{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_45604/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_45604","id":"gutenberg_45604","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45604","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian saints"],"text":"Transcriber's Note:\n\nNotes and lists in smaller type in the original have been indented two\nspaces.\n\nIllustrations on separate plates have been incorporated in the text.\n\nSmall capitals have been replaced by full capitals, italics are\nindicated by _underscores_, and \"oe\" ligatures have been removed.\n\nApparent typographical errors have been corrected. The use of hyphens\nis not always consistent.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nLives of the Saints\n\nREV. S. BARING-GOULD\n\n_SIXTEEN VOLUMES_\n\nVOLUME THE SECOND\n\n\n [Illustration: THE REPOSE IN EGYPT, WITH DANCING ANGELS. After Luca\n Cranach.\n\n By the robbery of the nest in the tree, the painter ingeniously\n points to the Massacre of the Innocents as to the cause of the Flight\n into Egypt. Feb.-Front.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nLives of the Saints\n\n\nBY THE\n\nREV. S. BARING-GOULD, M.A.\n\n\nNew Edition in 16 Volumes\n\n\n Revised with Introduction and Additional Lives of\n English Martyrs, Cornish and Welsh Saints,\n and a full Index to the Entire Work\n\n_ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 400 ENGRAVINGS_\n\n\nVOLUME THE SECOND\n\nFebruary\n\n\n LONDON\n JOHN C. NIMMO\n 14 KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND\n MDCCCXCVII\n\n\n _Printed by_ BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO\n _At the Ballantyne Press_\n\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nA\n PAGE\n S. Abraham 298\n \" Adalbald 41\n \" Adelheid 140\n \" Adeloga 42\n \" \u00c6milian 212\n \" Agatha 136\n \" Aldetrudis 413\n \" Alexander 433\n \" Alnoth 448\n \" Amandus 182\n SS. Ananias and comp. 412\n S. Andrew Corsini 105\n \" Angilbert 337\n \" Ansbert 246\n \" Anskar 56\n \" Apollonia 231\n \" Aristion 366\n \" Athracta 236\n \" Augulus 190\n \" Auxentius 299\n \" Auxibius 339\n \" Aventine of Chateaudun 86\n \" Aventine of Troyes 84\n \" Avitus 138\n\nB\n\n S. Baldomer 447\n \" Baradatus 368\n \" Barbatus 342\n \" Belina 344\n \" Benedict of Aniane 284\n \" Berach 307\n \" Berlinda 50\n \" Bertulf 139\n \" Besas 442\n \" Blaise 47\n \" Boniface, Lausanne 343\n \" Bridget 14\n \" Bruno 304\n\nC\n\n S. C\u00e6sarius 412\n \" Castor 289\n \" Catharine de Ricci 295\n \" Ceadmon 272\n \" Celerina 46\n SS. Celerinus and comp. 46\n \" Charalampius and comp. 248\n S. Chronion 442\n \" Chrysolius 189\n \" Clara of Rimini 256\n SS. Claudius and comp. 329\n \" Constantia and comp. 330\n S. Cornelius of Rome. 314\n \" Cornelius the Cent. 38\n \" Cuthman 220\n\nD\n\n S. Damian 376\n \" Darlugdach 22\n SS. Dionysius and others 212\n S. Dionysius (Augsburg) 432\n \" Dorothy 176\n \" Dositheus 378\n\nE\n\n S. Earcongotha 382\n \" Eleutherius 350\n \" Elfleda 214\n SS. Elias and others 314\n S. Ephraem, Syrian 7\n \" Ermenilda 292\n \" Ethelbert 406\n \" Ethelwold 283\n \" Eubulus 449\n \" Eucher 355\n \" Eulalia 276\n \" Euphrosyne 264\n \" Eusebius 306\n\nF\n\n SS. Faustinus and Jovita 305\n S. Finan 325\n \" Fintan 324\n \" Flavian 331\n \" Fortchern 321\n \" Fortunatus 47\n \" Fulcran 294\n SS. Fusca and Maura 286\n\nG\n\n S. Gabinius 340\n \" Gelasius, Boy 83\n \" Gelasius, Actor at Heliopolis 443\n \" George of Amastris 363\n \" Georgia 306\n SS. German and Randoald 361\n S. Gilbert 99\n \" Gregory II. (Pope) 293\n\nH\n\n S. Hadelin 49\n \" Honestus 313\n \" Honorina 444\n \" Hrabanus Maurus 91\n\nI\n\n S. Ignatius, Antioch 1\n \" Ignatius, Africa 46\n \" Ina 186\n \" Indract and comp. 140\n \" Isaias 314\n \" Isidore 84\n\nJ\n\n S. Jeremias 314\n \" Joan of Valois 109\n \" John de Britto 112\n \" John of the Grate 26\n \" John of Matha 226\n \" John William 255\n \" Jonas the Gardener 263\n \" Joseph of Leonissa 111\n \" Jovita 305\n \" Julian of C\u00e6sarea 320\n \" Julian in Africa 395\n \" Julian, Alexandria 442\n \" Juliana 316\n \" Juventius 211\n\nL\n\n S. Laurence, Cant. 39\n \" Laurence, the Illuminator 49\n \" Laurentinus 46\n \" Lazarus, B. Milan 264\n \" Lazarus, Constantinople 386\n \" Leander 445\n \" Licinius 292\n \" Limn\u00e6us 367\n SS. Loman and Fortchern 321\n S. Lucius 395\n\nM\n\n SS. Mael and others 178\n S. Mansuetus 341\n \" Margaret of Cortona 371\n \" Mariamne 318\n \" Martha 373\n \" Martian 289\n Martyrs at Alexandria 449\n \" in Arabia 367\n \" of Japan 141\n \" of Ebbecksdorf 45\n S. Matthias, Ap. 393\n \" Maura 286\n SS. Maurice and comp. 358\n S. Maximian 369\n \" Maximus 329\n \" Mary, B. V., Purification of 34\n \" Melchu 178\n \" Meldan 193\n \" Meletius 278\n \" Mengold 220\n \" Milburgh 382\n \" Mildred 354\n \" Modan 91\n \" Modomnoc 291\n SS. Montanus and comp. 395\n \" Moses and others 192\n S. Moses of Syria 376\n \" Mun 178\n\nN\n\n S. Nestor 430\n \" Nicephorus 233\n \" Nicolas 92\n \" Nithard 56\n SS. Nymphas and Eubulus 449\n\nO\n\n S. Odran 341\n \" Olcan 349\n \" Onesimus 312\n \" Oswald, York 455\n\nP\n\n S. Papias 366\n \" Parthenius 191\n \" Paula 348\n \" Paul of Verdun 213\n \" Pepin 360\n \" Peter Cambian 45\n \" Peter Damiani 387\n \" Peter's Chair at Antioch 365\n SS. Phileas and others 80\n S. Photinus 358\n SS. Pionius and comp. 5\n S. Polychronius, B. M. 319\n \" Polychronius, H. 376\n \" Polyeuctus 287\n \" Porphyrius 434\n \" Pr\u00e6textatus 402\n \" Priamianus 376\n \" Proterius 451\n Purification of B. V. Mary 34\n\nR\n\n S. Randoald 361\n \" Raymond of Fitero 29\n \" Rembert 98\n \" Richard 194\n \" Rioch 178\n \" Robert of Arbrissel 426\n \" Romanus 452\n \" Romuald 194\n\nS\n\n S. Sabine 241\n \" Saturninus 259\n \" Scholastica 250\n \" Sebastian 212\n \" Serenus 374\n \" Sergius 402\n \" Severus (Avranches) 23\n \" Severus (Ravenna) 12\n \" Severus (Valeria) 306\n \" Sigebert 24\n \" Sigfried 310\n \" Simeon 328\n \" Soteris 248\n \" Stephen of Grandmont 224\n \" Sura 252\n \" Susanna 246\n \" Symphorian 451\n\nT\n\n S. Tanco 317\n \" Taraghta 236\n \" Tarasius 416\n \" Teilo 238\n SS. Thalassius and Limn\u00e6us 367\n S. Thalel\u00e6us 444\n \" Theodora, Empress 275\n \" Theodore of Apamea 358\n \" Theodore of Heraclea 190\n SS. Theodulus and Julian 320\n S. Theophilus, Penitent 88\n \" Tresan 192\n SS. Tyrannio and comp. 346\n\nV\n\n S. Valentine 296\n \" Vedast 179\n \" Verdiana 31\n \" Veronica 73\n \" Victor 410\n SS. Victor and Susanna 246\n \" Victorinus and comp. in Egypt 410\n S. Vitalina 359\n\nW\n\n S. Walburga 414\n \" Walfrid 309\n \" Werburga 52\n \" William of Maleval 253\n \" Wulfric 356\n\nZ\n\n S. Zabdas 341\n \" Zacharias (Jerusalem) 359\n SS. Zebinus and others 376\n S. Zeno 249\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n THE REPOSE IN EGYPT, WITH DANCING ANGELS _Frontispiece_\n _After_ LUCA CRANACH.\n\n MARTYRDOM OF S. IGNATIUS _to face p._ 2\n _From the \"Menologium Gr\u00e6corum.\"_\n\n S. EPHRAEM \" 8\n _After_ CAHIER.\n\n S. BRIDGET \" 16\n _After_ CAHIER.\n\n TOMB OF JOSHUA _on p._ 33\n _The Greek Menology_.\n\n PURIFICATION OF S. MARY THE VIRGIN _to face p._ 34\n _From the Great Vienna Missal._\n\n THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT \" 36\n _After_ FRA ANGELICO.\n\n S. BLAISE \" 48\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n S. WERBURGA \" 52\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n S. GILBERT, PRIOR OF SEMPRINGHAM _to face p._ 104\n _From a Drawing by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.\n\n S. VERONICA (_see p. 73_) _on p._ 135\n\n SS. AGNES, CECILIA, AND DOROTHY _to face p._ 176\n _After_ ANGELICA DE FIESOLE.\n\n S. AMANDUS (_see p. 184_) _on p._ 188\n\n S. RICHARD THE SAXON AND HIS SONS _to face p._ 192\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n FAMILY OF S. RICHARD THE SAXON \" 194\n _From a Drawing by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.\n\n A LEARNED DOCTOR AND CHURCH HISTORIAN _on p._ 210\n\n AN ENTHUSIASTIC COLLECTOR OF SAINTLY LEGENDS \" 230\n\n S. EUPHROSYNE, FINDING HERSELF AT DEATH'S DOOR,\n MAKES HERSELF KNOWN TO HER FATHER _to face p._ 272\n _From the \"Menologium Gr\u00e6corum\" of_\n CARDINAL ALBANI.\n\n THE PAPERMAKER _on p._ 285\n\n AN EARLY RELIQUARY _to face p._ 318\n\n S. AGATHA (_see p. 136_) _on p._ 338\n\n THE PRINTER \" 357\n\n S. MARGARET CORTONA _to face p._ 370\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n THE BOOKBINDER _on p._ 372\n\n S. MILBURGH _to face p._ 384\n _After_ CAHIER.\n\n BEHEADING OF S. MATTHIAS \" 392\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n WINDOW IN THE CATHEDRAL AT TOURS\n (VIRGIN WITH ANGELS) \" 408\n\n ENAMELLED CHEST WHICH CONTAINED THE REMAINS\n OF KING ETHELBERT \" 408\n\n S. WALBURGA \" 414\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\nLIVES OF THE SAINTS.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 1.\n\n SS. C\u00c6CILIUS, _B. of Elvira_, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. in Spain,\n 1st cent._\n S. IGNATIUS, _B. of Antioch, M. at Rome_, A.D. 107.\n SS. PIONIUS AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Smyrna_, A.D. 251.\n S. EUBERT, _B. of Lisle, 4th cent._\n S. EPHRAEM SYRUS, _D. C. at Edessa_, A.D. 378.\n SS. SEVERUS, _B._, VINCENTIA _his wife, and_ INNOCENTIA, _V., their\n daughter, at Ravenna, end of 4th cent._\n S. PAUL, _B. of Trois-Chateaux in France, beginning of 5th cent._\n S. PETER THE GALATIAN, _M. at Antioch in Syria, 5th cent._\n S. KINNEA, _V. in Ireland, 5th cent._\n S. BRIDGET, _V. Abs. at Kildare_, A.D. 525.\n S. DARLUGDACH, _V. at Kildare_, A.D. 526.\n S. SEVERUS, _B. of Avranches, 6th cent._\n S. PR\u00c6CORDIUS, _P. at Corbie, 6th cent._\n S. SORUS, _H. at Perigeux, 6th cent._\n SS. AGRIPANUS, _B._, AND URSICINUS, _MM. at Le Puy, after_ A.D. 650.\n S. SIGEBERT III., _K. C. at Metz_, A.D. 656.\n B. WOLFHOLD, _P. at Hohenwast in Bavaria, after_ A.D. 1100.\n S. JOHN OF THE GRATE, _B. of S. Malo_, A.D. 1163.\n S. RAYMOND, _of Fitero, A.C., Founder of the Order of Calatrava_,\n A.D. 1163.\n S. VERDIANA, _V. R. at Castel Fiorentino, in Tuscany_, A.D. 1242.\n\n\nS. IGNATIUS, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 107.)\n\n [S. Ignatius is commemorated variously, on June 10th, Oct.\u00a08th, Nov.\n 24th, Dec.\u00a014th or 19th; but by the Roman Martyrology his festival\n is fixed for Feb.\u00a01st. In the Bruges and Treves Martyrologies, his\n commemoration was placed on Jan.\u00a031st, so as not to interfere with\n that of S. Bridget on this day. The authorities for his life and\n passion are his own genuine Epistles, the Acts of his martyrdom,\n Eusebius, and S. Chrysostom's Homily on S. Ignatius.]\n\nSaint Ignatius was a convert and disciple of S. John the Evangelist.\nHe was appointed by S. Peter to succeed Evodius in the see of Antioch,\nand he continued in his bishopric full forty years. He received the\nname of Theophorus, or one who carries God with him. In his Acts,\nTrajan is said to have asked him why he had the surname of\nGod-bearing, and he answered, because he bore Christ in his heart.[1]\n\nSocrates, in his \"Ecclesiastical History,\" says, \"We must make some\nallusion to the origin of the custom in the Church of singing hymns\nantiphonally. Ignatius, third bishop of Antioch in Syria from the\napostle Peter, who also had conversed familiarly with the apostles\nthemselves, saw a vision of angels, hymning in alternate chants the\nHoly Trinity; after which he introduced this mode of singing into the\nAntiochian Church, whence it was transmitted by tradition to all the\nother churches.\"[2]\n\nIt seems probable that Evodius vacated the see of Antioch about the\nyear 70. There are traditions that represent Evodius to have been\nmartyred; and Josephus speaks of a disturbance in Antioch about that\nperiod, which was the cause of many Jews being put to death.[3] There\nis a difficulty in supposing S. Peter to have appointed Ignatius\nbishop of Antioch, if he did not succeed Evodius till the year 70. But\nit is probable, that later writers have confounded the appointment of\nIgnatius to the see of Antioch, with his consecration to the episcopal\noffice; and it is highly probable that he received this from the hands\nof the Prince of the Apostles.\n\nThe date of the martyrdom of Ignatius can be fixed with tolerable\ncertainty as occurring in the year 107. The Acts expressly state that\nTrajan was then at Antioch, and that Sura and Senecio were consuls:\ntwo events, which will be found to meet only in the year 107.\n\nTrajan made his entry into Antioch in January; his first concern was\nto examine into the state of religion there, and the Christians were\ndenounced to him as bringers-in of strange gods. Ignatius was brought\nbefore him, and boldly confessed Christ to be God. \"Dost thou mean Him\nwho was crucified?\" asked the emperor, scornfully. Ignatius answered,\n\"The very same, Who by His death overcame sin, and enabled those who\nbear Him in their hearts to trample under foot all the power of the\ndevils.\"\n\n [Illustration: MARTYRDOM OF S. IGNATIUS.\n From the \"Menologium Gr\u00e6corum.\" Feb.\u00a01.]\n\nThen Trajan ordered him to be taken to Rome, and exposed to wild\nbeasts in the amphitheatre. It was generally a distinction reserved\nfor Roman citizens, that if they had committed an offence in the\nprovinces, they were sent for punishment to the capital. This,\nhowever, does not appear to have been the reason in the case of\nIgnatius. The punishment to which he was condemned was generally\nreserved for culprits of the lowest condition; and the Christians were\nperhaps viewed in this light by the heathen. Ecclesiastical history\nhas scarcely preserved a more interesting and affecting narrative,\nthan that of the journey of Ignatius from Antioch to Rome. In tracing\nthe procession of the martyr to his final triumph, we forget that we\nare reading of a prisoner who was dragged to his death in chains. He\nwas committed to a guard of ten soldiers, who appear to have treated\nhim with severity; and, after taking ship at Seleucia, they landed for\na time at Smyrna. He had here the gratification of meeting with\nPolycarp, who was bishop of that see, and who, like himself, had\nenjoyed a personal acquaintance with S. John. His arrival also excited\na sensation through the whole of Asia Minor. Onesimus, bishop of\nEphesus; Polybius, bishop of Tralles; and Demas, bishop of Magnesia,\ncame from their respective cities, with a deputation of their clergy,\nto visit the venerable martyr. Ignatius took the opportunity of\nwriting from Smyrna to the Churches over which these bishops presided;\nand his epistles to the Ephesians, Trallians, and Magnesians, are\nstill extant. Hearing also of some Ephesians, who were going to Rome,\nand who were likely to arrive there more expeditiously than himself,\nhe addressed a letter to the Church in that city. His principal object\nin writing was to prevent any attempt which the Roman Christians might\nhave made to procure a reprieve from the death which was awaiting him.\nHe expresses himself not only willing, but anxious, to meet the wild\nbeasts in the amphitheatre; and there never, perhaps, was a more\nperfect pattern of resignation than that which we find in this letter.\n\nFrom Smyrna he proceeded to Troas, where he was met by some of the\nneighbouring bishops, and the bishop of Philadelphia became the bearer\nof a letter which he wrote to the Christians in that city. He also\nwrote from the same place to the Church of Smyrna; and the personal\nregard which he had for Polycarp, the bishop of that see, will explain\nwhy he also wrote to him, and made it his dying request that he would\nattend to the Church of Antioch. These seven epistles, which were\nwritten by Ignatius from Smyrna and Troas, are still extant.\n\nIt appears that Ignatius had intended to write letters to some other\nChurches, from Troas; but his guards were impatient to proceed, and\nonce more setting sail, they followed the course which S. Paul had\ntaken upon his first journey into Greece, and landed at Neapolis.\nHurrying through Macedonia, he embarked once more on the western coast\nof Epirus, and crossing the Adriatic, arrived at Rome. There was now\nan exhibition of games, which lasted some days; and it seems to have\nbeen intended that the death of Ignatius should form part of the\nspectacle. The voyage had been hurried on this account; and on the\nlast day of the games, which was the 19th December, the holy martyr\nwas led into the amphitheatre, and his death seems to have been the\nwork of a moment. In his letter to the Roman Church, he had prayed\nthat the wild beasts might despatch him speedily, and not refuse to\ntouch him, as had sometimes been the case. His prayer was heard; and\nthe Christians of Rome, who had thought themselves blessed to have\neven seen the apostolic bishop of Antioch among them, had now to pick\nup a few of the larger and harder bones, which was all that the wild\nbeasts had spared. These were carried to Antioch, and it is evidence\nof the great reverence at that early age shown to the relics of the\nsaints, that the same honours were paid to the sacred relics as had\nbeen paid to the holy martyr himself, when he touched at the different\ncities. The friends of Ignatius speak of his remains as \"an invaluable\ntreasure;\" and as such they were deposited near one of the gates in\nthe suburbs of Antioch.\n\nThe relics of S. Ignatius were retranslated to Rome, and are dispersed\namong several of the churches of the city. The head, however, is in\nthe possession of the Jesuits of Prague.\n\n\nSS. PIONIUS, P. AND COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(A.D. 251.)\n\n [Roman and many ancient Martyrologies on this day. The Greeks on\n March 11th; the Martyrology attributed to S. Jerome, on March 12th.\n Authorities:--The genuine Acts of these martyrs, and the brief\n account in Eusebius, lib. iv. c.\u00a015.]\n\nIn the persecution of Decius, S. Pionius, a priest of Smyrna, was\napprehended; together with Sabina, Macedonia, Asclepiades, and Linus a\npriest, whilst they were celebrating the festival of S. Polycarp, on\nFebruary 23. Pionius having fasted on the vigil, was forewarned of his\ncoming passion in a vision. On the morning, which was the Sabbath, or\nSaturday, they took holy bread (the Eulogies) and water, and were then\nsurprised and taken by Polemon, the chief priest of the idol temple in\nSmyrna, and his satellites. Polemon in vain urged them to conform to\nthe imperial edicts, and sacrifice to the gods; but they set their\nfaces as flint against his solicitations, and were led into the forum,\nwhere Pionius took the opportunity of haranguing the crowds who\nhurried up to be present at their trial.\n\nThe Smyrnian Church was then suffering the shame of having seen its\nbishop, Eud\u00e6mon, apostatize, and his example had been followed by many\ntimorous Christians.\n\nThe interrogatory was conducted by Polemon, and is dryly recorded by\nthe notary who wrote the acts:--The Idol priest said, \"Pionius!\nsacrifice.\" But he answered, \"I am a Christian.\" \"Whom,\" said Polemon,\n\"dost thou worship?\" \"The Almighty God,\" answered Pionius, \"who made\nheaven and earth, and all things in heaven and earth, and us men; who\ngiveth to all men liberally, as they need; whom we know through His\nWord, Christ.\" Polemon said, \"Sacrifice then, only to the Emperor.\"\nPionius said, \"I cannot sacrifice to any man. I am a Christian.\"\n\nThen--the notary writing all down--Polemon asked, \"What is thy name?\"\nHe answered, \"Pionius.\" Polemon said, \"Thou art a Christian?\" He\nanswered, \"Certainly I am.\" \"To what Church dost thou belong?\" asked\nPolemon. \"I belong to the Catholic Church,\" answered Pionius. \"There\nis none other with Christ.\"\n\nThen he went to Sabina, and put to her the same questions, which she\nanswered almost in the same words. Next he turned to Asclepiades, and\nasked, \"What is thy name?\" \"Asclepiades.\" \"Art thou a Christian?\" \"I\nam.\" Then said Polemon, \"Whom dost thou worship?\" Asclepiades\nanswered, \"I worship Jesus Christ.\" \"What!\" asked Polemon, \"Is that\nanother God?\" \"No,\" answered Asclepiades, \"He is the same God of whom\nthe others spake.\"\n\nAfter this the martyrs were taken to prison, followed by a crowd\njeering and insulting them. On the morrow they were led forth again to\ntrial, and the idol priest endeavoured to force them to enter the\ntemple, and by violence to compel them to sacrifice. Pionius tore from\nhis head the sacrificial garlands that the priest had placed upon him.\nPolemon, unable to bend the holy martyrs to submission, delivered them\nover to Quintilian, the pro-consul, on his arrival at Smyrna, and he\nsentenced Pionius to be hung on a rack, and his body to be torn with\nhooks of iron, and afterwards to be nailed to a post, and burnt alive.\nMetrodorus, a Marcionite priest, underwent the same punishment with\nhim.\n\n\nS. EPHRAEM THE SYRIAN, D. C.\n\n(A.D. 378.)\n\n [Roman and all Latin Martyrologies, except that of Bede, which gives\n July 9th. Commemorated by the Greeks on Jan.\u00a028th. His death took\n place in summer or autumn. Authorities:--His own narration to his\n monks of his conversion, his confession and testament; also the\n oration upon him by S. Gregory Nyssen; an account of him in the Life\n of S. Basil, attributed to S. Amphilochius, Sozomen, etc.]\n\nSaint Ephraem was the son of poor parents of Nisibis, who had\nconfessed Christ before the persecutors, under Diocletian or his\nsuccessors. In his narrative of his conversion, S. Ephraem laments\nsome of the faults of his youth. \"When I was a boy,\" says he, \"I was\nrather wild. One day my parents sent me out of the town, and I found a\ncow that was in calf feeding in the road leading to the wood. This cow\nbelonged to very poor people. I took up stones, and began pelting the\ncow, and driving it before me into the wood, and I drove the beast on\ntill in the evening, it fell down dead, and during the night wild\nbeasts ate it. On my way back I met the poor man who owned it, and he\nasked me, 'My son, have you been driving away my cow?' Then I not only\ndenied, but heaped abuse and insult upon him.\" Some few days after he\nwas sent out of the town by his parents again, and he wandered in the\nwood, idling with some shepherds, till night fell. Then, as it was too\nlate to return, he remained the night with the shepherds. That night\nthe fold was broken into, and some of the sheep were carried off. Then\nthe shepherds, thinking the boy had been in league with the robbers,\ndragged him before the magistrate, and he was cast into prison, where\nhe found two men in chains, charged, one with homicide, the other with\nadultery, though they protested their innocence. In a dream an angel\nappeared to Ephraem, and asked him why he was there. The boy began at\nonce to declare himself guiltless. \"Yes,\" said the angel, \"guiltless\nthou art of the crime imputed to you, but hast thou forgotten the poor\nman's cow? Listen to the conversation of the men who are with thee,\nand thou wilt learn that none suffer without cause.\"\n\nIn the morning, the two men began to speak, and one said, \"The other\nday, as I was going over a bridge, I saw two fellows quarrelling, and\none flung the other over into the water; and I did not put forth my\nhand to save him, as I might have done, and so he was drowned.\"\n\nPresently the other man said, \"I am not guilty of this adultery of\nwhich I am charged, but nevertheless I have done a very wicked thing.\nTwo brothers and a sister were left an inheritance by their father,\nand the two young men wished to deprive their sister of what was her\ndue, and they bribed me to give false evidence whereby the will was\nupset, and the property divided between them, to the exclusion of the\npoor girl.\"\n\nAfter an imprisonment of forty days, Ephraem was brought before the\nmagistrate along with his fellow prisoners. He says, that when he saw\nthe two men stripped, and stretched on the rack, \"An awful terror came\nover me, and I trembled, thinking I was sure to be subjected to the\nsame treatment as they. Therefore I cried, and shivered, and my heart\naltogether failed me. Then the people and the apparitors began to\nlaugh at my tears and fright, and asked me what I was crying for? 'You\nought to have considered this before, boy! but now tears are of no\navail. You shall soon have a taste of the rack too, never doubt it.'\nThen, at these words, my soul melted clean away.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. EPHRAEM SYRUS. After Cahier. Feb. 1.]\n\nHowever, he was spared this time, and the innocence of his companions\nhaving been proved, they were set free. Ephraem was taken back to\nprison, where he spent forty more days; and whilst he was there, the\ntwo men who had defrauded their sister of her inheritance, and the man\nwho had flung his adversary into the river, were caught and chained in\nthe dungeon with him. These men and Ephraem were brought forth to\ntrial together, and the men were sentenced, after they had been\nracked, and had confessed their crime, to lose their right hands.\nEphraem, in another paroxysm of fear, made a vow that he would become\na monk, if God would spare him the suffering of the rack. To his\nextreme terror the magistrate ordered him to be stripped, and the\nquestion to be applied. Then Ephraem stood naked and trembling beside\nthe rack, when fortunately the servant came up to the magistrate to\ntell him that dinner was ready. \"Very well,\" said the magistrate,\n\"then I will examine this boy another day.\" And he ordered him back to\nprison. On his next appearance, the magistrate, thinking Ephraem had\nbeen punished enough, dismissed him, and he ran off instantly to the\nmountains, to an old hermit, and asked him to make of him a monk.[4]\n\nHe was eighteen years old when he was baptized, and immediately after\nhe had received the Sacrament of Regeneration, he began to discipline\nhis body and soul with great severity. He lay on the bare ground,\noften fasted whole days, and spent a considerable part of the night in\nprayer. He exercised the handicraft of a sail-maker. He was naturally\na very passionate man, but he learned so completely to subdue his\ntemper, that the opposite virtue of meekness became conspicuous, so\nthat he received the title of the \"Peaceable man of God.\" Sozomen\nrelates that once, after Ephraem had fasted several days, the brother,\nwho was bringing him a mess of pottage, let the dish fall and broke\nit, and strewed the food upon the floor. The saint seeing his\nconfusion, said cheerfully, \"Never mind, if the supper won't come to\nme, I will go to the supper.\" Then, sitting down on the ground by the\nbroken dish, he picked up the pottage as well as he could.\n\n\"He devoted his life to monastic philosophy,\" says Sozomen; \"and\nalthough he had received no education, he became, contrary to all\nexpectation, so proficient in the learning and language of the\nSyrians, that he comprehended with ease the most abstruse problems of\nphilosophy. His style of writing was so full of glowing oratory and\nsublimity of thought, that he surpassed all the writers of Greece. The\nproductions of Ephraem were translated into Greek during his life, and\ntranslations are even now being made, and yet they preserve much of\ntheir original force, so that his works are not less admired in Greek\nthan in Syriac. Basil, who was subsequently bishop of the metropolis\nof Cappadocia, was a great admirer of Ephraem, and was astonished at\nhis condition. The opinion of Basil, who was the most learned and\neloquent man of his age, is a stronger testimony I think, to the merit\nof Ephraem, than anything that could be indicted in his praise.\"[5]\n\nS. Gregory Nyssen gives the following testimony to the eloquence of S.\nEphraem: \"Who that is proud would not become the humblest of men,\nreading his discourse on Humility? Who would not be inflamed with a\ndivine fire, reading his treatise on Charity? Who would not wish to be\nchaste in heart and soul, by reading the praises he has lavished on\nVirginity? Who would not be frightened by hearing his discourse on the\nLast Judgment, wherein he has depicted it so vividly, that nothing can\nbe added thereto? God gave him so profound a wisdom, that, though he\nhad a wonderful facility of speech, yet he could not find expression\nfor the multitude of thoughts which poured from his mind.\" At Edessa,\nS. Ephraem was ordained deacon; it has been asserted that he\nafterwards received the priesthood from the hands of S. Basil, but\nthis is contradicted by most ancient writers, who affirm that he died\na deacon. He was elected bishop of one town, but hearing it, he\ncomported himself so strangely, that the people and clergy, supposing\nhim to have lost his mind, chose another in his place; and he\nmaintained the same appearance of derangement till the other candidate\nwas consecrated. The city of Edessa having been severely visited by\nfamine, he quitted the solitary cell in which he dwelt, and entering\nthe city, rebuked the rich for permitting the poor to die around them,\ninstead of imparting to them of their superfluities; and he\nrepresented to them that the wealth which they were treasuring up so\ncarefully would turn to their own condemnation, and to the ruin of\ntheir souls, which were of more value than all the wealth of earth.\nThe rich men replied, \"We are not intent on hoarding our wealth, but\nwe know of no one whom we may trust to distribute our goods with\nequity.\" \"Then,\" said Ephraem, \"entrust me with that office.\"\n\nAs soon as he had received their money, he fitted up three hundred\nbeds in the public galleries, and there tended those who were\nsuffering from the effects of the famine. On the cessation of the\nscarcity, he returned to his cell; and after the lapse of a few days\nexpired.\n\nS. Ephraem was a valiant champion of the orthodox faith. Finding that\nthe Syrians were fond of singing the heretical hymns of Bardasanes, he\ncomposed a great number of orthodox poems which he set to the same\ntunes, and by introducing these, gradually displaced those which were\nobnoxious. One instance of his zeal against heresy is curious, though\nhardly to be commended. The heretic Apollinarius had composed two\nreference books of quotations from Scripture, and arguments he\nintended to use in favour of his doctrines, at a public conference\nwith a Catholic, and these books he lent to a lady. Ephraem borrowed\nthe books, and glued the pages together, and then returned them.\nApollinarius, nothing doubting, took his volumes to the discussion,\nbut when he tried to use them, found the pages fast, and retired from\nthe conference in confusion.\n\n\nS. SEVERUS, B. C., OF RAVENNA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 390.)\n\n [S. Severus, B. M., of Ravenna, is commemorated on Jan.\u00a01; S.\n Severus, B. C., of Ravenna, on Feb.\u00a01st. Authorities:--Three ancient\n lives, with which agree the accounts in the Martyrologies.]\n\nS. Severus was a poor weaver in Ravenna. Upon the see becoming vacant,\nthe cathedral was filled with electors to choose a new bishop. Severus\nsaid to his wife Vincentia, \"I will visit the minster and see what is\ngoing on.\" \"You had much better remain at home, and not show yourself\nin your working clothes among the nobles and well-dressed citizens,\"\nsaid she. \"Wife! what harm is there in my going?\" \"You have work to do\nhere, for your daughter and me, instead of gadding about, sight\nseeing.\" And when Severus persisted in desiring to go, \"Very well,\"\nsaid Vincentia, \"go, and may you come back with a good box on your\near.\" And when she saw that he was bent on going, she said, mocking,\n\"Go then, and get elected bishop.\"\n\nSo he went, and entering the cathedral, stood behind the doors, as he\nwas ashamed of his common dress covered with flocks of wool. Then when\nthe Holy Spirit had been invoked to direct the choice of the people,\nsuddenly there appeared in the cathedral a beautiful white dove,\nfluttering at the ear of the poor spinner. And he beat it off, but the\nbird returned, and rested on his head. Then the people regarded this\nas a heavenly sign, and he was unanimously chosen to be their bishop.\nNow Vincentia was at home, and one came running, and told her that her\nhusband was elected bishop of Ravenna. Then she laughed, and would not\nbelieve it, but when the news was repeated, she said, \"This is likely\nenough, that a man who tosses a shuttle should make a suitable\nprelate!\" But when she was convinced, by the story being confirmed by\nother witnesses, her amazement rendered her speechless.\n\nAfter his consecration, Severus lived with her as with a sister, till\nshe died, and was followed shortly after by her daughter, Innocentia.\nThen he laid them both in a tomb, in the church, which had been\nprepared for himself. And after many years he knew that he was to die.\nSo he sang High Mass before all the people, and when the service was\nover, he bade all the congregation depart, save only one server. And\nwhen they were gone, he bade the boy close the doors of the cathedral.\nThen the bishop went, vested in his pontifical robes, to the sepulchre\nof his wife and daughter, and he and the boy raised the stone, and\nSeverus stood, and looking towards the bodies of his wife and\ndaughter, he said, \"My dear ones, with whom I lived in love so long,\nmake room for me, for this is my grave, and in death we shall not be\ndivided.\" Having said this, he descended into the grave, and laid\nhimself down between his wife and daughter, and crossed his hands on\nhis breast, and looked up to heaven and prayed, and then closing his\neyes, gave one sigh, and fell asleep. The relics were translated to\nMayence, in 836, and Oct.\u00a022nd is observed as the feast of this\ntranslation. In art, Severus is represented as a bishop with a shuttle\nat his side.\n\n\nS. BRIDGET, V. ABSS.\n\n(A.D. 525.)\n\n [S. Bridget, or Bride as she is called in England, is the Patroness\n of Ireland, and was famous throughout northern Europe. Leslie says,\n \"She is held in so great honour by Picts, Britons, Angles, and\n Irish, that more churches are dedicated to God in her memory, than\n to any other of the saints;\" and Hector Boece says, that she was\n regarded by Scots, Picts, and Irish as only second to the B. Virgin\n Mary. Unfortunately, little authentic is known of her. The lives\n extant are for the most part of late composition, and are collected\n from oral traditions of various value. One life is attributed,\n however, to Bishop Ultan Mac Concubar, d. circ.\u00a0662; another, a\n metrical one, is by the monk Chilian, circ.\u00a0740; another by one\n Cogitosus, is of uncertain date; another is by Laurence, prior of\n Durham, d.\u00a01154; and there is another, considered ancient, by an\n anonymous author.]\n\nIreland was, of old, called the Isle of Saints, because of the great\nnumber of holy ones of both sexes who flourished there in former ages;\nor, who, coming thence, propagated the faith amongst other nations. Of\nthis great number of saints the three most eminent, and who have\ntherefore been honoured as the special patrons of the island, were S.\nPatrick their apostle, S. Columba, who converted the Picts, and S.\nBridget, the virgin of Kildare, whose festival is marked in all the\nMartyrologies on the 1st day of February.\n\nThis holy virgin was born about the middle of the fifth century, in\nthe village of Fochard, in the diocese of Armagh. Her father was a\nnobleman, called Dubtach, descended from Eschaid, the brother of King\nConstantine of the Hundred Battles, as he is surnamed by the Irish\nhistorians. The legend of her origin is as follows, but it is not to\nbe relied upon, as it is not given by Ultan, Cogitosus, or Chilian of\nInis-Keltra.[6] Dubtach had a young and beautiful slave-girl, whom he\ndearly loved, and she became pregnant by him, whereat his wife, in\ngreat jealousy and rage, gave him no peace till he had sold her to a\nbard, but Dubtach, though he sold the slave-girl, stipulated with the\npurchaser that the child should not go with the mother, but should be\nreturned to him when he claimed it.\n\nNow one day, the king and queen visited the bard to ask an augury as\nto the child they expected shortly, and to be advised as to the place\nwhere the queen should be confined. Then the bard said, \"Happy is the\nchild that is born neither in the house nor out of the house!\" Now it\nfell out that Brotseach, the slave-girl, was shortly after returning\nto the house with a pitcher of fresh warm milk from the cow, when she\nwas seized with labour, and sank down on the threshold, and was\ndelivered neither in the house nor out of the house, and the pitcher\nof warm sweet milk, falling, was poured over the little child.\n\nWhen Bridget grew up, her father reclaimed her, and treated her with\nthe same tenderness that he showed to his legitimate children. She had\na most compassionate heart, and gave to every beggar what he asked,\nwhether it were hers or not. This rather annoyed her father, who took\nher one day with him to the king's court, and leaving her outside, in\nthe chariot, went within to the king, and asked his majesty to buy his\ndaughter, as she was too expensive for him to keep, owing to her\nexcessive charity. The king asked to see the girl, and they went\ntogether to the door. In the meantime, a beggar had approached\nBridget, and unable to resist his importunities, she had given him the\nonly thing she could find, her father's sword, which was a present\nthat had been made him by the king. When Dubtach discovered this, he\nburst forth into angry abuse, and the king asked, \"Why didst thou give\naway the royal sword, child?\" \"If beggars assailed me,\" answered\nBridget calmly, \"and asked for my king and my father, I would give\nthem both away also.\" \"Ah!\" said the king, \"I cannot buy a girl who\nholds us so cheap.\"\n\nHer great beauty caused her to be sought in marriage by a young noble\nof the neighbourhood, but as she had already consecrated herself by\nvow to Jesus, the Spouse of virgins, she would not hear of this match.\nTo rid herself of the importunity of her suitor, she prayed to God,\nthat He would render her so deformed that no one might regard her. Her\nprayer was heard, and a distemper fell on one of her eyes, by which\nshe lost that eye, and became so disagreeable to the sight, that no\none thought of giving her any further molestation.[7] Thus she easily\ngained her father's consent that she should consecrate her virginity\nto God, and become a nun. She took with her three other virgins of\nthat country, and bidding farewell to her friends, went in 469 to the\nholy bishop Maccail, then at Usny hill, Westmeath; who gave the sacred\nveil to her and her companions, and received their profession of\nperpetual virginity. S. Bridget was then only fourteen years old, as\nsome authors assert. The Almighty was pleased on this occasion to\ndeclare how acceptable this sacrifice was, by restoring to Bridget the\nuse of her eye, and her former beauty, and, what is still more\nremarkable, and is particularly celebrated, as well in the Roman, as\nin other ancient Martyrologies, was, that when the holy virgin, bowing\nher head, kissed the dry wood of the feet of the altar, it immediately\ngrew green, in token of her purity and sanctity. The story is told of\nher, that when she was a little child, playing at holy things, she got\na smooth slab of stone which she tried to set up as a little altar;\nthen a beautiful angel joined in her play, and made wooden legs to the\naltar, and bored four holes in the stone, into which the legs might be\ndriven, so as to make it stand.\n\n [Illustration: S. BRIDGET. After Cahier. Feb. 1.]\n\nS. Bridget having consecrated herself to God, built a cell for her\nabode, under a goodly oak, thence called Kil-dare or the Cell of the\nOak; and this foundation grew into a large community, for a great\nnumber of virgins resorted to her, attracted by her sanctity, and put\nthemselves under her direction. And so great was the reputation of her\nvirtues, and the place of her abode was so renowned and frequented on\nher account, that the many buildings erected in the neighbourhood\nduring her lifetime formed a large town, which was soon made the seat\nof a bishop, and in process of time, the metropolitan see of the whole\nprovince.\n\nWhat the rule embraced by S. Bridget was, is not known, but it appears\nfrom her history, that the habit which she received at her profession\nfrom S. Maccail was white. Afterwards, she herself gave a rule to her\nnuns; so that she is justly numbered among the founders of religious\nOrders. This rule was followed for a long time by the greatest part of\nthe monasteries of sacred virgins in Ireland; all acknowledging our\nSaint as their mother and mistress, and the monastery of Kildare as\nthe headquarters of their Order. Moreover, Cogitosus informs us, in\nhis prologue to her life, that not only did she rule nuns, but also a\nlarge community of men, who lived in a separate monastery. This\nobliged the Saint to call to her aid out of his solitude, the holy\nbishop S. Conlaeth, to be the director and father to her monks; and at\nthe same time to be the bishop of the city. The church of Kildare, to\nsuit the requirements of the double monastery and the laity, was\ndivided by partitions into three parts, Cogitosus says, one for the\nmonks, one for the nuns, and the third for the lay people.\n\nAs S. Bridget was obliged to go long journeys, the bishop ordained her\ncoachman priest, and the story is told that one day as she and a\nfavourite nun sat in the chariot, the coachman preached to them the\nWord of God, turning his head over his shoulder. Then said the abbess,\n\"Turn round, that we may hear better, and throw down the reins.\" So he\ncast the reins over the front of the chariot, and addressed his\ndiscourse to them with his back to the horses. Then one of the horses\nslipped its neck from the yoke, and ran free; and so engrossed were\nBridget and her companion in the sermon of the priestly charioteer,\nthat they did not observe that the horse was loose, and the carriage\nrunning all on one side. On another occasion she was being driven over\na common near the Liffey, when they came to a long hedge, for a man\nhad enclosed a portion of the common. Then the man shouted to them to\ngo round, and Bridget bade her charioteer so do. But he, thinking that\nthey had a right of way across the newly made field, drove straight at\nthe hedge; then the proprietor of the field ran forward, and the\nhorses started, and the jolt of the chariot threw S. Bridget and the\ncoachman out of the vehicle, and severely bruised them both. Then the\nabbess, picking herself up said, \"Better to have gone round; short\ncuts bring broken bones.\"\n\nOnce a family came to Kildare, leaving their house and cattle\nunguarded, that they might attend a festival in the church, and\nreceive advice from S. Bridget. Whilst they were absent, some thieves\nstole their cows, and drove them away.\n\nThey had to pass the Liffey, which was much swollen, consequently the\nthieves stripped, and tied their clothes to the horns of the cattle,\nintending to drive the cows into the river, and swim after them. But\nthe cows ran away, carrying off with them the clothes of the robbers\nattached to their horns, and they did not stop till they reached the\ngates of the convent of S. Bridget, the nude thieves racing after\nthem. The holy abbess restored to them their garments, and severely\nreprimanded them for their attempted robbery.\n\nOther strange miracles are attributed to her, of which it is\nimpossible to relate a tithe. She is said, after a shower of rain, to\nhave come hastily into a chamber, and cast her wet cloak over a\nsunbeam, mistaking it, in her hurry, for a beam of wood. And the cloak\nremained there, and the ray of sun did not move, till late at night\none of her maidens ran to her, to tell her that the sunbeam waited its\nrelease, so she hasted, and removed her cloak, and the ray retired\nafter the long departed sun.\n\nOnce a rustic, seeing a wolf run about in proximity to the palace,\nkilled it; not knowing that it was the tame creature of the king; and\nhe brought the dead beast to the king, expecting a reward. Then the\nprince in anger ordered the man to be cast into prison and executed.\nNow when Bridget heard this, her spirit was stirred within her, and\nmounting her chariot, she drove to the court, to intercede for the\nlife of the poor countryman. And on the way, there came a wolf over\nthe bog racing towards her, and it leaped into the chariot, and\nallowed her to caress it. Then, when she reached the palace, she went\nbefore the king, with the wolf at her side, and said, \"Sire! I have\nbrought thee a better wolf than that thou hast lost, spare therefore\nthe life of the poor man who unwittingly slew thy beast.\" Then the\nking accepted her present with great joy, and ordered the prisoner to\nbe released.\n\nOne evening she sat with sister Dara, a holy nun, who was blind, as\nthe sun went down; and they talked of the love of Jesus Christ, and\nthe joys of Paradise. Now their hearts were so full, that the night\nfled away whilst they spoke together, and neither knew that so many\nhours had sped. Then the sun came up from behind Wicklow mountains,\nand the pure white light made the face of earth bright and gay. Then\nBridget sighed, when she saw how lovely were earth and sky, and knew\nthat Dara's eyes were closed to all this beauty. So she bowed her head\nand prayed, and extended her hand and signed the dark orbs of the\ngentle sister. Then the darkness passed away from them, and Dara saw\nthe golden ball in the east, and all the trees and flowers glittering\nwith dew in the morning light. She looked a little while, and then,\nturning to the abbess, said, \"Close my eyes again, dear mother, for\nwhen the world is so visible to the eyes, God is seen less clearly to\nthe soul.\" So Bridget prayed once more, and Dara's eyes grew dark\nagain.\n\nA madman, who troubled all the neighbourhood, came one day across the\npath of the holy abbess. Bridget arrested him, and said, \"Preach to me\nthe Word of God, and go thy way.\" Then he stood still and said, \"O\nBridget, I obey thee. Love God, and all will love thee. Honour God,\nand all will honour thee. Fear God, and all will fear thee.\" Then with\na howl he ran away. Was there ever a better sermon preached in fewer\nwords.\n\nA very remarkable prophesy of the heresies and false doctrines of\nlater years must not be omitted. One day Bridget fell asleep whilst a\nsermon was being preached by S. Patrick, and when the sermon was over,\nshe awoke. Then the preacher asked her, \"O Bridget, why didst thou\nsleep, when the Word of Christ was spoken?\" She fell on her knees and\nasked pardon, saying, \"Spare me, spare me, my father, for I have had a\ndream.\" Then said Patrick, \"Relate thy vision to me.\" And Bridget\nsaid, \"Thy hand-maiden saw, and behold the land was ploughed far and\nwide, and sowers went forth in white raiment, and sowed good seed. And\nit sprang up a white and goodly harvest. Then came other ploughers in\nblack, and sowers in black, and they hacked, and tore up, and\ndestroyed that beauteous harvest, and strewed tares far and wide. And\nafter that, I looked, and behold, the island was full of sheep and\nswine, and dogs and wolves, striving with one another and rending one\nanother.\" Then said S. Patrick, \"Alas, my daughter! in the latter days\nwill come false teachers having false doctrine; who shall lead away\nmany, and the good harvest which has sprung up from the Gospel seed we\nhave sown will be trodden under foot; and there shall be controversies\nin the faith between the faithful and the bringers-in of strange\ndoctrine.\"\n\nNow when the time of her departure drew nigh, Bridget called to her a\ndear pupil, named Darlugdach and foretold the day on which she should\ndie. Then Darlugdach wept bitterly, and besought her mother to suffer\nher to die with her. But the blessed Bridget said, \"Nay, my daughter,\nthou shalt live a whole year after my departure; and then shalt thou\nfollow me.\" And so it came to pass. Having received the sacred\nviaticum from the hands of S. Nennidh, the bishop, the holy abbess\nexchanged her mortal life for a happy immortality, on February 1st,\n525.[8] Her body was interred in the church of Kildare; where her nuns\nfor some ages, to honour her memory, kept a fire always burning; from\nwhich that convent was called the House of Fire, till Henry of London,\nArchbishop of Dublin, to take away all occasion of superstition, in\n1220, ordered it to be extinguished.\n\nThe body of the Saint was afterwards translated to Down-Patrick, where\nit was found in a triple vault, together with the bodies of S. Patrick\nand S. Columba, in the year 1185. These bodies were, with great\nsolemnity, translated the following year by the Pope's legate,\naccompanied by fifteen bishops, in presence of an immense number of\nthe clergy, nobility, and people, to a more honourable place of the\ncathedral of Down; where they were kept, with due honour, till the\ntime of Henry VIII., when the monument was destroyed by Leonard, Lord\nGrey, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. S. Bridget's head was saved by some\nof the clergy, who carried it to Neustadt, in Austria; and from\nthence, in 1587, it was taken to the church of the Jesuits at Lisbon,\nto whom the Emperor Rudolf II. gave it.\n\nIn art, S. Bridget is usually represented with her perpetual flame as\na symbol; sometimes with a column of fire, said to have been seen\nabove her head when she took the veil.\n\n\nS. DARLUGDACH, V.\n\n(A.D. 526.)\n\n [Authorities:--The lives of S. Bridget.]\n\nAmongst the nuns of S. Bridget's monastery of Kildare, there was one\nnamed Darlugdach. When young, she followed S. Bridget, and being very\ndear to her, slept with the abbess.\n\nDarlugdach, not guarding her eyes with sufficient strictness, saw, and\nfell in love with a man, who also became enamoured of her, and their\nardent glances revealed their mutual passion. A plan was formed that\nshe should elope with him, on a certain night; and she laid herself in\nthe bosom of the sleeping abbess with beating heart, troubled by a\nconflict between duty and passion. At last she rose, and in an agony\nof uncertainty, cast herself on her knees, and besought God to give\nher strength to master her love, and then, in the vehemence of her\nresolve, she thrust her naked feet into the red coals that glowed on\nthe hearth, and held them there till the pain had conquered the\npassion. After that, she softly stole into bed again, and crept into\nthe bosom of her holy mother. When morning broke, Bridget rose, and\nlooked at the blistered and scorched soles, and touching them, said\ngently, \"I slept not, dear child, but was awake, and saw thy struggle,\nand now, because thou hast fought valiantly, and hast conquered, the\nflame of lust shall no more hurt thee.\" And she healed her feet.\n\nDarlugdach, as has been related in the life of S. Bridget, besought\nher spiritual mother to let her die with her, but S. Bridget promised\nthat she should follow on the anniversary of her departure, after the\nexpiration of a year. And so it was.\n\n\nS. SEVERUS, B. OF AVRANCHES.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [French Martyrologies. Authority:--A life by an anonymous author of\n uncertain date, but apparently trustworthy.]\n\nS. Severus was the child of very poor Christian parents, who hired him\nto a nobleman named Corbecan, a heathen, who employed him in tending\nhis herd of mares. The boy loved to pasture the horses in the\nneighbourhood of a little church dedicated to S. Martin, on the excuse\nthat the herbage there was richer than elsewhere, but really out of\nlove for the House of God. Unable to bear the sight of the misery of\nthe poor, during a cold winter, the boy gave them the clothes off his\nback, and returned one day through the snow to his master's castle,\nstripped of everything save his breeches. Corbecan, in a rage, drove\nhim out of the house, and forbade him to shelter in it that night. The\nlad went to the horses, and crouched among them, taking warmth from\ntheir breath. His gentleness and piety, in the end, produced such an\nimpression on Corbecan, that he placed himself under instruction in\nthe faith, and was baptized, he and his whole house. Severus\nafterwards retired into a solitary place, and lived as an hermit, till\na number of disciples gathering round him, he was ordained priest.\nAgainst his will he was dragged from his beloved retreat to be\nconsecrated bishop of Avranches. He ruled that see for several years\nwith great zeal and discretion, till the burden became intolerable,\nand he besought the people to elect a successor. Then he laid down his\nstaff, and retired once more to his forest cell, where he became the\nmaster of the blessed Giles. The day of his death is uncertain. His\nbody was translated to the cathedral of Rouen.\n\nIn art he is represented with the mares of his master.\n\n\nS. SIGEBERT, K. C.\n\n(A.D. 656.)\n\n [French Martyrology. Authorities:--His life by Sigebert of\n Gemblours, d.\u00a01112, and mention by Gregory of Tours, and\n Flodoard.]\n\nThis royal saint was the son of Dagobert I., King of France. The\nfather for a long time refused to have his son baptized, but at length\nby the advice of S. Ouen and S. Eligius, then laymen in his court, he\nrecalled S. Amand, bishop of Maestricht, whom he had banished for\nreproving his vices, and bade him baptize his son Sigebert. The young\nprince's education was entrusted to Pepin, mayor of the palace, who\ncarried his charge into Aquitain, to his estates. But at the age of\nthree, Sigebert was invested by his father with the kingdom of\nAustrasia, or Eastern France, including Provence, Switzerland,\nBavaria, Swabia, Thuringia, Franconia, the Rhenish Palatinate, Alsace,\nTr\u00e8ves, Lorraine, Champagne, Upper Picardy, and Auvergne.\n\nDagobert died in 638, and was succeeded by Clovis II., in the kingdom\nof Western France. Pepin of Landen, was mayor of the palace to\nSigebert, and strove to train the young king in godliness and\nChristian virtues. By his justice and temperance, S. Sigebert rendered\nhimself in his youth greatly beloved and respected by his subjects.\n\nPepin dying in 640, the king appointed Grimoald, mayor of the palace,\nin his father's room. The Thuringians revolting, Sigebert reduced them\nto their duty; and this is the only war in which he was engaged. His\nmunificence in founding churches and monasteries, his justice in\nruling, and the private virtues of his spotless life, made him to be\nregarded as a model of a saintly king. After a reign of eighteen years\nfrom the date of his father's death, he died at the age of\ntwenty-five, and was buried in the abbey of S. Martin, near Metz,\nwhich he had built. His body was found incorrupt in 1063, and in 1170\nit was enshrined in a silver case. When Charles V. laid siege to Metz,\nFrancis of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, demolished all the monasteries and\nother buildings in the suburbs which could give harbour to the enemy,\namongst others that of S. Martin. The relics of the saintly king were\nthen removed to the collegiate church of Our Lady, at Nancy, where\nthey repose in a magnificent shrine.\n\n\nS. JOHN OF THE GRATE, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 1163.)\n\n [His festival is observed as a double by the Church of S. Malo, in\n Brittany. His name is inserted in Saussaye's supplement to the\n Gallican Martyrology. Authorities:--The letters of S. Bernard and\n Nicolas of Clairvaux.]\n\nThe illustrious prelate S. John, commonly called \"Of the Grate,\"\nbecause of an iron grating which surrounded his sepulchre, was a\nBreton, the son of parents in a middle class of life. He was born\nabout the year 1098; and from an early age gave indications of piety.\nIn the schools to which he was sent, in a short time he made rapid\nprogress. Peter, abbot of Celle, speaking of him, calls him \"the holy\nbishop, faithful servant of God, a man of courage, loving poverty, a\nbrilliant light, dissipating the densest darkness.\" His life, as a\nbishop, was spent in a series of lawsuits with the monks of\nMarmoutiers. His episcopal seat was at Aleth on the main land, but he\ndesired to transfer it to the island of Aaron, now called S. Malo, on\naccount of the peril to which Aleth was exposed through pirates, and\nthe intestine wars which devastated Brittany. He claimed the island as\nbelonging to the episcopal property of Aleth, but was opposed by the\nmonks of Marmoutiers, who claimed the Church of S. Malo. The case was\nreferred to the Pope, who ordered a commission of French bishops to\ntry the case, and they decided against John. He considered that his\ncause had been prejudged by them, and visited Rome to carry his appeal\nin person to the Pope. But Lucius II. would not listen to him, and he\nwas condemned to lose his see. He then retired under the protection of\nS. Bernard, to Clairvaux, till, on the decease of Lucius II., a monk\nof Clairvaux was elevated to the papal throne, under the title of\nEugenius III. John at once appealed again, and was heard; a fresh\ncommission was appointed, and he was restored to all his rights, and\nthe monks of Marmoutiers were obliged to cede the Church of S. Malo to\nthe bishop. John obtained decisions conformable to that of Eugenius\nIII., from his successors, Anastasius IV. and Adrian IV. That the\nclaim of John was reasonable appears certain. Only three years before\nhe made it, the inhabitants of Aleth had been obliged to take refuge\nin the island of Aaron to escape the ravages of the Normans, who had\nalready twice pillaged and burnt the city; and it is certain that\nseveral of the predecessors of John of the Grate had borne the title\nof bishop of S. Malo, as well as of Aleth.\n\nDuring his reign a strange heresy broke out. Eon de l'Etoile, a\nfanatic, took to himself the title of \"Judge of the quick and dead,\"\nand armed with a forked stick, shared with God the empire of the\nuniverse. When he turned upwards the two prongs of his stick, he gave\nto the Almighty the government of two-thirds of the world, and when he\nturned the prongs downwards, he assumed them as his own. This poor\nvisionary was followed by a number of peasants who pillaged churches,\nand committed all sorts of disorders. They were condemned, in 1148, by\nthe Council of Rheims, and were reduced to submission by the temporal\npower. John exerted himself, by persuasion and instruction, to\ndisabuse of their heresy such of the fanatics as over-ran his diocese,\nand succeeded in converting many of his wandering sheep.\n\nHe died in the odour of sanctity on Feb.\u00a01st, 1163, and was buried on\nthe Gospel side of the altar in the Church of S. Malo. His reputation\nfor virtue was so well established, that almost immediately he\nreceived popular reverence as a Saint. Numerous miracles augmented the\ndevotion of the people. In 1517, one of his successors, Denis\nBrigonnet, ambassador of the king to Rome, obtained from Pope Leo X.\npermission for him to be commemorated in a solemn office, as a\nconfessor bishop. This was the year in which began the schism of\nLuther.\n\nOn the 15th October, 1784, Mgr. Antoine-Joseph des Laurents, last\nbishop of S. Malo but one, examined the relics of the blessed one. He\nfound the bones of S. John enveloped in his pontifical vestments, his\npastoral staff at his side, and ring on his finger. During the\nRevolution the relics of the Saint were ordered to be cast into the\nsea, but the order was countermanded, and the sexton was required to\nbury them on the common fosse in the cemetery. The grave-digger, whose\nname was Jean Coquelin, being a good Catholic, disobeyed the order so\nfar as to lay the bones apart in a portion of the new cemetery as yet\noccupied by no other bodies. In November, 1799, he announced the\nsecret to M. Manet, a priest who had remained through the Reign of\nTerror, in S. Malo; and this venerable ecclesiastic assisted by\nanother priest and some religious, verified the relics. A sealed box\nreceived the precious deposit, and it was restored to its ancient\nshrine on 7th March, 1823. Unfortunately the loss of a document which\nsupplied one necessary link in the chain of evidence authenticating\nthe relics was missing, consequently they could not be exposed to the\nveneration of the faithful. By a strange accident this document was\nrecovered later; whereupon the bishop wrote to Rome to state the\nproofs which were now complete. The necessary sanction having been\nreceived, the sacred relics were enshrined on the 16th November, 1839,\nwith great ceremony; and are now preserved in the Church of S. Malo.\n\nIn French, S. John is called S. Jean de la Grille; in Latin, S.\nJoannes de Craticula.\n\n\nB. RAYMOND OF FITERO, AB. C.\n\n(A.D. 1163.)\n\n [Cistercian Breviary. Authority:--Radez, Chronic de las ordines y\n Cavall. de Santiago, Calatrava, y Alcantara.]\n\nIn the year A.D. 714, the Moors, having conquered King Roderick, took\npossession of Andalusia, and fortified the city of Oreto, to which\nthey gave the name of Calatrava; of which they remained masters for\nnearly four hundred years, till Alfonso the Warlike took possession of\nit, in the year 1147, and gave it to the Templars, to guard against\nthe irruption of the infidels. But they held it for only eight years.\nThe forces which the Moors assembled to recover Calatrava so\ndiscouraged them, that they gave up the city into the hands of Don\nSancho, who had succeeded to the kingdom of Castille, on the death of\nAlfonso, and withdrew from it. This prince announced to his court that\nif any nobleman would undertake the defence of the place, he should\nhave and hold it, in perpetuity, as his own property. But no one\noffered; the host of the Moors which had so alarmed the Templars,\ncaused equal dismay in the minds of the nobles at court. A monk of the\norder of Citeaux alone had courage to undertake the defence of the\ntown. This was Don Didacus Velasquez, monk of the abbey of Our Lady of\nFitero, in the kingdom of Navarre. He had borne arms before he assumed\nthe white habit of Citeaux, and was well known to King Sancho, and\nthis perhaps was the reason why his abbot, Don Raymond, had taken him\nwith him on a visit to the king, about some matter concerning his\nmonastery, at this very time. He entreated the abbot to allow him to\nask permission of Sancho to undertake the defence of Calatrava.\nRaymond, at first, rejected the proposal, but at length, gained by the\nzeal and confidence of Didacus, he boldly asked the city of the\nprince. He was regarded as mad, but Sancho was prevailed upon by the\nevident assurance of the two monks to give the town of Calatrava to\nthe Cistercian Order, and especially to the abbey of Fitero, on\ncondition that the monks held it against the infidels. This was in\n1158.\n\nThe abbot Raymond and his companion Velasquez then proposed to the\nking to found a military Order of Calatrava, and after having obtained\nhis consent, they communicated their design to the bishop of Toledo,\nwho not only approved it, but gave them a large sum of money for the\nfortification of the town, and accorded indulgences to all such as\nshould take arms in its defence, or contribute arms or money for the\npurpose. Several persons joined the two monks, and in a short while an\narmy was raised, at the head of which they entered Calatrava, and took\npossession of it. The walls were repaired and completed with such\nexpedition and strength, that the Moors abandoned their purpose of\nattacking it, and withdrew.\n\nThe abbot Raymond, having nothing further to fear from the infidels,\napplied himself to organise the new military Order, which took its\nname from this town. The general chapter of Citeaux prescribed the\nmanner of life and habit of these warrior monks, but historians are\nnot agreed as to the colour or shape of the original habit.\n\nAs the territory of Calatrava was almost devoid of inhabitants, the\nabbot Raymond returned to Fitero, where he left only the aged and\ninfirm monks, bringing all who were active and young to Calatrava,\ntogether with a great number of cattle, and twenty thousand peasants,\nthat he might settle them in the newly acquired territory. He governed\nthe order six years, and died at Cirvelos, in the year 1163. After his\ndeath, the knights of Calatrava, although they were novices of Citeaux\ninto whose hands he had put arms, refused to be governed by an abbot,\nand to have monks among them. They elected as their Grand Master one\nof their number, Don Garcias; and the monks, who had chosen their new\nabbot, Don Rudolf, retired with him to Cirvelos, where they began an\naction against the knights, to eject them, that they might recover\npossession of Calatrava, which the king had given to their order, and\nespecially to their house of Fitero. But a reconciliation was\neffected, probably through fear of the Moors, and the knights ceded to\nthem a house at S. Petro de Gurniel, in the diocese of Osma, with all\nits dependencies, and there they built a monastery, leaving Calatrava\nin the hands of the knights.\n\nIn the year 1540, the knights were allowed to marry, and took only the\nvows of poverty, obedience, and conjugal fidelity; since the year\n1652, they have added a fourth; to defend and maintain the Immaculate\nConception of the blessed Virgin.\n\n\nS. VERDIANA, V. R.\n\n(A.D. 1242.)\n\n [Roman and Benedictine Martyrology, those of Menardus, Ferrarius,\n &c. Authority:--An old contemporary life, falsely attributed to\n Atto, B. of Pistoria.]\n\nVerdiana was the child of poor, though well-born parents; and her\nknowledge of the sufferings of the poor from her own experience in\nearly years made her ever full of pity for those in need. At twelve\nyears old she was noted for her beautiful and modest countenance, and\nhumble deportment. A wealthy relation, a count, took her into his\nhouse, and made her wait upon his wife. Her strict probity and\nscrupulous discharge of her duties so gained the confidence of her\nmaster and mistress, that they entrusted to her the entire management\nof their house. One day that there was a famine raging in the diocese\nof Florence, and the poor were in extreme distress, the girl saw some\nmiserable wretches dying from exhaustion at the door. Her master had a\nvessel of beans, and she hastily emptied the box, and fed the starving\nwretches with them. This would have been an act of questionable\nmorality, were it not for the extremity of the case, when, to save\nlife, an act is justified which would have been unjust were there no\nsuch an imperious necessity. Her master had, in the meantime, sold the\nbeans, and he shortly after returned with the money. He went to the\nvessel, to send it to the purchaser, but found it empty. \"Then,\" says\nthe contemporary writer, \"he began to shout and storm against the\nservants, and make such a to-do as to cause great scandal in the house\nand among the neighbours. Now when all the house was turned\ntopsy-turvy about these beans, and was in an uproar, the lord's\nhand-maiden, with great confidence, betook herself to prayer, and\nspent the night in supplication. And on the morrow, the vessel was\nfound full of beans as before. Then the master was called, and she\nbade him abstain for the future from such violence, for Christ who had\nreceived the beans had returned them.\"\n\nBy the kindness of the Count, her relative, she was enabled to make a\npilgrimage to S. James, of Compostella, in company with a pious lady.\nOn her return, she resolved to adopt the life of a recluse, and after\nlong preparation, and a visit to Rome, where she spent three years,\nshe obtained the desire of her heart, and received the veil from the\nhands of a canon of the Church of Castel Fiorentino, her native place,\nand bearing the Cross, preceded and followed by all the clergy and\npeople, she was conducted to her cell, and, having been admitted into\nit, the door was walled up. In this cell she spent many years,\nconversing with those who visited her, and receiving her food through\na window, through which, also, the priest communicated her. Two large\nsnakes crept in at this window, one day, and thenceforth took up their\nabode with her. She received these fellow-comrades with great\nrepugnance, but overcame it, and fed them from her own store of\nprovisions. They would glide forth when no one was near, but never\nfailed to return for the night, and when she took her meals. On one\noccasion they were injured by some peasants who pursued them with\nsticks and stones. Verdiana healed them, nevertheless the rustics\nattacked them again, killed one, and drove the other away, so that it\nnever returned to the cell of the recluse.\n\nWhen the holy woman felt that the hour of her release approached, she\nmade her last confession and received the Blessed Sacrament through\nher window, and then closing it opened her psalter, and began to\nrecite the penitential psalms. Next morning the people finding the\nwindow closed, and receiving no answer to their taps, broke into the\ncell, and found her dead, kneeling with eyes and hands upraised to\nheaven, and the psalter before her open at the psalm _Miserere mihi_,\n\"Have mercy upon me, O God! after Thy great goodness; and according to\nthe multitude of Thy mercies, do away mine offences.\"\n\n[1] Vincent of Beauvais, and other late writers, say that the name of\nGod was found after his death written in gold letters on his heart;\nbut this is only one instance of the way in which legends have been\ncoined to explain titles, the spiritual significance of which was not\nconsidered sufficiently wondrous for the vulgar.\n\n[2] Lib. vi. c.\u00a08.\n\n[3] De Bel. Jud. vii.\u00a03.\n\n[4] As S. Ephraem related the incident several times to his monks, and\nthey wrote it down from what he had related, there exist several\nversions of the story slightly differing from one another.\n\n[5] Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 16.\n\n[6] Moreover it contradicts the positive statements of more reliable\nauthors, that Bridget was the legitimate daughter of Brotseach, the\nwife of Dubtach.\n\n[7] But this legend is given very differently in another Life, and\nCogitosus and the first and fourth Lives do not say anything about it.\n\n[8] As near as can be ascertained; see Lanigan, Eccl. Hist. of\nIreland, vol.\u00a01, p.\u00a0455.\n\n [Illustration: Tomb of Joshua. _From the Greek Menology._]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 2.\n\nThe Purification of S. Mary.\n\n S. CORNELIUS, _the Centurion, B. of C\u00e6sarea, 1st cent._\n S. FLOSCULUS, _B. of Orleans, circ._ A.D. 500.\n S. LAURENCE, _Abp. of Canterbury_, A.D. 619.\n S. ADALBALD, _C. in Belgium and Aquitaine_, A.D. 652.\n S. ADELOGA, _V. Abss. at Kitzingen, 8th cent._\n SS. MARTYRS, _of Ebbecksdorf_, A.D. 880.\n B. PETER CAMBIAN, _O. S.D., M. in Piedmont_, A.D. 1365.\n\n\n THE PURIFICATION OF S. MARY, OR THE\n PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE.\n\nThe purification is a double feast, partly in memory of the B.\nVirgin's purification, this being the fortieth day after the birth of\nher Son, which she observed according to the Law (Leviticus xii.\u00a04),\nthough there was no need for such a ceremony, she having contracted no\ndefilement through her childbearing. Partly also in memory of Our\nLord's presentation in the temple, which the Gospel for the day\ncommemorates.\n\nThe Old Law commanded, that a woman having conceived by a man, if she\nbrought forth a male child, should remain forty days retired in her\nhouse, as unclean; at the end of which she should go to the temple to\nbe purified, and offer a lamb and a turtle dove; but, if she were\npoor, a pair of turtle doves or pigeons, desiring the priest to pray\nto God for her. This law the Blessed Virgin accomplished (Luke ii.\u00a012)\nwith the exercise of admirable virtues; especially did she exhibit her\nobedience, although she knew that she was not obliged to keep the law,\nyet, inasmuch as her Son had consented to be circumcised, though He\nneeded it not, so did she stoop to fulfil the law, lest she should\noffend others. She also exhibited her humility, in being willing to be\ntreated as one unclean, and as one that stood in need of being\npurified, as if she had not been immaculate. Among the Greeks, the\nfestival goes by the name of _Hypapante_, which denotes the meeting of\nour Lord by Symeon and Anna, in the temple; in commemoration of which\noccurrence it was first made a festival in the Church by the emperor\nJustinian I., A.D. 542. The emperor is said to have instituted it on\noccasion of an earthquake, which destroyed half the city of\nPompeiopolis, and of other calamities. It was considered in the Greek\nChurch as one of the feasts belonging to her Lord (Despotika\u00ec\nHeorta\u00ec). The name of the Purification was given to it in the 9th\ncentury by the Roman pontiffs. In the Greek Church the prelude of this\nfestival, which retains its first name, Hypapante, is \"My soul doth\nmagnify the Lord, for He hath regarded the lowliness of his\nhand-maiden;\" and a festival of Symeon and Anna is observed on the\nfollowing day.\n\n [Illustration: PURIFICATION OF S. MARY THE VIRGIN.\n From the Great Missal. Feb.\u00a02.]\n\nIn the Western Church it has usually been called \"Candlemas Day,\" from\nthe custom of lighting up churches with tapers and lamps in\nremembrance of our Saviour having been this day declared by Symeon to\nbe \"a light to lighten the Gentiles.\" Processions were used with a\nsimilar object, of which S. Bernard gives the following\ndescription:--\"We go in procession, two by two, carrying candles in\nour hands, which are lighted not at a common fire, but a fire first\nblessed in the church by a bishop. They that go out first return last;\nand in the way we sing, 'Great is the glory of the Lord.' We go two by\ntwo in commendation of charity and a social life; for so our Saviour\nsent out his disciples. We carry light in our hands: first, to signify\nthat our light should shine before men; secondly, this we do on this\nday, especially, in memory of the Wise Virgins (of whom this blessed\nVirgin is the chief) that went to meet their Lord with their lamps lit\nand burning. And from this usage and the many lights set up in the\nchurch this day, it is called Candelaria, or Candlemas. Because our\nworks should be all done in the holy fire of charity, therefore the\ncandles are lit with holy fire. They that go out first return last, to\nteach humility, 'in humility preferring one another.' Because God\nloveth a cheerful giver, therefore we sing in the way. The procession\nitself is to teach us that we should not stand idle in the way of\nlife, but proceed from virtue to virtue, not looking back to that\nwhich is behind, but reaching forward to that which is before.\"\n\nThe Purification is a common subject of representation in Christian\nart, both Eastern and Western. From the evident unsuitableness of the\nmystery of the Circumcision to actual representation, it is not\nusually depicted in works of art, and the Presentation in the Temple\nhas been generally selected, with better taste, for this purpose. The\nprophecy of Symeon, \"Yea, a sword shall pierce through Thine own soul\nalso,\" made to the blessed Virgin, is the first of her seven sorrows.\n\nThe Christian rite of \"The Churching of Women\" is a perpetuation of\nthe ancient ceremony required by the Mosaic Law. How long a particular\noffice has been used in the Christian Church, for the thanksgiving and\nbenediction of woman after child-birth, it would be difficult to say;\nbut it is probably most ancient, since we find that all the Western\nrituals, and those of the patriarchate of Constantinople, contain such\nan office. The Greeks appoint three prayers for the mother on the\nfirst day of the child's birth. On the eighth day, the nurse brings\nthe child to church, and prayer is made for him before the entrance to\nthe nave. On the fortieth day, the mother and the future sponsor at\nthe child's baptism bring the child. After an introductory service of\nthe usual kind, the mother, holding the child, bows her head; the\npriest crosses the child, and touching his head, says, \"Let us pray\nunto the Lord; O Lord God Almighty, the Father of our Lord Jesus\nChrist, who didst create by Thy word all creatures, rational and\nirrational, who didst bring into being all things out of nothing; we\nbeseech and entreat Thee, purify from all sin and pollution this Thy\nhandmaid, whom by Thy will, Thou hast preserved and permitted to enter\ninto Thy holy Church; that she may be deemed worthy to partake,\nwithout condemnation, of Thy holy mysteries.\" (If the child has not\nsurvived, the prayer ends here; if it be alive, the priest continues),\n\"And bless the child born of her. Increase, sanctify, direct, teach,\nguide him; for Thou hast brought him to the birth and hast shown him\nthe light of this world; that so he may be deemed worthy of the mental\nlight at the time that Thou hast ordained, and be numbered among Thy\nholy flock: through Thy only begotten Son, with whom Thou art blessed,\ntogether with Thy all-holy, good, life-giving Spirit, now, always, and\nfor ever and ever.\"\n\nOther prayers referring to the mother of the child follow. Allusion is\nmade to the presentation of Christ, in the Temple. The child is taken\nin the priest's arms to various parts of the church as an introduction\nto the sanctuary. A boy is taken to the altar; a girl only to the\ncentral door of the screen. There is a separate form in case of\nmiscarriage.\n\n [Illustration: THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. After Fra Angelico. Feb. 2.]\n\n\nS. CORNELIUS THE CENTURION, B.\n\n(1ST CENT.)\n\n [Roman and other Western Martyrologies. Commemorated by the Greeks\n on Sept.\u00a013th. Authorities:--The Acts of the Holy Apostles, c.\u00a010,\n the notices in the Martyrologies, and allusions in the Epistles of\n S. Jerome. The Acts given by Metaphrastes are not deserving of much\n attention.]\n\nCornelius, the centurion, was officer of the Italian band at C\u00e6sarea.\nHe was a devout proselyte, who feared God, with all his household, and\ngave much alms to the poor and prayed often and earnestly to God. He\nsaw in a vision an angel, who told him that his prayers and alms had\ncome up for a memorial before God, and that he was now to hear the\nwords of Salvation, and to be instructed in the fulness of divine\ntruth. He was to send to Joppa, to the house of one Simon, a tanner,\nfor S. Peter, the prince of the Apostles, who would instruct and\nbaptize him.\n\nThis he accordingly did, and S. Peter, hastening to C\u00e6sarea, baptized\nhim and all his house. And the Holy Ghost fell upon them.\n\nCornelius was afterwards, by S. Peter, ordained bishop of C\u00e6sarea,\nwhere he strove mightily to advance the kingdom of Christ, and\nwitnessed a good confession before the chief magistrate. He died at a\nripe old age, and was buried secretly in a tomb belonging to a friend,\na Christian of wealth. And, it is said, that a bramble grew over the\nspot and laced the entrance over with its thorny arms, so that none\ncould enter in till S. Silvanus, bishop of Philippopolis, in Thrace,\nin the beginning of the 5th century, hacked away the bramble, and\ndiscovered, and translated the sacred relics.\n\n\nS. LAURENCE, ABP. OF CANTERBURY.\n\n(A.D. 619.)\n\n [Roman and other Western Martyrologies. Authorities:--Bede, Hist.\n Eccl. lib. ii. c.\u00a04, 6, 7. Malmesbury lib. de Gest. Pontif. Angl.]\n\nLaurence was one of the first missionaries to the Saxons, who came\nover with S. Augustine; and he succeeded the Apostle of England in the\nsee of Canterbury, in 608, in which he sat eleven years. Bede says,\n\"Laurence succeeded Augustine in the bishopric, having been ordained\nthereto by the latter, in his lifetime, lest, upon his death, the\nstate of the Church, as yet unsettled, might begin to falter, if it\nwere destitute of a pastor, though but for one hour. Wherein he\nfollowed the example of the first pastor of the Church, Peter, who,\nhaving founded the Church of Christ at Rome, is said to have\nconsecrated Clement his assistant in preaching the Gospel, and at the\nsame time, his successor. Laurence, being advanced to the degree of\narchbishop, laboured indefatigably, both by frequent exhortations and\nexamples of piety, to raise to perfection the foundation of the\nChurch, which had been so nobly laid. In short, he not only took care\nof the new Church formed among the English, but endeavoured also to\nemploy his pastoral solicitude among the ancient inhabitants of\nBritain, as also among the Scots, who inhabited the island of Ireland.\nFor when he understood that the course of life and profession of the\nScots, as well as that of the Britons, was not truly ecclesiastical,\nespecially that they did not celebrate Easter at the correct time, he\nwrote jointly with his fellow-bishops, an exhortatory epistle,\nentreating and conjuring them to observe unity of peace, and\nconformity with the Church of Christ spread throughout the world.\"\n\nBut soon troubles arose which obliged Archbishop Laurence to withdraw\nhis attention from the British bishops to the condition of his own\nKentish diocese. The pious King Ethelbert died, and his son Eadbald,\ninstead of following his father's example, opposed Christianity, and\ncaused great scandal by taking to him his step-mother to wife, his own\nmother, the saintly Bertha, having died some years before. The\ncondition of Christianity became so hopeless in Kent, that Laurence\nresolved to desert his see, and he was confirmed in his determination\nby Mellitus, bishop of London, and Justus, bishop of Rochester, who\nfled from the violence of the sons and successors of the Christian\nSebert, king of the East Saxons. Bede says, \"Laurence, being about to\nfollow Mellitus and Justus, and to quit Britain, ordered his bed to be\nlaid, the night before, in the church of the blessed Apostles, Peter\nand Paul; wherein, having laid himself to take some rest, after he had\npoured out many prayers and tears to God for the state of the Church,\nhe fell asleep. In the dead of the night, the blessed prince of the\napostles appeared to him, and scourging him a long time with apostolic\nseverity, asked of him, 'Why he would forsake the flock which he had\ncommitted to him? or to what shepherds he would commit Christ's sheep\nthat were in the midst of wolves? Have you,' said he, 'forgotten my\nexample, who, for the sake of those little ones, whom Christ\nrecommended to me in token of His affection, underwent at the hands of\nthe infidels and enemies of Christ, bonds, stripes, imprisonment,\nafflictions, and lastly, the death of the cross, that I might be\ncrowned with Him?' Laurence being excited by these words and stripes,\nthe very next morning repaired to the king, and taking off his\ngarment, showed the scars of the stripes he had received. The king\nastonished, asked, 'Who had presumed to give such blows to so great a\nman?' and was much frightened when he heard that the bishop had\nsuffered so much at the hands of the apostle of Christ for his\nsalvation. Then, abjuring the worship of idols, and renouncing his\nunlawful marriage, he embraced the faith of Christ, and being\nbaptized, promoted the affairs of the Church to the utmost of his\npower.\"\n\nIn the reign of this same king, Archbishop Laurence died, and was\nburied in the Church of S. Peter, close beside his predecessor\nAugustine, and was succeeded by Mellitus.\n\n\nS. ADALBALD, C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 652.)\n\n [Belgian Martyrologies, and in Saussaye's supplement to the Gallican\n Martyrology. Authorities:--Mention of him in the life of his wife S.\n Richtrudis, by Hucbald the monk, A.D. 907; and in the life\n of his daughter, S. Eusebia. In some Martyrologies he is styled\n Martyr, but generally Duke.]\n\nDuke Adalbald was a grandson of S. Gertrude of Hamage. His mother's\nname was Gerberta. From his earliest youth he was a model of virtue,\neven in the court of the king. He married S. Richtrudis, by whom he\nhad S. Maurontus, his eldest son, who became afterwards abbot; and\nthree virgin saintly daughters, Clotsendis, Eusebia, and Andalsendis.\nS. Amandus baptized Clotsendis, and Queen Nanthild, wife of King\nDagobert, was sponsor to Eusebia. On his way to Gascony for some\npurpose, he was waylaid and murdered, by certain persons who were\ndispleased at his marriage with Richtrudis. It seems probable,\ntherefore, that the crime was committed on account of some property,\nbut nothing for certain is known of the motive actuating the\nmurderers. Relics at S. Amand, in Flanders.\n\n\nS. ADELOGA, V. ABSS.\n\n(8TH CENT.)\n\n [Benedictine Martyrology and those of Menardus, Ferrarius, &c.\n Authority:--An ancient, apparently authentic, life by an anonymous\n writer, published by Bollandus.]\n\nThe blessed Adeloga was a daughter of Charles Martel, son of Pepin\nl'Heristal, by Kunehilda, whether his wife or concubine is uncertain.\nAdeloga was of singular beauty, so that she was greatly sought in\nmarriage, but she constantly refused all offers, having given her\nheart wholly to her heavenly Spouse. Her father, greatly exasperated\nagainst her, on this account, treated her with studied brutality,\nsubjecting her to public insult; and observing that the bruised spirit\nof his child sought refuge and comfort in the advice of her director,\nhis private chaplain, he was filled with bitterness, and said,\n\"Hearken, my daughter, you have refused kings, dukes, and peers to\nanger me, that you might wanton with a curate.\" Then calling to him\none of his knights, who stood by, as he thus insulted his daughter, he\nbade him \"Go and tell the chaplain to be off, he and his woman here,\nor they shall both be driven forth with contumely, to-morrow morning.\"\n\nHearing this, the priest groaned in spirit, and said, \"O God of heaven\nand earth, who searchest the secrets of all hearts, and every thought\nof man, Thou knowest my innocence in this matter. But, although my\nlord has exercised his anger upon me, I will not desert my lady and\nmistress, but for Christ's sake will wait upon her with all reverence.\"\n\nThen Adeloga went forth, and the priest with her, and they journeyed\ntill they came to a wild and desert place, and there they built a\nconvent. The name of the place was Kitzingen.\n\nTo her came many virgins, and the priest gave her the veil, and made\nher abbess, enjoining her to adopt the rule of SS. Benedict and\nScholastica. He, himself, attended to the temporal affairs of the\nconvent, till he was summoned to his rest.\n\nThe story is told that after his death, a young nun, having fallen in\nlove with a youth, resolved to fly the convent. She waited till night,\nand then, when all were asleep, stole to the gates, but there she saw\nthe form of the white-haired chaplain beckoning her back, and with a\ngentle voice addressing her, \"Go back, dear virgin! A heavenly Spouse\ncalleth thee, and no earthly lover! Return to him, my child. I watch\nwithout over this sacred house, and the abbess keeps ward within.\" And\nnot many days after, the girl sickened and died.\n\nThere was another nun who was also smitten with passion for a young\nnoble, and harboured in her mind the thought of escaping from her\nmonastery, and flying to his arms. But in the night, as she slept, she\nsaw the holy abbess, Adeloga, pass before her with a lamp in her hand,\nwho turned and looked on her and said, \"Lo, Christ cometh, prepare to\nmeet Him. Awake, the Bridegroom cometh, go forth and trim thy light.\"\nThen she started from sleep, and was moved with compunction, and never\nafter yielded to sensual thoughts.\n\nNow it fell out that in after years Charles Martel was reconciled to\nhis daughter, and endowed her monastery with lands, and visited her.\nThen, in the night, there stood before him, in vision, the old\nchaplain, who said to him, \"The Eternal King hath sent me unto thee,\nto declare to thee my innocence in that thing whereof thou didst once\naccuse me. And if thou believest me not now, then will I cite thee to\nappear, and hear me plead my cause, before the just judgment seat of\nGod.\" And when Charles awoke, he called to him his daughter, and said,\n\"Pray for me, my dearest child, that the Lord lay not this sin to my\ncharge, that once in wrath I spoke falsely against thee and my\nchaplain, thy director.\"\n\nIt is related that among the retainers of the abbey was a noble youth\nvery fond of dogs, and above all, he loved one hound, which was with\nhim in the field and forest by day, and slept at the foot of his bed\nat night. One day that he was in the wood, a couple of ruffians fell\nupon him, and murdered him for the sake of his clothes and purse, and\nleft the body naked under the trees. For three days the faithful hound\nkept guard, and then it sought the abbey, and whined at the door of\nthe lady Adeloga, and when she came forth, plucked at her dress, as\nthough to lead her into the forest. Suspecting something was amiss,\nshe called to her some servants, and they followed the dog to where\nhis master lay slain. The abbess was determined to discover who were\nthe murderers. She therefore summoned before her all the retainers and\nserfs on the land, and questioned them closely, but could obtain no\nconfession. Then she solemnly warned the culprits to beware how they\nleft the matter to the judgment of God, and she bade them, for the\nlast time, confess. When all were silent, the hound of the murdered\nman was introduced, and it flew at the throats of the culprits and\ntore them so fearfully that one died.\n\nThe historian of the life of S. Adeloga, concludes with the following\nprayer. \"We pray thee, most holy and gentle mother, that, as thou hast\nencouraged us in this life with thy good example and virtuous acts, so\nmayest thou deign to assist us with God in life eternal; that as we\nrejoice in thy commemoration on earth, so may we merit to be\nstrengthened by thy intercession in heaven; for the sake of Christ\nJesus, our Lord, who of all Saints is the reward, the glory, joy, and\ncrown, through ages of ages, Amen.\"\n\n\nTHE HOLY MARTYRS OF EBBECKSDORF.\n\n(A.D. 880.)\n\n [Authority:--The contemporary Fulda Annals of the Franks. See also\n the Legend in Langebek, Script. Rer. Danicarum II., pp.\u00a057-71.]\n\nThese martyrs were Duke Bruno of Saxony, Theodoric, bishop of Minden,\nMarquard, bishop of Hildesheim, Erlulf of Fulda, Gosbert, bishop of\nOsnabr\u00fcck, and many others; massacred by the Northmen.\n\n\nB. PETER CAMBIAN, O. S.D., M.\n\n(A.D. 1365.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology.]\n\nThis Saint was sent by the Sovereign pontiff, into the vallies\ninhabited by the Waldensian heretics, as Inquisitor-general in\nPiedmont, in 1351, and was murdered by the heretics in the Franciscan\nconvent of Susa. The person who did the deed stabbed him in the\ncloister, on the feast of the Purification of Our Lady, in 1365. His\ntomb was opened in 1854, and the relics were elevated to the altars of\nseveral churches to which they were given. Pius IX. confirmed the\ndevotion of the Catholics towards this martyr.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 3.\n\n SS. CELERINUS, _D. C._, CELERINA, IGNATIUS, AND LAURENCE, _MM. in\n Africa, 3rd cent._\n S. FORTUNATUS, _M. at Rome_.\n S. CANDIDUS, _M. at Volaterra_.\n SS. TIGRIS AND REMEDIUS, _BB., MM. at Gap, 4th cent._\n S. BLAISE, _B. M._, AND COMPANIONS, _at Sebaste, circ._ A.D. 316.\n S. SIMPLICIUS, _B. of Vienne; beginning of 5th cent._\n S. ANATOLIUS, _B. of Adana, in Cilicia; beginning of 5th cent._\n S. LAURENCE THE ILLUMINATOR, _B. of Spoleto, circ._ A.D. 576.\n S. PHILIP, _B. of Vienne, circ._ A.D. 578.\n S. EVANTIUS, _B. of Vienne_, A.D. 586.\n S. HADELIN, _P. at Celles in Belgium, circ._ A.D. 690.\n S. BERLINDA, _V. at Meerbeeke in Belgium, circ._ A.D. 698.\n S. WERBURGA, _V. Patroness of Chester; beginning of 8th cent._\n S. NITHARD, _P. M. in Sweden, circ._ A.D. 840.\n S. ANSKAR, _B. of Hamburg, Apostle of Sweden and Denmark_, A.D. 865.\n S. LIAFDAG, _B. M. at Ripe in Denmark, circ._ A.D. 980.\n S. ELINAND, _Monk of Froidmont, near Beauvais_, A.D. 1237.\n\n\nSS. CELERINUS, D. C., CELERINA, IGNATIUS,\nAND LAURENTINUS, MM.\n\n(3RD CENT.)\n\n [Roman and other Latin Martyrologies. Authorities:--The letters of\n S. Cyprian of Carthage, and S. Cornelius of Rome. A letter of S.\n Celerinus to the Confessor Lucian is inserted in some editions of\n the works of S. Cyprian.]\n\nOf Celerina, Ignatius, and Laurence nothing, except their names, is\nknown, and even these would not have come down to us, but for their\nbeing mentioned as glorious martyrs by S. Cyprian, in a letter to\ntheir nephew, S. Celerinus. This Celerinus was first Reader, and then\nDeacon, in the Church of Carthage, and received orders from S.\nCyprian. He was in Rome in the year 250, and confessed Christ there in\nthe Decian persecution, spending nineteen days in chains; but to his\ngreat sorrow, his sister yielded to her fears, and was numbered among\nthe lapsed. Afterwards Celerinus was unfortunately drawn away by\nNovatian into schism, but when he perceived that the schismatic sought\nhis own advancement rather than the glory of God, he acknowledged his\nerror, and returned to the communion of the Catholic Church.\n\n\nS. FORTUNATUS, M.\n\nS. Fortunatus is mentioned, together with many other martyrs, in the\nRoman and other Martyrologies on Feb.\u00a02nd, as having suffered at Rome;\nbut their Acts have not been preserved. The body of S. Fortunatus was\nfound in 1606, in the cemetery of S. Callixtus, and was given by Pope\nPaul V. to the Rev. Jacobus Tirinus, S.J., for the new and beautiful\nJesuit church he had built in Antwerp, in the year 1622. On account of\nFeb.\u00a02nd being the Feast of the Purification, the commemoration of S.\nFortunatus has been postponed in that church till Feb.\u00a03rd.\n\n\nS. BLAISE, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 316.)\n\n [Roman and Western Martyrologies. Commemorated by the Greeks on\n Feb.\u00a011th, in some ancient Martyrologies, on Feb.\u00a015th. The Greek\n Acts, of which there are four versions, are modern, and deserve\n little regard.]\n\nBlasius, Blase, Blayse, Blays, or Blaise, was bishop of Sebaste, a\ncity of Cappadocia, in the Lesser Asia. He spent a great part of his\ntime in retirement on a hill not far from the city, whither he\nwithdrew, after the duties of his office were finished, to be alone\nwith God. During the persecution of the Christians in the reign of\nDiocletian, he lay concealed for some time in this retreat; but was at\nlast taken and brought before Agricolaus, the governor of the\nprovince, and confessing himself a Christian, was thrown into prison.\nAfter enduring many tortures, he received the crown of martyrdom in\nthe beginning of the fourth century. Some historians refer this event\nto the year 316, under the reign of Licinius. Seven holy women and two\nyoung children suffered at the same time. The Acts of his martyrdom\nare so untrustworthy that it is not possible to state any further\nparticulars which are authentic. The Council of Oxford, A.D. 1222,\nprohibited servile labour on this day. Its observance in England was\nmarked by several curious ceremonies. Among others a taper used to be\noffered at High Mass; and it was lately the custom in many parts of\nEngland to light bonfires on the hills on S. Blaise's night. Some have\naffirmed that these usages arose from an absurd pun on the Saint's\nname (sc. \"blaze\"); but this seems clearly erroneous, as they are not\npeculiar to England. In some parts of Germany, S. Blaise's Day is\ncalled \"Little Candlemas Day,\" because of the bonfires that it was\nusual (for an uncertain reason) to kindle on that night. At Bradford,\nYorkshire, a festival is holden every five years in memory of S.\nBlaise.\n\nIn the Greek paintings, S. Blaise is depicted as an old man with a\npointed beard. In Western art he appears in the vestments of a bishop;\nhis peculiar emblem is an iron comb, such as is used by wool-combers,\nwhich is said to have been an instrument of his torture. Owing,\nprobably, to this reason, he has been esteemed the patron of\nmanufacturers of wool, and that trade in the city of Norwich still\nobserves his day, or did so until lately. S. Blaise is also frequently\nrepresented as surrounded by wild beasts, or birds are bringing him\nfood; the text, Job v.\u00a023, which occasionally accompanies these\nemblems, indicates that, in his case as in that of other saints, by\nlong continuance in a solitary course of life, the denizens of the\nwood had become accustomed to the Saint's presence. Sometimes again,\nS. Blaise has a swine's head at his feet, typical of his victory over\nthe sensual desires of the flesh. Finally, he occasionally holds in\none hand, or has borne before him by a chorister, a lighted taper,\ntypical of his being \"a burning and a shining light.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. BLAISE. From Cahier. Feb. 3.]\n\n\nS. LAURENCE THE ILLUMINATOR, B.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 576.)\n\n [The learned Bollandus, S.J., pithily remarks: \"Magnas Umbria circa\n veterum suorum Sanctorum res gestas ortum \u00e6tatem, contraxit umbras,\n si non tenebras.\" Little is known of this Saint.]\n\nS. Laurence the Illuminator, is said to have come from Syria with many\nother illustrious bishops and confessors, to Italy, in the reign of\nDiocletian. He was elected by the clergy bishop of Spoleto; and\nillumined his diocese with his teaching and miracles.\n\n\nS. HADELIN, P. C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 690.)\n\n [Martyrologies of Ado, of Wyon, Menardus, those of Li\u00e9ge, Cologne,\n &c. Authorities:--Two ancient lives, one by Notker, B. of Li\u00e9ge\n (971-1007).]\n\nS. Hadelin was one of the disciples of S. Remacle, and when that Saint\nresigned his bishopric of Tongres, that he might retire from the world\ninto the peaceful monastery of Staveloo, lately founded by S.\nSigebert, King of Austrasia, he took with him the pious and humble\nHadelin. On their way they rested on a bare plain, under a glaring\nsun, for their afternoon repose. S. Remacle remained awake, whilst his\ncompanion slept, and saw an angel bending over Hadelin, shading him\nwith his wings from the burning heat. Remacle sent Hadelin into the\nneighbourhood of Dinant, on the Meuse, in 669, and finding a quiet\nretreat at Celles, on the Lesse, he dwelt there in a cave, and built a\nlittle chapel, on the site of which rose in after years a collegiate\nchurch. S. Hadelin is the patron of five churches in the diocese of\nLi\u00e9ge and Namur. His hermitage still exists, and from his time has\nnever been without a pious successor. The body of the Saint was buried\nthere, but was translated to Vise in the diocese of Li\u00e9ge, in 1338.\nHis translation is commemorated on October 11th.\n\n\nS. BERLINDA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 698.)\n\n [Molanus in his addition to Usuardus, Wyon, Menardus, and Ferrarius.\n Authority:--An ancient life by an anonymous writer, published by\n Bollandus.]\n\nBerlinda was the daughter of a nobleman named Odelard, who resided at\nMeerbeeke, near Ninove, in Brabant, in the reign of King Dagobert, and\nof Nona, his wife, the sister of S. Amandus. To a rare beauty,\nBerlinda joined all the gifts of intellect, but she had the misfortune\nto incur the anger of her father. After the death of his wife and only\nson, Odelard was attacked by leprosy, and lived a miserable\nlanguishing life, ministered to by his daughter.\n\nOne day that he asked her for something to drink, she filled a bowl\nwith water, and took it to him, and then, being herself thirsty, she\nrinsed out the vessel, and filled it again. The father, highly\noffended at her doing this, drove off at once to Nivelles and offered\nall his lands to S. Gertrude, by the symbolic gift of a white glove\nand a reaping-hook and a branch of foliage. Before accomplishing his\ndonation, he supplicated the Saint to accept his offering with her own\nhands. Then the reliquary, in which the holy abbess reposed, opened,\nand the lifeless hands of S. Gertrude were extended to receive the\nglove, the branch, and the sickle. Then it closed upon them.\n\nBerlinda, being disinherited, retired to the monastery of Moorsel,\nnear Alost, where she lived in penitence and prayer. One night she\nheard a choir of angels singing, as they sailed across the dark\nstarlit sky, bearing the soul of her father to Paradise. She at once\nbesought of the superior permission to return to Meerbeeke for a\nwhile. Her request was complied with, and she flew to her father's\ncastle. He was dead, so Berlinda buried him in the little church he\nhad erected there to the honour of S. Peter.\n\nRetained by force in her paternal dwelling by the servants and\ntenants, Berlinda remained at Meerbeeke, where she continued her life\nof austerities and prayer, and died about 690, on the 3rd of February.\n\nAs no stone sarcophagus could be found in which she might be laid, a\nlarge oak was cut down and scooped out to serve as a coffin, and her\nbody was placed in it. Numerous miracles were wrought at her tomb, so\nthat at the end of seven years the coffin was opened, and the wood was\nfound to have become petrified. On this occasion a church was built in\nher honour and that of the Blessed Virgin, and thirty years later, her\nrelics were solemnly enshrined on May 2nd, 728. S. Berlinda has\nremained in great honour at Meerbeeke. She is invoked against cattle\ndiseases; and in accordance with an ancient custom, pilgrims pray\nbefore a wooden image of the saint represented beside a cow, and touch\nthe udder of the cow, which has become black through the innumerable\ntouchings to which it has become subjected. According to a popular\nsaying S. Berlinda protects trees transplanted on her festival.\n\n\nS. WERBURGA, V. ABSS.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 8TH CENTURY.)\n\n [English Martyrology. Authorities:--Life of Goscelin, the monk (fl.\n 1100), and mention in Bede, John of Brompton, Florence of Worcester,\n Hyden, Langherne, Simeon of Durham.]\n\nWerburga, patroness of Chester, was born at Stone, in Staffordshire,\nand was the daughter of Wulfhere, King of Mercia, or the Midland\nEnglish. From the lips of her sainted mother, Ermingilde, she received\nthose first lessons of Christian truth which afterwards produced such\nbeautiful fruit in her life.\n\nBeing one of four children, all trained under the same godly\ndiscipline, she is said to have excelled them all in virtue and\ndiscretion. Her mind was open to receive good impressions, and she\nlistened with earnest attention to every word of instruction and\nadvice. Thus, she \"daily grew in grace, and in the knowledge of our\nLord and Saviour Jesus Christ:\" her mind continually expanding under\nthe influence of holy thoughts and pure desires. At an age when most\npersons of her exalted position would have been found joining in the\ngiddy whirl of pleasure, she found truest joy in contemplation of\nheavenly things, and holiest bliss, arising from a pure conscience\nchastened by fasting and sanctified by prayer. She daily assisted her\nmother in the performance of the whole Church Offices, and spent much\ntime on her knees in the exercise of private devotions.