observes that the Greeks under the Monothelite emperor Constans were not so religious that the attempted despoiling of the temple of St. Michael becomes incredible and the credit of Paulus Diaconus comes to be called in doubt. He proves this by suitable reasons, which may be seen. For our purpose it is enough that already about the middle of the seventh century the riches of that place were so great as to have roused the cupidity of princes.

[274] but afterwards, when deserted, it is subjected to the bishop of Benevento, Although at that time Grimoald defended the Garganus against the Greeks, the place nevertheless seems after some years to have been deserted; and this probably happened because a more powerful army of the Greeks invaded those parts. For the emperor Constans himself crossed into Italy against the Lombards, and in the year 663 besieged Benevento, Grimoald being absent, who had seized the kingdom of the Lombards. His son Romuald, however, defended Benevento, so that Constans raised the siege: which in the Life of St. Barbatus, bishop of Benevento, given by us at the XIX of February, is ascribed to the patronage of the most blessed Virgin Mary and to the prayers of St. Barbatus. And when after the victory duke Romuald wished to give many things to St. Barbatus, the holy prelate is read at num. XI to have addressed the duke thus: If thou art eager to offer a gift for thy salvation, expend one sacrifice: that thou subject in all things the house of blessed Michael the archangel, which is situated on the Garganus, and all things which are under the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Siponto, to the see of the most blessed Mother of God, over which I now unworthily preside. And since without cultivators all things are marred — whence not even can diligent service be paid to God there — things better ordered by us shall profit thee unto salvation. Straightway the prince consents to the petitions of the man of God, and in that order in which he had covenanted, as is the custom, granted all things by decree to the see of the Mother of God, &c. Almost the same is read of the donation in the second Life, num. 12. In this way the church of St. Michael on the Garganus, with the whole bishopric of Siponto, was subjected to the bishop of Benevento, and this conjunction of the two bishoprics lasted until the eleventh century, as may be seen among the bishops and archbishops of Siponto in Ughelli.

[275] Of the cult of St. Michael increased at the city of Benevento on the occasion of that donation, Mario de Vipera treats in his Chronology of the Bishops of Benevento, page 34, writing thus: and St. Michael is chosen patron of Benevento. From the aforesaid grant of the church of St. Michael the archangel on Mount Garganus, made by Pope Vitalian to the holy bishop Barbatus (perhaps because Pope Vitalian confirmed the donation, as his bull has it, which some hold suspect) and to his church of Benevento, as we said above, the devotion of St. Michael the archangel so grew at Benevento that the people of Benevento with great affection of soul chose him as patron. Others will have him to have been chosen patron long before on this occasion: that on the eighth of the Ides of May, on which the solemnities of the blessed archangel Michael are celebrated, on that day the Neapolitans were cut down and vanquished in battle by the peoples of Benevento, and for the memory of so notable a victory they enrolled him as their patron — which victory Erchempert recounts in his manuscript Chronicle, page 156, where the year is wanting. But indeed, whatever be the manner, the truth of the matter always stands, that from most ancient time he has been venerated and honoured as patron by the people of Benevento: both of which may easily be conjectured from the coins which were struck at Benevento in the time of the princes: on which are the effigy and name of the holy Patron himself on the one side, and the effigy and name of the reigning prince on the other, which are seen even to these times; and with immense devotion they venerate their Patron, with temples dedicated to him. Thus Vipera, who exhibited two of the coins in his Sancti Beneventani, page 63, as also two others Muratori in the Antiquities of Italy, tome 2, page 619. I shall not inquire of what victory Vipera speaks, since for our purpose it is enough that St. Michael was in ancient times chosen patron by the people of Benevento, which alone I wished to note on this occasion.

[276] But as regards Mount Garganus, I judge that it remained under the dominion of the duke of Benevento, Pilgrimages thereafter continued, and that it was afterwards frequented with votive pilgrimages. Certainly in the division of the duchy of Benevento, which is noted as made in the year 851 between Radelchis, prince of Benevento, and Siconulf, prince of Salerno, and printed in tome 2 of the Writers of Italy from page 260, in article VIII the prince of Benevento promises the prince of Salerno this: And I will let all men of your power go to the venerable church of the blessed archangel Michael by the direct route, in the manner in which men went thither in the times of our predecessors, without any hindrance or damage &c. These words, in the times of our predecessors, at least establish that in the eighth and ninth centuries pilgrimages to the church of Mount Garganus were frequent. Leo Marsicanus, in the Chronicle of Cassino, book 1, chapter 13, has it thus: At these times (the eighth century running to its close) a certain man of the nation of the English, mute and deaf, came with certain companions of his own nation to the thresholds of the Apostles. Thence, when he saw his companions hastening to the memorial of blessed Michael the archangel which is situated on Mount Garganus, setting out on the journey together with them, he came to this monastery &c. There follows the healing of the mute man, obtained at the tomb of St. Benedict. But I have given the words in order to show that even the most remote English made pilgrimage to Monte Cassino. In Mabillon, in the Acts of the Benedictine Saints, cent. 3, part 2, page 523, there is the Itinerary of Bernard, a French monk, who made pilgrimage from Gaul to Rome, and thence, in the time of Pope Nicholas, with companions, to Mount Garganus, and further to Jerusalem. To our purpose he has the following: Setting out thence, we came to Mount Garganus, on which is the church of St. Michael under a single rock, above which are acorn-bearing oaks: which church he himself is said to have dedicated: whose entrance is from the North, and it can receive fifty men within itself. Within, then, toward the East it has an image of the Angel himself; but toward the South is the altar on which the Sacrifice is performed, and besides that no gift is placed there. And before that altar there is a certain vessel suspended, into which offerings are put; which also has other altars beside it. The abbot of that place was called Benignatus, who presided over many Brethren. The last words suggest that the place was at that time under monks.

[277] and imposed also for penance; In the Volturno Chronicle, in Muratori, tome 1 of the Writers of Italy, part 2, page 483, there is recited a Charter of Lando, count of Teano, signed in the year 986, which begins thus: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, eternal God. In the fifth year of the principate of the lord Landenulf, most glorious prince, in the month of November, in the XV Indiction. And therefore I, Lando, Count of the city of Teano, son of the lord Atenulf, count, of good memory, declare that I am making a journey in prayer to the church of blessed Michael the archangel which is situated on Mount Garganus, that through his intercession before the almighty Lord I may be able to receive pardon for my sins: and therefore I have made a testament &c. That pilgrimages of this kind to Mount Garganus were imposed also for penance, we have from the Chronicle of Cassino, book 2, chapter 24, concerning the emperor Otto III, whose pilgrimage is there fixed in the year 1000. Muratori, however, in the Annals of Italy, refers the matter to the year 1001. The reason is well known, namely the slaying of Crescentius, killed against the oath sworn to him. In the Life of St. Romuald, given at the VII of February, at num. 38, it is thus related by Blessed Peter Damian: And the king himself (the emperor Otto III), having confessed that same crime (the slaying of Crescentius) to the blessed man (St. Romuald), setting out barefoot from the city of Rome for the sake of penance, thus proceeded all the way to Mount Garganus, to the church of St. Michael. Many other things about the penance of Otto are subjoined.

[278] yet uncertain are the things which are said to have happened there to St. Henry. Ughelli, in tome 7, among the Archbishops of Benevento and at the same time of Siponto, at column [ ] asserts that in the time of the archbishop Ursus the emperor St. Henry came to the church of St. Michael. The thing is by no means incredible, since in the year 1022 St. Henry was in the neighbourhood, and besieged the city of Troia in Apulia, and at length forced it to surrender. I do not, however, find undoubted records by which I might confirm that pilgrimage; and much less suitable reasons by which I might render certain the things which are said to have happened to St. Henry there — Cavaglieri also relating them all at length in chapter XI. Ughelli sets them out thus in summary: He (Ursus) received in hospitality the holy emperor Henry in the year 1022, while he was journeying abroad to Mount Garganus for devotion's sake: who, when he had wished to spend the night in that sacred cave of the divine Michael, and while he was praying, they write that his thigh so withered from a certain touch of the Angel that, like another Jacob, he limped perpetually, and was called the Lame, as is found in the notes to his Life in the book on the Saints of Bamberg, chapter 22. It is a long account, which may be read there. At the XIV of July, under St. Henry the emperor, §1, the reasons brought forward why he was called the Lame were examined, and that one was admitted as more probable than the rest, that as a young man he was gravely injured in hunting. What is here said to have befallen him in the church of Mount Garganus, another referred to the Roman church of St. Mary Major. Wherefore I pass over all the circumstances.

[279] More certain is the pilgrimage of a certain bishop from Gaul, Other pilgrimages in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, of whom the Chronicle of Cassino, book 2, chapter 56, briefly makes mention thus: A certain bishop of reverend life from the parts of the Gauls, journeying to the memorial of blessed Michael the archangel situated on Mount Garganus &c. What it relates of him took place at Capua, and therefore does not belong here. Then at chapter 81 the same author asserts of St. Leo IX the Pope in these words: Which holy Pontiff, in the same year in which he was ordained, went to Mount Garganus for the sake of prayer. These last pilgrimages are of the eleventh century, as is also the following, which is thus touched upon in book 3, chapter 9:

He (Desiderius, abbot of Cassino) thence made for Siponto, and asked, through a certain bishop who had gone to Mount Garganus for the sake of prayer, that he be commended … to the brethren (of Monte Cassino) &c. To the twelfth century belongs what is touched upon in book 4, chapter 74, in these words: In the same year also a certain lame man from the territory of Tours had resolved to go to Mount Garganus for the sake of prayer &c. But he was healed at Monte Cassino by the patronage of St. Benedict. Now indeed, as to the things which I have transferred hither from the Chronicle of Cassino, I would have the studious reader observe with me that the authors of that Chronicle treat of the pilgrimages to Mount Garganus only on occasion of their own monastery, because those whom they say set out for the church of St. Michael had either been at Monte Cassino as well, or for some other reason came to be mentioned in the history of Cassino. Wherefore from the few things mentioned in that Chronicle it becomes most probable that pilgrimages to the Garganus were frequent, as tradition has it.

[280] The same is also confirmed from the Life of Blessed Albert the hermit, [so that the church of St. Michael is among the chief places famous for pilgrimages.] who flourished in the same twelfth century. We have treated of Blessed Albert at the VII of January, where in his Life at num. 2 these things are asserted of his pilgrimages: He departed to Rome, to the basilicas of the holy Apostles; thence he betook himself into Apulia, to visit the shrine of St. Michael situated on Mount Garganus; lastly to Venice, to the relics of St. Mark. And from here he sails into Palestine, and venerates the most sacred sepulchre of Christ and the other places celebrated by the records of our salvation, with such feeling of soul and piety that he resolved altogether, a vow being pronounced, to consecrate himself utterly to the divine service. When he had spent some space of time there, shunning no labour of the journey nor discomfort of body, under the guidance of the Spirit of God, by whom he was led, he goes off into Galicia to the sepulchre of St. James &c. By these things the church of Mount Garganus is reckoned among the five chief places frequented by the pious pilgrimages of Europeans. But let these things suffice as a specimen concerning the pilgrimages to the church of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, passing over the pilgrimages which were continued in later centuries. I likewise pass over the calamities which are said to have been inflicted at various times on that church by the Saracens, the Greeks, and other nations, which despoiled it. No more shall I recount the controversies which long flourished between the canons of Siponto and those of the Garganus, after the Town of Sant' Angelo had grown and had been adorned with a chapter of canons. On all these matters Ughelli may be consulted, among the Bishops and Archbishops of Siponto, and Sarnelli in his Chronology of the same, although both from time to time seem to need some correction.

[281] It became famous likewise for miracles. That the said shrine of St. Michael is illustrious also for miracles the records which treat of it, both ancient and more recent, generally assert; and the same is confirmed by what has been said of the pilgrimages. For we have seen a mute and deaf man setting out thither from England at num. 276, and a lame man from Gaul at num. 279. Yet I have nowhere been able to find any collection of miracles. Cavaglieri, who was vicar-general of the archbishop of Siponto, treats of the miracles in chapter 12, but also in almost general terms. He first cites a diocesan synod — that one, I suppose, which had recently been held in the year 1678 under the most eminent Cardinal Orsini, then archbishop of Siponto (afterwards Pope Benedict XIII) — and from it adduces these words: Since almighty God ceases not to adorn the sacred basilica of the divine Michael with miracles: and yet there is no one who can recount all the marvels of Him who does great and marvellous things without number: therefore we strictly enjoin our vicar of the Garganus that, as often as report goes forth of any miracle wrought there, he fail not to inquire juridically whether the deed answers to the rumour: and that he consult us thereafter, lest pilgrims should rashly experience that saying of Isaiah: Then shalt thou see, and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged. This mandate shows that at that time also miracles were continuing. Cavaglieri, however, could not profit by it, because he wrote his work about the same time, since it was printed at Macerata in the year 1680, in which year also Orsini was compelled to depart to a new see, and took with him his vicar Cavaglieri. And so he adduced the general words of others about the miracles. He added, however, events of the year 1656, of which the memory was fresh, and these I shall transfer hither from him as a specimen.

§ XXI. The stones of the church of Mount Garganus health-giving against the plague raging in the year 1656, as St. Michael, appearing, had promised to the archbishop.

[282] The diocese of Siponto preserved against the plague in the year 1656: Plainly wonderful are the things which Cavaglieri relates of the apparition of St. Michael presented in the year 1656 to the archbishop Giovanni Alfonso Puccinelli, and of the preservation of the inhabitants of the diocese of Siponto against the most savage pestilence which at that time was ranging widely through Italy, and above all through the kingdom of Naples. An inscription cut in marble in the year 1658 by the archbishop's own command, and set in the court of the church of St. Michael, which Sarnelli recites at page 405, briefly presents the sum of the whole matter, and therefore I transfer it hither entire:

TO GOD, BEST AND GREATEST.

In the year 1656, an epidemic disease raging, and almost all Italy remaining in tears, by a great miracle of the archangel Michael, through stones marked from heaven, the diocese of Siponto was preserved, and very many cities and towns were delivered. Being an eyewitness of so great a thing, Giovanni Alfonso Puccinelli of Lucca, archbishop of Siponto, has set this record in marble to a memory never to perish. In the year 1658.

The archbishop indeed took care that this inscription about a matter known to all should be set up in the last year of his life. But the apparition made to him he did not divulge, except to very few persons, namely to Tiberio Nardini, archpriest of the Garganus, and to Michele Nobile, canon of Siponto, his confessor, whom Cavaglieri names at page 650, the former as living, the latter as dead, asserting that he had learned the matter from the living Nardini, and from others who had heard it from the archbishop's confessor after the latter's death.

[283] The beginning of the account must be sought from the Letter of the archbishop Puccinelli to the supreme Pontiff Alexander VII, the peril being understood, to prayers, fasts, and other pious works which Cavaglieri recites at page 638 in this manner: Most blessed Father. I will speak to my Lord, though I am dust and ashes; prostrate at the feet of your Holiness, coming to kiss them, I shall disclose a secret which it is lawful to relate to no mortal. In the month of May last past, when I was taking care to perform the duties of the holy visitation through my diocese of Siponto, a certain doubtful rumour seemed to be heard of an epidemic disease in the city of Naples, gathering strength as it went; and it was shortly found not to be empty. And while I was lingering in the land of Vico, I was at last made more certain of the turn of events by men worthy of credit who, driven from Naples by the danger, had landed there. I judged it would be to the purpose if, the visitation of the diocese being postponed, I should go as swiftly as possible to the City of the Mount of St. Angelo, and in the heavenly basilica of St. Michael the archangel should proclaim supplications for the expiation of the people. Presently I betook myself thither, and, the priests of the whole city being called together, I addressed them in these words, that each must strive to the utmost of his power; and that we, attached to so holy a place, are bound above the other ministers of God by the bond of piety to make atonement throughout the diocese for the most just wrath of God. Meanwhile, a pastoral Letter being issued, I exhorted my flock in the bowels of Christ, as far as I could out of the scantiness of my small talent, to penance in ashes and haircloth, a fast of three days being proclaimed, and supplications through the city.

[284] The terror of the contagion grew day by day, which, overflowing from Naples already upon other lands, the archbishop with his people has recourse, and to the patronage cities and provinces; this whole region of Apulia seemed to be in mourning. While therefore each one sweated the more earnestly in his wits by what means he might escape the raging disease and the monstrous horror, it was seen by no ambiguous conjectures that men struggled in vain against the scourge of God. Meanwhile very many evils akin to plague burned my soul grievously, by reason of that pastoral care by which I am bound: and among them chiefly this, lest I should see my sons slain by the madness of dire famine, trade and the exchange of goods being now impeded, by which the whole diocese is fed, and especially this city of Mount Garganus, abounding well enough in the number of its peoples. And while most sorrowful I drew out sleepless nights, and desired that counsel be taken for the flock committed to me by God, destitute of human aids on every side, after long seeking the judgment of my clergy I came at last to this opinion: namely, that nothing was left to us but to refer a cause so full of terrors to the tribunal of the heavenly Mediator, that is, to the cave of Michael the archangel, with all hope and every confidence.

[285] of St. Michael, a suppliant petition being offered to him, A fast of three days therefore being proclaimed again, and supplications through the city of the Garganus, the extremity of such great evils put into me a mind to plead the common cause myself, as though about to discharge an embassy to the Prince of the Archangels. And so, a petition being written in human style, on the following Sunday, the clergy being called together, and the religious, and all the people, coming in pontifical habit in this awful crypt to the heavenly altar of the Prince of the Archangels, and myself lying face down upon the ground at its steps, and the clergy, the religious with a rope tied about the neck, and all the people having performed psalms, litanies and prayers, I ascended the most holy altar; and, a cry being raised by the whole people, and the crypt resounding on every side with great wailing and with voices begging for mercy, as best I could, out of the humility and tears of my breast, I placed the suppliant petition in the hands of the most august image of the Prince of the Angels, with sure, trusting and secure hope, a public bond of excommunication being laid on lest anyone should dare to touch it. Of which this is the copy. The petition, which Cavaglieri gave before, at page 600, and whose beginning he inserted in the Letter, runs thus.

[286] which is here recited, Most glorious Prince. Already is the scourge of God upon us, which we justly deserve for our offences. But we thy people, and the sheep of thy pasture, the citizens of Mount Garganus, where thou hast willed thy heavenly seat to be set by divine gift, now contrite in heart, compunct in mind, most sorrowful in spirit, with confidence in thee alone, O Prince of the Archangels, adoring with wailing and tears in this sacred place where thy most blessed feet stood, as suppliants we give this petition by the hands of thy archbishop, that thou wouldst deign to defend, protect and rescue us from the impending scourge of pestilence. So, bowed down, we venerate thy stones. Be it done, be it done. Amen, amen. All these things the prudent reader will understand in the sound and Catholic sense in which they were uttered.

[287] with great confidence. I return to the Letter, into which that petition was inserted. I could never be brought, says the archbishop, to believe that the cause of so many tears and sighs, and — what is of great moment — the hope and sure faith conceived by the whole people concerning our most holy Prince, would not penetrate heaven itself; as witness my archdeacon Baldassare Giordano, a man of approved probity, Doctor of both Laws, to whom repeatedly I affirmed the same thing with assurance and constancy. A few days hence (that is, after the aforesaid matters of the petition), on the running of the XVI Sunday after Pentecost, being about to preach as usual to the people on the dropsical man of the Gospel, I judged that the sickness of the dropsical man, as incurable by nature, might fitly be compared with the epidemic disease, and to that

to direct the plan of my discourse, that, no otherwise than as is customary, the remedy for pestilence is to be looked for from God alone and from the holy mediators. Thus far the archbishop has related things publicly done and known to all the people.

[288] The archbishop consults the Pontiff in secret characters. But proceeding to those things which he alone knew, he used secret and hidden characters, so that they might become known to the Pontiff alone. Hence the editor of the Letter, omitting those hidden characters, put in their place this annotation: In this place a cipher was set. And that he might be able to use characters of this kind, he had earlier asked the Pontiff to send him a copy of the characters he should use, and which each would understand. Alexander sent the requested characters through Giulio Rospigliosi, then archbishop of Tarsus, and afterwards the supreme Pontiff Clement IX, whose Letter on this matter, written in Italian, is recited by Cavaglieri at page 635. In the same he also asks that the archbishop send some stones of the crypt of St. Michael, and that for safety's sake he direct the Letter to Naples, to the Papal nuncio, who should forward it to the Pontiff. This Letter was given at Rome on the XXV day of November of the year 1656, so that probably the Letter of the archbishop, which we have already for the most part recited, was written in the same year, in the month of December: for it lacks the day and year on which it was given. But what the archbishop wrote by the secret characters, and what the Pontiff answered by the same characters, no one has set forth, even though Cavaglieri testifies at page 647 that the writing of both is preserved.

[289] It cannot be doubted, however, that he wrote of the apparition made to him, probably about the apparition made to him: and we may conjecture that the archbishop left it to the judgment of the supreme Pontiff whether he ought to publish it or to suppress it in silence. Besides, it is most likely that the Pontiff willed that he should not make it public before his own death, but should commit it to a few faithful persons, that it might afterwards become known through them. That Alexander VII willed this we believe, because it is established that Puccinelli did so: for it is not likely that he departed in the least from the judgment of the Pontiff, whom he had consulted so cautiously. And so this place requires that we set out the apparition of St. Michael, as it was related after his death by the persons to whom he had revealed his secret.

[290] Cavaglieri, at page 652, designates the time of the apparition in Italian words, [for on the XXII day of September, before midnight, he saw St. Michael out of a light] which I render in Latin: About the fifth hour of the night, on Friday the XXII of September, while the archbishop was intent on prayer in his chamber, all his household being asleep. The XXII day of September in the year 1656 was indeed a Friday, and the following Sunday was the XVI after Pentecost, on which the archbishop delivered the exhortation to the people mentioned at num. 187. Wherefore the apparition may have occurred on that night which followed the day on which the suppliant petition had been offered to the Archangel, as Cavaglieri suggests, and as Sarnelli more clearly indicates, setting out the events on the following Saturday and Sunday. And the fifth hour of the night about the equinox precedes midnight by only a little. At that time the archbishop heard an unwonted murmur like an earthquake, and toward the East he saw a vast light which sparkled like the sun reflected in crystal, or beheld a shining circle; and out of it he heard a voice speaking to him. But the words are not expressed quite identically in Cavaglieri and Sarnelli, so that the very words do not seem to have been accurately known — whether because the archbishop retained in memory only the sum of what was commanded him, or because he never told the words themselves to others.

[291] Nevertheless the sense is the same in both. The former expresses the words in Italian, speaking to him about the stones of the crypt to be used against the plague. so that they may be thus rendered in Latin: Know, O shepherd of this flock, that I, Michael the archangel, have obtained from the most holy Trinity that whosoever shall with devotion set the stones of my basilica in houses, cities and places, shall come off free from the plague. Preach, tell to all the divine grace. He adds in Latin: Where the stones are devoutly disposed, there plagues are driven away from men. Which perhaps he rendered into Italian. In Sarnelli these are the words in Italian: Know that I am Michael the archangel, who always stand in the sight of God, from whom I have obtained that whosoever shall with devotion set the stones of my basilica in houses, places and cities, shall be free from the plague. Preach therefore, and tell to all the divine grace. Then Cavaglieri alone subjoins, perhaps from conjecture, that the Archangel is believed to have added these words: But do thou tell the power, yet keep the mystery. Blessing the stones, carve on them the sign of the holy cross with my name. Preach lastly that God must be appeased from the coming wrath of the shaking of the earth. Both at length testify that the archbishop burst into a loud cry, so that the household heard him crying out, and rose troubled and ran up, and found him prostrate on the ground, and believed that some sudden bodily ailment had come upon him.

[292] But when the stones were sought by all the people, On the next day, they say, that is on Saturday, the XXIII of September, he announced to the people that the pestilence was no longer to be feared: and entering the basilica of St. Michael, he ordered many fragments of stone to be gathered from the walls themselves, in the middle of which is carved a cross with the name of St. Michael in this manner: S. ✠ M. These he then consecrated with a particular form of blessing, as may be seen in Cavaglieri. Finally on the following Sunday he delivered the sermon to the people already mentioned above at num. 287. What was afterwards done the archbishop relates thus in the Letter cited above to Alexander VII: It is wonderful to tell with what swift eagerness the people from the whole city demanded, sought and begged the sacred stones; and how each sent to friends, to neighbours, to kinsfolk this pledge of so great devotion. So far did faith in the sacred stones prevail, and the security of escaping the plague born in men's hearts, that in a short time not only did the whole diocese fortify itself with such a protection, but the report resounded and passed to the neighbouring lands and cities.

[293] the diocese of Siponto laid aside the fear of the plague. At that time the wonders of Michael the archangel began to be poured out upon us, when everyone seemed to be impelled by these holy stones to auspicious hopes. For as before, at the threat of death, the diocese of Siponto, worn out with squalor, lay under the whole weight of every evil; afterwards it was no longer broken in melting tears, but most peaceful in mind, trusting in the Prince of the Angels, neither feared nor dreaded the horrid monster of the epidemic, as though it were not impending: and it came to such a pitch of security that it thought of taking counsel to abandon even the watches on the walls; which it would have done, had I not striven to persuade otherwise with very strong reasons. The miracles that followed thereupon I shall not here weave in nor pursue in discourse, since they are to be set forth formally to the holy See in their own place and time. These things I wished to be set forth to your Holiness, and to the Catholic Roman Church, mistress of the faith, as a worm and no man (for God hath chosen the weak things of the world, that He may confound the strong); and again, prostrate at thy most holy feet, I kiss them, and I honour, venerate and adore thee as the Vicar of Christ on earth. Thus far the archbishop of Siponto to the supreme Pontiff. The said archbishop is also asserted to have foretold to the people the earthquake which occurred in Apulia in the following month of October, on the XVII day, without much damage to the diocese of Siponto. And by that prediction he obtained full credit among the people.

[294] The same stones sought and obtained by Pope Alexander VII. But what is briefly said in the Letter about the stones of the church of St. Michael being sought also by cities situated outside the diocese of Siponto can be much enlarged and confirmed by many instances. For in the first place the supreme Pontiff Alexander VII desired those sacred stones, through the already cited letters of Giulio Rospigliosi, who in the following year was created Cardinal and after Alexander supreme Pontiff. For in that letter he first signifies that the Pontiff greatly rejoiced on learning of the deliverance of the people of Siponto through the patronage of St. Michael. Secondly he asks that the archbishop send some stones of the crypt, consecrated by that manner of blessing of which he had written. And he adds other things already mentioned. Then when the requested stones had reached Rome, in another Letter, given on the III day of February of the year 1657, Rospigliosi writes to the archbishop that they had at once been offered by him to the most holy Lord, and received by him with the greatest kindness, and that the Pontiff had greatly rejoiced in them. Of several cities I shall treat below, so as first to set forth what pertains to Mount Garganus.

[195] The archbishop Puccinelli then wrote to his whole diocese a fairly lengthy letter, The archbishop to his people about that savage plague, given in the year 1656, on the III day of December, and printed, which Cavaglieri reprints in his Work from page 603. But it is written in the Italian tongue, and in such a style that it can hardly retain its grace in Latin. Since, however, the authority of the most pious and most learned archbishop, who either saw or examined everything, is greater than that of others who wrote of these matters afterwards, I shall endeavour faithfully to transfer the whole Letter hither in summary. This only I note beforehand, that the plague in question was plainly most savage. For Muratori, who is not wont to exaggerate facts, writes in the Annals of Italy at the year 1656 that several cities were desolated by that scourge, and that there was a report that in the city of Naples alone more than two hundred and eighty-five thousand persons perished; that at Rome, because of the diligence of the magistrates, only twenty-two thousand were lost, and in the whole Ecclesiastical dominion about a hundred and sixty thousand. Cavaglieri and Sarnelli attribute to Naples alone four hundred thousand deaths. But that number is perhaps exaggerated beyond the truth, and therefore I have given Muratori's statements. I subjoin the Letter with the archbishop's titles.

[296] Giovanni Alfonso Puccinelli, a noble of Lucca, about the manifest perils of the diocese, archbishop of Siponto, addresses his Letter to all the subjects of the diocese of Siponto. First he declares that most grievous perils had threatened the whole diocese from the plague, and that he had warned his subjects of them by pastoral letters, and had taught that the wrath of God had been most justly kindled on account of men's sins. Secondly he shows that, so great a peril pressing, the peoples with many tears had recourse to various works of penance; and since they trusted above all in the patronage of St. Michael, they performed these chiefly in the crypt of the holy Archangel. Thirdly he intimates that notice had been received about the stones of the crypt of St. Michael, yet keeping silence about the manner in which it was obtained: and he testifies that the tokens of favour and protection were so clear and manifest that all acknowledged the patronage of St. Michael, so that it was a debt of religion openly to confess it, and so that so shining a benefit could not be denied except by a man blind, mad and over-rash. To prove the gravity of the peril in which they had been, he observes that for almost all the cities, towns and villages of the diocese of Siponto some commerce with places infected by the plague was necessary in order that they might subsist; and that by no human diligence could it be guarded against that some men infected by the plague should creep into the diocese: and that many also came from infected lands, in order devoutly to visit the sacred crypt of St. Michael

— from afar, however.

[297] Fourthly the archbishop says that in the preceding months there had seemed to be a herald of an angry God, about the patronage of St. Michael through the use of the stones, as though declaring war; but that he now comes as a messenger of peace; and, having prefaced the words of Raphael the archangel to Tobias, It is good to hide the secret of a king: but honourable to reveal and confess the works of God, he addresses his people thus: All our confidence in escaping the most just anger of God was placed in St. Michael the archangel; and in this, that provision had been made for your houses and persons out of those stones of the holy crypt, which, since they had been divinely consecrated by the Archangel St. Michael himself in his apparition, that most lively faith of yours was just, with which you received them, and which, when it became known to us, made us deliver them to you more than once, not without tears. Well did we perceive from this, most beloved sons, that the heavenly Prince was assisting us, and we understood it from various indications. But too sublime is the manner in which he deigned to bring it about that we should perceive even by the senses the going forth of his favours and of his protection. Perhaps here he wished obscurely to hint at the apparition made to him. But he presently goes on to other matters, namely to proving the evidence of the protection from the facts.

[298] about one touched by the plague and immediately healed, And so, fifthly, he observes that the diocese of Siponto was not free from the plague in such a way that this could be attributed to any natural causes. To this end he relates that Federico Spagnoletta, a youth of about eighteen years and an inhabitant of the Town of Sant' Angelo, having dealt with plague-stricken men of the city of Foggia, was suddenly seized with sickness and pain of the head, when he was at the vintage nearly a mile from the city; and that the next morning there appeared also under his left arm a swelling, the token of plague. When he had noticed this, says the archbishop, he betook himself by the straight path to the city and to the church of St. Michael. Having entered it, he felt that the pain had gone, and that he was perfectly well: and before the altar of the glorious prince St. Michael he was present also at the most sacred sacrifice of the Mass: and taking some stone of the crypt, where at that time they were being gathered by a certain hermit, he went home. Then when he laid the sacred stone upon the aforesaid swelling, the carbuncle immediately so disappeared that the place where it had been could no longer be recognized: and having recovered entire health, which he now enjoys, he vowed to serve the church of this most glorious Prince of the Angels all his life.

[299] he informs them by letter of others healed as well. These things Federico himself set forth when juridically interrogated, as the archbishop testifies. For confirmation he adds that Federico's mother and brothers were seized by the same sickness, swellings and carbuncles showing it, and that all in a short time, the stones of the crypt being applied, were healed by the patronage of St. Michael. Yet another benefit is added. For the said persons had not only concealed their sickness out of shame, but had also dealt indiscriminately with any persons whatever of the city: and nevertheless no one else contracted the contagion. That all these things were lawfully ascertained and proved in a juridical examination instituted before him, the archbishop testifies, who was also a doctor of sacred theology and had been a consultor of the Congregation of Sacred Rites, in which miracles are to be examined. Hence he does not hesitate to declare that the rigour with which miracles are weighed is very well known to him; and yet that he would have no doubt, if he were asked his judgment on those facts, but that he would affirm it to be a true, certain and undoubted miracle. Finally he invites all his subjects to the sacred crypt of St. Michael to sing the hymn Te Deum laudamus in thanksgiving for the protection of St. Michael thus far obtained against the plague; and he exhorts all to persevere in works of penance, lest, the scourge not yet ceasing in other provinces, they should at last be seized by it.

[300] Benefits of St. Michael outside the diocese Cavaglieri adds to the foregoing other things which probably happened after the archbishop's letter was issued. Pricina or Apricoena, in the vernacular Porcina, is a town situated at the roots of Mount Garganus, but outside the diocese of Siponto, and in the neighbouring diocese of Nocera. Pestilence invaded this town at the time when it was already established that the inhabitants of Mount Garganus were being defended against the plague by the patronage of St. Michael. And on this occasion it was said that that town was not of Mount Garganus. Wherefore the inhabitants had recourse to the archbishop of Siponto, that he might declare them to be inhabitants of the mountain. The matter was juridically handled, and the archbishop pronounced sentence in favour of the town, and against the plague, St. Michael being appointed executor, he says. Thus the plague immediately withdrew, not persisting there even a single day, as Cavaglieri affirms.

[301] Then Cavaglieri proceeds to the benefits granted to other cities and provinces of the kingdom of Naples too; granted in various provinces. but he touches on them only summarily and very briefly. The archive, he says, of this sacred basilica is no less crammed with suppliant petitions offered to the archbishop in the name of the Abruzzi, of Calabria, of Campania, of Bari, of Barletta, of Nocera, of Bitonto, of Andria, and of a hundred other cities and towns, for the obtaining of them (the stones of the sacred crypt), than it is full of accounts of the wonders which were wrought in many places (where, that is, faith and hope were not lacking); everywhere they were held in esteem like sacred relics… Among other cities, Gravina and Altamura, inasmuch as they have always had St. Michael as their chief patron, being fortified with those sacred stones, were so able to protect themselves that they saw no one seized by the plague. Then in particular all those places which enjoyed the title of the Angel or of the Archangel were kept immune. There shine even today in this sanctuary the effects of the grateful memory of many communities, which by vow pay tribute to the holy Prince then so beneficent, namely by maintaining lamps burning in the crypt, as he explains at greater length.

[302] To prove the evidence of the peril in which the diocese of Siponto was, The plague was not only near the diocese, but on Mount Garganus itself. the following observations may be added from Cavaglieri and Sarnelli. In the neighbourhood of Mount Garganus and of the diocese of Siponto is the town of Foggia, commerce with which the archbishop testifies in the cited Letter to have been necessary to the people of the Garganus, relating also that Federico Spagnoletta was infected by that commerce. And Cavaglieri affirms that Foggia was as it were desolated by that plague, and Sarnelli too testifies that it suffered much in truth. That the plague penetrated also into Mount Garganus itself, before the archbishop with his people had with such zeal begged the protection of St. Michael, both acknowledge; and that the Town of San Giovanni Rotondo was seized by it. Sarnelli says that eighteen persons died there very soon, not adding how long the sickness lasted. But from the archbishop's letters it does not seem to have lasted after the fragments of the stones were brought thither. Of that town Leandro Alberti at page 380 speaks thus: Then in the middle of the mountain (the Garganus), where there is a pleasant plain and most luxuriant meadows, is the Castle of St. John Rotundus, to which the neighbouring peoples come together yearly on the III of the Ides of June, the feast-day of St. Onuphrius: and, the condition of the harvest and of the corn-supply being weighed, whether of abundance or of scarcity, by the common will and assent of all they decree a fixed price of that year for grain, which it is lawful for no one to exceed. From these things the prudent reader will easily understand the most manifest peril of the whole diocese of Siponto and of Mount Garganus.

§ XXII. The festival of St. Michael celebrated long before the apparition: some older churches at Rome, and in other cities of Italy.

[303] Of St. Michael, who is said to have appeared at Rome also What we have briefly deduced from the Martyrologies and the ancient codices of Sacramentaries concerning the cult of St. Michael and of all the holy Angels manifestly establishes both that churches were dedicated to St. Michael, and that his festival and that of the holy Angels was celebrated, before the famous apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, of which we have treated. Baronius affirms the same in his Annotations to the Martyrology on the VIII day of May, and adduces to prove the matter the verses of an ancient poet. Moreover, he says, that long before the said apparitions the solemnity of St. Michael the archangel was wont to be kept at Rome, on the occasion of some other apparition, Drepanius Florus, a most ancient poet of the Christians, writes in these verses:

The lofty feasts of the Angelic day shine bright, Bringing blessed gifts to the pious soul. For Michael, the nursling of the heavenly court, Hallows this day for us with his conspicuous countenance, Deigning to visit the seat of Peter and of Paul, And cherishing, glorious Rome, thine empire. He who, within thy holy walls, shone with excellent face And with a new [*] countenance upon the princes gleaming with light, When God, the shadows being driven out, brought forth the light, And, night falling away, founded the steadfast day.

These words certainly indicate some apparition made at Rome.

[304] by a poet not of the century, For this alone I have recited the verses. For I cannot agree with Baronius about the age of that poet. Baronius believed that the poet Drepanius, who is mentioned by Sidonius in book 8, Epistle XI, is the same as Drepanius Florus, some of whose Poems were published at Basel by Georgius Fabricius, from the workshop of Johannes Oporinus, in the year 1564, in the Thesaurus of the ancient ecclesiastical Poets. But the style of these verses does not savour of so great an antiquity, and there are added other more certain arguments which have left the learned no doubt that Drepanius Florus belongs rather to the ninth century than to times older than Sidonius. No other argument is needed than that he wrote to Modoin, bishop of Autun, who flourished in the ninth century under Louis the Pious. Wherefore this poem avails only to prove some Roman apparition; but that this is later than the Garganic one, we shall see below. For he probably hinted at that apparition which is said to have been presented to St. Gregory the Great above the mole of Hadrian.

[305] there existed churches in Italy before the apparition Nevertheless that shrines sacred to St. Michael existed before the famous apparition on Mount Garganus is altogether established by the Codex of Sacramentaries of St. Leo, cited at nums. 4 and 5. For twice there are mentioned there places consecrated to God in honour of the blessed Archangel Michael. And these words do not seem to be explained of the single church which we have said was outside the City on the Salarian way, but also of several others, which it is likely existed before the times of St. Leo no less in the West, and above all in Italy, than we have seen them to have existed in the Eastern empire. That Office, however, was for the basilica of the Angel, or of St. Michael on the Salarian way, since the title has it thus: N. Of the Basilica of the Angel on the Salaria. But the word places, set in the plural, indicates that there were other churches of this kind, even though I cannot assign them in Italy before the middle of the fifth century, in which St. Leo flourished. Of the church of the Salarian way, or of another very ancient one at Rome or in its neighbourhood, Anastasius the Librarian will have spoken, under St. Symmachus the Pope, when he wrote: Likewise he enlarged the basilica of the archangel Michael, and made steps, and brought in water. These things Symmachus, who sat from the year 498 to 514, did before the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, nor are they to be referred to the Garganic church.

[306] From what has been cited it is clear that the beginning of the festival of St. Michael and of the Angels, fixed to a certain day, is older

than the apparition on Mount Garganus, and that the festival did not arise from the apparition, on Mount Garganus: and his festival celebrated long before, as a recent writer lightly asserted, and perhaps not a few others have believed. I shall readily grant that the apparition contributed to the increase of the cult; but there was no need at all of an apparition for the Catholic Church to perceive that St. Michael — most notable in the Scriptures for his excellence and his protection of men — should be honoured with some festival. All the prayers which are prescribed in the codex of St. Leo suggest this, since nowhere is mention made of an apparition, but other causes of the festival are alleged. The first is this: Almighty, everlasting God, with whom, since the pious merits of every rational creature are always acceptable, it is certain that those of that creature are the more excellent which surpasses the remaining spiritual dignity: may our festival, we beseech thee, be pleasing to thee, offered for the veneration of him who, the natural comeliness being preserved through thy grace, is ever near with devout watches to the secret things of thy Majesty. Through &c. Here the sanctity, excellence and merits of St. Michael are commemorated. Similar things are then read in several other prayers.

[307] In the second prayer, which is still in use, not by reason of the apparition, but of his excellence and patronage. the patronage or intercession of St. Michael for us before God is commemorated. For it runs thus: We offer thee, O Lord, sacrifices of praise, humbly beseeching that, by the Angelic suffrage interceding for us, thou wouldst both receive them appeased and grant that they may issue in our salvation. Through &c. The same is proved by this prayer which follows there: Graciously receive, we beseech thee, O Lord, the gift of thy people; which may be acceptable not by our merits, but by the intercession of thy holy archangel Michael. Through &c. There follow several other prayers in which mention is made of the intercession of the Angels. Passing over others, I transfer a few hither: O God, who dispensest both heavenly and earthly things for the help of the human race, refresh us, we beseech thee, labouring in the lower part of the world, mercifully with the protections of the Ministers on high. Through &c. — Truly meet. Who not only most kindly consolest us by the confessions of thy Saints, but even advancest us to the familiarity of the heavenly Powers: not only liftest us up by the intercession of martyrs, but raisest us also by the patronage of the Angels themselves. Through &c. — We bring, O Lord, the holy things of thy Saints; which, since they are pleasing to thee in the commemoration of all the just, we trust are much more acceptable in thy sight in the veneration of the Angelic substance. Through &c. The rest may be seen in Blanchini. For what has been cited abundantly shows what were the causes of instituting the festivals of St. Michael and of the Angels. They also establish that the festival of St. Michael and of the Angels was celebrated in Italy at least in the time of St. Leo, that is, about the middle of the fifth century. But it is likely that it is much older still.

[308] I pass now to the church of which Ado makes mention in these words: The church which in the Martyrologies is said to have been built at Rome, But not long after, at Rome the venerable Pontiff Boniface also dedicated a church built in the name of St. Michael, in the summit of the circus, stretched out very loftily in the manner of a crypt with wondrous workmanship. Whence that same place, containing a church at its summit, is called Among the Clouds. The author of the small Roman Martyrology, from which Ado seems to have taken these things, since he everywhere follows him, has only this: And at Rome, the dedication of the church of the same Archangel, built by blessed Pope Boniface in the circus, which place is called AMONG THE CLOUDS. Each writes in such a way that, when they wrote, that church seems to have existed and to have been very well known to all. Yet even so doubts arise about the place and the time in which it was built. For the place is expressed only by the words in the circus, or in the summit of the circus, as the Auxerre Martyrology cited at num. 3 also has it, which can be understood in various ways, since there were several circuses. So too the Pontiff Boniface who built the church cannot make us certain of the time, since long before the cited martyrologists five Pontiffs flourished whose name was Boniface. What Ado adds, that that church was built not long after the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, would avail somewhat more for finding the time, if the other, who is older, had the same, or if it were established that Ado took it from an ancient record.

[309] was on the summit of the mole of Hadrian, The most eminent Baronius in his Annotations at the XXIX of September proposed his conjecture about the place of the church at much length, but did not convince everyone of it. I think his words should be adduced and examined, since his opinion has pleased at least some, and a very recent writer too. Having refuted another opinion, to be examined by us below, he proposes his own thus: But since there is no other place at Rome famous for a memorial of Michael the archangel to which the aforesaid (words of Ado) may fit, I am led not unwillingly to this opinion, that I judge the said memorial of Michael which Ado mentions to have been situated of old on the summit of the mole of Hadrian; set upon a huge rock like a jutting crag, and truly, as he says, a crypt stretched out very loftily with wondrous workmanship; so that that place was deservedly called among the clouds: which indeed is found to have been called by another name too by our forefathers, namely the mount of St. Angelus. For so you have it named in Peter Damian, in the Deeds of St. Romuald. And that it was so called from the church erected on its summit is an evident conjecture. Which things are also made clearer from what Rodulphus Glaber writes, whom Papirius Masson cites in the Life of Gregory the fifth. For treating of Otto the third, he says this of him: When Crescentius had learned this, namely that he was drawing near to the City, mounting with his men the tower which is situated outside the city beyond the Tiber (from its height they call it "among the heavens"), he fortified it, meaning to defend it for his life &c.

[310] Baronius believed: but this cannot be proved by solid reasons But since it is established that the tower of Crescentius was none other than the mole of Hadrian, made loftier by a tower, and that the same place was called the fortification of St. Michael the archangel; it is now made sufficiently clear that the same place was called among the clouds by Ado which by Rodulphus is called among the heavens. But as to Ado's saying that that church was set on the summit of the circus, I think that for circi we should read circuli: for that mole, drawn in a round, had the shape of a circle, as ancient coins which have it depicted declare. Or if you prefer to understand it of a circus, there was near that place the circus of Domitia. Thus far Baronius. But Alessandro Donati, a learned writer of our Society, opposed his opinion in his work on Rome ancient and modern, book 1, chapter 10, and Martinelli joined him, with others. To me too that opinion is not approved, for various reasons. For, first, a place will easily be found to which all Ado's words better agree; and if anyone should think that they fit none well enough, I should prefer to believe that the church was destroyed many centuries ago. Certainly I shall never believe that for circi we should read circuli; since not only in Ado and in the small Roman, but also in the Auxerre Martyrology, circi is read, as may be seen at num. 3; but nowhere circuli; and the first reading gives an excellent sense, the second not. For who would believe that the mole of Hadrian was designated by writers under the name of a circulus, when among the ancients it was most well known by its own name?