\n\nHaving early resolved to devote herself to a life of virginal purity,\nshe sought every opportunity to prepare her mind for that holy state.\nBut she was not to overcome the world without a struggle. Temptations\nbegan to gather around her. The beauty of her person attracted a crowd\nof admirers, who eagerly sought her hand in marriage. Foremost among\nthese was a prince of the West Saxons, who offered her rich gifts and\nmade flattering proposals. She refused to accept his gifts; and to his\nproposals answered that she had resolved to become the bride of\nChrist, and wished no earthly spouse.\n\n [Illustration: S. WERBURGA. From Cahier. Feb. 3.]\n\nAnother, and more violent temptation soon presented itself. Werbode, a\npowerful knight of her father's court, backed by the influence of her\nfather, entreated Werburga to become his wife; but to his entreaties\nshe turned a deaf ear. Imagining that to this refusal she was\ninfluenced by her two brothers, who were then under the instruction of\nS. Chad, and resolving by fair or foul means to compass his designs,\nWerbode sought an opportunity to murder the two brothers, and thus\nremove them from his path. In the accomplishment of this diabolical\ndesign, he was, to a certain extent, assisted by the father, whom he\nhad incensed against his sons. Werbode soon after died a miserable\ndeath. The king, stung by remorse, saw reflected, as in a mirror, all\nthe deeds of his past life, and remembered how he had promised to\nextirpate idolatry from his dominions, but had failed to perform his\nvow. With earnestness he began to atone for his faults; destroyed the\nidols and converted their temples into churches, built the great abbey\nof Peterborough, founded the priory of Stone, and in every way\nendeavoured to propagate the true faith among his people.\n\nSeeing this happy change in his disposition, Werburga revealed to her\nfather the earnest desire of her heart, and earnestly entreated his\npermission to consecrate herself wholly to God. At first he appeared\nto be very grieved, but yielding at length to her passionate\nentreaties, Wulfhere, attended by his whole court, conducted her with\ngreat state to the convent of Ely. Here they were met at the gates by\na long procession of nuns, singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving to\nGod. Werburga, falling on her knees, begged of the royal abbess, S.\nEtheldreda, that she might be received as a postulant. Having obtained\nher request, the voice of praise again ascended to heaven, the virgins\nchanting the _Te Deum_, as they returned to the convent. Now followed\nthe usual trials; Werburga was first stripped of her costly apparel,\nher rich coronet was exchanged for a poor veil, purple and silks and\ngold were replaced by a rough coarse habit, and she resigned herself\ninto the hands of her superior, henceforward to live only to Christ.\n\nThe virgin, with great fervour, now devoted herself to God. Her\naffections being weaned from earthly things, were fixed more firmly\nupon those things which are above. By prayer and fasting, by\nself-sacrifice and mortification, by obedience and penance, she sought\nto sanctify her soul and body, that she might present them, a holy and\nacceptable sacrifice, unto God.\n\nAfter many years she was chosen, at the request of her uncle King\nEthelred, to superintend all the religious houses for women in his\nkingdom. When she entered upon this larger sphere of duty, she\nlaboured with earnest diligence to make all the houses under her care\nmodels of exact monastic discipline. Through the liberality of her\nuncle, she was enabled to found new convents at Trentham, in\nGloucestershire; Hanbury, in Staffordshire; and Weedon, in\nNorthamptonshire. These remained for several centuries as evidences of\nher godly zeal. The king also, at her request, founded the collegiate\nchurch of S. John the Baptist, in the suburbs of West Chester, and\ngave to S. Egwin the ground for the great abbey of Evesham.\n\nS. Werburga, both by precept and example, sought to develope the\nreligious life in those committed to her charge, and many through her\ninfluence were won from a life of dissipation and vice to a life of\nholiness and love.\n\nGod, in answer to continual prayers, had crowned her with many\nspiritual and celestial blessings. The old chroniclers say that she\nbecame the most perfect pattern of meekness, humility, patience, and\npurity. Her fastings and mortifications were almost incredible. She\nnever took more than one meal during the day, and that of the coarsest\nfood: seeking in this to emulate the lives of those fathers of the\ndesert who shed such radiance over the Eastern and African Church.\nBeside the usual monastic offices, she was in the habit of reciting,\nupon her knees, the whole of the Psalter daily. She often remained in\nthe church all night, bathed in tears and prostrate in prayer.\n\nIn the exercise of these holy devotions she lived to a ripe old age.\nReceiving at last some premonitions of her approaching departure, she\nmade a farewell visit to all the houses under her care, and exhorted\nthe inmates to prepare for the coming of the heavenly Bridegroom. Then\nretiring to the convent at Trentham, she quietly waited her departure.\nThe messenger soon came, and found the bride ready, and so with quiet\nfaith and perfect trust she went to the home of her Spouse, on the 3rd\nof February, 699.\n\nHer corpse, in accordance with her own directions, was conveyed to the\nmonastery at Hanbury. It was interred with great honour, and there\nremained until the year 708. Then it was disinterred in presence of\nKing Ceolred and many bishops, and transferred to a costly shrine. The\nold chroniclers say that it was found incorrupt, and remained so until\nA.D. 875, when, for fear of the Danes, who were invading the country,\nthe shrine was carried to Chester. The body, however, fell to dust\nsoon after its translation. In course of time a stately church was\nerected over the relics; this became the cathedral, and as such exists\nto this day.\n\nDuring the reign of Henry VIII., the shrine was desecrated, and the\nholy relics of S. Werburga scattered abroad. What remained of the\ncostly shrine was afterwards converted into an episcopal throne, and\nmay still be seen, carved with the curious images of kings of Mercia,\nancestors of S. Werburga, who flourished eleven centuries ago. To this\nday it is used as the throne of the bishops of Chester.\n\n\nS. NITHARD, P. M.\n\n(A.D. 840.)\n\n [From the Life of S. Anskar, c. 6; Adam of Bremen, Hist. Eccl. lib. i.]\n\nNithard, nephew of Bishop Gauzbert, accompanied him in his mission to\nthe Swedes; at first he was heard with patience, but the wild pagans,\nenraged at his denunciation of their worship of Thorr and Odin, burst\ninto the house where he was, and killed him.\n\n\nS. ANSKAR, B.; AP. OF SWEDEN.\n\n(A.D. 865.)\n\n [German, Scandinavian, and Belgian martyrologies. Authorities:--His\n life by his successor, S. Rembert, who was personally acquainted\n with him, and had shared in his mission. The following outline of\n the life of this illustrious saint is from the pen of the Rev. G. F.\n Maclear, B.D., and is extracted from his \"Apostles of Medi\u00e6val\n Europe,\" somewhat curtailed, and with some modifications.]\n\nCharlemagne was once, we are told,[9] at Narbonne, when, in the midst\nof the banquet, some swift barks were seen putting into the harbour.\nThe company started up, while some pronounced the crew to be Jewish,\nothers African, others British traders, the keen eye of the great\nemperor discerned that they were bound on no peaceful errand. \"It is\nnot with merchandise,\" said he, \"that yonder barks are laden; they are\nmanned by most terrible enemies.\" And then he advanced to the window,\nand stood there a long while in tears. No one dared to ask him the\ncause of his grief, but at length he explained it himself. \"It is not\nfor myself,\" said he, \"that I am weeping, or for any harm that yon\nbarks can do to me. But truly I am pained to think that even while I\nam yet alive they have dared to approach this shore; and still greater\nis my grief when I reflect on the evils they will bring on my\nsuccessors.\"\n\nHis words were only too truly fulfilled. The sight of those piratical\nbanners told its own tale. The fleets he had built, the strong forts\nand towns he had erected at the mouths of the various rivers\nthroughout his empire, were neglected by his successors, and what he\nforesaw came to pass. Year after year, during the ninth century, the\nchildren of the North burst forth from their pine forests, their\ncreeks, their fiords, and icebound lakes, and prowled along the\ndefenceless shores of Germany, France, and England. They laughed at\nthe fiercest storms, landed on the most inaccessible coasts, and\npushed up the shallowest rivers, while Charlemagne's degenerate\nsuccessors tamely beheld the fairest towns in their dominions sacked\nand burnt by the terrible crews of those terrible barks.\n\n\"Take a map,\" writes Sir Francis Palgrave, \"and colour with vermilion\nthe provinces, districts, and shores which the Northmen visited, as\nthe record of each invasion. The colouring will have to be repeated\nmore than ninety times successively before you arrive at the\nconclusion of the Carlovingian dynasty. Furthermore, mark by the usual\nsymbol of war, two crossed swords, the localities where battles were\nfought by or against the pirates; where they were defeated or\ntriumphant, or where they pillaged, burned, destroyed; and the valleys\nand banks of the Elbe, Rhine, and Moselle, Scheldt, Meuse, Somme, and\nSeine, Loire, Garonne, and Adour, the inland Allier, and all the\ncoasts and coastlands between estuary and estuary, and the countries\nbetween the river-streams, will appear bristling as with\n_cheveux-de-frise_. The strongly-fenced Roman cities, the venerated\nabbeys, and their dependent _bourgades_, often more flourishing and\nextensive than the ancient seats of government, the opulent sea-ports\nand trading-towns, were all equally exposed to the Danish attacks,\nstunned by the Northmen's approach, subjugated by their fury.\"[10]\n\nBut while the mind faintly strives to conceive the misery and\ndesolation thus inflicted, on well-nigh every town and village of\nGermany and France, it finds satisfaction in the thought that even now\nmissionary zeal did not falter; that while every estuary and river\ndarkened under the sails of the Northmen's barks, there were not\nlacking those who had the Christian bravery to penetrate into the\ndreary regions whence they issued forth, to seek them out amidst their\npine forests and icebound lakes, and to plant amongst them the first\ngerms of Christian civilization.\n\nThe first mission in Denmark was organized in the year A.D. 826, when\nHarold, king of Jutland, his queen, and a large retinue of Danes, were\nbaptized with great pomp in the vast Dom of Mayence. On this occasion,\nHarold solemnly did homage to Louis the Pious, and agreed to hold the\nDanish kingdom as a feudatory of the Carlovingian crown. On this\noccasion also, Ebbo, the primate of France, determined to seek out a\nmonk who would be willing to accompany the newly-baptized king on his\nreturn to Denmark, and remain at his court as a priest and teacher.\nBut the well-known ferocity of the Northmen long deterred any one from\noffering himself for such a duty. At length the abbot of Corbey, near\nAmiens, announced that one of his monks was not unwilling to undertake\nthe arduous task.\n\nThe intrepid volunteer was Anskar, a native of a village not far from\nCorbey. Born in the year A.D. 801, and early devoted by his parents to\nthe monastic life, he had always evinced the deepest religious\nenthusiasm, and his ardent imagination taught him to believe that he\noften saw visions and heard voices from another world. When he was\nonly five years of age, he lost his mother: and a dream, in which he\nsaw her surrounded by a majestic choir of virgins, the fairest of whom\nbade him, if he would join his mother in bliss, flee the pomps and\nvanities of the world, exerted a profound impression upon him, and\ninduced him to devote himself more than ever to prayer and meditation.\n\nBut when he was thirteen years of age, A.D. 814, an event occurred\nwhich exercised a still deeper influence over his susceptible mind.\nNews reached the monastery that Charlemagne was dead. The greatest of\ngreat emperors had passed away, and now, in the sepulchre which he had\nmade for himself, \"he was sitting on his curule chair, clad in his\nsilken robes, ponderous with broidery, pearls, and orfray, the\nimperial diadem on his head, his closed eyelids covered, his face\nswathed in the dead-clothes, girt with his baldric, the ivory horn\nslung in his scarf, his good sword 'Joyeuse' by his side, the\nGospel-book open on his lap, musk and amber and sweet spices poured\naround.\"[11]\n\nAnskar at this time had relaxed somewhat of his usual austerities, and\nnow the thought that even that mighty prince, whom he himself had seen\nin all the plenitude of his power could not escape the hand of death,\nfilled him with awe, and he gave himself up more unreservedly than\never to the severest discipline. Meanwhile his talents had brought him\ninto general notice, and when his abbot founded another monastic\noutpost in Westphalia, in a beautiful valley on the west bank of the\nWeser, and called it New Corbey, Anskar was removed to the new\nfoundation, and at the age of twenty-five was elected, with the common\nconsent of all, to superintend its conventual school, and to preach to\nthe neighbouring population.\n\nHe was on a visit to Old Corbey, when the news arrived that a monk was\nmuch needed to accompany the Danish Harold to his native land, and\nthat the abbot Wala had nominated him to the emperor as a fit person\nto be entrusted with the arduous mission. Summoned to the court,\nAnskar calmly but resolutely announced his willingness to go. In\ndreams and visions, he said, he had heard the voice of Christ himself\nbidding him preach the word to the heathen tribes: and nothing could\ninduce him to shrink from the plain path of duty. In vain, therefore,\non his return to the monastery, the brethren learning that he was\nabout to resign all his hopes and prospects to preach amongst heathens\nand barbarians, warned, protested, and even mocked at him for his\nmadness. Immoveable in his resolution to brave all risks, he began to\nprepare himself for his great enterprise by prayer and study of the\nScriptures; and so deep was the impression made by his evident\nsincerity and self-devotion, that Autbert, steward of the monastery,\nand a man of noble birth, when every one else hung back, declared that\nhe could not find it in his heart to desert his friend, and was\nresolved to become his companion.\n\nA foretaste of the difficulties that awaited them was experienced at\nthe very outset. No one could possibly be prevailed on to accompany\nthem as an attendant. The abbot himself shrank from interposing his\nauthority, and they were fain to set out alone. Before starting, they\nhad an interview with Louis, and received from him everything they\nwere likely to need for their undertaking, in the shape of church\nvessels, tents, and books. From Harold, however, they met with but\nlittle encouragement, and neither he nor his nobles cared much for\ntheir company.\n\nOn their arrival at Cologne, whence they were to sail up the Rhine to\nHolland, and so to Denmark, Bishop Hadebold bestowed upon them a ship\nwith two cabins. The better accommodation promised in such a vessel\ninduced Harold to share it with Anskar; and the engaging manners of\nthe missionary gradually won his respect, and inspired him with an\ninterest in his undertaking.\n\nOn landing, Anskar fixed his head-quarters at Schleswig, and commenced\nthe foundation of a school, purchasing, or receiving, from Harold,\nDanish boys, whom he tried to train, so as to form the nucleus of a\nnative ministry. Two years thus passed away, and some impression\nseemed to have been made upon the people, when Autbert sickened, and\nwas obliged to return to Corbey, where he died. Meanwhile the baptism\nof Harold, and still more his destruction of the native temples, was\nbitterly resented by his subjects. Before long a rebellion broke out,\nand the king was obliged to fly for refuge to a spot within the\nancient Frisian territory, while Anskar finding it necessary to leave\nSchleswig, was consoled by an unexpected opportunity of commencing a\nsimilar work in Sweden.\n\nIn the year A.D. 829, ambassadors from Sweden presented themselves at\nthe court of Louis, and after arranging the political object of their\nmission, announced that many of their countrymen were favourably\ndisposed towards Christianity. The commerce carried on at this period\nbetween Sweden and the port of Doerstadt, combined with the teaching\nof some Christian captives, whom the Swedes had carried off in their\npiratical excursions, had predisposed not a few towards lending a\nfavourable ear to Christian teachers. The emperor gladly embraced the\nopportunity thus afforded, and summoned Anskar to the palace, who,\nafter an interview, declared his entire willingness to undertake the\nenterprise.\n\nA monk named Gislema was therefore left with Harold, and Anaskar\nhaving found a new companion in Witmar, a brother monk of Corbey, set\nout in the year A.D. 831 with presents from Louis to the King of\nSweden.\n\nBut the voyage was most disastrous. The missionaries had not proceeded\nfar when they were attacked by pirates. A fierce battle ensued, and\ntheir crew, though first victorious, were overpowered in a second\nengagement, and barely escaped to land. The pirates plundered them of\neverything, the presents for the king, their sacred books, and all\ntheir ecclesiastical vestments. In this forlorn and destitute\ncondition they reached Birka, a haven and village on the M\u00e4lar lake,\nnot far from the ancient capital Sigtuna, the residence of rich\nmerchants, and the centre of the northern trade. Here they were\nhospitably welcomed by the king, Biorn \"of the Hill,\" and received\nfull permission to preach and baptize. The nucleus of a church was\nfound already existing in the persons of many Christian captives, who\nhad long been deprived of the consolation of Christian ordinances. The\nwork, therefore, of the missionaries commenced under fair auspices,\nand before long Herigar, the king's counsellor, announced himself a\nconvert, and erected a church on his estate.\n\nA year and a half was thus employed, and then Anskar returned to the\ncourt of Louis with a letter from the King of Sweden, and an account\nof all that had befallen him. Thereupon Louis resolved, without delay,\nto give effect to the ecclesiastical plans of his father, and to make\nHamburg an archiepiscopal see, and the centre of operations for the\nnorthern missions. Accordingly, Anskar was elevated to the\narchiepiscopal dignity, and was consecrated at Ingleheim by Drogo,\nArchbishop of Mayence, and other prelates. At the same time, because\nof the poverty of the diocese, and the dangers to which the mission\nwould be inevitably exposed, the monastery of Thourout in Flanders,\nbetween Bruges and Ypres, was assigned to him as a place of refuge,\nand a source of revenue. Then he was directed to repair to Rome, where\nhe received the pall from Gregory IV., and was regularly authorized to\npreach the Gospel to the nations of the North.\n\nThese arrangements made, Anskar returned from Rome. Ebbo, who had been\nassociated with him in the commission to evangelize the northern\ntribes, deputed his missionary duties to his nephew Gauzbert, who was\nraised to the episcopal dignity, and entrusted with the special care\nof the Swedish mission. Thither, accordingly, Gauzbert set out,\nreceived a hearty welcome from Biorn and his people, and laid the\nfoundation of a church at Sigtuna. Meanwhile Anskar had proceeded to\nHamburg, and, in pursuance of his former plan, bought or redeemed from\nslavery a number of Danish youths, whom he either instructed himself,\nor sent for that purpose to the monastery of Thourout.\n\nBut the times were hardly ripe for successful operations. Three years\nhad barely elapsed, when an enormous army of Northmen, led by Eric,\nking of Jutland, attacked Hamburg, and before relief could arrive,\nsacked and burnt it, together with the church and monastery which\nAnskar had erected with great trouble. He himself had barely time to\nsave the sacred vessels, and, before the sun went down, every external\nmemorial of his mission was reduced to ashes. \"The Lord gave, and the\nLord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,\" was the\nexclamation of the archbishop, as he surveyed the scene. Driven from\nHamburg, he now wandered for a long time over his devastated diocese,\nfollowed by a few of his clergy and scholars, and at length sought\nrefuge at Bremen. But the envious Bishop Leutbert refusing to receive\nhim, he was fain to avail himself of the hospitality of a noble lady\nin the district of Holstein. And, as if this was not enough, he now\nreceived intelligence that, owing to similar risings of Northmen, the\nhopes of the Swedish missions were utterly crushed.\n\nThe pagan party had conspired against Bishop Gauzbert, expelled him\nfrom the country, and murdered his nephew Nithard. But divine\nvengeance did not fail to pursue the conspirators. One of them had\ncarried home some of the property of the missionaries. Before long he\ndied, together with his mother and sister, and his father found his\nown property wasting from day to day. Alarmed at this sudden reverse\nof fortune, he began to consider what God he could have offended, to\nbring all these troubles on his house. Unable to solve the difficulty\nhimself, he had recourse to a soothsayer. The lots were cast, and it\nwas found that none of the native deities bore him any ill will. At\nlength the soothsayer explained the cause. \"It is the God of the\nChristians,\" said he, \"who is the author of thy ruin. There is\nsomething dedicated to Him concealed in thy house, and therefore all\nthese evils have come upon thee, nor canst thou hope to prosper till\nthe sacred thing is restored.\"\n\nAfter vainly trying, for some time, to comprehend what this could\nmean, he suddenly recollected the day when his son had brought home\none of the sacred books from the spoil of the missionaries' dwellings.\nStricken with alarm, he immediately called together the inhabitants of\nthe place, told them all that had occurred, and prayed their advice in\nthe emergency. Every one declined to receive the terrible relic, and\nat last, fearful of further vengeance if he retained it any longer in\nhis house, the man covered it carefully, and then fastened it to a\nstake on the public road, with a notice that any one who wished might\ntake it down, and that for the crime he had unwittingly been guilty of\nagainst the Christians' God he was ready to offer any satisfaction\nthat might be required. One of the native Christians took it down, and\nthe man's terrors were appeased.\n\nAnskar meanwhile was still wandering over his desolated diocese. Even\nthe monastery of Thourout, which Louis had bestowed upon him for the\nvery purpose of being a covert from such storms as these, was closed\nagainst him, having been bestowed upon a layman by Charles the Bald.\nUnder such accumulated misfortunes most men would have sunk, but\nAnskar waited patiently in the hope of some change, and comforted\nhimself with the words addressed to him by Archbishop Ebbo before his\ndeath: \"Be assured, my dear brother, that what we have striven to\naccomplish for the glory of Christ will yet, by God's help, bring\nforth fruit. For it is my firm and settled belief, nay, I know of a\nsurety, that though the work we have undertaken among these nations is\nfor a time subject to obstacles and difficulties on account of our\nsins, yet it will not be lost or perish altogether, but will, by God's\ngrace, thrive and prosper, until the Name of the Lord is made known to\nthe uttermost ends of the earth.\"\n\nBefore long, events occurred which seemed to promise that the clouds\nwould roll away, and a brighter era be initiated. Mindful of the\nconverted chief, Anskar sent to Sigtuna an anchoret named Ardgar, with\ndirections to see how he fared, and to strengthen him against falling\nback into heathenism. Thither Ardgar set out, and was rejoiced to find\nHerigar still remaining faithful to the faith he had embraced. The\nrecollection of the Divine vengeance which had attended the previous\noutbreak, protected the missionary from injury, and the new king who\nhad succeeded Biorn was persuaded by Herigar to permit Ardgar to\npreach the Gospel without fear of molestation.\n\nThat chief was no half-hearted believer, and openly confronted the\nmalice of the pagan party. On one occasion, as they were boasting of\nthe power of their gods, and of the many blessings they had received\nby remaining faithful to their worship, he bade them put the matter to\nan open and decisive proof. \"If there be so much doubt,\" said he,\n\"concerning the superior might of our respective gods, let us see\nwhose power is greatest: whether that of the many whom ye call gods,\nor that of my one omnipotent Lord, Jesus Christ. Lo! the season of\nrain is at hand. Do ye call upon the names of your gods, that the rain\nmay be restrained from falling upon you, and I will call upon the name\nof my Lord, Jesus Christ, that no drop may fall on me; and the god\nthat answereth our prayers, let him be God.\"\n\nThe heathen party agreed, and repairing to a neighbouring field, took\ntheir seats in great numbers on one side, while Herigar, attended only\nby a little child, sat on the other. In a few moments the rain\ndescended in torrents, drenched the heathens to the skin, and swept\naway their tents; while on Herigar and the little child no drop fell,\nand even the ground around them remained dry. \"Ye see,\" he cried,\n\"which is the true God; bid me not, then, desert the faith I have\nadopted, but rather lay aside your errors, and come to a knowledge of\nthe truth.\"\n\nOn another occasion the town of Birka was attacked by a piratical\nexpedition of Danes and Swedes, under the command of a king of Sweden,\nwho had been expelled from his realm. The place was closely invested,\nand there seemed to be no prospect of a successful defence. In their\nalarm, the townspeople offered numerous sacrifices to their gods, and\nwhen all other means failed, collected such treasures as they\npossessed, together with a hundred pounds of silver, and succeeded in\ncoming to terms with the hostile chiefs. But their followers, not\nsatisfied with the amount, prepared to storm the town. Again the gods\nwere consulted, the altars raised, the victims offered, but with\nresults equally unpromising. Herigar now interposed, rebuked the\npeople for their obstinate adherence to the worship of gods that could\nnot give aid in trouble, and when they bade him suggest some device,\nand promised to follow his council, he urged them to make a solemn vow\nof obedience to the Lord of the Christians, assuring them that, if\nthey turned to Him, He at any rate, would not fail them in the hour of\ndanger. The people took his advice, went forth to an open plain, and\nthere solemnly vowed to keep a fast in honour of the God of the\nChristians, if He would rescue them from their enemies.\n\nHelp came in an unexpected fashion. The Swedish king, while the army\nwas clamouring for the signal to attack, suggested that the gods\nshould be consulted by lot, whether it was their will that Birka\nshould be destroyed. \"There are many great and powerful deities\nthere,\" said he; \"there also formerly a church was built, and even now\nthe worship of the Great Christ is observed by many, and He is more\npowerful than any other god. We ought, then, to inquire first whether\nit is the divine will that we attack the place.\" Accordingly the lots\nwere cast, and it was discovered that the auspices were not favourable\nfor the assault; and thus Birka was spared. The arrival, therefore, of\nArdgar was well timed, and he was not only welcomed by Herigar, but\nthe Christians were strengthened in their adherence to the faith by\nhis coming.\n\nNor was it in Sweden only that the prospects of the missionaries\nbrightened. In A.D. 847, Leutbert, bishop of Bremen, died. Anskar's\nown see of Hamburg was now reduced, by the desolating inroads of the\nNorthmen, to four baptismal churches. It was therefore proposed that\nthe see of Bremen should be annexed to the archbishopric of Hamburg,\nand, after the plan was matured, Anskar no longer found himself\nhampered by want of means from devoting all his energies to the wider\nplanting of the faith. At the same time he was enabled to appoint a\npriest over the church at Sleswik, and from Horik, king of Jutland, he\nno longer experienced opposition in preaching the word amongst the\npeople. This encouraged many who had been baptized at Hamburg and\nDoerstadt, but who had subsequently conformed to idolatrous practices,\nto publicly profess their adhesion to the Christian faith, and they\nrejoiced in the opportunity of joining in Christian fellowship. The\ntrade also of Doerstadt prospered by the change; Christian merchants\nflocked thither in greater numbers, and with greater confidence, and\nthus helped forward the work of Anskar and his colleagues.\n\nAt this juncture the hermit Ardgar returned from Sweden. Anskar, more\nthan ever unwilling that the mission there should be allowed to drop,\ntried to prevail on Gauzbert to revisit the scene of his former\nlabours. But the latter, discouraged by his previous failure,\ndeclined, and Anskar finding no one else willing to undertake the work\nonce more girded up his loins, and encouraged by Horik, who gave him\nletters to Olaf king of Sweden, set out for Birka. The time of his\nlanding was unfortunate. The heathen party had been roused by the\nnative priests, and a crusade was proclaimed against the strange\ndoctrines. Suborning a man who pretended to have received a message\nfrom the native deities, the priest announced it to be the will of\nheaven that, if the people wished for new gods, they should admit into\ntheir company the late king Eric, and allow divine honours to be paid\nto him. This wrought up the feelings of the populace to such a pitch,\nthat the retinue of the archbishop pronounced it absolute madness to\npersevere in his undertaking.\n\nBut Anskar was not thus to be thwarted. He invited Olaf to a feast,\nset before him the presents sent by the king of Jutland, and announced\nthe object of his visit. Olaf, on his part, was not indisposed to make\nthe concessions he desired, but as former missionaries had been\nexpelled from the country, he suggested that it would be well to\nsubmit the affair, once for all, to the solemn decision of the sacred\nlots, and consult in an open council the feelings of the people.\nAnskar agreed, and a day was fixed for deciding the question.\n\nFirst, the council of the chiefs was formally asked, and their opinion\nrequested. They craved the casting of the sacred lots. The lots were\naccordingly cast, and the result was declared to be favourable to the\nadmission of the archbishop and his retinue. Then the general assembly\nof the people of Birka was convened, and at the command of the king a\nherald proclaimed aloud the purport of the archbishop's visit. This\nwas the signal for a great tumult, in the midst of which an aged chief\narose, and thus addressed the assembly:\n\n\"Hear me, O king and people. The God whom we are invited to worship is\nnot unknown to us, nor the aid He can render to those that put their\ntrust in Him. Many of us have already proved this by experience, and\nhave felt His assistance in many perils, and especially in the sea.\nWhy, then, reject what we know to be useful and necessary for us? Not\nlong ago some of us went to Doerstadt, and believing that this new\nreligion could profit us much, willingly professed ourselves its\ndisciples. Now the voyage thither is beset with dangers, and pirates\nabound on every shore. Why, then, reject a religion thus brought to\nour very doors? Why not permit the servants of God, whose protecting\naid we have already experienced, to abide amongst us? Listen to my\ncounsel, then, O king and people, and reject not what is plainly for\nour advantage. We see our own deities failing us, and unable to aid us\nin time of danger. Surely it is a good thing to obtain the favour of a\nGod who always can and will aid those that call upon Him.\"\n\nHis words found favour with the people, and it was unanimously\nresolved that the archbishop should be permitted to take up his abode\nin the country, and should not be hindered in disseminating the\nChristian faith. This resolution was announced to Anskar in person by\nthe king, who further conceded a grant of land for building a church,\nand welcomed Erimbert, a colleague of the archbishop, whom he\npresented as the new director of the Swedish mission.\n\nMeanwhile matters had not been so prosperous in Denmark. Eric \"the\nRed,\" though not professedly a Christian, had, as we have seen, aided\nthe archbishop materially in the introduction of Christianity. His\napostasy provoked the inveterate hostility of the Northmen, and the\nsea-kings determined to avenge the insult offered to the national gods.\n\nRallying from all quarters under the banner of Guthrun, nephew of\nEric, they attacked the apostate king near Flensburg, in Jutland. The\nbattle raged for three days, and at its close Eric and Guthrun, and a\nhost of kings and jarls lay dead upon the field; and so tremendous had\nbeen the slaughter, that the entire Viking nobility seemed to have\nbeen utterly exterminated.\n\nThe new king, Eric II., easily persuaded that the recent reverses were\nentirely due to the apostasy of his predecessor, ordered one of\nAnskar's churches to be closed, and forbade all further missionary\noperations. After a while, however, he was induced to change his\npolicy, and Anskar, on his return from Sweden, was reinstated in the\nroyal favour, and received a grant of land for the erection of a\nsecond church at Ripe, in Jutland, over which he placed Rembert, his\nfavourite disciple, charging him to win the hearts of his barbarous\nflock by the sincerity and devotion of his life.\n\nAnskar now returned to Hamburg, and devoted himself to the\nadministration of his diocese. One of the latest acts of his life was\na noble effort to check the infamous practice of kidnapping and\ntrading in slaves. A number of native Christians had been carried off\nby the northern pirates, and reduced to slavery. Effecting their\nescape, they sought refuge in the territory of Northalbingia. Instead\nof sheltering the fugitives, some of the chiefs retained a portion of\nthem as their own slaves, and sold others to heathen, and even\nprofessedly Christian tribes around. News of this reached Anskar, and\nat the risk of his life he sternly rebuked the chiefs and succeeded in\ninducing them to set the captives free, and to ransom as many as\npossible from the bondage into which they had sold them.\n\nThis noble act formed an appropriate conclusion to his life. He was\nnow more than sixty-four years of age, and during more than half that\nperiod had laboured unremittingly in the mission field. His friend and\nbiographer expatiates eloquently on his character, as exhibiting the\nperfect model of ascetic perfection. Even when elevated to the\nepiscopal dignity, he never exempted himself from the rigid discipline\nof the cloister. He wore a haircloth shirt by night as well as by day.\nHe measured out his food and drink by an exact rule. He chanted a\nfixed number of Psalms, alike when he arose in the morning and when he\nretired to rest at night. His charity knew no bounds. Not only did he\nerect a hospital at Bremen for the sick and needy, distribute a tenth\nof his income among the poor, and divide amongst them any presents he\nmight receive, but every five years he tithed his income afresh, that\nhe might be quite sure the poor had their proper share. Whenever he\nwent on a tour of visitation through his diocese, he would never sit\ndown to dinner, without first ordering some of the poor to be brought\nin, and he himself would sometimes wash their feet, and distribute\namongst them bread and meat.\n\nSuch a practical exhibition of Christian love could not fail to\nexercise a gradual influence even over the rough pirates of the North,\nwhich was increased by the many miracles he wrought. But he was not\none to seek distinction of this kind. \"One miracle,\" he once said to a\nfriend, \"I would if worthy, ask the Lord to grant me; and that is,\nthat by His grace, He would make me a good man.\"\n\nHe employed his last days in arranging the affairs of his diocese, and\ncalmly expired on the 3rd of February, A.D. 865.\n\nRelics. At Corbie is preserved an arm of the Saint.\n\n[9] Pertz, \"Mon. Germ.\" vol. ii. p. 757.\n\n[10] Palgrave's \"Normandy and England,\" vol. i. p. 419.\n\n[11] Palgrave's \"Normandy and England,\" vol. i. p. 158.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 4.\n\n S. VERONICA, _Matr. at Rome, 1st cent._\n S. PHILEAS, _B. of Thmuis_, S. PHILOROMUS AND OTHERS, _MM. at\n Alexandria_, A.D. 304.\n S. ABRAHAM, _M. B. of Arbela, in Persia_, A.D. 348.\n S. GELASIUS, _C. at Piacenza, beginning of 5th cent._\n S. ISIDORE _of Pelusium, P. Monk in Egypt, 5th cent._\n S. AVENTINE, _H. of Troyes_, A.D. 538.\n S. AVENTINE, _B. of Chateaudun_, 6th cent.\n S. THEOPHILUS THE PENITENT, _C. at Adana in Cilicia_,\n _circ._ A.D. 538.\n S. LIEPHARD, _B. M. at Honcourt_, _circ._ A.D. 640.\n S. MODAN, _Ab. in Scotland, 7th cent._\n S. ULGIS, _Ab. B. at Lobies, 8th cent._\n B. HRABANUS MAURUS, _Abp. of Mainz_, A.D. 856.\n S. NICHOLAS OF THE STUDIUM, _Ab. C. at Constantinople_, A.D. 868.\n S. PROBATIUS, _P. at Nogent_.\n S. REMBERT, _B. of Hamburg and Bremen_, A.D. 888.\n S. GILBERT OF SEMPRINGHAM, _Ab. in England_, A.D. 1189.\n S. ANDREW CORSINI, _B. C. of Fiesoli_, A.D. 1373.\n S. JEANNE DE VALOIS, _Q. of France_, A.D. 1505.\n S. JOSEPH OF LEONISSA, _C. in Italy_, A.D. 1612.\n S. JOHN DE BRITTO, _S.J., M. at Madura_, A.D. 1693.\n\n\nS. VERONICA.\n\n(1ST CENT.)\n\n [Ferrarius in his Catalogue of the Saints. Some give March 25th as\n the anniversary of the Crucifixion, and as therefore the most\n appropriate day for the commemoration of the act, which has made\n Veronica famous. The festival of S. Veronica with special office,\n found its way into the Ambrosian Missal printed in 1555 and 1560,\n but it was expunged by the judicious S. Charles Borromeo.]\n\nOn the 8th December, 1854, when the Eternal City was crowded with\nbishops, assembled to promulgate the dogma of the Immaculate\nConception, Pius IX., at the expressed and urgent desire of the\nprelates, allowed the sacred relics of the passion of Christ to be\nexhibited in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament at S. Peter's. In the\nmidst, over the altar, between burning tapers, loomed the veil of S.\nVeronica, impressed with the sacred lineaments of the Saviour. None\nbut bishops were permitted to enter the chapel, all others looked\nthrough a grating, and to them, from the depth of the chapel, the\nportrait was wholly undistinguishable. One inferior ecclesiastic\nalone, by especial favour, was suffered to enter, accompanying a\nprelate. This was M. Barbier de Montault, canon of the basilica of\nAnagni; and he took advantage of the opportunity to scrutinize closely\nthe miraculous portrait. He has fortunately communicated to the world\nthe result of his examination. His words are full of interest:--\"The\nHoly Face is enclosed in a frame of silver, partially gilt, and\nsquare, of a severe character and little adorned. The simplicity of\nthe bordering gives prominence to the interior of the picture, which\nis protected by a thin plate of crystal. Unfortunately, a sheet of\nmetal covers the field, and only leaves apparent the figure by\nindicating its outline. By this outline one is led to conjecture\nflowing hair reaching to the shoulders, and a short beard, bifurcated,\nand small. The other features are so vaguely indicated, or so\ncompletely effaced, that it requires the liveliest imagination in the\nworld to perceive traces of eyes or nose. In short, one does not see\nthe material of the substance, because of the useless intervention of\na metal plate, and the place of the impression exhibits only a\nblackish surface, not giving any evidence of human features.\"[12]\n\nThe legend of the origin of this portrait is as follows: A holy woman,\nnamed Bernice, or, as it has been Latinized, Veronica, lived on the\nway to Calvary. As Christ was on the road bearing the cross, He fell\nnear her door, and she, moved with compassion, went to Him, and gently\nwiped the sweat from His face with her veil or napkin. Then the\nimpression of the sacred countenance remained on the veil. Marianus\nScotus, the historian (d.\u00a01086), tells the rest of the story thus:\n\"The emperor Tiberius was afflicted with leprosy. Hearing of the\nmiracles of Our Lord, he sent to Jerusalem for Him. But Christ was\nalready crucified, and had risen and was ascended into heaven. The\nmessengers of Tiberius, however, ascertained that a certain Veronica\npossessed a portrait of Christ, impressed by the Saviour Himself on a\nlinen handkerchief, and preserved by her with reverence. Veronica was\npersuaded by them to come to Rome, and the sight of the sacred image\nrestored the emperor to health. Pilate was then sentenced by him to\ndeath, for having unjustly crucified our Lord.\" It is hardly necessary\nto say that there is no foundation of truth for this addition to the\noriginal story. How far the first part of the story is true it is\nimpossible to decide. It is by no means improbable that a pious woman\nmay have wiped the face of Christ.\n\nMabillon, the learned Benedictine, propounded the theory that each\nearly portrait of Christ was called, in barbarous jargon, a mixture of\nLatin and Greek, _vera icon_, true image; and that later, a fable was\ninvented to account for the introduction of these representations into\nEurope, and the name given to the image was transferred to the person\nwho was supposed to have brought it to the West. This explanation has\nbeen generally adopted. \"By the name of Veronica,\" says Baillet,\n\"nothing more was signified than the true image--_vera icon_ of the\nSaviour painted on a handkerchief or piece of linen called the Holy\nSudarium, because, ordinarily, only the head of the Saviour from\nbefore was represented on it, that is, the face and hair. Nothing\nfurther was meant at Rome, where was to be seen, dating from the 12th\ncentury, in the Church of S. Peter, one of these Veronicas, before\nwhich lamps were kept burning day and night.\"[13]\n\nBut the legend itself seems to be an importation, not a fabrication,\nas Mabillon suggested. For Constantine Porphyrogeneta (d.\u00a0959), in\nwhose reign the sacred Abgarus portrait of Christ was brought to\nConstantinople, relates the following story of _that_ portrait:--\"As\nChrist was on His way to Calvary, bearing His cross, the blood and\nsweat streaming from His brow obscured His eyes. Then taking from one\nof His disciples a piece of linen, He wiped His face, and left thereon\nHis sacred portrait. S. Thomas preserved the towel till after the\nAscension, when he gave the miraculous picture to Thadd\u00e6us, who bore\nit to Edessa. There he lodged with a Jew named Tobias. He began to\nwork miracles in the name of Christ. Abgarus, king of Edessa, hearing\nof his works, sent for him. As Thadd\u00e6us entered the chamber of the\nsick king, he elevated above his head the sacred picture, and at the\nsame time, such a blaze of light shot from his face, that Abgarus\ncould not endure the splendour, and, forgetful of his sickness, leaped\nout of bed. Then he took the linen, covered his head and limbs with\nit, and was forthwith made whole.\"\n\nHow it was that this venerable picture passed into the hands of the\nEmperor of Constantinople we learn from the Arabic historian, El\nMatzin.[14] He says that in the year 331 of Hegira, that is A.D.\n953--which is a mistake for 944--the Greeks besieged the city of\nEdessa, then in the hands of the Saracens, and demanded the surrender\nof the holy picture and the accompanying letters of Abgarus and the\nSaviour, in exchange for the captives they had made. The treasured\nrelics were handed over to the Christians, and were brought to\nByzantium, where they were placed in a befitting shrine in the church\nof the Eternal Wisdom. What became of the picture when Constantinople\nfell into the hands of the Mussulmans is uncertain. The Venetians\nclaimed to have brought it to Rome, and to have presented it to the\nChurch of S. Sylvester. The Genoese, on the other hand, lay claim to\nthe possession of the sacred portrait, and say that it was brought by\nLeonard de Montalto, in 1384, to their city, and by him presented to\nthe Armenian Church of S. Bartholomew, where it is still preserved and\nexhibited once a year.\n\nWe shall briefly notice such other portraits of Christ as claim to be\nauthentic, whether in colour or in writing. Of the former, that said\nto have been painted by S. Luke is the most interesting. The Greek\nmonk Michael, in his life of his master, Theodore of the Studium,\nrelates that S. Luke painted a beautiful likeness of our Saviour. This\nassertion was readily adopted by later writers. Among others, Simeon\nMetaphrastes (fl.\u00a0936) repeats it, and S. Thomas Aquinas (d.\u00a01274)\nrefers to the picture as existing in the Chapel of the Santa Scala, in\nthe Lateran, at Rome.\n\nAnother sacred painting of Christ by S. Luke is in the possession of\nthe Benedictines of Vallombrosa. This portrait is certainly of very\ngreat antiquity, and is in tempora on a panel of cypress wood. The\nfeatures are strongly emphasized, the face long, the eyes large and\nbright, with eyelids drooping, and arched brows.\n\nAnother sacred picture is that given by S. Peter to the Senator\nPudens, which is exhibited on Easter Day, in the monastery of S.\nPraxedes. The story goes that it was sketched by S. Peter for the\ndaughters of Pudens, one evening at supper, on the napkin of Praxedes.\n\nIt will be remembered that when Christ was laid in the tomb, His body\nwas wrapped in fine linen, and a linen napkin was on his face. These\nrelics are said to be preserved at Besan\u00e7on and Turin. The Turin linen\nshows the bloodstained outline of the Saviour's body; that at Besan\u00e7on\nis marked with the ointments. The features are impressed on the\nnapkin, and are of the Byzantine type.\n\nA crucifix, by Nicodemus, is exhibited in the cathedral of Lucca.\nAnother portrait is the Nazar\u00e6um, which is certainly of considerable\nantiquity, and is probably the earliest extant copy of the famous\nEdessa picture. It is in the Latin convent at Nazareth. This picture\nis engraved in Abraham Norow's travels in Palestine. (S. Petersburg,\n1844).\n\nLet us now turn to the literary sketches of the portrait of our Lord\nwhich have descended to us.\n\nS. Jerome, (d. 420), says that in the face and eyes of Christ there\nwas something heavenly, so that from their glory and majesty the\nhidden Godhead flashed forth. S. John of Damascus, (d. about 760), in\nhis letter to the Emperor Theophilus, says, \"Christ was tall and\nstately, had brows uniting over the nose, beautiful eyes, a large\nnose, curled hair, and a black beard. His hair was a gold-brown, like\nwheat, resembling that of his mother, and his head was bowed somewhat\nforward.\"\n\nThe next, and more precise account is that of the apocryphal letter of\nLentulus, (who is supposed to have lived at the time of Christ, and to\nhave been about the person of Pilate, to the Roman senate,) which is\nsaid to have been extracted from the Roman annals by a certain\nEutropius. This first appears in the writings of S. Anselm, (d. 1107).\n\"He is a man of tall stature, comely, having a venerable countenance,\nwhich those beholding must love or fear. His hair is waving and\ncurled, rolling to his shoulders, having a parting in the middle of\nthe head, after the manner of the Nazarenes, a brow smooth and serene,\na face without wrinkle or blemish of any kind, rendered beautiful by a\nmoderate colour. There is no fault to be found with the nose and\nmouth; he has a full and red beard, the colour of his locks, not long,\nbut forked, and eyes bright and changeable.\" Another version of this\nletter adds that the hair was the colour of the hazel-nut, the eyes\ngreyish-blue, and full of light. \"His hands and arms are beautiful. He\nis terrible in reprehension, but mild and full of love in instruction;\ncheerful, but with steadfast earnestness. No one ever saw Him laugh,\nbut often has He been seen to weep. Precise and modest in his speech,\nhe is in all perfect, and the fairest of the sons of men.\"\n\nBut the most precise and complete account is that of Nicephorus\nCallistus, (fl.\u00a01330). His description is as follows:--\"He was\nbeautiful in body, his height seven complete spans, his hair was\nyellowish, not bushy, and at the ends somewhat curled. His eyebrows\nwere black, only a little arched, and without break; his eyes were\nhazel, of that description called bright-eyed, not dim, in no way\nmisformed, not wandering. His nose was prominent, his beard reddish,\nnot profuse, but the hair of his head was abundant, for never had\nrazor or hand of man shorn it. His neck was somewhat bent, so that he\ndid not walk perfectly upright; the colour of his face was a\nyellow-brown, like ripe wheat; his face was not round, nor pointed,\nbut, like his mother's, a little drooping, and slightly blushing. His\nvery countenance indicated a man of intelligence, with manners grave,\ncalm, and removed from anger. In all things, he was like his most pure\nmother.\"\n\nAnd this is the account of S. Mary given by Nicephorus:--\"Mary was in\neverything modest and earnest; she spake little, and then only about\nnecessaries; she was very courteous, and rendered to all honour and\nrespect. She was of middle stature, though some assert her to have\nbeen somewhat taller. She spake to all with an engaging frankness,\nwithout laughing, without embarrassment, and especially without\nrancour. She had a pale tint, light hair, piercing eyes, with\nyellowish olive-coloured pupils. Her brows were arched and black, her\nnose moderately long, her lips fresh, and full of amiability when\nspeaking; her face not round or pointed, but longish; hands and\nfingers fairly long. Finally, she was without pride, simple, and\nwithout guile; she had no insipidity about her, but was unassuming. In\nher dress she was fond of the natural colour; in short, there was in\nall her ways divine grace.\"[15]\n\n\nS. PHILEAS, B. M., AND OTHERS.\n\n(A.D. 304.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authorities:--Authentic Acts by Gregory, a\n contemporary. Mention by S. Jerome in his Treatise on Ecclesiastical\n Writers, c.\u00a078; Ruffinus Hist. Eccl. lib. viii. c.\u00a09; Eusebius, lib.\n viii. c.\u00a09, 10.]\n\nPhileas was a wealthy nobleman of Thmuis, in Egypt, who was elected\nbishop of that city, but in the persecution of Dioclesian was carried\nto Alexandria, before the governor Culcian. In his dungeon he wrote a\nletter to his flock to encourage them, narrating the sufferings\nendured by the martyrs for the true faith. This letter has been\npreserved by Gregory, and in part, by Eusebius. Culcian, who had been\nprefect of Thebais, was then governor of all Egypt, under the tyrant\nMaximius, but he afterwards lost his head, in 313, by order of\nLicinius. The Acts of S. Phileas are scrupulously particular in\ndetailing every question and answer in the examination of the saint.\nThey are too long to be given in their entirety, but extracts from\nthem deserve insertion.\n\nCulcian, the governor, said to him, \"Now, then, art thou sober?\"\nPhileas answered, \"I am always sober.\" Culcian said, \"Sacrifice to the\ngods.\" Phileas answered, \"I will not.\" \"Why not?\" enquired Culcian.\n\"Because it is forbidden by Scripture to offer sacrifice, save to one\nGod.\" \"Then offer a sacrifice to Him.\" \"God loveth not such sacrifices\nas you make,\" answered Phileas. \"What sort of sacrifices then does thy\nGod approve of?\" asked the judge. Phileas replied, \"I offer him a pure\nheart and clean senses, and true words.\" Culcian said, \"But Paul\nsacrificed.\" \"No, he did not,\" answered Phileas. \"Well, then Moses\ndid.\" \"Yes,\" said Phileas, \"the command was to the Jews only to\nsacrifice to God in Jerusalem; now the Jews sin in celebrating their\nsolemn rites elsewhere.\" \"Enough of these empty words; sacrifice,\"\nsaid the magistrate. \"I will not do so, and stain my soul.\" \"Why,\"\nsaid the governor, \"Paul denied God.\" \"He did not,\" answered Phileas.\n\"Wilt thou swear that he did not?\" asked Culcian. \"I will not swear,\"\nanswered the bishop, \"for oaths are forbidden us. It is a matter of\nconscience.\" Culcian said, \"Is it not a matter of conscience for thee\nto take care of thy wife and sons?\" Phileas said, \"Yes, but I have a\nhigher duty to God.\" Culcian exclaimed, \"Hold thy tongue, and\nsacrifice.\" \"I will not sacrifice,\" said the bishop. Culcian asked,\n\"Is Christ God?\" And Phileas replied, \"He is.\" Culcian said, \"How\ncould God be crucified?\" \"For our salvation,\" answered Phileas; \"He\nsuffered for our sakes.\"\n\nThe governor said, \"I might have tortured thee in the city, but I\nspared thee, wishing to shew thee respect.\" \"I thank thee,\" said the\nbishop, \"Go on with thy work.\" \"Dost thou desire to die without\ncause?\" asked Culcian. \"Not without cause; I wish to die for God and\nthe truth.\" The governor said, \"If thou hadst been a poor man I should\nsoon have despatched thee, but seeing thou art rich enough to feed all\nthe province, I have shewn patience, and endeavoured to move thee by\npersuasion.\"\n\nSome lawyers standing by said, \"Phileas sacrificed in the monastery,\"\nfor they had heard something of the Eucharistic mystery, but\nunderstood it not. Phileas said, \"You are right, I did sacrifice, but\nI did not immolate victims.\" Culcian said, \"Thy poor wife is looking\nat thee.\" Phileas replied, \"Jesus Christ calls me to glory, and He can\nalso, if He pleases, call my wife.\"\n\nThe lawyers said to the judge, \"Phileas asks delay.\" Culcian said, \"I\nwill grant it willingly, that he may think over the consequences of\nhis persistency in this course.\" But Phileas cried out, \"I have\nthought well over this, and it is my unchangeable resolution to die\nfor Jesus Christ.\" Then the lawyers, the emperor's lieutenant, the\nother officers of justice, and his relations fell at his feet,\nembracing his knees, and conjuring him to have compassion on his\ndisconsolate family, and not to abandon his children in their tender\nyears. Philoromus, a Christian present, tribune of the soldiers, moved\nwith indignation, cried out, \"Why strive ye to make this brave man\nrenounce his God, do ye not see that contemplating the glory of\nHeaven, he makes no account of earthly things?\" Then with a shout, all\ncried that he must be condemned to die along with Phileas, and to this\nCulcian assented.\n\nAs they were led to execution, the brother of Phileas, who was a\nlawyer, exclaimed, \"Phileas appeals.\" Culcian called Phileas back, and\nasked if it were so. The bishop denied that he had so done. Then the\nprocession resumed its way to the place of execution. And when they\nhad reached the spot, Phileas extended his arms to the east, and\ncried, \"O my best beloved sons, whosoever worship God, watch over your\nhearts, for your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh\nabout, seeking whom he may devour. We have not yet suffered, dearest\nones, but we are about to suffer. Now are we becoming disciples of our\nLord Jesus Christ. Attend to the precepts of Christ. We invoke the\nimmaculate, incomprehensible One, who sitteth above the Cherubim, the\nmaker of all things, who is the beginning and the ending, to whom be\nglory through ages of ages. Amen.\" And when he had thus spoken, the\nexecutioner struck off his head, and that of his companion, Philoromus.\n\n\nS. GELASIUS, BOY, C.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 5TH CENTURY.)\n\n [Commemorated as a semi-double in the Church of Piacenza.\n Authority:--The Offices of the Breviary of Piacenza for this day.]\n\nS. Gelasius was a little boy, child of pious and wealthy parents in\nPlacentia, the modern Piacenza, in Northern Italy. His brother, older\nthan himself, was S. Olympius, who is commemorated on October 12th.\nThe children slept in the same room. One evening Gelasius heard his\nbrother praying, and angels singing, \"Suffer little children to come\nunto Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.\" The child died early,\nin the white innocence of his baptismal robe, and was laid by S.\nMaurus, bishop of Placentia, in the Church of S. Savin, outside the\nwalls. It was afterwards translated to the new Church of S. Savin\nwithin the city, in 1481, by the Bishop Fabricius, together with the\nbodies of SS. Peregrine and Victor.\n\n\nS. ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM, MONK, P.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 449.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Same day in the Greek Church.]\n\nS. Isidore of Pelusium, in Egypt, was a monk from his youth. Suidas\nasserts that he was promoted to the dignity of the priesthood. In the\ntime when the turbulent Theophilus was patriarch of Alexandria,\nIsidore espoused the cause of S. Chrysostom, praised his writings and\ndoctrine, and consequently became an object of hostility to the proud\npatriarch. On the death of Theophilus, S. Cyril, his nephew, succeeded\nhim, and, as has already been related in the life of that saint,\ninherited his uncle's prejudices against the great Chrysostom, and\nafter his death opposed the insertion of his name in the diptychs, or\nlist of persons who were commemorated at the Holy Eucharist. But by\nthe influence of S. Isidore, who earnestly strove to bring councils of\npeace before Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria was induced to\nwithdraw his objections. The letters of S. Isidore are extant.\n\n\nS. AVENTINE OF TROYES, H.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 538.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and that of Usuardus, on Feb.\u00a04th; but in the\n diocese of Troyes, on Feb.\u00a06th, as a semi-double. Authorities:--A\n very ancient life, written in crude style; mention by S. Gregory of\n Tours, and in two extant lives of S. Fidolus.]\n\nS. Aventine was much beloved and respected for his singular virtues by\nS. Camelian, Bishop of Troyes, who made him steward of the possessions\nof the church. He afterwards became the abbot of a monastery at\nTroyes, and spent all the money he could collect in redeeming\ncaptives. During the reign of Thierry, son of Clovis, he purchased of\na band of soldiers, who were leading captives past his door, the boy\nFidolus, whom for his gentleness and piety he learned greatly to love;\nand treating him as a son rather than as a servant, he made of him a\nmonk, and finally, when he himself was old, and Fidolus had grown to\nman's estate, with the consent of the monks, he delivered over into\nhis hands the government of the monastery, and he himself retired into\na lone hermitage in the forest, and spent many years in a cave. When\nhe opened his window, and thrust forth his hand full of crumbs,\nmultitudes of little birds came fluttering up, and perched on his\nfingers, and ate the crumbs. He was ministered to by a monk, who, in\nbringing water from the river, sometimes caught in the pitcher very\nlittle fish. The gentle Aventine invariably returned the small fish to\nthe river, for he would not hurt or destroy any animal, unless it were\nnecessary. One day he trod on a snake and crushed it, so that it lay\nnumb, and as though lifeless. Then he bent over it, and cherished it,\ntill life returned, and it glided away. Once a stag, pursued by\nhunters, took refuge in his cave, and he closed the door on it, and\nhid it, till the hunters had passed further. One stormy night, a bear\ncame roaring to the door of the cell, and strove to beat it in. The\nhermit, in terror, sang the song, \"Thou wilt not leave my soul in\nhell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thy holy one to see corruption!\" and\narmed himself with prayer. Now when the sky grew white with dawn,\nAventine opened his cell, and there lay the bear crouched on the\nthreshold, and it stretched out its paw to him, and licked his feet.\nThen the hermit perceived that there was a splinter of wood in the\npaw, and he said, \"Poor beast, thou wast in pain, and didst seek\nrelief, and I thought that thou wast raging for my life.\" And he took\nthe paw on his lap, drew forth the piece of wood, bathed and bandaged\nthe wound, gave the bear his blessing, and let it depart.\n\nRelics in the parish churches of Creney and S. Aventin and in the\ncathedral at Troyes. In Art he is represented drawing the splinter\nfrom the bear's paw.\n\n\nS. AVENTINE OF CHATEAUDUN, B. C.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrologies. Authorities:--Mention in the life of his\n brother, S. Solemnis, and an ancient metrical French life.]\n\nIn the reign of Clovis there lived a Count John, at Chateaudun, who\nwas married to Agnes, daughter of the Count of Blois. By her he had\nthree sons, Solemnis, Aventine, and John, and a daughter Agnes, who\ndied young.\n\nFlavius, uncle of Agnes of Blois, was bishop of Chartres, and called\nthither Solemnis and Aventine for the purpose of attending to their\neducation. As both showed signs of sanctity, he ordained both, whilst\nyoung; Solemnis was raised to the priesthood, and Aventine was\nappointed archdeacon.\n\nOn the death of Flavius, the clergy and people, with the king's\nconsent, proceeded to elect Solemnis to fill the vacant see; but he,\nknowing their intention, fled, and hid himself in a cave outside the\ncity. When he could not be found, the electors with one consent\nshouted, \"Aventine is worthy!\" that being the customary formulary of\nelection. Thereupon, Aventine, much against his will, was drawn into\nthe cathedral, and ordained priest, and consecrated bishop. Now\nSolemnis, from his place of retreat, heard the shout in the city, and\nknew that a bishop had been chosen. Yet he waited till he saw peasants\nreturning along the road that ran by his retreat, and he overheard\nthem speaking of the consecration of his brother Aventine. So he,\ndeeming all further concealment unnecessary, came forth, and entered\nthe city. Then, at once, a crowd surrounded him, and the roar of a\nthousand voices proclaimed, \"Solemnis is worthy! Solemnis shall be\nbishop!\" And he was drawn to the cathedral, vested in white, a mitre\nplaced on his head, the pastoral staff put into his hands, and the\nbishops of the province there present, proclaimed him. And when this\nwas done, men asked, \"What shall be done with Aventine?\" and he was\nsent to be bishop of Chateaudun, his native town. Then he went his\nway. And as he drew near to the city, there met him a leper, who ran\ntowards him, and stopped, and cried out, \"I am John, thy brother.\" He\nwould have rejoiced to meet his brother, had he not seen that he was\nafflicted with leprosy; for which reason John had retired from the\ncity, and fled from the society of men. Then the bishop ran to him,\nand fell on his neck, and his tears flowed over him, and he kissed\nhim; and the flesh of John came again as the flesh of a little child,\nand he was made perfectly whole.\n\nOf the works of the holy Aventine in his diocese little is known, save\nthat he laboured in season and out of season in the ministry of God,\nand that he lived in a little cell outside the city gates, in the face\nof a rock. After the death of Solemnis, about 509, Aventine governed\nthe whole Chartrain Church, and subscribed the council of Orleans,\n511, as bishop of Chartres. Relics translated in 1853 to the parish\nchurch of S. Madeleine in Chateaudun.\n\n\nS. THEOPHILUS THE PENITENT.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 528.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks on this day. Not by the Westerns, though\n the story is quoted by a great number of Latin writers.\n Authority:--The Greek account by Eutychianus, who pretends to have\n been a disciple of Theophilus, and declares that he relates what he\n had seen with his own eyes, and heard from the mouth of Theophilus\n himself. Metaphrastes embodied the narrative of Eutychianus in his\n great collection of the Lives of the Saints. For a full account of\n this strange story, see my \"Myths of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\nThe following story must be received with caution. It has not received\nthe sanction of the Western Church, and is probably a mere religious\nromance. It was very popular in the middle ages, and was frequently\nrepresented in sculpture and stained glass.\n\nA few years before the Persian invasion, in 538, there lived, in the\ntown of Adana in Cilicia, a priest named Theophilus, treasurer and\narchdeacon. He lived in strict observance of all his religious duties,\nwas famous for his liberality to the poor, his sympathy with the\nafflicted, his eloquence in the pulpit, his private devotion, and\nsevere asceticism. On the decease of the bishop, by popular\nacclamation he was summoned to the episcopal oversight of the diocese,\nbut his deep humility urged him to refuse the office, even when it was\npressed upon him by the metropolitan. A stranger was raised to the\nvacant seat, and the treasurer resumed the course of life he had\npursued for so many years with credit to himself and advantage to the\ndiocese, content in his own mind with having refused the office, which\nmight have aroused his pride, and which certainly would have\ndiminished his opportunities of self-sacrifice. Virtue invariably\narouses the spirit of detraction, and Theophilus, by his refusal of\nthe bishopric, was thrust into public notice, and attracted public\nattention. The consequence was, that the evil-minded originated\nslanders, which circulated widely, produced a revulsion of feeling\ntowards Theophilus, and, what was generally reported, was accepted as\nsubstantially true. These stories reached the ears of the new bishop,\nhe sent for the archdeacon, and, without properly investigating the\ncharges, concluded he was guilty, and deprived him of his offices.\n\nOne would have supposed that the humility which had required the holy\nman to refuse a mitre, would have rendered him callous to the voice of\nslander, and have sustained him under deprivation. But the trial was\ntoo great for his virtue. He brooded over the accusations raised\nagainst him, and the wrongs inflicted upon him, till the whole object\nof his desire became the clearing of his character. He sought every\navailable means of unmasking the calumnies of his malingers, and\nexposing the falsity of the charges raised against him. But he found\nhimself unable to effect his object; one man is powerless against a\nmultitude, and slander is a hydra which, when maimed in one head,\nproduces others in the place of that struck off. Baffled, despairing,\nand without a friend to sustain his cause, the poor clerk sought\nredress in a manner which, a month before, would have filled him with\nhorror. He visited a necromancer, who led him at midnight to a place\nwhere four cross-roads met, and there conjured up Satan, who promised\nto reinstate Theophilus in all his offices, and, what he valued more,\nto completely clear his character. The priest, to obtain these boons,\nsigned away his soul with a pen dipped in his own blood, and abjured\nfor ever Jesus Christ and His spotless Mother.\n\nOn the morrow, the bishop, discovering his error, how we know not,\nsent for Theophilus, and acknowledged publicly that he had been misled\nby false reports, the utter valuelessness of which he was ready\nfrankly to acknowledge; and he asked pardon of the priest, for having\nunjustly deprived him of his office. The populace enthusiastically\nreversed their late opinion of the treasurer, and greeted him as a\nSaint and confessor.\n\nFor some days all went well, and in the excitement of a return to his\nformer occupations, the compact he had made was forgotten. But after a\nwhile, as reason and quietness resumed their sway, the conscience of\nTheophilus gave him no rest. His face lost its colour, his brow was\nseamed with wrinkles, an unutterable horror gleamed out of his\ndeep-set eyes. Hour by hour he prayed, but found no relief. At length\nhe resolved on a solemn fast of forty days. This he accomplished,\npraying nightly in the Church of the Blessed Virgin, till the grey of\nmorning stole in at the little window of the dome, and obscured the\nlamps. On the fortieth night, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, and\nrebuked him for his sin. He implored her pardon and all-prevailing\nintercession, and this she promised him. The following night she\nre-appeared, and assured him that Christ had forgiven him at her\nprayer. With a cry of joy he awoke; and on his breast lay the deed\nwhich had made over his soul to Satan, obtained from the evil one by\nthe mercy of the holy Mother of God.\n\nThe next day was Sunday. He rose, spent some time in acts of\nthanksgiving, and then went to church, where the divine liturgy was\nbeing celebrated. After the reading of the Gospel, he flung himself at\nthe bishop's feet, and requested permission to make his confession in\npublic. Then he related the circumstances of his fall, and showed the\ncontract signed with his blood to the assembled multitude. Having\nfinished his confession, he prostrated himself before the bishop, and\nasked for absolution. The deed was torn and burned before the people.\nHe was reconciled, and received the blessed Sacrament; after which he\nreturned to his house in a fever, and died at the expiration of three\ndays. The story is probably a mere religious romance.\n\n\nS. MODAN, AB.\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [Aberdeen Breviary:--from which almost all that is known of his life\n is gathered.]\n\nS. Modan was first monk, and then abbot of Mailros, in Scotland, and\npreached the faith in Stirling and at Falkirk. When old he retired\namong the mountains of Dumbarton, and there died. His body was kept\ntill the change of religion, with honour, in the church of Rosneath.\n\n\nB. HRABANUS MAURUS, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 856.)\n\n [From his life by Rodolph the priest, monk of Fulda, d.\u00a0865; and\n various writers of a later period.]\n\nRabanus, or Hrabanus Maurus, was one of the most illustrious writers\nof the 9th century. He was born at Mainz, in the year 788. When very\nyoung he was sent to the monastery of Fulda, where he was brought up.\nFrom thence he was sent to Tours, where he studied for some time under\nthe famous Alcuin. He returned afterwards to Germany, into his\nmonastery, where he was entrusted with the government of the novices,\nwas afterwards ordained priest in the year 814, and at last chosen\nabbot of Fulda, in 822. After he had managed this charge twenty years,\nhe voluntarily quitted it, to satisfy the monks, who complained that\nhis studies so engrossed his time that the affairs of the monastery\nwere neglected. He retired to Mount S. Peter, and was shortly after\nchosen archbishop of Mainz or Mayence, in the year 847. He held a\ncouncil in the same year for the reformation of discipline; and died\nin 856.\n\nAs a mystical interpreter to Holy Scripture, his commentaries will\never be read. He was a voluminous writer on various subjects, sacred\nand profane, and was certainly one of the most learned men of his day.\n\n\nS. NICOLAS OF THE STUDIUM, C.\n\n(A. D. 868.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a for this day. Authorities:--Life by a contemporary monk\n in his monastery.]\n\nThis glorious confessor was born in Crete, and was the son of pious\nparents, who educated him from earliest infancy in the fear of God. At\nthe age of ten he was sent to Constantinople, to see his kinsman\nTheophanes. He found him a monk of the order of the Sleepless\nOnes,[16] in the monastery called the Studium. He entered the same\norder, and fulfilled his monastic duties with regularity and devotion.\nHaving set a brilliant example, he was deemed worthy to be invested\nwith the priesthood. Then broke out the furious persecution of the\nIconoclasts, about which a few words must be said in this place.[17]\n\nWhen God was made Man, He was put at once into the most intimate\nrelation with men; and just as it is lawful for any son to have a\nportrait of his father or mother, so did it become lawful and\nreasonable that he should have a picture of that God-Man, who is\ndearer to him than father or mother. The picture served as a constant\nreminder, an evidence for the Incarnation. It is a sermon declaring\nGod to be made Man. But the Arians, who denied the divinity of our\nLord, were most hostile to sacred representations of Christ, and with\nreason, for these pictures were a testimony against them. At first the\nArian attack on the foundation doctrine of the Incarnation was open.\nBut, when the theological statement of that mystery was made so plain\nthat there was no opposing it by counter statement, Arianism adopted\nother tactics, and appeared as Iconoclasm, or war against sacred\npictures. He who disbelieved, or only coldly acquiesced in the\nIncarnation of God, saw that this chief corner-stone of Christianity\ncould only be uprooted by chilling the ardour of Christian affection.\nAnd no better method of chilling that affection could be devised, than\nthe obliteration of representations of Christ, His acts, His passion,\nand of His mother, and His Saints; then there was some prospect of\nreligious acceptance of this dogma sinking into cold intellectual\napprehension, and thence it could be dislodged without difficulty.\nAfter the reconciliation of large congregations of Gnostics and Arians\nwith the Catholic Church, they maintained that icy worship which had\npreceded their separation, they adored God as a Spirit, but actually,\nthough they had ceased to do so formally, overlooked His manhood.\nThese reconciled bodies afforded a fund of passive prejudice and\naversion of small account so long as Catholic princes were on the\nthrone, but which, in the fortune of a soldier, might produce serious\nresults to the Church.\n\nOf such adventurers, the most fortunate was the Emperor Leo III., who,\nfrom the mountains of Isauria, ascended to the throne of the East. He\nwas ignorant of sacred and profane letters; but his education, his\nreason, perhaps his intercourse with Jews and Arabs, had inspired the\nmartial peasant with a hatred of images; and he held it to be the duty\nof a prince to impose on his subjects the dictates of his own\nconscience. In the reformation of religion, his first steps were\nmoderate and cautious; he assembled a great council of senators and\nbishops, and enacted, with their consent, that all the images should\nbe removed from the sanctuary and altar to a proper height in the\nchurches, where they might be visible to the eyes, and inaccessible to\nthe devotion of the people. But it was impossible on either side to\ncheck the rapid though adverse impulses of veneration and abhorrence:\nin their lofty position, the sacred images still edified their\nvotaries, and exasperated their enemies. He was himself provoked by\nresistance and invective; and his own party accused him of an\nimperfect discharge of his duty, and urged for his imitation the\nexample of the Jewish king, who had broken without scruple the brazen\nserpent of the temple. By a second edict, he proscribed the existence,\nas well as the use of sacred pictures; images of Christ, the Blessed\nVirgin, and the Saints, were demolished, or a smooth surface of\nplaster was spread over the walls of the edifice. The sect of the\nIconoclasts was supported by the zeal and despotism of six emperors,\nand this topic involved the East and West in an angry conflict of one\nhundred and twenty years. It was the design of Leo the Isaurian to\npronounce the condemnation of images as an article of faith, and by\nthe authority of a General Council; but the convocation of such an\nassembly was reserved for his son Constantine Copronymus. This council\nwas attended by three hundred and thirty-eight bishops of Europe and\nAnatolia, but not by those of the Western Church, African Church, or\nthat of Palestine. It was, in fact, an assembly of those prelates who\nwere weak enough to assist, fearing condemnation and exile if they did\nnot submit, ambitious enough to follow the caprice of the reigning\nemperor, in hopes of emolument, and also of those who heartily\nconcurred with his semi-Arianism. After a serious deliberation of six\nmonths, the prelates subscribed such a decree as the emperor desired,\ncondemning all visible symbols of Christ,[18] except the Eucharist, as\nblasphemous and heretical; and denouncing veneration for images as the\nidolatry of Paganism. \"As if,\" says a Catholic writer of the time,\n\"there were not this great difference between the Christian image and\nthe heathen idol, that the latter is the thing worshipped, whereas the\nformer is the representation of the person adored.\"\n\nThe first hostilities of Leo had been directed against a lofty Christ\non the vestibule, and above the gate, of the palace, placed there to\nexhibit to all men that the emperors had bowed before the King of\nkings. A ladder had been placed for the assault, but it was shaken by\na crowd of women and zealots, and for their opposing the execution of\nthe mandate, severe and savage reprisals were taken. The execution of\nthe imperial mandates were resisted by frequent tumults in\nConstantinople and the provinces, which were quelled by the military,\nand much blood flowed.\n\nIn the cruel persecution that ensued, the monks, ever the champions of\nthe Incarnate God, suffered most severely. Nicolas of the Studium,\ntogether with S. Theodore, the abbot, or archimandite, of the\nmonastery were called to suffer. Nicolas was scourged with leather\nthongs on the back and limbs, and his arms extended, so that they\nbecame for a time paralysed. His back, which was lashed and bleeding,\nwas tenderly bathed with warm water and healing lotions by S.\nTheodore, his superior, till it was healed. Both were driven into\nexile, and kept for three years in nakedness, and without sufficient\nfood and drink, in a wretched prison. They were beaten again at\nSmyrna, and further imprisoned for twenty-two months, with their feet\nin the stocks. On the death of Leo, the confessors were released, and\nvisited S. Nicephorus at Chalcedon. This took place during the absence\nof Constantine Copronymus, who had undertaken an expedition against\nthe Saracens. During this absence, his kinsman, Artavasdus, assumed\nthe purple, and everywhere the sacred images were triumphantly\nrestored. Constantine flew for refuge to his paternal mountains; but\nhe descended at the head of the bold Isaurians, and his final victory\nplaced the unfortunate Catholics once more at the mercy of a brutal\ntyrant. This monster of crime derived his name Copronymus from having\ndefiled his baptismal font. This incident of his infancy was accepted\nas an augury of his maturity, and he did not belie it. His reign was\none long butchery of whatever was most noble, or holy, or innocent, in\nhis empire. In person the emperor assisted at the execution of his\nvictims, surveyed their agonies, listened to their groans, and\nindulged, without satiating, his appetite for blood: a plate of noses\nwas accepted as a grateful offering, and his domestics were often\nscourged or mutilated by his royal hand. His long reign was distracted\nwith clamour, sedition, conspiracy, mutual hatred, and sanguinary\nrevenge. The hatred borne by this ruffian against monks and images was\nimplacable. Images were torn down and defaced with wanton malice\nthroughout the empire by an officer called the Dragon, sent round for\nthat purpose; all religious communities were dissolved, their\nbuildings were converted into magazines or barracks; the lands,\nmoveables, and cattle, were confiscated, and the monks were mutilated\nin eyes and ears and limbs, with refined cruelty.\n\nUnder this emperor, Theophilus (829), Nicolas and Theodore again\nsuffered persecution. Theodore, and the abbot Theophanes, kinsman of\nNicolas, were mutilated by certain verses being cut upon their brows.\nDuring the persecution, S. Nicolas remained concealed; on the\naccession of the indifferent emperor, Michael III., (842), he emerged\nfrom his hiding place, and was elected archimandite of the Studium,\nthe abbot Theodore being dead. After exercising the government for\nthree years, he resigned it to Sophronius, and retired to Firmopolis,\nthat he might pass the remainder of his days in peace; but it was not\nso to be; after four years he was recalled to the abbacy of the\nStudium, on the death of Sophronius, and was at once involved in\nconflict. For the patriarch Ignatius, having rebuked the C\u00e6sar Bardas\nfor incest, and then excommunicated him, the emperor Michael III., his\nnephew, was persuaded to exile Ignatius, and to intrude Photius into\nthe Patriarchal see. The abbot Nicolas refused to communicate with the\nintruder, and was consequently driven from his monastery, and a monk,\nAchillas, was appointed in his room. Nicolas was pursued from one\nretreat to another by the hostility of the intruded patriarch, and\nafter many wanderings, rested in the Crimea. Upon the death of Bardas\nand Michael, Bardas having been murdered by his nephew Michael, and\nMichael by his successor, Basil I., (867), the patriarch Ignatius was\nrecalled, and the patriarch persuaded Nicolas to return to his\ngovernment of the Studium, where he died the following year.\n\n\nS. REMBERT, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 888.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology; this being the day of his consecration to the\n Archbishopric of Bremen and Hamburg. But in some German\n Martyrologies, on June 11th, the day of his death. Authority:--his\n life written by a coeval author or authors].\n\nThis saint was born at Thourout, in Flanders, where was a monastic\ncell, that had been given by King Louis the Pious to S. Anskar. As\nAnskar was at Thourout one day, he noticed some boys going to church,\nand amongst them was one who, by his gravity, pleased him; and when\nthe boy entered the church, he crossed himself, and behaved with so\ngreat reverence, that the archbishop went to him, and asked his name.\nHe told him that he was called Rembert. Then S. Anskar took him and\nplaced him in the little monastery, and bade that he should be well\ninstructed. In after years, the apostle of Sweden called Rembert to\nassist him in his mission; and he loved his young friend greatly, and\nprayed to God for three days incessantly that He would grant to\nRembert to accomplish the work that he, Anskar, had begun, and to make\nthem companions together in the Heavenly Zion. After Anskar died, in\n865, S. Rembert was unanimously chosen Archbishop of Hamburg and\nBremen, and he superintended all the churches of Sweden, Denmark, and\nLower Germany. He also began a mission to the Wends and Sclavonic race\nof Mecklenburg and Brandenburg, which was attended with considerable\nsuccess. He sold the sacred ornaments of the Church to redeem captives\nfrom the Northmen. On one occasion he saw a party of these marauders\npass, dragging after them a poor girl, who raised her shackled hands\ntowards the bishop, and began to chant one of David's psalms. Then S.\nRembert leaped off his horse, and ran to the chief, and offered him\nthe horse if he would release the captive Christian maiden. And this\nhe did, well pleased to obtain so valuable a horse. S. Rembert died on\nJune 11th, in the year 888.\n\n\nS. GILBERT OF SEMPRINGHAM, AB.\n\n(A.D. 1189.)\n\n [Roman, Anglican, Belgian, Benedictine, and Cistercian\n Martyrologies. Authority:--his life, by a contemporary, published by\n Bollandus.]\n\nThis S. Gilbert, of whom Henricus Chrysostomus, a Cistercian\nchronicler, speaks as \"a disciple of Bernard the mellifluous, a man of\napostolical zeal, of most severe and rigid life, in purity\nconspicuous, illustrious for his gift of prophecy, and the mirific\nperformer of stupendous miracles,\" was born about the year A.D. 1083,\nnear the close of the reign of William the Conqueror. From an\napparently contemporary pedigree he seems to have been related on the\nmother's side to that monarch, who may have rewarded the services of\nhis father, \"a bold and skilful warrior,\" with the hand of one of his\nrelations, in addition to the manor of Sempringham, where Gilbert\nfirst saw the light. His mother is said to have received, shortly\nbefore his birth, a miraculous presage of the future greatness of her\nchild, a greatness, however, of which few external tokens would seem\nto have manifested themselves during his childhood; since one of his\nbiographers relates that as a child he was so dull and spiritless as\nto provoke the contempt and ill-usage of even the servants of his\nfather's household. Driven by this maltreatment from his home and\ncountry, or more probably sent from home by the care of his parents,\nwho discerned in him a greater aptitude for the cloister than for the\ncamp, he passed some years in Gaul in the peaceful study of letters\nand philosophy. His childish education completed, he returned to\nEngland, and took up his abode with one of his father's dependents.\nHere he fell in love with the daughter of his host, and gave the first\nproof of his vocation to the counsels of perfection; for finding his\npassion increase daily in strength, and fearing lest he should be\novercome by it, he fortified his soul by prayer and fasting; and then\nseeking the company of his beloved, he so wrought upon her by his\nexhortations and entreaties, that he prevailed upon her to join him in\na vow of perpetual chastity, and she was one of the first who\nafterwards became nuns under his rule.\n\nHe now took to keeping a school, and gathered together a number of\nchildren of both sexes, to be instructed in the rudiments of religion,\nand especially taught them to live an orderly and pious life in the\nworld, without as yet leading them forward to the higher life of the\ncloister; and these afterwards became the nucleus (primiti\u00e6 plant\u00e6) of\nhis order.\n\nDuring this time he seems to have lived in the family of the then\nBishop of Lincoln, and to have been admitted by him to the minor\norders of the ministry; for the next thing related of him is that\nbeing presented by his father to the united benefices of Sempringham\nand Torrington he most willingly accepted the charge, and devoted the\nwhole revenue of his livings to charitable purposes. Such was the\nfervour of his devotion at this time, that it is related that having\none day invited one of his companions to join him in his prayers, the\nyouth was so fatigued by the length of the office, and the punctilious\ncare with which Gilbert genuflected whenever the holy names of God and\nof Christ occurred, that he swore he would never pray with him again.\n\nAfter a while he was ordained priest by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln,\nwho held him in such high esteem that he made him his confessor, and\nwould have appointed him Archdeacon; but this Gilbert resolutely\ndeclined saying, \"that he knew not of a shorter road to perdition.\"\n\nPersevering in his resolve to give his all to the poor, he now for the\nfirst time formally constituted his religious order, by assembling a\nnumber of poor girls, amongst them the object of his youthful\nattachment, whom he made cloistered nuns at Sempringham, and\nmaintained them at his own cost. He next founded a monastery for male\nreligious, to whom he entrusted all the more responsible affairs of\nthe order, providing both nuns and monks with a habit \"expressive of\nhumility.\"\n\nTo this time of his life we must probably refer his miraculous escape\nfrom death by fire. The story is that a great fire having broken out\neither in his own house, or in the buildings immediately contiguous,\nGilbert remained sitting abstractedly in his window seat, praying and\nsinging psalms; the fire devoured all before it until it reached the\nspot in which he sat; there its progress was arrested, and the flames\ndied away on every side, leaving the saint and his seat unharmed.\n\nHis order continued to expand, many religious flocked to him, and\ngifts of manors and farms pouring in from all quarters, many\nmonasteries arose under his rule.\n\nThe charge of his Order now became so onerous that he is said to have\nattended the general chapter of the order at Citeaux, in the year\n1140, for the purpose of formally resigning his authority. To this,\nhowever, his brother abbots refused their consent, and Gilbert\nreturned to his labours, which he was to relinquish only with his life.\n\nA peculiar interest attaches to this chapter, from the circumstance\nrelated by the same writer,[19] who tells us of Gilbert's presence\nthere, that the Pope Eugenius[20] was present and took part in the\nproceedings, \"not, however, presiding as with apostolical authority,\nbut in brotherly love taking his seat among the assembled abbots, as\none of themselves.\"\n\nReturned to Sempringham, Gilbert resumed his life of prayer and\nmortification, observing the fasts of the Church with such rigidity\nthat from Septuagesima to Easter, and throughout Advent, he not only\nabstained from flesh-meat, but even a morsel of fish never passed his\nlips. He practised also great austerity with regard to sleep, hardly\nallowing himself to lie down for months together.\n\nHis unwearied devotion and severe asceticism so forwarded his growth\nin grace that his influence over the religious under his authority\nbecame almost unbounded; with such prudence and persuasiveness was he\nendued, that he allayed without difficulty a serious disturbance which\narose in the order from a spirit of insubordination that had crept in\namong the lay brethren. Overcome by his skilful reasonings and loving\nexhortations, the greater number returned to their obedience,\n\"whereas,\" the chronicler adds, \"those who held out and refused to do\nso, all perished miserably.\" His holiness and his acceptance with God\nwere also attested by many miracles and wonders. Being at one time\nafflicted with a very severe fever, a friend came to condole with him;\nthe saint enquired whether he had ever experienced the sensations of a\nfever; finding that he had not, Gilbert asked him whether he would be\nwilling to take the fever from which he himself was suffering, if he\nmight be thereby cured. The friend assented, and returning home, was\nthe next morning seized with the fever, whereas the saint arose\nentirely free from it. Another time, a man suffering from gout was\ncured by simply wearing Gilbert's list slippers; and another man, sick\nof a fever, was healed by drinking out of his cup.\n\nOvercome at length by the infirmities of advancing age, he resigned\nthe charge of Sempringham to one of his disciples, Roger by name; but\nhe seems still to have retained his authority, as it is mentioned that\nsome time after this, he gave shelter to S. Thomas \u00e0 Becket in one of\nhis houses when that prelate, worsted in his contest with Henry II.,\nwas wandering about the kingdom in search of means to escape to the\ncontinent. He also supplied the archbishop with money during his\nexile, thereby drawing upon himself the displeasure of Henry, who,\nhowever,--such was Gilbert's popularity in the kingdom,--found it\nexpedient to refrain from any proceedings against him.\n\nAt last, in the year 1189, and the 106th of Gilbert's age, his death\ndrew near, and the man of God, full of years, and not less full of\ngrace, prepared to render up his account with joy. He announced to his\ndisciples his approaching departure, and on the evening of Christmas\nDay he was fortified with the last sacraments of the Church. The\nremaining time which God vouchsafed him on earth he devoted to the\nedification of others, and during this time many prelates, and men of\nvarious degrees, resorted to him in order to be consoled by his\nblessing, and instructed by his discourse. The night before the day on\nwhich he died \"an immense globe of fire, and an appearance as of many\ncandles\" were seen to hover in the air over the church of Sempringham,\nin which his tomb was prepared. Three times the appearance descended\nfrom above, rising again twice towards heaven; the third time it\npenetrated the roof of the church, and descended to the floor. Then\nthe brethren and the nuns knew that the time was at hand when their\nabbot must indeed leave them.\n\nAnd so, on the next day, the 3rd of February, he departed this life,\namid the sighs and lamentations of all, leaving behind him of\nreligious men about 700, and of sisters in religion 1500; all serving\nGod night and day without ceasing.\n\nHe was interred within the church at Sempringham, his tomb being\nplaced between the two choirs, the monks on the one side, and the nuns\nat the other, so that the religious might offer their prayers at his\nsepulchre, and continually bearing in mind his holy life and happy\ndeath, might both be incited to diligence in prayer and good works,\nand also might profit by his intercessions for them.\n\nNot long after his death, a certain canon of that order saw in a\nvision a brother not long since deceased, who, among other things,\ntold him of S. Gilbert: \"he is not amongst us, a different place\npossesses him; for from that place to which he departed (from the\nworld) he has been translated to the choir of the virgins.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. GILBERT,\n Prior of Sempringham. From a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin. Feb. 4.]\n\nThe veneration in which he was held may be seen in the eulogium of\nWilliam of Newbury:--\n\n\"Nor must we in silence pass over the venerable Gilbert, a man\naltogether admirable, and of singular skill in the guardianship of\nwomen; from whom also the order of Sempringham took its beginning, and\nits rapid advancement. He, as it is said, from his very youth, by no\nmeans contented with being in the way of salvation himself, but\nkindled with a zeal for gaining souls for Christ, began eagerly to\nrival the weaker sex in the imitating of God, deriving his pious\nboldness from the consciousness of his own chastity, and his\nconfidence in heavenly grace.\n\n\"Yet, fearing lest he should fail in his enterprise, he first sought\nthe advice of the holy Bernard, and being instructed and encouraged by\nhim, he commenced his work, and proceeding with great prudence and\ncaution, he was mightily carried forward, both in the abundant\nmultitude of persons gathered together for the service of Almighty\nGod, and in the acquisition of temporal things; 'seeking first,' as it\nis written, 'the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all necessary\nthings were added to him.'\n\n\"At last he organized a not ignoble monastery of two servants and\neight handmaids of God, which also he replenished with numerous\nsocieties, and, according to the wisdom given him, furnished it with\nregular rules. And truly the gift of instructing the servants of God,\ndivinely imparted to him, abounded especially in the care of women;\nindeed, in my judgment, he bears the palm in this respect amongst all\nwhom we know to have devoted themselves to the instruction of female\nreligious; moreover, having some years before been loaded with\nspiritual gains, the worn-out bridesman of the heavenly Bridegroom now\ndeparted to the Lord. Further, the multitude of his sons and daughters\nin religion still remains, and his seed is mighty upon earth, and his\ngeneration shall be blessed for ever.\"\n\nThe Order was peculiarly constituted, the men being Augustinian\nCanons, and the women following the rule of S. Benedict.\n\n\nS. ANDREW CORSINI, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 1373.)\n\n [S. Andrew died Jan. 6th; he was formally canonized by Urban VIII.,\n in 1629, and his festival was transferred to Feb.\u00a04th.\n Authorities:--Two lives, one by a disciple, the other by Friar Peter\n Andrew Castagna, written a hundred years after his death.]\n\nNicolas, a member of the illustrious Florentine house of Corsini,\nlived with his pious wife, Peregrina, for some time without children,\nwhich was to them a great grief, and they besought God to give them\nthat blessing which He had hitherto withheld. Their prayer was heard,\nand on November 30th, 1302, a son was born to them, who received at\nthe font the name of Andrew, because he was born on the festival of\nthat apostle. His parents, who regarded him as the child of prayer,\nhad already, before his birth, dedicated him to the Lord, and sought,\nin his childhood, to inspire him with devotion and morality. But\nAndrew was possessed of a vehement, independent spirit, which brooked\nno restraint, and he grew up to cause them bitter sorrow by his\ndisorderly life. Nevertheless father and mother prayed on, hoping\nagainst hope. The wild youth passed for being one among the most\ndissolute young men of the city, and was acknowledged as the worst of\na bad set, utterly godless and abandoned. But his parents prayed on.\nThe mother cast herself before a figure of the Queen of Heaven, and,\nin the bitterness of her anguish of soul, cried, \"Oh, Mother of my\nSaviour! Thou knowest how the soul of my child, for whom thy Son bled,\nis sinking to destruction. Thou knowest, Holy One! how, in his\nearliest youth, I dedicated my child to thee, and trusted him to thy\nprotection, how I have done all that earthly mother can do to keep him\nclean and unspotted from the world! And now, pity me, weeping over my\nguilty son, thou, whose tears flowed for thy innocent Son! Thou, who\nart so mighty, entreat thy divine Son, that mine may be moved to true\nand broken-hearted repentance.\"\n\nThus praying, and with streaming eyes, Andrew lit upon her one day, as\nhe was going forth to the commission of some new work of evil. He\nstood still and looked at her, and a feeling of compunction stirred\nhis heart. Then, turning her reddened eyes towards him, she said, \"I\ncannot doubt it; thou art the wolf whom I saw in a dream.\"\n\n\"What mean you, mother?\" asked the young man.\n\nShe answered: \"Before thou wast born, my child, I dreamt that I\nbrought forth a wolf which rushed into a church, and was there\ntransformed into a lamb. Thy father and I, on account of this dream,\nplaced thee under the protection of the Mother of God. My son, thou\nart not ours, thou belongest not to the world, but only to the service\nof God. Oh, would to heaven, that as the first part of my dream has\nbeen fulfilled, the second part might find its accomplishment also!\"\n\nAndrew covered his face, and fell at his mother's feet, and sobbed\nforth: \"Oh, good, pious mother! the wolf shall indeed become a lamb.\nThou didst dedicate me to God, and to Him will I, also, devote myself.\nPray, pray for me, mother, that I may obtain pardon for all my\ngrievous offences.\"\n\nNext day Andrew sought the Church of the Carmelites, and kneeling\nbefore an image of the Holy Virgin, wept bitterly over his past life,\nwhich now appeared to him in all its bare deformity. And he felt so\npowerfully called by the grace of God, that he resolved at once to\ntake refuge from his evil companions and associations, in the\ncloister. He, therefore, sought the convent door that same hour, and\nasked to be admitted as a novice. He was received, and spent his\nnovitiate in constant battle with his passions, and in trampling out\nthe memory of the past, by not suffering his mind for a moment to\nrepose on the thoughts of the evil he had done, save only for the\npurpose of stirring up compunction, and abasing himself in profound\nhumility. After having been received into the Order, he became a model\nof self-restraint and earnestness, so that in the year 1328, at the\nage of twenty-six, he was ordained priest. He was shortly after\nappointed to preach in Florence; and his fervour and love for sinners\nproduced very astonishing fruit, in moving many who had lived in sin\nto turn in sorrow to the cross, and renounce their evil ways. Andrew\nwas next sent to Paris, there to prosecute his studies, and was there\ninvested with the degree of doctor; and after he had completed his\nstudies with Cardinal Corsini, his uncle, at Avignon, he returned to\nFlorence, where he was elected prior of his cloister. His renown as a\npreacher of righteousness prevailed again, and his sermons produced\nsuch an effect, that he was regarded as the apostle of the land.\n\nAfter the death of the bishop of Fiesole, the chapter elected Andrew\nCorsini to be his successor. But when the news of his election reached\nhim, he fled away, and hid himself in a Carthusian monastery. He was\nsought for long in every direction, without result, and the chapter,\ndespairing of finding him, were proceeding with the election of\nanother, in his room, when a child cried out \"He who is to be our\nbishop is praying in the Carthusian monastery.\" He was there sought,\nand Andrew recognising in this the will of God, yielded, and, in 1360,\nwas consecrated bishop of Fiesole.\n\nAs prelate, he maintained the same discipline over himself, and never\nabandoned the penance he had imposed on himself for his youthful sins,\nof reciting daily the Seven Penitential Psalms, of sleeping on a\nfaggot of vine twigs, and of never speaking without necessity. But\nhowever severe he was in his dealing with himself, nothing could\nexceed the tenderness and love with which he sought out and dealt with\nthe greatest sinners in his diocese. And this love which overflowed\nfrom his heart rendered him peculiarly successful in reconciling\nenemies. Knowing this, Urban V. sent him to Bologna to appease a\ndisturbance which had broken out between the nobles and the people,\nand he achieved this mission with signal success. In his 71st year, as\nhe was singing midnight mass on Christmas Eve he felt great\nexhaustion, which was followed by a fever, from which he died on\nJan.\u00a06th, 1373.\n\nRelics, in the Carmelite Church at Florence.\n\nIn Art he appears between a wolf and a lamb.\n\n\nS. JOAN OF VALOIS, Q.\n\n(A.D. 1505.)\n\n [French Martyrology. The process of her canonization began under\n Clement XII., and was completed by Pius VI. in 1775; but she was\n venerated at Bourges from the time of her death.]