[311] Nor is Baronius's other answer, about the circus of Domitia — who was the aunt of Nero — satisfactory. and is refuted by better ones, The mole of Hadrian was in the gardens of Domitia near the Tiber, and in another part of the gardens there may have been a circus. Donati admits that circus, but says it was separated from the mole of Hadrian, and discusses it at greater length in book 3, chapter 23. But Domenico Giorgi, in his Annotations on Ado at this day, denies that a circus existed in the gardens of Domitia, and adduces the silence of all the ancients. That controversy, for brevity's sake, I shall not examine. But I shall only observe that the words of Ado and of the others cannot be explained in that way. For if we believe the church to have been founded on the topmost part of the mole of Hadrian, how could Ado say in the summit of the circus, how did the other say in the circus? Certainly the mole of Hadrian was not a circus, but a magnificent building and the mausoleum of the emperor, which for centuries had been most well known, and had by then been turned into a fortified citadel. Who would ever have said of a church founded on the top of such a monument that it was founded in the circus or in the summit of the circus, even though some circus were very near there — which no ancient writer ever said?

[312] But what Baronius adduces, that the place was called Among the Heavens on account of its height, Glaber does indeed have, book 1, chapter 4. and another opinion is refuted also. But one surname is among-the-heavens, another among-the-clouds; and, if the Romans surnamed the mole of Hadrian, then called the tower of Crescentius, among-the-heavens, everyone will easily see that another lofty building could be called by the same men among-the-clouds, as Ado testifies the said church of St. Michael was. And so I shall not indeed deny that there was a little shrine sacred to St. Michael on the top of the mole of Hadrian, but we say that Ado is treating of another church built for the use of the people by Pope Boniface. Another opinion the aforesaid Donati refutes along with Baronius, in book 1, chapter 10, beginning thus to investigate the church so mentioned by Ado: On this matter there is a threefold opinion. The first is of those who will have it that the circus was the Neronian one, and that the shrine of St. Michael in the Vatican was set beside it. Whom Baronius confutes; both because that shrine has not the loftiness which its authors attribute to it, and because he recognizes its founder, Pope Leo IV, from an ancient stone. With these things about the church of St. Michael situated on the Janiculum near the Vatican, as Baronius speaks, I entirely agree. We shall say more of it below at num. 322.

[313] The third opinion is that of Donati, who sets it out thus: But it is more probable that it was founded The third opinion is our own. And we think that on the summit of the Flaminian circus a temple of St. Michael was dedicated by Boniface: which now, called in the Fish Market, is the most ancient in the City. For the position of the temple corresponds exactly to the ancient record of the places, and to the summit of the Flaminian circus. And Ado's words in the summit of the circus can be understood according to the narrative of the Breviary (where there is read in the highest part of the circus). For the highest part of the circus is the head of the circus, whose opposite part was the lowest, where were the starting-gates of the circus, whence the horses were sent out: but at the highest were the turning-posts, at which they bent their course. Ovid, speaking of the head of the Flaminian circus opposite the starting-gates, says:

A short open space looks out from behind upon the top of the circus.

The shrine therefore of St. Michael dedicated on the summit of the circus is the shrine situated in the farthest part of the circus, which, ending in a semicircle, was suited for the wheeling round of the chariots. In which place the temple of St. Michael is now beheld.

[314] at the head of the Flaminian circus, But if Ado seems to use summit for loftiness, and if those words signify this, "a church built on the summit of the circus, stretched out very loftily in the manner of a crypt with wondrous workmanship," and more clearly what follows, "whence that same place, containing a church at its summit, is called situated among the clouds": and if he understands both, the head of the circus and the height of the place in it, we say with probability that this too was not lacking of old to our temple. For since of old there were many temples of the gods in the Flaminian circus, partly built there, partly attached to it — of Neptune, Hercules, Vulcan, Mars, Castor, Juno, Diana, as I shall say in its own place — it is likely that some one of these stood out from the tiers of seats, and overhung their crypts and vaults, or stood among the porticoes of the circus, just as in theatres temples were dedicated above the stage. That one, therefore, restored and repaired, the same Pontiff purified and dedicated who dedicated the Pantheon in honour of the most blessed Virgin and of the holy martyrs. And it was called among the clouds because it was raised from the ground above the tiers of the circus. But afterwards, the circus and the masses of the ancients having wholly fallen in, it was reduced to that form which we see, and to a lower situation &c. Martinelli agrees, at page 60, and cites for the same opinion Giacomo Grimaldi in a manuscript work.

[315] and that there, above much elevated crypts, the church was founded. This opinion of Donati about the place in which the church of St. Michael was founded is certainly more probable than the rest, and is asserted also by a most recent author who published Rome ancient and new in Italian in three volumes in the year 1750. Less pleasing, however, is the second exposition, by which the church of St. Michael would be believed to have been built upon the temple of a false god. Hence Donati himself, a little after, as it were corrects that exposition, as less probable, by another, writing thus: I have observed that Ado's words can be explained more plainly. The summit of the circus is therefore for him the highest part of the circus. There a church was dedicated, "stretched out very loftily in the manner of a crypt"; that is, raised up with vaulted and very lofty work. "And therefore the place, containing a church at its summit, is called situated among the clouds." And therefore the place at the highest part of the circus, where the temple is, on account of its very loftily vaulted fabric, is called among the clouds. By which it is hinted that that vault was like the dome which today rises everywhere into a hemisphere and is raised to the greatest height. Nor have I inconsiderately expounded cryptatim as though fornicatim. For although crypta signifies an underground vault, yet sometimes, on account of the curvature, it seems capable of being transferred to any vault &c. To me Ado seems to mean nothing else than that the church was built at the highest part of the circus, or at the head of the circus; and that the lowest part of the church consisted of crypts raised and vaulted higher than usual, and that above the crypts the church itself stood raised on high, and was on account of its notable height called among the clouds.

[316] More probably it was built Now something must also be said about the time at which that church seems to have been founded. Baronius, passing over Boniface I, who administered the Church in the year 418 and following, that is, a full century before the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, denies the building of that church also to Boniface II, who obtained the pontificate in the year 530, subjoining: And so of these, the raising of that church seems rather to be attributed to Pope Boniface III, or to Boniface the fourth, who next succeeded him. And these, since after Sabinian they succeeded Pope Gregory, it is reasonable to believe that one of them erected there the aforesaid church, in memory of so great an event, on account of the recent miracle of the Angel who (as ancient tradition has it) was seen above the aforesaid mole putting back a drawn sword into the scabbard, as a sign of the ceasing plague. I have adduced Baronius's words on account of the little shrine in the Castle of St. Angelo presently to be mentioned. Donati, in the words cited at num. 314, attributes the dedication of this church too to Boniface IV, who dedicated the Pantheon ….

[317] But the reason alleged by Baronius arises from the place by Boniface II about the year 530. in which he believed the church to have been built. For he proves that in the sixth century, in which the mole of Hadrian was a fortification of the City, there was as yet no memorial of St. Michael there. But that reason does not tell against a church dedicated in another place. Wherefore, if we wish to cleave closely to the words of Ado, who asserts that that church was built not long after the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, it will have to be said that Boniface II was more probably the founder of that church, and that it seems to have been founded about the year 530, not on account of the miracle of the Angel seen above the mole of Hadrian, but on the occasion of the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, as Ado suggests. There is no room to doubt that that famous apparition, just as it was at once inserted into the ancient Martyrologies, was also swiftly reported to Rome. Hence it does not become likely that the building of a church which is said to have been founded on its account was put off for nearly a whole century. Indeed it is not even sufficiently credible that the building was deferred from the year 493, in which the apparition is fixed by most, to the year 530, in which Boniface II sat. But with our chronology, in which the apparition is set between the years 520 and 530, the building of that church by Boniface II coheres excellently. Panciroli treats of that church and of its restorations at page 730.

[318] Baronius in the Annals at the year 590, num. 13, St. Gregory is said to have seen an Angel above the mole of Hadrian: treating of the plague then raging violently at Rome, and of the litanies instituted on that account by St. Gregory the Pope, adds the following: But then also they relate that that wonderful thing happened, that, when Gregory in the procession had reached the mole of Hadrian, adjoining the Tiber, in token of the Godhead reconciled an Angel was seen putting back a bared sword into its scabbard, and by that symbol wished to signify that the sickness had ceased; just as (as was said above out of the same Gregory, book 4 of the Dialogues, chapter 368) the same had been divinely foreshown by arrows seen falling from heaven. What is said of the arrows, Gregory does indeed have in the place assigned. Of the Angel seen putting back the sword I could find nothing in Gregory or in ancient writers. Yet that tradition the moderns everywhere assert with Baronius, and many will have it with him that for that reason a little shrine sacred to St. Michael was built on the summit of the mole of Hadrian. The already cited author of Rome ancient and new, tome 1, page 18, opposes this, and says that that little shrine was built on account of the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Garganus, and was called among the clouds, and will have the dedication to have been made in the time of St. Gelasius. But that recent writer conflicts both with all others and with himself. For at page 300 he places the church of St. Michael or of St. Angelus, which was built in the circus by Boniface II, in the Fish Market. But the church built in the circus by Boniface is that very one which was called among the clouds, and was built on account of the Garganic apparition. Let it suffice to have hinted these things in few words.

[319] But whatever be the cause of the little shrine's being built, that such a one was built on the summit of the mole of Hadrian (now it is called the Castle of St. Angelo) Liutprand is witness, who in book 3, chapter 12, writes this: a church thereafter set on the summit of the mole, At the entrance of the city of Rome there is established a certain fortification of wondrous workmanship and wondrous strength: before whose gate is a most precious bridge built over the Tiber, which is the first for those entering and leaving Rome, nor is there any other way of crossing except by it. This, however, cannot be done save by the consent of those guarding the fortification. And the fortification itself, to omit the rest, is of such height that the church which is seen built on its top in honour of the supreme prince of the heavenly soldiery, the archangel Michael, is called the church of Saint Angelus UP TO THE HEAVENS. These things altogether establish that there was a church there dedicated to St. Michael. It will probably have been built for the use of the garrison soldiers, and of all others who lived in the castle. The surname up to the heavens, or, as Glaber has it, among the heavens, differs too much from the name of the church called among the clouds, which beyond doubt lay open to all the people, for the one to be confounded with the other on account of those names.

[320] in whose stead another was afterwards built in the Borgo. Baronius in his Annotations to the Martyrology subjoins this again about another church of St. Michael: But since, the fortification being enlarged, access to that same place (in the castle) did not lie open to all; another church again was built near the said fortification in honour of St. Michael the archangel: which, falling down with age, we have seen restored in our days. Martinelli briefly mentions this church at page 59 in these words: Of St. Angelus in the Borgo, near the Citadel of Hadrian, of a lay Society. Panciroli, in the Hidden Treasures of the City, writes of the same church at page 503, and observes that it was not from the beginning founded in the place where it now is, but was beneath the castle, and dedicated to the Angel who appeared to St. Gregory the Great. He would more correctly have said, with Liutprand, that it was dedicated to St. Michael in the topmost part of the citadel. The most recent author, however, at tome 1, page 18, affirms that it was not that church which was situated in the topmost part of the citadel that was founded on account of Gregory's vision and afterwards translated, but another which had been built lower down. But if Gregory really saw the Angel above the mole of Hadrian, and for that reason either he himself or one of his successors built a church, it will doubtless have been the one already mentioned in the topmost part of the citadel, whose antiquity is established, and in whose place Baronius says another was founded lower down near the citadel, or in the borgo. And if this in turn was afterwards translated, its translation was twofold.

[321] Other churches in the City dedicated to the Angels. There exist several other churches of St. Michael in the City, or under the title of St. Angelus, by which St. Michael is generally designated. But since it would be endless to recount all the churches of St. Michael, I shall only touch on them briefly. Martinelli at page 342 mentions other places once dedicated to St. Angelus. The same at page 59 assigns a church of St. Angelus the guardian, in the region of the Trevi, of a lay archconfraternity. Likewise another called at the Furnaces, which is parochial, outside the gate named of the Fabbrica. Of this the recent writer on Rome gives more at tome 1, page 114, where he says it was built in the year 1552. Finally, if anyone desires more churches which under the title of St. Angelus, St. Archangel or St. Michael formerly existed at Rome or still exist, he will be able to consult the frequently cited Fioravante Martinelli, who briefly mentions various ones.

[322] [The church of St. Michael which Baronius calls on the Janiculum, otherwise called in Saxia,] Of one, however, which Martinelli seems to double, I shall briefly inquire a little. He designates at page 259 the temple of St. Michael in Saxia, which he says is situated in the borgo, and so called from the quarter of the Saxons.

Then he treats of the steps which the people there ascend on bended knees, and subjoins of the temple: It belongs to the basilica of the Prince of the Apostles. It was formerly of the Frisian nation, as an ancient stone testifies. All this rightly, so far as I judge. I do not doubt that Baronius is speaking of the same church in his Annotations to the Martyrology at the VIII of May and the XXIX of September. In this latter place he calls it the basilica of St. Michael situated on the Janiculum near the Vatican. At the VIII of May he observes of the same: And likewise that that one is famous which Pope Leo IV erected near the Vatican on account of the Saracens vanquished and put to flight, as an old inscription cut in marble teaches, which is preserved in that same church to this day, although by the writer's fault Charles is put for Louis. Of the faults of the inscription I shall speak presently. Meanwhile it is certain that Baronius is treating of the church of St. Michael in Saxia, even though he says on the Janiculum — perhaps because by a broader manner of speaking he includes the Vatican hills under the Janiculum: for the inscription which he cites belongs to the church in Saxia. Wherefore Martinelli, who at page 342 wishes to assign another church of St. Angelus on the Janiculum on the Golden Mount, either makes two out of one, or at any rate mentions a church long since destroyed, of which no other memory survives than that in the year 1500 a stone is said to have been dug out of the ruins of St. Angelus on the Janiculum.

[323] As regards now the church of St. Michael in Saxia, [is referred by some to the time of Leo IV, by others to that of Leo III or of Charlemagne:] Baronius will have it built by Leo IV, because the said inscription exhibits Leo IV; and he adds that the shrine of St. Michael was built at the time when the Petrine, that is, the Vatican basilica had been taken by the Saracens. Now the Vatican basilica was despoiled by the Saracens in the year 846, as Muratori relates in the Annals of Italy at that year. Leo IV obtained the pontificate in the following year, 847, and held it until 855. These things agree rightly, and thus the church of St. Michael would have been built about the middle of the ninth century, and at nearly the same time in which the Leonine city, in which it stands, was founded by Leo IV. But the same inscription names the emperor Charlemagne, repeating the name of Charles three times, and makes him with Leo the founder of that church. Hence Panciroli and others, and by name Francesco Maria Torrigio, who published in print in the year 1629 an Italian tract on the Origin of that church, referred the building to the time of Charlemagne.

[324] He recites the whole inscription in chapter 13, and endeavours to explain and defend it in chapter 14 and following. Two things above all he attempts: but the inscription which is brought forward is faulty. first, that Leo III, who flourished with Charlemagne, is designated in the inscription, and is called the fourth not only in that inscription but also by certain others. He cites many writers by whom he says Leo III was named the fourth: but none older than the twelfth century. Then he proves that the Saracens inflicted disasters on the Christians in the time of Charlemagne also: but he by no means shows that the Vatican basilica was taken by them in the time of Charlemagne. But, to say in few words what I think, the inscription is too openly faulty to be defended, or for anything certain to be had from it as to the time in which the church was founded. The author of the inscription probably lived some centuries after the church was founded, and was certainly an ignorant man, who mixed up many things unskilfully. Wherefore from that inscription at least it cannot be said whether that church was founded in the time of Leo III or of the fourth, if indeed it was built by either of them at all.

[325] It is by no means my purpose to investigate all the churches of St. Michael or of the Angels throughout Italy. In the diocese of Stabiae about the year 820 That would be an endless labour, nor would a full enumeration ever be reached, since new ones may be built every year. Of one, however, I shall here give some account, because it is said to have been built at the command of St. Michael. The matter is related in the Life of St. Antoninus, abbot of Sorrento, given at the XIV of February, where in the preliminary Commentary, §2, the age of St. Antoninus the abbot, and of his companion St. Catellus, bishop of Stabiae, is fixed in the ninth century, and according to what is there argued the building of that oratory comes to be fixed broadly about the year 820. The city near which, on a neighbouring mountain, that church was built, is Castrum maris, called by Leandro Alberti Castellum Almarinum, and by its vernacular name Castellammare, and it is situated by the sea between Naples and Sorrento, in that place where the ancient city of Stabiae stood, from whose ruins it arose. Hence the bishop of the city was everywhere called of Stabiae. And about the year 820 St. Catellus presided over the church of Stabiae, of whom we treated at the XIX of January, but with a straying from the true chronology, which Bollandus himself restored at the XIV of February under St. Antoninus the abbot. And his Life, even though it is not by a contemporary writer, is at least ancient, and therefore I shall transfer hither from it the assertions of the anonymous author.

[326] on a mountain raised above the sea, He relates at num. 3 the coming of St. Antoninus to St. Catellus, bishop of Stabiae, their most intimate friendship, and presently the withdrawal of St. Catellus to the desert, the care of the bishopric being left to St. Antoninus. The place is described at num. 4 thus: The mountain itself, to which Michael the archangel gave his name for a reason to be shown a little later, extended crosswise, is washed at either extremity by the waves of the sea. And by its lateral length it separates the land of the people of Sorrento, like a tongue of land stretched out into the sea, from the open world, and, affording narrow paths to travellers among the sheer crags, renders it secure from all hostile tumult. And at the summit, its ridge being now ended, it raises its head continuously and more boldly toward the sea &c.… That peak then the aforesaid servant of God, Catellus, judging it fit for the contest he had taken up, occupied: and there, contemplating the Lord with pure mind, he gave himself to the divine offices. Then the author says that St. Antoninus also came to the same place, that he might there lead a solitary life with St. Catellus.

[327] a church built at the command of St. Michael, And presently the author subjoins: Whose unanimity and equal manner of life an Angelic vision, thus shown, approved. For in the dead of night one and the same Angel, appearing to both, said: I will that in the place where you are wont to persist in prayers, and where you lately saw a burning taper, you build an oratory under my name. And when, being asked about his name, he had answered, Michael the Archangel, he vanished. And they, at once awaking, when each had heard and related the other's vision, being confirmed by the authority of mutual testimony, prepare to assent to the Angelic command. Then they gird themselves as vigorous workmen of the divine fabric, and with timber framings built with prosperous success a dwelling small indeed, but pleasing to the Archangel who had admonished them. O wondrous power of the just! O most salutary fortitude of the Saints! O ineffable strength of pure prayers! O inestimable efficacy of a clean mind! Behold, by the working of the merits of those Saints, and by their prayers in a manner laying the foundations, in the lairs of wild beasts an oratory is built, in the dens of beasts an Angelic dwelling is raised, in an empty, waste and uncultivated land a house is fashioned, holy, famous, and fit for the salvation of men.

[328] frequented of old with votive pilgrimages. For there praise is daily offered to the Lord, the author of all good things, and to the Blessed Michael the archangel, its inhabitant. By whose surpassing benefits there is none who does not obtain what he worthily asks. From near and distant parts they flock together, and paying the vows promised for whatsoever tribulations, having received consolation, they return joyful to their own homes. That concourse of people seems in later centuries to have diminished, as is observed in the Annotations to the Life of St. Antoninus, where some other matters pertaining to that church may also be seen. That the church was notable in the thirteenth century, and was called of St. Angelus of the Golden Mount, is gathered from an instrument which Ughelli published in tome 6 of Italia sacra, among the bishops of Stabiae, column 658 of the Venetian edition. In the Itinerary of Bernard, the French monk, which Mabillon published in the Acts of the Benedictine Saints, cent. 3, part 2, page 525, Bernard relates this about his journey between Jerusalem and Rome: From Jerusalem they went aboard ship, and came to the Golden Mount, where there is a crypt having seven altars in it. It has also above it a great wood: into which crypt no one can enter because of the darkness of the shadows, except with lighted lamps. There the abbot was the lord Valentinus. The name of the Golden Mount and the manner of the journey by which men sailed from Jerusalem to Rome cast a likely suspicion that the church which Bernard visited with his companions was that of St. Angelus of the Golden Mount, just as he also visited Mount Garganus and the church of St. Michael in Tumba. And if that conjecture is true, that church of the diocese of Stabiae, with its monastery, was already famous in the time of Pope Nicholas I, who died in the year 867, in whose time Bernard set out on his pilgrimage.

elsewhere, orbe*

§ XXIII. On the Apparition of St. Michael on Mount Tumba, now Mount St. Michael.

[ ] The place where St. Michael in Normandy Mabillon, in the Benedictine Annals, book 19, at the year 708, relates an apparition of St. Michael in Gaul, writing thus: This year also was notable for the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Tumba, which gave occasion and origin to a famous basilica and monastery. It is a promontory on the border of the Bretons and the Normans, daily enclosed and opened up by the twofold flow and ebb of the sea: rising into two mountains, which they call Tumbæ, one greater, upon which is set the basilica of St. Michael with its monastery; the other smaller, with a citadel placed on its top, commonly called Tumbella or Tumbellana. Whence the monastery of St. Michael in Tumba is sometimes called At the Two Tumbæ. Hence Odo, abbot of Glanfeuil, in his letter to Adalmodus, archdeacon of Le Mans, on the finding of the Life of St. Maurus, mentions in the district of Avranches "the place of St. Angelus, which is called At the two tumbæ"; and in the book on the Translation and miracles of St. Frodobert, abbot of Celles, a certain Ratbert, a native of the district of Melun, is said to have hastened to the church of St. Michael, at that place "which from of old is called At the two tumbæ." Yet everywhere the name of St. Michael on Mount Tumba prevails, commonly Mount-St.-Michael, and by others In-the-peril-of-the-sea, for this reason, that in that flow and ebb of the sea the incautious, and those ignorant of the sea-tide, easily fall into peril and shipwreck.

[330] "This place therefore, to use the words of an ancient writer, appeared at the beginning of the eighth century, is called Tumba by the inhabitants, because, after the manner of a burial-mound, as though emerging from the sands, it stretches upward for the space of two hundred cubits, girt on all sides by the Ocean sea, situated six miles from the tide of the Ocean between the mouths where the rivers Sée and Sélune plunge into the sea, six miles distant from the city of Avranches, looking toward the West, and dividing the district of Avranches from Brittany. There the sea by its ebb twice affords the way desired by devout peoples seeking the thresholds of blessed Michael

the archangel." The same author adds that this place was once shut in by a most shady wood, and that monks dwelt there, and that down to his own time there existed two churches, which those monks, namely, inhabited. Such was the appearance of the place before the apparition of St. Michael made in this year to the most religious Aubert, bishop of Avranches, admonishing him that he willed a church to be erected to him under his own patronage on the top of that mountain. The prelate hesitating, the same was intimated a third time, and at last hand was set to the work. Presently, a very great multitude of country folk being gathered, the place was cleared, the space levelled, two rocks being cast aside by a certain Bainus, which no hand had been able to move. And so the pontiff built a fabric, not very lofty in its roof, round in the manner of a crypt, which would hold nearly a hundred men, after the likeness of that which had been raised on Mount Garganus.

[331] and a famous church was dedicated to his name. Thence, by the grant of the abbot of Mount Garganus, there is said to have been brought a part of the little red cloth which the Archangel had left upon the altar, together with a part likewise of the marble on which he had stood. All things being duly ordered, the dedication of the new basilica was made on the XVII of the Kalends of November by bishop Aubert, which day was of old famous not only in the Gallican churches of Lugdunensis Secunda and in not a few others, but also in the English, as the decree of the synod of Oxford of the year one thousand two hundred and twenty-two approves, "That the dedication of Saint Michael on Mount Tumba be most devoutly celebrated by the rectors of churches." There clerics are said to have first been established by St. Aubert, in whose stead monks were substituted by Richard the first, duke of the Normans, the restorer of the place. These things from an Anonymous author, who wrote of this apparition before monks were introduced there by duke Richard, that is, before the middle of the tenth century; where there is nothing about that miraculous dedication of the church published by later men, nothing about the head of the hesitating St. Aubert being struck and pierced by the Archangel, but only about the impressed rock on which the pontiff is said to have sat when first visiting the place. That apparition is read in the domestic records of the place to have been made in this year; the dedication in the following year. Thus far Mabillon, whose whole account I have given, that the studious reader may have, with the assignment of time and place, a summary of what is related more fully in the Acts.

[332] The Acts of this apparition, already published and to be published again, Nevertheless we judge that the authority of the Acts which Mabillon published, cent. 3, part 1, from page 85, must be examined after our manner. Mabillon published them from two codices, namely from the Saint-Germain one, which he proves to have been written about the year 1060, and from Duchesne's. Those Acts we too have in one codex, and we hold two transcripts of them from various codices, namely the one from a codex of the Queen of Sweden, and the other transcribed by our Chifflet from the codices of the monasteries of Acey and La Charité. I do not find this Apparition in our three older codices, from which I have given the Garganic Apparition; but only in the fourth, less ancient, in which at the XXIX of September it is read subjoined after the Garganic Apparition. As regards now the authority of the Acts, Baillet in his critical table at the XXIX of September held them of almost no account. But Mabillon seems to have made much of them, since he inserted the chief heads of the account into the Benedictine History, and in his preliminary Observations commends the age of the writer, and nowhere reproves or corrects him in a single word. The learned Benedictines in the Literary History of France, tome 4, page 196, followed Mabillon's judgment, or held these Acts in even greater esteem.

[333] Let us inquire first into the age of the author. Mabillon judges they were written before monks were brought into the church of St. Michael, that the Acts were written before monks were introduced in place of the canons. This I altogether judge, because the Acts at num. 10 treat of clerics established there, but of monks introduced in their place not a word is anywhere said. But from that argument I cannot infer what Mabillon says in his preliminary Observations, writing thus: The Anonymous author who wrote the following History of the apparition and dedication lived a little after that time in which the event occurred; certainly before monks were brought thither &c. The last, as I have said, seems true and sufficiently certain. But the interval of time between the apparition, which Mabillon fixes in the year 708, and the introduction of the monks, which in the Annals, tome 3, page 579, he refers to the year 966, is too great for it to be believed on that argument that the author lived not long after the apparition. For if he lived two centuries after the apparition, if he wrote two centuries and a half after the apparition, even so he will have done it before monks were established there. The cited writers of the Literary History say that the History of the apparition could have been written toward the end of the eighth century, and adduce from the Preface the following words: For he willed to be made known to mortals in the times of our age. If these words be taken strictly of the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Tumba, the age of the writer will have to be fixed rather before or about the middle of the eighth century than toward the end of that century.

[334] But I do not think that the Anonymous author was thinking of the apparition of St. Michael on Mount Tumba alone yet not at the close of the eighth century, as we judge, when he uttered the words cited, but rather that he was speaking generally of the miracles wrought and continued under the new Law. For both what precedes and what immediately follows suggests this after a fashion. He had observed that St. Michael had thus been made the patron of the people converted to the faith from among the gentiles, just as he had once been of the Hebrew people, and for the confirmation of that assertion he subjoins: That this is so, the devotion of the faithful believes on account of the showing of signs. For he willed to be made known to mortals in the times of our age, whereby the human race might know itself called into the fellowship of the elect spirits. These words suggest that general manner of speech, and it is confirmed from what follows, because he presently comes to that particular apparition, going on thus: Finally it must be noted by what mystery he provided a place for mortals in the Western parts, where from all the world a religious multitude of the faithful flows together in veneration to implore the Angelic aid. These things are certainly said of that apparition: but he does not say they were done in his own age. And so by those words, in the times of our age, he more probably understands all the times of the New Law, set against the times of the Old Law: for he had shown that Michael was made the patron of the Christians, as he had been of the Jews. If, however, anyone should wish the author to be speaking of his own age, even so he would establish nothing. For it would not necessarily have to be explained of the apparition itself on Mount Tumba, but could easily be understood of the miracles by which the Archangel afterwards manifested himself in that place.

[335] Wherefore those words do not seem to help in investigating the age of the writer. But other things suggest a suspicion that the Acts were written either in the tenth century or toward the close of the ninth. For the writer nowhere intimates that he was near to the events of which he treats. but rather after the middle of the ninth century. Secondly, the martyrologists who flourished in the ninth century, namely Wandelbert, Rabanus, Ado, Usuard, Notker, inserted nothing about the apparition of St. Michael in Tumba into their Martyrologies, although they all celebrate the Garganic apparition or memorial, and some touch on the History itself. There is added the silence of our three manuscript codices, which seem to have been written about the ninth century, and which contain the Acts of the Garganic Apparition, but not those of the later one of which we now treat. From that silence, both of the martyrologists and of the codices, there arises a probable conjecture that those Acts of which we treat were not yet known to the aforesaid martyrologists and collectors of codices, and consequently were not written before their times, or at any rate not long before. For we do not believe that they were composed in order to lie hidden in some corner of Normandy or Brittany, and to remain unknown to those who were seeking such things. Wherefore I conjecture that those Acts were written either after the middle of the ninth century or in the tenth before its middle. From what has been said we hold that the Anonymous author of that Apparition has not, from the time at which he wrote, the authority of a contemporary or nearly contemporary writer. Hence for the description of the place and for the apparition of St. Michael itself he does indeed deserve credit: but the particular circumstances of the facts do not become equally certain, since various things perhaps flowed from the tradition of the people.

[336] [The apparition to be fixed in an uncertain year at the beginning of the eighth century.] For the time of the apparition we have Sigebert in his Chronicle agreeing with Mabillon's chronology, who writes thus of that apparition: While Childebert held the monarchy of the kingdom of the Franks, Michael the archangel, appearing to Aubert, bishop of Avranches, admonished him once and again that in that place of the sea which on account of its eminence is called Tumba he should found a church in memory of him, willing that such veneration be shown him in the deep as is shown on Mount Garganus. Meanwhile a bull, stealthily carried off by a robber, is tied up in that place. Whence the bishop, admonished a third time to lay the foundation in that place where he should find the bull tied up, and to draw the circuit of the church just as he should see that the bull had trodden down the earth with its feet, set up a church in honour of the holy Archangel: and from that time, as on Mount Garganus, so also in that place, which is now called In-the-peril-of-the-sea, the veneration of the Archangel began to be frequented. These things have already been adduced at the XVIII of June under St. Aubert of Avranches, and it was there observed that the matter is referred to the year 709 or the preceding. Pagi in his Critica at the year 709, num. 10, contends that the dedication of the church must be fixed in the year 907, because the XVI day of October, on which it is related in the Acts to have been done, fell in the year 907 on a Sunday. He does not think the charters of the monastery are to be relied on, because they were written some centuries later. I readily believe that the charters are not ancient enough to fix a certain year — if indeed they are charters, and not rather the Chronicles to be mentioned at num. 339, which Mabillon indicates. But neither does the authority of Sigebert, who perhaps had nothing besides the Acts for assigning the time, seem so great that I should think we must contend for a certain year. For in the year 701 also Childebert held the monarchy, and the XVI day of October was a Sunday. Wherefore the apparition will be more certainly fixed at the beginning of the eighth century than in any determined year: for the Acts assign only the time of king Childebert, with the day of the dedication, the XVI of October.

[337] Other Acts sprinkled with fables: As regards now the various copies of the Acts, Mabillon in his preliminary Observations noted this: Besides this lucubration of the Anonymous author there is also another writing on the same subject in the library of the monastery of St. Michael, interpolated in certain places. Certain fabulous assertions of those Acts, as popular traditions, Mabillon from time to time reports and rejects in his Annotations. Such is, first, that St. Michael, appearing the third time, is said to have struck the head of the hesitating Aubert even to piercing it. Such again is what has been afterwards so exaggerated about the rock moved away by Bainus, that Mabillon says: And yet the tradition of the common people has it that a single infant accomplished this by a thrust of his foot.

Such, finally, is the assertion made about the church which Aubert himself dedicated, that it was dedicated by Christ Himself. In none of our manuscripts are these things read, but all agree in the chief heads of the matters with the codices which Mabillon used for his edition.

[338] In these, however, some diversity too is found: given by Mabillon from several manuscripts, to be emended. for in some there is more read at the end, in others less. The Saint-Germain codex has not the last chapter, but ends with chapter 5 in Mabillon, with our num. XI. Our codex agrees, in which the last chapter is likewise not read: and hence it is probably gathered that it was added afterwards. That chapter is read, however, in the Duchesne manuscript which Mabillon used, and in our two transcripts, the one from a codex of the Queen of Sweden, the other sent hither by Chifflet from two codices. The codices also disagree in the titles which are prefixed to the chapters, and differ so far in the words of the titles that I cannot find two that agree. Hence I gather that those titles are not the first author's, but were added by copyists, especially since the Queen's codex has neither divisions into chapters nor any titles. For the rest, about the facts the codices agree, but in small points of wording they not seldom differ, and they are not free from grammatical errors. Yet our codex is generally more correct than the rest, and sometimes Mabillon's edition. Hence I shall so compare the edition with the three manuscripts as to correct the copyists' errors often from the manuscripts, and, so far as may be done, to give a more emended text.

THE APPARITION

At Mount Tumba

By an anonymous author.

From Mabillon's edition, collated with three manuscripts, and corrected from them.

BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR.

Under Childebert, after the apparition on Mount Garganus After the nation of the Franks, marked out by the grace of Christ, had far and wide, everywhere throughout the provinces, subdued the necks of the proud, and while the most pious prince Childebert was vigorously ^b governing ^a the monarchy of the whole West and also the parts of the north and the south, — since almighty God holds princedom not only over all the nations, but also over all the parts of the world which He Himself made, through the ranks ^c of the spirits subject to Him — blessed Michael the archangel, one of the seven who always stand in the sight of the Lord [], who is also read of as the provost of paradise, about to set the souls of the saved [] in the region of peace, after that manifestation by which he showed himself on Mount Garganus for [] adoration and glorification, in what manner and how he willed, as is contained in the writings; these things, as has been recounted, having been wrought by the blessed Archangel, and all the nations in the Eastern parts of the Roman world ^d having been enlightened by the grace of Christ — learn by what tokens the same most blessed Prince of the citizens on high willed to manifest himself to the prelate of the Western peoples: so that he who once had granted the aid of protection to the Israelite people blessed in the patriarchs, should himself be the guardian and forerunner of the sons called by adoption. For it is read in the vision of the prophet Daniel, the same Angel saying to him: There is none my helper in all these things but Michael the archangel ^e, your Prince. Your Prince*, he says, that is, of the people of the Jews. But when Christ the Lord came unto His own, and was not received by His own, but rather betrayed, and Himself returned to the Father, while the observance of the ancient law is abolished, the admirable sacrament of the Gospel proclamation is established; and while the sound of the Apostles goes forth through all the earth, the ceremonies of the holy things are transferred through the ministries of the Angels.

[2] St. Michael, patron of the Church, appeared in the West. For the Ecclesiastical histories say that after the passion and ascension of the Lord into heaven, after the long-awaited repentance of the Israelites, when the time of desolation drew near which ^f the Saviour with the weeping of His humanity had foretold in sacred utterance would come, the Church at Jerusalem, at the warning of the Godhead, is spread abroad through the whole world to evangelize the nations. And when the people, gathered together from all places on every side, were awaiting the day of the Paschal festival, and the priests were keeping the accustomed watches, the watchmen hear ^g sudden voices saying: Let us depart from these seats. And those sudden voices, sent forth by Angels, which announced the departure of the blessed Spirits, intimated that the angelic ministry was to be transferred to the Church of the gentiles. From which it is plainly intimated that blessed Michael the Archangel obtained among the election of the gentiles the same ministry which he had exercised of old among the people of God. That this is so, the devotion of the faithful believes on account of the showing of signs. For he willed to be made known to mortals in the times of our age, whereby the human race might know itself called into the fellowship of the elect Spirits. Finally it must be noted by what mystery he provided a place for mortals in the western parts, where from all the world a religious multitude of the faithful flows together in veneration to implore the angelic aid.

[3] The place where, after the apparition, This place, then, is called Tumba by the inhabitants; which, after the manner of a burial-mound, as though emerging from the sands, stretches upward for the space of two hundred cubits. The place, girt on all sides by the Ocean, affords the narrow space of a wonderful island, situated between the mouths where the rivers Sée [] and also Sélune [] plunge into the sea; affording also to its inhabitants on this side and that a space not too small. And in length and breadth from the root at which it juts up it differs not much (as is conjectured) from that work ^h by which the increase of the human race was preserved. And it, distant six miles from the city of Avranches ⁱ, looking toward the West, divides the district of Avranches from Brittany. No worldly business can be carried on there; the place is suited to those alone who purpose to venerate Christ diligently: and it receives those whom a burning love of the virtues bears up to the heavens. Only an abundance [*] of fish is found there, which is for the most part heaped up by the inflow of the rivers and of the sea. But to those beholding it from afar it seems to be nothing else than a spacious, nay, a beautiful tower. And the sea too by its ebb affords twice in the day ^k the desired way to devout peoples seeking the thresholds of blessed Michael the archangel: which place at first, as we have been able to learn from truthful narrators, was shut in by a most shady wood, distant (as is reckoned) six miles from the tide of the Ocean, affording the deepest lairs for wild beasts.

[4] And because the more remote places of the desert are wont to be most pleasing to those who wish to search out the more secret things of heaven by the subtlety of contemplation, a church was dedicated. we have learned that monks once dwelt there, where even to this day two churches ^l stand, built by the hand of men of old. For those monks, serving the Lord there, were sustained by the dispensation of God who rules all things, a certain presbyter from the village which is called Astériac ^m bringing them help in this way. For when they lacked food, without which human life cannot be carried on, at the running of a signalling smoke that sought the height of heaven, he would load an ass with viands stuffed with true charity: and thus, with an invisible guide going before, he went through pathless places, and returned bearing the commands of the Lord and the things needful for them ⁿ. But because this place was being prepared by God's will for a future miracle and for the veneration of His holy Archangel, the sea, which was far distant, rising little by little, levelled with its power the whole vastness of the wood, and reduced all to the form of its own sand, affording a way to the people of the land, that they might declare the wonders of God. But now we must come to this, how the same Prince of the blessed Spirits dedicated the aforesaid place by an angelic revelation.

[5] At a certain time, when the most religious and God-beloved prelate of the aforesaid city, St. Aubert, warned by a threefold apparition, Aubert ^o by name, had given himself to sleep, he was admonished by an angelic revelation that on the summit of the said place he should build a holy shrine in honour of the Archangel: so that he whose venerable commemoration is celebrated on Mount Garganus should be celebrated with no less exultation in the deep. But the priest, while he turned over that saying of the Apostle, Try the spirits, if they be of God, was admonished by a repeated vision to accomplish what was commanded. And because the spirit of the prophets is not always subject to the prophets, the prelate still put off the building, but employed intercession, that he might be able to learn the deliberation of our Lord Jesus Christ and likewise of the most blessed Archangel concerning a business of this kind. It happened about the same time that a certain man's bull [p], which someone at the prompting of wickedness had stolen away, he set down on the top of that same rock, so that, while he who had lost the bullock lost hope of finding it, the petty thief might make base gain from it. Meanwhile at a third admonition the venerable bishop is more sternly [q] urged, that he who had not yielded when twice admonished should go the more speedily to the place, from which, however, he should know that he must by no means depart before he accomplished what had been commanded [r]. For the confirmation of his faith there is shown there even to the present a rock inscribed as it were with a man's finger, on which the said bishop sat until he brought the work to its end.

[6] To the bishop then inquiring what place might seem fit for the building, and taught the place where the church was to be founded; it was appointed by an angelic answer in this manner, that the shrine should be built in that place in which the bull lay secretly tied up [s]. And when he asked about the extent or size of the place, he learned by the same answers that he ought to set that measure for the building which he should see that the bullock had trodden down round about with its feet. After this it was also commanded that the bull, snatched from its owner, should be restored to him. The venerable bishop therefore, being most certain of the vision, entering the aforesaid place with hymns and praises, set about performing the commanded work: and a very great multitude of country folk being gathered, he cleared the place and levelled it into an open space: in the middle of which two rocks stood out, which the hands of many workmen could not move nor tear from their position. And when they long stuck fast, and could by no means find what to do, on the following night a vision appeared to a certain man named Bainus, in the village which is called Icius [t], who, enriched with twelve sons, held great glory of dignity among his people. He therefore, admonished by the vision that he too should apply himself to the labour along with the labourers, came in haste to the place with his sons, to fulfil what had been commanded. And when he had arrived there, relying on the help of St. Michael the archangel, he removed in a wondrous manner, and so easily, what human strength could not, a mass of such magnitude, that no weight seemed to be there at all. But all, praising God in common and the holy archangel Michael, applied themselves the more attentively to the work begun. And when the said bishop was still pondering in doubt about the size of the fabric to be built, at midnight, as once for Gideon in token of victory, dew lay upon the top of the mountain; but where the foundations were to be laid there was dryness, and it was said to the bishop: Go, and lay the foundations as thou shalt see it marked out.

[7] he builds it, and sends monks to Mount Garganus, He at once giving thanks to almighty God, and imploring the help of St. Michael the archangel, rising up glad and joyful, set about that work. And so he built a fabric not lofty in the height [u] of its roof, but round in the manner of a crypt, capable of a hundred men (as is reckoned), wishing to match the form of that one on Mount Garganus [*], a dwelling having been made for earth-born men on the mountain [x] of the sheer rock by angelic contrivance, to the praise and glory of God: plainly teaching that always

the aid of the divine bounty must be sought in heavenly things, and that by the gaze of contemplation men must pierce the high stars of the sky, and not set their wheeling hearts upon earthly and miry marshes. And when after no long time this had been built, God bringing His aid, and the man of God, bishop Aubert, remained anxious, because he saw that he lacked the pledges of the holy Archangel, blessed Michael admonished that same priest to send Brethren with all speed to the place on the Garganus where the memory of the most holy Archangel is venerably honoured, and to receive with the greatest thanksgiving that blessing which they should bring back by the Angel's patronage.

[8] Meanwhile the messengers sent go to the place: who, being most kindly received by the abbot [y] of that place, and given a change of clothing [*], and relieved of the weariness of so great a journey, disclose all that had happened in their region, and at the same time that for which they had come. And when the abbot of that place had reported these words to his prelate, both rendered most abundant praises to almighty God, who deigns to grant to earth-born men, fallen by the frailty of nature, the suffrage of the ministers who stand before Him. Hence, the pledges being taken with fitting veneration from the place in which the blessed Archangel had commended his memory to the faithful — namely a part of the little red cloth which the said Archangel set on Mount Garganus above the altar which he himself had built with his own hand, and a part likewise of the marble on which he stood, whose footprints remain there to this day in that same place [z] — he delivered to the said Brethren the patronal relics to be carried to the sacred place, a condition being interposed, namely that those whom one cause of angelic revelation had joined together, one bond of charity should also knit together eternally.

[9] Meanwhile the messengers of the Most High, returning after many stretches of journey to the place from which they had departed, entered as it were a new world on the very day on which the fabric was completed [aa] on the said mountain in the Western parts — a world which at first they had left full of the thickness of briars. and to have carried into Gaul some sacred pledges. And as they draw near, Aubert, the priest of the Lord, running to meet them with many praises and with spiritual songs [bb], bears down upon the sacred mount [] the angelic protections that shall profit mortals. It cannot be told with how great joy and gladness the surrounding provinces rejoiced at the coming (so to speak) of the Angel: since indeed they perceived that a heavenly gift was divinely bestowed upon them, in that they were deemed worthy to obtain blessed Michael the archangel, prince of the heavenly soldiery, as their standard-bearer; knowing also the signs and wonders which the Lord works for mortals through His Minister, so that along the stretches of this journey twelve [cc] blind men were enlightened, and several driven by divers infirmities were restored to their former health. And what must be added to these, a certain woman bereft of her sight, from the village which is called Astériac [], while she follows the most precious gifts of the supreme archangel Michael, as soon as she reached the level and the sand of the sea, received her sight by divine act, marvelling that she had suddenly been changed out of darkness into light. But even to this day the Lord ceases not daily to work these same things in that place through His supreme Minister, to the praise and glory of His name.

[10] Therefore on that day, which is the XVII of the Kalends of November, the venerable dedication of the temple being completed, The church dedicated on the XVI day of October: Aubert, the man of the Lord, after he had sagaciously disposed all things in order, also appointed the offices of the serving clerics, assigning that these should abide there to the number of twelve [dd], who by lawful observances should persist perpetually in the service of the most blessed Michael the archangel — although clerics not [ee] of the same number were appointed in that same place by the successors of the blessed man. At the same time also he made over from his bishopric to those serving that place certain estates, namely the aforesaid village of Icius and Genitium [ff].

[11] Meanwhile the same prelate, seeing all things accomplished in fitting order, water there found, as is reported, by divine act. judged that this one thing, which could seem very difficult, must be sought from the holy Archangel, namely the element of water, without which the life of mortals cannot stand [*]. Upon this therefore, while together with the flock committed to him he seeks the help of our Lord Jesus Christ and likewise of the holy Archangel, that He who once brought forth drink from the rock for a thirsting people would Himself deign to remove from His servants the scarcity of water; at last by an angelic showing he learned the place where, while a hollow opening is cut in the sheer rock, in a wondrous manner an abundance of waters is presently found, such as could afford a sufficient supply to the inhabitants. And that the same flowing water is wholesome in the drinking has been shown in many ways. For it brings swift help to the fevered, as often as the desire of taking it has come upon them [gg].

[12] But at the basilica of the blessed Archangel, by his own aid, Miracles done in that place. countless powers are wrought: for there the blind are enlightened, the lame receive their gait, the deaf obtain hearing, unclean spirits are put to flight from possessed bodies, our Lord God affording help through the ministry of the Angels. And Aubert, the venerable prelate, had dedicated an altar in the said place [hh] under the honour of the most holy archangel Michael: but the others, which are now seen to have grown to the number of eleven, the hands of his successors built, devotion and the love of the faithful increasing, where divine benefits are granted, our Lord Jesus Christ helping.

ANNOTATIONS.

p What is asserted about the bull led up to the top of the mountain and there tied up can be suspect; both because a place of that sort was less

suited, it would seem, for hiding a theft and for feeding a bull; and because the place dedicated to St. Michael on Mount Garganus is said to have become known through a bull, so that a suspicion arises that this bull was brought in on the model of the other.

q For the word austerius, as our codex has it with Mabillon, in two transcripts is read Autbertus.

r So our codex with Mabillon. But in two transcripts what is said about not departing from the place is omitted.

s So the manuscripts have it. Mabillon, absconditus & religatus.

t This village will recur below. Mabillon in the margin assigns the vernacular name, Huynes, and afterwards Huyne.

u Sublimitatis Mabillon published. In all our manuscripts is read subtilitatis, but faultily, I think.

x Here the copies disagree. In monte prærupti silicis &c. our codex has, and the Queen's codex agrees. But Mabillon published in modum prærupti silicis. Chifflet's transcript has in morem prærupti filicis. I judge that in monte was written, because presently the mountain seems to be set against the marshes.

y I have not found in any Italian records that the church of St. Michael on Mount Garganus was ever committed to monks. Nevertheless it seems it must be said that monks had the care of that church when Bernard the monk came thither in the ninth century, since he found there the abbot Benignatus, who presided over many Brethren. I gave his words at num. 276. He who is here mentioned, then, seems to have been an abbot of monks, not of Canons, even though Canons afterwards administered that church. And so it is likely that the bishop of Benevento, who received the church of Mount Garganus with the whole bishopric of Siponto in the seventh century, as we saw at num. 274, committed it to the administration of monks. Wherefore, if what the Anonymous author relates about that embassy is true, it was the prelate of Benevento by whose consent the envoy monks obtained everything.

z In eodem loco, that is, on Mount Garganus, is read in all the manuscripts. Mabillon published in eodem, as if it were said of the marble, and it could also be understood of the part carried away. Presently, too, in Mabillon the word patrocinia is omitted, which is found in all the manuscripts.

aa I do not know whether these things cohere well with what is said at num. 7, where it seems to be asserted that the messengers were sent only after the oratory was built; unless perhaps the Anonymous author means to say that the messengers returned on that very day on which the fabric had been completed, but in the following year. Whatever he meant, I should prefer to understand from an older writer all that is said about the gifts brought from Mount Garganus.

bb Mabillon adds, with unspeakable joy of all, and lower down he has with gladness and joy; where in the manuscripts there is only with joy: and a little after inestimable is added to heavenly gift, which alone is in the manuscripts.

cc The miracles were worthy miracles! things which would be set out more distinctly, if the Anonymous author had been sufficiently certain about those facts.

dd So our codex with Mabillon. In two transcripts there is added, Canons. In Chifflet's transcript the words are also slightly altered in this manner: Assigning that these should abide there, Canons, to the number of twelve.

ee In the same transcripts not is omitted, and there is read: although clerics of the same number &c.

ff In Mabillon the vernacular names Huyne and Genet are assigned.

gg Thus far our codex, says Mabillon here. Ours likewise has no more. Wherefore I judge that those few things which follow were added to the Acts afterwards. Mabillon gave them from the Duchesne codex, and they are read in our two transcripts.

hh I have given the words from Chifflet's transcript, which alone presents a complete sense. The author is speaking of one altar dedicated in honour of St. Michael by St. Aubert, and of ten others added by his successors. But in Mabillon's edition the dedicated place is so treated as if ten other oratories had afterwards been built on the same mountain. I should prefer to judge that in the church which was afterwards built on a larger scale there were ten altars.

in the manuscripts, assistentium*

elsewhere, Salvandorum*

elsewhere, without ad*

* commonly See.

* Selune

elsewhere, tanta*

elsewhere, Gargani*

elsewhere, mutatis*

elsewhere, in sacrum montem*

elsewhere, Austeriacus*

elsewhere, constare or subsistere*

§ XXIV. The church of St. Michael on Mount Tumba honoured with pilgrimages and miracles, and enlarged with a notable monastery and a town.

The church of St. Michael with miracles Of the church of St. Michael on Mount Tumba, which was afterwards enlarged with a Benedictine monastery, Mabillon treats frequently in the Benedictine Annals. There exist also in Labbe's Bibliotheca, tome 1, three short Chronicles of the same monastery, from which we understand after a fashion its origin, progress, vicissitudes, and abbots — at least from the first and the third: for the second scarcely touches on the affairs of the monastery. From these, then, it is agreeable to cull a few things, that the prudent reader may perceive the growth of the cult of St. Michael on the said mountain. In the first of the said Chronicles the revelation of St. Michael is fixed in the year 708, and in the third likewise, at page 351, this is read: On Mount Tumba the revelation of Blessed Michael was made under the emperor Justinian, Pope John, Childebert king of the Franks, and Aubert bishop of Avranches, in the year 708: in which place for 258 years many miracles were done, Canons ministering in the church. The author of the Chronicle acknowledges that there were Canons in that church from the year 708 to 966, in which he presently adds that monks were substituted for them; and that in the 258 intervening years many miracles were done. As regards the year of the apparition, I have already warned at num. 336 that it is not known from records ancient or certain enough for it to seem that we should contend for a determined year; but that it is sufficiently established that the apparition happened at the beginning of the eighth century.

[340] And that miracles were done in that church of St. Michael, was famous for votive pilgrimages, as is asserted in the Chronicle and in the Acts that have been given, becomes most likely also from the pilgrimages with which it began to be frequented. For from the Itinerary of Bernard the monk it is gathered that the place was famous for votive pilgrimages in the ninth century. Bernard was a Frank by nation, and had as companions of his pilgrimage to the holy places two monks, the one an Italian, the other a Spaniard. And of the holy places which they visited he recounts only Rome, Mount Garganus, the sacred places of Egypt and Palestine; then the Golden Mount (of which I gave my conjecture at num. 328), Rome again, and finally Saint Michael at-the-two-Tumbæ. I gave the words in the Annotations to the Acts at letter k. This only I observe in this place, that the church of St. Michael on Mount Tumba is reckoned among the four chief places which those pilgrim monks visited in Europe.

[341] At almost the same time happened what is related in the Life of St. Frodobert the abbot, it was illustrious: given by us at the VIII of January, at nums. 31 and 32, and which strikingly confirms the celebrity of the church of St. Michael. A certain Rathbert had risen against his mother with a grievous crime, and had at once been seized by divine vengeance, and had also been consigned to prison for three years at the order of the archbishop of Sens, but was afterwards released. Hence, says the biographer, he hastens to the church of St. Michael at that place which from of old is called at the two Tumbæ. Departing thence, he makes for Rome, where at that time Pope Hadrian was governing the Apostolic See: who, when he had seen him going to the church of St. John which is called the Lateran, being astonished at the wondrous portent which the wretch bore about him for his crime, ordered him to be summoned to him, and, his case having been more carefully inquired into, kindly exhorted him to penance, and commands him to go again to the church of Blessed Michael, and likewise to return to himself. Presently there follows the healing of the wretched man, obtained in the district of Troyes through St. Frodobert, and there is subjoined: And having laid aside there the haircloth (with which he was clad after the manner of penitents), he hastened by the Apostolic command to the church of the holy archangel Michael. The Pontiff here mentioned is Hadrian II, the successor of Nicholas I, in whose time the cited Bernard the monk had begun to make pilgrimage with his companions. And Nicholas I died in the year 867, so that these things will have happened about the year 870, and not many years after the journey of Bernard the monk.

[342] when monks were brought into it in place of clerics. Of the monks brought into the church of St. Michael the Chronicle cited above has it thus at the year 966: Duke Richard (of Normandy) substituted monks for the Canons, and set over them as their first abbot Maynard, from the monastery of Fontenelle. Yet the matter seems earlier to be referred to the year 965, in which perhaps it began to be set in motion. The first Chronicle of St. Michael agrees, the year, however, being omitted. For at the year 942 it has it thus: William the son of Rollo was slain, whom his son Richard succeeded, who first set monks in the church of St. Michael In-the-peril-of-the-sea. About the year 966 Mabillon agrees, in the Annals, tome 2, page 579, and confirms it by the authority of Robert of Torigni, whom he calls a Domestic author, because he afterwards presided over that same monastery as abbot. And Robert, in his Additions to Sigebert, at the year 966 has it thus: In this year Richard, marquis and duke of the Normans, cast the secular clerics out of this Mount, and gathered there monks serving God perpetually under the rule of Blessed Benedict. Mabillon adds: There he built a shrine of wondrous size, and spacious buildings for monastic habitation, as Dudo witnesses, and there set monks under the toilsome wrestling-school of the contemplative life, bound by the stricter laws of the regular life. This was done by the counsel of Hugh, archbishop of Rouen, and of count Rodulf, the diocesan bishop of Avranches also assenting: to whom was added the authority of king Lothair and of Pope John XIII. These things Mabillon rightly, from the Chronicles cited before, and from Dudo, dean of Saint-Quentin, whose words may be seen in the Histories of Normandy, page 153.

[343] [Mabillon's doubt, whether that church that church was not at the beginning a church of monks,] But I can scarcely grasp why in tome 2 he suggests a doubt of no light kind, and repeats it in this place, whether from the beginning there were not monks in that church, and clerics afterwards succeeded them. For the rest, he says in tome 2, page 20, at the year 708, whether clerics were at first established there by St. Aubert, which the Anonymous author (in the Acts given) hands down, or monks, is a doubt of no light kind. Indeed in the Constitution of Louis Augustus, among those monasteries of monks which must give only gifts without military service, there is numbered in the first place "the monastery of St. Michael of the first marsh": by which name Hadrianus Valesius proves that the monastery of St. Michael on Mount Tumba is signified, so called because it was situated in a mariscus or marescus, that is, in marshy ground, which the surging Ocean floods with its daily inflows. If this observation were true — which we shall discuss in its own place — it would certainly prove that monks were at first established there, whom, from the storm of the Normans, as in many other places, clerics succeeded. And since this escaped the Anonymous author, having regard to his own time, he judged that clerics were there from the beginning. Thus far Mabillon, on account of the conjecture of Valesius, which is found in the Notitia Galliarum, page 337.

[344] But that conjecture of Valesius, even though it was brought forward without hesitation, lacks a suitable foundation, rests on no suitable reason. No one ever said that the monastery of St. Michael of Mount Tumba was called of the first marsh. This Valesius asserted without any authority of the ancients, and from an altogether unhappy conjecture. He says it was surnamed of the first marsh because it was situated in a mariscus or maresca, that is, in marshy ground, which the surging ocean floods with its daily inflows. But the monastery is set on a rocky mountain, and round about the mountain is the shore of the sea, which is daily flooded with sea-water. When the water withdraws, sand girds the mountain. And so Valesius conjectured out of ignorance that that monastery is situated on marshy ground, and for that reason has the name of the first marsh, which no one before Valesius is known to have given it. Robert of Torigni too is wrongly alleged, whose words I shall presently set out. Finally he adds incorrectly of the monastery: For it is believed to have been built long before Richard by Paternus, bishop of the church of Avranches. For St. Paternus, whose Life was given by us at the XVI of April, did indeed found various monasteries; but he died in the sixth century, so that certainly that monastery of St. Michael, whose church is referred to the eighth century, cannot have had its origin from him. Therefore that conjecture of Valesius is as devoid of all foundation as the sandy shore of the sea is of marshy ground.

[345] Let us now consider the older records, which leave no doubt and is contrary to the clear words of the older writers. that there were clerics in the church of St. Michael until the monks were brought in by duke Richard. The Acts at num. 10 clearly declare that twelve clerics were there established from the beginning by St. Aubert of Avranches. And Mabillon's suspicion is not likely, that that Anonymous author could have erred because clerics had succeeded monks from the storm of the Normans. For perhaps the Anonymous author wrote the Acts before the Norman incursions themselves, since he nowhere mentions them. Certainly he did not write so long after the Normans were established in Gaul that he could have been ignorant that there had once been monks in the church of St. Michael, if clerics had succeeded them in the time of the Normans. Besides, if that Anonymous author had been altogether ignorant of it, the monks themselves who wrote the Chronicles of St. Michael would not have been ignorant of it. Yet the author of the first Chronicle declares in clear words of duke Richard: Who first set monks in the church of St. Michael. The author of the third speaks no less openly, writing thus: Richard, duke of Normandy, deputed by Pope John XIII, expelled the Canons who for 258 years from the foundation of the said place [] in the church of St. Michael of Mount Tumba in the peril of the sea, and established in it Religious of the Order of St. Benedict, and enriched and adorned it with many estates and with vessels of gold and silver.* Finally Robert of Torigni, in the words given at num. 342, agrees with the aforesaid Chronicles.

[346] Nor does the passage alleged by Valesius from the Treatise on Abbots and abbeys, in d'Achery, after the Works of abbot Guibert, page 814, chapter 10, disagree. An obscure passage of Robert of Torigni about three monasteries He does indeed say of Richard, He restored three monasteries …, and among them he numbers the monastery of St. Michael of Mount Tumba. But he does not indicate that there had before been monks in those three churches or monasteries; rather he suggests the contrary about the one of which we are treating. I transfer the words themselves hither: Richard the first, the son of duke William, restored three monasteries — one at Fécamp in honour of the most holy Trinity, another on Mount Tumba in honour of St. Michael, and a third at Rouen in veneration of St. Peter and St. Ouen — by restoring to them many possessions which had been taken from them by the pagans; although Richard his son himself completed the work by adding very many estates and by setting the monastic order in them. These things Robert says briefly and in general of the three, because Richard did something for each; but his general assertion must be understood in a different way of each. This very thing which he says, that the monastic order was brought in by Richard II, is certainly false of the monastery of St. Michael, which monks had obtained under Richard I.

[347] is explained. The monastery of Fécamp had been founded in the seventh century for holy virgins, as Mabillon relates in tome 1 of the Annals, page 447. But when it had been destroyed by the incursions of the Normans, Richard I restored the place, and brought into it first Canons, for whom Richard II substituted monks; as Robert has it, and as Mabillon relates at greater length in tome 4, pages 62 and 152. The Rouen monastery of St. Peter and St. Ouen, which was of men, had likewise been burnt by the Normans, and was restored by Richard, and, as Robert asserts, Hildebert was made the first abbot of St. Ouen in the monastery after the restoration. And now of the monastery of St. Michael, over which he himself presided, he speaks thus: In the monastery of St. Michael there have already been about fourteen abbots, of whom they had ten from outside monasteries. The catalogue of the abbots of St. Michael, given by d'Achery in the Notes to the Letters of Blessed Lanfranc, page 350, exhibits fourteen abbots before Robert of Torigni, so that he, like the others, began the catalogue of abbots from Maynard, whom duke Richard appointed abbot there. Wherefore he nowhere indicates by a single word that there were monks before Richard in the monastery of St. Michael of Mount Tumba; but in saying that three monasteries were restored by Richard, he does not distinguish between monasteries of virgins, of canons, and of monks. For the first had before been of virgins, the second of canons, the third of monks. All these were restored by Richard I, and into all of them monks were brought either by him or by Richard II.

[348] The church into which St. Michael was believed to have entered, twice burnt, It does not belong to our purpose to write the history of that monastery of St. Michael: yet from the Chronicles I shall bring hither a few things more nearly pertaining to the holy Archangel. Glaber, book 3, chapter 3, relates the burning of the church of St. Michael under Robert, king of the Franks, and on that occasion says of it: Which, set namely on a certain promontory of the shore of the Ocean sea, is to this day held venerable in all the world. In the third Chronicle in Labbe the same burning is placed in the time of the abbot Maynard II, but the year is not assigned. It must have happened toward the end of the tenth century or the beginning of the following: for in the year 991 Maynard was made abbot, and in the year 1009 he is said to have chosen his successor. The new church is said in the first Chronicle to have been begun in the year 1023. In the same Chronicle at the year 1102 this is read: St. Michael the archangel was seen by some, both near and far off, as we believe, in the figure of a fiery column, on the night, namely, of his festival, entering the church of this mount. The same is expressed in the third Chronicle in these words: St. Michael was seen by some, both near and far off, as we believe, in the figure of a fiery column on the night of his last festival entering the basilica of this mount: and the like happened in the time of the abbot St. Maynard and of Norgod, bishop of Avranches. In both Chronicles too, at the year 1112, the church of St. Michael is said to have been burnt by lightning, the monks, however, and the borough being unharmed. The same Robert of Torigni has in his Appendix to Sigebert. This is that church's second conflagration.

[349] That pious pilgrimages were not lacking either at the time when the Benedictines administered the church of St. Michael on the Mount, the aforesaid Glaber says, saying that it was very often frequented by very many peoples of the earth; afterwards made illustrious also by the concourse of pilgrims, and this I shall show by a few examples. More clearly, in the Chronicle of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif, tome 2 of the Spicilegium, page 740, he writes this: At the same time (between the year 1016 and 1025) Ludwig, count of the Germans, set out for the sake of prayer to St. Michael's Peril (that is, to St. Michael in-the-peril-of-the-sea), and returning as far as Sens, being overtaken by an infirmity of the flesh, and having been made a monk in the monastery of St. Peter, departed to be set among the stars &c. If persons of that quality made pilgrimage thither from far-distant Germany, we cannot doubt that many hastened thither from the neighbouring provinces of Gaul. In Mabillon, tome 4 of the Annals, page 506, Warinus, abbot of St. Arnulf of Metz, is said to have set out to St. Michael for the sake of prayer. The words are adduced from a Letter of Warinus himself, and it may be seen entire in tome 1 of the Analecta.

[350] In the Supplement to the Chronicle of Sigebert, Robert of Torigni, and by visitations of the kings of France and of England. who was then abbot of St. Michael, has it thus at the year 1158, concerning Henry II, king of England: Thence (from Avranches) the king came to the Mount of St. Michael: Mass having been heard at the high altar, he ate in the refectory of the monks with his barons. This on the feast of St. Michael. And a little after, of the same: After a little time he went to meet Louis, king of the Franks, coming for the sake of prayer to the mount of St. Michael of the peril of the sea: whom, from the time that he entered the duchy of Normandy, he escorted and most becomingly provided for at his own expense… And on the festival of blessed Clement, on a Sunday, they both came to the Mount of the blessed Archangel, and with great exultation, both clerics [] and people, men went to meet the king of the Franks. And in that procession, besides the convent of monks and of clerics and a countless multitude, there were two supreme pontiffs, one archbishop and another bishop, and five abbots. Mass having been heard, they went to Avranches, the king escorting him and attending both him and his men with countless royal gifts as far as the borders of his duchy.* This event Ralph de Diceto and Gervase the monk relate more briefly in their Chronicles at the same year 1158. And in that year the Dominical letter was E, so that the feast of St. Clement, that is the XXIII of November, fell on a Sunday.

[351] To these I shall add nothing further about the pilgrimages except the words of Mabillon in his preliminary Observations to the Apparition of St. Michael on Mount Tumba, with visitations. where he has it thus: Thither pilgrims flock in throngs by reason of vows from almost all Europe: among whom not a few kings of France, namely Louis VII and St. Louis, Philip III, Charles VI, Louis XI, and moreover Henry II king of England, deigned to show their presence at the place. There the aforesaid Louis XI instituted the equestrian order of St. Michael, whose general assemblies it was long the custom to convoke thither yearly. William Maior, bishop of Angers, elected in the year 1291, removed a certain Colinus from an incestuous habit, this penalty being imposed, "that on the day of Pentecost he should publicly in his church receive the wallet and staff from the priest, as is the custom, thence to go barefoot to the Mount of Blessed Michael on Mount Tumba: and that the priest should there set forth to the people the cause why the said Colinus goes thus to the Mount of Blessed Michael, and that it has been enjoined upon him on our part

as a penalty for the said public incest," says William himself in the book of his own deeds, chapter 19, in tome 10 of d'Achery's Spicilegium. Thus far Mabillon.

[352] Of the church, which was burnt a third and a fourth time, Of the donations made to the church of St. Michael by princes and others many things could be heaped together, which I pass over. In the third Chronicle the church is said to have been burnt again by the Bretons in the time of the abbot Jordan, that is, between 1191 and 1212. A fourth time also it was consumed by lightning under the prior Geoffrey, that is, between 1362 and 1382. It rose again, however, with greater magnificence, as is clear from the Benedictine Annals of Mabillon, who in tome 4, page 75, described the monastery and the church as it then stood and was subject to the Benedictine Order. I transfer his words hither: Mount St. Michael, like a lofty rock or promontory, is set on the borders of Normandy and Brittany, which the little river Coëtnus [] divides the one from the other. To the East it looks toward Avranches, an episcopal city about three leagues distant: on the opposite side, at almost an equal interval, Pontorson [] on the little river Coëtnus. That mount is daily girt by the tide of the sea, and to it, when the flood has withdrawn, for those coming from the city of Avranches there is a way of half a league across a shifting and unstable flat, passable to men on foot and on horseback not without peril: whence the name Mount-Saint-Michael In-the-peril-of-the-sea was given. The peril is increased by the little river called by Glaber Arduus, by others Dero, which sometimes swelling and becoming impassable causes great hindrance to pilgrims, as the same author testifies. The peril arises chiefly from ignorance, because pilgrims have not observed the swiftness of the rising water, and thus are enclosed by the water on every side before they can escape to that part of the shore which the waters do not reach. And once enclosed by the water they easily run into deeper places.

[352] and a description of the monastery and the town On the lower slope of the mount toward the South is a little town girt with walls, in whose farthest upper part there meets one a gate leading to the citadel and the monastery, set with its church on the top of the mount, fashioned with such art that it is reckoned a miracle by beholders; and with such solidity that the church, whose Eastern face is of the most delicate Gothic work, could until now be shaken by no violence of winds or storms. To this gate is attached the first guard-house, where arms, if any who are about to enter have them, are laid down, unless the prior of the monastery, who is vice-governor of the citadel, permits them to be retained. Thence one ascends by a winding path through the town and the citadel to the church, which is situated on the ledge of the mount, or rather of the rock; whose gate, furnished with a double tower, is likewise fortified with a double portcullis, along with another guard-house. Thence there is a passage to the monastery, having on the East a door leading to the cloisters, from which there is level access to the church and to the lower dormitory. Upon the lower dormitory another, upper one is built, with cells turned toward the North and South, whose gallery is lit by a glass window from the East: whence there is a prospect over the city of Avranches and over the lesser rock, by name Tombelaine, distant nearly one league: where a citadel and a church with a priory and other buildings were until not long ago to be seen, but which have now been destroyed on account of the peril of enemies. Hence Mount-Saint-Michael was of old called At-the-two-tumbæ.

[353] composed by Mabillon. Beneath that double dormitory there stands a most spacious refectory, beautifully lit, furnished with a double vault, with columns set between in the middle: and beneath the refectory a hall likewise ample, assigned for the distribution of alms to the poor. The cloister of ancient workmanship was built in the time of St. Francis of Assisi, whose statue with its original habit is seen there, carefully observed by his disciples. The little lawn of the cloister is paved with lead, and beneath it is a vault in which are three cisterns which receive the rain-water. The cloister itself rests upon a most spacious hall, assigned to the knights of the Order of St. Michael, supported by a triple vault with columns: beneath which is another hall of the same size for various uses, in which there is a hoisting crane for raising on high the things needful for the place. On the Southern side stand the abbot's apartments, and those also of the sick and of guests, whose dining-room and hall adjoin the gate of the monastery. Above this hall is a notable library, filled with very many books, both printed and written by hand, chiefly in the time of the abbot Robert of Torigni, commonly surnamed of the Mount, who is reported to have had a hundred and forty volumes transcribed. Of this Mount William the Breton, at the beginning of book VIII of the Philippid, beautifully sings thus:

Here on the topmost summit of the rock, in wondrous fashion, The devotion of Christ-worshippers founded a church At an Angelic warning, which Michael the Archangel hallowed To himself in perpetual honour, that a holy assembly of monks Might there serve Christ for ever. To which one scarcely ascends, and that by steps; and lower down A hanging village has many and handsome houses, And a seat ample enough to hold much people. Which place so lifts itself to heaven that, when It is beheld from afar, it seems to be nothing else Than a lofty tower fashioned by the labour of men, Which the divine Majesty alone wrought for itself…

[354] As to the church, which is wholly roofed with lead, its nave as far as the transept is of old work, not skilfully built. But the remaining part, which contains the head of the church with the chapels round about it, was built with such elegance and such exquisite craftsmanship two hundred years ago that it is wonderful that so delicate a work could resist the storms of winds for so long a time. That new part of the basilica, which has six or seven splendid chapels round about, is supported by great columns: between which there is a space very convenient for walking in so narrow a place. For the rest, the sacred furniture of the basilica corresponds to the magnificence of the place, as do also the rights of the monastery, than which none in all that region is nobler. Among the sacred relics there stands out the body of St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, kept in a precious casket except for the head, which is enclosed in a special reliquary. At the Western door of the basilica there stands, besides those above, another hall, which they call the Suvrai, from which there is access to a most vast platform [], supported by piers so huge that they strike beholders with awe: which must also be said of the piers which support the dormitories. I have thought that this rough description of a most august place, which it was not permitted me to see, made by me from the report of others, would not be unpleasing to the reader, says Mabillon, whose account I communicate to the reader without examination. He adds, in a twofold copper plate, a twofold view of the whole most august place, which may be seen in the passage cited. Finally he concludes the description with these words: Thither the monks of our Congregation were brought in the year 1622, by the favour and agency of the most serene prince Henry of Lorraine, then commendatory abbot of the place.*

add erant*

read cleri*

* Coesnon

* Pontorson

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§ XXV. Some particular benefits and apparitions of St. Michael.

[ ] Of particular benefits of St. Michael. It would be endless to recount all the churches, monasteries and other sacred places which in France, Spain, Germany, and the remaining kingdoms and provinces of Europe have been dedicated to the name of St. Michael. This labour therefore I shall not undertake, as being beyond my strength, content to have said that in any provinces whatever of the Christian world very many shrines are found dedicated to God under the name of St. Michael. Particular benefits of St. Michael, joined with apparitions, are also found in very great number among writers, but not all are proved by equally certain testimonies, as generally happens in miracles and apparitions. Wherefore I have determined to select only some from approved writers and from the Acts of the Saints, omitting those which occur in fabulous Acts. For these would be recounted only to be refuted. But they have already been sufficiently refuted when the Acts in which they are asserted have been disapproved in their own places. Such is the apparition of St. Michael asserted in the Acts of St. Eudocia the martyr, tome 1 of March, page 14. For although those Acts, when they were first inserted into our Work, do not seem to have been disapproved, as happened with certain others, yet that they should be disapproved Papebroch sufficiently intimated in tome 2 of April, at the Acts of St. Eleutherius, page 532, and declared more openly before tome 1 of May in the Annotations to the Ephemerides, page XVII. This I assign as a specimen, that the studious reader may understand that I omit those things which have already been rejected in their own places, or which must certainly be rejected on account of the manifest faults of the Acts.

[356] Although what is related of St. Ambrose is uncertain St. Gregory of Tours, in book 1 of the Miracles of St. Martin, chapter 5, relates that St. Ambrose fell asleep publicly in church on a Sunday, and that, after the space of nearly two or three hours had passed, he was roused by his people, that he might order the lesson to be read. And being roused he said that St. Martin had died, and that he had rendered the service of attending his funeral. A little later Gregory, as if reporting the words of Ambrose, exclaims thus in praise of St. Martin: O blessed man, at whose passing the number of the Saints sings, the choir of the Angels exults, and the army of all the heavenly powers comes to meet him; the devil is confounded in his presumption, the Church is strengthened in power, the priests are glorified by the revelation! Whom Michael took up with the Angels, Mary received with the choirs of virgins, paradise keeps rejoicing with the Saints &c. But this whole account is held by some to be fictitious, because they judge that St. Ambrose died before St. Martin, as Baronius believed, and not a few others following him.

[357] [at the funeral of St. Martin: yet the soul of St. Martin is believed to have been taken up by St. Michael] Hence some have wished that the said vision befell not St. Ambrose of Milan, doctor of the Church, but that St. Ambrose who at that time held the bishopric of Saintes in Gaul, at Mediolanum Santonum, as we observed at the XXVIII of August, where we treated of St. Ambrose of Saintes. It could indeed have come about that what had happened to St. Ambrose, a prelate in Gaul, was by a corrupted tradition transferred by the man of Tours to the more famous Ambrose in Italy. But I have not yet found it so certainly proved that St. Martin survived St. Ambrose that I should think St. Gregory must be charged with a certain error. That matter can be examined at the XI of November or at the VII of December at greater length than would suit this place. Meanwhile we shall believe that the soul of St. Martin was taken up by the Angels and by St. Michael and borne to the heavenly glory.

[358] The aforesaid writer of Tours, at chapter 4, asserts that at the time of the death of St. Martin a heavenly melody was heard by St. Severinus of Cologne, and to have been carried by the Angels to heaven; and that he said to his archdeacon, who after prayers heard the like: My lord Martin the bishop has departed from this world, and now the Angels are bearing him on high with singing. We have seen in this Commentary at num. 182 that it is the office of the Angels to lead the souls of the departed Saints to heaven. Wherefore there seems no room to doubt that they rendered that office to the most holy Martin, especially since they granted him less usual favours, as Sulpicius Severus witnesses in several places. In Dialogue 3, chapter XI, he has it thus: I shall come to that which, on account of the mark of the times

he always concealed: but he could not hide it from us. In which this is the miracle, that an Angel conversed with him face to face. Then he relates at chapter 13 the occasion by which he had been induced to communicate once with the Ithacians, and shows that on the next day he returned sorrowful on account of that deed. Then he subjoins: Not far from the village whose name is Andethanna, where the recesses of the woods spread out vast solitudes, his companions having gone a little ahead, he sat down, turning over in his thoughts the cause of his grief and of the deed, his mind by turns accusing and defending. Suddenly an Angel stood by him: Rightly, he said, Martin, art thou pricked with remorse, but thou couldst not have escaped otherwise. Repair thy strength, resume thy constancy, lest thou now incur peril not of thy glory but of thy salvation. What St. Martin did afterwards Sulpicius subjoins: but that does not belong here. So too I do not here examine how far he offended in that deed.

[359] Another thing about the familiarity of St. Martin with the Angels he relates in Dialogue 2, chapter 5. as the same St. Martin in his life When the emperor Valentinian knew that St. Martin would ask something which he was unwilling to grant, he ordered him to be kept from the palace, and this was done for some days. But on the seventh day an Angel stood by him: He bids him go untroubled to the palace, and says that the royal doors, however closed, will open of their own accord, and that the emperor's proud spirit will be softened. Therefore, strengthened by the address of the Angel thus present, and relying on his help, he seeks the palace. The thresholds open, no one withstands him: at last he reaches the king himself, no one hindering. And he, when he saw him coming from afar, gnashing his teeth because he had been admitted, by no means deigned to rise for him as he stood there, until fire covered the royal seat, and the blaze scorched the king himself in that part of the body on which he sat. Thus the proud man is shaken from his throne, and rises unwillingly for Martin: and embracing him much, whom he had before determined to spurn, he confessed, being amended, that he had felt a divine power &c.

[360] He relates another at chapter 13, writing thus: And that Angels were often seen by Martin in familiar fashion, we have both perceived and experienced. having often experienced the aid of the Angels, I am about to tell a very small matter, but tell it I will. At Nîmes a synod of bishops was being held, to which indeed he had not wished to go, but he desired to know what had been done. It happened that this Sulpicius was sailing with him; but he sat far off, as always, from the rest in a remote part of the ship. There an Angel announced to him what had been done in the synod. We afterwards, carefully inquiring the time of the council that had been held, found it sufficiently established that that very day was the day of the assembly, and that those things had been decreed there by the bishops which the Angel had announced to Martin. He relates another in the Life of St. Martin, chapter 14. The Saint wished to overthrow a temple of the gentiles, but a multitude of them resisted. He withdrew therefore, and prayed fervently to the Lord that, since he had not been able to overthrow that temple by human hand, the divine power might destroy it. Then suddenly two Angels with spears and shields, after the fashion of the heavenly soldiery, presented themselves to him, saying that they had been sent by the Lord to put the rustic multitude to flight, and to bring protection to Martin, lest anyone should oppose while the temple was being destroyed: let him therefore return and devoutly complete the work begun. Thus, having returned to the village, while the crowds of the gentiles looked on and stayed quiet, he destroyed the profane shrine to its foundation and reduced all the altars and images to dust. And seeing this, the country folk, when they understood that they had been stupefied and terrified by a divine will lest they should resist the bishop, almost all believed in Jesus the Lord &c.

[361] and is said to have spoken with them. He relates another at chapter 19 in these words: But when he himself had by some chance fallen from an upper room, and, tumbling down the broken steps of a stair, had been afflicted with many wounds, while he lay senseless in his cell and was tortured with excessive pains, at night an Angel appeared to him washing his wounds and touching the limbs of his bruised body with a healing ointment: and so on the next day he was restored to health, so that he was thought never to have suffered any hurt. The same at chapter 21 says: And it is established that Angels also were very often seen by him, so that they spoke with him in mutual converse. From so many offices of the Angels toward St. Martin we may easily believe that his soul at his death was taken up by St. Michael and carried by the Angels to heaven.

[362] The soul of Blessed Disciola, with the joy of the dying woman, If the man of Tours could err about St. Ambrose, or rather adopt another's error, because he was later by nearly two centuries, that is not to be feared about another fact which he relates in book 6 of his History, chapter 29, about Blessed Disciola, a religious virgin, who was the niece of the blessed Salvius, bishop of Albi. Of St. Salvius of Albi, whom Gregory had known, we treated at the X of September; of Blessed Disciola, whom he could likewise have known, at the XIII of May. She lived and died in the year 582 or 583 in the monastery of St. Radegund in the city of Poitiers, when St. Gregory presided over the church of Tours. And of the vision which she had at the last moment of her life Gregory writes thus: At length, while they (the nuns) stood before her, they waited to hear what utterance they might hear from her. And she, with hands outspread, begging a blessing from I know not whom, says: Bless me, holy servant of God most high. For behold, thou art now wearied for my sake a third time today. And why, holy one, dost thou endure frequent affronts for a weak little woman?

[363] was carried to heaven. And when they asked to whom she uttered these words, she did not speak at all. Then, after a little interval, she uttered a great cry with laughter, and so gave up her spirit. And behold, a certain possessed man, who had then come to be cleansed at the glory of the blessed Cross, seizing his hair with his hands, dashed himself upon the ground, saying: Alas, alas, alas for us, who have suffered such a loss!… And when those who were present asked what this word was that he spoke, he answered: Behold, the angel Michael has taken up the maiden's soul, and he himself bears it to the heavens. But our Prince, whom you call the devil, has no share in her. After this the body, washed with water, so shone with a snowy whiteness that the abbess could find no linen at hand which should be seen to be whiter than the body &c. Thus far Gregory.

[364] In the Life of St. Wilfrid, bishop of York, which Eddius Stephanus wrote — a learned man and a disciple and intimate of that same Wilfrid — in Mabillon, Benedictine cent. 4, part 1, page 713, chapter 53, of St. Wilfrid St. Michael appears to the dying St. Wilfrid, lying gravely ill at Meaux in Gaul, this is read: For indeed he tasted nothing of any food or drink for four days and four nights; but as he lay with his spirit in a trance, only his breathing and his warm limbs showed him to be alive. At length on the fifth day, as the morning dawned, behold, an Angel of the Lord in white raiment appeared to our holy pontiff, saying: I am Michael, the messenger of God most high, who has sent me to thee to declare that years of life are added to thee for the intercession of holy Mary, Mother of God and ever Virgin, and for the tears of thy subjects reaching to the ears of God: and this shall be a sign to thee, that from this day thou shalt day by day be made better and be healed, and shalt reach thy country, and the dearest of thy possessions shall be restored to thee, and thou shalt end thy life in peace. Be also prepared: because after the space of four years I shall visit thee again. For now remember that in honour of the holy apostles Peter and Andrew thou hast built houses: but to holy Mary ever Virgin, who intercedes for thee, thou hast made none. Thou hast this to amend, and to dedicate a house in her honour. And after these words the Angel of God was taken up and departed from his eyes.

[365] And so our holy pontiff, as though roused from sleep, rising, sat up amid the choirs of those singing and weeping, saying: "Where is Acca the presbyter?" and for whom both the healing obtained Who at once came with joy, giving thanks to the Lord with all, because they had seen him sitting and speaking. Then therefore, the brethren being removed from the house, he revealed the whole vision in order (as we said above) to his most faithful presbyter Acca alone, who is now, of blessed memory, by the grace of God a bishop. And at once the aforesaid holy presbyter, of keen understanding, perceived, giving thanks to the Lord, that in that manner years of life had been added to our pontiff for the intercession of holy Mary the Virgin, the Mother of the Lord, and for the prayers of his subjects, just as fifteen years were added to Hezekiah king of Judah &c. The same apparition of St. Michael Bede relates in his History, book 5, chapter 20, omitting, however, those words in which St. Wilfrid is said to have been reproved for not having built a shrine dedicated to the most blessed Virgin. The same is omitted in the Life of St. Wilfrid given by us at the XXIV of April, which Eadmer composed, a weighty writer, but less ancient.

[366] In Bede, St. Wilfrid is read to have spoken thus of his vision to Acca the presbyter: and many other things are foretold: A dread vision has just appeared to me, which I wish thee to hear and to cover with silence until I know what God wills to be done concerning me. For there stood by me one glorious in white raiment, saying that he was Michael the archangel, and: For this cause, he said, I have been sent, that I may recall thee from death. For the Lord has granted thee life through the prayers and tears of thy disciples and brethren, and through the intercession of His blessed Mother, ever Virgin Mary. Wherefore I say to thee, that now indeed thou shalt be healed of this sickness: but be prepared, because after four years I shall return and visit thee. But reaching thy country, thou shalt receive the greatest part of thy possessions which were taken from thee, and shalt end thy life in tranquil peace. That all these things were fulfilled is clearly seen from Eddius, Bede and Eadmer. For all agree that the Saint recovered, reached England, was restored to the bishopric of which he had been deprived, and finally after four years again fell gravely ill. In the last point, however, Eddius disagrees with Bede and Eadmer: for these believed that he died of that sickness. But Eddius teaches that the Saint recovered again, and survived for some time, and in the meanwhile made his testament. Yet each agrees with the prediction of St. Michael about a visitation after four years.

[367] it seems that Wilfrid afterwards built a church to the blessed Virgin. But it is not so clear whether the Saint accomplished what Eddius alone related of the words of St. Michael: Thou hast this to amend, and to dedicate a house in her (the most blessed Virgin's) honour. For, as Mabillon observes, he is nevertheless not said to have built any church after this; but only to have bequeathed certain things to the church of holy Mary, below at chapter 59. The observation is true, that this is nowhere openly said. I judge nevertheless that some church was built and dedicated by Wilfrid to holy Mary the Virgin; and that Eddius intimated this by those very words of the testament in which he bequeathed some things to it. He had divided his goods

into four parts: from the first part indeed he wished to offer gifts to the churches, and to carry offerings to the church dedicated to holy Mary the Mother of the Lord, etc. He does not add to which church of the Mother of the Lord he was assigning the gifts, unless he means the church dedicated by himself, or perhaps the Roman basilica of the most blessed Virgin. But it was not necessary to designate this latter one by the word dedicated, so that I the more readily believe that it was a church consecrated to the blessed Virgin by him, and that it was expressed in those words. That Eddius did not speak more openly about its construction we shall not wonder at, if we consider that he related very few things about the Saint's deeds in the last four years of his life, and that he had clearly declared, in the words of St. Michael, that a church was to be built by him, so that perhaps he did not think the construction needed to be reported a second time. Thus in chapters 53 and 62 he briefly hinted at the church of St. Peter built by Wilfrid, although he did not narrate its construction in its proper place. Wherefore I altogether judge that some church was built to the most blessed Virgin by St. Wilfrid, as Eddius writes was foretold to him by St. Michael; especially since in the very testament in Eddius chapter 59 he shows himself mindful of that apparition in these words: For therefore I make these statutes, that Michael the archangel, when he visits me, may find me ready.

[368] The patronage of St. Michael Among the Miracles of St. John of Réome, volume 2 of January page 867, there is reported the deliverance of a woman possessed, which the author testifies that he himself saw. The writer indeed attributes the woman's complete healing to the benefaction of St. John of Réome, yet he acknowledges the favor of St. Michael, writing thus: At length therefore, while the evening prayers were being performed by the Brethren, and she had been carried into the oracle (that is, the oratory) of St. Michael the archangel, the demon began to cry out that he was being chained by that same Archangel and burned more fiercely than by fires. Spittle also mixed with blood was brought forth from her, so that you would have believed her to be most grievously torn apart within, and would have judged her nearly dead. From which by the grace of the Lord she seemed to be more lightly afflicted, until by the wonderful gift of the aforesaid confessor she was restored to entire health.

[369] against the demons' The patronage of St. Michael against demons is asserted in the Life of Bl. Bernard Ptolomei, given at the twenty-first of August. This Life ought indeed to seem of lesser authority, because it is by a more recent writer; yet it is not without its own probability, since the Life of the Blessed was written by a contemporary author, and more recent writers drew from it. And so, this warning being premised, I transfer here the assertions of the more recent biographer. Where he had narrated that the construction of the temple of Monte Oliveto was hindered by the malice of demons, because by night the things that had been built by day were destroyed; and that blessed Bernard pressed God with prayers against the malignant vexations of that kind of demons; he adds on page 480 number 29: The divine goodness put it off for some days, but at length healed him (Bernard Ptolomei), stricken with grief, by a wondrous portent. For while he was praying more fervently, the man of God being seized in ecstasy, there appeared to him beside the heaps of ruins a Youth in military form, tall in stature, comely of face, going about the temple, brandishing a drawn sword this way and that, and laying low and putting to flight the demons who were causing the disturbance: and he knew from above that this was Michael the prince of the heavenly host, the champion of the place and its guardian to be in time to come. Now by the friendly spectacle Bernard is lifted up in spirit, and is suffused with sweetness. The Brethren, being informed of it, both apply themselves more eagerly to the construction of the building, and build there an altar to the tutelary Archangel. Another writer, whose titles are given in the same place in the Commentarius prævius, has this about the same event, page 469 number 26: When Bernard was building the famous temple and monastery of Monte Oliveto in the desert of Accona, the infernal specters, having taken on the form of Ethiopians, overturning by night what had been built by day, are put to flight by Michael the archangel at Bernard's prayers.

[370] This author presently, in number 28, gives such a title as this to another elogium: devices. Being gravely wounded by the devil, whom he had scorned, (Bernard Ptolomei) is healed by Michael the archangel. The biographer praised above agrees in number 32, asserting that he was so handled by the demons that he lay nearly lifeless. But, he says, with Michael the archangel, the champion of the desert, coming to his aid, who anointed his shattered limbs with heavenly balsam, he recovers marvelously. Each also affirms that St. Michael was present with Jesus and Mary to the dying Bernard Ptolomei. All these benefits of St. Michael toward Bl. Bernard several other more recent writers of his Life affirm as well. From their agreement it indeed becomes likely that similar things were asserted by the first and contemporary biographer. Yet I would rather read them all in that one man than in several moderns.

[371] In the Acts of Bl. Ferdinand, prince of Portugal, who died in prison at Fez in Africa in the year 1443, A benefit bestowed on Bl. Ferdinand of Portugal. in volume 1 of June page 584 number 99, these things are read. Bl. Ferdinand, being sick, related to a confessor sent into the prison that the most blessed Virgin had appeared to him with many glorious persons, and that he had bent his knees before her: When, he says, someone from that company said: I beseech you, Lady, that you have mercy on this your servant, who has served you so greatly, and honored you in this world. See how long he is afflicted; and pray your Son that he may put an end to such great hardships of his. I offer to you, Lady, my prayers for him; because he is devoted to me: may it please you to bring it about that he be placed with us. Hearing this, I fixed my eyes upon him, and I saw that he held in one hand a balance and in the other a cross, with which symbols Christians are accustomed to paint the archangel Michael: and I understood that it was he himself, whom God was giving me to recognize by signs of that kind. So wrote in Portuguese John Alvares, the prince's secretary and his companion in prison, afterwards set free, as things said by him to the confessor before his last confession.