\n\nBefore Louis the son of Charles VII, ascended the throne of France,\nhis wife, Charlotte of Savoy, bore him a daughter, called Anne of\nFrance. When he succeeded his father, with the title of Louis XI., he\ndesired greatly to become the father of a son, and when his wife\nbecame pregnant in the third year after his coronation, his hopes were\nat the highest. When, however, she gave birth to a daughter, his\ndisgust manifested itself in bitter antipathy towards the child, who\nwas baptized Jeanne, or Joan. When she was eight days old, she was\nbetrothed, May 19th, 1464, according to the custom of the time, to\nLouis, son of the Duke of Orleans and Mary of Cleaves, and sent to the\nhouse of her father and mother-in-law. At the expiration of four\nyears, she was ordered to appear before her father at Plessis-le-Tours,\nwhere she was received by her mother with love, but when she was\nbrought before her father, Louis turned from her with contempt,\nsaying, \"Bah! I did not think she was so ugly;\" and he thrust her\naway. She was in fact somewhat deformed, and plain in face. It will be\nremembered that Sir Walter Scott has introduced her into his novel of\nQuentin Durward, taking, however, considerable liberties with her\nhistory. To such an extent did the spite of the king manifest itself,\nthat when he saw how devout his daughter was, and that in her\nloneliness, she found comfort in the House of God, he forbade her\nfrequenting churches and even the castle chapel.\n\nWhen Joan was six years old, a son was born to Louis XI., and this was\nto her a day of good fortune, for her brother became her friend and\nprotector; and because she was now once more permitted to frequent the\nchurches. Louis XI. then visited Paris, to thank God for the birth of\nhis son. Joan was in the splendid retinue which on this occasion\nentered the cathedral church of Notre Dame. She cast herself before an\nimage of Our Lady, and taking her gold crown from her head, besought\nthe holy Virgin to be her protector. Then a voice made itself heard in\nher soul, \"My daughter, thou shalt found an Order in mine honour!\"\n\nThe dislike of Louis XI. for Joan increased every day: the Countess of\nLini\u00e8res was allowed to treat her with gross contempt; and the king,\nonce so far forgot himself as to rush into her room sword in hand, and\nthreaten to kill her. The Count of Lini\u00e8res threw himself between the\nking and his daughter, and saved her life, but could not prevent her\nreceiving a wound, the scar of which never disappeared. The king\nretired in shame, and for a while gave her greater liberty.\n\nIn her twelfth year Joan was married, against her will, to Duke Louis\nof Orleans; however she fulfilled her duties, as wife, to the best of\nher ability. But her husband, who had married her for political\nreasons, made no scruple of treating her with coldness and contempt;\ndeserting her almost entirely, that he might spend his time amidst the\npleasures of the court, scornfully remarking that there was no risk to\nhis honour in leaving his young bride unprotected, as her diminutive\nstature and plain face would be her defence.\n\nLouis XI. died in August, 1483, and his son succeeded him, as Charles\nVIII., under the regency of his elder sister Anne, who was married to\nPeter of Bourbon. The husband of Joan, thinking that the regency ought\nto have been entrusted to him, endeavoured to stir up an insurrection;\nbut was unsuccessful; and knowing that his life was threatened, fled\nto Duke Francis II. of Brittany, the bitter foe of France, and entered\ninto league with him against Charles VIII. War broke out, and Joan\nstood as an angel of peace and reconciliation between the contending\nparties. Twice she obtained pardon for her captured and imprisoned\nhusband, and as often he returned to his perfidy,--once against his\nsovereign, and once against his wife.\n\nAfter the death of Charles VIII., on April 7th, 1498, the Duke of\nOrleans ascended the throne, as Louis XII. He at once obtained a\ndivorce from Pope Alexander VI., by taking an oath that his marriage\nwith Joan was not complete. Joan offered no opposition, rejoicing to\nsee herself at liberty; and her husband at once concluded another\nmarriage with Anne of Brittany, the widow of the young king. As some\nrecompence to his divorced wife, Louis XII. gave her the Duchy of\nBerry, besides Pontoise, and other townships. She resided at Bourges,\nwhere she spent her time in the exercise of charity, to which she\ndevoted her large revenues.\n\nIn 1500, she founded the order of the Annunciation, for women. S. Joan\ntook the habit herself in 1504, but died on the 4th of February, 1505;\nand was buried at Bourges. Her body was torn from its resting place,\nin 1562, and burned by the Calvinists.\n\n\nS. JOSEPH OF LEONISSA, C.\n\n(A.D. 1612.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology Authority:--The Acts of his Beatification, which\n took place in 1737, and those of his canonization in 1746.]\n\nThis Saint was born at Leonissa, in the States of the Church, in 1556.\nHe entered the Capuchin Order, and laboured at the redemption of\nChristian slaves. He died of cancer, at the age of fifty-eight. As the\ndoctors desired to perform a painful operation on him, to remove the\ncancer, they ordered him to be bound, but he placed his crucifix\nbefore him saying, \"this is the firmest of all bonds; it will hold me\nimmoveable. Cut deep, I shall not flinch.\"\n\n\nB. JOHN DE BRITTO, M., S.J.\n\n(A.D. 1693.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Beatified on August 21st, 1853. The following\n account is epitomised from his life in \"Pictures of Christian\n Heroism.\"]\n\nJohn de Britto was born at Lisbon, March 1st, 1647; he was the son of\nDon Salvador de Britto Peregra and Beatrix his wife, both of whom were\nof noble birth. His father dying when he was only four years old, he\nwas committed by his mother to the care of the Jesuits; and under them\ngrew up full of the grace of God.\n\nAt the age of nine he was sent to court in the capacity of page to Don\nPedro, the youngest son of the king, and probable heir to the throne\nof Portugal. During the six years he spent at court, he persevered in\nthe pious habits he had formed under his mother's roof, and in the\nJesuit school, frequently retiring for private prayer, and attending\nmass daily.\n\nBy this exemplary course of life he incurred the hatred of his fellow\npages; for his rigid rule of life was a check upon their profligacy.\nThey ridiculed his piety, and heaped upon him persecution, not only by\nwords, but also by blows. He bore their ill-treatment with great\npatience; but it produced an illness which brought him into hourly\ndanger of death. At the very moment of his agony his patron, S.\nFrancis Xavier, at the earnest prayer of his mother, restored his\nhealth. She had from his birth dedicated her son to the apostle of\nIndia, and she now vowed that if her child were to recover, he should\nwear the Jesuit habit for the whole year in honour of his deliverer.\nWhen, therefore, he appeared at court again after his recovery, it was\nin a little black robe, with a chaplet of the Blessed Virgin hanging\nby his side; and in this garb he served the Prince, and attended the\nJesuit college of S. Antony of Padua. The people stopped in the\nstreets to see him pass; not on account of the strangeness of such a\ndress on a child, but to mark his holy and edifying demeanour. When\nthe term of his vow had expired, he put off the dress, but with the\nintention to assume it one day for ever. Notwithstanding his infirm\nhealth, he had long resolved to leave the world, and lead an apostolic\nlife as a Jesuit, and at the age of fifteen he carried this resolution\ninto effect. He applied for admission into the society to the\nfather-provincial, Michael Tinsco, by whom he was placed in the\nnovitiate at Lisbon. The Prince, Don Pedro, opposed his resolution,\nbut the mother rejoiced that her son should possess a vocation for the\nCompany of Jesus.\n\nIt was on the 17th of December, 1662, that John de Britto entered the\nnovitiate at Lisbon. A novena had just commenced in preparation for\nChristmas. At its close each postulant had to present the Infant Jesus\nwith a petition, according to his wants. De Britto wrote his petition\nwith the others. It was that he might be sent as a missionary to\nJapan, there to live and labour, and at length obtain the crown of\nmartyrdom. After two years he took the three vows of poverty,\nchastity, and obedience, having passed through the novitiate a very\nmodel of holiness.\n\nOn leaving the novitiate at Lisbon, he went to Evora for two years,\nand thence to Coimbra, to study literature and philosophy. He then\nremoved to Lisbon to teach grammar; and while thus employed, his\nthirst to go out as a missionary received an additional impulse from\nthe visit of Father Balthazar da Costa, who had just returned from\nMadura to find recruits. To him he stated the wish of his heart, and\nhe promised to plead his cause at Rome; the consequence of which was\nthat a few months afterwards orders were received by the\nfather-provincial to despatch John de Britto, along with several other\nyoung missionaries, in the first ship which should sail for Madura.\n\nJohn returned hearty thanks to God for the favour, but his mother was\ndistracted at the thought of losing her child. She appealed to the\nprovincial, to her son himself, to the papal nuncio, and to the king,\nbut without effect; and at length, fearing to offend God by persisting\nin her opposition, she offered him up as the dearest sacrifice she\ncould render. His departure was fixed for the 25th of March, 1674. The\nnight before, he paid a visit to his mother; but to save her the pang\nof parting, he forebore to tell her that it was the last. He carefully\navoided any thing which might interfere with his object; and\ntherefore, instead of joining the other missionaries, when, with a\ngreat crowd of people, they attended church on the banks of the Tagus,\nhe embarked secretly, and only appeared when all danger of being\ndelayed was over. He was ordained priest just before leaving.\n\nDuring the voyage he won the favour of the captain, and took advantage\nof it to exercise his ministry with the utmost freedom. He had to\npreach every Sunday, taught the catechism to the ignorant and the\nchildren on board, and continually engaged the passengers and sailors\nin exercises of devotion.\n\nScarcely had the father set foot on shore, than he ran to embrace the\nbrethren of the college. Having then paid a visit to the Blessed\nSacrament, he prostrated himself at the tomb of S. Francis Xavier,\nthus gathering fresh ardour for his apostolic course. At Goa he\ncommenced the austere life of the Madura missionaries,--which consists\nin neither eating flesh-meat nor fish, in sleeping on the ground, and\nwalking bare-foot,--that he might be ready for his apostolate when his\nsummons should arrive. In April, 1674, orders arrived from the\nfather-provincial that he should set sail for Malabar, with Father\nEmmanuel Rodriguez and some other companions.\n\nThe mission of Madura, to which Father de Britto was called, comprised\na tract of country two hundred leagues long by eighty broad. It\npresented the most arduous field of labour for the missionary, on\naccount of its extent, the denseness of the population, the climate\nand nature of the country, and the wild beasts with which it is\ninfested.\n\nThe inhabitants generally are very intelligent; they have made great\nprogress in many sciences, and their Brahmins are perfectly able to\nsustain an argument in defence of their religion. To holiness,\ndevotion, energy, and courage, the essential qualities of an apostle,\nthe Indian missionary must add the advantages of a logical mind and a\nready wit. But perhaps the opposition of the Brahmins is less to be\nfeared by the missionary than the popular veneration for caste.\n\nThe first missionaries in India, not possessing caste, found it\nimpossible to obtain a hearing. With all their holiness, earnestness,\nand zeal, no one would listen to a pariah. It was reserved for Father\nRobert de' Nobili to surmount, or at least show how to surmount, this\nobstacle. He was a Roman Jesuit, nephew of Cardinal Bellarmine, and\ngrand-nephew of Pope Marcellus II. After carefully studying the\npeculiarities of the Brahmins, their laws, traditions, customs, and\ntenets, he saw the rock on which his predecessors had split. He\ndetermined to lay aside whatever should denote his European\nextraction, and adopt the dress and mode of life of some class of the\nnatives possessing caste. First he appeared as a rajah, then as a\nsecular Brahmin, with a long flowing robe and a silk shoulder-knot;\nbut without success. He then discovered that, over and above caste, a\nmortified exterior is required to influence the Indians. He appeared,\ntherefore, partly in the dress of the Samasks, or Brahmins of Penance;\nand in this he was completely successful. This class is in the highest\nrepute among the natives; they are regarded as the masters of the law,\nand their word is final. They are distinguished by their ascetic life,\nand their renunciation of the pleasures of the world. They live on a\nlittle boiled rice, which they receive only once a day, at sunset. In\nthis character Father de' Nobili converted a vast number of Brahmins.\n\nFather de Britto approved the principle of his great predecessor, but\nsomewhat varied his practice. He adopted the dress of the Pandarists,\na sect in very great estimation on account of their ascetism; they are\nnot held in equal honour with the Samasks, but they mix more with the\nvarious sects, and their garb therefore affords greater opportunities\nof intercourse with the natives. The reader then must imagine our\nblessed martyr for the future not in his own black habit, but in the\nlong yellow wrapping of the Pandarist.\n\nThe Pandarists wear no other garment than a piece of yellow cloth\nenveloping the whole figure. This dress guards them from the dangerous\nrays of the tropical sun, to which they are exposed the whole day.\nThey sometimes wear a cap, an addition absolutely necessary to the\nEuropean who would avoid a stroke of the sun; but they walk barefoot,\nexcept on occasions of ceremony, and in crossing the burning sands of\nthe country, when they adopt a sandal of a peculiar construction. It\nis not fastened by a strap, but attached to the foot by means of a\nwooden peg between two toes. This clog is of little value for purposes\nof travelling, as it produces violent swellings of the legs and feet;\nbut it is useful in crossing the deserts. The Pandarists allow the\nbeard to grow, which is a mark of distinction in India, and carry a\nstaff as a symbol of authority. Their diet is of the plainest kind,\nand entirely vegetable; animal life being held too sacred among them\nfor the purposes of food, and therefore of course interdicted to all\nwho would adopt their mode of life.\n\nThis rigorous rule might have discouraged souls less ardent than John\nde Britto; but to him no sacrifice, no painfulness, seemed too great\nin his Master's service; and he cheerfully entered upon it, in spite\nof his feeble health and European constitution for the love he bore to\nJesus Christ, and his yearning for the salvation of the idolators.\n\nFather de Britto set sail from Goa for the coast of Malabar, and\nlanded at Ignapatam; then through Tanjore, where he was detained\nnearly a year by illness, he passed on to Ambalgata. In the college at\nthis station Father de Britto, after a retreat of a month, took his\nmonastic vows, and received his appointment to the Madura mission.\n\nHe set out immediately with one other missionary and a few neophytes\nfor Colli. They suffered excessive hardships on the route: they had to\nclimb steep and rugged mountains, to pass through forests dense with\nbriers and brushwood, and swarming with reptiles, to cross swollen\nrivers and pathless deserts; but at length they reached Colli, on the\nfestival of S. Ignatius.\n\nThere he found the plague raging, and he made it the means of\nconverting very many to the faith by his intrepidity in relieving the\nsufferers. After the pestilence had ceased, the conversions increased\nso rapidly, that it became necessary to divide the northern and\nsouthern district of the mission, and the latter was committed to\nFather de Britto.\n\nHis plan was to send on before him two or more catechists to get the\nwork ready; so that when he arrived himself, he might proceed without\nloss of time. On arriving, he assembled the Christians and\ncatechumens, and preached a sermon; then he visited the sick and\ndying, and baptized the infants of Christian parents; after which he\nentered the tribunal of penance, in which he sat often for twelve\nconsecutive hours, for the whole neighbourhood flocked, and made their\nconfessions to him. He preached on all Sundays and holidays,\ncatechized the children, and passed from house to house to warn bad\nChristians, or to resolve the doubts of inquiring idolators. In the\nevenings he assembled the whole congregation to recite the rosary of\nthe Blessed Virgin, and in this way he made a vast number of converts;\nand when he had stayed long enough in one place for the requirements\nof the people, he passed on to some other station.\n\nIn his dress of a Pandarist, De Britto always obtained a ready\nhearing, and hence perhaps the great success of his preaching. But in\nall these labours he was obliged, by the universal prejudice against\nthe pariahs, to direct his endeavours mainly towards the conversion of\nthe upper classes. To his great sorrow, he found that even as a\nPandarist he could not openly make proselytes among that caste without\nexposing his religion to universal contempt. He therefore was\ncompelled to recognise their distinctions in society for the present,\nin order to establish Christianity on the broader basis ultimately.\nBut, notwithstanding, he took care to advance the cause of the\npariahs, or lowest and most despised caste, by showing to the converts\nthe universality of the Gospel of Christ; and secretly he effected many\nconversions among the pariahs themselves. But the caste-prejudices of\nthe natives were so strong, that he found it impossible to overcome\nthem; and he did not consider them incompatible with the most sincere\nacceptance of Christianity. As the Apostles had for a time consented\nto circumcision, the more effectually to recommend the new faith,--so\nthe Indian missionaries judged it right to waive for awhile, in the\ninfant state of Christianity in India, their objection to the social\ndistinctions between man and man.\n\nIn addition to the natural obstacle from caste, and the ability of the\nBrahmins, which the Indian missionary has to encounter, the saint had\nto labour at a time when the whole country was convulsed with civil\nwar. Hordes of savage Indians from the interior traversed the country;\nfire and the sword destroyed whole villages; and the inhabitants,\nbeing unable to take vengeance on the real aggressors, the tide of\npopular fury set in against the Christians. Thus it was that in many\ncases prosperous missions had to be given up, and the trembling\nChristians fled to celebrate the rites of religion in secret places.\nSolitary chapels rose up in the depths of the forest, or by the lone\nriverside, and thither the faithful repaired with their beloved\npastor. But here they were exposed to a danger from which they had\nbeen free in the cities. The fury of the inundations rendered their\nretreats exceedingly perilous. An instance of this occurred near the\nriver Corolam, where the Christians, who had been driven from Ginghi,\nerected a chapel. De Britto was praying in the chapel with sixteen of\nhis flock, when the cry was raised that the building was surrounded\nwith water. They tried to dam the water out, but unsuccessfully; and\nwere compelled to construct a raft out of the beams of the roof, and\nupon that they floated to a wood at a little distance, situated on an\neminence. There they intended to remain till the flood subsided; but\nthey had no food; and even their place of security threatened to fail\nthem, for the waters ran with terrible rapidity, and almost covered\nthe hill; so one of the Christians, at the risk of his life, swam back\nto the chapel, and succeeded in obtaining a little rice; this, along\nwith some bitter herbs, which they procured with difficulty, was all\ntheir sustenance during the three days they were encompassed by the\nfloods. But this was not all; they were attacked by a number of\nserpents, which, driven out of their holes by the water, sought the\nsame place of safety. But throughout his missionary career, the\nblessed De Britto enjoyed that power over venomous beasts which our\nSaviour promised to His followers, and the band of Christians were\nunhurt. Power over serpents gives its possessor an unbounded influence\nwith the Indians; and this terrible situation of the little band of\nChristians, being perfectly well understood by the idolaters, procured\nfor De Britto a wonderful reputation. When the waters subsided, the\nChristians returned to their chapel, and found it almost swept away;\nbut the foundations remained, and they set to work with such vigour,\nthat in a short time the walls were raised again, and the chapel was\nready for the Christmas solemnity. Father de Britto, with streaming\neyes, thanked God for their escape, and besought him to look down with\npity upon the struggling society, and prosper the cause of Christ in\nhis hands.\n\nIn consequence of the wonderful success of De Britto, his superiors\nwould have made him rector of Ambalucata. This preferment he evaded;\nbut he accepted the post of superior of both districts of the mission.\nHis journeys now became longer and more arduous. He travelled on foot,\nand was detained neither by the heat of the sun nor by the floods in\nthe rainy seasons. Rocky mountains, sandy plains, dense forests, broad\nand rapid rivers were traversed. At Madura, as he was preparing 200\ncatechumens for baptism, a band of armed men rushed upon him and took\nhim prisoner. They struck him with their fists and with sticks, and\nkicked him, and threw him into a dungeon with his hands tied behind\nhis back. But God suffered them not to hurt him; and after trying to\nterrify him with threats of death, they at length let him go.\n\nJourneying northward, he made a stay at Marava of three months, in the\nyear 1686, during which he baptized more than 2000 idolaters; but not\nwithstanding his success he was anxious to get on, in consequence of\nthe accounts which reached him of the ripeness of the natives for\nChristianity still farther north. This anxiety was the cause of a long\nand painful imprisonment.\n\nAt Mangalam the idolaters laid wait for the missionary, and seized him\nas he was entering the gates of the city. They bound him hand and foot\nwith iron chains, and conducted him immediately to the presence of\nGeneral Conmara, the first minister of state of the King of Marava.\nThis man had an implacable hatred of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The\nfather was first accused of being a magician; but he meekly answered\nthat he was under no guidance of the spirit of darkness, but that he\npreached the law of the true God, the Maker of heaven and earth. The\njudge then addressed the two catechists and other churchmen who were\ntaken with him:\n\n\"And you,\" he said, \"what do you say?\"\n\n\"We say the same,\" they replied.\n\nFor which answer they were all condemned to be scourged. And so\ncruelly were they scourged, that some of them died from the effects.\nThe tyrant then ordered the others to be confined in dungeons, and\nloaded with irons. Afterwards he tried to shake the constancy of De\nBritto, believing that if he could gain over the leader the rest would\nfollow. After heaping upon him insults and reproaches, he desired him\nto sprinkle his forehead with ashes consecrated to the idols, as that\nwould have been tantamount to an acknowledgement of their divinity;\nthe saint of course refused, and the judge in a fury exclaimed that he\nwould have him torn limb from limb.\n\nHe was then beaten again, and taken back to his dungeon, laden with\nirons, and tied to a pillar.\n\nOn the fourth day, the persecutors tried a new kind of torture, common\nenough in that country. The sufferer is taken to the bank of a river,\nand a cord is fastened to his feet; his hands are tied behind his\nback, and he is then allowed to fall into the water; then an\nexecutioner jumps upon his back, and with his whole weight presses the\npoor victim to the bottom, where he is kept till he is almost dead;\nnext he is dragged out gasping for breath, and before he has recovered\nis cast in again; and so on, at the pleasure of his executioners,\nalways being dragged out before life is extinct. It is a torture\nenough to overcome the staunchest courage. Up to this moment all the\ncompanions of the blessed father had remained stedfast; but now one of\nthem, unhappily, entreated the executioners to let him loose. The\nwretched man saved his life at the expense of his faith.\n\nAfter enduring farther hardships for some days, the father and his\nfellow-sufferers were brought into the judgment-hall, where all sorts\nof instruments had been laid out to terrify their minds,--axes,\nscourges, torches, pincers, knives, and all the horrible apparatus of\ntorture. The sight of these things, however, inspired them with fresh\ncourage, and a more vehement desire for martyrdom; and as the\nspectacle had only been produced to impress their minds, they were led\nback again, the better rather than the worse for what they had seen.\nBut the next day an order came for the execution; and they were taken\nto Paganari to be tortured and put to death. The executioners began\nwith Valentine, a catechist; whom they led full of wounds and with one\nof his eyes forced out, to De Britto, and taunted the father with\nbeing the cause of the poor man's sufferings.\n\n\"He is a happy man,\" said Father de Britto; \"when will you do the like\nfor me?\"\n\nAmazed at fortitude such as this, the executioners perceived that\nwhile the father lived they could effect nothing by tormenting the\ndisciples; and leaving Valentine alone, they cast themselves upon\nFather de Britto. Valentine's sufferings had been very great, but they\nhad reserved a special torture for the blessed father. Hard by was a\nflag of pumice-stone, which the sun had heated up to blister-heat;\nafter beating the missionary violently, they stripped off his clothes\nand laid him down upon this burning stone; eight of the executioners\nthen jumped upon his body, so as to press the sharp and heated points\ninto his back, already raw with the scourges; and then they took him\nby the feet and shoulders, and rubbed him up and down till his back\nwas entirely excoriated. In this miserable plight he was left to\nscorch in the sun; but a charitable idolater dragged him into the\nshade; and a storm coming on, his murder was deferred till the\nfollowing day, and he was thrown back into his dungeon, more dead than\nalive. Valentine's eye was miraculously cured by the blessed father.\n\nThe most ignominious death which a criminal can die in that country is\nby impalement; and the idolaters determined to stamp Christianity in\nIndia with infamy by subjecting its ministers to this punishment. The\nnext morning Father de Britto and his companions were marshalled for\nthe execution; in front marched a detachment of armed men; then\nfollowed the man of God in irons, with his eyes raised to heaven and\nhis face beaming with joy; last came the executioners and an immense\ncrowd of people. But Almighty God had yet work for him to do, and\nsuspended the blow as it was about to fall. A messenger arrived from\ncourt, bearing an order to General Conmara to come immediately to the\ncapital with all his forces, as an insurrection had broken out against\nthe government. At this news the crowd dispersed, the soldiers made\nready to march, and the officers of justice retraced their steps with\ntheir prisoner. But they revenged themselves upon him for their\ndisappointment by ill-usage of every kind. At last, after three weeks,\nhe was ordered up to Ramanadabouram, the capital, to see the prince.\n\nOn his arrival, he was to his astonishment received with favour by\nPrince Ranganadeven. He made the missionary sit by his side, and\nexplain the principal doctrines, and practices of the Christian\nreligion. The prince having listened, said, \"I grant you your liberty,\nand your companions may go also: worship your God and preach His law;\nbut do not preach it in my country. It is an excellent law; but it\nforbids stealing and polygamy, so it will not suit my subjects. If you\ndare to disobey me, depend upon it I will cut off your head.\" Thus De\nBritto obtained his liberty; and as he thought it best to obey the\nprince's injunctions, he left Marava.\n\nWhen Father Rodriguez, Provincial of Malabar, heard of the liberation\nof De Britto, he summoned him to the pearl-fishery coast, to regain\nhis strength after their labours. He obeyed, though he would rather\nhave continued in the mission while any strength remained to him. But\nhis journey to the coast had been ordered by God. Father Francis\nPaolo, who was returning to Europe in his capacity of procurator of\nMalabar, had been shipwrecked; and Father de Britto was sent home in\nhis place. He left the fishery in 1687; and after a voyage of ten\nmonths he reached Lisbon in September, 1688, having been absent\nfourteen years and a half.\n\nOn the news of his arrival, the whole city rose to greet him, for the\nfame of his sanctity and heroism had reached Portugal long before. The\nking, whose page he had been, the infanta Isabella Louisa, the\nministers of state and the grandees, the people and the religious\norders, all showed him a thousand marks of respect and honour.\n\nHe maintained in Portugal the same mortified habits which he had\nformed in India, wore the same dress, used the same food, and slept on\nthe bare ground. He set about the work upon which he had been sent\nhome with great diligence; and in the college of the Jesuits which he\nvisited, he awoke an extraordinary enthusiasm among the young men;\neven old priests were seized with the same fervour. Of the volunteers,\nFather de Britto selected six, and to that number he added several who\nhad been missionaries, but were now occupying chairs in different\nuniversities, and whom he wanted to argue with the Brahmins.\n\nHaving once selected his band, he commenced instructing them in the\ndetails of their work; and when all things were ready, and he had\nobtained larger funds for the support of this increase to his mission,\nfrom the king, they set sail for India in 1690; but not without great\nopposition; for the King of Portugal would have retained him at home,\nfirst to superintend the education of his son, and then to promote him\nto a bishopric--both of which _persecutions_, however, as he called\nthem, he happily surmounted. They started with a favourable wind, and\nthe voyage was at first prosperous; but presently they were detained\nby a calm, when their provisions became tainted, and a fever broke\nout. The holy father fell ill, and two of his missionaries died. De\nBritto, writing home, gave a horrible account of that voyage, and the\nmiseries they endured from the sickness of the crew, the stench of the\nvessel, the heat and cold, the contrary winds, the incessant fatigues\nwhich they all had to suffer. In his great humility he attributed them\nall to his own sins.\n\nOn their arrival at Goa, his return was celebrated by the whole\ncollege of Santa F\u00e9 and the Christians there with rejoicings. After a\nshort stay, he passed on to see the Provincial at the pearl fishery,\nwith whom he held a council on the plan of his future campaign. In\nconsequence of the maturity of judgment, which the father displayed on\nthis occasion, he was nominated Visitor of the mission, and\nimmediately after Easter he set out for Madura on his new charge. Then\nhe visited in succession all the stations, encouraged the\nmissionaries, confirmed the faithful, and converted a great number of\nidolaters to the faith of Christ. But his chief longings were in the\ndirection of Marava, where he hoped to find that palm and crown of\nmartyrdom which five years before had fallen from his grasp. Thither\naccordingly he bent his steps.\n\nThe kings of Marava and Madura were still at war; and all the\nsufferings which he had formerly experienced under the same\ncircumstances awaited him now upon his second arrival. Soldiers were\nravaging the country, and he and his flock were compelled to skulk\nabout in the woods. It is difficult to realize the sufferings which\nthe holy father endured for several months with so much joy and\nresignation. It was his zeal for the salvation of sinners, and the\nnumerous conversions with which God accredited his mission, that\nsupported him under all. We should scarcely be able to credit the\nfact, if it had not been asserted on oath by one of the catechists in\nthe process of Beatification; that, in the short space of ten days the\nblessed father administered Baptism with his own hand to twelve\nthousand idolaters; and more than once his right hand fell powerless\nthrough fatigue.\n\nHe established his head quarters in the principality of Mouni, on the\nborders of Marava. In order to obtain for the Maravians a proper place\nfor celebrating the holy mysteries, he chose a thick forest not far\nfrom Mouni, and there constructed three chapels, to which catechists\nwere attached for the instruction of converts in Christian doctrine;\nand at night the holy father came to administer the Sacraments. In a\nshort time he gained to the faith a vast number of heathen. And\nAlmighty God deigned to confirm the faith of these converts by the\nmost extraordinary miracles. By the mere touch of the father, devils\nwere cast out and the sick cured. The same power was possessed even by\nthe catechists and neophytes. They read the Gospel over the sick, and\nmade the sign of the Cross, and God restored them to health.\n\nThe report of these wonderful cures reached the ears of Prince\nTeriadeven, the real heir to the throne of Marava, now in the\npossession of Prince Ranganadeven the usurper, a young man who had\nbefore shown some signs of favour towards Christianity. Being taken\nill, he sent to the blessed father to come and heal him. The father\ndid not go at once himself, but sent one of his catechists, to\ninstruct the prince in the elements of Christian doctrine, and exhort\nhim to put his whole trust in Jesus Christ, as at once the Saviour of\nsoul and body. The catechist went and read the Gospel to him, made him\nrepeat the Apostles' Creed, and that instant the sickness left him.\n\nAwed by the sudden miracle of which he had been the subject, the\nprince no longer delayed his resolution, but expressed his readiness\nat once to be baptized. He sent to the father and desired to be made a\nChristian, and was the more confirmed in his desire when he had\nwitnessed on the feast of Epiphany a large assembly of the faithful,\nand the holy sacrament of Baptism conferred upon two hundred\ncatechumens. But the missionary, who knew him to be possessed of five\nwives, replied that he could not conscientiously grant him so great a\nfavour until he had put away all save one, with the firm resolution of\nadhering to her alone for the remainder of his life. The noble Indian\nupon the spot sent for his wives, selected the first of the five, who\nherself wished to be a Christian, and informed the others of the\nresolution he had taken in consequence of his miraculous cure by the\nholy missionary. Stupefied at this announcement, they assailed the\nprince, now with tears and caresses, then with threats and reproaches;\nbut nothing could change his resolution; and they went away\ntransported with fury against Father de Britto, whom they looked upon\nas the author of their calamity.\n\nTeriadeven received baptism solemnly with two hundred of his court.\nThis was in the beginning of 1693. Immediately after the ceremony he\nreturned to Mouni, where a great multitude awaited baptism. The joy of\nthe Church was raised to its highest pitch by these glorious\nconversions, and by the prospect of greater still, when suddenly there\nburst out the most terrible persecution that had yet fallen upon them.\nIt confounded in its fury the whole of that infant society, and tore\nfrom them their sole support, the holy father, to whom they owed their\nbirth unto Jesus Christ, and whose hour of martyrdom had at length\narrived.\n\nIn every one of the four wives put away by Prince Teriadeven, Father\nde Britto had raised up an enemy, who would be satisfied with no\nsacrifice short of his life. But among them all the youngest, who\nhappened to be the usurper's niece, was the most furious. In a\ntransport of rage she ran to her uncle and told him of the outrage she\nhad suffered from the European. Then she appealed to the Brahmins, who\nhated him too bitterly to remain deaf to her cries. They had long\nnourished their thirst for revenge, and now they saw an opportunity of\nslaking it. A consultation was held as to the best course to be\npursued, and it was decided that they should go in a body to the king,\nand make a formal complaint against Father de Britto. They selected\nPomparanam to be their spokesman, an old man, and very spiteful, who\npronounced a set speech on the occasion.\n\nThe king saw perfectly well through the motives of the Brahmins in\nthus taking up the woman's cause; but as the honour of his own family\nwas concerned in the person of his niece, he acceded to their request.\nHe ordered the Christians to be fined, and their houses to be burnt.\nThe father had foreseen the storm that was gathering, and had warned\nhis flock of the danger, but they all refused to fly. They determined\nto stand by their dear master, upon whom they knew the great fury of\nthe persecution would fall, and if God required it, die with him. The\nking despatched four companies of soldiers to seize the missionary.\nThree of them advanced to the chapels which he had built in the woods,\nwhere they arrested the catechists who were in charge of them. The\nfourth hastened to Mouni, and there they found the holy father. It was\nthe morning of the 8th of January, and he was offering, as was his\nwont, the Holy Sacrifice, when God revealed to him what was coming;\nand after Mass he addressed the people, and said that those who had\nnot courage to give up their lives in testimony to the faith of Jesus\nChrist, had better depart at once and hide themselves. He pronounced\nthese words in so decided and significant a manner, that they all\nperceived he had received some definite intelligence, and, seized with\na sudden panic, they all dispersed except one Brahmin, a convert, and\ntwo children, who preferred remaining with him. In the evening,\nwarning came of the approach of a troop of mounted soldiery. He knew\ntheir errand, and raising his eyes towards heaven, he offered up his\nlife as a sacrifice to God, and went forth to meet them. They seized\nhim violently, and led him off with his three companions.\n\nIn a neighbouring village, there was being celebrated at that time a\ngrand festival to one of their gods. Thither on their arrival they\ndrew the Christian victims, and harnessed them to the triumphal car of\nthe idol, and exposed them to the jeers of the multitude. Next day\nthey were taken to the royal city of Ramanadabouram, and there the\nsaint was incarcerated in a filthy hovel, and with him the three\ncatechists who had been arrested in the forest chapels. The holy\nfather embraced them, and exhorted them to continue firm to the end.\nThe heroism of the two children is especially recorded. They animated\neach other to suffer for Jesus Christ.\n\nThe imprisonment lasted for several days. Teriadeven only heard of\ntheir captivity when it was too late to avert it; but he gave orders\nthat they should be treated with kindness till the king's wishes\nshould be known. Those orders, however, were not attended to, and the\nbrutal jailors amused themselves with the sufferings of the martyrs,\nand fed them with food which the soldiers rejected.\n\nAt last the prisoners were brought before the chief minister of state.\nA small crucifix had been found upon De Britto, and the judge asked\nhim what that image represented. \"It is the image of my God,\" said the\nfather, \"who being immortal and impassible in his own nature, was made\nman, and died upon a cross to rescue us from the slavery of the\ndevil.\" At these words the impious wretch threw it down upon the\nground in contempt, and stamped upon it with his feet. The holy man,\nalthough chained and bound, fell upon his knees, and crawling with\ndifficulty to the crucifix, pressed it to his breast, and watered it\nwith tears, in reparation of the insult. There was a great crowd of\nspectators present, who regarded this action as a contempt of court,\nand loudly demanded sentence. But the judge, not knowing what to say,\nordered the confessors back to prison, and there they remained for a\nmonth.\n\nPrince Teriadeven boldly pleaded their cause before the king, in face\nof the personal danger he incurred by his advocacy of the Christians.\nRanganadeven, in a rage, ordered him at once to adore the gods. The\nprince refused, and said he would rather die than again offer the\nworship to idols which was due only to Jesus Christ. The tyrant\nanswered that he would soon show which religion was the most powerful,\nand forthwith gave orders to the magicians to prepare a certain\nincantation considered infallible in its operation, to cause the death\nof the missionary. The incantation failed, to the shame of the king,\nand the discomfiture of his priests; and Father de Britto was sent\nfor, and asked whether the failure of the sorcerers was owing to the\nenchanted book, meaning the Breviary, which he was still allowed to\nretain in his possession. The missionary replied that that book was\ndevoted to the praise of God, and to nothing so hateful as sorcery.\nThe tyrant ordered the book to be hung round his neck, and the\nexecutioners to shoot at him in the market-place: \"And we shall see,\"\nsaid he \"whether your God can deliver you.\" He was led away, and the\nsoldiers were taking aim, when Teriadeven broke through their ranks,\nand ordered them to desist. They obeyed, knowing him to be the true\nowner of the crown; and as he was very popular, the tyrant feared a\nrevolt if he should persist in the execution. De Britto's death was\naccordingly again deferred; and the tyrant ordered him to be sent to\nOureiadeven, his brother, who lived at Orejour, a distance of two\ndays' journey from the court, with instructions that he should be put\nto death on his arrival.\n\nThe father rejoiced when he heard whither he was going, for he knew\nthat it was to die; but he wept at leaving his dear companions; they\nseparated, never more to meet again in this world. He had to travel\nbarefoot, tightly bound, and surrounded by guards, who hurried him\nover rocks and briers, through sand and brushwood. The blood gushed\nfrom the wounds he had received in prison, and from his torn and\nblistered feet; but instead of receiving pity from these wretches,\nthey heaped abuse upon him. On his journey, the Christians assembled\nto see him pass, and receive his blessing.\n\nHe arrived at Orejour on the last day of January, and was immediately\ntaken before Oureiadeven, the king's brother. This prince laboured\nunder an incurable leprosy. Having heard of the missionary's gift of\nmiracles, he doubted not that he would gladly purchase his life by\nexerting it for his cure. The father replied, that it appertained to\nGod alone to cure disease; all that he could do was to apply the\nremedies, and entreat Almighty God to bless them; and he added, that\nif the prince desired to be made whole of his bodily disease, he must\nfirst heal the sickness of his soul, by accepting the true faith. When\nthe prince saw that nothing would move the holy man, he turned to one\nof his suite named Margharittei, and bade him cut off his head upon\nthe spot. Margharittei answered, that he was a Christian himself, and\nnothing would induce him to imbrue his hands in innocent blood. Then\nthe prince's own wife rushed in, and threatened her husband with the\njudgments of heaven if he dared to execute the sentence of the king.\nMoved by these remonstrances, he ordered the servant of God to be\ncarried back to his dungeon.\n\nAs soon as this got abroad, the Brahmins, fearing that their prey\nmight escape their hands, went to the governor of the town, who was a\nbitter enemy of the Christians, and represented the case to him.\nMourougapapoullei, for that was his name, instantly demanded an\naudience of the prince, and in the strongest terms reproached him for\nnot obeying the commands of the king. The cowardly prince yielded\nthrough fear of the king's displeasure, and granted the governor leave\nto execute the sentence of death. It was on the morning of the 4th of\nFebruary, being Ash-Wednesday, that the servant of God was apprised of\nhis final sentence. At the joyful news, his countenance lighted up; he\nfell on his knees, and returned thanks to God. Then rising up, he said\nto the executioners, \"I am ready.\" He walked to the place of execution\nwithout restraint, and with his Breviary hanging from his neck, his\neyes fixed on heaven, and his steps so rapid that his guards were\ncompelled to restrain him. Along the road a multitude of the faithful\nwere waiting to see him pass.\n\nThe spot which had been selected for the martyrdom was a little hill\nby the bank of the river, not far from the city. On arriving there he\nwas allowed by the guards to retire for a short time to pray. The\nexecutioner who at that moment came up, seeing the servant of God\nabsorbed in prayer, was afraid to disturb him. More than a quarter of\nan hour had elapsed, when the son of the prince ran up and reprimanded\nthe executioner for his delay in executing the sentence. Then the holy\nman approached the side of the river, and, after embracing the\nexecutioner, knelt down, and holding out his head, said, \"I am ready;\ndo as you are commanded.\" The executioner drew his scymitar, and\nraising his arm, was about to give the fatal blow, when he perceived\nthe martyr's reliquary hanging by a cord from his neck. Taking it for\ngranted that it was some charm which would ward off the stroke, he had\nfirst to remove it; but he durst not take it away with his hand, lest\nhe should be bewitched. He therefore severed the string with the\nscymitar, and made a frightful gash on the breast and shoulder. The\nholy martyr offered to God the first fruits of his sacrifice; and then\nthe executioner, no longer fearing any amulet to turn the edge of his\nweapon, raised the scymitar and hewed off his head.\n\nThis glorious triumph of the faith of Jesus Christ took place at\nMarava, on the 4th of February, 1693.\n\nAfter Father de Britto's death the executioner drove a stake into the\nground, on which he impaled the body; and having cut off the hands and\nfeet, he hung them, along with the head, from the waist. The faithful\ntried hard to obtain possession of the relics, but in vain; they were\ntoo well guarded by the soldiers. His crucifix the martyr had given to\na faithful convert, who transmitted it to Father Laine, and from his\nhands it reached his house of profession in Paris. And all that could\nbe collected of the clothing, writing, objects of devotion, and\ninstruments of penance were forwarded to the same father, by whom they\nwere laid up in the Jesuit Church at Pondicherry, and thence they\nfound their way to Goa. But it was some time before any fragments of\nthe body fell into the hands of the Christians. The soldiers kept\nguard over the body while it remained impaled on the stake; but at\nlast a violent storm came on, and the cord which supported the head\nand hands broke; the head rolled into the river, and was saved; but\nwild beasts preyed upon the body. When the soldiers had retired, the\ncatechists came and gathered up all they could find of the body. In\nthe river they discovered the head; they bought the stake, on which\nhis limbs had been impaled, of the soldiers, and the scymitar of the\nexecutioner; this scymitar Father John de Corte brought with him to\nEurope a few years afterwards, and presented it to the king of\nPortugal, Pedro II. And these are all the relics that remain of the\nblessed Father John de Britto.\n\n[12] 'Annales Archeologiques,' Tom. xxiii. p. 232.\n\n[13] \"Vie des Saints\" Tom. ix. p. 22.\n\n[14] Elmasini 'Hist. Sarac.' Lugd. Batav. 1625, p. 267.\n\n[15] This article is condensed from an article by the Author in the\nQuarterly Review for October, 1867, on \"Portraits of Christ.\"\n\n[16] For information on this Order, see Jan. 15, S. Alexander.\n\n[17] See for more information on the Iconoclastic heresy the life of\nS. Tarasius, Feb.\u00a025th.\n\n[18] This very term \"Symbol of Christ,\" as applied to the Holy\nEucharist, is indication of heretical views on the Presence.\n\n[19] Gofredus in Vita S. Bernardi.\n\n[20] Eugenius III.\n\n [Illustration: S. Veronica. See page 73.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 5.\n\n S. AGATHA, _V. M. at Catania_, A.D. 251.\n S. AGRICOLAUS, _B. of Utrecht, beginning of 5th cent._\n S. AVITUS, _B. of Vienne, in France, circ._ A.D. 524.\n S. GENUINE, _B. of Savio, circ._ A.D. 640.\n S. BERTULF, _Ab. at Ghent; beginning of 8th cent._\n SS. INDRACT, DOMINICA AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Glastonbury,\n beginning of 8th cent._\n S. VODAL, _Mk. at Soissons, beginning of 8th cent._\n SS. DOMITIAN, _Duke of Carinthia, and_ MARY, _his wife,\n beginning of 9th cent._\n S. POLYEUCTUS, _Patr. of Constantinople_, A.D. 970.\n S. ADELHEID, _V. Abss. at Villich; circ._ A.D. 1015.\n SS. JAPANESE MARTYRS, _at Nangasaki_, A.D. 1592-1642.\n\n\nS. AGATHA, V. M.\n\n(A.D. 251.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and all others. Famous also among the Greeks.\n There are various editions of the Acts of her Martyrdom in Latin and\n in Greek. The latter are not as trustworthy as the former, which are\n very ancient, and though apparently tampered with by copyists, are\n on the whole to be relied upon. The Latin Acts were written by\n eye-witnesses, as appears from a passage in them, \"From this we\n supposed he was her angel.\" There is an older version of the Greek\n Acts than that given by Metaphrastes (fl.\u00a0867), and there is a\n sermon on S. Agatha by S. Methodius. The name of S. Agatha occurs in\n the Canon of the Roman Mass; among the first five Virgin Saints\n enumerated in _Nobis quoque peccatoribus_.]\n\nThe honour of being the birth-place of S. Agatha is claimed by Catania\nand Palermo, in Sicily. The probabilities in favour of either are\nnearly equally divided, though there seems to be a slight superiority\nin the claims of Catania. It certainly was the scene of her martyrdom,\nwhich took place during the persecution of Decius in A.D. 251, as all\nher acts testify. If these are not in all particulars to be relied on,\ntheir main facts seem to be pretty well established. According to\nthese, S. Agatha was the daughter of an illustrious and wealthy house\nin Sicily, and was famed for her beauty and her gentle and amiable\nmanners. But her love was consecrated to God from her very earliest\nyouth. Quintianus the Consular of Sicily, as the Governor was then\ncalled, admired her exceedingly, and the holy virgin retired to\nPalermo to avoid his importunities. As often happened in those days of\nheathen cruelty, his love was turned into hatred when he discovered\nthat she was a Christian. She was seized and brought to Catania; and\nall the way thither she could only weep and pray to the Lord to\nstrengthen her for the conflict which awaited her. Every means was\ntried during the space of a month to prevail on her to forget her vow;\nbut she was supported by continual prayer, and at last came off\nvictorious from this lingering martyrdom. She was privately examined\nbefore Quintianus as to her faith, and confessed Christ with undaunted\nfirmness, declaring the service of the Lord Jesus to be the highest\nnobility and the truest freedom: she was then sent to prison, to which\nshe went joyfully, recommending herself to God, and entreating His\naid. The day after she was tortured on the rack, and suffered with\ncalmness and constancy. And, when she was put to the cruel torment of\nhaving her breasts cut off, she mildly reproached the inhuman\nQuintianus with the remembrance of his own infancy, and with the\ntenderness of his mother. She was then led again to prison, and all\nsustenance and medical aid were denied her. Four days afterwards she\nwas put to still further tortures, and then, being taken back to\nprison, sweetly fell asleep in the Lord, and was buried by the people\nwith great honour.\n\nRelics in Catania, and some in the Church of S. M\u00e9ry, at Paris.\n\nPatroness of Catania, La Mirandola, and the Order of Malta.\n\nIn Art S. Agatha is represented as a majestic virgin wearing a long\nveil, and over this, in early figures, a crown, the symbol of her\nvictory over death; she usually holds a clasped book in her left hand,\nand a palm branch in the right; occasionally the place of this latter\nemblem is supplied by a pair of pincers, having a nipple between the\nteeth, in allusion to the fearful torture to which she was subjected.\nSometimes she carries both her breasts cut off in a dish, or a sword\nis passed through them.\n\n\nS. AVITUS, B. OF VIENNE, C.\n\n(ABOUT 524.)\n\n [Not to be confounded with S. Avitus, P. of Orleans, commemorated on\n June 27th. Roman Martyrology, Usuardus, Gallican, German, and\n others. Commemorated at Vienne on August 20th. Authorities:--S.\n Gregory of Tours, Hist. lib. i. c.\u00a02; and his successor Ennodius.]\n\nS. Avitus was the son of S. Hesychius, archbishop of Vienne after S.\nMammertus, who baptized him. He succeeded his father in the\narchiepiscopal throne in 490. Ennodius, his successor, says that he\nwas a treasure of learning and piety; and adds that the Burgundians\nhaving crossed the Alps, and carried off a large number of captives,\nthis holy prelate spent all his revenue in redeeming as many as he\ncould. Clovis, king of France, though still a pagan, and Gundebald,\nking of Burgundy, though an Arian, held him in high veneration. The\nlatter, for fear of offending his subjects, durst not embrace the\nCatholic faith, he nevertheless did all in his power to advance the\ncause of Catholicism, and in a public conference at Lyons, in his\npresence, S. Avitus boldly proclaimed the divinity of Christ and\nreduced the Arian bishops to silence. Gundebald died in 516. His\nsuccessor Sigismond was brought over by S. Avitus to the true faith.\nWhen this king had executed his son Sigeric on a false charge, brought\nagainst him by his stepmother, S. Avitus wrought by his exhortations\nso great a change in the passionate prince, that he retired to\nAgaunum, now S. Maurice, in the Valais, where he lived the life of a\nrecluse in a cell on the face of the precipice above the monastery he\nhad built at its foot.\n\nMost of the works of S. Avitus have been lost, but a poem by him in\npraise of virginity, some epistles, and fragments of homilies remain.\nIt is a blot on the memory of the saint, that with fulsome flattery he\nexcused the murder of his brothers by Gundebald. See June 3, p.\u00a026.\n\n\nS. BERTULF, AB.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 8TH CENT.)\n\n [Additions to Usuardus and some editions of the Martyrology of Bede.\n No authentic account of S. Bertulf exists. All known of him is from\n a life written in 1703, from old materials, but of what authority it\n is impossible to decide.]\n\nS. Bertulf is said to have been an abbot at Renescure, where the\nchurch is dedicated to him. He is regarded also as the patron of\nHarlebeke, near Courtrai. Renescure is a village on the canal between\nAire and S. Omer. His body was taken to Ghent, where it was enshrined\nin an iron coffin, and for many centuries it was believed that on the\napproach of danger to the city, the dead abbot knocked against the\nside of his iron shrine. His bones were scattered by the Calvinists in\n1578. S. Bertulf is represented in art in monastic habit distributing\nalms, with an eagle over his head with wings expanded, a legend\nrelating that he was thus protected from rain in a heavy shower.\n\n\nSS. INDRACT AND COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 8TH CENT.)\n\n [Ancient English Martyrologies. Authority:--William of Malmesbury,\n and Capgrave.]\n\nOf old, on the 5th of February, were commemorated in the famous\nmonastery of Glastonbury, S. Indract, S. Dominica, and nine\ncompanions, martyrs. He was of royal extraction, son of one of the\nkings of Ireland; but quitted all this world could give for the love\nof God. He left his country, with his sister Dominica or Drusa, and\nseven, or according to another account nine, companions, and settled\nat Skipwith near Glastonbury, in Somersetshire, where they lived a\nretired and eremitical life. At length, some wicked men, thinking to\nmeet with great booty, murdered them at night; and to conceal their\nvillainy, cast the bodies into a deep pit. But a column of light\nstanding over the place warned the neighbours that some sacred bodies\nlay there, and the relics were removed to Glastonbury, in the reign of\nking Ina.\n\n\nS. ADELHEID, V. ABSS. OF VILLICH.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 1015.)\n\n [Cologne Kalendar, and additions to Usuardus. Commemorated with\n special office at Villich on the Rhine, opposite Bonn. She is\n variously called Adelheid, Alkeid, Adelaide, Alheidis, and Aleidis.\n Her local name at Villich is S. Alen. Her life was written by a\n contemporary, one Bertha, a nun in her convent.]\n\nThis holy virgin was the daughter of a Count Megingand of Gueldres,\nand became abbess of the convent of Villich, founded by her father and\nmother. Her piety, charity, and gravity are celebrated by Bertha, the\nnun who wrote her life. She died in 1015. The church and nunnery were\nburnt in the war between Truchsess Gerhard, the apostate archbishop of\nCologne, and the archduke Ernest of Bavaria, and again by the Swedes\nin the Thirty years' war. It is not known what has become of her\nrelics.\n\n\nTHE MARTYRS OF JAPAN.\n\n(A.D. 1597.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Pope Urban VIII beatified 26 of these martyrs in\n 1627. On June 8, 1862, the twenty-six were canonized as Saints.\n These were Peter Baptist, Martin d'Aguera, Francis Blanco, Philip de\n Las Casas, Gonzalez Garcia, Francis de S. Miguel, all of the Order\n of S. Francis; Cosmo Tachegia, Michael Cozaki, Paul Ibarki, Leo\n Carasumo, Louis, a child, Antony, a child, Thomas Cozaki, also a\n child; Matthias, Ventura, Joachim Saccakibara, Francis Miaco, Thomas\n Dauki, John Kimoi, Gabriel Duisco, Paul Suzuki, Francis and Paul\n Sukegiro, all these Japanese; also Paul Miki, John de Gota, and\n James Quigai, Japanese Jesuits. Authorities: Numerous contemporary\n accounts. The following account is epitomised from the history of\n the Japanese missions by Miss Cecilia M. Caddell. In the brief space\n accorded us it is impossible to give anything like a full account of\n this wonderful history. We refer our readers to Miss Caddell's most\n interesting account.]\n\nThe history of the brief existence of Christianity in Japan and of the\nterrible persecution by which it was utterly extirpated in that\nisland, is at once a melancholy and a glorious episode in the annals\nof the Church. In the Japanese we behold the most highly-gifted of the\nAsiatic races of modern times receiving the Gospel with a joy and a\nfervour which remind us of primitive ages, when thousands in one\nsingle day would run at the divine call to fill the apostolic net, and\nwhen the multitude of the faithful, serving God with one heart and one\nsoul, resembled rather the chosen few who in later days have left the\ncrowd to follow the higher path of evangelical perfection, than the\nmass of ordinary believers. But if the Japanese excite our admiration\nin their willing reception of gospel-truth, and their fervour in\nobeying its precepts and counsels, no less, or rather still more\nexalted are the feelings with which we must regard the spirit in which\nthey met the fiery trial which came upon them. Never in the times of\nthe old pagan persecutions was a more glorious spectacle exhibited of\nmen, women, and children, rushing to claim the martyr's palm, and\nseeking sufferings and torments as others seek honours and pleasures.\n\nWonderful are the ways of the Almighty, and inscrutable as wonderful!\nThe conversion of China, for which S. Francis Xavier, the apostle of\nthe Indies, had long and ardently sighed, was denied to his prayers;\nwhile that of Japan, of which apparently he had never even dreamed,\nwas given to him unasked. China was the object of all his wishes and\naspirations,--the promised land of his spiritual ambition. It was in\nhis dreams by night and his thoughts by day,--the subject alike of his\npenance and of his prayers; when a young Japanese, tormented by\nremorse of conscience for a crime committed years ago, and forgotten\nprobably by everybody but himself, arrived at Malacca, where the Saint\nthen was, and throwing himself at his feet, besought of him that peace\nand pardon which his native bonzes had been unable to bestow. The\ngreat heart of Francis exulted at the prospect of winning another\nempire to the banner of his Divine Lord; while his vivid faith saw in\nthe sinner who had thus sought him from afar a direct ambassador from\nHeaven, which had doubtless pursued this youth with the fear of\nretribution, not for his sake alone, but also to effect the conversion\nof the idolatrous nation represented in his person. Two years\nafterwards, on the Feast of the Assumption (1549), he and his chosen\ncompanion, Father Cosmas de Torres, landed at Kagoxima, the birthplace\nof the youth who had come to Francis, and who, under his new name of\nPaul, accompanied the fathers as their guide and interpreter to the\nnations of Japan.\n\nSo the little seed of the Word of God was sown in Japan, and from the\ntime of this visit, Jesuits freely entered Japan, and were established\nby Papal brief as the chief missionaries for that country. Their\neminent success is said to have been based upon their invariably\nlaying down a solid educational foundation, and securing the careful\ntraining of the scholars who flocked to them. To each mission were\nattached a public school, in which Christian doctrine, literature, and\necclesiastical and secular music were taught, and wherever unusual\ncapacity was evinced, the missionaries gathered those boys together in\ntheir own houses, and there instructed them how to make mental prayer,\nto practise virtue, to avoid and overcome sin, and excite the spirit\nof penance. Every Friday the boys went in procession to the churches,\nsinging psalms and motetts. In this way, the fervour generally induced\nby corporal austerities, and the generous, uncalculating devotedness\nflowing from the continual thought of Christ's Passion, sprang up in\nfull vigour from the very beginning of the missions, and ripened to\nits legitimate harvest, while _to die for Christ_ became the habitual\naspiration of the child-neophytes of Japan.\n\nMeanwhile, no foreboding of coming reverses, or dread of trials which\nmight prove fatal, hindered the generous missionaries from their work.\nLike the Apostles and their early successors, they went about from day\nto day, literally fulfilling our Lord's commands to carry neither\npurse nor scrip, nor to provide two coats, nor to abide in any one\nplace, except for the good of the souls around them. When persecutions\nsprang up in one town or territory, they took their crucifixes and\ntheir breviaries in their hands, and went on to another, doing\nwhatever good was nearest at hand, and leaving all the consequences of\nit to God to make fruitful or not. As in the early ages of the Church,\nnoble women were continually raised up to do great things for Christ,\nand to show forth that perfection of love in weakness and childlike\nfaith by which good women so peculiarly glorify God. One of them,\nMaria Kiogscou, gained two sons, a daughter, and a daughter-in-law to\nthe faith, and her house became the centre of good works and\nalms-deeds, and a place of meeting for all the upper classes in Osaka,\nmost of whom either actually declared themselves Christians, or\nshielded and helped those who did. Another noble lady named Julia,\nbeing accustomed to frequent the houses of the nobility at Meaco,\nbaptized great numbers of other ladies with her own hands, and\ninstructed a crowd of young people in Christian doctrine. One fact,\nstrikingly like those of the first centuries of the faith, is told of\na Japanese physician, who happening to read a book lent by one of the\nmissionaries to a friend of his, became convinced that there was only\none true God, but as the book was not one of doctrine, he learnt no\nmore than this for four years. Every morning and evening he knelt down\nand prayed to the \"one true God,\" and as soon as he knew what to do,\nhe applied for instruction at Osaka, and was baptized.\n\nThe persecution, sometime brooding, broke out first in Fingo, and the\ngovernor, with assumed gentleness, issued certain papers for all his\nsubjects to sign. Those who firmly refused were seized, carried away\nfrom their homes, and banished. They must have taken refuge on some\nother governor's territory, or on a wild border-land, for the band of\nexiles built themselves miserable straw-wattled huts, and there lived\nas they could, without food or necessaries, and deprived of all\ncountenance and sympathy whatever, as any one speaking to them was\nthreatened with severe punishment. In this condition, their courage\nand constancy was unbroken, and as soon as it was possible, a Japanese\nPriest, Father Luis, visited them in the disguise of a peasant, and\ncomforted them very much. The bishop then sent them books and other\nthings, with beautiful letters, exhorting them to persevere, looking\nto the reward they would surely earn. Some of the letters written in\nreturn are very touching and beautiful, expressing the strongest\ndesire for martyrdom, and humbly wondering that any among themselves\nshould be reckoned worthy of so great a grace as to be \"the first\nfruits of Japan.\"\n\nThey were at length allowed to depart to the town of Nangasaki, where\nthey were received with tenderness by the bishop and clergy. Scarcely\nhad the exiles reached this asylum, ere another edict was published in\nFingo, commanding all the remaining Christians to apostatize. Death\nwas to be the penalty of a refusal; and two noblemen, named John and\nSimon, were chosen as examples of severity to the rest. Both were\nfriends of the governor to whom the order had been intrusted, and he\ndid what he could to save them. \"If they would but _feign_ compliance\nwith the king's decree,\" or \"have the ceremony privately performed at\ntheir own houses,\" or \"bribe the bonze to allow it to be supposed that\nhe had received their recantation,\"--each of these alternatives was as\neagerly urged as it was indignantly rejected.\n\nThe execution of John took place in the presence of the governor; and\nfrom the chamber, still reeking with the blood of one friend, he went\nto the house of the other on a similar mission, and with equal\nreluctance.\n\nSimon was quietly conversing with his mother when the governor\nentered; and the latter could not refrain from beseeching that lady to\nhave pity upon them both, and by advising compliance with the king's\ncommands, to spare herself the anguish of losing a son, and himself\nthat of imbruing his hands in the blood of a friend. The appeal was\nmade in vain; and the governor left the house, indignantly declaring\nthat by her obstinacy she was guilty of the death of her son. Another\nnobleman entered soon afterwards, charged with the execution of the\nsentence. Jotivava was a friend of Simon's, and he proceeded with what\nheart he might to his sad and revolting duty. Knowing his errand well,\nSimon received him with an affectionate smile, and then prostrated\nhimself in prayer before an image of our Saviour crowned with thorns,\nwhile his wife and mother called for warm water that he might wash,--a\nceremony the Japanese always observe upon joyful occasions. His wife\nAgnes, falling upon her knees, besought her husband to cut off her\nhair, as a sign that she never would marry again. After a little\nhesitation, he complied with this request; prophesying, however, that\nshe and his mother would soon follow him to heaven; and then,\naccompanied by the three _Giffiaques_, or officers of the\nConfraternity of Mercy, whom he had summoned to be present at the\nexecution, they all entered the hall where it was intended to take\nplace. Michael, one of the Giffiaques, carried a crucifix; the other\ntwo bore lighted torches; and Simon walked between his wife and\nmother, while his disconsolate servants brought up the rear.\n\nSimon and his friends recited the litany; and then, bowing before a\npicture of our Saviour, until his forehead touched the ground, the\nnobleman, who acted as executioner, took off his head at a single\nblow. Foreseeing that her own death would speedily follow upon his,\nAgnes and her mother continued in prayer, the three Giffiaques\nremaining in attendance, in order to be able to assist at their\nexecution; and, in fact, twenty-four hours had not elapsed before it\nwas told them they were to die on the cross; the officer who came to\nacquaint them with their sentence bringing with him Magdalen, the wife\nof John, and Luis, a little child whom the latter had adopted as his\nown, both of whom were condemned to a similar fate.\n\nWith eager joy the prisoners embraced each other, praising, and\nthanking God, not only that they were to suffer for Jesus, but also\nthat they were to suffer on a cross like Jesus; and then, robed in\ntheir best attire, they set off for the place of execution in\npalanquins which the guards had provided for the purpose. The\nGiffiaques walked at their side. Jane, the mother of Simon, besought\nthe executioner to bind her limbs as tightly as possible, that she\nmight thus share the anguish which the nails inflicted upon those of\nJesus; and she spoke from her cross with so much force and eloquence,\nthat the presiding officer, fearing the effects of her words upon the\npeople, had her stabbed, without waiting for the rest of the victims.\nLuis and Magdalen were tied up next. They bound the child so violently\nthat he could not refrain from shrieking; but when they asked him if\nhe was afraid to die, he said he was not; and so they took and set him\nup directly opposite his mother. For a brief interval the martyr and\nher adopted child gazed silently on each other; then, summoning all\nher strength, she said, \"Son, we are going to heaven: take courage,\nand cry, 'Jesus, Mary!' with your latest breath.\" And again the child\nreplied, as he had done before when, on leaving their own home, she\nhad made him a similar exhortation, \"Mother, you shall be obeyed!\" The\nexecutioner struck at him first, but missed his aim; and more than\never fearing for his constancy, Magdalen exhorted him from her cross,\nwhile Michael, standing at its foot, spoke words of comfort to him.\nBut the child needed not their urging; he did not shriek again, nor\ndid he shrink, but waited patiently until a second blow had pierced\nhim through and through; and the lance, yet reeking with his blood,\nwas directly afterwards plunged into the heart of his mother, whose\nsharpest pang had probably already passed on the instant when the son\nof her love expired before her. And now the fair and youthful Agnes\nalone remained, kneeling, as when she first had reached the place of\nexecution; for no one yet had the courage to approach her. Like the\nheadsman of her namesake, the loveliest child of Christian story, her\nexecutioners could only weep that they were bid to mar the beauty of\nany thing so fair; their hands were powerless to do their office; and\nfinding at last that no one sought to bind her, she went herself and\nlaid her gently and modestly down upon her cross. There she lay,\nwaiting for her hour, calm and serene as if pillowed on an angel's\nbosom, until at length some of the spectators, induced partly by a\nbribe offered by the executioner, but chiefly by a bigoted hatred of\nher religion, bound her, and lifted up her cross, and then struck her\nblow after blow, until beneath their rude and unaccustomed hands she\npainfully expired. For a year and a day the bodies were left to hang\nupon their crosses, as a terror to all others of the same religion;\nbut Christians were not wanting to watch the blackening corpses, and,\nwith a love like that of Rizpah, the mother of the sons of Saul, to\ndrive from thence the fowls of the air by day, and the beasts of the\nfield by night; and finally, when the period of prohibition was\nexpired, reverently to gather the hallowed bones to their last\nresting-place in the church of Nangasaki.\n\nThe Giffiaques were the next who felt the tyrant's rage. The governor\nhimself urged on their punishment, for the loss of his friends had\nmade him furious; and, attributing it entirely to the fact of their\nreligion, he resolved to wreak his vengeance upon all others who\nprofessed it. \"What shall I do with these men?\" he cried, in a kind of\nsavage perplexity, upon being told that the Giffiaques had rather\ncourted than evaded their imprisonment: \"Death they rejoice in, as in\nthe acquisition of an empire, and they go to exile as a slave to\nfreedom. The cross is a royal throne, which they mount with pleasure\nand occupy with pride. I will therefore contrive for them a fate which\nshall make death, under any form whatever, a boon to be desired, but\nnot to be attained.\" Within the city walls there was a prison which\nthe king had constructed for the reception of his debtors. Open on\nevery side, its inmates were exposed both to the curious gaze of the\npassing crowds, and to the suffering of alternate heat and cold, as\nsummer or winter revolved over their heads. There, huddled together in\nthis enclosure, the prisoners lay, not upon mats, nor yet upon the\ndamp cold earth, which in comparison would have been a mercy, but upon\nheaps of horrible filth, the accumulation of many years; for by a\nhideous cruelty of invention, the monster would never permit the\ncleansing out of these loathsome places, hoping by the disgusting\ncondition of their dungeon to extort a speedier payment from his\nvictims. Into this den of suffering the governor cast the three\nChristians whom he had selected for his prey, never doubting that they\nwould be soon subdued by the anguish of a life more terrible than the\nmost lingering and painful death; and so for years the Giffiaques\nlingered on, breathing this infected air--pillowed, sleeping and\nwaking, on the loathsome dung which matted all the pavement, feeding\nupon such dry crusts and filthy water as their jailors chose to give\nthem; until at length one among them died, and then the tyrant, weary\nof such willing victims, commanded the other two to be cut in pieces.\n\nAccording to the usual custom of Japan, their children were condemned\nto suffer with them; and however hateful such a practice must appear\nto the natural heart of man, yet was it ever to the martyrs a most\nwelcome boon; for theirs was a Christian as well as a parental love,\nteaching them to set the spiritual above the temporal welfare of their\nchildren, and therefore rather to rejoice in, than simply to meet with\ncalm submission, that double condemnation which, by uniting the fate\nof their little ones with their own, snatched them from any future\nchance of perversion, and put them at once in possession of their\nheavenly kingdom.\n\nOne of these little victims was sleeping when they came to fetch him:\nhe was only six years old, and so tiny, that he had to run as fast as\nhe could in order to keep up with the soldier who conducted him to\nexecution; yet, so far from being frightened at his fate, he even\ngazed without dismay on the disfigured corpses of his father, uncle,\nand cousin, who had all suffered ere he reached the spot; and then,\nkneeling down and joining his hands together, looked up smiling in the\nface of him who was to lay him at their side. That look disarmed his\nexecutioner. The man suddenly sheathed his sword, declaring that he\nhad not the heart to perform his office; and when two others sought to\ndo it for him, they also burst into tears, as that innocent smiling\nface met their downward gaze; nor was the deed accomplished until a\ncommon slave, compelled by force to the odious duty, literally hacked\nand hewed the poor infant to pieces.\n\nWhile these scenes, and scenes like these, were constantly recurring\nat Fingo, the kingdom of Firando was likewise giving its quota of\nmartyr-triumphs to the Church; Damian, a blind man of Amangucchi,\nbeing almost the first to lay down his life for the faith. From the\ntime when the Jesuit fathers were forcibly driven out of that city,\nthe entire management of the infant mission had devolved upon this\npoor old man, whose life was henceforth passed in preaching,\ncatechizing and baptizing, visiting the sick, and burying the dead,\nand doing as much of the work of a zealous missionary as could be\naccomplished by any one lacking holy orders. This was sufficient for\nthe tyrant, and Damian received his choice between Christianity and\ndeath on the one hand, and on the other apostasy and life, with all\nthat could make life most desirable to the heart of man.\n\nThe brave old Christian was not long in making his choice; and he died\nfor a testimony to the faith, as he had lived for its propagation, his\nbody being cut to pieces, in order to prevent the other Christians\nfrom collecting his relics for more honourable interment.\n\nHis death was the signal for innumerable other massacres in this and\nother kingdoms of Japan; but nowhere was the heathen enmity more\nunrelentingly displayed than in the once flourishing and Christian\nkingdom of Arima. The king of that country, Michael, was mean,\nheartless, and ambitious, and exerted his authority and power every\nday in committing fresh acts of cruelty against the Christians of\nArima. Under the guidance of his chief minister Safiori, he had\nalready pulled down the churches, overthrown the crosses, sent\nhundreds of the principal Christians into exile, and banished the\nJesuit fathers, to whose influence he attributed their constancy in\nthe struggle; and having thus, as he hoped, destroyed every landmark\nto which they could confidently look for guidance, he published an\nedict commanding them all to embrace idolatry or die. At the first\nmutterings of the coming storm, the Christians, by general consent,\nhad enrolled themselves in a confraternity, styled especially \"of\nmartyrs,\" because, beside the usual practices of prayer, fasting, and\npenance, common to all similar associations, the members pledged\nthemselves to suffer loss of property, banishment, or martyrdom\nitself, faithfully and joyfully, for the name of Jesus. This\nconfraternity afterwards extended itself over other parts of Japan;\nand it was even adopted by the little children, who were destined to\nplay nearly as prominent a part in the coming persecutions as their\nparents themselves, and to whom it was therefore given by the Jesuit\nfathers, with rules and practices adapted to their tender years. Thus\nprepared and strengthened for the struggle, the Christians waited in\npatient courage its commencement; and they had not long to wait.\n\nMichael sent first for a nobleman of the name of Thomas, renowned for\nhis prowess both by sea and by land, and with every art of persuasion\nin his power, sought to induce him to yield obedience to his orders.\nThe blunt soldier listened impatiently to the miserable sophisms of\nhis chieftain, and then flatly told him, that as a soldier would be\ndeserving of death for deserting his colours, so he should consider\nhimself the most despicable of human beings, if for fear or favour of\nearthly monarch he could desert that King of kings to whom on the day\nof his baptism he had sworn allegiance; ending (so great was his\nindignation that he could not contain himself) with a rough speech, to\nthe effect that he hated traitors as he hated treason, and would\nprefer death itself to the baseness of committing the one, or of being\nassociated with the other. Such a speech to such a man the Christian\nwell knew could only be uttered at the hazard of his head; no sooner,\ntherefore, had he left the royal presence, than he sent for one of the\nJesuit fathers, then lying hid in the city, and prepared himself for\ndeath. When urged by his friends, for his own sake, and for the sake\nof his family, who would otherwise be involved in his ruin, to seek\nsafety by flight, he answered with characteristic spirit, \"that so far\nfrom fleeing martyrdom, he would go to the end of the earth to seek\nit; and that he loved his children all too well to think of depriving\nthem of a blessing which he coveted for himself above the empire of\nthe world.\"\n\nThe next day the governor of the city invited him to dinner (so\nstrangely do they manage these affairs in Japan); and Thomas, well\naware of his approaching fate, took an affectionate farewell of his\nwife and children before accepting the ominous invitation. While he\nsat at table, his host presented him with a sword, asking his opinion\nas to its capabilities for the decapitation of a human head. Thomas,\nlooking at it carelessly, pronounced it well made, and fitted for such\na work; whereupon the governor receiving it out of his hands, stabbed\nhim dead on the spot. A few hours afterwards his brother, quite as\nuncompromising a Christian as himself, suffered a similar fate; his\nmother Martha and his two young sons were also condemned; while his\nwife and daughter were, by a caprice of mercy, or perhaps of cruelty,\nexempted from the sentence. Very different from the ordinary effects\nof such opposite judgments were the feelings elicited by them on the\npresent occasion: those who were to die blessed God, in an ecstasy of\npious joy, that He had called them to suffer for the faith; while she\nwho was to live--a widow, and now all but childless--gave way to an\nagony of grief at the double loss she was destined to endure. While\nshe wept over her cruel lot, Martha called her grandchildren, and\nembracing them tenderly, told them, that as their father had died for\nJesus Christ, so she and they were now to do the same, and then to go\nand live with him in heaven. The children quietly answered, \"that\nthere was nothing which they wished for better;\" asking, at the same\ntime, \"when it was to be.\" \"Just now,\" she said; \"so go and take leave\nof your mother, and prepare yourselves for death.\" With smiling\ncountenances, the children hastened to obey; and having distributed\ntheir toys among their playfellows, and made some parting presents to\ntheir nurses, they clothed themselves in the white robes which Martha\nhad taken care to provide for the occasion, and knelt before their\nmother, saying \"Adieu, dear mother; we are going to be martyred.\" She\nwas weeping at the instant as if her very heart would break; but\nfearing to discourage her children, or cast the shadow of her own\nmaternal grief over their coming hour of trial, she embraced them,\nsaying, \"Go, dear children; and remembering Him who died for you,\ntread courageously in the footsteps of your father and your uncle.\nBehold them stretching out their arms to help you; behold the saints\nand angels with crowns prepared to set upon your heads; behold Jesus\nChrist Himself inviting you to His most sweet embraces; and when you\nreach the place of execution, show yourselves to be indeed His\nfollowers by your contempt of death. Fall on your knees, loosen your\ncollars, join your hands, bow down your heads, and cry out Jesus!\nMary! with your latest breath. Oh, how wretched am I that I cannot be\nwith you in that hour!\" Then, hiding her face in the arms of her\nlittle ones, the poor mother burst into an uncontrollable fit of\nweeping, moving the very soldiers to such compassion, that, fearful of\nyielding to their feelings, they tore the children from her embraces,\nand almost threw them into the palanquin which was to convey them and\ntheir grandmother to the place of execution. During the short transit\nthither, that venerable Christian took care to occupy the little\nvictims in prayer and pious ejaculations; nor did she cease her\nguardian-care when they reached the fatal spot; for she stood and saw\nthem one by one butchered before her eyes, and then, advancing with a\ngrave and stately pace, she in her turn submitted to the sword.\n\nAfter this execution, eight of the principal citizens of Arima were\nsummoned to the presence of their king, and there commanded to abjure\nthe faith; while he, persecuting tyrant as he was, had the face to\ntell them that he only required an external submission, since he too\nwas in heart a Christian like themselves, though compelled for the\npresent by the emperor's orders to conceal his faith. Five out of the\neight agreed to this infamous proposal; but four of them afterwards\nsincerely repented. The others were not to be cajoled out of their\nconvictions, and were consequently condemned with their families to\nthe penalty of fire. As soon as their sentence was made known at\nNangasaki, one of the Fathers came privately to Arima to give\nspiritual succour to the captives, and thousands of Christians also\nflocked from every part of the country to witness their execution.\n\nNever before perhaps had the Church presented such a spectacle to the\nworld; and possibly never will she offer such another again. For three\nwhole days that vast multitude remained camped in the open fields,\npatiently waiting for the execution of their brethren; but their\npresence struck terror into the heart of the craven king; and dreading\nlest they should either rescue the prisoners or seize upon the town,\nhe faltered in his purpose. It never occurred to him that they of whom\nhe feared such things would as soon have thought of robbing him of his\nmaterial crown as of depriving the martyrs of their palm; they had, in\nfact, been careful to come without even their ordinary weapons of\ndefence, in order to avoid the possibility of a doubt as to their\npeaceable intentions; and no sooner did they suspect the cause of the\ndelay, than some of the gravest of their number waited on the governor\nto explain that they were merely there to witness the ceremony, and to\npromise that there should be neither tumult nor resistance if they\nwere permitted to remain. Thus encouraged and reassured, preparations\nfor the martyrdom went on apace. A wide plain just beneath the castle\nof the town was chosen for the purpose; the prisoners were confessed\nand communicated by a Jesuit father; and on the day appointed they\ncame forth, dressed in their robes of ceremony, and with their hands\ntied behind their backs, accompanied by upwards of 40,000 Christians,\nbearing lights in their hands and garlands on their heads, and singing\nthe Litanies of our blessed Lady as they went along. Among the victims\nwas a boy not more than eleven years old, and a young girl called\nMagdalen, who having already made a vow of virginity, had always led a\nlife holy and pure as that of the martyr-virgins of old.\n\nThese children, as well as their elder companions, all affectionately\nembraced the stakes to which they were afterwards tied; then Gaspar,\nthe chief of the Confraternity of Martyrs, unrolling a banner upon\nwhich was displayed a figure of the Son of God, bound like themselves\nto a pillar, made them a brief exhortation to perseverance; and even\nas he was speaking, fire was set to the piles of combustible\nmaterials, which had been laid at a considerable distance from the\nmartyrs, for the cruel purpose of prolonging their tortures. As the\nfirst gleam of this fearful element of death shot upwards to the\nskies, the entire multitude fell with one accord upon their knees; and\nstill, as the fire drew near its victims, the plain re-echoed with the\noft-repeated \"Jesus! Mary!\"--\"Jesus! Mary!\" of the spectators, who\nsadly struck their breasts in penance for their own sins, and to\nobtain the grace of perseverance for their brethren. Nearer and nearer\nyet it hurried; but even above the roar of the rapidly-approaching\nflames, and the sighs and lamentations of those who watched them, the\nvoice of the martyrs might be heard praising God, and animating each\nother to constancy and courage. At length the fiery sea had reached\nthem, and their cords were burst; and then every eye was riveted on\nthe child, to see whether he would stand of his own free will in that\nburning scorching furnace. A moment's pause--he leaves his stake; but\nit is only to run through the dense flames, until he has reached and\nflung his arms around his mother; while the young Magdalen avails\nherself of her freedom to stoop to the burning embers, and picking up\nthe living coals, set them as a garland of roses on her head. She died\nalmost in the very effort; but the mother of the child James, with a\nheroism of even perhaps a higher order, found strength in the midst of\nher own tortures to speak words of courage to her little one, until\ndeath released them from their sufferings. The flames had scorched the\nbodies, but had not consumed them; and they were carried off, together\nwith the blackened and half-burnt stakes, as precious relics, by the\nassembled Christians. The bodies were laid to rest in the church of\nNangasaki; where over their honoured graves was afterwards erected a\nmonument, telling alike of their heroic end, and calling upon all who\nread to follow in their footsteps.\n\nEnraged at finding himself foiled by the constancy of the Christians,\nthe emperor resolved to banish them by hundreds out of Japan; and in\nthis sentence the Jesuit and Franciscan fathers were formally\nincluded. Fortunately most of the former, in anticipation of some such\nevent, had been dispersed throughout the country in various disguises:\nbut it was impossible for those living openly in the college to evade\nit; and a sad day it was, both for them and for their flock, when they\nfound themselves forced to depart from a Church, which in sunshine and\nin storm they had now governed for upwards of fifty years. They had\ndwelt in peace at Miako, even when persecution was rife in other\nkingdoms of the country; and their college had become the resort alike\nof Christians and of heathens.\n\nSuch was the respect and reverence in which they were held, even by\ntheir most determined enemies in the court of Japan, that they were\npermitted to say a farewell Mass publicly in their church, and\nafterwards to receive the adieus of their sorrowful flock. Vast\nmultitudes attended on this occasion; and when High Mass was over, the\nJesuits proceeded to the mournful ceremony of stripping the altars,\nthe people weeping piteously all the while, and the fathers nearly as\nbroken-hearted as themselves. All was at length removed that could\ntempt to sacrilege; the sacred vessels and robes of ceremony were\nconfided to the care of such of the Christians as could best be relied\non, the church-doors flung open for all who might choose to enter; and\nthe next morning the fathers, under a guard of soldiers, were far on\ntheir way to Nangasaki, whence they were to embark. At that town they\nwere joined by numbers of prisoners, both clerical and lay, collected\nfrom all parts of the country, and finally sixty-three Jesuits, with a\ncrowd of converts of every age, sex, and condition were embarked for\nMacao; while twenty-three others, besides a proportionate number of\nFranciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians (for each of these orders\nhad now missions in Japan), were dispatched to the Manillas.\n\nIn the same year (1614) in which this wholesale banishment took place,\nthe Christians had to mourn for the death of Luis Cerquiera, bishop of\nJapan. He is said to have literally died of a broken heart for the\nruin that had fallen on the infant Church committed to his love and\ncare. It is true, indeed, that from the first he had undertaken the\ntask in times of great difficulty and danger; but at the period of his\narrival, though there was much to discourage, there had also been much\nto strengthen and to cheer his heart. From Nangasaki, where he had\nfixed his residence, he had succeeded in making innumerable journeys\nto the most distant parts of the kingdom; and withersoever he went,\nthousands had flocked around him for instruction and confirmation. No\nkingdom or city was too distant, no road too untrodden, no mountains\ntoo high or too rugged to be accessible to his zeal; and when he\nreturned from these weary wanderings, he could sit down at Nangasaki,\nand feel that there at least Almighty God had the entire homage of all\nhearts; for not only was it wholly inhabited by Christians, but the\nfive parishes into which it was divided were governed by native\npastors, the truest test of the conversion of a people, and one which\nonly the Catholic Church has ever succeeded in presenting to the world\nin the history of the propagation of the Christian faith.\n\nSadly had this fair scene changed within the last few years, and\nrapidly had all that was brightest and best disappeared from the\npicture. At the moment of the bishop's death the emperor had\nfulminated his final edict against the Christians. Fingo, Amangucchi,\nand Firando were already deluged in their blood; Nangasaki was the\nhead-quarters of Safiori, their implacable foe, and an army of ten\nthousand men had been let loose upon Arima, to exterminate religion by\nfire and sword. Whenever any of these troops were sent into a\ndistrict, a judgment-seat, surrounded by a palisade, was set up in the\nmost public place of the city; the best known among the Christians\nwere then dragged by the hair and cast into the enclosure, thrown upon\nthe ground, trampled underfoot, beaten until they were half-dead, and\ntheir legs, by a cruel contrivance, broken between two pieces of wood;\nthe most intrepid were then put to death, and their bodies, after\nhaving been cut into pieces, were cast to the birds of prey. At\nCochinotzu sixty Christians were taken, five by five at a time, with\ntheir hands tied behind them, lifted high up into the air, and then\ndashed upon the ground with such violence, that blood gushed from\ntheir ears, eyes, and mouths. Many of them were dreadfully lacerated,\nothers had all their bones broken; and as if this were not already\nsufficient torture, they were afterwards pricked and pierced all over\ntheir bodies with sharp instruments. The governor all the while was\nexhorting them with affected compassion to spare themselves further\ntorments by renouncing their religion; but when he found that they\nwere deaf to his entreaties, he proceeded to inflict a new punishment,\nso horrible that it is difficult to conceive the cruelty of the mind\nby which it was invented. The victim was made to lie flat on the\nground, and a stone, which four men could scarcely lift, was placed on\nhis back; and then, by means of a pulley, with cords attached to the\nlegs and arms, he was raised from the earth in such a manner that the\nbody was bent completely backwards, the limbs cruelly crushed and\nbroken, and in many instances the eyes forced out of their sockets;\nthe fingers and toes of the victims were then cut off, their teeth\nknocked out, and if the eyesight yet remained, it was next destroyed.\nMany were not beheaded until death had indeed become a mercy; while\nothers, less fortunate, after undergoing a yet further mutilation of\ntheir persons, were compelled in the midst of their agony to climb up\nand down a flight of stairs, for the amusement of their tormentors;\nafter which they were consigned to the care of their friends, until\none by one, as the strength of their constitutions more or less\nprolonged the struggle of death, they passed from their painful\nmartyrdom to the crowns prepared for them in heaven.\n\nThe bloody scenes of Cochinotzu were only a sample of those which\nlikewise desolated Aria, Obama, Simabara, Swota, and every other city\nof note in the kingdom of Arima; but more especially the capital,\nwhere Safiori presided in person over the cruelties which he had\ninvented for his victims.\n\nTo prevent any further addition from without to the number of the\nmissionaries already in the kingdom, all the ports of Japan were\nirrevocably closed against the vessels of Europe, with the exception\nindeed of Nangasaki and Firando, which were always under the rigid\nsurveillance of the officers of the emperor. It was also made death to\nbe convicted as a priest, or to be discovered in the exercise of\npriestly functions; death to introduce a priest into the kingdom, and\ndeath to give him shelter; death not only to the person so exercising\nhospitality, but likewise to his ten next neighbours, with their\ninnocent wives and children,--a reward being generally offered for the\ndiscovery of those who, in any of these ways, should have incurred the\npenalties of the law. From that hour the life of each individual\npriest was at the mercy of every one to whom he had been previously\nknown; while the lives of those who sheltered him were equally liable\nto be forfeited to the curiosity or cupidity of such of their\nneighbours as might chance to discover the fact of their delinquency.\nTo Father John Baptist Machades, a Jesuit, and Father Peter, a\nFranciscan, the honour was accorded of taking the first place on this\nlong list of priestly victims. The former was going to Omura by order\nof his superior, when he and his catechist were made prisoners at\nGoto, and sent by sea to the capital. Contrary winds, however,\ndetaining them at Canomi, the magistrates of that place received\nFather Machades on his landing with every mark of courtesy and\nkindness. An unrestricted communication was permitted with the\nChristians, who flocked to him in crowds; and after the due\nadministration of the Sacraments he made them a most spirit-stirring\naddress, in the course of which he told them that, at seven years of\nage he had been moved by some secret impulse to a strong desire of\npreaching the Gospel to the Japanese.\n\nThese duties having been fulfilled, the father returned, of his own\naccord, to his prison on board the ship. But so great was the\nveneration inspired by his virtues, that the sailors refused to bind\nhim as he wished; and thus unshackled, and almost unwatched, he\nremained until he arrived at the prison of Omura. There he found a\nFranciscan father lying under the same sentence of death as himself.\nHaving confessed and communicated each other, they set out to the\nplace of execution,--each carrying his crucifix and exhorting the\ncrowd as they went along, until the final moment came, when each\naffectionately embraced the other, and then in peace and joyfulness\nsubmitted to his sentence.\n\nAbout the same time six other religious commenced a still longer\ncaptivity in the prisons of Omura. Three were Dominicans, one a\nFranciscan, and the two others Jesuits, Father Charles Spinola, and\nAmbrose Fernandez, a Brother of the Society. When first they were\ntaken prisoners they had been thrown for greater security into a sort\nof subterranean cave where they lay huddled together and deprived of\nlight.\n\nIt was not until the close of the year 1622, that an order arrived for\nthe removal of these religious and other Christian prisoners to\nNangasaki, and for their subsequent execution. They were thirty in\nnumber as they marched out of Omura; and partly by sea and partly by\nland, each with a rope round his neck, and an executioner at his side,\nthey went on their way to the old city of the Christians. It was not\nconsidered prudent that they should enter Nangasaki, so the\ninhabitants went forth in multitudes to meet them, and flinging\nthemselves at their feet, begged with many tears their blessings and\ntheir prayers; and thus escorted, the martyrs stood at length upon a\nhigh hill between the city and the sea. A moment of suspense followed.\nSome victim or spectator was yet wanting to the solemnity; and every\neye was directed towards the town, from whence a troop of persons\nmight be descried approaching,--men, women, and children; thirty of\nthe former, with, of course a larger proportion of the latter. Every\ndoubt as to the ultimate destination of this company soon vanished\nwhen it was seen that they were dressed in their robes of ceremony,\nand with looks of gladness and of holy joy were ascending to the\ncalvary of the Christians. One of the new-comers had been guilty of\ngiving shelter to a missionary; the others were his ten next\nneighbours, with their families, besides the wives and children of\nsome previous martyrs; and of this almost incredible number of\nvictims, amounting to upwards of a hundred, some were to be beheaded,\nwhile others were to perish by the slower martyrdom of fire. A throne\nhad been erected overlooking this scene of slaughter, and when the\ngovernor had taken his seat upon it, those who were to undergo the\nsentence of fire were fastened to their stakes, but loosely, in order\nthat they might escape if only they chose to apostatize, and then the\nexecutioners prepared to decapitate the others. Among these last was\nIsabella, the widow of the man in whose house Father Spinola had been\ntaken captive, and her son Ignatius, a child now about four years old,\nbut at that time a new-born infant, whom he had baptized on the very\nevening before his arrest. From the stake to which he was already\nbound, the father had been exhorting both natives and Portuguese to\nperseverance, telling them, almost in a spirit of prophecy, that they\nneed not look for any cessation in the persecution, which would go on\nincreasing in fury from day to day; when chancing to see Isabella\nstanding in the crowd, and anxious for the fate of her child, he\nsuddenly cried out, \"Where then is my little Ignatius?\" The mother\nheld him up, exclaiming, \"Here he is, my father, ready and glad to die\nfor Jesus;\" and then addressing the infant, she bade him ask the\nblessing of the good father, who in the waters of baptism had\nconferred upon him a spiritual life infinitely more precious than that\nwhich he was now about to forfeit for his God. Instantly the little\ncreature fell upon his knees, joining his tiny hands together, as if\nhe would supplicate the blessing of the father. So touching in its\nsimplicity was this little scene, that the crowd, already interested\nby the movement of the mother, now broke into such open murmurs of\ncompassion, that the officers were obliged to proceed at once with the\nexecution, in order to prevent the possibility of an attempt at a\nrescue. Two or three heads had already fallen close by the child's\nside, and now his mother's followed; yet it was observed that he\nneither shrank nor changed colour, but his turn being next, he fell\nupon his knees, loosened (for there was no one to do the office for\nhim) with his infant but untrembling fingers the collar that would\nhave impeded the aim of the executioner, and without a cry or murmur\nsubmitted to the sword.