[372] Diego Murillo, in his Spanish Work on the excellences of the city of Saragossa, treatise 2 chapter 46 page 392, treats of the parish church of St. Michael, [St. Michael is believed to have appeared to the Christians at the storming of Saragossa:] called the church of the Navarrese, which was founded outside the ancient walls of Saragossa. He refers the cause of that church's founding to an apparition of St. Michael, whom he says was beheld with great brightness by the Christians besieging the city, when Alfonso king of Aragon stormed it in the twelfth century. The writers indeed whom he cites are not so ancient that they can claim undoubted credit for themselves: nevertheless, so far as appears, the people of Saragossa hold that benefit as sufficiently established, both because it has been asserted by not a few writers, and because by letters from Saragossa, sent to our Elders in the year 1725, we were asked to make mention of it, and because it is recalled at Saragossa with grateful memory. In the said Letter it is said that the church was built in that very place from which the city was assaulted by the Christians, and that the aforesaid apparition is celebrated yearly on the thirteenth of July in that same church. Martin Medard Corredor adds in Spanish in the Letter what I render into Latin: This whole city venerates the holy Archangel as its liberator, and on his festival, the twenty-ninth day of September, all the orders of the city hurry in a general procession to his church.

[373] the town of Tauste was freed by his patronage In the diocese of Saragossa toward the borders of Navarre there is a town of no small note, called Tauste, in which the festival of the apparition of St. Michael is celebrated yearly on the eighth of May with great devotion and with a cessation from servile works, in fulfillment of a vow. The reason is a singular benefit which in the year 1421 they obtained from God by the patronage of St. Michael, when immense armies of locusts had begun to lay waste and devour all the produce of the land. Concerning the vow and its cause, and concerning that celebrated festival, we have certain knowledge from public Acts which in the year 1722, on the sixteenth day of June, Joseph Antonio Cupillar, royal notary in the town of Tauste, drew up in Spanish, and which, confirmed by several testimonies, Father Juan Bautista de Arbizu, a priest of our Society, sent hither from Saragossa in the same year. I could transfer the Acts here entire, were they not seen to be more prolix than is necessary for setting forth the matter itself. But for the sake of brevity and also of greater clarity, I prefer to select the chief heads and to report them here in historical order.

[374] from the plague of countless locusts, The cause of the vow was set forth in a full assembly of clerics and laymen, who had been summoned into the parish church of the town of Tauste by the voice of a crier, and whose chief men are enumerated in a long list. It was moreover alleged in the same place that on account of the sins of men God had sent an innumerable multitude of locusts, which had eaten, ruined, and devoured all the produce of the land, and in particular the grain: that for this cause, since without God's help they could not turn aside so great a scourge, they had had recourse to the divine mercy through the intercession of the most holy Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, and especially of St. Michael the archangel, prince of the heavenly host: that on the day of the Apparition of St. Michael the divine Mercy had heard those prayers, that they might not perish of hunger; and had stretched out his hand, and had prodigiously destroyed and consumed all the locusts. In the statute which was framed for these reasons it is said more clearly that the locusts died on the day of the Apparition of St. Michael.

[375] and solemnly celebrates the feast of the Apparition. The vow, which for these causes they vowed by the common consent of all, contains first a yearly supplication to be instituted on the feast of the Apparition; second a strict cessation from servile works; third, for those who are abroad, an obligation of returning to the town on that day, unless a just reason prevent. Such a vow, in the name of all, even of the absent and of those to come, they vowed in perpetuity, and confirmed by a solemn oath in the year 1421. Joseph Antonio Cupillar the notary further testifies in the Acts of the year 1722, in which he inserted the Acts of that time, that this vow is read aloud to the people each year in the church of St. Michael, to which the train of suppliants proceeds from the greater church, and that it is kept with as much strictness as it could have been in the first year of its taking.

[376] The city of Antwerp too, where we write these things, Antwerp freed from an epidemic disease on the feast of St. Michael. had for two centuries a yearly supplication on the chief feast of St. Michael, that is, on the twenty-ninth day of September. The reason is given by Aubert Le Mire in his Belgian Chronicle at the year 1529, in which that general procession of all the orders through the city had its beginning. For there he writes as follows: In the month of September a new kind of pestilential disease, which they called the English Sweat, grievously afflicted Germany and Belgium. Erasmus testifies in his Letters that at Antwerp four or five hundred men were destroyed in the space of three days. And so, when the clergy, senate, and people of Antwerp had instituted a solemn supplication on the very day of St. Michael for the appeasing of God, the evil suddenly ceased to spread. In memory of which benefit the people of Antwerp still to this day hold a pious supplication yearly on that day. So Le Mire in the following century. That supplication was continued in our time also on the same day. Nevertheless, since a few years ago servile works were permitted in Belgium on the feast of St. Michael and on several others, only the obligation of assisting at the holy Sacrifice of the Mass being left, that supplication was transferred to the Sunday which precedes the feast of St. Michael, and it

is instituted today. I shall not bring forward more about the particular benefits of St. Michael; yet it seems that we must examine what is to be believed about the military Order which certain moderns have maintained was once instituted in Portugal on account of a benefit of this kind.

§ XXVI. Whether by reason of a notable victory a military Order of the Wing was instituted in honor of St. Michael? The Order of St. Michael in France.

[ ] A victory over the Moors is said to have been won by the help of St. Michael, Chrysostom Henriquez in his Cistercian Menology at this day has as follows: In Portugal, the Triumph of holy Michael, when he visibly routed a most numerous army of the Hagarenes: in memory of which Alfonso Henriques, king of the Portuguese, instituted the Order of the Wing under Cistercian laws. Concerning that victory and the Order del Ala instituted by reason of it in honor of St. Michael, Angel Manrique also treats at length in the Cistercian Annals at the year 1167 chapter 8, and other more recent writers. Concerning the Order del Ala, Hippolyte Helyot writes in his History of monastic and military Orders volume 6 chapter 6 page 69, where he also assigns the other writers whom he followed. It would be useless to cite more modern writers, since all agree well enough, and all allege a single ancient document (as they believe) from which the whole history of the said Order was taken. The benefit of St. Michael also, by which Alfonso king of Portugal is said to have obtained the victory over the Moors, becomes known likewise from that single instrument. Wherefore that very document seems to require careful examination. For if this document is suspect, both the benefit of St. Michael and the very institution of the Order del Ala consequently become liable to the charge of falsity.

[378] Namely, all cite letters of institution which Alfonso Henriques king of Portugal is said to have issued in the era 1205, that is in the year of the Christian era 1167, after a notable victory won over the Moors. Bernardo de Brito first published them in his Cistercian Chronicle written in Portuguese and printed at Lisbon in the year 1602, book 5 chapter 19. and for that cause a military Order was instituted. The letters I shall transfer them here entire from him, so that those who do not doubt the trustworthiness of the letters may have the whole history of that Order, while others may be better able to discern upon what sort of foundation the whole Order rests. The letters are published thus: In the name of God, of holy Michael the Archangel, and of the holy Guardian Angel. Since indeed it is fitting to repay the benefits of almighty God with due services, therefore I Alfonso by the grace of God king of the Portuguese, willing and desiring to acknowledge, according to my littleness, the divine favor, and that my posterity may remember his marvels, by which he established our kingdom in the land, with the counsel and mature deliberation of good men, whom the Lord chose for himself, namely of Martin, Abbot of Alcobaça, of Ranulph master in divine letters, and of very many monks of the same monastery who were present, and also of the rulers of our court, we have instituted a certain brotherhood of knights to the praise and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the most blessed Virgin Mary his Mother, but especially under the invocation of holy Michael the archangel and of my Guardian Angel.

[379] of the king of Portugal, in which the victory is related, The reason why this society is thus instituted is this. While I was at Santarém, there came against me Albarch king of Seville, with a huge multitude of soldiers, in such wise that they covered all the borders of my kingdom with their multitude, and he pitched camp beside the town in which I was shut up with a small band of my men, awaiting the arrival of some others; but a messenger came reporting that my cousin the king of León had arrived, and because there was suspicion between us, I feared him, believing that he was coming to the aid of my enemies, on which account I determined to go out to battle against Albarch before he should come, and on the morrow I made ready my people, and I in prayer asked my Angel, whom God through his mercy gave me as companion and guardian, and blessed Michael the archangel, that he would come to my aid, and that they would snatch me from the hand of my enemies, which indeed came to pass: and when in the battle my standard had been captured by my enemies, I leapt down from my chariot to free it, and when in the press I was fighting on foot, there appeared beside me a sinner, wonderful to see, the arm of one fighting and helping me, armed indeed, according to my sight, and a Wing as of an Angel covered the top of it, but the body I did not see, nor did anyone see it, although many of the Moors had seen the hand, as the captives afterwards said; when I saw the hand, being strengthened within me I leapt upon the enemy, and behold there fell a thousand at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but no wound came near to me. My enemy was conquered, and we gathered their spoils, and we saw laid low in the fields of Santarém a great band which had pursued us, and we sang praise to our God, for he is good, for his mercy endureth also for ever.

[380] on account of which the order was instituted, But afterwards, while I was preparing myself to do battle with the king of León, I learned that he had come to my help, and even to restore me in peace; whereat, glad and rejoicing, I came to praise the Lord Jesus Christ at the monastery of Alcobaça, in which I was for thirty-three days serving him and thinking upon the kingdom of God; and lest the help of holy Michael and of my Angel be forgotten, by the counsel of the aforesaid men I resolved to make an order and society of knights, who should bear over the heart a purple Wing, marked with gold and splendor, as it seemed to my eyes that one had been which I had seen in the battle.

[381] The conditions, moreover, which the knights of this society ought to observe, and laws are prescribed and to swear when they have received the Wing, are these. First: let no one who has not been a noble of our palace and court bear the Wing, nor be admitted to our society. 2. All who fought in the conflict, in order to rescue my standard, shall be admitted to the society, and shall bear the Wing. 3. He who is admitted to the society shall be in battle beside the king, or beside his standard, and no one shall be able to bear that standard unless he carry the Wing. 4. He to whom the Wing is given shall swear in the hands of the abbot of Alcobaça fidelity to God, to the Roman Pontiff, and to the king, in the accustomed form, and no one shall give the Wing except the abbot of Alcobaça. 5. Let a knight of this soldiery recite daily the number of prayers which the lay brothers of the Cistercian order are wont to recite, whether in peace or in war.

[482] When anyone receives the order, he shall give fifty shillings for the repair of the altar of S: Michael, to be observed by the knights, which is in the church of Alcobaça. 7. All the brethren of this soldiery shall go to Alcobaça on the vigil of holy Michael, and shall hear the evening and morning hours and the Mass, and shall receive communion from the hand of the abbot, clothed in white copes, after the manner of the lay brothers. 8. The abbot of Alcobaça shall have jurisdiction over the knights, and shall be able to excommunicate them if they live ill, and to compel them to leave their concubines and their most wicked manner of living. 9. A knight of this society, after a first marriage, if they have had children, or a son as heir, shall not pass to a second marriage after the death of the first wife, but shall live in continence. 10. On their shields in war they shall have the Wing without any other device, and in peace they shall not go without it. 11. The horsemen of this brotherhood shall be gentle to the humble, hard to the proud, helpers of women and especially of noble virgins and widows, defenders of the faith in all things, assailers of the enemy, and obedient to their superiors. 12. The number of the knights shall be according to the will of the king, and whomever he shall choose he shall send to the abbot of Alcobaça, and he shall give him the Wing and a white cope with his blessing, and shall receive from him an oath in the accustomed form, and shall read to him these ordinances and the others of his order, and writes down his name in the codex.

[383] And because this is my will, and I wish to record for my posterity the benefit of the Lord and of holy Michael, they are recited with all the faults with which they were published. I king Alfonso have established this soldiery in the monastery of Alcobaça in the era 1205. Thus far the letters, with all the faults, which I did not wish to correct, nor even to note in the margin, because they are too frequent. The studious reader will nevertheless understand what the author of the letters meant. But now some things, both concerning the victory asserted in the letters and concerning the military Order instituted by reason of it, as the letters report, must necessarily be observed.

[384] This is, as I have already warned, the sole document in which the military Order del Ala is commemorated, But these letters are made suspect of falsity and no historian before the year 1602, in which the letters were published, seems to mention it. Of the arm which is said to have appeared to king Alfonso with a wing, I have likewise found no mention before the publication of these letters; nay, we shall presently see that not even the victory itself was asserted by the ancients. For these reasons I judge that the whole matter has been suspect to some learned moderns, since they indeed report the said victory of king Alfonso over the Moors near the city of Santarém, but without any mention of the prodigy which is said to have happened in the battle. Thus Juan de Ferreras in his Chronicle of Spain at the year of Christ 1171 ascribes the victory against the Moors to Alfonso, but is silent about the prodigy. But Rodrigo of Toledo and Lucas of Túy, whom he assigns as his authors, do not so much as mention the battle.

[385] by Rodrigo of Toledo and Lucas of Túy, Rodrigo in book 7 of the Affairs of Spain chapter 23 writes only this concerning the siege of the city: But the Arabs, observing that king Alfonso (of Portugal) was hindered by the weakness (of a broken leg) which we have mentioned, gathered a multitude and besieged him in the castle of holy Irene. Hearing which, king Ferdinand (of León) hastened swiftly to his rescue: and king Alfonso, terrified at his coming, feared that he might be coming to avenge injuries; but when he knew the truth, he gave thanks. But the Hagarenes, not enduring the presence of king Ferdinand, withdrew at once from the siege. Lucas of Túy in his Chronicle page 107 has: After these things the Saracens, seeing that Alfonso king of Portugal was weakened, and that he had offended king Ferdinand in certain matters, besieged that same Alfonso in the town which * is called Santarém. But king Ferdinand, having gathered a great army, hastened to the aid of king Alfonso. But king Alfonso, when he heard this, feared greatly, believing that king Ferdinand was coming to the aid of the Moors, and sent messengers to him, entreating for peace. But king Ferdinand declared to him that he was hastening to his help. When the Saracens heard this, they took to flight and shamefully withdrew from the siege.

[386] [because they narrate the flight of the Moors from the city of Santarém otherwise.] No one, I think, will fail to see that the same siege and deliverance of the city of Santarém is treated here as is treated in the king's letters. For the fear of Alfonso of Portugal

the king, on account of the approach of the king of León with an army, is explained in the same way: nor was that such a deed as to make it credible that it happened more than once. Yet those writers report no other victory of Alfonso than that the Moors withdrew from the siege through fear of the coming king of León: and they mention neither the assistance of St. Michael by the winged arm, nor the military order instituted for that cause. Now these writers, who are nearly contemporary and are Spaniards, do not seem to have been able to be ignorant of a victory so famous as that which is asserted in the said letters would have been, especially if by reason of it a military order had been instituted. Wherefore, even from the silence of these and of all the ancients about the battle alone, those letters become exceedingly suspect of falsity: and not by their silence alone, but most of all because they say that the Moors fled through fear of the king of León.

[387] Other assertions of the letters too are improbable, If now we are willing to inspect the letters themselves more closely, we shall find in them many things which are not likely. I shall point out some out of many. First, it is not likely that king Alfonso leapt down from his chariot in the battle and fought on foot, since he was both an old man at that time and had had his leg broken, as the aforesaid Rodrigo relates a little before, teaching that on that occasion he had earlier been captured by Ferdinand king of León, but kindly released, and adding these very words about Alfonso: Nor on account of the injury to his shin was he able afterwards to perform military service. Lucas of Túy agrees about the broken leg and about its consequence in these words: And he was so weakened by the fracture of his leg that thereafter he could not ride. Who then would believe that he afterwards leapt down from a chariot in battle and fought on foot?

[388] so that the Order del Ala does not seem to have existed. Second, Albarch king of Seville is said to have made war upon Alfonso. But that king Albarch I do not find at all; but rather I find that Hispalis, which is called Sebillia, commonly Sevilla, was at that time subject to the chief king of the Moors, who from the eleventh century had joined the kingdom of Seville to his African kingdoms. Besides, neither the day nor the month is noted in those letters; nor is anyone read as subscribed to them except the king himself. I pass over other things of little likelihood, which can be observed both in the letters themselves and in the laws prescribed. And I say briefly that letters of this kind are not sufficient for me to be able to believe that the Order of the Wing was ever instituted, especially since no ancient historian has mentioned it, and no person has become known who was enrolled in the said order.

[389] Afterwards, however, a military Order of St. Michael was instituted in France, The Order of St. Michael instituted in France by Louis XI, but we do not know that this institution took its origin from any apparition or singular benefit. That Order Louis XI king of the French instituted at Amboise in the year 1469, fifteen knights being created there from the foremost nobles of France, to whom others were afterwards to be added up to thirty-six. For he willed that they should not exceed this number. But afterwards many more were admitted to the Order of St. Michael. The feasts of the Order were at first to be celebrated in the church of Mont-Saint-Michel, of which we have treated at length in §24: but afterwards everything was transferred to the chapel of St. Michael in the royal hall at Paris. That Order Pope Alexander VI confirmed in the year 1496, at the request of Charles VIII, as various writers relate, and with others Odorico Rinaldi.

[390] But the Pontiff seems rather to have erected or confirmed a college of canons, and afterwards erected by Pope Alexander VI who should minister in the chapel of the Order. Rinaldi recites a part of Alexander's letters in his Annals at the same year number 37, where they read thus. A petition lately laid before us on behalf of our most dear son in Christ Charles the illustrious king of the French set forth that formerly Louis of famed memory, likewise king of the same French, the father of the same king Charles, then living among men, kindled with the fervor of a singular devotion, desiring for the protection and defense of the Catholic faith and of his kingdom and of the whole Christian commonwealth to institute a certain soldiery or gilded society, in a sincere and clear brotherhood and union of men who should perpetually hold one another mutually, which should thereafter be called the Royal order, gathered or willed to be gathered thirty-six knights or gilded men, of whom he himself or his successors the kings of the French should be head, and should have superiority; and appointed for the preservation and maintenance of the aforesaid society, brotherhood, and union certain statutes and several ordinances and customs to endure perpetually.

[391] And then for the increase and magnificence of the said royal soldiery he made a solemn vow to the eternal, or confirmed a college of canons for the chapel of the order. uncreated, immeasurable, supreme, almighty and most glorious and undivided Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, concerning the erecting, by the Roman Pontiff for the time being and by the Apostolic See, in honor of that Trinity, of the undefiled Virgin Mary, the loving Mother of the Redeemer of the human race himself, of the said St. Michael and of the whole heavenly court, in the chapel of the same St. Michael, situated in the royal palace at Paris, in which the parlement is accustomed to be held, in the lower part, … of one college of secular ecclesiastical men, who should there be bound to chant and likewise to celebrate the divine office at the fitting and suitable hours, by day as well as by night, etc. Thus far Rinaldi has recited the Pontiff's letters, adding the laws laid down by Alexander to be observed in divine worship; so that these letters do not seem to have been issued to confirm the Order, but rather to erect a college of canons in the chapel of the Order of St. Michael. Perhaps the confirmation of the Order itself was sought and obtained long before. He who desires more about the aforesaid Order and its laws may consult the historians who treat of the military Orders.

* quod

§ XXVII. Some particular apparitions of Angels, or other benefits, in the second and third centuries.

[ ] Apparitions and other benefits of the Angels always continued. The apparitions of Angels related in the old Testament I have gathered in §§4, 5, and 6, and I have given what is related about the Angels in the Scriptures of the new Law in §7, most of what is narrated about the Angels in the Apocalypse being nevertheless omitted, lest we be forced to examine the various opinions of interpreters about them. The things which I am now about to gather from the Fathers, the ecclesiastical historians, and the Lives of the Saints do not indeed have equal certainty with those related in Scripture, since they lack divine authority and rest on human faith alone: yet they are not to be despised, if they be brought forward from select documents, such as I am about to adduce, the rest being passed over. The judgment of those who are willing to believe nothing about these matters beyond what is related in the sacred Scriptures seems no less to be disapproved than the excessive credulity of others, who are unwilling to distinguish among authors, but think that whatever is asserted, even in fabulous writings, must at once be held for true. For since all the Angels, as the Apostle witnesses, are ministering spirits, and will be such as long as the world stands, there is no reason to doubt that the offices which they performed for men under the old Law and in the time of Christ and the Apostles they afterwards also continued and will continue to perform until the end of the world. Wherefore I have thought that a few things out of many should be gathered, and those drawn from the most select writers, following the order of the centuries in which each occurred. The deeds of the first century have been related from the Scriptures: now therefore we begin from the second.

[393] St. Justin sets forth the beginning of his conversion thus, St. Justin the philosopher, who flourished in the second century, in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew narrates his conversion in such a way as to leave us scarcely any doubt that it had its beginning from an Angel, appearing to him in the human form of an old man. In the latest Paris edition of his Works page 104, where Justin had narrated with which philosophers he had dealt in order to learn true wisdom, he sets forth his meeting with that old man unknown to him, beginning thus: Being so disposed, when I once wished to fill my mind with abundant solitude, and to avoid the footsteps of men, I set out into a certain field not far from the sea. And when I was drawing near to this place, at which, when I had come, I should be alone with myself, a certain elder, by no means contemptible in appearance, bearing himself with gravity and courtesy, was following me at a short distance. Turning toward him I stopped, and fixed my eyes upon him keenly. Then he said: Do you know me? I said no. Why then, said he, do you gaze at me so? I marvel, said I, that you have contrived to be with me in the same place: for I did not expect that I should see anyone here. I am anxious, said he, about some of my own people. These have gone abroad from me. I too therefore have come to see whether they will show themselves to me from anywhere. But what are you doing here? I take delight, said I, in walks of this kind, in which, since nothing occurs that can interrupt, I converse most freely with myself. For these places are most fit for discourse.

[394] You are therefore, said he, a lover of words, but by no means of deeds and of truth, attributing it to a conversation with an old man unknown to him, nor do you strive to be a man of action rather than a sophist? When Justin had answered many things to this in praise of philosophy, the old man asked again in this manner: Does philosophy then produce blessedness? And presently again: What is philosophy, … and what is its blessedness? Then immediately: But what do you call God? Then: Is there any science which brings knowledge of things divine and human, etc.? And by questions of this kind, and by a gentle refutation of what Justin was falsely answering out of the Platonic and Pythagorean teaching, the Elder brought the man to such a point that he passed from the philosophers to the sacred Letters. Justin relates the end of the conversation on page 109 thus: But do you, said the Elder, before all things pray that the gates of light be opened to you: for no one can discern and understand these things, except him to whom God and his Christ have given to understand. When he had said these and many other things, which it is not the time to relate, he departed, charging me to pursue them in meditation: nor did I see him again. But in me at once a fire was kindled in my soul, and a love seized me of the prophets and of those men who are friends of Christ. And when I set his words before my mind, I found this philosophy alone to be such as was safe and useful. In this way and for this cause am I a philosopher.

[395] Our Elders at the thirteenth of April, in St. Justin, at this place of the Life, suggested in the Annotations so that it seems altogether to be said that it was begun by an Angel, that that Elder, by whose disputation St. Justin was converted, does not seem to have been a man. Tillemont in volume 2, on St. Justin article 4, urges by several arguments that he seems rather an Angel than a man. Indeed, if we carefully consider each of the circumstances of that conversation, we shall scarcely be able to doubt that that Elder was more than a mortal man, and probably an Angel. Justin marveled, while he beheld him

in so solitary a place. The Elder's answer as to why he was there does not seem true, if he was mortal. I am anxious, he says, about some of my own people. These have gone abroad from me. I too therefore have come to see whether they will show themselves to me from anywhere. But the Elder, if he was a man, could not hope for the return of his people gone abroad in such a place. For Justin had set out to a place where he thought to see no one. He could not have thought this if it were near a road by which travelers return. And indeed that the Elder was not anxious about his own people's returning home is shown by the lengthy disputation which he himself skillfully begins, and which he draws out at very great length without any mention of his own people. But if he was an Angel, he could rightly say that he was searching for some of his own who had gone abroad from the true faith: for it was Justin himself whom he was chiefly seeking.

[396] If now we unroll the whole disputation, we shall marvel appearing to him in the form of an old man. how dexterously he entered upon theological matter, how skillfully he uncovered Justin's errors, how gently he refuted them, how easily he unschooled of his errors a man swollen with his own philosophy, and had him compliant in all things. All these things do not seem to belong to a man, however learned and eloquent, but rather to an Angel approaching Justin in human form: still less do they seem to belong to a man who had come to that place for his own people's sake and was anxious about their return. Moreover, if a pious and learned man had been kindled with so great a zeal for propagating the faith that he had wished at once to seize an opportunity of disputing with a philosopher, he would beyond doubt have striven to advance what he had well begun, and to hold other conversations with Justin. But Justin, who beyond doubt would have desired the same, saw his Elder no more. Namely, the Angel could invisibly advance and complete what he had begun in visible form. The very effect of the conversation hints that it was an Angel who had dealt with Justin. For when it was ended, a fire was at once kindled in his soul, and a perfect conversion followed. Wherefore, just as it is certain that the conversion of Cornelius the centurion to Christ was begun by an Angel visibly appearing in the first century, so also I judge that Justin was impelled to the true faith by the help of an Angel. If he himself knew or believed that it was an Angel, he could have kept silent about it out of modesty. I bring forward no more for that century, even though Hermas in the Shepherd writes many things which might have a place here.

[397] An Angel strengthens Tryphon and Respicius in their torments: In the third century, under Decius, Tryphon and Respicius suffered as martyrs in Bithynia. Ruinart published their Acts among the Genuine and Select, page 162. In them, moreover, at number 5, after the Saints had been consigned to many torments, these words are read: The prefect, filled with anger, ordered the hooks and torches to be applied to their sides. The torturers, drawing near, were carrying out the orders. And so, while they were applying the torches, an Angel of the Lord stood by the Saints, having in his hands crowns adorned with gems and flowers, which he set upon their heads; and made them strong in the contest. When the servants saw this, falling to the ground they became as dead men. Consolations of this kind shown to the martyrs occur frequently in their Acts, and I shall cite some of them below.

[398] St. Felix of Nola, held in prison, To the third century probably belongs St. Maximus bishop of Nola and his priest St. Felix, to whom wonderful benefits are read to have been rendered by the Angels. These St. Paulinus, likewise bishop of Nola, celebrated in verse in Poem 15 (otherwise 19), which is the fourth on the Birthday of St. Felix. From it, reader, receive what pertains to this. Where the poet had narrated that a fierce persecution had arisen, and that for that cause St. Maximus had fled to a desert place, where he was in danger of dying of hunger; but that St. Felix had been cast into prison, he sings thus of the latter's deliverance from prison by an Angel, that he might come to the aid of the endangered bishop:

Therefore the gentle Father, looking upon the priest and confessor [*] with serene Light, bore no longer that he should waste away in the silent woods; And because he was preparing to join a worthy companion to worthy merits, He chooses Felix out of the whole number of the prison, That he might add this work to his merits, that he should relieve the limbs Of the kindly old man, and call back his soul, and carry him back restored, And give back to the astonished sheep the consolations of their dear Shepherd. There comes therefore, shining now in the silent night, An Angel, and out of the whole company of the bound accused He addresses Felix alone, whom holy piety had made guilty: The horror of the black prison flees away. At once by the voice and by the light of the sacred Minister Felix Is shaken and trembles, and draws in the word with a faithful ear.

[399] And at first, as though he were receiving God's commands in the semblance of a mocking dream, is led out by the appearing Angel, He is anxiously amazed, and pleads that he cannot follow, his chain preventing him, And moreover that he is held both by the bar and by the guard Of the beset prison. But the divine voice, rebuking him as he delays, Bids him rise, his fetters shaken off. And suddenly, as though soft, the chains flowed from his hands, Of its own accord the neck, stripped of the iron yoke, is lifted, And his feet leap forth, the stock of the sinew loosened. Wondrous faith! The prison being unbarred while the bars remained whole, The guard being lulled asleep, he goes out at the doors undaunted, And through the very men by whom the way is closed a way is made: the Angel Went before, and through the friendly silences of the quiet night Was both light and journey for Felix. Is not Christ one and the same Present in every Saint? As the same Spirit is strong in all Who are begotten in Christ, so does the very grace of the pious Accord together. I see the old figure return in a recent History, by which Peter, bidden to depart, exalted In the twice-sixfold company of the Disciples, Went forth, his chains falling of their own accord, and out of The closed prison, where the Angel going before him, Having stolen the prey from Herod, was leading him. So my Felix, with God leading him out, through the doubled darkness Of prison and of night, dark to the rest, but for him alone Made bright, passing unharmed among the very Guards, pressing his footsteps with steady pace, Directed along unknown paths, was seeking what was commanded.

[400] And after he had traversed the trackless country, the hidden glades, And found the place of the wearied old man: sorrowfully he beholds him that he may revive St. Maximus dying of hunger: Now drawing sick sighs with faint breath. And as soon as he recognized the limbs of his dear parent, Falling into an embrace, he gives kisses to the well-known face, And tries by warming to call back heat to the cold Limbs, and by frequent breathings of his panting mouth To restore living senses to the body made warm. But the body is moved neither by calling nor by shaking, Now like one lifeless: yet a slight breath, the last of life, And the trembling of the inward fiber betray him. Felix, anxious in his pious heart at such a sight, Draws apart the bloodless limbs, and seeing the face Ghastly with hunger, and having nothing wherewith he might bring Help to his need, no fire at hand, nor food near by, Wherewith to revive him wasting away with food and stiffening with cold — As he sought, and with many a prayer besought Christ, By what help or by what way he might be able to fulfill the commanded Service, the Almighty brought forth a sudden cluster of grapes from the brambles, And bade it hang near his head, So that he might easily pluck from the branch beside him The food born of itself. Divinely refreshed therefore, Felix in his pious mind rejoices at the gift offered, And plucking the cluster with his hand he brings it to the mouth Of the dying man: and since with teeth already clenched he Both refuses to feel and to take sweet nourishment, He presses out the moist berries, and instills the flowing Juice, parting the dry lips with his finger; Until, with God breathing upon his weak endeavors And upon his struggling hand, he loosened a little the rigid Jaws, and gave a slender entrance to the opened mouth, Through which the crushed grape might pour a scanty dew. Hence sense returns to the soul, heat to the bones, and light to the eyes, And all his life returns: and the tongue, which had clung fast beset By dry jaws, now plies its accustomed speech.

Thus far St. Paulinus, presently adding Maximus's first words to Felix, and in what manner Felix carried him home.

[401] in that history, related similarly by Bede and others The same things are narrated in prose by Marcellus the priest, who wrote the Life of St. Felix, and likewise by Bede and Gregory of Tours. The lucubrations of the two former have been given at the fourteenth of January, in St. Felix the priest; the account of the man of Tours at the seventh of February, in St. Maximus the bishop. I transfer here Bede's words, which set forth St. Paulinus's meaning rightly: But that the heavenly loving-kindness might show most openly of how great care that man (St. Maximus) was worthy, an Angel is sent from heaven, to bid blessed Felix the confessor, freed from his chains, to come with all speed to seek out and revive the bishop and bring him home. Now there were several shut up in the same prison: but the Angel, coming, appeared to Felix alone, who was bound for the sake of piety, shining with flashing light and filling the very house also with the grace of light: by whose voice and light together Felix, being moved, trembled, and at first indeed thought that he was being mocked by the semblance of a dream. The Angel bade him rise and follow him out. He, amazed at the command of him who bade it, pleaded that he could not go out, because he was held both by chains and by the bar of the prison and by the diligence of the guards. Then the Angel with repeated voice bade him rise quickly, no chains standing in the way, and quicker than the word the chains fell from his hands and neck, and the fetters from his feet. And he led him outside by a wondrous ordering of things, the door of the prison being opened indeed for himself, but closed for the rest; so that he made his way through the very guards by whom it was shut, they knowing nothing of the matter, the Angel himself, after the likeness of the Mosaic pillar, affording Felix both guidance and light by the splendor of his presence, until he escaped the hands of the enemy.

[402] related similarly, And when blessed Felix the confessor came to the place in the desert to which the bishop had withdrawn, he found him drawing sick sighs with faint breath. And indeed he rejoiced that he found him living, but was greatly saddened that he saw him, when found, nearest to death. And so he embraced and kissed his father, and began to try whether perhaps by the frequent breathing of his mouth and by the warmth of his own body he could bring some heat to his cold limbs. But when, laboring long, he could arouse no sign of vital sense either in his mind or in his body, neither by calling nor by touching, and had neither fire nor food near at hand wherewith to revive him stiff and wasting away, at last, a wholesome plan being found, he bends his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, suppliantly beseeching that he would himself help him from heaven, so that he might be able to fulfill toward his father the ministry of piety which he had been commanded. And without delay, being heard, he saw a cluster of grapes hanging in the brambles nearby: and he recognized that it was the gift of him who, the Founder of natures and author of all things, both brought forth water from the dry rock and turned that same water, when he willed, into wine. And rejoicing greatly at this gift of the divine loving-kindness, he took the cluster and brought it to the mouth of the dying bishop. But because he, with clenched teeth like a dead man, being indeed without all sense of heart and soul, knew not at all how to receive the taste offered him, at length the holy priest Felix, by a happy struggle of his hands, opened his lips, and so poured into his mouth, the grape being crushed, as much of the healing juice as he could. By which

being tasted, presently the father recovered sense both of soul and of body: then his eyes are opened, and his tongue, which was clinging to his dry jaws, was loosed for speaking.

[403] And when, fully reviving, he recognized that it was Felix who had come to seek him, the manifold assistance of the Angel is recognized. embracing him with fatherly affection he complained that he was coming so late: Where, he said, have you tarried so long, my son? For the Lord had long since promised that you would come to me… Wherefore, my son, take care to complete in haste the begun work of piety, and set about carrying me home laid upon your shoulders. St. Felix did in truth carry the bishop home, as follows presently in Paulinus and Bede: and Marcellus the priest and Gregory of Tours agree. Now indeed the studious reader will be able to observe with me that the Angel's offices in these matters are manifold, even though only the leading of Felix out of prison is attributed to him in express words. For both the finding of Maximus, whose hiding place Felix did not know, is to be ascribed to the Angel who led him, and the cluster of grapes by which the dying man revived seems to have been brought there by the Angel. The carrying back of the old man on his shoulders was not without Angelic assistance: and by it Felix was doubtless protected when he was afterwards sought again by the persecutors. For, as is read in Paulinus and the rest, he spoke with them and was not recognized. And when this had become known to them, he fled to a place where he could easily be taken; and the persecutors had been warned that he was hiding there. But because a spider, at the divine nod, which all creation obeys, at once hung its swaying webs in that very place, they would not believe that Felix had entered there: and thus once again by Angelic assistance, as I think, St. Felix was preserved.

[404] In the same third century flourished St. Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus gratefully acknowledges the benefits who from the glory of his miracles is called Thaumaturgus. That the Angels brought him many aids the very prodigies by which he was renowned scarcely allow us to doubt. He himself too, in the Oration of thanksgiving which as a young man he delivered to Origen his master, speaks repeatedly of the benefits of his Guardian Angel. That Oration is extant in Latin in volume 3 of the Lyons Library of the Fathers, where on page 329 he first says of his Guardian: He who from my boyhood, by some great judgment, obtained me by lot to be ruled and educated, the holy Angel of God: "Who feeds me from my youth," as that man dear to God (Jacob) says, meaning namely his own Angel. And presently, when he had said that his Angel had been known to Jacob, he adds of himself: But we, besides the common Governor of all (God), acknowledge also this one (the Guardian Angel), whoever he is who is privately our pedagogue, since we are in very fact boys and infants. Who, since in all other things he has always been my good nourisher and caretaker (for to me, or to any of my kindred, who are blind and see nothing of the things before our feet, so that we might discern anything suitable, but to him alone, who provides all things for the benefit of our soul, what is useful and good at once appears), as of old, so now also nourishes and instructs me and leads me by the hand: and then, above all else, has brought it about that I should be joined with this man — which is surely the highest of all — and should live with him.

[405] He then sets forth more fully by what means, though he had been born of a heathen father, of his Guardian Angel. he was led to Origen and to the true faith, attributing everything to his Guardian Angel. Passing over the narrative, I produce a few things about the Angel. But that ever-watchful divine Pedagogue, he says, and true caretaker, was at hand, though my household were not thinking of it, nor I myself desiring it. Then, when he had explained on what occasion he wished to set out for Palestine, being even then a heathen, he says that the hidden but truer cause of the journey was that through Origen he might learn the true faith; and he adds: Wherefore not a soldier, but a certain divine companion of the way and good conductor and guardian, who through this whole life, as through a long pilgrimage, guards us, both passing by other places and Berytus, which we were thought most to desire, brought us straight hither (to Caesarea) and settled us here, doing and moving all things until by every means he should bind us to this author of many good things for us, etc. I pass over other things: for what has been brought forward abundantly shows how lofty were the sentiments St. Gregory Thaumaturgus held about his Guardian Angel. Wherefore we shall rightly believe that the faithful Guardian, whose help he acknowledges in all good things, was also his helper in the stupendous prodigies which he wrought. Many things could be added about the benefits of the Angels toward St. Agnes: but I pass these over, lest I be compelled to dispute in this place about the Acts attributed to St. Ambrose.

* Maximum

§ XXVIII. Benefits of the Angels in the fourth century.

[ ] The Angels refresh St. Vincent in his punishments, and In the Acts of St. Vincent the Martyr, which were given by us at the twenty-second of January, and reprinted in Ruinart, it is narrated at number 13 that St. Vincent was by the governor's order laid upon fragments of potsherds in a dark prison, that he might end his life in violent torment. Then at number 14 these things follow: But when the first rest, sleep overcoming the guards, had relaxed their wearied limbs, what Datianus had inflicted as the punishment of a most grievous death is divinely changed into glory. The night of that prison receives an eternal light. Tapers blaze, shining beyond the brightness of the sun, and the strength of the wood, being loosened, sprang apart, and the roughness of the potsherds becomes the pleasantness and softness of fragrant flowers. Refreshed by these, the most unconquered athlete of God, saying a psalm and a hymn to God, exults with joy. And thus the horrible solitude is relieved by an Angelic throng. Encircled by their company, the excellent martyr was cherished with venerable attendance and soothed with converse. Acknowledge, they say, O most unconquered Vincent, him for whose name you have faithfully contended; he himself in truth keeps a crown prepared for you in the heavens, who has made you a victor in your punishments. Be therefore now secure about your reward, for soon, the burden of the flesh being laid aside, you will be added to our company. Hence praises are given to God, and, the organ of the Angelic voice resounding, a modulated sweetness is spread abroad afar. Presently there follows also that the guards of the prison, awakened by that miracle, and they and others, having seen those wonders, were converted to the faith. Of the body of the deceased St. Vincent too it is asserted at number 17 that, when it had been exposed naked to beasts and birds, it was again honored with Angelic watches and obsequies.

[407] they preserve unharmed the body of St. Theodotus M. Similar things about the bodies of martyrs preserved by the assistance of the Angels frequently recur in the Acts. But I shall omit most of them, and shall bring forward one example from the Acts of St. Theodotus the martyr, which Nilus wrote in Greek, an eyewitness of nearly everything, and which Papebroch published in Greek and Latin at the eighteenth of May. In these, the martyr's death being related, at number 32 the body is narrated to have been cast into the fire, but to have been unharmed by it. This the soldiers, who had been ordered to guard it, set forth at number 35 to Fronto the priest, who had been brought thither with his she-ass, prefacing the death, in these words: Finally, being beheaded, he was ordered to be burned with fire. But we unhappy men feared to be tormented again on his account: for indeed, when the pyre was kindled, miracles were done around the fire that can be explained by no words, and we saw a great light round about: nor did the flame touch Theodotus. Having understood these things, Fronto, who desired to carry off the body, offered the guards abundantly the wine he had brought with him, until they were made drunk and were seized by a heavy sleep. Then the priest, rising, and taking up the venerable body, laid it upon his she-ass and said: Well done, Martyr; fulfill the promises which you have made me; and at the same time he put a ring on his finger. Then he arranged the branches and hay, as they had lain over the Saint, so again that the guards might not suspect that anything had been taken away. Meanwhile he sent off the she-ass with the body, and himself remained there to remove suspicion. But the she-ass, led by an Angel, went off by pathless places to Malum: and it sank down with its burden in that place where now is the confession of the holy and glorious martyr Theodotus, etc. These things are assigned to the year 304.

[408] Frequent is the office of the Angels which is asserted in the Life of St. Paul, The souls of SS. Paul, Antony, and Ammon carried to heaven by Angels. the first hermit, which St. Jerome wrote. That was given at the tenth of January, and at number 15, concerning St. Antony going to visit St. Paul again, it has as follows: And when now another day had dawned, and he had retraced the road for the space of three hours, he saw amid the companies of Angels, and amid the choirs of prophets and apostles, Paul shining with snowy whiteness ascending on high. The same is reported in the other Life of St. Paul, given in the first place. In the Life of Antony, composed by St. Athanasius and given at the seventeenth of January, at number 115 these things are read about the dying St. Antony: He had finished his words, and while his disciples were kissing him, stretching out his feet a little, he looked upon death with joy, so that from the cheerfulness of his countenance the presence of the holy Angels, who had come down to bear away his soul, was recognized. Gazing upon these, as though he saw friends, he breathed out his soul. St. Antony rejoiced also in other favors of the Angels during his life: for at number 85 he felt himself caught up in spirit and borne on high by Angels, etc.: and at number 80, when he was sitting on the mountain and had suddenly stretched his eyes toward heaven, he saw, says Athanasius, I know not whose soul making its way to heaven, with Angels rejoicing to meet it. Stunned by the strangeness of this spectacle, he called the choir of the Saints blessed, and prayed that the understanding of the present matter might be laid open to him. And at once a voice came to him, saying that this was the soul of Ammon the monk, who dwelt at Nitria.

[409] Among the chief disciples of St. Antony was St. Paul, The wondrous vision of Angels of St. Paul the Simple: surnamed the Simple, whose Life was given at the seventh of March. To this most humble man God granted that he should see the Angels of those entering the church, as Rufinus witnesses, who in the same place at number 18 adds these things about St. Paul. When therefore they had come to the church and were entering in, the old man saw them entering with bright face and glad mind, and their Angels likewise with joy along with them. But he saw one black, and having a clouded body, and demons dragging him this way and that toward themselves with a bridle put into his nostrils, and his holy Angel following far off, sad… But after a little while, when, the congregation being dismissed, they were departing, again he looked round upon the faces of all, to see whether they went out such as they had entered: and he saw him whom he had before seen black and clouded going out from the church with bright face and shining body, and demons following him far off; but his holy Angel near him, cheerful and rejoicing exceedingly over him. The former vision wrung weeping from Paul, the latter the highest joy, as is said there at length. But that man, whose Angel first followed him sad and then was present glad, being asked by St.

Paul, confessed that he had been bound by grievous sins; but that, being pricked with compunction in that assembly, he had earnestly grieved for his sins, had proposed amendment, and had begged for pardon. The same things are read in the Sayings of the Fathers in Cotelier's Greek Monuments volume 1 page 652 and following. Namely, in bodily figure God showed to St. Paul what is now done spiritually through the Angels.

[410] The Angels helpers and agents in distributing the body of Christ. Concerning St. Macarius, another disciple of St. Antony, something similar is read in volume 1 of January page 89. Passing over what Rufinus prefaces about the illusions of demons seen by Macarius, I transfer here what he affirms Macarius saw of better things in the reception of the Body of Christ: For he discerned an Angel of the Lord standing by the altar, who, together with the priest's hand, laid his own hand also upon the distribution of the Sacraments. No less wonderful is what St. Macarius is said in chapter 8 to have seen concerning St. Mark the monk. This Macarius, says the author, related to us (for he was a priest) that he had observed at the time of the communion of the Sacraments of Christ that he had never given the oblation to Mark the ascetic, but that an Angel gave it to him from the altar: and that he had seen only the finger of the hand of him who gave. Of St. Mark it was treated at the fifth of March, where the words of Sozomen, book 6 of the History chapter 29, are brought forward. I transfer the same here from Valois's version: About the same time that famous Mark, and Macarius the younger, and Apollonius, and Moses the Ethiopian dwelt at Scetis. And they report that Mark from his earliest youth was exceedingly gentle and temperate, and held the books of sacred Scripture in memory: and that he was so dear to God that Macarius, who was priest of the Cells, often affirmed that Mark never received from him what it is right and lawful for priests to offer to the faithful at the altar: but that an Angel offered it to him, whose hand, he said, he saw only as far as the joint.

[411] Food supplied to St. John the hermit by an Angel. In the Life of St. John the anchorite, who lived near Lycopolis in Egypt in the fourth century, given among us at the twenty-seventh of March, Palladius writes these things at number 24: For I have known a man in the wilderness who for ten years tasted nothing of earthly food: but every third day an Angel brought him heavenly food and put it into his mouth, and this was to him instead of food and drink. In the same place Palladius, from St. John's account, narrates the example of another monk, who also had been fed divinely, but having fallen through excessive presumption had thought of returning to the world. But repenting, as is narrated at number 22, when he had shut himself in a cave and had strewn sackcloth and ashes beneath him, he did not rise from the ground, nor cease to weep, until he heard the voice of an Angel, saying to him in his sleep: The Lord has accepted your penitence, and has had mercy on you: but hereafter see that you be not deceived. For there will come to you the brethren whom you admonished, and will bring you blessed loaves: and when you have received them, you shall eat with them, and shall give thanks to God for ever. Many offices of the Angels, like those related, are read in the Acts of St. Onuphrius, given in volume 2 of June page 530 and following; but I pass these over, because the writer of the Acts is unknown, and perhaps less ancient.

[412] To the fourth century St. Fronto the abbot also seems to belong, By the command of an Angel, as is reported, food was carried to the monks. as our Papebroch observed at the fourteenth of May in the Annotations to the Life of St. Pachomius page 296. The Life of St. Fronto was given at the thirteenth of April, and it seems to be by a contemporary writer: but at the end it has a little appendix by which the matter is referred to the second century, about whose falsity there is no room to doubt, whether it was added long afterwards or was merely corrupted. I confess, however, that the Acts themselves also become to some degree suspect of forgery on account of that little appendix. Hence what is reported in them, an otherwise illustrious example of Angelic beneficence, I shall relate only in a brief summary. The community of St. Fronto was suffering from want in the desert. And so an Angel, sent by the Lord, says the author at number 6, goes by night to a certain rich man and says to him: You feast splendidly amid riches, and my servants in the desert lack bread. Rise therefore at daybreak, and send to my servants food out of all that I have given you, because I have appointed you steward of my flock, etc. That rich man wished to obey, but since he did not know where those monks dwelt, he did nothing meanwhile, and on the second night he is said to have been admonished again, but more harshly and with blows. And so he is said to have sent off seventy camels laden with provisions without a driver, and the camels went straight on their way and on the fourth day came to the monastery of St. Fronto, as the author asserts. I should not indeed wish to contend pugnaciously for the truth of this event; yet I know that similar things have not rarely happened.

[413] What Palladius hands down about St. Apollonius the abbot in the Life, Several favors bestowed on St. Apollonius published among us at the twenty-fifth of January, seems more certain. He dwelt in a cave and prayed almost continually. But his nourishment (says Palladius at number 4, who saw the old man) was then also, as before, supplied by God in a wonderful and unexpected manner. For in the wilderness nourishment was brought to him by an Angel. Then he reports that in the time of Julian the apostate one of the monks was seized, and that Apollonius with other monks came to the prison and admonished the captive to be brave and constant in his labors, and that on this occasion the Saint himself and all the monks who were with him were shut up by the tribune of the guard. Then he adds at number 7: But in the middle of the night, one bearing a lamp (λαμπαδηφόρος, that is, shining with immense light) appears to the guards, lighting up all who were in the prison, so that the guards stood gaping with amazement. And when they had risen, they asked them that they should all depart, the doors being opened for them. For they acknowledged that it was better to die for them than to despise the liberty which had come to them divinely, since they were being held without reason. And so the tribune, coming in the morning to the prison with the magistrates, urged that the men should go out of the city: for he said that his house had fallen in an earthquake, and that the best of his servants had been crushed. And they, hearing this and giving thanks to God, went away into the wilderness.

[414] To the favors of the Angels also there seems to be referred what Palladius narrates at number 13, writing thus: or bestowed on Apollo by the Angels. But there was still earlier in a cave of the mountain St. Apollo with five other brethren, who were his first disciples, when he had lately come from the wilderness. And when the feast day of Easter had arrived, and they had fulfilled the worship of God, they were about to eat what was to be found: and there were some dry loaves, and certain vegetables laid by. But Apollo said to them: If we are faithful, O sons, and true brothers of Christ the Son, let each one of you ask from God that which is pleasing to his own mind for eating. But they left the whole matter to him, judging themselves unworthy of such a grace. And when with a joyful countenance he had prayed, and all had said, Amen, at once by night there came into the cave certain men wholly unknown, who said that they came from a distant region; and they brought everything, even things of which they had not so much as heard, and which do not grow in Egypt, garden fruits of every kind, grapes and pomegranates and figs and nuts, all out of season: nay even certain honeycombs that had been found, and a jar of fresh milk, and very large nicolai-dates, and clean and warm loaves from a foreign country. And those who had brought these things, when they had merely handed them over, as though sent by a great and rich man, at once withdrew in haste. And when they had taken the edible things, these sufficed them until Pentecost, so that they themselves also marveled and said that they had truly been sent by God. It does not seem open to doubt that they were Angels who brought those foods in human form. Concerning the nicolai-dates the Annotations in the same place may be consulted.

[415] St. Pachomius is bidden by an Angel to build monasteries St. Pachomius, the first founder of the cenobitic life, began in the fourth century, not far advanced, to enjoy the favors of the Angels. In his Life, published at the fourteenth of May, these things are read at number 7: Having therefore advanced somewhat farther into the wilderness, he came by chance to a certain deserted village, Tabennesi by name: where, when out of the charity by which he was borne toward God he was giving himself to prayer and prolonging it at some length, a voice is brought to him (for up to that time he had experienced no heavenly vision) saying thus: Stay here, and build a monastery: for very many eager to embrace the monastic life will come hither to you, to whom you shall give guidance according to the Rule which I shall show you. And straightway there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord, bringing him a tablet on which was written the whole form of the institute by which all should be taught who came to the studies of his teaching: which Rule the Tabennesiots keep even today, always using the same food and habit, and preserving the discipline itself with careful circumspection, etc. St. Jerome, who rendered the Rule of St. Pachomius into Latin, in his Preface, volume 2 of the Verona edition column 53, says of St. Pachomius and his disciple Theodore and Orsiesius: Who first laid the foundations of monasteries throughout the Thebaid and Egypt, according to the precept of God and of the Angel who came, sent to them for this very institution.

[316] and to gather monks: In the same Life at number 15 these things again are read: After these things, while the brethren were gathering material for making reed mats, Pachomius, dwelling on an island, kept his vigils according to custom: and when, in order to give himself more privately to prayer, he had for a while withdrawn himself from the company of the rest, and was seeking out God's perfect will through prayer, an Angel appeared to him from the Lord, not otherwise than as once happened to Manoah and his wife, when they were admonished about the future birth of Samson. And the Angel declared thus: It is God's will that you serve the race of men, by reconciling them to him: and that you gather a multitude of monks, instructing them all according to the form which has been prescribed to you. For he had long before received a tablet on which these things were written. Then follow various precepts, the last of which has as follows: Moreover it was also laid down by the Angel who spoke with Pachomius that there should be twelve daytime prayers, and twelve evening ones, and twelve nightly ones. And when Pachomius said that the prayers were few, the Angel answered: I have appointed only those which the weaker could perform without toil. But those who are perfect do not need this law: for, settled by themselves in their own cells, they do not cease to pray, being fed by purity of mind and by divine contemplation. These things indicate St. Pachomius's great familiarity with the Angel. It must be observed, however, that in the Greek Life,

as it was published by us in volume III of May toward the end, both apparitions of the Angel are indeed read, but nothing about the tablet handed over to St. Pachomius by the Angel: and that those things were added to the Latin Life from Dionysius Exiguus in another type.

[417] Hence Tillemont in volume 7, Note 8 on St. Pachomius, inquires at length nay, he also received a tablet from the Angel, whether a tablet was handed over to St. Pachomius by an Angel, and likewise whether it seems to have been dictated by the Angel, or rather, at the Angel's mere bidding, composed by Pachomius himself. He confesses that great authority is brought forward for the Rule having been brought to Pachomius by an Angel; but he opposes the silence of some, and especially the Greek Life published by us, and adds some subtle reasonings. He does not, however, dare to deny that the Rule was given by an Angel, but prefers to leave the matter doubtful. Wherefore I shall bring forward a few things to prove the fact further. First, the author of the Life which Dionysius Exiguus made Latin out of the Greek, and which Rosweyde published in the Lives of the Fathers from page 112, asserts in the clearest words on page 116 that the tablet was handed into Pachomius's hands by an Angel. Indeed, the apparition being related, the biographer adds: Pachomius therefore, discerning this voice by that sincerity of mind which the divine grace and the merits of his life had conferred on him, recognized that it had been brought to him from heaven, and approved the exceedingly wonderful Rules. This is the first apparition, in which the tablet is said to have been handed to him. The second is briefly reported in the same place, chapter 15, thus: Amid these things Pachomius is again divinely admonished concerning the Rules by which those should be instructed who were through him to believe in the Lord: and he began with his brother to make more capacious the dwelling in which they were staying, etc. Here nothing about a tablet received.

[418] But in the third apparition, which has already been related at number 416, on which the idea of the institute was written, the tablet of Rules is again expressly asserted in these words: For he had long before received a tablet on which these things were written. Then certain things are reported as to be prescribed to the monks: and the author adds: And when he had said this, the heavenly messenger departed: and Pachomius, giving thanks to God as usual, was made certain of the vision, which he had learned by a threefold revelation. To this biographer I join Palladius, who in the aforesaid Rosweyde page 736 chapter 38 has as follows: While he therefore was sitting in this cave, an Angel of the Lord was seen by him, who says to him: pachomius, the things which pertain to you you have indeed done rightly and virtuously: superfluously therefore do you sit in this place: come then, go out, and gather all the younger monks, and dwell with them, and following the form which I shall give you, appoint laws for them. And he gave him a bronze tablet on which these things were written: "Grant to each one to eat and drink according to the strength of those who eat," etc… But when the great Pachomius said to the Angel that the prayers were few, the Angel says to him: I have appointed these, that the little ones also might be able to go forward to the fulfilling of the Rule, and that it might not be burdensome to them; but those who are perfect have no need that laws be laid down for them, etc… When the Angel had ordered these things and had fulfilled his ministry, he withdrew from the great Pachomius. And these are the monasteries which obtained this form, having about seven thousand men. From the passages cited, which agree with one another, I gather that not all the laws which St. Pachomius laid down were written on the tablet given by the Angel: but that on the tablet there was only prescribed what kind of laws he ought to prescribe to his monks.

[419] according to which he was to prescribe laws to his monks Sozomen book 3 chapter 14 agrees with the foregoing, and adds: Moreover he (the Angel) is said to have given him a tablet, which is still preserved by the monks. Nor does Gennadius disagree in his Catalogue, when in chapter 8 (in others 7) he writes these things about Pachomius: Pachomius the monk, a man of Apostolic grace both in teaching and in working signs, and the founder of the monasteries of Egypt, wrote a Rule fitted to either sort of monks, which he had received at the dictation of an Angel. And when he has related a summary of the institute, he adds again about Pachomius: With these laws Pachomius instructed his disciples, a most kindly man, and exceedingly dear to God, so that he foreknew things to come, and very often spoke with Angels. St. Jerome in the Preface already praised speaks thus of another favor of an Angel bestowed on Pachomius and some of his disciples: But the Thebans say that to Pachomius and Cornelius and Syrus, who to this day is said to live beyond a hundred and ten years, an Angel gave the knowledge of a mystic tongue, so that they should write to one another and speak by a special alphabet, wrapping up hidden meanings in certain signs and symbols. I pass over others who have mentioned the tablet given to Pachomius: and I only observe that nowhere among the ancients is it said that all the Laws which Pachomius was to prescribe to his monks were written on the aforesaid tablet; but that a certain idea was given to the Saint, according to which he should compose his Rules and expound them more fully.

[420] he ought to prescribe. The very words of the writers absolutely require the exposition given. Palladius begins the words of the tablet thus: Grant to each one to eat and drink according to the strength of those who eat: enjoin upon them also works which fit and correspond in proportion: and neither forbid to fast nor to eat, etc. In the Life chapter 22 the beginning of the tablet is reported thus: Grant to each to eat and drink according to his strength: and compel them to labor according to the measure of their eating: and forbid neither to eat moderately nor to fast. Sozomen says the same more generally about the beginning of the tablet: In it, he says, it was written down that he should permit each one to eat, drink, work, and fast, or otherwise, as much as he could, etc. Everywhere the discourse is directed to Pachomius himself, who was to compose the Rule; not to the monks, who was to compose the Rule; not to the monks, who had to observe it when composed by him. Now indeed by this observation nearly all Tillemont's arguments fall: for he attacks the tablet brought by the Angel as though the commands which it contained had been directed to the monks, whereas Pachomius alone was being instructed by that tablet for framing laws. His other arguments do not suffice to convict Palladius and the rest of error or of falsehood: for he does not seem to have been able through error to say that a bronze tablet had been given to Pachomius, and to report the documents which were written on it.

[421] An answer is made to Tillemont's arguments, But he objects first that nothing about the tablet brought is read in the Greek Life, that nothing about it is asserted by St. Jerome, nothing by Cassian. I answer that other things too were omitted in the Greek Life; that Jerome moreover gave only a brief preface, and in it at least says that an Angel sent by God came for this very institution, and mentions the mystic tongue which Pachomius had learned from an Angel. About this very thing the Greek biographer says nothing, who shows that many things were omitted by him by the very fact that after the Life was written he also gave fairly lengthy Paralipomena. Perhaps also he deliberately omitted that a tablet had been given to Pachomius by an Angel, lest the bolder monks should wish to see it, and from it rashly reason or murmur against the ordinances of their superiors. Certainly the other Life, which Dionysius made Latin, asserts in the clearest words both the tablet and the precepts of the tablet, and Palladius and Sozomen agree. Their assertion is far stronger for the tablet than the Greek biographer's silence against it. There is added the Letter of Ammon to Theophilus of Alexandria, in which similar things are narrated about Pachomius. It was published among us after the Acts of Pachomius and the Paralipomena, and at number 5 Ammon reports words spoken to him about Pachomius. A certain Pachomius, the founder and governor of these monasteries, was once most acceptable to God. Him the same God taught many things by revelations, and more by his inward speaking to Pachomius's mind, but others by the ministry of Angels, etc. Then it is reported that the future coming of St. Theodore was foretold to Pachomius by an Angel, about which revelation there is likewise nothing in the Greek Acts.

[422] Orsiesius, who was Pachomius's successor in the government of the monks, and it is further confirmed that Pachomius received the form of his institute in the Doctrine handed on to them, in Holstenius's Code of rules page 146 number 46, addresses his own thus: Let us not forsake the law of God, which our father, receiving it from him, handed on to us. Likewise at number 28 he says: If they are the commandments of God, which he handed on to us through our father, etc. There is indeed no mention here of a tablet: but the words hint that Pachomius received in some singular manner from God what he prescribed to his own. And so, since in Ammon's Letter it is said that he was taught by the ministry of Angels, and since both Palladius and Sozomen and the Life translated by Dionysius, nay also the Life published by Surius, openly teach that the form of the Rules to be written was given to Pachomius on a tablet, and Palladius adds that the tablet was of bronze, and Sozomen that it was preserved even in his own time, this fact does not seem to be deniable without solid arguments. But Tillemont has brought forward no such argument. Certainly the silence of some, and namely of the Greek Life, is no such argument, in which not a few things were omitted, which perhaps fell out in transcription. Nor is this such an argument, that on the tablet it was written: But let them sleep not lying down, but on seats built for themselves somewhat sloping backward, and there, their coverlets being laid upon them, let them sleep sitting. For what some tried to do in the Greek Life at number 9 is not contrary to this. For they too wished to sleep sitting, as had been prescribed, but in a harder manner, which had not been forbidden, just as the more perfect could add more prayers to those prescribed.

[423] Nor again is this such an argument, which he objects against those words of the tablet: from an Angel on a tablet. If a guest come from another monastery which has a different form, let him neither eat nor drink with them. A friendly priest is read to have complained of this in the Life at number 28. St. Pachomius ought therefore, if we believe Tillemont, to have answered that this was one of the Angel's precepts. But since he had suitable reasons for that Rule and alleged them, and satisfied his friend with them, I do not think it seemed necessary to a humble man to reveal his secret on account of that objection. Wherefore Tillemont has not proved that that tablet was invented gratuitously or through error; or that Palladius reported some things about the precepts of the tablet which had not been written on it; or that Dionysius inserted them from elsewhere into the Life which he rendered into Latin. But it has been abundantly confirmed that the form of monastic life which Pachomius prescribed to his own was handed to him by an Angel on a tablet. I pass over certain other benefits of the Angels toward St. Pachomius, which the studious reader will find in the Acts.

[424] A vision of Angels offered to St. Theodore. Concerning St. Theodore, the disciple of Pachomius, Ammon in the Letter praised above at number 7 writes that he prayed by night, and at last, being weighed down, sat down to take the sleep he needed. Then an Angel of the Lord, appearing in his sleep, roused him as he slept,

saying: Follow me. Theodore rose, and following the Angel who went before him, was led into the church itself, which he found shining with an immense light on every side. A great multitude of Angels also was present in that place in which the priests are accustomed to offer their Sacrifices to God. Theodore, at once terrified and at the same time called forward by one of the Angels, when he had taken his stand nearer, someone conspicuous with I know not what great glory and splendor cooked a certain strange and unaccustomed food. And when he had poured it into Theodore's mouth, he charged him to allow it to be consumed there. Theodore, eating the food offered him and experiencing the strangeness of the taste, presently beheld all the light vanish and the Angels withdraw from the temple. Ammon the bishop adds, who under Theodore had earlier been a monk, that these things were related by him to St. Pachomius. And Pachomius, as is narrated more at length in the Paralipomena at number 13, beheld the soul of another of his monks, whose death he had learned of and whom he was on the road to visit, being led, singing psalms with the holy Angels, to take possession of the blessed life; and he announced this at once to the monks present with him.

[425] An Angel seen to suggest words to St. Ambrose. Paulinus in the Life of St. Ambrose at number 17 has as follows: About the same time there was a certain man of the heresy of the Arians, an exceedingly keen disputant, and hard and unconvertible to the Catholic faith. He, standing in the church while the bishop (St. Ambrose) was preaching, saw, as he himself said afterwards, an Angel speaking into the ears of the bishop as he preached; so that the bishop seemed to be reporting the Angel's words to the people. Being converted by this sight, he himself began to defend the faith which he had been assailing.

[426] Angels are present to Theodoretus the priest in his torments: Theodoretus, priest of Antioch and martyr under Julian, whose Acts Mabillon gave in volume 4 of the Analecta page 130, when he had already endured various torments and was even then being tortured by order of Julian's count, is read to have prayed, saying among other things: And show your power to the wicked, that all may know how you bestow grace on those who fear you, etc. And presently the following is added: And suddenly the executioners fell upon their faces with the torches (with which they were burning the martyr's sides). Julian indeed was disturbed, along with the soldiers standing by, and ordered the executioners to be lifted up, and said to them: Apply the torches again to his sides. But they answered: Let your nobility order others: we cannot do this, because we have seen four Angels in white raiment standing by and speaking with him, and therefore we fell upon our faces.

[427] they protect Constantinople against Gainas, Socrates in book 6 chapter 6 reports the machinations of Gainas against the emperor Arcadius and the city of Constantinople, and the immense miracle by which the city was preserved against that Arian leader of the Goths. Let us hear the parts that concern our purpose. In the dead of night (Gainas) sends barbarians to set fire to the palace. But then it was clearly declared how great care and providence God had for the city. For a multitude of Angels was seen by the plotters, who bore the appearance of soldiers of enormous stature. And the barbarians, suspecting that it was in truth a huge and strong army, withdrew astounded. When this was reported to Gainas, it seemed incredible to him. For he knew that the greatest part of the Roman army was absent, being distributed through the cities of the East. On the next night therefore, and again on others following, he sends others. But when the same things were reported back to him though he sent various men — for the Angels had continually presented the same appearance to the plotters — at last he himself, advancing with a great multitude, becomes a spectator of the miracle. And so, suspecting that it was in fact a multitude of soldiers, who by day indeed lay hidden but by night withstood his attempts, he took counsel, etc. It is added that Gainas went out of the city with part of his men, in order to take the city in another way: which turned out unhappily for him also. The same miracle Sozomen narrates in book 8 chapter 4, not adding, however, that it was Angels who presented that appearance of soldiers to the eyes of the Goths.

[428] That barbarian attempt of Gainas happened when Arcadius was administering the Eastern empire, They are often seen by Chrysostom in the church and assisting at Mass. and St. John Chrysostom the see of Constantinople, in the year 399, as it seemed to me in Chrysostom §44, or, as others have held, in the year 400. Among other things Gainas had wished that some church at Constantinople should be yielded to the Arians, and Chrysostom had strongly opposed that petition. And so those machinations of Gainas were directed both against the Catholic Church and against the empire. Chrysostom moreover, as St. Nilus, then living, witnesses, very often beheld the Lord's house (that is, the temple or church) protected at almost every hour by the care of the Angels, never abandoned by them, and most of all at the time of the most holy and unbloody Sacrifice. Which he, full of wonder and gladness, related outside the crowd to the true friends joined to him in spirit. For he said that as soon as the priest began the sacred oblation, very many of the blessed Powers suddenly descending from heaven, and clothed about in certain most splendid garments, with bare foot, with intent eyes and lowered face, going about the altar with reverence and much stillness and silence, stood by until the consummation of the awful Mystery: and then at last, poured out on every side through the venerable house of the Lord, they minister here and there to each of the bishops and priests they meet, and to each of the deacons who distribute the Body and venerable Blood to others, and help them and strengthen their powers. Thus far St. Nilus, whose words are given more fully in Chrysostom, volume IV of September page 669.

§ XXIX. Benefits of the Angels in the fifth century.

[ ] To Alexander the abbot and his companions At the beginning of the fifth century there flourished especially in the East Alexander, founder of the Order of the Acoemetae, whose Life was given at the fifteenth of January. He had converted from the superstition of the heathen to the Christian faith Rabbulus or Rabbulas, afterwards bishop of Edessa, and was trying to lead him further to leave all things for Christ. But Rabbulus, who had a wife and children, did not acquiesce in this counsel. In order therefore to refute the holy man by experience itself, he asked that he should support him and his children in the wilderness for one day at least. The condition was accepted, and Rabbulus, as the Life has at number 19, leads them into a vast wilderness, never, as it seemed, trodden by human foot. And when they had journeyed the whole day, about the eleventh hour they halted between two mountains. And Rabbulus indeed, looking around at the roads, laughed. But blessed Alexander according to his custom at once gave himself to prayer. And when together they had completed the Evening hymn, the most loving Godhead answered the confidence of his great-souled athlete. For he sent an Angel in the form of a countryman, driving a beast of burden laden with clean and warm loaves, and with two pots of provisions hanging on either side, in which were vegetables and pulse.

[430] food is brought into the desert by an Angel: Then blessed Alexander said to Rabbulus: Rise, take, and be not unbelieving. But he stood astonished for a long time, reasoning thus with himself: Whence in a desert place did a countryman have so many and such loaves? And we indeed, walking the whole day, have scarcely come to this place: altogether therefore he must have set out from home by night, in order to arrive here at last at this time. It is necessary therefore that those loaves were not baked today. Whence then are they warm? And turning these things over in his mind, he marveled at the power of Christ. And he says to him who had come: Whence do you come? or who sent you here? And the Angel: My Lord sent me. Having taken the food therefore, they dismissed him who seemed a countryman: who, having gone forward a little space, suddenly ceased to be seen. Receiving with thanksgiving what had been sent them by the Lord Jesus, they remained there that night. On the next day they returned to the city.

[431] an objection of Tillemont is refuted: Rabbulus was led by this miracle to leave all things, his wife also consenting, who with her daughters embraced the monastic life, as presently follows. Tillemont in volume 12 treats of Alexander the Acoemete, and confesses that his Life was written by a disciple. Nay, he also acknowledges that the Religion of the Acoemetae was most famous. Yet he objects many things, both against the Life and against Alexander's conduct: but these are exceedingly slight, and easily to be refuted in their place. He says, against the fact just related, that the author says that Rabbulus, in order to test Alexander, exposed himself with all his household to the danger of dying of hunger. But the author by no means says this, nor can it be deduced from his account. For by no word does he hint that Rabbulus came with his people to the wilderness without any food. He could have taken secretly with him as much as was necessary for that day; or have seen to it that this was done by companions; or that food should follow by servants. Besides, on the next day they returned to the city, so that there would have been no danger of dying from one day's fasting, even if he had omitted all precaution.

[432] [on another occasion loaves are brought to him and to the monks by the Angel's command:] Another thing is reported in the same Life at number 45, in these words: But certain unbelieving men thought to test the grace, and remained among the brethren day and night, wishing to find out whence food was supplied to God's servants: for they saw that day by day food was continually found prepared for them, on which they might feed sufficiently; and that the remainder was distributed to beggars, and that they were troubled by no care for the morrow. But the Saint, when by the prompting of the Holy Spirit he had learned their thoughts, says to a brother following him, though no one was knocking at the doors: Go out and take what has been sent by the Lord. But before he had reached the door, there came a certain man clothed in a white garment, and knocked strongly at the door. When it was opened, the brother found a basket filled with clean and warm loaves; but him who had knocked at the door he nowhere saw. For it was an Angel who had set the man with the loaves in that place and had departed. The brother therefore says to him who had come: Who sent you here? And he: I was drawing loaves out of the oven, when there stood by me a tall man in white raiment, urgently pressing me and saying: Carry all these loaves to the servants of the Most High. And since I did not know the place, he bade me follow him even to here: it is he who knocked at the doors, and he at once ceased to be seen. When that brother had heard this, he reports it to the holy abbot, the brethren having already sat down at table. He, receiving the warm loaves, set them out: and taking them with thanksgiving, they bestowed what was left over on the poor brethren. And they were astounded at the confidence of the man who, according to the Scriptures, was in no way anxious about the morrow. But he, desiring to implant faith in the brethren, calls into their midst the man who had brought the loaves, that from his own mouth they might learn everything.

[433] Among the chief disciples of Alexander was St. Marcellus, an observation on behalf of Alexander against Tillemont's detractions. whose Life is published in Surius at the twenty-ninth of December. In it Alexander is praised, and Marcellus is said to have come to him as to a man incomparable in virtue, full indeed of wisdom, full also of pastoral solicitude and of diligence and care for souls, etc. These things I wished to bring forward in commendation of St. Alexander, against whom Tillemont set himself without cause. From this Life Baronius at the year 469 attributes to St. Marcellus an Angel,

who accompanied him in the form of a youth of the greatest stature and of wondrous beauty. But that vision I pass over as less certain, because the Life is not by a coeval writer, and is attributed to Metaphrastes. But in commendation of St. Alexander I add the Life of St. Hypatius, given among us at the seventeenth of June, faithfully written by an author who perhaps saw Alexander, or at least lived with those who had seen him. He in chapter 8 narrates that St. Alexander was received and defended in his monastery by St. Hypatius, when he was being driven out of Constantinople with his followers, which was probably done by Nestorius. It was certainly done by a bishop, and it is reported, after Nestorius's exile has been reported, among the particular events. Alexander moreover is praised in these words: A certain archimandrite, Alexander by name, coming from Asia Minor together with about a hundred monks, took up his dwelling in the city, whose manner of life was approved by all, etc. There is more there: but let this suffice meanwhile against Tillemont's detractions.

[434] In the same century there died in Egypt, on the mountain of St. Antony, Angels with the dying St. Sisoes: St. Sisoes, whose sanctity is celebrated with wondrous praises, as may be seen among us at the sixth of July, where Sisoes was treated. His death is reported at number 19, and he is said to have died with shining countenance, refreshed by many visions. Passing over the rest, I shall here recite only what is said about the Angels: But behold him as it were speaking with certain persons. And so the elders asked him, saying: With whom do you converse, father? He answered: The Angels have come to take me up: and I beseech that I may be allowed to do penance a little while.

[435] The same century St. Simeon Stylites adorned by his wonderful life, likewise Angels often seen with St. Simeon Stylites: who died on his column near Antioch. When his death was heard of, the patriarch of Antioch presently came with bishops to translate the body into the city. Of the events before this translation the author of the second Life among us at the fifth of January speaks thus at number 36: And everywhere a dark cloud arose round about. But I beheld an Angel coming to visit him. And about the tenth hour seven elders were speaking with the Angel, whose face was as lightning and whose garments as snow. And I beheld his voice in fear and trembling as long as I could look. Yet what the mystery was I do not know. For that disciple also who announced his death to the bishop said that in the more secret hours he had frequently seen an Angel speaking with him, whose appearance was as lightning and his garments as snow.

[436] and Angels ministering to St. Euthymius as he sacrificed, In the fifth century likewise there flourished and died St. Euthymius the abbot, outstanding among the professors of the monastic life. In his Life written by Cyril, and published in the Greek Analecta, these things are read briefly on pages 61 and 62. Likewise when he offered the divine Gifts, he often beheld Angels ministering to him. In the Life of St. Cyriacus in the same place page 106 it is said: Meanwhile, after a short time had elapsed, the great Euthymius departs to God by a fair journey, whose sacred soul Gerasimus sees led away by an Angel, and ascending splendidly to the heavens whence he had been called. The same things are read in the Life written by St. Cyril and to be given today. I pass over other things, but I add one which pertains to the earlier years of the fifth century, as it is reported by St. Paulinus in Letter 49 (otherwise 36), those things being cut away, however, for brevity's sake, which are less necessary for understanding the benefit.

[437] Valgius, still a heathen and an old man, left alone in a ship, The matter concerns a certain heathen Valgius, called Victor after the baptism which he received on the occasion of this benefit. For see, says St. Paulinus, how admirable and worthy of proclamation is the work which the Lord Jesus wrought in one old man with his holy Angels. Valgius, an old man, was sailing with others to Sardinia in the winter season. Straightway, says Paulinus, as he related to me, a storm arising in the nearby strait turned back from their appointed courses a fleet of many ships that had rashly loosed from harbor, and broke them upon the shore. His ship they tried to make fast with anchors in a certain place of that island which they call ad Pulvinos, lest it likewise be dashed to pieces: but the violence of the same storm prevailing, and the cables breaking, the terrified sailors let down the small boat; either that they might succor the ship, to hold it more strongly, with renewed anchors more deeply fixed, or that they might rescue themselves, if they could, from the ship's peril. But the tempest is said to have snatched them at once with the frail refuge of their little skiff onto the rocks, and to have overwhelmed them with the waves poured over them. One old man out of the whole number of the sailors, appointed to bail out the bilge, they leave behind, whether forgetting him through fear, or despising a worthless life. Meanwhile the ship, forsaken by sailors and anchors, is carried off into the open sea.

[438] which was tossed by a heavy storm on the sea, That old man, who had not known that he was left behind, when he felt himself tossed and rolled, comes up from the depth of the ship, and sees everything empty, sea on every side and sky on every side. Since solitude heaped up both fear and danger for the wretched man, he passed six days and nights fasting. For tears were his bread day and night. Then the merciful and compassionate Lord deigned to approach him close at hand, now more desirous of death than of life and longing for the end of his sufferings by the departure of his soul, and to hearten him with the food of his word. He himself, still weeping, relates the happiness of his peril, and cannot be heard without tears of the heart and joy of the spirit, how he was addressed by Christ approaching, how he was strengthened by his exhortation, how being bidden he cut down the mast, whose cutting away was at that time the ship's remedy: but what many and very strong men can scarcely do without danger to themselves and to the ship, he alone and feeble, not daring to attempt it, dared at God's word. Only twice, and lightly, as from an old man's hand, the mast, touched rather than struck by the axe, so leapt away from the wound that, driven far outside the ship into the waves, it fell harmlessly. Then in various duties, as the tossing of the sea and the equipment of a ship demand, when either the foresail had to be rigged, or the bilge had to be emptied [*], being called by the name of Victor by the Lord, he was bidden only to hold out his hand in the appearance of acting, for any given task. For among the many and various graces of divine wonders concerning this old man, this gift of God too does not seem to be passed over, that he also received the name by which he is now both reckoned in regeneration and written down both by men and by Angels: for by his heathen designation he was called Valgius, who now is called Victor by the Lord…

[439] Wondrous is the faithfulness and unspeakable the loving-kindness of the Lord Savior, with the Angels helping in a marvelous manner and who, if perchance the old man, sluggish with sleep, rose too slowly to his tasks, feeling ahead of him with a gentle hand, lest he should awake in alarm, roused him by softly plucking his ear; while the old man, lightly striving, would see, from the very first effort of his own, the tasks accomplished by Angelic hands. Scarcely had he touched the rope, as if about to draw it, when he would see the sail already bellied out into its own booms; the topsail was standing, it was making sails for the ship. Water taken in through the ship's chinks had tried to sink her: and after one or two scoops of the little bilge-bucket, the moisture being drawn off and the ship dried, he had nothing to do, amazed that his labor was gathered before him without labor, and that his action was anticipated by a hidden hand: if that hand is rightly called hidden which afforded so evident a help. But not even were the workers themselves withdrawn from the simple eyes of the most innocent old man: for he often saw armed men, plainly soldiers from the army of heaven, keeping watch over the vessel and performing every part of a sailor's duty. Nor indeed did any but Angel sailors steer that ship, whose helm was the Governor of the world. For the Lord himself, now flashing with his own countenance, as he is described in the Apocalypse, and gleaming in his hair; now venerable with the face of his confessor and friend, my lord, our common patron, Felix, sat in the stern, as it is said in nautical usage, at the tillers, or rather in place of the tillers, which the ship had lost together with the anchors and the sailors on that shipwrecking shore…

[440] The old man, weeping for joy, relates that he was accustomed to fall down at the feet now of the Lord himself, directing it, he escapes unharmed after twenty-three days. now of the martyr steering; and that, with the Lord himself enticing him still more familiarly, he had also upon the sacred knees and bosom a blessed pillow for his reclining head, fragrant with divine breathings of perfumes. About these wonders St. Paulinus reasons at length, and teaches that that old man was tossed for twenty-three days through various parts of the Mediterranean sea, after he had been abandoned by the rest of the sailors. He adds at number 6 concerning the Lord directing the ship: And in him (the old man), dispensing the distinct duties of flesh and spirit, he bade him rest secure by night and watch anxiously by day, promising that he himself would watch for him while he slept and would cooperate with him while he watched. Of the wondrous simplicity of that old man he speaks thus at number 13: For he is reported to have been always so pure of mind by an inborn simplicity that he knew not how to sin. Of his care in questioning the old man frequently about these deeds he writes thus at number 14: I confess to you my feeling: while I too greatly admire and love such notable deeds of God in a man of our own time, I was almost cruel to the old man himself. For I so continually plucked at his ear that I almost wore it away. Thus far St. Paulinus, whose Letter may be read.

* that is, to be emptied out

§ XXX. Benefits of the Angels in the sixth century.

[ ] The soul of St. Germanus of Capua seen to be led into heaven by Angels: I begin the benefits of the Angels toward men in the sixth century from those departing from mortal to immortal life. St. Gregory in book 2 of the Dialogues chapter 35 has as follows about a certain vision of St. Benedict the abbot: And when Benedict the man of God, while the brethren were still resting, being intent upon his vigils, had anticipated the hours of nocturnal prayer, standing at the window and praying to almighty God, suddenly, looking out at the hour of the dead of night, he saw a light poured down from above put to flight all the darkness of the night, and shine with so great a splendor that that light which had shone amid the darkness surpassed the day… And this venerable father, while he fixed the intent gaze of his eyes upon this splendor of flashing light, saw the soul of Germanus bishop of Capua carried into heaven by Angels in a fiery sphere. Then, wishing to take a witness to himself of so great a miracle, he called Servandus the deacon, repeating his name twice and three times with a great cry. And when he had been disturbed by the unusual cry of so great a man, he went up, looked out, and saw now only a small part of the light. To him, astonished at so great a miracle, the man of God narrated in order the things that had happened. Theoprobus too was sent at once to Capua, and there he learned that his (St. Germanus's) death had been at the same moment at which the man of the Lord knew of his ascent. Of St. Germanus we shall treat at the thirtieth of October.

[442] Angels are present at the passing of St. Stephen the abbot, Another thing St. Gregory reports in Homily 35 on the Gospels concerning the death of St. Stephen the abbot, of whom it was treated among us at the thirteenth of February. There was indeed

in our days, he says, a man named Stephen, father of a monastery established beside the walls of the city of Rieti, a man exceedingly holy, of singular virtue of patience. And there survive many who knew him and relate either his life or his death… When the day of death was pressing him to go forth from the body, many came together, that they might commend their own souls to so holy a soul departing from this world. And while all those who had come stood about his bed, some with bodily eyes saw Angels entering, but could in no way say anything; others saw nothing at all: but so violent a fear struck all who were present that no one, when that holy soul went forth, could stand there. And so both these who had seen and these who had seen nothing at all, all struck and terrified with one fear, fled. The same thing he narrated again in book 4 of the Dialogues chapter 19, and there he adds from whom he learned this event.

[443] likewise in the last illness of St. Romula, with an immense light Again Gregory in book 4 of the Dialogues chapter 15 narrates the wonderful passing of St. Romula, about whom, with SS. Redempta and Hirundo, it was disputed among us at the twenty-third of July. Redempta was the mistress of Romula and of her sister, and together they were leading a pious and as it were solitary life in the City. But Romula had been brought by illness almost to her last extremity. On a certain night, therefore, says Gregory, she called that same Redempta whom I have mentioned, who was nurturing both her disciples in the place of daughters, saying: Mother, come; mother, come. She presently rose with the other, her fellow-disciple, as by the report of both this same event became known to many, and I too knew it at the same time. And while in the middle of the night they were standing by the bed of her as she lay, a sudden light sent from heaven filled the whole space of that little cell, and a splendor of such brightness flashed out that it constricted the hearts of those standing by with inestimable dread, and, as they themselves afterwards reported, their whole body grew stiff and remained in sudden stupor. For there began to be heard as it were the sound of a certain great multitude entering, and the door of the cell to be shaken, as though it were pressed by a throng of those entering: and, as they said, they felt the multitude of those coming in: but by the excess of fear and of light they could not see, because both dread had weighed down their eyes and the very brightness of so great a light beat them back. Which light was immediately followed by a fragrance of wondrous odor, so that the sweetness of the odor revived their spirit, which the light sent forth had terrified.

[444] But when they could not bear the force of that brightness, and a sweet odor, and in her death, which singing follows. the same Romula began with soothing voice to console Redempta, the mistress of her conduct, as she stood by trembling, saying: Fear not, mother, I am not dying yet. And when she said this frequently, little by little the light which had been sent forth was withdrawn: but the odor which had followed it remained. And so a second and a third day passed, with the sprinkled fragrance of the odor remaining. On the fourth night therefore she again called that same mistress of hers. And when she came, she asked for and received the Viaticum. But not yet had that same Redempta or that other disciple of hers withdrawn from the bed of her as she lay, when behold, suddenly in the street before the door of that same cell two choirs of psalm-singers took their stand, and, as she said that she distinguished the sexes by the voices, the men said the chants of the psalmody, and the women answered. And while the heavenly obsequies were being performed before the doors of the cell, that holy soul was released from the flesh. When it had been led to heaven, the higher the choirs of psalm-singers ascended, the more faintly the psalmody began to be heard, until both the sound of that psalmody and the sweetness of the odor, growing distant, came to an end. I pass over other things which could be transferred here from St. Gregory.

[445] In the same sixth century there flourished and died St. Hilarus, abbot of Galeata in Italy, An Angel assigns to St. Hilarus the abbot a place of habitation, whose Life, faithfully written by a disciple, was published among us at the fifteenth of May. He in his youth, moved by the words of the Gospel and confirmed by the counsel of a certain old man, when he wished to leave all things, is read to have prayed that God would deign to send an Angel as guide of his way. Then follows at number 2: And when the prayer was finished, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him and, comforting his mind, said: Be comforted, act manfully: for God fulfills all the desires of your will: and behold, I have been given you as a guardian, that whatever you shall wish to do may be prosperous in your hand. At the same time also, going out from the parts of Tuscany, he settled himself in the parts of Aemilia: where he promptly obtained the place of his habitation shown him by the Angel in the mountains and in the deserts, according to what his love had been. Again at number 7, after he had gathered disciples, he was accused before Theodoric king of Italy, and he sent soldiers to arrest him. Then, when the soldiers were drawing near the place, he prayed thus: Lord Jesus Christ, who deigned to send your holy Angel prosperously to me in this place, who also showed me this dwelling, I commit to you your cause, who are the judge of all: be present in this hour, that the enemy may not rejoice, who wishes to grieve your servants. And when the prayer was made, immediately, straying off onto another road, they wandered in the mountains for two days.

[446] Hearing this, king Theodoric (who was building a palace on that same mountain), filled with great anger, and confers other benefits on him. mounted his horse at the swiftest pace: and in that very fury, when he wished to hasten to the man of God, before he entered within the precinct of that monastery, at about a stone's throw more or less, the horse groaned within itself and would not go. But the king kept striking him: whence there is no doubt that the horse trembled at an Angelic countenance. And when he struck his horse rather often, the horse in the swiftest fury threw him down in that same place: whence neither the king nor the horse could move. Whatever be the cause for which the horse would not or could not go on, Theodoric asked that St. Hilarus should approach, and became a suppliant and a friend to him, as presently follows. Finally at number XI it is said of St. Hilarus: But when the days of his life were completed, that is, eighty-two years, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him on the fourth of the Ides of May, saying: Be comforted and act manfully, comforting your congregation and the multitude gathered to you, because after three days I shall come to you, taking you from this world. He died on the third day, as follows. The author, who is brief, says of his writings at number 10: These things, which we have seen and have heard from his mouth, we announce to you.

[447] St. Simeon Stylites has the Angels as helpers in working miracles, Again in the same century near Antioch there lived on a column in outstanding sanctity St. Simeon Stylites, who is called the younger, and he was renowned for many miracles. His Life was published among us at the twenty-fourth of May. In it at number 49 these things are read: Meanwhile… (Simeon) sees toward the East heaven opened, and there our Lord Jesus Christ… there were seen also the archangels Michael and Gabriel, gently stationed, the one at the right, the other at the left. In this vision power against the demons is said to have been conferred on Simeon. Then concerning the grace of miracles these things follow at number 50: Both the Saint himself and several others, to whom that grace was granted, also saw three Angels of God, of whom one at the right, another at the left, the third standing behind Simeon's back, held ink in their hands; and those who were to obtain healing, at the Saint's bidding, were written down as it were on fine linen, whiter than snow itself: and not only individuals, but very many together also, who had come for the sake of healing, reported that they had obtained it… Moreover, the Angels who stood around Simeon, lending their aid to the miracles and cures, so stood by him for some time: then, being bidden [*] to write according to custom, they refused to do so thereafter. The Angels were no longer willing to designate those to be healed, but among other things said: All things henceforth, by your intercession, will come to pass according to the faith of those who approach… When they had said this, the Angels went away, etc. Everything cited indicates that the Angels brought aid to St. Simeon in working miracles.

[448] and is warned by his Guardian of his approaching death. Then, when the Saint had been abandoned by his disciples through fear of the enemy rushing in, he received such consolation from the Angels, as is said at number 66: He rejoiced therefore in the solitude, and for three following days giving himself to prayer and to God alone, … he beholds on either side two holy Angels, one on the right, the other on the left, saying to him: Take courage, for you are not alone, but we are with you. Again at number 77 the author has as follows: A certain Persian man had an exceedingly grievous struggle with a demon, from which he could in no way be freed. An Angel stood by him and said: Go to Simeon the servant of God, dwelling on the lofty mountain opposite Antioch, etc. He came to Simeon and was set free. Presently at number 78 another similar thing is reported about another possessed man. I shall give a few words: To him therefore in peril, when all others failed, there is present from heaven an Angel, in the dress and appearance of a soldier, bidding him go to the Wondrous Mountain to St. Simeon: For he himself, he says, will render you free from the vexations of the demon. He comes, and the demon is driven out. But the young man, being set free, saw with his own eyes the Angel, in every respect resembling the soldier, standing by Simeon and conversing with him familiarly, as he himself afterwards related. A wonderful vision of many Angels is reported at number 148: but this I pass over. Finally at number 248 the biographer reports these things: St. Simeon was therefore now in the seventy-fifth year of his age, … when, being informed by his familiar Angel of the approaching end of his life, he signified this very thing to his disciples, summoned together and grieving with bitter speech.

[449] St. Gregory of Tours in his book on the Glory of the confessors sets a first chapter about the powers of the Angels before the rest, Drink, the Angels being invoked, increased in a time of need. beginning thus: While therefore I was staying in the territory of Auvergne, a man faithful to me related, and I know that he narrated true things, because I clearly learned that what he said had been done. He orders, he says, a drink to be prepared for the reapers out of grain steeped in water and boiled… And when this had been prepared and stored in a vessel, and he was tying up delays in the city, as is the way of servants, the greatest part being drunk up, they left a scanty amount for the master's use. He too, trusting in his order, bids the reapers be invited, so that on his return from the city he might find them cutting down the crop. This being done, when about seventy workmen had already been set in the crop, the owner of the estate arrived, and examining the quality and quantity of the drink, found very little. Then, confounded with shame, and reckoning what had been done as a disgrace to himself, lest the drink should fail the workmen, which, as he himself judged, was not above the measure of five modii — what he should do, whither he should turn, hung in doubt. At length, at the Lord's inspiration, turning to the little vessel, the names of the holy Angels which the sacred

lessons teach, he devoutly invokes over the mouth of it, praying that their power might deign to turn this smallness into abundance, lest there should fail the workmen what they might draw. Wonderful to say, all day long it was drawn from it, and never failed those drinking: but until night made an end of working, it was supplied to all in abundance.