\n\nThe remaining victims were speedily despatched; and their heads having\nbeen placed opposite to such of their companions as were to die at the\nstakes, fire was set to the piles of wood by which the latter were\nsurrounded. With the usual diabolical ingenuity of the Japanese\npagans, the faggots had been placed full five-and-twenty feet from the\nstakes; and whenever the fire was seen to gain too fast upon its\nvictims, water was cast upon it, that inch by inch they might taste\nthe full agony of the sentence to which they had been condemned. Many\nof them died from the mere effects of the heated atmosphere;--among\nothers, Father Rimura, a Japanese priest, after having lived for full\nthree hours in the midst of the flames; and Father Spinola also, whose\nbody was afterwards found unburnt, and wrapped in his cassock, which\nwas literally glued to the flesh by the combined action of the heat\nand of the water which had been cast upon his person.\n\nTerrible beyond expression as their sufferings must have been, two\nonly of this heroic company showed the slightest symptoms of being\neven conscious of its anguish. Both were Japanese, and very young; and\nboth simultaneously, and as if from an absolute physical inability to\nendure such frightful torture any longer, rushed out of the flames,\nand threw themselves at the feet of the governor, imploring his mercy.\nThey did not, however, ask for life; they asked only for an easier and\nquicker death. But, poor as the boon was, it was denied them, save\nupon the condition of apostasy, which they would not accept; and again\nthey were flung back into the flames.\n\nThis martyrdom, which was distinguished among the Japanese as the\n\"Great Martyrdom,\" on account both of the rank and number of its\nvictims, had been preceded by another at Miako, which took place under\ncircumstances of peculiar barbarity. One of the victims was in daily\nexpectation of giving birth to a child; nevertheless she was included\nin the sentence which sent her husband, a nobleman of the highest\nrank, and their six young children, with upwards of forty other\nChristians, to the stake.\n\nThe tragical situation in which she was placed had however, no terrors\nfor this heroic woman. She employed her prison-hours in preparing\nrobes for herself and her children to wear at their execution; and\nwhen she was brought to the destined place, calmly, and without\nassistance, she stepped from the cart, and throwing a rich mantle over\nher shoulders, prepared to suffer with a modesty and composure that\nwon her the admiration of all beholders. It was dark night before fire\nwas set to their several piles; but as soon as the smoke had cleared\naway, the martyrs were seen by the light of the bright flames amid\nwhich they stood, with eyes fixed on heaven and their forms motionless\nand erect, as though they had been figures chiselled out of stone.\n\nIn very horror the spectators were silent, and the stillness and hush\nof death was upon the midnight air, when suddenly from out of that\nfiery furnace a flood of melody was poured,--men and women and\nchildren singing the praises of the living God as sweetly, and with\nnotes as true as though the red and thirsty flames had been but the\ndews of heaven upon their brows. The sighs and prayers of the\nassistants, which could no longer be repressed, the shouts and\nexecrations of the soldiers and executioners, soon mingled with this\ndeath-song; and these and the dark night, and the fierce fire that\nilluminated its gloom, now flashing intolerable light upon the\nvictims, now glancing lividly on the pale faces and shrinking forms of\nthe densely-packed spectators, altogether formed an union of sights\nand sounds that alternately swayed the feelings to terror and\ncompassion. But the music of that marvellous choir died gradually\naway; the sudden failing of each gladsome voice, the silent sinking of\neach upright form, telling that another, and yet another had yielded\nto their doom, was marked by the watchers with redoubled lamentations;\nthough their tenderest sympathies were still reserved for the mother\ndying in the midst of her little ones.\n\nFrom the cross to which they had bound her, Thecla (for such was her\nname) still kept her eyes fixed upon her children, animating them by\ngentle smiles and words of comfort to suffer well; while the youngest,\nan infant only three years old, she held with superhuman courage in\nher arms during the whole of the terrible scene that followed. Her own\nanguish had no power to extort a single sigh from her lips; but those\nwho watched her wept to see the useless efforts which she made to\ndiminish the sufferings of her babe. She caressed it, soothed it,\nhushed its cries, wiped away its tears, sought with her own hands to\nshelter its tender face from the terrible contact of the fire, and\ndied at last with the little victim so closely folded to her bosom,\nthat it was afterwards found almost impossible to separate the bodies\nof the mother and the child.\n\nThese martyrdoms are only specimens of those which during this period\ncontinually took place in Japan. Some Christians were crucified,\nothers burnt, others beheaded; numbers again branded upon the cheeks\nand forehead with the sign of the cross, their fingers and toes cut\noff, and their eyes forced out; and thus maimed and helpless, they\nwere sent back to their families, who (to their honour be it written)\nnever failed to receive them with all the more pride and affection,\nthe more deeply and hideously they had been disfigured for the sake of\nJesus.\n\nThe great majority of the martyrdoms hitherto recorded had been\naccomplished by fire; but now a different mode of torture was to be\npressed into the service. Water was called into requisition; and\nFather James Caravail, with several lay Christians, was the leader of\nmany heroic confessors who perished from cold. They were left in the\nfirst instance, for three hours in freezing water, during which time\none of them died; the rest on being carried back to prison and\nthreatened with the martyrdom of fire in case of perseverance, cried\nout with one voice; \"Oh, happy we, to pass through fire and water to\nthe place of our repose!\" Instead of the stake, however, the next day\nthey were again placed up to their necks in water; while, the better\nto attempt them to apostasy, tents, warm baths, and comfortable\nclothing, were made ready on the banks of the pool, and as near as\npossible to the spot where their sentence was to be carried into\nexecution. As the day advanced, the water froze more and more; and\nheavy drifts of snow beating continually upon them, added greatly to\ntheir agony. Scarcely able to endure it any longer, one among them\nsobbed heavily for breath; but Father Paul hearing it, cried out,\n\"Have patience, son, for yet a little while; and these torments will\nbe changed into everlasting repose.\" At the sound of the father's\nvoice, and his cheering words, the poor victim regained his courage,\nand soon afterwards happily expired, at the very moment when another\nreduced to a similar extremity, exclaimed, \"Father, my course is\nnearly finished.\" \"Depart then,\" replied the latter; \"depart in peace\nto God, and die in his holy grace.\" Thus one by one they perished in\nthis icy grave; and at length the father, who through the live-long\nday had cheered his fellow-martyrs to the combat, was left to suffer\nand to die alone. Night had already closed in heavy and chill around\nhim; and with the exception of his guards and some few faithful\nChristians, none were there to watch him, for the spectators had all\nretired to their comfortable homes, and it was not until just\nmidnight, that after fifteen hours of stern endurance, he bowed\nhimself down to the frozen wave, and placidly expired. This martyrdom\ntook place in the year 1624, and shortly afterwards four more\nreligious were burnt at Faco; in June of the same year the provincial\nof the Jesuits, with eight of the Society, perished in a similar\nmanner; and in the following month Lewis Xanch, a Dominican, was put\nto death at Omura.\n\nWe have mentioned these executions of priests without alluding to the\nalmost weekly massacres which took place among the lay converts,\nmerely to show the virulence and success with which the missionaries\nwere now every where pursued; and when it is remembered that at the\ncommencement of the persecution there were, besides the Jesuits, but a\nfew secular priests and about thirty religious of other orders, in\nJapan, and that no reinforcement had succeeded in reaching them from\nwithout, words will not be needed to point out the deadly nature of\nthe blow which the Xoguno was at last inflicting on the church. Having\nsaid thus much, however, upon the fate of the religious, it would be a\ncrying injustice to the rest of the Christians to pass over their\nsufferings altogether in silence.\n\nThe Xoguno having once explicitly declared himself opposed to their\nreligion, the inferior monarchs, as a matter of course, vied with each\nother in their efforts to uproot it. It was only on an express\ncondition to that effect that Bugendono, the new governor of\nNangasaki, had been installed in that office; and taunted continually\nby his rivals for courtly favour with his little success, he employed\nhimself day and night in the invention of more ingenious barbarities\nto effect his purpose. The object being rather to produce apostasy\nthan death, every species of torture was made as slow as possible in\nits execution, and was generally eked out with intervals of rest and\nrefreshment--a thousand times more dangerous to the perseverance of\nthe victim than the sharpest continued agony. Some were placed in deep\npits, and there nearly buried alive; while executioners appointed for\nthe purpose, slowly, and with blunt weapons, sawed off sometimes the\narms and sometimes the head, salt being thrown on the bleeding wound\nto sharpen its anguish; physicians were also at hand, whose business\nit was to prolong the life of the sufferer for as many days as\npossible, by carefully ascertaining the amount of his physical\nstrength, and administering cordials when it was beginning to fail.\nOthers were hung with their head downwards in a pit, where, with the\nnecessary precaution of occasional bleeding, they were made to exist\nfor a considerable time in all the sufferings of an apoplexy; while\nothers again, by means of a funnel forced far down into their throats,\nwere compelled to swallow enormous quantities of water, which was\nafterwards forced out of the body by violent pressure. Even the Dutch,\nthemselves more than half the authors of these evils, speak with\nhorror of the deeds which they witnessed at Firando. The nails of the\nvictims were violently wrenched off, holes bored into their legs and\narms, great morsels of flesh torn out of their persons by the\ninsertion of hollow reeds which were turned round like a screw,\nburning brimstone and sulphur forced by long tubes up their noses; and\nthey were, besides, frequently compelled to walk about with\nexecutioners holding lighted torches close to their persons. Nor were\nthese cruelties inflicted singly, or upon solitary and more noted\ndelinquents. By tens, by fifties, by hundreds at a time, they were\nassembled for their trial; one torture rapidly succeeding another, and\neach new one being so cunningly contrived, that the slightest word of\ncomplaint, the most trivial movement of resistance when pain had\nbecome almost intolerable, was to be considered as a signal of\napostasy, and was greeted by cries of \"He is fallen! he is\nfallen!\"--the favourite and most significant words by which the\nheathen expressed at once the fact of a Christian's recantation, and\ntheir own opinion of the weakness through which he had succumbed.\n\nUnder circumstances such as these, it is not so wonderful that many\nfailed, as that hundreds and thousands persevered to the end, winning\ntheir crown by a long-suffering and patience which, even in the\nprimitive Church, were never surpassed. Men offered themselves\nwillingly to every torture which Eastern ingenuity could devise, or\nreckless disregard of human life put into execution. Women looked\ncalmly on while their infants perished, and then followed with\ngladness and joy in the same path to glory. At a city near Omura, a\nbrave Christian plunged his hand into the burning coals, and never\nwithdrew it until commanded to do so by the tyrant who had taunted and\ndared him to the deed; while at Firando fifty young Christians were\nmade to kneel naked upon living embers, on the express understanding\nthat the most involuntary expression of pain should be considered as\napostasy; and having by their unflinching firmness baffled the closest\nscrutiny of those who watched them, were sent back to die, half\nroasted as they were, to their several homes. In one place eighteen\ninfants were put to death in the presence of their parents; at\nanother, a child only seven years old, suspected with the rest of his\nfamily of the concealment of a priest, lived for as many days in the\nmidst of the torture they inflicted on him, without once flinching or\nfailing in his heroic resolution. To each fresh invention of their\ncruelty he only answered, probably to avoid being betrayed into\nimprudent disclosures, \"Jesus, Mary! Jesus, Mary! How I long to be in\nheaven with my God!\" Nor could other words be extorted from his lips,\neven when, in their despair of succeeding, they cut open the little\ncreature's shoulders, and poured boiling lead into the wound; and\nfinally, he and his family were burnt alive, without a single one\namong them having been induced by weakness to give evidence against\nthe priest.\n\nOpposed to constancy such as this, every ordinary mode of torture must\nhave seemed only useless and unmeaning; but at length another was hit\nupon, and one so barbarous in its nature, that no tyrant, however\ncruel or ferocious, who had hitherto ruled in Japan, had ever thought\nof inflicting it on the most guilty of his subjects.\n\nBetween Nangasaki and Sima-bara lies a mountain, bald, bleak, and\ntreeless, whitening beneath the masses of cinders with which it is\nevery where covered, and with a thick and stifling smoke, which can be\nseen at a distance of several leagues, for ever rising from its\nsummit. The soil that covers its steep ascent is every where soft and\nspongy, often burning and trembling beneath the footsteps; while so\nstrong is the smell of sulphur which it continually exhales, that it\nis said no bird can live, or will even attempt to fly within breathing\ndistance of its tainted atmosphere. Deep and unfathomable pools of\nboiling water lie hidden amid the clefts and fissures which split this\ngloomy mountain into peaks and precipices of various sizes; but one,\ndeeper and more unfathomable than all the rest, instead of water, is\nfilled with a mixture of sulphur and other volcanic matter, which\nseethe and bubble and boil within its dark abyss, emitting all the\nwhile so horrible a stench as to have gained it the title of the\n\"Mouth of Hell.\" One drop alone of this fearful fluid is sufficient to\nproduce an ulcer on the human flesh; and when Bugendono thought on the\nterrible nature of the chastisement he could thus inflict, and upon\nthe fear and superstition with which the Japanese always regarded the\nsulphurous waters of Unsen, and the mysterious cavern in which they\nwere produced, he felt that he could not have hit upon a more\nefficient or infallible means for the intimidation of the Christians,\nand the extirpation of their creed. At the very time when he came to\nthis resolution, there chanced to be dispersed throughout Arima a band\nof faithful confessors, upon whom all his previously-invented tortures\nhad been tried in vain; and for this reason the governor considered\nthey would prove the fittest objects for his new experiment. Paul\nUciborg was the chief, both for courage and virtue, of this troop of\nvictims; and he had already witnessed the massacre of every member of\nhis family, down even to the youngest of his children, who, in company\nwith fifteen other Christians, had been thrown into the sea, after\nhaving first suffered every possible cruelty that could barbarously be\ninflicted upon them.\n\n\"Which shall I begin with?\" asked the executioner, as he approached\nthe two youngest of Paul's children for the purpose of chopping off\ntheir fingers.\n\n\"That is your affair, not mine,\" the old Christian answered bluntly,\nprobably to conceal a softer feeling. \"Cut off which, and as many, as\nyou please.\"\n\n\"And oh!\" sighed little Ignatius, as, in the very spirit of the brave\nman his father, he watched his brother's fingers falling joint by\njoint beneath the knife of the executioner; \"how beautiful your hand\nlooks, my brother, thus mutilated for the sake of Jesus Christ, and\nhow I long for my own turn to come!\"\n\nThe child who made this exclamation was but five years old; yet\nwithout shedding a tear, he afterwards endured a similarly protracted\namputation, and then silently and unresistingly suffered himself to be\ncast into the ocean. The father and about twenty of the remaining\nChristians, who were reserved for a different fate, were, after the\nmassacre of their companions, brought back to shore; although so\nfrightfully crippled, from the mutilations they had already undergone,\nthat one at least of their number was compelled to be carried to his\nhouse in a kind of coffin on men's shoulders. The governor had hoped\nthat their ghastly appearance would terrify others from following\ntheir example; but he soon found that Jesus was more easily and more\neloquently preached by such wounds and such deeds as theirs, than by\nany words that could be uttered; and in his vexation at the numbers\nwho flocked to them for edification and encouragement, he condemned\nthem, as we have seen, to the boiling sulphurs of Unsen.\n\nAs the little company of martyrs approached this terrible chasm, one\namong them, at the bidding of the executioner, and in the spirit of an\nApollonia, rushed forward at once, and flung himself into its depths;\nbut Paul, with a more measured courage, commanded the others to\nrestrain their zeal; while to the heathens who taunted him with\ncowardice, he contented himself by saying, \"that they were not masters\nof their own lives, which God having given, God alone had a right to\ntake away; and that, in reality, there was more real courage in calmly\nwaiting the approach of death, than in rushing into its arms in such a\nway as to put an end to all its terrors in a moment.\" Silenced by this\nanswer, so calm and noble in its genuine Christian courage, the\nexecutioners proceeded to their duties; and having tied each of the\nmartyrs by ropes, in order to prevent their falling entirely into the\nchasm, they lowered them one by one into its seething contents. Some\nwere destroyed at a single plunge; others, by being quickly withdrawn,\nwere reserved for the torment of a second immersion; but old Paul, who\nsuffered last, and who had excited the hatred of the heathens by the\ncourage with which it was believed he had inspired his companions,\nthey managed, with dexterous cruelty, to let down three several times\ninto the abyss before life was altogether extinguished; and each time\nas he rose to the surface he was heard to exclaim: \"Eternal praise be\nto the ever adorable Sacrament of the Altar!\"\n\nAfter this first trial of its power, the scalding sulphurous waters of\nUnsen became a favourite mode of torture for the Christians. Men,\nwomen, children, and infants were sent hither in crowds. Some expired\nafter a single plunge; others after two or three successive\nimmersions; others, again, and the greater number, were with a more\nelaborate cruelty sprinkled with the boiling liquor day after day,\noften for a period of thirty days together, until their bodies were\none mass of sores and vermin, and they died from the effects of this\nuniversal ulceration.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 6.\n\n S. BUCOLUS, _B. of Smyrna, circ._ A.D. 100.\n S. ANTHOLIAN, _M. at Clermont, circ._ A.D. 255.\n SS. DOROTHY, _V. M._, AND THEOPHILUS, _M., at C\u00e6sarea, in Cappadocia,\n circ._ A.D. 303.\n SS. SYLVAN, _B. M._, LUKE, _D. M._, AND MUCIUS, _Lect. M. at Emesa_,\n A.D. 312.\n SS. MAEL, MELCHU, MUN, AND RIOCH, _Bishops in Ireland, end of\n 5th cent._\n S. AVENTINE, _Ab. H. at Troyes, circ._ A.D. 538.\n S. VEDAST, _B. of Arras, circ._ A.D. 540.\n S. AMANDUS, _B. of Maestricht_, A.D. 684.\n S. INA, _K. of the West Saxons, about_ A.D. 728.\n S. GUARIN, _Card. B. of Preneste_, A.D. 1159.\n S. ALDERICK, _Swineherd at Fussenich_, A.D. 1200.\n S. BRYNJOLF, _B. of Skara in Sweden_, A.D. 1317.\n\n\nS. DOROTHY, V. M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 303.)\n\n [This Saint, so famous in Western Martyrologies, is unknown to the\n Greeks. Her Acts are not to be relied upon.]\n\nThis holy martyr was a native of C\u00e6sarea in Cappadocia, and in the\npersecution of Dioclesian she was brought before the governor\nSapricius. After the usual interogatories she was stretched on the\n_catasta_, an iron bed over a slow fire. Then as laid thereon, the\nservant of God exclaimed, \"Do thy worst, I fear not pain, if only I\nmay see Him, for whose love I am ready to die.\" Sapricius said, \"Who\nis he whom thou lovest?\" Dorothy answered, \"Christ, the Son of God.\"\nSapricius asked, \"And where is this Christ?\" Dorothy replied, \"In His\nomnipotence He is everywhere; in His humanity he is in Heaven, the\nParadise to which He invites us: where the woods are ever adorned with\nfruit, and lilies ever bloom white, and roses ever flower; where the\nfields are green, the mountains wave with fresh grass, and the springs\nbubble up eternally.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. AGNES. S. CECILIA. S. DOROTHY.\n After Angelica de Fiesole. Feb. 6.]\n\nThen said a lawyer present, named Theophilus, \"Thou spouse of Christ,\nsend me from Paradise some of these apples and roses.\" And Dorothy\nanswered him, \"I will.\"\n\nNow the governor pronounced sentence against her, that she should lose\nher head. And as she knelt, and the executioner prepared to smite, she\nasked him to delay the stroke for a moment. Then she prayed, and\nsuddenly there stood by her a beauteous youth, in dazzling raiment,\nwho held in his hands three apples, and three red roses, the like of\nwhich earthly garden had never produced. Then Dorothy said, \"I pray\nthee take these to Theophilus, and tell him that they are what I\npromised him.\" And at that instant the sword of the executioner fell,\nand she entered into the joy of her Lord.\n\nNow Theophilus, the advocate, was at home with his companions; and to\nthem he told with great laughter how he had asked the virgin to send\nhim the flowers and fruit of the Paradise to which she hoped to enter.\nAnd, all at once, as he spake, the angel stood before him, with grave\nface, and held out to him the wondrous apples and roses, and said,\n\"Dorothy sends these to thee, as she promised.\" Then Theophilus\nbelieved, and going before the governor, he confessed Christ, and was\nsentenced to death; and so died, receiving the baptism of blood.\n\nRelics at Arles; where March 28th is observed as the feast of their\ntranslation; also at Cologne, in the churches of S. Gereon, S.\nSeverinus, S. Andrew, S. Paul, SS. John and Cordula, &c.; the head at\nPrague.\n\nIn Art, S. Dorothea is easily recognized by the sword she holds, and\nthe apples and roses at her side, or in her hand.\n\n\nSS. MAEL, MELCHU, MUN, AND RIOCH, BISHOPS.\n\n(END OF 5TH CENTURY.)\n\n [Inserted in the Sarum Martyrology by Richard Wytford from the Irish\n Kalendar, in these words: \"In Ireland the feast of S. Mel, S.\n Melkus, S. Munys, Bishops, and Riockus, Abbot: these four were\n brothers, nephews of S. Patrick, by his sister S. Darerca, all\n famous for their singular holiness and great miracles.\" They are\n also given by Colgan. Authorities:--Joselyn's Life of S. Patrick;\n The Life of S. Bridget, &c.]\n\nThese four brothers are said to have been the sons of Darerca, the\nsaintly sister of S. Patrick, and his coadjutors in his apostolic\nlabours in Ireland.[21] S. Mael, or Mel, who was ordained Bishop of\nArdagh, in Longford, lived there in a poor cell with his mother's aged\nsister, Lupita. She watched and prayed till midnight, and then woke\nher nephew, who continued the watch and prayer till day broke, and she\nretired to bed. S. Mel died about the year 488, and was buried at\nArdagh. S. Melchu was the companion of his brother Mael, in his\nmissionary labours and preaching, and lived with him in the monastery\nfounded by Mael at Ardagh, and was ordained Bishop by his uncle\nPatrick. S. Mun, or Munis, after having for a long time accompanied S.\nPatrick, was raised to the episcopate, and founded the Church of\nForgney in Longford, in the year 486. S. Rioch, after many labours in\nthe Gospel, with the leave of S. Patrick, retired to the island of\nInisbofinde in Lough-ree; and thus devoted the remainder of his days\nto a contemplative life, in a monastery, which he founded in the\nisland.\n\n\nS. VEDAST, B. OF ARRAS.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 540.)\n\n [Roman, Gallican, Belgian, and other Martyrologies. Double feast\n with octave at Arras. In the Salisbury Martyrology, he is inserted\n on this day under the name of S. Zawster. In many Kalendars, SS.\n Vedast and Amandus are commemorated together. Authorities:--A very\n ancient life, published from an imperfect copy by Bollandus. Another\n life revised or rewritten by Alcuin, (d.\u00a0804). Another erroneously\n attributed to the Venerable Bede.]\n\nClovis, King of the Franks, began his reign in 482, on the decease of\nhis father, Childeric. He extended his dominions in every quarter by\nforce of arms, and in the space of thirty years conquered part of\nGermany, and nearly the whole of Modern France. In the early part of\nhis career, the King of the Franks signalized himself by repelling\nwith success the attacks of Syagius, the Roman general, who had been\nordered to advance and check his progress. This impediment in the path\nof victory removed, the five ensuing years were actively employed by\nClovis in the reduction of Soissons and of Rheims; in a successful\nexpedition against the Thuringians and other neighbouring nations, in\nthe course of which he extended his territories from the Seine to the\nLoire; and lastly in the conquest of the Alemanni, at that time the\npossessors of Switzerland. The Alemanni attacked the Franks with the\nfury of men actuated by despair, and were irrevocably defeated on the\nfield of Tolbiac.\n\nThe great soul of Clovis had long been agitated by religious\ndoubts--should he cling to the gods of his family, from whom he\nclaimed to be lineally descended, or should he submit to the faith of\nChrist which his gentle wife, Clothildis, made so attractive to his\nbetter nature? His ancestral gods alarmed him. To their anger he\nattributed the death of his first-born; he hesitated to abandon them\nfor that \"new, unarmed God,\" said he, \"who is not of the race of Thor\nand Odin.\" He dreaded also his people, of whose consent he wished to\nbe assured. The peril of the field of Tolbiac constrained him to\ndecide. When the scale of success seemed turned against him, he vowed,\nif he conquered, to adopt the faith of Christ. The victory remained in\nhis hands, and he hastened to fulfil his vow. On his return from the\nsubjugation of the Alemanni, he passed through Toul, and asked for\nsome priest who might instruct him in the Christian religion. S.\nVedast was presented to him for this purpose. Whilst he accompanied\nthe king at the passage of the river Aisne, a blind man begging on the\nbridge besought the servant of God to restore to him his sight. The\nsaint, divinely inspired, prayed, and made the sign of the cross on\nhis eyes, and he immediately recovered it. The miracle confirmed the\nking in the faith, and moved several of his courtiers to embrace it.\n\nBut Clovis was not a man to yield at once. Nicetius of Tr\u00e8ves, writing\nto the grand-daughter of Clovis says, \"You have learnt from your\ngrandmother of happy memory, Clothildis, how she attracted to the\nfaith her lord and husband, and how he, who was a most shrewd man,\nwould not yield, till he had been thoroughly convinced of the truth.\"\nClovis was baptized at Rheims, whither in after times the kings of\nFrance went to be crowned. S. Vedast assisted S. Remigius in\nconverting the Franks, and was consecrated by that prelate bishop of\nArras, in the year 500. His diocese, together with that of Cambrai,\nwhich was also entrusted to his care, had once been the seat of a\nflourishing Christian community, but the ravages of the Vandals and\nAlani had eradicated every trace of Christianity, save that here and\nthere was to be seen a ruined church, overgrown with briars, and\nnettles waving where the altar had stood. Vedast wept over these sad\nrelics, and made earnest supplication to God to enable him faithfully\nto accomplish his mission, and once more to plant the seed of life in\nthis devastated field.\n\nHis own Cathedral Church of Arras he found had become the den of a\nhuge bear, which came shambling towards him, as he knelt weeping over\nthe broken altar stair. The saint started up and drove the wild beast\nforth, and bade it never again enter to pollute by its presence that\nholy ground; a type, surely, of that brutality which had invaded and\ndesolated the Church of God in that land, which he had come to\nexorcise.\n\nHe ruled the diocese for forty years, and died on Feb.\u00a06th, in, or\nnear, the year 540. All Martyrologists are agreed as to the day of his\ndeath, but historians differ as to the year.\n\nThe name of S. Vedast has gone through strange transformation. He is\ncalled Vaast, Vaat, W\u00e2st, W\u00e2t; and in French, Gaston; in English,\nFoster, a corruption marked by Foster Lane, (properly S. Vedast's\nLane) in the City of London.\n\nRelics at Arras, of which he is patron, and at S. Waast. In Art he\nappears with a child at his feet, or with a wolf, from whose mouth he\nsaves a goose, a popular tradition being to the effect that he saved\nthe goose belonging to some poor people from the wolf that was running\naway with it; or, with a bear.\n\n\nS. AMANDUS, B. OF MAESTRICHT.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 684.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, also an ancient addition to the so-called\n Martyrology of S. Jerome, which addition is earlier than 741. Bede\n (so-called), Notker, Rabanus, German and Belgian Martyrologies, &c.\n In the Church of Maestricht, the 6th Feb. is celebrated as the Feast\n of S. Amandus and the other Bishops of Maestricht, with a double.\n His ordination and translation are celebrated variously on 26th\n October, or on 20th, 25th, 27th, and even on the 19th Sept. Various\n other days commemorate translations of his relics. Authorities:--An\n ancient anonymous life. Another by Bandemand, monk of Elno, about\n 680; another by Milo, monk of Elno, d. 871; another by Philip\n Harveng, d. after 1180; another by Justus, the Archpriest, about\n 1128.]\n\nThis great apostle of Flanders was a native of Herbauges, near Nantes.\nHis father, Serenus and his mother, Amantia, were of noble family, and\nwere wealthy. But Amandus, renouncing all these advantages, left his\npaternal house, in his youth, and retired into the isle of Oye, near\nLa Rochelle, where he embraced the religious life in a monastery which\nwas there. His father, who looked to his worldly advantage, followed\nhim, and threatened to disinherit him, if he did not quit the habit he\nhad assumed. He replied, \"My father, I care not for thy property; all\nI ask of thee is to suffer me to follow Jesus Christ, who is my true\nheritage.\"\n\nThis reply did not satisfy his father, and Amandus, to escape his\nsolicitations, fled the island, and visited the tomb of S. Martin at\nTours. Kneeling by this shrine, with many tears, he besought God to\ngrant that he might never more return to his native place. Shortly\nafter he received the clerical tonsure. He soon distinguished himself\namong the clergy of Tours; but the fame of S. Austragisle drew him to\nBourges, when this holy bishop, together with S. Sulpicius, then his\narchdeacon, and afterwards his successor, received him with great joy.\nThey built him a little cell, near the cathedral, in which he lived as\na recluse, to die and be buried to the world. There, lying on ashes,\nclothed in sack-cloth, and eating only barley-bread, and drinking\nwater alone, he spent fifteen years. It was the preparation for his\nfuture apostleship.\n\nAt the end of these years, Amandus felt an inspiration to visit Rome.\nIt was at the tomb of the great Apostles, that he was to receive his\ncall and mission. One night, as he prayed with fervour before the door\nof the basilica of S. Peter, because it was locked for the night, the\nprince of the apostles appeared to him, and ordered him to return\ninstantly to Gaul, and to preach the glad tidings of salvation to the\nheathen there. Amandus obeyed promptly, and on his return, he preached\nwith such success, that King Clothaire II. ordered him to be\nconsecrated bishop, that he might preach with more authority, but\nwithout any particular see, over which he was to exercise jurisdiction.\n\nThe new apostle maintained his dignity by his virtues. He knew how to\nmake the poor love him, and the rich respect him. He found means of\nransoming young slaves, whom he baptized, instructed in letters, and\nordained; sending them through the country to minister the Word of\nGod. S. Amandus chose for his mission Belgic Gaul, especially the\nterritory of Ghent, where idolatry still held its sway. The people\nthere had rejected former missionaries; their savage manners, and\ninflexible obstinacy seemed insurmountable barriers to the stream of\nGrace. Amandus visited S. Acharius, bishop of Noyon and Tournai in\nwhose diocese Ghent then was; and besought him to obtained for him\nletters from King Dagobert, to oblige his idolatrous subjects to\nlisten to Christian instruction. The zeal of the prince seconded that\nof the missionary, who, in spite of this powerful support, had much to\nendure; but his patience and sweetness triumphed over every obstacle,\nand his virtues were more efficacious in persuading the people, than\nall the orders of the king.\n\nWhilst S. Amandus was at Tournai, he learnt that a Frankish Count,\nnamed Dotto, had condemned a robber to death. He hastened to implore\npardon for the unhappy man, but was unsuccessful, and the robber was\nexecuted. But Amandus ran to the gallows and cut down the man, and\nbore the body home, laid it on his bed, and passed the night in\nprayer. Next morning, he summoned his clerks, and bade them bring him\nwater. They supposed this was for the purpose of washing the corpse,\nbefore burying it; but, what was their surprise on entering the\nchamber, to find the man, who had been hung, alive and conversing with\ntheir bishop. He still bore the marks of the rope, but they\ndisappeared when Amandus had washed them. Bandemand, who relates this\nincident, says that he heard it from the mouth of an eye-witness. The\nfame of this miracle spread through the country, and many of the\nheathen were so convinced thereby, that they cast away their idols,\nand submitted their necks to the yoke of Christ's commandments.\n\nAfter having reaped an abundant harvest in Flanders, Amandus resolved\nto preach the faith to the heathen races in Germany; and he made a\nsecond journey to Rome, to obtain approval of his design. Accordingly,\narmed with the blessing of the successor of S. Peter, he went to the\nSclavonic races, hoping to convert them to the Gospel, or to receive\nthe palm of martyrdom. But finding that the people were neither\nsufficiently docile to receive the Word, nor ferocious to shed the\nblood of him who declared it, he quitted these ungrateful people, and\nreturned to Gaul, where he found the opportunity of suffering for the\ntruths he announced, which had been denied him among the barbarians.\nDagobert, the king, was guilty of gross licentiousness; he had, at\nonce, three wives, not to mention Gomatrudis whom he had repudiated at\nReuilli, nor Ragntrudis, the mother of Sigebert III.; and beside these\nwives he had numerous concubines. S. Amandus boldly rebuked him for\nthe scandal he caused, and for his audacity in so doing was ordered\ninto exile. He retired to the territory of Charibert, who reigned on\nthe further side of the Loire; but was soon recalled. A son was born\nto Dagobert, in 630, and the king desired to have the child baptized\nby some holy bishop, who might draw down on it the benediction of\nheaven. He remembered the fearless Amandus, who alone had had the\ncourage to reprimand him for his iniquities; showing, thereby, that if\nprinces do not always love those who tell them disagreeable truths,\nthey can sometimes respect them. Amandus obeyed, and came to salute\nthe king at Clichy, near Paris. As soon as Dagobert saw him, he cast\nhimself at his feet, to ask him pardon for what was passed. After\nwhich he said: \"The Lord has given me a son, though I merited it not.\nI pray thee, baptize him, and regard him as thy spiritual child.\"\nAmandus, at first, refused the honour, but at the entreaty of Ouen and\nEligius, two pious laymen of his court, he yielded and baptized the\nchild at Orleans, in the year 630; Charibert, his protector in exile,\nstanding as sponsor at the font. The child was called Sigebert, and is\nreckoned among the Saints.[22]\n\nIn the year 647, Sigebert, who loved him as a father, and was now king\nof Austrasia, obliged him to accept the bishopric of Maestricht, and\nthenceforth he exchanged his missionary work over scattered districts\nfor the supervision of a single diocese. But he soon found that this\nwas not his vocation, and that it was easier for him to convert the\nheathen than to discipline the clergy. He therefore visited Rome,\nafter holding his diocese three years, and obtained the sanction of\nthe Pope to his resignation of it into the hands of S. Remacle, then\nabbot of Stavelot. Amandus, relieved of the burden of his diocese,\nvisited Gascony, to preach to the Basques who were still heathen, but\nmet with little or no success. He therefore returned to Flanders,\nwhere he supervised the many monasteries he had founded. The date of\nhis death is very uncertain; some place it in 661, others in 676, and\nothers in 684.\n\n\nS. INA, K. C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 728.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrology of Wyon, Ferrarius, Menardus, &c. Authorities:\n Malmsbury and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.]\n\nIna, king of Wessex, which consisted of Wiltshire, Hampshire,\nGloucestershire, Dorsetshire, and Oxfordshire, was the son of Cerdic,\nand his wife was Ethelburga. He reigned as much as thirty-eight years;\nfrom 688 to 726. He put together the laws of the West Saxons, so as to\nform a code, and this is the oldest code of West Saxon laws that we\nhave, though there are Kentish laws which are older still. He also\ndivided the kingdom into two bishoprics. Hitherto all Wessex had been\nunder the bishops of Winchester; but now that the kingdom was so much\nlarger, Ina founded another bishopric at Sherborne in Dorsetshire. He\nalso in 704, founded S. Andrew's Church in Wells, which is now a\nCathedral. And at Glastonbury Ina did great things. He built the\nmonastery and richly adorned it, he also translated to it the bodies\nof SS. Indract and his companions.\n\nIna fought with the Welsh under their King Gerent, and also with the\nother English kings. He fought against the men of Kent, and made them\npay him much gold for his kinsman Mul, whom they had slain. He had\nalso wars in Sussex and East Anglia, and in 714 he fought a great\nbattle with Ceolred, king of the Mercians, in which neither gained the\nvictory, at Wanborough in Wiltshire. Towards the end of his reign, Ina\nseems to have been troubled by some rebellions among his own people,\nand also to have been less successful than before in his wars with the\nWelsh. In 726 he gave up his kingdom and went to Rome and died there.\nWilliam of Malmesbury relates a curious story about the occasion of\nthis which is deserving of record.[23]\n\nIna once made a feast to his lords and great men in one of his royal\nhouses; the house was hung with goodly curtains, and the table was\nspread with vessels of gold and silver, and Ina and his lords ate and\ndrank and were merry. Now on the next day, Ina set forth from that\nhouse to go to another that he had, and Ethelburga, his queen, went\nwith him. So men took down the curtains and carried off the goodly\nvessels and left the house bare and empty. Moreover, Ethelburga, the\nqueen spake to the steward who had care of that house, saying \"When\nthe king is gone, fill the house with rubbish, and with the dung of\ncattle, and lay in the bed where the king slept a sow with her litter\nof pigs.\" So the steward did as the queen commanded. And when Ina and\nthe queen had gone forth, about a mile from the house, the queen said\nto Ina, \"Turn back, my lord, to the house whence we have come, for it\nwill be greatly for thy good so to do.\" So Ina hearkened to the voice\nof his wife, and turned back to the house. There he found all the\ncurtains and the goodly vessels gone, and the house full of rubbish\nand defiled with the dung of cattle, and a sow and her pigs lying in\nthe bed where Ina and Ethelburga his queen had slept. So Ethelburga\nspake to her husband, saying, \"Seest thou, O king, how the pomp of\nthis world passeth away? Where are all thy goodly things? How foul is\nnow the house which but yesterday was thy royal abode! Are not all the\nthings of this life as a breath, yea as smoke, and as a wind that\npasseth away?\"\n\nThen the old king entered into himself, and he resolved to lay aside\nhis dignity and rule, and to devote the rest of his days to the\ncustody of his soul. So he and his wife went to Rome to pray at the\ntomb of the Apostles, and Pope Gregory II. received them gladly; and\nhe died there.\n\n[21] The story is without any foundation in fact. The brothers were\nprobably no relations to S. Patrick. According to the fabulous history\nof the relatives of S. Patrick, his pretended sister Tigridia had\nseventeen sons all bishops, priests, or monks, and five daughters all\nnuns. Some of Darerca's sons are attributed to Tigridia, and some to\nLiemania. Lupita, another pretended sister is said by some to have\nremained a consecrated virgin, by others to have been the mother of\nbishops.\n\n[22] See Feb 1.\n\n[23] It is only found in Malmesbury's English Chronicle, lib. i.,\nc.\u00a02; and is not found in all copies of Malmesbury.\n\n [Illustration: S. Amandus. See page 184.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 7.\n\n S. CHRYSOLIUS, _B. M. in Flanders_, A.D. 302.\n SS. ADAUCTUS AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Antandris, circ._ A.D. 303.\n S. AUGULUS, _B. M. in London_.\n SS. ONE THOUSAND AND THREE MARTYRS AT NICOMEDIA, _circ._ A.D. 302.\n S. MAXIMUS, _B. of Nola_ (_see_ S. FELIX, _Jan.\u00a015_).\n S. THEODORE, _M. at Heraclea_, A.D. 319.\n S. PARTHENIUS, _B. of Lampsacus, 4th cent._\n S. MOSES, _B. of the Saracens in Arabia, end of 5th cent._\n SS. MOSES AND SIX MONKS, _MM. in Egypt, 5th cent._\n S. JULIANA, _W. at Bologna, circ._ A.D. 435.\n S. TRESAN, _P. C. of Mareuil, 6th cent._\n S. LAURENCE, _B. of Manfredonia, circ._ A.D. 550.\n S. FIDELIS, _B. of Merida, circ._ A.D. 570.\n S. MELDAN, _B. at Peronne, end of 6th cent._\n S. RICHARD, _C. at Lucca_, A.D. 719.\n S. LUKE THE YOUNGER, _C. at Soterio, in Greece, circ._ A.D. 946.\n S. ROMUALD, _Ab. Founder of the Order of Camaldoli, circ._ A.D. 1027.\n\n\nS. CHRYSOLIUS, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 302.)\n\n [Molanus in his additions to Usuardus. Ferrarius in his General\n Catalogue of Saints. Authorities:--The Lections in use in the Church\n of Comines.]\n\nOn this day at Comines, in Flanders, is celebrated the Feast of S.\nChrysolius, the patron of the church, who is said to have founded the\nfirst sanctuary of the B. Virgin in Flanders. This saint, a native of\nArmenia, accompanied S. Piatus and S. Quentin in their apostolic\nmission to France and Belgium. From Tournai he started on a preaching\nexpedition through Flanders, but the pagans cut off his scalp, in\nderision of his tonsure, at Vrelenghem, and he died at Comines, two\nleagues distant, on the river Lys. His body was taken up by S.\nEligius, and is, to this day, honoured in the collegiate church there,\noriginally erected under the invocation of Our Lady.\n\n\nS. AUGULUS, B. M.\n\n [Martyrology of S. Jerome, falsely so-called, and others.]\n\nLittle or nothing is known of this Saint, but all Martyrologies place\nhim in Britain, and at Augusta, which is probably London. It is\nquestionable if he was a martyr.\n\n\nS. THEODORE OF HERACLEA, M.\n\n(A.D. 319.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology on this day. By the modern Greeks on Feb.\u00a08th,\n but anciently on the 7th. The Acts purport to be written by one\n Augarius, a notary; he says, \"I, the Scribe Augarius, was present,\n and saw these cruel punishments, and hearing also the pain of his\n stifled sighs, casting aside my parchments, I threw myself weeping\n at his feet.\" He says also that he wrote this account at the request\n of the dying martyr. If this be not a forgery, the original Acts\n have been sadly tampered with. To the account of the martyrdom is\n prefixed--very probably by a later hand--a story of the fight of S.\n Theodore with a dragon, which belongs to the Western version of the\n story of S. George. These Acts certainly existed in their present\n condition in 550, for they were then translated into Latin.]\n\nS. Theodore of Heraclea, who is not to be confounded with S. Theodore\nof Amasea, surnamed Tyro, also a warrior martyr, is numbered among the\nGreat Martyrs by the Greek Church.\n\nTheodore of Heraclea was a general of the forces of Licinius, and\ngovernor of the country of the Mariandyni, whose capital was Heraclea\nof Pontus. Here he was sentenced to death by order of the emperor.\nAfter having been scourged, and his flesh torn by hooks, and burnt\nwith fire, he was for a short while attached to a cross, and then\nbeheaded.\n\nRelics at S. Saviour's, Venice. S. Theodore is regarded as one of the\nchief patrons of the Venetian republic. The body of this glorious\nmartyr was brought from Constantinople to Venice by Mark Dandolo, in\n1260.\n\nIn Art, S. Theodore appears as a warrior in armour, very generally\ntrampling on the dragon. He is to be distinguished from S. George by\nbeing represented on foot, whereas S. George usually appears mounted.\n\n\nS. PARTHENIUS, B. OF LAMPSACUS.\n\n(4TH CENT.)\n\n [Greek Anthology and Men\u00e6a. Authority:--A life written by one\n Christinus, a contemporary, and native of Lampsacus, and probably a\n disciple.]\n\nS. Parthenius, a native of Melitopolis, as a boy, occupied his leisure\nin fishing. He sold the fish he caught, and gave the proceeds to the\npoor. He was afterwards ordained Bishop of Lampsacus, and having\nobtained from Constantine authority to overthrow the heathen temples\nand idols, he destroyed those in his city. The story is told of him\nthat having ordered an evil spirit to leave a man who for many years\nhad been possessed, the evil spirit asked first to be given an\nhabitation. \"I know thee,\" cried the demon, \"thou wilt cast me out,\nand bid me enter into a swine.\" \"Nay, verily,\" answered the saint, \"I\nwill offer thee a man to dwell in.\" Then the devil came out of the\nman, and the Bishop said, \"Come now, thou foul spirit, I am the man.\nEnter into me if thou canst.\" Then the devil cried out that he could\nnot abide in a tabernacle kept holy to God, and so fled away.\n\n\nSS. MOSES, AB. AND SIX MONKS, MM.\n\n(5TH CENT.)\n\n [Salisbury Martyrology of Wytford, and all other Western\n Martyrologies. This S. Moses is not to be confounded with the S.\n Moses, B. among the Arabs, nor with S. Moses the Ethiopian.\n Authorities:--The Lives of the Fathers of the Desert and Rufinus.]\n\nThis holy abbot ruled a community of monks at Scete, in Egypt. He was\nonce sent for to judge a brother who had been overtaken in a fault;\nbut he would not go. Then he was sent for again, and told that all the\nbrethren awaited him. So he arose and filled a basket with sand, laid\nit on his back, and went to them. Then they asked, \"Oh, Father! what\nart thou doing?\" He answered, \"My sons, all my sins are behind my\nback, following me, and I see them not; and shall I judge, this day,\nthe sins of another man?\"\n\nA party of Arabs fell upon him in his cell and killed him, together\nwith six of his monks.\n\n\nS. TRESAN, P. C.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrology. Authorities:--Mention by Flodoard in his\n Hist. Eccl. Remensis, lib. iv. c.\u00a09; and a life from the Lections of\n the Avenay Breviary; a life given in Colgan; all late.]\n\nTresan, with his six brothers and three sisters, left Ireland, their\nnative place, and settled at Mareuil on the river Marne, in France,\nwhere Tresan hired himself as swineherd to a nobleman. He was wont to\ndrive the pigs to the door of a little church dedicated to St. Martin,\nand to stand at the door and listen to the recitation of Matins, and\nassist at the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. By this means he became\ngradually so thoroughly acquainted with the divine office, that S.\nRemigius, hearing of him, and having evidence of his sanctity,\nordained him priest. The legend is told of him that one day having\ncelebrated Mass in this little Church of S. Martin, where he had\nlearnt the holy offices, he returned to Mareuil, but being weary, he\nthrust his staff into the ground, and laid himself down and slept. And\nwhen he woke up, behold the staff had taken root and budded. Then he\nleft it there, and it grew to become a great tree.\n\nWhen he was dying, the Holy Eucharist was brought to him. He rose from\nhis bed, and casting himself down on the ground, exclaimed, \"Hail,\nmost blessed hope, and most holy redemption! Hail, true flesh of\nChrist, to me precious above gold and topaz and all most goodly\nstones! Hail, most blessed blood of Christ, poured forth to ransom me,\na sinner, and wash away my stains! Hail, Jesus Christ, defend me\nagainst the ancient enemy, that the prince of darkness secure me not!\nI pray thee, number me with thine elect.\" Then he received the holy\nViaticum, and sighed, and his soul had fled.\n\nRelics at Pont-aux-Dames, in Brie. In Art he is represented with a\nbudding staff.\n\n\nS. MELDAN, B.\n\n(END OF 6TH CENTURY.)\n\nOf this Irish saint and bishop, who left his native land and died at\nPeronne, nothing is known. His acts have been lost. Yet, at one time\nhe must have been famous, for many churches are dedicated to him. He\nis sometimes called Medan. In the revelations of S. Fursey, reference\nis made to S. Meldan.\n\n\nS. RICHARD, C.\n\n(A.D. 719.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. German Mart., and that of Sarum by Wytford. His\n life is to be gathered from the Acts of his sons SS. Willibald and\n Wunibald; the life of S. Willibald was written by his cousin, a nun\n of Heidenheim.]\n\nThis saint was, according to the belief of the people of Lucca, a\nprince in Wessex; but there is not only no evidence that he was of\nroyal rank, but there is strong contemporary evidence that he was\nmerely a petty noble.\n\nTaking with him his two sons, Willibald and Wunibald, he undertook a\npilgrimage to Rome; and sailing from Hamblewich, _i.e._ Southampton,\nlanded in France. He made a brief stay at Rouen, and paid his\ndevotions at all the principal shrines on his way through France. On\nhis arrival at Lucca, in Italy, he was taken ill and died. He was\nburied in the Church of S. Fridian, there, where his relics are still\npreserved; and his festival is kept with singular devotion. See\nfurther the life of S. Willibald (July 7).\n\n [Illustration: S. RICHARD AND HIS SONS. From Cahier. Feb. 7.]\n\n [Illustration: FAMILY OF S. RICHARD THE SAXON.\n S. WALBURGA, Virg. Abbess.\n S. WUNIBALD, Abbot. S. WILLIBALD, Bishop.\n From a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin. Feb. 7.]\n\n\nS. ROMUALD, AB. C.\n\n(A.D. 1027.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--a life by S. Peter Damian written\n fifteen years after his death.]\n\nS. Romuald, who was destined to be the restorer of the religious life\nin Italy, came into the world, according to the most credible account,\nabout the year A.D. 907, at a time when the universal lawlessness and\ncorruption of life and manners which had overflowed Europe, had\npenetrated to the recesses of the cloister, and had filled the\nmonasteries of his native land with unworthy monks, who made the\nreligious profession a mere cloak for vice, or at best as a pretext\nfor an idle self-indulgent life.\n\nHe belonged to the noble family of the Onesti, the Ducal race of the\nstate of Ravenna; he is said in his youth to have been much given to\nsins of the flesh, but nevertheless to have been strongly drawn\ninwardly towards God. It is said that when in hunting he got separated\nfrom his companions in the woods, he would allow his horse to come to\na standstill, and overcome by the peaceful beauty of nature, would\ngive way to reflections on the happiness of those to whom it was given\nto live retired from the world far from the clash of arms, the whirl\nof pleasure, and the struggles of civil life.\n\nThe immediate cause of his forsaking the world was as follows. His\nfather Sergius Onesti, a man of a proud and passionate disposition,\nand wholly given to worldly things, had a violent quarrel with a\nrelative about the possession of a certain meadow; so resolutely\ndetermined was he to press his quarrel to the end, that perceiving\nRomuald to be but half-hearted in it, and more fearful of\nblood-guiltiness, than desirous for the victory of his house, he\nthreatened to disinherit him unless he displayed more zeal in the\ncause. The relation being equally resolved, the dependents on both\nsides were armed, and a fight ensued; at which Romuald, in spite of\nhis scruples, was obliged to be present. The relation fell by the hand\nof Sergius himself; and Romuald, horror-stricken at the crime, of\nwhich his enforced presence at its perpetration seemed to make him a\npartaker, fled to the Monastery of S. Apollinaris in Classe, intending\nthere to expiate his guilt by a penance of forty days.\n\nDuring the performance of this penance he was by some means attracted\nto the society of a lay-brother in the monastery, and in the intervals\nof his penitential exercises had many conversations with him. This\nlay-brother, a truly spiritual man, perceiving in Romuald signs of a\nvocation to the religious life, strongly urged him to forsake the\nworld altogether and at once. For this, however, Romuald was not yet\nprepared, and, without absolutely rejecting the advice of his friend,\nyet resisted, and put him off from day to day. At last one day in the\ncourse of a talk upon the visions of the Saints, the lay-brother asked\nhim what he would give for a sight of the blessed martyr Apollinaris,\nthe patron of the monastery. Romuald replied that for such a favour he\nwould consent to forsake the world. That same night watching in prayer\nin the monastery church, they beheld a supernatural brightness issue\nfrom the high altar and fill the whole church. This was the precursor\nof the appearance of the blessed martyr, who came forth from the midst\nof the high altar habited in priestly vestments, and with a golden\ncenser in his hand; with this he went round the church and censed each\naltar in its turn; and having done this, retired as he had come,\nleaving the church once more in darkness. His friend immediately\nclaimed the fulfilment of the promise. But even a second vision of the\nmartyr failed to overcome his reluctance, and he still held off. But\none day praying in the church before this very altar, a sudden access\nof the love of God came over his soul. In a moment all his fears, all\nhis lingering affection for worldly things vanished; he hastened to\nthe brethren, and humbly besought them to receive him as a novice.\nThis, however, in dread of his father's resentment, they refused to\ndo; Romuald, once resolved, would yield to no difficulties, and betook\nhimself at once to the Archbishop of Ravenna, laid his case before\nhim, and asked for his help. The Archbishop, moved by the earnestness\nand fervour of the youth, took up his cause, and on his assurances of\nprotection against the violence of Sergius, the brethren consented to\nreceive him; and Romuald entered upon the course from which throughout\na long life he was never to swerve, in which his ardour was to know no\ncooling, and which was to end in peopling many of the solitary places\nof Italy with refugees from the wickedness and perils of, perhaps, the\nmost troublous time which Europe has ever known.\n\nHe passed three years in this monastery in the strictest observance of\nS. Benedict's rule, in the daily practise of mortification, and\nincessant prayer. The greater part of the monks, however, were of a\ndifferent mind. They bitterly resented both Romuald's literal\ninterpretation of the monastic vow, and the rebukes of their laxity\nand unfaithfulness, which he did not hesitate to address to them; and\nat length, in their rage, conspired to murder him, by throwing him out\nof the dormitory window, near which it was his custom to pray in the\nearly morning, while they were yet in their beds, and the door of the\noratory was not yet open. Romuald, however, aware of their design,\nprayed that morning just as usual, and by the mere power of prayer,\nwithout other effort of his own, he escaped the threatened danger, and\nsaved the brethren from the guilt which they meditated.\n\nSoon after, hearing by report of one Marinus, who was leading a hermit\nlife in a desert in the Venetian territory, he resolved to retire from\nthe fruitless struggle with the unfaithful monks, and to place himself\nunder his guidance. He made known his desire to the abbot and the\nbrethren, and craved permission from them to retire from the\ncommunity, and this was granted with great alacrity. He immediately\nmade his way to the neighbourhood in which Marinus dwelt, found him\nout, and was accepted by him as his disciple.\n\nMarinus, who was a man of singular simplicity of character, and most\nrigid in his asceticism, took in hand the training of his neophyte in\ngood earnest. His first task was to teach Romuald to read; for up to\nthe time of his forsaking the world his literary education had been\naltogether neglected. Master and pupil would go forth together to roam\nabout the wild, and recite the Psalter, sheltering now under one tree,\nnow under another, and sitting always face to face at their work.\nRomuald, wearied by incessant poring over his book, would sometimes\nyield to the overwhelming lassitude which came over him, and seek a\nmoment's repose; on which Marinus would strike him smartly on the left\nside of his head with a roll which he held in his right hand. At last,\nquite unable to bear the pain, Romuald one day said to him humbly,\n\"Master, if you please, strike me next time on the right side of my\nhead, for I am becoming quite deaf in my left ear,\" \"On which,\" says\nthe biographer, \"Marinus, marvelling at his patience, relaxed the\nindiscreet severity of his discipline.\"\n\nBefore long they were joined in their solitude by Peter, Duke of\nDalmatia, and a comrade of his, who had been moved to embrace the\nreligious life. Romuald who, in time, had mastered the difficulties of\nthe Psalter, kept so far in advance of his companions in devotion, and\nin the acquisition of every virtue, that they unanimously deferred to\nhim in everything, and even Marinus, his whilom master, now became his\nscholar, and submitted to his direction in everything. The whole party\nmaintained themselves by bodily labour, cultivating a piece of ground,\nall the time fasting most rigidly, but, as it would appear, living\ntogether in one common dwelling. However, reading one day in the Lives\nof the Fathers, that certain of the brethren in old time had lived a\nsolitary life, fasting the whole week through, but on Saturdays and\nSundays met together and relaxed the rigour of their fast, they at\nonce resolved to adopt this way of life; viz., to live each in his own\nhut, apart from the rest, in silence and mortification, for five days\nof the week, and to allow themselves the solace of community life only\non the Saturday and Sunday; and thus they lived for the space of\nfifteen years.\n\nOnce, during this time, it is related that Duke Peter came to Romuald\nwith a piteous complaint that he could not subsist on the\nhalf-cake,[24] which formed the daily allowance of the brethren, and\nurging that his huge and corpulent frame really required more\nsustenance. Whereupon Romuald, condescending to the weakness of a\nbrother, and willing to hold out a helping hand to save him from\nfalling, increased his allowance to three-quarters.\n\nAnother occurrence tended greatly to increase the reputation of the\nhermit Saint. A peasant farmer in the neighbourhood, who had often\nministered of his subsistence to Romuald and the brethren, was robbed\nof his only cow by the dependents of a certain Count, a proud and\narrogant man. The poor man came to Romuald bewailing his loss with\nmany lamentations. Romuald at once sent a messenger to the Count,\nbeseeching him in all humility to restore his beast to the poor man.\nThe Count turned a deaf ear to the message, sent back a haughty and\ninsolent reply, adding moreover that he expected highly to enjoy the\ncow's sirloin at dinner that very day. But he had better have yielded\nto Romuald; for at dinner-time the meal was set before him, he inhaled\nits rich savour with a greedy joy, and at the first mouthful was\nchoked and died miserably.\n\nRomuald's sojourn in the Venetian territory was brought to an end, by\nthe death of several of his companions. On this he returned to the\nneighbourhood which he had left years before, and erected a cell for\nhimself, in the marsh of Classe, in the place called \"Pons Petri,\"\nremoving it subsequently to the locality in which afterwards arose the\nchurch of the Blessed Martin \"in sylva.\" Here he experienced many and\nviolent temptations of the devil, who plied him sometimes with\nterrifying visions, sometimes with distressing doubts about the\nreality of his vocation, and his hope of final salvation. But as a\ngood soldier of Jesus Christ he combated the evil one with the\nspiritual weapons of prayer and fasting, and meeting him boldly at\nevery turn, repelled all his assaults.\n\nAfter a while, he removed again to another place, where he built a\nmonastery in honour of Michael the Archangel, which he peopled with\nmonks, he himself still living solitary in his cell. While he was\nliving here, a friend one day sent him a sum of money, about \u00a321\nsterling, intending it as a relief to his bodily necessities. He\nimmediately sent off a portion of the money to the brethren of a\nmonastery which had been just burnt down, to help towards the\nrebuilding, and put the remainder away for some similar purpose. This\ncoming to the ears of the monks at S. Michael's they were so enraged\nthat they came down to his cell in a body, gave him a good beating,\nand drove him from the neighbourhood with insults and reproaches.\nHighly delighted with their exploit, they returned to the monastery,\nand made preparations to celebrate the occasion by a great feast. But\ntheir triumph was short; for the ringleader in the attack on Romuald,\non his way to obtain some honey to make mead for the carouse, had to\ncross a bridge which overhung a furious torrent; in the midst of the\nbridge something tripped him up, he stumbled, and falling headlong\ninto the stream, perished by the just judgment of God; and that very\nnight the rest of the monks were all but buried in the ruins of their\ndwelling, which fell upon them as they were sleeping heavily after\ntheir banquet, and bruises and broken bones convinced them that they\nhad made a bad bargain in revolting against Romuald's severe rule.\n\nAfter this, the martyr Apollinaris appeared to Romuald in a vision,\nand commanded him to return to Classis, and assume the government of\nthe monastery there. He at once removed to the vicinity, probably\ntaking up his quarters in his old cell. At this same time the brethren\nat the monastery being without an abbot were desired by the Emperor\nOtho III. to choose one for themselves. Their choice fell unanimously\nupon Romuald. The emperor himself went to announce his election to\nhim, and to obtain his consent. He did not arrive at the cell until\nnightfall, and was glad to accept Romuald's invitation to spend the\nnight there. The next morning the emperor broached the subject of the\nAbbacy. Romuald at first refused to listen to the proposal; but Otho\nthreatening him with \"excommunication and anathema from all the\nbishops and archbishops and the whole Synod of Council,\" he at last\nyielded, at the same time telling the emperor that the matter was by\nno means new to him, for that he had had a divine intimation of it\nsome time before, and accompanied him to the monastery, where he was\nduly installed. Before long however, the brethren took offence at the\nseverity of his rule, and began to repent of their choice. Perceiving\nthis, Romuald, as eager to lay down his office as he had been backward\nto accept it, hastened to seek an interview with the emperor; and in\nhis presence and that of the Archbishop of Ravenna, broke his rod of\noffice, and formally dissolved the monastery, probably judging the\ntraditions of laxity which had grown up in the place too strong to be\ndisturbed except by the extirpation of the community.\n\nAbout this time, hearing of one Venerius, a holy man, who was leading\na solitary life in great austerity, but not under obedience to anyone,\nRomuald sought him out and persuaded him to return to the monastery\nwhich he had forsaken in consequence of the persecutions of unworthy\nbrethren, and seek permission of his abbot to live apart from the\ncommunity. \"If thou bearest the Cross of Christ,\" said he, \"it yet\nremains that thou forsake not the obedience of Christ.\" Venerius took\nRomuald's advice, obtained leave from his abbot, and returned in great\npeace of mind to the beloved solitude. Romuald remained with him for\nsome time, and gave him much needful instruction in spiritual things.\n\nIt is a good illustration of the reality and thoroughness of the\nreligious sentiment at that time, that men of the highest rank were\nfound to submit themselves readily to the discipline of the Church. It\nis related that the famous Crescentius, Senator of Rome, had incurred\nOtho's displeasure, and apprehensive of the consequences, had taken\nsanctuary. Thammus, one of Otho's courtiers, had induced Crescentius\nby an oath of safe conduct to leave the sanctuary, and so to place\nhimself in the emperor's power. The oath was violated, and Crescentius\nperished by the hand of the executioner. Before long the pangs of\nconscience drove both the emperor and his satellite to unburden their\nsouls in confession to Romuald. He ordered Thammus to embrace the\nsolitary life and\n\n \"His every future year,\n In ceaseless pain and penance dree;\"\n\na command which was unhesitatingly obeyed; while Otho himself accepted\na severe penance for his share in the crime, which was avenged on him\nlater by his victim's widow.\n\nWe now come upon a story which shows how Romuald's rule succeeded in\ntraining such as had the true vocation to be real heroes of the\nkingdom of heaven, and how the supernatural sanctity of his character\nimpressed itself on his faithful followers.\n\nBoleslas, king of Poland, had besought Otho to send him a missionary\nto convert his subjects, a people then, as ever, noted for a wild and\nlawless ferocity. Otho at once appealed to Romuald, who communicated\nthe matter to his disciples, explaining to them the perils attending\nthe mission, and saying that he would lay no command upon any of them,\nbut that if any were willing to go and meet danger and death for\nChrist's sake, he would gladly send him. At once two of his monks, by\nname John and Benedict, came forward and offered to go. Before they\nhad been long in the country, they were set upon at midnight in their\nhut, and murdered for the sake of treasures which they were supposed\nto possess. In order to conceal their crime, the murderers set fire to\nthe hut, hoping to consume the bodies of their victims with the\ndwelling. To their horror the flames refused to approach the bodies of\nthe holy men, and even the hut, built as it was of light and\ninflammable materials, could not be made to burn. Trembling and\nterror-struck, they then attempted to fly from the place; but an\ninvisible power compelled them to wander round and round the scene of\ntheir crime, and held them enchained to the spot until daylight. The\nmatter came to the ears of the king, who went with his guards and\napprehended them. The soldiers would have put them to death at once,\nbut the king prevented them, saying that the criminals should be\nreserved for the judgment of the martyrs. With their hands tied\ntogether they were dragged into the hut, and forced up to the couch on\nwhich the bodies yet lay, when in a moment their bonds fell off; and\nthe king, saying that the martyrs had forgiven and acquitted them,\nordered them to be set at liberty.\n\nMeantime Romuald after vainly endeavouring to persuade Otho to lay\ndown the sceptre, and retire from the world, and predicting his\napproaching death, which accordingly took place, had betaken himself\ninto Istria, and built a monastery in the neighbourhood of Parenzo.\nNear this he lived, built into a cell, for two years, during which\ntime he made great advance in piety and in knowledge of the\nScriptures. At this time he experienced a great dryness of spirit,\nwhich caused him to long and pray earnestly for the gift of holy\ncontrition. One day while in this state, singing the Psalter in his\ncell, the words \"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way\nwherein thou shalt go, and I will guide thee with Mine eye,\" came upon\nhim with a strange light and force; his dryness of spirit vanished in\na moment, he dissolved into tears, and from that day forward he never\nagain experienced lack of contrition.\n\nHis mission in Istria being accomplished, he prepared to return into\nItaly. But the bishop of Parenzo left no stone unturned to keep him in\nhis diocese; when persuasion and entreaty failed, he resorted to\nforce, and forbade anyone to let Romuald have a boat in which to make\nthe voyage across the bay. Romuald, no way discomposed, sat down on\nthe shore to wait, saying that other boats from Italy were on their\nway, and would soon come purposely to take him off. Before long the\nvessels made their appearance, with an invitation to Romuald to\nreturn; and in one of them the journey was safely accomplished.\n\nImmediately on his arrival, he founded a new monastery, and filled it\nwith monks; labouring meanwhile with great zeal and success for the\nconversion of the people in the vicinity. One day there, as Romuald\nand the brethren were sitting in chapter, the brethren who had been\nleft in charge of the door came running in to give the alarm that a\nthief was breaking into one of the cells. The monks ran to the place,\nand caught the robber in the very act. They brought him to Romuald to\nknow what was to be done with him. \"Well but, brethren,\" said the holy\nman, looking pleasantly at them, \"I really do not know what can be\ndone with such a rascal. If we put his eyes out, he won't be able to\nsee; if we cut off his hands, he won't be able to work; or his\nfeet--there will be no more walking for him. Bring him in, and give\nhim something to eat, while we consider what _is_ to be done with\nhim.\" And so says the story, \"having ministered to his bodily wants,\nand given him a sweet and gentle reproof, he dismissed the robber in\npeace.\"\n\nAbout this time intelligence of the martyrdom of the blessed martyr\nBoniface reached Romuald, and inspired by the desire to win for\nhimself the martyr's crown, he at once formed a plan to take a\nmissionary journey into Hungary. But, before setting out, he proceeded\nto consolidate his order by the foundation of three new monasteries,\none the parent house in the Val di Castro, and two others. Having\nappointed an abbot and priors over these houses, he obtained a\ncommission from the Apostolic See for the conversion of the Huns, and\nset forth on his expedition, accompanied by a party of twenty-four\nmonks; and such was the ardour and zeal that burned in the breasts of\nall his disciples to encounter death for Christ, that he had great\ndifficulty to reconcile to their lot those whom he had decided to\nleave behind.\n\nHardly, however, had they entered the confines of Hungary, when\nRomuald was seized with a mysterious malady, which arrested their\nprogress; for as often as he attempted to renew his journey and push\nforward to his destination, his sickness so increased in severity, as\nto compel him to desist; whereas, whenever he only thought of giving\nup the enterprise and returning homewards, the symptoms abated and his\nstrength returned. Judging this to be a divine warning, he resolved to\nretrace his steps. Two of the brethren returned with him; the\nremainder pursued their journey with Romuald's consent, though he\nwarned them that the crown of martyrdom would be granted to none of\nthem. Accordingly they met with all manner of persecution and\nill-treatment from the barbarious Huns, but to none of them was it\ngiven to lay down his life for Christ.\n\nOn his return, hearing that some one had obtained the abbacy of the\nmonastery \"in Classe,\" which would seem to have been reconstituted, by\nperjury and simony, he made all haste hither to rebuke the intruder,\nand exhort him to lay down his ill-gotten authority. The bad abbot in\na rage attempted to murder Romuald, who was only saved by the special\ninterposition of Providence. He returned to the monastery in the Val\ndi Castro, and occupied his cell in the neighbourhood. But before long\nhe experienced one of the many afflictions which befel him in the\ncourse of his life through false brethren; for the abbot of his own\nappointment, an unworthy monk, annoyed at the daily rebuke of his own\nlaxity, conveyed by Romuald's silent example of ascetic holiness,\nmanaged to procure his expulsion from the territory. He did not move\nfar, however, but settled for a time at a place in the Apennines\ncalled Agua Bella, where the disciples gathered round him, and began\nto erect huts or cells for the hermit life. One day in the midst of\nthis work a secular priest who was helping the brethren in their work\nwas attacked by an intolerable toothache, and after bearing up against\nthe pain for some time, was reluctantly obliged to excuse himself to\nthe brethren, and to desist from his work. Moaning piteously he was\nmaking his way home, when he encountered Romuald, who, from age and\ninfirmity, was unable to take any active part in the manual labour of\nthe brotherhood, and in answer to an enquiry from him explained why he\nwas leaving them. Romuald bade him open his mouth, and placing his\nfinger on the offending tooth desired him to apply to it a\nrough-and-ready remedy much in vogue among the country folk. The\npriest proceeded on his way, but scarce had he traversed a rood of\nground when the pain left him of a sudden, and he felt that he was\ncured. Forthwith he returned to his work, loudly declaring the praises\nof God, who had sent among them so bright a light, so eminent a worker\nof miracles, as Romuald; and with great difficulty could the disciples\nsucceed in silencing him; for if such expressions reached Romuald's\nears, great was his displeasure.\n\nIn connection with this story, the biographer mentions an occurrence\nwhich took place at Camaldoli; his cell there was overshadowed by a\nlarge beech tree, which, for some reason or other, he desired might be\nfelled. The workmen began to cut it down, and were in the midst of\ntheir work, when it became evident that the tree must fall right\nacross the hut and crush both the dwelling and its occupant. They all,\nwith one voice, besought him to come out; but, making the sign of the\ncross towards the tree, he desired them to proceed; they obeyed, and\nto the amazement of all, the tree swerved and fell wide of the cell.\n\n\"They all, therefore, thunderstruck at so great a miracle, raised\ntheir voices to heaven in praise, and gave grateful thanks to God.\"\n\nAfter setting everything in order in his monasteries in the Apennines,\nRomuald revisited Istria, where he is said to have lived, built up[25]\nin his cell, and in unbroken silence, for seven years.\n\n\"But though his lips were silent, his life preached,\" and innumerable\nconversions were the fruit of his sojourning there. As the infirmities\nof age began to creep over him, he became more and more austere in his\nacts of self-mortification, pressing forward incessantly to new\nvictories over the flesh, and yielding less and less indulgence to\neven the most innocent infirmities of his lower nature. But there was\nno sourness in his asceticism; in the midst of his bitterest\nmortifications his countenance bore at all times the impress of an\nunruffled serenity and cheerfulness of spirit.\n\nBut the wanderings of Romuald's long life were not yet at an end. He\nmade a further excursion to the north, and settled for a while in\nStyria. And these many wanderings, says his biographer, arose not from\nfickleness of spirit, as if he were unable to rest long in one place,\nbut solely from the wonderful attraction which his presence exercised\nwhere-ever he went. No sooner did he erect his cell anywhere, than men\nflocked to him from every quarter to be guided by his teaching, and to\nbe edified by his life; so that the most complete solitudes speedily\nbecome populous. And as soon as he had duly instructed those who came\nto him in the discipline of a holy life, he would form them into a\ncommunity, appoint one of their number to be prior over them, and then\nbetake himself to some other solitude, soon to people that also, and\nto be driven from it in the same way.\n\nIn Styria it is related that those who gathered around him, all lived\nso devoutly, that the rage for mortification reached even to the\nherdsmen and shepherds of the neighbourhood, who vied with the monks\nand hermits in all the exercises of the religious life, fasting,\nkeeping silence, and administering the discipline to each other with\ngreat zeal and earnestness. On which Peter Damian ejaculates, \"Oh!\nholy time of Romuald! in which, though the torments of persecution\nwere unknown, yet there was no lack of spontaneous martyrdom!\"\n\nThe whole career of Romuald from the time of his profession, is one\ncontinuous illustration of the two-fold force of reality in\nreligion--a force of attraction on the one hand, of repulsion on the\nother. We see in him one, who in the depth and fervour of his\npenitence, stedfastly adhered through a long life to his first\nrenunciation, not only of the pomps and vanities of this world, but of\nthe most necessary and innocent refinements of life, and by the mere\nforce of reality drew after him crowds of disciples of every class,\nand peopled the waste places of his native land with monks and\nhermits. We see, on the one hand, those in whom the grace of a true\nvocation responded to the example and teaching of their master, led on\nby degrees to vie with him in the fervour of his self-devotion; and\nthose, on the other hand, who sought in monasticism only a coward's\nrefuge from the temptations and trials of secular life, repelled\nalmost at once by the stern thoroughness of his religion, and by their\nown unreality forced into rebellion against his rule.\n\nAt the age of 102 he visited the Apennines, seeking a new retreat, and\none day falling asleep beside a fountain in a pleasant plain among the\nmountains, he dreamed that he saw a ladder set up between heaven and\nearth, up which his monks ascended in white habits. On awaking, he\nresolved to change the colour of the dress of his monks, and to found\na monastery on the spot. It was the property of a gentleman named\nMaldoli, who at once gave it him, and the monastery was called Campo\nMaldoli, whence the order assumed its name of Camaldoli.\n\nRomuald died on June 19th, 1027. He is said to have attained the age\nof 120, but this has been disputed with every show of reason by\nBollandus and Baronius. He died in his monastery of the Val di Castro,\nin the Marches of Ancona, and was there buried. The elevation of the\nrelics took place in 1467, and they were translated to the Church of\nS. Blase, in the town of Fabri, where they remain to this day. The\nRoman Breviary celebrates his festival on the day of the translation,\nwhich took place in the year 1481.\n\nIn Art he appears with his finger on his lips, and the ladder, he saw\nin vision, at his side.\n\n[24] Paximatium. A cake baked under the ashes on the hearth.\n\n[25] Inclusus.\n\n [Illustration: A learned Doctor and Church Historian.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 8.\n\n S. JUVENTIUS, _B. of Pavia, 2nd cent._\n SS. DIONYSIUS, \u00c6MILIAN, AND SEBASTIAN, _MM., in Lesser Armenia_.\n SS. MARTYRS IN PERSIA, _under Cabades, beginning of 6th cent._\n S. HONORATUS, _B. of Milan_, A.D. 570.\n S. NICETIUS, _B. of Besancon, beginning of 7th cent._\n S. PAUL, _B. of Verdun, circ._ A.D. 649.\n S. ELFLEDA, _V. Abss. of Whitby_, A.D. 716.\n S. MENGOLD, _M. at Huy in Belgium, circ._ A.D. 892.\n S. CUTHMAN, _C. at Steyning in Sussex_.\n B. PETER ALDOBRANDINI, _Card. B. of Albano, circ._ A.D. 1000.\n S. STEPHEN, _Ab. Founder of the Order of Grandmont_, A.D. 1124.\n S. JOHN OF MATHA, _C. Founder of the Trinitarians_, A.D. 1213.\n B. ISAIAH BONER, _C. at Casimir and Cracow, circ._ A.D. 1380.\n S. JEROME \u00c6MILIAN, _Founder of the Order of Somasch_, A.D. 1537.\n\n\nS. JUVENTIUS, B. C.\n\n(2ND CENT.)\n\n [Roman Mart., and that of Usuardus. Juventius is sometimes called\n Eventius, but it seems that Eventius, B. of Pavia, was a later\n prelate, and ought not to be confounded with Juventius. The Acts are\n late, written by Paulus Diaconus, or at all events re-written by him\n in what was regarded as a more polished style. These Acts belong to\n S. Syrus, see December 9th; but contain much concerning S.\n Juventius.]\n\nHermagoras, the disciple of S. Peter the Apostle, and S. Mark the\nEvangelist, who was also Bishop of Aquileia, sent Syrus and Juventius\nto preach the Gospel in Ticinum, or Pavia. When it was known that SS.\nCelsus and Nazarius had shed their blood for the faith at Milan, and\nthat SS. Gervase and Protasius were in bonds, Syrus sent Juventius to\nMilan, to comfort the church there, and to animate the Confessors. On\nhis return he was ordained by S. Syrus, who had received episcopal\nconsecration from S. Hermagoras. He succeeded Syrus, his master, in\nthe see of Pavia. But few traditions of his episcopate have been\nwafted down to us. Perhaps the most interesting is this. A collector\nof taxes in crossing the river was nearly drowned, and lost the money\nfor which he was held responsible. In great tribulation, the man\nhastened to the bishop, who, commiserating his trouble, advanced with\nhim to the banks of the Ticino, and cried, \"I say unto thee, O water,\non which Christ the Lord walked, in His name restore the money for\nwhich this man is distressed!\" Immediately the bag of coins was washed\nto their feet.\n\nPorphyrius, pr\u00e6fect of Rome, having made the circuit of the country,\ncame to Pavia, holding inquisition upon the Christians and other\nreputed disturbers of the Commonwealth. Juventius was brought before\nhim, and Porphyrius was so won by his gentleness and innocence that he\nlet him go, with an admonition to abstain from preaching the doctrine\nof Christ to the people; and the bishop, to prevent a persecution,\nabandoned public orations and discussions, and confined himself to\nprivate expositions of the truth.\n\n\nSS. DIONYSIUS, \u00c6MILIAN, AND SEBASTIAN, MM.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN.)\n\n [Roman Mart., and those of S. Jerome, Bede, Notker, Ado,\n Usuardus, &c.]\n\nOf these saints, who suffered in Lesser Armenia, though noticed in\nnearly all Martyrologies, nothing whatever is known; and Bollandus\nsupplies the place of their lost Acts with the Acts of certain other\nsaints,--\u00c6milian, Hermippus, and Dionysius, commemorated on Jan.\u00a028th,\nwith the caustic heading: \"Acta horum sanctorum martyrum, vel potius\nquatuor aliorum.\"\n\n\nS. PAUL, B. OF VERDUN.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 649.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, Usuardus, &c. Authority:--A very ancient\n anonymous life, of which Restarius, Canon of S. Vito, who flourished\n in 887, made use in his \"Hist. brevis episcoporum Virdunensium.\"]\n\nThis saint, a native of Autun, and not, as some have maintained, of\nFlanders, was of noble birth. He received an excellent education in\nhis youth, whereby his parents, unintentionally, prepared him for the\nservice of the church, their desire being that he should distinguish\nhimself in the world. But he, despising the pomps and pleasures of a\nsecular life, retired into the Vosges mountains, and lived as a hermit\non that mountain which has since borne his name, the Paulsberg, within\nsight of Tr\u00e8ves. On one occasion, having visited the monastery of\nTholey, near S. Wendelin, he was so moved by the piety of the monks,\nand their earnest desire to number him amongst them, that he entered\nthe monastery, where he soon endeared himself to all the brethren by\nhis gentleness and holy example. Amongst the pupils at Tholey was\nGrimo, a kinsman of king Dagobert, on whose property the monastery was\nsituated. On the death of Ermenfried, bishop of Verdun, on the\nrecommendation of Grimo, Paul was nominated to the vacant see. He\nfound that on account of the disorder of the times, his church was in\nthe most profound debasement. The cathedral was without clergy to\ncelebrate mass and recite the psalter, and it was served occasionally\nby a priest who visited it at wide intervals, and was unendowed. The\nbishop at once sent for his friend and patron, Grimo, and exposed to\nhim the spiritual and temporal distress; and by the intercession of\nGrimo with Dagobert, the king, Paul was provided with land, by means\nof which he could support a staff of clergy. By his diligence and zeal\nhe was enabled, before he died, to organise the diocese, and to\nprovide for its spiritual supervision.\n\nIn Art, he is represented, for some unknown reason, with a taper in\nhis hand, also with an oven, for he is said to have been baker at\nTholey for the community, and to have, on one occasion, gone into the\noven to place the loaves, when the shovel was lost.\n\n\nS. ELFLEDA, V. ABSS. OF WHITBY.\n\n(A.D. 716.)\n\n [Inserted in Anglican Martyrology by J. Wilson, and in the\n Benedictine by Hugh Menard; and Ferrarius in his Gen. Catalogue.\n Authorities:--Bede and Malmesbury.]\n\nThroughout his life, Penda, the fierce heathen king of Mercia, or the\nmidland counties of England, waged war with the kingdom of\nNorthumbria, which included Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland. But\nthis bloodthirsty and stubborn hatred led him to his destruction.\nOswy, son of Ethelfrid, the ravager, and grandson of Ida, the Man of\nFire, was king of Northumbria, which had been so wasted and exhausted\nby the former ravages of Penda, that it could ill withstand another\nattack. It was only at the last extremity, that king Oswy resolved to\nengage in a final conflict with the terrible enemy who had conquered\nand slain his two predecessors, Edwin and the saintly Oswald. He had\nmarried his son and his daughter to children of Penda; and he gave him\nanother of his sons as a hostage. But Penda would not consent to any\ndurable peace. During the thirteen years that had elapsed since the\noverthrow of Oswald, and the accession of Oswy, he had periodically\nsubjected Northumberland to frightful devastations. In vain Oswy,\ndriven to desperation, offered him all his jewels, ornaments, and\ntreasures, of which he could dispose, as a ransom for his desolated\nand hopeless provinces. The arrogant and fierce octogenarian refused\neverything, being resolute, as he said, to exterminate the whole\nNorthumbrian race, from first to last. \"Well, then,\" said Oswy, \"since\nthis heathen despises our gifts, let us offer them to one who will\naccept them--to the Lord our God.\" He then made a vow to devote to God\na daughter who had just been born to him, and at the same time to give\ntwelve estates for the foundation of as many monasteries. After this\nhe marched at the head of a small army against Penda, whose troops\nwere, according to a Northumbrian tradition, thirty times more\nnumerous, and a battle was fought near the site of the present town of\nLeeds, in which Penda was defeated and slain. Thus perished, at the\nage of eighty, after a reign of thirty years, the conqueror and\nmurderer of five Anglo-Saxon kings, and the last and indefatigable\nchampion of paganism among the Anglo-Saxons.\n\nOswy faithfully kept his word. He set apart twelve estates to be\nthenceforward monastic property--six in the north, and six in the\nsouth of his double kingdom. He then took his daughter Elfleda, who\nwas but yet a year old, and consecrated her to God by the vow of\nperpetual virginity. Her mother, the daughter of Edwin, first\nChristian king of Northumbria, had been also dedicated to God from her\nbirth, but only by baptism, and as a token of the gratitude of a still\npagan father for the protection of the Christian's God. The daughter\nof Oswy was to be the price of a yet higher gift of heaven--the\nconclusive victory of his race, and of the Christian faith in his\ncountry; the sacrifice reminds us of that of Jepthah's daughter; but\nshe, far from desiring to escape her vow, showed herself, during a\nlong life, always worthy of her heavenly Bridegroom. The king took her\nfrom the caresses of her mother, to intrust her to the abbess Hilda of\nHartlepool, who nearly ten years before had been initiated into the\nmonastic life by S. Aidan.\n\nIn 658, when Elfleda was three years old, S. Hilda founded her\nmonastery of Streaneshalch, now called Whitby, and moved thither with\nher little spiritual daughter.\n\nElfleda was scarcely twenty-five years of age, when S. Hilda died, and\nshe was called to succeed her as abbess of Whitby. She is described by\nBede as a most pious mistress of spiritual life. But like all the\nAnglo-Saxon princesses whom we meet within the cloister at this epoch,\nshe did not cease to take a passionate interest in the affairs of her\nrace and her country, and to exercise that extraordinary and salutary\ninfluence which was so willingly yielded by the Anglo-Saxon kings and\npeople to those princesses of their sovereign races who became the\nbrides of Christ.\n\nShe maintained that reverent and affectionate relation with S.\nCuthbert which had been maintained by S. Hilda.\n\nBefore he became bishop, while he lived on a desert rock near\nLindisfarne, she prevailed on him to grant her an interview in an\nisland on the Northumbrian coast, called then, as now, Coquet Island.\nShe was anxious and alarmed for her brother Egfrid, and she desired to\nconsult the holy Cuthbert on the affairs of the state and her family.\nThe hermit and the abbess went each to their meeting by sea; and when\nhe had answered all her questions, she threw herself at his feet, and\nentreated him to tell her, by virtue of those prophetic powers, with\nwhich he was known to be gifted, whether her brother, Egfrid, would\nhave a long life and reign. \"I am surprised,\" he answered, \"that a\nwoman well versed, like you, in the Holy Scriptures should speak to me\nof length with regard to human life, which lasts no longer than a\nspider's web, as the Psalmist has said. How short then must life be\nfor a man who has but a year to live, and has death at his door!\" At\nthese words, she wept long; then, drying her tears, she continued,\nwith feminine boldness, and inquired who should be the king's\nsuccessor, since he had neither sons nor brothers. \"Do not say,\" he\nreplied, \"that he is without heirs; he shall have a successor whom you\nwill love, as you love Egfrid, as a sister.\" \"Then tell me, I entreat\nyou, where this successor is.\" \"You see,\" returned Cuthbert, directing\nthe eyes of his companion towards the archipelago of islets which dots\nthe Northumbrian coast around Lindisfarne, \"how many isles are in the\nvast ocean; it is easy for God to bring from them some one to reign\nover the English.\" Elfleda then perceived that he spoke of a young\nman, Aldfrid, supposed to be the son of her father Oswy, by an Irish\nmother, and who, since his infancy, had lived as an exile at Iona,\nwhere he gave himself up to study.\n\nThe troubles concerning S. Wilfrid which had vexed the Northumbrian\nChurch still prevailed. Wilfrid was still in banishment for his\npersistence in introducing the Roman customs into the Keltic Church of\nthe north of England. The new king, Aldfrid, had brought with him from\nIona attachment to the ritual of SS. Columba and Aidan. Elfleda\ninherited the prejudices of her spiritual mother, Hilda, against the\nstern and inflexible innovator; but there was on their side a desire\nfor reconcilation with the Church of the province of Canterbury, which\nwas of Roman foundation, and they hoped that now Wilfrid was an aged\nman, some of his harshness might have been softened.[26]\n\nTo the new king, as well as to his sister, the Abbess Elfleda,\nArchbishop Theodore of Canterbury wrote, to exhort them both to lay\naside their enmity against Wilfrid, and to receive him with unreserved\nkindness. They yielded, and recalled Wilfrid, but were mistaken in\nsupposing that age had altered his determination. He returned in 687\nto excite storms throughout his diocese, and was again exiled, in 691.\n\nAldfrid died in 705, and the Northumbrian crown descended to a prince\nnamed Eadwulf. Wilfrid had taken advantage of the death of Aldfrid to\nreturn to Ripon, but was ordered to leave the country in six days. But\nEadwulf was dethroned, and a son of Aldfrid, Osred, aged eight, was\ngiven the realm of Bernicia, the counties of Northumberland and\nDurham. By means of some mysterious influence, the nature of which is\nunknown, the aged exile Wilfrid, who had been expelled from the\ncountry for fourteen years, and was to all appearance forgotten,\nbecame, all at once, the master of the situation, and the arbiter of\nevents. He soon acquired a more powerful protector than the young\nsovereign in the person of Earl Bertfrid, who was considered the most\npowerful noble in the kingdom, and who was at the head of Osred's\nparty. King Eadwulf marched against the insurgents, and obliged them\nto retreat to the fortress of Bamborough, where the earl, shut up in\nthe narrow enclosure of this fortified rock, and reduced to the last\nextremity, vowed that, if God would deliver him and his charge, the\nyoung prince and his people should bow to the Roman subjection. An\nopportune desertion of Eadwulf's followers gave victory to Bertfrid,\nand Eadwulf was exiled after a short reign of two months. As soon as\nthe royal child was placed on the throne, the Archbishop of Canterbury\nmade his appearance, perceiving that the time was come for reinstating\nWilfrid, and settling his affairs in a general assembly. This was held\nin the open air on the banks of the Nid. Wilfrid was present, and met\nthere Bertfrid and the Abbess Elfleda, who had come over to his side,\nand to Roman obedience. All the Northumbrians regarded her as the\nconsoler and best counsellor of the kingdom. The bishops and abbots\npresent opposed the claims of Wilfrid, and refused to accept him,\nthough he came armed with the authority of the Holy See. At this\npoint, the Abbess Elfleda interposed: in a voice which all listened to\nas an utterance from heaven, she described the last illness and agony\nof the king her brother, and how he had vowed to God and S. Peter to\naccomplish the papal decrees which he had so vigorously rejected.\n\"This,\" she said, \"is the last will of Aldfrid the king; I attest the\ntruth of it before Christ.\" Bertfrid afterwards spoke and announced\nhis vow. Nevertheless the three bishops would not yield, they retired\nfrom the assembly to confer among themselves, and with Archbishop\nBritwald, but above all with the sagacious Elfleda. Thanks to her, all\nended in a general reconciliation.\n\nShortly before his death, and during his last pastoral visitation, S.\nCuthbert went to see Elfleda in the neighbourhood of the great\nmonastery of Whitby, to consecrate a church which she had built there,\nand to converse with her for the last time. They dined together, and\nduring the meal, seeing his knife drop from his trembling hand in the\nabstraction of supernatural thoughts, she had a last opportunity of\nadmiring his prophetic intuition, and his constant care for the\nsalvation of souls. The fatigue of the holy bishop, who said\nlaughingly, \"I cannot eat all day long; you must give me a little\nrest\"; the eagerness and pious curiosity of the young abbess, anxious\nto know and do everything, who rushed up breathlessly during the\nceremony of the dedication to ask the bishop a _memento_ for a monk,\nwhose death she had just heard of,--all these details, says a modern\nwriter,[27] form a picture complete in its simplicity, upon which the\ncharmed mind can repose amid the savage habits and wild vicissitudes\nof the struggle, then more violent than ever, between the\nNorthumbrians and Picts, the Saxons and the Celts.\n\nS. Elfleda died at the age of sixty. No account of her last illness\nhas been transmitted to us.\n\n\nS. MENGOLD, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 892.)\n\nS. Mengold, second patron of the town of Huy on the Meuse, where a\nchurch is erected under his invocation, was count of Huy, and was\nmurdered by some knights of his court, whose vices he attempted to\nrestrain.\n\nHis relics, along with those of several other saints of Huy, are\npreserved in the noble church of Our Lady in that town.\n\n\nS. CUTHMAN, C.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN.)\n\n [In Ancient Anglo-Saxon Kalendar belonging to the Abbey of F\u00e9camp,\n and French Martyrology. Authority:--Two lives of uncertain date, by\n anonymous writers.]\n\nThe blessed Cuthman was by birth a native of Devonshire or Cornwall,\nand his youth was spent in pasturing his father's sheep on the granite\nmoors. One day, when dinner time came, he was hungry, and not having a\ncompanion to whom he could entrust his flock during his absence, he\ndrew a circle in the heather and gorse with his staff, and then\nplanted it in the soil, and said, \"In the name of our Lord Jesus\nChrist, I command you sheep not to transgress the bounds I have drawn,\ntill I return from my dinner.\" And, wonderful to relate, the sheep\nobeyed his command. Now there was a grey moorstone on which he was\nwont to sit; and this moorstone has been ever since regarded with\nsingular veneration, says the ancient writer of his life.\n\nAfter some years his father died, and the widow was reduced to great\npoverty. Cuthman ministered to her with the tenderest care and filial\ndevotion, and worked for their joint subsistence. When the poor woman\nfell sick, he was unable to leave her, at the same time he was so\ndestitute that, unless he went forth to work or beg, they must starve.\nHe, therefore, contrived a wooden truck or barrow on two wheels, and\nlaid his mother on it, and went behind, thrusting her on with his\nhands, and supporting her by a rope slung round his neck, and begged\nfrom door to door, as her condition incapacitated him from working.\nOne day, as he was thus thrusting his little cart through a field\nwhere the hay-makers were mowing the grass, the rope broke, and the\nholy youth stood a while hesitating what to do. Then he tore from an\nelder tree a bough, and twisted it, and attached it to his mother's\ncart, and supported it therewith. But the mowers laughed at him as a\nfool for endeavouring to supply the place of a rope with hollow elder\nwood. Their mockery was, however, soon arrested by a pelting rain,\nwhich drove them from their work, and by seeing the bough hold as\nfirmly as a rope.\n\nAnd when Cuthman saw that God assisted and avenged him, he vowed to\nbuild a church to his holy Name. But how to do so he knew not. So he\ncontinued his wanderings, ever journeying East way, and thrusting his\nmother before him, till he came to Steyning, in Sussex, where the rope\nsuddenly broke, and his mother was much shaken, but, mercifully, was\nnot injured. Then he thought that this was to be the place of his\nrest, and he said, \"O Lord, on me has fallen to undertake the work of\nbuilding Thee a house; for to do this thou didst inspire me with the\nwill. Whither shall I fly from Thy Spirit? This is the place where I\nshall finish my wanderings, this shall be my habitation, in which I\nshall offer and pay Thee my vows, day by day. Almighty Father, who\nhast brought my journey to an end, bless my work of building to thee a\ntemple. Thou knowest how poor I am, and a labourer from my youth, and\nof myself I can do nothing, unless thou dost succour me.\"\n\nThe place was still and solitary, trees surrounded it, and hard by\nflowed the tidal river Adur. The land was little populated; here and\nthere only a farm, buried in a nook of the great chalk downs. He chose\na spot at the foot of these downs, and there he built a hut and laid\nhis poor mother in it, and at once began to measure out the ground for\nhis proposed church. He found favour with the people round about, and\nthey contributed to his sustenance and the support of his mother, as\nthey watched him single-handed dig the foundations, cut the timber,\nand rear the walls of the church he had vowed to God. He was given two\noxen to help him in his work of carrying stones. Now, one day, these\noxen strayed into the field of a woman who had two grown up sons. The\nyoung men at once seized on the oxen, and took them into their house.\nCuthman went after the oxen, and when he could not find them, asked\nthe young men for them, but they refused to surrender them. Then he\nsaid angrily, \"I need them not to do my own work, but to labour for\nGod. See I have laded my cart with those logs, and must move them to\nthe house of God. Come then you and draw them.\" And he grasped the\nyouths, and yoked them to the wain, and made them drag the stones to\ntheir destination.\n\nNow as the church approached completion, Cuthman was grieved one day\nto find that a wooden pillar he had set up, was bent with the weight\nimposed upon it, and he feared to remove it, lest he should bring down\na part of the building. Then there came a traveller to the door, of\nvery grave and beautiful aspect, and asked Cuthman why he was\ntroubled. And Cuthman pointed to the bent post. Then said the\nstranger, \"O man of little faith! to those who fear God, nothing is\nimpossible. Stretch forth thine hand and let me help thee, and we will\nstraighten it.