[450] To the same sixth century belong the offices of the Angels which John the deacon sets forth in the Life of St. Gregory the Great, [An Angel is said to have dealt with St. Gregory in the appearance of a shipwrecked man and a pilgrim] even though the Saint did not die before the year 604. The Life was given among us at the twelfth of March, in which first, in book 1 number 10, it is read that an Angel came to St. Gregory, then abbot of monks, in the appearance of a shipwrecked man, and, having received alms, returned a second and a third time, and always went away with a notable dole, on the last occasion namely, because Gregory had no money, with a silver dish in which his mother was accustomed to send Gregory pulse. Then in book 2 number 23 the same Angel came in the appearance of a pilgrim to the table which Gregory, then Pontiff, had ordered to be prepared for twelve pilgrims. Gregory therefore asked of him to whom he had given the care of preparing the table for twelve, why he had added a thirteenth. He, astounded, says the author, counted more carefully the pilgrims feasting, and finding only twelve, answered as though secure: Believe me, honorable father, there are but twelve, as you yourself commanded. So then, while, being convicted, he counted twelve over and over again, and did not see the thirteenth, whom the Pope alone could see; Gregory the spiritual father, noticing that the man reclining nearer was frequently changing his countenance, and now feigning himself a youth, now an old man with a certain venerable hoariness, when the banquet was ended permitted the twelve indeed to depart, but taking the thirteenth by the hand, led him into his own chamber, vehemently adjuring him that he would deign frankly to disclose to him himself and his name.

[451] He answering said: And why do you ask about my name, and a special guardian is said to have been given him. which is wonderful? Nevertheless know, recalling to memory, that I am that shipwrecked man who once came to you when you were writing in the cell of your monastery at the slope of Scaurus, to whom you gave twelve coins and the silver dish which blessed Silvia your mother had sent you with pulse steeped in it. And let this be known to you for certain, that from that day on which you granted me these things with a cheerful mind, the Lord destined you to become the Prelate of his holy Church, for which he also shed his own blood, and that you should be the successor and vicar of Peter the prince of the Apostles, whose virtue also you have imitated, since he divided the substance of those offering, as each had need. Hearing this, Gregory said: And how do you know that the Lord then destined me to preside over his holy Church? But he said: Because I am his Angel, and was then sent by him to inquire into your purpose. Then Gregory, because he had not yet clearly seen an Angel, was utterly terrified, and heard him speaking to him thus: Do not fear nor be afraid. For behold, the Lord has sent me back that I may be your guardian, as long as you shall be in this mortal world: so that whatever thing you shall ask, you may be able confidently to obtain it from him through me. At once Gregory fell upon his face, saying: If for the little gift of my littleness the most almighty Lord repays me so greatly, both that he made me Pontiff of his holy Church, and appointed his Angel as my guardian, how much do I think would be restored to me if, abiding in his precepts with all my strength, I should strive to dispense more out of more. Thus far John the Deacon, who is not a contemporary writer, as almost all the others cited in these matters are; but he wrote in the ninth century. Wherefore the whole history may seem less certain, or at any rate some circumstances of the matter may be doubted. I did not wish, however, to omit the account, because it is most famous, and the place is even now shown where the thing is said to have happened. The same John asserts in book 1 number 12 that St. Gregory, when, being elected Pontiff, he had hidden himself, was found by means of a shining column and of Angels ascending and descending upon it.

* asked

§ XXXI. Benefits of the Angels in the seventh century.

[ ] St. Cuthbert in boyhood In the seventh century there flourished, and in it died, St. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne in England, whose Life St. Bede composed, giving in his preface a most certain testimony of his own good faith in writing. It was published among us at the twentieth of March, and contains various things pertaining to our purpose. Bede at number 61 speaks thus of Cuthbert as a youth, who had forsaken games: Since Cuthbert, the boy of the Lord, retained with a diligent heart the exhortations which he had received through a man, he deserved to be strengthened also by an Angelic sight and address. For his knee, seized by a sudden pain, began to swell with a sharp tumor, so that, the sinews in the hollow of his knee being contracted, at first he carried his foot lifted from the ground, limping: thereafter, as the trouble grew worse, he was deprived of almost all walking. He, being carried out of doors one day by servants and lying in the open air, suddenly saw a horseman coming from afar, clothed in white garments and honorable in countenance; and the horse also on which he sat was of incomparable beauty.

[453] healed by the counsel of an appearing Angel, And when, arriving, he greeted him with gentle address, he added, as though in jest, to inquire whether he wished to offer any service to such a guest. But he said: I would now most readily and devoutly attend upon your services, if I were not, my faults requiring it, held by the fetter of this infirmity: for it is long since, oppressed by the trouble of a swollen knee, I can be healed by no diligence of any physician whatever. He, leaping down from the horse and considering the ailing knee more carefully, said: Boil wheaten flour in milk, and anoint the swelling with this preparation while warm, and you shall be healed. And having said this, mounting his horse he departed. He, obeying the orders, was healed after a few days: and he recognized that it was an Angel who had given him these counsels, sent by him who once deigned to send the archangel Raphael to heal Tobias's sight. But if it seems incredible to anyone that an Angel appeared on horseback, let him read the History of the Maccabees, in which Angels are recorded to have come on horses both for the defense of Judas Maccabeus and of the temple itself. Thus Bede. The same benefit is reported in another Life of St. Cuthbert, which is by a coeval writer, and which Bede seems altogether to have followed.

[454] The same writer at number 8 narrates these things about Cuthbert, then a keeper of sheep: then he sees the soul of St. Aidan carried into heaven by Angels, While on a certain night, his companions sleeping, he himself according to his custom continued watchful in prayer, he suddenly saw a light poured from heaven break into the midst of the darkness of the long night: and in it choirs of heavenly hosts to have come down to earth: and without delay, taking with them a soul of outstanding brightness, to have returned to the heavenly fatherland. The youth beloved of God was much pricked in heart by this sight to undertake the grace of spiritual exercise, etc. Presently he both narrated his vision to others, and among other things is reported to have said: And indeed I judge that this was either some holy bishop or an outstanding man from the number of the faithful, whom I saw carried to the heavens with so great a splendor of light, with so many choirs of Angels leading him. And afterwards he understood that St. Aidan had died at that time, of whom among us at the thirty-first of August: and, leaving the care of the sheep, he embraced the monastic life. This again is narrated similarly in the other Life written by a contemporary, at number 3.

[455] A third thing also about St. Cuthbert both biographers relate. [and at last in the monastic life St. Cuthbert, then a monk, rejoices in other benefits of the Angels.] St. Cuthbert was then a monk, and had been appointed steward of guests. The matter is set forth by the older writer, who cites witnesses even then living, in book 2 number 2, thus: Among them (the guests) on a certain day at the morning hour, in wintry and snowy weather, there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord in the form of a steadfast man and of perfect age, just as to the patriarch Abraham in the valley of Mamre Angels appeared in the form of men. Then therefore, having received him kindly according to his custom, still thinking him to be a man and not an Angel, having washed his hands and feet, … he most diligently invited him, unwilling and refusing because of his journey, to wait for the third hour of the day to take food, and at last, by adjuring him nevertheless in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he overcame him into consenting. The signal of the third hour of the day being now given and the prayer completed, he at once set the table, with the food he had prepared upon it: for because by some chance there was no bread in the lodging, he set on the table only crumbs gathered in place of blessed bread. The man also went, returning to the monastery, seeking bread, and, not finding it (for they were still baking the loaves in the oven), he returned to the guest, whom he had left alone eating: and he did not find him there, nor the traces of his feet: for snow was already upon the face of the earth.

[456] Being therefore astounded, he removed the table to the chamber, rejoices in the benefits. understanding that he was an Angel of God: and first at his entering his nostrils were filled with the odor of the sweetest bread, and, three warm loaves being also found, he gave thanks to the Lord, because in him was fulfilled the saying of the Lord: He that receives you, etc. And from this day onward frequently, when he was hungry, the Lord fed him, as he professed to faithful brethren, not for boasting but for the edification of many. Bede at number 13 sets forth the same event a little more at length, and about the loaves found has as follows: But looking around to see whence came so great a sweetness of fragrance, he saw laid beside him three warm loaves of unwonted whiteness and beauty, and, awestruck, he speaks thus with himself: I perceive that it was an Angel of God whom I received, coming to feed, not to be fed. Behold, he has brought loaves such as the earth cannot produce: for they surpass lilies in whiteness and roses in odor and honey in taste: whence it is clear that they did not spring from our soil, but were brought from the paradise of delight, etc. Then he similarly adds: Finally, from that time onward he more often deserved to see and to address Angels, and also, when hungry, to be refreshed with foods prepared for him by a special gift from the Lord. Certain particulars are narrated both before and after, which I pass over.

[457] Wondrous favors to St. Wandrille the abbot In the Life of St. Wandrille the abbot, given at the twenty-second of July, the contemporary writer at number 17 has the following: Nor do I dare to pass over that greatest miracle, which I learned to have happened from the account of the Saint of the Lord himself. On a certain night, when he was continuing most devoutly in prayer in his cell, an Angel of the Lord stood before him in so great and flashing brightness that that dwelling shone terribly with an immense light: and it filled that hut with an odor of sweetness: and a voice came to him, saying: Servant of Christ most ready in the fear of God, peace be with you, for you are great before the Lord,

and great are your works, which you do unceasingly: persevere unto the end; for the Lord Jesus Christ has a crown prepared for you and the pleasantness of paradise unlocked, so that you may be exalted with him without end. And in that same place he foretold him things to come, and said: That your nephew Godo shall be your successor. This apparition is also narrated in the second Life of St. Wandrille and in the Life of St. Godo the abbot here mentioned, which was given at the twenty-sixth of May.

[458] bestowed by the Angels, Wonderful too is what is narrated in the first Life of St. Wandrille at number 10. The Saint had been accused before king Dagobert; and being summoned to him, while he was near the palace, he dismounted from his horse there to give help to a poor man, and on that occasion he soiled his garment with mud, so that he was mocked. But the author adds: But when he turned this to the praise of God, at once an Angel of the Lord appeared, who carefully cleaned his garment, and it, being made whiter than it had been before, afterwards came into the king's palace, etc. Again at number 13 he is said to have been carried by night by a holy Angel to the monastery of Bobbio. The same things are again reported in the second Life.

[459] and to St. Arigius bishop of Gap. Plainly wondrous is the favor of the Angels which is reported in the Life of St. Arigius, bishop of Gap, written by a contemporary author and given at the first of May. The biographer at number 13 sets forth the matter in these words: But while he was resting on the couch of his bed, awaking after his rest, he heard an Angelic choir with modulated voices before the altar of blessed Mary ever Virgin: and he left his bed, all his people being off duty from the chamber (that is, asleep), and with a swift course entered in among them. But when Probus the cleric, who was continually at his service, had awakened, and going to the chamber did not find him there, at once hastening to the door of the holy church, and beholding him with the Angelic choir, he was afraid and did not go in at all. And when the aforesaid bishop returned to his chamber, Probus with great humility asked him for what cause he was withdrawing with an inward step, while he sang psalms among them and repeated the responses before him according to custom. But the bishop himself bade him keep silence about this vision. Thus far the author, who seems both brief and sincere. Before, at number 6, he narrates that the Saint was snatched from shipwreck by an Angelic hand.

[460] The contemporary author likewise of the Life of St. Austreberta, among us at the tenth of February, at number 4 praises the sanctity of St. Austreberta's parents, St. Austreberta foretold to her mother by an Angel, and of the revelation made to her mother writes thus at number 5: Finally, when the time was drawing near at which that bright lamp was to break forth from the darkness of the womb into the shadowy gloom of this world, the aforesaid mother (Framehildis) deserved to be honored with an Angelic vision concerning this: from whose address she learned both the name of the virgin to be born, and of what merit before God she would be. Therefore that glory of maidens, having arisen in the territory of Thérouanne, is named by her parents, as had been revealed to her, Austreberta, etc. Similar is what is reported about St. Eucherius of Orléans in his Life, published at the twentieth of February.

[461] It seems, however, to have been rather a divine dream than a vision of one awake. as also St. Eucherius of Orléans in sleep. On a certain night, says the biographer at number 3, the mother of the Saint himself, when she had returned from the church to her house, the morning hymns being finished, entering her own chamber and lying down on her bed, presently fell asleep, beholding nonetheless beside her couch a man standing, clothed in garments of snowy whiteness, splendid with the hoariness of his head, flashing with eyes like shining gems, and saying to her: Hail, beloved of God, bearing in your womb a blessed boy; and know that he shall be by God the future chosen bishop in this city. To whom the venerable woman said: I beseech you to bestow your blessing from your mouth upon me before you depart from me: for I behold your countenance as it were Angelic. The Angel says to her: You perceive rightly indeed: for I am an Angel of God, sent by him to bless your offspring, etc. But she, being awakened, offered immense praises to the most holy Trinity, and unfolded in order to her husband the joys of so great a revelation.

[462] Concerning the revelation, toward the end of the seventh century, of her approaching death to St. Earcongota, St. Earcongota forewarned of her death by Angels, and led into heaven. a royal virgin in England, and the wonders done at her blessed death, Bede is a witness in book 3 of the History chapter 8, whence the same things were related among us at the twenty-third of February. Which revelation, says Bede, she reported to be of this kind: That she had seen a company of white-robed men enter that monastery, and that these, being asked by her what they sought or what they wished, answered that they had been sent thither for this, that they might take with them that golden coin which had come there from Kent. But on that very night, in the last part of which, that is, at the beginning of dawn, passing beyond the darkness of the present world she migrated to the light above, many of the brethren of that same monastery, who were in other buildings, reported that they had clearly heard the harmonies of Angels singing psalms, and a sound as of a very great multitude entering the monastery. Whereupon, going out presently to discern what it was, they saw a very great light sent forth from heaven, which was leading that holy soul, released from the bonds of the flesh, to the eternal joys of the heavenly fatherland, etc.

[463] Again Bede in book 4 chapter 3 reports similar things about St. Cedd or Chad, bishop of London, likewise taught of it by an Angel with the sweetest song whose Acts were briefly given at the seventh of January. In the same place Bede at length praises Owini a monk of great merit, and affirms him worthy that the Lord should specially reveal to him his secrets, and that hearers should give credence to his narrative. He had been great in the royal court, but in the monastery he much occupied himself with outdoor works. He, says Bede, when on a certain day he was doing some such work outside, his companions having withdrawn to the church, as I had begun to say, and the bishop (St. Cedd) alone in the oratory of the place was giving attention to reading or prayer, suddenly heard, as he afterwards related, a most sweet voice of singers and rejoicers descending from heaven down to earth: which voice he said that he first heard arising from the south-east, that is, from the height of the winter quarter, and then that it little by little drew near to him, until it reached the very roof of the oratory in which the bishop was: which, when it had entered, it filled the whole and encompassed it in a circle. But he, while anxiously intent in mind upon what he heard, heard again, after the space of about half an hour, that same song of gladness ascend from the roof of that same oratory, and return by the very way by which it had come up to the heavens with ineffable sweetness.

[464] St. Cedd, bishop of London. Presently Bede adds that St. Cedd opened the window to summon someone; that Owini, who had heard those things, first ran up, and being bidden to summon seven monks, to return with them. To them, when they were present, he gave pious counsels. Then he added that the day of his death was now close at hand. For that lovable guest, he said, who was accustomed to visit our brethren, has deigned today to come to me also, and to call me out of the world, etc. Afterwards, when all had returned, he came back alone (Owini), who had heard the heavenly song, and prostrating himself on the ground, said: I beseech you, father, is it permitted to ask something? Ask, he said, what you will. But he said: I beseech you to tell me what that song of rejoicers was which I heard, of those coming from the heavens upon this oratory, and after a time returning to the heavens. He answered: If you heard the voice of the song, and knew that heavenly companies were coming, I charge you in the name of the Lord not to tell this to anyone before my death. But in truth they were spirits of Angels, who came to call me to the heavenly rewards which I always loved and desired; and they promised that after seven days they would return and take me with them. Which indeed was fulfilled in deed just as had been said to him.

[465] St. Hermeland's visions of souls led by Angels. In the Life of St. Hermeland or Ermenland, given at the twenty-fifth of March, which is indeed not by a wholly contemporary writer, yet by a weighty and nearly contemporary one, these things are read at number 18: On a certain night, while that same most blessed Ermenland was staying sleepless in his usual oratory, and in contemplation, for the sake of gaining the heavenly kingdom, was keeping vigil by passing the night in the basilica of blessed Peter the apostle, he saw the soul of the venerable man Maurontius the abbot, from the monastery of St. Florentius which is called Glomma, thirty thousand paces distant from his own monastery, released from the bond of the body, borne by Angels to the heavenly throne. And when he had gazed upon it for a good while, he gave a signal, and, the brethren being gathered into one, with the highest affection of charity he charged them to commend his departure to the Lord by prayer, etc. Again at number 28 he saw … the soul of a certain venerable monk (his disciple) … departing from the body, and, borne up by the protection of the Angels, entering the heavenly places. Yet notwithstanding the vision, he at once commended this soul also to the monks. In both places it is added that the death of those far distant had happened at the same time at which St. Hermeland had seen it. Finally St. Frodobert the abbot, of whom, as also of St. Maurontius, it was treated at the eighth of January, is said in his cell, in the presence of Theudecarius the abbot, to have heard choirs of Angels singing together heavenly hymns with harmonious sweetness and ineffable concord to the glory of the holy and undivided Trinity. The author of this Life also is not coeval, yet weighty and worthy of credit.

§ XXXII. Benefits of the Angels in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries.

[ ] Rejoicing in the visitations of the Angels In the eighth century there flourished in Palestine, in sanctity and in the glory of miracles, St. Stephen the Sabaite, that is, a monk of the laura of St. Sabas near Jerusalem. His Life was most faithfully written by Leontius his disciple, and published among us in Greek and Latin at the thirteenth of July. In it at number 132 Leontius has the following: Then, while we were sitting a little while in the old man's (Stephen's) inner cell or cave, he suddenly began to sing praises and a hymn to God, and to say: Behold, an Angelic visitation is descending upon me at this very hour. To whom I, being struck: Whence do you know this, I said, father? And he to me: O you of little faith, do you neither see the Angel, nor perhaps even smell the sweet fragrance? But I said: By no means, my father. Then, perceiving well enough that I was hesitating and did not believe in the Angelic apparition made to him, he dissolves into pitiable weeping, saying: Alas for you, unhappy man! Alas, and a third time alas! How long will you go on being so gross and hard and unbelieving? How long will you be thus?

[467] He had spoken, and immediately I perceived a most sweet odor, St. Stephen the Sabaite; such as neither musk, nor nard, nor any fragrant and pleasant and sweet-smelling ointment whatever seemed to me to breathe out

ever. When it had been breathed forth, the excellent old man says to me again thus: Have you not even now perceived the holy and Angelic fragrance? Can you not yet be brought to believe? To whom I said: Altogether, father, I both perceive and believe. Then he adds thus: Be believing hereafter, and be not unbelieving. As therefore I was then most malicious and worst of men, wishing to inquire more curiously into that odor so strange, and clearly to explore it, I found a pretext for going out of the hesychasterion, and looking about whether perhaps that most pleasant breath of fragrance had blown from the laura, exhaled from musked incense; (although it was plainly unlike it) yet I did this, in order to look more deeply and more surely into whatever it was. But in truth no breath of any odor was borne to my nostrils: for it was not then the hour of incensing at all. Wherefore, marveling exceedingly at these things, I gave glory to God.

[468] Many other things about the offices of the Angels which are recorded in the same Life I pass over for brevity's sake. and, as it seems, forewarned by them of his death. Before his death he seems again to have been visited by Angels, and to have been informed of his death. For Cosmas, one of the monks, forewarned the other monks of his approaching death; and to those asking whence he knew this he gave such an answer at number 181: I was keeping vigil alone, when in the innermost cell I heard the master speaking in a low voice with certain persons; and calling my slightness and saying: Come here, father Cosmas, come here: arrange here more honorable seats, receive these most adorned men with all courtesy. Confounded, I said: Who then are these men, father? These, he replies, whom I call the white-robed. Rising at once therefore, I feel my way through the whole cell, groping and struggling with the darkness (for it was deep night and gloom, the candle being out), and when I had found that there was no one, I question him again. What sort of men you mean, I do not indeed grasp, father. And he: Those I meant with whom I was speaking an hour ago. Struck by which words, most wretched man that I am, I conjectured that they were Angels who had come to take away his holy soul and to lead it back hence with honor and glory to its Creator. Hastening therefore swiftly thither, and a candle being lit, we found the old man in full possession of his mind and very vigorous: whence we did not greatly fear for him: nay rather, the hope of a yet longer life shone forth. While we are there, I approach him apart, alone, speaking with him alone for a little while: and I say, Tell me frankly, my father, whether you are about to depart from this sickness to Christ, whom you have loved. But he, composing himself to sit up: So it is, he says, so it is; to the Lord, my son, I go forth, etc. Thus far the Life, in which his pious death is then narrated.

[469] [After the death of St. Walfrid, who rejoiced in the benefits of the Angels, singing was long heard.] In the same eighth century there lived and died St. Walfrid, first abbot of Monteverdi in Tuscany, whose Life Andrew, abbot of the same monastery, wrote, published among us at the fifteenth of February. The biographer moreover at number 5 affirms that St. Walfrid, who had been married and had begotten children before the monastic life, was wholly freed from the temptations of the flesh through an Angel appearing to him by night. Then at number 7 there is said to have been revealed to one of his monks the beautiful seat which St. Walfrid was to have in heaven. But when the Saint's death has been related, at number 8 these things are added: And it came to pass immediately as he sent forth his spirit, that so great an Angelic psalmody of singers was heard at that same hour that it was heard not only by the Brethren, but also by the shepherds of that same monastery, feeding the animals outside: nay, even noble men, placed no less far from the monastery than nearly thirty miles, testified that they had heard these praises: and that psalmody continued so long until the body of the holy man was fully committed to burial. For when the office of the funeral was completed by the brethren, the psalmody withdrew. Thus far the biographer, who is both brief and seems sincere in writing, and excellently informed about each particular.

[470] [Spanish martyrs under the Moors are honored by the Angels both in prison and after death.] Passing over many assertions by writers of lesser authority about the benefits of the Angels, I go on to the ninth century. About the middle of this century very many obtained the crown of martyrdom under the Moors at Cordova in Spain, and St. Eulogius, who suffered at last in the same persecution, faithfully wrote down their deeds. The Acts of some of them, namely of George the deacon and his fellow martyrs, were given at the twenty-seventh of July, where these things are read briefly at number 39 about them as they dwelt in prison: They resound with hymns, they ring out praises; they discharge psalms, they persist in prayer, by which, with the Lord's favor, they may be strong to obtain victory: and they are visited by Angels; they are made illustrious by miracles; their chains fly apart, and dare not bind those whom Christ had loosed. There too they learn, by God's revelation, what lot they would have in the heavens. The bodies of three of these martyrs, namely of George, Aurelius, and Natalia, were after a few years translated into France, and Aimoin the monk wrote the translation, published after the Acts. In it at number 46 it is narrated that those relics were honored with an unwonted light and heavenly music; as also they shone with very many miracles on the journey.

[471] St. Meinrad the hermit defended against the demons by an Angel, At almost the same time St. Meinrad led a solitary life in Germany or Switzerland, who, at length slain by robbers, is venerated as a martyr on the twenty-first of January, at which day his Life was given, briefly and faithfully composed by a coeval writer. In it at number 8 the author narrates the following: Now it happened amid these things that on a certain day, while he was praying, so great a multitude of demons was spread about him on every side that he could not see even the light of day itself, those ministers of darkness casting their shadow. And when they were wearying him with terrible threats and exceeding horror, prostrate in prayer, as the matter demanded, he was commending himself with all zeal to the loving Lord. And when this had gone on for a long time, he sees a light from the East; and following that light an Angel came to him where he lay in prayer in the midst of the malignant spirits, and with great authority commanded the wicked band to depart, and to dare to bring upon him no further temptation or terror. And so, when the enemies had departed, the aforesaid Angel, having consoled him in friendly fashion, departed: and from that day (as the venerable man used to relate) he suffered nothing further of terror from the malignant spirits.

[472] Then at number 9 he reports that the Saint was visited in his solitude by a monk of Reichenau and his companions, and heard praying with an Angel. and that all after prayers and pious conversation went off to take sleep, but that holy Meinrad, after a little sleep, rose to pray. Then the author adds: The aforesaid Brother (of Reichenau) also, although he was resting on his bed, passed the night almost sleepless. But while he was curiously turning his eyes hither and thither, he sees a boy in white garments, coming forth from the very place of the oratory, of wondrous beauty, as it seemed to him, of the age of seven years, who goes in to the man of God himself, and prayed with him as he prayed, and spoke various things with him. Although the aforesaid brother heard the voice of this conversation, yet he did not grasp the sense of that voice. And this Boy also stood by that brother while he was fully awake, and admonished him of certain things which that brother said had been altogether forbidden him to bring forth in public.

[473] We enter the tenth century, in which there flourished and was slain in Switzerland St. Wiborada, a virgin recluse. A pious girl invited to heaven by an Angelic harmony. Her Life, given at the second of May, Hartmann, a monk of St. Gall almost coeval, wrote. In it at number 2 Hartmann narrates of St. Wiborada's sister, who was a most pious girl, that she was invited by girls of her own age to play: but That soul, he says, eagerly looking up to the heavens, and groaning again and again, and pricking up her astonished ears more keenly, at length amid sighs disclosed the inward gladness of her mind, saying: What have I to do with the empty vanities of this world? I hear in the heavens the signals and the sounds of bells, and the sweet-sounding harmony of Angelic modulation: thither I desire to go, in these I delight to share. And saying no more, she filled her lap with the tears that rose. And after a few days she was released from the flesh, having doubtless set out for that heaven to which a little before she had been so sweetly invited, etc. The same thing Hepidannus, a monk of the same monastery, reports in the other Life of St. Wiborada at number 3.

[474] In the Life of St. Ulric, bishop of Augsburg, published among us at the fourth of July, St. Ulric, sick, admonished by an Angel, celebrates Mass. the contemporary author, familiar with the Saint, in chapter XI narrates the pious death of St. Ulric, and prefaces it with a wholly wonderful event, of which nevertheless all could be certain. The Saint was lying, plainly infirm with decrepit old age and disease, and had already foretold that death was upon him, and had disposed all things for dying piously, when on the feast of the Nativity of holy John the Baptist he bids himself be clothed in garments, and then also in priestly vestments for celebrating Mass, and he goes forth to the church of St. John the Baptist, where he twice celebrated Mass standing, without the help of others. Both Masses being finished, says the author at number 79, he sat down, and said to the clerics standing by him: "These ministries, which now, by God's gift, I have performed, I did not undertake from the ability of my body, but from a command: For today, while I was lying on my bed as though lulled in sleep, there stood before my little bed two young men, most beautiful in appearance, of whom one said to me: Why do you not rise? for today you ought to celebrate Mass at holy John the Baptist's. To whom the other answered: How can this be done, since through the incapacity of his body he has not yet finished Prime? But he who had spoken before said to me: Rise, and according to my word hasten to fulfill the ministry of God in the aforesaid church, for today no one else besides you will sing Mass there." And when he had said these things, he returned to his chamber.

[475] St. Maiolus experienced the benefits of the Angels in prison, In the same century there flourished in outstanding sanctity St. Maiolus, abbot of Cluny, whose Life, written by Nalgodus a disciple of the Saint himself, was published at the eleventh of May with others whose authors likewise are contemporary. Nalgodus reports in chapter 3 how St. Maiolus, when he was returning from Italy through the Alps into France, was captured by the Saracens, who then held a part of the Alps, and was consigned to prison with several others. Then at number 23 he testifies that the Saint's chains were twice broken, and that afterwards he was guarded without chains and treated more honorably by the barbarians, and at last redeemed, a ransom being paid by the monks. The author also observes that most of those who had stretched out their hands against St. Maiolus were grievously punished by God, adding these things at number 25: But the few remaining, who out of that perverse multitude were able to survive, confessing that they were justly punished because they had unjustly harassed the man of God, to the

grace of baptism they flew. And these also afterwards asserted with living voice that, when Maiolus alone was held in prison, and no one was present except the guards, in the middle of the night the voices of singers were often heard, which sang in answer while the man of God led the chant: and that these voices were Angelic the barbarians themselves, who did not know the Angels, publicly testified. The same things are read in the second Life.

[476] He seems also to have been preserved by Angelic help on a journey. Again in chapter 4 number 39 he narrates a great peril of St. Maiolus, which Angelic favor seems to have dispelled. He was riding through a wood, and, his companions having been sent on ahead, was following alone. And while he was wholly bent upon meditation and prayers, amid tears and deep sighs a sudden sleep crept over him. A sloping tree took up the middle of the road, likely to injure severely one passing by… Dozing therefore upon his horse the blessed man had come up, and unknowing was bringing himself against the danger which stood in his way. By a divine nod the horse halted, and, as though it dreaded the peril of its rider, stood motionless. The throng of his companions had gone farther on… Awaking at last from sleep, he saw the tree, understood the danger which he had escaped, and offered worthy thanksgiving to God the provider of his safety. He certainly said that in his sleep he had beheld a certain little boy of excellent countenance, who, holding the reins of his horse in his hand, was guiding the mute beast of burden lest it should run into that danger: and that this was his Angel no one of sound head is at all ignorant. The second Life agrees.

[477] The benefits of the Angels toward St. Dunstan, especially before his death; Various benefits of the Angels are likewise reported in the Life of St. Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, which was published among us in two forms at the nineteenth of May, one by a coeval priest, the other by Osbern, a Canterbury writer nearly contemporary. Passing over the rest, I pluck out a few. The first author at number 34 reports that the Saint came to Bath, and adds: And when he had stayed there, charitably received by the brethren of that place, he saw after the hour of the midday meal the soul of a certain little scholar from the monastery of Glastonbury carried to the heights of the heavens by the Angels of God with the praises of hymns, and thronged about on this side and that with the great obsequies of the citizens above. The confirmation of this vision may be seen in the same place. Osbern in the second Life at number 53 reports that to Algar the priest, who was afterwards made a bishop, a multitude of Angels was presented in a vision on the day of the Lord's Ascension, and that by them Dunstan was invited to heaven for the following Saturday: and that by Dunstan his approaching death was foretold on the same day before all the people in the church, and that it indeed followed on the said day. Of his death he adds at number 58: Amid which words (of prayer), poured out to God from all the marrow of his soul, whom he had always desired, he sees those blessed Angels who had invited him to the heavenly banquet standing by, and preparing for him the heavenly attendance. His happy soul, rejoicing at their venerable presence, goes forth gladly from the dwelling of that most holy body, setting out with them to contemplate the brightness of the eternal Founder.

[478] St. Gerard, bishop of Toul, shall close this tenth century. and toward St. Gerard of Toul after death. His Life, published among us at the twenty-third of April, Vindricus abbot of St. Aper of Toul, coeval with the Saint, composed; and at number 32, reporting his happy death, he testifies that Fulcuinus a monk was at the same time as it were at his last, and so withdrawn from his senses that he was already believed dead. When suddenly he (Fulcuinus), who was held in their hands as though dead, having recovered his breath, returned, and, all being terrified and marveling at the strangeness of the thing, declares: Know that my departure is still to be deferred by the divine compassion: but concerning the person of a certain great man there is immense joy in the heavens, who with hope of the divine clemency is being led to the judgment of the supreme throne. For I saw the companies of holy Angels rejoicing to meet the departing soul, and with words of loving consolation to present it to the face of the eternal Judge. While all were astounded, it quickly became known that St. Gerard had died: and it was recognized that it was he whom he had seen presented to Christ by Angelic hands.

§ XXXIII. Benefits of the Angels in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

[ ] An Angel is believed to have spoken with St. Dominic of Sora at his death: In the eleventh century died St. Dominic the abbot near Sora in Italy. In the Life, given at the twenty-second of January, at number 22 Cardinal Alberic writes thus of him when he had already been fortified with the last rites: And so, the office being completed, when he had also received the mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord, he bids the wailing brethren go out and stay a little while outside. And when, all having gone out, he alone had remained in the cell, the voices of him speaking and of another conversing with him were heard by the brethren who kept watch outside; yet not so that the sense of their words could in any degree be understood by them: which conversation the holy man ended together with his life, as it pleased the Lord. For when those voices had ceased to sound in the brethren's ears, all entering found him already to have expired: and, beholding no traces of him who was heard to converse with him, all held it certain that an Angel had been appointed for the consolation of him who was departing.

[480] In the Life of St. Guido, abbot of Pomposa in Italy, which a coeval writer composed, and which the studious reader will find among us at the thirty-first of March, at number 8 the virtues of John the monk are much commended, John the monk invited by an Angel before his death. whom St. Guido had enrolled in the monastic life. Concerning the death of the aforesaid John these things follow: But of what sanctity and merit he was, his end proved. For on a certain day, while he was sitting in the cloister in the order of the brethren, together also with abbot Guido, an Angel whiter than snow, showing himself in the form of a man, said to him: Well done, good servant, come, and enter into the joy of your Lord. And when he thought that the same thing was seen and heard by all those sitting with him as by himself, he waited a little: then, as they were silent, he related to father Guido what he had seen and heard, saying: What is this, father, that this man, whom you all saw with me, said to me: Well done, good and faithful servant, come, enter into the joy of your Lord? To whom the father said: Do you wish, son, to leave us? And he, not long after, being released from the flesh, departed to the Lord, to take in reward what he had received in merit.

[481] St. Alphege, having gone out of prison by a deceit of the demon, Wonderful is what Osbern the monk narrates in the Life of St. Alphege, martyr and archbishop of Canterbury, among us at the nineteenth of April. Canterbury had been stormed by the Danes, and St. Alphege shut up in a long imprisonment. Liberty was offered him, but to be purchased at so great a price that he could not find it except from the treasures of the churches, which he steadfastly refused to appropriate for that end. But by the deceit of the devil, as is narrated at number 31, the Saint was deceived: for in the form of an Angel a demon approached him, and having induced him by specious reasonings to flee the prison, actually led him out, and having led him to the marshes, abandoned him in the midst of them. Seeing himself deceived, Alphege implored divine help with prayers.

[482] is bidden by an Angel to return: Presently therefore, says Osbern at number 32, when the dawn of day was rising, there appeared the true dawn of the true light, a youth clothed in golden splendor, bearing before him the banners of the divine seal, and thus addressing the man: Whither, he says, do your feet draw you? Whither the impulse of flight? Whither the malice of your guide? etc. And when the priest had answered that he was not fleeing, but had obeyed the command of a divine messenger: This, he said, was not a command of the Divinity, but a contrivance of diabolical malignity; nor did he so much wish to lead you out of prison as to lead you astray outside the prison. For both the pious working of your past life presses upon him, and the consolation of the Holy Spirit ever present to you in such great tribulations, whose presence gives men constancy, constancy victory, victory glory: and for that reason he prefers to attempt everything rather than to go away from you confounded. Return therefore, friend, to the place appointed from heaven for your crown, knowing that tomorrow the Father will honor you in heaven with that greatest honor, that you may be for ever with his Son. Alphege therefore, called back by the Angel to the place of the contest, joyfully awaited the hour in which he should receive the crown from God.

[483] St. Leo IX is heartened by an Angelic voice. In the same century flourished St. Leo IX the Pope, whose Life, composed by Wibert his archdeacon, was published among us at the nineteenth of April. Now Wibert reports in book 2 chapter 1 in what manner, and how reluctantly, he was elected to the pontificate, and how piously he went to the City, unwearyingly giving himself to sacred prayers and divine contemplation. Then he adds at number 5: In which meditation, being rapt at the city of Augsburg, he deserved divine consolation, when in a revelation he heard a harmonious modulation resounding with an Angelic voice, most sweetly harmonizing: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction; you shall call upon me, and I will hear you, and I will bring back your captivity from all places. Heartened by this loving consolation, and now made more certain of help from above, he sets about completing the journey he had begun.

[484] Most manifest assistance of the Angels is reported in the Life of St. John, abbot of Pulsano. It was written by a coeval author, [A monk, having fallen into a chasm of the earth, at the prayer of St. John of Pulsano,] and published at the twentieth of June, where at number 52 is narrated the chastisement of a disobedient monk whose name was William. For he, having been bidden to accompany St. John on a journey, but first to bring something, having neglected the command, had gone on ahead, and suddenly fell in wondrous fashion, along with the horse on which he sat, into a very deep and very dark chasm of the earth. St. John learned this divinely and announced it to his companions, and hastened with them to the place. But as soon, says the author, as they came to the place in which he had fallen, all who were present were alike turned to lamentation. But John the man of the Lord, when he saw that there was no one who would let himself down into that horrible chasm to draw out that brother, trusting in the divine mercy, together with blessed Jordan, at once prostrated himself in prayer with heavy grief.

[485] But rising from prayer, suddenly there was present before them a youth most splendid and comely in appearance, is brought out unharmed by an Angel. who, plunging himself into the pit as a bird cleaving the air, drew the brother out. But after he had returned wholly to his former soundness, he who had brought him out of the pit, the Youth, addressed [him] thus: Do not cease to render countless thanks to the unspeakable loving-kindness of the divine clemency: for weigh well and diligently consider that by the merits of this most holy servant of his, John, the clemency of the eternal Majesty has freed you from the border of death. And saying this, he suddenly vanished from the eyes of all. Thus far the author, who recorded certain other things also about the Angels.

[486] St. John Gualbert, who in the same eleventh century flourished in great sanctity and ended his life, seems to have seen an Angel standing by him in his last struggle, An Angel seems to have been present to the dying St. John Gualbert. even though he perhaps did not recognize him as an Angel.

Certainly in the Life, given at the twelfth of July, Andrew, a disciple of the Saint, writes these things at number 115: Finally, on the third day before he died, he saw a Youth standing by him, whom we judge to have been his Angel. And when he alone and no other saw him, he said to the brethren: Why did you not call that brother with you when you ate? To whom the brethren said: Of what brother do you speak, father? And he: Of that beautiful youth, he says, who came to us and stays with us, going in and going out. And he added: Whence is he, and by what name is he called? To whom blessed Laetus, abbot of Passignano, God revealing it, said: Do you not know that he is from the mountain of the Lord, and is called Benignus? Then he, taught by the Holy Spirit, understood that it was an Angel, etc. The same is narrated in the second Life at number 76. Many favors of the Angels are reported in the Life of St. Nicholas the Pilgrim, given at at the second of June: but I pass them over, even though otherwise the writer seems to have been well informed; just as I have omitted not a few other things, lest this collection become too prolix.

[487] And so we pass to the twelfth century, in which died St. Stephen of Grandmont. In the Life, given at the eighth of February, A boy's vision of the Angels with the dying St. Stephen of Grandmont. Gerald the prior writes at number 9 that his death was indicated by a boy, and that therefore monks and many others hurried to Muret, where he had died, who spoke thus to the doorkeeper who wished to conceal the Saint's death: We know well that he is dead. For in our village a certain boy, now placed at his last extremity, had lost his speech since yesterday and the day before, who, while he was being watched by his mother awaiting his departure, suddenly broke out into these words: I see, he says, a most shining ladder, one part of which touches heaven and the other part touches Muret; and many Angels descend by it, that they may lead to glory the soul of lord Stephen, most acceptable to God: adding: Now I hear the bells sounding on every side. And this is a sign to you that I tell you the truth, that I shall die presently, and shall speak with you no more: but shall ascend with the most holy father and a multitude of Angels. And when he had said this, he expired.

[488] In the Life of St. Hildegund, which a priest wrote, her director in her novitiate, The wonderful assistances of her Guardian Angel, many and marvelous assistances of the Angels are read. That Life is found among us at the twentieth of April. The author narrates in chapters 2 and 3 on what occasion the virgin, who was traveling to Rome in male dress, was hanged upon a tree by wicked men. Then he adds at number 15: He (God) did not delay to stretch out the arm of his power to his little handmaid, thus disfigured, thus dishonored, and mightily to free her from a reproach of this kind. And so an Angel of the Lord, when the torturers had gone away, was at once present, who, supporting her, did not allow her to perish. The good virgin therefore inquired who he might be who was holding her, and cherishing her with so immense a sweetness, as if refreshing her. The messenger sent from heaven answered: I am the Angel of the Lord appointed to your guardianship: do not fear, for I will free you, and will announce what you are to do when you shall have gone away. Then the Angel goes on to speak, and to foretell to her things to come. Presently it is added: The blessed virgin heard in heaven voices sweeter than honey and a melody, the harmony not of human but of Angelic song. She inquired therefore, saying: What is this that I hear? The holy Angel said: They are my companions, carrying the soul of your sister Agnes, who has just expired in the cloister where she was entrusted, etc.

[489] Presently she is said to have been taken down by shepherds, who believed her dead, which are asserted to have been rendered to St. Hildegund. that she might be buried. But when they had gone away because of wolves rushing upon the flock, she, now free, as is said at number 18, beheld the Angel sitting upon a most white horse. And when he said: Do you not desire to see your master, whom you seemed as it were to have lost? she said: I wish and desire it. Give me, said the Angel, your hand, and I will set you upon my horse and lead you to him most swiftly. And when she had done so, the Angel again repeated the words which he had said before; that she would come to Schönau, all excuse being set aside, and would there most certainly die. And while they were going along together sitting on the horse, Joseph (that is, Hildegund, who used that name as a man) fell asleep: and after a short time, when she had awakened, the Angel again, taking up his parable, said: Do you see this city? This is Verona. Taking therefore your staff with the letters, you will find your master in the lodging of that host: and I wish you to be mindful of my words until they are fulfilled: I too will be your guardian in all your ways, and wherever you shall go. Having said this, the Angel disappeared, and Joseph saw him no more. And so Joseph, going forward, found the master, as the Angel had foretold, offered the letters, related the causes of his hindrance, and gave the master great joy. Thus far the author, who says in the preface that he learned the life of St. Hildegund from the virgin's own mouth. I do not doubt, however, that those deeds will seem to many hard to believe, and therefore I have omitted very nearly all of them. Yet I judged that these should be given, because they are indeed wonderful, but not altogether incredible, and are confirmed by a testimony otherwise most worthy of credit.

[490] Another thing about the offices of the Angels the author reports at number 26, which happened while he was present in the monastery. Bl. Gerard of Cemeda had come to Schönau for the monastic profession of the author himself, Angels seen present at the Sacrifice of the Mass. and sitting at table saw an unwonted light. Wishing to learn whence that so bright splendor proceeded, going forward he saw that it issued from the monastery church. Thereupon entering the church, which had been as it were wholly suffused with the same brightness, he found a certain monk named Wolfram, a man already decrepit, who had toiled sixty years and more in the order, celebrating Mass at the altar of the Lord Savior, from whom that whole brightness proceeded: whose face was as it were horned, as is read of Moses, by reason of the greatness of the radiance. At which Mass so great a multitude of Angels appeared, and so inestimable a glory of the divine Majesty, as he had never seen before: for to see Angels and demons was * from heaven. Giving thanks to God for the vision, he declared to me, saying: That in that house it was not possible to find a man equal in merits. And he added another thing, saying: That never was Mass celebrated in the world at which there did not appear at least two Angels standing by and serving their Creator.

[491] In the twelfth century there flourished in Germany and died St. Elizabeth of Schönau, St. Elizabeth of Schönau healed by an Angel and bidden to communicate: who rejoiced in very many apparitions of Angels. Her Life was partly dictated by herself, partly written by her brother Egbert, and published among us at the eighteenth of June. It would be too prolix to transfer here everything that is reported in it about the benefits of the Angels: wherefore I shall select only a few. In the Life at number 72 she herself dictated thus: After these things, as the festival of the Annunciation was drawing near, I fell into a most grievous weakness: and for two days before the feast day I lay in infirmity. But on the very day of the festival in the morning my weakness was so aggravated that the sisters came to my bed and said the Litany over me. And when they were about to leave me, they asked whether I wished to communicate that day, as they too were about to do. But I refused, saying that I was not prepared for it by any worthy works, as they were, on account of the weakness of my body. And when they were saddened at this and were departing from me, there came an Angel of the Lord, and standing before me, laid his hand upon my head and said: Rise, and stand upon your feet. You are freed from your infirmities. Draw near to communicate: be strengthened, and be robust. At these words suddenly all weakness fled from me, and through my whole body I was most sweetly relieved… Immediately therefore, taking hold of my garments, I rose from my bed: and I went down with unimpaired strength and lively color, and came cheerfully into the assembly of the sisters, all marveling, and I did what he had commanded me.