\" And he did so, and the pillar became upright. Then\nCuthman fell at the stranger's feet, and said, \"My lord, tell me thy\nname!\" And he answered, \"I am Jesus, to whom thou buildest this\nhouse;\" and so vanished.\n\nNow Cuthman not only built and laboured for his old bed-ridden mother,\nbut he also preached to the people, and stirred up the love of God,\nand zeal for His commandments in their hearts. And as his church\napproached completion, he was glad, and he worked without, and then\nrested for a while in prayer within. And chipping at the logs without,\nhe wore thick gloves, and when he went within he took off his gloves,\nand hung them on a little ray of light that pierced through one of the\nsmall windows he had made in the walls. And there, where he worked, he\ndied, but what was the nature of his illness, and his disposition at\ndeath is not recorded. He was buried at Steyning, and the Adur, then\nnavigable as far as this place, long bore the name of S. Cuthman's\nPort. Steyning was given by Edward the Confessor, and afterwards by\nthe Conqueror, to the abbey of F\u00e9camp, in Normandy, from which\ncircumstance Bollandus supposed Steyning was in Normandy, and many\nhave been misled thereby. The church of Steyning, dedicated to S.\nCuthman, was built by monks of F\u00e9camp to replace his wooden one.\n\nThe Monasticon Anglicanum of Dugdale, (II. p.\u00a0992), Leland, Collect.\nI. p.\u00a096; II. p.\u00a0409; III. p.\u00a082; and Camden asserts plainly that S.\nCuthman was buried at Steyning in Sussex. \"Cella de Stening Nigrorum\nMonachorum in qu\u00e2 sepultus Stus. Cudman;\" \"S. Cudmannus in Stenig\nprope Brambre flumen.\" \"Stus. Caudmannus in loco qui dicitus ad\nStaning requiescit prope amnem Brembre;\" this Brembre is Bramber; the\nname is no longer given to the river, but to the castle hard by, upon\nit.\n\n\nS. STEPHEN OF GRANDMONT, AB.\n\n(A.D. 1124.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority: a life by Gerald Itherius, prior of\n Grandmont.]\n\nS. Stephen was born in the year 1046, in the castle of Thiers, in\nAuvergne, belonging to his father, the Viscount de Thiers. At an early\nage of twelve he was taken by his pious father a pilgrimage into\nItaly. On their return, the lad fell ill at Benevento, and the father\nwas obliged to leave him in the charge of Milo, archbishop of that\ncity, a native of Auvergne. This prelate took the greatest care of the\nyoung Stephen and reared him in all holy lore; and as he grew up\nintent on serving God in a spiritual and ecclesiastical state, he\nordained him, first sub-deacon, and afterwards deacon.\n\nAfter the death of the archbishop, Stephen, being then twenty-four\nyears old, went to Rome and remained there four years. There the\nvocation to the religious life growing stronger in him, he formed the\nresolution of imitating certain monks of Calabria, living in great\nholiness, of whom he had heard Milo speak, and whom he had once\nvisited. He therefore asked permission of Pope Gregory VII. to live\napart in some solitude, following the rule of the Calabrian hermits.\nThe pope hesitated for some while, thinking him too delicate of\nconstitution, but at length yielded to his pressing solicitations in\n1073. Stephen then returned to France, and resided at Thiers for a\nshort time with his parents; and then, departing, established himself\nat Aureille or Soviat, a few leagues from Limoges, where he placed\nhimself under the direction of S. Gaucher, who had built a monastery\nof regular Canons, called S. Jean d'Aureille. But S. Gaucher having\nerected a nunnery in the neighbourhood, S. Stephen disliking the\nproximity to women, left Aureille, and retired to Muret, in 1076. This\nis a mountain near Limoges, where, amongst the rocks and trees, he\nbuilt a small cabin, and vowed himself to Jesus Christ in a very\nspecial manner. Having retained a ring, the only thing belonging to\nhis father and home, that he had not given away or refused, he placed\nit on his finger saying, \"I, Stephen, renounce the devil and all his\npomps, and offer myself to God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the One\ntrue God in Three Persons.\" Then having written these words, he placed\nthem on his head, and added, \"O God Almighty, who livest eternally,\nand reignest One in Three Persons, I promise to serve Thee in this\nhermitage in the Catholic faith; in sign whereof I place this writing\non my head, and place this ring on my finger, that at the hour of my\ndeath this promise may serve as my defence against my enemies.\" Then\naddressing himself to the Holy Virgin he said, \"Holy Mary, Mother of\nGod, I commend my body, soul, and senses to thy Son and to thee.\"\n\nIn this wild solitude, amidst rocks and trees, Stephen passed\nforty-six years in prayer, and the practice of such austerities as\nalmost surpassed the strength of a human body. He lived at first on\nwild herbs and roots. In the second summer he was discovered by\ncertain shepherds who brought him a little coarse bread; which some\ncountry people from that time continued to do as long as he lived. He\nalways wore next his skin a hair-cloth with iron plates and hoops\nstudded with sharp spikes, over which his only garment, made of the\ncoarsest stuff, was the same both in summer and winter. When overcome\nby sleep, he took a short rest on rough boards, laid in the form of a\ncoffin. By degrees, disciples gathered about him, and placed\nthemselves under his rule. He would not suffer them to call him abbot\nor master, but only corrector. To them he was ever compassionate,\nurging them not to discipline their bodies by excessive fasting, but\nwith himself he was never lenient.\n\nGregory de Papercesis and Pierre de L\u00e9on, two legates of the Holy\nFather, having visited him in his retreat, asked him what he was, a\nmonk, a hermit, or a canon. \"I am a sinner,\" was his answer.\n\nEight days after their departure, he knew that his end was nigh. He\ntherefore called his disciples about him, and said to them, \"My sons,\nI leave you only God, to whom all things belong, and for whom you have\nrenounced all things, and your own selves. If you love poverty, and\ncleave to God constantly, He will give you all things that you shall\nneed.\" Five days after he was carried into the chapel, where, having\nheard Mass, and received extreme Unction and the Holy Viaticum, he\ndied on Friday, February 8th, 1124, at the age of nearly eighty.\n\n\nS. JOHN OF MATHA, AB.\n\n(A.D. 1213.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--the Bull of his Canonization by\n Innocent III.]\n\nS. John was born of pious and noble parents, at Faucon, on the borders\nof Provence, June 24th, 1169, and was baptized John, in honour of S.\nJohn the Baptist. His mother dedicated him to God by a vow from his\ninfancy. His father Ephemius sent him to Aix, where he learned\ngrammar, fencing, riding, and other exercises fit for a young\nnobleman. But his chief desire was to advance in virtue. He gave the\npoor a considerable part of the money his parents sent him for his own\nuse; he visited the hospital every Friday, assisting the sick poor,\ndressing and cleansing their sores, and affording them all the comfort\nin his power.\n\nOn his return home he begged his father's leave to continue the pious\nexercises he had begun, and retired to a little hermitage not far from\nFaucon, with a view of living at a distance from the world, united to\nGod alone. But finding his solitude interrupted by the frequent visits\nof his friends, he desired his father's consent to go to Paris to\nstudy divinity, and this he easily obtained. He accomplished his\nstudies with extraordinary success, and received the degree of doctor\nof divinity with uncommon applause. He was soon after ordained priest,\nand said his first mass in the chapel of the bishop of Paris, at which\nthe bishop himself, Maurice de Sully, the abbots of S. Victor and of\nS. Genevi\u00e8ve, and the rector of the university, assisted; admiring the\ngraces of heaven in him, which appeared in his extraordinary devotion\non this occasion, as well as at his ordination.\n\nOn the day he said his first mass, by a special inspiration from God,\nhe resolved to devote himself to the ransoming of Christian slaves\nfrom captivity. But before he entered upon so important a work, he\nthought it needful to spend some time in retirement, prayer, and\nmortification. And having heard of a holy hermit, S. Felix of Valois,\nliving in a great wood near Grandlieu, in the diocese of Meaux, he\nrepaired to him, and begged he would admit him into his solitude.\nFelix soon discovered him to be no novice, and would not treat him as\na disciple, but as a companion.\n\nOne day, as they were sitting together on the bank of a spring, John\ndisclosed to Felix the design he had formed on the day on which he\nsaid his first Mass, of succouring the Christians under Mahomedan\nslavery, and spoke so movingly upon the subject, that Felix was\nconvinced the design was from God, and offered to assist him in\ncarrying it into execution. They took some time to recommend it to God\nby prayer and fasting, and then set out for Rome in the midst of a\nsevere winter, towards the end of the year 1197, to obtain the Pope's\nbenediction. They found Innocent III. promoted to the chair of St.\nPeter, and he being already informed of their sanctity and charitable\ndesign by letters of recommendation from the Bishop of Paris, received\nthem as two angels from heaven; lodged them in his own palace, and\ngave them many long private audiences. After which he assembled the\ncardinals and some bishops in the palace of S. John Lateran, and asked\ntheir advice. After their deliberations he ordered a fast and special\nprayers, to ascertain the will of heaven. At length, being convinced\nthat these two holy men were led by the Spirit of God, and that great\nadvantage would accrue to the Church from such an institute, he\nconsented to their erecting a new religious order, and declared S.\nJohn the first general minister. The Bishop of Paris, and the abbot of\nS. Victor, were ordered to draw up the rules, which the Pope approved\nby a bull, in 1198. He ordered the religious to wear a white habit,\nwith a red and blue cross on the breast, and to take the name of the\nOrder of the Holy Trinity. He confirmed it some time after, adding new\nprivileges by a second bull, in 1209.\n\nThe two founders having obtained the Pope's blessing and certain\nindulgences, returned to France, presented themselves to the king,\nPhilip Augustus, who authorized the establishment of their Order in\nhis kingdom, and favoured it with his liberalities. Gauthier III.,\nlord of Ch\u00e2tillon, gave them land whereon to build a convent. Their\nnumber increasing, the same lord, seconded by the king, gave them\nCerfroid, near Grandlieu, the place in which S. John and S. Felix\nconcerted the first plan of their institute. It is situated in Brie,\non the confines of Valois. This house of Cerfroid, or De Cervo\nfrigido, was the chief of the order. The two saints founded many other\nconvents in France, and sent several of their religious to accompany\nthe counts of Flanders and Blois, and other lords, to the Crusade.\nPope Innocent III. wrote to recommend these religious to the Emir of\nMorocco; and S. John sent thither two of his religious in 1201, who,\non the first voyage, redeemed one hundred and eighty-six Christian\nslaves. The year following, S. John went himself to Tunis, where he\npurchased the liberty of one hundred and ten more. He returned into\nProvence, and there received great charities, which he carried into\nSpain, and redeemed many in captivity under the Moors. On his return\nhe collected large alms among the Christians towards this charitable\nundertaking. His example produced a second order of Mercy, instituted\nby S. Peter Nolasco, in 1235.\n\nS. John made a second voyage to Tunis, in 1210, in which he suffered\nmuch from the infidels, enraged at his zeal and success in exhorting\nthe poor slaves to patience and constancy in their faith. As he was\nreturning with one hundred and twenty slaves he had ransomed, the\nbarbarians took away the helm from his vessel, and tore all its sails,\nthat they might perish in the sea. The saint, full of confidence in\nGod, begged Him to be their pilot, and hung up his companions' cloaks\nfor sails, and, with a crucifix in his hands, kneeling on the deck,\nsinging psalms, after a prosperous voyage they all landed safe at\nOstia, in Italy. Felix, by this time, had greatly propagated his order\nin France, and obtained for it a convent in Paris, in a place where\nstood before a chapel of S. Mathurin, whence these religious in France\nwere called Mathurins.\n\nS. John lived two years more in Rome, which he employed in exhorting\nall to penance with great energy and fruit. He died on the 21st of\nDecember, in 1213, aged sixty-one. He was buried in his church of S.\nThomas, where his monument yet remains, though his body has been\ntranslated into Spain.\n\n[26] For an account of the conflict with S. Wilfrid, and the\nopposition of the Northumbrian Church and princes to his innovations,\nsee his life, Oct.\u00a012.\n\n[27] Montalembert, Monks of the West, iv. p. 412.\n\n [Illustration: An enthusiastic Collector of Saintly Legends]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 9.\n\n S. APOLLONIA, _V. M. at Alexandria_, A.D. 249.\n S. NICEPHORUS, _M. at Antioch in Syria_, _circ._ A.D. 258.\n S. ATHENODORUS, _B. M. at Pontus_, _circ._ A.D. 270. (_Translated in\n Modern Roman Martyrology to October 18th._)\n SS. PRIMUS AND DONATUS, _DD. MM. at Lemele in Africa, 3rd cent._\n S. ROMANUS THE WONDER-WORKER, _Monk at Antioch in Syria, 5th cent._\n S. ATHRACTA, _V. in Ireland, 6th cent._\n S. NEBRIDIUS, _B. of Egara, near Barcelona, 6th cent._\n S. TEILO, _B. of Llandaff_; _circ._ A.D. 560.\n S. SABINE, _B. of Canosi_; _circ._ A.D. 566.\n SS. SABINE AND EUNOMIUS, _Bishops of Lesina, in Italy_.\n SS. VICTOR, _M_. AND SUSANNA, _V. at Mouzon_.\n S. ANSBERT, _B. of Rouen_, A.D. 695.\n S. AUDOBERT, _B. of Senlis_; _circ._ A.D. 700.\n S. ALTO, _Ab. in Bavaria_; _circ._ A.D. 760.\n B. MARIANUS SCOTUS, _Ab. at Ratisbon_, A.D. 1088.\n S. RAYNALD, _B. of Nocera, in Umbria_, A.D. 1225.\n\n\nS. APOLLONIA, V. M.\n\n(A.D. 249.)\n\n [This saint is named in the Roman and all Western Martyrologies.\n There is, however, another Apollonia, martyr under Julian the\n Apostate, 114 years her junior, commemorated in some churches on\n this day, and some apocryphal Acts of this latter saint are extant.\n There is much doubt whether this Roman Apollonia ever really\n existed, and whether the Martyrologists have not fallen into an\n inaccuracy in writing S. Apollonia \"of Rome,\" instead of \"of\n Alexandria,\" because her relics were brought to Rome. The account of\n the martyrdom of S. Apollonia of Alexandria is perfectly authentic,\n it occurs in a letter from S. Dionysius B. of Alexandria, during the\n persecution, to Fabius, B. of Antioch, giving him an account of the\n sufferings of his church. This letter is preserved by Eusebius, in\n his Ecclesiastical History, lib. vi. c.\u00a041.]\n\nThe following is the account of the martyrdom of S. Apollonia, by\nDionysius, the bishop of Alexandria, himself a confessor at the time,\nin the persecution. \"The persecution with us did not begin with the\nimperial edict, but preceded it a whole year. And a certain prophet\nand poet excited the mass of the heathen against us, stirring them up\nto their native superstition. Stimulated by him, and taking full\nliberty to exercise any kind of wickedness, they considered this the\nonly way of showing their piety--to slay us. First, then, seizing a\ncertain aged man, named Metras, they called on him to utter impious\nexpressions, and as he did not obey, they beat his body with clubs,\nand pricked his face and eyes; after which they led him away to the\nsuburbs, where they stoned him. Next, they led a woman called Quinta,\nwho was a believer, to the temple of an idol, and attempted to force\nher to worship; but when she turned away in disgust, they tied her by\nthe feet, and dragged her through the whole city, over the rough\nstones of the paved streets, dashing her against the millstones, and\nscourging her at the same time, until they brought her to the same\nplace, where they stoned her. Then, with one accord, all rushed upon\nthe houses of the pious, and whomsoever of their neighbours they knew,\nthey drove thither in all haste, and despoiled and plundered them,\nsetting apart the more valuable of the articles for themselves; but\nthe more common and wooden furniture they threw about and burnt in the\nroads, presenting a sight like a city taken by the enemy. They also\nseized that admirable virgin Apollonia, then in advanced age, and\nbeating her jaws, they broke out all her teeth, and kindling a fire\nbefore the city, threatened to burn her alive, unless she would repeat\ntheir impious expressions. She appeared at first to shrink a little,\nbut when suffered to go, she suddenly sprang into the fire, and was\nconsumed.\"\n\nRelics in the Church of S. Apollonia, at Rome; her head in S. Maria\nTranstiberina; her arms in S. Laurence, outside the walls; part of her\njaw in S. Basil's; other relics at Naples, Volaterra, Bonona, at\nAntwerp in the Jesuit Church; in S. Augustine's, at Brussels; in the\nJesuit Church at Mechlin; in S. Cross at Li\u00e9ge; at Cologne, in the\nJesuit Church; and in those of S. Gereon, S. Maurice, S. Alban, S.\nCunibert, and others; and elsewhere. These relics consist in some\ncases of a tooth only, or a splinter of bone.\n\nS. Apollonia is invoked, and the application of her relics is sought\nagainst toothache, and other pains in the jaw.\n\nIn Art, she is always to be recognized by her being represented\nholding a tooth, sometimes pincers grasping a tooth, in her hand.\n\n\nS. NICEPHORUS, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 258.)\n\n [The Roman and Greek Churches commemorate this Saint on the same\n day. Authorities:--The ancient Acts by an anonymous author, and\n another life, by John, B. of Sardis.]\n\nThere dwelt in Antioch, a priest called Sapricius, and a layman, named\nNicephorus, who had been linked together for many years by the\nstrictest friendship. But the enemy of mankind, sowing between them\nthe seeds of discord, their friendship was succeeded by the most\nimplacable hatred, and they no longer accosted each other when they\nmet in the streets. Thus it continued for a considerable time. At\nlength, Nicephorus, entering into himself, and reflecting on the\ngrievousness of the sin of hatred, resolved on seeking a\nreconciliation. He accordingly deputed some friends to go to Sapricius\nto beg his pardon, promising him all reasonable satisfaction for the\ninjury done him. But the priest refused his forgiveness. Nicephorus\nsent other friends to him on the same errand, but though they pressed\nand entreated him to be reconciled, Sapricius remained inflexible.\nNicephorus sent a third time, but to no purpose; Sapricius having shut\nhis ears not to men only, but to Christ Himself, who commands us to\nforgive, as we ourselves hope to be forgiven. Nicephorus, finding him\ndeaf to the remonstrances of their common friends, went in person to\nhis house, and casting himself at his feet, owned his fault, and\nbegged pardon for Christ's sake; but this also was in vain.\n\nPersecution suddenly began to rage under Valerian and Gallienus, about\nA.D. 258. Sapricius was apprehended and brought before the governor,\nwho asked him his name. \"It is Sapricius,\" answered he. The governor:\n\"Of what profession are you?\" Sapricius: \"I am a Christian.\" The\nGovernor: \"Are you of the clergy?\" Sapricius: \"I have the honour to be\na priest. We Christians acknowledge one Lord and Master Jesus Christ,\nwho is God; the only and true God, who created heaven and earth. As\nfor the gods of the heathen they are but devils.\" The president,\nexasperated at his answers, gave orders for him to be put into an\nengine, like a screw press. The excessive pain of this torture did not\nshake Sapricius's constancy, and he said to the judges, \"My body is in\nyour power, but my soul you cannot touch; only my Saviour Jesus Christ\nis master of that.\" The governor seeing him so resolute, pronounced\nthis sentence: \"Sapricius, priest of the Christians, who is\nridiculously persuaded that he shall rise again, shall be delivered\nover to the executioner of public justice to have his head severed\nfrom his body, because he has disregarded the edict of the emperors.\"\n\nSapricius seemed to receive the sentence with great cheerfulness, and\nwas in haste to arrive at the place of execution, in hopes of his\ncrown. On his way to martyrdom, Nicephorus ran out to meet him, and,\ncasting himself at his feet, said, \"Martyr of Jesus Christ, forgive me\nmy offence.\" But Sapricius made him no answer. Nicephorus waited for\nhim in another street, through which he was to pass, and, as soon as\nhe saw him coming up, broke through the crowd, and falling again at\nhis feet, conjured him to pardon the fault he had committed against\nhim, through frailty, rather than design. This he begged by the\nglorious confession he had made of the divinity of Jesus Christ.\nSapricius's heart was more and more hardened, and now he would not so\nmuch as look on him. The soldiers laughed at Nicephorus, saying, \"A\ngreater fool than thee was never seen, in being so solicitous for a\nman's pardon who is upon the point of execution.\" On their arrival at\nthe place of execution, Nicephorus redoubled his humble entreaties and\nsupplications, but all in vain; for Sapricius continued as obstinate\nas ever, in refusing to forgive. The executioners said to Sapricius,\n\"Kneel down that we may cut off your head.\" And now, for the first\ntime, there was a sign of wavering in the Confessor. He grew pale and\ntrembled, and asked, \"Upon what account?\" They answered, \"Because you\nwill not sacrifice to the gods, or obey the Emperor's orders, for the\nlove of that man that is called Christ.\" The unfortunate Sapricius\ncried out, \"Stop, my friends; do not put me to death: I will do what\nyou desire: I am ready to sacrifice.\" Nicephorus, dismayed at his\napostasy, cried aloud to him, \"Brother, what are you doing? renounce\nnot Jesus Christ, our good Master. Forfeit not a crown you have\nalready gained by tortures and sufferings.\" But the holy Spirit of\nFortitude had been withdrawn from him, who would not show forgiveness\nto his brother, and he tremblingly renounced his Lord and Master. Then\nNicephorus, with tears of bitter anguish for the fall of Sapricius\nsaid to the executioners, \"I am a Christian, and believe in Jesus\nChrist, whom this wretch has renounced; behold me here ready to die in\nhis stead.\" All present were astonished at such an unexpected\ndeclaration. The officers of justice, uncertain how to proceed,\ndespatched a messenger to the governor for further orders. The\ngovernor, on hearing the account of the confession of Nicephorus,\ndictated the following sentence: \"If this man persist in refusing to\nsacrifice to the immortal gods, let him die by the sword:\" which was\naccordingly put in execution. Thus Nicephorus received the three\nimmortal crowns of faith, humility, and charity, triumphs of which\nSapricius had made himself unworthy.\n\n\nS. ATHRACTA OR TARAGHTA, V.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [There is great uncertainty as to the day on which this Irish Saint\n is commemorated. Some say Feb.\u00a09th; some Feb.\u00a03rd; and others\n Aug.\u00a011th. She is mentioned in the Tripartite Life of S. Patrick.\n Her life, which exists only in a fragmentary condition, given by\n Colgan from an ancient imperfect MS., is of no authority.]\n\nThe same caution must be renewed, which has been given so often in\nwriting the lives of the Irish Saints,--not to trust the records we\nhave, too implicitly. Doubtless, the main outline of their histories\nis true, but lively fancies, through many centuries, have filled those\noutlines with wondrous details which it is impossible to accept, and\nwhich have made an almost inextricable confusion in their history.\n\nThe virgin Athracta, was of noble race. She dedicated herself at an\nearly age to God, and built a lodging where seven roads met, that she\nmight have abundant opportunity of showing hospitality to wayfarers.\nShe is said in her legend to have received the veil from the hands of\nS. Patrick, when he was founding a church in Druimnea. Lanigan says\nthat this is a mistake, as S. Athracta did not live till some time in\nthe sixth century. He adds, \"The statements relative to her are indeed\nso contradictory that the period in which she flourished cannot be\nprecisely ascertained. According to some accounts she was contemporary\nwith S. Patrick. But we find her spoken of as living in the times of\nS. Corbmac, brother of S. Erin, and, consequently, in the sixth\ncentury. S. Nathy, that is, according to every appearance, Nathy of\nAchonry, who lived in the same century, is also mentioned as a\ncontemporary of hers. On these grounds it may be fairly concluded that\nS. Athracta belonged to the same period. She is said to have been the\ndaughter of Talan, of a princely family of Dalaradia, in Ulster, and\nsister of S. Coeman, of Aird-ne-Coemhain, a consanguinity which it\nwould be difficult to reconcile with her having been a native of\nUlster. Whatever were her family connexions, S. Athracta presided over\na nunnery called Kill-Athracta (Killaraght), near the lake Techet, now\nLough Cara, in the county of Sligo.\"[28]\n\nThe legend of the saint contains the following incidents, the first of\nwhich, as will be seen from what has been said above, it is impossible\nto reconcile with history:--\n\nThis virgin was of noble race; she dedicated herself at an early age\nto God, and built a lodging where seven roads met, that she might have\nabundant opportunity of showing hospitality to wayfarers. She received\nthe veil from the hands of S. Patrick, at Dromanna, the modern\nKill-Athractha, Connaught. The story goes that on a visit to the\nchurch, built there by the Holy Apostles, S. Patrick prepared to\ncelebrate Mass, when it was discovered that his attendants had\nforgotten to bring a paten. He was, therefore, about to lay aside his\nvestments, when the virgin said, \"Proceed, father! with God all things\nare possible.\" So he began the confession. Then, as Athracta knelt\nbowed forward, she felt something lightly fall on her shoulder, and\nshe put up her hand, and lo! there was a paten resting upon it. She\nrose, and, going to the altar, handed it to S. Patrick. On one\noccasion the King of Connaught desired to build a strong castle, and\nfor that purpose summoned all his vassals to contribute their\nassistance. Athracta in vain pleaded to be excused; the King roughly\nordered her to take her part in the erection of his fortress. Then\nshe, and her servants, and horses, went into the wood to cut timber\nand transport it. But her maid exclaimed, \"Oh, if the stags drew our\nlogs of wood, instead of these old broken-down horses, it would humble\nthe King's pride.\" Then Athracta called the stags to her, and because\nthe ropes or chains for dragging the timber were broken, she harnessed\nthe stags to the felled trees by some of her long delicate hairs, and\nthese proved as strong to draw the timber as the stags proved docile\nfor the draught.\n\nThese quaint legends are, it must be repeated, on no account to be\nestimated above what they are worth.\n\n\nS. TEILO, B. OF LLANDAFF.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 560.)\n\n [Patron of Llandaff. His name occurs in the Salisbury Martyrology of\n Wytford, and in the Anglican Mart. of John Wilson, who placed him on\n Dec.\u00a026th, and was followed by Ferrarius. The correct day is,\n however, certainly Feb.\u00a09th. He is recorded in the Welsh triads as\n one of the three canonized Saints of Britain; the two others are S.\n David and S. Cadoc. Authorities:--The Life, by Galfredus, of\n Llandaff (circ.\u00a01120); another anonymous life in Capgrave; the\n Regestum Landavense; and the Liber Landavensis.]\n\nS. Teilo or Theliav was descended from a noble British stock. His\nfather's name was Enlleu, son of Hydwn Dwn, and the place of his birth\nwas Eccluis Cunnian, near Tenby. From his infancy he bent his neck\nbeneath the gentle yoke of Christ, and, despising worldly vanities,\nwas given to prayer and alms-deeds. He studied first under S.\nDubricius, by whose assistance he attained great proficiency in the\nknowledge of the Scriptures; his next instructor was Paulinus, under\nwhom he pursued the same study, and in whose school he was the\nassociate of S. David. Under the patronage of Dubricius he opened a\ncollege, at Llandaff, which was called Bangor Deilo, or the great\nchoir of Teilo; and his settlement at that place may serve to account\nfor his appointment to fill the See of Llandaff upon the retirement of\nhis patron to the Isle of Bardsey. The idea that he was made bishop of\nLlandaff at the time S. Dubricius was raised to the Archbishopric of\nCaerleon, is irreconcilable with chronology. The original diocese\ngoverned by S. Teilo, as ascertained by the absence of churches\nfounded by S. David, was co-extensive with the ancient lordships of\nGlamorgan, containing the present rural deaneries of Croneath,\nLlandaff, and Newport. How long he continued to preside over this\nlimited district is uncertain; but, in the reign of Maelgwn Cwynedd,\nthe Yellow Plague desolated the Principality. Upon this occasion S.\nTeilo, with several others, retired to Cornwall, and thence into\nBrittany, where he was honourably received by S. Samson, Bishop of\nDol. After he had remained seven years and as many months in Brittany,\nhe returned, with several of his disciples, to his native country, and\non his arrival was elected to the Archbishopric of Menevia, vacant by\nthe death of Cynog. Like S. David, he, however, retained a\npredilection for the seat of his original bishopric, and, appointing\nIsmael to the situation of Bishop of Menevia, he removed the\narchbishopric to Llandaff. In order to maintain his title to the\nprimacy undisturbed, he appears to have kept under his immediate\ngovernment the whole of the diocese held before by S. David, with the\nexception of the part north of the river Tivy, which was henceforth\nattached to the diocese of Llanbadarn.\n\nThere is a story told of his having made a pilgrimage, before all\nthis, to the Holy Land, in company with S. David and S. Padarn, and of\ntheir having received episcopal consecration from the Patriarch of\nJerusalem; but it is probable that this was a story, borrowed by\nGiraldus from one of the lost Triads, and was invented to establish\nthe independence of the Welsh bishops of the See of Rome.\n\nIn the Triads, S. Teilo is called one of the Three Blessed Visitors to\nthe Isle of Britain, and he is associated with SS. David and Padarn.\n\"They were so called,\" says the Triad, \"because they went as guests to\nthe houses of the noble, the plebeian, the native, and the stranger,\nwithout accepting either fee or reward, or victuals, or drink; but\nwhat they did was to teach the faith in Christ to every one without\npayment or thanks. Besides which, they gave to the poor and needy,\ngifts of their gold and silver, their raiment and provisions.\" His\ncompanions, or pupils, playing on his name, compared it to _Helios_,\nwhich, in Greek, means the sun; because, by his heavenly doctrine and\nexample, he illumined the Church in South Wales, and warmed the hearts\nof the faithful. Twelve churches in the diocese of S. David's, and six\nin that of Llandaff, claim to have been founded by S. Teilo.[29]\n\nA curious, late, and utterly worthless story, save as an example of\nthe manner in which the popular tongue forges marvels, is related of\nhis relics. At his death, three priests of different parishes were\npresent, one from Llandaff, where he had been bishop; one of Llandeilo\nFawr, where he died; and one of Penaly, near Tenby, where his\nancestors had been buried. Each wished to claim the body for his\nchurch. The contention grew sharp between them, and was only\nterminated by the oldest of the three exhorting his brethren to leave\nthe decision to God. Then they retired to rest, and, next morning,\nwhen they entered the room where the dead saint lay, lo! his one body\nhad become three, perfectly identical in every particular, and each\npriest was able to carry off a S. Teilo to his own church. The origin\nof this foolish story is self-evident. It is an attempt to account, by\na miracle, for the existence, in three places, of bodies of S. Teilo;\na portion of his relics being probably preserved in each of these\nchurches, and the popular tongue having magnified each portion into an\nentire body.\n\n\nS. SABINE, B. OF CANOSI.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 566.)\n\n [There is great uncertainty whether there were one or two bishops of\n Canosi of this name, as it is impossible to fit all that is recorded\n of the Acts of S. Sabine into the life of one man; as a S. Sabine of\n Canosi was certainly present, in 493, at the dedication of the\n Church of S. Michael, on Mount Gargano; and a S. Sabine of Canosi is\n mentioned as meeting Totila, K. of the Goths, in 549, fifty-six\n years after. That there were two is, therefore, most probable, the\n name being that of the great and wide-spread Sabine family, occurs\n repeatedly among the bishops and saints of Italy, and has led to\n much confusion. It is impossible to distinguish, from the confused\n Acts of S. Sabine of Canosi, which events belong to the first, and\n which to the second, bishop of that name. S. Sabine is the second\n patron of Canosi, and also of Bari, after S. Nicolas. His life was\n written by an anonymous writer of the eight century.]\n\nThis saint belonged to a noble family at Canosi, in the present\narch-diocese of Bari, in Italy. He was elected to the see of his\nnative city, and distinguished himself by his zeal in building and\nadorning churches, as also by his learning. He was one of the prelates\npresent at the consecration of the Church of S. Michael, on the scene\nof the apparition of the archangel, on Monte Gargano, journeying\nthither in company with the blessed Roger of Canosi. And as the sun\nwas hot in the heavens, and they fainted with the burning of its rays,\nSabine raised his eyes to heaven, and prayed that a cool breeze might\nspring up and fan their fevered brows. But his prayer was heard and\nanswered in other sort, for a great eagle came between the travellers\nand the sun, and floated over their heads with wings expanded,\naccompanying them, so that they walked on in the shadow. Now, Sabine's\nardour in prosecuting his studies raised the suspicion of the\nmultitude, and they denounced him as addicted to the arts of magic; so\nthis report came to the ears of the Pope, and he summoned him to Rome,\nto clear his character from the aspersion cast upon it. Then Sabine\nhasted and went to Rome, and arrived in the evening, and was lodged in\nthe palace of the Holy Father, who, prejudiced against him, received\nhim coldly, and harshly bade him not set foot outside the house till\nhis case were heard. And at midnight, a strange, unearthly music\nresounded through the courts, and men started from sleep to listen.\nThen they were aware of chanting, as of a multitude, and they rose,\nand the Pope also, and they followed the sound, and till they came to\nthe door of the hall in which the Bishop of Canosi lay. And beneath\nthe door was a streak of dazzling light. Then they burst in, and\nbeheld the accused prelate standing in a blaze of heavenly radiance,\namidst angel forms, chanting the Psalms of David. So the Pope cast\nhimself at his feet, and acknowledged his complete innocence.\n\nNow, on his way home, the holy bishop doubtless visited S. Benedict,\nat Monte Cassino, for between them there existed a warm friendship;\nand we find that S. Placidus, the loved disciple of Benedict, often\nvisited and was entertained by the Bishop of Canosi, for the love he\nbare to the great Patriarch of the Monks of the West.\n\nA pretty incident of his life is as follows,--it is but a trifle, but\nthese trifling anecdotes give the character of the man. He was walking\nin his garden one day, among the flower-beds, reciting psalms and\nhymns, when a bright smile broke out over his face. Those accompanying\nhim were surprised, and asked the reason of that smile. \"Listen to\nthose sparrows,\" said he, \"there is a wagon upset yonder, which was\nladen with corn, and they are all eagerly communicating to one another\nthe joyful news of an abundant feast. Oh! the charity to one another\nof those dear little birds!\"[30]\n\nIn the year 535, Pope Agapetus sent an embassy to the Emperor\nJustinian at Constantinople, of which the bishop of Canosi was a\nmember. Agapetus was himself obliged to follow his embassy, the\nfollowing year, on a deputation to the emperor from Theodatus, the\nGothic king. Theodoric, king of the Goths, had been succeeded by\nAthalaric, son of his daughter Amalasvintha, but he, being a minor,\nthe public affairs were administered by his mother, who did not spare\nany pains in the education of her child. But the young king fell a\nvictim to intemperance, before he had attained the age of manhood. On\nthe failure of issue in the male line, Amalasvintha, in order to\nmaintain herself on the throne, gave her hand to Theodatus, her\ncousin, and allowed him to participate in the sovereign power. But\nTheodatus grasping at supreme sovereignty, suffocated his wife and\nbenefactress in a bath, and then, in abject terror for the\nconsequences, sent off Pope Agapetus to Constantinople, to deprecate\nthe wrath of the Emperor Justinian. Agapetus arrived in\nConstantinople, when that see was vacant, Epiphanius, the patriarch,\nbeing dead. He found the Empress Theodora in power, favouring the\nEutychian heretics, and encouraging Anthimus, bishop of Trebizond, a\nringleader of the sect. Agapetus at once deposed Anthimus, and\nordained one Mennas, a Catholic, in his place; then, feeling his end\napproach, he exhorted Sabine and his companions to stand by and\nmaintain the new bishop of Trebizond. Agapetus died in 536, and the\nsame year a council was held against Anthimus the heretic, at which\nSabine was present, and the anathemas of which he subscribed. In\nconsequence of this decided action, the bishop of Canosi suffered much\nfrom the anger of the Empress Theodora. In 537 he returned to Italy,\nand according to some accounts, died on his way, and was buried at\nTripalta on the Sabbato, above Benevento, near Avellino, where his\nbody, entire, still rests enshrined. But at Bari is the body of S.\nSabine, bishop of Canosi, and it is believed that there were two\nsaints of this name, and that the first Sabine, bishop of Canosi, is\nat Bari, and that the events we are about to relate, occurred to the\nsecond bishop of this name, who lies at Tripalta. That there were two\nis most probable, as it is hardly possible that he who was bishop in\n493, could have sat till 566, which would give an episcopate of over\nseventy-three years.\n\nTotila, king of the Goths, the seventh of that race who had governed\nItaly, swept Campania and Samnium with his barbarian army, occupied\nNaples, and in the midst of his victorious course, visited S. Benedict\non his rock of Cassino. The incident of the meeting between the\nbarbarian king and the ascetic patriarch shall be recorded in the life\nof S. Benedict. S. Gregory relates in his Dialogues, (lib. iii. c.\u00a05),\nthat Totila, hearing of S. Sabine of Canosi, now blind with age, that\nhe was endued with the spirit of prophecy, visited him and invited him\nto dinner, and to prove the old bishop, when the page brought wine\nround, the king took the goblet from the boy's hand, and himself\noffered it to the prelate. Then Sabine, taking the goblet, and turning\nhis darkened eyes on the royal bearer, said, \"May that hand that\noffers live long!\" And the king blushed, joyous at receiving this part\nblessing, part prophecy. S. Gregory relates another story of this\nsaint. The Archdeacon of Canosi, a man full of ambition and pride,\ndesiring the episcopate, and impatient of the long life of Sabine,\nbribed his butler to poison him. The deadly cup was offered him, and\nthe aged prelate drank it off, but instantly the Archdeacon was seized\nwith all the symptoms of having been poisoned, and died in agony,\nwhereas the bishop remained unhurt.\n\nIt is unfortunate, that owing to the carelessness of the historian,\nwho wrote two hundred years after the death of S. Sabine I., the\nrecords of the two bishops of that name should have been so run\ntogether as to render it almost impossible to dissever them.\n\nThere seems also to have been a third S. Sabine of Canosi, bishop of\nLesina, a ruined and deserted city, on the lagoon of the same name in\nthe Capitanta. Lesina, in the 10th century, was the seat of a bishop.\nNo records of this saint exist, but in November, 1597, the cathedral\nand second church of Lesina being thoroughly ruinous, officials were\ndeputed to remove from the deserted churches such relics as could be\nfound, and works of value that remained. They found the roof of the\ncathedral fallen in, doors and windows broken and open, and grass\ngrowing on the sacred floor. The crypt was in better preservation, and\nthere they found altars standing, containing sacred relics. In one of\nthese they found a marble sarcophagus, on which was inscribed, S.\nSabinus Canusinus, \"S. Sabine of Canosi.\" Within was a leaden coffin,\non which was engraved, S. Sabinus Canusianus, pontifex Lesinensis. \"S.\nSabine of Canosi, bishop of Lesina.\" The skeleton in this was perfect.\nThis body, together with others there discovered, was removed to\nNaples, where it now reposes in the church of the Annunciata.\n\n\nSS. VICTOR, M., AND SUSANNA, V. C.\n\n(DATE UNKNOWN.)\n\n [Of local celebrity at Mouzon, on the Meuse, above Sedan. The names\n occur, however, in some Martyrologies of minor importance.\n Authority:--A MS. life published by Bollandus.]\n\nSS. Victor and Susanna were peasants at Mouzon, or the neighbourhood,\nVictor being the brother and protector of Susanna, a modest and\nbeautiful girl. The Lord of Mouzon having cast his lustful eyes on\nSusanna, endeavoured to deceive her, but her virgin modesty withstood\nhis threats and promises; and finding her inflexible, in a paroxysm of\nrage, he tore out her eyes. Victor, her brother, denounced the tyrant\nto his face, and threatened him with the vengeance of the God of the\nfatherless, and protector of the poor, whereupon the noble, furious at\nbeing insulted by a vile peasant, ordered his retainers to despatch\nhim, which they did.\n\n\nS. ANSBERT, B. OF ROUEN.\n\n(A.D. 695.)\n\n [Roman and other Martyrologies. Authority:--Life by Ansgrad, the\n monk, dedicated to Abbot Hilbert, the successor of S. Ansbert. This\n life has, however, suffered from interpolators.]\n\nThis saint was at one time chancellor to Clothaire III., and in the\nmidst of the temptations of a court, preserved his integrity and\npurity. At length, quitting the court, he assumed the monastic habit\nat Fontenelle, and on the election of the abbot Lantbert to the see of\nLyons, he succeeded him as abbot of that famous monastery. He was\nconfessor to Thierri III., and was, with his consent, chosen\narchbishop of Rouen, on the death of S. Ouen, in 683. Pepin, mayor of\nthe palace, afterwards banished him, on a false accusation of treason,\nto the monastery of Hautmont in Hainault, where he died on the 9th\nFebruary, 695. His body was transported to the abbey of Fontenelle,\nand afterwards to Boulogne, but in 944, through fear of the Northmen,\nit was translated to the convent of S. Peter in Ghent; but was dragged\nfrom its resting-place by the furious Calvinists, under William of\nOrange, in 1578; some portions of the sacred relics have, however, we\nbelieve, been preserved.\n\nS. Ansbert is often called S. Aubert.\n\n[28] Dr. Lanigan's Eccles. Hist. of Ireland, Dublin, 1827; Vol. iii.,\np.\u00a039, & i. p.\u00a0243.\n\n[29] Rees: Essay on the Welsh Saints, pp, 245-6.\n\n[30] In the original, the simplicity of this story is quite spoiled by\nwhat is evidently added by the monkish author, unable to see the\nbeauty of the unadorned incident; for, it is said, this was a proof of\nmiraculous power in the saint, that he was able to see through a stone\nwall the upsetting of a corn-cart.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 10.\n\n SS. CHARALAMPIUS, _P. and Companions, MM. at Magnesia_, A.D. 202.\n S. SOTERIS, _V. M. at Rome, 4th cent._\n S. ZENO, _Monk at Antioch, in Syria; circ._ A.D. 419.\n S. SCHOLASTICA, _V. at Monte Cassino_, A.D. 543.\n S. PROTADIUS, _B. of Besancon_, A.D. 626.\n S. TRUMWINE, _B. of the Picts, circ._ A.D. 700.\n S. AUSTREBERTHA, _V. in French Flanders_, A.D. 704.\n S. SURA OR ZUWARDA, _V. M. at Dortrecht_.\n S. WILLIAM OF MALEVAL, _H. in Italy_, A.D. 1157.\n B. JOHN WILLIAM OF THE OLIVE, _P. H. at Mariemont, in Belgium_,\n A.D. 1241.\n S. ARNALD OF CATANEA, _Ab. at Padua_, A.D. 1255.\n S. CLARA OF RIMINI, _Matr._, A.D. 1346.\n\n\nSS. CHARALAMPIUS, P. AND COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(A.D. 202.)\n\n [Commemorated in the West on this day; in the East on Sept.\u00a017th.\n The Acts are not trustworthy.]\n\nSaint Charalampius was priest at Magnesia, in the reign of Severus. He\nwas brought before the governor, Lucianus, and was flayed with iron\nscrapers; the governor himself, in his rage, assisting the\nexecutioners in their barbarous work. With him suffered two soldiers\nand three women.\n\n\nS. SOTERIS, V. M.\n\n(4th CENT.)\n\n [Modern Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus and Ado. But the\n ancient Roman Martyrology, bearing the name of S. Jerome, and those\n of Notker Bede (so-called), Rabanus, and others, on Feb.\u00a06th. Nor\n are the Martyrologies agreed as to where she suffered, some saying,\n \"in the East,\" others \"at Rome.\" Authority:--S. Ambrose, who was of\n her family, gives an account of her martyrdom in his Exhort.\n Virginit. lib. iii.]\n\nS. Ambrose boasts of this saint as the greatest honour of his family.\nShe was descended from a long series of consuls and prefects; but her\ngreatest glory was in despising, for Christ's sake, her wealth, birth,\nand beauty. When the edicts of persecution were issued under\nDiocletian and Maximian, against the Christians, she was summoned\nbefore the judge, and her face was beaten because she would not deny\nChrist. She, however, counted it all joy to suffer in the like manner\nof her Master, and, though cruelly beaten, shed not a tear. At length,\novercome by her constancy, the judge ordered her head to be struck off.\n\nOne of the Roman catacombs on the Appian way, bears the name of S.\nSoteris. This catacomb was restored by Pope Stephen III., when the\nroof had fallen in. It has been erroneously supposed, by some, that\nthis catacomb was called after Pope S. Soter; but Anastasius the\nLibrarian, in recording the restoration of the cemetery, calls it\n\"Cemeterium Sanct\u00e6 Soteris.\" Stephen III. (II.) reigned from 752 to\n757. The body was removed from this catacomb by Pope Symmachus,\n(498-514,) to the church of S. Sylvester, in the city of Rome. A\nportion of the relics were given to the church of Sezanne, in the\nmodern department of Marne, in France. One of her bones is preserved\nin the Jesuit Church at Luxembourg. A body of S. Soteris is preserved\nin the Cistercian Church at Madrid; but as the history of the Acts of\nthis S. Soteris cannot be adapted to the saint of Rome, it is probable\nthat she is some local Spanish saint, of whom nothing authentic is\nknown.\n\n\nS. ZENO, H.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 419.)\n\n [Theodoret in his Philotheus, c.\u00a012, gives an account of this\n venerable monk, whom he had visited, and knew personally.]\n\nThis venerable hermit lived in an old tomb cut out of the rocks in the\nneighbourhood of Antioch, in Syria. He observed the monastic rule for\nforty years, living on bread and water, and on Sunday visiting a\nchurch, that he might partake of the divine mysteries, and listen to\nsermons. Theodoret makes a quaint little remark about him: \"That he\nused to borrow one book at a time from his friends, read it through,\nand return it when read, and then borrow another.\"\n\n\nS. SCHOLASTICA, V.\n(A.D. 543.)\n\n [Famous wherever the name of S. Benedict, her brother, is known.\n Authorities for her life, the same as those for his. The following\n sketch of her life is extracted from Montalembert's Monks of the\n West.]\n\nIn the history of most saints who have exercised a reformatory and\nlasting influence upon monastic institutions, the name and influence\nof some holy woman is almost invariably found associated with their\nwork and devotedness. These bold combatants in the war of the Spirit\nagainst the flesh seemed to have drawn strength and consolation from a\nchaste and fervent community of sacrifices, prayers, and virtues, with\na mother or a sister, by blood or choice, whose sanctity shed upon one\ncorner of their glorious lives a ray of sweeter and more familiar\nlight. To instance only the greatest: Macrina is seen by the side of\nS. Basil, and the names of Monica and Augustine are inseparable; as in\nlater ages are those of S. Francis of Assisi and S. Clara, S. Francis\nof Sales and S. Jeanne Chantal. S. Benedict had also a sister, born on\nthe same day with himself, named Scholastica; they loved each other as\ntwins often love, with fraternal regard, elevated into a passion. But\nboth loved God above all. Still earlier than her brother, Scholastica\nhad consecrated herself to God from her infancy; and, in becoming a\nnun, she made herself the patroness and model of the innumerable\nfamily of virgins who were to acknowledge, adopt, and follow the code\nof her brother. She rejoined him at Monte Cassino, and established\nherself in a monastery, in the depths of a valley near the holy\nmountain. Benedict directed her from afar, as he did many other nuns\nin the neighbourhood. But they met only once a year, and then it was\nScholastica who left her cloister, and sought her brother. He, on his\nside, went to meet her: they met upon the side of the mountain, not\nfar from the door of the monastery, in a spot which has long been\nvenerated. There, at their last meeting, occurred that struggle of\nfraternal love, and the austerity of the rule, recorded by S.\nGregory,[31] which is the only known episode in the life of\nScholastica, and which has insured an imperishable remembrance to her\nname. They had passed the entire day in pious conversation, mingled\nwith praises of God. Towards the evening they ate together. While they\nwere still at table, and the night approached, Scholastica said to her\nbrother, \"I pray thee, do not leave me to-night, but let us speak of\nthe joys of heaven till the morning.\" \"What sayest thou, my sister?\"\nanswered Benedict; \"on no account can I remain out of the monastery.\"\nUpon the refusal of her brother, Scholastica bent her head between her\nclasped hands on the table, but prayed to God, shedding torrents of\ntears, to such an extent, that the table was flooded with them. The\nweather was very serene: there was not a cloud in the air. But\nscarcely had she raised her head when thunder was heard, and a violent\nstorm began; the rain, lightning, and thunder were such, that neither\nBenedict, nor any of his brethren, who accompanied him, could take a\nstep beyond the roof that sheltered them. Then he said to Scholastica,\n\"May God pardon thee, my sister, but what hast thou done?\" \"Ah, yes,\"\nshe answered him, \"I prayed thee, and thou would'st not listen to me;\nthen I prayed God, and he heard me. Go now, if thou canst, and send me\naway, to return to thy monastery.\" He resigned himself, against his\nwill, to remain, and they passed the rest of the night in spiritual\nconverse. S. Gregory, who has preserved the tale to us, adds that it\nis not to be wondered at, that God granted the desire of the sister\nrather than that of the brother, because, of the two, it was the\nsister who loved most, and that those who love most have the greatest\npower with God.\n\nIn the morning they parted, to see each other no more in this life.\nThree days after, Benedict, being at the window of his cell, had a\nvision, in which he saw his sister entering heaven under the form of a\ndove. Overpowered with joy, his gratitude burst forth in songs and\nhymns to the glory of God.\n\nHer body was translated to Le Mans, in France, of which city she is\npatroness, but her relics were dispersed by the Huguenots, in 1562.\nHowever, some portions have been preserved, some in the Jesuit Church\nat Antwerp, and a bone in the Carthusian Church at Cologne.\n\n\nS. SURA, V. M.\n\n(DATE UNKNOWN.)\n\nThis Saint, called in Dutch, Zuwardt, is said to have built the first\nChristian Church at Dordrecht. She was murdered by some ruffians, who\nhoped to possess themselves of her money, wherewith she paid for the\nedification of the house of God, but found only three pennies in her\npurse, whence arose the tradition that she had only that sum the whole\ntime, and that as often as she paid it away, the same sum remained in\nher purse.\n\n\nS. WILLIAM OF MALEVAL, H.\n\n(A.D. 1157.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--His Life, by his friend and\n disciple, Albert, in whose arms he died. Several modern writers have\n confused S. William of Maleval with S. William of Mariemont, and\n even with S. William I., Duke of Aquitaine, and S. William IX., Duke\n of Guienne, who died 1137.]\n\nNothing is known of the birth of this saint, or of his early life, on\nwhich he preserved an impenetrable secrecy. It is said that he made a\npilgrimage to S. Jago of Compostella, but even this is uncertain, as\nS. William of Guienne, his contemporary, is known to have made this\nexpedition, and it is quite possible that the act of one S. William\nhas been transferred to the other.\n\nIn the year 1153, there appeared in Tuscany a man, who sought to hide\nhimself from the eyes of his fellow-men. The islet of Lupocavio, in\nthe district of Pisa, seemed to him to answer his desire; there he\nconstructed a small habitation, and remained there. His edifying\nexample attracted several persons to him, who settled near his cell,\nand undertook to follow his rule of life. But their fervour soon\ncooled down, and their undisciplined manners obliged him to withdraw\nfrom his solitude, and retire to Monte Prunio, where he hoped to be\nalone with his God, and where he erected in a dense wood, a hut of\nboughs, and thatched it with leaves and fern. He was soon joined by\nidle vagrants, who, under the pretence of a religious life, attempted\nto impose on the charity of pious persons. S. William soon discovered\nthat these men were actuated by no religious vocation, and their\nhypocrisy drove him again from his resting-place. He was, indeed,\ncompulsorily ejected by these miscreants, who could ill bear his\nsanctity subsisting as a reproach upon their irregularities. He then\nreturned to the island of Lupocavio, but not finding his former\nassociates there disposed to receive him, he fixed his habitation in a\ndesert valley, called at that time \"The stable of Rhodes,\" but since\nknown as \"the bad valley,\" Maleval. It was situated in the territory\nof Sienna, about a league distant from Castigline, Pescara, and\nBuriano. It was in 1155, that he hid himself in this solitude, having\nat first only a hole in the earth, in which he could shelter from the\ninclemency of the weather, till the Lord of Buriano, taking compassion\non him, built a little cell for his lodging. For four months he lived\nonly on roots and herbs, having no other companions than the wild\nbeasts; but, in the beginning of the year 1156, he received a\ndisciple, named Albert, who wrote the account of the close of his\nlife. The saint practised surprising austerities; thrice in the week\nhe took only very little bread, and wine much diluted; on the other\ndays he took bread, and herbs and water. He wore sackcloth next his\nskin, and slept on the bare ground. He was endowed with the gift of\nprophecy, of which Albert had himself experience, for when the saint\nwas dying, and his disciple was lamenting that he should be left\nalone, S. William bade him be of good cheer, for God would give him a\ncompanion shortly. This seemed so improbable, that Albert could not\ntrust it; but going forth from the cell shortly after, he met a man,\nnamed Raynald, a physician, who had come to renounce the world and\nplace himself under the direction of the pious hermit. Albert, fearing\nthat the death of the saint might make him change his purpose, cast\nhimself at his feet, and implored him to come and make his profession\nbefore the dying saint at once. Raynald did so, and Albert submitted\nhimself to the direction of his new companion on the death of his\nfirst master. S. William died in the arms of Albert, after having\nreceived the last sacraments from a priest of Castigline, who had been\nwarned of the illness of the hermit.\n\nRaynald and Albert buried S. William in his little garden. After his\ndeath they preserved the spirit of penitence and mortification with\nwhich he had inspired them during his life, and they endeavoured to\nfollow his maxims as their rule of life; and thus originated the Order\nof the Guillemites, which rapidly spread from Italy, through France,\nthe Low Countries, and Germany. At first they followed the institutes\nof S. William only, and fasted almost perpetually, and walked\nbarefoot. But Pope Gregory IX. moderated their great austerities,\nallowed them to be shod, and required them to follow the rule of S.\nBenedict.\n\n\nS. JOHN-WILLIAM, H.\n\n(A.D. 1241.)\n\n [Day unfixed for his commemoration, but locally, he is commemorated\n on the same day as his namesake. He is called Saint in Belgium, but\n is of local canonization only. Authorities:--Life by an anonymous\n Cistercian monk, of undecided date, published by Bollandus, and\n another life in the annals of Jacobus Guisius.]\n\nThis venerable hermit of Brabant was the founder of the ancient abbey\n\"of the Olive,\" whose ruins may still be seen at some little distance\nfrom the ancient castle of Mariemont, near Binche in Hainault.\n\nHaving lived a life of great irregularity during his youth,\nJohn-William retired, in a moment of remorse, to the abbey of\nCh\u00e9railles, near Vervins; but he shortly afterwards quitted it, being\ndrawn into the world again by his passions. But God, says the legend,\ngave him a warning which brought him once more to his senses, and he\nretired to a lonely place near Morlanwelz, where he built a little\nhermitage of branches, and lived for some time, unknown, exercising\nhimself in prayer and vigil, and living on roots and wild fruit. If we\nmay believe a popular legend, to punish himself for having yielded to\nhis animal passions so long, he would not stand upright, but walked\nabout like a beast, on all fours. Later on, Dame Bertha, the widow of\nEustace de R\u00e6ulz, having heard of his piety, offered him the choice of\nany spot on her lands, where he might cultivate the soil to supply his\nnecessities. He accepted her offer, and began diligently to till the\nground. John of B\u00e9thune, Bishop of Cambrai, informed of the perfection\nof the hermit, conferred upon him priest's orders; after which,\nJohn-William undertook the construction of a stone church on the\nground given him by the lady Bertha. When this was complete, the\nhermit asked the abbess of Fontenelle to send some of her nuns to\nestablish themselves there. She complied with his request, but the\nplace not suiting them, they returned to their convent. At his\nrequest, seven nuns from Monstres-sur-Sambre were then sent to him,\nand they placed themselves under his direction; the institution was\nincorporated in the order of Citeaux, an abbess was elected, and the\nplace which had formerly borne the designation of \"The Hermitage,\" was\nnow called \"The Olive.\" There are many hypotheses to account for the\norigin of this name. One is, that it was derived from the number of\ncures wrought by olive oil, from the lamp burnt before the image of\nthe Holy Virgin in the church. The founder died in 1240, on the 10th\nFebruary, at the age of sixty-six, and was buried in the monastery\nchurch.\n\n\nS. CLARA OF RIMINI, MATR.\n\n(A.D. 1346.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--Life by Cardinal Joseph Garampi.]\n\nClara was born at Rimini, her father's name was Chiarello, and her\nmother's Gaudiana; they belonged to a noble family, and were very\nwealthy. Clara was married early, but shortly after lost her husband.\nHaving been exiled on account of a civil war, she returned to Rimini,\nto see her father and one of her brothers perish on the scaffold.\n\nShe was married again, but after a while, with the consent of her\nhusband, devoted her life to the practice of self-mortification. She\nslept on a hard board, and encircled her neck and wrists with iron\nrings to punish herself for her extravagance in jewelry when young.\nHer food was bread and water, and a little oil on Sundays.\n\nNot content with these austerities, and the rigorous fasts she imposed\non herself from the feast of S. Martin till Christmas, and from\nEpiphany till Easter, she spent the greater part of many nights in\nprayer, and during Lent she retired into an old look-out box on the\ntown walls, where, exposed to the cold and rain, she spent the time in\nconfessing her faults, and reciting the Lord's Prayer, a hundred times\na day. Her close communing with God made her heart overflow with\ncharity towards all men. Hearing that her brother had been banished a\nsecond time from his native town, and was sick at Urbino, she flew to\nhis bedside, and nursed him with the utmost tenderness, escaping\noccasionally into an ancient ruined tower, near the cathedral at\nUrbino, to refresh her spirit with prayer. On the restoration of\ntranquillity, she returned to Rimini with her brother, where she\nbecame shortly the solace of all the afflicted. One day, hearing that\nthe poor Clares were without fuel, she ran into the country, and\ngetting a large log of wood, laid it on her shoulder, and carried it\nthrough the streets to their door. A noble kinsman, not liking to see\nher thus demean herself, as he considered it, sent a servant to\nrelieve her of the load, but she refused to surrender it, saying that\nher Lord was not ashamed to bear His cross for the sake of sinners,\nand that, therefore, it was no dishonour for her to carry wood for the\nuse of His servants.\n\nOnce, hearing that a man was sentenced to pay a heavy fine, or have\nhis hand chopped off, and that he was unable to ransom his hand, she\nsold herself as a slave, and with the money would have redeemed the\nhand from amputation, had not the magistrates, touched by her charity,\npardoned the man. Having once given way to intemperate speech towards\nsomeone who had annoyed her, she punished herself by nipping her\ntongue with a pair of pincers, so that she was unable to speak for two\nor three days after.\n\nShe built a convent for those women who had placed themselves under\nher direction, near the old watch-box on the walls, and gave it the\nname of \"The Annunciation,\" but the title was changed afterwards to\nthat of \"Our Lady of the Angels.\"\n\nTowards the end of her life she lost her sight. She died on Feb.\u00a010th,\n1346, and was buried in the church of her convent, where her relics\nare still preserved. The cult of her was approved in 1784 by Pope Pius\nVI., and her commemoration was fixed for the 10th February.\n\n[31] Dialog. ii., c.\u00a012, 23, 33.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 11.\n\n S. CALOCERUS, _B. of Ravenna, 2nd cent._\n S. TIGRINUS, _M. at Rome; relics at Turin, 2nd cent._\n SS. SATURNINUS AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Carthage_, A.D. 303.\n S. JONAS THE GARDENER, _Monk in Egypt, 4th cent._\n S. LAZARUS, _B. of Milan; circ_. A.D. 449.\n S. CASTRENSIS, _B. of Volterra; circ_. A.D. 450.\n S. SECUNDINUS, _B. of Troja in Southern Italy; circ._ A.D. 450.\n S. EUPHROSYNE, _V. at Alexandria; circ._ A.D. 470. (_Transferred\n from Jan.\u00a01st._)\n S. SEVERINUS, _Ab. of S. Maurice in the Valais_, A.D. 506.\n S. ECIAN, B. in Ireland; circ. A.D. 587.\n S. CEADMON, _Monk at Whitby; circ._ A.D. 680.\n S. THEODORA, _Empress at Constantinople_, A.D. 867.\n S. MARTIN, _P. at Leon in Spain_, A.D. 1221.\n S. ADOLPH, _B. of Osnaburgh_, A.D. 1222.\n\n\nSS. SATURNINUS AND COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(A.D. 303.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. In the ancient African Church, as we learn from\n S. Augustine, their commemoration took place on Feb.\u00a012th, and on\n that day they are given by Usuardus. The Acts are genuine. They were\n appealed to in the reign of Honorius, in 412, during the Donatist\n controversy to prove that even in the stress of persecution,\n Christians had not failed to attend Divine Service on the Lord's\n Day. S. Augustine also quotes them in his book against Cresconius,\n lib. iii. c.\u00a017, 26, 27, and 29, written in 406. The Synodical\n Epistle of the Council of the Catholic Bishops held at Cirta which\n quotes these Acts, is included among the works of S. Augustine in\n the Benedictine Edition, numbered Ep.\u00a0141. It is dated the 14th\n June, 412.]\n\nThe persecution of Diocletian having broken out in Africa, the\nmagistrates of Abitina broke, one Sunday, into the house of a citizen,\nOctavius Felix, during the celebration of the Divine Mysteries, and\ntook the priest Saturninus, his four children, and forty-four other\nChristians who were assisting at the Holy Sacrifice. The two elder\nsons of the priest, Saturninus and Felix, were both lectors; Mary, his\ndaughter, had consecrated her virginity to God; Hilarion, the\nyoungest, was still quite a child. Among the other prisoners were\nDativus, a noble senator, Ampelius, Rogatianus, Januarius, Cassian,\nVictorian, in all thirty men, and nineteen women.\n\nDativus marched at the head of the troop which surrounded Saturninus,\nstanding as children about their father.\n\nWhen brought before the magistrates, they confessed Christ so\nresolutely, that their very judges applauded their courage.\n\nThe confessors were shackled and sent to Carthage, the residence of\nthe pro-consul. They rejoiced to see themselves in chains for Christ,\nand sang hymns and canticles during their whole journey to Carthage,\npraising and thanking God. The pro-consul, Anulinus, addressing\nhimself first to Dativus, asked him of what condition he was, and if\nhe had assisted at the collect or assembly of the Christians. He\nanswered that he was a Christian, and had been present at it. The\npro-consul bade him declare who presided, and in whose house those\nreligious assemblies were held: but without waiting for his answer,\ncommanded him to be put on the rack and torn with iron hooks, to force\nthe information from him. The martyrs underwent severally the tortures\nof the rack, iron hooks, and cudgels. Felix was asked if he had been\nat the collect or assembly[32] on the Lord's day. Felix answered, \"I\nam a Christian.\" \"I did not ask that,\" said the magistrate, \"but\nwhether you had been at the collect.\" \"Oh, foolish judge!\" cried\nFelix, \"Could I be a Christian and not be present? As if the Lord's\nday gathering should be without the Christian, and the Christian\nwithout the Lord's day gathering. Knowest thou not that the one was\nmade for the other, and the one cannot be without the other?\" Then he\nwas savagely beaten and sent to prison. The weaker sex fought no less\ngloriously, particularly the illustrious Victoria; who, having been\nconverted to Christ in her tender years, had signified a desire to\nlead a single life, but to this her pagan parents would not agree\nhaving promised her in marriage to a rich young nobleman. Victoria, on\nthe day appointed for the wedding, full of confidence in the\nprotection of Him whom she had chosen for the only spouse of her soul,\nleaped out of a window, and took refuge in a Christian church, where\nshe consecrated her virginity to God, with the ceremonies then used on\nsuch occasions at Carthage, in Italy, Gaul, and all over the West.[33]\nTo the crown of virginity she earnestly desired to join that of\nmartyrdom. The pro-consul, on account of her quality, and for the sake\nof her brother, a Pagan, tried all means to prevail with her to\nrenounce her faith. He inquired what was her religion. Her answer was,\n\"I am a Christian.\" Her brother, Fortunatianus, undertook her defence,\nand endeavoured to prove her lunatic. The saint, fearing his plea\nmight be the means of her losing the crown of martyrdom, made it\nappear by her intelligent answers that she was in her perfect senses,\nand she protested that she had not been brought to Christianity\nagainst her will. The pro-consul asked her if she would return with\nher brother. She replied, \"Being a Christian, I acknowledge none as\nbrethren but those who keep the law of God.\" The pro-consul then laid\naside the quality of judge to become her suppliant, and entreated her\nnot to throw away her life. But she rejected his entreaties with\ndisdain, and said to him, \"I have already told you my mind. I am a\nChristian, and I assisted at the holy assembly.\" Anulinus, provoked at\nthis constancy, ordered her to prison with the rest, to wait the\nsentence of death which he not long after pronounced upon them all.\n\nHowever, he made an effort to gain the little boy, Hilarion, not\ndoubting that he would easily prevail with one of his tender age. But\nthe child showed more contempt than fear of the tyrant's threats, and\nanswered his interrogatories, \"I am a Christian: I have been at the\ncollect,[34] and it was of my own voluntary choice, without any\ncompulsion.\" The pro-consul threatened him with those little\npunishments with which children are accustomed to be chastised, little\nknowing that God himself fights in his martyrs. The child only laughed\nat him. The governor then said to him, \"I will cut off your nose and\nears.\" Hilarion replied, \"You may do it; but I am a Christian still.\"\nThen the governor ordered the child to be taken to the prison with the\nrest, and Hilarion, with his shrill voice cried, \"God be\nthanked!\"--and so was led away.\n\nAt this point these interesting Acts break off abruptly, but a\nfragment which has been tampered with by some Donatist hand has, at\nthe end, this passage, which has been lost from the genuine\nActs:--\"These blessed martyrs, being deprived of all nourishment for\ntheir bodies, one by one, and by degrees, sank, overcome with hunger,\nand migrated to the heavenly kingdom with the victor's palm, our Lord\nJesus Christ sustaining them, who, with the Father, reigns through\nages of ages. Amen.\"\n\n\nS. JONAS THE GARDENER, MONK.\n\n(4TH CENT.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, not to be confounded with the S. Jonas, monk,\n commemorated by the Greeks on Sept 21st. Authority:--Mention in the\n Life of S. Pachomius.]\n\nIn the monastery of Muchon, in Egypt, lived an old monk who acted as\ngardener. For eighty-five years he cultivated the fruits of the\nmonastery garden, and gathered them, and gave of them to the monks,\nand to guests, and to travellers, as much as they would, but in all\nthose years he never tasted so much as a grape, a date, or a fig; but\nlived on raw herbs with a little vinegar. Now, there stood in the\nmidst of the monastery a very fruitful fig-tree, and the boys were in\nthe habit of climbing it to gather and eat the luscious figs. And when\nS. Pachomius came one day to inspect the monastery, he saw that this\nfig-tree was a cause of self-indulgence and gluttony to some of the\nyounger aspirants after an ascetic life. So he said to Jonas the\ngardener, \"Cut that tree down!\" Then the gardener lifted up his hands\nin dismay, and when Pachomius saw how greatly it would grieve the good\nman, he let him spare it. But lo! on the morrow the fig-tree was\nwithered away, and Jonas knew that he had acted wrongly in opposing\nhis will to the command of his superior. Jonas wore a dress made of\nthree sheep-skins sewn together, and over this he cast a linen\nsurplice without sleeves,[35] when he approached the Divine Sacrament\nof the Body and Blood of Christ; but as soon as he had communicated,\nhe laid it aside. Jonas, after supper, was wont to retire to his cell,\nsit on his chair weaving rushes in the dark, reciting passages of\nScripture, till the midnight call to the monks to rise for the night\noffice. Then, when that was concluded, he returned to his seat, and\nslept seated till dawn. And one day he was found dead in his chair\nwith the rushes in his stiff hand. Then the monks buried him as he\nsat, with the half-plaited mat on his knees.\n\n\nS. LAZARUS, B. OF MILAN.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 449.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. He died on March 14th, but as by the Milan use\n no saint is commemorated in Lent, his festival has been there thrown\n back to Feb.\u00a011th; and adopted thence into the Roman Martyrology.\n His life from scattered notices is given by Bollandus.]\n\nOf the acts of this saint, who was bishop of Milan before 440, but in\nwhat year consecrated is unknown, we have scarcely any records. He\nlived in the stormy time of the Gothic invasion of Italy. It is\ndisputed whether he or S. Mamertus, bishop of Vienne, was the first to\ninstitute the use of litanies. It is certain that Bishop Lazarus\nordered their use for three days in succession in all the principal\nchurches of Milan.\n\n\nS. EUPHROSYNE, V.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 470.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology on Jan.\u00a01st, but anciently on Feb.\u00a011th; with\n great solemnity by the Greeks on September 25th. She is sometimes\n erroneously called Euphrosia or Euphrasia by martyrologists. The\n life of S. Euphrosyne is found inserted in the _Vit\u00e6 Patrum_.\n The authors of some of these lives are known, as S. Ephrem, S.\n Jerome, Sophronius of Jerusalem, Paulus Diaconus, but it is not\n known by whom the life of S. Euphrosyne was written. In gravity and\n purity of style it is not behind any of the others. That after her\n death a Greek life was written, which was translated into Latin,\n seems probable, from the extension of her cultus in the ancient\n Latin Church. Her life exists in an ancient Greek ode, and in a\n Latin heroic poem; another life is given by Simeon Metaphrastes, in\n all particulars of importance agreeing with that in the Lives of the\n Fathers, but without its freshness and ring of antiquity.]\n\nThe history of S. Euphrosyne, as given in the \"Lives of the Fathers of\nthe Desert,\" written, apparently, shortly after her death, is told so\nsimply and beautifully by the ancient historian, that it shall be\ngiven here, somewhat abbreviated, but otherwise literally translated.\n\nThere was a man of Alexandria named Paphnutius, honourable, and\nobserving the commandments of God. He married a wife worthy of his\nrace, and of honest manners, but she was barren. Thereat the man was\ntroubled much and sorrowful, likewise his wife was sore afflicted,\nseeing the distress of her husband. And after some time he told a\ncertain abbot his desire; and he, compassionating him, besought the\nLord to give him a child. Then God heard the prayers of these twain,\nand gave to Paphnutius a daughter. After that, Paphnutius brought his\nwife to the monastery, that she should be blessed by the abbot and the\nbrethren. And when the little girl was seven years old, she was\nbaptized, and called Euphrosyne, and her parents rejoiced over her,\nbecause they had received her of the Lord, and she was comely of face.\nNow when she was twelve years old, her mother died, and she lived with\nher father, who taught her her letters, and to read, and all the rest\nof the world's knowledge. The good report of her spread through the\ntown, for she was wise in knowledge, and very comely, and composed in\nface and spirit. Thus many desired to mate her with their sons, and\ntried to come to terms with the father, but could not gain their\npoint; for he said, \"God's will be done.\" But one man excelled all in\nwealth and honour, and he sought the father and asked him to give his\ndaughter to his own son in marriage; and he consented; so the usual\nbetrothal gifts were made.\n\nAnd after some time, when she was aged eighteen, Paphnutius, taking\nher, went to the monastery with her, and gave monies for the need of\nthe brethren, and said to the abbot, \"I have brought to thee the fruit\nof thy prayers, that thou mayest pray for her, for I am about to\ndeliver her in marriage.\"\n\nThen the abbot bade that she should be taken to the guest-house, and\nhe spake with her, and said much about purity, humility, and meekness.\nNow she was there three days, and she gave ear to the psalmody every\nday, and saw the holy conversation of the monks, and she wondered at\ntheir life, and said, \"Blessed indeed are these men.\" So her heart\nbegan to be solicitous in the fear of the Lord.\n\nAnd when three days were accomplished, Paphnutius led her to the abbot\nand said, \"Come, my father, that thy handmaiden may salute thee, and\npray for her, for we are going home to town.\" And the maiden cast\nherself at the abbot's feet, saying, \"I pray thee, my Father, entreat\nthe Lord to give me my heart's desire,\" so he, extending his hand over\nher, blessed her, saying, \"God, who knewest man before ever he was\nborn, take care of this thy handmaiden, that she may merit a portion\nand fellowship in thy heavenly kingdom.\" So they returned to the city.\nNow, it fell out, one day, that the abbot was about to be ordained,\nand he sent a monk to Paphnutius, to invite him to the solemnity. Then\nthe brother asked after him, and the servants said, \"He has gone out.\"\nThen Euphrosyne called to her the monk, and began to question him.\n\"Tell me of your charity, my brother, how many brethren are there in\nthe monastery?\" He answered, \"There are three hundred and fifty-two.\"\nThe maiden said, \"If anyone desired to go there for conversion, would\nyour abbot receive him?\" He answered, \"He would receive him with the\ngreatest joy, for the Lord said, 'He that cometh to me I will in no\nwise cast out.'\" Euphrosyne said, \"Do all of you chant in your church,\nand all fast together alike?\" The monk answered, \"We all chant\ntogether, but every one fasts following his own way, as much and how\nsuits him best; there is no constraint, but ready will.\" Presently\nPaphnutius returned from his walk, and the monk, seeing him, told him\nthe message of the abbot. Then Paphnutius was glad, and went with him\nin a little boat to the monastery. Now, when he was gone, Euphrosyne\nsent a trusty servant, saying, \"Go into the monastery of Theodosius,\nenter the church, and bring hither any monk you find there.\" Now, by\nthe goodness of God, there was a monk just coming from the monastery,\nand when the boy saw him, he bade him come to the house of Euphrosyne.\nAnd when the maiden saw him, she rose and saluted him, saying, \"Pray\nfor me, my Father!\" So, praying, he blessed her, and sat down. Then\nEuphrosyne said to him, \"My lord, I have a Christian father, but my\nmother is dead. My father wishes to give me to this world, and I\nshrink from being defiled thereby, but I fear to be disobedient to my\nfather, so I am in a strait and know not what to do. I spent all last\nnight without sleep, asking God to show me His way, and this morning I\nhave sent into the church for a father, who might tell me what I\nshould do. I know that God hath sent thee to me; declare to me, now,\nHis will.\" Then the old man said, \"This is the Word of the Lord. If\nany man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and\nchildren, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he\ncannot be my disciple. (Luke xiv., 26.) This is the saying of the Lord\nChrist. I have nothing to add thereto.\" Then said Euphrosyne, \"I trust\nin God and in thy prayers. Cut off my hair.\" So the old man arose, and\nshore off the hair of her head, and laid on her the tunic of\nprofession, and praying, he blessed her, saying, \"The God, who hath\ndelivered all His saints, protect thee from all evil.\" And when he had\nthus spoken, he departed, and went on his way rejoicing.\n\nBut Euphrosyne thought in herself, \"If I go to a convent of maidens my\nfather will make inquiries and drag me violently away, and give me to\nthe bridegroom. I will go to a monastery of men, where none will\nsuspect me.\" So saying, she put off her female attire, and clothed\nherself in the habit of a man, and, leaving her house in the dusk of\nevening, taking with her 500 pennies, concealed herself all night.\nNext morning her father came to the city, and went, by the will of\nGod, to church, before going home. Now, Euphrosyne made her way to\nthat monastery where her father was so well known, and announced to\nthe abbot, through the porter, that an eunuch of the palace was\nwithout desiring to speak with him. Then, when the abbot came forth,\nEuphrosyne cast herself on the ground, and when they had prayed they\nsat down. Then said the old man, \"Wherefore hast thou come hither, my\nson?\" And she answered, \"I desire to dwell here and follow your holy\nconversation.\" Then said the old man, \"Thou hast done well, my son!\nHere is the monastery. If it please thee, dwell with us. But tell me,\nwhat is thy name?\" She answered, \"Smaragdus (Emerald).\" He said, \"Thou\nart very young, and not able to dwell alone, but needest a master to\nteach thee the rule and conversation of the monks.\" To whom she made\nanswer, \"As thou willest, my father.\" So she put the five hundred\npence in his hand, and he called to him an aged brother, named\nAgapitus, a holy man, and gave to him Smaragdus, saying, \"Henceforth\nhe shall be to thee a son and disciple.\" Then, having knelt, he\nblessed them, and they responded Amen, and Agapitus led her away to\nhis cell.\n\nNow Paphnutius, her father, went home, and when he found her not he\nsought through Alexandria. He searched every convent of women. Now,\nthere were ships in the harbour, and his servants by force entered\nthem, and searched them through, and they hunted the country round,\nthe deserts and the caves, not to mention the houses of their friends,\nand they found her not. Then he bewailed her as one dead, together\nwith the bridegroom and his father; but Paphnutius could not be\ncomforted, he had no rest, not knowing where his daughter was. And at\nlast, unable to bear his anguish longer, he hastened to the abbot of\nwhom we have already spoken, and fell at his feet, and cried, \"I pray\nthee, cease not from supplication that the child of thy prayer may be\nfound, for I know not what has befallen my daughter.\" Hearing this,\nthe venerable old man was mightily troubled, and he summoned all the\nbrethren, and said, \"Show your charity, my brothers, and let us all\nentreat the Lord, that he may declare to us what has befallen the\ndaughter of our good friend, Paphnutius.\" So they all fasted and\nprayed for the space of a week, and nothing was revealed touching\nEuphrosyne, as was wont, when they at other times besought the Lord.\nNow when nothing was revealed to any, the abbot began to console the\nfather, saying, \"Do not be downcast, my son, at the Lord's discipline,\nfor whom He loveth He chasteneth. Know this, of a surety, that no\nsparrow falls to the ground, without His knowledge, how then can\nanything have happened to thy daughter without His consent? If any\nevil had befallen her--which God forbid!--would not the Lord have\nshowed it to one of the brethren praying for her? I have confidence in\nGod, that thou shalt see thy daughter again in this life.\" So the\nfather went away comforted. But he often returned to commend himself\nto the prayers of the brethren, and one day he cast himself down\nbefore the abbot and said, \"I cannot bear my anguish, O my father!\nbecause of my lost daughter, but the wound in my heart bleeds more\nevery day, and my spirit is vexed within me.\" Now when the old man saw\nhim so broken, he said, \"Wouldst thou converse with a spiritual\nbrother here, from the palace of Theodosius?\" But he knew not that he\nspake of the daughter of Paphnutius; and the man said \"I am willing.\"\nThen the abbot called Agapitus, and said, \"Take Paphnutius, and\nintroduce him to the cell of Smaragdus.\" And he did so, knowing\nnothing. Now, when she suddenly heard her father's voice, and knew\nhim, her eyes filled with tears. But Paphnutius did not recognize her,\nfor her face was much shrunk with fasting, vigils, and tears; and she\ndrew her hood over her face, that he might not see her distinctly. And\nwhen they had prayed, they sat down. Then she began to speak to him of\nthe future kingdom of happiness and eternal glory, and how it was to\nbe won through humility and purity, and a holy life, and tender love.\nFor she saw that her father was much depressed, and she pitied him;\nyet fearing lest he should recognize her, and it would prove a\nhindrance in her path, and willing to comfort him, she said, \"Believe\nme, God will not despise thy groaning. If thy child were living in\nwickedness, God would shew thee the way to her, that thou mightest\npluck her away. No! trust God, she has chosen the better course, and\nis serving God somewhere. He is able to lead thee to her. Be of good\ncourage, He will reveal her to thee some day.\" Then she said \"Go,\nsir!\" And as he retired, she grew deadly pale, and tears flowed from\nher eyes. But he was full of comfort, and he said to the abbot, \"I go\ncomforted as though to-day I had seen my child.\" And he returned home\nmagnifying the Lord.\n\nNow after Smaragdus had lived thirty-eight years in the cell, she fell\nsick, and knew that she must die. And when, on a certain day, as was\nhis frequent custom, Paphnutius came to the monastery, and asked to\nsee Smaragdus, the abbot bade that he should be conducted to the cell.\nBut when he found that Smaragdus lay sick, he kissed him, and weeping,\nsaid \"Woe is me! where are all the promises, and sweet hopes, that\nthou didst give me, of seeing my daughter again? Not only do I not see\nher, but thou in whom I have found some consolation, thou goest away,\nand there is none left to be the comfort of my old age. For thirty and\neight years I have lost my daughter, and nothing has been revealed to\nme concerning her, though I have prayed for her night and day.\" And\nwhen Smaragdus saw the old man's distress and tears, he said, \"Be of\ngood courage, is the hand of the Lord shortened, that He cannot\nperform what is promised? Lay aside thy sorrow. Remember how Joseph\nwas revealed by God to the patriarch Jacob, who bewailed him as one\ndead. But I pray thee, tarry here three days, and leave me not.\" So\nPaphnutius remained beside him three days, for he said, \"May be, the\nLord will reveal somewhat to him;\" and he was all that while full of\nanxiety. And on the third day he said, \"I have waited, my brother!\"\nThen Smaragdus knew that he should not survive that day, and he said\nto Paphnutius, \"Draw near to me.\" And he drew near. Then said\nSmaragdus, who is also Euphrosyne, \"Because the Almighty Lord hath\nbrought me to the end of my contest, not by might of mine, but by His\nhelp, there remaineth to me the crown. And now I would not have thee\ntroubled about thy daughter--I am thy daughter, Euphrosyne, and thou\nart my father, Paphnutius. And now I pray thee, (for none know that I\nam a woman), when I am dead, do thou, my father, wash and lay me out\nfor my grave, and pray for me.\" And when she had said this, she gave\nup her soul. And it was the first of January.\n\n [Illustration: S. EUPHROSYNE FINDING HERSELF AT DEATH'S DOOR, MAKES\n HERSELF KNOWN TO HER FATHER.\n From the \"Menologium Gr\u00e6corum\" of Cardinal Albani. Feb. 11]\n\nThen when Paphnutius heard these words, and saw that she was fallen\nasleep, all his bowels were moved, and he fell on the ground, and was\nas one dead. Now Agapitus came running in, and saw Smaragdus dead, and\nPaphnutius lying senseless on the ground, so he cast water on his face\nand said, \"What aileth thee, Master Paphnutius?\" Then said Paphnutius,\n\"Let me go that I may die.\" And when he was risen up, he cast himself\non the face of the dead monk, and cried, \"Woe is me! my sweetest\ndaughter, why didst thou not tell me before, that I might have died\nwith thee?\" So Agapitus, having guessed the truth, was amazed, and\nhasted and told the abbot, who came, and cried \"Euphrosyne, spouse of\nChrist, forget not thy fellow-servants, who dwell in this monastery,\nbut pray for us to our Lord Jesus Christ, that he may make us manfully\ncontend to reach the port of safety, and to have our portion with Him,\nand with all His saints.\" Then he called all the brethren together,\nand they buried Euphrosyne reverently. And after that her father came\nand dwelt in the same cell, and was there for ten years, and after\nthat he migrated to God, and they laid him beside his daughter.\n\n\nS. CEADMON, MONK.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 680.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrology, published by John Wilson. Authority:--Bede:\n Hist. Eccl. iv.\u00a024.]\n\nAccording to an usage very general in the 7th century in England, but\nprincipally prevailing in Celtic countries, monasteries and nunneries\nwere placed under the rule of one abbot or abbess. This was the case\nat Whitby, where the abbess Hilda governed a community of men, as well\nas one of women; and she inspired the monks subject to her authority\nwith so great a devotion to their rule, so true a love of sacred\nliterature, that this monastery, ruled by a woman, became a true\nschool of missionaries, and even of bishops. But not all the bishops\nand saints nurtured in her school, occupy in the annals of the human\nmind a place comparable to that held by an old cowherd who lived on\nthe lands belonging to Hilda's community. It is on the lips of this\ncowherd that Anglo-Saxon speech first bursts into poetry, and nothing\nin the whole history of European literature is more original or more\nreligious than this first utterance of the English muse. His name was\nCeadmon. He had already reached an advanced age, having spent his life\nin his humble occupation without ever learning music, or being able to\njoin in the joyous choruses which held such a high place at the feasts\nand social gatherings of all classes, both poor and rich, among the\nAnglo-Saxons as among the Celts. When it was his turn to sing at any\nof these festal meetings, and the harp was handed to him, his custom\nwas to rise from the table and go home. One evening, when he had thus\nwithdrawn himself from his friends, he went back to his humble shed\nand went to sleep by the side of the cattle. During his slumber he\nheard a voice, which called him by name, and said to him, \"Sing me\nsomething\"; to which he replied, \"I cannot sing, and that is why I\nhave left the supper and am come hither.\" \"Sing, notwithstanding,\"\nsaid the voice. \"But what, then, shall I sing?\" \"Sing the beginning of\nthe world: the Creation.\" Immediately on receiving this command he\nbegan to sing verses, of which before he had no knowledge, but which\ncelebrated the glory and power of the Creator. On awaking he\nrecollected all that he had sung in his dream, and hastened to tell\nall that had happened to him to the farmer in whose service he was.\n\nThe Abbess Hilda, when the story was repeated to her, called for\nCeadmon and questioned him in the presence of all the learned men whom\nshe could assemble around her. He was made to relate his vision and\nrecite his songs, and then the different passages of sacred history\nand various points of doctrine were explained to him that he might put\nthem into verse. The next morning he was again called, and immediately\nbegan to repeat all that had been told him, in verses, which were\npronounced to be excellent. He was thus discovered all at once to\npossess the gift of improvisation in his mother tongue. Hilda, and her\nlearned assessors, did not hesitate to recognise in this a special\ngift of God, worthy of all respect and of the most tender care. She\nreceived Ceadmon and his whole family within the monastic community of\nWhitby, and afterwards admitted him to the number of monks who were\nunder her rule, and made him carefully translate the whole Bible into\nAnglo-Saxon. As soon, accordingly, as the sacred history and the\ngospel were narrated to him, he made himself master of the tale,\nruminated it, as Bede said, and transformed it into songs, so\nbeautiful that all who listened to him were delighted. He thus put\ninto verse the whole of Genesis and Exodus, with other portions of the\nOld Testament, and, afterwards the life and passion of Our Lord, and\nthe Acts of the Apostles. His talent and his poetic faculty thus went\non, day by day, to fuller development, and he devoted numerous songs\nto such subjects as were best calculated to induce his companions to\nforsake evil, and love and practise the good: the terrors of the last\njudgment, the pains of hell, the joys of paradise--all these great and\nmomentous subjects were in their turn woven into verse. The fragments\nthat remain enable us to estimate the earnest and impassioned\ninspirations, strongly Christian and profoundly original, which\ncharacterised these first efforts of genius, barbarous, but subdued\nand baptized. But it would be a totally mistaken idea to recognise in\nthe Abbess Hilda's dependant, nothing but a poet or a literary\npioneer; he was, above all, a primitive Christian, a true monk, and,\nin one word, a saint. His mind was simple and humble, mild and pure;\nhe served God with tranquil devotion, grateful for the extraordinary\ngrace that he had received from heaven. But he was full of zeal for\nmonastic regularity. No frivolous or worldly subjects ever inspired\nhis verse; he composed his songs only that they might be useful to the\nsoul, and their solemn beauty did even more for the conversion than\nfor the delight of his countrymen. Many were moved by them to despise\nthis world, and to turn with ardent love to the divine life. He died\nas poets seldom die. At the very beginning of his illness he desired\nhis bed to be made in that part of the infirmary which was assigned to\nthe dying, and, while smiling and talking cheerfully with his\nbrethren, asked for the _viaticum_. At the moment when he was about to\nadminister the Communion to himself, from the pyx brought from the\nChurch, according to the usage of the period, and while holding in his\nhands the Holy Eucharist, he asked all those around him, if any one\nhad any grudge against him, or any complaint to make? All answered,\n\"No.\" Then said he, \"I, too, my children, have a mind at peace with\nall God's servants.\" A little while after he had received the\nvenerable Sacrament, as they were about to waken the monks for Matins,\nhe made the sign of the Cross, laid his head on the pillow, and fell\nasleep in silence, to awake no more.\n\n\nS. THEODORA, EMPRESS.\n\n(A.D. 867.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks; not regarded as a Saint by the Western\n Church.]\n\nTheodora, wife of Theophilus, the Byzantine Emperor, has the glory of\nhaving brought to an end the triumph of the Iconoclasts in the East.\nAfter the death of her savage husband she ruled during the minority of\nher son, Michael III. Her claim to sanctity is certainly very\nquestionable.\n\n[32] The term used throughout in the Acts is \"the Collect.\"\n\n[33] These were, by laying her head on the altar to offer it to God,\nand all her life after wearing her hair long, as did the ancient\nNazarenes: Act. p.\u00a0417. S. Optatus, c.\u00a06. S. Ambr. and Virg. c.\u00a08. But\nin Egypt and Syria the ceremony of this consecration consisted in the\nvirgin cutting off her hair in the presence of a priest.\n\n[34] An instance of a child being, in the fourth century, allowed to\nassist at Mass.\n\n[35] _Lebito_, or _Levitonarium_, described thus in the life of S.\nPachomius, c.\u00a014. Levitonarium est colobium lineum sine manticis,\nquali Monachi \u00c6gyptii utuntur.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 12.\n\n S. EULALIA, _V. M. at Barcelona_, A.D. 303.\n S. MELETIUS THE GREAT, _Patr. of Antioch_, A.D. 381.\n S. RIOCH, _Monk in Brittany_, 5th cent.\n S. ETHELWOLD, _B. of Lindisfarne_, A.D. 740.\n S. BENEDICT OF ANIANE, _Ab._, A.D. 821.\n S. ANTONY CAULEAS, _Patr. of Constantinople_, A.D. 896.\n S. BENEDICT, _B. of Albenga, in N. Italy_, A.D. 900.\n S. GOSLIN, _Ab. of Turin_, A.D. 1061.\n S. LUDAN, _C. near Strasbourg_, A.D. 1202.\n\n\nS. EULALIA, V. M.\n\n(A.D. 303.)\n\n [There are two saints of this name very celebrated in Spain, whereof\n one is of Merida, the other, the subject of this notice, of\n Barcelona. The former is commemorated on the 10th of December; the\n latter on Feb. 12th. The former is said to have been aged twelve or\n thirteen, the latter aged fourteen. There is also a striking\n similarity in their acts and their legends; and it seems that\n writers have often confounded the one with the other, that is,\n supposing there were two saints, virgins and martyrs of this name.\n But it seems not improbable, that the Eulalia of Barcelona and her\n namesake of Merida are the same. Such a mistake as the making one\n saint into two might easily arise, if a portion of the relics of\n Eulalia of Barcelona had been transferred to Merida. Martyrologists\n as generally name a saint as \"of such a place\" by the place where\n his or her relics are, as by the scene of the martyrdom. The Roman\n Martyrology says, on Feb. 12th, \"At Barcelona, in Spain, S. Eulalia,\n V., who endured the little-horse, hooks, and flames, in the reign of\n Diocletian, the Emperor, and was finally fastened to a cross,[36]\n and received the crown of Martyrdom.\" Usuardus says much the same.\n The Martyrologies of Bede, Ado, and Notker enter into fuller\n details. The feast of S. Eulalia is observed with an octave\n according to ancient custom, sanctioned by a decree of the\n Congregation of Rites, Dec.\u00a06th, 1608, at Barcelona, even when it\n falls in Lent. It is difficult to fix the date of the Acts, but it\n is certain that we have not got them in their original form, though\n there is no reason for doubting their substantial authority.]\n\nEulalia, the daughter of Christian parents, lived on a farm outside\nthe gates of Barcelona. Now, when she heard that persecution had\nbroken out, she cried, \"Thanks do I render to Thee, Lord Jesu Christ,\nand glory to Thy holy Name, for now I behold that which I have\ndesired, and I believe that with Thy help all my desire shall find\naccomplishment.\" Then the young girl at night escaped from her home,\nand, entering the city in the morning, presented herself before the\nmagistrate, and defied him and his gods. The magistrate ordered her to\nbe whipped, thinking that the lashes on her tender skin would subdue\nher constancy. But he was mistaken. She accepted the sufferings with\njoy, and was then stretched on the little-horse and her sides torn\nwith iron hooks and burnt with torches. And in her agony she looked up\nto heaven and cried, \"Lord Jesu Christ, hear my prayer, and perfect\nThy work in me, and bid me be numbered among Thine elect in the rest\nof life eternal.\" And when she had so prayed, her soul sped from her,\nand entered into the Paradise of God, as a dove flies to its nest.\nThen the executioners cast her off from the rack upon the\nblood-stained soil; but the magistrate ordered, \"Let the body hang to\nbe devoured by the birds of the air.\" Then a light snow began to fall\nout of heaven and softly cover the virgin's naked and mangled body\nwith a pure white pall. Then the executioners, astonished, withdrew,\nand on the third day the Christians were allowed to bear away the\nsacred relics.\n\nPatroness of Barcelona and of sailors. Her relics are preserved at\nBarcelona, in the Cathedral. She is represented in art, with her soul,\nas a dove, issuing from her mouth, or lying covered with snow before a\nrack. It seems to be an error to regard her as having been crucified.\nIn the Acts the command of the magistrate is, \"Let her hang on the\ncross\"; but this refers to the rack on which she was stretched. She\nis, however, sometimes represented with a cross.\n\n\nS. MELETIUS, PATR. OF ANTIOCH.\n\n(A.D. 381.)\n\n [Commemorated by Greeks and Romans on the same day. But Maurolycus,\n by mistake, inserts him along with S. Meletius, B. of Pontus, on\n Dec.\u00a04th. Authorities:--Sozomen, Socrates, Theodoret, and the\n oration of S. John Chrysostom in his honour.]\n\nThe history of this noble Confessor is a sad one, for it opens up to\nus a picture of the dissensions which tore the Church in the 4th\ncentury. It will be remembered that the Church was at that period\nsuffering from the prevalence of Arianism, which denied the Eternal\nGodhead of the Son. Favoured by the Court, Arianism had penetrated\ninto the Church on all sides; many of the bishops were Arian, others\nwere semi-Arian, unwilling to pronounce decidedly against the Godhead\nof Christ, and unwilling also to declare that great doctrine to be the\nTruth. The election of the bishops being in the hands of the people,\nif among the laity and clergy low views of Christ's nature prevailed,\nan Arian was chosen to be their bishop. It was none the better when\nthe emperors interfered to nominate, for they would expel an orthodox\nprelate and substitute for him one who was an Arian. And it must be\nremembered that Arians were at that time mixed up with Catholics, as\nparties in the Church, and did not at first stand to one another in\nthe position of separate and antagonistic communions. By the\npredominance of the votes of Arians, Meletius was elected and\nconsecrated bishop of Beroea, and was afterwards by the same\ninfluence translated to the See of Sebaste.[37] He was present at the\ncouncil of Seleucia (359), where he sided with the shifty semi-Arian\nAcacius of C\u00e6sarea. But his eyes seem to have opened to the truth, and\nthat gentle and peace-loving disposition which made him at first\nwilling to soften differences was braced up by the imminence of the\ndanger to true religion, to take a bold step. A council, assembled at\nAntioch in 361, placed Meletius in the see. This excellent man had a\npersuasive eloquence and a disposition which endeared him both to\nCatholics and Arians. A rumour began to spread that he was positively\nCatholic. After some sermons of a general character, he was desired to\ntake part in a series of expositions of the great controverted text,\nProv. viii.\u00a022. After George, bishop of Laodicea, had given a strongly\nArian address, and Acacius, bishop of C\u00e6sarea, had read a paper which\nseemed to aim at a safe ambiguity, Meletius rose, and asserted, in\nunequivocal language, the essential doctrine of Nic\u00e6a. The church rang\nwith cries of applause and wrath, proceeding from Catholics and\nArians. The Arian archdeacon stopped the new patriarch's mouth with\nhis hand. Meletius held out three fingers, then one; and when his lips\nwere freed by the archdeacon's seizing his hands, he repeated aloud\nhis former words, and exhorted the people to cling to the Nicene\nfaith. This could not be borne; the council, at another session,\ndeposed Meletius; the Emperor Constantius drove him into exile;\nEuzoius, an old comrade of Arius, was made bishop of Antioch; and a\nnew creed was published which affirmed that the Son was in nowise like\nto the Father, and was made out of what once was not. This led to a\nseparation between the Catholics and the Arians. The latter were put\nin possession of all the churches, by imperial authority.\nUnfortunately, the Catholics were divided. Many held with the orthodox\nbanished patriarch, Meletius, but some of the more obstinate refused\nto acknowledge him, and to communicate with those who did, because he\nhad been ordained through Arian influence at Sebaste. On the accession\nof the Emperor Julian the Apostate, Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, and\nEusebius of Vercelli resolved to do what was possible to allay the\nmiserable schisms which devastated the East and Egypt. Accordingly a\ncouncil was summoned at Alexandria, to which Eusebius betook himself,\nbut Lucifer, sending a representative to the council, hasted to\nAntioch, where, with that unfortunate precipitancy which characterised\nall his actions, he ordained one Paulinus to the Patriarchate, a man\nbelonging to the extreme orthodox side, without waiting the return of\nMeletius, who had been recalled from banishment. As soon as the\ncouncil of Alexandria had reinstated S. Athanasius, Eusebius of\nVercelli arrived at Antioch, and found that the visit of Lucifer of\nCagliari had made matters worse instead of healing divisions. There\nwere now three Patriarchs of Antioch: one, Euzoius, the Arian, in\npossession of all the churches except one, which, out of personal\nfriendship for Paulinus he had ceded to him; another, Meletius, the\nbanished and now recalled patriarch, against whose orthodoxy no breath\nof doubt was raised; and Paulinus, acknowledged by the Roman pontiff,\nat the head of a small party who rejected Meletius, because he had\nonce been mixed up with Arians. Eusebius regretted what had been done,\nbut his respect for Lucifer, says Socrates, induced him to be silent\nabout it, and, on his departure, he engaged that all things should be\nset right by a council of bishops. Subsequently, he laboured with\ngreat earnestness to unite the dissentients, but without effect.\nShortly after the departure of Eusebius, Meletius arrived in Antioch,\nand was obliged to assemble the faithful who clung to him outside the\nwalls of the city. This was in 362. On June 26th, 363, Julian died,\nand his successor, Jovian, was a Catholic. Instantly the party of\nAcacius held a conclave, and agreed to become orthodox, conforming to\nthe Catholic creed, showing very plainly, says Socrates, that their\ngreat object was to be in agreement with the imperial mind. Acacius\nhad a meeting with Meletius, and joined his party.\n\nThe Emperor Jovian was succeeded by Valens in the East, in 364, and\nMeletius was again driven into exile, for the cruel tyrant was an\nArian. As he was being taken out of the city in the chariot of the\ngovernor, the mob, exasperated at losing their beloved prelate, would\nhave stoned the chief magistrate, had not Meletius screened him with\nhis mantle. He was banished into Armenia, and during his absence, the\nCatholics were left without pastors through the severity of the\nimperial orders. Valens fell before the Goths, in the great battle of\nHadrianople, in 378, and was succeeded by Gratian, who recalled the\nbishops that had been banished, and ordered \"that the churches should\nbe given up to those who held communion with Damasus, bishop of\nRome.\"[38] Paulinus promised to communicate on the subject with\nDamasus. \"Meletius, the mildest of men,\" continues Theodoret,\n\"addressed Paulinus in a kind and affectionate manner: 'As God,' said\nhe, 'committed to me the care of this flock, and as you have received\nthe charge of another, and as our respective sheep hold the same\ndoctrines, let us, O friend, unite our flocks. Let us throw aside all\ncontests for superiority, and tend with equal assiduity the sheep\nentrusted to us. If the episcopal chair of this city be to us a matter\nof contention, let us place the holy gospel upon it, and let us seat\nourselves on each side of it. If I die first, thou, O friend, wilt\nbecome the only ruler of the flock; but if your death occur before\nmine, I will, as far as I am able, tend the flock alone.' Paulinus,\nhowever, refused to comply with the offer so kindly and affectionately\nmade by Meletius. The general sent by Gratian to execute his orders,\nafter reflecting on what had been stated, gave up the churches to the\nholy Meletius. Paulinus continued to rule those who had from the\nbeginning separated themselves from the rest of the flock.\"\n\nS. Athanasius, S. Eusebius of Samosata, S. Gregory Nazianzen, S.\nGregory Nyssen, S. Basil the Great, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Pelagius\nof Laodic\u00e6a, S. Amphilochius of Iconium, and nearly the whole of the\nEast were in communion with Meletius, whereas Paulinus alone was\nacknowledged by Pope Damasus of Rome, the whole of the West, and\nEgypt. The Pope sent to him a synodal letter denouncing various\nheresies which prevailed in the East. Meletius at once summoned a\ncouncil at Antioch, in 378, and accepted the synodal letter, though\naddressed to his rival.\n\nTwo great saints arose from the rival parties: S. Jerome, who was\nordained priest by Paulinus, and S. John Chrysostom, who was the\ndisciple of Meletius, from whom he received deacon's orders.\n\nThe Emperor Theodosius resolved to assemble a council in order to\nsettle various affairs concerning the welfare of the Church, and to\ncrush the Macedonian heresy. The bishops, 150 in number, met at\nConstantinople on May 2nd, 381, and Meletius was appointed to preside.\n\"When the whole assembly of bishops had been ushered into the palace,\"\nsays Theodoret, \"the emperor, without noticing the others, ran up\ndirectly to the great Meletius, and embraced him kissed his eyes,\nlips, breast, head, and the right hand which had crowned him, and\nexhibited all those demonstrations of affection which would be shown\nby a dutiful son on beholding a beloved father after a long\nseparation.\"[39] During the council, Meletius was attacked by an\nillness which proved fatal. He exhorted the bishops to peaceful\ncourses, and died while the council was sitting. \"Where now,\" asked S.\nGregory of Nyssa, in the funeral sermon, \"is that sweet calm look,\nthat radiant smile, that kind hand which was wont to second the kind\nvoice?\" His name, as S. Gregory observed, expressed the sweetness of\nhis character; and S. Chrysostom adds, that so dear had the gentle\npatriarch become to the people of Antioch that they had engraved his\nlikeness on their rings, their cups, and the walls of their bed-rooms.\nHis funeral was magnificent; lights were borne before the embalmed\ncorpse, and psalms sung--this latter was \"a practice quite contrary to\nthe usual Roman customs,\" curiously says Sozomen.[40] These honours\nwere repeated in all cities through which it passed, until it rested\nbeside the grave of S. Babylas, at Antioch.\n\n\nS. ETHELWOLD, B. OF LINDISFARNE.\n\n(A.D. 740.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrology of Wilson. Authorities:--Simeon of Durham and\n Malmesbury.]\n\nThere is nothing of much importance to relate concerning this saint,\nwho was minister to S. Cuthbert in Farne, afterwards abbot of Mailros,\nand finally bishop of Lindisfarne.\n\n\nS. BENEDICT OF ANIANE, AB.\n\n(A.D. 821.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--His life by Ardo Smaragdus, his\n disciple.]\n\nThis Benedict, the reviver of monastic discipline, was the son of\nAigulf, Count of Languedoc, and served King Pepin and his son\nCharlemagne as cupbearer. But, at the age of twenty, he resolved to\nseek the kingdom of God and His righteousness with all his heart. From\nthat time forward he led a mortified life in the Court for three\nyears, eating sparingly and allowing himself little sleep. In 774,\nhaving narrowly escaped drowning, he made a vow to quit the world\nentirely. Returning to Languedoc, he was confirmed in his resolution\nby the advice of a hermit, named Widmar, and, under pretext of going\nto the Court at Aix-la-Chapelle, he went to the abbey of S. Seine,\nfive leagues from Dijon, and became a monk there. His discipline of\nhimself was most severe. He frequently spent the whole night in\nprayer, standing barefoot on the ground in a keen frost. On the death\nof the abbot, the brethren desired to elect Benedict, but he, knowing\ntheir aversion to a reformation, left them, and retired to a\nhermitage, in 780, on the brook Aniane, on his own estate in\nLanguedoc. Here he was joined by the hermit Widmar and other\nsolitaries, who placed themselves under his direction. They earned\ntheir livelihood by their labour, and lived on bread and water, except\non Sundays and great festivals. In a short while Benedict had three\nhundred monks under his rule, and he built a monastery; and also\nexercised the office of general inspector to all the monasteries of\nProvence, Languedoc, and Gascony. King Louis the Pious, who succeeded\nhis father, Charlemagne, in 814, committed to the saint the inspection\nof all the abbeys in his kingdom. In 817 he presided at an assembly of\nabbots, to enforce restoration of discipline in their monasteries. He\ndied at Inde, a monastery near Aix-la-Chapelle, on February 11th, 821,\nat the age of seventy one; but his festival is usually observed on the\nfollowing day, which is that of his burial.\n\n[36] This is a mistake, as Bollandus has pointed out; the cross means\nthe little-horse on which she was extended.\n\n[37] It is uncertain whether he was first at Sebaste or at Beroea.\nSocrates says he was translated from Beroea to Sebaste, but there\nare circumstances which make this statement impossible to reconcile\nwith other facts.\n\n[38] Theodoret, lib. v. c.\u00a02.\n\n[39] Lib. v., c.\u00a07.\n\n[40] Lib. vii., c.\u00a010.\n\n [Illustration: The Papermaker.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 13.\n\n SS. FUSCA, _V._, AND MAURA, _MM. at Ravenna, 3rd cent._\n S. POLYEUCTUS, _M. at Melitene, in Armenia; circ._ A.D. 259.\n S. JULIANA, _Matron at Turin, 9th cent._\n S. DOMNINUS, _B. of Digne in France, 4th cent._\n S. CASTOR, _P. at Coblenz, end of 4th cent._\n S. MARTIAN, _H. in Palestine; circ._ A.D. 400.\n S. STEPHEN, _of Lyons, B. C.; circ._ A.D. 512.\n S. MODOMNOC, _of Ossory, C. 6th cent._\n S. STEPHEN, _Ab. of Riete in Italy, 6th cent._\n S. LICINIUS, _B. of Angers; circ._ A.D. 617.\n S. ERMENILDA, _Q. Abbess of Ely; circ._ 700.\n S. GREGORY II., _B. of Rome_; A.D. 731.\n SS. AYMON AND WEREMUND, _Counts of Turbio in Italy; circ._ A.D. 790.\n S. FULCRAN, _B. of Lodeve in France_, A.D. 1006.\n S. GISLBERT, _B. of Meaux, after_ A.D. 1000.\n B. JORDAN, _O. S.D._ A.D. 1237.\n S. CATHERINE, _of Ricci, V., O. S.D_., A.D. 1590.\n\n\nSS. FUSCA AND MAURA, MM.\n\n(3RD CENT.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. It is doubtful whether these martyrs suffered\n under Caracalla, or under Decius. The Roman Martyrology says \"under\n Decius;\" the Acts are silent on this point. Baronius says under\n Decius, in the year 254; but Decius fell in 251. There exist several\n editions of the Acts, all apparently derived from the original\n authentic account of their passion, and differing from one another\n in no important particular.]\n\nThe blessed Fusca was a young girl of Ravenna, aged fifteen, who, with\nher nurse Maura, had been instructed in the faith of Christ, and had\nbeen baptized by S. Hermolaus. Her parents, who were heathens, were\nexceedingly annoyed, and endeavoured by persuasion and threats to turn\ntheir daughter from her confidence in God; and on one occasion her\nfather was so far exasperated as to rush upon her to strike her, but\nthe mother interposed and restrained him. The Pr\u00e6fect Quintianus,\nhearing of the conversion of Fusca, sent for her, together with her\nnurse, and having scourged her, ordered the executioner to run her\nthrough with his spear. The maiden fell into the arms of Maura, and\nthe old woman, clasping her bleeding mistress, implored the man to\ndespatch her also; this request was readily complied with, and the\nnurse and her young charge died together.\n\nThe relics of these holy martyrs are preserved at Torcelli. In Art\nthey are represented holding a spear.\n\n\nS. POLYEUCTUS, M.\n\n(ABOUT 259.)\n\n [Commemorated by Greeks, Armenians, and Latins. The ancient Roman\n Martyrology, called that of S. Jerome, on Jan.\u00a07th, as also the\n Armenians; another on Feb.\u00a013th; another on Feb.\u00a014th; by the Greeks\n on Jan.\u00a09th. Usuardus, Ado, and the modern Roman Martyrology on\n Feb.\u00a013th; some ancient ones on Jan.\u00a010th. There are two editions of\n the Acts of S. Polyeuctus, one in Latin, the other in Greek, based\n on the original by Nearchus, who took his body to burial after his\n death. The following account is a literal translation of the later\n Acts.]\n\nWhilst the Christians, especially those in the East, were suffering\npersecution under the Emperors Decius and Valerian, there were two men\nvery friendly, Polyeuctus and Nearchus by name. Now Nearchus was a\nChristian, but Polyeuctus was a heathen. But when Decius and Valerian\ncould not be satiated with the blood of the saints, they issued an\nedict that those Christians who would sacrifice to the gods, should be\nfavoured by the majesty of the empire, but that those who refused\nshould be cruelly punished. Which things being heard, Nearchus, who\ndesired to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, lamented because his\ncomrade, whom he loved as a second self, would be left in peril of\neternal damnation. Going therefore to his friend, Polyeuctus, he\nannounced to him that on the morrow their friendship must come to an\nend. And when he answered that death alone could terminate this,\nNearchus said, \"You speak the truth, we are about to be separated by\ndeath.\" And he showed him the imperial edict. Then Polyeuctus narrated\nto Nearchus how Christ had appeared to him in vision, and had taken\noff his dirty vestment, together with his military harness, and had\nthrown over him a gorgeous silk robe, linking it at his shoulder with\na golden brooch, and had mounted him on a winged horse. Hearing this,\nNearchus was glad, and having expounded the vision, and instructed\nPolyeuctus more fully in the faith, his friend believed perfectly, and\nbegan to thirst for martyrdom.\n\nNow when Polyeuctus declared himself openly to be a Christian, and\nrebuked idolatry, being tried by the persecutors, he was for a long\ntime tortured. And when he had been a long while scourged with rods,\nthe tormentors were weary, and endeavoured to persuade him with bland\nspeeches and promises, to return to the worship of the gods. But he,\nremaining immoveable in the confession of the Lord, and deriding them,\nwas more furiously beaten.\n\nThen came his wife and only son, and she filled the place with her\ncries, and held out to him his son, alleging his marriage ties, with\nmany tears and sighs, and laboured to call the saint from martyrdom,\nby the thoughts of his son, of his wealth, and of his friends. But he,\ndivinely inspired, could not be separated from Christ by any\ntemptations, but all the more exhorted his wife to desert her idols\nand believe in Christ.\n\nNow when the governors saw that the constancy of the martyr was not to\nbe shaken, they pronounced capital sentence against him. And when the\nmartyr heard this, he gave thanks, and praising God, was led to the\nplace of execution, confirming the faithful with his holy\nexhortations, so that not a few of the unbelievers were converted.\nThen, turning to the Blessed Nearchus, he announced to him that he\nshould follow him according to mutual agreement; and bidding him\nfarewell, died a glorious death.\n\n\nS. CASTOR, P. C.\n\n(END OF 4TH CENTURY.)\n\n [Cologne, Belgian, Treves Martyrologies. The accounts we have of him\n are not of any great antiquity.]\n\nS. Castor was ordained first deacon, and then priest, by S. Maximus,\nsecond bishop of Tr\u00e8ves. He was appointed to preach the Gospel at\nCarden, on the Moselle, where is a church founded by him. A popular\nlegend represents him as having asked of a boat which was going up the\nriver with a load of salt, a small quantity of that useful condiment,\nwhich was however refused him; but when the vessel was shortly after\nnigh sinking in a storm, Castor saved it by making the sign of the\ncross over the tossing waves. His body, or part of it, was translated\nin after years to Coblenz.\n\n\nS. MARTIAN, H.\n\n(ABOUT 300.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks with special solemnity on this day.\n Authority:--A Life written by a contemporary. Anciently, S. Martian\n was venerated at Constantinople in the Church of S. Peter, with\n great honour, probably because his relics reposed there.]\n\nMartian was a native of C\u00e6sarea in Palestine. At the age of eighteen\nhe retired to a mountain near that city, where he lived for\ntwenty-five years among many holy solitaries in the practice of all\nvirtues. A courtesan of C\u00e6sarea, called Zoe, having heard of his\nsanctity, moved by an evil spirit, resolved to endeavour to lead him\ninto sin. One stormy night she presented herself at his door, and\ncried to be admitted. \"Have pity on me!\" she pleaded, \"I fear the wild\nbeasts, I have lost my way!\" Then he admitted her, and when she used\nall her efforts to fascinate him, and he felt his heart rebel against\nthe law of God, by a sudden act of resolution, he thrust his legs into\nthe fire, crying, \"O Martian! how feels this fire to thee now? Yet it\nis not comparable to that which the devil kindles to consume the\nsinner.\"\n\nThe woman, horror-struck at his proceeding, was filled with shame at\nher wicked purpose and manner of life. She burst into tears, and\nentreated the holy man to give her a rule whereby she might conform\nher life to the will of God. Then he sent her to S. Paula,[41] who\ngoverned a convent at Bethlehem, who received her; and Zoe became a\nmodel of penitence, eating only once a day, and sometimes spending two\ndays without food; sleeping on the bare ground, and ever bewailing\nwith many tears her former wicked life.\n\nMartian, after his legs were healed, resolved to escape to some place\nwhere he could not be tempted so readily. He therefore found a rock at\nsome little distance from the shore, in the sea, and in that was a\ncave. Martian spent six years in this solitude, deprived of all human\nconsolations, but full of joy in being separated from all creatures\nwho might draw his heart from God. After the lapse of six years, one\nstormy day a vessel was wrecked near his islet, and a girl, who was\none of the passengers, managed to save herself upon the rock of\nMartian. The hermit was placed in a sore predicament; he had no wish\nfor the society of a young damsel in his place of retreat, and yet he\nhad no power to drive her from her refuge. He therefore said to her,\n\"My daughter, we must not both live here together. In two months a\nship will touch on this island to bring me what is needful for my\nsupport. Till then there is bread and water in my cave. Take it, and\nlive here; when the ship arrives, tell the captain how you came here,\nand he will take you on board and convey you to the main land.\" Then\nhe flung himself into the sea and swam ashore. For two years he\nwandered without finding a home, but at last died at Athens. The girl\nleft on the island, had, in the meantime, become attached to the\nsolitary life, and when the boat arrived, she besought the ship-master\nto give her a warm dress, some wool to spin, and bread and water. The\ncaptain readily promised to do as she required, and returned shortly\nafter with his wife, bringing her all she needed; and from that day he\ncame to the island every three months, bringing her what she needed,\nduring the six years she lived there.\n\n\nS. MODOMNOC, C.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [Irish Martyrologies. Sometimes called S. Domnoc.]\n\nThis saint, who is greatly reverenced in Ossory, was a pupil of S.\nDavid in Wales, but a native of Ireland, a member of the princely\nhouse of the Nialls, son of Saran, and fourth in descent from Eugene,\none of the sons of Neill Neigilliach. After having spent some time in\nWales in the little monastery cultivating flowers and vegetables and\nbees, he returned to his native island. And as he mounted the ship,\nhis bees swarmed, and settled on the boat. So Modomnoc took the swarm\nwith him to the Emerald Isle. After his return home he served God at\nTiprat Fachtua, in the west of Ossory, near the Suir, now Tibrach, in\nKilkenny.\n\n\nS. LICINIUS, B. C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 617.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Usuardus, Gallican Martyrologies, &c.\n Authorities:--Two ancient lives, one by an anonymous author, the\n other by Marbod, archdeacon of Angers, and afterwards Bishop of\n Rennes.]\n\nThis saint was born about the year 540, and at the age of twenty was\nsent to the court of King Clothaire I., whose cousin he was. He was\nmade Count of Anjou by King Chilperic, and was about to be married in\n578, when, on the wedding morning, the bride was struck with leprosy.\nThis incident so affected Licinius, that he renounced the world; and\nin the year 600, was elected bishop of Angers, where he set an example\nof great piety and zeal. He is called in French _Lessin_.\n\n\nS. ERMENILDA, Q. ABSS.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 700.)\n\n [Wytford, Maurolycus, Carthusian Mart. of Cologne, Ferrarius and\n Cansius. Authorities:--Bede, John of Brompton, the Historia\n Eliensis, &c.]\n\nErmenilda was the daughter of the saintly queen of Kent, Sexburga, who\nafter the death of her husband, and regency till her son was of age,\nretired to Ely, where she became abbess. Ermenilda was married to\nWulfhere, king of Mercia, and became the mother of S. Wereburga. She\nused all the influence which the love of her husband gave her to\nextirpate the last vestiges of idolatry in the country which had been\nthe centre and last bulwark of Anglo-Saxon heathenism. The example of\nher virtues was the most effectual of sermons, and it was, above all,\nby her incomparable sweetness, her pity for all misfortunes, her\nunwearied kindness, that she touched the hearts of her subjects most.\nLike her mother, it was her desire to offer herself entirely to God;\nto whom she had finally led back her people; as soon as she became a\nwidow, she took the veil like her mother, and under her mother--for it\nwas to Ely that she went to live in humility and chastity, under a\ndoubly maternal rule. The mother and daughter contended which should\ngive the finest examples of humility and charity. At last, and still\nfollowing in her mother's steps, Ermenilda, on the death of Sexburga,\nbecame abbess, and was thus the third princess of the blood of the\nUffings who ruled the flourishing community of Ely. The local\nchronicle affirms that it was not her birth, but her virtues, and even\nher love of holy poverty, which made her preferred to all others by\nthe unanimous suffrages of her numerous companions. She showed herself\nworthy of their choice; she was less a superior than a mother. After a\nlife full of holiness and justice, her soul went to receive its\neternal reward in heaven, and her body was buried beside those of her\nmother and aunt, in the church of the great abbey, which had thus the\nsingular privilege of having for its three first abbesses, a queen of\nNorthumbria, a queen of Kent, and a queen of Mercia.\n\n\nS. GREGORY II., POPE.\n\n(A.D. 731.)\n\n [Roman and other Western Martyrologies on this day, though he died\n on Feb.\u00a010th.]\n\nS. Gregory II. was ordained sub-deacon by pope Sergius I., and under\nthe four succeeding popes he acted as treasurer and librarian to the\nChurch in Rome. When elected pope, he signalized himself by his\nunwearied zeal in defending the pure faith against heresy, and in\ncombating the Iconoclasts who, protected by the Emperor Leo the\nIsaurian, waged war against sacred pictures and images.\n\nThe tyrant sent officers on several occasions to murder the holy pope;\nbut he was so faithfully guarded by the Romans, that he escaped\nunhurt. He held the pontificate fifteen years, eight months, and\ntwenty-three days, and died on Feb.\u00a010th, 731.\n\n\nS. FULCRAN, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 1006.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrology, Authority:--A Life by Bishop Bernard Guido,\n compiled from ancient notices and lives of this saint, published by\n Bollandus.]\n\nThe blessed Fulcran was a native of Lodeve, in the archdiocese of\nNarbonne, in France; and from his childhood exhibited marked piety. He\nwas educated by Theodoric, Bishop of Lodeve, who also ordained him. On\nthe death of Theodoric, the city elected Fulcran to be his successor;\nand he was consecrated at Narbonne by Archbishop Imerick, on the 4th\nFebruary, 949. His zeal and humility endeared him to his flock, as did\nalso his abundant charity in time of famine. Having been told of a\ncertain neighbouring bishop that had fallen into heresy, Fulcran, in a\nmoment of indignation, without weighing his words, exclaimed, \"The man\ndeserves to be burnt!\" Shortly after he heard that the people had\nburnt the bishop alive. He was at once filled with remorse, fearing\nlest his rash and uncharitable speech should have been reported, and\nencouraged the people to commit this crime. Unable to find rest of\nconscience, he went to Rome, and entering the city, tore the clothes\noff his back, and bade his companions beat him through the streets\nwith thorn branches, till he reached the Church of S. Peter, where he\nmade his confession with many tears. After this, he returned to his\ndiocese, but again feeling agonies of remorse, revisited Rome, and\nagain a third time, subjecting himself to various penances. When his\nend drew near, he announced it to his friends, and the rumour\nspreading, multitudes poured to Lodeve to see him for the last time,\nand receive his parting benediction. Though consumed with fever, he\nsaid Mass in the Cathedral before all, and weeping, prayed for his\nflock; then he blessed the tomb he had ordered to be prepared for\nhimself, and died peacefully shortly after.\n\n\nS. CATHARINE DE RICCI, V.\n\n(A.D. 1590.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Canonised by Pope Benedict XIV, in 1746.]\n\nS. Catharine, born of the noble Ricci family at Florence, from her\ninfancy exhibited a precocious piety. Being placed in a convent when\nyoung, she prayed every day before a crucifix, shedding many tears,\nand meditating continually on the passion. She afterwards entered the\nDominican convent of S. Vincent, in the town of Prato. She was asked\nto come home, but refused to revisit her parents till they had given\nher a promise that they would not oppose her vocation. At the age of\nthirteen she embraced the religious profession.\n\nThe grace of God descended upon her in abundant measure, and she is\nsaid to have received from our Blessed Lord the ring of espousal, and\nthe stigmata. Being at Prato, she is said also to have seen and\nconversed with S. Philip Neri, who was then in Rome. At length after a\nlife of great self-denial and continual ecstasy, exhausted by grave\nsickness, and strengthened with the sacraments of the Church, she\ndeparted to her rest, in the year 1590, in the sixty-ninth year of her\nage, on Feb.\u00a02nd.\n\n[41] See Jan.\u00a026th.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 14.\n\n SS. VITALIS, FECHULA, ZENO, _MM. at Rome_.\n S. ELEUCODIUS, _B. of Ravenna_, A.D. 112.\n S. VALENTINE, _P. M. at Rome_, A.D. 269.\n S. VALENTINE, _B. M. at Teramo in Umbria; circ._ A.D. 273.\n SS. MODESTINE, _B._, FLORENTINE, _P._, AND FLAVIAN, _D., at Avellino\n in Italy_.\n S. MARO, _H. in Syria; circ._ A.D. 370.\n S. ABRAHAM, _B. at Carrh\u00e6, in Mesopotamia; circ._ A.D. 390.\n S. AUXENTIUS, _Ab. in Bithynia; circ._ A.D. 470.\n S. ANTONINE, _Ab. at Sorrento; circ._ A.D. 830.\n SS. BRUNO, _B._, AND EIGHTEEN COMPANIONS, _in Prussia, MM._\n A.D. 1008.\n\n\nS. VALENTINE, P. M.\n\n(A.D. 269.)\n\n [All Western Martyrologies. Acts contained in those of SS. Marius,\n Martha, Audifax, and Habachuc.]\n\nThis saint was a priest of the Roman Church, and was put in chains by\nClaudius II. for having assisted the martyrs during the Emperor's\npersecution of the Christians. Calpurnius, the prefect of the city,\nwho had charge of him, intrusted him to the care of Asterius, his\nchief officer. S. Valentine used his opportunity, and preached the\nfaith to his guard, and restored sight to his adopted daughter.\nAsterius was converted and baptized with his whole family, and\nconfirmed by a bishop named Callistus. Claudius hearing this,\ncondemned Valentine to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards beheaded.\nHe suffered on the Flaminian Way, on February 14th, A.D. 269.\n\nThe body of S. Valentine is preserved in the Church of S. Praxedis, in\nRome; but the head in that of S. Sebastian. Much difficulty is caused\nby the great number of relics of saints called Valentine, commemorated\non the same day, but of whose acts nothing is known.\n\nThere is a S. Valentine, bishop and martyr, whose body is preserved at\nBaga, in the Asturias, and the head at Toro, on the Douro.\n\nThe body of a S. Valentine, together with that of a S. Albinus, and S,\nPaulianus, Bishop of Rieux, are preserved at Annecy. The body of\nanother S. Valentine, M. at Rome, was extracted from the cemetery of\nS. Calixtus, and given by Pope Urban VIII. to the monastery of\nSocuellamos, in Albacete, in Spain. Another body claiming to be that\nof a S. Valentine, Roman martyr, is venerated in Belgium, at Hamme;\nthis body was extracted from the catacomb of S. Laurence on the\nFlaminian Way, and given by Pope Gregory XV., in 1623, to Count Louis\nEgmont; part of these relics were translated to Armenti\u00e8res on the\nLys, upon the French frontier. Again, another body of a S. Valentine,\nmartyr at Rome, was found in the catacomb of S. Cyriac, and was given\nin 1651 to the Jesuits of Ghent. The name was so common in the later\nperiod of the Roman Empire, that it is probable there were many\nmartyrs of the same name. This is proved by the discovery in the\ncatacombs of three, with the palm branch and bottle of blood. Besides,\nthe ancient Martyrology, called that of S. Jerome, mentions on this\nday, \"In Africa, Valentine and twenty-four soldiers, martyrs,\" of whom\nnothing further is known. There was also a S. Valentine, first Bishop\nof Teramo, in Umbria, who having healed the crippled son of one Crato,\na citizen of distinction, was seized and beheaded by order of the\ngovernor, about the year 273.\n\n\nS. ABRAHAM, B. C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 390.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a. Authority:--The Philotheus of Theodoret, c.\u00a017.]\n\nAbraham was a native of Cyrus in Syria, and a monk, who, moved by\ndesire to spread the kingdom of God, visited the Lebanon in the\nquality of a merchant buying nuts. And whilst there he collected the\nChristians into his hut, and together they recited the divine office\nin a low tone. But when the heathen heard the subdued strains of\nmusic, they supposed that they were engaged in incantations, and\nassembled about the house, then climbed upon the roof, broke it, and\npoured down dust and sand upon those within, to choke and bury them.\nHowever some of the elders of the village interfered, and the\nhalf-stifled Christians were drawn out of the house, and bidden to\ndepart. After this the taxgatherers of the Emperor came round, and the\npeople being hardly able to pay, Abraham went to Emesa and begged the\nmoney, and then, returning, paid the tax for the whole village,\nthereby completely conciliating the barbarous people, who at once\ninsisted on his remaining among them, and teaching them the way of\nGod. He accordingly sought priest's orders, and became their pastor\nfor three years, till he was elected Bishop of Charan. In his new\nposition he remained a monk, living on lettuces and water, and never\nusing a bed for rest, nor fire for warmth. Every night he chanted\nforty hymns, interspersed with prayer, and slept seated in his chair.\nThe Emperor Theodosius visited him, having heard of his fame, and\nfound him a poor old man in a country smock, unable to speak a word of\nGreek.\n\n\nS. AUXENTIUS, AB. P.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 470.)\n\n [Commemorated on the same day by Greeks and Latins. Authorities:--A\n life by a contemporary and a disciple; mention also by Sozomen, who\n wrote his history before Auxentius had retired from the world, and\n whilst the saint was setting a holy example in the court of\n Theodosius the Younger.]\n\nS. Auxentius was the son of Abdas, a Persian Christian, who had fled\nto Syria from the persecution of king Sapor. In the reign of\nTheodosius the Younger, Auxentius visited Constantinople, to see his\nuncle, who had a charge in the imperial guard; but finding that he was\ndead, he attached himself to the court, and was placed in the fourth\ncompany of the guards. He was well built, handsome, active, and\nstrong, and to these bodily perfections was added a lively\nintelligence, and rigid rectitude. Sozomen says that he was especially\ncommendable at this period for his piety towards God, the purity of\nhis morals, his learning in profane and ecclesiastical sciences, and\nhis courtesy and gentleness.\n\nBy this conduct he preserved himself from the contagion of the world,\nand drew upon himself such heavenly benediction, that, before\nrenouncing a secular life, he received of God the gift of miracles. He\nassociated with pious persons, but chiefly with a solitary named John,\nwho lived as a recluse in the Hebdon, a suburb of Constantinople. He\nvisited this man frequently in company with Marcian and Anthimius,\nboth at that time laymen like himself, but afterwards priests.\n\nAt length the voice of God spake so clear in the soul of the young\nofficer, that he could not mistake its import, and renouncing his\nposition in the court, about the year 446, he retired to a mountain in\nthe neighbourhood of Chalcedon, in Bithynia, where he hoped to live\nunknown to men. His dress consisted in a sheep-skin, and he had no\nshelter from the rain and snow. When he prayed, he ascended a rock,\nand then, raising his hands and eyes to heaven, his heart swelled with\njoy at the thought of his disengagement from all creatures. But he had\nnot spent a month in this retreat before he was discovered by some\nshepherd boys, who sought, crying, some strayed sheep. When they first\nsaw him, they ran away screaming, thinking he must be some mountain\ngoblin, but he called after them, and asked them the cause of their\nsorrow; and when they plucked up courage and told him their grief, he\nbade them be of good cheer, their sheep were on the left side of the\nmountain. The boys, having recovered their sheep, returned to their\nparents, who hastened to visit the strange man. They found him on his\nrock in the attitude of prayer, with uplifted hands. After this, many\npeople resorted to him, and he instructed them in their duty to God,\nand healed many that were sick and possessed.\n\nThe heresy of Eutyches, which consisted in denying the duality of\nnatures in Christ, then imperilled the Church. Nestorius had denied\nthat \"God and Man made one Christ.\" Eutyches denied that in Christ the\nnature of man and the nature of God remained distinct. \"Was Christ of\ntwo natures after the Incarnation, or of only one?\" he was asked at\nhis trial. Eutyches replied, \"Of two natures before the union; but\nafter it, I acknowledge but one.\" Eutyches being the chief abbot in\nConstantinople, his views had influenced many of the religious there\nand throughout Asia Minor. A general council met at Chalcedon, in 451,\nto try Eutychianism, into which so many had fallen in their eagerness\nto escape Nestorianism. The Emperor Marcian sent messengers to\nAuxentius to demand of him a confession of his faith, and his presence\nat the council. He now inhabited a little cell, which had been built\nfor him. The messengers spoke to him through the window; Auxentius\nrefused to be mixed up with the controversy, and shut his window in\ntheir faces. They beat at his door, and endeavoured to break in, but\nin vain. Then he opened to them his window once more, and asked, \"My\nfathers and my brethren, of what error am I accused?\" They replied\nthat his presence was required at Chalcedon. Auxentius said that he\nbelieved that the Word had truly taken flesh in the womb of the holy\nVirgin, ever virgin; and that he adored Him as the only Son of God the\nFather, and that He was without beginning as to His Godhead, but that\nHe assumed flesh in the end of time; and that it was heresy to declare\nthat the Son of God was man only. This reply showed that Auxentius was\nprofoundly ignorant of the subject of dispute; it was a theologic\npoint that had not been raised when he lived in the world, and it had\nnot invaded and troubled his retreat on Mount Oxia. As the messengers\nstill insisted on his accompanying them, he opened his door\nreluctantly, and came forth, so fearfully emaciated, ragged, and\ncovered with sores, that their hearts were moved with pity and\nveneration. As he stepped over the threshold one of his nails fell\nfrom off his foot, and one of the company reverently stooped to pick\nit up. Then the hermit recoiled in shame and indignation, exclaiming,\n\"What! am not I a man like you? I pray you, spare me this distress.\"\nAs he was too feeble to ride, he was mounted on a car, and thus\nconveyed to Chalcedon, followed by troops of poor, amongst whom he had\ndistributed the charities placed at his disposal by rich visitors, and\nsurrounded by multitudes bearing their sick, so many of whom were\nhealed by the benediction of the saint, that his guards were\nastonished and irritated, believing him, at heart, to be an Eutychian.\nUnder the same impression, the monks of the monastery of Phileas, with\nwhom he was placed, treated him with roughness, lodging him in an\nobscure cell without window; but placing a candle and a basket of\ndates beside him, to prove him; as also a little child, to watch him.\nAt the end of a week they opened the cell, and found the candle still\nburning, and the fruit untouched. The child said that the holy man had\nspent the time in prayer and praises, and that angelic forms had\nsurrounded him, and a dove had brought him food. The saint was next\ntaken to the monastery of the abbot Hypacius, where he was received\nwith much cordiality; and thence he was brought before the Emperor at\nConstantinople, and required to subscribe to the decrees of the\nCouncil of Chalcedon. \"If the council has decided nothing contrary to\nthat of Nic\u00e6a, if it has declared that Jesus Christ our Lord was truly\nincarnate, and that the holy Virgin is truly the Mother of God, I will\ngladly communicate with it.\" The prince, satisfied with this answer,\nembraced him, and commanded him to be conducted to the great church.\nHe sent also to the patriarch of Constantinople, to show him the\ndecrees of the Council of Chalcedon, concerning the errors of\nEutyches. The saint went to the church followed by a crowd. He read\nthe Acts of the council, and declared that he thoroughly and heartily\nagreed with them. It is probable that he was then ordained priest, but\nhis historian does not state the time of his reception of holy orders.\nHe then returned to the monastery of Hypacius, and asked to be allowed\nto inhabit Mount Sinope, instead of Mount Oxia. This mountain was\nnearer to Chalcedon than that on which he had before resided. It was\nvery high, barren, and deficient in springs. Thither he was conducted\nby the monks of the monastery of Hypacius, singing hymns; a little hut\nwas erected for his accommodation in a cave, with a window, through\nwhich he could receive food, and converse with his visitors. Here he\nspent some years, becoming more and more emaciated and covered with\nwounds. Those who visited him in the morning, he retained with him\ntill the hour of Tierce, after which he dismissed them; those coming\nafter, he kept till Sext, which he repeated with them, and then sent\nthem away. He composed hymns and spiritual songs, which he taught to\nthose who came to him, and made them sing them along with him. He\ndaily preached to the people, and gave them instruction in the faith,\nand how to conduct themselves in the most difficult circumstances. His\nsermons produced a most striking effect, and many who heard him\nrenounced the world, and adopted the religious habit.\n\nAs the saint was one night saying Matins, he suddenly opened his\nwindow, and exclaimed thrice, \"The Lord be praised!\" Then he bent his\nhead and said, \"Simeon, the great father, is dead.\" And it was so, for\nthe news reached Bithynia afterwards, that Simeon Stylites,[42] the\ngreat anchorite, had died that night.\n\nMany women having renounced the world, and placed themselves under the\ndirection of Auxentius, a convent was built to receive them not far\nfrom his cavern, at the foot of the mountain, and the nuns visited his\ncell once a week, to receive instruction from his lips. At length,\nwhen he knew that he had not many days to live, he came forth from his\nhut, and visited the convent, where he prayed with many tears for the\nspiritual welfare of his children. Then he returned to his cave\nfollowed by a great multitude. Three days after he was stricken with a\nsickness which proved fatal; and he died on the 14th February.\n\n\nS. BRUNO, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 1008.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology on October 15th, that being, as Baronius\n conjectures, the commemoration of a translation of the relics, as it\n is certain that S. Bruno died on Feb.\u00a014th. Authority:--His life by\n his kinsman Ditmar, bishop of Merseburg, in his Chronicles, lib.\u00a06;\n and mention by Marianus Scotus, and other chroniclers of Germany.]\n\nThe Sclavonic races in Prussia were some of the last to receive\nChristianity in Germany. S. Adalbert, bishop of Prague, had gone\namongst the Lithuanians and Prussians, bearing the gospel, and, in\n997, had fallen a victim to his zeal. Probably obeying the call of S.\nAdalbert, Bruno, a monk of Magdeburg, a man of good education, and\nkinsman to Ditmar, bishop of Merseburg, went on the mission to these\nheathen. Boleslas, king of Poland, sent, urging his coming, and, after\nhaving visited Merseburg, where he received episcopal ordination,\nBruno, with many companions, entered on his apostolic mission. But the\nPagans refused to hear the word of salvation, and, falling on the\nlittle band, hacked off Bruno's hands and feet, and put to death with\nhim eighteen men who accompanied him.\n\n[42] See January 5th.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 15.\n\n SS. FAUSTINUS, _P._, AND JOVITA, _D., MM. at Brescia_, A.D. 120.\n SS. CRATO, HIS WIFE AND SERVANTS, _MM. at Rome, circ._ A.D. 273.\n S. AGAPE, _V. M. at Teramo, in Umbria, circ._ A.D. 273.\n S. EUSEBIUS, _H. in Syria, after_ A.D. 400.\n S. GEORGIA, _V. at Clermont_.\n S. SEVERUS, _P. in Valeria, circ._ A.D. 530.\n S. QUINIDIUS, _B. of Vaison in Vaucluse, circ._ A.D. 578.\n S. BERACH, _B. Ab. in Ireland, circ._ A.D. 615.\n S. FAUSTUS, _Monk, O. S. B.; circ._ A.D. 607.\n S. WALFRID, _Ab. of Monte Virido, circ._ A.D. 765.\n S. SIGFRIED, _B., Ap. of Sweden, circ._ A.D. 1045.\n\n\nSS. FAUSTINUS, P., AND JOVITA, D., MM.\n\n(A.D. 120.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, and others; but\n Usuardus, misled by the name, makes Jovita a virgin martyr. Three\n different versions of their Acts are published by Bollandus. None of\n these are the original.]\n\nFaustinus and Jovita were brothers, nobly born. Faustinus, the elder,\nwas a priest; Jovita was in deacon's orders. During a time of\npersecution under Hadrian, the bishop of Brescia lay concealed, and\nthe brothers strengthened and encouraged the fainting flock. The Acts\nof their Martyrdom are of such doubtful authority that it is unsafe to\naffirm concerning them more than that their zeal provoked the fury of\nthe heathen against them, and procured them a glorious death for their\nfaith, at Brescia. Their constancy, under the torments of boiling lead\nand red-hot iron, was the means of converting one Calocerus, who\nafterwards also suffered for the faith.\n\nThese saints are venerated as the chief patrons of Brescia, where\ntheir relics are preserved in the church dedicated under their\ninvocation.\n\n\nS. EUSEBIUS, H.\n\n(AFTER A.D. 400.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a. Life from the Philotheus of Theodoret, c.\u00a018.]\n\nWas a hermit at Aschia, in Syria. Theodoret visited him, and was\nadmitted into his cell. There is nothing remarkable related concerning\nhim.\n\n\nS. GEORGIA, V.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN, BUT PROBABLY IN THE 5TH CENT.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrology. Authority:--S. Gregory of Tours, De Gloria\n Confess., c.\u00a034.]\n\nThis pious virgin was a native of Clermont, in Auvergne, where she\nserved God like Anna, constantly attending in the temple. Very little\nis known of her life, which flowed on in calm simplicity, and would\nhardly have required a more particular notice than the insertion of\nher name, were it not for one graceful incident narrated by S. Gregory\nof Tours, to the effect that as her body was being carried to the\ncathedral for sepulture, a great company of doves or pigeons fluttered\nabove the mourning train, and settled on the roof of the minster,\nwhilst the last rites were being performed; and this the pious and\nsimple people regarded as a token of divine favour.\n\n\nS. SEVERUS, P.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 530.)\n\n [Roman Mart. Authority:--S. Gregory the Great, Dialog., lib. i.,\n c.\u00a012.]\n\nS. Severus was priest to a church in the district of Valeria, which is\nthat part between the Tiber and the Velino, occupied by the cities\nRiete, Terni, and Narni. S. Gregory relates that on one occasion a\nmessage was brought him, whilst he was pruning his vines, that a dying\nman needed his pastoral assistance. Severus promised to go as soon as\nhe had done cutting the vine he was then engaged upon. When he drew\nnear to the sick man's house, the people ran out to meet him, saying,\n\"Oh, sir! why didst thou delay? the man is dead.\" Then Severus\nentered, full of self-reproach, praying to God for pardon. And when he\nsaw the dead body, he burst into tears, and beat his head against the\nground, reproaching himself for his neglect. Then the dead man's\nspirit returned, and he opened his eyes, and sat up. So he made his\nconfession and received absolution, and died shortly after.\n\nThe relics were translated to the monastery of M\u00fcnster-Maifeld, near\nCoblenz, about the year 980, by S. Egbert, bishop of Tr\u00e8ves.\n\n\nS. BERACH, B., AB.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 615.)\n\n [Irish Kalendar. Two lives of this saint exist, but both are late,\n collected from oral tradition, and full of fable.]\n\nThe lives of the Irish saints were, for the most part, written from\npopular tradition, many centuries after their decease. They are\ncharacterised by a love of the marvellous and the grotesque,\ndiminishing their historical value. The same quaint legends re-appear\nin almost all, or with slender modifications. It seems that every\nIrish saint yoked stags to his plough, and made bells come to him over\nthe water. If some of these fanciful stories are here inserted, it is\nnot that we desire a ready credence to be yielded to them, but rather\nbecause it is all that there is to be told about these saints, and\nsome of them possess a strange beauty or are characteristically\ngrotesque.\n\nBerach is said to have been the son of Nemnald, descendant of Brian,\nPrince of Connaught, by his wife, Finmaith, who took him to be\nbaptized by his uncle, S. Froech. And here follows a strange tale.\nWhen Berach was taken from the font, the mother wished to resume her\ncharge of him, but \"No,\" said the bishop, \"let me have the bringing up\nof this little one; God will provide for his sustenance.\" So S. Froech\ntook him, and when the babe cried for the breast of his mother, his\nuncle gave him the lobe of his ear to suck, and thence flowed a\ncopious supply of honey. Now, when the boy was grown up, guided by an\nangel, he went to Glendalough, and there he settled, leading a\nmonastic life under S. Coemgen. One day a wolf fell on a calf,\nbelonging to the monks, and devoured it, then the cow ran lowing\npainfully about, and Berach, pitying her, bade the wolf come and suck\nher, and be to her in place of the calf he had eaten.\n\nNow there was in the charge of S. Coemgen, a lad, the son of Duke\nColman, who was very ill, and consumed with fever. As the boy fretted\nin his bed, and cried for apples and sorrel to quench his burning\nthirst, S. Coemgen said to Berach, \"Go forth, my son, taking my staff,\nand bring me what the sick boy needs.\" So Berach went forth. And it\nwas midwinter. Then he prayed to God, with whom nothing is impossible,\nfor he was stirred with pity for the fevered child, and he went to a\nwillow, and blessed it; then it thrust forth its little silky flowers,\nand these swelled and ripened into red apples, and beneath the willow\nthe snow dissolved, and green sorrel thrust up its shoots and spread\nits delicate leaves; so he gathered of the apples a lap-full, and\npicked a large bunch of sorrel, and came with them to his master.[43]\n\nAnd after some time, Berach went forth and built a monastery in a\nremote spot, Clon-cairpthe, in the desert of Kinel-dobhtha; but a\ncertain wealthy man interfered to pull it down, and to disturb him in\nmany ways. So Berach appealed for protection to the king; and when he\ncame to the court his adversary arrived also, and was admitted by the\nporter, for he was well-dressed; but the door was shut against the\nabbot in his tattered clothing. Now it was winter, and the ground was\nwhite with snow, and rude boys, seeing the poor man, scantily clothed,\nshivering outside the gate, began to pelt him with snow-balls, but\nsuddenly they were struck as by an icy blast, that they could not\nstir. And Berach saw that the snow had been scraped from the\npalace-door into a great heap. So he approached it, and blew upon it,\nand a flame crackled in the snow heap, and leaped up, and he stood and\nwarmed himself at the flaming snow. Then, when the king heard what had\ntaken place, he was full of wonder, and went forth, and besought the\nman of God; so he restored the boys to their usual activity, and\nquenched the blazing snow-heap.\n\n\nS. WALFRID, AB. OF MONTE VIRIDO.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 765.)\n\n [On this day Benedictine Kalendar; but Wyon, Menardus, and\n Ferrarius, on April 17th. The life of this saint was written by his\n friend and companion in monastic life, Andrew, who was third abbot\n of the monastery. Walfrid was founder and first abbot; he was\n succeeded by his son, Gimfrid, and then by Andrew.]\n\nWalfrid, a native of Pisa, was married to a virtuous wife, by whom he\nhad five sons. Both he and his wife then resolved to retire from the\nworld. He founded and governed the abbey of Monte Virido, in Tuscany,\nnear Volterra. There is nothing of remarkable interest in his life.\n\n\nS. SIGFRIED, B. AP. OF SWEDEN.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 1045.)\n\n [Anciently venerated in Sweden; named in the Cologne and other\n German Kalendars. Authority:--Joannes Magnus, Archb. of Upsal, Hist.\n Goth. lib. xvii., c.\u00a018, 19, 20.]\n\nThe faith of Christ was first preached in Sweden, as has been already\nrelated (February 3rd) by S. Ansgar, in the ninth century; but the\nSwedes soon relapsed into their former heathenism, partly from want of\na sufficient supply of teachers, till the reign of Olaf Scobkongr.\nThis prince sent ambassadors to King Edred (others say Ethelred) of\nEngland, to renew the ancient alliance between the two crowns, and\ndesired that some persons might be sent to him, knowing the Christian\nlaw, to instruct him and his people. Edred received the proposition\nwith joy; and, assembling the prelates and chief clergy of his\nkingdom, exhorted them to make choice of proper missionaries for this\ngreat work. Sigfried, archdeacon of York, perceiving that most of\nthose present shrank from the undertaking, as one hazardous and\nlaborious, sprang to his feet, and offered himself for the mission.\nHis offer was at once accepted. He was consecrated bishop, and then\nsailed to Sweden, taking with him his three nephews Sunaman, Unaman,\nWiaman, and other companions. He landed in South Gothland, where now\nstands the cathedral of Wexi\u00f6, which, by the admonition of an angel,\nhe caused to be erected; and there he made some stay, the king being\nat that time absent in West Gothland. The chief Jarl or earl of those\nparts came to see the strangers, and observed their conduct with\ninterest; he was even present when Sigfried celebrated the Holy\nSacrifice; of all which he gave an account to the king, informing him\nthat he had seen the old man, as he called him, whilst he was standing\nat the table of his religion, raise above his head a most radiant and\nbeautiful infant, who extended his arm towards him with a smile. The\nking sent for the saint, and, at his coming, went forth to meet him,\nand received him with joy; and, after he had been sufficiently\ninstructed in the Christian faith and moral law, was baptized with his\nqueen, and many of his nobles, and gave the saint the royal castle of\nHusaby to be converted into a church. For this it was well adapted,\nfor the palaces of the Scandinavian kings and nobles consisted of huge\nhalls with sleeping-apartments in what might be termed the aisles, and\ndoors at both ends. By removing the partitions and beds, and blocking\nup one door, the building at once assumed the appearance of a stately\nchurch, of nave and side aisles, separated by huge square pillars of\npine-wood. At Husaby, Sigfried long resided, till he had converted all\nWest Gothland to the faith of Christ. But this was not effected\nwithout opposition, and his three nephews, Sunaman, Unaman, and\nWiaman, to whom he had committed the care of the Church of Wexi\u00f6, were\nmurdered, and their bodies cast into a neighbouring pool. The\nmurderers were discovered, and the king would have put them to death,\nbut they were spared at the intercession of S. Sigfried, but the king\nforced them to pay a blood-fine, which he offered to the bishop as the\nnearest kinsman of the deceased. Sigfried, however, refused to receive\nthe money. The relics of the three brothers were miraculously\ndiscovered by a light hovering above the pool in which they lay. Their\nnames have been recorded among the saints on Feb.\u00a015th, along with\ntheir uncle, S. Sigfried. This loss of his coadjutors did not\ndiscourage the saint from the work of the Gospel, which he carried on\nwith great success. He was buried in the cathedral of Wexi\u00f6, and\ncanonized by the Pope in 1155.\n\n[43] See Giraldus Cambrensis, who refers to the legend in his book, De\nMirabilibus Hiberni\u00e6, c.\u00a028, but relates it of S. Keiven.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 16.\n\n S. ONESIMUS, _Disciple of S. Paul_, A.D. 95.\n S. ONESIMUS, _B. M. of Ephesus_, A.D. 109.\n S. HONESTUS, _P. M., Ap. of Pampeluna, circ._ A.D. 270.\n SS. PROCLUS, EPHEBUS, APOLLONIUS, _MM. at Teramo, circ._ A.D. 283.\n S. CORNELIUS, _M. at Rome, relics at Ghent_.\n SS. ELIAS, JEREMIAS, ISAIAS, SAMUEL, AND COMP., _MM. at C\u00e6sarea,\n in Palestine_, A.D. 309.\n S. JULIANA, _V. M. at Nicomedia, circ._ A.D. 309.\n S. FLAVIAN, _H. in the East_.\n S. EULALIUS, _B. of Syracuse, after_ A.D. 503.\n S. TANCO, _B. of Verden, in Hanover, circ._ A.D. 800.\n\n\nS. ONESIMUS.\n\n(A.D. 95.)\n\n [There is much confusion between the S. Onesimus, disciple of St.\n Paul, and his namesake, bishop of Ephesus. Indeed, by many it is\n supposed that there was only one Onesimus, and that the runaway\n slave spoken of by S. Paul was afterwards bishop of Ephesus. The\n Greeks commemorate the first on Feb.\u00a015th, and the second on\n December 1st.]\n\nOnesimus was a Phrygian by birth, slave to Philemon, a person of note\nof the city of Coloss\u00e6, converted to the faith by S. Paul. Having run\naway from his master, he providentially met with S. Paul, then a\nprisoner at Rome, who there converted and baptized him, and sent him,\nwith his canonical letter of recommendation, to Philemon, by whom he\nwas pardoned, set at liberty, and sent back to his spiritual father,\nwhom he afterwards faithfully served. The apostle made him, with\nTychicus, the bearer of his Epistle to the Colossians,[44] and\nafterwards, as S. Jerome[45] and other fathers witness, a preacher of\nthe gospel and a bishop. The Greeks say he suffered under Domitian.\nThere was a bishop of Ephesus, after S. Timothy, of the same name, who\nshowed great respect for S. Ignatius, when on his journey to Rome, in\n107, and is highly commended by him.[46] He was conducted to Rome two\nyears after, and was stoned to death.\n\n\nS. HONESTUS, P. M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 270.)\n\n [Commemorated at Pampeluna, as the apostle of that place, and at\n Amiens with nine lections, and at Toulouse, where his head is\n preserved. Besides being mentioned in these Breviaries, his name\n occurs in the Anglican Martyrology of Wytford, and in the additions\n to Usuardus, by Molanus. All that is known of him is found in the\n Acts of S. Firmin, B. M. See Sept.\u00a025th.]\n\nHonestus, a native of Nismes, was found by S. Saturninus, as he passed\nthrough that city, to be of so pious and zealous a disposition that he\ncalled him to follow him, as a disciple, and after he had fully\ninstructed him, he ordained him priest, and sent him into Spain. He\npreached with great effect at Pampeluna, where he converted one\nFirmus, a senator, with all his house, and his son, Firmin, became his\nmost devoted pupil. He so completely succeeded in the destruction of\nsuperstition in the minds of the people of Pampeluna, that he\npersuaded them to entirely overthrow a temple of Diana, which adorned\ntheir town. In some martyrologies he is called a martyr, but nothing\nis known of the place or manner of his death.\n\n\nS. CORNELIUS, M.\n\n(DATE UNKNOWN.)\n\nThe relics of this martyr, found in one of the Roman catacombs, were\ngiven by Pope Innocent X., in 1649, to the Jesuit church at Ghent,\nwhere they are enshrined in a silver reliquary, and are exhibited on\nFeb.\u00a016th.\n\n\nSS. ELIAS, JEREMIAS, ISAIAS, AND COMP., MM.\n\n(A.D. 309.)\n\n [Commemorated on this day by the Greeks, and in some Western\n Martyrologies. On this day also the Roman Martyrology.\n Authority:--Eusebius; Martyrs of Palestine, c. ii.]\n\nIn the year 309, the Emperors Galerius and Maximinus continuing the\npersecution begun by Diocletian, five pious Egyptians went to visit\nthe confessors condemned to the mines in Cilicia, and on their return\nwere stopped by the guards of the gates of C\u00e6sarea, in Palestine, as\nthey were entering the town. They readily declared themselves\nChristians, together with the motives of their journey; upon which\nthey were apprehended. The day following they were brought before\nFirmilian, governor of Palestine, together with S. Pamphilus, and\nothers. The judge, before he began his interrogatory, ordered the five\nEgyptians to be laid on the rack. After they had long suffered all\nmanner of tortures, he addressed himself to him who seemed to be their\nchief, and asked him his name and his country. They had changed their\nnames, which, before their conversion, were those of some heathen\ngods, as was customary in Egypt. The martyr answered according to the\nnames they had given themselves, which were those of prophets, as\nElias, Jeremy, Isaiah, Samuel, and Daniel.[47] Firmilian then asked\ntheir country; he answered, Jerusalem, meaning the heavenly Jerusalem,\nthe true country of all Christians. The judge inquired in what part of\nthe world that was, and ordered him to be tormented with fresh\ncruelty. All this while the executioners continued to tear his body\nwith scourges, whilst his hands were bound behind him, and his feet\nsqueezed in stocks. The judge, at last, tired of tormenting them,\ncondemned all five to be beheaded, and this command was immediately\nexecuted.\n\nPorphyry, a youth, the servant of S. Pamphilus, hearing the sentence\npronounced, exclaimed that the honour of burial ought to be accorded\nto these men. Firmilian, provoked at this boldness, ordered him to be\napprehended, and, finding that he confessed himself a Christian, and\nrefused to sacrifice, \"commanded,\" says Eusebius, \"that they should\nscrape and mutilate him, not as though they were dealing with flesh of\na human being, but as with stone and wood, to the very bones, and the\ninmost recesses of the bowels. This being continued for a long time,\nhe at length perceived that he was labouring in vain, as he continued\nwithout uttering a sound, or evincing any feeling, and almost totally\nlifeless, although his body was dreadfully mangled. But, as the judge\nwas of an inflexible cruelty, he condemned him to be committed to a\nslow fire. One could then see Porphyry covered with dust, but with his\ncountenance bright and cheerful, advancing on his way to death,\ncovered only with his philosophical garb thrown round him like a\ncloak, and, with a calm and composed mind, beckoning to his\nacquaintance and friends, and preserving a cheerful countenance at the\nstake. When the fire was kindled, which was done at some distance from\nhim, he attracted and inhaled the flame, and then, most nobly\npersevering in silence, until his last breath, he uttered not another\nword, save that which he uttered when the flame reached him, a call\nupon Christ, the Son of God, his helper.\"\n\nSeleucus, an eye-witness of this victory, was heard by the soldiers\napplauding the heroism of these martyrs, whereupon he was apprehended,\nand his head was struck off.\n\nS. Pamphilus is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on June 1st;\nElias, Jeremias, Isaiah, Samuel, Daniel, Porphyry, and Seleucus, on\nFeb.\u00a016th.\n\nThe relics of S. Daniel are preserved at Bologna, in the churches of\nS. Cecilia and S. Gabriel.\n\n\nS. JULIANA, V. M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 309.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks on December 21st. The ancient Latin\n Martyrologies on Feb.\u00a016th. The Acts are very ancient. They were\n certainly written before 600, when her relics were at Puteoli.\n Usuardus, whose Martyrology dates 800, speaks of her relics as at\n Cum\u00e6, to which place they had been translated about the year 600.\n The Acts are not, however, to be trusted. They have apparently been\n interpolated by those who were not satisfied with their original\n brevity.]\n\nS. Juliana was a Christian maiden, the daughter of heathen parents,\nvery beautiful, and of good birth. Her father resolved on marrying her\nto the prefect Eleusius, but she refused, alleging, as her excuse,\nthat she was resolved not to marry a heathen. Her father, much\nexasperated, beat her severely, and when he could not shake her\nconstancy he gave her over to the prefect, hoping that the terror of\nappearing in court would quell her courage. But he was deceived. She\nenthusiastically confessed Christ, and her betrothed, brutally ordered\nher to be stripped and beaten before him, for his love was turned into\nrage and hatred. The more cruelly she was treated, the more resolved\nshe seemed to become, and the more exasperated grew Eleusius. At last\nhe ordered molten metal to be poured over her, and then that she\nshould be thrown into prison, with her feet made fast in the stocks.\nOn the following day he ordered her to be let down into a vessel of\nmolten lead, and then he bade the executioner strike off her head.\n\nThe head of S. Juliana is preserved at Hal, in the Tyrol, but the\nchief portion of her relics is in the church of Notre Dame de Sablon,\nin Brussels.\n\n\nS. TANCO, B. OF VERDEN.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 800.)\n\n [Authorities:--Krantzius, Leslie, and Wion, in Mart. Benedict.]\n\nPatto, abbot of Amabaric, in Scotland, having gone to preach the faith\nto the heathen in Germany, and being appointed bishop of Verden, in\nthe kingdom of Hanover, Tanco, monk of Amabaric, was chosen abbot;\nbut, desiring to follow his former superior, he resigned his charge,\nand sought Patto at Verden, whom he succeeded after a while, being the\nthird bishop of that see. He is said to have fallen a victim to a\nbarbarous mob who were enraged with him for denouncing their\nlicentious and savage manners.\n\n[44] Colos. iv.\n\n[45] Ep. lxii. c.\u00a02.\n\n[46] Ep. ad Ephes.\n\n[47] It is, perhaps, inaccurate to say that these were the names of\nthe five brethren, Eusebius does not affirm as much. He says, \"The\ngovernor asked the chief of them who he was, when, instead of his\nproper name, he heard him repeat some name of the prophets, which was\ndone by them, if they happened to have had names given to them by\ntheir parents from the names of idols, in which case you would hear\nthem calling themselves Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel and Daniel....\nWhen Firmilian had heard some name like this from the martyr, &c.\"\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 17.\n\n S. MARIAMNE, V., _sister of S. Philip the Apostle, 1st cent._\n S. POLYCHRONIUS, _B. M. of Babylon_, A.D. 251.\n SS. DONATUS, CASTULUS, MAGNUS, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Teramo,\n circ._ A.D. 273.\n SS. DONATUS, SECUNDIAN, ROMULUS, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Concordia,\n in N. Italy_, A.D. 303.\n SS. THEODULUS AND JULIAN, _MM. at C\u00e6sarea, in Palestine_, A.D. 308.\n SS. LOMAN AND FORTCHERN, _BB. in Ireland, 7th cent._\n S. FINTAN, _P. Ab. of Cluain-Ednech, in Ireland, 6th cent._\n S. FINAN, _B. of Lindisfarne_, A.D. 661.\n S. SILVINE, _B. of Auxy-les-Moines, circ._ A.D. 720.\n S. FULRAD, _Ab. of S. Denys, in France_, A.D. 784.\n S. CONSTABILIS, _Ab. of Cavia, in Italy_, A.D. 1124.\n S. EVERMOD, _B. of Ratzeburg_, A.D. 1178.\n\n\nS. MARIAMNE, V.\n\n(1ST CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated by Greeks only. Authority:--Nicephorus Callistus,\n Hist. Eccl. lib. ii. c.\u00a089, of no weight, as he wrote in 1341.]\n\nAfter the Ascension of our Blessed Lord, S. Philip, with Bartholomew,\nand Mariamne, his sister, came to Hierapolis, where the people held in\nspecial veneration a monstrous serpent. The apostles, filled with holy\nzeal, rushed into the temple and drove the serpent from its sanctum,\nbut the people, enraged, fell on them, and hung S. Philip to a pillar,\nand would have executed S. Bartholomew and S. Mariamne, had they not\nbeen terrified by the shock of an earthquake. They released SS.\nBartholomew and Mariamne, who buried Philip, and then went into India.\n\n [Illustration: AN EARLY RELIQUARY. Feb. 17.]\n\n\nS. POLYCHRONIUS, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 251.)\n\n [Roman, and almost all Martyrologies. The Acts of this martyr,\n somewhat fragmentary, are extant.]\n\nThe following fragment is all that remains of the Acts of S.\nPolychronius, slightly epitomized at the commencement:\n\n\"In those days the storm rose under Decius C\u00e6sar, and many Christians\nwere slain in the city of Rome. Galba being regent in Rome, Decius\nwent against the Persians. Coming to the city Ponticum, he stayed\nthere, but he was warring. Then Decius went up into the Median\nhill-country, and gained a victory, and took several cities of the\nPersians, as Babylon, Bactria, Hyrcania, Cordula, where he found many\nChristians, whom he slew with tortures. At that time he found in the\ncity of Babylon, a bishop named Polychronius, with the priests\nParmenias, Elymas, Chrysotelus, and the deacons Luke and Mucius; whom,\nwhen he had taken, he ordered to be led forth and to sacrifice to\nidols. Then Polychronius answered promptly, 'We offer ourselves to the\nLord Jesus Christ, and will not bow to devils, or idols made with\nhands.' Then Decius ordered him and his clergy to prison. And he built\nthere a temple to Saturn, and made a gypsum image, and gilded\nit....[48] And when it was ready, he ordered Polychronius, his\npriests, and deacons, to be led before him, and he questioned them,\nsaying, 'Thou art the sacrilegious Polychronius, who will not keep the\ncommandments of the gods of the Emperor.' But Polychronius answered\nnot. Then Decius said to the clergy, 'Your chief is silent.' Parmenias\nanswered, 'Our chief will not defile his mouth; he keeps the command\nof Our Lord, Cast not your pearls before swine. Dost thou deem it\nseemly that what has once been purified should be defiled with dung?'\nDecius said, 'Ha! we are dung, are we?' and he ordered their tongues\nto be cut out. Now when they had cut out the tongue of Parmenias,[49]\nParmenias exclaimed, 'O blessed father Polychronius, pray for me, for\nI see that the Holy Spirit rules thee, signs thy mouth, and distils\nhoney thereunto.' Decius said, 'Polychronius, sacrifice to the gods;'\nbut he answered not a word. Then Decius ordered his mouth to be beaten\nin with stones; and he, as they beat him, raised his eyes to heaven,\nand spread forth his hands, and so expired.\"\n\n\nSS. THEODULUS AND JULIAN, MM.\n\n(A.D. 308.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. The Greeks on Feb. 16th. See account of SS.\n Elias, Jeremias, Isaiah, and Companions, Feb.\u00a016th. Authority the\n same.]\n\n\"Immediately after Seleucus, (see p. 316) came the aged Theodulus, a\ngrave and pious man,\" says Eusebius, \"who was of the governor's\nfamily, and who, on account of his age, had been treated with more\nregard by Firmilian than any of his domestics, as also, because he was\nnow a father of the third generation, and had always evinced great\nfidelity and attachment to himself and family. He, however, pursuing\nthe same cause as Seleucus, when arraigned before his master, was\ncondemned to endure the same martyrdom as our Saviour on the cross.\nAfter all the rest came Julian. He had just come from abroad, and had\nnot yet entered the city; but learning on the road the death of the\nmartyrs, he hastened at once, just as he was, to the sight. Then, when\nhe saw the earthly tabernacles of the holy men lying on the ground,\nfilled with joy, he embraced every one, and kissed them all. Upon\nthis, he was immediately seized by the ministers of death, and\nconducted to Firmilian, who consigned him to a slow and lingering\nfire. Then Julian, exulting with joy, gave thanks to God with a loud\nvoice, who had honoured him with martyrdom. He was a native of\nCappadocia; in his manner he was most religious, and eminent for the\nsincerity and soundness of his faith.\"\n\n\nSS. LOMAN AND FORTCHERN, BB.\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [Colgan is the only authority for their insertion; he says that in\n Ireland these saints are venerated on Feb.\u00a017th, and Oct.\u00a011th.\n These saints are mentioned in the Tripartite Life of S. Patrick, and\n in that by Jocelin.]\n\nS. Loman is said to have been the son of Tigridia, sister of S.\nPatrick; his brothers Brochan and Mogenoch, were, like him, also\nbishops; and his cousins, Mel, Rioch and Mun, (Feb.\u00a06th), sons of his\naunt Darerca, were saints and prelates. S. Loman accompanied S.\nPatrick to Ireland, and when they landed at Temora, the great apostle\nleft Loman in charge of the boat, ordering him to bring it up the\nriver Boyne to Trim. And when one Fortchern, son of Fethlemid, chief\nof Trim, heard the sweet chanting of Loman on his boat, a great\nlonging came over him to hear the doctrine which exhaled such\nsweetness. Therefore he came to him and received instruction out of\nthe boat, and he sang with him the songs of Zion. Then came the mother\nof Fortchern, seeking her son, and she was a Scottish princess, and\nshe saluted the priest of God reverently, and rejoiced that the Gospel\nof Christ was wafted to the shores of Ireland. And Fethlemid came\nalso, and received instruction, and himself believed, and his whole\nhouse; and they were baptized; and he gave Antrim to the church as a\npossession. Then came Patrick and founded there a church, and placed\nLoman over it, as chief pastor. Jocelin, the writer of the life of S.\nPatrick, states that he used a life of the great apostle of the Irish,\nwritten by S. Loman, his nephew.\n\nNow when Loman was dying, he called to him Fortchern, that he might\nconsecrate him to be his successor in the See of Antrim, but he would\nnot, \"Lest,\" said he, \"it should be thought that the government of\nthis diocese was mine by hereditary right, for my father owned it till\nhe gave it to God.\" Then Loman recognised this reason as fitting, and\nhe was succeeded by one named Cathald.\n\nSuch is the legend, and a sad confusion of history and fable does it\nprove to be. These are Dr. Lanigan's judicious remarks: \"The\nTripartite Life makes S. Loman or Luman a nephew of S. Patrick, left\nin charge of the boat, and adds that, in consequence of the order of\nthe saint, he sailed up against the current of the river as far as\nTrim. This was too good a story to be slightly passed over by Jocelin,\nwho, to make it still more marvellous, subjoins that, the sails being\nhoisted, he went up, without the assistance of oars, notwithstanding\nfurious blasts of wind in the direction opposite to its course. He\nmight as well have said that it had been carried in the air; for the\nchannel of the Boyne is so unfit for navigation, that it would be\nimpossible for a boat to proceed as far as Trim, even were both the\ncurrent and the winds favourable.\"[50]\n\nThere can be no doubt that Loman lived much later, and that he is no\nother than the bishop Loman of Trim, who lived in the 7th century, of\nwhom nothing authentic is known. Dr. Lanigan carefully traces the\nfable of the donation of Antrim, and shows that it is partly blunder,\npartly wilful invention. Colgan patched up the Acts of S. Loman from\nthe stories in the Tripartite Life of S. Patrick, and in Jocelin, who\nquotes from the Martyrologum Tamlachtense the following\npassage:--\"Loman of Trim and his companions, who were (of the list two\nonly are worth noting) Ossan and Fortchern.\" \"If,\" says Dr. Lanigan,\n\"by _sociis suis_ we should understand disciples of Loman, Loman must\nbe brought to much later times than those of S. Patrick, for Ossan\nwas, in all appearance, the person of that name whose memory was\nrevered at Rath-Ossan, near the west gate of Trim, and whose death is\nmarked at A.D. 686. Some of them are placed by Colgan himself in still\nlater times. It may be objected that Tirechan, who is supposed to have\nlived in the 7th century, speaks of Loman as being in S. Patrick's\ndays. But if Tirechan lived so early, the account given of Loman is\nundoubtedly an interpolation thrust into his work. For no author of\nthat country would have written certain nonsense therein contained,\nsuch as that prince Fethlemid, a son of king Leogaire, made a grant of\n_all_ his territory, property, and family, to Saints Patrick and\nLoman, and thus to the Church of Trim. Such fables, relative to\necclesiastical endowments, did not appear in Ireland until a much\nlater period.\"[51]\n\nWith regard to Fortchern the same difficulty exists. Notwithstanding\nthat he is made the son of Fethlemid, prince of Trim, he is spoken of\nin the Tripartite Life as blacksmith to S. Patrick; and if he were a\ndisciple of S. Loman, he must be moved from the 5th to the 7th\ncentury. Anyhow he is not to be confounded with Bishop Fortchern of\nRoss, as does the legend; if he was a bishop at all, it was of Trim.\n\n\nS. FINTAN, AB. OF CLONENAGH.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, Ado, &c. Colgan\n says there were twenty-four saints of this name in Ireland, which\n has led to some confusion. Authority:--An ancient life published by\n Colgan, and also by Bollandus, but, like all the lives of Irish\n saints, late, and resting on tradition.]\n\nS. Fintan, abbot of Cluain-Ednech, (Clon-Enach), was born in Leinster,\nin the sixth century. He was brought up in piety and letters by a holy\nman, who led a religious life in a place called Cluain-mhic-Trein,[52]\nunder whom he made such progress, as to give early evidence that God\nwas with him. When he was grown to man's estate, he took leave of his\nspiritual father, and went for further improvement to S. Columba of\nTrydaglas, (December 13th), with whom he remained, till he was ordered\nto Cluain-Ednech, in East Meath, where he laid the foundations of a\nfamous monastery, to which many resorted from all parts of Ireland, to\nplace themselves under his direction, (about A.D. 548.) The rules he\ngave his monks were very strict; they abstained from all kind of meat,\nbutter, and milk; living only upon vegetables; they laboured like\nhermits in the fields, and tilled their ground with their own hands.\nThis rigour appeared excessive to the other holy solitaries in those\nparts, and assembling together, they resolved to send a deputation to\nremonstrate with the saint for imposing a rule which it was impossible\nfor flesh and blood to endure. The night before they were to come to\nhim, with S. Cannech at their head, Fintan was admonished from heaven\nof their coming; and for further instructions how he was to proceed,\nwas ordered to go out in the morning, and follow the directions of one\nwhom God would send to meet him. The first person he met was one born\ndumb. Fintan blessed him, and bade him declare to him the will of God.\nThen the dumb man spake, \"All these good things that thou thyself hast\nbegun for God carry out unto the end; but beware of scandalizing\nothers; for some vessels are weaker than are others.\" The saint\nobserved this lesson, and when the deputation reached him, he was in a\ncompliant mood, and ready to remit the rigour of his rule with regard\nto those under his direction; but with respect to himself, he\npersevered in his penitential exercises. Amongst the disciples of S.\nFintan was the famous S. Comgal, who afterwards founded the monastery\nof Bangor, where S. Columbanus, and many other saints, received their\neducation. When this holy abbot had served God in great perfection,\nfrom his very childhood to a venerable old age; after a long exercise\nof humility, charity, patience, meekness to others, and severity\ntowards himself, he called his children about him, and recommending to\nthem his successor, gave them his benediction, and arming himself with\nthe Holy Sacrament, fell asleep in the Lord.\n\n\nS. FINAN, B. OF LINDISFARNE.\n\n(A.D. 661.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrology. Colgan in his Acts of the Irish Saints notes\n him on the same day. Same day in the Aberdeen Breviary, but Dempster\n says he was commemorated in Scotland on Feb.\u00a016th. Among the Irish,\n Jan.\u00a09th was regarded as a day on which S. Finan was honoured.\n Authority:--Bede, Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c.\u00a017, 21, 25, &c.]\n\nEngland was Christianized from two quarters; Kent and all the south\nreceived the Gospel from Rome through the mission of S. Augustine; but\nthe whole of the north-east of the island, called Northumbria,\nincluding the modern Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire, was\nChristianized from Iona, the great monastery of S. Columba.\n\nThe first four successors of Augustine at Canterbury were all chosen\nfrom the Italian monks who had accompanied him to England; but they\nall belonged to that first mission; whereas the See of Lindisfarne, as\nit became vacant, was filled from Iona. The Scottish monks, thus\nplaced during thirty years at the head of the Church in the North of\nEngland, showed themselves worthy of the saintly school whence they\nissued, and of the glorious mission to which they were consecrated.\n\nThe first monk sent from Iona to replace the noble Aidan, (Oct.\u00a022nd),\nwas S. Finan. His episcopate was prosperous; it lasted ten years, and\nwas not interrupted by any melancholy event, such as those which had\ntroubled the life of Aidan, by taking from him his two royal friends.\nS. Finan always lived on good terms with king Oswy, and before going\nto join his predecessor in heaven, he had the happiness of introducing\nto the Church the heads of the two great Saxon kingdoms. Sigebert,\nking of the East Saxons, and Peada, king of the Midland English, came\nto seek baptism at the gates of Lindisfarne. This made way to the\nconversion of their respective provinces, which this holy prelate\nfurnished with proper missioners; and after some time, he ordained the\nScot, Diuma, bishop of the Midland English, and S. Cedd (January 7th),\nbishop of the East Saxons. In the island sanctuary of Lindisfarne, S.\nFinan caused a cathedral to be built, not of stone, like that which\nPaulinus and Edwin had commenced at York, but according to the Keltic\ncustom, and like the churches built by Columba and his Irish monks, it\nwas made entirely of wood, and covered with bent, that long rough\nsea-grass, whose pivot-like roots bind together the sands on the\nseashore, and which is still found in great abundance on the island,\nas well as on the sandy beach which has to be crossed before the\ntraveller can reach Lindisfarne.\n\nVast as was his diocese, which embraced the two great Northumbrian\nkingdoms, and great as must have been his influence over the other\nSaxon provinces, S. Finan seems to have preserved and exercised an\nauthority not less complete over the country of his origin, the\nkingdom of the Dalriadian Scots. The Scotch annalists all speak of a\ncertain king Fergus, who, by his violence and exactions, had raised\nthe indignation of the Scottish clergy, and called down upon himself a\nsentence of excommunication from the bishops of Lindisfarne, Finan and\nhis successors. Bede, who is prejudiced against this holy prelate,\nbecause of his adhesion to the Keltic ritual, and resistance of the\nintroduction of the Roman usages in vogue in the South of England,\nnevertheless admits his great virtues, his contempt of the world, love\nof poverty and disinterestedness, and great diligence in preaching the\nWord of Life.[53]\n\n[48] Portion lost.\n\n[49] A mistake of a copyist for Polychronius, apparently.\n\n[50] Lanigan, i. p. 222.\n\n[51] Lanigan. ii., p. 345.\n\n[52] Whence it appears that S. Fintan was a native of Ross, (in\nWexford), for Ross is _Ros_-mhic-Trein; _i.e._, Ross of the Sons of\nTrein.\n\n[53] Montalembert: \"Monks of the West.\"\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 18.\n\n S. SIMEON, _BM. of Jerusalem_, A.D. 107.\n SS. LEO AND PAREGORIUS, _MM. at Patara (commemorated by Greeks only)_.\n SS. MAXIMUS, CLAUDIUS, PR\u00c6PEDIGNA, ALEXANDER, AND CUTIAS, _MM. at\n Rome_, A.D. 295.\n SS. CONSTANTIA, AUGUSTA, ATTICA, AND ARTEMIA, _VV. at Rome, 4th cent._\n S. FLAVIAN, _BM. of Constantinople_, A.D. 449.\n S. HELLADIUS, _B. of Toledo_, A.D. 632.\n S. ANGILBERT, _Ab. of S. Riquier, in France_, A.D. 814.\n S. THEOTONTIUS, _Prior of S. Cruz, at Coimbra_, A.D. 1166.\n\n\nS. SIMEON, B. OF JERUSALEM.\n\n(A.D. 107.)\n\n [Roman, and all ancient Martyrologies, but commemorated by the\n Greeks on April 27th. Authorities:--Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., lib.\n iii., c.\u00a010, 32; Hegesippus quoted by Eusebius.]\n\nAfter the martyrdom of S. James, and the capture of Jerusalem by the\nRomans, the surviving apostles and disciples of our Lord are reported\nto have assembled at Jerusalem to consult who should be appointed\nbishop in the room of S. James. They unanimously declared Simeon, the\nson of Cleopas, as deserving to succeed to that important office. He\nis said to have been cousin-german to our Saviour, for Hegesippus\nasserts that Cleopas was the brother of Joseph. Hegesippus gives the\nfollowing account of his martyrdom:--\"There are those that take the\nlead of the whole Church as martyrs, even the kindred of our Lord.\nProfound peace had lasted for the Church till the days of Trajan, when\nSimeon, the relative of our Lord, being the son of Cleopas, was\nwaylaid by the heretics, and was accused to the Consul Atticus. After\nhe had been tormented many days, he died a martyr, with such firmness\nthat all wondered, even the president himself, that a man of one\nhundred and twenty years of age should endure such tortures. At last\nhe was ordered to be crucified.\"\n\nIn art, S. Simeon appears with a cross, and as a very aged man. Some\nof his relics are preserved in the church of S. James the Great, at\nBologna; his head in the Jesuit church at Brussels; other portions of\nthe body at Lisborne, near Lipstadt, in Westphalia.\n\n\nSS. CLAUDIUS, MAXIMUS, AND COMP., MM.\n\n(A.D. 295.)\n\n [Almost all Martyrologies. Authority:--The very ancient, but\n fabulous Acts of S. Susanna, VM. See Aug.\u00a011th.]\n\nClaudius and Maximus were brothers of Pope S. Caius, and S. Gabinius,\npriest in Rome. Maximus was count of the privy purse to Diocletian,\nand Claudius also held a post of distinction about the person of the\nemperor. Their family was one of the most noble in Rome, and when\nGalerius Maximianus, the C\u00e6sar, had lost his wife, Valeria, daughter\nof Diocletian, the emperor resolved on finding for his son-in-law\nanother wife, of good repute and honourable birth. Hearing of the\nbeauty and modesty of Susanna, daughter of Gabinius, he sent Claudius\nto the father, to ask the hand of Susanna for the young C\u00e6sar. But\nSusanna had resolved to love and devote herself to none, save Jesus\nChrist. When she was brought into the room by her father to hear the\nflattering announcement, her uncle Claudius would have kissed her, but\nshe gently withdrew her face, saying, \"Pardon me, my uncle, but no man\nhas ever kissed me.\" Then she declared that she was resolved to\ncontinue in celibacy, loving none save Jesus. Claudius was surprised\nand alarmed, for the request of an emperor is the same as a command.\nHe had already received some Christian teaching from his brothers, the\nbishop and the priest, and now was fully convinced of the power of\nthat religion which could make a young girl reject a princely lover\nand the prospect of a throne, with every prospect of death as an\nalternative. He consulted with his brother Maximus, and with his wife\nPr\u00e6pedigna, and they, together with his sons, Alexander and Cutias,\nforseeing an explosion of imperial rage, which would sweep them all\naway, hastened to receive the sacrament of regeneration, and then\nClaudius and Maximus calmly informed the emperor that the maiden\npreferred a heavenly to an earthly crown. Diocletian was furious, and\ngave over Maximus, Claudius, and the whole family to be disposed of by\none Julian, a heathen favourite, and apparently personally hostile to\nMaximus and Claudius. He hurried these brothers, with the wife and\nsons of Claudius, to Cum\u00e6, where they were burnt alive, and their\nashes cast into the river. Gabinius and his daughter Susanna were\nreserved in prison to suffer later.\n\n\nSS. CONSTANTIA, AND HER COMPANIONS, VV.\n\n(4TH CENT.)\n\n [In some authors on Jan.\u00a028th; in others, on Feb.\u00a017th; in others,\n on Feb, 25th; also on Feb.\u00a018th. Authority:--The Acts of S. Agnes,\n attributed to S. Ambrose, but of questionable authenticity; and the\n apocryphal Acts of SS. John and Paul.]\n\nS. Constantia, daughter of Constantine the Great, was afflicted with a\ndistressing disease, apparently scrofula. The Roman general,\nGallicanus, being much in favour with Contantine, and having lost his\nwife, was offered Constantia in marriage by the emperor. Gallicanus\nwas called off to oppose an inroad of the barbarians on Thrace, and he\nvowed, if he obtained the victory, to accept the faith of Christ. He\nsucceeded in repulsing the enemy, and returned to Rome to find that\nConstantia had been healed of her scrofula at the tomb of S. Agnes,\nand that she had persuaded his three daughters, Augusta, Attica, and\nArtemia, to live with her, as consecrated virgins, near the shrine of\nthe virgin martyr, to whose intercession she attributed her cure. It\nis difficult to decide what shadow of historical foundation there is\nfor this story.\n\n\nS. FLAVIAN OF CONSTANTINOPLE, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 449.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology; but by the Greeks on Feb.\u00a016th.\n Authorities:--Nicephorus Callistus, Evagrius, and the letters of S.\n Leo the Great to Flavian.[54]]\n\nIt is not easy to understand the position of any great man of the\neventful 4th and 5th centuries, without a general knowledge of the\nstruggles of the Church against one heresy after another for the\nmaintenance of the true doctrine, as to the natures and person of\nChrist Jesus, and this it is almost impossible to compress into a\nsingle article on the life of one actor in that eventful period. S.\nProclus, author of the famous \"Tome,\" as it was called, or doctrinal\nstatement on the Incarnation, was patriarch of Constantinople. S. Leo,\npious, earnest, Roman-spirited, was bishop of Rome. Domnus was\npatriarch of Antioch. The great S. Cyril of Alexandria was dead, and\nhad left a large bequest to his successor, conjuring him, \"by the\nvenerable and awful mysteries,\" to befriend his kindred. The\narchdeacon Dioscorus was elected in his place, and forthwith extorted\nfrom the family of Cyril considerable sums, and imprisoned and\notherwise outraged the nephews of the deceased patriarch. The new\npatriarch had previously borne a fair character, but his exaltation\nrevealed a spirit at once tyrannous and sensual. His life became\nopenly scandalous. He deposed from their functions those whom Cyril\nhad favoured; he burnt the house, felled the trees, and hacked up the\nland of one deacon against whom he bore a grudge.\n\nS. Proclus of Constantinople died on October 24th, 447, and Flavian,\nthe treasurer of the church, was elected to succeed him. He\nimmediately became obnoxious to the eunuch Chrysaphius, by refusing\nhim the fee which the creatures of the court attempted to impose on\nthe patriarchs on their appointment. Theodosius, the younger, was then\nemperor; his sister, Pulcheria, was at the head of the orthodox party\nin the Church, and the royal chamberlain, Chrysaphius, godson of\nEutyches, supported the heretical party out of motives of hostility to\nthe rival power of Pulcheria, and affection for his godfather.\nDioscorus of Alexandria took the same side as Chrysaphius, and these\nmen used their influence to expel from their dioceses bishops who did\nnot satisfy them. Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, the famous\necclesiastical historian, was anathematized by the haughty patriarch,\nDioscorus, in his cathedral at Alexandria; and Theodoret wrote to\nFlavian of Constantinople, complaining of the outrage. Domnus of\nAntioch took part with Theodoret, and sent envoys to Constantinople in\nhis favour, whom Theodoret charged with letters, in which he protested\nhis orthodoxy, declaring that he believed in one Christ, truly God,\nand truly man. \"I give Him one worship,\" he wrote, \"yet I know that\nthe Godhead and the flesh are distinct, for the union is without\nconfusion.\" But now began the great Eutychian struggle. Eutyches,\nabbot of the principal monastery of Constantinople, denied that\nChrist, at His incarnation, was \"perfect God and perfect man--one, not\nby confusion of substance, but by unity of person.\" On November 8th,\n448, a council of bishops assembled in the synod-room of Flavian's\npalace, at Constantinople. One of these bishops was Eusebius of\nDoryl\u00e6um, who begged the council to summon Eutyches, asserting that he\nwould convict him of heresy. Flavian observed that an accusation\nagainst one so respected was simply astonishing. Could not Eusebius\nvisit Eutyches before invoking the judgment of the council? Eusebius,\nwho was greatly excited, declared that Eutyches had once been his\nfriend; he had repeatedly warned him to desist from heterodox\nlanguage, he could not, after these vain remonstrances, \"go and hear\nhim once again blaspheme.\" It was, therefore, agreed that Eutyches\nshould be summoned; the council adjourned to the 12th, and the\npatriarch Flavian, having made profession of his faith in Christ as\nperfect God and perfect man, of one substance with the Father as to\nhis Godhead, and with Mary as to his manhood, called on the other\nbishops to declare the true faith on this great doctrine. When they\nhad done so, the council was adjourned till Nov. 15th, when the\nmessengers who had been sent to Eutyches reported that he would not\nleave the monastery; that he regarded Eusebius of Doryl\u00e6um as his\npersonal enemy; and that, as to his faith, he denied that Christ's\nflesh was of one substance with ours, and that, after the incarnation,\nthere was more than one nature in Him. He also sent a brother abbot to\ninform the council that he was ill. Flavian answered, kindly, \"We have\nno idea of pressing hardly upon him. We are old friends of his; we\nwill wait till he is better, and then let him come and confess that he\nhas erred.\" He added, after the sitting was broken up, that \"fire\nitself seemed cold to Eusebius,\" whose vehemence he had endeavoured to\ncalm down. A third summons was followed, on Nov.\u00a027th, by the personal\nattendance of Eutyches. His great influence and position was shown by\nthe officers, soldiers, and monks who escorted him, and by an imperial\norder that the patrician Florentius should have a seat in the synod to\nsee that justice was shown to the accused. The patriarch Flavian asked\nif Eutyches confessed an union out of two natures. He replied that he\ndid. \"My lord abbot,\" asked Eusebius, \"do you confess two natures\nafter the incarnation?\" Eutyches attempted to fence with the question,\nbut, when brought to the point, he denied the existence of two natures\nin the one Christ. Then, all the bishops rose, and Flavian, in the\nname of the synod, passed sentence of deposition and excommunication\nagainst Eutyches. After the council was broken up, Eutyches said, in a\nlow voice, to Florentius, \"I appeal to Rome, Alexandria, and\nJerusalem.\" He at once wrote to S. Leo of Rome. Flavian also wrote,\nand sent a record of what had passed. On Feb.\u00a018th, before Flavian's\nletter, which was unaccountably delayed, had reached Rome, Leo wrote\nto Flavian, marvelling at his silence, and requesting him to explain\nthe grounds on which Eutyches had been thus severely punished.\nDioscorus of Alexandria was forward in espousing the quarrel of\nEutyches. He at once admitted him into his communion, and worked, in\nconjunction with the chamberlain Chrysaphius, in support of his\npetition for a general council. Flavian now replied to Pope Leo's\nletter; he entreated Leo to give a written approval of the sentence\nagainst Eutyches, and thereby to preserve Christendom from any fresh\ndisturbance. Before S. Leo could receive this letter, the Emperor\nTheodosius wrote on March 30th to Dioscorus, announcing his will that\na general council should meet at Ephesus, on August 1st. S. Leo sent\nthree legates to attend this council: Julius, bishop of Puteoli;\nRenatus, a priest; and Hilarus, a deacon. On the 13th of June, he\nwrote several letters, one of them was his famous \"Tome,\" a doctrinal\nepistle addressed to S. Flavian, a clear, forcible, intelligible\ntext-book on both aspects of the incarnation-mystery. On the 8th of\nAugust, 449, the council met in the church of S. Mary at Ephesus.\nAbout a hundred and thirty bishops were present. Dioscorus of\nAlexandria presided. Next to him sat the papal legate, Julius. It was\nevident from the first that this council was not free. The eunuch\nChrysaphius was at hand to support his godfather Eutyches; veteran\ntroops of Asia, a band of archers, were collected to obey the summons\nof Dioscorus. After the writ of convocation had been read in due form,\nHilarus explained the reason of Leo's absence, and announced that Leo\nhad sent a letter. \"Let it be received.\" The letter was handed in,\nbut, by a pre-concerted scheme, it was put aside unread, as Dioscorus\ndreaded its effects on the assembled fathers, in its place being read\na letter of the emperor to Dioscorus. Eutyches was then introduced.\nThe records of his trial were read, and Dioscorus still kept back the\nletter of Leo of Rome, promising to read it afterwards. During the\nreading of the trial a scene of tumult took place. One bishop\nexclaimed, when he heard that Christ was of two natures, \"This\nlanguage turns the Church upside down!\" Another cried, \"Let him who\nsays that in Christ are two natures be cut in twain.\" \"Will you\nendure,\" asked Dioscorus, \"to hear of two natures after the\nincarnation?\" His followers, among the bishops, responded, \"Anathema.\"\n\"I want your voices, and your hands too,\" said Dioscorus, \"if anyone\ncannot shout, let him hold up his hand.\" In the uproar, one bishop\nafter another yielded, and re-habilitated Eutyches. Hilarus again\nvainly attempted to procure a hearing of Leo's letter. Dioscorus, not\ncontent with having restored Eutyches, determined on having Flavian of\nConstantinople and Eusebius of Doryl\u00e6um deposed and excommunicated.\nThe scene now became really terrific. The bishops who had acquitted\nEutyches against their conscience, struggled hard to escape this new\ndegradation. Several started up, and clasped the knees of the\npresident, Dioscorus. Onesiphorus of Iconium cried, imploringly, \"By\nthe feet of your piety, I pray you forbear; Flavian has done nothing\nworthy of condemnation. If he deserves rebuke, rebuke him; but do not\ncondemn a bishop for the sake of a priest.\" Dioscorus rose from his\nthrone, and, standing upon the footstool, made a signal with his hand,\nand exclaimed, \"Look you, he that will not sign the sentence has to\ndeal with _me_. If my tongue were to be cut out for it, I would say,\n'Depose Flavian.' Are you making a sedition? Where are the counts?\" At\nthe signal, which had been pre-concerted, a body of soldiers, with\nclubs and swords, rushed in; monks followed; the trembling bishops hid\nthemselves behind the altar, or under the benches, and as they were\nnot inspired with a zeal of martyrdom, they successively subscribed a\nblank paper, which was afterwards filled with the condemnation of the\npatriarch of Constantinople. Flavian was instantly delivered to the\nwild beasts of this spiritual amphitheatre, the monks and soldiers,\nand the bishops even, most hostile to him, fell on him. Dioscorus, the\npatriarch of Alexandria, buffeted and kicked,--like a wild ass, says\nZonaras,--and trampled his brother of Constantinople. Some of the\nbishops were locked up in the vestry of the church, and not allowed to\nleave till they signed the sentence. Hilarus escaped without\ncompromising his fidelity. Nothing is known of the conduct of Julius.\nRenatus was not there; he had died on his way. Flavian was ordered\ninto exile, but was so bruised by the treatment he had received in the\nchurch at Ephesus, that he died three days after, August 11th, in a\nvillage of Lydia.\n\nSo closed the assembly, which has received its name from an indignant\nletter of S. Leo: \"It was no court of justice, but a gang of robbers.\"\nThis _Latrocinium_, it is almost needless to say, has been rejected by\nthe Church; its decrees were reversed by the council of Chalcedon; and\nS. Flavian, \"that second Abel,\" as he was called by S. Leo, was\nre-vindicated with honour.\n\n\nS. ANGILBERT, AB.\n\n(A.D. 814.)\n\n [Some French Martyrologies. Authorities:--A life by Hariulph the\n Monk, which is, however, much interpolated; and a later life.]\n\nAngilbert, a man of noble birth, was much loved by Pepin the Short,\nson of Charles Martel, and by his sons, Charles and Carloman. He was\ndestined to rule one of the Archiepiscopal sees. Nevertheless, he\nmarried Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne, after he was ordained priest,\nwith the king's consent, and by her had two sons, Nithard and\nHarnid.[55] Charlemagne now made his son-in-law duke of the northern\ncoast, and his office was to watch against, and resist the attacks of\nthe Norman pirates. In his perigrinations he often stopped at\nCentulum, where was a monastery, and prayed with fervour at the tomb\nof S. Richarius (Riquier). Falling into a dangerous illness, he vowed\nthat, should he recover, he would embrace the monastic life. On his\nrestoration to health, he was summoned to resist the Danes, who had\nrun their boats up the Somme, and were devastating the country on both\nsides. Angilbert at once went to the tomb of S. Richarius, renewed his\nvow, and then, buckling on his harness, fell like a thunderbolt on the\npirates, and utterly defeated and exterminated them. He at once\ncommunicated his intention to his wife and to the king; neither raised\nany objections, and the gentle Bertha herself took the veil at the\nsame time that her husband donned the monastic habit, in the same\nhouse of Centulum, though, probably, in a different part of the\nmonastery.\n\nS. Angilbert was sent on several missions to Rome. On one occasion he\nwas charged to conduct thither Felix, bishop of Urgel, who had been\ncondemned by a provincial council at Ratisbon, for having affirmed\nthat Christ was merely the adopted son of God.\n\nHe died twenty-two days after Charlemagne.\n\n[54] To a great extent taken from Canon Bright's Church History.\n\n[55] This is stated by the author of his life, and Nithard himself\n(lib.\u00a04) says of his father, \"He begot me, Nithard, and my brother,\nHarnid, of the daughter of this great king, called Bertha\"; but, on\nthe other hand, Eginhard does not mention Angilbert, and this has led\nBollandus to express a doubt on the matter.\n\n [Illustration: S. Agatha. See page 136.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 19.\n\n S. AUXIBIUS, _B. of Solias, in Cyprus, circ._ A.D. 102.\n S. GABINIUS, _P. M. at Rome_, A.D. 296.\n S. ZABDAS, _B. of Jerusalem_, A.D. 304.\n S. ODRAN, _M. in Ireland; about_ A.D. 451.\n S. CONON, _Ab. in Palestine; circ._ A.D. 555.\n S. MANSUETUS, _B. of Milan; after_ A.D. 680.\n S. BARBATUS, _B. of Benevento_, A.D. 682.\n S. BEATUS, _P. at Valle-cava in Asturia_, A.D. 798.\n S. BELINA, _V. M. at Landreville_, A.D. 1153.\n S. BONIFACE, _B. of Lausanne_, A.D. 1265.