[492] In the Saint's Letter to St. Hildegard, which is inserted in the Preface of the Life, she is at another time chastised, and made mute for a time. the Saint wrote these things at number 4 about her chastisement, because she was hiding the revelations made to her: When therefore in my usual manner I was on a certain Sunday in an ecstasy of mind, an Angel of the Lord stood by me, saying: Why do you hide gold in mud? that is, the word of God, which was sent through your mouth into the earth, on account of distorted faces; not that it may be hidden, but that it may be made manifest, to the praise and glory of our Lord and the salvation of his people. And having said this, he lifted a scourge over me, which as though in great anger he inflicted on me five times most bitterly, so that for three days I was weak in my whole body from that beating. After these things he put his finger to my mouth, saying: You shall be silent until the ninth hour, when you shall make manifest the things which the Lord has worked with you. I therefore remained mute until the ninth hour. Then I signified to the mistress that she should bring to me a certain little book which I had hidden in my bed, containing in part the things which the Lord had done with me. And when I offered it into the hands of the lord abbot Hildelin, who had come to visit me, my tongue was loosed into these words: Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto your name give the glory. I pass over the rest, namely the various things revealed to the holy Virgin through an Angel, and the pious instructions given her, as the studious reader will be able to find in the Life itself.

[493] The Angels help St. Isidore in plowing Famous is the help which the Angels are said to have rendered to St. Isidore the farmer in plowing, and which is reported in his Life, written by John the deacon and given at the fifteenth of May. The Saint was accustomed to visit churches and to persist long in prayer before he betook himself to plowing. For this cause he had been accused before his master. The master therefore wished to find out for himself whether the accusation were true, and coming to the field, when he had not found Isidore plowing, he grew indignant, as the biographer narrates in chapter 1. Then he adds at number 6: But because, according to the prophetic word: Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? — while the aforesaid knight (Isidore's master) was going along the road with his heart provoked against God's servant, by the disposing of the divine power he suddenly saw in that same field, at the work of husbandry, two yokes of oxen besides his own, plowing beside the man of God, and white in color, working promptly and steadily. Admonished by this vision and marveling, he stopped from going forward on his way, greatly astounded, and wondering, considering what this might be. Nevertheless, knowing beforehand that the man of God had no human help, he was compelled to believe that divine help was not lacking to the man of God as he labored. Rejoicing therefore and

marveling, when he drew near, that he might learn, and that by drawing near he might search out what this was, turning his eyes for a moment to another quarter, and bringing them back to the tillage of his field, he beheld no other than only Isidore the man of God laboring.

[494] are believed to have helped. Concerning which prodigy, while his heart was turning over various thoughts, having offered a word of greeting, the knight asked Isidore the man of God quite modestly in this manner: I ask you, dearest friend, by the God whom you faithfully serve, that you cease not to declare to me, who were the companions and helpers who were with you a little while ago in your husbandry? For I saw with you certain others helping you and laboring together with you, but they suddenly slipped from my sight in the twinkling of an eye. Then the just man of God, well conscious of himself, answered simply thus: Before the sight of God, whom I serve according to my power, I faithfully declare to you that in this husbandry I have neither called nor seen any helpers, save only God, whom I call upon and implore, and whom I always have as a helper. Hereupon the master, pricked in heart, … made known to many of his fellow citizens what had happened to him. Whence, says the author, who is not contemporary, among other things this miracle has been more firmly impressed upon the memory of many even to this day. Of that miracle mention is also made in the process concerning Bl. Mary, the wife of St. Isidore, given at the same day page 553, where among the Saint's other miracles, painted about his old tomb, he himself is represented plowing the earth among Angels plowing along with him, etc.

[495] A pious donation approved by the Angels: In the Life of Bl. Mathilda the abbess, which was gravely written by Engelhard the monk and given at the thirty-first of May, at number 21 there is reported a pious donation made to the monastery by the Blessed one's parents, and at the end there is joined her father's pious prayer to God that the donation might remain stable. When this prayer was finished, says Engelhard, there was heard in the air a voice of holy Spirits, answering and crying out with a most sweet voice: Amen.

[496] In the Life of St. Bartholomew the hermit of Farne, given at the twenty-fourth of June, by the soul of Thomas of Durham being received: the coeval writer reports these things at number 20 about the death of Thomas of Durham: Now this same Thomas was a great lover of religion and a practicer of almsgiving: about whom, from the account of brother Heming, who rendered diligent service to him as he lay at his last, I learned that, being placed in an ecstasy, he saw choirs of the White-robed walking about in the upper part of the house, and carrying little books in their hands, and prepared with jubilation for his reception: and he testified that he had drawn to his hands the fragrance of a wondrous odor, so that that sweetness openly taught to how great a sweetness of pleasantness his spirit was to pass.

[497] John of Nusco in the Life of St. William, founder of Montevergine, published at the twenty-fifth of June, Angels, as is believed, seen with St. William the abbot. reports at number 38 an event which he himself saw. John had come to the valley of Conza, where St. William was then living in a hut, and had stayed with him until that hour, so that there also the night had to be passed. Then at number 38 John narrates these things: On that night the confessor of the Lord William, within the chamber of the hut, the door being shut and barred, was giving himself to prayer: but John kept watch outside in the little building, given to psalmody. About the hour of the second watch of the night that same John saw as it were two great birds, after the manner of ariones (that is, herons), white and shining, come in with a great light through that opening (which was at the top of the hut); at whose entrance he beheld all the black darkness of the night put to flight. And when he had seen them flying about a good while overhead above his head, he said within himself: Unless these birds were Angels of God, they would surely not enter here undaunted with an inestimable light. While he was turning these things over in his heart, he clearly beheld those birds go in to the man of God though the doors were shut. But John, marveling at what he had seen and terrified, passed that whole night sleepless, and was in a ferment of meditation, desiring to search out what this might be. And when morning came, being about to depart, he asked leave. To whom the man of the Lord said: Go in peace; and know beforehand that what you deserved by the divine nod to see on this night you are not permitted to see again as long as you live. The author did not doubt that they were Angels in the form of birds, as he then again indicates in other words.

[498] Baronius at the year 1146 judges that it was an Angel The host of the crusaders, placed in great danger, by whose guidance the army of the Christian crusaders escaped from a manifest peril, as William of Tyre narrates in book 16 chapters 12 and 13. Of the same opinion was Tyre himself, as his narrative suggests, and as the thing itself seems to declare. The army of the Christians was in a hostile land, pressed by many evils on every side and by the number of the enemy, so that it did not know by what means to withdraw into its own territory. Necessity nevertheless brought it about that by a general decree they set out on the march. And since they had no leader, says Tyre in chapter 12, who might go before the companies and have knowledge of the places through which they were to pass, behold, suddenly a certain unknown soldier preceding the cohorts, the rider of a white horse, bearing a banner of red color, clad in a coat of mail, with sleeves short to the elbows, went before the army. He, like an Angel of the Lord of hosts, following the short cuts of the roads, and leading to waters previously unknown, taught them to pitch camp at fitting and convenient halting places. Thus therefore, when in five days the expeditionary forces had scarcely come to the aforesaid Cavea [*], afterwards journeying for three days under the aforesaid leader and forerunner of the march, they come as far as Gadara.

[499] Then, the whole journey being set forth, he adds about the leader in chapter 13: An Angel is believed to have gone before and freed them from the peril. They assert unanimously, to whom a still fuller memory of that deed is available, that no one knew this leader of the march, of whom we have spoken. For when it came to the army's pitching camp, he suddenly disappeared, and was nowhere seen in the camp: but in the morning he again went before the army. The memory of men now living does not hold that in the time of the Latins in the whole East, apart from a manifest victory of the enemy, there was an expedition so perilous. Thus far Tyre. Let us pass on to the following century.

* accustomed

* Cavea Roob

§ XXXIV. Benefits of the Angels in the thirteenth century.

[ ] Angels at Bl. Mary of Oignies's supper Blessed Mary of Oignies in our Belgium flourished in many virtues in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in which last she died. Her Life was written by James of Vitry, afterwards bishop of Acre and Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, who knew the Blessed one familiarly and had heard her confessions. It was published among us at the twenty-third of June, and contains various things pertaining to our purpose. First, in book 1 number 24, where he had said that she was accustomed frequently to nourish her body with bread and water alone, he has as follows: But when in her little cell below the church, in the evening or at night, she refreshed her poor little body only with a little bread and water, from the beginning of the blessing until the giving of thanks certain of the holy Angels, standing by her sober supper, ascended and descended before her as it were by a shining ladder: from whose presence she had so great consolation and so great exultation of spirit that the spiritual refreshment surpassed all sweetness of taste.

[501] and they are present by night, Again at number 33 he has as follows: The sweet songs also of the Angelic spirits, with which she often passed her nights sleepless, banished all sleep from her eyes without any distress of body. For, the throng of men being removed, through the nightly vigils an army of blessed Spirits was present as her companion, whose sound wonderfully, as of a multitude of camps, soothed her ears with a certain sweet harmony, shook off all torpor, refreshed her head, sprinkled it with wondrous sweetness, roused her mind to devotion, inflamed her desire to praise and thanksgiving. Again at number 18 he reports how wonderfully she was preserved by an Angel on a pious pilgrimage along roads not well known.

[502] and her Guardian Angel directs her in all things. And at number 35 he indicates that her Guardian Angel was her director in all things. Sometimes, he says, she was permitted to rest in her cell, but sometimes, especially when great solemnities were at hand, she could find rest only within the church in the presence of Christ. And then it behooved her to remain there for days and nights: nor was it for the most part in her own judgment or free will either to rest in her cell or to remain in the church. For she had to obey her familiar Angel, appointed for her guardianship, as her own abbot: he would admonish her to rest: but when she had rested a little, he would rouse her and bring her back to the church. He adds that even in the coldest time of winter she nevertheless felt no cold; nor did her head, the holy Angel mercifully placing his hand beneath it, ache even a little. Passing over other things, I add what the author writes in the Preface at number XI: We therefore, he says, shall relate a few things out of many which we have seen and known and in great part learned by experience, to the honor of God and of his handmaid… For we are not able to gather all the wonders of her life, since through the many years in which she devoutly and faithfully served the Lord scarcely any day or night passed in which she did not have some visitation from God or from his Angels, or from the heavenly Saints, with whom almost her whole converse was.

[503] Many things again present themselves in the Life of Bl. Margaret of Cortona, The Angel consoles Bl. Margaret of Cortona which Juncta of Bevagna, of the Order of Minors, and the confessor of the Blessed one herself, wrote. It was published at the twenty-second of February. The Blessed one had fallen in her youth, and was leading a penitent and most austere life. Concerning the favors conferred upon her through the Angels the author says generally at number 12 that she sometimes received the solace of Angels. Then, the apparition of Christ the Lord being related, he adds at number 24: After these things there came the Angel appointed to Margaret's guardianship, and said to her many good words, and reported abundant promises, inviting her to the love of him who creates and governs all things, saying: I am not your Lord, but I am a messenger of the highest King, etc. Again at number 37 he says: On a certain night, while Margaret was praying in her cell, behold, the Angel of the Lord appointed to her guardianship said: Know, beloved of our Lord, that you are not yet able to see in the bottom of the fountain the most pure things of the King. But trust and be strengthened, for your spotless spouse Jesus Christ, bringing hidden things into the light, will speak with you more clearly and more manifestly. Again at number 41: On the day of the Nativity of the eternal King from the Virgin, the Angel of the Lord, Margaret's guardian, spoke to her, saying: Remember, Margaret, the steps of the benefits which the Lord our God has conferred upon you. And when God's benefits toward the Blessed one had been recited, the Angel added: Wherefore I exhort you, beloved of God and recalled by God, that with your whole heart and with all your strength you return to your Creator and Lord, etc.

[504] Then at number 145 the Angel teaches her,

how she ought to be present at the Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Guardian Angel instructs her. and he adds: And if you then wish to receive the Son of God our Lord and Creator every day, you have from our God full leave to receive: in which Masses you will find matter for fervor, etc. Again at number 160 the author narrates a lengthy conversation of the Angel with the Blessed one, beginning thus. On the Friday preceding the vigil of blessed Thomas the apostle, to Margaret the handmaid of God, weeping and praying, the Angel of the Lord spoke, saying: I bless this cell and all who dwell in it, that they may be enlightened and purged, and may grow in the fervor of love. After many things said on both sides, when the Blessed one asked for sickness, that she might not be able to offend God, the Guardian Angel replied: Our Lord wills that you be humble, obedient, and reverent: and this which you ask shall be according to his will. Again, to her asking how much she pleased or displeased God, he answered: This answer shall be made to you according to the will of our God who sends me. More things there. Finally at number 276 it is reported how a demon appeared to blessed Margaret in order to terrify her, and presently it is added: And the good Angel of God said to Margaret: Daughter of Jerusalem, do not fear nor doubt; for he will be able to do as much against you as one who has the conqueror's foot upon his throat… For I, the guardian of your soul, which is a noble stronghold of God, am with you. Other things follow, which I pass over along with many, since the Life itself may be read.

[505] Ivetta the recluse In the same thirteenth century died Ivetta the widow and recluse, who flourished in great sanctity at Huy in the territory of Liège. Her Life, published at the thirteenth of January, was written by Hugh of Floreffe, a canon of the Premonstratensian Order, who knew her familiarly while she lived. Concerning the event which pertains to our purpose, the aforesaid Hugh prefaces these things at number 67: I call God to witness for me — although I do not doubt that the wonders which I tell will be to many strange and perhaps less credible, because the animal man does not perceive the things that are of the spirit — that I received the things which I am about to tell from him who was privy to her secrets and her confessor at the last, whose testimony I hold for certain to be true.

[506] in a rapture rejoices in wondrous favors of the Angels. Then he narrates these things: She confessed that once, being caught up in spirit, she was encompassed by nine Angels on the right and likewise nine on the left, two by two from each of the nine orders of Angels, and that these same Angels clothed her throughout in garments woven over with gold, and moreover adorned her with precious necklaces, and also with stones or gems, whose kinds, variety, and names, as they are set forth in the books of the Prophets, she understood, knew, and distinguished in that very rapture of spirit, although she did not know how to discern with human senses so well either the virtues and names of the stones or the distinct orders and offices of the Angels, as she saw, learned, and knew each one when caught up in spirit, being a simple and unlearned woman, and wholly ignorant of things of this kind. She also testified that, thus clothed about with variety and crowned with glory and honor, she was led with the attendance of Angels and brought before the throne of God and of the Lamb, the Angels thus offering her to the Lord, prepared and adorned as a bride to her husband. What she saw or heard there, although there is no doubt that she saw and heard the hidden things of God's wisdom, because she would not confess it, though sufficiently admonished, we can neither know nor tell, especially since I believe that it is not lawful for man to know or to tell those things. Thus far Hugh, who testifies that these things were seen in spirit.

[507] Benefits of the Angels toward St. Raymond of Peñafort, In the Bull of canonization of St. Raymond of Peñafort, minister general of the Order of Preachers, given at the seventh of January, these things are read about the Saint: There was in him so great familiarity and friendship with an Angel of the heavenly host, which is the greatest proof of purity and holiness, that he was frequently roused from sleep by him and invited to pray. That this happened daily before midnight Michael Llot wrote, cited in the Annotations, nor will it seem incredible to pious venerators of their own Angels.

[508] St. Thomas Aquinas, Of the same Order of Preachers was St. Thomas Aquinas, the excellent doctor of the Church, of whom William of Tocco in the Life, given at the seventh of March, narrates at number XI that a wanton girl was sent into his chamber, whom the Saint drove off with a firebrand, and he adds these things: And prostrate on the ground, with tears he asked of God in prayer the girdle of perpetual virginity, which he had granted him to preserve uncorrupted in the struggle. And when, praying thus with tears, he had suddenly fallen asleep, behold, two Angels were sent to him from heaven: who, declaring that he had been heard by God and had obtained the triumph in so difficult a struggle, girding him on this side and that about the loins, said: Behold, on God's behalf we gird you with what you have asked, the girdle of chastity, which will thereafter be able to be loosed by no assault, and what cannot be had from the merit of human virtue is granted you by the gift of the divine bounty.

[509] The reader will easily notice that I do not follow the order of the years, but only of the centuries, St. Dominic, founder of the Order since I commemorate St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers, after two of his sons. The Acts of St. Dominic were published at the fourth of August. But in the second Life, Bartholomew of Trent at number 13 says of St. Dominic when near death: For he saw a most beautiful Youth calling him with these words: Come, my beloved, come to the joys, come. Theodoric of Apolda in the third Life at number 23 expresses the same thus: And behold, as he prayed and burned vehemently with desire of the things above, he saw a most beautiful Youth standing by him, who calling him said to him: Come, my beloved, come: enter into the true joys. The aforesaid Theodoric at number 141 prefaces another benefit of an Angel. The Saint was at Rome, and on account of business had stayed until late evening outside the monastery, so that the prioress of the nuns said to him as he wished to go: Father, the hour has passed; it is now near midnight: it is not expedient that you depart from here now. But he did not yield to them, saying: Because the Lord altogether wills that I set out, and he himself will send his Angel with us. Taking therefore brother Tancred, Prior of the brethren, and brother Odo, Prior of the sisters, he began to set out.

[510] And as they were going out, behold, a most beautiful Youth stood before the gate, of Preachers, holding a staff in his hand, as though ready for a journey, and he began to go before them on the road. Then the holy father set his brother companions between himself and him, and he himself followed in the third place. But coming to the gate of the brethren, they found it carefully secured with bolts. Then the Youth, who had been the guide of the way, drew himself to one side of the gate, which at once was opened to them: and first indeed he himself entered; then the brethren, and after them father Dominic went in: and when the Youth who had brought them in had gone out, the door was found shut as before. Then brother Tancred asked blessed Dominic, saying: Holy father, who was that Youth who came with us? He answered: Son, it was a holy Angel, whom the Lord appointed for our guardianship. And so the brethren, seeing the holy father and his companions in the choir at Matins, marveled how they had entered while the doors were shut. In the Commentarius prævius at number 723 and following there is given from the Annals of the Preachers a longer account, by which St. Dominic is said to have been led at Faenza by night by two Angels in the appearance of youths: but I do not know whether that account has a sufficiently ancient author.

[511] But the Life of Bl. Ambrose of Siena, of the same Order, given at the twentieth of March, certainly has coeval writers, and Bl. Ambrose of Siena. in which at number 66 these things are read: A certain other virgin, dwelling in the house of the aforesaid lady Nera, at the hour of Bl. Ambrose's passing revealed his sanctity, saying: I see blessed Ambrose our father clothed in a golden garment, and having his head covered with a golden cap, borne into heaven by Angels. In the Summary of the virtues of the same Bl. Ambrose, which likewise is by a contemporary writer, the same is reported at number 43: and in the same place at number 37 the sanctity of Nera is much praised, who is even called Blessed by some, and about her vision these things follow at number 38: This woman therefore of so great sanctity often related to her aforesaid companion that on the night of the Lord's Nativity, when Bl. Ambrose out of special devotion was celebrating the solemnities of the Masses, she saw around him a multitude of Angels standing by him and applauding him, who adorned him and the whole place wonderfully. Presently she is reported to have had other visions also while Bl. Ambrose was preaching: She therefore asked of the Angel who had led her to this spectacle what these things were, and received an explanation from him, as may be seen in the same place. In the Life too at number 10 he is said to have been visited by night by Angels and to have sung with them, but in sleep. The passage may be seen.

[512] Her death foretold to a Cistercian Virgin by an Angel. In the Life of Bl. Hermann Joseph of the Premonstratensian Order, given at the seventh of April, which a contemporary canon of the same Order wrote, at number 39 there is narrated a wondrous conversation of a certain holy Cistercian Virgin with an Angel. There was revealed, he says, a second vision also, like the aforesaid, to that handmaid of God concerning Joseph, which she related to me with her own mouth. But as the term of her dissolution drew near, … an Angel of the Lord stood by her, saying thus: Prepare yourself, for you are soon to go. Understanding of what journey he spoke, … she answered: Ah! How soon am I to go? And he said: Very soon. She added: Am I to pass over sooner, or Joseph? He says: You indeed are to pass over sooner; but he will follow you after no long time. To whom she again said: What sort of man is Joseph? The Angel answered: Joseph is a great man. How great? she said. He has, he says, no equal in the church of Steinfeld. There follow also several other things which the virgin asked and the Angel answered about Bl. Joseph. After she had received extreme unction from this very biographer, and with Bl. Joseph present, the virgin again said to him alone: For I know most certainly that what I have learned from the Lord, at the Angel's announcing, and have longed for with desire, is to be fulfilled.

[513] A light brought to Bl. Humiliana by an Angel, In the same century there died at Florence Bl. Aemiliana or Humiliana de' Cerchi, a widow of the third Order of St. Francis. Her Life, given at the nineteenth of May, has as its author Vitus of Cortona, of the Order of Minors, who began to write it soon after the Blessed one's death. In it at number 15 Vitus reports that on a certain night the Blessed one lacked light, because the lamp had gone out, and that she asked the Lord to provide. Regarding which prayer, he says, the most kindly God, looking upon it, supplied light wonderfully through an Angel. For there appeared a certain youthful hand beside the lamp, bearing a very bright fire,

with which it lit the extinguished lamp. Again at number 29, the Blessed one's rapture being related, which had lasted three days, he adds: In the evening, her body being sustained with a little food, she rested. And when she had slept a while, having come to the hour at which she was accustomed to rise for prayer, there stood by her a certain Boy clothed in white, all glowing, carrying a light in his hands, saying: Rise, Humiliana, on account of the things which you know. For he was rousing her to keep vigil in prayer, and it is believed that it was her Angel. And when she had risen at the voice and at the touch of the Boy, the Boy himself, having been looked upon, admirable as he was, disappeared with the light.

[514] likewise bread, She therefore, giving herself to prayers until the third hour of the coming Lord's day, in that very leisure felt much sweetness of Christ: and at the third hour, while she continued in prayer, there was present a certain boy, that is, the aforesaid Angel, as is believed, carrying half a loaf, and he said: Rise and eat, when it shall seem expedient to you. And when she had risen, she found half a loaf, very white and fragrant, of which it could not be doubted that it had been fashioned by Angelic hands: looking at which, she doubted whether it might have been brought by the maidservant. But having looked around at the door of the cell, firmly barred on the inside, she believed it to be what it was: and taking the bread she ate it with thanksgiving: and on that half loaf she lived that whole week, and of that bread she also gave to several. And in that same week many weaknesses of her body were strengthened which she was enduring by reason of her abstinence. She also tasted in that week much more than usual of the sweetness of God: and all the other foods which were brought to her in that week, which she was to eat, she gave out to the poor. Of that bread lady Rigalis her sister had some, and lady Luciana her aunt, and Brother Vigor of Cortona of the Order of Minors: and when she gave it to them she said to them: Receive this bread of the Angels, which our God sent to a certain handmaid of his.

[515] The aforesaid Vitus narrates these things at number 41: A certain religious person of perfect life, as also to another, and drink. persisting in devotion for nine continuous days, took no bodily food. To whom in the morning at the dawn of day an Angel of the Lord stood by, carrying half a loaf, and offering it to her said: Take this bread, with which to refresh your body: which she received with devotion: which was not hidden from holy Humiliana. For after a suitable interval had passed, she came to that handmaid of God, saying: Give me, dearest, of your bread, secretly given to you, which you keep by you. To whom she said in astonishment: Who so openly discloses my deeds to you, dearest? And seeing that she could not deny her that bread, she brought her one morsel of it. Which, receiving with thanksgiving, she carried away with her, laying it up reverently in a most clean place. Not many days having passed, persisting in prayer for four continuous days she did not eat. At the evening hour, suffering much hunger and having no other food, she took only the aforesaid morsel and nothing else. And as she took it, suddenly a certain Boy, white and comely, stood before her, carrying a phial full of water: and when he had given it to her, and she, receiving it, drank with praises, she found that that water was excellent wine, delightful in odor and sweet to drink. By that supper she was so refreshed that for four continuous days afterwards she remained fasting without food.

[516] In the same thirteenth century there flourished in Brabant in wondrous sanctity the venerable Ida of Louvain, The Body of Christ given to Ida of Louvain by an Angel; a Religious of the Cistercian Order near Mechelen, whose Life, compiled from the papers of her confessor, was published at the thirteenth of April. In it at number 20 it is read that Ida burned with a great desire of frequently receiving the most holy Body of Christ, but did not dare to indicate this to her confessor. But, says the author, the most deep compassion of the divine loving-kindness was present to his chosen one, thus burning within herself. For what, shame preventing, as has been touched on before, she did not dare to ask in public, by the compassionate remedy of his mercy, providing both for her affection and for her blushing, beyond all industry of human power, he wonderfully granted that his chosen one should obtain this very thing in secret. Indeed at that same time it frequently happened that, when the priest, as is the custom, received the sacred communion at the altar, she, with the desire of her heart immeasurably enlarged, received in her mouth at the same moment of time the most sacred pledge of the saving host, brought, as we believe, by Angelic ministry, and discerned it by its taste, and even chewed it with the office of her own teeth. From which reception she was filled in body with so great a sweetness of gladness and of spiritual delights that it would not be turned into doubt that the very Author of sanctity was present at that time with the gifts of his graces.

[517] Of the same Cistercian Order was St. Lutgard, and in the same century she flourished and died in Brabant. Her Life, St. Lutgard led to communion by Angels: given at the sixteenth of June, Thomas of Cantimpré wrote, coeval with and familiar to the holy Virgin. He narrates the following at number 39: But that to some, who perhaps thought less worthily of her at Aywières (the abbey of virgins where she lived), the merit of pious Lutgard might be shown, this solemn miracle happened, which I narrate. She was accustomed every Lord's day to be refreshed with the sacrament of the Lord's Body. And since no one supported her as she went to the altar in aid of her weak body, some, to whom it was given to see, clearly saw two Angels holding her between them and leading her to the altar.

[518] A particle of the consecrated host given to St. Bonaventure by an Angel: In the Oration of Ottaviano de' Martini concerning St. Bonaventure, for petitioning Sixtus IV that he be enrolled in the roll of the Saints, at number 14 these things are read among us at the fourteenth of July: And when on a certain day he was devoutly present at Mass, God, looking upon his humility, mercifully put into his mouth a particle of the consecrated host, taken by an Angel from the hand of the celebrant. Pietro Galesini in the Life narrates the same thus at number 28: Nay rather, which is most to be wondered at, he showed such humility that, since sometimes for a long while, when still younger, he thought himself unworthy of the most holy Body of Christ, he was so far worthy that he received it by an Angel's ministry. These writers indeed are not coeval: but, since the former pleaded for obtaining the canonization, I judge that he drew from more ancient documents, and would not have said so great a thing before the Pontiff unless it had been proved.

[519] Various benefits of the Angels toward several persons. The Life of Bl. Aleydis, a Cistercian virgin in the abbey of La Cambre near Brussels, which was given at the eleventh of June, has a coeval author. In it at number 30 I find these things: The Angel appointed to her by the Lord as guardian, by an accustomed practice, for some time was wont to rouse her from sleep, that she might rise for the vigils. As soon as she perceived his signal, she rose without delay. In the Appendix to the Life of St. Antony of Padua, given at the thirteenth of June, on the Miracles produced for the canonization, part 1 number 49, it is narrated that a woman had for twenty years been most wretchedly contracted and twisted, and had wished to go to the church of St. Antony; but another woman being healed; Behold, says the author, a certain Boy of seven years appeared, and going before her with joined hands invited her to enter: Come, come in the name of the Lord, for he will free you. But she, following the steps of him who went before, came dragging herself to the threshold of the church: but when she was set in the doorway, that Boy disappeared. The woman's healing follows. In the Life of Bl. Bona of Pisa, and in the other of Bl. Gerardesca of Pisa, both given at the twenty-ninth of May, certain benefits of the Angels are also read, which I merely hint at briefly. In the former, at number 48, two Religious were carried in a little boat across the river Arno by a youth whom they afterwards believed to be an Angel. In the latter, Bl. Gerardesca is narrated at number 50 to have been defended by Angels against a demon, and at number 62 she saw Angels singing psalms in the choir with the monks.

[520] St. Philip Benizi, wandering for three days in the Alps, Very memorable is what is read in the Life of St. Philip Benizi, given at the twenty-third of August. But it must be confessed that it is not by a coeval or nearly contemporary writer. Since, however, the author Dalaeus compiled that Life from ancient documents of his own Order, namely of the Servants of the blessed Virgin Mary, and reports the matter with its circumstances in a likely manner, I transfer that event here entire as at least probable. So then, with this John (of Frankfurt, praised there before), and brother Victor an Italian, and another John a Frenchman, and brother Walter a German as companions, Philip, having begun a journey toward Italy, when they had entered the Alps of the Allobroges, strayed from the highroad, and for three whole days tracking a path through shadowy woods passable only to wild beasts, in their eagerness to return, as happens, to the road, entangled in one error after another, they could find no means of extricating themselves from those impassable windings of the mountain glades: and hunger and weariness increased the difficulty of the matter, harassed by which for three days, since they had found neither anything to drink to relieve their thirst nor food to allay their hunger, they were now beginning to faint and to be forsaken by their strength, when Philip, turning to the accustomed aid of prayer, bade his companions do the same.

[521] After they had poured out to God with tears a prayer burning with charity for their own and relying on great hope in God's most sweet providence, refreshed with food by Angels, is led back to the road. suddenly certain voices like human ones breathe upon them, by which the fathers, being addressed with festive congratulation, were invited to the lost road and to the refreshment of their strength after so many labors. Turning themselves toward these from the prayer they had begun, as soon as they could struggle out of those thorny tracts, they fall in with two men, who by their dress and the rest of their bodily appearance seemed indeed shepherds; but otherwise, as afterwards appeared, they were Angels. Led by these into the nearby shelter of a hut, with much honor of words and with a courtesy more than shepherdlike, they find there a table set with loaves of wondrous whiteness and savor and with cold water: at which, fear being laid aside, being bidden to recline, they feasted purely and sweetly. And having given infinite thanks to God, they are led back into the right road by their hosts as guides. And the guides indeed, having discharged their duty, laying aside their persons, suddenly vanishing from the fathers' eyes, ceased to be seen. I pass over other things belonging to this century.

§ XXXV. Benefits of the Angels in the fourteenth century.

[ ] St. Nicholas of Tolentino refreshed by Angelic song: At the beginning of the fourteenth century, which we now enter, died St. Nicholas of Tolentino, of the Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine. His Life, written by Peter of Rubiensis, coeval with him, was given among us at the tenth of September. The aforesaid writer teaches at number 2 that the parents of St. Nicholas were admonished by an Angel to betake themselves to Bari to St. Nicholas of Myra, that they might there be instructed about the son to be born, as was done. Again at number 46 he writes these things about St. Nicholas of Tolentino: Indeed, for six months before his death, every

night, before the morning hour, he (God) made him hear with bodily ears a most sweet Angelic song, and to be so delighted that he said: I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.

[523] At the beginning of the same century died St. Ivo the priest, whose Acts were published at the nineteenth of May. An Angel received by St. Ivo at his table: In the Process concerning his life and miracles, at number 44 these things are read: The third witness said, etc.: and afterwards on that same day, when he was at table with Lord Ivo in his house at Ville-Martin, there came a certain very foul poor man in mean dress, in the presence of the witness himself who was speaking: and Lord Ivo made the said poor man sit before him at the table and eat with him from the same dish. And when that same poor man had eaten a little, he rose from the table: and when he was at the door of the house, he turned to Lord Ivo and to the said witness who was speaking, and said to them in Breton, Ad Deum (that is, Adieu), the Lord be with you. And when he had said this, the said poor man appeared to Lord Ivo beautiful and clothed in a white garment. And that same Lord Ivo at once related this to the same witness, and told him that he who had come most foul was departing beautiful, and that the house was shining from the brightness of his garment: nor did Lord Ivo eat further at that table on that day: but after the departure of the said poor man he began to weep strongly in the presence of that witness, and said: Now I know well that a Messenger of the Lord came to visit us. The same is reported in the longer Life at number 75.

[524] Various things bestowed on St. Humility by an Angel: At almost the same time there flourished and afterwards died St. Humility the abbess, whose Life was written by a monk of the same Vallombrosan Order, who knew the Saint familiarly, and published among us at the twenty-second of May. The Saint after marriage embraced the monastic life, in which she had devoted herself wholly to prayer; but from the former monastery which she had chosen she was wondrously led out by an Angel, as is narrated at number 8, and as she herself had foretold. But when the aforesaid night came on, says the author, a certain voice sounded: Sister Humility, rise and follow me. She followed, and was set outside the monastery by an invisible hand, as is said there at length. Afterwards, when she was abbess, since she was traveling to Rome on business on foot, when she was too greatly wearied, she received a horse; and presently also a most white loaf, because she could not eat the bread she had found. Both things the author narrates at number 16, and hints that they were procured for the Saint by an Angel, even though he does not name an Angel.

[525] Another thing bestowed on St. Pilingotto the Franciscan tertiary. In the earlier years of the same century there died at Urbino St. Pilingotto, a Franciscan tertiary, whose Life, given at the first of June, has as its author a coeval man of Urbino. Speaking of the Saint's last moments, the author narrates these things at number 21: But when that most pure soul was preparing itself for departure, a certain beautiful bird, white and lovely, as though congratulating him on his passing, did not cease to fly about his face. But a certain bystander tried to drive it away, but for its persistence could not, so that it was most certainly believed by all that it was his Angel, who, guarding him to the end, was waiting for that glorious soul, released from the flesh, that accompanying it he might lead it to that life which Christ acquired for it by his precious blood.

[526] St. Agnes of Montepulciano received the Body of the Lord Raymond of Capua, afterwards general of the Order of Preachers, wrote the Life of St. Agnes of Montepulciano when he was confessor of the monastery in which the Saint dwelt, and wrote it from writings found there and from the report of the Saint's own disciples. But in this Life, published at the twentieth of April in our Work, at number 25 he reports the following about the Saint praying in her garden: But while in her prayer she recalled that it was the Lord's day, and that it was not lawful to let such a day pass without hearing the solemnities of the Masses; while on the other hand, the sweetness of her Bridegroom urging her, she could not lay aside the fervor of her prayer, being brought into an agony she prayed more and more fervently. And behold, after a little while an Angel was present, bearing that venerable sacrament of the Lord's Body, for the sake of which all the solemnities of the Masses are said and performed.

[527] from an Angel on ten Lord's days. Having seen which, the handmaid of the almighty Lord devoutly showed humble reverence first to the King of the Angels, then to the Angel: and at last, with his assent, she received the sacred communion from the hand of that Angel: and thus Agnes the virgin, by the special grace of the Savior, neither laid aside her prayer nor was deprived of the sacraments of the Mass: nay rather, being communicated with the Sacraments themselves, she was strengthened by the presence of the Angels. Nor did it suffice the bountiful Giver of gifts to do this grace to his bride once or twice: but for ten continuous Lord's days he repeated the same gift, so that, namely, according to the number of the Decalogue, in which is all the perfection of holiness, holy Agnes, to be yet further sanctified, might deserve to receive the most holy body from the hand of a holy Angel. Presently at number 27 the author adds that relics were brought to the virgin by an Angel, as may be seen in the same place.

[528] There died at the beginning of the same fourteenth century Bl. Christina of Stommeln near Cologne, Bl. Christina of Stommeln rejoiced in wondrous a virgin plainly marvelous, and harassed by so many assaults of demons that her Acts would be incredible had they not been written from the testimonies of many eyewitnesses, while the virgin was still living. Brother Peter of Dacia, of the Order of Preachers, wrote them, with others who knew the Blessed one familiarly; and they were published among us at the twenty-second of June, with the Life of the Blessed one, compiled by a nearly contemporary Anonymous writer from the Acts and from the notices of her familiars. In the aforesaid Acts, book 3 number 26, the virgin herself, through her scribe, narrates to Brother Peter that she was cured by Angels after she had been by night cruelly seized by a demon and most grievously wounded. Who, she says, taking up her body, every night cured it of its injuries, and against the cold sheltered it with a most light and most warm cloak, and strengthened her mind with divine consolations, and affirmed that they had been present at all her sufferings and had seen her patience: and moreover with so wondrous consolations and pious exhortations they led her home, that from too great wonder she could not observe either the way or the manner of her being brought back: yet when they withdrew she found herself in her own chamber. She did not see the Angels and the cloak with bodily eyes: but she really felt the warmth, the softness, and the overshadowing of the cloak: and she recognized the Angels' curings and consolations spiritually and truly in her heart. These things indeed rest on the virgin's testimony alone: but they are confirmed by others equally wonderful which were done in the sight of others.

[529] Again in book 4 number 3 the Virgin narrates the most grievous vexations of demons which she suffered on many nights, and very many favors of the Angels, and adds: But Christ, who did not desert his beloved bride, appointed five Angels each night to free and to heal her: who, strengthening her with loving addresses, faithfully affirmed that they had been appointed by the Lord as guardians of her five senses. Thus at number 8 she is said to have been kept alive by the Angels, and at number 10 to have been brought back by the Angels into her chamber. And at number 13, when after the most savage vexations the demons had vanished, immediately there came two Angels sent from God, who, lifting up her body and healing it in every respect, brought it back with great reverence and consolation into her own chamber. Similar things again are read at number 22. But at number 29 the Angel who had healed and brought her back is read to have moreover spoken thus: Be strengthened, bride of Christ, and act steadfastly: for with you is Jesus Christ, your most beloved bridegroom, for whose love you have entered the contest: for he will never desert you in tribulations, but will strengthen and help you in all things; in death indeed you shall be secure, you shall triumph over all your enemies, and shall exult with him eternally. And having said this, the Angel at once departed from her. But the same one was again present as a helper after a new struggle with the demons. Thus everywhere the Angels healed the virgin's wounds: but at number 69 they are read to have healed all her injuries except that which she had received from the glowing hoop in the middle of her body. But that wound is then read to have been healed by Christ along with the others recently received.

[530] Passing over other like things, I add another favor and was frequently healed by them. which is narrated at number 101. The virgin had fallen while being brought back from the church, and had gravely injured herself. But so grave and vehement a pain suddenly grew that the virgin of Christ could in no way move her feet or her legs by herself, nor could she bear to be touched by anyone without great crying out and pain. And when the virgin of Christ had passed that night with the following day in so great injury and pain, on the second night the virgin fell into sleep, and saw an Angel of God standing by her: who, touching the Virgin's feet and legs with a most gentle touch, admonished her to rise and to bless her Beloved, and, having said this, wholly disappeared. But the virgin of Christ, awaking, found herself whole: and rising, she raised herself upon her knees and blessed her most beloved Bridegroom with all her heart, etc. Most of what has thus far been related about the assistance of the Angels is repeated more briefly in the Life. Moreover the biographer adds at the end that in the last years of her life the Blessed one was free from the assaults of the demons, so that everything which I have given from the Acts happened in the thirteenth century: but, because the Blessed one died in the fourteenth century, I have gathered everything under this same century.

[531] Other things bestowed on others. About the same time there died Bl. Oringa or Christiana, a virgin in Tuscany, of whom it was treated at the tenth of January. In her Life, which Silvano Razzi wrote in Italian, Bl. Oringa is said to have been defended in many ways also by the Angels against the assaults and terrors of demons. These things indeed are less unusual, or in themselves incredible, than what is read in the Acts of Bl. Christina; but the author is more recent, and therefore I altogether abstain from reporting them here. More ancient is the writer who composed the Life of the venerable Gertrude of Oosten, a Beguine of Delft in Holland, given among us at the sixth of January. But in it at number 30 the soul of a certain other Gertrude, who was a Beguine in the same city, is said to have been beheld by someone, with two Angels accompanying her on the right and on the left.

[532] Bl. John of Fermo, by an Angel, for three months In the Life of Bl. John of Fermo, of the Order of Minors, given at the ninth of August, a coeval Anonymous writer has as follows at number 41: But how familiar he was with the holy Angels, to whom he continually showed a most singular reverence, appears from the many visitations and consolations which he received from them: but out of many I shall report only two. Being asked by a certain familiar of his how he had received from God the gift of wisdom, though he kept altogether silent and seemed to wish to reveal it to no one, while

he lived; at last, constrained by importunate entreaty and suppliant insistence, he revealed what was asked of him, under the seal of secrecy while he lived, saying that on a certain day, while shut up in his cell doing strict penance and praying attentively before the crucifix to the Crucified, a certain Youth of wondrous comeliness came to him, saying to him that he was sent to stay with him for some time. And when the holy man of God recognized him to be an Angel of the Lord, on account of the great security which he received at his presence in his sight, and the charity of goodwill which he conceived, he honored him most devoutly, as was fitting: and sitting together, they held a long conversation about the cross of Christ, and about the joys of paradise, and about the words of the Gospel and of the apostle Paul and of the other Saints: and thus for three continuous months there was no day on which he did not enjoy his luminous countenance and his honeyed speech.

[533] appearing familiarly, was taught the Scriptures, Now he was going and returning, as a friend is wont familiarly to go and return to the house of another friend, and a companion to the house of another companion. At last, the space of three months being completed, bidding him farewell he opened his understanding, that he might understand the Scriptures, and from then on, as he related, there was no Scripture which he did not understand in any place whatever according to some meaning, although it was not given him that whatever he understood he might at his own will unfold to another and be able to open it to another, except so far as it pleased the divine Majesty, which had given him the spirit of understanding. But the holy man did not doubt that that youth was his own Angel, who had been sent by God for his consolation, and showed himself to him very frequently.

[534] At another time there came the solemnity of the blessed archangel Michael, he obtained other favors also from the Angels. which is celebrated in the month of September: and when by night he had come down from the cell which he had on Mount Alverna, and had come to the church of the brethren, that in reverence of the Angels he might render the morning praises to God with those brethren, the praises being completed, he stayed a while in the church after the manner of the brethren, meditating devoutly on the glory of the Angels. But his meditation and his own particular prayer being finished, he was leaving the church to return to his cell. But when he had come to the door of the church, there appeared beside him a harper, making so most sweet a melody that, had not the holy man been strengthened by God, … he would surely have been caught up for its sweetness; nay, it seemed to him that his spirit wished to be separated from his body. Then, exulting in the Lord, with a very loud cry he began to run up the mountain toward his cell. But the harper, whether he ran or stood or walked in the ordinary way, never departed from his side. But when the man of God had come to his cell and had prostrated himself before the image of the Crucified, then, as it seemed to him, that harper began to move his hands over the musical instrument most swiftly, and so to quicken the sound, as those are accustomed to do who are skilled in that art when they wish to bring the sound to an end. And when the sound was finished, the holy man passed that night sleepless, persisting in prayer until day, giving thanks to God and to his holy Angels for the consolation he had received.

§ XXXVI. Benefits of the Angels in the fifteenth century.

[ ] Quite wondrous With altogether wonderful patience and constancy there flourished in Holland in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries St. Lidwina the virgin, whose Acts were written with the highest fidelity by several coeval writers, and published among us at the fourteenth of April. From them I shall transfer here some things pertaining to our purpose. After the author at number 48 in the Life had said, and had proved by examples, that St. Lidwina was accustomed to be so carried away in spirit to various places that she knew and indicated what was being done in remote places, he adds at number 49: But when, as has been said, she was carried away to such places, there was divinely fulfilled in her what was said by the Lord to Moses and the children of Israel…: Behold, I send an Angel, who shall go before you and always guard you, and shall be the guide of your journey. For she was very often visited and touched by her holy Angel, whom she knew as personally as a friend knows his friend. Likewise she knew the Angels of her confessors, and of her other familiars and of many men.

[536] Now that same Angel appeared in various ways, and sometimes in the form of a most beautiful man, and manifold favors, but always in great brightness. Sometimes that brightness was so great that, if a thousand suns should shine together in their full power, yet they could not be matched or likened to the brightness of that same Angel. But sometimes this brightness was less: yet he always bore on his forehead the standard of the Lord's cross, lest she should be deceived by the angel of Satan, who frequently appeared to her transfigured into an Angel of light. But if on account of the throng of visitors she was sometimes disturbed, and by the presence and touch of certain immodest men her purity, as commonly happens, was stained; on account of such stains and unquiet, of whatever sort, she was deprived of Angelic visions and divine raptures. Sometimes too, if by certain spiritual defects known only to the eye of the Divinity or to the Angel, which among men are not defects, she was secretly weighed down, and by reason of them it was necessary that she be hindered from her accustomed raptures, she confessed them to her holy Angel and guide; and being thus purged by him, with him going before, she went forward following him to the places to which she was led. The author's account is lengthy concerning the places to which St. Lidwina was carried away, who always kept her bed on account of her most grievous infirmities.