\n B. CONARD, _H. at Noto in Sicily_, A.D. 1351.\n\n\nS. AUXIBIUS, B. OF SOLIAS.\n\n(A.D. 102.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Greek Men\u00e6a on Feb.\u00a017th. Authority:--A Greek\n life of uncertain authority, written by a native of Solias.]\n\nSaint Auxibius was a Roman, who coming to Cyprus after the martyrdom\nof S. Barnabas, was baptized and ordained priest by John Mark, the\ncompanion of the apostle whose sister's son he was, and sent to\nSolias, the modern Lerka, in the north of the island, where he\nsucceeded in converting to the faith a priest of Jove. After Mark had\nvisited Alexandria, he went to S. Paul,[56] who, hearing that there\nwas a deficiency of apostles in Crete, sent Epaphras and Tychicus to\nHeraclias, the bishop of Crete, ordering him to place Epaphras in the\nSee of Paphos, and Tychicus in that of Neapolis, and to seek out\nAuxibius, at Solias, who had been ordained by Mark, and consecrate him\nbishop. Amongst the converts made by Auxibius was one, a native of\nSolopotamus, his namesake, who was afterwards bishop. Auxibius of\nSolias is said to have foreseen his future elevation in the following\nway. One day that he and his pupil were out walking, they came to a\ntree, where there was pleasant shade, and beneath this they sat down\nto rest; whereupon Auxibius of Solopotamus fell asleep with his head\nagainst the trunk. Then a great multitude of ants, which were running\nover the bark, came down on his head, and the bishop thought it was a\ntoken of the future industry which his namesake would exhibit, and a\nsign that he would be a suitable person to receive the grace of\nepiscopal orders. Auxibius had the happiness of converting and\nbaptizing his brother Themistagoras, and his sister-in-law Tima; and\nwhen he was dying, he bade his disciples not open his sepulchre till\nthe death of Themistagoras, when his brother was to be laid beside\nhim. He then appointed his namesake to succeed him, and expired. But\nwhen Themistagoras was about to die, he felt himself unworthy to lie\nbeside his brother, and bade that he should be entombed elsewhere, and\n\"thus it follows,\" says the writer of the Life of S. Auxibius, \"that\nto this day the sepulchre of the saint remains unopened.\"\n\n\nS. GABINIUS, P. M.\n\n(A.D. 296.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus, Bede, Notker, &c.; by\n some of these however on the 18th.]\n\nS. Gabinius, priest at Rome, and brother of S. Caius, the pope, was\nfather of S. Susanna, (August 11th), and was brother of the martyrs\nClaudius and Maximus, (February 18th), to the account of whose Acts\nthe reader is referred. It is uncertain by what death Gabinius\nglorified God.\n\n\nS. ZABDAS, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 304.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Name mentioned by Eusebius among the Bishops of\n Jerusalem. He is also called Zambdas and Bazas. He is said to have\n baptized a portion of the Theban legion, but nothing authentic is\n known of him.]\n\n\nS. ODRAN, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 451.)\n\n [Irish Martyrologies of Tamlach and Donegal; another Odran on\n October 27th. Authorities:--The Life of S. Patrick, by Jocelyn, the\n Tripartite Life, and others.]\n\nThere was a noble named Faigle, who bore a bitter hatred against S.\nPatrick and the Christian faith, and who resolved to murder the\napostle. Now Odran, the chariot-driver, heard of his threats, and\nfearing for his master's life, one day, as they passed near the castle\nof Foilge, he said to S. Patrick, \"Master, for long have I driven\nthee. For this once let me ride in the chariot, and do thou run beside\nthe horse, and urge it on.\"\n\nThen Patrick consented, and changed places with Odran. Shortly after\nFaigle rushed out upon them from an ambush, and thrust his spear\nthrough Odran, deeming him to be the apostle. Then Patrick raising his\neyes, saw angels bearing the soul of his faithful servant to the\nmansions of eternal bliss.\n\n\nS. MANSUETUS OF MILAN, B. C.\n\n(AFTER A.D. 680.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology.]\n\nS. Mansuetus is alluded to by many writers, but nothing of interest\nconnected with him has survived; except the fact that he was present\nat the Roman Synod in 680, under S. Agatho, in which the heresy of the\nMonothelites was condemned.\n\nHis relics are preserved in the Church of S. Stephen at Milan.\n\n\nS. BARBATUS OF BENEVENTO, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 682.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and some others. Authorities:--Two lives, one of\n which, very ancient, is found in MS., in Lombardic characters. Both\n lives seem to be genuine, and may be trusted.]\n\nOf the early life of S. Barbatus nothing authentic is known.[57] He\nfirst comes before us as a priest, zealously combating the\nsuperstition of the people of Benevento, who, though nominal\nChristians, retained much of their ancient heathen belief. The great\nobjects of their veneration in the city were a golden image of a\nviper, and a sacred tree; and Romuald, the Lombard Duke, son of the\nfamous Grimoald, was not more enlightened than his subjects. It is\nsaid of the tree to which they offered religious honours that they\nwere wont to hang on it the skin of a wild beast, and shoot over their\nshoulders at it. S. Barbatus preached for long zealously against these\nabuses, but with no result; however he did not desist, but joined to\nhis exhortations fervent prayer and rigorous fasting, for the\nconversion of the unhappy people. At length he roused their attention\nby foretelling the distress of their city, and the calamities which it\nwas to suffer from the army of the emperor Constans, who landing soon\nafter in Italy, laid siege to Benevento. In their extreme distress,\nand still more grievous alarm, they listened to the holy preacher, and\nrenounced their idolatrous practices. Thereupon S. Barbatus gave them\nthe comfortable assurance that the siege should be raised, and the\nemperor worsted: which happened as he had foretold. Upon their\nrepentance, the saint with his own hand cut down the tree, which was\nthe object of their superstition, and afterwards melted down the\ngolden viper which they adored, of which he made a chalice and paten\nfor the use of the altar. Hildebrand, bishop of Benevento, dying\nduring the siege, S. Barbatus was consecrated bishop on the 10th of\nMarch, 663. Barbatus, having been invested with the episcopal\ncharacter, pursued and completed the good work he had so happily\nbegun, and destroyed every trace of superstition in the diocese over\nwhich he presided. In the year 680, he assisted in a council held by\npope Agatho at Rome, and the year following, in the sixth general\ncouncil, held at Constantinople against the Monothelites. He did not\nlong survive this great assembly, for he died on the 29th of February,\n682, being about seventy years old, nineteen of which he had spent in\nthe episcopal chair. He is honoured at Benevento among the chief\npatrons of the town; in Art he appears with the golden viper under his\nfoot, and an axe in his hand.\n\nHis relics are said to be preserved in the monastery of Monte Vergine.\n\n\nS. BONIFACE OF LAUSANNE, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 1265.)\n\n [Molanus, in his additions to Usuardus. Not extensively known.\n Authority:--A Life by an anonymous monk of the Cistercian Order,\n date uncertain, but probably very little posterior to the death of\n S. Boniface.]\n\nBoniface, son of a goldsmith at Cantersteen, was trained in the\nCistercian monastery of Cambre, near Brussels; he afterwards studied,\nand in 1258, became lecturer on theology in the university of Paris.\nBut after a while his pupils fell off, and he went to Cologne, where\nhe taught with success for two years. He was then appointed bishop of\nLausanne, where he laboured to enforce celibacy on the clergy, and\nsome, enraged, armed themselves, and entered the church where he was\ncelebrating mass, with intent to kill him. But a Franciscan friar,\nseeing his peril, ran through the streets of Lausanne calling for\nhelp; and the people crowding into the cathedral, rescued him.\nBoniface, despairing of his power to accomplish the work, with the\nconsent of the Holy Father, resigned his charge, and returned to\nCambre, where he died in 1265. He was buried in the choir. A small\nchapel has been recently erected at Cambre, by a Recollet father,\nFrancis Vancutzen, in his honour. His festival is solemnized in\nBrabant in virtue of a bull of Pope Clement XI., in the year 1702. On\nJune 25th, 1600, his relics were exhumed, and placed in a wooden\ncoffer, by Robert Van Ostebaere, abbot of Cambron, and Hautmont,\nacting under authority for the archbishop of Mechlin. This reliquary\nwas translated to the Church of Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, at\nBrussels, in 1796, whence a portion was transported on May 9th, 1852,\nto the Church of Ixelles, of which S. Boniface is patron.\n\n\nS. BELINA, V. M.\n\n(A.D. 1153.)\n\n [Venerated in the diocese of Troyes in France. Canonized in 1203.]\n\nBelina was a little peasantess of Landreville, in the diocese of\nTroyes, the daughter of pious parents, who were the serfs of John,\nLord of Pradines and of D'Arcy, in the popular legend called John\nPaterne. She was engaged to a young man in her village of the same\nhumble rank; and her parents asked the Lord of Pradines' permission to\nallow the marriage to take place, for no serf could marry without the\nconsent of his or her lord. The nobleman made some demur, and declared\nhe chose the beautiful little maiden to be his mistress. She\nindignantly rejected his sinful proposals, and one day as he surprised\nher when she was keeping her sheep in a little glen, she defended\nherself against his violence with such vehemence that he lost all\ncontrol over himself, and drawing his sword struck at her, and the\nblade falling on her slender neck, dealt her her death-wound. The\npeasants, enraged at this act of barbarity, rose in a body and burnt\nthe castle, and would have killed the Lord of Pradines, had he not\nescaped in disguise. Shortly after, pope Anastasius IV. excommunicated\nhim for the crime, and laid the lordship of Landreville under an\ninterdict for a brief space, till the king confiscated the territory,\nand the parliament of France condemned John de Pradines to perpetual\nexile.\n\nMost of the relics of the saintly virgin were dispersed and lost at\nthe Revolution, but some particles of bone remain in a bust at\nLandreville. The day on which she was killed was September 8th, but\nher festival is observed with great solemnity at Landreville, on\nFeb.\u00a019th.\n\n[56] Col. iv. 10; 2 Tim. iv. 11.\n\n[57] Butler gives an account of his early life, and his ministry at\nMoncona, but nothing of all this is found in the two ancient lives. It\nis taken from a life by Ovid, a monk of Monte Vergine, quoted by\nVincent Chiarlanti, but this seems to be no authority.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 20.\n\n SS. TYRANNIO, _B. M._, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Tyre_, A.D. 304\n _and_ 310.\n S. PAULA, THE BEARDED, _V. at Avila, in Spain_.\n SS. SADOTH, _B. M._, AND CXXVIII. COMPANIONS, _MM. in Persia_,\n A.D. 345.\n SS. EUCHER AND FALCO, _HB. at M\u00e6strecht, circ._ A.D. 500.\n S. OLCAN, _B. in Ireland, circ._ A.D. 500.\n S. ELEUTHERIUS, _B. of Tournai_, A.D. 531.\n S. MILDRED, _V., Abs. in Thanet, circ._ A.D. 700.\n S. EUCHER, _B. of Orleans_, A.D. 743.\n S. LEO, THE WONDERWORKER, _B. of Catanea, circ._ A.D. 780.\n S. WULFRIC, _P. H. at Haselborough, in Wiltshire_, A.D. 1154.\n\n\nSS. TYRANNIO, B. M., AND COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(A.D. 304 AND 310.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Not mentioned in any Martyrologies earlier than\n that of Usuardus. Among these martyrs are some commemorated\n separately on other days. Sylvanus, by the Greeks, on Jan.\u00a029th; by\n the Latins, on Feb.\u00a06th. Zenobius, on Oct.\u00a029th. Peleus and Nilus,\n on Sept.\u00a017th or 19th. Tyrannio is not noticed on any other day, nor\n named by the Greeks, but they celebrate four martyrs at Tyre, on\n Jan.\u00a021st, without name given, and, possibly, Tyrannio may be one of\n these. In the old Roman Martyrology, published by Rosweydus, on this\n day, Feb.\u00a020th, the notice is of martyrs at Tyre, without any name\n given, save that of the governor who sentenced them. The authorities\n for these martyrdoms are Eusebius, lib. viii., c.\u00a07, and Ruffinus in\n his paraphrase thereon.]\n\nEusebius, an eye-witness of what he relates concerning these martyrs,\ngives the following account of them:--\"Several Christians of Egypt,\nwhereof some had settled in Palestine, others at Tyre, gave\nastonishing proof of their patience and constancy in the faith. After\ninnumerable stripes and blows, which they cheerfully underwent, they\nwere exposed to wild beasts, such as leopards, wild bears, boars, and\nbulls. I, myself, was present when these savage creatures, accustomed\nto human blood, being let loose upon them, instead of devouring or\nrending them, as it was natural to expect, refused to touch them, but\nturned upon their keepers, and others that came in their way. They\nutterly refused to touch the soldiers of Christ, though these martyrs,\npursuant to the order given them, tossed about their arms, which was\nthought a ready way to provoke the beasts, and stir them up against\nthem. Sometimes, indeed, they were perceived to rush towards them with\ntheir usual impetuosity, but, withheld by a divine power, they\nsuddenly withdrew; and this many times, to the great admiration of all\npresent. The first having done no execution, others were let out upon\nthem, a second and a third time, but in vain; the martyrs standing all\nthe while unshaken, though many of them were very young. Among them\nwas a youth, not yet twenty, who had his eyes lifted up to heaven, and\nhis arms extended in the form of a cross, not in the least daunted,\nnor trembling, nor shifting his place, while the bears and leopards,\nwith their jaws wide open, threatening immediate death, seemed just\nready to tear him to pieces; but, by a miracle, not being suffered to\ntouch him, they speedily withdrew. Others were exposed to a furious\nbull, which had already gored and tossed into the air several infidels\nwho had ventured too near, and left them half dead: only the martyrs\nhe could not approach; he stopped, and stood scraping the dust with\nhis feet, and though he seemed endeavouring to rush forward, butting\nwith his horns on every side, and pawing the ground with his feet, and\nwas urged on by red-hot iron goads, yet it was all to no purpose.\nAfter repeated trials of this kind with other wild beasts, with as\nlittle success as the former, the saints were slain by the sword, and\ntheir bodies cast into the sea. Others, who refused to sacrifice, were\nbeaten to death, or burned, or executed divers other ways.\" This\nhappened in the year 304, under Veturius, a Roman general, in the\nreign of Diocletian.\n\nThe church on this day commemorates the other holy martyrs, whose\ncrown was deferred till 310. The principal of these was S. Tyrannio,\nbishop of Tyre, who had been present at the glorious triumph of the\nformer, and encouraged them in their conflict. He had not the comfort\nto follow them till six years after; when, being conducted from Tyre\nto Antioch, with S. Zenobius, a holy priest and physician of Sidon,\nafter many torments, he was thrown into the river Orontes. Zenobius\nexpired on the rack, whilst his sides were being laid open with iron\nhooks. S. Sylvanus, bishop of Emesa, in Phoenicia, was, some time\nafter, under Maximin, devoured by wild beasts in the midst of his own\ncity, with two companions, after having governed that church forty\nyears. Peleus and Nilus, two other Egyptian priests, in Palestine,\nwere consumed by fire. S. Sylvanus, bishop of Gaza, was condemned to\nthe copper mines of Phoenon, near Petra, in Arabia, and afterwards\nbeheaded there with thirty-nine others.\n\n\nS. PAULA, THE BEARDED.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN.)\n\n [Venerated at Avila, in Spain, where her relics are preserved. No\n authority for her story except popular tradition.]\n\nThis saint was the daughter of poor parents, near Avila. She was very\nbeautiful, and a youth fell in love with her, and pursued her one day\nto an oratory, whither she was wont to resort, in the forest. Knowing\nthat his intentions were evil, and that there was no human assistance\nat hand, according to the popular legend, Paula fled to the crucifix,\nand, embracing it, besought the Saviour to be her deliverer from the\nyoung pursuer. At once a beard sprouted on her chin, and moustaches on\nher lip. The youth coming in, shortly after, did not recognise her,\nand asked the bearded personage if he had seen a young damsel pass\nthat way. Paula replied that no one had come into the chapel except\nherself, whereupon the youth withdrew. It is impossible to say what\nfoundation of truth there is in this curious story, which bears some\nresemblance to that of S. Wilgifortis (July 20th). The festival of S.\nPaula is observed on Feb.\u00a020th, at Avila. This story would not deserve\nnotice, but that it is sometimes represented in Spanish art.\n\n\nS. OLCAN, B. OF DERKAN.[58]\n\n(ABOUT 500.)\n\n [According to Wytford, S. Olcan or Bolcan is on this day\n commemorated in Ireland. In the Tamlacht Martyrology he is called\n Olcan; in the Donegal Martyrology he is Bolcan. Authorities:--The\n Tripartite Life of S. Patrick, and that by Jocelin.]\n\nA wild legend is connected with this saint. His mother is said to have\nbeen an Englishwoman, married in Ireland, whose husband died, leaving\nher pregnant. She fell into a fit, and was buried, as dead. But a\ncertain nobleman, passing near her tomb, heard, from within, the\nwailing of a child, and, opening it, found that a new-born babe lay by\nthe dead mother. It is probable that this is an exaggeration of the\nsimple fact that Olcan's mother died in childbirth, and that he was\ntaken up by a noble. He grew up to be admitted to holy orders, and to\nreceive episcopal consecration. A certain chief, named Saran, had\nincurred the malediction of S. Patrick, for having driven him from his\nterritories and overthrown the churches he had erected. Saran, having\nmade many captives in war, would have massacred or sold them, had not\nOlcan hastened to him to implore him to show pity upon them. Saran\nanswered that he would spare the captives, if Olcan would promise him\neternal life. Olcan hesitated. Then Saran gave orders for a general\nbutchery. The bishop, rather than see so much innocent blood flow,\nconsented to baptize Saran on the spot. When S. Patrick heard of this\nhe was very angry that the holy Sacrament of Regeneration should be\nadministered thus to an unrepentant and uninstructed tyrant. Olcan,\nhearing of S. Patrick's anger, ran to seek him, and, seeing him in his\nchariot, he fell on his knees and implored pardon. Patrick sternly\naverted his head. Then Olcan flung himself prostrate in the road\nbefore the horses. The driver stopped. Patrick ordered him to whip the\nhorses on. The charioteer replied that he dare not drive over a\nbishop. Then Patrick, after having reproached Olcan, forgave him.\n\nHe is said to have studied in Gaul.\n\n\nS. ELEUTHERIUS OF TOURNAI, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 531.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Additions to Usuardus by Molanus; all modern\n Martyrologies. Authorities:--A very ancient life written before 880,\n but not until long after the death of the saint; a second, written\n before 900; a third by Guibert of Tournai, is late, 1257. The\n authority of these lives is much diminished by the length of time\n which elapsed between the death of Eleutherius and their\n composition.]\n\nTournai was evangelized by S. Piatus, in 287. During its early history\nit had seen the blood of martyrs shed. The Vandals had taken\npossession of it in 407; then it had become the principal seat of the\nSalic Franks. In the reign of Childeric, there lived in this city a\nrich and noble citizen, named Serenus, with his wife, Blanda. They had\nbeen converted from heathenism, and they honoured the religion they\nhad adopted by their virtues, and especially by their abundant charity\nto the poor and infirm. In 456, they became parents of a son, whom\nthey named Eleutherius. All their care tended towards educating him in\nevery science befitting his condition. The young Eleutherius so\nthoroughly responded to their hopes, that S. Medard, who frequented\nalong with him the school of S. Quentin, foretold that his friend\nwould one day become a bishop.\n\nAbout the year 484, whilst Clovis was marching upon Soissons, the\ngovernor of Tournai, an inveterate heathen, profited by his absence,\nto banish from the city all who bore the name of Christians, or to\nseize on their goods. Serenus and Blanda were included in the number\nof exiles. They took their son with them, and found a place of refuge\nat a distance of about six miles from Tournai, where they built a\nchurch, in honour of S. Peter. A number of Christians settled on the\nsame spot, and many heathen, converted by Serenus, helped to swell the\ncolony, which was called Blandinium.[59] The number was now so great\nthat they asked for, and obtained, a bishop, Theodore by name, who\ndied immediately after his ordination. The faithful assembled at\nBlandinium, charmed by the virtues of Eleutherius, elected him to\nsucceed Theodore, and sent him to Rome. The Pope approved of the\nchoice, and the new pastor was consecrated in the year 487, at the age\nof thirty. Now it fell out that the daughter of the governor of\nTournai was passionately in love with the young and handsome\nEleutherius, and she resolved to make the attempt to withdraw him from\nthe ministry of God, that he might serve the world, reposing in her\nlove, and the favour of her father. She found him engaged in prayer,\nbut, regardless of what he was about, she arrested his attention, and\ndeclared to him her passion. He started to his feet, and she held him\nby the mantle. Then, like another Joseph, he cast his mantle from him,\nand fled from her presence. The unfortunate girl, heart-broken, sank\nupon the ground, breathless and motionless. When she had been buried,\nEleutherius returned, and now, touched at her misfortune, as much as\nhe had been irritated at her offence, he summoned the father, and\npromised to restore to him his daughter, if he would embrace\nChristianity. The governor readily consented. Then Eleutherius\ncelebrated the holy sacrifice, and followed by all his clergy and the\nfaithful, went to the tomb, and struck it with his pastoral staff. But\nGod revealed to the bishop that the promise of the father was made\nwithout purpose of observing it. The earth shook, but the dead rose\nnot. Eleutherius passed the night in prayers, and returned to the\ngrave on the morrow; again, the earth trembled, but the heart of the\nheathen governor remained unshaken. On the third day the father came\nwith tears, and all tokens of true contrition, to promise sincere\nrepentance; then the bishop went again to the sepulchre. At his\ncommand the stone was rolled away. He called thrice to the dead girl\nto rise. Then she sat up, and the people uttered a shout of joy.\nEleutherius took her by the hand, and presented her to her father.\nAfter that, he bade her fast for six days, and, on the seventh, he\nbaptized her, his mother, Blanda, standing as god-mother, and giving\nher her name. The father, however, would not keep his promise, but\nwithdrew his child from the hands of the Christians, and threatened to\ndisinherit her unless she returned to the worship of idols. A plague\nbreaking out shortly after, in Tournai, was attributed to the\nincantations of Eleutherius, who was seized at night, severely beaten,\nand thrown into prison, from which, however, he escaped, and returned\nto his flock. The plague continued its ravages with such fury, that\nthe city of Tournai was deserted of its inhabitants, who fled into the\ncountry, in hopes of escaping the epidemic by isolation. Then the\ngovernor was humbled, and, coming to Eleutherius, implored him to\nforgive his past resistance to the truth, and to baptize him in the\nfaith of Christ. Eleutherius, after having instructed him, and made\nhim prepare, by fasting, for the holy sacrament, afterwards baptized\nhim. The submission of the governor led to the recall of Eleutherius,\nwho re-entered the city of Tournai on the 22nd September; a day which\nhas ever since been celebrated as a feast in that place. Eleutherius\nat once overthrew the temple of Apollo and the altars of the heathen\ndeities in Tournai; and his labours to convince the pagans were\nfollowed by such effect that, in one week, probably that of Pentecost,\nhe baptized as many as eleven thousand persons.\n\nAs soon as heathenism was overcome, heresy manifested itself, and, as\nEleutherius was himself accused, he visited Rome, in 501, to vindicate\nhis orthodoxy before Pope Symmachus. He combated Arian false doctrine\nwith word of mouth, and with his pen, and made a second journey to\nRome, to Pope Hormisdas, to obtain confirmation of his writings. On\nhis return some of the heretics fell upon him, as he left the church\nafter mass one morning, and wounded him so cruelly that he died of his\ninjuries five weeks later, in the 66th year of his age. He was laid in\nthe church built by his father at Blandain, but his relics were\nafterwards removed to Tournai, of which city he is patron.\n\n\nS. MILDRED, V. ABSS.\n\n(END OF 7TH CENT.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrology, Molanus, and Saussaye. It is uncertain which\n of her two festivals, Feb.\u00a020th or July 13th, is the day of her\n death, and which the day of her translation. In the first edition of\n Wilson's Anglican Martyrology, Feb.\u00a020th is given as the day of her\n death; in the second edition as that of her translation; and he is\n probably right, for he follows in this William Thorne's Chronicle.]\n\nDomneva, or Ermenberga, the wife of Merewald, son of Penda, King of\nMercia, had by him three daughters and a son, who were all reckoned by\nour ancestors among the saints. These were Milburgh, Mildred,\nMildgitha, and Mervin. King Egbert having built and endowed the\nnunnery of Minster, in the isle of Thanet, Domneva became its first\nabbess, and the house was soon occupied by seventy nuns. But she soon\ngave up the government to her daughter Mildred, whom she had sent to\nFrance, to Chelles, to receive a literary and religious education. The\nAbbess of Chelles, far from encouraging the young princess to embrace\nmonastic life, employed every kind of threat and ill-usage to compel\nher to marry one of her relations. But Mildred resisted victoriously.\nShe returned to England to govern the abbey founded by her mother, and\nto give an example of all monastic virtues to her seventy companions.\nVery few details of her life have been preserved, which makes the\nextraordinary and prolonged popularity which has attached to her name,\nher relics, and everything belonging to her, all the more wonderful.\nHer popularity eclipsed that of S. Augustine, even in the district\nwhich he first won to the faith, and to such a point that the rock\nwhich had received the mark of his first footsteps, and which lies a\nlittle east of Minster, took and retained, up to the last century, the\nname of S. Mildred's Rock.\n\n\nS. EUCHER, B. OF ORLEANS.\n\n(A.D. 743.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. In those of Bede, Notker, and Rabanus, on\n Feb.\u00a021st. Authorities;--A Life by a contemporary, published by\n Bollandus.]\n\nThis saint was dedicated to God from his infancy. About the year 714,\nhe retired to the abbey of Jumi\u00e8ges, on the banks of the Seine, in the\narch-diocese of Rouen. After having spent six or seven years there,\nhis uncle Suavaric, bishop of Orleans, died, and Eucher was elected in\nhis room, with the consent of Charles Martel, mayor of the palace, in\n721. But he shortly afterwards incurred the anger of Charles Martel,\nfor some political reason not mentioned by the author of the life of\nthe saint, and Charles, on his return from defeating the Saracens near\nTours, in 732, took the bishop from his see, and sent him into exile\nto Cologne, where, however, his piety and gentleness attracted such\ngeneral admiration, that Charles ordered him to be removed into the\nless populous county of Hasbain, or Haspengau, in the territory of\nLi\u00e9ge, under the guard of Robert, the governor of that county, who\nallowed him to retire into the monastery of S. Trond, where he passed\nthe rest of his days in prayer, glad to rest once more in the peaceful\nround of cloister life. He was buried at S. Trond, and there his\nrelics are preserved.\n\nIn Art, S. Eucher is often represented contemplating a man in the\nflames of hell, on account of a legend which relates that he saw\nCharles Martel undergoing torment in the place of the damned.\nSometimes he is depicted lying in his sepulchre, with a serpent marked\nwith the arms of France, symbolising Charles Martel, writhing beneath\nit.\n\n\nS. WULFRIC, P. H.\n\n(A.D. 1154.)\n\n [S. Wulfric is also called Ulric. Wilson's Anglican Martyrology;\n also the Benedictine Kalendar. Authorities:--John Fordun, Roger of\n Wendover, Henry of Huntingdon, and other historians.]\n\nS. Ulric was born at Lenton, eight miles from Bristol. When he had\nreached man's estate, he entered holy orders, and was made priest,\nwithout much thought of the responsibilities of his calling. He\nallowed himself to follow the sports of hunting, hawking, and other\ndiversions inconsistent with his profession. One day, whilst out\nhunting, there came to him a man, who by his dress seemed needy, and\nbegged of him a new piece of money, as alms; for at that time there\nwas a new coinage in England, but it was rare, on account of its\nrecency. Wulfric replied that he did not know whether he had any of\nthe new coins or not; upon which the man said, \"Look in thy purse and\nthou wilt find two pieces and a half.\" Wulfric did as he was bidden,\nand found the money, which he at once bestowed on the beggar. Then the\nman said, \"May He, for whose love thou hast done this, give thee a\nfitting reward. Behold, in His name, I tell thee that thou shalt\nremove hence, and at length find repose; and He will summon thee to\njoin the communion of His saints.\" Musing on these words, S. Wulfric\nfelt that his life must undergo a change; and he resolved at once to\nembrace a very austere life. He therefore retired to Haselbury, in\nDorsetshire, to a cell given him by a knight of his acquaintance, and\nthere he served God in cold and want and tears. He wore a suit of\nchain mail next his flesh, even in winter. One Easter Eve he was\ntroubled by impure thoughts. Then, next day, he went to the church and\nmade public confession of what had befallen him, and humbly besought\nthe prayers of the congregation. His shirt of mail hindering him from\nkneeling, he privately called to him his patron, and asked him to\nshorten it. The knight said that he would send the coat to London, and\nhave it cut shorter. \"Take a pair of shears and cut,\" said the\nrecluse. The knight obeyed, and found that he was able to cut it as if\nit had been cloth.\n\n[58] In Antrim.\n\n[59] Blandain, on the high road from Tournai to Lisle.\n\n [Illustration: The Printer.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 21.\n\n SS. MAURICE, PHOTINUS, THEODORE, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Apamea,\n circ._ A.D. 298.\n SS. VERULUS, SECUNDINUS, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Adrumetum,\n in Africa_.\n S. VITALIANA, _V. at Artonne, in Auvergne, circ._ A.D. 390.\n S. SEVERIAN, _B. M. of Scythopolis_, A.D. 452.\n S. ZACHARIAS, _Patriarch of Jerusalem_, A.D. 631.\n S. PATERIUS, _B. of Brescia; beginning of 7th cent._\n B. PEPIN _of Landen, C. at Nivelles, in Belgium_, A.D. 646.\n S. GONDEBERT, _B. of Sens, in France, 7th cent._\n SS. GERMAN, _Ab. M._, AND RANDOALD, _Prior, M. of Munsterthal, in\n Switzerland, end of 7th cent._\n S. PETER _of Majuma, M. in Palestine_, A.D. 743.\n S. GEORGE, _B. of Amastris, in Paphlagonia, beginning of 9th cent._\n\n\nSS. MAURICE, PHOTINUS, THEODORE, AND\nCOMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 298.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks on this day, and also on December 27th.\n Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, speaks of the festival of S. Maurice\n being observed in his time, (A.D. 400); the Acts in\n Metaphrastes are not altogether trustworthy. This S. Maurice is not\n to be mistaken for the S. Maurice who suffered at Agaunum,\n commemorated by the Westerns on September 22nd.]\n\nDuring the persecution by the tyrant Maximian, which began in the\narmy, Maurice and seventy soldiers, amongst whom was his son Photinus,\nboldly confessed Christ, and refused to sacrifice to the gods. They\nwere deprived of their military belts, a humiliation similar to the\nstriking off the spurs of a knight in the Middle Ages, and were\nconsigned to prison. The head of Photinus, who was only a lad, was\nstruck off; the others were tormented with iron hooks and fire; and\nthen, with cruel malice, they were conducted to a low, marshy spot,\nnear Apamea, were smeared with honey, and tied to stakes, that they\nmight be tormented by wasps, hornets, and musquitos. The brave\nsoldiers of Christ lingered without food for many days, but by the\ntenth day all were dead; their heads were then cut off, and they were\nburied.\n\n\nS. VITALINA, V.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 390.)\n\n [Commemorated as Patron at Antonne, between Riome and Gannat, in\n Auvergne. Commemorated also at Metz. Nothing is known concerning her\n except a strange story of her having spoken to S. Martin out of her\n tomb, and told him she was still mourning for having washed her head\n on a Friday,--a story related by Gregory of Tours. De gloria\n Confessorum, c. v.]\n\n\nS. ZACHARIAS, PATR. OF JERUSALEM.\n\n(A.D. 631.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a, Authorities:--The Chronicon Alexandrinum, Theophanes,\n the Annals of Eutychius, Anastasius Bibliothecarius, Paulus\n Diaconus, Cedrenus, &c.]\n\nZacharias was made Patriarch of Jerusalem in the year 609, having been\npreviously warden of the sacred vessels at Constantinople. During his\nreign, in the year 614, the holy city was taken by the Persians, and\nas many as 90,000 Christians are said, by Theophanes, to have perished\nin the massacre which ensued, the Jews taking the opportunity to\nrevenge themselves on the worshippers of the Crucified: Chosroes\nhaving swelled his army with twenty-six thousand Jews, who fought with\nfury, in the hopes of recovering Jerusalem for themselves. The\nsepulchre of Christ, and the stately churches of Helena and\nConstantine, were consumed, or at least damaged, by the flames; the\ndevout offerings of three hundred years were rifled in one\nsacrilegious day; the patriarch Zacharias, and the true Cross, were\ntransported into Persia. The fugitives of Palestine were entertained\nat Alexandria, by the charity of John, the Patriarch, who is\ndistinguished by the epithet of the Alms-giver, (Jan.\u00a023rd), and\nModestus, abbot of S. Theodosius, was appointed vicar of the scattered\nand bleeding flock in the Holy Land, during the captivity of their\npastor. In 628 Chosroes was deposed and assassinated by his son\nSiroes, who concluded peace with the Emperor Heraclius, restored to\nhim all that had been taken by his father, the wood of the true Cross,\nand the captives, amongst whom was Zacharias, who returned to\nJerusalem, the following year.\n\nThe seals of the case in which the venerable relic had been enclosed\nbefore it was carried into Persia, were found unbroken, and it was\neasy for the patriarch, who had been its fellow-captive, to verify it.\nZacharias died in the year 631, two years after his restoration.\n\n\nB. PEPIN OF LANDEN, C.\n\n(A.D. 646.)\n\n [Of local veneration only, at Nivelles; mentioned in some of the\n later Martyrologies, and called, sometimes Saint, sometimes the\n Blessed. Authorities:--A Life contained in the Acts of his daughter,\n S. Gertrude, (March 17th), Fredegar, and other early French\n historians.]\n\nThe Blessed Pepin of Landen[60] died on February 21st, in 640, or 647,\nat Landen, where he had also been born, in all probability. He was\nburied at Landen, but afterwards, at what date is unknown, his body\nwas translated to Nivelles, where he reposes beside the altar of his\ndaughter, S. Gertrude, and where one tomb enshrines his body and that\nof his wife, S. Itta, and that of his nurse. On the day of his\ntranslation, a great procession of people bearing candles accompanied\nhis relics from Landen to Nivelles, and during the long course, the\nwind, though very violent, did not extinguish one of the tapers, says\nthe story. This prince has always been venerated at Nivelles and\nLanden as a saint, though he has never been canonized, and every year,\nin the Rogation processions, his reliquary is borne, together with\nthose of S. Itta or Iduberga, his wife, and S. Gertrude, his daughter.\nTo Pepin is attributed the foundation of the Church of S. Mary, which\nsubsists to this day at Landen.\n\n\nSS. GERMAN, AB., AND RANDOALD, PRIOR, MM.\n\n(END OF 7TH CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated as a double in the diocese of Basle. Not noticed in\n any other Kalendar. Authority:--A Life by a contemporary, Bobolen,\n Priest, at the request of the Monks of M\u00fcnsterthal, who asked him to\n put in record what had taken place under their eyes.]\n\nS. German was a native of Tr\u00e8ves, son of a man of senatorial rank,\nnamed Optardus. His brother Opthomar became a favourite courtier of\nking Dagobert, and afterwards with the saintly Sigebert, King of\nAustrasia, (February 1st.) When German was quite young he was given to\nS. Modoald, bishop of Tr\u00e8ves,[61] that he might be educated in all the\nknowledge of the times. At the age of seventeen the boy longed to\ndevote himself wholly to God, in the monastic life, and as his parents\nwere dead, he asked permission of his preceptor, but Modoald answered\nthat he dare not give him the requisite permission, without the\nconsent of the king. The boy then evidenced his sincerity by at once\ndisposing of all his possessions. With three other boys similarly\ndisposed, he went to the blessed Arnulf, a holy bishop living as a\nhermit at Herenberg, and grew to man's estate, disciplining himself\nafter the example, and by the advice, of his new preceptor. Then he\nsent two of his companions to Tr\u00e8ves to bring to him his little\nbrother, Numerian, who was still quite a child;[62] and migrated first\nto Remiremont, and thence, followed by numerous monks who had placed\nthemselves under his direction, to the famous abbey of Luxeuil, which\nwas then ruled by S. Waldebert, (May 2nd), who had him ordained\npriest, and sent him to found a house in the valley of M\u00fcnsterthal, or\nVal Moutier, in the Jura, which was given to him by a nobleman of\ngreat piety named Gundoin, the father of S. Salaberga, (September\n22nd.) The M\u00fcnsterthal is a grand and romantic defile, traversed by\nthe Birs. The huge cleft through which the stream passes testifies to\nthe mighty convulsion which has forced the horizontal strata to assume\ntheir present almost perpendicular position, resembling gigantic walls\non either side of the old Roman road which passed through it, and\nserved as the line of communication between Aventiacum (Avenches), the\nmost important town of Helvetia, and Augusta Rauracorum (Rheinfelden.)\nGerman found the old road blocked up with fallen rocks, so as to be\nimpassable. He cleared these away, and enlarged the entrance to the\ngorge, and settled with his monks at the present Moutier. On the death\nof his protector Gundoin, Duke Boniface Kattemund succeeded to the\ngovernment of the land, and crushed the poor people with his taxes. He\nalso traversed the country exacting large sums from all who could pay,\nand wasting the lands of those who refused. On his appearance in the\nvalley, the abbot German and the prior Randoald went to meet him, to\nimplore him to deal less harshly with the people; but Kattemund\nrepulsed them with insolence, and allowed some ruffians of his suite\nto fall on the helpless monks, strike off the head of the prior, and\ntransfix the abbot with a lance, whilst they were kneeling in prayer\nin the church of S. Maurice.\n\n\nS. GEORGE OF AMASTRIS, B. C.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 9TH CENT.)\n\n [Mentioned in no late Martyrologies; but commemorated by the Greeks\n on this day. Authority:--A Life written towards the end of the 9th\n cent.]\n\nS. George was born of parents who had long been childless, at Cromna,\nnear Amastris, in Paphlagonia. When three years old he fell into the\nfire, and burnt his hands and foot, but though disfigured by the\nscars, he was not thereby deprived of the use of these members. When a\nyouth, he secretly fled his home, and retired into a mountain,\nfollowed only by one servant, and lived among the rocks the life of an\nanchorite, with an old hermit whom he there discovered. When this\nhermit was on the point of death, he bade George go to the monastery\nof Bonyssa, and serve God there. George obeyed, and among the monks he\ndistinguished himself by the perfection of his self-control. On the\ndeath of the bishop of Amastris, the citizens elected George, whose\nfame had reached them, and sent a deputation to announce to him their\nchoice; but George steadfastly refused the proffered dignity;\nwhereupon the deputation forcibly carried him off to Constantinople,\nwhere the patriarch, S. Tarasius, who had known him as a boy, gladly\nagreed to consecrate him. But the Emperor interfered, and nominated\nsome one else. The patriarch, however, would not yield, as George had\nbeen canonically elected. He nevertheless, brought forward the two\ncandidates, and bade the clergy and people proceed to a new election,\nand decide which was to be chosen. As the lot fell again upon George,\nthe patriarch resolutely rejected the imperial nominee, and ordained\nGeorge. He was received at Amastris with demonstrations of the holiest\njoy. During his episcopate Asia Minor was overrun by the Saracens.\nGeorge, foreseeing an incursion, and finding that the farmers and\npeasants could not be induced by others to take warning, and flee in\ntime, went round the country, cross in hand, and urged all to escape\nwithin the walls. The threatened incursion took place, and the\nSaracens, not being in sufficient force to take the city, retired\nwithout having done serious damage.\n\n[60] See further, S. Sigebert, (February 1st.)\n\n[61] He was Bishop of Tr\u00e8ves about 622, and is honoured as a saint on\nMay 22nd.\n\n[62] He became afterwards Bishop of Tr\u00e8ves, and is venerated on July\n5th.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 22.\n\n S. PETER'S CHAIR _at Antioch_, A.D. 37.\n S. ARISTION, _at Salamis, 1st cent._\n S. PAPIAS, _B. of Hierapolis, in Phrygia, beginning of 2nd cent._\n SS. MARTYRS _in Arabia, circ._ A.D. 304.\n S. PASCHASIUS, _B. of Vienne, circ._ A.D. 313.\n SS. THALASSIUS AND LIMN\u00c6US, _HH. near Cyrus, in Syria, 5th cent._\n S. BARADATUS, _H. in Syria, circ._ A.D. 460.\n S. MAXIMIAN, _B. of Ravenna_, A.D. 556.\n S. MARGARET of _Cortona, Pen._, A.D. 1297.\n\n\nS. PETER'S CHAIR AT ANTIOCH.\n\n(A.D. 37.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology; the ancient Roman Martyrology, called that of S.\n Jerome; Bede; Ado; Usuardus, &c.]\n\nUnder this name is celebrated the foundation of the see of Antioch by\nS. Peter the Apostle, before he went to Rome, so that this day may be\ncalled the birthday of the Church and Patriarchate of Antioch. Through\nthe coincidence of this Christian festival with some ancient pagan\nsolemnities, its observance has become surrounded by spurious usages,\nat least among the Northern races. These usages were so rooted into\nthe habits of the people, that the Church, unable to eradicate them,\nsought to give them a Christian significance, and to substitute the\nfeast of the Chair of S. Peter for the _cara cognitio_ celebrated by\nthe pagans of the Teutonic races on this day. This heathen festival\nwas a commemoration of deceased relations by a great banquet, called\nin Flanders the _dadsisas_, or death-wake, on the 27th Feb., the day\non which, in the North of Europe, the year was supposed to begin.\n\n\nS. ARISTION, DISCIPLE OF CHRIST.\n\n(1ST CENT.)\n\n [Latin Martyrology. S. Aristion is not mentioned in the Greek Men\u00e6a.\n No Acts exist, but he is mentioned in the Apocryphal Acts of S.\n Barnabas. The Apocryphal Synopsis of the 72 Disciples, by Dorotheus\n of Tyre, does not mention S. Aristion, but S. Jerome mentions him in\n his Ecclesiastical Writers, c.\u00a018; and Papias quoted by Eusebius,\n lib. iii., c.\u00a039.]\n\nAristion is mentioned by Eusebius in his account of the writings of\nPapias. Eusebius quotes the words of Papias, who says, \"If I met with\nany one who had been a follower of the Elders anywhere, I made a point\nof inquiring what those Elders taught; what had been said by Andrew,\nPeter, or Philip; and what by Thomas, James, John, Matthew, or any\nother of the disciples of our Lord; and what was said by Aristion, and\nby the priest John, disciples of the Lord; for I do not think that I\nderived so much benefit from books, as from the living voice of those\nthat are still surviving.\"\n\nPapias inserted in his book, says Eusebius, many accounts given him,\nconcerning our Lord, by Aristion. It is much to be regretted that the\nbook of Papias is lost.\n\n\nS. PAPIAS, B. C.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 2ND CENT.)\n\n [Roman, and all Latin Martyrologies. Authorities:--Eusebius, lib.\n iii. c.\u00a039; and S. Jerome, De Scrip. Ecclesiasticis, c.\u00a09;\n epist.\u00a029, ad. Theodoram.]\n\nPapias lived at the same time as the illustrious Polycarp, and had the\nprivilege of conversing with those who had known and heard the\nApostles, as also with Aristion and the priest John, who had been\ndisciples of our blessed Lord. He wrote a work entitled \"The\ninterpretation of Our Lord's declaration,\" in five books, containing\nvarious parables of Our Lord not contained in the Gospels, and other\nportions of His doctrine. Papias was visited at Hierapolis, where he\nwas bishop, by the daughters of S. Philip the Apostle, and from them\nalso he derived much information. Papias does not seem, from Eusebius'\naccount, to have been a man of much mental power. He says, \"He was\nvery limited in his comprehension, as is evident from his discourses.\"\nNor had he much acuteness of judgment, for he is accused by the same\nwriter of having inserted in his work much that was fabulous.\n\n\nSS. MARTYRS IN ARABIA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 304.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--Eusebius, lib. viii., c.\u00a012.]\n\nNothing more is known of these martyrs than that in the persecution of\nMaximin they were slain with the axe.\n\n\nSS. THALASSIUS AND LIMN\u00c6US, HH.\n\n(5TH CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks. Authority:--The Philotheus of\n Theodoret, c.\u00a012. Theodoret knew these hermits, and visited them. He\n wrote whilst the latter was still alive.]\n\nThalassius was a hermit, living on the side of a hill near the village\nof Pillima, in the diocese of Cyrus, in Syria, then governed by the\nfamous Theodoret, the ecclesiastical historian. Under his direction\nwas disciplined Limn\u00e6us, who, as a boy, having a too glib tongue,\nlearned to control it by imposing on himself, for many years, complete\nsilence. Limn\u00e6us afterwards became the pupil of the hermit Maro. He\nlived in a sort of court, made of rough stone walls, open to the sky,\nwith a little door and window. Through the latter he spoke with the\npeople who visited him, but he suffered none, save the bishop, to\nenter through the door. One day, as he went forth, he trod on a viper,\nwhich bit his heel. He put forth his right hand to withdraw the\nvenomous beast, when it turned and fixed its fangs in his hand, and\nwhen he endeavoured to grasp it by the left, it bit his left hand\nalso. He was bitten in more than ten places before he could disengage\nthe serpent, yet he would not allow the wounds to be dressed by a\nphysician, but signed them with the cross. He suffered great torture\nfrom the bites, but recovered. He loved to assemble the blind around\nhis cell, and teach them to sing hymns to the glory of God. For their\naccommodation he built two houses adjoining his cell, and he devoted\nhimself especially to their spiritual direction. Theodoret wrote of\nhim when he had spent thirty-eight years in this manner of life.\n\n\nS. BARADATUS, H.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 460.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a. Authority:--Theodoret, in his Philotheus, c.\u00a027; who\n wrote whilst Baradatus was still alive, and from personal knowledge\n of him and his manner of life.]\n\nS. Baradatus held so high a position among the solitaries of Syria,\nthat the Emperor Leo, wishing to know the opinion of the Eastern\nChurch touching the council of Chalcedon, wrote to him, as well as to\nS. Simeon Stylites and S. James the Syrian. All we know of him is\nderived from the account left us by Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, who\ncalls him the admirable Baradatus, and says that he manifested his\ningenuity in discovering new austerities. Baradatus at first dwelt in\na hut, but afterwards he ascended a rock and built himself a cabin, so\nsmall that he was unable to stand upright in it, and was obliged to\nmove therein bent nearly double. The joints of the stones were,\nmoreover, so open that it resembled a cage, and exposed him to the sun\nand rain. But Theodosius, patriarch of Antioch, ordered him to leave\nthis den, and the hermit, at his advice, chose one more commodious. He\nspent most of his time in prayer, with his hands raised to heaven. His\nclothing was of leather, which covered him so completely that only his\nnose and mouth were visible. Theodoret says that his knowledge of\nheavenly things and doctrinal perspicuity were very remarkable. His\nanswer to the Emperor Leo is found appended to the Acts of the Council\nof Chalcedon.\n\n\nS. MAXIMIAN OF RAVENNA, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 556.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology; insertion by Baronius on Feb.\u00a021st, by mistake,\n apparently, for Maximian died on Feb.\u00a022nd. Authority:-An ancient\n life used by Rub\u00e6us in his Hist. Ravenn\u00e6.]\n\nThe story of the elevation of Maximian to the Archiepiscopal See of\nRavenna is by no means edifying. He was a deacon at Pola, and was one\nday ploughing up his land when he lighted on an immense treasure,\nwhich had probably been hidden at some time of invasion, and never\nrecovered. He was at a loss what to do with this wealth, but, after\nsome consideration, he killed his ox, disembowelled it, and filled the\nbelly with money, and also a pair of tall goatskin boots he possessed.\nThen he presented all the rest to the Emperor Justinian, and it was\nquite sufficient to highly gratify the monarch, who, however, claiming\nall treasure-trove as belonging to the crown, asked Maximian whether\nhe would swear that this was all he had found. \"It is all but what is\nin my boots and belly,\"[63] he answered; and Justinian, not seeing\nthrough the equivocation, allowed him to depart, promising to reward\nhim for what had been given to the crown. Shortly after, in 546, the\nsee of Ravenna became vacant, and Justinian, remembering the deacon,\nappointed him to the archiepiscopal throne, and he was ordained\nthereto by Pope Vigilius, on Oct.\u00a012th, 546. But the people of Ravenna\nhad already canonically elected a successor, and refused to\nacknowledge the archbishop sent them by the emperor. They even refused\nto admit him into the city, and he was obliged to lodge in the\nsuburbs. Those who took part with Maximian desired to carry a\ncomplaint to the emperor against the citizens, but Maximian would not\npermit it. He preferred waiting patiently, till the hostility of the\npeople and clergy should die away. His course was wise, and it\nsucceeded in the end, for the people of Ravenna, seeing it was\nimpossible to resist the will of a despot, yielded their right, and\nadmitted Maximian into possession of the see. He spent his ten years\nof rule in building and adorning the churches, using for that purpose\nthe money \"in the boots and belly,\" and exhibited such gentleness,\npiety, and prudence, that he gained the love of his flock, and was\nregarded by them as a saint.\n\n\nS. MARGARET OF CORTONA, PENITENT.\n\n(A.D. 1297.)\n\n [Leo X. allowed the festival of this saint to be celebrated in the\n diocese of Cortona on Feb.\u00a022nd. Urban VIII. extended this faculty\n to all congregations of the Order of S. Francis, in 1623. She was\n canonized by Benedict XIII., in 1728. She is mentioned by Ferrarius\n in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, on this day, but, probably\n on account of the coincidence of the day with the Chair of S. Peter,\n the festival of S. Margaret is usually observed in the Franciscan\n Order on the day following, Feb.\u00a023rd. Authority:--A Life written by\n Friar Juncta, her Confessor; but he trips lightly over her life\n before her conversion, saying nothing concerning it but giving only\n vague allusions. For fuller details we must go to some of the\n writers on the Saints of the Franciscan Order, and to Ferrarius.]\n\nMargaret was a girl of Alviano, in Tuscany. Her good looks attracted\nthe attention of a young nobleman, and, led astray by passion and love\nof dress, she deserted her father's house, and followed her seducer\nfor nine years. One day he went out, followed by his dog,[64] and did\nnot return. Some days passed, and, at last, the dog appeared at the\ndoor, and, plucking at Margaret's dress, drew her forwards, as though\nit wished her to follow. She obeyed the animal, and it led her into\nthe wood, and began to scratch where dry leaves and sticks were thrown\nover a sort of pit. She hastily uncovered the spot, and found the body\nof her lover, who had been assassinated, frightfully decomposed. The\nshock was great. She went sorrowfully to her father's house, but he\nrefused to admit his fallen daughter, urged thereto by her\nstep-mother. Then she sought the protection and guidance of the\nMinorite friars at Cortona, and, after two years, she entered the\nthird order of S. Francis. Her director had now to restrain her\nenthusiastic self-mortification. Knowing that it was her beauty which\nhad turned her head and led her astray, she wanted to cut off her nose\nand lips, but was peremptorily forbidden by her confessor. Then she\ndesired to make public confession in Cortona of all her iniquities,\nbut was also forbidden this. She, however, went, one Sunday, to her\nnative village, with a halter round her neck, and, casting herself\ndown before all the congregation, expressed her deep sorrow for the\nscandal she had caused there. Her conversion took place in 1274, when\nshe was aged twenty-five. The rest of her life was spent in penance\nfor her sin. At length, worn out by her austerities, she died on the\n22nd February, 1297, in the forty-eighth year of her age.\n\n [Illustration: S. MARGARET CORTONA. From Cahier. Feb. 22.]\n\nHer body is preserved at Cortona.\n\nIn art, she appears contemplating a corpse, or more often a skull at\nher feet, whilst a dog plucks at her robe.\n\n[63] Apparently a vulgar expression used at the period to mean, \"All\nbut a mere trifle.\"\n\n[64] _Catella_ is the word in Ferrarius; in art it is a dog.\n\n [Illustration: The Bookbinder.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 23.\n\n S. MARTHA, _V. M. at Astorga, in Spain_, A.D. 251.\n S. PRIAMIAN, _B. M. at Ancona_.\n S. POLYCARP, _P. C. at Rome, circ._ A.D. 300.\n S. ROMANA, _V. at Rome, circ._ A.D. 324.\n S. SERENUS, _M. at Sirmisch, in Hungary, circ._ A.D. 327.\n S. PRIAMIANUS, _B. M. at Ancona_.\n SS. ZEBINAS, POLYCHRONIUS, MOSES, AND DAMIAN, _HH. in Syria, 5th cent._\n S. DOSITHEUS, _Monk in Palestine, circ._ A.D. 530.\n S. FELIX, _B. of Brescia, circ._ A.D. 652.\n S. EARCONGOTHA, _V. Abss. at Faremoutier, end of 7th cent._\n S. MILBURGH, _V. Abss. of Wenlock in Shropshire, 7th cent._\n S. LAZARUS, Monk at Constantinople, circ. A.D. 870.\n S. CELSUS, _B. of Tr\u00e8ves, circ._ A.D. 980.\n B. PETER DAMIANI, _Card. B. of Ostia_, A.D. 1072.\n\n\nS. MARTHA, V. M.\n\n(A.D. 251.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--The ancient Acts, which are not,\n however, in their original form; but the substantial authenticity of\n the facts mentioned by them there is no reason to dispute.]\n\nThis blessed saint suffered in the reign of Decius, under the\nproconsul Paternus. He ordered her to be racked, and beaten with\nknotted sticks, and then taken back to prison. She seems to have been\nnoble by birth, and wealthy, for the proconsul endeavoured to persuade\nher to relinquish her religion and marry his son. She, however,\nconstantly refused, declaring that she had chosen Jesus Christ as her\nheavenly bridegroom. She was then ordered to be executed with the\nsword, and her body to be cast into a foul place. It was withdrawn\nfrom this place by a pious matron; and her relics are preserved at the\nmonastery of Riv\u00e6 de Sil, and in the church of Tera, in the diocese of\nAstorga.\n\n\nS. SERENUS, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 327.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology; also the ancient one of S. Jerome. In the\n Anglican Martyrology of Richard Wilson (1608) on Feb.\u00a024th.\n Authority:--The genuine Acts; of these there are two editions; one,\n the most ancient, given by Bollandus, terse and short; the other, by\n Ruinart, longer.]\n\nSerenus was by birth a Greek. He quitted estate, friends, and country\nto serve God in an ascetic life. Coming with this design to Sirmium,\nthe modern Sirmisch, or Mitrowitz, in Hungary, he there bought a\ngarden, which he cultivated with his own hands, and lived on the\nfruits and herbs it produced. When persecution broke out, he hid\nhimself for some months, but, on its abatement, he returned to his\ngarden. One day there came thither a woman to walk. Serenus, knowing\nthat she had come there to meet a lover, gravely rebuked her, saying,\n\"A lady of your quality ought not to walk here at unseasonable hours,\nand this, you know, is an hour you ought to be at home. Let me advise\nyou to withdraw, and be more regular in your hours and conduct for the\nfuture, as decency requires, in persons of your sex and condition.\" It\nwas usual for the Romans to repose themselves at noon, as it is still\nthe custom in Italy. The woman, stung at our saint's remonstrance,\nretired in confusion, but resolved on revenging the supposed affront.\nShe accordingly wrote to her husband, who belonged to the guards of\nthe Emperor Maximian, to complain of Serenus as having insulted her.\nHer husband, on receiving her letter, went to the emperor to demand\njustice, and said, \"Whilst we are waiting on your Majesty's person,\nour wives in distant countries are insulted.\" Whereupon the emperor\ngave him a letter to the governor of the province, to enable him to\nobtain satisfaction. With this letter he set out for Sirmium, and\npresented it to the governor, conjuring him, in the name of the\nemperor his master, to revenge the affront offered to him, in the\nperson of his wife, during his absence. \"And who is that insolent\nman,\" said the magistrate, \"who has dared to insult such a gentleman's\nwife?\" \"It is,\" said he, \"a vulgar fellow, one Serenus, a gardener.\"\nThe governor ordered him to be immediately brought before him, and\nasked him his name. \"It is Serenus,\" said he. The judge said, \"Of what\nprofession are you?\" He answered, \"I am a gardener.\" The governor\nsaid, \"How durst you affront the wife of this officer in your garden?\"\nSerenus: \"I never insulted any woman, to my knowledge, in my life;\nbut, I remember that, some time ago, a lady came into my garden at an\nunseasonable hour, with the design, as she pretended, of taking a\nwalk; and I own I took the liberty to tell her it was against decency\nfor one of her sex and quality to be abroad at such an hour.\" This\nplea of Serenus having put the officer to the blush for his wife's\nconduct, he dropped his prosecution against the gardener and withdrew.\n\nBut the governor's suspicions were roused, and he determined to\nconvince himself whether this gardener were a Christian or not. He,\ntherefore, said, \"What is your religion?\" Serenus at once replied, \"I\nam a Christian.\" Then, said the magistrate, \"Where have you been\nlurking, that you have not sacrificed to the gods?\" The gardener\nreplied, \"God reserved me till this day. Now he calls me, and I am\nready to magnify his name, that I may inherit his kingdom.\" Then the\ngovernor ordered him to be executed with the sword.\n\nRelics at Billome, in Auvergne. The feast of his translation is\nobserved in the diocese of Clermont, on May 10th.\n\nIn art, S. Serenus is represented with a sword in his hand.\n\n\nS. PRIAMIANUS, B. M.\n\n(UNKNOWN DATE.)\n\n [Commemorated at Ancona, and nowhere else.]\n\nThe story of this saint, of local celebrity, is somewhat curious. In\n1370, a marble tomb, on which was inscribed \"Here reposes the body of\nthe Blessed Bishop Priamian, a Greek,\" was discovered under the\ntabernacle, in the wall. It was opened, and found to contain a human\nbody. This was now enshrined in silver. But, as yet, nothing was known\nof who S. Priamian was, beyond what was stated on the tomb. One night,\nhowever, he appeared in a dream to an old woman, in Ancona, and\nannounced to her that he had been a martyr for the faith more than a\nthousand years before, with many details, which do not deserve record,\nas the revelation is very questionable.\n\n\nSS. ZEBINAS, POLYCHRONIUS, MOSES, AND\nDAMIAN, HH.\n\n(5TH CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greek Church on this day. Authority:--The\n Philotheus of Theodoret, c.\u00a024. Theodoret knew personally\n Polychronius, the disciple of Zebinas, and Moses and Damian were\n admitted to be disciples of Polychronius at the advice of Theodoret.\n Theodoret wrote whilst these three latter were still alive.]\n\nZebinas, a hermit in Syria, was said to have exceeded all others of\nhis time in the ardour of his devotion. The bishop of Cyrus says that\nhe was engaged in prayer night and day, without finding his fervour\nsatisfied, but with ever increasing vehemence of desire. And when\npeople came to him for counsel, it was with an effort that he detached\nhis mind from heavenly meditation that he might attend to them,\nimpatiently desiring release that he might soar again to divine\ncommunings. And when very old he had a staff on which he leaned to\npray. After his death he was followed in the same ascetic way of life\nby his disciple Polychronius, on whom Zebinas had impressed his\nspirit, just, says Theodoret, as a signet stamps its device on wax.\nHis mind was ever in heaven, and when he talked with those who came to\nsee him, it was as though his voice spoke from celestial habitations.\nTheodoret, the bishop, seeing the old man worn with years and feeble,\nurged him to take two disciples into his cell to tend him. He\nconsented, and admitted Moses and Damian. But they had not been long\nwith him before they ran away; \"For,\" said they, \"his manner of life\nis too austere for our endurance. He stands all night in prayer, and\nhe urges us to lie down and sleep, but how can we, who are young and\nrobust, do so, when that aged and infirm man stands all night without\nrepose?\"\n\nMoses, however, returned to him, and served him continually, but\nDamian went elsewhere, and found an old cottage, where he served God\nin an ascetic life, and gradually trained himself to bear fatigue and\nprivations like Polychronius, so that he grew greatly to resemble him.\n\"In both,\" says Theodoret, \"there is the same simplicity, and\ngentleness, and moderation; the same kindliness in speech, and\nsweetness in conversation; the same watchfulness of spirit,\nintelligence of God, and condition of life, labours, vigils, and\nfastings.\"\n\n\nS. DOSITHEUS, MONK.\n\n(A.D. 530.)\n\n [Not in Roman Martyrology nor in Greek Men\u00e6a, but inserted in the\n Martyrology of Peter Galesinius on this day, and by Ferrarius, and\n also in the Acta Sanctorum by the Bollandists, on this day.\n Authority:--His Life, by a fellow-disciple.]\n\nDositheus was page to an officer in the army, who was warmly attached\nto him, and regarded him almost as a son. He grew up among soldiers,\nwithout the least knowledge of the truths of religion. One day he\nheard a conversation turn on Jerusalem, which was called the Holy\nCity, and he was filled with curiosity to see it, and know why it was\nregarded as sacred. As a friend of his master's was about to visit\nJerusalem, he asked permission to accompany him, and his request was\nreadily granted. On his arrival at Jerusalem, Dositheus went to\nGethsemane, and saw there a painting which represented the lost in the\nflames of hell. This picture produced a most powerful impression upon\nhim, and he stood long before it, wondering what it meant. A lady who\nwas present, seeing the astonishment of the boy, explained to him\nabout the judgment and hell, truths he had not heard before. When he\nasked her how the terrible place could be escaped, she replied, by\nfasting and prayer. The instruction of the lady made upon the youth so\ndeep an impression that he at once began to abstain from meat, and\npray as best he could. His companions, astonished at the change, said,\nlaughing, that he was going to become a monk. But he had not heard of\nmonks before, and when he ascertained what monks were, he resolved to\nseek the nearest monastery. He accordingly went to that governed by S.\nSerides, who was at first disposed to reject him, on account of his\nrich dress, youth, and delicate complexion; but, at last, overcome by\nthe boy's earnestness, he committed him to S. Dorotheus, as a\ndisciple. Dorotheus saw that the youth was not of sufficiently robust\ntemperament to stand austerities, he, therefore, laboured to correct\nhis self-will, and discipline his hitherto ungoverned tongue. \"Well,\nDositheus,\" said the master to him, soon after his admission, \"How\nmuch hast thou eaten to-day?\" \"A loaf and a half,\" answered the\nboy;--this was equivalent to about five pounds. \"That is pretty well,\"\nsaid Dorotheus, smiling. \"Try, my son, to be a little more moderate\ntomorrow.\" And then, when the lad had taken somewhat less, \"How farest\nthou to-day?\" asked the master. \"Well, my father.\" \"Then learn to eat\nsufficient to satisfy thy need, but never devour food in excess of\nwhat is necessary.\" He made the youth serve the hospital. Dositheus\nwas so cheerful, that the sick therein loved his presence. Sometimes\nhe lost patience, and when a sick man provoked him he gave way to\ntemper and bad words. Then, filled with compunction, he ran to his\ncell, and fell, crying, on the floor, and would not be comforted till\nhis master came to assure him that God would on his repentance pardon\nthe little outbreak. One day, Dorotheus heard the lad talking noisily\nin the infirmary, so he called him, and said, \"Go, my son, and bring a\nbottle of wine.\" Thereupon the lad obeyed, and presented the flask to\nhis master. \"Oh, Dositheus,\" said his superior, \"the bottle is for\nthee, not for me. It is the way of the rollicking Goths to drink and\nshout. I heard thy clamouring, and I thought the bottle of wine was\nall that was wanted to make a complete Goth of thee.\" Dorotheus was\nwatchful to check every feeling of vanity and self-will in his young\npupil, and for this purpose he sometimes assumed a harshness of\nmanner, which ill-accorded with his natural gentleness. \"There,\nfather,\" said Dositheus one day, \"See how neatly I have made the\ninfirmary beds.\" \"Humph!\" answered Dorotheus; \"thou art an excellent\nbed-maker, no doubt, but not much of a monk.\" The steward one day gave\nDositheus a knife, which he showed with much elation to his master.\n\"Let me see it,\" said Dorotheus. And when the youth had put it into\nhis hand, the old monk turned it and studied it. \"It will serve me\nadmirably for cutting up my cakes,\" said Dositheus. \"Art thou very\nmuch delighted with it, my son?\" asked the master. \"Indeed, I am,\nfather,\" was the reply. \"Then, my son,\" said Dorotheus, \"give the\nknife to the other brethren; let them use it, and do thou never touch\nit again.\" Dositheus obeyed without a murmur. Dorotheus obliged him\ndiligently to study the Holy Scriptures. Sometimes the youth came to a\npassage he could not understand, and he sought his master to have it\nexplained. One day, to prove his humility, he said, roughly, \"I cannot\nattend to thee, go to the abbot.\" Now, he had before advised the Abbot\nSerides what he should do. So the novice came to him with the book,\nand said, \"My father, explain to me this passage.\" Then the abbot\nboxed his ears, and sent him away, saying, \"I have other matters to\nattend to than to teach an ignorant fellow like thee.\" Then Dositheus\nwent patiently back to his cell, and God illumined his understanding\nin the reading of the Scriptures. Now, after five years, the lay\nbrother began to spit blood, and exhibit marks of consumption. He had\nheard it reported that raw eggs would cure this complaint, and the\nidea haunted him. However, he schooled himself till he was quite able\nto feel that if they were denied him he would cheerfully submit\nwithout a contrary wish. Then he said to Dorotheus, \"Dear master, I\nhave heard that raw eggs will stop the blood, but, I pray thee, forbid\nme to try this remedy.\" \"Well, my son,\" answered Dorotheus, \"thou\nshalt not prove the efficacy of eggs, but of every other remedy.\"\nAccordingly, everything was done for the young novice that could be\ndevised, but he became rapidly worse. Now, when he was ill, Dorotheus\nsaid to him, \"Dositheus, be instant in prayer, lose not hold of that.\"\nHe replied, \"Master, it is well, pray for me.\" And when he became\ngreatly exhausted, Dorotheus asked him, \"Well, Dositheus, how farest\nthou in prayer?\" \"Oh, pardon me, master, I cannot continue.\" \"Then,\"\nsaid the monk, \"give it up, my son, but keep God in thy mind as though\nHe were present beside thee.\" And, after some days, he said to the old\nman, \"Send me away, I care no more.\" Then Dorotheus answered,\n\"Patience a while, my son. The mercy of God is not far off.\" And\nagain, after some days, he said, \"I can bear no more.\" Then the old\nman said to him, \"Go in peace, and stand before the Holy Trinity, and\npray for us.\"\n\nNow, some of the monks murmured that Dorotheus should have thus\npromised heaven, and asked the intercession of one who had never done\nanything in the way of fasting, and had wrought no miracles. Then\nDorotheus said, \"He fasted not, but he never gave way to his\nself-will.\"\n\nAnd after some days, there was an old monk taken into the hospital,\nwho prayed to God to show him all the holy fathers of that house who\nhad served Him, and had entered into their rest. And he saw in vision\na goodly choir of aged saints, and amongst them was a young lay\nbrother, with hair on which the snows of age had not fallen, and a\nhectic colour in his cheek. Now the old man told his vision to the\nbrethren, and when he described the novice, the monks knew that it was\nDositheus, touching whose sanctity they had doubted.\n\n\nS. EARCONGOTHA, V. ABSS.\n\n(END OF 7TH CENT.)\n\n [Benedictine Martyrology. Authority:--Bede, lib. iii., c. 8.]\n\nEarcongotha, great granddaughter of the first Christian king of the\nAnglo-Saxons, and daughter of Ercombert, King of Kent, was a nun in\nthe French community of Faremoutier, where so many of the English\nprincesses were trained. She was, says Bede, a virgin of great virtue,\nworthy in everything of her illustrious origin, and was elevated to\nbecome Abbess. Being warned of her approaching end, she went from cell\nto cell in the infirmary of the monastery, asking for the prayers of\nher sick nuns. She died during the following night, at the first\nglimpse of dawn. At the same hour the monks, who occupied another part\nof the double monastery, heard a sound like the noise of a multitude,\nwho, to the sound of heavenly music, invaded the monastery. When they\nwent out to see what it was, they found themselves in a flood of\nmiraculous light, in the midst of which the soul of the foreign\nprincess ascended to heaven.\n\n\nS. MILBURGH, V. ABSS.\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [Milburgh or Milburga is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology, and in\n that bearing the name of Bede. Authority:--William of Malmesbury and\n Capgrave.]\n\nPerhaps no higher commendation can be passed upon Domneva, the saintly\nwife of Merewald, than this, that she was the mother of three eminent\nsaints, Milburgh, Mildred, and Mildgytha. S. Milburgh was the eldest,\nif the names are mentioned according to the order of birth, and this\nbeing most probably the case, the date of her birth would be about the\nyear of grace, 662. We are told that from her earliest years she\ndedicated herself to God with all the ardour of her soul. Whatever she\ndid, she did it for the love of Christ alone, endeavouring always to\nplease Him, and to grow up in His holy service. The world, which would\nhave many attractions to a highborn maiden, she thoroughly despised,\nand even life itself she counted as nothing, unless it were spent in\nentire devotion to God. That she might live such a life with greater\nfreedom, and in holy companionship with others, moved by the same\nheavenly desire, she founded a monastery for religious virgins at\nWenlock, in Shropshire. Wenlock Magna it was afterwards called, and\nMuch Wenlock at the present day. Her father, and her uncle Wulfhere,\nking of Mercia, assisted her in this pious undertaking, and the\nmonastery was endowed with ample possessions, many precious relicts of\nsaints, and great privileges. Milburgh was consecrated abbess by\nArchbishop Theodore, and under her gentle rule the monastery became\nlike a paradise in which Our Lord had planted the fairest flowers, and\nthe sweetest fruits; and among them all S. Milburgh was pre-eminent in\nevery virtue, and more especialty did the grace of humility shine\nforth in her. But the more she humbled herself, so much the more did\nGod manifest His power in her by many gifts, enabling her to restore\nsight to the blind, and life to the dead. Her exhortations, full of\nheavenly unction, and the teaching of her saintly life, had a\nmarvellous effect in bringing many souls from the darkness of error to\nthe light of truth; and from the death of sin to a life of\nrighteousness. Among the many wonderful things related of her, we\nread, that one day she went on some good errand to a village called\nStoke, (Stoke S. Milburgh), when she was seen by the son of some\nneighbouring king, who wished to carry her off by force, that he might\nmarry her. He got together a few soldiers, and formed a plan for\nintercepting her; but she, divinely admonished of the wicked scheme,\nfled at once with a companion she had with her. On her way she crossed\na shallow stream called the Corve. As soon as the rash man heard of\nher flight, he followed in great haste, but when he came to the\nstream, the water suddenly rose, and rendered further pursuit\nimpossible; so Christ's lamb escaped, while he stood still, confounded\nand amazed.\n\nOne night she had continued longer than usual in prayer and\ncontemplation, and, overcome with fatigue, fell asleep; nor did she\nawake till the rays of the morning sun fell upon her. Then she started\nup so suddenly that the sacred veil fell from her head, but a slanting\nsunbeam caught it ere it touched the ground, and held it suspended in\nmid-air until she had time to rouse herself. Then she perceived the\ndivine manifestation, and gave thanks to God, praising and magnifying\nHim.\n\nUpon another occasion, when she was alone in her oratory, a widow came\nin carrying her dead child, and fell down at the feet of the holy\nvirgin, and with many tears implored her to intercede for her, that\nher child might be restored to life. Milburgh rebuked her for making\nsuch a strange request, and recommended submission to the divine will.\n\"Go,\" she said, \"and bury thy dead, then prepare to follow thy son,\nfor man is born to die.\" But the widow refused to go. \"No, I will not\nleave thee, unless thou restore my child to life.\" When the holy\nvirgin saw the woman's faith, she prostrated herself in prayer by the\nbody of the child. Immediately she was surrounded by fire, which came\ndown from heaven, and so entirely enveloped her, that it seemed\nimpossible that she could escape being consumed by it. One of the\nsisters coming in, cried out to her to fly, but she had no sooner\nspoken, than all trace of fire was gone, and S. Milburgh, rising from\nher knees, presented the now living child to his mother.\n\n [Illustration: S. MILBURGH. After Cahier. Feb. 23.]\n\nS. Milburgh is represented as having authority over the birds of the\nair, and protecting crops from their ravages. In the parable, the\nfowls that came and devoured the good seed, were, we know, evil\nspirits.\n\nAfter many years spent in good works and holy exercises, she was\nfurther purified and fitted, by long and painful illnesses, for those\neternal mansions for which her soul longed. When the time of her\ndeparture drew near, she called together the whole community, and\nexhorted them all to have ever before them those two heavenly\nsentences: \"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.\nBlessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of\nGod.\" She then recommended them to choose the most pious of the\nsisters for their future abbess. Taking leave of them, she said, \"Most\ndear sisters, I have loved you as my own bowels, and have been over\nyou, as a mother over her children, with pious care. A higher call now\nin mercy invites me, I go the way of all flesh, and commend you to God\nand the Blessed Virgin.\" Having armed herself for her passage with the\nholy sacraments, she gave up her pure soul into the hands of her\nMaker, on Feb.\u00a023rd, 722, and was buried with honour near the altar,\nin the church of the monastery.\n\nThe monastery was afterwards destroyed by the Danes, and, in course of\ntime, all trace of the tomb of the saint was lost. But many ages\nafter, when it was being re-built by some Cluniac monks, two boys who\nwere playing there, fell through the pavement, and sunk down to their\nknees in the ground. This accident occasioned some surprise, and the\nmonks had the ground opened, and found human bones in the very\nfoundation of the altar. An odoriferous exhalation, as of a most\nprecious balsam, perfumed the whole church when the tomb was opened,\nand numerous miracles are said to have taken place at the tomb of the\nsaint; so many, that of all the crowds who went to it, none came away\nwithout receiving some benefit. On May 26th, 1501, the relics were\nenclosed in a costly chest, and deposited in a conspicuous and eminent\nplace in the same monastery, where they remained till its destruction\nin the time of Henry VIII.\n\nSome ruins of the abbey church, built in the year 1080, may still be\nseen at Wenlock. They consist of south aisle and transept, and part of\nthe cloister, sufficient to shew the magnificence of the ancient\nbuilding.\n\n\nS. LAZARUS, P. C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 870.)\n\n [Inserted in the Roman Martyrology by Baronius. Venerated by the\n Greeks on November 17th, and his translation on October 17th.\n Authorities:--Cedrenus and Zonaras.]\n\nS. Lazarus was priest, monk, and painter. During the persecution by\nthe emperor Theophilus against sacred images and monks, Lazarus, as a\npainter of pictures for churches, was imprisoned, and his right hand\nwas fearfully burnt by the application of red-hot iron plates. On the\ndeath of the emperor he recovered his liberty, and painted two\ncelebrated pictures, one at Constantinople, of S. John the Baptist,\nthe other at Chalcis, of the Saviour, on a wall, where there had been\na similar picture, which had been scraped off by the Iconoclasts. He\nwas sent to Rome by the Emperor Michael the Stammerer, with some\nmagnificent corporals and altar vestments, minutely described by\nAnastasius the Librarian. On a second expedition to Rome he died.\n\n\nS. PETER DAMIANI, B. D.\n\n(A.D. 1072.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. A double of the Breviary. Pope Leo XII. gave to\n S. Peter Damiani the title of Doctor of the Church, and extended to\n the whole of the Catholic Church the right of venerating him, which\n was formerly reserved to the Camaldolese, and to the dioceses of\n Ravenna and Falonza. Authority:--Life by his disciple, John of Lodi.]\n\nPeter, surnamed of Damian, was born about the year 988, in Ravenna, of\na good family, the Onesti, that was considerably reduced in\ncircumstances. He was the youngest of many children, and when very\nyoung, losing his father and mother, he was left in the hands of a\nmarried brother, in whose house he was treated more as a slave than a\nrelation; and when grown up, he was sent to keep swine. One day he\nbecame possessed of a piece of money, which, instead of spending on\nhimself, he bestowed in alms on a priest, desiring him to offer up\nprayers for his father's soul. He had another brother called Damian,\nwho was arch-priest of Ravenna, and afterwards a monk; who, taking\npity on him, gave him an education. Damian sent Peter to school, first\nat Faenza, afterwards at Parma. Having good natural parts, it was not\nlong before Peter found himself in a capacity to teach others. To arm\nhimself against the allurements of pleasure, and the artifices of the\ndevil, he began to wear a rough hair-shirt under his clothes, and to\ninure himself to fasting, watching, and prayer. In the night, if any\ntemptation of concupiscence arose, he got out of bed and plunged into\nthe river. After this, he visited churches, reciting the psalter\nwhilst he performed this devotion, till the church office began. He\nnot only gave much away in alms, but was seldom without some poor\nperson at his table, and took a pleasure in serving them with his own\nhands. But at length he came to the resolution of deserting the world,\nand embracing the monastic life, at a distance from his own country.\nWhile his mind was full of these thoughts, two religious of the order\nof S. Benedict, belonging to Font-Avellano, a desert at the foot of\nthe Apennines in Umbria, happened to call at the place of his abode;\nand being much edified at their disinterestedness, he resolved to\nembrace their institute; which he did shortly after. This hermitage\nhad been founded by Blessed Ludolf, about twenty years before S. Peter\ncame thither, and was then in the greatest repute. The hermits, in\npairs, occupied separate cells. They lived on bread and water four\ndays in the week: on Tuesdays and Thursdays they ate pulse and herbs,\nwhich every one dressed in his own cell: on their fast days all their\nbread was given them by weight. They never used any wine (the common\ndrink of the country) except for mass, or in sickness: they went\nbarefoot, used disciplines, made many genuflections, struck their\nbreasts, stood with their arms stretched out in prayer, each according\nto his strength and devotion. After the night office they said the\nwhole psalter before day. This severe life brought on S. Peter a\nnervous attack of wakefulness, which nearly wore him out, and of which\nhe was cured with very great difficulty. But he learned from this to\nuse more discretion. He gave a considerable time to sacred studies,\nand became as well versed in the Scriptures as he was before in\nprofane literature. His superior ordered him to make frequent\nexhortations to the religious, and as he had acquired a very great\ncharacter for virtue and learning, Guy, abbot of Pomposia, begged his\nsuperior to send him to instruct his monastery, which consisted of a\nhundred monks. Peter staid there two years, and was then called back\nby his abbot, and sent to perform the same function in the large abbey\nof S. Vincent, near the Pietra Pertusa, or Hollow Rock. On his recall,\nhe was commanded by his abbot, with the unanimous consent of the\nhermitage, to take upon him the government of the desert after his\ndeath, Therefore, on the decease of the abbot, in 1041, Peter assumed\nthe direction of that holy family, which he governed with wisdom and\nsanctity. He founded five other hermitages; in which he placed priors\nsubject to his jurisdiction. His principal care was to cherish in his\ndisciples the spirit of solitude, charity, and humility. Among them,\nmany became great lights of the Church, as S. Ralph, bishop of Gubbio,\nwhose festival is kept on the 26th of June; S. Dominic, surnamed\nLoricatus, the 14th of October; S. John of Lodi, his successor in the\npriory of the Holy Cross, who was also bishop of Gubbio, and wrote S.\nPeter's life; and many others. He was for twelve years much employed\nin the service of the Church by many zealous bishops, and by four\npopes successively, namely, Gregory VI., Clement II., Leo IX., and\nVictor II. Their successor, Stephen IX., 1057, prevailed on him to\nquit his desert, and made him cardinal bishop of Ostia.\n\nStephen IX. dying in 1058, Nicolas II. was chosen pope, a man of deep\npenetration, of great virtue and learning. Upon complaints of simony\nin the Church of Milan, Nicolas II. sent Peter thither as his legate.\nNicolas II. dying, after having sat two years and six months,\nAlexander II. was chosen pope, in 1062. S. Peter had with great\nimportunity solicited Nicolas II. to grant him leave to resign his\nbishopric, and return to his solitude; but could not obtain it. His\nsuccessor, Alexander II., out of affection for the holy man, was\nprevailed upon to allow it, in 1062, but not without great difficulty,\nand the reserve of a power to employ him in Church-matters of\nimportance, as he might have occasion hereafter for his assistance.\nThe saint from that time thought himself discharged, not only from the\nburden of his flock, but also from the government, as Superior of the\nseveral priories, dependent on his monastery.\n\nIn this retirement he edified the Church by his penance and\ncompunction, and laboured by his writings to enforce the observance of\ndiscipline and morality. He wrote a treatise to the bishop of\nBesan\u00e7on, against the custom which the canons of that Church had, of\nsaying the divine office sitting, a custom which has unfortunately,\nsince his time, become general; but he saw the propriety of all\nsitting during the lessons. This saint wrote most severely on the\nobligations of religious, particularly against their rambling over the\ncountry, and going from monastery to monastery. He complained of\ncertain evasions, by which many palliated real infractions of their\nvow of poverty. He justly observed, \"We can never restore what is\ndecayed of primitive discipline; and if we, by negligence, suffer any\ndiminution in what remains established, future ages will never be able\nto repair such breaches. Let us not draw upon ourselves so base a\nreproach; but let us faithfully transmit to posterity the examples of\nvirtue which we have received from our forefathers.\" The holy man was\nobliged to interrupt his solitude in obedience to the pope, who sent\nhim in the capacity of legate, into France, in 1063, commanding the\narchbishops and others to receive him as himself. S. Peter there\nreconciled discords, settled the bounds of the jurisdiction of certain\ndioceses, and condemned and deposed in councils those who were\nconvicted of simony. He notwithstanding, tempered his severity with\nmildness and indulgence towards penitents, where charity and prudence\nrequired such a condescension. Henry IV., king of Germany, in 1067,\nmarried Bertha, daughter of Otho, marquis of the Marches of Italy, but\nafterwards, in 1069, sought a divorce, and persuaded the Archbishop of\nMentz to favour his design, by promising full payment of monies due to\nhim if he complied, and threatening to fall on his territories with an\narmed band if he refused. For the purpose of sanctioning the divorce,\nthe archbishop assembled a council at Mentz. Pope Alexander II.\nforbade him ever to consent to such an injustice, and chose Peter\nDamiani for his legate to preside in the synod. The venerable legate\nmet the king and bishops at Frankfort, laid before them the orders and\ninstructions of the pope, and in his name conjured the king to pay a\ndue regard towards the law of God, the canons of the Church, and his\nown reputation, and seriously reflect on the public scandal of so\npernicious an example. The noblemen likewise all rose up, and\nentreated their sovereign never to stain his honour by so foul an\naction. The king, unable to resist so cogent an authority, dropped his\nproject of a divorce; but remaining the same man in his heart,\ncontinued to hate the queen more than ever.\n\nS. Peter hastened back to his desert of Font-Avellano. Whatever\nausterities he prescribed to others he was the first to practise\nhimself, remitting nothing of them, even in his old age. He lived shut\nup in his cell as in a prison, fasted every day, except festivals, and\nallowed himself no other subsistence than coarse bread, bran, herbs,\nand water, and this he never drank fresh, but what he had kept from\nthe day before. He tortured his body with iron girdles and frequent\ndisciplines, to render it more obedient to the spirit. He passed the\nfirst three days of every Lent and Advent without taking any kind of\nnourishment whatsoever; and often for forty days together, lived only\non raw herbs and fruits, or on pulse steeped in cold water, without\ntouching so much as bread, or anything that had passed the fire. A mat\nspread on the floor was his bed. He used to make wooden spoons and\nsuch like useful cheap things, to exercise himself at certain hours in\nmanual labour. Henry, archbishop of Ravenna, having been\nexcommunicated for grievous enormities, S. Peter was sent by Pope\nAlexander II. in the character of legate, to adjust the affairs of the\nChurch. When he arrived at Ravenna, in 1072, he found the unfortunate\nprelate just dead; but brought the accomplices of his crimes to a\nsense of their guilt, and imposed on them a suitable penance. This was\nhis last undertaking for the Church, God being pleased soon after to\ncall him to eternal rest, and to the crown of his labours. Old age and\nthe fatigues of his journey did not make him lay aside his accustomed\nmortifications, by which he fulfilled his burnt-offering. In his\nreturn towards Rome, he was stopped by a fever in the monastery of Our\nLady, outside the gates of Faenza, and died there, on the eighth day\nof his sickness, whilst the monks were reciting Matins round about\nhim. He passed from that employment, which had been the delight of his\nheart on earth, to sing the same praises of God in eternal glory, on\nthe 22nd of February, 1072, being fourscore and three years old. He is\nhonoured as patron at Faenza and Font-Avellano, on the 23rd of the\nsame month.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 24.\n\n S. MATTHIAS, _Ap. M., after_ A.D. 60.\n SS. MONTANUS, LUCIUS, JULIAN, VICTORIUS, AND COMPANIONS., _MM.\n in Africa_, A.D. 259.\n S. SERGIUS, _M. at C\u00e6sarea in Cappadocia_, A.D. 304.\n S. MODESTUS, _B. of Treves, circ._ A.D. 480.\n S. PR\u00c6TEXTATUS, _of Rouen, B. M._, A.D. 586.\n S. LIUTHARD, _of Senlis, B. C. in England, end of 7th cent._\n S. ETHELBERT, _K. of Kent_, A.D. 616.\n S. JOHN THERISTIS, _Monk at Stylum in Calabria; circ._ A.D. 1129.\n\n\nS. MATTHIAS, AP. M.\n\n(AFTER A.D. 60.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, but in leap year on Feb. 25th. So all Latin\n Martyrologies, with the exception of the ancient Roman one bearing\n the name of S. Jerome, which does not include any mention of S.\n Matthias, and the Church of Milan venerates S. Matthias on Feb.\u00a07;\n the Greeks commemorate him on August 9th. The election of this\n Apostle is said to have taken place on May 12th. Authorities:--The\n Acts of the Apostles, and various traditional notices concerning\n him. The Apocryphal Syriac Acts of S. Matthias are extant.]\n\nSaint Matthias not having been an Apostle of the first election,\nimmediately called and chosen by our Blessed Lord, particular remarks\nconcerning him are not to be expected in the narrative of the Holy\nGospels. He was, probably, one of the Seventy disciples who had\nattended on Christ the whole time of his public ministry. A vacancy\nhaving been made in the college of the Apostles by the suicide of the\ntraitor Judas, the first thing which they did after their return from\nMount Olivet--where Our Lord took leave of them on His Ascension--to\nS. John's house on Mount Sion, was to fill up their number with a fit\nperson; for this purpose, S. Peter informed them that Judas, according\nto the prophetic prediction, having fallen from his ministry, it was\nnecessary that another should be substituted in his room, one that had\nbeen a constant companion and disciple of the Holy Jesus, and,\nconsequently, capable of bearing witness to His life, death, and\nresurrection. Two were proposed as candidates--Joseph, called Barsabas\nand Justus (whom some make the same with Joses, one of the brethren of\nOur Lord), and Matthias--both duly qualified for the place. The way of\nelection was by lots, a way frequently used both among Jews and\nGentiles for the determination of doubtful and difficult cases, and\nespecially in the choosing judges and magistrates: and this course the\nApostles rather took because the Holy Ghost was not yet given, by\nwhose immediate dictates and inspiration they were chiefly guided\nafterwards. The lots were put into the urn, and the name of Matthias\nwas drawn out, and thereby the Apostolate devolved upon him. Not long\nafter, the promised powers of the Holy Ghost were conferred upon the\nApostles, to fit them for that great and difficult employment upon\nwhich they were sent; and, among the rest, S. Matthias betook himself\nto his charge and province. The first period of his ministry he spent\nin Jud\u00e6a; whence, having reaped a considerable harvest, he betook\nhimself to other provinces. The Greeks, with some probability, report\nhim to have travelled eastwards into Cappadocia (which they\nerroneously call \u00c6thiopia). Here, meeting with a people of a fierce\nand intractable temper, he was treated by them with great rudeness and\ninhumanity; and from them, after all his labour and sufferings, and a\nnumerous conversion of men to Christianity, he obtained at last the\ncrown of martyrdom, about the year of Christ, 64. Little certain\ninformation can be ascertained concerning the manner of his death; but\nthe Greek Men\u00e6a, which are corroborated by several ancient breviaries,\nrelate that he was crucified, and that as Judas was hanged upon a\ntree, so Matthias suffered upon a cross. His body is said to have been\nkept a long time at Jerusalem, thence thought to have been translated\nto Rome by S. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, where some\nsupposed portions of it are shown with great veneration at this day;\nthough others contend that his relics were brought to and are still\npreserved at Tr\u00e8ves. Among many apocryphal writings attributed to the\nApostles, there was a Gospel published under his name, mentioned by\nthe ancient ecclesiastical historians, and condemned with the rest by\nGelasius, Bishop of Rome, as it had been rejected by others before him.\n\n [Illustration: BEHEADING OF S. MATTHIAS. From Cahier. Feb. 24.]\n\nS. Matthias is seldom represented in works of art; when his figure\ndoes occur, he generally carries an axe or halbert, sometimes a spear\nor lance, occasionally a book and a stone. The Greeks represent S.\nMatthias as an old man with a rounded beard.\n\n\nSS. MONTANUS, LUCIUS, JULIAN, AND\nCOMP., MM.\n\n(A.D. 259.)\n\n [Roman and other Western Martyrologies. Authority:--The very\n interesting letter written by these Martyrs, when in prison, to\n their brethren, with the conclusion, relating their passion, by an\n eye-witness.]\n\nThe persecution raised by Valerian had raged two years, during which,\nmany had received the crown of martyrdom, and amongst others, S.\nCyprian, in September, 258. The proconsul, Galerius Maximus, who had\npronounced sentence on that saint, dying soon after, the procurator,\nSolon, continued the persecution, waiting for the arrival of a new\nproconsul from Rome. After some days, a sedition was raised in\nCarthage against him, in which many were killed. Solon, instead of\nmaking search after the perpetrators of the riot, vented his fury upon\nthe Christians, knowing that this would be agreeable to the idolaters.\nAccordingly, he caused eight Christians, all disciples of S. Cyprian,\nand most of them of the clergy, to be apprehended. \"As soon as we were\ntaken,\" say the martyrs, \"we were given in custody to the officers of\nthe quarter. The governor's soldiers told us that we were to be\ncondemned to the flames; then we prayed to God, with great fervour, to\nbe delivered from that punishment, and he, in whose hands are the\nhearts of men, was pleased to grant our request. The governor altered\nhis first intent, and ordered us into a very dark and incommodious\nprison, where we found the priest Victor, and some others; but we were\nnot dismayed at the filth and darkness of the place, our faith and joy\nin the Holy Ghost reconciled us to our sufferings in that place,\nthough they were such as it is not easy for words to describe; but the\ngreater our trials, the greater is He who overcomes them in us. Our\nbrother Rhenus in the meantime had a vision, in which he saw several\nof the prisoners going out of the jail with a lighted lamp preceding\neach of them, whilst others, who had no such lamp, stayed behind. He\ndiscerned us in this vision, and assured us that we were of the number\nof those who went forth with lamps. This gave us great joy, for we\nunderstood that the lamp represented Christ, the true Light, and that\nwe were to follow Him by martyrdom.\n\n\"The next day we were sent for by the governor, to be examined. It was\na triumph to us to be conducted, as a spectacle, through the market\nplace and the streets, with our chains rattling. The soldiers, who\nknew not where the governor would hear us, dragged us from place to\nplace till, at length, he ordered us to be brought into his closet. He\nput several questions to us; our answers were modest, but firm: at\nlength we were remanded to prison; here we prepared ourselves for new\nconflicts. The sharpest trial was that which we underwent through\nhunger and thirst, the governor having commanded that we should be\nkept without meat and drink for several days, insomuch that water was\nrefused us after our work; yet Flavian the deacon added great\nvoluntary austerities to these hardships, often bestowing on others\nthat little refreshment which was most sparingly allowed us at the\npublic charge.\n\n\"God was pleased himself to comfort us in this our extreme misery, by\na vision which he vouchsafed to the priest Victor, who suffered\nmartyrdom a few days after. 'I saw last night,' said he to us, 'a\nchild, whose countenance was of a wonderful brightness, enter the\nprison. He took us to all parts to make us go out, but there was no\noutlet; then he said to me,--Thou art still concerned at being\nretained here, but be not discouraged, I am with thee: carry these\ntidings to thy companions, and let them know that they shall have a\nmore glorious crown. I asked him where heaven was; the child replied,\nBeyond the world.' Victor then desired to be shown the place of the\nblessed, but the child in the vision reprimanded him gently, saying,\n'Where then would be thy faith?' Victor said, 'I cannot retain what\nthou dost command me: tell me a sign that I may give to my\ncompanions.' He answered, 'Give them the sign of Jacob, that is, his\nmystical ladder, reaching to the heavens.'\" Soon after this vision\nVictor was put to death. \"This vision,\" continues the letter of the\nmartyrs, \"filled us with joy.\"\n\n\"God gave us, the night following, another assurance of his mercy, by\na vision to our sister Quartillosia, a fellow-prisoner, whose husband\nand son had suffered death for Christ three days before, and who\nfollowed them by martyrdom a few days after. 'I saw,' says she, 'my\nson, who suffered; he was in the prison sitting on a vessel of water,\nand he said to me,--God has seen thy sufferings. Then entered a young\nman, of a wonderful stature, and he said,--Be of good courage, God\nhath remembered thee.'\" The martyrs had received no nourishment the\npreceding day, nor had they any on the day that followed this vision;\nbut, at length, Lucian, then priest, and afterward bishop of Carthage,\nsurmounting all obstacles, got food to be carried to them in abundance\nby the subdeacon Herennian, and by Januarius, a catechumen. The Acts\nsay, they brought the never-failing Food,[65] that is, the blessed\nEucharist. They continue: \"We have all one and the same spirit, which\nunites and cements us together in prayer, in mutual conversation, and\nin all our actions. These are the lovely bands which put the devil to\nflight, are most agreeable to God, and obtain of Him, by joint prayer,\nwhatever they ask. These are the ties which link hearts together, and\nwhich make men the children of God. To be heirs of His kingdom we must\nbe His children, and to be His children we must love one another. It\nis impossible for us to attain to the inheritance of heavenly glory,\nunless we keep that union and peace with all our brethren which our\nheavenly Father has established amongst us. Nevertheless, this union\nsuffered some prejudice in our troop, but the breach was soon\nrepaired. It happened that Montanus had some words with Julian about a\nperson who was not of our communion, and who was got among us\n(probably admitted by Julian). Montanus on this account rebuked\nJulian, and they, for some time afterward, behaved towards each other\nwith coldness, which was, as it were, a seed of discord. Heaven had\npity on them both, and, to reunite them, admonished Montanus by a\ndream, which he related to us, as follows:--'It appeared to me that\nthe centurions were come to us, and that they conducted us through a\nlong path into a spacious field, where we were met by Cyprian and\nLucius. After this, we came into a very luminous place, where our\ngarments became white, and our flesh whiter than our garments, and so\nwonderfully transparent, that there was nothing in our hearts but what\nwas clearly exposed to view; but, in looking into myself, I could\ndiscover some filth in my own bosom: and, meeting Lucian, I told him\nwhat I had seen, adding, that what I had observed in my breast denoted\nmy coldness towards Julian. Wherefore, brethren, let us love, cherish,\nand promote, with all our might, peace and concord. Let us be here\nunanimous, in imitation of what we shall be hereafter. As we hope to\nshare in the rewards promised to the just, and to avoid the\npunishments wherewith the wicked are threatened, as we desire to be,\nand to reign with Christ, let us do those things which will lead us to\nHim and to His heavenly kingdom.'