[537] with which the Angels Wherefore, omitting the rest, which may be read in the Life, I shall pluck out only a few things. And when her spirit, he says, was carried away to the aforesaid places, her body remained on her little bed as though dead and lifeless. Then: In the exercises also of the Lord's passion, she was sometimes accustomed to be carried away by the holy Angel, even in body, to those places of the Holy Land in which the same Savior, by being born, by conversing, by suffering, wrought the sacraments of human salvation. When he had narrated many things about raptures in the body, and to confirm them had said that sometimes after raptures she was injured in body, the author says that the Angel said to the Saint: These sores you have received in your body for this reason, that you may know that you were carried away in your body also. Then he has as follows at number 53: On account therefore of these bodily injuries, which she thus brought back, she was accustomed to say, according to the Angel's word, that she thought she had also been carried away in body. But in what manner this happened, the Angel knows, who testified that this was done in the body, and who declared, in the raptures themselves, that she had received the bodily injuries in testimony of it. It also seems likely that she was bodily carried away when she brought back that flowery garland, placed upon her head by the hand of the blessed Virgin, of which we shall speak below. So that learned and pious author, John Brugman, of the Order of Minors.

[538] heaped upon St. Lidwina the virgin, But what he says about the garland he narrates at number 69 and following. In the year 1428 the holy virgin had indicated to her kinsman and to her confessor, who were staying rather long with her, that she desired to be left alone for two or three hours. Both went out, but the confessor secretly returned, that hidden in the chamber he might see what she was doing. And so the virgin, thinking that she was alone in her cell, was disposing herself by devout prayers to receive the grace which she desired. Behold, when the space of nearly one hour had passed, after midday, an Angel of the Lord, entering to her in the accustomed manner, flew about her within the bed-hangings in which she lay; but he did not draw nearer to her. Seeing therefore that she could not enjoy the gladness of his presence, being troubled she wept bitterly, asking that same Angel whether by any fault of hers she had offended God, on account of which she could not enjoy this grace. Then the Angel said: By no means, but on account of the presence of him who, sitting in your cell, is trying to search out and to experience the grace prepared for you. Having said this, the Angel departed from her. At the Virgin's weeping the confessor rose and said that he had been present. Thus the author at number 67, adding then the virgin's notable raptures.

[539] After others she was carried away, at number 68, to contemplate the joys of paradise, always sick, and it is said at number 69 that the most blessed Virgin Mary addressed her, exhorting her to patience, the blessed Virgin adding: Do you wish, she says, a garland upon your head? Then this virgin said: I cannot have my own will here. But when she had looked at the Angel her guide, and he seemed in some manner to consent that she should take it; Take, said the blessed Virgin, this garland upon your head, which will not be able to be upon the earth beyond seven hours, and hand it over into the hand of your confessor, saying that I charge him that henceforth he be believing of the gifts of the almighty Son of God, and that he set that same garland upon the head of my image which is in the church. When these things therefore had been said, this virgin returned to her bodily senses. Then, as is there related at length, Lidwina, unaware of the garland, by chance or by some necessity placing her hand upon her head, drew off the garland, which by its most sweet odor she recalled had been placed upon her head by the hands of the blessed Virgin… Now this garland was of a sky-blue color and wrinkled, and gave off from itself a fragrance of such wondrous sweetness that she kept it by her as long as she could. At last she bade her confessor be called, and gave him the garland, that he might set it upon the head of the image of the blessed Virgin. The confessor did this, and an Angel of the Lord carried back that same garland to the place whence the virgin had brought it. This last thing Lidwina could not have known unless taught by the Angel. The author adds that these things happened in the night and morning of the coming eighteenth of the month of November in the year of the Lord 1428.

[540] These things will seem altogether wonderful; but others of the kind too are found in the same Life, heaped upon her. confirmed nevertheless by the best testimonies. Thus at number 63, when she had lost the rod with which she used to draw the curtain of her bed, a wooden rod is said to have been put in its place by an Angel, and that fragrant. Thus at number 73 she is asserted to have received blessed ashes from an Angel on Ash Wednesday. Thus the Angel is read in the Life both to have said and to have disclosed very many other things to St. Lidwina. But the things which I have produced from the first Life are read related still more fully in the second Life, which the same John Brugman composed and fortified beforehand with letters of the magistrates of the town of Schiedam, where St. Lidwina lived and died. Many more things also about the benefits of the Angels toward St. Lidwina are read in the second Life than in the first. Yet I pass over everything, both lest I become too prolix, since they may be read in the Lives themselves, and lest I be burdensome to unbelieving men. Wonderful is the whole life of that virgin, and no less to be wondered at are the things which are related about her abstinence from food and drink, and about the long-continued diseases and all

which were known, than those which could become known only by the testimony of a few.

[541] In the later years in which St. Lidwina was in Holland, Various benefits from the same Bl. Colette flourished in great sanctity at Ghent in Flanders. Her Life, given at the sixth of March, has as its author Peter de Vaux, long the confessor of that virgin. Concerning the benefits of the Angels toward Bl. Colette, the author first observes at number 35 that she is believed to have been sustained by Angels on a journey. Secondly, at number 88 he narrates that the friends of Bl. Colette were helped by Angels against their assailants: which he confirms in these words: For whose kindly favor Angels came down visibly from heaven, to preserve them from dangers;… as was evidently shown to the glorious mother (Bl. Colette) and to some of the sisters. For she herself first saw, about the hour of midnight, a certain most bright light round about the said house, and in that light a multitude of Angels, preserving and defending the said inhabitants against all diabolical infestations. Afterwards she saw a golden ladder set upon that same house and touching heaven, and Angels ascending and descending by it, who presented to God the devout prayers of his humble handmaid, etc. It is added that the Blessed one showed those sights to one of the sisters; but that she at first saw nothing, but saw everything after Bl. Colette's prayers.

[542] conferred upon Bl. Colette. When the aforesaid biographer in chapter 14 had at length set forth the most grievous infirmities and pains which Bl. Colette suffered, he expresses thus at number 125 the services which the Angels rendered her when the nuns withdrew at night: Then the heavenly Angels visited her, sweetly ministering to her, covering and helping her, and conferring the other services which faithful servants can render to the handmaid or bride of the highest King. Treating of the Blessed one's death, and reporting the various visions of pious persons, he has as follows at number 196: But in several convents especially loved by her on account of the special prerogative of holy poverty singularly shining in them, at the hour of her passing there was heard a multitude of Angels sweetly resounding with an unheard-of melody. Among whom one Angelic voice in particular was heard by certain persons, saying: The venerable religious sister Colette has departed to the Lord. Again at number 200: Moreover a certain other most devout person, of great penance and austerity, and also of praiseworthy perfection, in her rapture saw one great multitude of Angels joyfully and melodiously carrying her glorious soul swiftly to the kingdom of paradise.

[543] Bl. Veronica of Binasco is forbidden by an Angel to seek the desert, In the same fifteenth century was born and died Bl. Veronica of Binasco, a Milanese Religious of the Order of St. Augustine. Her Life, given at the thirteenth of January, was written by Isidore de Isolanis of the Order of Preachers; or rather he reduced to order and made Latin the Italian writings of two nuns who had known Bl. Veronica familiarly. This Life contains more about the favors of the Angels toward the Blessed one than I should judge should all be transcribed. And so I shall select some, and for the rest I refer the reader to the Life itself. The Life in book 2 chapter 4 has as follows: Veronica, kindled with a most vehement desire of seeking the desert, resolved, the consent of the priest and of the mother of the monastery being obtained, to go away without the others' knowledge. Hence she spent the night in prayer, and, the lamp being put out, gave her mind to meditation. To her at once an Angel of the Lord appeared, whiter than snow and shining with a great light, driving the darkness of the deep night from the place. The virgin is terrified at the light. To whom the Angel said: Do not fear, for I am God's Messenger: the light which you have so often beheld (as is reported in chapter 3) was divine. Do not withdraw for the sake of seeking the desert; for such is God's will. Know also that the practice of the desert is opposed to the salvation of your soul. And saying this, he sought the heights of the heavens, leaving the virgin affected with heavenly joys.

[544] she feeds on bread brought by an Angel, Again in chapter 18, when Veronica had hidden herself lest by the women who had come to see her she should be torn from contemplation; being sought, and nowhere found, she is fed by bread brought by an Angel of the Lord. This on the feast of St. Martha, patroness of the monastery. On the famous day too of the Lord's Nativity of the same year, the virgin persevering fasting, she likewise received bread from an Angel. Then in chapter 19 these things are read: It was Veronica's custom to fast on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and indeed with such sparingness that she used only bread and plain water. Wherefore, three years having elapsed after the things which we wrote in the preceding chapter, she was fed only on bread brought by an Angel. Now an Angel of the Lord began to bring this heavenly nourishment to the virgin on the famous day of Catherine the martyr in the year from the Christian Nativity 1413. But on each of her fast days the virgin, content with a single loaf, most white and fresh and of middling size, brought by an Angel, loathed all food. Thus the Angel of the Lord did on all the days of her life on which thereafter she fed on bread and plain water. This time preceded the virgin's death by three years. Veronica testified that by the single Angelic loaf, although of middling size, she was more and more sated than if she had taken four commoner loaves.

[545] Then he adds in chapter 20: For Thaddaea, most vehemently sick, the most upright virgin, and receives bread thereafter for another: … by many prayers begged and obtained a longer life. But receiving after these things a doubled loaf, she gave the other to the sick Thaddaea: eating which she at once began to grow strong, and being very soon restored to fullest health, ascribed her recovery to the virgin's merits. After she had gained her recovery, Thaddaea affirmed, Veronica having disclosed it, that she too had very often taken the Angelic bread. Indeed, to establish belief in so great a matter, Thaddaea offered a little portion of that bread to a priest to eat. The author adds that this miracle, which the Blessed one had kept hidden, was then published to all inquirers by Thaddaea, then superior of the monastery, who had been privy to Veronica's secrets beyond the rest, and who wrote a part of the Life.

[546] Again in chapter 23 Bl. Veronica is narrated to have been taught by an Angel she is taught by the Angel and rebuked for a fault, how she should recite the canonical Office after the Roman manner, and in chapter 24 the Angel is asserted at one time to have said part of the Office with her. But in what form she saw the Angel is reported thus in chapter 25: Veronica asserted that an Angel of the Lord was accustomed to come surrounded by such a light that in the thickest darkness of midnight, when she desired to read divine things, she needed neither fire nor spectacles. By that same light unknown to mortals the virgin was likewise prevented from gazing long or enough upon the Angelic form, etc. The rest may be seen there. Then in chapter 26 the author says that a book was written by Veronica at the Angel's dictation, which he grieves is lost; and that a golden pen was given her by the Angel, of which he says: We ourselves saw the pen. Presently again in chapter 27 he treats of the recitation of the Office with the Angel, which the author says happened especially in the Blessed one's illnesses and afflictions. Thus the Angel of the Lord did, he says, as often as Veronica was greatly afflicted. Then in book 3 chapter 9 the biographer reports these things: Veronica, illustrious for her white simplicity, once told the sisters, saying: While a priest was performing the sacred Mass on a certain day, I gazed too curiously, from mere instability of mind, upon a sister kneeling beside the altar. But when it happened that I was drawn away from bodily senses, the Angel of the Lord, who was accustomed to be present to me, rebuked me with such severity that I should have closed my last day, if my mind, enduring such things, had been joined to my body. Alas, how immense was that horror of the reproving Angel! How hard the words! How terrible the countenance! etc.

[547] Passing over very many other things which may be read in the Life, I add one which the author narrates in book 7 chapter 2 in this manner: On the night of Saturday within the octave of Corpus Christi of the following year, Veronica the virgin, after the night vigils, giving herself to contemplation in her cell, being caught up in mind among heavenly things, heard a sweetly sounding voice: She receives the Body of the Lord from him. Rise, daughter, and receive the most worthy Sacrament, with which your God is about to gift you. Then the virgin, marveling most vehemently and kindled more and more with the flames of divine ardor, at once summoned her spirit back to her senses. The place shining on every side with a heavenly light, she beheld an Angel of God whiter than snow holding the holy Body of the Lord in his right hand: and when the Angel had set it to the virgin's mouth, that whole vision vanished. The Host being taken, the virgin flew away to the delights above, remaining in rapture until the rising of the sun. About the Eucharist given her in a more solemn manner, Angels also intervening, by Christ, the following chapter may be consulted.

[548] Angelic singing heard at the funeral of Bl. Lawrence Justinian: Bernard Justinian, in the Life of his uncle Bl. Lawrence Justinian, patriarch of Venice, given at the eighth of January, chapter 12, reporting the Blessed one's death, says: What throngs of Angels we should have seen come there, if that company could have been seen with bodily eyes! With such a retinue therefore, amid their heavenly voices and songs, that most happy spirit flashed into heaven like a little flame. Why he speaks thus he indicates a little later at number 63 in these words: What a testimony too is this, that two of your brethren (the Carthusians), when they had come to that office (to the funeral) like the rest, seemed to themselves to hear certain most sweet songs and unheard-of modulations! And as they were returning to the monastery, and these did not cease, then one said to the other: Do you hear, brother, these melodies? Why should I not hear them, said the other? That harmony seems to me plainly Angelic, not human. The other began to affirm the same. While therefore both marveled, those songs never fell silent until they arrived at the monastery.

[549] Such singing heard at Mass by St. Catherine of Bologna, In the Life of St. Catherine of Bologna, given at the ninth of March, at number 8 these things are read: On a certain day, while she was present at the Sacrifice of the altar which we call the Mass, and the priest was uttering Holy, Holy, she herself heard the Angels repeating the same word in a heavenly song: whose sweetness was so great that her soul almost went forth from her body: although the Angels did not utter the whole of that word: for if that divine song had been a little longer, she would beyond doubt have fallen down lifeless. The same is reported in the other Life at number 34.

[550] by another at the cell of St. Francis of Paola. In the Cosenza Process on the Life and miracles of St. Francis of Paola, given with the Life and the rest at the second of April, a wonderful event is narrated at number 90. Francesco Carbonelli was angry with St. Francis of Paola for a cause set forth there. And when he wished to speak with him, and the Saint did not come at once, he grew still more angry. And so, as is there reported, being angry he determined to meet him in his cell: which cell was somewhat high, so that for entering it one had to go up three steps. And when the said lord Francesco was on the last step, he heard certain songs and most sweet melodies, which he judged to be Angelic: and astounded he stood still, that he might hear them more surely. And afterwards, wishing to go up the last step, he heard the said songs and melodies continue: and being astounded he at once

returned to the church, to give thanks to God for what he had heard. At this song all his anger withdrew, as follows, and friendship succeeded.

[551] Angels seen while St. Vincent Ferrer preached, By another sign the sanctity of St. Vincent Ferrer, of the Order of Preachers, was suggested to certain persons: in whose Life at the fifth of April, at number 13, these things are read: There were many to whom it was divinely granted that, while he was preaching, they should see the Angels of God, who frequently descended upon him in humble human form.

[552] In the Life of the venerable Denis the Carthusian, given at the fifteenth of March, and by Denis the Carthusian. Theodoric Loër the Carthusian has as follows at number 25: Denis himself too often saw white Spirits accompanying the monks as they returned to their cells after Matins, and entering their cells with them, whom he did not doubt to be their Guardian Angels.

[553] In the Life of the venerable widow Mary of Maillé, which Martin de Bois-Gaultier, of the Order of Minors, the confessor of that Mary, wrote, among us at the twenty-eighth of March, Among the poor an Angel seems to have come to Mary of Maillé. her works of mercy are commended, and she is believed to have received an Angel among the poor, which is reported at number 13 thus: Among the other poor, one, tall in stature, having long hair and a flowing beard, beautiful in appearance, entered her house: who, looking about on every side and standing before her, uttered no word. But she, marveling and fearing some malignant deceit, said to him: If you are a Christian, make the signs of a Christian. Hearing the word, he, lifting his hand, strongly signed himself with the sign of the cross, and, having taken refreshment, went out of the house and appeared no more. But the lady, going out and standing and looking around, saw no one: and asking of the neighbors where that man had gone, they declared that they knew nothing at all. In the Process for the canonization of the same venerable Mary, at number 8, Angelic singing is said to have been heard at her death by a pious person.

[554] St. Frances of Rome enjoyed the greatest familiarity with her Guardian Angel, St. Frances of Rome's Angel whose Life was written by her confessor John Mattiotti and given among us at the ninth of March. The aforesaid biographer testifies this, writing thus at number 16: The handmaid of Christ enjoyed a continual vision of Angels, and especially she familiarly beheld one adorned with the form of elegant beauty, inseparably standing by her day and night, whose face surpassed the splendor of the sun. And if in the night time she had need to do any work, without any material light, she was guided by the splendor of the Angel alone. Then in book 2, Vision 1, the author has as follows: Among the other graces of the Lord shown to this his handmaid Bl. Frances in the present life, this was the most singular: which I believe, reader, you read of few Saints. For there was given her one Angel, who (as the handmaid of God herself asserted) was of the second choir of the holy Archangels; not that domestic one who is given to all for guardianship. But that Archangel was so domestic to her that day and night he always stood by her in human figure, namely of a boy of nine years, clothed in a little tunic white as snow: whose face was brighter than the sun, so that the handmaid of Christ herself could not look upon his face: but she saw the brightness of his face most fully.

[555] Yet at two times the handmaid of Christ could more easily look upon the face of that Archangel; in the form of a boy always stands by her shining, one, namely, when her spiritual father was speaking with her about that Archangel: then she could most easily gaze upon his hair and eyes and other members. But at another time, when she had been struck by malignant spirits, for her strengthening she gazed upon that Archangel without any difficulty. And, what is more wonderful to say, while she was thus struck and torn by malignant spirits, and as it were near to death, the Archangel was present with most shining countenance and radiant hair, and the malignant spirits, not bearing his brightness, suddenly fled in confusion. For so great was the splendor of the said Archangel that in the night time she performed all the necessary tasks in the house by that brightness without any material light.

[556] and he was of a higher order, and the Saint Presently there follow there some things about another Angel given to St. Frances, which are more clearly explained in vision 66 in these words: After this handmaid of God went to the house of her daughters in Christ after her husband's death, that she might remain with them, it happened that in the year of the Lord 1436, on the solemnity of the feast of St. Benedict, the most kindly Lord, the giver of all graces, magnifying his handmaid more wonderfully than usual, granted her one other Angel of the fourth choir, namely one of the Powers. But this Angel was granted her in human form, as has been said above of the other Angel, but more shining than he, and his garment was a Dalmatic more beautiful than the little tunic of the other Angel. Which Angel protected the handmaid of God from the oppressions of malignant spirits more wonderfully and more powerfully than the first Angel: for the first put them to flight with a motion of the head and a movement of his radiant hair; but this second one, in the Blessed one's defense, put those demons to flight by mere spirited resolve, by looking at them. And those malignant spirits were more terrified when they saw him than at the vision of the other Angel. And this second Angel held in his left hand three golden little branches after the manner of those little branches of the palm on which dates stand: which little branches indeed signified holy correction. And on those little branches were certain small pods like those from which silk threads or silken work are made: from which pods that Angel made certain skeins, which he held on his neck: and with his right hand he made balls of those skeins, and continually performed the said work. In the first vision this symbolic working of the Angel is said to have continued until the year 1438 and the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: but afterwards another Work was begun, about which there is more in Vision 69. The place itself may be read, and the Annotations may be consulted about some of the words and about the meaning of the symbolic matter.

[557] strengthened her against the vexations of the demons, In vision 29 many things are reported which St. Frances said to her father confessor in the presence of a certain Religious woman whose name was Rita, and, after the vexations of the demons which she suffered had been set forth, she added these things, speaking of herself as of another person: But lest that ancient enemy should make her fear beyond measure, the most loving Lord granted her an Angel visible to her for her guardianship, that he might be her remedy; lest through the vision of that most wicked enemy she should be out of her senses and understanding when he tormented her. For unless she had stood in her natural senses, she would not have felt the torments inflicted upon her by the malignant enemy, and not feeling them she would not merit so much. And the kindly Lord permitted this, that he might lead his beloved according to his own will, and granted her to be able to see that Angel of God, so that she might more spiritedly and more perfectly recover herself and be strengthened after the torments inflicted on her by the most wicked enemy: and that from the continual vision of that blessed Angel she might not remain fearful of the torments. About the Archangel whom St. Frances had as guardian, more things are read in vision 42. Passing over others, I add one: Which Archangel, if at any time certain persons came to the handmaid of God and fell into some conversation in which there was a straying from the truth, that Archangel turned his face away from the speakers to another quarter, that is, turned it aside. In Vision 91 St. Michael the archangel gives counsels to the Saint, and in 94 another Angel admonishes Frances, as may be read in the same place.

[558] Then in book 3 chapter 5 number 47 St. Raphael the archangel also is said to have been an aid to the Saint, and many things in various places are read about the aid of her Guardian Angel or Archangel, and was present to her in her last struggle. which I thought should be omitted for brevity's sake, along with many things which the Saint saw and said about the Angels. But what is read in book 3 number 96 to have happened before the Saint's death I transfer here: But the most kindly Lord, since he had shown her beloved in life, willed to show her most beloved in death. For he knew that it was most wearisome to the Blessed one while she lived to see malignant spirits, as she was often accustomed to see them, both troubling her and also her neighbor: but in death he did not will that she should in any way be troubled by malignant spirits, but rendered her wholly free from the sight of them. But that most glorious Angel, of whom it was spoken above, was setting up webs and doing his work, laboring more swiftly and with greater cheerfulness than he was wont before: which act was a sign of the death of that handmaid of Christ.

[559] In the second Life of St. Frances, which was composed indeed later, but from ancient documents of her monastery, Her son Evangelista ascends into heaven among Angels, some things are added to what has already been said. Of Evangelista her deceased son, the innocence of whose life is commended, these things are read at number 19: But at that same hour (at which Evangelista had died) a girl in the neighboring house, at the point of death, and long since deprived of the faculty of speech through the violence of her disease, began to cry out: See, see Evangelista de' Ponziani ascending to the heavens between two Angels. But of Frances herself he speaks thus at number 20: Frances had not only a Guardian Angel by whom she might be urged to do well; but also a corrector, by whom, if she had committed any fault, she was struck by an invisible hand now on this, now on that part of her body. And this not only when she was alone; but also in the presence of others, who could hear the blows struck, but could not likewise see him who struck.

[560] Thus, when in the presence of her mother-in-law Cecilia and her kinswoman Vannozza, in a crowded company of women, some vain talk had been introduced, But the Saint was also corrected by the Angel. and she was prevented by too much human respect from interrupting it, her cheek, all hearing it, was struck with a heavy slap. At another time in St. Maria Nuova, setting forth the inward state of her soul to Father Antonello, because from a feeling of humility she was keeping silent about certain gifts divinely conferred on her, the Angel inflicted so vehement a blow upon her shoulders that she fell down before the feet of her astonished confessor: which fault, recollecting herself, she recognized and at once made manifest to her spiritual Father. Similar is what happened to her in her own house while confessing her sins to John the priest: for while she assists kneeling, so hard a blow was struck upon her that with bowed head she touched the ground. And when the confessor asked what had happened to her, she said that she did not know, except that her shoulders, vehemently struck, still ached. But then God revealed to the confessor that those blows were the Angel's, who, as at other times, so now punished her because with reluctant mind she was declaring God's secret favors to him to whom God wished her to be fully

subject in matters pertaining to the spirit.

§ XXXVII. Benefits of the Angels in the sixteenth century.

[ ] Bl. Osanna of Mantua roused to virtue by an Angel, The things which I shall gather about Bl. Osanna of Mantua happened for the most part in the fifteenth century, yet since she died some years after the beginning of the sixteenth century, which we now enter, I shall transfer them all here, since in this collection I do not follow a strict chronological order. The Life of Bl. Osanna of Mantua, virgin of the third Order of St. Dominic, was given at the eighteenth of June, and has coeval writers familiar with the Blessed one. In it in chapter 1 this is read: She (Osanna), not yet having passed her sixth year, dwelling at Carbonarola, where her parents were accustomed to spend the summer every year; while she was walking alone along the bank of the Po, an Angel was seen by her, who, having exhorted her to frugality and to the love of heavenly things, straightway snatched himself away from her eyes. In the second Life, Treatise 1, which is said to be composed for the most part from Bl. Osanna's own manuscript, many more things about these matters are read at number 14. Then her soul, says the author, was caught up in spirit, and an Angel presented himself to her, who, taking her by the hand, led her above the heights of the heavens, teaching her and showing her the supreme Deity, and at the same time saying: See, little daughter, and attentively consider the works of God, and for what cause they were made. To be brief, the Angel bids the virgin consider heavenly things, and gives her excellent counsels toward virtue, as may be read there at greater length.

[562] and helped in her work. Singular is what is narrated in the first Life at number 122. When she was staying at Carbonarola with her brothers, after the custom of the citizens who in the time of heat dwell in the country, delighting in the works of humility she wished, against everyone's will, to perform all the exercises of the lowest servitude. Whence she very often went to the bank of the Po, to carry back water on her own shoulders. But since she was exceedingly weak and of little strength, because extreme fasting afflicted her body and she was possessed by frequent and long-continued rapture, she could by no means set the water vessels upon her shoulders, on account of their excessive weight, unequal to her strength: yet she attempted and strove to get the better of them. But having been wearied for some while, when she implored divine help, a heavenly Spirit came to bring her aid: and having received that assistance, she set upon herself with the greatest ease the vessel she was to carry. Very often too, when she had filled the water jars, presently the Spirit was at hand to bring her help. This the household and familiars also perceived, when they saw her carrying upon her shoulders vessels exceedingly heavy, which a woman of the most unconquerable strength could not have lifted from the ground. Sometimes they wished to bring her assistance: but she refused everyone's help.

[563] Bl. Columba of Rieti led to the church by an Angel. At the same time there flourished Bl. Columba of Rieti, who died at the very beginning of the sixteenth century, herself also a virgin of the third Order of St. Dominic, whose Life, given at the twentieth of May, has as its author Sebastian of Perugia, of the Order of Preachers, Columba's confessor. He at number 2 reports at Bl. Columba's birth such a vision that it was believed the Angels rejoiced over her. Again at number 34 he narrates these things: Again it happened that she was deprived of her aforesaid spiritual father: and she had recourse to her parish priest, a man of mature age and devout toward God: to whom she confessed, and by whom she was communicated. And when he happened to be obliged to go out on the feast of St. John the Baptist, he wished Bl. Columba to be informed, so that she might perhaps abstain on that day. The handmaid of Christ humbly replies; but asks more urgently that on so great a day she might not be deprived of her most sweet Bridegroom, since at least at dawn he could come beforehand: to which the venerable priest assented, and he himself waits very early in the morning, and had placed the keys of the church upon the altar. And while she is asking for a companion, a messenger urges that he wishes her to come. And when she had delayed a little while, at last she was going alone: but an Angelic escort encompassed her all the way to the altar. And when she had been communicated, she suddenly departed. But when the priest noticed that the keys were still upon the altar, he was struck with amazement, and was wholly ignorant how or whither she had gone. And when he had looked about more diligently, at last he found her in the greater church in the midst of the Sisters of the Penance of Bl. Dominic. And so she secretly revealed to the father priest that she had been led in and led out by the evident ministry of Angels.

[564] St. John of God, who founded the new Order of Hospitality, St. John of God helped in many ways by Angels also experienced various favors of the Angels. His Life, published among us in Latin at the eighth of March, was written in Spanish by a coeval author, Francisco de Castro, priest and rector of the hospital of Granada. He, when in book 2 chapter 3 he had set forth with how great charity St. John spent himself for all the needy, goes on thus at number 21: To that same end the most kindly Lord joined his Angels also to him, just as of old he joined Raphael as companion to the younger Tobias. On a certain night there was lacking water necessary for the household services, and since the neighboring well denied it, it had to be sought from the place which is called Bibarrambla, situated at no small distance. Yet he goes laden with two water jars: situated at no small distance. Yet he goes laden with two water jars: but on returning he found everything carefully done which he himself was accustomed to do; the floor swept with brooms, the beds made up, the dishes washed. And when he asked the sick who had put a hand to them, all with one voice alike answered that he himself and no other had done everything. But he, well conscious how far away he had been, when the needy persisted in their assertion, said: Truly, brothers, God loves the poor greatly, when he even sends his Angels for their service. And this one indeed, who had taken on John's person, I can scarcely believe to have been other than the archangel Raphael: for he once said to John that he was divinely sent to be a help to him in the service of the sick. This case was afterwards famous in the talk of many in the city, and moved several of the citizens, so that, meaning to undertake the Offices of the Angels, they offered themselves to John as companions and ministers to the sick.

[565] On another night it happened that the servant of God, going out of the street which is called the Zacatín, in pious works of charity found a poor man complaining that on so cold a night and in so heavy a rain he could find no corner into which he might withdraw. The most tender heart of John was moved at those complaints; and drawing near to the poor man, he said: Come, brother, come with me to the hospital, you will pass the night more comfortably there than here. The poor man knew John well enough, yet then, looking into his face, he marveled at it flashing with Angelic splendor; and when he denied that he could walk on his own feet, John, although laden with the alms he had collected, nevertheless took him upon his shoulders and briskly continued on his way, until, failing under the burden, he fell down in the street of the Gomeles. Someone in the neighborhood heard it, and coming to his window, both marveled at John himself bitterly reproaching himself, and, fixing his eyes more curiously, saw a man of excellent form, who lent his aid in setting the poor man back upon his back, and, taking his hand, offered himself as guide, saying: Brother John, God has sent me to you, that I may aid you in a pious work. But that you may understand how acceptable is the service you render to God, know that it has been commanded me to enter in the records whatever you do for his love. Whatever it is, answered John, I acknowledge it all to be from God. But, I pray you, brother, tell me who you are and whence. I am, said he, the Archangel Raphael, divinely appointed to the guardianship of you and of your companions.

[566] helped in many ways, Some days having passed thereafter, while the anxious father was distributing food to his poor, there was lacking bread that should suffice for all: and presently Raphael the archangel was at hand, visible to many who were present, in the same habit as John, bringing a basket full of loaves; and to him, who recognized that he had been helped by him after that nighttime fall, he said in a friendly voice: Brother, we are of one Order (and truly sometimes a mean cloak covers men equal to Angels) receive from the heavenly storehouse these loaves, with which you may satisfy the needs of your poor: and having said this he disappeared, leaving John full of solace. From what has just been related the author concludes at number 71 that St. John was equal to so many occupations, as would otherwise have surpassed human strength, because he had Angels as helpers; and there he adds something about the events after the nighttime fall, omitted above. He had Angels also as companions, he says, when collecting alms, as could be seen on that night on which, after the fall procured by the demon, he gathered up the loaves scattered from his basket by a light which no man appeared to hold before him; but we believe that it was of Angelic minds, bringing him this help from the heavens.

[567] and refreshed in death. Then he adds another thing in this manner: The same man, accustomed to go out toward evening to the mountain to gather wood for warming the poor, kept not even the very Night of the Nativity free from that work of charity. But, since at that season of the year the days are shortest, it happened that that evening seemed even shorter, the darkness being doubled by a sudden gathering of the clouds. A stormy night therefore caught John on the mountain. I should have said alone, had not two torches accompanied him as he came down, which those who beheld them from afar, marveling that they were not put out by the winds, curiously waited to see what it might be. But although he came near to them, they could see no one but him, before whom went the aforesaid torches, borne by an invisible hand, until he came to his hospital. The biographer judges that the Angels were also present to St. John as he died. For (St. John related to Antonio Martín his confessor, he says at number 75) that at the very time of the sacred Communion there stood by him visibly Mary the Virgin, John the evangelist, and the archangel Raphael. And, his pious death being related, he says of the household who had at once entered the dead man's chamber: And at the same time they hear a noise, as of certain persons going out of the chamber. And presently he observes that the dead man's chamber was found full of a certain heavenly fragrance: Which, he says, all believed to be the effect of that favor with which the most kindly Lord is accustomed to attend the departure of his servants: but the noise which they had heard was of the feet of the Angels, who had accompanied his blessed soul, to be led to the joys of paradise.

[568] St. Philip Neri also, founder of the congregation of the Oratory, experienced various signs of Angelic goodwill toward himself, St. Philip Neri, falling into a pit, by an Angel of whom among us at the twenty-sixth of May a twofold Life was given, both written with the highest fidelity. Of the first, compiled from the sworn testimonies of many, the author is Antonio Gallonio, a disciple of St. Philip. The other Girolamo Barnabei, Provost of the same Oratory, composed from the processes of the canonization and from the instruments of the archive of the Roman Oratory. Now Gallonio in the first, at number 18, records these things about St. Philip: In the dead of night, when all are buried in sleep, … he used to go round the houses of wretched persons, to whom he supplied largely and abundantly what was necessary for their sustenance. On a certain night, when, busied with this practice of his, he was carrying bread to a certain man, noble but very poor, it came about by the devil's working that he, intent on how a cart,

which was bearing down on him at headlong speed, he might avoid, presently fell by accident into a very deep pit. But, the Lord bringing help, he is wondrously held back in mid-fall by an Angel by a hair of his head; and thence, injured in no part, he is rescued by him unharmed. That event fell in the year of the Lord fifteen hundred and fifty. Our Papebroch adds in the Annotations concerning the Angel's assistance: The same thing Cesare Cardinal Baronius affirms on oath.

[569] In the second Life at number 248 the same thing also is narrated, being caught by his hair, is preserved. Other and the latter part is expressed thus: But behold, he feels a carriage coming upon him at swift speed; and while he avoids the blow and draws himself back, he fell into a very deep pit. But here an Angel of the Lord took hold of him on the crown of his head, and carried him by a hair of his head, and set him unharmed above the pit in the impulse of his spirit. Which the blessed father himself related more than once to some of his own, to stir up their piety. Each biographer presently adds another sign of Angelic goodwill toward Philip. Barnabei has as follows: At about this time an Angel likewise in the appearance of a poor man presents himself to him, and as a suppliant holds out his hand for alms. But he, being kindly and merciful toward all, at once offers him as many coins as he had. Then the Poor Man says: But I wished to test you in this matter, what you would do. And having said this, he at once vanished. Which thing applied a spur to Philip, running of his own accord to piety, etc. Gallonio agrees about the whole matter.

[570] The aforesaid Barnabei at number 341 again brings forward these things: Benefits of the Angels toward St. Philip, But here it must not be passed over what happened to the servant of God when he was most grievously ill in the house of Charity. For when he was asking Giulio Petrucci, whom we have mentioned before, for cold water with a little pomegranate wine mixed in it, and he saw that unless sugar were added to this draught the wish of the sick man could not be satisfied without danger; and when this was by no means at hand; behold, as he was turning these things over in his mind, there suddenly appears a young man, whose face he did not recognize, and offers a most white lump of sugar. Which being received, Petrucci at once prepares the draught and gives it to the sick man: and he, after taking it, rested a little while: presently, awaking, he said, Giulio, I am well: and on the day after that he rose from his bed and returned to his accustomed duties. Which deed indeed Petrucci, pondering with himself, especially since that young man afterwards nowhere appeared, believed for certain to have been done by a singular benefit of God, and that in the appearance of a young man an Angel of the Lord had presented himself to him, so that the holy man might be seasonably succored.

[571] Gallonio at number 168 writes these things: Philip was of such holiness that he enjoyed the songs and harmonies of the Angels. and toward his disciple. To this Papebroch in the Annotations: This Cesare Cardinal Baronius testified on oath, and a certain other priest did the same. Gallonio goes on to an example in this manner: At the death of Helena Massima, aged thirteen years, he heard them most sweetly singing together. Another thing Barnabei reports at number 34, where he says that the institute of the Clerks regular ministering to the sick, whose author is St. Camillus de Lellis, was so approved by St. Philip that on a certain day he told them freely that he had seen Angels suggesting words to two of them while they were attending the dying and commending their souls to God with the solemn rite. Among the disciples of St. Philip Neri, in the second Life at number 121, Francesco Maria, commonly called the Ferrarese, is much praised for the holiness of his conduct. Of this holy man it is said in the same place: Wherefore more than once he heard Angelic harmonies.

[572] Offices of the Angels toward St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi, In the Life of St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi, given in Latin at the twenty-fifth of May and written in Italian by her confessor, it is reported at number 70 that in the year 1589, on the third day of February, the Saint was caught up in ecstasy and saw the soul of a certain nun carried from purgatory to heaven. Passing over the rest, I transfer here a few words of the writer: She saw therefore, he says, that that happy soul, rich in merits, was borne to the enjoyment of the highest good between her Guardian Angel and St. Miniatus the martyr, whom she had chosen as her patron in that year. In the same Life at number 77, where it had been said that demons were seen by the Saint in the monastery to tempt the nuns, the biographer at once adds: Nevertheless many more Angels were shown to her by the Lord, who strengthened them, that they might resist the temptations bravely.

[573] Giovanni Battista Pescatore, St. Stanislaus Kostka. In the Life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a Religious of our Society, given at the twenty-first of June, Virgilio Cepari at number 162 says of St. Aloysius's rector, Giovanni Battista Pescatore: There is a report that from the year 1582 onward, while a severe want of daily food was pressing the house of the novices (at Rome), he, hidden in his chamber, was asking of God by prayers relief from it, an Angel came to the doors in youthful appearance; and when he had called him to himself and put into his hands a certain sum of money, with which to relieve the pressing want, he at once vanished from his eyes. I should find more examples of this kind, if I were willing diligently to search through the History of our Society and of the other Religious Orders, as also all the Lives of Saints not yet published in our Work, and of other persons outstanding in sanctity: but I have wished to abstain from all these, both lest I be compelled to examine the authority of many Lives before the time, and lest this collection grow beyond measure. Hence I shall not even adduce the Life of St. Stanislaus Kostka, a novice of our Society, content to have observed that these things are read of him in the ecclesiastical Office: The sacred Viaticum, which, lying sick in a heretical house (at Vienna in Austria), he sought in vain from men, he received from the Angels. And lower down, of him fleeing to enter the Society: And Stanislaus, refreshed again by the bread of the Angels through Angelic ministry, etc.

§ XXXVIII. Benefits of the Angels in the seventeenth century.

[ ] St. Rose of Lima, when she suddenly began to fail in strength, As the first in the seventeenth century who rejoiced in wondrous favors of the Angels I bring forward St. Rose, a virgin of Lima in Peru, of the third Order of St. Dominic. Her Life was written by many in the same century, and one of them was published among us, whose author is Leonard Hansen, of the Order of Preachers. Now Hansen in chapter 15 asserts in many words St. Rose's confidence in her Guardian Angel, and presently at number 201 confirms it by this example: On a certain night, the doors of the garden being shut, Rose according to her custom was keeping vigil in the narrow little cell of her hermitage (this was in the garden), and felt herself suddenly forsaken by her strength, so that she feared a serious faint: whence she determined to withdraw into the house to her mother, having first taken counsel with her tutelary Angel. Her mother (who continually kept the key of the garden with her), when she noticed on her daughter's face the signs of an impending swoon, without delay, two coins being taken from her purse, ordered the maidservant … to buy sugar, charcoal, and the Indian cake which the natives call Chocolate… The daughter, that this expense might not be incurred on her account, earnestly begged her mother, affirming that chocolate would not be lacking to her. The mother replied: Do you think that in this whole house even a crumb of chocolate is to be found? Rose said no: but added that it would shortly be at hand from the treasurer's house. The parent broke out, and said: Either you are trifling or you are dreaming: for who at this untimely hour will send you warm chocolate? Or whence in the treasurer's house, situated far from here, could it have become known that you, faint with a sudden weakness, need that remedy? You, shut up in the garden, surely had no one whom you might send thither, nor has anyone gone from this house to indicate your need to the treasurer. Go therefore, maidservant, carry out your orders.

[575] Again Rose as a suppliant withstood her, asserting for certain that the treasurer's servant would presently be at hand with the prepared remedy. receives a remedy through the treasurer's wife admonished by an Angel; So it was: for while the mother was still disputing with her daughter, there is a knocking at the doors. It was the treasurer's servant, who asked to be let in; saying that he brought from the treasurer's wife something to deliver to Rose. It was a silver vessel full of warm chocolate. The parent was astounded. But Rose, dismissing the servant at once, bade him report to his mistress that the benefit had come seasonably. Here the mother, confounded by the manifold prodigy, began to inquire what had moved Gonzalo's wife to send a servant out of the house at such an hour of deep night; who had announced either the virgin's weakness to that lady, or the certain arrival of the servant sent to Rose. At last by a supreme precept of obedience she compelled her daughter to declare whence she had known that at such an hour chocolate was being brought her from the treasurer's house. The daughter answered smiling: Do not wonder, sweetest mother: for my tutelary Angel often deigns me services of this kind. Presently, when I began to fail in my little cell, I sent the Angel to suggest to Doña María de Usátegui that I needed that help which you have seen. He accomplished what I had charged him; and I was certain that he would not fail in the office. In this confidence I left my little cell, came here to you, and sat down to wait here for the treasurer's servant, and to share the benefit with my parent. The mother marveled at the immediate and swift service of the Angel: but still more when she saw that her daughter did not marvel, being long since accustomed to these things by use and frequency.

[576] At another time, as the author goes on, in the same garden cell she was waiting beyond midnight at another time the garden door is opened for her by the Angel, until she should be called into the house as usual for the night's rest. For her mother was accustomed, about the hour preceding midnight, to come down to open the garden door, so that her daughter, being led away from there, might withdraw to her own chamber. But on that occasion the mother, either because she believed that she had already brought her daughter back from the garden, or because, distracted by other matters, she had given her mind to it less, had forgotten to open the garden for the virgin who was to go out at the accustomed hour. When therefore she saw that she was waiting in vain, while she hesitates what was to be done, looking out through a little window, she saw close at hand a white shadow, nimble with a comely motion and not unpleasant in appearance, which invited the virgin to follow it toward the house. Easily from inward criteria … Rose recognized her tutelary Angel hidden beneath the shadow. And so with him she confidently set out on the way. Both came to the garden door, which at the shadow's touch presently opened of its own accord without a key. Then that shadowy guide set Rose, following him, before her mother's chamber, and disappeared. The author adds a third instance also, which may be read in the same place.

[577] in whom she had the greatest confidence. That, however, together with the two already given, is read also in the Bull of Pope Clement X, given after the Life, where in §3 number 195 these things are read: The Lord also sent his Angel to go before Rose and visibly to guard her and to bring her into the place which he had prepared for her. For so domestic was this virgin's confidence with him that she had him not only as a most intimate friend, but even as a go-between or courier, whenever at the accustomed hour her Bridegroom did not appear. Failing

in strength on a certain night, she sent him to María de Usátegui, to announce to her that she needed a remedy, which that lady at once sent by a servant, the mother seeing and recognizing this from her daughter through obedience. By the same Angel too she was led unharmed from the garden cell to her mother's chamber, he himself opening the bars of the doors. God also gave charge to other Angels concerning her: they stood by, on account of her prayers, a certain Religious on a dangerous journey, until he changed for the worse; to whom, when he complained to the virgin herself of this abandonment, she revealed the mystery, and singular secrets known to himself alone and to God, and which at so great a distance could have become known to the virgin only by the Lord himself or an Angel revealing them.

[578] Heavenly glory foretold by an Angel to a dying woman. In the Life of St. Francis Solanus, of the Order of Minors, chapter 8, some things are reported which happened to a woman lying in her last illness, whom the Saint was strengthening in that state. I transfer here a few things pertaining to our purpose. She (the sick woman), when on account of the violence of her pains she was obliged to lie on her back, at once, her face suffused with gladness, began to sit up on her little bed. The man of God (Francis) drew near to her, and, recognizing by a divine light what new thing had happened, while the others were astounded at the occurrence, admonished her in the sweetest words that for the glory of God and for the profit of the bystanders she should relate the vision which she had seen and the news which the heavenly Messenger had brought. And she, complying with him, said that she had enjoyed the kindly sight of her Guardian Angel, and had learned from his conversation that her sins had been forgiven her, and that she was in a short while to be released from the flesh and to be carried by him into the kingdom of blessedness. And having said this, within a short time she sweetly expired.

[579] Bl. Joseph of Cupertino The Life of Bl. Joseph of Cupertino, of the Order of Minors Conventual of St. Francis, which was given at the eighteenth of September, and which was wholly compiled from the processes by Angelo Pastrovicchi, also supplies some benefits of the Angels toward that Blessed one. In it, first, it is briefly said at number 83: The Angels showed themselves to be seen by him (Joseph), and offered him heavenly consolations. Again at number 111 it has these things: Meanwhile, when the Blessed one (on a journey) had gone up into a rustic arbor, and was turning his eyes over the neighborhood, a certain Religious priest pointed out from afar the dome of the famous church of the holy house of Loreto: upon which Joseph, fixing his gaze, said, astounded: Do you not see the Angels going and returning from heaven and from the holy house? And saying this and often repeating it, having uttered his accustomed cry, he was caught up from the ground and flew toward an almond tree over a space of six perches in length, and in height of twelve palms. Prodigious flights of this kind are frequent in the Acts of Bl. Joseph, and are asserted by the undoubted testimonies of eyewitnesses.

[580] familiarity with his Guardian Angel. But Bl. Joseph's familiar intercourse with the Angels is more clearly indicated by what is read at number 83, reported thus: Nor did God will to show these sensible signs of his singular friendship to him alone, but also to reveal the same to many others. Hence it came about that on the day on which Joseph arrived at Assisi, a certain notable servant of God saw him entering escorted by two Angels. Another woman learned by revelation that the Angel appointed to Joseph's guardianship was of a higher choir: which Angel indeed he himself venerated in so singular a manner that he never entered his cell before he had invited him to enter first.