\"\n\nThus far, the martyrs wrote in prison what happened to them; the rest\nwas written by those persons who were present, according to the\nrecommendation of Flavian, one of the martyrs.\n\nAfter suffering extreme hunger and thirst, with other hardships,\nduring an imprisonment of many months, the confessors were brought\nbefore the president, and made a glorious confession. The edict of\nValerian condemned only bishops, priests, and deacons to death. The\nfalse friends of Flavian maintained before the judge that he was not a\ndeacon, and, consequently, was not comprehended in the emperor's\ndecree; whereupon, though he protested that he was one, he was not\nthen condemned; but the rest were sentenced to death. They walked\ncheerfully to the place of execution, and each of them gave\nexhortations to the people. Lucius, who was naturally mild and modest,\nwas a little dejected on account of a sickness he had contracted in\nprison; he, therefore, went before the rest, accompanied by only a few\npersons, lest he should be oppressed by the crowd, and so not have the\nhonour of spilling his blood. Some cried out to him, \"Remember us.\"\n\"Do you also,\" said he, \"remember me.\" Julian and Victoricus exhorted\nthe brethren to peace, and recommended to their care the whole body of\nthe clergy, especially those who had undergone the hardships of\nimprisonment. Montanus, who was endued with great strength, both of\nbody and mind, cried out, \"He that sacrificeth to any God but the true\none shall be utterly destroyed.\" This he often repeated. He also\nchecked the pride and wicked obstinacy of the heretics, telling them\nthat they might discern the true Church by the multitude of its\nmartyrs. Like a true disciple of S. Cyprian, and a zealous lover of\ndiscipline, he exhorted those that had fallen not to be over hasty,\nbut fully to accomplish their penance. He exhorted the virgins to\npreserve their purity, and to honour the bishops, and all the bishops\nto abide in concord. When the executioner was ready to give the\nstroke, he prayed aloud to God that Flavian, who had been reprieved at\nthe people's request, might follow them on the third day. And, to\nexpress his assurance that his prayer was heard, he rent in pieces the\nhandkerchief with which his eyes were to be covered, and ordered\none-half of it to be reserved for Flavian, and desired that a place\nmight be kept for him where he was to be buried, that they might not\nbe separated even in the grave. Flavian, seeing his crown delayed,\nmade it the object of his ardent desires and prayers. And as his\nmother kept close by his side, with the constancy of the mother of the\nholy Maccabees, and with longing desire to see him glorify God by\ndeath, he said to her, \"Thou knowest, mother, how much I have longed\nto enjoy the happiness of dying by martyrdom.\" In one of the two\nnights during which he survived, he was favoured with a vision, in\nwhich one said to him, \"Why dost thou grieve? Twice hast thou been a\nconfessor, and thou shalt suffer martyrdom by the sword.\" On the third\nday he was ordered to be brought before the governor. Here it appeared\nhow much he was beloved by the people, for they endeavoured by all\nmeans to save his life. They cried out to the judge that he was no\ndeacon; but he affirmed that he was. A centurion presented a billet,\nwhich set forth that he was not. The judge accused him of lying, to\nprocure his own death. He answered, \"Is that probable? are not they\nrather guilty of an untruth who say the contrary?\" The people demanded\nthat he might be tortured, in hopes he would recall his confession on\nthe rack; but the judge condemned him to be beheaded. The sentence\nfilled him with joy, and he was conducted to the place of execution,\naccompanied by a great multitude, and by many priests. A shower\ndispersed the infidels, and the martyr was led into a house till the\nstorm was passed, and there he had an opportunity of taking his last\nleave of the faithful, without the presence of any heathen spectators.\nHe told them that in a vision he had asked Cyprian whether the stroke\nof death is painful, and that the martyr answered, \"The body feels no\npain when the soul gives itself entirely to God.\" At the place of\nexecution, he prayed for the peace of the Church and the union of the\nbrethren. Having done speaking, he bound his eyes with that half of\nthe handkerchief which Montanus had ordered to be kept for him, and,\nkneeling in prayer, received the last stroke. Although he suffered two\ndays after the others, the whole glorious company receives\ncommemoration together on one day.\n\n\nS. SERGIUS, M.\n\n(A.D. 304.)\n\n [Roman and German Martyrologies, and those of Bede, Usuardus, Ado,\n &c. Authority:--The Acts, apparently not in their original form, but\n trustworthy.]\n\nS. Sergius lived a retired, hermit life, near C\u00e6sarea, in Cappadocia.\nWhen he heard of the breaking out of persecution, under the Emperors\nDiocletian and Maximian, his zeal led him to come into the city, and\nappear before Sapricius, the governor, and proclaim his abhorrence of\nthe gods of Rome. The governor at once ordered him to execution.\n\nHis relics were translated to Ubeda, in the diocese of Taragona, in\nSpain.\n\n\nS. PR\u00c6TEXTATUS OF ROUEN, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 586.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--S. Gregory of Tours, Hist. Franc.\n lib. ix. c.\u00a039, 42, and the zealous champion of Pr\u00e6textatus in the\n Council of Paris.]\n\nOn the death of Clothair, sole king of the Franks, (A.D. 561), his\ndominions were divided amongst his four sons, Charibert, who became\nking of Paris and the adjacent country; Guntram, of Orleans;\nChilperic, of Soissons; and Sigebert, of Austrasia. The reign of\nCharibert was unattended by any important event; he died at the\nexpiration of eleven years from the date of his accession, leaving an\nonly daughter, Bertha, who married Ethelbert, king of Kent, and\nconverted him to Christianity. The brothers Sigebert and Chilperic\nwere engaged in bloody wars with each other. Sigebert had espoused\nBrunhild, daughter of Athanagild, king of the Visigoths. Chilperic was\nmarried at three several periods to as many wives: first, to Audovera,\nby whom he had three sons; Theodebert, Meroveus, and Clovis; secondly,\nto Gailesuinth, sister of Brunhild, by whom he had a daughter. During\nthe lifetime of his second queen, Chilperic became enamoured of\nFredegund, and his passion led him to put Gailesuinth to death, and\nelevate her rival to the throne. This barbarous action induced\nSigebert to take up arms against his brother, urged thereto by the\nvehement Brunhild, desirous of revenging the murder of her sister; and\na destructive war ensued, in the course of which Chilperic and his\nguilty consort were driven from their country, and became exiles in a\nforeign land.\n\nAt no very distant interval of time, in 575, Sigebert was assassinated\nby the directions of his unnatural brother. Brunhild, his widow, sued\nfor protection to Meroveus, son of Chilperic by his first wife, who\nwas at Rouen, where Chilperic had imprisoned her. Meroveus, dreading\nthe power of Fredegund, who wished to secure the succession to the\ncrown for her son, took up arms against his father, and making common\ncause with Brunhild, his aunt, married her.\n\nAt that time, Pr\u00e6textatus was bishop of Rouen. His position was\ndifficult. The insurgent son had made Rouen his head-quarters, and\nexpected, or exacted contributions from the Church, which Pr\u00e6textatus\nwas unwilling to grant, but which the prince was strong enough to\nobtain. To make the case more difficult, Meroveus was the spiritual\nson of this bishop, that is, Pr\u00e6textatus had baptized him, and this\nspiritual relationship was then regarded as a sacred and dear tie.\nChilperic heard exaggerated accounts of what the bishop had done, and\nhastily concluding that Pr\u00e6textatus was privy to the revolt of\nMeroveus, ordered a council of prelates to meet in Paris, to try and\nsentence Pr\u00e6textatus either to have his episcopal habit rent in twain,\nand to have Psalm cviii. (A. V. 109), said over him, in token that his\nbishopric was taken from him, or that he should be excommunicated.\nPr\u00e6textatus was first charged by the king with having broken the\ncanons by marrying Meroveus to his aunt, and with having fomented\nrebellion by giving large contributions to the prince. The bishop\ndenied both charges. The king in person pressed the charge. S.\nGregory, bishop of Tours, who gives us a full account of the affair,\nand Aetius, archdeacon of Paris, were the only two who had courage to\ntake the part of the bishop, on whose destruction the king was\nresolved. Gregory steadfastly refused to condemn Pr\u00e6textatus on\ncharges which could not be substantiated. Then the king sent for him\nprivately, and endeavoured by flattery to break his resolution, but in\nvain. Then bursting out in a passion, he exclaimed, \"Hah! bishop, you\nwho have to dispense justice, will not show justice to me. True, by my\nfaith! is the proverb, Hawks will not peck out hawks' een. Here is a\ncollation I had prepared for you,\" pointing to a table on which were\nroast fowl and other delicacies. Gregory refused to eat, till the king\nhad sworn that he would not violate the laws of the realm and the\ncanons of the Church, by forcing the council to condemn an innocent\nman. After that he took, so he tells us, some bread, and even a little\nwine; and so departed. That night queen Fredegund sent to his lodgings\na large sum of money, in hopes of bribing him to consent to the\nsentence on Pr\u00e6textatus, but Gregory refused the bribe.\n\nThe king next raked up another charge against the bishop of Rouen, of\nhaving stolen some handsome birds he valued at three thousand sous,\nbut this charge broke down also. Then some false friend urged\nPr\u00e6textatus to deliver the bishops who tried him from their perilous\npredicament, by confessing himself guilty, assuring him that this\nwould satisfy the king, who would not press further punishment on him.\nPr\u00e6textatus was weak enough to yield to this treacherous advice,[66]\nand thus to remove it out of the power of his two defenders to\nmaintain their opposition to the majority. The bishop of Rouen was at\nonce condemned and banished to a little island off Coutances, probably\nJersey.\n\nThe ferocious Fredegund now cleared the way for her own son to the\nthrone of her husband, by causing Meroveus, Theodobert, and Clovis,\nthe sons of Chilperic by his first wife, Audovera, to be put to death.\nThe only remaining obstacle to the accession of her child, was\nChilperic, her husband; but that impediment was speedily removed by\nhis assassination, (584), after which his son ascended the vacant\nthrone. On the death of Chilperic, Pr\u00e6textatus returned to Rouen, with\nthe sanction of Guntram, second son of Clothair, king of Soissons,\nmuch against the wishes of Fredegund. A council was assembled at\nMacon, and the Bishop of Rouen was reinstated, against the protest of\nFredegund, who asserted that it was indecent to overthrow the sentence\nof deprivation pronounced against him by forty-five bishops. In 586\nthe queen was at Rouen, where words passed between her and\nPr\u00e6textatus. Seeing him on her arrival, she greeted him with, \"The\ntime is coming when thou shalt revisit the place of thine exile.\" \"I\nwas a bishop always, whether in exile or out of exile,\" answered\nPr\u00e6textatus; \"and a bishop I shall remain; but as for thee, thou shalt\nnot for ever enjoy thy crown;\" and then he earnestly besought her to\nabandon her wicked life, and seek reconciliation with God. This was\nshortly before Easter. On Easter morning he went after midnight to the\nchurch to sing Matins; he precented the antiphons, and then during the\npsalms rested in his seat; an assassin, sent by the queen, approached\nat this time, and stabbed him under the armpit. He rose with a cry,\nand staggered to the altar, on which he placed his hands, dabbled with\nblood, and received the Holy Sacrament. He was then carried to his\nbed, where he died. His death took place on April 14th, 586; but\nFeb.\u00a024th is observed in his honour, as being probably the day of his\ntranslation.\n\n\nS. ETHELBERT, K. C.\n\n(A.D. 616.)\n\n [Roman, Ancient Anglican and German Martyrologies, that of Usuardus,\n &c. Authority:--Bede, lib. i. c.\u00a011-15, 25, 26; lib. ii. c.\u00a05.]\n\nS. Ethelbert was son and successor of Irmenric, king of Kent, and\ngreat grandson of Hengist, the first of the Saxon conquerors of\nBritain. He reigned for thirty-six years over the oldest kingdom of\nthe Heptarchy--that of Kent--and gained over all the other Saxon kings\nand princes, even to the confines of Northumbria, that kind of\nmilitary supremacy which was attached to the title of Bretwalda, or\ntemporary chief of the Saxon Confederation. His wife was Bertha,\ndaughter of Charibert, son of Clovis, king of France; a Christian\nprincess, who brought over with her as chaplain, one Lethard or\nLiudhard, of Senlis, a bishop, who exercised his ministry in a church\nformerly built, in Roman times, near the walls of Canterbury, and\ndedicated to S. Martin. Tradition records the gentle and lovable\nvirtues of queen Bertha, but little is known of her life; she has left\nbut a brief and uncertain illumination on those distant and dark\nhorizons, over which she sits like a star, the herald of the sun. Her\nexample and the virtues of Liudhard probably did much to break up the\nground in the heart of Ethelbert; but his conversion was reserved for\nthe coming and preaching of S. Augustine and his companions, the\nmissioners sent from Rome by Gregory the Great. These landed first in\nthe Isle of Thanet, which joins close to the east part of Kent, and\nthence they sent a message to king Ethelbert, saying why they had come\ninto his land. The king sent word back to them to stay in the isle\ntill he fully made up his mind how to treat them; and he gave orders\nthat they should be well taken care of in the meanwhile. After some\ndays he came himself into the isle, and bade them come and tell him\nwhat they had to say. He sat under an oak, and received them in the\nopen air, for he would not meet them in a house, as he thought they\nmight be wizards, and they might use some charm or spell, which,\naccording to the superstition of the time, was held to be powerless\nout of doors. So they came, carrying a silver cross, and a picture of\nOur Lord painted on a wooden panel, chanting in procession the\nlitanies in use at Rome, in the solemn and touching strains which they\nhad learnt from Gregory, their spiritual father, and the father of\nreligious music. At their head marched Augustine, whose lofty stature\nand patrician presence attracted every eye, for, like Saul, \"he was\ntaller than any of the people from his shoulders and upwards.\"[67] The\nking, surrounded by a great number of his followers, received them\ngraciously, and made them sit down before him. After having listened\nto the address which they delivered to him and to the assembly, he\ngave them a loyal, sincere, and, as we should say in these days, truly\nliberal answer. \"You make fair speeches and promises,\" he said, \"but\nall this is to me new and uncertain. I cannot all at once put faith in\nwhat you tell me, and abandon all that I, with my whole nation, have\nfor so long a time held sacred. But since you have come from so far\naway to impart to us what you yourselves, by what I see, believe to be\nthe truth and the supreme good, we shall do you no hurt, but, on the\ncontrary, shall show you all hospitality, and shall take care to\nfurnish you with the means of living. We shall not hinder you from\npreaching your religion, and you may convert whom you can.\" So he gave\nthem a house to dwell in, in the royal city of Canterbury, and he let\nthem preach openly to the people, of whom they quickly brought some\nover to the faith, moved by the innocence of their lives, and the\nsweetness of their heavenly doctrine, which was confirmed by miracles.\nThey were given, as Bede tells us, the Church of S. Martin in which\n\"to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach, and to baptize.\" But it was\nnot long before the king also submitted to the truth, and was\nbaptized; and before the year was out, there was added to the Church\nmore than ten thousand souls. It was on Whitsun-Day, in the year of\ngrace, 497, that the English king entered into the unity of the Holy\nChurch of Christ Since the conversion of Constantine, excepting that\nof Clovis, there had not been any event of greater moment in the\nannals of Christendom. Then the king told Augustine and his companions\nthat they might build new churches, and repair the old ones which\nChristians had used before the Saxons invaded England, and drove the\nancient Church into Cornwall and Wales. Ethelbert, faithful to the\nlast to that noble respect for the individual conscience, of which he\nhad given proof even before he was a Christian, was unwilling to\nconstrain anyone to change his religion. He allowed himself to show no\npreference, save a deeper love for those who, baptized like himself,\nbecame his fellow-citizens in the heavenly kingdom. The Saxon king had\nlearnt from the Italian monks that no constraint is compatible with\nthe service of Christ.[68] It was not to unite England to the Roman\nChurch, but it was in order to tear her from it, a thousand years\nafter this, that another king, and another queen, Henry VIII., and his\ncruel daughter Elizabeth, had to employ torture and the gallows.\n\nFrom the time of his conversion, Ethelbert behaved for the twenty\nremaining years of his life, as became a good king and a good\nChristian. He gave his royal palace in Canterbury for the use of the\narchbishop, founded Christ Church in Canterbury, S. Andrew's in\nRochester, S. Paul's in London, and built and endowed the abbey and\nchurch of SS. Peter and Paul without the walls of Canterbury, commonly\ncalled S. Augustine's; and was instrumental in bringing over to the\nfaith of Christ, Sebert, king of the East Saxons, with his people, and\nRedwald, king of the East Angles. The former remained true to Christ\ntill his death; but Redwald returned, at least in part, to the worship\nof Thor and Wodin. Ethelbert died in the year 616, and was buried in\nthe Church of SS. Peter and Paul, near the body of his devout queen\nBertha, and the holy prelate Liuthard. A light was always kept burning\nbefore his tomb by our pious ancestors.\n\nLiuthard of Senlis, the chaplain of queen Bertha, is also commemorated\non this day.\n\n[65] Alimentum indeficiens.\n\n[66] Alban Butler, in his life of S. Pr\u00e6textatus, says that the bishop\nmarried Meroveus to his aunt, deeming the case one deserving a\ndispensation, and that he confessed this at the council; but S.\nGregory of Tours, who is the authority for all that passed, says that\nthe bishop denied having married them, and when he was persuaded to\nconfess, he did not confess that he had done this, but that by giving\nmoney to Meroveus, he had encouraged him in his revolt.\n\n[67] Gotselinus: Vita S. Aug. c. 45.\n\n[68] \"Didicerat enim a doctoribus auctoribusque su\u00e6 salutis, servitium\nChrist voluntarium, non coactum esse debere.\" Bede i.\u00a026.\n\n [Illustration: ENAMELLED CHEST, which contained the remains of King\n Ethelbert.]\n\n [Illustration: WINDOW in the Cathedral at Tours. Feb. 24.]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 25.\n\n SS. VICTORINUS, VICTOR, AND COMP., _MM. in Egypt_, A.D. 284.\n SS. ANANIAS, P. M., Peter, and Seven Soldiers, _MM. in Phoenicia,\n circ._ A.D. 298.\n S. C\u00c6SARIUS, _C. in Bithynia, circ._ A.D. 369.\n S. FELIX III., _Pope of Rome_, A.D. 492.\n S. ALDETRUDIS, _V. Abss. of Maubeuge, end of 7th cent._\n S. WALBURGA, _V. Abss. of Heidenheim, about_ A.D. 780.\n S. TARASIUS, _Patr. of Constantinople_, A.D. 806.\n S. GERLANDUS, _B. of Girgenti, Sicily_, A.D. 1101.\n B. ROBERT OF ARBRISSEL, _Founder of the Order of Fontevrault_,\n A.D. 1117.\n S. AVERTANUS, _O. M. C. in Tuscany, 16th cent._\n\n\nSS. VICTORINUS, VICTOR, AND COM., MM.\n\n(A.D. 284.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Ado, &c. But the ancient\n Roman Martyrology, bearing the name of S. Jerome, on Feb.\u00a024th. By\n the Greeks commemorated on Jan, 31st and April 5th. A mere epitome\n of their Acts was all that was known to Bollandus, as contained in\n the Men\u00e6a and Martyrologies; but Assemani has since recovered the\n genuine Acts in Chaldaic.]\n\nVictorinus, Victor, Nicephorus, Claudian, Dioscorus,[69] Serapion, and\nPapias, were citizens of Corinth, and had witnessed a good confession\nbefore Tertius, the proconsul, in 249. They then passed into Egypt,\nfor what reason is not stated, and were again called upon to confess\nChrist, in the reign of Numerian, in Diospolis, capital of the\nThebaid, in 284, under Sabinus, the governor. After the governor had\ntried the constancy of the martyrs with the rack and scourge, he\ncaused Victorinus to be thrown into a great marble mortar. The\nexecutioners began by pounding his extremities, saying to him, at\nevery stroke, \"Spare thy life, Victorinus, by abjuring thy new God.\"\nBut, as he continued to maintain his steadfastness, by order of\nSabinus they crushed his head and chest. Victor was threatened with\nthe same death. He pointed to the mortar, stained with the blood and\nbrains of his companions, and said, calmly, \"My salvation and my true\njoy await me there!\" He was immediately cast into it, and pounded to\ndeath. Nicephorus was impatient of delay, and leaped of his own accord\ninto the mortar. He met with the same fate. Sabinus caused Claudian,\nthe fourth, to be chopped to pieces, and his bleeding joints to be\nthrown at the feet of the survivors. He expired, after his feet,\nhands, arms, legs, and thighs had been cut off. The governor then,\npointing to the mangled limbs and bleeding trunk, said to the three\nwho remained, \"It concerns you to escape this punishment; I do not\ncompel you to suffer.\" The martyrs replied, with one accord, \"We\ndesire of thee to bid us suffer by the most excruciating pains thou\ncanst devise, for never will we break our fidelity to God, and deny\nJesus Christ, our Saviour, for He is our God, from whom we have our\nbeing, and to whom alone we aspire.\"\n\nThe tyrant then condemned Dioscorus to be roasted to death; Serapion\nwas suspended by his heels and decapitated; and Papias was cast into\nthe sea with a stone attached to his neck, and drowned.\n\nThis happened on Feb.\u00a025th, on which day these martyrs are\ncommemorated in the Western Martyrologies; but the Greek Men\u00e6a and the\nMenology of the Emperor Basil Porphyrogenitus honour them on January\n31st, the day of their confession at Corinth.\n\n\nSS. ANANIAS, P., AND COMP., MM.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 298.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a, on Feb. 26th; Martyrology of Ado on Feb.\u00a025th.\n Inserted in many of the later Western Martyrologies, but in none of\n the earlier ones except that of Ado. Authority:--The notices in the\n Martyrologies, and an ancient MS. Acts of these saints found in the\n Monastery of Gladbach, which is, however, of very doubtful value.]\n\nS. Ananias was a priest in Phoenicia, who was put to a terrible\ndeath by the governor for his testimony to the truth. After having\nbeen scourged till his back was a mass of wounds, salt and vinegar\nwere rubbed into the exposed and bleeding flesh, and he was wrapped in\na horse-hair garment so as still further to inflame and irritate the\nwounds. In prison he converted the gaoler, Peter. He was brought forth\nagain, and slowly scorched on a grate over live coals; then salt was\nagain applied to his sores, and the charred flesh was then cut off\nwith a fish-slice. Peter was also exposed to a slow fire, and was\nthen, with the priest, and seven believing soldiers, cast into the sea\nand drowned.\n\n\nS. C\u00c6SARIUS, C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 369.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Greek Men\u00e6a on March 9th. Authority:--His life,\n written by his brother, S. Gregory Nazianzen.]\n\nS. C\u00e6sarius was given by his parents an excellent education, and,\nbeing a man of great natural parts, he soon distinguished himself for\nhis accomplishments in all the known sciences. He became one of the\nfirst physicians of his day, and was urged by the Emperor Constantius\nto reside in the imperial city, but declined to do so. Julian the\nApostate nominated him his first physician, and loaded him with marks\nof favour, without, however, being able to shake his Christian\nconstancy. Jovian, who succeeded Julian, also honoured him, and\nfinding that, moved by the remonstrances of his father and brother,\nC\u00e6sarius had thrown up his appointment at the court of the Apostate,\nhe recalled him. Valens created him keeper of the privy purse, and\ntreasurer of Bithynia. A narrow escape in an earthquake at Nic\u00e6a, in\n368, when almost all the chief men of that city were killed, moved him\nto renounce the world. He died shortly after, and was buried with\ngreat solemnity, his parents assisting at the funeral with lighted\ntapers in their hands, and his brother, S. Gregory, Bishop of\nNazianzus, preaching his funeral oration.\n\n\nS. ALDETRUDIS, V. ABSS.\n\n(END OF 7TH CENT.)\n\n [Molanus, Wyon, Mir\u00e6us, Menardus, Bollandus, &c., on this day; some\n other hagiographers on March 15th. Authority:--An ancient life, part\n of which formed the lections of the Breviary for the Collegiate\n Church of Mons, founded by S. Waldetrudis.]\n\nThe Abbey of Maubeuge, in France, on the Sambre, near the confines of\nBelgium, was founded by S. Aldegund (Jan.\u00a030th), sister of S.\nWaldetrudis (April 9th), wife of S. Vincent, a count, (July 14th), and\naunt of the two holy daughters of this pious couple, S. Aldetrudis and\nS. Madelbertha (Sept.\u00a07th), who succeeded Aldegund as abbesses of\nMaubeuge. Aldetrudis was brought up by her saintly parents to tread\nthe path of light and life from her earliest infancy. She chose the\nreligious life, and entered the house founded and governed by her\naunt, whom she succeeded. One little incident of her life has retained\nits hold on the popular memory, and is sometimes represented in art.\nDetermined not to waste the precious wax from the altar and other\ncandles, Aldetrudis melted up all the scrapings, drippings, and ends\nof the tapers in a large pot on the fire, but, when it was melted, the\nwax caught fire. Aldetrudis, thinking there was danger from the blaze,\nand not wishing to lose the wax, boldly caught the pot from the fire\nwith both her hands, and placed it on the stone floor. The legend adds\nthat though some of the melted wax ran over her hands she was not\nburnt.\n\nAnother story is to this effect. One evening she stood at the convent\ngate, looking out at an advancing thunderstorm. Presently there came a\nflash and a roar, which so frightened her that she cried out, \"Lord\nJesus, into Thy hands I commend my spirit!\" Then there passed her the\nLord Himself, shining out of the darkness, fairer than the sons of\nmen, and comforted her with the words, \"Be not afraid, I am with thee.\"\n\n\nS. WALBURGA, V. ABSS.\n\n(A.D. 779.)\n\n [On this day the Martyrology bearing the name of Bede; also those of\n the metropolitan Churches of Prague, of Treves, and Utrecht; the\n Benedictine Kalendar; and as usually commemorated in Germany. But\n some give April 27th. No mention of S. Walburga in the French\n Martyrologies. Some give Feb.\u00a025th as the day of her Translation,\n others October 12th, others September 21st; but May 1st is the most\n solemn day of her Translation. Authority:--Her Life by a priest of\n Eichstadt in the following century; another life by Adelbold, B. of\n Maestrecht, d.\u00a01027; another by Eynwick, provost of S. Florian;\n another by an anonymous writer, and others later. Walburga is\n variously called Waldburga, Wilburga, Vaubone, Valpurgis, Vaubourg.]\n\nThe blessed Walburga was a daughter of S. Richard, West Saxon Thane,\n(Feb.\u00a07th), and sister of S. Willibald, (July 7th), and S. Wunnibald,\n(December 18th). These holy brothers accompanied their uncle, the\ngreat S. Boniface, (June 5th), apostle of Germany, on his mission, and\nare regarded and honoured as his fellow apostles. S. Walburga was\neducated from early childhood in the monastic calm of Wimbourne, in\nDorsetshire, where she took the veil, and spent an untroubled youth\ntill called by S. Boniface to Germany. Boniface had asked his\nkinswoman, the abbess Tatta, to send him a colony of nuns to found a\nreligious house in the newly acquired provinces of the kingdom of\nChrist. She sent S. Lioba, with several under her, amongst whom was S.\nWalburga, and they settled at first at Bischofsheim, in the diocese of\nMainz. Two years after she was appointed abbess of Heidenheim, a\nreligious house founded by her brothers, Willibald, bishop of\nEichstadt, and Wunnibald, who ruled an abbey of men. So great was her\nprudence and virtue, that on the death of Wunnibald, in 760, following\nthe Anglo-Saxon precedent, Walburga was appointed to superintend the\nabbey of monks, as well as her own convent of nuns, and this double\ncharge she executed till her death. S. Willibald translated the body\nof his brother to Eichstadt, in 776; and S. Walburga was present at\nthe ceremony. She died in 779 or 780, but on what day is not mentioned\nby her biographer.\n\n [Illustration: S. WALBURGA. From Cahier. Feb. 25.]\n\nIn art she is represented with a flask of oil, on account of the\nmiraculous and fragrant oil which distilled from her relics in the\nchurch of S. Cross, at Eichstadt; or with three ears of corn, with\nwhich she is said to have cured and satisfied a girl afflicted with a\nravenous appetite.\n\nHer relics were translated in 870, to Eichstadt, on Sept. 21st. A\nconsiderable part still remains there; another portion was carried by\nBaldwin the Bearded, Count of Flanders, in 1109, to the abbey of\nFurnes, near Ostend, where they are still preserved, and the festival\nof the translation is kept on May 1st. From Furnes, small portions\nhave been distributed to churches in Antwerp, Brussels, Thiel,\nArnheim, Zutphen, and Gr\u00f6ningen. Other relics of this saint are said\nto be preserved at Prague, Cologne, Augsburg, and Hanover, and many\nwere anciently distributed over Lorraine, Alsace, and Burgundy.\n\nThere can be no doubt that S. Walburga has inherited the symbols and\nmuch of the cultus anciently devoted to Walborg, or Walburg, the Earth\nMother.\n\n\nS. TARASIUS, PATR. OF CONSTANTINOPLE.\n\n(A.D. 806.)\n\n [By Greeks and Latins on the same day. Authority:--His life by\n Ignatius, deacon and keeper of the sacred vessels at Constantinople,\n afterwards bishop of Nic\u00e6a, a disciple of Tarasius; also the Church\n historians of the period.]\n\nThe Incarnation of God was the descent of the Most High to the level\nof human necessity. Man had found a difficulty in believing in and\nloving the Infinite; human language failed to express the nature of\nGod save by a multitude of abstractions and negations. He was not\nlimited, had no localized habitation, was not comprehensible by man;\nso the philosophers taught, and so they strove to make men believe;\nmen made the effort, believed, and in the effort, their devotion\nexpired. The philosophers had lifted God into the region of an idea,\nand in so doing, had divested him of personality; and when His\npersonality was lost, all interest in Him died away. God was to them\nan object of speculation, not an object of worship. God the Father,\nknowing man's natural incapacity for realizing the Godhead, sent His\nSon into the world clothed in flesh. Man had now a God-Man, whose\nnature and personality had been brought vividly before him to believe\nin and to love. God was \"manifest in the flesh,\" the visible and the\ninvisible, the spiritual and the material, the finite and the\ninfinite, the local and the omnipresent were united in One.\nThenceforth the law of God's dealings with man was to be in accordance\nwith his natural capacities, the visible was to become the medium of\nthe invisible, the material the vehicle of the spiritual, the\nomnipresent adorable through a local presence, the infinite\ndiscernible through the finite. In Jesus Christ men saw God and lived;\nand when He was withdrawn from the eyes of men, He did not leave them\norphans, but perpetuated his presence in the Holy Eucharist, even unto\nthe end of the world.\n\nIn the old heathen world men had been idolaters or philosophers. The\nidolater saw in the material image his God; the philosopher declared\nthat God was everywhere present, and he despised the idol.\nChristianity combined in one the truth taught by the philosopher, and\nthe craving felt by the idolater. Through the sacraments as outward\nand visible means, grace was conveyed to man, chiefly through the Holy\nEucharist; and through sacred images and the holy cross, worship was\naddressed to God. Through the seen to the unseen, to God; from the\nunseen through the seen to man, is the law of the Incarnation.\n\nAt first, on account of the idolatry which surrounded them, the early\nChristians did not deem it prudent to introduce images into their\nchurches. Idolatry was so prevalent, that the first lesson they had to\ninsist upon to the heathen, was the omnipresence of God; but when\nheathenism was conquered, the danger of idolatry ceased, and the peril\nwas in the other direction; men began to insist on the infinity of the\nessence of the Godhead, and to deny the possibility of His becoming\nlocal by incarnation. They were ready to admit that Christ was\ninspired with a divine afflatus, but not that He was very and eternal\nGod. Then, at once, it became necessary for the Church to use her\nevery effort to impress on men's minds and hearts the truth that God\nhad become very man, of the substance of His mother. Then pictures and\nimages were introduced into churches. We must remember that the\nChurch, to defend the truth, had to assume successively opposite\npositions, for the truth was double,--if we are to understand how she\nfirst opposed images, and then defended them. She did not contradict\nherself, her attitude was forced upon her, to maintain a two-fold\ntruth.\n\nThe use of images was commonly received in the east, when the Emperor\nLeo the Isaurian, resolved to abolish the practice. The contest began\nabout the year 725. He was opposed by Pope Gregory II., Germanus,\npatriarch of Constantinople, and S. John Damascene. The first wrote\nvehemently to him on this subject. He maintained that the Word by\nhaving rendered Himself visible in taking a human body, subjected\nHimself to all conditions of a man, and that as it was lawful to\nrepresent any man, emperor or prince, so it was lawful to make\nrepresentations of Christ. But, said he, Christians do not worship the\ncloth on which the picture is painted, nor the stone out of which the\nstatue is hewn, but they use these visible representations as means of\nrenewing the memory of the saints, and of raising up the mind to God.\nHe denied that images received divine honours, but if \"Lord Jesus,\nsave us,\" be said before an image of Christ, \"Holy Mother of God,\nintercede with Thy Son for us,\" before one of the Virgin, and\n\"Intercede for us,\" before one of a Martyr; these prayers are not\naddressed to the image, but to Christ, or the Holy Virgin, or the\nSaint whom the figure is designed to portray.\n\nConstantine Copronymus, the son of Leo, followed in his father's\nsteps, and for the better establishing his purpose, he called together\na council (A.D. 754) at Constantinople, composed of 338 bishops. It\nbegan its sittings in February and ended in August. The Western\nChurch, and the patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem,\nwere not represented at this council, which was thus composed of\nprelates under the immediate control of the emperor, gathered together\nin his imperial city, surrounded by guards, and, unfortunately, the\nmajority of these bishops partook of that time-serving and obsequious\ndisposition which characterised and disgraced the episcopal order in\nthe Eastern Empire for many centuries. This council decreed the\ndestruction of images in churches, and the erasure of paintings on the\nwalls.[70]\n\nBy the authority of the emperor, a great part of the Eastern Church\nreceived and executed this decree; but Irene, who had married Leo the\nFourth, son of Constantine Copronymus, though a cruel, ambitious\nwoman, espoused, perhaps out of caprice, the opposite side, and on the\ndeath of her husband, during the minority of her son Constantine, who\nwas but ten years old, assumed the regency, and stopped the savage\npersecution of the monks, and the ruthless destruction of images which\nhad proceeded without intermission through the three preceding reigns.\nPaul III., patriarch of Constantinople, had been raised to that\ndignity by the late emperor. Being a timid man, desirous of remaining\nin favour with court, he had bowed to the will of the emperor in the\nmatter of images. But he was a good and charitable man, greatly\nbeloved by the poor. Finding that the Iconoclasts were now out of\nfavour, and fearing for himself, he suddenly resigned his patriarchal\nsee, and took refuge in a monastery.\n\nThe empress and her son visited him, and endeavoured to dissuade him\nfrom his intention, but found him resolved. Tarasius, an officer of\nthe court, noted for his piety, was then appointed patriarch, in spite\nof his urgent remonstrance. He declared that he would not accept the\noffice till a council had been called, which exhibited those marks of\nbeing oecumenical which the former council had lacked, and which\nmight compose the differences which had agitated the Eastern Church.\nThis being agreed to, he was solemnly declared patriarch, and was\nconsecrated soon after, on Christmas Day.\n\nHis first act was to write synodal letters to the patriarchs of Rome,\nAlexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, convening a general council. Pope\nAdrian sent two priests to act as his legates, and the Eastern bishops\ndid the same. The council assembled on the 1st August, 786, in the\nChurch of the Apostles at Constantinople, but a tumult having broken\nout, and the soldiers having besieged the bishops in the church, and\nendeavoured to break up the council, it was adjourned till the\nfollowing year, when it met at Nic\u00e6a. The papal legates sat in the\nfirst place, then Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople, then the\ndeputies of the Eastern bishops, who were themselves unable to attend\nbecause not permitted by the Saracen conquerors, afterwards Agapetus,\nbishop of C\u00e6sarea, in Cappadocia, John, bishop of Ephesus,\nConstantine, metropolitan of Cyprus, with 250 bishops and archbishops,\nand above 100 priests and monks, and two commissioners of the emperor\nand empress to maintain order.\n\nThe first session was held on the 24th September, 787, in the Church\nof S. Sophia; it opened with the reading of the letter of the empress\nIrene and the emperor, wherein they assured to the bishops that they\nhad assembled the synod with the consent of the patriarchs, and that\nthey left the bishops at full liberty to speak their minds; that Paul,\nthe last patriarch of Constantinople, acknowledging his fault in\nhaving received the decrees of the council of the Iconoclasts, had\nquitted his see, and had caused Tarasius to be elected in his room;\nthat Tarasius had refused the dignity, but having been urged to accept\nit, had required a council to be held to suppress the schism which\ndivided the Church on the subject of images; and that, therefore, in\naccordance with his request, this council was convened. In conclusion,\nthe empress and her son exhorted the bishops to judge truthfully and\ncourageously, in accordance with Catholic doctrine and practice; and\nthey said that letters had been received from Pope Adrian, which\nshould be read to the assembly.\n\nAfter this many of the prelates who had taken part with the\nIconoclasts, or had submitted to the decrees, seeing that the\ndirection of the courtly breeze had changed, veered round with\nobsequious readiness. Such were, Basil, bishop of Ancyra, Theodosius\nof Myra, Theodosius of Amorn, Hypatius of Nic\u00e6a, and others, who now\nacknowledged that they reverenced sacred images.\n\nIn the next session the letters of Pope Adrian were read, declaring\nthe utility of images as means of teaching the ignorant, and of\nawakening piety and compunction. He demanded also that all archbishops\nof his patriarchate should receive ordination from the bishop of Rome,\nand that the primacy of the see of Rome should receive general\nrecognition, as also that the patriarch of Constantinople should be\nprevented from assuming the title of \"Universal Bishop.\" These latter\narticles were not transcribed by the Greek fathers. Dupin, the\njudicious historian, suggests that probably the legates of the Pope\ndid not judge it prudent at that moment to present them. A letter from\nAdrian to Tarasius was then read, expressing the trouble given to the\nPope by the news of the nomination of a layman to the influential see\nof Constantinople, and exhorting him to procure the condemnation of\nthe synod which had forbidden images in churches. After the reading of\nthis letter, the Papal legates asked Tarasius whether he approved of\nit. He answered that he did, and that he did reverently honour the\nimages of Christ, the Holy Virgin, and the saints, but that to God\nalone was due true adoration and worship (latria). Of this the synod\napproved. Our English word _worship_ has got at the present time a\nmeaning which it had not of old. Worship now means to adore as God,\nwith supreme reverence; and such worship may not be given to\ncreatures, however exalted; but the old signification of the word had\nnot this force, but was synonymous with reverence. Thus, in the\nAnglican prayer book, in the marriage service, the husband says to the\nwife, \"With my body I thee worship,\" _i.e._, honour; and magistrates\nare called the \"worshipful.\" When Protestants accuse Catholics of\nworshipping images, in one sense they are right, but in another sense\nthey are wrong. Catholics do worship sacred images so far as to render\nthem respect and honour, but they do not give to them that honour\nwhich is implied by the word \"worship\" in its modern sense. In the old\nsignification of the word, the sailor worships the quarterdeck when he\ntouches his cap on passing it, the soldier worships the royal standard\nwhen he presents arms to it, and the peers the throne when they bow to\nit on taking their places in the House of Lords.\n\nIn the third session of the council, a letter from the patriarch of\nJerusalem, approved by his bishops, was read, wherein he acknowledged\nthat reverence and honour were to be shown to sacred images.\n\nIn subsequent sessions the acts of the Iconoclastic Council at\nJerusalem were examined and refuted in order, and the council closed\nwith the usual acclamations and prayers for the prosperity of the\nemperor and empress; after which synodal letters containing the\ndecrees were sent to all churches. Pope Adrian approved of all that\nhad been decreed, and sent copies of the Acts into France, where\npictures and images were used historically, but no honour, such as\nburning candles or offering of incense before them, was allowed. On\nreceiving these copies, Charlemagne wrote, or caused to be written, or\nput forth under his name, a work containing an examination of the\ndecrees of the second council of Nic\u00e6a, by some of the bishops, of\nwhom Alcuin was chief. This contained a repudiation of these Acts, and\na rejection of image-worship. It maintained that respect was due to\npictures and statues of the Saviour and the Saints, but refused the\nright of offering them any sort of religious honour, as by lighting\ncandles and incensing them. This work was presented to Pope Adrian by\nEngilbert, the ambassador of Charlemagne, and it drew forth from the\npope an answer which, however, did not alter the practice of the\nGallican Church, for in the Council of Frankfort, held in 794, the\ndecrees relative to the worshipping of images passed by the second\nCouncil of Nic\u00e6a were rejected, as was the case again in a council\nheld at Paris, in 824. Tarasius, in the meantime, obedient to the\ndecrees of the synod, restored holy images throughout the extent of\nhis patriarchate. His life was a model of perfection to both clergy\nand laity. He lived a quiet, austere life, in the midst of\nmagnificence and luxury. He reduced to the smallest possible amount\nthe expenses of his household, and gave to the poor what he had\neconomised. He often took the dishes of meat from his table to\ndistribute among them with his own hands: and he assigned them a large\nannual revenue. And that none might be overlooked, he visited every\nhouse and hospital in Constantinople. His discourses turned on the\nmortification of the senses, and he was particularly severe against\nall theatrical entertainments, which served then to encourage and\ndiffuse licentiousness. Some time after, the emperor became enamoured\nof Theodota, a maid of honour to his wife, the empress Mary, and,\nafter having spent seven years in marriage, in 795, he resolved to\ndivorce the empress. He used every effort to gain the patriarch. He\nsent an officer to him to inform him that a plot of the empress to\npoison him had been discovered. S. Tarasius, however, received the\nrequest to divorce the emperor, and marry him to Theodota, with a\nstern refusal. \"Tell him that I will rather suffer death and all\nmanner of torments than consent to his design.\" The emperor, hoping to\nprevail with him by flattery, sent for him to the palace, and said, \"I\ncan conceal nothing from you, whom I regard as my father. No one can\ndeny but I may divorce one who has attempted my life. The Empress Mary\ndeserves death or perpetual penance.\" He then produced a vessel, full\nof the poison, which he pretended she had prepared for him. The\npatriarch, with good reason, judging this to be an attempt to impose\nupon him, answered, that he was too well convinced that his passion\nfor Theodota was at the bottom of all his complaints against the\nempress. He boldly declared to Constantine that even if she were\nguilty of the crime laid to her charge, a second marriage during her\nlifetime would be adulterous. The monk John, who had been legate of\nthe Eastern patriarchs in the council at Nic\u00e6a, being present, also\nspoke resolutely to the emperor, who was so irritated that he drove\nthem both out of his presence, and John narrowly escaped with his\nlife. As soon as they were gone, he turned the empress Mary out of the\npalace and obliged her to assume the veil. Tarasius persisted in his\nrefusal to marry him to Theodota, and the ceremony was performed by\nJoseph, the treasurer of the church of Constantinople. The patriarch\nbecame thenceforth an object of persecution to the emperor, who placed\nspies about his person, suffered no one to speak with him without\ntheir leave, and banished many of his relations and servants. This\nconfinement gave the patriarch more leisure for prayer and\ncontemplation. In the meantime, the ambitious Irene, discontented at\nbeing no longer at the head of the administration, formed a conspiracy\nto dethrone her son. The secret was faithfully kept above eight\nmonths, till the emperor, suspicious of his danger, escaped from\nConstantinople, with the design of appealing to the provinces and\narmies. By this hasty flight the empress was left on the brink of a\nprecipice. She addressed a private epistle to the friends whom she had\nplaced about his person with a menace that, unless they accomplished,\nshe would reveal, their treason. Their fear rendered them intrepid.\nThey seized the emperor on the Asiatic shore, and transported him to\nConstantinople, where his mother and the other conspirators decided to\nrender him incapable of the throne by blinding him. Her emissaries\nassaulted the sleeping prince, and stabbed their daggers into his\neyes. He survived for several years, oppressed by the court, and\nforgotten by the world; whilst his unnatural mother resumed the\nsovereign power, of which he had divested her by becoming of age. She\nreigned for five years, during which she recalled all the banished,\nand favoured the Catholics. But she was in turn conspired against by\nthe high treasurer, Nicephorus, who was secretly invested with the\npurple, and crowned at S. Sophia by the patriarch. The empress was\nsent into exile in the isle of Lesbos, where she was obliged to earn a\nscanty subsistence by the labours of her distaff, till her haughty\nspirit consuming her, she died of grief.\n\nUnder Nicephorus, S. Tarasius persevered peaceably in his practices of\npenance, and in the functions of his pastoral charge. Through his last\nsickness he continued to offer daily the holy Sacrifice as long as he\nwas able to move. A little before his death he fell into a trance, as\nthe author of his life, who was an eye-witness of the scene, relates,\nwherein he was heard disputing with a number of accusers, very busy in\nsifting his whole life, and objecting to his actions. He seemed to be\nin fear and agitation, and defending himself against everything laid\nto his charge. This filled all present with fear, seeing the\nendeavours of the enemy of man to find some condemnation in the life\nof so holy and so irreprehensible a bishop. But a great serenity\nsucceeded, and the holy man gave up his soul to God in peace, on the\n25th of February, in 806, having sat twenty-one years and two months.\nGod honoured his memory with miracles, some of which are related by\nthe author of his life. His festival began to be celebrated under his\nsuccessor.\n\n\nB. ROBERT OF ARBRISSEL.\n\n(A.D. 1117.)\n\n [Authority:--His life, by Baldric, B. of D\u00f4le (d.\u00a01130); and another\n attributed to Andrew, monk of Fontevrault, and his disciple.]\n\nRobert of Arbrissel was born of poor parents, in a village of\nBrittany, then called Arbrissel, and now known as Arbresec, in the\ndiocese of Rennes, near La Guierche, in the year 1045 or 1047. His\nfather, Damalioc, who afterwards embraced a religious life, and his\nmother, Orvenda, were pious people who brought him up to love God\nabove all things. When of an age to study, with their consent he went\nto several towns of his native province, to learn in the schools\nwithout being a charge to his parents; and, making great progress, he\nwent to Paris, where he so distinguished himself that he became a\ndoctor in the university. At this time Silvester de la Guierche,\nChancellor of Conon II., duke of Brittany, was placed upon the\nepiscopal throne of Rennes, but being desirous of relieving himself of\nhis duties on various accounts, he chose Robert, and appointed him his\nvicar-general, with absolute power in the diocese. Robert employed his\nauthority in restoring ecclesiastical discipline, putting down simony,\nprohibiting incestuous marriages amongst the laity, and in enforcing\nclerical celibacy. As long as Silvester de la Guierche was alive,\nRobert was safe from the enemies his discipline had aroused, but, on\nthe death of his protector, he was obliged to leave Brittany, and take\nrefuge in Angers, where he gave lessons in theology. But, wishing to\nconsecrate himself entirely to God, he quitted Angers, and buried\nhimself in the forest of Craon, in Anjou, where he lived in great\nausterity, wearing a habit of pig skin, and eating roots and wild\nfruit. His fame as a second S. John the Baptist, having been bruited\nabout, great numbers came to place themselves under his direction, so\nthat he speedily saw his forest solitude invaded by many hundreds of\nanchorites. The number became at length so great as to oblige him to\ndisperse them through the neighbouring forests. Not being able to\nwatch over all, he divided them into three colonies, of which he\nretained one, and gave the others to two of his disciples: the B.\nVitalis of Mortain, who founded the order of Savigny; and the B. Raoul\nde la Futaye, founder of the abbey of S. Sulpice, at Rennes.\n\nRobert was obliged to quit his retired life, and preach the Crusade,\nby order of Pope Urban II. He, therefore, placed his colony under the\ncare of the bishop of Angers, and undertook the execution of the task\nimposed upon him.\n\nOn the confines of Anjou and Poitou, about four miles from the little\ntown of Candes, was an extensive tract of undulating land, covered\nwith bushes, and wholly uncultivated; a little valley, traversed by a\nslender stream in this district, bore the name of Fontevrault. Here,\nin 1099, Robert began to build some huts to shelter his followers, and\nhere he settled to found a new colony. Many religiously disposed\npersons of both sexes, young and old, gathered round him, and Robert\nfound it necessary to establish distinct residences for the men and\nfor the women, each with its own separate oratory. The work of the\nwomen was to sing continually the praises of God; that of the men was,\nbetween their spiritual exercise, the tillage of the soil. Charity,\nunity, modesty, and gentleness, prevailed in this singular colony. All\nlived on what their hands produced, or on the alms sent them; and they\nbore the name of \"The poor of Jesus Christ.\"\n\nThe example of these new solitaries attracted great numbers, many of\nwhom had only an imperfect or a mistaken vocation. Women who had led\ndissolute lives, feeling a passing compunction, hastened thither,\nassumed the outward profession, waxed cold, and gave great scandal by\nfresh lapses. This drew forth severe censure from Marbod, bishop of\nRennes, and Godfrey, abbot of Vend\u00f4me. The former wrote to Robert a\nletter full of reproach, in which he told him that he had quitted the\nOrder of the Regular Canons to run after women, and that the colony of\nFontevrault was a scandal to the Church, through the confinement of\nsome of the women, and the cries of new born babes; and he rebuked him\nfor having given the religious habit to persons who asked for it,\nwithout having previously tested their sincerity. The letter of\nGodfrey of Vend\u00f4me, was couched in a similar strain of remonstrance;\nbut he went further, and, trusting to hearsay, reprimanded Robert for\nassociating too freely with the females of his Order, and seeing them\nin private without the presence of witnesses. Some have supposed these\nletters to be spurious, but without sufficient grounds. A man of great\nsingleness of mind and guilelessness of spirit is easily deceived by\nthe professions of others, and is liable to be led into actions which,\nwith more worldly wisdom, he would avoid as indiscreet. Indeed, the\nformation of this double society was hardly consistent with prudence,\nand Robert found it necessary to keep it within the bounds of severe\nand vigilant prescriptions, to prevent the recurrence of those\nscandals which had called forth the reprimand of Marbod and the abbot\nof Vend\u00f4me. Godfrey was afterwards so thoroughly convinced that he was\nin error in attributing evil to the saintly Robert, that he became his\nardent champion. Robert erected three convents, strictly enclosed, for\nthe women: one for virgins and widows, called the Grand Moutier, was\ndedicated to the Blessed Virgin; another for penitents, was placed\nunder the patronage of S. Mary Magdalene; and a third, for leprous and\ninfirm women, was dedicated to S. Lazarus. The house of the men was\ncompletely distinct, and was placed under the invocation of S. John\nthe Divine. One large church was erected to serve the four houses, and\nthe whole community was placed by Robert under the supreme direction\nof an abbess; and he set the example of submission, by appointing\nPetronilla de Craon, widow of the Baron de Chemille, Superior to the\nOrder, and he lived in obedience to her till his death, which took\nplace on February 25th, 1117.\n\n[69] Or Diodorus.\n\n[70] The Iconoclastic party was not actuated by any religious feeling,\nbut was simply that of free-thinkers, as the Protestant and very\nprejudiced ecclesiastical historian Gieseler is constrained to admit.\nHe says, \"the enlightenment party, the opponents of images, was not\ncreated by a religious feeling, but merely by the emperor's will, and\nthus partly fostered a superficial, free-thinking, rather than a\nbeneficial reformatory tendency.\"\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 26.\n\n S. NESTOR, _B. M. of Magida_, A.D. 251.\n SS. FORTUNATUS AND COMPANIONS, _MM. at Antioch_.\n S. DIONYSIUS, _B. M. of Augsburg_, A.D. 303.\n S. ALEXANDER, _Patr. of Alexandria_, A.D. 326\n S. FAUSTIAN, _B. of Bologna, in Italy, 4th cent._\n S. PORPHYRY, _B. of Gaza_, A.D. 421.\n SS. EOLADIUS AND AGRICOLA, _BB. of Nevers, 6th cent._\n S. VICTOR, _P. at Arcis-sur-Aube, in France, 6th or 7th cent._\n S. EDIGNA, _V. at Puech, in Bavaria_, A.D. 1119.\n\n\nS. NESTOR, B. M.\n\n(A.D. 251.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, the ancient one called S. Jerome's, those of\n Bede, Ado, Usuardus, Notker, &c. By the Greeks on Feb.\u00a028th.\n Authority:--The ancient and genuine Acts.]\n\nIn the reign of Decius, Pollio was governor of Pamphylia. When\npersecution broke out, Nestor, bishop of Magida, an obscure town in\nthat province, knowing that he was particularly feared by the pagans,\nand that the first stroke was sure to fall upon him, ordered his flock\nto disperse into places of safety, and then calmly awaited the\nofficers of justice. They found him in prayer, and led him forth with\nhis head covered with a hood (_mafortium_). And when he came into the\nforum, he was honourably received, all the court rising and saluting\nhim. He said, \"God pardon you, why have you done this?\" They answered,\n\"Thy manner of life is deserving of respect.\" Then he was taken apart\nfrom the public, and stools were placed for the magistrates and his\nadvocates, and a chair for the bishop, and he was requested to sit\ndown. He replied, \"The honour of being summoned into your presence\nsuffices me.\" Then the Irenarch said, \"Sir, dost thou know the order\nof the emperor?\" \"I know the command of the Almighty, not that of the\nemperor,\" was the reply of the Bishop. \"O Nestor,\" said the\nmagistrate, \"consent without difficulty, that we be not called to\njudge thee.\" \"I obey the commands of the heavenly King,\" answered\nNestor. \"Thou art possessed,\" said the magistrate. \"Nay,\" said the\nbishop, \"not I, but thou, for thy gods are devils.\" \"I shall have to\nsend thee to the governor,\" said the Irenarch, \"for they are true\ngods. Beware of torture.\" Then Nestor signing the cross on his brow,\nsaid, \"Wherefore dost thou threaten me with torture? The only torments\nI dread are those of my God. Be well assured, in torture, or out of\ntorture, Him shall I confess.\"\n\nThen he was taken to Perga, where was the governor of the province,\nwhich he reached on the fourth Sabbath (Saturday.) And when the\nIrenach had presented him to Pollio the governor, Nestor was again\nurged with kind and courteous words to renounce his religion; but he\nas constantly refused. \"Torment me as thou wilt,\" said he, \"with\nchains or wild beasts, or sword, as long as there is any breath in my\nnostrils, I will confess the name of my Lord Jesus Christ.\" Then the\njudge ordered him to be suspended on the little horse, and to be\ncruelly tortured. The executioner laid his sides bare, tearing them\nwith iron hooks; but Nestor chanted, \"I will alway give thanks unto\nthe Lord: his praise shall ever be in my mouth.\" (Ps. xxxiii.; (A. V.\n34) 1.) The judge, astonished at his endurance, exclaimed, \"Why,\nwretched man! art thou not ashamed to put thy faith in a man, and he\nshort-lived?\" \"Let that be my confusion, and that also of all who call\non the name of the Lord Jesus,\" answered the martyr. And when the\ncrowd clamoured that he should be released from his sufferings, the\ngovernor asked again, \"What, then, is thy final choice, to be with us,\nor with thy Christ?\" Then the martyr exclaimed, \"With my Christ have I\never been, with Him am I now, and with Him shall I ever be.\" Seeing\nhis inflexibility, Pollio said scornfully, \"Nestor, as thou hast\nrejected the immortal gods to follow the crucified One, I will not be\nso wanting in devotion to this God of thine, as to condemn thee to any\nother death. Thou shalt be crucified on the wood.\"\n\nThen a cross was made ready, and Nestor, the bishop, was nailed to it.\nAnd as he hung, he exhorted the people, and at length he bid them\nkneel and pray to God through Jesus Christ; and all knelt, and when he\nhad said the final Amen, he breathed forth his spirit.\n\n\nS. DIONYSIUS, B. OF AUGSBURG, M.\n\n(A.D. 303.)\n\n [German Martyrology. No trustworthy authorities for his life and\n acts. The following account is from the Augsburg Breviary.]\n\nDionysius, together with his sister Hilaria, (August 12th), her\ndaughter Afra, (August 7th), and the rest of his family, was converted\nand baptized by S. Narcissus the bishop, afterwards chief pastor of\nthe Church of Gerona, in Spain, (March 18th.) As Narcissus was obliged\nto leave the little band of Christians at Augsburg, he instructed, and\nthen ordained, Dionysius to be their priest, or, as some writers\nassert, their bishop. Thus Dionysius became the spiritual father of a\nlittle family of true believers, and was called to encourage them\nduring the fiery trial of persecution. He saw his sister Hilaria, and\nher daughter Afra, glorify God by martyrdom. Knowing that his own turn\nhad come, he fortified himself with the Holy Sacrament, yielded\nhimself into the hands of those who sought his life, and dying a\nmartyr's death, gained the crown and palm.\n\nThe relics of this saint, who is reckoned the first bishop of\nAugsburg, together with those of Quiriacus, were discovered in the\nyear 1118, and were translated by the abbot Egino to the Church of S.\nUlrich, in Augsburg, and enclosed in an altar. Later, in the year\n1258, Hartmann, bishop of Augsburg, opened this altar, and placed\nthem, on 26th Feb., in a new altar, dedicated to SS. Dionysius and\nQuiriacus, and he ordered that this day should be observed as the\nfestival of S. Dionysius. The Church of Augsburg honours him as her\nfirst bishop, though the episcopal see of Augsburg was not regularly\nconstituted till 250 years later, when Sosimus became the first of a\nsuccession of prelates which from that time to the present has not\nfailed.\n\n\nS. ALEXANDER, PATR. OF ALEXANDRIA.\n\n(A.D. 326.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, Ado, Notker, &c.\n Authorities:--Sozomen, Socrates, Eusebius, and the Apology of S.\n Athanasius.]\n\nS. Alexander was patriarch of Alexander when Arius, the arch-heretic,\nbegan to preach his denial of the eternal Godhead of Christ.\nAlexander, one of the mildest of men, endeavoured by gentleness and\nkind expostulation to bring the heretic back to the true belief. But\nwhen he found that he was incorrigible, he summoned an assembly of his\nclergy, and therein questioned Arius, and on his boldly proclaiming\nhis disbelief in the fundamental doctrine of the Catholic faith, he\nexcommunicated him. A council was called at Alexandria about the end\nof the year 320, in which Arius was again tried, and the sentence of\nexcommunication was ratified by nearly one hundred bishops, who were\npresent. Alexander attended the famous General Council of Nic\u00e6a,\nassembled in 325, which finally condemned the heresy of Arius. S.\nAlexander, after this triumph of the faith, returned to Alexandria;\nwhere, after having recommended S. Athanasius for his successor, he\ndied on the 26th February, in the year 326. For a fuller account of\nthe Arian heresy, and the Council of Nic\u00e6a, the reader is referred to\nthe life of S. Athanasius, (May 2nd.)\n\n\nS. PORPHYRIUS, B. OF GAZA.\n\n(A.D. 421.)\n\n [Commemorated by Greeks and Latins on the same day. Authority:--His\n life, written by Mark the Deacon, his disciple.]\n\nPorphyrius, a native of Thessalonica, in Macedonia, was of a noble and\nwealthy family. The desire of renouncing the world made him leave his\nfriends and country at twenty-five years of age, in 378, to pass into\nEgypt, where he consecrated himself to God in a famous monastery in\nthe desert of Scet\u00e9. After five years spent there in the penitential\nexercises of a monastic life, he went into Palestine to visit the holy\nplaces of Jerusalem. After this he took up his abode in a cave near\nthe Jordan, where he passed other five years in great austerity, till\nhe fell sick, when a complication of disorders obliged him to return\nto Jerusalem. There he never failed daily to visit all the holy\nplaces, leaning on a staff, for he was too weak to stand upright. It\nhad happened that, about the same time, Mark, an Asiatic, and the\nauthor of his life, came to Jerusalem with the same intent. He was\nmuch edified by the devotion with which Porphyrius visited the holy\nplaces. And seeing him, one day, labour with great pain up the stairs\nin the chapel built by Constantine, he ran to him to offer his\nassistance; but Porphyrius refused it, saying, \"It is not right that I\nwho am come hither to supplicate pardon for my sins should be eased by\nany one: rather let me undergo some labour and inconvenience, that\nGod, beholding it, may have compassion on me.\" He never omitted his\nvisits of piety to the holy places, and daily partook of the Holy\nSacrament. The only thing that afflicted him was, that his fortune had\nnot as yet been sold for the use of the poor. This he commissioned\nMark to do for him, who accordingly set out for Thessalonica, and in\nthree months' time returned to Jerusalem with money and effects, to\nthe value of four thousand five hundred pieces of gold. When the\nblessed man saw him, he embraced him, with tears of joy. But\nPorphyrius was now so completely recovered, that Mark scarcely knew\nhim to be the same person: for his body was erect and vigorous, and\nhis face looked full, fresh, and ruddy. Porphyrius perceiving his\nfriend's amazement, said with a smile, \"Be not surprised, Mark, to see\nme in perfect health and strength, but admire the unspeakable goodness\nof Christ, who can easily cure what man has despaired of.\" Mark asked\nhim by what means he had recovered. He replied, \"Forty days ago, being\nin extreme pain, I made a shift to reach Mount Calvary, where,\nfainting away, I fell into a kind of trance, during which, methought I\nsaw our Saviour on the cross, and the good thief hanging beside him. I\nsaid to Christ, _Lord, Remember me, when Thou comest into Thy\nkingdom_: whereupon he ordered the thief to come to my assistance, and\nhe, raising me off the ground on which I lay, bade me go to Christ. I\nran to Him, and He coming off His cross, said to me, _Take this wood_\n(meaning the cross) _into thy custody_. In obedience to Him, methought\nI laid it on my shoulders and carried it some way. I awoke soon after,\nand have been free from pain ever since, and without the least\nappearance of my having ever ailed any thing.\" Mark was so edified\nwith the holy man's discourse and good example, that he resolved to\nlive with him, for he was endued with a divine prudence, an eminent\nspirit of prayer, and a complete control over his passions. He\ndistributed all the money and effects Mark had brought him among the\nnecessitous in Palestine and Egypt, so that in a very short time, he\nhad reduced himself to the necessity of labouring for his daily food.\nHe therefore learned to make shoes and dress leather, while Mark,\nbeing well skilled in writing, obtained a handsome livelihood by\ncopying books. He therefore desired the saint to partake of his\nearnings. But Porphyrius replied, in the words of S. Paul, _He that\ndoth not work, neither let him eat_. He led this laborious and\npenitential life till he was forty years of age, when the bishop of\nJerusalem ordained him priest, though much against his will, and\ncommitted to him the keeping of the holy Cross. This was in 393. The\nsaint changed nothing in his austere life, feeding only upon roots and\nthe coarsest bread, and not eating till after sunset, except on\nSundays and holy days, when he ate at noon, and added a little oil and\ncheese; and a small quantity of wine in the water he drank. This was\nhis method of living till his death. Having been elected bishop of\nGaza without his knowledge, in 396, John, the metropolitan and\narchbishop of C\u00e6sarea, wrote to the patriarch of Jerusalem to desire\nhim to send over Porphyrius, that he might consult him on certain\ndifficult passages of Scripture. He was sent accordingly, but charged\nto return in seven days. Porphyrius, receiving this order, seemed at\nfirst disturbed, but said, \"God's will be done.\" That evening he\ncalled Mark, and said to him, \"Brother Mark, let us go and venerate\nthe holy places and the sacred Cross, for it will be long before we\nshall be able to do it again.\" Mark asked him why he said this. He\nanswered, \"Our Saviour appeared to me the night past, and said 'Give\nup the treasure of the cross which thou hast, for I will marry thee to\na wife, poor indeed, and despicable, but of great piety and virtue.\nTake care to adorn her well; for, however contemptible she may appear,\nshe is My sister.' This,\" said he, \"Christ signified to me last night:\nand I fear, in consequence, that I am about to be charged with the\nsins of others, whilst I labour to expiate my own; but the will of God\nmust be obeyed.\" When they had venerated the holy places, and the\nsacred Cross, and Porphyrius had prayed long before it, with many\ntears, he shut up the Cross in its golden case, and delivered the keys\nto the bishop; and, having obtained his blessing, he, and his\ndisciple, Mark, set out, with three others. They arrived the next day,\nwhich was Saturday, at C\u00e6sarea. The archbishop obliged them to sup\nwith him. After spiritual discourse they took a little sleep, and then\nrose to assist at the night service. Next morning the archbishop bid\nthe Gaz\u00e6ans lay hold on Porphyrius, and, while they held him, he\nordained him bishop. The holy man wept bitterly, and was inconsolable\nat being promoted to a dignity for which he judged himself unfit. The\nGaz\u00e6ans, however, performed their part in endeavouring to comfort him;\nand, having assisted at the Sunday office, and stayed one day more at\nC\u00e6sarea, they set out for Gaza, and, late on Wednesday night, arrived\nthere much harassed and fatigued. For the heathens living in the\nvillages near Gaza, having notice of their coming, had so damaged the\nroads in several places, and clogged them with thorns and logs of\nwood, that they were scarcely passable.\n\nThat year happened to be one of great drought, and this the pagans\nascribed to the coming of the new Christian bishop, saying that their\ngod Marnas had foretold that Porphyrius would bring public calamities\non their city. In Gaza stood a famous temple of that idol, which the\nemperor Theodosius the Elder had commanded to be shut up, but not\ndemolished, on account of its beautiful structure. The governor\nafterwards had permitted the heathens to open it again. As no rain\nfell the two first months after the arrival of S. Porphyrius, the\nidolaters, in great affliction, assembled in this temple to offer\nsacrifices, and make supplications to their god Marnas, whom they\ncalled the Lord of rains. These they repeated for seven days, going\nalso to a place of prayer outside the town. But, finding all their\nendeavours ineffectual, they lost all hopes of a supply. A dearth\nensuing, the Christians, to the number of two hundred and eighty,\nwomen and children included, after a day's fast and a night's vigil,\nby the order of their bishop, went in procession to S. Timothy's\nchurch, in which lay the relics of the holy martyr, S. Meuris, and of\nthe confessor, S. Theis, singing hymns. But, on their return to the\ncity, they found the gates shut against them, and the heathens\nobstinately determined not to open them. In this situation, the\nChristians addressed Almighty God with redoubled fervour, imploring\nHim to send them the blessing so much wanted. Presently the clouds\ngathered, and there fell such a quantity of rain, that the heathens\nopened their gates, and, joining them, cried out, \"Christ alone is\nGod: He alone has overcome.\" They accompanied the Christians to the\nchurch, to thank God for the benefit received; and this miracle\nresulted in the conversion of one hundred and seventy-six persons,\nwhom the saint instructed, baptized, and confirmed, as he did also one\nhundred and five more before the end of that year. The miraculous\npreservation of the life of a pagan woman in labour, who had been\ndespaired of, occasioned the conversion of that family and others, to\nthe number of sixty-four.\n\nThe heathens, perceiving their number decrease, grew very troublesome\nto the Christians, whom they excluded from commerce, and all public\noffices, and annoyed in various ways. S. Porphyrius, to screen himself\nand his flock from their outrages, had recourse to the Emperor's\nprotection. On this errand he sent Mark, his disciple, to\nConstantinople, and went thither, afterward, himself, in company with\nJohn, his metropolitan, archbishop of C\u00e6sarea. At Constantinople they\napplied to S. John Chrysostom, who joyfully received them, and\nrecommended them to the eunuch Amantius, who had great credit with the\nEmpress, and was a zealous servant of God. Amantius, having introduced\nthem to the Empress, she received them with great distinction, assured\nthem of her protection, and begged their prayers for her safe\ndelivery, a favour she received a few days after. She desired them, in\nanother visit, to sign her and her new-born son, Theodosius the\nYounger, with the cross, which they did. The young prince was baptized\nwith great solemnity, and on that occasion the Empress obtained from\nthe Emperor all that the bishops had requested, and in particular that\nthe temple of Gaza should be demolished. An imperial edict was drawn\nup for this purpose, and delivered to Cynegius, a patrician full of\nzeal, who was charged to see it executed. They stayed at\nConstantinople during the feast of Easter, and, at their departure,\nthe Emperor and Empress bestowed on them great presents. When they\nlanded in Palestine, near Gaza, the Christians came out to meet them,\nwith a cross carried before them, singing hymns. In the place called\nTetramphodos, or Four-ways-end, stood a marble statue of Venus, on a\nmarble altar, which was in great reputation for giving oracles to\nyoung women about the choice of husbands. As the two bishops, with the\nprocession of the Christians, and the cross borne before them, passed\nthrough that square, this idol fell down of itself, and was broken to\npieces; whereupon thirty-two men and seven women were converted.\n\nTen days after, arrived Cynegius, having with him a duke, or general,\nwith a strong guard of soldiers, and the civil magistrates of the\ncountry. He assembled the citizens, and read to them the emperor's\nedict, commanding their idols and temples to be destroyed. This was\naccordingly done, and no less than eight public temples in the city\nwere burnt; viz., those of the Sun, Venus, Apollo, Proserpine, Hecate,\nthe Hierion, the temple of fortune, and that of Marnas. The Marnion,\nin which men had been often sacrificed, burned for many days. After\nthis, the private houses and courts were all searched; the idols were\nevery where burned or thrown into the common sewers, and all books of\nmagic and superstition were cast into the flames. Many idolators\ndesired baptism; but the saint gave them a long probation, and\nprepared them for that sacrament by daily instructions. On the spot\nwhere the temple of Marnas had stood, was built the church of Eudoxia,\nin the figure of a cross. The empress sent for this purpose, precious\npillars and rich marble from Constantinople. Of the marble taken out\nof the Marnion, S. Porphyrius made steps and a road to the church,\nthat it might be trampled upon. Before he would suffer the church to\nbe begun, he proclaimed a fast, and the next morning, attended by his\nclergy and all the Christians in the city, they went in a body to the\nplace, from the church Irene, singing the _Venite exultemus Domino_,\nand other psalms, and answering to every verse, Allelulia; the\nprocession being led by a cross. They all set to work, carrying stones\nand other materials, and digging the foundations, according to the\nplan marked out and directed by Rufinus, a celebrated architect,\nsinging psalms and saying prayers during their work. The church was\nbegun in 403, when thirty high pillars arrived from Constantinople,\ntwo of which, called Carosti\u00e6, shone like emeralds, when placed in the\nchurch. It took five years to build, and, when finished in 408, the\nbishop performed the consecration of it on Easter-day, with the\ngreatest pomp and solemnity. His alms to the poor on that occasion\nseemed boundless. The good bishop spent the remainder of his life in\nzealously instructing his flock in the doctrine of God, and in all\nvirtuous living.\n\nThe heathen, on one occasion, rose in sedition, attacked the house of\nthe bishop, and set it on fire, so that he and his deacons were\nobliged to escape over the roof, and take refuge in the room of a\nmaiden of fourteen, an orphan, named Salaphtha, and a heathen. The\ngirl showed them every kindness, keeping their place of retreat\nsecret, and supplying them with bread and cheese and vegetables. The\nbishop took the opportunity of infusing into the young mind of the\ngirl the first principles of Christianity, and when the tumult was\nabated, and he with his companions were able to go forth in safety, he\nleft her earnestly desiring baptism. The maiden afterwards became a\nzealous Christian, and was consecrated to a life of virginity by the\nold bishop, whom she had saved from the rage of his enemies.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 27.\n\n SS. JULIAN, CHRONION, AND BESAS, _MM. at Alexandria_, A.D. 250.\n S. GELASIUS, _M. at Heliopolis, in Phoenicia_, A.D. 297.\n S. HONORINA, _V. M. at Conflans, in France_.\n S. THALEL\u00c6US, _H. in Syria, circ._ A.D. 460.\n S. COMGAN, _Ab. in Ireland, before_ A.D. 569.\n S. LEANDER, _B. of Hispala or Seville_, A.D. 596.\n S. BALDOMER, _Subd. at Lyons, circ._ A.D. 660.\n S. ALNOTH, _H. M. in England, circ._ A.D. 727.\n B. JOHN, _Ab. of Gorze, near Metz_, A.D. 1162.\n\n\nSS. JULIAN, CHRONION, AND BESAS, MM.\n\n(A.D. 250.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology; but some on Feb. 19th; by the Greeks on Oct.\n 30th. Authority:--The contemporary letters by Dionysius, B. of\n Alexandria, to Germanus, quoted by Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. vi.,\n c.\u00a041.]\n\nSaint Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, in a letter describing the\nsufferings of his church during the persecutions of Decius, after\nhaving lamented the apostacy of some, adds: \"But others remained firm\nand blessed pillars of the Lord, confirmed by the Lord himself, and\nreceiving of Him strength suited to their measure of faith, proved\nadmirable witnesses of His kingdom. The first of these was Julian, a\nman afflicted with the gout, neither able to walk nor to stand, who,\nwith two others that carried him, was arraigned. Of these, the one\nimmediately denied his faith, but the other, named Chronion, surnamed\nEunus, and the aged Julian himself, having confessed the Lord, were\ncarried on camels through the whole city, a very large one, as you\nknow, and were scourged, and finally consumed in an immense fire, in\nthe midst of a crowd of spectators. But a soldier, named Besas,\nstanding near, having opposed the insolence of the multitude whilst\nthese martyrs were on the way to execution, was assailed by them with\nloud shouts, and this brave soldier of God, after he had excelled in\nthe great conflict of piety, was beheaded.\"\n\nRelics at Autun.\n\n\nS. GELASIUS, M.\n\n(A.D. 297.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a. Authority:--The Chronicon Alexandrinum, or Chron.\n Paschale, under date 269 from the Ascension, which is equivalent to\n 297 of the vulgar era. In this Chronicle he is called Gelasinus.\n Theodoret may, perhaps, allude to him, when he says that some have\n passed from the stage of the theatre to the ranks of the martyrs. Du\n curand Gr\u00e6c. Affect., Serm.\u00a08. Much the same circumstances are\n related of S. Genesius (Aug. 25th), who suffered about 286, unless\n both are the same; Gelasius in the West becoming Genesius by a\n slight change of liquids.]\n\nGelasius was a comic actor, the second clown of the theatre at\nHeliopolis, in Phoenicia. One day, on the stage was performed a\nparody of Christian rites for the amusement of the heathen spectators.\nA large bathing tub was introduced on the stage, filled with warm\nwater, and the clown, Gelasius, was dipped in it, the other clown\npronouncing over him the sacramental words. When he rose from the\nbath, and was vested in white, it was observed that a change had come\nover him; the jesting air and laugh were gone, and a solemn expression\nhad overspread his countenance. \"I am a Christian,\" said he; \"in the\nfont I saw a dazzling light. Therefore, I will die as a Christian.\" As\nsoon as the audience became aware that he spoke in sober earnest, the\ntheatre became a scene of wild tumult, the people deserted their\nseats, and rushed on the stage, and dragged the poor actor forth,\nclothed in his white robe, and stoned him to death outside the\ntheatre. His body was transported to the village of Mariamnia, near\nHeliopolis, of which he was a native, and an oratory was erected by\nthe Christians over his tomb.\n\n\nS. HONORINA, V. M.\n\n(DATE UNKNOWN.)\n\n [Some Gallican Martyrologies.]\n\nNothing whatever is known of this saint. The author of the history of\nthe translation of her relics to Conflans, near Pontoise, a short\ndistance from Paris, says that her virtues, her merits, and her mode\nof passion, are utterly unknown. So also is the date of her death. The\nrelics were translated about the year A.D. 912. As an instance of the\nmanner in which confusion has arisen in the lives and acts of martyrs\nof an early date, it is deserving of mention that in the church of\nQuimper, the Matin lections for the feast of S. Honorina are portions\nof the Acts of S. Dorothea, transferred to Feb.\u00a027th, to do duty for\nthe unrecorded S. Honorina.\n\n\nS. THALEL\u00c6US, H.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 460.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a. No commemoration in Western Church.\n Authority:--Theodoret, Philothaeus, c. xxviii.]\n\n\"Not only have I heard of this man from others,\" says Theodoret, \"but\nI saw him myself.\" Thalel\u00e6us erected for his habitation a small hut\nagainst an idol shrine, near Gabala, to which many people resorted,\nand where they offered sacrifice to devils. The evil spirits, enraged\nat his thus assaulting them in their sanctuary, endeavoured by hideous\nclamours and frightful apparitions, to scare the Christian hermit\naway; but every effort of demons and idolaters to drive him from this\nshrine proved ineffectual. Thalel\u00e6us succeeded in converting many who\ncame as votaries to the temple, and persuaded them to bend their necks\nto the sweet yoke of Christ's law. With many of these converts\nTheodoret conversed. After that Thalel\u00e6us had lived thus a while, he\ndevised for himself a strange and horrible penance. He made two\nwheels, and then joined them by pieces of wood into a species of\nbarrel, but open between the bars. He enclosed himself within this\ncase, which was so low that his chin rested on his knees, and remained\ntherein for many years. He had been ten years in it when Theodoret saw\nhim. This frightful self-immolation is by no means to be regarded as\ndeserving of imitation. But it was called forth by peculiar\ncircumstances, and for a special purpose. The rude people of Syria\ncould be impressed no other way. To win these souls from heathenism\nthis phase of the ascetic life was evoked, it served its purpose, and\npassed away.\n\n\nS. LEANDER, B. OF HISPALA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 596.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus, Notker, Ado, and Bede;\n but by the Spanish Church and Mozarabic Kalendar, followed by the\n Bollandists, on March 13th. Authorities:--His own writings, the\n letters of S. Gregory the Great, and early Spanish histories.]\n\nThis illustrious friend of the great S. Gregory, this apostle of the\nVisigoths, was of illustrious birth. His father, Severian duke of\nCarthagena, and mother, Turtura, of royal Ostrogoth blood, had three\nsons and two daughters. The sons were, S. Leander, S. Fulgentius, B.\nof Ecija, and S. Isidore, who succeeded Leander as archbishop of\nSeville. The daughters were S. Florentina, abbess of fifty convents,\nand the princess Theodosia, married to king Leovigild, who became the\nmother of the illustrious martyr, S. Hermenigild.\n\nFrom his boyhood, Leander was regarded as endowed with singular\neloquence and power of fascinating others. He retired, when young,\nfrom the world, and took the religious habit in a monastery of\nSeville, where he gained so great a reputation that, on the\narchiepiscopal see becoming vacant, he was elected to it by the\nunanimous voice of clergy and people.\n\nLeovigild, his brother-in-law, then reigned over the Visigoth kingdom,\nin Spain, and openly professed Arianism. This caused great\nembarrassment to Leander, who used every effort to confirm the\nCatholics in their faith, and to oppose the heretics at every point.\nHe was sent on an embassy from the Catholics to the emperor Tiberius,\nat Constantinople, where he made the acquaintance of S. Gregory the\nGreat, then cardinal-deacon of Pope Pelagius II., who had sent him at\nthis time on the affairs of the church, to the imperial court. The\nwarmest attachment sprang up between these two great men, and it was\nat the instance of S. Leander, that S. Gregory wrote his famous\n\"Morals of the Book of Job.\" When their business was concluded, both\nsaints returned to their country, S. Gregory to Italy, and S. Leander\nto Spain, where he succeeded in converting prince Hermenigild, his\nnephew, the eldest son of king Leovigild. This placed the Catholics in\ngreat danger. The king, in an explosion of rage, executed his son on\nEaster-day, 586, and began a furious persecution of the Church. S.\nLeander and his brother, S. Fulgentius, together with several other\nbishops, were exiled, and the king seized on the property and revenues\nof the Church, and, adding cruelty to robbery, put several nobles to\ndeath, and confiscated their lands.\n\nS. Leander, though exiled, warred with his pen against the Arian\nheresy, and wrote two works confuting the errors of Arianism, and a\nthird book answering objections which had been raised against his\narguments.\n\nThe persecution did not last long, for in the following year, 587,\nLeovigild, finding himself about to die, recalled the Catholic\nbishops, and commended his son, Recared, to the care of S. Leander.\nThus, to use the words of S. Gregory, Recared, following not the\nperfidy of his father, an Arian, but the faith of his martyred\nbrother, was brought himself, and the whole nation of the Visigoths,\nto the true faith.\n\nIn the third council of Toledo, 589, the archbishop of Seville\npresiding, a solemn declaration of the consubstantiality of the Divine\nPersons was drawn up, and signed by the king, Recared, and his queen,\nBadda, daughter of king Arthur, of Britain. Next year another synod\nwas held at Seville, in which he presided, to establish the complete\nconversion of the nation from Arianism to the true faith.\n\nS. Leander died in 596, on March 13th, and his body was laid in the\nchurch of SS. Justus and Rufina. His relics are now preserved in a\nchapel of the Cathedral church.\n\nIn art, S. Leander appears with (1) a flaming heart in his hand, to\nrepresent his zeal for the conversion of the Visigoths, but this is a\nsymbol used for a multitude of other saints; or with (2) a pen; or (3)\nwith Recared or Hermenigild as a boy at his side.\n\n\nS. BALDOMER, SUBD., C.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 660.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, Ado, Notker, &c.\n Authority:--An ancient epitome of his life, pub. by the Bollandists.\n In French he is called _S. Garmier_ or _S. Germier_.]\n\nBaldomer was a blacksmith of Lyons, living a simple, pious life, \"in\nchastity clean, in friendship firm, in charity benign, in reading\nintent, in watchings solicitous, in almsgiving prompt,\" says his\nbiographer. S. Viventius, abbot of S. Just, going into a church one\nday, noticed the blacksmith at his devotions, and afterwards entering\ninto conversation with him, was so struck with his holiness and\nknowledge of the Scriptures, that he gave him a cell in his abbey,\nwhere he edified all the brethren by his modesty and diligence. His\ngentleness was so great, that at meal times he crumbled bread in his\nhand, and, holding it out of the window, the wild birds came, full of\ntrust, and perched on his fingers. Then he would say, \"Eat, little\nbirds, eat, and praise the Lord.\" He was ordained subdeacon much\nagainst his will, by Caudrick, bishop of Lyons, and died about the\nyear 660.\n\n\nS. ALNOTH, H. M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 727.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrology of John Wilson, in the first edition; but in\n the second edition on Nov.\u00a025th. Ferrarius and Bollandus on\n Feb.\u00a027th. Authority:--Mention in the life of S. Wereburga,\n attributed to Joscelyn, c.\u00a03.]\n\nS. Alnoth was a hermit, who had been a cowherd of S Wereburga, but\nembracing the eremitical life, settled in a wood at Stowe, near\nBugbrook, in Northamptonshire, but was murdered by robbers. His body\nwas buried at Stowe.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 28.\n\n SS. NYMPHAS AND EUBULUS, _1st cent._\n SS. ALEXANDRINE, _Martyrs in the plague_, A.D. 261.\n SS. SYMPHORIAN, MACARIUS, AND OTHERS, _MM. at Rome_.\n S. PROTERIUS, _M. Patr. of Alexandria_, A.D. 457.\n S. ROMANUS, _Ab. of Condate; circ._ A.D. 460.\n\n\nSS. NYMPHAS AND EUBULUS.\n\n(1ST CENT.)\n\nOn the last day of February are commemorated two friends of S. Paul,\nNymphas, of whom he speaks in his Epistle to the Colossians, and\nEubulus, whom he mentions in his Second Epistle to S. Timothy, as\nbeing with him at Rome. Nymphas was at Laodicea. Nothing further is\nknown of these two.\n\n\nSS. MARTYRS IN THE PLAGUE AT ALEXANDRIA\n\n(A.D. 261-3.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority:--A paschal letter by Dionysius,\n patriarch of Alexandria, quoted by Eusebius. lib. viii. c.\u00a021, 22.]\n\nThese brave victims of the plague in Alexandria, who died through\nministering to pest-stricken heathens and Christians alike, are\ncommemorated by the Church as examples to all whose office or charity\ncalls them to attend to the sick. Dionysius, the patriarch, writes of\nthe pestilence which succeeded war and famine in Alexandria, in one of\nhis Easter letters, \"To other men the present is a fit season for a\nfestival, but now to us all things are filled with tears; all are\nmourning, and by reason of the multitudes, already dead and dying, the\nwhole city resounds with groans. As when the first-born of Egypt were\nslain, so is it now; there is a great lamentation, for there is not a\nhouse in which is not one dead. I wish this were all, but we have\nundergone other calamities before this plague. First, we were driven\ninto exile, and persecuted, and put to death; then came war and the\nfamine, which, indeed, we and the heathen endured alike; and now we\nare assailed by this pestilence, a calamity to the heathen more\ndreadful than anything else, but not so to us, but rather a school to\ntry us. Most of our brethren, by their exceeding great love and\nbrotherly affection, not sparing themselves, were constant in their\nattendance on the sick, ministering to their wants without fear and\nwithout cessation, and they have departed most sweetly with those to\nwhom they ministered. Many also, who had healed others, fell victims\nthemselves. The best of our brethren have departed this life in this\nway, some were priests, others deacons, and some laity of great\ncommendation. This death, with the piety and ardent faith which\nattended it, appears to be but little inferior to martyrdom itself.\nOur people took up the bodies of these saints with their open hands\nand on their bosoms, cleansed their eyes and closed their mouths,\ncarried them on their shoulders, and composed their limbs, and\ndecently washed and clothed them for burial, and those who did this\nthemselves shared in receiving the same offices. Those that survived\nalways followed those going before them. But it was different with the\nheathen. They repelled those who began to sicken, and avoided their\ndearest friends. They would cast them out into the roads half-dead, or\nthrow them out when dead without burial, shunning all communication\nwith the sick and infected.\"\n\n\nSS. SYMPHORIAN AND OTHERS, MM.\n\n(UNKNOWN DATE.)\n\nThe bodies of fourteen martyrs, by name, Symphorian, Macarius,\nVictorinus, Maurice, Anicetus, Modestus, Cyriacus, Faustus, Placidus,\nRocchus, Alexander, Genesius, Eulalia, and Irene, extracted from the\ncatacombs of S. Callixtus and S. Lucina, are preserved at Antwerp, in\nthe Church of the Jesuits, to which they were translated on Feb.\u00a027th,\n1650. Nothing is known of the acts and martyrdom of these saints.\n\n\nS. PROTERIUS, M. PATR. OF ALEXANDRIA.\n\n(A.D. 457.)\n\n [Greek Men\u00e6a on this day. Baronius and others have expressed\n surprise that the name of S. Proterius is inserted in no Western\n Martyrologies. Authority:--Evagrius, lib. iii.\u00a013; Theophanes, the\n letters of Anatolius, Patr. of Constantinople, &c.]\n\nS. Proterius was the head of the orthodox party at Alexandria, when\nthe patriarch Dioscorus adopted Eutychian views. That unprincipled and\nhaughty prelate, knowing the esteem in which Proterius was held, made\nhim arch-priest of his diocese; but as his heretical opinions became\nmore evident, Proterius took decided steps to oppose him, and on the\ncondemnation and deposition of Dioscorus by the Council of Chalcedon,\nin 452, he was ordained in his room. This led to a schism in the\nChurch of Alexandria, the Catholics acknowledging Proterius, and the\nEutychians holding with Dioscorus. The Eutychians were headed by two\necclesiastics, Timothy Ailurus, and Mongus, who had been\nexcommunicated for heresy. In a tumult that broke out, Ailurus, having\nobtained consecration from two bishops of their faction, mounted the\nepiscopal throne, and proclaimed himself sole patriarch of Alexandria.\nProterius fled for safety to the baptistery of the Church of S.\nQuirinus, but the heretics broke in and stabbed him to death; then\ndragged his body through the streets, hacked it to pieces, and burnt\nit.\n\n\nS. ROMANUS, AB. OF CONDATE.\n\n(A.D. 460.)\n\n [Roman, Benedictine, and most Latin Martyrologies. Authorities:--A\n life by a contemporary monk of Condate, also a life by S. Gregory of\n Tours.]\n\nRomanus, trained in the monastery of Ainay, near Lyons, left his\nfather's house at the age of thirty-five, and carrying with him \"Lives\nof the Fathers of the Desert,\" and some tools and vegetable seeds,\nmade his way into the high mountains and inhabited forests of the\nJura, found a site enclosed between three steep heights, at the\nconfluence of two streams, and there founded, under the name of\nCondate, a monastery destined to become one of the most celebrated in\nthe West. The soil was well adapted for cultivation, but in\nconsequence of the difficulty of access to the place, it became the\nproperty of the first occupant. He found shelter at first under an\nenormous fir tree, the thick branches of which represented to him the\npalm which served Paul, the first hermit, in the desert of Egypt, for\na tent; then he began to read, to pray, and to plant his herbs, with a\ncertainty of being protected against the curious and importunate, by\nthe extreme roughness of the paths which crossed those precipices, and\nalso by the masses of fallen and interlaced trees, which are often met\nwith in fir woods not yet subjected to regular care and tendance.\n\nHis solitude was disturbed only by the wild animals, and now and then\nby some bold huntsman. However, he was joined there by his brother\nLupicinus and others, in so great a number, that they were soon\nobliged to spread themselves, and form new establishments in the\nenvirons. The two brothers governed these monasteries together, and\nmaintained order and discipline, not without difficulty, among the\nincreasing multitude of novices, against which an old monk protested,\ncomplaining that they did not even leave him room in which to lie\ndown. Women followed; and upon a neighbouring rock, suspended like a\nnest at the edge of a precipice, the sister of our two abbots ruled\nfive hundred virgins, so severely cloistered, that having once entered\nthe convent, they were seen no more, except during the transit of\ntheir bodies from the death bed to the grave.\n\nAs for the monks, each had a separate cell; they had only the church\nand the refectory in common. In summer they took their siesta under\nthe great firs, which in winter protected their dwelling against the\nsnow and the north wind. They sought to imitate the anchorites of the\nEast, whose various rules they studied daily, tempering them by\ncertain alleviations, which were necessitated by the climate; their\ndaily labour, and even by the constitution of the Gaulish race. They\nwore sabots, and tunics of skins tacked together, which protected them\nfrom the rain, but not from the rigorous cold of these bleak heights,\nwhere people are, says their biographer, in winter sometimes crushed\nbeneath the snow, and in summer stifled by the heat produced by the\nreflection of the sun upon the perpendicular walls of rock. Lupicinus\nsurpassed them all in austerity; he slept in the trunk of an old tree,\nand lived only upon pottage made of barley-meal, ground with the bran,\nwithout salt, without oil, and without even milk; and one day,\ndisgusted at the delicacy of his brethren, he threw indiscriminately\ninto the same pot, the fish, the herbs, and the roots, which the monks\nhad prepared apart, and with some care. The community was greatly\nirritated, and twelve monks, whose patience was exhausted, went away.\nUpon this, an altercation arose between the two brothers. \"It would\nhave been better,\" said Romanus to Lupicinus, \"not to have come\nhither, than to be a cause of dispersion to our monks.\" \"Never mind,\"\nanswered Lupicinus, \"it is the straw separating from the corn; those\ntwelve are proud, mounted on stilts, and God is not with them.\"\nHowever, the more gentle and forbearing Romanus succeeded in bringing\nback the fugitives, who all, in their turn, became superiors of\ncommunities.\n\nS. Romanus made a pilgrimage to Agaunum (S. Maurice in the Valais), to\nvisit the scene of the martyrdom of the Theban Legion. On his way, he\ncured two lepers by a kiss, and the fame of this miracle coming to the\nears of the Genevese, the bishop and clergy, and the whole town,\nturned out to meet and receive him with honour.\n\nWhen he felt that he must die, he called to him his sister from the\nconvent on the rock, and his brother Lupicinus, to whom he commended\nthe care of his monks, and then fell asleep in Christ.[71]\n\nRelics in the Church of S. Romain-de-Roche in the Jura.\n\n[71] Chiefly from the Monks of the West, ii. p.\u00a0486, seq.\n\n\n\n\nFebruary 29.\n\n S. OSWALD, _ARCHBISHOP OF YORK_, A.D. 992.\n\n\nS. OSWALD, ARCHB. OF YORK.\n\n(A.D. 992.)\n\n [Wilson's Anglican Martyrology, and those of Wyon, Menardus, and\n Morolycus. But Molanus on October 15th. Authorities:--His life by\n Eadmer; also Florence of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, and the\n Ramsey Chronicle.]\n\nOswald, the only saint commemorated on Feb. 29th, was the nephew of S.\nOdo, archbishop of Canterbury, and of Osketill, bishop, first of\nDorchester, and afterwards of York. He was educated by S. Odo, and\nmade first canon and then dean of Winchester, but he took the monastic\nhabit in the abbey of Fleury, in France, and was recalled by S. Odo to\nEngland, where he found favour with S. Dunstan, who commended him to\nking Edgar, and, by his command, he was chosen bishop of Worcester,\nabout the year 959. One of his first acts was to establish twelve\nmonks at Westbury, in his diocese. He afterwards built Ramsey\nmonastery, on an island in Ramsey Mere, given to the Order of S.\nBenedict by Earl Hilwyn, cousin of king Edgar, who had been cured of\ngout by an apparition of the patriarch of western monks. S. Dunstan,\nas is well known, laboured diligently to enforce celibacy on the\nclergy in England. A council was held in 969, in which the clergy were\nordered to live single or to resign their cures, and Oswald of\nWorcester, and Ethelwold of Winchester, were commissioned to enforce\nthis decree. Oswald was afterwards made archbishop of York, without\nresigning the see of Worcester. He had established a Benedictine\nmonastery, dedicated to the Mother of God, at Worcester, and the\nmonastic church from that time became the Cathedral.\n\nIt was his wont to wash every day the feet of twelve poor men, whom he\nafterwards fed. On the Tuesday after the third Sunday in Lent,\nFeb.\u00a029th, he was performing this duty as usual. After he had wiped\nthe feet of the last poor man, and had stooped to kiss them, he said\n\"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,\" and\ngently expired.\n\nHe died, and was buried at Worcester. Ten years after, his remains\nwere taken up by his successor, Adulph, and translated to York, on\nOctober 15th. It is said that when his body was taken into Worcester\nAbbey Church, after his death, a white dove hovered above it. His\npurple and gold stole was preserved in Beverley Minster, in the time\nof Thomas Stubbs, who mentions the fact in his account of the\nArchbishops of York.\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n _Printed by_ BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.\n _Edinburgh and London_","title":"The Lives of the Saints, Volume 02 (of 16): February","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":140755}